Cosmic Vision

2007-12-16T18:15:00.000-08:00

On a Comeback Trail !!!!!

This is just to inform you all that after a long long hibernating period, i feel like coming back to bloggerworld......... there have been so many things happenning in teh last 1 year or so when i stopped writing. i have to sit down in a cool mind and start blogging them slowly. Till then , let me again take a small break and let the crisis pass over me :-) that is always what i do when i am under pressure to deliver the goods.

2006-05-07T10:34:00.000-07:00

Away for a while !!!!!

This is just to tell you that I am extremely busy travelling from one corner of Europe to the other that I have practically no time for myself ( let alone blogging )

Will come back with all my nice travel experiences soon.

2006-04-11T05:01:00.000-07:00

Kantine Food.

When I used to be a member of a HEI ( High Esteemed Institute ) in my country, we have had enormous debates on the canteen food we had there. It was of course not the best one can think of ( I do not believe one can make everybody happy when the number is about 200 odd people coming from different states having completely different food habits ), but it was not the worst of all. However, the thing which used to bother me was not the quality of the dishes, but the hygeine level and also many times we were served stale food and food which were a few days' old.

Now, here I am in one of the premier research institues in arguably Europe's wealthiest nations ( Germany ) and I still similar features in the canteen which were so familiar to me. Probably the hygiene level is higher ( you do not see rats or cockroaches or lizards running around ) but the quality of food is quite bad here. And on top of that, we are often served salads, the looks and taste of which clearly tell you that they have been bought cheap and from places where quality of these things are not given a high priority and mind you, this kantine is not subsidised, we pay quite a bit but we do not get a very descent meal.

There have quite a few protests but not much has happenned. Canteen people all over the world seem to be like-minded..... !!!!!!!! And all this happens in one of world's highly developed nations !!!!!

Sometimes I get confused when people talk about development : Is just the sensex or GDP or how much foreign reserves a country has the only way to define development ? When I am complaining about what I wrote above, am I not talking about development ? Are'nt depriving somebody of basic necessities of life a sign of under-development ? I am really confused...........

2006-04-01T06:46:00.000-08:00

Oliver Twist : Revisited !!!!

This boy holds a special place in my heart as this was probably the first serious novel I read when I was growing up. And when the master director Romans Polanski made the film, I wanted to watch it more than anything else. And yes I did a few days ago. Without a doubt the Roman Polanski version of OLIVER TWIST will surely go down as one of the greatest version of this story ever filmed (Before this I had seen a TV series on Oliver Twist which was equally moving, david Lean also made a film which I have not seen but had received a lot of acclaim ). Dickens portrayal of 19th century poverty stricken underworld of England has been masterfully handled by Polanski and he was lucky to have the help of some of the all time great artists of motion pictures : Ben Kinsley. Superb acting, effective characterisation, the typical Dickensian idea of fighting for survival against all odds, a glimpse of the inequalitites of the Victorian society and its rather warped sense of justice : nothing coould have been ever so brutal, shocking and yet exquisite.

Yes, Oliver Twist moved me to tears, and hats off to Polanski : a truly wonderful adaptation of a classic novel.

2006-03-29T09:13:00.000-08:00

Queenomania !!!!!

Last week we were at a bar where some young german students' band hosted an evening : A Tribute to Freddie Mercury and Queen ". The band was not great, but they were not bad either. The vocalist was from Argentina and pumped in a lot of emotions while singing one of my favourite somgs : Las Palabras de Amor, Barcelona ....... and specially "These are the Days of Our Lives "
When I came back home, I dug out my old Queen CDs from the shelf and currently am riding high on Queen nostalgia :

Sometimes I get the feelin'
I was back in the old days - long ago
When we were kids, when we were young
Things seemed so perfect - you know
The days were endless, we were crazy - we were young
The sun was always shinin' - we just lived for fun
Sometimes it seems like lately - I just don't know
The rest of my life's been - just a show

Those were the days of our lives
The bad things in life were so few
Those days are all gone now but one thing is true -
When I look and I find, I still love you

You can't turn back the clock, you can't turn back the tide
Ain't that a shame
I'd like to go back one time on a roller coaster ride
When life was just a game
No use sitting and thinkin' on what you did
When you can lay back and enjoy it through your kids
Sometimes it seems like lately I just don't know
Better sit back and go - with the flow

2006-03-20T01:37:00.000-08:00

Fruhlings is hier ---> at least officially !!!

