Author: drsriramnathan

The whole world now wants this!

The moment you get your Amazon or Talabat delivery or even a visit to a hotel or any office for that matter; you are asked to submit a review!

A feedback is now the backbone of every business!

Even most of the apps you use constantly ask for your feedback!

Playstore even ranks apps based on the feedback or stars or ratings and these are the most important deciding factors!

Even while making a booking we look out for the reviews! Even movies or even a book!

I never believe any review since I like to make my own!

Then again it is sad that it is the Ratings which drive the show!

I know ones which have five star ratings who are actually bad while many with lower ratings turn out to be surprisingly good! These include hotels, movies and books!

With the advent of social media; you do not have to be qualified to write a review though! I still remember waiting to read the review or even the award show to decide on which movies to watch! Now you get the instant decision! All you need is to not live under a rock!

In any case the review systems are only guidelines! You must not believe them and try to make your own review or complaints!

But if you thought that this review system or feedback system is a recent phenomenon, you would be surprised to know that the issue of getting a review or a complaint has been around for centuries!

Not the service but people who complain!

The complaint tablet to Ea-nāṣir  is a clay tablet that was written c. 1750 BC. It is thus considered to be the oldest known written complaint letter!
The tablet details that Ea-nāṣir travelled to Dilmun to buy copper.
On one particular occasion, he had agreed to sell copper ingots to Nanni. Nanni sent his servant with the money to complete the transaction. The copper was considered by Nanni to be sub-standard and was not accepted.

In response, Nanni created the cuneiform letter and Inscribed on it is a complaint to Ea-nāṣir about a copper delivery of the incorrect grade and issues with another delivery! Nanni also complained that his servant had been treated rudely!

So our nature to complain has been around for centuries!

Now now, that is not a complaint or a review!

Now you can give a feedback on my sketch of Shri Santeshivara Lingannaiah Bhyrappa!

Shub ratri…

The return of the Trojan Horse and the Hidden files by Amit Dubey

Double book review!

E book

Fiction based on real events!

You can also read both the Novels in quick succession since they are similar to each other and written by the same author though one of them is a collaboraiton!

Amit is already a very famous person because of his experience!

In fact he is the technical advisor and story developer for the really nice series called Preetam and Pedro which is also a cyber crime thriller!

Amit’s expertise lies in the cyber crime!

The videos we see on how you have so save yourself from cyber crimes or how it happens or how it was solved may at some point be linked to Amit!

His videos on mobile phone games and how your phone can be hacked are really nice and informative!

So both the novels are amazing stories on cyber crimes and many other true crimes in which Amit helped the investigators solve the issue!

The novels show Real-life inspiration from digital investigations, and focuses on modern hacking and cyber forensics and finally highlights how criminals are tracked through digital footprint!

One chief story on a national security incident which happened in India would shock you!

Many other stories are of kidnapping and money looting and these will really open your eyes to the world of cyber crime!

With your phone becoming your regular companion; you must try to safeguard it as much as possible!

In fact in the era of digital presence and social media; you really do not have a private life! There are so many things a hacker can know about you even if he or she does not know you personally!

The best part of the storyline was how even the experts get fooled!

After you read the novels do check out his videos in which he tells about the amazing crimes he helped to crack and on how you can keep yourself safe in the digital world!

These are all I can mention without any spoilers!

Simple straightforward language with simple explanations but it will shock you!

Cybercrime is a big issue and along with AI; it’s a different ball game!

Must read!…

On our recent trip to Japan we missed Hiroshima and Nagasaki though we did cross the stations since our time was limited…

But everyone knows about the grit and determination of these cities and the country as such to recover from such a devastating attack!

Now did you know that before the atomic bomb explosion; there was a disaster which stands as the largest man-made explosion prior to the development of atomic weapons!?

This explosion is known as the Halifax Explosion which was a catastrophic maritime disaster that occurred on the morning of December 6, 1917, in the harbor of Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada!

The explosion occured because one ship was on the wrong side of the ROAD or the canal so to speak! But both the ships did not change course and it lead to one of the biggest explosion ever!

