Rising Force

And I

2012-01-03T16:56:00.002+05:30

You think your good and you are beaten by someone you have come to appreciate.

You were looking for someone with whom you can have great conversations, and that someone came looking for you.

For the first time I am totally feeling the need for the right word and I just cant seem to get it. I guess I need a short break from blogging.

Empty day!

2011-12-29T13:13:00.002+05:30

Everytime I drive past a public park in the neighborhood or cubbon park in B'lore, I notice people sitting on benches andtalking to others or just staring into space. I wonder what they actuallystarted out to do and what made them decide to relax and take shade of thenearby tree in the park @ 1130Am on a weekday?!!!

There are so many more interesting things one cando to while away time if thats the main objective. Even govt., officials havelesser time in their hands considering they have a whole life time to completethe given task. Even joblessness involves more work for the candidate indespair. This empty day thought or imagination is by far the most saddest stateI've come across.

Why?

2011-12-28T15:55:00.001+05:30

When one is really happy and content with himself/herself, is it necessary to party every day or regularly?

If one's work is the best thing that has happened to the person, does that person really need a break ever so often?

If one has come to terms with the things that have happened in his past, is it necessary for that person to keep brooding over old stuff?

If one is genuinely happy with his family members especially his parents, is it necessary to live separately just because the present age cosmopolitan culture finds it too sad! ?

Does one really have to be frugal when he/she can afford comfort but aren't greedy?

Is traveling abroad the only best way to have fun? is Traveling the only way to relieve stress?

Is the 'best friend' always defined by the timeliness of the birthday greeting?

There are many more questions (rhetoric) I generally have in mind. I have the answers to all these, and I am well aware they are right (according to me). Just wondering why so many ppl ( I have known) have a different view on this. While it does make it interesting to handle this difference in opinion in discussions, I am getting to believe the rebuttal to my questions/opinions/statements is about the coolness factor involved.

Striking beauty

2011-12-28T00:53:00.001+05:30

I always wanted to blog about this day.

Way back in July/2011, few days ahead of my b'day, I had been to the movies to catch up with my friend as well as watch the most controversial flick running in then.

It was my friend's idea of watching this film and very briefly just mentioned that another friend of his would be joining us. Our conversation in the car about our gym and fitness came about and we reached the venue on time.

As usual, I was carrying very less cash on me, so my friend had to pitch in. While we both waited for the doors to open (for us to enter the movie hall), there came the third friend. This was when I stopped talking.

Every person on earth and every guy on this planet has his own experience when he sees the most beautiful girl standing right in front of him. So here is mine :-)

I wouldn't like to mention her name so I will keep it off this post. And as the title of this post says - 'Striking Beauty', she was just that. Now I have never been a fan of mere looks as I sincerely believe its not good enough for a life time or for anything substantial. I mean what difference would it make if my friend is super good looking or normal or not good looking? so no argument on that. Smart personality is what I did believe in and will always believe in and have never let some one's looks impact my judgement or decision on any count. This person is no exception, but she is by far the most beautiful girl I have ever come across. I do find some actresses in the film industry (home and international) very good looking like all people do, but this lady was something extra-ordinary.

She defined beauty and her facial features were so perfect. She does not belong to the sexy or 'hot' category, but would belong to category specially made for her.

I totally enjoyed the movie. I am sure you would be thinking 'ya sure!!', but on that account as well. :-). My friend wanted to pick up something for someone's birthday so we three went to the nearby shopping mall to help him choose the right gift. I did get to know more about her and 2 great things that I did get to know were that 1. She shared my birthday-13/July. So I am sure she will never forget me :-).. and the second, 2. She is from the same city and shared the same ethnic background with me too, so we spoke in the local language at times.

What happened next! Well! that's a different story.. :-)

It was a great day altogether!

2011-12-25T23:25:00.001+05:30

For the first time, and for the very very first time, Alex & me actually agreed on something. I have know this guy for about 9 yrs or so I guess and we just don't see eye to eye on any issue, subject or topic that we talk about over the table. Our discussions have always been on trying to prove a point in someway or the other, until finally we realized we had the same opinion actually a super strong opinion on something we were discussing on our trip to Delhi.

Every 3rd person who is working and earning a decent compensation pack, within 18months of his/her work life will end up buying a brand new D-SLR camera after having realized the beauty of the art. Well photography no doubt is a fantastic art, but one that needs only a fair level of theoretical knowledge and a decent budget to start getting trigger happy.

I am in no way undermining the skill required and used by the photographer to take the lovely snaps that he/she showcases and shares on his/her blog/Fb and website, its just that I wonder whether the art has been taken for granted. You cant paint a decent portrait picture or sketch a decent profile without 3-4 years of rigorous practice and everyone knows this. Taking a decent snap which would get few likes from your friends and overall appreciation from colleagues requires a good camera, a 10 day photography workshop, 200-300 days of practice. Some more practice, few more workshops, will increase the skill level which would reflect on the snaps in a span of few additional days. So well, why not photography, its an easier start than theatre, dancing, singing, playing the guitar. For god sakes, it takes 8 months to dish out a tune close to recognition on the guitar not forgetting the bleeding finger tips. If you don't have the musical ear, your hobby and interest in music stagnates after 2-3 years (ask me I know). 3 years to get your act right in theater, nothing less in animation and other types of art (performing and non-performing)

When too many people start walking around with SLRs and D-SLRs hanging around their neck or shoulder, the art looses its specialty and exclusivity in a way and instead makes it feel easy and cheap. This is not a trend, its a fad. When the blend between photography and poetry known as Visual poetry brings out the best in the artist, I think its the breaking point when the artist gains maturity in this skill, so does his work.

2011-11-12T11:23:00.001+05:30

Dedicated to all the fitness enthusiasts

About 2 years ago, I took up fitness very seriously. I decided that I would reach a level of fitness that would make me feel great inside. It was a very tough endevour in the beginning considering my health was average at the age of 26.

My fitness level then (somewhere around Nov/2009) can be described in the following way:

a. Body Weight: 78 Kg

b. Food intake: Heavy Veg., Non-Veg (Chicken only), Loads of Deserts and sweets almost every day.

c. Stamina: 1.5km of jogging took me 10mins. Very sluggish.

d. Water intake: 1 liter per day.

e. Sleep: More than 10 hrs. Included late night sleep-in

f. Alcohol intake: Twice a week.

I quit my fancy gym to join a small and simple yet serious gym owned by a martial artist and his student. Being trained by them for Kickboxing (KB) in their Dojo (Martial arts training school/place under the guidance of a Shidoshi or a sensei) was pretty exciting but very very rigorous.

It was their passion and knowledge in Health, fitness and martial arts that encouraged me to pursue KB seriously. It was a great experience since the Dojo was equipped with few boxing bags, pads but the best equipment was the Sensei's experience and sound knowledge in the art itself.

I used to attend the KB sessions every alternate days and the Gym (at the same center) the remaining days. I used to try my best to attend 6 days a week. And I was serious in ensuring consistency. Come rain or shine, I used to be at the gym. It was in the evenings and I used to finish my work by 630pm to be there on time and give my self about an hour-and-a-half daily to bring my health back to shape. It really paid off.

There were few consequences. I lost out on social life, time with my family but I gained great health, excellent rapport with my sensei, some good friends and the best thing is the knowledge on fitness and how the body reacts as well. :-) So I am not complaining.

Our bodies are a reflection of our inner health, peace and personality. A well maintained body indicates the will power of a person, the attitude and fitness level. Can be presumed that the health is good as inner health is a function of many other factors as well.

The saying which inspired me deeply was this 'We forge our bodies in the fire of our will'

Today, in Nov/2011 @ the age of 28+ when I take a look at my self in the mirror, it gives me a great deal of satisfaction for the hard work, commitment and perseverance that I invested to achieve a healthy looking physique.

