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PHOTOGRAPHS COURTESY: VIVEKANANDA ILLAM

Discovered in Hollywood Center in April 2002. Researchers say that it was probably taken in San Francisco in 1900. Ida Ansell, a devotee also known as Ujjvala, is thought to be the source of the photograph.

On May 31, 1893, a virtually unknown, 30-year-old Indian monk set sail for the United States. He had never been out of his own country, but he had now embarked on a long voyage to an unfamiliar destination. Through Colombo, Penang, Singapore, Hong Kong, Osaka, Kyoto, Tokyo, to Yokohama he sailed, and thence, crossing the Pacific Ocean, to Vancouver in British Columbia, Canada. From there he would travel, via Boston, to Chicago, the venue of the Columbian Exposition and the World Parliament of Religions. He scarcely knew then that he had less than 10 years to live; yet in this short span, he would not only become world-famous but alter the destiny of India.

Swami Vivekananda had formed the intention of going to the Parliament of Religions towards the end of his extensive travels in India in the previous five years. The turning point was his realisation in Kanyakumari in December 1892 that he was meant to work some marvel for the reawakening of his benighted country. In Madras, where he went next, he announced his intention of going to Chicago to participate in the Parliament. His devotees, especially a band of young men led by Alasinga Perumal, began to collect funds for the trip. Later, he got a pledge of support from the Raja of Khetri. Vivekananda saw a vision in which he was walking on water and also received permission from Sarada Ma, Sri Ramakrishna’s consort, to go West with his Master’s message.

Source: Frontline

by DFact

Friend of Drink Factory and all round great guy Naveen Sinha, would like you to offer your input in "designing the course of the future". This will invariably appeal to our American readers slightly more, however how do we move forward without open forums and the sharing of information? So with that in mind we encourage everyone and anyone to get involved. "I wanted to use the seminar to develop my dream class that combines the scientific and culinary worlds. I was inspired by Science Fare and similar blogs, and how the process of writing about experiments in the kitchen could be an engaging way to teach physics and chemistry.....I would be thrilled if some of the ideas could be implemented in an actual course." "One of the first things we learned in the seminar was backwards design: start with what we want the students to be able to do at the end of the course, then construct lessons and assignments to make that possible....

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by admin

Apple just released its iTunes U app for iPad and iPhone, which makes it much easier to browse for free classes and lectures from top universities around the country.

One category is Food Nutrition, where you’ll find 32 courses available, including Tips for Sustainable Gardening from Oregon State University, Food and Sustainable Agriculture from the Yale School of Forestry, Food Processing from UC Davis and Health and Nutrition from Cornell University.

But the real find here is Science + Cooking: From Haute Cuisine to Soft Matter from the Harvard School of Engineering and Science, 52 one-and-a-half- to two-hour videos from a lecture series that “discusses concepts from the physical sciences that underpin both everyday cooking and haute cuisine.” You have Ferran Adria of the late El Bulli presenting spherification, Jose Andres of The Bazaar (and minibar in Washington, D.C.) discussing basic components of food and gelation, and Wylie Dufresne ( wd-50 in New York) on inventions with transglutaminase. 

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