My Corner

The End

2010-03-09T08:22:00.004+05:30

I am temporarily abandoning this blog. I don't want to write anymore. The same is applicable to my photoblog (I will return there with a DSLR). This period may last weeks or months and maybe an year also but I am certain I'll be back. I wanted to quote the opening stanza of the song "The End" by Jim Morrison.

This is the end
Beautiful friend
This is the end
My only friend, the end.

I am misunderstood. Enjoy life all of you, won't get another chance. Love even if you were to receive hatred, care even if you were to receive disrespect and hope even if you knew it was actually only a wish.

Bye.

Life and Sorrow

2010-02-13T02:13:00.002+05:30

I might have never got what I really wanted but I have been living life to the fullest and trying to enjoy every moment.

Everything is nice. People are not good or bad it is their actions which are to be labeled bad or good. Inherently everyone is an angel, if I might say so. These days I have seen people so worked up and tensed about the future. I really wonder what worth it is of if that future does not give you happiness in the present. Yes we all want to be secure but we cant keep sacrificing our lives in the present.

I have got stuck to the song "Sorrow" by Pink Floyd. It keeps echoing in my head. It is wonderful.

The sweet smell of a great sorrow lies over the land
Plumes of smoke rise and merge into the leaden sky:
A man lies and dreams of green fields and rivers,
But awakes to a morning with no reason for waking

He's haunted by the memory of a lost paradise
In his youth or a dream, he can't be precise
He's chained forever to a world that's departed
It's not enough, it's not enough

His blood has frozen & curdled with fright
His knees have trembled & given way in the night
His hand has weakened at the moment of truth
His step has faltered

One world, one soul
Time pass, the river rolls

And he talks to the river of lost love and dedication
And silent replies that swirl invitation
Flow dark and troubled to an oily sea
A grim intimation of what is to be

There's an unceasing wind that blows through this night
And there's dust in my eyes, that blinds my sight
And silence that speaks so much louder than words,
Of promises broken

So maybe tomorrow I'll find my way home

2010-01-07T09:55:00.002+05:30

I took a call to let go and hopefully it is the right one. Was reminded of a beautiful song by Stereophonics. The song is called "Maybe Tomorrow". It was used during the closing credits in the movie "Crash" another amazing piece of art. The lyrics goes like this.

I've been down and
I'm wondering why
These little black clouds
Keep walking around
With me
With me

It wastes time
And I'd rather be high
Think I'll walk me outside
And buy a rainbow smile
But be free
They're all free

So maybe tomorrow
I'll find my way home
So maybe tomorrow
I'll find my way home

I look around at a beautiful life
Been the upperside of down
Been the inside of out
But we breathe
We breathe

I wanna breeze and an open mind
I wanna swim in the ocean
Wanna take my time for me
All me

So maybe tomorrow
I'll find my way home
So maybe tomorrow
I'll find my way home

Hopefully things will start looking up again and I start moving on with my life. I hope...

It's a new dawn, it's a new day, it's a new life

2010-01-01T07:49:00.007+05:30

Birds flying high
You know how I feel
Sun in the sky
You know how I feel
Breeze driftin' on by
You know how I feel
It's a new dawn
It's a new day
It's a new life
For me..
And I'm feeling good

Fish in the sea
You know how I feel
River running free
You know how I feel
Blossom in the trees
You know how I feel
It's a new dawn
It's a new day
It's a new life
For me...
And I'm feeling good

Dragonfly out in the sun
You know what I mean, don't you know
Butterflies all out having fun
You know what I mean
Sleep in peace
When, the this day is done
And this old world
Is a new world
And a bold world
For me...

Stars when you shine
You know how I feel
Scent of the pine
You know how I feel
yeah, freedom is my lie
When you know how I feel
It's a new dawn
It's a new day
It's a new life
For me...
- Feeling Good by Muse

And I thought 31st Dec 2008 was bad! This time I got ready to go out for a party but didn't even step out of the hostel. Felt very disappointed. On top of that a few things really pissed me off but as usual I didn't express it. Didn't know what to have for dinner so I cooked something for myself with a few additions from outside, lit a candle and ate all by myself with the wall across the table.

Nevertheless I always have believed guys have more fun than girls and that's what we did in the boy's hostel. We screened a Rajnikant movie! None of us got a single dialogue but we understood his "action"! Off-course as the movie progressed Shriya Saran's dances received more whistles from the audience.

In breaks we danced, clicked photos, burst crackers and bugged each other. People ran away with my laptop and God knows what all they did with it.

2009 was a year where I always put my loved ones before myself but nobody cared a dam so this year I will try and put myself first. Got a lot of shit from people now its time to return it ;) I appear to be pissed off.

In a few months time I go to a different place, get over with this MBA. Fed up of this rat race. Hopefully I don't repeat the same mistakes like I did here and most importantly never get attached to anyone - this is the key to mental satisfaction.

I just want to get out of this country and be in a totally new environment, experience something which I have never done before and that too all alone.

