https://www3.nationalgeographic.com/genographic/globe.html#/index/

1. Do visit this link for the pre historic time line. From the birth of the planet to the present times.

2. For photography lovers, please visit the following links for some stunning photos:

(a) History of Photography

(b) Milestones in Wildlife photography

(c) Milestones in Underwater photography

(d) Milestones in Space photography

(e) Milestones in Photography

3. Recently have read some posts on Egyptian mummies and Pharaohs on Amit and Lissome Lady's blogs. A link here for an article in NGM's feb edition

4. Some disturbing news:

(a) Oceanic deserts growing

(b) Human driven planet

One of the most eagerly awaited launches/events of the year2008 has to be the People's Car by Tata motors. We have been privy to a lot of speculations in the media. (A cynic like me will tell you the leaks are all carefully orchestrated). It has been in the news for the past five years at least, right since Indica was put into the markets. The strife at Singur gave some unwanted publicity to the project.

So what do we know about the car as yet?

• It is tentatively called People's Car. ( Well, there was a lot of media speculation about Indica's name, prior to its launch. So, this was to be expected.)
• Supposedly, quite robust, even if a bit light. (A lot of plastics have been used instead of metal to cut down on weight. Also, many nut bolts have been eliminated. This gives Tatas the additional leverage for minimal human handling to reduce cost.)
• Should be fuel-economical. (Media speculation says it
  will be doing approx 25 kms to a litre of petrol. That seems to be on par, if not better than 800 and Zen.)
• Spacious enough for four people to fit into quite
  comfortably.
• Other stuff we hear is it is Euro IV compliant as far as
  emissions are concerned, its performance is on par with 800, there will be no compromise on safety etc.

The main plank on which the car is being marketed (and not
sold, mind you) is the cost of acquisition to the consumer. Its called the Rs. 1 lac car, probably the base model would roughly be in the range of Rs. 1.25 lacs, making it the cheapest car in the world. Experts believe, Indian consumers, who use two-wheelers to graduate to this vehicle.

Even if we assume the car to be fuel-efficient among the four wheelers, it definitely is less fuel-efficient than a two-wheeler, which gives about 80 kms to a litre. So, its definitely going to add to the existing pollution levels in the country. Apart from this, the current chaos on Indian roads is going to worsen. India does not have the infrastructure to cater to these additional vehicles (please don't forget that other car manufacturers already
sell close to about 10 lac car per year).

Apart from this, the car has the capacity to completely
shake up the automobile market just like the Japanese car companies did in seventies and eighties. In the near term, it puts at risk the existence of 800 and other small cars, including its own elder sister, the Indica. The lessons gained from this re-engineering to produce low cost cars is going to be applied
to all the other vehicles, thereby reducing the cost to stay competitive. Renault has already announced its decision to work on $3000 car. Soon, the new manufacturing practices will move to other parts of the globe, thereby revolutionizing the entire manufacturing sector.

Cut to---

This was not intended to be a post about the news channels, but one of the many lessons from yesterday's events and a very
important lesson at that pertains with these news channels. HOLD YOUR HORSES. At least till the time, you can stick your neck out and be sure it wont be ripped open. But in the age of constant Breaking News, I admit that would be asking for too much.

Another important lesson is for the psephologists. Laymen like me can understand that subtle trends may not be detectable in large and heterogeneous society like India, or even Gujarat, but what
made you fail to grasp a goddamn wave!! The so-called scientific
methods of prediction may work in homogenous societies, but at least in the Indian context, they have failed too many times to have any reliability.

P.S. On a tangent, I strongly believe religion whose concept has become outdated. It was a good idea in the olden days to bind contiguous areas of homogenous people into a cohesive unit for the betterment of the society at large. Unfortunately, religions have not been able to keep up with the rapid developments we have made. In fact, far more sillyly, they stick to the versions initiated the religions of the Book and subsequently by the others while ridiculing the advancements in our understandings of natural phenomenon. This dichotomy results in a fragmented society and becomes breeding place for fundamentalists like Taliban and even the Modis and Thakreys.

