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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!

Do you know what is the similarity in the words Brexit and Motel!?

The NYT mini crossword is one of the best to get your guess fast and to gain some knowledge on the way!

The other day one of the words I learnt was called portmanteau!

The best thing was that it was a part of the clue and not the answer itself so if you have not yet solved it you are safe! By the way it was a couple of days back so if you have not yet solved it then let us not have much hope also!

So without beating round the PORT let us go to the word as such!

A portmanteau is a new word made by blending parts of two or more other words together.

It keeps the sounds and meanings of both original words. Common examples include brunch (breakfast + lunch) and smog (smoke + fog)!

The word has such an interesting history! And history we love!

So the word portmanteau comes from the Middle French word portemanteau, which combines porter (“to carry”) and manteau (“mantle” or “cloak”).

Originally it actually means a case for carrying clothes while its linguistic sense was coined by Lewis Carroll in 1871 to describe two meanings packed into one blended word!

The Roots in Physical Luggage which is actually from the French verb porter, meaning to carry and the French noun for a cloak or mantle!

In the 16th century, a porte-manteau first referred to a court official who carried a prince’s mantle. By the late 1580s, it shifted to mean a stiff leather traveling bag or suitcase—specifically one that hinged and opened into two equal compartments!

Lewis Carroll used the term figuratively in his 1871 book Through the Looking-Glass!

In the book, Humpty Dumpty explains the nonsense words in “Jabberwocky” (like slithy, meaning “slimy” and “lithe”) by comparing them to a two-part suitcase: “two meanings packed up into one word.”

The metaphor stuck, transforming the physical luggage name into the standard linguistic term for blended words!

Some of the popular examples apart from Brunch and smog also include Spork: Spoon + fork and Podcast: iPod + broadcast!

In fact even the lastest Brexit is  portmanteau of Britain + exit!

Anyway it was not that important to know the meaning of portmanteau because the word is special but everyday we realise that what we know is simply a tiny drop in the huge ocean of knowledge! Like I also got to know that the full name of our Shetty anna is actually Suniel Veerappa Shetty!

A quick sketch and a quicker blog on another busy day!

Shubh ratri!

This is one of the best treatments for allergy and for nose block and a myriad of other ailments but the moment you tell them that it is STEROID then you can almost feel their gasp!

Then again just like nectar; even a medication like steroid which is actually life saving, must be used with proper indication and dose! And of course guidance and monitoring!

So practically Steroid, is any organic compound characterized by a molecular structure of 17 carbon atoms arranged in four rings.

The first therapeutic use of steroids occurred in the 18th century when English physician William Withering used digitalis, to treat edema.

Studies of steroids commenced in the early 19th century with investigations of the unsaponifiable material obtainable from bile.

Breakthrough was when  American physician Philip S. Hench announced in 1949 that the hitherto intractable symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis were dramatically alleviated by the adrenal hormone cortisone! 

Steroids are now useful in treating rashes, inflammatory bowel disease, asthma and allergy.

In fact in many autoimmune diseases and in many emergencies steroids are the life saving medications which have to be used under guidance and in proper doses only!

Edward C. Kendall and Tadeusz Reichstein isolated individual hormone compounds, including cortisone (Compound E).

Finally Kendall, Reichstein, and Hench shared the 1950 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for their work on this life saving medication!

All you need to do is to use it judiciously; so if you use steroid properly you will reach the sky! Which reminds me of Which reminds me of Vikram Ambalal Sarabhai!

Now take your nasal spray without fear and sleep!

Shubh ratri…

Do you know what is the common thing between a Velcro and a Bullet train!?

In simple terms it is BIOMIMICRY!

You have one of the best NATURAL machine in the world! The human or the animal body! The body design of a species has been perfected after millions of years of trial and error (read evolution!)

So Biomimicry is the practice of learning from and mimicking the strategies, forms, and systems of nature to solve human design and engineering challenges.

In this concept you treat treating nature as a mentor rather than a warehouse!

So innovators use 3.8 billion years of evolutionary problem-solving to create sustainable technologies!

In the system you can either copy the form or the biological process or the ecosystem!

Replicating the physical shape or structure of an organism, such as modeling high-speed train fronts after a kingfisher’s beak to eliminate tunnel sonic booms!

Then the copying of the process involves adopting natural chemical or physical processes, like studying how leaves harvest solar energy to improve photovoltaic cells!

Then you also have the copying of the ecosystem in which you design interconnected systems that function like natural communities, such as zero-waste manufacturing or buildings that self-regulate temperature like termite mounds!

The famous real world examples inclue the Japanese and other famous Bullet trains which are modeled after the kingfisher bird, allowing trains to travel faster while using less electricity and eliminating loud shockwaves.

Then you have the Velcro which was Invented after a hiker examined how burrs naturally clung to dog fur using tiny hooks!

Even you have the Whale Power Turbines which uses tubercles (bumps) inspired by humpback whale flippers on blades to increase aerodynamic and fluid efficiency!

