Homemade

What's New, this New year

2009-01-07T09:53:00.000-08:00

The NewYear 2009 came without much fuss this year. Though the loudspeakers in the neighbourhood kept us awake till 12.0am ,on our part we were passive spectators to the change in calendar. The semester also ended in Dec last year so we had vacation (or rather still having) till 19th of Jan 2009. Today however we were called to evaluate exam papers and I spent the whole day turning pages after pages…it was a pleasure when the pages contained good stuff but it was a headache to wade through some of the pure gibberish material the students had come up with. What really takes the cake is that some of this undiluted garbage is written in neat handwriting and overflowing into never ending pages!!! I was hoping all the students pass through as our job is much dependant on that – but some students did not give any cause for those grace marks. The papers will be evaluated by an external examiner also and I am hoping he is filled with compassion on these students. Anyways, we are supposed to get 75% of the students pass to hold on to our jobs so a few students not making it may not matter.

On a happier note, I praise God for answering my three prayer requests. One was for the practical exam in molecular cell biology that I was responsible for. I was quite apprehensive about it as an external examiner conducts it and it is well known among professors that they can be testy at times.It turned out that the external examiner was known to me and he was very kind and compassionate. Some of my colleagues were not so lucky and some were even asked to do the experiments along with the students and complexities were added to the procedures.All my students fared well scoring over 80%.It is only the grace of God as these students are no Einstein’s!!!

The other request was for my research seminar before all the faculty members of the Institute . It was a nail biting event but it went off well and many congratulated me on the presentation saying they enjoyed it a lot. God be praised.

The third request was for the conference at Pune and my fears over how my sister Dolly ( who is physically and mentally challenged) would take my absence. God was in control and she was very happy and cheerful and the conference went off without a hitch.

Now I have another prayer request and you can join in praying for me – my upcoming grant presentation before Expert Committee at Gorakhpur, Uttar Pradesh. I got the letter two days ago from Department of Science and Technology, New Delhi informing me of the event on 24th January ’09. I didn’t even know where Gorakhpur was and had to scramble to get hold of an India map. I fly to New Delhi and take the train to Gorakhpur so the whole event takes me just 3 days instead of 6 if I took the train. It is a lot of money to fly but I am hoping my grant will get funded making it worthwhile. I hope my college refunds some of the amount. Anyways pray about it too.

So much for now.More later

Attending Conference at Pune

2008-12-05T07:55:00.000-08:00

I am writing from my room from Yashada conference center in Pune. I am attending the 32nd All India Cell Biology Conference at Pune which is close to Mumbai- 4hr train journey. It took me 26hrs to reach this place from Chennai and I had noisy teenage boys in my compartment.So I was completely tired by the time the train chugged into Pune station at 2.25 am in the morning. As the train neared Sholapur station - railway police got into the compartment and asked us to down our shutters - after the recent bomb blast in Mumbai all kinds of precautions are taking place. I imagine the average citizen will be inconvenienced in many ways while the real perpetators will go undetected. That's life. Colaba where the gun battle took place was where we lived when I was in Std6. After that we moved to Dadar a crowded surburb of Mumbai and lived there for 17years - thankfully Dadar was spared.
Anyway the conference was quite good - though there were diverse topics ranging from hydra and drosophila to human studies. I find I am more comfortable in a cancer biology conference than a pure basic sciences conference. There were some excellent poster presentation on angiogenesis ( creation of new blood vessels) and DNA repair which is connected with cancer biology so I did find my niche in the plethora of information.
The food was Maharashtrian ( as Pune is located in the state of Maharashtra) - so there was "sabudana " (sago ) pudding and typical Maharashtrian dal with sugar in it and stuffed parathas and chicken masala and fried fish among others.
I leave for Chennai early morning at the odd hour of 3.30am tomorrow and am waiting to get back home to be with my mentally and physically challenged sister . God has been gracious and kept her in good spirits through my absence. I was quite apprehensive on whether I should go as she started crying nonstop when she saw my packed bags. But Mariamma and Shiela have looked after her well and she was quite cheerful when I spoke to her over the phone. Not to mention my dear brother who had lunch with her. Everything worked out well - may God be praised.

One day at a time

2008-11-10T00:07:00.000-08:00

I got this in the email and was impressed how taking one day at a time can make a world of difference.

The Daffodil Principle

Several times my daughter had telephoned to say, "Mother, you must come to see the daffodils before they are over." I wanted to go, but it was a two-hour drive from Laguna to Lake Arrowhead "I will come next Tuesday", I promised a little reluctantly on her third call. Next Tuesday dawned cold and rainy. Still, I had promised, and reluctantly I drove there. When I finally walked into Carolyn 's house I was welcomed by the joyful sounds of happy children. I delightedly hugged and greeted my grandchildren. "Forget the daffodils, Carolyn ! The road is invisible in these clouds and fog, and there is nothing in the world except you and these children that I want to see badly enough to drive another inch!" My daughter smiled calmly and said, "We drive in this all the time, Mother." "Well, you won't get me back on the road until it clears, and then I'm heading for home!" I assured her. "But first we're going to see the daffodils. It's just a few blocks," Carolyn said. "I'll drive. I'm used to this." " Carolyn ," I said sternly, "please turn around." "It's all right, Mother, I promise. You will never forgive yourself if you miss this experience." After about twenty minutes, we turned onto a small gravel road and I saw a small church. On the far side of the church, I saw a hand lettered sign with an arrow that read, " Daffodil Garden ." We got out of the car, each took a child's hand, and I followed Carolyn down the path. Then, as we turned a corner, I looked up and gasped. Before me lay the most glorious sight. It looked as though someone had taken a great vat of gold and poured it over the mountain peak and its surrounding slopes. The flowers were planted in majestic, swirling patterns, great ribbons and swaths of deep orange, creamy white, lemon yellow, salmon pink, and saffron and butter yellow. Each different-colored variety was planted in large groups so that it swirled and flowed like its own river with its own unique hue. There were five acres of flowers. "Who did this?" I asked Carolyn . "Just one woman," Carolyn answered. "She lives on the property. That's her home." Carolyn pointed to a well-kept A-frame house, small and modestly sitting in the midst of all that glory. We walked up to the house. On the patio, we saw a poster. "Answers to the Questions I Know You Are Asking", was the headline. The first answer was a simple one. "50,000 bulbs," it read. The second answer was, "One at a time, by one woman. Two hands, two feet, and one brain." The third answer was, "Began in 1958." For me, that moment was a life-changing experience. I thought of this woman whom I had never met, who, more than forty years before, had begun, one bulb at a time, to bring her vision of beauty and joy to an obscure mountaintop. Planting one bulb at a time, year after year, this unknown woman had forever changed the world in which she lived. One day at a time, she had created something of extraordinary magnificence, beauty, and inspiration. The principle her daffodil garden taught is one of the greatest principles of celebration. That is, learning to move toward our goals and desires one step at a time--often just one baby-step at time--and learning to love the doing, learning to use the accumulation of time. When we multiply tiny pieces of time with small increments of daily effort, we too will find we can accomplish magnificent things. We can change the world ... "It makes me sad in a way," I admitted to Carolyn . "What might I have accomplished if I had thought of a wonderful goal thirty-five or forty years ago and had worked away at it 'one bulb at a time' through all those years? Just think what I might have been able to achieve!" My daughter summed up the message of the day in her usual direct way. "Start tomorrow," she said.She was right. It's so pointless to think of the lost hours of yesterdays. The way to make learning a lesson of celebration instead of a cause for regret is to only ask, "How can I put this to use today?" Use the Daffodil Principle. Stop waiting.....Until your car or home is paid offUntil you get a new car or homeUntil your kids leave the house Until you go back to schoolUntil you finish school Until you clean the houseUntil you organize the garageUntil you clean off your deskUntil you lose 10 lbs.Until you gain 10 lbs.Until you get married Until you have kids Until the kids go to schoolUntil you retireUntil summerUntil springUntil winterUntil fallUntil you die..There is no better time than right now to be happy .

2008-10-24T11:08:00.000-07:00

Scripting a new chapter in its space programme, India recently launched its maiden unmanned mission to moon 'Chandrayaan-I', a research project that propels the country into an exclusive global club of six moon faring nations.
"It is a historic moment as far as India is concerned. We have started our journey to the moon and the first leg of the journey has gone perfectly well," an ecstatic ISRO Chairman G Madhavan Nair said soon after the indigenously built rocket PSLV C-11 blasted off from the spaceport here in cloudy but rainless weather.
The spacecraft was put into orbit exactly 18.2 minutes after the textbook launch at 6.22 a.M. From the second launch pad of Satish Dhawan Space Centre in this island in the Bay of Bengal, about 100 km north of Chennai.
With the successful launch, India became the sixth country after the US, Russia, European Space Agency, China and Japan to launch a moon odyssey.
At Rs 386 crore, the Indian mission is considered to be the cheapest in the world which will help generate the first-ever comprehensive maps of the earth's only natural satellite.
The 44.4 metre tall four-stage PSLV rocket injected the spacecraft in the earth orbit from where it would be guided about 3,87,000 km away from the earth to the circular lunar orbit, 100 kms from the moon's surface, by November eight.
The spacecraft is carrying 11 instruments, including six international experiments, which will help prepare the first comprehensive map of the moon.
President Pratibha Patil, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha L K Advani congratulated the space scientists on the successful launch.
The focus now shifts to ISRO's telemetry, tracking and command network (ISTRAC) at Peenya in Bangalore, which will be the country's nerve centre for tracking and controlling Chandrayaan-1 over the next two years of its life span.
After circling the earth in its highly elliptical Transfer Orbit for a while, Chandrayaan-1 would be taken into more elliptical orbits by repeated firing of the spacecraft's Liquid Apogee Motor (LAM) at opportune moments.
Subsequently, the LAM would be again fired to take the spacecraft to the vicinity of the moon by following a Lunar Transfer Trajecctory (LTT) path, whose apogee lies at 3,87,000 km.
Later, when Chandrayaan-1 reaches the vicinity of the moon, its LAM would be fired again to slow down the spacecraft sufficiently to enable the gravity of the moon to capture it into an elliptical orbit.
After some more procedures, Chandrayaan-1's orbit would be finally lowered to its intended 100 km height from the lunar surface, which was expected to take place around November eight.
Later, the Moon Impact Probe, carrying the Indian tricolour, would be ejected from the spacecraft following which the cameras and other payloads would be turned on and thoroughly tested, marking the operational phase of the mission.
Chandrayaan-I will help prepare detailed maps of the moon, its topography, mineral contents and look for water in the polar regions.
The maps could be of immense help when ISRO and other space agencies plan to land spacecraft on the lunar surface or plan to use the moon as a base for future interplanetary missions.
ISRO scientists spent many a sleepless nights to achieve perhaps one of the most difficult parts of the journey to the moon and faced some anxious moments as rains hammered the spaceport and surrounding areas for nearly five days.
"We lost 10 hours in the countdown yesterday due to inclement weather and almost lost the hope of making the launch. But working against all odds ISRO team has won the game," Nair said.
"The 360-tonne PSLV-C11 has precisely achieved the objective of placing the satellite in the orbit around the earth with its nearest point being 250 km (perigee) and the farthest around 23,000 km (apogee)," he said.
Nair expressed the hope that India would be able to send the first man-mission to moon from Indian soil before 2015 and that mars was the next natural destination for the ISRO.
Chandrayaan-1 was built at ISRO's Satellite Centre, Bangalore, with contribution from various wings of the space agency, including the Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre in Thiruvananthapuram.
The ground facilities of Chandrayaan-I would perform the highly important task of receiving the microwave containing the health information of the spacecraft as well as the valuable scientific information, which the spacecraft sends.
It also transmits the radio commands to be sent to the spacecraft during all the phases of its mission.
Three cheers for India!!! Hip!Hip!Hooray!!!

2008-10-24T10:28:00.000-07:00

World Blogging day has come and gone ...and I dont have single piece on the topic "Poverty"..anyway better late than never.Most of the worthwhile things have already been said on Amrita's and Julia Dutta's blog.The singular thought that I had was if we as a nation wasted less food ,then we could see all of our poor fed. Each day as I walk past a three star hotel on our street, I am startled to see how much of rice and good food are wasted and thrashed in the garbage bin...the entire garbage can overflows on to the street with food. Recently, at college at a staff meeting the vice-chairman commented on how they dont know how to dispose of the vast amount of food that was left over in the hostels.They were talking in terms of finding land fills and the sort...pretty pathetic ...till I saw the other day while walking into the campus, a man on a scooter with two large containers of food strapped to the back seat, coming from the hostel.Evidently he and his community had found a worthwhile solutions. If more people distributed the food to the needy before it got bad, it would be a better world.

