A word of Advice- or an entire song

These were the lyrics to a song I heard yesterday "Sunscreen"- it reads more like a speech really but I loved it... and so- here it is!


Everybody's Free (to wear sunscreen)
Buz Luhrman

Ladies and Gentlemen of the class of ’97... wear sunscreen.

If I could offer you only one tip for the future, sunscreen would be IT.

The long term benefits of sunscreen have been proved by scientists whereas the rest of my advice has no basis more reliable than my own meandering experience.

I will dispense this advice now.

Enjoy the power and beauty of your youth. Never mind. You will not understand the power and beauty of your youth until they have faded. But trust me, in 20 years you’ll look back at photos of yourself and recall in a way you can’t grasp now how much possibility lay before you and how fabulous you really looked.

You are NOT as fat as you imagine.

Don’t worry about the future; or worry, but know that worrying is as effective as trying to solve an algebra equation by chewing bubblegum. The real troubles in your life are apt to be things that never crossed your worried mind; the kind that blindside you at 4pm on some idle Tuesday.
Do one thing every day that scares you.

Sing.

Don’t be reckless with other people’s hearts, don’t put up with people who are reckless with yours.

Floss.

Don’t waste your time on jealousy; sometimes you’re ahead, sometimes you’re behind. The race is long, and in the end, it’s only with yourself.

Remember compliments you receive, forget the insults; if you succeed in doing this, tell me how.
Keep your old love letters, throw away your old bank statements.

Stretch.

Don’t feel guilty if you don’t know what you want to do with your life. The most interesting people I know didn’t know at 22 what they wanted to do with their lives, some of the most interesting 40 year olds I know still don’t.

Get plenty of calcium.

Be kind to your knees, you’ll miss them when they’re gone.
Maybe you’ll marry, maybe you won’t, maybe you’ll have children, maybe you won’t, maybe you’ll divorce at 40, maybe you’ll dance the funky chicken on your 75th wedding anniversary. Whatever you do, don’t congratulate yourself too much or berate yourself, either. Your choices are half chance, so are everybody else’s. Enjoy your body, use it every way you can. Don’t be afraid of it, or what other people think of it, it’s the greatest instrument you’ll ever own.

Dance. Even if you have nowhere to do it but in your own living room.

Read the directions, even if you don’t follow them.

Do NOT read beauty magazines, they will only make you feel ugly.

Get to know your parents, you never know when they’ll be gone for good.

Be nice to your siblings; they are your best link to your past and the people most likely to stick with you in the future.

Understand that friends come and go, but for the precious few you should hold on. Work hard to bridge the gaps in geography in lifestyle because the older you get, the more you need the people you knew when you were young.

Live in New York City once, but leave before it makes you hard; live in Northern California once, but leave before it makes you soft.

Travel.

Accept certain inalienable truths, prices will rise, politicians will philander, you too will get old, and when you do you’ll fantasize that when you were young prices were reasonable, politicians were noble and children respected their elders.

Respect your elders.

Don’t expect anyone else to support you. Maybe you have a trust fund, maybe you'll have a wealthy spouse; but you never know when either one might run out.

Don’t mess too much with your hair, or by the time you're 40, it will look 85.

Be careful whose advice you buy, but, be patient with those who supply it. Advice is a form of nostalgia, dispensing it is a way of fishing the past from the disposal, wiping it off, painting over the ugly parts and recycling it for more than it’s worth.

But trust me on the sunscreen.

Something new everyday...

A very long time ago I remember makinga resolution to make note of a new experience everyday. Like all resolutions this one too was doomed; the experiences may have been there, but my attention, alas, was not. But the last week has been so eventful- and I am not just referring to the onset of midterms and the inevitable jitters that follow- but eventful in a fun way (mostly) , that I had to sit up and make note- so here it is starting Friday the 6th of Febuary.

On the sixth we took a drive down the infamous Mulholland drive. That strip near Hoolywood, where the spirits of actresses past are said to roam. It was a dark and foggy night, and we were thouroughly spooked as we hurtled, well past the speed limit, through miles of silent road, with quick, unexpected turns and dim lights.

Saturday was the marathon movie day- 3 movies- Fight Club- which is excellent - simply chilling, and filled with smart dialogues -a sharp sardonic one, that one. Intolerable Cruelty- funny as it is , it seems to go on for just a bit longer than absolutely necessary; and Iruvar- that's probably one of the most underrated movies I know, but it probably helps a good deal if you're familiar with Tamil Nadu politics- the rumours , theories and whispers that echo in the corridors of power. The ending is strangely poignant- somewhat reminiscent of Kane and Abel( Jefferey Archer) - a tale of friendships broken, and chances lost.

Then, we saw "Macbeth" in the theatre- for free (isn't that the best part?) Lady Macbeth was brilliant in the first half - her "Are you a man???" , which so pricked at Macbeth's pride, her plotting, and planning ... a dangerous woman, that. Powerful and dangerous. Although in the second half - well, I had always thought that it was Lady Macbeth who pushed her husband all the way- but it appears that perhaps Macbeth himself, caught up in his lust for power , became a tyrant all by himself. It was almost professional (it was prformed by students here) , and absolutely brilliant!

The next Event was the Armenian Dance Class- I go for Ballroom dance classes every Monday evening, but this Monday it was followed by Armenian dancing, and how I danced! I had blisters on my feet at the end of the day, and hobbled the way back home, but Oh how exhilerating it was...

"I could have Danced all Night
I could have danced all night,
And still have begged for morn....
I could have spread my wings
And done a thousand things
I've never done before..." (My Fair Lady)

Tuesday was a day of discoveries- on the net. I may seem frightfully ignorant to you- but not being a big movie buff myself, I had never heard of IMDB- the International Movie data base.And I was like "Whoa!" and promptly wasted two hours on movie trivia.

Another useful (or not) lesson from my roomie SS was Stumble - one of the Firefox plugins- that randomly directs you to interesting sites- including ones with a bunch of Calvin and Hobbes strips- many vetti hours were spent over that. Also with the Book and Minute and Movie a Minute sites- instant relief from boredom!

And yesterday we played raquetball- No none of us had any idea how it was to be done, but we played all the same. The lesson I learnt was that I have no hand eye co-ordination whatsoever. Ah well, can't blame me for trying.

That't that then! toodles and see you later!

Tagged once more- In search of a soulmate

Well, here we go again- I thought I'd written my last tag- but no- here we go again- this time, in search of a soulmate.

The top eight qualities I'd want in my guy, well, that requires some thought ( just ten, hallo what were you thinking???)

Lets see.... Brad Pitt's looks, George Clooney's suaveness, Tom Cruise's charm( and height 'cause I don't want a guy who towers 50 feet above me), Hugh Grant's accent( or Goeff Boycott or Micheal Holding... I'm not picky), Abdul Kalam's brains, Jeeves' (yes the Wooster and Jeeves one) presence of mind, Bill Gates' fortune, Bernard Shaw's wit, a voice like Russel Crowe( when speaking that is)... and who can sing like Ronan Keating, and dance like umm... Hrithik Roshan( but no cat eyes... no... or bulging muscles Arnie Style No No! )... not a big list is it? Aaaah if only there existed such a guy...

Well, more practically( or not)... here goes

1. We need to have something in common... books... music ... common interests, something to talk about.

2. Should know when to take a joke and when to make one, and just as importantly, when not to.

3. Should cook! I cannot overemphasize this because I have no great love for cooking( though I've never poisoned anyone yet)

4. Should know when to leave me alone... and when I want comapany- and be prepared to take me out to dinner... then be silent throughout while I dwell in a world of happy reveries and great food.

5. Should be able to take the fact that I think Tom Cruise is the cutest guy on the planet and not turn green with jealousy.

6. Should never ask - fatally- What are you talking about? (10 points if you get the book from which that comment was plagiarised) Or is it too much to expect a guy to listen and understand what you're talking about.

7. Should not mock me when I sniffle at the end of some cheap Romeo & Juliet type flick.

8. Should never miss an opportunity to give me a gift- Birthdays- mine and his, New Year, Diwali, Valentine's Day, Pongal, Unbirthdays- these are all good days to give gifts and good for me to receive them too.)

