Twitter threads (on life choices, long walks, movies and math)

I do not have many new things to write about from my part of the academic garden. Instead, I would like to put together some of my older X/Twitter threads on assorted topics such as life choices, long walks, travels, a movie, and mathematics. Here they are.

1) On authentic life choices: Some time ago, a younger colleague in her early 30s was a little upset. "I've been made to feel that I'm too energetic, too excitable, too caring, too much in one way or another...like I'm a handful - not worth the trouble", she said. This reminded me of receiving similar comments when I was at her life and career stage. This made me reflect on how life evolves through the 20s and 30s, and how the authenticity in our choices has a bearing on 40s. This led to the following thread: link.

[Note: I use the 20s, 30s and 40s only as notional place-holders in a strictly limited and personal context. The timelines are different for each individual.]

2) Trek to Matanga hill and parallels with a life in science: Hampi is a beautiful travel destination. It used to be the centre of the Vijayanagara empire several centuries ago. Exploring the temples, monuments and the overall landscape of this region is an invigorating exercise that brings us closer to our history and heritage. In 2022, I wrote a thread on a long walk/trek up the Matanga Hill. The trek made me reflect on many parallels with a life in research (more generally, a life in any creative pursuit). I wrote a thread on these reflections: link. 

3) Another nice walk in Hampi: Hampi has several paths for those who like to go on long, meditative walks. Our favourite walk is on a trail from the Virupaksha temple to the Vitthala temple complex. We took this walk again in December 2023, and I wrote a thread here: link.

To my pleasant surprise, this thread received a lot of engagement. Many people shared pictures and stories from their own trips to Hampi, and also suggested other long walking/hiking routes which we hope to explore in future trips. 

4) A trip to Srinagar: Based on a recent trip to Srinagar, this thread is very close to my heart: link. I enjoyed every aspect of this trip: the beauty of Kashmir, pleasant interactions with eager students and the Kashmiri community, and the revival of memories from previous trips 25 years ago. For some strange reason, the link to the above thread misses two tweets at the end: see here.

On a related note, the trip also made me think carefully about my career goals and mathematical activities that matter. These reflections were also shared in this blog post. 

5) Biopic on Shakuntala Devi: On a lighter note, in 2020, I wrote some comments on the movie "Shakuntala Devi" (starring Vidya Balan in the pivotal role): link.

This led to another thread. 

6) On some exceptional Indian women mathematicians: Shakuntala Devi is often described in popular culture as "India's most famous woman mathematician". But, what does it mean to do mathematics? Is mathematics all about performing massive computations? Or is there more to it? I wrote a thread here, elaborating upon these questions. The thread contains examples of some inspiring Indian women mathematicians who have made a big difference through their research, teaching and mentoring. The thread was written for India Wants to Know.

7) The early days of the Journal of the Indian Mathematical Society: While gathering information for a biographical piece on the distinguished number theorist Sarvadaman Chowla, I learnt about a rather surprising "enabler" of mathematical talent in the early 20th century. This source nurtured (and in turn, was nurtured by) many, including Ramanujan: The Journal of the Indian Mathematical Society. Here's a thread: link.

On a related note, my biographical piece on Sarvadaman Chowla appeared in the Bhavana magazine, and can be found here.

Do also check out the archives of the Bhavana magazine for high quality mathematics writing (essays, biographies, interviews and more). The writing is accessible to non-specialists who have an interest in mathematics, especially in the creative and cultural aspect. 

If I could survive the next two weeks..

The next two weeks are going to be a handful.

By Saturday, I have to finalize a paper and lecture notes for a series of lectures.  In between this week, I have to examine a PhD thesis viva voce (thankfully via Skype). On Sunday, I will travel to Bhubaneswar for an ATM School in which I am giving the above mentioned lectures.  The scary part is that temperature at BBN is on the wrong side of 40, but the good thing is that I will get to stay in my favourite guest house.

