Quirky facts about Dr.Albert Einstein

All right! Going by the title of the post you might have come here looking for stupendous-man (refer to my dear Calvin's stupendous definitions here) like traits of the greatest intellect of 21st century Einstein.  I am not going to tell things like "Einstein was super human that he never farted in company" and neither that "Einstein ran a secret brotherhood to preserve the mysteries of Jesus Christ", instead I am going to share little somethings from his ordinary life that I picked up from reading this book from Walter Issacson.

• Einstein was ever forgetful. We all know the tale where he called up Princeton University office to note down his own home address. He would forget keys, leave behind his precious things and often travel to places far away only to realize he doesn't have any clothes with him.
  
• Einstein's brain was stolen post his autopsy and evaded from being caught for almost 3 decades after his death. There is also a movie "Relics" dedicated to this story line.
  
• Einstein was not mean to his wife. He treated only one of his wife badly :P In order to persuade her to divorce him he lured her with his Nobel prize money.
  
  An excerpt from Einstein's letter to his second wife (when they were still not married yet):
  "I treat my wife as an employee I can't fire"
  
• Einstein ran away from Germany and never returned in fear and disgust for the Nazi rule. (Einstein was a Jew by birth and he was never in terms with his religion as a young man. In the later part of his life he strongly associated his kinship with the troubled Jews and fought for their pride and honor).
  
• Einstein was offered the presidency of the newly formed state Israel in 1952 which he rejected promptly for he himself knew very well that he would make a lousy politician.
  
• Einstein never got convinced of the path breaking Heisenberg theories which revolutionized Quantum physics. Neither was he convinced of the uncertainty principle nor did he appreciate or approve of the scientific leaps in particle physics. Einstein died a death of non-quantum physics believer.
  
• Einstein was a seasoned violinist and connected deeply with music. He often played on his violin in place of giving a speech. I often wonder that music is the language of universe and it seems to attract every human!!Poor, rich, dumb, bright - music has a spell on everyone.
  
  
  
  

I revelled in reading this piece by Issacson and convinced beyond doubts that he is a wonderful story teller. I recommend this book to anyone who is

• interested in knowing all the dimensions of Einstein's life
• eager to know the path breaking scientific discoveries of early 21st century

We often think that success, knowledge and social life can't go hand in hand but when we delve deep into celebrities' lives we realize how mistaken we are and how limited our thinking is. Science and art can revolutionize how we live our lives. A thought insignificant at first can sweep the entire mood of the society. Einstein's scientific contributions did not just create a new chapter of modern physics but his theory of relativity based on non-conformist ideals brought forth an era of new art opposing all norms of conventional thinking. His attitude made many an old league of classical physicists to look in awe and inspired a cadre of youngsters to cross the limit of his capabilities. Einstein lived during a time rather created a time where the field of theoretical physics donned an attire of freshness and creative geniuses of that time sprung to life. Knowing Einstein's life is synonymous to getting a sneak peak into the movement of theoretical physics renewal. 

Ode of abstract!!

He handed me the headphones. The sound was high-pitched, like the soundtrack of a movie in which random scenes had been strung together, or cut up and played backwards, or deliberately placed out of order. Bottles clinked and a door creaked open. A shot rang out. A child whispered, Is he here? Where is he? A women wept and said, Nahi, nahi. There was the sound of water falling from a great height. A door creaked shut and a bottle smashed on a tiled floor. A woman's high voice fell deeply through the octaves and a shot rang out. A man panted like a dog. A child wept and water lapped against the side of a boat or a body. A bottle of champagne popped and a doorbell rang. James Bond guitars played against cowboy string orchestration. The child said, Here he is. Where is here? The woman's voice, soaked in reverb and whisky, executed another perfect fall and I experienced a sudden drop in my head like a vertigo rush. I heard the sound of water and heard a man shout, Monica, my darling, and I felt so dizzy that I had to close my eyes. Then a woman said, Is he here? and a child whispered, Nahi, and a shot rang out and everything went silent.

- Jeet Thayil 

The aforementioned paragraph is the most abstract description I have read of a song till now. The writer challenges my thinking with every line. How I am enjoying reading his book Narcopolis a Man Booker Prize nomination!

Reading for 10 minutes!

