21 February 2021

Sometimes it is funny because it is too close to the truth…

… like most Dilbert cartoons!!

Anyways, last night I was talking to a senior of mine from school who I have respected all my life not only for his superior level of intelligence but also his thoughtfulness and rational thinking and the ability to argue both sides of a debate..

(while discussing the opinion of the masses….)

“So, how do you explain the recent disbelief in science?”, I asked.
“That is not new. It has always been there.”
“Really?”
“Yes”
“Why do you say that?”
“If you can believe in God, you can believe in any conspiracy theory. And we have been believing in God for a very long time.”

I burst out laughing. And kept smiling the rest of the evening – not just because how he put it – but I realized that there was an element of truth to it!!

Category: Humor, Musings | LEAVE A COMMENT
9 February 2021

Love of writing meets love of geography!

Just this morning I was talking to my Geography teacher from my middle school days – Mrs. Jayanti Bhowmic. And this blog reminds me I need to call up my English teacher from those times – Mrs. Devyani Biswas. The love of geography and the love of writing that they had instilled in me came together on Nov 2, 2014 when I had decided to track my blog readers by country. The blog itself was over nine years old by then. So, all the tracking has been in the last six years or so.

Reached 149 countries this morning with that one reader from Tajikistan logging in. I am sure he/she was completely lost in the internet-dom and landed on my page. But I am tantalizingly close to reaching the landmark of 150 countries.

Some interesting facts:

Most commonly hit page is : About Me

Second highest hit page (I have no idea why) is a translation of a Bengali poem that accompanied a photo I had taken with my DSLR.

Most hits from China? The puzzles posts !!

Category: Musings | 2 Comments on Love of writing meets love of geography!
26 January 2021

Of Montaigne and Somshekhar Baksi

This guy – Somshekhar Baksi – is what you might call a Renaissance Man. My meeting a few years back is something I savor every moment reminiscing about it. Once a year, I get to talk to him on his birthday. (Which, regrettably ends when he realizes I have taken too much of his time). Today was no exception.

Our big topic today was Montaigne. If you are not much into philosophy, this is your cue to exit. Baksi – as we used to call him in our MBA school days – led me to yet another book – not Montaigne’s “Essays” per se… but the biography written by Sarah Bakewell.

This is what I came up on Page 1… Nothing has described why I blog about mundane details about my life better than this… Or why I will never write a book…

“shared self-revelation is the best way to develop trust and cooperation around the planet, replacing national stereotypes with real people.”

For, in describing what makes me different from anyone else, I simply reveal what I share with everyone else: the experience of being human. This idea—writing about oneself to create a mirror in which other people recognize their own humanity— while not unique, is often overlooked.

Category: Books | LEAVE A COMMENT