LIVE EXPERIENCE
SCALES OF TIME
Henry Throop & Miti Desai
Curated by Jaya Ramchandani
Date: 12 NOVEMBER 2017
Time: 18:30 – 19:30
Venue: GARCIA DE ORTA, PANJIM
What is time? How do different cultures define time? What are the differences between the timescales used by humans, the timescales used to describe the physical world around us, and the Vedic timescale? As humans, our internal clock is tuned to measure things in terms of seconds, to years. But to a hummingbird, human timescale may seem extraordinarily slow. And to a sloth or a giant tortoise, humans may seem inordinately fast. The Vedic time system is unique in that it can describe times from billions of years, to tiny fractions of a second.
In this performance, astronomer Henry Throop and dancer Miti Desai described and interpreted the different timescales used in science and culture. The audience was invited to participate by contributing their observations of the local environmental timescales in Goa–from the motion of waves, to the setting of the sun, to the beating of the heart.
Henry Throop
Dr. Henry Throop is a Senior Scientist with the Planetary Science Institute in Tucson, Arizona. He received a PhD in Planetary Science from the University of Colorado, USA, in 2000. He is involved with the New Horizon’s mission to Pluto, working with the visible-IR spectrometer team. Dr. Throop has been a member of the science team for NASA’s New Horizons mission since 2003, and was involved in its historic flyby of Pluto in 2015. He has written award-winning software for operations planning. He has also been involved with the Cassini mission’s imaging team in the data acquisition and analysis of ring studies. He is a frequent consultant to the US’s NASA and the National Science Foundation. While living in Africa, he worked extensively with rural schools, helping to develop their science programs. Dr. Throop’s work has been featured in Science, Nature, Time, The Washington Post, on the History Channel, and National Geographic TV.
Miti Desai
Miti Desai is a founder and creative head at Miti Design Lab. She is a designer, classical dancer and educator. Communication through the external medium of graphic design led Miti to an internal expression of body design, rediscovering Classical Indian Dance. Indian Dance has been the key to the artist’s return to her cultural roots, symbols and world-view resulting in an innate understanding of culture, aesthetics and its influence and inspiration in design, education and the environment.
A fluidity of lines, an inner grace and innate understanding of form mark Miti’s dance. There is an absence of the need to impress or overpower; only a serene surrender and worshipful devotion are the essence of her dance. Miti has performed extensively nationally and internationally.
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