Application of ultrafast lasers to chemistry and biology has been an a
ctive area of research in the international scene for over a decade fo
r physical and biophysical chemists. Perhaps, ultrafast laser spectros
copy is one of the most versatile tools available today to experimenta
lly study structure and dynamics in the time domain of nanoseconds (10
(-9) sec) to femtoseconds (10(-15) sec). In this article we attempt to
highlight some of the recent developments in ultrafast laser spectros
copy with particular reference to vibrational spectroscopy, viz. infra
red and Raman spectroscopy, in the above time domain.