ColourBLOG!

The Choice

2009-12-08T08:00:00.003+05:30

After going through a significant span of confusion, after hacking away at all the extraneous matter, it came down to making a choice between two ways of looking at things:

To not believe, for the lack of concrete evidence of the presence, OR
To believe, for the lack of concrete evidence of the absence

I chose the latter - I prefer to call it optimism - and it has made a profound difference. I have since not felt the need to doubt - it is true - and the evidence for the belief unfolds slowly. I am grateful!

The best thing that could happen to the Indian Education System...

2009-01-05T08:24:00.002+05:30

... is about to come true!

UGC plans big changes in education

June 25th 2009: Another great development::

Making the Std X. exam optional

Should you go to Grad School...

2008-12-14T03:47:00.000+05:30

Should you go to Grad School (in HCI): "I doubt if anyone would claim to enjoy life at high altitudes -- enjoy, that is, in the ordinary sense of the word. There is a certain grim satisfaction to be derived from struggling upwards, however slowly; but the bulk of one's time is necessarily spent in the extreme squalor of a high camp, when even this solace is lacking. ... I used to try to console myself with the thought that a year ago I would have been thrilled by the very idea of taking part in our present adventure, a prospect that had then seemed like an impossible dream; but altitude has the same effect on the mind as upon the body, one's intellect becomes dull and unresponsive, and my only desire was to finish the wretched job and to get down to a more reasonable clime. -- Jon Krakauer, Into Thin Air"

Teach India

2008-07-22T22:16:00.000+05:30

Teach for India (TFI) takes form in this new Times-of-India initiative. Excellent!

"If you don't know me by now"

2008-07-16T13:48:00.005+05:30

I've typed out here a few snippets from Sathnam Sanghera's book: "If you don't know me by now". I could not stop being amazed at how closely some of the descriptions of the Punjabi/Sikh family in the book resembles my own. ("Are all Punjabi families the same!")

Read along for some of, what I thought were, the more captivating lines in the book:

In the end, I did what came naturally. I lied. I lied three times, like Peter.
[Footnote] Her conclusion was that people who speak two languages ‘feel like a different person depending on which language they are speaking’
“Like taking retah to the maru[s]thal”
I’ve tried to find a word that might describe this not pleasurable, not unpleasant state of intellectual and emotional suspension, and an online dictionary suggests ’hebetude’ which apparently means ‘dullness of mind; mental lethargy’. But the offline Collins Dictionary suggests the word doesn’t actually exist, which seems apt somehow, for a state of blankness.
It is particularly interesting to read his thoughts on the effects of the illness can have on siblings or children of schizophrenics. “[They] often try to compensate for their ill family member by being as perfect as possible. …”
When it is done well, watching someone perform bhangra can be mesmerizing, but when I did it, it looked as if I was being electrocuted while simultaneously trying to unscrew two light bulbs.
… represented a matrimonial opportunity for those lingering in the relegation zone of the arranged marriage league table: the over-25; the obese; or the offspring of those parents who were most concerned about Westernization and wanted their children to marry Indian spouses to keep alive their traditions of religiosity, illiteracy, alcoholism, manual labor and domestic violence.
Because you loved us [mother], we know what love is.
Until then, organizing weddings had been like voting Tory: we endured the horrendous consequences of other people doing it, but never did it ourselves.
[Footnote] I’m hoping that writing this in a smaller font will make it sound less misogynistic, but in my experience, second generation Punjabi women – being the product of patriarchal culture – are depressingly servile or terrifying aggressive. As one of them once put it to me – or rather screamed at me – Sikh girls don’t have personalities [as much as] they have post-traumatic stress disorder: They have to fight so hard and so persistently for their independence that they become brutalized by the experience, and even when they have their freedom, they can’t stop fighting.
It’s not about where alcohol takes you, it’s about what alcohol takes you away from.
I’d like to say that the room gasped. Or that I literally felt the weight of the world lift from my shoulders. But no one blinked and I felt no different.
… a powerful surge of anger at the multiculturalists who argue that immigrants shouldn’t be forced to learn English. This is the consequence of not understanding English. It means ethnic communities can’t educate themselves, don’t understand what is happening even when the most extreme things occur.
And you need only glance at a Bollywood movie to see why they might be perplexed by the idea of a book about Mum and Dad. The misery memoir is very much a first world phenomenon. In India, you only need to glance out of your window to feel grateful for your lot.
‘Your kismet is your kismet’
There’s only one thing more unacceptable than a divorced woman in the Punjab: a single mother.
On the last day of school I showed up, as tradition dictated, to sign the shirts of classmates I’d known for seven years, and to have my shirt signed in return. The only message I remember is: ‘Don’t kill yourself Sang’. It was no great loss when mom stuck the shirt in the wash.
‘Stop laughing so much. You’ll only cry twice as much later.’
I grew up resenting the phrase, thinking it epitomized the rather joyless, if not at the heart of Punjabi culture, then at the heart of our family life. Mum is never more anxious than at a celebration, or on receiving good news, hovering around with red chillies to frighten away evil spirits, telling us to remember to thank God for our good fortune. I hate that I’ve inherited the attitude: sometimes I can feel the end of good things before I’ve even had a chance to enjoy them. But finally I understood why she was so fond of the saying: that’s how life was for her. Whenever she laughed, she cried twice as much later.
In other words, she saved my father, she saved her children, and for that I do not need to gather any corroborating evidence, because my entire life, my entire record collection, is a testament to the fact.
Whereas Puli had not lived up to her academic promise, for instance, I had outlived mine. While I had been permitted – albeit with intense emotional pressure – to procrastinate on the issue of marriage, Puli had married twice.
I interrupted. “Thing is, Puli, a lot of the family don’t know you are ill. You’re a victim of your success, in that way. People think you’re fine.”
But another came up with an infinitely more intriguing explanation. ‘He went mad. He became so educated that he went insane.’
‘Sorry for calling.’ Puli always apologizes for calling.
[Footnote] The most a British Punjabi genealogist can hope for is that after months of research, and recurrent visits to the subcontinent, he will discover a small parchment helpfully informing them that his father’s father was a farmer, that his father’s father was a farmer, and that his father’s father was a farmer too. Doubtless, future generations of Sikh Punjabis in Britain will have a similar experience when they learn that their father’s father was an IT consultant and that his father’s father was an IT consultant and so on, back for two centuries, until they eventually discover that – shock, horror – one of their original ancestors was a farmer.
I’m not going to beat myself up about it, because I know now my family will love me regardless of what I do or do not do, and that is a feeling I never expected to feel and this is a moment I wouldn’t change for anything.

