BIODIVERSITY IN THE EPIC RAMAYANA

                                              

Fidelity to Nature and fascination for it is the central theme of Indian philosophical thought apart from its cosmogenic widerness and personalized microfiches. Nature is mother for us and its manifestations beyond an impersonal eventuality. Many are the facets upon which its intaglios cast off from Vedic amulets to modern science. So, on one side, the story depicted in the Epic Ramayana is an elaboration of the vegetational fertility with ‘Rama’ as man of agriculture and ‘Sita’ as the goddess of agriculture. The extreme of the other end liesin the historical alabasters of the Epic scattered among the embellished trails of the past. In the midland of these two fathoms remains the true morass of the story which strives hard to convey a message of co-existance through the description of a true exeistance. Here we have the three versions of a general descant being the Valmiki Ramayana, Ramopakhyana of Mahabharata and Dasaratha Jataka. Shapened and retold for a religious ambience, all these forms are shown to be modified profoundly, before they are with us with its enormous details. Through we are not concerned with the historicity of the entire plot or civilization, an analysis of the time-frame would be worth watchful as we are presently concerned with bio-geography of this past realm. As per the available literary evidence, it has been pointed out that Epic Ramayana was compiled between 300 BC-200 AD, although the original story could be as old as 500 BC (Goldman, 1984). In the Hindu versions of Ramayana, Rama appears as the King of Kosala Dynasty and so historically it can’t be assigned a date prior to 700 BC (Murthy, 2003). The story revolves around the fourteen years of exile of Rama and the adduction of his wife followed by the battle of Lanka. Disputes are there among historians of today who are doubtful regarding the site of this battle, denying it to be the Sree Lanka of today (Sankalia, 1991). Some others believe it to be the Chota-Nagpur region (Thapar, 1990) where the great battle take place and we may affirm nothing, as it will be a flunkey-act without further studies.

Forest Description in Ramayana

In Valmiki Ramayana, two Sanskrit words such as “Vana” and “Aranya” are used while referring to forests. It should be noted that these two are not used synonymously, but in different etymological contexts. The term ‘Vana’ is used to denote sub-forestation, a kind of cultivated forest where there is a clustering of desirable plants, planted and reared for a purpose. On the other hand, “Aranya” is true wilderness, a land of uninhabited jungle of fearsome creatures. It is exemplified by the Dandakaranya which is horrific and abode to the cannibalistic Rakshasas occupying its larger area. The “Chithrakuda” and “Panchavadi”, in contrast to this are modified environments which contain “ashramas” of sages and peculiar kind of human people knows as “Kinnaras” and “Vidyadharas”. After meeting the author (!) Valmiki, Rama, Sita and Lakshmana prefer to settle down in Chitrakuda. After meeting Bharatha who carries the sad news of the demise of Dasaradha, they move to Agasthya’s hermitage to make a temporary residence near to it, in the serene surrounding nearer to it, called the “Panchavadi”. The wilderness comes again to the story-plot when Hanuman enters the Kingdom of Ravana, in the island of Sree Lanka. Strangely, Lanka holds two kinds of forests, the natural woodland of its own and the cultivated forest of the Royal Majesty. The Royal rearings are called the “Asokavana” where Sita is kept and it is peculiar in many aspects. Hanuman also visits the “Aushadhiparvatha” in Kailasa, which is believed to be in the Himalayan region. Rather enigmatically, it is described to be the land of “glowing” medicinal plants for which Hanuman’s prolonged errand is cherished. The narrative style of all these forest types are supposed to evoke four predominant sentiments also, coined as the four major “rasas” such as “santa” (Tranquil), “madhura” (Sweetness), “roudra” (Fury) and “Bhibhatsa” (Terror) (Philip, 2001). Let’s now take how these distinctiveness are imparted to the biodiversity of the various forest kinds.

