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The name's Boson. Higgs Boson. So hotly pursued is this subatomic phantom, science's sleuths cheer what seems its newly unearthed body double. Flanked by the Large Hadron Collider near Geneva, physicists say they've come this close to cracking science's biggest riddle. They claim they might have got up, close and personal with that magic particle that supports life by giving mass to matter's building blocks. Without it, elementary particles wouldn't stick together. They'd race off everywhere at the speed of the hit-and-run cars Bollywood brats drive. Or is it the speed of light, yaar?

Now, is all this spin about mass fit for mass consumption? It's fine to say an invisible energy field helps bind infinitesimal entities. Any atom-smashing show starring the Higgs - or its debutant lookalike - will still need a macro-sales pitch to excite the masses. The latter's opiate, it's rumoured, is religion. No wonder science chose to name its Holy Grail the "God particle". Talk about the universal Big Boss, and it creates a Big Bang in the minds of every Tom, Dick and Hari. It's elementary, my dear what's-your-name.

The Higgs boson, when confirmed, would complete the Standard Model of particle physics, which describes quirky characters like quarks. Regrettably, ordinary folks might mistake 'standard model' for an auto expo exhibit. To interest everybody, science must stop laymen from saying 'Duh?' One way is to make a thriller out of its quests. It already entices with use of terms like 'dark matter" - so thrillingly evocative of Darth Vader - and "black holes", which must surely be less perilous than our municipally neglected open manholes. Mystery sells. Maybe that's why boson-chasers keep us on tenterhooks. It's been a riveting case of now-you-see-Higgs, now-you-don't.

So, have they seen it? Don't spoil the suspense by demanding snappy answers to fundamental questions. Instead, hail science that's up, close and accessible. That CERN researchers have kept society informed, via media, of collisions, emissions and omissions, shows they want to be seen as committed and accountable. What's the empirical proof they're doing their bit to popularise and demystify science? Well, aren't we common folks discussing bosons instead of Botox?

And if consumers are asking: What's in it for us, Higgs? - particle physics already has an answer. It has aided development of serviceable stuff like the World Wide Web, medical imaging and cloud computing. Quantum mechanics, remember, had a huge quantum of solace: the transistor, lasers, PCs. And if man landed on the moon, he also landed - as lunar science's utilitarian offshoot - the battery-operated vacuum cleaner on earth! Ergo, when the Higgs bosoncomes, can advanced spring-cleaning be far behind? Maybe the ultimate kind, that'll help us flush out those dirty gases in the atmosphere and crack global warming?

So let us all solemnly intone, in God particle we trust.

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