21st March is the official day for spring here. The way the weather was the last few days I did not expect that statement from meteorological department that Spring is around the corner. It's amazing how quickly temperature changes in this part of the world. A few days back we were shivering in -8 to -10 deg, trying to brave the cold wind with as many warm clothes as possible from top to bottom, but this weekend turned out to be wonderful. Already during the day the sun was shining brighter than it would do during summer, a few new leaves on the tree overlooking my balcony, a large part of snow slowly melting : all these are familiar signs of spring slowly rolling in.

Time to forget the dreadful dreary dull cold winter and welcome the bright new spring, time to go to the Biergarten, sit and enjoy the sun with a glass of bier, wurstsalad and brezn, time to wear colourful clothes and party in the spring festival, and above all, time to listen to spring songs of the great master !!!!

Yes, dear friends, like a typical German would say : "Fruhlings ist hier !!!!! "

2006-03-16T04:53:00.000-08:00

CAPOTE

Well, for those who do not know the word, it is the latest biographical movie about Truman Capote and his research while writing the novel In Cold Blood. It is difficult for me to judge the movie since I did not read the book ( I was told that this book was read by almost everybody in the late 60's), neither have I seen the movie In Cold Blood.
The film is based on Capote's research on the murder of a Kansas family and his journey of identification and relationship with one of the killers Perry Smith. It was rather complicated and compelling, I must say. But the movie was beautifully told and more so masterfully performed and was an amazing performance from Phillip Hoffman.

Probably the most difficult part is to accept someone sympathising with killers, I sat completely transfixed and disturbed throughout the movie. All in all, a harrowing and cruel experience.

However, highly recommended for my friends.

2006-03-04T13:00:00.000-08:00

THEY PROVED ME WRONG ::::

A few days back I wrote a post about the snow being patchy this year. Well, the SNOW GOD proved me wrong and took a sweet revenge for my loosetalk. Last few days we have had unbelievable amount of snowfall, and if the weather forecast is to be believed, there will be no stoppage for the next 2 days. so heavy has been the snow that it has thrown the citylife out of gear. Trams and buses had almost stopped running on time and imagine this to happen in a city which gives high priority so that things run smoothly and on time.
In fact at all stations you would hear public apologies for everything being late and people have been working overtime to clear snow from the roads.
I had quite an adventure trying to go for shopping to the supermarket which took me 15 mins ( normally it should take 5 mins only ) and desperately trying not to slip and fall.

Well, not everybody is unhappy and complaining, specially the children are having
a gala time building snowman, driving pulka and rolling on the snow. They love it truly and why not ........

2006-02-27T11:18:00.000-08:00

Syriana : Another Disturbing Affair.

It looks like not just George Bush and his politicians along with American MNCs are worried about Middle East. Hollywood also is not sitting back, we have had quite a few this year on that volatile region and the 3rd world in particular.
Syriana is another in that line, a politically charged movie of a merger of 2 oil industries set in the backdrop of changing times in the Middle East. The film poses many questions through its characters but most intriguing among them probably is the disillusioned Pakistani teenage worker who falls prey to Islamic militant movements amidst growing unemployment and oppression. It shows how the greed of American oil industries on the backdrop of a power struggle between the two princes of the region has started radical Islam movement in the Middle East providing young men with a feeling of brotherhood in the face of a region they feel has turned its back on them in favour of big business, corruption and power striggles. It is a movie not about good and bad guys, but how bad each one can be.
George Clonney is wonderful as the CIA agent and the other casts also fit it appropriately. Stephen Gaghan is a nice story teller and handles the film quite competently.

Probably this is one of the best movies I have seen in recent months, well, it will be difficult to judge whether this is better than Munich or not. In the end a point to ponder upon is that the vast wealth of the West comes at the cost of people all over the world who will never have a fraction of the comfort those in western countries take for granted. Surely this cannot be the fate of humanity !!!!!!!

