"When you’re flying in space, some of the things down on Earth seem trivial. Things like politics leave your mind. I didn’t feel like I was a person from the United States" ❤️

Sunita Williams to participate in Kerala Literature Festival

Today’s The Hindu, Chennai Edition

#newspaperinlearning

31 December 2025

So happy to know that, Sunita Williams is participating in the upcoming Kerala Literature Festival 2026, as reported in today’s The Hindu.

Ms. Williams, 60, is expected to reflect on her journeys beyond earth and speak about science, exploration, leadership, resilience, and the enduring power of human curiosity,

says the news report.

This post is for all ye ardent fans of Sunita, and for those of you planning to participate in KLF 2026 - 

Well, Sunita Williams is a pioneering NASA astronaut who holds the record for the most total spacewalk time by a woman, with 62 hours and 6 minutes across nine spacewalks.

In the year 2007, she became the first person to run a marathon in space, completing the famous Boston Marathon on a treadmill aboard the ISS.

In 2012, she also completed the first triathlon in orbit, using a treadmill, stationary bike, and resistance machine to simulate the swimming portion.

Umberto Cavellaro’s book titled, To the Stars: Women Spacefarers’ Legacy, published in the year 2023, gives very interesting vignettes from the life of Sunita Williams, especially on her time in space.

Here goes interesting vignettes gleaned from the book for us all –

Sunita Williams: From the Depths of the Sea to the Heights of Space

During her two long-term stays on the ISS, Sunita Williams broke several records, including the longest continuous spaceflight by a woman (192 days), total female spacewalks (seven), and the longest total spacewalk time for a woman (50 hours, 40 minutes). She was the second woman ever to command the ISS and the second astronaut of Indian descent to fly into space –

Records are for breaking. They are just little beacons out there that somebody else will want to do and they are measures of the accomplishments that we’ve made so far. I don’t think too much about them because I was also just in the right place at the right time.

From May 13 to 20, 2002, Williams lived underwater in the Aquarius habitat for nine days as a crewmember of the NEEMO-2 expedition, the NASA program aimed at investigating survival in a hostile, alien place for humans to live. During the expedition, she performed EVAs to simulate underwater spacewalks.

Williams participated in two long-duration expeditions on board the ISS.  Her first trip into space was Expedition-14/15.

Launched aboard the Shuttle Discovery STS-116, together with Joan Higginbotham, she participated in the 20th Space Shuttle mission to the station.

“My first mission was six-and-a-half months. We weren’t exactly sure how long it was going to be because I went up and back on the Space Shuttle which was dependent on weather for launch and landing. So you might have to say goodbye a couple of times and you might get excited to come home and then have to wait. It was an emotional rollercoaster, particularly because it was my first space flight”.

As all the astronauts who have been in space for some time have said, from up there you look at Earth and its problems with different eyes. Williams was no different -

When you’re flying in space, some of the things down on Earth seem trivial. Things like politics leave your mind. I didn’t feel like I was a person from the United States, I felt like I was lucky enough to be a person from Earth.

For me, most news wasn’t important but people are important, so when you hear about natural disasters like hurricanes and fires, that makes you miss home and wonder how everybody’s coping.

But I would also look back at the planet and think ‘gosh it’s a pretty little place, everybody’s going for a walk on the beach or something like that, they must be enjoying life down there’. If you are having a bad day, you can go to the Cupola window and see a part of the Earth. It makes you smile.

The Cupola was her preferred place, “the crowning jewel of the space station,” as she named it.

She said: “It’s like being on a spacewalk. but it’s a little bit more comfortable; you’re in just a T-shirt and shorts and you can turn 360°. It’s just spectacular, a great place to have a pretty much heads-on view and to manipulate the robotic arm”.

Like many astronauts after their extraterrestrial experience, Williams suggests that we should broaden our vision: “It is hard to believe that we have borders on our planet. In space, all we see are oceans. I believe that we are all citizens of this universe.”

Williams made headlines while she was on the ISS, on April 16, 2007, when she ran the famed Boston Marathon, which happened to be in her home town.

