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Do you know who is Padma or Meghna or Shyama?

They are the same names for this one mighty river!

When we were in Assam we had seen the river which used to look like an ocean! It has been said that if you cross over that bridge once then you have to cross at least seven times!

Luckily we have done our number on our way to the Kaziranga wildlife sanctuary and Rhino park!

The river in question? Brahmaputra!


The Brahmaputra river flows through the countries of Tibet, India, and Bangladesh!

The length of the Brahmaputra river is about 3969 km. This makes the river the 15th longest in the world. It is a mighty river that discharges a lot of water. The average discharge of Brahmaputra is about 19,824 m3/s.

The drainage area of the Brahmaputra is about 274,918 sq mi (712,035 sq km). This makes the Brahmaputra the world’s ninth-largest river by the amount of water discharge!

The source of this river is the Angsi Glacier which is situated close to Manasarovar, in Tibet.

It is known by different names in different countries that it flows through.

In Tibet it is known as the Yarlung Tsangpo, in Arunachal Pradesh, it goes by the name of the Siang or Dihang River, and in the state of Assam, it sometimes goes by the names of Luit and Dilao.

When it gets into Bangladesh, its name becomes Jamuna, and after merging with the river Padma, it becomes Meghna until it empties into the Bay of Bengal!

The river was also called shyama, sema or senglai and was known as s”yem in assam, after meeting the two rivers dibang and the lohit when it meanders through the narrow valley as the brahmaputra and the locals also know it as the lohit, luit, borluit and siriluit!

It was called Lauhitya in Markandyapurana while Brahmaputra or the son of Brahma is found in the ancient text of Kalikapurana!

Unlike most rivers on the Indian subcontinent that carry female names, the Brahmaputra has a rare masculine name! The only male among the females!

It also has the world’s Largest River Island! It cradles Majuli in Assam, recognized as one of the world’s largest river islands!

Brahmaputra is intricately linked to the history of Assam as immortalized in the song ‘Mahabahu Brahmaputra’ by  Dr Bhupen Hazarika whose sketch I had made yesterday!

Listen to it before you sleep! It’s ethereal!

Also read about Captain Vikram Batra, PVC ! It’s inspirational!

Shub ratri…

Do you know what is the “Chinese Restaurant Syndrome”?

If not at  least you would know the fear of eating MSG!

How many would tell you that MSG is dangerous and not suitable for a lot of people!

That was the result of one of the biggest food scams and anti Asian prejudice which still lives up to this day!

It all started when Asian and particularly Chinese food with MSG were becoming poplar all over the world since they had more FLAVOUR and also were easier to make! In many aspects they had more varieties and options!

Then came a Letter to the editor in the NEJM which started the panic!

The 1968 Letter of panic! A  New England Journal of Medicine letter from a doctor described vague numbness and palpitations after eating Chinese food!
The symptoms were so vague that anyone who has ever had a full meal would develop this one!

I got these after having a delicious ONAM SADYA in our apartment the other day!

But the letter did its job!

Pre-existing anti-Asian prejudices and xenophobia in the West amplified the anecdote into a widespread media panic!

This was diligently followed by bad science!

Early follow-up experiments used massive, unrealistic doses of MSG or relied on flawed, non-blinded observation!

Later on scientific analysis started and Global regulatory bodies and decades of controlled, double-blind studies show no consistent link between normal dietary amounts of MSG and symptoms like headaches or chest pain!

In fact MSG consists of sodium and glutamate, an amino acid naturally found in tomatoes, cheese, mushrooms, and the safest food in the world; breast milk!

It is routinely used in Western processed foods like potato chips and ranch dressing without similar public outcry!

The actual cultprit is something else! Post-meal discomfort is usually caused by other factors like high overall sodium, heavy or greasy meals, alcohol, or food intolerances unrelated to MSG!

Now any salt does enhance the flavour and MSG being a salt also does the same! But how much to eat is entirely in your hands or mouth! Which makes me remember what my mom always used to mention “Adhikam ayal amrutham visham” (അധികം ആയാൽ അമൃതും വിഷം) which means that even divine nectar becomes poison if you have too much of it!

So MSG is safe; but like any salt, do have it in limited quantity! Also do not believe any LETTERS to the editor without investigating yourself!

Then again you do not need any letters to know that Bhupendra Kumar Hazarika was a talented soul…

Now have that Noodles without much guilt but have less!

Shub ratri….

Do you know what is the connection between Bobby Mc Ferrin and Amitabh bachan!?

DONT WORRY BE HAPPY!

That is the connection!

