Pensacola Beach
This time last year
This time last year, I was holding up the Tower of Pisa. LOL.
Italian Vacation during spring break
Do you know that PhD students don't get spring break like the undergrads. We sure could use that break for sure. Its been a crazy semester.
I was holding up the Tower of Pisa
With a tilt and a twist, like Galileo's wrist
Galileo throwing objects from the top
Law of falling bodies nonstop.
Chilling on a houseboat
Chilling on a houseboat in Kerala's backwaters
Coconut trees sway along the shore
The sun dips low, painting the sky with colors
A serene moment, that I'll forever adore.
Henry Ford Museum of American Innovation
History of the Industrial Age - Trains, cars (including presidential cars), planes, tools, steam engines, farm equipment, art glass, furniture, clocks and more all under one roof.
Vacanza in Italia
Italy was a vacation of awe with art, architecture, music and countryside, all rolled into one trip over spring break
Have to wonder why Euro door knobs are in middle of door instead of to the side. Was it all about aesthetics of a symmetrical pleasing look. Turns out that the central placement of a door know provides greater leverage and ease of use, especially in the larger/heavier doors and it makes it more difficult for intruders to open the door as force must be applied directly to the center of the door rather than at the edge where the lock is located.
I held up the Tower of Pisa
With a tilt and a twist, like Galileo's wrist
Galileo throwing objects from the top
Law of falling bodies nonstop.
Harrapa Artifact
My late Raghavan Thatha (grandpa) worked in archeology for a while. Replica of an artifact - Harappan seal from the Harappa archeology digs from the time of the Indus Valley Civilization. 2600BC-6000BC
Tongan Kava Bowl
My late Raghavan Thatha (grandpa) also spent many years in Tonga. Tonga is one of the last remaining Polynesian monarchies in the world. This is a Tongan Drum and a Tongan Kava Bowl. Thatha & Paati (grandma) have been to many traditional Kava ceremonies.
Remote Instruction, International Edition
Remote Instruction, International Edition
Remote Instruction at the table your parent used during their schooling. No laptops back then!!A Variety of Kozhukattai Experience
The tiffen scene in Chennai is quite interesting.I had multiple varieties of kuzhutattai for breakfast. Kuzhukattais are traditionally steamed rice balls with sweet or spicy stuffing inside. They just got more creative. The white one is made with palm sago, there were ones made with Ragi (Millet) and also upma kuzhukattai.
A variety of spice and sweet Lip-smacking and finger-licking varieties.
Murunga's Three Feet Long
Freshly harvested Murunga Drumsticks (Moringa Olifera). Murunga's are loaded with good nutrients right from Vitamin C to antioxidants with many parts of the plant used in ayurveda meds. I've never seen a muruga drumstick this long before - its over 3 feet long. And these look fat and juicy too, when cooked.
I'm think I'm getting a yummy Murunga dish from Paati (grandma) tomorrow. Can't wait.
Competitive Cats
The cats at my grandma's place are seriously competitive. It saw me hugging grandma and demanded - as in meowing away loudly and pawing the rug and couch - to be be given room on the couch so it could get in on the love.There are actually 2 cats here, one on each floor and each possessive about its territory. The downstairs one (Chinni) never goes up and vice versa for Feather. The upstairs cat is quite old and decides to meow away in the middle of the night for food.
And did I mention the visiting fellows. A couple of cats turn up at the backdoor several times a day and meow for food. My Paati promptly feeds them. These cats never venture inside else they face the wrath of the house cats.
They are too funny. LOL
Lifelong Learning
My Paati (grandma) likes languages and at 82 doing courses on conversational Sanskrit. Got distinction in her last exam too.
Healthy Idly's
The Ubiquitous Masala Dosa
Evening tiffen was Masala Dosa with sambar and chutney served on a banana leafHappy Tamil New Year Everyone. Its the herald of spring.
My first Tamil New Year in Tamilnadu!!
It usually rains on Tamil New Year and the weather did not disappoint. Complete with Thunder. Rain is considered auspicious, means things will go well.
Banana Leaf Lunching
Warm delicious Paati samayal (grandma's cooking) on a freshly cut banana leaf from the garden.
Eating traditional style on an organic, eco-friendly, biodegradable plate with extra nutrition thrown in.
Extra nutrition? Polyphenols (think micronutrients in plant based foods packed with antioxidants) in the banana leaves get stimulated from the warmth of the food and get absorbed into the food along with Ascorbic Acid, Citric Acid, Ca and Carotene in Banana Leaves.
Eating with fingers? Its a natural exercise and builds dexterity for the fingers and the hand (kind of useful for someone like me actually with poor fine motor skills). It's slows down eating and brings about greater awareness of texture and taste, a.k.a mindful eating.
