INDIAN HERITAGE OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY WORKSHOP

REPORT ON THE WORKSHOP ON INDIAN HERITAGE OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY MAY 27th-JUNE 2nd, 1991, MADRAS

A week long workshop for children in the age group 14-16 on ‘The Indian Heritage of Science and Technology’ was held from May 27th to June 2nd 1991. The workshop was held by the PPST Foundation in collaboration with the Academy of Development Science, a voluntary organisation from Maharashtra. The venue of the workshop was The Hindu Senior Secondary School, Indira Nagar, Madras. It was attended by 22 students (classes VIII to XI) from various parts of Madras. The workshop was inaugurated on Monday the 27th of May 1991 by Sri T.K.V. Desikachar, Managing Trustee of Krishnamacharya Yoga Mandiram. Sri Desikachar recalled how his father and Guru, the late Sri Krishnamacharya represented the practical aspects of Indian tradition and was an example to this generation. He stressed the importance of knowing one’s own tradition and lauded the efforts of PPST Foundation in making people aware of the Indian tradition through its bulletin and other activities. Indian tradition provides means for Dharma, Artha, Kama and Moksha and it is upto us to choose what we want. Science is a part of this tradition. He concluded by emphasising the need for holding workshops of this nature for adults also since even they know very little about our tradition.

The sessions began with an introduction to the theme of the workshop by Sri.A.V.Balasubramanian. The achievements of ancient India in various fields and the contemporary relevance of these were highlighted. Traditional methods and products he said, are getting marginalised and treated as some fashionable entities in ’high’ society. It is time to rejuvenate our traditions so that a majority of our people can lead a more meaningful life. The broad areas covered during the course of the workshop were Yoga, Agriculture, Indian Medicine, Food and Nutrition, Environmental Heritage, Astronomy, Mathematics, Architecture, Town Planning, Metallurgy, Martial Arts, Vedic Chanting, Classical Dance, Kalamkari Painting, Astavadanam and Indian Theatre.

Yoga

The children had regular yoga practice for one hour everyday. Mr.S.Suchindran of the Krishnamacharya Yoga Mandiram was the instructor. Besides Asana practice they had demonstrations of difficult asanas by Mr.Kausthub and Mr.Suchindran. A test was conducted and the children were given two courses for regular follow up practice. Sri E.R.Gopalakrishnan gave a talk on "Yoga as a Science".

In a lecture demonstration on Vedic chanting, Kum.Sujaya pointed out that there are definite rules for the chanting in Taittiriya Upanishad. She mentioned the prerequisites for chanting. In Vedic chants there are only three notes and two kinds of letters. She gave a demonstration of the chants in which the audience were also invited to participate.

Agriculture

In this area there were two sessions. The first was on our traditional methods of Irrigation by Mr.T.M.Mukundan. Mr.Mukundan spoke mainly on tank (ery) irrigation in India. The necessity of constructing and maintaining erys particularly in areas with scant rainfall was realised by our ancestors. According to an estimate, there would be 1,00,000 erys in South India with 39,000 of them in Tamil Nadu alone. Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and some other parts of India also would be having erys and the figure may be around 2,00,000 for the whole of India. In South India especially, the vast network of erys connected to each other had multiple uses, namely - irrigation, supply of drinking water, flood control and so on. Details on the impressive ery system in Arcot and Chengalpattu districts were provided. Recent researches into the functioning of the polity in the Chengalpattu region in Pre-British India have provided some very useful information about the ery system. Every village provided roughly 4-5% of the total produce of the village for the maintenance of erys. This was besides various other provisions like pay for the persons maintaining the ery. A democratic system prevailed in the maintenance, management and utilisation of the erys. Unfortunately, many of the erys are in a very bad condition at present, as the local people are not in a position to maintain them and the Government is indifferent and also incapable of maintaining them. Even in their neglected state, the erys are serving their purpose in some villages to a limited extent. The talk was followed by a slide show on erys.

The second session by Dr.K.Vijayalakshmi was on Vrksayurveda or the Indian Plant Science. She pointed out the broad areas covered by Vrksayurveda and explained in detail the classification system of Vrksayurveda which is very useful for students of Ayurveda. She listed out nutritional recipes and botanical marvels known to our ancestors. Pest and disease management techniques which have great relevance in the present day context were dealt with in detail. An exercise on the taste of plants depending on the dominance of panchamahabhootas was given.