A few days ago, in the US, Robert Hawkins walked into a mall, killed eight shoppers before killing himself. Isolation and depression are problems that seem to have become symptomatic with the US teenagers. Such shootouts are becoming a regular feature there. I wonder what President Bush will do, given his penchant for raiding a nation for any US national killed. Such incidents have killed more US citizens than in terrorist attacks since 9/11.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/us_and_americas/article3012136.ece

Please do click on the link given above. It's a news article on the murder. There are a few views at the bottom of the page. One of them is by Maureen, Denison, Iowa. The comment goes thus:

Parents, you need to love your kids when they are little. Watch what you say and do. They are very fragile . I have heard parents call their children stupid and idiots. That is DEGRADING. we are all guilty of this Stop the ABUSE. Be aware of other peoples feelings and care about other people . I had a wonderful son who commited suicide 25 years ago and thank the Lord he didn't take anyone with him. I just wish Roberts parents would have been there for him and this maybe would of had a differant outcome.Bless all the families who suffered a loss and God Bless You All

This woman actually feels good that her son committed suicide without murdering anyone else and, on re-reading the comment a few times, I think she actually seems to think she has done a good job at parenting!

Lets move away from depressing stories.

Animation and me:

I simply dig animation movies. I guess that is a natural progression for a child who devoured comics. Given a choice I would rather watch Cartoon Network the whole day. Animated characters not only have human qualities, they also go beyond human endurance limits. That's why one doesn't flinch when Nemo's father swims all the way to Australia in search of his son.

Finding Nemo is incidentally my favourite movie. Along with The Lion King.

Past two days, I had the good fortune of catching up with two more films on DVD. Ratatouille and Surf's Up. For anyone who likes, forget loves, animation films, do watch them, in case you haven't. with the advancement of technology, the animation characters are getting so real. I could actually feel the rat and the penguin breathing in the two movies.

I am keenly waiting for Hanuman Returns. It should be good fun.

Violin playing Robot:

Do read the article that left me both awestruck and embarrassed.

http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=071206141647.92lzyqx2&show_article=1

The fact that a root was capable of playing violin left me awestruck. What embarrasses me was the fact that, some years ago, I couldn't learn playing guitar. Maybe I didn't try hard enough. Hopefully, its not too late yet.

Of course, there was another interesting comment on that article. By a person called Gary..

The Japanese have been very active in developing anthropomorphic robot servants like this. Too bad they aren't dealing with the backstory — the elderly, especially in Asian societies, used to be cared for by their families.

With that I sign off.

Good night.

1) A topic that seems to have exploded on the scene in the real as well as the virtual world: Global warming

Contributions to accelerating atmospheric CO2 growth from economic activity, carbon intensity, and efficiency of natural sinks

2) And subsequent to it, In India, Supreme Court comes to our rescue:

Norwegian pension fund decision echoes in SC: Vedanta can't mine in Orissa hills

Though a window is left open by asking its Indian subsidiary, Sterlite, to submit a fresh proposal. The action of banning Vedanta by Norwegian Pension fund could just be the way forward. A eco-audit of all the listed companies could be carried out and those who do not conform to the tight norms, could be black listed (No trade allowed by Fis, etc) or even delisted.

SC does not rest here. There's another article:

From Suzlon project to Bellary mining: SC questions clearances

3) A destination that is on my must-visit list, possibly next year. AN elephant orphanage!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pinnawala

http://www.explorelanka.com/places/hill/pinnawala.htm

http://www.elephant.se/location2.php?location_id=43

4) Lastly for physics freaks, the Schroedinger's cat may finally be out of the box! The difference between classical and quantum physics may be bridged.

This is the link to an article that appeared in some papers yesterday. An interesting, eye-opening article.

"A blanket of smog hanging over India means the country is getting less and less sunlight, warn researchers. But this phenomenon, known as "solar dimming" may also protect against global warning."

For more, click the link below.

http://environment.newscientist.com/channel/earth/dn12919-pollution-is-dimming-indias-sunshine.html

I always believed blindly what Shakespeare said, "A rose by any other name." But apparently, the latest research turns that old adage on its head. Names might have more bearing on us that we would have imagined. To read click the following link.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/11/071114111138.htm

A peep into the future. We might well have a robot as a pet and entertainment for our toddlers.

http://www.pnas.org/cgi/content/full/104/46/17954

One of my favourite areas, hydrogen as future energy supplier. Latest developments:

http://sciencenow.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/full/2007/1116/1

And finally, a new method for catching cockroaches perhaps.

http://www.nature.com/news/2007/071115/full/news.2007.252.html

Pre script: While searching for a file on my laptop, I came across this one. (Incidentally, ever wondered why searching for a file on your PC takes much much longer on a 80 GB hard disk than what Google will take to scan millions of GB space with billions of pages?)

