Picture album

 

Pre-historical

1.      At IIT Kharagpur: This is our graduating batch of Computer Science and Engineering students. Those who are there in the picture know how much it is worth. Every time I look at it, the memories, only the good ones, come hurtling down memory lane and I waste a few minutes in delightful reveries. (picture)

2.      Growing up: A montage of images growing up in India. Perfect cure for any worry lines that may be thinking of cropping up on my forehead. (picture)

3.      End of tenth grade: Tenth grade is done. Board exams beckon and then the maelstorm of 11th-12th grades and IIT prep. (picture)

3.      In Chicago: At Somali's apartment near UI Chicago where she was doing her Masters at the time, with Maa. Taylor Place Apartment #903B has sweet memories galore. (picture)

2018

  1. May: At the end of the 5K run organized by Asha for Education, a student group at Purdue (and at most large US universities) that raises funds for basic education in India. Spot me, Somali, or Shayok? (picture)

  2. June: Cruise in Luxembourg with Ravi (my advisor) and members or alums of his group. This happened during DSN, our focused dependability conference. (picture)

  3. July: The home of one my favorite NPR shows (the World), in Boston. The nighttime pic from outside its front entrance has an eery quality. (picture)

2017

  1. December: What are all these people doing on the John Myers pedestrian bridge that connects Lafayette and West Lafayette, over the Wabash River? Group yoga but don't ask me about it - ask Somali. (picture)

  2. June: Somali and Shayok during our offroading trip in the Rockies in Colorado. This was during the DSN conference in Denver. (picture)

  3. April: Chess is fun especially as it is taught by Coach AJ. Even more fun when you represent Cumberland and win the trophy. (picture)

2016

  1. October: I was honored with a Seed for Success Award at the Purdue Research Award reception. This is for winning research awards of more than $1M - we had won two this last year: an NIH R01 and a DOD one. (picture)
  2. August: Part of the DCSL research group in one of our labs. (picture)
  3. June: High up in the Tarn region in French Gaillac area, where we were for the IFIP Working Group meeting. (picture)
  4. April: At the end of the 5K race for the Farmer's Market in West Lafayette. (picture)

2015

  1. August: Deep in the heart of our (Purdue's) data center, playing with dangerous wires. (picture)
  2. June: Us three at Adler Planetarium in Chicago, IL. (picture)

2013

  1. January: A good way to start the new year, wouldn't you say. Wake up from the festivity induced stupor and run a few kilometers in the refreshing chilly morning air. (picture)

2012

  1. October: The Turkey Trot run with 23,000 running-crazy Austin-ites. (picture)

  2. September: Shayok is a wannabe music star, during his birthday celebration. It happened in a county park near Austin, which has the big attraction of a toy train. Well he can play music alright, but after he gets his PhD in an engineering discipline (grin grin). (picture)

  3. August: All ready for a trek up the mountains in Park City, UT. We were there for a Department of Energy workshop on failure resilience in exascale computing. The place is buzzing with activity over the winter skiing season. But for those wishing for the unspoiled wilderness, summer is a great time to visit. (picture)

2011

  1. At my younger brother's wedding (August 2011): Our family at my younger brother Sutirtha's wedding in Philadelphia. The wedding ceremony was held in a place that was done up to look like an old French mansion. (picture)

  2. DSN in Hong Kong (June 2011): I am addressing the audience at IEEE Dependable Systems and Networks (DSN) Symposium in Hong Kong. I was the Chair of the Program Committee and so got to entertain the audience during the beginning plenary with such sparkling gems as what was the acceptance rate of papers submitted to the conference. (picture)

  3. Disneyland trip with Somali and Shayok (March 2011): Would you believe we did not go to the Magic Kingdom. The attractions of Epcot and Animal Kingdom kept us enthralled for our two days there. (picture)

2010

1.      At DSN in Chicago: We went out to lunch at Flat Top Grill, our favorite Mongolian place, with our Portuguese friends Miguel (Correia, a faculty member at the Technical University of Lisbon) and his wife Mary. Somali remembers vividly the sea food place that Miguel took us to in Lisbon in 2009. Alas, that has set the bar so high for all sea food places for her. (picture)

2.      Shayok is looking to open up the Bluetooth hands-free and see what circuit is inside. And then he will move on to the IPOD. I say that is an Engineer in the making. (picture)

2009

1.      All decked up with the new one: Shayok said a loud “Hi” to the world on September 19. Here he is with his proud parents, all decked up on the occasion of Durga Puja. (picture)

