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“Are you a human or a bot!
Make a mistake you will be caught!
Then again the bots don’t care!
Tis the feelings that makes humans rare!”

One of the best children series was this amazing series about a little boy and his giant robot!

I used to love watching that show which used to come once in a week or so!

It was called Johnny Sokko and His Flying Robot or the Giant robot!

That was our first fascination with Robots! And even they apparently follow some laws! or!?

read on!

In the series the Kid had a watch which used to control the Robot! It was so cool which lead to our fascination with the watch!

There was a time when your imagination was that you could press a button on your watch and communicate with someone! Voila! That is a reality now!

Of course you cannot control any Giant Robot for now but still you can do a lot of stuff which would have been part of science fiction at the time!

Even in those days the special effects was so good that we could see this huge Robot lifting a car or how his palm was big enough for Johnny to sit!

Now sure they show how the ‘Robot’ only follows the one wearing the watch but later on they show how ‘it’ responds to emotions!

Now by the time this series came into our TVs Robot was a common terminology, but the term was first used in 1921 by Czech playwright Karel Capek in his play R.U.R. (Rossum’s Universal Robots)!

The play involves a factory that builds artificial people to be servants for humans. In fact the story is that one of the humans feels pity on the Robots and frees them and finally they become so powerful that it leads to the extinction of humans!
But since the robots can’t reproduce, even they face extinction soon! This is ironical when they actually kill the last human who could actually make more of the ‘Robots’!

Robot term is drawn from an old Church Slavonic word, robota, for “servitude,” “forced labor” or “drudgery.” The word, which also has cognates in German, Russian, Polish and Czech, was a product of the central European system of serfdom by which a tenant’s rent was paid for in forced labor or service!

In early drafts of his play, Čapek named these creatures labori, after the Latin root for labor, but worried that the term sounded too “bookish.” At the suggestion of his brother, Josef, Čapek ultimately opted for roboti, or in English, robots!

In the end, there is a deus ex machina moment, when two robots somehow acquire the human traits of love and compassion and go off into the sunset to make the world again!

The play of course was well received but the fear of the Robots is real!

Since many have this fear; Isaac Asimov the master of Robot based stories had made the classic three laws of Robot which is supposed to protect us from the Robotic hurricane!

The first and foremost law is that “A robot may not injure a human being or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm”

The second laws is that, “A robot must obey orders given it by human beings except where such orders would conflict with the First Law”

and finally the third law is that “A robot must protect its own existence as long as such protection does not conflict with the First or Second Law”

Of course these are laws made my humans for the Robots to follow! When many Humans do not follow laws! Can the ones made by them be sure to follow the laws made for them by someone else!

That is a Question for the AI! Or maybe a great mentalist! Thinking of Mentalist reminds me of the Guru in Apta MItra which is the celebrity Avinash!

Now before you think about the laws for the Robot, Try to follow the human ones!

SHubh ratri!

“Culture as rich and deep as the ocean
History and knowledge parallel to no one!
Having undergone so many test!
Everyone knows, Bharat is the best!”

The last time it happened it was 43 years back!

That is the last time an Indian PM visiting Kuwait!

The energy was exhilarating and the thrill was palpable everywhere!

The thrill of meeting your prime minister and that too in a foreign land is really special!

It gives you a feel of home so far away from home!

This in spite of the fact that work is always there and time is a big factor!

Still we were lucky to get the opportunity!

Of course the wait and anticipation itself was plenty! If you had expected the crowd to be tired, well they were till they saw their dear PM after which a sudden burst of adrenaline happened!

Then urged by the chants of Modi; and Bharat Mata ki jai and Modi hai to, the enthusiasm of the crowd was palpable and felt all over!

Then he was greeted by our chants and cheers! The mesmerizing dance program which he thoroughly enjoyed and his namakar to the artists was truly humbling!

Then of course just shaking his hands or a namaste or namaskar gave us so much contentment and joy!