Some of the things I learnt, changed in myself to achieve this level of fitness is as follows. I shall detail my diet and workout in the next section.

Diet means = TO EAT (but to eat the right things and avoid the wrong things). Its the attitude of the body. You mess up with the diet, your body will not respond. Even if one goes for a walk in the morning for about 2-3km daily, but follows a poor diet, the effects are average.
Consistency is everything. The best gym/training center is of no use if a person is not consistent in his fitness and health program. Morning walk or even brisk walking will not have an effect if one is not consistent.
Health and fitness programmes DON'T work on short term basis. Its not an investment program like shares or mutual funds which have a short term and long term perspective. Health and fitness don't work that way. After working for 9-10 months, you can assess something but after about 18-24 months, results start showing. Note: The first three months are the toughest in any fitness program. Don't lose faith.
No Pain, No gain. Pain is like weakness leaving the body. I heard this somewhere and its really true. If you don't experience pain while working out, it means you are not pushing yourself to achieve greater and effective levels of fitness.
Simple Program: follow a simple workout program and follow it consistently. Results will show.
Water and sleep. Lots of water, Good sleep (not excess) is essential.
For your diet and fitness program, consult your doctor and or your fitness trainer to see if your cholesterol, Triglycerides, BP and your back (lower-back especially) is OK. The endocrine system (hormone producing system) should be in order.

As mentioned, I will be sharing my exercise workout and my diet. Here they are:

Exercise Workout:

Days: Mon, Wed & Fridays (alternate days) - Weight training

Style: Advanced (Pyramids and Drop structure essential for boxing-Lean body)

Monday: Chest and Triceps
Wednesdays: Back (upper and lower) and biceps
Fridays: Legs and Shoulders

For details of excises (nos. of repetitions and sets), it would require another post. I shall do so.

Days: Tue, Thur & Saturdays (alternate days) - Kick Boxing

Style: Stage II, Intermediate

The following is spread over 3 days.

Stretches
Bag work-1: Forward (front) Kick, Round-house, Side-kick (front and side), Turn back kick.
Shadow Boxing: Forward (front) Kick, Round-house, Side-kick (front and side), Turn back kick, Punches, Jabs, Hooks, Upper-cut, Elbows. Recovery-Push-ups, Side-sit-ups (basic and advanced), Jumps, Bar-pees.
Punching and kicking pad: forward (front) Kick, Round-house, Side-kick (front and side), Turn back kick.
Bag Work-2: Combination Punches, Combination kicks, Kick and punch combos.
Bag Work-3: Shin Kicks- lower and upper. Bag weight: 120kgs hard.
Abs: Core, Obliques
Closing formalities with Sensei.

Home Fitness: Regular or Days when gymming and KB is not possible

Skipping: 2000 repetitions
Jogging: 2 km
Meditation: 20-30 mins with breathing exercises.

My DIET (and suggestions)

Its all about eating. And eating the right thing and drinking loads of water.

I have the benefit of eating home-food. So it is easier for me and I understand that everyone may not have this comfort.

Breakfast: Vegetarian, Regular South Indian style + 2 Glasses of water.

Avoid- Excess chutney, deep fried Wada, oily masala dosa, Kesari bath strong filter Coffee

12 PM: Odd hour hunger pangs: Eat salads, fruits or Veg. or fruit juices +1 bottle of water.

Lunch: Vegetarian. 1 cup of curry, 1 cup dal ( or sambar/rasam)

2 pulkas, 1 cup plain curds.

4:30-5pm: Odd hour hunger pangs: Eat salads, fruits or Veg.

250ml of Whey protein (under the guidence of my trainer) and 1-1/2 bottles of water.

Avoid- Excess chutney, deep fried Wada, oily masala dosa, Kesari bath strong filter Coffee, NO-BAKERY FOOD AT ALL

630pm: Small cup or corn flakes, wheat flakes or any cereal with cold milk.

Dinner: @ 9pm after my workout

1 cup of curry, 1 cup dal ( or sambar/rasam)

2 pulkas, 1 cup plain curds.

2 Bottles of Water.

Diet Cheat Day: Saturday evening to Sundays... Eat all tasty stuff and down some beer if you'd like.

NOTE: Please avoid Bakery food. Puffs and other masala buns, deep friend snacks and pastries on weekdays and keep them for the cheat day-Sundays if you'd like.

We lead a sendentry life and our diets have to be modified to adjust to that. We need to eat. but eat proportionately to suit our physical activity. Feeling young is different from actually being young and having a young body. Dont underestimate the way the body reacts. It will surprise you if you ignore it.

It may seem very difficult to follow a exercise pattern daily and be diet conscoius, but if you start, you will realize how easy it is to stay fit.

You cant beat the feeling of having great health. Its better than the high of drinking the best quality of scotch whisky. Trust me, I have tried both. :-)

2011-10-21T16:39:00.002+05:30

Policy for things that don't go well

Firstly, don't crib (for any reason under the sun)... do something about it or else shut up.. cant tolerate cribbing anymore...

If you can do something about our country's (India in my case) sad state of public affairs/corruption, do it.. its a great thing...
Else, shut up.. No arm chair critics please... no cribbing please.

2011-10-17T22:47:00.006+05:30

They said it

Recently I came across a person who is probably about 23yrs old, an MBA student pursuing his higher studies in a local university of the city. Probably the most interesting thing in talking to him was the fact that he had such a myopic view on success, satisfaction, peace and love. I was really disappointed in knowing that a person who belonged to my generation had no hopes and aspirations to explore new opportunities w.r.t his career atleast among other interests (which included betting on horses and the new format cricket game-T20) and instead wants to just sit around and make money because he already thinks he knows it all. He strongly believes that he is extremely smart and intelligent compared to all his friends around him and that there is nothing else left for him to know, 'its just the time' which according to him, will make him the 'big man'.

There is another person I have known for about 6-7 years now. This guy is far older than the first person i just spoke about. Talk to him for about 15 mins and you will end up feeling miserable somewhere deep inside for not knowing anything. He will probably talk to Sachin Tendulkar about cricket and make him feel that his batting techniques are 'not really great' or make music composers such as Illayaraja or Hans Zimmer feel 'like crap' for not knowing the nuances of music composition and other fundamental definitions that a professional in that line ought to know. He will make the chief engineer at a infrastructure project dig his own grave for not knowing how a pillar has to be perfectly erected. According to him all professional fields after the 1990 such as the IT and ITes are not really career lines worthy to pursue and those who do are full of S#$t. According to him HR is a department purely created by the American management consultants to make their pockets run deeper. No company really needs or wants the H.R department, its just their misfortune that they have to keep up to the latest management trends to be on top.
He knows it all. Science (may it be any field or discipline), English (literature, poetry, prose), he fluently speaks 4 indian languages and claims he can understand many others. He knows english and claims he can understand many other foreign languages. He knows commerce, art, politics and any other thing that a man ought to know. I used to call him (my friend) the walking encyclopedia until he started overdoing the bit of 'I know it all'.
I still enjoy his company but now my tolerance levels are falling and its quite insulting to always be treated as the 'kid who needs to learn a lot' being patted on the back with a smile thinking he would be the one i should be learning from.

Learning is something i am open to 24/7 from anyone. And under no circumstances i feel that the day would come wherin i have learnt it all. If that were the case, that day would be my last day here on this planet as I would be literally dead. I really wonder how people (including my friend i mentioned) would go through life with such heavy intellectual ego. I dread the day i am stuck on an inland with such a person.

Its not what about what 'you know', what 'you said'. its what you have heard and what you have learnt.

2011-10-17T22:40:00.004+05:30

'We forge our bodies in the fire of our will' - Anonymous

This quote I think is so motivating and its meaning so profound that it has made a very big difference to my life and the way I look at health and fitness from the time I read it for the first time.