PS: I hope quoting these lines doesn't break copyright rules -- rather leads to a few more copies of this beautiful memoir being bought. [Link to Amazon]

Nah.... Go East!

2008-07-09T18:00:00.001+05:30

Economist's View: The Geographic Distribution of Singles

Counter-intuitives : The 'true' misconceptions

2008-01-27T19:24:00.000+05:30

Common-sense occasionally dictates us to behave or react in ways that are scientifically irrational...

#1: When the stock market is on a low, economics dictates that one should 'invest' in the market. Nevertheless, our common-sense (and basic instincts) makes us react otherwise and the 'right way/answer' seems counter-intuitive to ourselves.

#2: Often seen on "Khul Ja Sim Sim" or other Game Shows on TV :

Suppose you're on a game show, and you're given the choice of three doors: Behind one door is a car; behind the others, goats. You pick a door, say No. 1, and the host, who knows what's behind the doors, opens another door, say No. 3, which has a goat. He then says to you, "Do you want to pick door No. 2?" Is it to your advantage to switch your choice?

This paradox, also known as the "Monty Hall Paradox" has its roots in mathematical theory: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monty_Hall_problem

------

Question -- What other instances of such counter-intuitives have you seen in life ?

PIFF 2008

2008-01-18T15:59:00.001+05:30

Some memories of PIFF '08 before they fade from my mind:

Bliss aka Mutluluk (Greece)
"The Lark Farm" aka "La Masseria delle allodole" (Italy)
_Something_ "International" aka "Beynelmilel" (Turkey)
"Black Book" aka "Zwartboek" (Netherlands)
Warchild (Germany)

Afternote: Turns out that 'Bliss' and 'Beynelmilel' took away top honors at the film festival.

What is The Proust Questionnaire ?

2008-01-09T12:28:00.000+05:30

The (Sunday) Indian Express Column called "Third Eye" by Nadine Kreisberger is a modification of the original Proust Questionnaire

Nadine Kreisberger is a French traveller who has worked in international relations, classical music, journalism and psychology. But it is her particular interest in spiritual matters that has led her to devise this version of The Proust Questionnaire: "It helps us to see people who they really are inside".

Third Eye: Archives on the IE Website

The Proust Questionnaire is a questionnaire about one's personality, first popularized by the responses given by the French writer Marcel Proust.

At the end of the nineteenth century, when Proust was still in his teens, he discovered a questionnaire in an English-language album belonging to his friend Antoinette, daughter of future President Felix Faure, entitled "An Album to Record Thoughts, Feelings, etc." At that time, it was a fad among wealthy English families to answer such a list of questions that revealed the tastes and aspirations of the taker.

The "Nadine Kreisberger" Proust Questionnaire asks:

What does spirituality mean to you?
Do you believe you are guided and protected by a superior force?
Do you believe you have a special mission or purpose in this life?
What is spirituality for you in your day-to-day life?
What is the role of spirituality in your life as a {business person, politician, ... _name_of_profession_} ?
Can you tell us about a unique experience that changed or shaped your spiritual beliefs?
What are your spiritual inspirations?
If you were to be reincarnated, what would you like to be?
If there was one question you could ask God, what would it be?
What is your idea of happiness?

So spake Sudraka

2008-01-02T11:52:00.001+05:30

Thundercloud, I think you are wicked,
You know I'm going to meet my own lover,
And yet you first scare me with your thunder,
And now you're trying to caress me,
With your rain hands!

Gone Pondy

2007-12-31T21:17:00.000+05:30

Around the last week of ’07 I made a trip I had been hoping to make since almost a year before. And unlike any other trip I’ve ever made I went with nothing but an open mind (no fixed plans, no places to stay, no company!, nothing but a credit card --with a credit limit which can be best described as Puerto-Rican-- and a very old digital camera). So… I decided to write some notes to accompany the photos that I took…

This is not either a Pondicherry Travel Guide or a Trip Report. Rather, it’s a collection of notes on interesting sights and sounds that caught my eye when I was there. If you’re looking for a Pondi Travel Guide, I quite recommend the following:

WikiTravel - Pondicherry : Kept up-to-date by wiki contributors, this site’s a concise review of the to-and-fro Pondi experience. There’s a separate page for Auroville. For the hardcore travel-hackers there are wikitravel phrasebooks for French and Tamil.
This website, although with an unusual sounding title, had some very good information about Pondicherry and Auroville. The phone numbers and costs are old and unreliable. Better links for those can be found in the next..
The most reliable source of information on Auroville is the official site, and the Visitor Information, Guest Houses and Services site. Highly recommend calling them up!
Similarly for the Ashram… Call up well in advance…. Guest houses are are the best deals you can get in Pondi.

Introduction: Pondicherry (now Puducherry, but best known as Pondi/Pondy) is a small town on the east coast of India close to the famous metro of Chennai/Madras. Pondi was the capital of erstwhile French India, and has a whole lot of history associated with it, and could even put a goldfish to sleep. What’s interesting is that present day Pondi still retains a sizeable French population and civil influence till date. I was most impressed with the French architecture on the streets and design of the streets: streets with French names (but also in JalebiScript), tiled roads that cut each other at right angles and houses which were no more than 2 stories high.

The French people have really integrated themselves very well in Pondi. Although the town’s population is 90% Tamil —and that’s understandable as Pondi is surrounded on three sides by Tamil Nadu, and by the Bay of Bengal on the fourth – the French influence is pervasive. The city’s population thrives on a steady diet of tourists from all over India and the world, all of whom come to see either the aforesaid ‘The French Riviera of the East’ or The Sri Aurobindo Ashram.

Which brings us to the Ashram... Sri Aurobindo was an important figure from days of the Indian Freedom Struggle and had played a leading role in organizing the ‘extremist/radical‘ forces in Bengal. He found his spiritual calling whilst in jail and gained enlightenment during subsequent practice in Pondi. With the growth of his followers and after he was joined by his spiritual partner (Mirra Alfassa aka the Mother), an ashram was set up in Pondi and the ‘Auroville‘ experiement was started about 10kms from there.

