Assorted.

Just for laughs

I became a bit spiritual this morning. So I closed my eyes and sat still and started thinking :-

     (a) Who am I?

     (b) Where did I come from?

     (c) Why have I come?

     (d) Where to go?

Then came my wife's voice from the kitchen,

"You are lazy number one, don't know from which world you have come to spoil my life, get up and go have a bath".

The complete knowledge of all four questions was attained with complete ease and complete nowledge and marked the completion of my spiritual journey!

     *        *        *

A Fact

Obesity is not because it runs in the family. It is because no one runs in the family.

      *        *         *

A Real Hero

Arambam Boby is from Manipur. He has won Mister India title 12 times, 3 times Mister Asia and 5 times Mister World. He is very respected bodybuilder in the world and many global magazines have featured him but Indians don't know their own hero who made India very proud. The Indian media doesn't give a damn.

       *        *         *

"Everything you've ever wanted is on other side of fear.

- George Addair. 

       *         *         *

Life Lessons from Sri Krishna

* Never give up on what you love

* Live life to the fullest

* Value friendship

* Treat everyone equally

* Enlighten everyone with your knowledge.

* Uphold dharma

        *         *         *

"We drink too much, smoke too much, spend too recklessly, laugh too little, drive too fast, get too angry, stay up too late, get up too tired, read too little, watch TV too much. We have multiplied our possessions but reduced our values. We talk too much, love too seldom and hate too often. We've learned how to make a living but not a life. We've added years to to life not life to years".

- George Carlin 1937 - 2008.

        *       *       *

In Satyug.             Good and Evil were in two different worlds : Devlok and Asurlok.

In Tretayug.         Good and Evil lived in the same world : Rama and Ravana.

In Dwaparyug.     Good and Evil were in the same family : Kauravas and Pandavas.

In Kalyug.             Good and Evil become the same person.

Tailpiece.

Sleep was hard to come by at a quarter past 3. Sat on my laptop and completed the rough work. 

The Wednesday 'aarathi' of the house. Offered the 'bali tharpanam' as today was Muthachhan's 'aandu'.

Off to the ECHS, Thrissur for our second jab of Covishield. We left at 10 and returned by 1430 hrs in Sajish's Innova.

Participated in the webinar : "Digital Libraries and Other Education Resources" by Prof Madhu Parhar,

Director, CENTRA (Commonwealth Education Programme) from 1830 - 1930 hrs.

 

14 Interesting Facts of Maths - Part II

..........contd..

  9. In a crowded room, two people will probably share a birthday. Ok, so this is a bit vague. What does a "crowded room" mean and how probable is "probably". Very good questions!

It turns out and this can actually be seen very easily with some basic probability that if you have as little as 23 people in a room there will be a 50% chance that two of them have the same birthday.

I know this seems completely counter-intuitive. Allow me to add to that counter-intuitive feeling of yours, if the room grows to have 70 people present, you'll now have a 99.9% chance that two of them have the same birthday!

This is known as the birthday paradox (or the birthday problem) and I highly suggest you look further into this. I hope to write a short article about this problem very soon.

 10. There is exactly 10 seconds in 6 weeks.

For those who are unaware, for any positive integer n, n! - read as "n factorial", represents the product of all positive integers less than or equal to n. S, for example, 5! = 5x4x3x2x1.

So, to see 10! seconds = 6 weeks, let's convert six weeks into seconds.

Let's now try to rewrite this so that it looks like 10!

 11. The number of milliseconds in a day is equal to 5 to the power of 5 x 4 to the power of 4 x 3 to the power of 3 x 2 the power of 2 x 1 to the power of 1.

 12. Multiplying ones will always give you palindromic numbers.

For those who are unaware, a palindromic number is simply a number that is the same backwards as forwards, for example 23432. 

So, if you calculate 1x1, we get 1. Ok, that's a bit of a lazy palindrome, let's move on.

11 x 11 = 121,

111x111 = 12321

1111x1111 = 1234321 and keep going. If you multiply111111111 x 111111111 you get 12345678987654321.

Furthermore, it is not necessary to have the same number of ones in the two numbers you are multiplying. For example 11 x 1111 = 12221 and 111111 x 1111 = 123444321.

  13. 18 is the only number that is twice the sum of its digits.

Although this is easily checked to be true for 18, it does require a little bit of thinking to argue that 18 is the only number for which this is true.

  14. The number 0.9999.....is exactly equal to 1.

I can give a rather simple proof of this. 

Let x = 0.9999.....

Then, multiplying both sides of the equation by 10, we have

10 x 9.9999....

If  we now subtract x = 0.9999 from both sides we have

10x - x = (9.9999.....) - (0.9999)

* 9x = 9

     x = 1.

A similar fact holds for any number containing an infinite string of 9s.

For example 0.4999.....= 0.5, 19.999...= 20 and -2.999....= -3.

If I'm honest, I'm never fully happy with this proof. It certainly serves its purpose to highlight what is going on but, for those who have studied any level of real analysis, you may feel like this is a cheap trick. I somewhat agree and for those who are interested you should look up how to prove this fact by using limits of sequences!

So, that's it, 14 interesting math facts to make you the life of any party.

......concluded.

Tailpiece.

Got up at 5, the chores and was ready by a half past 7. Sajish had dropped by, on the dot, at a half past 7. We took off for Kochi and dropped Lekha at Shenoy Care by 10 o'clock and then, headed for the Diabetic Care of India at Panampilli Nagar. 

Satish Bhat and I remembered Ramakrishnan, I told him about my recent observations and another medicine has been added to the ones that I'm having.

Padmanabha Shenoy was happy with Lekha's progress and he has given the clearance for the dental implants and allied work.

We returned home by a half past 4 but not before having our lunch of packed idlis by the wayside shade past Idappalli. 

 

   

 

14 Interesting Facts of Maths - Part I.

 1. The numbers on opposite sides of a die always add up to seven.

 2. Zero is an even number.

     For some of us, this may be a "yes, I know" fact but for a lot of people, this is not something they have ever thought about.

     Each year I propose a certain set of questions to my first-year classes to get them thining, this one of them as it forces them to question their definition of what an even number is. I always get the same results, everyone in the class is willing to claim they know what an even number is but very few are willing to stand up and declare that they believe zero to be even.

      For clarity, a good definition of an even number is as follows : a number is said to be even if, when divided by 2, it remains a whole number. Zero fits this perfectly since 0/2 = 0.

 3. A useful trick for percentages. Did you know that x% of y = y% of x? 

     This can make working out percentages a much easier task. For example, try to calculate 8% of 50 in your head. Not so easy, right? Now flip it and instead work out 50% of 8, I think it's clear which is easier.

Similarly, 32% of 75 may seem difficult to calculate, 75% of 32 seems a much easier challenge.

 4. Every odd number, when written in English, contains an "e".

 5. "Four" is the only number, when written in English, whose spelling contains the same number of letters as the number itself.

 6. If you count up the number of letters in the 13 different kinds of playing cards (ace, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten, jack, queen, king) you will find that there are 52 letters, exactly the number of playing cards in a deck (excluding jokers).

 7. The only number, when written in English, that is spelt with its letter in alphabetical order is 'forty". The only number, when written in English, that is spelt with its letters in reverse alphabetical order is "one".

 8. You can cut a cake into 8 equal pieces by using only 3 cuts.

     I have been told by quite a few people that this has been used as an interview question by many companies to test "out-of-the-box thinking".

     The "trick" here is to not think of a cake as a two-dimensional circle, as most people tend to, but instead as a three-dimensional cylinder, which it is. This then allows us to not only make the usual vertical cuts but we can now also make a horizontal cut. So if you use two of your cuts to form a cross on the top of the cake, effectively splitting the cake into four equal parts and use your third cut as a horizontal cut through the centre of of the cake, effectively splitting each of the four equal parts in half, you will achieve your 8 equal pieces.  

........to be continued.

Tailpiece.

Got up on the dot at 6, the chores and was ready by a half past 9. All things were tied up for our trip to Kochi, tomorrow, for our medical review.

Roy, the electrician, had come by to check and replenish the distilled water levels in the two batteries that we have.

Participated in the webinar "Self Learning and Life Long Learning - The Wheels of Success in the 21st Century" by Dr Prem Singh, IAS of the Niti Aayog from 1730 to 1830 hrs. It was nice.

"Buy one - get one free".

........may be a marketing gimmick but it is true in real life in many sense.

We buy (ie. harbouring this emotion) anger and get acidity free. We buy jealousy and get head ache free. We buy hatred and get ulcer free. We buy stress and get blood pressure free and so on.

