Hindu Chaplain at UMass!!!

The University of Massachusetts recently appointed Swami Yogatmananda,
minister of the Providence Vedanta Society, as the Hindu Chaplain for
UMass Dartmouth. He is also the Hindu Chaplain at Brown University.

Swami Yogatmananda holds a Master's degree in mathematics, and has
been ordained with the title of a Swami under the Ramakrishna Mission
order. He is also a University Chaplain at Brown University. Born in
1953 in Karnataka, India, Swami Yogatmananda joined Ramakrishna Order
in 1976. He received his monastic vows in 1986. After being at
Ramakrishna Math Center at Nagpur, India for 20 years, he was posted
as the Head of Ramakrishna Mission, Shillong, Meghalaya, India.

My Valentines Day Revelation!!!

Until today I never realised how huge Valentines day was for schools and kids. I had offered to make little favors for my 3 year old sons classmates at his Montessori. I was out shopping the night before Valentines. Here I was confidently traipsing along hoping to pick up little favors and walk out. To my surprise, Valentines day treats and favor bags were sold out at most major outlets. I had to run from one store to another to find some decent valentines day favors besides just chocolates, candy and cards.

Valentines day my husband believes, is a Hallmark event! No I say to him, it has become much much bigger than that. No more is it just an ocasion for a couple in Love, it is for everyone from newborns all the way to seniors and pets! Bizarre!!!

Are the stars not aligned for Indonesia???

This morning the Hindustan Times reported --

"An earthquake of 6.1 magnitude on the Richter scale occurred on Monday morning in Indonesia's Papua province, said the Meteorological and Geophysical Bureau in Jakarta. The quake, which hit at 09:08 am (Jakarta time), was centred 544 km northwest of Port Moresby in Papua, at a depth of 38 km. There were no casualty reports yet. The Indonesian archipelago sits on the Pacific Ring of Fire where continental plates meet, causing frequent seismic and volcanic activity. A moderate 5.7-magnitude earthquake had struck northwest of the Indonesian province of Aceh on February 11."

Indonesia has been reeling from natural disasters one after another, without respite. Besides the Tsunami that devastated the country there have been numerous earthquakes, floods, volcanic eruptions and what not? My heart goes out to the people of the country, especially those that are below the poverty line that are deeply affected by these disasters.

Shashi Tharoor's Resignation - Time to write again?

When I interviewed Shashi Tharoor last year, before the new UN chief was elected, he told me very clearly that, if he does not get to the helm, then this would be a great oppurtunity to focus on his writing. I for one am looking forward to that. He is a very intense writer, his works are quite profound and make excellent reading. We're waiting Mr. Tharoor, time to fill up your pen and get to work!!!

Spacewalk Record set by Women Astronaut

In the wake of the scandal involving astronaut Lisa Nowak the media has overlooked an achievement by a woman astronaut of South Asian origin. Commander Sunita Williams has set a spacewalk record for women astronauts.

"Williams broke the previous women’s spacewalking record of more than 21 hours when she and Michael Lopez-Alegria completed the second of what could be a precedent-setting three spacewalks in nine days. The new record of 22 hours and 27 minutes includes her two most recent walks, as well as a spacewalk in December," reports AP.

Kudos to her!