As time passes ...

In the past few days .....

I met an old friend and well wisher, and probably the most accomplished person I know who now runs a research program in the UK with 19 PhDs and Post-Doc students. She asked me what I was doing these days and among other things, why I wasn't trying to leave India as I once was keen to.

Among other things, encountered the following question among a set of password-security questions on a trading site that really made me smile ... "Where did you go on your first date?"

I found that Bangalore is getting so cold I can actually feel my lungs feel the chilly air as I go running in the evenings.

I discovered that another friend had an revelation of sorts, when he told me that marriage is all about making it work above all else.

I learnt about Illuminati ambigrams from reading a Dan Brown book, 'Angels and Demons'. Figured Vatican City would be nice to visit someday.

Was sick to my stomach from watching Bollywood folks promote their films relentlessly, and especially so since they now use News and Business channels on TV for the same.

Watched as an innocent, oblivious, unsuspecting, unarmed guy walking on a village street in Nandigram get shot in the chest by a police sniper. The victim falls to the floor and dies instantly. The footage was released on a TV channel .... what was the cameraman doing? Trying to hold the camera still? "Making news" at all cost... life will always come second in a country of over 1 billion people.

India found its latest and probably its most deserving Test Captain in Anil Kumble

Watched as George Bush attempted to make up his mind about the lesser evil in Pakistan.

Learnt to play the guitar riff for "Come As you Are" by Nirvana. Kurt was pure genius.

Was told to count my blessings.