It's been five days since I watched Avatar( a paid preview on 17th Dec ), and i deliberately kept away from writing anything about it in form of review apart from one or two lines on the facebook & twitter.This James Cameron saga, at four years in making(discounting the 15 yrs he waited for the technology to catch up with his vision), and at over $230 million cost, is the biggest movie in term of ambitions, no doubt, but does it work?
Oh, it's a visual feast. The 3d experience is immersive. And for the entire length of 3 hours you feast in the vivid colours of Pandoran world, where the battle between good(US Co) and evil( native Na'vi) takes place, all over a mineral (unobtanium) which sells at $20 million a kilo. You get to see some new creatures, not created by God, but by a man, using the tools of computer generated scenery. About 70% of the movie is entirely the work of computers, and was shot in the same hanger where Howard Hughes ( Recently played by Leonardo Di Caprio in some movie) built his mammoth planes.
But in these past five days, not once have i thought about Avatar. Never has any character made any impression in my mind- i am niether happy, nor sad about the movie. And that is puzzling to me. To see the biggest film in history and not be excited or swayed by it, means only one thing to me- IT WAS CRAPPY. The visual effects may have been great, but it was devoid of that extra something that makes a movie great, a soul sort of...It was a soulless movie, full of technical perfection, but devoid of a compelling story.Maybe Cameron has saved it for the following two sequels to it.
It is likely to be a mega blockbuster..it took second highest opening in US history despite half the county keeping away from it (due to blizzard); and it has recuperated about $230 million from worldwide audiences in just these five days. A great flawed movie, lacking a soul!
Monday, December 21, 2009
Copenhagen Accord: A dissapointing beginning to combat climate change
The Copenhagen summit is drawing to a close with no major announcement forthcoming. People say that a new beginning has been made, but when isn't a beginning new? And when the whole world is sitting on a ticking time bomb, you are looking out for more than a beginning. The only redeeming point according to me was the coming on board of US of A. And Obama took the spotlight away from all the declaration, or rather the absence of it.
A non binding agreement for efforts towards reducing the global temperature by two degrees Celsius. A $30 billion loan over the next three years to developing countries for mitigating the effects of climate change, and a proposal to grow the kitty to $100 billion by 2020? or 2050?
Naah! the talk's a failure according to me. It was just a conference to convene another conference in November next year to be held at Mexico. The merry go round continues... Better they come out with an alternative before Kyoto expires(in 2012 actually).
A non binding agreement for efforts towards reducing the global temperature by two degrees Celsius. A $30 billion loan over the next three years to developing countries for mitigating the effects of climate change, and a proposal to grow the kitty to $100 billion by 2020? or 2050?
Naah! the talk's a failure according to me. It was just a conference to convene another conference in November next year to be held at Mexico. The merry go round continues... Better they come out with an alternative before Kyoto expires(in 2012 actually).
Google Universe ( Fastflip, Android, Navigation, Goggles & Gphone)
Google is a company on the move. At any point of time they have loads of products cooking in their labs.Many of them do not see the light of the day, or are pushed behind to allow a newer idea to emerge. Google Wave was a surprising product in that regard. Though it is too early to say whether it will succeed or not, but the euphoria and hype associated with the product is beginning to quieten down.Many of my friends who had managed to get the invitation to the phenomenon called wave haven't logged in for more than a month. It's too complicated according to some, pretty useless according to some others. Only time will tell if their endeavor to redesign the internet was successful or not.
Android was another offering from the stable of Google.A free source operating system for mobiles, it has got a decent success. The motorola droid in US(running android) has become quite a success.And with HTC, samsung and LG also in line to launch phones with android, it looks that it will pick up momentum and will pretty soon have developers joining in the bandwagon.
Then came the time for offering a navigation feature on the mobiles. Though this feature is available in all it's glory only in the US, this was a great offering where you could do a voice search for a location, and the mobile would guide you turn by turn using the built in voice guidance system. When other companies would charge a hefty fee for the same feature, Google decided to provide the feature free in keeping up with it's ideology, "Don't be evil".
Now comes the next major evolution on Google's part, a technology from the future. Now you can just capture any image from your camera phone and do a google search on that image. A small part of the augmented reality program where the internet and real life mesh together, it's only a beginning, but a beginning no doubt. One can imagine that google will keep pace with the technological development and will soon attach it's massive database in meaningful ways to the real life.The above two services as expected were designed with the android mobile operating system kept in mind.
Now comes the most controversial aspect of the equation- a phone bearing the brandname of google. It seems that google has supplied mobile phones to all it's employees, in a process called "dogfooding" , to test the phone. There's no official confirmation with regards to the launch of the phone, but details have started emerging. It's codenamed Nexus One and is made by HTC according to Google'd hardware specifications. And no prizes for guessing that it runs the latest operating system( Android 2.1).According to Gartner smart phones will outsell laptops this yearr & will generate more revenue($192bn) than laptops ($152bn) by 2012.And it looks like google has set it's sights on this market.Here are some photos:
There are reports that the phone is fast to operate and comes with an OLED screen with the same size as motorola droid.While it is a multi touch smartphone, still pinch to zoom features do not seem to work in this regard. Now how & whether google will launch the phone can be left on the shoulders of time only. But it is an interesting news. Wait for the next article on Google's next product: Chrome OS for net & notebooks.
Android was another offering from the stable of Google.A free source operating system for mobiles, it has got a decent success. The motorola droid in US(running android) has become quite a success.And with HTC, samsung and LG also in line to launch phones with android, it looks that it will pick up momentum and will pretty soon have developers joining in the bandwagon.
Then came the time for offering a navigation feature on the mobiles. Though this feature is available in all it's glory only in the US, this was a great offering where you could do a voice search for a location, and the mobile would guide you turn by turn using the built in voice guidance system. When other companies would charge a hefty fee for the same feature, Google decided to provide the feature free in keeping up with it's ideology, "Don't be evil".
