The world is probably becoming like Micheal Crichton's sphere, feeding on fear and panic. In case you have not read the sphere, let me put in a summary I found on the net, here it goes..
"A team of scientists are brought to the middle of the Pacific where they are informed they have been selected as first contact specialists to investigate a crashed UFO that has been discovered on the ocean floor. Entering the craft, they discover it is really a ship from Earth’s future that has been thrown back in time through a black hole. At the heart of the ship is a mysterious sphere. After one of the team recklessly enters the sphere, the group find themselves in contact with an alien entity and the habitat under attack by jellyfish and giant squids which appear to have been manifested from out of their worst fears."
A few colleagues of mine indulge in the stock market. Although I follow the markets (Not of late though, it seems have gone to the netherworld), I can't call myself too much of an investor. Each time I hear of the markets collapsing, I would ask my friend as why it has collapsed and the response would inevitably be linked to a collapse of another market elsewhere in the world.
There is a theory to identify root causes in every problem using a method called the 5 whys. Essentially, you ask "why" 5 consecutive times in order to zero in on the root cause by the 5 whys. Apply this to the market collapse, I'm pretty sure at the end of 5 whys I would end with the cause as the crash of some other Asian market. My point is the panic. Possibly, each of the markets is feeding off the negative sentiments and panic in each other and is becoming a global disease. May be they should just turn off the television, the internet, all forms of communication and stay disconnected!
I say this not just in the wake of the crash of the markets. Last night, Mumbai was in encounter again. One thing which I have noticed during the 2003 blasts while I was there, is that the communication is cut off immediately. I have seen this even in the recent blasts in Bengaluru. Why are communications cut off? Not the 5 Whys, but the root cause that I see at the first why is that it prevents the spread of panic. There are other reasons too, but I strongly feel that this is the primary reason.
The resilience. This is a facet of the Indian. The ability to comeback almost as if normal after something as terrible as a blast it great almost to the absurd extent. I at times am confused whether its a severe "I don't give a damn, we're too strong for your crap" attitude or "I am a loser, there's nothing I can do?" attitude. I constantly live in the hope that there's more of the first than the second. There's possibly a third, the wonderful world of optimistic belief that tells you good always outnumbers the bad. My dad constantly reminds me of this, but it will take me time and experience to understand, I guess...
Until that point, I live enticed in this sphere, that is connected so well, strung up to propagate the good, unfortunately, the bad as well...
Thursday
Saturday
The ubiquitous nature of serendepity
Is it me or do I happen to come across such incidents?
Last week, I caught an auto to take me my destination. The auto driver asked me which route to take and I responded in Kannada, almost instinctively. The driver eyed me with a look of pure spite, I wondered why...
As we budged along the traffic, I asked him to take a diversion to avoid some traffic, again in Kannada. The look of spite again. My phone buzzed and I went into a deluge of English. The look of spite again from the driver. I still could not fathom the looks, maybe it was just a habit...
Finally, the look of spite translated to words. Possibly he understood that I did not figure out the point he was trying to make. He asked, "Why don't you people speak in English with us?" in English (I wonder if he was referring to the brethren of auto drivers as "we") . I responded saying "How was I to know that you speak English?". Apparently, his first bit of conversation with me was in English to which I responded in Kannada. He went on to claim that educated people were arrogant and ignored less mortals such as himself, not in so many words though.
Are we as the so called "English" educated people really arrogant. Possibly it is true to a certain extent. Possibly my brain did register the fact that the auto driver spoke to me in English, but the rule of default reminds me that I should speak to him in Kannada. Its this feeling of refinement and culture that we associate with English. A person can be a crook, but could get away from being recognized in society as a crook by refining the self with English. Should we blame the British or ourselves? This reminds me of this Tamil movie called Anbe Sivam, in which a similar thought echoed in one of the scenes where the protagonist is duped by one of the so called "thorough gentlemen". The prosaic nature of the thought of decency is shown in a forthcoming scene showing the protagonist sitting is a state of complete disbelief that the gentleman could have been a crook. I would partly blame it on the British for having propogated their anglo-saxan decency.
I cant recall the number of times I have come across people similar in the nature to the crook (not in terms of being kleptomaniacs) mentioned earlier. The language is possibly the best possible way of being clandestine. Several thoughts spawned in my grey matter then, most of which I am unable to recall now. That day as the auto motored along the crowded roads, I noticed the driver had a certain disregard for rules on the road, punctuated by the occasional spot of saliva on the road. Surely, language alone does not cause refinement in people. The anglo-saxan decency is probably just a myth or worse, extinct.
Last week, I caught an auto to take me my destination. The auto driver asked me which route to take and I responded in Kannada, almost instinctively. The driver eyed me with a look of pure spite, I wondered why...
As we budged along the traffic, I asked him to take a diversion to avoid some traffic, again in Kannada. The look of spite again. My phone buzzed and I went into a deluge of English. The look of spite again from the driver. I still could not fathom the looks, maybe it was just a habit...
Finally, the look of spite translated to words. Possibly he understood that I did not figure out the point he was trying to make. He asked, "Why don't you people speak in English with us?" in English (I wonder if he was referring to the brethren of auto drivers as "we") . I responded saying "How was I to know that you speak English?". Apparently, his first bit of conversation with me was in English to which I responded in Kannada. He went on to claim that educated people were arrogant and ignored less mortals such as himself, not in so many words though.
Are we as the so called "English" educated people really arrogant. Possibly it is true to a certain extent. Possibly my brain did register the fact that the auto driver spoke to me in English, but the rule of default reminds me that I should speak to him in Kannada. Its this feeling of refinement and culture that we associate with English. A person can be a crook, but could get away from being recognized in society as a crook by refining the self with English. Should we blame the British or ourselves? This reminds me of this Tamil movie called Anbe Sivam, in which a similar thought echoed in one of the scenes where the protagonist is duped by one of the so called "thorough gentlemen". The prosaic nature of the thought of decency is shown in a forthcoming scene showing the protagonist sitting is a state of complete disbelief that the gentleman could have been a crook. I would partly blame it on the British for having propogated their anglo-saxan decency.
I cant recall the number of times I have come across people similar in the nature to the crook (not in terms of being kleptomaniacs) mentioned earlier. The language is possibly the best possible way of being clandestine. Several thoughts spawned in my grey matter then, most of which I am unable to recall now. That day as the auto motored along the crowded roads, I noticed the driver had a certain disregard for rules on the road, punctuated by the occasional spot of saliva on the road. Surely, language alone does not cause refinement in people. The anglo-saxan decency is probably just a myth or worse, extinct.
Sunday
CATalogue
Why did I give the CAT?
Well, firstly, I do not have a specific activity scheduled for the third Sunday of November each year, secondly, invariably I get to travel halfway across Bengaluru and see places which otherwise I would have made no effort whatsoever to move my bottom on a Sunday, and thirdly, the most important of all, the number of cute girls giving CAT has gone up by several basis points (just trying to get a finance feel with the usage of "basis points", no other connotation).
So, I woke up this morning and the day started dismally as there was a power cut almost as soon as I switched on the heater. After all ablutions, I began the first quest - The search for an auto. Some times I wish google would get beyond the realms of the internet. Eventually I managed to find an auto, the driver of which gave me my first test of management skills for the day. A few minutes in and I managed to convince him that jayangar is not too far off, at least not as far as Srinagar ( not the Jammu one!).I cursed the highway department for the road they managed to engineer around the pot holes & craters. I felt like I was on the moon, why waste the Chandrayaan?
As the auto motored along making more noise than motion, I slipped into a reverie of how I would spend the rest of the day. "How do I go to National college, Jayanagar". My reverie was broken. I looked left to see a pretty girl asking for directions. Unfortunately, her dad with a big moustache came in the line of sight. I managed to pass on the information. Looked left and I see two persons clutching their admit cards, look right and I see three more. I did not look back. The competition began not with the pencil, but on the road, to perdition. These guys were going to beat me to the center, for sure.
National College, Jayanagar, 9:30 AM. The milling crowds waited. I felt like I was waiting for the premiere of a movie. One thing strange about this time was the fact that until being let in to exam hall, I did not come across a single face I could recognize. I say this because, CAT is almost a opportunity to socialize, considering that almost 2 lac people give the exam each year. Hence I was pretty shocked. Though I did manage to extract a few words from a couple people. Due to the severe lack of conversation, my mind had begun wanderlust. I could almost see these very words scroll before my eyes like the marquee on a website.
Finally the floodgates opened and the horde was let it. Time to sharpen, the pencil that is. I managed to find my spot of bother without any navigation device. Now, thats a first considering that I generally manage effortlessly to get lost in the college before the exam. This wait for the exam to begin is the worst for both kinds of people, those who are prepared and the not so solitary loons like myself. I couldn't wait for the exam to begin. I looked around at the tense faces and recalled vividly being in the same position in 2005. Wow, it seems like ages have passed since...
I had 15 minutes to kill before the exam. I looked around. The walls and benches were filled with graffiti. I wonder what is it that makes us scribble graffiti while college, be it just some language or the name of your first crush or some of those witty statements that could feature on your gtalk status message. Possibly its devil incarnate in an idle mind that had to endure an incredibly boring class. My reverie was broken for the second time as one more of the damsels walked past to take her spot of bother. I continued to ruminate on several thoughts at one( I wonder if my eyeballs were scrolling indicative of thought process). The public address system jarred away completing the hattrick of broken reveries. I would say that the third break could be because the speaker said "Testing 1..2..3...", possibly that had a profound effect on my recently acquired sense version 6.1.
Thankfully, neither me nor my neighbor had to endure a greater wait than already ( I have a strange feeling he took me to be an alien life form). The one thing I love about CAT is that its breezy. Its over before you know just like...
I cant miss out on one incident though. As I rummaged through the verbal section, I came across a pretty interesting read in terms of language and similies. Some so hilarious that I could not control the snigger, much to the displeasure of the bretheren trying to concentrate and solve. I ended being at the receiving the disapproving looks of several persons in the room. Pathetic must have been their thought or maybe the lunatic.
All in all it turned out be an interesting experience. Whether or not I clear this, hear me out all you IIMs, I CATegorically state that I will be back, just for spending the third Sunday of November in the only possible way!
Well, firstly, I do not have a specific activity scheduled for the third Sunday of November each year, secondly, invariably I get to travel halfway across Bengaluru and see places which otherwise I would have made no effort whatsoever to move my bottom on a Sunday, and thirdly, the most important of all, the number of cute girls giving CAT has gone up by several basis points (just trying to get a finance feel with the usage of "basis points", no other connotation).
So, I woke up this morning and the day started dismally as there was a power cut almost as soon as I switched on the heater. After all ablutions, I began the first quest - The search for an auto. Some times I wish google would get beyond the realms of the internet. Eventually I managed to find an auto, the driver of which gave me my first test of management skills for the day. A few minutes in and I managed to convince him that jayangar is not too far off, at least not as far as Srinagar ( not the Jammu one!).I cursed the highway department for the road they managed to engineer around the pot holes & craters. I felt like I was on the moon, why waste the Chandrayaan?
As the auto motored along making more noise than motion, I slipped into a reverie of how I would spend the rest of the day. "How do I go to National college, Jayanagar". My reverie was broken. I looked left to see a pretty girl asking for directions. Unfortunately, her dad with a big moustache came in the line of sight. I managed to pass on the information. Looked left and I see two persons clutching their admit cards, look right and I see three more. I did not look back. The competition began not with the pencil, but on the road, to perdition. These guys were going to beat me to the center, for sure.
National College, Jayanagar, 9:30 AM. The milling crowds waited. I felt like I was waiting for the premiere of a movie. One thing strange about this time was the fact that until being let in to exam hall, I did not come across a single face I could recognize. I say this because, CAT is almost a opportunity to socialize, considering that almost 2 lac people give the exam each year. Hence I was pretty shocked. Though I did manage to extract a few words from a couple people. Due to the severe lack of conversation, my mind had begun wanderlust. I could almost see these very words scroll before my eyes like the marquee on a website.