This post has been like a frustration venting tool and I don't think it is wrong. I am human after all and the good part is that I am not taking it out on some person.

Anyways Happy New Year. Enjoy every moment of the year because you never know what could happen the next day. A little advice: be a little selfish otherwise you are going to be taken for granted and kicked around like a used substitute football.

p.s: and have some sort of fitness regime :)

Footprints

2009-12-12T16:29:00.002+05:30

When I was a student in DPS R K Puram we used to go for breakfast in the girl's mess. There used to be a separate queue for the hostel boys and on one of the walls in the corridor there were a number of posters put up. One of them read:

One night a man had a dream. He dreamed he was walking along the beach with the Lord. Across the sky flashed scenes from his life. For each scene, he noticed two sets of footprints in the sand: One belonged to him, the other to the Lord.

When the last scene of his life flashed before him he looked back at the footprints in the sand. He noticed that many times along the path of his life there was only one set of foot prints. He also noticed that it happened at the lowest and saddest times in his life.

This really bothered him and he questioned the Lord about it. "Lord, you said that once I decided to follow you you would walk with me all of the way But I have noticed that during the most troublesome times of my life there is only one set of footprints. I don't understand why, when I needed you the most, you would leave me."

The Lord replied, "My precious, precious child, I love you and I would never leave you. During your times of trial and suffering when you see only one set of footprints, it was then that I carried you.

Why can we see solar eclipse at only certain locations on Earth?

2009-12-06T15:02:00.013+05:30

This was an innocent question asked by my little friend. I googled a bit and made a little document. Here it is. I hope it answered the question :)

Introduction

Definition: Eclipse is a Greek word meaning "to cease to exist".

An eclipse occurs within a stellar system (e.g. Solar System), a type of “syzgy” (unity or alignment- there is an application in number theory also :) )—the alignment of three or more celestial bodies in the same gravitational system along a straight line.

First a general look at how shadows are cast when three objects come in a straight line with the illuminator at one end ( if the object which generates light is in the centre in a three way alignment eclipse will not occur).

Three types of shadows are formed:

1. Umbra: where the light(radiation) is completely blocked.

2. Penumbra: a portion of the light is blocked.

3. Antumbra: Beyond the end of the umbra. The planet or moon will be seen transiting across the star but not completely covering it.

Phases of the moon

The Moon orbits Earth about once every 29 and a half days. As it circles our planet, the changing position of the Moon with respect to the Sun causes our natural satellite to cycle through a series of phases:

New Moon > New Crescent > First Quarter > Waxing Gibbous > Full Moon >
Waning Gibbous > Last Quarter > Old Crescent > New Moon (again)

The phase known as New Moon can not actually be seen because the illuminated side of the Moon is then pointed away from Earth. The rest of the phases are familiar to all of us as the Moon cycles through them month after month. Did you realize that the word month is derived from the Moon's 29.5 day period?

Although we cannot see the Moon during New Moon phase, it has a very special significance with regard to eclipses.

The moon’s two shadows

An eclipse of the Sun can only occur at New Moon when the Moon passes between Earth and Sun. If the Moon's shadow happens to fall upon Earth's surface at that time, we see some portion of the Sun's disk covered or 'eclipsed' by the Moon. Since New Moon occurs every 29 1/2 days, you might think that we should have a solar eclipse about once a month. Unfortunately, this doesn't happen because the Moon's orbit around Earth is tilted 5 degrees to Earth's orbit around the Sun. As a result, the Moon's shadow usually misses Earth as it passes above or below our planet at New Moon. At least twice a year, the geometry lines up just right so that some part of the Moon's shadow falls on Earth's surface and an eclipse of the Sun is seen from that region.

The Moon's shadow actually has two parts:

1. Penumbra

The Moon's faint outer shadow.
Partial solar eclipses are visible from within the penumbral shadow.

2. Umbra

The Moon's dark inner shadow.
Total solar eclipses are visible from within the umbral shadow.

When the Moon's penumbral shadow strikes Earth, we see a partial eclipse of the Sun from that region.

What is the difference between a solar eclipse and a lunar eclipse? A lunar eclipse is an eclipse of the Moon rather than the Sun. It happens when the Moon passes through Earth's shadow. This is only possible when the Moon is in the Full Moon phase.

Total Solar Eclipses and the Path of Totality

If the Moon's inner or umbral shadow sweeps across Earth's surface, then a total eclipse of the Sun is seen. The track of the Moon's umbral shadow across Earth is called the Path of Totality. It is typically 10,000 miles long but only about 100 miles wide. It covers less than 1% of Earth's entire surface area. In order to see the Sun become completely eclipsed by the Moon, you must be somewhere inside the narrow path of totality.

