If you've got, flaunt it!!!!!!!!!!!!

Blinding neon lights, expensive and flashy sportscars, magnificient arichitectural feats built to mimick the wonders of the world and glamour all around you.............Ladies and gentlemen, the Numero Uno party spot in this world for you...........Las Vegas!!!!!!!!!!!

The first thing that strikes you, when you entire Vegas is its surreal quality. Everything here is fake, be it the clever copy of Michaelangelo's fresco paintings adorning the roof of Venetian or the brilliantly golden tresses of the waitress in Bellagio.

The insides of the casinos tell a different tale altogether. Endless rows of slot machines and poker and blackjack tables entice you promising to make you a millionaire in a second. They have people from all walks of life, starting from wide-eyed and feverishly excited teenager who has been saving their pocket money all summer to visit Vegas to the creme de la creme of the society who has gamble away their money lest it starts overflowing in their treasury.

I do not know whether I was at the wrong place at the wrong time, but Vegas seemed to bring out the philosophical trait in me. Why this obscene display of wealth? What is the purpose of so much of wastage? If there is an excess, why doesnt it go to the people who need it? How can a person sit and gamble away hundreds of dollars knowing that the same money could have saved a life had it been donated to an organisation in Ethiopia?

Meanwhile on the streets, pamphlets and bilboards scream out "What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas" and as the night progresses the partying reaches a feverish cresendo. Intoxicated spirits soar and everyone seems to make a frantic effort to lose themselves in the frenzied partying.

Is it only my imagination or do I see that dark melancholy lurking behind the animated facade, reminding them about the cruel "real" world where they have to return to in a few hours; goading them to party harder, scream louder and lose themselves if their concocted euphoria..........

Oh Calcutta...........!!!!!!!!!

People ask me what I see in Calcutta? So I ask them the same question in return. All that they tell me are piles of garbage, crowded streets, clamouring of street vendors, obnoxious open sewers, persistent beggars, run down houses and the sickening pollution.
Yes, they paint a very bleak picture indeed. But then, every person is entitled to their own opinion and therefore, I think it is only fair that I stick to mine. So far, I have never answered anybody (excepting one person) what I see in Calcutta.
How can I make someone understand that the teeming multitudes flowing through the winding and sinuous city streets is like my life blood flowing through my veins? Will anyone ever realise that my heart beats in rhythmn with throbbing pulse of the city? That the thought of the wild surging currents in river Hoogly wakes me up in the midst of my slumber and entices me to return to the place where my heart lies.
For me, love was never blind but it has always been synonymous with acceptance. It is not that I am blind to the vices of the city that I was born in but I have grown to love it, in spite of everything. How can not be touched by the people that moved Mother Teresa? How can I ignore latent energy in the atmosphere which inspired Bose to lay down his life? How can I choose not to see the divine beauty of Shantiniketan on a mellow autumn day which brought out hunderds of sweet verses from Tagore's heart?

This is a city which has shaped my thoughts and has made me the person that I am today. Intricately woven in with every dingy lane of this city are sweet memories of my childhood. Every alley echoes with the sound of mirth and laughter of the days when worries were alien to us. Every breath I take here refreshens my soul with the pure and passionate ideals that, I believe, is the luxury of a naive and innocent mind. Every wind that blows here carries with it the torn dreams of a fiery spirited young girl, like ashes and sparks from an extinguished hearth.

Oh Calcutta............

I miss you so!

The Heart vs The Head

I sometimes think that the most difficult battles are ones which are fought within us. When it is you versus any external force, you can always chalk up a strategy, take advice from people and be armed and prepared for warfare. When it is between that little angel with wings and a halo and the devil with horns and a tail within you, you do know what is right and wrong. So you do have some parameter to guide you. But what when both the causes are right and both are dear to you? How do you brave these battles and choose which side to take and what to fight for?

I sometimes wonder whether it is only me who faces these terrible dilemmas.
I mean, can anybody else imagine a situation like this: there are two exams in a couple of days and I have to do really well in both to maintain my 4.0 points. There is absolutely no external pressure; I want to do this purely for my satisfaction. However, at times, there is this irrepressible urge to run away..............Run barefoot along a seashore with the wavelets breaking on my ankles and the wind in my hair. Run totally aimlessly.............
I know it simply does not make sense but it is almost like I can feel the call of the sea pulling some strings in heart making me yearn for it so bad that it almost hurts.

Another more practical example. I have an exam to proctor in 10 mins time. Suddenly a friend calls up who is apparently really upset about something. I do empathize with my friend and would have rushed over immediately. But there is something in my head which keeps telling me that duty comes first and should be attended first. Other things can be dealt with later.