In keeping with the theme, Mariamma the other day made 'pakoras' (fritters) from quess what...cooked rice!!!!. Some cooked rice was left over so she mashed it with gram dal powder, onions, chillies , turmeric powder and deep fried it- it was quite tasty and the hot fritter went well with the rainy weather outside!!!

holidays

2008-10-10T06:06:00.000-07:00

I am towards the end of my 12 days off from work- official holidays starting from Oct1 -Ramzan Id to Oct12th -(includes Gandhi Jayanthi and Dassera festivals) . I enjoyed the extra hours of sleep in the mornings (on College days I am up at 5.15am as the bus arrives at 6.45am and cruises through the shuttered streets of Chennai for an hour and half before arriving at the college gates) and the leisure of reading. Unfortunately the library that was just outside my home was bulldozed down together with half dozen shops that was the barber's, grocery, tailor,xerox ,tea shop as they were part of unauthorized construction and the municipal authorities were looking to widen the road. I felt saddened by its absence as he was well stocked on PG Wodehouse books and Robin Cook's series. I met the owner the other day while he was cycling distributing magazines to housewives and he said they had moved into the opposite street. Well..where there is a will there is a way... Anyway I had a few books that I had bought a year ago and plunged into it. I read R.K.Narayan's Malgudi days - a compilation of short stories on routine life in South India. Enjoyed it. Mariamma ( of breaking chair fame ...refer older posts) insisted on me getting some Tamil movie CDs and I obliged. There is a CD shop closeby and it is home delivery ..so it is convenient. I watched the Tamil heroes jump buildings , climb into fastrains and cars that jumped like it was doomsday while Mariamma danced to the Tamil Numbers ( fortunately she didnt break anything in the process this time). Mariamma also made Dahi Vada - a snack that is a delicacy from North India. It is made from Black gram dal that is soaked overnight and then ground to thick paste. Salt and cut ginger pieces are added to it and balls are added to hot oil and fried till light brown and immediately put in cold water for 2-3 mins. It is then gently squeezed to remove the water and put into the yogurt sauce that is seasoned with roasted cumin powder, green chillies, sugar, little salt, and dash of red chilli powder. Actually Mariamma made it South Indian style which meant she added onions and red chilli to the vada and didnt add sugar to the yogurt sauce. It was tasty nonetheless.

Teaching days

2008-10-03T06:13:00.000-07:00

After a stint at grant writing, I am back to teaching M.Sc Biotech students. It has been a trying time as I am teaching a subject new to me - Cell and Tissue engineering to students who are completely new to all the terminology used (no similar subject at the Undergraduate Level) - so it might have been like the blind leading the blind but for my pre-lecture preparations. All my time is spent in it. Either I am lecturing or preparing for it !!! To compound matters, there are some students who sit in the back benches and dont take down notes- and obviously do badly in monthly tests. So I decided to dictate notes in class - this worked for most students. Or so I thought. Till I discovered that one of the students was writing more furiously than I was dictating. He was a picture of total commitment and dedication. But since I discovered that the rate at which I was dictating was less than the speed in which he was writing, my curiosity was aroused. So I decided to investigate. I asked for his notebook which he reluctantly parted with and tried to convey with his smile that the matter that he was furiously writing on was not one that I was dictating. I sat on the front benches ( there are no table and chair for the teacher - that is another matter) and went through his book. It was all about his likes and dislikes - how much he loved music and novels and would be better off with them. He went on pages and pages of his future line of action - business was for him and so on and so forth. He wrote at length of his friends and how he enjoyed hanging out with them. I closed the book and handed it back to him - trying to match his smile with a thought so!! I did not shout at him - as thoughts that he was going through a delicate phase in his life crowded my mind - I just meekly said all this is fine but you must think of Cell and Tissue Engineering sometime too. Two days later he was at the staff room with "Could I have all your notes . I will just xerox them" Wow it was a breakthrough - he was working towards a solution himself!!My day was done.

New Beginnings

2008-09-21T22:38:00.000-07:00

I am thinking of getting back to the blogging world after nearly a year. A lot has happened since then - a lot of grief, moments of comfort, hope and new beginnings. Both my parents went to be with the Lord in May 08 - in a span of only two weeks. We missed them a lot and celebrated their life and legacy in the Lord . They were pillars in the christian community - hospitable to young students who regularly attended the biblestudies and prayer meetings in our home. My mother was known for her untiring efforts to provide the group with mouth watering snacks and eats and seeing that one and all were well fed. In fact the graduate group named EGF (evangelical graduate fellowship) was lovingly said to mean Eat Good Food (EGF)!!!!! My father had a kind ear for each individual student and listened patiently to their woes and rantings and ravings offering them Godly advice and encouraging them to seek the Lord in prayer. Both my parents were always there for us through our academics and loved to hear about our teachers and the progress we made. I remember one instance when I was doing my Ph.D and had submitted my thesis but my viva voce was delayed. My father without my knowledge ( for I would have protested) went and asked my supervisor why my viva voce was delayed. My supervisor didnt take too kindly to being asked - but that was Dad !!!

We miss seeing them dozing off on the sofas - in their later years but are assured we will see them one day and they are relaxing in a better place.

Now the responsibility of looking after my physically and mentally challenged sister falls on me. But God has been gracious and the trials have not been more than I can endure . I love her immensely and race back each day after teaching at the SRM University to see her. We do not know what the future holds but know the One who holds the future will see us through.

Blogging holidays

2007-11-04T22:08:00.000-08:00

I will be blogging once in a while only until my next grant writing assignment - blogging in between my computer work worked well for me= I am having computer problems too among other things so I am not going to be a die hard blogger - atleast for sometime. It has been raining of and on here and the weather calls for curling up with a book and hot chai (tea). A few weeks ago my little niece was christened Suzanne Abigail Anand and she slept through the entire procedure- 3 hrs straight including the little luncheon that followed. She exchanged many hands but that didnt disturb the sleeping beauty!!Her proud parents were here last evening showing off her latest skills - a lot of meaningful baby talk and crawling all over the place - like a little crab!!! She likes her grandfather a lot and the two always seem to hit it off = they seemed to be chatting quite some serious stuff ,they would have us believe.

pumpkin pies and all things nice

2007-09-30T03:12:00.000-07:00

SooN it is going to be Thanksgiving in the US and the delicious fragrance of pumpkin pie evades my soul. Haloween and Thanksgiving were both a much enjoyed festival in the US . Haloween had costume parties and pumpkin carvings creatively made - one surgeon carved a face on the pumpkin and used a blown up glove and attached it to the nose area - and named his pumpkin - the common cold or some such thing. Lighted candles went into most pumkin's giving a lanterned evening look. THe cat that Aurele and I had was called pumpkin ....but no no he didnt land up in a jar...every kind of rasberry and cranberry went into the jar ...but it would have killed Aurele if pumpkin ended up in the jar...but it was good to celeberate thanks giving with corn cobs, slabs of delicious turkey , cranberries and other goodies.Thanks giving I loved and still love...

Why good aunts insist on mangoes

2007-08-22T22:58:00.000-07:00

When I was in Baylor College of Medicine ,Houston between 1998 and 2000, my research was on the role of important enzymes known as detoxifying enzymes in the mopping up of harmful free radicals produced in our body due to exposure to harmful substances and metabolism.
Free radicals are oxygen atoms that have lost an electron and have become unstable and this damages the cells . When a cell is damaged, it can become cancerous. Antioxidants help conteract these free radicals through the action of detoxifying enzymes. Antioxidants are present in green vegetables and rich colored fruits such as peaches, blueberries, carrots, mangoes etc. Since this is the mango season and the markets are abuzz with these delicious fruits here in Chennai , I thought I would talk about the antioxidants present in mangoes.

Puréed mangoes were divided into two portions. One part contained known antioxidants such as the yellow carotenoids that include beta carotene. The other portion contained components that easily dissolved in water, similar to water-soluble vitamins such as vitamin C.
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"Both of the portions inhibit cancer formation. However, it seems that the water-soluble fraction is a more potent or more efficient inhibitor. The researchers said the water-soluble portion of the mango puree contains phenolic compounds -- the class of compounds to which most known antioxidants belong.But more research would need to be done to identify the specific compounds that provide the increased cancer protect.
"The goal is to isolate and characterize these compounds and maybe even look for them in other fruits and vegetables besides the mango," said Stephen Talcott, a UF assistant professor of food science and human nutrition who also worked on the study. "Then a breeding program might be able to incorporate these compounds into other fruits or vegetables, or increase the levels of these new antioxidants if they are already found to be present."

Love rules

2007-08-18T00:26:00.000-07:00

1 Corinthians 13

Love

If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. 3If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing.

4Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

8Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. 9For we know in part and we prophesy in part, 10but when perfection comes, the imperfect disappears. 11When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put childish ways behind me. 12Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.

13And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.

What does all this mean

We all can say God answered all or some of our many prayers , so we have exercised faith to some measure - maybe not to the extent of moving mountains - and who on earth wants mountains moved - and then faith to move mountains requires at least two people (minimum) (it is similar to moving other things ) case in point 1): if two or three are gathered in my name or ask in my name I will be present or answer them , The Mighty one says 2) classical example of Abraham( the man to head future civilizations ) had faith to obey God - not faith in his own prayer requests but in what God had asked him to do by faith. True God grants the desires of our heart but thank God only if it is to our future good.3) on another healing occasion Jesus says anything is possible if you believe - which is again two people - Jesus(God) and that person.It was agreed upon by Jesus that the healing would occur - it was not how much faith the man had but if he had faith in Jesus (GOd) if He agreed to do it He would do it. This seems very reasonable because even for earthly matters if I say to my students I will give you what is necessary ,believe me - it is no point to give if one does not believe in me -

The next is hope - for what -things not yet seen .. one would expect something like this at the end of our spiritual journey when all our earthly moorings are left behind or gone for something far more valuable ..

But imagine Paul says of more value than this is love....not Gods will or trusting God for the unseen but Love

All this brings me to the point :My brother is planning to take a team of Canadians to Allahabad next February. I hope the spirit of love truimphs in all this. He may not have a posh way of speaking or a sophisticated eloquence but his heart beats for God..He is simple man who has achieved great things. He has struggled and toiled to bring good things to his family .He, like all of us , due to our southern upbringing do not believe in ourselves despite studiously working towards good professional goals .Wegrew up in Mumbai but all of us could not statewhat our favorite or for that matter the things we liked were..it was only when we went abroad that we could slowly state what we liked..

My brother is an expert in the Textile field and he has invested a lot in his family and ministries and I hope that his life's heart beat to bring the Gospel to the man on the street is fulfilled . He is a man who can empathisize well with the both the sophisticated and the common man simultaneuosly. He can converse with both with equal ease.I hope his spirit of mission is not crushed and he is showered with love. Like Jesus was showered with love in Mary and Marthas home . It was a safe place for him to do His mission.The qst of whether Mary or Martha had chosen the greater part has always been taken to mean that Mary had taken the better part ..to listen to Jesus..which is true but I dont think Jesus was belitting Martha's role -- maybe if Martha had listened to Jesus she would have held the physical and spiritual aspect of our lives in balance. But I think the reason why Jesus did not commend Martha's role in kitchen is because she was complaining about Mary - Mary did not on the other hand complain about Martha.

The other thing is also that in John 11 after the death of Lazarus Martha tells Jesus if you were here this would not have happened (she definitely believed in Jesus miracles)... but then she says she knows in the resurrection Lazarus will rise again ..I think till that time she was a women of prayer and who believed that Jesus was a man of God who could heal and cure people...it is in latter verses when Jesus tells her He indeed is the resurrection and life and asks her whether she believes that -- she replies Yes (that is when she signs the dotted line)..and goes to tell Mary ,the Teacher is here!!!! Prayer and faith go a long way . Praise be to God..

