Building a home in the concrete jungle

This is a crude snap of the window sill in my room, where (for the past one week) there have been some guests – a lovely pigeon couple.

I have been learning lessons from them – of punctuality, discipline and perseverance.

From my opinion, they are trying to build a home for them, which I guess must be ready before spring sets in. Hope I could only make them understand that my window sill is oriented in a sloping angle, almost 45 ° – this is making the construction a tough task, because the twigs seem to be slipping down, invariably all the time.

Sometimes, I watch them for hours (with amusement), because every time they fail, they try yet again. And after the whole days’ work, it is a pity to see that hardly 3 or 4 twigs only remain intact. So, I had this thought that they would not come back the next day. How wrong I was. They return everyday – even after umpteen failed attempts, they have this indomitable will to start all over again.

 

The twigs remaining
after a hard days’ work

  I wish I could shout aloud to them
  that the place they have chosen may
  not have the right foundation to build
  their house on. I have literally been
  trying to talk them out of their efforts
  and to find another suitable place.
  The concrete jungle they are in right
  now is not planned to accommodate them as they used to, decades and decades ago.

To try until you succeed, and to be prepared to start all over again – after every fall, this is the lesson I learnt from the pigeons.

One of these days, I intend to try and make the ambience of the window sill a little more hospitable for my guests – hope they welcome my makeover. If there is anybody out there, who could give me some professional advice on this, please do… I would be more than privileged to have a living happily-ever after pigeon family on my window sill.

The pigeon couple

Where are all those smiles of innocence?!!

Why does time and age transform us from carefree, happy children to
self-centred, never-satisfied-with life, grabbing-every-opportunity, the-path-to-success-is-not-important, ignorant, and ambitious adults?

Why do we need to go to the extent of pulling down our own good friends  (like the story of the Indian crabs) to win the rat-race??

Why do we have to compete in an examination, the same way as we must fight in a battlefield?

Why do we have to take shortcuts and wrong turns to reach the finish line?

Why can’t we be content in life with what we have, and be ready to accept life as it comes?

Why do we have to plan for a better education, a better job, a better spouse, a better car, a better house, a better future – can’t we settle just for the good?

Why do we always have to be the winner… can’t failures be sweet experiences too?

Why do we bother to make more money than our wallets can hold? (we all know that a glass can’t have more water than its own volume, yet we are ignorant)

Why can’t we read just for the fun of it, and not for the heck of it? (we read nowadays for a greater good, a greater purpose; as in exams and research papers, and not just for the love of reading)

Why do we take notes to grab every word that is uttered in the lecture – can’t we just take some mental hints of the personal experiences from the life of a scientist?

Why do we always jam our minds with preconceived notions about the people we meet, and why do we always fear they are going to steal our million dollar idea? (I guess even Edison must have been a little flexible in sharing his research ideas to his friends)

….

     … This is an expression of my anger, turned into a blog post for tonight.
And the anger was soothed at the end of this post, since I reminded myself that none of the attitudes above can be changed, it will remain the order of the day (at least for a while). Finally, nothing better than a good song to put me to sleep….. I just hope we all could get back our innocent smiles, and return to ourselves.

RETURN TO INNOCENCE (Enigma)

That's not the beginning of the end
That's the return to yourself
The return to innocence
Don't be afraid to be weak
Don't be too proud to be strong
Just look into your heart my friend
That will be the return to yourself
The return to innocence
If you want, then start to laugh
If you must, then start to cry
Be yourself don't hide
Just believe in destiny
Don't care what people say
Just follow your own way
Don't give up and use the chance
To return to innocence
That's not the beginning of the end
That's the return to yourself
The return to innocence
Don't care what people say
Follow just your own way
Don't give up,
To return to innocence.
If you want then laugh
If you must then cry
Be yourself don't hide
Just believe in destiny.

And after all that boring stuff

I was blogging about last night, I found that there is still some “life” left in my LIFE to be happy about, and to enjoy. This update is after re-reading my own first post – No doubts that here, in IARI – I have indeed everything to gain, and nothing to lose. I suppose it includes gaining the insight on how to deal with a boring life too!!

So, motto from now on… trash the boredom, and Live life QUEEN–SIZE!! (This is a slight modification of the phrase Live life King-size; the one I picked up from where -- I don’t exactly remember!)