The Chitrakuda Forest

Also known as “Mahavan”, the Chithrakuda forest is portrayed as a land of pervading non-wilderness which form the first abode of Rama’s settlement. It is described to be at about three and a half yojanas (ie., 5 miles) away from the Chithrakuda Hill, the foot-plain of which stretches in to deep forest. It is not far away from Prayaga where there is the Ashrams of Bharadvaja with river Mandakini flowing at its feet. It is a place of purity and spirituality, as reflected in Valmiki’s description (Ayodhya Kanda 54.29; 94.4-13). The environment is characterized as a repository of rich water sources and a vegetation typical of a Tropical Deciduous Forest. The river side growth of trees gests full focus in description. (The floral aspect is presented in the Table). The plants include fruiting type, both edible and non-edible, with some medicinal herbs of peculiar kind indicated as “Mmaboushadhis”. However, some plants attributed to be there in this Central Indian Forest, is reported to be unnatural rather than ambiguous. These are the Himalayan plants such as Kushta (Saussurea lappa) and Bhojaptra (Betula alnoides). The former is a herb, usually found in Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh and Garhwal today and latter, a tree distributed in the temperate and sub-tropical Himalayas, Khasi Hills and Manipur. If these were really there in Chitrakuda, it could be the earliest record of a “plant introduction”! Well, the ascetics might be doing it as an effort towards the inculcation of a ‘religious ecology’. The Human factor and its activities are prominent in this sub-forest formations ranging from Sidhapurushas to super-natural personifications such as Kinnaras and Vidhyadharas. The faunal part include all the common animals of Central Indian Habitat with varieties of monkey species, tiger, beer, deer and elephant. However, being non-malicious of poetically rendered so, these too add to the prevailing sentiment which is santha with rare-mix of the erotic rasa expression- (Sundara Kanda 28.12-14).

Dandakaranya – the Thickest

 

“What a forbidding forest is this, echoeing with swarms of crickets, fearsome beasts of pray and harsh-voiced cultures. What a dreadful voice is this?”- Rama asked Visvamitra when he came to the Dandaka forest for the first time, accompanied by Lakshmana for killing the demon-witch Tadka- (Balakanda 24. 13-16). The forest is depicted as the horrific abode of cannibalistic Rakshasas, especially the Demon Dandaka from whom the forest owes its name. As per the plant diversity and geographical features, it is believed to be a vast region including the parts of present day Madhya Pradesh, Orissa and Andhra Pradesh. It remains as a trackless forest with all sorts of ferocious animals. The floral part is with much diversity . Though showing a high fidelity towards the traditional vegetation of Madhya Pradesh. Hill springs and other water sources are abundant with water birds and other screeching winged ones rather than song-birds. In Aranyakand 11.2-4, it is said: “As they traveled with Sita, they saw varied mountain landscapes, forests, lovely rivers, ponds covered with lotuses and thronged with water-birds, dappled antelopes, rutting wild buffaloes, elephants butting the trees and bears.”This description is some what a deviation from the first impression that we get from the Tadaka’s place, evidently showing that the wilderness included many sub-forests also. As we change from the Balakanda to Arabyakanda, there is a transition in the prevailing jungle composition, leading to wide lands of human habitations. In addition to the great sage like Sarabhaviga and 21 great saints (munis), there were semi-goddesses called Apsaras and spirits like Gandharvas. “The asramas formed a circle, it was a place of refuge for all creatures- Aranyakanda 2. 1-7 details. The ecology as a whole was a modified one with medicinal, ornamental and edible plants, all utilitarian, amidst the generally sylvan environment. The ethinicity is represented by Kinnaras, which are beings with human bodies and horse’s heads- an aspect which is presently obscure- demanding further studies of anthropological kind- or an early attempt for the modern version of much dramatized Magic realism’? Answers Waver.

