The Mind Creative OCTOBER 2013

TheMindCreative October 2013 A Magazine by Avijit Sarkar

E The Mind Creative OCT 2013 ditors’s Dear Friends, N ote First of all, I would like to I definitely need more submissions thank everyone for the and articles from the world out wonderful response and there. If you know anyone who the barrage of emails wants to get their articles and that have been so stories published in this magazine, encouraging for this then please ask them to send their initiative. submissions to Designing and publishing the first [email protected] issue has been an enlightening experience for me. May I point out I would also encourage everyone that the initial publication would to help me build up the circulation have been impossible without the database. Please forward the valuable inputs and design concepts above email address to anyone from Annie (of Ginger Tea who wants to be on the Photography). subscription list. We need to make The magazine now has a website this initiative successful through from where you can either read the our common interest in all things publication or download it for creative. mobile devices. I would recommend that you use a free app called Happy reading!! SideBooks to read the downloaded PDF file on mobile devices. We have also established a Facebook page and plans are now afoot for a dedicated YouTube channel for the magazine. 2

The Mind Creative OCT 2013 In This Issue 05 13 16 The Saga of Otim Dr. Albert Sabin Eye Spy: TMC Cartoon Singh By Avijit Sarkar By Kersi Meher-Homji 17 25 30 Yoga , The science of At the New York Stort Story: well-being3 Fashion Week Mistletoe Creek By: Yogi Singh Chauhan By: The Bohemian Eye By: Avijit Sarkar 36 42 The Hum: An Queenstown Gold - Unsolved Mystery Then and Now By: Barbara Hunter 3

The Mind Creative OCT 2013 CONTRIBUTORS Kersi Meher-Homji is a journalist, author and biographer. He writes regularly for Inside Cricket, the Sydney Morning Herald and other publications. He is the author of many books including the popular biography - The Waugh Twins, about Steve and Mark Waugh Yogi Singh Chauhan is one of Sydney’s most sought after Yoga instructors. He grew up in India and has been indulging in Yoga since a very young age. Later, he graduated from Nature Care College (Australia) as a Yoga teacher, and now teaches Yoga from his studio in Cherrybrook (NSW, Australia). He can be contacted on [email protected]. The Bohemian Eye is a writer and photographer and was recently in the midst of the New York Fashion Week. She has sent in some lovely photographs and some her personal observations about this iconic event and fashion in general Barbara Hunter grew up in New Zealand - a life balanced between books, writing, music and exploring the untouched natural wonders of the country. Later she lived and taught in Papua New Guinea for seven years and currently lives in Australia. She teaches pianoforte by a NSW beach and writes about travel and living. Her partner is a very active GP and volunteer worker. 4

The Mind Creative OCT 2013 The Saga of Otim Singh By Avijit Sarkar 5

The Mind Creative OCT 2013 The year was 1881. A young The call of distant land was Punjabi Sikh by the name of however too strong and the Uttam Singh from the village need to preserve his family’s of Moga in Punjab left the social respect or “izzat” was shores of India for greener overwhelming. Soon, Uttam pastures. He landed in Singh left for Batavia (later Sumatra where he worked on renamed to Jakarta) to visit a tobacco plantation owned his brother. During his travels, by an English firm. There, he Uttam Singh had already heard supervised a couple of tales (thanks to the Sikh hundred coolies on the network) of two faraway lands plantation and also reputedly of opportunities “Telia” worked with the British (Australia) and “Miktan” Mounted Police service (America). For reasons during that period. After a unknown, he decided to set period of five years, he sail for “Telia” and in 1890, returned to his village and reached the city of Melbourne. purchased some land with his Soon, he came to be known as hard earned money. Otim Singh. Otim obviously had exposure to the English language before arriving in Australia because records show that he educated himself in Melbourne and within a span of three months, had enough knowledge of the language to “enable his travels to the inlands of Australia”. During those years, racial prejudice was rampant in the Australian society and being a Indian was, in fact, a very difficult social problem that Otim had to deal with. Most Sikhs were erroneously identified as “Ghans” (Afghans) or as just “Hindoos” and lived marginal lives. 6

