To Mars on a shoestring budget
Review by Chandra Mohan
High Velocity Leadership by Brian K. Muirhead and William L. Simon. Harper Collins, New Delhi. Pages 240. Rs 935.

A Judge’s private hearing
Review by P. D. Shastri
Towards the Starlit Dome by Surinder Singh. Platinum Publications, Chandigarh. Pages 184. Rs 250.

Know your acids and alkalis
Review by S.P. Dhawan
Dictionary of Chemistry by N. Pardeep Sharma, Gyan Publishing House, New Delhi. Pages 342. Rs 300.

Acton taken report on a great historian Like Bacon and Erasmus, Lord Acton took all knowledge to be his province. Acton was easily one of the most learned men of his age. He bequeathed his personal library of 60,000 books to Cambridge University where he held the Chair of Regius Professor of Modern History.

Take a leaf out of trees
Review by Kuldip Kalia
Environmental Vaastu by Bhojraj Dwivedi. Diamond Books, New Delhi. Pages 216. Rs 150.

Acton taken report on a great historian
by V.N. Datta

Like Bacon and Erasmus, Lord Acton took all knowledge to be his province. Acton was easily one of the most learned men of his age. He bequeathed his personal library of 60,000 books to Cambridge University where he held the Chair of Regius Professor of Modern History. The large collection of Acton’s books now forms part of the Cambridge University Library.

It is astounding that most of these volumes carry Acton’s copious marginal notes, which testify to his vast learning, profound critical insight and wide range of interest. Fittingly a collection of his marginal notes has been edited and published. A great deal of authoritative work has already appeared on Lord Acton. The latest study is “Acton and History” by Owen Chadwick (Cambridge, pages 270, £30).

The volume brings together Professor Chadwick’s writings over the past 25 years on Acton. Chadwick is conscious of Acton’s limitations. He laments that despite his great erudition and technical virtuosity, Acton did not write substantially on his field of study, though he continued to be universally regarded as a highly significant historian. In what way was he significant? Chadwick emphasises that it was in the novelty of his themes and his seminal ideas that Acton’s greatness lay.

Acton was firmly committed to Catholic religion in which he was brought up, but the author shows that Acton’s attitude towards Roman Catholicism was ambiguous. He wrote, “Tolerance of errors is freedom, but freedom will be most complete where there is no diversity to be resisted but where unity exists as the triumph of truth, not of force through the victory of the church, not through the enactment of the state.” The equation of complete freedom with spontaneous unity was much more characteristic of 19th century liberalism than is often realised. Though at critical moments he was torn between his commitment to Gladstonian liberalism and Roman Catholicism, it was his Catholic belief which assumed that victorious truth would be the truth of the religion.

After examining Acton’s acceptance of the dogma of Papal infallibility (1870), which was abhorrent to him both as intellectual nonsense and profound white-washing of every crime committed under the Papal authority, Chadwick states that “however grudgingly acquiescent, it was hard to characterise him anything other than Protestant”.

Acton delivered his famous inaugural lecture at Cambridge in June, 1895. He had come to view the modern centuries as a triumph of progress towards freedom, and steady advance in the unrelenting struggle against encroachment of power. He wrote, “The law of the modern world that power tends to expand indefinitely, will transcend all barriers abroad and at home until met by superior forces produces the rhythmic movement of history. It is by the combined efforts of the weak, made under compulsion, to resist the reign of force and constant wrong, that in the rapid change but slow progress of four hundred years, liberty has been preserved and secured, and extended and finally understood.” It was this inspirational tale which Acton claimed his history would tell.

Chadwick points out that it is not clear how can one reconcile Acton’s this optimistic vision with his view that “modern progress as achieved by revolutions, not least by radical upheavals in the realm of ideas”, is not the effect but the cause of public events. Acton believed in aristocratic leadership as opposed to a state of equality or of absolutism and in the institution of private property as the first condition of freedom. He valued nationality not as the supreme ground of sovereignty but merely as a useful restraint on its potential excesses.