The movie TOOFAN was a masala festival but the chief attraction was this amazing song DONT WORRY BE HAPPY!
Amitabh tells you to face your problems and not to worry too much! It really worked till the end of the movie!

Of course we heard only the Bollywood version while the original was by Bobby Mc Ferrin! Even that version was a lovely visual treat!

Then again; in a classic cycle of sorts, the origin was actually Indian!

Another interesting fact about Bobby’s song was that it was a cappella song! The only a cappella song to reach the billboard number one!

So Bobby McFerrin wrote and released the global hit “Don’t Worry, Be Happy” in 1988.

It made history as the first a cappella song to reach number one on the Billboard Hot 100!

A cappella means singing or music performed without any instrumental accompaniment, relying solely on the human voice!
The phrase comes from Italian, meaning “in the style of the chapel” or “in the manner of the chapel” and originally described sacred vocal music performed in small chapels where large instruments, like organs, were not available or permitted!

While often spelled informally as “acapella,” the correct traditional spelling is a cappella. Today it covers everything from medieval choral pieces to modern pop covers and beatboxing.

So “Don’t Worry, Be Happy” is a complete a capella song! There is not a single musical instrument used!

McFerrin recorded all the vocal parts himself using multitrack recording! He used only his voice and body percussions to imitate all the musical sounds and the whistling!

When I saw the video I did not even realise it that there is no musical instrument!

So what is the Indian origin or connection?

The phrase “Don’t worry, be happy” came from Meher Baba, an Indian spiritual master who maintained silence from 1925 until his death in 1969.

He often used the short saying in messages to his Western followers!

The phrase became popular on 1960s inspiration posters and greeting cards. Bobby McFerrin saw one such poster in an apartment in San Francisco and loved the simple, four-word philosophy and used it in his song! He literally did not worry and was happy!

Happy and blessed and very charitable also was Dolly Rebecca Parton Dean!

She will be missed…

Now don’t worry and be nappy! Have a nap that is!

Shub ratri…

Have put the links for the blog and the videos mentioned in the blog!


https://youtu.be/d-diB65scQU?si=FGLMb0concNkG0gW

https://youtu.be/JV2BtCh-2Ok?si=d9TmGo9zTZdYYw3g

Do you know what has the whole world! What has oceans and rivers and mountains!

And it’s so light that you can lift it!?

The answer is Atlas!

Not the Greek one! The book of maps! Even that may be named after the Greek one but I am not so sure!

Remember how we are so used to see the maps how it is!? Even in one of the levels of this game called Assassin’s Creed, you had to make an Atlas to proceed!

But did you know that all maps lie!?
And all maps are wrong!

Though designed with the best of intentions — to provide a detailed and coherent projection of Earth — flat maps are far from accurate; some areas look far bigger than they really are, others appear much smaller, and distances between various land masses are misrepresented.

Distortions can occur through alterations to scale, symbols, projection, simplification, and choices around the map’s content!

The first map in a two dimension was called the Mercator projection, created by Flemish geographer and cartographer Gerardus Mercator in 1569!

It was one of the first attempt to depict the earth on paper! And was a revelation half a millennium ago and remains the most widely used flat depiction of Earth!
This map was favored by navigators for centuries because it enabled them to plot courses in a straight line!

But this depiction creates lots of distortions!

On the globe, meridians converge as they approach a pole, and the lengths of parallels of latitude grow shorter until the pole. But, when mapping the Earth into a rectangle, the poles are stretched from points into lines the length of the equator. Every parallel is stretched to the length of the equator, so on the map, there is horizontal stretching as one moves poleward.

On the globe, parallels are equally spaced, but to get the special property of great circles and straight lines, Mercator’s projection exponentially increases the separation of parallels as one moves poleward. On the map, therefore, there is increasing vertical stretching as one moves poleward!

So the result of this is that some regions look far bigger on the map than they are in reality, while others are drawn much smaller! This size distortion has persisted for ages!

This distortion is usually described in terms of the relative sizes of Greenland, Europe, Africa and India! You can see any standard map and see that Greenland is shown to be so huge!

The fact is that Greenland is actually smaller than Africa and India!

To put this in context, Africa is nearly 14 times larger, according to Scientific American!

That’s the continent! In fact 80 percent of Bharat can take 100 percent  of Greenland! Now that’s cutting down the size!


Then you have Europe looks which looks comparable to or larger than South America!

While the fact is that South America is nearly double the size of Europe!

Then you have the vastness which is Antarctica!
Antarctica looks like a massive, infinite continent at the bottom!
Antarctica is actually the fifth-largest continent, smaller than Russia!

Which is why the word and UN has now officially moved on to equal Earth maps!