The Mind Creative OCT 2013 The Store Owned by Otim Singh 7

The Mind Creative OCT 2013 However, there was no lack of He was soon the target of the perseverance and diligence in proliferating “Indian Hawker Otim Singh and he soon managed Nuisance” act in Victoria where to learn some trading skills from Sikh hawkers were often accused compatriots in Ballarat and of being a threat to women living Colac. Within a very short alone on farms since they (the period, he started his own hawkers) often pressurised the trading activities. He made the ladies into buying their wares. city of Wolseley his headquarters Driven by these accusations, Otim and traded both in Western Singh moved to Adelaide in 1897 Victoria and South Australia. In and then soon after this, to those days, he would order his Kangaroo Island. In later years, he goods from Melbourne and went on record saying that “the Adelaide, collect these at island was a free field for him Wolseley station and then go since it hardly ever visited by about distributing the products commercial traders”. across his trading region. True to his premise, Otim Singh did very well from there on and “The Hindoo applicants established himself as a well- are undesirable settlers known businessperson in the region. Records show that initially in many ways an in any he “traded his goods on foot with community of white bundles laden on his back”. He settlers…” - 1911 would visit little farming areas and towns, study the requirements of 8

The Mind Creative OCT 2013 Notice - 'Re The Indian Hawker Nuisance', Avon Shire, 9 Feb 1893 9

The Mind Creative OCT 2013 the people and then would procure the goods based on their needs. Amid this excruciating hard work, Otim Singh slowly moved up the ladder of hierarchy within the hawkers. He soon purchased a horse and a cart and within a few years was the owner of a house and other properties. He transformed himself from the ostracized hawker to a recognized business owner when he established a store and also accumulated enough resources and wealth to refurbish the shop several times. His extraordinary story of hard work and his “rags to riches” story was later documented in The Cyclopedia of South Australia (1909). In 1906, at the age of forty four, Otim Singh married Susannah Buick, the daughter of a local wealthy farmer. There has been a presumption among researchers and writers that the couple would probably have met in 1897 when Otim Singh first visited the island. The marriage had to jump over many social hurdles and it has been speculated that the couple remained childless possibly because they did not want the children to have the stigma of foreign ethnicity attached to them. Otim Singh proved himself to be a very enterprising businessman. From 1908 onwards, he would often advertise his store and its products on the front page of the Kangaroo Island Courier. He managed to expand his inventory to include groceries, watches, clocks, drapery items, footwear, and clothing and even offered tailoring services. He was also recruited as the agent for larger companies and hardly ever missed a business opportunity in the region. 10

The Mind Creative OCT 2013 The social and political views about immigrants changed rapidly over the years; specially after 1901. Indian immigrants were soon considered to be products of inconsistent regulations of the past. In fact, in 1911, the NSW minister for lands made the following statement about Indians acquiring land in NSW: “The Hindoo applicants are undesirable settlers in many ways and in any community of white settlers are regarded with much disfavour amounting almost to complete aversion. The majority of Hindoos in this state have started as small hawkers or peddlers and saved a fair amount of money; they are naturally acquisitive.” Otim Singh, even within this prejudicial environment, was still held in high esteem within the community for many years; much of which can be contributed to his generous nature and the ability to provide monetary help to the community in times of need. His store was viewed as an asset within the community and much was written and spoken about him; with special emphasis about his family’s “loyalty to the British empire and monarch”. 11

The Mind Creative OCT 2013 In May 1927 Otim Singh went for a trip back to India presumably with some Sikh friends. He was 65 and was quite unwell. It might have been the case that he wanted to recover from his illness in India. However, being unable to return to normal health, he returned to Adelaide where he was admitted for several weeks in a private hospital. In December 1927, he was brought back to his home in Kingscote where he breathed his last. Otim Singh had crossed the oceans many times in his life and had landed on many shores to make his fortune; ending his career as a prosperous Indian in a white Australian society. Ironically, his links to his birthplace resurfaced after he passed away. Instead of a funeral in Kingscote, his body was shipped back to Adelaide for cremation. As per his last wishes, his ashes were delivered to a Import-Export business (G and R Wills) so that these could be delivered back to India. He left everything to his widow with the wish that, after her death, the entire wealth be transferred to his nephews in India (in the Ferozepur district). It is now known from records that finally, after his widow’s death, his estate was returned to his family in India; thereby culminating the remarkable life of Otim Singh. 12

