Absolute love

where absolute means the usual way, complete pure, perfect,  Complete & without restriction or qualification

Movie review : October sky

        This story is about a high school kid, from west Virginia who dares to dream big. This was the time when Russia launched the first satellite Sputnik and Americans were angry about that, but for this kid this sight of a satellite moving across sky came a big aspiration, a moment of connection with oneself when one realizes what exactly one is supposed to do in his life. The village was called coal wood owing to the main profession being mining coal and as the norm all kids were supposed to work as miners after their necessary schooling. As he watched the satellite streak across the sky, he had a dream of building a rocket which could take that satellite and put it in it's orbit. The aspiration was so profound that he made friendship with a nerd guy in his class with whom no one ever spoke or mingled. Thhey were a group of four friends, who managed to procure the material for their experimental rockets from unused rail tracks etc. They made numerous unsuccessful attempts. They used all lengths, all sorts of fuel etc. The rockets either flew to short distances or catch fire and burst. Failure are the stepping stones of success indeed. These experiments lead them to understand what makes a rocket actually fly. Apart from experimental failures, he had to abandon his rocket flying aspirations, as his dad got seriously injured while working in a coal mine and he had to work in coal mine for keeping his family financially well. Those innocent eyes always looked up the sky when going down in a coal mine elevator. In spite of all these hardships, due to the help and encouragement from his teacher he participated in a science fair, demonstrated his rocket building , flying fundamentals and won first prize too. This involved many schools and he came out in flying colors with that first prize and getting scholarship offers from various universities.
      I was especially moved by the advice his teacher gave him- "you don't have to prove anything to anybody, Now, go launch yourself a rocket". This kid was Homer Hickam who went to become scientist at NASA. He dreamed big, worked hard towards it despite all hardships, faced the numerous failures in experimentation with his rockets and learnt how to fly rocket correctly.

 So, a big dream needs lot of smart work, patience and recovering from failures too !
 A must watch for those who often use the term rocket science to imply a tough thing or tough science. You will realize rocket science is just awesome !

Moral science stories for kids 3: The one with becoming something in life

Part 3 :  On becoming something, someone in life
              As kids we all have have all the creativity to imagine ourselves becoming pilot, doctor, engineer, scientist etc etc. As life progresses we become aware of the various educations processes, career paths, then the picture is bit more clearer to choose what you wanna be in life. As a dialog in the movie Lakshya goes, You may become something or someone in life, important thing is to become a good person first of all. Have some friends and relatives who respect you for whatever you are and who will be there for you when you need any kind of help. Being nice is very broad term, you can be nice to people around you, create an cheerful atmosphere wherever you go. There is already enough of poverty, hunger, terrorism, professional tension, sorrow in the world. Why do you want to add to it by carrying a sad face. Whatever is your state of mind always carry a pleasant smile. Well you don't have yo smile all the time even if you are sad, but most of the times so carry that smile, it does not reduce the intensity of the problem but gives us the strength to face the problem boldly. My teacher said about a term he phrased himself - hopeful-hope probably compared to hopeless-hope. hopeful-hope signifies the  practical aspect of achieving things in life, career ambitions etc, where as hopeless-hope is merely false belief  of achieving things which may be beyond your capability itself. We have belief on our doubts & doubt on our beliefs, rather it should be believe your beliefs & doubt your doubts. Everything happens twice - once in mind and second time in actuality. Hence imagine strongly with passion what you wanna become in life. Its not enough if you dream often & do nothing about it. Everything has to be done by you. As the quote says : Success is hard work meeting opportunity.

     Do the best of what God gave you. Identify your strengths & weakness. American education system insists on building on your strengths, hence making you an achiever in your aspiring domain. Indian education system insists heavily on improving your weaknesses, hence making a normal person out of you. Well choose wisely & keep learning from mistakes.
Maintain a diary or journal to record your learnings from life. It may not be relevant in short term, but certainly useful in long term where you tend to forget the things and happenings in your life.

Moral science stories for kids 2: The one with apology

Part 2:

           English is a beautiful language, offers a wide variety of words to describe a particular feeling, situation or a context. Its important that you keep learning words everyday which help you communicate effectively.
An important part of leading a good life is say - Thanks, acknowledge a person for the thing or help or favor he has done to you. There is a depth in a sentence which starts with 'Please' and ends in 'Thanks'. Be willing to admit the mistake and say 'Sorry' if your conscious feels that you have done wrong to a person, hurt his feelings or crossed the line. A sorry has three parts, we usually do the first part and forget the remaining two or rather never care for the rest of the part of sorry. Here they are
1) Say sorry
2) Mean it truly, may be indicated in a tone or expression
3) What can I do to make you feel better, reverse the effect if possible- 'damage control' is filmy phrase here !

If you really care about a person, you should essentially do these three things, then there is no reason for the other person to be mad at you. Well this is the max you could do in saying sorry, if the other person is not still forgiving you, then there is nothing much you can do about it, right ?

Astronomy vs Astrology

     During the Kalpaneya Yatre @ JNP, there was a lecture organized on Astrology mainly with the objective to debunk myths. the audience was professional astronomers from IIA, ISRO scientists, Astrophotography enthusiasts like MR Ajay Talwar, amateur astronomers like me Naveen, & lots of BAS members, educators film producers, art enthusiasts movie directors etc, Shrusti school of arts folks etc. After the session which was on the basics of astrology, the debate & questionnaire was really insightful. this was sensitive topic from ages. As someone rightly put out to debunk myths about astrology we must understand the basics of astrology & explain to people that whats wrong in it, even the astronomy part of the astrology is wrong. someone had a nice argument about eclipse, they consulted  several top gynecologists to know the reason behind the pregnant women advised not to go out during eclipse. The reply came that we don't know the reason, but we advise precaution better don't go out during eclipse. Exactly, fear of consequence is what prevents us from trying out a thing thinking why the risk simply. I & Kiran were discussing: Somethings are under our control, we go to astrology or prayer to make the things which are not under our control to make them turn in our favor. we can study very hard for the exam all night to get good marks but the paper should come reasonably easy to score good marks. So a simple technique of a pooja in morning may save us from getting low marks , then why not try it, simply why the risk ?  similarly we apply same logic for bigger things in life. we buy a house investing all our life's hard earned money on that & that should be essentially on Auspicious day & the house should strictly follow at least basic fundamentals of Vaastu. At least i should not have argument that      IIA conducted a breakfast session during eclipse to disprove any beliefs that eating during eclipse will be harmful.         

