Ramblings of a raving rooster

Fair trials and justice

2009-06-17T07:25:00.004+05:30

"Somebody must have been telling lies about Joseph K., for without having done anything wrong he was arrested one fine morning." -The Trial by Franz Kafka

Of all the tragicomic masterpieces to have been created in the world, 'The Trial' must surely rank amongst the best. The entire book is about the trial of Joseph K. who is arrested and is supposed to defend himself in a "court" for offenses he doesn't have the knowledge of committing and is never told about throughout his trial. I suspect that it was this work in particular that gave birth to the term "Kafkaesque," to describe travesty of justice whenever and wherever it occurs. It is also ironic that this particular work came to see the light of day only because Kafka's friend disregarded his last wish(therein betraying his trust) to refrain from destroying the unfinished novel and instead published it. It serves as a reminder to each one of us, of the importance of an independent and a transparent judiciary, especially for a nation with liberal, democratic aspirations.

We believe that in the end truth prevails, "Satyameva Jayate." The principle of "presuming innocence until proven guilty," originates from this love of justice. It is never too late to punish the guilty, but to take back a mistaken conviction is impossible. Beautifully illustrated in this short story by Leo Tolstoy, " God sees the truth but waits," it highlights the need for checks and balances in our judiciary so that, "A hundred criminals may go unpunished, but not a single innocent shall be punished."

Following through, we realize that Justice must be blind and all are equal in the court of justice. This "Rule of law," enshrined in our constitution is in place to protect that smallest minority - the individual. With this in mind, it is inconceivable that an individual is not provided the "fair trial" due to circumstances. Each exception taken to the "Rule of law" is just another body blow against the weakest individual in the society. The powerful may weather the storm - remember Jayalalitha or Karunanidhi's time in the jail, yet it is the meek who will bear the brunt of systemic abuse.

If circumstances can be used as an excuse to override these principles today in the case of a terrorist, nothing stops someone else from misusing the same "circumstances" as an excuse tomorrow to paint an innocent(innocent until proven guilty) as a "threat to the society." Remember the invocation of NSA against eve teasing?

In the '70s it was famously predicted that India would fail as a democracy and be ruled by the an autocracy. The reason, that prediction didn't come to fruitition is the courage of a few good men in our independent if inefficient judiciary. Our system may be corrupt and full of holes, the trial may only provide a stage for Kasab and his ilk to broadcast their agenda, it may result in the worst kind of mudslinging over issues of nationalist importance, yet it is imperative that we provide him a fair and a transparent trial. As Acorn put it, "He deserves an exemplary punishment after an exemplary judicial trial."

If we are afraid that we cannot prosecute Ajmal in a fair trial despite catching him redhanded or that it will take too long, then how can we claim to safeguard our own citizens and how can we claim to be a "democratic republic" which upholds the "rule of law"? What is the difference then, between us and the taliban?

Ofcourse, this also serves to shut up the psuedo liberal ostriches like 1, 2 who draw moral equivalence between terrorist and counter terrorist activities or atleast make them look like the fools they really are. But more importantly, If we are to hold onto our moral highground in this battle of ideologies; Indeed if we are to survive, we must stick to our principles even in the most trying circumstances.

"The End of Faith" by Sam Harris - a review

2009-06-11T08:04:00.005+05:30

I first came across Sam Harris when I read his article "Bombing our Illusions" right after the 26/11 Mumbai massacre. This article written in 2005 sounds prophetic and ominous in equal proportions. He made an attempt to be intellectually honest and didn't care to be politically correct regarding the nature of religion and the ills that it propagates in our world and was determined to read his thesis published as "The End of Faith", in greater detail.

The book enters into great detail the ills that religion has inflicted upon us over the years or as some believers would want us to say, the ills that have been inflicted upon us "in the name of religion". The basic thrust of his thesis is that "Religion has no place in the age of reason, especially when most religious tenets are overflowing with irrational claims and fantastic myths that have been laid to rest by most of the scientific knowledge accrued over the years.

The only reason anyone is "moderate" in matters of faith these days is that he has assimilated some of the fruits of the last two thousand years of human thought. The doors leading out of scriptural literalism do not open from the inside. the moderation we see among nonfundamentalists is not some sign that faith itself has evolved; it is rather, the product of the many hammer blows of modernity that have exposed certain tenets of faith to doubt...
Religious moderation is the product of secular knowledge and scriptural ignorance....

Extremely critical of any and all evils that arose out of religious dogmatism from spanish inquisitions to public stoning of "adulterous women"(which incidentally is still followed in some places) down to the calls for jihad. He calls the bluff of left-liberals who adopt illiberal dogmas in the name of "pragmatism" and "relativism". He pans all irrational beliefs across the spectrum, yet makes a few concessions for metaphysical or "mystic" phenomena that science hasn't yet been able to explain.

"It is not enough that Jesus was a man who transformed himself to such a degree that the Sermon on the Mount could be his heart's confession. He also had to be the son of God, born of a virgin, and destined to return to earth trailing clouds of glory.... According to the dogma of Christianity, becoming just like Jesus is impossible, One can only enumerate one's sins, believe the unbelieveable, and await the end of the world

But a more profound response to existence is possible for us and the testimony of Jesus, as well as that of countless other men and women over the ages, attests to this. The challenge for us is to begin talking about this possibility in rational terms"

The book makes for a thoroughly provocative yet at times dry read getting bogged down by philosophical monologues. Perhaps these are very basic statements for a student of philosophy but I would rather read them in simpler language. It also appears that at times in order to support his thesis, he brings in questionable evidence. I don't see the reason why he should do that. History of the last two thousand years is replete with examples that support his arguments, and using such pieces may only serve for the "shock value" but diminish the cogency in his message.

Bottomline: Well worth a read for everyone who considers himself/herself to be a rational human even though the going might get slow at times.

Education in India

2009-05-31T06:56:00.004+05:30

Shekhar Gupta at Indian Express writes about the need for reform and revamping of Higher education in India:

Just as the licence-quota raj created self-inflicted scarcities of telephones, scooters and cooking gas, our utterly authoritarian, cynical and intellectually bankrupt higher education policy has created humongous shortages. We all know the odds for a candidate to qualify for premier engineering, management and medical colleges. Those with means now pay their way to colleges in Australia, Singapore, Qatar, besides indeed the traditional “exporters” of education to India, the US and the UK ....
....Yet, do advertise for a security guard on naukri.com and see how many applications you get from MAs, MScs, even PhDs. These are young Indians who have invested the most valuable years of their lives collecting degrees but no knowledge, education but no skills. Unless this disaster is stemmed now, these numbers will multiply faster than you can imagine, and they will be angrier than you wish to imagine. But if you can fix it, the dividend you reap will be not merely demographic, but even economic and political.

Studies estimate that our education system churns out nearly 3.2million graduates of whom about a tenth or 350,000 are from engineering. But even a cursory examination of the graduates reveals that most of these graduates pay by the noose only to get a paper certification but no real addition to their skills. Most of the so called engineering colleges are blocks of apartments run without laboratories or even proper lecturers. In many cases, the students graduating out of these colleges are employed back as lecturers as they are unable to fit anywhere else in the industry, and the colleges unable to get worthy lecturers, leading into a vicious circle.

The answer is not setting up namesake IITs in ordnance factories or forcing the existing IITs to increase reservations and acceptance rates. It involves giving more importance to autonomy of existing institutions and doing away with the redtape that deters from quality individuals and institutions from coming into the academia. I don't advocate for exclusivist policies with regards to IITs, IIMs, but setting up proxies sans the quality will lead to further devaluation of these last bastions of credibility in Indian higher education system. We need more IIT like institutions not just IITs, and in all spheres of higher education.

If cases of competitive intolerance like this and this don't wake us up to the need for liberalisation in education in general and higher education in particular, nothing ever will. In 2004, I thought that the only upside of NDA defeat was end of Mr.Joshi's hold on HRD but unfortunately he was followed by a catastrophic Arjun singh. Here's to hope that this term may turn out to be different from with Mr.Kapil Sibal as the HRD minister.

Poverty and Wealth

2009-05-28T08:13:00.003+05:30

I wanted to write this post a long time back, but now is just as good a time when the calls for coronation of the prince have reached a crescendo. During the election campaign Rahul Gandhi had said, "We believe in the poor people of India and they are ashamed of the poor in India." It is part of electioneering, I agree, but in order to gain votes and power the Nehru-Gandhi family and by extension Congress has equated Poverty with virtue and wealth to a vice. Add to this the famous Nehru quip, "Profit is a dirty word" and we have generations condemned to poverty. Sarojini Naidu once famously observed of Mahatma, " It costs a lot to keep Gandhi poor," only half in jest. Now, Mr. Rahul Gandhi says, " we should not be ashamed of our poor."

Perhaps, but we should be ashamed of the fact that such a large number of our people are condemned to poverty. Instead we are ashamed of our rich."Any wealth gotten is at the expense of someone else, therefore the rich deserve to be stripped off their wealth" is a tenet of socialism that has chained our wings. Instead, our aim should be "wealth creation." The Poor don't deserve to remain "poor" for such a long time. We should have taught ourselves how to fish, rather than take fish from one fishermen, cut them into pieces and redistribute it to others while taking a few pieces for doing the work of distribution. This leaves everybody but the distributer poorer.

When even the Communist party in china embraces free market and shuns socialist policies to achieve tremendous growth, it speaks of the rot that has set in that we regress time and again to our socialist policies, Unless, we see past the halo of our erstwhile leaders whose ideas have long past their shelf life(if they ever had one), we cannot identify this rot and will be incapable of eliminating it.

Here Atanu describes the tale of two countries, comparing U.S - Argentina at the start of last century to India-China in this century. Yet, the illuminated want us to believe that this is "really" a reform oriented government which was impeded only by the left with only a few sane voices questioning this hypothesis. Whatever growth we have achieved so far is despite the government, not because of it. The sooner we realize it, the better. After all, "Socialism is a luxury to the wealthy, but a suicidal creed to the poor"

Elections Postscript

2009-05-21T21:53:00.004+05:30

Unexpected margin of victory for the incumbents and a slap in the face for the BJP. Firstly, congratulations to the UPA and its supporters but I won't count myself amongst them. As I mentioned earlier, it is reflective of the leadership vacuum at BJP's top rung that Congress was voted back to power after five years of sleep walking through the government and leading the country into a mire.
Although knowledgeable people all over the world are lauding the return to significance of nationalist parties and marginalisation of regional ones, I wouldn't hold out my breath for this trend(if it is one). The cumulative vote share of Congres, BJP and CPI(M) (which are the three parties to hold nationalist aspirations) has remained close to 48% where it was even in 2004. In addition, the vote share of Congress improved by 1.99% overall, which puts to rest the theories that voters voted enmasse for a "stable government at center".
During the elections, there was a chorus of opinion that this election was less a national election and more a cumulative of 543 mini elections. Although the results don't point to that, I still stand by that theory. On a cumulative note, Congress deserved to lose this election, but BJP deserved to lose it just as well. So, it came down to individual constituencies. A bunch of factors like Chiranjeevi's PRP cutting into 16% of vote share in A.P(which might have gone to TDP+ otherwise), Mulayam Singh's connection to Kalyan Singh in the U.P which led to shifting of anti-BJP vote to Congress, riots in Orissa and Varun Gandhi's mad ramblings leading to a (welcome) feedback agains the BJP, to mention nothing of the incoherence and infighting within the BJP ranks all led to a significant decrease in the voteshare of BJP to a tune of 4.5%.

All these are legitimate and welcome trends in exercise of franchise, yet one aspect still gets my goat. The crown prince who was derided until the results came out suddenly became a genius. "Success has many fathers, failure is an orphan." His pathetic stumbling at the press conference, failure in first attempts at diplomacy all lay forgotten and his "masterstroke" of going it alone in U.P is suddenly his ticket to the seat at the top. Here is a more complete dissection of the selective amnesia.

Unfortunately, I believe that this attitude of servitude and obsequious fawning in wait of a Hero to deliver us from the ills of the world is common to all around the world(Oba-mania anyone?). The trouble with Indians is the continued importance of familial ties and inheritance of profession (Engineer's son being anything other than engineer is a shame, similarly politician's son has to be a politician etc.)

Why were the exit polls off by such a big margin then? I would like to propose a new effect along the lines of "Bradley effect." In India, infatuation with the "first" family is a guilty pleasure. So, people won't admit that they are going to vote for the family, yet secretly do so. The sample space is extremely limited, but I believe that there IS a correlation. I will leave it to the interested or the jobless to prove or disprove this theory.

What lies ahead for the parties? As M.J.Akbar points out, "India is a secular country not because the Indian muslims(minorities) want it to be secular, but because the Indian Hindus want it to be secular" (italics mine.) BJP should realize this and give up on the fanatical elements amongst its ranks. They shouldn't be worried about losing the support of these factions as they can't vote for anyone else anyway. A cursory look at some of the rants by these factions is enough to put off many centrist votes which would've gone BJP's way had it tempered its voice.
And it IS important that BJP gets its message across effectively. Modi, Advani have been making the right sounds for ages, (one unbiased listen to any of their speeches or interviews ought to make this clear) but it is not emulated by the rest.
For the Congress: They must not count this as a verdict for populist measures and against reforms. Kamal Nath already is on record as having stated, "We've done enough reforms." If that doesn't send the alarm bells ringing to our media lapdogs, I wonder what will. If five years of soporific ramblings and somniatic perambulations are enough to win them 200 seats, they should see the potential in five years of good governance to win them 300.
For the CPI(M)/CPI: I'm glad that they've lost, but realistically, we are far from discarding their defeatist ideologies yet. In case we forget, it was Mamata Banerjee and her coterie who caused the eviction of Nano project from Bengal. The UDF in kerala isn't that different to the LDF in terms of policies. In other words, it was a replacement of like for like. I eagerly await the day when their ideas will be put to rest in the sewers where they belong, but it may be empty hope.

PS: I am still ambivalent about Congress/UPA. Yet, Chidambaram as the Home Minister, Pranab Da as the EA minister did a decent job and if the sycophants like Arjun Singh and Shivraj Patil and unscrupulous devils like A.Raja(Telecom ministry) are kept out, I think we have a decent chance at some redemption in the next five years.

MP v Party

2009-05-01T08:45:00.003+05:30

In an ideal scenario, the contestants would all be decent chaps(or equally vile) with only differences being in ideologies. In that case, it is very easy to choose, vote for the party whose ideology you believe in (or atleast whose ideology you find less disagreeable). But, in a democracy such as ours, voting is a Morton's fork.

Things become clearer when you consider the 1985 Anti defection law.

One possible answer is the Tenth Schedule of the Indian Constitution. Popularly known as the Anti-Defection Law, the Tenth Schedule was written into the Constitution by the government of Rajiv Gandhi in 1985. The schedule mandates the disqualification from parliament of any member who votes against his party’s whip. Supported by many Indians, this law was originally conceived to control rampant defections by members of India’s parliament and state assemblies in order to save or bring down governments.

With the backbencher debate culture lacking, it doesn't matter whether your MP is the most honourable or has the best work ethic, that will only affect in limiting the corruption under his wing. Know that while it does come under their jurisdiction, MLAs and municipal councils are more directly responsible for the administrative state of affairs in each constituency. The role of the MP(as I see it) is more of a representative in making national policies and bargaining for a share of pie at the national table.

Therefore, I believe that one should vote for the party and not the MP. Ofcourse, there are exceptions. If you are given a choice between a criminal from a party whose ideology you believe in, but an honest politician from a party whose views you may not agree with, you should vote to punish the party that put up a criminal. This will ensure enough feedback to the system that criminals may not be fielded in the future. (Tytler is a case in point)

Vitcimisation of the aggressor

2009-04-21T12:41:00.005+05:30

The recent case when an American student at TISS, Mumbai accused six others of sexual assault shows the shortcomings in our implementation of "rule of law" and in our failure to reform social norms. It only reinforces the belief that Police instead of acting as the watchdog to safeguard people from crimes, have been reduced to a bureaucratic, self-serving machinery that takes the path of least resistance out in most cases. It is ironic that in most cases, we feel safer approaching another citizen than approaching the police for help. We must reform our police force before we end up surrendering our liberties.

Our social norms however are a bigger threat. For a country that claims to stand for liberty, equality and fraternity, our norms are depressingly patriarchal. Nothing is as disturbing and disgusting as the claims that a victim has brought it upon herself the crime that was committed. The basic defence against accusations of sexual assault seems to be to cast aspersions on the character of the victim and then to conclude, "She brought it upon herself".

From Jessica Lal to Soumya Vishwanathan to this case, consensus seems to be to accept a moral judgement against the victims actions and then condemn the act. In this particular case, the accused has submitted a statement

"The act of the victim accompanying the accused persons who was lonely lady (sic) with six male persons in long midnight itself shows the nature of the victim and therefore, whatever would have happened might be due to willingness of the victim (sic)"

It is a shame that we even entertain a statement such as this. Whence the pink chaddi lobby? Or is it a cause just not glorious enough for the great liberal progressive thinkers? Moral righteousness has no place once a crime has been committed. Crime should be treated as a judicial issue free from any moral judgements.

To extrapolate, the same should be the case with any other crime and that includes terrorism. Conservatives argue for "no compromise" on terrorism, but don't hold the same position when it comes to crimes against individual liberty. Liberals wouldn't compromise on individual liberty and fight against moral judgments on crimes such as these, but don't apply the same logic to terrorism. Hypocrisy thy name!

UPDATE: Exactly the mentality I'm talking about . And they call it "an age-old debate" Beyond disgust.

Democratic Face-off

2009-04-20T08:26:00.003+05:30

Will someone kindly tell these chaps that democracy includes "rule of law," but not thuggery by mobs?

Owaisi on Saturday alleged: "Mohanty has a perverted mind. He is trying to be brave in uniform. Let him shed his uniform, come in open and face us in a democratic manner."