2.      Famous Five at Global Fest: Global Fest is a celebration of the international culture at West Lafayette. As part of the student organization Asha, I am involved in putting up a stall selling yummy Indian food, for the cause of education of underprivileged children in India. Here we are the five of us – Somali, Baba (Dad), Maa (Mom), my brother Sutirtha, and me at the entrance to this year’s Global Fest. (picture)

3.      Trip to Nashville: Somali and I are budding country singers at the Grand Ole’ Opry in Nashville, TN. The setting is quite inspiring despite the kitsch all around. Once you enter the auditorium of the Opry and specially when you get on the stage, the feeling is magical. (picture)

2008

1.      UIUC trip with Mammam and Dad (Somali’s parents): This picture is taken in front of the apartment that I called home for more than 2 years. Lots of happy memories, crowded with a frantic pace with work and frolic. (picture)

2.      With the DCSL research group and Mammam-Dad and Somali: Our day out with my entire research group in summer. We are in front of the Earhart Dining Court where we went out to eat. In the picture are my research group members, some with their spouses. (picture)

3.      Trip to Naples for SRDS 2008: I stayed in a hotel right on the bay. Naples is reputed in circles here as famous for its Mafiosi and pizza. The cautionary note as I am walking to my hotel makes me think that there may be something to it. (picture)

4.      Durga Puja at Indy: Somali and I at the Durga Puja, the function of all functions for us Bengalis. It is a celebration of the coming to earth of Mother Durga, our goddess. We celebrate it with great gusto here in the US. Now we have a celebration at West Lafayette. Apart from this, we have a tri-state Durga Puja which rotates between Kentucky, Ohio, and Indiana. (picture)

2007

1.      Trip to Beijing for SRDS ’07: October 8-14, 2007. I was there to attend and present two papers at the Symposium on Reliable Distributed Systems and took my chance at seeing a little of Beijing in my first visit to China.

a.      Hotel façade: I stayed at the Hotel Park Plaza, a swank four star hotel catering mainly to westerners. This is where the conference was held. My almost non-existent Chinese language skills were severely tested at the reception since no one spoke English. When I saw other people around me at the reception using expressive hand gestures, I followed.

b.      Street intersection: This is the intersection right outside the hotel. Modes of transportation of different shapes and levels of modernity vie for space. They lead a happy co-existence with nary a bump or a fight. Everyone knows her right of way in here.

c.      Banquet table: We had a gala conference banquet at a traditional garden palace. It has now been turned into a restaurant, as fancy as it gets. The waitresses are all dressed in traditional finery and the cook is in the family line of cooks who would serve the Qing dynasty (the last royal dynasty of China). The banquet table has a turn-table filled with all delicacies – dog liver (some had misheard this as “duck liver” and their stomachs got a turn later), rabbit meat, and the like. For a vegetarian like me, I had the lovely experience of chomping on leaves of Chinese cabbage.

d.      Breakfast cart: This is the real breakfast cart – the kind with wheels. An enterprising wrinkled old man with his wife will bring it in every morning and park it in the intersection in front of our hotel. He would fry and serve a crispy dish and lather a sweet concoction on it. Language barrier and queasiness about hygiene notwithstanding, I had a few of these one morning and I live to tell the story.

e.      Traditional attire: Though I starved, I had an interesting conversation in broken English and sign language with this waitress at the restaurant. She said she was glad to be able to practice her English skills.

f.        Great Wall entrance: We went to the Great Wall, at the Mutianyu section a trifle less afflicted by gawky tourists than the Badaling section. This is the ticket counter. The Chinese flirtation with English is few and far between and often leads to comic consequences.

g.      Atop the Great Wall: The entrepreneurial spirit of the Chinese vendors at the Great Wall have to be admired, as must their persistence be admired. Here after trekking up for two hours, we reach high up on the Great Wall and see a table with a uniformed waiter serving champagne. Wow! Champagne at 10 RMB surrounded by the mists.

h.      Tiananmen Square: I woke up at the crack of dawn, took the subway and reached Tiananmen Square. At this time of the day, I appeared to be the only non-Chinese person there. The place was full of military men and women in uniform, often driving through the crowd at break-neck speed in the military vans.

i.        MIT of the east: If I had been born in another country, I would have slogged through the equivalent of the IIT-JEE exam to get inside the hallowed portals of Tsinghua. The prosperity of the campus was evident to me even in my role as a casual observer. The best universities in the US slug it out for the top students from this place.