Conversely, if we buy trust, we get friendship free. If we buy exercise, we get health free. If we buy peace, we get prosperity free. If we buy honesty, we get sleep free. If we buy love, we get all good virtues free.

May God bless us with the wisdom to buy right things for a healthy and purposeful life!

      *        *        *

Ramayan taught us......

When you come to this world, you have to face difficulties even if you are God.

Difficulties in life do not come to destroy you but to help you realise your hidden potential.

Let difficulties know that you too are difficult.

       *        *         *

From the Hindu Mythology 

Snake is dangerous for Mouse, Peacock is dangerous for Snake, Lion is dangerous for Peacock and Tiger is dangerous for bull. Still they live together peacefully in Mahadev's family.

This is how a family should live together happily with harmony.

It's a practical demonstration of the eco-system and beyond!

        *          *          *

Om Namah Sivaya

Om         -     soul.

Na          -     earth.

Mah       -     water.

Si           -     fire.

Va          -     pranic air.

Ya          -     sky.

Its total meaning is that Universal Consciousness is ONE.

Tailpiece.

Had got up on the dot at 6, the chores and was in time for breakfast. Went about my usual work and had completed it well in time.

Ran the Zoom circuit with Dr Senthil Kumaran to ensure that my system was perfect. Took part in the Facebook Live, with the good doctor, for over an hour - from 1600 to 1712 hrs - to explain the life and times of PN Panicker as witnessed by his grandson! 

I'm still awaiting the feedback!  

Fudging Oxygen need during the pandemic!

Covid-19 : Delhi inflated oxygen need by 4 times during peak, says Supreme Court panel.

The Supreme Court oxygen audit team has put the Kejriwal government in the dock for exaggerating the oxygen requirement for Delhi by more than four times during the 25 Apr - 10 May peak of second Covid wave and informed the SC that supply of excess oxygen to Delhi could have triggered a crisis in its supply to 12 high caseload states.

The report of the SC-appointed oxygen audit sub-group said, "There was a gross discrepancy (about four times). The actual oxygen consumption claimed by the Delhi government (1,140 MT) was about four times higher than the calculated consumption as per the formula based on bed capacity (289 MT)".

The Petroleum and Oxygen Safety Organisation (PESO) told the sub-group that "National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCTD) had surplus oxygen, which is affecting liquid medical oxygen (LMO) supply to other states" and apprehended that if excess O2 was kept supplied to Delhi, it could lead to a national crisis.

A bench headed by Justice DY Chandrachud on 05 May agonised by the AAP government's shrill cries about oxygen shortage in the national capital, had directed the Union government to maintain supply of 700 MT of oxygen to Delhi even as solicitor general Tushar Mehta had presented a expert-devised calculation to peg the requirement at 415 MT of LMO.

However, the SC had also asked the audit team headed by AIIMS director, Randeep Guleria to examine the model for 'optimum utilisation of oxygen' implemented in Bombay, which managed with 275 MT oxygen during peak caseload of 92,000 Covid patients. Delhi had demanded 900 MT oxygen for peak caseload of 95,000 patients on 03 May.

The oxygen audit sub-group also included Delhi government's principal (Home) secretary Bhupinder S Bhalla, Max Hospital's Dr Sandeep Budhiraja, joint secretary in Union Jal Shakti ministry Subodh Yadav and controller of explosives Sanjay K Singh.

In its interim report to the SC, the sub-group said it drafted a proforma to "calculate accurate oxygen requirement of NCTD" and circulated it among 183 hospitals including all major ones, responded with oxygen consumption data which was analysed against three parameters viz. -

            * actual consumption of oxygen

            * requirement as per Centre's formula and

            * Delhi government's formula.

It said actual LMO consumption in 183 hospitals as per Delhi government was 1,140 MT but according to hospital supplied information, the actual consumption was only 289 MT and as per the Delho government formula it would have been 391 MT, it said.

"The recommended LMO consumption as per Union government formula for total bed strength on 03 May (highest till date : 16,272 non-ICU beds and 5,886 ICU beds) would have been 415 MT and if the Delhi government's formula was applied for calculation, it would have been 568 MT of LMO", the report said and clarified that though the Delhi government had claimed that its formula was based on ICMR guidelines, no such guidelines were placed before the SC-audit team for scrutiny.

Dr Guleria-led audit team said Singhal Hospital, Aruna Asaf Ali Government Hospital, ESIC Model Hospital and Liferays Hospital had "claimed extremely high oxygen consumption with very few beds and the claims appeared to be clearly skewed information and significantly higher LMO requirements for Delhi....Actual consumptions were estimated by recalculation after replacing the claimed use figures using the calculation formula", the report said.

The sub-group noted that the "formula used by the Union government was devised by a group of experts and is used for making LMO allocation to various states. This formula assumes that only 50% of the non-ICU beds use oxygen. The Delhi government assumes that 100% of non-ICU beds use oxygen. Calculations were made using both formulae".

Dr Guleria-led team said, "Even though the hospitalisation policy is to admit only moderate to severely affected Covid patients, many do not require LMO during recovery but cannot be discharged due to comorbidities or a waxing and waning course. They continue to occupy 'oxygenated non-ICU beds' particularly if all the Covid beds in the hospital have oxygen capability ot the non-oxygen Covid beds are full. This is the real life experience of all major hospitals including AIIMS. 

Thus, assuming that all patients admitted on 'oxygenated non-ICU beds' will need LMO for calculating the oxygen requirement will be an overestimation.

- Dhananjay Mahapatra in ToI.

My take.

So, what was Kejriwal angling for? By claiming higher requirements of LMO for Delhi's use, he was trying to disrupt the oxygen distribution in the entire country which would have resulted in massive chaos and thereby show, the central government in poor light. And mind you, these shenanigans were taking place against the backdrop of the phased Assembly elections in West Bengal!

Your blind hatred towards Modi makes you do strange things, but in this case the judiciary has also erred. Will it apologise to the country's citizens? And don't you have to answer the kith and kin of the people who lost their near and dear ones to the pandemic only because of your perfidy and inefficiency? Politics has reached its nadir with people like you at the helm! Sad!!

Tailpiece.

Had got up at a half past 5, the chores and was ready well in time for the Rajah medical team that fetched up at 7 o'clock to draw our blood samples. There was a minor faux pas in collecting Lekha's urine sample which was rectified when the team had come yet again to collect post prandial blood sample.

Participated in two webinars viz. :-

    * Aazhchakkoottam : "Defence against Covid through Homeopathy" - Dr Subha CB from 1600 -      1730 hrs.

    * National webinar  : "Evolution of Knowledge Resources - Dr P Perumal from 1830 - 2000 hrs.     

             

News views.

A few fast changing situations and the bit of news that kept many of us occupied, over the past couple of days. Let's go through them without much ado.

The Kashmir Related Activity

There seems a great variance in what certain leaders are saying to the cameras and what was said to them at the Prime Minister's meeting on J&K. Firstly, not one leader brought up the issue of 370 or 35A despite what they're claiming. They have all accepted this as fait accompli. Secondly, they were told that the sequence of events will be as follows : Delimitation, Elections, Good Behaviour, Statehood. This is important because the delimitation will ensure that the balance of seats between Jammu and Kashmir divisions will be as per their respective demography. More importantly, the relevant sections of the constitution with regards to reservations - specifically for SC/ST/OBC (such as 'bakarwals' etc) will be implemented in full.

However, this alone will not lead to statehood. Statehood while sequential, will depend entirely on how parties behave and support the deconfliction of the economy - mind you both NC & PDP derive much of their income from the conflict and are invested in it.

Essentially, the way it was described to me was a perfect balancing act between carrots and sticks. Their ability to monetise the conflict has been destroyed and now carrots are being dangled for them to create more palatable  and legal avenues of fund raising to run their parties and powerbases. No clear deadline was given for when statehood - essentially a dilemma has been created for them - do they bankrupt themselves sticking to the past or do they lose their voter base by embracing the new deconflicted avenues of money making? The latter means they will start generating money but they'd still have to cut off old corrupt fogeys who have no avenues of changing tack. Quite smart - especially given no specific assurances were given but they have to keep performing like circus monkeys in the hope that something good May come their way. In short, none of these jokers are actually being "accommodated" - they're being dangled goodies to become domesticated pets or become irrelevant and live in penury.

It was made clear that these parties will have to EARN trust - given their past actions they're not getting a free lunch - the onus is ENTIRELY on them to mend their ways - it's no longer about what they want from Delhi but rather what Delhi wants from them.

