Heavenly talk between Madam Curie and Kalpana Chawla

About 3 years ago I had written the following conversation for my daughter's school assignment. This conversation takes place in the Garden of Wisdom in the Heaven. The day is Feb 1, 2003. The Space Shuttle Columbia has just crashed. After the crash, the shuttle's India-born astronaut Kalpana Chawla lands in the Heaven where she meets great scientist Madam Curie. Here is what they talk during their meeting:

Madam Curie: Hi, have you seen that space vehicle of the humans turning into a fireball and breaking into smithereens?

Kalpana Chawla: Yeah, I was in that vehicle with six fellow crew members. We’ve just landed here.

Madam Curie: Ah, the God summoned all of you to the heaven at a young age. What happened to your vehicle?

Kalpana Chawla: Are we in the heaven?

Madam Curie: Yeah. But, tell me why did your vehicle crash?

Kalpana Chawla: Our vehicle was space shuttle Columbia. Its crash was just another instance of the human intellect failing before the God’s will. You know the space shuttle is a marvellous invention. The humans use it to go into the space and study various natural phenomena beyond the earth’s environs.

Madam Curie: I suppose your vehicle had developed some snag.

Kalpana Chawla: Yeah, its thermal protection foam had been damaged at one place during its launch from the earth. Because of that damage, the air friction turned Columbia into a fireball when it re-entered the earth’s environs.

Madam Curie: How unfortunate you were?

Kalpana Chawla: The God’s will is great. We all have to bow to it. By the way, may I know your name?

Madam Curie: Let me tell you, here nobody is known by their human identity. Here our only identity is our good work on the earth. However, on the earth I was known as Marie Curie.

Kalpana Chawla: Oh, you are Marie Curie who discovered radium and explained to the world the phenomenon of radioactivity.

Madam Curie: Yeah. It seems you have read about my work on the earth.

Kalpana Chawla: Yeah. At school, we were taught a lesson about your great work in the field of X-rays and discovery of radium and polonium. You were the first woman in the world to receive a Nobel Prize. And, you received this prize twice.

I had also read your biography and was greatly inspired by your life. During your childhood, your country Poland was under Russian occupation. The foreign rulers were dead against giving science education to Polish citizens. But you lived alone in Paris in trying circumstances to do landmark research for the good of humanity.

Madam Curie: You know a lot about my life on the earth. It gives me satisfaction that my work became useful for the humanity. However, I was greatly pained seeing the misuse of radioactive elements in America’s atomic attack on Nagasaki and Hiroshima after my departure from the earth.

Kalpana Chawla: I was not born at the time of this atomic attack. However, I had read about the serious impact on the health of the Japanese people of the radiation released by the atomic attack.

Madam Curie: You know radioactivity can be used for the welfare as well as destruction of the humanity. It can destroy cancerous cells in the body or produce immense amount of energy to fulfil human needs. But a devilish mind can destroy the world with radioactive elements as you have seen in Hiroshima and Nagasaki. My husband Pierre and I myself had also unknowingly suffered serious health problems while working with radioactive elements. But those days I didn’t believe that radioactivity could pose a danger to the human existence. Now, tell me about yourself and your country.

Kalpana Chawla: My earth identity goes with the name of Kalpana Chawla. I was born and brought up in Karnal that is a small town in India. I was the youngest of the four siblings. Since childhood I had interest in flying. Luckily, our small town had a flying club where I learnt flying.

Madam Curie: How did you become part of the space mission?

Kalpana Chawla: I did my graduation in aerospace engineering that was my favourite subject. However, my father wanted me to become a doctor or a teacher. He also objected to myself going to America for higher studies. But, later on he relented and sent me to America. After my studies, I joined NASA and went into the space twice. And, after the crash of my second space flight I have met you.

Madam Curie: So, you come from India. During my life at the earth I did not hear much about India. Maybe I was too immersed in my research to take interest in outside world. Tell me about your country.

