Tutti santi

Today is Halloween mostly celebrated in the USA and Canada. Despite its spooky and scary get up, it is the eve of "All Hallows' Day"which is now also known as All Saints' Day that falls on November 1. In Italy, it is a day for remembering those in the family who have pased away. Flowers and prayers are offered at their graves. A solemn and honourable custom.

Italy update

A snapshot of the possible consequences in Italy of the current financial crisis in this article from the New York Times.

No KLM to Hyderabad

As air travel begins to get affected by the global economic situation, KLM is suspending flights to Hyderabad from February 1,2009. The alternative carrier to take, as we posted a couple of months ago, is BA.

Happy Diwali

Diwali greetings to all. May there be happiness and prosperity for all. On a tastier note, a link to sweet recipes.

Vegetarian in Italy?

Among other things, Italian cuisine is lipsmacking and healthy. The abundant use of vegetables especially tomato and olive oil goes a long way in keeping away heart disease. No wonder, life expectancy is in the 80s. It is very easy to live a vegetarian life in Italy. There are numerous dishes suitable for vegetarians. Check this list out and especially, the long list of pastas. Happy eating!

Dhan Teras

The first day of Diwali starts with this day to welcome Lakshmi, the goddess of wealth and prosperity. As with most festivals, it has more than one legend or story behind its celebration.

Ballot crunching

As the US presidential election nears (actually, some states have already begun early polling to avoid long queues on November 4), the media is choked with poll predictions and percentages. If you want a detailed, blow by blow presentation fron with every poll analyzed from every angle, go here. If you prefer an easy simple map, stick to this portal.

Destination moon

The Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) was succesfully launched for the 13th time in a row. It sent into space, India's first unmanned mission to the moon, Chandrayaan-1. For more about the objectives of the mission including mapping Earth's only natural satellite, go here.

Mission to the moon

In less than 48 hours, India's first ever unmanned mission to the moon 'Chandrayaan' is set to take off. More details here.

How much more can you find in Rome?

Last week, workers working at the rugby stadium in Flaminio found a city of tombs. A separate dig a bit up north on the Via Flaminia revealed the tomb of Marcus Nonius Macrinus, considered to be the character that inspired the film "Gladiator". The buildings here are apparently well preserved because they were buried under mud deposited by the Tevere. Meanwhile, on the Palatine Hill, in the heart of ancient Rome, it is believed that the underground passageway recently found was where Emperor Caligula was murdered by his own guards. Rome continues to grow as a city - into the future and into the past!

Not a nice thing to know

Many of us who grew up in India in the 70s clearly remember the frequent crises in food production and supply. Much has changed in the country since then but hunger remains a serious problem. This report describes the alarming situation even in progressive states such as Gujarat and Karnataka. A reminder for World Food Day on what still lies at our doorstep.

Monezza a chi?

An article in the New York Times about the matter and anti-matter in Napoli - culture and the rubbish crisis.

A little bit of help from a Friend...

Scientific American gives an interesting take on the 2008 Nobel prize for Physics, awarded to the Japanese trio of Nambu,Kobayashi and Maskawa. Their work on matter and anti-matter shows that both are antagonistic and cancel out each other. But the universe has a wee bit more matter than anti-matter and that asymmetry is the reason we all exist! Did the Universe as a whole start on a credit line?!!!

First Indian female saint canonized by the Vatican

'Sister Alphonsa of Immaculate Conception ' from Kerala was canonized today in Rome by Pope Benedict XVI. For her biography, read here and here to learn more about how a person is canonized.

Deal done and dusted

Amidst the credit crunch that dominates all headlines, India and the US have inked the nuclear deal. Till 2 months ago, it was the lead story on all conveyor belt news channels and encompassed among other things an acrimonious break up of the ruling political alliance and a tainted confidence vote in Parliament. Now, it is just another bit of 'also in the news' - a mushroom cloud transformed into a puff of dust!

Greetings to all

Best wishes to all on the occasion of Vijay Dashami (Dusshera) and Bijoya.

At last, climate change has a Cabinet post!

A year after the United Nations Climate Panel was awarded the Nobel peace prize,the British government became the first one to appoint a full time minister for climate change. According to the environmental group, Green Alliance,

'Hallelujah. A department of energy and climate change.'

In other words, a recognition that it is a global phenomenon that could have very serious repercussions (that could last longer than the current financial crisis). On the other hand, the world's biggest carbon emitter, USA, has two sketchy plans(1,2) both still in the Presidential campaign stage.

A Nobel for the fight against AIDS

Probably no disease in recent history has been covered in the news as widely as AIDS ever since the first reports in the early 80s. The alacrity with which scientists responded and pinpointed the offending virus as HIV in 1981 was rewarded by the Nobel foundation today. The French duo of Françoise Barré-Sinoussi and Luc Montagnier were the first to do so in Paris. They share the prize with Professor zur Hausen, of the University of Duesseldorf, who dared to challenge prevailing conventional wisdom and proved that that a papilloma virus infection caused cervical cancer. Both these discoveries led to the development of effective vaccines and medicines within 25 years, a pace without precedent in human history.

A eulogy for the Fab Five

Many believe that the upcoming India-Australia Test series is the last occasion to watch the Fab Five in the same team. This column by Rohit Brijnath on Cricinfo is perhaps the most elegant piece on the subject so far and deserves a full read.
'We met the Great One in 1989, when he introduced himself to us with high notes hit by bat and vocal chord. Then the rest came. In 1990, The Precise One, a scholarly warrior who unveiled his spinning craft with devotion; in 1992, The Defiant One, a steely, stylish man of amusing, aristocratic belligerence; in 1996, The Intense One, cricket's student who batted like a monk upholding a vow of discipline; and finally The Elegant One, who was a Japanese haiku master in a previous life.'

'I am less enamoured of world cricket these days. It is a noisy game, full of boastful official chatter, where manners on the field have become disposable, and Twenty20 threatens to derail everything else. The best love affairs, anyway, come in our youth, and these men I grew up with. Always I watched them. Now especially, even though occasionally it is painful to see them lurch and stagger, feet mixed up and bat late. But I have to watch. Because they're Great, Precise, Defiant, Intense, Elegant. Because soon enough, a few months, a year, whether they walk away or must be pushed, there will be an Indian team without the names Tendulkar, Ganguly, Dravid, Laxman, Kumble. Imagine that? I'd rather not. '

Durga Puja in Rome 2

Id Mubarak

The place to be in these couple days would have to be Hyderabad - near the Charminar. Excellent kababs and all night रौनक with shops open throughout.

139 not out

One does not have to agree completely with the views and ideals of Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi. But one has to acknowledge his leadership and courage of conviction- qualities which stand out for any era and any generation.

Durga Puja in Rome