2.      Aaron’s Farm: I am negotiating heavy machinery with Aaron keeping a close watch. I am pretending as if it is just another day’s work while Aaron is counting in his head the damage to the farm that I can do if only I press down a little hard on the accelerator. We were visiting Aaron’s farm in Rochester, IN and had a whale of a time enjoying the rustic pleasures of farm life. (picture)

3.      Our trip to Scotland (June-July): I was attending our premier conference, DSN, in Edinburgh, Scotland and then the IFIP WG 10.4 meeting in Uphall on the outskirts of Edinburgh. We then took time off to go around – the Trossachs and the Fife region. These are far out picturesque and placid areas a million miles away from headaches of a treadmill life.

a.      Edinburgh: The George Heriots school looking not a bit dissimilar to Hogwarts. Apparently the down and out J. K. Rowling would sip half-priced coffee refills at a café nearby and pen her thoughts. (picture)

b.      Stirling Castle: Control Stirling and you control Scotland. This castle high up was the scene of many famous battles, close by was were the heroic William Wallace (of Braveheart fame) battled and won against the numerically superior English. Here, for the edification of the DSN visitors, is a classic Scotsman – kilt, tartan dress, and bagpipe. Of course, this is more a bygone image than the regular Scotsman of today. (picture)

c.      Edinburgh, HMS Britannia: We were taken to dine at this royal yacht which till 1997 was for the use of Her Majesty for her leisurely vacations when she would set sail for far off shores. Prince Charles and Princess Diana took a honeymoon cruise aboard Britannia in 1981. We wined and dined as kings and queens would, which is to say with an enormous amount of paraphernalia and meager portions of vegetarian food. I have never seen so many folks in bow ties before. (picture)

d.      A small town in Fife that I cannot remember the name of: Scotch whisky is well known. Less well known is that Scotland is possibly the most expensive place to buy the stuff. From the IFIP group, we went on a tour of the oldest distillery still running in Scotland – Glen Turet, contributing to the famous (only to the whisky connoisseurs) grouse branc. It was a pitch perfect affair with tastings and demonstration of how the whisky is made. (picture)

e.      Callander: The picture postcard town at the foothills of the Trossachs. We walked through the untrodden hillsiders, boated on the “Lochs”, and splashed cold water from the falls on us. (picture)

f.        Callander: The police is seldom called out in these placid spots. In fact so taken aback were the Scottish police by the disturbance in Glasgow that they had to hotwire the English police force from London and get them here. Can you believe that this quiet building serves as the town’s police station and that it sees any action. (picture)

4.      Saraswati puja: At the Bengali association function in the St. Aquinas church, with our friends – Sirsha and Bharat. This is as close to the traditional Bengali garb that we can manage to be mobile in. (picture)

5.      Snow storm in February: Just when the global warming trend had lulled us into a mild winter, we got a whopper. 18 inches of snow in West Lafayette. Purdue deciding to shut down for 2 days. Here you see a vista of our sub-division – Amberleigh Village – looking like it could do with a sleigh rather than more modern conveyances. (picture)

 

2006

1.      DSN at Pennsylvania (June): Our premier conference, DSN, was being held in Pennsylvania. Here is a snap with my PhD advisor, Ravi and his research group from Illinois, on the cruise on the Potomac. Ravi is standing right behind me. He is happy, at the thought that he will never need to have me as his student. (picture)

2.      Our trip to France (June): I was attending HPDC in Paris and took time off before the conference to sample the simple delights of rural France in Normandy and Brittany. Sincere suggestion – skip the long lines at the Louvre and the Notre Dame and head to taste the calvados of St. Malo, lie on the sandy D-Day beaches as you imagine a day 62 years back, and try conversing in broken French with a monk at Mont St. Michael.

a.      Outside the ramparts of St. Malo walking to the National Fort. St. Malo was a favorite haunt of pirates as they the walled city offered a fine refuge to them after they had harried French and British ships. The way to the fort is treacherous as we discovered – it got covered by rushing high tide soon after we had made our way to it. Sometimes you have to get your feet wet and sometimes you enjoy the experience. (picture)

b.      I am cowering in one of the German bunkers at Pont du Hoc, a town off of one of the D-Day beaches. The steep climb to take this beach made it extremely dangerous for the Allied troops. But take it they did. Two months after the victory Allied troops had steam-rolled through the whole of France and liberated it. (picture)

