Nine And Three-Quarters

The Phoenix That I Am Not

2012-05-03T07:01:00.000-07:00

I stood shrouded in light,unperturbed.
As the gentle flames kissed my face
Like a lover it embraced me tight
In the white fire  I burned.

I watched him embrace the blaze
With open arms,heart and soul
Like long lost lovers uniting.
Conjoined in the blazing whiteness

I watched the ashes through the haze
Purged by flames,burnt, renewed,
   Not the phoenix that burns to rise.
   Forlorn,I am risen to be charred

Tears of Angels

2012-04-18T13:28:00.000-07:00

Let not the shimmer of the metalled road,

Dampen the spirit or loosen the hold.

Throttle up, let the beast roar,

Let the tears of the angels soak your soul.

Let the fury of nature and of the metallic beast,

Manifest the angst underneath your breast.

No friends,no lovers can delve so deep

As the spirit pervading the primordial

Let the primeval spark ignite the flame within,

And the fuel be charred yearnings.

With helpless rage weld the pieces,

And let watery eyes polish the shine.

Be the anvil and let the torrent shape,

Sculpt galatea from your red furnace

Fire and rain smite metal and smoke,

With motion and noise,the elements of our age

Why Dragons Are Slain

2011-12-18T06:59:00.000-08:00

Lately, I have been seeing a lot of dragons. No, they are not schizophrenic delusions, I have not yet been diagnosed with any psychotic disorder, allusions to dragons here are symbolic. In the Eastern world, i.e. China,Korea and Japan, dragons are symbol of prosperity and well-being but in the West they are considered vile,evil creatures representing the devil himself (in the Book of Revelation, Satan is depicted as a red dragon with 7 heads and 10 horns but it is a prediction not tale of earlier times). I find it interesting that dragons in Western folk-lore are not depicted as proactive forces of evil, like vampires,werewolves and other predatory monsters are. It is not that dragons are weaker or docile. In fact, dragons in the lore are depicted to be of enormous size, possessing physical strength to destroy towns in a single attack,ability to fly and possess magical and other knowledge gained from their extraordinarily long lifespan. Yet, in nearly all tales they seem to be depicted as lazy, lying in their liars, it is the heroes who seek them out and slay them. Wouldn't it ordinarily seem unfair that those who attack unprovoked be considered heroes ?

What I haven't mentioned yet is that dragons in Western folk-tales are also guardian of treasures. They hoard up wealth, gold, diamond , jewels and precious stones of every kind and lie sprawled on it, guarding it for ages. In the Indian culture and tales, snakes, especially Cobra are depicted as guardians of treasure but unlike dragons, they are seldom considered owner of treasures, just their guardian. Despite being attributed to having abundance of wealth, strength, long lifespans, knowledge and even magic, dragons are mostly shown as living wretched lives, holed up in their liars. From a pragmatic and human point of view they might be seen as pitiable (of course as long as one is not at their mercy), but the same tales depict them as threat and oppressor. If the the dragons lie in their liars unconcerned about the state of affairs in the world of men and other creatures, why would kings and knights want to kill them ?

It is because dragons pose a greater threat to communities and their welfare in the longer term as opposed to an unfortunate victim of a werewolf attack. A dragon (in tales of course), amasses wealth meant for the collective and hoards it up,if it used the gold for even extravagance (I know how ridiculous it sounds :P) the gold would be back in circulation even if at a higher cost but no, the dragon's perverse pleasure lies in denying everyone else even the slightest joy. Although the seven cardinal sins are associated more with Christian theology, in effect they are viewed with the same contempt in almost all belief systems. A dragon embodies nearly all seven sins (sloth,gluttony,greed,envy at least) perhaps the seven horns of the red dragon foretold in Revelation are symbolic representation of the seven sins. The medieval knight in shining armor having to go searching for dragon and slaying it may have a Biblical theme but the utilitarian essence is equally strong. Not only did dragons deny fair distribution of wealth in a society that desperately needed means of sustenance, they also prevented wealth generation and over all progress.

One only needs to look around to find dragons among our midst, by midst I don't mean physical proximity but the mental space they occupy. As I said in the very first line, lately I have been seeing a lot of dragons, the first one I had rather not be candid about, it's far too personal. Instead let us turn to the favorite whipping boys; the politicians. When ministers siphon away thousands of crores of rupees they exhibit the trait of the dragon. What purpose would trillions of rupees stashed away in a locker in offshore tax havens serve if the depositors or their heirs are never able to retrieve or spend it ? To me this seems more stupid than diabolic.

Its not just unscrupulous politicians and government officials, legitimate businesses too exhibit the trait, especially privately-held businesses. The service provider I am using right now to connect to the Internet would perhaps be a fitting example. A quick search on Google returns 230,000 pages which should be a record of sorts considering its small consumer base and most of these complaints were posted before it started using,what seems to be, ghost-proxy (most likely using a third-party DNS ) injecting advertisement code into the incoming data packets. Apart from being unethical,it would perhaps also be held illegal but that's not all, this also imposes restrictions on the consumer in availing service paid for.

However, the best part of this ISP is its customer support, they are simply impervious to criticism and I wouldn't be surprised if one of them pulled out a gun from under the desk when the complaint gets harsher. And I don't want to start on the kind of reporting their news channel does. You simply wouldn't believe. I believe some of this arrogance stems from the fact that the service is not the primary source of revenue for the business house that owns it. It would also explain the monopoly it has in the sector. But the most pertinent question would be why it bothers to be in business if there is a lack of desire to improvise ? The space could be used by an individual or an organization that has something larger at stake and cannot afford to be complacent.

Wake Up, Princess

2011-11-11T06:46:00.000-08:00

A poem dedicated to mon cherie @mryta

The fiery sun glowered with menace

A frail human should defy its whims.

But the last drop, had grief consumed

To her rheumy eyes, sun went dim.

As she lay on sand, in the twilight zone

A familiar face like the sun shone

She mournfully looked at the phantom figure

Her own apparition of an era long gone.

When the breaking dawn had first revealed,

The hideous visage of her noble prince,

Veiled by the treacherous moon-light he had come.

Riding out like the knight of her own dreams.

Wake up Princess!

The Sun stands vanquished,moon is ashamed,

to perseverance yielded,the darkness fleeing.

With steel of hope strike the nightmare to end.

You are the ageless warrior who triumphs over death.

Wake up, Princess!

The Lost Symbol : A Review

2011-10-09T16:25:00.000-07:00

After Rome and Paris, Robert Langdon faces yet another challenge to unravel ancient secrets, save a friend's life,defeat a formidable foe and avert a global disaster, all in a single day's work. But this time the adventure takes place in Washington which may initially seem surprising,given the fact that was founded roughly 300 years back whereas ancient secrets date back to well.. antiquity. The linkage of course is the well-known Masonic roots of the founding fathers of the USA and Freemason symbols and signature found in everything from the White House to the Presidential Seal and even currency bills, subjects which have provided sustenance to myriads of conspiracy theories floating on the web especially.

The plot is similar to his previous thrillers as are the characters.[Spoiler Alert!] Like in previous books the three main characters besides the protagonist are hardly normal people. An unimaginably rich and immensely powerful patron,a genius, powerhouse of knowledge and a gentleman with a heart of gold is unlikely to come across anywhere other than Dan Brown book. Similarly, an immensely intelligent, single independent woman of science and one of the keys to the plot and a highly motivated, skilled and ruthless villain with an unusually high intellectual level completes the triad around which the story revolves. [/Spoiler Alert!]