    

  ...to be continued. 

Moral science stories for kids 1: The One with Accept & Adjust

Part 1: 

           In my school days moral science was not considered important subject, but later after many years I realized that this is the most important subject which needs to be taught in a way by which kids can imbibe the lessons & become good citizens of tomorrow. I think the Hrithik Roshan’s dialogue in Lakshya is very apt here in this context, whatever one may become in life, foremost is to become a good person. In this information era all info is available easy at hand. What’s important is to teach the values of living in society, the technology changes say for every 3/4 years. This series are written as imagining myself as moral science teacher to say high school kids

             Learn the difference between the words "Accept" and "Adjust". This is essential in living a good peaceful & happy life. We need to adjust some things in life & accept some other things. the real meaning of accept in philosophical sense is to whole heartedly come in terms with a person or condition or situation & never complain about the same in life, never ever. Adjust involves compromises stretched over a finite time in your life obviously & complaints when angry etc. Thats fine, but see there are some things which you totally cannot change totally cannot go away from them you have to live with them throughout your life. Accepting them that makes living, i.e coping with them easier. Acceptance means never arises the need to complain in entire life time. Give an example or illustration to make the point clear in children's minds. For example you wanted your parents to be millionaire or more sensitive or something you always wanted them to be but they are not. So learn to accept such a thing because its out of our control to change your parents. Your destiny has decided that you should be born to them, right ?  you may not like your job or say a house you are living, adjust with it for a while until you find a new job & a good house of your choice. Categorizing problems into accept and adjust makes life much simpler to live.

The Mystery

This post has been published by me as a part of the Blog-a-Ton 17; the seventeenth edition of the online marathon of Bloggers; where we decide and we write. To be part of the next edition, visit and start following Blog-a-Ton.

As I play with pebbles and shells on the shores of cosmic ocean

a mystery baffles me, dazzles me in my notion

As I make a futile attempt to understand the intangible infinity

only left with wonderment about my sanity 

As I wander in the archive of ages of knowledge

with a deep desire to measure and acknowledge

a creation so magnificent, so splendid 

a strange realization that we are as insignificant as a particle of dust

freely floating in fabric of the space & time

As I realize my home is so green and peaceful

the universe out there is chaotic than ever

violent volcanoes & collisions occurring around

this is a just periodic game of creation & destruction

with its own set of complex rules

Trying to find that unknown in that complex equation

guessing the magnitude of variables involved

mathematics has its own limitations to dare beyond

For those who have seen beyond are the enlightened

Those who do not have to seek answers for questions anymore.

As the universe plays a game of causes & effects

the flap of butterfly's wings causing a hurricane around the globe

there is a fine delicate balance of things around

trying to discover my purpose at last

as i let go of the assumption of reality and illusion

feelings of seeking for happiness and pleasures

i see the universe in a different form

with a heightened sense of things

and a higher level of consciousness

i see a beauty in the mystery of universe

this is not an illusion not a reality

this is something of the third kind

which you cannot digest

As I try to make sense of innumerable patterns all around me

from veins in a leaf to the shells on the shore

a smoother pebble resembling the yellow bands of Jupiter

and a sea shell having patterns as the milky way…

ascertaining the fact that nature loves symmetry

For there is a mystery in the elegance & elegance in the mystery

As I the see the source code of the universe

In its completeness across the electromagnetic spectrum
I exist as a mere impulse of heightened consciousness
I cannot be eliminated or terminated
I rejoice my being from inception till the end
In a state of being aware of itself
As I resonate in the cosmic symphony
I am a factor of an equation
ever trying to balance itself, coz i am still alive !
My physical body has constraints but my mind knows no limits

Life is nothing but an open ended string

living as vibrating randomly without knowing the meaning or purpose

with a deep restlessness to understand the ultimate truth

that transcends both the space and time itself.

From the cave paintings of animals resembling the patters found in sky

To the modern super computers modeling the faintest of galaxies

Patterns have fascinated mankind all throughout

We have come so far in an attempt to understand the unknown

Yet when I look up the sky, filled with wonderment

I see a streak of falling star passing by and wander in my wonder 

For men* may come & men may go

but the universe rocks forever

*men : By men I mean Amateur astronomers, professional ones can never love Astronomy more than Amateurs. There is a depth on missing love rather than being with it.

PS: The pic is a long exposure photo of the Milky way galaxy, our home as seen from being inside the same hence this edge on view. This is visible to us a band or patch of light across the sky, it appeared as if milk is spilled in the sky hence the name milky way. there are mainly two types in sky observing through telescopes. observing planets inside solar system & Deep Sky Observing(DSO) . In DSO, we mainly observe the galaxies which are of various shapes. We can classify the apparent view as face-on view & edge-on view. face-on view is one in which the axis of rotation of galaxy is the LOS of observer not exactly though. edge on view is the axis of rotation of galaxy is perpendicular to the LOS of observer. Consider galaxy as a disc to get an idea.

Another PS: This all started with recalling the quote of Douglas Adams, hats off to the him for this !
I know the poem doesn't rhyme but what to do god created universe which cannot be described rhymingly with ease ! LOL  pass on the blame to god himself, Here's another one on lighter side :

One one cold observing night due to lack of bedsheets one guy asks another to share bed sheet with him. but that was very small one & hence I suggested, may be if you can sleep on him Faceon or edge on you both can be covered by that bed sheet. This was definitely overdose of observing galaxies & needed sleep badly !

“There is a theory which states that if ever for any reason anyone discovers what exactly the Universe is for and why it is here it will instantly disappear and be replaced by something even more bizarre and inexplicable. There is another that states that this has already happened.”

