Origami is a Japanese word for "folding paper". It's resemblance to similar sounding words in English brings a completely different and misleading picture in the mind though and this can be pretty comical.
In this ancient Japanese art, the trick is to use one sheet of paper for creating objects without using scissors or knives. I have not seen kids using this art form at all. These days, I guess it is all about computer games that encourages shooting, killing and extreme violence. Destruction versus Creativity during our times. It used to be a fun thing and a rage in our good old days - late 60's and early 70's. New notebooks used to disappear in no time, much to the dismay of parents. Sheets would be torn neatly from the back side of notebooks and converted into various kinds of planes and missiles in the classroom and our teachers would have a harrowing time trying to find out the source of these paper contraptions.
Indian kids took a few concessions from their Japanese counterparts I guess, and cutting and tearing was generally accepted for making more effective flying objects with the purpose of mildly hurting folks for sheer fun during childhood days. One smart kid; smart in the wrong sense I guess, introduced the art and technique of using elastic bands to launch these paper missiles. They were indeed lethal as they traveled like bullets and for a good 90% of the distance in a straight line. One could aim quite accurately at the targets and Bingo! they would be spot on each time and every time. Nylon bands, what we see these days were not available in our days and invariably, the elastic bands available in the market were slim round portions cut from a cycle tube. They were not very flexible and would snap easily. It was primarily used as a substitute for colorful ribbons by girls to tie their hair. My sisters used to stock these bands made out of black cycle tube and lucky for me, this was my perennial source of supply. I am sure after reading this blog, my sisters will now be able to understand where all those packets of black bands disappeared. As long as they do not chase to clobber me now, 40 years later, I am fine. They surely cannot punish me for a childhood prank committed 40 years ago - can we say 'untimely filing of a confession'?
One black tube band was never sufficient to get the speed and momentum on these paper missiles. Another bright spark found a way to combine two or more of these bands to form a long elastic string and these became ideal launching pads. As long as it remained a childish prank and no harm was caused to fellow kids, it was fine. I was however a bit adventurous and wanted to use this to scare the hoards of crows flying around making a racket with their cacophonic caw! caw, every morning! Houses in Durgapur were built on huge plots of land; typically a 1,500 square feet built area would be on a land measuring 90' by 120'. With ample space for gardens all around, every house in the township had all kinds of fruit bearing trees like guava, mango, Jamun (Indian Blackberry), Jackfruit, besides the neem trees and the curry leaf bushes. Sparrows and crows were the most common residents on these trees and occasionally the owl, koil, parrot and pigeons would make flying visits. Come to think of it, I haven't seen many birds around in Bangalore; the rapid urbanization and chopping of trees have made the winged visitors run for cover elsewhere and what a pity! Only squirrels are visible these days with their cheep cheep calls. It is fun to watch them walking precariously on the telephone and cable lines between houses, balancing itself beautifully.
Returning to my childish prank, which eventually turned out to become a nightmare; one of my stray paper missiles launched with the use of a string of 4 intertwined elastic bands, whizzed past a crow which was a regular visitor to the mango tree in our backyard garden. I never imagined that birds could have a strong memory. Although, a bit startled at first with a paper missile flying past its beak, the crow obviously recovered from shock and quickly traced its path to see who had caused this disturbance. With another missile in my hand, it obviously put two and two together and then for the next week or so, I became the hunted and crow a hunter. It may sound a bit bizarre, but these birds seem to have a pretty decent memory. Luckily it was short lived, similar to the RAM in a CPU. Each time I stepped out of the house, it would come swooping on me and I must have a tripped on quite a few occasions trying to side step while looking up to see where and when the bird would strike next, to take revenge. This was straight out Alfred Hitchcock's movie "The Birds" released in 1963, based on the book written by Daphne du Maurier. This went on for a week or so until the RAM lost its power and the memory faded leaving me at peace!