The thrill and happiness of waving our flag with so much fervour and pomp and respect cannot be put in words! The wait was for hours and like any good thing we felt that the visit got over so fast!

With all that mental occupation after a while it felt like a dream! Only when we saw the photos and the videos was when it was confirmed that it really happened! Then the lucky ones were those who had amazing snaps with the PM while many of us were happy to be in the background! At least for now!

My only regret was the I could not get a autograph from Modiji of his sketch I had sketched the other day! Even my son who actually did not know that we may be meeting the PM drew his sketch and wrote SAFE TRAVELS!

Just a humbling experience which would be cherished for life!

As Modiji said, Jai Bharat!

“Tick tock ding dong and thats the way to go!
Always steady never fast never slow!
When it goes can never be back!
That’s time! Never white never black!!”

There is one thing which nowadays people wear only because it is there! Of course it does have some more work but practically it is just an accessory which is not necessary like most accessories are!

Both women and men wear it with pride! But which hand that is the eternal question!

keep a look out for the answer!

read on!

The answer was in the ‘LOOK OUT’ or Watch!

Of course I am speaking about wrist watches!

Everyone now has a mobile or sits in front of the system rarely does anyone now has to pick up the hands to see the time from the wrist watch!

Which is why it is now just a fashion accessory unless your profession depends on it or unless the watch has got itself upgraded like the Samsung gear or Apple watch or like most smart watches when it is a health monitoring device!

It is also been upgraded to be your calculator and alarm and memo recorder!

I use my Apple and One Plus watch alternatively to the hilt! Including messaging and calling and also navigation! Not to mention listening to music or audiobook via the connected airpods or Buds!

In the transition between normal digital watches and the smart watches there was a time when the whole watch wearing was just a fashion accessory since the phone would tell you the correct time anyway!

Without an upgrade it is just a piece of jewel and treated like that!
Some of the most costly watches are mere jewels which show just time! But they do draw attention which is the chief aim now!

But if you have not upgraded the watch then in all probability you use your watch only as a watch which is why you may forget to wear them or do not charge them!

Now which hand do you wear your watch?


Traditionally, men wear watches on their left hand. This is because most watches are designed with the stem (the part used to adjust the time) on the right side, making it easier for right-handed people to manipulate it with their dominant hand!

Traditionally, wristwatches are derived from pocket watches, specifically from a particular type of pocket watch called savonnette. Instead of having the crown at twelve o’clock, these timepieces had it at three o’clock. In addition, they typically mounted a spring-loaded cover that protected the dial and opened with a push of a button – and this cover had a hinge at nine o’clock.

For this reason, modern wristwatches carry the crown at three o’clock, which is the most comfortable position if you wear a watch on your left wrist. With regular arm movements, the crown doesn’t bother you pointing against your skin. But if you wear the watch on the opposite wrist, the problem arises!

The crown, by its very nature protruding and knurled, scratches against the skin, producing annoying redness – so several watchmakers decided to provide a unique service to their customers and offered left-handed watches, where the movement was mounted precisely the opposite way round, with the crown mounted at nine o’clock instead of three o’clock: after all, this is not a particularly difficult modification, given that all that is needed is to rotate the movement 180 degrees and apply a dial and, if necessary, the date rings, which are specially made!

It has also been suggested though that those who wear the non smart watches by choice on the right side have psychological reasons for wearing a watch on one arm rather than the other!

It is said that they are often correlated with the two universes of the brain – the creative and the rational, thus suggesting that those who wear their watches by choice on the right arm are more creative than those who wear them on the left! Just the very act of the choice of your hands can make you a creative person!

Then again ladies traditionally have been wearing the watches on the right hand! This is of course an observation only and not a gender thing!
The reason presented here is from a watch wearer website! Not my opinion!

The reason is apparently intuitable: traditionally, women’s watches were smaller (and had a less accurate watch movement) than men’s and represented more of a style accessory than a real functional object. They were treated more as ornaments.

