Sleep – an overview

A wise man was once asked, “What is the most precious thing?” As he was very wise, instead of answering in terms of precious metals his answer was, “Sleep is the most precious thing of all, for which a person would fight with any and all!”

Though we spend almost one third of our life in sleep, it is the most poorly understood phenomenon in the human body. This is not to say that the subject of sleep has been ignored. Far from it! Our oldest books and stories are replete with references to dreams and with theories on the origin and need for sleep. This has been addressed in both religious and secular literature. Important historical events were foreshadowed by dreams e.g. Constantine, the future Roman emperor, dreamed before the battle of the Milvian Bridge that if he would convert to Christianity, he would win. Before this battle most of Europe was non-Christian. Constantine converted, won the battle and later spread the Christian religion over all his empire sowing the seeds for the rise of the Christian Church.

Hippocrates thought that sleep was due to the cooling of the blood during night, while Aristotle thought the heat generated by food induced sleep! And so it continued for many centuries, with no clear answer on the question. Modern scientific investigation of sleep began in the early twentieth century, with the development of electroencephalography i.e. the study of brain waves. The analysis of brain wave data accumulated by studies during wakefulness and sleep led to the discovery that the brain did not shut off completely during sleep. Rather, it kept working, albeit at a different level.

Scientific study has revealed that sleep can be divided into two main stages – non rapid eye movement (NREM) and rapid eye movement (REM). These stages cycle continuously throughout the night. NREM sleep includes the stage of sleep immediately after the onset of sleep and also deep sleep, while REM sleep is the stage of sleep associated with dreams. Both these components of sleep are essential for proper and restful sleep.

Sleep is not a static phenomenon – the duration and timing of sleep is affected by many diverse factors like age, gender, social norms, etc. Sleep is controlled in the body by an area in the brain referred to as the sleep centre, which functions as a switch to on and off sleep. The master control for this switch is light – natural or artificial. Exposure to natural sunlight sets up an internal biological clock, called the circadian rhythm, responsible for our daily wake and sleep times. Exposure to artificial light has led to a change in the circadian rhythm with late night awakening and disturbances in the sleep-wake cycle. Communities which are predominantly rural and not exposed to modern societal influences have more conventional ‘early to bed, early to rise’ sleep wake cycles.

In summary, sleep, though a poorly understood phenomenon throughout history, is now being explored on a much more scientific basis. Understanding the natural cycles of sleep can help one in adjusting better to the vagaries and pressures of modern city life.

The life of Mahatma Gandhi

By Louis Fischer

M.K. Gandhi, the most influential and well known Indian of the last 500 years or more, needs no introduction. His life story remains inspirational and compelling. Anyone wanting to know more about Gandhi could hardly go wrong than starting here!

                                                          

  

Louis Fischer was an American journalist who covered mainly politics and political movements. After working extensively in Europe and India he later became a member of the faculty of Princeton University. He met Gandhi on several occasions and his biography of Gandhi, published first in 1951, was among the earliest works in the area.

The book deals with the life and times of Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi or to call him by his popular epithet, Mahatma Gandhi. It starts with the Mahatma’s assassination and the world’s reaction to it. One can feel that the classic movie ‘Gandhi’, by Sir Richard Attenborough, owes quite a bit of its screenplay to this book. The first section of the book deals with Gandhi’s childhood and the special influence of his mother on him, his education in England and the firming up of his philosophy and the principles of Satyagraha in South Africa. The middle section describes the bulk of the Independence movement from Gandhi’s return to India in 1915 to the tumultuous years leading almost up to Independence. The final section is dedicated to the tragic and cataclysmic events immediately pre and post Independence, including the attempts at finding a solution to Partition and the aftermath of it.

The book is written in a clear and crisp manner, without any embellishments or florid touches. The author’s background as a journalist is clear; however, the book is extremely readable from the start and does not feel like an overblown magazine article. Gandhi’s thoughts and motivations come out clearly for the most part, which is quite a feat for any biographer.

Highlights:

1.       The vision of the continuous evolution of the Mahatma’s philosophy, which was never set in stone.

2.       The clear communication of the Mahatma’s character throughout the book – his self- discipline, his humility, his arrogance, his disciplinarian character and above all his ability to stay true to himself, his aims and his soul despite gargantuan odds and pressures.

3.       The author’s sketch of Jinnah, who comes out as a self-obsessed and unsympathetic person, burning with envy towards Gandhi and Nehru, whom he felt had displaced him from the leadership of the Congress Party.

Rating:

Overall – 8^1/2 /10

Political history – 8/10

Biography – 9/10

Defeat into victory

Defeat into victory

By Field Marshal Viscount Slim

The British forces in Burma in 1942 are dealt a severe blow by the Japanese army. Reeling from defeat after defeat, one man is called in to stem the tide…

Field Marshall Viscount Slim, or Uncle Bill as he was known to his soldiers, was one of the lesser known generals of World War II. Being from a working class background, he was not as socially connected or as flamboyant as some of the other generals involved in the war. His posting in a relatively obscure corner of the conflict meant that he remained out of the limelight, unlike generals like Patton or Montgomery. However, he was so popular among the men who served under him that his unceremonious removal at the cusp of victory led to mutinies in the army, and he had to be brought back to keep the peace!

The book is written in a clear and lucid style. It is arranged chronologically, starting in 1942 with General Slim being posted to the Burma theatre from his current posting in the Middle East and moving forwards through the British retreat, the battle of Imphal/Kohima and counterstrike into Burma. The author’s recall of the detail of unit names, placements, strength and other military items is exhaustive. Though a treasure trove for military historians, for the lay reader this is may sometimes lead to the feeling that the book is overlong and tedious. General Slim writes freely, without too much embellishments, and his thoughts come out clearly in the text. His description of terrain and eye for detail is impressive, contributing to the feeling that he must have been a very effective commander.

After being defeated in 1942, the British Army steadily pulled back into India, fighting a rearguard action all the way. The onset of the monsoon gave them a respite and breathing space to reorganize. A vivid description of the retreat is given and how it was prevented from being turned into a rout. The British Army in Burma was extremely under supplied and under equipped in comparison to forces in other theatres of the war. Once General Slim took over, he instituted a complete overhaul of the system, from supply of rations to anti-malarial prophylaxis to restructuring of army units. There is an emphasis on delegation of authority, establishment of supply chains, use of local materials and sheer derring do. Indeed, the book sometimes feels like a manual of corporate governance rather than a military memoir!

The Japanese made the fatal mistake of advancing too fast without enough back up and supply. Taking notice of this the British Army lured them into the Imphal/ Kohima region where conditions were favorable to the defenders and defeated them after months long siege. The Japanese routed back to central Burma where they were finally defeated by the advancing British Army at the battle of the Irrawaddy river. In mid 1945, the British Army was back in Rangoon, which it had vacated 3 years earlier.

Highlights:

1.     The passage on how locally made jute parachutes were hurriedly fabricated and use to airdrop supplies to units in the field, in the absence of proper ones.

2.     Glimpses of the General’s management style, relevant for all mangers today as well.

3.     Mention of the INA army in alliance with the Japanese its contemptuous dismissal by the author . Surprising for me!

Ranking:

            Overall 7/10

            Military history 9/10