Posts

Memorial Day – A day to remember!

-
Image
A visit to National Veterans Memorial and Museum, Columbus, Ohio on Memorial Day deepened my day of mourning and tribute to the thousands of brave men and women who laid down their life for our freedom and peace. The National Veterans Memorial and Museum (NVMM) is one of a kind established in Columbus, Ohio and is the only chosen National memorial representing the millions of veterans who served this country. I was privileged to attend the Memorial Day Remembrance Ceremony on May 31, 2021.   The memorial service was solemn with a prayer for the heroes and their families and poignant with speeches by dignitaries namely, Lt. Gen. Michel Ferriter, US Army (Retd), President and CEO, NVMM and The Honorable Rob Portman, US Senator for Ohio. The audience were deeply touched by the keynote address by Ms. Brittnay McGall, Gold Star Spouse, who shared her memory of her husband U.S. Army Sgt. Daniel McCall, who was killed in action while deployed in Iraq in 2007. The ceremony ended with wreath pr
1 comment
Read more

Dopamine – The Good, the Bad and the Ugly

-
Image
  I watched an interview recently, of Simon Sinek, the author and inspirational speaker, about the impact of Social media on millennials’ behaviour. He attributes “Dopamine” as one of the main reasons that plays a scientific role in our addiction to Social media apps. This led to me scouring the internet about dopamine and its impact on our social media addiction. As per WebMD, Dopamine is a chemical, type of a neurotransmitter and our nervous system uses it to send messages between nerve cells. It plays an important role in motivating behaviour in addition to various other metabolism in our body. Lack of it or an excess of it, could lead to medical issues as per Medical journals. But more important to my area of interest, was better explained in an article – Dopamine, Smartphones & You: A battle for your time by Trevor Haynes – a research technician in the Department of Neurobiology at Harvard Medical School. Dopamine influences mental health, as all pleasurable experienc
Post a Comment
Read more

Why little things matter?

-
Image
  (Originally published in LinkedIn on August 02, 2020)  #makeyourbed #navyseal       Recently I happened to read the book “Make your bed” by Admiral William H McRaven (US Navy Retired). There are many life lessons that can be imbibed from it. I was quite impressed with the book that I gifted a book each to my sons. I would recommend the book to anyone who wants to groom, mentor their juniors as they step into their youth.        Admiral McRaven a Four-Star Admiral and an accomplished Navy SEAL for thirty-seven years, was Commander of all US Special Operations Forces as his final assignment. His book is filled with ten valuable lessons that has been peppered with real life stories that he encountered as a Navy SEAL. But the one that set me thinking was his first lesson “If you want to change the world… start off by making your bed.       The Author describes how critical it is for a Navy SEAL to make his bed every day, a task that appears so trivial to each of us. How as a new recruit
Post a Comment
Read more

A half marathon – for the stranded migrant workers in India

-
Image
      (Originally published in LinkedIn on May 17, 2020) #migrant-worker #covid-19 #marathon #running            In these unprecedented times of social distancing, we have ingeniously devised virtual meetings, virtual concerts, virtual dinners. What is stopping us from running a virtual race?       I came across an opportunity to run the NYRR virtual Brooklyn Half. Though rusty, 7 months after completing the #Bank of America Chicago Marathon 2019, I took up the challenge.        I would have loved to run the Brooklyn half in the beautiful borough of New York City but had to be satisfied running it around the scenic Chase, Polaris campus at Columbus., Ohio. The organizers of NYRR virtual Brooklyn Half could make this virtual race work by leveraging the running app Strava that recorded our run and relayed it to them. The organizers did a great job with a virtual bib and virtual medal and a finish certificate. I was happy, I could complete the half marathon 21 Kms / 13 miles with a time o
Post a Comment
Read more

COVID-19 Quo Vadis?

-
Image
 (Originally published in LinkedIn on March 29, 2020)  #Covid19  I am writing this from home as I get used to life within four walls. Occasionally, I pull myself, to go out for a walk or a run to keep myself sane. Life has changed dramatically, with "Social distancing" as the only possible cure for COVID -19, the novel Corona virus. Social distancing to "Flatten the curve" is not new and was the method that worked during the 1918 Spanish flu (Spain had nothing to do with this pandemic and have been stigmatised unfortunately). Is this change in our personal and social life temporary or permanent? Is this just the beginning of the change, this pandemic is introducing in our life, threatening to make it more lasting. In his much acclaimed book "Homo Deus", Yuval Noah Harari writes "Over the past century, humankind has managed to do the impossible and rein in famine, plague and war. Today, more people die from obesity than from starvation; more people d
Post a Comment
Read more

Courage

-
Image
          On June 15, 2020, 20 odd Indian soldiers led by their Commanding Officer showed exemplary courage in defending the nation and laying down their life at Galwan valley. This has been one of the commendable acts of courage in the recent times that has attracted lot of attention. It is notably learnt that the Commanding officer and his troops though were tricked under the guise of peace and attacked, demonstrated exemplary courage and instilled a far more damage on the enemy lines and left them overall shaken of their confidence. Thus the Commanding Officer and his troops redeemed the honour and pride of the Indian Army to which they were sworn.           I am sure this is not the first one by Indian Military and also will not be the last. Many acts of courage demonstrated by the soldiers at the borders, sailors in the deep seas and airmen in the sky do not get reported. They don’t get the recognition among the public they deserve and even if so gets forgotten after the media
Post a Comment
Read more

A Church by the Sea

-
Image
If you happen to drive from Thoothukudi (Tuticorin) to Kanayakyamari, the southern tip of India, it is hard to miss sight of this towering structure, St. Thomas Church, a Roman Catholic Church, located in a small fishing hamlet called Virapandianpatanam. This St. Thomas church was built in 1886 and is known for its Gothic architecture and grandiose. Flanked by St. Thomas Higher Secondary school on one side and Mother Mary grotto on the other this magnificent church could be seen at a distance from the neighbouring villages. The church has blessed many people including dignitaries like Rajiv Gandhi and Sonia Gandhi on their visit to this village. August 2011 witnessed the church’s quasquicentennial festal celebration which commenced on 6th August and culminated on 15th August 2011. Central to the lives of people who are born or have made this village their home, this church continues to draw thousands of parishioners from different parts of the world all through the ye
6 comments
Read more