Dan Brown was never really a great writer,but in this one he definitely sounds stale. However, the author probably relies more on his homework,assortment of oddities, rather than literary skill which would explain why about half the lines in his books are usually italicized. Unlike conspiracy theorists', Dan Brown's assertions are usually based on facts, obscure facts,facts which have been hidden beneath tales,stories,customs,rituals or even under physical structures and private artefacts,but more interesting are the secrets hidden in plain view which we look at often, but never see! Da Vinci Code and Angels and Demons had loads of them. In The Lost Symbol, the quest that the villain embarks on is to unravel the ancient mysteries and find the path to immortality! Now if that sounds preposterous in the 21st century,just take a look at this picture above, mentioned in The Lost Symbol.

Secrets like these are what compensate for the literary value it lacks. Freemasonry has been mentioned depicted in numerous books and movies but mostly as an ungodly cult, Brown narrates the seemingly grotesque rituals with all their sordid details but then he also explains the underlying philosophy and principles which make these rituals seem justifiable for greater good. Another obscure but very potent branch of science, the Noetic Science, which according to my understanding is the science investigating the intangible relationships of humans with other humans and with the universe. as a whole.

For the occasional reader looking for a gripping storyline, a proper thriller, The Lost Symbol might just not satisfy. As for those like me , given to oddities and mysteries, it certainly deserves a place on the shelf.

Animal Lovers : Help Needed !

2011-05-09T14:32:00.000-07:00

I have never been an animal lover, at least that is what I have believed forever. This belief probably stemmed from the fact that I am a strict non-vegetarian and also not the sort of person who would pick up a cute looking rabbit and play with it, even adopt it as a pet. I don't like or should I say, I don't shower physical affection on kids either (don't think its insensitivity,more like Freud and Jungian influence). Anyway, coming back to animals, I never had any pets . But last couple of years I have been smitten by the cat bug, I do care for them but they remain outdoor pets.

At this point I should describe my dwelling. I live in an old town and in a densely populated locality (something like ghetto or our desi mohallas)but fortunately, our house is the first/last of the locality. It is a typically old town house, with lawn and backyard taking up about half of the plot. Besides, it is surrounded by trees and bushes on three sides (a blessing during summer), because of which animals keep straying in, neighborhood stray dogs have learnt to stay on the periphery but as most cat lovers will tell you, cats don't like being "told" what to do. So we already had a couple of kittens and I was beginning to like them when I found another one. This one seemed to have been raised as a pampered pet,affection seeking, docile and unlike other cats, obedient.

He had been with us for nearly a year, my older cousin mostly looked after him.Sometime back he came back with part of an ear missing. Most likely the local alpha-male had ripped off part of his left ear. He was so scared that he wouldn't come close to us. The wound aggravated and he just vanished for couple of days but we found him brought him home,fed him and let him sleep in a room but by evening the room and vicinity was stinking horribly.

This is where my predicament begins. I have a rare disorder,outcome of a brain hemorrhage I suffered after a road accident some 14 years back. In a general this disorder is called anosmia, or the inability to smell (as in blindness being the inability to see). However, I haven't come across reference to a disorder whose definition applies to mine 100%. But my disorder can still be called anosmia because in 9/10 instances I can't smell anything, and in the 10th instances I experience euosmia Without going into technical detail I would just narrate my own experience. Most of the times I can't smell but at times,if there is a persistent and sharp odour even if faint,I am stuck with it for at least one day. It is like I am carrying smelling object right under my nose. If it is a foul odour then eating that day is out of question,one has to bear with the constant pukish feeling too.

I am describing my disorder to explain why I couldn't take him to the vet myself. I have been unable to have proper food since two days because of the smell that stays with me,even though he was in the out-room.But worse than that he seemed to be in great pain, I have asked almost every person I know, on how to get medical help but there was no help available. I have not seen his wound closely but the infection had spread over the entire left side of his face and neck and is infested with worms which keep dropping as he walks.

Is there no way to help him ? If we ask the municipal corporation, they would probably take him and dump him in gutter to rot and die. I believe my cousin whose pet he was has already done that. The day before, I missed an entire nights sleep so I don't fail to reach the government veterinary hospital in time (they are hardly open most of the time I have gone there) The staff of the government vet hospital,like the staff of most government institutions seem supremely unconcerned. All they offer is outdoor treatment and you have to take the animal back with you,no matter how critical it is. There were other options too and I tried each of them but it was shocking to see the state of affairs. But I am not finished yet, I will post another entry soon.

The Osama Questions

2011-05-02T13:17:00.001-07:00

World's most wanted man was gunned down in a 40 min surgical operation by a US Navy elite SEAL team in not-so-primitive-city of Abottabad in Pakistan but the entire episode has raised too many questions, some related to the actual operation while others are related to roles of the different actors involved.

The first question that I came across was if the report was genuine and Osama Bin Laden had really been killed?
The skepticism stems from various reason, previous reports of Osama's death had been later found to be mere rumors and US forces failure to nab him in 10 years had for some people created sort of a halo of invincibility around his head. Osama dying in a pitched war would have sounded more plausible than him dying in a 40 min stealth operation. A lot of times, truth can be as boring. This leads to the next question -

Why no photographs or videos showing his dead body as not released and why was he hurriedly buried in the sea ?
The answer to this question probably is the apprehension on part of the US military that it might invoke emotional response in a section of the public and incite his followers to launch fresh terror attacks in retaliation. Burial in the sea, according to Islamic rites seems to be an ill-conceived stratagem to me. It is a rare practice followed only under extraneous conditions, none of which were present in this case. The assumption that if buried on ground, his grave would become a shrine for his followers doesn't appear sound to me. Osama, as well as his followers subscribe to a rather extreme thought of the Salafi/Wahhabi school which condemns commemoration of the dead by building shrines or tombs. Saudi Arabia, which is also the home of the Bin Laden family is the fountainhead of this school of thought,burying him there would have ensured that no tombs come up. As for those who "must" make a shrine out of him, the site of Osama's killing can easily replace his tomb. Mostly those belonging to Sufi school visit shrines and ironically this school predominates the Indian sub-continent i.e. Pakistan, Bangladesh and India and as all of us know, most of Osama's vocal supporters were based in Pakistan. All said and done,this episode is unlikely to go well with some sections of Muslims who were opposed to him as much as the West, who would see it as dumping the body out of disrespect. Traditionally and throughout ages last rites of the slain has held much importance,regardless the deeds of the deceased.

Is this going to affect global terrorism ? and if its yes, then, in what way ?
This definitely is a big blow to the Al-Qaida, with most of its key members dead or under captivity, there is little Al-Zawahiri can do. As it is Al Qaida was never a centralized group, Osama Bin Laden's charismatic personality (and probably his family fortune) was what made him the rallying point of the global network of Islamist terrorists. If relationship between the USA and Pakistan deteriorate further, Pakistan may try to wean away the Taliban from the Al Qaida which would mean end of the road for latter.
The following interactive movie from Guardian shows the organizational network of Osama

Even if Osama had not been killed, global Islamist terrorism would have and has received a huge blow from the Jasmine Revolution in Arab and North Africa. Terrorists. extremists of all kinds thrive on differences between the ruler and the ruled, disaffected, frustrated citizens can be brain-washed into becoming suicide bombers but once the people realize that self-immolation can be far more effective than suicide bombing, the rate of latter would fall. That Osama was found now after 10 years may indicate shifting of loyalties of the people, especially those under detention.

