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तुम और हम.......एक नयी सीख.

2012-01-24T19:17:00.000-05:00

तुम देर तक रोती रही हो ......और अगर मैं कोई हंसाने वाली हरकत कर दूं तो तुरंत ही हँस देती हो.

और हम, अगर किसी पर ग़ुस्सा आ जाये, तो ग़ुस्सा उतर जाने के काफी देर बाद तक ग़ुस्सा होने की एक्टिंग करते रहते हैं.

बचपन कितना सरल होता है.

Random Thoughts

2012-01-24T19:02:00.000-05:00

सब झगड़ों का मूल है, अपने मन की सोच.

सोच बदलकर देख लो, मिट जायेगा रोष.

ग़लती हो ग़र मुझसे तो, हर दंड स्वीकार है,

पर आपका चुप रह जाना, ये तो अत्याचार है.

अपेक्षा और उपेक्षा ....

झगड़ों के प्रमुख कारण हैं.

दूसरों से आदर्श होने की अपेक्षा,

और दूसरों के मनोभावनाओं की उपेक्षा.

Few Random Thoughts

2011-12-24T11:27:00.001-05:00

सबसे भीषण रोग है, अगर लगे आलस्य.
सब गुण, सुविधा, ज्ञान भी, हो जायेगा व्यर्थ.

क्रोध दूसरों पर करे, शांति भस्म हो जाय.
जो अपने पर क्रोध कर, तब improvement आय.

Some couplets for my little one

2011-12-16T20:40:00.001-05:00

तुम आयी हो जीवन में, बन मेरा अभिमान,
छोटा सा आकार है, प्यारी सी मुस्कान

हँसना, रोना, जगना, सोना, मुस्काकर आ जाना पास
मूल्यहीन है सारी पूंजी, जो पाया है ये एहसास

तेरे छोटे-छोटे हाथ पकड़कर
सुकून पाता हूँ मैं,
तुझे तो सिर्फ चलने का सहारा मिलता होगा
पर ..... तेरे साथ फिर से,
बचपन जीता हूँ मैं

तुम्हारी तोतली भाषा के ये शब्द,
निरर्थक नहीं हैं मेरे लिए
तुम तो जानती हो कि.........
मैं समझता हूँ इन्हें.

नन्हे-नन्हे दाँत तुम्हारे, नीचे दो हैं ऊपर चार,
हंसी तुम्हारी देख-देख कर, मैंने पाया है संसार

छोटे-छोटे हाथ तुम्हारे, मुझे दिखाते स्वप्न बड़े,
जीवन जीने की अभिलाषा, पहले इतना कभी न थी

तुम्हारा, बिना किसी बात के हँस देना, बार-बार, दिन भर, किसी आश्चर्य से कम नहीं. मेरे लिए. और तथाकथित समझदार लोगों के लिए. हम तो किसी हंसने वाली बात पर भी नहीं हँसते....आसानी से. हमें हंसाने के लिए तो कोई विशेष बात होनी चाहिए. serious रहने कि आदत, चार किताबें पढ़े होने का अंतर्भिमान, या शायद चिंतित रहने कि आदत. ये सब रोक लेती हैं मुझे दैनिक व्यवहार में तुम्हारी तरह हंसने से. पर जब मैं तुम्हारे साथ हँसता हूँ........सब कुछ भूलकर........बच्चा बनकर......तो ऐसा लगता है कि .....ये संभव है......मेरे लिए भी.

किसी शायर कि बात याद आती है......

बच्चों के नाज़ुक हाथों को, चाँद सितारे छूने दो.

चार किताबें पढ़कर वो भी, हम जैसे हो जायेंगे.

राखी का सूत

2010-08-18T11:20:00.002-04:00

राखी का सूत हूँ मैं

मृतप्राय मानवता का

विशालकाय दानवता का

पतितता के विजय का

पावनता के पराजय का

वस्तुत्व के उद्भव का

व्यक्तित्व के पराभव का

पूजनीया के पतन का

शक्तिस्वरूपा के दमन का

जीवित सबूत हूँ मैं

राखी का सूत हूँ मैं II

संस्कृति के विस्मरण का

सहृदयता के छरण का
भौतिकता के विकास का
प्राचीनता के परिहास का
संबंधों के समापन का
मिथ्यावादी अपनापन का
भोग के उर्वरण का
त्याग के मरण का
बिलखता सबूत हूँ मैं
राखी का सूत हूँ मैं II

तब से ......... अब तक.

2010-08-15T09:04:00.001-04:00

तब मिलने की व्याकुलता थी
अब बिछुड़न की यह ज्वाला है
तब जीवन रंग गुलाबी था
अब तो वह दिखता काला है
तब मन लगता था प्रियतम में
अब तो दिखती मधुशाला है
इस क्रूर काल के कटु कदमों के
नीचे दबता जाता हूँ
तब से अब तक के जीवन के
स्मृति चित्रों को दुहराता हूँ ll

सरि तट की रेती पर हमने
जीवन के चित्र बनाये थे
उन चित्रों के सच होने की
तब मन में आस लगाये थे
अब वर्तमान में चित्र वही
जलधारा के आहार बने
अपने विचार वह स्वप्न वही
पीड़ादायी तलवार बने ll

