About Time

by Bal Phondke

Time assumes a mystic, surreal character when one realises that it has no beginning or end. It is eternal. It flows only in one direction, from the past to the future, though mathematics tell us that there is no earthly reason why it cannot flow in the reverse direction.As if these absurdities were not enough, Albert Einstein queered the pitch by promulgating that time is the fourth dimension in which the Universe exists; that it is inseparable from space. Further, there is no absolute time but that it is dependent on the frame of reference of the observer.Perhaps Einstein or Stephen Hawking who dared to write A Brief History of Time can claim to have understood time in its entirety. Mere mortals like us can only make a brave attempt to do so. This is one such attempt.

215 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2003

About the author

Bal Phondke is the nom-de-plume of Dr Gajanan Phondke, a leading writer in Marathi. His specialty is science literature (fiction and non fiction). He is credited along with Dr. Jayant Narlikar to have started the science fiction genre of writing in Marathi literature. He has worked as a nuclear biologist at the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre from 1962 to 1983. From 1983 to 1989, he was with the Times of India group serving 2 stints as the Editor of Science Today magazine and also as the science editor of The Times of India broadsheet.
He later on served as the director of the Publications and Information Directorate of CSIR (Council for Scientific and Industrial Research) from where he retired in 1999.

Reviews

[Lester · Rating 1 out of 5]

The idea of the different aspects of time, told through the trials of a king and a genie, was interesting. However, I was thoroughly bored after the 3rd chapter, as the factual part was moving soooooo slowly. I gave up.