How does it affect India directly ?

It probably doesn't, even if Indian media channels , especially TimesNOW and Hindi-language channels, continue fantasizing, the GoI has characteristically issued statement that Indo-Pak talks would continue as per schedule. I guess it is just another way of saying we will wait until the next terrorist attack on India and then make some noises before settling down to usual business of looting the state exchequer !

On a serious note, currently US-Pakistan relationship will have to undergo a test of fire, too many voices across the US and the world are now questioning Pakistan's complicity in the whole war on terror. Unlike his demented predecessor, Obama seems capable of seeing right through the smokescreen, the fact that Pakistan wasn't informed of the operation to prevent Osama from being alerted, proves it beyond all doubts. Elements within the Pakistani establishment do seem uncomfortable at the way Pakistan has been treated before the world press. Now with Osama dead and Afghanistan relatively stable, the US would probably want to distance itself from Pakistan, if the latter hasn't disassociated itself from anti-India militant groups like LeT even at times like these, it is likely to only increase cooperation after US' exit from the region.

Unfortunately, at this point of time, India's relationship with the US is cold, the recent refusal of India to buy fighters from USA highlighted it. Further, India's foreign policy of last 10 years has been over-cautious and messy at best. In times of tumultuous changes, India has not been able to win over a single ally to its side. India's soft power has undoubtedly increased but lack of policy and hard power to support it. Hard power here doesn't refer to the military capability but to the political leadership the controls it. For a decade now Pakistan has been upgrading their military capabilities by procuring latest technology-driven weapons from the US on the pretext of fighting terrorism. All along Pakistan has been playing a dangerous game and India has been cautioning the world community about it but ironically, it itself has been falling to it too by expecting that the USA would address India's security concerns too. It is only a matter of days and it would be clear if an era has come to an end and our policies need to be overhauled.

Musings On Mortality

2011-03-19T13:41:00.001-07:00

Ancient philosophers as well as medieval ones often kept human skull on their writing desk, as a reminder of their own mortality. I read this long back and assume that it is widely known but in the early years the idea appeared to me, as it would appear to most people - a freaky habit !

If at all a skull on your writing desk doesn't startle you to death when you doze off with your chin on the table and wake up to find two hollow sockets staring at you, it should at least obsess you with the idea of your own death! And people obsessed with their own deaths, (euphemistically called fatalists or nihilists) would definitely screw up their present lives as well as the lives of people close to them. So it must be one of those freaky things the ancients practiced because they had lots of free time and loads of silly ideas propagated by their wisest men who probably wouldn't be able to intellectually compete with some of the biggest dumb-asses of our time.

Well, those were my thoughts in the early years, but the idea of having a hourly reminder of your impending death no longer appears to me as obsession with one's own death. If at all it means anything, it reminds one of the greater truth than death - Life. It can also be seen as mirror to our souls, to remind if we have committed our deeds virtuously that very day. Of course, all religions, spiritual groups,intellectual groups have rules, principles to aid us in finding the best way to live but in this post, I am talking about a Stoic strain of thought, which neither suggests an alternative to religious codes nor contradicts them. It is one of the mysteries that the ancients bequeathed to us but we seldom recognize them for what they are. For me too,it remains a concept that I find difficult to explain but I will not be so ungrateful as to say it doesn't make sense to me either. I don't have a skull on my desk, as a matter of fact I no longer have a desk. I can find all I would look for on my desk, on my lap now !

But I would no longer underestimate the wisdom of the ancients. Perhaps, the skull acted as a measurement device, much like the thermometer we use for measuring temperature or the device to test the sugar level in our blood, except that in their case it wasn't body temperature or blood sugar they were trying to check but their spiritual and/or intellectual levels. Faith frees one of the fear of the unknown, death is unknown- the time of one's death is unknown, what happens after death is unknown, the very concept of death is unknown. Whether we acknowledge it to even ourselves or not, most of our actions are related to our fear of death or harm. There is no harm in that, life's purpose is to keep death at bay as long as it can,after all death is unknown.

Faith says death is not the end, life continues and that you will be accounted for all your deeds- good and bad karma . Faith is the key to life, it demystifies death , but the latter continues to menace us all the time. Faith is the key, but as a concept it is very difficult to be understood without taking religion or spiritualism into account. Religious laws and principles are meant to help develop that faith.A person with a life-time of good deeds and belief in after-life is likely to be calm when staring into the face of death, but for someone with neither fear of death is natural.

Perhaps for our ancient philosophers, the symbol of death on desk was not a reminder of the inevitability of death but a reminder of how to live every day. That having no fear nor regret as death comes knocking at the door anytime implies a certain level of spiritual maturity. As for that matter, even a half-finished blog post shouldn't be a cause of regret but I am not Socrates (my all time favorite philosopher ) whose last words were "Crito, we owe a rooster to Asclepius. Please, don't forget to pay the debt" Now, those words may have deeper meaning; they are in fact the essence of this post but you will have to find out the hidden meaning ;) Nor can I be like the great Stoic philosopher Zeno of Citium, who after tripping and falling, struck the ground with his fist,saying

"I come, I come, why dost thou call for me?"

and died on the spot through holding his breath.^[3]

March 11: Japan's Early Warning System

2011-03-11T14:40:00.000-08:00

When I first heard about a powerful earthquake, the obvious feeling was one of alarm but when told that the target was Japan, my stress had considerably decreased. Of course, the magnitude (8.9 Richter) did sound far bigger than any other earthquake I had heard or read about, but still I expected loss of lives on a much lesser scale than had it hit any other country. Just a couple of days back I was going through the report covering Russia-UK collaboration to launch new generation satellites for real times monitoring of seismic activities and eventually build tools for prediction.

It is difficult to not think of Japan when dwelling on seismic activities, after all it is the most disaster prone area even in a region called "ring of fire" and experiences about a 100,000 earthquakes every year! Even our school text-books haves taught us how the Japanese building are made to and at the same time the Japanese are some of the most resilient, innovative and technologically advanced peoples in the world. True enough, while the US, UK,Russia and others are trying to come up with a earthquake prediction mechanism, Japan is one step ahead of them, in October 2007, it launched an automated earthquake warning system which could issue warnings seconds before the impact.[ more http://www.jma.go.jp/jma/en/Activities/eew1.html]

Now, unlike weather forecast systems, the earthquake warning system is not really forecasting or prediction system. During an earthquake, the primary waves are fast but too weak to cause disturbance, its the slower secondary waves that cause the devastation. However, seismograph can pick up the primary waves and raise alert, but a single instrument may not be that effective since the time gap is only of few seconds. The automated system links 1000 seismographs across Japan with a fast network that can together be used to calculate the strength and location of the quake and issue a warning system. Later,major cellular phone carriers of Japan had already implemented a mechanism to automatically route government warning to their phone users.

This is the first time that the automated warning system was triggered and it is quite likely that it was successful. Although, the extent of loss in terms of human lives is not yet clear, news agencies report that the automated warning sent through cell phones, TV and radio ( Twitter ?) had reached people in Tokyo before the shock-waves did. Of course, Tokyo is not exactly close to the epicenter, those nearer to epicenter had very little warning, neither of the earthquake nor the tsunami which caused maximum damage. Yet, if it did manage to save a few lives, the Japanese people have once again proved their mettle. It might sound insensitive but an earthquake of this magnitude in South Asia or South East Asia would have ended with hundreds of thousands of human lives. In case of India, our administrators are so immersed in corruption and gluttony, one wouldn't be surprised even if entire generations had been wiped out.