तब जीवन पीयूष कलश सदृश
अब यह लगता विष प्याला है
मेरे मधुवन की क्यारी में
किसने विषधर को डाला है ?
निश्चय ही समय तुम्हारी ही यह
कष्ट दायिनी क्रीडा है
तब से अब तक की स्मृतियों से
अंतर में उठती पीड़ा है ll

असंभव का विशेषज्ञ - Specialist of Impossible

2010-08-15T03:11:00.001-04:00

चिर समय से जो अंधेरा
इस जगत से जा न पाया
कोटि सूर्यों के किरण को
जिस तमस ने है हराया,

बुद्धि बल से युक्त मानव
के गमन को रोकता जो
स्वप्न पंछी की उड़ानें
भुवन में अवरोधता जो,

आदि युग से प्राणियों को
जिस विषय का ज्ञान न था
हर सपने को सच करने की
सक्षमता का भान न था,

हर पराजय की वजह के
ग्रंथ का सर्वज्ञ हूँ मैं
असंभव का विशेषज्ञ हूँ मैं,
असंभव का विशेषज्ञ हूँ मैं,

भाग्य रेखा भाग्य को
अबतक दिशाएं दे रही थी
भाग्य रेखा को दिशाएं
दे सके वह शक्ति मैं हूँ,

स्वप्न जो देखा कभी पर
प्राप्ति का साहस नहीं था
कल्पना वो सत्य करने
का अटल संकल्प मैं हूँ,

राह जो अबतक नहीं था
स्वप्न सच को जोड़ता जो
मार्ग वह निर्माण करने
का अनत उत्साह मैं हूँ,

प्राणीमात्र की सीमाओं का
विस्तार कारी यज्ञ हूँ मैं
असंभव का विशेषज्ञ हूँ मैं,
असंभव का विशेषज्ञ हूँ मैं,

It’s Indian railways again!!

2010-05-22T06:46:00.007-04:00

I have expressed my fondness for Indian railways in the past. I have fond memories associated with railways. And browsing the web, I find that there are many fellow Indians sharing the same feeling.

However some suggestions this time:

Should we have a separate railway budget?
A railway budget separate from the general budget started in 1924 because the railways then formed more than a third of the budget. Many people argue that now since the size of Indian economy has increased a great deal, why should we just follow history? Why have a separate rail budget??
I have a counter argument. We should have separate budgets for all important ministries. Let the Rail, Highways, Power, Higher Education, Urban Development, Agriculture …. ministers present the annual budgets and future plans of their ministries and the Finance minister should just cover the remaining expenditures and allocations at the end. This way, all the ministries will come under public scrutiny and be more accountable.

Now something about making money.
Assume you have a 1000 kgs of Gold. And you know that the gold prices are at the peak. What will you do? The obvious choice is to sell it off and cash in. Our rail stations and trains have several lakhs of feet-fall daily. Is it not a great place to earn money from advertising? We see some ads but there is potential for a lot more. And only additional money can solve the problems with Indian railways.

Here is a workable solution: Lease out the ad space to different advertising agencies zone wise. Let them be independent to sell the ad space and finally railway ministry can pay them a certain percentage of the money made by them. Different agencies in different zones will ensure competition and the contract can be reviewed based on performance.

Here are some pics to end the blog:-

The Good:

The Bad:

Media

2010-04-25T10:44:00.001-04:00

I often hear people complaining about irresponsible media.
I just now opened Times of India website to get some examples of the above and I got plenty. Here are some:
After headlines about Lalit Modi, Sania-Shoib marriage, we have the following:

You're irresistible!
Singles prefer dating hotties
5 dating charms that won't fail
Can suspicion kill a relationship?
Bebo turns a teacher
Salman, the new Mogambo
Where's Maanyata, Sanju?
Juhi prays for brother
Pics: Uber hot Neetu Chandra

And I did not copy all such links.
This is the newspaper having largest daily circulation in paper and one of the largest hits on the web.

We talk about how there should not be any “guidelines” and “regulations” in a free market economy. Let the organizations do what is best for them financially. But India is NOT a free market economy. We have laws censuring TV and media. Why, then we allow our media to be so irresponsible about nation. Do the above listed items qualify as news?

In my opinion the media should “repeatedly” show various poverty related news, farmers suicide, un-education, un-employment, condition of schools and colleges, why the colleges are producing so many not-fit-for-employment graduates, national security related issues and so on. There are no dearth of issues. The media should remind the public again and again about such issues so that people will be aware. And if that happens, there is a good chance that many of them will keep that in mind while voting.

I am not saying that only problems should be highlighted. The media should also have sections featuring achievers – not only Nilekanies, Birlas, Ambanies but thousands of small scale achievers. Why don’t they have articles by a school teacher or a small time businessman sharing there experiences and difficulties faced. But they will not. Because they are “financial” institutions whose sole aim is to make money. That is why most of the news published these days are “paid news”.

I hope a revolution happens by bloggers, at least for the net-savvy Indians highlighting the “real news” and “real issues” of the nation. Amen!

