Subscribe to Site Feed

 

Best of AnthoBLOGy • Unripe Revolution • Rooster's Dharma • Don't Know Jack • No Love for Condi • Blogger's Block • Father of  the Bride • TinTin's Diary - I • TinTin's Diary II • Hate Bollywood • Child Labor • M.F.Husain Guilty • Marathi & Konkani • Artist's Daughter • India's First IT Guru

Computing, Libraries, Tennis, India & other interests of Vikas Kamat

Teaching an Old Spider New Tricks

I pretty much retired my spider Narad in 2001 after the emergence of Google, because Google could do everything that I was using Narad for. Now that I am jobless, I thought of doing some work on Narad. Today I implemeted "Feed Auto-discovery" so I can populate the BlogXMLFeed field we had reserved during the design of Blog Portal. Once that is done, you no longer have to ping Blog Portal with the Pickup Line, the spider will pick it up. How cool is that? Of course, the manual ping will continue to exist for people who blog using their own tools and for who want ping broadcasting. Field of Information Retreival Information retrieval (IR), sometimes called Selective Dissemination of Information (SDI) is an application of computer science where a software program makes sense of an ocean of content to determine what is of interest and what is noise. Google News is an excellent example of IR/SDI technology. Kim and I are tuning our Narad crawler to recognize scholarly content that is useful to us in compilation of the Kamat Research Abstracts. First Written: Tuesday, May 03, 2005 Last Modified: 5/4/2005 10:45:22 PM

Nashville No, Atlanta Yes
Although I did register, I am not going to make it to BlogNashville. And I hereby emphasize that my decision has nothing to do with Dave Winer attending the conference. On the other hand, it would have been a great opportunity to wish him 50th birthday. Instead, I will be in Atlanta over the weekend, doing a tennis picnic. First Written: Thursday, May 05, 2005 Last Modified: 5/9/2005 9:36:21 PM

"Missing Links" Found in Kansas

The fundamentalists are at it again. This time they feel by proving Evolution theory as doubtful, they can promote their agenda. What I don't get is, how does Jesus become lesser God if Charles Darwin is correct? Did Shiva become a lesser diety because Tenzing and Hillary conquered the Himalayas? After all they didn't find Shiva's house over there... Boston Globe: How to Believe in Bible and in Evolution My prayer: Lord, bless the educators in Kansas with some sense. Link Suggestions • Hindustan Times: Barely Obscene -- The Art of Khajuraho Temples • Blog Portal with many bugs fixed, lots of new blogs listed, and now featuring ping-less updates (spidered updates). First Written: Sunday, May 08, 2005 Last Modified: 5/11/2005 8:50:11 AM

Humor at Kamats

Although Amma is a well-known writer of light humor in Kannda (see her books: "Samsaradalli Swarasya", "Samsaradalli Swarasya II", and "Heegiddeve Navu" ), I have not featured them (except one) on this website preferring to focus on non-fiction. I guess I could change that. Anyway, I thought of humor this morning because, this month's issue of "Aparanji", Kannada's humor magazine has an article on Humor in my dad's book Keetajagattu (humor found in K.L.Kamat's book on insects). That's cool, because there's a lot of humor in that book -- like how the mantis dined on her husband and the wedding of the termite couple. IMO, the best part of Kamat family humor is that we make fun of ourseleves on so many occasions -- like the time Amma went on the diet, or the time Bappa wrote his will.. There is another aspect of Kamat family humor known only in private literary circles -- called "Vikas's Stories" -- these make-believe stories were originally told by my grandpa to entertain me. They all are centered around me -- like "When Vikas Met Ashwathama", "Decoits of Chambal Kidnap Bappa", and "Singing Hero-stones of Hadolli". These edu-humor stories have never been published, but I was very surprised one day, when a guy I'd never met before, told me "I have never met you, but I have read all of Vikas' Stories!" He even remembered the plot of many stories ("The School of Chandra") that I had forgotten! First Written: Friday, May 13, 2005 Last Modified: 5/17/2005 3:38:11 AM

Why No Comments on Kamat.com?

I am often asked why there is not a commenting system at Kamat's Potpourri. The No.1 reason is that we cannot handle the volume of feedback. For us, web publishing is not a profession or a religion, it is a hobby. The second reason is the problem of impersonation and SPAM that's plaguing the feedback systems of today. That said, patron feedback is important to any publication -- be it a blog or a newspaper, and some readers strongly feel that their opinions/contributions need to be published. I do get fair amount of feedback -- (there is a feedback button on every page on the left hand side), and I must acknowledge that many ideas and corrections are prompted by reader comments. I do encourage our readers to write to me. How else would I know if the man fighting Bakasura is Bhima or Krishna?! It is just that those messages are not automatically published like they used to be. (Only lengthier articles are published in Kamat Umbrella) I am considering writing a commenting system at this time. True to my established tradition, it won't be a Frankenstein solution, but a homegrown system. See Also: • The Feedback System! First Written: Tuesday, May 17, 2005 Last Modified: 5/17/2005 12:15:29 PM