As must be evident from what I have written till now, Pondi is quite a ‘spiritual‘ city. And so, there’s not much to do for the AVERAGE tourist, who basically seems to want to visit generic tourist spots (read melas) and party at local haunts. The discerning traveler however, knows what to look for in a city like Pondi. And he finds that partly inside the heart of the city, and a lot more at the City of Dawn (A’ville) outside the city. For the first half of my trip I stayed at an Auroville community called ‘Sri Ma’… and it was beautiful as these photos tell better:

Pondi is not irrelevant to the general tourist either. After having walked the Promenade at Goubert Salai (‘Salai ‘means road in Tamil), one can get a fine cup of coffee or ice-cream at “Lé Café”, or French croissants/Danish pastry/German Marble-cake at “Hot Breads”, to be followed by dinner at “Lé Club“. No Le Disko unfortunately. Pondi is a really small city and, being the type of guy who ENJOYS his walks, I used to take these excursions from one end of town to the other. For the 3 days I was in the city, I think I covered the length and breadth of the city atleast 4 times on foot! Small place… It’s easy to rent a cycle, a motorbike or a car from the tourism infrastructure in the city for meager rates, but I highly recommend either the walk or bicycle to not miss any of the sights, sounds or smells of the city.

It was during these walks that I was also mistaken by a few (many?) people to be a local of Pondi! [:D] Dressed in a tee, sneakers and cargo-shorts, humming Brimful of Asha, and with a tan to add the credibility of a local to my already ‘approachable-and-friendly’ image, I was consulted a few times by distressed French tourists and bored Indian tourists for directions and advice on a city I had barely discovered myself. On times that I failed to deliver, and/or when the tourist found a ‘real’ local, I saw amazing spectacles of French people talking in fluent Tamil(!), or Tamil people speaking fluent French(!)..... “Oui Mademoiselle!”

One sight and one sound from my trip remain stuck firmly in my head:

This one evening on a walk around the Tamil part of town, at a Tapri that I crossed, there were some local Tamil men sitting around, in their dhotis, down on their haunches, sipping some chai, and basically doing their thing. Right then, a (White) French man, wearing an Ascot cap, Chucks and three-fourths comes around to the Tapri, orders some tea, pulls up his pants a little, and joins RIGHT in the conversation with the others in fluent Tamil! There he was, slurping his tea like they do it there and talking the talk… Wow, what an awesome spectacle! Now, THAT’s what they meant by “When in Rome…!”

On the bus journey from Pondi to Chennai, I heard a Tamil song that sounded vaguely familiar in tune. I didn’t get it till midway through the song, but then it hit me – it was a note-perfect copy of one of Rihanna’s songs - being sung in Tamil! Some remake!

All in all, an good trip and a refreshing change!

Here's the full album on Picasa

Truth Alone Triumphs

2007-11-22T19:54:00.000+05:30

"Satyameva Jayate"

...it's the national motto of India!

What is the real purpose of professional sports?

2007-11-18T18:57:00.000+05:30

Good Question: What purpose does professional sport serve in modern society ?

* Is it to inspire us to play sports at the level of a personal activity ?, or
* Is it to way for some to achieve their athletic potential ?, or
* Is it a way for others to watch and vicariously live out their dreams ?, or
* Is it just good business ?

Saira's Questions

2007-11-17T21:46:00.001+05:30

Q: Why does the truth fool us so well ?
Comment: I didn't really get the intent of this one... I hope it meant "the apparent truth", or else it's way beyond me.. Help!

Q: Does a rich person have more or need less ?

Q: Through gossip, do we secretly seek the destruction of people we know ?

Q: If our secrets were discovered, would they destroy the life that we built for ourself ?

Q: Do countries have a 'male' or 'female' gender ?

Q: Are [truly] great artists like Mozart and Chopin truly dead ? Or are they still around and taken totally for granted ?

Q: Why does it take such a long time for us to learn what we don't understand?
Comment: My version - Why does it take such a long time for us (as a civilization) to learn what we do understand? Equality, Peace and Good Intent works...

Blogging with MS Word

2007-11-06T10:35:00.001+05:30

Interesting….

She sez...

2007-06-06T20:09:00.000+05:30

"We'll love you just the way you are if you're perfect.
Alanis Morissette "

Mine Eyes Have Seen the Gory Realities of Nearsightedness -

2007-04-11T15:51:00.000+05:30

"So what does that leave for me? Well, I understand that many highly trained individuals are prepared to shoot lasers into my eyes. Normally, I'm way into lasers. Whether in pointer or Zeppelin form, the laser is a real draw for me, but I just don't feel prepared to have lasers shot into my very eyes.

I'd be happy to undergo phaser eye surgery. Phasers probably have a setting for 'improve vision' as well as 'kill,' 'stun' and 'fail to do anything useful for plot purposes.' But lasers? I keep thinking maybe I'll go ahead and get it, and I go to the optometrist, and he's wearing glasses. So laser surgery is like ordering the cut the butcher won't eat. I'll stick with the traditional ugly, itchy and/or grime-encrusted forms off vision correction. For now.

Born helpless, nude and unable to provide for himself, Lore Sjöberg eventually overcame these handicaps to become nearsighted, shortsighted and excited."

Drwn News: The end of poverty

2006-10-02T22:10:00.000+05:30

The end of poverty

I'm convinced. We can end global poverty. Someone just has to offer enough money.

The corruption stuff is a canard -- at least half of the extremely poor countries are not very corrupt (democratically run, at peace, trying hard -- e.g., Ghana, Ethiopia, Mali, Malawi), while many very corrupt countries have developed handsomely (Bangladesh, Indonesia). If we don't give the money because of corruption, we are kidding ourselves.

The answer 1) stabilization (through things currency and inflation control through fiscal and policy measures, once unfavorably termed "shock therapy"), and 2) capability-development of infrastructure, capital, public health, etc.

The answer is pretty cheap too - $200 billion per year for 10 years. US contribution would be less than what we are spending directly on war costs in Iraq (if you included the cost of the $75 barrel of Brent, then the entire cost of the programs would be equal to 1 year of the Iraq war's impact).