The Equal Earth map projection is a modern equal-area map projection created in 2018 by cartographers Bojan Šavrič, Bernhard Jenny, and Tom Patterson.

It was specifically designed to solve the polar inflation problems of the Mercator projection while avoiding the highly stretched, unnatural shapes found in older equal-area maps like the Gall-Peters projection.

The projection accurately displays the true relative sizes of all landmasses while maintaining a highly visually pleasing, rounded aesthetic inspired by the popular Robinson projection!

The map has of course cut North America to size to be less than Africa which is the truth! Then again not many like the truth!

Of course some truths remain whether you like them or not! It’s also a likeable truth that
Rakesh Roshan Nagrath is a better director than actor!

All the best for the new map!

Shub ratri!

So now you know the Cobra effect!

If you want a revision then you can click on this link!

https://ramadocblog.com/2026/09/04/cobra-effect/

Then again if you thought that the cobra effect, AFFECTS only government agencies and rats and cobras well you are in for a shock!

There are many well documented incidents but two stand out for their sheer incredulous nature!

The first was the target achievement drive and you can actually find the examples of this all over the corporate work!

This one is known as the Wells Fargo Fake Account incident!

The very INTELLIGENTManagement at Wells Fargo set incredibly high daily sales quotas, pushing employees to cross-sell financial products to existing customers!

So far so good! But the reaction was actually bad!

Now because employees faced intense pressure and risked losing their jobs, they began opening millions of unauthorized bank and credit card accounts without customer consent!

This resuted in Massive regulatory fines, moreover it destroyed customer trust which lead to severe reputational damage!
The company took a long time to recover from this COBRA effect!

Then you have the common scenarious which you see in software company!

Known as the Software Bug Bounty! In this incident, a tech company wanted to improve the security of its code, so management offered developers a cash bonus for every software bug they identified and fixed!

That is a big mistake!

What happened was that the developers secretly created software bugs in their own code, checked them into the repository, and then immediately “discovered” and fixed them to cash in on the bonus!

Ingenious! The more BUGS you FIND (read CREATE!); the more money you get!

The end result was that the overall code quality dropped, and project timelines slowed down! Of course the INCENTIVE was dropped in the recycle bin without any chance of restore!

The lesson is that you cannot incentivise a mistake or problem or else people will create more problems to get incentive!

Hope that taught you something! Then again if you are willing to learn especially on Teacher’s day then even a child can teach you a lot!

All you have to be is a student for life!

SHubh ratri!

Do you know what a cobra effect is?

Now it is not the effect a COBRA has when you see it!

This is also a two part blog!

It is a very interesting story and now a lesson in economics and even computers!


If it is Cobra then it has to come from India!
So during British colonial rule in India Delhi had too many venomous cobras! So the solution was that the government offered a cash reward for every dead cobra!
The issue was that when the actual Cobras started getting less in number, people started breeding cobras at home to collect the reward!

When the government canceled the reward program upon discovering the scam, breeders set their now-worthless snakes free, causing the wild cobra population to grow larger than it was before!

That is the Cobra effect! If you thought it was limited only to India or to only one sector then of course you are a SNAKE! I mean wrong!
In 1989, Mexico City launched the Hoy No Circula program to reduce smog. It banned cars with specific license plate numbers from driving on one specific weekday (Any similarity to anything else is purely coincidental!)

The reaction was that instead of using public transit, many citizens bought a cheap, highly polluting second car with a different license plate number to ensure they could drive every day! The result was that the Air pollution worsened significantly!

Another cobra effect  all the way  in Vietnam!
In 1902, French colonial rulers in Hanoi, Vietnam, wanted to control a growing rat population. They offered a bounty for every rat killed, requiring people to turn in only the rat’s tail as proof!

Imagine what they could do! Well not the Cobra way! They went one step further!

Officials began noticing rats running around Hanoi with no tails. People were catching rats, cutting off their tails to collect the cash, and releasing them back into the sewer to breed more rats! Now that is ingenious!

Of course as a result the rat population increased!

That is the Cobra effect!

So in short the Cobra Effect occurs when an attempted solution to a problem accidentally makes that problem worse!


Of course if you have problems then try to ask for the divine help in addition to solving them yourself!

Like praying to Bhagwan Shri Krishna especially on his Janmashtmi!
A very happy and blessed Janmashtmi to one and all!

God bless you all…

A sketch inspired by my kid’s snap!

Shubh ratri…

So now you have heard of Shackleton and his Endurance expedition! If not you can brush through the blog link…

https://ramadocblog.com/2026/09/02/shakleton-blog-one/


This amazing survival story is so epic that he is a legend and a knight! Then again in the novel Laws of Human Nature, Greene breaks down on the way Ernest Shackleton managed the Endurance expedition!