Tweet from Abhijit Iyer.

My take

Finally, a roadmap to a clear Kashmir policy!

The Twitter's Highhandedness

Today, India's IT Minister, Ravishankar Prasad's Twitter handle was switched off for an hour because it thought that he'd infringed upon US policies! Actually, the minister should get off Twitter.

My take

The Twitter needs to be put in its place. There should be zero-tolerance for its intransigence to follow Indian IT Rules.

 

Tailpiece.

Got up at our usual time, the chores and was ready by a quarter to 10. Earlier, saw Subi off around a half past 8 and learning from yesterday's difficulty, a simple lunch was packed for him by Lekha and the maid.

A quiet day. Participated in a webinar from 1830 - 1930 hrs regarding NDLI clubs. Very interesting! 

Back at 'The Quarterdeck'.

Had got up at 5 thanks to Lekha's cellphone alarm and we went about our chores with the elaborateness that it required. Was ready well in time but the greatest thing was that Subi Philip, our sa'arthi for the day, was dot on time and his feedback, about my directions being crystal clear that had homed him on to my ma'asi's house, gladdened me. After the initial introductions, I'd tucked in our luggage into the boot of his car.

We left soon after - Subi, Resmi, Lekha and I - and reached the destination without any hassles. The 5th day-after-death ceremony had just kick started and both, Maman and I - had joined the others - in offering floral tributes to Sree kochachhan's ashes. Most of my family members had come by, participated in the ceremony and went about their work, thereafter! Made it a point to say my hi to each one of them. We, then, made a beeline towards the 'pandal' where breakfast was being served. 

After a quick bite, we'd commenced our journey, to Guruvayur around a half past 9. We took the NH 544, much to Subi's delight and we had joined the route at Pattom. The traffic was sparse and most of the shops had their shutters down. 

Missed out the garage where we'd given our Chevy for repairs. While looking for it, we'd a pretty close shave with a pick up truck coming from the opposite direction! At Alappuzha, we'd lunch at the Indian Coffee House and had it at its courtyard, sitting in the car, as customers are provided with packed food but not permitted to sit and have it within the innards of the eatery......measures during the lockdown!

We reached 'The Quarterdeck' by a quarter past 3, the unpacking of the bags was carried out and it was yet another outing that was accomplished, though, without our vehicle! Thankfully, everything went smooth without glitches. Lekha's medical review is due on the 29th and lab tests need to be done prior to that. It's another hectic week ahead.

Tailpiece.

A trip, during which, we were able to do a lot of things that we'd wanted to do!

  

Mindful!

"Everyday

I see or hear

something

that more or less

kills me

with delight,

that leaves me

like a needle

in the haystack

of light.

It was what I was born for -

to look, to listen,

to lose myself

inside this soft world -

to instruct myself

over and over

in joy,

and acclamation.

Nor am I talking

about the exceptional,

the fearful, the dreadful,

the very extravagant -

but of the ordinary,

the common, the very drab,

the daily presentations.

Oh, good scholar

I say to myself,

how can you help

but grow wise

with such teachings

as these -

the untrimmable light

of the world,

the ocean's shine,

the prayers that are made

out of grass?"

- Mary Oliver.

Tailpiece.

Got up at 6, the chores and was ready by 9. I, finally, went off to the Foundation by a quarter past 11. Took Maman to the Metro scan lab to get an x-ray of his dentures that had worked out loose a couple of days back. Had also gone to the VSSC counter for registering, bot Maman and Ammayi for their second round of vaccination.

Returned and participated in a wonderful webinar : "Changing Pattern of Reading in Digital Environment by K Jayakumar, IAS (Retd), Director, IMG, Government of Kerala.

Returned in time for the serial "Amma ariyaathe".

A late night and yakkittiyak.

The most beautiful spot in the universe.

There is a place you can come where everything is beautiful. Tourists go from place to place looking for beauty. They try to take beauty from that place. They only get tired and tanned. Yet the most beautiful spot anywhere is right here. When you come here, you find that wherever you are, everything is so beautiful.

Where is this place? Don't look here and there. Where do you go? Within you. When you come here, then any place is beautiful. Then wherever you go, you add beauty there. If you are unhappy, even the moon is irritating to you. Sweet things are nauseating, music is disturbing.

When you are calm and centred inside, noise is musical, clouds are magical, rain is liquid sunshine. Book yourself on a trip to this most beautiful place in the universe. Then you find that every day is a vacation and a celebration.

And don't worry about things you can't control.

     *        *        *

Why I Wake Early

 

"Hello, sun in my face.

Hello, you who make the morning

and spread it over the fields

and into the faces of the tulips

and the nodding morning glories,

and into the windows of, even, the

miserable and crotchety -

best preacher that ever was,

dear star, that just happens

to be where you are in the universe

to keep us from ever-darkness,

to ease us with warm touching,

to hold us in the great hands of light -

good morning, good morning, good morning.

Watch, now, how I start the day

in happiness, in kindness".

- Mary Oliver

Tailpiece.

Got up at 6, the chores and was ready well in time. I went to the Foundation by a half past 10 in an Uber auto rickshaw. Accompanied Pannian Ravindran and Maman to Kuttu's house as Pannian sir wanted to offer condolences.

Returned and met Biju, an advocate practising in the Supreme Court. Had an early lunch with him and went out to town to see shuttered shops because of lockdown.

Met Kummanam Rajettan at his party office to discuss an idea.

Returned by a half past 6, watched two Malayalam serials and participated in the webinar "Importance of Reading to Survive in the 21st Century" by Basheerhamad Shadrach.

A gutsy judge!

A sitting lady judge of the Calcutta High Court is making news for all the right reasons - for standing up to the intimidation she faced from a senior leader of West Bengal's ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC) in court and for giving it back in good measure to the TMC leader, who is also a Member of Parliament. The lawyer MP, Kalyan Banerjee had launched a tirade in court, raising questions on how that particular judge, Justice Samapati Chatterjee, had been appointed and had gone to the extent of alleging corruption in the judiciary over appointments.

On Wednesday, Justice Chatterjee was hearing a case related to the legality of the no-confidence motion against Sabyasachi Dutta, the mayor of Bidhannagar, which is a Calcutta suburb. During the course of the court proceeding she referred to a similar situation in Bongaon municipality - which is around 80-90 km from Calcutta - and criticised the ruling TMC for not letting BJP councillors take part in voting in Bongaon municipality despite the court expressly ordering that free and fair polls should be ensured by the state administration after a no-confidence motion was introduced in the council.

After the judge criticised the role of TMC MP in nit letting the elections take place, lawyer and TMC MP Kalyan Banerjee started questioning the judge's integrity and honesty.

During the course of the heated argument, Kalyan Banerjee told the judge, "I know how people become judges. You don't know the ABCD of law". "BJP had spent more than Rs.20 lakhs in the Bar election and even judges had compromised.....Many judges have got land in Salt Lake; I know everything. Should I name them?" he added.

However, rather than getting intimidated, Justice Samapati Chatterjee responded strongly to the allegations levelled by the TMC MP. "All through my life, I have worked with honesty. Nobody can question my recruitment. I have also seen some people getting important posts i the High Court after working for just 10 years. Whose property has increased and in what way, we also know that. Somebody  wants to give, somebody wants to take. This giving and taking is the cut money concept", she said before leaving for her chamber. After this, Kalyan Banerjee apologised to the judge.

The term "cut money" has entered the popular discourse in Bengal ever since Mamata Banerjee admitted in public that her party men and women were taking "cut money" or commission, from common people from different schemes.

Justice Chatterjee's forceful response came as a pleasant surprise to those present in court. A young lawyer who was present there, said, "We were not expecting that someone would stand up against these TMC leaders but the way Justice Chatterjee gave it back to the TMC is a positive development as TMC leaders feel that they are above the judiciary".

Similar sentiments were shared by a journalist who was present in the court. "It was totally unexpected. TMC leaders are rarely confronted by anyone in Calcutta. What the judge did was absolutely necessary as the TMC leader was casting unfounded aspersions on her", said the journalist who works for an English newspaper.

Justice Samapati Chatterjee, 60, comes from a family of lawyers. She did her LLB from Calcutta University after which she practised in Calcutta High Court for 26 years. After this she was elevated to the Bench of the High Court  at Calcutta as an Additional Judge on 30 Oct 2013. She was appointed as a permanent judge of the Calcutta High Court on 14 Mar 2016.