Finally the floodgates opened and the horde was let it. Time to sharpen, the pencil that is. I managed to find my spot of bother without any navigation device. Now, thats a first considering that I generally manage effortlessly to get lost in the college before the exam. This wait for the exam to begin is the worst for both kinds of people, those who are prepared and the not so solitary loons like myself. I couldn't wait for the exam to begin. I looked around at the tense faces and recalled vividly being in the same position in 2005. Wow, it seems like ages have passed since...
I had 15 minutes to kill before the exam. I looked around. The walls and benches were filled with graffiti. I wonder what is it that makes us scribble graffiti while college, be it just some language or the name of your first crush or some of those witty statements that could feature on your gtalk status message. Possibly its devil incarnate in an idle mind that had to endure an incredibly boring class. My reverie was broken for the second time as one more of the damsels walked past to take her spot of bother. I continued to ruminate on several thoughts at one( I wonder if my eyeballs were scrolling indicative of thought process). The public address system jarred away completing the hattrick of broken reveries. I would say that the third break could be because the speaker said "Testing 1..2..3...", possibly that had a profound effect on my recently acquired sense version 6.1.
Thankfully, neither me nor my neighbor had to endure a greater wait than already ( I have a strange feeling he took me to be an alien life form). The one thing I love about CAT is that its breezy. Its over before you know just like...
I cant miss out on one incident though. As I rummaged through the verbal section, I came across a pretty interesting read in terms of language and similies. Some so hilarious that I could not control the snigger, much to the displeasure of the bretheren trying to concentrate and solve. I ended being at the receiving the disapproving looks of several persons in the room. Pathetic must have been their thought or maybe the lunatic.
All in all it turned out be an interesting experience. Whether or not I clear this, hear me out all you IIMs, I CATegorically state that I will be back, just for spending the third Sunday of November in the only possible way!
Coincidence?
Its been a long time since the last post, loads to write, but so little time...
Came across this article, pretty interesting. History has a way of producing strange coincidences*
In "pre-puranic" times there lived a race of people in the land now called India. They were called "sagaras" and were descendants of the Solar Race, the same race from which King Dasaratha traced his Raghuvamsha ancestry.
Once, the Sagaras performed the Horse Sacrifice , the "aswamedha-yagnyam" where they let loose a horse and allowed it to roam around the land wherever it wanted and then after a set period of time had elapsed went after it to retrieve it. The lands and empires that
they passed through while searching for the horse, they bring under their reign and protection.
Unfortunately, the although the Sagaras travelled far and wide they could not locate their sacrificial horse. The Sagaras suspected foul-play and a horse-thief.
They travelled and travelled until they came to a great ocean. They travelled across it to what they believed was into the bowels of "bhuloka" or "patala-loka". The Sagaras at last found the horse in a forest near the hermitage of a sage, 'Kapila Maharishi'. Mistaking him to be the horse-thief they began to man-handle the 'maharishi'.
'Maharishis' don't like to be man-handled and so Kapila became terribly incensed and with a mere glance of his eye reduced all the 60000 Sagaras to ashes.
Many ages later Sage Bhagiratha performed great austerities and brought the River Ganges from the heavens to earth. With the waters of the sacred Ganges the Sage Bhagiratha brought the Sagaras, turned ashes, back to life. And thus prospered the race of the Solar Dyanasty, the Raghuvamsha, the precursors to the Ramayana.
Now that the mythological bit is done, lets look at a few interesting facts.
The story goes that America which is on the antipodes as far as India is concerned is to be taken to be "patala" i.e. the core of your "hollow earth".
'KapilAranya', the forest where they found Kapila's hermitage, is the present day "California". Also noteworthy is that near California there is both a "Horse Island" and an "Ash Island", is it not, Pretty interesting huh?
Ash Island gets its name because of the "Ash Trees" that are found in plenty there. Incidentally, Greek mythology associates ash wood with the netherworld. Fascinating. Unfortunately I have not been able to do any reading on Horse Island, though I will definitely do a follow up on that...
*So, for all those trying to read between the lines for "coincidence", I just have to say, History has a way of producing strange coincidences!
Came across this article, pretty interesting. History has a way of producing strange coincidences*
In "pre-puranic" times there lived a race of people in the land now called India. They were called "sagaras" and were descendants of the Solar Race, the same race from which King Dasaratha traced his Raghuvamsha ancestry.
Once, the Sagaras performed the Horse Sacrifice , the "aswamedha-yagnyam" where they let loose a horse and allowed it to roam around the land wherever it wanted and then after a set period of time had elapsed went after it to retrieve it. The lands and empires that
they passed through while searching for the horse, they bring under their reign and protection.
Unfortunately, the although the Sagaras travelled far and wide they could not locate their sacrificial horse. The Sagaras suspected foul-play and a horse-thief.
They travelled and travelled until they came to a great ocean. They travelled across it to what they believed was into the bowels of "bhuloka" or "patala-loka". The Sagaras at last found the horse in a forest near the hermitage of a sage, 'Kapila Maharishi'. Mistaking him to be the horse-thief they began to man-handle the 'maharishi'.
'Maharishis' don't like to be man-handled and so Kapila became terribly incensed and with a mere glance of his eye reduced all the 60000 Sagaras to ashes.
Many ages later Sage Bhagiratha performed great austerities and brought the River Ganges from the heavens to earth. With the waters of the sacred Ganges the Sage Bhagiratha brought the Sagaras, turned ashes, back to life. And thus prospered the race of the Solar Dyanasty, the Raghuvamsha, the precursors to the Ramayana.
Now that the mythological bit is done, lets look at a few interesting facts.
The story goes that America which is on the antipodes as far as India is concerned is to be taken to be "patala" i.e. the core of your "hollow earth".
'KapilAranya', the forest where they found Kapila's hermitage, is the present day "California". Also noteworthy is that near California there is both a "Horse Island" and an "Ash Island", is it not, Pretty interesting huh?
Ash Island gets its name because of the "Ash Trees" that are found in plenty there. Incidentally, Greek mythology associates ash wood with the netherworld. Fascinating. Unfortunately I have not been able to do any reading on Horse Island, though I will definitely do a follow up on that...
*So, for all those trying to read between the lines for "coincidence", I just have to say, History has a way of producing strange coincidences!
Ignorance is bliss?
I could feel the buzz in my ear as the machine ran along the contours of my head massaging the oil into the pores on my head. It is a blissful feeling, all the more on a sunday morning. I felt myself heading towards the first stages of sleep when the barber interrupted. The machine continued to buzz. I looked at him enquiringly wondering if he mentioned anything.
"You work at an I.T company?", he asked again. Momentarily I wanted to ignore his question in denial of being the ubiquitous I.T worker, but the machine kind of forced a nod of my head. He smiled, almost sneering I felt. I feared the next question to be what my work would comprise of. I fear this question only because of the inevitable way it leads to my trying to defend that I need an engineering degree in Electrical & Electronics to sustain my current employment (pun intended, please!).
Thankfully, he did not press too much into the details. The next thought was whether my I.T existence would cause an inflated bill at the barber shop owing the severe misconception that I.T jobs are high paying jobs. In order to eliminate any chance of such an eventuality, I asked him (please recall that the machine is still buzzing over my head!) as to why he checked on my I.T status. He replied that he wanted to join a call center and to do so he has been taking lessons in spoken English. He went to speak in English ( relieving of my continued struggle to communicate, hitherto in Kannada & worse, Telugu!) and told me he still had problems in reading the longer words. The teachers at his classes are supposedly very supportive and have even promised a job at the end of 3 months.
"Will you be going to America?" he asked with a tinge of excitement written on his face. "No!!, surely, not now!", I responded with zilch response time ( It is important that I use terms such as "response time" only retain the faint declining traces of the engineer in me). He continued looking a bit surprised. I had a strange feeling that this guy had no idea of the chaos on Wall Street. I asked him if he knows what is happening in U.S markets and apparently ignorance in some form or the other is omnipresent in the fact that he didnt know and I expected him to know!
I went on a small speech explaining to him, the fall of Wall Street with as minimum details as possible and went on the mention the expected effects of the fall on the great Indian outsourcing industry which I had a sneaky feeling hadn't really reached the intended destination. Is it the buzz...may be...
I recall the story of a couple of frogs that had fallen into a well. A group of frogs watching the duos frantic efforts to get out well kept discouraging them. One of the frogs seemed to be affected by this and its efforts and jumps kept diminishing. The other frog meanwhile kept trying and eventually jumped out. It turned out that the frog that got out was deaf and therefore could not get bogged down by the onlookers...
Was this guy like the deaf frog? Although I had no intention of discouraging him, he seemed unperturbed by the facts. I realized that at times, ignorance is bliss. Sometimes, more than bliss, helps us focus on what is needed and just ignore the rest....
"You work at an I.T company?", he asked again. Momentarily I wanted to ignore his question in denial of being the ubiquitous I.T worker, but the machine kind of forced a nod of my head. He smiled, almost sneering I felt. I feared the next question to be what my work would comprise of. I fear this question only because of the inevitable way it leads to my trying to defend that I need an engineering degree in Electrical & Electronics to sustain my current employment (pun intended, please!).
Thankfully, he did not press too much into the details. The next thought was whether my I.T existence would cause an inflated bill at the barber shop owing the severe misconception that I.T jobs are high paying jobs. In order to eliminate any chance of such an eventuality, I asked him (please recall that the machine is still buzzing over my head!) as to why he checked on my I.T status. He replied that he wanted to join a call center and to do so he has been taking lessons in spoken English. He went to speak in English ( relieving of my continued struggle to communicate, hitherto in Kannada & worse, Telugu!) and told me he still had problems in reading the longer words. The teachers at his classes are supposedly very supportive and have even promised a job at the end of 3 months.
"Will you be going to America?" he asked with a tinge of excitement written on his face. "No!!, surely, not now!", I responded with zilch response time ( It is important that I use terms such as "response time" only retain the faint declining traces of the engineer in me). He continued looking a bit surprised. I had a strange feeling that this guy had no idea of the chaos on Wall Street. I asked him if he knows what is happening in U.S markets and apparently ignorance in some form or the other is omnipresent in the fact that he didnt know and I expected him to know!
I went on a small speech explaining to him, the fall of Wall Street with as minimum details as possible and went on the mention the expected effects of the fall on the great Indian outsourcing industry which I had a sneaky feeling hadn't really reached the intended destination. Is it the buzz...may be...
I recall the story of a couple of frogs that had fallen into a well. A group of frogs watching the duos frantic efforts to get out well kept discouraging them. One of the frogs seemed to be affected by this and its efforts and jumps kept diminishing. The other frog meanwhile kept trying and eventually jumped out. It turned out that the frog that got out was deaf and therefore could not get bogged down by the onlookers...
Was this guy like the deaf frog? Although I had no intention of discouraging him, he seemed unperturbed by the facts. I realized that at times, ignorance is bliss. Sometimes, more than bliss, helps us focus on what is needed and just ignore the rest....
Thursday
The eternal spirit
"Generations to come, it may be, will scarce believe that such a one as this, ever in flesh and blood walked upon this earth." - Albert Einstein
The spirit lives on forever...
Tuesday
Oh my gawd, reality, yet again
"aila re ladki mast...". I heard this audio and I see a person looking like Vinod Kambli randomly swinging his barrel tummy and arms, much like having a fit alongside a skimpily dressed beautiful broad. After a few seconds into witnessing the horror unfold, I realized this was "one more" of the reality shows thats crowding channels breaching all linguistic barriers. The channel responsible for the attrocity of asking Kambli to dance (and with a damsel who seemed capable of performing trapeze) is colors, also broadcasting "Big Boss".
