Gold and Beautiful

All that glitters is not gold..... But it is usually very attractive!!!!! I think that's why we make some wrong decisions :-)

Fareed Zakaria had this post on FB today. It shows the top 7 Bachelor's degrees awarded in US in 2008-09 and the top 7 bachelor's degrees awarded to international students in US in 08-09. It is no news that US is lagging behind in graduating STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) majors. The problem has been discussed for a long time. There are tons of papers that are presented at conferences and published in journals even today that discuss different experiments conducted by many colleges and universities to increase their enrollment in STEM disciplines. Most of the funding for these projects comes from NSF, which funds some of these projects from H1B processing fees. It was heartbreaking for me to read some of the comments on that post. Before I say anything, lets get this straight: I teach at a liberal arts college and hail the idea of a well rounded individual.  I don't think that money is everything and that it should dictate what you study and work as for t...

On my trip to India this Summer, I dug through all the books that I owned when growing up and found this. My favorite book… Fairy Tales of the World. I was in fourth grade when everyone around me realized that I was reading all sorts of books both in English and Marathi at a lightning speed. So my uncle gifted this book to me (the first year that I did not receive a dress from him for my birthday!!) This is the most cherished book that I have ever owned, mostly because it was the first real book that I owned. Before that I mostly bought all sorts of comics or read books from the library. It also had beautiful pictures and obviously increased my knowledge (and curiosity!!) about different countries and cultures. The rest of the years growing up were full of many more books that I devoured every summer from my uncle's book collection. Digging through all those books I also realized how much my parents had done to encourage my reading habit. I had all sorts of books  in English and M...

I found an ideal home, actually 2 in NYC… well actually at MoMA in NYC :-) How nice it will be to live in a high-rise of homes or in a high rise in the bridge city!!! Sounds exciting!!! My biggest problem is that I want it all… A modern high rise apartment with beautiful city skyline views (which I already have) would be perfect. A small ocean front vacation home with floor to ceiling glass would be great!! And another huge vacation home in the mountains would be an icing on the cake. Anyways, the architecture exhibit at MoMA is worth a stop.

  The visit to Taj Mahal is one of the most memorable trips I have ever had. Walking through the main entrance, the first sight of this beautiful monument leaves you speechless. There is nothing to be said, but just to be admired. I stood at the entrance staring at it as if my legs were anchored to the ground. It was a few minutes before I looked somewhere else and moved. We probably spent 3 hrs at Taj Mahal and could have spent more. From whatever little I have traveled and the numerous travel articles and photographs that I have read and seen, nothing comes close to Taj Mahal. It doesn't matter if this monument is on any official list of seven wonders or not. It does not need a stamp of somebody else's approval. It is a beautiful monument, much more beautiful than what words can describe! The sunrise tour offered from Delhi to Agra is the best way to enjoy this monument…. Highly recommended!

When the Ayn Rand movie released a few months ago, it was touted as a Republican movie. I was a little shocked at the comparison, because I love Ayn Rand's books and her philosophy and I am definitely not Republican (I know both parties have issues... but I know what I don't like for sure!). It's been many years since I read The Fountainhead and Atlas Shrugged. So I thought maybe I should read something Ayn Rand once again and confirm that I really still like her philosophy. I read Anthem (freely available on iBooks!). And I realized that these statements are just publicity gimmicks. I don't know whether her philosophy is Republican or Democrat. I know that I agree with it. If you know her background you will understand her love for pure capitalism.... not the one mixed with greed! The message that I got from her book was very clear. She wants everyone to work hard and earn their prize. Maybe that is a Republican philosophy. Maybe she would not agree with the idea of So...