Early on Wednesday, Justice Chatterjee had slammed both the West Bengal government and the TMC after the BJP had reached the court following incidents of violence and disobedience of the High Court's order by the local police and the administration of Bongaon sub-division.

Justice Chatterjee, while hearing the Bongaon municipality case, had said, "Whatever has happened in Bongaon related to the trust vote is unfortunate".

She had further said that the court's order was not complied with by the local police and the administration. "Two councillors were denied entry into the meeting and the police did not do anything. And all this happened with the indulgence of the chairman and his supporters. And this happened with the encouragement of the ruling party while the police just observed everything as a mere spectator", Justice Samapati Chatterjee had said while hearing the petition from the councillors of the BJP on Wednesday.

The trust vote of the Bongaon municipality was supposed to take place on Tuesday according to the directive of the High Court. The trust vote was necessitated after 11 municipal councillors from the Bongaon municipality defected to the BJP last month and brought a no-confidence motion against the TMC chairman.

The Calcutta High Court judge was irked by incidents of violence that followed on Tuesday while the trust vote was supposed to take place in the Bongaon municipality under the directive of the same court.

- New Sunday Guardian.

My take

I doff my hat to the gutsy lady who dared to take on the politicians!

Tailpiece.

Got up a trifle late, the chores and was ready by 9. However, Gopu had fetched up only by a half past 11 and we had to navigate the massive traffic snarl thanks to the trade unions' call for a 'ckakka jam' against rising prices of fuel.

Was at the Foundation scheduling webinars during the next few weeks. Lekha and Indira kunjamma had gone to Suma kunjamma. Returned by 7 and had to wait till 8 for the others to return.     

Father's Day Special.

A retired older couple returned to a Mercedes dealership where the salesman has just sold the car they had been interested in to a beautiful, leggy, busty blonde in a mini skirt and a halter top.

The old man was visibly upset. He spoke to the salesman sharply, "Young man, I thought you said you would hold that car till we raised the $55,000 asking price. Yet I just overheard you closed the deal for $45,000 to the lovely young lady there. And if I remember right, you had insisted there was no way you could discount this model".

The salesman took a deep breath, cleared his throat and reached for a glass of water. "Well, what can I tell you? She had the cash ready, didn't need any financing help and  Sir, just look at her, how could I resist?", replied the grinning salesman sheepishly.

Just then the young woman approached the senior couple and gave the car keys to the old man.

"There you go", she said. "I told you I could get that idiot to lower the price. See you later Dad, Happy Father's day".

Once again......don't mess with seniors.

    *       *        *

Tennis is not only Forehand-Backhand, will power......Physical power it's also about GRATITUDE...."Attitude with Gratitude" is a Champion's trait....

The kid Djokovic gave his racquet to : "I don't know the boy. He was in my ear the entire match basically, especially when I was two sets to love down. He was encouraging me. He was actually giving me tactics, as well (laughter). He was like, 'Hold your serve, get an easy first ball, then dictate, go to his backhand'. He was coaching literally.

I found that very cute, very nice. So I felt like to give the racquet to the best person was him after the match. That was kind of my gratitude for him sticking with me and supporting me".

Tailpiece.

Got up a trifle late, recited my prayers, the chores and was ready by 10. After breakfast, we set off for Suma kunjamma's house to spend time with the family.

An online interaction with the children, teachers and the Headmaster of the UPS, Thalavoor on the occasion of the Reading Month activities. Enjoyed the session with my question and answer session.

Returned a trifle before sunset. A quiet evening thereafter!

Why Chennai is called Super King

* Chennai is the 2nd city in the world to become a municipal corporation next to London in the year 1688.

* Chennai is the only city in India which will have 2 international ports, Chennai Port, Ennore Port.

* Chennai has the longest beach in India, 12 km urban beach; 2nd longest in the world.

* Chennai is the only city which has three rivers flowing through it, Adyar, Coovum river and Kosasthalai river.

* Chennai's Old Mahabalipuram Road is the single largest automobile manufacturer in Asia - fondly called the Detroit of Asia.

* Chennai houses the largest bus terminus in Asia at Koyambedu.

* Chennai is the birth place of 'Chicken 65' @ Hotel Buhari.

* Chennai has the largest library in Asia, Arignar Anna centenary library.

* Chennai's Vandalur Zoo is the largest zoo in India.

* Chennai's Guindy Engineering College is the oldest in India, established 1794.

* Two of the top ten engineering colleges in India located in a single road - IIT Madras, CEG (College of Engineering, Guindy), Guindy Engineering College at Sardar Patel Road, Chennai.

* Chennai houses the oldest shopping mall in India, Spencer Plaza, 1863.

* The Madras High Court is the world's second largest court complex.

* Chennai is the only Indian city attacked during world war.

* Chennai, city of flyovers, has the largest number of flyovers in India.

* Kathipara flyover is the largest clover leaf flyover in Asia.

* Chennai is the Indian city with most number of foreign visitors annually.

* Chennai is the health capital of India, with most number of foreign and domestic foot falls.

* Royapuram railway station is the oldest functioning railway station in India.

* Integral Coach Factory (ICF), Chennai is the world's largest rail coach manufacturer.

* Madras Medical College, the oldest medical college and the oldest hospital in India, established in 1664.

* The first ever flight in Asia flew in and around Chennai in 1910.

* Orgadam is the largest automobile hub in South Asia with 22 Fortune 500 companies.

* Chennai has the highest number of cinema theatres in India. Quite obvious, Tamil film industry has given 4 chief ministers to the state.

* Chennai has the oldest race tracks in India, both horse race and motor race.

* Madras School of Art is the oldest fine arts institute in India, established in 1850.

* Higginbothams, Mount Road, Chennai is the oldest book store in India established in 1844.

* EID Parry, Chennai is the oldest company in India.

* MRF, Chennai is the largesttyre manufacturer in India. 

* Madras Regiment is the oldest infantry regiment of the Indian Army, established in 1750.

* AVM studio is the oldest surviving film production house in India.

* St George's Anglo Indian Higher Secondary School is the oldest school in India, established in 1715.

* Chennai is also the only city in the world where all forms of surface transport are manufactured....From bicycles, 2 wheelers, cars, trucks, armoured personal carriers, locomotives, railway coaches, main battle tanks......the entire range of surface transport. Not even Detroit can boast of this wide range.

Namma Chennai!

Tailpiece.

Got up a trifle earlier than my usual time, recited my prayers, the chores and was ready by a quarter to 10. Earlier, wished Mrs Banerjee many happy returns. A quick breakfast and off with Gopu, on his bike, to the St Mary's School at Pattom by a quarter to 12 to watch the inauguration of the Vaayana Dinam '21 by the chief minister.

A quick lunch at Maman's and all the four of us went to pay our last marks of respect to Sree Kochachhan lying in state at Kuttu's house. He was cremated around a quarter past 4 at the Santhi Kavaadom. 

Maman, Gopu and I returned to the Foundation to attend three more webinars. Maman dropped me at Indira kunjamma's around a half past 8. A late night yet again, yakkittiyakking.

The Deities in Gayatri Mantra.

Dateline 18 Jun

Do you know how many deities are mentioned in Gayatri Mantra?

There are 26 gods in Gayatri Mantra. That is why it is called the Mother of all Mantras!

OM

Tat       -   Ganesh

Sa        -   Narasimha

Vi        -   Vishnu

Tu       -    Shiva

Va       -    Krishna

Re       -    Radha

Ni        -   Lakshmi

Yam     -   Agni

Bha      -   Indra

Rgo      -   Saraswati

De        -   Durga

Va         -  Hanuman

Sya       -  Prithvi

Dhee     -  Surya

Ma        -  Sri Ram

Hi         -   Sita

Dhi       -   Chandra

Yo         -   Yama

Ya         -   Brahma

Na         -   Varuna

Pra        -   Lakshmi and Vishnu

Cho       -  Hayagreeva

Da         -  Hamsa

Yaat      -   Tulsi.

Gayatri has Fire in the face,

Brahma the Creator in forehead,

Vishnu the Protector in heart and

Shiva the Destroyer on top of head.

So it's a combination of all Gods.

Goddess Gayatri confers the boon of Intelligence, Protection as Savithri and Learning as Saraswathi.

Gayatri is therefore, called Sarvadevata Swarupini!

Tailpiece.

Got up at a half past 6, the chores and was ready by a quarter to 10. I'd finally got my answer to the question that was in my mind all through the last few days. Decided to kick off for Thiruvananthapuram this afternoon itself. George was contacted, who in turn, put me on to Sajish.

