Hanover, the land of scientists and mathematicians

Immediately after the end of the unification ceremony in Dresden, we were told to proceed to Hanover via Berlin for some technical reasons. The train station called Carolabrucke situated in the former eastern part of German nation was visibly old and comparatively not well kept. The journalists talked about it and later suggested the men from the Inter Nationes to tell their government to take proper care of the railway stations and make it at par with what the former part of Germany possessed.

A two and a half-hour rail ride brought us to Hanover. We were stationed in the Park Hotel-Kronsberg located in the Laatzener Street close to the Radisson, which was itself in the periphery of the gigantic Expo 2000.

The main program at the Expo2000 was to be held at the reception hall of the exhibition where Chancellor Schroeder was to make a very important address to his nation regarding the unification celebrations.

We all proceeded from the hotel to the reception site. A few minutes later Chancellor Schroeder entered the hall and spoke in German language which for many of us was of no use. However, with the support of some German friends I could collect these which runs as follows: " Ten years after the reunification of Germany the living standards in the western and eastern parts of the nation were far from similar. But much has been achieved on the avowed path equality, even if the progress in the eastern states were shadowed by existing high unemployment conditions."

The Chancellor also observed, " the fall of Berlin wall in November 1989, German unification on October 3, 1990 and the unavoidable introduction of the D-Mark to Eastern Germany definitely strengthened the purchasing power of the freshly united east Germans. On the contrary, however, the process also weakened their competitiveness of the economy in whatever shape it was at that time".

"The reconstruction program, called ‘Aufbau Ost’-‘Building Up the East’ currently rested on some pillars which were, Promotion of innovation, research and development, mainly in small to medium-sized businesss and start-up companies; regional economic promotion; Promotion of infrastructure such as the construction and rehabilitation of the transprt routes; Public sector job creation measures and finally GDR legacy debts stemming from former state-owned enterprises", explained the Chancellor.

Finally Chancellor Schroeder thanked all the men of international standing, specially the leaders of those countries who participated in the whole unification process directly or indirectly from the very beginning of the unification scheme, for their outstanding support which culminated into the grand unification of the two German states a decade back.

Immediately after the speech of Chancellor, Binayak Shah suddenly appeared in my front. Surprised as both we were upon seeing good old friends in a different country, Shah proposed a short trip to the Nepal pavilion. If it were not his proposition then I would have definitely missed our own pavilion there because it was not in the agenda of the Inter Nationes.

Regarding the Nepali pavilion, I have already printed my talks with Binayak Shah who in fact briefed me all about the pavilion which I’m told has been adjudged as one of the best pavilion in the Expo 2000.

For me Hanover city had attracted attention from my school and college days. Hanover to me is the city of explorers, inventors, intellect and politics as well. While I was studying my Science graduation in Kathmandu in the late sixties, we had one chapter in our mathematics called Leibnitz Theorem perhaps in Algebra. I consider this theorem to be very difficult to understand for a person like me who ever tried to avoid mathematical intrigues to the extent possible as I could. Mitra Nath Devkota taught us this theorem.

Secondly, each and every science student has to come across with the Bunsen burner in chemistry classes. It was Robert Wilhelm Bunsen from Germany after whom the Bunsen burner is named. Werner von Siemens for Dynamo, Emil Berliner for Gramophone and some othe German scientists are well remembered for Hanover.

Last but not the least, it was Otto Hahn-the super physicists related to the discovery of the Atom Bomb who together with other renowned nuclear physicists had warned the civilisation as back as in 1957 of the dangers of the nuclear rearmament.

Lower Saxony, whose capital is Hanover, the site of the freshly concluded Expo 2000 is the second largest, I was told, state in the Federal Republic which houses 7.8 million population. Hanover is by all accounts an industrial and service sector, seat of the world famous manufacturer of writing materials and of the TUI-Europe’s largest tour operator. It is here that each year the latest developments are exhibited during what is called as Hanover Exhibition. It is considered to be world'’ largest industrial fair and CeBIT-the international fair for communications and technology. To recall, from June 1 to 31 October 2000, this German city was the venue of the World Expo 2000.

In fact, my stay in Hanover was a very short one. Precisely speaking, a night halt only. Still what could be collected, is what you have just read. ( To be concluded).

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