Chadwick examines Acton’s attitude towards the French Revolution which he thought had imparted a wrong turn to history. Acton wrote, “The state of nature which was the ideal of society was made the basis of the nation, decent was put in the place of tradition, and the French people were regarded as a physical product uncontrolled by the past, which gave birth to the idea of nationality independent of the influence of history.”

Acton was opposed to the idea of nationality producing a state. According to him, the ethnically self-standing obstructed human evolution not only because it prevented the more civilised from elevating the less. “Social progress,” he wrote, “depended on the mixture of races under the same government .. when different races inhabit the different territories of one Empire composed of several smaller states, it is of all combinations the most favourable to the establishment of a highly developed systems of freedom.”

He argued further: “If we take the establishment of liberty for the realisation of moral duties to be the end of civil society, we must conclude that these states are substantially the most perfect which, like the Britain and Austrian empires, include various distinct nationalities without oppressing them.” In such a framework, according to Acton, nationality would be enrolled as an element of individuality in the service of the greater good, “the bulwark of self-government, and the foremost limit to the excessive power of the state”. Thus religious and civil freedoms would be protected as they could not be with a nation-state antagonistic to everything that circumscribed the collective will it embodied.

Acton was the moving spirit behind the project “Cambridge Modern History”, and Chadwick devotes considerable space to it. This monumental work of historical profession that emerged from the 19th century defined modern history as essentially the history of Europe and also attempted to determine the period of modern history. It was a composite work planned and edited by Acton. It provided a new focus and perspective on historical forces shaping events and analysing history in terms of political states and intellectual movements.

Writing in 1964, G.N. Clark thought that Acton’s editon of the “Cambridge Modern History” was “the most influential survey in English language of the history of the five previous centuries as they appeared to the scholars of the times. The work established European history as a major field in the history curriculum defined as beginning with the renaissance. It was a corporate work of several scholars produced under the direction of single editor, Acton.

In his instruction to the contributors who were men of high standing in their fields, he insisted on their reliance on original sources and critical methods or research.

“The Cambridge Modern History” was conceived as a work of revision which was expected to provide a substantial inside knowledge about men and affairs which mattered in history. Acton stood for rigorous standards of research because he firmly believed that historical work was not be a mere reproduction of accepted facts but should provide secrets that cannot be learned from books. In other words, the object was to unfold “inside knowledge”.

Methodologically, “The Cambridge Modern History” was to be Rankean, even to the extent of the revision of Rome which meant that Acton never regarded history to be a dogma but an interim report, a progressive science that develops and removes any type of deficiencies. Such an approach fitted in with Acton’s own commitment to Gladstonian liberalism and scientific analysis.

According to the author, Acton wanted that traditional national history should be subordinated to the common theme, “the common effort, the central action of men by which landmarks of civilisation have been extended and the moving spirit renewed”, Attention, Acton added, “would be focussed on things that are extraterritorial having their home in the sky and no more confined to race or frontier than a rainbow or a storm”.

He elaborated: “By universal history I understand that which is distinct from the combined histories of all countries, which is not a rope of sand but a continuous development and is not burden on the memory but an illumination of the soul. The story should be told for its own sake but in reference and subordination to a higher service according to the time and the degree in which they contribute to the common fortunes of mind.”

Acton’s object was not to eliminate nations but to control the placement and treatment of their story. But the primary theme to which Acton gave great importance was the progress or a sequence of forward thrusts. He pinpointed some of its features: “Renaissance and the epoch of discovery. Reformation and wars of Religion, Turkish crusade and Western civilisation, European Absolutism, Dutch, English, American, French Revolution and its derivates, the continental, democratic, national, social, liberal, federative movement of the world — that is the great argument of the epoch we are to explore.” It would thus be seen form Acton’s formulation that his was clearly the vision of progress, implicity optimistic.

Acton insisted on the need for absolute impartiality in the treatment of source material. He wrote to the contributors: “It is essential not only on the ground that impartiality is the character of legitimate history but because the work is carried on by men acting together for no other object than the increase of accurate knowledge.”

Chadwick’s study of Acton is perceptive and thought-provoking, and the style is engaging.

To Mars on a shoestring budget
by Chandra Mohan

High Velocity Leadership by Brian K. Muirhead and William L. Simon. Harper Collins, New Delhi. Pages 240. Rs 935.