Had a spell of breathlessness before we set off, then dropped my ATM card beside it in front of the Little Flower College gate and retraced our path and was lucky to retrieve it. Pulled out money from the bank and set off by 2.

Tea and a snack from the Aroor teashop. Smooth drive from then on with me explaining the landmarks enroute, to Sajish. Reached Indira kunjamma's by a quarter past 9. Yakkitiyak!    

The Piplantri Village.

In a country that still favours the birth of a son, Piplantri village in Rajasthan not only embraces daughters but has created a unique tradition. This endearing village makes a conscious effort to save girl children and the green cover at the same time, by planting 111 trees every time a girl is born.

The village gathers as a community and plants 111 fruit trees in honour of every newborn female child. Village residents collect Rs.21,000/- between themselves and Rs.10,000/- from the girl's parents. This sum of Rs.31,000/- is made into a 20-year fixed deposit for the girl.

Parents are legally bound by a signed affidavit stating that their daughter will receive proper education. The affidavit also mandates that the girl should be married only after she reaches legal age and the trees planted after her birth have been correctly looked after.

The community ensures that the trees survive attaining fruition as the girl grows up.

The villagers don't just plant trees, they look after them as well. To protect the trees from termites, the residents plant aloe vera plants around them.

These trees and especially the aloe vera plants are now a source of livelihood for several residents.

This unique tradition was first suggested by the village's former leader, Shyam Sunder Paliwal, in honour of his daughter who passed away at a young age. In the last 6 years, over a quarter of a million trees have been planted.

Villagers claim there has not been any police case here for the last 7 to 8 years.

This is a heart warming and inspiring story that needs to be shared as much as possible across India.

My take

Great to hear feel good stories like the one above. May there be many more such positive actions - and I am sure there are plenty of them!

Tailpiece.

Got up a trifle late, the chores and was ready by a quarter to 10. 

Long chats with Indira kunjamma, Rema. PCI and the battery rejuvenators talked to. They should come by tomorrow or the day after.

Fruitful chats with friends and relatives.

Interesting facts!

Interesting facts behind the "name" of India's reputed Brands/Companies.

 1. Dalda

The famous ghee was imported by a Dutch company Dada & company. To reflect its ownership Hindustan Lever added "L" at the centre of Dada.

 2. Dabur

The eccentric etymology of Dabur comes from the founding father SK Burman famous for his Ayurvedic medicines often called in Bengali "Da"ctar "Bur"man.

 3. Ranbaxy

Two colleagues "Ran"jit Singh and Gur"bax" Singh of a Japanese pharmaceutical company founded new venture Ranbaxy in Amritsar.

 4. Tanishq

The name Tanishq was a masterstroke coined by Xerxes Desai, then Vice Chairman & MD of Titan Industries. The name took "Ta" from Tata and "Nishk" means piece of jewelry. 

 5. Amul

Anand Milk Union Limited of Anand district Gujarat started the Amul by picking the first letters of the union in 1946 and became India's first commercially made butter.

 6. TVS

A transportation company was founded in 1911 by Thirukkurungudi Vengaram Sundaram Iyengar, Madras, by picking the first letters of his initials. Now it is a well diversified company in many fields.

 7. Cipla

The founder Dr KA Hamied gave the company title initially as Chemical, Industrial and Pharmaceutical Laboratories in 1935, at Bombay. Now it is a leading drug manufacturer.

 8. Dena Bank

It was founded on 26 May 1938 by the family of Devkaran Nanjee, an Indian financier more popularly known as CD Desai.

 9. Mahindra and Mahindra

Two brothers JC and KC Mahindra, along with Malik Ghulam Mohammed, set up initially "Mahindra and Mohammed" in 1945 as a steel trading firm. When Mohammed emigrated to Pakistan to serve as the country's first finance minister, it was renamed Mahindra and Mahindra Ltd.

10. Wipro

The company was incorporated on 29 Dec 1945 in Amalner, Maharashtra by Mohamed Premji as "Western India Palm Refined Oil". Later in 1966, after Mohamed Premji's death, his son Azim Premji took over Wipro as its chairman at the age of 21 and entered in software development.

Tailpiece.

Got up a trifle after 6, the chores, the Wednesday aarathi of the house and was ready by a half past 9. Got a few more pending things done. Vijayan reported that all the leaves and twigs have been removed from the courtyard of Raj Nivas, post- cutting of the Mahogany and other trees and put around the base of the coconut trees.

Rains had greatly reduced but it was a dull day through and through.

Sree kochachhan - the husband of Suma kunjamma, my youngest ma'asi passed into the mist of time around 1620 hrs at the SUT Hospital. He has been suffering for sometime with cancer of the esophagus. He was 75. His eldest son was beside him when the end came by and the younger son had got off his ship and will reach Tvpm on Monday.

  

50 years without Sathyan.

15 Jun 1971 was a sad day for Malayalam cinema because it was on that day, exactly 50 years ago, we lost a great actor in Sathyan, who succumbed to the dreaded cancer. He was 58 years old. He had driven to the hospital after the day's schedule of shooting of a Malayalam movie and had handed himself over to his doctor. Soon after, he had slipped into unconsciousness and began his long trudge to Valhalla, soon after.

He'd joined the Army during the II World War and had seen action in Burma after which he joined the state police and was an SI at the Alappuzha Police Station during the Punnapra Vayalar uprising. It was from there that he had begun to act, after shedding his uniform.

His body was brought to Thiruvananthapuram and was laid to rest with full state honours at the cemetery of the LMS Church at the Museum Junction. I, who had just passed into class XI, was on leave from the Sainik School, Kazhakoottam for the summer holidays. Being an ardent fan of the great actor, I remember being very sad and was also part of the sea of people who had followed him on his final journey. Getting into the cemetery of the church was well nigh impossible and neither did I attempt it. I remember my tears were flowing freely while the guys who were accompanying me were enjoying the sight of the reigning actors and the actresses of the time, who were transported in an open truck!

I must admit that my love for the actor began as a kid. In the early '60s, my parents, uncles and aunts regularly went for movies and returned to discuss the nitty gritties of the film that they had just viewed. Sathyan was popular and liked by each and everyone of them. I suppose my affinity towards him began from those days. Must let you into this story :-

If my memory serves me right, it was in '62 that the movie "Bhaarya", starring Sathyan and Ragini in the lead, was running to packed houses. Based on a real life story that had taken place sometime in the immediate past, it told the tale of a school teacher who strayed from his marriage and fell in love with a bewitching colleague of his. The extra-marital relationship sadly ended up with Benny (Sathyan's character in the movie) shooting his wife dead! 

It had shaken the Malayalam cine going audience to such an extent that people saw the movie many a time and the producer was happy that the cash registers were ringing, fetching him huge returns. Sathyan and Ragini were said to be 'living their roles' as the loving husband and wife, so much so, that the audience was very, very angry with the 'other woman', who was the reason for the break up of the family! Incidentally, the evergreen and iconic duet - "Periyaare, Periyaare, parvatha nirayude panineere, kulirum kondu kunungi nadakkum Malayali pennaanu nee, oru Malayali pennaanu nee....." - picturised on Sathyan, Ragini and their children, on a boat, in the backwaters - went on to be a smash hit!

I was, incidentally, not taken for the movie because my elders thought that the movie would corrupt (?) my young mind. Later, while I was studying in class IV at the Holy Angels' Convent, Thiruvananthapuram, came the Sathyan-Ambika starrer "Aadyakiranangal" whose story was described to me with the background noises along with the conversations - to the minutest details - by my classmate and close friend, Sydney Stephen from Pettah! 

Sidney, where art thou? I still miss you, my friend!!

He'd joined the St Joseph's School near the Convent, while I ended up at the Model High School in class V. My little uncle, Krishna Kumar and I used to walk up and down the 3 km to the school and I used to tear off all the film posters of non-Sathyan films, that I came across during the trek. Looking back at it now, I'm sure the guys who'd painstakingly pasted those posters on the walls would have boxed my ears, given me a thorough spanking and taken me to task for my 'destructive work', if they'd ever come across me then!

And when I'd joined Sainik School in '67, whenever I returned home on holidays, my grandmother - Mrs PN Panicker - and I used to go for watching the matinee shows of the films that I'd missed. She, too, was an avid Sathyan-fan like me! I can go on and on about my craze for Sathyan and the movies that he had made memorable with his effortless acting, personality and grace.