The path of a total eclipse can cross any part of Earth. Even the North and South Poles get a total eclipse sooner or later. Just one total eclipse occurs each year or two. Since each total eclipse is only visible from a very narrow track, it is rare to see one from any single location. You'd have to wait an average of 375 years to see two total eclipses from one place. Of course, the interval between seeing two eclipses from one particular place can be shorter or longer. For instance, the last total eclipse visible from Princeton, NJ was in 1478 and the next is in 2079. That's an interval of 601 years. However, the following total eclipse from Princeton is in 2144, after a period of only 65 years.

Annular Solar Eclipses

Unfortunately, not every eclipse of the Sun is a total eclipse. Sometimes, the Moon is too small to cover the entire Sun's disk. To understand why, we need to talk about the Moon's orbit around Earth. That orbit is not perfectly round but is oval or elliptical in shape. As the Moon orbits our planet, it's distance varies from about 221,000 to 252,000 miles. This 13% variation in the Moon's distance makes the Moon's apparent size in our sky vary by the same amount. When the Moon is on the near side of its orbit, the Moon appears larger than the Sun. If an eclipse occurs at that time, it will be a total eclipse. However, if an eclipse occurs while the Moon is on the far side of its orbit, the Moon appears smaller than the Sun and can't completely cover it. Looking down from space, we would see that the Moon's umbral shadow is not long enough to reach Earth. Instead, the antumbra shadow reaches Earth.

The track of the antumbra is called the path of annularity. If you are within this path, you will see an eclipse where a ring or annulus of bright sunlight surrounds the Moon at the maximum phase.

Annularity can last as long as a dozen minutes, but is more typically about half that length. Since the annular phase is so bright, the Sun's gorgeous corona remains hidden from view.

Annular Solar Eclipse of 2010 January 15

Once my telescope gets repaired and I get an adapter to watch eclipses. We can try this out :)

On Friday, 2010 January 15, an annular eclipse of the Sun is visible from within a 300-km-wide track that traverses half of Earth. The path of the Moon's antumbral shadow begins in Africa and passes through Chad, Central African Republic, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Uganda, Kenya, and Somalia. After leaving Africa, the path crosses the Indian Ocean where the maximum duration of annularity reaches 11 min 08 s. The central path then continues into Asia through Bangladesh, India, Burma (Myanmar), and China. A partial eclipse is seen within the much broader path of the Moon's penumbral shadow, which includes eastern Europe, most of Africa, Asia, and Indonesia.

We will be able to see the antumbral portion partially I guess from Bombay but it wont be clear as it is towards Madurai, Nagercoil area.

References:

1. Wikipedia

2. NASA

3.http://www.mreclipse.com

update: i have decided to buy a new telescope and have talked to the suppliers also. but now i have to move my lazy butt to the store!

Wuthering Heights

2009-09-22T22:00:00.004+05:30

Before I write anything I must apologize to the few readers who visit this blog that I have not stuck to my plans of writing on a few topics but have gone on to pen down what came to me impulsively.

This quote struck a chord. I can associate with it somehow.

"My love for Linton is like the foliage in the woods. Time will change it, I'm well aware, as winter changes the trees - my love for Heathcliff resembles the eternal rocks beneath - a source of little visible delight, but necessary."

God's Lonely Man

2009-09-06T21:45:00.005+05:30

Tomorrow will be my first day at office. That is bothering me a little but what has upset me in the last few days is a sense of loneliness, a hollowness. I really don’t know the reasons. In addition to this staying in my room all alone has depressed me. I feel I have nobody to share whats on my mind. Whomever I have, seem to be bored and disinterested in me.

Sitting all alone has given me a lot of time to think and introspect. I realized I am not able to jell with any group very well probably because I am not able to associate with anybody. Earlier I believed I could fit in anywhere but it is actually not so. I was just compromising. Unfortunately I am not good with people and sometimes I say things without giving it a second thought. How I wish I could rewind and take those words back.

Right from my boarding school days I use to spend all of my free time in the library or the computer centre. Then in Delhi I was fascinated by physics and organic chemistry that left very little time for “friends”. I have probably lived in an illusion that I was having a great time with other fellows but it now seems like a mirage. The only time I had great fun was at Chennai with my close group of friends. None of us were ambitious we simply wanted to enjoy the moment. I love that place now just because of the memories. Although sometimes I criticize Chennai because of its weather, I really would not mind going back there.

I hope something happens soon for the better.

Anyways I had been to Alibaugh, Kashid Beach and the Mulund Janjira Fort a few days back. Nice outing with a really “childish” group of friends. Relaxing away from Mumbai. Here are some of the photographs.

All smiles

All alone

At the fort. we were the only ones there.

Beautiful. Felt mystical

Fermat's Last Theorem

2009-08-31T21:01:00.003+05:30

In the last few interviews I have faced they have always asked me about number theory specifically Fermat's Last Theorem. So I thought it might be nice to share it with you. I know people don’t like maths but just read on it does not involve any “calculation” its simply a story.

