The six tastes in food

Taken from this website:

http://www.ayurvedaamritvani.com/ayurvedic-diet.html

An ideal diet, according to Ayurveda incorporates the six tastes prescribed in the literature and 
comprises a wide variety of fresh fruits, grains and milk.

“Taste” means “Rasa”. It is the sensation perceived by the tongue. Each taste is due to predominance
 of 2 great elements. Each taste has an effect on the body as well as mind. The basic principle of diet
 in Ayurveda is that physical changes as well as mental effects can be observed after consumption 
of different food types. In this way, food can directly and indirectly affect the three doshas of 
an individual. We can achieve a balance in these three doshas by regulating diet.

Madhura (Sweet)

Honey - Image: Courtesy Wikipedia

Madhura means very appealing, pleasant or very sweet. Sweet taste is due to the Water and
 Earth elements. The sweet taste shows qualities or gunas such as cooling, heavy and unctuous.

Physical effects: The sweet taste is related to strength and stability of the body. It pacifies the 
Vata and Pitta doshas. However, an excess of sweet can aggravate Kapha dosha. Sweet 
taste is homologous to body since birth; small babies enjoy the sweet taste of breast milk. 
Food with sweet taste is wholesome; it promotes longevity when consumed in moderation.
 It enhances the growth of all seven tissue-elements. It is beneficial to the health of skin, senses
 and general growth of the body.

Psychological effects: Sweet taste is very pleasant and exhibits pronounced satisfying and 
gratifying effects. It increases cheerfulness, love and compassion. It gives the feeling of love 
but if consumed in excess, it increases greed and attachment.

Adverse effects: If a person consumes excess sweet food, then his Kapha dosha aggravates. 
It can lead to many diseases like obesity, diabetes, lethargy, increased cholesterol etc.

Source: Foods with sweet taste include sugar, honey, sugarcane juice, maple syrup and 
dates to name a few. Foods like rice, wheat, milk and fruits like mango and grapes are also 
good source of sweetness.

Amla (Sour)

Lemons - Image: Courtesy Wikipedia

Amla  means sour taste and is made up of Earth and Fire elements. This taste has qualities
 like lightness, hot and unctuous.

Physical effects: Sour taste increases the digestive power. It exhibits a sharp taste, which 
stimulates salivation and increases the appetite. It pacifies Vata but increases Pitta and Kapha. 
 It promotes strength and stability of tissue-elements. It regulates peristalsis; it regulates 
downward movement of vata and helps in the digestion of food.

Psychological effects: Sour taste is very sharp. It brings alertness to the mind and increases 
attention. It is responsible for bringing appreciation but if consumed in excess it brings out 
hate, jealousy.

Adverse effects: If a person consumes excess food with sour taste, then he will 
experience symptoms like excess thirst, hyperacidity and heartburn. A number of other
 diseases like loss of skin tone, hyperacidity, skin rashes, gastritis and ulcerative colitis.

Source: Citrus fruits like limes, lemons and oranges are good examples of amla food.
 Other food products include sour cream, yogurt, vinegar & fermented food.

Lavana (Salty)

Salt - Image: Courtesy USA Today

Lavana means salty taste and it primarily gives relish to the food. Salty taste is due 
to the predominance of Water and Fire element. Salty taste exhibits qualities like oily, 
heavy and hydrophilic in nature. Salty taste pacifies Vata but increases Pitta and Kapha.

Physical effects: Salty taste has a laxative effect and it removes obstruction from the 
channels (srotas). It liquefies mucus and clears the channels. Apart from this, it improves 
digestion and increases salivation. It balances the blood pressure by maintaining electrolytes
 in the body. It gives muscles strength.

Psychological effects: Salty taste enhances the taste of food so one can enjoy it. This taste
 brings interest and enthusiasm. Hence, generally people show a kind of addiction to the 
salty things.

Adverse effects: Excess consumption of Salty foods causes ill effects like premature 
graying of hair, wrinkles, baldness and inflammatory diseases. It causes water retention 
leading to edema and increase in blood pressure. It also increases Pitta dosha leading to
 hyperacidity.

Source: Sea salt, rock salt and table salt and predominant sources for salty taste. 
Apart from this, consumption of salty food like salted chips, salted nuts also act as sources of this taste.

Katu (Pungent)

Red Cayenne Pepper - Image: Courtesy Wikipedia

Katu means pungent or very hot taste. It shows predominance of Fire and Air elements. 
Pungent food shows qualities like hot, dry and light nature.  Pungent taste pacifies Kapha 
but it aggravates Pitta and Vata.

Physical effects: Pungent taste improves digestion. It stimulates the digestive fire (Agni)
 in the body. It improves circulations and clears the channels. It has an anti-spasmodic 
action. It causes instant watering of eyes and nose if consumed directly.  It produces heat
 in the body and breaks clots in the circulation.

Psychological effects: Pungent taste also has sharp and penetrating effects on the mind. 
It aids the clarity of mind, increases attention and brings clarity of perception.

Adverse effects: Pungent food, if consumed in excess causes irritation and inflammation 
and leads to aggravation of Pitta. It destroys virility. It can cause diarrhea, peptic ulcers, 
giddiness, insomnia and some skin conditions.

Source: Chili pepper, cayenne pepper, habanera pepper and black pepper are sources
 of this taste. Apart from this, spices such as mustard, ginger, garlic and onion are also pungent in taste.

Tikta (Bitter)

Bitter Groud - Image: Courtesy Wikipedia

Tikta meaning bitter taste produces a very unpleasant taste in mouth. In spite of its 
unpleasant taste, it is important to incorporate this taste in our meal. Bitter taste 
shows predominance of Air and Ether elements.  It is cool, dry and light in character.

Physical effects: It demonstrates a strong wormicidal action. It has appetizing effects
 and reduces burning sensation. It gives firmness to the skin and muscles and
 reduces skin diseases by its anti-inflammatory effects. It also demonstrates a cleansing effect.

