Numerology and astrology claims that figures and arithmetic calculations are the factors that decide the course of our destiny.But there still are many who forthrightly belittle such theories.The debate on their authenticity has been lingering till date.This is one story......Apart from numerology, astrology ,mathematics ,daily counting and calculations etc,figures also have another imperative say in our lives.Ever took heed on how figures play a vital role in triggering our emotions.
Wacky as it may sound,but the adding figures inconspicuously cause humans to emote.Mythology and history has several such instances.Be it kumbhkaran's incessant hundred and eighty two days of slumber that raises million eyebrows in amazement,be it the eighteen day battle of kurukshetra which was a cauldron of emotions like the spirit of triumph,sense of utter loss ,misery, joy and what not,be it Rama's fourteen years of vanvaas which left poor king Dashrath forlorn or be it Gandhari's hundred sons or Draupadi's five husbands which amuses one today....Well,that is history and they say history pivots on fragile instances.....
So what? For,figures rule in all times and even today...Aren't we all aware of the rising figure of inflation that has been creating such a hullabaloo in the Dalal Street?.Or do we claim not to be one among the 'aam aadmi' who has lately been whining and grumbling on the rising food and fuel prices?The 'adding zeros' (oh!! i hope to be pardoned for putting it that way being a mathematics-literate ..but isn't it how they call it these days?) to the salary of MBA graduates have ignited their desire to make more and more money!Isn't the increase in pay package pushes a smile of gratification of even the poor overworked employees?Remember how a nine-on-ten or a ten-on-ten on your score card in school made your parents proud and certain of your efficient and flawless upbringing...Isn't it sometimes amusing to see mommys flaunting the 6-feet height of their kids.
There is still more to how numbers influence our outlook.Someone pick-pockets your 100 bucks and you forget about it much before you realize it but if your thousand or ten thousand bucks go missing you start loosing sleep over it.A single bomb blast is too mundane now to be given a thought over but when TV flashes news on ten or eleven intermittent 'serial blasts' ,its more than what is required to glue the entire family to the television set catching the bedlam prevalent in the effected area and updates on how far the police has reached in nabbing the suspects or the culprits....If one is killed we call it a law of nature to keep the cycle going but if thousands are killed in a train or bus mishap or an air crash we suddenly become considerate to the plight of fellow human beings.Every year rain floods some or other district but the news has never taken the attention of the people of the nation and also across the globe for that matter as it did lately when the Kosi river embankment breach which flooded nine hundred and seventy nine villages in thirty four blocks and five districts under six to ten feet of water for almost a fortnight.The havoc killed ten people,about three million became homeless,one million cattles perished ,around one lac twenty five thousand hectares of agricultural land damaged and caused an agricultural loss of rupees hundred and fifty crores............The alarming figures earned mercy of the entire nation so much so that aids and funds and all sorts of help started flowing in unfazed from all corners and helped the struggling people of Bihar come out of the dark phase....
Does it all say that figures can even help to bring about compassion??..Well, figures have this immense unacclaimed potential.They can amaze,alarm,enchant,irk,enthuse, tranquil...........and what not? In the words of Mathematician Philip J Davis,' The numbers are a catalyst that can turn raving madmen into polite humans.'