And whatever does he mean by "face us in democratic manner"? This is really rich, coming from the same Owaisi who backed the physical attack on Naslima Tasreen by his MLAs.

On coalition governments

2009-04-17T14:03:00.005+05:30

Mr.Venkatesan Vembu argues over at DNA that Shaky coalitions make for good economies:

For starters, it's no coincidence that the time-cycle of India's move into a higher orbit of economic growth matches pretty closely the period when coalition arrangements have come to occupy centre-stage at the Central level.
Virtually all the economic opening up and reform programs that enabled this speedier growth were carried out when motley, multi-party coalitions were in power: this is just as true of Congress-led arrangements as of those led by the BJP or the extremely nebulous and politically malleable "United Front".

But Mr.Vembu doesn't explore the reason behind this counterintuitive (seemingly) occurence.

Leglislatives tend to be mammoth inert beasts. So any "reform" is naturally difficult- be it positive or negative. The advantage with unstable coalitions is that, a single party may not have the power to inflict serious damage to the economy. In Henry David Thoreau's words, "No government is better than a bad government."

Compared to the motley crew assembled at the center in the last four parliaments, the INC led government of 91-96 had a fairly stable constitution. Although Dr.Manmohan Singh or Mr.P.V.Narsimha Rao may claim the credit for liberalisation and thereby kick starting the deteriorating economy, it is a fact that situation forced their hand. The governments following '96 didn't have to shift radically from the set precedent.

Unfortunately, of late the parties seem to have discovered a new formula. Where as at one time they might have tried to stop the attempts by the other parties to introduce legislation, now by scratching each others' backs they are able to side step competition and force through policies whose (harmful) effects leave no corner of the country untouched. Thankfully, their teamwork skills are just as deficient as their other skills.

Recent growth of regional parties is also a welcome step in the direction of decentralization of power. If the "national" parties had empowered the individual by having in place a system of consistent feedback with a strong ground level cadre, they might not have suffered this fate.

In this context, I find our Prime minister's laments like "independents are spoilers" and "Regional parties are like tax barriers" laughable. Sir, they are not tax barriers or spoilers but competing suppliers and you just fear competition like any other supplier because it will benefit the consumer at your cost. By saying that, you are either being dishonest or have a suspect understanding of very basic economics.

It remains to be seen if we can grow in spite of the erroneous policies and a fractured polity incorporated into our state or if circumstances force our hand once again in the future.

PS: The arguments were made for organised dilution of power through the organisational hierarchy ultimately translating into empowerment of the individual. This is not the same as dilution of power by setting up an extra-constitutional towers of power.

Right wing politics in India

2009-04-15T10:01:00.008+05:30

I'd cited Pratap Bhanu Mehta's previous post in his column most approvingly earlier. But In the next instalment, in spite of making some very important points, I find it hard to agree to his critique in its entirety. The points about BJP playing up the victimhood and Advani's remarks on being "hurt" are spot on.

Advani unconsciously revealed more about himself and his party: both thrive on a constant play on the theme of victimhood. The minute the Congress ratcheted up the heat on Advani’s record, he retreated into playing victim. Try as much as it can, the BJP struggles to rise above a discourse of victimhood, one that has increasingly less resonance.....

.....Electoral fortunes depend on a lot of things. But the very longevity of the Congress is a sign that there is something about it that is worth salvaging. But all that remains of the BJP is a long sulk, one that will haunt it even when it is in power. A party whose leader is so quickly “hurt” is a party with no foundations.

But, as he mentioned in his previous post, secularism has taken on quite an insidious meaning. To backtrack on this, and say that "Pseudo-secularism" is irrelevant is hypocritical. To dismiss the "Gujarat" model of development without explanation also reeks of dishonesty. The development seen in Gujarat is just a result of empowerment of the individual and accountability, therefore it is as much a novel model as are freedom and democracy. We classical liberals believe that it is replicable, not just in a country, but in the entire world.

It is a sad reflection on the leadership vacuum, that BJP had to recall Advani( who admitted to thoughts of quitting active politics after the Jinnah incident). But, the same holds for INC which fields as its Prime Ministerial candidate, Dr.Manmohan Singh who is leader enough to sit in the chair, but not a leader enough to contest an election or even lead a campaign.

Infact, it is an apt commentary on the absence of first-tier national leaders that even after five years of such gross misgovernance and incompetence, the opposition finds it so hard to dislodge the incumbent party from power. He mentions Shivraj Singh Chauhan and Narendra modi as the only visible second tier leaders from BJP, but apart from Sheila Dixit(who incidentally doesn't belong to the 30s-40s group he talks about), I don't see any second tier leaders who can grow into their own in INC either. Unless he wants to believe self-endorsed "leaders" like Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi, and Jyotiraditya Scinida are the gen-next, it is like watching a game between two minnows. Also, longevity has nothing to do with desirability.

And a final remark regarding the difference in kind of criticism INC and BJP receives. Just as the columnist sees INC as his ideological representative and criticises it for deviating from its ideal, there are a few who hope BJP evolves into a Right-of-center party in economic terms so that a parity is restored to political and economic discourse at national level. A disenchantment with RSS, growing distance between RSS and BJP and slow-down in recruitment of RSS ranks is a welcome development. At the same time response to initiatives like Friends of BJP both from the people and the party suggests to me that there is hope that BJP may one day outgrow the religious roots and into a right of center party acceptable to a majority.

PS: Why do the intellectuals who never fail to remind us that even the extremists like Taliban, Hamas etc have good and bad factions, find it convenient to club all right wing activism and attribute it to RSS and by extension to BJP?

Sunday Levity

2009-04-13T08:35:00.005+05:30

SP wants to ban computers and English - the two factors that led our growth post '99. Of course, it backtracks spectacularly calling for "protection" of jobs against computers. Irony(and Tragedy) is that few people see the similarity between SP's ridiculous posturing, and an equally paleolithic "Protection of small-traders" by banning entry of FDI into retail business, supported by all political parties.

Advani walks out (or should I say runs away) from the Devil's advocate. Is it the same man Thapar praised as being one of the most difficult people to interview? Well, atleast Neera Yadav was denied the ticket, close on the heels of Tytler and Sajjan.

Arun Jaitley v Kapil Sibal

2009-04-12T17:29:00.006+05:30

At last a debate. Arun Jaitley for BJP taking on Kapil Sibal from Congress. Four major issues debated were Governance, Stability, Security and Economy. Hosted by Rajdeep Sardesai of the CNN-IBN, it was mostly a fair debate.
This is how I saw the debate go, followed by my comments on the substance of the debate:

1) Governance : Sibal 1-0 Jaitley:
2) Security : Sibal 0-1 Jaitley
3) Stability : Sibal 0-1 Jaitley
4) Economy: Sibal 0-1 Jaitley

Sibal scores on the Governance front with the record of 8.5% growth rate supporting his claims. Unfortunately, I would disagree with any government that claims to be responsible for economic growth. Government will only hinder growth by placing artificial barriers like Trade duties, Taxes etc. When they do cut the taxes, they aren't making a "great economic decision" per se, but handing people back what was rightfully theirs. Just as the NDA was taking undue credit for the growth in economy in 2004, UPA is now taking undue credit for the economic growth in '04-'08. The best a government can do (especially in a poor country like ours) is to get out of the way and empower the poor. The poor don't need dole-outs as much as opportunities.

I do applaud the UPA for passing the RTI act, but the rest of claims made on governance are good old fashioned bull. Regarding the infrastructure etc, Sibal may claim that they have begun a plethora of programs, but most of these programs have been allocated funds but grossly abused and mismanaged the typical malaise of a corrupt bureacratic machinery backed by an immoral power structure.

On the issue of security, Sibal might as well have given up the round even before it began: The pathetic and unprecedented record on terror - not only of the Pakistani/Bangladeshi origin, but also of the Maoist origins, speaks for itself. Yet, he did put up a good fight bringing up the issue of Parliament attacks ( a miserable intelligence failure doubtless - But when our RAW cannot tail a civil journalist without being captured, it is a tall order expecting it to gather any substantial information). The counter by Jaitley about the response is well taken. Police reforms are long overdue yet none of the parties have mentioned anything concrete and our response after Mumbai attacks goes to show how badly equipped our police forces really are to handle security threats. Although audience was responsive to Sibal's statements like "We donot send out invitations to terrorists", I wasn't impressed. They were just straw men raised to skirt the issue.

On Economy, a thumbs up to Jaitley on two counts : BJP's positioning itself as a right of center party with greater emphasis on empowerment of people is the right way forward, Hence Tax and interest rate cuts. And secondly, because Sibal's statistics were pulled out of the air. As a commentator put it - "WTF? Is Kapil Sibal crazy? 50% retrenchment means 70 million lost jobs--considering size of American workforce. The actual unemployment rate is close to 8%."
Sibal may tout NREGA as UPA's poster boy, but NREGA was derided and strongly criticised by many organisations including the IMF. Throw in the Rs.60,000 crore loan waiver, and you have a perfect recipe of injecting paper money without any increase in production - in other words inflation. The danger of running a fiscal deficit of over 10% seems to be lost on Sibal and INC/UPA.

I disagree with both Jaitley and Sibbal on the role of Government in an economy, but that is only to be expected from a country where the constitution requires all parties to pray at the altar of socialism. Sibal also seems to be unaware of the Laffer curve effect, which tends to make up for the loss in tax revenue due to tax cuts by increased economic activity.

Stability would have been a tie(with both UPA and NDA losing allies), but for the recent RJD/SP split from UPA which presented Jaitley with a lot of ammunition. Sibal couldn't counter the arguments of the fighting between the Congress and its allies - NCP, RJD, SP being the primary culprits.

On the issue of Leadership, I have to reluctantly agree with BJP's anointing of Dr.Manmohan Singh as the weakest Prime Minister. I might have retained a neutral view in the elections if Pranab Mukherjee was the Prime Ministerial candidate. However, it is obvious to one and all that Sonia Gandhi pulled the strings from Janpath 10, against Pranab Mukherjee so that the PMO is not occupied by a strong leader who might jeopardise the chances of Rahul Gandhi leading the charge next time around. Although the argument that "educated men are needed" is often made, the education counts for nothing if this education doesn't make a contribution towards shaping the policy. Here Arun Shourie talks about incidents with Dr.Manmohan Singh in foreign policy. (Please watch the video, confirm the claims made and then make a judgment on his competence)

PS: Overall a nice debate and although my deep mistrust towards all politicians and Governments continues, I'd much rather not see the same bunch of thugs occupying power for consecutive terms - instincts of damage control.

Secular and Communal

2009-04-11T10:19:00.006+05:30

Rarely do I agree with an entire post/article these days without significant points of disagreement. But I couldn't find anything to disagree with in this article:

Secularism, like communalism, is no longer a first principles debate; it is a pretext for forcing issues where none exist. The only two interpretations of secularism that are current in India are deeply warped: secularism as erasure of identity, or secularism as communal parity. Neither interpretation has room for the core meaning: secularism is about the freedom of individuals to make of themselves what they will; it is about making “identity” irrelevant to politics, not about its enforced erasure...

Real secularism is about giving citizens the freedom to escape being tagged, whether by caste or religion. The Congress politics now has limited appeal, even for the minorities it courts, because it is still caught in the politics of tagging. The BJP tags to target, Congress tags to provide noblesse oblige. But it is the tagging that’s insidious.

It is for this reason that I support a uniform civil code. By definition, in a public sphere of life, there shouldn't be discrimination based on any parts of one's identity.

As I come to understand from the roots of the word, communalism means to discriminate people based on one's community. I wonder then about the honesty in calling religion based politics communal, but not the caste based. After all a caste is a smaller community, isn't it ?

Hate-Speech and Electioneering

2009-04-10T23:27:00.005+05:30

It is better to keep your mouth shut and appear stupid than to open it and remove all doubt.

I had earlier called for the ousting of Varun Gandhi from the BJP candidates list. This despite there being no clear verdict one way or another.(Remember that in judicial issues, accused is presumed innocent until proven guilty.) I maintain that NSA and subsequent choking of his freedom to speech was ridiculous. Where are the advocates of free speech today ? The answer to issues of free speech is more free speech, not less. I don't believe in the concepts of offensive or Hate speech, speech should only be free.

Let me add, however, that it is not just Varun Gandhi, A whole bunch of others including Kagodu Thimmappa, Lalu prasad Yadav, D.Srinivas must be removed. But that still doesn't justify shutting them up. If anything, we want the idiots to speak up so that we know who is the idiot and who isn't one. The performance of our media in the backdrop of this issue however, has convinced me of the very heavy left-liberal bias in our media. All our "leaders" should be held to the same standards whether they be from the "communal" or the "secular" front.

At the same time, I feel perplexed at Ms.Sagarika Ghosh's rants over at CNN-IBN. She laments the fact that EC has slapped notices on Politicians who were seen distributing cash for votes. Coming from a network that covered up the biggest "Cash for votes" scam in our citadel of democracy - it is not a big surprise.

Mr.Sardesai's defense at that time, " we have chosen not to telecast the story yet because we did not feel that the story was complete," rings as hollow as does Ms.Ghosh's whines about the loss of a tradition.

Open-mindedness and Prejudice

2009-04-09T07:48:00.007+05:30

A brilliant video on the concept of "Open-mindedness"

Most of the anecdotal evidence ought to be rejected right away. It is subjective in nature, and any subjective experience depends on the individual(who's experiencing it) to explain it.Therefore, its acceptance is contingent on the reliability of the individual as a witness. Unfortunately, due to the malleability of our memory, whenever there is a vested interest, as is the case with an individual using the experience to justify his beliefs, these "facts" are not reliable.

At the same time, I find it amusing when people accuse others of a "prejudice" without knowing what it means. There are a few unpleasant truths that can be uncovered in every society after a thorough examination. It might be politically incorrect to say so, but actually saying it doesn't imply prejudice. I am particularly agitated by the media in "free-world" adopting self-censoring measures just to be "Politically correct."

Being free from prejudice doesn't mean you have to bury your heads in the sand and reject all evidence so that you don't come to a conclusion one way or another. If facts corroborate an argument one way or another, following through to the proper conclusion is the intellectually honest thing to do. After all, based on our studies linking smoking to lung cancer, we do conclude that smoking is injurious to health, instead of accusing the scientists of prejudice against smoking, don't we?

Discussion, Debate and Democracy

2009-04-08T09:13:00.006+05:30

Debate, dialogue and democracy are considered cornerstones to establish people's will. Why then is the Congress candidate for Prime Minister's post shirking away from all three - He has refused to debate Advani, refused to take part in the Lok Sabha elections, and time and again refuses to address the public directly.

Mrs.Sonia Gandhi may well be within her rights to voice her opinion that "Disrespect of PM is disrespect of the nation", but let me correct her mistaken notion. It is not disrespect of the nation to criticise the person holding the post, it is a disrespect to the nation indeed when respect is not accorded to the post of Prime Minister. By his non-participation in debate, dialogue and democracy - Dr.Manmohan Singh and Congress have done precisely that.

Mr.Rajiv Dogra writes in The Pioneer:

Among the many splendours of his public discourse, Mr Amartya Sen’s The Argumentative Indian shines through. The image that it evokes is not that of a quarrelsome Indian, but of an enquiring, engaging and a questioning people. Mr Sen maintains that democracy flourishes amid a tradition of dispute, discussion and debate. And to cap his argument he quotes Ram Mohan Roy: “Just consider how terrible the day of your death will be, others will go on speaking, and you will not be able to argue back.” .... Mr Singh can still engage in debate with Mr LK Advani. People will then have the satisfaction of having judged them both, before casting their votes.

I agree wholeheartedly and find it amusing the same media which went into orgasmic frenzy over Mr.Modi's withdrawal from Devil's advocate is now refusing to press for a debate of the Prime Ministerial candidates. Just the TRPs such an event would generate should be enough to send all channels scurrying, unless there is a greater agenda.

While at the issue of criticism of Congress, let me add another point - Repeated reference to the shameful capitulation of Indian Government in the 1999 Kandahar hijack case. Is the media that amnesiac or simply devious? Even as a 14 year old, I remember following with distinct sense of unease, the public outrage orchestrated by the media in trying to get the Government to release the terrorists. Here's Kanchan Gupta on the crisis and its resolution:

“We want our relatives back. What difference does it make to us what you have to give the hijackers?” a man shouted. “We don’t care if you have to give away Kashmir,” a woman screamed and others took up the refrain, chanting: “Kashmir de do, kuchh bhi de do, hamare logon ko ghar wapas lao.” Another woman sobbed, “Mera beta… hai mera beta…” and made a great show of fainting of grief.
To his credit, Mr Jaswant Singh made bold to suggest that the Government had to keep the nation’s interest in mind, that we could not be seen to be giving in to the hijackers, or words to that effect, in chaste Hindi. That fetched him abuse and rebuke. “Bhaand me jaaye desh aur bhaand me jaaye desh ka hit. (To hell with the country and national interest),” many in the crowd shouted back. Stumped by the response, Mr Jaswant Singh could merely promise that the Government would do everything possible

(Read the entire article.)The only ones afraid to discuss an issue are the ones afraid of truth emerging from it. By skirting the issue and not engaging in direct debate, Congress is playing a dangerous game at undermining democracy and I believe it must pay the price.

PS: I hope this will be the only post taking up such a strong position against one particular party regarding the elections.

Monotheism

2009-04-07T20:55:00.007+05:30

A wise man foretells:

Therefore, more and more Hindus are concluding that we too should acquire the same reputation, we too should acquire the same capacity. In a word, three things are teaching the Hindus to become Islamic: the double-standards of the secularists and the State, the demonstrated success of the Muslims in bending both the State and the secularists by intimidation, and the fact that both the State and the secularists pay attention to the sentiments of Hindus only when the Hindus become a little Islamic.....Finally, a forecast : the more the secularists insist on double-standards, the more Islamic will the Hindus become

An observer comments:

Militant Hindutva is on the same monotheistic power trip. It is seeking to replace pluralist Hinduism with something that is more useful to attain power. If enough Hindus feel threatened by the power of rival monotheisms, Hindutva will take us in that direction. We may even end up replacing the narrow intolerance of caste with a broader intolerance of monotheism.