It was through masterclass crisis management, emotional intelligence, and adaptable leadership.

When his goal of crossing Antarctica became impossible, he instantly shifted his objective to a new mission: keeping every single man alive! He thought and then decided to come up with a plan which would make sure people will have confidence on his leadership and do not lose hope!


He started by Curating the Right Crew!

He looked for cheerfulness and optimism alongside technical skills during interviews.
He then started breaking hierarchies! He made scientists, officers, and sailors do the exact same manual labor to prevent elitism!
In fact in spite of being the captain and BOSS; he also did the same work and became a leader!

Then the most important this was Maintaining Morale and Routine!

He enforced regular times for meals, work, and sleep to keep a sense of normalcy in the dark.
All work and no play was not in the books! Because he made socializing Mandatory!

Everyone gathered in the ship’s main cabin after dinner for games, songs, and dynamic debates!

The most important work for a leader is the decision making! Quick decision is the key! Of course right decision is desired!

A Decisive Pivot in Strategy was shown when he was needed to let go of the goal! The moment the ship was crushed, he abandoned the original mission with no regret or hesitation!

He gathered the crew, threw his own gold watch and money into the snow, and declared their only goal was now survival.!

The foremost thing was to lead by Example!

He took the same rations, wore the same gear, and took the exact same risks as his men.

With all these he had Unmatched optimism! He hid his own anxieties completely, projectng calm confidence to prevent panic!

He even made many Personal sacrifice! Like how he secretly gave his own biscuits to crew members who were physically failing!

He took up every challenge like a leader and did not lose confidence or faith in himself or his men which is why the crew survived almost impossible situation and came out without a loss!

Shackleton; you are the GOAT! GOAT also was Uttam da! A quick sketch on a busy day!

Shub ratri…

Have you heard of Shackleton?

If you ever go on a voyage or a cruise; just pray that the captain follows or at least knows who is Shackleton!

He is perhaps one of the greatest captains ever!

This is a two part blog!

The first is the adventure and feats of this great captain and the next one would be how he managed the impossible!

In the novel the Laws of Human Nature; Robert Greene tells the adventure of Shackleton and his Endurance expedition!

The story is a great example of bravery and persistence and HOPE! Above all it is the best example of a leader! One who leads by example and does not leave anyone behind!

The story forms the first blog!

August 1914, Shackleton and his crew set sail on the Endurance.

By January 1915, the ship became hopelessly trapped in the heavy pack ice of the Weddell Sea!

Instead of panicking, the crew converted the ship into a winter station, enduring months of complete polar darkness and freezing temperatures!

But thenin October 1915, Ship Sinks! The shifting ice crushes the hull of the Endurance making it sink.
Immediately Shackleton ordered the crew to abandon ship, salvaging three small lifeboats, supplies, and photographic plates. In November, they watched as the ship sank completely into the ocean!

For the next five months, the men lived in tents on shifting, drifting ice floes! Five months in tensts with every day being uncertain or no existent!

Then came another challenge! By April 1916, their ice floe began to split apart. Shackleton ordered the crew into the three open lifeboats. After six grueling days navigating freezing spray and stormy seas, they reached the desolate, uninhabited rocks of Elephant Island! Even this was super human effort but the challenge was not done yet! A bigger one was yet to come!

Though it was the was the first time they had touched land in 497 days, it was futile since Shackleton knew that no rescue ships would ever pass Elephant Island!

Then Shackleton made a desperate choice. He took the best 22-foot lifeboat, named the James Caird, and five crew members to seek help!

They sailed 800 miles across the Drake Passage—the most dangerous ocean corridor in the world—navigating through 60-foot waves and hurricane winds using only a compass and sextant!

Against all odds, they reached South Georgia Island after 13 days!

You would think that this is finally the end! But it was not so! Because of the weather, they landed on the uninhabited side of South Georgia Island!

Shackleton and two men had to trek 32 miles across uncharted, glacier-covered mountains to reach the Stromness whaling station!

They completed the march in 36 hours!
By the way now Shackleton had reached the comfort of civilization! He could simply put his foot down or up and chill! He was alive and safe against all odds! But being Shackleton; he did want the greatest captains ever would do!


Shackleton immediately secured a rescue ship!

On August 30, 1916, he returned to Elephant Island and successfully evacuated the remaining 22 men. Not a single member of the crew died!

I am assuming that after this Shackleton did take some well deserved rest! Everyone likes a happy ending but only a few work towards it and how! Well the how part will come in tomorrow’s blog!

