Riddles of Cosmic Time We Pass Through!

 

Eminent astro-physicist David Duncan Professor of Astronomy and Space Science at the Cornell University, Late Dr. Carl Sagan, in his scintillating book Dragons of Eden wrote: “The world is very old, and humans are very young. Significant events in our personal lives are measured in years or less; our lifetime in decades; our family genealogies in centuries; and all of recorded history in millennia. But we have been preceded by an awesome vista of time, extending for prodigious period into the past, about which we know little- both because there are no written records and because we have real difficulties in grasping the immensity of the intervals involved”.

Contrary to present day scientific knowledge suggesting the age of the universe as 13.8 billion years, in Dr. Sagan’s life time before he died in 1996, scientists knew that the age of the universe was 12 billion years. In order to give insight into different phases of changes of the universe and for easy understanding, Dr. Sagan designed a Cosmic Calendar compressing 12 billion years in 12 months beginning with January 01 and ending in the last second of December 31.

According to Cosmic Calendar, the Big Bang took place on January 01, origin of the Milky Way galaxy on May 01, the origin of the Solar System on September 09, formation of Earth took place on September 14 and origin of life on Earth on September 25. Widespread development of Science and technology; emergence of global culture; acquisition of the means of self destruction of the human species; first step in spacecraft planetary exploration and the search for extraterrestrial intelligence and looking into deep and deeper space through the James Webb Space Telescope in recent time all happening on the First second of New Year’s day in the Cosmic Calendar.

Having said above most intricate narratives of Cosmic Calendar, I now switch over to discuss how insignificant and infinitesimally small is our life time measured by the yardstick of cosmic time. Longevity of life that we human cherish to enjoy in the modern days is not even millionth fraction of a second in cosmic time.

Standing on the shoes of a mid-septuagenarian, I now look back to a time when having graduated from the primary school, I entered the high school in 1959 as a student of Class VI. On my first day in the class room I found some kind friends like Abdullah Farook, (later, a retired Senior Executive in a private company), Rafik (later, a retired secretary to the government) Jalal ( A retired Major General and Military Secretary to the honorable President of Bangladesh, Alamgir (Later, a physician) Omar Faruk (Later, a  physician) Mahbubul Hoq (Later an academic),Mahbubur Rahman Khan(a physicist and an academic in USA), Fakhrul Kamal (Later a successful Entrepreneur), Khosru(Later a MP and minister), Lokman (Later a successful Entrepreneur in USA), Subhas (Later a Successful businessman in Kolkata), Nabi (Later, a successful Real Estate owner), Showkat Kamal (now deceased), Hasan Imam(now deceased), Aminul Haq(now deceased), Abu Saleh (now deceased), Rupam (Later, a  successful Entrepreneur), Rabiul (now in USA) Moazzem, Abul Kalam (now in USA), Forhad Reza (now in USA), Ataur (deceased) , Shukkur(now deceased), Abu Taher and lot more others to name.
Memories of school days amid friends are deeply etched in eyes and on occasions flash back from the recesses of memory no matter how bleak and rusted it is now at the passage of long years.

At this point, I mention the names of our revered teachers like Afzalur Rahman Sir (Head Master), Serajul Haq Sir (Head Master) Rahman Sir (Asstt. Head Master), Ohidul Alam Sir, Mokhlesur Rahman Sir, Saadatullah Sir, Hussain Galia Sir, Syed Ahmed Sir, Harilal Sir (Music teacher), Monsoor Sir, Mahbubul Hoq Sir (drill teacher) who trained our minds with utmost care and dedication. Mokhlesur Rahman (drawing sir) was an interesting man who used to speak in rhythmic order with poetic grandeur. He was kind by heart but when became angry due to misdemeanor of one or some students, then he used to cane all students of the class in wholesale proportion like cattle biting. Scar of his wholesale canning is deeply ingrained in our collective psyche with due adulation to our revered Sir. All the teachers had fond and funny nickname awarded by students.

Chittagong Collegiate School was the only school in the then East Pakistan where among three other school in then West Pakistan, JCC (Junior Cadet Core) was in place. Military training used to be imparted in full military gear everyday mandatorily to students of class IX and X after school hours by the JCO’s from army on deputation to name Suvedor Major Jashim Ustad, Havildar Ismail Ustad, Havildar Ashraf Ustad, Naik Haroon Ustad , Naik Rafiq Ustad with strict discipline followed by a bowl of sumptuous and fresh meat or egg curry blended with daal (lintel) with two sizzling parathas supplied from Gony restaurant at Reazuddin Bazar. Military training included training the cadets how to trigger an ear-deafening and collar-bone breaking , thunderous, second world war era 303 rifle in the firing range at Dampara Police Lines on occasions with a yearly 7 days Camping program in Moinamoti Cantonment and other Military installations for full grown military training.I have a fond memory of Ashraf Ustad who used to treat me especially with his tender feeling and compassion. His shooting skill in firing range was immaculate, so was it in the real drama of battlefield he fought in 1971. He was reported to have embraced martyrdom in our Liberation War.