During World War I, Halifax served as a vital, bustling hub for transatlantic Allied convoy ships.

The first ship; SS Mont-Blanc, a French cargo ship was packed with 2,900 tons of military explosives (including TNT, picric acid, and highly flammable benzol) while the other ship the SS Imo, was a Norwegian vessel chartered to carry relief supplies to Belgium, was departing the harbor.

Around 8:45 AM, due to miscommunication and navigational errors in a tight channel known as the Narrows, the two vessels collided at low speed.


The impact ruptured benzol barrels on the Mont-Blanc, sparking a massive deck fire. The crew abandoned ship, but because the vessel did not fly warning flags to keep its deadly cargo a secret from enemy spies, onlookers gathered along the waterfront and at windows to watch the burning ship drift toward Pier 6.

Then at 9:04:35 AM, the Mont-Blanc detonated with a force equivalent to roughly 2.9 kilotons of TNT!

A fireball reaching 5,000° C incinerated everything at ground zero!

The shockwave ripped through the city at over 1,000 meters per second, shattering windows up to 50 miles away and hurling parts of the ship miles into the air!

The displacement of water briefly exposed the harbor floor, generating an 18-meter (60-foot) tsunami that surged blocks into the city and wiped out the indigenous Mi’kmaq community at Tufts Cove!

Approximately 2,000 people were killed and 9,000 were injured. Thousands of the injuries were severe eye lacerations caused by flying glass as people watched the fire through their windows!

Then again you do see rare examples of amazing humans!

Amidst the horror, incredible stories of sacrifice emerged—such as railway dispatcher Vince Coleman, who stayed at his post to telegraph a warning to an incoming passenger train, saving hundreds of lives before he was killed by the blast!

Also in gratitude for the rapid, massive humanitarian aid sent by the state of Massachusetts, Nova Scotia still donates Boston’s official Christmas tree every year! The gifting continues even now and people walk past this huge tree without knowing the story behind it!

The explosion also triggered massive research and medical breakthroughs in eye care and triage resulting from the disaster!

So have you heard of this one before?!

It’s a scary story! Then again if you like non scary ones then you can check out the ones by Sudha Murthy!

Time to hit the sack!

Shubh Ratri!

It’s late at night, maybe a weekend.

You have just called it a day and going to sleep when your stomach gives you a call saying that it’s not that full! How about some sweet!?
You open the fridge to see some leftover cake or ice cream or maybe some dessert! Maybe that big piece of cake which you thought was too much!

Add some chips on that! Make it the definition of JUNK!
You don’t think and just gobble it up!
Next day your guilt is seen on your face! And maybe on the vigour of your morning exercise!

Then again the munching on  the very sweet and high caloric food is actually an  ancestral survival trait!

Early humans and primates faced constant food shortages.

Finding high-calorie, sweet foods like ripe fruit or honey meant a vital boost of energy. Eating as much as possible protected them from starvation by turning extra sugar into stored fat! They did not have the luxury of a fridge full of sweets and a shelf full of snacks!

That is one reason of course! There are others too!

Apparently there is no natural off switch for sweets! Nature never limited how much sweet food we could find, so humans never evolved a signal to tell us we are full of sugar!

On top of that you get instant reward from the brain! Eating sugar releases dopamine, a chemical that made our ancestors happy and encouraged them to hunt for more sweet foods!

Finally if it is sweet it is a good Safety signal! Sweet taste told our ancestors that a plant or fruit was safe to eat and not poisonous!

So ages ago your ancestors were hunter gatherers and when they came across a tree laden with sweet ripe fruit they didn’t wait for the Baboon to come and eat it all up!

They just grab that juicy treat with both hands and eat as much as you can since there is no telling when they  can have such a sweet meal next!

So next time you feel guilty just blame the Neanderthal man!!

Of course you can forget to add that those ancestors used to work ten times more than you do now and digest that extra sugar!

That can be your little secret! Of course it’s no secret that Daler paji can make anyone dance! I have gone to one of his concerts and I can vouch for that!

Now close the fridge and your mouth and sleep!