I guess this was the motivation i was badly seeking for a long while.

2011-08-28T00:44:00.003+05:30

Its not about the food... its about the person!

I like food... i like home food... I like Pizzas, steaks, sizzlers, sandwiches, salads, soup.. lots of dessert. Its never complete without dessert.. and there has to be chocolate. Any form of chocolate is great. But I cant enjoy all this alone. I need someone to suggest new dishes while i finish the 2nd helping.
No I am not talking about hogging though it might have sounded that way. I am not talking about messy and noisy gulping as though one has never had food for a long long while. I am talking about company. Good company that can make me feel like I am enjoying my meal!
Company matters... far more than the food itself. I will comfortably sit back and enjoy sipping my beer (if with guys), whiskey (if with senior people) and white wine (if i am accompanied by a woman or women :) ). Good conversations, great ideas and thoughts can satiate your hunger...it does for me at least. My stomach is very versatile I know.

Guess sometimes when you are really looking for some good company to fill your 'stomach', its hard to find it.

2011-08-20T22:27:00.003+05:30

Motivation!

Why does a person's motivation vary as things and circumstances change around him? I think motivation is that secret ingredient to keep it going when things get harder!

When I was younger i know my motivation levels towards so many things were so much higher. All that's changed. After more life experience, I am still a self motivated guy but the levels have changed so much.

Why doesn't motivation increase in a linear pattern with every year that passes by?

2011-08-17T12:55:00.004+05:30

16/Aug/2011

I am not against the anti-corruption move initiated by the new Gandhian. Its a bold move and we definitely need a leader to make the change and someone who would take the sleeping government head on. Its just that
a. The bill that he wishes to get passed, is very impractical
b. His methods have no relevance to today. Times have changed
c. Corruption that is making the actual difference in India is deep rooted in the excise, customs, service and the sales tax departments. In a way i feel he is banging his head against a hollow wall. You don't have to chase the bees, you need to dish out the queen bee if you want to get rid of the bee hive.

Well! I have my own crazy opinions! But the anti-corruption move is a start. Its a good initiative against the diseased system. I just hope his research on the methods and their consequences are concrete!

2011-08-15T17:06:00.004+05:30

Mind your own business!

'life is like a game of chess'.. correction.. Life is never like a game of chess. We can never equate life like that so easily.
But! Business sure is like a game of chess. This is what they don't teach you in B-schools. Learning to play the game is only 40% of the learning. Applying what the game teaches you, is where the secret lies in.

Other things I always wanted to shout out loud ... .... ... Business and politics go hand in hand. Politics is a science for the uninitiated, you cannot separate politics when there are more than 2 heads working together and you cannot separate politics from business.

When negotiating, never give an ultimatum. This applies to even when one is negotiating with the vegetable vendor. I wish the new Gandhian learn't this somewhere.

2011-08-15T16:03:00.011+05:30

'Sometimes life hits you in the head with a brick. Don't lose faith!! '
-Steve Jobs

Came across this saying long back and always think about this and other things that were said during this speech. Even to date, when I am in a predicament, I refer to the text of this motivating speech. But the question is whether is it really easy to follow some of the ideals preached.

Is it possible for us to follow our heart and do what we love. Is it that easy to do it while each one of us deeply feel that we want to. If all of us were to keep looking for that one thing that we really love doing and until we do find that thing, be stubborn and not settle. Can we actually find the courage to go against the current?

Even after reading many articles and books on the issue that we have limited time in our hands, that we can make a huge difference if we just listen to our inner voice, we still find it difficult to actually believe that and change the way we look at things around us. That our time is limited and our life would be so enriched if we just live it our way instead of living someone else's. That we don't get trapped by the dogma which is living with the results of other people's thinking and not letting our own inner voice be drowned out by others' opinions. Having the courage to follow our own heart and intuition. All this feels so good inside but how easy or difficult is it to follow it?

Do we all feel that such concepts of life and living are just an intellectual concept sounding good when discussed not when actually followed? Still trying to let life teach me...

2011-08-09T23:31:00.023+05:30

Dream Selling!

Its strange that we don't actually know what we really want to watch on TV. Its a classic case of confusion. On one hand we deeply detest the slimy and slippery feel of soap operas that never end. Actually I am exaggerating a bit in comparison to these serials (Indian or international). Take away the drama and sound effects constantly running in the background, these soaps are trying to bring about the nasty inner feelings people have towards each other even to their own family members, relatives or friends. This is seasoned by the tensions caused by deep love and passion for getting dirtily rich. Everyone knows the crap.. they intend to show. Maybe these soap-op producers feel that by showing the so called reality in day to day life (and getting rich with the ad money) they are doing society a service. So lets say this is the reality. Lets include hard core reality movies on corruption, politics, business, slum-life and so on an so forth in to this category.

On the other hand we have movies that are full of super far fetched intangible feel ideas. Take all the movies form the DCHs all the way to the recent ZNMD where 3 guys just go out to have fun and have a fantastic and a life changing experience. Some of these movies have been really well made (i am referring to the art of film making). The idea feels so good to all of us, but deep inside there are a million people thinking its too dreamy an idea. An inspiration that lasts for about a month and a feel good factor that lasts for 48 hrs. The biggest far fetched and unreal aspect as an example is in the recent movie (ZNMD) I had seen. It is about the part where the lady in love actually takes the bold initiative (Takes the first step) to say 'screw what others think' and rides up all the way to express her true love to a person she met 1-2 days ago... Maybe I haven't met that kind of a person, but I don't personally buy that such a bold step is taken by a woman (more so woman from India). Of course, I am not too sure of the nature of women in other countries considering the film was shot there and the characters are to have been living out there. This is a different topic of argument though, but I am quite sure. ;-) damn sure.

So what is that we like to see to get entertained? historical, situational, dreamy or gruesome reality? Guess situational or a dreamy movie would fit the bill for most (paisa vasool as it is put). When you make the audience feel that there are so many things that one can do to make life great, fun and beautiful, instead of indirectly making them feel that they have been blessed due to the difficult times people have gone through in the past and the number of people who have sacrificed something in their life to gift their future generation (as shown in period movies) a better life or remind the audience that they have a great moral responsibility on their head to make the place they live in, a better place for themselves and their generations to come or keep harping on the fact that the poor are getting poorer, the middle class are being subject to the ills and scum of the economy and society or the fact that your near and dear are not so lovely as you thought them to be but are a bunch of conniving bastards or bitches!!; then the show gets the needed response.

Well! I have my interest in historical or period movies! Love thrillers.. and of course the feel good movies (except over exaggerated parts ;) ) but at the end.. I guess you are in business when you are a dream seller.

2011-08-09T11:59:00.004+05:30

What I hear

I was just telling my friends the other day that it feels so strange when people ask me about my favourite song or songs. I end up giving names of music tracks and songs which have no lyrics or those that come under the instrumental rock genre.

I am currently tripping on the OSTs of an old movie. More importantly these songs are composed by Hans Zimmer!! Yeah! :-)
Catch this: http://youtu.be/GFLMLHPVhaw

Wonder how I am going to sing such song/s if someone insists I stand up and sing for everyone:-)

2011-08-09T11:47:00.003+05:30

An ode to my favorite movie

'Can't see my face: what are you thinking?
Fill in the space, please - oh let me hear you'

-Wasis Diop

2011-07-05T11:49:00.004+05:30

'I'm Busy'

For a very long time I wanted to write something about this. To start with I think the 'I am busy' line used is just an excuse and I don't believe it much if anyone uses it and I for one never use it.