The Panchavadi Sub-Forest

Valmiki portrays Panchavadi as an ever-blossoming forested plain, a tranquil area on the banks of river Godavari. It forms Rama’s permanent settlement in forest, which is about two leagues far from the asrams of Agasthya. Representing a modified ecology, it is rich in floral contents comprising fruit-yielding and medicinal plants-(Aranyakanda, 15.11). Interestingly, part of it forms a cultivated land of cereals and millets including the sali-rice, wheat and barley. Every plant denotes and reveals a selection process from an economic point of view, being sacred and utilitarian rather than aesthetic. The faunal characters are characteristic of the Central Indian forests with deer herds and Peacock. There are plenty of aquatic birds among which Kraunca and Chakravaka appear with special mention- (Aranyakanda. 15.1,9). Teeming with of birds was very common due to the abundance of root-vegetables and fruits. It is also worth mentioning that all these actions of “humanizing a forest” occurred in the midst of the frightening wilderness of Dandakaranya. Even though, the flora of this forest area was peculiar in its own sense and it can be summarized as in Table 3.

Lankan Forests and Asokavana

 

In Valmiki’s description, the vegetation of Sree lanka falls under two main categories, the natural Ever-green Forests of the island in general and the naturalized forests of Ravana’s Botanic Gardens. Asokavana gaining the status of the earliest Botanic Gardens in the world is a place for royal recreation with all sorts of natural beautifications. The garden owes its name due to the varied varieties of Asoka trees (Saraca asoca) which appear as golden, fiery red and dark among other elegant sylvan entities. Valmiki goes into raptures while describing the resplendent rabbles of creepers and lianas there, forming the essential adjuncts of an ever-green forest. More precisely, the Champu Ramayana by Bhoja Raja mentions the presence of 38 tree species in Asoka Vana, in a much systematic way, than Valmiki does. At the same time, Valmiki points out that there had been large open spaces amidst the forests (bhumibhaga) which may be landing grounds for his prestigious air-craft-Pushpaka Vimana, or they may be acclimatization grounds for the introduced plants collected during his longer journeys. The landscape apart from this private land was largely mountaineous. Representing true-rain forests, the foot-hill plains of these presented lush greenery. The Gymnosperm Pinus roxburghii was very common along with other flowering plants (Sundara kanda 2:6). Even though there are some sketchy descriptions of song birds and aquatic fauna, generally the animal world is less represented compared to the vivid floral accounts.

Mahodaya- the Medicinal Mountain

Mahodaya- “the Great Rising”- is another name for the “Osadhi Parvatha” which is visited by Hanuman in search of some peculiar kinds of medicinal plants. It is depicted as a separate rock that have arisen in between two mountains known by names, Kailasa and Rsabha. There is a mythological relation between the two, as Kailasa bing the abode of the Supreme God Siva and Rsabha his carrier (bull). The medicinal plants are there on the southern peak of the ventral hill which is peculiar to have four highly potential drug plants. Named after their particular curative properties, these are the Mrtasanjivani, Suvarna Karani, Visalyakarani and Sandhanakarani. The Mrtasanjivani is with life-principle for the revivification of the dead, Visalyakarani for removal of darts from the body, Suvarnakarani for bringing back natural complexion and Sandhanakarani for healing of fracture. These plants are narrated as “glowing herbs” and the strong aroma of these makes the entire environment strongly aromatic. However, the identity of these medicinal plants still remains as an enigma, though the location of Mahodaya Mountain has been traced (Law, 1968) Hanuman is crossing the Himalayas as pet descriptions in Yudhakanda (74-30,31,60) in Ramayana, and so it must be geographically nearer to the Trans-Himalayan Zone. The forest type is Alpine Semi-Forest though the biodiversity of the habitat is not much highlighted. It is interesting to note that there are some hints on metal depositions which shows the insight of the ancient sages towards the material world (Yudhakanda 74:62-64).

