Non-conformist

Beuatiful Song by Guns n Roses

2008-07-12T09:59:00.001-07:00

The world as I see it - an essay by Albert Einstein

2008-03-20T22:21:00.000-07:00

Thanks to Atanu's blog, I got introduced to this essay by Albert Einstein. I downloaded this ecopy of a book with the same title which is collection of a few essays by him. I will write the commentary of my understanding of these essays and a few excerpts from his essays, in this post. Until now, I thought Einstein was a genius only in Mathematics. The more I read these essays, I find that he was not only a great scientist but also a great philosopher.

The italised portions in quotes are written by Albert Einstein. The non italised portions if present are my comments.

Essay : Good and Evil

"It is right in the principle that those should be best loved who have contributed most to the elevation of human race and human life."

If every human being realizes the validity of the statement, can you imagine the kind of world we can have on this planet.

"The true value of a human being is determined primarily by the measure and the sense in which he has attained to liberation from the self"

Travelling

2008-03-16T23:12:00.000-07:00

Over the period of 8 years I have lived in United States, the number of places I have visited is relatively lot less in comparision to others. I thought that the lack of enjoyable company was a reason for this and I thought once I have this, I will be able to enjoy travelling to faraway places like others do. Thats when I read this excerpt from Ralph Waldo Emerson's famous essay " Self-reliance" on travelling.

"Travelling is a fool's paradise. Our first journeys discover to us the indifference of places. At home I dream that at Naples, at Rome, I can be intoxicated with beauty, and lose my sadness. I pack my trunk, embrace my friends, embark on the sea, and at last wake up in Naples, and there beside me is the stern fact, the sad self, unrelenting, identical, that I fled from. I seek the Vatican, and the palaces. I affect to be intoxicated with sights and suggestions, but I am not intoxicated. My giant goes with me wherever I go."

Is there a deeper reason behind my non enjoyment of travelling ??

Holi - Time to get nasty

2008-03-15T19:11:00.000-07:00

Holi is fast approaching. This year I will celebrate Holi with my friends at Stanford University Campus. This event is being organized by Aasha Stanford. It appears to be lot of fun. I am looking forward for it.

Bertrand Russell quotes from " On Keeping a wide horizon"

2008-03-10T20:14:00.000-07:00

"Some people are able to avoid despair ( of living in this world filled with misery) by living a purely personal life, deriving their happiness entirely from private affections and instincts. Mere living, by itself is not an adequate purpose for any reflective person. What is the use of caring for childeren, if the world is to be such that existence is intolerable for them?"

"If there is any way out of despair, it must be by remembering more things not less, by enlarging our horizon, not by narrowing it, by being more aware of what is good, not by shutting our eyes to what is bad."

"In the non-human world, there are the stars, and the sea and the wind in the trees, summer rain and song of birds in spring. It is necessary to remember that the human race, with all its tumults, is only a part, and a small part of the whole universe."

"Every one agrees that we should not be self centered, relating everthing that happens to ourselves, making ourselves the center of the universe. But it is also, to a lesser extent, a defect of imagination to make mankind centre of the universe, or to attempt measure eternity with a clock."

"The human nature is a strange mixture of divine and diabolic, both equally real making both good and bad equally inevitable."

The entire article is here
http://digitalcommons.mcmaster.ca/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1904&context=russelljournal

The status of women by Bertrand Russell

2008-03-09T21:35:00.000-07:00

I am an admirer of Bertrand Russell and his philosophy. Though I find a little too hard to undestand some of his literature, the ones I do get to understand, make lot of sense to me. I was reading this short article on the status of women written by him. Some of the quotes that capture the essense of his philosophy on this issue are written here.

"In the modern world there is a wide spread recognition of the gain of character involved in acting upon one's own initiative rather than upon outside compulsion; and it is felt by most unbiassed persons that all forcible dominion is bad in itself, as well as degrading in its effects upon master and slave."

"What I wish to urge is that liberty becomes increasingly important as the relation concerned is more intimate; that therefore it is more important, in the family than inthe state, and most important of all in the relations of men and women. The more two people have to do with each other, the more desirable it becomes that they should not prey upon each others spontaneity, not impair each other's self-respect and self-reliance. "

" It is not always sufficiently realized that love without respect is degrading, both to the one who loves and to the one who is loved. To the one who loves, it affords a constant temptation to think that the qualities whose absence makes respect impossible are not really important; to the one loved, it brings the complacent feeling that, since love has been obtained, further improvement is unnecessary."

"People are far too apt to content with seeking happiness for those they love, reserving virtue for themselves. "

"To any one who has once realized what human companionship is capable of being, almost all existing marriages seem to involve something which is close to chastity."

"By not being consulted, women soon become unworthy to be consulted; the love of power which is ingrained in almost every humanbeing, cannot find a legitamate outlet, and therefore turns, except in a few women of more than usual sincerity, to the arts of managing and "tact" of inventing false reasons and choosing times when the lord and master is " in a holiday humour, and like enough to consent". All this, which is evil, and is traditionally urged against women, is as directly the result of oppression as are bombs in Russia."

"The power of admitting facts, without which people can neither act rightly themselves, not help others to act rightly, is very seldom acquired by those who have never faced the world on their own account."

"The woman I imagine is to retain the sympathy and kindness which belong with the maternal instict, while everything is to be done by education and way of life to cure the indirectness which comes of the instinct for being loved rather than for loving. And when the world contains women of this type the companionship of men and women will become something which at present exists only in very rare cases, where on both sides good ends are desired, and reason takes the place of the desire to have one's own way. At present, men and women seldom have any real companionship, or any real understanding of each other's best; brought together by temporary attraction, they remain strangers, and as a rule hamper each other's development. In all this there is no necessity; it is due mainly to the fact that subordination rather than liberty is expected, and that women's follies and men's vices are pleasing to the sense of superiority of husbands or wives as the case may be. To teach men and women to love equality and liberty is the real beginning of all reform in personal relations; and until this is done people will continue to degrade and depress those with whom their lives are past."

The entire article is available here

http://digitalcommons.mcmaster.ca/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1788&context=russelljournal

The real purpose of philosophy

2008-03-06T19:29:00.000-08:00

I have been reading a few philosophers for a while now. I dont recall the reason that made me interested in reading philosophy for the first time. I am reading this book named " The art of living" which is a summary of teachings of the greek philopher Epictetus. This little section in the book put my reasons for reading philosophy very nicely.

" We become philosophers to discover what is really true and what is merely the accidental result of flawed reasoning, recklessly acquired erroneous judgements, well intentioned but misguided teachings of parents and teachers, and unexamined acculturation. Philosphy's purpose is to illuminate the ways our soul has been infected by unsound beliefs, untrained tumultous desires, and the dubious life choices and preferences that are unworthy of us.

Philosophy calls us when we have reached the end of our rope. The insistent feeling that something is not right with our lives and the longing to be restored to our better selves will not go away. Our fears of death and being alone, our confusion about love and sex, and our sense of impotence in the face of our anger and our outsized ambitions bring us to ask our first sincere philosphical questions.

Philosphy's remedy is the unblinking excavation of the faulty and specious premises on which we base our lives and our personal identity."

Why Buddhism fascinates me

2008-02-21T19:02:00.000-08:00

Akhari Kavita - The Last Poem

2008-02-13T19:17:00.000-08:00

This is a novel by Rabindranath Tagore. I havent read this yet but I read the story of this novel in one of Osho's books and I thought it was worthwhile to blog about it.

Story: A young woman and a man fall in love and as it happens, immediately, they want to get married. The woman says, " Only on one condition I am willing to marry you." This woman is very civilized and sophisitcated. The man says, " Any condition is acceptable, but I cannot live with out you." She said, " First listen to the condition; then think it over, because it is not an ordinary condition. The condition is that we will not live in the same house. I have a vast land, a beautiful lake surrounded by trees, gardens and lawns. I will make you a house on one side, just the opposite from where I live."

The man said, " Then what is the point of marriage?"

She said," Marriage does not make living under the same roof mandatory. By living in two different houses, I am giving you your space and I will have my own space. Once in a while, boating in the lake, we may meet ( To be completed)

My Career

2007-12-29T20:55:00.000-08:00

Last night I had lot of time on my hands to kill and I spent it contemplating on my life and its events thus far. I looked back a few years in to my past and tried to think of the reasons that motivated me to do, what I have been doing. As a kid it was the rat race at school and the desire to out do my fellow class mates, the primary motivation that drove my performance in academics. There were a few things in the curriculum that I studied out of love for the subject, but this was a very rare occurance. When the time came to join, the school of engineering, my major was chosen solely on the merits of my rank in the common entrance test and not based on what I wanted to study. Ofcourse my understanding of what each major dealth with was very limited and I ended up choosing electronics and communication as my major. It was more or less a random pick.

When I came to United States for graduate studies, I decided to major in DSP an communications. If you are thinking that I was knowledgable enough by now, to know what I wanted to study, you got it all wrong. I picked DSP, not because I was good at Math or the basics of Signal Processing, but because for some reason, DSP sounded more glamorous to me. After barely surviving 1 semester of DSP courses with 3 B grades and not knowing what I learnt during that semester, I figured, DSP was not my forte and like most other Indian students, I choose to study VLSI for rest of my graduate school.

This tells you that, the important decisions of my career have been random or populist picks and I never asked myself what is that I really wanted to specialize in. My guess is that many other Indian students have had their career choices made in similar fashion. I think there is a huge need to have a career information guide that provides the information about various career choices. This can be a great resource to many students of the future generation.