Now comes the next major evolution on Google's part, a technology from the future. Now you can just capture any image from your camera phone and do a google search on that image. A small part of the augmented reality program where the internet and real life mesh together, it's only a beginning, but a beginning no doubt. One can imagine that google will keep pace with the technological development and will soon attach it's massive database in meaningful ways to the real life.The above two services as expected were designed with the android mobile operating system kept in mind.
Now comes the most controversial aspect of the equation- a phone bearing the brandname of google. It seems that google has supplied mobile phones to all it's employees, in a process called "dogfooding" , to test the phone. There's no official confirmation with regards to the launch of the phone, but details have started emerging. It's codenamed Nexus One and is made by HTC according to Google'd hardware specifications. And no prizes for guessing that it runs the latest operating system( Android 2.1).According to Gartner smart phones will outsell laptops this yearr & will generate more revenue($192bn) than laptops ($152bn) by 2012.And it looks like google has set it's sights on this market.Here are some photos:
There are reports that the phone is fast to operate and comes with an OLED screen with the same size as motorola droid.While it is a multi touch smartphone, still pinch to zoom features do not seem to work in this regard. Now how & whether google will launch the phone can be left on the shoulders of time only. But it is an interesting news. Wait for the next article on Google's next product: Chrome OS for net & notebooks.
Sunday, November 8, 2009
New Issue of Class Magazine
Brought out a new issue of our class magazine. As usual uploaded a copy of it on the site issue. It is available on : October Issue of i.mag.in (read Imagine)
Heartfelt thanks to the team samwad. Ankit Gupta as usual did a brilliant job of designing the magazine. What next?
Heartfelt thanks to the team samwad. Ankit Gupta as usual did a brilliant job of designing the magazine. What next?
Friday, November 6, 2009
Latest Telecom Figures: September(end) 2009
The number of subscribers crossed 500 million. The wirline subscribers continue to drop, as almost everyone is jumping on the wireless bandwagon. The subscriber base stood at 509 million, with 471 million wireless subscribers and 37 million odd wireline subscribers. Should wireline services be delegated to second place? Or should government try even harder to work on it? Atleast the market forces have spoken out loud for the death of wireline services. Let's see at what stable figure it settles.
The overall teledensity ( which is number of phones per hundred persons) reached a overall high of 43.50. This when it reached double digit only towards the end of September 2005. The figures mentioned in the telecom policy of 1999 have been fulfilled with a year to spare. What a success story!
Tata (26.7%), Bharti(16.8%) & Reliance(13.4%) had the lion's share of 15 million additions this month.
The rural density figure stood at 16.5(march, 2009) and the urban teledensity at 88.5(march 2009). This shows that companies have no option but to go to rural areas in search of the numbers- at least to the thickly populated rural areas. The size of India may put off some operators but it's high population density(393persons/ sq km) should see it through.
The urban centers would most probably see the shift towards VAS, with data services making up for the lost revenue. But what about rural areas? Will they also see VAS? Or services like GPRS, 3G, Mobile banking?? Who knows? The future is too much in flux, especially in the case of Indian telecom market!
Friday, October 30, 2009
Laws of the World ( Special emphasis on technology )
Humans are a rare breed. They are always on the lookout for the laws that govern the various relationships. We all know the laws of the motion, laws of relativity and various other laws in the realm of science. What about various laws of our world (with emphasis on technology)? Well here is a brief review of a few of the laws:
Moore's Law : This is supposedly the most publicized law. Founder of Intel, the semiconductor giant, Mr Gordon Moore postulated that computing power doubles every eighteen months. This has remained true till now, but is showing signs that it may not survive the decade.
Amara's Law : we tend to overestimate the effect of a technology in the short run and underestimate the effect in the long run.
Dunbar's Number : Tells us that we are human after all. We can atmost handle 150 active connections. That's the number of social relationships that the average person can effectively maintain before he/ she becomes overloaded.
Hawthorne effect : More to the point of human psychology, it states that subjects in a setting will improve aspects of their behavior being experimentally measured simply in response to the fact that they are being studied.
Hoteling's Law : Says that it's natural and rational for businesses to make their products as similar as possible. It holds true in the internet era also. For any company that moves toward aggregating ( innovate – proliferate – aggregate) stands a good chance to reap the profits.
- Jakob's Law : "users spend most of their time on other sites", and so you must be there too.
Pareto Principle: 80% of the effects come from 20% of the causes. Originally stated for the manufacturing industry, the 80/20 principle has found to have held true across various situations.
Sarnoff's law : The value of a broadcast network is proportional to the number of viewers. Though it looks self evident, it's truthfulness holds true in the modern era when the communication has become two way ( Company to user & user to company )
Network Effect : When a product or service has more value the more that other people have it too. A phenomenon seen now days with facebook. The more value and more people it acquires, the more the number that want to join it.
Principle of least effort : The simpler( and easier) the solution, the more the people will like it. People tend to use the most convenient method, in the least exacting way available.
Gilder's law : This states that network bandwidth triples every 18 months.
Rule 34 : "If it exists, there is porn of it." Also Rule 35: "If no such porn exists, it will be made."
Pommer's Law : A person's mind can be changed by reading information on the internet. The nature of this change will be from having no opinion to having a wrong opinion.
The law of exclamation : The more exclamation points used in an email (or other posting), the more likely it is a complete lie. This is also true for excessive capital letters.
Metcalfe's Law : Metcalfe said the usefulness of a network improves by the square of the number of nodes on the network. i.e The Internet, like telephones, grows more valuable as more join in.
Wriston's law : Capital (meaning both money and ideas), when freed to travel at the speed of light, "will go where it is wanted, stay where it is well-treated...." By applying Wriston's Law of capital and talent flow, one can predict the fortunes of countries and companies.
Ogilvy's Law : If each of us hires people who are smaller than we are, we shall become a company of dwarfs. But if each of us hires people who are bigger than we are, we shall become a company of giants.
Drucker's Law : You will achieve the greatest results in business and career if you drop the word "achievement" from your vocabulary. Replace it with "contribution" .
Technology is not a panacea.