I haven't yet decided if I am pro-Gandhi (Mahatma... of course!!) or anti-Gandhi. I have very strong opinions about many things Gandhian. There are some Gandhian principles that I strongly agree with and some that I completely disagree with. Over the years though I have come to realize that I don't have to pick a side. Everyone has their own positives and negatives and I have the privilege of taking the positives from many others. I have read about Gandhi and by Gandhi for a long time and every time I read something new, it confuses me some more about my stance... Right now I am a little bit on the pro side.... I think! I started reading his "Third class in Indian railways" on my flight last weekend and a chapter on Swadeshi set me thinking again. He defines Swadeshi as "t hat spirit in us which restricts us to the use and service of our immediate surroundings to the exclusion of the more remote ". Although when he explains the concept, it has more meaning ...

I am amazed by the lack of enthusiasm, interest and motivation in some people. I just don't get it!!!

The whole world cup cricket fever and the thrilling end to the series with India's victory was really quite amazing. Facebook was full of constant updates on almost every ball being bowled during the finals. I was amazed to see the anticipation during the week before the finals and after the win against Pakistan. All these pictures of someone bowing in front of Tendulkar and the constant reference to him as GOD makes me wonder how does this man stay so grounded??? How is his head still on his shoulders??? I mean for any normal human being to not be affected by this kind of adulation and worship is beyond belief. S says it's all in the upbringing. He even joked that it's an "impostor syndrome", which is so common among all middle class Maharashtrians and sometimes (only sometimes) it helps. I don't know what it is, but I think it's remarkable that this man has achieved so much and is still as humble as the 17 year old kid that we had seen decades ago. Maybe...

Sheryl Sandberg: Why we have too few women leaders | Video on TED.com I saw this TED talk recently and a couple of things stayed with me. I liked her third message of "Don't leave before you leave". I could very well relate to that. For me personally, just getting married and changing from I to We was a lot too handle, forget about children. It seemed like I had more things to do, more people to attend to but in the same amount of time as before. When I was at Grace Hopper a new mother had actually asked a similar question "How do I compete with peers who don't have these responsibilities?". But then I realized that it was not so bad. As I became more experienced both at work and living with someone who needed my attention (:-)) I found out that I could achieve the same results in lesser time. I also kept reminding myself that other people have "other" responsibilities, they don't have "none". Not that I would have thought of leavin...

" The way we love our troops is the way Michael Vic loves dogs " -- Bill Maher

In December 2010 when we visited San Francisco (yes... again!!) I found these amazing boots in a shop at Union Square. S always laughs when I wear them and I love them, so I wear them every weekend :-). I am happy that even my shoes can bring a smile to his face. When I bought them Anu said, she thought she was too old for them... And I agree!! Age wise I am too old for them too..... But I still love them. They remind of my childhood back home when in the rainy season everyone would buy those rainy sandals. You could also butythese tall rainy boots, typically called gumboots and they came in 2 colors. Boys usually wore black and girls wore red. The red shoes always attracted me, but mom thought they weren't feminine enough and I always got (Beautiful!!) rainy sandals. So when I saw these shoes in the window of that shop I had to buy them and wear them. It usually pours in SF, but not so much in Atlanta. But what the heck!!! I like them, so I wear them every chance I get. Somehow I ...

When I was at UCLA during Katrina I read Freakonomics. When I read the whole theory of Roe v. Wade reducing the crime rate in New York, I was impressed... super impressed!! I loved the book and I read the whole thing very quickly. So, I recommended the book to S and he recently bought it along with the next book from the same duo, Superfreakonomics. Unimpressed!!!! I just started reading it and have not even finished the first chapter, but am already unimpressed. He talks about how being born an Indian woman is the worst thing ever possible and then talks about a study conducted by two American economists that shows a connection between television and improved conditions of women in India...... Really??? When I told this to S, he burst into a laughter and rightly said, have they seen Indian television?? All the soaps on Indian TV are anything but progressive. And these serials do have huge viewer ratings, so we know that most people are watching them... I am willing to accept that...