TV heads

2007-08-09T23:40:00.000-07:00

Mariamma of BC fame ( Breaking Chair fame) is back... Yes she was away for sometime ...My brother and I sold her some of our old furniture and TV(yes an almost brand new .sofa) after which she decided not to show up for a while.We figured with the sofa and TV,installed in her son's place...she decided to live it up ..you see Mariamma was a avid( if not chronic) TV watcher and for that matter she was highly networked in the cinema world.She has seen every Tamil movie in town - can recount every dialogue and every scene with great accuracy. She cooks only for short spells of time and then one can see her watching TV uninterrupted for hours on end...Ask her to list off the stars of yesterday and today and Mariamma is a picture of animation and delight. It is no wonder then, my mother an old (75yrs old ) conservative Christian pounds her periodically with the scriptures (because that has been her upbringing...watching cinema was a sin ,,and so much of it ...God help) Ofcourse she (my mum) overdoes it , robbing herself (I think) of all the good in her ...like..she is a good story teller and teacher ..(my mum) but here in godforsaken Chennai( atleast to me ,on annoying days) all her ancestral goodness is forgotten (ironically) and all her Bible pounding eventually brings out the demon in her and after while in Mariamma too..Soon the two are sitting their ..each on their respective sofas ...one hammering out the word all out of context and the other ( a robust 45yr old) gloating with her wise repartee...it is a scene right out of a Flannery O'Connor novel,I think..I sit there trying to concentrate on my Taftee ..on the book of John ..will the Light come through ..and I can distinctly hear Mariamma screaming --"God appears to me on the TV screen" ..I diplomatically pipe in " In the God Channel ,Mariamma?" "No",she responds...this is no time for diplomacy "no in the regular Vijay Channel " she continues with such fervour noone can doubt her , it seems.I am out of here,I think but then one look at my mum ,her aged faced -once so sweet and agile with the gifts of teaching -now totally in control of the demons ..(of fundamentalism I think mostly)...I feel so frustrated...I scream at Mariamma ...she (my mum) watches TV too but couldn't she(Mariamma) revive the good in her(my mum)..ask her about Bible stories ...bring out the good that was in her ...who knows you might find a Shivaji in the Bible too..but all this is too much for Mariamma ofcourse..I dont know what mariamma will come up with next...that Christ appeared to her in the idol....and what would my mum's reaction be then... I can say "good for you" and run off ...I have made peace with my Creator, now if He chooses to appear in several unwanted places ,that is His choice not necessarily mine.

The downside of blogging

2007-08-04T00:36:00.000-07:00

Blogging can be hazardous,... as I unwittingly found out . You may wisely say,it is only for the bravehearted..I would think it is both for the bravehearted and fainthearted (like me I think) I can only speak for myself.As I said earlier, I blog irregularly ( it is not my prime displayable work or for that matter my prime work) ..I visit blogs that, by and large ,inspire me and have found much good in...sometimes,however, because I am pressed for time or I blog...(.not cough)..right in the middle of my serious work ,on computer ,to relieve stress or have a good moment and .I only view the photo and comment,and return later to actually read the blog in part or whole..So bear with me if some strings of thought get twined needlessly...or a story line develops between blogs based on a word or two that was never intended, least of all to hurt.. there is good wholesome fun and hurtful fun..the latter I dont indulge in. Maybe in my haste to create delightful blogging space for myself ,I might have tread toes,unwittingly ..toes I never meant to tread ..( not that there are toes that I mean to tread, no and no..unless I have to buy good old Britannia bread ..the ancestral pain subsides between the rhyme and the read..s)Okay Iam out of here . Talk of blogging taking away time... when I lost a lot of precious time recently trying to jump start my friend's dead car...

2007-08-03T23:28:00.000-07:00

The baby's name is almost official...almost because till the day she is officially christened we wont know if she has an additional middle name...( we are talking of my brand new neice's name ...just a month old ...my younger brother's offspring ) the name is going to be Susanne Anand .I love the name for several reasons now : it rhymes with her older sibling 's name for one thing , it has a good meaning and it is also biblical to stay the least..This whole process has taught me valuable lessons,one of them being ,.in a culture and community where the wounds (of North against South) need to heal with much love and thought ( but a people averse to poetry even if it is in the Bible) her name ensures the birth of love, goodwill in the family (immediate and extended) and who could ask for more...her older sister calling her pappu only adds to the flavor of love ..Preethi (my choice) would have been a suitable choice had my brother decided to move to Mumbai and raised his family there...here it would have been hurtful (unfortunately,God didnt promise us a perfect world) . It is amazing how these things matter. On the other hand,can one think that far ahead and plan all good things for the young?I wish it were possible ..how I wish it were possible to totally ensure the safety and wellbeing of all young ones . But, as far as possible, we can do just that,I think ..after all there are only 5-6 milestones or imp stages in a lifetime..young, adolescence,young adult, adult and old age...if for you, this is oversimplify..ing ,it is better than what one chappie said at an informal gathering at conf .lately- he said there are only 3 stages in life-hatched, matched and dispatched..only a vernacular like me can interpret that ..he meant birth,marriage and death..If we pay attention to young and adolescence then half or even the full battle is won--(like hugging and rocking the baby,have all the relatives hold the baby,love and kisses at all times, music ,education acc to the place it will marry and raise a family etc etc for boys adolescence is very important)- an astute parent or aunt knows that till the young have a successful marriage and family( includes job/carreer obviously:)) the battle is not over. Yes, the battle belongs to Lord but He wants us to pitch in or atleast pray assiduously ( I have to use that word even if misspelt ,which I am sure it is-certain compulsions like eating channa batura and farezi stuff-)

Plan ahead.

2007-07-31T00:26:00.000-07:00

I was just thinking I have a lot of material on theology, material for tracts on Christ and His teaching, the OT rules as pertinent to INdian society , why is God a Bengal tiger sometimes and a peacock at other times and many other pertinent ways to share the gospel- what the stars foretell- but I dont have an office space for the same. If we can put together an office here with a secretary, a peon and a local christian - it will cost about 300 dollars/per month for the same, you can avail yourself of an effective short term mission house- I will be very busy with my scientific work so I wont be able to help out with logistics of things but with prayer and faith you can have the material - ( it is written in rough and will take another 10years to be fully completed - but it can start now) and work the other details with the local Christian here. Think about it..

Also

2007-07-30T23:38:00.000-07:00

I am trying hard to have a single line of thought ..but it is going to take a few years down the line for that to occur. Had my father remained in Mumbai for the rest of his life, yes that would have been possible ..I would have sent roots down nice and proper..here I have sent roots only upwards given the situation I found myself in. I feel girthed (if that is an authentic word) to the heavens themselves at times , but it is very very odd to live that way. So I try to maintain my identity as far as possible (or impossible)and concentrate on my work at hand. I havent emoted (can you believe that) in the last 7years I think. Terrible . I have only paid attention to work - teaching,notes and fellowshipping at Taftee ( the latter very frustrating with the Malayalee crowd- the tamils have taken a beating from them in that respect- though there are exceptional Malayalees like Mr and Mrs Thomas who have been kind and good and prayerful) Work has been a blessing in many ways but not like the good times in US- you just had to walk to the nearest deep freezer and get your enzyme of choice or the refrigerator and get your tissue culture medium without expending much energy. I even had my own phosphoimager packet - a luxury unaffordable by the Institutes here. I am very excited about my work here though using nanotechnology for imaging migration of cells in cancer. My two favorite subjects were Physics and Cell Biology(also Mol.Biology) I was a nerd in Maths.Could never do the Arithmetic. It has to do with my father (whom I have forgiven and hope my brother's have forgiven him too) He used to give us math problem ( called sums here) to do even during our summer vacation and never used to explain how it is to be done..He would scribble very intelligently something or other and then look up the last page for the answers. And when his answer was right he would jump up and down in his lungi( indian night dress) and vanish from the scene. I was good at Calculus in school but floundered in arthimetic all the time. But ofcourse I was good at the Biological sciences so I dont feel too bad. On a different note, it is still raining here in Chennai ( pretty much unseasonal, it is supposed to rain only in Oct, Nov and Dec-) The city looks well ploughed in many ways...

To blog or not to blog-

2007-07-29T23:11:00.000-07:00

I think I am going to take some rest from blogging..I wish I could confidently say it like that girl -who said she wasnt going to blog for the next 3months-in one of the blogs I read , I forget which one-because undoubtedly it has met a need for chit chat and a bringing back into memory the good times enjoyed in US. It was in some ways I think, akin to being in Gratia Leger home ( one of my US friends)and discussing neighborly news and views. And as said earlier in one of my blogs ...I blog to relax..I dont mind getting no comments though fortunately for me I have had only very kind comments sofar ..but I think I dont have the mettle or constitution( it is a Tamil English word meaning physical condition) to reply to all comments ( since like my old bowels I blog irregularly always)Also with age and with the various condiments ( Tamil English word for flavor ful additions) that follow of feeble eyes, grey hairs, wobbly legs to name a few - I find myself increasingly in need of supportive structures -be it long cane sticks, black umbrellas or good blog hang outs - where I can join the melee and contribute my two cents. Also I find it difficult to maintain a single line of thought, the circumstances being such and so (how do I end this sentence) I will endeavor to dish out the right stuff (whatever be it) So bear with me.At the home base Chennai rains are lashing right, left and centre further puddling (if not deluging) a much puddled city .

More of the family

2007-07-18T22:46:00.000-07:00

Olym Olympic organizers are starting to recruit torch bearers for the spic organizers are starting to recruit torch bearers for the longest relay route in Olympic history. There will be 21,880 torch bearers for the 137,000 km torch relay route.

Jiang Xiaoyu, executive vice president of the official Olympic body, BOCOG, said, ‘There are two ways of becoming a torch bearer. The first one is through recommendations by various organizations and institutions. Another way is an open process in which public recommendations are accepted.Isnt there a third way - of the Govt deciding - ( at least that is how they do it in India- in a truly democratic country thats possible or doable - it can be accomodative to several yardsticks and standards to ascertain who the torchbearers should be)

That set me thinking ofcourse of the now - the real torchbearers among my family . I think they are my two brothers. I am quite grateful that way that my older brother has neither an MA or Ph.D degree but a very good qualification (equivalent to MBBS) in Textile industry or field. He made a lot of money like a physician or lawyer would in a foreign country ( MA or Ph.Ds in biological sciences cant make that much money) He and his wife and kids a have a very good comfortable life in India and Canada because of him- He has supported a lot of people as part of his ministry. While I slaved in the US(yes yes we are called to be slaves in Christ - that one verse I never forget) , he supported so many people in India. I hope they continue to carry the torch he has helped light. Likewise my younger brother despite finding himself in the wrong city 20years ago(due to no fault of his) - came through the furnace with a good job( he has several awards to his credit -He got an ISO award and several others) , a family and children .He takes Bible study or Biblio study as I call it ( whenever he has time ) , lives out his faith in his workplace ,shops around with his wife, drives his daughter to school (he still needs a supportive fellowship group - pray for that or that he should bring up his girls in mumbai. Pray He will apply to IIT Mumbai - that is wife would suggest it to him ) . Like their father, they have had best of both worlds .As for me and the rest of the household we live in the freedom of the now and present- ( when I think of any good times in US dementia or amenasia sets in - why? read the chronicles of the post doc and you will know why)ooohbut I can't help mention I enjoyed the pies ( blueberries esp) ,quiches ,cheesecakes, carrot cakes, sloppy joes,pizzas and hot dogs ..yum yum yummy to the last bite ( it is not the same here - the mushroom here on the pizza is dry dessicated-and the rest of the stuff is not even available - the chocolate chip cookies are too biscuity . But if I start whinning ...I will start missing my good old church friends in US ( here nobody whines unfortunately..everything is either fine or super fine)

2007-07-17T22:00:00.000-07:00

I was just thinking I have a lot of material on theology, material for more divergent tracts on Christ and His teaching, the OT rules as pertinent to INdian society , why is God a Bengal tiger sometimes and a peacock at other times( peacock's by the way are common fowl when there is no rainbow over their heads) , why is Christ the beautiful rose,common yet so tenderly beautiful, and other pertinent ways to share the gospel- what the stars foretell- but I dont have an office space for the same. If we can put together an office here with a secretary, a peon and a local christian - it will cost about 300 dollars/per month for the same, you can avail yourself of an effective short term mission house- I will be very busy with my scientific work so I wont be able to help out with logistics of things but with prayer and faith you can have the material - ( it is written in rough and will take another 10years to be fully completed - but it can start now) and work the other details with the local Christian here. Think about it..

2007-07-17T20:56:00.000-07:00

Total synthesis of taxol

TAXOL, a substance originally isolated from the Pacific yew tree (Taxus brevifolia) more than two decades ago, has recently been approved for the clinical treatment of cancer patients. Hailed as having provided one of the most significant advances in cancer therapy, this molecule exerts its anticancer activity by inhibiting mitosis ( which is the division of the cell into two during cell growth) through enhancement of the polymerization of tubulin and consequent stabilization of microtubules.Microtubules are elements in the cell that are important for mitosis to occur. They are rod like structures that help segregate chromosomes during mitosis to the two regions of the cell much like a rugby ball. The scarcity of taxol and the ecological impact of harvesting it have prompted extensive searches for alternative sources including semisynthesis, cellular culture production and chemical synthesis. The latter has been attempted for almost two decades, but these attempts have been thwarted by the magnitude of the synthetic challenge. The total synthesis of taxol by a convergent strategy opens a chemical pathway for the production of both the natural product itself and a variety of designed taxoids.