The Mind Creative OCT 2013 Dr. Albert Sabin Kersi Meher-Homji goes down memory lane 13

The Mind Creative OCT 2013 The year 1961 will remain The 1952 polio epidemic was the etched in my mind forever. This worst outbreak in USA’s history. Of was the year when I was the 58,000 cases reported, 3145 completing my M.Sc. thesis on died and over 21,000 had disabling polio and related viruses at the paralysis. Salk’s “killed” vaccine Polio Research Unit at Grant had brought down the incidence Medical College, Bombay. This of this dreaded disease but it was was also the year when I had Sabin’s live attenuated vaccine the privilege of meeting and that practically eradicated polio. talking with Albert Sabin, the discoverer of oral polio vaccine. I could hardly believe my luck, when I shook hands with Dr. Sabin, one of the most eminent Virologists of the century. His method of creating the attenuated oral polio vaccine by passing the virulent strains of poliovirus types 1, 2 and 3 many times in rhesus Dr. Jonas Salk monkey kidney tissue cultures to make it lose its pathogenicity yet retain its I found Albert Sabin to be a modest antigenicity (ability to produce and open-minded person. Aged 56 immunity) is a landmark event then, he readily took interest in my in medical history. M.Sc. thesis which dealt with polio, Coxsackie and ECHO viruses. Earlier Dr. Jonas Salk had invented the “killed” polio When I asked him about his vaccine in USA in mid-1950s. disappointments, he pondered and Before Salk’s “killed” polio replied, \"My young daughter is a vaccine and Sabin’s live polio promising pianist. But she practices vaccine, poliomyelitis was only two hours a day. To be a concert considered one of the most pianist, she should practice seven to frightening public health eight hours a day.\" problems. 14

The Mind Creative OCT 2013 Later on I was in charge of manufacturing live polio vaccine (diluting the live attenuated Sabin vaccine stocks in sucrose) at the Haffkine Institute, Bombay. We fed this to children every Saturday and this considerably reduced the incidence of poliomyelitis in Bombay. When Sabin passed away in 1993 aged 87, it was a personal loss to me, as it was to scientists and humanity. When diluting Sabin’s vaccine stocks in autoclaved sucrose at the Haffkine Institute in 1960s, I had requested my three assistants NOT to talk, as bacterial contamination would make the vaccine hazardous. We took the necessary precautions like wearing aprons and masks when dispensing the vaccine in small sterile vials. As this was done before Biohazard Cabinet days, we had to use Bunsen burners. “No talking under any circumstance. NO TALKING”, I repeated every time before we started the dispensing. One day, during this procedure, I felt hot, VERY HOT and could not bear the heat. I blurted out “It’s SO HOT!” Immediately my assistants threw me on the floor, started beating me up and even poured water on me! “Please. I am sorry I broke my own rule but there is no need to be so violent,” I pleaded. It was then that I realized that my apron had touched the Bunsen burner and the back of my apron was on fire, literally! “Thank you”, I wrote to them on a piece of paper. 15

The Mind Creative OCT 2013 EYE SPY With Avijit Sarkar 16

The Mind Creative OCT 2013 Yoga The Science of Well-being Yogi SinghChauhan 17

The Mind Creative OCT 2013 From time in memorial, there has existed a set of procedures, that allows us to develop physical strength, flexibility, will power and clarity of mind. This amazing discipline, that has proven its effectiveness for over 5000 years through trials and experiments is known to most of us as Yoga. History and the philosophy of Yoga The word Yoga means “to join or to unite” and the roots of this word can be traced back to the Sanskrit word “Yuj”. The philosophy behind this science is to unite the soul (“Jeev Atmaan”) of an individual to the supreme soul (“Parmatamaan”) and this unique technique of self-realisation has been passed on to us by ancient spiritual sages (Rishis) of India. In fact, Yoga has been traced back to 5000 years by archaeologists, based on findings in the ruins of the Indus Valley civilization. The earliest documentation goes back to around nd 2 century B.C., when the sage Patanjali wrote the Yoga “sutras” that formulated the eight limbs of yoga: Yamas, Niyamas, Asanaa, Praanayama, Pratyahara, Dharana, Dhyana and Samaadhi. 18