THE first mission to Mars 21 years ago with its Viking Lander vehicle cost $ 1.5 billion. Scientists at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory were keen to take a second shot at the icy-cold crater-filled Martian surface, 150 million miles away. It would be a deeper probe with an instrumentfilled travelling vehicle to collect and transmit data and pictures. With severe post-cold war cut-backs in space budget, all that NASA could spare for this mission was a measly $ 150 million.

This was the daunting challenge which Muirhead took to conceive and sell the Pathfinder Mission in 1993 and assemble a young team willing to join his dream and stake their career. Cost limits imposed the second constraint of time.The earlier approach of a two-stage launch of Mars spacecraft from an orbiting satellite in stage one was far too expensive. Straight launch out of earth’s gravity towards Mars was the only choice. For direct launch, the next window in the solar system was only 39 months away and the window would be open for one month. Any miss meant a total write-off. Satellite weight limitations are severe and are counted in grams.

The book is a ball-by-ball story by the leader of the mission himself. While the story itself is fascinating, what it drives home are lessons in leadership. Success would only come through daring thinking and innovation at every step, but with zero risk of failure. The many unknowns of martian environment were a risk in themselves. Time constraints also left no leeway for correction of mistakes. Every sub-element had to be fail-proof. Faster, better and cheaper became the driving force of the team.

It is the creativity of this super-charged team which produced the fancy six-wheeled Sojourner Lander, with its folding-petal solar-panels encased in a clutch of balloons. It had survived a seven-month-long 300-million- mile inter-planetary journey and a 150 km an hour landing impact on the rocky martian surface. Its delicate solar panels opened into a flat bed, and its exploratory drive on the rough terrain was seen by millions on the television.

The straight lift-off had worked to plan. The software programme, for the mission running into 155,000 lines had been written by a team of only eight engineers. Their rate: an unbelievable 28 lines per day against the industry norm of 10!

Written in engrossing style, the book is a must for policy-makers, entrepreneurs, managers and scientists in the ruthlessly competitive technological world of today. It is about an environment and systems which charge and empower teams to deliver stretch innovation goals to the market against ever-tightening cost and time schedule, and their leadership. Exponential multiplication of such teams would alone take us into the league of developed society which we aspire for. It is high time that our eternal sob-story of cost and time over-runs was buried.

******

Built from Scratch by Bernie Marcus, Arthur Blanch & Bob Andelman. Times Business. Pages 332.

It is the story as told by Marcus and Blanch who built Home Depot from nothing in 1978 into a $30 billion enterprise in 20 years, the fastest-ever climb to the Fortune-500 list. It is a great entrepreneurial tale of two individuals of modest means, but with a will to succeed drilled into them in their childhood. Their dream begins the day they are fired from their job.

Home Depot is a one-stop store for everything required for building and maintaining a house: material, fixtures, appliances and do-it-yourself (DIY) tools. Their tryst with customers began with hunting distress-price volume sources, and then offering these products with low mark-up at unbelievable bargain prices. As their popularity grew, strength of volumes began providing pricing clout with manufacturers and the spiral started moving upwards.

But price discounts alone do not build phenomenal growth. It requires deeper values and culture. Bedrocks of this culture nurtured since the first day have been: (a) doing whatever it takes to build customer loyalty; (b) taking care of their people; (c) developing entrepreneurial spirit in every associate; (d) respect for all people; (e) building strong relationships with associates, customers, vendors and communities, (f) doing the right thing, not just doing things right; and (g) fair return to the share-holders providing the money to grow.

The task becomes really formidable when this spirit has to be inculcated in an ever-expanding empire grown to 166,000 associates in 675 stores. Every employee has been made a stock-owner. Additional stock-options are awarded annually for outstanding contribution. Smiling salesmen providing guidance and training to customers is a normal expectation. It is this ingrained culture nourished with care which gives Home Depot the highest producticity per sq m of floor space and profitability.

