Sensible Rhapsodies

The Kerala Back Water Mystery.

2012-02-26T00:00:00.000+13:00

It has been in mind for so long, to take a day off and set out to the lavish greenery of Alappuzha to rejuvenate my soul. The place where the essence of Malayalam could be sensed with all its purity. The fertile smell of land, when the monsoon showers hit the surface. The sip of a hot black tea from a local tea shop near the river side, with two crispy vadas. Kerala back waters should definitely be on my camera; else I would be missing out the joy of exploring the natural scenic beauty of my native land. And to make the experience more like a self discovery and earthy, I decided to opt out the hangout concept of travelling to the spot with my friends or cousins. After all, sometimes it’s best to follow our instincts blindly. That’s from where our wisdom evolves in its true form. We should consider the right to chose or the freedom we are given to choose our own path as a sacred privilege. The door of possibilities reroutes itself like in a GPS as we choose a new path in life.

Long before the sun could stretch out its morning shades, I got out from the comfort of my warm cozy bed. Through the misty freshness of that morning, I walked past my local church which was preparing for the early holy mass. Avoiding the comfort of driving with the basses and trebles of music was a good decision. Boarded an ordinary KSRTC bus, heading to the town of Alappuzha. I often wondered why the KSRTC buses have different facial expressions. When I was a child, I used to think of them as the different moods of these buses. Some of them seems happy, some childish, others could even have an angry face. While the private buses seemed to have some trendy looks and new hair styles, which could be the reason why some KSRTC buses looks grumpy.

I missed the green and yellow tickets, we used to have before. Technology is a killer. It murdered our past, making some stuffs the things of past. This wasn’t an old KSRTC but a renovated one I guess. The hand rails are plastered; I always hated the naked steel rails and its rusty smell. The rush of school children in uniforms with heavy bags took me back to memories of school days. Glad am done with it. Speaking of school, I love the smell of biscuits and milk in water bottles, the smell of fresh text books and new uniforms. Whenever I buy a new book, I open it randomly and have a long inhalation. May be that could help me absorb some of the hidden knowledge.

Having taken a private transit bus to Kumarakom, popularly known as the head quarters of back water packages; hired an auto and headed down the rural inroads to explore the virgin back waters. Something was bothering me, the calling of fresh Naadan food. As we passed by a hotel with its Naadan menu kept on the road side, I could sense the title song of Salt and Pepper movie calling me to spoil myself right now.

‘‘ Thana thinna thaana thinna thaana thinna thinthinno.

Thana thinna thaana thinna thaana thinna thinthinno.’’

Of course, I was on the table the next moment lost in the menu. Puttum Beefum, I ordered. Porotta, is my favorite but I got seduced by the unique Puttu available here with its Thenga Peera and the spicy beef with Thenga Kothu. Sipped the local tea listening to the tunes of radio music and the news paper conversation of the localites. Before heading to the Kochu Vallom opting out the house boats, I decided to come back here to have the Ucha Oonu with the delicious Special Fish Curry.

The sailor guy was having a local Beedi under the shades of the slanting coconut tree. I kind of worry sometimes while playing around or passing by a coconut tree. Isn’t there a risk of the coconuts falling down ? It’s damn scary. An old man in his 70’s and two sisters boarded the Kochu Vallom. Having seen the sisters I thought, there could be a local church somewhere on the other side. ‘‘ Ok, let’s go’’, said the sailor guy in an indifferent way. I grabbed my camera and the hat. It could be sunny out there. Should have taken some Pazhampori or Parippuvada as parcel. Never mind. We sailed through the shades of local trees and the view of traditional houses by the river side. Paradise was right there and I was sailing through it. This is definitely ‘‘Gods Own Country’’. Took some great shots and drowned myself in the pleasure of sailing wild back waters. We were slowly heading to the big wide opening of the Kayal. A flock of birds, probably the Kokku, flew across the sky. The view was heavenly. And I didn’t miss to freeze that frame in multiple shots.

We had a small chit chat on the way with topics ranging from local Chemmeen Chammandhi to Mullaperiyar. The sailor was speaking lots of crap, could probably be some words of wisdom. In fact we are inclined to believe the words of those whom we don’t know, as they haven’t deceived us. The clouds were getting darker. Mullaperiyar issue, in my view is not a stupid water dispute. It’s more than a life and death situation. The heat of the issue was at its peak then. And there was much tension and protests between the people of both states, Tamil Nadu and Kerala. Unless the Mullaperiyar dam is rebuilt, three districts of my state will be wiped away along with the lives of 3 million people. I defended the issue strongly in our debate of Mullaperiyar issue in the Kochu Vallom. I always believed that peace is not the absence of war but the presence of justice. I wondered if the sailor guy was from the other state. The old guy was showing some sign languages. Is he practicing some kind of Kathakali moves ? But I sensed something wrong when I saw the strange faces shown by the sisters. In the next moment, the sailor guy challenged me and jumped into the river. What the ?

It started raining. Thunders fighting in the sky. And am struck with some strangers in a boat lost in the middle of monsoon showers. I agree that going through challenges and failures is a solid test to develop more faith in God. But how could this situation be explained ? The monsoon showers got much stronger and I could really feel my face getting wet and colder. Somewhere from the corners of the dark clouds in the sky I could hear a whispering voice. It was my mom. Mom, you saved me from a big ship wreck. I was inside the Titanic. I tailored my dreams to make it sound more appealing. Any way I was glad that I didn’t have to spend much time in that Kochu Vallom, wandering aimlessly through the wide river and getting wet in the heavy monsoon rain.

The Road to Sainthood : Monsignor Lawrence Puliyanath.

