ENGLISH Answer the Questions [2 MARKS]

This Bombay was under the British Raj. An Anglo-Indian in uniform checked permits. Each of the blue carriages of GBMR had the tiny Union jack painted on it. The Victoria Terminus station looked very neat and clean. The staff was mostly of Anglo-Indians and Parsee alongwith a handful of british officers.

Professor Gaitonde had decided to go to a big library at Bombay and browse through history books. Then he would find out how the present state of affairs was reached. On his return to Pune, he would have a long talk with Rajendra Deshpande. He hoped that Rajendra would help him understand what had happened.

Gangadharpant knew India which had seen the decline of Peshwas and experienced the slavery of the British. But the India he had seen in two days was completely different. It had not been subjected to slavery for the whiteman. It was self-dependent and enjoyed self-respect. He compared the two countries the one that he knew already and other that he was witnessing around him. Both had different histories.

This statement was made by Rajendra to Prof. Gaitonde in the text ‘The Adventure’ by Jayant Vishnu Narlikar. Gangadhar had passed through a strange experience. He had the experience of living in two world, one he lived in now and other where he had spent two days.

This statement was said by Rajendra to Professor Gaitonde. He made a transition from one world to another and back again. By making a transition, he was able to experience two worlds although one at a time. He neither travelled to the past nor to the future. He was in the present but experiencing a different world.

No, it hardly happens. Rulers are never permanent, while the ruled have their own culture and language. They retain it at any cost. Yes, it is a prolonged rule, viz. British rule in India, people in administration adopt their language at certain extent but not fully.

The Marathas naturally used Marathi in their community and while speaking to other groups they used Hindi. The Mughals used Turkish and Persian language or their derived version-Urdu in their community and while speaking to the other groups they must be using ‘Urdu’ or rarely Hindi. The Anglo-Indians used English in their community and while speaking to the other groups they must be using the same English language.

Bahusahebanchi Bakhar was written in Marathi language.

Gangadharpant and Khan Sahib talked in Hindi language. Gangadharpant used English to talk to the English receptionist.

Prof. Gaitonde was experiencing a different version of the Battle of Panipat. According to this version, the Marathas emerged victorious in the Battle and started extending influence over the entire country. His mind was actually witnessing a different version of the historical reality. Interestingly, he was also witnessing an event that was not conforming to the conventions. The event was a lecture session on the outcomes of the Battle of Panipat. In this lecture session Prof. Gaitonde observed that the chair of the President was vacant. This again was contrary to the conventions. Prof. Gaitonde rushed to occupy the chair and started explaining the need of a President in a lecture session like this. The public got angry on this point and started throwing objects on him. He had a harrowing experience. This led him to decide not to preside over meetings again.

The underlying theme of both the stories, ‘The Adventure’ and ‘We Are Not Afraid to Die’ is the same. However, the execution is very different. One deals with the adventure in a real life situation and the other one is about the adventure that was mentally experienced. In the story, ‘We Are Not Afraid to Die,’ the characters take a hazardous sea voyage, to overcome the odds and survive. Whatever the dangers were, they were very real. In the story, ‘The Adventure’ the protagonist does not embark upon an adventurous journey. His collision with the truck triggers his mind to travel to a world, which is different from the world that he lives in.

For The methods of inquiry of History, Science and Philosophy are similar. In the story ‘The Adventure’ one can find the perspectives of History, Philosophy and Science converging towards a focal point. History employs the methods of observation, analysis and rationalism in understanding the course of past events. Science is based on observation, experimentation and analysis. Rationalism is the most fundamental principle that Science follows. Philosophy is thoroughly critical in methodology. Philosophy examines everything including the assumptions and methodology of Science and other disciplines like History. In the story ‘The Adventure’ History, Science and Philosophy converage, Prof. Gaitonde experienced an altogether different version of the out come of the Battle of Panipat. Contrary to the version as provided in History text books, the Marathas emerged as victorious in this battle, Prof. Gaitonde tried to understand this rationally but he failed to get any clue. In this context, Rajendra intervened to explain this phenomenon in the light of the Catastrophic theory which is being employed by Physicists in understanding the behaviour of atoms. Here we find Science and History converging. The similar perspective is, seen in Philosophy that truth is relative and notabsolute. In fact, the philosophical movement of post Modernism is based on this. In other words, the methods of inquiry of History, Science and Philosophy are similar. Against It is a misnomer that the methods of inquiry of History, Science and Philosophy are similar. The similarity is at superficial level and not at the core. In the story, ‘The Adventure’ Rajendra tried to rationalise the experience of Prof. Gaitonde by applying the Catastrophic theory. But this explanation is not convincing though it convinced the professor, Catastrophic theory can best explain phenomenon of the physical world but History deals with behavioural world. It is concerned with the behaviour of society and individuals. The ‘ methods of inquiry will also vary accordingly. The method of inquiry of Philosophy is speculative. Philosophy even questions rationalism. Philosophy is highly critical of the methods of Science and History. In other words, the methods of History, Scieiice and Philosophy are not similar. The story ‘The Adventure’ by Jayant Vishnu Narlikar is, in fact, a science fiction which is trying to show the convergence of Science, History and Philosophy. In reality the three disciplines, namely, Science, History and Philosophy have to employ different methodology of inquiry Vis-a-vis the subject matter.

