catching up with the bandwagon

abhayAmbA jagadambA

2012-01-23T23:35:00.004+05:30

Just discovered some youtubed excerpts of a 2007 concert of Kalpakam teacher in which I had accompanied her. The rAga kalyANI followed by MD composition abhayAmbA below:

Vijayadasami 2011

2011-10-05T23:25:00.000+05:30

Ganesha Chaturthi 2011

2011-09-01T20:30:00.011+05:30

Preparations began Wednesday with shopping for a clay Ganesha (no paint!) and accoutrements at Thannithurai market on Royapettah High Road. The puja Ganesha (above) basked in the attention along with the rest of our collection, including the painting by Amma, a Titwala MahaGanapati (far right) that is 30+ years old, dancing Ganesha from Kiran, and others acquired or gifted

dusky business deals

2011-05-06T22:04:00.003+05:30

... and other gems from the brochure of the Delhi hotel at which I'm staying, typed up just the way they appear in print:The guest rooms at [hotel name], provide an ideal setting for complete relaxation and recline, as every room overlook the plush green ambience of the surroundings.Five spacious & aesthetically done up halls and two grandiose lawns are just right for all the celebrations...For

Smt. Kalpakam Swaminathan 1922-2011

2011-04-06T23:48:00.003+05:30

gAna vana mayUrI is no more. Kalpakam teacher passed away today (April 6, 2011) at her residence in Madras at the age of 88. I would like to remember her through this rendering of siddhIshvarAya namastE.

dessert haiku

2010-12-06T23:26:00.002+05:30

strawberries quiverfresh cream glides over ripe curvesin luscious embrace

Ayush and Myka

2010-10-27T03:47:00.005+05:30

Ain't this the cutest? My nephew Ayush, son of Meera and Manu; with Myka, a friend's Vizsla (Hungarian pointer). Okay, well, yeah: some credit to Manu for the photography too.

night light

2010-05-30T22:34:00.002+05:30

Candleholder from Austin ceramic painting workshop, 1997

web 0.0

2010-02-17T19:04:00.007+05:30

Click photo above for full display. From a trek to Nagala Hills on Feb 13, 2010, with the Chennai Trekkers.

Jazz is home, too

2010-02-01T15:37:00.023+05:30

So, last October I went to Viveks on Royapettah High Road to get myself one of those nifty audiotape/CD-to-mp3 converters. As I waited in line to get my card processed along with the hordes of Deepavali shoppers, I saw that Viveks was running a 'perfect home' slogan contest with a Honda Jazz hatchback as the first prize. The car, a model released in India in mid-2009, reminded me a lot of the mid

iCandy is home

2010-01-17T23:46:00.008+05:30

Thanks to Rohit and his parents...

kara dhRta vINA

2010-01-05T03:47:00.008+05:30

fingers traverse frets pull, caress, glide across stringsgoddesses listen

bhairavi: AryAm abhayAmbAm bhaja rE rE

2010-01-03T15:06:00.008+05:30

Here is a recording made by Ramji and Vidya on their visit to Kalpakam teacher's place on November 29, 2009. Thanks to Vidya for this three part video, starting with AlApanA,followed by tAnam,and concluding with a rendition of AryAm abhayAmbAm, a kRti from the abhayAmbA vibhakti series of Muttuswami Dikshitar.I remember this weekend as the one following my return from South Africa with H1N1, an

Campaign for Open Minds

2009-10-16T18:20:00.004+05:30

Launched October 11, 2009, the Campaign for Open Minds is one of the many efforts to end homophobia, biphobia and transphobia in India. This online campaign is a response to the alarming surge in attempts at conversion therapy and other negative reactions to increased visibility of LGBT people, following Delhi High Court’s historic July 2 2009 decision decriminalizing homosexuality. There are

Vijayadasami 2009

2009-09-30T00:59:00.005+05:30

The books snuggle in their new shelves, and the veenas steal a quiet moment together...