To kill a mocking bird

2007-12-22T19:05:00.000-08:00

I watched this movie "To kill a mocking bird" this week. This movie should rank in the top 5 movies I ever watched in my life. Gregory Peck, the lead actor was awarded, the greatest american hero ever for his performance in this movie and rightly so. He fits in perfectly into the character Atticus Finch, a widowed father of 2 kids, Scout and Jem. Scout is 2 years old and Jeb is 6. Atticus personifies the citizen, the father, and the human being, every one should aspire to be in their lives. The movie is about how he stands up against the pressures of white dominated society during the great depression, to do his job as a lawyer in defending an innocent black man, Tom Robinson. In the process he teaches his kids the ugly realities of this world and the values of compassion and courage. I haven't seen a more powerful cinematic moment than the one in this movie, when the reverend of the town asks Jean Louise Finch (Scout) to stand up like all others did after the court session, with an expression of admiration in his face and saying " Your father is passing." This movie is based on a novel with the same name by Harper Lee, and I suggest that this novel should be included in the course work in high school.

Great work it is, Mr Peck and Lee.

India down under

2007-12-17T19:44:00.000-08:00

Indian cricket team will begin their campaign in Australia in a weeks time. Unlike their last tour, this tour starts with great expectations from this team. This might be the last by the fabulous five in Australia and this is their last chance to grab the glory of a test series victory against the best cricket team in their home ground.

I am very optimistic of Indian chances of a series victory for two reasons. The first one being, all the indian batsmen have been among runs lately and seem to be high on confidence. Especially, dada has been in the form of his life all year. The second reason is the absence of Mcgrath and Warne. Without them, the australian bowling line up is not as potent as it was in the last decade. Lee, Clark and Johnson, sure make a great line up but barring Lee none have enough experience and they might crumble under pressure when they get hit for a few runs. Australian team have no spinner to boast about and asking four fast bowlers to take 20 wickets and bowl 90 overs a day would be a difficult proposition.

India has two weak points in their line up. It was the opening partnerships of Akash chopra and Sehwag that gave india the edge last time around. Karthik and Jaffer dont seem like a solid opening pair against the aussie seam attack. But lets not forget that Karthik was the highest run getter in England. Indian bowling seems to be little out of options suddenly with two rookies in the team. It will be a pity if Yuvraj doesnt get to play in Australia. He is too good a talent to sit on the bench.

Good luck to Jumbo and his team.

A poem that reflects me

2007-12-11T22:41:00.000-08:00

I Find No Peace

I find no peace, and all my war is done.
I fear and hope. I burn and freeze like ice.
I fly above the wind, yet can I not arise;
And nought I have, and all the world I season.
That loseth nor locketh holdeth me in prison
And holdeth me not--yet can I scape no wise--
Nor letteth me live nor die at my device,
And yet of death it giveth me occasion.
Without eyen I see, and without tongue I plain.
I desire to perish, and yet I ask health.
I love another, and thus I hate myself.
I feed me in sorrow and laugh in all my pain;
Likewise displeaseth me both life and death,
And my delight is causer of this strife.

Sir Thomas Wyatt

A beautiful song by Si Kahn

2007-12-11T21:24:00.001-08:00

This is a beautiful song by Si Kahn.

" You must know someone like him
He was tall and strong and lean
With a body like a greyhound
And a mind so sharp and keen
But his heart, just like a laurel,
Grew twisted round itself
Till almost every thing he did
Caused pain to someone else

It's not just what you're born with
It's what you choose to bear
It's not how big your share is
But how much you can share
And it's not the fights you dreamed of
But those you really fought
It's not what you've been given
It's what you do with what you've got

Now what's the good of two strong legs
If you only run away?
And what use is the finest voice
If you've nothing good to say?
And what good is strength and muscle
If you only push and shove?
And what's the use of two good ears
If you can't hear those you love?

Between those who use their neighbours
And those who use a cane
Between those in constant power
And those in constant pain
Between those who run to evil
And those who cannot run
Tell me which ones are the cripples
And which ones touch the sun? "

This song was sung by Eddi Reader at TED. Here is the video

Very Funny

2007-11-05T10:14:00.000-08:00

Some Nostalgia

2007-10-24T23:24:00.001-07:00

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A beautiful song by Alanis Morisette - Hand in my pocket

2007-10-02T22:24:00.000-07:00

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Democracy and its evolution

2007-09-17T11:34:00.000-07:00

I believe that the idea of democracy, is the biggest achievement of mankind in his quest for an organised society. The other day I watched this documentary by BBC on the birth and spread of protestant christianity in Western Europe and how it shaped the Political spectrum in Western Europe and then ultimately Northern America. It was fascinating to watch how this idea of protesting man made authority, originally thought of, by Martin Luther, a german priest to oppose the abusing authority of catholic church, grew into a wider struggle for social and spirtual equality among the masses. This idea of levelling ulitimately led to devolopment of democracy, as we see it today. But as there always was the struggle between the factions who beleived in in the purist form of the Protestant idealogy and those who beleived in a more radical form of it, the struggle continues to exist even today between the conservatives and the secular liberals in America.

You may watch this video here

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=3804718987651172007&q=bbc+video+protestant&total=16&start=0&num=10&so=0&type=search&plindex=4

A case for meditation

2007-08-30T19:01:00.000-07:00

The practice of meditation is a very popular one these days and is attributed with huge importance in the world of psychology as an efficient stress buster. I tried meditating a couple of times and failed to keep my mind from still for more than a minute or two. Since then I concluded that, meditation is overrated and does not work for every one. I was wrong and my wrong conclusion had to do more with my ignorance of what to meditate on. I heard many different suggestions like listen to a mantra or to play some Celtic music in the background and so on. None of these suggestions made any sense to me until I read this chapter on meditation in the book “ T he teaching of Bhagavad Gita “ by Swami Dayananda. This is the best book I ever came across on the Gita. It is written in simple English and more importantly it doesn't get you lost, in the plethora of Sanskrit slokas like many other books on this subject do.

This book puts forward the philosophy behind meditation in a simple and a effective way. It starts with explaining the source of misery being we dependent on the results of our actions, to buy us happiness, while the actual happiness is, with in ourselves. The author then goes on to explain that once you understand that you have a choice of action, but not the choice to results, you start enjoying every action of yours and you start enjoying the liberation of mind. This is called Karma Yoga and this is the only means to achieve total freedom (sreyas). But human nature is one filled with habit and the habit of focusing on ends rather than means is deeply ingrained in us and hence, even after the knowledge of Karma Yoga has dawned upon us, we may very likely slip into our old habit of inviting sorrow into our lives. The author uses a beautiful example to illustrate this point. He says, when a beggar wins a lottery and becomes rich overnight, he does not loose his instincts of being a beggar immediately. If he sees someone giving alms, he gets tempted to join other beggars and grab his share. The beggar has to convince his mind of this newfound riches and for this he has to contemplate in silence on his riches to get rid of his older instincts.

Using this analogy of the beggar and his newfound riches, Swami Dayananda says, once the knowledge of Karma Yoga dawns upon us, we need to contemplate on this knowledge and the way to do this is to meditate on this. Now you know what to think about when you sit down next time to meditate.

A Jet of Emotions

2007-08-27T19:18:00.000-07:00

This song by Jet is one of my favorites. It bears a strong similarity with the Beatles score of Sexy Sadie in the lyric and tune, but I like this song better than the beatles one. Filled with the pain of heartbreak, this is an absolute classic. Here is the Lyric

" Take my photo off the wall
If it just won't sing for you
'Cause all that's left has gone away
And there's nothing there for you to prove
Oh, look what you've done
You've made a fool of everyone
Oh well, it seems likes such fun
Until you lose what you had won

Give me back my point of view
'Cause I just can't think for you
I can hardly hear you say
What should I do, well you choose

Oh, look what you've done
You've made a fool of everyone
Oh well, it seems likes such fun
Until you lose what you had won

Oh, look what you've done
You've made a fool of everyone
A fool of everyone
A fool of everyone

Take my photo off the wall
If it just won't sing for you
'Cause all that's left has gone away
And there's nothing there for you to do

Oh, look what you've done
You've made a fool of everyone
Oh well, it seems likes such fun
Until you lose what you had won

Oh, look what you've done
You've made a fool of everyone
A fool of everyone
A fool of everyone " - Jet

India's victory at TrentBridge

2007-08-02T22:33:00.000-07:00

[image courtersy: cricinfo.com]

Thanks to some generous folks, who upload cricket highlights to Youtube, I had the privilege of following my favorite sport to some extent. India won the second test this week after narrowly escaping defeat in the first one at Lords. This gave India an 1-0 lead in the 3 test series. Though India won by 7 wickets, the game was very closely fought. Indian batsmen who managed almost 500 in the first test played and missed a few times but some how managed to survive the good spells from the English bowlers.

The best feature of Indian innings was that they scored almost 500 with no single batsman scoring a century. Sachin Tendulkar played a very good knock in the first innings. He was more aggressive against Monty than he was in the first test. Saurav Ganguly played a fantastic innings. Some of his shots were oozing with class especially the ones that pierce the narrowest of the gaps between the 2 gully's placed, to contain that particular shot of his.
Rahul Dravid had a very ordinary match by his standards. He desperately needs a big score against his name. Michael Vaughan played one of his best knocks. His timing was superb and he reminded me of the way he played when he scored tons of runs against the Oz's.

The bowlers of both the teams bowled some great spells. But Zaheer Khan was exceptional and swung the ball appreciably in both directions. R.P Singh intermittently bowled some unplayable balls amidst lot of innocuous deliveries. Kumble was not his old self in this game. He strayed the ball all over the place. Sreesanth disappointed with his bowling and worsened his contribution with his boyish theatrics. Dhoni had a forgettable time behind the wicket and with the bat.

It was a hard fought victory for India that they deserved after showing immense determination and team work. It would be interesting to see if India continue their habit of throwing away early series leads this time too. The third game will also be a very competitive one and definitely a treat to us cricket lovers.