2006-02-17T09:10:00.000-08:00

PATCHY SNOW

This year the snow here been as fickle minded as the stock exchange. Sometimes there have been long periods with no snow ( of course it was very cold, teparatures going down to -15 degrees or so forcing me to wear the warmest clothes I have ) and then suddenly there was a lot of snow for 2 to 3 days, almost like snowing in buckets !!!!!!

Then came the rain, so the snow did not stay long, but melted away and with that took away my last chance to take some more ski-ing lessons. Well, all is not lost for this year, predictions are that there could be some snow at the end of the month..... let's see.......

2006-02-16T07:14:00.000-08:00

Random Hectic Weekends

Last few weekends have been quite hectic for me. Not my style, I like peaceful weekends
where I can sleep long till noon, then debate over a cup of hot Darjeeling tea for an hour or so
whether I should be cleaning my house or not or washing clothes ( hey, don't think I do not do those things ), feel even more lazy, listen to some random music and also try out some innovative ideas to improve my cooking skills. ( my german italian and spanish friends would vouch for me that it is improving )

However, last 3 to 4 weekends have been very different. In one of them, I had been learning skiing in the Italian Alps ( at a place called Brunico at the border of Austria and Italy ), another weekend I had to get up very early ( this is something I hate the most ) to catch a train to Zurich ( btw, Zurich is a very beautiful city, will leave my "abenteur" in Zurich for another blog and since I had lots of fun, I will not complain this time about having to get up early ) and then the last weekend had to come to the lab for work ( trying to debug a code on a Sunday afternoon, that sucks !!!! ) But the way this week has gone, I am pretty sure that I will be here in my office debugging this stupid code and trying my best to produce some results which I have to show in the next group meeting next week.

Oh, How I wish to go back to my peaceful hibernating weekends !!!!!!
I admit this was a very bad blog, I am in no mood now to write a good one .........

2006-02-09T04:39:00.000-08:00

Munich in Muenchen

Last week I was watching the movie Munich, yes and sitting in a theatre in Muenchen.

Probably everybody knows what the film is about, so will not describe it here.
I liked the film very much, specially was quite overwhelmed by Spielberg's maturity to address the issue. Spielberg could have easily taken the Jeweish stance while making the movie but he did not, like a true story teller, he presented the facts and situations and asked
the audience to decide for themselves.

There are some memorable parts of the film i would like to point out :

1.The conversation between Avner and the Palestinian terrorist where they both justified why each country has the right to have a homeland

2. The paranoia that permeates the world of spies and assassins has been portrayed wonderfully - to the point where every survivor mistrusts everybody else

3. The depressing last sex scene in which Avner fails to use love as fuel to make love to his wife but has to take help from fear and haunted memories to arouse his passion.

Somewhere I had read about Spielberg's comments regarding the movie :

there are people on both sides, terrorists aren't born terrorists, and blood shed is a cycle that keeps on going and never ends so we need to find another way to respond to terrorism Somewhere inside all this intransigence, there has to be a prayer for peace.

Just a few minor details :

The house where the actual attack took place is Conollystrasse 31 at Olypmiapark, Muenchen, and is owned by the Max Planck Society and has been converted to guest house of the MPS ( nobody wanted to buy that house because of many superstitions, funny how superstition works even in
developed 1st world countries ). MPS got the house at a very cheap price from the Munich Olympic Committee. I was there twice to meet some guests of ours and there is a small memorial in front of the house on which was written a few details about the attack with flowers all around it.

2006-02-07T13:00:00.000-08:00

Muenchen, For all those who haven't seen this big village in all its glory.