bansuri on the beach

2009-08-23T23:08:00.009+05:30

Quietly, reluctantly, I drag myself out of bed as the sun's rays diffusing through the curtains and the loudspeakers blaring from the auto-stand Pillaiyar temple jointly remind me it's time to prepare for the festive day.Stepping outside to tie the coconut frond toraNams on the door, I note with pleasure that my considerate neighbours have already drawn a kOlam for me.I'm treated to a delicious

gAna vana mayUrI

2009-08-15T23:59:00.020+05:30

Kalpakam teacher turned 87 today, Aug 15, 2009. During the veena lesson I had an opportunity to record her playing the Dikshitar kRti gauri girirAja kumAri (see video below). The imagery of the epithet gAna vana mayUrI struck me as being ideally suited to mAmI herself. Here's wishing her a happy birthday and many more years of blissful wanderings in the gAna vana.If you have a slow connection

delusions of grandeur

2009-07-25T02:23:00.009+05:30

Pigeon lands on lotus leaves, and struts around thinking he's a pheasant-tailed jacana. Dipping in for a gulp of water, he's startled by an enormous koi carp that surfaces to investigate. Delusions of grandeur flee in a whir of flapping wings.

indra-kArmuka-gaNapatim bhajE'ham

2009-07-22T01:28:00.006+05:30

indra-kArmuka-gaNapatim bhajE'hamanyAya-nyAya-vAraNamtrikONa-madhyagatamwoodlands-bhOjanAlaya-sthitam

At the altar of Mayiladuturai Goddess

2009-07-22T00:58:00.003+05:30

Review by G. Swaminathan of Smt. Kalpakam Swaminathan's concert on June 6, 2009, at Krishna Gana Sabha, Chennai Singing along with the veena, Kalpagam Swaminathan presented Dikshitar’s Abhayamba Vibhakti kritis in all their grandeur. http://www.hindu.com/fr/2009/06/12/stories/2009061251190300.htm

Muttuswami Dikshitar Jayanti, March 30, 2009

2009-03-31T20:58:00.007+05:30

My guru Smt. Kalpakam Swaminathan led this effort to render some lesser known compositions of Muttuswami Dikshitar at a program arranged by Nada Inbam in Chennai.The compositions that grew on me in the course of preparing for this concert were the meditative shrI nIlOtpala nAyikE (rAga nArI-rItigauLa), sprightly gOvindarAjam upasmahE nityam (mukhArI), and brooding gaurI girirAjakumArI (gaurI).One

amhas

2009-03-01T02:09:00.009+05:30

Searching for the roots of (my) anger-anguish-angst, I learn that these words, along with angina, have their source in the proto Indo-European angh, which means tight or painfully constricted.Sharing this root is the sanskrRt amhas, which has been variously interpreted as distress, narrowness, oppression, and evil; and is considered one of the Vedic sins, along with pApa, Enas and agha.Lacking

Font conference

2008-08-25T12:07:00.004+05:30

I've wanted to blog the Mexico AIDS2008 conference, but this will have to wait till I clear up mental, desk and iPhoto space. Until then, here's a not-to-be-missed Font Conference link Vidya sent me from the CollegeHumor.com site.See more funny videos and funny pictures at CollegeHumor.

attn: Delhi High Court

2008-07-28T20:57:00.002+05:30

your warmth against minemoonstruck waves kiss our feetunnatural acts?

The Fringe Benefits of Failure, and the Importance of Imagination

2008-06-27T18:37:00.007+05:30

JK Rowling's Harvard Commencement speech - inspiring!http://harvardmagazine.com/go/jkrowling.html

Collins on semicolons

2008-06-21T21:42:00.006+05:30

Jaipur, June 21 2008: Originally intending to blog about the training we did for ING Vysya insurance teams on HIV/AIDS here this evening, I got sidetracked by this piece by Paul Collins writing in the Slate...; (Has modern life killed the semicolon?By Paul CollinsPosted Friday, June 20, 2008, at 4:51 PM ETRead here

Christy Jayanthi Malar (38) and Rukmani (40): R.I.P.

2008-05-23T02:51:00.013+05:30

tanktops at pridefundraiser dinner pendantssubaru bumper stickersmassachusetts weddingsbuttons worn topoetry readingsi look at theseinterlocking symbolsnowand only seetwo bodies interlockedin embracecharred by despairknowing no other wayfor togethernessto endureReferencePublication: The Times Of India - Chennai;Date: May 19, 2008;Section: Times City;Page: 5

Abhi Arumbakkam's Paati

2008-04-23T08:09:00.006+05:30

Moving reminiscences by this UK-based documentary film-maker on her grandmother, based on a photo she discovers.Click here to view: http://www.channel4.com/fourdocs/film/film-detail.jsp?id=67305 Podfeeds of my blog led her to the kIravANI excerpt, and I'm honored that she chose to use it for the soundtrack.