Nobody believes that anything bad can happen to them, until it does.
- Eternal vigilance is the price of security.
Credit Crisis ( A nice video)
Though it's a bit late to be talking about credit crisis, but the fact is that many do not understand it in it's entirety. Here is a nice video that explains it in visual terms. A must watch!!
The Crisis of Credit Visualized from Jonathan Jarvis on Vimeo.
The Crisis of Credit Visualized from Jonathan Jarvis on Vimeo.
Monday, October 19, 2009
Trip to Global Vipassana Pagoda ( or, Golden Pagoda, Mumbai)
Human will is superior to all things, this was what was going on in my mind after seeing the work of art that is golden pagoda. A structure constructed out of gratitude to Buddha and his teachings,it is a modern day marvel. The structure is build so that it stands the test of time for atleast a thousand years. Imagine the sheer magnificance of dream, and it's implementation.
This symbol of peace and harmony was inaugerated by the president of India in february 2009. Though the work is still not complete, it's grandeur is something worth seeing. Situated at Gorai Island in mumbai, beside the esselworld and water kingdom, this monument is build out of stones, each weighing about 600 - 700kgs,coming from the quarry's of Jodhpur (Rajasthan). The idea of interlocking stone pieces was suggested by Mr. Chandubhai Sompura, and the work started in earnest in 2000.
For reaching the center one has to get down at Borivali station, situated on the western line of local railways. The local railway on the western line has got a train every few minutes. After getting down one should come out on the west side. From here you can either take a bus ( Rs 5 ticket) or auto ( Rs 22) to Gorai Bay. From Gorai bay one has to take a ferry. The services are run by Esselworld and a round trip ticket costs Rs 35. The ferry trip takes 15-20 minutes to reach the island. One can see the pagoda from the gorai bay itself. After alighting at the island one can walk down to the pagoda following the signages placed there.
The view of Pagoda from the ferry
The entrance
The walking space in front of Pagoda. It has been designed to handle 10,000 people.
The center of the Global Vipassana Pagoda contains the world's largest stone dome built without any supporting pillars. The height of the dome is approximately 29 metres, while the height of the building is 96.12 meters, which is twice the size of the previously largest hollow stone monument in the world, the Gol Gumbaz Dome in Bijapur, India. External diameter of the largest section of the dome is 97.46m and the shorter sections is 94.82m. Internal diamter of the dome is 85.15m.The inside of the pagoda is hollow and serves as a very large meditation hall with an area covering more than 6000 m2 (65,000 ft2). The massive inner dome seats over 8000 people enabling them to practice the non-sectarian Vipassana meditation as taught by Mr S.N. Goenka and now being practiced in over 100 countries [ Wikipedia ]
The main dome and north (smaller) pagoda
The central hall
It's massive : supposed to seat 8000 people.
The entrance to the dome
The doors were carved in Myanmar and contain scenes of Buddha's life
Me in front of one of the entrances
The side doors
The whole wall contains sayings like these
The best thing about this place is that it claims allegiance to no religion. It is merely a center for people to learn meditation. The technique taught by S N Goenka is based on the Buddhist philosophy of Vipassana. This technique is gradually gaining momentum and it has been taught by Mr Gokenka for the past three decades, in form of 10 day residential courses, for free. It is currently been taught in over 100 countries. Maybe this was why the Mahabodhi society chose to give the bone relics of Buddha to be kept here at the top of dome.
The north pagoda is almost complete and work has started on the south pagoda. When completed the whole complex will be a sight to watch, it's place in history books confirmed.
The north pagoda
Finishing touches being applied
The dome of north pagoda
A replica of sarnath pillar to symbolise that Dharma will go in all four directions
The trip to the golden pagoda was worth the time and trouble. Though incomplete, it's magnificence and splendor are something to watch and feel. I can't wait to see it completed! And for anyone willing to explore mumbai, a visit to this place is a must. As Goenka ji says, " Bhavatu sabb mangalam".
The view from the ferry while coming back.
Sunday, October 18, 2009
Trip to Elephanta Caves
Elephanta caves are situated at a distance of about 11 kms from mumbai. The approach is by ferry only and it takes about an hour to reach Elephanta from Gateway of India.The fare is Rs 120 for the whole journey. It is another matter though that you are required to pay Rs 10 for toy train ride ( about 200 meters); Rs 10 as tax ( Rs 250 for foreign tourists); and Rs 5 as some other charge. So the total cost works out to be Rs 145 for the whole trip.
The journey starts from Gateway of India and ferry's are available quite frequently. The ride from Gateway to Elephanta is quite smooth, and the scenery that greets you en route is beautiful. You get to see the skylines of Mumbai and plethora of ships moored on the sea.
Skyline of Mumbai from the boat
The Naval Dock
Once you arrive at the Elephanta Island, you can proceed on foot or on the toy train. The journey is a short one ( about 200 meters), and once you reach the base you are required to climb the stairs to reach the caves. It's a short journey and the path is littered with shops selling myriad things fron a T-shirt, to vada pao, to cold drinks, water bottles, bangles, to work of art. Once you reach the entry you are required to purchase a ticket ( Rs 10 domestic, Rs 250 foreign tourist), and upon entry you are greeted by a make shift museum on the elephanta caves. The museum is nothing to write about- a three room show- just showing some photographs of the elephanta caves and other caves around Mumbai.
Hardly ten meters away from the museum is located the pride of place : Cave number 1. It contains beautiful images of Lord Shiva carved on stone. The whole cave is supposed to have been carved out of a single outcropping and you can't stop marveling at the genius of the carvers. Though battered by time and of course by the Portuguese ( Who used the Hindu Idols as target practice ), what ever is left of the sculptures is bound to take your breadth away.
The five headed Lord Shiva. Only three heads are visible here.
Lord Shiva in one of his many aspects.
The Ardhnarishwar i.e. half man, half women. This is to show the importance of both masculine and feminine aspects of creation. This is a master piece depicting all Gods of hindu mythology.
