Mangalyaan vs Maven

On the 24th of September our esteemed space research organisation ISRO made history. It successfully placed "Mangalyan" into the Mars orbit. The entire sequence to slow down the vehicle and get itself "captured" into the martian gravity was autonomous. The commands to fire the rocket were uploaded much earlier as the orbiter was eclipsed by Mars itself and the ground control stations on Earth had no access to the orbiter's communication system during this time.

Our Prime Minister on this occasion spoke. As always he spoke brilliantly. He also made a point about the cost of the project being less than the movie "Gravity". Now, that set the stage for the social media to go abuzz with all sorts of comparisons.  People started comparing the NASA's MAVEN mission and the cost that it incurred. Some of my friends commented that the mission was 11 times more costlier than that by ISRO. Impression was made that ISRO was "one-up" against NASA in this.

We Indians have a habit of exaggerating things we feel proud of (as a nation or community) especially if the thing appears to be comparable to something from the West. We go over the board swelling our chest with pride and brag about our achievement. We often at these times ignore the facts of the case.

Precisely, what we have done in this case. First and foremost, ISRO has/had no plans to go "one-up" against NASA in anyway with this mission. The honourable chairman has himself stated that ISRO is in race with no one but itself. Secondly, "Mangalyaan" weighs around 4.3 times lighter than MAVEN. Anybody with a basic knowledge of rocket science knows that with each gram increase in weight of the payload the cost of the launch (and the carrier) goes up. Thirdly, "Mangalyaan" is just like a "Hello World" programme by ISRO to test out their capability of carrying out an interplanetary mission. The scientific instruments "Mangalyaan" carries are very basic unlike those in MAVEN. It is true that NASA has asked for co-operation with ISRO for the use of the methane gas sensor that "Mangalyaan" carries with itself.

Yes we have made a huge achievement in our own might. We are sure that ISRO will bring us even more reasons to smile (esp. with the upcoming PSLV C26 launch and our own IRNSS navigation system and the much awaited GSLV MKIII launch) in the coming years. But please do not demean other space programmes or nations. The fact of the matter is that as of date we are the "youngest" nation in space exploration.

So I request fellow compatriots to keep calm.

Ai Giri Nandini

This  stotra known as "Mahisasur Mardini" is said to be very powerful. Each year on Durga-Ashtami, we visit the Ramakrishna Mission in New Delhi and they perform this stotra  during the aarti. I have to admit, it does have a very powerful impact. I remember playing this stotra and the Hanuman Chalisa in a loop on Winamp during the days and nights when I used to work on my MCA project and studies.

It is again that time of the year, when I start to feel better. The weather is being pleasant, at least in the mornings and there is that feeling of "Durga Pujo" round the corner. Life from here on till March-April beginning is cool with one festival after another following in quick succession. The weather as I said earlier too supports the festive fervor to the fullest.

Speaking of goddess, I am privileged to have acquaintance with two of them. One is of course my mother. I have never come across an individual so selfless and sacrificing as her in my life. Even till date, I see that she is so forthcoming to sacrifice pretty little things for someone else's cause. I have seen her as the workhorse of housework for years and I am ashamed to admit that I may not have given the credit she deserved for this work during my younger days. I have taken her for granted so many a times in the past and yet her interface towards me never changed. This lifetime and many more, I will not be able to repay the dues.

The other one is my wife. She has been an awesome companion to me for all these years. I have a friend with whom I can talk and behave carefree. She is always forthcoming with constructive discussions on important matters and decisions we need to make. I am not sure if I have been able to reciprocate the same towards her, but again her interface has never changed. In the past couple of months, she has shown tremendous dedication towards her duty as a mother, which frankly if I were in her place, I would have freaked out by now.

Maybe that is why god did not make me a woman.

May god bless both of them always.

Out of nowhere

Just now heard this short clip from JS. And I have probably heard this 50 times by now! My mind  has started to extrapolate the rest of the ghazal of this rendition as the lyrics and the tune of this ghazal is very well known to any JS fan.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8KjzUKavX_c

This happens with me always. Out of nowhere JS comes  with a rendition that smashes every bit of my emotional barrier walls.