Curiosity in "Curiosity "

Curiosity, the Mars rover launched by US, has taken this image of Mars with Mt Sharp at a distance .. Shadow of Curiosity in front .. Can we get some indication of any organic molecule from Martian surface, which could possibly say that life once existed on this planet . . The next two years will say something in this regard. The Mars launcher to be sent by India next Dec will hopefully throw more light on Martian surface ..

An image taken by NASA's Mars science rover Curiosity shows what lies ahead for the rover --- its main science target, Mount Sharp, in this handout image released by NASA. The rover's shadow can be seen in the foreground, and the dark bands beyond are dunes. Rising up in the distance is the the distance is the highest peak Mount Sharp at a height of about 3.4 miles, taller than Mt. Whitney in California. The Curiosity team hopes to drive the rover to the mountain to investigate its lower layers, which scientists think hold clues to past environmental change. This image was captured by the rover's front left Hazard-Avoidance camera at full resolution shortly after it landed. It has been linearised to remove the distorted appearance that results from its fisheye lens.

A photo of Martian surface - to be preserved for posterity ..

Mars, first colour image, courtesy Dailymail and NASA ..


Courtesy NASA and Reuters ..

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Better than at Harvard and MIT ..

To teach at Harvard or MIT still remains my dream .. Till then I strive to, where ever I am, to deliver in the class as best, if not better than either of these places ..

I relive my dream everyday in the class !!

This belief and conviction takes me through every day of my life ..

I am confident, Harvard and MIT like institutions can be built here in India itself, like the Nalanda and Taxila of 800 - 1200 AD time period  .. Let us strive towards that ..

Ge

Role of a citizen ..

There is no role in this democracy more important than that of being a citizen .. Author unknown

Huawei .. - a threat or a saviour ..

China's Huawei is now the world's largest telecom equipment manufacturer. It's 2G telecom networks fuelled Africa;s rise in mobile telephone penetration. It has also supplied 50 % of all 4G telecom equipments installed in Europe.

China's Haier is the world's largest white goods manufacturer ..

China's Lenovo is the world largest PC and laptop manufacturer ..

Feeling threatened ?? No need to worry, the avalanche has just started . ZTE, Huawei's competitor in China is next set to storm the world. Both are set to supply cheap, high quality, technically superior equipments which the world cannot resist !!

This leaves China with the capability to sneak into other countries networks and possibly make them dysfunctional during times of crises .. 

http://www.economist.com/node/21559922

Just like the West tried Stuxnet virus to damage Iranian nuclear networks, ( the same fear is with the West that China also would use the same strategy against it..), China is open to entice the world with its ever low cost, high quality technical equipments and in turn flex its muscles to the outside world ..

The future is indeed interesting to watch regarding these developments ..

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Why am I so upbeat about the Travancore Royal family..?

Learning from history is the most gainful thing anyone can do ..!! From history we learn a lot of things and in turn, we become history to posterity, so that the future generations can learn from our experiences and never repeat our mistakes ..!!

First of all, let me pay obeisance to the Travancore royal family as I hail from Central Travancore .. Swami Vivekananda once called it the "mental asylum of the world', but still we can learn a lot from the rich cultural and literary legacy of this place.

This was a real life incident / interaction which happened in our family with the Maharajah, narrated by my maternal grandmother Estheramma Oommen, at Adoor, Kerala, at an age of 95+ years .. maybe she got this from earlier narrations .. I thought it very proper to document this for posterity ...

When she was just married and brought to my appachen's family she was just fourteen ..  (my maternal grandmother was from Thandaneth family, Pallikkal, Kayamkulam, just younger sister of Late Sri T M Varghese, a veteran of Kerala freedom struggle ..) My appachen was from Puthenpurackal of Chittundayil family in Adoor.

During  this time, around 1700-1715 AD, the royal family in Travancore was under attack by the British to establish their control. The boy King (Prince) Anizham Tirunal Marthanda Varma at that time was fiercely resisting it. Ettuveettil Pillamaar were colluding with the British. The King was put on exile and driven out of the palace. He was roaming in the kingdom to avoid capture. Mostly he used to be dressed differently and used to move from place to place.

Anizham Tirunal Marthanda Varma, the first and
the most capable of them all !!

The boy King in his exile, reached Adoor from Kottarakkara, about 75 kms from Trivandrum ... The story goes that the young King first came to my great great grandmother's house (Chittundayil) dressed as a beggar and asked for food and to see the mother of the house.  My great grandmother who was little haughty at that time, (I am assuming, due to affluence), did not care to check who the beggar was and directed the maid to give some food to the beggar and send him off. The little boy did not want the food, but wanted shelter from the warriors of Ettuveettil Pillamaar. The police were searching the whole of Travancore hounding for the boy King to capture and finish him off.