Therefore, since many more women are right-handed rather than left-handed, they tended to wear on their left wrist not watches but other jewelry such as bracelets and chains, which could scratch the watch!
That’s why many women, to avoid this problem, started wearing watches on their right wrist instead of their left, even being right-handed. And even if the size of women’s watches has increased with time – nowadays, many women wear watches traditionally considered as “men’s” in shape and size – they still wear them on the right side for this exact reason!

The modern smart watches may have either a crown or knobs on the side which by design are placed in neutral positions so that you can wear them in any hand of your choice! Also by default these watches do not differentiate between men and women! They are all unisex watches and rightly so!

Of course the choice of colours still sets them apart but then that is a personal opinion! So which hand do you use? For wearing the watch I meant!

If you find that funny they you will certainly find celebrity Om Prakash Chibber funny!

Now set alarm in the watch of either left or right hand and sleep!

Shubh Ratri!

“The silence of the night is like a cool breeze!
Course if you have allergy it can make you sneeze!
Then again the peace and calm is the deal!
It’s not how you look but how you feel!”

There was a ruthless barbarian who has been believed to have killed over ten percent of the world population!

The only solace for Indians is that at that time they were saved by an animal!

Yes! both statements are true…or so we believe!

read on!

The book by William Dalrymple called the Golden Road mentions about the Tyrannical barbarian Genghis Khan!

He was so cruel that mere mention of his name would make kingdoms surrender!

His use of archery and horse attacks and the ‘surrender or die’ combined with spot attacks made sure that he won at all costs!

Genghis Khan born c. 1162 – August 1227 was also known as Chinggis Khan and was the founder and first khan of the Mongol Empire.
While in India we bow to our elders and brothers; Temüjin killed his older half-brother to secure his familial position!

After spending most of his life uniting the Mongol tribes, he launched a series of military campaigns, conquering large parts of China and Central Asia!

Almost all writers, even those who were in the Mongol service, have dwelt on the enormous destruction wrought by the Mongol invasions!

One Arab historian openly expressed his horror at the recollection of them. Beyond the reach of the Mongols and relying on second-hand information, the 13th-century chronicler Matthew Paris called them a “detestable nation of Satan that poured out like devils from Tartarus so that they are rightly called Tartars.” He was making a play on words with the classical word Tartarus (Hell) and the ancient tribal name of Tatar borne by some of the nomads, but his account catches the terror that the Mongols evoked!

In a list of the most cruel invaders ever, Genghis is in the second place! This is what is written about the invader who was less cruel that Genghis and is in the third place! The invader called Timur!
Timur led military campaigns through a large part of western Asia, including modern Iran, to Syria. In present-day Afghanistan, he ordered the construction of a tower made out of living men, one stacked on top of another and cemented together! He also ordered a massacre to punish a rebellion and had 70,000 heads built up into minarets!

If that shocked you then remember that Genghis is on second place in that list! Yes! I know you want to know the first! It was Atilla the Hun! But then that’s a blog for another sad day…

Nearly 40 million people were believed to be killed in Mongol invasions which led to an empire that spanned 22 per cent of the Earth’s surface!
One estimate is that approximately 10% of the contemporary global population, amounting to some 37.75–60 million people, was killed either during or immediately after the Mongols’ military campaigns!

This number would have been much greater (how!?) if he had come to India! But enroute to India, one animal changed his mind!

Legend has it is said that Chengiz Khan saw an horned unicorn which he assumed to be a command from heaven to halt his march into India!
He may have been a big invader but the fact was that he was a barbarian so what he saw and thought as a unicorn since the eyes would see only that the mind knows! Was in all probability the Great Indian One horned Rhino!

Knowledge is always greater than strength! Which is why it has been said “‘Swadeshe pujyate raja, vidwan sarvatra pujyate’ which means that A king is honored only in his own country, but one who is learned is honored throughout the world!

Historical reminds me of the historical movies by celebrity Govind Nihalani!