2012-02-19T00:33:00.000+13:00

I consider this brief article as a thanksgiving for all the favors received and as a prayer for the canonization of Monsignor Lawrence Puliyanath, who lived his saintly life in my hometown. A monsignor who illuminated thousands of lives with the message of love, a genuine Christian hero, a man of action who obeyed god, by having a mental state of being incredibly optimistic against overwhelming odds. Monsignor Lawrence Puliyanath was declared as the ‘‘Servant of God’’ on February 4^th, 2011 completing the first step in the process of canonization.

His mortal remains are venerated in the St. Lawrence Church at Edakochi, where faithful from places throughout the state visit, in order to give thanks, for the favors received through his intercession. I consider myself blessed for being in the church locality, where a priest, who lived as one among the ordinary people, glorified the name of god. His life was dedicated to fill this world with love and to make people love one another. His life is a message for each of us to understand each other and to be generous in our lives irrespective of religion, cast and creed.

The over flowing devotees to the pilgrim centre at Kochi is a reflection of his exceptional holiness. Thousands of devotees consider him as a father figure who guides and helps them throughout the hard journey called life. Most of the familiar faces in my hometown are living testimonials who still remember how; he personally touched the lives of people through selfless service and love for the community.

Monsignor Lawrence was born on 8^th August 1898 in Kochi, to the blessed couple Maria and Peter, of the Puliyanath family. He was fortunate enough to have a good school education and eventually attained a doctorate degree in both Theology and Philosophy from a Seminary in SriLanka. He was ordained priest on 1926 and started off his apostolic mission for the poor, serving the society at large. During his 33 years of church service, he served as a professor of Philosophy in Alappuzha Seminary and later as a Forane Vicar in the parish of St. Lawrence Church, Edakochi. He was conferred the title ‘‘Domestic Prelete’’ by His Holiness Pious the XII-th in 1951. His simple life with no special attachments to material comforts in the midst of glory makes him an ideal religious teacher. His humbleness was revealed when he declined the promotional title offered from Rome, to be the first local bishop in the Diocese of Kochi. He was sick during his late days, yet was always concerned about the needs and lives of the people. The divine soul of Monsignor Lawrence left to heaven on 20^th February, 1961.

Like the two sides of a coin, with the touch of god, come miracles and blessings as well as sufferings and the cross. Dear lord, as Christian followers, we know that our lives would be subjected to testing and temptations throughout our life, to strengthen our faith. Monsignor Lawrence Puliyanath is our local guardian, who guides us through this worldly life, to follow your way of light. We consider this stage of canonization as the phase of our struggling and we hope our prayers, along with the ever glowing candle lights, in front his sacred tomb, would one day open the gates of heaven and bring out the shower of miracles and blessings by declaring his sainthood.

To Visit the Official Site of Monsignor Lawrence Puliyanath. Click here.

Alcohol Use and the Risk of Developing Alzheimer's Disease.

2012-02-16T22:34:00.000+13:00

Being a cognitive disorder involving the degeneration of brain, progressive loss of memory and lowered life expectancy, Alzheimer’s disease resembles in strange ways to the after effects of alcohol consumption. Obviously both of them serve as a burden to the health, society and economic stability of any nation. Studies on alcohol consumption and tobacco smoking have shown cognitive impairment which is parallel to the usual symptoms of Alzheimer’s. Irrespective of nutritional deficits, progressive psychological decline is observed in chronic alcoholics. Hypothalamus, Cerebellum and the frontal superior cortex are the most predominantly affected areas by the toxic effects of alcohol. In addition they cause significant structural changes in myelin which could be reversible during abstinence.

Alcohol consumption could be attributed as one of the risk factors for developing Alzheimer’s disease, as both of them share biological complications, related with brain chemistry and associated disorders. The main challenge while researching on the impact of alcohol usage on developing Alzheimer’s disease is in diagnosing and distinguishing alcoholic dementia from Alzheimer’s disease.

Heavy alcohol drinking causes both immediate and long term detrimental effects on brain such as accelerating brain shrinkage, eventually leading to neurodegenerative changes and cognitive decline. Comparative investigations by Jensen & Pakkenberg (1993), on subjects with cerebral atrophy caused by aging and alcohol consumption have revealed that, alcohol induced damages are mostly reversible, as it doesn’t cause any change in the number of nerve cells, although considerable death of brain cells, which supports the neurons is observed. Since the brain cells could be regenerated during the process of abstinence, cognitive performance could be improved. While research by Krill & Halliday (1999), have revealed loss of cholinergic neurons that are associated with the chemical messenger of our brain, the neurotransmitter acetyl choline. As any defects in the cholinergic system such as reduction in acetyl choline or reduced protein receptors is well established with the Alzheimer’s disease, chronic alcohol usage could definitely be linked as a cause for Alzheimer’s disease. Shockingly, studies by Arendt (1993) have shown partial reversal of these damages on cholinergic systems upon stimulation by compounds such as nicotine during tobacco smoking, which discloses the controversial hypothesis of decreased association of Alzheimer’s disease with drinkers who smoke.