Shubh ratri…

The Leh Ladakh airport is a beauty! Of course not the airport as such (that prize can go to our beautiful Bengaluru airport!); but soon after you take off or just before you land all you have to do is look out of your window!

The view of the amazing Himalayan range will literally take your breath away!

You cannot even imagine the view of the snow covered mountains with occasional shine of the sun! The whole view looks like an ocean of mountains covered in snow!

Which is exactly what the highest altitude combat ever in the history of Indian Air force was called!

The code name was “Operation White Ocean,” which was a joint military action marking the first large-scale utilization of airpower in the region since 1971!

Both the air force and the army worked in Tandem to recapture our posts and to reclaim our land!

The main issue was the height which meant that those at the top were so high that no one can take them from above and they could easily spot and shoot anyone coming from below!

The advantage of having a post high up in these snow covered mountains!

The land mission was called Operation VIJAY which many people know about but this one was high up in the skies!

So acting in tandem with the Indian Army’s Operation Vijay; Operation SAFED SAGAR was used  to flush out infiltrated troops from high-altitude positions along the Line of Control (LoC)!

Over 5,000 strike missions were flown! The amount of practice and precision required is simply mind blowing!

The initial jets were only equipped for aerial photography and were always under the danger of attack from below! Which is why high altitude bombing was suggested; but these had to be as precise as possible since a small mistake could make the bombs land on our own troops!

Practice and precision along with determination and innovation made sure that the goal was met!

Finally fighter jets like the Mirage-2000 used precision laser-guided munitions under strict orders not to cross the LOC!

The operation stands as the highest-altitude combat air operation in history, completely neutralizing enemy supply lines and turning the tide of the war!


Which is why I have so much respect for the defence forces! They make us so proud!

Proud also we are of our art and artists like A K Hangal whose wrinkles and almost bald face is a treat for sketch artists!

Jai Hind…
Shubh ratri…

As you grow older you tend to leave somethings! Most of it is your childish behaviour apparently!

But when do you actually become an adult!?

Is it when you start earning or when you get married or when you have children and the responsibilities goes on increasing!?

Is it when you pay your home loan EMI and since you need to pay for that you try to be careful on what you spend!?

Or is it when you are unwell but still take of your children and family who are also not well!?

Do you become an adult when you start saying no! Even if it breaks your heart! Even when you actually want to say yes! Even if you would have felt bad if your parent had said NO when you were a child!?

Or do you become an adult when you choose sleep over fun!? You want to go to that party but you know that it will make you tired the next day so you say you are not well or are busy and simply sleep!

Or do you become an adult when you DO NOT ARGUE in WhatsApp! When you realise that all these arguments and debates are pointless and does not make any difference!?

Or do you become an adult when you do not like to attend your OWN birthday party simply because the number of candles on the cake would burn your table! Or more importantly you may have to clean up the mess of the party afterwards!

Or do you become an adult when you STOP looking at mirrrors or look at them with sadness! The hair becoming grey or white or the wrinkles getting more prominent or eyes becomes darker!

Or do you realise that you are an adult when you come from a vacation one day early only to sleep! Fondly remembering the days when you used to land up for a class directly from the bus station or the railway station!

Do you become an adult when you start parenting your parent! You start instructing them what to do! Or start telling NO to them!

Or do you become an adult when you actually think about tomorrow! You start a pension fund or a child education plan! You do not indulge in the new phone! Instead you spend it on a future plan!

All these are things which actually means that you are responsible! You start becoming an adult everyday!

Then again do not worry! However old you become, you can still be childlike once in a while! You can lick your finger or pick your nose when no one is looking! And you can have that ice cream once in a while! You can jump and dance for joy when you are happy and you can cry or laugh when you want!

You can always be an adult and a child! They are merely two two face of a coin which is your body!

So which one is it now! Heads or tails!?

Then again one of the best ‘Heads’ of our country was Atal Bihari Vajpayee ji…

Now be a responsible Adult and sleep like a baby!

Shub ratri…

In my time as a Resident while doing my post grad I was doing the Thesis work for my senior. Working all day and most nights on the tables and the studies compilation and the whole work!