Now thank the Rhino and sleep in peace! By the way the study of nose is also called Rhinology but then thats the blog for another day!

Shubh Ratri!

When everything is as expected! One of my personal best poem, blog and sketch! Happy with all of them today!

“Oh why you wear that sweater so torn and so old!
What protection it may give you from cold?
This is a woolen shield like no other
Knitted with warmth by my mother!”

This was initially done exclusively by men!

Now everyone does it but then not everyone can do it since it requires skill!

Intrigued!?

read on!

Since you showed so much patience of reading this far! The activity exclusive to males is Knitting!

Knitting is the process of creating loops of threads that interlock row by row, through the use of yarn and needles! This craft has been used by many in creating fabrics and garments such as socks, sweaters, scarves, hats, and dresses!

My mother was an expert Knitter! Her craft bag always had a bunch of wools of different colours and an assortment of needles!

There was a master needle and a collection of normal ones.

Couple of months before winter or even when she had a little time she would be knitting away! Only occasionally would she look at the wool while rest of the time the whole thing was just skill!

The biggest issue during those times was the availability of wool! Sometimes she would order from far places and sometimes she would just wait!

Many times she would have started on a colour and halfway the wool would get over, then she would either wait of simply take another colour wool and continue! And voila! You get a multicolor woolen sweater!

The lucky ones would get the sweater first which would usually be me since I normally also feel very cold! Then it would be my brother and finally my dad! I never realised that she had stitched one for herself long back and then rarely ever for herself…

If she had a surplus of wool then it would lead to more wool stuff like the scarf or mufflers! I have always loved wearing sweaters and since I was a thin dude with no mass, the joke was that it was the sweater which used to hold me to the ground!

Even in school in Bangalore, when the winter was far over but still the morning was cold, I used to wear a sweater especially in the morning! So much so that everyone used to call me sweater boy!
It was also convenient since inside the sweater you do not have to worry how clean the shirt was! I used to be so happy when it used to rain or when it used to get cold since then I could wear the sweater without any embarrassment!

The first time after a short break when I went to my college, I had to enter the class directly! I was coming from cold Bangalore to the hot and sunny Calicut! I was of course wearing a sweater and the class had started so I did not have time to change! I simply went with the sweater! The thick green and white sweater was a sight many in my class still remember me by!

Of course I did not mention that it was one of the last sweaters knitted by my mother for me and I did not have the heart to stop wearing it! Also first time you go back to college after a short break is when you get very homesick! You tend to compensate however you can!

For a long time though in the later years mom stopped the knitting completely. Maybe the commercially available ones were faster to get and less tedious. Occasionally though there would be phases in which she would make a sweater here and there. Her best skill would be to repair the torn sweater! It was magical how the places where the wool came out would get stitched back again!

It was also understood since Bangalore was no longer that cold and we were quite old! The chief reason of the sweaters were the postings or transfer to the north of India where it was relatively much cold! Then again when it used to rain in calicut or when I was not well with fever, I used to wear the sweater and the warmth would dry all the cold feelings away!

Getting busy with career and education and her health issues had the side effect of her craft bag sitting idle in a corner gathering dust. Many times she would be asked whether we need it or not. She would merely say, Keep it; lets see. It is a small bag and it hardly occupies any space!

Finally when my dear daughter was born, her happiness was reflected by the coming back of her needles! During these time the needles were used to check whether the idly or the cake was properly cooked or not! You stab the idly and no idly must come on to the stick! The knitting needle was best for that!

The knitting started with gusto! If you see the constant knitting you may not realise the speed but if you see after a couple of days then you can know how it used to progress! Like a muscle memory she had not forgotten how to knit! It was slower this time but it was steady and the progress was great! She would normally make the turtle neck ones only since that was how she learnt and when the neck size was small she would promptly start the corrections! Her joy of putting it on my little daughter was pure! But the heat of Chennai made sure it was used only occasionally! Then when we were back to Bangalore the sweater was back! She subsequently made her signature sweaters for all her lucky grandkids!

