What happens to people when they become government science advisers? Are their children taken hostage? Is a dossier of compromising photographs kept, ready to send to the Sun if they step out of line? I ask because, in too many cases, they soon begin to sound less like scientists than industrial lobbyists. The mad cow crisis 20 years ago was exacerbated by the failure of … Continue reading Politics & Science
Thane Richard finds his study abroad experience in India an enormous disappointment. I recently read an article in Kafila written by some students from St. Stephen’s College in Delhi that really made me think. To quickly summarise, the piece criticised the draconian views of the Principal of St. Stephen’s College regarding curfews on women’s dormitories and his stymieing of his students’ democratic ideals of discussion, … Continue reading Education & India
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Clouds profoundly influence weather and climate. The brightness2 and lifetime of clouds is determined by cloud droplet number concentration, in turn dictated by the number of available seed particles. The formation of cloud droplets on non-volatile atmospheric particles is well understood. However, fine particulate matter in the atmosphere ranges widely in volatility. Co-condensation of semi-volatile compounds with water increases a particle’s propensity for cloud droplet formation, with … Continue reading Pollution and Cooling effect
Navarasa means Nine Emotions in which Nava signifies nine and Rasa signifies Emotions. The nine emotions included in Navarasa are Shringara (love), Hasya(laughter), Karuna (kind-heartedness or compassion), Raudra (anger), Veera ( courage), Bhayanaka (terror), Bheebhatsya (disgust), Adbutha (surprise), and Shantha (peace or tranquility). These are the emotions that human shows according to the situations. Vishal, a method actor, in the movie Avan Ivan, makes a brilliant … Continue reading Feelings and emotions
Some of the columnists I follow: S. Upendran, author of the popular Know your English column in The Hindu – for the past over two decades, and Professor, Department of Materials Development, English and Foreign Languages University, Hyderabad. Bill Kirkman, Cambridge Letter, He began his career as a journalist on the Wolverhampton Express & Star, which he joined on graduating from Oxford. Bill then moved on to The Times, where he was Africa Correspondent … Continue reading Columnists
The Hindu published a themed booklet between 1998 and 2001 on a variety of topics such as faith, cities, rivers, addictions, earthscapes, reaching out, etc, to name a few. Continue reading Folio
My friend Ben made a presentation of Hermann Hesse’s text on Trees. (click on the picture to listen to the audio) For me, trees have always been the most penetrating preachers. I revere them when they live in tribes and families, in forests and groves. And even more I revere them when they stand alone. They are like lonely persons. Not like hermits who … Continue reading Trees are sanctuaries
Tamiru Zegeye stiffens his torso and swings his legs into the air with balletic grace. He is upside down now, his body balanced on a pair of spindly medical crutches, and then he runs. Legs in the air, hands placed firmly on the crutch supports, breathing steady, Tamiru runs; not with careless abandon, but with the precision, focus, and joy of a man who crawled … Continue reading Differently Abled
More lofty than a mountain will be the greatness of that man who, without swerving from his proper state controls himself. If we weigh the excellence of a benefit which is conferred without weighing the return, it is larger than the sea. A favour conferred in the time of need, though it be small (in itself) is (in value) much larger than the world. Thiruvallular, … Continue reading Bigger than a mountain, the sea or the world?
Perpetual Motion of Thought 