African is still crippled by tropical diseases and AIDS (unlike colder climates). The technological investment hasn't been made to develop climate-appropriate crops (as it was made in Asia's Green Revolution). There is no capital asset base to drive productivity, since people are so poor everything they earn is consumed not saved. There is no public infrastructure since governments are too poor to build them. People are too sick and poor to be educated. Anyone who does get educated is immediately tempted away to foreign markets, so there isn't any pool of doctors, scientists, etc.

Plus countries are sinking under debt servicing loads from the last generation technocrats' bright ideas of World Bank-funded dams and airports, etc. The reforms the West insisted on to stabilize the markets (austerity) were designed only around starvig the beast of socialistic state industries, but not around funding the development of infrastructure, capital, etc. The US has massive centrally managed spending infrastructure, scientific R&D, public health and public education spending -- all to support the "free market" of private enterprise. By contrast, we have spent 50 years underfunding such programs in the developing world.

What do you get for $200 B a year? As far as I can tell from reading this book, you get a detailed plan of action for achieving the reduction of poverty on Earth by half in 10 years."

(Not an original post... Click on title link to get the author's post)

System Shutdown...

2006-06-10T23:24:00.000+05:30

Not that I've been blogging regularly but anyway...

This post is to formally announce the death of the ColourBLOG.

Goodbye.

Witty Repartee

2006-01-26T20:28:00.000+05:30

"After one of his many drinking binges, an inebriated Churchill was interrupted during dinner by Nancy Astor, who said, ''Winston, if you were my husband, I'd put poison in your coffee.''

Churchill's famous reply: ''Nancy, if you were my wife, I'd drink it.''

--------------
When Nikita Kruschev took off his shoe at the U.N. and slammed it on the lectern The former British Prime Minister Harold Macmillan's calmly looked to an interpreter and asked: ''Could I have that translated, please?''

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

The deadBLOG...

2006-01-26T19:39:00.000+05:30

Suffering a lack of posts since 2005....

QOTD: "'You miss 100% of the shots you don't take.' – Wayne Gretzky"

Rock Star:INXS

2005-09-16T22:52:00.000+05:30

Rock Star:INXS is definitely the most watchable reality TV show that I've come across in a long while!

My bet's on JD Fortune...

(and oh! how could we lose sweet suzie mcneil!)

Wink!

2005-09-16T22:40:00.000+05:30

...and I'll do the rest!

Now that I'm 21

Nice...

2005-08-22T16:44:00.000+05:30

One night I dreamed I was walking
Along the beach with the Lord.
Many scenes from my life flashed across the sky.
In each scene I noticed footprints in the sand.
Sometimes there were two sets of footprints.
Other times there were one set of footprints.
This bothered me because I noticed that
During the low periods of my life when I was
Suffering from anguish, sorrow, or defeat,
I could see only one set of footprints,
So I said to the Lord, "You promised me,
Lord, that if I followed You,
You would walk with me always.
But I noticed that during the most trying periods
Of my life there have only been
One set of prints in the sand.
Why, When I have needed You most,
You have not been there for me?"
The Lord replied,
"The times when you have seen only one set of footprints
Is when I carried you."

2005-08-15T23:54:00.000+05:30

TSC(?): The Flattening of India...?

My post today comes after a long time... I was looking for an occasion to blog... anyway, lets get straight to the point:

I spent my summer holidays in the city of Bangalore, the place us Indians like to call our very own Silicon Valley. I had gone there to do a month long industrial internship... in a robotics company! [Not too many people I know, outside the IITs that is, choose to do things like a summer internship or summer project - Personally, I'd *highly* recommend an internship or at least industrial training to anyone who is *sincerely* technically inclined; But, I also wouldn?t recommend an internship to certain other types ... but that's for another blog entry some other time]

Thomas Friedman wrote a lot about B?lore (or so I?ve heard) in his new book ?The World is Flat? and in his newspaper column around the time of the summer break: about how the outsourcing boom is allowing other (non developed-world) economies to make a jumpstart, about how jobs can now be done by a professional sitting anywhere in the world, how such advantages are being exploited by big MNCs to reduce their costs and most importantly: what it is doing to the places where this work is going.

Well, sometime before I left I also came across a certain blog post by Gaurav Sabnis... (read the full post at the link at the bottom) It was about a conversation he had with his taxi-driver whilst travelling somewhere in Mumbai. The taxi-driver told him that he had big dreams for his daughter - he wanted her to become a computer professional later in life - and told Gaurav that his daughter was preparing for a certain computer certification exam (CCNA). He hoped to raise the money for her whatever came - for his daughter was going to make their family proud some day...

Would she, rather could she? She really could:

On reaching B'lore I received an unpleasant shock that my pre-planned accommodation arrangement was not available due to misc. reasons and I had to look for a place to stay for a month... Initially I was completely stumped, and didn?t know what to do, but soon I was pretty amazed to discover that a major portion of the working populace of B'lore actually lived out of their suitcases - in hostels and PGs (paying guest accommodations). It's almost a culture there - people from all over the state and even from other states come down there to work and make a living.

Well, so I stayed in a PG accomodation - like a tramp, according to me - in a room with four beds and three other people. My room was dynamic ? people were coming and leaving all the time ? there were other rooms in that building where people had been residing for longer spans of time (6 months, a year etc..) ? but I had been given that room because I was there for (relatively) a short stay (a month).

Jobs in B?lore are available aplenty - There were instances of people entering my PG, without a job, just passed out of a degree or diploma course, coming in with little bag and baggage, no relatives in the town, just a few phone numbers gathered from the local classifieds magazine and some books. And then leaving by the end of two weeks or so with about 3-4 jobs in hand ? spoilt for choice! All IT jobs, mind you!

I?m losing track of what I wanted to say ?.
Yup, so the average profile of one of these people I?ve been referring to would go something like: South Indian male; age 22-30; state bd. education till std. x.; xyz unheard of university; NIIT course in IT or [whatever?s] course in embedded systems ?. end result: employable by B?lore!