Immediately after returning, I have to move to my new apartment at IISER.  The idea of packing, moving and unpacking is a bit daunting.  Instead of a big brand, I have hired a local packer and mover this time and even though I have good feedback about this company from my colleagues, I am still worried about things breaking or getting lost.  What if the packers show up late? The apartment security does not allow moving out after a certain time.  What if they don’t pack the items properly and it starts raining? On top of that, the movers mention that some local goons may gather around the truck and won’t let it pass unless you give them some money (it is called “Mahtari” in local parlance).  What if I don’t get the apartment keys on time (I am working with very short deadlines here as I have to travel again for a few weeks immediately after the move)?  What if the movers misbehave and don’t unpack or reassemble the furniture? What if this? What if that? Even as I write this, I realize that half of my fears are unfounded.  Strangely I had no fear at all while moving from Mohanpur to Pune, which was a much longer commute than the upcoming 4 kilometer move!  Then of course, there was the big move from Canada to Mohanpur!

My colleagues who have already moved seem to be settling down well – in fact, our registrar was the first to move into campus housing and has already taken care of a lot of issues.  So, I don’t have too many concerns about what happens after moving. Our new apartment offers pipeline gas – that itself takes care of one major hassle, that of going to a gas agency for issuing cylinders.  The dining complex is nearby: so, no worries if the kitchen is not set up immediately. 

I will finally get to live on campus: something for which I have been waiting for a very, very long time [remembering a campus housing experience from another lifetime :) ].

Now, if only I could survive the next two weeks…..

Roller coaster

Last month has been a roller coaster ride for me, both personally and professionally.  It started with incidents which made me seriously evaluate my professional needs and personal well being at N1 vis a vis what N1 expects from its employees.  There were also some episodes,  specific to an expanding new institute, which were sometimes exciting, occasionally frustrating and sometimes, just confusing.

This post is going to be about a lot of things because I am not focused enough to just write about one issue right now!

Immediately before Dussehra, I found myself spending a lot of time in committee meetings. Now, in principle, I have nothing against committee meetings - a lot of them are about framing or revising rules and regulations about various aspects of N1, for example, our academic programmes, disciplinary code of conduct, various issues that come up as an institute moves from a transit campus to a permanent campus, faculty welfare etc.  I have gained valuable experience by being actively involved in these committees and like my other colleagues, have been able to bring up many important points which I feel strongly about.  The only thing that I don't like about these meetings is that they take precious time away which could have been spent in research work or preparing for a class.  But, I don't think it is reasonable to complain about this because there are other members who have many more responsibilities than I do.

I also get routinely inundated with a lot of complaints from students about various problems.  I sympathize very much with students and bring up their genuine problems at the appropriate forums as soon as they are brought to my notice.
However, sometimes there is a delay in the resolution of the problem partly, because administrative procedures take their own time and partly because the authorities concerned may not take the problems as seriously as one would want them to.  Students, on the other hand, become impatient and want quick fixes!   Recently, I have had to be very firm with some of these students, asking them explicitly not to interrupt me when I am on my way to a class and also not to call me up at night unless there is an emergency.  Then, they are quick to jump to the conclusion that faculty members do not care for them.  This is very annoying.

The Dussehra holidays were very eventful for me, personally.  My brother got married and it's great to have a new member in the family.  It was also a lot of fun to meet many family members and cousins who I meet only during weddings!
During the wedding, I was given the responsibility of co-ordinating with the guest house where all our relatives were staying and also arranging for pick up and drop off of all guests.  According to my father, I was most suited to do this task because of my experience with organizing conferences and hosting seminar speakers at N1!

After I returned to N1 after the wedding,   I got some great news from the department.  We have been given a lot of money by the institute and will now be able to spend comfortably on a lot of things that we wanted, for example, our own library and new high-end computers for the department!  I am particularly excited about having the freedom to invite lots of rock star seminar speakers from all over India.
We will also host another winter school in December.

In a few minutes, I will leave for my home town to celebrate Diwali with my family.  I was initially planning to stay back at N1, but last night, I realized that I have not spent Diwali with my family since 1999 and it just doesn't make sense to be in the same country as my family and still spend it alone.  So, I made last minute flight bookings and surprisingly, got a really good deal!  I am looking forward to all the fun we will have at home,  to spending time with my sister-in-law and also, to possibly catching Ra.One (that is, if it manages a Diwali release).

Here's wishing all my readers a very happy and auspicious Diwali !!