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The Mind Creative OCT 2013 The Essence of Yoga Yoga works on a three tier level of the mind, body and the soul by combining breathing exercises, physical exercises and meditation techniques. Certain postures in Yoga are designed to put pressure on specific body parts and on the glandular systems within the body. These pressures force fresh oxygenated blood to flow through the body which in turn enforces toxins to be flushed out. Yoga deems that breath is the source of life (“praana”) and that breathing exercises refresh the mind. The combination of physical exercise and breathing techniques prepare the body and mind for the third tier – meditation. Meditation, in turn, removes mental stress and induces peace and harmony within the soul. The objective is to establish a fine balance between the mind and the body so that we become more positive, creative, confident and productive. 20

The Mind Creative OCT 2013 Misconceptions about Yoga Yoga is often misinterpreted as a set of physical postures (aasanas), a Hindu religious practice or something that is used to induce flexibility or attractive physical shape. Although these statements are not completely false, they only describe a tiny fragment of this great science of well-being. Business ventures have made Yoga a billion dollar industry and this commercialisation is partly to be blamed for uninitiated teachers imparting substandard knowledge to students. Many Yoga styles (like Bikram Yoga, Power Yoga and even Yogaletes) have surfaced in recent years. These “styles” have only added to the confusion within the masses by diluting the first and second limbs of Yoga - Yamas (ethical standards) and Niyamas (self-discipline). The attainments of flexibility, physical strength or weight loss in Yoga are only the side- effects of true and authentic Yoga practice. 21

The Mind Creative OCT 2013 TYPES OF TRADITIONAL YOGA Kundalini Yoga: is a technical Hatha Yoga: The first four limbs science and requires the guidance of of the eight limbs of yoga can be a competent teacher. The objective classified as Hatha Yoga. This is a here is to “awaken” the kundalini set of exercises, that helps to make which is defined in ancient Hindu the body a healthy and strong scriptures as a serpent-like vital force resource for the student. that remains dormant in every human body. It is believed that, if done Karma Yoga: is the yoga of action improperly, Kundalini Yoga can cause and is based on the philosophy of damage to the nervous system. the ancient scripture Gita which emphasizes that we should do our duties without worrying about the Mantra Yoga: The word “Mantra” fruits of our actions. Karma yoga has been derived from two words: helps you to unburden the mental “man” (introspection or reflection) load of karma that everyone tends and “tra” (to free or to liberate). to carry. Hence the word “mantra” defines a method of developing the consciousness and freeing up surplus Gynana Yoga: is the path of energy. It involves meditation and wisdom. This is arguably the most the use of certain sounds or chants challenging one since it requires called \"mantras\". Traditionally, the practitioner to use intellect in these “mantras” are imparted order to inquire into one’s own secretly to the student by the guru nature. This path demands or teacher. intense mental discipline where the student is taught to Raja Yoga: Also known as discriminate between the real and Astanga (the eight-fold) Yoga, the unreal, between the transient defines the “Royal Path”. It and the everlasting, between the consists of eight steps that are finite and the infinite. designed to create an orderly process of self-transformation through control of the mind. The Bhakti Yoga: is the yoga of levels start at the physical body devotion and teaches the path to and eventually involve the subtler surrender, love and devoutness. levels of the mind by establishing It helps you to adjust the surplus methods that refine our desires, (and sometimes unnecessary) emotions, and thoughts. This emotions of suffering, which at style has an universal appeal times can hinder the way you since it is the union of all the enjoy life. paths discussed above. 22

The Mind Creative OCT 2013 Benefits of Yoga There are innumerable physiological, psychological and biochemical benefits of practicing yoga. In summary, Yoga promotes physical fitness and mental clarity; it balances blood pressure, improves endocrinal functions, enhances respiratory efficiency, increases musculoskeletal flexibility, balances body weight, improves sleep, decreases anxiety or depression and increases concentration. It is also capable of decreasing glucose, sodium and cholesterol and enhancing lymph fluid circulation. Yoga is known to diminish the harmful effects of heightened stress by influencing the body's response to stress. This is achieved through slower heart and breathing rates and lowering of blood pressure. There is also evidence suggesting that yoga allows control over heart rate variability which is an indicator of the body’s flexibility in responding to stress. 23