In the 17^th century there were these intellectual chaps like Mersenne, Descartes, Euler, Pascal, Fermat and so on who basically had these ego clashes. They used to make problems with numbers which appeared simple on the exterior but required tremendous intellectual capability to arrive at the solution. They use to publish them and wait for someone to solve it.

Fermat, a lawyer by profession, maintained a diary of these problems and this specific problem was on the last cover page where he had no space to write the solution. This is what he wrote there “It is impossible to separate a cube into two cubes, or a fourth power into two fourth powers, or in general, any power higher than the second into two like powers. I have discovered a truly marvelous proof of this, which this margin is too narrow to contain.” He attached a piece of paper in which he put the solution. The year was 1637 then. This diary when opened next after a couple of 100 years did not have that paper and since then this problem has been called the fermat’s last theorem.

It is so simple to understand the problem that people are not able to believe how complicated its solution can get.

Say we have three numbers x,y,z Є {N} basically x,y,z are natural numbers (1,2,3 and so on) then if we have the equation x¹ + y¹ = z¹ we have infinite solutions to this equation (eg 1+2=3) but when we raise the power to 2 then it becomes the Pythagoras equation x² + y² = z² this also has integral solutions (3² + 4² = 5²) now try finding an integral solution to this equation x³ + y³ = z³. Leave it none of us can because there is no such solution. Its that simple. So in short the problem requires us to prove that in the equation xⁿ + yⁿ = zⁿ for n>2 no integral solution exists.

There were many attempts to solve this. Specific cases like for power 3 then 4 were solved. Then for numbers below 100 but none could make a generic proof. Its actually iterative to solve for specific cases. I hope you know what is hypothesis, conjecture and theorem. This question was a hypothesis but when a few cases were solved it became a conjecture then when a complete generic proof was given it became a theorem. That is how a theorem evolves.

If you remember a bit of coordinate geometry you will find the equation a little similar to that of an ellipse. Ok I will cut the technicalities. Basically the equation represents an ellipse rotated in 3d space forming an ellipsoidal curve. Mathematicians in this field were most likely to solve this. There was a chap called Andrew Wiles at Cambridge I think Trinity college (Newton also studied there) who took up Maths just because he was fascinated by this problem as a child. His aim in life was to come up with the solution to this problem.

In 1993 he came up with a solution using a conjecture called the Taniyama Shimmoura conjecture (two Japanes ellipsoidal guys. One of them was so upset that he committed suicide! ). But when a solution is given it is verified by mathematical elites across the globe. It was found to be faulty. Then professor Wiles got "mad" and spent the next 2 years in one room at Cambridge where his wife would just give him food that’s it. He was so determined to solve the problem. Finally in 1994 he got the correct solution which was verified in 1995. He was knighted by the Queen for this.

The Bet

2009-07-30T22:01:00.001+05:30

An excerpt from one of my favourite short stories "The Bet" by the great Anton Chekhov

The banker took the page from the table and read as follows:

"To-morrow at twelve o'clock I regain my freedom and the right to associate with other men, but before I leave this room and see the sunshine, I think it necessary to say a few words to you. With a clear conscience I tell you, as before God, who beholds me, that I despise freedom and life and health, and all that in your books is called the good things of the world.

"For fifteen years I have been intently studying earthly life. It is true I have not seen the earth nor men, but in your books I have drunk fragrant wine, I have sung songs, I have hunted stags and wild boars in the forests, have loved women. . . . Beauties as ethereal as clouds, created by the magic of your poets and geniuses, have visited me at night, and have whispered in my ears wonderful tales that have set my brain in a whirl. In your books I have climbed to the peaks of Elburz and Mont Blanc, and from there I have seen the sun rise and have watched it at evening flood the sky, the ocean, and the mountain-tops with gold and crimson. I have watched from there the lightning flashing over my head and cleaving the storm-clouds. I have seen green forests, fields, rivers, lakes, towns. I have heard the singing of the sirens, and the strains of the shepherds' pipes; I have touched the wings of comely devils who flew down to converse with me of God. . . . In your books I have flung myself into the bottomless pit, performed miracles, slain, burned towns, preached new religions, conquered whole kingdoms. . . .

"Your books have given me wisdom. All that the unresting thought of man has created in the ages is compressed into a small compass in my brain. I know that I am wiser than all of you.

"And I despise your books, I despise wisdom and the blessings of this world. It is all worthless, fleeting, illusory, and deceptive, like a mirage. You may be proud, wise, and fine, but death will wipe you off the face of the earth as though you were no more than mice burrowing under the floor, and your posterity, your history, your immortal geniuses will burn or freeze together with the earthly globe.

"You have lost your reason and taken the wrong path. You have taken lies for truth, and hideousness for beauty. You would marvel if, owing to strange events of some sorts, frogs and lizards suddenly grew on apple and orange trees instead of fruit, or if roses began to smell like a sweating horse; so I marvel at you who exchange heaven for earth. I don't want to understand you.

"To prove to you in action how I despise all that you live by, I renounce the two millions of which I once dreamed as of paradise and which now I despise. To deprive myself of the right to the money I shall go out from here five hours before the time fixed, and so break the compact. . . ."