Keep up the good work, India and England

Hey there delilah

2007-07-24T22:45:00.000-07:00

I listened to this beautiful song by Plain white T's on radio the other day. This song is very romantic and must have been written by some one who is or who has been deeply in love. Sing this song to your girl, to sweep her off her feet. Here is the lyric of the song

"Hey there delilah
whats it like in New York city
I'm a thousand miles away
but girl tonight you look so pretty
yes you do
time square cant shine as bright as you
i swear its true

hey there delilah
don't you worry about the distance
I'm right there if you get lonely
give this song another listen
close your eyes
listen to my voice its my disguise
I'm by your side

oh its what you do to me
oh its what you do to me
oh its what you do to me
oh its what you do to me
what you do to me

hey there delilah
I know times are getting hard
but just believe me girl
someday ill pay the bills with this guitar
we'll have it good
we'll have the life we knew we would
my word is good

hey there delilah
I've got so much left to say
if every simple song i wrote to you
would take your breath away
id write it all
even more in love with me you would fall
we'd have it all

oh its what you do to me
oh its what you do to me
oh its what you do to me
oh its what you do to me

a thousand miles seems pretty far
but they've got planes and trains and cars
id walk to you if i had no other way
our friends would all make fun of us
and we'll just laugh along because we know
that none of them have felt this way
delilah i can promise you
that by the time that we get through
the world will never ever be the same
and you're to blame

hey there delilah
you be good and don't you miss me
two more years and you'll be done with school
and ill be making history like i do
you know its all because of you
we can do whatever we want to
hey there delilah heres to you
this ones for you

oh its what you do to me
oh its what you do to me
oh its what you do to me
oh its what you do to me
what you do to me"

Objectivism

2007-07-21T12:18:00.000-07:00

The philosophy of objectivism is a great revelation to me. I haven't read a whole lot of Ayn Rand's literature but this idea of intelligent selfishness has hit my attention. I definitely plan to read some of Ayn Rands work.

I read a speech by John Galt, who is a character in Ayn Rand's novel Atlas Shrugged. This speech vocalized my confusion since my boyhood, regarding the morality of selfishness. As a teenager, I barely had the balls to deny someone else's request for some service, in spite of not wanting to offer the service. It was a mixture of guilt and fear that used to deny me this desire of asserting myself. Its only recently did I start being myself with little or no concern of being labeled selfish and mean. This realization came only after I suffered some financial and psychological loss and I believe that shouldn't be the case for everyone. I hope kids are exposed to this philosophy of objectivism in schools instead of the unconditional selflessness that is taught today.

This excerpt from John Galts speech is a treasure for any one who is lost in the same confusion I was lost, as a kid.

" Your acceptance of the code of selflessness has made you fear the man who has a dollar less than you because it makes you feel that that dollar is rightfully his. You hate the man with a dollar more than you because the dollar he's keeping is rightfully yours. Your code has made it impossible to know when to give and when to grab.

You know that you can't give away everything and starve yourself. You've forced yourselves to live with undeserved, irrational guilt. Is it ever proper to help another man? No, if he demands it as his right or as a duty that you owe him. Yes, if it's your own free choice based on your judgment of the value of that person and his struggle. This country wasn't built by men who sought handouts. In its brilliant youth, this country showed the rest of the world what greatness was possible to Man and what happiness is possible on Earth.

Then it began apologizing for its greatness and began giving away its wealth, feeling guilty for having produced more than ikts neighbors. Twelve years ago, I saw what was wrong with the world and where the battle for Life had to be fought. I saw that the enemy was an inverted morality and that my acceptance of that morality was its only power. I was the first of the men who refused to give up the pursuit of his own happiness in order to serve others.

To those of you who retain some remnant of dignity and the will to live your lives for yourselves, you have the chance to make the same choice. Examine your values and understand that you must choose one side or the other. Any compromise between good and evil only hurts the good and helps the evil.

If you've understood what I've said, stop supporting your destroyers. Don't accept their philosophy. Your destroyers hold you by means of your endurance, your generosity, your innocence, and your love. Don't exhaust yourself to help build the kind of world that you see around you now. In the name of the best within you, don't sacrifice the world to those who will take away your happiness for it.

The world will change when you are ready to pronounce this oath:
I swear by my Life and my love of it that I will never live for the sake of another man,nor ask another man to live for the sake of mine." From Ayn Rands Atlas Shrugged

The text of the entire speech is here John Galts speech

Happiness

2007-07-11T22:00:00.000-07:00

Atanu pointed me to yet another piece of wisdom in the form of a poem written by Max Ehrmann. Read about this poem on Atanu's blog here Desiderata. I googled Max Ehrmann and found this beautiful description of happiness by him.

" To be without desire is to be content. But contentment is not happiness. And in contentment there is no progress. Happiness is to desire something, to work for it, and to obtain at least a part of it. In the pursuit of beloved labour the busy days pass cheerfully employed, and the still nights in peaceful sleep. For labour born of desire is not drudgery, but manly play. Success brings hope, hope inspires fresh desire, and desire gives zest to life and joy to labour.This is true whether your days be spent in palaces of the powerful or in some little green by-way of the world. Therefore, while yet you have the strength, cherish a desire to do some useful work in your little corner of the world, and have the steadfastness to labour. For this is the way to the happy life; with health and endearing ties, it is the way to the glorious life"

by Max Ehrmann

The God of Tennis

2007-07-10T21:48:00.000-07:00

His game is a real delight to watch. His placements are extraordinarily accurate and he moves very fast as well. He plays more like an artist. He must surely be among the best 3 the game has ever produced.

Farce of the highest kind

2007-07-06T09:58:00.000-07:00

The following article about UPA's presidential nominee, Pratibha Patil, is written by Arun Shourie. The article sounds very well researched and convincing. This woman seems to be a scum bag and we should protest against her being elected as our President (commander of our armed forces).

Arun Shourie's article

Power of the Inner Ring

2007-07-03T20:21:00.000-07:00

I have been reading this book by Dr Philip Zimbardo called "The Lucifer Effect". This book delves on the effect of social factors on a behavior of a person who is deemed to be psychologically normal. It describes the infamous Stanford Prison experiment and draws parallel with the prisoner abuse in the Abu Ghraib. This particular excerpt from C.S Lewis's Inner ring in this book, puts forward the power of conformity in our societies.

" To nine out of ten of you the choice which could lead to scoundrelism will come, when it does come, in no very dramatic colours. Obviously bad men, obviously threatening or bribing, will almost certainly not appear. Over a drink, or a cup of coffee, disguised as triviality and sandwiched between two jokes, from the lips of a man, or woman, whom you have recently been getting to know rather better and whom you hope to know better still- just at the moment when you are most anxious not to appear crude, or naïf or a prig- the hint will come. It will be the hint of something which the public, the ignorant, romantic public, would never understand: something which even the outsiders in your own profession are apt to make a fuss about: but something, says your new friend, which "we"- and at the word "we" you try not to blush for mere pleasure- something "we always do."

And you will be drawn in, if you are drawn in, not by desire for gain or ease, but simply because at that moment, when the cup was so near your lips, you cannot bear to be thrust back again into the cold outer world. It would be so terrible to see the other man’s face- that genial, confidential, delightfully sophisticated face- turn suddenly cold and contemptuous, to know that you had been tried for the Inner Ring and rejected. And then, if you are drawn in, next week it will be something a little further from the rules, and next year something further still, but all in the jolliest, friendliest spirit. It may end in a crash, a scandal, and penal servitude; it may end in millions, a peerage and giving the prizes at your old school. But you will be a scoundrel

That is my first reason. Of all the passions, the passion for the Inner Ring is most skillful in making a man who is not yet a very bad man do very bad things.
"

C.S Lewis, The inner ring

Paths of Glory - A Review

2007-07-02T21:53:00.000-07:00

I watched the Stanley Kubrick's movie, Paths of Glory starring Kirk Douglas (Col Dax) over the last weekend. This movie was made in 1957 and is set in the back ground of the First World War. I heard about this movie on Michael Savage's Talk show and decided to check it out and I am glad I did. This movie depicts the ugly realities of a war and deals with the relationship between the commanding generals and their soldiers. For some generals, the soldiers are mere cannon fodder and expendables in order the achieve that next honor or the medal, while for some (Col Dax), the men are brave warriors fighting for a noble cause. The noble general happens to be a sub-ordinate to the narcissistic masters and fails in his fight to save 3 of his men from being executed for false charges of cowardice that were slapped on them, to cover up the error of judgment on the part of their superiors.

The movie is filled with some brilliant and powerful conversations that need a mention. Here are a few,

Col Dax's rebuttal to an attempt to influence his judgment by inciting patriotism
" I am not a bull general, I don't need a flag waved to get me charged"and quotes Samuel Johnson"Patriotism is the last refuge of a scoundrel "

Col Dax makes his case in front of the court to save the 3 innocent men

"Gentlemen of the court, there are times when I am ashamed to be a member of the human race and this is one such occasion............The attack yesterday morning was no stain on the honor of France and certainly no disgrace to the fighting men of this nation.But this court martial is such a stain and such a disgrace. The case made against these men is a mockery of all human justice. Gentlemen of the court, to find these men guilty will be a crime, to haunt each of you till the day you die. I cant believe that the noblest impulse of man, his compassion for another can be completely dead here. Therefore I humbly beg you to show mercy on these men"

Dont you think we deserve better

2007-06-27T21:29:00.001-07:00

The only reason she is being considered to be India's next president is because of her loyalty to the Gandhi family and she has no qualms feeling proud about that. I thought we were no longer slaves after the British left India. But alas....my belief seems to be only wishful thinking. Lets protest in every way possible against being treated as ignorant unwashed masses. Please have this picture posted on your blog.

