On Chaos and Order

The Fascinating Mandelbrot /Julia Sets:

Anyone who's been following my blog knows I have this unending fascination with the Mandelbrot Set...

Watch the video below, as one steps into the world of the Mandelbrot and Julia Sets. If Spock were around I'm sure you would hear him say, "Fascinating!"

WATCH THIS VIDEO FIRST: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vfteiiTfE0c&t=163s

The process by which the Mandelbrot evolves is sublime, magical, mathematical and above all mystical. Arresting. Mind Expanding. Mind Creating even. Truly Powerful. And exceptionally, exceptionally beautiful. And so , so simple. Who would have thought all it took was to plot an equation as basic as z= z^2 + c. Mandelbrot would have, of course!

And as he best put it himself in his inimitable french accented english and mischievous imp like smile, " I can see things that  nobody else suspects, until I point out to them, "Well, Of course! Of Course!" but they haven't seen before! "

DO WATCH THIS AMAZING PBS NOVA DOCUMENTARY  =>> : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZbK92bRW2lQ&feature=youtu.be

On Order and Chaos:

The play between Order (Cosmos) and Randomness (Chaos) is ages and aeons old. Time and Space are thus but partitioners - partitioning infinitesimal segments of infinitesimal segments within this play. Wheels within wheels.Layers within Layers. Levels upon Levels. Like Warp and Woof. From the smallest point the mind posits to the largest Universe the Mind can conjure and all in between. Are they all connected ultimately?

The process where boundary fluctuation and turbulences give an illusion of interplay locally. But the interplay isn't local it's everywhere for every ordered system a boundary. At every boundary turbulence, at every turbulence , chance, randomness and Chaos.

Chaos or Cosmos? Randomness or Order? In effect the Mandelbrot is a very structured arrangement of geometric points (because as anyone who has played with Mandelbrot/Julia Animators will know, each and every point on the mandelbrot set corresponds exactly to corresponding points on any given Julia set), but, there are fascinating caveats to this order, like for instance, the unbelievably detailed and deep self symmetry, the profusion of details that proceeds when you zoom at any given point of the graph, or the fact that the boundary of the set is infinitely detailed / long / slipping into and out of the Mandelbrot set itself in a bizarre and unpredictable manner!

So What is it all about Ultimately?

And so, making leaps elsewhere from there, as Mandelbrot would I suspect, no doubt approve:

Does the Mandelbrot Set tell us something about the very nature and structure of the very fabric of our Space-Time Continuum? Is it a set that brilliantly illustrates the Transition from Chaos to Cosmos and its complicated transition from one to the other and vice versa? Is the set merely a tool to examine self similarity? Or does it say something about our Universe? Predict a Grander Order? Explain a Small Chaos?

This universe. Our grand mystery. Is really quite simple a story perhaps? And does the Mandelbrot have interesting multiple takes on this story?

This universe. Our grand mystery. Is really quite simple a story perhaps? And does the Mandelbrot have interesting multiple takes on this story?

I really don't know about late old Benoit..but I would really like to think so!

On "We, the Tweeple", Barkha Dutt.. On what she did, what she didn't and #barkhagate

Ok, here goes in a bit more detail than I did in this POST , and forgive the venom (if you find any, I've tried hard not to show the bile & vitriol within). I've snipped out the unnecessary witticism and the overtly self-aggrandizing tone that I'd in mind when I started writing this post, because since then several things have happened :

1. Twitter, the most crash prone site in the world has altered its trending  algorithm to no further track a trend beyond 7 days
2. The entire Indian Twitterati & I'm sure the world at large is outraged at this , because this comes at a particularly unfortunate time for an evolving national Issue here in India and Twitter chooses to do this rather than invest money in improving their site without inconveniencing current users and the way they use twitter
3. #Barkhagate which was, the top trend in India, the longest continuous running trend worldwide(?) and linked to an evolving national issue coinciding with a really shameful mainstream media blackout and covered only on Twitter, sudeenly vanished off the charts and the entire movement lost some steam.
4. Quickly though, the twitterati regrouped to ensure that a new hashtag #mediamafia  was used, started trending and is currently quickly and  in no time back to being the top trend in India
6. Twitter  especially @ev & @biz - Evan Williams  & Biz Stone owe  us Indian Twitterati an explanation for this outrageously unacceptable turn of events
9. I'm no conspiracy theorist , but I'm like this wonly.. if a smell a rat I'm sure as hell not satisfied by  the perfume sprayed by  my friend who didn't find the rat and clean the room !!! [ In this case the algorithm argument, which doesn't satisfy me much mind you & I'm a reasonable guy!!]
13. Twend.it the trend spotting site was  also under my scanner this morning when I woke up to find #barkhagate off the trend lists , here in Ouagadougou (GMT India - 5:30 ) but I've received direct clarifications from their founders @nickdfillipo & @tim_kelleher, and am satisfied that they are only reflecting  Twitters reality.