An SoP straight from the heart

2009-07-25T17:19:00.005+05:30

Just submitted my TAS application. Here is what I wrote for one of the questions.

Successful leaders have a clear sense of purpose. What is your Statement of Purpose?

When does an individual become a leader that too a successful one? Is it by having a sense of purpose? Some of us in our life terms come across “that” incident which challenges and shakes our fundamental beliefs. Only when the individual sticks to his principles at these times that he sets foot on the road to becoming a leader. In the process he inspires a few and realizes the purpose of his existence. In my opinion those who exist to stand by what they believe in turn out to be successful leaders and not those who set out with a purpose in mind to become leaders. Therefore it boils down to what principles and views towards life one has.

All my life there is three aspects I have always stressed upon whether personally or in any other individual. First is humility, which is a combination of awe, respect, gratitude, compassion and love. It is rightly said that humility comes with an appreciation of one’s strength. Second is the inner strength itself. It leads to resilience, constant dedication and disciplines an individual. My childhood hero Arnold Schwarzenegger puts it in the best possible way “I believe strength does not come from winning. Your struggles develop your strengths. When you go through hardships and decide not to surrender, that is strength.” Lastly is the desire to explore and to know beyond the pages of course books and lectures. All round knowledge gives us a unique power which is helpful in all aspects of life and spreading it leads to a very personal kind of contentment.

Unfortunately many of us have not had that transforming experience and most of us will never have, that is why great leaders are so few in number. I have not had that experience yet but when the time comes I hope that the three qualities which have shaped me as an individual assist me to lead in a purposeful and effective manner. Moreover I think life becomes very uninteresting if one has a fixed objective or purpose in mind. I believe life should unfold in ways in which it can test, challenge, intrigue and inspire us, giving joy at times and maybe sadness at other. So I will let life be a mystery and keep discovering something every day.

Just an update: I was not shortlisted for the next round but no regrets there were much better candidates than me. People said that I should write stuff which is appealing and like the others. I won't do that because thats not being myself. As I type this my batch mates are being called for the final round. I have spent the last 20 hours or so helping who got shortlisted. By the way all the SoP's I reviewed got through. There is a different kind of feeling when whom you help achieves something. But it would be nice to be on the other side too. Nevertheless I don't really deserve it and I mentally opted out of these "races"since June 2004.

List of posts to come

2009-07-08T21:42:00.003+05:30

There are a number of topics I want to write about. Since I am short on time I am making a list to which I will return one by one when I get time to write.

1. Why this blog?
2. Number theory and its practical relevance.
3. The role of mathematics (if any) in finance.
4. Societal acceptance.
5. The spirit of sports.
6. Quality vs Quantity.
7. Why India is India.

I think this post will set the tone for the next half a dozen posts. Lets see. Before I end a little quote. This also has a story attached to it. I will come to it later.

"Unfortunately in life there is no equity attached to effort."

Life goes on ....

2009-06-12T23:29:00.003+05:30

Its been months since I posted something. Just didn't have anything to write. Everything is going so fast. People are moving ahead and I feel I am stationary deep in thought which is not of much use in this rat race. Anyways I don't care about others and neither do they about me.

Finance is pretty taxing to my average brain. It requires a lot of concentration in class. Our classes extend past 8 in the evenings! I envy the students of other branches who have all the time in the world to have fun. Seems I always make the wrong choices!

My gym has come down to a bare minimum but I play squash once or twice a week. Sometimes I do conditioning like a boxer but thats it. I have gained fat also.

I also have uploaded a beautiful photo on my photoblog: visualworlds

Nowadays my favourite song seems to be "stranger things have happened before" by foo fighters. Its lyrics sums up my feelings at present. I really miss something....

Another 10 years to go

2009-03-29T11:26:00.006+05:30

top speed 284 km/h
0 to 100 kmph in 5.0 secs
345 hp
price Rs 76lakhs

visual worlds

2009-03-27T10:04:00.002+05:30

i got my camera and now a photoblog of my own. have a look. its got the professional look ;)
quite difficult to put in all the coding without knowing much of it.

here is the link
visual worlds

its got its own icon (soon i will have one for this blog too)
archive page
one post
no comments page

The last few days

2009-02-15T20:01:00.006+05:30

What should I do? From one side of my room some Hindi cum Marathi numbers (which seem close to the OST of "The Departed") are playing with no regards to the people who live around the area. And bang opposite to those windows some chap from the college band is making a sincere effort to sing "free falling". Well I appreciate the attempt but it doesn't sound anything like the original.

I have sealed myself in my room but unfortunately sound waves seem to find their way in through little openings. How I wish I could find the song and music as appreciable as the rest of the audience but unfortunately I am my cynic self as usual.

Yesterday was Valentine's day and I spent the evening listening to Harsha Bhogle. He was at our campus as part of our college fest. He gave an interesting talk and kept the entire audience entertained through his witty lines and a British like sense of humour.