List of New Contents

New Pictures Added to Kamat.com The following are the new contents published this week. Title of the Page Media Date River Kaveri Article 5/31/2005 Label Art Picture 5/31/2005 The Descent of Ganga River Picture 5/31/2005 Amma's Column: When I Met A.L. Basham Weblog 5/31/2005 Kamat's Kitchen at Camp Chindwara, Madhya Pradesh Picture 5/30/2005 Biography: A.Vedantam Pillai Biography 5/29/2005 SEO for Amateurs Article 5/28/2005 Portrait of M. K. Indira Picture 5/28/2005 Trimurti of Elephanta Picture 5/28/2005 Biography: Bhimrao Balaji Potdar Biography 5/27/2005 Khan Abdul Gaffar Khan Picture 5/27/2005 Biography: Amjad Ali Khan Biography 5/27/2005 Madan Mohan Malaviya (1861- 1946) Picture 5/26/2005 Biography: Allauddin Khan Biography 5/26/2005 The Carpets of India Article 5/26/2005 Khan Saheb Picture 5/26/2005 The Descent of Ganga Article 5/26/2005 Biography: Suryakant Khaladkar Biography 5/25/2005 Biography: U.Srinivas Biography 5/25/2005 Biography: B. Gopala Reddi Biography 5/25/2005 Biography: Amrita Sher-Gil Biography 5/24/2005 Biography: Parveen Sultana Biography 5/24/2005 Jamini Roy (1887-1972) Picture 5/23/2005 Biography: Vallathol Narayana Menon Biography 5/23/2005 National Geographic Articles on India Article 5/23/2005 Tenzing Norgay (1914-1986) Picture 5/23/2005 Ramaswami Naicker ( 1879 -1973) Picture 5/22/2005 Suragya Sar and Ovyo Gavuya -- A Report Article 5/22/2005 Socialist Leader R.M. Lohia (1910-1967) Picture 5/22/2005 Savinirmadi - a Medieval Woman Scholar Picture 5/22/2005 Biography: Balaji Bhawansa Walvekar Biography 5/22/2005 Reclining Woman on a Luxurious Sofa Picture 5/21/2005 India During 10th Century Index 5/21/2005 Research Abstracts on Partition of India Abstracts 5/21/2005 Encounter with the Sindhu River Picture 5/20/2005 Erotic Sculptures on the Chandela Temples Picture 5/20/2005 Temple at Gangotri Picture 5/20/2005 Bhimrao Balaji Potdar Picture 5/20/2005 Demons Ummalti and Bemmalti Picture 5/20/2005 Fisherman on the Hoogley River, Kolkata Picture 5/20/2005 Ganges River in Varanasi Picture 5/19/2005 The Waterfall at Shivasamudra Picture 5/19/2005 Brihadishwara Temple of 10th Century Picture 5/18/2005 Carving at the footstep of Gomateshwara Picture 5/18/2005 Pilgrims in Varanasi Picture 5/18/2005 The Faker's Rock at Janguira near Sultangunj Picture 5/18/2005 Portrait of Veerendra Heggade Picture 5/18/2005 Horse-mounted Saviyabbe Avenging her Husband's Death Picture 5/18/2005 India in 1946 Picture 5/17/2005 Stamp Honoring Leo Tolstoy (1828-1910) Picture 5/17/2005 A Street in Bangalore, 19th Century Picture 5/17/2005 Indian Handicrafts Picture 5/17/2005 Lingas of Kedarnath in the Himalayas Picture 5/17/2005 Balukaka Kanitkar Biography 5/16/2005 Colorful Peacock Picture 5/16/2005 This entry will automatically update till end of the month. How is this done? My blog software supports a content predicate called "SQL2Table" which takes an SQL statement and renders it as an HTML table. So new rows added to the table automatically appear in the blog entry. To illustrate further, search for SQL2Table or PicToc(Pictorial Table of Contents). What you will find is a list of entries that uses this predicate. This is like indirect addressing in Computer Science. You don't point to the actual data, but instead point to a location, that in turn points to data. "I don't know where John's house is, but I know Tom, who knows where John's house is" The beauty of this mechanism is that John can change houses and I don't care, because Tom always knows where John's house is! First Written: Thursday, May 19, 2005 Last Modified: 5/20/2005 8:52:49 AM

Used Rasgullas Anyone?