One day he came and told me that he would  not be coming the next day since our boss who generally never gives any leave is giving him a day off to work on HIS thesis! Then the boss called me to say that I have to work harder since all those late nights were making me tired groggy and dull in front of the patients and in the Operation theatre!

I was left wondering and amazed how I was left doing all the job and still getting BURNT!


That experience is called  “cat’s paw” which has fit me so many times though I am a dog lover!

In the book 48 laws of power by Robert Greene the author states how to get ahead or be in power people have been using the cats paw!

The idiom “cat’s paw” refers to a person who is used by another as an unwitting tool or dupe to accomplish a risky or unpleasant task.

It usually describes someone who does another’s dirty work while taking all the risks, getting nothing in return.

The term comes from an old European fable, most famously written as “The Monkey and the Cat” by the 17th-century French author Jean de La Fontaine.

In the story, a cunning monkey wants to eat some hot chestnuts roasting in a fire but is afraid of burning his own hands. He flatters a naïve cat, tricking the feline into pulling the chestnuts out of the burning embers.

The cat bravely (but foolishly) scoops the chestnuts out one by one, burning its paw in the process. When the unsuspecting cat turns around to share the treat, it discovers the monkey has already cracked and eaten them all, leaving the cat with nothing but singed fur and a painful injury!

Of course as you grow older the more important lesson which you learn when you help someone is that; ‘Never expect anything in return!’ and also thank heavens that ‘Helping did not cause any harm!’

So next time you help someone just do it without any expectations and hopefully you will be ok! Let your heart not go dhak dhak with every cry of help though!

Which of course reminds me of the dhak dhak girl Madhuri!

Now help yourself to sleep!

Shubh ratri…

What it  means to be Bharathiya!?

I love travelling all over the world! But the best thing for me is when I travel to my india!

There are places in our own country where we have travelled because my dad was in army that many people may not have even heard the name! Like Missamari or Rangapara! Then you have the Cherapunji or Auroville or even leh and ladakh which are so beautiful! We were lucky to be friends with a colonel in the army who took us to this beautiful place called Landsdowne which would put so many hill stations to shame! Just a walk in the forest can make you feel that you are in a Bamboo forest of Japan!

We had recently been to Japan and it was a pleasant experience! Their enthusiasm in seing the mount FUJI was palpable!

Then on our recent trip to Palakad via road we witnessed the beauty of Eastern Ghats! Every mile is a delight! After you visit Japan you must go via road to Palakkad and then you will realise how blessed we are to have got such a beautiful paradise!

From the pristine beaches of Lakshadweep to the green forest of Chikmangalore or even the hills of COORG! We are so lucky!

In fact my aim is to see the whole world when I am young (er!!) and then spend the GREY years simply exploring BHARAT!

The only thing is that whatever good things I learnt from my trips I want to apply to my dear country! Start with oneself and hope that everyone follows!

First and foremost is the CIVIC sense! After visiting countries like Japan or Georgia, my family have become more clean! We do not make a mess when eat (or earnestly try not to!)! We do not litter all over the place and we try to keep our area clean!

After our Japan visit we speak more gently and respectfully and even my father has started Bowing when we say thank you! He says that it keeps te TUMMY tucked in! Then again we already used to bow and prostate ourselves when we used to meet elders but now we do it with more relish!

After visiting countries like Kuwait, abu dhabi and Dubai we have started feeling blessed to have such a lovely family! They give so much importance to children and family and so do we! Like them we thank God every minute and are more closer to our belief! Also we like to be clean and do stuff a little slowly and gracefully! 

In countries like Paris or Italy; they have so much history and beautiful old structures which tell us stories! Just a visit to a simple place like Kanchipuram or Tanjore or Kumbakonam or even Varanasi; the amount of history and stories those temples and ghats give you will be count less! Every little town can be converted into a little Italy or Paris! Clothes or milk or an abundance of natural wealth is literally the definition of BHARAT!