A Close up of ardhnarishwar
The pillars in the cave are simple but depict hindu Gods. Here it is depicting Lord Ganesha.
Another form of Lord Shiva
The dancing form or Natraja as it is known
The dwarpals ( guards) of the temple
The Shiva linga inside the temple
Lord Ganesha in the adjoining cave (to cave 1)
The whole complex spread over 60,000 square ft is supposed to have been constructed in 600 AD. It is supposed to be the high point of Indian architecture ( under Puleshkin II). It is dedicated to a single deity - Lord Shiva ( the destroyer aspect of the trinity { Brahma- Creator; Vishnu- preserver }). The five faced sculpture of Lord Shiva is supposed to the best specimen of it's kind anywhere in India. You can't help admiring the dedication shown by the sculpturers and their skill in crafting these beautiful images.
Cave 2 or was it cave 3?
Cave 5
So after your trip is over you can proceed to see the two canons installed during the portuegese times. The presence of the canons gives the hill it's name : canon hill. The canons are nothing much to see ( last remnants of the colonial times), but the view of the sea you get from there is worth the trip.
And now the trip is truly over. You have seen everything that there is to see on the island. he last ferry from the island for mumbai leaves at 5:30 pm and one is on time to see the sun set from the ferry while approaching mumbai. The time of history is over, and present engulfs you as you alight from the ferry, musing about the yesteryears.
Sunset from the ferry
The gateway and the taj are things you recognize from sea.
So was it worth it? Definitely. The art and culture as well as the past of India comes alive there, only you need to have some imagination. Will I go there again sometime soon : probably not!
Saturday, October 17, 2009
Finding Balance
How do you feel when you come to a sudden realisation that half of your life is over and the dreams that you had are nowhere near the horizon. That you have altered, made compromises with your dreams. Maybe that's why religion and philosophy gain importance, to fill the void created inside you. And maybe that's why zen saying goes that rather than the destination the journey is more important. It is the journey that brings meaning to life. In this life we get many fellow travelers, but those intent on reaching destination only, don't do justice to the journey, and at the epitome of success find themselves alone, with no one to share their success with. The importance, the realisation that comes to me at this point of time is that we have to strike a balance in our life.
We keep swinging between the two extremes of joy and sadness, hope and despair, success and failure; and just when we feel that we have some semblance of control over our life, a tempest comes that again leaves us hanging precariously in between the two extremes, never at home at either end of the spectrum. Maybe that's why Buddha's teaching hold a special significance in today's world : he always said to choose the middle path, to strike a balance, to never go to the extremes, to maintain equanimity in all situations. A simple teaching like that and even then people have been found wanting in doing that. Why is it so hard to strike a balance?
For whoever has struck a balance in his life is living a more joyous existence. Yet in my case though the brain accepts, i have not been able to strike a balance. I keep fluctuating from one state to another, always under a deadline, always under pressure to finish things at the last moment. I find that my life has taken more of a sinusoidal curve : going from one extreme to another, and any attempt to change the status quo has only worsened the condition. For i find myself neither good nor bad; neither vegetarian nor non-veg; neither religious nor atheist; neither a day person nor a night person..... I keep vacillating between the two poles, like a pendulum, always in search of the other side, never at rest. As a first step, i have come to accept my strange condition. But i am not doing anything overt to change it. It will change on its own as the awareness develops and longing for balance becomes hardened. Well till then I accept myself as I am. Let's see how long it takes to strike a balance, to tread the middle path.
Friday, October 16, 2009
Religion
I was born a hindu. That is my religious identity. But ask me what does it mean to be a hindu and i am at a loss for words. If i would have been born to christians, i would be a christian; to muslim parents, i would be muslim; to jewish, a jew. So is religion just determined by birth? Is it like a mere roll of dice, where you get the religion you are born into? How many among us have taken to different religion after making a deep study of it? Very few ( I am discounting the forced (due to circumstances) conversions, or for benefit (financial, social) conversions ).
In Bible it is written that a tree is known by the fruit it begets. And it is generally assumed that all religions work towards the same goal : to bring out the inherent divinity within. To give him mental strength, to give peace, to provide a meaning to life. Then why is it that the religious followers are in many cases perpetuating violence in the name of religion? That they become so narrow minded that see all other religions as false. That instead of love and compassion for the fellow human human beings they are filled with greed and hatred. Oh it is also written that judge not one for the faults of many. But why not? Why do we have to follow everything blindly, as supposed words of God, instead of having a open, questioning outlook. Only those afraid of their faults will stifle questioning. Questioning pushes the boundaries, and anything which does not evolve with time, is in the danger of being done away with by nature. Why not judge the religion itself for the faults of many of it's adherents? After all once the critical mass is reached, it becomes a self perpetuating reaction. Once a critical mass of bad apples is reached, they would start poisoning the environment around them.
Who is to judge what is right or wrong in case of religion? The society, the leader, the interpreter, or we the common people? Indians celebrate the mother aspect of creation most prominently. They worship her in the form of Bhavani, Durga, and thousands of more names through out the country. Then why is the condition of females deplorable in the country? Why are their rights not equal? Why are womens looked down upon, many times mere victims of past traditions than anything else. Why is it that only when she bears a male child (this is changing) and becomes a Mother that her status improves to a certain extent. Gita says follows your own Dharma ( SwaDharma), the one according to your nature, the one you are born into. Why?? You say do your work, don't be attached, don't expect any fruits, don't change your Dharma. Why?? otherwise you will not attain salvation. You will go to hell. And this when God is supposed to be all loving, all compassion, all merciful!
A few cartoons could blow up the sentiments of the whole of one community. Why?
A tree is indeed known by the fruit it begets. So which religion should one follow. From my childhood I have been attracted to all the religions at the intellectual level, but none at the faith level. I found them a bit too strong, a bit too thirsty to my liking. I always maintained my distances from the religions. I have searched for what is good and tried to follow that, and left out the parts that i could not sympathize with. I always felt that " religion existed for me, and not I for the religion." And so i have felt the ridicule sometimes, of my elders. But i am happy with my decision and i am willing to live with that. No single religion envelopes me, i owe my allegiance to all the philosophies, all the religions, all the ways to lead life. I refuse to be bound down by dogmas.I am free. I am He. I Am.