Now its my turn to pass this comtagion on:
Shashi Iyer
Deepti
The Monk

Rang De Basanti

Movie reviews aren't really my thing, but Rang De Basanti is one of such an unusual flavour that it simply needs to be commented on. In the first place, its rather nice to see the trend of patriotic movies- that are not just about the whole India- Pakistan thing become hits. Well, Swadesh wasn't but I thought it was wonderful, and I know a lot of people agreed, but it was more like a documentary than a than a Bollywood style, happily-ever-after, melodramatic love story,( the whole- "Let there be light" bit probably appealed only to geeky engineers like me- who were so thrilled to see the stuff they were studying- generators etc. show up in a movie), and hence, as far as the masses went at least- it was a flop.

But Rang De Basanti- has a nice mix of masala, a bunch of seriously hot guys (that draws at least half the population to the theatre), a phirangi girl (that takes care of the other half),which takes care of the packaging, and the content is pretty good too.

The first half is bouyant and light-hearted, though not entirely without a message- that the youth of today has been handed everything in a silver spoon, and cares for little beyond immediate gratification, but the second half- which eerily parallel the lives of the freedom fighters that the students are supposed to be playing( trying very hard not to give the story away here- though there can't be many people who haven't seen it yet)- that message comes across sharp and clear too. "Do Something" There's no point in sitting around and pointing fingers and refusing to take responsibility. Remember Nehru's Speech at our Independence? "Freedom and power bring responsibility....That future is not one of ease or resting but of incessant striving so that we may fulfil the pledges we have so often taken and the one we shall take today...."The events in the movie may seem a bit far-fetched... or are they?

A Picture is worth a thousand words!

I just opened up Internet Explorer, and as its default is www.msn.com, it opened that directly to a gorgeous picture of some earthlike planet of some far away star. Naturally I was intrigued.

As it turns out - the planet is infact about 5.5 times larger than earth, but on the cosmic scale still small enough to be considered earthlike. The vast majority of planes so far have been gas giants like Jupiter- no chance of finding our kind of life forms there.

They used a new method called "microlensing" which makes smaller planets easier to find- so I guess we can expect more of these in the future.


They were having people vote for their favourite astronomy pictures on MSN and these were some of mine

This one is of the star Monocerotis, taken by Hubble

This on was taken by the Spacecraft Cassini, and shows Saturn with its moon Dione


This is a view of the "Mountains of creation" in Cassiopeia where young stars are being born.
It was, by the way ,the one I voted for.

At the Farmer's Market

Every Thursday the Farmer's Market comes to Westwood. The end of Weyburn is closed off to the traffic. Small stalls spring up selling the famous California tangerines and Clementines and Naval oranges. And a fruity smell wafts beckoningly through the air. And invariably I find my feet almost involuntarily moving in that direction. And it's a rural atmosphere, people seem to slow the pace of their lives as they hang around, familiarly greeting friends and regulars at the Market, tasting the wares before buying them, getting a glass of juice while they're shopping, or something to eat... bringing their children out for the evening...

There's a man who sits at the beginning of the street and plays his guitar and sings. Warm notes of "Scarborough Fair" drift through the air, and appropriately I was standing by a herb seller who had parsley and sage. Further down where there are exotic cuisines, Korean ,Peruvian and Salvadorean, there is also a Jazz band that entertains the people eating there. And several small bakeries just pop up, selling scones and cookies and yummy pies and cakes and French bread.

I contented myself with a Salvadoren Pupasa and turned resolutely away from the inviting breads. But my resolve was not up to withstanding the temptation of freshly picked sstrawberries... I took a small bunch of them home and ate them with whipped cream... and now I feel replete and content. God's up in his Heaven and all's well with the World

An Anthology

Now, let me update you on the latest book I've read. It's been a while since my last "Book update" , so - there're quite a few of them on my list.

I'll go chronologically - mostly -

First - "Sophies' World" - another of my Intro to Philosophy type books- this was one I'd been searching for , and I found it among the ranks of German authors( howa was I to know that it was a translated book!?!) Any way that was excellent- even if it ended oddly- left me with a feeling of- "this story isn't over yet" .

Then Vikram Seth's "An Equal Music" - I finished it flying from LA to Pennsylvania- brilliant book - the man has a new fan in me- the next book on my list of things to read is "A Suitable Boy"

Then , there was the very readable and rather uplifting "Room With a View " by EM Forster"

And on my aunt's recommendation I read James Hilton's "Random Harvest" . Now most of Hilton's books tend to end sadly - this one had a very sweet ending though- although in terms of todays thrillers it seemed to take forever to get to the actual point of the story., but when it did ... well I heaved a sigh of contentment when I finished it- it was that kind of book you know? That doesn't leave you excited or confused or with your head whirling , trying to get your head around facts and leaps of logic, it just moves slowly and steadily , to a conclusion that leaves you feeling warm and fuzzy inside.

Then I got on the SCi-fi brigade with "Dune". Well, I can see why Dune has such a cult following , although I don't think I'm going to be a part of it- I've seen too much of Prophecies and Strange orders that try to influence the Path of Destinies and Chosen Ones and so on and so forth.

The other one in the style of the whole "Prophecy " thingie was Robert Jordan's "Wheel of Time" series. Well, I've read only the first one, but it promises to be a long and involved series , so I think I'm going to have to put off reading the rest for later.

The rest were not so noteworthy - A couple of LM Montgomery's (of Anne of Green Gables fame?) - one was a book called "The Blue Castle" and another was from the Anne series - nice stuff to read before bed- sweet dreams and all that.

There was a Mary Stewart- best known for her Merlin Series - the Crystal Cave and so on (I'm trying to get my hands on the Wicked Day- My library has a record of the book , but not the book itself- and no transactions on the book? They swear its not lost- it never existed - then what's the record doing? - No clue... Huh?) Any the book I read was Airs above the Ground. Nice one.

Oooh and before I forget there are two more notables I want to add to that list- one is Ray Bradbury's "Farenheit 451" -That was good although it might havfe been overhyped a bit- it gives you a good picture of what a dystopia would be like , where books are burnt, and it is illegal to own a book. (I actually loved the way he described people in front of the idiot boxes of the future- that part of dystopis at least, is looking alarmingly likely)

And the other one is Kramer vs Kramer- the one that the movie of the same name is based and on which Akele Hum Akele Tum was based . That was a good read.

So... that was my winter list. Now I'm just going to let them all mull around in my mind for a bit and hope that Paul Atreides doesn't change places with Rand al' Thor in my head.

Up and Down the East Coast Road

So... this post is in honour of the drive to Boston that we made... Now nearly a week ago Boston and Connecticut and a few forgettable state borders that we crossed in between as we made our way to the site of the great tea party.

Boston's a beautiful city... its got crowds that remind me of our great Indian cities, bright lights everywhere ...trees which haven't quite lost their fall richness , a lovely museum that has the largest Van de Graff geneator in the word( we were treated to a rather noisy show of indoor lightning) - anywa I regarded it as a bit of sacrilege that the said generator had been consigned to being a museum relic, instead of being in some hallowed research facility- but ah well, there's not a lot of scope for research left in that area is there?

Speaking of research facilities, Boston is the home of Harvard and MIT, and filled with awe and trepidation, tip-toed our way through the Holy Grail of Engineering Technology- MIT. (I thought the classes there looked like classes everywhere else- evidently they keep the Secret of their Successes out of the way of prying eyes)

On our way back we went through Connecticut, and I learnt to love New England and my home sometime in the future- after Venice , Paris and London of course- all said and done , the rustic countriside is all very well, but I'm a city girl.

New England has bookstores everywhere, (you can see where my love for the place sprang from) and it has very pretty scenery besides- that however, is incidental.

Anyway, that was one of the things I loved about Boston as well, a nice looking bookshop on every street, not the huge B&N or Borders, but cosy little Shop-Around- the- Corner like places. Not surprising I guess, since it is in every way a student town with over 90 Universities in and around the city.

Posts from Pennsylvania

Pretty Pensylvania, with a provocative past, the place of parturition of the American Constitution. ( I thought I'd do all P's but I ran out of synonyms) .Anyway that's where I am now... in Pennsylvania- near Philadelphia, "The City of Brotherly Love" . It gets its title from the initial purpose for which this land was clained- to allow people practising different faiths to escape from the persecution of King George the Something-or-the-other, in England.

Philly is a pretty nice place, well, at least what I saw of it was! (Supposedly downtown is not so nice - but downtown is never so nice, so I'll restrict myself to commenting on what I actually did see.