Indian Medicine

Vd.M.Radhika spoke on the science and art of keeping oneself healthy - a feature that is in vogue ever since man started life on this earth as a social being. As in all other areas Indian civilization has been in the forefront in medicine also. The speaker pointed out that unfortunately over the past few centuries, the wealth of Indian medical science has not received much encouragement for development. Nevertheless a major section of the society is only served by Traditional Medicine in one form or another. She pointed out the interesting feature that Traditional systems of medicine exist in India not only in the form of the organised sector - that is Vaidyar, Siddha Vaidyar, Hakims etc. who are trained in the colleges of Ayurveda, Unani and Siddha systems of medicine, but also in the form of widespread Lok Swasthya Paramparas - that is the local health traditions. She highlighted that there are other families which specialise in treating single diseases and certain practitioners who are adept in highly specialised areas such as bone setting, treatment of poison etc. Besides these there is also a wide range of practices in the form of do's and don’ts in the daily and seasonal regimen which are a part and parcel of our daily life helping in maintaining good health. The speaker expounded on the principle that the speciality and uniqueness of the Indian system of medicine is that the stress is more on the maintenance of health rather than cure of disease. The Panchamahabootha Siddhanta and the Tridosha Siddhanta were briefly described.

Dealing with the area of Food and Nutrition, Vd.Radhika pointed out that it is in the area of food and nutrition perhaps that quite often one comes across dramatically differing perceptions between the viewpoints of Indigenous systems of Medicines and the Western system. She classified food on the basis of different tastes, their effects on our body and the quality and the concept of Agni in Ayurveda. The variations to be followed by way of prescriptions and proscriptions during the various seasons of the year based on one’s prakruthi were also explained. She described a very important aspect of the Indian Science of food and nutrition which is the concept of Pathya.

Environmental Heritage

Mr.V.J.Rajan spoke on the forest wealth of the country and its relentless denudation in recent times. He presented a large number of slides to explain his points. He described the lack of environmental consciousness in both the government and the general public. Population explosion was also pointed out to be one of the causes of environmental degradation and deforestation. He exhorted the young to be conscious of the state of our environment and plant trees. He gave several useful tips on preparation for trips to forests and jungles.

Indian Astronomy

Dr.M.S.Sriram gave two lectures on this subject. Elementary concepts in Astronomy were first introduced through illustrations and the use of a model. The three fundamental natural units of time - i.e. a day, a lunar month and a solar year were described, The interrelation among these units and the evolution of the Indian calendar through the ages was sketched. The Vedanga Jyotisha calendar dating back to the Vedic period was discussed. Detailed mathematical treatments of celestial objects in Indian Astronomy based on simple models are found to be in the Siddhanta texts like Aryabhatiya, Surya Siddhanta, Siddhanta Shiromani etc. Aryabhatiya composed in 499 A.D. was the first text in this genre. The essential features of Siddhanta texts were briefly described. The meanings of various terms occurring in the traditional Indian Panchanga like tithi, nakshatra, rashi, adhikamaasa, lagna etc. were introduced and the Indian calendar was explained at some length, with numerical examples. The observational aspects of Indian Astronomy were taken up next and the ingenious methods available for fixing the directions, measurement of latitude of a place, sun’s declination and measurement of time by measuring the shadow of a ‘Shanku' (gnomon) were described. Finally the continuity in Indian Astronomical tradition from Vedic period to Modern times was pointed out.

Indian Mathematics

In his lectures on Indian Mathematics Dr. M.D.Srinivas first traced the development of mathematics in India from the Sulbasutras (Vedic period) down to the Kerala School of Mathematics of recent times. He felt that Aryabhatiya contains material on mathematics which ought to be taught to school children. The mathematical tradition was developed by Bhaskara - I, Brahmagupta, Sridhara, Mahaveera, Jayadeva etc. and consolidated by Bhaskara - II in his works Leelavathi, Beejaganitha and Siddha Shiromani. All major results in Indian Mathematics till the 12th century are contained in these works of Bhaskara - II, The next major period was the Kerala School of Mathematics (roughly 16th to 19th century A.D.). Glimpses of Indian tradition can be discerned in Srinivasa Ramanujan’s works. The place value system and the use of zero were unique to India and unsurpassed by any other method (of representing a number) in other civilizations. Various short cut methods in computations were devised by Indians and widely used by ordinary people like vegetable vendors, carpenters etc. The simplification of various arithmetical operations in a recent book in the Indian tradition, ‘Vedic mathematics’ by Jagadguru Bharatikrishna Theertha were explained. There was a detailed exposition of the ‘Kuttaka method’ occurring in Aryabhatiya and its relevance to various problems including astronomical ones.

Dr.S.Antony Raj gave a talk on Srinivasa Ramanujan. He felt that Ramanujan worked in the Indian tradition of mathematics and wrote many astonishing mathematical relations without proof. He highlighted some contributions of Ramanujan within the group of high school students including the work on primes, nested square roots, magic squares, partitions of a number and the value of pi to a million decimal places.