So imagine my surprise when i read similar thoughts portrayed by Sw Vivekananda. Here is what he said:
" If you want to be religious, enter not the gates of any organised religions. they do a hundred times more evil that good, because they stop the growth of each individual's development. Study everything, but keep your seat firm....[As] the bee culling honey from many flowers remains free, not bound by any flower, be not bound .......[ Religion] is only between you and God, and no third person must come in between you. Think what these organised religions have done! What Napoleon was more terrible than these religious persecutions?...better die working your own natural religion than following another's natural religion, however great it may appear to you."
And "...there have been more Gods than human beings; and yet no help. We die like dogs- no help. Everywhere beastliness, famine, disease, misery, evil! And all are crying for help. But no help. And yet hopeing against hope, we are still screaming for help..... Do not seek help from anyone. We are our own help..... Stand up and be strong! No fear. No superstition..."
In the movie kingdom of heaven, towards the end when he surrenders, the hero asks Sallauddin, as to what did Jerusalem mean to him. And he answers :
" Nothing" and starts walking away. Suddenly he turns, and says:
"Everything"
That is what religion means to me.
In Bible it is written that a tree is known by the fruit it begets. And it is generally assumed that all religions work towards the same goal : to bring out the inherent divinity within. To give him mental strength, to give peace, to provide a meaning to life. Then why is it that the religious followers are in many cases perpetuating violence in the name of religion? That they become so narrow minded that see all other religions as false. That instead of love and compassion for the fellow human human beings they are filled with greed and hatred. Oh it is also written that judge not one for the faults of many. But why not? Why do we have to follow everything blindly, as supposed words of God, instead of having a open, questioning outlook. Only those afraid of their faults will stifle questioning. Questioning pushes the boundaries, and anything which does not evolve with time, is in the danger of being done away with by nature. Why not judge the religion itself for the faults of many of it's adherents? After all once the critical mass is reached, it becomes a self perpetuating reaction. Once a critical mass of bad apples is reached, they would start poisoning the environment around them.
Who is to judge what is right or wrong in case of religion? The society, the leader, the interpreter, or we the common people? Indians celebrate the mother aspect of creation most prominently. They worship her in the form of Bhavani, Durga, and thousands of more names through out the country. Then why is the condition of females deplorable in the country? Why are their rights not equal? Why are womens looked down upon, many times mere victims of past traditions than anything else. Why is it that only when she bears a male child (this is changing) and becomes a Mother that her status improves to a certain extent. Gita says follows your own Dharma ( SwaDharma), the one according to your nature, the one you are born into. Why?? You say do your work, don't be attached, don't expect any fruits, don't change your Dharma. Why?? otherwise you will not attain salvation. You will go to hell. And this when God is supposed to be all loving, all compassion, all merciful!
A few cartoons could blow up the sentiments of the whole of one community. Why?
A tree is indeed known by the fruit it begets. So which religion should one follow. From my childhood I have been attracted to all the religions at the intellectual level, but none at the faith level. I found them a bit too strong, a bit too thirsty to my liking. I always maintained my distances from the religions. I have searched for what is good and tried to follow that, and left out the parts that i could not sympathize with. I always felt that " religion existed for me, and not I for the religion." And so i have felt the ridicule sometimes, of my elders. But i am happy with my decision and i am willing to live with that. No single religion envelopes me, i owe my allegiance to all the philosophies, all the religions, all the ways to lead life. I refuse to be bound down by dogmas.I am free. I am He. I Am.
So imagine my surprise when i read similar thoughts portrayed by Sw Vivekananda. Here is what he said:
" If you want to be religious, enter not the gates of any organised religions. they do a hundred times more evil that good, because they stop the growth of each individual's development. Study everything, but keep your seat firm....[As] the bee culling honey from many flowers remains free, not bound by any flower, be not bound .......[ Religion] is only between you and God, and no third person must come in between you. Think what these organised religions have done! What Napoleon was more terrible than these religious persecutions?...better die working your own natural religion than following another's natural religion, however great it may appear to you."
And "...there have been more Gods than human beings; and yet no help. We die like dogs- no help. Everywhere beastliness, famine, disease, misery, evil! And all are crying for help. But no help. And yet hopeing against hope, we are still screaming for help..... Do not seek help from anyone. We are our own help..... Stand up and be strong! No fear. No superstition..."
In the movie kingdom of heaven, towards the end when he surrenders, the hero asks Sallauddin, as to what did Jerusalem mean to him. And he answers :
" Nothing" and starts walking away. Suddenly he turns, and says:
"Everything"
That is what religion means to me.
Saturday, October 10, 2009
And the Nobel Peace Prize goes to.... Obama!!!
Of all the nobel prizes announced I have always looked upto the nobel peace prize. For there is something with the word peace that touches the heart strings of mine. And that this is supposed to be the epitome of achievement, to have led a life well lived. Oh the other nobels are no lesser in any way, but being given to men of science they have never held any fascination to me. Science may be fantastic, but the scientists are not. Most of them sound boring and seem cut off from the world.
Not that i am a great reader of who would be the peace prize winner, but the winner of this year's nobel peace prize is a man apart.Never has the world seen a messenger of hope of such magnitude. In this modern era of telecommunications and internet, hardly would anyone not heard of "YES WE CAN", or "Change We Can Believe In", or ""I’m asking you to believe. Not just in my ability to bring about real change in Washington . I'm asking you to believe in yours." and the sublime message, "Change in America doesn't start from the top down. It starts from the bottom up."
That he is a great orator, a great motivated leader, and an agent of change in America is a well known fact; but I am willing to bet that not many would know that he played a "more constructive role in meeting the great climatic challenges the world is confronting" , apparantly the reason why got the Nobel peace prize. Looks like he swayed the Nobel committee with his message of hope too!