There's also this story about his brutal honesty and the manner in which he stood by his principles. During his career in the Kerala State Police, he had dealt with the communists rather strictly as directed by the then government. Years later, when a production team approached him to act as a communist in a film, he declined the offer saying that his conscience didn't permit it!

Still miss you, Sathyan maashe! No one has replaced you because no one can!! Prem Nazir, Madhu, Raghavan, Sukumaran, Soman, Mammootty and Mohanlal have followed/been following you in the Malayalam film world. I watch the latest crop of actors to keep up with the current trends but deep within me, I still miss you.

My take.

Will endeavour to watch all of Sathyan's movies over the coming months, time permitting @ one movie a day!

Tailpiece.

Got up at 6, the chores and was ready by a half past 9. It was a wet day to begin with.

Fruits were delivered by Babu, the auto rick driver, on order.      

  

Hindu Rituals and Routines.

Why do we follow them?

Hinduism is not a religion but a way of life. Unlike other religions, Hindu dharma has many specialities. This is not known as a religion, it is known as the dharma; Sanaathana Dharma. Sanaathana means, according to Bhagavad Gita, which cannot be destroyed by fire, weapons, water, air and which is present in all living and non living being. Dharma means, the way of life which is the 'total of all aachaaraas or customs and rituals'.

So, for starters, let's visit this interesting ritual.

Why do we prostrate before parents and elders?

Indians prostrate before their parents, elders, teachers and noble souls by touching their feet. The elderin turn blesses us by placing his or her hand on or over our heads. Prostration is done daily, when we meet elders and particularly on important occasions like the beginning of a new task, birthdays, festivals etc. In certain traditional circles, prostration is accompanied by abhivaadana, which serves to introduce oneself, announce one's family and social stature.

Man stands on his feet. Touching the feet in prostration is a sign of respect for the age, maturity, nobility and divinity that our elders personify. It symbolizes our recognition of their selfless love for us and the sacrifices they have done for our welfare. It is a way of humbly acknowledging the greatness of the another. This tradition reflects the strong family ties, which has been one of India's enduring strengths.

The good wishes (Sankalpa) and blessings (aashirvaada) of elders are highly valued in India. We prostrate to seek them. Good thoughts create positive vibrations. Good wishes springing from a heart full of love, divinity and nobility have a tremendous strength. When we Prostrate with humility and respect, we invoke the good wishes and blessings of elders, which flow in the form of positive energy to envelop us. This is why the posture assumed whether it is in standing or prone position, enables the entire body to receive the energy thus received.

The different forms of showing respect are :-

Pratuthana.           Rising to welcome a person.

Namaskaara.         Paying homage in the form of namaste.

Upasangrahan.     Touching the feet of elders or teachers.

Shaashtaanga.       Prostrating fully with the feet, knees, stomach, chest, forehead and arms touching the ground in front of the elder.

Pratyabivaadana.  Returning a greeting.

Rules are prescribed in our scriptures as to who should prostrate to whom. Wealth, family name, age, moral strength and spiritual knowledge in ascending order of importance qualified men to receive respect. This is why a king though the ruler of the land, would prostrate before a spiritual master. Epics like the Ramayana and Mahabharata have many stories highlighting this aspect. 

Tailpiece.

Got up about 40' later than our usual time to a massive power failure that was carried through the night, the chores and was ready by 10 o'clock.

Mithun, from the National Supermarket delivered grocery and vegetables on order and Edison had come by to correct the signal reception of the TataSky dish on the first floor.

It was a thoroughly wet day.

 

 

Focus back on the planet Venus.

Though they are similar in size, the fate of the sister planets has ended up being completely different. In 1962, Venus was the target of humanity's first successful interplanetary probe, which made scientists realise how difficult the planet is to study.

Renewed Attention

Astronomers have sent missions that have studied Mercury, Jupiter and Mars but Venus has been left out in recent decades. Though scientific interest has been strong, space agencies have not been intent on returning to the planet.

The Decade of Venus?

Nearly every space agency in the world is planning a data-finding mission to the planet. Russia's Roscosmos is working with the US on a daring mission to land a spacecraft on Venus. Scientists think Venus may have been the first habitable planet in the Solar System.

India's Orbiter

The ISRO had said in the past that it will send a probe to Venus in 2023 to study its conditions.

Why This Fuss Over Venus?

* Despite its similarity to earth, it has been little explored, partly because Venus is a forbidding place : the thick carbon dioxide atmosphere is home to sulfuric acid clouds that blanket the whole planet

* The planet is crucial for knowing the past and the future of earth. Scientists think that Venus was once like earth, hosting oceans of water for billions of years. But a "runaway greenhouse" effect - due to the proximity to the sun - overheated the planet, burned away its water and made the surface a sweltering wasteland

* Another theory is that the greenhouse effect was not due to the sun but due to the planet's over-active volcanos. Paul Bryne, a planetary scientist, wrote that very frequent eruptions may have pumped enough CO2 into the atmosphere to override "the planet's ability to regulate its climate, putting it on a path to catastrophe"

Venus is hotter than ever, with a third new robotic explorer on the horizon. A week after NASA announced two new missions to our closest neighbour, the European Space Agency said recently it will launch a Venus-orbiting spacecraft in the early 2030s. We discuss the renewed interest in our sister planet.

Hat Trick

Three missions were announced : two from the US and one from the European Union.

Named EnVision, the European orbiter will attempt to explain why Venus is so "wildly different" from earth, even though the two planets are similar in size and composition.

NASA's own pair of upcoming missions to our solar system's hottest planet - called DAVINCI+ and VERITAS - will be the first for the US in more than 30 years. They'll blast off sometime around 2028 and 2030.

A Vision of Hell

Venus' surface is extremely hot, reaching more than 400 degrees celsius. The atmospheric pressure is so heavy that it has the force of a hulk crushing heavy machinery. In short, Venus is deadly. The planet also has gigantic seas of frozen lava.

Mission Objectives

* VERITAS will study the surface with radar, scanning for geological activity. DAVINCI+ will measure the atmosphere to find answers to how the planet formed and evolved.

DAVINCI+ could perhaps finally resolve the controversy of past year's research that found evidence for phosphine in Venus' atmosphere, which could indicate that life exists on the planet.

Tailpiece.

Got up a trifle late being a Sunday, the chores and was ready by a quarter to 10. Kittu was out on the rug at our balcony.

Read up a nice article on the late Malayalam movie hero, Sathyan titled "Moodupadamillaatha Maha Nadan" on the Mathrubhumi newspaper.

It was a thoroughly wet day.

The origins of Covid.

Is Covid of natural origin or is it engineered? This is the question haunting not just scientists but people around the world that has fuelled conspiracy theories.

Lately, the hypothesis that the SARS-CoV-2 virus, which causes Covid-19, had leaked from the lab of the Wuhan Institute of Virology (WIV0, in Wuhan, the capital of Central China's Hubei province, is gaining ground, albeit without credible scientific evidence to show. However, speculation and theories continue.

                                 CONSPIRACY THEORIES

'Plan-demic Theory'

This theory supports the view that the virus was deliberately engineered and developed in a lab to cause a pandemic. An ex-secret service officer from Israel, Dany Shoham was the first to broach the Wuhan Lab-engineered SARS-CoV-2 theory.

The American far-right has latched on to the pre-print of research by Hong Kong scientist, Li-Meng Yan. The preprint said that the virus was modified in the lab and wasn't of natural origin.

Chinese version of 'Plan-demic theory' is that it was engineered by the US Army at Fort Detrick.

Engineered for research

One theory is that SARS-CoV-2 got leaked after it was engineered as part of "gain-of-function"(GoF) research to further understand drug targets for more virulent viruses, in this case SARS-CoV-2.

GoF research resolves intentionally altering microbes to increase pathogenesis and transmissibility and identify types of hosts that bacteria/virus can infect. This is meant to aid vaccine and drug R&D.

What is supporting Wuhan Lab Leak Theory?

* Ongoing research on bats at WIV

* Bats are known to host a range of coronaviruses

* The WIV is a few kilometres from the Huanan wet market where the first Covid-19 cluster was detected in Nov 2019

* Lab leak theory gained prominence this year after science writer Nicholas Wade's essay on the subject

* The idea has gotten momentum after US President Joe Biden called for a detailed probe into the lab 

5G Network Conspiracy?

Conspiracy theorists in Feb 2020 used social media groups to spread allegations of a link between the 5G network and Covid-19 spread. They claimed the Wuhan outbreak was caused by electromagnetic fields after the rollout of 5G tech leak theory.