The Mind Creative OCT 2013 The Objective of Yoga In the beginning, a yoga practitioner usually derives the simple physical and mental benefits. However, with continuing practice and years of discipline, the yogi starts a profound journey of self-enquiry and discovery of the true self. The Yogi then seeks answers to the fundamental questions pertaining to birth, existence and death. The true definition of “Samaadhi” (oneness with the cosmos) finally materialises and the Yogi, more often than not, ends up with a much more “sattwic” (balanced) outlook towards the physical and the mental states. This metamorphosis, in turn, has a positive impact on other aspects of life such as work and relationships. Yoga is a continuous process and it opens up new doors and benefits with continuous practice and in- depth studies of this science. 24

The Mind Creative OCT 2013 The NYC Fashion Week With The Bohemian Eye 25

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The Mind Creative OCT 2013 If you have been to New York, you will agree with me when I say that it’s a magical city. For those of you that haven’t been, I have only one piece of advice: take time off, book a flight and explore. In my time there, over the last month, my creative side was out in full force. From taking artsy photos on the Brooklyn Bridge, to visiting the Etsy arts and crafts lab, to dressing up for a 1920s Indian Prohibition themed soiree, I was in my zone. There was one event, however, that was an absolute standout: New York Fashion Week. It was a week full of the world’s best dressed people arriving at Lincoln Centre on the Upper West Side to attend fashion shows. Doesn’t take your fancy? Well it should. Fashion Week is immersed in history. It started in 1914 and has been around longer than many historical monuments and buildings including the Harbour Bridge and the Empire State Building. Actual fashion shows, go even further back, with shows first documented in the early 1800s in Paris couture salons. 27

The Mind Creative OCT 2013 Many people believe that fashion That is because fashion defines is not important, and they don’t an era. It defines a place. And “believe” in it. Well, you are it certainly defines a person. looking at it from the wrong perspective. It is NOT about Whether you are a ball-gown- wearing girl, or a t-shirt-and- following trends or buying the most expensive item in a store. It jeans person, you are saying is about expressing your something about who you are. personality and your context In the words of Forrest Gump, through what you wear. “My momma always said you can tell a lot about a person by Still don’t get it? their shoes, where they go, where they've been.” Then, let me ask you one thing: How would you describe the 1970s? Bell-bottoms, mini-skirts, That’s fashion. leotards, disco fashion. Was that your answer? Did you suddenly flash back to a (slightly embarrassing) photo of you from the 70s? 28

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The Mind Creative OCT 2013 Mistletoe Creek A short story by Avijit Sarkar Photographs courtesy of Daniel Garcia and Deanna Templeton 30

The Mind Creative OCT 2013 I looked up from my habitual seat on the little green bench, near the water tap, as the train screeched to a grinding, aching halt at the Mistletoe Creek station. It was 10 PM and the little platform was, as usual, deserted save for the old stationmaster who, in the last forty years, had truly become a part of the furniture. Mistletoe Creek is a small town. Situated in the heart of the Northern Territory, it has no more than 500 inhabitants. In the early forties, the town used to be a busy mining centre, pulsating with life and gold diggers. The gold rush died down by the fifties but many obdurate families had hung on, living off the land and cattle. Then, in 1962, there was that train crash close to the station, leaving hundreds dead in a raging inferno. Though the cause of the accident never came to light, the consequences were dire for the town. Nearly every inhabitant lost a dear one. Very soon, the town had another stigma attached to it; that of being haunted. Reports about dead inhabitants being sighted were not uncommon and the innuendoes spread like wildfire. Within a span of a few months, the flow of visitors dried up except for the very curious or the very courageous. In the next few years, burdened under the weight of the rumours, most of the inhabitants left for good, leaving behind the ones who were either fearless or had no other place to go. Jim, the stationmaster, was one of them. Jim walked past me, as if he had not seen me at all. He always did that and I found his attitude to be extremely irritating. He knew that I liked hanging around the station platform every day and he was also aware that I meant no harm to anyone. In spite of that he never spoke to me. Possibly because the sight of me brought back painful memories for him. I was surprised (and quite happy, I might add) to see a well-built young man, in his late twenties, alight from the train. He was clad in jeans and a flashy yellow tee shirt; and carried a couple of compact suitcases. He walked up to Jim and spoke to him, gesticulating towards the gate of the station. Jim replied briefly shaking his head and ushered him towards the bench next to the one where I sat. As the train whistled and prepared to depart, the young man walked towards me. As he came closer, I observed that he was looking curiously at my out-dated clothes 31