Ron Paul - my new hero

2007-06-18T21:57:00.000-07:00

The more I read about this man, the more I am impressed with his credentials. Ron Paul is my man to be America's next president. The U.S badly needs a man like Ron, to restore its global image and to recuperate from the damage brought upon by the current administration. But the fact is that Ron Paul, in spite of his impeccable voting record and classical conservative policies, is not among the the top 3 front runners from the GOP. This is interesting to see, if American democracy proves to be a civilized, non-populist one where the candidate with the best qualities gets the chance for the highest office, or if it proves to be just another sham democracy, where public popularity and glamor matter more than personal ability, like it happens in my country where every two piece actor becomes a policy maker. What ever might be the end result, the presence of Ron Paul in the presidential race has added lot of rationality to the debates and has exposed the superficiality of some of the candidates in the race.

Go for it Ron.

New India - my comments

2007-06-16T09:31:00.000-07:00

I am back to blogging after a brief hiatus. I had been in my home country, India for the past 3 weeks. I spent time in Hyderabad, Bangalore and my home town Kurnool.

I did notice some changes in these places since my last visit.

Certainly they appeared to be lot more affluent than ever before. Many more fancy malls have sprung up all over Hyderabad. More and more cars seem to occupy the already congested roads. Inflation seemed to be rampant and a 100 Rs could hardly buy you anything substantial anymore. I am not sure, how many peoples income is keeping up with the inflation.

A few FM stations have come up. Almost all the ones I listened to were entertainment centric and covered mostly the over hyped bollywood/tollywood happenings.

The traffic is really bad in Bangalore while it was not that bad in Hyderabad. I believe the road network was better in Hyderabad. The aggression showed by the drivers is appalling and no one is willing to yield even an inch. There is no concern what soever for the pedestrians. There are hardly any pedestrian crossings on most of the major roads.

I visited a few book stores and was impressed by the collection of books. The prices were also lot less than what got to pay here.

Indian Railways was very impressive with the service and punctuality.

One feature I hope will change in the future, is the hard set tribal mentality. Even people who are well dressed and who appear to be gentle men have no concept of a queue at a counter. Every one approaches a counter with no concern or thought of people ahead of him. You can see 10 people in the form of a semi circle flashing money towards the man in the counter and who gets the service first is a random choice of the man in charge.

Political awareness among the general public is not any better. But there are definitely lot more 24 hr news channels and a lot better coverage of local news.

The real estate prices seem to be growing at an unbelievable rate and the cities seem to be ever expanding.

Domestic air travel was decent by any measure. The only complaint was that the Hyderabad airport definitely did not have the infrastructure to handle so much traffic and it took 40 min to get past the security check.

What would you do if a monster comes into your house ?

2007-05-13T12:27:00.001-07:00

Listen to what this 3 year old has to say

Alba Gu Bra!! (Scotland Forever)

2007-05-07T18:31:00.000-07:00

" Aye, fight and you may die. Run and you'll live -- at least a while.
And dying in your beds many years from now,
would you be willing to trade all the days from this day to that for one chance, just one chance to come back here and tell our enemies that
they may take our lives, but they'll never take... our Freedom"

William Wallace

How does death feel like ?

2007-05-03T23:30:00.000-07:00

Ask Kevin Spacey

American Beauty - Simply beautiful

2007-04-30T22:42:00.000-07:00

" I guess i could be pretty pissed off about what happened to me. But its hard to stay mad when there is so much beauty in the world. Some times I feel like I am seeing it all at once, and its too much. My heart fills up like a balloon thats about to burst. And then I remember to relax and stop trying to hold on to it. And then it flows through me like rain and I cant feel anything but gratitude for every single moment of my stupid little life. You have no idea what I am talking about I am sure. But don't worry you will some day "

Some adult rated humour

2007-04-29T10:15:00.000-07:00

Himmat karne walon ke haar nahin hoti

2007-03-25T23:10:00.000-07:00

Himmat Karne walon ke Haar nahin Hoti. This is the theme of the movie " Maine Gandhi Ko Nahin Maran", that I watched over the weekend. It is a simple movie with outstanding performances by Anupam Kher and Urmila. The striking factor of the story, is that, it can happen to any one of us. It is the story of Prof Uttam Chowdary, an intellectual retiree who develops a psychological disorder that makes him believe that he killed Gandhi. The movie revolves around his daugher Trisha's(Urmila) struggle to save her father from the pain and guilt of an illusion, when she herself was facing trauma in her personal life. Her fathers misery and his dependence on her, brings out perseverence and resilence in her, the same qualties that he has taught her all her life. The movie also depicts the chasm between Gandhi's vision of India and todays India.

The movie revealed this beautiful poem by Harivansh Rai Bachchan to me

" Lahron Se Darr Kar Nauka Paar Nahin Hoti
Himmat Karne Walon Ki Haar Nahin Hoti

Nanhiin Chiteen Jab Daana Lekar Chalti Hai
Chadhti Deewaron Par Sau Baar Phisalti Hai
Mann Ka Vishwaas Ragon Mein Saahas Bharta Hai
Chadh Kar Girna, Girkar Chadhna Naa Aakarta Hai
Aakhir Uski Mehnat Bekaar Nahin Hoti
Koshish Karne Walon Ki Haar Nahin Hoti

Dubkiyaan Sindhu Mein GotaKhor Lagaata Hai
Jaa Jaa Kar Khaali Haath Laut Aata Hai
Milte Na Shahaj Moti Paani Mein
Behta Doona Utsaah Isi Hairaani Mein
Muthi Uski Khaali Har Baar Nahin Hoti
Himmat Karne Walon Ki Haar Nahin Hoti

Asafalta Ek Chunauti Hai Sweekaar Karo
Kya Kami Reh Gayi Dekho Aur Sudhaar Karo
Jab Tak Na safal Ho Neend Chaain Ko Tyaago Tum
Sangharshon Ka Maidaan Chhodh Mat Bhaago Tum

Kucch Kiye Bina Hi Jai Jai Kar Nahin Hoti
Himmat Karne Walon Ki Haar Nahin Hoti "

Excellent work by the director Jahnu Barua

Holy sh*t, India looses to Bangladesh

2007-03-17T23:04:00.000-07:00

The world cup 2007 is definitely filled with shockers. Hardly 5 days into the World cup there are already 4 unforeseen events

1. Pakistan crashing out of World cup in the first round after their defeat to the Irish

2. India tamely loosing to Bangladesh

3. Herschelle Gibbs hitting 6 sixes in a over

4. The amazing tie in the Ireland Zimbabwe game

Thats a lot for the first week. Looks like there will be many more to follow. I have my fingers crossed.

Quarter Life Crisis

2007-03-04T22:39:00.000-08:00

I was invited for dinner last night, by my friend Bobby, who like me is at the peak of quarter life crisis and is struggling to decide on the right girl as his soul mate. Unsurprisingly we spent quite some time, talking about the developments in each of our bride search campaigns. I have heard a few opinions of my friends on this touchy issue of choosing the right girl for you. I also read, "The psychology of romantic love" by Nathaniel Branden.

I can characterize the various opinions of men, I gathered on this issue, broadly into 3 categories. I do not mean any offense to any one who endorses or rejects any of these 3 opinions. I am only attempting to summarize my analysis of various people's opinions on this marriage thing. I leave it to the readers imagination to decide what he or she agrees with. A rational debate is definitely welcome.

1. Some people say, you must go with whatever your parents choose for you. They rely heavily on their parents knowledge of what they are and what they want in life and believe their parents can decide best for them, for they took all your decisions right from which school you will join, when you are a kid to which branch of engineering are you going to major from when you are in your late teens and everything seemed to work out great. Their selling point is that parents know best so let them take this all important decision while you sit back and worry about it only when they ask you if you are ok with a particular girl. Most of the times they decide on this with little or no knowledge of the girls personality.

I tend to disagree with this kind of opinion. It sounds very rational to think that parents know more than us about life, but I think this assumption is flawed. The relationships formed this way tend to stay longer because, even if one of partners is unhappy they tend to endure atleast to keep their parents happy.

2.The second set of guys take more role than the first set, in deciding their life partner. They definitely give some thought on the kind the personality they want in their partner and here is where they differ from the third kind. This set of people believe that a majority of a woman's actions are driven by emotions and heart and not by mind. The men prefer their spouse to be a home maker and a care taker of the family while they are the bread earners for the family.

This is the kind of relationship, we see in a majority of asian families. In this kind of a dependent relationship, women are expected to sacrifice all their career ambitions and are expected to dedicate themselves to their husbands and kids,and I think this is a very unfair deal. As the girl in the movie Swades says, "Hathelia sirf mehndi keliye nahi hote hai " (A girls hands are not meant for decorative purposes only). This might work fine, as long as the girl is voluntarily willing to give up her career for the sake of family.

3. The third group of people are sometimes considered to be foolishly romantic. They are the people who believe in a liberal mindset and who believe, any crisis in the relationship can be resolved by rational argument and not by authority. They believe in a interdependent relationship between man and woman where both are expected to make fair sacrifices in terms of career and ambition for the sake of family.

I think, people who fall in love and then get married are more likely to have such a relationship. When I say that, I imply passionate, romantic love, and not a superficial one. This relationship exists only when the partners are highly matured, intellectually and emotionally. This is the most ideal, passionate and most difficult type of a romantic relationship and also a very rare occurance.

George Carlin - the funniest guy in this world

2007-03-01T22:56:00.000-08:00

George Carlin is a genius. He is the best stand up comedian I ever watched. Thanks to my friend Sameera for the link.

Enjoy

Lets fix this world

2007-03-01T19:32:00.001-08:00

I read this on the webpage dedicated to Manjunath Shanmugam, the IIM graduate who paid with his life for being honest and for not conforming with the vicious forces of corruption in our society.

Manjunath Shanmugam Trust

"A lady from Hardwar sent us Rs. 1000 via a cheque which did not have the paying branch marked. She is 80 years old, and read about the case and the Trust in the newspapers. We returned the cheque to her, with our heartfelt thanks; her blessings and wishes are enough. She couriered us back a cheque for Rs. 2,000, with a note that she would be miserable if it did not get cashed."

