Moving my blog.

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President Obama wins the Nobel Peace Prize!!!!

My first reaction was "W H A T ? !!!!!" :-O.

I do admire president Obama for the amazing life that he has had, to be born in a middle class family and to rise to become the first African American president. His words motivate millions of people around the globe and he talks about fundamentally changing the world.

But is it for motivating people that he won the Nobel ? NO. It said that the prize was for his "extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation between peoples." So, does someone get a Nobel for "trying hard" or for "producing results" ?

Mahatma Gandhi never got the Nobel Peace prize, ( All he did was to teach a nation about truth, non-violence, Satyagraha and then take on the mighty British Empire to free India).

Do they give Nobel prizes to scientists for "trying hard" or for "contributing to the knowledge base in their respective fields" ?

I respect the president, but show me the results - "the results" !!!

Evolution Versus Intelligent Design.

In this interesting conversation, Richard Dawkins, the celebrated Oxford University Professor and evolutionary biologist takes on Wendy Wright, a noted creationist. You will see that Wendy's concern is not with "accepting" evolution as a fact, but with its repercussions on the society. She fears (and rightly so) that a society based on Darwinian principles will not be based on love, care and mutual respect. But would you let such a fear blind you from the truth? or would you find God's design in evolution and use it to build the society that you dream of ? I am certain that the Catholic church would some day embrace Darwin (remember Galileo ??) and would come to the conclusion that it was God who put evolution to work. :-).

I am not an atheist and have my personal beliefs about God and religion. But I firmly believe that we should ask questions, search for answers and above all show the courage to walk down the path that science throws light on. Some day when we humans (if we haven't destroyed ourselves already) master inter-galactic and inter- dimensional travel, colonize galaxies billions of light years away, overcome death and become immortal, people would laugh at the days when life began on a tiny little planet called "The Earth" which revolved around a small star called "The Sun" and where the "early men" argued over evolution and intelligent design.

Evening Walks

Arjun is becoming more conscious and curious about the world around him. His vocabulary of baby words is also improving.

Arjun turns ONE !!

Time Flies and a year just swished past us !! My son Arjun has turned ONE. We had a wonderful party this weekend.

Back to Gatlinburg, Tennessee.

May 2009, Re-visit



September 2005, My first visit to Gatlinburg.


The spell of the mountains still overcome me. We drove from Gatlinburg to the Ocanauluftee Indian Village through the mountains, stopping several times to capture the breathtaking views of the clouds nesting among the mountains. Four years ago, I wrote "Gatlinburg, Tennessee is a wonderful place. I remember Ruskin Bond saying that mountains have a magical effect on humans. Standing on one of the rocks in this mountain stream and listening earnestly to its sounds, i felt my spirits lifted, a cloud of calm settled on my otherwise turbulent mind. True, mountains have an inimitable charm, an overpowering presence that can blow away all perturbations of the mind and humble any inflated ego."... Still feel the same !



More details in another post.

Kudos to my Country.

Today, the Congress party swept to a resounding victory in India's national elections, defying expectations as it brushed aside the hindu nationalists, the communists and a legion of small regional parties. I would like to set aside my opinion on what this could mean to the future of India and express my appreciation of how effectively and successfully we have been able to conduct this phased election and choose a government that would now steer the fate of a nation of over a billion people. Those who are aware of the political geography of the subcontinent would be aware of the fact that this nation of a billion people, the largest democracy in the world, has in its neighborhood countries like Pakistan, Afghanistan, Iraq, China, Burma, North Korea and also the Arab world. Preserving and sustaining a vibrant democracy in such a negative environment is an admirable achievement.

Long live democracy, Long live freedom !

The Congress candidate, Shashi Tharoor trumped his nearest rival by close to 100,000 votes in my home constituency. Here are a couple of brilliant speeches by Mr. Tharoor,

CPD Distinguished Speaker Series: Shashi Tharoor - INDIA


Shashi Tharoor: Restoring America's Image in the World