The famous Liberty Bell and the Independence Hall for one, and the Halls for Congress where the first Senate and the House of Representatives sat, the place where they framed the Constituition. There was some contention as to whether the chap whose silhouette you see on top of City Hall was Benjamin Frankin or William Penn; it turned out to be William Penn- dear old and reliable Wikipedia confirmed it for us- he was the founder of the state and the cis obviously named for him- but Benjamin Franklin- who's an amazingly prolific guy- Scientist- remember the lightning experiment... Diplomat- he was America's ambassador to France, philosopher- this guy did everything, and he lived here as well.( His house is preserved here as a museum, but we didn't go there)

We heard an interesting side note to his story- his son fought on the side of the British, while he fought for the Americans in the Revolutionary war- you'd expect it to be the otehr was round wouldn't you?

We heard other interesting stories that gave depth to those shdowy figures who wrote the basic structure of American Law , the famous Declaration of Independence; they became people, with quirks and eccentricities, 'tis the flaws that maketh the man....

That little sidenote to history being done, for the rest of the time I've been enjoying the Christmas spirit, the lights and the lighted reindeer, the Christmas trees and the ubiquitous christmas Carols, the SALE, SALE, SALE written everywhere, simply seducing you to buy madly as you would not at ny other time of the year!

Incidentally, I find the whole contreversy over whether to wish people "Merry Chrismas", "Happy Holidays" "Happy Hanukkah" or just... whatever, rather amusing, and just pointless, its thoughtful alright, but talk about making a mountain out of a molehill!

Anyway "Merry Christmas", or "Happy Hols" to you and a "Happy New Year"!

Going the Google Way!

It seems that there's nothing Google doesnt offer anymore... you want it... they have it. They started off as a great search engine... and if they had been less ambitious they might have stopped there. But being Google, they had to be better at simply everything... and you know what? They are!

First it was gmail- which opened with much fanfare- the whole gmail id by invite only added to the mystique of it, and of course it made sure that people didn't go around randomly creating id's they didn't use, at first, and the humungous amount of space they were giving us to store mails- made everyone sit up and take note- What's the 250 MB that Hotmail offers to Googles 2+ GB huh?

But, MSN (and yahoo and others) still had Chat going for them. And then Google brought along Gtalk- granted you can't use emoticons the way you can with MSN and Yahoo- you can't have interesting profiles like Yahoo- or send funny "knocks" and "Hallos" but you can send enormous attachments easily, and in less time, on Gtalk- and you can talk- I mean actually listen to another person's voice at the other end, clearly- without the sort of static that still bothers Yahoo's voice messaging for instance - when it comes to substance over form , google's got it any day!

They've pulled out all the stops these days- Picasa for pictures, Blogger for blogging, Earth to look for places and find directions,Maps, News... And now they offer to look not only through the web, but through books and through Journals(Scholar) . And there's Froogle- the shopper's paradise (and I love the name- Froogle- Frugal- cheap joke, but makes me smile everytime)... and it goes on... there's still some stuff in the labs- (Try Google labs) - Google video, Google Transit for checking out public transportation... whoa... these guys are not runnin out of ideas anytime soon!

Of course there are always naysayers, the conspiracy theorists... the ones who say that "Google is Evil "- who knows they may be right- mybe we're just blinding ourselves with the plethora of facilities that Google offers, and overlook these things that get privacy advocates so riled up:

1. Google records everything they can : Your IP address, your cookie ID(Google's cookie expires in 2038- it places a uniqueID number on your hard disk, and notes it everytime you make a search), your browser configuration, search terms, time and date...

2.They retain data indefinitely, and won't say why they need this data.

3. And gmail- did you know that mail you get may never get deleted from Google's system? http://gmail-is-too-creepy.com/... and other such things here...

Well.. actually I really don't care too much... if anyone wants to know how many E-geeting I got... the bad (occasionally good) forwards I keep gettting... news or(lack thereof) from home... I don't even have any interesting love letters that I'd want to hide... I'm assuming that all those spooky points are for people with "interesting" lives. Google seems perfectly good for the vast mass of perfectly dull and normal people like me though.

Far from the madding crowd -Part 2

PS- for Part 1 -go the previous post
here

Day 2 at Yosemite
The day, once more ,started early. We started off by going to Bridalveil Falls ... named so because of their resemblence to a Bride's Veil (obv.)

















Then we stopped by a bridge - called the Swinging Bridge-for some pictures that came out like wallpapers!


Picture perfect

Then we went to the hiking trail- to hike up to the Vernal falls- that was the mission of the day! It was a good 4 mile walk- and breathtaking it both senses of the word. There were beautiful cascades of water, and oddly shaped rocks and trees brilliant in Fall colours, standing gaily amidst subdued green; and there were vertigo inducing views such as this , that momentarily stunned us. There were mysterious forests that strtched forever and lightnig stuck trees that stook starkly agains the green.














The woods are lovely,dark and deep

And at the end there was the waterfall itself - utterly worth the journey that had brought us there( and in the rain too!)







































































We ate out that night - fast food to make up for all the exercise that we'd done ! And we left the next morning- back to LA , refreshed in body and in mind.

Far from the Madding Crowd- Part 1

Day 1 at Yosemite:

We got away from it all for the long Thanksgiving weekend, and went on a trip to Yosemite National Park ,a 5 hour drive norht of LA .

We left early in the morning... for once our excitement had inspired us to up and ready early... well relatively early at any rate, and we were on the road by 7 AM! With only one stop on the way we were at the park by 12:30- just in time for lunch! (And yes it did seem like we were eating all the time... what can I say ... fresh air makes me hungry... but so does everything else, so...)

The drive had been through dry, barren land, with only a few lonely looking trees to relieve the dreary landscape, a reminder that though in the city, there are trees and lawns... California is partly a desert- In that sense it is amazing, within a single state it seems to have every kind of landscape,- grasslands and rocks, mountains borgering the sea, and the rich pine forests that we were heading towards.

We went to one of the famous veiwing points first- Glacier point. Yosemite by the way is a Valley that was carved out of Glaciers during the Ice-Age. From this particular point you have an excellent view of the Geological formations that the Glaciers create- hence( or so I assume ) the name. (We had an argument about what erosion due to glaciers created- morasses, molasses... only the M remained constant in our guesses- the answer is Morraines- so much for 8th std Geography.)

From that point we could see some of the most famous sights in Yosemite- including the Half-Dome and the Vernal and Nevada Falls- On the river Merced.

The night we spent in a cottage on Bass Lake - an artificial lake just outside the Park itself. It was a very cozy place and had a small attich which caused no little excitement- you would have thought we were 5 years old - to see us run up and down the ladder. We were glad to get to bed that night... It had been a long day and the next day would be as long .

Dance for life

Last week there were free dance lessons in the Rotunda of the Powell library... and pukki's that we are (nothing that's free gets left out!), naturally we went for them. We were very casually dressed- just a skirt for the twirly effect, but there were ladies there, grandly dressed, in proper ballroom dresses dating back to the 19th century, and men in Tuxedos; we felt transported to another era!

We just had learnt the basic steps of the Viennese waltz. The seven step slow march, the open waltz, the closed waltz, the turning. And then came the more complicated (and exciting) ArgentinianWaltz which was about half way to a tango.

And then came to Polka and the Military Waltz. Of course we were none of us, experts and we tripped over our own feet and stepped on our partner's toes and had our toes stepped upon. But it was exhilarating all the same... the twirling and the swirling and the swaying and just letting go for a few hours!

And to add to our sense ofdelicious wickedness, they told us about the history of the waltz - how it was a scandal when it was first introduced, with the man and woman standing so close by and possibly being the only time when they could speak unchaperoned! I felt like a girl from a Georgette Heyer!

The waltz was hugely popular for the same reason- it evolved from the landler danced by the peasants in Germany and Austria and got its name from the Italian word volver which means to revolve. It became hugely popular in Vienna( hence the name Viennese Wlatz) where the Strausses both Sr and Jr composed famous waltz tunes including the "Blue Danube". The waltz was a favourite of Queen Victoria as well, although even in her day the aristocracy regarded it as being "improper"! Waltz's over the years have become fasteer ad faster( after ladies got rid of the huge hoop dresses), but we did just the early slower ones.

Next time we may go for swing or salsa... and I'll write again when that's done.