So you want to have something great; mimic the nature! The best mimics though are the actors like Srinivasa Sarja! Loved his latest movie Blast!
You may know him as Arjun Sarja!

Now use natural biomimicry to charge yourself! AKA Sleep!

Shubh ratri!

In the book called the 12 rules of life by Jordan B Peterson, he tells about lobsters fight each other in steps or levels!

They don’t just jump into a fight!

Even they have stages and only slow and steadily increase the INTENSITY so to speak!

The first stage of a Lobster is the Chemical Communication!

Here Lobsters release urine and specialized chemical cues containing data about their size, sex, mood, and strength!

It is like giving a data of its strength and weaknesses!

So if a weaker or less confident lobster senses a stronger opponent, it often chooses to retreat immediately without any physical contact!

Then you have Mutual Posturing or The Lobster Dance! So if neither lobster backs down from the chemical signals, they approach and face each other with raised claws.

They perform cautious, synchronized lunges or charges to test each other’s size, weight, and agility.Either animal can still choose to surrender at this stage if it feels outmatched!

Finally like HUMANS you have full Physical Combat!

So if the standoff continues, the lobsters engage in direct physical violence, locking heavy claws, pushing, and striking to win the disputed shelter or territory!

Finally like HUMANS, the winner establishes high social rank, while the loser retreats, experiencing physiological and behavioral shifts tied to its lower status!

Apparently the same phenomenon happens to humans also!

After a defeat or grave injury a feeling of inferiority develops which may cause the human to go down the hierarchy!

Jordan says that the best way to avoid this is to first start with the body posture! Stand up straight with your shoulders back and smile!

Or smile like Mahesh Babu!

Another busy day!

Shub ratri….

I love driving! Give me a vehicle and I will drive it and love it! Car or a bike or even a bicycle! I even love the skates! Quad skates or even the inline ones!

But every driver in the world hates one thing!

Do you know that Mexico City and Bengaluru are very close!?

Or that Nigeria and Costa Rica are very similar!?

The answer to all the three above is the same! TRAFFIC!

So driving anywhere is a pleasure especially with great car and road and some music and of course some good company!

But if you get the road blocks or traffic then all fun is lost! Whether the transmission is manual or automatic; it is a pain! For a city drive automatic is the best drive since you then do not have to strain both the legs!

But TRAFFIC would dishearten even the most dedicated and passionate driver!

All this when I was stuck in a city wide traffic! At one point walking the same distance would have not only be faster but actually half the time!

Just yesterday I drove close to 400 km in around 5-6 hours while a 20 km stretch in the city needed more than one hour!

It was not just me since then I investigated further!

According to public crowdsourced data compiled by the Numbeo Traffic Index, Nigeria ranks as the country with the highest overall traffic congestion index globally, followed by Costa Rica and Sri Lanka!

Nothing surprising there but then when I searched by city wide traffic congestion, my fears were confirmed!

So apparently Mexico City ranks as the city with the highest traffic congestion globally, with an average congestion level of 75.9%!

So why was I not surprised!? Well; the second rank goes to our own Bengaluru!

Bengaluru follows closely behind as the second most congested city in the world and the highest-ranking city in India, where drivers lose an average of 168 hours a year in traffic!

In fact there are two cities in the top list from India! Bengaluru and Pune!
Apparently you lose close to 160-170 hours because of the traffic! Not to mention patience and everything else!

You also get headache and free stress! As well as training in HORN management and how to FIGHT for your space on the already SMALL road!

Which is why I keep my driving on Bengaluru roads only occasionally with loads of time to spare!

After making an almost complete circle of Bengaluru traffic I really do not have the DRIVE to make a connection with Gufi Paintal! Lets leave it at that!

Shubh Ratri! May you not have any TRAFFIC JAMS in your sleep!

The routine for us most years during this time of the year is to visit our old village and the old temple to give our respects and pray for our health and happiness!

It is an amazing experience especially the beautiful drive over serene mountains in the background and frequent stops to eat and buy stuff and repeat!

Then the music connected to the car stereo and occasional fight over the choice of song to play!

Since our visit is not predictable, even our trip to our village is not predictable! We simply decide one fine day that we would go the next day and that is that!

Since it is a small place we would always get some hotel to stay though it may not be a grand one or new but the staying part is just a small part of the whole trip!

Sometimes there would also be some function and then the whole trip and the stay would be a done deal! I still remember how we had gone for our periappa’s 80th birthday celebrations!

In any case a visit to any place near our village would warrant a visit to our Chittur Bhagavathy temple!

It is an old building which would always be under repair! We would be giving donation every year but still some constructions will be always be happening!

The moment we reach anywhere near the village my father’s memory cells would get activated and his stories about every prominent part of the town we cross would start! Though most stories would be old, occasionally we would get some new stories!

Some places he would say, it is the same and those would never change while some he would say; it is just the same! This would never change!

He would visit the temple and tell everyone how he is from the very same village! Then we would visit his old house and take a snap for the umpteenth time!

The old doctor’s house or the old village school (Shalai!) or the old banyan tree! All would be seen and snapped and remembered nostalgically!

