Ten of Albert Einstein's best quotes.

Father of modern physics. Nobel Prize winner. The German-born theoretical physicist is, probably, the world's most recognised  scientist. His formula expressing the relationship between mass and energy is well known, if not widely understood.

Now, over a century on from the publication of his iconic theory of general relativity, it's back in the news. Although his explanation still holds for now, the researchers believe it doesn't fully explain gravity inside a black hole. The most glaring example at the centre of the Milky Way doesn't appear to follow the same laws of physics as elsewhere in the universe and Einstein's theory may need to be revisited to take account of this.

However, his boundless curiosity, creativity and imagination went beyond the realm of science to include the world and humanity more generally. Here are 10 of his quotes that have stood the test of time.

 1. Human intelligence.....

     "We have been endowed with just enough intelligence to be able to see clearly just how utterly
     inadequate that intelligence is when confronted with what exists. If this humility could be
     imparted to everybody, the world of human endeavours would become more appealing".

 2. ......and stupidity.

     "Fear or stupidity has always been the basis of most human actions".

 3. Intuition.

     "I believe in intuitions and inspirations.....I sometimes feel that I am right. I do not know that I
     am".

 4. Persistence.

    "I still struggle with the same problems as ten years ago. I succeed in small matters but the real
     goal remains unattainable, even though it sometimes seems palpably close. It is hard, yet
     rewarding: hard because the goal is beyond my abilities, but rewarding because it makes one
     oblivious to the distractions of everyday life".

 5. Success.

    "Try not to become a man of success. Rather become a man of value".

 6. Love.

     "Love brings much happiness, much more so that pining for someone brings pain".

 7. Society and the individual.

     "Valuable achievement can sprout from human society only when it is sufficiently loosened to
     make possible the free development of an individual's abilities".

 8. Curiosity.

     "The important thing is not to stop questioning. Curiosity has its own reason for existing. One
     cannot help but be in awe when one contemplates the mysteries of eternity, of life, of the
     marvelous structure of reality. It is enough if one tries to comprehend only a little of this mystery
     every day".

 9. Science.

     "All of science is nothing more than the refinement of everyday thinking".

10. Imagination.

      "Imagination is more important than knowledge. Knowledge is limited. Imagination circles the
      world".


Tailpiece.

A quiet day with comparatively less rain. The washing machine was put to use for washing the
bed linen but it proved to be a non starter - continuously showed 'under voltage' while all the instruments on the same line were working without problems! Finally, the washing had to be resorted to manually......meaning more job for Annie, the maid!

Kerala's monsoon is no longer the same!

Has Kerala's climate undergone a drastic change? The present deluge compared with the floods of last year, coupled with a drought-like situation in between, surely confirms it. Here's the scientific lowdown on climatic factors, far beyond our shores, that are causative!

Kerala's monsoon has completely lost its usual rain pattern. Changes in the South West monsoon dynamics are being reflected in the meteorological unpredictability that the state has been witnessing in recent years. The changes range from severe drought to cloudbursts and whose prime cause is global warming.

Topographical changes thanks to unscientific land use has also made Kerala a sitting duck for the water bombs coming from the 'monsoon gateway' in the north west equatorial Indian Ocean. In fact, the meteorologists have been predicting this process for a long time. There is a clear process - the Indian specialists, at the Centre for Earth Research and Environment Management, had started noticing the changes in the '60s and the international agencies acknowledged this in the '70s.

We, now, know it as the Indian Ocean dipole. The dipole is a seesaw effect in temperature between west and east Indian Ocean, causing a vertical separation of the 'monsoon jet'. While one stream crossed over to central India through the west of Kerala, the other section moved east along Sri Lanka coast denying Kerala its temporal spread of SW monsoon.

Till then, the monsoon gateway would receive Somali jets around mid-May and their eventual convergence would spark off the SW monsoon. Significant changes in Indian Ocean temperature changed the thermodynamics over this monsoon trough caused by a "very cunning" biological activity in the Pacific Ocean.

The surface temperature over the Pacific Ocean began dropping considerably with a proportionate increase in the Indian Ocean temperature. "It was detected that the Pacific was couriering its heat content into the Indian Ocean via the 'Indonesian through flow' (Ocean current along the Indonesian coast)" resulting in the stretching of a heat wall from the normal 200 mts to even two kms. With Indian Ocean becoming a dumping yard of Pacific heat, it results in a poorer spread of Nimbostratus clouds (Water vapour laden) in the peninsular region, especially, at the onset phase itself. Similarly, this weakening of the Findlater jet over the region allows convection to grow, resulting in unusual thundershowers during the monsoon regime. This sort of interaction and associated downpour makes the situation more complex.

