The world celebrates the Indian genius and the mind of Satyajit Ray on his centenary birthday. We know him as a film maker who was meticulous and who toyed with every aspect of film making. He was a great story teller too; a trait which was in his genes.
What intrigues me of such legends is the vision and the depth to which they can go in seeing the future. A very strong character of Ray namely Professor Shonku was a scientist who toyed with many aspects of science. Infact the versatility of Ray was echoed in this character. This person encompassed AI, genealogy, pharmacology, metallurgy, electronics, virology and alchemy among other fields of science. He also uses collaboration with fellow scientists which was hitherto unknown in India atleast to a scientist based out of a remote town called Giridih in Bihar and that too in mid 1960s.
Some of the creations and objects identified with Professor Shonku are enumerated below. Serious readers of Ray can add many more. Am sure, you would realize how far was Ray from his times.
• Air-conditioning pill – A capsule to be kept in shirt pocket that keeps the body temperature normal in extremes of climate.
• Annihillin – A pistol capable of annihilating (vanishing or vapourizing) anything that is living, invented because he does not like bloodshed.
• Artificial Diamond - Created along with Krol and Siddique following the process of Nefrudet.
• Bidhusekhar – A mechanical man (robot) with AI built with very cheap materials, programmed to answer any question asked to it.
• Botica Indica – A pill made from sap of Banyan tree to ward off need of food and water for 24 hours.
• Carbothin Fabric – A fabric which is non-conductor of electricity and saves from electrical shocks.
• Camerapid – Instant color photographs after snap.
• Ceribrilliant – Medicine to make brain function better way.
• Compu – A computer brain with 10 crore delicate circuit in it. Designed by Shonku along with Matsue, Dr. John Kenseli, Dr. Stephen Merivel, Dr.Stavs, Dr. Ugatti, Prof. Sttraton, Prof. Kutna, Prof. Markus Wingfield (as a replacement of S.Merivel) and the workers of Namura Institute of Japan, which later develops AI via an accident.
• Compudium – Short for Computerized Medium, a device to contact departed souls.
• EA (A small specimen of all evolution forms of human)
• Electric pistol – A pistol to fire 400 volts electricity.
• Evolutin – A drug that makes people evolve 10 thousand years in 5 minutes.
• Fishpill – Space food for cats.
• Intellectron – A device to measure intelligence.
• Linguagraph – A device that translates any earth language to any other. The translation capability is supposed to include animal languages, and works on cats, plants, ants and even viruses too.
• Luminimax – A small ball to give light of 200 watt power when ignited.
• Marjarin – Medicine for increasing life span of cats.
• Mangorange fruit – A delicious and nutritious variety of hybrid of Mango and Orange, it earned him a doctorate from Swedish academy of sciences.
• Miracurall – A drug that cures any ailment, the name is a short form of “Miracle Cure for All Ailments”.
• Neo-Spectroscope – A device to contact departed souls. Almost similar to Compudium.
• Nervigour – A tonic to steady nervous system.
• Omniscope – A combination of telescope, microscope and X-ray-scope which looks like and can be worn as spectacles.
• Ornithon – A device to educate birds. Professor Shonku was able to "educate" a crow named Corvus using this device.
• Oximore powder – Powder to help intake of Oxygen at higher altitudes.
• Pill for Nightmare – Causes sleep and makes the taker have terrible nightmares.
• Rocket – A rocket for space adventures.
• Tiraniam Phosphate – A very strong and dangerous acid.
• RememBrain – A device that makes people remember the things they forgot.
• Trishnasok – A thirst quencher pill.
• Turbolin – A sandal-scented fuel for Shonkoplane.
• Microsonograph - Machine to hear subsonic sounds and speeches.
• Shankoplane – A small hovercraft created using anti-gravity technology, capable of vertical take-off and landing and magnificent mileage.
• Shankovite – The anti-gravity alloy by which Shankoplane was made.
• Shonku – Frankenstein Formula – Along with other scientists, Shonku invented to bring back the dead to life without changing their brains.
• X and anti X – Drug to change nature of both human and animals.
One can only bow in reverence!
