Jayant Vishnu Narlikar was an Indian astrophysicist and emeritus professor at the Inter-University Centre for Astronomy and Astrophysics (IUCAA). His research was on alternative cosmology. Narlikar was also an author who wrote textbooks on cosmology, popular science books, and science fiction novels and short stories.
The title of the book means Sanctuary. The book imagines the earth as a sanctuary created by extraterrestrial beings. It starts with 2 such ETs who land on Earth and start their observations. The books takes through various events in history of mankind right from discovery of fire to atomic bomb test in New Mexico. It tells how these ETs shaped the lives of humans throughout our history. The climax of the book was slightly lame, coming back to age old Indo-Pak fight. If you ignore that part then this is well written book.
अती प्रगत परग्रहवासी पृथ्वी वर मानवाची उत्क्रांती कशी होत आहे याचे अवलोकन करत असतात. प्रसंगी मदत देखील करत असतात. पण तटस्थ राहून मानवाची उत्क्रांती अभ्यासत असतात. पण मानव एका अशा पातळीवर उतरतो जिथे मानव अण्वस्त्र वापरणार असतो. आणि त्यामुळे जग नष्ट होण्याचा धोका असतो. अशा परिस्थितीत हे फक्त तटस्थ भूमिकेत असणारे परग्रहवासी काय करतात ? बघत बसतात की हस्तक्षेप करतात? साधारण अशा कथाबीजवर आधारित ही कादंबरी आहे. पण हे मुळात वाचण्यासारखे आहे. जयंत नारळीकर यांनी लिहिलेल्या कादंबऱ्यांतून सर्वात सुंदर कादंबरी म्हणून मी अभयारण्य चीच निवड करेन. अतिशय वाचनीय आहे. विज्ञानाच्या माहिती सोबत एक वेगळा दृष्टिकोन वाचकांना मिळतो.
कधी माहितीपर वाटणारे, बरेचवेळा कोड्यात टाकणारे लेखन शेवट पर्यंत उत्कंठा ताणते, आणि एक सुंदर आशय आणि संदेश देऊन जाते. कथाकथांतून इतिहास, भविष्य, विद्यान आणि समाज प्रबोधन हे सर्वच नारळीकर उत्तमरित्या रेखाटतात. Certainly a must read!!
Amazing, This fascinating to imagine that earth is not planet where life stars on it own independently. But some other advanced race on other planet has used earth as their super lab to study evolution. They always keep watch on us, never interrupt other day to day activities, but always guide us to overcome from natural calamities. They also save us from alien attack of different planet.
With time human species get developed as superior on earth, started to pollute earth, exploit natural resources at high rate. But they do not put their hand. But when human started to make nuclear weapons, almost every country has its own large storage of neuclear weopans. They become alert and diffuse all weopans saving all earth living things. Also give message that keep this earth friendly to live. Author has nicely arranged all time periods of earth appropriately.