Animal Diversity in Ramayana

From the biological point of view Ramayana by Valmiki is peculiar to have a faunal prelude. It is the poignant story of a male among a bird-pair killed by a hunter. The heart-rending distress of the female affected Valmiki so powerfully that he curses the hunter which comes out in the verse-form symbolizing the tragic story of Rama and Sita. The event occurs prior to the composition of Ramayana by Valmiki, who had to witness the tragedy on the bank of the river Tamasa. The place is now identified to be in Allahabad in North India and the bird species as Ardeola grayii (Kraunca) (Leslie, 1998). Ornithological specifications are plenty within the main story also. Aquatic birds of varied types such as Rathanga (Tadorna ferruginea), Karandava (Fulica atra), Kraunca (Ardeola grayii), Plava (Ardeacinerea), Hamsa (Cygnus olor) etc., are described as forming part of the Chitrakuta forest. The same is represented in Panchavati also. The Chitrakuda also contains song birds like Kokila (Eudynamys scolopacea). Mayura (Pavo cristotus) is reported from Indian peninsula. Taking the mammals, the Dandakaranya and Chithrakuda are the most diverse in wild species with Elephant, Spotted Deer, Bear, Pig, Wolf and Hyena. Mareecha taking the form of a Deer, to trick Rama, enabling Ravana for the abduction forms turn of the story. Yet another animal group that has a prominent place in the story is the arboreal pre-human such as monkeys. It will be harder to perceive Hanuman or Sugriva as monkeys, but apart from being merely mythological fascination, they can be intelligent apes. And, there is also a strange relation between the names of monkeys and mountains (Brockington, 1984). For example, Hanuman (Anjaneya) is named after Anjanagiri, a mountain on the southern side of Kailasa. There is also a confusion arising as the word ‘Bhalluka’ in Sanskrit means both a monkey and a bear. Jambavat is mentioned as the ‘king of bears’, and there is a mountain by name Jambunada, forming a similarity. All these aspects, animal accounts, synonyms and magical herbs are reminiscent of a great time, when man (purush) was a part of the nature (prakrithi) which remained as an inseparable combination. Today, he is opposing the nature, his better half itself, for his maudlin needs. Here lies the message of these Epics.

References

1. Brockington, J.L. (1984) - “Righteous Rama”, Oxford University Press, New Delhi.

2. Goldman, Robert P. (1984) - “The Ramayana of Valmiki: An Epic of Ancient India”, Vol I, Balakanda, Oxford University Press.

3. Law, B.C (1968) -“Historical Geography of Ancient India” Second Revised Edition, Societe Asiatique de paris.

4. Leslie, Julia. (1998) - “A Bird Bereaved: The Identity and Significance of Valmiki’s Karaunca”, Journal of Indian Philosophy, 26: 455-487.

5. Murthy, S.S.N. (2003) - “A note on the Ramayana” Electronic Journal of Vedic studies, vol.10, Issue 6, pp 1-18.

6. Philip, Lutgendorf. (2001). “City, Forest and Cosmos: Ecological Perspectives from Sanskrit Epics”, Hinduism and Ecology, Oxford University Press.

7. Sankalia, H.D. (1971) -“Ramayana: Myth or Reality”, Peoples publishing House, New Delhi

8. Thapar, R. (1990) -“ A History of India”, Penguin Books.

Acknowledgement: The information presented in this article was taken from Roy, Mira, “Environment and Ecology in the Ramayana,” IJHS 40.1 (2005) 9-30. I am greatly thankful to Smt. Mira Roy for allowing me to use the facts contained within it. The authorship is here by duly acknowledged.

Note: Due to technical reasons, I couldn’t include tables to this article. The complete article is being published in June issue of Science India Magazine.

                                                                              

HI-TECH SPORTS : TECHNOLOGICAL REVOLUTION IN SPORTS

“Those who fall in love with practice without science are like a sailor who can never be certain whither he is going.”
- Leonardo da Vinci

Zola Budd was born in South Africa. A quarter of a century ago, she was a teenage runner-breaking the women’s 5000 m record by 10 seconds, but the speciality was that she did it in bare foot ! At the prime of her fame, she was brought to Britain and sent to compete in 1986 Los Angeles Olympics through a hasty subjugation of citizenship. Her immediate rival was the American bionde, Mary Decker, challenging her at the women’s 3000 m. They came head-to-head and when there was three more laps to go, Decker staggered from her line and collided with Budd.

