--- PitstoP ---

Sometimes Prevention is not better than Cure .

2015-05-04T00:39:00.002+05:30

After Delhi became the rape capital of India the government passed an ordinance that bars and pubs should not employ women after 8PM. While I believe most of the people in country would be in agreement with this move by the government, a majority of the twitter folks and other main stream media elites were aghast and expressed outrage. Their outrage stemmed from the fact that the government let rapists walk away free but penalize employment of women who are innocent.

While the topic of why tweeters and "common man" have divergent opinions is an interesting topic by itself - lets set that aside for another day. This post is about why I think GoI is correct and why I disagree with feminists, many journalists, and most tweeters writing on this topic.

Allow me to express my disagreement via these five categories of elementary logic that many arguing on this topic don't seem to understand.

1. A person is a rapist only if he commits rape:

I generally assumed this to be common sense. Its as simple as saying only fruits that are mangoes can be branded as mangoes. But such is the sad state of affairs that this needs to be spelled out. If a person has already committed the act of raping someone, he is a criminal. It would be accurate to brand him a rapist. The police should be searching for him and work on arresting him. That is a separate topic. Not directly relevant to the topic of discussion here - which is preventing rape.

From reading the news it appears that the police/government have identified that there are areas, time-of-day, situations where the probability of women getting raped is very high. This means that there is some evidence and statistical backing to conclude that in these situations the observed instances of rape is alarmingly greater than the mean. If a government is a sensible one - it is common sense to prevent exposure of women to that kind of probability.

This preemption does not mean that government is letting rapists walk-away free. And you know why that is so? This is because in this instance the occurrence of rape has been prevented. By not letting women be in that dangerous situation, the act of rape did not happen.

Unless there is a pre-existing threat by a specific person, you can't arrest arbitrary strangers who may have raped a woman if given an opportunity. Legally, they aren't rapists. therefore should walk free. You can only arrest people who have raped. So claiming that government let rapists walk away scott-free while punishing women is an inaccurate statement. There are no rapists in this situation.

2. In theory, there is no difference between theory and practice. In practice, there is:

Pause and reflect on the previous phrase for a moment. This paragraph is based on this theme. My biggest accusation of tweeters, journalists and social media experts is that they are very theoretical about laws and constitutional provisions. I accuse them of being greatly out of touch with some practical reality.

For example; I can leave the door of my house open and legally expect that no citizen will steal from my house. In theory this works. In practice this wont. If all citizens open their doors, they are entitled to expect that the police will prevent criminals from entering. In theory it is the responsibility of police to ensure this. In practice the size of police force will not scale up to match the crime rate increase in this situation. In theory and practice the people who steal in such situations are criminals and deserve jail sentence. But there aren't enough policemen in the force to arrest everyone.

The only way the government can deal with this situation is make it illegal for you to leave the door open. Extend this to wearing a Rolex watch, wade of $1000 bills in your pocket and a Ferrari and go to a crime neighborhood. If you do this everyday - you will get robbed someday.

Yes, the people who mug you are criminals. In theory you have the right to expect police to protect you at all times. In practice they can't. In theory the police shouldn't be judgmental on you and protect you. In practice, they will be and they won't. In theory you can go in a bikini to a pub, get slosh drunk, hitch a ride with complete strangers in an call-taxi and not expect to get raped. In theory the police force should assign 1 policeman with a revolver to protect every single woman who exposes herself to such dangerous situations. In practice...

3. Human Beings can do more than 1 thing at a time.

This may sound surprising to many tweeters but human beings can do two things at the same time. I can watch TV and eat a muffin at the same time. Really, I can. I have seen many people do two things at the same time. Some comb their hair and whistle. Some talk on the phone and type on their computer. But many tweeters assume mutual exclusion when none exists.

If you accuse a person of being careless because he left the door of his house open, these feminists assume you are forgiving the criminals who entered the house and burgled stuff. This is patently not true. Blaming someone does not mean "shifting the blame". It is not a zero sum game. I can accuse the victim of being careless and at the same time agree that the burglar is a criminal. You know why? because human beings can do two things at the same time.

So if police has given explicit instruction to women citizens to not venture into dangerous areas beyond a particular time, consume alcohol and hitch-ride with strangers. And if a woman ends up doing all the above and gets raped. I.. (wait for it) (wait for it) will blame her for being careless and irresponsible. I will blame her for not putting a premium on her personal safety.

This does not mean I condone and forgive the rapists. They are criminals and will need to be arrested. Punishing a criminal and calling someone careless isn't mutually exclusive. We can do both things. And we should be doing both.

4. Post-rape situation is different from preventing rape:

If policemen act indifferently to complaints of rape they are not discharging their duty and deserve reprimand. My personal view is that rapists deserve capital punishment. Eve-teasing deserves multiple years of jail sentence.There are no situations where a rapist can be condoned and the blame shifted to the victim. No girl ever "asks for it" because of the way she dresses or walks or drinks.

It is true that many times women lie about rape. It is also probably true that the instances where they are genuinely raped far outnumber the other instances where it is a cooked up lie. Once it is established that someone has been raped the police should not be biased by the other cases they have seen where women have lied. They should act in an unbiased manner to pursue justice.

However, when it comes to preventing rape - the 'prevention' must be given maximum priority. If this comes at the cost of marginal economic opportunities for women then - so be it. If a government is forced to make a trade-off they should always trade-off economic opportunity to prevent rape.

5. It is not 'All or Nothing'. It rarely is:

Sometimes RBI doesn't allow me to transfer larger amounts of money across countries at the same time. I am inconvenienced but not dead. I can still transfer some money. I can't go tell the RBI that if they don't allow me to transfer $1 billion it means that they are a non-entity. It doesn't mean I live in stone age. It doesn't mean that I can't transfer $1 if I wanted to. I can still transfer some money.

Some kind of jobs may not available in the place where I live. That could be my perfect dream job. But that is okay - I can find a job that is reasonably close to what I want that matches my skills. If the government has failed in giving me employment that is 100% to my liking, it doesn't mean that they have killed all my hopes for employment. They haven't failed.

Unless I have enormous sense of entitlement, the fact that I have employment means the govt is doing a good job. Theoretically they are supposed to help me. But needn't satisfy my every whim. So lets face it. The government has asked women who work in pubs after 8PM to not go to work. This doesn't mean we have regressed back to the Mughal era where women have to be covered head to toe and never venture out of their house. You guys need to get some perspective. Working in a 'saaraya kadai' doesn't require you to have 3 PhDs and embellish a 3-page resume. You probably have transferable skills to work somewhere else. It doesn't mean the government will completely stop women from working everywhere.

This is not a slippery slope. It doesn't mean government will prevent women from working in a place/time/situation where 1 instance of rape happens. It is not "all or nothing". It is an equilibrium. It is a trade-off or balance where reasonable employment opportunities are provided for reasonable costs/restrictions. You may ask "who decides what is reasonable". It is the elected government. Live with it. If you don't like it change the government. Any other questions on this will fall into one of these 5 categories.

In conclusion: This is a situation where a government has traded-off employment opportunities for women in pubs after 8PM to reduce their exposure to rape crimes. It is probably because of practical difficulties in ensuring safety for women in all bar/pubs across the country/city/state. It is not a kick back to stone age for women. Its a practical trade-off. Stop over-reacting. This leads to "grease the squeaky wheel" situation. The upper class elitist twits make such a big deal about careless women who get drunk, party and hang out with questionable strangers. And there is generally no noise about impacted women who dont fit into this class description.

The underprivileged voiceless women are used in an argument only as an embellishment. They are never the main topic. just a side act. And they are talked about only as a support act when some rich delhi girl gets raped when she's partying at 1AM. In this context the poverty ridden Ranganathan street cloth shop women are mentioned in passing to give the journalist a noble purpose. If these feminists and jounalists truly cared they would've protested against a specific (very very specific) element of injustice in that space. Its not like it never happens. It happens everyday but its never news.

On the other hand nonsense news such as kudigaara bar hopping reckless teenagers (and in the kolkata case: 37 yr old kudigaara mom-of-two was bar hopping and hitch-rided with strangers) getting raped is front and center news. This drains the resources and focus of the govt and makes them focus on unimportant issues. The fakeness of this issue makes an average guy cynical. which further contributes to poor response to real issues.

Hum Aapke Raincoat Family..

2015-05-04T00:29:00.000+05:30

When I first saw Hindhi people write the words 'Seetha' and 'Geetha' as 'Seeta' and 'Geeta' I used to get very annoyed. They wanted to write सीता and गीता in roman script but ended up writing सीटा and गीटा. Then later I realized that these hindhi people used the roman alphabet 't' to represent the Devanagari alphabet 'त'. But when learning basic English phonetics I always thought the roman alphabet 't' sounded closer to 'ट'. All English words pronounced 't' with a ट sound.

I can't think of an English word that would pronounce 't' any different (e.g. tank, took, take, toon, taunt, eat, mental, cut, put, but, teach, torture). They all use a sound closer to ट when pronouncing these words. Which means if you wrote all these words in Devanagari script you'd be using ट to represent 't'. So why would I pronounce 't' as त ? So what do Hindhi people do when they want to write ट in Roman script? To my horror, I found out that these Hindi people used 't' to represent 'ट' as well (for e.g. when they wrote 'tamatar' we should know to pronounce this as टमाटर and not तमातर).

Damn it!.

So these people use the roman letter 't' to arbitrarily represent 'ट' or 'त'. And they expected every one who does not know Hindhi to know about this.

My annoyance was not with the fact that they had a quirk of their own. Every language does. My annoyance was with their assumption that every Indian should 'just know' this quirk. And the constant 'why you tamilians are writing like this'. It was their quirk. How did it suddenly become my problem? My annoyance reduced a little bit when I found out about San Jose or Jungfraujoch. In these words the 'J' is not pronounced as the regular phonetic affricate /dʒ/. But more like a 'H' sound in the former and a 'Y' sound in the latter. This is not immediately obvious to someone who sees the combination of these letters written for the first time in Roman script. And my very own local parties the damn thamizh folks used 'zha' to represent the retroflex approximant 'ழ'.

This is so not obvious to non-thamizhs and non-malayalis. The good thing is thamizhs, mallus, spanish people don't look at non-speakers of that language and go "hey you are writing wrong man. we are always writing correctly". We know its our quirk. For example I met a guy whose name was spelt 'Jorge'. The way he wanted others to pronounce his name was 'hore-hay'. He was like the bizzaro world equivalent of Hindhi people using 't' to represent two sounds - in the same name he used 'j' and 'g' to mean the same sound 'ha'. At least he was humble about the quirkiness of his spelling.

To understand this better - Hindhi inherited Sanskrit's language system where some consonants can be combined with a 'ha' sound to create a whole new set of consonants..

For example if Hindhi people wanted to represent sounds क, ब, ज in roman scripts they'd use ka, ba, ja.

But Hindhi people have a parallel set of words ख (क + ह) , भ (ब + ह), झ (ज + ह) which other languages don't have so when they want to represent them in Roman script they add the 'ha' sound to roman script that represents the root letter - such as Kha (K + ha), Bha (B + ha), Jha (j + ha).

This is fine and dandy. There are no native Roman script sounds 'kha' 'bha' 'jha' that conflict so we get it. We don't care. But we get it. The point where I really get confused when roman script has a well defined frequently used sound that these hindhi people hijack for their own purpose.

They not only do that but also have poor self-awareness to know that its their own quirk. Take for example the sound 'th'. This is used very frequently in English. The words that use 'th' are for e.g. 'this', 'that', 'then', 'thy', 'them', 'thus', 'therefore,' 'third', 'the', and 'those'. All regular english words use 'th' to sound something like 'त'.

But Hindhi people have ignored this logic. And to show remarkable haste to add the 'ha' sound to every consonant that can walk the Hindhi people do something as crazy as the following. Here is some simple Hindhi sound arithmetic ट + ह = ठ. So these people try to replicate the same arithmetic in roman script as well. So they do 't' + 'h' = 'th'. So now 'th' represents a sound called ठ that no non-hindhi speaker uses or knows about or more importantly cares about. It is roughly pronounced 'tah' in roman script. And so when they write their words in roman script a non-hindhi speaker is supposed to 'just get it' that it represents ठ.

So when i see the word 'this' should I pronounce it 'tahis' ? No? Why not? 'Meetha' is pronounced 'meetah'. Its seems arbitrary and everyone is just supposed to get this. The craziness doesn't just end there. They have another arithmetic: त + ह = थ. Remember they use 't' to represent त. So they do 't' + 'h' = 'th'. So now 'th' also refers to this new sound थ. Now if a hindhi guy uses 'th' he could either be referring to थ or ठ. Go figure!

Now we haven't even begun on the word 'd'. This roman script is used in English words such as donkey, dick, dam, damn, dirty, douchebag etc. In all English usage of this word it resembles the sound ड. But a hindhi reader is already getting ready to type a comment "hey! its Hindi and not Hindhi".

Oh yeah? So now you are using 'd' to represent the sound 'द'. So what do Hindhi people do when they want to to write the sound ड in Roman script? Well - they use the alphabet 'd'. So 'd' can mean both ड and 'द'.

So what do they really mean when they use 'dh'. Because in regular english words the 'dh' softener is used to refer to a sound close to 'द'. But when Hindhi people write 'dh' they actually mean the sound ध. You already know why because of the arithmetic 'द' + ह = ध. But then one is wordering about the other arithmetic ड + ह = ढ. How does a Hindhi person write 'ढ' in roman script. Wait for it. Wait for it. they use 'dh'.

You gotta be kidding me!

So to sum up in a table. This is how one should translate when a roman script is used by actual English words Versus what these Hindhi people mean.

Roman Script	Sound that script indicates in actual English words	Weird possible sounds that Hindhi people can mean when they use script
T	ट (tank, take)	त, ट
Th	त (this, that)	थ, ठ
D	ड (Do, donkey)	ड, द
dh	ढ (sometimes द)	ढ, ध

What really gets my goat is the way hindhi people differentiate between the अ and the आ sound. Do you know how they differentiate? That's the trick. They don't. बलं is 'bal'. बालं is written as 'bal' as well. I met a person who had this surname 'Bhagwat'. I pronounced that as भगवट. Because I wanted to pronounce it the way it was actually written. But the person corrected me and said "but its भागवत".

So the अ in in the second syllable 'वत' (which is theoretically व+अ+तं) gets one 'a' in the roman script spelling. But the 'आ' in the first syllable 'भा' (theoretically भ + आ ) doesn't get two 'a's. It gets one 'a' as well. So a unsuspecting non hindhi person must somehow magically find out that the 'a' in the first syllable corresponds to 'आ' and the 'a' in the second syllable corresponds to अ .

You are deemed horrible if you didn't.

Every language has its quirks. Especially so when it is transliterated to roman script. One would assume a certain amount of humility in the speakers of the language to know that it is their own unique quirk and not act all "this is the correct way" when non-native speakers of the language don't get these quirks.

Somehow hindhi people have gotten into their head that Thamizhs are the only people who feel the urge to write 'Seetha' and 'geetha'. *Most* non-hindhi people who are familiar with the roman script will logically write it that way. When Canadians, Australians, Brits, Americans and Kiwis see the word 'Sita' they will probably pronounce it as सीटा. Thats what the 't sound means.

Two years ago, I cried a little when I landed in திருநேல்வெலி and saw the name spelt in the railway platform as 'Tirunelveli'. They're spreading their stupid.

Damn you!. Damn you!.

Notion of Equality

2015-05-04T00:13:00.001+05:30

I am increasingly amazed when young kids totally filled with idealistic notions come and tell you that s/he believes in "equality". I am not even sure if they mean this exclusively in a social context.

I think they mean it everywhere. I find this kind of "flat earth and the sun goes around it" brainwash fascinating. I wish I was in a position of power to poison the minds of younglings with arbitrary notions such as the one on 'equality' so that I can push my own agenda.

Life as a Zero Sum Game Vs Life as an Ever Expanding Pie:

There are some who believe that the world is a zero sum game. One person's growth means that someone else has lost. On the other hand, some think the universe is an ever expanding pie and everyone can grow with no cost to other individuals.

Strangely 'equality' is a concept that belongs to the former philosophy. If you bring everything in this world to fit within a LHS = RHS construct then the world becomes a zero sum game. So if you belong to the LHS and if you have to gain anything you will have to deprive someone in RHS of that thing in equal proportions. On the contrary, if you believe things are by default unequal and work on an assumption that LHS != RHS (note: "!=" means "not equal to") then you can add or subtract anything from any side and the world is an ever expanding pie.

From my observations, a person with scientific mind and liberal thought believes in equality but also believes that the universe is an ever expanding pie. As they say - medula oblangata is boggled.