This was a play I had written for an inter-collegiate festival. The topic was 'Rewriting Myths and Histories'. However, this one was banned and never saw the light of the day, so to speak.

I am producing a much-edited version, giving only a gist of the play, so as not to bore the reader. Wherever, I have edited, I have written in red to carry the story forward. No offence meant to the devout and faithful.

Ravanayana:

Scene 1

Ravan, Vibhishan, Few Courtiers, Soorpa. Setting - In Ravan's court.

(The play opens with Ravan sitting on his throne and facing Vibhishan and other courtiers. It is evening outside.)

They discuss Meghnath's health, following a snakebite. He is recovering, says Ravan. Ravan commiserates with the snake, as he believes it was unnecessarily killed.

'It was a cobra, highly venomous. But I guess, he encroached its habitat. Poor animal. I wish it wasn't killed by others, instead let off in the forest at the edge of the kingdom.'

R then discusses the abundant rains and is happy at the prospect of bumper harvest. Then turns towards V.

'And I have finished tilling our part of the land today. (Others notice a tinge of bitterness in the King's voice directed at his younger brother. V looks down as if he has found something of more interest in the floor near his feet. R turns towards another courtier.) You tell me if any of our citizens need help in the farms. Vibhishan will assist them from tomorrow.'

As the court adjourns, a woman comes running into the court, with blood on her face and clothes, crying loudly. Enter Soorpa (Known to us as Soorpanakha, Swaroopa?)

R grieves and demands to know what happened to her.

S: (In between cries): Brother, an arrogant Aryan named Laxmana cut off my nose. The long story that we are all aware off.

R orders a few people to take her to the physician. As some courtiers demand revenge, V advises restraint, instead putting the blame on their sister.

'And as it is we cannot defeat the Aryans. They have more powerful Gods than we do. Or at least their Gods do come to their rescue more often than ours. They are unbeatable.

R: (Shouting) You coward, even a snake defends its territory. Our forefathers lived across the length and breadth of the land. Now we have been forced to move much south and hide behind the Vindhyas. They address us as Rakshasas, mlechhas and asuras¹, conveniently forgetting that it is our land they are trampling on. I have studied their Vedas. Their Gods are much lowly than us. However, they win because they are more skilled and better organised in warfare than us. (R orders V to attack Ram and Laxmana, but V dithers and finally refuses.) You have no love for your motherland, your blood does not boil at the humiliation of your sister. You do not work with the rest of us on the fields and now at nightfall, you will slink away to drink alcohol. I will go and avenge my sister.'

Scene 2:

Ravan, Sita, Jatayu. Setting - In a forest dwelling.

R abducts Sita after not being able to find Ram and Laxman, of course there is no Laxman rekha, R here introduces himself to Sita as a king of thousand villages and promises her that no harm will come to her as he only wants to avenge his sister by slaying Laxman. He leaves a message for Ram and Laxman asking Laxman to surrender before him The messenger incidentally is Jatayu, a forest dweller and not a bird.)

Scene 3:

Ram, Laxman, Bali, Sugriv and a few more forest dwellers. Setting - An open land.

Ram kills Bali, befriends Sugriv and in turn gets a promise that he will help him in the war against Ravan. Of course, these are no monkeys but forest dwelling humans.

Scene 4:

Ravan, Vibhishan, a few courtiers. Setting Ravan's court.

V and a few cronies have tried to kill Ravan and his family, but have been caught. R chides his brother for plotting to kill him when an Aryan enemy was upon them.

'I have treated you like a son and had given you freedom to do whatever you desired. Including excusing you for not working on the fields along with the rest of us.'

The courtiers demand capital punishment, but R decides not to put him to death, only banish him.

Scene 5:

Ram and Vibhishan. Setting - An open land

Vibhishan promises Ram that he will help him in defeating Ravan. In return, he will be made king of Lanka.

Scene 6:

Ram and Ravan. Setting An open land.

