September 2, 2014 As Arundhati and I waited to pick our son up from tabla class, we suddenly saw a cluster of photographers chase a fashionably dressed lady in front of a trendy restaurant in Singapore. For the next several minutes, the young lady tossed her head hither and thither and struck a multitude of poses as the photographers clicked away on their fancy DSLR cameras. Given the lack of frenzy that is said to surround celebrities and the paparazzi who stalk them (did you just ask, "how do I know?"), Arundhati and I concluded that this was a group of student photographers who were practicing their craft on a live model outdoors. Within 10 minutes, I had come to the earth shattering conclusion that I was not cut out to be a supermodel. How could any rational person want to preen on demand so that a photographer caught the perfect image? And on why on earth did it require so many shots? Imagine if it was the old days of film photography? These guys would be bankrupt expos...
August 17, 2014 Only yesterday, I read the 1992 Playboy interview of Robin Williams . There is a wonderful quote there by Robin: “If you take the chance, sometimes you’ll find something so magnificent that it was worth dying for, and sometimes you’ll find nothing and have a horrible night. To go deeper with it, that’s the most interesting challenge.” I flashed back today to the news of Robin Williams passing during our Geeta study class. We were reading verse 1-32, 33. In these verses, Arjuna laments his existential crisis. "Why must I fight, O Kṛṣṇa?", he asks. "With the death of my loved ones, what is the point of winning a kingdom and gaining pleasure? Indeed, what is the point of living this life?" (Note: This is free translation, full verse and translation below). Robin Williams undoubtedly loved and was loved by his daughter, Zelda and wife, Susan and millions of fans. His accomplishments as a comedian and actor are legendary. Through the non-profit Comic R...