Although I agree with the broader direction of his thesis that Hindutva practised by RSS/VHP is growing monotheistic and intolerant, to club Swami Vivekananda and the entire monotheistic school of thought in Hinduism to the same branch is preposterous and ignorant to the core. One need not look any further than the Vedānta tradition of the yore to know the seeds of this particular school of thought were sown long ago. However, It didn't matter if there were monotheistic schools of thought in traditional Hinduism, because by definition, Hinduism was pluralist, "Ekam Sat bahuda viprah vadanti" . It is unfortunate that he looks at the monotheistic strains only through the prism of Abrahamic religions(Judaism, Christianity, Islam) which are by definition exclusive.

When it comes to god and worship, one religion isn't that better than the other as they are mostly related to a supernatural being and relegated to one's private space. The only contributions worth studying are those in the field of philosophy. Religion tried to answer the philosophical questions like "What is life?" "How does one go about living his life?" etc, and unfortunately the answers to these questions affect not just the individual practising the religion, but the entire society.

Choice

2009-04-06T12:52:00.004+05:30

From clockwork orange:

Choice. The boy has no real choice, has he? Self-interest, the fear of physical pain drove him to that grotesque act of self-abasement. Its insincerity was clearly to be seen. He ceases to be a wrongdoer. He ceases also to be a creature capable of moral choice.

The insincerity in this girl's testimony is also quite clear. I wonder how long denial can overrule reason and evidence.

Locus of Control

2009-04-02T12:50:00.004+05:30

According to Locus of control theories in psychology:

Perceived control is defined as a generalised expectancy for internal as opposed to external control of reinforcements." For every individual it spans between the extremes of "External"(where one believes everything is caused and influenced by external factors) and "Internal"(where one believes that everything is directly determined by one's own actions irrespective of the external factors)...
... A strong internal locus of control has been shown to have high correlation with a high 'need for achievement' and therefore greater motivation.

The "Left-Liberal" bias of a majority of "intellectuals"(connected to socio-economic studies or otherwise) may perhaps be explained thus: Most of the intellectuals(especially the ones at the top) are loathe to admit that any situation is beyond their sphere of control. They try hard to internalise the locus of control and believe that they can "do something" to "fix the system."

Resignation to external factors requires considerable amount of "swallowing one's pride" and it is not that easy for the high-fliers. It would seem arrogant coming even as it does, from the most powerful person on earth to say "We know what is wrong and we're going to fix it." Sadly, we don't know (yet) how to "fix it".

Therefore, how much ever the enlightened ones may insist that these ideas are dead, a few of us hold on to the ideas of libertarianism and capitalism not because it is bereft of ills, but because we believe that in trying to fix these ills without understanding the systems, we give birth to greater evils.

Democracy is passé

2009-03-28T13:35:00.007+05:30

Just as any other idea is, when it needs the conservatives to prop it up. We're not just talking about India and other fledgling democratic countries, but of the supposed torchbearers of modern democratic movements.

Also see some rather brilliant exhibits here, here and here (The last one in particular is going viral these days - We can replace Brown and UK with Manmohan singh and India and the indictment is still valid.)

Comic

2009-03-24T12:09:00.004+05:30

It is a sad commentary on the state of affairs of our fourth estate when comic strips and comedy-show hosts have had to take up the cudgel for accountability from the "serious" folks. If one still has doubts about the importance of units and the context, Here's exhibit 2:

Intentions and interpretations

2009-03-23T10:20:00.008+05:30

We have had apologists for all kinds of social evils in over the ages: People claiming how the intentions of caste system were purely professional classification; Claims that dowry was a system of maintenance; Claims that the church was usurping power merely to protect the society from destruction and dare I say, how Burqa is actually a symbol for women empowerment and how the Islamic militants today misinterpret and misuse the sacrosanct sayings of the Prophet.

It is high time these apologists (supposed progressives and liberals form the majority amongst them) woke up to the reality. To be a true progressive means to critically analyze and evaluate each and every act committed and purge (or atleast attempt to) the society of these evils. The caste system was vilified regardless of its intentions and rightly so! Over the centuries, it stood as a symbol for oppression by the elites in the society regardless of what its intentions were. Similarly dowry is rightfully criticized by one and all.

Why then, are we hung up on these interpretations of The Qu'ran? After all, it is not us, but the perpetrators of violence who interpret The holy book in ways that suit their agenda. It is moot to discuss whether the interpretation they use is right or wrong.The road to hell is paved with good intentions it is said. Ultimately the intentions don't matter half as much as the outcomes.

If any, it becomes imperative for the other schools of thought who oppose these interpretations to drown out these voices, cry for reform and enlighten the rest of the world. Until then, I believe it is a cardinal sin to ask(and to do) the rest of us ignoramuses to stop listening to our enemies, because "they don't represent the truth." A territorial conflict may be resolved by over powering the opponent, but a war of ideas and ideologies can't and won't be won in ignorance.

"Know the enemy and know yourself; in a hundred battles you will never be in peril. When you are ignorant of the enemy, but know yourself, your chances of winning or losing are equal. If ignorant both of your enemy and yourself, you are certain in every battle to be in peril."
---Sun Tzu, "The Art of War"

of Civilization and violence

2009-03-22T08:05:00.003+05:30

It is perhaps a romantic notion and very fashionable for the "psuedo-libertarian" group to diss the institution of police and state. But, as Dr.Pinker demonstrates in this talk, contrary to popular idea, we are living in the most peaceful of times.

That means that we are doing "something" right. It is important that we discuss the ills of our society as it exists today and strive to improve. However, that is not the same as the thoughtless nihilism being exhibited by some in the name of "libertarianism"

Why should we vote?

2009-03-20T12:21:00.007+05:30

The middle class in India seems to take great pride in not participating in the elections each year, claiming shelter under the "Cynicism" flagship. However hard they try to hide beneath this veneer, it is not cynicism but sheer laziness that drives them. Take for instance the beloved arm-chair libertarian about whom I had written earlier here:

.....So we must choose: It is either “democracy” or The Rule of Law. We cannot have both......

However, the sad story is that not one of our political parties is talking this language. Whether Tweedledum wins, or Tweedledee, or Tweedledumber, central spending policies are going to be the same

These are the same people that laugh at socialists who ask, "But if no one decides the policies, how will the society function?" That is the irony and tragedy of our times.

To commit the fallacy of "Argumentum ad hominem" against such people is very easy. Let me instead explain the reason why we should vote in a language that most would have no trouble understanding, that of money:

Votes are our currency, political parties are selling themselves and their policies. The sellers' products will reflect the demand from buyers, in other words: Why will I include features you want in a product when you aren't going to enter the market to buy an item, either from me or from my competitor? Am I not better off including features that my customers want?

Not participating in this market and then accusing the sellers of not providing you the products is quite disingenuous. For people who want to take it a step further: Once you start using your currency, sellers will automatically pop up with products that you want to buy. Isn't that the core of libertarian and capitalist market theories?

Here's an excerpt from a recent economics paper : "Polluting polls: When citizens should not vote"

"Irresponsible individual voters ought to abstain rather than vote badly. This thesis may seem anti-democratic. Yet it is really a claim about voter responsibility and how voters can fail to meet this responsibility. On my view, voters are not obligated to vote, but if they do vote, they owe it to others and themselves to be adequately rational, unbiased, just, and informed about their political beliefs...... We are not obligated to drive, but if we do drive, we ought to be responsible drivers. The same goes for voting."

And as a lot of votes are being sold for money, it becomes all the more important for those who believe that they are rational and informed to go out there and vote.

I do support the "None of the above" Vote, because that will at least send a signal to the politicians that you are not apathetic, but merely dissatisfied. In its absence however, apathy and dissatisfaction are indistinguishable and your voice won't be heard.

If these reasons weren't good enough, there is one last reason that trumps all: To deny the goons a chance of rigging your vote.

Varun Gandhi must go

2009-03-20T06:22:00.003+05:30

Again this provides a golden opportunity to the BJP to put to rest accusations regarding its communal agenda. Whatever the RSS or the BJP may claim, such inciting speech is not welcome and he should be punished for that at the very least by edging him out of the elections.
But, we all know that it wont happen. And here's why:

(1) Gandhi is a powerful family name to have and the BJP think it is a great fortune to have one of them (and so young at that) fighting on their side at a time when Rahul is supposedly taking the youth by storm.(Youth voting as the young is a phenomenon I just cannot get my head around but that is a different issue altogether).

(2)There are sympathisers to what Varun Gandhi voiced amongst the BJP cadre.

(3) Some of them might even view the opinions aired as being merely "reactionary" i.e even the most incendiary of statements began with a "if a Muslim attacks .."

(4) The Double standards - Ram Vilas Paswan used none less than an "Osama bin laden" look-alike in 2005 elections. and of course the worst of them all

(5) We don't punish openly communal messages like these and some of our intellectuals like Shabana Azmi even ratify them to a certain extent by statements like:

Yes, except you know when people say that this is for Muslim votes, I do not see any problem with that. If there is a constituency that is voting for you, then hopefully, you will pay attention to that constituency. There is nothing wrong with that.That’s what you are supposed to do. You see, if you have voted me into power, then it is my business to protect your rights. What’s wrong with that?

These idiots!

2009-03-17T10:01:00.004+05:30

Some people have way too much time on their hands. Of all the things to be "offended by", statue of Charlie chaplin near a temple !
I have held the UPA bunch of communal goons in great contempt for the past few years because of the way they've gone about dividing the society for minority vote politics. I admire some of the NDA leaders for having an intellectual capacity and a backbone to stand up for their ideas like Mr.Arun Shourie, Mr. Jaswant Singh, even L.K.Advani.
But these idiots lower down have gone about the past few years thoroughly dismantling any and every opportunity handed to them on a plate by the UPA. It is sad to see that the leaders don't condemn these ideas either.
Some BJP leader said in this context:

The local head of the Bharatiya Janata Party, a Hindu nationalist and India’s main opposition party, said there was no place for Chaplin in the region. “If the locals are against such a statue, I am also against it,” he told The Times of India. “Why should one bother so much about Charlie Chaplin, who was not even an Indian?”

That explains the motivations. It doesn't matter whether it is right or wrong, politicians formulate policies that get them votes. Similar is the tale of N.Chandrababu Naidu and TDP in Andhra Pradesh. He was a pioneer in bringing about reforms and cutting down on the bureaucracy etc. But he was voted out in 2004 and he is now driven into an unholy alliance with the very parties that he had made thoroughly insignificant - the CPI, CPI(M).

Media and Us

2009-03-16T05:54:00.003+05:30

One of my most consistent complaints has been against the double standards in the media. Of course, they are not the perpetrators, merely abettors in the cause that is - the rape of our society. But, why am I more concerned about the media than about our politicians?

The answer lies in (1) accountability and (2) impact.

We are the consumers who pay for the very existence of the media that has been conspiring to such an extent in trying to dupe us. Take a look at this clip

My aim in trying to point out inconsistencies in media reporting are similar in nature. The only way to avoid serfdom is for us to demand quality from our fourth estate and watch out for our own selves. It is also not without reason to assume that they go a long way in shaping the public opinion as has been repeatedly seen by the propagandas in totalitarian regimes.

Mind you, I'm not asking for absolute neutrality and bias free reporting- That would be idealistic and impractical. I'm merely asking for a representation of the entire spectrum of voices so that with forces pulling in all directions, the extremists' and fundamentalists' plans are dampened down and the system may settle in an equilibrium with the domination of moderate voices.

PS: Ruminations brought about by the recent happenings on this episode of daily show.

Government

2009-03-13T19:17:00.004+05:30

Governments around the world are just a huge waste of time and resources primarily trying to create more work to justify their existence (or atleast justify their huge budgets).
The latest offering comes from the Government of Scotland - a Sin tax on chocolate:

A controversial call for a tax on chocolate to curb obesity was narrowly rejected by doctors today.Lanarkshire GP David Walker led calls for an increase in chocolate prices as a way of tackling weight-related conditions like diabetes.
But delegates at a British Medical Association (BMA) conference in Clydebank, West Dunbartonshire, today voted down the plan. The motion was lost by two votes, the BMA said.

I hate it when government tries to poke its nose into places where it doesn't belong. Whether I starve or stuff myself should be my choice and not that of a hundred other people who have nothing to do with my life! Of course, the extra money generated by such a tax would only serve in the government having to find more reasons for its existence and a vicious cycle of interference and "Big brother" hood.

Identity

2009-03-13T09:20:00.003+05:30

The essay "Keep your identity small" by Paul Graham makes many poignant points.

I think what religion and politics have in common is that they become part of people's identity, and people can never have a fruitful argument about something that's part of their identity. By definition they're partisan............

.........The most intriguing thing about this theory, if it's right, is that it explains not merely which kinds of discussions to avoid, but how to have better ideas. If people can't think clearly about anything that has become part of their identity, then all other things being equal, the best plan is to let as few things into your identity as possible......

......A scientist isn't committed to believing in natural selection in the same way a bibilical literalist is committed to rejecting it. All he's committed to is following the evidence wherever it leads.

I do agree that the identity can cause a partisan bias. Therefore, the foremost trait to infuse your identity with, would be a strong streak of self-awareness and self-criticism. This will automatically lead to pruning of the useless edges that start taking roots in one's identity from time to time. I also like the way he proposes this theory but claims no authority over its veracity.

His other essays are also enjoyable and thought-provoking and my first contact with his writing came through the essay: "Lies we tell our kids".

Objectivity of truth

2009-03-11T18:10:00.006+05:30

Orwell writes in the Tribune on Feb 4, 1944 in his column "As I please":

...Up to a fairly recent date, the major events recorded in the history books probably happened. It is probably true that the battle of Hastings was fought in 1066, that Columbus discovered America, that Henry VIII had six wives, and so on. A certain degree of truthfulness was possible so long as it was admitted that a fact may be true even if you don't like it. Even as late as the last war it was possible for the Encyclopedia Britannica, for instance, to compile its articles on the various campaigns partly from German sources. Some of the facts — the casualty figures, for instance — were regarded as neutral and in substance accepted by everybody. No such thing would be possible now. A Nazi and a non-Nazi version of the present war would have no resemblance to one another, and which of them finally gets into the history books will be decided not by evidential methods but on the battlefield.....
.

My admiration knows no bounds when it comes to Orwell's insights. Take the recent Israel-Palestine conflict which has produced gems like Pallywood or the "Al-Dura murder":

Or our very own "Godhra riots", one version of truth is vastly different from another. Orwell says later in the same essay:

The really frightening thing about totalitarianism is not that it commits ‘atrocities’ but that it attacks the concept of objective truth; it claims to control the past as well as the future.

A totalitarian regime doing this is not surprising, but a whole bunch of cronies running the media, doctoring the truth to protect their life-long investments into a hollow ideology is catastrophic.

"We are not the sole owners, but custodians of the liberties we enjoy today . We have inherited these liberties which were won by bitter struggles of our predecessors and it is our duty to safeguard them for our successors."[1]

For the past few years(decades?) we have grown complacent and turned into that fat behemoth that is crushed under its own weight. It is high time we cast away our apathy and learn to shoulder our responsibilities.

[1] I cannot recollect who said this

Standards

2009-03-10T22:58:00.004+05:30

Take a look at the interview. By her own admission, Mrs. Shabana Azmi had a very secular upbringing and she was only questioned about her "Muslim origins" after the Mumbai riots.("It is only when they were affected that they woke up" ) She claims that this led to her "digging in her heels". Let us turn that around for a moment. Let us discount the earlier part of her statement which provides a rationale for the discrimination she had to face(not judging the validity of it), Isn't it entirely plausible that most of the "Right-wing" activism taking place these days maybe a reaction to the way anything and everything to do with "the majority's way of life" is vilified as regressive and pre-historic?

Here is Mr.Arun Shourie writing in "Strong to the weak, weak to the strong"

Many Hindus also notice the other thing -- the one I mentioned as the reason as against the rationalization for no artist ever being galvanized by the creative urge when it comes to painting the features of the Prophet. They notice that the artists do not do so, not because these masters cannot do so, nor because their muse never goads them in this direction, but because they know that, were they to do so, they would be set upon. And that the State -- which is weak, and which also has internalized the same double-standards to rationalize its weakness -- will not come to their rescue. Therefore, more and more Hindus are concluding that we too should acquire the same reputation, we too should acquire the same capacity. In a word, three things are teaching the Hindus to become Islamic: the double-standards of the secularists and the State, the demonstrated success of the Muslims in bending both the State and the secularists by intimidation, and the fact that both the State and the secularists pay attention to the sentiments of Hindus only when the Hindus become a little Islamic.....
Finally, a forecast : the more the secularists insist on double-standards, the more Islamic will the Hindus become.

I wonder if people like Mrs.Azmi have ever heard of "Cognitive dissonance"
It is alright for the youth to take on a radical ideology because they were boxed into that corner by discrimination, but it is not right for the majority to associate that ideology has anything to do with the actions of these youth. In other words, "victimisation of the aggressor."
Correlation does not imply causation, but it does waggle its eyebrows suggestively and gesture furtively to 'look over there' (xkcd). Perhaps it is important to take a look at why there is such a high correlation between certain ideologies and acts.

Pensions

2009-03-09T12:45:00.004+05:30

and incentives for terrorist activities (in Kashmir):

I cannot decide whether I should laugh or cry:

"किसी के साथ मानवी चेहरॆ से पॆश आना अपने देश का नागरीक है और इस्के साथ हम आशा करते है की हमारे देश मै शांति स्थापित होगी "

"To deal humanely with anyone is our culture, and we hope that this step will lead to greater peace in our country" Indeed!
(Please note this was around sometime late January, 2008 when the great goat Mr.Shivaraj Patil was still our home minister) Link from here

Like-Hate

2009-03-08T11:58:00.003+05:30

I cringe each time I hear sentences like "She was like 'I didn't do it' " or " We were like enjoying ourselves". I understand language is more about being able to understand the other and not about a set of rigid rules to be followed, but Why, oh why? Why can't people learn to simply drop the word altogether. The sentences are perfectly fine without "like".