Election Manifesto: The Missed Points

2009-04-02T02:33:00.005-04:00

The most “important” way for “inclusive growth” and “upliftment of the oppressed” in India is Reservation. All political parties believe so. But in spite of all pro-quota parties and their luminary and visionary leaders, there are still many areas “untouched” and I think they also should be considered for reservation. Here is a list:

1. Seats in Indian railways and Air India should be reserved for (15% for SC, 10% for ST, 30% for OBC, 20 % for Minority). After all, these casts have been oppressed by the "upper" casts for centuries. Isn’t it?
i. Any train passing through Maharashtra should have 50% seats reserved for “Marathi Manoos”.
ii. Similar thing will be considered for other states in due time depending on the level of voilent protest they do.

2. How about a reservation in Indian cricket team with the following rules:
i. The posts of captain, coach and vice captain will be alternately held by SC, ST, OBC, Minority and General category player.
ii. No two people among captain, coach and vice captain can be of the same cast at any given time. (This is to ensure that “proper representation” is given to all sections of society.)
iii. The playing eleven MUST consist of 2-SC, 2-ST, 3-OBC, 2-Minority and 2-General category players. In addition, BCCI will file a petition to ICC to increase the number of on-field players to 12 so that another player from ex-defense personal or ex-freedom fighter son category can be accommodated.

3. The planned man on moon mission of ISRO MUST take people from all casts & sections of society in the above mentioned percentage.

4. The posts of PM and ministers should be reserved.
PM – OBC
President – Minority
Defense Minister – ST
Finance Minister – SC
HRD Minister – General (So that Arjun Singh can hold this post to "ensure" proper implementation of the above “policies”)
Etc.

You can add many more points to this list. I just started it. Now we should make sure that all our political parties include this in their election manifesto.

Is Raju Running the Govt. of India?

2009-02-23T04:38:00.002-05:00

Govt's aam aadmi bill may be inflated: CAG

Who says Satyam’s fraud was a one-off case and it is not a representative of India or India Inc? Today’s headline in ToI says:

Punching a hole in the UPA government's campaign of Bharat Nirman and other flagship schemes, its official auditor, the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) said in a report released on Friday that the government had been overstating the expenditure.

The news of Rs 7,800 Cr scam by Raju & Co. made such a hue and cry across media, and rightly so. But this news of over 51,000 Cr rupees was not discussed anywhere. Within 1 hr the news was buried in the archive pages of ToI website. This shows that the difference of expectation of public and media from the govt. is so low even in the election year. Even a fraud of 51,000 Cr rupees does not get enough attention.

The report further goes:

Over Rs 51,000 crore was allocated for these flagship schemes in 2007-08 which got transferred to the bank accounts of NGOs, autonomous bodies and district authorities. However, the government has told CAG that it was not aware of the actual expenditure by these organisations.

Raising an alarm, the CAG said money often remained unspent in the accounts of these implementing agencies. Kept outside government accounts, they were beyond the purview of any checks and balances of the Centre.

The report also pointed out how the Social and Infrastructure Development Fund (SIDF) — created in 2006 for funding initiatives such as the employment of physically challenged, insurance cover for rural poor, etc — was diverted to unspecified programmes like celebration of 150th year of the First War of Independence and towards grants to various cultural organizations.

The government had transferred Rs 6,500 crore in 2007 and Rs 6,000 crore in 2008 to the SIDF. An examination of Rs 3,500 crore expenditure under this account by the CAG revealed that at least Rs 1,500 crore in 2006-07 and a similar amount the following year was diverted to celebrations and giving aid to NGOs and other expenditure rather than creating infrastructure.

Pointing out how the government had been diverting funds intended to provide subsidies to the rural “aam aadmi'', the CAG report said of the Rs 20,000 crore collected under the Universal Service Obligation Fund between 2003-08 towards subsidising rural telephony, only Rs 6,000 crore was spent; the remaining amount was not there in the fund.

Surely, our government is taking lessons form corporate India.

A Response to Media

2009-02-18T03:49:00.002-05:00

Here is my response to the article SATYAM SCAM - POLITICS, MEDIA & LIES by some Ahmed Ali Shaik at the IBNlive.in.com.

Ahmed,

After reading “your version” of Satyam’s story I strongly feel that there should be “specialized” media people to cover specific issues rather than, say, asking a fashion journalist to cover a sports event.

I least bother to reply to you as an individual, but since you have published this blog at a public website, it is likely to be read by many. So here is my reply:

Note: I have quoted Ahmed in Italics and my responses are in regular font.

Disclaimer: I am a Satyam employee. But this reply is in the capacity of an individual, this is no way an official reply from Satyam.

Interestingly, Jan.11 was a Sunday and both the press conferences were held at the same time at 12 noon. This may be just a coincident.

I do not find anything “Interesting” about the press conferences held on Sunday as It was a hasty situation. It may be an off day for you guys but FYI people working in an emergency situation do not take off on Sundays.

This raises a suspicion that either DGP SSP Yadav lied to the Chief Minister or YSR was lying to the media. Whatever is the truth, the statements about the Satyam case started with lies?

Aren’t we used to politicians lying in our country. So another common thing, noting “interesting”.

The new board members too were not behind making tall statements about the Satyam Computers. Soon after their appointment, they started giving an impression that Satyam was a genuine company, with genuine employees, genuine clients and genuine revenues.

