Experiment With Falsity

Song of Myself

noreply@blogger.com (Raja Ram) — Mon, 28 Dec 2009 10:58:00 +0000

The following lines from "Song of Myself" by Walt Whitman left me mired.

"I think I could turn and live with animals, they are so placid and self-contain'd,

I stand and look at them long and long.

They do not sweat and whine about their condition,

They do not lie awake in the dark and weep for their sins,

They do not make me sick discussing their duty to God,

Not one is dissatisfied, not one is demented with the mania of owning things,

Not one kneels to another, nor to his kind that lived thousands of years ago,

Not one is respectable or unhappy over the whole earth."

-- Walt Whitman; "Song of Myself"

http://www.daypoems.net/poems/1900.html

Insights from Desh Deshpande

noreply@blogger.com (Raja Ram) — Mon, 28 Dec 2009 09:30:00 +0000

Entrepreneur Desh Deshpande shared some insights on what made him successful. The following are some key points that i've captured:

* Need to stop saying "There are so many problems" and instead say "There are so many opportunities."

* Each time you fail, you increase the chance of success in your next endeavor.

* Venture Capitalist's (VC's) look for uniqueness, not for the "best."

* As an entrepreneur, you must force the issue of money with VC's.

* When asked for 4 keys to success, Desh gave these:

1. Always work with great people.

- They set a new benchmark for you and push you harder

- Look for working with the best people over earning more money

2. Have fun in what you do.

- Never do anything like say you will work really hard for a number of years so the rest of your life is great. Make it great now.

3. Have the guts to quit if you are in a position in which neither of the two prior keys are present.

4. Maintain the financial freedom to quit.

- Either have a lot of money or need less money

- Save money to create an entrepreneurial nest egg

Hearty Earth Day!

noreply@blogger.com (Raja Ram) — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 12:11:00 +0000

On earth-day, for a competition, I wrote this poem in flat 5 mins... hope you like it.

It’s your fall
You shouldn’t have shone
You shouldn’t have rained
You shouldn’t have allowed me to breathe
You shouldn’t have nourished me with food
You shouldn’t have made this place safe haven
Why did you give everything selflessly?

I am high in spirits
I am intellectual
I am busy inventing
I am heartily making profits
I pollute you
I corrupt you
I exhaust and drain you
All for my selfishness

I forgot, I belong to you
You are
My HEART
My EARTH

I am one among six billion to wish you ‘Happy Earth Day’

Dilbert Saved My Day!

noreply@blogger.com (Raja Ram) — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 07:30:00 +0000

Dilbert always saves my day. Whenever…Hmm…I should say, when most of the time things go wrong at my work place, I simply blame it on Scott Adams.

Just kidding Scott! You are a Genius!

Dilbert.com has recently moved to Web2.0. You can subscribe or feed or comment his blog...Dilbert animation is something not to be missed out.

If you get time read “The Dilbert Principle” and “Dilbert and the Way of the Weasel” available at all leading bookstores.

I am "Rock ‘n’ Roll"

noreply@blogger.com (Raja Ram) — Thu, 20 Mar 2008 13:28:00 +0000

This post is all about Rock ‘n’ Roll music.

Disclaimer: I have written this post with my little knowledge on rock music and have not referred any third party sources. But of course, earlier I have watched and read many interviews of Rock Stars and also conscious that some of my views or thoughts reflected in this article will be same of oseartists.

I thank Putholi, a dear friend of mine, who inspired me to write this post. It all started a week before as a general discussion on Rock Music. I am grateful to Bala, Beta & Bobby who has introduced me to the Rock genre.

I am a greatest fan of the band Pink Floyd and their music. I dare say floydian music has greater influence of all my life. I strongly believe in two things that will bring peace and harmony to the world, the first one is Music and other is Sports.

Rock ‘n’ Roll is definitely a Black Music (started by Afro-Americans), originated in America at early 1940’s. The origin of rock music is the mix of Boogie-woogie (a popular style of playing piano that was famous in early 1930’s) and blues. In other words Rock ‘n’ Roll is a mix of (R ‘n’ B) Rhythm and Blues in up tempo. If you hear a rock song you will notice the vocal goes with a lead or rhythm guitar & electric bass guitar, drums and Piano or Saxophone or all.

