BOOKS 03Books! Books! Books! There is no end to knowledge. Allyou need to do is flip through the pages to get thatextra dose of infotainment. So simply read on...
What is space archaeology?
It is a term that describes how archae-ologists use diverse remote sensingdatasets — from lasers to space-basedimaging systems — to map partially-to-totally-invisible ancient features, fromsmall walls to entire cities. Other termsare ‘satellite archaeology’, ‘satellite re-mote sensing’.
Does India need it?India has an extraordinary and rich her-itage, with thousands of years of occu-pation. There have been archaeologistsusing satellites already in India, prov-ing their effectiveness. Satellites allowsites to be detected rapidly and overlarge areas, which is an advantage asIndia’s landscapes are varied and mas-
sive. With so many archaeologicalsites likely to be detected from
space, satellites will allow ar-chaeologists to gain an ac-
curate count of sites acrossIndia; the modern threats
to them; and hopefullysome exciting new dis-coveries.
Tell us aboutGlobalxplorer
We will be launching
our free citizen archaeology platformin India later this year. This online plat-form (www.globalxplorer.org) allowsanyone to look at satellite imagery andhelp us map potential cultural heritage.We will start in Gujarat, and over time,expand across India. The data will be
shared with ASI without GPS locationso that site locations may be protected.We will also be offering satellite remotesensing training for ASI and archaeol-ogy students at Indian universities withthe goal of training a new generationof archaeologists in advanced mapping.
What sort of hurdles do spacearchaeologists face?
Satellites are among a number of toolsavailable to help archaeologists gain abetter understanding of the lands-capes around the sites. They are usedto discover features on sites in cost-efficient ways. However, usingsatellites is a tool, not the means to an
end. We, ultimately,have to excavate and survey theground with all the associatedhurdles, including challenges withlimited time, funding.
How much of India’s heritagelies buried beneath our feet?
It is very hard to predict how much ofour past is buried. But I do feelconfident saying that over 90 per centof most archaeological sites have notbeen excavated; and there are millionsof sites across the globe that need to
be found. I wouldgive the samepercentage for any country thatcontains significant archaeologicalsites. Several Indus Valley Civilisationsites have suffered artefact loot. Agovernment cannot protect all thecultural assets within the boundaries oftheir country without first knowingwhere they are. Thus, step one ismapping sites, and then understandingthe potential threats to them fromurbanisation, looting, development, orclimate change.
‘Over 90% of India’s her-itage lies buried and
space archaeology canhelp unearth it …
using satellites as a tool’
Why I wrote ‘ArchaeologyFrom Space’When you look at what books are in the archaeol-ogy section of a bookstore, it’s mostly thesepseudo-archeological books by people who writethat aliens built pyramids or other outlandishtheories. And that’s not what archaeology is.Archaeology is this incredibly rich field thatshows the full trajectory of our humanity, all the
good and all the bad, all our creativity, allof our foibles, the fact that our commonhumanity hasn’t evolved in 300,000years — while our technology has. That’sreally why I wanted to write this book. Iwanted to show how archaeology reallyworks, and what we actually do with theevidence we have, and how all theseamazing new technologies are helping usto ask new, bigger and better questionsabout the past. TNN + NYT
WHICH BOOK HAS THIS QUOTE?
1. “Fear doesn’t shut you down; itwakes you up.”
2. “You may be born into a family,but you walk into friendships. Someyou’ll discover you should put behindyou. Others are worth every risk.”
3. “People really are like houses withvast rooms and tiny windows. Andmaybe it’s a good thing, the way wenever stop surprising each other.”
1. ‘Divergent’ by Veronica Roth 2.‘They Both Die At The End’ by AdamSilvera 3. ‘Simon Vs. The Homo SapiensAgenda’ by Becky Albertalli
ANSWERS
THIS READING LIST......explores young adult romance via letters
TO ALL THE BOYS I’VELOVED BEFOREby Jenny HanSixteen-year-old Lara Jean Cov-ey panics when every love letterthat she has written — personalchronicles detailing her emotionsfor the boys she used to like — is
mailed to their un-witting recipients.Amid the chaos,she falls for PeterKavinsky, the sub-ject of one of herletters. The bookwas adapted for afilm by the samename. In the se-
quel, ‘P S, I Still Love You’, the pro-tagonists – Covey and Kavinsky– con-tinue their budding relationship un-til another letter recipient, JordanFisher, comes back into the picture.
LOVE LETTERS TO THEDEAD by Nina LacourThis young adult novel begins whenLaurel, a high school English student,is given a class assignment to writea letter to a dead personality. Initial-ly, she chooses to write to musicianKurt Cobain, then extends the idea
and writes a seriesof letters to thedead — sharing herinnermost thoug-hts, questions, fea-rs on falling inlove... that she can’tshare with anyonein her living world.Navigating young
love, loss, abuse, and more, Ava Del-laira’s book is a sweet glimpse intothe mind of a complicated yet in-quisitive teen girl learning to over-come a tragedy.
I HATE EVERYONE BUT YOUby Gaby Dunn and Allison Raskin A story told through a series of textsand emails that are exchanged be-tween best friends, Avan and Gen, asthey head off to first year college onthe opposite sides of the country.