It makes me wonder, why, in spite of such compassionate people in this world like this old lady and such courageous souls like Manjunath, do we see so much suffering and misery around us. To quote Bertrand Russell, "Children in famine, victims tortured by oppressors, helpless old people a burden to their sons, and the whole world of loneliness, poverty, and pain make a mockery of what human life should be".

I think the 3 primary reasons behind the all prevalent human misery is ignorance, inferiority complex and insecurity. Ignorance is the reason behind the misery caused by the blind acceptance of some ridiculous religious tenets. Ignorance is the cause for religious fanaticism , that takes scores of lives in every part of world. Ignorance yields so called rational pretexts for every hideous crime that is commited and results in the perpetrators getting eugolized rather than codemned for their crimes.

Inferiority complex is very prevalent in our society, yet it is hardly recognized. People who feel inferior try to hide this by abusing those with lesser say and there by constantly try to prove they are superior. Those abused in turn abuse those who are lower in the hierarchy and this goes on and on down to the lowest level.

Insecurity is the reason for all the greediness you see around you. No matter how much one earns, he feels insecure and wants to earn more to feel secure. But this feeling of security keeps eluding him and one day he realizes he has grown old and has spent most of his youth, thinking about how to get that next pay hike.

My conclusion is that if majority of humanity try to grow wise with age and not just grow old, this earth can turn into a paradise in a few decades

A poem about Abraham Lincoln by Walt Whitman

2007-02-28T14:58:00.001-08:00

O Captain! My Captain!

O CAPTAIN! my Captain! our fearful trip is done;
The ship has weather’d every rack, the prize we sought is won;
The port is near, the bells I hear, the people all exulting,
While follow eyes the steady keel, the vessel grim and daring:
But O heart! heart! heart! 5
O the bleeding drops of red,
Where on the deck my Captain lies,
Fallen cold and dead.

2

O Captain! my Captain! rise up and hear the bells;
Rise up—for you the flag is flung—for you the bugle trills; 10
For you bouquets and ribbon’d wreaths—for you the shores a-crowding;
For you they call, the swaying mass, their eager faces turning;
Here Captain! dear father!
This arm beneath your head;
It is some dream that on the deck, 15
You’ve fallen cold and dead.

3

My Captain does not answer, his lips are pale and still;
My father does not feel my arm, he has no pulse nor will;
The ship is anchor’d safe and sound, its voyage closed and done;
From fearful trip, the victor ship, comes in with object won; 20
Exult, O shores, and ring, O bells!
But I, with mournful tread,
Walk the deck my Captain lies,
Fallen cold and dead.

Shame of nation

2007-02-25T21:51:00.000-08:00

The following 1 hr video by Jonothan Kozol is an interesting piece on the state of public schooling in America. He makes a very bold accusation of the racial segregation in public schools by economic means. He reveals a few startling facts such as over 99% of the students in the poorly funded and dismally performing schools in some states in the west are non-white. With such revealing facts and his subtle sense of humour, this video is worth watching. I found this on this website www.pdxjustice.org

Take a guess of the next world champions of cricket

2007-02-25T21:48:00.001-08:00

Take the poll

Free Poll by Blog Flux

Some Nostalgia - Sit back and enjoy

2007-02-23T20:46:00.001-08:00

Who will be the most valuable player for India in WC07 ?

2007-02-23T17:01:00.001-08:00

Take the poll

Free Poll by Blog Flux

India's chances of winning the WC07- Cricket

2007-02-23T11:26:00.000-08:00

The biggest event in the world of cricket, the world cup is coming up in a few weeks. This makes me wonder how fast time seems to be passing. I can recall the events of 2003 world cup as if it happened last year.

India made it to the finals of last world cup much to my astonishment especially after a very sluggish start to their campaign, when no batsman in the team but Tendulkar appeared to know how to bat. After the initial hiccup, the team regrouped exceptionally to make it to finals, only to loose by 125 runs to the champions, the Oz's. Its hard to tell who deserves the credit for the turn around. Is it John Wright or Ganguly or all the senior players of the team? My guess is as good as yours. Some happy moments of the previous world cup would be the bowling of Srinath against Sri Lanka and Nehra's spell against England. Sehwag's and Sachin's batting against Pakistan. Sachin batted like he is expected to do every time, in all the matches but the finals. This man has the habit of saving his best for the World cup. He is my best player for India in the last 3 world cups.

Like with all the previous world cup campaigns, I am not very optimistic of India's chances of being the next champions. But this world cup has special significance to me, as this might be the last one to host India's 4 greatest players of the last decade, Sachin Tendulkar, Saurav Gaunguly , Rahul Dravid and Anil Kumble. I grew up watching this fantastic four grow into match winners from young, baby faced debutants. A familiar feature of these 4 players is that each one of them were written off at some point in the last few years and each of them have come back stronger, to make a mockery of their critics knowledge of their game and their resilience.

The most recent being the case with Ganguly when he rapidly went from being the captain, to not deserving a place in the team. Any other player might have strongly considered retiring from the game and salvage some pride, but not Ganguly. His recent comeback showed his mental toughness and his belief in his ability. End of Tendulkar has long been predicted with such phrases as "Endulkar" but he consistently defied the odds. There was a time when Rahul Dravid was considered to be unfit for one day cricket. But he too proved his worth over and over again and earned a well deserved nick name "The Wall". Anil Kumble is as gutsy a cricketer as he was a decade ago and he too was written off a few times and he silently makes his critics eat their words every time.

If India has any chance of winning the World cup this time around, a lot depends on how this fantastic four perform. I think Zaheer Khan, Yuvi and Dhoni are the other key players. Indian middle order depends a lot on Yuvraj, who in spite of coming back into the team after a long lay off, looked in sublime form in the one match he played against Sri Lanka in the recently concluded series. The one concern for India is in the fielding department, but then India was never a great fielding side.

If I have to make a prediction of India's performance this time, I would say that India has great chance to make it to the Semi Finals. I think South Africa and Australia are more likely ones to win the cup, while the West Indies come next. As the oz's have won the cup on previous two occasions, I would rather want some other team to lift this most coveted trophy of the cricketing world this time.

Good Luck India

Song of the open road - by Walt whitman

2007-02-21T22:43:00.000-08:00

Afoot and light-hearted, I take to the open road,
Healthy, free, the world before me,
The long brown path before me, leading wherever I choose.

Henceforth I ask not good-fortune—I myself am good fortune;
Henceforth I whimper no more, postpone no more, need nothing,
Strong and content, I travel the open road.

The earth—that is sufficient;
I do not want the constellations any nearer;
I know they are very well where they are;
I know they suffice for those who belong to them.

(Still here I carry my old delicious burdens;
I carry them, men and women—I carry them with me wherever I go;
I swear it is impossible for me to get rid of them;
I am fill’d with them, and I will fill them in return.)

A liberal deacalogue by Bertrand Russell

2007-01-25T14:21:00.000-08:00

By Bertrand Russell

Perhaps the essence of the Liberal outlook could be summed up in a new decalogue, not intended to replace the old one but only to supplement it. The Ten Commandments that, as a teacher, I should wish to promulgate, might be set forth as follows:
1. Do not feel absolutely certain of anything.

2. Do not think it worth while to proceed by concealing evidence, for the evidence is sure to come to light.

3. Never try to discourage thinking for you are sure to succeed.

4. When you meet with opposition, even if it should be from your husband or your children, endeavor to overcome it by argument and not by authority, for a victory dependent upon authority is unreal and illusory.

5. Have no respect for the authority of others, for there are always contrary authorities to be found.

6. Do not use power to suppress opinions you think pernicious, for if you do the opinions will suppress you.

7. Do not fear to be eccentric in opinion, for every opinion now accepted was once eccentric.

8. Find more pleasure in intelligent dissent that in passive agreement, for, if you value intelligence as you should, the former implies a deeper agreement than the latter.

9. Be scrupulously truthful, even if the truth is inconvenient, for it is more inconvenient when you try to conceal it.

10. Do not feel envious of the happiness of those who live in a fool's paradise, for only a fool will think that it is happiness."

A dirty poem

2006-12-16T21:45:00.000-08:00

" There once was a lesbian from Cancun
Who took a young man up to her room
where they argued all night as to
who had the right to do what and how much to whom"

Credits: Life of David Gale

Life of David Gale

2006-12-16T21:23:00.000-08:00

I watched the movie " The Life of David Gale" starring Kevin Spacey and Kate Winslet last week. I thought the movie was very entertaining with good suspense and kept me guessing until the end. I liked this quote by Kevin Spacey about Lacans philosophy

" Lacan’s point is that fantasies have to be unrealistic because the moment, the second – that you get what you seek, you don’t you cant want it any more.In order to continue to exist, desire must have its objects perpetually absent. Its not the “it” that you want, It’s the fantasy of “it” So desire supports crazy fantasie.

This is what pascal means when he says that we are only truly happy when daydreaming about future happiness or why we say the hunt is sweeter than the kill.

Or be careful what you wish for, not because you will get it but because, you are doomed to not to want it once you do. So the lesson of lacan is living by your wants will never make you happy. What it means to be fully human is to strive to live by ideas and ideals and not to measure your life by what you have attained in terms of your desires, but those small moments of integrity, compassion, rationality, even self-sacrifice. Because in the end, the only way we can measure the significance of our own lives is by valuing the lives of others. "

Meet Robert Fisk this week

2006-12-11T11:38:00.000-08:00

The Middle East Children's Alliance presents
ROBERT FISK

Iraq and Lebanon: Pointing the Finger of Guilt

Thursday, December 14, 2006, 7pm
First Presbyterian Church, 2619 Broadway in Oakland
Tickets: $20, no one turned away for lack of funds

Journalist and author Robert Fisk has lived in and written about the Middle East for more than thirty years. He is the Middle East Correspondent for The Independent of London and the winner of numerous journalism and human rights awards, including the 2006 Lifetime Achievement Prize from the Lannan Foundation.