Speaking of alcohol induced nutritional deficiency; the most frequent one is the vitamin B1 deficiency, which eventually induces Wernicke-Korsakoff syndrome. This syndrome involves isolated or associated symptoms such as mental confusion, abnormal ocular movement and gait ataxia. If left undiagnosed, the patients could either evolve into a serious condition called the Korsakoff’s syndrome or even death. Clinical features and findings on structural neuroimaging of Korsakoff’s syndrome involve episodic memory deficit, variable compromise in semantic memory, nystagmus, cortical atrophy, reduced volume of thalamus and mammillary bodies. Marchiafava-Bignami is a rare disease generally diagnosed in chronic alcoholics with symptoms involving dementia, muscular hypertonia, epileptic episodes, dysphagia etc. This disease has a high lethality rate with most of the patients evolving into a comatose state. Its neuroimaging findings have revealed prominent atrophy of corpus collosum, with varying degrees of necrosis and cystic fibrosis. Alcoholic dementia is yet not uniformly diagnosed during epidemiological studies making the discriminations between alcoholic dementia and Alzheimer’s disease more problematic.

Further clarity is needed to prove the association of alcohol with Alzheimer’s disease. Longitudinal researches are needed which avoids methodological limitations such as the confirmation of investigations on subjects by studying the brain after death. Association of factors ranging from genetic, vascular and even gender should be extensively and thoroughly investigated to clarify the association of alcohol with Alzheimer’s disease.

References:

Arendt, T. (1993). The cholinergic deafferentation of the cerebral cortex induced by chronic consumption of alcohol: Reversal by cholinergic drugs and trans-plantation. In: Hunt, W.A., and Nixon, S.J., eds. Alcohol-Induced Brain Damage. Rockville, MD: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. 431–460.

Bottino C.M.C., Padua, A.C., Smid, J., Fegyveres, R.A., Novaretti, T., Bahia V.S. (2011). Differential diagnosis between dementia and psychiatric disorders. Dement Neuropsychol. 5(4):288-296.

Jensen, G.B., & Pakkenberg, B. (1993). Do alcoholics drink their neurons away? The Lancet. 342:1201– 1204.

Krill, J.J. & Halliday, G.M. (1999). Brain shrinkage in alcoholics: A decade on and what have we learned? Progress in Neurobiology 58:381–387.

Tyas, S.L. (2001). Alcohol use and the risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease. Alcohol Research & Health. Vol: 25, No: 4.

(Review of the original article by Suzanne L. Tyas. Original publication is available from National Institute of Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism. )

The Adventures of Steven Spielberg : TINTIN (2011).

2011-12-27T01:03:00.000+13:00

From the greatest story tellers of our time, Director Steven Spielberg & Producer Peter Jackson, the title flashed by on the big screen during the trailer of Tintin. My eyes took a 32x zoom pretty much like our Jim Carey in The Mask. It looked like the animation version of Pirates of the Caribbean when I saw ships flying over other ships amidst thunderstorms, in the beginning of the trailer. The face of Tintin and his white puppy, Snowy takes us back to our childhood days, remembering the comic books.

Being satisfied of having enough leftovers of the delicious Spicy brisket beef with potatoes from my lunch at the Chinese restaurant, Tintin was a mouth watering dessert. Got into the theatre, skipping the 2$ games as we didn’t want to miss any of those 3D trailers. After the commercials came the spectacular trailer of War Horse, yet another Steven Spielberg movie, making me wonder, if he has got more than 24 hours a day. The screen widened as the curtains pulled over, with the stars of Paramount pictures flying around in 3D followed by the lady of Columbia pictures holding the torchlight, setting stage for the adventures of a lifetime.

The movie is a thrilling adventure mixed with clever, witty chase sequences and an intelligent fast paced story line, making us craving for more after the end credits. The fresh animations, graphics and the special effects used in The Adventures of Tintin is a sure visual treat, especially in Digital 3D, making The Polar Express look like a steam engine. It wakes up the adventurous child in us with a freedom to run like a freed rabbit.

The plot revolves around our ever in trouble newspaper reporter Tintin as he buys a classic model ship without knowing the mysterious secret associated with it. The pick pocketing, fighting and chasing sequences delivers the fun and feel of a Jackie Chan movie. The company of a boozy captain from a cargo ship, whose character resembles with Jack Sparrow, adds much more chaos and fun to Tintin’s adventure. Steven Spielberg has done a wonderful job in directing his first animation movie. Peter Jackson made the movie seem so real, as his company WETA Digital used computer animations such as the motion capture effects, where the actions of actors are digitally transferred to a computer. The scenes where a mirage in the desert transforms the sands into a rough sea with pirate ships tossing in the waves, the clash with two giant cranes using the control keys, the burning ship with people fighting all along swinging over another ship, the motorcycle chase along the sides of a broken dam with a heavy rush of water, the plane ride through the middle of dark clouds and the alcoholic refueling etc. are more than enough to keep us at the edge of our seats.

The movie combines the plot of two adventures from the respective books, Secret of the Unicorn and Red Rackham’s Treasure into one single adventure. The screenwriters are exceptionally good as they have transformed the electrifying comic stories of Tintin into a flawless and smooth movie. This one has undoubtedly got into the list of my all time favorites and I would give this a 5/5. It doesn’t matter whether you are or you are not a Tintin fan, this movie will be close to both the kids and adults who have that spark for adventure.

The movie leaves room for the possibility of an even more spectacular sequel, as Tintin's unquenchable thirst for adventure takes him to grab his next mission. A sequel to this one, with Spielberg on the production side and Jackson on the director’s chair has already been announced.

A R Rahman & The Jurassic Park.

2011-12-10T01:02:00.001+13:00

The year was 1997, I was having the life of a seventh grader by then. Patriotism in those days for me was pretty much confined within the daily chore of reciting national anthem at school. Other than that, well may be the movie ‘‘Roja’’, telecasted on every Independence Day on DD National refreshed the sense of being an Indian. It was like a fresh installation of national pride when Bharat Bala productions came out with the album ''vande mataram'' featuring my all time favorite music director A R Rahman. For me it was much more than that.