She fell from the track and was unable to continue but the real damage was for Budd who as inflicted by a spike wound from Decker’s shoe. Tears streamed from Budd’s face as she struggled to continue with the gripping pain in her tendons, fading badly at the end and finishing seventh. Sadly it was too disappointing amidst the boos and catcalls from the American crowd. However, what would have been Zola Budd’s Future if she were wearing any kind of running shoe? This is not exaggeration, surely on the other side is the Kenyan Athlet Tegla Loroupe who was unable to afford her first pair of shoes until winning a cross-country race in 1986. Apart from this context atleast, the triumph of technology is total and inevitable in the emerging field of sports.


Sports Today


The myth about the ancient athlets of Greece says they competed naked across the turf of Olympian playgrounds. Though there is a lot of scholarly discontent over this, modern sports has come a long way since the true representations of these splendid physiques. What we have today is a ‘wrought-sports’ shapened by two major forces: overt professionalisation and commercial advertisement. Both has made it tremendously transcending-a warehouse of technological marvels and the brooding ground of multi-billionaire business. The revolution really took off in the 19th century. Greater wealth brought by the industrialisation when coupled with a passion for fresh market lead to a torrent of sporting gears for fresh market lead to a torrent of sporting gears. It may be surprising to see that lace-up croquet shoes with rubber soles and canvas uppers went on sale in the 1860s. Thanks to the discovery of vulcanisation, the process of curing rubber by the addition of sulphur. It was feet that lead the way to the performance enhancing gadgets-studded football boots, spiked running shoes and heel-less cycling shoes. Next came the protective wear, principally applying to sports where there is a serious chance for physical injury. Cricketers were the better pampered with leg-guards and donning gloves. All these began, albeit slowly in 1940’s spanning to 1970s but better falling to the first generation of enhancements.


Today, time and action in track and field are better than the immediate past which even went down towards the redefining of sports. In the “brave new world” that evolved victory became more important than performance making sports more dramatic and statistically superior, year on year. Technology has improved almost everything in sports, from training to recovery and diet to clothing. There can hardly be a muscle group that is not targeted by a sports machinery that is designed to enhance bone density and ligament tensions. There are even machines that can replicate human opposition:- “bowling apparatus” for cricketers and ball-launching assemblies for baseball players. However, among all these second generation improvements, the basic principles remain the same deployed vexatiously under the traditional umbrella of sports, science. Biomechanics has turned out to be a specialist area with the advent of ‘motion analysis’ tools that is assisted by sophisticated computer programs. More alarming is the fact that technology-driven sports revolution is only just beginning. Gene doping and genetic engineering are on the way, raising-competition into unimaginable realms. Sadly, we are pouring scorn to the lines “play up ! play up ! and play the game!”


Science in the Game

During the first test of the Australia and England Ashes series in 1979-1980, Australia’s fast bowler Dennis Lillee came to the wicket carrying a “brand-new” shining bat. When he drove the ball from England Paceman Ian Botham, everybody heard an odd sound-a big clang ! It was a blow sure enough to warrant a four but Lillee could run only three runs. Australia’s captain Greg Chappell was sitting in the pavilion and blaming the bat for the short fall, he sent a new bat to Lillee for replacement. England captain Mike Brearly was complaining to the umpires that Lillee’s pinging bat was damaging the ball. Lillee, however refused to obey even his captain’s instructions and the game had to stop for a good 10 minutes while, leading to the examination of Lillee’s bat. It was an invention of himself, forged out of Aluminium ! Lillee was ordered to complete his innings with a conventional wooden bat. Shortly after this, metal bats were outlawed through an amendment in the laws of cricket. Rather than amusement, this raises a question: who should be playing the game, science or conventional laws?