Psychological effects: Bitter taste helps to withhold the mind and senses from objects of desire.

Adverse effects: Bitter food consumed in excess will produce adverse effects on the body. 
Further, this taste exhibits spermicidal effects. Excess consumption of bitter taste leads to 
loss of strength and energy and increased Vata dosha.

Source: Sources of this taste are bitter gourd and bitter melon. Herbs like neem
 (Azadirecta Indica) are also bitter in taste.

Kashaya (Astringent)

Bananas - Image: Courtesy Wikipedia

Kashaya means astringent taste that occurs due to the predominance of Air and
 Ether elements. It is heavy, dry and cooling in nature. It gives an immediate drying
 sensation in mouth on consumption.

Physical effects: By its drying property, kashaya absorbs water and helps in binding
 stools. It constricts the different channels of the body. It purifies blood by its anti-inflammatory
 effects. It reduces Pitta and Kapha but it increases Vata dosha in the body.

Psychological effects: Astringent substances help the mind to become collected
 or organized. But excess consumption of this taste causes insomnia, anxiety and depression.

Adverse effects: Excess use of astringent food causes choking sensation and difficulty
 in speaking. It causes constipation along with distension of abdomen. It affects the 
sperm count and can even reduce the sex drive. Prolonged consumption may lead to 
emaciation of the body.

Source: Unripe banana, chickpeas, alum and okra are good sources of astringent taste.

Nature's art is the best!

Here is a snap of a delightful wonder of a plant in the nearby public park. Watch Nature's art - how the leaves are tucked in better than the best origami. How we can't make out whether it is a flower or a leaf!

What life has taught me

I read a short piece by a great saint about what life had taught him. He referred to a few small episodes which left a deep imprint of learning on him. I started to think, what has life taught me?

I list a few:

       ( taken at butterfly garden, Singapore)

1. Be bold, be enthusiastic, be quick. 
2. You can get a lot more done than you think.
3. We think of ourselves as YouTube videos, constantly changing and evolving with time. We think of others instead as Picasa photos, static and unchanging. The reality is that like us, others also constantly change.
4. NOBODY= no saint, no astrologer, no self-proclaimed master knows the total reality. 
5. Reality is supreme, sacrosanct, and cares for none. I mean, it is not obliged to anyone.
6. We are all constantly searching for something outside. Actually the ultimate truth and happiness are both within us. I mean within me.
7. Looking for a mantra? Forget it. Every mantra is a process of self-hypnosis, living in your own web. Connecting with Reality is the only mantra.
8. Everyone gets a chance, everyone can be happy. It is NOT a Zero-Sum game.
9. Writing what life has taught me is somewhat silly. Because learning cannot ever end or be complete.
10. Be open. Be truthful. Be loving and be giving. 
11. The biggest recipe for unhappiness is to expect the other to be perfect in loving and giving as I expect them to be or do.

What lovely place is this?

Monterosso el Mare, Italy 

I won't reveal my secret way to search Google fast, but let me tell you it took me less than one minute.

I am a Googlu!!!!

Instant Expert Noodles or Googlus

I am not saying anything new here. From NaMo to Obama,  everyone swears by the power of Google. And if you are smart enough to get a smart phone and save 22 days of time waste every year,  you would also know the power of Google.

The last time,  or an important time I used google to win something, was in Sept. 2008. I was part of a team activity set up by GE along the Seine river in Paris. We were teams in different boats who were sailing up and down and getting clues to a treasure hunt.  The last and toughest was a question about when Peugeot Citroen closed their factory that we could see along the Seine, some time in 80's.

Nobody could find out that answer from their boats even though that derelict factory was staring at us from the bank. Well, I had an iPhone with 3G courtesy Telstra.  I found the answer in about 10 sec. And our team won.

That is the trouble with google. You think you're an expert just because you could just google something and find out some factoid which you can throw at everyone.

I call you, if you are one such insufferable human, an Instant Expert Noodle. Named after the Top Ramen inventor who gave the tired factory-worker Japanese noodles that were  hot,  tasty and ready in a few minutes. Instant Nirvana.

But as you know,  all haikus are not born equal,  especially the google kind.

There is also a mystique about IEN's.  They are going to replace gurus.  So i call them googlus.  In fact some of our new gurus are IEN's anyway.

Let me find out what place this is....

What tennis teaches us

Today I read this article first published by NYT on how Djokovic was discovered and trained by a great woman, Jelena Gencic. That was the period when a war was raging and lives were getting wiped out in their midst:

“I went to practice with Novak and three other boys,” Gencic said in Belgrade in 2010. “There were many other boys and girls, and when they were on the tennis court, they don’t think about bombs. That’s the point of, the reason of, practicing. You don’t think about that.”

Gencic remembered picking practice sites based on where the bombs had fallen the night before, reasoning that NATO would not bomb the same place again.

“I could feel it in my house; it was terrible,” she said. “My sister was very hurt by the bombs and 16 months later she died.”

But the tone of that interview was surprisingly not bitter. Though Gencic expressed regret that she had lost touch with Djokovic at that stage and expressed resentment toward Srdjan for not keeping her better informed, she remembered the eight years they did spend in each other’s frequent company with great tenderness.

“Oh, special boy, that boy was unbelievable,” she said. “Very intelligent. He knew very well what to do, how much to do. He listens, and every word it was, ‘Please tell me again.’ And I’d say, ‘Did you understand me?’ And he would say, ‘Yes, but please, tell me again.’ He wanted to be so sure.” UNQUOTE

This woman died a few days ago, with an unfulfilled wish to touch and hold the French Open trophy along with her pupil after he would win it one day. I believe Djokovic was given the news of her passing after an important match and broke down...

Of course Novak is an unbelievable competitor and the top talent in tennis today. It is so Significant for me how tennis becomes a paradigm for life itself, with all its challenges, and how with the help of a life coach we can achieve our goals relentlessly.

