<p class="bodytext">Ganesh, my grandson, who was on a brief visit to India, marvelled at the way street vendors arranged fruits, like oranges, in their push carts. At home, I showed him that we could arrange similarly identical fruits (excluding the then-pricey tomatoes). After filing one row, the next is offset in the gaps, and the same goes higher up. He showed mild interest. I was waiting for that message to settle before diving deeper.</p>.<p class="bodytext">I explained how the atoms in some solids are packed tightly to make them compact. I arranged the coins on a carrom board and said, “See how nicely they are closely packed. You may say white is gold and others are silver, in any proportion. Since they are about the same size, gold and silver can be mixed in any proportion and are very difficult to separate once mixed.” Now that I had his attention, I asked him to disturb the arrangements gently. He couldn’t, unlike the ones free on the table, illustrating the strength gained from their tight packing. If a few small peas are added in the gaps, the assembly becomes even more rigid and resists breakup. Call them impurities if you like. That’s how tiny carbon atoms fill the gaps and strengthen steel.</p>.<p class="bodytext">“Okay, that’s solids, but what happens in liquids?” he inquired. I painted a picture: “Imagine we are all sitting in a room, hundreds of us, chatting with our immediate neighbours, stretching ourselves a bit but not moving. If the AC is switched off and the room gets hotter, we’ll all move about freely within the room, not attached to our neighbours. This is what happens when you heat a solid metal. It becomes liquid; atoms are free to move within the space. If you heat it further, the atoms will be free to move away from the confined space. Call it gas now, like we’ll wander out of the room if it’s very hot. That’s how heat changes solids to liquids and then to gases.”</p>.<p class="bodytext">Is it too much for an eight-year-old? The goal is to kindle deep interest, starting from arranging oranges to exploring atomic structures.</p>.<p class="bodytext">While at an interview board in IIM, I asked a brilliant girl, a first-rank postgraduate, her subject of interest. Shyly, she said she was good in all subjects. <br />I responded with a smile, “It’s not about who all likes you, but whom do you <br />love most?”</p>.<p class="bodytext">Love is a bit far away for Ganesh, but the message planted in his young mind is to find what he is passionate about, not just what he is good at. That’s what matters for world-class, ground-breaking work, whether in science, the arts, or sports.</p>.<p class="bodytext">It’s about passion, indeed.</p>
<p class="bodytext">Ganesh, my grandson, who was on a brief visit to India, marvelled at the way street vendors arranged fruits, like oranges, in their push carts. At home, I showed him that we could arrange similarly identical fruits (excluding the then-pricey tomatoes). After filing one row, the next is offset in the gaps, and the same goes higher up. He showed mild interest. I was waiting for that message to settle before diving deeper.</p>.<p class="bodytext">I explained how the atoms in some solids are packed tightly to make them compact. I arranged the coins on a carrom board and said, “See how nicely they are closely packed. You may say white is gold and others are silver, in any proportion. Since they are about the same size, gold and silver can be mixed in any proportion and are very difficult to separate once mixed.” Now that I had his attention, I asked him to disturb the arrangements gently. He couldn’t, unlike the ones free on the table, illustrating the strength gained from their tight packing. If a few small peas are added in the gaps, the assembly becomes even more rigid and resists breakup. Call them impurities if you like. That’s how tiny carbon atoms fill the gaps and strengthen steel.</p>.<p class="bodytext">“Okay, that’s solids, but what happens in liquids?” he inquired. I painted a picture: “Imagine we are all sitting in a room, hundreds of us, chatting with our immediate neighbours, stretching ourselves a bit but not moving. If the AC is switched off and the room gets hotter, we’ll all move about freely within the room, not attached to our neighbours. This is what happens when you heat a solid metal. It becomes liquid; atoms are free to move within the space. If you heat it further, the atoms will be free to move away from the confined space. Call it gas now, like we’ll wander out of the room if it’s very hot. That’s how heat changes solids to liquids and then to gases.”</p>.<p class="bodytext">Is it too much for an eight-year-old? The goal is to kindle deep interest, starting from arranging oranges to exploring atomic structures.</p>.<p class="bodytext">While at an interview board in IIM, I asked a brilliant girl, a first-rank postgraduate, her subject of interest. Shyly, she said she was good in all subjects. <br />I responded with a smile, “It’s not about who all likes you, but whom do you <br />love most?”</p>.<p class="bodytext">Love is a bit far away for Ganesh, but the message planted in his young mind is to find what he is passionate about, not just what he is good at. That’s what matters for world-class, ground-breaking work, whether in science, the arts, or sports.</p>.<p class="bodytext">It’s about passion, indeed.</p>
