Lord Nataraja has been portrayed as the cosmic dancer who invented dance. It is said that Adiseshan wanted to see his dance at Cidambaram (formerly tillai) and he and VyAgrapAdhar did penance at Cidambaram to see the dance. Accordingly Lord Shiva performed for them to the accompaniment of celestials on various instruments. I wonder who was witness to such a dance in order to write about it and propagate it to posterity. "KAlait tUkki...", "iDadhu padam tUkki..." among others, make it like authentic descriptions. Gopalakrishna Bharathi even described the metrics of such a dance as "tA tai enRADuvAr, avar ta ti tai enRADuvAr.....".
Of course the cosmic dance is mythology but there is a lingering doubt in my mind whether it was a real thing way back. Perhaps as some of our devout believers would point out that in those times (many thousands of years ago) the world was purer than it is now and that divine visitations were quite common. Even if such a dance occured in the minds of poets and composers, I feel there is a remote element of truth in it. As a biochemist I am interested in life processes inside a cell. Birds dance, animals dance, an ant dances too. But do atoms and molecules dance as well? I am producing below an excerpt from an article I wrote years ago.
"DNA replication choreography: Let us take a telescopic look at how DNA conducts its ordained function. As we see in the schematic below, the compact structure of the double helix unwinds, makes an exact copy of each strand, a segment at a time, along the whole length of a chromosome in all the chromosomes with the help of several enzymes, and other chemicals. Once two "daughter"
(Micro) Cosmic Dance
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mahakavi
- Posts: 1269
- Joined: 29 Dec 2009, 22:16
Ah, finally one reader thought it fit to make a comment!
This DNA opera is neither abstract nor imaginary. A 3-D animation would show the actual happenings. Computer graphics films have been made by scientists who captured the structural images at less than nanosecond level with proteins and DNA interacting with each other and other small molecules. It is a (micro) cosmic dance as I mentioned. The simulation is expensive to produce because of the cost of supercomputer time involved. Only at the nano- and femto-second levels one can see the movements of the molecules. Who has seen the dance of Shiv?. There is so much description of the dance such as "mAn ADa, mazhu ADa.....nandi mattaLam pODa...nAradar yAzh meeTTa...." Imagination, right?
But this micro cosmic dance is real. We can't watch it in a timeframe perceptible to us because the dance is over within a microsecond. The replication (reproduction) is over in less than a microsecond. But within that timeframe the double helical DNA unwinds, enzymes attach themselves, micro components of DNA come in and get attached to the two strands in opposite directions . The strands extend, the helical DNA unzips, the two separate double helices are synthesized , cell division takes place and life goes on ad infinitum.
Sorry to pack some science here. But it is an art at the highest level that only science can unravel.
This DNA opera is neither abstract nor imaginary. A 3-D animation would show the actual happenings. Computer graphics films have been made by scientists who captured the structural images at less than nanosecond level with proteins and DNA interacting with each other and other small molecules. It is a (micro) cosmic dance as I mentioned. The simulation is expensive to produce because of the cost of supercomputer time involved. Only at the nano- and femto-second levels one can see the movements of the molecules. Who has seen the dance of Shiv?. There is so much description of the dance such as "mAn ADa, mazhu ADa.....nandi mattaLam pODa...nAradar yAzh meeTTa...." Imagination, right?
But this micro cosmic dance is real. We can't watch it in a timeframe perceptible to us because the dance is over within a microsecond. The replication (reproduction) is over in less than a microsecond. But within that timeframe the double helical DNA unwinds, enzymes attach themselves, micro components of DNA come in and get attached to the two strands in opposite directions . The strands extend, the helical DNA unzips, the two separate double helices are synthesized , cell division takes place and life goes on ad infinitum.
Sorry to pack some science here. But it is an art at the highest level that only science can unravel.
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ksl
- Posts: 299
- Joined: 01 Jul 2008, 08:09
I do a PhD in Material Science University of Illinois. I know how real science is. Imaginary is the link, calling the stochastic thermal motions which you want to term as 'dance'. This discussion is completely abstract and imaginary. I am not calling DNA replication imaginary. 
Interpreting PhD thesis as dance is not new. Here is the 2008 winner of Dance your PhD from our unviersity. Enjoy. A Ballerina dancing is not Siva's dance.
http://gonzolabs.org/dance/contestants/
Here is the 'Science' you are talking of
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2WwIKdyBN_s
This was produced in collaboration with the Theoretical and Biophysics group at our university. As i said earlier, do you have a deeper point?