There is also a synonym for relentless.  That is Nadal.  And today again, I read Nirmal Shekar write about him in the Hindu:

Ah, paying attention! What a simple thing, you might think. But it is, in fact, a difficult practice, a seriously endangered process of cultural learning in an age when your senses are bombarded all the time by all kinds of distractions.

In the event, it was with an anguished sense of nostalgia that I remembered my teacher’s words from another age, on Friday.

Watching Rafael Nadal pay attention to the moment, especially when it happens to be a passage of play charged with meaning, is like watching a great scientist — perhaps on the verge of a Nobel-deserving discovery — pace his laboratory, solitary and single-minded.

Living in the now, being present all the time — these are not just quasi-philosophical clichés that have turned many life coaches, especially of Asian origin, into celebrity multi-millionaires in Silicon Valley and Hollywood. UNQUOTE

I wish the likes of Federer, Djokovic, and my favourite, Nadal well. They are the exemplars of what is excellence in every breath.

High time they did this co-marketing!!!

Guys, I was just thinking. Days are tough and marketing budgets are getting cut day after day!!

And there are so many products that are bought by the same sets of  people, depending on demographics. So why don't we think of co-marketing and co-placement of products?

To explain my idea, here are some examples that come readily to mind:

THE TOWN's BIGGEST AND BEST BURGER ----------XXXL CLOTHING for the large hearted, large waisted!!!

The town's  best Texan steak, large, succulent, and rich red meat --------Free Creatinine test in this walk-in Lab for master health check-ups!!!!!!

Only CEO's PLEASE for our latest and best Bond suits. ----- try this Isabgol for constipation!!!!!!!!!!

Tips on Creativity

I copy below this set of tips on jump-starting your creativity by Nellie Akalp of Corp.net, that I just read in pulse.com:      .

BY NELLIE AKALP1 day ago

Whether you want to design a new product, devise a tagline for a client or solve a scheduling problem, creative thinking gives you an undeniable edge. However, we can't just summon creativity on a whim; when we need it most, it's nowhere to be seen.

If you’re in need of more outside-the-box, inventive thinking at work, here are five ways to boost your creativity.

1. Ditch the quiet office.

Unlike detail-oriented, analytical thinking, creativity thrives amidst moderate distraction. That’s why it’s so hard to get the creative juices flowing when you shut the door and block out all distractions.

Researchers at the University of Illinois found that a moderate level of ambient noise induces “process disfluency.” In short, distractions disrupt the flow of thought, leading to more abstract, broader and creative thinking. Researchers also found that noise had to be at a moderate level (around 70 decibels, the equivalent of a radio/TV in the background or someone running a vacuum cleaner) to enhance creativity. Lower or higher levels did not have positive impacts on creativity.

If you’re attempting to think of a creative solution, try distracting yourself by working at a café or park bench.

2. Silence the inner critic.

Whenever we churn out something out-of-the-ordinary, we open ourselves to scrutiny and criticism. In many cases, our own inner critic is the most effective at shooting things down. It’s hard to be creative when you’re constantly worried that x, y or z won’t be good enough.

When children draw, they don’t worry about making mistakes; they take risks, do their own thing and have fun. Yet if most adults picked up a sketchpad, they would start thinking, "That doesn’t look right," "that’s not good enough" from the very beginning.

The inner critic tightens your mind and blocks creative flow, so find any way to silence this negative voice. For example, give yourself permission to brainstorm by automatically writing down ideas as you think of them — then worry later whether they're any good.

3. Experiment with your work environment.

While the distractions of cafés and park benches can help inspire creativity, try to make changes in your workspace itself. For example, studies have shown that the complexity and interchanging notes of Mozart’s sonatas and other classical music can have a positive (albeit short-term) impact on spatial reasoning skills and creative thinking.

In addition to music, you can experiment with color. A 2009 study at the University of British of Columbia found the color blue led to more relaxed and creative thinking, while red boosted performance on more detail-oriented tasks like proofreading.

"Thanks to stop signs, emergency vehicles and teachers' red pens, we associate red with danger, mistakes and caution," said Juliet Zhu, author of the study. "The avoidance motivation, or heightened state, that red activates makes us vigilant and thus helps us perform tasks where careful attention is required to produce a right or wrong answer.

“Through associations with the sky, the ocean and water, most people associate blue with openness, peace and tranquility. The benign cues make people feel safe about being creative and exploratory,” Zhu added.

4. Sift out the busy work.

If your days, weeks and months are packed with “getting things done,” you’re not leaving any time to experiment. Google famously lets its employees use 20% of their workweeks to pursue special projects.

Considering that strategy has worked out pretty well for Google, you might want to try something similar for yourself. Try to carve out some free time every day (even if it’s just 10-20 minutes) to step away from the computer or other obligations and let yourself think.

5. Branch out beyond your comfort zone.

Steve Jobs once said, “A lot of people in our industry haven't had very diverse experiences. So they don't have enough dots to connect, and they end up with very linear solutions.” Sometimes the best path to creative and inventive thinking is to be intentional about experiencing new things in life.

If you’re experiencing a creative block, try picking up a magazine you wouldn’t normally read, have lunch with a friend in a different field or attend an event way outside your industry. Since you don’t know where an idea will come from, feel free to look anywhere and everywhere for your next source of inspiration.

Cherry Blossoms on 12th Main

An incredible balancing act.

Beauty, harmony, balance ... on so many levels. A truly amazing balancing act. Dance artist Miyoko Shida was born in Fukuyama-shi, Japan. She performed as a dancer and choreographer at the Rigolo Nouveau Cirque in Switzerland and currently lives in Paris, France.
Click on the link to watch her balance several palm leaf stems with incredible ease and confidence. What does it take to do THAT!

http://bit.ly/1240WrI

The fascination of trains

Today's Economic Times:

India: works in progress

Sir Alex Ferguson

There are many things I don't understand. For example leadership this good,  this long,  in the world's best sport,  football. Just saw this in Economic Times today.