Of course one fine day everything stopped and I really do not know what happened of the craft bag with her magazines and needles. I did not want to know…

Last month just after my mom’s birth anniversary my daughter, a recent teen suddenly asked for some wool! I thought it was a passing fancy but of course I never say to no her! Got her some assorted sets and one fine day she presents us with small coasters entirely knitted by her! Then within a week it graduated to a nice Muffler for my wife and super cool woolen gloves for my wife and me! I did not want to wear the gloves because I was scared that I would either spoil it or lose them! But the intricate knits and the stitches which she has learnt all by herself brought me to tears which of course I hid from her.

I know one fine day She would make a sweater because she is as skillful as my mother. Take rest amma; your legacy continues…

Legacy also will continue of the legendary Padma Awardee and one of the most deserving amma of the jungle! Tulsi Gowda! She left for the heavenly abode the other day.

After planting more than 30000 trees and saplings I think her work here will be remembered forever!

Om shanthi!

Shubh ratri…

“Those insects chirping to the beat
With the Cuckoo joining the retreat!
Then the Owl, he wants in too!
The peacock then joins the musical zoo!”

The name of this instrument is also the Arabic name of an important part of an important sense organ very important to the ENT surgeon!

ARRE HUZOOR! READ ON!

Of course if you are part of our DD generation then you would have got the link!

The famous Tea ad which used to come with Ustaad Zakir Hussain playing with his curly hairs and the pleasant smile!

Growing up I used to think that if you have to be a Tabla Player you must have long hairs! Being the son of an army officer, that option was not there but Tabla was and will always be close to me!

I love banging on the Tabla and making it sound tolerable and my life is watching the ‘Tabla’ of the Patient’s ear!

Yes! The drum of the ear is called ‘tabla’!

My whole day is spent explaining to the patient how their ‘tabla’ is good or not! Or if it is infected or If it has water inside!

Water and Tabla do not do well and this is not only the Human Tabla but also the Instrument tabla! Once my Bongo drums which is made of similar material had some stains in it and I was planning to wash it with water! Am sure that would have been the end of those drums!

All said and done though, Ustaad Zakir was the king when it came to Tabla! We used to earnestly listen to his renditions and as far as we were concerned he was the king!

His catchphrase of “Arey huzoor, Wah Taj boliye!” was so famous that it was like a routine!

Did you know that there is a theory that the roots of the famous Tabla is traced to India!?

This Indian theory traces the origin of tabla to indigenous ancient civilization. The stone sculpture carvings in Bhaja Caves depict a woman playing a pair of drums, which some have claimed as evidence for the ancient origin of the tabla in India!

A different version of this theory states that the tabla acquired a new Arabic name during the Islamic rule, having evolved from ancient Indian puśkara drums. The evidence of the hand-held puśkara is founded in many temple carvings, such as at the 6th and 7th century Muktesvara and Bhuvaneswara temples in India!
These arts show drummers who are sitting, with two or three separate small drums, with their palm and fingers in a position as if they are playing those drums.

We also have the Mridangam which is essentially close to the south indian classical music but has similar two drums!

The textual evidence for similar material and methods of construction as tabla comes from Sanskrit texts. The earliest discussion of tabla-like musical instrument building methods are found in the Natyashastra. This text also includes descriptions of paste-patches (syahi) such as those found on a tabla!

In fact the Natyashastra also discusses how to play these drums!
For us however the origins are interesting aspects of history! But all said and done, Ustaad Zakir Hussain was historical and a legend!

He will be missed but his legacy would remain forever!

Heartfelt condolences to the one who inspired countless people like me to love the Tabla!

Om shanthi…
Shubh Ratri…

A quick sketch on the scribe for lack of time…

“Started to count the sands then I saw
My fingers were numb and raw!
Then I realised I know the score!
It’s just the number of stars not less not more!”

Being a doctor and a medical student, this was an essential part of our attire!