I managed to survive the performance of Kambli, firstly because I really wanted to see the "points" scored after a performance that I, who am terrible at dance, could out do blindfolded and secondly, see the unfortunate judges had to not just endure the performance, but also provide their valuable comments.
Turns out that one of the judges is Wasim Akram, the legend of toe-crushing yorkers, the sultan of swing. I recall that until recently, he still had his job on ESPN-Star as a commentator which I thought, he was doing a fair job. The other is the "dazzling beauty" Sushmita Sen, who was definitely not looking herself. Maybe the occasion or probably Olay, doesnt seem to fighting the 7 effects of aging.
Just as I was wondering why such an "odd" pair was chosen as judges, the next pair walks on stage and voila, enter Irfan Pathan! Didnt he have a bowling spot. I was shocked and continued to watching trying to force myself not to believe what I was seeing. The rest of the participants included Dinesh Karthik, Harbhajan, Nikhil Chopra (really!) and of course, couldn't leave Sreesanth out of this.
I kind of understand the inclusion of Kambli & Chopra, who have pretty much lost the fizz of their career, but, the rest of the gang, oh really, is there no limit! Irfan Pathan seemed like he was asked to swallow a cricket bat, extremely uptight. Even the post-dance conversation with the judges seemed like a post match presentation, so much so that he actually said, "I could not perform to my potential as I had a slight injury. Not an injury as such, a niggle actually". God save these guys.
I wonder when our hockey stars are going to begin their protest because they dont get the chance to dance and get cozy with the damsels. But you guys on this show 'Ek Khiladi, Ek Haseena', think you guys better get ready for some nasty jokes, especially if you're going to goof up a forthcoming series.
I managed to survive the performance of Kambli, firstly because I really wanted to see the "points" scored after a performance that I, who am terrible at dance, could out do blindfolded and secondly, see the unfortunate judges had to not just endure the performance, but also provide their valuable comments.
Turns out that one of the judges is Wasim Akram, the legend of toe-crushing yorkers, the sultan of swing. I recall that until recently, he still had his job on ESPN-Star as a commentator which I thought, he was doing a fair job. The other is the "dazzling beauty" Sushmita Sen, who was definitely not looking herself. Maybe the occasion or probably Olay, doesnt seem to fighting the 7 effects of aging.
Just as I was wondering why such an "odd" pair was chosen as judges, the next pair walks on stage and voila, enter Irfan Pathan! Didnt he have a bowling spot. I was shocked and continued to watching trying to force myself not to believe what I was seeing. The rest of the participants included Dinesh Karthik, Harbhajan, Nikhil Chopra (really!) and of course, couldn't leave Sreesanth out of this.
I kind of understand the inclusion of Kambli & Chopra, who have pretty much lost the fizz of their career, but, the rest of the gang, oh really, is there no limit! Irfan Pathan seemed like he was asked to swallow a cricket bat, extremely uptight. Even the post-dance conversation with the judges seemed like a post match presentation, so much so that he actually said, "I could not perform to my potential as I had a slight injury. Not an injury as such, a niggle actually". God save these guys.
I wonder when our hockey stars are going to begin their protest because they dont get the chance to dance and get cozy with the damsels. But you guys on this show 'Ek Khiladi, Ek Haseena', think you guys better get ready for some nasty jokes, especially if you're going to goof up a forthcoming series.
Wednesday
Jurassic Park
What goes around comes around? Right now, I’d probably say yeah, sure it does.
I’m not sure what one might interpret on reading the title of this post. But never mind, some of you might just need a grey matter workout, so read on…
A couple of things that made me feel like a dinosaur (I do not connect with extinct, lets be very clear on that). Ganesha Pooja, one more of the days I look forward to because of the delicacies! This afternoon as I was having lunch at my aunts place, I realized, I no longer had the appetite for the kozhkattai’s (that’s a sweet, FYI) that I had a few years ago. It wasn’t to do with the fact that I had lost appetite but more to do with the fact that I had lost my appetite mentally. The fact that I’ve been doing a sort of roller coaster ride with respect to my weight, was weighing on my mind. (Maybe I could collate the data over the last 6 months on a bi-weekly basis, remove some numbers and send it to the IIM’s as a question for next year’s CAT!). First sign of aging, I’ve started worrying, about the signs of prosperity around the waistline (Oh yes, you will hear the groan of the dinosaur).
The arrival of several roars at once broke my reverie. My cousin and his horde of friends (spanning ages 6-8) came in brandishing their respective AK47’s (with mechanical & human audio effects) at god alone knows what. Right now, holidays such as this one are days that provide breakpoints the code of life constantly running in the system of the universe (Forgive the IT effect). Second sign of aging (where’s the parachute, I want to jump off this flight!), you look back at childhood as if it were a part of history lessons in classrooms today (Now, the dinosaurs even whipping its tail and raising dust off the ground). I love putting in these seemingly relevant statements like punctuation, only because I know fully well that in the time spent in trying to put them in context, you’d figure as a reader, that its simpler to assume them to be in context rather than figure it out (Boy, I read that a few times!).
What goes around comes around? Right now, I’d probably say yeah, sure it does.
Redundancy works eh? After the sumptuous meal, I settled before the idiot box flicking through the various Tamil channels (I wasn’t in the mood to watch Animal Planet, the dinosaur was still out there) trying to figure out what was worth a watch. I ended up watching BABA, one of the few abstractly sensible movies of Rajni that flopped because it was low on SQ (Stupidity Quotient).
As I was sipping my coffee, my cousin ran up to me to ring the bell a third time.
“Can you teach me Hindi?” I’m not sure if I’d have made my high school teachers proud or lead them into a state of eternal shock. I wasn’t a total dunce at Hindi (I can speak well, that’s for the ones sneering out there), but if there was anyone who could screw up grammar, with the small and big ki’s and all the hieroglyphic-like symbols, it was me. I cant recall the number of time’s my mom has tried to explain Hindi grammar, but it never got to me. Teaching my cousin this afternoon as I looked back, almost no one in a right state of mind would have had me teaching Hindi. But what the hell, what goes around comes around, just like the dinosaurs…
I’m not sure what one might interpret on reading the title of this post. But never mind, some of you might just need a grey matter workout, so read on…
A couple of things that made me feel like a dinosaur (I do not connect with extinct, lets be very clear on that). Ganesha Pooja, one more of the days I look forward to because of the delicacies! This afternoon as I was having lunch at my aunts place, I realized, I no longer had the appetite for the kozhkattai’s (that’s a sweet, FYI) that I had a few years ago. It wasn’t to do with the fact that I had lost appetite but more to do with the fact that I had lost my appetite mentally. The fact that I’ve been doing a sort of roller coaster ride with respect to my weight, was weighing on my mind. (Maybe I could collate the data over the last 6 months on a bi-weekly basis, remove some numbers and send it to the IIM’s as a question for next year’s CAT!). First sign of aging, I’ve started worrying, about the signs of prosperity around the waistline (Oh yes, you will hear the groan of the dinosaur).
The arrival of several roars at once broke my reverie. My cousin and his horde of friends (spanning ages 6-8) came in brandishing their respective AK47’s (with mechanical & human audio effects) at god alone knows what. Right now, holidays such as this one are days that provide breakpoints the code of life constantly running in the system of the universe (Forgive the IT effect). Second sign of aging (where’s the parachute, I want to jump off this flight!), you look back at childhood as if it were a part of history lessons in classrooms today (Now, the dinosaurs even whipping its tail and raising dust off the ground). I love putting in these seemingly relevant statements like punctuation, only because I know fully well that in the time spent in trying to put them in context, you’d figure as a reader, that its simpler to assume them to be in context rather than figure it out (Boy, I read that a few times!).
What goes around comes around? Right now, I’d probably say yeah, sure it does.
Redundancy works eh? After the sumptuous meal, I settled before the idiot box flicking through the various Tamil channels (I wasn’t in the mood to watch Animal Planet, the dinosaur was still out there) trying to figure out what was worth a watch. I ended up watching BABA, one of the few abstractly sensible movies of Rajni that flopped because it was low on SQ (Stupidity Quotient).
As I was sipping my coffee, my cousin ran up to me to ring the bell a third time.
“Can you teach me Hindi?” I’m not sure if I’d have made my high school teachers proud or lead them into a state of eternal shock. I wasn’t a total dunce at Hindi (I can speak well, that’s for the ones sneering out there), but if there was anyone who could screw up grammar, with the small and big ki’s and all the hieroglyphic-like symbols, it was me. I cant recall the number of time’s my mom has tried to explain Hindi grammar, but it never got to me. Teaching my cousin this afternoon as I looked back, almost no one in a right state of mind would have had me teaching Hindi. But what the hell, what goes around comes around, just like the dinosaurs…
Monday
CATatouille!
Today, I completed my annual ritual of submitting the CAT application seeking admission to the II of M's. As I stood in the queue at the Post Office for the speed post(trust me, there was one for a change!), I noticed that 5 CAT applications were submitted amongst the 8 persons in the queue. A CAT question with a statement of the sort like, "At most, 62.5% of the population in Bangalore gives the CAT examination in 2008". Typical sort of statements filled with at most's and at least's (punctuated by words that sometimes make me wonder when they were added to the dictionary) that are intended at bamboozling the candidate rather than provoke thinking of any sort.
Let me make a comparison here. Avani Avittam, this is the annual ceremony where brahmins change the 'sacred thread' or poonal. This happens once a year and brahmins congregate in small numbers world over to perform the "ritual" irrespective of whether they have been regular or not in performing the prayers that have be performed after having adorned the thread. See a similarity? I do! I do! The CAT exam, "candidates" congregate at centers across the country, irrespective of whether or not they have prepared or not, oh and did I mention, its once a year!
There was some talk recently that they IIMs wanted to make the CAT online, at the click of a mouse (he he he, forgive for that!). I'm not sure if thats ever possible considering the logistics of having over 1.5 lac people accessing simultaneously. Just imagine the investment needed, the bandwidth. If they do manage to make it online, the speed of the candidate will not be the only speed that matters. I doubt if that is possible in the next 5 or 10 years even, unless the bandwidth and internet capabilities grow enormously (which I'm sure will happen) and the number of candidates does not increase at the rate at which it has increased in the last 3 years, which I doubt is going to be the case, considering that in India, we have universities churning out engineers like mass production of ball-point pens. So, just not happening mate!
While I was in college, I felt only freshers should be given a chance at CAT. Being the hypocrite with "work-ex", I wish the freshers were banned. Eh, what the hell man, I do not have any intent of being politically right. Why should freshers be allowed (Think I'll take that separately, though I cant leave the curses out), Let them go and feel the real world of management, schedules, time lines and what not.
Anyways, to sort of set the icing on the cake, the exam itself is not an exercise to "identify" the manager in a person. Thats about as true as being able to spot a wart on an ants left butt. Considering that over a lac of people give the exam every year for a few thousand seats, this is the best way to eliminate people. Why change a system when it serves the purpose?
Let me make a comparison here. Avani Avittam, this is the annual ceremony where brahmins change the 'sacred thread' or poonal. This happens once a year and brahmins congregate in small numbers world over to perform the "ritual" irrespective of whether they have been regular or not in performing the prayers that have be performed after having adorned the thread. See a similarity? I do! I do! The CAT exam, "candidates" congregate at centers across the country, irrespective of whether or not they have prepared or not, oh and did I mention, its once a year!
There was some talk recently that they IIMs wanted to make the CAT online, at the click of a mouse (he he he, forgive for that!). I'm not sure if thats ever possible considering the logistics of having over 1.5 lac people accessing simultaneously. Just imagine the investment needed, the bandwidth. If they do manage to make it online, the speed of the candidate will not be the only speed that matters. I doubt if that is possible in the next 5 or 10 years even, unless the bandwidth and internet capabilities grow enormously (which I'm sure will happen) and the number of candidates does not increase at the rate at which it has increased in the last 3 years, which I doubt is going to be the case, considering that in India, we have universities churning out engineers like mass production of ball-point pens. So, just not happening mate!
