The Qur’an contains this illuminating insight into the life and work of bees:
“Your Lord inspired the bee to build its homes in the mountains, in the trees, and in the hives which men make for it. Then to feed on every kind of fruit, and follow the trodden paths of its Lord. From its belly comes forth a fluid of many hues, a healing drink for men. Surely in this there is a sign for those who would give thought.” (16:68-69)
Nandini, daughter of Govind Narain, former governor of Karnataka, was just 38 years old when she passed away in New Delhi on September 16, 1981. Thus a young, vibrant life came to a sudden halt; a cheerful face was removed from the scene of life.
One of the terms that has recently been coined as a result of scientific discoveries and inventiveness in technology is Remote Control, — control from a distance without any material link, a method now frequently used with great success in a wide diversity of fields. The signals are sent from a base control point in coded form, to any machine or vehicle which has to be operated in a situation where manning or wire links prove impossible, for example in moving vehicles, aeroplanes, space probes and so on.
At a Doordarshan panel discussion on ‘The Scientific Temper’, (New Delhi, June 2, 1998, — including, besides myself, a central Minister, a social activist, a professor, an English journalist and a lady educationist), I quoted Pandit Nehru as having said as early as 1947, that what his country required more than anything else was just that—the scientific temper. I further made the point that we need to know exactly what is meant by this expression. Broadly interpreted, it means having a realistic attitude.