Elections

2009-03-01T15:28:00.004+05:30

Whatever may be the shortcomings of India as a democracy, there have always been a few saving graces. The Office of the President as we all know was sullied long ago, first in 1975 and then in 2007. However, one office remained above this menial bickering. As kids, we learnt from daily cartoons about the mythical powers of the Election Commission using which T.N.Seshan, put political parties in their place. Alas that time is no more.

Know our next Chief Election Commissioner, Mr. Navin Chawla, better:

At the time of the Emergency of 1975-77, Navin Chawla was private secretary to the lieutenant governor of Delhi Kishan Chand (who later committed suicide unable to bear the 'humiliation' following the adverse finding about him in the Shah Commission's report). According to Justice Shah, Chawla, along with his cohorts in the police at the time, 'exercised enormous powers during the emergency because they had easy access to the then prime minister's house. Their approach to the problems of the period relating to the citizens was authoritarian and callous. They grossly misused their position and abused their powers in cynical disregard of the welfare of the citizens, and in the process rendered themselves unfit to hold any public office which demands an attitude of fair play and consideration for others. In their relish for power, they completely subverted the normal channels of command and administrative procedures.'

Declared by the same commission's findings to be “unfit to hold any public office which demands an attitude of fair play and consideration for others”, Ladies and gentlemen! join me in giving a warm welcome to our next Chief Election Commissioner.

Money

2009-02-27T19:32:00.003+05:30

There are four ways in which you can spend money. You can spend your own money on yourself. When you do that, why then you really watch out what you’re doing, and you try to get the most for your money. Then you can spend your own money on somebody else. For example, I buy a birthday present for someone. Well, then I’m not so careful about the content of the present, but I’m very careful about the cost. Then, I can spend somebody else’s money on myself. And if I spend somebody else’s money on myself, then I’m sure going to have a good lunch!Finally, I can spend somebody else’s money on somebody else. And if I spend somebody else’s money on somebody else, I’m not concerned about how much it is, and I’m not concerned about what I get. And that’s government. And that’s close to 40% of our national income.

While Friedman may have been generous to suggest that government spends somebody's money on someone else, in Indian context I'd be happy if the government spends money for somebody else instead of on itself. I'm no economist, but a fiscal deficit amounts to borrowing money for current spending. In this light, the projected deficits of 12.3% GDP in the US and as much as 10% of GDP in India make for a very sorry reading. And the claim of 5.3% growth rate seems highly inflated as it is primarily driven by 17% growth in ‘community, social and personal services': in other words government sops ahead of the parliamentary elections.

Words and Meanings

2009-02-26T16:14:00.003+05:30

Taken from Orwell's Politics and English language :

" The word Fascism has now no meaning except in so far as it signifies "something not desirable." The words democracy, socialism, freedom, patriotic, realistic, justice have each of them several different meanings which cannot be reconciled with one another. In the case of a word like democracy, not only is there no agreed definition, but the attempt to make one is resisted from all sides. It is almost universally felt that when we call a country democratic we are praising it: consequently the defenders of every kind of regime claim that it is a democracy, and fear that they might have to stop using that word if it were tied down to any one meaning. Words of this kind are often used in a consciously dishonest way. "

In combination with Goodwin's law - we have a "perfect recipe for nauseous cliches" from the media. Anything opposed to the "liberal" interpretation is labeled "fascist" and the actors are Nazi-incarnates.
Of course, GenX cannot fathom the horrors perpetrated by the Nazis (in no small part thanks to our education), so the next best crutch to hang on to is Taliban. So, we have our Hon'ble minister for women's welfare Renuka Chowdhary beating on about "Talibanisation of India" on the Mangalore attack(at the same time mum on the acid throwing incident.)

Reminds me of:

The Daily Show With Jon StewartM - Th 11p / 10c

Bill O'Reilly's Right to Privacy

Daily Show Full Episodes
Important Things With Demetri Martin

Funny Political News
Joke of the Day

Nothing less is expected from a professional politician, but the media has been the worst offender. Just because the goons involved in Mangalore incident were organized thugs with manifestos which could be used to corner all right-wingers, it made into the front pages. The more dangerous attacks like the ones here 1, 2, (not just in terms of intrusion into society but also due to the apathy on display from the bystanders) are relegated to back pages if not completely ignored. One may shrug away this unscrupulous behaviour from the media giants as profit driven, but the buck doesn't stop there.

As much as we may like to deny it, media goes a long way in shaping the public perceptions. It is important to call its bluff whenever it peddles propaganda or half-truths as news. Exhibits 1, 2, 3, 4 among many many others.

Freedom of speech

2009-02-24T16:03:00.004+05:30

"Take away all my freedoms, but the freedom of speech so that I can win them back"
Watch the video, "Ezra Levant" a conservative on The Micheal coren show. The interview is about "Free speech" and well worth your time, but this particular segment is relevant to what's happening across the world right now.

It is ironic that the conservatives are fighting for free speech whereas the "liberals" are bedfellows with those who want to regulate "offensive speech".

Something in our very own backyard to match it. Here's the background : the UN(or rather its oil-peddling puppeteers) introduced a legislation banning the defamation of "religion". Johann Hari had published an essay criticizing this erosion of free speech in "The Independent" which was reprinted in "The Statesman".

The UN’s Rapporteur on Human Rights has always been tasked with exposing and shaming those who prevent free speech – including the religious. But the Pakistani delegate recently demanded that his job description be changed so he seeks out and condemns “abuses of free expression” including “defamation of religions and prophets”. The council agreed – so the job has been turned on its head. Instead of condemning the people who tried to murder Salman Rushdie, they will be condemning Salman Rushdie himself.

Of course, we get the entire media crowing over how the freedom of an artist is being compromised when there is outrage over paintings of naked Hindu goddesses, but we don't get quite the same squeaks from our esteemed media when their fellow editor gets arrested for hurting the religious feelings. The editors had to bend over backwards and beg to be released from prison(and they have my sympathies here).

I am heartened to see that at least the author could afford to stand by his views.

What should an honest defender of free speech say in this position? Every word I wrote was true. I believe the right to openly discuss religion, and follow the facts wherever they lead us, is one of the most precious on earth – especially in a democracy of a billion people riven with streaks of fanaticism from a minority of Muslims, Hindus and Sikhs. So I cannot and will not apologize..... Nothing worth saying is inoffensive to everyone....

They are people like Sayed Pervez Kambaksh, the young Afghan journalism student who was sentenced to death for downloading a report on women's rights. They are people like the staff of Zanan, one of Iran's leading reform-minded women's magazines, who have been told they will be jailed if they carry on publishing. They are people like the 27-year old Muslim blogger Abdel Rahman who has been seized, jailed and tortured in Egypt for arguing for a reformed Islam that does not enforce shariah law.
It would be a betrayal of them – and the tens of thousands of journalists like them – to apologize for what I wrote. Yes, if we speak out now, there will be turbulence and threats, and some people may get hurt. But if we fall silent – if we leave the basic human values of free speech, feminism and gay rights undefended in the face of violent religious mobs – then many, many more people will be hurt in the long term. Today, we have to use our right to criticise religion – or lose it.

Read the complete article here .

Libertarian thoughts

2009-02-23T19:17:00.003+05:30

I've often described myself as a libertarian. It pains me to see what shallowness passes for libertarian thought. I do believe that outlawing cannabis is restriction of personal freedom and that it is yet another act of "paternalism" showered upon us by government. But, he says

" Tomorrow night, I will not be celebrating. No Boom Shankar for me. Not if it is criminal. I despair for the Hindus. All pious, all cowardly."

Accusing people of cowardice because they don't fight for your cause in which most of them have not an iota of interest is libertarianism?

In another context, he had written :

"I sincerely doubt whether such a brazen strike by just 25 armed men would have caused so much damage and lasted so long if all decent Mumbaikars had guns of their own. In fact, if they did have guns, such an attack would have perished at the thought itself. It would not have been even contemplated."

Forget the terms "Economies of scale" and "specialization of trade" that are central to the very theme of development, but even an idiot could see that citizens with hand guns and pistols would be mincemeat in the hands of trained (specialized) operators using AK-47s , grenades etc. Of course, how can I not tip the esteemed libertarian's latest offering:

"In the old days, prosecution was the individual’s prerogative. He collected the evidence himself and argued his own case."

return the jungle-law? "Ban the police", Indeed!

Remember children, any ideology and ideologue is to be mistrusted. True libertarians do not argue that their ideology is the best, but only argue that it is the ideology that descends the most gracefully into "real world". In other words, they are set aside by their pragmatic world view.
I think instead of his vocation as a "psuedo-intellectual" he should just admit to being a hipster who wants his freedom - I'd have way more respect for him that way.

Leadership

2009-02-22T13:53:00.004+05:30

The Iron law of Oligarchy:

All forms of organization, regardless of how democratic or autocratic they may be at the start, will eventually and inevitably develop into oligarchies. The reasons for this are the technical indispensability of leadership, the tendency of the leaders to organize themselves and to consolidate their interests; the gratitude of the led towards the leaders, and the general immobility and passivity of the masses.

This leads directly to the question of importance of leadership. The great paradox about the leaders of our times is that they make decisions on things which are best left to us individuals and on issues that are best addressed by leaders(experts), tend to follow the masses. A mixture of condescension, ignorance, apathy and arrogance seems to be the recipe for leaders these days.

History

2009-02-22T00:30:00.007+05:30

We all (I assume I'm speaking for quite a few here) have known the horrors of "studying" history.
Here's a brilliant indictment of the way history is taught in our schools. A few paragraphs that stand out :

The astonishing part of the proposed rewriting of history by the Marxists was that interpretations changed quite merrily with their contemporary political proclivities. In our time, the Congress was Enemy No 1; it was a bourgeois-landlord party that collaborated with the imperialists to deny the people their true political rights. This culminated, according to the Leftists, in a false freedom in 1947.

With the rise of the BJP and the growing challenge of “communalism”, the focus shifted to the need to defend “secularism”. Howlers were, thus, perpetrated in history textbooks so that impressionable students believed that all Muslim rulers were adorable things viciously denigrated by trishul-wielding “RSS historians”

Short of exhorting children to offer prayers to Mahmud of Ghazni, Mohammad Ghauri, Nadir Shah and Aurangzeb, our new textbooks will do everything to run down all indigenous achievements. Maharana Pratap, for example, finds just a one-line reference in the SCERT book and Aryabhata none!

The unstated purpose behind this savage attack on Indian history is not mere jobbery; it is a deliberate attempt to berate India, its civilisation, religion and culture. It is aimed at emaciating the people morally and psychologically so that instead of taking pride in the country we become ashamed of its past.

Like Friedman said in another context "One of our best hopes is the inefficiency of the government- With the amount of power they hold, if they were efficient, we'd be slaves by now."(Paraphrased) I am thankful that history is taught in such a dry, thoroughly soporific way so that the majority of us forget most of this propaganda.

Dell 1520 on XP

2009-02-19T07:59:00.002+05:30

Downgrading my laptop OS to XP from Vista has been quite frustrating. Initial streamlining of XP cd with SATA drivers (using nlite) and scrambling with BIOS settings aside, the most irritating aspect of running XP on this laptop has been incompatible/buggy drivers.

The Realtek soundcard and modem share the same bus, causing some conflicts. Initially device manager reports Modem for improperly installation, after a lot of trials when it does recognize the modem properly, a "Conexant API system" shows up as Corrupted. I believe this was the primary cause for the innumerable and persistent crashes in Fallout 3 on my system.

The videocard drivers as usual cannot be installed directly from nvidia's website and have to be encased in a "Dell wrapper". The worst part however is with a bug in the wireless driver. For Intel 3945abg card, the driver versions 11.1.1.3 and above start freezing the network connection- especially when I try to connect to gmail with chat enabled and so on. Two ways to get around this are to downgrade to 11.1.1.22 and/or set the power management in configuration of wireless adapter to "highest power" setting.

Non-violence

2009-02-18T07:29:00.002+05:30

No masters of satire can beat this

Gems like :
"As for the TNSM, it was formed by Sufi Mohammad in 1988. He himself is a simple and peaceful man who does not preach violence except in the way of jihad against non- Muslims."

and "his led to violence and the TNSM took control of six districts. New rules for traffic were introduced and all kinds of transport were forced to move on the right side of the road, the left being deemed un-Islamic. This resulted in numerous road accidents."

Words are unnecessary.

Oder Neisse radweg - II

2008-04-27T12:53:00.007+05:30

Going southwards on Oder-Neisse radweg from Frankfurt (oder), I planned to reach Cottbus. The usual wrestling with online maps revealed a rough estimate of ~120 km to reach Cottbus if I were to travel along the radweg to Forst and then hit the motorway. (or atleast normal streets)

The problem this time was finding the trail. I got stuck on the L381 (it had a cycle lane thankfully) but after reaching Lossow where it met with the highway(L112) I had to scamper to find the radweg. It is here that I could quantify the effect strong wind has been having on my trips of late. With no wind in the afternoon, I hit an average 24kmph easily and reached Eisenhuttenstadt.
After reaching Neuzelle, the terrain became hilly(or I should say slopy as the road was still very good). Tall trees with creepers growing along their lengths were to be found along the way.

Somewhere between Eisenhuttenstadt and Guben, I came across this piece of (farm?)land. On closer inspection, the sandy parts seemed like they'd been recently harvested.
Its been a long time I must admit, since I just lay down in the grass in broad daylight.

In Guben, I found this beautiful street. Germany's answer to Japan's sakura?

And finally the object of much shame, disgust, disgrace et al. The plan was to go to Cottbus, (from where I would catch a train back to Frankfurt oder), but it seems the distance mentioned in the maps was erroneous. If I were to take the radweg, Forst would be 40 km and Cottbus a further 25km (this on the highway). On the other hand If I took the normal road to Cottbus, I had option of taking L380(33km) or L112(45km) and I went by road leading out to L380 until I reached this junction.

Speed Limit of 80kmph and hardly any space to dodge. A Car every 5-10 sec at 18:30. Long story short, after about 15 min of trying to find another way around it, I turned tail, rode back to Guben's railway station and took a train back home at 19:44. A ride of 75-80km had never felt so incomplete.

Checkpoint charlie

2008-04-21T02:38:00.008+05:30

After coming to Germany, I've read (tried to, am reading) about its history. The first time I went to Berlin, I ended up buying "The Berlin Wall" by Frederick Taylor. A very interesting read and suggested for anyone trying to find out more about the politics behind one of the most dramatic stand-offs in 20th century. The historic events that shaped Germany after war are described in a style that makes you feel as if the events are unfolding right in front of your eyes.
However, I feel that the author's bitterness about abolition of Deutschemark in exchange for Euro after unification is misplaced. (I won't claim to know too much about Economics, but I doubt a more stable currency is bad for the economy under any conditions).

I visited Checkpoint Charlie today- the most famous/infamous crossing point between East and West Berlin that saw many cat and mouse games between the Allies (now England, France and US) and the Soviet.

The walls from the blockade time are converted to a memorial with history behind this iron curtain posted for all to see and ... remember.

Also check out some of these pics taken from the Berlin TV tower(203m high which the elevator takes you about 40 sec)

In the "Memorial for fallen Jews of Europe", I bought a book called "Five Germanys that I have known" by Fritz Stern. I didn't know who the hell this guy was, just bought it on a whim after reading the preface.
An interruption due to "The undercover economist" in addition to the amount of time I'm reading these days(~40 min a day, mostly on the tram) means it took a long time getting this off the blocks, but the story has become quite interesting, and I hope to finish it soon.

Oder Neisse Radweg

2008-04-21T02:07:00.011+05:30

Followed the recipe from last saturday. The target this time - Oder Neisse Cycling trail. Its a cycling way along the river (the small print being for most part which I conveniently didn't notice). Without a map, I ended up in this slush:
Navigating my way through it, I managed to reach this small hillock. A customary hike to the top meant it was already 16:30 and I had to get back to find the route.

The path promised a lot. Far from vehicles zooming past you and threatening to grind you to pieces and a lot of greenery on either side with river in sight for the best part.
However, this dream crashed as soon as I passed Lebus. Here the road was more open and it was mighty tough riding against a stiff breeze blowing at 20-30 km/h.

It got bad enough that I thought of returning from Reitwein, but I'm glad I stuck through till the end.

Only trouble is cold wind that keeps blowing into you numbs your hands completely. I saw a couple of fawns, a deer, and some other animal I couldn't identify and a number of birds. But, by the time I could get the camera out , it would get away. At one point, I tried to unzip my blazer so quickly that I'm sure the fawn ran away just from the sound.
And I did see a couple of hunting wagons parked by the way. My imaginative brain, already on a high due to the breathtaking surroundings began dreaming of getting hit by a stray bullet from these hunters.

Kostrzyn - Check

Trip to poland

2008-04-16T01:55:00.012+05:30

A late night on friday and I was thinking that a trip across the country was as probable as the nice lady* at immigration office gift wrapping my visa and coming home to deliver it as a belated valentine's gift. Waking up at 11 and lazily dragging myself off to the gym just reinforced that belief as it was already 3 in the afternoon by the time I'd showered and settled down.
Having cold cereal (brunch? lunch? evening snack? ) gave me a brainwave(Damn! I should've paid heed to this warning)

But off I went taking my cycle along
Make that "when I got onto my bicycle"

I came to the bridge across the stream that people here like to call "river Oder", on the other side of which lay the sister town of Slubice(Poland). Lured by the promise of unspoken riches and unbelievable beauty, I cycled across the bridge and to circle from one end to the other for about an hour when I saw a road leading out.

On cycling a bit further and out of slubice, I found a sign that said
"kunowice :3km
Osno lubuskie :26km."