If we look into the past history of the evolution of sports and sports-gear we can see that the same question remains unbaffled. From time immemorial, human beings have been manipulating the implements used in ball games. The Aztecs invented the rubber ball while the Australian aborigines had their own version called dumbung. Until about thousand years ago, the basic equipments for all the ball games remained the same, before the early precursors of golf, cricket, hockey and tennis. Discrete wear for specific sports came only by the time of Henry VIII. Strangely, the earliest reference to a cricket bat is from 1624, when a fielder trying to catch the ball being clout, to him died because the bat was made up of iron ! Similarly, by late 19th century, tennis rackets were made from Ash wood carefully steamed and bent into a round shape. The racket strings were fashioned from sheep’s gut which was replaced by cow’s gut after the Second World War, as they were found cheaper. There were not worldwide regulations governing the size and construction of tennis rackets upto 1979 and many technological innovations were experimented with several woods and alternatives.


Technology’s impact on modern tennis game was mainly used to extend the power of shots. Metal rackets were in widespread use by the 1970s which employed varieties of aluminium and steel. However top-range-players favoured a composite frame in which graphite was combined with a number of materials including ceramics, boron and Kevlar. The real advantage of the modern graphite racket was its greater stiffness, rather than lightness because it distorted little as it made contact with the ball. The latest technology includes the incorporation of piezoelectric crystals into rackets. They were incorporated into the frame which produce electricity under stress. The current generated by the ball hitting the strings is sent to the handle, amplified and returned to the ceramic composites in the fame. This causes the frame to stiffen and the result can be greater power and less vibration. At the same time, there are some first class players who still prefer traditional wooden rackets.

The kind of sports that had a long enduring alliance with technology was variably the golf. At first there were handcrafted clubs carved out of heavy hardwood heads of Holly or Apple trees. These leather-bound shafts continue upto the middle of 18th century right from the 15th and they replacing with metal heads. Though American Hickory had an intervening presence during the early 19th century, metal heads remained more common. This fascination prevailed upto the extent that steel shafts were legalised in 1920s. Unlike golf, however, the authorities controlling cricket, baseball and tennis resisted technological change resorting to hard-core conservationism in the case of table tennis. Cricket bats continued to look like hockey sticks until the emerging bowling techniques made it a parallelsided willow bat. Fiercely opposing any technological innovations, the specifications of a cricket bat are now clearly laid down (Law 6) which stipulates the wooden blade to be covered with a material no more than 1.56 mm thick. Fortunately, the ‘post-Lillee’ laws leave two areas flexible: the handle of the bat and its weight. The cane and rubber handle of the traditional bat was replaced by carbon fibre with polymer insert. The material composition is made to give more weight lower down the blade making batsmer to carry an increased one third weight than those used by the greatest hitters like Donald Bradman !


Ball of the Rings


In majority of the major games like football, cricket, golf and tennis, the physics of the ball plays a crucial part. Among the most thoroughly investigated, golf balls are most supreme and even the earliest balls were masterpieces of the technology of their days. The ‘guttie’ balls were a revolutionising attempt which wre made from the sap of Malaysian Sapodilla tree. Before this, there were the ‘Featheries’ made from three pieces of tough hide sewn together and then tightly stuffed with freshly boiled fowl feathers. After stitching up, the ball was hammered into shape while still wet, the expansion of the drying feathers making it very hard, later on. The modern ‘Hasket’ ball came over only hundred years ago, where there was a rubber-core, a solid one, bound with rubber thread. This was enclosed in a dimpled case of ‘balata’-a type of non-elastic latex. The Hasket balls had an advantage over the experimentally introduced pneumatic balls as they never exploded on hot days. From about 1700, cricket balls also followed the same technology with leather sewn around a rounded hard core made out of cork, remaining a standard, unchanged through the 19th century.

Historians believe that the game of football is as old as human civilization. Chinese and South Americans kicked around something similar to a sphere, but it was not until the first rubber bladder appeared in 1862, the soccer game became a serious sport. Before that ‘football’ was largely an inflated animal bladder, often protected by an outer skin of leather. The first “balls” were not round, as bladders were not so, that which is still used in American Football and Rugby. However there were no regulations concerning the ball until 1872, being formulated by FA (Football Association) in England which was founded in 1863. Strangely through the many years it passed the soccer ball changed little. Apart from adding a layer of cloth between the bladder and leather casing everything remained the same. The modern alteration was the interlocking panels replacing the traditional 18-section exterior of stitched and tanned cowhide. the main problem was the leather balls absorbing water in damp conditions, becoming heavy and making “heading” a dangerous exercise.