  
-astrosunilnomy
Amateur astronomer
Council member
bas.org.in (the most active astronomy club in India)

The fellow Blog-a-Tonics who took part in this Blog-a-Ton and links to their respective posts can be checked here. To be part of the next edition, visit and start following Blog-a-Ton.

My talking watch

The story of my first & last watch

          As a high school kid probably after seeing Mr India I had this fascination of having some kind of cool and  unusual watch, I was gifted a watch by this girl, her family was friends with our family, she stayed at hostel & my dad was Principal of that college and our house happened to be near to their hostel. This watch looked more of ladies watch sort of & I did not liked it though I got hardly any gifts apart from a dress for a birthday every year. Then there was a trend of a typical watch called talking watch in our class and school. It was a relatively cheap Rs 150 something, which was available in local market. Everyone was talking about the talking watch, it could tell the time yes audio output when a button was pressed, nice florescent glow light etc, alarm etc feature. I wanted this badly & convinced parents to buy me this if I get 3rd rank which was the norm until all these years in school as Akshata & Bhavana took first & second ranks  and I was sort of unbeatable at third rank position.  
                So I flaunted it all around making it tell time to all friends. It had a good battery after a couple of months also it said the time loudly enough. One day it went insane and never stopped making noise in class just alike a never shutting up barking dog. and I had to put it in my bag & keep it outside. This was embarrassing , came as  direct blow to my constant efforts to impress on girls thought never any girl was impressed in actuality. After this event things changed in life a lot, lost a fascination for showing-off things to others. I never wear a watch to this day, just feel the need to be simple enough, some one said we should have some feature in our appearance by which others can start conversation with us, something to start talking about like a watch or a nice shirt etc..so that they can hit off the conversation & become friends. I don't know I never liked to wear watch again. this was my first & last watch  !

Movie review-Guru

         Although concealed the movie very clearly resembles the process of Dhirubhai Ambani establishing himself as business tycoon of India. Abhishek Bachan i.e Guru bhai executes his role & character elegantly in the well defined role by Mani. Besides a couple of songs being melodious the songs tend to bore & simply do not fit in the story, but this can be excused owing to the chemistry between Aish & Abhishek working out very well. Guru bhai who intends to do good bijness(business), intelligently & aggressively establishes his textile business doing whatever it takes to achieve an exponential growth although setting a new trend of corruption & corporate crime in the pre-globalization era in India.

Guru bhai’s daring, self confident nature & his passion to dream big & chase to achieve them, coupled with very strong & well crafted dialogues definitely inspires the young entrepreneurs of Indian. Gurubhai hailing from a decent village family & his journey to become a great visionary creating huge & instant wealth to the Indian middle class is made very well in the movie. Guru bhai delivers on his business stratergies exactly his business expected, doing whatever it takes. Whenever his salute was required, he saluted! Whenever there was a need to bribe politicians to get his work done, he bribed!

Guru bhai’s passion to keep dreaming bigger & the chase makes him do some unlawful things as manipulating shares & cunningly increasing productivity of his company leading to conflict between himself & the archetypal capitalist, communist – a newspaper owner(Mithun) & his star reporter(Madhavan) who swears to bring Guru bhai down, ultimately landing guru & his empire in trouble .Watch out how guru survives his allegations & manages to get himself & his company out of the judicial allegations. Thanks to Mallika's guest appearance - dancing in 'mayya mayya' song in Istanbul which is really awesome.

Movie review Spider-Man 3

Starring:

      Tobey Maguire - Spider-Man/Peter Parker

       Kirsten Dunst - Mary Jane Watson

       James Franco- New Goblin/Harry Osborn

Plot Outline: An alien black parasite bonds with Peter Parker and causes inner turmoil as he contends with new villains, temptations, and revenge.

Spidey is back again with action, adventure, thrill, wit, excitement & romance. Among the superhero category of movies like Super-Man, Bat-Man, Hulk, Fantastic Four etc Spider-Man is the superior one in terms of conceptually strong plot, action, animation etc & this sequel proves that all again. 

This time Spidey has to fight against not one or two but three major villains, 2 story lines that have been developing since the first movie and then you have two brand new storylines. Spidey’s is all there to save the world whenever there is cry for help, but he also has problems of his own.  

The story goes that Spidey wants to marry Mary Jane but Spider-Man's popularity is getting in the way of his relationship with her. His best friend from high school turned mortal enemy Harry Osborn (James Franco) is still trying to find a way to kill Spidey. New editions is Flint Marko who escapes from prison after being charged with the murder of Ben Parker, Peter's uncle who was killed in the first part, stumbles into a Physics testing lab where he is accidentally mutated into a Particle-man. An black alien sludge attaches itself to Peter and transforms him into a meaner, more aggressive Spidey and Peter as well. Certainly the fight is very tough for our Spidey as he tries to keep up his breaking love. Watch out how spidey figures out ways to defeat his enemies & who comes to his help.

It was an incredible experience for me to watch stunts on big screen in Spidey’s style. I wish I could have got the superpower of Spider-man but remember that: With power comes great responsibility – the responsibility to save the world….as per the tagline of movie.

There are a few humorous scenes involving the “new” spidey i.e after transformation- turning hostile to black parasite, who is charged with energy & dance moves & dialogues but there could have been more of them.

Spidey’s message in this part is wonderful which is “We all have choices. It’s our choices which make us what we are & we can choose to be always right.

When asked Tobey who among Bat-man, Spider-man, Super-man is the best in one interview on TV, his comment goes something like this: Bat-Man does not even compete with the other two. Super-Man with body of steel is certainly is the strongest, but Spider-Man is the best as he is the combination of wisdom & strength.

Although some would feel there is too much cheesy and boring romance and not enough Spider-Man, but overall its a good one & a must watch.