A 3km stretch didn't seem like much so I went to kunowice. Ofcourse, I had to make sure that I saw the entire town/village/settlement, so I cycled to the place where they have "town ends" sing - A board with a red line striking across the town's name.

There was another sign next to the "town ends" that read "Nowe Biskupice : 4km".
I had to see this. So off I went again, and in the same way the villages of Sullow, Kowalow, Serbow were all graced by my cycle's presence. Having come this far, I also dragged myself off to Osno Lubuskie. By this time it was already 5:30 in the evening and I thought it prudent to head back when the sun is still shining.
Although I didn't take a camera with me I found this picture of town hall in Osno Lubuskie, at the poland tourism center. Hope they don't mind it.

Thus I fell victim to the devious trap of the Poles who put tempting signs that to me read
"Come one, Come all, Next village is only 3 km ahead. Don't miss this opportunity..."

The road map
View Larger Map

Talking shit about a pretty sunset

Oh, noose
Tied myself in, tied myself too tight

Looking kind of anxious in your cross-armed stance
Like a bad tempered prom queen at a homecoming dance
And I claim I'm not excited with my life anymore
So I blame this town, this job, these friends, the truth is it's myself
And I'm trying to understand myself and pinpoint who I am
When I finally get it figured out, I've changed the whole damn plan

Oh, noose
Tied myself in, tied myself too tight
Oh, noose
Tied myself in, tied myself too tight

Talking shit about a pretty sunset
Blanketing opinions that I'll probably regret soon
Changed my mind so much I can't even trust it
My mind changed me so much I can't even trust myself

-Modest Mouse

* My troubles with the hot lady in Immigration/Foreign office here in Frankfurt(oder) who has made me visit the same office 5 times and still not issued the schengen visa required for my real eurotrip are beyond the scope of this study.

Anyone can cook - Part II

2008-04-14T18:25:00.004+05:30

I have read the paper linked by anonymous reader on my last post. For the interested the abstract is here and the full paper is here.

I have tried to review the paper critically. I loathe to admit it, but I don't understand the statistical methods used in this paper entirely. However, I'm always sceptical when it comes to media, and this will be no exception so I will talk about the issues that bother me.

Looking at the wiki page for the regression method to be used correctly, I find that

"1)The sample must be representative of the population for the inference prediction."

The sample used was equal number of applications from the dalit, muslim and upper class population which violates this basic assumption.(population ratios are 12% muslims, upperclass 25-44% , dalits 24%)

I need not go further but let me add, the study might still have been valid if the "12 applications" sent by the authors of this paper to each job were the only applications they received.
But by their own admission, these were jobs at "entry level" to which any graduate could have access to and advertised widely(a fair assumption).

It doesn't need a genius to figure out that this study falls flat when the number of graduates churned out by our education system each year are considered. Also consider that the number of responses they received (total) was less than 10%.

Even if the "correlation" claimed by this study were to be true, it doesn't imply causation.
On the other hand as some people have pointed out in here, it might be a case of market adaptation.

However, I do realize that we all have stereotypes and bias as demonstrated over at IAT.
I just think that reservations only help in promoting these stereotypes and exacerbating the situation.

Lastly about the concept of introducing reservations in private institutions, it is infringing on personal rights.

PS: on the same note watch this brilliant interview

Anyone can cook

2008-04-14T02:07:00.003+05:30

Now that everyone and her grandma has already written about their views on the reservation, I will pull out my post which I had written in response to this post.

I had expressed my opinions in the comments which I will post below with a few edits.
First the assumptions that "Forward castes = Brahmins" and OBC = "dalits" are lazy metaphors at best and at worst, poisonous opportunist rants.

For all the talk about “upper-caste reactionaries”, in the last 10-20 years or even 50 years after independance, hardly has one law been implemented that can be termed “upper caste reactionary” in nature. On the other hand, many laws have been passed “intended for hte benefit of the downtrodden” Whether they have achieved that is a different matter altogether.

According to the surveys at hand, OBC population is between 32-52%. ( a 52% population was shown as rationalization for 27% reservations for OBCs). An SC/ST population combine of 24% in total means that the forward castes make up about 26-44% of the population. In a properly functioning democracy that means no greater clout than the rest of groups and in a skewed system like ours even less so. In such a case, the argument that "upper classes hold all the aces" doesn't hold.

It is true that performance is not solely decided by genes. It is also dependant on nurture. But that is all the more reason that we do away with reservations. Reservations were drafted in with the "noble intention" of leveling the field for socially disadvantaged. However, it is serving only to promote mediocrity.

Whatever be the rationale of caste system, it is a fact that it was used as a vehicle for oppression. It doesn't mean that the upper classes shall now be punished for the sins their ancestors committed.

Unfortunately, reservations in India are seen as a) punishment for the centuries of oppression and b) opportunity to gain (unfair) advantage. The rhetoric of hatred against upper classes attains new heights by each passing day. For example this part of which I will quote below

is one-sided diet itself, that was loaded with cereals—then seen as the cheapest, and the most easily available source of calories. Consequently, this decision, in turn affected the minimum daily wages, the determination of the poverty line, and not to mention, making the Public Distribution System what it is today, i.e. a machinery doling out rice and wheat at cheap rates, but no meat, egg or nuts, or any non-vegetarian food at all. So in a country where vegetarians are a definite minority, we now plan our daily meals based on a notion of a Brahminical notion of a “easily available, balanced diet” *

Anything and everything is turned into a upper class conspiracies against lower classes. We also have people like this who can say something like this

"We should close down the IITs and the IIMs as they pander to the upper-caste economy of the country. Those who pass out from these institutes use their technical and managerial skills to earn dollars abroad. Are they using their skill sets to the benefit of the agro-based economy of the country? Tell me, with rising incomes of our B-school graduates are farmer suicide rates coming down? So what is the use of such education if it cannot be put to any use within the country or for the uplift of the majority of the population who live in villages?"

Its stupid enough that I wouldn't bother commenting about. But turns out he is the HOD at political science department, Osmania university. He also featured on a debate on TV, in which he was calling for "intellectual equality". Excuse me! but I would like to start an agitation for athletic equality. (London 2012, here I come!).

Did I forget to mention that nobody ever cares about or even dares to mention caste in a private organization? People like Mr.HOD above will still argue that its because everybody there belongs to upper class, the organizations are dominated by upper classes and therefore we need reservations there too. However, it might just be respect born out of the fact that everyone there has earned it.

Hatred and revenge will not lead us anywhere. "The Holocaust" is perhaps the most glaring example of where hatred can lead us.

I will borrow a quote from the movie Ratatouille, "Not everyone can be a great artist, however a great artist can come from anywhere".

Power

2008-04-07T03:42:00.005+05:30

I have to admit that I've been underestimating the power of knowledge for a longtime. Even when the RTI act was passed, I wondered how knowing would empower us. Its not until I visited Memorial to the Murdered Jews in Berlin that I'd realized.

This memorial has some of the most haunting memoirs written by many Jews from the times when the noose was just starting to tighten, to when they were in ghettos or just before they were hauled away to the concentration camps. The most disturbing theme throughout these is the most effective way in which Nazi's obfuscated their knowledge of what was happening. Very little was known about the fate that lies ahead. All knowledge they had was from stories of others and in times of crises their credibility is low, a fact highlighted quite brilliantly in The Schindler's list as a nighttime dialogue in a ghetto

"No, I can't believe it's true. We are their work force. What sense does it make to kill your own work force ? To go to all this trouble of assembling a work force only to--
No, it can't be true."

This theme of propaganda and censorship recurs in most authoritarian regimes but is most conspicuous in Soviet during Stalin's times, in East Germany during Ulbricht and Honecker and most recently in our good old friend China. In India, we needn't look farther than the emergency and ofcourse the mouthpiece

I couldn't fathom the far reaching consequences of propaganda until I met a colleague from China. When asked about the communist regime he said that he'd thought it was the best system until he'd seen the other side and that probably people outside China knew better history about China including important events like Tiannamen Square incidents. The worst though was his dismissal of Tibetan uprisings as "stupid, because no one will let them go anyway". Perhaps patriotism. But it will be hard to explain the apathy to human rights violation with that alone.

Shades

2008-04-05T18:28:00.005+05:30

She felt confident. A lifetime of struggles and identity crises lay behind her. As she lay contemplating about the events that shaped her, a familiar voice called out to her. It seemed to be a voice from long back, back when she was still a little cub, scared and confused.
As they sat chatting, talk turned philosophical. She was confident, confident enough to acknowledge the uncertainties of life. As she talked about them, the voice questioned, shocked, "What happened to all your confidence? You were so confident back then".

It was her turn to be stunned. Was she such an hypocrite earlier? or Did she evolve into someone who could express her emotions better now? or Did she forget how to hide them? or was there any reason anymore to even try to hide? Interesting questions to keep her company even as they parted ways perhaps never to cross paths again.

Confidence for quiet

What a day, that I’ve left behind
You forgave, said I’ve done my time
I’ve been good, animation ryhme
Sisterhood, can I find that line
Not anymore, I don’t feel it
I’m not hopeless, tragic
No, nothing no more to say
I’ve got freedom, no more calling

I don’t care
I’ll walk away
‘Cause I’ve got confidence for quiet
I’m not afraid

I’m not hungry, no I’m over fed
Satisfied, with the life I’ve led
Moving on, to where you can’t see
What is me
Well it’s just for me

Mine end of the line
You don’t hear it crashing silent
You’re all gone left me behind
Is this freedom no one’s calling

I don’t care, I’ll walk away
‘Cause I’ve got confidence for quiet
I’m not afraid

No nothing no more to say
Is this freedom, no one calling

I don’t care, I’ll walk away
‘Cause I’ve got confidence for quiet
I’m not afraid
No I don’t care
I’ll walk away
‘Cause I’ve got confidence for quiet
I’m not afraid
I’ve got confidence
I’m not afraid

-The Corrs

Love-Hate

2008-03-19T03:53:00.004+05:30

Re:Vishal's post here about Ramachandra Guha's reasoning.

Why do we hate Gandhi and Nehru so much? Guha says they are the essential "fall guys" facing the music. I have a different opinion. I believe the answer lies in psychology and not sociology. Our textbooks heap praises on Gandhi and Nehru almost to the point of sycophancy. We grow up almost believing that they were the gods with no reproach.
However, we start seeing their shortcomings once we leave school.

There was an experiment in which the control group was given only positive information about a particular behaviour. The other group was given both positive and negative information. It was found that the group given both sides of the information tends to retain the learning / behaviour better.( This was described in Chapter Memory/Learning of "Introduction to psychology" by Morgan and King, but I can't get my hand on that book right now)

All the policies that were touted as brilliant strategies in our text books seem shallow at their very best. We become more prone to hate them, than we would have been if only their shortcomings were also described in our text books.

It is no coincidence that most voices against Nehru-Gandhi have been raised of late when (a) Information to their shortcomings became more accessible because of the internet and (b) The harm done by those early measures became evident with the surge in economy after LPG. ( Even trying to imagine an average guy in My father's generation criticizing Nehru-Gandhi is impossible)

PS: If anyone has an ebook, I would be grateful.

PPS: I own the hardcopy, so I dont think I'm infringing any copyright :D

Another saturday night

2008-03-16T15:13:00.003+05:30

Oh boy! I take my hats off to all you girls out there. I have no idea how you manage to go shopping for that long a time without breaks, but a saturday shopping trip left me nearly drained. And weren't the sales girls everywhere having the day of their lives! The one at supermarket said something in very fast German and when I asked her to repeat, she started giggling. (Yes buggers that means you are getting all the chocolates that you've asked for- if they survive me until thurday that is )
Then in Berlin, comes the turn of the ladies in the perfumes shop. Not just the ones at the sales counter mind you! Looking at my forlorn face almost everyone burst out laughing, not giggling or smirking. For having gone through this trouble, I better not hear any "smells like goat's urine" comments back home.
If only some of those who were laughing were not aunties, I might have taken a little more amicably to their laughter. Having borne all this in silence, even dignity, I was hoping for a nice little ride home. A beautiful brunette who seemed to be scribbling something into her diary across the seat in the compartment seemed like a decent compensation for all the trouble. But did that squad of 6 policemen, each with an HK MP5 SMG have to come in just then, before I could even butt myself in?

That was the end of that I guess. If this were the US, I'd probably have posted a witty (or pathetic) craiglists "Missed connections" ads that might have got to the best of list and atleast amused a few ( or just got trashed).
Atleast thats one of the few ways to pass time here on saturday nights, other than playing videogames, watching online TV, doing the usual "intellectual junky" stuff and trying to read as much news as you can i.e.

It's another saturday night and I ain't got nobody
I've got some money 'cause I just got paid
Now, how I wish I had someone to talk to
I'm in an awful way

I got in town a month ago
I seen a lot of girls since then
If I could meet 'em I could get 'em
But as yet I haven't met 'em
That's how I'm in the state I'm in

Oh,
Another Saturday night and I ain't got nobody
I've got some money 'cause I just got paid
Now, how I wish I had someone to talk to
I'm in an awful way

Another fella told me
He had a sister who looked just fine
Instead of bein' my deliv'rance
She had a strange resemblance
To a cat named Frankenstein

Ooh, la,
Another Saturday night and I ain't got nobody
I've got some money 'cause I just got paid
Now, how I wish I had someone to talk to
I'm in an awful way

It's hard on a fella
When he don't know his way around
If I don't find me a honey
To help me spend my money
I'm gonna have to blow this town

Oh, no
Another Saturday night and I ain't got nobody
I've got some money 'cause I just got paid
Now, how I wish I had someone to talk to
I'm in an awful way

-Cat stevens

Where is your mind?

2008-03-10T04:20:00.006+05:30

"I open my mail two weeks after they have arrived and I find that the problem is already solved".

I don't remember who said this, but I just love it. We've all had our share of problems, but having problems is not the problem.(excuse please). And yes, we've all had our share of "melodramatic queen" incidents. But I guess we do(should) grow out of it.

I wonder if the so called teenage angst is limited to teenagers. Stereotypes help us paint with brushes "teenagers", "that time of the month" etc. but the worst thing is when the most rational amongst us feel entitled to something and on not getting it enter into an abyss of self pity and or anger and regress back to those "drama queen" times.

We do take ourselves far too seriously. A step back and a walk in another's shoes is all that is required. Hindsight is 20/20. And most of the times, the things we agonize over seem absolutely worthless in hindsight. For all the evolution of our brains we haven't developed pre-emptive hindsight.(foresight I know, but this sounds better).

Nor has science been able to come up with a cure for this all pervading angst. Although not 100% effective a pill known as "kick up the backside" seems to work in most cases. Yours truly is not modest enough to deny that he is one of the better exponents of this kick, both metaphorically and literally, and that if his services are needed, he is only one call away.

Oh btw,

Teenage Angst

Shine the headlight, straight into my eyes.
Like the roadkill, Im paralysed.
You see through my disguise

At the drive-in, double feature,
Pull the lever, break the fever
And say your last goodbyes.

Since I was born I started to decay.
Now nothing ever ever goes my way

One fluid gesture, like stepping back in time.
Trapped in amber, petrified.
And still not satisfied

Airs and social graces, elocution so divine.
Ill stick to my needle, and my favourite waste of time,
Both spineless and sublime.

Since I was born I started to decay.
Now nothing ever - ever goes my way

-Placebo

PS: "Where is your mind?" -Pixies/Placebo - OST of fight club.

End of line?

2008-02-28T21:43:00.002+05:30

For ICL or a new beginning ? Everyday's drama Isn't it?

Now I'm just hoping someone will file an Anti-trust case against these cricket "governing" bodies

Trip to beeskov

2008-02-24T05:33:00.014+05:30

Another Saturday and another last minute plan. Thought of going to Beeskow and Mullrose lake and coming back. Google maps solved most of the initial issues and set me rolling on course. It was to be ~80km roundtrip and on a warm Febrauary day(11C) I was on the way without even wearing my windcheater.

All was good until I reached this fork.

With beauty(ies) all around, I was flying in the clouds, hands off my handle and eyes all over the place and suddenly was brought crashing down to reality. Agreed that I was just finishing the first line of "keep your eyes off the road and your hands off the handle", but didn't irony have any other clients today?

That left me lying on the ground face up for a minute before I gathered my senses and looked around for the cycle. Other than a few bends (which i could iron out ) it was ok. And I set off for Mullrose lake.

From here, Beeskow was about 19km. Worst part was nearly 13km of these had to be negotiated on the mini highway.(speed limits of upto 80km/hr)
I had to stick to the right of that white line for this 13 km (including 4km on B168). A stiff breeze of 11m/s(courtesy weather.com) and the mental pressure left me nearly drained. Unfortunately my friend in Beeskow wasn't home, so I just looked around and then started back. A brilliant sunset and (thankfully) an uneventful last leg marked the end of the day. Its only after I come home that I was reminded painfully of my knee.

PS: a big thanks to all those drivers who gave me space to ride back safely.

PPS: and I understand it doesn't suit everyone's taste, so here's my red badge of courage in a separate link

The Narrow way

Following the path as it leads towards the Darkness in the North
Weary strangers' faces show their sympathy
They've seen that hope before
And if you want to stay for a little bit
Rest your aching limbs for a little bit
Before you the night is beckoning
And you know you can't delay
You hear the night birds calling you
But you can't touch the restless sky
Close your aching eyes beyond your name
Mist is swelling, creatures crawling,
Hear the roar get louder in your ears
You know the folly was your own
But the force behind can't conquer all your fears
And if you want to stay for a little bit
Rest your aching limbs for a little bit
Before you the night is beckoning
And you know you can't delay
You hear the night birds calling you
But you can't touch the restless sky
Close your aching eyes beyond your name
Throw your thoughts back many years
To the time when there was life in every morning
Perhaps a day will come
When the nights will be as on that morning
And if you want to stay for a little bit
Rest your aching limbs for a little bit
Before you the night is beckoning
And you know you can't delay
You hear the night birds calling you
But you can't touch the restless sky
Close your aching eyes beyond your name
Rest your weary head, be on your way.