Update

According to Telegraph, the warning was issued 1 minute before the earthquake
In other news, Japan has admitted that its 2 nuclear reactors have been affected and has warned of radiation leak

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[ The warning system is maintained by Japanese Meteorological Agency ]

A Pharaoh-Sized Ego Or Machiavellian Deceit

2011-02-11T02:57:00.001-08:00

This post is an extension of a Twitter conversation I was having with @baavri and @miKirti as #reasonMubarakIsLate is trending on Twitter for quite some time. It is intriguing indeed, how can one man defy the will of the entire nation and nearly whole of the cyber world and most importantly, the President of the USA ?!

I have a bunch of hunches that I would like to share here but with the caveat that all of these may turn out wrong.

The most obvious reason seems to be, that Mubarak is simply unwilling to end his political career on this note. Contrary to what many perceive, the US may not have "dumped" Mubarak, in that case he would have been gone a week back. He also enjoys the support of a group of very powerful people, people who not only run the Middle-Eastern nations but also are key allies of Washington. When Israel Saudi Arabia, Jordan UAE, Syria and the rest of the Arab countries unite and slam the US in such a manner, it reflects the extent to which they are willing to go prevent Mubarak's ouster. It also explains why the Egyptian dictator refuses to yield after such a huge demand.

The key to this unfolding drama lies in Obama's statement welcoming democratic movement in Egypt but asking both the parties to make the transition peaceful. As the ex-Tunisian President fled the country after the Jasmine Revolution, it was becoming clearer that the Arabs were now beginning to understand the power of a democratic movement, mass demonstrations, peaceful rallies and sufficient media coverage could bring down even the biggest of tyrants. They understood, that a single case of self-immolation in protest can be more powerful than thousands of suicide bombings. It was a clear indication that people's movement in the Arab world had just begun and there was a great probability of autocratic regimes in the region being overthrown.

Obama pitching in for Mubarak could be catastrophic if he were to be toppled. Anti-Americanism is one of the motivating factors of these uprisings, If the people are so hostile towards the US, it would be impossible for a democratically elected government to continue the relationship at the same level. Further, Mubarak and his VP's statements, disapproving US interference would reinforce the belief that Washington was staunchly behind the protesters, at least that is what history text book would say.

But that still doesn't answer why Hosni Mubarak refuses to relinquish power now. There could be multiple reasons, let me elucidate:

Mubarak resigns/flees the Nile Revolution would be declared a phenomenal success, the reverberations would be felt in the entire region. It was the success of Jasmine Revolution in Tunisia that provided the Egyptians with the belief that the regime could be brought down through mass mobilization. Hosni Mubarak is the strongest autocrat of the region, a decade back removing him from power in any way other than coup/assassination would have been unthinkable. So if someone of his stature can be forced out of office by protesting masses, one can imagine the fate of other autocratic rulers in the West Asia. Protests in Jordan and Yemen have already begun but currently they haven't reached the intensity that Egypt is under since more than two weeks. If Mubarak leaves, and the protesters in Tahrir Square break into celebration, declaring victory, all in front of cameras of news channels, fresh protests with a new-found zeal might engulf neighboring countries like Yemen, Saudi and Jordan.

It is a scenario unacceptable even to US, needless to say, the kings of Saudi and Jordan, Presidents of Yemen and Syria and of course Israel would shudder to think. Their concerns are not mis-founded. In the last Palestinian election militant group Hamas got the majority of seats and formed the government and in the recently concluded Lebanese election Hezbollah has emerged successful. However, both the peoples have been living in terror that Israeli forces have instilled in them and continue to. So when it was their turn to vote, they probably thought militia would be in a better position to protect them than parties like Fatah. The same cannot be held true for other place too such as Saudi or UAE. So, it is likely that the US and the West would prefer that the domino effect be confined to Egypt alone for the time being.

Then, Mubarak has been criticized for behaving like a Pharaoh, there seems to be some truth in that from the mere fact that he did not appoint a Vice-President for 30 years, unwilling to delegate some of his powers to his own deputy. This Pharaoh sized-ego may be another reason why Mubarak won't just quit, he may not want to leave a legacy that the future generations would revile. To remain in power in Egypt and under such conditions for 30 years is no mean feat, one has to be really shrewd,mean and ambitious. Mubarak may be making a final bid to regain his throne. From the beginning of the demonstration, he has been delaying, buying time, last night's television address indicates it. If that was all Mubarak had to say, which he had been saying since the beginning, what is the point of getting the global population glued to their TV screen and you don't even say , "BOOOO" :p

If one thing is certain, it is the fact that Mubarak is delaying his departure as much as possible. One of the reason could the one I mentioned above; fall of Cairo may provide the momentum to other pro-democracy protesters in the region. But, the Machiavellian that Mubarak seems to be, this could be another ploy to undermine the revolution.

NEWS FLASH: I had written this post yesterday till this point, according news reports, today i.e. 11Feb11 Mubarak has indeed stepped down. What I intended to say further is that
Mubarak may be clinging to power create an opportunity to exit honorably. Pharaohs before him have built huge pyramids to leave their marks in posterity, the last Pharaoh would definitely want to leave a political one.

Egypt: Kefaya As A Doctrine

2011-01-31T06:28:00.000-08:00

Anonymous has joined the fray in #Egypt protests declaring that it will not stand idly as people are denied their basic rights and human dignity thus raising the possibility of Egyptian government sites becoming their new target. The online hacktivist group had earlier come out in support of Tunisian protesters and taken down Tunisian government websites. However, what interest me more are the parallels in the structure of both the organizations (for lack of a better word). Both are leaderless movements by like-minded individuals participating voluntarily to achieve a simple objective. Further, as radically decentralized networks with no hierarchy nor structure,they expose no identifiable target that the government could coerce/corrupt into submission.
{Update 24/02/11: Came across an Al-Jazeera Op-Ed : Anonymous and the global correction)

It is also interesting to see the role that the Internet has played, social networking tools have had catalyzing effect in Egyptian as well as Tunisia's Jasmine Revolution. Activists were able to share information with others, easily through Blogs, Facebook, Twitter and similar services. Mubarak regime reacted by attempting to shut down access to the Internet services but it was not able to block information completely. Despite his attempts, the protesters and journalists were able to circumvent the blocking mechanism and present updated news to the people off Egypt as well as the world. The crackdown on activists/bloggers, journalists etc by the regime turned out counter-productive as more and more people around the globe began to see the real face of the Egyptian dictatorship and overwhelmingly supported the protesters.
. Once that part was done, the action was going to take place in physical world and in Tahrir Square. It very much resembles the Open Source Software development methodology,defense analyst John Robb calls it Open Source Protest
The Egypt protesters currently are a loose coalition of groups with diverse ideological leanings, varying motivating factors and different agendas united by a single thread which is the demand for the removal of Hosni Mubarak from power and bringing in a democratic setup. After 30 years of Mubarak's despotic rule the people of Egypt appear too weary to tolerate this ruthless dictatorship any more. Hence the word Kefaya which translates to "enough" (those familiar with Urdu/Hindi should find similarity with the word "Kaafi" ) has evolved into a political doctrine implying grass-root level coalition and activism with basic aim of transforming the state and the polity. It sounds similar to the concept of passive resistance or civil disobedience as propounded by Mahatma Gandhi but there are differences, most important of which is the fact that the movement in Egypt is leaderless.