My weightlifting is going on fine except the squats. I seem to have stalled at 75kgs. Although it is more than my bodyweight but no way near to my goal of 100kgs. It will take a lot of effort and proper diet to get to that point. I will manage the training but have no clue how will I get quality nutrition to complement all that heavy lifting. The only solution is that the 6 weeks break at the end of March has to be utilized to the fullest. My bench press is also on the increase. I hope to continue my strength training as long as possible. Have a look at the picture below ;)

Its not bitch as you are thinking it is bench!!

Studies, what to say. I am not putting in any significant amount of effort and this obviously reflects in my grades. Although I think its high time I pull up my socks and start doing something about it but the desire is not there and I don't like doing anything out of compulsion. Some subjects are really disappointing. I fail to realize the significance of them in my career later on.

Life is going on. Something seems to be missing and as usual I am clueless. But I still enjoy my day dreaming. I love it. I am an escapist.

How to become Jason Bourne :)

2009-01-30T11:13:00.007+05:30

The other day I was watching The Bourne Supremacy, as this was the only part of the trilogy I hadn’t seen. It is such an action packed thriller that every guy would love to be like Jason Bourne. Bourne turns out to be a very sensitive guy from the inside but his training has made him an instrument which knows how to kill and get the job done. Jason Bourne is street smart which is brought out exceedingly well in all the three movies. The way he handles precarious situations goes to show how cool and calm he stays always.

I was just wondering what it would take to make one a Jason Bourne. Obviously it’s a kid’s dream to be one. I did a little Googling to find out what actually did Matt Damon do to transform into Jason Bourne. In addition to the information present on the net I reasoned out other training methodologies which he would have incorporated into his routine for the transformation by watching his physique and athleticism in all the three movies. In short this is what I came up with.

Weight Training

1. In the Bourne Identity we can see an incline bench kept in his apartment (probably in Paris). He has strong deltoids (shoulders) and trapezius. Arms also appear to be at least 15.5 inch probably 16 inch. Full pectorals (chest) are visible under his vest and quads (thighs) would obviously be good because of all his running and overall mass. The way he pulls himself in all the three movies goes to show his strong lats, back and arms.

2. Training would include the following exercises:

Flat and Incline Bench press
Overhead Press and Dumbbell/ Arnold Press
Squats
Deadlifts
Pull-ups
Chin-ups
Muscle ups
Pushups
Barbell Row
Dumbbell Shrugs
Barbell Curls
Lying Triceps Extension
Abdomen Crunches

Cardiovascular Exercises

1. In the Bourne Supremacy Matt Damon is seen running on a beach in Goa. His running style is not that of a sprinter. He appears to be flat footed and does not sprint on his toes. For a comparison have a look at Sylvester Stallone in the Rocky series (running on the beach during the training montage). Nevertheless he is pretty quick. This goes to show his cardiovascular efficiency.

2. Training would include:

Ø Jogging/Sprinting/Interval training/Skip jumps

Ø Frequency of 3 to 4 times a week.

Martial Arts

1. 6 months martial arts training for The Bourne Identity specifically Kung Fu. Other martial arts which Damon trained to become Bourne was Kali style martial arts (Escrima), which is a martial art from the Philippines involving a lot of grappling and breaking and ground work, as well as standard strikes.

2. Another 6 months of boxing training for The Bourne Identity. His aim was to walk with a certain directness and efficiency like the boxers.

Arms Training

1. “A couple hundred hours of shooting” for The Bourne Identity. The aim was to make Jason Bourne look real comfortable holding a gun.

Diet

1. He treats his food as fuel. Does not go for taste.

2. Diet would be high in protein and carbohydrate and would include fish oil. He would certainly avoid processed food barring the times he is on the run.

3. 6 meals a day to gain lean muscle mass and enough carbohydrates to keep him energized for the day.

What women really want !

2009-01-29T10:37:00.002+05:30

Women are not actually attracted to men. There is a vague idea of what a man is physically, and some are better than others aesthetically speaking, but the purely physical appearance of a man is almost inconsequential unless he is horribly ugly or outrageously attractive.

Women are attracted to status, money, how much a man smiles and laughs, how many friends and resources a man has, how full a man's life is--how many "cool," "exciting" and prestigious things he is doing or connected to.

They are interested in how other people view him--how many people want to be around him, how other people interact with him and whether their interactions convey that he is special and amazing. They want him to be extremely outgoing and aggressive, they want him to demonstrate his status over other people by dominating them in various non-violent ways.

A woman's attraction to a man is a function of her jealousy at the thought of another woman having that man. She doesn't care who he actually is or EXACTLY what he looks like physically, she only cares about the VALUE of the life he has constructed around himself.

A woman basically is a greedy materialistic prostitute. Although that sounds vulgar, it's true. She trades her physical self to buy into the success a man has created for himself.