Dig your well before you're thirsty

Bangalore has about 10 million people supported by an extremely fragile water resource system. Everyday illiterate and corporate hires are trooping in for jobs and shelter. Double decker trains are pouring in people from neighbouring states lured by their well-heeled cousins flaunting their fortunes, stories of the local airconditioned weather and the supposed upbeat job market. Northeastern, UP, Bihar and Odisha states are supplying huge numbers of security guards,  roadside stall cooks and construction labour.

What about drinking water for all these people? An old adage is 'dig your well before you're thirsty' .  Bangalore's famous network of lakes and parks won admiration for Sir MV and he later built Secunderabad, Jaipur and Nagpur cities' infrastructure. Even today, all those old Bangalore lakes can be seen in old Raj photographs. 

But now, a poor sewage and water supply system run by corrupt officials is the only infrastructure for India's shining IT capital. Sometimes newspapers report that Cauvery has only 15 days drinking water reserve for our mega-city. Everyone is waiting for the rains! Depressing,  is it not?

Yesterday I went and saw something different. Just amazing. 10 km beyond Bannerghatta,  Ramakrishna Mission, Shivanahalli is creating a new chapter in ecology. Swami Vishnumayananda started planting tree saplings there,  brought from Western Ghats, back in 1980's against much scepticism and opposition. Now there are interested volunteers coming and taking it further in this amazing afforestation scheme. Google it and read for yourself. 

Their website: http://www.rkmission-shivanahalli.org/

I attach some photos.

The swami built lakes to make the forest sustainable.  His forest attracts all kinds of wild life as well as interested volunteers.
This could be a new chapter in our thirsty world.

The Economist: India's labour force

I just read the latest Economist online:

During the boom of the 1990s and 2000s it became fashionable to talk of India's demographic dividend – evoking the experiences of East Asia. There, working-age populations rose at the same time as the ratio of dependents to workers fell. An associated rise in the rate of saving allowed more investment, helping the vast expansion of manufacturing that employed those workers and lifted hundreds of millions of people out of poverty. India's fertility rate dropped substantially in the 1980s and 1990s, and its working age population is expected to expand by 125m over the next decade. But now India's GDP growth rate has fallen to half of its peak rate. The country's record on job creation has been poor, households are redirecting their savings out of the financial system into physical assets, and manufacturers remain wary of labour rules and infrastructure bottlenecks.

'You're going bald.'

We worship 330 million gods and goddesses with enough hair to cover the 3 worlds in a thick blanket.

Indians are the butt of jokes about this craze for whitening creams and hair dyes. But we call our gods as Keshava, Jatadhara, Neelaveni and Charukeshi. All words to show good hair.

When you hear the dreaded words that you're going bald, laugh. This article will help you.

Hair Is Wasted On The Hairful -

Bangalore's beautiful buses.

There was a time when travelling even a few miles by bus from Basavanagudi to Maharani's College near Majestic used to be an ordeal. After standing in a long line, my mother had to climb up into a crowded aisle and hang on to a strap from the roof as the overloaded, dirty, bus ploughed through traffic for the best of an hour. An ordeal she went through for many years. 

In most Indian cities people bought scooters and mini cars because the alternative of public buses was a mirthless waste of time. There would also be pickpockets and purse snatchers to boot. 

The bus driver would see a milling crowd hanging around restively at a stop and manage to draw them forward in a race of the fittest as he stopped several yards beyond the stop. Old people and women or those with any luggage had no chance of making it.

There is a sea change now. I see snazzy Volvo's cruising with people seated comfortably in air conditioned comfort. I see them reading,  chatting on mobiles, or texting, or listening to music. Many dose off as these luxurious liners move for long periods from one end of town to other. Tickets are not cheap but still less than auto fare. Anyway IT salaries more than take care of it. And for women and old people it is good to travel now. It is a better choice than driving in your large car and getting stuck in jams as scooterists nudge around and knock off rear view mirrors. 

Here is a shot of what I saw this morning. Such a nice bus indeed.

Broken Horses

Went to vote at the nearby primary school. After an eventful BJP rule in Karnataka we are electing a new state assembly. They had a Russian roulette of chief ministers and deeply excavated scams of huge amounts stretching to many digits and states.

I want a strong guy to rule India. I prefer an articulate and clean leader who listens to growth ideas and implements them well. Yes I mean someone like Modi.

Someone told me the BJP states have done rather well in implementing UPA funded central growth programmes even better than Congress governments in states. 

I want no communal politics.

I am sick of Karnataka being called endemically corrupt. 

I took this photo. It is a pile of rocking horses meant for primary school kids to play with in the school. They say we must choose horses for courses. These rocking horses all lie broken. Which one will resurrect and run to win?

Music and biscuits.

Folks,
OK, let me say it. Music is like biscuits.

As you let that sink in slowly, let me give you some context.

It is that unearthly hour of a dark silent warm cozy night. I have been listening to and watching RKM on ustream.tv. I have got IPL last over finishes and its zillion ads under my skin. And don't mind confessing that the music is swirling in my being and giving me a good feeling. How to describe it? Yes, how to name it, as Ilayaraja once asked?

I just got it! RKM's music is like a biscuit...

For NRIs, wannabie NRIs and ABCDs amongst us, a biscuit is that freshly baked little or big honourable calorie snack that you call a cookie. What makes the large modern mall attractive is its wafting aromas of freshly baked biscuits as I would call them or cookies as you might. Cookies or biscuits as I prefer do not go overboard like doughnuts or pretzels. They show the middle path in the modern world of instant gratification where man struggles for escape from his prison of ice creams, burgers, chips, and coffee. As Asok said in the Dilbert strip yesterday, we Indians love our bread and starchy food. So biscuits is God's answer to our prayers. From humble me to the big B, we love biscuits. Too much for our own good.