SPECIAL RECEPTION with Robert Fisk
Thursday, December 14, 2006, 9pm
Humanist Hall, 390 27th Street in Oakland (across from the lecture)
$50, includes priority seating at lecture

Buy tickets online at http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/8705, call 1-800-838-3006 or send a check to MECA, 901 Parker Street, Berkeley, CA 94710

This event will be wheelchair accessible and ASL interpreted.

Co-sponsored by the Armenian National Committee

For info: 510-548-0542 or events@mecaforpeace.org

God in the words of an athiest

2006-12-08T17:18:00.000-08:00

Richard Dawkins, is a celebrated biologist and is well know for his war against fundamentalism in religions. Here is a small video of him describing God in the old testament.

Warning : The following might be offensive for some. So read at your own risk

Richard Dawkins: The God of the old testament is arguably the most unpleasant character in all fiction. Jealous and proud of it, apathy, unjust, unforgiving, control freak, a vindictive blood thirsty ethnic cleanser, a masogenistic, homophobic, racist, infanticidal, genocidal, philicidal, pestilential, megalomaniacal, sadomasachistic, capriciously melovalent bully.

Here is the video

The pleasure of finding things out

2006-12-03T11:28:00.000-08:00

This video is an excellent 40 min interview with Nobel laurete and physicist Richard Feynman. I liked his answer to the question whether he considered his work worthy enough to win a nobel prize. Here is the text transcript of his answer.

Richard Feynman:

I don’t know . I don’t know anything about the nobel prize and whats worth what. If the people in the Swedish academy decide that x y or z wins a nobel prize, then so be it

I don’t have anything to do with the Nobel prize, It’s a pain in the neck. I don’t like honours. I am appreciated for the work I did and the people who appreciated and I noted other physicists who used my work, I don’t need anything else. I don’t think there is any sense to anything else. I don’t see that it makes a point that some one in the Swedish academy decides that this work is noble enough to receive a prize. I already got the prize, the prize is the pleasure of finding the thing out. The kick in a discovery. The observation of other people use it. Those are the real things. The honors are unreal to me. I don’t believe in honors. That bothers me . Honors bothers me. Honors are epaulets, honors are uniforms, My Pop brought me up this way. I cant stand it. It hurts me.

When I was in High school, one of the first honors I got was to be a member of the arista, which is a group of kids, who got good grades. And everybody wanted to be a member of the Arista. When I got into the arista I discovered is that what they did in their meetings was to sit around to discuss who else was worthy to join the wonderful group we are. This kind of thing bothers me psychologically for one or another reason, I don’t understand myself. Honors from that date to now always bothered me.

Here is the video

Why socialism fails ?

2006-11-29T19:41:00.000-08:00

4 Ways to spend money. These are the most insightful thougts on I have ever heard on spending money. Clearly explains why socialism has been a failure in the history of man kind. Milton Friedman is a genius.

Globalization of Inequality

2006-11-02T16:10:00.000-08:00

P. Sainath, an award winning photo journalist spoke on the issue of globalization of inequality last year. His speech gives insights into some facts about the so called "Tiger economy" of India, that will never make to main stream media. The best part of his speech was the ending, when he speaks of the analogy between us and the guests of Nero's grand party. Nero, a roman emperor, in an attemptto avert the public's attention from the fire that burnt down the roman capital, decided to host the grandest party in the history of Roman Empire. He used wretched prisoners as fuel to generate light during the party. Sainath says, we are like Nero's guests who could not stand up against such an inhuman act, when we ignore hundereds of farmers suicides in India with an idle yawn. The speech has many interesting facts about how the tsunami affected the economy of the countries that it struck. It is definetely worth watching. Here is the video

Grace Personified

2006-10-30T21:06:00.000-08:00

I watched Michael J Fox's intervew on CBS in response to Rush Limbaugh mocking him on his talk show. I was amazed at the grace with which he responded to the inhuman criticism by Rush
Limbaugh. He never resorted to mudslinging or any kind of inflammatory language. I was impressed with the amazing clarity of his thought and he did not seem to be annoyed at all. He deserves a great applause for the way he handled the controversy. His civilized attitude is what that is so badly needed in this world.

Here is the video

My attempt at book reading

2006-10-30T19:45:00.000-08:00

I am a poor reader and there are hardly a few books, I can claim to have read completely. Most of the books did not make it past the first 25 pages. My attempts to read non technical books started about a couple of years ago . I started with some popular fiction titles. Most of the attempts failed to last longer than 15 min. After buying about 10 books and having failed to read any of them completely, I figured fiction was not something I loved to read. I felt I had a liking for philosophy and tried to my hand at a few books on philosophy. The same disturbing pattern of loosing interest within 15 pages into the book continued. Still, what ever little I understood from the writings of Emerson and Betrand Russell, opened up a new way of perceving my life.

My first claim to reading a book completely came shortly afterwards when I read and reread the "The conquest of happiness " by Bertrand Russell. The book definitely enabled me be more happier than I was, prior to reading the book. My thirst for understanding this human emotion was not satisfied yet. Then I had the fortune of watching Prof Tal's course on Positive Psychology. I think this was one of the best moments in my academic development. This course mentioned Nathaniel Branden and his literature, quite a few times. This prompted me to read Brandens " Psychology of self esteem". I think this book can be the best gift you can give to anyone you care about. Branden's understanding and presentation of the concept of self esteem and the way it is interlinked to our personality demystified a number of false notions and beliefs I carried all my life. I believe, a majority of humanity carry these false beliefs and sabotaging practises and this book is an excellent tool to discover and overcome them.

Since I read this book, I am trying to implement 2 practises, which according to Branden is essential to improve out self esteem.

1) Be Self assertive: For the first time in my life, I am trying to be consciously aware of my desires and feelings. I am trying to spend most of time, being myself instead of trying to be someonelse . I dont feel scared or embarassed no more to say 'I dont know' If didnot know something. I am not scared to say ' I donot agree' if i did not agree with some one's point of view.

2) Be Self Consious : I am trying more than ever to be self conscious of my actions and the events happening as a result of my actions. I am more willing to consciously analyze the reasons of some unfortunate events in my life. I had been avoiding the reality so far and was repressing the rational evaluation of my effort so that I would not feel guilty for the inadequacy in my effort to set things right. Little did I know that, this behavior was a definite recipe for disaster.

I have benifited immensely by reading this book and would recommend to any one who wants to better understand why things happen to him, the way they happen and how he or she can make things happen rather than wait for them to happen.

Thank you Branden for this amazing work

Federer, the Invincible

2006-09-10T20:50:00.000-07:00

I had the fortune to watch the US open finals today between, Roger Federer and Andy Roddick. It was amazing to watch Federer play with such ease and finesse. Undoubtedly he must be the best player the game has ever produced. He had some anxious moments in the second and third sets of the game, but he managed to raise his game everytime Roddick seemed to pull off a surprise.

He seemed very calm on the court and rarely vented his emotions. The best part of the game 2 succesive games in the third set when Federer saved 4 break points and Andy followed it up by saving 5 break points. These two great players rivalry is a treat to watch.

Andy had a great serve and good forehand. Roger seemed to be best in every facet of a game. If there is one part that had a considerable amount of improvement, it was his backhand.

Who am I

2006-07-11T10:58:00.000-07:00

I am a confused soul, who is lost in one of the following worlds
1) World of Literature filled with love , beauty, romance, passion and truth
2) World of Juniper , finding bugs in other people's designs with a sadistic fervour
3) World of Philosophy, trying to comprehend and insinuate the truth of being the supreme.
4) World of Music, as diverse as classical Indian, catchy bollywood and adult alternative
5) World of Sports, dominated by cricket, and lately by soccer
6) World of Psychology, uncovering the mysterious ways, human mind works
And
7) My very own world of fantastic but fascinating dreams

EGO = "Edge God out"

2006-06-18T11:39:00.000-07:00

I had the fortune to attend two lectures this week by Swami Sukhabodhananda, on the topic of , Bhagvadh Gita's relavence in our lives. I was rather sceptical in my expectations of enjoying the lecture, but to my surprise, I enjoyed the first one so much that, I didnt want to miss the second.

Swamiji has the ability to add right doses of humour in his talk that make his lecture entertaining in addition to being enlightening. His speaking skills are excellent and he connects with the audience and grabs their attention very quickly. He puts in a lot of effort to make the audience understand the difference between knowledge and wisdom. In his own style, he says, undigested knowledge is the obesity of mind. Though this talk was meant to give the aroma of Gita (in swamiji's words), he uses apt references from Buddhism, poems of Kabir das, to drive home the point of living consciously while being calm and alert.

He says, if we make an effort to understand the answer to the question, "Who am I", most of the miseries we go through in day to day life seem to be the result of fallacies created by our mind. He goes on to answer this question saying, we are not the body that represents us physically, neither are we our emotions , nor the intellect, but we are the conscious sense of being. One punch line if I want to remember from this lecture is the definition of ego being "Edge God out".

Heres the url for his website
http://www.swamisukhabodhananda.net/

A beautiful Poem by EE Cummings

2006-05-08T17:41:00.000-07:00

I carry your heart with me

i carry your heart with me
i carry it in my heart

i am never without it
anywhere i go you go,my dear;
and whatever is done
by only me is your doing,my darling

i fear no fate for you are my fate,my sweet
i want no world for beautiful you are my world,my true
and it's you are whatever a moon has always meant
and whatever a sun will always sing is you

here is the deepest secret nobody knows
here is the root of the root and the bud of the bud
and the sky of the sky of a tree called life;
which grows higher than soul can hope or mind can hide
and this is the wonder that's keeping the stars apart

i carry your heart
i carry it in my heart

That must be me driving the car

2006-05-06T22:32:00.000-07:00

Are you a man yet ?