Then after going to countries like Singapore and Malaysia we have started appreciating the need to follow rules! It is not FINE to break the law! Singapore has always been a FINE country! Rules in these countries are for our safety and everyone follows it! When everyone follows the rules then you get a smooth functioning country! Rules are obligatory! Even if one person breaks the rules then it is choas! Like the other day when I was stuck in the famous Bengaluru traffic for a long time only to realise that the whole issue was cause by a truck coming on the wrong side before 6PM! 

Countries like Indonesia and Thailand look like our beautiful villages! We are so lucky to be blessed with greens and fertile grounds! We have now known to be happy and blessed to have such dedicated villagers and farmers who are the backbone of any country! We love going to our village and our temples and support them in any SMALL way we can!

Of course the first thing we must not do is COMPARE! If that was the impression then please forgive me! I only want to learn anything good and inculcate them!

We are lucky to be born in a country which has been blessed by nature, culture and history! We have stood the test of time and we have had one the oldest civilizations in the world! 

Bharat will thus remain a beautiful amalgamation of culture and nature and I would always love being called an Indian!

The goosebump I feel when I listen to our national anthem or national song is a feeing shared by all Bharathiya including me!

Wherever I go, my first love will always be India!

Remembering a nationalist freedom fighter and guru on this independence day Sri Aurobindo!

Happy Independence day! 

Jai Hind!

Have you heard of the Tunguska event!?

Do not worry it is not Japanese! It is Russian!

The Tunguska Event was a massive cosmic explosion!

It happened on June 30, 1908, over a remote forest near the Stony Tunguska River in Siberia, Russia.

The blast flattened roughly 2,150 square kilometers (830 square miles) of trees, but left no impact crater! Imagine an explosion which created so much destruction but the cause was never ascertained with certainty!

So apparently a bright fireball ripped through the morning sky and blew up 5 to 10 kilometers above the ground.

The Power of the blast or the air burst equaled about 15 megatons of TNT, or 1,000 times the power of the Hiroshima bomb!

Shock waves broke windows and knocked people down hundreds of miles away. Skies over Europe glowed brightly at night for days!

Scientists agree a stony asteroid roughly 50 to 60 meters wide vaporized in the air instead of hitting the dirt. This is made the rock blow up high in the sky which made sure that no large pieces or deep impact craters formed!

The explosion is generally attributed to a meteor air burst of a stony asteroid about 50–60 metres (160–200 feet) in size.

The asteroid would have most probably approached from the east-southeast, and likely with a relatively high speed of about 27 km/s (60,000 mph)!

It is classified as an impact event, even though no impact crater has been found! This was literally a fire without smoke!

Then again being the son of Nutan; Mohnish behl was a smoke from the fire!

So what do you think  caused the explosion?!

Now now; do not lose sleep over it!

A long flight and no sleep will ensure that will not happen to me! One can only hope!

Shubh ratri!

We all have heard how elephants do not forget!

Then again I used to think that it was just a myth! Apparently it is not!

Size does matter! When it comes to brain power that is!

So it has been found that elephants do have an exceptional memory.

Their large brains and gigantic hippocampus—the brain region responsible for emotion and memory—allow them to retain vital spatial, social, and survival information for decades!

So do you know how Elephants Use Their Memory?

One of the methods is Spatial tracking where the older matriarchs remember the exact locations of distant water holes, food sources, and safe migration pathways during severe droughts!
So being old is equivalent to experience!

Then you have the basic Social recognition in that they can track and recognize the calls, voices, or scents of hundreds of individual elephants and human friends or threats after many years apart!

Another amazing thing is that knowledge can even be passed! So you have Generational knowledge in which Herds pass down ancestral paths, danger zones, and coping strategies from generation to generation!

Finally nothing unites species like Grief! And sad memories are actually more strong! So even Elephants show prolonged signs of mourning, revisiting and touching the bones of lost family members years later!

So try not to irritate any elephant! He or she may remember!

Similarly hope many remember that Vyjayanthimala Bali is not only an accomplished actress but also a parliamentarian!

I should also not forget that this she one  of the few ladies I can sketch without getting any stares from my kids!

Now don’t forget to switch off your lights before you sleep!

Shub ratri!