So you see, in both the cases, both the causes are equally dear to me which makes it so difficult to take a decision. As you may have guessed, in my case, it is always the head which wins. The heart is rather mercilessly suppressed every time. But the point is.............WHY????????
isn't it natural for everything in nature to tend towards greater chaos? At least that what the concept of entropy says. So by listening to my head, which does tend to make me more ordered, am I going against nature? Am I looking to find order by the worng means whereas order actually lies in chaos?

These are some questions I will never find an answer for............

"Two" much for one day

In my previous post I narrated the first adventure of the day. One could think that it was enough to shatter the confidence one had put in a building and never to trust it again. In fact as Terranie(my Spanish friend; her name comes from Teresa, Annie and Daniel, her closest realtives) and I scurried back to lab in the afternoon, we were anxiously looking all around and above us for any signs of falling glass or loose panels.

Now a little more about the Biodesign building. It consists of four buildings integrated into one structure. Of them, two are yet to be built. One is completed and is fully functional and that is where I work. The other building is ready but has not been occupied as yet.

So, as I mentioned, the staircase was sealed and disfuntional so we decided to take the elevator, which, mind you, is something that we never do. It was here that the second starnge thing of the day happened. We swiped or identity cards and tried to press the button which said L1(basement1) but the command did not seem to register. Feeling rather frustrated, Terranie swiped her card again and pressed a wrong button by mistake. It said L1R which essentially means another basement. But as far as we knew, there was only one basement in the entire building! The stubborn elevator, which seemed to have a mind of its own, took the command and zoomed down leaving us helpless and a bit worried. Then, much to our surprise, a panel at the back of the elevator slided open and revealed to us an entirely new floor which we hadnt even heard of before. Through the open door sailed in the grating noise of heavy machinery and husky voices of who seemed like pretty ill-tempered men. It might have been the talk in the air about certain hush-hush areas in the building where animal testing is carried out or it might have been the nerve-racking incident of the morning......whatever be the reason..........we were terrified. Frantically, we ran out in a direction away from where the voices were coming. And we ran right into a labyrinth of corridoors. There were tens of doors and what seemed like infinite corridoors. They were all empty and not a soul was there who we could ask for the nearest staircase.

After wandering around for what seemed like ages in the maze, there appeared in front of us, the welcome signboard saying "stairs". We shouted out in glee and ran for it and didnt stop running until we reached the safe and secure shelter of our very own lab! We narrated our plight to all the sympathetic listerners in the lab and they all unanimously agreed that we had shown an exceptional display of bravery and presence of mind and we deserve a medal for it!!!!!!!!! :D

Ah well............all well that ends well!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The Sky is Falling on Our Heads...........

There was this fable my grandma used to read to me, when I was a toddler, about a chicken who thought that the sky was falling on its head........
Well that doesnt seem all that improbable after what I witnessed today!!!!!!!!

I do need to provide a short introduction so that you can picture exactly what happened today at work. Well, I work in the basement of the Biodesign Institue, AZ. It is a pretty magnificient structure and is hardly an year old. The concept behind making this building is that Science should have no boundaries. So everything, except the floor, is made of glass. The walls, roof, banisters and all that could possibly be there has been consturcted of different varieties of glass. In the center is a big spiral staircase also made of, ya you guessed right, glass! Quite a breathtaking site to behold, when you enter for the first time.

Today morning started out in the usual boring manner, with no indacations whatsoever of what was about to follow. I was sitting at my desk preparing for the meeting with my guide which was scheduled to be held in an hour and a half. AND THEN...........suddenly.........totally out of the blue.......there was a crashing sound which lasted for at least 2 seconds. Really, I am not exaggerating one bit. When I recovered from the first shock of the imapct, I ran to center and saw that the entire floor was covered with what seemed like fine glistening ice! After looking at it closely, I realised that it was not ice but glass! My gaze was automatically directed upwards and I saw a huge panel of glass missing from the corridoor of the second floor. When it came crashing down, it brought allong with it massive glass sheets from the staircase as well! A chill went down my spine as I thanked God for keeping everyone out of the way of the falling glass. There was a lady who was standing in the middle of the sea of evil looking chunks who claimed that one of the sheets barely grazed her shoulder. However, she was lucky to escape without a scratch.

As you can imagine, 991 was called immediately and the entire area was evacuated and sealed. The cleaning operation was going to take an hour at least and we were elated like little kids would be if their school suddenly declared a holiday. As we all trooped down to Lorenzo's for pasta, the only thing in my mind was.......what is the use of a million dollar building if it cannot keep the people inside it safe??????????