For Our senses, i.e., the senses of touch, sight, taste, hearing and smell provide us facts about the world we live in. Knowledge from experience come through these senses. The reality is what we directly experience through these senses. No other reality exists which is not revealed to the senses. Against Reality is not what is directly revealed to the senses. We cannot experience so many entities like atoms and molecules but these are real. We cannot even predict the behaviour of these entities accurately. This point is mooted by Rajendra in the story ‘The Adventure’ when he points to the discoveries made by the physicists regarding the behaviour of the atoms. We can predict the position of a bullet fired in a particular direction from a gun but we cannot predict the position of a an electron fired from a source. This proves that reality is not what is directly revealed to the senses, there can be alternative realities existing side by side.

For A single event may change the course of the history of a nation. The battle of Panipat for example is said to be the turning point jn the history of India. In the Battle of Panipat, the Marathas gave in to the forces of Ahmed Shah Abdali. After this event the history of India took another turn. Gradually, the country was overtaken by the foreign forces. In the story ‘The Adventure’ it is mentioned how in the beginning Prof. Gaitonde was preparing a speech on what course the history would have taken if the Marathas had won the Battle of Panipat. This shows the importance of a single event in the history of a nation. Against The motion that a single event may change the course of the history of a nation is a matter of perspective only. It is a relative truth. If we apply the catastrophic theory in understanding history then we will find that there may be alternative outcomes of a single event so that we cannot proclaim that any one course of event is the reality. Since there may be alternative courses of history so debating on a single course is not fruitful. In the story ‘The Adventure’ due to catastrophic phenomenon the Battle of Panipat is revealed in a different version to Prof. Gaitonde. According to this version, the Marathas emerged victorious in the Battle of Panipat. After the event the Marathas extended influence over the entire country. India never fell to the alien forces. So, to argue that a single course of event may change the course of history is not tenable. There may be alternative effects following an event.

Gangadhar informed the organisers of the Panipat seminar that he won’t be able to keep his commitment. The reason was his bitter experience at the Azad Maidan meeting when the hostile crowd refused to listen to him and threw eggs and tomatoes at him.

Rajendra guessed that the transition must have been caused by some interaction. Perhaps the professor had been thinking at the time of collision about the catastrophic theory and its role in wars. The professor admitted that he had been wondering at that time what course history would have taken if the Marathas had won the Battle of Panipat.

We normally experience reality directly with our senses. But what we see is not the whole truth. That is proved if we take the example of an electron. Fired from a source, it can go in any direction, breaking all laws of physics. This is called lack of determination in quantum theory. The professor, said Rajendra, had made a transition from one world that he knew to another that could have been. The observer can experience one reality, but alternative realities also exist. The professor had also experienced a different world without any physical movement when he became unconscious after being hit by a truck.

Rajendra tried to explain the professor’s experience on the basis of two scientific theories. The professor had passed through a catastrophic experience. The Maratha and the Abdali army were well matched. So a lot depended on the morale of the troops and the leadership. The point at which Vishwas Rao was killed, proved to be the turning point. They lost their morale and suffered defeat. But the Bakhar’s page presented an opposite view. It said that the bullet missed Vishwas Rao, and that boosted the morale of the soldiers. The professor was thinking of this aspect when he was hit by the truck.

 All the history books said that the Maratha army had lost the battle. Vishwasrao was hit by a bullet and he fell. That broke the morale of the army. That was not what the professor’s own copy of the Bakhar said. It said that Vishwas Rao had a narrow escape as the bullet brushed past his ear. The professor was dying to know the facts.

A lecture was in progress when the professor reached Azad Maidan. Seeing the presidential chair vacant, he occupied it swiftly. The audience protested. They said the chair was symbolic. But when the professor began to address the gathering, he was physically removed from the dais.

He put some notes in his right pocket and the book, the ‘Bakhar’, into his left pocket.

He wanted to find the answer to his question about how the Marathas had won the Battle of Panipat. He found a clue in the book on history titled Bakhars. Vishwasrao had a narrow escape from being killed by a bullet that brushed past his ear. This boosted the morale of the Maratha army and they fought bravely.