Interpreting equality literally:

Let me start by playing dumb and take the phrase "everything and everyone are equal" in the literal/absolute/non-metaphoric sense. I will pretend that I am an alien visiting this earth and I have heard a human being say "X = Y for all values of X and Y". This is patently wrong. People espousing equality don't really mean it that literally.

But is important play this extreme interpretation to drive home the point that there are inequalities in the world that a person assumes, agrees to and accepts/endorses as 'natural' but conveniently forgets it when using 'equality' as an argument.

That things are fundamentally created unequal is the most obvious reality of nature:

In my eyes one of the most easily discernible things from nature is that nearly all things are unequal. Living things are not only created unequal but constantly strive to be unequal all the time (think 'evolution'). This includes the fact that some living things are human beings, some are animals, birds etc etc.

Some people are born healthy, some have retardation of growth, some cant hear or speak, some can run very fast at the age of 7, then there are 9 year old drug addicts, people who fail 2nd standard, rich people, poor people, atheists, liberals, conservatives, birds that can fly, animals that cannot, trees that bear fruit, mammals, eggs, reptiles, calm people, angry people, short people, fat people, tall people, people with vision problems, diabetics, ophans. If there is one thing we can be sure about. It is the fact that there is a inherent and natural inequality that exists and that we all accept as nature.

Try telling a person who touts their belief in equality that all human beings are created with equal 'intelligence' or equal 'intellectual horsepower' and they will make a u-turn like you have never believed. If you really want to anger them tell them everyone is equally 'lucky'.

Interpreting Equality As a Metaphor:

Now, people may actually 'say' something but 'mean' something totally different. So if you pull yourself out of the 'literal' interpretation mode and understand that people can be 'metaphoric' when they use the term 'equality' we find that people intuitively mean something more subtle. So at the core of it people may subconsciously accept that X and Y are fundamentally unequal but nevertheless require X & Y to be *treated* equally. Here is where I think there is a fundamental disconnect between what people *mean* and what people *do*.

These people want everyone to be treated equally but they themselves don't treat any two people equally. For example - a woman who majorly clamors for equality may meet 1000 men in her life who want to marry her but she will choose only one. In effect she treats 999 people unequally when compared to the 1 she chooses to marry.

If you think this is an 'out there' anecdote and isn't empirically true, think again. When 2,00,000 people apply for IIT-JEE exams, the board actively discriminates among them and only selects 2500. In that 2500 every single person is treated unequally in terms of preference for groups. Extend this to interviews. In any single interview the job of the interviewer is to introduce an inequality between applicants to select a few and deny the others.

The categories where people display their competence by introducing inequality is almost universal and omnipresent. Academics, research, sports, medicine, army, housing, jobs, government tenders, electricity, and basic comforts depend on establishing inequality. Either the individual actively works towards establishing and increasing his inequality with his peers or the judges/governance rewards individuals with high level of inequality compared to their peers.

In fact it is hard to come up with examples where 2 things are assigned exactly equal results.

No one treats anyone equally:

In a social context a mother or father treats other children as unequal to their own children. A court of law establishes inequality between defense and prosecution. A wife treats her husband differently from other men.

You treat your social circle different from an urchin on the slum. For example your friends are people who are in the same financial or educational class as you are. You don't have friends who are construction workers. You actively discriminate and create inequality in choosing your friends circle by consciously eliminating beggars, slum urchins, prison inmates, and construction workers. You may eliminate them indirectly by never even giving them a chance or never meeting them but that in itself is a result of inequality in social status that you endorse and accept.

There is a recursive inequality even within existing methods of establishing inequality. Selecting a person as spouse over another one because of a professional, physical or financial inequality is accepted by the certain people but the very same people detest rejecting marriage proposals based on caste inequality.

The Philosophy of equality:

What this all boils down to is an lack of understanding of what we really mean by 'equality'. And what forms of equality pass philosophical muster and what don't. There are situations in which equality is the correct approach and there are situations in which inequality is the correct approach. I have almost come to believe that those who make arguments based on an assumption of equality as an axiom do not understand the difference between equality of outcome and equality of opportunity. 100 men may have an equal opportunity to go ask a girl for her hand in marriage. But there will be no equality in outcome.

A group or category of people can have an equal opportunity to appeal to the court of law demanding a set of benefits comparable or equal to another set of people. The other set of people can go to court opposing this request. But the outcome may not be equal to both parties.

The court - through very fair logic - may decide that one group will not be given an equal set of benefits when compared to another set of people. This does not mean people are bigots or there is unfairness in the system. Inequality in outcomes as a result of a peer validation process is how this world works.

You can't expect god to come down and do an interview for you or be the judge in your court case - for you to consider it as a fair process. A peer human being with his biases and capabilities will conduct the decision making process.

Equality of Outcome is Nonsense:

This is almost common sense. However, for many many issues people feel a sense of fairness only when there is equality of outcome. People don't realize equality or *feel* the presence of equality when there is only equality in opportunity. A slightly facetious example would be the'spiritual but not religious' nut jobs who claim puke-worthy things that 'all gods are equal' or 'all forms of prayer or equal'. They will not *feel* the presence of equality if I selected only 1 form of prayer/god and followed just that. They would think I am a fundamentalist.

And they wouldn't change their opinion unless they see 'equality in outcome'. I am virulently against 'equality of outcome'. Primarily because I am not a communist. I don't want all the 5 runners in a 100m race to win Gold or all applicants to a job interview be given job offers. That doesn't make me a bigot or a biased person. I am a bigot if I move the "starting point" in below diagram (Image Credit: wikipedia.org) leftwards. People should have an opportunity to take a 'shot' at the outcome they so desire. But I strongly disagree with the people who move the "ending point" leftwards and align it with "starting point" (Example: It is one of the flaws of caste based reservation systems in India - which involves a variant of this approach). Sounds like common sense but pretty much every second or third argument that uses 'equality' does this.

Circular Logic and Consequent Annoying High Moral Ground:

Knowing where equality applies and where it doesn't reduces fallacious arguments where people present circular logic. These people say that 'Category X must be treated equal because... they are equal". Well if they are already equal then this request must be totally pointless. Its like saying "you should marry her because she is already married to you" or "You must kill him because he is already dead". An argument that some group of people should be given an equal outcome when compared to another group of people cannot depend on an assumption that the former group is *already* equal. Equality is a conclusion you are trying to establish. You can't use it as a premise. The fact that you can classify the two groups as distinct assumes that there is a fundamental inequality that exists between them. So an appeal for equal outcome should involve a merit that is something other than 'equality'.

Knowing this avoids the unnecessarily high moral ground that people derive by asking a fellow human being to offer equal *outcomes* for all religions (apparently they say the "same" truth in "different" ways), different gods/approaches within same religion, all genders, all races, and all sexual orientation etc. It maybe true that at the end of the argument they merit equal outcomes in a practical world. But just don't start the argument with an axiom that they are 'equal'.

Stop Complaining. Start Realizing .

2014-11-02T20:52:00.000+05:30

Perhaps the most important step in quitting the habit of complaining is to disconnect the undesirable behavior from your identity. A common mistake chronic complainers make is to self-identify with the negative thoughts running through their minds. Such a person might admit, “I know I’m responsible for my thoughts, but I don’t know how to stop myself from thinking negatively so often.” That seems like a step in the right direction, and to a certain degree it is, but it’s also a trap. It’s good to take responsibility for your thoughts, but you don’t want to identify with those thoughts to the point you end up blaming yourself and feeling even worse.

A better statement might be, “I recognize these negative thoughts going through my mind. But those thoughts are not me. As I raise my awareness, I can replace those thoughts with positive alternatives.” You have the power to recondition your thoughts, but the trick is to keep your consciousness out of the quagmire of blame. Realize that while these thoughts are flowing through your mind, they are not you. You are the conscious conduit through which they flow.

Mental conditioning

Although your thoughts are not you, if you repeat the same thoughts over and over again, they will condition your mind to a large extent. It’s almost accurate to say that we become our dominant thoughts, but I think that’s taking it a bit too far.

Consider how the foods you eat condition your body. You aren't really going to become the next meal you eat, but that meal is going to influence your physiology, and if you keep eating the same meals over and over, they’ll have a major impact on your body over time. Your body will crave and expect those same foods.

However, your body remains separate and distinct from the foods you eat, and you’re still free to change what you eat, which will gradually recondition your physiology in accordance with the new inputs.

This is why negative thinking is so addictive. If you keep holding negative thoughts, you condition your mind to expect and even crave those continued inputs. Your neurons will even learn to predict the re occurrence of negative stimuli. You’ll practically become a negativity magnet.

The trap of negative thinking

This is a tough situation to escape because it’s self-perpetuating, as anyone stuck in negative thinking knows all too well. Your negative experiences feed your negative expectations, which then attract new negative experiences.

In truth most people who enter this pattern never escape it in their entire lives. It’s just that difficult to escape. Even as they rail against their own negativity, they unknowingly perpetuate it by continuing to identify with it. If you beat yourself up for being too negative, you’re simply reinforcing the pattern, not breaking out of it.

I think most people who are stuck in this trap will remain stuck until they experience an elevation in their consciousness. They have to recognize that they’re trapped and that continuing to fight their own negativity while still identifying with it is a battle that can never be won. Think about it. If beating yourself up for being too whiny was going to work, wouldn't it have worked a long time ago? Are you any closer to a solution for all the effort you've invested in this plan of attack?

Consequently, the solution I like best is to stop fighting and surrender. Instead of resisting the negativity head-on, acknowledge and accept its presence. This will actually have the effect of raising your consciousness.

Overcoming negativity

You can actually learn to embrace the negative thoughts running through your head and thereby transcend them. Allow them to be, but don’t identify with them because those thoughts are not you. Begin to interact with them like an observer.

It’s been said that the mind is like a hyperactive monkey. The more you fight with the monkey, the more hyper it becomes. So instead just relax and observe the monkey until it wears itself out.

Recognize also that this is the very reason you’re here, living out your current life as a human being. Your reason for being here is to develop your consciousness. If you’re mired in negativity, your job is to develop your consciousness to the point where you can learn to stay focused on what you want, to create positively instead of destructively. It may take you more than a lifetime to accomplish that, and that’s OK. Your life is always reflecting back to you the contents of your consciousness. If you don’t like what you’re experiencing, that’s because your skill at conscious creation remains underdeveloped. That’s not a problem though because you’re here to develop it. You’re experiencing exactly what you’re supposed to be experiencing so you can learn.

Conscious creation

If you need a few more lifetimes to work through your negativity, you’re free to take your time. Conscious creation is a big responsibility, and maybe you don’t feel ready for it yet. So until then you’re going to perpetuate the pattern of negative thinking to keep yourself away from that realization. You must admit that the idea of being the primary creator of everything in your current reality is a bit daunting. What are you going to make of your life? What if you screw up? What if you make a big mess of everything? What if you try your best and fail? Those self-doubts will keep you in a pattern of negativity as a way of avoiding that responsibility.

Unfortunately, this escapism has consequences. The only way true creators can deny responsibility for their creations is to buy into the illusion that they aren't really creating any of it. This means you have to turn your own creative energy against yourself. You’re like a god using his powers to become powerless. You use your strength to make yourself weak.

The reason you may be stuck in a negative thought pattern right now is that at some point, you chose it. You figured the alternative of accepting full responsibility for everything in your reality would be worse. It’s too much to handle. So you turned your own thoughts against yourself to avoid that awesome responsibility. And you’ll continue to remain in a negative manifestation pattern until you’re ready to start accepting some of that responsibility back onto your plate.

Negativity needn't be a permanent condition. You still have the freedom to choose otherwise. In practice this realization normally happens in layers of unfolding awareness. You begin to accept and embrace more and more responsibility for your life.

Assuming total responsibility

You see… the real solution to complaining is responsibility. You must say to the universe (and mean it), “I want to accept more responsibility for everything in my experience.”

Here are some examples of what I mean by accepting responsibility:

If I’m unhappy, it’s because I’m creating it.
If there’s a problem in the world that bothers me, I’m responsible for fixing it.
If someone is in need, I’m responsible for helping them.
If I want something, it’s up to me to achieve it.
If I want certain people in my life, I must attract and invite them to be with me.
If I don’t like my present circumstances, I must end them.

On the flip side, it may also help to take responsibility for all the good in your life. The good stuff didn't just happen to you. You created it. Well done.

Pat yourself on the back for what you like, but don’t feel you must pretend to enjoy what you clearly don’t like. But do accept responsibility for all of it… to the extent you’re ready to do so.

Complaining is the denial of responsibility. And blame is just another way of excusing yourself from being responsible. But this denial still wields its own creative power.

Conscious creation is indeed an awesome responsibility. But in my opinion it’s the best part of being human. There’s just no substitute for creating a life of joy, even if it requires taking responsibility for all the unwanted junk you've manifested up to this point.

When you catch yourself complaining, stop and ask yourself if you want to continue to deny responsibility for your reality or to allow a bit more responsibility back onto your plate. Maybe you’re ready to assume more responsibility, and maybe you aren't, but do your best to make that decision consciously. Do you want sympathy for creating what you don’t want, or do you want congratulations for creating what you do want?

Fascinating Indian Women !! !

2014-09-21T20:02:00.001+05:30

The Indian Women fascinate me. Her ability to give, share, bear, nurture, cook, work, qualities of head and heart, adjust are just some of the qualities that I admire. Throughout our country’s tumultuous history, she suffered so much yet she continues to retain qualities that make her unique. She has done great service to religion by preserving age old traditions, moral fervor and spiritual vein in our society. It is the mother who conducts puja in our homes, attends spiritual discourses, wears Indian clothes i.e. sari while men have adopted western wear completely.

This post is dedicated to the Indian women. As a nation, we progressed when the Indian woman was accorded her rightful place in society. Its time we treat her like she was up to 300 B.C. It is my belief that India will progress much faster if a greater number of women are educated, financially independent and realize that equality does not mean that you listen to yourself only. Let us resolve to allow her to blossom, flower and show her inner beauty.

Olden age:

The frequent reference to unmarried girls speaks in favor of a custom of girls marrying long after they had reached puberty. Among Aryans, marriage among brothers and sisters was prohibited. There seems to have been considerable freedom on the part of young persons in the selection of their life partners as they generally married at a mature age. Approval of the parent or the brother was not essential, the boy and the girl made up their minds and then informed the elders though their participation in the marriage ceremony was essential i.e. the blessings of the elders were sought.

Suprising as it may sound, in some cases a bride-price was paid by a not very desirable son in law. So also when a girl had some defect, dowry was given. A hymn in the Rig Veda gives us an idea of the old marriage ritual. The boy and his party went to the girl’s house where a well-dressed girl was ready. The boy catches the hand of the girl and leads her round the fire. These two acts constitute the essence of marriage. The boy takes the girl home in a procession followed by consummation of the marriage.

The wife was respected in her new house and wielded authority over her husband’s family. The wife participated in the sacrificial offerings of her husband. Abundance of sons was prayed for so, naturally so in a patriarchal society since the son performed the last rites and continued the line.

There is little evidence to show that the custom of Sati existed. Even if known, it was limited to the Kshatriya class. Remarriage of widows was permitted under certain conditions. Female morality maintained a high standard although but the same degree of fidelity was not expected from the husband.

Women enjoyed much freedom. They took an active part in agriculture, manufacture of bows. They moved around freely, publicly attended feasts and dances.

Birth of a Daughter Unwelcome – As in all patriarchal societies during that age the birth of a daughter was unwelcome. The son lived with his parents, earned money for the family, protected the family from enemies and perpetuated the name of the family. However, the latter’s birth was not considered so bad.

The feeling of dejection on the birth of a daughter did not lead to Female Infanticide in ancient India. This custom crept into India during the medieval period. Once the disappointment on the birth of a daughter was over, the family did not distinguish between their son and daughter.

‘Man is only one half” says a Vedic passage; he is not complete till he is united with his wife and gives birth to children. The husband is to treat his wife as his dearest friend. The wife is a companion friend of a man, says a Vedic passage. The Mahabharat and Buddhist thinkers concur with this view.

Marriage between the same caste was preferred although inter caste marriages were prevalent.

While girls continued to be married around 16, there was a tendency to marry them before they attained puberty. It was probably due to the anxiety to maintain their body purity. Lowering of the marriage age affected their education and culture adversely. After all, if she got married early then how could she study? Extreme emphasis was now laid on the physical chastity of women which discouraged widow remarriage, divorce and encouragement of sati. We must remember that India faced its first foreign invasion ie Greeks during this period.

Social customs are a product of the environment we live in. India had never seen, till 327 BC, an invasion like the Greeks. Quoting freedom fighter, writer K.M. Munshi “About the beginning of the Christian era, perhaps under the influence of foreigners, the spiritual disenfranchisement of women began.

Remarriage - While Agni Purana, Visvarupa permits a woman to take a second husband under five circumstances, lost, dead, impotent, and outcaste or adopted the life of a recluse it is forbidden by Medhatithi, Brahma Purana.