Consider this saying by an anonymous artist ''People are seldom too busy to stop and tell you how busy they are" quoted to me by one of the busiest people/personality in the Indian business scenario and he also later added ''so when you want to talk to someone and you get this reply, you clearly know what they are doing"

I can happily end this post by saying that 'you are only as busy as you want to be'

2011-07-01T12:50:00.008+05:30

On the platter

I like doing things myself. It feels great when I read something, find a clue or a hint to something else very interesting, read up on that, at times I might hit a dead end, probably take some time off, and retread on those lines to see where I've jumped a link and then discover a new path altogether. I realized that the learning that one goes through in this way is far profound than otherwise. I am sure that most people do find this as exciting as I do, at least I thought so.

When you hit upon a knowledge portal (this can be a person, group of people or a place or even a thing like a book), I have always noticed that the most relevant and or the most critical piece of information is never put across directly in front of you or it is right in your face but you don't notice it because there are no 'Bold' and 'Italics' options used on it. Take examples like the benefits of consistency in anything you do, the habit of waking up early in the morning, understanding failure .. there are many more, but I think the examples are quite clear.

Is it that we people need to be spoon fed and need to be given things on a platter where it is packaged with a price tag for us to actually realize its importance?

Let me pull up the same examples. Consistency. I think it means apart from testing your patience, focus and concentration, you might suffer from monotony and boredom, but it is known as consistency for a reason. So you got to cross the threshold limit. Waking up early in the morning, truly gives you amazing power especially when you have so much time in your hands. Something worth experimenting!! Failure!! The best teacher in life as you learn much more than when you experience success (only if you sit down patiently, throw that ego jacket away and understand 'why' you had failed rather than 'why you' had failed). Failure takes you to a level higher than the bench marked success point, makes you humble to the core. So if a kid actually looses a running race at school, he has not lost much since he would realize that his speed is good but can be better. Imagine the shock his class mates would suffer when he runs twice as fast as he did before (in the next race).

I don't think anything so important will be given away to you or shared with you that easily. But I strongly feel its all there in front of you and me. More importantly you need to know that language to read it.

It feels great to know there is so much more to discover ahead.

2011-06-28T12:19:00.010+05:30

New Drama of Indian Politics

Seems like gandhism is a major inspiration to all the drama taking place in the political scenario today. Actually you can call it Gandhian pastiche or the medley of all ingredients to imitate the true Gandhian principles.

Since its my free space (blog) to express anything on this canvas, I am going ahead with my views (some strong ones at that)... I needn't now repeat this again. And more importantly, I do know that its easier to say things than to do them but there is also this popular saying that the pen is mightier than the sword, so I am sure my views here do possess the power of the 'Pen'. Lastly, I will be referring to Mahatma Gandhi as Gandhi in short with all due respect to the person and his name (A legacy) since I genuinely respect the man.

Apart from the health aspect of fasting, i.e., cleansing your digestive system once in a while, I don't believe fasting is powerful. But it seems like people believe that there is another use for fasting which goes something like this 'Nobody can loose through suffering and sacrifice'. So Suffering and Sacrifice are the two major operative words in the narrative of fasting. Gandhi achieved this because he himself was true in his believes. If fasting is faith fortified, then Gandhi, I believe had the faith. According to me he did it with the highest faith in himself and the power of self denial and his methods & politics (if any) was never devoid of spiritual content. Most importantly he was fighting against the distress called colonialism which had nothing to do with democracy. There was no parliament in India during the freedom struggle. The Parliament itself is the highest institution of Civil society.

If the yogi (whose fast couldn't last a week), and the 'New' Gandhian 'represent' the civil society, then their approach towards anti-corruption shows complete disrespect to the Parliament (civil society itself). Although I must admit here that the current UPA governments' totalitarian temptations in the face of public dissent, in comparison to the two heroes seem more farcical.

2011-06-27T10:11:00.013+05:30

back... after a 4 year vacation....

Don't quite know why i didn't blog and cant actually think of an easy answer, but i just couldn't. All I know is that in these 4 years, so many things have happened that i don't think i can relate to some of my previous posts. So my new ones might contradict some of my earlier views.

Now there are things that have changed in me and some that just haven't. I am sure its bound to happen. Anyway, so before I go ahead and post anything new, i am going to dedicate one or two posts only to write out what according to me have changed and what haven't.

Things that have changed (for the good or bad..)
Lets see, well i am no longer living in hyderabad or mumbai, I am back in bangalore. I'm not that lazy as i used to be (i am gymming hard), more patient, very particular about the movies and songs that i see or listen to, grew a liking to photography, tried my hand at classical guitar, tried my hand at GMAT (and failed miserably), I don't think aloud anymore, i follow politics (come on i am a business man), i am extremely polite and diplomatic when need be (actually on-field sales & marketing have made me this way... and a bit insensitive at times i must admit), i don't dish out advice when its not solicited, have no regrets what so ever on events and happenings of my life in the past, actually i just don't think about the past, good memories are just there to cherish (and i do that at times), have dated many interesting women :-), I don't give women the chase that they (at times might) want, I have a habit of getting involved with my work that i forget everything else, my conversations depend largely on my mood, I can happily laugh at my self when i make a complete fool of myself, I am open to learning anything new and like change a lot and i learn a lot from people and their experiences, Ya i do listen very carefully when others talk, I don't compare my self to anyone and it just works for me, I am not a forgive-and-forget person...... I like to dream and enjoy a good laugh... :-)

2007-06-29T11:07:00.000+05:30

For the love of the Game

'He can predict the future by tossing a blade of grass into the air.He can read a green like Eveyln Woods.And he knows where the bones are buried.If you have never walked with a caddie by your side you have never played Golf'

2007-02-23T12:26:00.000+05:30

"Science" fiction movies

Firstly i just dont understand the need for such movies to be produced in the film industry! Utter nonsense is what flashes in my mind and the next thing we all know is that one of the distinct members from the Indian film industry has been thoroughly inspired by such stupid creativity that he actually makes one such movie without forgetting to integrate a basic ingredient of indian films-songs; into it. Now i just saw a movie -a sci-fi, and realized few things. let me share this with you.

->The central problem and its context.
A story is SF when the central problem dealt with by the characters is a science-fictional idea, or when the central problem is resolved by science-fictional means. This obviously means that if the SF elements are removed from the story, either the central problem, or its resolution, will cease to exist, causing the story to completely collapse. The always collapse when it is made in India-esp tamil films. Not to forget bollywood initiatives on these lines. There are many. Just think of one.

->There is a large body of thought that says that a story has to have more than an SF setting to be SF. In other words, if the characters and plot can be successfully transplanted to a non-SF setting, it isn't really SF.

->If a Plot is said to be the structure of events within a story and the causal relationship between them, then in SF films there is no plot without causality. "Captain Stronghead piloted his spacecraft to Proxima Centauri," is an event with no plot. "Captain Stronghead piloted his spacecraft to Proxima Centauri in order to escape the despotic regime on Earth," has the beginning of a plot. We can imagine how much of work and effort has been put in by our indian counterparts while conceiving a plot to cater to the hysteric viewers in India.

->Now comes the complications. Things getting worse is not a matter of simply increasing the magnitude of the problem. (Discovery of the fact that the asteroid about to hit Earth is 1500km across rather than 500km across.) Things getting worse in a story sense means a proliferation of new problems rippling from the old. (The realization that the technical failures in the escape spacecraft are the result of sabotage.) Complication means that the problem the characters were trying to solve is not quite the same as the problem they actually face. Here again when this aspect is to be modified to suit the Indian context, the protagonist is always ready for any situation whether he is working towards solving a problem or not. And if he is shown to be a meek character, its just that the audience is in for a surprise as he would pray and suddenly utilize his unknown potenial which is not @100% but over 240%. Somewhere very close to Superman i suppose!?

2007-02-21T15:36:00.000+05:30

Balancing on the Wall!

I believe media ought to be non-partisan and is ethically bound to be this way and just report facts as they are. Of course, If it were so simple then there wouldnt be so many news channels around boasting about their 'humble viewership'! would they?