First :

If you've been living under a rock( that's most people in India who're following the mainstream media or MSM) take a look first up at #barkhagate on Twitter. For good measure be sure to look up also #mediamafia ; #MSMSux ; #haramipatrakar & #Barkharadia, any or all of these will be the next top trending hashttag on Twitter if anything goes wrong, also I'm sure the twitterati is in no mood to relent until our Mainstream Media picks up this story in good faith and carries stories that have substance. So far, the count is poor on this. Have a look at the endless links, articles, twisecracks, twarcasms, twebates and twitterness generally thats unfolding on Twitter.

Second:

Take a moment and forget everything you just read

• Now visualize for yourself what you expect of a responsible journalist.
• Think of the names of journalists who fit that mould
• Also think of newspapers, online journals, TV channels that you respect and feature these names
• Park the result of that thought process somewhere, we'll come back here in a bit...
• Whatever your parameters ,the stage is set for me to put my views forth, feel free as  I mention in my header to comment.. You have as much access to a keyboard / touch-pad / whatever u use to post on the net as  I do , and equal rights to use it.

Now, here goes:

Barkha Dutt, Vir Sanghvi, Rajdeep Sardesai, Prabhu Chawla were involved in conversations with one Radio Nadir (Or Niira Radia ) who happens to be corporate PR lobbyists number one!! (or pick a large negative number to indicate  that she talks at least with everybody who is anybody and their relatives )

No hassles so far, She's a  PR person (Ms Radio Nadir), they're journos, if they didn't talk it wud be silly to expect either of 'em to get on with their jobs, what's the fuss all about anyway??

To follow the drama, lets  introduce the cast (and acronyms):

• We, the allegers (ppl who are raising brouhaha and calling for resignations en masse, or the WTA for short)
• We the Tweeple (ppl who are generally tweeting non stop about #barkhagate and making it the top tweet trend in India for 5 days non-stop, or the WTT for short)
• We the Feeble (ppl who are aware and unconcerned, ppl who are unaware and unconcerned, or the WTF for short) - Silent members of the Cast
• We the Top Honcho Journos ( journos whose journalisitc abilities have shrunk just as much as their fame & bank balances  & hubris have grown -- again I allege nothing here , mind it! The WTTHJ for short)
• We the Napunsak ( this is how we can refer to the mainstream media (MSM) in general , or the WTN for short) - Silent Members of the Cast ( And this what gets my goat!!)

WTA are alleging she used her influence/ PR skills/ maybe the bank accounts of  her  Corporate Honcho backers/ and even apparently on occasion intervention of god-like  real people to influence:

• Large decisions at  Govt. level
• Stories abt  topics important to her clients

If  this group (WTA) are right and there has been quid pro quo, it's illegality (?) , unethicality and a whole host of similar things that WTTHJ are responsible for and an example has to be made..oh yeah!!!
If not, then they (WTTHJ ) can have free reign and continue to go back to life as usual doing what they've always done, and they WTA, especially WTT,  stand to be ridiculed shamed and pounced upon for having raised inane and trivial doubts  without first:
a) verifying facts
b) waiting for a proper judicial enquiry and  court verdict
c) generally being mean, unresponsive to logic and boorish
d) not considering the larger ramifications of spouting venom/enthusiasm/cleverness-and-a-half without restraint
e) engaging in a trial by  media/twitter as you prefer
Right??!!