As a man, I fall in love with how a woman is physically. I fall in love with simple parts of a woman. Like the way her hair falls around her face, the line of her neck, her shoulders. They way her ears might peek from her hair. Her eyelashes. The size and shape of her hands, her fingernails. The way she walks, the way she looks when she is tired or annoyed, the sound she makes when she sneezes, coughs, or cries. The way she sits in a chair. The way she breathes while experiencing different emotions. The way her lips move. A million little things.

Sure, a huge part of my attraction is mental, but the powerful seed of love that builds within me and crystallizes is based greatly on visual things that set off torrents of emotion and need.

It seems to me that women almost cannot think for themselves. Their estimates of worth are based on other peoples' estimates of worth. They don't really find an object beautiful on their own. The object becomes beautiful when other people let her know that it is beautiful.

I'm completely unable to reconcile the differences between men and women. It seems like success with women is equal to spending half of your life working to create a giant illusion, something vastly tiring and annoying, while sacrificing your own true self and your own interests. We construct our lives around nest-building. We're like male birds building nests and showing them off to attract mates. It's pathetic. Everything we do is to get women. It is a fucking shit deal.

Someone needs to invent a drug which has no hormonal imbalance side-effects but is able to erase a man's sex drive and attraction to women. It would increase productivity rates to incredible heights. I'd be free and happy. I'd feel complete. I'd be able to concentrate on my biochemistry studying.

- A student of biochemistry on a popular forum.

Amazing piece of writing. This is exactly what I feel. Although I think there are certainly a few exceptions to the set of women referred to here :)

Mumbai Marathon 2009

2009-01-21T14:49:00.004+05:30

BIB no: 8320. Running on the Marine Drive. You can see The Oberoi Trident in the background. (Photocourtesy: Satyendra Singh)

From 1993 to 2001 I qualified for the Sherwood Run only once (our version of the marathon more like a cross country run) . I was the slowest of runners with a problem of breathlessness ( I used an inhaler for a few years) and flat feet. Over the years I started moving away from all kinds of sports barring one or two. Undoubtedly I was poor at them but I also lost interest. It was one of the biggest mistakes I made. I regret having opted out of these sports.

Sports is not to be played with the sole objective of winning. A display board in the gymnasium at my school Sherwood reads

"The most important thing in the Olympic Games is not to win but to take part, just as the most important thing in life is not the triumph but the struggle. The essential thing is not to have conquered but to have fought well."

On the 18th of January 2009 I participated in the half marathon. I had put in a substantial amount of practice into it. My objective was to finish the race without a single pause in my running and I am extremely proud that I was able to do that. Moreover I was pleasantly surprised to discover I had run 21.097 Km in a little under 2 hours. In the last few kilometers my knees were aching like hell. I felt as though if I take one more step I will crumble to the ground. But as soon as I saw the finish line the adrenaline took over and I felt no pain. It was an amazing feeling to have finished the race.

I will return next year to the Mumbai Marathon.

Chetan Bhagat's Speech at Symbiosis Pune

2009-01-09T19:45:00.002+05:30

I wont put down the whole speech but just a part from it which captures the essence of the entire talk.

You must have read some quotes - Life is a tough race, it is a marathon or whatever. No, from what I have seen so far, life is one of those races in nursery school, where you have to run with a marble in a spoon kept in your mouth. If the marble falls, there is no point coming first. Same with life, where health and relationships are the marble. Your striving is only worth it if there is harmony in your life. Else, you may achieve the success, but this spark, this feeling of being excited and alive, will start to die.

One last thing about nurturing the spark - don’t take life seriously. One of my yoga teachers used to make students laugh during classes. One student asked him if these jokes would take away something from the yoga practice. The teacher said - don’t be serious, be sincere. This quote has defined my work ever since. Whether its my writing, my job, my relationships or any of my goals. I get thousands of opinions on my writing everyday. There is heaps of praise, there is intense criticism. If I take it all seriously, how will I write? Or rather, how will I live? Life is not to be taken seriously, as we are really temporary here. We are like a pre-paid card with limited validity. If we are lucky, we may last another 50 years. And 50 years is just 2,500 weekends. Do we really need to get so worked up? It’s ok, bunk a few classes, goof up a few interviews, fall in love. We are people, not programmed devices.

2009

2009-01-01T02:56:00.004+05:30

Its not a great start to the year. Feel sad from the inside. The reason is too personal to share and the worst part is that I can't even do anything about it. Never got this intense feeling of telling someone something but as usual I did not let it out from my "organ of fire".

Don't pinch me please. Let me go on dreaming. I know you will come and carry me out into the palace of winds. That's all I've wanted - to walk in such a place with you, with friends, an earth without maps. The lamp's gone out...I'm writing in the darkness.

Elbow lever

2008-12-14T22:50:00.002+05:30

An elbow lever

12th of December 2008. A very special day for a friend of mine :)
This is at the open air theater just behind the boy's hostel next to the lake. In the background you can see the lighting for an award show.