And unlike the British, the incumbent regime of Egypt tried every trick in book (and invented a couple) to break the will of the people. When the movement began the notorious police force first clashed with public and then disappeared only to return in plain clothes to commit looting and arson,mimicking chaos which Mubarak could then use as an excuse to stay in power. The police then abandoned posts and jails leaving hardened criminals on the streets, with none to protect, the citizens themselves created vigilante groups to protect their homes from robbers as others participated in rallies in Tahrir Square and other places.The bluff was called after a number of looters were caught by vigilante groups were found with police identity card on their bodies.

The latest tactics wars to hire modern day mercenaries, disguised as pro-Mubarak protesters who came armed on horses and camels attacking unarmed demonstrates. Even this did not wok out well, there were clashes and the pro-Mubarak protesters were outnumbered and injured. It is ironic that people working for the government should attempt to vandalize the Egyptian Museum and a human chain by the local Muslims and Christians guarded the Museum from vandals.

This indeed explains the courage and steadfastness people of Egypt have shown recently, it is also a precedence and and a doctrine that might soon get currency,even outside the region.

The Modi Factor And Deoband

2011-01-29T04:16:00.001-08:00

The ongoing stir in Deoband's Darul Uloom seminary,one of the leading Islamic seminaries in the world, over its newly instated Vice Chancellor, Maulana Ghulam Mohammed Vastanvi's controversial remarks endorsing Narendra Modi government in Gujarat reveals that the Indian Muslim community is no more a monolithic vote-bank that political parties can exploit. So says the Times of India editorial. It is an interesting thought but a bit misplaced. The structure and mindset of the Indian Muslim community has undergone significant transformation in the last decade owing to myriad factors, socio-economic upliftment, access to better information and communication medium such mobile phones and the Internet, which,apart from regular communication, also helped make interaction with members of other communities simpler as well as unavoidable. Of course, the support and solidarity of the Indian civil society, the overwhelming majority constituents of which are non-Muslims, also helped bring Muslims to the mainstream.

However, seeing the current controversy solely as sharp differences of opinions between the moderates and the conservatives within the Indian Muslim community is a myopic one. True, at the core of the issue, lie warring groups of the seminary but the debate over Narendra Modi is of universal proportion and should not be seen in context to the Muslims only, nor should it be seen as moderates vs conservatives vs liberals. The fiercest criticism does not come from the Muslim community members but from humanitarians and civil rights activists, mostly belonging to the Hindu community. Statements in support of Modi doesn't just divide the Muslim community, it polarizes the whole of India, as seen in the criticism Amitabh Bachchan drew after becoming the brand ambassador of Modi's Gujarat or during the Bihar election campaign when the alliance between the BJP and JD(U) began to show cracks at the insistence of Nitish Kumar that Narendra Modi be not part of the campaign in the state.

Modi may pamper himself as the pride of Gujarat but the fact is that when the US refuses visa to an Indian Chief Minister, as an Indian I feel quite ashamed. Hindu ethos is known world over for its tolerance,spiritualism and non-violence, Modi is perhaps the first Hindu leader known for practicing religious persecution and orchestrating genocide against minorities. Anyone, who has watched the Tehelka sting operation video showing Modi's workers proudly proclaiming the ghastly deeds they committed, would find it difficult to come to terms with the reality.

Apparently Maulana Vastanvi has said, as have various leaders before him, that it is time Muslims move on, we cannot live with the ghost of the 2002 riots forever. It sounds a very reasonable statement, reconciliation is always reasonable and desirable but submission is not. Modi government has been accused of abusing the official machinery to massacre members belonging to a particular community instead of protecting them. It has happened before during the 1984 anti-Sikh riots in Delhi but they did not happen under glare of the media,it came to light in the aftermath. During the Gujarat riots the world watched as the innocents were murdered and raped, even senior police officers and High Court judges were not safe if they happened to be Muslims. The gory details have been documented and archived in abundance, I have no intention of repeating them, its been almost a decade.

So may be we should move on, burying the past and focusing on the future instead, as the Maulana says. The would certainly be reasonable if Modi had shown a wee bit of remorse for the deaths and destruction that took place under his watch and supervision. The conspirators of 1984 Delhi massacre were not brought to book either but they are being prosecuted, even if it is an eyewash. More importantly, none of them hold portfolios as powerful as that of Chief Ministership and certainly they aren't future Prime Ministerial candidates either. Neither has Modi's rhetoric changed nor have his policies. Of course he is popular and his re-election proves it but to accept his legitimacy on those grounds, we might as well set up a statue of Adolph Hitler before that. Let us not forget the even Hitler and Mussolini had huge public support, which they gained by whipping up the passion of the people on ultra-nationalistic lines until they overcame it and dumped the dictators to history's dustbin.

Further, the riots were not one time affair either,the violence subsided but the strain of radical thought didn't. Incarcerations of thousands of innocent people on false charges,fake encounters and fostering a culture of violent reprisal happened over the years. We are talking about a state government, one of whose minister was arrested for murder during the 2002 riots and of a Chief Minister, whose right hand and former Home Minister as well as top brass of the police department are in judicial custody for orchestrating as much as 21 fake encounter killings! Some even for money. I really wonder how much situation in Gujarat has changed that we should look at it with a fresher perspective. Modi has expressed no regret for the progrom nor has he shown any signs of softening his stand. As Digvijay Singh recently asked, why do Sanghi terrorists base themselves in Gujarat or flee to it after committing terror attacks in other parts of the country? The relative calm may not that of harmony but one imposed through subjugation. Last time when Taslima Nasreen was being hounded and Modi extended invitation to live in his state I was left wondering. Is Modi a connoisseur of literature and Bengali literature in particular ? Is he a champion of free speech ?

About four years back, Modi's party members and Sangh affiliates attacked Maharaja Sayajirao University (MSU) alleging that a painting by one of the students was blasphemous. And that is not all, the police filed a case against the victims and the Dean of the institute was removed,which clearly indicate that Mr. Modi, far from being a supporter of free speech is in fact as opposed to it as the Muslim fanatics. Yet he invites Taslima Nasreen (a liberal intellectual who might end up writing against him) to the state, offering her State protection. What could be the objective of such an invitation other than sending a message to the other community. Unlike other senior BJP leaders, Modi has never been able to accept the pluralistic culture and the stakes that the minorities such as Muslims and Christians have in India. Reconciliation is always the desirable alternative but it can only come when both sides agree to leave the past behind and pledge to not repeat the act in future. Modi's lack of regret and apology makes it difficult to accept that the ghastly acts would not be repeated in future.

The crisis at Darul Uloom is very unfortunate indeed, as an institution it is widely respected in not just the Indian sub-continent but in the entire Muslim world. For some decades now, the institution has been seeing tussle for control over the seminary and interference by politicians, these may have important roles in the current controversy but it is the Modi factor that has been used as a shield. From what new agencies say, Maulana Vastanvi, a MBA degree holder from the US, is known to be moderate and intended to launch reforms and modernize the one and half century old seminary. But support for the Maulana shouldn't be seen as endorsement of his controversial remarks, its scope extends beyond any single community.

Update: This post was composed in January, later on Vastanvi was indeed removed from the post of the Vice Chancellor of Darul Uloom, Deoband.

