India on the Moon, over the moon

Goosebumps and moist eyes. I couldn't contain my excitement as the lander Vikram steadied itself to the right position, decelerated from 1 km per second to near zero, and then touched down near the south pole of the Moon, exactly at 6.03 pm today.

That's a place on the lunar surface where no spacecraft has ever landed. 

As scores of ecstatic scientists broke out into applause, the enormity of their collective achievement was only sinking in.

Lander Vikram approaching the Moon

Vikram after it steadied itself to the right position.

Vikram touches down on the Moon.

This is no mean achievement. One, remotely landing a craft on the Moon is more difficult than getting it to just go around the Moon. Two, the southern areas of the lunar surface are uneven with boulders and crevices. 

The failure of Chandrayaan-2 in 2019 when scientists lost contact with the lander seemed like a bad dream in the distant past. I had blogged about it here. 

(The most critical moments in the above transmission are from 38 minutes to 45 minutes)

There was a quiet race to the south of the Moon because it's believed that there are water molecules (in a solid state) there.

Over the next 14 days, Indian scientists will be studying data relayed by the rover, Pragyan (the Sanskrit word for knowledge). 

India is part of the 28-nation Artemis team. The probes by Pragyan will be beneficial to space scientists across the world in their relentless quest for knowledge and to look beyond the obvious. 

This huge lunar leap will also boost interest in science in general, and astrophysics and related subjects in particular, among students.

Oppenheimer: Free speech and political correctness

I recently watched Oppenheimer. It was after a long time that I went to a cinema.

Needless to mention, it's such a well-made film, with excellent acting, photography, editing, and direction.

What struck me the most was how little has changed when it comes to socio-political dynamics. Everything has remained the same; only situations, issues, organisations, and people have changed.

Oppenheimer's political views and activities were at odds with what prevailed at that time. He was closely monitored and was the subject of many an investigation.

It's said that being politically correct need not be a total infringement of free speech and that it means being respectful of other viewpoints and avoiding language that can be disrespectful.

However, balancing freedom of speech and being politically correct can be a tightrope walk. Plenty of examples in these times, aren't there?

Did Oppenheimer accept the invitation to join the Manhatten Project only because the scientific challenge was irresistible? 

What if he hadn't joined the Manhattan Project citing the dangers of developing the atomic bomb? 

Would that have been cited as him being unpatriotic, especially in light of his political views?

The train chase

It was a race against time. We had to board a train, but we were running late.

Four of us -- my friend PP, his wife RP, my wife SK, and I -- were on a temple hop yesterday. Early morning around 5.30 am, we reached Palakkad railway station from Bengaluru.

After freshening up, we visited two small temples, the Thiruvara Shiva temple in Kizhakkencherry; and then the Kodikkattu Bhagavathi temple in Vadakkancherry.

View of the Theevra River on the banks of which
is the Triprayar temple.

After breakfast, around 9.30 am, we headed to the Sree Ramaswami Temple in Triprayar, located on the banks of the Theevra or Purayar River. This is one of the well-known temples dedicated to Lord Ram. (More about the temple.)

From there, after lunch, around 12.30 pm, we went to the famous Krishna temple in Guruvayur.

THE LONG WAY BACK AND THE CHASE

Our return trip to Bengaluru was in the evening by the 16525 Cape-SBC Express train, and we were to board it from Palakkad, where it reaches at 9.17 pm.

Since it would take around at least 2 and a half hours from Guruvayur to Palakkad railway station, the plan was to leave Guruvayur no later than 6.30 pm.

However, we got delayed as we were lucky enough to be able to stay back in the temple to see the full 'Deeparadhana' (an auspicious time when the deity is worshipped using the light of a lamp).

After that, we made a dash to our car. 

LIVING ON THE EDGE

It was around 7.10 pm when we started our road trip from Guruvayur to Palakkad railway station.

That would mean we would definitely miss the train since we would reach the station only around 9.40 pm, while the train's ETA was 9.17 pm. 

We then checked if the train was running on time. 

We opened three train-tracking (spot your train) apps. So desperate we were to know where exactly our train was and, more importantly if it was running sufficiently late for us not to miss it.

Why three apps? That's to reduce the margin of error. The apps aren't always right since sometimes there is a lag.

All three apps showed that the train was running late - around 15 to 20 minutes. That meant the train would reach the station around 9.35 pm - 9.40 pm.  

That was a relief, but still, it would be a close call.

