IndexOutOfBoundsException
Rick Warren goes out of bounds, in the inaugural invocation
Now, today, we rejoice not only in America’s peaceful transfer of power for the 44th time.
Of course, Obama being the 44th President, it was only the 43rd transfer of power.
A, really, deep stepwell
One more fascinating photo from fresh pics – “Chand Baori” located at Abhaneri near Jaipur in Indian state of Rajasthan.
Gaza conflict
Washington Post, Letters to the editor, Saturday, January 10, 2009; Page A11
On Jan. 1 and 2, you ran op-eds by four authors — Charles Krauthammer, Michael Gerson, Ephraim Sneh and Robert J. Lieber — all coming down solidly and uncompromisingly on Israel’s side in the current situation. Maybe a wise, objective and well-informed judge would conclude that the preponderance of right is on Israel’s side. I don’t know; I am not wise or objective, and I don’t have all the facts.
I am a 73-year-old Jew living in comfort in America. Yet I can understand that if I were a 20-year-old in Gaza, hearing how my grandparents once had a decent life in what is now Israel, I might take a rejectionist position and be for Hamas. You should strive for balance.
— John Levy
St. Michaels, Md.
9 January: A cluster bomb disperses hundreds of bomblets in the northern Gaza Strip.
From the wikipedia article on Cluster munitions
A varying proportion of submunitions dispersed by cluster bombs fail to explode on impact and can lie untouched for years until disturbed. The sometimes brightly colored munitions are not camouflaged, but have been compared to toys or Easter eggs, attracting interest from children at play. Human rights activists claim that one in four casualties resulting from submunitions that fail to explode on impact are children who often pick up and play with the explosive canisters well after the conflict has ended. The 2006 Lebanon War provided momentum for the campaign to ban cluster bombs. The United Nations estimated that up to 40% of Israeli cluster bomblets failed to explode on impact.
Of course, there is an international treaty, Convention on Cluster Munitions (CCM), that prohibits the use of cluster bombs. Predictably, several major producers of cluster munitions including the US, Russia, China, India, Pakistan and Brazil have NOT signed the Convention.
Sometime in 2008: The remnants of Qassam rockets that were fired from the Gaza Strip at Israel.
Pedicab Driving in DC
I am really surprised that pedicab drivers make $19-$23/hour, which is about 4 times the federal minimum wage.
Krishna Nee Begane Baro
mumbaigirl has a nice post about Krishna Nee Begane Baro
Jon Higgins, the American performer of Carnatic music, sang Krishna Nee in a leisurely, loving way, that I much prefer to faster paced versions. V Thiagarajan, a friend of Jon Higgins, apparently said this to SPAN magazine:
“A party of musicians, Jon among them, went to Udipi to see the Krishna temple. The American wore a dhoti and a kurta as was his custom in Madras . . . but he was much too fair complexioned to be an Indian, and the priests would not let him enter the temple…. So Jon stood where Kanakadasa the untouchable had stood centuries ago, to catch a glimpse of the idol from a distance as best he could. His musician friends stood with him, refusing to go inside the temple if Jon was not allowed. Then it occurred to one of them to ask Jon to sing the famous song, “Krishna, nee begane baro,” a composition in Kannada…. When the air was filled with the vibrant melody of his splendid voice there was no keeping away the crowds that gathered around to hear him. The priests, astonished, begged the singer to come in, and what Kanakadasa could not achieve, the foreigner did.”
(source: http://www.indiangyan.com/clinton/arts_festivals.htm)Neyveli Santhanagopalan’s version is also leisurely, gentle and moving.
The slower versions may be considered boring by some, but they allow one to savour the compostion more.
KJ Yesudas, of the divine voice, unfortunately sounds as though he’s off to catch a train.
All these versions can be heard here.
Mahrajapuram Santhanam’s version is also on the same page.
In the meanwhile I keep looking for different versions…I’m sure everyone has their own favourite.
My favorite version of Krishna Nee Begane Baro is from “The Performing Child” episode of “Malgudi Days”.
This is the story of a little girl who has learnt to dance in the school. After watching her performance in school, a Film Director brings his Producer along for an at-home audition. The very idea of their coming thrills the parents who subject the girl to perform a dance before them at home.
The girl is asked to be brought to studio for the screen test. Fearing this, she hides herself as the time nears for her to go to the studio. The parents make a frantical search and they are frightened about her disappearance. Ultimately the mother realizes that the girl has hidden herself in a basket and fainted. When the little girl comes to her senses she pleads with the mother not to send her to acting. Mother, realizing the fright of the girl, concedes to her demand.
Rare, All Women, Ensemble
Event: The first concert of the afternoon on December 24 at The Music Academy
Vocal: Padma Sughavanam
Violin: K.P. Nandhini
Mridangam: Ranjana Swaminathan
Motor cycle ride in Chennai
Old Mamallapuram Road, parallel to MRTS railway tracks.
नास्तिक (heterodox) 
