Steven Strogatz continues his series on “math, from basic to baffling” with his latest article talking about complex numbers. Very interesting, especially the fractal representation of multiple roots of a polynomial. Check out the article here.

Excerpt:

Better yet, a grand statement called The Fundamental Theorem of Algebra says that the roots of any polynomial are always complex numbers.  In that sense they’re the end of the quest, the holy grail.  They are the culmination of the journey that began with 1.

Which one-time TV actor in Coronation Street and Crown Court released a record on which he sang selections from The King and I with Julie Andrews, before being told by two of the Beatles that he should really take up a musical career? You want a clue? His middle name is Pandit.

Infact, his full name is Krishna Pandit Bhanji. To find out, read this article.

It is a late Sunday morning and I walk out to inspect the damage done by a mob of monkeys that has started visiting our area off-late. Not their fault. Their only habitat in this part of town was a 300 year old banyan tree that split apart under its own weight a few months ago. The monkeys, who earlier used to swing from one of the numerous branches of that tree to another, now have no sky over their heads. Fending for themselves from one concrete abode to another, they are now leading a life which will be in perennial conflict with man.

One flower pot was smashed to bits by them while they carried out their procession with part fear and part aggression. I move the pieces of the earthen pot to the side and greet the watchman of the neighbouring apartments.

“Where were you?,” I ask him since I hadn’t seen him around for a few days.

“Madras,” he replied back.

“Why?”

“To fix marriage. Of daughter.”

“Ok. All final?,” I ask him with a smile and in a Kannada that he pretty much understood.

“Yes.”

I decide to not impart the opinion that he shouldn’t get his daughter married so early (she is around 18 years old now). But my opinions are sometimes hard to keep, so I tell him what I think of it anyway.

“What can I do? Everyone else has already committed in this meeting,” he replied back with a sullen face.

“Committed?”

“Yes. In front of everyone, my wife agreed to the relation. Now we cannot go back.”

“Ok,” I say.

“How old is he? What has he studied?,” I venture to ask.

“He is 26,” he shot back with pride. “8th Standard pass” was his response to my second question.

“Ok,” I say. I am now thinking whether I should prevail upon this man that marrying his daughter so early and to a person who doesn’t have much of an education or career is not a good idea. Yet, who am I to decide whether this is a bad thing for the girl? There is a chance that this guy with little education may become very successful in life and give her all that she needs. I conclude that I cannot decide what is good and what is bad for others. In short, I definitely can’t play God.

“Congratulations,” I tell him.

“Thanks sir,” he replies back. “Now I need to give him a bike, he has asked for it,” he continues.

Dowry! Clearly this alliance should not go through. I blurt this thought out to him.

“What to do sir. Everyone has already committed,” he repeats this like a frequently used excuse of a late-coming student.

“Committed?,” I ask again in disbelief.

“Yes sir. People from my family have already agreed to give the bike to him,” he said.

Now something like that cannot be reasoned against, can it.

“Ok. Which bike?,” I decide to venture into other details.

“Hero Honda sir. Hero Honda Splendor,” he shoots back instantly with a smile and adds “Even if he doesn’t know how to ride a bike, we need to give him a Hero Honda.”  The statement breaks his face into a wide grin, his mind perhaps taking pot-shots at a future son-in-law.

By now, the monkeys have returned from their sojourn in the next street. The watchman forgets about the Hero Honday, picks up a long lathi and chases a few of the monkeys away. But some refuse to leave, and tower over us by hanging from the cable TV wires and phone lines.

The monkeys hung around at the top, carefully skipped across the electric wires and headed straight to the kitchen windows of neighbouring homes and stole what they could through the small iron railings.

“Not all monkeys can be chased away sir,” the watchman chuckled as he threw the lathi on to the other side of the road. The monkeys, seemingly in response to that statement, threw bits of eggs and bread down onto the road. The Sunday morning was well through its mid-life by now and I cocooned right back inside home, remembering past images of me riding my bike during my college years. For the record, I used to possess a Hero Honda Splendor of course.

Dilip D’Souza’s Roadrunner is a travelogue that goes way beyond the usual duty of chronicling events and sights. Pick up the Roadrunner if you want to question your assumptions, your prejudices and your understanding of concepts like patriotism and communities. Pick it up if you want to get a clue on how a culture of a country gets defined, how that culture impacts the lives of the people.

The entire concept of he taking up this road journey through the US is an enviable thought. I have lived in that country for a very short while, and yet I was able to comprehend and relate to many of the concepts that Dilip touches upon.

