‘Sauda’-giri in Punjab

There is bandh all over Punjab today. Government offices are closed. Even small-street grocery stores aren’t open. People – many of them young boys – are brandishing swords as they roam. The situation is a grim reminder of 1984. Here is the story: Baba Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh (the head of Dera Sacha Sauda, a [...]

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Emptiness Can Mean Different Things

today, I can’t hearmy heart-beat;the sound of painhas vanishedin to an unknown universe. today, I don’t seea facein the moon. the wind doesn’t whisper,memories don’t cry. the picture of a smileis no more visiblewith closed eyes but even the worldof open eyeshas dimmed in to a dropletof rain -seen, and yet unseen. tell me… if [...]

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A Day off at the Wrong Time?

As a first-year graduate student, one has to go through this ordeal called the ‘qualifier exam’ for doctoral studies. Mine is in a couple of days. I’d been working on a topic for a few days, looking at how materials called nanowires actually grow. There is controversy. Some research groups say that the catalyst is [...]

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Now that I have my Toy

I can click!And show you a little bit of Philadelphia… This is where I live…Spring is around… I know it isn’t tidy, but this is exam time…And I should better be studying!

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This Happens only in India

A Boeing 737, stuck in the middle of the road… It appears that after taking a wrong turn, the pilot found himself facing a flyover that was too low for him to take the plane under… The pilot has not been seen since and no-one is assuming responsibility for the 737. If you’re wondering, the [...]

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One Laptop Per Child – heading where?

I had earlier mentioned on this blog about the 100$ laptop being designed for developing countries by the ‘One Laptop per Child’ (OLPC) project. It turns out that the laptops are ready for shipping, but: 1. The cost of each machine will be $175, instead of a hundred dollars.2. Only 3 million machines will be [...]

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A Special Story

Meerowal, Zila Shekhpura,Station: Mehta-Sujja,Punjab, Pakistan.22 August, 1947. It was amidst the scary sound of raindrops on the roof, that Dwarka heard the Sarpanch’s voice on the loudspeaker – “Safety has become an issue, and we have decided that all Hindus must leave this place by tomorrow. Their early departure will make this area more safe, [...]

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