Rock ‘n’ Roll – Revolution for the liberationRock ‘n’ Roll born in early twentieth century in the midst of White and Black racism. Whites used to serve only to white customers in restaurants or pubs, taxis run by whites used to carry a plate similar to number plate displaying “We serve only white customers”. Nonetheless blacks did the same. Rock 'n' roll was seen as obscenity and vulgarity by the white people. There were many black artists at that time, their music failed to release by the white run record companies. This trend was later changed by ‘Sun Record Company’ founded by Sam Phillips (a white) in 1952.

Chuck Berry - Father of Rock n Roll
There was integration problem. Rock ‘n’ Roll started to break the racial barriers and that was the last thing any white politicians wanted at that point of time. To get through this a 12 member committee was formed by the American Government to study the consequences of Rock ‘n’ Roll music. All the Government officials including Mayors were against the growing audience of Rock ‘n’ Roll music. The audience was none other than the youth, 51% of them are below 18 years. All kids danced for Little Richards, Chuck Berry, Elvis, and Carl.

In my opinion, Chuck Berry was the Father of Rock ‘n’ Roll. Chuck a most influential rock artist of that time. He was a good lyricist, and his music was adored by the American youths of both the races. Most of his songs are fast paced and everybody enjoyed dancing. In-fact in some of the recorded - live shows of Chuck Berry, I have seen White and Black people getting mixed up while dancing. This was just the beginning. Rock ‘n’ Roll started to break racial boundaries. The mass integration of both Black and White youths were seen for the first time. All these happened in a short span of three years. Music was a powerful medium and Chuck Berry was the door opener.

Elvis Presley – The Catalyst of Change
When I say Chuck Berry was the door opener, the catalyst was none other than Elvis Presley. Elvis was shaped by the hands of God, he was so good looking. Nobody ever could find a fault in his looks. All he has to do is just come to the stage and say ‘Hey You’ the audience includes majority of girls went crazy and scream never stopped. Elvis was the catalyst and he made people not only to dance but sing Rock ‘n’ Roll.

When I was kid I used to think Elvis was a serious guy, and for that matter most of the rock music lovers thought the same. I could not believe myself when I burst out laughing watching his recorded – live shows. He made his audience laugh like no other could have imagined.Not only youths but middle aged people started to like his music. In one of the interview of Bruce Springsteen, I remember him saying that his mother was once against Elvis, later liked his music after watching Ed Sullivan Show (a popular show on CBS network). Springsteen was one of the many artists who got inspired by Elvis and later turned out to be a musician. Bruce Springsteen has won many Grammys and also won an Academy award/Oscar.

Elvis was ‘Color Blind’ his music did not differentiate Black or White or Red. Everybody loved it. Elvis did not realize his potential; the impact of his music was so immense that it can’t be reversed. White parents had scary nights thinking of their children picking up the music of blacks. And what was scaring the most was Elvis was white.

Tough TimesPoliticians felt the threat of integration. The smash up of Rock ‘n’ Roll started and some of them worth mentioning are Mayor banned Rock ‘n’ Roll, Chuck Berry sentenced two years on Moral Charges, Elvis forced to join Military service and later posted to Germany, Press & Media hated Rock ‘n’ Roll for five long years and TV banned all rock related shows.

Last Few WordsRock ‘n’ Roll - Revolution for the liberation. The social impact of this genre was so powerful that it has leveled and influenced day to day life of the Americans, Europeans, Australians, Asian and other people. India was greatly influenced by this music genre in the late sixties. Ilayaraja, a south based music director was one of the early adopter of this genre.

I like to end this article with one of my favorite quote from the movie ‘V for Vendetta’
“V: Would you... dance with me?Evey Hammond: Now? On the eve of your revolution?V: A revolution without dancing is a revolution not worth having!”

Cheers!

On Saturday, February 26th, 1994, Bill Hicks died. He was 32

noreply@blogger.com (Raja Ram) — Mon, 18 Feb 2008 10:41:00 +0000

Last night, my wrecked memory remembered ‘Bill Hicks’ – A Comedian. To refresh my memories I saw couple of his shows in you tube.

Hey Bill, Thank You! You made me laugh all your shows, but you did open my eyes. You are one among few comedians who lived with a philosophy. Long Live Your guts & wits & .