One such topic is that of accessibility. Specifically, tennis courts. During my brief stay in the US, I was able to access the sport, learn it and play it every single day without having to spend a fortune (for the record, I had to discontinue the sport once I got back to Bangalore. Access is too expensive and seems to be reserved for the elite. Ofcourse, getting to tennis courts in the snarling traffic is a huge deterrent too). Second, I had such easy access to public libraries that I was able to read a wide variety of books there for a nominal fee. Most importantly, it was so easy to get around from one place to another. Dilip brings about this contrast in his own distinctive style which is a treat to read.

Then there are interesting details about The Cadillac Ranch and the Prada Marfa. The Cadillac Ranch, as the name suggests, is a place where rows of Cadillacs have been stuck head-down into the ground. Why, you might ask? Dilip asks a more poignant question, ‘Would a Fiat ranch have had the same impact as that of a Cadillac ranch?” Why? And why not? I thought to myself, “Was that something to do with the Cadillac being a home car? Is patriotism defined this way?”

It is the ability of this book to make you ask such questions to yourself that makes it a must read. Then there are the mystery lights at Marfa which have a strange air to it – a platform has been set up in this small non-descript town called Marfa from where in the distance you are supposed to be able to see mysterious lights. Dilip sees the headlights of cars and trucks in the distance snaking through the winding road, but another set of people on the platfom do see them as the famous mystery lights. Who is to deny them the pleasure? And why?

Dilip gets his share of interactions with various sections of the American society. He gets to be with the ‘Bikers of Christ’ at the Sturgis bike carnival, gets to drive a fireman’s truck  and what’s more – he even gets to play music at a blues bar! To add to this, he also gets to meet Obama (and to whom he offered his burger) during the presidential campaigns.

While there are many such events that occur during this trip of his, the thread that binds everything together is his quest for understanding patriotism, freedom and the concept of being ‘liberal’. Here is an Indian, a member of the world’s largest democracy, taking a hard look at a country which is his second home and which is also another large democracy. How does patriotism get defined in the US, how do its citizens define and ‘practice ‘ its patriotism. He then relates the same to incidents back home in India. Why are they different? Who is right? Who is wrong? Or does that really matter as long as every one is compassionate to their fellow human beings?

The Roadrunner is a great read – a book that dwells on many serious topics and makes you think – and is very neatly wrapped in the guise of a fun travelogue.

Buy Roadrunner on Flipkart by clicking here.

If you are in Delhi, then head straight to the World Book Fair at the Pragati Maidan. Why? Well, apart from the fact that it is the largest book fair in India, you need to head there to get a copy of my book of course.

Neumonia and Other Sketch Stories will be available at the Serene Woods stall S1/24 – Hall 3 – 5. Be there and make the world a better place.

If you are not in Delhi and are in Bangalore, head straight to the Oxford Bookstore to get your copy of the book.

If you are not in Delhi and not in Bangalore, oh well, hmmm.

The recent earthquake in Haiti has destroyed the country significantly. A lot of international aid has poured in and at the same time there have been views that Haiti should not get any money, since it is a corrupt nation and the money will not end up where it should.

Nicholas D. Kristof  of the New York Times sets things straight in Some Frank Talk About Haiti.

Haiti isn’t impoverished because the devil got his due; it’s impoverished partly because of debts due. France imposed a huge debt that strangled Haiti. And when foreigners weren’t looting Haiti, its own rulers were.

Do read that article and then come right back to help the Haiti cause by donating to the Doctors Without Borders.

If you happen to be in Ahmedabad, do make it a point to visit two nondescript but absolutely marvelous museums called the N.C.Mehta Museum and Lalbhai Dalpatbhai Museum of Art and Archeology. The former houses rare gems of miniature paintings while the latter has a spellbinding collection of sculptures dating all the way back to a couple of years BC!

Housed in the Gujarat University campus, the museums are not very well-known, especially by local auto drivers. But the effort to find them will be well rewarded. The N.C Mehta museum displays some of the finest examples of the lost art of painting miniatures, especially from the regions of Gujarat and Rajasthan where it was most prevalant. There are also a lot of samples of “Pahari” art which would be from the hilly regions of Himachal extending up to Kashmir. The south however never took much to the art form and the furthest reach was up to Belgaum.

While many of the miniatures depict religious scenes, some of the most beautiful and intricate among them following Krishna and his various travails with Radha and other Gopikas, there are also a lot that focus on the lives of the Kings of those times. It is a very informative and at times shocking portrayal of the manners and demeanours (or perhaps misdemeanours, depending on how you look at it) of those Kings and their courtesans. In one instance, a Mughal king of the era is shown “fondling young boys” as the English caption bluntly states, while the Hindi caption makes no such claim, though the scene is plain to see. Lovemaking seems to be quite a passion of the times, from what a lot of paintings seem to convey. However, every subject has been handled with utmost perfection and attention to detail, with amazing interplay of colour and intricacy. It is also interesting to note the subtle differences in styles between all the various ages and various regions from where the collection has been amassed.