I think it doesn't quite work that way , my points first  off are:

• That WTT  (go back a bit, and see  sub-points a, b, c,d & e ) have at worst acted like WTTHJ
• At best we've been very very  much better than you
• In fact, I'd go so far  as to congratulate  WTT for work akin to what WTTHJ used to do before they became , well WTTHJs

If you're convinced otherwise, and nothing  I say  can add value, please feel free to stop reading this blog right now and  Goodbye & Goodnight to you!!
[Incidentally , this is Barkha Didi's favourite way of debating, not mine, so show/reserve your vitriol for her. Or did you already  do so on Twitter ?? LOL ]

An example personified, like it or leave it, to prove the above is naturally one of the aforementioned WTTHJ , viz. Barkha Dutt. - by her own admission on her twitter account she hates being made the face of this( Poor Lady!).Personally, I would have rather made  Prabhu Chawla the face of this (despite not having heard his conversations / completely read his transcripts ) because if there is even a merest molecule of impropriety in his handling of this sordid affair then shakes my confidence in one of Indian Journalisms finer gems (my confidence in MSM was next to zero since the year 2000 anyways, and those who follow this blog will know I refer to our media's shoddy and incompetent turn out during the IC 814 hijacking) but then let's be honest, he's not as well known as BD is.

And in either case, when the story broke , late as it did, and on twitter , why was he silent if he was so above board???

Since, I proceed with what could be construed as a personal attack against someone, let me clarify (I am not afraid of anyone suing me , may they feel free to send me legal notices till doomsday, and am confident of my chances in any court, even Indian ones, never mind how slow or arbitrary their processes may be !!) that  I shall proceed with extreme caution henceforth to ensure I don't in this post violated any  of points (a),(c) &(d)above, EVEN if I have in recent past on Twitter (which I have not!). As of now, point (b) doesn't concern me , not for the point I'm trying to make and as for (e), well there is such a thing as karma in this world and what goes around comes around especially for our friend Barkha Dutt (BD) , so again not unduly bothered about violating point (e).

1) Prima facie the tapes , especially those involving BD don't seem to indicate  much too much wrong doing by  either Vir Sanghvi or BD. But they are definitely not sounding like neutral Journalists , With Barkha Dutt sounding exactly like the pro-congress stooge that many of us (And I don't mean Hindutva Agenda pushers when I say us, because I'm not one) think she is, NOR despite disclaimers , has Vir Sanghvi's actions/ writings in real life  off the tapes matched up to his stated explanation.

2) The larger point that  I believe most sane voices on Twitter are repeatedly stressing is that this not about the tapes at all , and certainly nothing personal against that incompetent, irresponsible and  highly biased journalist whom we all commonly know by name of Barkha Dutt  (my opinion , which I am willing to defend in court backed with facts !!)

She remains till date the face of Indian Journalism. And while it was awe inspring  when she  was sitting next  the LATE Vikram Batra and he said " Yeh Dil Maange More !"

It has'nt remained all that awe inspiring as the years unfolded. The wrinkles have appeared , the scowl is revealed , and now the  sham it's based on stands exposed as well !

Oh Yes Barkha Didi ...

We The Tweeple (WTT) remember Kargill

(Though there are those amongst us who would find cause to fault you on your conduct there as well , I let that ball drop for the moment)

WTT also remember  IC 814

And the Mumbai Bombings of 2006

And the Mumbai attacks of 26/11

And We've seen and been disgusted by the way you conduct "We, The People"

And We've seen you defending yourself these past few days  on twitter

And We're not impressed

And We're not happy

And We've seen you attacking and coercing blogs off air in the past

And We're not scared of you, or  NDTV, or your lawyers

And We're Disappointed, with the media in general

And YOU in particular

And We're disgusted at all these scams

And We'll get to tweeting on them as well

And We're going to speak out

And We'll do it on twitter

And We'll do it on our blogs

And We'll trend #barkhagate

And when it fails We'll trend #mediamafia

If that fails We'll trend #MSMsux or #haramipatrakr or #BarkhaRadia but We'll not let it go this time

And We hate A Raja too , and like you (say publicly) We'd like to see him in court.

But We'd like to see you in court as well if you've done something wrong.