The Mind Creative OCT 2013 and faded leather shoes. It was obvious that the fashion of the sixties hardly impressed the young man. “Good evening,” he said. “Hello,” I said with a smile. “Looking for someone?” “Hell, yes,” he replied, looking around. “My uncle was supposed to have been here to receive me.” “Will be here soon, I am sure,” I said looking over my shoulder at the station’s gate. I was glad that his uncle was not around because I rarely had the opportunity to talk to someone. “Name’s Brian Selby,” he said with a smile. “Mind if I sit down?” I flashed a friendly ‘don’t mind at all’ smile. “Where are you from?” I asked. “Sydney,” he replied, rolling his eyes. “A far cry from this place, I can assure you.” He let out a hearty laugh and lit a cigarette. “Would you like one?” he asked, looking down at my nicotine stained fingers. “No. Thanks. Haven’t smoked in years,” I lied. He smoked for a while in silence, glancing occasionally at the gate. Then he suddenly turned around on me and asked “Pretty quiet around here isn’t it? And haunted too, I heard.” 32

The Mind Creative OCT 2013 “Does that scare you?” I asked cautiously. “No.” “Good. Not all ghosts are bad,” I remarked with a smile. “Do you believe in these rumours?” “I think that there is an element of truth in all this.” He smiled wryly at me. “I don’t believe in ghosts. Have you ever seen one?” I did not want to tell him what I had seen. My only ghosts were my memories. “How long have you been here in this town? You would surely know my uncle Fred Grundy,” he said. “Of course I know Fred. Have known him for the last fifty years now,” I said, looking away. He must have seen the misty look in my eyes. He paused before the next inevitable question. “Did you lose anyone in the 1962 train crash?” he asked. My answer was a well-rehearsed one. “I lost everyone in my family. Everyone,” I muttered looking down. An awkward silence ensued. “Are you married?” I asked, just to divert attention away from the topic. “Oh, yes,” he said proudly. “We have a son. He is two years old.” 33

The Mind Creative OCT 2013 The discussion then wandered off to matters relating to family, friends and life in general. We spoke at length about travels to distant lands, argued about politics and discussed about food and sports. I asked him many questions about Sydney and Melbourne. I had seen these cities nearly thirty five years ago. I enjoyed every moment in his company and with every passing minute, I yearned for more. I wanted the conversation to go on forever. I pretended to look at my watch that had stopped thirty five years ago. I knew that Fred Grundy would be here any moment. I knew that his car had broken down and that he was running late. I was also aware that, at that very moment, he was walking down the dusty road towards the station. I could feel the stationmaster’s eyes boring into my back from his little tumbledown office. It was time for me to leave. I stood up and extended my hand and the young man grasped it with youthful exuberance. I simply let out a quiet sigh. “It’s getting late, have to move on now,” I said with a smile. “I am sure Fred will be here very shortly. Otherwise you can always speak to Jim the stationmaster. He will help you out.” “See you around town,” he replied. “I will be sticking around for a week.” “Bye,” I said and turned away. I definitely did not want Fred Grundy to see me, talking to the young man. Limping badly on my shattered limbs, I started walking away quickly, into the eternal darkness. I could sense Fred Grundy walking into the station behind me. 34

The Mind Creative OCT 2013 I felt sorry for myself because I had to leave an unfinished conversation. I wanted to say a lot more to the young man. I wanted to tell him that he won’t see me around the town; that he would only see me at night on the little green bench at the station. I wanted to confide in him that his uncle Fred and the stationmaster knew me very well; that they knew me not because I am an old inhabitant of the town. They knew me because I had died, with my family, in that fatal train crash in 1962. 35