Why is it people snigger about the dull news reports from the government owned channels when all it does is present the news like it is: without any frills? Which means one one hand while we complain about sensationalism of news by the media we seem to secretly encourage it too by subscribing to these channels, although not necessarily to their point of view. We like to shift channels between Jaya and Sun or NDTV and CNN- IBN to see what each has to say about an issue. We also like to know more about hidden intentions/meaning of what has been said by this person and the details of the body language and what it could have otherwise implied and so on. And when you get opinions from people belonging to different ideologies, it is bound to reflect in their opinion however erudite it is!

So in this context, is it possible for a newspaper to be totally loyal only to truth? (like 'The Independent' and the character depicted by Mithunda in the film GURU where the criterion for publication of a news item is only that it is true.)

So Today is there plain black and white in anything? Particularly in politics? So what is more possible is that they do not publish or say something completely untrue or totally speculative. A known fact is that news carriers and channels depend on advertisements for their survival in the market so there is some kind of pressure on them to go easy on their patrons! Well not surprising is it?

As readers and viewers we are also happy to be exposed to different views and analyses as it expands our thinking and presents diverse view points. The channels are obviously under pressure to grab the viewers with the result that the very critical issue over the boundary line between reportage and entertainment has become obscure!

2006-10-31T14:56:00.000+05:30

"You grow up the day you have your first real laugh at yourself."--Ethel Barrymore

Till now i used to believe it requires one to be flexible and open-minded rather than being rigid and judgemental, to be amenable to new situations, receptive to new knowledge, to be willing to learn new skills and new responses............

I thought it is to know what is possible and achievable and acknowledge that what is not! But the above quote just made me enjoy a real good laugh! perhaps at my understanding if not at myself!

2006-10-07T19:53:00.000+05:30

I have always believed that communication is such a powerful tool to enjoy many good things. Will try to give my opinion rather than asking question this time and i am going to make this post a very simple one... hope u guys enjoy reading it... Thats the fun of it as i always believed...

Being a part of a very dynamic group of friends I have witnessed the impact of small things being said and its consequences and the after math of big dramatic events which have taken place around me. Some of which have me involved and some that i dont (perhaps because i chose to keep out of it). What has always amazed me is that how each individual prioritizes various aspects in his life (life in a manner he has understood it) in different ways irrespective of how logical or emotionally critical they can be. They way each person reacts to judgments and their fear of others' judgments. Sometimes i have seen that this fear of what others might say or basically judge is what actually drives the negative dynamic force in them.

To share the way in which i perceive this link between communication gap and the fear of being judged by others is what i wanted to always talk about or discuss. Now since i can use blogs to convey the message i find my self very glad to do so.

As i was saying when a person feels judged it cuts to the core of his/her self image as being good, competitive and/or worthy. To encounter such identity abrasions one denies expressing his/her feelings, avoid difficult conversations, more often than not react angrily and the funniest of all is that they seek advice only to confirm their innocence. So basically as i see it, such kind of behavior is only to gain self protection.

Now the effect is even more hilarious! Only because their priorities have all been messed up but yet they sincerely believe that it hasn't. Basically only on retrospection they seem funny, as against actually experiencing negative forces bouncing about around you or so close to you. When the Self protection drive is high as i was mentioning in it earlier, and ends up becoming more important then the work or relationship with others loose out. All this makes 'LIFE' for them so difficult and really tough to do or solve problems creatively together. Basically ending up with harsh experiences that making them vent out their anger. Again just to seek some empathy or perhaps sympathy. Just communicate and be free to express and things will just be fine....

2006-09-21T19:43:00.000+05:30

Rip, mix and burn

Much of our innovation process, patent laws and intellectual property assumptions are built around this notion which if my memory serves me right goes something like this 'the Great Man theory of invention' -- which basically says that you can give ownership of an idea to one person, or one small group of people, and say that nothing like it existed before and nothing like it will be allowed to exist again for another 17 years, or longer in the case of copyrights. It's a terrible injustice to the innovation process.

The more we move into a digital world and the more easily our work becomes digitized and traceable, the more easily the origins on our influence become traceable. The Beatles borrowed from Elvis and everybody else. When they borrowed, it was OK because they were playing their music in small clubs and nobody could track their music. Now! when a hip-hop artist samples music off of CDs and puts together a song on his Apple (ipod), it becomes possible to say, "Wait a minute, you stole that melody from here and you stole this part from there." The creative process is the same, but now with technology we can tease out the influences and say, "This riff is owned by somebody else." All of a sudden, on an erroneous assumption, the law is meddling in the creative process. Guess its never been so tragic!

2006-09-01T19:10:00.000+05:30

Winter in Bangalore! so early?

Well i am not really in the true blogging mood and have been suffering from this kinda pensive state for a long while. A bit too long i guess! But yes, with reference to the winter morning post i had earlier written, i just felt like answering the question i had posed, myself.

Well! the season was a much awaited one, but it did come early much to my surprise! This time though i guess i wont be able to enjoy the coffee with her at the coffee shop in my hometown but might have to in this forbidden place-hyderabad! I really dont care, its the person this time which is the factor-reason for all my excitement for the past 20 odd days and will make this visit of hers the most enjoyable time i have or would have ever had out here.

2006-07-08T18:06:00.000+05:30

Do We Think Right?

Everyone thinks; it is our nature to do so. But much of our thinking, left to itself, is biased, distorted, partial, uninformed, or downright prejudiced and most of the times driven by emotions. Yet the quality of our life and that of what we produce, make,or build depends precisely on the quality of our thought. Shoddy thinking can turn out to be very costly, both in money terms and in quality of life. Excellence in thought, however, must be systematically cultivated and it can be done only if one really can push that 'emotion' out of the picture and think or consciously bring his EQ to a very low level. All sorts of issues would then vanish............... And would then lead to a perfect picture..... So I guess that's why it never happens!!!! hmmmm.....

2006-06-26T14:23:00.000+05:30

Conversation Crisis!!

Starting my neverending series of questions again? Yes!!

But think about them!

Is it the surprise element? That you're learning something new? Or is it in the flow? The fluidity of a two-way conversation that is going somewhere, possibly somewhere exciting or surprising?

The kind of people who are interesting are those that give me a breath of fresh air. They inspire me with the stories they tell, the passion they convey, and the things they do which I really admire. Not that I want to be just like them, but for me, what interests me always captivates me.

Interesting conversations to me are those that have developing content ---- not repetition or gossip but something that triggers a sense of quality, depth, and multi-dimensionality. But there are some people who I find extremely fascinating and they have this inborn talent to talk about a boring subject in an interesting way, or rather, finding something interesting about a boring topic. That's interesting again!

I get tired of repeating myself. That's one reason why I download my thoughts and conversations onto this web Log. But does that mean I become a less interesting person as a result? Does it

2006-06-24T16:58:00.000+05:30

Winter Morning in Bangalore:

A rosy dawn and a cold blue morning, with aeroplane trails in fiery streaks across the sky which made made it look as though a powdering of frost would settle down on trees and fence posts. The dove-grey buildings of my city glowed a rich cream in the rising sun as I walked across a million tiny shops in the market place. Thin-leather driving mittens in a nice cerise tan seemed to be a la mode for the beautiful women of bangalore this winter. But I wore my thermal gloves warm enough to juggle ice blocks in and good enough to keep me from shivering . It was going to be a nippy day in the landscaped dells of Cubbon Park.

The margins of the nearby lake were still. Felt as though they were skinned over with ice. Could feel the suns warm rays. Its shadows thrown blackened the great sprawl of the Palace on its rise of ground.