While I was in college, I felt only freshers should be given a chance at CAT. Being the hypocrite with "work-ex", I wish the freshers were banned. Eh, what the hell man, I do not have any intent of being politically right. Why should freshers be allowed (Think I'll take that separately, though I cant leave the curses out), Let them go and feel the real world of management, schedules, time lines and what not.
Anyways, to sort of set the icing on the cake, the exam itself is not an exercise to "identify" the manager in a person. Thats about as true as being able to spot a wart on an ants left butt. Considering that over a lac of people give the exam every year for a few thousand seats, this is the best way to eliminate people. Why change a system when it serves the purpose?
Sunday
Masquerade
We live in a crazy, mixed up; mixed up, yet so beautiful world. The beauty of nature is the fact that it is natural. As human beings we have evolved to bring on the fantastic concept known as adaptability, which seems wonderful, almost obvious at the outset though unknowingly we become obsessed with it. Obsessed to such an extent that we lose our very identity or masking ourselves to suite society. Do we make society or does society make us...Wish the rain the washes the earth of its blemishes if any would wash these masks off...
Monday
The Great Indian Comedy Show!
The Manmohan Singh government faces a trust vote against the Left and the BJP. Déjà vu.
1993, the Narasimha Rao government faces a confidence against the Left and the BJP for not having protected the Babri Masjid. 1993 was possibly dirtier than now only because of the cause of the trust vote.
The word that’s been doing the rounds in the media for the last few days is “horse trading”. What horses? Jackasses would be more apt. In a period when there is rising inflation, the bunch of jokers in the Parliament (read as “Hall of Shame”), talk about whether they should go for elections or not. The jackass trading is going great, so much so that, jackasses that were convicted of heinous crimes are coming in vote because of the “Nuclear Deal” although the blundering freaks would not now even the spelling of “Nuclear”, let alone the damn impact of the Nuclear deal whether its good bad.
The Parliament has started serving soup everyday, did you know that? It’s a new variant that traces its roots to the English language and the number system. It’s called “The Alphanumeric soup”. It’s filled with the spice like BSP, SP, CPM, 368, 268, 271 and a lot more pieces. The chaos is no longer about the deal. It’s come down to just toppling the government. It’s pathetic yet on the sarcastically funny side that ALL our politicians can come together when it comes to creating chaos, confusion, and instability. It doesn’t matter whether an MP knows about the deal or not. There is no limit to which our politicians will stoop so as to not prevent the seat from being pulled away from their buttocks. They could all be patrons for a Fevicol advertisement.
In all the dry humor of a comedy show that the country has seen in the last few days, politicians have proved they create a politician out a genius like Mr. Manmohan Singh. One cannot help but feel sorry for the sardar who has been torn apart in an anticyclone of farcical jokers who have got their brain and political incorrect part of the anatomy severely misplaced.
1993, the Narasimha Rao government faces a confidence against the Left and the BJP for not having protected the Babri Masjid. 1993 was possibly dirtier than now only because of the cause of the trust vote.
The word that’s been doing the rounds in the media for the last few days is “horse trading”. What horses? Jackasses would be more apt. In a period when there is rising inflation, the bunch of jokers in the Parliament (read as “Hall of Shame”), talk about whether they should go for elections or not. The jackass trading is going great, so much so that, jackasses that were convicted of heinous crimes are coming in vote because of the “Nuclear Deal” although the blundering freaks would not now even the spelling of “Nuclear”, let alone the damn impact of the Nuclear deal whether its good bad.
The Parliament has started serving soup everyday, did you know that? It’s a new variant that traces its roots to the English language and the number system. It’s called “The Alphanumeric soup”. It’s filled with the spice like BSP, SP, CPM, 368, 268, 271 and a lot more pieces. The chaos is no longer about the deal. It’s come down to just toppling the government. It’s pathetic yet on the sarcastically funny side that ALL our politicians can come together when it comes to creating chaos, confusion, and instability. It doesn’t matter whether an MP knows about the deal or not. There is no limit to which our politicians will stoop so as to not prevent the seat from being pulled away from their buttocks. They could all be patrons for a Fevicol advertisement.
In all the dry humor of a comedy show that the country has seen in the last few days, politicians have proved they create a politician out a genius like Mr. Manmohan Singh. One cannot help but feel sorry for the sardar who has been torn apart in an anticyclone of farcical jokers who have got their brain and political incorrect part of the anatomy severely misplaced.
Wednesday
Left, Right, Left
Whats the big deal? Pathetic to see the Left desert the government during a crisis for the N-deal. The Left has shown the nation how preposterous they are. The so called Communists are still living in the aftermath of the cold war under the belief that the wrong side won! They struggle to get any ideology of any sort and have got their priorities severely mixed up!
I might have been almost proud of the CPI if they had pulled the plug for not having tackled inflation, lack of basic amenities to the poor etc. The best that they could do about inflation was to say "We're severely condemn the hike of prices(read as inflation) and expect the government(read as the Congress alone, and not the UPA) to aggressively tackle inflation".
What are the CPI, next door neighbors? Aren't they a part of the government? This is a simple case of denial of responsibility, which is so typical of communists in India. They would rather play the blame game, shove the responsibility of resolving issues on to others(similar to outsourcing) and create more chaos in any system that would make the disturbance of a bee hive look like a pleasant breeze.
The timing of the withdrawal was worse. The communists have been threatening for the last 2 months of withdrawing support. They have a been a pain in the wrong part of the anatomy and have only been a hurdle to growth if anything. They have insulted the PM and the country by withdrawing support at a time when the PM was representing the country on a global platform. Being rhetorical, is there any level cheaper that they could stoop to?
Take the example of China, they are supposedly the world largest Communist power. I cant compare the strides they have made in implementation with the efforts of our "Indian Communists" only because it would be too insulting to the real communism.
They have proved that they are a bunch of losers who are here to play politics in the name of communism putting the chances of re-election, party interests, vested interests well above the nation. What a farce they are, the only solution they have come up with in 4 years was to create more chaos and destabilize the government. Kudos to the Manmohan Singh government for having tolerated nonsense for what seemed like an eternity. They have proved that elastic is not infinitely stretchable.
I might have been almost proud of the CPI if they had pulled the plug for not having tackled inflation, lack of basic amenities to the poor etc. The best that they could do about inflation was to say "We're severely condemn the hike of prices(read as inflation) and expect the government(read as the Congress alone, and not the UPA) to aggressively tackle inflation".
What are the CPI, next door neighbors? Aren't they a part of the government? This is a simple case of denial of responsibility, which is so typical of communists in India. They would rather play the blame game, shove the responsibility of resolving issues on to others(similar to outsourcing) and create more chaos in any system that would make the disturbance of a bee hive look like a pleasant breeze.
The timing of the withdrawal was worse. The communists have been threatening for the last 2 months of withdrawing support. They have a been a pain in the wrong part of the anatomy and have only been a hurdle to growth if anything. They have insulted the PM and the country by withdrawing support at a time when the PM was representing the country on a global platform. Being rhetorical, is there any level cheaper that they could stoop to?
Take the example of China, they are supposedly the world largest Communist power. I cant compare the strides they have made in implementation with the efforts of our "Indian Communists" only because it would be too insulting to the real communism.
They have proved that they are a bunch of losers who are here to play politics in the name of communism putting the chances of re-election, party interests, vested interests well above the nation. What a farce they are, the only solution they have come up with in 4 years was to create more chaos and destabilize the government. Kudos to the Manmohan Singh government for having tolerated nonsense for what seemed like an eternity. They have proved that elastic is not infinitely stretchable.
Tuesday
Dasavatharam
Ten roles! All the hype, the money, was it worth it?
A big YES! Kamal has surpassed his best performance ever, not because of just the complexity of the script, but the effort needed to implement a fabulous idea. A repertoire of ideas represented in the movie ranging from belief to chaos theory to bio-weapons. One of the biggest concerns raised prior to release was whether or not the 10 characters were necessary. Looking at it in critical way, it would not be "needed". Yet an objective view of the whole story would clearly indicate that each of the ten roles were clearly defined and not nascent.
One the most impressing features of the movies was the extent of detail. The detail was cared for not just in the scenes depicting the 12th century, or the research center, or the Tsunami. Importance of detail was a perennial aspect of the movie. For example, the accent of the Govind, one of the Kamal's trying to save the world was not perfect American but the Indian settled in the US of A accent. On the other hand the accent of Fletcher, the ex-CIA agent was one of the many American accents. As an actor it must have been extremely challenging considering the make up effort, switching accents, characters, their mental approach and what not. It would supposedly take anywhere between 3-5 hours just for the make up! A marathon effort by Kamal. Kudos to his effort and few skeptics can deny that this is the greatest effort by any actor contemporary or history!
Ranging from the 12th to the 21st century, the movie is flawless in terms of the logical flow, which is not the case with most movies. Its a case of connecting the dots and once all the dots are connected and you see the full picture (Here, i mean the picture formed by connecting the dots, metaphorically), its brilliant. The essence of chaos theory that every single action of ours has its implication although we don't realize has been beautifully delivered in the span of 3 hours. For those of you who are chaos theory illiterate, I would suggest a bit of background reading to really put the movie in perspective.
In all the adulation for Kamal, one cannot miss out on crediting the artists, art directors etc who have done a fantastic job. Despite the small role, Napoleon who plays the Chola King in the 12th century has done a great job. Asin, as pretty as ever and did the role of Kamal's love interest in the best possible way. Mallika the vamp, though she manages to use the gun as well as land a few kicks at the right places.
Like every other of his movies, this too requires a certain level of understanding to really enjoy the movie and appreciate the effort. Unfortunately for Kamal, as always, this is limited to a small quantum (read as minuscule) of the population. Thats where a movie like Sivaji or Baasha or Padayappa (Its purely intentional that I quote Rajini's movies) beat movies like Dasavatharam or Anbe Sivam on economics of the mass that is used to classify as Blockbuster or not.
My favorite of the ten was the role of the Naidu. Comical in a serious situation was just spectacular and perfection in being a multi-linguist is the specialty of Kamal as he has proved in several of his earlier films. I'm not sure if any one can pick out a single entity that is the reason for Dasavatharam being what it is. Its the movie as a whole that was brilliant.
All in all, its one helluva movie and definitely worth watching whether you are a Kamal fan or not!
Total Recall
The last time I read something about the Indian Constitution was in Civics class(actually just before the exam) in school. A few years ago, I came across this thing called 49-O in the Indian constitution that allowed the constituency to "Vote for none of the above". I was unaware of this and found out during the recent elections in Karnataka that there were a lot of people sans this knowledge.
So, is this about 49-O? Nah, thats kinda stale now(to me at least). This one is about the "Right to recall". There is a facility in the Indian Constitution to vote out the elected candidate. This seems like its more out of an episode of MTV Roadies!
Recently, the right to recall the elected representatives was exercised by the electorate of 3 urban bodies in Chattisgarh. Naturally the process involves voting and the options presented to the voters are simply 2 symbols- chairs, two of them, one occupied and the other empty. The symbols are analogous to the expectations. The campaigning in these elections is different too. The elected candidate awaiting a vote out tries to woo voters yet again while the opposition as usual opposes.
But theres a catch. Like a mutual fund's lock in period, the governing body should have completed at least 2 years and more than 3/4th of the elected representatives should demand the recall in writing.
Interesting, though its not a practical option at the highest level of democracy. I would say that the people right at the top of the democratic chain are pretty good. Just the implementation sucks big time. But this can be the solution to really "sort out" and "weed out" the crap at the grass root level. Besides, at the highest level its politics and thats the way it works and should.
Read the article at http://www.indianexpress.com/story/323224.html
So, is this about 49-O? Nah, thats kinda stale now(to me at least). This one is about the "Right to recall". There is a facility in the Indian Constitution to vote out the elected candidate. This seems like its more out of an episode of MTV Roadies!