Another phenomenon from the South China Sea had struck Kerala last week. Two monster cyclones (Separated only by 500 km) are approaching the South China  Sea. This combo effect is sucking away all winds and water content from the Arabian Sea and the Indian Ocean and its impact is felt over Kerala and central India. Consequently, heavy rains are battering almost all states along the west coast and will subside only when those monster cyclones make landfall!

Note. Adapted from the ToI.


Tailpiece.

The rain was less compared to what it has been over the past week. It was a quiet Sunday! The day had started off with the bleak message that there would be no newspapers today because of breakdown in communication due to the deluge!

Monitored Mithun and Ammu who were travelling from Coimbatore to Bangalore on their scooty. They'd kicked off at 1000 hrs and reached their destination by 1900 hrs! Mini had left earlier by bus and reached around lunchtime; Sanil is already there. The four of them will be together, at Gottigere, for a while.   

A prognosis from the other side of the LoC.

Kashmir Banega Pakistan.

A dream sold to brainwash us since childhood lies in tatters 30 years on. Pakistan's Kashmir policy has borne no fruits for regular Pakistanis, other than polarising society and instilling hate against India.

When the Narendra Modi government scrapped the special status of Jammu and Kashmir and announced its decision to turn the state into a Union Territory on Monday, it caught the 'thekedars' of Kashmir in Pakistan off guard. The reactions from the Imran Khan government were anything but serious, that too for a piece of land they once called their own.

Honestly, losing cricket matches to India have had better reactions in Pakistan. But the bigger question is, can Imran Khan's government run without a Kashmir cause, as the saying goes, "Hukoomat petrol se nahin, Kashmir cause se chalti hai".

Everyone in the ruling elite sold the 'Kashmir banega Pakistan' chooran to the best of their benefit - those in the Pakistani military to keep themselves viable, the politicians to use it during elections, the religious cartel to fan anti-Hindu sentiments and the ordinary Pakistan to just watch all of them make hay.

Brainwashing since childhood 'Kashmir banega Pakistan' is what we were told as kids. 'But how will it become a part of Pakistan when it is in India?' we would ask. 'Kashmir hamari shahrag hai (Kashmir is the jugular vein of Pakistan)'. So how are we managing to survive without this vein? The questions, we were told, had no answers, so they better not be asked either.

Growing up in the '90s, our daily dose of brainwashing involved a 20' programme on Kashmir after the 9 PM news on Pakistan Television. With Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan's 'Iss duniya ke gham jane kab ho gaye kam' playing in the background, we saw agonising images of Kashmir. It would eulogise Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, Yasin Malik, Syed Ali Shah Geelani and other Kashmiri leaders - we were told that these men were the real heroes.

'Our hearts should bleed for Kashmir', was the loud and clear message. But how can the heart bleed for something that was only a state-imposed reality? We would think.

The rulers of Pakistan came and went but what remained unchanged was Palistan's Kashmir cause. A cause for which daring to be indifferent amounted to blasphemy of sorts.

Once a year, Pakistanis would get a day to free Kashmir. Every 05 Feb, they show solidarity with their Kashmiri brethren. School tableaux depict innocent Kashmiri girls singing folk songs and out of nowhere come the Indian soldiers firing gunshots to arouse pathos in the audience.

The happenings of Kashmir day always remained unclear - a national holiday which seemed just like any other off day. Kashmir Day would involve everything other than liberating Kashmir. Waking up late, watching Indian films and hanging out with friends was our contribution to the cause of Kashmir.

And then there were the poster boys of Kashmir freedom movement. Hafiz Saeed, Syed Salahuddin  or Ahmed Ludhianvi from the banned militant outfits taking out processions apprising the Pakistanis of the Kashmir issue. But why would you preach to the converted already?

What Pakistan's Kashmir Policy Achieved.

Now, nearly three decades later, Pakistan's Kashmir policy has borne no fruits for regular Pakistanis, other than polarising the society on the basis of jihad and instilling hate against India. The government of Pakistan expects the inflation-battling awaam to reunite for the Kashmir cause. But why?

Whether or not your heart bleeds for your own ethnic (Shias, Ahmadis, Christians, Hindus) and religious minorities (Pashtuns, Baloch, Hazaras, Mohajir), your heart must bleed for the Kashmiris. It doesn't matter whether the Kashmiris want it or not.