Widow – As in the previous period, the life of strict celibacy and self-restraint enjoined upon her was sought to be enforced during the period. The tonsure of widow came into vogue about the 8th century a.d. and was to help her lead an ascetic life.

General Status of Women – As in the previous period, the Smritis emphasize the duty of absolute devotion and obedience of wives to their husbands. Medhatithi says that a wife must shampoo her husband’s feet provided the husband follows a righteous path and is free from hatred, jealousy towards his wife. Equal right of the husband and wife to seek legal remedy is advocated by Medhatithi. He takes Manu to enjoin not the actual beating of the recalcitrant wife but only a method of putting her on the right path.

A Note on Status of Women in Western Society:

The Doctrine of perpetual tutelage of women was not taken seriously by Hindu society can be gauged from the fact that a women’s share in property kept on increasing. If suppression of women was indeed the aim, her share in the property should have come down but the opposite happened. According to Dr Leitner, the Educational Commissioner of Punjab during the third quarter of the last century, the elderly women of the house had the difficult job of mediation in family disputes.

It must be noted that the doctrine of perpetual tutelage of women was universally accepted everywhere till recent times. Quoting Prof Gilbert Murray “To the average Athenian, it was probably rather wicked for her to have any character, wicked for her to take part in public life, wicked for her to acquire learning.” Even Aristotle’s thought that like slaves, artisans and traders, women should occupy a subordinate place. Their will is weak, virtue less perfect and self-sufficient and deliberative faculty rather inconclusive. Male by nature is superior and female inferior. The one rules and the other is ruled.

The Roman Law regarded the wife as the daughter of her husband as far as her juridical status was concerned, for a long time, she could not sign a will, make a contract or become a witness. Down to 200 AD, even mothers of several children, continued to be under the tutelage of their male relations. Women is always dependent says Confucius and owes due homage to her father-in-law and husband. In the Christian marriage, the wife has to take the vow of obedience at the time of her marriage; logically speaking this places her under the perpetual tutelage of her hubby.

The Bible argues that women should never usurp the authority over man, but be always subordinate to them, firstly because Eve and not Adam, was deceived and secondly because the former was created out of a rib of the latter. At the synod of Macon in 585 AD, the assembled bishops debated whether human beings were women at all and finally concluded they were.

Numerous writers of medieval Europe have emphasized the inferiority of women. Milton held women ought to obey without argument. Rousseau, the apostle of freedom, condemned women to a servile position. Girls, he argues, should be subject to restraint. Even educated ladies of the 18th century felt that women should not dream of independence. The French Revolution which stood for Equality was not prepared to grant it to Women. The French National Assembly treated women so contemptuously that it even refused to read their petition.

Divorce – The earlier Dharmasastras tell us that divorce was permitted under certain circumstances at the beginning of the Christian era. Inspite of lots of opposition, it became well grounded around the beginning of the Christian era that a women could be married only once. To divorce one husband and to marry another, because the marital life was not happy, began to appear as a grossly sensual procedure. It may be pointed out that the Roman Catholic Church holds the same view today, as it regards marriages as indissoluble. (The book was written in 1956). In England, down to the middle of the 19th century, a divorce could be had only by an Act of Parliament. Between 1715 and 1855 A.D., only about 180 persons could get divorce through Parliamentary Legislation.

Duty of Obedience - The original Christian ritual, specify enjoined the duty of obedience upon the wife. She took the oath that she would love and obey her husband till her death, while the latter merely observed that he would love and cherish her. The deliberate differentiation in the oath was a natural corollary of the theory adumbrated in Paul, V, 22, that the husband is the head of the wife, as Christ is the head of the Church. It is interesting to note that even in 1928, the British Parliament refused to sanction the proposal to delete the reference to obedience from the wife’s oath.
The theory of wife’s subordination is dying out in the West.

Physical Assault of Wife – With the reduction in the average age and education of girls, physical assault of the wife did happen in India. But was the situation any different in the West? In medieval Russia, the bride’s father supplied his son-in-law with a new whip as a symbol of his authority and it was hung over the bridal bed.

Sati – The custom of sacrifice of the widow at the funeral of her husband was widely prevalent since ancient times. Although there is no direct evidence that it prevailed during the Indo-European Age, the fact that it was practiced among the Gauls, Goths, Norwegians, Celts, Slaves and the Thracians would justify that it was probably well established among the Indo-Europeans.

The rite of sati was enjoined by some authorities but condemned by others but the custom was mainly confined to royal families. According to Arab writer Sulaiman “the wives of kings sometimes burnt themselves on the funeral fires of their husbands, but it was for them to exercise their option in this matter”. Remember the first Muslim invasion in Sind, 712 A.D. was during this period.

Purdah – There is no doubt that Purdah was unknown in India down to 100 B.C. It is only after the starting that some sections of society in Northern India, notably royalty, began to advocate greater seclusion for women, ie they put a veil. (Could be the impact of foreign invasion). The Chinese travelers of the 7th century A.D. did not mention it too. The Purdah system became widely prevalent in North India subsequent to the Muslim invasion.
Seclusion of women was not confined to India alone. In Athens, 500 B.C., women could not meet their husband’s guests or go out of the house without proper guards.

A bridegroom could not see his bride before marriage in ancient Greece. At Sparata, women had separate apartments and could not be present at banquets. In Assyria veil was worn by all married women. In Persia, seclusion of women had become quite common before the beginning of the Chrisitan era. The Bible lays down that women should not speak in public at the Church. Tertullian says “For a virgin of virtuous habits every appearance in public with an unveiled face is equivalent to suffering a rape”.

To come down to modern times, women lived under restrictions. Down to 1850 A.D. in England, a woman could not take a walk, much less a journey, alone, nor could she ask a fellow worker to visit her, unless the worker was a girl. When two ladies spoke at a meeting convened for the purpose of supporting a women’s cause in Parliament, a Member of Parliament said “Two ladies have disgraced themselves for speaking in public”. When the House of Commons was built in 1844, it was great difficulty that a Ladies Gallery was sanctioned.

Child Marriage – In the Vedic Age down to 400 B.C, girls got married between the age of 16 to 18. They encouraged early marriage. The Sarda Act of 1929, made the marriage of girls and boys before the age of 14 and 18 an offence.

Child marriages were common in Europe for a long time. In ancient Rome, maidens were married at the age of 10 or 12. In the age of chivalry, girls were often married at the age of 5 because marriage was a matter of military tactics and alliances. The rule of the Church that boys and girls should be married at the age of 15 and 12 was openly flouted. In England, except in the upper classes, child marriage was common in Tudor times.

Nudity – The real explanation of women appearing without covering their busts properly in the sculptures, paintings of Southern, Central India seems to be the artistic convention of that age. Breasts are the most significant symbol of motherhood and the artistists felt that they may be uncovered in works of art, though they may be actually covered in real life. Let’s not confuse the matter .

Convention in India or European countries prescribed a scantier dress for woman than what is actually used in real life. This will be apparent to all students of ancient and modern sculptures & paintings of Europe. We cannot conclude that women in modern Europe move about in a nude condition because they appear uncovered in some works of art, so also the same logic applied to the Indian women.

India is a vast and complex capitalist society. Said to be the largest liberal democracy in the world with a population of over 1 billion, India is not easy to assess. Viewed through a western perspective it can often seem an impenetrable place. Often we see the Indian woman cast as a victim of patriarchal and religious control. Images of instances of ‘sati’ and stories of mass foeticide have helped form in the western mind the stereotypical ignorant and backward Indian women. However there is a ‘rich history linked to the social reform movements’ that were taking place in India in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries . This history has a direct link to the women of today and in this essay we will show how the Indian women’s movement is a vibrant and complex movement that includes millions , yet is not a diverse and often of a contradictory nature. We will show how the movement varies according to geographical area, how individual organisations are run along differing ideological perspectives and how they are tackling the many problems that Indian women face.

Therefore in order to evaluate the position of women in India today it is necessary to first look at some of the fundamental changes that occurred through the nineteenth and twentieth centuries ; in particular the nationalist and independence movement. These movements and the changes they brought about in India profoundly altered women’s standing in society.

Education of women became a popular idea in India (amongst the higher castes at least) in the early nineteenth century/ This was done in the context of the nationalist movement as it was seen as desirable that women became educated in their own language, and desirable that they could achieve a superiority over western women, women of the preceding generation and over women of the lower classes. This gave the women of the higher classes and castes a sense of freedom and self-emancipation. This, however, was part of the dichotomy that Chatterjee identified and in fact led to a new form of oppression.

It was around the 1970’s that the contemporary women’s movement began to be more radical and active, especially against the Indian state who for a time declared a state of emergency which led to the repression of all political and progressive groups, not just women’s. This repression led to a fight back by women’s organisations which greatly increased their scope and power. Today issues are fought over a large spectrum of issues including union rights, abusive partners, the rights of ‘dalit’ women (the lowest caste in the Hindu religion), worker’s rights, sexual assault and much more. It is not just left-wing and progressive causes that are fought over by women, but right-wing issues too.

However this elevation of the individual through sexuality gives women the power to enter political debate with religious symbolism, muddying the waters of the Indian states already shaky secular status. This extension of the dichotomy of ghar and bahir, and the empowering affect the ‘protective inner sanctum of the home’ has on Hindu women enables them to attack politicians, Muslims and the secular state, often in a violent way. The assertion of female dominance over Muslim men has led to widespread violence against them. Propaganda from the right has helped build up the caricature of the Muslim man as attacker of Hindu women and therefore attacker of all Hindus. It is the case that this violence is an example of the right-wing Hindu movement’s abilities to co-opt women’s issues in the name of their own causes.

The Indian woman is not, however, defined wholly by the right’s attempts to appropriate them. Many millions of women are engaged in a variety of protests against such gender distinctions as ghar and fight many other battles, small and large. Before we detail some of these battles we must first look at how these battles arise and why.
In India it seems that the types of protest that occur are very much dependent on the locale. Different parts of India seem to produce different types of protest from women.

Protest by women in India against oppressive conditions comes in many forms. Today the women’s movement ‘exists in a highly decentralized form with hundreds of organizations in both urban and rural areas throughout the country’ Desai shows us that the Indian women’s movement has become more affective by distinguishing between national and local level organisation.

Through autonomous, flexible and informal structures and collective types of organisations the Indian women’s movement has been able to achieve in both political and cultural spheres : National organisation and collective work with other groups to achieve political goals and local successes through initiating collective responsibility in cultural matters.

This is supported by Bush in his study of the Indian states response to and dealings with issues of domestic violence. When the state recast the problem of violence as a social issue it had the effect of providing protection against violence but no actual empowerment. This led to only superficial successes. This study points out that the institutionalisation of women’s movements may lead to diminished effectiveness.

I would say, then that whilst the Women’s movement in India is an energetic and modern movement, influencing over social movements both nationally and internationally, there are still many problems to confront. Particularly the inversion of feminist values by right-wing groups and the problem of defining what exactly women’s rights should constitute : The narrowing of feminist values. In this essay we have shown that the Indian women’s movement is diverse and that women in India today are involved in redefining their own gender roles. Indian women today are far from the ignorant, oppressed stereotype perceived in the west. They in fact are active in both an individual and collective approach to organisation, and are centrally engaged in transforming their own lives.

I respect and bow my head down to such wonderful people. :)

How much does Happiness costs ?

2014-08-08T18:51:00.000+05:30

"Wealth consists not in having great possessions, but in having few wants..", said someone :p

I just had a rough thought about the above quote. As I usually do.

One day when I started to my office, saw so many in the city doing the same.

Hurrying , shouting, screaming and even quarrelling with the fellow mates.

Where do you all go? Where do we go?

Office?

Why?

To learn?

May be. But, No.

Why then?

Just that we all need a job?

Yes Of course; But why do you need one?

We are paid only when we work.

This sounds the best :)

Money.

"Love of money", it is said, is the root of half the evil in the world; lack of money is the root of the other half." Both these statements are broadly true.

The implications of the first statement are obvious enough the love and lure of wealth generally prompt people to resort to all sorts of malpractices, such as hoarding, black market, deception, miserliness, greed and dishonesty.

Any one who develops this madness for money becomes, like the greedy Jew and the miserly Slot, a devotee, or rather a slave, of the goddess of wealth. He earns and hoards money by every possible means, denying himself and his wife and children a good living in the attempt to save every penny he can lay his hands upon.

Love of money often compels a person to take to evil and antisocial habits, and consequently he is not tolerated or welcomed in decent. Honest society. Such lure also leads people to commit thefts, resort to cheating in office and company accounts, and in tax returns, in business and industry; in fact, deception spreads in every branch of human activity.

Cases have been known of people whose love of money led them to work all the time without rest and thus ruin their health. They spent the rest of their lives trying to regain their lost and ruined health—but all in vain. Thus they lost both the wealth they had earned by laboring ceaselessly, and the health in the process.

It is rightly believed that the power of the purse is a great power; it brings prestige, influence, friends, flatterers and admirers, just as hone; brings flies and comforts and conveniences of life. When pockets a cherished more than hearts and brains, human bodies, justice and dignity? And deterioration of character and of morals sets in, gradually but surely. The love and possession of wealth also bring in their wake callousness and dislike of the weak and lack of sympathy towards the helpless.

The human factor, which is undeniably vital, tends to be ignored. The rid man is generally found coming in the way of progressive movements. Moreover, large quantities of money do not bring high intelligence. Nor do love of money and greed for gold necessarily ensures culture, his standards and good breeding.

In fact, the knack of earning money and hoarding it for the sheer love of it teaches a person many evil things; it debases and dehumanizes him, thus defeating the very purpose of life and of creation.

The quest for money does not ensure happiness and contentment; on the contrary almost always leads to discontentment, constant fear that the hoards money might be lost or stolen; it is the cause of sleepless nights, of illusions and psychological suffering, of cruelty to fellow human beings and a gross distortion of human values, apart, of course, from glaring and heart- breaking economic imbalances which by themselves are a cause of more evil.

The second statement that lack of money is the root of the other half is also true, though saints and philosophers have often said that love money brings in its train more evil than the lack of it. When there is: enough money and there is stark poverty and destitution, people star and starvation prompts them to resort to every conceivable method to some money anyhow from anywhere, regardless of the violations of la and of the principles of morality.

Poor people sometimes commit suicide; kill their children and act in sheer disgust. They commit thefts robberies because of the deep-rooted frustration that the lack of money creates. Many thieves confess in court that it was sheer poverty and deprivation that compelled them to commit a theft or rob a rich person.

Whenever there is misdistribution of wealth, and of the good things of life, there is jealousy and despair in the deprived section of human. And misdistribution of wealth is to be found everywhere; it is only in an ideal society that everyone has the same and equal share of the ma and wealth earned by a country. In the absence of economic equality it is no wonder that crime and criminals flourish.

Jawaharlal Nehru wrote in his famous book "Discovery of India":

"There was poverty and the innumerable progeny of poverty everywhere, and the mark of this beast was on every forehead. Life had been crushed and distorted and made into a thing of evil, and many vices had flown from this distortion and continuous lack and ever-present insecurity. That was the basic reality in India."

The sight of half-naked, starving children should move every soul, but it does not; rather, when the sight is common, people tend to become indifferent to all the misery and poverty that stares countless people in the face day after day and ruins their lives beyond measure and beyond redemption.

So the conclusion is, in the words of Goldsmith, "I'll fares the land to hastening ills a prey, where wealth accumulates, men decay." But such decay also seems inevitable where there is utter, soul-killing poverty.

Money can't buy happiness, it certainly lets you choose your own form of misery.

Now, laugh at people who say, 'KAASU .. PANAM.. DHUTTTU . MONEY MONEY... '

Good Day :)

Who the hell defined Women are weak?

2014-07-31T20:09:00.000+05:30

Sunday, July 27. 9,45 pm , Chennai.

I was waiting for my friend. I left home telling that I have to board the bus at 9.30, two hours earlier than the actual time; simply because I wanted to spend a decent time with him. Exactly opposite to the Koyambedu Moffusill bus stand is the Police station. I was standing in front of its gate and called my friend.

Gowri: Yes macha… How are you?

I: You idiot, I told you that I am waiting in Koyambedu for you. Where the hell are you?

Gowri: Oh ya. Sorry. That should have been ‘Where are you?’ :p I’m on my way. Tell me where you are waiting.

I: I am waiting in front of the Police station.

Gowri : Done. I’ll be there in 15 mins. I crossed Guindy.

It actually takes at least 45 minutes to reach Koyambedu from Guindy , during Weekends.

Gowri is indeed new to Chennai.

‘Go .. Go and get me the papers. Or let me file the case’, Shouted in anger , a mid aged COP.

Going inside the Police station were 3 men carrying a bike, towed. It was a Black Honda Shine.

I was looking at them, turning my head slowly towards them.