Depressed, the "beggar" did not take any alms and instead went to our neighbour, Nellummoottil family, another great family from Adoor.  Maybe the mother of the house there was less haughty, She wanted to see the beggar herself. When she saw the beggar, she was astonished. An able, 'sumukhan', fairfaced, young boy with all royal grandeur, in a beggar's dress seeking alms. She immediately asked the boy to come inside the house. She gave him milk, honey etc, gave specially prepared food, asked him to take bath, and took care of him well. He was allowed to stay inside the house for three days, all the time taking care of him. The lady of the house never knew who the beggar was.

When the Ettuveettil Pillamaar warriors came about asking whether a beggar had come in their direction asking for food, my great grandmother told the police that yes, indeed a beggar came and pointed the direction in which he went. The police went to the next house, of Nellummoottil and asked the mother there whether she had seen a fair beggar who had come in their direction. The Nellummoottil ammachi by now knew, whom the police were searching for and misdirected the police saying the beggar went in a different direction. She spoke with such conviction that the police never cared to inspect the house for the beggar. The "beggar" left the house, thanking the inmates so profusely, and after some months he assembled his armed forces, defeated the ettuveettil pillamaar, regaind power and went back to the palace. 

Among the first decrees which the King passed after assuming power was to take away all 'excess' land from the Chittundayail family in Adoor ( history says a thousand para of land) and give it tax-free, "karamozhivayi"  to Nellummoottil family .. My great grand mother realised her folly , though a bit late, but was ever after so careful in all her dealings with people then onwards. My grandmother who had just come into her husband's house when she was just 14 years then, found this truly amusing and narrated to me many years, at least 275 years after, when I was staying alone with her in Adoor during one of my school holidays around 1975-78 period.

Chittundayil and Nellummoottil family continued their good relationship without any grudge, marrying into and from each others family. I was so fortunate , I have stayed with my late grand mother together, sometimes for one week, once for two weeks too. This was a story, real life incident she narrated to me one of those days..  The kanji, payar and chutta  pappadam I had with her, will be relished for ever .

This story and my granduncle's association with the freedom struggle of India and Kerala remains one of the main reasons why I still today have a great fascination and affection for the Travancore royal family, the simplest and most philanthropic of all royal families in India for three to four centuries, yet the most rich ( having the combined wealth of all other royal families in the country) and most powerful ( having defeated the Dutch and the British navies, the penalty from their excesses adorning the vaults of the Sri Padmanabha Swamy temple in Trivandrum,) amusing the whole world of its rich legacy and riches !!

It is said that the riches of the Travancore royal family now, parked in the Sri Padmanabhaswamy temple at $200 billion, can buy 30 British Royal families !!

See the present state of the coloniser and the colonised !!

Read a related article on the Travancore royal family at this link ..

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Questions I always ask my students in all batches ..

1. Which is the one and only watch co. which has kept time at all the Olympics ?

2. Which is the one and  only watch co, whose watch is the only one to have crossed the atmosphere of the earth ?

The answer to both is 

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O M E G A   ....  I also have an omega  ..

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Our Deepest Fear - Marianne Williamson

This motivating thoughtful poem was used by the Chancellor of Alliance Uty, Prof. Madhukar Angur (NITK, IIMA, Ph.D.,Uty of Texas (Austin), Uty of Michigan Flint campus), at the Foundation Day Address on 2 August, 2012. He was motivating the faculty and staff to come out with their best and by doing so, quoting the poet, not being selfish, indeed liberating others from the fear of performing to their best !! The founders including Mr. Sudhir Angur IITB, IIMA and Mrs. Sheila Chebbi were felicitated ..

Indeed, a very impressive motivational piece from Marianne Williamson !!

"Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. 

Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure.

It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us.

We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous?

Actually, who are you not to be?

You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world.

There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you.

We are all meant to shine, as children do.

We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us.

It's not just in some of us; it's in everyone.

And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same.

As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others."

It is amazing to know how much we can achieve, when nobody cares who takes the credit !! 

It is also a fact that nobody rises above low expectations !! So keep your expectations real high, higher than the stars ... An inspirational quote from a great leader ......

The clarion call from the Chairman exhorting the faculty to carry out research, basic and application, of the highest degree was indeed the sweetest melody to the ears, for me !! When there is full support and push, let us strive and bring out our best, honing the intellectual acumen of discussions both within the classroom and outside .. The recent International Doctoral student consortium in marketing is an example of this ..

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