What to WRITE…..

…. when your neurons are clogged with dead cells? (maybe because they were stretched to the maximum limits of elasticity!!) Sorry if I am being way too imaginative, and stupid (“clogged with dead cells” – what a strange perception!) Sometimes, life can give you such times, when you are totally out of your saneness, drawing a blank at nearly every thought that whisks past. I am going through such an episode right now. And, don’t ask me why… I can’t come up with a sensible answer for that too.

The monotony of my daily routine still continues… LECTURES, NOTES, LITERATURE SEARCH, THE HINDU, A HOT GLASS OF MILK, ON-THE-DOT MEALS, THE HOUR-LONG WAIT AT THE GEYSER FOR A BATH, GOOD-FOR-NOTHING SMSs TO FRIENDS, GMAILS, HOTMAILS…. am literally starved for some “change” sans effort. Though ignored for a long time, blogging is just not the right option for me now. I’ve been at it for almost an hour, yet unable to think of something interesting to blog about. So I’m finally boring my readers with one of the WORST-BLOGS EVER. I can’t be so sure that this will be THE one, ‘cause my brain can deliver a lot more of such nonsense stuff. After all, in my blog – I am the MAKER AND BREAKER OF RULES. (at least here I need not think much to satisfy the PUNDITS of English language – just hoping my English teachers from school are not reading this!!)

I am sounding too pathetic to continue blogging…. What I need very badly is a breath of fresh air, and some fresh thoughts (trust me, life was better when I used to carry a 3 Kg–school bag on my back, than now when I am carrying less than a couple of long notebooks in my hand. I feel it is a more heavier burden to the mind, than the body) So, with the promise of giving myself the bliss of an early morning walk from tomorrow, I end my blog here:
   “I think I've discovered the secret of life - you just hang around until you get used to it” - Charles M. Schulz.

Pongal Vaazhthukkal…

Pongal thirunaalum,
Thalaipongal thirunalum,
Pongivarum pongal pola -
Engum pongattum magizhchi.
Iniya pongal nalvaazhthukkal!

Happy Pongal to all.
We thank sun for burning himself to save us.
We thank plants sacrificing their life for us.
And we thank all the creatures helping us to live in this world for some time.

What next in the -OMICS era?

Exomics – study of exons
   ORFeomics – study of ORFs
          Kinomics – study of kinases
              Bibliomics – study of bibliographies
                      Interactomics – study of all interactions
                              Speechomics – study of language acquisition

Until a few minutes back, I didn’t know these terms ever existed!!

Intrigued about what Ionomics was all about, I began to search for some background information on Wikipedia; only to end up thinking about what could be next in line: in the era of –omics?

Well, it could be anything…. starting from A to Z; not that it should in any way be related to biology (as in Bibliomics or Speechomics). Btw, how many of you out there heard about “The Human Speechome Project” ?
Strange, yet happening.

I am just expressing my utter disbelief on the pace at which the biological glossary is building up, and how far behind I am. It maybe a better way of understanding life; in its most finest details – or investigating an organism from varied perspectives (first you study its phenotype (Phenomics), then you go on to its structural composition (Lipidomics, Proteomics and Glycomics), then look into its metabolic processes (Physiomics), zoom into their individual compounds (Metabolomics), mineral ions (Ionomics), enzymes, their interactions (Interactomics), their regulation (Regulomics), then into their nucleic acids (Genomics) and its several off-shoots……. and finally end up with……. Whoknowswatomics!! Maybe this is what is called as Systems Biology: the different levels of an organism.
These hi-fi terms have been coming out of research laboratories throughout the world, with such great momentum, that within a few years we might even be shopping for an “Oxford Dictionary of OMICS”.

On a creative note, here are some of the MOST eligible candidates for the next in line:

Phosphotomics – study of protein phosphatases
Dissertomics – study of dissertations
Linkomics – study of gene linkages
Intromics – study of introns

I should not be doing this right now. Because on second thought, it may seem like I am mocking the scientific fraternity of which I am also a minuscule part. But the non-scientific side of my being urges me to go on… So, if somebody really does start to work on phosphotomics or linkomics, it must duly be credited back to their founder (ME) , I suppose! When kinases and bibliographies can have their own territory, why not phosphatases and dissertations?!!