More of my family...

2007-07-12T06:20:00.000-07:00

I have two brothers who are my life...My oldest brother Premkumar is married to Anjali -Amritas sister - He is one of the greatest pillars of our family -that is what my younger brother keeps saying ..- He is a thriving Textile Manager and as a young lad he used to bring home and show us the various spinning items very nicely cataloqued by him -- the warp and waft of spinning I think..We never made as much money as him -(He was in Nigeria and is now in Canada) - he is the proud owner to two houses in Allahabad ( I cry every day knowing the sacrifices he made).Now he owns a house in Canada..He might not have a Ph.Dbut he deserves two Ph.Ds for what he knows in the Textile world . My younger brother had a B.Tech degree from the one of the top institutes here in INdia theIIT but in Chennai he has had a terrible life - he has a posh rented house (he is only 37 ...the husbands of my cousins here have bought their house only at age 60...In India it is not like US ) and car and all but at a very heavy price.That way you can say my older brother had a much betterlife ...but what could my younger brother have done , my father double pushed him to achieve such a high qualification from a prestigous university as IIT( I heard even Infosys Chairman Mr.Narayan Murthy's son did not make it to that Institute - and he had to go the States- Mr Narayan Murthy's son ) - without the emotional warewithal to sustain something like this - and to top it all his adolescence was screwed up when my father decided to settle inChennai when my brother was only 18 -a young impressionable age ( my father did not have the capacity to think ahead that either my younger brother Anand should have lived in Chennai ( perhaps in a hostel) all his young life , bonded here and raised a family here or he(my father_)should have stayed in Mumbai till my younger brother was 26- 28 married and with child /children and then moved to Chennai . Even now I worry if things will be okay for him- whether his daughters will grow up with a good pleasing life - I worry and worry and worry.That is what we should do worry ( not be anxious though I am that at times) and pray I have a Ph.D certificate but alas no two houses I f you see all my education (ididnt get high marks BTW but knew my subject matter better than most- but in India high marks denotes a culture that must be preserved otherwise they will be smoking ganja I think) it seems a real waste because it never ever achieved the two house status it was meant to ..
Currently I hold a HOD cancer research ATRI positon - but doesnt have the kind of infrastructure one would need such as cancer Institute ,Adyar Chennai where I have contacts and also worked before I taught Cell Biology , Molecular Biology at a Institute called AIMIT where I was HOD of Biotechnology. The reason I did not work in Cancer Institute Adyar ,,,was they did not have a HOD post - the scientific director there was also HOD.I am not really liking my current post of HOD ATRI because it still lacks good infrastructure.But I love my brothers .. and there joy is all I care for. I love my father too ...I have forgiven him for his all wrongs in the past towards his children and hope my brothers will forgive him too. May God be with him now and always

AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH

2007-07-12T03:24:00.000-07:00

The other day when I was speaking to the Director of Cancer Institute In Adyar Chennai I mispronounced some one's name or said it wrongly = so He corrected me with a look like I was belittling their culture or something - I said to get a name right all the time you have to have lived in the same place for a considerably long period of time -Unfortunately I have other skills and I have done a lot of work so then if now and then a I mispronounce why should it be such a big deal - so then he said okay and that is true- but these other characters in the lab they made a big deal of it - How much can I do? Must you explain every process right from signal transduction to cancer therapy plus every instrument= how it works and why not it does nt work plus understand the ethos and spirit of the place - who can do this much- I would say Go girl Go scream on who ever you want.to God wanted me to go to Delhi but I was hell bent on going to Madras since at a that time I knew no one in Delhi. Now I feell 2-3 years in Delhi would have done me a world of good even if I did nt settle there in the long run. Ofcourse after sometime in Madras He said he wanted me to remain here on some important work which I did .( when I say God told me , Imean in the Spirit not some human voice -atleast not until now) Sometimes I feel am going crazy in the head- much like William Carey's wife who went loo loo - atleast that is what these Malayalee's claim ( her sacrifice was so very immense) ssBut coming to my earlier point - I did every piece of work very carefully and spelt and pronounced every word accurately but you cant do that all the time - the other day I spelt Sunita Williams name as Serena Williams in one of the blogs but felt too tired or lazy to go correct it - so I let it go - But yes if you are in the same place and country you can get all the names correct all the time or should I think I dont know - one has to go back to old stuff to see if we got everything right . It is not my fault - there is keyboard slip up and if it is not one of your life's work why bother.

A account of a BiBle study attended -

2007-07-11T23:41:00.000-07:00

I was at the Bible study group the other day and lady maybe middleage or old 55- 70 yrs couldnt really pin it down - like my students sometimes they think I am 35 and sometimes 45 but never 70 ( thank God!) This lady shared that she saw a vision and in that God told her the lady you aint seen nothing yet - maybe angels occassionally and thought it was Me but after your father dies you will see the true glory of God as mentioned by CS Lewis -Then she pasued and said I wonder if he(cs lewis) really saw it - because then He would have been dead( I thought as the scriptures says nobody sees God and lives )- but she continued I can never understand lewis fully( that is true I said of myself not all his books make sense all the time)- some of his books are comforting like the silver chair when I am in a tough situation - surrounded on all sides by abnoxious voices(like me I thought though I cant concentrate on them as I woudhave liked to)- then she said - I thought that would be great(. ya even these people say great- like Indians) - It seems later when she went home she thought I love my father too - would it be worth it. And then after thinking it over somemore , she realized her brother was in tough situation that required her father' presence unless someone else was ready to take that place.Men require their fathers much more than women or girls or ladies she said. So it seems she told GOD you take my life but let my father live - surely after my death I will hopefully see you - face to face or otherwise . But then after sometime it seems God again made it clear to her that inthe community she lived - God could not even gauarentee to her that if her father and brother lived it would be okay for them as He thought the father who in his earlier years was a blessing to the communities but after his retirement because new force of evil that had sprung up in and around him that made him forget all the early years so there would be that possiblity that things would not be as she would want it to be. So then she said she screamed her head off.-- So GODit seems presented her with another scenario of the death of both her parents -- how will that help she asked because he had told here just now that there was noone to take father's place for her brother - well it seems GOD said I will keep you alive after your fatherand mother are gone and you will find that good father fiqure for him who will understand him and his troubles in the community .it seems she thought how is that good father fiqure going to comebut maybe God has his ways.Then during the coffee break, I asked this lady what she had studied and what positon in life she had. So she said she will get to that point in a litte time . She then said in the meeting ,oh she had done a lot of everything ( good works I think) but now it seems she said God had told her you can have a very high position ( so that people will not mock you ) or you can have a lower positon and somehow she could ensure her brother had a good life and also they all made it to heavenThe way she told it we all laughed. .It seens her brother was a believer but despite his high qualification and his good lifein the Lord the evil around brought the devil in him sometimes and even her. We all giggled they way she was saying it - these african women make you laugh and then she said he never wanted to accept he was a believer which it seems according to her only made the church rejoice.What nonsense is she saying I thought t why could not he believe in his heart he was God's child after all the belief in the death and resurrection of Christ depicts his unconditional love to all..But she continued saying that every one requires a community to live in and that her brother had not gained acceptance in his community according to his qualification and experience - so he had to associate with others - then said it was all the father's fault to have wanted such high education and position for his children ( misguided ) because a good life is not just high qualifications or position but a good education and understanding of the community we have come from = Christ's love is always there - but first make a life for yourself = I said what if someone meets with accident ,shouldnt we ensure he has received Christ and gone to heaven. She said we will never know you is in heaven or not We will be surprised to find Gandhi in heaven also- we dont know if in his heart he believed in Christ ... same is true of Vivekannada... She said that she thought she would never make it to the Director level but a Associate positon in slightly better institute would be okay for her or evena Assistant Prof in a top class Inst of good standing because then said she can teach and ensure a good life for her brother.Then she said poor thing that that would be her death - getting only an Assistantposition - but if she was willing to die for her brother - she must live that death each day of her life - All these Malayeeladies came and shook her hands - only they understand ever ones woes. No really , they never have a good conversation with me without any cutting remarks because they think I have a posh accent or something ( wait till they hear Noth Indian 'saccent but North Indian they will love - then they forget what their tears were for or in their thinking I should have had two or three houses because I came from US. But when the American walks (black or white ) oh it is the best thing that happened to them .

Taxol from yew combats cancer

2007-07-09T21:57:00.000-07:00

T he story of paclitaxel (now commonly known under the registered tradename Taxol ) originated in ancient times. Julius Caesar mentioned in his "Gallic Wars" that Catulvolcus committed suicide by consuming extracts from the yew tree. There are also numerous references in folk law to the cancer healing properties of the yew tree. The modern history of the drug taxol began in 1962 when Dr. A. Barclay, working for the U.S. collected bark from the Pacific Yew tree (Taxus brevifolia), pictured opposite, as part of a project aimed at the discovery of new anticancer agents. Interest in the Pacific Yew tree heightened considerably after the discovery of it's activity against a number of leukaemias and solid tumours in the breast, ovary, brain, and lung in humans. This sparked off an intense period of research aimed at isolating the chemical responsible for the yew tree's activity and concluded in 1967 with the isolation of taxol in minute quantities. The amount of taxol that can be extracted from the yew tree is very small. The sacrifice of one 100 year old tree would result in approximately only 350mg of taxol, just about enough for one single dose for a cancer patient.

In 1971 Wall, Wani and coworkers at theeported the molecular structure of taxol (1) on the basis of X-ray crystallographic data.

1: taxol

2007-07-08T05:27:00.000-07:00

Yesu christ is the channa batura of my life
the channa batura of my soul
Folks dont understand it,
how can I keep it quiet
Yesu Christ is the filler of my soul

Salaams to Yesu Christ,
The slain Lamb of God
He purifies the soul
and lights up my world
who could ask for more

If after this if they still wish to jump into river , can we stop them?

A rose by any other name is still a rose

2007-07-05T00:58:00.000-07:00

What is the name of the baby going to be? The family clambers ( is that an authentic English word?) in anticipation. I am glad we are not in Kerala south of Chennai where uncles and aunts vote in for names such as Sweetie,Baby,Cutie = and sometimes these are men names and you have a 40yrold man called Cutie George = or 40 yrold females called Rosy Thomas etc. I dont know why I think those names are monstrous but consider the names my cousins have as really very good- Ranima, Kuttima, geetamma - thats from my father's side but from my mother's side it is all english names,Cynthia, John,Daniel , Priscilla etc. I voted for a nice Indian name such as Preeti for the baby but who listens to an Aunt these days!I think my sister-in law is into rhyming sibling and biblical names- so the first girl is Hannah and the second I think is going to Suzaanah-- Who is Suzaanah in the Bible by the way - Anna yes ..In her family all have Biblical names- Ruth, Rachel,Rebecca -- three R's very clever.

One of my friends has a name Chickoo Jacob - and the story goes that just after her birth, the mother called the older brother ( she has two brothers before her) and asked him when he was 8yrs old what he would like his baby sister to be called and he looked outside of the living room and gazed outside thoughtfully at the chickoo tree ( it is like Kiwi but a lot sweeter and brown interior) and said ever so wisely 'chickoo' so here she was Chickoo = she is as sweet as the fruit but a fruit is hardly what springs into mind when you know her - So whats in a name anyway- though she is grateful he didnt say Sapota ( which is another Indian name for the same fruit- used in south india as opposed to central india where she is from- ) . Well the official word isnot yet out on the baby's name and I hope it is announced soon or alas she may end up being called pappu for the rest of her life -because that's what her sister calls her now.
PS.Also I hope there is no NON THINKER"S BLOGGING AWARD - (that would hurt very much however deserving for my dandruff piece unless it is considered a compliment to get a award such as that- no chance for the latter I think in this day and age) BTW, I blog to relax and be nonsensical at times- recreation away from work and a shot at being creative - the latter by a long shot as I am computer challenged - I know I am xeroxing Amrita's words but my grey cells have put a'fully' stop right now.So hope The Amrita will not sue me.Yes Yes the lime worked for my dandruff but I had to use two .