2006-05-04T22:20:00.000-07:00

If by Rudyard Kipling

"If you can keep your head
when all about you Are losing theirs and blaming it on you;
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,
But make allowance for their doubting too;
If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
Or, being lied about, don't deal in lies,
Or, being hated, don't give way to hating,
And yet don't look too good, nor talk too wise;

If you can dream - and not make dreams your master;
If you can think - and not make thoughts your aim;
If you can meet with triumph and disaster
And treat those two imposters just the same;
If you can bear to hear the truth you've spoken
Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,
Or watch the things you gave your life to broken,
And stoop and build 'em up with wornout tools;

If you can make one heap of all your winnings
And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss,
And lose, and start again at your beginnings
And never breath a word about your loss;
If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew
To serve your turn long after they are gone,
And so hold on when there is nothing in you
Except the Will which says to them: "Hold on";

If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,
Or walk with kings - nor lose the common touch;
If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you;
If all men count with you, but none too much;
If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds' worth of distance run -
Yours is the Earth and everything that's in it,
And - which is more - you'll be a Man my son! "

When will the tyranny end ??

2006-04-26T19:04:00.000-07:00

http://cities.expressindia.com/fullstory.php?newsid=179785

A 17 year girl commited suicide by jumping off the third floor of her school. The family claims that the school authorities were putting her through stress, that resulted in her taking the fatal decision while the school authorities are blaming the girls personal life was the driving force for her death.

Most of the kids spend their childhood, wraught with tensions, fear and stress. They get lost in the rat race that is created by schools and actively supported by parents. Both the schools and families should be blamed for this tragic situation of the children that has become a norm in our society. I can hardly remember the days when I enjoyed my time at school and there was hardly any time, I looked forward for a working day at school. Even the games class in the school, which is supposed to be a fun class, was not enjoyable to me as most of the PT teachers treated us like weaklings, on whom they can take out some of the frustrations off their personal lives. As a kid, I was tremondously afraid to speak up to a teacher and there is not a single teacher I can think of, who encouraged this with his or her students. Sadly the same apathy towards free thinking and free speech continues through our adoloscence and adulthood. The teachers seem to enjoy the fear that the students harbour in them and I suspect this gave them a false sense of being important that they missed so badly in their personal lives.

We have had enough of this tyranny and it is high time we bring out a revolution in the way the kids are treated in our society. Its time we treat our kids as kids, literally or else stories like this will become a common occurance.

Some Humour

2006-04-21T18:53:00.000-07:00

Carpe Diem

2006-04-21T18:15:00.000-07:00

A poem by Robert Herrick in 1600's that talks about the importance of present and exhorts the women (people in general), to make most of the present instead of waiting for the future.

Robin Williams playing the role of John Keating in the movie "Dead poets society", reads this poem to inspire his students to become extraordinary and to make most of their youth (present). He teaches them the latin term Carpe diem which means Seize the day, for the sentiment "Gather ye rosebuds while ye may". Captivating words of wisdom these....

To the Virgins, to Make Much of Time
---------------------------------------------

Gather ye rosebuds while ye may,
Old Time is still a-flying:
And this same flower that smiles to-day
To-morrow will be dying.

The glorious lamp of heaven, the sun,
The higher he's a-getting,
The sooner will his race be run,
And nearer he's to setting.

That age is best which is the first,
When youth and blood are warmer;
But being spent, the worse, and worst
Times still succeed the former.

Then be not coy, but use your time,
And while ye may, go marry:
For having lost but once your prime,
You may for ever tarry.

Robert Herrick

The Prologue to Bertrand Russell's Autobiography

2006-04-19T17:39:00.000-07:00

What I Have Lived For

" Three passions, simple but overwhelmingly strong, have governed my life: the longing for love, the search for knowledge, and unbearable pity for the suffering of mankind. These passions, like great winds, have blown me hither and thither, in a wayward course, over a great ocean of anguish, reaching to the very verge of despair.

I have sought love, first, because it brings ecstasy - ecstasy so great that I would often have sacrificed all the rest of life for a few hours of this joy. I have sought it, next, because it relieves loneliness--that terrible loneliness in which one shivering consciousness looks over the rim of the world into the cold unfathomable lifeless abyss. I have sought it finally, because in the union of love I have seen, in a mystic miniature, the prefiguring vision of the heaven that saints and poets have imagined. This is what I sought, and though it might seem too good for human life, this is what--at last--I have found.

With equal passion I have sought knowledge. I have wished to understand the hearts of men. I have wished to know why the stars shine. And I have tried to apprehend the Pythagorean power by which number holds sway above the flux. A little of this, but not much, I have achieved.

Love and knowledge, so far as they were possible, led upward toward the heavens. But always pity brought me back to earth. Echoes of cries of pain reverberate in my heart. Children in famine, victims tortured by oppressors, helpless old people a burden to their sons, and the whole world of loneliness, poverty, and pain make a mockery of what human life should be. I long to alleviate this evil, but I cannot, and I too suffer.

This has been my life. I have found it worth living, and would gladly live it again if the chance were offered me. "

For starters, Bertrand Russell (1872-1970) won the Nobel prize for literature for his History of Western Philosophy and was the co-author of Principia Mathematica.

Sir Betrand Russell has had a great influence on me. The same three passions he mentioned in his prologue seem to hold sway on my life at this moment. To be able to articulate his emotions and understanding of life so beautifully is an amazing skill. I have read his book "The conquest of happiness" and this book has influenced a lot, my perception of happyness and life. I am looking forward to read his autobiography

How abnormal am I ?

2006-04-12T12:36:00.000-07:00

You Are 36% Abnormal

You are at low risk for being a psychopath. It is unlikely that you have no soul.

You are at high risk for having a borderline personality. It is very likely that you are a chaotic mess.

You are at low risk for having a narcissistic personality. It is unlikely that you are in love with your own reflection.

You are at medium risk for having a social phobia. It is somewhat likely that you feel most comfortable in your mom's basement.

You are at low risk for obsessive compulsive disorder. It is unlikely that you are addicted to hand sanitizer.

How Abnormal Are You?

My nephew Chintu

2006-04-08T21:17:00.000-07:00

Does nature's creation get any cuter than him?

The king of melody - Ilayaraja

2006-04-08T20:35:00.000-07:00

In my opinion Ilayaraja is the best music director India has ever produced. Some of the songs he had composed are so melodious that you dont get tired even after listening to them a million times. Some people might argue that Rahman is the best of the lot. I am a big admirer of Rahman's work as well. But I dont find the same longevity and melody in Rahmans compositions as I find in Ilayaraja's work. I listened to most of Raja's songs composed for Telugu film industry and a few composed for Bollywood. But this might be only a minor share of his work, since a majority of his work was in tamil, a language that I do not understand. Thanks to my friends of tamil origin, especially Venkat, I have had the oppurtunity to listen to some of Raja's great hits and I have been all admiration and awe for his music. I wish I could understand Tamil, as I am told, the lyrics of some of the songs make them much more beautiful. A few songs of Raja, I greatly adore

1) Aei Zindagi gale laga le from SADMA : The highlight of this song is that many number of instruments are used to compose it and never do you feel the transition of their effect on your ears. The instrument usage is very coherent and the lyrics of this song is simply out of this world.

2) Kanne kalaimane from MoonramPirai: This movie is the Tamil version of Sadma. Melody oozes from every node of the music and add to it the voice of Jesudas...this song is a cracker. And this song is picturised on possibly the best Indian actor and actress in last two decades, Kamal Hassan and Sridevi.
..... to be continued

A song full of emotions by INXS

2006-04-08T15:44:00.000-07:00

I surmise that every one of us experiences heartbreak at some point of their life. This song "Afterglow" by INXS (pronounced as In excess) beautifully summerizes the raging emotions experienced during one of those life threatening moments.

You may watch the video here http://music.yahoo.com/video/default.asp?vid=29604319

" Here I am, lost in the light of the moon that comes through my window. Bathed in blue, the walls of my memory divide the thorns from the roses. It's you and the roses

Touch me and I will follow in your afterglow. Heal me from all this sorrow As I let you go I will find my way when I see your eyes. Now I'm living in your afterglow

Here I am, lost in the ashes of time, but who owns tomorrow?
In between the longing to hold you again I'm caught in your shadow, I'm losing control. My mind drifts away, we only have today

Touch me and I will follow in your afterglow Heal me from all this sorrow. As I let you go I will find my wayI will sacrifice 'til the blinding day when I see your eyes. Now I'm living in your afterglow

When the vails are gone, as I let you go, as I let you go

Touch me and I will follow in your afterglowHeal me from all this sorrowAs I let you go I will find my way, I will sacrifice. Now I'm living in your afterglow Bathed in blue, the walls of my memory divide the thorns from the roses. It's you who is closest"

Happy Course at Harvard University

2006-04-02T12:35:00.000-07:00

I watched a video at CNN that talked about a class on positive psychology taught by Prof Tal Ben Scharar at Harvard University. This class teaches on how to be happier (Note that I did not say How to be happy). I wish that this kind of class is made mandatory in Indian students academic curriculum aswell.

Right from the day we join schools, we get so lost in the competitive madness of outscoring our class mates, neighbours or any peer you are aware of, that we never give a thought to what exactly makes us happy. In this video, a graduate student says that 3 questions that were raised in this class made her to rethink her career choice.