For now do read about Shackleton and maybe give him a silent salute…


You can also give a salute to the acting prowess of Sudeep Sanjeev aka Kicha Sudeep!

Now don’t lose your sleep over the next blog! No surprises there!

Shub ratri…

Have you wondered how mentalists can PREDICT or TELL what is in your mind!? Well apparently it is not! The clues were always there on your body! They make sure to READ it! It is not easy of course!

The book Laws of Nature talks about, well laws of human nature! But then he tells us about Milton Erickson!

Then again the blog is not about Milton Erickson per say but about what he observed!

Many times we say yes but we actually are reluctant to do that work but cannot bring ourselves to say no!

It is a very common issue especially for people who are social and who do not like to displease others! Those who like to be known as helpful and friendly!

Then again this is not a blog to teach to how to say no! But what Erickson observed is how to recognise a person meaning NO when he or she is TELLING yes!

Erickson was a brilliant kid who unfortunately got inflicted with polio and those days it was a death sentence. He did recover but soon his whole body was paralysed with only his eyes and brain under perfect working conditions!

As is the case; when one special sense is reduced, the others get heightened! Which is what happend and Erickson spent months studying his family and caregivers to decode hidden intentions.

He realized the body often leaks truth while the mouth complies!

One of them is the Micro-Head Shakes! A person might say “yes” aloud while performing a nearly imperceptible side-to-side head movement!

Then you have the Contradictory Tone! A cheerful or upbeat agreement paired with a flat, monotone voice reveals underlying reluctance!

Then yo have the facial Pacifying! Which means acts like touching the face or rubbing the neck while nodding agreement often turns that “yes” into a hidden disagreement!

Finally you have the subtle changes called the Tension Shifts which includes sudden changes in breathing, swallowing, or micro-eye movements signal internal resistance!

There are of course a whole body of people who actually specialise in READING these body movements! But hopefully these may help you find out if the person is actually fully IN or he or she is simply saying YES to please you!

If only there were some clues to know if the person is saying YES when he or she is actually saying NO! Now that is a NOBEL worthy study!

Then again that is what great actors do! Like Manoj Pahwa! I like sketching a little plump people since you get the lines better and it usually turns out to be good!

For now try to see the subtle signs of sleep and sleep!

Shubh ratri!

Attribution bias and Visceral Empathy!

Such complicated words but these two are just the two parts of a coin which is human!

If you thought that these complicated words does not pertain to you then you are wrong!

A simple example will prove that to you! If yo are driving; especially in a city like Bengaluru then you would know this! Anyone who is driving faster than you is a maniac while anyone driving slower than you is a moron! You of course are a pinnacle of perfection! That’s attribution bias in simple terms!

In the novel The laws Of Human Nature; Robert Greene tells about this in the context of relationship with others!


So Attribution bias and visceral empathy represent the clash between how our brains logically explain behavior versus how we emotionally feel someone else’s experience!

So technically Attribution Bias is a cognitive shortcut where you guess the reasons behind people’s actions. The trap here is that you judge others harshly but excuse yourself!

Like the example above, another common behaviour is if a coworker is late, you think they are lazy (internal attribution) but if you are late, you blame traffic (external attribution)!

Then you have the Visceral Empathy! This is the emotion which saves humanity!

This is a deep, physical emotional response to someone else’s state! The feeling that even if you do not just understand their pain; you feel it in your body! Like how your stomach drops when you see someone fall, or your heart races when a friend cries!

Now once you have established these facts then you can understand how and why this Matters in Greene’s Philosophy of Power!

For Greene, letting attribution bias run unchecked is a massive liability. It leaves you weak in two distinct ways!

The first is that you take things Personally! Greene warns that attribution bias causes us to assume other people’s negative behavior is a direct judgment of our value. In reality, their behavior is almost always driven by their own inner motives, fluctuating moods, or immediate context. Taking it personally weakens your emotional power! In short you think you are the center of the universe!

Then you apparently misreading the Board! Which means that If you assume a rival or colleague crossed you simply because they are “evil” or “flawed,” you fail to see the real, external leverage points driving them! You cannot accurately predict or influence people if you view them through the distorted lens of your own bias! Simply speaking your own inner feelings are reflected in your opinion of others!

So once you are attacked by the attribution bias you must defend yourself with the VISCERAL EMPATHY! Which is another way of telling you that when you are faced with a situation causing distress by somone, then you must try to think with EMPATHY and then make a decision!

Of course a simple way would have been the PUT YOURSELF IN HIS OR HER SHOES! But then simplicity does not get audience!

Audience wants talent! Like Javagal Srinath!

Now use your night bias to sleep!

Shub ratri!