In modern balls, movement in straightline is preferred to added distance. The number, size and optimum spacing of dimples along with the weight of the hardcore was found to affect distance travelled, whereas a three-layer ball with a polyurethane exterior created a low flying and slow spinning ball. When the physicists went on to work on the football, FIFA – the international body controlling the game, eagerly established a standard size, pressure, shape retention and bounce and weight characteristics for it. Coloured balls were permitted for the benefit of TV but it regulated the materials from which it could be made. The first synthetic (Polyurethane) ball was used in World Cup 1986. The maximum permitted weight gain through moisture absorption was fixed as 10% but the 2006 World Cup ball never gained more than 0.1% of its weight. The improved water resistance was achieved by replacing the traditional stitching of the panels with thermal bonding. The much evolved modern first-class foot ball also has surface interruptions to maximise the friction between itself and the boot. The number of panels also has been reduced, from 32 to 14.


The Winner’s Fabric


Sporting apparel first came to the field by taking the serious chance of protective wears. It remained as a rare area of significant technological innovation. The year-old exception was only Cricket, the batsman wearing ‘leg-guards’ even from the days of the 19th century. But, the technology remained the basic involving canvas, leather and horse-hair upto wood enforced cotton paddy. Wicket keepers often laced the inside of their gloves with meat to protect their hands. Footballers took to wearing shin-pads, especially the players of American foot ball. Helmets were worn by some since the 1890s and it became compulsory by 1930s, but nothing for the head of Cricketers, as the England batsman Derek Randal ironically put it, when it by a ball on its head, “No good hitting me there mate, Nothing to damage !”

The majority of man-made sports-wear appeared for the first time after World War II. Rayon and Nylon paved the way for acrylic (1950), Polyster (1953), Spandex (1959) and more recently Lyocell in 1992 which is claimed to be environment friendly. The first advantage of technologically produced fabrics is weight, especially when wet. Traditional natural fabrics like wool, cotton and even Nylon are hydrophilic in nature. On the other hand, Polyster which is the main ingredient of most of modern sports garments, is very much hydrophobic, i.e., it does not absorb water. According to sports physicians, wet fabrics are of serious implications. It can lead to hypothermia when the body is unable to generate sufficient warmth or can induce wasting of energy. Even Polyster has a clear disadvantage of building-up body temperature in hot conditions. Technology had several answers for this, the most popular are “breathing fabrics” sold under the name “Gore-Tex” and “PB2”. Simply speaking, they are impervious to rain but allows moisture (sweat) to pass through. Their effectiveness in shifting moisture from inside to out is measured as MVT (Moisture Vapour Transfer).

The latest technology in sports-fabric is however “PCM-fabric: which are made from “Phase Change Materials.” They usually incorporate highly hydrophobic fibres like ‘Ingeo’ or ‘Olefin’. Worn. next to the skin as “under armour”, they help keeping the body at constant temperature, cool in hot conditions and warm in cold climate. The material remains in the gel-state and when they attain a high temperature, they change the ‘phase’ by absorbing the heat. When the temperature around them falls, they release their stored heat and return to the gel state. Another virtue of modern man-made fabrics is that they can be quick-wicking, i.e., capable of soaking in sweat and removing it from the body. An athlete can feel more comfortable with a wicking garment and moreover with some anti-microbial element it can combat fungal infections too. It is not an exaggeration if somebody points out that technology of sports-clothing can enhance fair-play: A shirt made up of Spandex material can stretch up to 600% and when defender is blocked by grabing his shirt, there is greater chance of the referee seeing it, as the stretched shirt will be an undefendable evidence of the offence !


