Blue Peepal

I woke up interrupted on a Saturday morning with my wife furious at our sons. “You are not getting my phone, again.” Both the sons claimed innocence while shifting blame at each other; in  the crossfire my desire to get additional sleep got a quiet burial. My wife was looking for some breakfast ideas on Youtube and found her home page filled with Cartoon videos playlist, as long as she could scroll down.   “This isn’t how it was a month back; I had my cookery, comedy and news playlist. I gave the phone to them for cartoon drawing tutorials, and here is what I get.” Greater surprise awaited my wife, when she moved to check her Google Updates list and that also had majority items on new releases from the cartoon studios to fun facts, fan sites et al. “Blame it on algorithms, not them” I tried to reason with a smile. The cat and mouse game of algorithms Let’s look at the world of algorithms with a rather simple abstraction – the cat and mouse. ...

Journey to the roots   The morning spring sun stared at the leafless trees, as I looked outside the classroom window. The usually busy corridor was silent. It was the last day at school, and I had my physics viva voce to go; the written examination for 10 th Board were scheduled a week later. “Do you think World War was good for human society?”     With great surprise, “No, Sir” “Look at the many inventions, new world order and the opportunity to rebuild our society.” “Sir, but it resulted in significant loss of human life.” “I am only stating what followed, after the inevitable.” “Ok, Sir” “How are your exam preparations?” “Still some more revision to do, Sir” “Let me know if you need any help.” “Sure, Sir” There was a long pause, both of us looking outside the window at the empty football field. “Ok, all the best.” The heart felt very heavy, the anxiety of the Board exam was nowhere close the incalculable ...

The stage had few dignitaries seated, and an anchor introduced them to the audience. Among the distinguished members sat Smt. Sukanya Shankar, wife of Late Pt. Ravi Shankar; others included music historians, writers, artists and the convenor. The concert was in celebration of Pt. Ravi Shankar’s birth centenary year; the evening was dedicated to his work, influence on global music stage followed by a performance from Pt. Vishwa Mohan Bhatt and Pt. Bickram Ghosh, both disciples of the late maestro. The mood of the evening took shape when Smt. Sukanya Shankar in her remark spoke that her life can be summed up as that thread that binds the flowers in a garland, and derives its perfume from that of the flowers; the flowers represented the greatness of the late virtuoso. The documentary The stage got cleared for a short audio visual on the life of Pt. Shankar released during his memorial service. It is an inspiring tale of a man who rose with an unflinching devotion to his mus...

The night seemed long and interrupted with expectancy. At the early light of the dawn, I looked outside the window at perhaps one of the most exciting day of the year – a day of riding and living. The bike was cleaned, and I sipped my coffee after a shower. As the key turned on the ignition, the bike sprang to life with anticipation. The reluctant winter sun with mellowed warmth greeted, as the bike climbed outside the basement parking slope. There were vendors selling vegetables, shops still with shutters and few school buses with children in warm clothes. The dust of the day was stamped below the morning dew. The clear blue sky gave the morning a brand new identity. The road and thoughts It was my third solo ride, and did not require any distraction of maps for the familiarity of the destination. The city was giving away to the highway as the bike rolled past the tall buildings, metro stations to the distant metro pillars that were under construction. Th...