The Adventure
Author: Jayant Narlikar
Pre-text Questions (with answers)
Q1. Do you think history could have turned out differently if some events had changed?
Ans. Yes. History depends on decisions, wars, and discoveries. If any major event had happened differently, the course of history would also have changed.
Q2. How does science fiction help us think about history and reality?
Ans. Science fiction allows us to imagine alternate possibilities—how science, time, or chance could create different worlds or versions of reality.
Post-text Questions (with answers)
A. Understanding the Text
Q1. What strange experience did Professor Gaitonde have?
Ans. He found himself in an alternate version of reality where history had taken a different course.
Q2. How was the Maratha history different in this parallel world?
Ans. In this world, the Marathas had defeated the British at the Battle of Panipat in 1761 and established strong rule, preventing British colonisation.
Q3. What differences did Gaitonde notice in Bombay?
Ans. He saw signs in Hindi and English, a different set of institutions, and a society influenced more by indigenous traditions than by Western colonial impact.
Q4. How does the author use the concept of Catastrophe Theory in the story?
Ans. He explains that small changes in historical events could lead to massive shifts in the course of history, creating alternate realities.
Q5. How did Gaitonde return to his original reality?
Ans. After an accident (a truck hitting him), he returned to his normal world, realising that he had experienced a time-space shift.
B. Talking About the Text
Q1. Why is this story called The Adventure?
Ans. Because it combines the thrill of science fiction with the adventure of exploring alternate versions of history.
Q2. What is the significance of the Battle of Panipat in the story?
Ans. It is the turning point in history; in one world the Marathas lost, in the alternate world they won, leading to completely different futures.
Q3. What message does Jayant Narlikar give through this story?
Ans. That history is not fixed—it could have been different. Science and imagination can help us think critically about reality and its possibilities.
C. Working with Words
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Catastrophe Theory → a scientific idea that small events can trigger sudden large changes.
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Parallel world → another version of reality.
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Alternate history → imagining how history might have unfolded differently.
D. Noticing Form
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The story blends science fiction with historical imagination, creating a mix of realism and speculation.
Summary of The Adventure
Jayant Narlikar’s The Adventure is a fascinating story that blends science fiction with history. It uses the concept of alternate realities to explore how small changes in the past could have completely altered the present.
The protagonist, Professor Gangadharpant Gaitonde, is a historian. One day, he experiences a strange shift after a road accident and finds himself in a world that looks familiar yet different. He realises that he has somehow entered an alternate version of reality.
In this parallel world, history has taken a different course. The Battle of Panipat in 1761, a turning point in Indian history, ended differently here. Instead of losing to Ahmad Shah Abdali, the Marathas won decisively. As a result, they established a strong and unified rule in India, preventing British colonisation.
This alternate victory had far-reaching consequences. When Gaitonde visits Bombay, he notices striking differences. The signs are in Hindi and English, the city is governed by Indian institutions, and society is deeply rooted in Indian traditions rather than Western influence. India in this reality has developed differently, with more indigenous confidence and less colonial dominance.
Gaitonde is both amazed and unsettled by this discovery. Being a historian, he realises that this world is an example of how history could have diverged from the known timeline.
Later, through his friend Rajendra Deshpande, the concept of Catastrophe Theory and quantum mechanics is introduced. Catastrophe Theory suggests that a small event at a crucial point can completely change the outcome of history. In this case, a different decision at Panipat altered the entire destiny of the subcontinent.
Gaitonde eventually returns to his original reality after another accident, realising that his journey into the parallel world was a time-space shift—a glimpse of how things might have been.
The story highlights the fragility of history and the power of imagination. It shows that the world we live in is only one of many possibilities. Science fiction, through such alternate histories, makes us reflect on the complexity of time, space, and chance.
At its core, The Adventure is not just about fantasy. It is a meditation on history, science, and destiny. It teaches that while history is fixed in our records, it could have easily taken another turn, reminding us of the uncertainty of human progress.
Biography of Jayant Narlikar
Jayant Vishnu Narlikar (1938– ) is one of India’s most distinguished astrophysicists and a noted writer of science fiction. He is admired both for his scientific contributions and for his ability to popularise science through lectures, essays, and imaginative stories.
Born on 19 July 1938 in Kolhapur, Maharashtra, Narlikar was the son of a mathematician and a Sanskrit scholar, which gave him an early exposure to both scientific and cultural traditions. He pursued his undergraduate studies in physics at Banaras Hindu University (BHU), where he stood first in his class. Later, he went to the University of Cambridge, UK, for higher studies.
At Cambridge, Narlikar worked under the famous astrophysicist Fred Hoyle. Together, they developed the Hoyle–Narlikar theory of gravitation, an alternative to Einstein’s general relativity. This theory attempted to explain the universe’s structure and offered a different perspective on cosmology.
Narlikar’s research covered a wide range of areas in astrophysics, including cosmology, relativity, and gravitational theory. His contributions earned him recognition worldwide. He was also a strong advocate for independent and original thinking in Indian science.
In addition to his scientific work, Narlikar is also celebrated as a science communicator and writer. He wrote extensively in English and Marathi, producing essays, books, and stories that made complex scientific concepts accessible to general readers. His science fiction blends imagination with solid scientific ideas, inspiring curiosity in younger generations.
Stories like The Adventure show his creative side. By mixing history with scientific theories such as quantum mechanics and catastrophe theory, he demonstrates how science fiction can be a bridge between fact and imagination. His works often encourage readers to think critically about science, society, and the future.
Narlikar has received numerous awards, including the Padma Bhushan (1965) and the Padma Vibhushan (2004) for his contributions to science. He also served as the founding director of the Inter-University Centre for Astronomy and Astrophysics (IUCAA) in Pune, making it an international hub for astrophysics research.
Despite his global reputation, Narlikar remained committed to science education in India. He delivered public lectures, wrote popular science books, and inspired countless students to pursue careers in research.
Jayant Narlikar represents the rare combination of a world-class scientist and a creative storyteller. Through his research, he expanded the horizons of cosmology, and through his writings, he expanded the horizons of imagination.