There's life after retirement

Look at Mysore, supposedly a "heaven" for retired people. There are hundreds of them for whom society has done so much during their working years. Can't they spare some time to give back something to society?...Read on..

Mysore Damascus sword

Was Damascus sword made of Indian steel? Did wootz steel originate in Mysore?....Mysore wootz steel: Wootz is the anglicized version of ukku in the languages of the states of Karnataka, and Andhra Pradesh, a term denoting steel. Literary accounts suggest that the steel from the southern part of the Indian subcontinent was exported to Europe, China, the Arab world and the Middle East...Read More

The I-card that made me a convent resident

While my own name figures in our voters’ list, but only at every alternate elections, for some unfathomable reason, the address in my election identity card would have one believe that I do not live at my own house...Read more..

FAQ: What do I do the whole day?

A journalist is seen generally fooling around in coffeehouses or the press club much of the day, dropping in at the office for a while to work the phone and tap a few hundred words on his PC before rushing out for cocktails in the evening. If this is called work,....Read on..

NRN at the Infosys campus, Mysore

One of the girl trainee requested NRN to have a hand shake and he gave it with blessings. He's so good at giving replies, when a trainee feared of asking a silly question, he said "only answers are silly. No questions are silly !" It's like dream for me to listen to the chairman of Infosys who built it from the start, took it to 1billion revenue in 23 years, next 1billion in 23 months and the next 1billion expected in only 12 months, the fastest growing IT company in the world!......Read on..

Wither Indian morality

Is the present generation of parents and grand-parents one bit concerned about how our youngsters are presenting themselves in fashion shows...Read on..

Putting teachers in under-staffed rural schools

Transfer-dodgers, below 53, better be ready to be moved to a zone ‘C’ school, which could be anywhere beyond 15 km from their city municipal limits...Read more...

2007 Aviation Scene

For the consumer, lower fares, more options to travel and better connectivity. Simple, anyone could have told you that. For the Airlines in India, more red ink as each one of them battle for the same piece of the ever expanding pie...Read on..

Mysore Oriya initiative in temple restoration

I was skeptical when I first learnt of the Orissa Association Mysore (OAM) temple restoration project. It is a tough task, taking on a 11th century temple that remained neglected for the last 400 years.....Read on..

Of Punch & Shadow, and a street dog named Brownie

Whenever she phones any of her many sisters the conversation eventually turns to dogs. She talks about Prince with Gowri in Mysore; about Joey, with Chitra, the dead old Tuffy, with Rajesh (both in Chennai). At a recent family get-together in Bangalore, hosted by Gita, the bunch of sisters ran a seminar on dogs....Read on..

On the Mysore HAM front

I am also able to access the repeater from Bangalore with under 1 W with my "Wind powered - Rotatable" 5 element beam facing - somewhere - towards Mysore. That should be interesting. ...Read more..

A run on the highway eateries

In contrast to the chaos at MTR, the Coffee Day next door was relatively empty. Maybe our middle-class clientele isn’t yet ready (or pretentious enough) for the Starbucks culture....Read more..

Run of the Mind - Book Review

I was expecting no more than a mediocre to average text. When I recieved some advance reviews of this book, raving about a "literary genius" and "the voice of the new India" and "a great writer", I was still cynical...... But when I started dipping into this book, I was just stunned. This was some really fine writing here! As I turned the pages, I was often dazzled by his style and a glimpse into a brilliant and wise mind at work...Read more

Pranoy (NDTV) Roy hogs talk time

I wish Mr Roy had let his guest finish his thoughts or have his say without interruption. Before Narayana Murthy finished answering a question Pranoy Roy came up with a fresh one. I am sure TVwalahs have their reason; time constraints. NDTV programme producer could turn around and say, ‘we haven’t the whole day, mate’....Read on..

Living longer; how, and at what cost ?

As a practicing doctor I have been, of late, seeing umpteen cases where with a half-dead relative lying in an intensive care unit, the family is hopelessly lost between desperately clinging on to hope and letting go while literally paying through its nose for every minute of the agonising uncertainty...Read on..

SSLC through Sunday school

Surya Shloka Learning Center meets every Sunday from 11 AM to 12 noon. It is somewhat like a Balvihar with the objective of educating children, growing up in the US, about Hinduism, our culture and traditions..Read more...

Airlines in the news again

It is a glamour industry after all. Underneath it all, there’s very little glamour but a lot of red ink on the bottom lines, be it an American, European, Asian or any other carrier of any other nationality....Read more..

Dr R V Ramakrishna

His achivements are not known to many as he is publicity shy. I feel that it is time for him to get out of this. I have put in some of the material that I could get about Dr RV Ramakrishna in this blog...Read more..