Professor Gangadhar felt glad to learn that the white men could not have expanded their hold if the Marathas had not allowed them for commercial reasons to stay on in Bombay. That lease was to expire in 2001 according to the treaty of 1908.

The professor asked for the history books he himself had written. There was no change in the events up to the death of Aurangzeb. The change had occurred in the last volume. He read the description of the Battle of Panipat. Abdali was defeated by the Maratha army led by Sadashiv Rao Bhau and his nephew Vishwas Rao. This event led to a power struggle. It established the supremacy of the Marathas. The British company was reduced to pockets of Influence near Bombay. The Marathas set up their science research centres. They accepted the help of English experts.

The professor went to Forbes building to meet Vinaya gained, his own son. The receptionist searched through the telephone list and directory of employees. There was no one bearing that name. It was a big blow. He felt that so far everything had been shocking and surprising so the blow of non-existence of his son was not totally unexpected.

Professor Gaitonde was prepared for many shocks but he had not expected to see the domination of East India Company in Bombay. History books said that the company had been wound up after 1857. But here in Bombay it still seemed to be alive and flourishing. He found a different set of shops and departmental stores and big bank buildings as in England.

It was Gangadhar’s first visit to this new Bombay. Every blue carriage carried the words Greater Bombay metropolitan railway’ and also a small Union Jack painted on it. It gently reminded him that he had entered the British territory. An Anglo-Indian checked the train permits of the passengers.

Gangadharpant travelled by the Jijamata express along the Pune-Bombay route. His plan was to consult some history books at the library. At Sarhad station, an Anglo-Indian checked the permits. That was the place where the British Raj began. He got the company of one Khan Sahib on the train. He noticed that the city was quite different from what he had known about it.

Professor Gaitonde or Gangadharpant was a historian. He had written five volumes on history. But his research work was still going on. He was on his way to Bombay. He planned to go to a big library and consult the history books there to find out how the present state of affairs was reached.

The adventure of Professor Gangadharpant was not real or physical. He was a historian. He wanted to know what would have happened if the Marathas had lost the Battle of  Panipat. For two days during his unconsciousness, he visited the new Bombay and had a bitter experience in Azad Maidan.

Rajendra Deshpande tried to rationalise the professor’s experience on the basis of two scientific theories. It was true that Gangadharpant had passed through a strange catastrophic experience. The juncture at which Vishwas Rao was killed in the Battle of Panipat proved to be the turning point. The Maratha soldiers lost their morale and fighting spirit. They lost the battle. Rajendra then moved to his second point about reality. Reality is not exactly what we experience directly with our senses. Reality can have other manifestations also. For example, the electron does not follow the laws of science when it moves. It is called the lack of determinism in quantum theory. The electron can be found in different places, and each is real. It happens by making a transition. The professor had also experienced two worlds—one that was present, the other that might have been.

Gangadharpant narrated to Rajendra his experience at the Azad Maidan meeting. For two days he was in a coma. He had met with an accident. He had now returned to the world he was familiar with. He asked Rajendra to explain where he had spent those days. He admitted that just before the collision he had been thinking of the catastrophic theory and how it could change the course of history. He produced a page from the Bakhar to prove that his mind was working normally. The page described that Vishwasrao had not escaped the bullet, he had rather been hit and killed by the bullet. It was just contrary to what his own history book said. And he wanted to know the facts.

In Bombay, the professor went to the Town Hall library. He asked for the five volumes he had written. Up to the death of Aurangzeb, there was no change in history. The change had taken place in the last volume. Turning over the pages, he reached the exact point where history had taken a different turn. It was the Battle of Panipat in which the Maratha army had defeated Abdali. The victorious army was led by the young Vishwasrao. Thereafter began the power struggle in India. It was his own style of writing. The Maratha victory dampened the spirit and plans of the East India Company. its influence was reduced to Bombay region. In the 19th century, the Peshwas needed the help of the British at their centres for science and technology. They gave an opportunity to the company to extend its influence. Then came democracy. The professor could not help comparing the country he knew with what he was witnessing around him.

Professor Gaitonde (Gangadharpant) travelled from Pune to Bombay by train. The Jijamata express had its first stop at Lonavala. The ghat section was quite familiar to him. The train passed through Kalyan. He made a plan of action in Bombay. He was a historian. He had written five volumes. He planned to go to a big library and read history books to find out how the present state of affairs had been reached. Thereafter, he would discuss his findings with Rajendra Deshpande. The train stopped beyond the long tunnel at a small station, Sarhad. An Anglo-Indian checked the permits. This was the place where the British Raj began. Pant had not been to this Bombay before. He talked with his fellow passenger Khan sahib. The professor got some information on life in British India. He also noticed the words written and the Union Jack painted on the carriage. He had not expected all that.