The book details the struggle of the founders to sell the concept and convince financiers to provide funds without the usual collaterals to start the first store, their hunt for bargain products and their meticulous attention to grooming of the first crew. It later moves to the process of change as the organisation grew bigger, so that its founding spirit would continue undiluted.

Now that large complexes of group-housing are a common scene, can our entrepreneurs not think of large one-roof stores of the type of Home Depot? Different product sections could be franchised to different product groups. It would make home-builders life easy. It will enlarge markets and improve profitability. It would also facilitate the entry of better products.

******

McDonald’s: Behind the Arches by John F. Love. Bantam Paperback, New York. Pages 486.

Only the name belongs to the founders, whose fast service fare of low-cost hamburgers and sodas drew queues to their self-service joint and encouraged them to start a small franchise chain in Los Angeles in the fifties. The global chain that McDonald’s today is was built by Ray Kroc, the soda-fountain salesman trying to meet the demand for ever-faster soda-fountains. Kroc was ambitious. He was attracted by the potential of fast-service and low-cost standard fare. He had partners to begin with. But soon bought them over when they became a drag on expansion.

It was clear to him that franchise was the only route to a large restaurant chain. The crucial element of success thus lay in finding equally ambitious franchisees prepared to abide by his discipline. There were wrong choices to begin with but Kroc soon learnt his way.

Maintaining a uniform standard of service and food quality in a franchise restaurant chain is no easy task. It had to begin with ingredients. Clean and uniform beef patties day after day. Fresh lettuce. An uncommon variety of potato, the red russet, for the hallmark french fries. New processes and equipment for their uniform browning and crispiness. Finding and pursuading vendors to abide by his strict quality standards was no easy task for a small-time beginner. Take it or leave the standard product offering was the standard answer of established vendors.

Guaranteed 30-second order-filling added its own pressure. Training and commitment of franchise-holders and their staff, helping them find the right location and standardisation of layouts and equipment were a challenge. As the chain grew, it meant written procedures all the way. The crucial importance of training led to Hamburger University.

The book provides a deep insight into the making of this famous American brand. What drove Kroc? How did he locate the franchisees? How did he train them? How did he monitor and ensure uniform standards across the globe? How did he locate the vendors and farmers to share his vision and grow in tow?

With franchised food chains becoming an increasingly common scene with the likes of Narula, Haldiram, Dasaprakash, this book can be a great guide for their growth in every aspect of management. There are no short-cuts to the path laid by Kroc in building a global franchise chain of over 15,000 restaurants, maintaining its 30-second service and quality standards. It requires commitment and perseverance.

A Judge’s private hearing
by P. D. Shastri

Towards the Starlit Dome by Surinder Singh. Platinum Publications, Chandigarh. Pages 184. Rs 250.

AS civilisation advances, poetry and literature will necessarily decline, said Macaulay. And it is true that ours is the age of science and technology, computers and satellites and other wonders. We no more produce Homers and Dantes, Shakespeares and Miltons, Kalidasas and Tulsidasas, though there are pretenders and their promoters claim that some of them are not far behind.

The number of books being churned out of printing presses is all-time high (though readership is falling). Anyone who has the means and an inflated opinion of his talent today turns an author (genius is not necessary). In this flood of mediocrity, some time there is also a good book, redeeming the gathering gloom by its glow-worm light. The book under review belongs to that category. The publication of this book was hailed as a literary event in Chandigarh.

The writer discusses such basic topics as God and man, life and death, love and miracle, virtue and vice, justice, man, the image of God, heaven and hell, ego and bliss and other topics of perennial interest.

It is a publication with a difference. Generally a writer discusses his specialised theme in long monologues called chapters. The present book breaks new ground; every chapter is a sort of dialogue or discussion between the author and some noted intellectual. So that monotony or boredom is somewhat kept away, even though the subjects may be metaphysical or supra-natural.

In the 18th century, a novelist who wrote a complete novel in the form of letters — an experiment — was called innovator. I think Justice Surinder Singh should also be called innovator. One small shortcoming of this format is that about half the book is filled with ideas and phrases of outsiders, all of whom may not be as great as the author.