Have you ever felt lost while trying to get a quick read? One usually feels there should be ample of minutes left in your schedule to pick up something to read. But is that hesitation really justified? I believe any small gap of joblessness is a good excuse to read. Still don't trust the philosophy of a quick read? Here is a list of readings one can do for a 10 minute break.

1. Read quotes on your favorite topic in mind. It can be any word under the sun.
2. Read about the pioneer of a field. Thinking about rest? Read how a pillow is manufactured.
3. Read stuff on 'how to' website. You definitely wouldn't be knowing about every way.
4. Read 5 pages of your holy book. If you are atheist just read to know what the big fuss is all about.
5. Read article on a topic unknown to you. Go surprise yourself.
6. Read about the phone in your hand.
7. Read about the operating system of your laptop/desktop/phone.
8. Read about the song you just heard in the morning. Browse for it's singer, music composer or the muse.
9. Read the headlines in your newspaper.
10. Read cartoon episodes such as Calvin and Hobbes, Garfield, SpiderMan etc. You are never too old for comics.
11. Read about the brands you wear. Levis, Gucci, Fendi, Khadi, GlobalDesi ... You never know completely about these brands, do you?
12. Read few pages of fiction. The only overdose which is beneficiary for brain is imagination.
13. Read about science. We have no excuse to not know basic science in this era of science and technology.
14. Read about the historical site in your town. Know thy city.
15. Read about festivities in your country and others.
16. Read about the names of vegetables and pulses you eat in your mother tongue and/or English.
17. Read about the current event in your city/country/world.
18. Read entirely about a disease you have faced in the past or the one troubling any of your family/friends. Awareness about diseases and their prevention is imperative.
19. Read about a famous game be it an online game, or a board game or a team game.
20. Read an informative non-fiction book, 10 pages at a time.
21. Read about a well known art work (painting, sculpture, natural formations).
22. Read about life history of famous warriors. 
23. Read about a legal policy which is the central topic of a latest scandal.
24. Read how to tie a tie. It has always been an underrated skill.
25. Read a serious essay/article about your area of work. When a seemingly daunting job is done in bits, the endurance becomes bearable.
26. Read how to overcome an annoying personal habit that has been bothering you for long. Knowing more about a habit of annoyance is the first step in overcoming it.
27. Read about a place you have been to in the past or that you plan to go in the future. Having knowledge about the culture, mannerisms and history of a place enriches the experience of tourism.
28. Read a grammar rule you always seemed to have trouble with.
29. Read about a profession.
30. Read about a national or international level exam.
31. Read a word and it's etymology.
32. Read about an NGO in your area. Awareness of social service organisations can somebody trigger a better person out of you.
33. Read about latest releases in the market for gadgets, books, clothes, accessories, jewellery and automobile.
34. Read about a famous educator in your area of expertise.
35. Read famous marketing strategies. 
36. Read a blog. Blogging world can open for you never seen before arenas.
37. Read everything about a pet you own. 
38. Read about wacky things supplemented with a lot of pictures. Go on. Stimulate your senses.
39. Read about wars. Wars and treaties are the elements which gave us a world that we live in today.
40. Read about mavericks, people who defied the usual norm and achieved far greater things. This instills a sense of awe in you.
41. Read a parody, a joke or a goofy story. You are happi in life as long as your funny bone is roaring alive.
42. See a lot of pictures on your favorite topic. Pictures are a great read (no kidding)
43. Read boards and banners on the road for 10 minutes. You will be amazed by how much your sense of local shops and locations increases.
44. Read about national/international leaders of your choice.
45. Read about another profession.
46. Read about another religion. I believe a great person becomes so by imbibing different perspectives of all religions and schools of philosophy.
47. Read about glamour/fashion/acting.
48. Read articles on flora and fauna. 
49. Read about tricks on the search engines and softwares you work on.
50. Read poetry. 

My 'happi'ness

My Happiness

Love
Is when I see his face
Love
Is when I touch his lips
Love
Is when I look into his eyes
Love
Is when every breath is his

Knowledge
Is what I lack
Knowledge
Is what I seek

Art
Is where lies my heart

I fear not death
For I have seen death
When I have no love left
For I have seen death
When I am smug with what I learnt
For I have seen death
When I rot with lack of art

Good riddance!