Prime Minister Imran Khan, who recently concluded what we are told was a successful visit to the United States, now finds himself answer less in front of the roaring opposition in Parliament. While he had pleaded US President Donald Trump of mediating on the Kashmir issue, he now doesn't know what actually happened with him. Clueless as ever, in his street fighter style, the premier told what Narendra Modi's BJP has done wasn't cool and like an astrologer, he also told what would happen. But what was missing, as usual, as what his plan was. Being unable to do anything about India's Constitutional amendment is one thing; giving sermons about the past quite another.

Pushing the international community to raise the issue of Kashmir is a lost cause, as is evident from the last 70 years of UN General Assembly outings. Also, Pakistan's recent foreign policy debacles don't help the cause either. Imran Khan, who had called on Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir bin Mohamad for help, forgot how Mahathir had categorically said when he visited Pakistan that he won't take sides in the Kashmir conflict. Mahathir had also said that the reason for Malaysia's success was that it isn't in conflict with any of its neighbours.

During the Indian parliamentary election, Imran Khan had reiterated that Narendra Modi could solve the Kashmir issue. Like an astrologer, Khan got it right. The new measures from New Delhi signal towards etching the Line of Control into a permanent international boundary and like the Punjab and Bengal, Kashmir now too is partitioned.

Note. The author is a freelance journalist from Pakistan. Her Twitter handle is @nailainayat.


Tailpiece.

It was another day of deluge. Selvam, the pressman, had come by in the morning to press the clothes but thanks to the continuous rain, the clothes are yet to dry. He's going to his home town of Pondicherry, for a week, as there is no work for him. Lekha had given him breakfast. Annie, the maid, had come for work though she'd said that she wouldn't - earlier in the morning - because of the water that has collected around her house making movement, out of it, quite difficult. Lekha's expression of happiness, on sighting her, was priceless!

     

A few goings on that need to be deliberated upon.

The government had successfully seen the passage of bills, in Parliament, that had rendered Articles 370 and 35 A which gave special status to the former state of Jammu and Kashmir, redundant. The interesting fact was that many Parliamentarians, cutting across party lines, voted with the treasury benches in favour of striking off the said articles.

In the aftermath of the historic event, there have been quite a few among us who speak as though they are the enemies of the state. Just witness the vituperative statements made by this section of people viz.:-

    (a) The government had not taken the permission of the Kashmiris before abrogating the special

          status that had been bestowed upon the state, way back in time.

    (b) Ominous warnings are being dished out, everyday, about violence once the current security

          restrictions are removed.

    (c) Many a time, hearing the utterances of these people, one begins to wonder as to which side of

          the border their loyalty lies.

    (d) Their statements coincide with what the Pakistanis are saying who, incidentally, have realised 

          that they've lost the plot in the Kashmir narrative.
    (e) The Pakistani PM - the military's stooge - has even said that his country shouldn't be blamed
         if 'Pulwama-type' attacks take place. The best example of an 'anticipatory bail' that exposes the
         complicity of his country in such activities!

Can anyone, who enjoys the benefits of being an Indian citizen, become a turncoat and work towards undermining India through his/her deeds and words?" What they are up to is tantamount to treason. Period!

Of late, the social media - Twitter, to be precise - is being used excessively to propagate false news and incite trouble in Jammu and Kashmir. The sad fact is that by doing so, it seems to endorse Pakistan's narrative, scripted by the ISI which it ultimately will feel ashamed of! It doesn't seem to have taken cognizance of the Indian government's appeal to stay away from the mischief!! Is it only bothered about making money for its services, with scant respect to the affected country's sensibilities?

I would like to advise the 'naysayers' and the 'doomsday forecasters' to hold their horses, observe things in an impartial manner, speak the truth as you see it and start thinking about the good of the nation.

Tailpiece.

Kerala is being battered by heavy monsoons. The continuous rain has disrupted communications and brought immense grief to many people and in fact, many scenes reminds one of the floods that had devastated the state this time, last year! Kavalappara, in Malappuram district and Puthumala, in Wayanad district have ceased to exist on the face of this earth, because landslides have buried them!! The forecast is that the rain is gonna fall, unabated, till the coming Monday.

Hamid had taken me to the department store, nearby, so that I could fetch sundries.

PS.

Felt immensely sad that Mammootty's name didn't figure in the national film award winners' list that had come out today for his performance in the Tamil movie, "Perambu". And no, I ain't implying that Ayushman Khurrana and Vicky Kaushal aren't deserving their awards!  