-Pink Floyd

Guten Tag aus Deutschland

2008-02-14T04:31:00.007+05:30

Perhaps one of the most enterprising entries seen into a foreignland. Pulled aside at the airport for "special check", unable to find my uncle's friend who was traveling by the same flight, breaking my jacket zipper just before landing in Frankfurt at 3C, and then being mistaken for a policeman (undercover?) all pointed to one thing, Come what might, at the end of the trip, I wouldn't be able to complain that it was boring.

And here's a picture of my bike I bought for 25E, in front of the German Reichstag. Luck's been on my side on important things, what with a cheap furnished apartment in the middle of the town, then a secondhand cheap washing machine and now this cycle.

Makes one believe that there is a limited amount of fortune allocated for each person and you have to make careful use of it, doesn't it ?

And while I was here, with the thought of learning some German history, I picked up this book. Definitely worth a read,to relearn all the lessons that history teaches us and which we promptly forget.

Stranger in a strangeland

Stranger, stranger in a stange land.
He looked at me as one who should run.
We asked him to smile for a photograph.
Waited a while to see if we could make him laugh.

So did I seek for a cigarette.
His smiling face I can't forget.
It looked like it crossed the street.
He said, I'll wait here.
I wish you were here.
I wish you were here.

Stranger, stranger in a strange land.
He look at me like I was the one who should run.
I watched as he watched us get back on the bus.
I watched there it was.
The way it was there.
He was with us.
And I really don't mind sleeping on the floor.
I can't sleep after what I saw.
I wrote this letter to tell you,
The way I feel.
I wish you were here.
To see what I could see, and hear.
I wish you were here.

-U2

In this world....

2007-10-23T21:03:00.000+05:30

He sat pondering, if things would've been different, "how things would've been different" had he overcome that one last obstacle. The one that separates men from the boys, winners from the runners. Now all he could see across the table was a battered soul like his own, jaded by the familiar journey. He reflects upon the fact that its a voyage everyone has to go through. Yet, a few of them manage to enjoy the journey itself. He questions why he couldn't be like those happy people and sees the question mirrored in the eyes looking at him from across the table.

He knew those eyes, had seen, been seen by them and memorized each minute detail of those eyes which looked worn out beyond their age. He silently soaked up the knowledge of what they had gone through, what they were going through. Yet, not a word had been spoken, not since they parted ways fifteen years ago. Almost half their life they'd been away, yet the memories of the other half continued to haunt them. Bittersweet memories which he'd vigilantly stomped upon each time they started showing life, now overwhelmed him.

"He hadn't fail. Not according to the people that mattered", he kept telling himself. By all accounts, he'd been quite successful, respected, admired perhaps even envied by many. Yet, he couldn't but give in to the feeling that he'd failed somewhere, sometime. Looking up, he saw
tears welling up in the eyes. He couldn't decide if they were the tears of relief when two castaways meet in the middle of nowhere or if they were the tears of anger for having left them behind. After all in the earlier stretch of this journey, they were companions, companions who understood each other better than themselves.

He understood the pain in those eyes but knew little of the details. They spoke of the bad marriage, scavenging relatives, uncaring partners and endless seas of the loneliness. They longed for a time in the past when it wasn't so bad. He shudders as he thinks of his lonely sojourn in distant lands. He gathers the courage to speak at last, but words dry up in his throat. He wonders if he could atone for the cowardice of the past, if 'late' is really better than never and if having loved and lost is really better than never having loved at all. There he sits and tries for one last time, turning back time, trying to vomit the words he knew he couldn't bring himself to speak fifteen years ago.

Sad Lisa

She hangs her head and cries in my shirt.
She must be hurt very badly.
Tell me what's making you sadly?
Open your door - don't hide in the dark.
You're lost in the dark - you can trust me.
'Cause you know that's how it must be.

Lisa - Lisa, sad Lisa - Lisa.

Her eyes like windows trickelin�rain
Upon the pain getting deeper.
Though my love wants to relieve her.
She walks alone from wall to wall.
Lost in her hall, she can't hear me.
Though I know she likes to be near me.

Lisa - Lisa, sad Lisa - Lisa.

She sits in a corner by the door.
There must be more I can tell her.
If she really wants me to help her.
I'll do what I can to show her the way.
And maybe one day I will free her.
Though I know no one can see her.

Lisa - Lisa, sad Lisa - Lisa.

- Cat stevens

Slow news day

2007-10-22T21:46:00.000+05:30

I understand the bombing in karachi was important, but did we need confirmation that Bhutto was safely escorted out of the place from every tom dick and harry even after the same thing had been reported by innumerable people who'd been interviewed?

Atleast that could be considered pivotal, but the Bobby Jindal euphoria? He claims quite clearly that he doesn't consider himself an Indian and doesn't consider himself a representative of the Indian section in the U.S, and still the media goes ga-ga over his election. On top of that, he's a conservative "against abortion and supports continued efforts in Iraq". Ah, and how can one forget the "Mahendra singh dhoni bowled over by deepika" and "Saif and kareena ...blh blah " aired once every five minutes for the entire day.

Of course, the news anchors themselves seem quite unable to lend any respectability to the news what so ever. Reminds me of a curious encounter with a couple in a dhaba( well not exactly an encounter). Turned out the lady wanted to become a journalist/reporter of some sort and the gentleman had been giving her gyaan of how she needed to work on her kannada skills and should learn to handle herself better and so on. Ofcourse she was put off by the direct criticism and the story went something like :
One pitcher of beer: 200Rs,
Being drunk enough not to know you're criticizing your girl friend: 500 Rs
Kiss and make up : priceless

Throw away your television

Throw away your television
Time to make this clean decision
Master waits for it's collision now
It's a repeat of a story told
It's a repeat and it's getting old

Throw away your television
Make a break big intermission
Recreate your super vision now
It's a repeat of a story told
It's a repeat and it's getting old

[Chorus:]
Renegades with fancy gauges
Slay the plague for it's contagious
Pull the plug and take the stages
Throw away your television now

Throw away your television
Take the noose off your ambition
Reinvent your intuition now
It's a repeat of a story told
It's a repeat and it's getting old

[Chorus]

Throw away your television
Salivate to repetition
Levitate this ill condition now
It's a repeat

-Red Hot chili Peppers

Bicycle diaries

2007-10-07T23:45:00.000+05:30

A second trip of 100+ km on my trusty bike(thats bicycle for you) in as many weeks has given me time to be philosophical and reason for my friends to think I have a strong masochistic streak.

Firstly details out of the way - Pearly valley or Muthyala Maduvu can be reached from bangalore in two ways. It is about 45 km from Silk board junction in Bangalore if one takes the hosur road.Go past Electronic city and you'll reach a turning into Annekal. Going past Annekal, there's only one road to follow, until you reach a "Y" junction. Path to the right takes to Pearl Valley and left reconnects to Hosur.

The second way is to go straight up Bannerghatta road past the wildlife sanctuary and there's only one road to follow that leads to Annekal. It looked as if it was going to pour down quite heavily on the morning of this trip and with choices in hand, I was confused between the two ways and ended up going half way along Bannerghatta road and then switching back to CSB. All in all covered ~60km on the way to pearl valley. Had a jolly good time and came back by the second route with the journey taking nearly 6 hrs. I had my share of epiphanies during the course of these two trips, which I thought to record here:

1) Even if you feel that you are under the weather a little, go on right ahead, fortune favours the brave. It might not rain and the clouds might just do you a favour by keeping out the sun.
2) Uphill slopes and downhill slopes are common on the road.
3) Every uphill is followed by a downhill slope.
4) Tougher the "uphill", smoother(and therefore more exhilarating) is the "downhill"
5) A lot of "uphill slopes" that seem daunting at first glance aren't really that difficult to overcome once you start cycling up them.
6) If you are on a nice comfortable downhill slope, remember that the next uphill is just around the corner. So don't sit on your ass but start pedaling little by little if you want to make it up without too much difficulty
7) You can have an all flat road, but it isn't too much fun. The best road is one with a nice combination of uphills followed by downhills (to bring in the exhilaration) followed by quiet flat parts(when you can sit back and relax a little)
8) Winds can heal your exhaustion when downhill, but can hurt you really bad when you are uphill.

Bicycle Race

Bicycle bicycle bicycle
I want to ride my bicycle bicycle bicycle
I want to ride my bicycle
I want to ride my bike
I want to ride my bicycle
I want to ride it where I like

You say black I say white
You say bark I say bite
You say shark I say hey man
Jaws was never my scene
And I dont like star wars
You say rolls I say royce
You say God give me a choice
You say lord I say christ
I dont believe in peter pan
Frankenstein or superman
All I wanna do is

Bicycle bicycle bicycle
I want to ride my bicycle bicycle bicycle
I want to ride my bicycle
I want to ride my bike
I want to ride my bicycle
I want to ride my
Bicycle races are coming your way
So forget all your duties oh yeah!
Fat bottomed girls theyll be riding today
So look out for those beauties oh yeah
On your marks get set go
Bicycle race bicycle race bicycle race
Bicycle bicycle bicyi want to ride my bicycle
Bicycle bicycle bicycle
Bicycle race

-Queen

The Odyssey

2007-09-30T10:01:00.000+05:30

What started of as an attempt to read James Joyce's Ulysses ended in me reading "The Odyssey" in all its glory( a translation of course). Although evolutionary psychologists want to pen down everything we do or every behavioural pattern we show on our need to survive, to be the fittest, works like these tell you that things weren't always the same as they are now. Even if we give in to the idea that mythological epics like these and more(read: mahabharata, ramayana...) are mere fiction or perhaps allegorical ellipses, even a fictional work tells one a lot about the social attitudes in existence in those times.

Aside : Am I the only one who dreams (or is it has nightmares) dreams that belong not to me but to the characters and to the plot in the book that I've just read and enjoyed(or in some cases reading and enjoying)?

Tales of Brave Ulysses

You thought the leaden winter would bring you down forever,
But you rode upon a steamer to the violence of the sun.

And the colors of the sea blind your eyes with trembling mermaids,
And you touch the distant beaches with tales of brave Ulysses:
How his naked ears were tortured by the sirens sweetly singing,
For the sparkling waves are calling you to kiss their white laced lips.

And you see a girl's brown body dancing through the turquoise,
And her footprints make you follow where the sky loves the sea.
And when your fingers find her, she drowns you in her body,
Carving deep blue ripples in the tissues of your mind.

The tiny purple fishes run laughing through your fingers,
And you want to take her with you to the hard land of the winter.

Her name is Aphrodite and she rides a crimson shell,
And you know you cannot leave her for you touched the distant sands
With tales of brave Ulysses; how his naked ears were tortured
By the sirens sweetly singing.

The tiny purple fishes run lauging through your fingers,
And you want to take her with you to the hard land of the winter

-Cream

Life imitates art

2007-09-26T22:23:00.000+05:30

Been reading John Mortimer's political sattire "The sound of trumpets". It's a hilarious read with all the makings of morning's breaking news, or as the news channels like to call it "the top story". When works like these make their appearance in art, one has to wonder if the question to be asked half the time is if art imitated life or life imitates art?

Description of one of the characters in the book goes :
"She also grew up with a beauty which provoked dangerous and anarchic thoughts in men,but her quiet certainty on almost every subject cooled and often disconcerted them. What her friends and contemporaries called "having sex" or even 'a bit of a fling' she would call 'a commitment', a word which produced serious thoughts,and sometimes hesitation, in the men whom she took a fancy to and who found her at the first glance extremely desirable. "

And one wonders if this turn-off factor when a woman is smarter than self is an inherent response or a learnt response. Making peace with the smart lady that may perchance come across this post, there are some people who disagree with this mainstream line of thinking making them the deviants.

Imitation of Life

Charades, pop skill
Water hyacinth, named by a poet
Imitation of life
Like a koi in a frozen pond
Like a goldfish in a bowl
I don't want to hear you cry

That's sugarcane that tasted good
That's cinnamon, that's Hollywood
Come on, come on, no-one can see you try

You want the greatest thing
The greatest thing since bread came sliced
You've got it all, you've got it sized

Like a Friday fashion show teenager
Freezing in the corner
Trying to look like you don't try

That's sugarcane that tasted good
That's cinnamon, that's Hollywood
Come on, come on, no-one can see you try

No-one can see you cry

That's sugarcane that tasted good
That's freezing rain, that's what you could
Come on, come on, no-one can see you cry

This sugarcane
This lemonade
This hurricane, I'm not afraid
Come on, come on, no-one can see me cry

This lightning storm
This tidal wave
This avalanche, I'm not afraid
Come on, come on, no-one can see me cry

That's sugarcane that tasted good
That's who you are, that's what you could
Come on, come on, no-one can see you cry

That's sugarcane that tasted good
That's who you are, that's what you could
Come on, come on, no-one can see you cry

-R.E.M

Motivation....

2007-09-23T16:30:00.000+05:30

Comes in different shapes and sizes. Having bunked on friday and used that time to wander around bangalore on my bicycle, I decided I would go ahead and bite the bullet on saturday, i.e do a cycling trip to Nandi hills and back. ( From my house it probably is ~70 km one way).

But slight fever on friday night was going to put an end to this plans it seemed like, Until I remembered my friend Adi whining about how much of a "loser-aaps" it would be that I would make the trip on a cycle whereas they struggled to get there even on their bikes (In their defense, they returned without reaching the hilltop once because of the cold at 4a.m and because they were a 'little' high). Thanks to that statement, which I desperately wanted to prove right :p I started on the trip a little low on endurance scale, but high on spirits.

"It is the first step that is the hardest" they say, so once I left home on my cycle, there wasn't too much danger of me turning back. Long nice drive with only my ipod for company, I made the initial 62 km in 3 hrs and the next 8 km up the hill in one hr. On my way back the first 22 km I could cover in an hour, but the next 40 km on NH-7 left me exhausted and frustated.(Ofcourse the last 10 km within Bangalore left me covered with soot and vehicle exhaust ) A strong wind blowing into you might be all well and nice if you are driving a motor powered vehicle, but on a cycle its a completely different ball game.

The Loneliness of The Long Distance Runner

The tough of the track
With the wind
And the rain that's beating down on
Your back
Your heart's beating loud
And goes on getting louder
And goes on even more 'til the
Sound is ringing in your head
With every step you tread
And every breath you take
Determination
Makes you run never stop
Got to win got to run 'til you drop
Keep the pace hold the race
Your mind is getting clearer
You're over half way there
But the miles they never seem to end
As if you're in a dream
Not getting anywhere
It seems so futile

[Chorus]
Run on and on
Run on and on
The loneliness of the long distance runner

I've got to keep running the course
I've got to keep running and win at
All costs
I've got to keep going be strong
Must be so determined and push myself on

Run over stiles across fields
Turn to look at who's on your heels
Way ahead of the field
The line is getting nearer but do
You want the glory that goes
You reach the final stretch
Ideals are just a trace
You feel like throwing the race
It's all so futile

[Chorus:]

-Iron Maiden

"The Picnic and suchlike pandemonium"

2007-09-15T16:53:00.000+05:30

Gerald Durrell is one of my favourite authors. Perhaps it is because he was in the company of such interesting characters that he could give us some of the best humour I've come across, but one can't take away the fact that the stories are told in such a simple and lucid manner that we fell we're shown the pictures of it happening rather than told stories of it.

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

" Oh mother!Don't be so old fashioned," said Margo, blowing lavish kisses back."After all, I've got an ex-husband and two children."
"It's by blowing kisses at strange sailors that you get ex-husbands and children," remarked Mother,grimly.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Reggie was simply furious because Marjorie had not only eloped but had taken the baby and the nannie with her".

"It certainly seems like an overcrowded elopement"

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

There are some books that inevitably bring not a smile to your face, but make you erupt into laughter that you just can't hold back. I find this is one such book. Definitely one that I can curl up with on a pleasant saturday afternoon.

Book of saturday

If I only could deceive you
Forgetting the game
Every time I try to leave you
You laugh just the same

cause my wheels never touch the road
And the jumble of lies we told
Just returns to my back to weigh me down...

We lay cards upon the table
The backs of our hands
And I swear I like your people
The boys in the band

Reminiscences gone astray
Coming back to enjoy the fray
In a tangle of night and daylight sounds...

All completeness in the morning
Asleep on your side
Ill be waking up the crewmen
Banana-boat ride

She responds like a limousine
Brought alive on the silent screen
To the shuddering breath of yesterday...

Theres the succour of the needy
Incredible scenes
Ill believe you in the future
Your life and death dreams

As the cavalry of despair
Takes a stand in the ladys hair
For the favour of making sweet sixteen...

You make my life and times
A book of bluesy saturdays
And I have to chose.

-King crimson

Game on

2007-08-29T20:12:00.000+05:30

I remember telling some of my friends that ever since I played oblivion and fable back to back(Two of the most highly rated RPGs this generation), I was able to remember maps, routes etc better. Back to the time when I was playing Pro Evolution soccer overtime, I remember thinking of controlling my teammates on the soccer field too. So, even though a satire, I feel what's being said in here.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"It is weird, I know it's completly irrational, but I'm totally averse to big, industrial settings now. Anything that looks rusted out or rickety, it freaks me out. Whenever I walk into dark rooms, I instinctively reach for my flashlight and my gun, then I realize I don't actually carry either," said McEwen. "I was walking through a supermarket a few days after my HL2 marathon and I saw a bunch of first-aid kits on the floor. Someone had knocked them over by accident I guess. My first reaction though was 'oh shit! A bunch of medikits. Something fucking tough must be coming up soon!'It really scared me."

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The best was saved for the last though

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
After reading the public report on FPSS, Thompson spoke out.

"FPSS proves that video games are responsible for all murders ever. In history."