The sequel to Steven Spielberg’s Jurassic Park was released days before the August of 1997 in my favorite screen at Kochi, Sridhar. Since it was one of the most awaited movies of the year, everyone in my family have been making plans to go to the movies to have the Jurassic experience yet again. I guess, it was during the Onam holidays, as most of our family was present in our Tharavadu at Vaduthala as part of the usual holiday reunion. Surprisingly, a sudden decision was made during one of those afternoons to set off to Sridhar at the city of Kochi, for a 6:30pm show of The Lost World. Movies in theaters were something I have always been crazy for since my childhood and it still gives me goose bumps when the Universal Pictures or 20^th Century Fox is screened with Digital sounds in the big screen. Almost everyone in our family, mostly the guy gang including uncles and cousins set off to Sridhar, needless to say me & my cousins were overly excited. I still remember listening to the big sounds of dinosaur walks while we were waiting in the queue to grab tickets for the show outside the theatre. I always loved seeing the writing ‘‘DTS & Dolby Surround system’’ on top of the doors to the theatre hall. It was possibly a family first for us with such a big group fully occupying almost a complete row of the First class seats. As soon as grabbing our seats, two of us from the group set outside the theatre to buy some 2 Kg’s of apple as nothing was bought as snacks. We hurried back to the hall amidst the crowds still packing the queues, to witness something surprisingly extraordinary on the screen.

The man in blue jeans with a glowing heavenly white shirt was singing the most powerful national outcry ‘vande mataram’. Yes, the man was A R Rahman and he was crying his heart out with such powerful melodious and catchy tune that the whole of us were having a fresh feeling for our country like never before. That was one of the best theatre experiences I have ever had till today. If it wasn’t for A R Rahman, I would not have felt any different for the 50^th year of Indian Independence. Though I was a diehard fan of A R Rahman ever since ''Roja'', it took me a few years to possess the audio cassette of ''vande mataram''. Just reading the words of A R Rahman written over its cassette cover is enough to ignite a new sense of being an inspired human being with strong feelings for my country. The album is indeed a timeless collection of musical magic covering the energetic ‘‘Maa Tujhe Salaam’’, the natural & peaceful Revival (vande mataram), the fresh & innocent ‘‘Gurus of Peace’’, ‘‘Tauba Tauba’’, ‘‘Missing’’ (vande mataram), ‘‘Only You’’ & the Tamil version ‘‘Thai Mannai Vanakkam’’.

‘‘All perfect praises belong to the Almighty alone. I dedicate this album to the future generations of India. I wish that this album inspires them to grow up with the wealth of Human values and ethics that this country is made of.’’ – A R Rahman.

Drive, The Movie : a 2011 hp Hybrid.

2011-11-18T16:12:00.001+13:00

Drive, an instant cult classic, happened to me as I was doing my usual browsing through the new Hollywood trailers in YouTube. The trailer wasn’t quite catchy in the first view until I saw the best director 2011 at Cannes de festival label, which prompted me for a look at the user comments that eventually led me ending up with IMDb. Damn, it has a whooping 8.2 score. I should say, I haven’t seen such praising comments in YouTube for a just released movie which don’t have a strong banner to back up such as the Transformers or Harry potter or The Dark Knight or even the stupid Twilight. I usually go doing WoW, if the trailer has a Steven Spielberg or a Christopher Nolan. This one had nothing peculiar except for Ryan Gosling, who for me seemed to be the only familiar name, thanks to Notebook.

The user reviews grabbed most of my attention with some recommending everyone to watch this movie in a decent movie theatre to cherish the whole magical Drive experience at its best. And yet another who got one of the best days in ages just coz he bunked his university lecture and chose to watch this new flick in a cinema. I have always been a movie enthusiast who prefers watching movies only if it gets released in some of my favorite screens back in my hometown, Kochi. As I have left India, the new screens in New Zealand took quite some time to be familiarized with, my favorite being the XtremeScreen at Hoyts. Unfortunately Drive wasn’t playing in XremeScreen which was pretty much a disappointment but never mind, the other Hoyts screens still deserved a class and decency of its own. Guess what, the movie was actually chosen to be screened in one of the finest screens Cinema 5, where I have previously watched the spectacular Avatar in 3D, next only to the XtremeScreen though.

The movie started off with some low key warehouse robbery pretty much like in Transporter but with much intense and realistic getaway choices. The whole ambience was so in par with reality filled with neon flashlights, traffic signals, helicopter spotlights etc. The chase stands out entirely different from that used by Jason Statham in Transporter, as Ryan Gosling preferred to go unnoticed rather than being aggressive. The progressive background score takes us with a storm to the title credits with Drive flashing on in a pink color. The retro soundtrack is so addictive and haunting that it still runs through my head making me wonder if there is an MP3 player being installed with some Drive playlist in my brain. The hero resembles something like an Eastwood with short yet legendary dialogues and silences. The beautiful Carey Mulligan lights up the movie drowning its storyline with romance to an action plot. The pace and mood of the whole movie is exceptionally brilliant. I would give a whole lot of credit for the Cinematography by Newton Thomas Sigel synchronized perfectly with the magical music score by Cliff Martinez and of course the Danish Director Nicolas Winding Refn for his spectacular US debut.

This is pretty much like a stylish adaptation of the Steve McQueen movies of the 60’s and so don’t expect any Fast and the Furious action junk. Instead we could expect a beautifully crafted masterpiece wrapped up with breathtaking original soundtracks. There are some extreme blood spilling violence and traces of nudity restricting the film with an R rating. But this one should never be missed, as movies like this happens only once in a decade or so. This is definitely a must watch and possibly the coolest movie in years which does justice to every frame filling up with nothing but pure excellence.