Rating: 4/5 

Movie Review-The Departed

Starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Matt Damon, Jack Nicholson, Mark Wahlberg, Martin Sheen, Ray Winstone, Vera Farmiga, and Alec Baldwin

As rightly reflected by the plot & Tag line- it really does not make a difference whether you are a Cop or Criminal when you are facing a loaded gun.

            The departed is a American crime classic thriller from the legendary martin Scorsese who proves himself as the best in framing movies with beautiful & strong plots- a story worth telling & of course watching. Scorsese has complimented rather than remaking of “Infernal Affairs”.  I was on the edge of my seat with the knife keeps turning up to the final scene the plot being the lives of two cops: Colin Sullivan (Damon), smart and unabashedly ambitious, Massachusetts State Police Department's elite Special Investigations Unit, whose prime target is powerful Irish mob boss Frank Costello (Nicholson) & Billy Costigan (DiCaprio), street-smart and tough, is purported to have a violent temper that costs him his badge and eventually lands him back on the rough streets of South Boston, where he is recruited into Costello's ranks. Two men from opposite sides of the law are undercover within the Massachusetts State Police and the Irish mafia, but violence and bloodshed boil when discoveries are made, and the moles are dispatched to find out their enemy's identities. But neither man is what he seems and, as they work at cross-purposes, they are plunged into a dangerous game of cat and mouse in which the stakes could not be higher. Both being loyal to their masters are made to do exactly the opposite thing of what they pledge in their respective profession of cop(Damon) & thief(Dicaprio). Eventually the plot spins into free fall and the bodies start piling up.

A really spectacular movie & a must watch. A sequel is also being planned.

Movie review: The pursuit of Happyness

Cast          : Will Smith, Jayden Smith, Thandie Newton 

Direction   : Gabriele Muccino

                       The Pursuit of Happyness is really worth for its Best Actor nomination for Will Smith which is inspired by a true story of rags to riches of Chris Gardner, an ordinary salesman on the streets of San Fransisco who goes to become a wealthy stock broker owing to his never ending pursue, hard efforts & never-say-die spirit. 

                   This movie is all about fatherhood amidst struggles to recover from harshness of poverty & hence seeking happiness ultimately. Chris a salesman by profession walks the streets of San Fransisco trying to sell his mysteriously portrayed product box: which once made a fortune for him is now no longer able to support him with enough earnings even for his daily bread. As Chris desperately tries to recover his family from economic crisis by switching businesses, he gets abandoned by his wife who adheres to his insistence of letting their 5 yr old son Christopher remain with him. As he makes up his way in his internship of stockbroker, life demands him a lot more struggle than ever. Some scenes like spending night in public restroom along with his son, running from cab driver when he has no money to pay for the drive, donating his blood for money for his daily bread, his tears when he clears the exam securing the job of stock broker after many long months of training & struggle to manage his life along with son did leave me with tears.

A must watch for those who like emotional ones.

This leaves a feeling somewhere in heart the miseries of poverty & economic inequality & in my opinion probably the movie is over made to a small extent.

Look out what really is the happiness, which Chris is pursuing, & why in name of movie happiness is spelled happyness & what Chris tries to sell in his salesman profession.  

Will smith sparklingly shine in acting & elegant expressions of his well-defined character makes me wonder how come he missed Oscar for this superb role? & his son plays his role very naturally & deserves lots of appreciation.

The lines ahead contain spoilers. Do not read the further lines if you intend to see the movie soon.

The product Chris tries to sell is a bone scanner sort of medical equipment nicely called a ‘time machine’ by a mad beggar. Happyness is the name of the kindergarten school in which Chris leaves his son daily during his work. Chris seeks his happiness in the happiness of his family especially his son. 

Strings are the new particles

.....A peak into the bizarre world of Theoretical Astrophysics 

.....A sip of reality at the Quant um Café..

                       

                           In physics the word 'theory' has a special meaning. Surprisingly, it has a life cycle. An idea or proposal submitted in scientific community based on findings mathematically proved or experimentally conformed in lab. In Astronomy its mainly observations. A theory is proved when scientific community accepts it officially. A theory survives until it is proven wrong by someone sometime. It essentially predicts the outcomes precisely. If a theory cannot be proved in lab & confirmed, it should not be called theory in first place itself, it falls under the realms of philosophy or metaphysics or whatever you may like to put it in. 

Our journey for the quest for understanding of the working of our universe has taken us from billiard balls to spaghetti. Read on to know what this implies.

          In 1665, not long back, once Isaac Newton was sitting under a tree and an apple fell on his head, this made him wonder about the gravity and lead to whole new understanding – this story is so wonderful that I choose to rejoice in the assumption of this being true, although this may be just a fancy story. Gravity was first force to be understood scientifically, He suggested the force making apple fall to ground & the force which keeps planets round the sun are the one and the same. The force of gravity is directly proportional to the product of the masses of two bodies & inversely proportional to the square of the distances between them, irregular bodies are reduced to point masses by the concept of center of gravity. His equations made pretty accurate predictions enough to drive spaceships to moon & put a man there. But, Newton never knew how gravity actually worked.  

Einstein was working as a patent office clerk, & working on light, Yes, he was not in the physics community at all. He discovered that the speed of light is like a cosmic speed limit. Light travelling at 3,00,000 km/sec is the maximum you can get in the universe. Exceeding this limit would mean theoretically you need infinite mass. This implies you need to build a spaceship so massive essentially containing all the mass of the universe to propel it greater than the speed of light, which is obviously impossible. 

The light rays from Sun take about 8 minutes to travel 93 million miles to reach us. This implies if someone switches off sun like an electric bulb, it would take 8 minutes before we can see darkness here on earth.

When light itself, travelling at such high velocity is not instantaneous, how can gravity act instantaneously on bodies?  It was later proved that gravity acts at speed of light.

Einstein continued his research & after 10 yrs came up with brilliant concept space time, i.e. three dimensions of space & one dimension of time constituted the space time fabric. This is like a stretched cloth, being warped, curved and twisted by the presence of heavy objects like planets and stars. This warping is what we feel as gravity. Gravity was a sort of unification of things happening on bodies like apples and bigger things like planets & galaxies.