And We'll certainly respect you no more even if you haven't done anything illegal in this Radio Nadir (Niira Radia) tapes scandal, because your actions haven't been all that conscionable

And you dont reserve Our respect and never have for , well, it's been years now

We're sick and ashamed of the Indian mainstream media

And We shall concern ourselves no more with egotistical, insufferable EGOs like yours, unless it is to bring them down a peg or two.

This post is finished.

Feel free to let the comments pour, and i will respond to each if  required, at my own leisure

(Because frankly, I'm nauseous and  I must leave now and throw up all I've eaten since morning )

On Mainstream Media (MSM) Credibility, Big Shot Journos, #barkhagate and #vircrasher

The evolving 2G Scam and #barkhagate (for those following on Twitter) raises serious questions on the credibilty of our Mainstream Media (MSM) and our revered journos. 

Even if there is no illegality involved, at the very least it underlines two things: 

1) There is an unacceptable nexus between media , corporate lobbyists and Politicos 

2) The credbility and independence of opinion that one expects from famous journos doesn't exist 

To me, point # 2 is even more important, as journos like Barkha Dutt are revered in our country. Not by everyone mind, as someone who has been pissed off no small number of times at the inane fashion in which BD conducts her " We, the people" debate - shouting down, attacking views by experts that don't match her views and giving inordinately high air time to that spectrum of views which she clearly comes with an agenda to promote. The absolutely cursory level of preparation with which she comes armed for such programs , etc 

#barkhagate if nothing should harm her credibility, and thats good , in an India where she is one of many false gods. 

#vircrasher too, knowing twitter, will soon catch steam , but Vir Sanghvi largely got off lightly here i feel on account of the fact the Barkha Dutt is so blatantly the face of irresponsible journalism in India, that mauling her on twitter was a long awaited event :D

Our revered journos used to be hard hitting, independent opinion giving , genuinely making a difference breed when they started out. 

Today, all they do is respout lobbyists' and government spiel, create a ruckus where unnecessary, "break" stories that they really shoudn't report without considerable restraint (26/11 being point in case) and like to plug their showcased programs at all possible opportunities in pursuit of more visibility and mucho big bucks (LOL at Rajdeeps Sardesai's mauling on twitter by @jhunjhunwala ) 

The worst part is media's (except Twitter) silence on this story, insider solidarity ??

On Mir Publishing house

Back when I was schooling in Chennai, books from MIR publishers were the rage..they'd dominate book fairs at our schools and at such dos I'd usually return home with bagful of goodiees from the house of MIR.

Of course my introduction to MIR happened much earlier with the magazine Misha(Are they not from MIR?..can't be sure but I think so!) and of course, an awesome book I'd read as a kid call "When Daddy was a little boy"

But this post to share my gratitude to two books in particular:

The first called " Barankin's Fantasy World", a rather large sized hard bound tome gifted to me by my Mama (who is a big shot Gyn-obs doc at Chidambaram) when we used to stay in Adyar.The exact timeframe eludes me, but this was definitely before I was in my 4th standard. Written by Valeri Medvedev the book is actually two novels individually named "Be a man Barankin" and a part two by the name "The super-adventures of a Cosmonaut".This book shaped my attitude towards learning. A review here is meaningless , go find the book and read it to understand its awesomeness!!

The second one is another hard bound (though significantly smaller in size) tome called "Tales about Metals" by S Venetsky.Again given to me around the same time by Mama. Now, this particular book, is no book for a fourth standard (or lower) kid,but, even as a youngster, this book was an awesome read with amazing trivia and snapshots of how various metals were discovered, profiles of their discoverers, how metals are mined, refined, their interesting properties and uses. Did it shape my ultimate desire to become a metallurgist?..I think so.

The next time I re-read this book was when I was in junior college, in Eleventh standard , the book was given to me by my Chemistry teacher Padmini Iyer maam (I'd lost my copy by this time and was thrilled to see it again) along with a lot of other reading material,when she handpicked a team of three of us to represent Hindu Junior College at the prestigious national level Prof. Brahm Prakash memorial Metallurgy and Materials Quiz. This quiz has local quizzes organised at the IITs/ other prestigious engineering colleges [The Pune venue has been COEP for a few years (and maybe still remains?) and I remember helping my Quizzing and College super senior Niranjan Pedanekar organise the very first Pune leg of this Quiz at the TRDDC when I was later studying Metallurgy at COEP] by the local chapters of the Indian Institute of Metals with the top two winners at each of the local quizzes going to the national finals usually held at a prestigious Research Institution. In my year, we'd won the Chennai chapter quiz which was organised at IIT Madras ( and this was also the first time I seriously considered that it would be fun to study at an IIT) and had gone to the National finals at the awesome IGCAR Kalpakkam Nuclear Plant (where we did reasonably well but didn't win the national title..though we did rub shoulders with the absolute who's who of the Indian Materials science establishment and made it to local televison to boot,and from here on in I wanted to be nothing but a materials scientist -DO NOT ask me why i'm selling food products in Africa today)