I will take a short break from ranting about the books I read. Instead, here I write about those books (some great actually) I could not finish reading. Here is a list (of course I will list for I know nothing better) of those abruptly ending reads:

1. Adventure Capitalist by Jim Rogers

On reading this wonderful work, I was despondent over world status at the turn of millenium. This book is about Jim Rogers' trip around the world with his girlfriend turned wife during the trip. I repeat, the book is a fantastic read but I just ended it after he finished roaming some 100th country (out of 116 countries he visited). 

Reason:

Me and Rogers just fell apart. May be I was tired of all the information overload.

Future:

I look forward to definitely go back to the book from where I left it.

2. The Story of my Experiments with Truth by M.K.Gandhi

I bought this book (I vaguely remember it being a gift by my mom) owing to my childhood fascination with Gandhian principles. More on this here. Our father of the nation gives an account of his life and truth experiments in this autobiography.

Reason:

By the time I reached midway of the book I started exhibiting symptoms of hypersomnia just so to avoid holding the book for a longer time. I had outgrown my childish fascination for Gandhiji and also did not find any relevance of his stories to my present life.

Future:

Definitely not reading in this lifetime. Perhaps I might return to this work for my research (you see the wide chances!)

3. The Power Of Your Subconscious Mind by Joseph Murphy

This book was given to me by my best friend (perhaps he guessed it right! I needed to harness my will power at that time). I hardly read 50 pages and this book entirely put an end to negative self talk in me. Till this day I consciously avoid slipping into the detrimental negative self talk mode. 

Reason:

I felt fifty pages is all I could take of this super stuffed psychological book. Since I got the jist of whatever Murphy had to convey, I was at peace with giving up this read.

Future:

I might flip through the book to say if there is anything else that could capture my attention.

4. Jinnah: India, Partition, Independence by Jaswant Singh

I bought this controversial book spending a lot, I tell you a lot of money as a student. It took my 5 month savings to get hold of this voluminous book. Irony is and as you know I didn't do justice for my pocket money. I secretly stuffed it under a lot of other books to collect dust.

Reason:

The writing was not captivating and a lot of political and historical information failed to hold my interest for long. The 700 page book was painfully slow and I read less than 70 pages.

Future:

I wish to be brave enough to sit through the entire volume and have the satisfaction of reading this carefully documented book by a senior politician.

5. The Lost Symbol by Dan Brown

Who could have resisted the temptation of laying hands on one of Dan Brown's books? Blown by the brilliance of The Angels and Demons and The Da VInci Code I was eager to read his next big release 'The Lost Symbol'. 50-70 and the book lost my interest!

Reason:

When 'different' becomes the definition of your writing style and plots its difficult to stay in readers' goodwill unless you keep producing different works repeatedly. This book had the repetition of same style, similar twists, more and more "getting down a mile of stairs to uncover secret" scenes.

Future:

I will never return to this book. I am satisfied with having read 3 works of Dan Brown.

6. The Secret of The Veda by Sri Aurobindo

I overestimated my skills of assimilation and bought this book to finish reading in about a week. But it was not destined to be such an easy read. The book high on philosophy and spirituality shouldn't be taken in overdose. 

Reason:

I am yet to mature spiritually and to understand vedic interpretation of a scholar I need more patience and determination.

Future:

My 2013 resolution will be to finish reading this book of immense spiritual content.

7. Word Power Made Easy by Norman Lewis

This is a book every graduate studies in hope to improve his/her vocabulary, to prepare for a competitive exam or to be more knowledgeable about the semantics of English language. 

Reason:

I have into read and reread this book almost 6 times each time failing to go beyond 200 pages. I was not preparing for any competitive exam and the rote learning of words occasionally tired me out. I took to improving my language through reading books, newspapers and magazines which proved to be a better learning method for me.

Future:

I will continue to have this book in my shelf always in hope of learning more words.

8. Lord of the Rings by J.R.R.Tolkien

I became a full fledged reader only in my graduate days. I took up books which I missed reading as a child and Lord of The Rings was one such masterpiece.

Reason:
The mistake I made was starting with 'The Hobbit' and getting forever struck at the page where Bilbo Baggins' feet hair is explained for a good length. While it is undisputedly a classic, Lord of the Rings is not a breezy read.