Any way, heartiest congratulations, Mr President! May you continue shining as a beacon of hope for the common people. And may you be successful in your stated endeavors!
Here is what Obama had to say about the announcement on twitter :
And a search result for the trending topic ( President Obama or #Obama) showed:
The Nobel Peace Prize has been awarded 89 times to 119 Nobel Laureates between 1901 and 2008 – 96 times to individuals and 23 times to organizations. Since International Committee of the Red Cross was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1917, 1944 and 1963, and the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1954 and 1981, that means 96 individuals and 20 organizations have been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.
ApparentlyObama is the third sitting president of US to have bagged a Nobel.The other sitting presidents to win the prize were Theodore Roosevelt in 1906 and Woodrow Wilson in 1919. Former President Jimmy Carter won the award in 2002. And vice president Al Gore won it in 2007 for his efforts on speaking about climate change.
Here's looking at you, Mr Obama!
Peace is not a relationship of nations. It is a condition of mind brought about by a serenity of soul. Peace is not merely the absence of war. It is also a state of mind. Lasting peace can come only to peaceful people.
Jawaharlal Nehru
Not that i am a great reader of who would be the peace prize winner, but the winner of this year's nobel peace prize is a man apart.Never has the world seen a messenger of hope of such magnitude. In this modern era of telecommunications and internet, hardly would anyone not heard of "YES WE CAN", or "Change We Can Believe In", or ""I’m asking you to believe. Not just in my ability to bring about real change in Washington . I'm asking you to believe in yours." and the sublime message, "Change in America doesn't start from the top down. It starts from the bottom up."
That he is a great orator, a great motivated leader, and an agent of change in America is a well known fact; but I am willing to bet that not many would know that he played a "more constructive role in meeting the great climatic challenges the world is confronting" , apparantly the reason why got the Nobel peace prize. Looks like he swayed the Nobel committee with his message of hope too!
Here is what Obama had to say about the announcement on twitter :
And a search result for the trending topic ( President Obama or #Obama) showed:
Nobel prize organisation says the following about the peace prize:
And the list is :
- 2009 - Barack Obama
- 2008 - Martti Ahtisaari
- 2007 - Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, Al Gore
- 2006 - Muhammad Yunus, Grameen Bank
- 2005 - International Atomic Energy Agency, Mohamed ElBaradei
- 2004 - Wangari Maathai
- 2003 - Shirin Ebadi
- 2002 - Jimmy Carter
- 2001 - United Nations, Kofi Annan
- 2000 - Kim Dae-jung
Here's looking at you, Mr Obama!
Peace is not a relationship of nations. It is a condition of mind brought about by a serenity of soul. Peace is not merely the absence of war. It is also a state of mind. Lasting peace can come only to peaceful people.
Jawaharlal Nehru
Wednesday, October 7, 2009
Few thoughts on Life!
There is something about life that does take your breadth away. A pity then, that only humans seem to be able to understand and study it. For when have you heard of an animal, or bird, or insect, or the myriad other creatures in existence, of studying their own species as well as others? They just seem to exist. And as famous zen saying goes, " If you understand, things are just as they are; if you do not understand, things are just as they are." But we humans are made up of a different breed. We have taken ourselves so seriously that we studied all (we could lay our hands on) the creatures, categorized them, decided on their fate, and even created them (stem cell). One can find a sample of supreme human arrogance in the only selfless act he did : Create God in his own image! ( though the christians will say that God created man in his own image).
What is it about life that keeps about half of the world's population living below poverty line? What is it that motivates him to live a life full of disgrace & depravity; of a life which is more full of things that he didn't have, rather than what he had; a life whose only existence seems to be acknowledged by the descendents that he leaves. Maybe it is the reason why poor produce so many children. So that they survive. In someone's dream. That they be recognized at some point of time. I would derive my support from Darwin, for only the fittest survive. And in this unequal world, where there is always a battle for life and resources being fought between the rich and the poor, the rich have the upper hand by controlling resources and having oodles of money. The only thing that poor can have is numbers, and they do that. They believe in numbers.For the entire history of the earth, they were never once victorious. But a man by the name of Jesus promised them that their time will come, that " poor shall inherit the earth". And so was born the religion, the so called "opiate of the masses". Still the game didn't change, and it never will as long as there is hope. Hope seems to be the biggest harvester of souls, keeping billions of people in its fold, never letting them go, whether generations come or go!
"A life well lived", will read the epitaph of many. What is life? and what is well lived? Is it merely the act of living, going from one tragedy to another, bound in the chains of hope, or religion? Or is it earning money? Or raising children so that you create someone in your image too? So that for once in your life you can play God?
Or giving service to society? or earning name and fame? Or a mixture, or summation of all these and other factors?
I have come to like Nietzsche's saying, " God is dead". But for me it goes a step beyond. He never was alive.He never was. It was always we. We humans! We see humans every where yet do not believe in him, and God nowhere, yet (try to )see him everywhere. This is a sign of dementia in the masses. And this coupled with hope will continue taking their toll till man comes to realize that he is the maker of his own destiny. That he can do what he desires. That he has infinite potential. And the only purpose of life is to realise that potential. The realization is an arduous journey, and in the course of that journey life happens!
What is it about life that keeps about half of the world's population living below poverty line? What is it that motivates him to live a life full of disgrace & depravity; of a life which is more full of things that he didn't have, rather than what he had; a life whose only existence seems to be acknowledged by the descendents that he leaves. Maybe it is the reason why poor produce so many children. So that they survive. In someone's dream. That they be recognized at some point of time. I would derive my support from Darwin, for only the fittest survive. And in this unequal world, where there is always a battle for life and resources being fought between the rich and the poor, the rich have the upper hand by controlling resources and having oodles of money. The only thing that poor can have is numbers, and they do that. They believe in numbers.For the entire history of the earth, they were never once victorious. But a man by the name of Jesus promised them that their time will come, that " poor shall inherit the earth". And so was born the religion, the so called "opiate of the masses". Still the game didn't change, and it never will as long as there is hope. Hope seems to be the biggest harvester of souls, keeping billions of people in its fold, never letting them go, whether generations come or go!