I find you as the first person doubting whether Satyam is a genuine company, with genuine employees, genuine clients and genuine revenues. It is not a difficult task for a media person to establish that with around 53000 employees available to testify. But it will require little bit of work and will kill the scope of your “sensational” comments.

If they are right, then there should be no doubts that Ramalinga Raju siphoned off Satyam's money from company's accounts. But sometimes their tone matched with Raju's claims.

It is sad that I have to remind a media person that it is not the question whether anybody or Satyam board has doubt or not, but no official comment can be made when the matter is under investigation.

On the day when Public Prosecutor told Nampally Criminal Court that Satyam's headcount of 53,000 was not genuine and there were over 10,000 fictitious employees, Ramalinga Raju issued a statement through his lawyer saying that the headcount figure of 53,000 was correct.

I can understand the lack of information of the public prosecutor in this matter in the first few days. But now that the issue has been confirmed by the board, that there is no inflation of the headcount and it remains close to 53000, there should be no reason to keep raising it. Can’t Raju, as an individual, make a statement if he has not done that particular thing?

This statement raises a question as to why did the board confirmed that 'prima facie' headcount was correct without even waiting for the reports of 'independent investigation process'. Are they trying to defend Raju? There are several other questions that deserve answers.

Simple, because negative media coverage hurts the employee moral, stock value and customer confidence. So the board can not wait. Was it that difficult to understand Ahmed?

Within a week after their appointment, new board members started praising Satyam. Deepak Parekh even claimed that Satyam has receivables of Rs.1700 crore. Exactly three days after his appointment, Parekh claimed, "The company on its book, as of today, has a large amounts of receivables due, if these receivables come on time, on due date, the company has adequate liquidity, the loans against these receivable are minimal. But we have to get the numbers authenticated and verified." How did he know about it within three days after his appointment and after spending just 6 hours in Satyam's campus?

It may be difficult to understand to you. But for a competent and empowered board it is possible.

In the last one month the new board met six times and to my understanding, it did not take any major decision.

Oh, really? I sincerely advice you to start reading news papers. That will help.

There were some reports saying that Satyam has added 15 new clients in January.

Wrong. To my knowledge, it was not about addition of new clients but about signing of new contracts with the existing clients.

The board has also appointed some independent auditors to restate the company's accounts. But the question is how will those agencies do the restatement? All the documents, even computers, related to Satyam's finance and accounts departments have been seized by the CID, SFIO and SEBI and nobody on behalf of Satyam approached these agencies for a copy of seized documents. No body knows since when the accounts were being fudged. So what will be the basic criteria that will be adopted to restate the accounts? On what grounds, the company's assets and liabilities would be ascertained? How this company would be valued which would facilitate its sale?

That is not impossible. Though I do not know what is actually happening, I will give you two examples:
i) The sensitive data are not saved only in a few local computers but there are provisions of data replications, to avoid accidental loss of data. So I do not believe that the new auditors do not have or are not allowed the access to data.
ii) Anybody aware of the business model of IT services companies knows that the accounts can be re-stated with the help of the clients who paid to Satyam for their products and services over the years.

There are many more points on which I differ but cannot clarify due to lack of time and patience. However, I agree with you that the fraud is one of the most serious in our history, the culprits should be punished what they deserve but not sure whether they will be due to the blunt criminal justice system in India, our politicians are most opportunistic in nature, there is a possibility of political involvement etc. But this, in no way discounts the professionalism Satyam employees have shown in two decades. Satyam employees are no different than employees of other IT companies. And by the way, Satyam’s new CEO is AS Murthy and not VS Murthy as repeatedly mentioned by you.

Slumdog is Trash

2009-02-02T04:04:00.002-05:00

I fully agree with the views expressed by Amitabh Bachchan and director Priyadarshan about Slumdog Millionaire.

I do not comment about its cinematic value, but this movie is poised to do a lot of damage to the Indian image globally. With all the awards and nominations, it is sure to get a lot of international audience. And all those who do not know India will believe that India is like the way it is shown in that movie. It took two decades to change western perception that India is the land of Sadhus and snake charmers. And this movie will wash some of that efforts.

Why do we need to change west’s perception about India? Because we need business, collaborations and nevertheless the global education. We were under developed, and we still are. But there is a lot of difference in India of 50s and 60s and India of 21st centaury.
But I wonder why is that westerners like the poor and slum image of india and not the better (realistic) one.

Here is what Priyadarshan has to say about this movie.

Some excerpts:

' 'Slumdog Millionaire' is nothing but a cheap trashy mediocre version of those commercial films about estranged brothers and childhood sweethearts that Salim-Javed used to write so brilliantly in the 1970s. And please quote me clearly on this. If the Golden Globe and Oscars committees have chosen to honour this trashy film it just shows their ignorance of world cinema,”
'I saw the film with a mixed audience at the Toronto Film Festival. The Westerners loved it. All the Indian hated it. The West loves to see us as a wasteland, filled with horror stories of exploitation and degradation. But is that all there's to our beautiful city of Mumbai?'

A Thought

2009-01-27T02:37:00.000-05:00

"Mind is an attribute of an individual. There is no such thing as collective brain. There is no such thing as collective thought. An agreement reached by a group of men is only a compromise or an average drawn upon many individual thoughts. It is a secondary consequence. The primary act – the process of reason – must be performed by each man, alone. We can divide a meal among many men. We cannot digest it in a collective stomach. No man can use his lungs to breath for another man. No man can use his brain to think for another. All functions of body and spirit are private. They cannot be shared."

