2012 : Re-orienting AOL

Exactly 111 days have flashed by since the visually pleasing and numerically auspicious date of 11-11-11, on which I had announced my earnest resolution to resume this online column. But somehow I have still not been able to do so till today, 2nd March, 2012.

The main reason for this extended omission is that I've been so mesmerised by the tornado-like tempo of the ongoing revolution in electronic communications that I feel tempted to go on contemplating this infinitely complex phenomenon itself -- and getting completely bogged down in the process! -- instead of using the miraculous opportunities it creates for me to express my views forcefully on the endless sequence of events, trends and issues of world-wide interest and importance.

Another reason for my getting caught in a gridlock is that I had embarked on this venture visualizing this column as a continuous stream of self-contained essays, with deep insights, faultless logic and colorful language, all perfectly streamlined and worthy of being collected into a book in due course. But this ideal approach calls for a very high level of excellence and accuracy which can't be attained without making extremely strenuous and strainful efforts, which tend to become rather elusive in the face of other preoccupations and priorities.

I have therefore now resolved, rightly or wrongly, to re-orient my whole attitude and approach in this regard -- and shall hereafter just go on recording my impressions as and when they they arise, letting them evolve into logical patterns in due course.

I am taking this opportunity to introduce a regular section called Musicstream, where I can discuss basic issues relating to music, which happens to be one of my main concerns as a writer. From now on, l shall also be using the generic title Talk Exchange for the cartoons I draw in this column.

Water On The Moon

So last year ISRO and NASA had collected what looks like conclusive evidence

of the presence of water on the moon!  (Articulations Online, Oct. 20).  I have

some significant  comments on this;  but meanwhile, let us see what our friends

Bill Concorde and Joe Goodfellow discovered on the moon last week!