Redefining Horizons

  The Promises ! An affordable ala carte of tests from a large array, possible on a tiny drop of blood drawn from a finger prick! No more uncomfortable, scary and painful veinal blood draws! The Story A n unbelievable biotech feat that can change diagnostics the way we now know. Defiantly disruptive an idea, marvellous the stated mission, formidable the connections, acclaimed investors and bountiful their investments, nothing could have stopped the young lady, who dreamt it all up, from endless possibilities, opportunities and an eternally enviable place in history. She was indeed crowned the youngest woman billionaire entrepreneur on the planet.  The story of Elizabeth Anne Holmes, former American biotechnology entrepreneur is a lesson for materialists, spiritualists, philosophers, scientists and every one else living and aspiring. In 2003, she founded the health technology company Real-Time Cures in Palo Alto, California to "democratize healthcare”. She later renamed the ...

Life is intriguing, yet most go through it without casting a second glance. Many amongst us spend a lifetime content enough eking out an existence, dying many a daily death.  Rich or poor, few dare to look beyond livelihoods and wealth accumulation. When one dares to ask questions to oneself about oneself, the quest begins.  Quest  gives meaning to life and questions that arise, on their own slowly reach their answers. A persistent question, the ‘why’ of people’s behaviour came up in a late evening discussion with two friends, a young couple both achievers, located in San Francisco. The cause and effect notion of life, means with which it gains currency and its short lived utility found home in that discussion.   Weeks later by sheer coincidence, another persistent one ‘ purpose of life ’ came up for discussion with, a spiritually evolved, material minimalists and unbelievably large hearted couple, our hosts in Tustin, California. It was in one of many such discus...

Newport in Rhode Island is a beautiful place. Situated by the Atlantic Ocean it offers visitors with frames for perfect pictures. It also houses some stunning mansions.  I had never heard of Newport before, but was the recipient of the large heartedness of Issac Simon, my brother-in-law who not only suggested the trip but even offered to take us on the eighty-five  mile drive to the mansion town. The drive, one of the many such, he graciously hosted so far, was beautiful from the word go with the fall painting the entire route with colours, I had seen never before. With tickets in hand, we actually walked into a piece of American history. Ahead of its times, each room stood out well appointed carefully planned and exquisitely executed. In fact, everything about the mansion was bathed in audacious opulence and grandeur, all funded by slices from the immense riches the individual had amassed over his lifetime. We spent almost three hours within, what was once, someone’s summer...

English is a very interesting language. There are words with letters in it that don’t make themselves heard. They just add length and complexities but without them the word itself is misspelt. Then there are words, that individually meaning something, but collectively with other words say a lot different. They call it idioms. To a large extent even life is like that; interesting from many perspectives. There are many people around us, easily visible but insignificant to our existence. Their presence adds to complexities to our lives yet they remain unavoidable. Without them around, we would not have become the individuals that we have become and in the journey ahead what we will be. Similarly there are people who   individually may behave in one manner and in groups they could surprisingly be different, good bad or ugly, just like idioms. ‘Cherry picking'   literally   and literarrily are different; so is ‘apple picking’. Cherry picking literally means picking cherrie...

I had heard a lot about the Boston fall and the dramatic change in colours from green to hues of yellow and red. I timed my visit to Boston to see the faint footsteps of fall, experience it getting louder and more colourful as it sweeps the entire area awash in colours. I am enjoying every bit of it.  'Autumn' and 'Fall’ are used interchangeably to capture the same essence of time bridging summer and winter. Autumn wears an attire of formality whereas fall brings along a poetic and philosophical feel appropriate to the annual event. In the northern hemisphere fall commences with the autumnal equinox, the day, sun crosses the celestial equator, the imaginary extension of Earth’s equator in space. It normally happens between 21st to 24th September. Fall ends with winter solstice. Also called ‘hibernal solstice’, winter solstice occurs when the poles reach its maximum tilt away from the Sun. Winter solstice, therefore has the shortest day and longest night of the year. Then...

COVID, lockdowns and the consequent uncertainty ensured that the journey I planned happened two years late. On the 15th September, finally I managed to fly out to fulfil the last item on the bucket list written way back in 1999. It’s also time to draw up on a fresh one soon. Jet lag and the associated fatigue is no match to time zone induced insomnia. Body and mind gets into an invisible conflict where there are no winners. However hard I tried, my body clock just wouldn’t align itself to the new geographical time zone. I was left with no other option but wait for the daylight to break. Patience a virtue, for most is nothing but helplessness. Armed with the newly acquired virtue, I decided to walk out to explore the neighbourhood. Hardly had I commenced my walk, something strange caught my attention. There were many beautiful houses in the area, not far from each other. However, the conspicuous absence of boundary walls and fencing between them baffled me. The landscape was distin...

  Go Along   Comical acts online or on TV, invariably comes along with an abundant dose of ‘canned laughter [1] ’. We might miss the joke but not the laughter. Sooner than later, we too tend to laugh along; even when we don't quite get the joke. Our compulsion to go along is more pronounced when there are people around!     WhatsApp group discussions play it out best. Anyone could have initiated it but inevitably, it gravitates to align with the opinion of an individual or a group of individuals. Initially there could be many widely differing views; strong, loud and clear. As discussions progress, differing voices either fall in line, or just fade into silence. Views that differ from the majoritarian are gradually given up, willfully or under pressure. It is not always necessary for the majoritarian opinion to be correct legal or valid, yet everyone goes along!  Don't   believe  it ? Revisit previous discussions on your mobile; it could prov...

  Background       Defence ministers, do address the press. But the one on 14th of June 2022 will remain indelibly etched in history of modern India. The RM, flanked by his service chiefs unveiled the new recruitment policy for ‘Personnel Below Officer Rank’ (PBOR) of the Indian defence forces. They named it ‘Agnipath’ (the path of fire) and called those to be recruited under this scheme ‘Agni Veer’ (fiery warriors). It is claimed to be the boldest and most transformative intervention the Indian defence forces has ever had in its lifetime.   Officially, it is claimed that the scheme would achieve “ National Integration providing equal opportunity ” and nation building nation “ through empowered disciplined youth with military ethos in civil society ”. For the Army it is supposed to “ improve battle preparedness through transformative evolution ”, select the best “ with rigorous and transparent selection process ”, achieve “youthful profile through optimal b...