‘Anga paakadha thambi. Vedikka pakradhukku kuda Fine poduvanga’ (Don’t look there, my boy. They would fine you for even staring at them), uttered a lady voice.

I turned and threw a smile at her. She is an Auto driver. In Chennai, it is very rare to find Lady Auto drivers. And finding one, being active after 9 pm is almost impossible. I got an insight that I have met the impossible J .

‘Yenga poganum thambi?’ , She. (Where do you want to go?)

‘Bangalore’, I. She might not have got impressed with that answer. I was sure that she was expecting someone who could do justice and help her for why she is there even so late.

She gave a very hopeless reaction. Taking off her Khakhi shirt, which she wore on top of a typical south Indian Saree.

She started counting her day’s income. I saw her face. Not the money. She was so curious, expecting few hundred more than the previous day’s collection.

‘Seems you had a good day. Why would you suffer more? You can leave to your home and sleep peacefully’, I said.

‘Peace? :D haha. Peace, Happy, Luxury .. We people who struggle for survival, cannot imagine of all these, my boy’ She worried.

I personally don’t believe it. I believe every living being in the planet is equally blessed with Happiness and sorrows. It is just a matter of how weak we are, which makes them sound so complex and complicated.

‘Where are you from?’ I asked her.

She was calling for some people, looking for her next sawari. She didn’t listen to me.

‘Akka, Where are you from?’, I did again.

‘Ayanavaram thambi’ , She. It is little far from where we were.

Ting!! Blinked my BlackBerry. Message from my friend, asking whether I have started. I replied No and saw the time. It was already 10.15.

I wondered how she could go back to her home at this time.

‘Family?’ , I.

‘Two boys and a little girl’, She.

‘Husband?’, I.

‘No more’, She.

I wish there exist a minute of silence, for me to take it. But she continued.

‘That mid aged Fu*** COP who was shouting a little while ago, was the one who killed my man.’

I needed a break now. My friend was calling. He would’ve reached. I didn’t mind.

She continued, ‘He was a drunkard. Used to sell vegetables here in this area. He was arrested as a witnessed individual during a local riot here last year. Came back as dead body from this Police station.’

She told it so casually, like narrating a comic to a kid. I was stunned. Completely forgot the luggage I had. It was a CPU cabinet, stuffed inside a big shopper bag by my uncle. I had to hand that over to my cousin who stays in Bangalore.

‘Take care of your luggage, my boy’, She. ‘You must be careful. Chennai has got some clever thieves’, she smiled.

‘Even my boy wanted a box like this’; (She was pointing the CPU).

‘Need 3 more thousand to buy that for him. Probably next month, I shall try getting it for him’ she murmured.

I didn’t have any clue why did she tell all this to me. Later I realized she was telling that to herself and not to me. I was just there listening her blabbering.

I wanted to ask about her family. But I hesitated.

July maadham vandhaal……. Rung my blackberry. My friend from Bangalore.

‘Started macha?’, He.

‘No da. Waiting for the bus’, I.

I cut the call intentionally; only because I wanted continue talking with her. It was 10.40 then. When I did cut my call she was on another call. Possibly talking with her children.

She cut the call and started leaving. ‘Akka, your name?’ I queried.

‘Leela’, She replied.

‘Ok akka. See you’, I told. And I couldn’t stop asking her ‘But, Why didn’t you appeal or file a case against the injustice that happened to your husband?’

‘I enquired about all those. I was asked 2500 bucks to file a case. 15000 as Advocate fee, 5500 for registration. I have just started. I am left only with this Auto, for which I have to pay EMI every month.’ She replied.

What could I reply?

I was staring at her. Wondering how could she be so bold enough? How could she feel that confident even after losing his husband for doing nothing?

How a 35 year old lady can accept all these and still starve for a life with so much confidence, when we cannot even digest watching a celebrity crying on a television reality show?

She is so sure that she will fight against her husband’s murder. She didn't get any support from the media who could help her big time. She doesn't even seek for that. And being an auto driver, she cannot help her family, children’s education and also spend money for the court.

Precisely, the point is, Women were called the weaker sex. They are no more as such.

I always use to say, Women are stronger than men. Men adore their mom. They learn braveness and courage from their mom. Fear from father. Men can teach fear. Not courage.

Being courage demands mental toughness. Not physical fitness.

Men are good in the latter. Women, in the former. That ideally proves Men are weaker mentally.

From the Stone Age, men go out to hunt. Women remain at home.

It sounds like men are brave. Yes they are. But to remain isolated at home till the man comes back, needs more courage and mental perseverance.

What if I say you that men never go for hunting all alone? J That is true, by the way.

It was already 11.

‘Auto, Ashok nagar?’ asked a college student.

‘Yes sir. Let’s go’, Leela akka.

Wore that Khaki shirt again and kick started the auto. With the same confidence of getting her son a Computer, and fighting against the Police. She would earn a mere 80 to 100 rupees in that sawari. But I then realized , how crucial that matters for her.

RRRrrrrrrrrrrrrrrmmmm… Auto left. I saw the back side of it. TN 04 MK 1948

‘Women have to be brave and bold enough. They must be allowed to be so. The one who shows or uses Physical ability against a woman is considered to be the coward’s king. That is why none of the world’s greatest war has happened with Women and children.

At the same time, almost all the wars came to an end with an influence of a woman.

The time when a lady can walk on the streets of India without any problem, then comes the actual freedom.’ – M K Gandhi, 1948.

I was still watching the direction by which the auto left, even after it was no more visible.

There was a hand on my shoulder. I turned back.

‘You stupid.. What are you doing here? I was searching you, all around the Post office’, Gowri.

All I could do is smile and said ‘Thanks to your bloody ears’...

Break up?? Wake up !!!

2014-07-21T17:37:00.002+05:30

Life is so simple. Give something and Take something. If you fail giving something, you will end up getting nothing.

This theory works everywhere, every time. From a mom feeding her baby, till the last cross on the forehead.

Love is not an exception. Nor, the break up. This is for my friends who were in love. Who enjoyed having Eve’s apple; at least once in their lifetime.

P.S: Please don’t ask me back anything about the post. For the people who know me, I know that I don’t have any sort of experience on whatever I have shared in this post :p .

But it is just an analysis done out of some and re presented here.

The hardest step in the arduous journey of break up recovery is this one painful decision to finally let go.

It’s this single decision that means the difference between learning from this devastating experience and dwelling upon the negative for a long time,risking that this whole process might happen again in your future relationships.

The difficult part about moving on after a break up is that it takes a conscious decision.

It’s so much easier to hold on to the known, the hope that they will come back, rather than to find yourself cut off from your comfort zone.

Moving on, and letting go is exactly that – going out into the unknown, alone, without the one you used to love by your side.

Before you can take this important step, it helps if you are fed up back to the teeth with being powerless, dependent and so helpless about what is happening to you.

This will give you the strength to take action, and this will to get a huge weight lifted off your shoulders.

But, Will it be easy after that?

No. But you will have made a major leap towards independence and healing.

“Watching you walk out of my life does not make me bitter or cynical about love.
But rather makes me realize that if I wanted so much to be with the wrong person how beautiful it will be when the right one comes along.”
-Said, one of my friend who is enjoying the break :p True indeed.

This addresses one of the biggest dangers of suffering from a break up: not believing in love anymore and shutting down your heart.

This is wrong, because there is always someone out there better than your Ex, someone who will meet your needs perfectly. Whether we believe it or not.

Turning away from love out of fear means saying NO to life.

Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance you must keep moving
Passivity means death, activity is living. If you are passive, you allow negative things to come into your life.

Keep riding the bike.

You can never cross the ocean unless you have the courage to lose sight of the shore
In order to grow and to experience, one must leave his comfort-zone.

Very often this means that you have to do what you are afraid of in order to find what you didn’t know you were looking for.
This takes a lot of courage.
Ask yourself, who would Columbus be today if he hadn’t had the courage to lose sight of the shore back then?

When one door closes, another opens; but we often look so long and so regretfully upon the closed door that we do not see the one which has opened for us.
This is so true.

We often focus and dwell too long upon negative events in our lives, the whys and what ifs, that we don’t allow new positive things to come into our lives.

We have to open our eyes and say YES to life more often. Even to the worst things we get.

“I was never one to patiently pick up broken fragments and glue them together again and tell myself that the mended whole was as good as new.
What is broken is broken, and I’d rather remember it as it was at its best than mend it and see the broken pieces as long as I lived”
This is from one of my favorite book Gone With The Wind by Margaret.

What is broken is broken. This is often so hard to accept and yet so true.

Months, or even years after a relationship break up, you will fully realize the fatal mistakes you made right after it happened.

Especially the panic controlled actions that made you appear as a different person – often you don’t recognize ourselves any more.

It can bring out the worst in you.

It usually happens that you hate yourselves later for the things you’ve done.

This is understandable, but the wrong thing to do.

Not only does it damage your self-esteem, which is urgently needed for the recovery, (what’s left of it).

But it also destroys the new concept of self-love you are trying to build up.

Avoid these feelings by telling yourself that the past is the past, and concentrate on the NOW.

The brightest future will always be based on a forgotten past, you can’t go on well in life until you let go of your past failures and heartaches.

All experiences, be they positive or negative, define who we are as a person.

You can’t carry your unfinished past with you if you want to grow.

Especially when entering a new relationship.

You need to have gotten over past negative experiences.

If you haven’t, then chances are that they will bite you in the lower back eventually.

We must be willing to let go of the life we have planned, so as to have the life that is waiting for us.

One of the hardest things to do after a break up is to let go of the bright future that you’ve planned out together.

Letting go has never been easy, but holding on can be as difficult.
Yet strength is measured not by holding on, but by letting go.

What is easier, holding on or letting go?
You gain strength, courage and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face.
You are able to say to yourself.
You have lived through this horror. You can take the next thing that comes along.
You must do the thing you think you cannot do.

This is the only way to overcome fears: first by doing and facing what you fear and then by gaining the confidence that no matter what comes your way, you can handle it!

There is a famous quote where it says that one should learn from the mistakes OTHERS make and thereby avoid them.

On the other hand:

The only real mistake is the one from which we learn nothing.
I believe that there are two kinds of mistakes: the kind that you can learn and evolve from, and the kind that should be avoided.

When it comes to post relationship break up mistakes, there are some which better be avoided. The following fall into that category.

Here are the main mistakes most of you people make right AFTER a relationship break up and what I found in common among my friends who were in love.

Panic Controlled Actions:

Confronted by what we think is the worst that can happen to you, you do anything to fight it off: you plead, you beg, cry in front of our Exes, harass, stalk, write e-mails, IMs, etc.

All these things will make you cringe when you later think about it.

I think that almost every Dumpee makes these mistakes – I don’t think that they are completely avoidable. These are desperate actions by our animal part of the brain, fighting for survival.

The sad thing is that they are completely useless. I’ve never heard that a Dumper came back after the Dumpee wrote them a billion e-mails begging to have mercy.

If you’ve made these mistakes, don’t beat yourself up over them. If you’re about to commit them, try to resist.

Reassuring Love:

You are committed to thinking that if they only KNEW how much you loved them, they would come back immediately, so you keep telling them – over and over again.

The only problem is, they KNOW. They’re breaking up anyway.

Breakups happen rarely because the Dumper thinks that they are not being loved. Constant reassurance only leads to humiliation.

Hoping To Stay Friends ;-)

This is a very common mistake that is often made by those having little experience with relationship break ups.

I know that your Ex was your best friend, your intimate partner, the closest person to you.

But it is impossible to maintain this kind of relationship AFTER the breakup. Everything has changed – nothing is as it was before.

You can’t count on your Ex any longer, because they will harm you more than they would help.

The good news is, you CAN find another support system: Look for old friends who used to be close.

Your family should also be of great help.

Look for new friends who can make you happy.

With whom you feel happy, safe and comfortable.

Use every connection you have for support – you need it.

Maintaining Contact:

The no-contact rule is the number one precondition IF you want to get over your relationship break up fast.

Look at it like a drug addict: you can’t get clean with YOUR drug right in front of you.

Use Your Exes Friends and Family:

Out of the ambition to make sense out of all of it, we use their friends or their family. We interview, manipulate and try to use them for our purposes.

Besides the fact that they rarely know anything about the deeper reasons, it really is inappropriate to involve a third person in your breakup. This is something that’s between you and your Ex.

If you do this, you will regret it later.

Rebound Relationships:

Many people leapfrog into a new affair right after their relationship breaks up.

I absolutely do not recommend that.

It may appear that this is the best thing to do in order to get over your Ex but, believe me, the opposite is the case.

You will be constantly comparing to your Ex, everything will remind you of them and you will be frustrated, because NOBODY is as good as your Ex. (This is an illusion of course).

It will throw you back and it will mask your pain, hiding you from the issues your breakup needs to resolve.

Don’t deny yourself the opportunity to work these things out.

If you do, you have to face that problem again and again, from relationship to relationship.

For many people, healing will not start until they are alone with themselves, confronting their inner demons.

These are the main mistakes most people make right AFTER their relationship breaks up.

Please don’t beat yourself up if you’ve already made some of them.

Even if they should be avoided, some of these mistakes are part of the healing and learning process.

So even IF you will look back month/years later and regret a few things you’ve done, they might have been necessary to get you to the point you are today.

Now it’s your turn, tell me, which one of these mistakes have you made? ;-)

Don’t worry.. Be Happy!!!

2014-06-19T01:04:00.001+05:30

Do you think living a good life and happiness are interrelated and interdependent? I think they are. If you want to lead a good life, you need to have happiness, and if you want to be happy, you need to have a good life. Nevertheless, leading a good life is not the right of the wealthy only.

In fact, you will be surprised to know that living a good life has nothing much to do with money.

Of course, money is important. If not to live a lavish life, at least to acquire the necessities of life, like food, water, shelter, clothes, means of enjoyment, education, etc. Some studies even show a saturation point to the happiness that comes from money. Beyond a certain level, no matter how much more money you earn or spend your happiness level does not increase in that proportion. Money is definitely not the sole criteria of happiness and a good life.

Even if you have all the money in the world, you will still suffer and not be happy.

This makes it obvious that there are more ways to lead a good life, which can bring real happiness into your life. Let me ask you a few questions. Are you happy with the life you are living? Do you know how to lead a good life that would bring you happiness? I think people try to find answers to these questions in their own ways. That is because everyone wants to make their lives better, isn’t it?

Life is good for those who believe it is and there is a lot you can do to make it a happy one too. If you want to live a life that is good, you can. However, if you think you cannot be happy or do not deserve happiness in your life, then you end up being unhappy. Therefore, your happiness in life depends on your state of mind and the nature of your thoughts.

If you have them in order and control, you can lead a good life. Not to forget – you can find happiness in small ways and small things too, once you start living a more good and meaningful life.

So, what does a Happy Life comprise?

Living a good life could mean different things to different people. Simply speaking, it means a life that brings you happiness and peace in life. Leading a good and happy long life means the good relationships you nurture and the compassionate actions you perform.

It also includes the good deeds you do, goals you try to achieve, legacy you leave behind, and so much more. Leading a good life is about valuing time, which is the greatest element of life. Every moment counts, and if you try to be happy in each passing moment, you actually make your life good.

Most people get busy in their lives and tend to forget the little moments to lead a good life, which have the power to make your life magical. For some people, living a good and happier life would seem like you need to live your big dreams that require you to need put in a lot time and effort. However, living a good life is not about money and not about the big things. Nor does it require you to sweat it out all the time.

It is about the easy, small, and manageable things and ways, which are within the reach of every person in this world.

One wonderful quote I remember, “There is a good life. The good news is that you can live that Good life. The good life is the happy life. To live this good life, be happy. A truly happy man is a good man.!”

It is not difficult to live a fulfilling life, provided you are ready to change yourself and your mindset.

People in general, always want more, which is okay if it is within reasonable limits. Suppose you have a decent house, but you might want a bungalow after a while, and once you get that, then you would want a luxurious villa! Ha-ha!!

Your desires and demands go on increasing. You are never content with what you have, and that perhaps is human nature.

As a result, to achieve all this, people are urged to work harder and earn more money. This results in leading busy and stressful lives.

People don’t have time to do things that really matter. They do not have time for themselves – to do things they like to do, or to be with and enjoy nature.

Nor do have time to spend with their family or friends. Actually, you need very little to lead a good and happy life. If you look around yourself, you already have enough, like consumer goods, money, or other such things. Yet you want more because the desire to have more does not end, isn’t it? However, you need to decide what is more precious to you in life to be happy.

Is it the materialistic things or living a good life?

Long-lasting happiness goes with what has a permanence nature, something that is not perishable and that whose resource is within you. To reconnect with the good life, you need to stop working too hard and slow down your pace. Instead, start filling up your work time with a little bit of leisure or “me” time. (Good reminder for me too!)