Biden's call was based on the US Government's Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, which conducted a study in May 2020, stating that the hypothesis of virus leak from the Wuhan lab was plausible and needs to be investigated thoroughly. 

Source : The NIE

My take

I've been saying, right from the beginning, that the pattern of spread showed very clearly that it was a perfidy of the Chinese government, which is turning out to be true! The investigation must proceed with speed so that all doubts are cleared. China must, then, be treated as a pariah nation and penalised for the damages it caused globally. 

Tailpiece.

Got up half an hour late, the chores and was ready by a 20' to 10. It was a rainy day.

A short siesta and then took part in the Aazhchakkoottam : "The global spread of Covid-19 and the present Indian situation'' - Dr Sunil Chacko, Former Adviser World Bank & WHO. It was an interesting discussion.

A quiet evening thereafter.

Facts!

Sarcastic facts based on solid logic :-

  1. An infinite number of Rs.100 notes and Rs.2,000 notes are worth the same.

  2. If our parachute doesn't deploy, you have the rest of the life to fix it.

  3. Average human lifespan is 70 years equating to 2.2 billion seconds. There are 7.5 billion people on earth. So technically, every person is not even worth a second of your time.

  4. The sentence "Don't objectify women" has women as the object of the sentence.

  5. You cannot make history if you use Incognito Mode.

  6. We pay taxes on money we earn, to pay taxes on money we spend.

  7. No matter how good you are, you can always be replaced.

  8. Pizza is the real-time pie chart of how much pizza is left.

  9. There is a tree out there that is growing for your coffin or your funeral pyre.

10. If you cut your left arm then your right arm would be left.

11. The ability to speak several languages is an asset but the ability to keep your mouth shut in any language is priceless.

12. No matter how strong a mathematician or a guesser you are, you can't guess the ending digits of "pi".

13. 100 years ago the rich owned the cars while the poor had horses. Now everyone has a car while only the rich own horses.

14. People say "marriage is forever" but actually divorce is forever.

15. There's no physical evidence to say that today is Friday. We just have to trust someone who kept the count since first one ever.

16. Cows are so calm because their favourite food is on the ground all the time. Imagine walking on pizzas all day.

17. The Wright Brothers were responsible for 9/11 too.

18. We spend five days a week pretending to be someone else in order to spend two days being who we are.

19. Whenever you register a username, you are disappointing someone in the future.

20. Internet connects people at a long distance and disconnects people at a short distance.

21. Someone has your dream job and hates going to work every day.

22. Alcohol is a solution.

23. Cells divide to multiply.

24. If you beat your own record, you're both a winner and a loser.

Tailpiece.

Got up around 6, the chores and was ready by a quarter to 10. Had breakfast before bath as my haircut was scheduled from a quarter to 11. 

Colouring of the hair followed by bath and it was lunchtime. Lekha had also ordered for more grocery from the National Super Market.

A quiet evening, thereafter.    

 

A train of thoughts.

Jacob Koshy. Some years back, I had to go to an old age home in Mangalore. My friend's uncle got dementia. This uncle's children and family had left him and my friend was taking care of him....One problem with people affected with dementia is that they forget the surroundings.....Sometimes for them, even kitchen or sitting room can appear to them as toilet....

His children and wife had left him because he used to beat them relentlessly when they were young. This old age home was run by Catholic nuns in Mangalore....I used to go with my friend to visit him.....The uncle's room mate in that old age home was another old man who was always standing near the window and staring outside, lost in his own thoughts. 

On inquiry, came to understand that he had children abroad who were quite affluent....but he was just left alone in that old age home...that image of him standing near the window and staring outside, somehow, got etched in my memory.

Yedu Kumar. Someone once said when you love someone with dementia you lose them more and more everyday. When they are diagnosed, when they go through different stages, when they go into care and when they die. This is called "Ambiguous Loss". 'Rapidly shrinking brain' is how doctors describe it. As the person's brain slowly dies, he changes physically and eventually forgets who his loved ones are. He could eventually become bedridden, unable to move and unable to eat or drink.

Moncy Abraham. That picture of your friend's old uncle standing near the window and staring out into the distance is a real haunting one, Koshy. Perhaps there was a gleam of hope in his eyes that his children would visit him soon. Poignant, indeed.  

I've one such image burned into my memory for ever. It is that of my father standing by the open window of our dining room overlooking the courtyard and silently waving a bye to me as I was getting into my car, one Sunday afternoon to leave for Kollam where I worked at the time.

Actually he hadn't called out to me before he waved and I wasn't expecting him to do it because I had already said bye to him in the dining room. But he must have felt like waving a final bye to me before I got into the car. And I wouldn't have seen him if I hadn't chanced to look towards that window as I was getting into the car. I was touched and waved back at him.

Little did I think that it would be his last waved bye to me. The next weekend I was back as usual. But before I went back to my school and before he could wave bye to me again, he was gone.

Me. Moncy, your post moistened my eyes. The bond between a father and son.

Tailpiece.

Had got up on the dot, the chores and was ready by a quarter to 10. A dull day, with rain scattered all through the day.

Selvam came by to press the clothes. He was so happy to see us and yes, it felt nice seeing him after the break of 40 plus days.

When you care.....

When you care, no distance is too long and no journey too arduous!

A soldier's voice.

Dear Countrymen,

We all want freedom....but it won't come free. Let's make a deal. You don't forget our martyrs and I won't forgive your enemies. I want to make it very clear to you. Unless you learn to respect your martyrs like the Westerners in the piece below, I can't assure you that India will not be invaded and occupied. You want to be slaves, the choice is yours......

Some will never forget their dead, while some simply won't remember.

The harsh reality - we lost 22 of our bravest during the Kargil operations.

The sad truth - we have forgotten, life goes on.

Many years ago standing on the Rock at Gallipoli, I had wondered as to what do these Brits and Aussies have in them that even with a full half century and a quarter gone by they still throng to this desolate place - thousands of miles away from their homes - only 'coz their nation will never allow the memories of their martyrs be forgotten. The annual ceremony at Gallipoli is an extremely poignant and emotional affair. 2nd and 3rd generation descendants - who never saw the men who fell at Gallipoli, stand in solemn silence grieving with moist eyes and a lump in their throats. Australia sends at least 3-4 ministers while senior representatives from their MoD as well as Pentagon are also in attendance.

These memories and thoughts got rekindled yet again in 2014 when we hosted Prince Andrews at the Kohima War Cemetery. The Prince was on a world tour in commemoration of the 75th year of the Queen's coronation. He had a two and a half day itinerary in India and had been advised to visit Madras, Bombay, Calcutta and Delhi. These were the venues of obvious choice - after all what better way to rekindle our colonial past than to take the Royalty to each of the three Presidencies! Needless to say, at each of the venues he would have been assured of a grand reception and a gala time.

But what did he chose? The Prince politely declined all offers of gala times and receptions. He requested for a one and a half day visit to the Kohima War Memorial. His reasoning was brutally simple - he was on a world tour to pay homage to those who had kept the Union Jack flying high!

He landed in the sweltering heat of Dimapur, refused to take a chopper flight to Kohima, coz he wanted to get a feel of the road that had been rendered so vulnerable in the face of the advancing Japs.

For a scheduled 45 minutes ceremony he spent nearly two hours, visiting each and every grave. Returned the next day to Delhi, visited the India Gate and flew out to Singapore the same day.

No visits to the Taj or any other place of tourist or diplomatic interest.

He was kind enough to answer my query, as to why had he come all the way when a symbolic wreath laying at the India Gate would have sufficed. His answer, "Because we care and when you care, no distance is too long and no journey too arduous".

Suddenly, it all became clear - some societies will never forget their dead, some simply won't remember!

Will India ever learn?

Tailpiece.

Got up on the dot at 6, the chores, the Wednesday 'aarathi' and was ready by a quarter to 10. It appeared to be a rainy day but there was a lot of sun as the day passed by.

Mujib, dropped the medicines that we had ordered.

Kittu, now, stays at the rear verandah for almost the entire day. Has become more friendly and eats anything that's given to him.

Unapologetically sentimental......mentisental!

Felt like sharing it.....yet again....

Superb stuff for those who grew up during the 1970 - '90s in middle class India ; here are some things that you can identify with.......

  1. Though you may not publicly own to this, at the age of 12 - 17 years, you were very proud of your first "Bellbottom" or your first "Maxi".