Priorities...

My sense of priorities needs to be looked at... I've been grumpy these past two weeks because my midterms haven't left me with much time for my favourite activities ... reading and writing(blogging ) ... actually regard them as having a higher priority than studying... which means I possibly need to get my head checked... my day isn't complete without at least one chapter of a book and a cup of tea( proper chai - like we have at home- not this rottenly healthy green tea stuff).

So at the end of my exams I headed straight for the library - we have an awesome one by the way- several actually- but this is my favourite- the Powell library, which is my favourite both for its shelves upon shelves of books, and for its incredibly comfortable couches - there is a favourite place of mine -on the lowest level where there are low sofas beside windows discreetly screened by curtains to let just the right amout of light through- without blinding you with light or allowing the outside distractions disturb you, and at once allowing you to enjoy the natural light without straining your eyes under artificial lamps.... you get the picture....

And at once I borrowed Irving Stone's "The Agony and the Ecstasy" ,very much reflective of what I was feeling just then I think... then Somerset Maugham's "The Moon and Sixpence" which was a great character study- oddly enough- although it was not a thought that struck me at the time when I borrowed them- they are both about the lives of artists- great men and the events that shaped them... While one is a chronicle of events in a life written more as a piece of fiction that only happens to have its basis in the life of a real person... the feelings attributed to the characters... they may have some truth in them but they are essentially what the author thinks went on in the minds of the characters... Whereas the other is more a relating of the facts that are verifyable- simply putting them into perspective so that the reader may decide for themselves what kind of a person the artist is- and the effect he had on those around him. Both agree on one thing however- that great artists are a species apart- they are driven by something that ordinary men do not understand- or perhaps that is what makes them great and us ordinary- that we choose not to be driven by a force beyond our understanding - preferring the safety of conventional life and moderate goals- rather than the fire that burns to recreate the world in our ideal of beauty.

Another long delayed update

I'd almost forgotten I had a blog, in the midst of the chaos that is my life. We had two midterms this week and I'd really rather not think about them! Another's next week... but I'm taking a short break before going nose- to- grindstone again.

People have absolutely no sense of timing though... this week was Halloween and Diwali, and while all the world was partying and celebrating, what was I doing?- I was sitting in the library studing and wishing I was anywhere but here!

Halloween's a big deal over here though. There was all sorts of ... interestingly dressed people around... A few witches a Tigger( from Winnie- the Pooh) , an angel a ghost or too... a Bumble-bee(!)... Disney character's are a favourite I think...

It was almost painful calling up home on Diwali; I could hear the sounds of crackers going off through the phone and my mouth watered as I heard about the stuff they were eating... And here I am with sandwiches and cheese as my staple diet... The good news is I seem to have lost some weight becaue of it... and if I had been home on Diwali I would have definitely added a few tires to my waist... So there's a silver lining to everything( or rather sour grapes)

(corrected the rather glaring typo in the title- selayed... ugh my typing's going from bad to worse)

My Weekly Update

The past weeks has been pretty eventful... Each day had its own highlights... even if it was just the relief of getting an assignment over with.

Take Sunday for instance- we made a visit to the Tample in Malibu and it was a beautiful place... It may not have had that sense of gretness... of history that pervades the temples in India- but it is a wonderfully calm and peaceful place. Perfect to sit and meditate without bein jostled around by a dozen other bodies.













Then we made a trip to the beach... not the famous Malibu beach itself , but a rather quieter place that was nearby. It was a nice sandy beach but with little rocky regions where the waves made swirling lagoons, and in shallow ponds grew brightly coloured seaweed. The weed I could not take home, but the many coloured pebbles I did. They were in green and blue and pink and red and sunny yellow, and they had been worn down and looked like the koozhankallu that you find on the river banks; and as there were no shells here, as there are in India, I collected these. And undoubtedly, just as my shells lost their beauty after months of languishing in cupboards, these stones will also crumble to dust, while I forget about them.














Monday was the beginning of my new job... as a peer advisor... It is to basically help Undergrads out in choosing their subjects... Not a lot of hard work and the pay is decent and the other people in the office are nice... So I'm looking forward to it!

But the most exciting event of the week... at least as far as I a concerned ... was on Wednesday... no its not that I have no more assignments due for another week... although there's that too...)... It was the free astronomy lecture... a sort of planetarium thing... followed by a Slide Show presentation... followed by .... viewing the sky through a real... honest to goodness telescope... and it was great. We found Vega,the Ring Nebula(a little hazy.... but adjust karle) and Mars and viewed them through the telescope.... and yes it was great!


The Ring Nebula















The Red Planet

The Answer

Technically- this being post number 42 should be "The Answer to Life, the Universe and Everything"- unfortunately I'm no closer to the answer than I was 4 months ago when I started blogging- in fact I don't think I'm closer than I was 20 years ago.. I figure that this is one of those questions that will never be answered.

Chances are when we do find the answer we won't know that "This is IT" ...obscured as our eyes are by all the other answers floating around... or as Douglas Adams says "Maybe once we find the meaning to life the Universe and everything , the Universe will be replaced by something more complicated...Chances are.. .Its already happened"Yes I know its not the exact quote... Its not like I have the book open in front of me... Its the gist of it though.

Or like CS Lewis says "If life had no meaning we would not know that it has no meaning , just like a creature with no eyes living in darkness does not know that there is no light."

We just assume that life has a meaning- a purpose- that each of our lives has a purpose- perhaps that's more egoistical than anything else... we can't bear the idea that we are simply creatures that came into existance by some freak accident- that in the long term and scale of the universe we "mean" as much as any grain of sand. We need to feel that we exist for a reason higher than ourselves - for God or for our Country or for someone who would depend on us.... we need to be needed... Or maybe as Adams says(again- misquoting him) - Maybe we're not asking the right questions

A little Sightseeing - finally!

Well people, its been a hectic week, but what a great end we made to it- with a trip to the beach! The beach that is near here - Venice Beach- it was actually built where there used to be marshes- much like the original Venice that it is named after- is an incredible palce.

There's a boardwalk all the way down that is crowded with shopkeepers, artists, singers, simply an icredible variety of people.

There are a huge number of costume jewllery shops there selling all kinds of funky jewellery, bead necklaces, crystals, earrings made of feathers, all brightly coloured, unlike the sophisticatd and rather drab stuff you find inside the city. Then there are clothes shops seeling stuff at throwaway rates, there are "Henna tatoo" places, and proper tatoo places and we actually saw a person with tatoos all over his arms and legs... which was seriously startling.

And there are artists all the way down, painting the sea, the people, portraits, abstract art, stuff sraight out of the imagination- like an artists view of another planet... whatever. And there are artistes of other kinds too- there was a huge group of people with percussion insruments of all kigs- drum and what not -all playing together, while an even huger crowd gathered around them, simply to enjoy the ambience of the place.

And there was an old guitarist sitting on the stairs to some building playing and singing to himself- and there were several DJ's there- all doing weird stuff with their music- there wore bikers and skaters and rollerbladers- it wa sa wonderful eclectic crowd- all bright and lively, there was a sense of enthusiasm, and spontaniety in the air- it was the perfect place to spend a Sunday evening after a long week's work.

And at the end of the day there was a glorious sunset as the cream on the cake, a golden sun setting in a crimson and purple sky over multi-hued sea. The tide rising, and waves galloping to the surface, a pleasantly chill breeze, and a splinter of the moon in the sky, stars just peeping out, and as the lights dimmed in the sky, the ones on earth lit up, in bright red, and blue and green, the sounds of laughter drifting in the air as we made our way home

The Taste of Heaven

I've had a bit of heaven today. Cold and sweet and with bits of rich chocolate, sandwiched on either side by a melty, nutty adictive chocolate chip cookie. And for just a little while, the world was a perfect place, while I swirled it round my tongue, let it slide down my throat, revelled in it , in its smell, its texture, its taste. Heaven isn't free... but at one dollar it comes pretty cheap, and the Gates to Heaven ar at "Didi Riese" ... there is the solution to every problem in life.... this alone is worth coming to LA for... the equivalent of Rava Dosai at Saravana Bhavan, or Idli at Murugan Idli's back at home.