Living the good life is all about finding the real you. It is about going after your dreams, and conquering your fears and replacing it with happiness.

Slow Down Your Pace

Are you always in a rush? If you are, then you need to slow down your pace to appreciate the moments of life. You need to know that there is a difference between working hard and working smart, between getting things done, and getting them done effectively.Remember, work done in haste and urgency will reduce your accuracy, awareness, and happiness. You need to know how to be stay focused and do what is required.Take a break to live your life – you deserve it.

Learn to Forgive and Forget

I know this is a tough thing to do for most people, but it is the only way to overcome your pain and lead a good life ahead. Forgive those who hurt you. Face and accept the pain and hurt, but then need to let them go. This is a big way you heal yourself. Once you do that, you will

See wonderful things entering your life.

Help Others

Never forget to help others as that bring you happiness and satisfaction in life. It could be your family or friends. Remember, what goes around comes around. That is Karma. Care for the sick and injured, and do volunteer work. Make a difference to someone’s life – that would be a life worth living.

Always try to help and do more for others than what you would do for yourself. Put them ahead of you. Small things like opening a door for someone, giving your seat to an elder, or wishing someone matters.

Remain Positive

Life has its down moments, but you need to overcome the negativity and remain positive. Don’t worry about things that you cannot control.

Enjoy Life’s Moments

Take out time to appreciate the simple pleasures of life. All the good things in life are free – so, enjoy and value them.

Be mindful of your surroundings. Appreciate simple things like the sunrise and sunset, the lakeside view, spending time in nature, raindrops falling, or anything that life puts forth you. Not to mention the warmth of a hug or touch, a smile, a kiss, and just anything you are grateful for being in your life.

Right NOW is the only moment that is guaranteed to you – this is your life, don’t miss living it!

Never Stop Learning

Gather all the information you can to be happy in your life, learn to love without conditions, and never stop leaning empirically. It could be through reading books, magazines, online sites and blogs, or just about anything, that increases your knowledge.

Take risks, take chances, because that is how you will know you have lived a life the way you wanted, and that life would be so worth it. Try something new often because following a routine becomes boring at times. Life becomes interesting when you have something new to do and think about. It could be a new big activity or a small one like talking to a new friend. Anything that helps you learn something new is good. So, go ahead and try it out .

Love Some More

Love, love, love, and when you are feel you have nothing left – go ahead and love some more! You never lose anything by loving others. Love your family and spend time with them because they are the people who really matter. Just go ahead and do it! A life unloved isn't worth it. Love the life you live because you live just once!

Learn To Give

There is great joy in giving. The more you give, the more you receive. Even if you don’t get back anything in return, at least you know you have done a good deed. It could be through charity, donation, or just by helping people by your services towards them. Just go ahead and start spreading joy by giving.

Just Be Yourself

You are you and no one else, so don’t try to copy someone to please others. You don’t have to do that, nor will you be able to do it for long.

Just be who you are and people will love you for that, and you too will get to know your real friends from the fake ones this way. Pave your path and follow your heart. Believe in yourself and your abilities – sky is the limit for you. Listening to others is alright, but you need to eventually do what you believe in and whatever your vision is.

I would simply say that living a good and happy life is being happy with all that you have.

Yes, pursue your dreams, don’t stop doing that, but keep enjoying the moments in life.

Remember, it is YOUR life – so make it a good one!

Owlish stance .

2014-06-14T13:13:00.000+05:30

If there is one word I use at times, not knowing that purists of the English Language may consider it incorrect, it is this: “Preponed”. If pushing the date of an event or appointment is postponed, why pulling one to an earlier date would not be ‘preponed’, one may argue? The fact remains that “prepone” is a classic example of what is now being termed “Indianism” in English - an Indian way of communication in the English language, albeit incorrect in the global perspective. The correct word apparently is ‘advanced”. There are many incorrect words or phrases doing the rounds in our enchanting land where a “cutting tea” means half a cup of the stimulating brew and not tea produced using ‘cutting-edge’ technology by folks who may ask you for your “good name”!

“What’s your good name?” perhaps owes its popularity in the North, where one seeks to know your “Shubh Naam”, nothing less. Thinking in our local languages and translating it into English is perhaps one of the several reasons for most of the Indianisms. Seeming to be just fine to most of us, is perhaps what makes the wrong usage of English words or phrases qualify to being termed as ‘Indianisms’.

“Revert to me at the earliest on this subject” is just another common phrase that seems to be a popular Indian request in emails signoffs. Language connoisseurs would point out that “Reverting” means “returning to a former state” and perhaps that is not what one is requesting in the communication. “Reply to me…” might be the right thing to say, but hey, we’re Indians aren’t we? And if you’re not, revert to me please – or better still, revert back to me please! We love to add ‘back’, when it is just not necessary. “Reply back” we say right in front of people – and what we say “behind their backside” could be as hilarious!

So then it is time to act upon this and “do the needful”, when what we mean is “do what is needed”. But what’s wrong with doing the needful, we ask. We can “Order for a Sandwich” when we need to just “Order a Sandwich”; we happen to “Discuss about corruption” when we ought to just “Discuss corruption”, because ‘discuss’ means ‘talk about’, doesn’t it? In a country where PAN is PAN Number, it ought to be perfectly fine.

We insist on someone being our “real brother” to stress that he is not a “cousin brother”. Elsewhere ‘brother’ and ‘cousin’ would do just fine. Not in our land, where we have coined the word “Co-brother”, which happens to be just two unrelated gentlemen married to sisters. Real sisters, of course! But just in case the alliance is yet to happen, one could be a “would-be co-brother”, perhaps?! But at the marriage ceremony, one is certain to have a “photo-take-outing session” with the real and not-so-real brothers and sisters. We are also said to be “out of station”, but we’re never out of ideas for newer and funnier Indianisms. For us, ‘sleep comes’, ‘rain falls’ ‘problem-became’ and ‘what-all happens’ you’ll never imagine!

I could come up with many more Indianisms if I ‘think hardly’. What I am ‘sure about’, though is that this trend has begun many “years back” – not “years ago” as it ought to. One never realized when even the press reporters seem to be ok with ‘years back’ these days. Gone are the days when a stickler of a teacher would correct us saying sternly, “‘Ago’ NOT ‘Back’.”, I guess.

Several years ‘back’…er… ago, when I was just a child in early school, I seriously believed that the word “Zaa” existed in the English language. I had learnt it from my teacher only, No? “2, 2, ZAA 4 | 2, 3, ZAA 6|…..” . That’s how the mathematical tables went... So one was not surprised with the Bollywood song “One Two Kaa Four” - just another mathematical expression perhaps ‘KAA’ was just a higher multiplier at play, one thought? Until later in life, one learnt with shock, that what teacher taught us was “2 2s are 4/ 2 3s are 6”..! Schooling for us was more about “learning by-heart” or in some parts of our country, “by-hearting” – an expression better understood by the rest of the world by the expression “learning by rote”.

In India, where “anything goes, we keep seeing such Indianisms around us “with our own eyes” and listen “with our own ears”, so if you do come across any interesting ones going around, please write in to me at my email id “today only”, “without fail”. But if I don’t revert to you, don’t “eat my head”! By the way, Fun came, no?

#INDIANS_CAN_NEVER_SPEAK_PERFECT_ENGLISH

Bangalore Days ;-) B-)

2014-06-09T09:51:00.001+05:30

Its been a wonderful year for me. Though I missed being at college, the transition towards my professional phase of life was good.
September 5, 2013 it was, When I reached Bangalore. With great expectations, passionate dreams, tears on the cheeks, missing my family, I landed here.
The climate was extremely different from my hometown. I enjoyed it. And I am. :-)
Friends are always wonderful to have. No matter where they are. They did welcome me and let me accommodate in their room with wide arms. They guided me for some days. I am always thankful to them. I owe Prakash, Vignesh, Velli, Siva , Balaji so much.
First day at NTT :-)
I didn't know NTT would be so comfortable for me. I was feeling wonderful there at office. Lots of linguistic similarities. Yet I loved the integration of diversified linguistic people at the office. Training days were a very good learning period for me.
Amma use to call me every couple of hours and made sure I was comfortable. This time I was not going to let it go. I promised her in my way of doing it. :-P
Apart from what I learnt, the most wonderful part is the people I met there. Hemant, Vishnu, Khaleem,Maharshi, Gaurav, Saravana, Anupama, Sowmya,Malathi, Amrita, Santhosh, Shakti, Wajid,Sucharita, Bhavya, Anusha, Aditi and so many. Each one of them taught me something in every encounter. I learn from them, everyday, even now. I was wondering how was I able to clear the training with second highest score. I Knew that was not what I deserve. But I was happy. :-) Part of Human specification , you know.. :-P
When there is expectation, there is always a mere possibility for disappointment.
I am very weak in handling disappointments, so I always prefer not to expect anything from anyone . But everyone I have met has given me more than what I needed. Seniors who guided me at office, even the auto rickshaw guys whom I met, everyone were so kind to me. I felt like there was someone who is paying all these people for being so kind to me.
Saturdays at IIMB, Sundays at Aashram, Weekdays at office . Tricycle looks good. But did I miss any? I keep asking myself , "Didn't you get bore of doing this?"
Answer what I get from myself is "NO". Why should I get bored if I am enjoying all these ?
Weekdays at office teach me so many. Everyday Im learning. And im commiting mistakes. Im trying to get rid of my mistakes. If I say I am bored of doing this work, without being able to get rid of these mistakes, it clearly defines escapism. I don't want to do that.
Sachin Tendulkar was not bored of doing the same thing for 25 years. He did it all the years because he did mistakes and he knew that. He was trying to be error free at every next encounter. But he does another mistake and he works on it and executes the next time. This cycle repeats.
If you tell I need passion towards my profession to be so successful, I say No. Not necessarily.
I use to Practice to take only positives from others and take only negatives out of me. And I guess that is why am still Single :-p . Everyone in this planet are meant for something and they do their work perfectly. If we take only positive things from them, life would be more convincing and beautiful. If we see only negatives out of us, it teach us where do we lack in. A thief does his work perfectly. Even if he steals from you, it means he was perfect in his job and I was not in mine. My job was to protect my belongings.
One thing I found very common in the last year is people being not satisfied with what they have. The disappointments, and the desire to get more is the reason. Yes, Retrospection is important. But only to a certain extent.
Lost your phone? So what? It's only a phone.
Don't have a girl friend? It doesn't mean you don't deserve one.
Breakup? It is just not the mix of right ingredients for the dish.
Searching for a job? Dude, you are almost there.
Long time desire to buy CK Trousers? There are people who don't even have a pair of trousers. Feel happy that you have one. There is always a reason to be happy and a reason to be sad. It's just a matter of choosing the right one. There is always a couple of insights to look at an incident. It is just the matter of choosing the right one. Lets take this thief example. If I get angry that my wallet was stolen by someone, I remain same. If I get disappointed, that I was unable to save my wallet, I'll be more careful the next time.
Hope Bangalore gives me some more Heaven of experiences. She knows, I dont like Cake walk ;-)

What does an Honest Indian can do in a Corrupt Environment?

2013-12-20T02:30:00.000+05:30

While studying corruption in India, I stumbled across this article that reasons why only we are
so dirty and corrupt. The article reminded me of a conversation I had with an American friend, working at an IT company in Gurgaon. As an HR professional, he gets a lot of resumes from Indians, a lot of them with qualifications and skills exaggerated, inflated and sometimes, outright faked. Degrees that don’t exist, skills that a person can’t back up with actual practice and experience that simply don’t add up. For example, a person who claims to be an M.Sc. in Information Technology with three years of experience in troubleshooting computers, but can’t install Windows on a PC or laptop. He couldn’t figure out why so many people would fake their CV and resort to such trickery to get jobs, in a country where there is an ‘economic boom’, so to speak.

To help him understand the costs of being honest in India, I told him the story of a doctor I knew in Coimbatore who went on to do an MBA from a university in the United States. I knew him from my days as a volunteer at an organization that dealt with TB eradication programs. Recently, I stumbled on his personal profile at a US University website which was for all intents and purposes, a work of fiction. He claimed to the director and founder of the said organization that was actually found and run by a certain Assamese lady I was acquainted with. He actually used to mock people who worked for or donated to the organization, calling them ‘bleeding heart fools’. But now, by claiming to be a director of this organization, he got enough ‘karma points’ in his application to fake his way into an MBA program at a reputed US university.

Now consider an honest Indian who actually works hard and is actually the type of person that the guy above claims he was. If he were to apply for a university or a job and mentions only his honest credentials, he wouldn’t shine or stand out like the ones who fake it. An honest person would fall far behind in standards, where almost every applicant is sneaky, dishonest and corrupt. To have a chance that his CV is noticed, he’d have to fake and spruce up his credentials, like everyone else. This ends up in a vicious cycle where an otherwise honest and ethical Indian ends up dishonest and corrupt. By dis-incentivizing ethics and honesty, the culture creates more and more corrupt and unethical people.

Sometimes, change is required ! ,Yes.

2013-11-16T01:00:00.000+05:30

I was thinking about the possible incidents One could face in their life after which they realize that a change is required in their life.

Most of us want change as much as we are afraid of it. We say things like, I'm so unhappy with my work. But, I want to survive.

1. When you romanticize the past to escape the present.

Ask yourself why you're afraid to look at the present, and take steps to create a more positive situation.

2. When you resist unexpected opportunities out of fear of the unknown or what others will say.

Instead of holding onto what isn’t working, be open to letting go so you can make room for what will work.

3. When you feel numb.

When we feel numb to life, it's because we've lost passion and motivation. Ask yourself if you're just going through the motions. Try doing more of what you love each day and watch your inspiration come back.

4. When you’ve lost all passion for your current situation.

Be willing to let go of what no longer serves you. Some situations, places, hobbies and people have expiration dates. As you grow and change, so do your passions.

5. When you start to lie to yourself and others to avoid the truth.

Lying creates inner turmoil, shame and guilt. Instead of festering in these feelings, ask yourself what you're running from and are afraid to admit.

6. When your actions don’t align with your words.

Actions will always speak louder than words. If you aren't doing what you say, ask why you're over promising.

7. When your relationships feel superficial.

Sometimes breaking up with a best friend or romantic partner is the best thing for your personal well-being.

8. When you feel disenchanted with life.

Staying in situations that no longer serve you always produce a byproduct of discomfort. Give yourself permission to follow your heart and step into your future.

9. When you sense you are settling.

Repeat the mantra, “I do not settle. I am worthy of my desires and believe in my well-being.”

10. When your mind drifts to better ways of being.

Trust the nudges coming to you. These inspirational pushes are the catalyst to propel you into a happier and healthy life.

The truth is that change isn't always a joyful, happy time, but rather a time to act like things are unfolding perfectly. That's what it seems to be for a lot of us; that stuff you have to plaster a smile over and pretend to embrace, even when your heart is drowning.

...

Midnight thoughts :-P

It already is bigger than everything else !!!

2013-10-10T14:24:00.000+05:30

Everyday, Morning to evening to morning, you hear news of rape, sexual assaults, acid attack, sexual harassment in office etc. Every day you open the newspaper, you switch on the TV and you are bound to see such news.
First of all you feel sad for a moment, for that person, think it can never happen to you , thank god for keeping you in safe place , and move on in your daily life schedule. Your loved one will make calls to you and ask to take extra care. You don't pay attention to their advice, instead of that you will shout on them that you are independent and brave girl.

Indian government has already announce death sentence as maximum punishment to rapist, Rapist is not only the one who force victim to have sexual intercourse but also the roadside guy who pass comment on you , the guy who looks at you from top to toe. you turn around look at the guy who stare at you and ask him to stop staring , He will reply "Not at all sister , I am looking some other things" just like he is the only one innocent guy on the earth or "Oh , come on , should I have to pay for watching around the road? " So what he think , woman is the free show going on road ? these guys are not different from rapist.

Most of gentlemen are discussing rape issues, the same they watch today on TV channels. "what that girl and boy were doing at midnight on the road and girl was in skirt ,who knows she might have flirted with other men in disco and just step down on road with one of them?" midlife gentlemen from group drop his thoughts about the incident. One talented person ask very quick question "If tomorrow same happen with your sister , Should police first investigate about her character? " Pin drop silence and everyone moves to work.

How can, I mean seriously , how can someone judge girl's character from her dress ? That midlife person did same , trust me friends this mentality is one of the cause to rape in India. What about the 3 years old girl , What kind of skirt she wear ? Dress can never be invitation for rape , It is mental disorder in rapist.

This is not end , rape victim has to go under mental trauma when she has to face society.we people need to accept the rape victim with love and support. Friends we are from the mythology of Ramayana where the whole story revolves around the respect of a woman, Sita, The whole story shows that no matter how mighty a person is, he/she cant violate a woman and even if he attempts so, destruction will fall on him.All the powerful symbols of Knowledge, Wealth, Power are rested with female deities in the form of Saraaswati, Lakshmi and Durga / Kali. This does not mean that worship woman or her body ,Respect her right from when she is in womb.