I was with her, sipping coffee at the coffee shop round the corner. The view from the cafe's large window panes made the morning feel even more cozy. The Insurance building facing us looked hunched and formidable from this perspective, an image mirrored by the distant statue of the queen, that stood poised at the busy junction of MG Road, silhouetted on its column against the blue sky.

I ask myself.... Will this winter morning come again. This august or the coming November?

2006-06-14T16:10:00.000+05:30

Loud thinking

Notions, ideas, and random thoughts that I’m processing – stuff “out of my mind”

When we think, we have our mind filled with thoughts. If I were to explain what thoughts are I would say that thoughts are nothing but cognitive events that change mental imagery. So in turn, thoughts are created by processes that relate to mental imagery, so that a logical act is implemented or executed by a sort of cyclic interaction of thoughts modifying a mental imagery which gives rise to further thoughts.

Could u picture that?

Ok! At any point of time, out of the vast space of possible thoughts, a single thought ends up being "spoken" within deliberation. Actually, "one thought at a time" is just the human way of doing things although some individuals have this ability to multi-task., but this doesn't change the basic idea.

Now I wonder instead of thinking actually! What the thought process would be like for individuals with extra ordinary intelligence? I am referring to people such as Albert Einstein or Sir Isaac Newton. Is it that they are so different even in aspects so fundamental or basic such as the thought process which takes place in a human mind, which I tried very hard to analyze or is it that the thought process itself has an unknown or an untraceable source.

Are words from a particular language a distinctive part of the thoughts process or are they embedded onto the human mind or the brain cells? Such that when they are used by these intelligent people in the right manner they sound so perfect when spoken or written?

2006-05-16T01:08:00.000+05:30

Man's Envisage

From the early morning of the world, until very recent times, the best energies of mankind have been wasted in the worship of gods. All these gods have been naturally produced. They originated in the minds of men who, by their invention, sought to account for the facts of nature. The poor savage found himself surrounded by nature’s phenomena he just could not comprehend. Knowing nothing of natural law and order, ignorant of the relation of the clichéd term ‘cause and effect’, his simple mind was terrified and amazed by the things that he observed. The plaintive moan of the wailing wind, the thunder's awful roar, the lightning's blinding flash, the devastating flood, the lingering disease that tortured and deformed, and death that stilled the voices of his loved ones, convinced him of the presence of evil powers that worked to bring about his ruin.

But there were other things that seemed to strive in his behalf. The genial warmth of the sun, the soft light of the moon, the pleasant showers of summer days, the abundance of fish and forest foods, and the health and happiness that he enjoyed--these led him to believe that some of nature's powers were his devoted friends. Thus all the friendly and unfriendly phenomena were personified; and thus were made the gods. A very simple classification of good and bad or a friend and enemy made the savage mind fill the earth and air with friends and foes. Whatever brought him good was a friend--a god; whatever brought him harm was a foe--a devil. To him, nothing was natural. Everything that happened had a supernatural cause. The world was filled with miracles and marvels. All things were the sport and prey of good and evil gods.

2006-05-06T12:24:00.000+05:30

It Feels Good

It couldnt have felt better. A smile on the face which i could feel over the phone and the the number of happy-faced emoticons used on Yahoo messenger. It said it all when she read it.

It was hardly 7 lines altogether. But it took a while to write it. Something which i always wanted to do, so that it would express everything i felt. Something i possible found very hard to express, earlier maybe i can now.

And Orkut gave me this opportunity. It was the Testimonial section which is usually filled up by close friends. And my mood supported me in this. Without which, knowinng myself i cant even write a single word on a piece of paper let alone blogs or messages.

And it feels really good to give this blog of mine a change by writing this loose post.

2006-05-05T00:40:00.000+05:30

Have We Met?

As humans we live and interact across a wildly diverse set of physical spaces. Each of us formulate our own personal meaning of place using a myriad of observable cues such as public-private, large-small, daytime-night time, loud-quiet, and crowded-empty. Unsurprisingly, it is the people with which we share such spaces that dominate our perception of place. Sometimes these people are friends, family and colleagues. More often, and particularly in public urban spaces we inhabit, the individuals who affect us are ones that we repeatedly observe and yet do not directly interact with – our Familiar Strangers.

The claim is that the relationship we have with these Familiar Strangers is indeed a real relationship in which both parties agree to mutually ignore each other, without any implications of hostility. Isn't this true?

While today’s mobile communication tools readily connect us to friends and known acquaintances, we lack mobile devices to explore and play with our subtle, yet important, connections to strangers and the unknown – especially the Familiar Strangers whom we regularly see. Will these systems provide a new lens to visualize and navigate our urban spaces? How will these systems provide an interface to strangers and unknown urban settings? What will such devices look like? How will we interact with them? What will they reveal about us and these strangers? Will they alter our perception of place? of the strange and unknown?

2006-05-03T18:05:00.000+05:30

An Altercation

Great!! Another board for the war of the fans! Star Wars rocks! No it sucks! No you suck! Blah, blah, blah! The flick has been released ages ago and the last remake made it again and hit the Hollywood box office, though i personally believe its a crappy sci-fi movie,yet the same ridiculous fan war is continuing. Not to forget the saga of 'The Matrix trilogy', which i would prefer not to elaborate due to differences in opinion.

I wonder what goes wrong with people? For even the cast, were not as dedicated to that mindless fluff as the fans are and they were the ones who put in the 12-15 hours of work, daily, no less! For those who enjoyed the mediocrity of what Star Wars, as all sci-fi movies are and wishes to continue on, more power to you.
For those who perhaps once loved the flick and hated what became of it, more power to you also.

Why can't we all live in happy disagreement harmony? Why does it always come down to a bunch of sycophants who always hanker to mould others into their way of thinking, and a bunch of bitter fans who wish to push their negativity on everyone? Every individual is duly entitled to his/her opinion and both sides come off as losers when they try to change each others minds'.

Aren't we talking sense here?

2006-04-17T20:03:00.000+05:30

EGO

They say it refers to a reasonable or a justifiable sense of one's worth or importance in the world we live in. I think its an unjustified feeling of being pleased with one's achievements or one's situation. Well there should be some achievement to begin with right? So what is the reason for a person who is in his 20's to hold on to a heavy bag of ego?

Imagine if a person says this to you or to any other person 'Don’t be so humble - you are not that great'

I always found ego to be the reason for many relationships to crumble or the root cause for good friendship to fade away. And the most funniest thing to watch is when a person just tries so hard to maintain a particular level of ego because he/she believes that he/she deserves to be a part of the elite class or he/she thinks that the situation he/she is in right now is so perfect that he/she ought to be that way. To tell you the truth, I’ve seen this a lot among the female gender (did i have to mention it) Ok lets say we have our exception list along with us as we discuss about such a debatable topic.

So she is sitting at a coffee shop and sipping coffee at her own pace. You have to notice her (cause that’s what she wants, she is hardly in her mid 20's but do you know how much she has 'achieved???!!!') but you cannot even go up to her and think of asking her whether she would enjoy your company. Maybe George Clooney or Pierce Brosnan could think of it, but dude! Not you! You are not Mr. Perfect! And by default they believe guys have the saddest sense of humour and that means you do too so don’t spoil your good day at the coffee house.

I deeply apologize for the sarcasm but aren't we on familiar grounds?

2006-04-03T12:55:00.000+05:30

Well Said

'I am not driving Fast, I am flying Low'

Saw this saying on the back of a Car in Bangalore and found it quite interesting. I was enthralled actually. Although I knew very well as to what the owner meant or at least what he was up to, the saying itself was so perfectly framed. I just couldn’t forget it. May not be the best of sayings, but if you just think of it, it means a lot. It is a pun filled statement.

I am not a person who would actually indulge in such activities, but, yes and a serious yes. Well eh.. I mean I was giving it another thought. I was thinking whether it really gives the person the bliss he wants. Does he really derive the ultimate pleasure he craves for when he strongly believes that the whole world is against him or the so called 'system sucks' feeling is in the air.