And RKM's music is like THIS biscuit: fresh, fragrant, not too sweet, not too creamy, yet so crunchily delectable and something I can savour every bite. Just for reference, imagine the famous Pune's Kayani's Shrewsbury, fresh from the oven at 10:45 AM, and make it even crunchier, with a touch of coconut, cummin, somehow hinting at caramel- but without oodles of butter and sugar- no orange or chocolate smears, no hidden nuggets, no layers upon layers you need to deconstruct, no cloying sweetness packed into Parle G like gujjus in Santa Cruz. The ideal biscuit is like a short comfortable memorable scenic train journey from Palghat to Shoranur,

So, can you relate to my thoughts? What kind of a biscuit is your favourite musician?

Sachi R

RKM is short for Ramakrishnan Murthy, a brilliant 23 year-old Carnatic musician.

Epilogue:

High time we said something about biscuits in Sanskrit:

BISCUIT nAmaka bhakshaNam
rasamayam lokE sadA-swAdanam
yAtrE gAyaka-ruchikaram bahutaram
atyaMta AmOditam

MARIE bodhita madhukaram
priyakaram svalpam sadA-sEvanam
rasyam snigdhataram gurubalam
rasika-janA-lambitam.

(Note: It seems Carnatic musicians have often relied on Marie biscuits during long train journeys to keep body and soul together.)

A 2013 IPL Prayer

Dear God,

Don't tempt me with so many ice creams and chocolates and
give me real mangoes instead of Maaza, Fruiti and Rasna.

Take away those poorly made-up dumbo bimbo cheer-leaders.
They are wasted and can be busy elsewhere.

Make commentators explain those Zoo-zoo ads to people around as I can't be bothered.

Send back Rameez Raza and such inane commentators to their homeland.

It almost seems except two or three teams everyone else knows how to win a game and so don't you think we have way too many matches? Why can't we play playoffs just now?

Phone stuff

"I would have felt sorry for the Lord."

I quote from this link: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887324743704578444913060125542.html

U.S. NEWS Wall Street Journal
Updated April 25, 2013, 7:28 p.m. ET
Theory of Einstein's Proved Right—Again
By GAUTAM NAIK

Scientists have subjected Albert Einstein's famous theory of gravity to its toughest real-world test so far—and it has prevailed.

The theory, which was published nearly a century ago, had already passed every test it was subjected to. But scientists have been trying to pin down precisely at what point Einstein's theory breaks down, and where an alternative explanation would have to be devised.

Einstein's framework for his theory of gravity, for example, is incompatible with quantum theory, which explains how nature works at an atomic and subatomic level.

Consider that for a black hole, Einstein's theory "predicts infinitely strong gravitational fields and density. That's nonsensical," said Paulo Freire, an astrophysicist at the Max Planck Institute for Radioastronomy in Germany and co-author of the study, which appears in the journal Science.

And so scientists are testing the general theory not because they think it is wrong but because they are certain it can't be the final explanation—just as Isaac Newton's notion of gravitational force was superseded by Einstein's.

Einstein's general theory of relativity states that objects with mass cause a curvature in space-time, which we perceive as gravity. Space-time, according to Einstein's theories of relativity, is a four-dimensional fabric woven together by space and time.

For example, a bowling ball causes a dent in a mattress, and that dent changes the otherwise straight motion of a nearby marble on the same mattress. Similarly, the mass of the sun distorts the space-time around it. A body with less mass, like the earth, travels along one path in that distorted space, which we call its orbit.

Dr. Freire and his colleagues put Einstein to the test in a cosmic laboratory 7,000 light years from earth, where two exotic stars are circling each other. One, known as a white dwarf, is the cooling remnant of a much lighter star. Its companion is a pulsar, which spins 25 times every second. Though the pulsar is just 12 miles across, it weighs twice as much as the sun.

"When you have such a big mass in such a small space you have extremely high gravity," said Charles Wang, a theoretical physicist at the University of Aberdeen, Scotland, who wasn't involved in the study.

The gravity on the pulsar's surface is 300 billion times as great as the gravity on Earth. The conditions there approach the relentless, overwhelming power of a black hole, which swallows even light.

"We're testing Einstein's theory in a region where it has never been tested before," said Dr. Freire.

The pulsar and white dwarf pair emit gravitational waves and the binary star system gradually loses energy. As a result, the stars will move closer to each other and orbit faster. Einstein's theory suggests the stars' orbital periods—the time they take to go around each other—ought to shrink by about eight-millionths of a second per year.

Dr. Freire's and his colleagues used several telescopes to take precise measurements of the two-star system. Their results perfectly matched the Einstein-based prediction.

Though Einstein's framework remains intact so far, "the study is significant for the way observations by astronomers are helping to identify new, extreme cases" to test his general theory of gravity, said Dr. Wang.

Einstein's theory was first—and dramatically—confirmed during a solar eclipse within four years of its publication, making him an instant celebrity. When asked how he would have felt if he had been proven wrong, Einstein replied: "I would have felt sorry for the Lord. The theory is correct."

Photo: http://si.wsj.net/public/resources/images/OB-XF813_0425ei_G_20130425153714.jpg

Inventive India

Whenever I heard people talk about how India gave everything to the world- yes, everything including salt, pepper, zero, OM, yoga, pranayama, planetary motion theory, rocketry, boson, yes, everything- I laughed. I said to myself, what kind of people are we who must constantly need to stress that we are better than everyone else and we invented everything the world has seen. Well. Let me tell you, I just discovered today - somewhere near Trinity Circle during a bumpy auto ride - that I was wrong and India was INDEED THE MOST INVENTIVE NATION ON EARTH.

When India came back from Montreal Olympics with zero medals, someone had joked: INDIA GAVE THE WORLD ZERO AND THE WORLD GAVE IT BACK.

Jaggi the Sadhguru often jokes that we are free with zeroes when we tell mythology stories because we after all invented zero -Dasharatha ruled for 60000 years - and he gives a big cinematic chuckle.