Alternative Automobile Technologies.

2011-11-11T01:02:00.004+13:00

Considering the energy resources available these days, particularly in the automobile industry, alternative fuel options such as biofuels and electric technologies are kind of gaining a fast forward momentum. Political guns guarding the monopoly of conventional oil corporate giants remain a barrier yet to be crossed. It’s not the lack of wisdom which prevents the free run of these advanced masterpieces, but some selfish yet reasonable combination of matters related with demand and supply policies.

Electric:

Talking about the electric automotive technology, EV1 by GM stands out in history as the new age pure electric beast which could have definitely made a good difference, unless it was voluntarily destroyed by its own makers in 2002, almost a decade after its birth, by crushing every single car ignoring strong customer oppositions, owing to reasons still speculated within the conspiracy circles. It’s purely a result of the greedy brains of petro-politicians hypnotized by the oil corporate companies, who just wanted to deal business with the yet to be cleared oil reserves of our planet.

Considering the power of electric cars, Tesla Roadster is the one which undoubtedly grabs the limelight. With 250 hp electric engine powered by 450 kg lithium ion battery, matching with that of a Porsche Boxster, this all electric production sports car is one of a kind. If it’s the acceleration which catches your attention, then Tesla can do from 0 to 100 km/hr in 4 sec with ease. The concept of installing batteries to fuel engines instead of the usual petroleum or crude oil have been updated constantly ever since the inception of the electric car idea.

Hydrogen:

Pretty much in the same lane is the hydrogen fuelled ones such as the Honda FCX Clarity, which uses a fuel cell with hydrogen in combination with oxygen to produce electricity to power electric motors and emitting just water vapors. While the BMW Hydrogen Series 7 uses hydrogen to burn an internal combustion engine. Hydrogen is a potential energy fuel source but has the disadvantages such as the need to have considerable number of refueling stations and advanced storage facilities, as it requires cryogenic systems to compress or liquefy them which are laboursome. Unless there are measures from the government to take initiatives to invest a reasonable sum in setting up subsidies and infrastructures for the goodwill of our environment, hydrogen fuel engines won’t catch up fast.

Hybrids:

Then comes the hybrid legends such as the Toyota Prius, which crossed 2 million unit sales in 2010. This one was considered as the cleanest vehicle on the planet during its launch and has pretty much met the expectations, making it the most desirable green car in almost 70 countries worldwide. The strategy adopted in the hybrid propulsion system of Prius, is the switching from an electric engine to an internal combustion engine for accelerations over 25 km/hr. The good news is a plug in hybrid version of Toyota Prius was unveiled on the 2011 Frankfurt Motor Show, scheduled to be released on the market by 2012.

Biofuels:

Biofuels have safely secured a green card in the face of new age energy options with bioethanol and biodiesel having an exponential production statistics in the recent years. The factors associated with biofuels which could be considered worth worrying for include the food versus fuel needs, deforestation, soil erosion, loss of biodiversity etc. But they are just a speck of dust in comparison with the shocking green house gas emission rates, endangered fossil fuel reserves , energy security of the planet and of course the ever increasing oil prices.

Microbes:

The role of microbial bio engineering in the production of advanced new generation biofuels is of increasing interest opening a new window of unexplored natural scientific magic. Microbes did make some news with its potential in cleaning up nuclear waste recently, thanks to the researchers in Michigan State University. The timing, at which the efficiency of Geobacter species in clearing up radioactive debris grabbing the global attention, could not be more perfect, particularly being in the midst of continuing fears from the Fukushima reactor outbursts. The use of some fungal enzyme extracts to breakdown cellulose to produce cellulose ethanol, an advanced from of biofuel and the use of the fungus Gliocladium roseum in the production of a myco-diesel are major breakthroughs. Though biofuels have revolutionized a major sector of the road transport throughout the world, it was given a major facelift with its introduction in aviation sector by Virgin Atlantic in 2008. It was then followed by Air New Zealand, US Navy & Air force, Air China and the most recent one to join the league is the Air Alaska in November 2011.

However, the only part which could be a threat in this green revolution is the competency of fuel with the need for food. We have witnessed enough wars and destructions worldwide over oil to fuel our automobiles. Hope there won’t be any such cruelty for biofuels, as most forms of it needs land acquisitions to grow the crops, which might drive the corporate giants to claim farming lands ignoring people and our basic need, hunger posing a check on our food security.

The Mystery of the Butterfly effect in Real Life.

2011-09-17T01:21:00.001+12:00

A million thanks to the magic on the silver screen for introducing me to the interesting phenomenon called the butterfly effect. Starting from ‘‘The Jurassic park’’, which gives one of the most basic and simple explanations on this effect to ‘‘The Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind’’, the list goes on. However, it was ‘‘Mr Nobody’’ which really screwed up my mind and made me interested in digging up the concept, which finally led me to watch the most critically acclaimed one among this genre, ‘‘The Butterfly effect’’. To make it sound simple, let me say, small changes create big results. Enough said. It’s like picking up lotto or even the flipping of a coin. It’s like the possibility of having a disappointing Saturday night since you went for a pointless movie, just because you watched a catchy trailer in YouTube while causally surfing Facebook or randomly checking out Twitter.