These books are a must read.

Again when I was prepping for IIT (not really as hard as I should have but still!), MIR books by Irodov & a host of other Russian authors were irreplaceable in my preparation.

When in Engineering my introduction to Superconducting Materials and their physics, Quantum Mechanics & quantum chemistry, Applied Mechanics, Plasma physics etc. were all largely again due to MIR books. While at COEP we had a huge number of book fairs at the IE convention hall across from our hostel gate with again a fair representation of scientific titles from the MIR stable. I had amassed a huge trunk full of the most excellent and treasured books over four years ( a trunk that unfortunately was stolen before I quit college by one of our hostel peons , the b!@%#$d must have sold them as scrap to make a few bucks and entertain his friends with booze on a weekend - one of the greatest losses i've suffered in my life)

Anyways, on teacher's day, my thanks to MIR publishing house for providing me with a huge number of my most influential teachers

On Democracy in Africa and the future of its Economy

For the longest time I've been meaning to pen my thoughts on the phenomenon of country after country in Africa celebrating their 50th Anniversary of Independence. It has been close to two years now that I've been residing in Cotonou, a port city in a country called Benin in West Africa. Benin celebrated it's 50th Anniversary of Independence from France on the 1st of August 2010. No less than fourteen countries ceased to be French colonies in 1960.The very same year,Belgian Congo became the independent republic of Zaire , and Somalia and Nigeria ceased to be part of the British Raj. With a billion plus inhabitants, massively well endowed with mineral resources and agricultural potential, and increasingly better governance, Africa is clearly the next big thing. May I humbly be the first to submit that Africa and its Billion be compared favourably in terms of its potential growth story with the other two billions that every commentator/wise ass with an opinion tirelessly fails to talk about viz. India and China. With abundant land, adequate water resources and more than adequate mineral resources (I'm reasonably confident that on a per capita basis Africa scores comfortably over India and China on each of these parameters) all Africa needs to be the next engine of world economic growth is access to good education and effective governance. On both these counts, I'm optimistic and believe that things are only improving.

Already in terms of GDP growth rate , African countries rank right up there. Have a look at the World GDP growth Rate comparison Map.Of the 54 recognized states that comprise Africa no less than 39 States figure in the top 100 fastest growing economies of the World ( Real GDP growth). Ethiopia one of the fastest growing GDPs in Africa clocks in at a nifty 5th , just ahead of India's 6th place and just behind China's 4th place. While South Africa remains the largest GDP in both real and PPP terms; countries like Egypt, Nigeria, Algeria aren't too far behind. All of these are vibrant and dynamic economies (South Africa included). Nigeria for example, with it's large population is an economy that drives or at the very least indirectly boosts the economy of several neighbouring countries like Benin, Niger, Cameroon,etc.



So the economic future of Africa, but for the rascally of its political classes, is well and truly something to watch out for.

The questions that go begging then, at this stage of the discussion, are quite clearly-What is the political scenario in these economies? How do they fare in terms of Governance? What is the score on poverty alleviance? How thus far, have governments here fared on social welfare metrics and indeed, on health care?

Answering these questions will surely deserve a more involved and better researched post than this one,but, for the moment , let me cap this article by coining an acronym rather akin to the famous BRICS but with fewer letters , it's one that's already familiar albeit in a different sphere but one that to my mind bears an important guiding light to the future of the world economy.

That acronym is CIA - or China, India and Africa. This is the new CIA of shifting  world economic power. If this century is storied as the Asian Century, then barring human annihilation I can safely wager my all without an ounce of doubt that the next century will be the African Century.