Interpreting PhD thesis as dance is not new. Here is the 2008 winner of Dance your PhD from our unviersity. Enjoy. A Ballerina dancing is not Siva's dance.
http://gonzolabs.org/dance/contestants/
Here is the 'Science' you are talking of
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2WwIKdyBN_s
This was produced in collaboration with the Theoretical and Biophysics group at our university. As i said earlier, do you have a deeper point?
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mahakavi
- Posts: 1269
- Joined: 29 Dec 2009, 22:16
ksi:
Some of the dances (graduate students) your URLs provide do not constitute dance in the manner I referred to earlier.
You seem keen on the "deeper point". A point whether deep or not depends on the observer. If the observer fails to see despite some revealing explanations then the point cannot be made. DNA ballerina's dance is akin to Shiva's dance on a micro scale. The molecular graphics studies show some of the motions. After that it is an extrapolation to visualize what might be happening. It is like poetry in motion. On the other hand Shiva's dance is purely concoction in the minds of those who portrayed it. I hope you realize this. I have written a few articles on the subject of God and His doings. Is God bigger or smaller than the universe? Is He inside or outside the universe? If Shiva is bigger than the universe, did He reduce himself to a human form to perform the dance for Pathanjali and Vyagrapada to witness? Who else was the witness who wrote about such an event? There you go! Shiva's dance is purely fictional. At least in the case of DNA and proteins some parts are real. I gave seminars on such a subject to scientifc audiences and they seemed to appreciate the portrayal.
P.S:In case you are wondering about my credentials, I have done Ph.D and have lot of academic experience under my belt, so I know what I am talking about.
Some of the dances (graduate students) your URLs provide do not constitute dance in the manner I referred to earlier.
You seem keen on the "deeper point". A point whether deep or not depends on the observer. If the observer fails to see despite some revealing explanations then the point cannot be made. DNA ballerina's dance is akin to Shiva's dance on a micro scale. The molecular graphics studies show some of the motions. After that it is an extrapolation to visualize what might be happening. It is like poetry in motion. On the other hand Shiva's dance is purely concoction in the minds of those who portrayed it. I hope you realize this. I have written a few articles on the subject of God and His doings. Is God bigger or smaller than the universe? Is He inside or outside the universe? If Shiva is bigger than the universe, did He reduce himself to a human form to perform the dance for Pathanjali and Vyagrapada to witness? Who else was the witness who wrote about such an event? There you go! Shiva's dance is purely fictional. At least in the case of DNA and proteins some parts are real. I gave seminars on such a subject to scientifc audiences and they seemed to appreciate the portrayal.
P.S:In case you are wondering about my credentials, I have done Ph.D and have lot of academic experience under my belt, so I know what I am talking about.
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mahakavi
- Posts: 1269
- Joined: 29 Dec 2009, 22:16
ksl:
I like to know your views on Shiva's dance as to how "real" it is or is it just a figment of imagination. If someting is asserted without proof it can also be dismissed without counter-proof. The molecular graphics portrayal at the transient time scale is real. How much can you say about Shiva's dance as to the "reality quotient" of it? Just because someone said Shiva danced along with the celestials in Cidambaram we all take it for granted. It is pure Faith, right? If a subsequent event is to be measured against a standard, the standard has to be authentic and verifiable. Let me hear your views on that.
I like to know your views on Shiva's dance as to how "real" it is or is it just a figment of imagination. If someting is asserted without proof it can also be dismissed without counter-proof. The molecular graphics portrayal at the transient time scale is real. How much can you say about Shiva's dance as to the "reality quotient" of it? Just because someone said Shiva danced along with the celestials in Cidambaram we all take it for granted. It is pure Faith, right? If a subsequent event is to be measured against a standard, the standard has to be authentic and verifiable. Let me hear your views on that.
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ksl
- Posts: 299
- Joined: 01 Jul 2008, 08:09
You dont have to believe in God to be a Hindu. Just because i am a dancer, i do not have to believe Shiva really danced anywhere. My personal view is, i do not accept anything unless i have seen proof for it, not accounts of it. But i am a scientist, you can tell 
I think Religion is a beautiful work of art. And i contribute to the art form and love it. Like i love Harry Potter. Dont really believe in him either
Again, its my 'view'. Not claiming it to be a fact.
I think Religion is a beautiful work of art. And i contribute to the art form and love it. Like i love Harry Potter. Dont really believe in him either
Again, its my 'view'. Not claiming it to be a fact.