She had qualified by running a 3:29:57 in the Houston Marathon in 2006, finishing among the top 100 women. With her race number, 14,000, posted on the space station’s treadmill, she successfully crossed the metaphorical finish line in an unofficial completion time of 4:24:00, while circling Earth at least twice, running as fast as 8 mph but flying at more than 5 miles per second.

She ran in tandem with fellow astronaut Karen Nyberg, who was running on Earth among the 24,000 other runners participating in the marathon.

Despite having to contend with the monotony of running 42.2 km (26.2 miles) on a treadmill without crowds to cheer her on, Williams ran under better weather conditions than her counterparts in Boston, where it was 9°C with some rain, mist, and wind that day.

Williams said: “I did it to encourage kids to start making physical fitness part of their daily lives. I thought a big goal like a marathon would help get this message out there.”

The media sang the praises of the marathoner “pioneering new frontiers in the running world,” says Cavallaro.

Well, I’m happy the media is all set to sing her praises yet again, at the KLF!

PS: You may want to read our past blogpost on Carl Sagan’s awe-inspiring book titled, Pale Blue Dot: A Vision of the Human Future in Space, that’s got us all fascinated for close to three decades now, for “that one last look of its home!” from the invincible Voyager spacecraft before departing our planet and veering towards the other pockets of our solar system, HERE on our blog.

Credits: The Cupola Image from ISS is taken from FriendsofNasadotOrg

Meet the “Endurance Marathoners" - the true “nomads of the sky” - the "Greyhounds of the Air" 💚💚💚

Northern Pintails | and their Unique Migratory Traits

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Pulicat Lake | Brackish Waters | Greyhounds of the Air | Endurance Marathoners | True Nomads of the Sky

Yesterday, a few of us had the opportunity to visit the famous Pulicat Lake – in high renown as the second-largest brackish water lagoon in India (after Chilika Lake in Odisha).

Every year, during the birding season - that begins in November, one can have blissful sightings of a host of migratory birds that adorn this lovely brackish paradise.

One such migratory species is the Northern Pintail. 

We were absolutely awestruck to see (with Wordsworth) ‘ten-thousand at a glance,’ gracefully adorning this grand Central Asian Flyway across Chennai and Tirupathi.

The Northern Pintail gets its name from its long, thin, and pointed central tail feathers - its “pin-tail” – a key source of identification for birdwatchers.

These feathers are much longer than the rest of the tail, giving the bird a ‘pin-like’ or pointed appearance from behind. 

It is called ‘Northern’ to distinguish it from other pintail species (like the White-cheeked Pintail) and because it breeds throughout much of the Northern Hemisphere, including Alaska, Canada, Europe, and Asia.

The Northern Pintails have got a very interesting nickname – “Greyhounds of the Air,” and much akin to the dog breed, these ducks are built for three things: speed, slimness, and stamina.

My ultimate reference source for these ‘greyhounds of the air’ is this lovely book titled, The North American Perching and Dabbling Ducks: Their Biology and Behavior by Paul A. Johnsgard, School of Biological Sciences, University of Nebraska.

The book has 230 pages of vital information on an assemblage of duck species - such as mallards, wigeons, pintails, and teal.

But for this post’s sake – Pintails, ladies and gentlemen! Northern Pintails!....

Here goes snippets from the book for us all -

When on the water, males exhibit more white than any other dabbling duck; their white breasts and necks can be seen for a half mile or more.

When closer, the dark brown head, often appearing almost blackish, is apparent, as are the grayish flanks, separated from the black under tail-coverts by a white patch on the sides of the rump.

An Adult Pair of Northern Pintails 

Females are somewhat smaller, mostly brownish ducks, with a dark bill that shows no trace of yellow or orange! During winter and early spring, males spend much time in courtship display.

The Male Northern Pintail

The average annual hunter-kill estimate in the United States during the five years 2004–08 was about 442,000. Estimated total annual Canadian kills from 1990 to 1998 ranged from about 33,000 to 72,000. The estimated total US pintail kill was 471,000 in 2014, and in Canada was 22,000,

says the book.

However, one little shortcoming that I found in the book is that, while the book focusses on North American waterfowl, it doesn’t discuss the bustling beehive of activity involving the Northern Pintails in India.