The walk to and fro was lovely too. The evening brings a gentle mist to settle down upon us, and the roads are lighted by dim lamps that illuminate small circles and deepen the shadows behind the trees where things lurk in our imaginations. There is a graveyard on the way. It's hardly spooky though, the even green lawns, and the neat rows of tombstones, leave an impression of peace, and restfulness, a place abiding of calm in this eternally restless city.

A sense sublime
Of something far more deeply interfused,
Whose dwelling is the light of setting suns,
And the round ocean and the living airAnd the blue sky, and in the mind of man,—
A motion and a spirit, that impels
All thinking things, all objects of all thought,
And rolls through all things.

- The poem's Wordsworth's ,not mine- but its pretty much cevers what I'm feeling now- I seem to have gotten a bit off topic...Ah well....

Me ,Myself and I in Solitude

I remember when I was at peace with myself, younger then, and more innocent...or perhaps wiser, solitude held no fear for me then. I was content then with my own company. I did not dislike he presence of others, but I did not actively seek out companionship either. I could be found raoaming around the garden, making worlds and creating adventures in my own imagination... perhaps these games were better off without a real and practical friend who may inadvertantly pointed out that all thses situations existed only in my own imagination.

Now I cannot bear my own company. That eternal optimism is gone. That faith that in the end all things will turn out well is gone. In its place are fears that rise up and suffocate at a moments' notice; the fear of falure mostly and disappointment.And therefore do I constantly seek distraction with friends, in music and books, in simply surfing the web... afraid of the dark corners that the mind will turn to if left in solitude; and yet despising in myself the cowardice that fears that which is within me.

I tell myself to be brave, that it is only the imagination that gave me so much joy when I was young , that turns on me now, with the same power that it hs always had, to make me believe in the delusions of my own mind... that the fears are of my own creation as the pleasures were, long ago. And all I have to do is to find the strength of mind to turn my thoughts away... but that strength does not come easily- not when shadows are so overpowering, and the future so clouded. And fearing to look into the uncertain future, I must "live in the present"- and to do that, I must have enough to occupy all my senses, and for this reason I keep myself constantly busy and surrounded by people, but no one is as alone ,as one alone in a crowd.

Living up to my designated title..

RA's named me bookworm... and with nothig nothing else to blog about I've decided to live up to that name. Thanks to my cousin with whom I stayed for a few days, I've caught up on my Sci-fi and Fantasy reading.

First... "Eldest"... the latest out on the Fantasy bookshelves... apparenly written by a teenager. For a teenager its brilliant... it does seem derived though... you can see influences of Lord of the Rings, Star Wars ....(why is it so standard for the hero's father to turn out be one of the arch-villains?)

Then the whole David Eddings series... the whole Belgariad thing...its not too bad... a bit little more for kids than for adults... and now I've found that apparently that there's another series that's a sequel to it... its not great enough to warrant obsessive reading but I can't just leave a series half way like that...

Then there's T.H White's "The Once and Future King"... for people interested in old folklore and mythology its a good read... all about Arthur and Merlin. Prefer Mary Stewart's series though- "The Crystal Cave", "The Hollow Hills" and so on.

Then there was Arthur C. Clarke's "Time's Eye"... its nowhere near stuff like Childhood's End or the "Rama" series... but it had some interesting points. And there's a sequel to it.. in my College Library... which is a lovely place with leather couches and all.

And finally there is my "Book of the Week". Its from a different genre from the rest, drama, action and absolutely amazing- Henry Charriere's "Papillon". Its an awesome story about a man who is given a term of imprisonment far in excess of what he deserves... and then his attampts to escape... over and over again, without giving up or giving in, his refusal to accept anything but utter freedom. Its an amazingly insightful book... a look into the underworld, their values and morals... the concept of honour among thieves, and yet in their own eyes they are not thieves at all... merely men doing what they must to get on in life.

Anyway speaking of bookworms I'll leave you with this:

Isolated...no news here :(

The big thing that everyone here is tlking about is Hurrucane Rita...hitting Florida and Texas...the hole place has been evacuated , people are saying that its going to be a bigger one than Katrina... but this time they're prepared- so there's going to be a lot less damage.

Katrina itself could have been a lot less damaging if only it had been properly managed, I think...it makes me proud of the way the Indian government handled events like the Tsunami- for which there was practically no warning...whereas hurricanes have a whole tracking and warning system ...which warn people several days in advance. The floods in Mumbai were also better handled I think than New Orleans ere...it seems that (surprise ,surprise), we're better equipped to deal with a crisis... or is that because we seem to have so many of them... a flood or a famine somewhere ...now its floods in AP.

I feel awfully cut off from the rest of the world here ...US newspapers report almost exclsively on regional and national i=news... there's almost nothing on International happenings... Europe at the most ...We'd probably hear about India only if there was some really catastrophic event.

The newspapers here aren't great either( Aditya- make note)... the falling standards of journalism seems to be universal... there are more tabloids screaming out about Brtiney Spears baby than any thing else at all the stalls. The supposedly good newspapers are either far left or far right...there's no such thing as unbiased news. Missing "The Hindu" here, for all its flaws it was a good morning read.

City of Angels

Well here I am ,at long last , in the Los Angeles, and I find that I have after all, very little to say. I can offer no startling insights on the land of the free. I can only say, that it may well take internity before I call this land, as beautiful as it is, home.

After the excitement of anticipation, after the sleepless nights, the hopes and the fears, living here is surprisingly mundane. There is every convenience, machines of all kinds, that are taken for granted here, that take the place of the maid servant back at home, and it is that humn touch that I miss.

In USA distance is of no great consequence, if you have a car(and the money) , anything can be got within the hour. America runs on ts cars and there is the rub, for the poor international student who drives on the wrong side of the road, to whom the system of roads and freeways is a maze, and the idea of waiting for a pedestin to cross the road is simply alien!

It has to be said that people here are courteous to the point of being painfully polite! Everyone is dreadfully helpful, and ironically compltely uninterested in another's business...Quite the opposite of India really. And yet I love the motherland for all her flaws, the surly auto-drivers, the rude conductors(I'l never complain about the pubilc transport in Madras again- at least in exists! ) - the heat, the dust- in this cold and spotlessly clean place(yes, California is cold! Any plce below 30C is cold for a Chennaiite)...And I am so terribly afraid that in time .I will become a person of no land...unable to return, wholly and without regrets to the land of my birth and unable to love the land I live in.

I am homesick right now, for friends and family and my dog. I'd give a great deal to have them scold me right now, or bug me or jump on me(whichever applies)But it is not always so. I can go for hours together without feeling the gnawing emptiness inside me, mostly when I am in Barnes and Noble the chain of bookstores)...that is very nearly Paradise on Earth!

Well, I am done unburdening myself. If it sounds depressing,don't let it worry you, its probably the jet lag speaking. An hour from now, only this printed proof will exist to show that I ever felt this way .

An Ending-and Moving On...

Today I'll be leaving to the US. The realisation came crashing down on me when I woke up this morning. All this time its been the excitement of going there...I've doing too much-.shoppping, packing,visiting people - to actually contemplate the fact that I won't be seeing all this, for at least another year. But there have been times when I look up and think, "I have to remember this, It may be the last time I will ever see it." And sometimes I slow down in the middle of eating and savour the food,like I'm afraid I'll never get good food again.

I'm dreading the good-bye's ,I'm going to miss this lovely house, where I've lived practically all my life, with its brick walls and lovely sloping roof. I'll miss the garden, with the pavizhamalli white and wonderfully scented in the front, next to the yellow kanni poo. The coconut trees that frame the sides, the guava on the side, the hibiscuses that rarely seem to bloom. But home is more about the flesh and blood that give life to the place. I'm going to miss everyone here, my parents, my sis, my grandmother,my dog, my friends...

I'm going to miss this city, with its hustle and bustle, miss trvelling by our infamous PTC buses, haggling with auto-drivers, the street shops in T.Nagar and Mylapore, the juice shops that have cropped up all over the place, "Shakes and Creams" and "Planet Yumm" near the beach, where we used to hang out...all my friends have already gone on, to work or for further study, it looks like I'll be one of the last to begin on the next step of my life. I look forward to it, but I'm still oscillating between exitement and apprehension.

A Tribute

Teacher's day is on September 5th, an occasion to remember all those brave souls who waged a war with my lack of intellect, who tried desperately to drive information into an empty head.