"A life well lived", will read the epitaph of many. What is life? and what is well lived? Is it merely the act of living, going from one tragedy to another, bound in the chains of hope, or religion? Or is it earning money? Or raising children so that you create someone in your image too? So that for once in your life you can play God?
Or giving service to society? or earning name and fame? Or a mixture, or summation of all these and other factors?
I have come to like Nietzsche's saying, " God is dead". But for me it goes a step beyond. He never was alive.He never was. It was always we. We humans! We see humans every where yet do not believe in him, and God nowhere, yet (try to )see him everywhere. This is a sign of dementia in the masses. And this coupled with hope will continue taking their toll till man comes to realize that he is the maker of his own destiny. That he can do what he desires. That he has infinite potential. And the only purpose of life is to realise that potential. The realization is an arduous journey, and in the course of that journey life happens!
Tuesday, October 6, 2009
5th october, 2009
Today was just like other days, barring the small victory i had over sleep. I slept at 3 am, and was awake at 7 am; finishing my sleep in 4 hours; something which was always on my mind for the past few years. Sleep has been my biggest undoing and biggest enemy all these years. It's as if i am a completely different person when asleep, no amount of reason ever enters into the dark territory of my sleep. It seems that gradually i have started having some control over my sleeping habits, and though i may have lost many battles, i have full intention of winning the war.
Today after getting up early, i started for the college for the reading room of college is a good place for studying. So hardly had i taken a few steps out of the hostel when i saw a rare sight:
![]()
![]()
Today after getting up early, i started for the college for the reading room of college is a good place for studying. So hardly had i taken a few steps out of the hostel when i saw a rare sight:
This was right in front of the sydnehm college. I mean I have seen such sights, but always in newspapers, never in real, and never so close. Somehow the reality is always more brutal, more intense and more thought provoking than the coverage in newspapers. Imagine what a day of incessant rains can do to a tree.
Not to be struck in watching the accident, i hurried to college to read about product and brand management, for we had a test coming at 2:30 pm.The paper was of two parts : one part by Rutu Mody and the other part by V. Kumar. Prof. V kumar's test was open book examination and consisted of numericals. This was my first experience with open book examination and i was pleasantly surprised and impressed to say the least. This way we did not have to memorise any equations ( Bass eq., Sales forecast etc) and we could concentrate on solving the problem. It went a long way in clearing whatever doubts were remaining prior to the exam. Imagine, an exam teaching you to apply your learnings! That was a unique experience for me! Now i understand the lacune of indian education system where the emphasis is more on memorisation rather than application of knowledge. It is the sheer hardworking ability of indians that see's them overcome a number of odds. And i am a convert to open book exams now!
So after the test, which ended at about 5:30, we again gathered in the reading room for clearing some doubts about supply chain management. Alas! this is not to be an open book examination! Well we were back to memorisation techniques, and whatever time we could find to discuss we discussed about the various case studies done in class. Despite doing them, the confidence is at an all time low, for the concepts are not crystal clear. I plan to utilize tomorrow's time for revising the subject matter once again. Oh, how we would have loved a one day break before this paper. This is supposed to be the toughest paper of this trimester. Maybe the college authorities should also believe in applying the win/win theory ( which they teach so gleefully ), in pracical cases. Or maybe not! For until the going gets tough, the tough don't get going!
Friday, October 2, 2009
The Class magazine ( read Imagine )
The whole night marathon session on the magazine worked out well. The magazine, according to few responses we have received, has turned out well. Though it is a very basic magazine, hardly having any great articles, the feeling of satisfaction that it gave is worthwhile. And the first thing we did after sending it to the class was to upload it at Issuu. The magazine can be accessed at the following link : http://issuu.co
Issuu is a wonderful platform to publish as well as read magazines. The biggest plus point is that you get to read a magazine like a magazine and not like some pdf file. It is still a upstart but the concept is amazing. Let's see if they can monetize their offering!
Well back to the magazine! It sometime happens that a work is done on it's own. Havn't we all had a feeling when everything happens at its own accord, ( situations happen, ideas arise, one thing leads to another) and we merely play a part. Such was the case with this magazine also. We did not do any brainstorming. Just a casual chat led to the designing of logo ( it is good )- the only thought behind it was that it should look good and embrace the colors of our batch : peppy, full of zest, and with an ambition to rule the world. Similarly the cover design. At first we had decided to bring out an issue with ideas as the central theme, but our talk all of a sudden came to stop on dreams, since placements would soon start and everyone would have started some sort of dreaming. So now we had been struck on what cover page should we choose. This was on 29th evening if I remember it right. So when i came back to my hostel, i was thinking all kinds of thoughts ( like showing a dark cover with a shard of light, showing a person's brain, show him standing, show him sleeping, show him staring upwards, show the back of a hand and what not ). It was only my failure to come out with any tangible solutions that led me to decide that we should leave the cover blank. Well our dreams are like that...blank...We can dream whatever we feel like.
But then a thought started that i should write dream in the centre...and before long it converted to Martin Luther's " I have a Dream". The original name thought out was Idea, then Imagine ( Innovation and design is the buzzword in management college these days, and so we were struck in a rut. While writing Imagine, i accidently put a dot after i. This led to its name becoming i.mag.in to show that we are from the class of eBiz and we live and breathe internet. The last e of the imagine had to go ( in could stand for India; mag is magazine; and i is internet, innovation, information, Individual : Oh how easy it is to do post facto analysis!)
It was on the first of october ( towards evening ) that an idea came to ask everyone what their dream was...and so sms was send to everyone asking them about their dreams. And it was heart warming to see the messages start arriving, and a bit disappointing that only 40 percent of the people thought about it. But it gelled beautifully with the final magazine ( we filled two sidebars with it! Now only if the people were more candid! ). The whole magazine was designed from scratch and made coherent whole by Ankit who worked the whole night trying different colour combinations and designs. It was fun passing the magazine in different stages, to and fro, among our council members. It was towards the morning that we decided to call it a day and leave 2-3 articles ( for today the attention span is getting shorter, and we did not want it to be a heavy read) out of the magazine.