Recently, the right to recall the elected representatives was exercised by the electorate of 3 urban bodies in Chattisgarh. Naturally the process involves voting and the options presented to the voters are simply 2 symbols- chairs, two of them, one occupied and the other empty. The symbols are analogous to the expectations. The campaigning in these elections is different too. The elected candidate awaiting a vote out tries to woo voters yet again while the opposition as usual opposes.
But theres a catch. Like a mutual fund's lock in period, the governing body should have completed at least 2 years and more than 3/4th of the elected representatives should demand the recall in writing.
Interesting, though its not a practical option at the highest level of democracy. I would say that the people right at the top of the democratic chain are pretty good. Just the implementation sucks big time. But this can be the solution to really "sort out" and "weed out" the crap at the grass root level. Besides, at the highest level its politics and thats the way it works and should.
Read the article at http://www.indianexpress.com/story/323224.html
The Solitary Loon
The long and winding road. Its twilight and its getting darker, but I see the shimmering light ahead. The grass is green, I see no blemish. Is there no blemish or is it just too dark to notice the subtle mistakes in the path. I see nothing, so I see no hurdle or obstacle. As I wander along this path, I wonder if its been trodden upon before.
The breeze is cool as it hits my neck. Its so lonely out here that the breeze sends a shiver down my spine. Maybe its the cold that adds to the loneliness that causes the shiver as I meander down the path like a solitary loon...
Have I chosen the path or has the path chosen me? I had the chance to take the lantern, but my strength and foolhardiness told me to follow the shimmering lights. The sidewalk is filled with leaves that fill the emptiness. The rusty sound of the leaves is music to my ears as its the only movement around...
I was so engrossed in the path and the shimmering light ahead that I had not noticed the small yet so bright lights in the forest around. I first noticed them when I had gone deep in the winding path. But these were insignificant, my destination was the light ahead. Though I did not know what the light ahead was, something inside my told me it was the light of glory. I loved the idea. I knew that nobody had been there, I would be the first.
I hear the voices that I long to hear. But then I'm all by myself, I could not be hearing voices. The void in my ears are filled only by nature. Am I losing my sanity? Its all a figment of my imagination as my life flashes before me. It could have been different, so different, yet I chose to be me. I had heard these voices before. Should I stop? Not needed, I told myself. I could comeback later. The candles that were the small source of light were speaking. My mind was playing tricks. Were the people I knew or the ones I thought I knew there in the woods? Impossible. I was ahead, way ahead, I was winning. The candles will always be there, I was going to be a torch bearer. Besides, I could always light enough candles once I get the torch. It was only a matter of time.
Though it was twilight, and getting darker by the minute, there was some light from the small candles. I didn't need them. My eyes were accustomed to the dark. I had the confidence to walk the path with no help.
The path was getting narrow, yet bright. The shimmering light was getting a clear outline. It was higher than I thought. I could see the ocean on the other side. As I came closer, I saw it. It was a lighthouse, not the torch of glory. Yet I could make my fortune. I had it in me. I completed the climb of the terrain. I was far away from the voices, far away from the candles. My ears were now resonating with the sound of the waves. This was it. Only a door away from glory....
I wanted to savor this moment. I wished it would last forever. The perseverance and sacrifice were finally paying off. The door opened.... It was closed, yet opened. The room was ablaze. I could not keep my eyes open. I was so used to being in the dark that my eyes could not face the light. It took me several hours. My mind raced on contemplating the source of light. When I was finally able to see, I noticed, that there was no source in the room. There was a mirror, reflecting and magnifying the light. I was unable to find the source of light. Yet the light from my mirror shone bright all over. I could bask in this glory.
Several years passed. I had still not found the source of light. I had not gone back to the voices. It was just me and myself. The light unnoticed had begun to fade. As I was so enticed in the glory, I did not notice this until one day, when I saw the forest brighter than the room. I walked the path again. I saw my footprints in the path. I wondered why no one took the path. As I traced the path back to where I began, I noticed the candles were dying. Several were just stumps of wax. I went close to candle that was still burning. The candle looked so familiar. It then struck me that, the source of light were these candles all this time...
Time, the ultimate seduction. It flatters to deceive. The path tells me that its never been walked upon. The path shows me the desire but its merely a mirage, its there but not there. If I had the chance, I would surely try to fill the emptiness around me before it totally engulfs me...
The future is speeding at me and the past galloping away as I toil to grab the past and hold the future. I wish it would all just stop and go backwards so that I could walk the path yet again...
The breeze is cool as it hits my neck. Its so lonely out here that the breeze sends a shiver down my spine. Maybe its the cold that adds to the loneliness that causes the shiver as I meander down the path like a solitary loon...
Have I chosen the path or has the path chosen me? I had the chance to take the lantern, but my strength and foolhardiness told me to follow the shimmering lights. The sidewalk is filled with leaves that fill the emptiness. The rusty sound of the leaves is music to my ears as its the only movement around...
I was so engrossed in the path and the shimmering light ahead that I had not noticed the small yet so bright lights in the forest around. I first noticed them when I had gone deep in the winding path. But these were insignificant, my destination was the light ahead. Though I did not know what the light ahead was, something inside my told me it was the light of glory. I loved the idea. I knew that nobody had been there, I would be the first.
I hear the voices that I long to hear. But then I'm all by myself, I could not be hearing voices. The void in my ears are filled only by nature. Am I losing my sanity? Its all a figment of my imagination as my life flashes before me. It could have been different, so different, yet I chose to be me. I had heard these voices before. Should I stop? Not needed, I told myself. I could comeback later. The candles that were the small source of light were speaking. My mind was playing tricks. Were the people I knew or the ones I thought I knew there in the woods? Impossible. I was ahead, way ahead, I was winning. The candles will always be there, I was going to be a torch bearer. Besides, I could always light enough candles once I get the torch. It was only a matter of time.
Though it was twilight, and getting darker by the minute, there was some light from the small candles. I didn't need them. My eyes were accustomed to the dark. I had the confidence to walk the path with no help.
The path was getting narrow, yet bright. The shimmering light was getting a clear outline. It was higher than I thought. I could see the ocean on the other side. As I came closer, I saw it. It was a lighthouse, not the torch of glory. Yet I could make my fortune. I had it in me. I completed the climb of the terrain. I was far away from the voices, far away from the candles. My ears were now resonating with the sound of the waves. This was it. Only a door away from glory....
I wanted to savor this moment. I wished it would last forever. The perseverance and sacrifice were finally paying off. The door opened.... It was closed, yet opened. The room was ablaze. I could not keep my eyes open. I was so used to being in the dark that my eyes could not face the light. It took me several hours. My mind raced on contemplating the source of light. When I was finally able to see, I noticed, that there was no source in the room. There was a mirror, reflecting and magnifying the light. I was unable to find the source of light. Yet the light from my mirror shone bright all over. I could bask in this glory.
Several years passed. I had still not found the source of light. I had not gone back to the voices. It was just me and myself. The light unnoticed had begun to fade. As I was so enticed in the glory, I did not notice this until one day, when I saw the forest brighter than the room. I walked the path again. I saw my footprints in the path. I wondered why no one took the path. As I traced the path back to where I began, I noticed the candles were dying. Several were just stumps of wax. I went close to candle that was still burning. The candle looked so familiar. It then struck me that, the source of light were these candles all this time...
Time, the ultimate seduction. It flatters to deceive. The path tells me that its never been walked upon. The path shows me the desire but its merely a mirage, its there but not there. If I had the chance, I would surely try to fill the emptiness around me before it totally engulfs me...
The future is speeding at me and the past galloping away as I toil to grab the past and hold the future. I wish it would all just stop and go backwards so that I could walk the path yet again...
Monday
STATUS QUO-TA
The recent increase in reservation for the “Christian Minority” at St. Stephens prompted me to write this. I do not hold anything against any religious group.
I studied in a Jesuit institution, St.Josephs and hold them in highest regard as they are great benefit to society at large. I do not deny that there was reservation for Catholics at St.Josephs. But I’m guessing I did not feel affected by this while I was there, because and only because I was one of the lucky ones that got selected in the institute despite the quota.
This is no longer about any community reserving seats in institution for members of their community. The TA Pai Institute in 2002 got a Supreme Court ruling in their favor for the same. Therefore, legally, St. Stephens has all authority to implement the reservation.
Its been hardly a few months since the Supreme Court, which came as a shock to several students and even more anxious parents implemented the idea of the Mr.Arjun Singh, the messiah of the “socially backward” – Reservations for OBC candidates. The implementation of the “extra” quota in St. Stephens has rubbed salt into the wounds of the tiring warriors.
Can we do without reservations? The answer is obvious. NO! India despite its long, glorious heritage has certain flaws. I don’t intend to say that other cultures are flawless. For, the reason that our culture has been different from others, we cannot do without reservations. Historically, education was limited to “Brahmins”. This has been implanted so deeply in our culture that even today when we see a successful intelligent person, we hear “Oh! That guy, he’s so brilliant because he’s a Brahmin”. To me that’s baloney. We are all born equally intelligent or may be even equally stupid. What we become depends on circumstances, environment, education and all of these cascading on a single platform in the name of opportunities.
India according to sources still has almost 6,00,000 villages. In several of these villages, where the current “Education system” has not really impregnated, the caste system and system of unfair equality still persists. Until, this has been done away with we cannot eradicate the current system of reservation. Yet, however noble the intentions of Mr.Arjun Singh were, few can deny that it was a simple act for political mileage. Mileage reminds of the one liner, Reservations are like petrol prices, it generally goes only upwards. It takes an enormous amount of effort and will power to get it down. Few of the forthcoming governments will have the guts to repeal the reservation.
So what’s the solution? The first step to solving any problem is to accept the existence of a problem and then attack it at its root. The root of this problem lies mainly in our villages and primary education. The reservation does not have the desired effect only because of the lack of empowerment of the person really deserving the reservations. What is needed is strengthening of the primary education system in order to help the socially backward compete with economically forward. The irony of the current system is that a majority of the socially backward benefiting from the system are also economically forward. I may sound cynical, but the bitter truth is that the so called system of excluding “the creamy layer” is unreal. I see no solution to this in the short term. Even in the long term, our Prima Donna politicians offer no solution. It is very disheartening that not a single member ruling or opposition has or even claims to have a vision to solve the problem at its root.
But there is some light at the end of the tunnel and it’s the head light of the train of globalization. Globalization has driven NGO’s and several private companies in the field of CSR or Corporate Social Responsibility. Depending on politics and the democratic system to make a difference at the grass root level would not be prudent and almost stupid. The Public-Private enterprise is the way forward. It’s not a quick fix, but it’s the best solution in the long run considering that India will have 500 million persons in the age group of 9-22 in by 2020. No denying the fact that several of the CSR programs. Yet, society at large will stand to benefit. So who cares? I don’t.
So all you wannabe graduates and post graduates out there (I’m one of them), there’s no solution, not even a remote chance of a solution in the near future. So, pray and hope for opportunities or settle for the next best option. We are the sacrifice, only hoping that generations to come will benefit. Though we may not live to see the difference, our small actions can make a difference. So hope and pray, and of course slog your bottom off to beat the “competition”!
The British followed a policy of Divide and Rule. No love lost, yet an ‘l’ was lost as our government implements a policy of Divide and Rue.
I studied in a Jesuit institution, St.Josephs and hold them in highest regard as they are great benefit to society at large. I do not deny that there was reservation for Catholics at St.Josephs. But I’m guessing I did not feel affected by this while I was there, because and only because I was one of the lucky ones that got selected in the institute despite the quota.
This is no longer about any community reserving seats in institution for members of their community. The TA Pai Institute in 2002 got a Supreme Court ruling in their favor for the same. Therefore, legally, St. Stephens has all authority to implement the reservation.