Finally Google Shuns Evil

2010-03-23T07:02:00.000-07:00

Google it now seems has finally decided to take the bull (do dragons have horns ? :P ) by its horns and is now offering uncensored data and services but through its Hong Kong servers Google.com.hk . The users visiting Google.cn will now be redirected to .hk where they are offering uncensored mainland China specific search. Google is aware of the various measures the Chinese authorities might take to block its services, so it plans to continue monitoring the accessibilities issues on a regular basis and enlist active services on this webpage.

Official Google Blog: A new approach to China: an update

Now, Google says that its decision was made after the large-scale cyber attack that the company and 20 other companies face months back. There are enough implications that they suspect involvement of Chinese government officials in this cyber attack. Obama officials may have expressed disappointed by the Google- China split but earlier Obama administration has been very supportive of the move to ensure freedom of information on the Internet. Google's decision may not be part of a larger political strategy but this should open the road to more companies exiting states which insist on maintaining vice-like grip over the information that reaches the people.

Rightists Never Represent Legitmate Grievances

2009-11-21T15:25:00.000-08:00

Chetan Bhagat's op-ed, To Maharashtra With Love, reflects the attitude of passive approval without which parties like MNS cannot possibly thrive.

The argument that the MNS has, in a manner, come to represent legitimate grievances of a section of Maharashtrian population doesn't really hold much water. For one, Maharashtra does house a large number of poor but then one should not forget that India as a whole houses a third of the world's poor.

As a state Maharashtra is much better off than most other states of the Indian Union. Orissa,Jharkhand,Chattisgarh and North-Eastern states have a much larger ratio of poor as well as a history of central government's apathy. True,this is the reason why these regions are witnessing armed insurgency,especially the Naxalite movement which has substantial presence in the most backward regions of Maharashtra. The fact that people from North-India are migrating to Maharashtra only confirms that the latter is much better off in terms of economic opportunity and growth. Ironically, Mr. Bhagat cites statistics on poverty and farmer suicides in Maharashtra to explain the support base of the MNS but what he completely forgets is that most (but not all) of the victims hail from backward regions like Vidarbha which the ruling Cong-NCP has swept in the recent assembly polls.
What the MNS represents is what all of us have known all along! Regional chauvinism, parochialism.

May be Raj is a wee bit more aggressive than his uncle but the line of thought is identical. Rightist ideologies by definition are based on primary loyalty to supremacist thought and controversial personalities rather than grievances at the grass-root level. Historically,right wingers have been able to gain popularity by exploiting people's grievances in the form of emotive rhetoric,chauvinistic sloganeering and whipping up passion in general . Electoral success of these groups should not be seen as endorsement of the ideologies by the masses,rather they are response to an artificial environment of fear and victimization created by these groups. Let us not forget that even Adolf Hitler and Mussolini had massive support in the initial phase but within a relatively short periods they not only lost support but were also passed into annals of history as two of the greatest villains in history of humanity.

It is a fate that the Thackerays are bound to meet sooner or later.

On Modesty And Intellectual Pride

2009-11-19T14:10:00.000-08:00

This post for @purplebeing is long overdue, the topic is a story of Arthur Schopenhauer the German philosopher. Schopenhauer used to dine at a particular resturant in Frankfurt, which was also frequented by the stationed English officers. Every evening before starting the mealr he would place a gold coin on the table and put it back in the pocket after finishing it.

This continued for some time until an attendant overcome with curiosity asked him the reason for this strange behavior. Schopenhauer said that every evening before starting dinner he kept the gold coin on the table with a wager to self that he would drop it in the nearest charity box the day he heard English officers dining there talk of anything other than women,horses and dogs!

The coin remained with him for the rest of his life...

One of the things i like about Schopenhauer was his ruthless intellectual pride. Indeed, as an atheist-pessimist, it would have been easier for him to denounce modesty and humility as weapons of the mediocre! Intellectual superiority is inculcated not by virtue of birth or accident but through continuous struggle, usually at the expense of material losses and discomfort. How can a person who has spent a part of life studying metaphysics not hold these English officers in contempt ? For modesty's stake ?

"What is modesty but hypocritical humility, by means of which, in a world swelling with envy, a man seeks to pardon for excellence and merits from those who have none", Schopenhauer says. Further in his essay, "On Pride", he says "No doubt when modesty was made a virtue, it was a very advantageous thing for the fools; for everybody is expected to speak for himself as if he were one¹"

Salaam-Namaste...And Moving On

2009-11-06T06:49:00.000-08:00

Is Vande Mataram un-Islamic ? When @bdutt tweeted asking for inputs on the controversy i knew my reply had to be much beyond 140 characters, so here it goes...

Yes,technically it is un-Islamic,worshiping any entity other than GOD is un-Islamic as even the most deviant Muslim will tell you. And its not just the Muslims,every monotheistic creed would have problem accepting it. The SGPC for instance has taken a stand against it.¹ and so have many Christian groups.² In fact, almost all non-Hindus would have a problem with it if they are true to their creed, after all, as Rabindranath Tagore said in his letter to Netaji -

"Of course Bankimchandra does show Durga to be inseparably united with Bengal in the end,(emphasis mine) but no Mussulman [Muslim], christians and Arya Samajis can be expected patriotically to worship the ten-handed deity as 'Swadesh' [the nation]. This year many of the special [Durga] Puja numbers of our magazines have quoted verses from Vande Mataram - proof that the editors take the song to be a hymn to Durga".3

If that leaves any doubt, let us not forget that reinvention of this controversy is always politically motivated. Vande Mataram was part of the book Anandamatha which, as everybody knows, is a cornerstone of aggressive Hindu nationalism. It contains fierce anti-Muslim remarks more than anti-British remarks, in fact, in the final chapter the British are described as friends and the mission successful as the "Muslim power is destroyed"⁴. When the Sangh Parivar's insists that the Muslims sing Vande Mataram, it becomes a weapon for imposing communal ego, a national song should bind the population, not divide them!

Yet, i do not think AR Rahman composed one of the most popular rendition of Vande Mataram under coercion, neither have i been forced to hum it, which i have done countless times anyway! What most people do not understand (including the saffronites) is that the world has changed in the last 100 years and so has the Indian's sense of identity and the definition of words and concepts. It is interesting to note that AR Rehman seems to equate the words Vande Mataram with Maa Tujhe Salaam. Semantically, these two terms stand quite opposed! While the word Vande has been translated as "obeisance" or "bow", the Arabic word "salam" essentially means "peace". There is no way you can worship an entity and send blessing to it too.

But AR Rahman cannot be considered absolutely wrong, as of, now the meanings of the words have undergone drastic changes. For instance, the movie title "Salam-Namaste" seems to make the same *mistake*, wishing peace is never the same as bowing down but the fact the connotation of certain words have changed drastically through use and disuse. "Salaam" is now understood to mean "paying respect" while i have come across a very few people say "namaste" and actually bow down to show the same gesture that the word connotes. The word "namaste" is today used more as gesture of sending good wishes rather than prostrating.

If some people with vested interests did not keep reigniting the controversy, we might have never noticed when we adopted and have taken to singing it. The Jamait moving the resolution was very uncalled for. This organization has in recent past done commendable jobs especially against terrorism but by igniting the controversary it has shot itself in the foot. P Chidambram's presence further raises question; is the Congress trying to get back its Muslim votebank ? Currently, the Muslim vote is too fragmented, the main opposition, the BJP seems to be on a downward spiral,but not down enough not protest rather aggressively which might actually lead to a consolidation of Muslim votes and given the state of affairs,leaders like parties like BSP and SP would have little to offer to the Muslims.