But let me give you JUST four examples to prove the point that Indians have been in fact the MOST inventive. If you have questions after this, come back and I will give you more examples.

WHY INDIA INVENTED ZERO
To start with, whatever number of things you have, say 'n', this number is bound to change over time. Sooner or later, you will encounter a number called ZERO. Zero means nothing. Like zero rate of growth etc. Like zero down payment, zero interest rate etc. So it is better to be acquainted with zero. We invented it therefore. By the way we also invented INFINITY - 'ananta'.

WHY INDIA INVENTED YOGA
Try squeezing into a railway berth. Or a peak hour train in Bombay. Or a school kids-ferrying auto. Or one of our cheap-fare plane seats. Or some public utility places. You will understand the need for developing a skill to contort your body. Our ancient seers foresaw that we would far exceed a billion population quickly and we would then need to have a way to squeeze ourselves into the available space of the land. So they invented YOGA. When you see a yogi doing an impossible twisted pose, you will understand that he or she will be able to negotiate any kind of space in India.

WHY INDIA INVENTED OM
We Indians often brag, in the International Arrivals hall to our overseas guests, that India has hundreds of languages and dozens of scripts. They begin to wonder whether we are a nation of mad people, speaking so many languages and hence barely understanding one another. Take the simple word Shiva. They say Shiv in the North, Shibo in East, Shiva in the west, Siva in the South. We can never get to agree on any name or word nationwide. So they invented a mystic syllable which would be hard to corrupt with spellings and accents : OM. They said whatever word you start with, you end up with Om. And also, since we Indians are so fond of eating sweets, they made all sweets round so that we can say Om and pop in a nice gulab jamun, rossa gulla, laddu or gol gappa in the mouth. What a great idea sir-ji!

WHY WE INVENTED PRANAYAMA
Try taking a walk on any street for more than five minutes. You will have to close your nostrils to some indescribable smell. I will not say it is stench. In fact I once read that we create these bad smells in street corners to ward off evil spirits. Surely these smells will ward off any kind of life or after-life. So how do you deal with this?
We invented special methods of holding your breath, called PRANAYAMA. The result? We can manage any kind of air quality or smell. In any kind of location from fish markets to Bangalore streets. I heard that when Bhopal had the gas tragedy, people did pranayama and survived with no bad effects! What a brilliant solution to a global problem!!!!!

Come on. You have to agree we are the most inventive nation on earth.

A gated lizard

When I went to my sister's Jhargram ashram, I found lots of big lizards on their walls.  At almost every gathering, they would add insightful 'tctch tctch' sounds of comments.  I asked why they wouldn't do something to reduce their burgeoning  lizard population.  I was then told that to ward off 'tick tickie's as they are called by Bengalis, the best thing would be to put peacock  feathers on the wall! Perhaps the lovely peacocks are fed a steady diet, by doting mother hens, of lizards to improve their voice culture!

I found some humongous lizards roaming freely on Sri Lanka's roads. They looked like dinosaurs broken free from a Spielberg set. I asked my local friends if they didn't harm people. They told me not normally, except on occasion they would go and eat up a baby in the cradle!

Lizards come where there's cockroaches and such. So they ought to be common in Indiranagar with its greenery, bad sewage, and farmland soil.  But ever since we painted our house a couple of years ago, there is a big drop in cockroaches  at home.  Once we netted our windows,  even mosquitoes are rare visitors. But my folks announced the other day that they had spotted a giant lizard at home.  I did see him too, every morning basking in the early morning northeasterly light and breeze in the window.  Perhaps he was missing the wide open spaces?

I decided to open the window and let him go.  And when I did,  I found that the doesn't want to go out! He loves our gated community - plenty of nibbles, IPL matches and Carnatic music.Apart from fascinating gossip on occasion. But unlike Bengali lizards, he doesn't join the adda conversations.

Well, no traffic hassles or carbon pollution for our gated lizard. So here I am, writing this from my couch and let me share his XpZ portrait too. Like any good couch potato or gated lizard, he poses well for photos.

Dolls of Distinction

No surprise here: Barbie Dolls outfitted for more fancy careers cost a lot more!

Read the Economist: http://econ.st/152qXao

Sorry, no hot chillies.

The world is, let us face it, not doing so well. Ok, Modi is making some great speeches. Gayle is hitting some great sixes. Virat Kohli and Gautam Gambhir are having a decent spat. But is that enough?

Don't you see SRK is tired of all his flop shows? Don't you know Apple has lost billions in market cap? Don't you see that newspapers are full of stories of infanticide, patricide, scam after scam and Wikileaks? Even that an Indian lady earns a top legal post in America is not unadulterated good news, as Obama is faulted for a sexist gaffe.

History knows that in such uncertain or depressing times, man resorts to food and drink as escape. Binge eating and drinking is known to be a remedy. Every big festival in India at least means a feast. Elsewhere at least it is an occasion for drinking.
 
Yesterday, we celebrated Ugadi.  It is the beginning of the Hindu new year. This year has the name Vijaya which means victory or success. So everyone is happy.

Lots of people yesterday ate a lot of obbattus.  If you don't know what obbattu means, it is a fine Kannada sweet delicacy - a pancake made of lentil, flour and sugar or Jaggery. 
Not only are you supposed to stuff yourself with lots of obbattus (add ghee, fine sugar and milk to taste!), but you are supposed to brag about how good and how many obbattus you ate.

Bad news now. No obbattus for me yesterday. Worse news. The worst ever. The chillies, which I love so much,  have lost their 'hotness'. They are a bit like Manmohan speeches.
If chillies lose their flavour, it means God has become clueless as to how to fix the world. That we will have a bumper mango crop this season looks to me to be an empty promise.

India and USA - some numbers

From World Wiki iPhone app:
India vs. USA has 11 times higher population density. India has more water as % of land mass. But since we have relatively 50% more water densjtybbut 1100% more people density, sorry, we remain relatively thirsty.