There?s a veritable revolution going on over there: there is work for everyone in IT who?s ready to work hard AND it pays well? Well, If all goes the way it?s going, even if I.T. doesn?t make the whole world flat, if the outsourcing boom holds on long enough, it?ll have flattened quite a bit of India. Can you imagine what a six-figure packet could do to a person (and his family) from a rural Indian background ? Or for that taxi-driver?s daughter ? It?s incredible?

But all?s not well in Bangalore: the newspapers reflect a general anxiety in native minds about having so many outsiders around. And I?d agree in some ways: if there are so many jobs going to outsiders, then all that?s left for native Bangloreans is to do the outsiders? dishes... One wonders where all this work is coming from, and if it?ll last, or are we just looking at another bubble waiting to burst ? ?.There?s a growing disparity amongst the IT-employed and the others in cities like B?lore. Incredibly enough, I?ve seen more poverty there than to believe that we?re really getting flatter?.

Sorry for having digressed from the theme so many times?.. it happens when you don?t blog regularly :-)

Readers might want to refer to the full post of
Gaurav Sabnis' article :
http://gauravsabnis.blogspot.com/2005/05/abdulbhai-presents.html

and if you have'nt heard of Thomas Friedman (pity on you..) then: http://www.thomaslfriedman.com/ OR http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_World_Is_Flat

Jammag: Engineering College Ratings

2005-06-08T19:24:00.000+05:30

Hmm... JAMMag rates VIT best private engg. college in Pune...

Role Reversal

2005-06-05T23:35:00.000+05:30

Gone are the days when it was only parents worrying about what their children see on TV. With all these 'K' serials being aired, I'm worried what'll happen to my parents' brains in a few years!

The Socrates Circle: Of Beggars and Begging

2005-06-04T22:23:00.000+05:30

Take a look at the article I've linked to here...

It's an odd topic, not something you think about everyday.... ....Beggars....
And here's a question -

Q: Should one give alms to a beggar or not ?

It's not a very simple question to answer - atleast I dont think so - there are just a tremendous number of things associated with a question - some would associate beggars with Poverty, others with Society ('as just what is'); I'd add religion, racism, casteism, ethics, karma, crime, government, children... the list goes on and on....

So tell me what you think - and dont be inhibited about it - just avoid expletives in your answers. I'll put up more questions like this one, each with a grand deal of open-endedness - you're entitled to your opinion, and to keeping convictions... but are you true to them? Let's think about that one....

Add: Why did I delete the comments ?

Bishops?

2005-05-18T19:24:00.000+05:30

"Have you wondered how Bishops has become a favoured wedding hall (recently)"
- Thought by Sourish Sarkar .... Ahem!

Think!

2005-05-15T19:08:00.000+05:30

"As your parents we are worried you are spending too much time on the internet. We would rather you watch some T.V. !"

Kingdom of Heaven (2005)

2005-05-11T17:26:00.000+05:30

I thought the whole movie was about the character named Saladin

Terrific!!

SOME WORK RELATED LESSONS

2005-05-07T21:37:00.000+05:30

LESSON 1:

A crow was sitting on a tree, doing nothing all day. A
small rabbit saw
the crow, and asked him, "Can I also sit like you and
do nothing all day
long?"

The crow answered: "Sure, why not." So, the rabbit sat
on the ground
below the crow, and rested. All of a sudden, a fox
appeared, jumped on
the rabbit and ate it.

Moral of the story: To be sitting and doing nothing,
you must be sitting
very, very high up.

LESSON 2:

A turkey was chatting with a bull. "I would love to be
able to get to
the top of that tree," sighed the turkey, "but I
haven't got the
energy."

"Well, why don't you nibble on some of my droppings?"
replied the bull
"They're packed with nutrients." The turkey pecked at
a lump of dung and
found that it actually gave him enough strength to
reach the first
branch of the tree. The next day, after eating some
more dung, he
reached the second branch. Finally after a fortnight,
there he was
proudly perched at the top of the tree. Soon he was
promptly spotted by
a farmer, who shot the turkey out of the tree.

Moral of the story: Bullshit might get you to the top,
but it won't keep
you there.

LESSON 3:

A little bird was flying south for the winter. It was
so cold, that the
bird froze and fell to the ground in a large field.
While it was lying
there, a cow came by and dropped some dung on it.

As the frozen bird lay there in the pile of cow dung,
it began to
realize how warm it was. The dung was actually thawing
him out! He lay
there all warm and happy, and soon began to sing for
joy. A passing cat
heard the bird singing and came to investigate.
Following the sound,
the cat discovered the bird under the pile of cow
dung, and promptly dug
him out and ate him!

The Morals of this story:
1) Not everyone who drops shit on you is your enemy.
2) Not everyone who gets you out of shit is your
friend.
3) And when you're in deep shit, keep your mouth shut!

How did they skip this from the Vault?

2005-04-30T15:32:00.000+05:30

DEF LEPPARD - STAND UP (KICK LOVE INTO MOTION) LYRICS: "I got to know right now
It's got to be this time
I wanna show you how
Gonna make you change your mind
There's an empty chair at my table
There's an empty look in your eyes
Ooh, that's right

I just happen to be a man
And you happen to be a woman
And we happen to be together
Try to stop this thing comin'

Stand up, kick love into motion
Take a little love and shake it all around, stand up
Stand up, kick love into motion
Take me in your arms and throw me to the ground
Down to the ground, baby come on
Stand up, stand up for love

I'm gonna play your game
I wanna play with fire
I want to breathe your air
Baby, gonna take you there
If you lay your cards on the table
I'll lay my love on the line
Till you're mine

I just happen to be a man
And you happen to be a woman
And we happen to be together
Try to stop this thing comin'

Stand up, kick love into motion
Take a little love and shake it all around, stand up
Stand up, kick love into motion
Take me in your arms and throw me to the ground
Down to the ground, baby come on
Stand up, stand up for love

You couldn't get it much better
You never had it so good
Stand up together
And when you're ready to
You're gonna get what you should

Little by little
Like a fine wine
My love is like a motor
Runnin' all the time
Step by step
Easy and slow
On the stairway to heaven
What a way to go

Stand up, kick love into motion
Take a little love and shake it all around, stand up
Stand up, kick love into motion
Ta"

C'est La Vie...: DAA-mn You, AI's!!!