Bill used to end all his shows with the following quotes...
The world is like a ride in an amusement park. And when you choose to go on it you think it's real because that's how powerful our minds are. And the ride goes up and down and round and round. It has thrills and chills and it's very brightly coloured and it's very loud and it's fun, for a while. Some people have been on the ride for a long time and they begin to question: "Is this real, or is this just a ride?" And other people have remembered, and they come back to us, they say, "Hey, don't worry, don't be afraid, ever, because this is just a ride." And we kill those people.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bill_Hicks
http://www.billhicks.com/
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0152183/quotes

A day in THIRD WORLD

noreply@blogger.com (Raja Ram) — Tue, 25 Dec 2007 15:30:00 +0000

Long ago i read about Rachel Corrie's death.. but recently i saw 'occupation 101' A must see documentary. I remembered Rachel again

I’m here for other children.
I’m here because I care.
I’m here because children everywhere are suffering and because forty thousand people die each day from hunger.
I’m here because those people are mostly children.We have got to understand that the poor are all around us and we are ignoring them.
We have got to understand that these deaths are preventable.
We have got to understand that people in third world countries think and care and smile and cry just like us.
We have got to understand that they dream our dreams and we dream theirs.
We have got to understand that they are us.
We are them.My dream is to stop hunger by the year 2000.
My dream is to give the poor a chance.
My dream is to save the 40,000 people who die each day.
My dream can and will come true if we all look into the future and see the light that shines there.
If we ignore hunger, that light will go out.
If we all help and work together, it will grow and burn free with the potential of tomorrow.

A Master Peace

noreply@blogger.com (Raja Ram) — Sun, 22 Apr 2007 09:15:00 +0000

The following speech is been taken from the last scene in ‘The Great Dictator’, one of the masterpieces by Charles Chaplin, filmed in 1940

Below is the full transcript from the scene:

“I’m sorry, but I don’t want to be an Emperor - that’s not my business. I don’t want to rule or conquer anyone. I should like to help everyone, if possible — Jew, gentile, black man, white. We all want to help one another; human beings are like that. We want to live by each other’s happiness, not by each other’s misery. We don’t want to hate and despise one another. In this world there’s room for everyone and the good earth is rich and can provide for everyone.

The way of life can be free and beautiful.

But we have lost the way.

Greed has poisoned men’s souls, has barricaded the world with hate, has goose-stepped us into misery and bloodshed. We have developed speed but we have shut ourselves in. Machinery that gives abundance has left us in want. Our knowledge has made us cynical, our cleverness hard and unkind. We think too much and feel too little. More than machinery, we need humanity. More than cleverness, we need kindness and gentleness. Without these qualities, life will be violent and all will be lost.

The aeroplane and the radio have brought us closer together. The very nature of these inventions cries out for the goodness in men, cries out for universal brotherhood for the unity of us all. Even now my voice is reaching millions throughout the world, millions of despairing men, women, and little children, victims of a system that makes men torture and imprison innocent people.

To those who can hear me I say, “Do not despair.” The misery that is now upon us is but the passing of greed, the bitterness of men who fear the way of human progress. The hate of men will pass and dictators die; and the power they took from the people will return to the people and so long as men die, liberty will never perish.
Soldiers: Don’t give yourselves to brutes, men who despise you, enslave you, who regiment your lives, tell you what to do, what to think and what to feel; who drill you, diet you, treat you like cattle, use you as cannon fodder. Don’t give yourselves to these unnatural men, machine men, with machine minds and machine hearts! You are not machines! You are not cattle! You are men! You have the love of humanity in your hearts. You don’t hate; only the unloved hate, the unloved and the unnatural.

Soldiers: Don’t fight for slavery! Fight for liberty! In the seventeenth chapter of Saint Luke it is written, “the kingdom of God is within man” — not one man, nor a group of men, but in all men, in you, you the people have the power, the power to create machines, the power to create happiness. You the people have the power to make this life free and beautiful, to make this life a wonderful adventure.

Then, in the name of democracy, let us use that power! Let us all unite!! Let us fight for a new world, a decent world that will give men a chance to work, that will give you the future and old age a security. By the promise of these things, brutes have risen to power, but they lie! They do not fulfill their promise; they never will. Dictators free themselves, but they enslave the people!! Now, let us fight to fulfill that promise!! Let us fight to free the world, to do away with national barriers, to do away with greed, with hate and intolerance. Let us fight for a world of reason, a world where science and progress will lead to all men’s happiness.
Soldiers: In the name of democracy, let us all unite!!!

