Glass Magic

I finally had an opportunity to view the extraordinary work of Dale Chihuly at the Museum of Fine Arts exhibition Through the Looking Glass. As expected, the pieces were spectacular. With the bright hues of glass, psychedelic lighting, and a rich diversity of ideas, it was a breathtaking experience. 

This splendidly illuminated array of large glass flowers, which I put together into a panoramic shot, adorned the entrance to the exhibit:

Blindness

It's a new life here in Boston and a very exciting one too. Also, it turns out that the Kindle combined with a 30 min. daily commute (each way) on the subway makes an excellent recipe for reading. And thus my once favorite pastime drowned in the whirlpool of an engineering education finally found a chance to resurface. I inaugurated my reading renaissance with the novel Blindness by Nobel laureate Jose Saramago.

It was during my first visit to Brookline Booksmith (nothing like having a bookstore next door!) that I happened to flip through a Saramago novel. It was called The Elephant's Journey. As I was weaving through the second page of the book, I was interrupted by an unfamiliar voice.

"So, what do you think?"

I looked up. It was an elderly gentleman. 

"It's weird." That was my first thought and also my reply. "There is hardly any punctuation anywhere. And there are no names either."

"Yeah, all his books are like that. It's a bit tricky initially, but you get used to it."

The L.A. Sky

In the Land of the Rising Sun

Long before my Japan trip, I absolutely fell in love with Hokusai's 36 Views of Mount Fuji, a fascinating collection of woodblock prints, some of which happen to be on display at the LACMA. While the limited duration of my trip and the busy conference schedule made it difficult to plan a trip to this active volcano and the highest mountain in Japan, my flight to Kyoto offered me a spectacular surprise: Mount Fuji, with its strikingly symmetrical cone was peeking at me through the cloud covers! Thus commenced my glorious adventure in the Land of the Rising Sun.

The Story of King Tut

I read a story today - a story far more enthralling than medical or forensic mysteries on TV.  It's a true story - one based on real science! The protagonist was no other than the archeological marvel the great King Tut. King Tut or Tutankhamun is a familiar name to most of us. You may remember him from the story of Howard Carter's discovery his intact tomb in 1922, from the media-instigated folk-lores about the curse of his mummy, or from your middle school textbooks, where his name would have appeared alongside those of Akhenatun and Nefertiti.

Kiwi Travelogue

Hundreds of years ago groups of seafaring, adventure-loving Polynesian explorers set sail in canoes (or wakas, as they called them) and discovered an uninhabited group of islands in the South Pacific. They became the first settlers in the lush and green wonderland full of exotic birdlife. Many of them perished in the cold. But then they learned to heat up rocks to keep themselves warm at night, make tools out of sea shells, and make warm clothing from flax fiber, feathers, and fur. They carved out a niche for themselves in what they named Aotearoa, or the land of the white cloud, a place that was renamed New Zealand by the Dutch in the 17th century. Today, more than 75% of New Zealand's inhabitants live in the North Island. The South Island, to a large extent, continues to be nature's sanctum full of forests, mountains, volcanoes, lakes, fjords, glaciers, and more. In this travelogue, I will share my experiences as I traveled across the North Island from Auckland to Wellington and back.

Glimpses of Boston

Raindrops on my face, gentle and refreshing - Boston welcomed us thus! I was there attending ISBI '09. The old-style streetlights, the pretty churches, the breezy banks of the Charles - I loved it all - the looks and the feel! Harvard Square was particularly fascinating - warm and busy, with a wealth of bookstores.

The rains haunted us every now and then. I loved it because it got me reminiscent me of Calcutta monsoons, especially as we scampered toward the T (local subway) hiding underneath umbrellas. :-) And when we were atop the 50th floor of the Prudential Tower for the conference reception, thanks to the thick clouds, we completely missed the city view! Alas, the caprices of Boston weather!

Farm Tour

Last Sunday, we went on a cook-out tour to Tanaka farms, a treasure trove of the finest seasonal vegetables. We strolled through stretches of farmland picking veggies (spinach, cilantro, beans, carrots, radish, squash, and delicious maui onions) and then washed and chopped them ourselves and finally got them grilled (along with some tofu).

Seal Wars: The Unsolved Indus Valley Mystery

Since the accidental discovery of the lost world of Harappa and Mohenjo-Daro, we have found ourselves beset by countless unanswered questions: Who were the people? Where did they come from? What language did they speak? Where did they disappear? Did they have anything to do with the Aryans? Some of these answers, if not all, can be hoped to be found by deciphering the numerous seals with engraved hieroglyphics excavated from the Indus Valley ruins. About 6 years back, a team of linguists/historians came up with the somewhat disappointing conclusion that the symbols did not represent any language at all and were merely a part of a "nonlinguistic sign system." Today, however, the media is abuzz with the work of Rao et al, which recently appeared in Science, where the team has sought mathematical justification based on an information theoretic approach to support their hypothesis that the Indus Valley hieroglyphics indeed represent a natural language!

The Hummingbird

A hummingbird came hovering near my window -
Cheerful, sprightly, free from cares and woes.
Enthralling me with merry midair antics,
He cured me of my Monday morning blues.

He spun and dove and smoothly somersaulted
With tremendous poise and figure-skating grace.
He finished with a bow so picture-perfect
As a disarming smile fleeted across his face.

He serenaded from outside my window.
Across the glass, I watched him pantomime.
It struck a dulcet chord in my heart that bred
The most perfect melody, meter, and rhyme.

Infected by the carefree, happy spirit
I looked into those inconspicuous eyes -
It sent me swirling down a magical vortex
Of glee, consternation, and surprise.

Suddenly I had learned to defy gravity.
Like my avian friend I too began to soar.
The pangs of a cold, humdrum existence
Seemed to afflict my humbled self no more.