Its been hardly a few months since the Supreme Court, which came as a shock to several students and even more anxious parents implemented the idea of the Mr.Arjun Singh, the messiah of the “socially backward” – Reservations for OBC candidates. The implementation of the “extra” quota in St. Stephens has rubbed salt into the wounds of the tiring warriors.
Can we do without reservations? The answer is obvious. NO! India despite its long, glorious heritage has certain flaws. I don’t intend to say that other cultures are flawless. For, the reason that our culture has been different from others, we cannot do without reservations. Historically, education was limited to “Brahmins”. This has been implanted so deeply in our culture that even today when we see a successful intelligent person, we hear “Oh! That guy, he’s so brilliant because he’s a Brahmin”. To me that’s baloney. We are all born equally intelligent or may be even equally stupid. What we become depends on circumstances, environment, education and all of these cascading on a single platform in the name of opportunities.
India according to sources still has almost 6,00,000 villages. In several of these villages, where the current “Education system” has not really impregnated, the caste system and system of unfair equality still persists. Until, this has been done away with we cannot eradicate the current system of reservation. Yet, however noble the intentions of Mr.Arjun Singh were, few can deny that it was a simple act for political mileage. Mileage reminds of the one liner, Reservations are like petrol prices, it generally goes only upwards. It takes an enormous amount of effort and will power to get it down. Few of the forthcoming governments will have the guts to repeal the reservation.
So what’s the solution? The first step to solving any problem is to accept the existence of a problem and then attack it at its root. The root of this problem lies mainly in our villages and primary education. The reservation does not have the desired effect only because of the lack of empowerment of the person really deserving the reservations. What is needed is strengthening of the primary education system in order to help the socially backward compete with economically forward. The irony of the current system is that a majority of the socially backward benefiting from the system are also economically forward. I may sound cynical, but the bitter truth is that the so called system of excluding “the creamy layer” is unreal. I see no solution to this in the short term. Even in the long term, our Prima Donna politicians offer no solution. It is very disheartening that not a single member ruling or opposition has or even claims to have a vision to solve the problem at its root.
But there is some light at the end of the tunnel and it’s the head light of the train of globalization. Globalization has driven NGO’s and several private companies in the field of CSR or Corporate Social Responsibility. Depending on politics and the democratic system to make a difference at the grass root level would not be prudent and almost stupid. The Public-Private enterprise is the way forward. It’s not a quick fix, but it’s the best solution in the long run considering that India will have 500 million persons in the age group of 9-22 in by 2020. No denying the fact that several of the CSR programs. Yet, society at large will stand to benefit. So who cares? I don’t.
So all you wannabe graduates and post graduates out there (I’m one of them), there’s no solution, not even a remote chance of a solution in the near future. So, pray and hope for opportunities or settle for the next best option. We are the sacrifice, only hoping that generations to come will benefit. Though we may not live to see the difference, our small actions can make a difference. So hope and pray, and of course slog your bottom off to beat the “competition”!
The British followed a policy of Divide and Rule. No love lost, yet an ‘l’ was lost as our government implements a policy of Divide and Rue.
Thursday
Surreal....
Reality is the noun that according to the dictionary means the state or quality of being real or resemblance to what is real. To me its the stupid neighborhood dog that barks too often and bites at every damn opportunity...
What is reality? Facts? Evidence of something being real?
Then what is real. If I can see it, if i can feel it, it is real. But the human brain depends only on electrical impulses. So its possible that something may not be real, yet is perceived by the brain as real.
Ever heard, "Everything is a matter of perception"? That's kinda contradicting reality isn't it?
If everything were a matter of perception, then I would perceive something, people around me would perceive something else. Essentially each one could have a different perception. This brings me to a dilemma. Should perceptions be restricted to matters of the mind. By matters of the mind, I mean opinions, ideas which do not have a physical manifestation. The US war on Iraq, inflation et al evoke emotions and opinions. Here the "perceptions"which are more like emotions and opinions can be different. Essentially you cannot see or physically feel these "perceptions", but you know for sure they are real! But lets take an object say an airplane, would different people perceive this differently?
No way mate!(Always wanted to speak Aussie). How can people see an airplane that was made by humans differently. It doesn't add up right. If the guy who manufactured it can see it, feel it ti must be real. If the pilot flying it can see it, feel it and most importantly fly it, it must be real! If it can carry 300 people it must be real...
Colors, everywhere. Animals apparently have a Black & white life. Wonder who and how they figured that!!!!
They are color blind. Yet, the movies have the bull chasing red. The Spanish matadors wave red to the bull. Are we any different from the animals? I think not.
A hypothetical situation. A certain person was born and schooled in a different way, say. In complete isolation. The person has been taught to identify colors, but not the way we do. He has been taught that blue is red, red is yellow, green is blue and so on. He can see the colors but identifies them differently. He "sees" red, yet "perceives" it as yellow!
Everything around us is real(I hope!), yet it is all a matter of perception. So what is real and unreal. I guess for now, I'll settle for everything being Surreal....
What is reality? Facts? Evidence of something being real?
Then what is real. If I can see it, if i can feel it, it is real. But the human brain depends only on electrical impulses. So its possible that something may not be real, yet is perceived by the brain as real.
Ever heard, "Everything is a matter of perception"? That's kinda contradicting reality isn't it?
If everything were a matter of perception, then I would perceive something, people around me would perceive something else. Essentially each one could have a different perception. This brings me to a dilemma. Should perceptions be restricted to matters of the mind. By matters of the mind, I mean opinions, ideas which do not have a physical manifestation. The US war on Iraq, inflation et al evoke emotions and opinions. Here the "perceptions"which are more like emotions and opinions can be different. Essentially you cannot see or physically feel these "perceptions", but you know for sure they are real! But lets take an object say an airplane, would different people perceive this differently?
No way mate!(Always wanted to speak Aussie). How can people see an airplane that was made by humans differently. It doesn't add up right. If the guy who manufactured it can see it, feel it ti must be real. If the pilot flying it can see it, feel it and most importantly fly it, it must be real! If it can carry 300 people it must be real...
Colors, everywhere. Animals apparently have a Black & white life. Wonder who and how they figured that!!!!
They are color blind. Yet, the movies have the bull chasing red. The Spanish matadors wave red to the bull. Are we any different from the animals? I think not.
A hypothetical situation. A certain person was born and schooled in a different way, say. In complete isolation. The person has been taught to identify colors, but not the way we do. He has been taught that blue is red, red is yellow, green is blue and so on. He can see the colors but identifies them differently. He "sees" red, yet "perceives" it as yellow!
Everything around us is real(I hope!), yet it is all a matter of perception. So what is real and unreal. I guess for now, I'll settle for everything being Surreal....
Tuesday
Where’s the Q?
The British apart from ruining a lot in India while they ruled us, gave us a lot such as foundation for the largest rail network, landmark architecture and of course the English language. But we seem to be ruining the language itself. Possibly its one way to repay them for ruining our land by ruining their language! We’ve pretty much removed the Q from our dictionary, not just literally but virtually from our lives.
I’m definitely not referring to spelling “quick” as “cuick” or “cooick”.
Couple of days back, I was wading through the traffic in my car, I had this thought of the Q. The distance I need to cover is a mere 3Kms which took me almost 35 minutes, that’s at under 6Kmph. Amazing isn’t it? I might have just managed to beat a few snails. But thankfully it was only 3Kms so I got the better of the snails!
The reason for the breakneck speed was us modifying the English language. I feel I’m not sarcastic enough at times, may be the mach speeds would be more appropriate! There were two lanes of vehicles, each moving in the opposite direction. But this is modified as three lanes. The middle lane is almost nebulous and can be used for wading in any direction. This lane is put to maximum use by vehicles that move on 2 wheels and of course the monstrous creatures that move on 3 wheels with a horrible horn that can spell doomsday for order. They are the root cause of all the entropy on the roads so much so that you could say “For whom the horn tolls!”
Of late, though you could even add the 4 wheelers as a part of the nebulous zone. Add a few pedestrians to this and its chaos incarnate! But one can’t really blame the pedestrians. I find more shops and highly overactive two wheelers on the footpath. Where can the pedestrian go? Only out of the Q!
Another place was at a food court near where I stay. The Q has been stamped out of our DNA. Although there was a barricade of sorts indicative to customers that they’re supposed to move along the locus of the barricade, it takes a lot more than the obvious to see the flaw. It seems Quirky if a person were not uirky! (Get it? The Q is missing!). I was quirky for a while until I realized.
English is a funny language by itself. We pronounce “put as put and but as but”. Fat chance and slim chance mean the same thing. Now, did you know that???? Remove the Q from it and it gets so crazy that it’s no longer even remotely hilarious.
I’d rather end this on an enigmatic note, not getting too rhetorical about the Q’s…
I’m definitely not referring to spelling “quick” as “cuick” or “cooick”.
Couple of days back, I was wading through the traffic in my car, I had this thought of the Q. The distance I need to cover is a mere 3Kms which took me almost 35 minutes, that’s at under 6Kmph. Amazing isn’t it? I might have just managed to beat a few snails. But thankfully it was only 3Kms so I got the better of the snails!
The reason for the breakneck speed was us modifying the English language. I feel I’m not sarcastic enough at times, may be the mach speeds would be more appropriate! There were two lanes of vehicles, each moving in the opposite direction. But this is modified as three lanes. The middle lane is almost nebulous and can be used for wading in any direction. This lane is put to maximum use by vehicles that move on 2 wheels and of course the monstrous creatures that move on 3 wheels with a horrible horn that can spell doomsday for order. They are the root cause of all the entropy on the roads so much so that you could say “For whom the horn tolls!”
Of late, though you could even add the 4 wheelers as a part of the nebulous zone. Add a few pedestrians to this and its chaos incarnate! But one can’t really blame the pedestrians. I find more shops and highly overactive two wheelers on the footpath. Where can the pedestrian go? Only out of the Q!
Another place was at a food court near where I stay. The Q has been stamped out of our DNA. Although there was a barricade of sorts indicative to customers that they’re supposed to move along the locus of the barricade, it takes a lot more than the obvious to see the flaw. It seems Quirky if a person were not uirky! (Get it? The Q is missing!). I was quirky for a while until I realized.
English is a funny language by itself. We pronounce “put as put and but as but”. Fat chance and slim chance mean the same thing. Now, did you know that???? Remove the Q from it and it gets so crazy that it’s no longer even remotely hilarious.
I’d rather end this on an enigmatic note, not getting too rhetorical about the Q’s…
Monday
(Life)/4 crisis!
This is not an original! I had read this elsewhere and thought this had to be a part of my blog. So here goes…
It is when you stop going along with the crowd and start realizing that there are many things about yourself that you didn't know and may not like. You start feeling insecure and wonder where you will be in a year or two, but then get scared because you barely know where you are now.
You start realizing that people are selfish and that, maybe, those friends that you thought you were so close to aren't exactly the greatest people you have ever met, and the people you have lost touch with are some of the most important ones. What you don't recognize is that they are realizing that too, and aren't really cold, catty, mean or insincere, but that they are as confused as you.
You look at your job... and it is not even close to what you thought you would be doing, or maybe you are looking for a job and realizing that you are going to have to start at the bottom and that scares you.
Your opinions have gotten stronger. You see what others are doing and find yourself judging more than usual because suddenly you realize that you have certain boundaries in your life and are constantly adding things to your list of what is acceptable and what isn't. One minute, you are insecure and then the next, secure.
You laugh and cry with the greatest force of your life. You feel alone and scared and confused. Suddenly, change is the enemy and you try and cling on to the past with dear life, but soon realize that the past is drifting further and further away, and there is nothing to do but stay where you are or move forward.