Hannah, can you hear me? Wherever you are, look up, Hannah. The clouds are lifting. The sun is breaking through. We are coming out of the darkness into the light. We are coming into a new world, a kindlier world, where men will rise above their hate, their greed and brutality.

Look up, Hannah. The soul of man has been given wings, and at last he is beginning to fly. He is flying into the rainbow — into the light of hope, into the future, the glorious future that belongs to you, to me, and to all of us. Look up, Hannah. Look up.”

LETTER TO A TEACHER

noreply@blogger.com (Raja Ram) — Sun, 21 Jan 2007 18:10:00 +0000

My dear friends... a must read.

Pls download a copy of this book from the below link.

http://magazine.crimsonfeet.org/IMG/pdf/LTAT_Final.pdf

Eight young Italian boys from the mountains outside Florence wrote this passionate and eloquent book. It took them a year. Simple and clearly, with some devastating statistical analysis of the Italian education system, they set out to show the ways in which attitudes towards class, behavior, language and subject-matter militates against the poor. They describe too, the reforms they propose, and the methods they use in their own school - the School of Barbiana, started under the guidance of a parish priest and now run entirely by the children.

This remarkable book was written for the parents of the Italian poor. But it is about poor everywhere: their anger is the anger of every worker and peasant who sees middle-class children absorbed effortlessly into schools as teacher’s favorites.

Letter to a Teacher was a best seller in Italy and has been published subsequently in many languages. The School of Barbiana was awarded the prize of the Italian Physical Society, usually reserved for promising physicists, for the statistical achievement involved in the book.

Image: Don Lorenzo Milani(1923-67), founder of the school of Barbiana.

The Soul of Sabarmati Ashram – Maganlal Gandhi.

noreply@blogger.com (Raja Ram) — Wed, 17 Jan 2007 17:46:00 +0000

In 1915, following a plague outbreak Gandhi decided to take his group of over forty souls to a plot of land at Sabarmati, where ‘there was no building … and no tree’ and house them at canvass, he(Gandhi) admitted that ‘the whole conception about the removal was mine, the execution was as usual left to Maganlal.’ – lbid.,p.616

Under Maganlal’s leadership the prickly shrubs, rocks, sand and cacti were removed from the river bank and vegetables and neem trees were planted, and ‘in very short time the barren land became green with vegitables’ – Narayan Desai, The Fire and the Rose[Biography of Mahadevabhai], Ahmedabad: Navajivan, 1995, p.85.

Maganlal designed and supervised the construction of all the buildings, he systematized the management of the ashram, introduced discipline and took control of ashram craft work.

It is not an exaggeration to say that the ashram at Sabamati was Maganlal’s creation and that to a large degree he was the ‘soul’ of the ashram.

Who's Maganlal Gandhi?

noreply@blogger.com (Raja Ram) — Wed, 17 Jan 2007 16:44:00 +0000

Maganlal and his elder brother Chhaganlal were the sons of M.K Gandhi's older cousin Kushalbhai.

Gandhiji’s referred to Maganlal and his elder brother Chhaganlal as nephews.

In 1904 South Africa, Maganlal decided to leave his business for good and joined Gandhiji to look after Phoenix Settlement(Ashram).

Maganlal was not just a gifted organizer and tireless worker, he was also the embodiment of Gandhi’s spiritual and moral quest, in the Mahatma's words, ‘a living example of the saying: “Practice as you preach”’ –‘Magankaka’, Navajivan, 5 August 1928

Gandhiji didn`t coin the word 'Satyagraha'

noreply@blogger.com (Raja Ram) — Sun, 07 Jan 2007 04:17:00 +0000

Gandhi was leading a mass moment against laws which discriminated against Indians in South Africa and he originally used the term passive-resistance for the struggle, but soon came to realize that this could lead to misunderstandings and was searching for Indian word.
On 27 December 1907, in a competition announced in Young India, Gandhi offered a £2 prize to the person who came up with a suitable name. Maganlal Gandhi sent in the best entry. He suggested ‘sadagraha’ (sad-good, agraha- firmness in). Gandhi modified it slightly to ‘ satyagraha’ (sat- truth, agraha- firmness in)

- Sushila Nayar, Mahatma Ghandhi, volume IV: Satayagraha at Work, Ahemedabad: Navajivan, 1989, p119: Gandhi, An Autobiography, p235.