I have several favourite teachers, who deserve mention, starting all the way from Kindergarten.
There it was Helen ma'am(or uppity-bumpity ma'am- she taught us to draw bumps as well as our first letters). These teachers are largely underappreciated, and usually forgotten about, but they are the ones who have to put up with the worst and most unreasonable years of kids. It was Helen ma'am who put up with my tears when I wouldn't be separated from my grandmother(I actually demanded that she stay under the mango tree outside of class the whole time!...and of course as soon as one kid starts off....the others join in the chorous).I also remember following her around everywhere, clutching the pallu of her sari tightly, as she made rounds of other classes, and on one such day, when it was raining, and the roof was leaking(they were thatched roofs-a good excuse for a rain holiday)- I got a cold, and she was the first person(that I can remember)-to tell me to cough with the hanky over my mouth-my first lessons in ettiquette.

In primary school the first teacher who comes to mind is Sree ma'am who taught biology. She was as much a friend as a mentor, the first of those teachers we could talk almost as an equal, rather than a great and rather distant personality.

There was our Headmistress Guna ma'am, fair and kind, but strict- she took handwriting, and despaired of me, and took me to task because I was intent on speed rather than quality!

Then Shyamala ma'am who took physics, I can still hear her shocked "Dickens!" when we came up with particularly inventive answers or excuses.

There was our Principal Mr Sharma, who ended the assembly every morning with a "Please disperse quietly" Assemblies never felt quite right after he left, and then I changed school, and there about a year later we got a new principal, my chemistry teacher from my old school and my day was made when she ended the prayers there, with those old familiar words!

There are two maths teachers on my list. One is Abraham ma'am who taught maths in 4th and 5th standard, and created in me a love for geometry, which served me very well through the higher classes, the other is Vijymeenakshi Miss(the difference in title is because they were in different schools...I've always been more comfortable with ma'am myself...It doesn't make sense to call a married woman miss you know?)...Anyway, she was one of those rare people who could keep the class in order effortlessly... no screaming, threats...sending people out of class... and she was an excellent teacher...a rare breed indeed! She was small, barely 5 feet tall and had hair in a thick plait, all the way down to her knees! And her sarcastic "Well madam/sir?" when one of us was upto mischief still stays with me.

Through 11th and 12th the teacher I liked best was our English teacher Lakshmi Srinivasan -our English textbooks while not as dull as the other subjects were nothing to write home about, she still managed to hold us captivated through the dullest essays!

In college- there is our HOD- a wonderful person- inspirational in his passion for his subject. And very kind if you don't rub himthe wrong way. He has no patience with sloppiness, and god help you, if your shirt is untucked , or your ID card is misplaced!

And there is Annie ma'am(we voted for her to get the best teacher award) and Priya Shirley(another maths person) ma'am.

And in the end there is one person I have to mention- my paatu sir. I cannot call music a passion- although I love it, it has had to consistantly take second place to my other ambitions. But he has always been willing to teach me, whenever I have had to time to learn. He is not one who will waste words on compliments but an "Aah ok" means all the world from him.

Far from the Madding Crowd!

At long last I have something to blog about. I took a break from the monotony of :
1Shopping
2.packing
3.Check list
4.repeat ad nauseum,

for a one day trip to Pondicherry.Mu Mum my sister and I. A last minute addition was our dog.(He jumped into the car and refused to get out!)So we took his doggy bowl,and lunch and lunch for all the bipeds, a book to read (which remains unread) and went on our way.

We took the Dindivanam road while going...the NH 45 as smooth as butter rolled along all the way...a little faster and I think we would have been flying! The route was scenic ...greenery as you would never believe in Tamil Nadu, almost unbroken except by the occasional village.

We stopped on the way by the Panchavati Panchamukha Aanjaneyar koil, a relatively new one just picking up popularity with devotees. The temple is still incomplete but promises to be quite grand in the future. The prasadam(pongal) at any rate was excellent(smelling wonderfully of ghee...) .

Our next stop was Auroville. We got pretty much lost in the roads and bylanes of the place, having missed the turn to the visitors centre and had to retrace our path by almost 4 kilometres. Alas, the Matrimandir is still not open to the public(it wasn't the last time we went either, nearly a year ago)...but we made it in time to wander in the gardens a bit and then spent an hour or so shopping.(The stuff there is lovely and, for three females...absolutely irresistable!)

We ate lunch under the shade of the trees in the parking lot, where Nuggy annoyingly picked a fight with the neighbourhood dog...he didn't seem to realise that is wasn't his territory! And then when we dragged him away, he went on strike and refused to eat luch. At long last, after coddling and coaxing him into eating, we were back on the road.

Pondicherry best known for cheap liquor and pirated DVD's( we bought neither- I feel like my life has been a waste ;))... is not all as quaint and charming as people would have you believe. The quaintness is limited to the old areas , where the French had settled...There the streets are called "Rues" and have exotic(and unpronouncable ) names. The stretch along the beach is a lovely walk and we had a fruit juice at a small restaurant where they didn't mind us bringing the dog in.

We went to the Ashram then, which would have been nicer if only we had some time to sit and take in the ambience of the place. It is beautifully maintained... flowers like you'd expect only in ooty and Kodai... and quiet and calm.Then we went to the Vinayaka Koil...and then we were forced to again heed to call of our tummies and went to an interesting little shop called Cottage Restaurant near a handicrafts shop of the same name...Pondicherry seems full of these handicraft things and antique stuff, which drove us quite mad...

We left reluctantly, by the ECR route, with the view of the sea all the way, looking calm and blue and serene. But we saw that the rows of identical houses built a good dostance from the beach for Tsunami relief...it seems that people aren't so trusting of the benevolence of the sea anymore.

Anyway...we're all home now, and none of us happier to be back than Nugget...he's going to think twicw about jumping into the car with us in the future!

Love me,Love my Dog

This, is the apple of my eye, the light of my life, my pride and joy! He's a daschund, six years old and his name, is Nugget. He's the cutest thing on earth (along with Brad Pitt), and only a little less bright thatn he is cute.(Even with canines beauty and brains don't go together); at any rate he does know enough to hide under the bed when "bath" or "vet" is mentioned. He's the first person into the car when we go out...and the first one into the house when we come back.



He protects us from all manner of things:lizards, black ants, rats and dirty socks. Cats are beneath his notice, and they make their homes and have their kittens quite happily in our store room. After an unfortunate altercation with a full grown dobberman at the tender age of 6 months, his sparring with other dogs is confined to being purely verbal; from the safe confines of the house, and the car with all the windows rolled up.


He's a pure vegetarian( you know, with all the non-violence and the vegetarianism, I think he's going to be a true example of Gandhianism). He eats rice with curd and a little sambar on top, or Chappattti's with Dal. He needs to be properly served though. One person to put the bowl out, and tell him what a good, fine dog he is; and another to roll the rice into little balls or tear the Chappatti's into little pieces, and feed them to him one by one.(That's one spoilt dog!)
















For a dog who's parentage is from the US and who's ancestry goes back to Germany, this is one dog who just loves the Chennai weather. He hates the "cold winter" or the rains(won't step out and get his li'l paws dirty), he likes it hot and hotter!

He's a great companion, his soulfull big eyes seem to understand perfectly when you're down. He never talks back, never gives unnecessary advice, he's always ready for a good time...he would have made a great human being!

Nothing Endures but Change

I saw a blog by someone else, I can't remember where now, it was a strong objection to the idea of Change being the only thing permanent in life. It surprised me at that point actually that anyone could feel that way, and even more surprisingly protest against change.

Change is after all the cornerstone of life, of existance, of being. From the time something changed in the primodeal state of the pre-universe leading to the Big Bang, there have been changes, many of them violent and destructive which have finally brought us here.

I don't speak of change simply interms of natural ones either, but there are the ones that we as society bring about that are ineveitable. They may be gradual, indeed I believe that it is the ones that are gradual that last. Wars do little to change the human condition. Look at Iraq now for instance, Instead of living under a native dictator, they have practically been colonised by a greater power. But the situation of the common people remains the same. That change will only come with time, as the people themselves fight for their rights and for true democracy.

Change is inevitable, as life isn't fair to everyone all at once; those who are the underdogs today, will fight to be on top tomorrow. There is no point in bewailing these changes.The only difference that you can make is by changing your attitude to adapt to the change. Change after all, is better than stagnation; a stagnant society will quickly find itself overwhelmed.