To generate participation from our class we have instituted two quizzes ( Management & Stereo gram) , One caption contest and an online poll. We have decided to give away prizes also. Let's see if it works!
The experience on working for the magazine was wonderful and it did teach me a few things. One was delegation of work works wonderfully if you give your team members full freedom. Two, you should be flexible to let things take there own course ( with a firmness of vision ) and three, passion for work does wonderful things to you.
So this issue is behind us now. It is soon going to be history. Another day gone, yet many more days to come! I have been falling back on writing my diary entries, but i guess, i should not sweat over it. They will get written when they are meant to- just like the magazine. We indeed are actors on the stage called life! Oh! how right the master writer Shakespeare was!
Issuu is a wonderful platform to publish as well as read magazines. The biggest plus point is that you get to read a magazine like a magazine and not like some pdf file. It is still a upstart but the concept is amazing. Let's see if they can monetize their offering!
Well back to the magazine! It sometime happens that a work is done on it's own. Havn't we all had a feeling when everything happens at its own accord, ( situations happen, ideas arise, one thing leads to another) and we merely play a part. Such was the case with this magazine also. We did not do any brainstorming. Just a casual chat led to the designing of logo ( it is good )- the only thought behind it was that it should look good and embrace the colors of our batch : peppy, full of zest, and with an ambition to rule the world. Similarly the cover design. At first we had decided to bring out an issue with ideas as the central theme, but our talk all of a sudden came to stop on dreams, since placements would soon start and everyone would have started some sort of dreaming. So now we had been struck on what cover page should we choose. This was on 29th evening if I remember it right. So when i came back to my hostel, i was thinking all kinds of thoughts ( like showing a dark cover with a shard of light, showing a person's brain, show him standing, show him sleeping, show him staring upwards, show the back of a hand and what not ). It was only my failure to come out with any tangible solutions that led me to decide that we should leave the cover blank. Well our dreams are like that...blank...We can dream whatever we feel like.
But then a thought started that i should write dream in the centre...and before long it converted to Martin Luther's " I have a Dream". The original name thought out was Idea, then Imagine ( Innovation and design is the buzzword in management college these days, and so we were struck in a rut. While writing Imagine, i accidently put a dot after i. This led to its name becoming i.mag.in to show that we are from the class of eBiz and we live and breathe internet. The last e of the imagine had to go ( in could stand for India; mag is magazine; and i is internet, innovation, information, Individual : Oh how easy it is to do post facto analysis!)
It was on the first of october ( towards evening ) that an idea came to ask everyone what their dream was...and so sms was send to everyone asking them about their dreams. And it was heart warming to see the messages start arriving, and a bit disappointing that only 40 percent of the people thought about it. But it gelled beautifully with the final magazine ( we filled two sidebars with it! Now only if the people were more candid! ). The whole magazine was designed from scratch and made coherent whole by Ankit who worked the whole night trying different colour combinations and designs. It was fun passing the magazine in different stages, to and fro, among our council members. It was towards the morning that we decided to call it a day and leave 2-3 articles ( for today the attention span is getting shorter, and we did not want it to be a heavy read) out of the magazine.
To generate participation from our class we have instituted two quizzes ( Management & Stereo gram) , One caption contest and an online poll. We have decided to give away prizes also. Let's see if it works!
The experience on working for the magazine was wonderful and it did teach me a few things. One was delegation of work works wonderfully if you give your team members full freedom. Two, you should be flexible to let things take there own course ( with a firmness of vision ) and three, passion for work does wonderful things to you.
So this issue is behind us now. It is soon going to be history. Another day gone, yet many more days to come! I have been falling back on writing my diary entries, but i guess, i should not sweat over it. They will get written when they are meant to- just like the magazine. We indeed are actors on the stage called life! Oh! how right the master writer Shakespeare was!
Wednesday, September 30, 2009
Google Wave is out! Are you invited?
Google has started giving out invites ( 100,000 of them ) to google wave today. Google wave is a new communications and collaborative platform and it has created a lot of interest and hype. It promises to revolutionize the way people communicate. Though the look may be cluttered for some, but the functionalities it offers look so futuristic, that it was sold from day one. And like everything. google never advertised for its product. The news spread virally. Such is the power of ideas. It is a major trending topic on twitter now (since it is launching officially today).
So excited about the prospect that i may have been invited ( ah, the quintessential hope!) since i had filled the form quite early, i went to the site wave.google.com only to see the following message:
So for now i haven't been invited. I so wanted to see it today. But guess, will have to wait for some more time. Oh, microsoft has launched its antivirus software today. Called security essentials it comes free for the genuine users of windows operating systems. Its good to see the monolith offer something for free! It's all due to the free culture started by google! I love google's philosophy!
By the way if you are clueless about google wave, watch the folloeing video ( 10 min abridged version of the original 1 hr 20 min address) :
Monday, September 28, 2009
Some Captured frames of Nariman Point , Marine Drive
Nariman Point.Marine Drive. Mere words? Not for Mumbaites. Ask anyone and they are to reply that it is the heart and soul of mumbai. The Queen's necklace as it is called sometimes is a beauty to behold, especially during the early morning and late evenings. It is a place to come together : what old or young, rich or poor.It gives wing to dreams, solace to seekers, words to poet, love to lovebirds & health to walkers.A small sample:
It's Evening time and sun is obscured by the clouds!
It's what we call :Land's End!
The High Tide Time! Nature's Show..
Early Morning!
Early Morning!
At the time of terrorist strike.
Couples!
Sunset & Low tide : Picture Perfect!
The High Tides!
Calm seas. It's as if the water has turned Golden!
Ganpati Visarjan!
India!
The Play of Shadow & Light!
This is what the place is early in the morning.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