2005-04-24T12:17:00.000+05:30

If I were so lucky so as to get to choose subjects like:

"Design and Analysis of Algorithms (DAA)
Artificial Intelligence (AI)
Digital System Design (DSD)"
Refer: A.D.'s post/click on the subject of the blog

I'd take them all!

Unfortunately I get to study things like:
1. Power Electronics (No way in Hell)
2. Electronic Communication (Lord love a duck!)
3. Electronic Instruments and Measurements

The list goes on...

Right Ho!

2005-04-23T16:33:00.000+05:30

I decided to update my blog after a long time.... dont know how you put up your posts but I use the Google Toolbar - besides that my methods of blogging are pretty archiac. It took me over an hour to type out the updates on my blogroll with my unforgiving net connection. Now that I notice what's out there I forgot that I was to put a "Currently Reading: .." on the sidebar - but it seems like that'll have to be left to a sunnier day's afternoon. Anyways, here are the updates:

Links: I was planning on removing the techfest link but whatddayaknow they've already started updating it for Techfest'06. Techfest is an event for which we (read: three friends and I) slug it out for over three months come rain, college, parents or other friends and still look forward to the round of torture the next year.

Other Blogs: Guess I have'nt introduced the (famous? infamous?) personalities on my roll yet so here goes:

DonQuixort: Real Name: Say-Lille Bon-Jour; Extremely distressed when I mentioned his Real Name on my blog last time; Reason why the lazy me gave up trying to hand code my blog and moved to blogspot; Managed to pull many-another into blogging; Good blog!

Fair Maiden in Trouble: Definitely the best new blog on the spot; Should I also say - the most talked about blog in college ? He's written so much recently that one can expect a print edition (never paperback?) being released soon; Has certain refernces to a programming contest that was organised by him/Kunal T that I attended. say, did I put up a post on a Puzzle Championship that we organised that he attended?

Youth Curry: Rashmi Bansal's (of JAMMag Fame) Blog. Remember JAMMag from Epiphany 2003 ppl ?

A lifeless extraordinary: Did I get that right? Welcome to the blogging world G.H.

My Dynasty: My friend Pradeep from CSE IITB. Wassup?

PhotoBlogs.org: Worth a visit.

Chaos Theory: Dani's blog. Likes to post photos of bigshots: Narain K. from F1, the Dani Bangla Backyard Sunset, The Moon as seen from the Dani Eye (wonder how he managed that). OMG, I still don't believe I'm doing my BE Project with this guy.

Space for rent: Kunal T's blog. Seems to be facing a time crisis (like I have); Has'nt blogged recently. Wassup? I think you've got my page on your blogroll wrong.

Anand: At his worst allright! Has'nt blogged in almost a year... On the way out of my blogroll. What? Orkut's ur new blog ?

Pune Quiz Blog: Called 'Notes and Stones' by some and 'Interrobang' by some others [Why?]. Dunno how it got into my list - I haven't quizzed in years. But just to put it on record, I intend to restart (solemnly, humbly, in traces) quizzing in the last semester of engg. [Just like the last year in school]

epiFUNNY!: The Joke Blog: Never really took off... On it's way out too... Should I delete it guys?

Nikhil: He's made a (National) prize winning device for the speech impaired (some call them d.u.m.b.) and chooses to remain 'mum' about it - I wonder why. Nice blog Nikhil... esp. impressive reading and listening to lists.

Which reminds me -
(My) Currently Reading - The Jeeves Omnibus No. 4 [Which explains the blog's title...]
Currently Listening - Burnin' Sneakers [Bomfunk MCs]

Shouts:
Sagar G. - I've lost your blog's address. Pl. send it across if you come across this.

Everyone - Wish you luck for the exams. What's plans for after that ?

And whoever came up with the Maaz joke... dude, you're a genious!

Have you read this before ?

2005-04-23T16:18:00.000+05:30

Rabbit's Ph.D. Thesis

Scene: It's a fine sunny day in the forest, and a rabbit is sitting outside his burrow, tippy-tapping on his typewriter.
Along comes a fox, out for a walk.
Fox:'What are you working on?'
Rabbit: 'My thesis.'
Fox:'Hmmm. What's it about?'
Rabbit:'Oh, I'm writing about how rabbits eat foxes.'
(incredulous pause)
Fox :That's ridiculous! Any fool knows that rabbits don't eat foxes.'
Rabbit:'Sure they do, and I can prove it. Come with me.'
They both disappear into the rabbit's burrow. After a few minutes, the rabbit returns, alone, to his typewriter and resumes typing.
Soon, a wolf comes along and stops to watch the hardworking rabbit.

Wolf:'What's that you're writing?'
Rabbit:'I'm doing a thesis on how rabbits eat wolves.'
(loud guffaws)
Wolf :'You don't expect to get such rubbish published, do you?'
Rabbit:'No problem. Do you want to see why?'
The rabbit and the wolf go into the burrow, and again the rabbit returns by himself, after a few minutes, and goes back to typing.

Scene: inside the rabbit's burrow.
In one corner, there is a pile of fox bones. In another corner, a pile of wolf bones. On the other side of the room, a huge lion is belching and picking his teeth.
(The End)
Moral
It doesn't matter what you choose for a thesis subject.
It doesn't matter what you use for data.
What does matter is who you have for a thesis advisor.

Lion's Watch Repair Business

Scene
It's a crisp, sunny fall day. Lion is strolling through the forest enjoying the fall foliage, when he sees Fox walking towards him down the path, head drooping down.

Lion :"Hello, Fox. Why are you looking so gloomy?"
Fox :"It's been like this all week. First my cub got sick, then the car started making a funny noise, and last night I accidently put my watch through the washing machine and it quit working."
Lion :"Well, I can't do much about the child or the car, but I can fix your watch for you."
Fox :"That'll be the day. You with your big claws? You would have trouble picking up the watch, let alone fixing the insides. You'll just break it even worse than it already is. I'd better take it into town."
Lion : "Let me take it into my den for a couple minutes. You'll be surprized."
So he disappears into his den with the watch. A few minutes later he returns: the watch is fixed.