Maybe CARIBINS to include Brazil, Russia, Indonesia & South Africa ? Dunno..but this is going to surely have more follow up posts that's a promise!!

On Lords of Poverty...

Graham Hancock's books have always been excellent reads. See this earlier post of mine. Got my hands on another book of his today, will surely post a review once done but when you read this upfront:

" Lords of Poverty is dedicated to those senior staff at the World Bank who illegally acquired and read my original synopsis in the early days of this project. By attempting to limit my access to inside information they convinced me that the aid business does indeed have much to hide."

and when a dedication like that is followed by this poem:

The development set

Excuse me, friends, I must catch my jet
I'm off to join the Development Set;
My bags are packed, and I've had all my shots
I have traveller's checks and pills for the trots!


The Development Set is bright and noble
Our thoughts are deep and our vision global;
Although we move with the better classes
Our thoughts are always with the masses.


In Sheraton Hotels in scattered nations
We damn multi-national corporations;
injustice seems easy to protest
In such seething hotbeds of social rest.


We discuss malnutrition over steaks
And plan hunger talks during coffee breaks.
Whether Asian floods or African drought,
We face each issue with open mouth.


We bring in consultants whose circumlocution
Raises difficulties for every solution --
Thus guaranteeing continued good eating
By showing the need for another meeting.


The language of the Development Set
Stretches the English alphabet;
We use swell words like "epigenetic"
"Micro", "macro", and "logarithmetic"


It pleasures us to be esoteric --
It's so intellectually atmospheric!
And although establishments may be unmoved,
Our vocabularies are much improved.


When the talk gets deep and you're feeling numb,
You can keep your shame to a minimum:
To show that you, too, are intelligent
Smugly ask, "Is it really development?"


Or say, "That's fine in practice, but don't you see:
It doesn't work out in theory!"
A few may find this incomprehensible,
But most will admire you as deep and sensible.


Development set homes are extremely chic,
Full of carvings, curios, and draped with batik.
Eye-level photographs subtly assure
That your host is at home with the great and the poor.


Enough of these verses - on with the mission!
Our task is as broad as the human condition!
Just pray god the biblical promise is true:
The poor ye shall always have with you.

- Ross Coggins



Well , you know right then that come rain or hail, it's going to be a damn entertaining read.

P.S.: Sitting here in Francophone Africa I can easily identify with what he's probably going to say in his book.

P.P.S: Me extremely happy to see my reading habit reviving un peu in francophone Africa ( By Jove,it's not easy to find English books here!!!)

Defending Jaswant

I'm a Congress person. Have always been as far back as I can remember, and yet it's true that the congress has a long way to go before it can be the party that I would unreservedly support.The Congress is far from perfect:- conspicuous errors in policy, rampant evidence of corruption by party members, a tendency to play to the galleries by even the highest level of leadership, an irritatingly continuing dependence on the Gandhi family to provide incumbents to the top post of the party, etc.the list goes on and on...

In recent times the alternative has been BJP, a party that I would not normally subscribe to simply because it's roots lie in a jingoistic pro Hindu agenda that stands contrary to the very fibre of Hinduism as I understand it. Also because it roots lie in an organisation (RSS) that draws its inspiration from Hitler and the National Socialist Party.
[aside]One of my closest friends happens to be the great grandson of one of the key founding leaders of the Sangh. I have all respect for the positive contributions the RSS has made to many communities. But I'll be excused for my decided opinion that the RSS's ideological underpinnings are fatally flawed and that, in general, it's not a club that I'd want to be part of[/aside]

We'll return here when trying to understand what the BJP's core ideology is all about (Going against which is what,as you'll grant me,resulted in the expulsion of one Mr. Jaswant Singh from the BJP). And yet, again, I have to admit there are many many things about the Party, it's leaders and its policies that one simply had to admire(forgive my use of the past tense but that is how I feel today) One of those leaders was Jaswant Singh, and another was Vajpayee ( Again forgive my use of the past tense but neither of them remains with the BJP today). Vajpayee's historical address in Hindi at the UN general assembly remains one of the bravest and most suave assertions of India internationally that I can recall. Let's not forget that it was the BJP again that not only had the balls to take India overtly nuclear but also the tactical wherewithal to steer India's foreign policy excellently in the aftermath of the blasts and Pakistan's tit-for-tat response. This was the party that had the insight to espouse "sadak-bijli-pani" and underscore the critical nature of Infrastructure and its role in the future of India's progress. This was the party that started the Bharatiya Pravasi Divas and engaged NRIs so so so much better than any government before it.This was the party that espoused the concept of a uniform civil code and equality before law. This was a party that had plenty of young , vocal, erudite and dynamic leaders (jaitley, mahajan, shourie, swaraj, modi and many more) and no "dynasty" syndrome. Above all it had four-five towering leader figures Vajpayee, Advani,Yashwant Sinha,Jaswant Singh,M M Joshi , etc.

