2. http://www.htmlcodetutorial.com/
5. http://www.indoamerican-news.com/
6. http://houston.aidindia.org
A fanatic is one who can't change his mind and won’t change the subject
-Anonymous
“There is neither this world nor the world beyond nor happiness for the one who doubts.
- Baghavat Gita
In three words I can sum up everything I've learned about life: It goes on.
– Robert Frost
Good judgment comes from experience... and a lot of that comes from bad judgment!
-Will Rogers
It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it.
-Aristotle
Brahmagupta was an Indian astronomer and mathematician. He was the head of the astronomical observatory at
Like many Indian mathematicians of this and later periods, Brahmagupta was producing work that was many centuries ahead of the equivalent work being carried out in the western world. Brahmagupta wrote two main texts, both of which deal with arithmetic and astronomy. His first work in 628 was Brahmasphuta siddhanta (The Opening of the Universe) (catchy name, ain’t it?), and in 665 he published Khandakhadyaka. Both of these texts are actually written in verse!!! It is hard to imagine a book written on advanced mathematics without mathematical variables but totally in verse!
Undoubtedly, he must have been a very influential person. The astronomical observatory at
But let’s get back to his contribution. The fact that he introduced the concept of zero and negative numbers is probably known by all. But did you know that one of his chief contributions is the solution of a certain second order indeterminate equation which is of great significance in number theory? Or that he knew that both Earth and the universe are round? Or that he knew about gravitation force? Or that he was the first to make a sine table. This "or" sequence could actually go on for hours ... oh and yeah ... he also contributed a lot in the field of progressions. He has contributed so much that it makes me wonder if he had any Grad students working under him.
To give a glimpse of how difficult it was for him, let me quote a few lines from his books.
Diminish by the middle [number] the square-root of the rupas multiplied by four times the square and increased by the square of the middle [number]; divide the remainder by twice the square. [The result is] the middle [number].
Guessed what that was all about? Stop forcing your already-exploited brain, the above verse was about the solution to a quadratic equation. Or get a load of this: The sines: The Progenitors, twins; Ursa Major, twins, the Vedas; the gods, fires, six; flavors, dice, the gods; the moon, five, the sky, the moon the moon, arrows, suns .....
That’s sine table for you. Yes, you guessed right. He used names of objects to represent the digits of place-value numerals. The only red mark on his report card is this definition of division of zero by zero: A positive divided by a positive or a negative divided by a negative is positive; a zero divided by a zero is zero; a positive divided by a negative is negative; a negative divided by a positive is negative.
Perhaps the greatest tribute to Brahmagupta's mathematical talents is that his book was used to introduce the basic ideas of algebra to Islamic mathematicians, who were later given credit for its invention. Brahmagupta died between 660 and 670. At the time of his death he was widely acknowledged as the greatest mathematician of this period of Indian history, and one of the greatest Indian mathematicians of any time.
-V.Kranti Kumar
(how to cook for hungry bachelor’s in ten minutes)
By Srinath Sathyamurthy
Upma
Upma (Malayalam, Tamil), also known as Uppindi in Telugu, Upeet in (Marathi) and Uppittu or Kharabath in Kannada, and "Roolong" in Konkani, is a wholesome Indian dish made of Wheat Rava
Ingredients Required
(quantity based on number of people and availability of resources)
Wheat Rava (Semolina)
Cooking oil
Mustard seeds
Cumin
Ginger
Green chillies
Chopped onions (1 med, chopped) (some people may omit this for cultural reasons)
Salt to taste
Vegetables of choice: Peas, carrots, eggplant, potatoes, cauliflower, cabbage, tomatoes
Grated coconut
Lemon juice
Method
Dry-roast rava until it just begins to turn brown, then keep aside.
In a large saucepan/wok, heat the cooking oil.
Add mustard seeds and wait for them to sputter. Then add cumin, ginger, green chillies and chopped onions and fry until onions caramelise.
Add vegetables, salt and 1.5 cups of water, and bring to boil.
Add the roasted rava, turn down the heat, and mix quickly to avoid lumps forming.
The upma is done when all the water is absorbed by the rava.
Garnish with grated coconut and lemon juice.
DISCLAIMER: This article WILL NOT improve your vocabulary or increase your penchant for the literature. It will not have words that can be used among the “hip” crowd to make you popular. This will just be an impromptu attempt to share whatever I know and also to beat my stress (Yeahhh Rrrite). Oops and more importantly, this is primarily because I am expected to contribute something to GISO, being the roommate of its president (read “Dada”).
SPL DISCLAIMER: Here F is only for Fashion and not for “....” for all you perverts reading this and this picture is not that shady as you think!!!
Just when you think assignments and exams are eating away your time, why would you even want to waste your time thinking about how you well you dress??. Uhhhh common! Then why on earth are you reading the third line of something you don’t even wanna know??? Yeahhh, so this is for all the non- hypocrites who believe in the adage that looking the part is very important. Naaaahh I am not talking about being a Jlo’s in“Love don’t cost a thing” or having the most talked about Shahrukh Rukh Khanistic 6 packs in “Om Shanti Om” but just someone who will not be mocked at.
