I'm glad to be back after a few days of severe sore-throat, cold and mild fever from which I have recovered completely by His Grace.

There had been very important events that included our Hindu Fest `Deepaavali' (Festival of Lights), Lakshmi Pooja etc. I have mentioned about these in my posts somewhere around this time last year. 

There had also been very interesting but often unnoticed bits and pieces of our flora and fauna near my residence. I'll share them with you when I find time.  Thanks and wish you all the best until we meet next time on this blog. 

The Beatles in History

I assume that many among us (including those who read a lot) seem to prefer watching TV to reading, as the farmer is easier. 

Though Spiritual and Classical Music programs are my most favorite TV, I continue watching programs in other areas like development, education and soft rock when I find time. 

Last week, there was a very interesting program on History TV 18 Channel as a tribute to The Beatles, my most favorite pop music group. It was Grammy's `Salute' to The Beatles and featured Sir Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr, two of the members of the famous `Fab Four'. I think that the program would have taken numerous fans like me on a nostalgic journey back in time! Songs such as `Get back' and `Hey Jude' were absolutely mesmerizing (though I don't like some of the lyrics of `Hey Jude' as they seem to be obscene to me). It is amazing how Beatles and their music continue to attract youngsters of today as they did 40 years back (at which time we used to enjoy singing their songs). 

I tried to provide a link to the program, but couldn't. However let me share a TV screenshot of the program as seen on my TV set.

Modi in Madison SG

Hope you're all fine. I'm glad to be back again on the blog. Though I have watched many interesting events on TV, it is the first time to watch one that drew Indians not only across the US but also from other countries including India to Madison Square Gardens yesterday and share time with our charismatic prime minister Narendra Modi. It was nice to watch celebrities such as L Subramaniam with his family. Arnab Goswami's presence from Times Now TV Channel was a great treat as well.

National Channel and Nelson Mandela

It was nice to watch a very interesting program about Nelson Mandela on our National Channel (TV) this morning. 18 July is his birthday. He was greatly influenced by legendary personalities like Mahatma Gandhi and Dr Martin Luther King Jr. In 1993, He and F W de Klerk jointly won their well deserved Nobel Peace Prize. 

Guru Pournima 2014

12 July was an important day for Hindus. It is known as Guru Pournima on which Shree Veda Vyaasa Maharishi, who wrote the great epic `Mahaabhaaratha', is worshiped. 

This evening I had the pleasure of watching a Bhajan performance by Anup Jalota, one of my most favourite Bhajan performers, on Sankara TV. (I remember with nostalgia as to how I happened to hear his "Rang de Chunaria" for the first time in a friend's house in South Africa many years back). 

Welcome, Mr Narendra Modi

I think that our new prime minister Mr Narendra Modi and his team will succeed in rooting out corruption completely. (I had the pleasure of working in Vadodara, a few years back. It was a nice experience to live in the city with very nominal auto-fares at a minimum tariff of Rs 7). 

Comedy programs on TV

Good comedy programs on TV have become rare these days. One comedy program which seems to be very interesting is telecast on Chandana. It involves common down-to-earth issues that surround many of our households. The lead actor who plays `Hanumantha Rao' acts excellently and so do others. They perform naturally with no over-action. Let me leave you with a few screenshots from one of the episodes of this comedy serial `Adechangaagi Kshamisi' (which I think is somewhat like that of R K Narayan's `Malgudi Days').

(I tried to provide a link to the program in accordance with the  hyperlinking policy of the channel, but couldn't).

  

It is good that the Delhi University versus University Grants Commission problem has ended amicably (according to last night's TV news reports) and that students can continue pursuing their 3 year degree programs.  

Degree in doldrums?

Recent confusion over Delhi University's decision to extend its 3 year degree courses by one more year is an example of how our decision makers in higher education systems function. DU should not follow what American Universities do without proper analysis and planning. Science curriculum that students study in their 1st and 2nd year of their 4 year Bachelor's degree Courses in the US and the one that students in our Higher Secondary Courses study are not very different in terms of sheer content. What makes the difference is in terms of quality. Every knowledgeable educator knows that what we have in our HS Courses is quantity without much quality (except in the Indian School Certificate Syllabus). I think that our decision makers in Education should make changes only after in-depth analysis of all relevant issues involved, including any possible impact on students.