From first loves toweird roommates,heartbreak, self-discovery and men-tal health, the twoof them documentevery wild andawkward momentto each other. Butas each changes
and grows into her new life, will thisfriendship be able to survive the dis-tance? For all childhood friendshipsthat have struggled to survive whenone has to grow up.
TRUE LETTERS FROM A FICTIONAL LIFEby Kenneth LoganTo everyone in his small Vermonttown, 17-year-old James Liddell is astar athlete, decent student, a happy,funny, carefree guy and a greatboyfriend to Theresa. But whenever
James sits down athis desk to write,he tells a differentstory about himselfand his feelings foranother person.Consequently, hisdrawers are filledwith letters to thepeople in his world
that he never intends to send out. Thatis until someone steals some of hisletters and posts them. The authorshines at creating strong, nuancedcharacters who behave realistically.
JOHN STEINBACK’S ADVICE ON LOVE
In a letter John Steinbeckpenned in 1958 to histeenage son, who had fall-en in love, the Nobel Prizewinner and author of‘The Grapes of Wrath’ de-fined ‘love’, the impor-
tance of waiting for it, and the les-sons even unrequited feelings mayoffer. Even though this letter isfrom a parent to child, it remainsto be one of the most elegant ex-planations, full of life lessons forus all. Here is what he wrote:
ON WHAT IT IS“First, if you are in love that’s agood thing – that’s about the bestthing that can happen to anyone.Don’t let anyone make it small orlight to you.”
ON THE TYPES OF LOVE “There are several kinds of love.One is a selfish, mean, grasping,egotistical thing which uses lovefor self-importance. This is theugly and crippling kind. The oth-er is an outpouring of everythinggood in you — of kindness andconsideration and respect — notonly the social respect of mannersbut the greater respect which isrecognition of another person asunique and valuable. The first
kind can make you sick and smalland weak but the second can re-lease in you strength and courageand goodness, and even wisdomyou didn’t know you had.”
ON THE IMPORTANCE OFHAVING PATIENCE
“The object of love is the best andmost beautiful. Try to live up toit. If you love someone — there isno possible harm in saying so;only you must remember thatsome people are very shy andsometimes the saying musttake that shyness into con-sideration.”
ON UNREQUITEDLOVE
“It sometimes happens thatwhat you feel isnot returned forone reason or an-other – but thatdoes not make yourfeeling less valuableand good.”
ON LOSING IT“Don’t worry aboutlosing. If it is right,it happens — Themain thing is not tohurry. Nothing goodgets away.” AGENCIES
With Valentine’sDay around thecorner, we shine alight on authors(old and new) whoused letters toexpress themselves
TIPS How to be asustainable reader With global average ofpaper consumptionreaching 55kg of paperper person per year, itis high time we startborrowing and sharingbooks from each other
An avid reader canboast of an over-stuffed bookshelf,in which many
books may not have beenread.
However, if you aim to bea sustainable reader, don’tshy away from borrowing abook that you want to reador share the ones you have al-ready read. “I avoid buyingnew books and discouragemy kids as well. I spread a
word among my neighboursif my son wants to read a par-ticular book. If someone hasit, I borrow from them andreturn,” says Neha Puri, aclinical hypnotherapist fromDelhi who practises sustain-ability in her daily life.
Neha adds that she has acollection of comics and chil-dren’s books which she shareswith others. “I have over 20storytelling books as old as 10years old which my childrenhave outgrown. Instead of giv-ing away to thekabaadiwala, Ispread the word inmy neighbour-hood if anyonewanted them,and there havebeen a lot oftakers,” shesays.TNN
The American ‘IndianaJones’ (a scientist,professor, Egyptologist,anthropologist, author,and the 2016 winner ofthe $1 million TED prize)is bringing spacearchaeology to India.She has tied up withArcheological Survey ofIndia to use remotesensing via satellites tomap ancient Indian sitesburied beneath our feet.In this interview, shedecodes her work
MUST SEE MUST DOFEBRUARY12, 2020
FORGED IN FIRE, HISTORYTV18, 4.06 PM
SARAH GRAHAM'S FOODSAFARI, FYI TV18, 6.00 PM
MEN IN BLACK, &FLIX, 7.00 PM
THE GREAT WALL, MNX, 9.00 PM
TV &
MOV
IES
FACT: Dayananda's message was toemphasise respect and reverence forother humanbeings, supportedby Vedic notion ofthe divine nature ofindividual - divinebecause the bodywas the templewhere human essence (soul) couldpossibly interface with the creator.
FACT: Of approximately 300wrestling matches, Lincoln only lost
one. In 1992, hewas inducted intothe NationalWrestling Hall ofFame. AbrahamLincoln, as a 21year old in 1830,
was the wrestling champion of hiscounty in Illinois.
1809: Abraham Lincoln, American politician,was born in Hardin County, Kentucky.
1809: Charles Darwin, English naturalist, wasborn in Shrewsbury, Shropshire.
1824: Religious leader Dayanand Saraswatiwas born.
2019: Nasa data showed the world got green-er (5%) since early 2000s, mostly due to treeplanting in China, intensive farming in India.
THIS DAY THAT YEAR
Photo: Getty Images