--Ayn Rand “THE FOUNTAINHEAD”

Hope

2009-01-13T02:56:00.002-05:00

"Hope? Let me tell you something, my friend, hope is a dangerous thing. Hope can drive a man insane."

-- Red, in "The Shawshank Redemption"

It indeed, can drive a man insane, but is not it a good thing? I have seen many talented people living in mediocrity. All because they have lost hope that something great will happen in their lives. Whereas, a person with hope of a good future will WORK towards that good future. And chances are s/he will reach the destination.

So, any day I would prefer being or behaving insane for working towards what I hope rather than being disappointed and hopeless. Whether I achieve what I want or not is something I can not control alone. There may be other factors. But one thing is sure, work, like energy never gets destroyed.

And by the way, watch “The Shawshank Redemption” if you have not already done so.

Dollar, Economy and Wars

2008-12-17T19:22:00.004-05:00

Till now I have never posted a forwarded email on my blog but I could not stop myself from sharing this one with you all. (I don't know if I have many readers :-)

This was indeed an eye opener for me. I had never thought of this acpect of economy and wars.

Here it goes:

Why the Dollar Bubble is about to Burst?

The Voice (issue 264 -) ran an article beginning, ' Iran has really gone
and done it now. No, they haven't sent their first nuclear sub in to the
Persian Gulf . They are about to launch something much more deadly -- next
week the Iran Bourse will open to trade oil, not n dollars but in Euros'
This apparently insignificant event has consequences far greater for the
US people, indeed all for us all, than is imaginable.

Currently almost all oil buying and selling is in US-dollars through
exchanges in London and New York . It is not accidental they are both
US-owned.

The Wall Street crash in 1929 sparked off global depression and World War
II. During that war the US supplied provisions and munitions to all its
allies, refusing currency and demanding gold payments in exchange.

By 1945, 80% of the world's gold was sitting in US vaults. The dollar
became the one undisputed global reserve currency -- it was treated
world-wide as `safer than gold'. The Bretton Woods agreement was
established.

The US took full advantage over the next decades and printed dollars like
there was no tomorrow. The US exported many mountains of dollars, paying
for ever-increasing amounts of commodities, tax cuts for the rich, many
wars abroad, mercenaries, spies and politicians the world over. You see,
this did not affect inflation at home! The US got it all for free! Well,
maybe for a forest or two.

Over subsequent decades the world's vaults bulged at the seams and more
and more vaults were built, just for US dollars. Each year, the US spends
many more dollars abroad that at home. Analysts pretty much agree that
outside the US , of the savings, or reserves, of all other countries, in
gold and all currencies -- that a massive 66% of this total wealth is in
US dollars!

In 1971 several countries simultaneously tried to sell a small portion of
their dollars to the US for gold. Krassimir Petrov, (Ph. D. in Economics
at Ohio University ) recently wrote, 'The US Government defaulted on its
payment on August 15, 1971 . While popular spin told the story of
`severing the link between the dollar and gold', in reality the denial to
pay back in gold was an act of bankruptcy by the US Government.' The 1945
Breton Woods agreement was unilaterally smashed.

The dollar and US economy were on a precipice resembling Germany in 1929.
The US now had to find a way for the rest of the world to believe and have
faith in the paper dollar. The solution was in oil, in the petrodollar.
The US viciously bullied first Saudi Arabia and then OPEC to sell oil for
dollars only -- it worked, the dollar was saved. Now countries had to keep
dollars to buy much needed oil. And the US could buy oil all over the
world, free of charge. What a Houdini for the US ! Oil replaced gold as
the new foundation to stop the paper dollar sinking.

Since 1971, the US printed even more mountains of dollars to spend abroad.
The trade deficit grew and grew. The US sucked-in much of the world's
products for next to nothing. More vaults were built.

Expert, C¨®il¨ªnn Nunan, wrote in 2003, 'The dollar is the de facto world
reserve currency: the US currency accounts for approximately two thirds of
all official exchange reserves. More than four-fifths of all foreign
exchange transactions and half of all world exports are denominated in
dollars. In addition, all IMF loans are denominated in dollars.'
Dr Bulent Gukay of Keele University recently wrote, 'This system of the
US dollar acting as global reserve currency in oil trade keeps the demand
for the dollar `artificially' high. This enables the US to carry out
printing dollars at the price of next to nothing to fund increased
military spending and consumer spending on imports. There is no
theoretical limit to the amount of dollars that can be printed. As long as
the US has no serious challengers, and the other states have confidence in
the US dollar, the system functions.'

Until recently, the US-dollar has been safe. However, since 1990 Western
Europe has been busy growing, swallowing up central and Eastern Europe .
French and German bosses were jealous of the US ability to buy goods and
people the world over for nothing. They wanted a slice of the free cake
too.
Further, they now had the power and established the euro in late 1999
against massive US-inspired opposition across Europe , especially from
Britain - paid for in dollars of course. But the euro succeeded.

Only months after the euro-launch, Saddam's Iraq announced it was
switching from selling oil in dollars only, to euros only -- breaking the
OPEC agreement.. Iran , Russia , Venezuela , Libya , all began talking
openly of switching too -- were the floodgates about to be opened?