There were errors as well, no doubt, not for a moment am I suggesting things were perfect. There was plenty of humble pie for Vajpayee at the Kargill-aceous end to his grand peace overtures to Pakistan or for that matter the hastily concluded Agra summit with pencil-mustache. To my mind the signal error plaguing the BJP was an inordinately high tendency to project itself as the next US/Israel. It wanted to or tried to change 50 years of world perception that India was a soft state over night. It didn't work out for them, or rather in hind sight I feel it couldn't work out for them.Consequently, there was humble pie for Jaswant Singh as well at the turn of the millenium with the IC 814 hijacking. And yet, Singh remains one of the few leaders that simply ooze refinement , erudition and finesse for me. I recall his interview with Tim Sebastian on BBC (Of HardTalk fame) simply awesome!!

In short here was a party that despite its fallacious ideological base did seem to have a lot of things going right and if you were an average Indian living in the India of 2003-2004 you might have voted BJP or you might have not when the elections happened in 1998,and then again in 1999, but you sure as hell were proud of the country and not too displeased with the govt. of the day. Five years from that point of departure I am pained at how drastically different things are with the BJP of today.

On Wednseday, the BJP expelled Jaswant Singh for writing a book on Jinnah. I haven't read the book but I have my doubts that Jaswant Singh covered any fundamentally new ground here. Basing my opinion on the one experience I have of his authorship I would definitely want to read this book. But the question I really haven't found an answer to is - exactly which core ideology of the BJP has he violated? According to Jaitley, he has transgressed the avowed stance of the BJP that Jinnah was the originator of the two nation policy. My question is - is the core ideology the BJP to oppose the Two nation theory ( which all said and done is not really a matter of choice now 60 years after the partition)or to insist on who originated it? If the latter,then Jaswant Singh's claims in the book seem to be good stuff for the party to build on rather than shun. ( I mean, really, if you can blame the partition on the Congress that's not all bad politically)

I'm not saying that what he has written is right or wrong, just that it shouldn't have resulted in his expulsion. There are two reasons for this - the first being that when similar statements were made by L.K. Advani after the initial clamour and his subsequent offer to quit as party president, things just tamely died on that issue. So why are things so different now, that a senior leader of the party is pointedly informed of his expulsion without so much as being offered a chance to explain himself. The other reason is that, if I have correctly digested the gist of what his book seems to imply about Jinnah and Patel-Nehru, then, the premise of his writing is actually a good ideological bolstering for the BJP a new plank / angle against the congress that the BJP sorely needs, given its dismal performance at the last hustings!

On whether what he is saying is historical fact interpreted with adequate judgement or not is something that I can only comment on after reading his book ( sitting here in francophone Africa, it must needs await my trip to India, I think, before that happens) but I have read one book by Jaswant Singh, a book titled "Defending India" and I was seriously impressed by the book.
[aside] To my delight I have read a personally signed hard copy of the book.The inscription signed by Jaswant Singh reads "To my Guruji" and is addressed to my late Grand Father who was his professor when he was a cadet at NDA Khadakvasla [/aside]

I just feel that it's a sad sad day for the BJP and that they've alienated a few erstwhile fans & followers with their arbitrary behaviour these past couple of years.I hope that they get a grip on themselves,because all said and done, the BJP has played an important role in shaping India's polity and gearing it for this century. Here's hoping they manage to salvage their relevance going forward...

Thakumar Jhuli

Eons of Bengali youngsters have been weaned on stories from this definitive treasure trove of fantasia, which translated means "Grandmother's Bag" and we (my sister and I) were no different. For us however, more fertile memories are linked with the teller of these tales, our Thamoni (which is the nick/moniker by which we addressed our grandmother) whose bed time story telling sessions were a great hit with us.

