Yesterday I had the pleasure of viewing a nice travel show on Maldives on Travel XP Channel channel. Whenever I see or hear about this beautiful country I can't help remembering my good friend Jose (Jose Kottuthundiyil Cherian) who served there as HOD English and Principal in schools. (He and I were colleagues in a school in Bhutan in the late '70s. We lost contact for many years until a few years back, thanks to the Internet). I'll post his photo when he sends me one.

Sink sanity

Most people do works just like how others do. But some people do the same works differently (so that the work can be completed more efficiently). I belong to the second category though at first seen as a sort of `eccentric'. 

We all know that kitchen sinks are sources of mosquitoes, cockroaches and other living organisms that can harm our health. We also know that these organisms feed on kitchen trash. In order to minimise the inflow of these organisms, I always make it a point to close any sink-bound utensil with a lid before placing it in the sink (as shown in the photo below):

(The photo is upside down. I tried to insert it in the proper orientation, but couldn't. I regret the tech problem which I'll try to sort out when I find time. Sorry for inconvenience).

It is always better to place any utensil away from the centre so that when we open the sink tap, the water doesn't spill out from the utensil.

These are all simple (probably uncommon) ways of functioning with significant benefits.

Yesterday, after several weeks, I bumped into a very meaningful malayalam movie "Aathma Kathaa" meaning "Soul's Story", on Bharat Channel. This morning as I write this post, I hear a nice rendering by Placebo, a German rock band, on DW TV. Any entertainment medium isn't bad as long as it is meaningful. 

A few days back, Goswami Gaurav Krishnaji was narrating a small incident in one of his discourses on Srimad Bhaagavatham: An inspecting officer was visiting a school to assess the quality of education imparted to children. During his visit to a class, he asked the students, "Who broke Shiv Dhanush?" Students said that they didn't know. This happened in all classrooms. He presented this question to teachers. They also said that they didn't know. Eventually he called the headmaster and asked the same question. The headmaster replied, "Sir, I really don't know. By the way I didn't break it. As whatever has happened cannot be undone, please don't worry about it any more."   

Any one who read the Indian Epic Raamaayanaa would know that it was Lord Shri Raam who broke the Shiv Dhanush during Goddess Sita Devi's Swayamvaram and married her.

This incident gives a somewhat correct picture of what is happening in our K-12 schools. Our schools seem to teach our children as to how to make a living (in any manner)  but not how to live.  

Cash inconvenience to Columbia University

Mr Narendra Modi's government seems to be very firm in implementing programs to root out evils such as black money. I hope that our Government takes equally firm steps in eradicating corruption in all departments in general and judiciary and police in particular.

I lodged police complaint about one Kuber Sharma, a rogue individual owning an elearning company that cheated me (without paying salary). This guy's Facebook profile says that he had his education from Columbia University. (I don't know whether this is also a lie or whether the University admits anyone irrespective of his/her character). His company was based in Delhi at that time. Despite many reminders,  no action has so far been taken by Delhi or Chennai Police.

I hope that our Government views law and order as priority issue.

Jagdish Chandra Bose

Today is the 150th birthday of Dr Jagdish Chandra Bose, Indian physicist. Thanks to Google for their signature gesture in their 'Search' page today.

Children's Day

Today is celebrated as children's day in our country (India).

Soft rock and The Smarton Trio

As I am writing this post I am watching a very nice musical rendezvous presented by The Smarton Trio from Budapest on NDTV Prime channel. There's is a nice rendering of songs and instrumentals. It's a pleasure listening to low decibel non hifi hippie-rock after a long time. The program took me back to my college days when I used to complete my post lunch physics lab early and rush back home to listen to softrock. I remember rock concerts of the late '60s in general and events like Woodstock fest in particular, with nostalgia.

I am sure that many people of my age group would remember the negative aspects of Hippie movement. The movement gave some opportunity to people like me to share our viewpoints with fellow youth and caution them on the negative consequences of the `hippie cult' through youth magazines.  One such magazine was `Friends', published by Salesian Institute of Graphic Arts in Chennai. Its November 1969 (or November 1970) contained my short write up `Hippies, hypocrisy and happiness'.

Festival of lights

Best wishes for a happy Diwali.

Bob Dylan

This year's Nobel Prize for Literature to legendary rock songwriter musician Bob Dylan is interesting. It also seems to have set a new trend. Though I have used good popsongs in teaching English language, Physics and other subjects I never expected that pop music would be placed on the same pedestal as novels, poems and plays.

(I remember my students enjoying a Robert Frost poem that I always used whenever I explained Millikan's oil drop experiment to determine the specific charge of an electron).

Getting back to Bob Dylan,  who wouldn't like his "Blowing in the wind", "Like a rolling stone" or "Mr Tambourine  man"? His simple music will keep ringing in the ears of folk and rock music fans for many years to come.

I remember having read many years back that Bob Dylan's writing was influenced by the works of Dylan Thomas, an American poet.