Not all change may be good, though you may assume that someone is getting some good out of it somewhere. But that is no reason to to fear chage. Indeed, I fear the opposite, unchangingness- for the simple reason, that that which is unchanging, must be so for all eternity, and eternity is not something I can even begin to fathom.

It has been said, that "the more things change the more they stay the same". That kind of reminds me of a fractal: those geometrical shapes which look the same in their most basic structure as they do magnified.

This may be true, but in that case the perception of change is important. For a poor man who becomes rich, there may be a rich man who became poor, thus balancing things out overall...or as we improve our standards of living, the poverty line may simply be raised, leaving the same number of people beneath it and so on....but the fact is change has taken place, and there is no stoppin it!

My Culinary Experiences

As I'm not going to be at home for much longer, I thought it best to learn how to cook. I've been told I can make a decent cup of tea(just as well, as I can't live without it), and a few other simple things.

But unless I want my palate to die, I figured I better learn to make some more interesting dishes. Stuff I'd actually like to eat, as opposed to stuff I'd have to force down my throat day after day. So I went for a bunch of cooking lessons and learnt a whole lot of rather exotic dishes: Panneer Butter Masala, and Aalu Tikki and so on...stuff to make you drool, but not really practical to make every day.

So now I'm learning under the aegis of the true expert- my Mom. Mother after all, knows best. We do have rows about what I want to learn and what she wants me to learn...but these are normal and associated with every experience of mine, and I would be quite worried and put out if they didn't take place. Most of them are over Spinach, which I loathe, detest and despise, and find very hard to believe that it goes into one of my favourote dishes- Lasagna. Spinach unfortunately is easy to make and can be made in a variety of ways, and on top of that, It has "great nutritional value"(Why is it that the veggies you hate have the greatest nutriotional value;you never hear anyone talking about how good potato is for health!)

Anyway, now I'm a bit more proficient- so far everything's been edible and I haven't blown the kitchen up, or burnt the milk; and I decided to make a list of veggies I like to eat, and which are easy to cook(slave of my tongue and lazy to boot)- shortens the list of things to learn considerably, doesn't it? Anyway, I noticed something odd about a lot of the Veggies we take for granted these days.

Take potatoes for example(po-tah-toes if you like). They're not native to India- They're from half way across the world- Peru as a mater of fact. So are tomatoes(To-mah-toes anyone?) Lady's fingers(or okra if you prefer) are from Africa.Carrots originated in Afghanistan(though they may have found their way into India along with the Mughals),Peas in the Middle East,Pumpkin, the staple requirement of Morukozhambu and kootu, is from Europe and North America.I am glad I wasn't born a few hundred years ago...life without fried Aloo, Muttar Panneer, Bhindi Sabji, Tomato Rasam... makes me shudder to think of it!We had a lot of spices...but man can't live on spice alone!

As a matter of fact, we would have had to live on a several gourds(yucky ,squishy stuff) and yams( all high carb)...sounds like a very primitive existance...We have a lot to be thankful for these days. Every taste can be catered to, with things as exotic as olives being imported in. Only...I still have to learn to make them....

A Shopaholics Day out

I wouldn't normally describe myself as a shopaholic; usually I'm a sane person when faced with temptation, perfectly able able to maintain my composure in the presence of the varieties of colours and textures provided by our shops. I prided myself on my restraint, in fact I would even describe myself as having shoppingophobia. It used to be perfectly safe to allow me into a shop, with or without a heavy purse, I would come out, the pursestrings as tight as ever(well,except maybe in a bookstore...but that doesn't count here.) Actually the shopping that I did was mostly of the window shopping kind.

Today, my eyes were opened wide to the fact that such days maybe long gone. It would take a better person than I am to resist the Aadi Maasam end of season Sale. Indeed that perfidious word "SALE" written in bold letters, all over the doors, windows, the pillars and the posts, acts as a sort of optical drug, ensnaring the mind and bewitching the senses, a sort of irresistable siren call, inviting you to loosen your grip on your money.You would have to wear blinkers on either side of your head to avoid temptation.

Unfortunately I am a red-blooded female, and to ask me not to be tempted is like asking the eath to stop spinning; this may be what Eve felt upon seeing the Apple..."To hell with the price...I must have it!"And the women of today have competition to contend with as we do...Eve didn't have to worry about the apple not being there if she didn't eat it today you know, whereas if you leave a nice dress or bag or shoes or...whatever at the store, there is no saying that the woman behind you(that one with the greedy eyes and covetous hands) ,won't buy it before you come back tomorrow.

And all that is enough to make me brave the like minded masses that turn up in every shop I go, driven apparenly by the same desperation. And not just women either, there are men children, and some beings you might be forgiven for thinking came from outer space. And it isn't limited to clothes. Nothing is sacred anymore...there are sales of jewellery, shoes, sports stuff, books, cars, computers...anything that can be sold.

And now that my purse is so much lighter and my arms ache from carring bags of stuff...I do hope I won't live to regret my extravagance in the light of the morning sun.

A few of Murphy's Laws (and other similar things)

1.If everything seems to be going well, you obviously don't know what the hell is going on.

2.The probability of anything happening is inversely proportional to its desirability.

3.You can fool some of the people all of the time, and all of the people some of the time, but you can make a fool of yourself anytime.

4.Complex problems have simple, easy to understand wrong answers.

5.It's only illegal if you get caught..

6.There are only two sentences you need to remember to survive in life:

• I have no recollection of the events in question.
• The cat did it.

7.Be brave. Even if you're not, pretend to be. No one will know the difference

---

8.Logic is a systematic method of coming to the wrong conclusion with confidence.

9.Murphy's Laws do not apply to those people who deserve it.

10.Whichever of Murphy's Laws you expect to assert itself will not.

Raven's Law of Double-Negation

---

11.No one gets too old to learn a new way of being stupid.

12If at first you don't succeed, give up. No use being a damn fool.
If at first you do succeed, try not to look astonished.

13If you thought yesterday was bad, wait till you see what happens today.

---

Macavity the Mystery Cat

After reading Deepti's post on Ogden Nash, I was inspired to blog my own favorite humourous poem: Macavity, the Mystery Cat by T.S.Elliot. It was one of the songs in the play CATS by AndrewLloyd Webber as well.

Macavity's a Mystery Cat: he's called the Hidden Paw -
For he's the master criminal who can defy the Law.
He's the bafflement of Scotland Yard, the Flying Squad's despair:
For when they reach the scene of crime - Macavity's not there!

Macavity, Macavity, there's no one like Macavity,
He's broken every human law, he breaks the law of gravity.
His powers of levitation would make a fakir stare,
And when you reach the scene of crime - Macavity's not there!
You may seek him in the basement, you may look up in the air -
But I tell you once and once again, Macavity's not there!

Mcavity's a ginger cat, he's very tall and thin;
You would know him if you saw him, for his eyes are sunken in.
His brow is deeply lined with thought, his head is highly domed;
His coat is dusty from neglect, his whiskers are uncombed.
He sways his head from side to side, with movements like a snake;
And when you think he's half asleep, he's always wide awake.

Macavity, Macavity, there's no one like Macavity,
For he's a fiend in feline shape, a monster of depravity.
You may meet him in a by-street, you may see him in the square -
But when a crime's discovered, then Macavity's not there!

He's outwardly respectable. (They say he cheats at cards.)
And his footprints are not found in any file of Scotland Yard's.
And when the larder's looted, or the jewel-case is rifled,
Or when the milk is missing, or another Peke's been stifled,
Or the greenhouse glass is broken, and the trellis past repair -
Ay, there's the wonder of the thing! Macavity's not there!

And when the Foreign Office find a Treaty's gone astray,
Or the Admiralty lose some plans and drawings by the way,
There may be a scrap of paper in the hall or on the stair -
But it's useless to investigate - Mcavity's not there!
And when the loss has been disclosed, the Secret Service say:
`It must have been Macavity!' - but he's a mile away.
You'll be sure to find him resting, or a-licking of his thumbs,
Or engaged in doing complicated long-division sums.

Macavity, Macavity, there's no one like Macavity,
There never was a Cat of such deceitfulness and suavity.
He always has an alibi, and one or two to spaer:
At whatever time the deed took place - MACAVITY WASN'T THERE!
And they say that all the Cats whose wicked deeds are widely known
(I might mention Mungojerrie, I might mention Griddlebone)
Are nothing more than agents for the Cat who all the time
Just controls their operations: the Napoleon of Crime!