A visit to our favourite place to eat our Puttu and kadala curry is of course a must after the temple visit!

Then we would rush to the famous Kalpathy temple street ! Not for the temple only but for the tasty treats! The chips of banana or jackfruit or tapioca! Not to forget the pickles and the powders and the special sweets! The car would be full and the CHETA would give some fresh and hot BANANA chips which we would gobble with relish! And order a couple of extra packets!

The return journey would be so slow but steady with a steady intake of the accumulated treats and SNAPS in between with a silent promise to return again the next year with the same team and stories!

Stories of course reminds me of M K Shyamalan!

A blog written after 12 hours of driving!

Now thats is a memory! The leg pain though is not that pleasant!

Well deserved rest waiting for me!

Shub ratri…

Time for another Japan Blog!

We were picked up by this van and there was a check point! The driver was a decent looking smart guy who bowed and we did the same!

It is a routine in Japan! The bowing! Like how in India we do Namaskara! They bow and say Arigato!

But after that the whole journey was in silence because we were told mainly by my daughter that we must not talk loudly!

So the blog is not about that! Like I mentioned we were approaching a toll point or a check point with the usual SLIDING gate!

Now as we all do or as every normal person in India who is not a VIP (which is most everyone of course!) does; we SLOW down!

But this driver sped up! The gate was still down and he was approaching him with the speed of a bullet! We were already silent but this act for the ones who have just landed in Japan was a shocker!

Our imaginations grew wild and we were so shocked and stopped breathing! It was so silent you could hear a YEN DROP (it’s Japan you see!)

Then within a limit of microsecond and a distance of may be a few centimeters the gate just raised! With a big WHEW from all of us though for the driver it was routine!


Apparently Norway introduced the world’s first electronic toll collection (ETC) system using transponders in Bergen in 1986!

Later milestones include Trondheim launching the first fully unaided full-speed electronic tolling in 1991, Italy deploying the first national-scale system (Telepass) in 1989, and Canada’s Highway 407 opening as the first fully automated all-electronic toll highway in 1997!

India introduced the FASTag system on December 4, 2014, as a pilot project on the Ahmedabad-Mumbai stretch of the Golden Quadrilateral. The electronic toll collection program was later rolled out more widely and eventually made mandatory for all four-wheeled vehicles nationwide by February 15, 2021!

Now it is a real comfort since it takes just a few seconds to READ! I still remember the clamour for change and the huge queues and the toll booths used to be nightmare!


Today during a similar road trip we were remembering that scene in Japan and also saw how effective the FAST TAG is here! Here of course the fast tag is also real fast and good but we DO SLOW DOWN since it takes a few seconds to read!

It is better this way here! After that fast ride on the highway we like to slow down and enjoy the ride! Like we enjoy our movies and directors like Vishal!

A quick sketch and blog after more than 11 hours of continuous driving!
Not bad!
Shub ratri…

On our recent trip to Japan (I know it is becoming irritating! But bear with me; the trip has ended and so will the blogs on Japan!)

So we realised that taxis are very expensive in Japan! So after spending a couple of days burning our money we got sufficient information and courage to try the underground metro! It was a revelation but this blog is not about that!

It is about Honesty!

After the eight of us were hopping trains and shopping; we returned with shopping bags full and wallets almost empty!

Then suddenly my sis in law realised that she does not have the lifeline of the modern generation with her!

The mobile phone! My brother calmly told her, “do not worry, just remember where you kept it last and it will be there only! This is Japan!”

Sure enough after another train hopping they found the phone kept beside the ticket counter as she remembered!

A huge relief for all of us! I was also amazed at the confidence my brother had that it would be found!
In fact Japan is widely celebrated globally for having an exceptionally honest society, heavily backed by cultural norms of civic duty, high social trust, and low crime rates!
Lost wallets containing cash are frequently turned in intact, and lost belongings are often left untouched where their owners dropped them!

People rely on a collective community understanding that stealing or keeping lost items breaks public harmony.

In fact Tokyo’s Metropolitan Police regularly process millions of yen in lost cash returned by honest finders and citizens!

There was in fact a very famous study done all over the world called the LOST WALLET test!

The test was based on a massive global scientific study on civic honesty which  tested lost wallet returns and other international corruption indices!

That study ranked Switzerland, Norway, and the Netherlands as the world’s most honest countries, closely followed by Nordic nations like Denmark, Sweden, and Finland!
The famous global field experiment tested honesty by dropping over 17,000 “lost” wallets across 355 cities in 40 countries.

The likelihood of people trying to return a lost wallet defined the civic honesty rankings! Even Japan has consistently ranked high in this and many other studies and tests on honesty!

So apart from the comfort and the technology; the one thing we were hardly worried about was theft! That is a great plus for international travel!

Then again coming back to Bharat is an amazing feeling since it is our own country! Which is why we love our food and movies more than anything else! Which reminds me of Pradeep Ram Singh Rawat; heartfelt condolences, he will be missed…

Om shanthi…