Kalpana Chawla: India is a progressive country. Its functioning democracy and diverse cultures are a lesson for many young countries that are trying to evolve democratic systems. Most of the Indians are deeply religious. However, sometimes their blind faith in religion prevents the Indians to use their wisdom and do away with superstitious religious beliefs. This mindset slows down the country’s progress.

Madam Curie: I appreciate your views as a scientist. However, the masses in any country generally don’t have the scientific temperament nor access to right education. So, they are prone to reject what is good for them in the long run. But as a country progresses, its people become more educated, and the hollow religious beliefs become irrelevant. I am sure a great future awaits your country.

Sorry, we have to end our conversation. Let us search for your Columbia colleagues. I have to introduce all the Columbian crew to the God.

Kalpana Chawla: Meeting the God would be a great occasion as I have heard lots of stories about Him since my childhood. Let me tell you about a strange thing that I have noticed here. Your earth identity is of a Christian and mine of a Hindu. But we both are in the same heaven. It means the God is one.

Madam Curie: Yeah, God is one. But, most humans realize this eternal truth only after leaving the earth. Let us now move. 

Jaitley is right but in Gujarat context

BJP leader Arun Jaitley while reacting to Rahul's CII speech of April 4 has said '...the elected leader must have the last word, along with the ability to overrule and take big decisions'. I think these words can be true for Narendra Modi in Gujarat, where he rules with a huge majority, but not for the coalition politics at the Centre.  For long, BJP has been out to degrade PM Manmohan Singh. Once veteran Advani, crossing the limit of decency, termed him 'nikamma' in the Indian Express. We all know how much freedom Vajpayeeji as PM enjoyed with biggies like Advani and Mahajan and fickle coalition partners like Jaya and Mamta always breathing down his neck. Even today’s (April 6) Hindustan Times (p 10) says that Deputy PM Advani, not PM Vajpayee, had the last word in retaining Modi after the 2002 riots and in adopting a particular stance during the 2001 Vajpayee-Musharaf Agra summit. There are skeletons in the cupboard of every political party. So, it's better if the biggies of national politics, the Congress and the BJP, do not waste their energy in the frivolous blame game. Both must understand that it's time for them to arrive at a consensus on economic reforms and ways to fight corruption. This will help them to not to succumb to undue pressures of small regional parties. Here is a quote from the late J. F. Kennedy for the learned BJP and Congress leaders to ponder over: 

Let us not seek the Republican answer or the Democratic answer, but the right answer. Let us not seek to fix the blame for the past. Let us accept our own responsibility for the future.  

We must not wait for an avatar to solve our problems

The following are my views on Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi's speech at a meeting of the Confederation of the Indian Industry (CII) on April 5. These views I shared with the participants of a debate on ndtv.com

Rahul's example of a country of over 100 billion waiting for a horse rider to solve its problems is quite apt. It reminds me of the words of a veteran journalist. At a public function about 6 years ago, he had said that we Indians are always waiting for some avatar to come and do miracles to solve our problems. Rahul has rightly said what matters is the thinking of 100 billion people. Modi supporters may think that Modi has the jadoo ki chadi to solve all our problems. However, I think Rahul has made a realistic understanding of the Indian psyche. Without common people's will to come out of their cocoons (as they did for the brave Delhi rape victim) to set things right, the money meant for their welfare will continue to be pocketed by politicians of all hues. Rahul has also rightly drawn our attention to education, textbooks and curricula. We all know about the commission-based selection of textbooks by schools irrespective of the books' quality. Some book publishers, sure of selling their books by paying commission, don't bother much about the content quality. Here a recent instance is of a school book which preached that non-vegetarian people do have bad character. This book was published by a reputed Delhi publisher. I think even Modi, In his heart of hearts, can't reject Rahul's views as useless.