My Belief

These people are crazy. For them excuses are a means of escapism. They just blame and keep blaming everything around. It keeps them alive you see. It’s in their blood. To start with, let me say that they can achieve nothing in life for nuts. They believe that they are so superior when it comes to inborn talent and their extra ordinary ability to face all sorts of challenges that come their way. Or infact they are the people who one must consult when it comes to realistic problems. And with such a magnetic and a dynamic personality, they just can’t place their butts on the chair to F***** study so that they can do well in a teeny weeny simple exam, which by the way should be very simple for them to crack with such a magnanimous profile. No, they just want to ‘fly’ my friends. You know why? Because the day to day challenges, we normal people face and die to take on, have already been mastered by these so called rather self proclaimed maestros. And these 'maestros', by the way have this condescending attitude towards us, the normal people. Obviously it’s their only defense to the dustbin like life they live which of course they cannot accept. Well, Great life guys!!! Sure we are missing loads of 'great things in life'.

Epilogue

Well, this has been a very abstract post. One of the extreme type of posts which I’ve ever done. I somehow enjoyed typing this though. Anyway, all this will make perfect sense to the reader only if he/she knows what I’ve been referring to. And no, I am not going to clarify anything. Post your comments and try figuring it out yourself.

One last thing. This has been my first post after a very long time-gap. So it’s actually a spurt of all emotions bottled within me esp. against these delinquent classes of people.

2006-02-13T17:37:00.000+05:30

My Encomium to 'The Six String'

The guitar, among all the musical instruments, is most associated with love and death. The fact is that these two strong forces of emotion or to say the senses of love and death have been ubiquitous . And this six-string instrument has been truly one of the best means to express one's deep emotions with a magical touch. That is the touch of music and its abitlity to revive a person's vigor.

As i sincerely bow my head to this instrument, the experiences i've had and enjoyed while learning to play it is too rich possibly too hard to explain. Recalling those early days when i believed that i had no sense or instinct towards music, somehow i felt that this was the only instrument which could make me enter the beautiful 'world of music'. I believe that this instrument is designed and tuned to give the player a wealth of possibilities and approaches to not only enjoying but also making music. As an ameteur (Which i humbly accept) the pleasure i derive when i play a particular piece very close to the original composition, is too immense actually fantastic. Its the pride that you can enjoy as a player. The pride that you can reproduce music with your own hands. Its the joy of seeing your fingers move so easily over the fretboard(fingerboard).

The beauty of the instrument is hard to explain in a lay man's language. The major advantage the guitar as an instrument enjoys over the other instruments, is its design. You can play the same chord or note in different positions with a slight variance in its pitch. The guitar facilitates this with the easy concept of movable chords. Something keyboard players can only dream about. The first set of movable chords we learn as beginners are the Bar-chords. And this 'move' ability applies to any chord position. So once you learn one inversion of a particular chord, you can apply it to any other chord as you move along the fretboard. Actually many times you tend to discover a position as you keep on playing and practicing. This way you tend to increase your musical vocabulary. And it comes to great help when you improvise. Again improvising is the key to enjoy and share music and its beauty . Especially when you love the sound of the 'six string'

These things i must confess are truly enjoyable. Its fun and probably you can share it only with another musician or perhaps a true music lover. As my passion to the instrument grew stronger, i wanted to see the professionals play and by observation pick up better styles and tricks to play. This urge grew and I started collecting live concert videos. Perhaps I must have seen each video a million times before i even tried to hunt for the music notes or even tried my hand at it. There was a change of attitude I experienced. Initially I was awstruck by the way the artist would close his eyes and play. Seeing his fingers fly on the board was too inspiring. The feeling was great. Then when you actually pick up the guitar you realise you need to practice a lot many times than you think you have. This feeling seeds frustration, the feeling that you can not play like them or become a virtuso guitarist (like Knopfler, Clapton or Jason Becker). As you mature as a guitarist, attitude becomes more positive and you will realise the level of perseverence and dedication that is needed.Its only then, that you just start to blindly respect the 'the six-string and its master'

2006-01-22T14:38:00.000+05:30

Simplicity of Life

If i do have the right to speak about 'life', i guess it should be really simple. As simple as it can get. I Guess the man made tensions like money and competition has led many people to change their attitude towards life. Again, if i do have the right to talk about 'life', i would say every day of my 22 and odd years have been going good. I guess 'life' has a lot to teach me, so as its sincere student i guess i should just be enjoying every moment.

Money and competition make life interesting. They have been created by man. It directly affects no animal or any other living creature except man. When we go on a vacation, we enjoy nature's peace and the way in which animals love being in its tranquility. So is it really justified to spoil our inner peace just because some man created thing called money has interfered or has become a potential threat to the peace we could enjoy? They seem too trivial to the precious gift God has given us-Called life. It can really be so Simple, we insist on making it complicated.

Its easy to say, 'Be content with what you have, rejoice in the way things are. When you realize there is nothing lacking, the whole world belongs to you'

But is it really that difficult?

'Any intelligent fool can make things bigger, more complex, and more violent. It takes a touch of genius - and a lot of courage - to move in the opposite direction' E.F. Schumacker

2005-12-27T15:18:00.000+05:30

The Sense of Direction!!

For over a year or so, I have had many great experiences of being guided to certain important landmarks in the city. There were times when I was lost in a locality trying to find my way out to the nearest familiar post. And when it comes to giving directions to the lost character (me in many cases as I don't remember some directions that easily) people out there are very much 'THERE' to confuse u, sorry 'to help you'. And with that pure intention to be of some help, very interesting things have been said to guide you to your humble destination. I wish to share just a few of those.

He said,' Walden? Huh! Very easy, you go straight, until you come to a red light. Then you take the left and you will see it right in front of you!'
(Please note: Many people refer to a traffic signal as 'red light'. But was I supposed to go straight, keep going straight until I come across a traffic signal which at that moment has the stop signal on? And only then I take the left turn? And then keep looking ahead till I bang into 'Walden' which is in the middle of the road? Well I managed to reach Walden no doubt. Dont ask me how!)

He said, "dude! You guys carry on. Ill be there. Now you go straight and take the left turn near that green lorry standing there, take the second right, arre! That place where that paani puri wala has his cart, and park you bike next to that man. In the next half hour we will be there.''
(Well he wanted us to go there in time no doubt, but I wonder where I would have landed if that green lorry just moved ahead. And God forbid that 'paani puri waala' decided to close early and if 'that man' was not standing there. I am sure I would have landed somewhere but nowhere close to 'that man' who would have been waiting all day jobblessly for us to park our bikes right next to him. This friend of mine was referring to the green lorry which indeed has not mooved from that location since 1999 due to some problem, nice landmark!! And that paani puri guy, I heard, never closes. 24/7, 365 days in a year, yes! he does not know what holidays are!! A Pure workoholic!! and 'that man', was the Watchman that my friend was referring to. So he actually wanted us to park our vehicles in the parking lot meant for visitors.)

My phone rang, he said, " You guys are coming right? ok, this place is very near, and its a great place to chill on a Saturday night! Do one thing. Come right now, Ya right now, im standing right there. Ok ill be raising my left hand. you remember my face right? so come fast"
(Near is good, Saturday night out is also good. But no, Not lifting your left hand. Thats not a landmark my friend!!)

He said, "Dont worry, the nokia priority dealer is very close! you go over that bridge and there its on your right. They will solve all your handset problems."
(I have lived in bangalore for more than 20years and i was literally thinking and breaking my head as to where a river flowed in between the busy streets of my city. No the Cauvery does not even touch Bangalore! forget solving the handset problem, he gave me one new problem. An un explored secret river over which a bridge is constructed. And on the other side there lies NOKIA priority dealer) ...................................................(Eureka!!!!!Bridge=Flyover)..................... (Richmond road flyover. All problems solved)

Thats it!!