Later in the week, Lion is sitting in the warm sun by the river, when Wolf comes running by, looking flustered.
Lion: "Wolf, why are you headed into town? I thought you wanted to work on your grant proposal?"
Wolf: "The hard-drive on my laptop crashed last night, so I can't get anything done until I get it fixed."
Lion: "I can fix that for you real quick: there's no need to walk all the way into town."
Wolf: "What? You? The lion whose paws are too big to even type on my keyboard? The one who left great blue smears on the trees when he tried to paint his front door? I don't think so."
Lion: "You'd be surprized: just let me give it a try."
So the Lion takes the laptop into his den. In a few minutes, he returns with the laptop, now working fine.

Scene: inside the lion's den
In one corner, next to the coffee machine, is a smug-looking lion lying on a couch cleaning his fur. In a second corner, there are piles of IEEE Computer, Byte Magazines, and Viz Comics reaching up to the ceiling. In the final corner, there are seven industrious rabbits surrounded by tiny parts and precision tools.

Moral
It doesn't matter whether you can write working programs or prove theorems.
It doesn't matter whether you can do a slick demo or generate pretty pictures.
What really matters is whether your graduate students can.

Pantone!

2005-04-15T21:22:00.000+05:30

Pantone
Where colour comes from!

""

2005-04-07T09:34:00.000+05:30

"The antidote to exhaustion is not necessarily rest. The antidote to exhaustion is wholeheartedness. It is those things you do half heartedly that really wear you out"
- David Whyte

Quote

2005-03-05T01:03:00.000+05:30

"Her face was like the king's command
When all the swords are drawn"

- Hillaire Belloc

Sanjay Leela Bansali's

2005-02-13T16:27:00.000+05:30

BLACK: A story so SMALL, but yet so -big-

Other than that, Mrs.Lincoln, how was the play?

2005-02-06T22:20:00.000+05:30

Hey!Wire

What weighs 3.2 kgs, leaps to a distance of 1.5+ metres from a height of a metre and can perform the salsa on a white line ?

SHOUTS:

Kudos to the organisers of Survivor at Techfest'05

*for having continually responded (dutifully and sincerely) to our queries and cribs,
*for having given everyone a chance to prove their prowess on the actual arena; (the eleminations on the 26th & 27th),
*for the effort that they took to conduct the various rounds and selections; for helping us and other participants put up their best,
*(respect to) Ankit, one of the most spirited co-ordinators, for his FAITH in us - Hey!Wire - we did'nt even get selected in the first shortlist, but ended up with a rank of 15 and a design prize,
*for creating an atmosphere of sheer inspiration!

And thank yous to:

Our friends and their parents for providing us with so much support. To our engineer friends for their advice and lending us equipment and infrastructure. To our parents for bearing with and providing for our antics and experiments - moments which we will cherish always.

BTW: We made it to rank 15 in the Top-28 knockouts; lost to a lousy team in the knockouts (bcoz of an unlucky and untimely error) and came back home with a design prize.

It was a real pleasure to compete in Survivor/Yantriki @ Techfest '05

Greenday

2005-02-06T00:49:00.000+05:30

Boulevard of Broken Dreams

Great Song, Great Video... !
"I walk alone"

Dont give up on me!

2005-01-31T23:09:00.000+05:30

There is no higher burden than a high potential!

Symbols and their meaning

2005-01-21T23:26:00.000+05:30

Beautiful!

Placebo Writes - Unofficial Prospectus VIT

2005-01-16T21:56:00.000+05:30

Also known as: VIT College of Engineering. You'll find that written on the official stationery - who needs an institute of technology when you can get a CoE? The hostellites insist that it stands for 'Virgins In Trouble'!

Courses offered: 9 undergrad and 3 post-grad engineering courses, MCA, ICFAI classes, and even diplomas in advanced piping and boiler technology!?!

The location: Take a detour from the Satara Highway, find Bibvewadi (good luck!), then a bus-stop, then a slum - look up - see some big buildings? Attaboy!

The Campus: The aforementioned big buildings seem to become taller by the year. Infrastructure mysteriously appears during accreditation committee visits and then mysteriously disappears. It could put stage magic to shame. We're presently facing a major parking problem - the central ground (read: dust patch) just became a big parking lot. On the plus side, the buildings are well painted and there are green lawns, and clean loos. However, there is a severe lack of dustbins on campus.

The Faculty: There is only one (official) professor in my department and he is'nt even the HOD! Everyone else is a lecturer but by and large, the instruction is good. The Computers department has a professor who's got a degree from Stanford!

The Crowd: 40% 'localites', 40% from around Pune, 15% Northies, 1% Africans, 1% Iranis 1% Vietnamese and 2% Nomadic tribes.

The Hangouts: Fight for your right to get shade or service in the canteen. Or chill out at Boat Club, a big shady tree with a concrete circular thingy around it - located in the absolute centre of the campus, no one know's how it got its name. There's nothing just outside the campus, unless you dig slums.

The X-tra currics: The major departments have a technical festival each. There is no cul-fest yet though we have a small lit-fest. We also have an intra college 'gathering' known as the dance nite, where the participants resemble people going haywire in a dust-storm. From the festivals to the college magazine, everything begins with a ‘Vishwa’. It’s like being 'world' famous in VIT!

A long day...

2005-01-06T23:14:00.000+05:30

Here's to the crazy ones. The misfits. The rebels. The troublemakers. The round pegs in the square holes. The ones who see things differently. They're not fond of rules. And they have no respect for the status quo. You can praise them, disagree with them, quote them, disbelieve them, glorify or vilify them. About the only thing you can't do is ignore them. Because they change things. They invent. They imagine. They heal. They explore. They create. They inspire. They push the human race forward. Maybe they have to be crazy. How else can you stare at an empty canvas and see a work of art? Or sit in silence and hear a song that’s never been written? Or gaze at a red planet and see a laboratory on wheels?We make tools for these kinds of people. While some may see them as the crazy ones, we see genius. Because the people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world, are the ones who do.
--Apple Computer Advertisement

Burnout Boy

2004-12-21T22:11:00.000+05:30

Wow! I don't think I've ever been so exhausted in my life before. Physically, Mentally, Emotionally .. and whatever else....

How does one draw the line when the marker's out of reach ?

The mood has been blue, but then that's just perfect to proceed to Mood Indigo

Mood Indigo 2004

Concept......