This startling discovery not only gave an explanation how gravity actually worked but also came as a blow in the face to Newton’s gravitation concept that gravity is instantaneous independent of distances.

Gravity waves, waves if you would like to call them travel at speed of light. Gravity hence was a wave in the fabric of space time.

General relativity is the most beautiful theory

If Einstein would not have come up with general relativity, no one else would ever have. 

                             quote by Prof C Vishweshwara @ JNP Bangalore 

Disclaimer :  Well I have googled & found that the title "Strings are the new particles" is not used anywhere in internet ! Hence this makes me owner of the phrase.

to be continued...

My first day at school

          

           I was crying incessantly, wetting almost half of my blue shirt, pulling out half from my grey half pant, making it look funny. It was first day for school, I didn't knew what the school was but really disliked the notion of being away form home, mom & especially my toys. Mom promised me Laddu in the evening told dad to bring the same from market that evening. This was a good deal & finally agreed to go to school.
Later that evening, I was crying again night for not getting laddu still while mom tried to finish feeding me dinner. She told a story, dad was coming from office, he met an ant on the way, it asked him where he was going. Dad said to Mishra Pedha shop in market. ant said me too going there to get some sweets. Both went together & dad gave it two laddus. It wrapped it in bag & put on its head & went home & the doorbell rang. i opened the door & asked dad you met the ant ? What did ant tell you ? How are its children, Dad added his own part to the story as it was my everyday story & he knew how to continue the same, while I enjoyed my laddu. As far as first day is concerned I was already ahead of race, knew A to Z & numbers 1 to 12, reverse .So I think, I did not learn much that year anyway. Totally not anticipated, the school thing became interesting after first day as a pretty girl Deepa was made to sit besides me in my desk ! So never got bored !

Celebrations

This post has been published by me as a part of the Blog-a-Ton 16; the sixteenth edition of the online marathon of Bloggers; where we decide and we write. To be part of the next edition, visit and start following Blog-a-Ton.

                Well, this is an unconventional style, no paragraphs or stanzas, important is not to concentrate on the rules of writing but to enjoy the feelings behind the words.

may be its a poem in nascent stage, sometimes a raw image appeals more than a meddled photoshop one, hence this unrefined post. It's just a collection of raw abstract bizarre thoughts ran across my mind when looked through my window !

A tribute to all the small insignificant things in life that bring joy ! 


The elegant dance of flame in the gentle breeze 
swinging in the rhythm of life
a burning desire in the prison of lantern resembling life
the chirping of birds returning their nests
a dried leaf floating in the random wind
without knowing its destiny and purpose
the light fragrance of the white jasmine 
So pure, so serene and happening so effortlessly  
a withering petal, half brown and half pink
a log floating in the stream, going with the water
Seems like my destiny freely floating in the waves of life
the flickering of street light outside my window
the thunder and then the silence before the storm
the reminiscence of childhood
a feeling of childhood joy rescued from oblivion
never ending wait for the sheer bliss of living
waiting for the return of joy shot from the catapult of life
a careless walk in beige dried grass
an unwilling attempt to embrace the destiny
to live the life the way it comes      
has life lost its sheen ?
a green blade of grass shining in the sun
a small bean trying putting its head out 
to get the first glimpse of the sunny world
a millipede with its numerous legs, crossing the street
an extinct sparrow returned with its chirp to wake me up
reminding me of the beautiful world out there
apart from being just plugged into the wall
taking a break from the normal windows desktop of landscape
and resting my eyes on the actual one from outside my window
bringing a great sense of belonging with the nature deep within
quintessence of living is long forgotten luxury  
an effortless attempt to understand the intangible universe
the line of ants passing by, with tiny bits of food in their mouth
storing for the harsh winter  
a snail making up slowly, unaware of its speed
escaping into its shell, sensing any danger, pretending to be safe inside  
a sea shell lying on the shore, a twisted spiral
little aware of the fact that its bigger home milky way is also a spiral
a million sparkles reflected on ocean water by the setting sun
the last orange ray trying to make its way beyond horizon
a tendril hoping to coil around the stem of neighbor
a mushroom waiting to stretch itself from the moist log
A honey bee, checking out millions of beautiful flowers 
working hard, collecting a bit of honey from each to make a drop 
unaware of the probability that it may be stolen
Strange is the evolution which has imparted intelligence
the necessity of hexagonal honey comb
and the intellect in every organism to sustain itself  
Admist all these bizarre thoughts
a desperate wait for someone special never ends,
waiting for a warm hug from beloved one, easing all the pain
to tell the thing never told, that you mean a lot to me
wishing the force of my desire be stronger
than the force of obligation
for once I would like to take a daring leap
breaking the circling around along the path set by life’s destiny
for once gathering courage to take a leap of faith
to be free form regret of not attempting even once
as a feeble photon travelling from a millions of light years
from unknown abyss of space and time hits the eye
mind rejoices in the realization that we are insignificant as a particle of dust.
A destiny reluctant to reveal more than one page at once
A falling star seen across the sky
I don’t know what to wish for
I only wish to convey gratitude to the creator, sustainer and destroyer
Stretched hands feeling the ocean breeze
Seemingly flying in the bliss of sight of horizon of water and sky
Glancing at the cloud passing by,
feeling the tender kiss of first rain drops on the cheek
the cold waves touching the feet
like arms of the sea trying to embrace me in it’s abode
as I let go off the notion of reality, the modern world around me
I feel as light as rain, as white as snow
To connect with the nature in its true form,
and rejoice in the very existence and wonderment about oneself
For I am the one of the nature’s most beautiful creations
I am just a ripple of celebration of someone somewhere 
in the mysterious fabric of life 


      The fellow Blog-a-Tonics who took part in this Blog-a-Ton and links to their respective posts can be checked here. To be part of the next edition, visit and start following Blog-a-Ton.

The amazing carbon - 2010 Nobel prize in physics

Carbon has amazed us once again ! 