    

An overview of 'Meditation'.

Do not think that meditation is a continuance and an expansion of experience.

In experience, there is always the witness and he is ever tied to the past.

Meditation, on the contrary, is that complete inaction which is the ending of all experience.

The action of experience has its roots in the past and so, it is time-binding; it leads to action which is inaction, and brings disorder.

Meditation is the total inaction which comes out of a mind that sees what is, without the entanglement of the past.

This action is not a response to any challenge but is the action of the challenge itself in which there is no duality.

Meditation is the emptying of experience and is going on all the time, consciously or unconsciously, so it is not an action limited to a certain period during the day.

It is a continuous action from morning till night - the watching without the watcher.

Therefore, there's no division between the daily life and meditation, the religious life and the secular life.

The division comes only when the watcher is tied to time.

In this division there is disarray, misery and confusion, which is the state of society.

So meditation is not individualistic, nor is it social, it transcends both and so includes both

This is love, the flowering of love is meditation.....


Adieu Sushma Swaraj ji!

Had purposely delayed my response on Sushma ji's passing into the mist of time. Much has been said by so many, who knew her very well and there seems to be a general consensus that she had friends across the spectrum, devoid of political considerations. So, anything that I might say would be like carrying coal to Newcastle and hence, I desist!

I noticed her for the first time when she said that she'd have her head shaved off if Sonia Gandhi were to be made the country's PM! I wondered as to why she could take such a strange position and dumped her to be a political maverick, in search of instant recognition and importance. But it was during her spell as the country's Minister of External Affairs through her sheer hard work, cutting through red tapism by the use of the Twitter extensively, that endeared her to me. She seemed to understand the pulse of the people and was at every troubled spot, anywhere in the world, to provide succor to the needy, underplaying her role, always!

RIP Sushma ji! My tears and prayers!! They don't make 'em leaders like you anymore. Here's wishing that your family has the strength to tide over these difficult times!!!


Tailpiece.

Had got up at 5 as Lekha had set the alarm to prepare an early breakfast for Padmakumar and Rema, who were off to Palakkad by 0800 hrs. The rain was on a continuous spree, creating havoc in the state, as gleaned from the television. The Malayalees were better prepared to shift to shelters and relief camps this time - probably, on the basis of the lessons learnt during the last floods! 


   

Can't help but laugh!

Can't help but laugh at the blunders being committed by the people who think they're acting smart. Their actions easily conclude that they aren't comprehending, not taking into account the big picture and have taken decisions that show them in poor light! And without much ado, here I go:-

 1. China's Grandstanding!

     Soon after India had struck down the provisions of Article 370 and consequently, rendered Article
     35 A redundant, the Chinese foreign ministry had put out a statement that the Union Territory
     status for Ladakh was unacceptable. Note its audacity, first while being deliberately quiet over its
     misdeeds viz.:-

           (a) Muzzling its way through the citizens of Hong Kong.....it says it's integrating the small
                 nation with the mainland by trying to enforce draconian laws!
           (b) Conveniently, forgetting the fact that it had forcibly occupied Tibet many years ago and
                 continue to suppress the political aspirations of the people there and
           (c) And the audacity to continue its 'One Belt One Road' project through the Aksai Chin area
                 which is rightfully ours!

       Take a walk, China you make me laugh by your double standards!

  2. Pakistan's Colossal Stupidity.

      Consequent to the doing away with the special status, Pakistan has been stunned and not been
      able to get over the smart manner in which it has been checkmated by India over the Kashmir
      issue. It has been desperately trying to drum up negative reactions among the nations of the
      world but has not got many takers. So it expels the Indian envoy, downgrades diplomatic
      ties - after Imran Khan's meeting with the top civilian and military leadership, which is a farce
      because it's basically the army chief, Bajwa calling the shots - suspends bilateral trade and
      review bilateral arrangements! Further, it will observe 14 Aug, its Independence Day in
      solidarity with the Kashmiris and observe 15 Aug as Black Day.

      What the Pakistanis have conveniently forgotten is that it needs India and not the other way,
      around. This is Imran Khan's way of taking positive(?) action.

      Don't these guys have any originality? Take a walk, Pakistan you make me laugh by your clumsy
      actions!

  3. An Unwittingly Made Error!

      This brings me back to Kerala. Sreeram Venkitaraman has been able to bring about an impression
      in the court that he wasn't under the influence of liquor because of a lack of solid evidence. His
      smart(?) act of not offering his blood sample for over 9 hours, after the accident with the collusion
      of the police, has brought about this situation!