Lets come to the our first point, your loved one will make calls to you and ask to take extra care.You don't pay attention to their advice,Instead of that you will shout on them that you are independent and brave girl, on same day you have to travel from office to home at around 10pm in city , you will realizes how much fear these incident have installed in your mind.Every men you see in the bus looks to you as potential rapist. You remember your loved ones advice and wish you should have bought at least pepper spray with you.

Mahatma Gandhi said “the day a woman can walk freely on the roads, that day we can say that India achieved independence”. I mean , woman cannot travel to home from office at around 10pm without any fear, will India get independence?

The Cinemas of my town that I've most enjoyed :)

2013-08-03T00:02:00.000+05:30

Music and Cinema has always struck me , hurt me and had an impact and influence in my heart. And being a citizen of a country which produces largest number of movies every year, i always wanted to cherish good cinema. One among Indian film makers who had a great influence on me and many is Kamal Hassan. I would like to share with you, some of wonderful intellectual nuances he carried out in his films. Well, there are many, i chose only a couple which has so many in it. Hope you enjoy reading it. And the reference for this blog is a book written by my fav author Mr. Chaaru nivedhitha.

Ive chosen two good films. Hey raam and Viswaroopam. Two extraordinary films but supposed to be i two extremes when its financial result are concerned.

Hey Ram :

Kamal Haasan’s body of works can be broadly divided into two categories: Hey Ram and non Hey Ram. Such is the effort, brilliance and technique put into the work. An epic film does not necessarily mean high production values and a period setting. Any film whose intentions and strides are of mammoth proportions qualifies to suit the genre. Hey Ram, by all means, not only qualifies but even has the power to top the genre.

Movies that last a lifetime are the ones that are rooted in the culture of their country of origin, but deal with themes that are contemporary and universal at the same time. By culture, I not only mean traditions and practices of the country but also its inescapable history, politics, its figures, its events and the social impact of those. A prime example would be Florian Donnersmarck’s Das Leben Der Anderen (2006) (aka The Lives of Others), a film that firmly had a foot in political chaos of the post war Germany, its political ideologies and restrictions imposed due to the same, but spoke about the universal concept of art and humanity. Not over a handful of movies have come out from our country that handles these issues with solemnity. One such film, Kamal Haasan’s Hey Ram is arguably the best Indian film of all time.

In the following work, I would try to dissect the film and present an analysis of the film, though in no way, exhaustive. The film is fraught with symbols, metaphors and allegories that become clear only on multiple viewings. I have tried to cover them wherever applicable. I have tried to give the key images while trying to explain those scenes and also the conversation transcript wherever necessary. English translation of the same has been provided for universal access. Please feel free to agree/disagree at comments section of the relevant posts. I have provided a downloadable version of the same analysis at the end of the series of posts.

It would be of interest to note that the film was being made when another Kamal film had already kicked off, Marudhanayagam. So, naturally Kamal was into a thorough research on the freedom movement and its obscured characters. Hey Ram presents one such, perhaps fictional, character that was, though not instrumental in changing the course of history, an inlet to the mind of the father of the nation, Mahatma Gandhi.The year is 1999. A dark room. The room opens as the doctor enters. A few sunrays barely make into the room revealing the elderly figure that is lying on the bed. He is surviving on an artificial supply of oxygen. Who is, in a few seconds, revealed to be the old man’s grandson, Ram, is sitting next to him. Suprabhatam, which is essentially a wake up call for God, is being played in the background as though waking the old man up. This is the starting point for the string of references to God and man’s relation to God in the film.

Archaeological Society of India Recreational Club, Karachi. A party like atmosphere is around. Saket enters alone whereas Amjad alights from the car with his wife Nafisa and kids. Amjad’s father asks both Amjad and Saket not to go out of control and return home quickly. Everything is cordial between Saket and Amjad’s family. We also come to know that Nafisa ties a Rakhi every year to Saket and Amjad is like a brother to Saket. This point will be elaborated later in the movie. We also meet Lalwani, a jocular Sindhi industrialist who is friends to both of them. There are jovial discussions about the partition and everybody seems to have an opinion. It is here that the background of both Amjad and Saket are revealed. Saket is a Tamil Iyengar from South India who is married recently to a Bengali woman. Amjad is a Pathan who had stayed who had finished his graduation in the Madras Christian College along with Saket and Lalwani, hence his knowledge of Tamil. His wife Nafisa is also a Tamil Muslim. This is revealed in a nice bit of dialogue between Amjad and a certain Mr. Bright:

"Mr. Bright: I always wonder how Lalwani and Amjad can speak in a Dravidian language…

Amjad: Same Alma Mater sir."

This reply from Amjad is not just indicative about their college but the country itself.

August 16, Calcutta. Saket arrives at the railway station and takes a taxi to his house. He is surprised to see what is going on around: A large scale riot with masses of people running here and there. He also seesAltaf, his tailor among the Muslim rioters. Altaf recognizes Saket and makes way for the taxi to go. Upon inquiry, Saket finds out that the riots are indeed due to the partition claim by the Muslims of Calcutta.The taxi manages to get out of the riot and reaches the calm and serene surroundings of Saket’s apartments. Saket asks the guard to bring his luggage up as he goes to his floor via the lift. He finds that many shops had to close because of the riot. He reaches his flat and plays a prank on Aparna (Rani Mukherjee) who gets frightened and takes up a pistol. When Saket reveals who it is, she gives his a slap and tells him that there is a telegram for him. He asks her casually whether it says that his father is ill or if he is no more. She says that it is worse than that and reads out the telegram. We find out that his father has called him back and has asked Saket to marry a girl they have chosen for him. It is here that we find that Saket is cut off from his parents and has left them for good. He has not even mentioned about Aparna and his later life. On Aparna’s apprehension, Saket promises that he will never marry another girl.

It should be noted here that the film has heavy overtones of religion, especially Hinduism and a lot of parallels are drawn between Saket’s life and the Hindu culture. These will be denoted whenever they appear. Hindu tradition mentions for vital stages of a man’s life – Balya (Childhood), Grihasta (Marital life), Vanaprastha (Exile/alienation) and Sanyasa (Relinquishing worldly things for salvation). Saket has just entered the second stage, Grihasta and is in the marital bliss. But he is unaware that this stage is a short lived one.Another Hindu concept running parallel in the film is the rights and duties of the male of the species. As a man, one has to protect his wife from evil which is in essence the responsibility of masculinity. As a man who was helpless in saving his wife from the clutches of evil, Saket is hurt by his impotence and uselessness. Thus, he is determined to justify his masculinity and is out to slay the violators.

And my favourite dialog from the movie is,

Abhyankar: “If killing is wrong, then so is war. So is it wrong to fight in an army during the war.”

Saket: “But I’m not a soldier. I’m a civilian.”

Abhyankar:”This is a civil war, brother. And now, we are all soldiers.”

And now it is to Viswaroopam :

Now, it can be safe to assume that almost all would have seen Vishwaroopam. Alongside critical technical acclaim, it has grossed numbers that other film makers could only dream of. To gross such figures, a movie needs to be commercial so that it could reach all segments. Is Vishwaroopam really a commercial movie? At first glance, many would say “Yes”. But that’s where the smart and suave Kamal Haasan has handled it with dexterity. In essence, the actual backbone of the movie is the Afghan frames. But having it for the whole length of 2.5 hrs with a huge overdose of subtitles would have been a risky proposition, though it would have been a real treat for the purists. That’s where the Kathak dancer and the RAW agent Kamal make it a really engrossing movie for all classes.

Despite this, the movie has an enormous number of nuances which makes it a really classy movie. You can easily understand and appreciate Vishwaroopam even in your first watch. But similar to how the beauty of a peak can be experienced in its entirely only when you reach the summit, the brilliance of Vishwaroopam can be felt when you uncover the sublimely stated content. Most of the scenes have an underlying thought or aspect which could be noticed only if you relate the various scenes and dialogues. I have herewith consolidated a whole list of nuances observed by me and my friends. After reading this, I know for sure you would be tempted to revisit the movie again (like how it happens with all Kamal Haasan movies).

Theme based Nuances

1) Kamal Haasan mentioned in an interview that the one liner of this story was an inspiration from Virata Parva of the Mahabharata. If we try to relate it now, in fact, Wisam’s character is a mix of the mythological Arjuna (who, transforming into a eunuch in Virata’s Kingdom, is an acclaimed dance-exponent) and Bhima (who is a great cook, and so is Wiz in this film). His uncle/boss Shekhar Kapoor is like a mentor, much like Krishna to Arjuna. And, Mr. Kapoor is aptly named Jagannath (another name by which Lord Krishna is known)!

2) If we observe the movie carefully, it has a very subtle take on Money Laundering

In the scene before Taufeeq introduction, we can see Opium plants (they are not rose plants). Taufeeq says he is a farmer and hands over ‘abin’ as gift to Wisam. The safe inference is that drug peddling is one of the main source of funds for Jihadi operations. Afghanistan is one of the biggest illicit producer of Opium, which previously played a major part in the funding of Taliban

This money finds its way through banking system of less monitored countries like Nigeria, Yemen and the currency is routed to countries like US outside the banking system – One example is the Deep Research Oncology accounts, many of the accounts are imaginary customer names (not actual customers who buy equipments)- So fake orders are created and the drug money is routed to US; This is apparent in the scene where Deepak hides the money in the safe and remarks that the US banking system does not believe his customers

3) Pigeons in Title scene:
At the end of the titles, the pigeon left by the old man ravels to Bull (Financial heartland), then to wall street buildings and then reaches the place where Nirupama meets the psychiatrist (observe the window pane), in a way this connects the aspects the story deals with- Al Queda/Taliban, financial control (oil and assets) and Nirupama. In the same scene, if we observe carefully, a pellet is tied to the pigeon’s legs. So the radiation exposure through pigeon has even been exposed in the first scene itself.

4) First dialogue of The Godfather – I: ” I believe in America; America has given me fortune”; First dialogue of Vishwaroopam: ” I believe in America; Inga dhan enakku vimojanam nu thonithu”;

Indicates the deep within love of the writer Mr Kamal Haasan for Godfather.

Nuances relating to Vish (Kathak dancer sequences)

1) When Nirupama meets the psychologist in the first scene, she asks “Please talk me about phd” and she says “Ur phd”- This indirectly conveys that Vish also might have got a phd (or they think so)!

2) The name Vis: Nirupama calls Vishwanath as “Vis” and says that everyone calls so and hence she also calls him so assuming it to be short form of Vishwanath, But in fact, it is actually the short form of Wisam; The name Vishwanath has been intentionally chosen by Wisam so that even if people call him by his abbreviated real name, still he would not be in trouble.

3) Effeminate: In the whole Kathak dancer Kamal scenes, his effeminate quality is brought out better through the following dialogues.

When he picks the phone, he always says “”Mrs. and Mr. Vishwanath’s residence”.

As an extension of that, while cooking meat he says: “Manavaatiye Manaalan-in baagyam” as opposed to the traditional “Manaalane Mangayin Baagyam”

Also, when Deepak says to Nirupama “Athaan daily saapudaraye avar samayala”, it clearly shows that Nirupama exploits him for being effeminate by making him cook every day, abstaining from sex etc. This further substantiates the “It was a marriage of convenience” statement further!

4) In the “Unnai Kaanathu song”, there are 2 shots – one from other side of glass and the other some distance away- In both the cases, the audio’s volume would reduce, such a brilliant practical take! During the line ‘Vidhai illaamal Vaer illaye’, Vish imitates DNA structure with his fingers.

In Unnai Kanadhu song, when the line “Unnai kaanamal” comes 4 times continuously before the first pallavi, Vish is shown as imitating removing his ornaments – necklace and bangles.This one actually indicates the reference of bangles loosened and removed indicates the separation. Also, in certain ideologies of Vaishnavam, Its assumed that Krishna/Vishnu is the ONLY Male and ALL the devotees are female. So we can take that meaning too!

In the scene after Unai Kaanathu, Vish hears the phone call and hence asks them to avoid falling on this feet as he rushes away, but while he picks the call and talks, they still somehow manage to find his feet and touch the same with great difficulty, he gestures 2 girls not to touch but they do and even then the 3rd one still falls on this feet, nice detailing!

5) Statue: In Wiz/Vishwanaths residence we can see a black two sided statue, with one side as king and the other side as queen. In the kathak sequence, the statue is placed against the mirror showing both sides of the statue in the same frame. It represents the role of Wiz in the movie- with double identities (Effeminate dancer and as the RAW agent). When the male and female are together, it indicates that they are holding a secret. In the second half first sequence, where Kamal’s identity is revealed, the combination is split indicating that he is no longer effeminate.

6) Winter Season: The season shown in the movie is Winter, with all scenes co relating it- Be it snow in window pane of Vish, the girls after practice putting on their jerkins/coats; in the same scene, Vish asks them to close the door when leaving and not give him pneumonia as a guru datshanai, Vish comes freezing inside the home when Deepak is inside , All characters wear winter clothings, the warehouse patients ask Farooq and team to close the door when Vish and Niru are dragged inside. I could not find even one scene where the attire did not resonate with the season!

7) In the Obama Democratic National Convention speech video, Obama says “Taliban’s momentum has been broken” indicating Osama’ death. In the bottom of the screen, you can see a news flash saying “Petroleum prices increased by 3%”. Fantastic satire.

8) Dinner sequence nuances:

In the initial dinner scene where Colonel Jag comes, Asmita asks Vish “ Nirupama dinnerku varamattaanu Akashvani sollicha?” and Vish says “Exactly”, this indicates that they might have used radio technology for bugging Nirupama’s office;

Most objects in Vish house have a concept relating to a tree or branch – Observe the stands near to the phone, observe the sequence when Niru comes in late in the night, you can see the objects. Also, a pink bag is seen hanging in the stand when the students leave the home after the class; Later in the dinner scene, when Asmita and Dawkins elave, they are found placing the jacket next to the pink bag, brilliant attention to details

In the same sequence, the MI6 agent Dawkins says “Hope it doesn’t turn out to be a wet job tomorrow”. In secret service (CIA/MI6/KGB) terms, wet job means murder or assassination. Infact when the next day starts, its infact wet and they have a job in hand to be accomplished! Amazed!!! As Dawkins leaves with Ashmita, he looks at Wiz and says: “Goodnight Cuckold“. The word means ‘the husband of an adulteress, often regarded as an object of derision.’ It’s another allusion to the fact that everyone has figured out that Niru is cheating on Wiz.

Infact, the MI6 agent Dawkins might be Kamal Haasan’s tribute to Richard Dawkins, a prominent biologist and author who is highly regarded by rationalists

9) Opening Scene isn’t a flashback, it leads to the future: The brilliance of Kamal Haasan’s script can be understood in this opening scene where Niru talks about her marriage to the psychiatrist. Within this, there are 2 sub scenes

A scene in Deep oncology research where Deepak tries to block Niru and talks something. This is when Nirupama tells about Deepak to the psychiatrist.

A scene in the downtown where Peter is talking in phone to Niru that he is going to follow Wiz. This happens when Niru talks about her plan to hire a detective on Wiz

Both the above mentioned scenes might look like flashbacks of incidents that already happened. But if you observe closely, you can see that they are scenes that happen after Nirupama’s conversation with the psychiatrist. Co relate the scenes and dialogues and you would understand. The scene with Deepak is the one that happens before Deepak asks Niru out for dinner. They are wearing the same clothes. The call that Peter makes to Nirupama is after seeing Wiz heading somewhere (post his meeting on the street with Jag, Dawkins and Ashmita). Peter is wearing the same clothes when he is shown for the first time and Nirupama is also wearing the same red color night dress. We know that Wiz’s dance class is sometime in the evening. But it seems that he might have be having a morning batch as well. After the morning dance class is when he goes to the mosque. Here is the actual flow of events

Nirupama sneaks into bed late night. At that time, she is not shown as wearing the overcoat for her night suit.

She wakes up in the morning (not shown). When Peter starts to follow Wiz, he is shown as taking his cellphone and making a call. The conversation is not shown. It is clear that the conversation that he had is the one that is shown during Niru’s discussion with the psychiatrist. If you recollect from that Niru-Psychiatrist scene, you will see that when Niru attends Peter’s call, she still does not have the overcoat on and is attending the call sitting in the bed.

Wiz walks into the mosque.

A shocked Peter makes a calls to Nirupama. Now she is seen coming downstairs (recollect Niru going upstairs to the bedroom?) with her overcoat on to start the proceedings for the day.

From the timeline and also Dawkins’ action of reading a newspaper, it is evident that it is a morning. And from Peter’s statement “class mudinju” indicates that Wiz had a morning batch too.

