About a couple of years back, when we were booking an apartment on the 18th floor of a building in a gated apartment complex, a colleague reflexly and very sincerely asked me (paraphrased)- “But what will you do for the go (cow) pooja? How will you take a cow to your apartment on the 18th floor?” I was totally nonplussed. The question was too funny and weird for me to handle. I just responded that of course we are not doing any of that business!

And then today, this email (from someone on the 10-odd-th floor) lands in my Inbox, on the mailing list of the apartment complex that I stay in (paraphrased)- “We are looking forward to perform our gruhapravesam in XYZ month. As a part of the ritual we need to perform the “Go pooja” (cow pooja). Are we allowed to bring the cow inside the campus?”  This is way too hilarious! I had no clue someone would actually, seriously think of doing something like that!

Female students pursuing Bachelors, Masters and PhD degrees in Computer Science in an Indian institution are encouraged to apply. The applications are to be submitted by 31st Oct, 2009. More details can be found at the awards’ site.

This is an excellent opportunity for female students in CS. Please get the word out and encourage eligible candidates to apply.

Recently I read three books on stories of women oppression- “A Thousand Splendid Suns“, “Not Without My Daughter” and “Princess: A True Story of Life Behind the Veil in Saudi Arabia“, based in Afghanistan, Iran and Saudi Arabia respectively. All three are excellent books, and I highly recommend reading them all; especially the first one. I shudder to think what would have become of me if I were to have been born in a family/country that had no concept of women’s rights whatsoever.

I feel *so* lucky to have been born and brought up in India, by excellent, very well educated parents who have been most supportive and encouraging of all my ambitions, my goals and my interests in life. I very much consider myself to have won the parent lottery, hands down.

Please support SaiG in his missionto help fund research on leukemia, lymphoma, myeloma and hodgkin’s disease, and to help support the patients of these diseases. Together, let’s help fund and find cures for these terrible diseases..

I decided to hike up Mission Peak in Fremont- a trail I had done with a friend, about 6 years back. As I set out on the hike, I knew exactly why I was impressed with this hike the last time around. The vistas were just excellent. The elevation gain of about 2200 feet is quite obvious in the kind of scenes you see on the way up. You get a view of the entire bay area below you and the nearby mountains, as you ascend the peak. The 2.8 mile trail is a moderately difficult one, with a continuous upslope, without a single respite. The trail is entirely worth the strain on the muscles, and I’d strongly recommend it to anyone interested in hiking.

I reached the summit in about a couple of hours, and estimated that I could get down to the trailhead in about an hour. This left me plenty of time to enjoy the scenery around, to eat my packed lunch, to read a book, as well as to watch a couple of paragliders take off and glide down the hills. And to regain my lost enthusiasm..

By the time I had made it down to the trailhead, I had successfully accomplished my mission of cheering myself up. I am not certain whether this was due to the beautiful vistas, or the thrill of ascending a challenging peak, or the unique charm of a solo hike, or the contemplative nature of the hike, or the fulfillment of some not-so-obvious desire somewhere within, to assert myself as an independent woman after reading a couple of books about stories of women oppression in Afghanistan, Iran etc. The sum total of it all was that I had a wonderful time hiking up Mission Peak, alone.