When informed that First Person Shooters have only existed for the last 15-20 years, Thompson screamed that we were lying homosexuals, then sued us for criminal harrasment.
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A Little Game

Once I had a little game
I liked to crawl back into my brain
I think you know the game I mean
I mean the game called 'go insane'
Now you should try this little game
Just close your eyes forget your name
Forget the world, forget the people
And we'll erect a different steeple
This little game is fun to do
Just close your eyes, no way to lose
And I'm right there, I'm going too
Release control, we're breaking through

-The Doors

Trouble with movies

2007-08-27T23:25:00.000+05:30

One of the main reasons I haven't been able to watch too many movies is that my mind is just not able to bear the pounding on laws of physics some of these dish out. It seems quite ok to have these aberrations in animations which is why they are much more bearable.
Even ads for example- Most recently a Havell's advertisement for economy light bulbs. To depict its brightness it is shown to form a kind of halo over a child who's studying. Towards the end of the ad though, the way bulb formed a glowing sphere, meant that the intensity of bulb is not enough to even light up the wall that is meters from it. (And they were trying to say "aisi roshini..")

I'm glad to see that Someone else agrees with this and has taken it a few steps further.

Natural Science

[1. Tide Pools]

When the ebbing tide retreats
Along the rocky shoreline
It leaves a trail of tidal pools
In a short-lived galaxy
Each microcosmic planet
A complete society

A simple kind mirror
To reflect upon our own
All the busy little creatures
Chasing out their destinies
Living in their pools
They soon forget about the sea...

Wheels within wheels in a spiral array
A pattern so grand and complex
Time after time we lose sight of the way
Our causes can't see their effects

[2. Hyperspace]

A quantum leap forward
In time and in space
The universe learned to expand

The mess and the magic
Triumphant and tragic
A mechanized world out of hand

Computerized clinic
For superior cynics
Who dance to a synthetic band

In their own image
Their world is fashioned
No wonder they don't understand

[3. Permanent Waves]

Science, like nature
Must also be tamed
With a view towards its preservation
Given the same
State of integrity
It will surely serve us well

Art as expression
Not as market campaigns
Will still capture our imaginations
Given the same
State of integrity
It will surely help us along

The most endangered species
The honest man
Will still survive annihilation
Forming a world
State of integrity
Sensitive, open and strong

Wave after wave will flow with the tide
And bury the world as it does
Tide after tide will flow and recede
Leaving life to go on as it was...

-Rush

why is it so difficult?

2007-08-26T11:55:00.000+05:30

This is why we used to say beauty*brains = delta*.
But as further studies revealed, this equation is affected by another variable and after incorporating it into the equation, beauty * brains * existential probability = delta*.

Never Ending Math Equation

I'm the same as I was when I was 6 years old
And oh my God I feel so damn old
I don't really feel anything
On a plane, I can see the tiny lights below
And oh my God, they look so alone
Do they really feel anything?
Oh my God, I've gotta gotta gotta gotta move on
Where do you move when what you're moving from
Is yourself?
The universe works on a math equation
that never even ever really even ends in the end
Infinity spirals out creation
We're on the tip of its tongue, and it is saying
We aint sure where you stand
You aint machines and you aint land
And the plants and the animals, they are linked
And the plants and the animals eat each other
Oh my God and oh my cat
I told my Dad what I need
Well I know what I have and want
But I don't know what I need
Well, he said he said he said he said
"Where we're going I'm dead."

- Modest Mouse

______________________________________________________________________________________

*Delta was used in our calculus to denote an arbitrarily small number, or delta->0.

Sensationalism

2007-08-20T13:34:00.001+05:30

Shows like Indian idol / Big Boss ( first time I watched all of ten minutes of idol this sunday, I swear :|) , need I say more?

Act Naturally
They're gonna put me in the movie,
They're gonna make a big star out of me.
We'll make a film about a man that's sad and lonely,
And all I gotta do is act naturally

Well, I'll bet you I'm gonna be a big star,
Might win an Oscar you can never tell.
The movies gonna make me a big star,
'Cause I can play the part so well

Well I hope you'll come and see me in the movies,
Then I know that you will plainly see.
The biggest fool that ever hit the big time,
And all I gotta do is act naturally.

We'll make the scene about a man that's sad and lonely,
And begging down upon his bended knee.
I'll play the part and I won't need rehearsing,
All I gotta do is act naturally.

Well, I'll bet you I'm gonna be a big star,
Might win an Oscar you can never tell.
The movies gonna make me a big star,
'Cause I can play the part so well.

Well I hope you'll come and see me in the movies,
Then I know that you will plainly see.
The biggest fool that ever hit the big time,
And all I gotta do is act naturally.

-The Beatles

----------------
Now playing: The Beatles - [Help!] Act Naturally [foobar2000 v0.9.4.2]
via FoxyTunes

Surveys and its ilk

2007-08-19T23:31:00.000+05:30

One thing that gets my goat each time is the number of so called "surveys" that keep cropping up. Forget the sample space and other considerations,(survey? line up those people hanging out at the mall) etc, but even the conclusions arrived at can be so irritatingly irrational that I just can't believe people still have any faith left in them.

Take as an example "this. I would take any conclusion reached by talking to 347 people (not randomly chosen again) and throw it in the salt bed. But, to come to such an awesome conclusion, especially when its quite obvious to anyone with a hint of braincells that most of the people who can become managers are old enough to have started their own families, it must take quite a lot of talent.

Then we have some genuinely misled conclusions arrived at .. for example this. I wouldn't be too harsh on this guy, because it was done for fun, not to sell copies or publish journals but still since he claims its research, here goes my rebuttal:

"the fact that people haven't noticed you've been changing your birthday can means they don't care about you enough to know that or that they have become too dependent on orkut.

If second were true, that they cared enough about you but become too dependant on orkut, they might not remember your actual birthday, but would've found out your game when you changed the birthday a second time.

Imagine if things like orkut didn't exist, you'd probably have got maybe one or two calls from your closest friends who remember the occasion or from your colleagues/classmates etc whom you interact with daily. But thats that. On the other hand an old acquaintance's face popping up on birthday list is just like running into him downtown which is out of your routine, so for old time's sake you do a courtesy call, wish him and find out what he's been upto etc etc. It's about keeping in touch, remembering that a guy called XYZ existed and I knew him once"

Twisted Logic

Sunlight opened up my eyes
To see for the first time it opened them up
And tonight rivers will run dry
Not for the first time rivers will run

Hundreds of years in the future
There could be computers looking for life on Earth
Don't fight for the wrong side
Say what you feel like
Say how you feel

You go backwards but then you go forwards again
You go backwards but then you go
Created then drilled and invaded
If somebody made it someone will mess it up
And you are not wrong to
Ask who does this belong to
It belongs to all of us

You go backwards but then you go forwards again
You go backwards but then you go forwards
You go backwards but then you go forwards again
You go backwards but then you go forwards

-Coldplay

Irony is....

2007-08-16T22:56:00.002+05:30

When you get mails in the office saying " Just a friendly reminder" and you feel its anything but.

Ironic

An old man turned ninety-eight
He won the lottery and died the next day
It's a black fly in your Chardonnay
It's a death row pardon two minutes too late
Isn't it ironic ... don't you think
Chorus

It's like rain on your wedding day
It's a free ride when you've already paid
It's the good advice that you just didn't take
Who would've thought ... it figures

Mr. Play It Safe was afraid to fly
He packed his suitcase and kissed his kids good-bye
He waited his whole damn life to take that flight
And as the plane crashed down he thought
'Well isn't this nice...'
And isn't it ironic ... don't you think

Well life has a funny way of sneaking up on you
When you think everything's okay and everything's going right
And life has a funny way of helping you out when
You think everything's gone wrong and everything blows up
In your face

It's a traffic jam when you're already late
It's a no-smoking sign on your cigarette break
It's like ten thousand spoons when all you need is a knife
It's meeting the man of my dreams
And then meeting his beautiful wife
And isn't it ironic... don't you think
A little too ironic... and yeah I really do think...

Life has a funny way of sneaking up on you
Life has a funny, funny way of helping you out
Helping you out

-Alanis Morisette

...

2006-11-14T01:12:00.000+05:30

Its been over an year since I've written this

"As I had written earlier, festivals seem to have lost meaning to us here in a campus insulated from the outside world, But I get a feeling that I should be home this time around for diwali."

And it was true. I was perhaps never as glad to have listened to my intuition as I did then. For that was to be the last time my grandmother and I met. When she passed away that january, I couldn't make it home. In a way it changed my perspective on relations. I didnot grieve for her death, as an inevitable thing as death is not to be grieved for.

Instead what I've learnt is that relationships are meant to be cherished. It is one place where quantity can never overcome quality. As many of my friends who graduated suddenly realise the safety net of their circle suddenly gone, we try to hold onto the past that is constantly slipping away, we get nostalgic about the times that were, and about the silliness of some of the things that have come to be.

But, change cometh and so we have to move on and adapt. Its a new dawn, a new beginning and we shall survive.

This was something I'd written last year too

"For a long long time throughout the last year, I have been growing restless in an effort to find myself, find a purpose, find a group whichI could identify myself with. But Alas, it hasn't been fruitful so far. One thing it has taught me though is that you'll only belong to a group if you belive that you do. When I look back at it, I am involved in a whole lot of activities, am around with a lot of people, but never belonged there, I am there but never There"

An year into the future and has anything changed? I guess not much. I am still a part of many activities, but it is the activity that binds me to the others, not people. In the words of a friend " The bonds grown under a common vice are very strong." and unfortunately I haven't found that vice yet ;).

We're not sentimental
We're just oil-filled machines
Trying not to say the things we mean
You gotta show us a little love

Our big brother tells us
That it's something in our genes
Pretty soon we'll all be coming clean
So start showing a little skin

I'm the judge and jury
I'm the lion and the lamb
And this is the beginning of the end
It's breaking you down
We're breaking you down

We're unrecognizable
We're sunken submarines
Trying to escape before we're seen
You're gonna miss us when we're gone

I'm the judge and jury
I'm the lion and the lamb
And this is the beginning of the end
It's breaking you down
We're breaking you down

"The Beginning of the end"
Guster

Age of censorship has ended

2006-10-31T19:00:00.000+05:30

This is more like it.

The US defence department has set up a new unit to better promote its message across 24-hour rolling news outlets, and particularly on the internet. The Pentagon said the move would boost its ability to counter "inaccurate" news stories and exploit new media.

Added to this, 1984 is not too far away.

A jiffy

2006-08-24T09:35:00.000+05:30

is actually a unit of time, some fraction of a second. But I shall post this short note and be "off in a jiffy" to my daily classes. Have started work, and ten of us new college graduates(NCGs) as we are called are being "trained"
In the midst of all this, we had our convocation and it was weird seeing the life in the campus go on without us. We missed the campus a lot, but when we went back there, it didn't seem that anybody missed us all that much. (or maybe they knew that we didn't really go anywhere) They might have, but doesn't really make a difference. Similarly after death, it is us who will miss life, not the other way round. People might grieve for a day or two, but nobody will miss you as much as you will miss life. On that nore,

Say Hallelujah
Throw up your hands
The bucket is kicked
The body is gone

Close your eyes
And bow your head
To rest your soul
And to praise the dead

Say Hallelujah
Throw up your hands
The bucket is kicked
The body is gone

Dry your eyes
And stand upright
Put a smile on your face
He wouldn't want us to cry

The sun will rise
The stars will shine
Turning day to dusk
And night to dawn
We'll pass on
But until that time

Say Hallelujah
Hallelujah
Say Hallelujah
Hallelujah

Say Hallelujah
Throw up your hands
The bucket is kicked
The body is gone

Have mercy
It's a wonderful life
Eternal rest for the weary
Mourners party tonight

Say Hallelujah
Throw up your hands
The bucket is kicked
The body is gone

Wave your hands
But don't say goodbye
We're all gonna meet you
On the other side

"Say Hallelujah"

-Tracy Chapman

And we'll float on

2006-05-20T09:01:00.000+05:30

Happened to belistening to this song by modest mouse, a quaint band with cool music quite coincidentally before going to the swimming pool today.

I backed my car into a cop car, the other day
Well he just drove off, sometimes life's ok
I ran my mouth off a bit too much, oh what did i say
Well you just laughed it off, it was all ok

And we'll all float on, ok
And we'll all float on, ok
And we'll all float on, ok
And we'll all float on any way, well

A fake Jamaican took every last dime with a scam
It was worth it just to learn some sleight-of-hand
Bad news comes don't you worry even when it lands
Good news will work its way to all them plans
We both got fired on exactly the same day
Well we'll float on, good news is on the way

And we'll all float on, ok
And we'll all float on, ok
And we'll all float on, ok
And we'll all float on, alright
Already we'll all float on
Now don't you worry we'll all float on
Alright already we'll all float on
Alright don't worry we'll all float on

Alright already and we'll all float on
Alright already we'll all float on
Alright don't worry even if things end up a bit too heavy
We'll all float on...alright
Already we'll all float on
Alright already we'll all float on, ok
Dont worry we'll all float on
Even if things get heavy, we'll all float on

Alright already we'll all float on
(Alright)
No dont you worry we'll all float on
(Alright)
All float on...

A time for every purpose under heaven

2006-04-11T09:00:00.000+05:30

This is one of my last posts as a student in IIT Bombay as we near the time when we shall graduate. Its a bittersweet time this. Each hostel has a valedictory function( that we call valfi in short) these days. It is then that we realize or are forced to acknowledge that the time for us has come to an end. We celebrate this function with an amount of spice added as friends try to embellish, exaggerate facts and embarass their friends before paying a tribute and wishing them farewell. This is the (in)famous and dreaded - if you have done something naughty (because things have a way of turning up exactly as you wouldnt have wanted them to) profile reading.

At the end of each of these readings, the person (whose caricature the profile has been) is given a chance to speak. To really say all that needed to be said and was asking to be, but wasn't because of various reasons. All is forgiven on this night as most of us get drunk and share memories,this is when many tears are shed, a night to remember it certainly is.

Here's a short video of the memories we shall cherish and here is one made by our juniors.
Signing off with a nod to dixi for singing these lines after his profile was read.

This is the end
Beautiful friend
This is the end
My only friend, the end

Of our elaborate plans, the end
Of everything that stands, the end
No safety or surprise, the end
I’ll never look into your eyes...again

Can you picture what will be
So limitless and free
Desperately in need...of some...stranger’s hand
In a...desperate land

Lost in a roman...wilderness of pain
And all the children are insane
All the children are insane
Waiting for the summer rain, yeah

There’s danger on the edge of town
Ride the king’s highway, baby
Weird scenes inside the gold mine
Ride the highway west, baby

Ride the snake, ride the snake
To the lake, the ancient lake, baby
The snake is long, seven miles
Ride the snake...he’s old, and his skin is cold

The west is the best
The west is the best
Get here, and we’ll do the rest

The blue bus is callin’ us
The blue bus is callin’ us
Driver, where you taken’ us

The killer awoke before dawn, he put his boots on
He took a face from the ancient gallery
And he walked on down the hall
He went into the room where his sister lived, and...then he
Paid a visit to his brother, and then he
He walked on down the hall, and
And he came to a door...and he looked inside
Father, yes son, I want to kill you
Mother...i want to...fuck you

C’mon baby, take a chance with us
C’mon baby, take a chance with us
C’mon baby, take a chance with us
And meet me at the back of the blue bus
Doin’ a blue rock
On a blue bus
Doin’ a blue rock
C’mon, yeah

Kill, kill, kill, kill, kill, kill

This is the end
Beautiful friend
This is the end
My only friend, the end

It hurts to set you free
But you’ll never follow me
The end of laughter and soft lies
The end of nights we tried to die

This is the end

-The Doors

2006-02-16T01:31:00.000+05:30

Had to add this post after listening to this song twice in a row. The first song i heard that was sung by tracy chapman was fast car. Since that time, I have been on the lookout for her other works as they somehow seem to magically draw you back once you hear it. This is "Say hallelujah" from the album " Let it Rain" the latest that I caught hold of.

Another Day

2005-12-25T14:50:00.000+05:30

another jobless post(all pun intended). will be interviewing with Inductis this evening.

My friend's got a girlfriend
and he hates that bitch
He tells me every day
He says "man I really gotta lose my chic
In the worst kind of way"

She sits on her as
He works his hands to the bone
To give her money every payday
But she wants more dinero just to stay at home
Well my friend
You gotta say:

I won't pay, I won't pay ya, no way
now now Why don't you get a job
Say no way, say no way ya, no way
now now Why don't you get a job

I guess all his money, well it isn't enough
To keep her bill collectors at bay
I guess all his money, well it isn't enough
Cause that girl's got expensive taste

I won't pay, I won't pay ya, no way
now now Why don't you get a job
Say no way, say no way ya, no way
now now Why don't you get a job

Well I guess it isn't easy doing nothing at all oh yeah
But hey man free rides just don't come along
every day

Let me tell you about my other friend now

My friend's got a boyfriend man she hates that dick
She tells me every day
He wants more dinero just to stay at home
Well my friend
You gotta say:

I won't pay, I won't pay ya, no way
now now Why don't you get a job
Say no way, say no way ya, no way
now now Why don't you get a job
oh yeah
I won't give ya no money
I allways pay
now now Why don't you get a job
Say no way, say no way ya, no way
now now Why don't you get a
job!

-Offspring.

The end!

2005-12-21T18:14:00.000+05:30

Well, it is with a heavy heart that I write this blog. After a long break, which included my last but one-th sem here in IIT and the inter-IIT sports meet. And it was at the end of what will be my last participation in the inter-IIT sports meet that I realized that this was it!!! From today, we embark upon a new journey - a hunt for a job or a scholarship and what not and thus begins a new phase of our lives. Cant seem to see myself in a definite place anywhere in the near future so here's hoping for the best and living life to the fullest-
" To life which is a reason unto itself" - "Ayn Rand" - in "We the Living"

The Doors

This is the end
Beautiful friend
This is the end
My only friend, the end
Of our elaborate plans, the end
Of everything that stands, the end
No safety or surprise, the end
I'll never look into your eyes...again
Can you picture what will be
So limitless and free
Desperately in need...of some...stranger's hand
In a...desperate land ?