WHO cares for HIV/AIDS

2008-04-20T10:08:00.007+05:30

Returning to blogger after over six busy months, with a link to this month's Indian Express Health Care Management feature by Nancy Singh. The piece profiles work we at SAATHII are doing in partnership with the World Health Organization's India office, the Tamil Nadu AIDS Control Society and the Karur District Collectorate. Kudos to Program Manager S. Swaminathan and his dynamic team at Karur

hastivadanAya namastubhyam

2007-09-18T00:38:00.000+05:30

Ever since I read Dr. V. Raghavan's rapturous account of this kriti in the NCPA red book I had nurtured a wish to learn it. It wasn't until 1987 that I had the opportunity to learn it from Kalpakam mAmi. I still remember the thrill of taking the book - a new year gift from Appa and Amma - to veena class, going through the index of kritis in that book with her, and checking the ones she knew.

the feet

2007-09-04T23:52:00.000+05:30

chintitArtha prada charaNAravindam mukundamThe baby feet which would originate in the maakkolam at the front door and lead inward into the home.While most such representations were impressionistic at best - essentially triangles with squiggles for soles on one side and tiny circles for toes on the other - the ones Amma would draw were much more realistic, down to the relative size of the child's

these songs of freedom

2007-08-14T20:53:00.000+05:30

On the eve of India's post-colonial SaSThiabdapUrti, Amit Varma of IndiaUncut.com contemplates the freedoms still curtailed by the Indian constitution. Read his piece These songs of freedom here. Thanks to Doc for the link.

trolling on medline

2007-08-14T08:06:00.000+05:30

I guess it was a tad too earnest for JIR1: Indian J Physiol Pharmacol. 1998 Jan;42(1):119-22.Curious, I surfed on to his website ShopliftWindChimes and found these two charming and evocative poems Kite ( video here) and Glaucoma (audio here)These also brought back the realization that I haven't written poetry in way too long...

of chimps and confidence intervals

2007-05-21T21:53:00.000+05:30

Doctor, humorist, and (think cricket-) commentator rolled into one, Dr. Hans Rosling is debunking myths about the 'Third World' with the best stats and data displays you've ever seen. Amazing way to present time-trends and pre-test questionnaires.In case the embedded object below does not work, click here to view it.From the TED (Technology Entertainment Design) site: "Even the most worldly and

to April's ladies... and gentlemen

2007-04-30T23:19:00.000+05:30

As April draws to a close and 2007 denounces all claims to being in its youth, I offer birthday greetings to all those of my friends who were born in April. Their proportion is significantly higher than 1/12 (p < 0.005). April 30 alone, the day of Amma's birthday, is shared by five of my friends or relatives.

eyetracking to detect 'usability'

2007-03-15T03:51:00.000+05:30

Following one of those late-night conversations with tech-writer buddy Benny Joseph, I've been thinking about how best to divide up document review, editing, and proofing among ourselves at work. A related set of thoughts has been around how to impart skills in producing good documents, whether they be monthly technical reports, event summaries, or research results, as this is something on which

puliyogare 2.0

2007-03-11T15:38:00.000+05:30

Whether this is considered an enhanced version or not depends on culinary conservatism of the reader, but I'd like to think it tastes way better than the standard preparation...Locally available ingredients here in Chennai, apart from the predictable rice (the Ponni Raw variety that grows on Foodworld shelves) and MTR Puliogare mix, are soya chunks from Soy Day, shelled peas, garlic-chilli sauce

cousins, babies, and blogposts

2007-03-11T03:04:00.000+05:30

It has always been a peeve of mine that so many people leap into parenthood without thinking twice about what it entails. There is conspicuous absence, in the dizzying world of standardized tests, of a PAT - Parental Aptitude Test.I was, therefore, quite happy to read my (photo below) cousin Manohar's reflections on impending fatherhood. Here's wishing him and Meera all the very best.Related note

count 'em calories

2007-03-07T18:37:00.000+05:30

Not one to be particularly subtle, my housemate Jacob gifted me a bathroom scale (purchased ostensibly to weigh his luggage) before leaving for Kenya yesterday. Now I find myself weighing myself twice a day, and thinking actively of downsizing from 70 to 65 kg.In the meanwhile, Civitarese and colleagues, writing in PLOS Medicine yesterday, report that caloric restriction leads to increase in

ICT4D: Feb 20-23, 2007

2007-02-26T06:52:00.000+05:30

Returning to blogger after a long time, during which a lot has changed, and a lot hasn't. This post is essentially a placeholder for a photo-journal of my participation at the Pan-Asia Information Communications Technology Forum at Singapore earlier this month. The forum brought together practitioners of ICT for Development (ICT4D) from twelve Asia-Pacific countries.Professors from the IITs