Finally, as to whether the primary purpose of my search was solved?
The study of the ionome, called ionomics, is defined as the;

Quantitative and simultaneous measurement of the elemental composition of living organisms, and changes in this composition in response to physiological stimuli, developmental state and genetic modifications.
                                (Now, I really need to get some sleep!!)

Care to find more –omic terms?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_omics_topics_in_biology
http://www.media.mit.edu/cogmac/projects/hsp.html

RTE in India by 2015 - a mission (im)possible

“The Right of Children To Free and Compulsory Education” (RTE), an act passed in the year 2009. Though It has taken such a long time for our political leaders to pass a bill as essential as this, it is welcomed whole-heartedly. The important point to ponder about is how far it is being implemented, and what role we; as responsible citizens can play to help in achieving the target to have every child complete primary school by 2015.

Several norms have been prescribed under the RTE act; to be adhered to by the government, schools, teachers, parents, and the community at large. Some of them are:

• All children between the ages of 6 and 14 have the right to free and compulsory elementary education at a neighbourhood school
• No direct (school fees) or indirect cost (uniforms, textbooks, mid-day meals, transportation) to be borne by the child or the parents to obtain elementary education
• The government will provide schooling free-of-cost until the child's elementary education is completed
• Schools shall constitute School Management Committees (SMCs) comprising local authorities, parents, guardians and teachers
• The SMCs shall form School Development Plans and monitor the utilization of government grants and the whole school environment
• Compulsory inclusion of 50 per cent women and parents of children from disadvantaged groups in SMCs
• Ensuring child friendly whole school environment through separate toilet facilities for girls and boys and adequate attention to health, water, sanitation and hygiene issues
• Two trained teachers to be provided for every 60 students at the primary level
• Specific provisions for disadvantaged groups, such as child labourers, migrant children, children with special needs, or those who have a disadvantage owing to social, cultural, economical, geographical, linguistic, gender or such other factors

• Families and communities have a large role to play to ensure child-friendly education for each and every one of the estimated 190 million girls and boys in India who should have been in elementary school today

The reason for the controversial title is to emphasise that whether this dream turns into a reality or not, is solely in our hands, and each one of us can contribute – in a small, but significant way. The AWAAZ DO campaign initiated by UNICEF is doing its part in spreading the good word around.
(I have come this far in my life owing to the good primary education that I was blessed with, so it is high time I return the favour to society)

Want to know what you can do? There are an umpteen number of ways to help, and to start with, check this out-

http://www.awaazdo.in/

UNICEF is playing  an instrumental role in bringing together relevant stakeholders from government, civil society, teachers' organizations, media and the celebrity world to make this RTE act into a reality, and achieve.

To know more about what has been achieved so far in India under the RTE act, follow the links below.

A few stories around Education on the UNICEF India site:

Bringing Child Labourers Back to School in Bihar
http://www.unicef.org/india/education_6455.htm
Masti Ki Paatshala Curbs Dropouts
http://www.unicef.org/india/education_6245.htm
Children enjoy learning in Activity Based Learning Schools
http://www.unicef.org/india/education_6022.htm
Isolated Islanders Support Schools to Educate Their Children Closer to Home
http://www.unicef.org/india/education_5429.htm
Community radio connects, educates and entertains in rural India
http://www.unicef.org/india/education_5964.htm
ADEPTS – An innovative strategy to improve educational performance through teacher support
http://www.unicef.org/india/education_4831.htm
Storybooks to help marginalised children bridge language barriers
http://www.unicef.org/india/education_5962.htm
Headmasters train to become better Managers
http://www.unicef.org/india/education_4671.htm
A Braille version of the CRC spells out rights for the visually impaired in India
http://www.unicef.org/india/education_5911.htm

Videos around education on the UNICEF You Tube Channel:

The Classroom - The right to free education
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n2b2nKhIvZU
Priyanka Chopra on Girl Child Education
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jsQBTfc5lgQ
Priyanka Chopra on Girl Child Education 1
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1mYljSCFIdc
Priyanka Chopra on Girl Child Education 2
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1mYljSCFIdc
Priyanka Chopra on Girl Child Education 3
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gRs8FpVlSIs
Bringing Child Labourers Back to School
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tlC-dlwMZ6E
Girl Stars - Krishna the Teacher
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jdlB9-HKgeo
Anita-The Bee Keeper
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rtUiVVDQYwA