Did you know that it was black first and only later it became white!?

now settle down and read on!

During one of the ragging sessions one of our seniors called us to the side and told us all to go to the bookstore the next day and get him a BUFFY COAT!

We of course had no idea what that was since we were just learning physiology!

Obediently we all walked the next day and asked for BUFFY COAT! The shopkeeper simply smiled knowingly and said there is nothing like that!

Later we found out it was a terminology in Physiology!

He of course told us to buy proper Lab Coats which were white!

Yes! The attire by which you can know a medical student from far is the while Lab Coat! The very first day we wore it made us already feel like doctors!

The wide pocket and the big slit in the side and the white colour were like medals for getting the coveted medical seat!

Wearing that coat which was of course just another clothe still used to make us feel that we are wearing a body armour of sorts! It was a pseudo protection of course!

The reverence of course went through the window later on when it used to be crumpled and lying in the corner and badly maintained especially in the men’s hostel!

The demand for clean ones used to increase during the examinations when we used to think that our marks depended on the whiteness and cleanliness of the coat!

Those who used to play with fire used to search for the clean coat five minutes before the exam! The mavericks used to simply take the coat of the person whose VIVA were just over and he would be coming out! These would be the super senior ‘CHRONICS’ who wore the coats only when they had the exams!

Even during post graduation and residency the coats were so important and I do not remember the number of coats I have bought or ‘borrowed’! Like the slippers at the entrance of a temple, these also used to get ‘recycled’!

After becoming a consultant though, the coat again took a backseat except during some inspection but now where I work, the coat is a must!

Being a surgeon I actually prefer wearing the scrubs but then you cannot operate the whole day right!?

Starting from the half sleeves or short coats it was inevitable to graduate to the full sleeve coat which covers the whole dress! Whatever you wear inside, the coat is like the universal cover which makes you a medical professional!

Apparently the most common reasons why doctors, scientists, and other professionals in the medical field choose to wear white is for easy recognition by colleagues and patients!

The tradition it seems began in the late 1800s, when trained surgeons and physicians began wearing white lab coats as a way to distinguish themselves from fraudulent health care providers and false doctors! Unfortunately now we see even non health professionals wear a Lab coat especially in the TV to sound ‘medical’! The lab coat thus has this instant effect of turning anyone into a ‘doctor’!

Of course there are some benefits of wearing the coat like it acts like a protective Material, it may prevention from cross-contamination and a lab coat with a secured cuff will help with keeping your sleeves out of your experiment and will also protect your arms from potential hazardous splashes.

Now apparently up until the late 19th century, doctors only wore black!

They never wore any white! The black clothing worn by doctors in the past served a number of practical purposes, including masking soiled clothing and all of the messy stains associated with their line of work! Black attire was, and is, considered formal and until about 1900, physicians wore black for their patient interactions since medical encounters were thought of as serious and formal matters! Imagine for a moment now a doctor coming dresses in black to meet you! Am sure the news may not be good!

Later on practicality and the spotless nature of white helped popularise the wearing of white lab coats. Also the association of black with death or at least fear would have made the further push to white!

Throughout history, the white lab coat started to symbolise cleanliness and scientific rigor. It not only made doctors and scientists easily distinguishable, but it also made spotting any contamination easier. Its symbolism became even more established in 1989, when a white coat ceremony was first performed for medical school students, marking their transition into the clinical world!

The most difficult task of course is to maintain a clean white coat! Also for a politician and maybe a civil services person to maintain a clean image is also difficult! Which reminds me of celebrity Tirunellai Narayana Iyer Seshan who is the only chief election commissioner I knew!

Now remove the coats and wear sleeping dress and sleep!
Shubh ratri!

“The blowing wind so cold that it bites

The scattered dust blinds my sight

Then a sudden gust feels like a game

In that noise I feel it calling my name…”

Everyone who is more or less normal likes a good song once in a while though the type of song may vary!