The 'ghost' of Italy'

Time and again BJP leaders use the Italian connection of Sonia Gandhi to rouse people's passions against a foreigner ruling India. In 2004 after NDA's defeat, Sushma Swaraj and Uma Bharati cried that they would shave their heads if Sonia became the PM. During election time, many Sangh leaders, like Togadia and Modi, don't forget to harp on Sonia's Italian connection to invoke people's swabhimaan for swadeshi leaders.

Here are some facts about Indians doing good as politicians in foreign lands: Over 120 years ago, Dadabhai Naoroji was a member of House of Commons (UK) between 1892-95. Bobby (Piyush) Jindal is the current governor of the Louisiana state of the USA. Bobby was born to Indian parents in the USA and brought up there. There are also many MPs in Canada, Australia, UK and USA of Indian origin. President Obama's government too has many Indians in important positions.

BJP leaders would do a great service to the nation if instead of invoking the 'ghost of Italy' during election campaigns, they present sound policies before the people to check corruption and price rise. 

Anti-rape law alone can't check rapes

I feel mentality of men towards women is more or less same all over the world. It's only one's sanskaars and fear of law that prevent one from casting an evil eye on an unsuspecting girl or woman. In case of India, the absence of a culture of respect for women is an irony because so many of our festivals revolve around goddesses. We must not forget that any lone girl or woman has the beasts waiting for her. To stop these beasts in their tracks, apart from the strong anti-rape law, enacted recently, we also need to inculcate a culture for respect of women and girls.

Mulayam ji, please shake off your caste baggage

One day the father gives lessons to the son about good governance after getting 'enlightenment' from veteran L.K. Advani about the bad state of affairs in UP, as if he doesn't himself know how governments function in UP. The next day, the son says "We have our political blueprint ready after the pullout (from UPA). We are ready for elections anytime." After pulling up by father Mulayam, it would have been better had son Akhilesh come up with a blueprint to fight corruption, not a "political blueprint ready after the pullout". People have seen enough pro- and anti-UPA posturing by Mulayam. There is nothing wrong in Mulayam's aspiring to be PM, and he can present himself as a deserving aspirant if the SP government is able to fight corruption in UP. The SP has the requisite numbers in UP to frame and implement good governance policies and transform UP into a model state if the party is ready to shake off its caste baggage.

INDIA FIRST is good but...

The following are my views expressed in an online debate on a news item of the Hindustan Times, on the HT website:

Agreed that appeasement of any community, whether minority or majority, is neither good governance nor democratic. But, dear friend, what was and is the Ram mandir movement all about? Isn't it majority appeasement? In fact, Mumbai blasts (1993) and Godhara train burning and subsequent minority massacre were all bitter fruits of majority appeasement indulged in by the Saffron parivar through the Ram mandir movement. If Gujarat riots can be termed as a justified revenge for the Godhara train burning then the 1984 anti-Sikh riots too have numerous justifications, like killing of innocent people in Punjab during the period 1981-84 by Sikh terrorists and the assassination of Indira Gandhi by her Sikh bodyguards. If Modi and the Saffron parivar truly believe in the dictum "India First" then first of all they should take initiative for dismantling all temples (all over the country) which have been constructed on unauthorized public places and cause traffic jams and other problems. On many roads which carry heavy traffic, these temples are left untouched while widening roads so as not to give the Saffron parivar an issue to draw political mileage. The Supreme Court long ago had asked for removal of these places. Long ago, Marx had termed religion as the opium of the masses. I feel misuse of religion and petty/selfish politics are equally responsible for ruining the country. The way pilgrims are fleeced at famous religious places makes one think whether religion has any real value for us Indians. When the kanwar yatra blocks the Haridwar-Delhi highway for a fortnight, preventing normal trade and depriving people of emergency medical care and making it difficult for lots of people to earn their daily bread, it can't be termed as an India First act. But no one wants to bell the cat lest the Saffron parivar draws political mileage. Shouldn't saving people from the dhong (mockery) of religion also come under India First?