It's my turn to change diapers

A bahu wouldn't bring herself to so banter over diaper changing. A beti would. If I were to pick a defining moment, this was when, I would say, Meera became our beti. And you know what, she didn't let me get my hands on it,...at changing Siddarth's diapers. Read more....

Why we are like this

E R RAMACHANDRAN writes: Anything and everything in Karnataka these days, is reduced to a Big Fight – a prolonged ‘Tu Tu, Main Main’. With whom? Mostly among ourselves!
Also, the State is hell-bent on scuttling projects, which could do wonders for its growth! It’s all self-inflicted. Let’s see a few...Read on ..

Women: A question on their status

As Mrs Graham put it, "I adopted the assumption of many of my generation that women were intellectually inferior to men and that they were not capable of governing, leading, managing anything but our homes and children....Read on...

Battling a crippling bone disease

Of his determination to fight the disease of the bone Sanjay Dalal “If Lance Armstrong can fight cancer, and come out fully recovered and then go on to win Tour De France several times, I can do better in my fight against Osteoporosis. I also have two young kids who are growing and who provide me every incentive every day of the week to become active, get better physically, and play with them”....Read More...

Putting a face to e-mail IDs in my address book

I couldn’t get down to it, presumably, due to the L-factor that seem to afflict many of us Mysoreans. L here stands for lethargy. I plead guilty to name-dropping, in the process saying, thank-you, to those who turned up in response to my e-mail invite, and also those who wrote to say they wished they could make it, to the Regaalis, on November 18 evening...Read on.

Periyar’s Brahmin connection

Mr Nageswaran reckoned that, if only EVR had stayed on in the Congress, and had he been given his due place in the party hierarchy, the Congress might still be in power in Tamilnadu...Read on...

A Mega Coal Power Project and Coastal Ecology

One can only shudder to think the potential for devastation caused on the regional flora, fauna and the society by the destruction of these habitats. In the name of such unsustainable developments, if we continue to destroy thick forests and fertile agricultural lands, how are we going to increase the forest cover from the present level of 19% to 33%, which is a target for National Forest Policy, and also feed the growing population?..... The people of Kerala, Karnataka, Goa, and Maharastra are convinced that the Western Ghats and adjacent areas have already taken more than their share of abuse in the name of development.....Read on

Bone Marrow - You Can Do It Too!

Anyone between the ages of 18-60 in good general health can register. Once you are registered you are registered till you reach the age of 60. So an 18 year old is helping everyone who needs a matching bone marrow for 42 years!.....There are more than 350 medical conditions for which the matching bone marrow is the only life saving remedy available. Your best chance of finding a matching bone marrow is from people of your own kind. ...Even from the people of your own kind the odds of finding a matching bone marrow may be as low as one in one hundred thousands...Read on...

Mysore Mallige Idli - the most soft idli's

And "Mysore mallige rice" sure needs to be branded just like "basmati rice". This variety of rice is exclusively used for making, probably the worlds most soft idli's. ..Read On...

Talking Gandhi over brandy

There is so much information overload that anyone who entertains thoughts of publishing yet another book ought to be either Gandhi's grandson or mentally challenged. Dr. M.S. Rao is neither. And he has a book in the works; and is in search of a publisher....Read on...

Energy security issue

In the background of the ever growing concerns on the fast depleting fossil fuels, and the huge political, economical and environmental issues associated with the nuclear energy, the role of Ministry of New and Renewable Energy Sources (MNRE) becomes all the more evident. But, in the opinion of many industry experts, the policies of the govt. in this regard is leaving much to be desired. I can see two main problems in this regard:... Read on...

A NICE Goodbye!

The Bangalore –Mysore Infrastructure Corridor (BMIC) Project of Nandi Infrastructure Corridor Enterprises ( NICE) is turning out to be a one-way street for fights, affidavits and counter affidavits.....Read On....

Of death and dying

An American woman who “died” during childbirth, but was brought back to life by quick medical action, recounted: “It was an incredible energy—a light you wouldn’t believe.....Read on...

SIEM REAP TRIP ENDS

This blog piece will conclude our trip to Siem Reap, Cambodia. The next day we visited the temple complexes called as the Roluos Group, featuring sites such as Preah Koh, Bakong and Lolei. This group is about 13 kilometers away from the main complexes near town....Read On..

A Mysorean who didn't know his worth

T S Elliot said of Dr V Ramakrishna that he didn't know his own worth, like a flower that is not aware of its own fragrance. Dr S Radhakrishnan was full of admiration and very impressed by his profound modesty, and depth of his learning....Read On