The Butterfly effect derives its name from the popular explanation of creating a hurricane weeks or years later, just because some butterfly on the other side of the planet flapped its wings and moved some molecules eventually resulting in a sequence of disturbances in air. The relevance of initial conditions at any point of time is the ultimate factor of this effect also otherwise termed the Chaos theory. Movies with themes and concepts which pose a reality check have always excited me. The most recent one being Inception, where Christopher Nolan screwed up our mind by taking us for an adventure ride travelling through the different levels of our sub conscious mind. Possibilities of altering our realities or cheating our time frames is undeniably one of the best thought provoking themes experimented in movies. Movies with themes such as The Time Traveller’s Wife, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Back to the Future, Minority Report, 12 Monkeys, Kate & Leopold which challenges our time frames or rather check the reality of our current lives such as The Matrix are possibly some of the best works in this category. What confuses me with the time travel movies is the Time Corruption hypothesis or the more popular Grandfather paradox which makes the present reality impossible when someone goes back in time making different life paths, ultimately resulting in a butterfly effect.

My first instance of the butterfly effect from an Indian movie is from ‘‘ Dasavathaaram ’’, where the 2004 Tsunami in the Indian Ocean is portrayed as being caused by the sinking of Lord Vishnu’s idol along with Kamal Hassan in the 12th century. Though I wasn’t that interested in Chaos theory and Butterfly effect after watching this movie in 2008, I was pretty much impressed by the basic concept of this phenomenon and the brilliance of its story line. It’s quite interesting that, if we could go back in time and do things in life pretty differently and make alternative decisions & choices, doesn't that make a big difference to what we are or where we are today? If there ever comes a chance to travel back in time, the knowledge and wisdom of having lived our lives in this present life path makes us aware of the possible outcomes of choosing some of the options. But if we are to believe in God, then whatever options we choose in an alternative life path by picking a different school or a life partner or a bus or even a pair of footwear, we would eventually end up in the same fate. If it’s supposed to be so, then even our weirdest thoughts and our most awkward moments in life should be part of a master plan by the so called architect of life. At this point, I prefer to believe, there has never been any wrong decisions in our lives. Understanding the framework and complexity of the big picture as a whole, improves our perception to address the day to day issues and strategically organize our life.

It is the human form of butterfly effect which matters in the present world. The very actions we make at this moment, the very next move we make, matters a lot and could make a big difference in shaping not just our life, but even the lives of generations to be born. Messing up and screwing up our present daily lives could possibly ruin the entire culture of our country in future. Life opens up different doors for us to follow. It is up to us to choose the life path. In reality time doesn't go backwards, making it harder to make decisions. But that’s exactly how life works. Butterfly effect is all about the big picture. We are what we think or rather we become what we think we are. Instead of regretting about the options we made in our past, think about the moves and actions we could make in shaping our future and the future or even the existence of people some 20 or 50 years from now. Each and every move we make matters, not just for us but for our very universe. After all our universe desires randomness or entropy, so choose not to go with the flow and start making the right moves instead.

The Moment of Life: LHC

2011-08-04T21:06:00.000+12:00

Travelling down the matrix of Science, the origin of universe is one of the most mysterious paradox challenging both the religious and scientific world. Among all the scientific research themes ever known in history, the most high profile status belongs to the Large Hadron Collider (LHC), a real life time machine. This brainchild was conceived by the creators of the World Wide Web, European Organisation for Nuclear Research (CERN). This mysterious scientific project brings together the theories of quantum mechanics and general relativity, collaborating 10,000 of world's best scientific minds from hundreds of countries and universities across the globe.

A major share of the world population is unaware of the role of God played by these people with the tremendous potential to destroy our planet. This giant underground high energy particle accelerator is located at less than 0.2 kilometers under the French-Swiss border in Switzerland. capable of shooting and smashing beams of high energy quarks at the speed of light, along a 27 kilometers long circular tunnel of space. The basic objective being the creation of new mass from energy, with head-on collisions so violent that it resembles the conditions existed during the Big bang. The entire process is not fool proof and is obviously capable of converting our universe into a particle soup. I wonder if millions of years later there would be a Jurassic Park movie with aliens digging human bones.

''Out of this door might come something, or we might send something through it," is how Sergio Bertolucci, who is the Director for Research and Scientific Computing at CERN addressed the reporters during a press meet at the CERN HQ in 2009. The questions and doubts that would arise within the commonsense of a normal man doesn't bother the scientific community until the collider disaster actually spell its power. We might have to helplessly wait for the scientists to convince themselves about the real risk of playing god, until the creation of black holes that are capable of sucking the entire earth; and the generation of antimatter explosions that could burn our planet like the sun.

I might sound like an eccentric crack criticizing the new possibilities of science. For the time being, let us ignore the negative possibilities. But i wonder, if spending billions of money and homework just to solve some puzzles in physics do justice to humanity. This one is obviously different from any other scientific project in being gigantic in structure, expenditure and scientific manpower. Still what would be the fate of 27 kilometers long tunnel associated with thousands of powerful magnets, detectors, compressors and incubators weighing thousands of tonnes, after the so called dream collision. CERN has planned to run the collider with half energy until the shutdown by 2013, to prepare the magnets to be more stronger for the proposed high energy run starting by 2014. Let us keep our fingers crossed while the scientific community expects the creation of a new mystery or rather a doomsday for the future history.

The Man behind Google+

2011-07-14T13:00:00.000+12:00

Google has boldly revealed its new face on 28^th of June, 2011 by challenging the biggest social networking sites of our times, Facebook and Twitter. Google Plus has been in a process of development ever since the failure of Google’s first social networking site, Orkut. Several alternative ideas have been tested such as Google Buzz, Google Wave etc. but were not big enough to compete with its rivals. Never mind the struggles, the tough gets awesome by repeated attempts, and hence Google is back with a bang. We are yet to see whether it’s worth the present hype. However, Google+ is obviously a strong rival for Facebook, which has got over 750 million active users. Google+ is fresh and fun. With the initial survey reports, there are 280% active registrations going on worldwide for Google+. The interesting fact is, large communities of Facebook users are still unaware of the new Google magic.