Well anyway, being a desi doesn’t help, does it? We will not be able to wear our very own “desi styled clothes”. If you are dreaming about Kajol in a white mini in the rainy “Mere Khwabon mein jo ” in DDLJ (See the embedded video), GISO is condemning it! Why dint I agree to write about fashion in movies instead? I could have a lot more to write about like” Hrithik’s and Aamir’s “Dhoom 2” and “DCH” style, the doe eyed Shriya’s “Sivaji-The Boss” clothes or Surya’s “Ghajini” look, Nagarjuna’s awesome style sense in “Super” and so on. (Did you notice that I was diplomatic in catering to all the audiences of Hindi, Tamil and Telugu???). Why is that we always restrict ourselves with this regional divide??? Why can’t we all say “Chak De India” even we are not watching the 20-20 world cup??? Noooo I am digressing!
F for GIRLS: It is always thought that you are relatively more creative than guys. The premier dogma is the willingness to experiment. Be creative and having a penchant to try something different. We are here in a country where the person sitting next to you gives a rat’s ass. So just be you and try out different things (not just clothes, even professionally). You may want to experiment with the magic of the most celebrated color of the blondes, yeah you guessed it right. It is indeed pink. Another color that is being termed as the next black for this season is the shine. The silverish shade is what I am talking about. But for obvious reasons, it is not plausible for the school use. For the serene women, try green. You may want to get “V” necked tops and complement it with some earthly colored tanks.
You might also want to experiment white with the green. It is fresh and gives a very pleasant look. Don’t worry about the brands here; you will not have snobs sniffing around you. But for the brand conscious few, you will definitely want to own a few of Abercrombie and Fitch (A&F), Guess, Prada, Calvin Klein, Kenneth Cole, DKNY and a lot more. Common dudes, they are ambitious and distant dreams for graduate students like us.
F for GUYS: We are relatively more creative than the girls though they are thought to be so. Hahaha( A wicked one!). So lets use some of our creativity and move ourselves forward. Since this is the early stages of the semester, most of you will tend to get interview calls. So for pete’s sake, dress up for the occasion. It will not be apt for you to go in your normal pair of denim with and an unkempt tee. Please make an attempt to look decent. You will know your strengths. So if can carry it off, you may want to wear a normal denim with a polo. Shoes are a must! It will look extremely unprofessional otherwise. How many of you guys see men who work in the school with sandals??? I haven’t seen that many. I will strongly recommend you against it. If you think formals are a better option, you are wise and playing it safe. Who knows you might just end up getting that job. (Obviously not because of your clothes). I will definitely write about the comfortable school wear later in the coming articles. Since a lot more girls seem to have gotten the GATF jobs, I just thought that this is an important issue now.
I sign off here. N yeah before I forget, be creative for Parichay. The Mr. and Ms. Parichay will be crowned. As I had mentioned, you don’t have to really look like models but you could just pull it off with élan with your dress sense and attitude.
- Barath Lakshmanan
Before you all read this article please take some time out to appreciate the newsletter team to have come up with this concept of Dautya! A lot goes into compiling such a wonderful issue. Please read and contribute whole heartedly. Your contribution is imperative for the success of Dautya! All the best Team Dautya!
~ Vikram V. Shete
On an evening when I sit on the patio with a cup of tea, gazing at the skies painted in the finest colors of nature, I simply cannot stop the chain of thoughts, which inevitably throw me back in the past. A past which I cherish and wish it was the future! Someone has wisely put “Memories always make you sad: For if those were good, it’s the sorrow of having lost those moments and if those were sad the thought itself makes you unhappy!” So true…
The chain of thoughts is as simple as “So beautiful is the sky.
I can see it as far as
I am wandering on the streets of Mumbai, waiting for the auto, the odd bus 210, the 7.44 train from Borivali! The nostalgia is sweet even if it eats away two valuable hours!
Today the realization dawns, why “baba” (father) wanted me to have my clothes ready to be sent for ironing, why “aai” (mother) pleaded to keep food stored and refrigerated and not to mention the care, with which “aaji” (grandmother) made “batatychya kachrya” (spiced potato chips). All comes back when its late in the morning and I must squeeze in 5 minutes to get that darned shirt ironed, when the roaches attack, when hunger hits and there is no motivation whatsoever to cook or head to the kitchen!
Little did I know before applying for the program, that there is more to it than just studying and having fun in The US of A! The first semester demanded a heavy premium!! Everything that I had to do was a new venture, including banking, cooking, utensils, setting up electricity and on top of that, the Honesty Policy which turned out to be a nightmare (although that is one thing that I will cherish for long!). We have been used to making multiple copies from a couple of original versions.