A bad hair day

2007-07-04T03:49:00.000-07:00

I finally managed to squeeze the lime into my hair - lets see if by tomorrow the hair is all shiny and glowing and most importantly the dandruff is all gone. It is not like I cant afford clinic plus or head on shoulders but homemade remedies relax you a lot sooner . Egg shampoos used to be a big thing a few years ago (sunsilK) - I remember having huge fights with my brothers because they used to used up all my egg shampoo and I had to mark my shampoo with a sketch pen to mark the last used level to prove how it disappeared. Men are as fussy about their hair as women. My cousins and their kids still press freshly beaten egg and oil into their scalp- it stinks a little but the whole exercise is soothing and leaves the hair glowing as well.

My days of laziness are over -alas!

2007-07-03T00:17:00.000-07:00

My favorite verse in scripture is : You are chosen before the foundation of the world ..unto good works..Is this a hybrid verse or two separate verses. i am feeling too lazy to check it..and also give the reference. The professors in US spoilt me during my young adult years-- whenever I was too lazy to look up Cruickshank to see the exact pH of the buffer to be used for experiment , they rattled it off- (Now ! Now ! I had other skills like good logic,exptl design , good execution of the expts,careful pipetting to list a few) My chinese friend taught me this : what? that - whenever you are to lazy to look up something,ask..Okay I am out of here

Live and let Live

2007-07-01T21:11:00.000-07:00

_The Leap of Faith
This was the blog I had put off for a week or 2weeks. In one of my blog tours of the scientific community, the untimely and tragic death of a reputed researcher, faculty member in natural sciences Dr.Elizabeth Sulzman was reported. She had taken some caustic substance and ended her life,leaving behind a v. young daughter. I know the scientific world especially in US sits inside a pressure cooker of high expectations, competition and stress. I have seen and experienced it first hand. But for a renowned or valued member of faculty such as Dr Sulzman who doted her daughter to call it quits in so tragic a fashion calls for some rethinking. I t is very important early on itself, young adult life to have a proper perspective on life. what is our foundation?when the storms of life come raging around what keeps us grounded or moored ( will the anchor hold?) . Our faith and belief system has to be strong- to quell the brunt of the storm. I liked what Becky Wolfe once commented on the controversy of stem cell research -- she said "I am glad India looked at the options not the controversy"in making headway and cure for some of the longstanding ailments of tissue damage. We have to learn to make options for ourselves.Work, leisure, family relationships, job options , must be kept in proper balance. We require strong frienships, prayer and fellowship . When our faith and belief system is strong, the love of God and fellowbeing s can withstand any storm. I remember when I was in India as young adult in college, I never really understood why we needed to believe in Christ.Ofcourse I never voiced that doubt. I know during the La deVinci Code controversy, many Christians were emotionally moved to prove the historicity of the life and death and resurrection of Christ. For me at that time proving the historicity of Christ did not seem important but I pretended it was important, to make me feel superior I think tothe others.. If someone had told me Ram /Christ lived a pure , blameless life and laid down his life for his friend so that his friend could live a good , blameless life through the sacrifice and faith in such a person involves putting aside all the sins such as envy, hatred, anger, deceitful, lying, sexual orgies, drunkenness, covetousness etc that would have made sense- I didnt need any proof if such a person actually lived died and rose again.It was like believing in Sai Baba or something . Also if someone has explained what Jesus meant when he said plant the seed in the good soil - what is a good soil - of good education, reality of community and life , breaking the bondage of bad habits by personal self will and God's help( remember In Abel and Cain , God tells Cain to overcome the sin of anger towards his brother who was doing good). that would have made sense then.Also what did Jesus mean when He said - the people of the world are shrewd if only my people had been likewise wise/shrewd in matters of kingdom of God( which is our life on earth and eternal life) would have made things easier -- that would have helped. But proving the existence of God or his historicity and sacrifice and resurrection didnt really make sense to me. I used to pray that God would heal my very cerebally palsied sister so that would be living proof to all . I am glad God took me to States where I understood more of the ununderstood parts of the Bible and my faith was straightened out and strengthened by the Holy Spirit, reading andunderstanding of scriptures, prayer and fellowship of believers and aalso on the strength of faith and life of the founders of US constitution framers and writers. I understood the importance of the historicity of Christ and His death and resurrection - my experience of the good things in life through Him and the many aspects of our humanity,love and compassion and rationale for our beliefs reinforced my faith . I enjoyed life, had a joy amid the steam of scientific life andlearnt to slowly create more options for myself in less stressful areas like teaching and value work ( not in what is hype) and God came through.
Faith is always in someone you know(atleast somewhat to begin with) - it takes time and honesty to further build up such a relationship because God is a God of day to day life and living and routine.I remember when In my early years of research in US , a budding middleaged Indian Professor (married but no children) ended her life(In her early 40s) after a very rewarding career,because one of her grants didnt come through (the couple had 2 large houses, money etc) the Indian post doc from Kolkata who worked under her said - Why did she choose such a time to die just when my H1 visa was being processed. She should have waited alittle longer"

Dandruff wars

2007-06-29T21:05:00.000-07:00

I am waging a Dandruff War right now!!! It runs in the family I think . Now that I am on the wrong side of 40, I have been enumerating all the family ailments and eruptions I can look forward it.:) from my mother's side - a little facial hair (ooh, it hasn't happened..but we never know ..in the twinkling of an eye these things can happen) , definitely a pleasing bout of arthritis at some point, and swaying arms ( oh! as kids we used to swish our grandma's arm around - while she shouted chuma ere tamil for Be still.Now I am going to be swished around unless my father's genes kicks in ( he has bony,muscular arms) .From my father's side it could well be leucoderma( ooh) though some of my uncles showed no signs of it. My father too effectively cured himself by getting some Sidda ( branch of ayeurvidic ) medicine after writing to and fro to several people. I must get that recipe just in case...(no signs as yet but as I was saying..) So, coming back from these Bright Milestones that I can look forward to ..here 's the current war Dandruff..
I read somewhere that Gore likened the war on terrorism to war on dandruff..what does that mean..it is here to stay..or stop itching..
Anyway I always look for solutions ...so here's some homemade remedies
Mix two tablespoons of cosmetic vinegar and six tablespoons of hot water. Dab with cotton into the scalp, parting the hair with a comb apply all over the scalp. Preferably it should be used at bed time. Tie a scarf over the hair to avoid staining the pillow. Next morning wash the hair with shampoo. After the hair is thoroughly cleansed pour over as a last rinse a mixture of three tablespoons of cosmetic vinegar and one cup of hot water. Then dry the hair thoroughly. This should be done twice a week for three months.

Other Home Remedies for Dandruff
Dandruff treatment using Fenugreek SeedsThe use of fenugreek seeds is one of the most important remedies in the treatment of dandruff. Two tablespoons of these seeds should be soaked overnight in water and ground into a fine paste in the morning. This paste should be applied all over the scalp and left for half an hour. The hair should then be washed thoroughly with soap-nut (ritha) solution or shikakai.
Dandruff treatment using LimeThe use of a teaspoon of fresh lime juice for the last rinse, while washing the hair, is another useful remedy. This not only leaves the hair glowing but also removes stickiness and prevents dandruff.
Dandruff treatment using Green Gram PowderA valuable prescription for removal of dandruff is the use of green gram powder. The hair should be washed twice a week with two tablespoons of this powder mixed with half a cup of curd.
Dandruff treatment using BeetBeets have been found useful in dandruff. Both tops and roots should be boiled in water and this water should be massaged into the scalp with the finger tips every night. White beet is better for this purpose.
Dandruff treatment using Snake GourdThe juice of snake gourd has been found beneficial in the prevention and treatment of dandruff. The juice should be rubbed over the scalp for this purpose.
Dandruff treatment using Other RemediesDandruff can be removed by massaging the hair for half an hour with curd which has been kept in the open for three days, or with a few drops of lime juice mixed with amla juice every night, before going to bed. Another measure which helps to counteract dandruff is to dilute cider vinegar with an equal quantity of water and dab this on to the hair with cotton wool inbetween shampooing. Cider vinegar added to the final rinsing water after shampooing also helps to disperse dandruff.

Problem stem-med effectively

2007-06-28T02:31:00.000-07:00

We are all member s of the same body...!! if the heart says to the body I can't function, then the marrow takes over...!!!

NEWS

Country ahead in stem cell research, say scientists

Ahmedabad, January 5: While scientists around the world debate the ethical issues surrounding use of stem cells for medical treatment, India has already taken lead in this direction and has conducted the world’s biggest and most successful adult stem cell experiment, say scientists.
Dr D Balasubramaniam, director of Hyderabad’s L V Prasad Eye Institute, who is in Ahmedabad to attend the 92nd Indian Science Congress, says, ‘‘The LV Prasad Eye Institute has been into adult stem cell research for the last six years and doctors at the hospital have successfully reconstructed over 160 damaged retinas using stem cells.’’
Scientists have been successful in taking adult stem cells from the limbus of the eye and using them to reconstruct the damaged outer surface of the eye, he says.
Dr Balasubramaniam also claims this is the largest and the most successful stem cell trials in the world.
Similar efforts using stem cells for treating cardiac ailments are being carried out at Christian Medical College (CMC), Vellore.
Dr Aloke Srivastava from CMC, also here for the Congress says, “The institute is currenlty engaged in trials wherein stem cells from patient’s bone marrow are taken and injected into the damaged portion of his heart. After implant these adult bone marrow cells take over the function of heart muscles.”
Dr Deepika Mohanty, director of Institute of Immuno-Haematology in Mumbai says, “While ethical issues surround the use of embryonic stem cells, we have found a way out and are currently engaged in research on stem cells obtained from the umbilical cord. The umbilical cord blood stem cells have emerged as an ethical and safe option to embryonic stem cells research. And we are also looking at establishing umbilical cord banks in Mumbai and other parts of the country.”
The subject has excited researchers across the world after they knew how to differentiate these stem cells (embryonic stem cells and adult stem cells) into a variety of other cells in the human body.
Doctors soon started believing that these ‘blank cells’ can be developed into cells of the heart, brain, skin and bones and go a long way in finding cures for many serious diseases.
“There is the ethical issue of raising expectations of patients when we ourselves are uncertain of the results with stem cells. We do not want to go around claiming that the technique is perfected unless we get positive and replicable results in clinical trails,” said Dr Willam Wijns who heads the stem cell research programme in Belgium.
But according to Dr Balasubramaniam the issue is not disturbing scientists here. “There are no ethical issues in the work. We have proved that it works.”

It seems instead of using embryonic stem cell ( which involves foetuses and is the centre of the controversy) , multipotent or adult stem cells can be used to regenerate lost or impaired adult tissue. This is definite + for stem cell research and India has scored admirably in this respect - Hip Hip hurray!

Talking of neices

2007-06-24T22:08:00.000-07:00

My first Neice is the cherubic,charming, cho chweet Mahima... born to my oldest brother Premkumar ( two years my senior and married to Amrita's sister Anju) . She recently sent me these beautiful pics of her. She was a cuddly cute baby just a short while ago and now she towers over all of us at age 13. She is bright and beautiful and very lovely. When she came with her mom last year... we were breathless... the baby was gone and in its place was a lovely girl with trinklets and flipflops and straw hat and all. Her mom and she had come after 5 years ..and the transformation was startling to say the least.. For Mahima India was intense all of a sudden..she was soooo full of questions...why the crowds everywhere etc..The best part was her mom and I while shopping in and out the vast shopping area would suddenly quite unconsciously cross the road to the store opposite...and looking around wouldnt find Mahima..where was she and then we would see her still on theopposite side... unable to cross through the zig zag maze of assorted traffic here. I had to recross the road and hold her hand and cross the road..Yes indeed the traffic here is a total mish mash of cars,trucks, cycles, scooters, bullock cart,autos etc and to the uninitiated quite confusing.

Mahima loved the dosas here - the crisp thin paper like crepes... and Mariamma our cook was her best friend. She loved making these dosas for Mahima. Mariamma by the way is so huge she can hardly walk or stand for long. Also she has the unrivalled knack of breaking every second chair she sits on. She would come to the kitchen and plonk herself down on the chair and there with a bong/more of a bang come to think of it ,she would go down ..with one of the chairs, its leg broken. They say Practice makes Perfect. InMariamma's case it was v.true. Fortunately for us, her husband was a carpentar. So his spare time was spent mending his wife's broken chairs.Now she has been advised to sit only on sofas. Anyway she was very skilled in making dosas ..which she sat and made with great joy esp for her friend Mahima. Also the coconut vendor had a fondness for Mahima.He would arrive a little after the crack of dawn , his cart piled with coconuts and with great flourish of his scythe chop the top of the coconut for the refreshing drink.

Reminiscences

2007-06-21T21:59:00.000-07:00

I cant believe it ..my small baby brother had a baby... I remember when I was 10 yrs old (way,way, way back)my older brother (2yrs my senior) and I studying in a school close to the Hospital in Byculla ,Mumbai,India raced to the Hospital during the lunch break to get a glimpse of our new born brother.. He was born on August 14th the day before Indian Independance day.. and the Hospital was decorated with the tricolor Indian flags and the kitchen supplied payasaam an Indian delicacy served at special occasions , made from vermicelli and rice and milk with sugar and cardamon etc..so it was a double celebration for us. Between 10-15 yrs we doted our brother carrying him around everywhere and listening to all his talk -- out of the mouth of babes they say.. how true-- here our some. When he was 5 years old he had a friend who lived upstairs called Vidya (Istill remember) Vishwnathan and they used to go to school togeher. Either Vidya was in our house or he (Anand) in their house - they even bathed together( imagine! ) Anyway my brother was very attached to my mother and One day after his bath when she was wiping his little head , he hugged my mother and said ' we will always be together' so my mother replied "till your married then you will be with your wife" He was crestfallen and told my mother "I will marry you" . My mother laughed and said " you cant marry your own mother" Then he was sad again, thought for a while and came up with a solution and said ' then can I marry Vidya's mother"We burst out laughing... we told the story to Vidya's mother ..and she replied mischievously,when I get tired of my husband I will marry this little brat.

Another funny thing I remember we were having a religious meeting in our house and were getting ready for it...and my mother told my brother-- the Chairman is going to come and he turned his head and said" who is a chairman? the one who puts the chairs?" ha ha how apt...he understood Jesus humility even then,.....

Honk! Baby is here

2007-06-21T00:07:00.000-07:00

Words Of love to the newborn-

1.There is always someone who loves you more than ever

2. Believe in yourself

Thoughts on Birth of the New baBy

Say I love You as often as you can

Give lots of kisses

The Baby arrives

2007-06-20T02:42:00.000-07:00

What a day it has been!! My younger brother Anand ( ten years my junior) 's wife gave birth to a beautiful baby girl late last night around 9.45pm...she is about 3.95 Kgs quite fair by indian standards and very beautiful--jet black hair and pink fingers and toes..We were so excited when the telephone rang and my brother informed us of the birth..we dressed hurriedly and left merrily and the little wonder was a bundle of joy to perceive. My brother held her so close and bonded so beautifully that when the nurses came to take her for her BCG shots, he wouldn't let go and said he would get her himself.The young nurses giggled and smiled warmly . It so good for fathers to bond to their children..it has to happen earlier itself. I was reminded of how good Our God is in how wonderfully we are made..thank God we are His workmanship . There is nothing like the wonder of a newborn..

Stephen's College - the Indian Idol

2007-06-18T22:38:00.000-07:00

I expected to be rained in with comments on my last post.... .The reason the whole thing came up is because there is nation wide debate here in India ( In Indian TV version of 60 minutes, X factor etc ) about a prestigious College in Delhi , St Stephen's College reserving 40% seats to Christians 10% to Dalit Christians and 10% for sports etc.. and only the remaining 40% to general public on merit basis.So now unfortunately for the general public the cut off percentage of marks is very high like 97% for commerce students and 99% for science students( I cant believe it - how the scoring system is these days -- during our time the topper got 70% marks) Anyway, a prominent speaker in these TV shows is one Mr.Arun Shourie who is well known politician, writer,economist with World Bank, in India 's planning commission etc.. he has written a book on missionaries in India.Shourie says the great preoccupation of Indian Christians and missionaries is to get a great harvest of souls and they have a hatred for Hindus.He speaks of Macaulay- Macaulay's notorious minute instituting English as the medium of instruction in India, says Shourie, ."was laced with utter contempt for India, in particular for Hinduism, for our languages and literature: of course, Macaulay did n6t know any of those languages... his ideas about Hinduism had been formed from the calumny of missionaries .... But the breezy, sweeping damnation-- even a century and a half later, the imperialist swagger takes one's breath away."

Shourie quotes from a recent issue of the Texas-based magazine Gospel for Asia: "The Indian sub-continent with one billion people, is a living example of what happens when Satan rules the entire culture... India is one vast purgatory in which millions of people .... are literally living a cosmic lie! Could Satan have devised a more perfect system for causing misery?"In the central section of the book, "The Division of Labour"-- among the British administrators, missionaries, and European Indologists--.Shouire cites extensively from historical documents to establish that these three groups colluded in essential agreement that "India is a den of ignorance, inequity and falsehood; the principal cause of this state of affairs is Hinduism; Hinduism is kept going by the Brahmins; as the people are in such suffering, and also because Jesus in his parting words has bound us to do so, it is a duty to deliver them to Christianity; for this, it is Hinduism which has to be vanquished."

Is this fair to the missionaries? one asks. What about the numerous schools, colleges, and hospitals the missionaries established in India? Did they have a hidden agenda? Yes, says Shourie quoting from Gandhiji's Collected Works. In Gandhiji's discussions with missionaries, they acknowledged that "the institutions and services are indeed incidental, that the aim is to gather a fuller harvest of converts for the Church." Ironically , Mr.Arun Shourie is an alumni of St,Stephen 's College, which is at the centre of this cauldron of debate..

So if conversion is the motive for these Christian educational Institutions.. why this hulabulla about reservations and a massive protest by the Hindu majority to get a seat in these Institutions!!The Principal of St,Stephen's College rightly stated" it is not about reservations for Christians or Hindus ,,but about Social Justice..an educational institute must be the messenger of such change... the marginalised, the minority have to get justice too.." I rememeber many instances in my early years as a young Ph.D In India going through much discrimination as a Christian... I was ridiculed and criticized for not wanting to bow to instruments during a puja session .. some of those instruments were even broken.. ofcourse now I would have dealt with that differently...but at that time I did bear several injuries as a minority in India..I think Hindus have equal if not more evangelistic zeal than christians... a freedom of religion bill is long awaited in India.Lets hope someone gets Arun Shourie to work and pass that bill.

Friendship and faith

2007-06-18T00:24:00.000-07:00

I have at last touched base with one of my good old friends from US....Dawn Griesbach . I had met her 18 years ago in US where i post doc..ed but later when she migrated to Scotland in '90 we kept in touch for sometime, then lost touch and then years later I met her briefly in 2000 when I was in US on a short visit ..but we have a lot of great memories that go way back...Dawn is a ardent mountaineer , she has climbed all the munroes of Scotland - i suspect that the mountains of Scotland made her a permanent settler there. We hiked a lot in US when we were together in Philadelphia - she a stubborn 10mile hiker, I a reluctant one , always 10 paces behind her like a hindu bride. I loved view points - places that looked outward to the wide spaces , she couldn't care less only loved walking through the lush, mountainous land . Also she knew gardening like noone did- preparing her own compost etc. I learnt making cream cheese, baked chicken, manna burgers from her among other things...I cant wait to catch up with her..that also brought a lot of thoughts of the faith
.. we did a lot of bible studies together..The way I understand my faith now is a lot different than the earlier years esp when I was India.I wondered why? I grew up in a Christian home and according to me the worst way to understand the Bible is through religious eyes/ we received Christ multiple times ...yes like vaccination for the stomach flu , because unfortunately we christians have reduced the beauty of the scriptures to a few choice words and phrases. Secretly i had many of the doubts the Hindus have..why was Jesus born without sin such a big thing.. Oh yes sure His sinless sacrifice redeemed the world... whatever that meant... It was many years later that I understood it as ...there has to be a standard -- say the Garden of Eden before sin was the standard -- how does one have access to that standard without violating the standard itself...it would be through the sacrifice (costly) of a pure and blameless life.. If there is no standard , then anyone can access it anytime - the sacrifice of Jesus was not required. But because God the Father had a standard for humanity - if the standard was violated ..a price had to be paid... by one sinless .. Then in States when I visited places like Boston - where the great forefathers like John Adams lived and saw the many roles they had- baker, printer, constitution framer, leader etc..I had some inkling into this great standard for humanity.. here were true men of substance... without sin (or sin forgiven) a lot of good things can be accomplished and enjoyed in this world.. So then I started to think perhaps Jesus Christ is relevant to US because there we are closer to God's high (achievable) standard...material and emotional and social prosperity was what God desired. For a time I thought Christ may be irrelevant to India..then the picture of the shepherds being the first one to hear the angels sing and announce the coming of Christ came to my mind ..if you look closely shepherds were lowly yet they were professional, minding their sheep and steeped in their cultures( they had community life and culture ).. The angels didnt come to the temple of God and herald Christ - no because I am convinced that without good community you cannot understand the Gospel unless you have sinned terribly and the spirit of God convicts you..there are sins and there are sins..I mean deadly sins and other sins...but only when we look at the high standard of God -- who God was ( as we are created in His image) can we understand all have sinned .. without GOd'sstandard we cannot understand that.. so back to my previous argument...is God's standard relevant to India... Thankfully you see God intended 2000 years of OT before NT ... was, if one slaps you on one cheek .. turn the other one possible in OT ? No, so also not possible India. If someone slaps you on one cheek in India you slap him right back,,, it is what a good person should do...can I hear the brick bats... it is only when you achieve a certain standard you treat others differently than what you have been treated... but we christians tend to put the NT before the OT.( the cart before the horse/donkey) So yes I think Christ is relevant to India provided good Indian culture is maintained.. like good education, family bonds, good Indian food etc.. then we understand scripture better ( not IMHO through religious eyes). But then when you think of the deadly sins only the blood of Christ can cleanse..(it runs deeper that the waters of the Ganges)so in that sense He is much more relevant or equally relevant in India ...so since a person who is forgiven of his past sins and has repented has greater access to doing a lot more in life and enjoy it too ... in that sense to make India prosperous, Christ is the Answer. What do You think?

Chennai gets toilet savvy!!!

2007-06-16T23:16:00.000-07:00

When I first came back to India from US, getting toilet paper was a big thing.. I had got so accustomed to the toilet paper that to think how by and large most Indians cleaned up after their ablutions was disgusting.. Yet for the larger portion of my youth and young adult life, that is what I even I did..OOH.Since we lived in the suburbs getting toilet paper was a big thing... only the posh shops in downtown Chennai , a good hour and a half from where I lived, carried the paper, that to once in a while It was a luxury of all luxuries. True, Indians make a great distinction between their left hands and right hands-- the former to clean their poos and the latter for the more worthwhile activities like writing and eating etc. The right hand knows what the left hand does and keeps away from it...Anyway when I was in Mumbai two years later after my return from US , I found the Mumbaites had made a great advancement in that area..No not toilet paper but a middle ground between left hand and toilet paper... a bottom cleaning shower... Yes Yes it is located close to the toilet bowl and has a pipe that ends in a tiny but powerful shower head. You press the leverage close to your bottom and wow a forceful jet of water cleans you up thoroughly..I was impressed. Now with the passage of a few more years, I find that middle class homes in Chennai have installed the jet system as well...
In the US I remember the technicians in the lab.. I mean the American ones used to love to tease us about the Indian toilet habits and we Indians would desperately try to change the topic..Anyway it is a disgusting topic to dwell on and with India getting into the'jet' age (ha!Ha!) that topic is forever closed I think

India's first woman President

2007-06-15T02:09:00.000-07:00

India is all poised to have its first woman President...there was great debate about it on the TV channels..Well I thought if we cant cow down ( punintended) the West in other matters atleast on this one let us.. Before Hilary Clinton takes the oath I think Pratibha Patil will. Karan Singh the other main contender for the post has gone on record and said,"sometimes it is not enough to have the right man for the job,you need the right woman" All the powerful men described her as a nice woman , but I am afraid it was not said as a compliment but more as it takes more than a nice woman to do the President's job.The most important task she has accomplished in recent times is not passing the anti-conversion bill ..which is a great boon for Christians here...but I wish they would pass the freedom of religion bill. But this is goood having a woman President -a first for Indian History!Now the world will get to see among things...hopefully the fashionable six yards of beautiful Indian silk as befitting Indian Women Presidents.

On a different note, after what seemed as eons of scorching piercing heat wave, the heavens have relented and opened up ..It is raining cats and dogs here..I love that smell of hot baked earth drenched by forcefull rain...Nature is really going beserk here...thunder ,lightening and the trees swaying feversishly...

We are attacked by watermelons!!!!

2007-06-13T23:15:00.000-07:00

How does Chennai cope with the heat? Water melons...Scores of watermelons have invaded the city ..almost all the high ways and byways are sidewalked with water melons ! I looked up its vitamin content - wow it is loaded..here goes

Food Value of watermelons Nutrient Amount vitamin C 14.59 mg vitamin A 556.32 I.U. vitamin B6 (pyridoxine) 0.22 mg vitamin B1 (thiamin) 0.12 mg potassium 176.32 mg magnesium 16.72 mg
Medicinal Uses & benefits
1. They are wonderful diuretic agents. They are of great value in diseases like jaundice, typhoid and nephritis. 2. Protection against Macular Degeneration. 3. Watermelon contains high concentrations , an antioxidant that may help reduce the risks of cancer and other diseases. 4. Watermelon is fat free, nutritionally low in calories and considered an ideal diet food, and is high in energy, making it a great energy boost!

Having a relaxing time

2007-06-13T01:42:00.000-07:00

It is siesta time for me now... a week of relaxation and rest.. I finally finished my grant writing ... I am going to see a lot of movies, drink lassi and watermelon juice and visit my aunts and uncles. Also any time soon ,June 18 is the date, my nephew/niece will be born!! I am so excited...i missed being there when my older brother's kids were born...butI am glad I am there when my younger brother's little bundle arrives... When my neighbors grand child was born, my neighbor a retired professor in Tamil tied a huge cloth made hammock from the ceiling and used to rock the little one to sleep singing tamil folk songs. I recommended it to my sister-in-law but she was of the opinion that the kid may get used to it and as she works as teacher, the servant at home may overdo the rocking part ...is rocking a baby to sleep very essential for inculcating a sense of safety and security? let me know

women in science

2007-06-10T23:02:00.000-07:00

It is finished... the three month marathon grant writing is finally concluded...I submitted two 30 page each documents this morning and a load just slipped off my shoulders. I hope I finally see myself evolving into a seasoned grant writer.. While I was blog-hopping at the science hemisphere-- I came across several blogs that showed how anti-woman the science world was.. every woman seemed to have hit a glass ceiling at some point or other..That reminded me... in 1994 when I was post-doc..ing in US, my mentor a no-nonsense science gladiator - yes very much woman .. told me when I mentioned of my expertise in the transcription ( related to expression of genes) field .. that all the men in that field where sexist- at a time when I barely knew the meaning of that word. Really? hmm, i pondered thinking of all the wise, polite great men scientists I had met.. all very helpfull, courteous and full of wise advice...

I arched my trimmed eyebrows at her .. are you sure ( my expression wore in ethnic style) .. Yes yes she said and in her tall boots stomped out.. Now I test that hypothesis will all those wise, chatty , helpful men upon reading my grant turn to 'women hating' orges these women make them out ot be.. . I am ever hopeful that it would not be so..

Phew.. I can see the finish line

2007-06-09T22:32:00.000-07:00

I am the very tip of the iceberg....in my grant writing ...Two days from now on June 12 Tuesday I submit it .. I wanted to finish it off this week end but apparently the grants.gov has gone off the website for infrastructural changes....( a pinch on the cheeks by Big Sam to us ..nervous types , who want to submit well before the last day) and will be back on only on MonJune 11. Pray everything goes smoothly....

Since I am swirling in the cold waters of the scientific littany ..my grey cells are in a state of freeze as far as relishing the savories of day to day life goes ..chit chatting and LOL ... so for now I leave you to mediate on the iceberg.. for all you silent pygmies out in the woods ..watching but not commenting...:):):):):):):):

The Mouse is here to stay.

2007-06-03T21:18:00.000-07:00

I am on the verge ...I quiver frightfully at the very edge... of submitting my third grant for this half of the year and the mouse has welded itself to the palm of my hand all this season ..if anyone out there knows some brilliant hand exercises, do oblige ..it needs urgent servicing...Now for the next five years be it grant writing or experiments in the lab, the mouse is here to stay. All my last three grants are on mouse models.. so after almost a decade of tissue culturing ,I am back to my Ph.D muse, the mouse.

That reminded in true indian filmy style .. an interesting flashback... I was doing my Ph.D at the then Cancer Research Institute ,Parel, Mumbai ,India ...now it is the pompus ACTREC lying like silent monster on the outskirts of Mumbai... and my project was on epidermal carcinogenesis as studied in the mouse model. This required for the most part ..painting the skin(not with painter's brush but with syringe and 28gauge needle) with different carcinogens and waiting and watching little cancers mushroom on the back of the white swiss mice. We had to sacrifice ..yes the humane way, by pinching its cervical cord and pulling its tail ...one swift movement ( not the inhumane way I have seen in US .. unanaestized mouse guillotined..ohhh gory,gory ) . When I was new, I was not very sure of holding the mouse and pinning him down by the cervix.. so invariably on most occasions, the little fur would squeeze himself through my wabbling finegers and bound through the glass jar s , down the bench and out into the corridors of the Institute with me and my lab mate ( another newcomer like me) in hot pursuit. The major part of the day would be taken up thus.. trying to corner the escaped white mouse. It tooks several months to master the art of clasping its neck before it wriggled out and later when months turned to years.. I was indeed an expert in this dark skill of life, and I would be chit-chatting with a colleague in uninterrupted, earnest conversation ,complete with laugh and giggles,as I would be if I were tearing lettuce for a salad and chatting with a friend simultaneously, while all the time with the seasoned grace of a master executioner , I was pinning the little blisters by the neck and pulling their tails, killing them by the dozen without so much as a glance at the luckless creatures ..

Summer Reading

2007-06-01T22:14:00.000-07:00

Summer Reading

While growing up in Mumbai, summer holidays was usually spent rummaging through the bookcases of my equally bookish friends..collecting a handful and settling down in a darkened room with a ice-cold glass of lassi (buttermilk- for recipe refer next blog of Amrita.. yesugarden.blogspot.com) . My father worked for the Railways so all the apartments were similar-and so all the bookcases were open wooden cupboards built into the wall and going way down..Invariably that was the same floor space for the sofa set s and as most of the homes displayed curios like minature Taj Mahal and marble fish and peacocks from marble mountains and trophies of kids .. the books usually occupied the lower shelves and were often hidden from view by the backrest of the sofas. So I have had this childhood memory of retrieving hidden treasure from behind sofas ...piling them up and reading them..It was a common joke then that we found our books in our friends bookcases and vice versa.. we read perry mason, arthur hailey, Alistair maclean.Ken Follet and of course PG Wodehouse.. The latter a lifelong favorite ,never gone stale always adding the right zest to life... I recently read two good ones ..Pigs have wings and Full Moon ...blew away the tedious part of grant writing..all this made possible by the opening of a small lending library bang opposite my home in K.K. Nagar. It is called Sri Kumaran lending library and has all adventure, suspense, romantic, historical novels and most importantly PG Wodehouses..Mumbai used to have plenty of these small libraries wedged between paan(tobacco chewing) shops and textiles stores spilling over its dilapidated walls with books...they dotted almost every street nook much like a Starbuck store these days..I thought Madras would never sprout one ...and in the last 7 years I had to travel an hour to get to the British Council Library or American Library to get a handful of books...But now the landscape seem to be changing...a library close to home... who could ask for more

the Tail End

2007-05-29T00:41:00.000-07:00

I have been ploughing through slowly but steadily ....almost to the tail end of the grant writing..The only things that remain now are budgeting and tying the loose ends ...biosketch,publications etc..after that I have to paste all the pulled hair back on!!! I rather be spiderwoman than science woman...clambering through buildings is wiser than through wading through papers!! I am calling all my readers (imaginery my brother says ) to come up with the perfect garb for women in science---armed with pipette, paper clips, UV protecting head gaurd, acid proof labcoat, ..let your imagination fly .. and may the best post win...

This is my first US grant writing ...I hope I get some funding... I wrote 3 grants in 4 months ..is that good? I could space it out even more I feel...

Ps. In India , we have to constantly tell the general public " nobody asked for your comment" for the unceasing unsolicited advice from one and all...I never realised that in my posts I have to scream from the house top " Please comment" your comments are desperately wanted...emergency.. get the drip and let the ink flow...

Mountains that move

2007-05-27T22:41:00.000-07:00

My youngest brother graduated from IIT,Chennai,India. In his campus they have buses named after mountains and dorms named after rivers so a popular saying from there is :

Here the mountains move around and the rivers stand still

ART IN INDIA, LUST AND VANDALISM

2007-05-26T23:03:00.000-07:00

The recent episode in Vadodara , Gujarat of a art student Mr.Chandramohan who painted a nude picture stirred a lot of heat and dust here in India -- as if the latter two are in short supply here!! But what should have been a quiet critiquing between the student and his art professor - blew in to a riotous minefield with the usual throwing of stones , burning of effigies and bric-bats the latter weilded by the police ( who in India seem to have graduated in breaking bones and limbs indiscriminately ). Protests mushroomed everywhere from art buffs ...and set me thinking ( which is unthinkable given the temp we roast in each day -- you can fry an egg literally on the sidewalk ) anyway..some 17years ago my roomate Aurele in US ( where I was at that time) an art student was in a similar situation. She was dating a to be Pastor- Div student and she wanted him to get more interested in her art work - so she quite innocently took him to an art workshop where they had a live nude women all painted up for art sketching or portraitmaking or some art work I imagine. Needless to say the Pastor was horrified and expressed his disgust to us later on. We all thought Aurele a devout church going christian had crossed the proverbial line...or rather where was the line..Aurele on the other hand felt no evil thought crossed her mind and she was as innocent as before..Of course that reminded me of Jesus's own views on these things -- if you look with lust in your eyes at a woman, you have already committed adultery..not that the Pastor was in the wrong - he was in the right - why put oneself in such a situation--Aurele was right too -- asa professional ,she viewed it thus (with no lust)SO what do my readers (if there are any) think? I think there are a few who can have the high standards that Jesus talked of ,perhaps Aurele and Mr.Chandramohan belong to that category, but for others to keep away may be the best bet... why burn the streets of your city for that? Anyway what do you think was Chandramohan or Aurele wrong.Write in JJ

grant writing and cow poems

2007-05-25T23:15:00.001-07:00

June 12 is the D day for completing two of my grants on breast cancer( for Department of Defense US) - After last minute across the globe emailing , I finally got two collaborators - so it is taking shape - Now to writing the references - that is the most tedious part .....To relieve the drudgery I am reading silly poems along with my daily dose of PG Wodehouse...

Here's a silly poem for anyone in the mood...

I once had a cow that jumped over the moon
Not on the moon but over.
I dont know what made her so lunar a loon,
All she's been having a clover.

That was back in the days of my godmother Goose,
And though we are goosier now,
And all tanked up on mineral juice ,
We havent caught up with my cow.
Anonymous

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ANJU

2007-05-25T06:48:00.000-07:00

Today is my dear sister-in-law Anjali Premkumar's birthday and I dedicate this blog to her. She is in Canada with her husband and two children Ashish and Mahima. Last year she was here and we enjoyed 'gup-supping' /chit chatting with her with all news and family stories, shopping , and watching Indian TV.

Here's a poem on her Birthday.

Happy Birthday to the fair and lovely Anju,
You are special not any sanju or manju,
You look better and better with the passing of years,
thats the opinion of everyone especially all your Indian dears,
I hope you have a lovely birthday full of love and cheer,
And lots of kisses and hugs from all dear and near.

The pride of Chennai

2007-05-23T01:44:00.000-07:00

On Idlis and dosas-- Idlis and dosas are the pride of Chennai from ancestral times.Idlis are round, oblong or semiflatenned rugby ball, white rice cakes made from black bean and rice in a magical combination, presoaked separately and ground in a traditional, stone grinder- Grandmas and mums all around Chennai will vouch that nothing can ever replace the stone grinder - no summeet blender or even the special made 'wet' grinder( advt extensively these days) can replace the all stone contraption, that reminds one of the relics of the Vindyas to say the least! It is all stone crucible , about 2 feet in height and 3 feet wide etched to give it ragged edges and ablong stone grinder similarly etched which looks like a 'mehair" if you read Asterix comics - Obleix carries it all the time- and then the soaked mixture of black bean and rice goes into it and the stone grinder is manually rotated over the stone crucible little by little - every household in south india has it or atleast the middle aged and older one. Dosas are white, crisp pancakes made from the same ingredients but the batter is fermented longer - Idlis and dosas are eaten with fresh cocunut chutney and sambar- and ofcourse the homemade favorite - malga-pudi - this is made from dried hot red chllies ground with dal and then when you put it on your plate - you make a small hill of it and make a small crater on it into which goes edible oil and the whole think is mixed - yummy . My nephew Ashish Premkumar who studies in Canada likes it so much , he eats the pudi with almost everything - not just idlis /dosas- it goes into his bread,chappati -brown bread, pasta, rice - you name it and the pudi is in it !!!!!

Cucumbers to the rescue

2007-05-20T21:34:00.000-07:00

The hot insipid taste of Chennai summer is on our lips! It is laser hot right now - the sun ever so penetrating-even to the division of joints and muscles !!!Even flies (ugh!)turn lethargic this time of the year. How does one keep cool at a time like this ? Airconditioning, coolers, ice-cold beverages -- but if you want to keep your face cool - here's what my friend Amrita said- crushed cucumbers on the face. I promptly got a few cucumbers, diced it and put it inside a blender - nice thick puree I applied my face - Wow it was really cool,cool - jill ,jill (tamil word for cold) - Now I am ready walk through the furnace !!!Love JJ

The Name above all Names!!!

2007-05-17T22:59:00.000-07:00

Phew! I am at last through with my Taftee exam - 6hrs of serious ploughing through the scriptures. Mrs. Thomas who hosts us and is our tutor kept us alive with hot wadas and coconut chutney,hot tea and biscuits. The book we completed was Understanding the Bible and the exam was on Philippians 2:5-11 - complete with dictionary, concordence and commentary ! It was gruelling to say the least. A very familiar passage - but now we walked through some very deep waters- many new things I learnt - I will confine my self to one or two aspects-- The Name above all names. I never realized the rich traditional contextof name that God used to show the presence of Jesus. Name in the OT was very important and signified a position, function and relationship. The person who gave the name had dominion over the one he gave the name to - Adam named the animals - a sign of dominion.The dying Rachel called her son - Ben-noni meaning Man of sorrows because that was her relationhip to him while his father called him Benjamin as he saw him in a different function - a man with rights and responsibilities. Yahweh called Solomon by the name Jeddiah meaning loved by Yahweh- So also God Himself had many Names - Jehovah, Yahweh, Elshadaii signifying His covenant relationship, His power , His righteousness and His presence and faithfulness always. Name also meant a union- the tribes of Jacob called Israel - united with God to be a holy nation set apart-baptised into the Name meaning - a new ownership. loyalty and fellowship. Name meant the person, His revealed self and His active presence. Because of Christ's humility, sacrifice, suffering God exalted Him to a Name above all names - Lord meaning King of Kings - king of emperors - in heaven and earth-- So when we say the Name of Jesus- it is the glory of God that we are asking for--- so much for now- more later love jj

Faith and the rest of the grains...

2007-05-12T22:29:00.000-07:00

well the story continues...well after that amazing incident (please refer previous blog) I thought God's protection on me was for forever no matter how dangerous the situation...so a few weeks later after I had shifted residence to South Jersey - a suburb of Philadelphia - I had to take the local train to get home. I was late reurning from the lab, it was dark and the sidewalks (pavements) deserted though the traffic on the roads was brisk as ever .My home was between two stations- the first one a dangerous route but closer to home ,the other one safer but a longer distance. I decided to take the first - thinking I must exercise my faith , God was with me...etc all those childhood and young adult concepts of faith flew by--if you had faith like a mustard seeds you can move mountains, without faith it is impossible to please God, anything is possible if you believe--well believe it or not , next moment something told me to look back ..and boom in a fraction of a second a ten ton hand from nowhere came smashing through my face, pushing me to the ground , my glasses all smashed up -- and a voice demanding .."where's the money, where's the money?" I replied, " in the bag, in the bag " pointing to the the larger bag that had fallen on the sidewalk . If Perry Mason was around he would have said ' this is were he made his first fatal mistake' - He overestimated himself and thought this was a feeble, fainthearted, fragile lady and took the bag and in full view of the street lights darted into a sidestreet a few feet away. I was on my feet, my face badly bruised - he had my face pinned to the sidewalk as before my feeble utterances helping him to locate the money, he didnt want me to have a look at him . I walked home - thinking where was God in all this - and reported it to the local police. My bag with papers and all (even my credit card) was located in a nearby dumpster.. he had apparently availed himself of the few dollars and discarded the rest. The next day a police arrived at my apartment with a set of photographs for identification..my pakistani roomate promptly made herself scarce, not wanting to get involved while I identified the man. The police was visibly relieved.. it seems the next day the same man had dragged a woman close to a dark dumpster and made off with all her jewels etc..The man was apprehended, jailed and the police very thankful to me....my faith was shaken but my principles and concepts straightened out -- God wanted me exert my faith only when He said so....but in other circumstances to be street savvy and wise and use my intellect to live intelligently in the world around me. I should have taken the safer route even if longer..In the first instance (previous blog) He wanted to show me that God truimphed over evil .. when I obeyed He protected me ( with a touch of humor as well-- the five dollar came by in the breeze) --Also that evening (previous blog) several black people walked on the street but I walked unafraid. Perhaps these black men were God's children and God wanted to show that we were not afraid of the black men-- they are a lot of good black men .If He calls us into difficult situations He will be with us through that ..but we ourselves must not put oneself in difficult circumstances. ...So is the end of that story. Love JJ

If God be for us who can be against us?

2007-05-07T23:38:00.000-07:00

Recently a dear friend (rather relative - my brother's wife's sister ) Amrita, mentioned in her blog yesugarden.blogspot.com what an inspiration Ps91 was for her. It reminded me of how God placed that passage close to my heart -17years ago when I was a postdoc in Philadelphia ,US. Usually after a short break in the evenings for dinner and relaxing all the post docs (esp the foreign ones) would go back to the lab for finishing the expts- we would take the escort service as it was dangerous to walk alone at evening/night there. But one day God asked me not to take the escort service but to walk alone at night back to the lab. I obeyed and a deep calm flooded my heart. I felt safe and secure and instead of getting mugged, a five dollar bill came floating in the breeze towards me -- I was amazed to say the least and then He placed this chapter Ps 91 in my heart ....Way back then, I was just growing in His knowledge and I took this incident to mean God's protecting arm was always on me and evil will never truimph -- I thought I could be carefree even in dangerous situations....but that was not the message God meant for me to understand through that incident ......sequel to the story next time....love JJ

the Light at the end of the tunnel

2007-05-05T21:54:00.000-07:00

It's been a uphill climb - this grant writing business- aaahhhh painful at times especially doing the reference part - though I actually loved the project writing part - it is the other stuff references,budget that sends me up the wall!!! May 22 is the D-day for submission -pray for everything to end smoothly. Pray that God will strengthen me through all this - He has been faithful thus far and He will be to the end- that is the hope we live in, anxious for nothing . The writing grind is sweetened ( literally) by this juice centre bang next to the internet joint I work in. I am provided by tall glasses of watermelon juice - very very good , full of antioxidants or fresh mango and chickoo juice( chickoo is like Kiwi fruit only sweeter) . The boy who gets me the cold refreshing elixir of life,Abdul, is only 18yrs of age but is a very jovial active guy.Now he is off to be married and his uncle looks after the place. This place stocks up on all the good stuff- ice creams, pizzas,,juices,and is my usual after dinner haunt for ice creams etc. the latest icecream by Kwality - rainbow - is literally blue, red and all the colours and is truly delicious - so besides grant writing I have been devouring rainbows by the dozen ... So much for now Love JJ

Timeless traditions of Chennai and some new ones

2007-05-03T21:57:00.000-07:00

My childhood memories of Chennai are very beautiful (except for the hammering we received from some of our older cousins). I grew up influenced by some great Tamilian stalwarts like Dr.Radhakrishnan, once President of India and a erudite, versatile man of letters, principles and a true visionary. R.K.Narayan was splendid in some of his novels which brought out the beauty and timeless traditions of Chennai. Some of the world's greatest physicists and mathematicians were tamilians (CV Raman) and had contributed immensely to their field.

I loved the malli pu or jasmine flower the fragrance of which wafted through the hot breezes that blew throughout the day as literally every street corner had a malli pu vendor stringing together the little white flowers meticulously.
Also babies and young women smelled heavily of turmeric pastes and sandalwood too!. In those days kids and young girls wore the pattu pavdai - long silk skirts from the famous city of Kancheepuram and I remember as a ten year old - spinning myself like a top till the skirt billowed out and then sitting down abruptly with the skirt fanned all around me like a balloon. I also remember playing with very cute wooden toys, an entire kitchen and utensils made from beautiful teak wood in myriad colors and all kept inside a bamboo box. They looked and smelled beautiful. Chennai's auto too - little two seater vehicles with a hood thrown above also it seemed to have come from the pages of a fairytale- they had little seats opposite the adult ones where little kids squished and sat and yelled in delight as they swayed from side to side.Summer vacation was usually spent with my father giving us arithmetic ( we called sums) to do for us and all the cousins. He used to love solving them himself and quickly thumbing through to the last pages for the correct answer!! The food items too that my grandma created fired the imagination- besides the rugby shaped idlis and the crisp flat dosas there was the uttahapam - white soft pancakes with a huge mound in the centre creating a trough that ran in between it and the curled up edges - into this trough that ran all around went sweet fragrant coconut water and it was truly divine.But now Chennai seems to have metamorphosed in the reverse - it seems to me it has gone from being a beautiful butterfly a spiny scary caterpillar - kids disco dance and gobble macdonalds burgers as if it were the food of the ancestors and say everyting is 'cool' when temps are blistering over 120F outside -- well it is a small world and getting smaller LoveJJ

Swamped with grant writing

2007-05-01T05:01:00.000-07:00

I am currently swamped with grant writing for scientific projects on breast cancer. Now from half a globe across I can submit grants for funding to different agencies in US - these grants have now become open to foreign institutions and one need not be in US to avail of them. Thanks be to God - now anyone in the world with research affiliations can submit these grants Online !!But it is a lot of writing work and would love to have the support and prayers of fellow christians- professional and nonprofessional !!!

When I was in US nonprofessionals (both christians and otherwise) used to be very much interested in my research work and it was fun to explain it to them in layman's language. Now here in Chennai everybdoy is intereseted in how much money one makes and the pride and prestige - not the value, the usefullness , the joy of doing good work ,etc- so I never get to emote outside of my work sphere which I would love to.

Anyway on a lighter vein.... a joke
The Captain of a sinking ship shouts desperately;"Is there anybody on board who can pray devoutly?" " I can ," answers a passenger. "Wonderful, we're one lifejacket short".

What is this blog all about?

2007-04-29T01:33:00.000-07:00

I hope this will be a fun place for me to update major milestones in my life - the everyday happenings - city newses and muses - the indian gripe and also a place to get support for the values I incorporated into my life's work from Christians and like minded people .
I also hope this will serve as a forum for jokes, poetry,limmericks, and for debate on serious issues our youth face , our cities face and our country faces.

Well to start the ball rolling.....how effective is our education system in shaping the young lives of students to be worthy responsible citizens of tommorow...When I was HOD of Biotechnology at AIMIT in Kanathur teaching Immunology, CellBiology and Molecular Biology to Biotech students I was suddenly struck by how solemn and sacred the educationist/teacher's position is - the values lasting for a students lifetime is inculcated here, plus it is a place to ensure his/her academic grooming prepares him for self sufficient valuable carreer , where he/she can raise a good family and be a responsible citizen of the country... More later Bye JJ

Just back from my Mumbai trip

2007-04-28T00:46:00.000-07:00

Mumbai was were we grew up - me and my three topclass siblings- where we waded knee deep in flood waters many a monsoon with our gumboots and duckback raincoats chasing many a greeneyed frog that had come gasping for the mumbai hawa (air),where we devoured bhelpuris,buddi ka baal (old lady's hair) - and other such frightful goodies ,where we played langdi ( one foot hopping ) ,dabha eyes spies(hide and seek) and other such games .When Dad retired in 1988 we were all dispersed like water bubbles in different directions - my oldest brother Premkumar ( whom all my friends said looked like the handsome Amitabh Bacchan) was raising his family in Nigeria,I was in US and Anand and Dolly ( the lower batting order) were in hot Chennai. Mumbai was far from us and we from it for several years.Now I have in the last 6years visited it once every year or atleast once in two years- It has been a welcome going back to roots. Travelling in the double decker buses , the crowded local trains and doing foot path shopping has been quite exciting to say the least. Fellowshiping with Viju and Valsa Abraham was added blessing and brought back fond memories of EGF which though it stood for Evangelical Graduates Fellowship we had nicknamed as Eat Good Food...