c.      The breathtaking sight of the abbey of Mont St. Michael. This abbey houses 21 monks and nuns and puts up with 3.5 million tourists each year. If you can fight your way through the crowds on the narrow winding roads of the village and climb up to the abbey itself, you will be astounded by the 1000 year history of the place. The monks and nuns alas stayed hidden away from our gaze. Stay away from the quick sand that surrounds the village and look out sharp for signs saying which parking lots will be covered under water at high tide that day. (picture)

d.      Wouldn’t you like to get into this Smart Car, which gives 60 miles per gallon. They are ubiquitous in France and one day hopefully Daimler Chrysler will muster up enough courage to market it full blast in the US. It is a cozy fit for two people but how it will do at 80 mph on US highways remains to be seen. (picture)

3.      The day my brother graduated (May): My younger brother, Sutirtha, graduated with his MBA degree from Purdue’s Krannert School of Management in May. This is after the formal ceremonies are over, when the cap has been tossed high up to the ceilings of the Elliott Hall and he has his travel plans to Pittsburgh (he joined McKinsey in their Pitt office) all finalized. This is when we loosened our ties and belts and whooped it up at BW3 on the Levee. Together with Somali, Sutirtha, and I, there are the Boffen-Yordanov’s, Sutirtha’s splendid host family when he was here. (picture)

2005

 

1.      Our trip to northern California in Dec ’05 – Jan ’06.

e.      Atop the crookedest street in the world – Lombard Street in San Francisco. (picture) Check out my picture at this exact same spot 8 years back. (picture)

f.        Imprisoned in the hole at the dreaded Alcatraz prison. This is the place for the most ill-behaved of the hardcore convicts who would be sent to Alcatraz, which is the forlorn island 1.25 miles from the San Francisco bay. The prison is not used any more, its place as the prison for the most notorious criminals having been taken by San Quentin and Sing Sing. (picture)

g.      The famed cable car of San Francisco. This is one hyped up attraction that actually fully lives up to its billing. It is a throwback to the end days of the 19th century when the cable cars ran through many cities of the world. Now San Francisco is alone to carry the torch. The view as you cling to the rails and hang outside and the tram climbs up and down the steep streets is breathtaking. Hold on tight though. (picture)

h.      The board walk of Santa Cruz . This is a city of hippies, of UCSC which you will scarcely believe to be a university campus if you are used to large mid-western universities, a city with a distinctly youthful feel to it. The sight that makes you stop on your tracks on the boardwalk are the intrepid surfers who brave the high waves and the chilling water to do death-defying acts. The other act almost as splendid is the sea lions sun-bathing and grunting their way to the delight of the onlookers. (picture)

i.        We chanced upon this pristine beach (Bonny Doon) as we drove through the picturesque highway 1 which winds its way through the side of the Pacific. This was like our private beach for the entire time we were there. (picture)

j.        We are immersed in mud. If you are going to say “yuck”, hold on. This is a mud bath fit for royalty – mud and peat moss from Canada, and the sparkling spring water of Calistoga. Calistoga is in the northern tip of the Napa Valley known for the highest quality vineyards in the US. It is also known for its spring water with therapeutic qualities. (picture)

k.      We are at Sterling Winery and are overlooking the Three Palms vineyard. Napa Valley houses almost 280 wineries. There is a lot of drinking and high life. Once you hit your first million, consider splurging at this place. Now you can ask me all about the neck, the body, and the boutique of wines. My favorite dessert wine after the trip has become Muscato. (picture)

2.      Me in front of the Water God in the Yamashita Park in Yokohama. This statue was a gift from the city of San Diego. San Diego and Yokohama are sister cities. I was visiting Yokohama for DSN 2005. (July, 2005)

3.      In front of the Bahai temple at Wilmette – us two with my uncle and aunt. Wilmette is our favorite suburb of Chicago and the area around the Bahai temple strikes you with its calm and well-kept lawns, in that order I guess. This is a religion of all religions and its few “temples” all over the world (including one in Delhi, India) are known for their architectural elegance and large placid grounds. (June, 2005)

4.      This is one of our favorite haunts in town – there is an over abundant set of books, good coffee, wireless internet … it all adds up to a great time for work or play. (April, 2005)

5.      Moving out of hired boardings to our own nest in Amberleigh Village. Goodbye to monthly rent checks, welcome to monthly mortgage payments. Here’s the view from the front of the house. (April, 2005)