Rasgulla or rasogolla (the spongy, milky, sugary balls) is my most favorite Indian delicacy. Amma has a blog entry on the Rasgullas today. Slurp! Anyway, I wanted to find out the most common way to spell rasgulla, and typed the different combinations (see: Trouble with Indian Names) in Google (the one yielding most number of results is the most common way), and kept on recieving this ad. (shown below). What on earth is a used rasgulla ?! First Written: Tuesday, May 24, 2005 Last Modified: 5/25/2005 10:13:42 PM

Gaffar Khan is My Main Man

In the aftermath of Sept 11 attacks, I have thought a lot about non-violent actions to fight terrorism -- to eliminate the root causes of terrorism. Even when I have supported armed action, I have believed that there must be a non-violent component to our response. A non-violent solution is not only enduring, IMHO, it is infinitely righteous one as well. But how can we bring about a change in an environment infested with fundamentalism, ignorance and hatred? I am concluding that we cannot (we as in "external to Muslim world"). That kind of reform can only come from inside. We need the Muslims to have a leader like Khan Abdul Gaffar Khan (1890-1988) (a.k.a. Badshah Khan and Frotier Gandhi) Gaffar Khan was born in Afghanistan and was a devout Muslim. He understood the power of non-violence as a potent weapon and found courage to convince his fellow countrymen that love and righteous behavior is the true message of Koran. His volunteer Islamic army Khudai Khidmatgars, or Servants of God, was a non-violent army, much like Gandhi's Satyagrahis and opposed British rule.   V.N.O'key/Kamat's Potpourri Taller than Gandhi? Gaffar Khan visited Mahatma Gandhi in his Sevagram hermitage and the two great men inspired each other. In the photograph (never published before) above, they are seen together accompanied by Kasturba. Gaffar Khan was really a tall man, as you can see. Links to Gaffar Khan's Biographies: Study Guide At Mercy Corps (PDF File) Non-violent Soldier of Islam (Book at Amazon) Biography At Wikipedia Gaffar Khan Picture Album at Kamat's Potpourri First Written: Friday, May 27, 2005 Last Modified: 5/27/2005 10:17:45 AM

End of Google PR Disclosure?

It appears that Google has decided to end disclosing a site's PageRank. I saw it was coming because of its widespread absuse in the SEO (Search Engine Optimization) industry. Meanwhile, I wrote my list of "Commonsense SEO Tricks" for SEO. It is based on my own experiences and "best business practices", and sometimes go against the practices prevelent in SEO world. First Written: Saturday, May 28, 2005 Last Modified: 5/28/2005 10:43:00 PM

Arranged Marriages of India

Arranged Marriages © K. L. Kamat To answer most oftenly asked questions about the institution of arranged marriages in India, I have written an article briefly mentioning the behind-the-scenes events of a typical arranged marriage. No discussion of arranged marriages is complete without touching upon the humiliation of the bride's father during the process. Best said in a folk poem, "Soirika Phajiti". Notes and references follow the translation. Father of the Bride (The Indian Version) (translated from a folk song) Can't describe the agony Can't describe the hardships of the bride's daddy. Visited every home of fellow caste [1] and distributed the horoscope His shoes are worn out by wandering pillar to post to find a suitable match His bank account is dwindling fast to find a suitable match for his girl Meanwhile ticking away is bride's biological clock worried is the bride's sister [2] and rest of the flock All the powerful Gods are offered a bribe in prayer for a suitable groom for the bride Hurray, there's a match of the horoscope Even though it means settling for less. Accompanied by four men, he went to negotiate. News is that groom's friend doesn't like the girl apparently The groom's father will decide after hearing about the dowry Grapevine has that the groom's mom is keen Groom's sister is sitting on the fence It's time to spend the money for the wedding Grooms family wants lavish spending Chiroti [3] for the friends sarees [4] for thirty relatives It's a time to bear the humiliation of washing the in-law's feet of bearing insults of putting on a courteous mask and pleasing the groom's side of waiting of approval which will never come Raising the girl for eighteen years with all the skills to be a good housewife and a good mother is not enough. Worrying if she will be cared or loved after marriage is not enough. By the time the girl is married, have no words to describe the agony Can't describe the hardships of the bride's daddy. Lord is his only hope. Frustration is his only friend. Source: Ovyo Gavuya, Jyotsna Kamat, 2005 Notes: [1] Arranged marriages are typically arranged within one's own caste [2] In an arranged marriage system, the younger sisters are not married unless the elder sister is married. [3] Chiroti -- A sweet delicacy usually offered in welcoming the guests [4] Sarees -- The Indian drapes; see saree, sarees See Also: Customs, Traditions, & Varieties of Weddings Suragya Sar and Ovyo Gavuya -- A Report Buy Ovyo Gavuya CD at Lulu.com More of my translated works Call of the Cockfight Wager The Caste of the Thieves Ants and the Santali Boy For a Future Post: Advantages of Arranged Marriages Links: • First Person Experiences of a Candidate in an Arranged Marriage by Anita Jain First Written: Monday, May 30, 2005 Last Modified: 5/31/2005 9:44:43 PM Tags: ovyo-gavuya

Browse More Entries

About Me:

• My Home Page
• Contact me
• Kamat Family Album

Powered  NOT by Blogger or MovabaleType or WordPress, but by SimplyBlog, a software I wrote to create blogs. See details of implementation or download SimplyBlog.