Friday night

2007-01-20T12:56:00.000+05:30

10 pm.The call I've grown to expect hasn't arrived. My curiosity (or is it anxiety?) piqued, I ring."At my friend's place. Will call you in an hour".Second evening in a row. I shouldn't jump to conclusions, however...I decide not to wait. In any case, it's late, and I haven't had dinner yet. A quick googlechat confirms that Aniruddh is awake and game for a drive on ECR. To top it all, he invites

Pongal o' 97, 05, 07

2007-01-16T01:45:00.000+05:30

Catching up with Austin friends Sriraman, Shakuntala, and Rohit, I heard about the icy weather that has everyone holed up in their homes today. Reminded me of the ice storm in Texas on Pongal day, 1997:boiling pots / shivering cowboystamil nadu harvest festival steaming milk pongal aroma vermilion and sugarcanebright sarisfestivebullock carts colorgaiety warmthtexasice storm frostbitten

what listening to kIravANI can trigger

2007-01-11T23:38:00.000+05:30

Listening to my recording of rAga kIravANI this Sunday morning brought back memories of my last Christmas-New Year break in the US, and sent me excavating my iPhoto archives.The year transition was 2003-2004, shortly before my return to India in Feb 2004. I had gone to spend that break with Lars in Portland, Oregon.I had taken my veena along from Austin: the idea was to leave it with him for

Jan 2, Tracy visit

2007-01-03T00:15:00.000+05:30

This evening I got to catch up with friend Tracy Thottam, who is visiting India from Austin. It was great seeing her after a period of nearly three years!Back then, she and I used to be involved with Saheli, a pan-Asian group that provides peer counseling and referrals to survivors of domestic violence. She is also the artist who hand-painted the mirror shown here: a parting gift when I was

Dec 31st and New Year 2007 eve

2007-01-01T03:24:00.000+05:30

Had a tranquil Dec 31st. My friend Chandra Balachandran (who's visiting from Bangalore) and I had breakfast at Saravana Bhavan on Radhakrishnan Salai. There we were entertained by the antics of what-we-were-sure-was an NRI family visiting Chennai for the music season. The NRI hypothesis was hastily and unequivocally rejected when we observed the dad slap the kid for some unknown transgression.In

kAmAkShI: yk swarajati

2006-12-27T19:25:00.000+05:30

I learned this swarajati in yadukula kAmbhOji in 2003 in preparation for Shyama Shastri Day 2003 in Austin. The mp3 is from Sundar Subramaniam's archive at UT Austin, with DB Aswin singing and me on the veena - we had fun learning from Smt. Vidya Shankar's book and Semmangudi Srinivasa Iyer's recording, and then teaching it to the rest of the gang - ranging from UT students to a smattering of

music returns

2006-12-25T16:36:00.000+05:30

My Carnatic music dry spell ended yesterday as I met up with my friend Sriraman Padmanabhan (visiting from Austin) and we sat in for about 15-20 minutes of Gayathri Venkataraghavan's concert at the Music Academy. We entered during the Dhanyasi AlApanA, and left during the bhairavI. Also ran into Dr. Bhamathi Sudarshan from Austin, Dr. KG Vijayakrishnan from Hyderabad, and test-drove one of

be careful what you (don't) wish for

2006-12-24T19:16:00.000+05:30

Just three weeks ago, I had blogged on my techno/geeky obsessions, indicating, however, that the USB beverage chiller was not one of them.Well, guess what Subha gave me yesterday...I suppose I should start denouncing any interest whatsoever in the MacBook Pro, after all ;)

December 14, 2006

2006-12-14T00:08:00.000+05:30

My first birthday without either parent. Feels quite strange.For the last two years I had been with Amma here in India, and she had been able to wish me, even though in Dec 2005 she was so weak she was having difficulty writing.I found one of her hand-painted cards, and would like to think she would have given it to me with birthday wishes this year.It was incredibly sweet of Aniruddh's mother to