Architecture and Town Planning

There was a presentation of the video film "The Shilpi Speaks" by Ms. Sasikala Ananth in which the well known expert Sri Ganapathi Sthapathi explains the conceptual framework and methodology of Indian architecture and sculpture. This was followed by a more detailed discussion on the same topic. Indians have their own concept of God, Space, Time and Man and this is reflected in their architecture and sculpture. The aesthetics and the science behind the construction of temples, houses and other buildings in the Indian tradition was elucidated with the aid of drawings and sketches.

Sri Anup Dave who spoke on town planning in India observed that the layout of towns in ancient India reflected the understanding of cosmos in our civilization. Cities were a very important creation of our ancestors and really attempts to bring order into disorders in the landscape. They thought of a city as a model of cosmos. Mount Meru is a mythical mountain at the centre of the world and is the abode of Gods. That is why, in many South Indian towns, the temple is at the centre of the town and is the place where the man meets the divine. The streets go around the temple. On some days the Gods themselves are taken around the temple, that is, the Gods and the people meet on these occasions. The King’s palace in a city is secondary to the temple and does not occupy the central place. According to our tradition a circle represents dynamism and a square represents stability. That is why towns are in the shape of squares and divided into many parts, each part presided over by different God. Sri Dave explained how various activities were located in the city to suit the convenience of the people.

Indian Metallurgy

Mr.S.Suresh spoke on Metallurgy of the Science of making and shaping metals and alloys and discussed its origins in India. He stated evidences to show that metals were in use since the Vedic age followed by the Epic age. Then he explained that the famous Damascus swords used in the Middle East in olden days were made from a raw material called "Wootz" also known as Indian Steel. These Wootz pieces were exported from India to other countries in the form of cakes. He stated that the process does not exist anymore and that there are no records on the exact process of Wootz making. However, from literature sources of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, we find that Salem and Hyderabad were the main producers of the traditional Wootz Steel. Indians excelled not only in iron and steel making but also in other metallurgical crafts like bronze and brass making. The speaker pointed out that today scientists and metallurgists of the West have started showing tremendous interest in the study of Damascus blades, its properties and its chemical composition and also in the process of Wootz making. Right now even in India people have started to realise the value behind this forgotten art and efforts are being made to reconstruct these various processes in Indian Metallurgy using furnaces with traditional design and traditional methods of operation. The lecture was followed by a slide show.

Martial Arts

Mr.V.Pandiyan gave a very useful lecture demonstration on martial arts. He spoke about the common features and defence strategy in the various forms of the art of self-defence. His talk was made up of three aspects:

(a) The art of defense by blocking the opponent's blow - based on common sense.

(b) The art of defense by not just blocking but by arresting the movements of the opponent based on various techniques and fancy footwork.

(c) Inflicting punishment of various degrees on the opponent. This he mentioned only briefly in passing given the fact that the audience was largely high school students.

A young student from the audience was used to demonstrate the various tactics in defence. He also stressed how discipline and calmness are very important for a learner.

Indian Dance

This was a lecture demonstration by Mrs.Savithri Jagannath Rao with her student Ms.Priya Ramdass showing the various Mudras and Abhinayas of Bharata Natyam. Mrs.Jagannatha Rao gave an introduction to the origin of Bharathanatyam, the concept of dancers using Bharathanatyam as a form of worship of the deities in the temple and the kind of accompaniments used. Then she explained the various elements in a performance - Namaskaram, Mudras, the Alarippu which is a warm-up, the Jathiswaram which is where the foot-work becomes prominent, the Varnam that sets the mood, the Padam for the Bhavas to be exhibited and the Thillana for the rapid eye-catching movements. All of these were explained by suitable demonstrations.

Indian Theatre

Mr.Na.Muthuswamy of the Kootupattarai theatre group gave an inspiring speech on what Indian theatre is about. He explained how they were involved in making each artist into a complete personality. This was followed by practical training in voice culture, balancing etc.

Kalamkari Painting

Sri Subramaniam, a traditional Kalamkari from Kalahasti artist explained how a kalamkari painting is executed starting from the sketch of the required painting to. the finished product through various stages. The participants enjoyed the informal exchange with the artist.

Trip to Murugappa Chettiar Research Centre

The participants were taken on a trip to the A.M.M.Murugappa Chettiar Research Centre at Taramani in Madras. In his introductory remarks Prof.C.V.Sheshadri, the Director of the Institute underlined the importance of gaining knowledge through hands instead of mechanically following the books. The students were taken around the research centre and were introduced to various technologies and techniques developed at the Institute. Prominent among them were: design and fabrication of long-lasting small boats (Kattumaram) using plastics, bio-gas plants of various types, low-cost housing, solar distillers, windmills, and algae culturing as a potential food source.

The Valedictory function for the Workshop was held on 2nd June 1991, and all the participants were given certificates of participation. The Valedictory address was delivered by Dr.Lalitha Kameswaran, Vice-Chancellor of M.G.R.Medical University.

Dr. M.S. Sriram

Madras