Ayurveda says nerve endings on the fingers stimulate digestion and improves blood circulation. Incorporating the five elements represented by the fingers - starting with thumb - space, air, fire, water, earth - is holistic eating. Somehow the Colonial legacy has meant that such indigenous cultural practices were frowned upon. That such things were "inferior" and made you "less than"
This sound familiar? - that the disabled mind-body is somehow "less than"
Image Description: Young male of South Indian origin eating food served on banana leaf. Also seated at the dining table is his grandpa with his grandma serving them food.
Glanced at words, easily forgot.
"The test of progress is not whether we add more to the abundance of those who have much, it is whether we provide enough for those who have too little. "- FDR Memorial
Lovely sentiments
Powerful messages
Set in stone, eons ago.
But what do we do?
We read, we admire... the words, the history.
We think we contemplate the meaning and grandeur of it all
We think we understand.
We really think we understand.
We really really think we understand.
We think we come away better folks.
Oh yes, we are now better folks.
But PRACTICE..... Oh No, that we do not.
That we do not.
Oh No, that we do not.
Glanced at words, easily forgot.
Contorted, distorted.
Boast on social media, then forgot
It's back to 'real' life, says the powers that be
The Sights in DC
National Mall
Lincoln Memorial |
The 36 columns in the Parthenon-like Lincoln Memorial building are the 36 initial states. The 19 ft tall marble Lincoln sits in deep contemplation, perhaps pondering the state of our country then and now. On the walls is his second inauguration speech.
and protests in between
If you were given a voice?
What would you now say, Abe?
We walked on the trail around the Tidal Basin all the way to Jefferson Memorial. Along the trail are many of the monuments like the Korean War Memorial, MLK Memorial, Roosevelt Memorial, etc. What a grand and wonderful tribute to the ideals of democracy and our history.
We could stop only at a handful of them as we had to get back. Washington Monument was closed for repairs unfortunately so could not get an aerial view of DC. Next time.
MLK Memorial |
Washington Monument |
"Out of a Mountain of Despair, A Stone of Hope" - MLK Memorial |
"Among American citizens, the should be no forgotten men and no forgotten race" - FDR memorial |
"The test of progress is not whether we add more to the abundance of those who have much, it is whether we provide enough for those who have too little. "- FDR Memorial |
Lovely sentiments
Powerful messages
Set in stone, eons ago.
But what do we do?
We read, we admire... the words, the history.
We think we contemplate the meaning and grandeur of it all
We think we understand.
We really think we understand.
We really really think we understand.
We think we come away better folks.
Oh yes, we are now better folks.
That we do not.
Oh No, that we do not.
Glanced at words, easily forgot.
Post on social media, then forgot
It's back to 'real' life, says we
The White House
A second sightseeing jaunt happened after our Hill Day visit on Friday, Jun 21 evening. Can't leave DC without a peek at the White House.
Two of my ACI friends Lia and Rebecca accompanied us. I'm so glad they both came along as they really enlivened the outing with their lively chatter and comments.
Though The White House is just a little more than a mile away from Capitol Hill, it took forever for the Uber Driver to get to us on the steps of the US House of Representatives Building and then take up there as the traffic is pretty congested in DC.
The White House |
Opposite The White House was a man camped out under an umbrella surrounded by protest posters. Deja Vu! It so reminded me of all the protest posters that line Sproul Plaza on the UC Berkeley campus.
Poster reads "Wanted: Wisdom and Honesty" - opposite The White House |
I even met another Cal (UC Berkeley) student there. She came up and asked if I was going to Cal and nostalgically remarked that she's just graduated. And added, "Go Bears!!"
On the way to the White House, there was a quick photo stop in front of the Treasury Building.
US Treasury |
It was a super hot day and my suit jacket just got soaked with sweat. So off came the tie and jacket but could do nothing about my long sleeve shirt.
The Smithsonian
We were also hoping to catch a Smithsonian Museum if one was still open. Turns out the Smithsonian American Art Museum was still open.
Smithsonian Museum of American Art |
Feb 22 - I share a birthday with George Washington |
Except the Spanish large print book had the English version inside and vice versa.
A braille version too. My train of thought immediately went to what I'd read in Georgina Kleege's book, "More than meets the Eye: What Blindness brings to Art," and the interview I'd done with her for the A&E at the Daily Cal.
I wondered what the braille print book said - did it give a sensory description of each image or did it just verbatim copy the explanations on the wall by each picture - meant for visual people.
I'm a tactile person too in many ways, I was hard-pressed to not touch impulsively touch the images.
My class with Prof. Victor Pineda last semester also really made me think of accessibility in a whole new way.
Accessibility at the Museum |
The president who happened to sign the ADA |
What a lovely visual - showing the "emergence" of the Special Olympics |