Rock on...

Aasman hain neela kyoon, paani geela geela kyoon, gool kyoon hain sabi.... this was how Farhan  reminded us of our forgotten questioning spirit and take it for granted attitude and true to its import we all hummed the tune lustily. As a student who pledged loyalty to physics, i am caught between the childish zeal which we all would like to have back and the glaring absence of science in our upstairs. Though many eminent voices highlighted this time and again and despite the multitude of prescriptions, the problem still resists eradication. The solution primarily is with the age old magic word...money. It might sound cynical but truth often requires a digestive aid to go down well. Given the Indian scenario and our well knit family tradition and inter dependence, money is essential, barring a few who are too happy to ignore the gift. So, fundamentally the trend of the day is that science is increasingly orphaned for its fancier cousins. For those who continue to toil here, it‘s only the love for greater exploration that drives them.  The recent policies though encouraging are not sufficient to dam this outflow.  In this day of increasing opportunism and fleeting loyalties more needs to be done to prevent us becoming a nation rich in imported technology. The pessimist inside me mocks at my optimistic garb but i stay strong for now...and the answers are scattering, adhesion and surface tension... for the song of-course!  

Mumbai- The Dream City

Mumbai, as you would be aware from numerous Bollywood films is a city with strange sparkle. The incessant traffic, the crowds in pursuit, the prices definitely under a lunar mission, the frivolous rich well balanced by the pot hunters, portray the exuberance and enthusiasm that life can ever be.

 Travelling in a Mumbai local, the acclaimed life line or the BEST buses, i am yet to figure out the best feature; can be an enlightening experience, more so if you are careless. Wisdom alights on your shoulders doing away with the traditional Peepal and the Apple trees, as your feet grope for a standing space making you understand why our forefathers insisted on standing on our own feet. The agents of transport are a chemist’s pride for nowhere else in this animated world do you find hexagonal close packing implemented with such remarkable ease by people who are willing to take upon the burden with an indifference as extolled by the Gita. It strikes you with an understanding that nothing can be BEST than bringing the citizens together for this demonstration of national integrity.

An add-on that you would surely not miss out is the balancing act integrated into this locomotion means- a gym and a spa! The process starts immediately after you board, unless you wish to voluntarily wait for the next BEST bus or the local. Mind you it is a mandatory service offered without any hidden costs in the fare. The present description with the preferred embodiments can be well understood by people sufficiently skilled and experienced  in the art.

 I wonder at the man hours lost in this adventurous travelling and the carbon credits at stake but nothing seems to deter the mumbaikar spirit, it soars with suppression.    

If you wonder at the singularity of content in this broad claimed title, you are not alone. My writing is only as monotonous as my experience. With a desire to taste the many flavours of this wonderful city and a promise to dish out the unique flavours before the monsoon, let this chef sign off.

Fire fly...let’s fly!

II Aano bhadra krtavo yantu vishwatah II 

The last week of my IIT days was memorable...not that i had done something path breaking but it was a family trip to some must watchs of northern India.

More of it later but now coming back to the fire fly, it was during an evening in the terrain of Himachal, few of us went around for a walk. It was then i had spotted some fire flies, not that i had seen for the first time but the thought struck me for the first time. How wonderful a life they lead, independent of others, carrying their own light. I was blinded not by their light but by the message of self reliance they seem to be carrying around. So friends, that’s the ado behind the name and the thoughts that i post here.

The rainbow that i paint here is from the emotional colours; blue, white, black and brown, that emerge in my mind's palette as i enjoy the evolving daily drama. Hoping for a happy journey together.

Aano bhadra krtavo yantu vishwatah = Let noble thoughts come to me from all directions - Rig Veda