6.      This seems like Venice but is not, though it is called the Venice of the North. I was there for the DSN PC meeting and took time to hop on to trams, ride boats, and walk miles and miles through the narrow alleys of this city. Any guesses? You can tell me through my guest book at http://books.dreambook.com/saurabh/personal.html. (Feb, 2005)

2004

 

1.      Skiing high over the Smoky Mountains. We were at this ski resort called Über Gatlinburg. There is no German connection except the pretentious spelling, but the skiing is good. I think with this I am ready to graduate to the moderate slopes. (Jan, 2004)

2.      At the home of Jim Beam, the famous Whiskey maker. The distillery is in the town of Clermont, 30 miles south of Louisville, Kentucky. We reached there on Sunday which is a dry day in the county and therefore no sampling. So we contented ourselves with seeing an instructive video on how bourbon is made. One of these days when I take a sabbatical I will put that to use! There is a small area around there spread over Tennessee and Kentucky that produces arguably the best bourbon in the country. The rival distillery of Jack Daniel’s is located in this region as well. (Jan, 2004)

3.      A cozy group of Seinfeld fans at a humble grad student abode in West Lafayette. From left, Tarkesh, Hari, Santosh, Prashant, and me. (Jan, 2004)

4.      At the McGraws in Lafayette. Mary’s home-cooked American cooking is wonderful and we have often enjoyed the flavor and warmth of American holidays at their place. (Jan, 2004)

5.      With members of DCSL after our semester end party. From left: Nipoon, Gunjan, Hank, Padma, Issa, Somali, Mark, and me. (Apr, 2004)

6.      Singing on the occasion of the Bengali New Year at Matthews Hall on the Purdue campus. The Bengali New Year called Poila Boisakh falls on the first week of May and is celebrated locally by the Purdue University Tagore Society. We put up a medley of songs by Rabindranath Tagore on this occasion. (May, 2004)

7.      All decked up in Kolkata, India. (May, 2004)

8.      This is in front of the Uffizi Gallery in Firenze (aka Florence). I had gone there for DSN and then we went around Italy. Uffizi is choc-a-bloc with Renaissance masterpieces. The steps leading up to the gallery are a favorite place to sit, relax, look out for the square in front, and enjoy a sweet gelato. (Jun, 2004)

9.      At San Marco’s Square in front of Basilica di San Marco in Venezia (aka Venice). This is one of the most photographed open spaces in the world. It was difficult to tell if there were more people or pigeons at the place. The lines to get in the Basilica made us give up, but standing in the square and looking up at the Campanile (Bell Tower) and the dome of the Basilica were awe-inspiring sights. Nearby is the Bridge of Sighs where prisoners doomed to be executed had to walk on their way to the execution ground. One would not imagine the gloomy history looking at the festive atmosphere there today. (Jul, 2004)

10. Overlooking the Chianti region, home of fine wines and fine dining. We were at the IFIP Working Group 10.4 meeting and were entertained one evening in a castle on the outskirts of Siena, overlooking a winery where they grow the Chianti. (Jul, 2004)

11. Basilica di San Pietro in the Vatican. Jesus said to a fisherman: "You are Peter and on this rock I shall build my Church" and thus was built the impressive basilica. It has been destroyed and rebuilt several times since. If you are nimble footed, try the climb to the top of the dome and take the guided audio tour. The view of the Pope’s residence and garden from the top may tempt you to try to wangle an invitation. They are typically off-limits to the public. (Jul, 2004)

 

2003

1.      Somali in St. Patrick’s Church, downtown Chicago. (Aug, 2003) For the curious, Somali is the maddest, merriest, cutest creature on earth and has been accompanying me through life’s wonderful adventures ever since … suffice it to say from deep into the recesses of time. She has a presence in a little nook of cyberspace and you can pay her a visit here. Whether it be climbing through the terrains of the Smoky’s, driving into unknown territories on a whim, like a modern-day Marco Polo, or challenging each other with new topics of knowledge, I can count on her.

2.      Somali and I at Mesho’s place in Oak Park, north west suburb of Chicago. This is the site and studio of the noted architect, Frank Lloyd Wright. It boasts of a very cute, stylistically arranged, and pedestrian friendly downtown and gets our two thumbs up. (Nov, 2003)

3.      Asleep at the wheels in Smoky Mountain National Forest, Tennessee. It is a mountainous road that threads through Tennessee and goes into North Carolina. I increased my state count by 2 during this trip, which now (Aug ’04) stands at a 21. (Dec, 2003)


 
 

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Last modified: June 6, 2011