Historiography and the Dandi March

noreply@blogger.com (Raja Ram) — Tue, 26 Dec 2006 18:00:00 +0000

The following message is about India’s freedom struggle. A struggle in which the whole country united against the British in 1857, in which during 1930 people began manufacturing salt in every house, a struggle which ended in freedom.

At 6.30 a.m. on 12 March 1930, Mahatma Gandhi led a column of seventy-eight of his followers, large crowds in tow, from Sabarmati Ashram towards the seashore of Dandi some 200 miles distant, on the commencement of the epic Salt March.

No Women? Yes
Though women were full and active members of Gandhi's community, and many were to be closely associated with him over a lengthy period of time, no women were present among the 78 people chosen to accompany him on the march.

Opportunistically distorted beliefs
‘Just as Hindus do not harm a cow, the British do not attack women as far as possible. For Hindus it would be cowardice to take a cow to the battlefield. In the same way it would be cowardice for us to have accompany us’.
-Gandhi’s remarks at prayer meeting, Sabarmati Ashram, Navajivan, 9 March 1930.

An interesting article:
in.rediff.com/news/2006/apr/05spec.htm

Historical Facts

noreply@blogger.com (Raja Ram) — Tue, 26 Dec 2006 16:54:00 +0000

There is not any one view of history. Historical ‘facts’ can change with time in accordance with the beliefs of those bringing history to the public.
-E.H. Carr, What is History?, London: Macmillan, 1961.

(Image: Theseas & Minotaur)

'Sometimes legends make reality, and become more useful than the facts'

- Rushdie, Midnight's Children, p.80

Corporate rules the globalize (d) world.

noreply@blogger.com (Raja Ram) — Sat, 18 Nov 2006 08:10:00 +0000

I worked for a big corporate, say a monopoly; I was wondering how a corporate functions or how a day-to-day complicated business activities happen slickly? Knowing that it is not one person’s effort alone, but what regulates or directs the interdependence of groups of men or labourers.

The same I wondered for society or a nation.

Below extracts helped me to see things differently

“People work for each other without knowing each other, without inquiring about another’s needs, in the hope, and even with the assurance, that their relations will somehow regulate themselves. And by and large they do, or rather, were wont to.”

Touching tale!

noreply@blogger.com (Raja Ram) — Fri, 17 Nov 2006 12:57:00 +0000

I found this touching tale over at Muslim Refusnik:
Two Arabs boarded a flight out of London. One took a window seat and the other sat next to him in the middle seat. Just before take-off, a U.S. Marine sat down in the aisle seat. After take-off, the Marine kicked off his shoes, wiggled his toes and was settling in when the Arab in the window seat said, "I need to get up and get a Coke.""Don't get up," said the Marine. "I'm in the aisle seat. I'll get it for you."As soon as he left, one of the Arabs picked up the Marine's right shoe and spat in it.When the Marine returned with a Coke, the other Arab said, "That looks good. I'd really like one, too." Again, the Marine obligingly went to fetch it. While he was gone, the other Arab picked up the Marine's left shoe and spat in it. When the Marine returned, they all sat back and enjoyed the flight. As the plane was landing, the Marine slipped his feet into his shoes and knew immediately what had happened."Why does it have to be this way?" he asked. "How long must this go on? This fighting between our nations? This hatred? This animosity? This spitting in shoes and pissing in Cokes?"

Drama & Theatre / Plays

noreply@blogger.com (Raja Ram) — Mon, 13 Nov 2006 17:35:00 +0000

I like theatre plays, to be particular 'modern plays with a social message'.
Now a days not many good plays are seen..

Shakespeare said it rather more elegantly
" Out, out, brief candle!
Life's but a walking shadow, a poor player
That struts and frets his hour upon the stage
And then is heard no more: it is a tale
Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury,
Signifying nothing."

What are you?

noreply@blogger.com (Raja Ram) — Sun, 12 Nov 2006 14:35:00 +0000

If you believe in the philosophy of ‘service to humanity’, whether you’ll live for it or die for it?

"What do the dangers or the sacrifices of a man or of a nation matter, when the destiny of humanity is at stake."
- Che in 'Message to the Tricontinental'

/comments welcome/

Motive of this blog!

noreply@blogger.com (Raja Ram) — Wed, 22 Feb 2006 09:20:00 +0000

Contradiction is not a sign of falsity, nor the lack of contradiction a sign of truth.

- Blaise Pascal