August 23: The day to get moonstruck

One would think that for a physicist of Indian origin, the date August 23 would have a special significance because of the landing on the moon of the Indian spacecraft "Chandrayaan 3" two years ago.

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Who is the most beautiful and desirable woman I have seen either in real life or in movies/media during my lifetime?

It is a question that probably goes through the mind of every man at some point in his life. In my case, I have lived in three countries (India, USA and Mexico), travelled throughout the world and seen dozens, if not hundreds of very beautiful women. I often thought about this question.

I could not make this decision analytically by looking at their images and quantifying some physical measurements or comparing personality traits revealed in interviews or movie dialogues. The answer has to come from my heart! She must not only be a perfect "ten" in beauty, her voice and personality must complement her looks. She must possess all the softer sides of a caring/nurturing woman with a perfect inner beauty as well. Finally, she should look enticing but at the same time be a woman of good moral character.

Only one woman fits my vision of that ideal woman. No, it is not Elizabeth Taylor, Aishwarya Rai or some gorgeous model. She is the famous Bollywood actress Saira Banu in her youth, during the nineteen sixties and seventies when she was in her late teens and twenties.

I have been obsessed with Saira Banu ever since her Bollywood debut in the movie "Junglee" which I saw when I was a teenager. There was a scene in the movie where she was stranded with the hero (Shammi Kapoor) in a cabin during a snowstorm and was sleeping with a red blanket on her. She was so beautiful that I could just sit there and watch her sleep all my life.

This was before the craze of plastic surgery, tooth implants, skin whitener and other artificial means of enhancing one's beauty. Saira was one hundred percent natural!