Ram and Ravan meet to discuss if any compromise is possible. Ravan insists on cutting off Laxman's nose before returning Sita back to him. Ram refuses and tells him the matter will be decided on the battlefield. Ravan chides Ram for using poor gullible adivasis in his endeavour.

Scene 9:

Ravan, Mandodari. Setting - A chamber.

M grieves over the death of her son, Meghnath. R consoles her. He tells her that he will take on the might of the Aryan army the next day and probably get killed. He advises her to run away with a few bodyguards to her parents' place.

'I am not afraid of death, but I know my legacy will be tarnished. I will be treated as a villain, for it is the winners who write history.'

Post Script:

I wrote this play while I was in college. Then I was very young, very brash and very arrogant. I believed I was more intelligent, more knowledgeable than most people I met. I believed I was ordained to change the world. Maybe even the Messiah. I got married as soon as I was out of college.

Very soon, I turned the opposite corner. I was very depressed, I smoked, I doped, I drank. And I was out of work. I wallowed in self-pity. So much, that my wife threw me out of the house. I lived on my brother like a parasite.

Then, one day, I ran. And kept running for 18 hours. I thought by doing so, I will remove all the unwanted toxins from my body. I fell down unconscious owing to dehydration. It took more than 8 months for my ankle, shin and hamstring to recover from the tissue damage that I sustained.

Now, I am not so young, a bit mature and somewhere in between the two extreme states. I am still arrogant when it comes to my work, but I do listen to others and take their views. Finally I may even incorporate them, but I still believe my version was better. My wife has accepted me back. I once asked her why. She said, whenever she looks at me, I remind her of the worst mistake of her life. And she couldn't make a worse one at that, even if she consciously tried. I doubt she was just joking.

I still believe Ramayana is not a tale of victory of good over evil (I don't know what those terms mean anyway.) For me, it's a tale of Aryans v/s the aborigines, known as Dravidians.

Any hero/superhero can only be as great as his villian. A Batman needs a joker. Ram needed a Ravan.

¹ Some experts think that asura refer to Assyrians who stayed here. Given the extensive usage to the term in Indian mythologies, others speculate that Aryans got to know Assyrians during their nomadic days and used the term derisively in the sub continent. However, another batch that marched into Iran used the term (it became Ahura) with respect, connoting their Gods.

This is a work of fiction. But I believe it has an equal probability of actually having happened as any of the more popular versions. Or, dare I say, possibly more.

A scrim of seawater rises from blowholes along the coast of Tongatapu—one of 36 inhabited islands in the 170-island archipelago that is Tonga. First settled more than 3,000 years ago, this chain became the anchor for a not-so-pacific domain that by the 13th century may have stretched as far as Samoa and Fiji. In the 1600s, European explorers arrived, followed by missionaries. But now the pressure for change rises from within.

This larval flounder swims with other fish for now, hidden from predators by transparency (the color is an effect of lighting). It will soon be a bottom dweller that shimmies into the sand, gazing upward. Eyes start out one on each side; as the skull develops, one migrates to join the other.

No bigger than a quarter, a Glaucus nudibranch preys on toxic Portuguese men-of-war, appropriating their stinging cells for its own defense. Camouflaged in blue and silver, this sea slug was caught off Hawaii but drifts in mild waters worldwide.

The Messier 101, or Pinwheel, galaxy spins in pixel perfection in the most detailed portrait of a galaxy ever released by Hubble scientists. The image was produced by combining exposures taken by Hubble with others from ground-based telescopes.

Finland—On a window in Kotka, a slightly battered mosquito sits silhouetted against a mosaic of water drops, each reflecting spring sky and the crayon colors of nearby buildings.

Netherlands—To honor 25 years of Terschelling island's Oerol theater festival, 2,000 people lined up along 25 giant rings of sand sculpted on the beach, in what artist Rob Sweere called "a silent conversation with the sky."

What looks like a walrus's grizzled face is actually a lesson in the limits of persistence. As wind scours away surrounding ground, only sandy hummocks anchored by the stubborn roots of arrowweed plants remain. It's an eerie landscape: the Devils Cornfield. Eventually, winds can carry away so much dirt and moisture that the arrowweed withers and dies (foreground).

At 282 feet (86 meters) below sea level, Badwater Basin is North America's lowest point. When it floods, the shallow pools evaporate quickly, leaving polygons of mud encrusted with shimmering salts.