Ashamed

2009-11-04T14:27:00.000-08:00

This post is in response to my twitter-friend @Sanjana_S's blog post "Shame on you" -a very strongly opinionated piece on what she thought of the most hienous crime- rape. While commenting on her blog i had the idea of adding a new post here and add the link as comment on here blog. I absolutely refuse to categorize rape as a mere sexual crime, it is something far more heinous than that, the ultimate brutalization and subjugation of the victim as well as her kins. Ever wondered why invading armies, rioters and marauders would do that? Wouldn't it be very difficult to derive sexual pleasure during the mayhem? Definitely, it has to be sumthing other than sex.

Primitive warrior tribes considered women the most prized possession, a symbol of masculinity. If you observe the habits of primates and gorillas,the strongest, meanest and most brutish male of the tribe gets to keep the best of women and largest share of food. The female is the symbol of the alpha male's domination, a reminder to less stronger tribe-members of who is in charge (aan baan shan :p)

Thus a forced sexual intercourse is an attack on the psyche of the victim and her kins, it becomes twice heinous and unfortunate because both sides view the woman not as a person but as an object of honor and supremacy and most importantly as a possession. Of course, no pain can be greater than that of the victim who is violated and goes through immense and mental agony without any fault of hers. And in cases where she has been violated by kin for the very same reason i.e. domination, it assumes a very grotesque form.

Things havent changed significantly in modern times as much as we may want to believe. Beneath our "cultured" demeanor we are still the same warrior tribe that consider woman a trophy. This animal instinct continues to manifests in harassment, molestations and in worst case, rape (mind u there are other categories too, like pedophiles etc ) but in a less overt manner. But then we are no longer military society, there are no invasions, raids etc, at least not in urban centres, not in Delhi which is becoming notorious for sexual crimes. So does that mean that the underlying motives have changed but the behaviour persists ?

Not really. The machismo gene is too deeply ingrained in the collective psyche to remain suppressed by garb of civility. In the final decades of the last century, the movement for empowerment of women had become far too strong to be opposed in any manner, even the most machismo- oriented groups joined the brigade without really accepting them. Worse, they now had women leading the charge. Remember, the infamous Mangalore pub assault episode and the NCW member heading the probe sympathizing with the goons ? The fact remains that empowerment of women in India has not been accepted whole-heartedly by all sections of the Indian society, the molestations and sexual harrasment of every kind are a reflection of this. The unwillingness of the male to accept woman as an equal in all walks of life manifests itself in ways other than groping, feeling up and bottom-pinching, sexual harrasment at workplace are all parts of it.
We are heading towards a more insecure future for women. On one hand we jump into globalization band wagon,talk of female empowerment,thus encouraging women to take active and equal role in everything and on the other hand we let misogynists go unchecked. If rape is the culmination of this primitive brutality,we come across the early signs of this sickness in lot of people everyday in our lives. We regret, lament and blame our law and order mechanism but we forget that these beasts are amongst us. There is no law or no magical incantation that would change things in a second (or even eons), the only way to check these cimes is it step up the vigil- citizen vigil. Every time i come across news of a sexual crime i find myself wishing i could do something! But lately, i ask myself a couple of questions-
When was the last time you stopped people from referring to a woman as an object of sexual gratification. When was the last time you acted while a female was being harassed ?

Revisiting the History of the Internet In Realtime through Usenet Archives

2009-10-12T05:19:00.000-07:00

Ever wanted to see how the Web evolved or are you nostalgic about Usenet ? i am ! More so because, when i found them i had very little to contribute and the older geeks were not polite, not at all! A single stupid statement would lead to flaming that could demotivate you for weeks.

But i loved it still, it was geek culture where you couldn't survive without knowledge, intellect and an ardent love for learning. It was here that the future map of the Web was laid but ironically as the Web evolved, its popularity decreased and after Google bought off two Usenet archive, it gave way to Google Groups . The next generation of users hardly knew of their existence. Google never indexed the largest and most valuable user-generated content but now it says it is fixing a bug that would make it more searchable.

This is good news indeed but what excited me to come up with this post is the 20 Year Usenet Timeline that Google has put up. If you want to relive old times or are an enthusiast who would like to travel back in time to witness evolution of the Internet, to read Linus Trovald's post on his project, which led to the Linux revolution or Tim-Berners Lee's announcement of the Web or the first mention of the term "search engine" check out the page.

A Moment Of Life And Of Death

2009-10-11T07:07:00.001-07:00

Life is a sequence of moments each of which presents innumerable possibilities questioning our very existence,the only moment that we are aware of this is the moment when we cease to exist. What is that which transforms those individual moments into a life-time ?
Providence?
The Omniscent,Omnipresent, Omnipotent?
GOD?
Sounds sooo unintellectual, boring, no? Truth always is!
Intransient, Unchangeable...

Love Joke

2009-07-31T11:53:00.000-07:00

The Dark Knight is one of my favorite movies, Heath Ledger as the Joker, one of my favorite character and what follows is a dialogue that i really like.
Now, lets jump to the plot. The Joker and his henchmen barge into Harvey Dent's fundraising party hosted by Bruce Wayne. He grabs Rachel's head, puts the knife into her mouth and narrates how he got the scars. Here are bits :

"So I had a wife,beautiful, like you, who tells me that I worry too much. Who says I oughta smile more.... Shark loans.. ...carve her face. And we have no money for surgeries. And she cant take it. I just want to see her smile again ... ..don't care about the scars! So, I stick a razor into my mouth and do this to myself (uses tongue mimic slashing ). And you know what? She can't stand the sight of me. She leaves. Now, I see the funny side. Now I am always smiling :)

Masala Movies And Pluralistic Indian Society

2009-05-17T13:23:00.000-07:00

This afternoon I was watching RDB on Star and the just deceased Prakash Mehra's Khoon Pasina on Sab. Its a common knowledge that RDB spawned entire generation of conscientious citizens who were unwilling to take injustice lying down. Candle-light vigils, protests and participation did influence the outcome of the high profile Jessica Lall and Priyadarshini Matoo murder cases.

However, what has not been acknowledged much is the role Bollywood movies have played in shaping the cultural paradigm of post-Independence Indian society. For more than 6 decades Indian film-makers have held the twin concepts of socialism and secularism on a sacrosanct level, which has in fact influenced Indian mindset considerably. Pick up a successful film from any period, from Mughal-E-Azam to Jodha-Akbar, you would find the concept of "unity in diversity" very clearly portrayed.

Now back to Khoon Pasina which was so unlike Mughal-E-Azam, Jodha-Akbar or even Rang De Basanti. This Amitabh Bachchan-starrer was a typical commercial thriller of the angry-young-man genre of movies with liberal doses of violence (mostly fist/knife fights), impromptu singing and dancing and larger-than-life hero (Amitabh mauls a tiger in this flick!). However, even in the midst of these thrilling and sometimes ridiculous plots and scenes the theme remains fiercely socialistic as well as secular. Critics may find many flaws in the movie, right from unrealistic portrayal of characters, stereotyping of certain communities such as Muslims and Thakurs and glorification of repressively chivalrous mindset but the fact remains that at that point of time, such portrayal was most palatable for the non-elite classes and in its own way it added value to India's tolerant and pluralistic cultural values.

Other than Prakash Mehra, film directors such Yash Chopra, Ramesh Sippy, Subhas Ghai, Manmohan Desai and scores of directors including those involved in regional languages film industries have been and continue to make movies which critics and mature audience may reject without a second thought but there still exists an audience that is influenced majorly by them and in reinforcing nationalistic, socialistic and secular mindsets they are doing a good job.

