India, Oct. 10 -- Imaginative power and rational observation have always been at loggerheads. Often, what the imagination creates is demolished by scientific scrutiny. Romantic poet John Keats refers to it as 'philosophy' in his poem Lamia.

"Do not all charms fly

At the mere touch of cold philosophy?

Philosophy will unweave a rainbow.

Scientific research has shattered several romantic myths, including those about the rainbow and the moon.

Long back when I heard an old song,'Anokha ladla, khelan ko mange chand,' the innocent, naive expression of human desire bemused me. Little did I know that one day, this desire would spark competition among countries vying with each other to reach the moon and prove their supremacy!

In childhood, w...