Lost Kingdom

When I was living in Sydney, Australia, I was tickled to find that every suburb and town had streets named George Street,  Oxford Street and on.  It was as if the English immigrants had all missed their old home so much that they tried to create the me-too towns and streets that gave them restored pride and comfort.
America is full of places like New York and New Hampshire and New England. All harking back to a lost kingdom in their minds perhaps?

I find something similar in India too. Many pilgrimage centres in south India are called Dakshina Kashi, Dakshina Badari, Dakshina Dwaraka and so on. Is it that these places reminded pilgrims from the north who came and settled down here in the south, of their old homes? Is it that some religious leaders were telling local people that one needn't anymore travel up north to seek spiritual merit?  Or is it that saints found similar vibrations in these places?

I for one always go for the original. Give me a place and a temple which has its own history,  merit, and attractiveness. Me-too doesn't interest me.

Tiarella? at Bilekahalli

Sony Xperia Z

When Bangalore gets too hot

Here are ten things I do in the hottest March Bangalore has seen in 15 years:
1. Sit next to a cool,silent, table fan like Havell or Croma ( you can buy one for < Rs 2000).
2. Pour over myself one third bucket of water saved overnight every 6 hours. ( you can do it 3 times a day from one 25 lit bucket).
3. Stay on the lowest floor possible (no hot ceilings).
4. Drink LOTS of water, again saved overnight, or if you can handle it, from the fridge.
5. Eat fruits and vegetable salads.
6. Drink butter milk instead of coffee or tea.
7. Drink tender coconut water ( you get great ones at your doorstep at around Rs 15 each)
8. Go eat MTR fruit salad with ice cream.
9. Take a siesta in my lazy boy.
10. Think of Chennai, Hyderabad and Calcutta - they are hotter!

Beyond Satyameva Jayate

Kumar Gandharva - how to tell a story.

Dear rasikas,
Thanks to my good friend Varsha, I am revisiting some great moments with Kumar Gandharva over the years. I want you to enjoy these two WONDERFUL narratives about a man who discovered God through music:
1. Shabnam Virmani's classic : http://bit.ly/kumargkoisuntahai
2. Films Division Documentary on Kumar Gandharva: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cLw5sZ273vM

A few things for those few who may not know Kumar Gandharva:
-b. 1924 near Dharwad, began singing famous Bal Gandharva and other masters' songs at the age of 8, well enough to merit the title Kumar Gandharva.
- was a star already when he enrolled in Deodhar music academy in Bombay for methodical training.
- married his own student Bhanumati in mid 1940s.
- was stricken with TB and doctors said he didn't have a chance to sing any more, and he went away to Devas in Malva region of MP a sad recluse.
- was nursed back to health by his wife in mid-50s, and rediscovered himself and found a new path to music through Kabir Vani.
- created a new chapter in Hindustani music shorn of gharana tabs and sang thematic concerts for many years afterwards.
- lost his first wife, a great woman...remarried another disciple, and left behind a great legacy and many talented students.

Coming to these two films, unlike many films I have seen especially on South Indian artistes, these two films are not a series of eulogies using words like fantastic, incarnation, prodigy, musicians musician and so on; they are carefully-worded sincere (non-self-projecting) attempts to describe what was unique about the man and his music, with examples and musical audio/video clips. At the end of it all, you are left in a world of music and artistic sensibilities that go beyond hagiography.

The visual content of the films is also very artistic and moving.

I will surely recommend this as a BIG Sunday treat!!!

Ciao
Sachi R

Slouch trouble

From Economic Times Corporate Dossier today:

Life has no clean lines.

Satyam, Shivam, Sundaram - values to live by

The expression "Satyam Shivam Sundaram" invokes very happy vibrations in most Hindus. This expression is associated with the Vedas (Rig Veda, Rudra worship etc.?) and comes often in discussions of Adi Shankara's works. I read this morning a chapter on Saundarya Lahari - interpretations by the Kanchi Paramacharya. He explains that Devi, the mother goddess, is depicted by Shankara as the ultimate confluence of overflowing love = goodness and physical bodily beauty and that confluence can happen only in godhead. Man connects with everything that is beautiful and good instinctively, and that is because these values seem intrinsic to the loftier ideals of humanity.

I think Plato talked of Truth, Beauty and Goodness as abiding values for the philosophic progress of mankind. I just found a fine lecture by Steiner in 1923 on this theme.

Therefore these values of "Satyam Shivam Sundaram" = "Truth Goodness and Beauty" seem universal aspects of philosophical thought from time immemorial.

Osho has given a series of very beautiful lectures called Satyam Shivam Sundaram. He says that whereas "Sat-Chit-Anand" is a goal to be pursued in meditation, Satyam Shivam Sundaram is the external manifestation of the same ultimate reality that we can connect with in the world of creation.

Precisely. I think all values and philosophies start with me, as the perceiving, thinking, living entity. Without me, there is no Satyam Shivam Sundaram. Just as all conceptions of God, whatever religion and whatever deities we may worship, are only projections of our own philosophical pursuits and values.

Poetry and prayer are rooted in our conception of God or the Ultimate Reality. We can build fantastic treatises and books of prayer to expand this, and expound to others our thinking. That results in cults and religions. That results in beautiful works like Saundarya Lahari.

We can even connect mathematics, geometry, physics, music, art, and everything else in human artistic and scientific endeavour to this basic infrastructure of values of Truth Beauty and Goodness. Fundamentally, it all starts with human consciousness. That is the core principle. So Ramana said, ask yourself, "Who am I"
When I understand universal connectedness of consciousness, I think I have arrived. All the books and songs about "truth, goodness and beauty", and even, let me say it, Raj Kapoor's eponymous film, are entertainment on the way. It is like keeping school children entertained in a picnic with songs, dances and games so they don't get lost in the woods!

Now my own thoughts.