Now to break the silence, the master brain behind Google+ is that of an IIT (Indian Institute of Technology) graduate from India. It’s none other than Vic Gundotra, the Senior Vice President of Social for Google. Born in 1968, he fell in love with the power of software in his childhood days. He joined Microsoft in 1991, and later became the General Manger of Platform Evangelism, a part of Microsoft. He specialized mainly on Windows Live services and MSN to compete with the Web based software applications of Google. In 2006, he signed an agreement with Google and resigned from Microsoft. After spending 1 year in charitable endeavors due to a Microsoft employee non-compete agreement, he joined Google in 2007.

At Google, he has played a major role in the realization of Google Real-time Search, Google Buzz, Development of Android applications, Google Gadgets, Google Gears etc. The biggest contribution being the inception of Google+.

Google+ is an integration of Google profiles and Google Buzz along with new additional features such as +1, Circles, Hangouts, Sparks and Huddles. Google+ is way much advanced in comparison with Facebook in areas such as E-mail, Voice & Video chats, News features etc. Though Facebook has recently integrated Skype, its way much behind the Video call experience offered by Google+.

+1 is a feature much similar to the ‘’Like’’ of Facebook.

Circles, is the revolutionizing feature of Google+ offering a new social networking experience enabling users to group people without any social obligations. This is much different from the traditional friends list used in Facebook. It helps users to categorize the people into separate circles without letting the people know where exactly they have been placed. The user’s advantage here is in having the privacy of not revealing how many and what all circles he/she has. Hence other users could see the list of friends in ones profile as in Facebook, but they will be completely unaware of the circles. This eases and adds more fun to the networking experience.

Hangouts, is actually an enhanced version of the conference video calling in Skype. It comes with more user friendly features like having around 10 people in a group video chat at any given time.

Huddle, is a messaging or chat like feature within any given circle, available in Android and i0S mobile devices.

Instant upload is a feature for mobile devices enabling users to store pictures and upload when they wish to.

Sparks, is an enhanced Google search feature which works in a customized fashion.

Personally I find Google+ more advanced in every possible way. Am loving its fresh and simple interface. It was Orkut which took me into the world of social networking and was an active user for almost 3 years. Then, to keep up with the race, I finally configured a space in Facebook. In between I got into Twitter and LinkedIn. Social networking sites have always been an integral part of our lives with lots of personal attachments mainly owing to the people involved. One thing which we should keep in mind, no matter what social network we are into, is nurturing and prospering with our real life relationships.

The Silent Global Warfare: HAARP.

2011-07-04T20:31:00.002+12:00

Having been through almost 8000 earthquakes and still counting, I obviously felt something fishy about the natural source of these stupid DJ’s rocking down the earth. I wasn’t disappointed in my quest for alternative sources. Alarming and shocking were the possibilities of manmade impacts in the present scenario. The potential of a US military venture known as the High Frequency Active Auroral Research Program (HAARP) designed as part of a Strategic Defence Initiative (SDI), in being a serious threat to the planet is horrifying. An understanding of the research schemes and the execution of the basic experiments at these sites is more than enough to throw dirt on the glorified image of HAARP.

According to Wikipedia, HAARP is an ionospheric research program jointly funded by the US Air Force, the US Navy, the University of Alaska and the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA).Its purpose is to analyze the ionosphere and investigate the potential for developing ionospheric enhancement technology for radio communications and surveillance purposes. The objectives put forward for this mysterious research work includes improvement of communication and navigation systems, remote sensing of mineral and oil content throughout the planet, observation of meteors, Lunar echo experiment on extra-terrestrial high frequency radar echo’s and other high profile crappy stuffs !! It's quite interesting to note, how systematically the defence personnel’s have disguised the potential of this technology in jeopardising the global warfare’s in ways humans could hardly manage.

Loads of critical environmental concerns have been raised against HAARP, as its very basic working involves disruption of our ionosphere. Possible outcomes from such manipulation of our atmosphere could generate serious natural disasters ranging from earthquakes, drastic variations in global weather patterns, hurricanes, floods and even flipping of Earth’s magnetic poles!! It’s shocking that the tax paying people out there are totally unaware of the kind of battlefield in which they are trapped in. It’s big time for the world to wake up and fight against the cruel intentions of these heartless watchdogs playing with human lives, in the name of classified military training experiments. What if I say, Haiti, Japan and Christchurch are mere test fields or rather targets for the technicians working at these high security defence research centres?

This geo engineered tectonic weaponry is originally based on technologies developed by Nicola Tesla almost a century ago. HAARP uses a billion watts of power to manipulate the Electro Magnetic Field (EMF) of our planet, creating extremely lethal frequencies known to profoundly affect the biological and mental functioning of all the living beings on earth. The disruptions of these magnetic fields could create vibrations dangerous enough to vigorously shake the tectonic plates. It’s frightening that the outcomes of this fatal weaponry are beyond the control of human hands. These unconventional deadly weapons have been in use for a long time by the cold blooded crazy scientists and security personnel’s of the powerful nations, to manipulate world population by creating secret weather warfare’s. The droughts in Venezuela, floods in Pakistan, heat wave in Russia, frequent storms and hurricanes in US, recent earthquake’s in Haiti, NewZealand and Japan; Tsunami in Indonesia etc. are some of them.