  2. Phantom and Mandrake were your only true heroes. The brainy ones read "Competition Success Review".

  3. Your "Camlin" geometry box and Natraj/Flora pencil were your prized possessions.

  4. The only "Holidays" you took were to go to your 'grandparents' or your 'cousins' houses.

  5. Ice-cream meant only - either an orange stick, a vanilla stick - or a Choco Bar if you were better off than most.

  6. You gave your neighbour's phone number to others with a 'PP' written against it because you had booked yours only 7 years ago and were still waiting for your number to come.

  7. Your parents were proud owners of HMT watches. You "earned" yours after HSC exams.

  8. You have been to "Jumbo Circus" ;

have held your breath while the pretty young thing in the glittering skirt did acrobatics,

quite enjoyed the elephants hitting football,

the motorcyclist vrooming in the "Maut-ka-gola" 

and it was politically okay to laugh your guts out at the dwarves hitting each others bottoms!

  9. You have at least once heard "Hawa Mahal" and "Binaca Geetmala" on the radio.

10. If you had a TV, it was normal to expect the neighbourhood to gather around to wait and watch the Chitrahaar on Fridays or the Sunday movie.

If you didn't have a TV, you just went to a house that did.

It mattered little if you knew the owners or not.

11. Sometimes the owners of these TVs got very creative and got a bi or even tri-coloured anti-glare screen which they attached with two side clips onto their Weston TVs.

That confused the hell out of you!

12. Black and white TVs weren't so bad after all because cricket was played in whites.

13. You thought that your dad rocked because you got your own (the family's; not your own own!) colour TV when the Asian Games started.

Everyone else got the same idea as well and ever since,

no one came over to your house and you didn't go to anyone else's to watch TV.

14. You dreaded the death of any political leader because of the mourning they would announce on the TV. After all how much "Shastriya Sangeet" can a kid take?

15. You knew that "Indira Gandhi" was somebody really powerful and terribly important. And that's all you needed to know.

16. The only "Gadgets" in the house were the TV, the Fridge and possibly a mixer.

17. Movies meant Rajesh Khanna or Amitabh Bachchan. Before the start of the movie you always had to watch the obligatory "Newsreel".

18. You thought you were so rocking because you knew all the songs of Abba and Boney M.

19. Photograph taking was a big thing.

You were lucky if your family owned a camera.

A reel of 36 exposures was valuable hence it justified the half hour preparation and "setting" and the "posing" for each picture. 

Therefore, you have at least one family picture where everyone is holding their breath and standing in attention!

PS.

Please share with your children for they won't understand the half of it!

Even if it's a repeat, worth reading.

Those were the days my friends and they will never come back again.

Tailpiece.

Got up on the dot at 6, washing machinex of the bed linen, the chores and was ready by a half past 10.

Suma had made idlis and sambar for breakfast.

Lekha, along with Suma, had gone across to the ration shop to collect our kit for the month of May. te maid washed down the two sets of soiled clothes.

Our unpacking was complete and the bags were put back into the loft, where they are stowed.

 

Back at The Quarterdeck

Exactly after 40 days, Lekha and I set off from my parents' place today at 7, in the morning. Yesterday, the garage had reported that it would bring my car on 09 Jun, duly repaired. They'd buttoned up the spare, received after a long wait. What needed to be done was to charge the system with the requisite oil and test drive the car before handing it over to me.

That's how I'd requested the caretaker for a cab and he zeroed in on Vishnu's Swift. Things were tied up owing to two reasons viz.

    (a) There was no point in waiting for the lockdown to get over.

    (b) There was also no point in making Lekha take over the household chores, in toto, with her

          discomfort.

    (c)  There was nothing much I was accomplishing by being at Thalavoor.

Lekha had got up at 4 and went about her morning chores. I got up half an hour later and went about the final lap of shutting down Raj Nivas. What I was worried about was as to how Chakki and her kittens would be managed by the caretaker. 

We were ready by a quarter past 6 but we'd decided to go across to Pidavoor by 7, so that Rema had adequate time to prepare the breakfast! Vishnu had come along around that time with his shining Neptune Blue coloured car. The luggage was neatly arranged in the boot and we kicked off by 7.

Met everyone at breakfast, especially Pidavoor Amma and chatted with everyone as we popped in crisp poories and vegetable curry. It was heavenly and Rema had also got our packed lunches ready. And without much ado, we set off on our journey by a quarter to 8. I was only carrying a 'declaration' saying that I was taking Lekha to her doctor at Ernakulam. I think we were checked at eight places by the policemen on duty who let us off without any hassles. 

They were noting down the vehicle numbers, the starting place and the destination! Gave me the impression that they were basically building up statistics to cover their period of duty making sure that they didn't create problems for the general public! 

We reached Mallan's Dental Clinic at Muhamma by a half past 10. He met us about half an hour later as he was tending to a patient. He told us to how he was able to save his parents from Covid but his mother-in-law, aged 77, had lost the battle leaving his father-in-law all by himself. The last 45 days were tough on him, poor guy.

We discussed the suggested plan of action to sort out Lekha's dental problems as her molar at the affected side had fallen off a fortnight back. He has given Lekha a battery of tests to be taken before the actions would be put into place and we've to crosscheck with her rheumatologist before embarking on the dental work that would be done by Dr. Mallan,

While Lekha had her lunch earlier than us, we both had it by a quarter past 1 at a wooded place by the roadside, short off Kodungalloor. We reached The Quarterdeck by a quarter past 3. 

The house was opened up, the bags were emptied and the clothes separated for subsequent actions. Kittu, came by soon after, had milk from us before doing the disappearing act. Our maid says that he's with a gentleman staying outside our gate who looks after 54 stray animals! Kittu, definitely, looks well fed and healthy.

We went about our usual evening chores. The caretaker says that Chakki refused to budge from under the dining table at the Raj Nivas!

Tailpiece.

And just now I hear that the lockdown has been extended to the 16th and PM Modi has said that the union government will provide free vaccines to one and all.

Vishnu reached his house by about 10' to 10'. He drives well and is a nice boy.    

   

   

Pearls of financial wisdom.

I'm sure most of you are quite ahead of me in financial wisdom. Yet......

  1. Bonds are for storing wealth and equities are for creation of wealth.

  2. In my opinion, the biggest asset one can have is zero debt.

  3. The greatest discipline in personal finance is living below your means.

  4. As Ben Carlson says, emotions cannot be back tested. That's why past bear market looks like job

      opportunities and future ones scary.

  5. Early financial independence and early retirement are completely different. To me, the former is a

      blessing and the latter is a curse.

  6. Don't think how it would have been if you've started 10 years ago. Start today and visualise how

      you would feel 10 years from now.

  7. The neighbourhood we live determines our life style and spending. Need to be careful in choosing

      one which matches our goals and personality.

  8. Paying minimum balance regularly on credit card is the maximum sign that you're getting into

      debt trap.

  9. Many are long term investors till next bear market.

10. Don't take aggressive bets. Take measured risk. Remember one blunder can push you back by a

      decade or more in terms of wealth.

11. Big money can be made through high savings, wise investing and lots of patience.

12. One sign of progress in individual's portfolio is no churn or very less churn.

13. Trying to get rich fast is a foolproof way to lose what we have.

14. Losing opportunities is far better than losing money. Don't invest in fads.

15. "Making as much money as quickly as possible" is not an investment strategy. Unfortunately for

      for most of us that is the strategy.

16. Aggressive strategy cannot be a substitute for high savings. Save high and take moderate risk than

      saving less and taking high risk.

17. The day we realise not losing is as important as winning; we would stop blindly chasing returns.

18. Good periods are more than bad periods. By not timing, though we go through bad periods, do not

      miss even a single good period.

19. We'll stop looking for quick money the moment we consider stocks as businesses and realise that

      our wealth grows in line with business growth.

20. There are periods of high returns, low returns, no returns and negative returns. We need to go

      through all these to get long term returns.

21. Listening to market forecasts is not only useless but can be very harmful too; if you start acting on

      them.

22. The hard truth is only around 3% of our population are in a position to aspire for financial

      independence. Don't waste this rare privilege.

Tailpiece.

Was up before 6, opened up the house but the music took its time to come on because of a technical hitch! The Rangoli was nice. The chores, followed by breakfast.

Our Chevy is only gonna be ready by the 9th. Consequently, fixed up a cab for tomorrow, Vishnu will be the chauffeur. The winding up process was set in motion. 

Since it looked a wet day, the clothes weren't washed and were piled up for Suma, at Guruvayur.

Told Chakki and her kids about our departure tomorrow. Did they understand what I said? I'd like to believe, they did. The caretaker will take care of them; that's our relief!