You get your heart broken and wonder how someone you loved could do such damage to you. Or you lie in bed and wonder why you can't meet anyone decent enough that you want to get to know better. Or maybe you love someone but love someone else too and cannot figure out why you're doing this because you know that you aren't a bad person. One night stands and random hook ups start to look cheap. You want to settle down for good because now all of a sudden that becomes top priority. Getting wasted and acting like an idiot starts to look pathetic. You begin to think a companion for life is better than a hundred in the shack and for once you would not mind standing tall for that special someone which otherwise you had never thought of until now. You go through the same emotions and questions over and over, and talk with your friends about the same topics because you cannot seem to make a decision. You worry about loans, money, the future and making a life for yourself... and while winning the race would be great, right now you'd just like to be a contender! What you may not realize is that every one reading this relates to it. We are in our best of times and our worst of times, trying as hard as we can to figure this whole thing out.
It’s called the "Quarter-life Crisis."
I had read this while I was in college and rubbished it back then. Right now, especially now, I totally connect with it and I’m sure you would as well…
It is when you stop going along with the crowd and start realizing that there are many things about yourself that you didn't know and may not like. You start feeling insecure and wonder where you will be in a year or two, but then get scared because you barely know where you are now.
You start realizing that people are selfish and that, maybe, those friends that you thought you were so close to aren't exactly the greatest people you have ever met, and the people you have lost touch with are some of the most important ones. What you don't recognize is that they are realizing that too, and aren't really cold, catty, mean or insincere, but that they are as confused as you.
You look at your job... and it is not even close to what you thought you would be doing, or maybe you are looking for a job and realizing that you are going to have to start at the bottom and that scares you.
Your opinions have gotten stronger. You see what others are doing and find yourself judging more than usual because suddenly you realize that you have certain boundaries in your life and are constantly adding things to your list of what is acceptable and what isn't. One minute, you are insecure and then the next, secure.
You laugh and cry with the greatest force of your life. You feel alone and scared and confused. Suddenly, change is the enemy and you try and cling on to the past with dear life, but soon realize that the past is drifting further and further away, and there is nothing to do but stay where you are or move forward.
You get your heart broken and wonder how someone you loved could do such damage to you. Or you lie in bed and wonder why you can't meet anyone decent enough that you want to get to know better. Or maybe you love someone but love someone else too and cannot figure out why you're doing this because you know that you aren't a bad person. One night stands and random hook ups start to look cheap. You want to settle down for good because now all of a sudden that becomes top priority. Getting wasted and acting like an idiot starts to look pathetic. You begin to think a companion for life is better than a hundred in the shack and for once you would not mind standing tall for that special someone which otherwise you had never thought of until now. You go through the same emotions and questions over and over, and talk with your friends about the same topics because you cannot seem to make a decision. You worry about loans, money, the future and making a life for yourself... and while winning the race would be great, right now you'd just like to be a contender! What you may not realize is that every one reading this relates to it. We are in our best of times and our worst of times, trying as hard as we can to figure this whole thing out.
It’s called the "Quarter-life Crisis."
I had read this while I was in college and rubbished it back then. Right now, especially now, I totally connect with it and I’m sure you would as well…
Wednesday
Rainmaker
Disclaimer: The terms from a redundant IT job are purely...intentional. Any resemblance to real life scenarios is the way the god damn world is…
What an outright sucker Johnny was. Johnny never got down to enjoying the rain. Or maybe just maybe the rhyme was written by his parents as they did not approve of Johnny playing in the rain!
It’s that time of the year when it rains and even the dirtiest place in the world would look beautiful. This afternoon I sat at my desk performing my assigned work knowing fully well almost how impossibly inconsequential my actions were (There are times when I can prove chaos theory wrong...Trust me on this one!). I don’t think "this afternoon" would be necessary as my life has become an unremarkable iteration. As my life looped through, an exception came in the form of the rain. It was relief to stop the loop and literally try to de-bug my self!
I don’t know if it’s the rain that brings it out or just IT getting to me. I felt like I at least wanted to feature on the TATA ad immediately. The Dicor ad featuring lines was awesome. In fact the first ad featured a guy in a crowded subway saying "I've always wanted to quit on Monday morning!” Of late I just want to quit, follow your dream, and do something crazy!
The rain tends to instigate such feelings that you can do anything! Add some Pink Floyd, caffeine & nicotine to this and hell yeah your in jannat! But the rain is like a dream, it doesn’t last for ever. The dog called reality bites us...
Now I feel Johnny or whosoever wrote the rhyme was right in wanting it to go away. At least it lets you not have to go through the feeling of bliss only to give you this eternal knowledge that there’s no such thing as gravity and it’s the earth that actually sucks...
Sunday
Auto-matically Politics!
This afternoon, as I traveled in an auto, I had the most amazing experience of a discussion on politics. The results of the Karnataka elections were on their way. I was just telling my uncle who was traveling with me that BJP was leading in the polls. I was just “passing” on information about elections although neither of us had even voted! As I told him that BJP had won at 60 odd locations and were leading in another 30 constituencies, the Auto driver gave me updated information that BJP had won in 71 constituencies and were expected to win 115 of them. I was a bit taken aback at how updated he was. He then went on to say that he hoped for a BJP government not just in Karnataka but also in the centre in the forthcoming general elections.
I wondered if he was just an ardent BJP supporter. As I was contemplating this, he added that he was a supporter of the JD earlier (almost as if he read my mind!). He claims that he was disgusted with the latter’s money laundering and innumerable scams connected with them.
In the first few minutes of our conversation, I got the feeling that this guy had information on Bangalore alone. He proved me wrong by telling me who had won in other places across Karnataka & even went on to name the politicians who had won & lost at various constituencies. I had not even heard of a few of these places, let alone know the name of the candidates. Of course, my educated ego did not allow me accept this.
Politics and there “efforts” at the highest level have no great impact at the grass root level as the effort has to filter through various levels of bureaucracy. But take chaos theory (No pun intended in comparison of politics & chaos), the flapping of a butterfly in the pacific causes a hurricane in the Atlantic! As per this, every one of our small actions can make a difference. Conflicting ideas eh? Absolutely! My brain seems to be sagging under the pressure as my thoughts move faster than the rate at which I’m typing this out!
Anyways, coming back to the auto driver, the reason he wanted a BJP win was because of their forward thinking. He said that “problems” in Bangalore such as sanitation, health, education, cost and not to mention the biggest of all, the traffic could be helped only by the BJP. How typical of the average Indian to believe in establishment to come up with effective solutions & implementation.
I’m not sure if the government could actually solve the problems. I strongly believe it comes down to each and every individual to change.
I would like to quote Bernard Shaw here – “The reasonable man adapts himself to the world; the unreasonable one persists in trying to adapt the world to himself. Therefore, all progress depends on the unreasonable man.” I do not wish to elaborate on why I quote this.
Politics, cricket & religion are three things on which every one of us Indians has an opinion irrespective what effect (if any) they have on us. The auto driver proved one out of three at least true. Had the journey been any longer I’m sure he’d have proved three on three…
I wondered if he was just an ardent BJP supporter. As I was contemplating this, he added that he was a supporter of the JD earlier (almost as if he read my mind!). He claims that he was disgusted with the latter’s money laundering and innumerable scams connected with them.
In the first few minutes of our conversation, I got the feeling that this guy had information on Bangalore alone. He proved me wrong by telling me who had won in other places across Karnataka & even went on to name the politicians who had won & lost at various constituencies. I had not even heard of a few of these places, let alone know the name of the candidates. Of course, my educated ego did not allow me accept this.
Politics and there “efforts” at the highest level have no great impact at the grass root level as the effort has to filter through various levels of bureaucracy. But take chaos theory (No pun intended in comparison of politics & chaos), the flapping of a butterfly in the pacific causes a hurricane in the Atlantic! As per this, every one of our small actions can make a difference. Conflicting ideas eh? Absolutely! My brain seems to be sagging under the pressure as my thoughts move faster than the rate at which I’m typing this out!
Anyways, coming back to the auto driver, the reason he wanted a BJP win was because of their forward thinking. He said that “problems” in Bangalore such as sanitation, health, education, cost and not to mention the biggest of all, the traffic could be helped only by the BJP. How typical of the average Indian to believe in establishment to come up with effective solutions & implementation.
I’m not sure if the government could actually solve the problems. I strongly believe it comes down to each and every individual to change.
I would like to quote Bernard Shaw here – “The reasonable man adapts himself to the world; the unreasonable one persists in trying to adapt the world to himself. Therefore, all progress depends on the unreasonable man.” I do not wish to elaborate on why I quote this.
Politics, cricket & religion are three things on which every one of us Indians has an opinion irrespective what effect (if any) they have on us. The auto driver proved one out of three at least true. Had the journey been any longer I’m sure he’d have proved three on three…
Wednesday
IUPAC name 1,3,7-trimethyl-1H-purine-2,6(3H,7H)-dione
IUPAC name 1,3,7-trimethyl-1H-purine-2,6(3H,7H)-dione, better known as caffeine. My day begins with the caffeine kick.
I’ve always wanted to pound each one of those kids that acted in the commercials for these health drinks and overly praised them by branding them as yummy and tasty. Didn’t they ever have a conscience? I recall in my childhood, when my dad always insisted on my having one of those so-called “Health Drinks”. Man, how much I hated each one of those drinks. My mom thankfully was very accommodating in my coffee habit. Thanks for that mom!
Coffee is at its best when served hot along with a crunchy, spicy snack or biscuits. The taste is better when the decoction is freshly brewed, very much unlike wine! The taste is the best when the coffee seeds are freshly ground and used to concoct the decoction. At traditional South Indian homes, the second process is followed. Rarely do you find homes where the seed is freshly ground on a daily basis. This is the traditional ‘Filter Kaapi”
The filter Kaapi has gone through a sea change over the years. Bru in the 90’s had launched its Instant coffee. All you need is milk and Bru and Voila! Your cup of filter coffee (read as similar to Filter Coffee) is ready. The Ad had the mom asking the son if it was Filter coffee and the son would reply “This is Bru Maa!”. This caught the eye of the instant generation. From Kaapi, Coffee has become a status symbol of sorts. It has now become extremely cool to “Catch up over a cup of coffee!”
Coffee, over the last few years has grown in popularity largely due to the mushrooming of Coffee Shops such as the Bangalore based Café Coffee Day, Barista etc. I’m not sure if the credit goes to the coffee of the concept of a coffee shop.
A recent study indicated that Bangalore was rapidly expanding and had one of the highest growth potentials for the modern Coffee Pubs. I recall CCD opening their first outlet in Brigade Road in 1996. The basic coffee shop has now grown into a facility with Internet facilities and Wi-Fi. They now offer board games at these outlets so a group of friends could catch up over a game and coffee. Innovation is the name of the game. Barista even offers a guitar to the musically inclined.
The average age group of the crowd frequenting the coffee shops is in the range 18-26 though I can definitely recall seeing a bunch of high school kids on several occasions. The coffee shops were our favorite hang out especially when we bunked college and had no idea as to what to do. We’d spend hours at these coffee outlets with a cup of coffee and at times the hookah. On an average an outing at one of these Coffee Pubs would cost you at least Rs.40 per head. Ask my parents and their generation, they would be flabbergasted at the very thought of spending that amount on a coffee. We, Gen-Next can claim that for the fun and time spent at the coffee shop the amount is worth every rupee. Despite all this, one thing you can never have at any of these modern Coffee shops is the good old by-two coffee. While in college, the canteen and the small hotel Udipi Upahar would always call for the by-two. Technically this would mean half the amount you would get in a normal cup. But in reality this would be almost a full cup of coffee. That’s the beauty of the eternal by-two!!
Cheers to a hot cup of coffee!
I’ve always wanted to pound each one of those kids that acted in the commercials for these health drinks and overly praised them by branding them as yummy and tasty. Didn’t they ever have a conscience? I recall in my childhood, when my dad always insisted on my having one of those so-called “Health Drinks”. Man, how much I hated each one of those drinks. My mom thankfully was very accommodating in my coffee habit. Thanks for that mom!