Spears and Poles


The athletic activity that clearly displays the complex relationship between training sports and technology is Javelin throw. Originally it was a shaft of Olive wood, being replaced by the Hickory or Scandinavian Birch, but metal tipped spear or the ‘real’ Javelin came only in 1896 Olympics. Though the weight was standardised as 800 g and length 2.6 m, a major revolution sweeped through when Richard Held introduced the hollow Javelin of Steel and Aluminium. Held was able to increase the surface area by 27% while keeping the weight same, enabling the Javelin to literally “fly” to record making distances. All these began in 1950, but when East Germany’s Uwe Hohn made a truly extraordinary performance of 104.80 m, beating the previous record by an astounding 5 m, IAAF (International Association of Athletics Federations) entered the spot: they moved the ‘centre of gravity’ of competing Javelins forward by 4 cm. It proved to have a double effect-shorter distances and nose-hitting, making distance measurement more easier.

The dramatic effect of technology is more evident in pole-vaulting when bendy bamboos were replaced by Aluminium in 1957. Now it is a highly flexible fibreglass pole, thanks to the minimal regulations imposed by IAAF on pole specifications. Physicists have realised that hollow poles are better than solid-ones and tapering poles are better than parallel ones. As the vault is achieved by releasing the stored strain energy in bent pole, there was enough scope for basic sports research as pioneered by University of Cambridge. The researchers say that in polevaulting, it is impossible to separate technique from apparatus.


War of the Drugs


1930s were remarked for the revolutionary changes in the field of biological research infringing into the realms of pure and applied aspects of biochemistry. The results were synthetic hormones, or steroids and powerfully stimulating Amphetamine tablets. Nazi scientists were alleged for experimenting with Testosterone on German athletes competing in the 1936 Berlin Olympics. This drug backed drive for medals and prestige continued through the Cold, War, ruining the health of countless athletes. Finally it costed the life of Amphetamine-using cyclist Tom Simpson on the slopes of Mont Ventoux, in 1968, instigating compulsory drug-testing in both summer and Winter Olympics. Drug scandals of the last 40 years would arouse a sense of disappointment in everyone that so many fine athletes like Ben Johnson, Maradona and others have turned positive in drug-testing. The ‘World Anti-Doping Agency’ (WADA was established in 1999 but it could do nothing over the prevalence of performance-enhancing “designer-drugs” manufactured by the illegal industries housing at USA and China. US Drug Enforcement Agency’s ‘Operation Raw Deal’, to trace-out their worm-holes also did no good.

Sports supplements fall under a wide range of headings such as Narcotic Analgesics (Heroin, Morphin, etc.), Stimulants (Cocaine, Ephedrine, etc.), Diuretics (Acetazolamide, Amiloride, etc.) and Anabolic Agents such as Steroids. Among hormones, the most widely used is Erythropoietin which can boost Red Blood Cell production and thereby allowing more oxygen to be carried around the body. This improves muscle endurance but there is increased risk of heart attack due to thickening of blood. Another is ‘Human Growth Hormone’ (HSH) which stimulate growth of muscle, cartilage, bone and tendons. No reliable test has been developed yet to test the presence of HGH. Moreover, there as “Masking Agents” which can disguise the presence of performance enhancing substances upon doping testing. Epitestosteron and Dextran are used for this.


And Beyond All That . . .

So, we have got two points as the event of this techno-analysis of sports concludes: First, technology has been changing sports, from the moment toe-hold groves were inserted in ancient Olympics to the potentially revolutionary “dee-three-oh” protective ski clothing secondly, sports itself is changing. This is not a novel phenomenon, but what piles up is the pace and scale of this change. Over the last 20 years, sports have evolved much more than that of an entertainment. It is now an industry, a major one, lie all commerce which is competitive by definition, in the post-Marxist world. Scientists, engineers, technicians, trainers and coaches are striving to give their athletes a slight edge, to sort out between success and penalties. True, over the last few decades major sports have shifted from grass to synthetic and back to grass again. But, whether it will be possible to maintain grass fields in the years of global warming? some like Boseball are sticking to traditions while many are making a synthetic shift. Whatever the future holds for us, as long as we human beings continue to exist, so will sports.