The world according to Prerona…….

I always have a hard time expalining whatn it is that distinguishes Assamese cuisine from the typical North Indian and Bengali affair. This article explains it better than anything else. My mom though was a big cooking enthust and thanks to her we sampled everything from Idli-to-”illish maach” while growing up. That and the internet is why my own cooking is a fusion of tastes which I can never claim belongs to any one particular region!

“I am pleased to announce that the Graduate Studies Committee has selected Dr. Prerona Chakravarty for the 2008 Outstanding PhD thesis award. Dr. Chakravarty is currently employed by Linde North America Inc. and she will be recognized at the ChBE Honors Luncheon. Her thesis was advised by Professor Mark Prausnitz.

Please join me in congratulating Dr. Chakravarty for her outstanding accomplishment.

Amyn Teja

Associate Chair”

The business practices of Microsoft have always made me gag. And I’m happy that someone finally had the gall to take them to court on the Vista downgrade scam.

Slumdog Millionaire almost swept the Critics Choice Awards and boy did it deserve it ! Few movies have got my adrenalin pumped up like this one, and I am very picky when it comes to movies.

Today, December the 11th, 2008, at approximately 11:45 am, Miss Prerona Chakravarty defended her thesis and became Dr. Prerona Chakravarty. Sure she feels proud and happy and relieved and hungry. It’s funny, it had been raining non-stop the past two days, but now the sun is out !

That’s what Amber’s City of Pain strikes me as. It was probably the song I played most while writing my thesis.

Why do you have to rub it in Snow Patrol ? And I thought I had got used to the distance!

I am not  one of those who believe in going to the temple every week to seek God. At the same time,  I have a very high tolerance  for those who do. I don’t think of a particular deity when I pray, but  I do sometimes find myself  unconsciously evoking  Goddess Saraswati when stressed out due to an upcoming exam, or Goddess Lakshmi when in need of money. It is something I attribute to my upbringing where religion and religious practices  were  not set aside as something fantastic and rigorous, but were a part of life that gave you strength and solace. And it is this inherent belief in something pure and beautiful and above petty cares that keeps me grounded in the worst of times. Although, as a doctoral student of science and engineering, I do not have concrete facts to support my beliefs, they are my pillars of strength and mine alone. I am sure there are others who feel the same way about religion. So I do feel slightly irritated when some high profile people act like ignorant and insensitive jerks. I am talking about Heidi Klum and her Halloween costume. Take a look.

Call me a show off…but I sure needed this upgrade in lifestyle. Thanks to open source and its hold on the real geek in the family

Note to self: “Blackmore’s Night”….new discovery.

The entertainment section in Google news ( the first news I check out, not politics or business :)) had the following headline at the very top of the page:
“A Debut Novel About India Wins the Man Booker Prize”.
That in itself makes me wanna read this book.

I thought Joel McHale as usual was cracking a joke when he said the no.1 movie in America today was “Beverly Hills Chihuahua”. I thought he even made up the name…but it is true!!! Apparently, this is because the movie is a sweet escape from the economic crisis that has gripped the nation. Perhaps now the pundits will be more sympathetic to the senseless Bollywood movies and the people who savor them.

Recently VH1 featured a tribute to The Who. One of my favorite songs of all times is their “Love, reign o’er me”. Listening to it always brings back memories of being in the eighth grade on a rainy day and dreaming of prince charming with the song playing in the background. It was here that I heard the Pearl Jam version . Eddie Vedder takes the song to a whole new level. Here’s “Love, Reign O’er me” by Pearl Jam.

Every year Six Flags hosts the Georgia Tech night. The park is booked from 6pm until midnight exclusively for Tech students and families, tickets are subsidized. Every year in the past I planned on going only to cancel for various reasons. This year, since it might be my last here at Tech, I didn’t want to miss it. So me and my lab mate ( the only roller coaster enthusiast in my lab) made an occasion out of it. We first went to Wendy’s, shamelessly stuffed ourselves with burgers and fries, and then went around joy riding to allow the food to digest ( not doing so can result in disgusting consequences post roller coaster ride).

When we finally arrived at Six Flags, it was like a carnival. Everyone was geared in their Tech apparel (that earned you a free pass return pass). Thanks to our arriving early, the wait times were barely a minute long and we rode four rides in an hour. The Georgia Scorcher was the first, followed by the Mindbender and the Batman. These were some of the fastest (max. speeds of 50 mph) and craziest things I ever rode, going 360 degrees, winding and turning and had me shrieking like a banshee for my dear life. Then we took a break and sat on the little Choo-Choo train that took us around the park while the guide put the fear of the Lord in us by announcing the working speeds of the different rides. Then in a supreme error of judgment, we decided to ride the Georgia cyclone. Take it from me, the worst pain a human being can inflict on itself in the name of fun is by riding a wooden roller coaster. The moment the ride took off, my friend and I looked at each other and simultaneously went ‘WTF”. I can’t even describe the remainder of the agonizing 110s. Imagine riding a bullock cart at 50 mph with the bullocks on crack and doing unthinkable acrobatics!. Every time the coaster bumped and plunged (which it did quite a lot) it was like every rib and bone in my body was being dislodged with a nail and hammer. My head was sore with the impact of hitting the hard head rest umpteen times. I thought I heard my neck snap and my back crack. And the worst part was it went on and on. After a point I stopped screaming and just prayed. When the torture finally ended, we both emerged older and wiser, seeing the world in a new light and glad to be alive. Needless to say, we were in too much pain to continue and bid Six Flags adieu.

My Kalpana-obsession continues. Here she sings the age-old Goalporia Lokageet…something I never imagined would be performed on national TV after Protima Pandey. And her jam of this Bhupen Hazarika classic is quite impressive, although I wish she sang the entire song in its original Assamese version.

Thanks to my dear friend Sukanya in orkut, I learnt about Kalpana Patowary. I don’t know much, just found out about her today through this video. Suffice to say that listening to those forgotten tunes in her earnest voice gave me goosebumps. Not to speak of seeing her dressed as a traditional “Bihu Nasoni”

(For those feeling nostalgic enough for the original score...here’’s the link)

An administrative assistant who worked for the Director of the building I work in has been jailed for fraud. She used NSF grant money to buy personal items to the tune of $316,000. The news of the fraud which was discovered a couple of months back shocked us. It was hard to associate the stout matronly woman who greeted us with a sweet smile every time she saw us with a crime that daring. She actually made these personal transactions with the grant money from the computer in her office under the very nose of her employer and printed out false receipts to account for them.