Some of the best songs are always remembered and many times they are sung by the Man with amazing lyrics to woo everyone!

There is a big ‘man’ in the ocean who does the same! 

intrigued!? Read on!

The classic next door neighbour or even the smart kid in the school gets an instant elevation in status if he can sing! Of course singing the popular songs is the way to go and if he could play an instrument then thats epic!

All said and done a combination of boy singing with a guitar is the boy or the dude who is the most popular in most schools and colleges!

This interest in singing is a sign of development since the conventional ‘alpha’ male phenomenon! 

Now if that guy could dance! Then there is not stopping him! The most popular kids of the schools would usually be these singer/dancers or the captain of the school cricket team or the sports team! Rest of ‘us’ geeks would be in the audience clapping!

Even in these you have to note that it is not the song or the dance but the attitude and confidence which makes them cool!

It is no wonder that songs which reflect these have always been popular! 

We of course know that birds also ‘sing’ and that too melodious songs but apparently there is an animal who is of course closely related to us, who also sings!

The Humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) are capable of the production of complex songs. These songs are amongst some of the longest measured in animals. Only male humpback whales perform these vocalizations. 

Male humpback whales produce complex songs during the winter breeding season. These vocals range in frequency between 100 Hz and 4 kHz, with harmonics reaching up to 24 kHz or more, and can travel at least 10 km (6.2 mi)!

Males may sing for between 4 and 33 minutes, depending on the region. In Hawaii, humpback whales have been recorded vocalizing for as long as seven hours!

Songs are divided into layers; “subunits”, “units”, “sub phrases”, “phrases” and “themes”. 

A subunit refers to the discontinuities or inflections of a sound while full units are individual sounds, similar to musical notes. A succession of units creates a subphrase, and a collection of subphrases make up a phrase. Similar-sounding phrases are repeated in a series grouped into themes, and multiple themes create a song.

The function of these songs has been debated, but they may have multiple purposes. There is little evidence to suggest that songs establish dominance among males. However, there have been observations of non-singing males disrupting singers, possibly in aggression. Those who join singers are males who were not previously singing. Females do not appear to approach singers that are alone, but may be drawn to gatherings of singing males! So males even in a group songs have some hope!

It has also been suggested that humpback whale songs have echolocating properties and may serve to locate other whales.

Whale songs are similar among males in a specific area. Males may alter their songs over time, and others in contact with them copy these changes.

Humpback whales even produce short, low-frequency “grunts” and short, modulated “barks” when joining new group! 

So not that far away from humans right!?  Now go have a whale of a time and maybe listen to a nice song instead of singing! Nice pleasant song reminds me of the simply peaceful and melodious song ‘main to aarti utaaroon’ by celebrity Usha Mangeshkar!

Listen to that in the evening or early morning though!

Shubh ratri!

Audible narrated by the author himself!

Running length more than ten hours!

It is always a pleasure listening and reading books and novels by William Dalrymple since the way he describes suff is music!

Of course the best thing is that the narration is straight from the heart!

It is so unfortunate that what we all know to be true is universally accepted only when a ‘English’ man with an amazing accent tells it to the world! The same words with an Indian accent or even in any other language does not have much power even if is true!

This is in spite of the abysmal way William Pronounces the Indian and specifically the Sanskrit words! It was painful to listen to him narrate the indian names! Then in the end he talks about Laila and MAJUN! (that was not a typo! That is how he pronounced Majnu!)

He gets so many stories in the Puranas wrong!

But in spite of all these, the attempt to bring out the glory of India deserves a big salute and Namaste from my side and all Indians when many within do not have much respect for out great history!


The golden road is the spice route and how the trade flourished so much so that India was one of the richest countries in the world! In fact any place you find so much wealth and prosperity was known as India! It was a synonym of richness! It still is…

Even now he declares with pride how one city of Indonesia is named Ayodhya or how the national airways of Thailand is Garuda! Goosebumps!