Karthigai Deepam: Dec 03, 2006

2006-12-05T00:47:00.000+05:30

One of our all-time favorite festivals. Mrs. Sujatha from next door was kind enough to place a couple of lamps at our door, and Esther - who was one of the people who had taken care of Amma when she had been ailing - brought and stuck a kOlam sticker at our doorstep.Inaugurated the Canon.Then, went to Marundeeshwarar kovil in Tiruvanmiyur, met up with Ram, and observed the last set of evening

techno/geeky obsessions

2006-12-04T04:42:00.000+05:30

Topping my wish-list is the MacBook Pro, though I'd feel guilty abandoning my faithful ol' jyeshta, G4 Powerbook. Not to mention that one could get two PC laptops for the price of one Apple, should one be in the market for a new laptop to begin with. Cousin Manohar has finally seen the light and gone in for an MBP, kaLappifying my vayaththeruchchal in the process...My obsessions with technology

India Together article on HIV

2006-11-26T11:49:00.000+05:30

The HIV epidemic has brought into focus multiple public health issues facing rural India today. In this respect, it presents us with an opportunity to deal with issues that have been neglected and even been actively ignored for too long, writes Supriya Kumar in her India Together article of November 2006, titled An opportunity to end health care slumber

Art and Amma

2006-11-21T00:34:00.000+05:30

My friend Rohit Dhamankar sent me a message from Europe, where he is currently travelling: "I very much remembered auntie while seeing a museum in Florence. The museum had gorgeous mosaics of colored stone fron 16th and 17th centuries. The birds with all the shades showing were simply wonderful."As coincidence would have it, I had gone today to buy some blank CDs from the stationery+art store

Dikshitar concert, November 12, 2006

2006-11-19T21:48:00.000+05:30

I guess time, tide, and the Hindu will not wait for me to update myblog with October 2006, for the review of last Sunday's concert has already come out, see here:The concert of Kalpakam mami, for which I was fortunate to beable to accompany her, was organized by students of the Kolkata-basedmusic school established by her guru Kallidaikurichi AnanthakrishnaIyer in the 1940s. Ananthakrishna Iyer

blogging September 2006

2006-10-30T00:46:00.000+05:30

I admire those (non-professional) bloggers who manage to update their sites daily or even weekly. Even once a month seems to be quite a feat for me. Anyway, I'm starting to rely on the dates on the photos saved in my camera photo gallery to reconstruct the events of the past few months.Cat on a Mac, Sept 6, 06: This smoky grey/black kitten sprang out at me from underneath a parked car near my

much water...

2006-08-28T01:05:00.000+05:30

Almost a month since I blogged last. During this period several friends have moved out of the country (Praveen, Ganesh, and Bala to the US; Vijay to Singapore) for work or higher studies. Chennai is not quite the same without them, and I particularly miss the late night conversations with Praveen and Vijay. Of course, they are still just a phone call away, but international calling, time zone

ration cards and human rights

2006-07-31T01:35:00.000+05:30

Turns out this is not a new proposal and that Tamil Nadu under the previous government had already made provisions for Aravaanis to receive ration cards. Nevertheless, the news item did help bring concerns of transgendered people to public notice in a non-judgemental and non-patronizing way. And I liked the professionalism of the reporter, who readily obliged my request and ran my quotes by me

work, family, friends, introspection

2006-07-21T01:42:00.000+05:30

The past few days have been busy and eventful in some ways.There was travel to Bangalore two weeks ago, to hire and orient researchers who will be working with SAATHII in Karnataka, to document good practices of district-level networks of HIV-positive people. And then there was a two-day methodology workshop at our Hyderabad office last week.These trips and the days in Chennai have been peppered

Blogspot and Typepad blocked?

2006-07-18T11:15:00.000+05:30

http://www.boingboing.net/2006/07/17/report_indian_gov_bl.htmlLooks like blogspot isn't working for me either.

blogito ergo sum

2006-07-06T18:43:00.000+05:30

Nothing profound to report from the Delhi airport, except that I feel quite wired, being able to log in to the airport wi-fi an' all. I'm sure it's been done before, but, as my blog title reads, I'm just catching up...Oh, and here's a pic I lifted from Lars' collection. Depicted veena is in Portland, being kept company by this and other guitars. I miss my veena :(

so right to me

2006-06-29T22:10:00.000+05:30

My first attempt at being a song writer, way back in 1997. Sung by Lars.And yes, that is a Radel shruti box drone you hear in the background, and not a particularly well-tuned one at that. But somehow that didn't seem to matter very much...Click here to listen to song