        These are notes taken down during Prof Sivram’s lecture @ IIA, on 2010 Nobel prize in physics 12^th Oct, Google for the more info, this may not be correct altogether, since I have a amateurish knowledge of physics, particle physics almost from a layman’s perspective.

Click-able links for the press release of 2010 Nobel prize & 2010 Nobel prize in Physics are below  : 

2010 Nobel Prizes

Nobel Prize in Physics for 2010

Congratulations to Andre Geim, Konstantin Novoselov  for winning the Nobel prize. The obtained or produced Graphene in lab. 

-          Suggested by Canadian theoretically 60 years back

-          Graphene – excellent conductor – can be used as substitution for silicon

-          Carbon based electronic circuits,  May be realized as a high performance transistor capable of operating more than 100 times the current ones.

-          Consists of single layer of carbon atoms, this was the most basic or simplest arrangement - form of carbon, but was discovered last. Since it is a layer of carbon items one slice think only, hence essentially 2 dimensional material

 -          Graphane is polymer of carbon & hydrogen i.e hydrogenation of Graphene produces Graphane

-          Graphane is stronger than steel , can be best described by phrase – exceptional combination of extreme properties

-          Finds applications in LCD’s, Solar cells.

The wiki links are  Graphane & Graphene

These laboratory experiments of obtaining or producing Graphene etc help in analyzing the aspects related to concepts such as Zitterbewegung, Klein paradox, Quantum Hall effect,  Anyon   etc  

PS : I will enrich the post when time permits 

-astrosunilnomy 

Yet another love story : Part2

Yet another love story
                                .....coz I don't hate love stories.

Part2: Close encounters of the pretty kind

Hazaaron khwaisheyen jage hai iss dil mein

Zyada intezaar mat karana..

Yeh nazarein tarase hei tere ek  jhalak ke liye

Sheshe se bhi nazook iss dil ko tootane mat dena…

Bhool kar tumko jee na payenge

Tujhe dekh kar jo dil dhadkana sikha tha…

Tere pyar ke bina, dil kahin dhadkana bhul na jaye...

Bas itne guzaarish hai ke tumhare dil ke recycle bin mein mat rakhna.

      It’s strange isn't it? the very thought of a potential* life partner changes your life all together. You see love in the air first time, apart from pollution & new microbes causing new flu etc nowadays…There are instances in life where you don’t know what you want from life & life seems to make no sense & instances where you know exactly what you want in life, but still life seems make no sense, because there is no way you could get it. Well, Shruti seemed just an excellent example, but worth a heart-breaking try though    

Raj ke dil mein to Simran ko dekh kar kuch kuch hua tha…

Hamare dil mein to iss anjane khoobsurat ladki ko dekh kar bahut kuch ho gaya…

potential* : of course conditions apply, wish I could be lost in this dream for ever, reluctant to embrace the reality where the complexity of lives determines the probability of two people falling in love.  

A day’s long wait was over finally & Shruti & Sunil met at the same restaurant.

Finally getting a break from uncertainty & wondering that whether she is actually gonna come for me or it was just a kind of joke.

Sunil : Hi I am Raj, naam to suna he hoga ? 

Shruti : ha ha…good one, its been long I never heard this. Hmm, well I am Simran, who looked back one last time wondering whether the guy who stared at her so long was at all going to approach for asking out.

Sunil : Is it ?  Wow, I feel Ah Ah I feel ..I feel..Oh god now it seems so easy to express those complex mathematical equations rather than to express these feelings. That too when pretty girl is 5 inches near to you. 

Sunil (after thinking long could come up with this only) : well, I am surprised, I thought you were way out of league for me…

Shruti : Why, you have not been asked out by a pretty girl earlier ?

Sunil : Oh ho ho, I am not gonna fall for that, you want to hear your appreciation from me, let me say your handwriting is very nice. I am Sunil, why don’t we sit here…

Shruti : Oh good, Raj name wouldn't suit you anyway.

Sunil : I may look like a software engineer, but really I am not, working in that white boring building opposite to colorful Forum mall, & amateur astronomer, pretty cool sky-observation stuff you know ? I swear to God I am not a geek.

Although I now realize why Pooja had instructed me not to be too much of myself. Thank God, otherwise I would have started simply Chapter 1 : Introduction to Astronomy.  

Shruti : Oh, Who is Pooja ?

Sunil: Did I say that aloud? I thought I said it in my mind.

I wanted to say she is my girlfriend, but that may ruin the current attempt of making Shruti my girl friend, besides the fact that Pooja was really like my girl friend, we both knew everything about each other, thanks to that long hours of office work, at least I had a good company, a good friend to seek advices, more importantly to make a useless attempt to understand a girl's mind. All i could deduce after lot of research was Girl's mind is very unpredictable. 

Why is that girls are interested in other girls, & why it’s so important for them to be told by others about their appearances, obviously the answer is gonna be that they look pretty.

Sunil: Pooja is my colleague, she told not to be myself too much !

Ah again…Damn it you nervousness, I realize that I should have not told this too..

Shruti : I like people who are the same inside & outside

Sunil : Enough about me, I have spent many hours updating about me in orkut, facebook, & don’t know still many sites, you can look up there always. Tell me about you…

Shruti : Well I am apparel designer, studying now, wish to take up as profession later.

Sunil : cool ! I suppose you design ornaments. Not many people do what they like to do in life.

Shruti : No it's not ornaments, it's clothing fashion designing.

Sunil : Oh FTV stuff, Bikini destinations stuff, cat walks etc cool, this time controlled to say it aloud. 

Destiny had done a sort of tit for tat with me, many people believe I am astrologer when they hear astronomer, & I explain to them the difference between astrology & astronomy, wondering whether they are stupid or something. Now I got couldn't pick up apparel designing as clothing or rather less clothing.   

Shruti : I see you don’t care for fashion much, you have this professor type ka look.

Sunil : ya that’s true, you are good at observing things. – hope this appreciation cheers her up & still wants to be my friend. 

Shruti : Tell me more, how come serous science about sky is your hobby

Sunil :  ok, I don’t want to bore you now, just I was interested from childhood, picked up things & understood & got into like minded friends.

