Viva Spacegirl!

September 25, 2006 Happenings

On 18th September 2006, a Soyuz TMA-9 rocket launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome, catapulted the first female in space, Iranian-American Anousheh Ansari. I stumbled upon her blog entry, probably transmitted from the International Space Station, where she’s currently put up. It’s obvious to note the change in lifestyle, that one has to adopt in order to stay in space.

An activity as simple as brushing teeth can be challenging. She notes that one cannot rinse the mouth and spit out, rather one has to swallow the whole thing (eeks). Also notable is the way people would wash their hair in space. They carry a water bag and make a water bubble out of it on their head and wash with some dry shampoo. There are exercising equipment and one must stick to an exercise regime since weightlessness due to gravity, can decrease the amount of calcium in bones, making them weak.

Keep visiting this blog for more interesting facts. I think she’s going to post a whole lot of stuff regularly. (Oh God, do I love Technology or what?!! :-)) Meanwhile, you can take a break and check some of her pictures on Flickr. Here’s wishing Anousheh all the very best for the future.

Such is the Human Story

September 20, 2006 Happenings

Sometimes you don’t have to hunt for stories to write about. They are waiting for you, at the right moment and place. That’s why one has to develop the tendency of observing life minutely because a story could be coming the very next minute.

I have in the past helped the needy in whatever way that I could. On one such dull morning, many moons ago, during my art school days, I ventured out of the house to get some materials for a campaign that I was working on. In the crowded marketplace, I met this fragile old guy probably in his late 60s. He was wearing a white cotton sadra and pyjamas, was barefoot and limping. I could see a dressing bandage on one of his feet; the wound looked fresh and bloodied. I would have ignored him but he asked, in Gujarati, if I could escort him to the foot-over bridge, to crossover to the other side of the suburb. Since it was just a few furlongs away, I held his hand and started the walk to our destination. When I looked at him carefully, reality struck me hard – he was blind. On further probing, I found he had hurt himself while walking and a good Samaritan had paid for the medical bill. I asked him where his family was and he replied he was alone in this world and there was nobody to care for him. And what about food? He said, if he was lucky, he would get some wheat which he would crush and make some chappatis for himself. I was on the verge of breaking down completely. Just then we arrived at our point and I left him there, bidding goodbye. Knowing his condition too well now, he must have asked for help even to climb the bridge. While I took my way back home, trying to forget what I had lived a while ago.

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Lage Raho Munnabhai (2006)

September 17, 2006 Movies

Sequels are always looked upon with distrust both by the public and the producers. It’s especially true for such movies which have been successful in achieving cult status and hence raise a lot of expectations from the second portion. Indian film industry is thus very careful and does not believe in making epilogues because of the apprehensions over their triumph at the box office. Lage Raho Munnabhai (Carry On Munnabhai) will eventually break the ice and set an example of a sequel which is larger in canvas and better than the parent movie itself. It’s a runaway success at cinemas when I last read about it in the newspapers.

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