Then aero planes flew into the twin-towers in September 2001. Was this
another Houdini chance to save the US (petro) dollar and the biggest
financial/economic crash in history? War preparations began in the US But
first war-fever had to be created -- and truth was the first casualty.
Other oil producing countries watched-on. In 2000 Iraq began selling oil
in euros.
In 2002, Iraq changed all their petro-dollars in their vaults into euros.
A few months later, the US began their invasion of Iraq .

The whole world was watching: very few aware that the US was engaging in
the first oil currency, or petro-dollar war. After the invasion of Iraq in
March 2003, remember, the US secured oil areas first. Their first sales in
August were, of course, in dollars, again. The only government building in
Baghdad not bombed was the Oil Ministry! It does not matter how many
people are murdered -- for the US , the petro-dollar must be saved as the
only way to buy and sell oil - otherwise the US economy will crash, and
much more besides.

In early 2003, Hugo Chavez, President of Venezuela talked openly of
selling half of its oil in euros (the other half is bought by the US ). On
12 April 2003 , the US-supported business leaders and some generals in
Venezuela kidnapped Chavez and attempted a coup. The masses rose against
this and the Army followed suit. The coup failed. This was bad for the US
.

In November 2000 the euro/dollar was at $0.82 dollars, its lowest ever,
and still diving, but when Iraq started selling oil in euros, the euro
dive was halted. In April 2002 senior OPEC reps talked about trading in
euros and the euro shot up. In June 2003 the US occupiers of Iraq switched
trading back to dollars and the euro fell against the dollar again. In
August 2003 Iran starts to sell oil in euros to some European countries
and the euro rises sharply. In the winter of 2003-4 Russian and OPEC
politicians talked seriously of switching oil/gas sales to the euro and
the euro rose. In February 2004 OPEC met and made no decision to turn to
the euro -- and yes, the euro fell against the dollar. In June 2004 Iran
announced it would build an oil bourse to rival London and New York , and
again, the euro rose. The euro stands at $1.27 and has been climbing of
late.

But matters this month became far, far worse for the US dollar. On 5th May
Iran registered its own Oil Bourse, the IOB. Not only are they now selling
oil in euros from abroad -- they have established an actual Oil Bourse, a
global trading centre for all countries to buy and sell their oil!

In Chavez's recent visit to London ; he talked openly about supporting the
Iranian Oil Bourse, and selling oil in euros. When asked in London about
the new arms embargo imposed by the US against Venezuela , Chavez
prophetically dismissed the US as 'a paper tiger'.

Currently, almost all the world's oil is sold on either the NYMEX, New
York Mercantile Exchange, or the IPE, London's International Petroleum
Exchange.
Both are owned by US citizens and both sell and buy only in US dollars.
The success of the Iran Oil Bourse makes sense to Europe , which buys 70%
of Iran 's oil. It makes sense for Russia , which sells 66% of its oil to
Europe . But worse for the US , China and India have already stated they
are very interested in the new Iranian Oil Bourse.

If there is a tactical-nuclear strike on - deja-vu - `weapons of mass
destruction' in Iran , who would bet against a certain Oil Exchange and
more, being bombed too?

And worse for Bush. It makes sense for Europe , China , India and Japan--
as well as all the other countries mentioned above -- to buy and sell oil
in Euro's. They will certainly have to stock-up on euros now, and they
will sell dollars to do so. The euro is far more stable than the
debt-ridden dollar. The IMF has recently highlighted US economic
difficulties and the trade deficit strangling the US-- there is no way
out.

The problem for so many countries now is how to get rid of their vaults
full of dollars, before it crashes? And the US has bullied so many
countries for so many decades around the world, that many will see a
chance to kick the bully back. The US cannot accept even 5% of the world's
dollars -- it would crash the US economy dragging much of the world with
it, especially Britain .

To survive, as the Scottish Socialist Voice article stated, 'the US ,
needs to generate a trade surplus to get out of this one. Problem is it
can't.'
This is spot on. To do that they must force US workers into near slavery,
to get paid less than Chinese or Indian workers. We all know that this
will not happen.

What will happen in the US ? Chaos for sure. Maybe a workers revolution,
but looking at the situation as it is now, it is more likely to be a
re-run of Germany post-1929, and some form of extreme-right mass movement
will emerge...

Does Europe and China/Asia have the economic independence and strength to
stop the whole world's economies collapsing with the US ? Their vaults are
full to the brim with dollars.

The US has to find a way to pay for its dollar-imperialist exploitation of
the world since 1945.. Somehow, eventually, it has to account for every
dollar in every vault in the world.

Bombing Iran could backfire tremendously. It would bring Iran openly into
the war in Iraq , behind the Shiite majority. The US cannot cope even now
with the much smaller Iraqi insurgency. Perhaps the US will feed into the
Sunni v Shiite conflict and turn it into a wider Middle-East civil-war.
However, this is so dangerous for global oil supplies. Further, they know
that this would be temporary, as some country somewhere else, will
establish a euro-oil-exchange, perhaps in Brussels .