Ya I have done it, I have stopped being myself completely, now I am the romantic guy any girl could fall in love with, sorry any pretty girl could fall in love with, sorry Shruti could fall in love with.  

Shruti does this strange action she places her hand making it a phone shaped & virtually calls up her friend. She is apparently updating her close friend about new guy -  me.

Shruti : Hey I met one nice weird guy, at restaurant…I think I like him, Shruti continues the reply on behalf of her friend as well, Oh cool, how is he? tell me more, is it love at first sight ?  I just like him, don’t know …he is nice, tall & handsome, He is from Bangalore & software engineer. He does not care about fashion etc, dressing sense etc but I think I will teach him.

Admist my wondering if I marry Shruti, Oh my god, astronomy most toughest thing is taking most of my time, Now I have to learn fashion, not cool ! Let me be myself, Our children will have to learn fashion…how can I allow this when real science is out there to be explored. I hear a voice  : Now, you call up your friend & tell about me

What stupid thing, telling about some one in front of someone, just as my appraisal process in office I wanted to tell, but did not. Oh, this is supposed to be a romantic thing, why to ruin it ?  

  

Sunil  : Hmm, I will call up Pooja…She was the only one who ran across my mind.

Hey it’s Sunil, remember the girl I told you about. I met her today, she is more beautiful that I had seen her the day before. She seems a nice girl though I don’t know much about her. Ya you were right…the probability of finding a girl who has same interests or hobbies as mine is less. If Shruti agrees, I can simply send her photo in the photo competition at office & win a prize easily.  Hey it’s great, good to hear about your new girl.

As I dint have anything more to tell, so made up this clever reply : Pooja was busy & kept the phone - I said. 

Her smile was more than enough to make it my day, but how could I forget about her likely boy friend who stood her up yesterday?

Sunil: if you don’t mind, was that your boy friend yesterday whom you were waiting for.  

Shruti: Yes, why do you ask?

Sunil: Oh is it? I felt like mother of hero of Hindi movies who goes to temple & asks in front of God-  Oh God, Why ?

Shruti (laughing): I can’t stand that look on your face, sorry was just messing up with you. I was waiting for my cousin who is studying in college & apparently had assignments to complete, hence couldn't catch up last evening.

I think I must go, it was very nice meeting you, take my number & do you want to write it on your hand or somewhere as you shirt says ‘I have Amnesia’

I wanted to say, I designed it myself, but seemed contradictory to my swearing to god that I am not a geek just few minutes before.  

Sunil: Ya tell me, oh that one, it doesn't apply with situations involving pretty girls.

Took down her number & controlled myself not to seem desperate from saying:  I love you, wish you could be the love of my life, I could dedicate romantic poems to her, already many in my blog. But just told, it was wonderful meeting you & cannot wait to meet again.

Shruti: same here, So give me a call.

Sunil: wait let me tell..unlike rakj mere dil mein bahut kuch hota hai.. Hope atleast a fraction of that happen in you.

Shruti: still we don’t know each other, let’s see. Bye, take care.

Sunil catches up Pooja in office & tells hey I have got a new blog post, very exciting one this time.

Pooja : I know it's your meeting with that pretty girl isn’t it? can you think of something else apart from blogging & astronomy ? 

Sunil: alright, don’t scold me, you just remind me of my mom, thank god my mom does not understand either astronomy or blogging.

Pooja: Ok, tell me, something, anything working out ?

Sunil: She is a Punjabi girl, bubbly, fun loving girl, caring have to see where things go, and did I tell you that she is pretty?

Pooja: ya ya you told me many times that she is pretty, Oh Punjabi, yet another 2 states story like Chetan bhagat?  Good luck buddy

I am destiny, the narrator of the story, I unfold in strange ways. 

Yet another love story : Part1

Yet another love story                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 ....coz i don't hate love stories.

 Part1 :  Serendipity

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Scene 1 : Sunil's office, Pooja sits besides Sunil in office

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Sunil   : Hey Pooja, ok I don't know how to ask this, anything to gift for first date ? actually second date, actually it's complicated, Why am I talking so much, I am already  nervous I suppose, Can you stop me please ?

Pooja  :  Ah, a girl, you have a date with a girl ?  Sunil let me tell you, those internet chat ones - don’t believe them, you are a good boy, stay away from them.

Sunil    : No not chat ones, I met her already, its with a pretty girl of course.

Pooja   : ok, you have confused me already, tell me after few days if things work out, just buy flowers, red ones indicate love, so yellow would be great. Is she is girl from             your geeky astronomy club, then you know better what to buy. Wait, are you sure you are not day dreaming after that weekend sleepless night of sky-observing

Sunil  : No stop talking nonsense, I said she is pretty, how can a girl be both pretty & into astronomy same time, any tips for a date  ?

Pooja : You are a nice guy, just be yourself,

Sunil (  Big smile showing all teeth !  ) : Really, hey thanks.  

Pooja : I meant be yourself, but just not too much !   (Oh, smile reduces )  I mean shave & go, not that once a week shave, I don't give a damn look. Don't wear That E=MC2 shirt, nor any physics quotes shirt, i.e she must not find anything interesting on you to start conversation, so that you don't start talking your own stuff. She may get bored & drifted away.

I took a deep breath & wondered whats wrong with the E=MC2 shirt or other physics quotes shirt, I knew nothing about politics sports, Bollywood numbers, etc etc. I asked my consciousness, just like my mom told, that it never tells lies : Is it important to give up your true self entirely to start a relationship with a girl ?  Answer came : Absolutely !
         

Sunil buys yellow flowers, wondering what to make out of Pooja's instructions & goes to the restaurant that evening. The newly opened one is by his friend Rajesh

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Flash-back - reverse rolling of tape..

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The day before, Sunil reads a note over & over again not blinking his eyes for 5 mins. The note read

"Tomorrow same place evening @  6 ? - you could have just asked me instead of staring at me so long ..bye tc :-) ..Shruti'.