"[Robin Hood] is the man who became the symbol of the idea that need, not achievement, is the source of rights, that we don't have to produce, only to want, that the earned does not belong to us, but the unearned does." | S2C7 Atlas Shrugged Ayn Rand's philosophy is usually difficult to digest for many people in my experience. But she sort of had me convinced in her two books "The Fountainhead" and "Atlas Shrugged". This one above was on Facebook today and it reminded me of a conversation that I had with Prasad uncle one summer in Temple, TX. He is an Amitabh Bachchan fan and was talking about some old Big B movies. My opinion about those movies was exactly as the one stated above. I thought that those movies sent a wrong message and encouraged a sense of entitlement among youth that was based only on the fact that they were poor. Being born in poverty does not give us a right to persecute the rich. Of course some things are wrong and you nee...

When I grow up I want to travel all over the world.... and maybe become a travel blogger...

" It really began in the days when the Love Laws were made. The laws that lay down who should be loved and how. And how much. " I started reading the book again after more than 10 years and realized how sad it makes me even now. When I read the book the first time, I just loved the description of Kerala and I thought the book was very authentic, which is why it probably makes me sad. Although it is a fiction, it's not hard to believe that it could be a true story... even in 21st century India!! And that's really sad. I love this book though (although I am not crazy about Arundhati Roy's pursuits post this book...). It is very real and still very poetic. " If he touched her he couldn't talk to her, if he loved her he couldn't leave, if he spoke he couldn't listen, if he fought he couldn't win. " This one's worth many a reads!

One of the things that I completely admire about Amol is his enthusiasm for even the smallest things in life and appreciation of others. And I think the reason we get along so well is because I see some similarities among the two of us (great minds and all :-) OR Sagittarius qualities :-))... Yes, we are all very happy/satisfied and appreciate small things in life. But his reaction to everything seems very heartfelt every single time. For example, this morning I read his FB status about organ donation and I thought that most people would have said this is a good thing, but he said he was inspired by that person and knowing Amol I know that he is not exaggerating when he says that. It takes all kinds of people to make the world and I am sure we have all been around people who can complain about every small thing. Or worst, I have had the (dis)pleasure of knowing someone who could criticize and find fault with every human being that they met. In that light, knowing people who appreciate ...

Dear driver in front, If you are driving in the left(most) lane and not overtaking/passing any cars on the right, then please move to the right lane and let others pass. Thank you. Yours truly, Agitated left lane (fast) driver.

By now everyone knows about Ricky Gervais and his smart*** comments at the Golden Globe awards. The clips have been aired on all sorts of news channels over and over and over again. At first I thought what's all the fuss about?? These celebrities need to be good sports and learn to laugh at themselves. You know? Don't take yourself so seriously.... But obviously, easier said than done. I am sure if I was in a similar scenario I would have hated it. Now, I have to confess that I like Ricky Gervais and I am a huge Kathy Griffin fan. And for anyone who has seen her shows, knows that she is the queen of making fun of celebrities (maybe Joan Rivers is the queen.... at least she is senior :-)). So, I thoroughly enjoy Kathy Griffin's shows (so much so that I spent a quite a few $$ to watch her live at Fox theater when she was performing in Atlanta)... But when I thought more about this whole episode I realized that there was something not so great about this. Making fun of celebr...

" In the End, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends. " -- Martin Luther King, Jr. Having grown up in a cosmopolitan city and a diverse country like India, I had always wondered why some people were narrow-minded. I remember my baby-sitter's daughter complaining to some one that she was B.A.L.L.B, but couldn't find a job because of all the South Indians coming to Bombay and speaking in English (yell, yemmm, etc..). Even at 5 years old the solution seemed very straight forward to me. Learn English!! She sat at home for quite a few years until she got married. I never remember her trying to learn English, or even looking for a job. I remember her taking me and my sister to watch movies in the afternoon though!!! Today's holiday reminds me of two things: a movie, American History X and a book by one of my favorite fiction authors, John Grisham, titled "The Chamber" (I am sure there is a movie on this book too!!) Both t...