Lost in a Roman...wilderness of pain
And all the children are insane
All the children are insane
Waiting for the summer rain, yeah
There's danger on the edge of town
Ride the King's highway, baby
Weird scenes inside the gold mine
Ride the highway west, baby
Ride the snake, ride the snake
To the lake, the ancient lake, baby
The snake is long, seven miles
Ride the snake...he's old, and his skin is cold
The west is the best
The west is the best
Get here, and we'll do the rest
The blue bus is callin' us
The blue bus is callin' us
Driver, where you taken' us ?

The killer awoke before dawn, he put his boots on
He took a face from the ancient gallery
And he walked on down the hall
He went into the room where his sister lived, and...then he
Paid a visit to his brother, and then he
He walked on down the hall, and
And he came to a door...and he looked inside
"Father ?", "yes son", "I want to kill you"
"Mother...I want to...fuck you"

C'mon baby, take a chance with us X3
And meet me at the back of the blue bus
Doin' a blue rock, On a blue bus
Doin' a blue rock, C'mon, yeah
Kill, kill, kill, kill, kill, kill

This is the end, Beautiful friend
This is the end, My only friend, the end
It hurts to set you free
But you'll never follow me
The end of laughter and soft lies
The end of nights we tried to die
This is the end

What do you do?

2005-10-24T06:01:00.000+05:30

When bored to death and cannot sleep(because you are just coming off a long weekend hibernation)? As for me, I decided that blogging was the next best thing to do.

Looking around at whats new, seems like nikhil's had a close encounter there of a different kind. Sonia writes once again a brilliant piece that tugs at your heartstrings no matter how cynical you might have become. This is fifth in the series of the portraits she has done of how the ban has affected the bar-girls. More here, here, here and here

Diwali hols are coming up in a week. I have not been home for diwali(which incidentally used to be my fav festival) in three years, and unless something drastic happens, I might miss it this year too. The last time I did make it was in my first year when I managed to get into an overcrowded(understated ) general compartment in konark express, managed to sit through 16 hrs journey without anything other than Freddie Trueman's autobiography, one bottle of water, one discman, 1 mp3 disc, and 50 rupees.(oh not to forget my satchel). Next two years I was here practicing for the inter-IIT cricket team and it seems a similar thing is going to happen this year also. As I had written earlier, festivals seem to have lost meaning to us here in a campus insulated from the outside world, But I get a feeling that I should be home this time around for diwali.

I hear the wind call your name
It calls me back home again
It sparks up the fire - a flame that still burns
Oh it's to you I'll always return
I still feel your breath on my skin
I hear your voice deep within
The sound of my lover - a feeling so strong
It's to you - I'll always belong

Now I know it's true
My every road leads to you
And in the hour of darkness darlin'
Your light gets me through

Wanna swim in your river - be warmed by your sun
Bathe in your waters - cos you are the one
I can't stand the distance - I can't dream alone
I can't wait to see you - Ya I'm on my way home

Oh I hear the wind call your name
The sound that leads me home again
It sparks up the fire - a flame that still burns
Oh, it's to you - I will always return

- I will always return ( bryan adams)

A matter of honour

2005-10-11T04:01:00.000+05:30

The war seems to be taking on a whole new dimension. I was hoping to have a good night's sleep, but when the warcry has been sounded, the warchief(thats my nick when I play lan games) shall rise.

I had written about the hilarious legal notice sent to gaurav sabnis in my previous post, but it didnt end there. IIPM with its huge clout as a consumer of IBM(where gaurav works) has tried to pull its weight, and he has decided to quit his job at IBM to stand by his principles. Apparently JAM office has been stormed by useless lackeys and a notice been served to rashmi and JAM demanding the withdrawal of the articles and a public apology. The worst things these IIPM lackeys could do was expose themselves as uncouth frauds while posing as IIPM students/grads and trying to slander rashmi (read through the comments in the previous link).

One thing that is likely to have me in splits everytime I think of it is this gentlemen talking about his alu muter and him being proud of it.

I try to put in my penny by circulating this amongst my friends here in IITB and outside of it.
Here's an update and some more comic relief.

I have thus completed the tag and whoever has read this, consider themselves tagged.

(at 4:36 in the middle of the night or early morning, just the way you look at it..)
shrek

Hi-fi institutes

2005-10-10T04:18:00.000+05:30

Talk about going hi-fi, this is superb!

This was something I never expected, but well both parties are having fun, so who's to stop them? The blog that lead to this lawsuit and the article.

Good journalism from an unexpected source(I thought JAM was more of a college tabloid, seeing as how a couple of my friends write in it :P).

Pics from another world

2005-10-02T20:36:00.000+05:30

We started at around 6 from the campus. Me having not slept for the past three nights, ( two days - four exams phew!!) decided to forgo sleep for another night, if I were to make it on this trek and it was worth every bit of the sleep that I missed.
But the result of sleepless nights is we tend to compensate whenever we can- for instance in this local train.( sleepy, unshaven for two weeks and not having had a hair cut for 6 months, its me on the left in the photo)

Bhimashankar, this is what we presume was the nag-phani point, our destination on this trek, I donot remember the height of the peak and all that, but it was one heck of a trek coming as it did right after our mid-semester examinations.

We reached the railway station at kanjurmarg by 6:45 and took a train to karjat. It was a group of six of us-
From left adnan, kris, kp, me and bhavish. Sangy the sixth member of the group thought that his cam was dearer to him and thats why appears in none of the photos here.( :P). We walked along this path to reach the base from where we would embark upon one of the best treks to date. There we found this cute little calf (which incidentally kept nuzzling kris)

This is me posing for this firm below while on the way.

Had an amazing time needless to say. The best part was when we took a wrong way and climbed almost vertically up along the rocks until there was no way we could further go up that path without equipment. Its at times like these that one wonders if living our virtual lives in closed cocoons is the worst thing that has happened to us.(more on this later)

We met this guy along the way who had been trekking for the past 25 years and had been to this place 433 times before this. It transates to an amazing "once every fortnight". Phew!!

We reached the peak at around 3:30 fully drenched in the rain and the streams that ran down the peak amidst fog( or rather clouds) so thick that we could hardly see a couple of feet ahead of us. Left for mancher at 5 (on the advise of some wise guy who told us we'd get a bus back to mumbai from there). By the time we reached mancher it was 7:30 and we were told that pune was closer and the next bus to mumbai was scheduled at 10. Since kris had planned on another trek the next day, we took a cab who charged us around 150/head to get us back to our campus. By the time we reached powai it was 00:30.

A few more shots taken along the way. Simply no words to describe them-

Here's a pic of sangy at last- See what we had to do to make him part from his camera?

happy bday to me!!!

2005-07-26T02:14:00.000+05:30

yay!!! finally out of teens!! am I supposed to rejoice?

" Here's to life which is a reason unto itself " - Kira petrovna in "We the Living"

Half-blood? Prince?

2005-07-23T03:57:00.000+05:30

Having got the book on 16th night itself, and finished it by the next afternoon, I was left to wonder for some time if I had not by mistake read one of those fanfiction stories and not the Rowling stuff, and only yesterday did I find out that it was infact the book.

Well, I can say that I am glad not to have bought the book for a whopping 700 bucks. I guess, one could say that the book as a stand alone is pretty bad, but may be it was necessary to maintain the continuity.

Coming of age of the characters and the change in guard is a bit too abrupt. Only last year harry and the others were just children hardly able to comprehend the subtleties of the war and at the end of this year we have harry trying to take on the lead role in the resistance( that too with not much increase in his skills- atleast not overt). Hermione's character was bit too subdued in this book, and Malfoy suddenly shows streaks of brilliance that one wouldnt have thought possible of him,(especially with getting better of harry and dumbledore)

One thing though, it has me convinced that snape despite being a slytherin to the core will actually help Harry in his endeavours. Sonia falerio 's reaction reinforced my belief that maybe the book was rushed a bit. Here's < /a> an interesting prediction on the seventh book.

War of the worlds

2005-07-23T02:36:00.000+05:30

A movie adapted from a science fiction novel by H.G.Wells(one of the first sci-fi writers I believe). I would have done well to read the book first and then watch the movie, but it happens that though the movie is well made and might do justice to the book, it was a little weak in the plot one feels. Most of the time is spent in showing the catastrophe and how it affects people. I guess the plot in itself was a bit too weak to spin off a movie, but one worth watching for those who like special effects that look real.

And though it held the grip on the audience for the human drama involved for better part of the movie, the end was a bit too bollywood type with a happy-happy ending.(Perhaps I am a bit too cynical in my outlook, but with the reconciliation of the family in the once again neat house in a clean street made me wonder for a moment if they had all died and this was a meeting in heaven.)

--
shrek

An year before I was born

2005-07-23T02:06:00.000+05:30

1984- a book written in 1949 by George Orwell is a sad-almost nightmarish commentary on what the world would be if socialism prevailed.

The animal farm and 1984 both in essence talk about the communism and the impracticability of it, or rather the horrors that it engenders. Former is a book of how the pigs once having taken over the farm alter anything and everything including the tenets on which they rebelled to suit their needs, finally become the same as the humans who once owned the farm. The latter though, is a dark commentary with only the rarest hints of humour on a world where humans arent human anymore, being human is lunacy, and as he puts it -" one who controls the present controls the past","Freedom is slavery", "Ignorance is strength" and " War is peace".

A story of how these seemingly paradoxical principles come to be accepted by all, including a maverick who recognises things for what they are, of how he is broken down in the end, and how "The Party" makes the people believe in all the lies that they manufacture.
One of the most introspective and deeply philosophical parts of the book though is the part when the protagonist reads the book "Oligarchical Collectivism" that talks about the power balance and class struggle.

Acclaimed as the master piece by George Orwell, this is a book one should definitely read.

If this book was a foreboding book about totalitarianism and the menace it can be, "A brave new world" by "Aldous huxley" set in a similar vein commenting about loosing the human identity in a mechanical yet hierarchial world is also a great read.

--
shrek

The hardest Part.....

2005-07-11T18:42:00.000+05:30

is waiting :-SS

--shrek

And the hardest part
Was letting go, not taking part
was the hardest part
And the strangest thing
was waiting for that bell to ring
It was the strangest start

I could feel it go down
Bittersweet I could taste in my mouth
Silver line in the cloud
Oh and I wish that I could work it out

And the hardest part
was letting go, not taking part
You really broke my heart, oh
And I tried to sing
But I couldn't think of anything
And that was the hardest part of all

I could feel it go down
You left the sweetest taste in my mouth
The silver line in the cloud
Oh and I, oh and I, I wonder what it's all about
I wonder what it's all about

Everything I know is wrong
Everything I do, it just comes undone
And everything is torn apart
And thats the hardest part, that's the hardest part
Yeah that's the hardest part, that's the hardest part

-ColdPlay

Life in the fast lane

2005-07-08T23:31:00.001+05:30

Things to do in case all else fails:
1) Start a career in the movies.
2) Start a pop band
3) Start an anger management class
4) Join politics
5) Grow a beard, go for spoken -hindi/(regional language) classes and start sermonizing

-shrek

Of what was to be and is..

2005-07-08T23:31:00.000+05:30

This was supposed to be a frustrated rant but heck!, why waste the first chance I got in the week to write a blog on just a rant.
Events that I missed writing about and would have loved to- French Grand Prix, Wimbledon Finals, Olympic bid, and at the top spot on the list would be shared by live 8 concert on the weekend and the ODI between Australia and England with the new rules in place.
Had a nice relaxing weekend at my uncle's place when I just whiled away the time in front of the idiot box and probably made up for all the TV that I hadn't watched in my last three years. (only computer in the hostel- no TV) .
Come monday and I get a scare that the results of my work for the past two months aren't what they are supposed to be and that I may have to stay for a little longer. So, I slog from 9 to 9 three days straight, trying to see if there's a bug in my code, and finally go to my guide yesterday with validation of the results that I got, he oh so casually remarks- "My Bad! the results you were getting were correct for this implementation, and the instability observed was for a different implementation."
Hence, I write a script, run it and leave the office at 9:30 last night, to come back and find that it still hasn't finished. Keeping my fingers crossed and hoping that it will turn out alright, (note to self- need to finish the report of the work, otherwise will have to stay back over the weekend *sigh*)

Idle mind ...

2005-07-08T13:49:00.000+05:30

You are Form 9, Vampire: The Undying.

"And The Vampire was all that remained on
the blood drowned creation. She attempted to
regrow life from the dead. But as she was
about to give the breath of life, she was
consumed in the flame of The Phoenix and the
cycle began again."

Some examples of the Vampire Form are Hades (Greek)
and Isis (Egyptian).
The Vampire is associated with the concept of
death, the number 9, and the element of fire.
Her sign is the eclipsed moon.

As a member of Form 9, you are a very realistic
individual. You may be a little idealistic,
but you are very grounded and down to earth.
You realize that not everything lasts, but you
savor every minute of the good times. While
you may sometimes find yourself lonely, you
have strong ties with people that will never be
broken. Vampires are the best friends to have
because they are sensible.

Which Mythological Form Are You?
brought to you by Quizilla

Nice test this, found on dreams and donuts, usually am not much into quizzes, but somehow liked this. Especially, since it was quite similar to how I see myself as.

Green carpet

2005-07-03T08:29:00.000+05:30

Wimbledon, considered the most prestigious of the four grand slams has always been a spectacle to watch. The rallies here might be over quickly (Unlike in Roland Garros) but they still have the charm that draws you back to it wherever you might be.

This year too, it has produced some great matches. On a Saturday, when Alonso in a renault once again qualified the fastest, and Schumacher the fourth quickest, and England came back from a lose-all situationat 33-5 (chasing 198) to tie the match and share the Natwest Trophy with the Australians, Wimbledon threw up the longest singles' duel in women's championship in the open era. Lindsay Davenport was always in the front and Venus had to keep clawing back at her lead. Finally though Venus just nosed ahead to win 4-6 7-6 (7-4) 9-7, in a thrilling encounter that lasted over 2 hours and 45 minutes.

Roddick dispatched off Thomas Johannson to set up a clash against Roger Federer.
Dazzling performance by the qualifiers' pair of Wesley Moodie and Stephen Huss saw them beat the first seeds in the semi-finals and the second seeded pair of Bryans in the final to clinch the title.

All this aside, during the telecast we caught Jimmy connors on air for some time. This legend who with 110 titles holds the record for most singles titles, expressed something which might have been nagging at the back of the tennis followers all over the world. Earlier, there was variety, there was a different style of play trademark of every player, but now it seems as if most of the players are alike in many respects. This( he cited) is what perhaps makes Federer the king as he can mix up the game much better than any other- also the reason why though his record with Hewitt stands at 9-8 in 17 meets, Hewitt hasnt managed to defeat Federer in their last seven meetings.

shrek

Time ..so fleeting

2005-06-21T13:11:00.000+05:30

Time is too slow for those who wait, too swift for those who fear,too long for those who grieve, too short for those who rejoice,but for those who love time is eternity.
- Henry Van Dyke

Wanted to write the travellogue of our trip to coorg. A very enjoyable trip nevertheless, but I am falling short on time. Moreover, I thought it would make more sense to supplement it with the photos of the trip. So, putting it off till then(possibly will do it by tonight).

till then...

Ticking away the moments that make up a dull day
You fritter and waste the hours in an off hand way
Kicking around on a piece of ground in your home town
Waiting for someone or something to show you the way

Tired of lying in the sunshine staying home to watch the rain
You are young and life is long and there is time to kill today
And then one day you find ten years have got behind you
No one told you when to run, you missed the starting gun

And you run and you run to catch up with the sun, but it’s sinking
And racing around to come up behind you again
The sun is the same in the relative way, but you’re older
Shorter of breath and one day closer to death

Every year is getting shorter, never seem to find the time
Plans that either come to naught or half a page of scribbled lines
Hanging on in quiet desperation is the english way
The time is gone, the song is over, thought I’d something more to say

Home, home again
I like to be here when I can
And when I come home cold and tired
It’s good to warm my bones beside the fire
Far away across the field
The tolling of the iron bell
Calls the faithful to their knees
To hear the softly spoken magic spells.
"Time"
-Pink Floyd

The secret to Rock stars claim to fame -in a lighter vein

2005-06-14T18:53:00.000+05:30

Had a great weekend and top it off with a birthday get together on monday and you cannot ask for more. Well, with us playing rock and watching videos, a comment from the elder generation was always on the cards. What I didnt expect though was the extraordinary tale told by my aunt, which I shall narrate below. Those with the knowledge of the epic Ramayana may go ahead and skip to the next para. Like in all religions, the Hindu religion has an epic story of the fight between the evil and the good. According to the mythology there are four ages and Ramayana took part in the second of these ages, where as we live in the last of these ages in which man has gone furthest along the path of sin and has lost all wisdom. Lord Rama was the epitome of goodness in the second age and he slayed Ravana, the representative of evil in the second age.( of course aided by lackeys those were the devils- typically portrayed as long haired, bulky, messy with lots of body paints)

The Hindu philosophy talks of karma/fate and how one has to fulfill it. Hence in my aunts words, "Once Ravana was killed, all his lackeys asked Rama for forgiveness and cribbed that though they were just fulfilling their karma by supporting Ravana, they shall forever be loathed.
Rama then gave a boon to them that during the fourth age when people lack wisdom, they shall recieve all the adorations that they have longed for. Hence", she finished," all you youngsters swear by these devils".

The beginnning

2005-06-07T20:06:00.000+05:30

Inspired by the blog 'infested' created by my good ol'friend
http://irrays.blogspot.com/2005/
'Twas a chance that I even found out what he was upto through orkut, but looking at his blog inspired me to sit through a day's work and read all that he's posted leaving aside the work to be done.

Earlier, I had a passion to write, but somewhere down the line, it fizzled out like a lot of other things. Hoping that this will rekindle the enthusiasm.

shrek