NDTV 24x7 : People Get Ready

2008-12-11T16:21:00.000+05:30

To vote or not to vote?

2008-12-02T20:15:00.003+05:30

After the recent terror attacks in Mumbai I have noticed every second person talking about how the majority of the politicians are incompetent and so on. I too share the same thought. But what can we do is the bottomline. When you go to vote most of the times you don't find a worthy candidate to whom you wish to cast your vote to. Therefore you end up choosing the "least" corrupted among the corrupted! Or the other thing is that you abstain from voting itself. All of us must vote and I will shed light on a very special provision in our Election rules as per the constitution of India. Read carefully because next time I am sure you are going to use this provision.

There is an article in the Election rules as per the Indian Constitution which I am sure most of you unaware of. It is Article 49 - O. As per the rules you can go to a pooling booth confirm your identity, get your finger marked and tell the presiding election officer that none of the candidates are competent enough and don't deserve your vote (you can do this after looking at the list of the candidates who are contesting the election). This will go in as a "No Vote".

If say after the counting say a Mr Laloo or a Mr Thackeray wins the constituency by a total vote of 1,00,000 and it is found that the "No votes" against the winner is a minimum of 1,00,049 (number of votes of the winner plus 49) then the entire polling for the booth gets cancelled and re-elections are held. More importantly in the re-election the contestants cannot participate since the public has already said that none are good enough. New candidates will fight during the re-election.

Isn't this a thing which you should be knowing? Yes off course! This was passed in late 1960's in the parliament of India. The politicians are clever enough to keep the people in the dark. As per my research this has never happened but the election commission predicts that if this is used it will create panic in the minds of the political party members and then they will bring forth genuine candidates.

Another thing which is happening lately is that ballot papers are being replaced by the EVMs(electronic voting machines). These EVMs don't have the option of "No Votes". There has been a long case going on and the petition to have this "No Vote" printed on the ballot paper and the EVMs is still pending with the Supreme Court of India. But remember you can still approach the presiding officer and tell him that you feel that all the candidates are incompetent to run your constituency.

"Be the change you want to see in the world" - M K Gandhi

For reference please check
1. Proposed electoral reforms
2. The conduct of election rules

The legend still lives on....

2008-11-26T18:07:00.004+05:30

李小龍

(Lee Juan Fan a.k.a. Bruce Lee)

"Be formless... shapeless, like water. If you put water into a cup, it becomes the cup. You put water into a bottle; it becomes the bottle. You put it into a teapot; it becomes the teapot. Water can flow, and it can crash. Be water, my friend..."

Lee Jun Fan was born in the hour of the dragon, between 6–8 a.m., in the Year of the Dragon according to the Chinese zodiac calendar, 27 November 1940. If he were alive he would have turned 68 tomorrow morning.

He is the founder of the martial art form called "Jeet Kune Do" meaning "The way of the intercepting fist."

Of the few matches he fought he never lost any. He trained his mind and body to such a limit that people from across spectrum say that it is almost impossible for an individual to be so physically fit. Arnold Schwarzenegger (the greatest bodybuilder ever) said of him "Bruce Lee had a very—I mean a very defined physique. He had very little body fat. I mean, he probably had one of the lowest body fat counts of any athlete. And I think that's why he looked so believable." A doctor who knew Lee once claimed that he was "Muscled as a squirrel, and spirited as a horse" and fitter than anyone he had ever seen.Lee was known to have collected over 140 books in his lifetime on bodybuilding, weight training, physiology and kinesiology. In order to better train specific muscle groups, he also created several original designs of his own training equipment and had his friend George Lee build them to his specifications.

Physical feats

Lee's phenomenal fitness meant he was capable of performing many exceptional physical feats.The following list includes some of the physical feats that are documented and supported by reliable sources.

* Lee's striking speed from three feet with his hands down by his side reached five hundredths of a second.
* Lee's combat movements were at times too fast to be captured on film at 24 frames per second, so many scenes were shot in 32fps to put Lee in slow motion. Normally martial arts films are sped up.
* In a speed demonstration, Lee could snatch a dime off a person's open palm before they could close it, and leave a penny behind.
* Lee could perform push ups using only his thumbs
* Lee would hold an elevated v-sit position for 30 minutes or longer.
* Lee could throw grains of rice up into the air and then catch them in mid-flight using chopsticks.
* Lee performed one-hand push-ups using only the thumb and index finger.
* Lee performed 50 reps of one-arm chin-ups.
* Lee could break wooden boards 6 inches (15 cm) thick.
* Lee could cause a 300-lb (136 kg) bag to fly towards and thump the ceiling with a side kick.
* Lee performed a side kick while training with James Coburn and broke a 150-lb (68 kg) punching bag
* In a move that has been dubbed "Dragon Flag", Lee could perform leg lifts with only his shoulder blades resting on the edge of a bench and suspend his legs and torso perfectly horizontal midair.

Though he might be not present today his legend still lives on.......