The story of 9

The original digit introduced by ancient Indians looked like the modern-day question mark without the dot at the bottom. Different dynasties kept making changes to it till the Arabs pulled a downward stroke from it and Europeans gave it the final touches to make it look like it does now. Today, to avoid confusion with the digit 6, which is an inverse “9”, people also use a straight stem to write 9.

Speaking idiomatically

9 to 5 - Used to denote the timings of a day job. The standard working hours of employees is 9am to 5pm.

A stitch in time saves nine - A proverb telling people that a small act of prevention, if done before it is too late, can save much bigger damage later on.

Nine lives - The proverb “A cat has nine lives” came about since cats are swift and supple and can escape easily from potentially life-threatening situations. For instance, a cat falling from a height can flip mid-air such that it lands on its feet.

To the nines - This is an idiom meaning “to perfection” and is usually used to denote one’s dress sense.

Cloud 9 - An idiom used to describe a state of elation. It originates from an 1896 edition of the International Cloud Atlas, which categorised clouds into 10 types. Out of these, cloud nine, the cumulonimbus, was said to rise highest in the sky.

The whole nine yards - An idiom meaning “the entire thing”.

Matters scientific

Nine months - The normal gestation period of a human baby, with the pregnancy divided roughly into three trimesters of three months each. Human babies are usually born between 37 and 42 weeks after conception.

Nines - A method of grading the purity of precious metals such as gold, silver and platinum. For instance, if a metal is 90 per cent pure it is said to be one nine fine.

Nine planets- Most of us have grown up learning about the nine planets in our solar system because when Pluto was discovered in 1930, it was conferred the status of a planet. However, Pluto officially lost this tag in 2006 when under a new definition of planet, it failed to qualify. So now we have only eight planets.

Navratan Korma

A vegetarian dish made of nine different vegetables. It is believed that the dish is a tribute to the Nine Gems of Akbar’s court. However, the chef usually has the liberty of choosing nine from vegetables such as cauliflowers, carrots, beans, potatoes, peas etc. The gravy is usually yoghurt or coconut-based, with nuts and seeds added.

K9

Pronounced “canine”, this term is used by US police departments for their police dog units. The most common breed for K9s is German Shepherd Dog and they are trained to sniff for explosives, drugs, lost people etc. The term K9 is used for dog units in the police and army of some other countries too, despite K9 not sounding like the word “canine” in their languages.

Naulakha Haar

Literally a necklace worth Rs 9 lakh. Legend has it that in the 18th century, the Maratha Peshwa (prime minister) Baji Rao purchased a long necklace of emeralds, diamonds and pearls for Rs 9 lakh and that is how it got its name.

Cat ’ nine tails

A whip with nine ends that is used in corporal punishment. It got its name since it can inflict nine cat-claw-like wounds simultaneously with one stroke. It was initially used for punishments in the British navy, army and for judicial corporal punishment. It is still used for corporal punishment in some countries. The fictional character Catwoman uses a Cat ’ nine tails as her weapon.

Nine-tailed fox

This is a mythical creature with special powers appearing in Chinese, Japanese and Korean folklore. It was also the inspiration for the Pokemon video game character Ninetales, whose nine tails hold a different power each.

ENTERTAINMENT

Cloud number nine is a 1999 song by Canadian singer Bryan Adams about going up to a state of “Cloud Number Nine” with his partner.

Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 - Set in the D minor scale, the symphony is one of the world’s best-known classical pieces and generally accepted as being Beethoven’s greatest work. Completed in 1824, the symphony was one of the first to use voices and is often known as The Choral (short for choral symphony). In 2001, Symphony No. 9 became the first musical score to be included in the United Nations World Heritage List.

Nine Inch Nails An American rock band active since the late 80s. Having sold millions of records worldwide, they won two Grammy Awards in 1992 and 1996 for their songs Wish and Happiness in Slavery.

Mujhe Naulakha Mangaade - A popular song from the 1984 film Sharaabi picturised on Amitabh Bachchan and Jaya Prada.