The motive of the directors of these genre of movies may have been to reach out to all sections but the fallout was anything but negative. In many ways these movies are like the fabled Indian spices [isn't the word "masala" used in reference to this genre of movies ?;)], hot and not-so-good for health but Indian delicacies would lose their identity without them and they certainly add to nutritional values of the food!

Rang De Basanti may have been the first movie to make such a profound and positive impact on the minds of average Indians but movies like Mother India, Sholay and Amar Akbar Anthony have had their role in shaping India's modern culture and social values and also help develop up inclusive national identity.

Human being as a cell

2008-11-13T06:30:00.000-08:00

We live in depressing times, global meltdown is no longer a speculation, it has become a reality. i wonder if every one of us is equally aware of the irony that fate has in store for us through this double entendre.The phrase "global meltdown" as used lately in the media refers to the current global financial crisis but it should not be forgotten that the phrase is equally potent when used in the context of global warming. Yet another irony of the situations involves the role of fuel,especially fossil fuel, a rise in price of which accelerates inflation and lower prices, more consumption, further damage the environment. Anyway, uncommon times call for uncommon initiations.Cost cutting measures are being implemented by most corporate as well as private citizens but there are always some people who can look beyond the mundane and bring out something of value from things which the rest of us won't bother to think about.

Here is a news item i came across on CNN a couple of days back.

Jay Whelan, CEO of the Connecticut-based firm, the Green Revolution Inc has come up with a device which can convert the energy spent in a work out session in the gym to generate electricity for general use. This device can be fitted to the wheel of a bicycle and with the help of wires to the energy generated is fed to a electrical control cabinet. An average human being, during the course of a work out session produces 500 BTU which when converted to electricity would mean 150 watts electricity. It is estimated that a group of around 20 bikes used throughout a year has the potential to create 3,600 kilowatt hours of electricity which can be fed to 72 homes for a month !Well, that's not all, this device also helps you save between two to six ounces of CO2 during a single workout!

Does this sound something like "having your cake and eating it too" ?

I will end this post with a quote from Arthur Schopenhauer"Talent hits a target no one else can hit; Genius hits a target no one else can see."

New Gmail addon to avoid those e-mail nightmares

2008-10-25T14:00:00.000-07:00

Emails have been a great way to be in touch with loved ones and maintain relationships better but there is a dark side to it as is found in every other medium. When mobile phones became widely used most relationship were further cemented but in some instances an sms, call records, missed calls and even wrong number triggered breakdown of long term relationships. Emails too can have negative impact on your personal as well as professional life. How many times have you found yourself wishing you could somehow stop the email that you have just sent to your boss mistakenly? Depending on the content of the mail the consequence could range from mild embarrassment to a professional jeopardy.

This CNN report quoting Death by Email attributes the cause of most of these erring e-mail to carelessness on the part of the sender, especially when the sender is not typing the e-mail addresses. And its not just the misdirected e-mails either, sending mails to the intended recipient but at the wrong time can be equally dangerous. Mails sent to a former lover, current love interest, immediate boss or anyone who matters, late in the night, and especially during the weekend often result in regretful Monday mornings. Those mails you sent while under intoxication may cause greater damage than being booked for DuI. Its not just intoxicants that influence you into sending those self-damning mails, depression at times can be equally if not more dangerous than substance induced stupor.

Google Labs has implemented a new feature called Mail Goggles to check if you are sober enough to be sending the mail. The mechanism is pretty simple, when you click "send", it asks you to solve some simple math problems to determine if you are drunk or not. By default this feature is active only late in the night on the weekend but you can change the schedule from the settings. Well, it may work for Jon Perlow, the Google engineer who designed this Gmail add-on, i am not sure if it would be the same for me or not. But im going to find out soon, getting drunk would be the first step :D

Read more on this here

Introducing Delphi

2008-08-01T14:32:00.003-07:00

My earliest exposure to the world of programming came accidentally while I was toying with what I assumed was a desktop publishing package like Pagemaker. I knew a little about programming which was limited to drawing Mandelbrot sets in GWBASIC or copying files in DOS.Before I could realize that what I was working on was not a graphic management tool but a programming platform, I had already compiled at least 1 small program by just dropping components on form. When I look back in time now, I am amazed at what even the first version of Delphi allowed the programmer to do without writing tedious lines of code and in a time when even Microsoft Visual Basic was an infant.

Borland Delphi is a component-based RAD tool and an object-oriented programming language which was earlier known as Object Pascal, its Pascal base makes it a high-level and a strongly typed language that compiles code into native x8086 code unlike most popular languages.what this means is that, with Delphi, it is possible to create a simple program that can be run on any Windows machine without requiring the user to install any "virtual machine", "run-time engine","framework" or even dlls. The robustness in the IDE is added by the VCL (Visual Class Library), the object-oriented class library consisting of a huge number of visual and non-visual classes that can be used by the developers to create objects descending from the superclass TObject. Apart from the VCL there is a large number of third-party libraries available for use. For more low level programming Delphi allows use of inline Assembly code and compiles them into native executable code.

Delphi is also one of the best platforms for database development. Delphi's Database Connection and Data-Aware components make creation of client application in a client/server application, a child's play. In fact, the brand name itself suggests the role database development has played in evolution of the IDE. Oracle, the most popular database of the time, had been named such after the famous Oracles of ancient Greece which were supposed to foretell the visitor's future. The most famous of the Grecian Oracles was the Oracle of Apollo at Delphi. Since database connectivity was one of the primary goals of the RAD that the guys at Borland had been working on, the term they decided on was "Delphi", as it is said, "If you want to talk to [the] Oracle, go to Delphi". However, Delphi is much more than a tool for designing a database front end, it can be used in almost all scenarios. Every now and then one comes across rumors which would have us believe that "Delphi is dead", but if we were to take these rumors as the truth, Delphi should have just vanished almost 10 years back. The folks at Borland (and now CodeGear) deserve a pat on their back for not only coming up with a great development platform but also for keeping it alive and kicking. Unlike Microsoft, which abandoned Visual Basic in favor of dot.NET, Borland continued to support Delphi by incorporating the latest technologies in the IDE instead of launching a completely different product. The recent versions of Delphi have inbuilt support for popular programming languages like C++ and C#. Delphi for .NET feature added in 2005 version was successful and the later versions contain an entire personality called Delphi for .NET. CodeGear has also released a product called Delphi for PHP which aims to combine the ease and power of Delphi with the flexibility of PHP providing the developer with a real powerful tool for web development. Another major and innovative functionality that Delphi now boasts of is the Enterprise Core Object technology. ECO is a modeling tool that allows developers to create class diagrams and define relationships between classes visually. It is one of the first RAD tools to integrate a UML editor and functionality for developers.

If I go on about the advantages Delphi provides over other RAD tools I wouldn't know where to end :p But if Delphi were really that cool how come it is so less popular ? This is a question that even I would want to pose to the marketing guys in Borland/ Codegear. It widely accepted among Delphi enthusiasts that Borland has never been able to market its products well , in fact there are instances when one wonders if these guys really don't want their product to be sold. However, no matter what its makers and competitors do there always is a group of Delphi lovers who would remain loyal to it forever. For nearly 2 years I have been using other technologies and I am pretty pressed for time too, but even that doesn't stop me from going back to Delphi every once in a while. I finished installing RAD Studio 2007 yesterday and have just about started exploring it. More on this later....