2004-12-20T16:49:00.000+05:30

WorldChanging: Another World Is Here: Leapfrog 101

"Even though developing nations may not have all the technological infrastructure that their industrialized neighbors are so proud of, they have a unique opportunity to advance themselves using some of it. This "Leapfrogging" process allows them to bypass most of the growth needed to reach a certain technology, and lets their country develop in different way which bypasses some of the mistakes made previously to get there. For example, many developing nations are adopting cellular phone technology, since it is much less costly to install miles of cable than it is to put up a satellite dish and a few cellular base stations. And, by doing this, they bypass the ecological ravage that comes from clearing forest and building roads to install the wire. Check out some more about this trend at WorldChanging.com"

20Q.net

2004-12-04T10:14:00.000+05:30

20 Questions Online!

epiFUNNY!

2004-11-30T11:54:00.000+05:30

Join the joke blog ...

Dilbert.com - Dilbert News

2004-11-30T11:22:00.000+05:30

"Dear Dogbert,
Lots of people write blogs, but I've never heard of anyone who actually reads them. What's up with that?
Kurt

Dear Skirt,
Blogs exist to fill the important market niche of writing that is so dull that your eyes will burrow out of the back of your head to escape. People do read blogs, usually by accident, sometimes on a dare, but those readers are later mistaken for Mafia victims with what appears to be two holes in the back of their heads. On closer inspection, you might find their eyeballs clinging to the drapes directly behind them. Unless the cat gets them first.
Sincerely,
Dogbert "

The Telegraph - Calcutta : Metro

2004-11-26T19:50:00.000+05:30

"Bulla Ki Jana is all about us not knowing who we are, of thinking of life in terms of boxes, until we are enlightened. And then, you realise how meaninglessly you’ve compartmentalised life"
- Rabbi Shergill on his new song

'duh'pression

2004-11-23T23:26:00.000+05:30

PLs make me stupid...

Belgium Doesn't Exist!

2004-11-20T23:16:00.000+05:30

only websites do....

Google Entrance Exam

2004-11-19T19:30:00.000+05:30

For all those of you who
1. extended hands, 2. strained your vocal chords, 3. displayed a conspicuous lack of civil manners .... but *yet* were not able to get yourself a copy of the GEE @ Shaastra'04, IITM: you can get one here (the heading is the link)....

And here's Mathworld.com's solutions! [[http://www.google.com/url?sa=D&q=http%3A%2F%2Fmathworld.wolfram.com%2Fnews%2F2004-10-13%2Fgoogle%2F]]

Boo hoo, and you did'nt even get a chance to try!

What is Don McLean's song "American Pie" all about?

2004-11-19T19:15:00.000+05:30

Bye bye, Miss American Pie....
tell us your story ....
or your legend will just die....

Here's a look at the elusive song...

Eats, Shoots and Leaves...

2004-11-18T11:49:00.000+05:30

Did you know that (...) is an ellipsis; Pretty (sic) huh? Bechha dont know what an asterism, interpunct or a Jesus Fish is either!
<><

The Rabbit and the Thesis

2004-11-18T11:00:00.000+05:30

BADA: Rabbit and the Thesis

He he he he... hilarious..!

“Unsuspecting vs I” - written in 2002 AD

2004-11-16T00:06:00.000+05:30

This is a part of the conversation that ensued between a friend and I during a robotics competition held at my engg. College. It’s left to you to decide who’s the ****…

Me: Man those robots were amazing ! But I still think there are more innovative ways to play robot golf

Unsuspecting (henceforth U.S.): Those robots were cute… I’m glad that in the end, the simplest design won.

Me: But, that’s like, not putting any of your hard-earned knowledge to any use.

U.S.: Hmm…

Me: I was thinking more in terms of … [now, suddenly jumping into a dramatic sequence] … say, using the natural capacitance of a golf ball, supplying it with some initial charge – then, with the help of perfectly synched electric and magnetic fields, accelerating it to critical velocity and leaving it at the precise angle at which the tangent is in line with the hole. [Ending with a swift juggle which could even put the Nat. Geo. Croc guy to shame] ….So, what do you think ?

U.S. : Huh ?

Me: OR! OR! [in another fit of excitement] Maybe we could implement our knowledge of the dual nature of light ie. particle and wave. We could then propel the ball using focused beams of low wavelength electromagnetic radiation and thus, progressively transfer momentum to the ball so as to guide it into the goal cavity. So, what do you think. Rings a bell ?

U.S.: A bell ? It could ring a toy gun siren any moment now …

Me: [Returning from the space-time warp] I’m not too sure we’ll get faculty support for all this.

U.S.: Hey, we could still look for sponsorships…

Me: That’s not my department.

U.S.: Well, then let’s just hurl the balls down a bent pipe like the winning team…

Me: Yeah, I guess that’ll do…
U.S.: [Giggle! Giggle!] Attaboy!

Next time: Unsuspecting strikes back – Towards more obfuscated speech.

[PS: It's fiction.. :-) ]

The Right Place

2004-11-15T23:28:00.000+05:30

"Why do you tear apart your fine clothes,
and wear only a rough blanket?
even at home you can meet the Lord,
if your mind is in the right place."
- GGS 1383

Getting Best out of Summer Training

2004-11-15T14:46:00.000+05:30

Getting Best out of Summer Training

Thanks for the link, Anand!

Real Meaning of Life Project

2004-11-15T13:00:00.000+05:30

Real Meaning of Life Project: "Take a look at what people think is the meaning of life: this guy's got entries from all over the world!
It's pretty amazing to see how some people relate things like religion, social status, and other ideas that are essentially external to what some people consider essentially internal ideas: feeling, accomplishment, love...

What kind of person are you ?

Personally I think the meaning of life is life itself...
don't ask me to explain"

For the love of DOTS!

2004-11-09T13:53:00.000+05:30

A lot of small features have been added to this page, ALL hand coded! .... and all because this template does not have automated add. features: but do check out the new blogger.com templates... you might really like them!

Long time no C

2004-11-08T20:41:00.000+05:30

The blogging bug seems to have really caught up with people!

I've migrated to Blogspot from my very own 'Shades of Grey' on the tripod webpage... (which has been replaced by a more general website)

The template finally used is called 'Dark Dots' ... running close in competition was 'Snapshot'

Nuff for today.... migrating is BIG work....

2003-03-18T12:23:00.000+05:30

Hello, World !
Blink ! Blink !!