Musings Own Thoughts

 It is indeed a paradox that with all the achievements of humanity the bugs bacteria, parasites, fungi and viruses are capable of creating havoc and laying low so many persons daily. The morbidity and mortality caused by these are there for all to see. While technology and science have made life far easier and comfortable our vulnerability to bugs has increased manifold and the capacity to defeat the invaders has declined precipitously. Infection is a result of the confluence of three factors, the infecting bug, the host namely the human body and the environment. We seem to believe that care of the host and control of environment is in our control and the bug is not, however really all three are under our control. To add to this confluence there are two more issues under consideration, immunisation and Antibiotic resistance. While we talk of life on Mars, automation, high technology innovations, internet of things  and the threat of Artificial Intelligence we neglect the war o...

  If I were to ask the persons in this world or of this world the following questions casually what answers will I get?  Is it good to have desires for comforts and pleasant things in life which give instant gratification?  Is it Ok to get angry if one does not get what one wants? Do I feel lesser than my peers if they get things which I want and I do not get them? Am I envious when I see someone who I think is doing wrong getting rich? When I am denied what I think I must rightfully get does the situation drive me crazy? Is it OK to be hungry for success and exhibit our greed for the same? If your answer to all these questions is firmly affirmative, I will not be surprised. Yet cutting across religions cultures and ages the scriptures list the above 6 qualities as enemies of the mind. All of us are in pursuit of happiness and want to eat, drink, enjoy in life as though there were no tomorrow, yet our experience shows that every single time we succumb to desires we get a ...

We are living in an age of social media and public glare. Here projection and packaging counts more than reality and content. Our self worth is measured by the likes we get and the followers we get. To ensue we beat the algorithm we are told to use keywords and SEO (Search Engine Optimization) as though that is the real end rather than a means to communicate and get recognition. I do not know why and when a tool like the internet which began as a convenient window to the world for us to see and experience it through the eyes of others turned back the gaze on to us to provide data to the world. The design of algorithms tracked our searching history and in split second fed material which would hack our minds. These in turn pushed further feeds to us which prompted us to take decisions which are commercially beneficial to the owners of the data.  Today the constant glare of the black screen staring at us pressurizes us to unleash a wave of approval and disapproval. This caters to...

 Mythology stems from   the power of imagination. All of us as human beings like to tell stories and hear stories. The power to create imagine and believe stories make humans different from other creations. Stories are a good way to understand the riddles of human life. As we reflect and ponder about our daily existence and relationship with nature and the people around us we often use our experiences and shape our response to everything.  If we think of humans as the highest of creations we certainly can think of primates as our precursors. They are similar to the hunter gatherer man. These men could only think of the fight or flight response to any threat. But humans have evolved and conquered nature, and learnt to create objects to conquer nature and dominate the earth. Yet, in this very power structure are sown the seeds of destruction.  The age of science even though it had its root in discoveries and inventions came in conflict with stories, myths and beliefs a...

  Work is Worship is an empty slogan and if you ask most of us what is meant by the same they will mouth the platitudes of sincerity dedication which is the general expectation of most organizations.  However, most of us consider temporal lives related to earthly activities of daily work, and going through duties relating to caring for family, earning enough to provide for all as distinct from spiritual lives relating to matters of prayer, faith and divinity as in consciousness. The fundamental difference between animals and other living beings relates to something which goes beyond life and feelings, it is power of thinking and imagining, the presence of the intellect. The ability to imagine and believe in concepts and higher values and go beyond survival is the prerogative of human beings.  Over the years the Industrial revolution and the factories have made the jobs of workers dehumanised and men have literally become like cogs in the machines. This was depicted by Cha...

 Can man and woman be just friends? As you read this question how many can give a straight unequivocal answer? My answer given from my head is Yes but my heart says No. The movie in question is a delightful take on this question. The plot is based on Harry and Sally who are thrown together in the movie multiple times in their lives and slowly but steadily develop a fondness for each other. Yet right in the beginning of the movie Harry proclaims that a man and woman cannot be just friends without sex/physical attraction coming in the way. Sally takes an opposing view and tries to prove her point. Even as they are on an 18 hour road trip Harry almost pretends to set up a date with Sally by remaking that she was very attractive. Sally who knew Harry was dating a common friend strongly objected to the pass and made the argument that they could be friends but if Harry brought sex to the table their friendship was doomed.  As the movie progressed it was itersperesed with stories of ...

 What is it that makes Arundhati Roy different? She is certainly a woman of substance, an undefined entity who attracts and repels people in equal measure. I have just finished her book, memoir or biography titled " Mother Mary comes to Me". It is indeed a remarkable book, difficult to define as in different places it tells a tale of two remarkable women. Their biological relationship of mother and daughter was unlike a conventional one and was instrumental in creating Arundhati Roy, a worthy daughter of a remarkable woman shaped by the oscillatory nature of a hate love relationship. The torture inflicted by the mother on the unwanted daughter seemed at odds with a mother who fought against her brother and society to establish women's right to inherit ancestral property. She got the Supreme court to overturn the Travancore and Cochin Succession Act which prevented women from inheriting their share of property.  A lot of her writing both fiction and non fiction carried the...

 Last month I travelled to London for two weeks with family to attend a wedding in a destination Kew Gardens and to later spend some time with the family of my niece. The first week was in Rayners park Soutwest of Central London and the second in Carpenders park in Northwest of Central London. Both these areas are not directly connected to the famous old London Tube but were lovely livable areas with all the typical shops houses and streets that typify the old London. While I am not writing a travelogue just thought of penning down stray thoughts and observations about this trip.  British Airways for all the criticism and low expectation was a pleasant surprise. The crew were sensitive to my daughter Delna who is a young adult with Down's Syndrome.  London Heathrow Airport Terminal 5 huge busy but seemed an old run down airport. The transit train was an unexpected experience but the rest parking lifts etc chaotic.  First impression as we drove to our destination to R...

  How does one begin to write a piece in a week which culminated in a rare conflence of events which combined coincidentally and also linked together to create some thoughts. On October 2, 2025 the festival of Dushera coincided with the birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi and Lal Bahadur Shastri . Two days later on October 4, 2025 at my work place we celebrated the hospitals' 21st bithday.  The decline in overall standards of morality is so precipitous and rapid that it is becoming incresing ly difficult to recognize this great fall. The rapidity of this free fall has created situations in which compromises on all fronts has been normalised. Is there a way out and what should we do to stem the tide? Gandhi wrote a book Hind Swaraj the contents of which seem nonsensical and illogical today. He condemned parliamentary democracy, Railways, mass production in factories, modern education, doctors and lawyers. But with all the noble intentions everything he said is correct as in ...