Future:
I do not think I can bare the very long descriptions of mundane things such as length and hair of people involved. I might venture into watching the films though! Afterall 'The Hobbit' movie is going to be released soon.

9. Eclipse by Stephenie Meyer 

I was evading the many suggestions by my friends to read 'Twilight" series. I was trying to pose as a vampire-series-hater for many years. One fortunate day I decided to give up to the (secret) temptation to delve into vampire series and laid my hands on the third book in the "Twilight" series.

Reason:
I was a naivete in vampire world and jumping directly onto the third book left me with a lot of questions and finally complete loss of interest in the series. Smugly I gave up on touching the book for another couple of years.

Future:
I chanced to watch all the movies in the series and absolutely loved "Breaking Dawn", both as a movie and a book. I read selected chapters in 'Eclipse' thrice. I developed appreciation for many quotes on love and longing in the book.

I declare myself a 'Twilight' series fan.

10. Mr.Sampath, The Printer of Malgudi by R.K.Narayan

After loving classic works by R.K.Narayan such as Guide, Swami and His Friends and Malgudi Days I bought one more of his works "Mr.Sampath" speaking of a printer in Malgudi.

Reason:
I had outgrown stories and writing style of R.K.Narayan. The language was of a lesser standard laiden with grammatical and spelling errors and the narration was a weakling. I was excited neither by the story nor the style.

Future:
R.K.Narayan will always be the author of my first read 'The Guide' and the composer of my all time favourite 'Malgudi Days'. I am never going to mar his impression on my mind by reading 'Mr.Sampath'.

P.S: Share the works which you haven't been able to complete reading and yet remain in your heart. 

Out of the frying pan, into the fire!

We have all seen balika vadhu and cried/laughed with Aanandi, the protagonist. While the producers wanted to create an awareness about ill effects of child marriage, Indian villages where child marriage custom is still prevalent were busy making note of the jewellery designs, saree colors for their own young gonna-be-brides. The shock waves hit me when I read the news about a politician supporting khap panchayat statement on the solution for pervasive rapes!!

I digress.

Khap panchayat is the village administrative and judicial body in most parts of north western India. Such panchayats are at their operative best in states of Haryana, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh. Even though there is an unequivocal acceptance of the need for older Indian tradition retainment, these khap panchayats are not all glittery golden social service ones. They are day by day proving to be superstition harbours and archaic social law protectors.

Source: http://cartoonistsatish.blogspot.in/

I felt like being slapped by a red hot iron hand when I read that a Khap Panchayat from Haryana held child marriage as the solution to avoid rapes. I agree that Haryana is facing a dearth of humanity; what with 14 rapes in a month! But encouraging a less traumatic social problem to ward off another grave social problem is in no way a civilised effort. Add to the flavour - a politician from Haryana Om Prakash Chautala extended his complete support to the panchayat's views.

The problems haunting women have no regard to place, caste or status. While downtrodden dalits are ruthlessly raped in Haryana, educated I.T women professionals are victims to lustful men in Gurgaon and Delhi. While Indian government is begging girls to attend schools, a teenage girl is shot in Taliban for promoting women education. The whole world is striving to uplift the status of women and it is duty of every person as a citizen of the world to provide women their rightful education and safety. 

How wise is this Khap panchayat's judgement of bouncing girls from one social evil to another?  If the powerful learned men of our villages and cities put the blame of rapes on marital status of a girl, should all unmarried girls feel like prostitutes? Is being single an invitation to rape? Is marriage a solution to the lust of freely roaming animals? Just because a kid has all organs to be qualified as a girl should she be traded off in child marriage? Pardon my solutions for the lack of originality. Rapes can be avoided if 

• boys are taught to respect women
• girls are stopped being projected as objects of pleasure
• masculinity lies in protecting the weaker sections and not in exploiting them 
• femininity lies in being confident about one's own body and not taking the blame

While administrators in other parts of the world are foraying into important issues such as women empowerment, improved work conditions for women, egalitarian socio economic environment Indian politicians should not be enthusiastic about pushing back India into old superstitions. When Indian men and also women stand firm in supporting their daughters' freedom what come may, only then can we hope for some progress otherwise deteriorate in the lack of it!!

http://blog.blogadda.com/2012/10/13/blogging-community-top-reads-indian-bloggers