I remember that, more than often the ratio of original to the last edited version was 10:4, a whopping 60 % reduction! The original copy would have 10 pages and the final version would be close to just 4! With that background, how could I solve a double integral of a partial differential of the Bessel function of the third order, all by myself!!
This was the least of all pains that I have endured so far. There were higher degree pains of funding, GATF, the graduate co-ordinator, the ever pushing boss, the course selection, finding a parking place.
I had to reach university before 9 am just to get a place near Cullen Engineering. How demanding can life be !! Oh how could I forget the apartment management and their weird
rules and regulations!! Gosh !! Life is that bad, is it ? I almost believed “Life is Beautiful”!
But I must agree and trust that the readers will also, that these are the experiences that go a long way in shaping us and making a strong character out of us! I strongly believe that the past 2 years have had a huge influence on my life. I have met some of the best people while working on projects, concerts, events and even team assignments! For the first time I witnessed the Indian diversity in its full blossom! Little did I know that there were more than one “South Indian” languages and that Oriya was as sweet as Bengali and there were distinctions in Punjabis, Sikhs and Sardars. The festivals, food habits, the slang, the mannerisms, so fine yet so distinct and unique! Please forgive if I have got it wrong! There is a lot more to it than what can be said or understood.
Most of my learning has come from the organizations that I have worked for and the people I have worked with. The prime ones being GISO and AID! Each having a purpose and a unique way to function!
F.Y.I. The gurus of this course are right here in
Sometimes it is frustrating to be a graduate student and there is this urge, to tell all my miseries to someone! But, when the eyes roll around searching for someone to talk about it, every other person I see is trying to find someone for obvious reasons!
It’s sad that I can’t vent out my frustration but then, the very fact that this is a commonplace makes me feel better.
Everyone is facing it and dealing with it so why not me ?? It’s really amazing that we’ve learnt ways to deal with it without succumbing to the pressure. Some find solace in music, some enjoy wine n dine whilst some spend time with near and dear ones in person or telecommunication! This deserves a round of applause! Some have discovered latent qualities that they wish to pursue! Every individual I see is tomes of experience, a legend by itself. Each one of us has seen things in a different perspective and it would be wrong to compare each other. It’s like comparing oranges to limes on the premise that they have the same shape! Let’s not pit against each other, the victory may not be sweet! Beat your past, race against the “Me” within! Now that would be a triumph of the mind over matter. That’s got to be sweet!!
Well as my cup of tea is about to hit bottom, the thoughts of future seep in and that’s when I realize that it’s time to get back to the “Prima Meta”. There are many more cups of tea to be thought over, but I do realize that such fundamental discussion in such or higher depth is definitely not my cup of tea!
I rest my case………………
-Vikram Shete
It was the year when I got my first ever salary. It happens to be the year when after a long and dreadful time I felt so good. 2005 also happens to be the year when Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince (HBP) was released.
Now don’t jump to conclusions!! This write-up is not a review of the great epic and cult which I follow and revere. Writing about Harry Potter will take pages from my side. I remember when my graduation was nearing, how I felt. There was a feeling of anxiety and trepidation around. I had chosen to stay in
It was then I decided that I will apply again in the US University. Well I cannot say that Harry is the sole reason I decide to come to US (I wanted it since long) but definitely a big turnover in decision making.
As the midnight approached this July 20th, I got ready and went to the book store. I was there enjoying a Harry Potter party. After all it was the release of the Last book (next after HBP) Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. I am here in
- Ankur Shukla
September, as Wikipedia informs me, is not a special month. No country got its independence in this month. No big events took place except for the infamous 911 which changed everyone’s world. But as they say life is like a box of chocolates. You never know what you're gonna get. And we had our mouths full this month. At the point of our life (as a grad student) where all the interest in sports we love becomes the last priority, we had to stop whatever we were doing, create time out of thin air and spend it on refreshing certain websites that report on Indian sport.
Indian sports? You must be thinking I am talking ONLY about what happened in T20 World Cup. No. September fortunately has been great for all the major sport events that
Then out of no where Indian cricket, as if sensing that it was lagging behind in performing at world events, lifted the inaugural Twenty 20 World Cup! Damn it, the Indian crickets choose the worst moment. Mid-term exams almost spilled water on the fun. But knowing desis mentality, I am sure no one missed anything. Worst of all were those who were participating in Parichay. But now that we have won it who is complaining?
As a grad student, I thought I have seen enough thrills and frills in my life. But I was wrong as each and every T20 match passed a high frequency sine wave through everyone’s hearts.
I have already started to cherish a few moments that will probably bring a smile on my lips forever. The fear that a “Chak De” type situation had come up for
But the best moment that I cherish probably was when Mishab-ul-haq skied the ball in the last over just after he had hit Joginder for a six. That was the perfect moment when God for fun could have slowed the time for everyone. Wait ... I think he actually did that. What followed that can’t be described in words. Chak De had suddenly become Chak Diya ! We had won the World Cup !! All the effort we put in by watching those matches finally paid off.
-V.Kranti Kumar