Talking of memory, the human brain which weighs just 1.5 kilos has a staggering 80 to 100 billion neurons and twice that number of glial cells which provides nutrition support to the neurons. Even while asleep the human brain continues to handle traffic that would swamp all the world's telephone exchanges. Although very small in comparison to other organs, it demands 20% of the oxygen inhaled and a fifth of the blood the heart pumps. These 80 to 100 billion neurons are interconnected - some as many as 60,000 times. These neurons or nerve cells transmit nerve signals (electro-chemical impulses) to and from the brain at speeds up to 200 mph.
The most striking feature is the back-up system. Memory is stored in various places. This amazing feature helps a person to recover even after a stroke. Even if one part of the brain is destroyed, the remaining part, over time takes over the job by setting up compensating networks of nerve connections. With time, stroke victims return to a near normal life - speech may return, movement in limbs return. Incidentally, brain nerve cells are the only cells in the human body that do not reproduce. A baby is born with a full complement of these 80 to 100 billion gray nerve cells.
Alzheimer's disease is the name for progressive cognitive deterioration. The short term memory loss or amnesia becomes steadily more pronounced with the progression of illness. Parkinson's disease is a degenerative disorder of the central nervous system affecting speech and motor skills. During epileptic seizures, there is disruption in the generation of electro-chemical impulses as the neurons begin firing all at once and at a much faster rate.
While doctors and engineers have successfully mapped the brain to understand its complex operations, what still eludes mankind is the behavior different people display for a similar set of inputs. It is still very unique to each human being; hence, if there are 7 Billion people on this earth, we have 7 Billion different minds!! Is there a possibility for peaceful coexistence and mutual respect?
In this ancient Japanese art, the trick is to use one sheet of paper for creating objects without using scissors or knives. I have not seen kids using this art form at all. These days, I guess it is all about computer games that encourages shooting, killing and extreme violence. Destruction versus Creativity during our times. It used to be a fun thing and a rage in our good old days - late 60's and early 70's. New notebooks used to disappear in no time, much to the dismay of parents. Sheets would be torn neatly from the back side of notebooks and converted into various kinds of planes and missiles in the classroom and our teachers would have a harrowing time trying to find out the source of these paper contraptions.
Indian kids took a few concessions from their Japanese counterparts I guess, and cutting and tearing was generally accepted for making more effective flying objects with the purpose of mildly hurting folks for sheer fun during childhood days. One smart kid; smart in the wrong sense I guess, introduced the art and technique of using elastic bands to launch these paper missiles. They were indeed lethal as they traveled like bullets and for a good 90% of the distance in a straight line. One could aim quite accurately at the targets and Bingo! they would be spot on each time and every time. Nylon bands, what we see these days were not available in our days and invariably, the elastic bands available in the market were slim round portions cut from a cycle tube. They were not very flexible and would snap easily. It was primarily used as a substitute for colorful ribbons by girls to tie their hair. My sisters used to stock these bands made out of black cycle tube and lucky for me, this was my perennial source of supply. I am sure after reading this blog, my sisters will now be able to understand where all those packets of black bands disappeared. As long as they do not chase to clobber me now, 40 years later, I am fine. They surely cannot punish me for a childhood prank committed 40 years ago - can we say 'untimely filing of a confession'?
One black tube band was never sufficient to get the speed and momentum on these paper missiles. Another bright spark found a way to combine two or more of these bands to form a long elastic string and these became ideal launching pads. As long as it remained a childish prank and no harm was caused to fellow kids, it was fine. I was however a bit adventurous and wanted to use this to scare the hoards of crows flying around making a racket with their cacophonic caw! caw, every morning! Houses in Durgapur were built on huge plots of land; typically a 1,500 square feet built area would be on a land measuring 90' by 120'. With ample space for gardens all around, every house in the township had all kinds of fruit bearing trees like guava, mango, Jamun (Indian Blackberry), Jackfruit, besides the neem trees and the curry leaf bushes. Sparrows and crows were the most common residents on these trees and occasionally the owl, koil, parrot and pigeons would make flying visits. Come to think of it, I haven't seen many birds around in Bangalore; the rapid urbanization and chopping of trees have made the winged visitors run for cover elsewhere and what a pity! Only squirrels are visible these days with their cheep cheep calls. It is fun to watch them walking precariously on the telephone and cable lines between houses, balancing itself beautifully.
