zero.. the power..

I have a particular affection for “Zero” because it was some of my country men who first gave it the status of a number. Although the symbol for void or nothingness is supposed to have been invented by the Babylonians, it was Hindu mathematicians first conceived of “Zero, 0” as a number.

Now of course, zero it the central part of mathematics, the key to our decimal system of counting. It signifies something very different from simply being nothing.

To remind yourself of the importance of the presence and position of zero, just think of the enormous difference between .001, .01, .1, 1, 10, and 100.

The other power of zero is its ability to destroy another number. Zero times anything is zero.

The world owes a lot to us Indians for having given them an awesome gift of zero.

Today, I remember a song from the movie “Purab aur Paschim” sung by “Mahendra Kapoor”

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jab zero diyaa mere bhaarat ne, duniyaan ko tab gintee aayee
taaron kee bhaashaa bhaarat ne, duniyaan ko pahale sikhalaayee
detaa naa dashamalav bhaarat to, yun chaand pe jaanaa mushkil thaa
dharaatee aaur chaand kee dooree kaa andaajaa lagaanaa mushkil thaa

[When my India gave zero, then the world learnt how to count
We also taught the world the language of the stars
Had we not given the decimal, it was tough to go to moon
And hence calculate the distance between earth and moon]

sabhyataa jahaa pahaale aayee, pahale janamee hain jahaape kalaa
apanaa bhaarat wo bhaarat hai, jis ke pichhe sansaar chalaa
sansaar chalaa aaur aage badhaa, yun aage badhaa, badhataa hee gayaa
bhagawaan kare ye aaur badhe, badhataa hee rahe aaur foole fale

[It is India where civilization rose first and so did art
The whole world walked behind India
It walked and kept on advancing, day by day
Let it keep advancing and rise to new heights]

hai pareet jahaa kee reet sadaa, main geet wahaa ke gaataa hun
bhaarat kaa rahane waalaa hoo, bhaarat kee baat sunaataa hun

[Where love is the culture, I am telling you about that place
I am a resident of India and am telling you about it]

kaale gore kaa bhed nahee, har dil se humaaraa naataa hai
kuchh aaur naa aataa ho hum ko, humay pyaar nibhaanaa aataa hai
jise maan chookee saaree duniyaa, main baat wahee doharataa hun
bhaarat kaa rahane waalaa hoo, bhaarat kee baat sunaataa hun

[Where there is no difference of “white and black”, we are joined to every heart
Even if we don’t know many things, we know how to love
The world has agreed upon this, I am just repeating
I am a resident of India and it’s about it that I am telling]

jeete ho kisee ne desh to kyaa, hum ne to dilon ko jeetaa hai
jahaa raam abhee tak hain nar me, naaree mein abhee tak seetaa hai
kitane paawan hain log jahaa, main nit nit sheesh zhukaataa hun
bhaarat kaa rahane waalaa hoo, bhaarat kee baat sunaataa hun

[They might have won countries, but we have won hearts
here there is “Rama” in every man and “Sita” in every woman
the place where the people are so pious, I pay my ode to it
I am a resident of India and am telling about it]

itanee mamataa nadiyon ko bhee, jahaa maataa kah ke bulaate hai
itanaa aadar insaan to kyaa, patthar bhee pooje jaate hai
us dharatee pe maine janam liyaa, ye soch ke main itaraataa hun
bhaarat kaa rahane waalaa hoo, bhaarat kee baat sunaataa hun

[The tenderness is such that the rivers are treated as mothers
The respect is such that even the rock is worshipped
I feel elated that I was born on such a land
I am a resident of India, and am telling you about it.. ]
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-Aseem