photo credit: R.Mitra aka @the.photoguy (instagram) bemused! via photopin (license)
Monthly Archives: January 2017

A satire on disclaimers.
Also see : The Crazy World of Disclaimers!
A ‘Small’ Word Leads To A Long History
I have always wondered whether the English word ‘nano’ has its origin in the Gujarati word nanu (નાનું = small) — the similarity is indeed remarkable. To explore the idea further, I opened the Merriam Webster dictionary and found that it is not so. The English word ‘nano’ has its origin in the Greek word nanos, meaning ‘small’ or ‘dwarf’. Continue reading

Health effects of demonetization.
photo credit: I Believe I Can Fry Sausage, Spinach & Broccoli Casserole via photopin (license)
A Real Hero : H. T. Sangliana
Browsing through page after page, one advertisement caught my eye : without resorting to any image or eye-catching graphics, a message was written in blue colour on white background : ‘Sangliana for President’. I scorned — “Huh, few days back, you wrote ‘Advani for Prime Minister’! Now that it is certain that Modi would be the prime-ministerial candidate from BJP, you have taken up this new campaign. King makers, eh? Now who is this Sangliana? Whoever!” And I continued with my browsing, the advertisement kept showing up with due perseverance, perhaps hoping that someday I would show mercy and pay attention to it. Finally, I gave in. I opened Google, and typed this name just out of curiosity. The result on right panel showed photograph of a man, possibly hailing from Mizoram, with a broad smile. Continue reading
Mulayam Singh Yadav and Akhilesh Yadav’s photo source: Wikipedia
References:
1- Mulayam Singh Yadav takes fight for Cycle to EC, The Indian Express, 3 January 2017.
2- Ram Gopal Yadav meets CEC to claim ‘cycle’, The Indian Express, 3 January 2017.
3- EC to hear SP dispute on Jan 13, The Indian Express, 11 January 2017.
Why You Should Discuss Your Research With Others
My laboratory is situated in an isolated corner of the institute campus. Whenever I have to stay there in night time for some work, one or the other of the security guards turns up to check if everything is fine. That routine visit starts a scientific discussion and I find myself talking to him about lidar, sunphotometer, aerosols, dust, smoke and so on. Continue reading

Translation: You can go only if you have come! Context: Actor-turned-politician Mr. Mithun Chakraborty, who had attended the upper house of parliament for only 3 days in more than two-and-a-half years, resigned from the house citing health reasons. This also brings to focus the poor attendance of several other members of parliament.
Mithun Chakraborty’s photo source : Wikimedia
Reference:
Mithun quits Rajya Sabha, cites health, The Indian Express, 28 December 2016.
Potential (closed couplet)
of human potential,
my dreams lie there —
— in that far off land,
and here am I standing
on the shores —
— the limit of my strength.