Like a lot of middle class Indians I attended many different schools before I passed the 12th grade. The longest duration I was in the same school was three years. Moving from school to school also exposed me to different systems of education that India follows including State Board, CBSE and ICSE. There were a [...]
During my school days in India one of the routine rituals that we did as students was to stand up as the teacher entered the class room, say the appropriate salutations in unison and then sit down and get ready for the lecture. This is a small way to show our respect for the teacher. [...]
The External Affairs Minister of India S.M. Krishna has informed parliament yesterday that the Indian government is undertaking efforts to make Hindi as one of the official languages of the United Nations. He said “We are taking active measures to make Hindi an official language at UN. A high level committee is looking into it”. [...]
I have always wondered about what the right to self determination means. According to the United Nations “All peoples have the rights of self-determination. By virtue of that right they freely determine their political status and freely pursue their economic, social and cultural development.” This statement raises more questions than answers. Can my neighbor claim [...]
We have all come across this situation one time or the other. We are driving our motorcycles and pull up right behind an overloaded truck that is spewing smoke from its exhaust. We cautiously take a peek to see whether there is any oncoming traffic and try to pass the truck before our face turns [...]
In a rather strange ruling the Delhi High Court said that people who are in a live-in relationship cannot complain about infidelity or immorality. The judges said “People who chose to have live-in relationship cannot complain of infidelity or immorality as live-in relationships are also known to have been between a married man and unmarried [...]
My interest in science and space in particular grew exponentially as I started watching the television show Cosmos presented by renowned astronomer and astrophysicist Carl Sagan in the mid eighties. I am not sure whether programs such as these are shown on Indian television anymore. But people of my generation will be forever grateful for [...]
“I’ve been so spoiled with my friends and family in this life. Next time I want to be just something quiet and supporting”. Hollywood actress Julia Roberts made these comments to a magazine while promoting her latest movie Eat Pray Love. According to reports she is now a Hindu and like many Hindus she now [...]
“You can build a Mosque at ground zero when we can build a Synagogue in Mecca” read the sign carried by one of the protesters. They protesters were trying to pressurize the city of New York and prevent the city from granting permission to build a 13 story Islamic community center a few blocks from [...]
Shangri-La is a mythical Himalayan utopia. If you are a fan of rock like I am then I am sure you have listened to the song “Kashmir” by Led Zeppelin. Led Zeppelin is one of the all time bands and Kashmir in my opinion is their best work. The song is a tribute to their [...]
Have you heard of the theory of information in quantum physics? This theory is an integral part of the big bang theory. The theory of information basically states that in the universe information can never be destroyed (complete information about a physical system at one point in time should determine its state at any other [...]
It was a beautiful Saturday afternoon. The sky was clear and the temperature was in the 80’s but there was a cool breeze blowing from the Atlantic Ocean. Here I was sitting in Battery Park enjoying the spectacular views of Downtown Manhattan, the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island. It was probably my 25th visit [...]
India’s Human Resource Development Minister Kapil Sibal unveiled a $35 computer prototype to the media last week. This news spread like wild fire and within minutes most of the media outlets in the world started reporting it. All these reports had a smiling photograph of the minister with the computer prototype in his hand. Mission [...]
One of my favorite quotes about India is by the first century Greek Philosopher Apollonius Tyanaeus who said “In India, I found a race of mortals living upon the Earth, but not adhering to it, inhabiting cities, but not being fixed to them, possessing everything, but possessed by nothing”. I am not sure if Appollonius [...]
Many progressives and liberals in America were stunned when on July 21st the President of Argentina Christina Fernandez de Kirchner signed into law a bill legalizing gay marriage. Argentina became the first South American country and the tenth country overall to legalize gay marriage. Many Americans could not believe that a developing nation like Argentina [...]