PLAN B

The evening traffic was only adding to our worries, and we devised a Plan B. 

If we miss the train, we will stay over in a hotel in Palakkad, and the next day morning, take a bus to Kochi and then a flight to Bengaluru.

CHANGE IN PLAN

As we tracked the train on the apps and the progress of our trip on Google Maps, we realised that we stood a better chance of making it if we boarded the train at Ottappalam, the station just before Palakkad.

Our decision was also influenced by another factor. At Palakkad, we would have had to board from platform 4, but at Ottappalam, it would be platform 1. 

Going to platform 4 at Palakkad would mean taking an elevator resulting in further wastage of precious time. At Ottappalam, since it's platform 1, we would be able to get into the train just at the entrance itself.

A SLIVER OF HOPE

In our desperation to know how good our chances are, we even called up a friend who works in the railways.  We thought he might have a more authentic and accurate idea of how late the train was running.

But, his estimation of the train's ETA wasn't very different from what the apps showed. 

However, he did give us some hope. 

If there was an oncoming train, then our train could be held over at the Bharathapuzha station for the oncoming train to pass.

The app indicated that the train's expected time of arrival at Ottappalam was around 8.55 pm. That was our ETA as well, according to Google Maps.

So, to be sure that we would get the train, either we would have to reach earlier, or the train would have to be delayed for some reason.

THE EXIT PLAN 

Since our train journey booking was from the next station (Palakkad), we had to buy a ticket to travel from Ottappalam to Palakkad. What if there is a long queue at the ticket counter?

If we are lucky, there would be barely a minute to alight from the taxi, take the luggage, buy the ticket, and board the train.

So, we planned that upon reaching the Ottappalam station, my friend PP would rush to the ticket counter, while two of us would get the luggage out, and the fourth would settle the bill with the cab driver.

All four of us would then make a dash to the door of any compartment that's right at the entrance and board the train.

So anxious we were that I had to caution PP (though in a lighter vein), "Don't get out of the car before it stops!" 

Everyone laughed, reducing the tension. 

THE ONLY HOPE DASHED 

Meanwhile, our eyes were fixed on the apps to see if the train had crossed Bharathapuzha or not. If it hadn't, then there was hope; if it had, then it would still be a close call.

Our hopes were dashed when we noticed that the train had crossed Bharathapuzha station. That meant our train wasn't held over there. So, it would still be a close call.

Screenshot from the Ixigo app
tracking yesterday's train

CRUCIAL 5 MINUTES

Our hopes, however, brightened some 10 minutes later when we noticed on Google Maps that our ETA at the station had moved from 8.55 pm (the same as the train's ETA) to 8.53 pm and a while later to 8.50 pm. 

This meant we might reach about 5 minutes before the train arrived. 

The saving of time was because of two reasons. 

One, the road was traffic-free, and two, the driver being a local person, knew shorter routes than what Google Maps was aware of. 

TOO EARLY TO REJOICE

There was a big if, still. What if the train-tracking apps were wrong, and the train arrived at 8.50 pm, and we weren't able to board?

So, we told the taxi driver not to leave but to wait till we had actually boarded the train, after which we would give him a call.

As we were approaching the Ottappalam station, we looked to the left. We could see the rail tracks at the station. The train hadn't yet arrived.

But it was too early to rejoice.

What if the train was approaching, and the taxi and the train reached the station exactly at the same time?

We reached at 8.50 pm exactly. The train's ETA was 8.54 pm.  

But, we left nothing to chance. PP rushed to the counter. Two of us took the luggage out. The fourth paid the taxi driver.

THE BIG RELIEF  

There was no queue at the ticket counter. The train was nowhere in sight.

Finally, the train pulled in at 8.54 pm. Those four minutes seemed like 4 hours.

We boarded one of the general (unreserved) compartments. It was luckily not crowded.

We called our driver and thanked him for taking us to the station in time.  

AT PALAKKAD

We reached Palakkad at 9.19 pm. We got off the general compartment and boarded our reserved coach.

It was a good decision to board from Ottappalam, as we would surely have missed the train had we decided to go to Palakkad. We wouldn't have reached before 9.30 pm.

There was one problem, though. 

We hadn't had our dinner. We thought we would get a takeaway from one of the food counters on the platform at Palakkad. 

But there was nothing. We had to be contented with a few biscuits and water. That's okay. 

We were so relieved and happy.

The train chase that we won.