1. What do you find pleasure in?
2. What is that you are good at ?
3. What is that you find meaningful to do?

3 questions any one must ask oneself before making his or her career decisions. I hope these are taught in Indian schools one day...
http://www.cnn.com/video/partners/clickability/index.html?url=/video/education/2006/03/31/lothian.harvard.happiness.cnn

An Indian girl does a Charlize Theron

2006-03-25T10:12:00.000-08:00

An Indian girl, Neelima has filed a lawsuit against her employer Caremark RX Inc, claiming that she was racially abused. To read more

http://www.webwire.com/ViewPressRel.asp?SESSIONID=&aId=6275

Go Neelima Go.... Be a rebel

Venkatesh prasad - Aamir Sohail duel

2006-03-18T23:28:00.000-08:00

I can never forget the great duel between Aamir Sohail and Venkatesh prasad from World cup 96 match in Bangalore. I can forgive Prasads genorisity all his career to jayasurya and saeed anwar, for this one delivery that uprooted Sohails half stump

Blogs - The best thing to happen in my life

2006-03-18T08:51:00.000-08:00

I have been reading blogs for over 2 years now. As a kid I was not a big fan of reading, though that was the first thing I would claim as to be my hobby (to sound cool). As a kid, I would rather spend my time watching/playing cricket and movies than getting myself lost in a fat, heavy book. Books were thrust into my hands only by force and my experience of reading was mostly limited to the boring text books. So I was completely unaware of the pleasure and wisdom derived from this act, until my adulthood.

Thanks to the Internet and a few wise and well informed co bloggers, I started to explore a new avenue of pleasure. I owe a lot of information that I am aware of today, to the courtesy of a few bloggers. Naming all of them is not a trivial effort, so I will limit myself to the top 3 whose updates I never miss reading. You can find the links for these blogs in the must read section.

3. Youth Curry: This is written by Rashmi Bansal and was one of the earliest blogs I book marked for regular reading. Being an young guy myself, ( some of my younger friends may tend to disagree with this claim) I find most of her posts very interesting and informative. I like the ones she wrote about making career choices and the difference of perpectives for a girl and a guy about the most taboo subject for we indians, sex.

2. Random thoughts of a demented mind: This is a unique blog on the web and a masterpiece. It is written by great bong who has an amazing sense of humour. I must have read all the archives atleast more than once. Post after post he dishes out humourous, most of the times satirical articles and reviews of a few chosen bollywood movies. He gets the credit to bring upon me the wisdom of Mithunism. Calling him a great bong is an understatement, he should have been called " The greatest living bong" (of course after Mithun Da).

1. Deesha: This is a blog written by Atanu Dey. He mostly writes articles about economics and a few on spirutuality. His writing definitely taught me a whole new perspective of life. The blogs under the section "Letters to Abhisek" are my favourites

Thank you guys for all the blogs ... and Please keep them coming

Indian Restaurants in Silicon Valley

2006-03-16T20:19:00.001-08:00

I lived in San Jose - Santa Clara for nearly 4 years now. During these 4 years I have had the oppurtunity to visit many Indian restaurants thriving in this part of the Bay Area. This attempt of mine is to recollect my experiences at these restaurants

1. Madras cafe in Sunnyvale: A vegetarian place and was inexpensive a few months ago. Now the prices have been hiked and hence not as attractive as it once was. But I must say, I tasted the best sambar (other than my mother's) here. A big thumbs up to their sambar.

2. Swati Tiffins, Santa Clara: As the name suggests its more a tiffin center than a restaurant. Relatively inexpensive and tasty food. Lots of varieties too.

3. Sneha : A restaurant that serves both vegetarian and non vegetarian food. I havent visited this place for nearly 6 months now. but my last two visits before that left a bad taste in my mouth.

4. Saravana Bhavan: Nice place for a good traditional south indian meal. But it is a little harsh on your vallet.

5. KababnCurries, Santa clara: Their dum biryani is very good and I am a big fan of their lamb Korma. But the seating is lousy and not a very comfortable place to enjoy your meal. The buffet at lunch is very good and relatively inexpensive.

...................To be continued

Welcome to this world

2006-03-15T18:15:00.000-08:00

This is the picture of the newest member in my family, my nephew. Welcome to this world Kiddo....

Batting Manual - by none other than the Wall

2006-03-14T20:23:00.000-08:00

Rahul Dravids Magnificient double century against Australia

The greatest day in history of Indian Test cricket

2006-03-13T21:19:00.000-08:00

Today is March 14, the very day, our own Very Very Special Laxman created history with a very very special innings. Not to forget Bajjis 7 wicket haul and Mr Dependable's innings of 185, whose amazing partership with Lax broke Steve Waughs dream of conquering the last frontier. Lets bring back those happy memories and feel blissful once again.

Aussie Innings

2006-03-13T19:25:00.000-08:00

Crickets greatest game - Australia vs South Africa

2006-03-13T19:20:00.000-08:00

India's win and ICC's parsimony

2006-03-13T17:42:00.000-08:00

I am extremely pleased at India's victory against England in the second test. I didnot have the fortune of watching it live but I had been following the running text commentary at Cric Info. This text commentary belongs to a class of its own. Some of the words used are not in english , neither in Hindi, I must say Hinglish.

I dont know why the ICC is so greedy for money. Their official website Cricinfo wants to make money from selling audio commentary and they are desperate to stack up every penny. If you think paying for audio commentary sounds absurd, wait until you hear the so called commentary by experts. There are no experts in that commentary panel atleast not anyone I recognize and their coverage is terrible (I cannot sound more melodramatic than that). In a few words it sucks big time. I am glad atleast the text commentary comes free.. I am not sure though for how long its gonna stay that way.

Jumbo - the king

2006-03-12T20:30:00.000-08:00

I always look at this man, Anil Kumble with awe and disbelief. I watched him play every match that he is chosen to play as if it is the last of his life. I must admit that, inspite of realizing that India has still a long time to go before they can win a test match without Kumbles meaningful contribution, I was among those who wanted him to be dropped for Indias tour Down Under last time around. But he proved me and many others like me who doubted his ability wrong, for the nth time.

His reaching the mile stone of 500 wickets in tests is a tribute to his perseverence and self belief. He definitely deserved an oppurtunity to captain India at some point in 16 years of his career but was sadly never considered for captaincy. Considering the kind of sportsman he is and his commitment to his team(bowling with a broken jaw to take Lara's wicket), I hope he is given a lot of say in Indian cricket team selection, once he retires from International cricket. If some one like More (whose only claim to fame is getting on Miandad's nerve with his incessant bashing during a world cup match in 92) can be the chief of selectors, I believe I am not asking for too much.

Iqbal

2006-03-12T20:02:00.000-08:00

I watched Nagesh Kukonoors Iqbal last evening. It was a good one to watch. I was impressed by Shweta Prasad's performance as Iqbal's sister. She fully deserved the award she received at Zee filmfare awards, the other day as the best supporting actor - critics ( I never get how that is different from the actual one). Nagesh protrayed the love in Iqbals small and sweet family in very subtle way. The human tendency to search for reasons for his failures rather than confronting his shortcomings, was excellently shown, through Iqbals father citing, Iqbals love for cricket worsening his already fragile situation of his finances. The movie didnot end as impressively as it started though. Iqbal under perfoming in a session of the final match to stack some quick money, seemed to justify match fixing under dire circumstances.

Naseeruddin shah doesnt require any special mentioning. He was excellent as always and the scenes between him and shweta were very well scripted. But I never understood what he claims as "Chakravyuh" stratergy in the movie. I hope atleast Greg Chappel got what it means.....

Overall its a good movie to watch...definitely paisa vasool

Words of Lalkaar from Rang de Basanthi

2006-03-11T13:02:00.000-08:00

Dont know who the author is. I like the last two lines the most.

hai liye hathiyaar dushman taak mein baitha udhar
aur hum taiyyaar hain seena liye apna idhar
khoon se khelenge holi gar vatan muskhil mein hai
sarfaroshi ki tamanna ab hamaare dil mein hai
haath jin mein ho junoon katt te nahi talvaar se
sar jo uth jaate hain voh jhukte nahi lalkaar se
haath jin mein ho junoon katt te nahi talvaar se
sar jo uth jaate hain voh jhukte nahi lalkaar se
aur bhadkega jo shola-sa humaare dil mein hai
sarfaroshi ki tamanna ab hamaare dil mein hai
hum to ghar se nikle hi the baandhkar sar pe qafan
chaahatein liin bhar liye lo bhar chale hain ye qadam
zindagi to apni mehmaan maut ki mehfil mein hai
sarfaroshi ki tamanna ab hamaare dil mein hai
dil mein tuufaanon ki toli aur nason mein inquilaab
hosh dushman ke udaa denge humein roko na aa
duur reh paaye jo humse dam kahaan manzil mein hai
sarfaroshi ki tamanna ab hamaare dil mein hai

Latte on your roof - funny

2006-03-11T12:28:00.000-08:00

links to this post

Zee Cine Awards - what a farce

2006-03-05T17:22:00.000-08:00

I watched the Zee cine awards today on T.V and as usual it was boring and sycophancy ridden. The worst part of the program was the hosting by Karan Johar. I believe his coterie keep telling him that he is a very good host coz he seems to be very convinced of this fact. His sense of humour was out of place and there were some half baked, rehearsed supposedly humurous discussions, which could hardly bring a smile on my face. There was a big section of the program dedicated to Yash Chopra where everyone (especially King Khan) was going gaga about yash chopra and his romantic movies. The best for the last. Shah rukh is nominated for the best actor award for his performace in Paheli!!! Good God, he was not given the best actor award.

Awards for Performance -- huh absolute farce...

A poem by Rabindranath Tagore

2006-03-03T20:34:00.000-08:00

This is a beautiful poem, that captivates Tagores vision of India from Gitanjali. I came across it while reading the "Argumentative Indian" by Amartya Sen

Where the mind is without fear and the head is held high;
Where knowledge is free;
Where the world has not been broken up into fragments by narrow domestic walls;
Where the clear storm of reason has not lost its way into the dreary desert sand of dead habit;
Into that heaven of freedom,my Father, let my country awake

First Post

2005-12-06T20:45:00.000-08:00

This is my first ever post. This is my slate where I would like to put down all my thoughts.

Stay tuned