There is one `solution' -- scrap the dollar and print a whole new currency
for the US . This will destroy 66% of the rest of the world's
savings/reserves in one swoop. Imagine the implications? Such are the
desperate things now swimming around heads in the White House, Wall Street
and Pentagon.

Another is to do as Germany did, just before invading Poland in 1938. The
Nazis filmed a mock Polish Army attack on Germany , to win hearts and
minds at home. But again, this is a finger in the dam. So, how is the US
going to escape this time? The only global arena of total superiority left
is military. Who knows what horrors lie ahead. A new world war is one tool
by which the US could discipline its `allies' into keeping the dollar in
their vaults.

The task of socialists today is to explain to as many as possible,
especially our class, that the coming crisis belongs purely to capitalism
and (dollar) imperialism. Not people of other cultures, not Islam, not the
axis of evil or their so-called WMDs. Their system alone is to blame.

The new Iranian Oil Bourse, the IOB, is situated in a new building on the
free-trade-zone island of Kish , in the Persian Gulf . It's computers and
software are all set to go. The IOB was supposed to be up and running last
March, but many pressures forced a postponement. Where the pressure came
from is obvious. It was internationally registered on 5th May and supposed
to open mid-May, but its opening was put off, some saying the oil-mafia
was involved, along with much international pressure.

In 2007 Crude was trad ed around 60 usd. Everyone kn e w dollar was
getting weaker and weaker day by day. Th e n US with the help of their two
NYMEX & IPE exchange started rising the price of crude by Future trading
on crude( called speculation). Today crude is around 140 usd. It means
whole world who were paying 60 usd, are now paying 140 usd, which means
demand of dollar has gone upto 230% and dollar start ed rising again.

-----------
Looks like this was written 6 months back.
Thanks Sandeep for sharing this article.

Dancer

2008-12-11T21:06:00.000-05:00

I used to think that no one can dance like me, but there are others too.

Indian Ocean: The Music band

2008-12-06T08:26:00.003-05:00

Came across this band called Indian Ocean. Liked their music a lot. Here is a sample. You can get other songs like BHOR, JHINI etc in youtube, if you have not already seen those.

Defeated India

2008-11-28T20:27:00.002-05:00

Over the last 40 hours, when the news channels are as hit as they can be my heart is full of sorrow, eyes wet and mind full of rage. I, like many fellow Indians, am in the same state of mind as the protagonist of the recent movie The Wednesday. I mean, a handful of terrorists could literally take a country of over a billion people hostage. Yes, it is an attack on Mumbai, on India, on Indian pride, on Indian intelligence, on Indian military, on each Indian. And the terrorists could not be more successful. We are a defeated nation.

The external affairs minister of India Mr. Pranab Mukharjee again warns Pakistan against letting its territory used for terrorist activities. Hello Mr. Mukherjee, YOU ARE the one letting your territory used for terrorist activities. Gone are the days when Pakistan was the only major source of terrorists. Have you forgotten the evidences of terrorist training camps in the forests of Kerala, Karnataka and elsewhere in India? Yes, all planning, training and execution is happening in India and done by INDIANS. Funding may be from outside. And this is no secret to anybody. You do not need an intelligence force or a high level inquiry to know this. Ask a street kid and he will tell you the fact.

In India, there is no preventive detention law, and prosecutions can take years. The Wall Street Journal blames our politicians for this.

And rightly so. Now the pathetic situation of training and equipments of our elite forces like NSG and ATS is an open secret. Whose responsibility is it to make sure that our forces are well trained and equipped? Who will provide required money and international collaborations to do so? Any answers Mr. Singh, Mr. Mukharjee, Mr. Patil or Mrs.Gandhi?? The poor brave soldiers are just giving their lives for us. The poor public is giving their lives.
On the other hand, half of the cops are busy planning the security of our politicians. Mayawati's security apparatus has 350 cops, 34 vehicles.

Nothing is happening which could give us hope of a better future. Worse is a realistic possibility. I have no faith left on political leadership in India.

Good Bye JUMBO…Cricket Will Be Poorer Without You.

2008-11-03T16:04:00.003-05:00

It has been quite some time since I last scribbled here. And I thought I would pay my tributes to my all time sports icon Anil Kumble aka JUMBO.

Kumble has been my favorite Indian cricketer since about 10 years, so I can say that I belong to his longest serving fan-club. 

I know that India is full of cricket pundits, and many of them may not agree when I say that Kumble has won more matches (particularly the Test matches) for India than ANY other player EVER. That is why I think he is the GREATEST Indian cricketer ever.
A few points about his personal life I copied from Wikipedia:

Anil Kumble was born in Bangalore.

His family, of Kannadiga origin, takes its name from Kumble village situated in the Kasaragod district of Kerala, close to the Karnataka border: his paternal great grandfather hailed from this village while his maternal family hails from Karnataka.

He is married to Chethana Ramatheertha. Anil has 3 children - daughter Aaruni (from Chethana's previous marriage), son Mayas and the youngest Svasti (daughter).

Kumble began playing cricket on streets of Bangalore and joined a club called Young Cricketers when he was 13 years old. Kumble did his primary schooling at Holy Saint English School and his high schooling at National High School, Basavanagudi. He got his Pre-University College education from National College, Basavanagudi. Kumble graduated from Rashtreeya Vidyalaya College of Engineering in Mechanical Engineering in 1991-92. Anil's studious dispensation is not without a basis in fact. Prior to his selection for the England tour, he did exceedingly well in his academics passing mechanical engineering with distinction in the top of his class.