      It means that Sreeram Venkitaraman had mowed down KM Basheer with his car in his full senses,
      which means he had murdered the journalist knowingly. Shouldn't he, then, be tried for murder?
   
      You continue to make me laugh, Sreeram Venkitaraman with your hare brained ideas!


Tailpiece.

Had got up leisurely in the morning, went through the chores and the four of us - my sister and brother-in-law - set off for Guruvayur by about a half past 10. The rain was holding and we'd a dry spell till we were on the last stretch to Guruvayur, from Thrissur. Reached 'The Quarterdeck' by about a half past 3. The house was opened up systematically, helped ourselves to a short siesta after which Lekha, Rema and Padmakumar had gone across to the temple for a 'darshan' of the good Lord. Since the crowd was less they could enter the sanctum sanctorum without having to wait much and come back satisfied!

Consequently, it was a fairly late evening!      

"Contact" and "Connection".

A Monk of the Ramakrishna Mission was being interviewed by a journalist from New York. The journalist started interviewing the Monk as planned earlier.

Journalist. "Sir, in your last lecture, you told us about "Contact" and "Connection". It's really confusing. Can you explain?"

The Monk smiled and apparently deviating from the question, asked the journalist. "Are you from New York?" Journalist. "Yeah....." Monk. "Who are there at home?"

The journalist felt that the Monk was trying to avoid answering his question since this was a very personal and unwarranted question. Yet the journalist said, "Mother had expired. Father is there. Three brothers and one sister. All married...."

The Monk, with a smile on his face, asked again, "Do you talk to your father?" The journalist looked visibly annoyed.....The Monk. "When did you talk to him last?" The journalist, suppressing his annoyance said, "Maybe a month ago".

The Monk, "Do you brothers and sisters meet often? When did you meet last as a family gathering?" At this point, sweat appeared on the forehead of the journalist.

It seemed that the Monk was interviewing the journalist.

With a sigh, the journalist said, "We met last at Christmas two years ago". The Monk. "How many days did you all stay together?" The journalist (Wiping the sweat on his brow) said, "Three days...."
The Monk. "How much time did you spend with your father, sitting right beside him?" The journalist looking perplexed and embarrassed, started scribbling something a paper.....

The Monk. "Did you have breakfast, lunch or dinner together? Did you ask how he was? Did you ask how his days are passing after your mother's death?" Drops of tears started to flow from the eyes of the journalist.

The Monk held the hand of the journalist and said, "Don't be embarrassed, upset or sad. I'm sorry if I have hurt you unknowingly....But this is basically the answer to your question about "Contact" and "Connection". You have 'Contact' with your father but you don't have "Connection" with him. You are not connected to him. Connection is between heart and heart....

Sitting together, sharing meals and caring for each other, touching, shaking hands, having eye contact, spending some time together...All your brothers and sisters have 'Contact' but no 'Connection' with each other......"

The journalist wiped his eyes and said, "Thanks for teaching me a fine and unforgettable lesson".

This is the reality today. Whether at home or in the society, everybody has lots of contacts but there is no connection. Everybody is busy in his or her own world.....

Let us not maintain just "Contacts" but let us remain "Connected". Caring, Sharing and Spending time with all our dear ones.

The Monk was none other than Swami Vivekananda.

Note. From What'sApp.


Tailpiece.

My day had begun at 5, this morning and I'd woken up Ramakrishnan and we could reach the path lab, nearby, to give my blood samples. The same was repeated after breakfast. Prabha's chauffeur driven car had got us at Shenoy Care by a half past 10. The registration formalities, the junior doctor, Vandana's preparation of the case, based on the lab reports, to give her senior the complete picture. Incidentally, both of them did see the selfie taken by Lekha when her left Parotid gland was swollen.
The doctor was pretty satisfied with Lekha's medical condition and after taking the next appointment and collecting the medicines, we'd set off for home by a half past 2. Shaan, the chauffeur - a good fellow - was sent back with the car. Had a very quick lunch.

Ramakrishnan and I, after collecting my blood report had rushed to the Dibatologist. I've put myself under his care and many connected tests were taken. The next review would be on 27 Aug.

We took leave of Ramakrishnan and Gouri, to head for Rema-Padmakumar's new abode at Thrippunithura. We were slated to spend this evening there! A nice, quiet evening!! But Rema had a severe head ache and it did dampen our spirits!!!