The book has in the main 17 dialogues or chapters. The lion’s share (ten) is taken by Manohar Singh Chandla, a retired IAS officer (I am afraid, not a very famous name in letters or in public life); the other conferers are Dr D S Maini (two chapters whose dialogue “SOS to Heaven” steals the show), Dr Sampuran Singh (three), Swami Navneet (one) and the solitary lady in the panel, Suman Kathuria (one).

Perhaps unknown to himself, Surinder Singh has contributed a new genre to modern literature — dialogues between two intellectuals. Of course we had Plato’s “Dialogues” or the Buddha’s “Dialogues”, but they tended to be rather in a question-and-answer form. In our author’s dialogues, the other person is a full participant (not just a questioner) and some time he tends to out-talk the author.

For instance, in the first chapter, Surinder Singh contributes 73 lines, while M. S. Chandla has 214 lines — three times; advantage Chandla. There is a better balance in Dr Sampuran Singh’s chapter “Satsang”: he has 149 lines and the author 205 lines; advantage the author.

Strange is the case of the solitary woman participant. Except in the closing pages, she has 260 lines, while Surinder Singh has 96. This imbalance is mostly corrected in the last few pages, where he has 104 lines to the lady’s six. Her 266 against his 200.

A special feature of this book is a large number of quotations which add pep to the contents. Those quoted are Shakespeare, Marlowe, T.L. Viswani, Terrence Wallen, Baha ‘u’ llah, Ghalib, Momin, Mussolini, Omar Khayyam, George Bernard Shah, Freud, Khalil Gibran, St Francis of Assissi, Shelley, Wordsworth — the list is endless. The maximum number of quotations are from his earlier book “Playing With Pebbles”. Charity (and clarity) begins at home.

The back cover of the book carries the opinion of half a dozen intellectuals under the title “Connoisseurs’ Appreciation”. Some of them have appreciated too much, perhaps swayed by the author’s erudition, personality and high rank. As an example of hyperbole one connoisseur calls it “A book for the coming millennium”. (Good God!). Another calls it an “All-weather bedside book”.

S.D. Bhambri, General Manager of The Tribune, gives a neat and balanced judgement: “J.S.S., like all modern intellectuals, is a sceptic, but he is in search of faith. This is a paradox which he faces. There is a tragic sense of life pervading his dialogues with like-minded friends.” Bhambri has written an “Afterword”, in place of the usual “Foreword”. Everything here is off the beaten track, unique.

Some ideas have the newness of

dew about them. About love Chandla says: “If Ranjha, Majnu or Yusuf were good at preparing a profit-and-loss account, they would never have walked into his trap of love. Their arithmetic was very week” (unusual and unorthodox). “In our day, Edward VIII, even though king of the nation of shop-keepers, leaped into the fire (love) and abdicated the throne. The Buddha, Christ, Mohammad and Nanak courted trouble, even crucifixion, for love — love of humanity and love of truth and God.” Love is a fire that burnt them.

To this Surinder Singh’s response is: “It is better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all. This is ‘sachcha sauda’,” he adds.

There is a chapter on miracles. He gives the example of Gogia Pasha, the star magician. He came to an appointment late by one hour. The watches of all people present in the hall were put back by one hour by his magic. It was a case of mass hypnotism.

The greatest magician and the greatest miracle-maker is God himself. “Do not look for miracles, The greatest miracle is that we are alive at this moment.”

Nothing happens against the laws of nature. A fact or phenomenon, the cause of which is yet to be discovered by researchers, is a miracle.

Chandla had an embarrassing poser to Surinder Singh, saying, “It is not easy to get justice from the courts. It is so expensive and beyond the resources of the ordinary citizen.”

It is so. It is a battle of wits between two lawyers; the victory may go to the clever lawyer, who can pick holes and inconsistencies in the prosecution case. The public prosecutor prepares the case routinely for his salary. The defence council must move heaven and earth to get his client acquitted, else he would not receive a fat fee now and in future.

Surinder Singh narrates an interesting case. His Bench was hearing an appeal against a sentence for life to a youth, who was accused of murdering a boy. Defence counsel said, “Sir, the boy supposed to have been murdered is sitting here in the court”. Was it a hoax? The Sessions Judge made an enquiry and the defence claim was found to be correct. The accused escaped life sentence.