JCC budget was funded by the central government of the then Pakistan. Discipline learnt through JCC training in school days helped molding life in discipline. I remember with due reverence the names of the above noted Ustads. May Allah grant them with eternal peace in the afterworld. None of our above noted Sirs are alive now. May Allah grant them with eternal peace in Jannatul Ferdous.

Long sixty years or so have passed since our school days ended. Many names of our school friends have been lost in oblivion. At the twilight of life, we yearn to see or hear from our school friends on occasions.

A couple of years ago I spoke to my school friend Jalal whose voice I found exactly what it was sixty years ago in our boyhood days. Jalal left the school for Fouzdarhat Cadet College and later as stated joined the Bangladesh Army and retired as Major General. He now lives happily with his family in California. I met Dr. Alamgir a couple of months ago after almost 63 years. A tall and handsome man with head full of all grey hair was found as jubilant as he was decades ago. A couple of years ago I also found Dr. Omar Farook as a helpful buddy of old days. With pleasant surprise I discovered Fakhrul Kamal, only a couple of days ago, who left Chittagong Collegiate School for Fouzdarhat Cadet College in 1960.While speaking to him I found in his voice the equal tone of jubilation that I used to hear 64 years ago. Years ago I met Lokman in the U.S and found in him inexhaustible spirit and jubilation replicating a school bully defying ageing that was in process. I speak to Abdullah Farook and Rafiqul Islam frequently, reminiscing many joyful episodes of our old school days. Hasan Imam who was the central figure to keep liaison with school friends frequently , died a couple of years ago. May Allah grant him with eternal peace.

No matter whether we walked miles in the journey of life leaving behind the fond memories of our boyhood school days, still images of our school friends are riveted in eyes as the images that were in place in our boyhood days. A couple of months ago, Lokman from U.S.A sent his photo with hugging his young daughter who I saw as a child years ago in the U.S. I looked at the photo, flabbergasted and wondered who he was. Later my son came to my rescue and helped me recognizing my friend Lokman in grey hair and with all signs of ageing. The images of our old days riveted in our eyes refuse to accept the changes at the passage of time.

At this point, to break the monotony and boredom, I share with my readers an episode which speaks of my young lady-secretary who worked with me for quite some time. After years of separation with her, one day I met her at a rendezvous with the hope to find her as an spinster in the same getup with beautiful body contour that has been etched in my eyes years ago. On meeting with her, to my utter disappointment, I only discovered an elderly lady with gaining weight with beauty of a spinster gone with the wind. She must have been equally got upset seeing me in grey hair and wrinkled face with flamboyant of youth lost in the mist of time, as I reason.

We seldom want to recognize that ageing is in process which is irreversible. Ageing turns skins sagging, hairs grey, vision blurred, physical structure cadaverous and thinking process slow and motor ability diminishing; If I am to refer to one of my favorite writers Khuswant Singh who once said: “At the age of 85, my sex traveled from middle of the body to head”.

I cannot, at this point, check the temptation of sharing a funny episode revealed by one of my friends. At a septuagenarian age, draped in a pair of shorts and a sando vest he wanted to investigate how smart and handsome he looked with the given attire and stood in front of a full size mirror. To his utter frustration, he discovered him in the mirror a frog standing with a pair of piped legs and bulging tummy only. I never tried this adventure like my friend as I was afraid to watch me in the mirror a standing frog or a vampire with a bulging tummy thus pushing me into the state of paranoid anxiety for the rest of my life.

Time which we are familiar with , flies fast and never comes back in one’s life time, while cosmic time flies in a greater speed never giving humans a chance to feel that the span of time they have had in this world in their life time, as stated, is only equal to a millionth  fraction of a second of cosmic time.

Carl Sagan’s cosmic calendar suggests, the first second of New year’s day in which we humans and the rest of other species exists in the riddles of cosmic time. Dr. Sagan further said: “And despite the insignificance of the instant we have so far occupied in cosmic time, it is clear that what happens on the near Earth at the beginning of the Second Cosmic Year, will depend very much on the scientific wisdom and the distinctly human sensitivity of mankind”.

We are, indeed, caught in the labyrinth and jigsaw puzzle-box of worldly time we are familiar with, and Cosmic Time conundrum. As the cosmic time dies at the end of the universe; all matters, mass, energy will be melted in the mushroom cloud of cosmic dust. God save us.


Mahbubar Rahman is a freedom
fighter and former civil servant.