10) We can see detective Peter’s visiting card lying next to the monitor in which Omar see’s Wisam’s photo. The card was last seen by Omar only.

11) In the scene where they are taken to the warehouse, Farooq asks Niru wat her husband’s real name is for which she replies Farooq. This is because in the previous scene, Deepak asks her why she sent her detective to Farooq’s place. Though Niru does not know Farooq earlier, this is a good example of instant recollection of names based on what we hear some time before!

12) Brood from the past: In the warehouse and the scene before, when asked for his name, Wisam quotes his name as “Taufeeq” and “Nasser”, these are the names from his dark past and for whose death he feels he is responsible for and the guilt has profoundly impacted Wisam that he recollects their name instantly.

In the scene where Niru talks to Deepak seeing detective Peter’s death news in television, she starts telling “My husband is” but Deepak interrupts and only after he comes to her home, she continues that convo telling her husband is a Muslim!

13) Transformation Scene nuances: The whole transformation scene (first action sequence) of Vish has been pictured between the moment two water drops fall from the wall. Nirupama is in a state of shock when she sees it all happening in a moment but then recollects all events transpiring between the fall of two water drops.

The water drops are shown at the start of this sequence, they are shown when they fall in Farooq’s eyes and even in the end of this sequence when all are dead, we could just hear a water drop fall (shows the tranquility of the place after all are dead)!)

14) Before the transformation scene, Vish wears a yellow top and suddenly you see him wearing a checked shirt with the yellow top in tatters and he falls down to the floor. It implies that Farooq and other guys have keep beating him and his yellow top is torn; Quick and crisply shot!

15) Farooq is hurt in the knuckles by Wisam’s teeth when he tries to hit him on his face. This is the reason why Farooq is not able to hold the gun properly and get a clean shot at Vish when he transforms and attacks Farooq’s men.

Salim tells Farooq to shoot Wisam in his legs. He also instructs Farooq to kill Deepak “Illai illai…mudikka sollittaaru”. At this point Deepak asks “naan polaamdhane?” for which Farooq smiles. We don’t hear what Salim says but it is apparent that he instructs Farooq to shoot Deepak, as he ends the call with “kaal-la illai…thalaila”. I bet many of you would have missed this last line;

Also, in an earlier scene, Salim asks Omar if Deepak can go for which Omar replies yes. But Salim misses conveying this information to Farooq and in the meanwhile, things turn crazy and they feel the need for eliminating Deepak!

16) And just like how Wizam says “ketta kudiye kedum”, Farooq whose hand is already injured, gets his hand chopped off as well. A co relation that I bet is so easy to miss!

Similarly, While Niru tries to call the cops and Deep avoids it calling her a fool, Deep says avangale varattum, Later he tells “Nalla kaalam Illai, thank god”, so symbolic of what is going to happen to him as its not good time for him and hes going to die in the next scene! Superb!

17) In the scene where Vish tells Nirupama to hear 2 gunshots and count to ten after taking the car, she infact starts counting 1, 2 for two gun shots and continues counting from 3 instead and hearing repeated gunshots counts faster too, A panic mind so realistically captured!

18) After Farooq hits peter we hear a long foghorn, so the warehouse must be near the sea. When wizam shows the location of warehouse to Tom (FBI), we find that in the map, it is actually near the sea

Nuances relating to Afghan Scenes

1) Wisam Intro Scene: Not sure how many could read through the paper ad in Wisam’s introduction scene. It reads

“Border of Indian Nationals in kashmir; Conspiracy to murder Indian nationals outside India; Attack on a Kashmir Government Office”; Also in Nationality, it shows “Indian?”- a satire on how the nationality is in question for people living in Kashmir

2) In the scene where Wisam, Omar and Salim travel to Afghanistan, its shown very clearly that the flag transitions from Pakistan to Afghanistan flag clearly indicating the infiltration mode (even for people who missed reading the name of the places at the bottom and the dialogue that Nasser says over the move in to Afghanistan); A shot of both the flags in shown then indicating clearly its the border

3) Dr Clara: In the scene where Dr Clara arrives to treat Mrs Omar, we find the wordings “Medisin sans frontiers’. Translated into English, this French word means, “Doctors without borders”.

4) Weapons Over Love: This is another little gem of a scene: Omar tests a blindfolded Nasser about various weaponry. The moment Omar hears about the NATO strikes, he along with Salim leave the place not bothering to remove the blindfold.

It’s Khadija, Omar’s wife, who comes along and removes the blindfold. It illustrates the difference in perspectives of the father and the mother of Nasser

5) In the scene where the young Jihaadi Mamoo is first introduced to Wisam as a young Jihaadi, he bangs at Wisam while Wisam expecting a gentle embrace! Shows a subtle difference in styles, cultures and between old and young practitioners!

Also, in the scene where they take group photos with Nasser, Nasser is seen talking to Mamoo; It shows how Mamoo is preached to be a Jihaadi by the top guys!

6) Ban Entertainment: If you observe in the Afghan portion in the scene where small children are seated near guns in the shop and they weigh bullets, youu can find a very old film poster- this shows very clearly how entertainment is banned here and how they are miles away from whats happening in real world as far as entertainment (and even in all things) is concerned- the same thought was shown in the scene where the boys are punished for dressing up as girls and dancing

7) Swing & Swaying: There is a scene shown where Wisam tries to push the Swing for Omar’s small son, who says “I am not a child” and walks away from the swing, But the older Mammu sits and asks Wisam to push the swing. This indicates the contrast of the characters. While the younger boy is more mature, has his own interest and does not want to be swayed by others, the older Mammu wishes to be swayed by others and not surprising ends as a suicide bomber; In the same scene, light flashes on his face but his eyes are closed (conveying that he doesnt wish light in his life!)

8) In the “Thuppakki engal tholile” song, when they shoot at Bush’s photo, first the team members shoot. Then Omar shoots Bush’s right eye. When Wisam shoots, he raises the gun a little higher than Omar and shoots Bush’s left eye. In the pic you can see Bush’s left eye at a slightly higher elevation. Ultimate perfection!!

9) In the scene where the innocent Afghan people are killed and Anu Vidhaitha Boomiyile song starts, if u notice clearly, on left of frame, you would find a Mickey mouse article; Mickey is a pride of the Western Branding, but also shows there might be an American or European casualty inside and it is indeed true as we find the French doctor Clara found dead.

10) Another way of looking at the scene where the doctor Clara is dead . In the same scene, we find a young boy dead and Wisam removes the gun from his hand. Next, he is seen attending to the doctor Clara. While everyone around is badly bruised and experiences the debris from the bombings, the doctor just has a shot in her temple!! Any alarm bells ringing for you - Ya, the young boy could have indeed shot the doctor as a retaliation for someone in his family being killed !!

11) One more scene where the info is quick to grasp- the NATO bombing scene by the suicide bomber Mamoo; A paper shown in that frame states that the NATO base is a hub for counter terrorism and intelligence operations and among the dead was the agency’s base chief

12) Symbolism: In the scene where Taufeeq is introduced to Wisam, Omar talks about Taufeeq to Wisam and tells Taufeeq is very useful. While saying that, Omar eats something and throws the tissue away symbolically indicating that Taufeeq could be used for their benefit.

13) In the scene where Osama appears, Wisam in anticipation of seeing Osama appear from underneath goes back (since he is shorter than Salim) but the sight of the hugely tall Osama appearing makes Kamal retract and come forward, such a beautiful scene and the nuance is well captured!!!!

14) Imtiaz: If we observe carefully, Imtiaz- the other guy who helps Wisam in Afghan sequences actually appears in most of the Afghan sequences. He is present even in the first Afghan scene where they take a photo near the horse; He prays along with Omar and team, he is even taken to the Osama hideout place but stopped near the entrance. He is also the one who is driving the car that takes an injured Omar at the end of the first half.

15) Munnavar: The guy who is supposed to collect parcel from the antique shop Munnavar is even shown in the scene where Osama comes; Infact this is the scene which exposes the key strategic guys of Al Queda- Munnavar, Osama, the ISI guy who assists and a Mullah Omar look alike; Munnavar is gonna collect the parcel from antique shop, so Munnavar has got to do a lot with strategizing and disbursing the content in parcel based on the need, which place is gonna be attacked, where and whom it needs to go etc! So there’s more to the parcel than what meets the eye!

16) Osama- The real Target: And coming to the golden goose, Not sure how many understood that the whole effort was to catch Osama bin Laden! Prior to the day of Taufeeq’s arrival, Omar tells Wisam that a tall Sheikh is coming, it is very obvious that through the tracker, the attempt is to reveal Osama; It is substantiated when Wisam is seen enquiring about Osama all the time, how he would escape, who would take care of him etc, Smart direction at its zenith!

Nuances relating to US Raw Agent Scenes

1) Contrasting perspectives within RAW: Vish, Asmita and Jags work for the same mission

But in the dinner ending scene when Obama talks about Osama, Asmita takes the side of Americans while Both Vish and Jag take a sightly pro Afghan stand (Vish-” Ipdiyaa peethikarathu, manushanga saava ipdiyaa deepavali aatam kondaadarathu”), Jag (obama ratings a etha vendaama, athu asarangaloda annan thambi pondaati pillai kitta kelu) while Asmita says “nambalukku enna kavalai”

Even though they are in the same mission, they have different perspectives on whey they approach the task! The reason could be that Jags and Vish were part of this operation since the start while Asmita might have been roped in recently, this also shows the grounded balanced perspective that Wisam and Jags have over Asmita!

2) The Nigerian terrorist Abbasi is seen shaving his public hair

Underlying Thought: Muslims purify corpses by washing the skin and nails and sometimes by shaving the pubic hair. But suicide attackers are deprived of a proper burial, since there are usually no remains. To compensate, the attackers shear themselves ahead of time, both to guarantee some level of cleanliness at the time of instant incineration and to prove extreme devotion to personal purity. An alternate explanation is that suicide terrorists adopted the no-hair practice from the Pashtun tribesmen of Afghanistan, who shave their bodies before going into battle. Hair removal is mentioned in Islamic law as a method of maintaining personal hygiene.

3) Explaining Faraday Shield: Not many understood the Faraday shield concept in the climax; The dirty bomb could be detonated directly or through a call made to the phone placed in the device. Nirupama fears that someone could activate the device by placing a call hearing the gun shots. In essence, Omar tries to activate the device even when within a plane. A simplest Faraday shield would be a microwave oven. A microwave needs to be powered on only for heating the food inside by emitting microwave. The shield around the microwave prevents that emission from affecting you. This shield is just a metal shield and does not work on power. It just prevents radiations. That’s why when Omar calls, he gets a number not reachable message indicating that the Faraday shield has indeed worked

4) Wisam is airlifted by the army once he is shot by Omar (would be shown in detail in part 2, a preview was shown at end of part 1). Prior to that, you can see Wisam running with flares, which is to indicate his location to the helicopter.

5) Before boarding the private jet, Salim is shown asking the flight attendant (no dialogues here…but he points to his mobile) if he can use his mobile phone from within the aircraft. This is obviously to detonate the dirty bomb if needed

6) Attention to Details: The number that Omar dials to detonate the dirty bomb starts with “201? which indicates an area code within NY. When Salim opens his purse to take out money to pay the toll, on the left, you see a group photo with Wisam and Omar’s family. On the right, you see a New Jersey state driving license. Brilliant attention to details.

7) A panic struck Nirupama is unable to come to grips with Vish’s transformation and seeing everyone playing a double role. She thus misinterprets the house warming fire as something burning inside the house when infact Colonel Jags is shredding confidential materials (Irundavan Kannukku arandathellaam Pei!)

Also, in the same scene, Niru packing her bag is shown! Everyone would expect her character to change suddenly. But, as a woman and a home maker, she focuses on packing her clothes even in this situation.

8) When Wisam, Nirupama, Jag and Ashmita are about to enter the basement, you can see a photo of Vaamana avatar on the side wall. Vaamana is the Vishnu Avatar who was known for Vishwaroopam in mythology

9) Video Surveillance: In the scene where Vish is led to the lab, Niru says to left and Vish tells “Ya I know”, it shows very clearly they have even video surveillance of this place and maybe even insiders too

10) When Nirupama asks “Neenga nallavara kettavara?”, for a split second Kamal Haasan gives the Velu Nayakkar expression to the same question asked in the movie ‘Nayakan’

11) In the first scene of people with geiger counters in the park, there is no one with guns. Later based on Wisam’s input, they shoot down some pigeons. The shooting is not shown but you can now see 2 men with guns with the team that has the geiger counters.

12) Abbasi and Fund Transfer Explanation: I think many missed out the Nigerian terrorist Abbasi part and the funds exchange portions of it

In the scene where Wisam, Asmita and Niru search the computer at Deep Oncology research for customer names, they find Abbasi’s name. A huge shipment is to be delivered to him from India and seeing the amount transferred to him, its clear he is gonna explode the largest dirty bomb planned (as per an earlier scene, the apartment is not dirty bomb as per Wisam).

The source of funding is mentioned as Nigeria; Since no customer exists in Nigeria, Nirupama says it must be Yemen (This is because Deepak told her earlier in the first half scene when they keep the money in the safe that these money come from customers in Yemen, Middle East).

13) And in Deep Oncology office after Wisam asks “Endha kadavul?”, when they move to another room, we can see a statue of a 4 horse chariot. I think it is Arjuna’s chariot. Rings a bell? Virata paruvam.

14) In the climax scene, there are 2 instances where transitioning happens btween Abbasi and Omar! First the window of Abbasi is shown with FBI targetting it and when you assume its his window, it immediately transitions to Omar’s window with Omar seeing saleem’s car arriving! In a similar way, it transitions back from Omar and salim praying to Abbasi praying, well shot!

15) Blood bath: The blood oozing out of Nigerian terrorist Abbasi’s body is not symbolic. It is a classic example of superior pyrotechnics used by a thinking director – just imagine someone shot a few times at various body parts, first the blood comes out and is free flowing however since he has fallen in a position where his shirt and outfit prevents free blood flow, it acts like a dam and once the quantity of blood surpasses the resistance made by the outfit, which obviously takes a few seconds, they ooze out with such flow

16) Reflections have been used brilliantly throughout the film like

In Unnai Kaanadu song, reflection on audio player and reflection of New York skyline including a temple like US building in the glass

Nirupama’s reflection in the laptop screen when she is talking to the psychiatrist

Reflections of the boys getting flogged in Wizam’s and Omar’s sunglasses in thupakki engal tholilae song

Reflection of a house being blasted on Omar’s sunglasses during war scene

Omar’s home on fire reflecting in his sunglasses

When nirupama gets in van of the NEST team, reflections of FBI people climbing upon the metal stairs

When Omar waits for Salim in the end, Salim’s reflection on the tv set when he arrives

17) Abbasi’s window curtain is shown open when he shaves. He doesn’t close the curtains. When Abbasi returns after buying chicken, the 2 NEST guys are seen talking about Abbasi. In the background you see Abbasi’s apartment, where the windows have the curtain open. When Wisam and Tom arrive at the scene, we see the apartment window’s reflection in the NEST van, with the curtains still open. Abbasi is later shown closing the curtain when the FBI team uses the dragonfly spycam. Fantastic continuity.

18) A lot of the actions/props are shown atleast twice in the film. Sample illustration:

A burnt Mickey mouse doll in the village that NATO attacks;

Mickey mouse on Nirupama’s t-shirt which she wears during the transformation scene

Pigeons in Afghan;

Pigeons in NY

Omar imitates shooting Wisam in the head; Later he imitates shooting his son and Salim in the head

Wisam is shown doing a parkour doing an early morning time or evening in the Thupaaki engal tholile song; He does another parkour in daytime in the VR-2 trailer

Everyone knows well about the shooting on the head imitation by Omar. But most would have missed Salim’s shooting imitation. He first does it at the start of the training song when he, Wisam and Omar pickup heavy stones and throw it forward. He imitates shooting using a machine gun at the ground; Any guesses on when he is shown doing it again? He does it again at the end of the film in the VR-2 trailer when Wisam is shown doing a parkour stunt for the second time.After Wisam jumps down from the wall, you can see Salim charging in imitating the same machine gun shooting action. He is shown from the back though without revealing his face, but the same action of shooting imitation that he does earlier in the Thupaaki engal tholile song, reveals that it is Salim for sure.

Swing scene of Mamoo and Nasser; After Mamoo’s death, Nasser is shown in the swing.

Wiz’s hands tied in the warehouse; Wiz’s hands tied up to a chair in the VR2 trailer

Now if you feel that you have missed out a huge chunk of it, do not worry; Kamal Haasan films always need a repeat watch to appreciate its beauty! You would be surprised that a seemingly commercially appearing film like Vishwaroopam has many layers to it like Hey Ram did! Have great fun watching it again!