“In the court of the Supreme, never ask for justice, because you may be hanged. (Will it make any difference after death?) Pray only for mercy.”

The most attractive title is “Bliss” which the author discusses with Suman Kathuria. She lists three upward steps — pleasure, happiness and bliss. Her engineer husband had died in 1986 after suffering from brain cancer for two years. Very brave of her to talk of bliss.

“I just keep busy performing my duties, professional and familial, to the best of my ability. That is enough for me. I leave all to God. He has never failed me.”

She says: “In the Bhagvad Gita Lord Krishna says that the souls that I love most I give them maximum suffering so that they are able to realise and come back to me.”

No madam, nothing of the sort.

Apart from the 17 dialogues, the author has six chapters of his own ideas; much wisdom and philosophy is packed in this 13 pages.

There is another dimension — his poetic persona. The last part consisting of his poems runs to 15 pages.

Know your acids and alkalis
by S.P. Dhawan

Dictionary of Chemistry by N. Pardeep Sharma, Gyan Publishing House, New Delhi. Pages 342. Rs 300.

SCIENCE forms not only a vital and integral part of the curriculam under the National Policy of Education but also an essential aspect of the general awareness of an increasingly large segment of the population. It is amply reflected in the progressive increase in the number of science and technology courses offered and also in the number of institutions imparting instruction in science, both at the level of theory and its practical applications.

The media — both the print and electronic varieties — are also busy reporting scientific discoveries. Authors and publishers are coming forward with newer and newer publications aimed at discussing the lattest advancements on the various fronts of science. It is in this context that the role of specialised dictionaries dealing with the various branches of science assume special significance.

Dr N. Pardeep Sharma’s “Dictionary of Chemistry” is a welcome addition to the lexicographical works making science their special area of concern. It is an outstanding endeavour to keep pace with the rapid development and expanding terminologies in various branches of chemistry, together with lucid accounts of important substances, chemical operations and processes, definitions and the relevant background information.

Dr Sharma, a doctorate from the University of Delhi and an Associate Professor at the Al-Fatah School of Engineering and Technology, Haryana, has undertaken this labour of love to contribute towards a clearer understanding of the fundamentals of chemistry.

Generally the word “dictionary” is used in connection with the study of a language, throwing light on the meanings, pronunciation, origins, correct grammatical usages, etc. of words and phrases. But the term can also be used for a book containing topics of special subject like a dictionary of architecture, psychology, management, biology, physics or chemistry.

The pursuit of knowledge is a never-ceasing activity, and it implies that not only new ideas and revelations are thrown up, but also many new words and terms are coined to help effective communication. As in any other subject, in chemistry too we find the same challenge of comprehending and absorbing new concepts. Some of them are inevitably couched in terms with which an ordinary man may not be familiar. This book admirably serves the object of enabling us to master such terms.

It is only the students and teachers of chemistry who stand to benefit from this work. Those studying other branches of science will also find it equally useful. For, the fact is that chemistry, which deals with the various properties, structures and reactions, can rightly claim its place as the mother of all other disciplines of science.

For convenience of identification and location, all entries have been arranged alphabetically. Wherever necessary, cross-references, chemical equations and structures of compounds have also been provided.

Apart from serious scholars, common readers will also find much of interest in this well brought-out volume. For instance, all of us would love to know at least something about the items with which we often deal but about which our curiosity is seldom satisfied, items like detergent, soap, glass, cement, concrete, X-ray, cell, vitamin, common salt, etc.

The main work is followed by rich information on a number of topics. First of all, there is a complete list of the names of chemical elements with their symbols, proton number and relative atomic mass.

Then we have physical constants in respect of quantity, magnitude and units. Elementary particles are listed alongwith their symbols, charge, mass and spin.

Very interesting is the inclusion of the Greek alphabet, as Greek letters are very commonly used in science and mathematics as symbols. There are also very useful tables, concerning SI units, derived SI units, decimal multiples and submultiples to be used with SI units, conversion of other units to SI units, fundamental constants, the solar system and the periodic table listing classical, amended and latest numbers of the elements.

