On the Way to Least Time
Fermat’s Principle : A reflection — I
THE SET
It’s amazing — the planet’s beautiful blue blanket caressing the eastern shores of the Indian Peninsula.
During my college days in Kochi, it was a completely different canvas — I remember watching the western sun sink into the Arabian Sea under a quiet, golden sky
THE RISE
When I later moved to Chennai for work, watching the moon rise over the eastern horizon of the Bay of Bengal felt like another chapter starting in my life. I used to watch the sun set, but now, at that exact same hour, I was watching the moon rise. Some stories start just as others end.
Some nights, after a long day of work, we would head down to the shore, welcomed by the fishermen selling their silver coins of wealth for a living.
WAVES OF STORIES
We would find seats on the rocks that extended out into the water, sitting there to unleash secrets, stories, or whatever topics swirled in our minds. The waves of stories came along with the soft breeze — they would touch and go. Some left us soaked, some brought joy, some washed away our worries, and some… just touched and went.
In between, the moon glittering on the interference peaks of the sea created a scenic beauty that still stays in my mind.
“Shall we go?”
“Yeah.”
IT WAS ALWAYS HARD TO SAY GOODBYE TO THOSE NIGHTS.
THE WALK
Without fail, as a strict part of our routine, we needed to step closer to the waves and let the water wash over our feet one last time. The sand by the water was damp, smooth, and solid — packed tight by the sea, making it easy to walk a little faster. But to reach our parked bikes, we eventually had to cross the tough, loose sand.
THE TALK
The dry stretch looked like the interference patterns of the waves I had just been watching. Countless people had walked through it, leaving behind different wavelengths of bipedal steps — many of them completely incoherent.
“Hey, shall we walk straight along the water and then cut up through this hard path?“
“Why not? But… can we think of another way? Will that make us walk too much? Shall we just aim straight for the bikes?”
THE TURN
“Yeah, that makes sense. But can we just quickly get onto the hard path and trudge straight to the bikes? That feels right to my mind.”
“Can we just walk, rather than talking too much? What about just enjoying the stroll?“
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We all guessed at different routes, realizing that the ‘easiest’ way to walk meant something different to everyone. It could be about saving time, maximizing the joy of the stroll, or something purely philosophical… or logical. In the quiet that followed, the light rays reflecting off the sea bent toward my ears and whispered: “What about me? Your ancestors walked these same paths — and ended up understanding my route to destiny. Let me tell you a story!”
To begin, the rays had to go back in search of the past..
THE TIME TRAVEL
The moon started crawling down, its orbit unwinding in reverse. It travelled back in time, circling the sun with us for nine thousand years.
The very old rays from the moon travelled to our “lifeboat — hanging undisturbed in the universe.”
THE BEGINNING
High over the plains of ancient Anatolia — modern day Turkey — the rays pierced the clouds, slid down through the thick, marshy air, and entered a narrow hatch on the roof of a dense mudbrick dwelling. Inside the dark, the shiny black stone reflected the rays, darting the light into the child’s eyes. She started smiling with wonder like the crescent she saw. Her eyes glittered as she looked at her mother. That tiny, lingering glance might have held so many questions: What is this shiny thing? Can I touch it? Is that the grandmother my mother told me about, hiding in the shiny rock?
This was probably the beginning of one of the hardest paths humanity has ever walked — the quest to understand the ‘optimized journey’ of light.