Bombay Jayashri by the beach

2006-06-29T01:51:00.000+05:30

Tuesday night Praveen dropped in bearing gifts of two CDs of Bombay Jayashri: these are the first recordings I have of hers. Following dinner at Spice Kitchen in Alwarpet, we drove to Besant Nagar beach around 11.30 pm. Turned out there was a power outage - the area was pitch dark, and it was raining to boot. Lovely. We parked by the beach and listened to songs from her Subramanya Bharathi

mothers and breast lumps

2006-06-28T05:16:00.000+05:30

Tuesday morning began with the sombering news that the mother of Mrs. S., my next door neighbour, had recently been diagnosed with breast cancer and had just had a mastectomy. What shook me up was that she had discovered the lump nearly seven months ago and hadn't told anyone. The news hit too close to home. For nearly four or five months after my mother had found her breast lump, she had kept

mAmi plays mAnjI

2006-06-26T21:34:00.000+05:30

This recording of my guru Smt. Kalpagam Swaminathan playing the Muttuswami Dikshitar kRti rAmachandrENa samrakShito'ham (rAga: mAnjI, tAla: rUpaka) was made by Srini Pichumani in 1997 at mAmi's Indira Nagar home in Chennai. It has recently made its way to the internet, thanks to Ramji and Vidya.I have listened to this rendition so many times, and never cease to be amazed by the precision with

podcasting for fun and (non-) profit

2006-06-23T17:17:00.000+05:30

My current explorations around audio-blogging and podcasting are restricted to music and poetry: but what I really would like to do is to make some of my online courses available with audio and video. Googling for antecedents I just came across this news- now several months old - that a Harvard University computer science Ph.D. student is offering an introductory computer and internet course in

mishti lover

2006-06-20T02:25:00.000+05:30

kolkata cravingsi taste your juicy secretssticky-fingered bliss

Dhanyasi and more...

2006-06-19T01:14:00.000+05:30

A pleasant Sunday, all things considered. Woke up at 10 am to a call from Aniruddh inviting me over for lunch, prepared by him. Pulao, mouth-watering bhindi masala made specially for this okraphile, tayir-saadam, home-made pickles, appalaam, topped off with mango custard. Caught up with his parents who are so utterly warm and gracious. Browsed through the spoils of A's recent book&reprint

Apple logo

2006-06-12T01:40:00.000+05:30

The old Apple inverted rainbow logo (1976-1998) said a lot and I've had a sticker on my door, desk or car since 1991, which was when I first got a Mac for my own use. The logo, according to the head of Apple France, signifies the symbol of lust and knowledge, bitten into, all crossed with the colors of the rainbow in the wrong order. You couldn't dream of a more appropriate logo: lust,

time

2006-05-19T09:12:00.001+05:30

fingers interweavein mutual remembrance:wordless farewellsbefore you disappearinto the flecksof anotherrelentlessdawnI sprawl:trace contoursstill etchedon the mattress,clutch crumpled sheetsto my face,devour all signsof yourpresence,fast-fadingI curlembryo-like,try to fillemptinesswhere my armspossessed yousteered youthrough pangsof whimperingrebirthsilencea.c. burps:chill airenvelopes meas i

on a visit to bombay, where i grew up

2006-03-30T23:09:00.000+05:30

prem court pedder roadlandmarks memories speed bypain pierces through void

chocolate bearer

2006-03-22T09:22:00.000+05:30

knock on the doorand you stride intrademark grinsending the bluesscrambling for coveras you proffera bar of cadburysfruit and nutleaving mewarmeuphoricand wonderingif the endorphin highis from the chocolateor the chocolate bearer Listen to this poem

India HIV/AIDS Online Resource Center

2005-10-15T22:48:00.000+05:30

ah finally.

communities of practice

2005-03-02T05:03:00.000+05:30

.... better than communities of preaching, I say. A knowledge-management concept (coined in 1991) that's gaining currency in the development/ non-profit sector.Some background refs:http://www.co-i-l.com/coil/knowledge-garden/cop/definitions.shtml http://slashdemocracy.org/cgi-bin/page.cgi?g=Knowledge_Management%2FCommunities_of_practice%2Findex.html and a lit review at http://www.tfriend.com/

Chennai marathon 2005 pix

2005-03-01T22:03:00.000+05:30

Thank goodness for iPhoto's Export function: one can get thumbnails and slideshows in a jiffy.See http://www.saathii.org/events/marathon/marathon.html

l.ramakrishnan's blog

2005-02-22T05:35:00.000+05:30

I just wanted to post comments on someone's blog and blogger made me create an account. Oh well, I hope to overcome inhibitions sufficiently to start blogging in the near future.