Every European city whether small or big has its own charm. From the gorgeous cities like Berlin in the east, the memerising Rome and Vienna in the central-south, young and vibrant Barcelona in the west, the solemn and sedate yet beautiful Stockholm in the north to the smallest of cities like Pisa, Firenze, and islands like Lapalma and Tenerife, I have travelled far and quite extensively.
It's now quite some time I have been staying in this beautiful city and slowly perhaps I am falling in love with it. It probably does not have the grandiose architecture which Rome or Athens can boast of, neither the very ancient narrow cobblestone roads with early 20th century gaslights of Nueremburg, Erice or any other very old city, but Munich has a very nice mixture of the old and the new. The city is just the right place for the people who love art with a staggering array of museums, galleries, exhibition halls and not to mention of numerous operas, theatres etc.
Bavaria is souvenir-icon Germany at its postcard best, and the fairy-tale Gothic, Biergarten-filled city of Munich is no exception.
But probably many cities of Europe can offer all those what Muenchen has,however the feature which attracted me the most
was the greenery of the city ---> the vast stretches of the Englischer Garten with the small brook Isar ( well, we will call it a brook, Muencheners call it a river ) flowing through one of the corners are a real soothing site. The city has passed a law that one cannot build higher than 8 storeyed building inside the main city and I appreciate this idea very much. And then what completely stole my heart was the the distinct change of seasons I saw here : nature presents every season in all its glory. Just focus your attention to one tree, keep taking pictures every month and you will see so many different colours of leaves and the bare branches in winter when there are no leaves or completely covered with snow and then the new leaves when spring comes, wow, nature at her very best, I can imagine and feel !!!!!
This change of mood is what I had missed many years, it seemed I had lost this feel for nature, in the last years in the city where I stayed it seemed so un-changing, so monotonous that I was getting fed up with my surroundings. Munich has probably shown me some of the most wonderful colours of nature again, has taught me to fall in love with the beauties around me again --> a feeling which was constantly getting eroded........

2006-02-04T10:05:00.000-08:00

Cosmic Vision : Where are we, Where do we go ?

On whose lips the question of realisation of god does not find place ? In many corners of this world you will hear the following : True realisation starts with metaphysical experience of God. Despite being physically with Arjuna, why did Lord Krishna say, "you do not know Me, I am not this physical body". Lord exhorted Arjuna to know Him in His transcendental form from a wise seer. On being urged, Lord Krishna showed His omni-present cosmic form. Thereupon, all despodency of Arjuna was cleared. He was then ready to fight for extirpation of evil-doers and establishment of dharma.
Taoism teaches that we can attain enduring happiness and spiritual enlightenment if we know and live in accordance with Li, the immutable cosmic law the intuitively discernible aspect of Tao.
To me all this has no relevance in this 21st century. Perhaps it had no relevance at any time of the universe. Description of glory and splendour of God in pedantic and ornamental language and imparting some mantra as "Diksha" is not in the least realisation of God.

Our Quest of the Cosmos has started hundereds of years ago by people of the ancient civilisations. Deciphering the history and current status of the universe has led astronomers to startling concepts about its superdense origin, continuing expansion, subtle curvature, and exotic composition and many more.

In Modern culture, the artichoke view of the world, though transformed from ancient understanding, is largely retained. Thus, physicists look for the fundamental particle and cosmologists for the "theory of everything." Some biologists seek to explain all biological phenomena from cells to human cul
tural in terms of the fundamental particles of biology, the genes.

Astronomical observation is entering a golden age, thanks to the converging technologies of computers, microelectronics, fiber optics, lasers, detectors, gigantic mirrors, and space operations. But, of course, it will be stupid to belive that the solution of the problem to the Origin of Universe lies around the corner. And to my belief, if we expect science to answer all these questions of fate of the Universe, existence of God, we still need to go a long way and will have to be patient. Probably the most unhealthy aspect of cosmology is its unspoken parallel with religion. Both are at the stage where they deal with many but answerable questions. The rapt audience, media exposure, big book sale etc have not been seen possibly in branch of science.

But I believe that a day will come when we may be able to unveil the mysteries of this universe and explain to every common person on this earth. For the moment we should probably only be saying to general public :
It is not unlikely that we primates gazing through bits of glass for a century or two will dissemble the architecture and history of infinity. But if we don't try, we will not get anywhere. Therefore, we, who try to look for answers to these questions, do the best we can to fit the odd clues we have into some kind of plausible story. That is how science ( at least non-repeatable ones ) works and that is the spirit in which our cosmological speculations should be treated. We have built ever complex machines only to discard afterwards in the face of improving evidence. The likelihood may be that this revision will occur again and again and again.
And then probably the truth will dawn upon us.

Perhaps this is best written by the great poet :

Where the mind is without fear and the head is held high;

Where knowledge is free;

Where the world has not been broken up into

fragments by narrow domestic walls;....

Where the clear stream of reason has not lost its

way into the dreary desert sand of dead habit;....

Into that heaven of freedom, my Father, let my

country awake