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Stata Center

...or one of my most favorite haunts in the world. In its previous avatar it was Building 20, MIT's Magic Incubator, now home to CSAIL. I have often wondered about why the Linguistics Department was housed there along with Computer Science and AI. Finally found...

Snow Monkeys in Japan

“The Japanese macaque, also known as the snow monkey, is a highly intelligent species native to Japan. It is well known for its beet-red bottom and affinity for soaking in hot springs.” In the news in NYT: Last year, a 9-year-old female Japanese macaque in...

Selvi — A Story by RKN

A beautiful story by R.K. Narayan -- an alternate ending to a celebrated life in Carnatic music. At the end of every concert, she was mobbed by autograph hunters. They would hem her in and not allow her to leave the dais. At that moment...

Tampopo

There is a mom-and-pop Japanese eatery in the food court of a mall near me. Pop cooks the food; mom takes orders and serves the food. Mom never smiles. She speaks to customers mostly to tell them not to poke the onigiri -- or merely...

Pey Nayanar

On a dark night, the poet Karaikaal Ammaiyar—believed to have lived in the sixth century A.D.—made her way to the cremation ground, a space shunned then as now, to witness Lord Shiva dance. Her impressions crystallized into two ten-verse poems known as the “Patikams from...

Meenakshi and The Supernumerary Nipple

Legend says that the Pandya king, the ruler of Madurai, rejoiced at the birth of his daughter. She had beautiful eyes, like a pair of chiral fish. So she became Meenakshi, which is Sanskrit for “fish-eye”. The royal child had another physical characteristic, which the...