In the very beginning of our M. Sc. Biochemistry class every senior professor asked the question: `what is the definition of life`. Few students who did not feel shy to talk in front of the class tried to give a definition and our professor also cited an example which was not covered by the definition of life as mentioned by the student. For example a student said "living things move" and the professor countered him by saying that a car also moves, planets move. In no time we realized that there is no definition of `life`.
We can understand what `life` is but we cannot define it, like `time`.
We had a professor named Indu Bhushan Chatterjee, I. B. Chatterjee or IB in short, who went back little more than fourteen billion years and started with `Big Bang`, the event when the universe was created from a highly condensed form of energy, confined in a volume smaller than an atom, with a huge explosion, in a very-very small time, like billionth of a billionth of a billionth ............ of a second. Probably I.B. Chatterjee wanted to create the universe first and then life on earth. But other professors were interested in life alone.
Big Bang, I am sure everyone knows is a term coined by a famous physicist Sir Hoyle. It is experimentally (by American scientist Prof. Edwin Hubble) and mathematically (By Prof. Einstein) demonstrated that the universe is expanding, galaxies are moving away from each other. With every second elapsed the distance between any two galaxies have increased by some distance. Therefore if we could travel back in time, 14.3 billion years ago the entire universe potentially existed in a very tiny volume, smaller than an atom, and the universe was created from it with a huge explosion, `whoosh` and from that moment of creation it is ever expanding. Over a period of time the fundamental particles were created, then smaller elements like hydrogen, helium, Lithium, nitrogen, carbon etc. were created and heavy elements (like Uranium etc.) were created when the early stars were exploded in supernova explosions. Our solar system was created many billion years after the `Big Bang`. Our Moon was created when an asteroid, named Thetis, having the size of the Mars collided with the nascent earth. The collision not only created the Moon but also made the earth spin at such a high speed that a day lasted only six (instead of 24) hours; the distance between the Moon and the Earth, when the moon was just created after the collision was only about three thousand kilometer, good for Neil Armstrong. Why the universe was created from a tiny minuscular volume of highly condensed energy is a question whose answer we do not know and probably will never know.
Now let me take you back to the seventh floor of 35 Ballygunge Circular Road which was the venue of our Biochemistry class where Prof. I. B. Chatterjee was trying to educate his students about some serious science. But as soon as he had uttered those two magical words "Big Bang", few students from the last two benches started uttering sounds which rhymed with the word "bang". Prof I. B. Chatterjee frowned, looked visibly disturbed. From 14.3 billion years in the past he `time travelled` to the present in just few seconds and started teaching his portion of the syllabus which probably was vitamin C but I am not sure because I never paid attention to anything academic.
During the break few of us in our small group were discussing the incidence during the lecture of Prof. I. B. Chatterjee. Kamal Krishna Kajuri, who belonged to our close group commented, "Big banger somoy koekta bang o janmo loichilo, oi bang guli pichon theika daika utche" (during the Big Bang few frogs were also born and few of those frogs croaked from behind). Kamal Krishna Kajuri used to speak Bengali like a person from Bangladesh does and we always found his way of talking enchanting.
Gift Is Never Free
Once upon a time there lived an ape in the woods. It was widely revered by all the animals in the jungle. It was known for its antics and travels. It could jump, run and climb trees with great skill and animals enjoyed seeing monkey doing all the tricks for them.
Animals viewed the monkey as gift of mother goddess forest. Even lion and elephant enjoyed the tricks that monkey played with them. It would ride on elephant back and even used to pull lion`s tail without getting caught.
The monkey was also a wide drifter. He had trekked all the routes and courses of the vast land. It used to bring the funny and exciting news and delicacies of faraway places. The monkey acted as the unofficial harbinger. He had stories of different places and he had wide knowledge of affairs of jungle. He solved the hitches and snags of jungle. He could tell animals where they will find abundant grass, fruits and water in summer and where they can migrate in harsh winters. Though clever and wise, still monkey never had airs of his skill.
All the animals often said great words about monkey except jackal. The jackal felt jealous of this monkey as monkey had often exposed cruel tricks to animals of shrewd jackal. Only few days back jackal colored itself with blue dye and acted as God`s envoy and demanded great hospitality for himself. All the worried animals visited monkey to ask him whether it has seen such strange creature. The monkey solved the riddle within a week by just keeping a watchful eye on jackal.
The jackal wanted to ruin monkey as lion king had got annoyed because monkey had exposed him. It thought, "If monkey`s all the skills are robbed away by a trick then monkey won`t be a glitch for him. It schemed and planned for months and then it had an idea on how it can turn this chimp into chump, with no travels."
One fine morning jackal went to monkey. On the tree top a black bird cawed. When monkey climbed down from tree the Jackal said to monkey, "Oh wise monkey, I always suspected you. Please forgive me for my misadventures and also be kind to accept an exotic gift which my angel ancestors have asked me to give you." The monkey refused, but jackal gave monkey an exotic rare gift and left. The monkey was perplexed at jackal`s such sudden heart change. The monkey saw the gift was too exotic and rare and kept on wondering, "Why Jackal has gifted it to him only."
Next morning the animals assembled in jungle yard and monkey was its usual self. The story of an exotic gift had travelled throughout jungle, so animals were excited to know what the gift was. The monkey continued to tell old brave stories and also told about rare and exotic gift given by jackal.
Now animals thought that monkey always narrated and enriched them with wonderful stories , so they should also give presents to monkey. Also, if a cruel jackal can appreciate monkey then why cannot animals appreciate the monkey for his exceptional services.
Now, animals started bringing gifts to monkey on their visits. Monkey also felt appreciated that animals were so generous with their gifts. It had now all the exotic gifts and food at his abode, so it spent most of time dreaming, storing and hiding the gifts. Whenever any animal visited monkey, it mostly talked to animals about old stories and its possessions and gift.
Days went on and monkey now was richest animal of the forest having all the exotic delicacies and foods at his doorstep. Even lion king looked like pauper in comparison to monkey. The king felt jealous and planned of confiscating all of monkey`s wealth at slightest mistake. The jackal was happy that ultimately he had ruined the monkey with one false gift.