The people of these days should stop drowning within the entertainment tactics forced upon them by the new world system and arise with superior intellect, intelligence, courage and moral fibre to fight for a green and peaceful life on this planet. If you are still not convinced about this deadly technology, checkout this not so popular unclassified report ‘‘The Defense science board’s Task Force on Directed Energy Weapons.’’ Straight from the office of the secretary of US defense and start connecting the dots.

The Capricious Capricorn.

2011-04-28T18:05:00.002+12:00

Time has been running out lately. Sometime back, I have been researching or rather indulging compulsively to prevent myself from procrastinating, in some personality studies. I would like to describe them as the adventures of a broken outlaw. I got some quite rich source of texts, online info’s and some surprisingly practical models. Those days were completely unplanned and the things I came across were obviously random. It all started when I bumped into the multiple personality book at the City Council Library. It was quite an interesting read to fill up the blank potholes regarding people’s character. In short I would like to summarize the entire concept as Introverts and Extroverts with numerous subdivisions!! The entire index of subdivisions really made me go nuts. What really got my attention were the zodiac signs. Now that was something solid. Considering the mysterious revelations behind the astrology stuff dating ages back, there is a basic foundation much stable than the unpredictable human personality traits.

Being a Capricon myself, I found it a bit contradictory to my outlook and the way I execute the adventures of life. Thanks to the limitless flow of information in Google, Social networking sites; Facebook, Orkut and Twitter. I got selflessly glued to the dedicated sites and pages for zodiac signs. More entertaining were the YouTube stuffs especially the ‘’Howcast Channel’’ ones. I loved reading the Capricon qualities such as being reserved, conservative, calm, responsible, hardworking and many other diplomatic traits which left me confused about myself. Of course I love being hardworking, dedicated, focused and passionate about my life. But that doesn’t seem to apply at all stages.

I get completely messed up at times and I love the process of being messed up though i regret at a later stage. Still I find it easy to get back to the normal scheduled lifestyle. Being childish, foolish and dumb at times really makes me feel better. It seems to happen when am among the company of the most trusted friends, cousins and even at workplace. I would like to make it clear that i love being honest and i appreciate the same from others. And I could even be unforgiving and grudgeful if tested beyond a limit. The extreme reserved character of mine even from the close ones at times is to prevent myself from being more vulnerable so that I won’t be hurt. A Capricon could be pessimistic and embrace depression, taking to the extreme bottom. But that doesn’t mean they are spoiled or doomed forever, they will eventually rise like a phoenix with new dimensions of outlook and perceptions. I find myself to be more concerned about helping and being there for my peers which could be annoying for some. Minding my own business seems to be the better option. Still I find it so beautiful being myself and loves every bit of it. Being ourselves is something which every single person would love to be. And the appreciation of our true self from others is what we really crave for.

I found it hard to accept the description of a Capricon personality as being stable and solid like a rock. It’s not possible for me to be a rock and get myself wrapped with the dirty moss unless otherwise I am a ‘’Sanyasi’’. I used to describe myself as ‘’a typical Capricon’’ in the ‘’About me’’ sections of the social networking sites though I was completely unsatisfied by its very reflection. I kept searching for a clear stream which was diplomatically more pure. Yup, surprisingly I finally found one from one of my cousins Orkut profile. ‘’Tony Capricious’’!! Capricious was the one true word. Seems like it’s been created just to fit perfectly well with the out of the box Capricons. I re-phrased myself as ‘’Capricious Capricon’’ from then on and it even rhymes well. Something like ‘’hakuna matata’’ I got caught red handed later on by my cousin for this plagiarism which he described in his own words as stealing his capsicum, haha.

The Bitter Water

2010-10-07T02:05:00.000+13:00

(NB: All characters appearing in this work are fictitious. Any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental !!)

Just like any other day of the dark ages, I got up lately and stayed awake in my bed. I heard the footsteps of one of the flat mates, rushing to get the bus, I guess. I covered up myself again in the warm blanket. No goals, no deadlines, nothing to hope for, just random dirty thoughts about the assholes and bitches who put their shit in my life. I don't give a shit to extramarital affairs, though i hate it. But never expected, I would be a spectator for a live-in illicit relationship. I hate this particular married asshole and the slutty bitch who are proud of themselves in having extra martial relationship. You never expect people, whom you consider as good friends to exploit, defraud and make you feel like a worthless piece of shit just for the sake of having such cheap affairs. It’s so brutal, cold blooded and disgusting. I should have never lived with them. I am grateful to the almighty for taking me away from those shameless creatures. Should I be regretting for this being a part of my life. Or should I be happy, that I have been trained to having been passed through such an intense bitter experience by the almighty. I don’t know. But I have lost my grip, I am falling, it’s still in my hands but I don’t have the smallest strength to pull it back to make myself safe. I need some miracles to happen, some strange, unbelievable, out of box ones.

I have been through situations and dramas much intense than the recent ones. May be it’s the constant repetitive hurting to my heart which has caused it to be more traumatic. There was a time when I believed, nothing could kill my heart as it’s already dead. The stage has come in my life, when I have started questioning or doubting my own credibility. I feel so pathetic and frightened of my own intuitions and judgments. This is real, this is my life, and this is it.

There was a time in my life when i had almost everything, what a son would desire for. I have seen the happiness and gladness in my parent’s eyes. I needed nothing more in my life. Now, it’s the late half of 2010, more than a year since I resigned myself from one of the prestigious institutions in my hometown as a proud guest lecturer. It was my decision for i considered myself to not deserve such a beautiful, blessed and respectful life. But now i realize leaving my loved ones was a big mistake. Life had something more kept in reserve for me, something which could rip apart my already suffering soul.