This post is a long due tribute to one of my closest friends.

Dr. Rajlukhsmee Debee Bhattacharya was born in Mymensingh, Bangladesh in 1927. She did her schooling in Mymensingh and then in Calcutta. Being a stellar student and Gold Medallist in B.A and M.A from Calcutta University (which in her times for a woman, was a real big deal!!). She later earned her doctorate from Pune University in philosophy, and taught Philosophy at IIT Kharagpur, Fergusson College, and N.Wadia College,Pune , where she retired as the HOD of the Department of Philosophy. All this while she was also a very active Bengali poet , one of the few pravasi Bengali poets of note (Pravasi being the Bengali term for non-resident Bengalis-She was based out of Pune since 1952). She was a recipient of the Prestigious Bhuban Mohini Dasi Medal from Calcutta University for her contribution to Bengali literature. She was also a noted translator of poetry from Bengali to English and English to Bengali, and had traveled abroad extensively to many conferences where she shared her expertise and experience in the finer nuances of the very difficult but very critical art of translation.

She was tremendously dynamic,phenomenally creative, inspirational,a killer cook, brilliant, open minded, youthful and refreshing to interact with but most of all she was a very loving person. When I was doing my engineering at the College of Engineering Pune (from 1999 -2003), She was my confidante and counsel. Whether it was studies related advice, or guidance on extracurriculars or generally helping me sort out personal issues, from Applied mechanics, engineering drawing and quantum physics to texture of brush strokes in the artwork of certain artistes to heated discussions on whether R.K. Narayan deserved the Nobel prize in literature or not (I thought he did, she thought not), whether "Dil Chahta hai" was really the awesome movie I though it was (She felt that despite the well portrayed urban glitz the movie ultimately lacked substance). That there was almost a 60 year difference in our ages wasn't apparent to me at most times, when it did, it struck me with a mixed sensation of awe that said i-hope-i-have-half-the-energy-she-does-when-i-get-to-her-age.

And while this post is hardly adequate to convey the loss I or indeed most members of my family felt when she passed away on a February morning three years ago, it will serve to underscore that her memory lingers on, as does her legacy.

As I was rummaging through my files the other day I saw some handwritten translations of short children's verses by Thamoni. Interestingly, the illustrations for this work in progress were done by yours truly (and therein lies the weak link) way back during the run up to my Second Semester Exams at COEP. I searched the web to see if I could trace the originals which she translated them from. The source it appears might well be a work by Shel Silverstein dating back to 1964 a work comprising of a collection of illustrated children's verse called " Dr. Shelby's Zoo". Have given below the English originals of the verses along with scanned images of Thamoni's translations. Let me just say that the translations fantastically maintain the edgy humour of the originals as well as the extremely creative names that these beasts have, those of you who can read Bengali won't have to just take my word for it, and, ahem... my illustrations don't hold up too badly either.


The Man-Eating Fullit

Here is The Tail
Of the man-eating Fullit,
Let's not pull it



Gru

Don't pooh-pooh the Gru,
For if you do,
He'll bite you through,
And chomp and chew,
And swallow you.
But if you don't,
Don't Think he won't!



The Long Necked-Preposterious

This is Donald,
A Long-necked Preposterious,
Looking around for a female
Long-necked Preposterious.
but there aren't any



The Graveyark

See the Graveyark in his cage,
His claws are sharp, his teeth are double,
Thank heaven he's locked up safe inside,
Or we'd all be in terrible trouble!


and my personal favourite...

Slithergadee

The Slithergadee has crawled out of the sea,
He may catch all the others, but he won't catch me,
No you won't catch me, old Slithergadee,
you may catch all the others , but you wo--

The Great IIFTian Hostel Room Makeover

This is the room that Ayush and I share...



...and quite frankly as you can see, it needed a makeover.




so we started and pretty quickly into our effort we were rewarded by locating lost stash like this swimming goggles that its been over two weeks since i'd seen them...



and a huge bundle of clothes that was there, somewhere...



after hauling furniture here and there...



we were almost there...



and this is how our room looks now....






let's see how long it remains this way...