The first, truth, is something absolute, unassailable, undistortable. All pursuit of reality has to be based on truth. Truth is beyond sentiment, beyond preferences, beyond distortions. Of course absolute truth is beyond comprehension. But pursuing truth as a value is something like taking in a pathology report or a school marks card or report card. We may like to see something else, or we can project it into the past or future, but truth is something which is 100% The Present, not memory or wish. It is the basis of any progress. It is a bit like walking. In order to take the next step, I have to deal with the reality of the earth beneath my feet.

The second, goodness, is even more separated from my own preferences. When I see goodness, I have to appreciate it even if it is against me. For example, if I have a need for something selfish or mean, and someone is being good in denying me this, I have to deal with it. In fact if I am very self-centered, I often do not see goodness. I can be childish, churlish, corrupt or mean. I need to pursue the value of goodness by overcoming this. Goodness here is not a quality like fresh or pleasant, don't believe the ads. Goodness is an intrinsic quality of loving and giving. It is in the people, and even in abstract ways in things, like the cool and still water that nourishes the thirsty birds and animals in summer or the early morning sun.

And beauty is about MY preferences and desires! I like a sky-blue colour for my car. I like a nice warm pinkish glow in the cheek of a baby. I like the sparkle of beautiful music, the striking appeal of a well-done dance movement. Beauty is an ideal that exists in the abstract, but lives in my consciousness. That is why the bard said beauty is in the beholder's eye.

Now why this sequence? Because truth is inviolable and cannot be wished away. It is something universal. Goodness is a real, palpable, feel-able thing, for which I have to go beyond my selfishness and ego. Goodness connects me with the rest of humanity and creation. And beauty is a luxury, a value that I will embrace when I become a fuller being, a more developed consciousness. In fact at that level, it makes the three-fold value my personal path to liberation.

Truth goes beyond you and me. Goodness starts with you. Beauty starts with me. But to pursue the trio, my consciousness is the basic pre-condition.

Sunday @ the park

Sony Xperia Z photos

In the silence of the night

My newest Gizmo Sony Xperia Z

Well, I shall act all proud and shy and what not as you applaud my newest acquisition bought with hard earned money and hard suppressed craving. It's the latest and greatest Sony mobile phone. It is the sixth Sony phone I have owned. Apple and Sony are my two favourite gadget brands. Unlike Bose with which I have an uneasy intimacy, with these two I have pure love. I forgot to list Canon DSLRs and Lumix point & shoots. For their design, user interface, quality, reliability and long life. My second android phone this, sports everything I want in a phablet, and works fine as a phone too. I was one of the first to own it in Bangalore, but they sold four more in the same Sony store as I was standing at the checkout. Waterproof, full hd, lots of cool apps. Like blogger here. Well, talk to you soon with pics shot on this 13MP camera!

The Dying Indian Post Office.

Today's ET shows what I had been suspecting all along. The Indian Post Office is a dying phenomenon. Far gone are the days when we we waited for the postman with bated bath to bring us news of IIT admission, someone's job or wedding or a new arrival. Gone too the days when we had so much pleasure going and buying lovely postage stamps with lovely pictures of famous people or lovely art. Gone too perhaps the postal savings scheme and such. The PIN code we proudly show in everything called our postal address, is more like an epitaph to a dead institution.

When I lived in Germany, Australia and Singapore, when I used the US Post, I saw how cheerful those places were. They sold a lot of useful things, apart from postal stationery. They sold packing boxes and prepaid speed post envelopes. Hardy covers that would proudly withstand the ravages of transport and proudly declare where their trip began, when delivered with your lovely handwriting to your near and dear ones far away.

When I sent a lovely book recently by speed post to Canada, at a fraction of the cost of a private courier, the Indian Post delivered it fast and safe. Even today, we can't help going and checking every day our post box at the gate for some nice surprises. Alas, we find some useless handbills for pizzas and Andhra Chicken Biriyani.

Why can't we use our national imagination to make the Indian Post Office the centre of our social life? Here are a dozen ways we can bring the glory back:
1. The Post Office handles all postal and courier parcels with guaranteed efficiency and speed at lower cost and basically becomes the first mode of delivery. Revenues will grow 10X.
2. They have door to door pick up and delivery for a convenience fee.
3. You can buy all your stationery needs.
4. You can buy school books.
5. You can do your health insurance.
6. You can do national postal savings.
7. They offer all payments online through a single gateway with a credit card tie-up with SBI.
8. They offer scanning, faxing and binding services.
9. They have community events in each locality.
10. They offer special door to door service to all senior citizens.
11. They have special school events and projects.
12. They tie up with Railways to showcase how Post and Railway are big national integrators.

By doing all this, we will be using prime-location, trusted, government real estate for doing what the government can do best to serve the community well.

A story about three grains of wheat.

I heard this story from Osho.

A king was about to retire and wanted to select one of his three sons to inherit the reins of his kingdom. He called them all and told them that he was going to decide who among them would make the best successor. He gave each of them a grain of wheat and said they should each do what they deemed fit with the grain during the next couple of years when he would be gone on his travels.

On his return, the king called each son to narrate what he had done with the grain of wheat.

The first replied, 'father, as your successor, I should preserve the safety of our kingdom. I understood at once this grain of wheat is your metaphor for the kingdom. Here it is, I have kept it safe in a gold box.' When the box was opened, the grain looked wasted and dead.

The second son replied, 'father, I knew you wanted to test how well I would inherit the richness of our kingdom. The wheat grain was your metaphor for our wealth. The wealth of a grain is in its eating, so I cooked it and ate it up.'

The third and last son told his father, 'father, I request you to come with me to see what I have done with the grain'. He took him to a field, and showed a rich harvest of wheat. He said, 'father, the true potential of our kingdom is to grow and prosper. I knew your grain was your metaphor for the productive potential of our land. I took it, sowed it, and turn by turn, it has grown into a lot of wheat here in this field'.

The richness of life is in its living and growing. Not being hoarded away like gold.

Various mobile Internet options

From the "Right Choice" magazine: