Idle musings

    This blog post is about a trip to Gujarat and also about faith. Like most of my blog posts, I have mentioned names only when I feel that they are essential. There are few photos in this blog, all without photos of people. For photos with people, please contact me.     My wife had a lean time at work this week. Nearly a month ago, I felt that we could visit either Himachal Pradesh or Gujarat. Since Himachal Pradesh would be cold, we booked air tickets to Ahmedabad and back, leaving Bengaluru on 15-Nov-14 and returning on 21-Nov-14 - though we actually reached home on the morning on 22-Nov-14.     When we prepared our itinerary, it was somewhat like a pilgrimage tour : Dwarka, Somnath and a lot of temples around these two major temple towns ! I am not a religious man : my idea of a good temple is one that has few people and looks clean. Frequently, I have to be reminded by my mother and wife to pray during festivals ! More often than not, my prayer is a brief request to God for heal

    It is a sign of the times that I cannot imagine researching without the Web. On Twitter, I saw this link http://www.statisticbrain.com/attention-span-statistics/ which says that our average attention span in 2013 was 8 seconds. In 2000, the attention span was 12 seconds. The web site indicates that attention span is is the amount of concentrated time on a task without becoming distracted. When I searched for the source of the information, I was unable to locate it in the website of National Center for Biotechnology Information, which the link quotes as a reference. However, I did find a lot of web pages using this information.     Is our attention span just 8 seconds ? Let me see : 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 and 8 ! By now, the average human being has lost interest, if there is nothing enticing. So if you are still reading this blog of mine, you are not (in a sense !) normal ! The infographic at http://www.nbcnews.com/nightly-news/infographic-shrinking-attention-span-n110801 shows how

    On last Sunday, my wife and I watched the Hindi movie "Mary Kom" at Vision Cinemas, K. H. Road. I paid around Rs. 170 for a ticket, which was OK, considering the prices in the other multiplexes. This blog post is my review of the movie and also a tribute to Mary Kom.     Of course, I have had a week to let my thoughts settle, but the initial favourable impression of the movie lingers. I commend the effort that Priyanka Chopra has put in to the role. The producer and director deserve credit for converting the autobiography of a remarkable and courageous Indian sportswoman. There are very few world champions that India has produced in sports and fewer still from the north-eastern part of India.         Mary Kom's website is at http://www.mcmarykom.com/ and provides some information about her background. Her real name is Chungneijang, but since that is quite a mouthful, it has been simplified to Mary Kom. The wikipedia link https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_Kom has m

    My wife and I returned from a vacation to Singapore. This blog contains my description of the vacation and a few of my impressions. Note: As usual, I have not used names in this blog. Also, pictures with people are avoided in this blog.     The true test of a good vacation is that during the vacation, time seems to extend. This has nothing to do with the duration of the vacation : even on an extended weekend trip, the events of just a day earlier seem to have occurred a long time ago. This probably has to do with the fact that there are so many new experiences for the senses. Accustomed to city life and routine, every small change from the routine has a way of stimulating the mind, in my opinion. During this vacation, this was what we experienced. Our days felt long in a pleasurable kind of way. After the trip, I feel energised and am actually looking forward to resume working on Monday ! I don't know how long that feeling will last though : probably until Monday evening, is w