Returning to my childish prank, which eventually turned out to become a nightmare; one of my stray paper missiles launched with the use of a string of 4 intertwined elastic bands, whizzed past a crow which was a regular visitor to the mango tree in our backyard garden. I never imagined that birds could have a strong memory. Although, a bit startled at first with a paper missile flying past its beak, the crow obviously recovered from shock and quickly traced its path to see who had caused this disturbance. With another missile in my hand, it obviously put two and two together and then for the next week or so, I became the hunted and crow a hunter. It may sound a bit bizarre, but these birds seem to have a pretty decent memory. Luckily it was short lived, similar to the RAM in a CPU. Each time I stepped out of the house, it would come swooping on me and I must have a tripped on quite a few occasions trying to side step while looking up to see where and when the bird would strike next, to take revenge. This was straight out Alfred Hitchcock's movie "The Birds" released in 1963, based on the book written by Daphne du Maurier. This went on for a week or so until the RAM lost its power and the memory faded leaving me at peace!
Talking of memory, the human brain which weighs just 1.5 kilos has a staggering 80 to 100 billion neurons and twice that number of glial cells which provides nutrition support to the neurons. Even while asleep the human brain continues to handle traffic that would swamp all the world's telephone exchanges. Although very small in comparison to other organs, it demands 20% of the oxygen inhaled and a fifth of the blood the heart pumps. These 80 to 100 billion neurons are interconnected - some as many as 60,000 times. These neurons or nerve cells transmit nerve signals (electro-chemical impulses) to and from the brain at speeds up to 200 mph.
The most striking feature is the back-up system. Memory is stored in various places. This amazing feature helps a person to recover even after a stroke. Even if one part of the brain is destroyed, the remaining part, over time takes over the job by setting up compensating networks of nerve connections. With time, stroke victims return to a near normal life - speech may return, movement in limbs return. Incidentally, brain nerve cells are the only cells in the human body that do not reproduce. A baby is born with a full complement of these 80 to 100 billion gray nerve cells.
Alzheimer's disease is the name for progressive cognitive deterioration. The short term memory loss or amnesia becomes steadily more pronounced with the progression of illness. Parkinson's disease is a degenerative disorder of the central nervous system affecting speech and motor skills. During epileptic seizures, there is disruption in the generation of electro-chemical impulses as the neurons begin firing all at once and at a much faster rate.
While doctors and engineers have successfully mapped the brain to understand its complex operations, what still eludes mankind is the behavior different people display for a similar set of inputs. It is still very unique to each human being; hence, if there are 7 Billion people on this earth, we have 7 Billion different minds!! Is there a possibility for peaceful coexistence and mutual respect?
Indeed, few things are more fascinating than the workings of the human mind. Despite the same or similar inputs, two people (even identical twins) tend to perceive them differently. While psychologists have reached a tentative agreement that heredity and environment contribute 50-50 to a person's mental make up, I am still stumped when I notice children displaying some quirks/ quaint habits of their parents or other close relatives - even when there is no evidence to show that they picked it up by observation. My husband's handwriting is almost identical to that of his father, even though he had practically no exposure to his dad's writing during his growing years. Here is another one- from his infancy, my son likes to stick one leg out from under the blanket while sleeping. It is not an occasional occurance - he does it every time. When I shared this observation with my mother-in-law,I was met with mischievous laughter and an admission that she does the same! I am sure most families have similar stories - would be nice to hear them.
ReplyDeleteCheers,
Nitya
Interesting article, takes you back in time & makes you think of what our children will miss with the new age of gadgets taking over the simple, artistic, brain tickling games & activities we had…….
ReplyDeleteDifferent minds have co existed for far more than one can remember, there have definitely been ups & downs……It is a bond that entwines all our lives together & I believe that we were meant to be different for life to continue as we see it
It is stupefying the small similarities you see in so many generations……..my son he sucks on his lower lip while sleeping which I used to when I was a kiddo……no way of him picking it up by observation……
Have a lovely week!
Warm Regards,
Ruchi
Hi Ruchi,
ReplyDeleteThanks for adding one more to my list.
Cheers,
Nitya