Who thought that Economics and History could be so Interesting?

As one who dreaded the social exam, and avoided History-Geography-Economics-Civics textbooks like plague, I never thought I'd find myself reading a book on Economics with anything approaching interest, especially after trying "The Wealth of Nations " by Adam Smith, to fulfill a perceived intellectual lacking, and plodding through after about 50 pages before giving up utterly.

"Freakonomics" though is nothing like your average, dry , boring textbook. Its actually rather interesting... though if your looking for a solution to deep and profound questions like an answer to Thirld World poverty, or ways of closing the income gap betwwen the rich and poor, you may want to look elsewhere. It asks a lot of interesting questions though and disproves many notions that people take for granted... it doesn't provide too many answers though... vindicates the "Butterfy effect" perhaps... that the strangest events have a completely unexpected effect somewhere else.

The other book that proved to be an unexpectedly good read was Bill Bryson's "A Short History of Almost Everything" ... or maybe that isn't that surprising. Parts of it are not unlike Stehen Hawking's 'A Brief History of Time" (Even the titles are simiar' ... but its been written with a really nice sense of humour... and its not so much an explanation of why things are the way they are... but how we found out that they are the way they are... and don't let "History" scare you off... its more like a History of Science really. It takes us up close and personal with the lives and eccentricities of the great ( and not so great) men whose work led us knowing what we do about the world ... humanizing them , giving you the feeling that the author actually knew them... and it also mentions several unsung heroes of Science ... those whose work had been plagiarised or attributed to someone else... or who had simply been forgotten until the world was ready for their ideas.

Sudoku

This is supposed to be the wave sweeping the country (maybe the whole world?)...at any rate its got me hooked. I discoverd it about 2 months back on the back page of "The Hindu" and glared at the intellectual looking thing that was encroaching on the "fun page" (that's what the last page is -random titbits that are so much more interesting to read than the dull, dreary and depressing main headlines.

I tried it out of sheer boredom...and it rapidly wormed itsway into becoming a staple in my ife... I've begun to feel about it like some people do about their morning coffee... or the daily crosswor; my day is simply not complete without it! I get pretty annoyed when someone ( usually my dad ) finishs the puzzle before I can get to it... its led to some cranky moments!

The initial puzzles that were featured in "The Hindu" were really simple...fifteen minutes tops (once you get the hang of it) but there were a couple of hard ones... the one last Friday was( if I remember right... I still haven't completed it! But supposedly every Sudoku puzzle is solvable and has a unique solution... so I'm keeping on at it! Now Sudoku features in practically every magazine... even Ananda Vigadan (or was it kumudam?)... anyway... my grandmother was working hard at solving one the other day!

The anniversary of the Hiroshima bombing

60 years ago today, a bomb was dropped on Hiroshima that changed the nature of war everywere. No longer were the soldiers and those who actually fought the war at risk, the threat of war escalating with the use of nuclear weapons was in the air and every crisis was further tainted with this risk. Nor would the deaths stop with the end of the war, in fact it was far worse for those who survived and had to live with the pain of radiation poisoning, everyday, a slow death.The stakes are so much higher, now that there are so many countries with the ability to destroy the world with the press of one finger.

I cannot accept the reasoning that the bombs hadn't been used the war would have continued for much longer. Perhaps it would have taken longer to end the war.But there is a survey that concluded that the war in an case would have ended before November of the same year. But how many more people died, and these were civilians, there were children there! And once they saw how destrucive the atom bomb was, how could they bring themselves to use it a second time, on Nagasaki?It is as though, they got carried away with the power at their finger tips. It seems more like the threats made by a Bond villain, and less lke the actions of a responsible govetnment.

How ironic that it is to the Americans that we now justify our own nuclear program; it is to gain their approval and for the lifting of sanctions they had imposed that we separate reactors used for military purposes from those used for civilian purposes, at ggreat cost to us.

And how ironic that the Japanese have apologised for the second world war, but the Americans government has not breathed a word of apology for the horror it created. Perhaps it is because no apology would be sufficient to those who died, and for those who survived in that attack? There was a passage in our 11th standard English text that I remember, which describes the survivors of the bombings; people with eyes melting out of sockets, skin burnt off exposing the flesh underneath, truly the stuff of horror stories; and even now we hear of malformed babies and genetic diseases that affect those living in that area.

I have to wonder at the people who worked on the bomb. Surely they could not have been completely unaware of its potential for destruction. These were some of the greatesr minds of their day... had genius so removed them from the concerns of ordinary people that they saw only numbers and figures, and became blind to the fact that people were going to be killed when the bomb was used! Oppenheimer who watched the first nuclear test said " I am become death, the destroyer of worlds". That is true I think...the monster was not so much what they created in the bomb, but the monster within them that allowed them so callously to calculate the optimum height to detonate the bomb to cause maximum amount of destruction.

And what can justify the fact that even after witnessing Hiroshima and Nagasaki, we have developed weapons even more powerful, powerful enough to destroy the world several times over. How many times have come close to annihilating ourselves. Are we living on borrowed time? Have we already dug ourselves a grave so deep that there is no way to climb out?

Something new to read finally!

Ok...I do realise I've been waaaay too occupied with Harry Potter recently. But now, I'm pleased to say, the dust has settled down (and maverick and RA will be glad to hear too I'm sure).

I've met up with an old friend about a week back...when we were kids we used to sneak books through the window(speciall during exam time when my mom wasn't supposed to know I was reading novels between the covers of mt textbooks! This is her:
blog .She is one person I've always enjoyed talking to. She, like me is a pretty much indiscriminate reader...and we share a similar taste in books...and our disagreements only serve to give us something to talk about! Anyway she gave me a coupl of books to wean me away from Harry Potter.

The first was one "For Matrimonial Purposes", which, if you lived in Chennai and read "The Hindu", you would have seen a review of. It was very good...a sory of a girl( and a girl with a very successful career at that) whose entire ambition is...to get married!

The other was "Can you keep a secret" by Sophie Kinsella...another romantic comedy...about a woman who spills her deepest, darkest secrets to a stranger on the plane...a stranger who happens to be the President of the company she works for! Of course it ends with happily ever after... but the way they get there is pretty amusing.

Meeting her, led me to brave the dust on my bookshelf in search of a book she hasd let me...oh ...so long ago.Called the "Shadow of Ladakh" it is set during the Chinese invasion of India, when we were forced to look past the "Hindi-Cheeni bhai bhai" idealism, and were forced to accept that all the diplomatic overtures were only covering up the reality of the situation. The book is partly from the point of view of a man who learnt the way of ahimsa under Gandhiji...how traumatic it must have been to see his ideals crumble and watch his nation take up arms!

Red,Yellow, Blue or Green

This just came up while I was wondering which Hogwarts' house I would have been in.

It's interesting to note that the Hat places students based on the values the Founders thought were most important, not based on the qualities that they themselves may have had...for example I think that a person without a vast intellect would be as likely to value intelligence in her students as a genius-in fact I think that a genius would have valued intelligence less (or at least been more aware of the limitations of pure intellect ), and possibly valued hard-work, or the drive to succed more.

And courage? Isn't that quality most desperately desired by those who fear constantly? Those who have not the courage to stand up for their convictions... and circumstances may make a lion out of a mouse ...think of the Lion in the Wizard of Oz... the Wizard's dose of courage only gave him confidence in himself- the courage was there all the time.

What about ambition...of all qualities most reviled.And what pray, is wrong with ambition! What is wrong with being driven by a need to succeed.Where would we be without ambition? Back in caves , hunting for our food and fighting for survival with animals. I was ambition that brought us to cities...ambition that took us from one heigh to the next...ambition that conquerd the highest peaks and the deepest seas. Oh, it took courage and hard work and knowledge certainly, but these would have been untested and weak without ambition to turn them into achievement. And people still hate Slytherins!

But it was the one line " And good Hufflepuff took all the rest" that bowled me...its almost godlike...to accept all those without anything particularly special about them , for what they are and to ask no more or less...that is the essensce of love. Between that and the Hufflepuffs' reputaion for industry and fairness...well I'll have to work on industry , but justice has always been important (justice, sseasoned with mercy) .So if you don't mind Hufflepuff's just perfect for me.