Thus “Dictionary of Chemistry” is a very useful work for practically every literate person. One only wishes that it could be completely free from linguistic errors, for example, on page 162, under the word “jade” it is written “jadeite” the most valued of the two, and also that its price is unaffordable at Rs 300.

Take a leaf out of trees
by Kuldip Kalia

Environmental Vaastu by Bhojraj Dwivedi. Diamond Books, New Delhi. Pages 216. Rs 150.

DO you know the right time for construction of house or how to select the site? Here is a branch of study “vaastu shastra”, which deals not only with the design aspect but also guarantees prosperity of the dwellers. Significance is given to the environment of the house, which helps the dwellor lead a cheerful life in a healthy atmosphere. Without “vaastu”, the building is nothing but a mere heap of bricks and frames. It is the combination of both which spells magic.

The book under review highlights the importance of trees, flowers and leaves; describes the night planetary constellation for planting trees and explains the legends which occupy a dominant place in environmental vaastu. Above all, it provides unique information about the flowers and leaves offered in worship of the gods and goddesses. In fact, it is a comprehensive treatise on trees and plants.

Trees symbolise the sovereignty of life. Trees are said to represent the equilibrium of the five basic elements — air, water, fire, sky and earth. Any imbalance would cause an adverse effect on environment. That is, perhaps, the basic and more plausible reason for the lasting relationship between vegetation and man.

The same is true of its importance in Indian culture. Some trees are worshipped. Trees were an intrinsic part of the Harappan and Mohanjodaro civilisations. Name any Veda, religious festival or ceremony or a ruler who did not give a respectful place to trees! Gautama the Buddha got enlightenment under a bodhi tree.

Gardens and forests were always a status symbol for rulers. It will not be out of place to mention the importance attached to gardens and orchards by the Mughal rulers. The kusha, chandan and the leaves of the bael, mango and the palm trees are used in worship. Lakshmi loves kachnar flowers. Durva is never used when worshipping Durga but the lotus flower is dear to Shiva.

Trees have always been a source of inspiration or stimulation for poets and lovers. Folk tales, folklore and folk songs express an emotional relationship between man and nature. Perhaps the “chipko” movement remind us of the continuity of the tradition of tree conservation.

Those who underplay the significant contribution of trees must realise that from one hectare of green vegetation we get approximately 600 kg of oxygen in barely 18 hours; at the same time, it absorbs 900 kg of carbondioxide or about one ton of oxygen is given out in a year by a tree weighing about 50 tonnes. About one fourth of man-made poisonous gases are neutralised, particularly by the neem and the tulsi. Also trees protect us from natural calamities.

Herbs and trees contain therapeutic properties but unfortunately about 40 out of the 1400 identified herbal species are on the verge of extinction. According to “vaastu”, trees having a feminine name like chameli and chamne are not to be planted in the house. Motia and champa are considered harmful because they attract poisonous snakes and insects at night. Thorny plants may cause quarrel and strife in home. The keora plant (pandavus tectorius) may damage the respiratory system. Surprisingly, trees on which the crow sits could be the cause of loss of wealth.

Trees help us to identify the source of underground water. Nearly 70 types of plants are listed which help divine the flow of water. A mixture of the powder of aryan (cenchrus ciliars), motha khus, sponge gourd and aonla in equal proportion can purify dirty, salty and tasteless water because these plants are considered divine herbs.

Aak is an old plant which people normally uproot and throw away without realising its usefulness. This plant like the sun is full of heat and thus provides warmth. It cures eye diseases, cough, cold, respiratory problems, T.B. and sex-related diseases.

Another secret. The tulsi can prevent the body from decomposing at least for about four days. While using tulsi leaves, certain things must be kept in mind such as milk should not be taken immediately after the use of these leaves. Even in ayurvedic practice, the use of the tulsi with Ganga jal, honey or fresh water is recommended.

Papaya is used for keeping diseases of blood and heart away but it is inauspicious to plant it inside the house. Such caution is also in order against thorny plants within the premises.

The writer has rightly pointed out the importance of creating public awareness and involving them in the protection of environment.