The chief matter of the book though is the role of Buddha and the birth and emergence of Buddhism

The importance and the construction of nalanda and the sections it used to have been described so well! It was a university unlike any other in the world! With so many sections and floors and a big collection of books! Getting into the university was the most coveted and the hardest thing at that time!

The chance discovery of Ajantha caves has been told by a charming story and how! Which leads to the typical William style of story telling of the stories of the kings and queens and story of ashoka!

He also tells about the rise of Buddhism in the rules of Ashoka, Chandragupta and maurya stories!

The most interesting ones were the the stories from china! Probably because the Indian stories we already knew! The ones from China were new!

The most engaging ones were the story of the monk and his and arduous journey! It ends well but it takes time! He was responsible for the translation of the ancient indian texts and the propagation of the same!

He then narrates the story of the the concubine who became an empress! This story told with his epic narration seemed like a script of Game of Thrones! It is one of the most rivetting stories of rise to be the empress of China! From a ordinary woman to the most powerful one! The first and the last Empress of China!

The rise of budhism in china have been told with these epic stories and then the fall! By the time it rose in China you could see its fall even in India

The novels ends with notes about Genghis Khan, Akbar and Persians.

Still he does mention about the role of Indians in the discovery of mathematics and the modern numerical system which is Indian! Also the biggest contribution of India in the world of mathematics! The Shunya or the ZERO!

If you do not want the bad pronunciation of Indian words, you can read the ebook! But to get the message and goosebumps as an Indian; listen to the audiobook! You will feel pride; if you are a true Indian of course!

The way he concludes how India has always been at the forefront of education whether it is ancient times or even now made me feel so much pride especially since I am presently not in India!

Read and listen as soon as possible!

“The earth and the sky so huge

You can see them meet so far!

You try to catch the place!

But then realise it’s as far as the star!”

Have you realised that the most dangerous area of your house is the toilet and the most dangerous fluid is water!

Intrigued!? Read on!…

The first thing we have always been taught to do is to wash our legs or at least remove the shoes and keep them outside! You can never wear the outside shoes or footwear and walk inside the house!

The fact that most of the places had some reverence was the added thrust! We cannot imagine wearing those shoes inside! This was so good since of course is a matter of hygiene.

Furthermore you may wear slippers but they would be slippers for the house and then you have another set of slippers which were only for the toilet! The ones for the toilet or the Bathroom slippers would always be firm rubber slippers with good grip!

This is because it has been found that the toilet is one of the most dangerous room of your house! In fact in many of our houses the toilets would not have firm locks by design and in any case the children toilets would not have locks or would not be locked from inside as a rule. 

The other thing we were always careful about was the spill! If you spill water you must clean it immediately or at least put a cloth over it! Spilling water was an emergency of sorts! This is because water is colourless! You cannot see water and as Bon Jovi says’ “It is definitely slippery when wet!”. 

These practices are very important since water and floor have been associated with over 2.135 million hospital visits every year!

Nearly 2,000 deaths resulted from floor-related injuries in the home in 2022!

That’s more than double the deaths caused by anything else in the home!

The high risk is for the extremes of population and a slippery floor. 

For those with preexisting conditions or at high risk, a fall can also reveal or trigger a problem that becomes fatal. We have often advised patients with giddiness that most of the peripheral vertigo is usually not life threatening. But the fall may be fatal. 

Another dangerous area of the house are the Stairs or steps with around 1.027 million hospital visits and Beds or bed frames which recorded 912,000 hospital visits!

In fact Beds and bed frames aren’t just a risk for adults. They are linked to more than 80,000 injuries among children under 2 years old annually making them a more dangerous object for young kids than almost anything else in the home.

Finally a dangerous combination of slippery floor and closed space is the Bathtubs or showers! Plus we tend to ignore the lights of the toilet and give very little space when actually it should be one of the most important room! 

Important reminds me of an important celebrity Raj Kapoor whose movies were a treat to watch! 

Now mop the spills and sleep!

Shubh ratri!