In contrast is the L.D.Museum next door, where the art form is large and imposing, but just as intricate. Available on display are sculptures in stone, bronze and wood, seventy five thousand manuscripts on palm leaf and paper, paintings on cloth and and ancient coins. The statues date back several centuries BC and include several images of Hindu Gods, Buddha and Jain Tirthankaras from all over the country (rather, the various empires that existed back then). Of particular note are the large head of Buddha from around 3rd century BC, a rare small figure of Ganga from Mathura dating back to 4th century AD and a Vijnaptipatra which is a ‘letter of invitation’ painted as a scroll on cloth which refers to the Mughal emperor Jehangir’s lost firman prohibiting the killing of animals in his kingdom during the Jain festival of Paryusana.

Unfortunately we do not have any pictures to show as photography is not allowed inside the premises. However, take our word that the two museums are a treasure chest of historical fact and knowledge in a well-kept and well-displayed form and one of the best-kept secrets of Ahmedabad. We hope that the museum authorities are able to keep up the good work they are doing and encourage all of you to definitely pay a visit when you find yourself in that part of the world. It will be time well spent.

Excerpts from Matthew Stewart’s book The Management Myth: Management Consulting Past, Present and Largely Bogus have been adapted in this article at the Independent: Masters of illusion, The great management consultancy swindle.

He talks about management consultancy and makes for really funny reading (perhaps funny for the non-consultants alone?). Excerpts:

On how he got his first break

I landed the job by providing a credible response to this question: How many pubs are there in Great Britain? The purpose of that question, I realised after the interview, was to see how easily I could talk about a subject of which I knew almost nothing, on the basis of facts that were almost entirely fictional. It was an excellent introduction to management consulting.

On his inspirations and ‘tools’

“The Whale” is a graph. Its official title is “Cumulative Customer Profitability” and it also goes by the generic name “skew chart”. The Whale is my madeleine. One glance at its distinctive curves and in my mind I’m back, cutting and pasting charts and text, running through airports, hovering over a transparency projector in front of sceptical men in suits, and trading boozy stories with team-mates in an overpriced hotel restaurant.

I learned the art of whale-hunting – as we called the art of landing a big client – from a partner I will call Roland. He was a jolly, well-rounded figure, with a face like a pink bowling ball. He had a thick French accent and drew heavily on a limited stockpile of American colloquialisms, cheerfully painting the world in the bold strokes and primary colours, in a style typical of those who live their lives in a foreign language.

In the firm, Roland was the harpooner. His specialty was sinking the barbed hook of our services deep within the flesh of unsuspecting clients. Roland would say: “I asked Joe (or whoever the client was) ‘Joe, can your people tell you, right now, which of your customers are profitable?’” (It always sounded like he was calling them “profiteroles”.) Joe would have had no idea how his profiteroles were doing.

In fact the entire piece is hilarious, so I will stop pasting excerpts. Go ahead and read the complete article.

John Elliott, who I believe is a fabulous correspondent when it comes to talking about South Asia, has this article put up on Jyoti Basu. It starts very aptly:

India desperately needs charismatic and respected political leaders who can lead coherent policy-based opposition to the Congress Party and its coalition governments. Only two men have qualified for this statesman role in recent years. One is Jyoti Basu of the Communist Party of India (Marxist), who died yesterday aged 95. The other is Atal Bihari Vajpayee, 85, a former prime minister and leader of the Bharatiya Janata party (BJP), who is in ill health and is no longer politically active.

The article explains why Jyoti Basu should have been the Prime Minister when opportunity had arrived once. (It was the time when Deve Gowda, instead, became the PM).
Read the complete article here.

Our good friend in Ahmedabad, Ekta Hattangady and her sister Shraddha, have been featured in the Ahmedabad Mirror for their “Care for Caregivers” initiative.

Ekta is also the person to whom we are grateful for all our wonderful dining experiences in Ahmedabad. Her recommendations included Agashiye, La Feasta and Tomatos. While the former is a par-excellence restaurant for fine Gujju food, the other two are famous for their western cuisine. All three are highly recommended!

Getting back to the point, do read Ekta and her sister Shraddha’s story of coping with life’s uncertainties. One thing not to be missed is the poem written by them in the article.