Coffee is at its best when served hot along with a crunchy, spicy snack or biscuits. The taste is better when the decoction is freshly brewed, very much unlike wine! The taste is the best when the coffee seeds are freshly ground and used to concoct the decoction. At traditional South Indian homes, the second process is followed. Rarely do you find homes where the seed is freshly ground on a daily basis. This is the traditional ‘Filter Kaapi”
The filter Kaapi has gone through a sea change over the years. Bru in the 90’s had launched its Instant coffee. All you need is milk and Bru and Voila! Your cup of filter coffee (read as similar to Filter Coffee) is ready. The Ad had the mom asking the son if it was Filter coffee and the son would reply “This is Bru Maa!”. This caught the eye of the instant generation. From Kaapi, Coffee has become a status symbol of sorts. It has now become extremely cool to “Catch up over a cup of coffee!”
Coffee, over the last few years has grown in popularity largely due to the mushrooming of Coffee Shops such as the Bangalore based Café Coffee Day, Barista etc. I’m not sure if the credit goes to the coffee of the concept of a coffee shop.
A recent study indicated that Bangalore was rapidly expanding and had one of the highest growth potentials for the modern Coffee Pubs. I recall CCD opening their first outlet in Brigade Road in 1996. The basic coffee shop has now grown into a facility with Internet facilities and Wi-Fi. They now offer board games at these outlets so a group of friends could catch up over a game and coffee. Innovation is the name of the game. Barista even offers a guitar to the musically inclined.
The average age group of the crowd frequenting the coffee shops is in the range 18-26 though I can definitely recall seeing a bunch of high school kids on several occasions. The coffee shops were our favorite hang out especially when we bunked college and had no idea as to what to do. We’d spend hours at these coffee outlets with a cup of coffee and at times the hookah. On an average an outing at one of these Coffee Pubs would cost you at least Rs.40 per head. Ask my parents and their generation, they would be flabbergasted at the very thought of spending that amount on a coffee. We, Gen-Next can claim that for the fun and time spent at the coffee shop the amount is worth every rupee. Despite all this, one thing you can never have at any of these modern Coffee shops is the good old by-two coffee. While in college, the canteen and the small hotel Udipi Upahar would always call for the by-two. Technically this would mean half the amount you would get in a normal cup. But in reality this would be almost a full cup of coffee. That’s the beauty of the eternal by-two!!
Cheers to a hot cup of coffee!
Saturday
Little Indian...
Indian cinema has seen a paradigm shift in the last few years, especially in terms of the scope of the script, story. We have witnessed some fantastic movies like Dil Chahta hai, Rang De Basanti, Yuva, Swades, Lakshya, more recently Taare Zameen Par to name a few. Right away, you might realize this is a bit of a biased opinion as the movies are restricted to a few directors/actors. A few of these movies have been literally path breaking especially RDB which caught the imagination of the youth.
Speaking of movies, theatres come to my mind. Playing the National Anthem before the start of the movie has become a trend these days. And it doesn’t really have to be a patriotic movie, it could even be a reservoir of nonsense (like an Imraan Hashmi or the Himesh movie…ugh the very thought is disgusting!).
A friend of mine mentioned that this practice was making him very uncomfortable. I was totally taken aback on hearing this. The point made was that people in a theatre would not be in a mood to stand for the anthem. Point well taken lets say considering that a good number of couples would find the theatre a nice place to get cozy! But I was wondering, is there a “mood” necessary to respect the national anthem?
I definitely am not trying to preach here. Yet it pains me to know that people find it uncomfortable to stand for the national anthem which lasts for a few seconds. Its few chances we get to respect the country. For those (me included) who don’t really contribute to the welfare of the country (if not cause damage), this would be a chance to at least show some respect.
I for one am totally for playing the national anthem at the theatre. It’s a congregation of a large number of people, so why not play it! I will never forget the movie Kabhi Kushi Kabhi Gham. I was in class XII and we had gone for this movie (I still repent having spent Rs.60 for that). The movie had a segment where the Kajol’s son sings the National Anthem at a school function. The section was removed later for “political” reasons, I presume. How typical of Karan Johar to think that playing the Anthem in the movie would stir a sense of the Indian in the audience. A very commendable thought I have to say. Just that it didn’t work the way he might have expected (I can vouch for that theatre). Out of the, I’m guessing 150 people, barely 10 people stood for the Anthem. It was appalling to see that. One person stood and felt weak kneed halfway through!
Patriotism is the feeling that ones country is the greatest only because you were born in it. JFK said “Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country!” one of my favorite quotes. As we head into the next generation that can make or break the chance of India emerging as a super power, one of the factors that will push towards this dream is the feeling of oneness, the feeling of being Indian. I fear that this is a fading phenomenon. If the Anthem cannot stir the emotion, I’m not sure what will. Only time will tell what would…
Speaking of movies, theatres come to my mind. Playing the National Anthem before the start of the movie has become a trend these days. And it doesn’t really have to be a patriotic movie, it could even be a reservoir of nonsense (like an Imraan Hashmi or the Himesh movie…ugh the very thought is disgusting!).
A friend of mine mentioned that this practice was making him very uncomfortable. I was totally taken aback on hearing this. The point made was that people in a theatre would not be in a mood to stand for the anthem. Point well taken lets say considering that a good number of couples would find the theatre a nice place to get cozy! But I was wondering, is there a “mood” necessary to respect the national anthem?
I definitely am not trying to preach here. Yet it pains me to know that people find it uncomfortable to stand for the national anthem which lasts for a few seconds. Its few chances we get to respect the country. For those (me included) who don’t really contribute to the welfare of the country (if not cause damage), this would be a chance to at least show some respect.
I for one am totally for playing the national anthem at the theatre. It’s a congregation of a large number of people, so why not play it! I will never forget the movie Kabhi Kushi Kabhi Gham. I was in class XII and we had gone for this movie (I still repent having spent Rs.60 for that). The movie had a segment where the Kajol’s son sings the National Anthem at a school function. The section was removed later for “political” reasons, I presume. How typical of Karan Johar to think that playing the Anthem in the movie would stir a sense of the Indian in the audience. A very commendable thought I have to say. Just that it didn’t work the way he might have expected (I can vouch for that theatre). Out of the, I’m guessing 150 people, barely 10 people stood for the Anthem. It was appalling to see that. One person stood and felt weak kneed halfway through!
Patriotism is the feeling that ones country is the greatest only because you were born in it. JFK said “Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country!” one of my favorite quotes. As we head into the next generation that can make or break the chance of India emerging as a super power, one of the factors that will push towards this dream is the feeling of oneness, the feeling of being Indian. I fear that this is a fading phenomenon. If the Anthem cannot stir the emotion, I’m not sure what will. Only time will tell what would…
Sunday
Numero Uno
Disclaimer: This is my first attempt at a blog. So all you critics out there, please adjust maadi J
The Indian Railways is the world’s largest Rail network. The suck on timing, the seats are terrible and the toilets are the worst. The employ over 1.5 million people and it is almost impossible to figure out whom you have to meet in order sort out an issue you faced or even lodge a complaint.
I traveled by train to a place called ‘Tirunelveli’ located I don’t know where in Tamilnadu. Before this journey, I had traveled by train almost a year ago. This experience was a bit off the usual in terms of the goof ups by the Railway system.
In a past experience, I had boarded the train and realized that the seats were not numbered! The situation was chaotic until a few of us managed to figure out a vague sequence that would have made Newton proud…
Anyways, let me get back to this sojourn in the latest overnight journey on the train. As Bangaloreans, one anticipates traffic wherever you go. Therefore we left early for the railway station. But as a consequence of Murphy’s Law and one hell of a driver we ended up being at the station an hour prior to scheduled departure. The wait for a train can be interesting when one notes the gamut of sizes of both passengers and their luggage. Trains chugged in and out of Cantonment Railway station and the people scurried along like rats. I reconciled to the fact that it was a rat race to catch this train as well…
Soon enough it was our chance to show our skills in carrying the luggage and running the race to the coach. As we were traveling by an AC coach, I did not expect too many goof ups on the railway side. But, they are never short of reasons for criticism. My seat was number 64. I went counting 58, 59….62! To my utter dismay, there was no seat beyond 62!!! Seeing the incredulous expression written all over my face, the lady seated at 62 informed me that her seat was 63. The railways had goofed up yet again! The online reservation system had not been updated of the coach being changed for this train. Eventually the TTR informed me that I had my seat relocated. Thankfully the railways wouldn’t have to face a source of renewable energy- the anger of the travelers.
The eventful start ended without further drama at Maniyachi from where we boarded a passenger train to Tirunelveli the next day at 11 AM. This journey is a unique experience for the city bred. There are no cushioned seats, the fans wouldn’t work and even if they did it wouldn’t make a damn difference in the sweltering heat. Personally the best way to enjoy this kind of a trip would be sitting on top of the train. Not a feasible way out. Next best thing?? The door. The breeze is fascinating and the scenery even better.
The joy of standing at the door is far superior compared to the comfort and the cozy travel in the AC compartment. I’m sure my long durations spent at the door bugged my relatives, but this is something I didn’t want to miss.
Call it outright denial of the sad state of the railways or a case of some positives outnumbering the negatives. The Indian railways despite being almost a form of paid torture to some is still fascinating. Each experience is different. It is definitely a test of endurance as to how much one can tolerate and adjust yet trying to be happy at the end of it all. It’s an Indian attitude after all - Please Adjust Maadi…
The Indian Railways is the world’s largest Rail network. The suck on timing, the seats are terrible and the toilets are the worst. The employ over 1.5 million people and it is almost impossible to figure out whom you have to meet in order sort out an issue you faced or even lodge a complaint.
I traveled by train to a place called ‘Tirunelveli’ located I don’t know where in Tamilnadu. Before this journey, I had traveled by train almost a year ago. This experience was a bit off the usual in terms of the goof ups by the Railway system.
In a past experience, I had boarded the train and realized that the seats were not numbered! The situation was chaotic until a few of us managed to figure out a vague sequence that would have made Newton proud…
Anyways, let me get back to this sojourn in the latest overnight journey on the train. As Bangaloreans, one anticipates traffic wherever you go. Therefore we left early for the railway station. But as a consequence of Murphy’s Law and one hell of a driver we ended up being at the station an hour prior to scheduled departure. The wait for a train can be interesting when one notes the gamut of sizes of both passengers and their luggage. Trains chugged in and out of Cantonment Railway station and the people scurried along like rats. I reconciled to the fact that it was a rat race to catch this train as well…
Soon enough it was our chance to show our skills in carrying the luggage and running the race to the coach. As we were traveling by an AC coach, I did not expect too many goof ups on the railway side. But, they are never short of reasons for criticism. My seat was number 64. I went counting 58, 59….62! To my utter dismay, there was no seat beyond 62!!! Seeing the incredulous expression written all over my face, the lady seated at 62 informed me that her seat was 63. The railways had goofed up yet again! The online reservation system had not been updated of the coach being changed for this train. Eventually the TTR informed me that I had my seat relocated. Thankfully the railways wouldn’t have to face a source of renewable energy- the anger of the travelers.
The eventful start ended without further drama at Maniyachi from where we boarded a passenger train to Tirunelveli the next day at 11 AM. This journey is a unique experience for the city bred. There are no cushioned seats, the fans wouldn’t work and even if they did it wouldn’t make a damn difference in the sweltering heat. Personally the best way to enjoy this kind of a trip would be sitting on top of the train. Not a feasible way out. Next best thing?? The door. The breeze is fascinating and the scenery even better.
The joy of standing at the door is far superior compared to the comfort and the cozy travel in the AC compartment. I’m sure my long durations spent at the door bugged my relatives, but this is something I didn’t want to miss.
Call it outright denial of the sad state of the railways or a case of some positives outnumbering the negatives. The Indian railways despite being almost a form of paid torture to some is still fascinating. Each experience is different. It is definitely a test of endurance as to how much one can tolerate and adjust yet trying to be happy at the end of it all. It’s an Indian attitude after all - Please Adjust Maadi…
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