This gap is addressed by yet another lovely book titled, Bird Migration Across the Himalayas: Wetland Functioning Amidst Mountains and Glaciers edited by Herbert H.T. Prins and Tsewang Namgail of the Snow Leopard Conservancy India Trust, India.

It says -

The species is widespread in Asia, with an estimated population of 1 million in South Asia, say the authors.

During the Bird Ringing Project of 1998, 4050 Northern Pintails were ringed in India, of which 157 were recovered, mostly from Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan and western China, it adds.

The Northern Pintails are often called, “Endurance Marathoners.” They are true “nomads of the sky,” often migrating at night. A single pintail was once recorded flying 1,800 miles nonstop across the Pacific. This combination of “racing” speed and “marathon” distance makes them the ultimate athletes of the waterfowl world.

Now, let’s move on to the regional specifics of this lovely lagoon!

Why is the Pulicat Lake called brackish water lagoon?

Well, the term ‘brackish water lagoon’ would connote to mean a coastal body of water where fresh water meets and mixes with salt water.

The mix occurs where rivers like the Arani and Kalangi mix with the salt water entering from the Bay of Bengal.

This ‘patchwork heritage’ or this ‘in-between’ness results in an incredibly productive ecosystem in an around this zone! In fact, it is this diversity that attracts thousands of migratory birds, such as the Northern Pintails and Flamingos, every winter.

So where pray, is the Pulicat Lake?

It straddles the border of two Indian states - Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu. About 84–96% of the lagoon lies in Andhra Pradesh (Tirupati/Nellore district), while the remaining portion is in Tamil Nadu (Thiruvallur district).

The lagoon is separated from the Bay of Bengal by the long, spindle-shaped Sriharikota Island – the Barrier Island – which acts as a barrier and as a natural buffer against cyclones and storm surges.

How do we get there?

Pulicat Lake is approximately 80 km north of Chennai. A cab aggregator would take anywhere around 1.5 to 2 hours to take you to Pulicat Lake. However, if you are going for birdwatching, it is best to leave as early as 5:00 AM to reach the lake by sunrise. 

And wait! Don’t forget the Flamingo Fest at Pulicat Lake on 10, 11 January 2026.

Here’s wishing y’all happy pintailing!

"This can be achieved only by Transforming Universities into Research Hubs" ❤️

What Ails the Indian Research Ecosystem

Shashi Tharoor

#newspaperinlearning

29 December 2025

Close on the heels of our blogpost yesterday on the priority given to research in Indian Colleges and Universities, I felt so happy to read a special editorial feature in today’s The Hindu, Chennai Edition, by Member of Parliament and eminent writer Shri Shashi Tharoor on ‘The Great Indian Research Deficit.’

So proud of such illustrious MPs who root for a vibrant R & D Ecosystem in India.

In fact the article is an urgent call to action for Indian academia, political sector, and private sector alike, to address its underinvestment in Research and Development (R&D) if India hopes to achieve its “Viksit Bharat” (Developed India) 2047 goals.

Tharoor argues that while India has the intellectual potential, its current R&D ecosystem is insufficient to support its global ambitions.

Backing up his argument with evidence, Tharoor points out that, India spends only 0.6%–0.7% of its GDP on R&D, whereas global leaders like the U.S. (3.5%) and Israel (5.4%) spend significantly more.

In a biting comparison, he notes that a single Chinese company (Huawei) spends more on R&D ($23.4 billion) than the entire Indian nation combined. OMG!

Moreover, research in universities remains largely theoretical, with no clear pipeline to turn laboratory discoveries into market-ready products, he remarks.

On the path ahead to “Viksit Bharat,” Tharoor suggests that, to pivot from a ‘sprint’ to a ‘marathon’ of sustainable growth, we need institutional reform. This can be achieved only by transforming universities into research hubs and simplifying the intellectual property (IP) and patenting process to incentivise inventors.

Tharoor’s article is indeed a wake-up call for academia, to provide the much-needed ‘technological muscle’ required of a 21st-century superpower.

PS: You may want to read this blogger’s translated editorial piece from Dinamani Daily, dt 26 June 2021 on ‘Why Research’ | What ails Research in India? on our past blogpost HERE.

Today's Birding Delights | Surprise Sightings 💚 A Flamboyance of Flamingos 💚💚💚

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