Power Crisis in India - What Next??

2012-10-21T15:04:00.000+05:30

According to reports, the Tamil Nadu Chamber of Commerce and Industry has decided to move the Madras High Court seeking relief from power cuts, affecting the southern districts with load shedding of 12-16 hours each day.

It proposes to plead for equitable distribution of available power across the State and seek a direction to the authorities to provide at least eight hours of continuous power supply every day, besides halting the night-time power cuts.

These decisions follow a consultative meeting of various trade and industry bodies organised here on Tuesday by the Chamber.

It has been resolved, further, to stage a demonstration in front of the Madurai Regional Office of Tamil Nadu Generation and Distribution Corporation on October 22 to press the demands.

India wants to be a power on the world stage, but back home it's having power troubles of a more mundane variety. On July 31, sweeping blackouts struck the country's north and east, leaving an estimated 600 million people -- nearly 10 percent of the world's population -- without electricity.

While it is still too early to say what the exact cause of this crippling power outage was, the crisis underlines how dependent India's economy is on electricity -- and how unreliable these economic sectors can be. More importantly, this week's events are a stark reminder of the broad reforms needed for India to finally emerge as an economic superpower.

Some have suggested that the failure of India's electricity grids was the result of a number of states overdrawing electricity in recent months. Although a few grid operators and at least one state have denied this claim, such an explanation is plausible: India has had an atypically dry monsoon season, leading farmers to use more electricity to draw on water wells. As the country's agricultural sector receives heavily subsidized -- if not free -- electricity from the government, unusually large electricity consumption during a period of extreme drought should be no surprise.

The bigger story, however, is the institutional deficiencies and legacies of decades of poor policy that make India's electricity sector a weak link in the country's economic development. In India, nothing captures the attention of the government like a crisis, and the global attention engendered by this power outage -- the largest in world history by some measures -- should be channeled into enacting long-overdue reforms.

Many analysts have long warned of a looming Indian electricity crisis owing to a yawning gap between electricity supply and demand. India's entire electricity supply chain, from natural resource production and distribution to electricity generation, transmission, and distribution, is plagued with problems. Domestic production of coal, which is responsible for roughly two-thirds of India's electricity supply, grew at just 2.6 percent a year between 2001 and 2011 -- compared with nearly 8 percent annual growth in electricity demand during the same period. India has abundant reserves, but disputes between local environmental and rural groups, and Coal India, India's national coal corporation, have prevented their development.

Bureaucratic red tape and logistical hurdles bedevil the process at every turn. Land acquisition struggles and a byzantine regulatory system hinder coal production, and transportation bottlenecks prevent coal from easily getting from the major production sites to the major demand centers. As a result of the domestic production shortfall, India has had to rely on more expensive imported coal. However, because Indian states sell electricity at low, heavily regulated rates, electricity generators have been largely unable to pass on the higher cost of imported coal to consumers. The ultimate result is a crippling shortage of coal.

India's natural gas industry, five years ago a sector of great optimism, is struggling from similar domestic production shortages and infrastructure limitations. As a result, it is also forced to increasingly depend on expensive imports of liquefied natural gas to cover supply shortfalls. But again, because India's state utilities are unable to pass on higher costs to consumers, imports provide little respite from supply shortages.

Although nuclear and renewable energy, including wind and solar power, are often discussed as potential solutions to India's electricity shortages, these sources face substantial hurdles of their own. Despite a historic cooperation agreement between India and the United States, political and logistical hurdles have once again intervened to limit interest in investment in new nuclear facilities. Renewable energy, while seeing impressive growth rates, is still expensive and dependent on government support -- and in any case, it will not be able to come anywhere near meeting the country's burgeoning energy demand.

Exacerbating the lack of supply is India's desperate need for investment in its electricity transmission and distribution (T&D) network. T&D losses of electricity supply in India are still roughly 25 percent, an abysmally high rate for an emerging economy. These losses are only aggravated by rampant electricity theft and poor billing and collection standards. (Anyone who has ever been to an Indian city will be familiar with the tangle of jury-rigged wires leading from electricity pylons to houses and apartments.)

Improving the performance and efficiency of this sector will require immense investment.
The International Energy Agency, the OECD's energy think tank, predicts that India will need to invest a whopping $632 billion between now and 2035 to meet the demands of its growing populace.

How can India meet these needs? To encourage investment, its entire energy and electricity sectors must undergo pricing revisions that adequately reflect market prices. Starting with the pricing of fuels, the government must stop subsidizing (directly and indirectly) the cost of energy and electricity. This would give private-sector companies with more advanced technology and more efficient processes an incentive to invest in production and distribution of fuel products.

The same should be done for India's electricity sector, which currently subsidizes the bloated agricultural sector -- which accounts for 15 percent of India's GDP but 50 percent of its labor force -- at the expense of industry and businesses. With adequate revenues -- most state utilities are essentially bankrupt -- public- and private-sector firms would have incentives to invest in the T&D infrastructure. With more reliable electricity, industry and businesses may rely less on captive generation (off-grid power installations) and provide further revenues for state utilities.

This argument is not new; pricing reform has long been raised as one of the necessary steps for fixing India's energy and electricity sectors. Nor is it an untested theory: The state of Gujarat, once host to one of the country's worst-performing electricity sectors, reformed electricity prices and cracked down on electricity theft beginning in the early 2000s. While the human rights credentials of its chief minister, Narendra Modi, are dubious, his electricity reforms have undoubtedly been a success. Today, Gujarat is one of India's best performing economies and remains an attractive investment destination in spite of the bleaker economic picture in many other Indian states.

Will politicians in New Delhi let the current crisis go to waste? Until now, the appetite for reforms has been disappointing, and the Indian economy has reflected this slowdown: In June, Standard & Poor's publicly speculated that India could be the first BRIC "fallen angel."

It would be a mistake, however, to underestimate India. At times, its political institutions have shown the ability to act quickly and effectively to resolve crises -- most notably in 1991, when then Prime Minister Narasimha Rao responded to a foreign exchange crisis by enacting a host of economywide reforms and liberalization measures. In the two decades since the crisis, however, India's reformist nature has subsided, and a number of proposed liberalization measures -- including the 2003 Electricity Act -- remain half-implemented.

Once again, India is experiencing a crisis that underscores the treacherous foundation sustaining its economic growth. We can only hope that this summer's blackouts are the wake-up call the country needs.

2012-03-21T00:32:00.001+05:30

They come from a country where Footbal mean life. They come from a country where cricketers pay transportation charges on their own. They come from a country where they dont even have a national cricket academy. They come from a country who played 20 years of cricket being in the least grade . They come from a country whose payment is only 30% of what BCCI provides to our team. they fought. they made it once again. NO MORE MINNOWS.... BANGLA IN D BEST :)

2012-03-18T11:14:00.001+05:30

For all those PEOPLE who want SACHIN to retire. . . When Sachin Tendulkar went to Pakistan to face one of the finest attacks ever assembled in cricket.. Michael Schumacher was yet to race a F1 car.. Lance Armstrong had never been to Tour De France.. Diego Maradona was still the captain of world champion team Argentina Team.. Pete sampras had never won a grand slam.. When Tendulkar embarked on a glorious career taming Imran n company, Roger federer was a name unheard of.. Lionel Messi was still in his nappies.. Ussain bolt was a unknown kid in Jamaica.. Time stands frozen in front of Sachin Tendulkar.. We have had Champions.. We have had legends.. But we will never have another Sachin Tendulkar :) He literally has the rights to do anything he wants, anytime he wants nd anywhere he wants in Cricket! There can never be anymore Sachin Tendulkar! So stop teaching cricket to the person who taught us what it is...!!!

2012-03-17T17:23:00.001+05:30

Prodigy among fellow Indian:

A man to whom most of the world fallen in love with.

A sportsman who reached the heights that a normal civilian wouldnt even dreamt of.

Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar is the person , whom i am talking about..

As a teen ager he set benchmarks along with Vinod Kambli during the Harris Shield School Trophy tournament.

Gets in to international level of cricketing and within 10 years, was rated by Wisden as the second greatest Test batsman ever, after Sir Don Bradman.>?

received the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna, India’s highest sporting honour, for 1997-1998, and the civilian award Padma Shri in 1999 and was a Wisden Cricketer of the Year in 1997.

Sachin played his first international match against Pakistan in Karachi in 1989, facing the likes of Wasim Akram, Imran Khan, Abdul Qadir, and Waqar Younis. He made just 15 runs, being bowled by

Waqar Younis, who also made his debut in that match. It was an inauspicious start, but Tendulkar followed it up with his maiden Test fifty a few days later at Faisalabad.

His One-day International (ODI) debut on December 18 was equally disappointing, where he was dismissed without scoring a run, again by Waqar Younis.

The series was followed by a non-descript tour of New Zealand in which he fell for 88 in a Test match, John Wright, who would later coach India, pouching the catch that prevented Tendulkar from

becoming the youngest centurion in Test cricket.

The long anticipated maiden Test century came in England’s tour in 1990 but the other scores were not remarkable.

World watched this Guy:

Tendulkar truly came into his own in the 1991-1992 tour of Australia that included a brilliant century on the fast and bouncy track at Perth ,The WACA.

He has been Man of the Match 11 times in Test matches and Man of the Series twice, both times in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy against Australia.

His first ODI century came on September 9, 1994 against Australia in Sri Lanka at Colombo. It had taken Tendulkar 79 ODIs to score a century.

He is the only player to score a century while making his Ranji Trophy, Duleep Trophy and Irani Trophy debut.

He owns the record book with many more..

The 100 India hundreds are not the only ones that define his career; he also has 38 first-class hundreds.

And the schools cricket scores, and the pick-up matches he could play, and the tours he went on when he was 13 or 14 or 15.

For those who say He play for Records and not for the teamm.. please do read the rest of my blog...

First of All, cricket is a game played by 11 players and not a single player. A cricketer cannot win matches for his country nor he could become the reason to get lost.

If some one could think of playing for his own records,then you cannot imagine him to play 23 years of international cricket.

The thing is enjoying and relishing the game. That is the only reason that he couldnt resist playing the game.

Once during 2007 world cup, He was told to get down the order. 2 down. He didnt perform well during that season. He abruptly discharges his dissappointment of making him get down the order.

It was actually the decision of Greg Chappell, the then Coach of Indian cricket team. He after leaving the team had apologised for his foolish decision.

His Batting average is 49.04 in international cricket.

You cannot see players with such an average on both forms of game with so much of consistency.

Usually Game finishers like Michael Bevan, Mike Hussey,Jonathon Trott and MSD has average of 50+. There is a reason behind that.

If a batsman is able to score 30 runs and he is not out in that inning, and scores 20 and gets out in the next inning, it is considered as 50 runs in a single inning.

only whenever a batsman gets out, it is calculated as one inning in his stats.

In that case, Being an opening batsman, fetching an average of nearly 50 is going to be really great .

Hashim Amla is good now a days in scoring consistently above average.. But it is the temperament and consistency which makes him exemplery good from the others.

A record one can never imagine.. A 37 Year old cricketer acieving the feat of scoring the first double century in ODI.

There is also a talk whenever Sachin Scores a century, the country loses...

I am here with a wacking proof..

all along the 100 centuries scored by sachin , India have lost 25.

which is 25% losing record and 75 % winning record whenever he scores a century. (www.cricinfo.com for details)

You people believe this a bad record to have with?

You people think all these 25 matches India Lost is because of SRT himself?

Then simultaneously u ppl accept all the rest of the matches that India HAve won is because of SRT himself? No..

Then I will say you people are getting bored with Sachin's play. But not him.

It doesnt matter that who enjoys his game; the only thing is whether He enjoys it; whether he performs well.

It happens every time.

It is non sense when you ask him to quit whenever a senior player retires.

Now it is Rahul Dravid.

hey guys... dravid wasnt performing well.. quits..

wats wrong wit sachin?

Yes . He didnt score century for a year. But he has been scoring 40s and 50s.. and sometimes 80s too. Remember he has also got 95 fifties under his belt.

tell me a good reason for him to quit? what can u people complain him off?

Hey sachin, u've been scoring runs for 23 years and on and on and on... get away and give chance to youngsters?

Thats really Rubbish..

Responding to the criticism against him that he was playing only for the milestone, Tendulkar said, "There are certain people I respect and there are certain people I don't respect.

So I don't get affected by ones I don't respect, they have there opinions, it doesn't matter much they remain where they are."

"I don't bother much about them. Let them be where they are. I have got a bigger job of playing for India, score runs and win matches for India and

I focus on that job instead of reacting to what they are saying," he retorted once.

Can any one thought of the amount of pressure he has gone through every time he enters the pavilion?

Every time a billon people expects him to score a century whenever he enters to bat.

That doesnt mean that you are good only when you satisy the expectations which is very much impossible.

Imagine yourself getting into the ground with a billion people roaring "We need a century".

Dont you feel distracted? He is also a fellow Human. Inspite of all these expectations and injuries, the way he performed all through his carreer and

the way he lived upto a billion people's expectation, it is really unbelieveable.

With the amount of Fame and money he has got with this Game, It is so easy for him to get settled in his personal life even after breaking Bradman's record.

What is the necessity for him to hurt himself and play for such a long time? It just Shows the amount of longevity of Passion he has with this crazy Game.

The context of Tendulkar's cricketing carrer will be remembered today, tomorrow, even at the end of his career.

Debating societies will exhaust themselves over its significance, particularly what transpired between 99 and 100.

But the memory of Tendulkar's labours over the last 12 months will not outlast the hundreds.The numbers will neither be repeated nor surpassed.

A hundred hundreds are the stuff of sporting eternity; this is our generation's 99.94.

He is not merely a student of cricket but, in fact, a devotee. Tendulkar never throws his bat, ever. There is a clue there. He understands what he would be without that bat.

If he leaves the dressing room like a snarling competitor (telling Virender Sehwag before they went out to bat together against Pakistan in the 2003 World Cup, "I'm going to get these guys")

he returns with humility.

Every dismissal is a reminder of his flaws, his weaknesses.

His former India coach John Wright says that after he is out, there are never wild displays of emotion.

The aggressor and accumulator becomes a reflective batsman in the dressing room who sits down to debrief himself.

It is why, Wright said, Tendulkar "knows where to go with his mind and his technique".

What does Sachin do now? Go for 110? 150? Or will he quit? I think he will play on. He loves the game so why should he retire? What else is he going to do?

He is in a fantastic position. He can play for the love of the game. He doesn't need the money. It is like going back to being aged 11.

He can be carefree and enjoy his remaining time especially now the 100 hundreds pressure is off his back.

Mastering your game, feeding the hunger for runs and keeping your passion for practice and

all those hours working on your game away from the middle are the pillars on which their historic careers have been built.

"If you asked me how I would want my son to play I would answer 'like Sachin'," the great ViV Richards wrote.

"His strokeplay is pleasing on the eye. I've said before that if you had a pencil and paper, and drew the perfect picture of batsman at the crease, then you would sketch out Sachin." quoted Sir Bradman.

"Considering the length of his career and the fact that he was able to renew his attacking desires,

I would now rate Tendulkar slightly ahead of Brian Lara and comfortably in front of a fading Ricky Ponting." said Ian Chappell.

"This guy is not playing for my country. He plays for his century" says my fellow citizen..

Typical Indian Irony... :)

2012-02-02T07:19:00.001+05:30

A Trip every Engineer Would Dream of.. :) Hav a project? get a sponsor of lakhs.. Need a nx gen instrument to work?Write a letter to HOD , u'l get that in ur lab in a week of time. :o Nescafe and Noodles in Hostel 24x7 Discotheque in campus every night Cafe Cofee day inside campus Railway counter xclusivly 4 u Listen to a lecture f an international celebrity every month World clas techno fests Campus Recruitment by Core companies... 2100 Acres of Campus... :O EverY mind says the same thng if it visits it 1 time.. Get into IIT kharagpur for future.. :) Had a memorable week.. :)

2012-01-30T17:15:00.001+05:30

Comin 2 IIT , I missed Microprocessors examination.. :( But Lucky enuf to listen a lecture by The Father of Microprocessors.... Sir Federico Faggin.. ;) :) :D :o

2012-01-29T16:37:00.001+05:30

Am n James Mirrlees' Lecture. A Nobel laurette in Economix. :) feelin proud in sharin d arena wid him :)

2012-01-28T18:41:00.001+05:30

To listen Robert Young Pelton's Guest Lecture .. A world fame Adventure journalist... :) Excited n thrilld :)

2012-01-28T13:07:00.001+05:30

Headin towards workshop on 'BOMB DISPOSAL & FINGER PRINT TECH' by Criminal Investigation Dept of West Bengal :)

2012-01-27T17:33:00.001+05:30

Lukin 4wrd 2wards d Guest Lecture by Dr.Ajay bhatt ,founder and father of USB .. #kshtij '12