I enjoyed a simple meal of chapati (pronounced chuh-pah-thee), plain yogurt and fruits and vegetables at the NCBS canteen, or cafeteria. Chapati, a staple food in India, is a type of circular flat bread made from whole wheat flour.
I am currently composing a solo violin piece to enter into something called the National Public Radio Tiny Desk Contest, which is a musical contest. I've been listening to quite a lot of solo string instrumental music to inspire me. I am particularly interested in Yo Yo Ma's recordings of Johann Sebastian Bach's solo Cello Suites. Although Bach composed this music in the 1600s, the sound of the cello in these instrumental songs strikes me as deep and soulful even today.
I especially enjoyed going for a stroll around the NCBS campus during the one rainy evening of the week. The atmosphere was mysterious. There was a sense of electricity in the air, both from the thunder claps and from the excitement of my friends who had been unhappy about but prepared for the unending sunny heat of a typical Indian summer. After my stroll, I sat in the damp grass under a tall tree and took out a notebook, as it was perfect weather to brainstorm and write.
I read an interesting scientific paper about the interactions among plants, insect herbivores that feed on plants, parasitoids (insects that lay eggs inside the herbivores) and hyperparasitoids (insects that lay eggs inside the parasitoids). The scheme reminds me of a Russian nesting doll!