A gentle wind in the pleasant evening, the setting orange sun in the far horizon, there comes our heroine. She comes in the restaurant, all eyes are on her, Sunil exclaims 'Whoa, the most beautiful girl I have ever seen I suppose, she takes a seat & orders coffee. Sunil at the counter of his friend's newly opened restaurant. Sunil's heart skipped several beats & his eyes never blinked. A CRO machine connected to his heart would have shown the waveform of love symbol definitely with caption "let she be the one, God please ". Her orange dress matched with the setting sun, Sunil closed his eyes as if he could smell the fragrance of petals printed on her dress just like wheel or some detergent advertisement. Hmm, Why do we waste so much time finding the right one, when there are so many right-for-now pretty ones around ?

She was so charming, no make up, no hair do, no lipstick, making one wonder in these days, how come one can look so simple & yet so charming. The background song :  'Phir bhi kitne sundar ho' seemed to descibe her precisely.

Every moment's sight was so precious, worth to be captured in some kind of memory photograph. the melody of the sound of her payal seemed to match with the instrumental song in the background. Her red bindi reminded of the hubble image of the red giant betelgeuse . Like the Doppler effect, her proximity towards me only intensified my feelings for her.
  

Rajesh : Leave it dude, not your type.

Sunil    : Shaadi thode he karne hai, line to marne de, after school days line marane ka bhi chance nahi mila...

Rajesh : line marta tha, school times itself ?

Sunil    : Dude, whats big deal, no girl used to recognize that I am trying to impress her anyway. 

Sunil sits next to her table staring at her almost making her uncomfortable. She finished her coffee, waiting for some update on her mobile. She picks it up & messages some body. She seems a bit upset, that look totally not going with her charm & beauty, she  waited for half an hour, not looking around much. She got a call & said something on the phone & left to leave. She handed something to waiter along with paying the bill. Five minutes later the waiter comes to Sunil & handed the tissue paper. Whoa there it contained a note   " tomorrow same place evening @  6….. "  - yes it was note from that pretty girl who left 5 minutes ago. Sunil began to wonder, anything wrong with this girl ?  No pretty girl has given me a signal like this before, or is it I have evolved faster in recent days to become handsome. Did her boy friend stood her up in restaurant now, Did he break up with her ?  Obviously she has a boy friend, since she was so pretty. Suddenly Shruti seemed to be the most beautiful name in the world.  

You may wonder who I am telling the story, you will come to know soon.

Disclaimer : I am not Sunil of story, all characters are fictional.

Revenge against destiny

This post has been published by me as a part of the Blog-a-Ton 15; the fifteenth edition of the online marathon of Bloggers; where we decide and we write. To be part of the next edition, visit and start following Blog-a-Ton.

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5.30 a.m  at Green valley railway station, Jammu & Kashmir :

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Chotu : Wake up, Wake up my friend, listen carefully. I want you to do one work of mine, give this parcel to my brother on his birthday next week, I wont be there promise me that you will not open it & see. This belongs to my brother, Just give it to him & tell its last gift from me. Keep this safely with you. I have wrapped it in plastic cover so that it will not get wet. I am going somewhere, I have made a choice probably the most important decision of my life. I am sick & tired of this life. If am earning only Rs 50 selling team here, hence cannot rejoin my school. I will not end up anywhere near my dreams. Besides I will be having guilt of not taking care of my bother. I am just choosing the less worse thing, in fact I suppose I don’t have a choice.    

Destiny has played a dirty game with me, I am going to reply it now.

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6: 00 am train arrives at Green valley 

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Boom ! A loud blast is heard, Bomb Blast & next instant three compartments burning with fire, there is blood everywhere, many people catching their last breadth, many already dead. 

Police & ambulance, fire brigade rushing to towards station.

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Report by local newspaper next day
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His name was Chotu, Police have confirmed this is the case of Suicide bombing, another shameful act of terrorism, this is the third bomb blast in the city in last 5 months. Making a child a carrier of bomb by giving him money is cheap act of terrorism.

When we asked police more about the blast, the police have told us 'Although no terrorist organization has taken responsibility for the blast, what else can be the reason? we are so easy targets of terrorists here in our valley always, he was a waiter at local stall, sold tea at platform & in the train. He came here last year after his parents were killed in the market bomb blast. They owned a general stores in the market. The hotel owner was care taker of these two brothers Ram & Sham. Chottu or Ram elder brother was about 15 yrs old, but everyone called him Chottu.  His brother & friends are denying that Ram could ever do this bad thing. He was speaking with two strange guys one week back, after serving them them tea. They were talking to him something for quite sometime, may be asking him about the city. 

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Rotary School, Jammu & Kashmir
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       This is the story of Chottu, this is the beautiful picture I took one month back of the Station. Today this platform is in ashes. Terrorism never stops like this, only increases. Use the correct approach to stop terrorism. Rehabilitation of the victims should be done essentially, otherwise they will loose their normalcy in life and get carried away for doing anything anti social for sake of money. If the govt had some school or some NGO could have taken care of Ram & Sham & continued their education. they would have not done this.

          This is the moral science class & we have heard many nice stories. But children, this is not just a stroy, this is reality, things happening not far from our school.  You all are going to be the next future of India, you need to bring about a change. While the corrupt policy makers are busy making money for themselves & public opinion's vary over a trajectory from denial to acceptance, people just want to be told it's over. But it's not.

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One week later..
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Chottu's friend gives Sham the parcel and tells Happy Birthday Sham, your brother gave me this parcel to give it you, he said its his last gift. I think Chottu wanted you to be happy always.
They together open the packet & surprised to see ten thousand rupees. Sham tells I miss my brother, he was the only family I had, how can he think I will be happy with this money, I don't want this money, I want my brother back.

The fellow Blog-a-Tonics who took part in this Blog-a-Ton and links to their respective posts can be checked here. To be part of the next edition, visit and start following Blog-a-Ton.

Credits
Image - Alston Station by Wandering Soul
Courtesy - www.deviantart.com via www.blogaton.in