The Mind Creative OCT 2013 The Hum An Unsolved Mystery 36

The Mind Creative OCT 2013 Initial reports of an inexplicable humming noise started trickling through during the fifties; an annoying, low-frequency humming sound that was reportedly heard more indoors, heard more during the night and frequently heard in smaller cities or rural areas. Since then there have been numerous reports of the “Hum” across the world and to this day, scientists have not been able to completely explain the cause or the source of this enduring mystery. Bristol (England) was probably the first place to officially report and complain about the hum and supposedly more than 800 people made complaints to local authorities. SOME FACTS The “Hummers”: or people who can hear the hum, are about 2% to 11% of the population (more between the ages of 55 and 70) in the “hum zones” according to a study in 2003, by acoustical consultant Geoff Leventhall. The “Hummers” have often complained about of headaches, nausea, dizziness, nosebleeds and sleep disturbances. The “Hum” areas: There have been only a handful of scientific studies and documentation about this mystery and the World Hum Database and mapping project was established recently in 2012 to provide the necessary documentation for researchers. 37

The Mind Creative OCT 2013 INCIDENCES OF THE HUM Taos, MEXICO London and Taos, New Mexico, Vancouver, British Southampton,UK USA 1992: The Columbia, Canada 1940s More than University of New pre and post 2003 2,000 people reported Mexico undertook hearing sounds in the studies of hum Bondi, Australia, suburbs of London and sufferers in Taos. This 2004 Reports of Southampton areas in is the most publicised sounds like a “low Great Britain “hum” in the world and is widely known as frequency engine” Bristol Hum, the “Taos Hum” heard constantly only by some people. Bristol, Britain Kokomo, Indiana, 1979 This was the USA 1999: Nearly Woodland, County most famous example in Britain in those 100 complaints were Durham, England years and came to be made since 1999. 2011 Residents of known the “Bristol Some suffers blamed the small rural village Hum” physical symptoms on of reported a hum the hum, including Largs, Scotland that lasted for over headaches, nausea, two months 1980s diarrhoea, fatigue, and joint pain 38

The Mind Creative OCT 2013 Windsor, Ontario, Canada Wellington, New Zealand 2011 First noticed in 2009, has 2012 The city council was also been reported since 2011. flooded with complaints about a mysterious hum Calgary, Alberta, Canada since 2011 2008 Reports of a \"feeling of vibration\" affecting \"12 to 20 Italian National Research per cent of the community\" Council, ISTI, Pisa, Italy, 2013 The research institute County Kerry, Ireland reported a very disturbing hum 2012 especially in the area of the precinct - the High Performance Computing Laboratory. Although Seattle, Washington, USA the maintenance department 2012 have declared the problem solved, the hum remains and is still unexplained 39

The Mind Creative OCT 2013 SUGGESTED EXPLANATIONS Tinnitus, a disturbance of Spontaneous Otoacoustic the auditory system, has Emissions This term refers to been used to explain the the condition where the ear Hum. However, this does generates its own noises. not explain as to why the Recordings of sounds that Hum can be heard only at appear to be the Hum, such as certain geographical that made in Auckland, would locations. Those who indicate that this suggested suffer both from tinnitus explanation cannot explain all and hear the Hum, occurrences of the Hum. describe them as qualitatively different and many hum sufferers can find locations where they Mechanical devices In the do not hear the hum at all. case of Kokomo, Indiana, a city with heavy industries, the origin of the hum was thought to have been traced to two mechanical sources. After those devices Colliding ocean waves were corrected, the hum still Researchers from the persisted. USArray Earthscope have tracked down a series of infrasonic humming noises produced by waves Geoff Leventhall, the crashing together and eminent acoustics expert, has thence into the ocean floor, recommended that some off the North-West coast of hearers should turn to the USA. Potentially, sound cognitive-behavioural therapy from these collisions could to relieve the symptoms caused travel to many parts of the by the Hum. He is however, not globe. confident that this intriguing phenomenon, that has been a mystery for 40 years, will be solved anytime soon. 40

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The Mind Creative OCT 2013 Queenstown Gold B and Now Then Barbara Hunter reminisces about this remarkable town and its history 42