"The Chinese question"

A lot of people have asked for my expert opinion on the incursions the Chinese have made in the last few months, paintings on the rocks and other aggressive activities (actually, nobody has asked for my expert opinion. I just like to think so).

Lets leave the question of incursions alone. Let us concentrate on what "The Hindu", the national newspaper reports. I promise -- it is funny.

http://www.hindu.com/2009/09/20/stories/2009092057400100.htm

"“The Prime Minister has just made a statement that there has not been any more incursions or transgressions as compared to last year. They are at the same level. So there is no cause of worry or concern,”
Oh yes... thats good enough then?? What was the transgression level last year? Why wasn't the public informed last year? Or, did you inform them and I missed the news somehow?

As for the Chinese, they are very very clear in this issue. They have never accepted the "Indian rule in Arunachal Pradesh" and have always maintained that Arunachal is "southern Tibet". From the 1962 debacle and even before that, we have sought somebody else (US, Russia) to help us out in the face of a confrontation with China. Does any of you honestly think somebody else can really help us out in a war?
The answer is an emphatic "no". Others are embroiled in their own problems and moreover nobody will help you out unless they have a genuine economic interest in doing so.
So that leaves us with diplomacy and other intelligence maneuvers which we have failed very miserably too in recent times.
If we are faced with war, do we have the technology to defend ourselves? I doubt it

சில புகைப்படங்கள்

அலாஸ்காவில் எடுத்த சில புகைப்படங்கள் உங்கள் பார்வைக்காக!!

நண்பர் தங்கமணியைப்போல பெரிய photographer இல்லை நான். பிழைகள் இருந்தால் பொறுத்துக்கொள்ளவும்.

பறவையின் சிந்தனை

Fairbanks குளிர் ஆரம்பம் போல இருக்கு. கெளம்பிற வேண்டியது தான். நம்மால தாங்க முடியாது டோய்!

photos of the rabbit that visits Ashish's place

Hello,

Ashish is our friend and he has a beautiful house with a backyard in Fairbanks, Alaska. A rabbit comes visiting when the sun shines and when he has enough food to eat. I thought he was cute and am attaching some photos that I took of him.

Some of 'em -- Part 2

College Days:

I do not remember working for my first year of Engineering. We had all kinds of courses but I remember hating engineering drawing, electronics and electrical engineering very vividly. Somehow, I was not cut out for these subjects of study. நமக்கு என்ன வருமோ அது தான் வரும்.

The second year of college, we branched out into Mechanical Engineering and had some wonderful courses like thermodynamics and fluid mechanics. Dr.Subrahmanya S.Katte (he was Mr.Katte then) taught us thermodynamics. We often do not know the value of things when they are within our reach. We yearn for them when they are not. Suffice it to say that this exactly happened with Dr.Katte's classes. I did not pay proper attention and honestly this was the only thermo-sciences class I did not pay enough attention to throughout my life. That I passed that course inspite of myself was because of the Dr's brilliance!! Before coming to the US, I met him in his office and he gave me some very valuable notes that he had collected during his studies. Some interest in numerical methods had started back then. He remains an exceptional motivator for me. Thank you very much, Sir, if you are reading this!!

There were some good lecturers and some lectures from the 3rd to the 6th semesters. But something was missing in all of them. Put it down to my lack of interest and motivation, but that was that. By the end of the 6th semester, almost everyone had an area of interest. I was the only one that did not have an interest in anything.

The seventh semester, I got my answer. The moment Dr.P.Govindarajan walked into our class to teach Heat and Mass Transfer, I began to realize my natural interests lay there. And, what a teacher he was!! I can write an entire blog about him if I wanted to. I began working towards a specialization thermal sciences only in my seventh semester and எல்லாமே அவரால தான்.

(to be continued)..