This is a serious issue and need debating. The National Geographic Society refuses to recognize this as does the US. Good for them. We can’t have oceans declaring themselves independent. What about school books? What about quizzes?

Won’t someone think of the children?

By the way, did you know that Greenland is an independent country? It retains some relationship to Denmark, but it has self-rule. With a population of about 50,000 (or in Mumbai terms, 10 local trains) and a parliament of 31 members with multi-party democracy, it has to be crazy holding elections there. Polls probably open during lunch hour and everyone gets together to celebrate in the evening. The coat of arms of the country is a polar bear with its tongue sticking out.

And now I stumble on this article on the possibility that bees interact with quantum fields (without breaking them). It is a long read on bees, their peculiar dance to communicate the direction and distance of food, the flag manifold (a six dimensional space in mathematics) and quarks. Worth the time spent on this though. One line in this popped out at me simply because of how absurd it would sound if used in general conversation:

The flag manifold … in addition to providing mathematicians with pure joy, also happens to be useful to physicists in solving some of the mathematical problems that arise in dealing with quarks

Pure joy indeed.

Trivia for Doctor Who fans – the Doctor speculates that the bees went back to their home planet because of the impending kidnapping of the earth. A tribute I am sure to Douglas Adams and the dolphins (so long and thanks for all the fish). Adams being a previous writer for Doctor Who, of course.

From where does the power of expression come..? It comes to us from our experience, the knowledge gained over the years, the inner urge of expressing oneself, the desire to reveal the picture of a thing one has witnessed or felt, and the ability one possesses to do so.

Early in the morning on rare occasions when I come to the balcony standing for a while when the morning mist is just vanishing I see three or four little birds chirping away merrily and streaking across hither and thither, at one time perching on a delicate plant stalk or close to a beautiful red flower which has just blossomed. A strange feeling of quietness comes over me, a peace, a sort of tranquility and I shudder a little with delight, a feeling that is of rare occurrence in this world of unpredictable changes. Immediately one thinks from where does this beauty come from, which makes us feel serene, our hearts full and content, a transient elevation of one’s mind and spirit and a strong thirst to remain such for long. On looking back is it the sweet chirping of the cute little birds with its fleeting movements, its desire to be near a flower and pecking at it ( what for do we know?) makes the whole thing beautiful? Is it our minds natural response that gets triggered off by merely witnessing this beauty and seemingly the mind falls into a trance? Does our past knowledge remind us on this, the creative aspect of our nature infinitesimal it may be and the Creator behind these.

Why not then our minds see in every creature, the plants the surroundings which we see in the waking state, this beauty call it inner or intrinsic beauty and makes us filled with joy all the time? How is that even a short period of such experience charges us to great heights the experience of which will forever remain hidden in our hearts. Oh God! What is the play of yours, which we fall for like bees attracted to a flower for its nectar? Where is the beauty in us, that we too like these little birds can cause a flutter of happiness to our fellow people and the surroundings be it animals or even nature? Oh! God, please reveal this secret if we may call so, give us that humility, that knowledge, that spirit to act, that contentment which would make every act of us beautiful.

The picture above is the nest of a few birds, who had built it within a bunch of betel vines along the wall of his house. The nest was hidden deep into the wines “sufficiently camouflaged from other nosy creatures the cats , crows and humans.”