I often say that I will be compiling various laws of life according to my friend and colleague, Diptiman Sen. Some of these meta-laws include a computation on which day to go to the bank, e.g., not a day before a public holiday, and not a day after, one should try Wednesdays and Thursdays provided it is not very early in the month, and so on and so forth. Other pithy sayings would also have to be recorded carefully for posterity. However, here is some correspondence on longing for home...I post the 2 messages in succession. The second one was in response to asking if it is ok to post his message on this blog.
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M1
Dear Anant,
Nothing better than one's homeland as one gets older. Here is a line from the Mahabharat: a crane (actually Dharma dressed as a crane) asks Yudhistir, who's a happay man. Yudhistir replies: one who at the end of the day has dinner in his homeland in his own home. The crane gives him an S grade for this answer.
Best regards,
Diptiman
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M2
Dear Anant,
You are most welcome to cut/paste my message on your blog. However be warned that all the details may be wrong. I tried to find it on the web just now and failed. The closest I came to it was an episode called the Yaksha Prashna but it said something else about who is a happy man. So maybe I am remembering some other episode.
Best regards,
Diptiman
Friday, May 16, 2008
Thursday, May 15, 2008
Arkani-Hamed is featured on CNN
The well-known theoretical physicists and wunderkind Nima Arkani-Hamed was recently featured on CNN. Here is the link. I was not able to cut and paste the story properly and so please go the story directly.
Victor Hugo exhibition in Lausanne
I saw a brochure announcing an exhibition of the art work of Victor Hugo. I thought to myself that it must have been a common name, until I realized that it was an exhibition of the work of the great writer himself. Now if was not known as a great writer, he would have been known a a great artist, as his work is that wonderful. I went off to the Hermitage in Lausanne where they had this exhibition. The entrance was covered by this wonderful Swiss pass that I got before coming here. Strongly recommended. There are many things that come to mind when you confront the work of people like him. Firstly, it is the output in terms of sheer volume and quality. Another great thing about him is that he was fully engaged in the problems of his times including politics and economy. He was a great fighter for rights, and was an activist for the abolition of capital punishment. I guess I cannot provide a biography of this great person here, but all in all he is very impressive indeed.
Wednesday, May 14, 2008
Woman who saved four children...
I read this story on the web the other day. This is my effort to pay homage to individuals such as these by linking to such stories. Here is the link. But I
reproduce it for fear of link rot.
Varanasi woman defined motherhood by son’s sacrifice to save four kids
By Girish Kumar Dubey, Varanasi, May 11 : Of all the joys that can happen in a woman’s life, gaining motherhood may top everything else. But Manjuma of Varanasi is that large hearted lady who opted to sacrifice her only child to save four kids from drowning with him in the same river.
It’s been four years when nine-year-old Shahid and his friends were playing around River Varuna in Varanasi. They were on a hand pulled rickshaw. The water pulled it with its current.
When Shahid's mother Manjuma got the news about the incident by a neighbour, she rushed to the spot and jumped into the river. She managed to save four kids out of the river but failed to trace her own son despite all attempts.
"It was the afternoon of May 27, 2004 when these children were playing in a rickshaw which toppled into the river. They were drowning, the moment I learnt about them I jumped into the river and tried to bring out the children one by one. I saved the ones I found closer to me in water but I failed to save my own child. Thinking of my child , I kept saving others,” said Manjuma, the saviour mother.
“I felt sad that I could not save him but I was satisfied having saved the other four belonging to other parents. The God wanted me to save them and when I see them I feel they are my own children," Manjuma added.
But at times Manjuma looks out for her son whom she could not save during her brave act of saving the other four children from the river.
Iqbal, Manjuma's husband, tells that she shudders every time she recalls that unforgettable incident. She would often sit on the river bank with a mother’s hope that some day her son would turn up again.
" He was our only child. Since he is no more in our world, my wife stands everyday on the bank of the river in his wait and at times brings the four children to our house," said Iqbal Shahid's father.
Manjuma Iqbal has been conferred upon the President’s Uttam Jeevan Raksha medal 2008 (President medal for saving life). Surely, such a large-hearted brave woman deserves to be saluted by the nation on Mother's Day.
reproduce it for fear of link rot.
Varanasi woman defined motherhood by son’s sacrifice to save four kids
By Girish Kumar Dubey, Varanasi, May 11 : Of all the joys that can happen in a woman’s life, gaining motherhood may top everything else. But Manjuma of Varanasi is that large hearted lady who opted to sacrifice her only child to save four kids from drowning with him in the same river.
It’s been four years when nine-year-old Shahid and his friends were playing around River Varuna in Varanasi. They were on a hand pulled rickshaw. The water pulled it with its current.
When Shahid's mother Manjuma got the news about the incident by a neighbour, she rushed to the spot and jumped into the river. She managed to save four kids out of the river but failed to trace her own son despite all attempts.
"It was the afternoon of May 27, 2004 when these children were playing in a rickshaw which toppled into the river. They were drowning, the moment I learnt about them I jumped into the river and tried to bring out the children one by one. I saved the ones I found closer to me in water but I failed to save my own child. Thinking of my child , I kept saving others,” said Manjuma, the saviour mother.
“I felt sad that I could not save him but I was satisfied having saved the other four belonging to other parents. The God wanted me to save them and when I see them I feel they are my own children," Manjuma added.
But at times Manjuma looks out for her son whom she could not save during her brave act of saving the other four children from the river.
Iqbal, Manjuma's husband, tells that she shudders every time she recalls that unforgettable incident. She would often sit on the river bank with a mother’s hope that some day her son would turn up again.
" He was our only child. Since he is no more in our world, my wife stands everyday on the bank of the river in his wait and at times brings the four children to our house," said Iqbal Shahid's father.
Manjuma Iqbal has been conferred upon the President’s Uttam Jeevan Raksha medal 2008 (President medal for saving life). Surely, such a large-hearted brave woman deserves to be saluted by the nation on Mother's Day.
Blogging from Lausanne
Yes, it is now about twelve and a half years since I worked in this building, and it is a strangely familiar yet unfamiliar feeling to come back here. I wrote to the Indo-Swiss Bilateral Research Initiative for support to come and work here. I am interested in knowing about supersymmetric Q-balls on which my host Mikhail Shaposhnikov is an expert. I already had a discussion with him. Switzerland is as efficient as ever...the day I arrived in Zuerich I was on the train within 50 mins of landing, clearing immigration, baggage and customs and getting my Swiss pass validated. Already met some old friends and acquaintances from the region. Blogging may be slow for some time, but who knows?
Monday, May 05, 2008
Discussion on Indian Science on `As I Please'
I have been writing some comments on what I find to be an interesting discussion on Indian Science over at As I Please, the newly founded blog of my good friend Rahul Basu. The link is here.
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