Sharing of Scholarly Ideas

During the last two weeks, Dr. Barot has been attending a variety of scholarly conferences on the sciences. Here is his summary of those activities.

I. Conference in Kochi, Kerala: The Department of Applied Chemistry, Cochin University of Science and Technology, organized the National Seminar on Current Trends in Chemistry on March 4-5. I was chosen as a member of the organizing committee. Dr. Girishkumar and I were in charge of a reception to welcome invited guests from all over India. The program included invited lecturers, contributed oral communications, and poster presentations related to Chemical Sensors and Biosensors, Organic - Inorganic Hybrid Materials, Nano-materials and Supra Molecular Chemistry, and Organic and Macromolecular Chemistry. Some of the chemists shared their research on helping the environment by using the catalysts enhanced chemical processes.

II. Conference in Panaji, Goa: From March 7 to 9, we went to Goa. It is one of the most popular destinations for western tourists. It is blessed by many beaches and Western food joints. Since coming to India, I was able to eat, for the first time in four months, in a Gujarati restaurant. This conference was organized by Fulbright and USIEF (United States-India Educational Foundation) in Panaji, Goa. It was attended by Fulbrighters from India, Bangladesh, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Tajikistan. Presentations included issues related to the environment and energy, public health, science and technology, business and economic study of India, social history of the Indian national drink, arts and aesthetics, music and Indian classical dance. The most interesting aspect was to meet bright scholars and exchange emails and ideas.

III. Conference in Changanasserry, Kerala: To celebrate the International Year of Chemistry, P.G. Department of Chemistry of N.S.S. Hindu College of Changanassery and Kerala State Council for Science, Technology and Environment organized two days of a national seminar on New Frontiers in Chemical Science & Technology. The activities and celebration commemorated the 100th year of anniversary of Marie Curie’s Noble Prize in chemistry, as well as founding of IUPAC included many technical sessions. I was invited as a speaker.

To reach the college in Changanasserry by 9 am, I had to catch Trivandrum Mail at 6:15 am from Ernakulum Town. It was too early to get any public transportation, so I asked a university employee, Mr. Somesh, to arrange a cab for me. I reached to the railway station just in time, but the train was late. When I reached the college, I was welcomed by a hot breakfast and tea. My presentation topic was “Educational System in USA through a Frame of Chemistry.” I was presented a nice wall clock as a token of gift. I enjoyed meeting other chemists from all over Kerala.

A pilgrimage to Tamilnadu

Dr. Barot has just finished two weeks of conferences in India. But, before leaving that area, he visited the state of Tamilnadu for a pilgrimage. Here is his account of that experience.

"We took the train before midnight. It was an air conditioned train with sleeping arrangements. We were provided pillows, bed sheet and blankets. The person on the opposite sleeper was from England. He had come to watch the cricket matches, but between matches, he was going for sightseeing. We talked about the colonial days, modern UK politics, BBC news and the cricket world.

I slept until it was time to get up. After brushing my teeth, I had hot railway tea with biscuits. We got down at Madurai, a temple city in Tamil Nadu. I asked an auto to take me to the hotel. He demanded 40 rupees. From Google Earth, I knew it was within two minutes. I agreed to half of what he demanded. Within two minutes, we were at the hotel.

After looking at the room, I paid by traveler’s checks. In the room, there was no remote control or bath towel. Once asked, the service boy delivered. I took a nice hot shower and changed clothes. There is a pure vegetarian restaurant near the hotel, called Shree Sabari. I had a nice lunch, but as I poured yogurt in rice with soup, all the waiters came one by one to see it. They had never seen anyone mixing like it.

In the evening, we went around to see the seven story Gopuram, the welcoming arch of the temple on all four sides. Each arch was brightly colored with statues of gods and goddesses from Hindu mythology. The color combination was impressive. I took out my camera and took many shots.

Inside the temple, there were two lines. We paid 100 rupees and went in the special line. Within a few minutes, the prayer ceremony was done and it was time to visit 1000 stone pillars museum. It was a real artist world and took some time to observe and appreciate. Many white tourists from Europe and North America were taking pictures.

Before leaving the Meenaxi Devi Temple, we were greeted by a decorated elephant. I purchased food to feed him and he appreciated by kneeling on one front leg. I found that there was no vehicle going around the temple. Only people wearing different costumes from different parts of India were walking, and hawkers were selling religious items.

As planned at 9 a.m., the driver Om came to our hotel with Tata Indica, an air conditioned car. We were ready with video as well as digital cameras. Our destination was the famous temple of Rameshwaram. This is the last town, closest to Sri Lanka on the southern tip of India. According to Hindu religion, here Lord Rama worshipped Lord Shiva before invading Sri Lanka to rescue his kidnapped wife, Sita, from the evil king Ravana.

Around noon, we reached the bridge connecting mainland India with the island of Rameshwaram. The driver, who spoke only Tamil, stopped the car on the side of the bridge. We joined many onlookers to see a train coming on the railroad below. I pulled out the video camera and started shooting the wonderful scene. The train’s engine driver waved at us and the passengers kept cheering. In a few minutes, everyone dispersed and we were on our way to the temple.

First thing, I purchased a visitor’s book and read about the historical significance of the place. It is interesting to read. There are total 17 important places. Among them, one belonged to the Sikh religion showing the interconnection between the two religions of India.

The main temple has a Gopuram arch, just like the Madurai temple. Inside, there are 1200 stone pillars 30 feet in height. Each one was hand carved. In front of the inner sanctum of the temple, there is a huge stone statue of a bull with his tongue lurking outside. A chariot of pure silver with a carving is stored inside the temple. The temple has visiting time until 1 p.m. and we were late, but luckily our driver spoke in the Tamil language and requested they admit us. For a fee of Rs. 100, we were allowed in and joined a group of pilgrims from the United Kingdom.

After the temple visit, it was lunch time. We wanted a change from eating local food prepared from rice. When we inquired of a restaurant owner about north Indian food, he told us to go in the next street. We found the kind of food made up of wheat and pulses, with unlimited rice. Our driver had more than enough rice with his soup.

Before we returned to Madurai, the driver took a diversion to another place called Devipattanum. We had tea after the temple visit. The most impressive was the ocean scene from the tea stall. When we went close, the beach was too polluted to enjoy the scene. By the time, we reached our hotel in Madurai, it was 9 p.m. We had a journey of 12 hours."