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Timeless

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In our lives, we are often confronted with the dichotomy of distinct events within the endless flow of experience. We are endlessly enamored by arrival and departure, and indeed design our lives to this cycle of beginnings and endings. Yet, over and above those sharp edges is a smooth, open and ceaseless flow. When you behold a sunset over the ocean, you are suddenly aware of these two levels simultaneously. A stark and unmistakable end to the day - in it the promise of a quiet reflection and a fresh beginning. And yet, the waves crashing down on the shore seem to be utterly undisturbed by this arrival of darkness. As if it were the epitome of an eternal flow - unchanging and waiting to be experienced whenever we can turn towards it. The evening glow lit up our faces As we looked into our own shimmering form, Being broken into a thousand pieces, Arriving at our sand-soaked feet. The part of you that just went hiding Over the waves and behind the clouds Will remember its parting colors ...
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Living Through Seasons

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It is spring. As the cherry blossoms, white and yellow wildflowers emerge into life, they invite us to investigate the season of life we are currently living through. The great refuge offered by nature is in its recognizable shape amidst constantly changing contours - just like ourselves, in our journey through life. Stopping to notice the unfolding of this churn outside our windows forces in us a deeper introspection of the place we are passing through in our journeys. This little piece is about having that realization. Wait a minute. Look around carefully. Those are your windows looking out Into the wild beauty that can only inhabit dreams. As the evening glow draws you inward, You can see that these landscapes Reflect your inner mountains. The radiance of these city lights Twinkling like stars in your own past horizon. Every sip of your morning tea Steeped in all the incarnations and Warm emanations of the past. The scene well-lit that was your everyday Reveals its deeper contours i...
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Work in Progress : Skill, Craft and Meaning

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We learn, apply and master creative work throughout our lives. I use the term ‘creative work’ very broadly to mean any activity or discipline that has an element of learned proficiency and an aspect of open-endedness to its outcome. This includes but is not limited to the arts, scientific research and any vocation within the knowledge economy in general. Generally, to succeed in one of these fields you need to acquire skills and learn the craft of the discipline. These words skill and craft are often used interchangeably but are not synonymous, and in this case, I use them to mean two distinct aspects of creative work.  Skill is proficiency in the technical aspects of the discipline - a combination of natural talent and learning through practice. A musician’s ability to hit the right notes again and again in the correct rhythm; a scientists’ ability to evaluate existing knowledge and carefully design experiments to push the boundaries - that’s skill - acquired through a combination...
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3 Lessons to Lessen the Burden of Misinformation

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In the past few years, and more acutely in the past few months, the propagation of false information, propaganda and misleading content through the internet has reached unprecedented levels. Certainly, the Covid-19 pandemic and the ensuing storm of news, information, ideas and conspiracies has brought into focus how difficult it is for a lay person to sift through the cobweb and understand the reality of any sufficiently complex situation. As a scientist, I’m used to looking at new information with skepticism (I invite those of you who think scientists are always in agreement with each other to listen in to our lab meetings or conferences) and I find myself increasingly using a few simple, yet profound concepts, to filter the information stream and help understand the reality. Correlation does not mean Causation : This is the idea that even if two variables appear to go up or down in sync, it doesn’t mean one is caused by the other. Often, there’s a hidden factor that controls them bot...
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A Viral Awakening

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--> As I’m writing this, the world is reeling from the attack of yet another mysterious and deadly virus-the erstwhile 2019-nCov, now COVID-19. As the world watches the unfolding story from China, scientists are already at work, trying to develop potential vaccines and antidotes for this virus. Remarkably, a rapid screening test was promptly employed only within weeks of the outbreak and several vaccine candidates are being lined up to be tested in the coming months. A stellar testament to the power of modern science, such a moment calls for reflection to understand and perhaps reset societal priorities. In a world which increasingly undermines intellectuals, knowledge and facts, it is important to reflect how moments of crises like this shine a bright light on the same people and institutions. Most people around the world can afford to sleep peacefully and maintain normalcy in life because they implicitly trust the expertise of scientists, doctors and other inst...
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Threads of Time

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Once in a while, you read a book that you don’t want to end. Quite often, such grieving is reserved for beautifully crafted novels with intricate characters who linger in your imagination long after you turn the last page. Seldom does this happen for a non-fiction book, let alone one on a seemingly morbid topic. In this regard, “The Emperor of all Maladies”, by Siddhartha Mukherjee is truly an exception. A “biography of cancer”, a history of humankind’s tryst with this ancient disease, is as human as it is technical, as ornate with literary beauty as it is with scientific insight. As a cancer researcher myself, this book was an eye opener. It illuminated a gaping hole in my attempts to understand this disease—one that is epitomized by its history. Having read the book, now I find it frankly embarrassing that scientists like myself (and I know for a fact that this is true for a vast majority of my peers) are largely ignorant of the diverse and storied history of ca...
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