Naulakha Haar -A 1953 Meena Kumari film about a stolen Naulakha necklace.

Nine Months - A 1995 romantic comedy about a couple preparing to have their first baby. It stars Julianne Moore as the expectant mother and Hugh Grant as a reluctant father.

Game on

Nine-pin bowling

A variation of bowling where the player has to knock out nine pins placed in a diamond-shaped formation. The pins are usually attached to strings on the top that are used to recreate the formation after a bowler has knocked them over. Unlike in the more widely-played 10-pin bowling, the balls here do not have holes in them for the player to insert his fingers and get a grip.

Faith in 9

Hinduism

Navratri- The nine-night-long festival to worship goddess Durga. On each of the nine nights, a different form of the goddess is worshipped, collectively known as Navadurga. Navratri is one of the most important festivals in Gujarat, which people celebrate by dancing garba and dandiya.

Navadurga- The collective term for the nine forms of goddess Durga, namely Shailaputri, Brahmacharini, Chandraghanta, Kushmanda, Skandamata, Katyayini, Kaalratri, Mahagauri and Siddhidaatri.

Islam

Ramzan, the month of fasting and prayer, falls in the ninth month of the Islamic calendar.

Bahai

Since nine is the highest single-digit number, it symbolises completeness in the Bahai religion. Followers use a nine-pointed star to denote the religion too.

Buddhism

The Buddha was believed to have nine virtues — that of being accomplished, enlightened, endowed with knowledge and conduct or practice, well-spoken, the knower of worlds, supreme trainer of persons to be tamed, teacher of devas and humans, awakened and blessed. Most Buddhist rituals usually require nine monks.

Navarasa- Natya Shastra, the ancient Indian treatise on theatre written by Bharata Muni, described eight emotions or rasas - sringaram (love and beauty), hasyam (laughter, mirth), raudram (fury), karunyam (compassion), bibhatsam (disgust), bhayanakam (terror), veeram (heroism) and adbhutam (amazement). A ninth rasa - santam (peace) - was added by later authors and the term navarasa came into being. They are an integral part of classical dance and theatre.

Count times of 9

Here is an easy way to learn your nine times table.

1 Stretch open the fingers of both your hands and mentally number them 1 to 10 starting from the little finger of your left hand.

2Now for instance, if you want to determine 9x3, tuck in the finger numbered three, that is the middle finger on your left hand.

3Count the fingers on the left of this tucked-in finger (this will come to 2) and then count the fingers to its right (this will come to 7). Put them together and you have 9x3=27.

4Try the trick for a larger number, such as 9x7. Tuck in the seventh finger (the index finger of your right hand).

5Count the fingers on the left of the tucked-in finger (6). Then count the fingers to its right (3). Put them together and you have 9x7=63. This trick works for nine times tables up to 10.

 

9 gems of Akbar’s court

These were nine remarkable people of the Mughal emperor Akbar’s time whom he collectively called his gems

The most famous of the Navratna is Birbal, his clever and witty advisor who, together with the emperor, feature in numerous Akbar-Birbal tales that are part of lore.

Abdul Rahim Khan-i-Khana was a poet known for his Hindi couplets and his books on astrology. A village — Khankhana — that was named after him still exists in Punjab.

There was also Abul-Fazl, Akbar’s vizier and author of Akbarnama, the official history of Akbar’s reign.

Abul-Fazl’s brother Faizi was the emperor’s poet laureate, the teacher of Akbar’s sons and another Navratna.

Raja Man Singh was a general in Akbar’s army and the king of Amer, that is today part of Jaipur.

Raja Todar Mal was the finance minister of Akbar’s empire and introduced revolutionary tax structures, standard weights and measures etc.

Fakir Aziao-Din was Akbar’s religious advisor and Mulla Do-Piyaza was a witty courtier, like Birbal. But some scholars say he may have been a fictional character.

 

Tansen, the Hindustani classical music singer and composer, it is said, could light up fire by singing raga Deepak and bring down the rains by singing raga Megh Malhar.

 

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