2005-12-20T19:11:00.000+05:30

Oxymorons

Ever noticed that it's simply impossible to find seriously funny oxymorons online? The only choice is to ask one of those paid volunteers at the library – the ones in the long-sleeved T-shirts – for an original copy of some obviously obscure documents that were found missing amongst some paperwork almost exactly one hundred and one years ago.

This was fun!

2005-12-20T10:32:00.000+05:30

Does it really make sense?

Proverbs are the flower of popular wit and the treasures of popular wisdom. Actually these proverbs are popular sayings expressing a truth or a common fact. And I somehow feel they are sayings of our ancestors who condensed their wisdom into one-liners.

'You Cant have the Cake and Eat it too'

Most of them have underlying meanings. Rather all of them. And I feel they should atleast make sense in the first reading. Somehow I feel this popular proverb (mentioned above) has absolutely no surface meaning. But again it has a lot to say when analyzed.

I seriously feel it sounds very stupid. Although this might sound juvenile, i ask this. Why is one made to believe that he cant enjoy and relish the cake he has? Why cant you eat the cake you have? Why on earth do you even have it? Now I am getting serious doubts on the so called 'wisdom' of our ancestors. If it were only framed in a better manner the depth of the meaning would be far more hard hitting than leading to a weird argument or a disputatious statement made by some character who calls himself 'Hellskitchen'!!

2005-12-15T18:30:00.000+05:30

Man in the mirror

I have never believed in shortcuts as I really feel it cuts your 'life'... short. Work hard, and work smart as far as possible. When you have achieved what you have always wanted to, you can have and enjoy the best of sleep. This principle of mine became stronger when I read this poem written by some anonymous poet.

When you get all you want and you struggle for self,
and the world makes you king for a day,
then go to the mirror and look at yourself
and see what that man has to say.

For it isn't your mother, your father or wife
whose judgment upon you must pass,
but the man, whose verdict counts most in your life
is the one staring back from the glass.

He's the fellow to please,
never mind all the rest.
For he's with you right to the end,
and you've passed your most difficult test
if the man in the glass is your friend.

You can fool the whole world,
down the highway of years,
and take pats on the back as you pass.
But your final reward will be heartache and tears
if you've cheated the man in the glass.

-Anonymous

2005-12-15T17:15:00.000+05:30

Dismay of Hope

Why are there so many men in this world?? NO, Why aren't there many interesting women in this world?????? Just when you believe that there could be one, you realize you were dreaming and THUD!!!!!!!! You wake up and realize 'How nice it is to dream' and continue dreaming.

Ok, I'll explain the background story to this intense spurt of emotions.

I happen to see an interesting comment in my blog space. A comment on my recent post. Knowing very well that this particular post would provoke many readers to comment in every dimension of their personal beliefs, I keep checking on the comments posted. Now one such comment had my mind thinking.

The identity of the person was undisclosed and it was posted as 'anonymous'. Now adding to this curiosity, there was something which made me really believe that it was by someone. An interesting person. No!! And its NOT 'you know who' neither could it have the roots from there. If you do not understand what I'm trying to say, its alright but do not decide to misunderstand.

The comment was a short one but certain sentences made me feel that it could have been posted by a person of the opposite sex. An Interesting woman!!! 'The HOPE' made me feel good and believe that this planet is really a nice place to live in. I even thanked the creators of the Internet to have made this physical and geographical distances between nations so small. The thrill of having to find out who this anonymous person made life for me extra interesting. Yes! Extra......

'Those were the best days of my life'... Sounds familiar? I was so excited that I even asked this one 'particular friend', co- blogger to read the comment and to help me out in my mission of discovering the identity. Guess that was my Cardinal sin which I committed. I should have just kept quiet (rather follow the popular Shakespearean quote*)

This friend had nevertheless helped me in successfully discovering the identity of that 'interesting person' but to my DISMAY I realized that it was he who had posted it. And crushed my entire bubble of hope. Well life is beautiful as they say.

*Refer to url: udhbhava.blogspot.com

2005-12-03T20:19:00.000+05:30

Your Reflection

Ever imagined how it would feel to meet a person in your life who thinks almost exactly like you? When I say 'almost' I am giving that gap, a presumption that no two individuals on this earth can be the same. Actually to give God the credit of a perfect and flawless creation.

Say supposing you are waiting for somebody or something and you somehow meet a person. This acquaintance is not an ordinary one cause as you talk or exchange your thoughts, you sense an extraordinary vibe. Initially the feeling is such that you can have a neverending conversation with that person. But it doesn't happen as Time always plays with you and your plans. You just have to wish that you get to meet him/her again.

An interesting conversation is something any person would crave for, as the different kind of people you end up meeting everyday, would really have made you feel miserable at times. In the popular novel 'The Alchemist', written by Paulo Cohelo, he frequently quotes these words, it goes something like this, 'When you really want something, the entire universe conspires in your favour'.

So your craving for an interesting conversation with this person, for you, is the positive force enabling the universe to conspire in your favour. And so this conversation, which is bound to happen makes you realize that your new 'friend' is your perfect mirror image. Imagine if he/she narrates to you his/her experiences, belief's, relationships, expresses his/her emotions towards the same passions, thoughts, attitude behind every move he/she makes or experiences. On the whole making you feel as though you were in a dream or as though you are listening to yourself speak. Making you wonder how God can create another living being who is just like you, rather who is YOU, sharing this same place on planet earth?

If this person is of the opposite sex, do you think the chemistry existing would last forever? Or you assume that the chemistry might fade away, as a long lasting relationship with 'Yourself' would be too boring to hold on forever? With such a high ratio of similarity, there might be a deep corner inside the person which will bring out ideas that would always contradicts yours. This is for sure. And this is where the Almighty above, has done his creative contribution.

And if this person happens to be of the same sex, would you feel at any point of time that your friendship will turn out to be a strong one? I ask these questions as I feel that there has to be a slight rub off, or a series of verbal arguments or mature 'fights' over a period of time in a relationship to keep it going. But such a hypothesis is relevant only to people who do not belong to the special category I am referring to as 'Your Reflection'

Can such a rare and rich experience be possible? or is it that you maybe too ignorant about certain facts of life. Either way i have never got answers to the questions I posed. As to date, I have had the experience of meeting one person who I strongly believe is my 'Reflection'. Although I do not find it necessary to reveal the identity of that person, I really find every conversation extremely interesting!!

2005-11-22T07:55:00.000+05:30

Meet the Author

I have always wondered what and how it would feel if one gets a chance to meet the author of your favourite novel or any book in fact. One thing for sure is that the experience would be unforgettable. But the question still in my mind is, should one venture out to strike an intensive conversation with that person?

Say suppose you happen to see 'Sidney Sheldon' sitting at the corner table in a coffee shop and he seems to be alone at that time. Now the question is, would you think of walking upto him and apart from an autograph and a few compliments, start asking him about his whole idea behind the plot of his most popular novel you've read?? I am sure that i would just leave it at the autograph stage.

I believe that these writers and authors are people having extraordinary intellectual and creative skills and abilities. They live in a different world and often are gifted with the ability to express whats running in their mind. It could be a real life experience or a new story or a new plot for their running novel. In a nutshell, their moods change every moment. So do you think, by actually sitting with him and asking him his personal views on a particular novel which he might have written long back, is the right thing to do?? Be advised that you have enjoyed that particular novel in your own manner and Sheldon (Sidney) would have written it with a completely different perspective. There are very strong chances that he might make you altogether feel miserable if his veiws happen to completely contradict yours. 'Your favourite novel' as you would have claimed otherwise, might then become your worst.

The novel with his personal autograph would just make all the difference for a lifetime to me.