He has a nickname Jumbo not only because his deliveries, for a spinner, are "as fast as a Jumbo jet", but also because his feet are quite big or Jumbo as observed by his team-mates.

It is rare to find a sportsperson who is so good in studies, that too the person of the sporting excellence of Kumble.

For a person who gave up fast bowling because of a jerky action, it is amazing to be so successful as a spinner. Since he did not have the turn of Shane Warne or Murali, I think he had the best mind of a bowler to outthink the batsmen.

On top of that, his discipline as a player was second to none. I have never heard of any penalty or disciplinary action against him ever. He has been a 100% team player. Never cared more about personal milestones over the team cause. While all the players say so about themselves, we all know that many of them actually do the reverse.

Dear Jumbo, wish you all the best for your future. And now that you will have some free time, I hope to meet you someday in Bangalore. 

Book Meme

2008-10-10T17:37:00.003-04:00

I picked this one from Rahul's and Priya's blogs.

What was the last book you bought?
The Trap by Tabitha King, A million Nightingales by Susan Straight. Both fictions.

Has a book ever fundamentally changed the way you see life? If yes, what was it?
None, no drastic change in my line of thinking, but many have contributed in thought process. Bhagwadgita by Ved Vyas and Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand are two of them.

How do you choose a book? eg. by cover design and summary, recommendations or reviews?
All of these.

Do you prefer Fiction or Non-Fiction?
I read both alternatively.

What’s more important in a novel - beautiful writing or a gripping plot?
Of course, gripping plot.

Most loved/memorable character (character/book)?
Memorable: Chandar from the novel Gunahon Ka Devta by Dharmvir Bharti
Loved: Karna from the poetic book Rashmirathi by Ramdhari Singh Dinkar.

Which book or books can be found on your nightstand at the moment?
Maximum City by Suketu Mehta.

What was the last book you’ve read, and when was it?
The Story of My Experiments with Truth by M. K. Gandhi. Finished last week, took a month to read it.

Have you ever given up on a book half way in?
Don't remember any.

Value of Life in India - II

2008-09-30T20:19:00.004-04:00

I wrote this piece after the Naina Devi temple stampede comparing deaths caused by terrorist attacks and stampedes. And now after another tragic incident at Chamundeshwari temple in Jodhpur, The Times of India also points out the same with death counts:
In 2008, stampedes have killed 360, blasts 156
Have we become a society with no sense of understanding at all? I still stand by the opinion that if the authorities really act, these accidents can be avoided. I mean, do not allow more than a certain number of people at a time in the temple premises, provide more number of exits, wide exit gates, route the people properly. Common, this is not a rocket science to do. Agreed, it is difficult to implement, but is it not worth doing if so many lives are at stake??

Islamic Terrorism

2008-09-18T20:17:00.004-04:00

Everytime there is a terrorist attack in India, they start the same old debate on TV channels. All the "SECULAR" speakers tell us "Terror has no religion." "We can not claim it as islamic terrorism." "Terrorists belong to no community." etc. etc. Everytime they talk about Gujarat riots and justify that there are communal people in all religions. I agree. But my dear SECULAR friends, please tell me, Is there ANY member of Al-Qaida, Laskar-e-Taiyaba, Taliban, Indian Mujahiddin..... who is a non-Muslim? If terror has no religion, why do not the muslim people and their leaders come to streets and condemn the terrorists? We only see one of two TOKEN gesture from these people, no serious effort.
So if somebody like poet Johar Kanpuri condemns terrorists openly, I can not but praise him for this brave step.

So I would say it IS islamic terrorism and will remain so as long as the muslim community makes serious effort to change this perception.

Aplam-Chaplam

2008-09-13T13:54:00.003-04:00

Here is one song I never get bored of. Amazing dance and amazing song.

Opportunity Knocks Our Door - II

2008-09-08T09:25:00.003-04:00

A month back I wrote this post about how india can be a potential exporter of nuclear energy technology or more easily the exporter of nuclear energy technology professionals. Now that the completion of Indo-US (and Indo-world) nuclear deal is round the corner, it is time the country recognise the opportunity.

1. Big corporate houses should make JVs with Europian and American companies to provide nuclear technologies. Which they have started doing. This news confirms it.

2. Scientists at Atomic Energy Commission of India (AEC), BARC (Bhabha Atomic Research Center) and the likes should work with primier engineering institutes to design carriculum and start specialized undergraduate and PG courses.

3. And of course, the govt. should make the task easier for the companies and engineering institutes by making supportive policies, providing adequate funds, helping indian companies deplomatically to clinch deals with western companies.

This may well be another BIG thing for india the future. May be as big as indian IT services industry of today.

Bravo!!

2008-08-19T20:45:00.002-04:00

This story is no less than any crime detective novel or movie. If this is true (I think it is), congrats and thanks to the Gujrat police and their political leadership. We Indians never get tired of blaming our politicians for corruption, selfishness, hunger for power and what not. True most of the time. But there are a few who have proved that politicians make the difference. Modi is one of them. I have always believed that a leader should be tough and strong. I am sure unless there is ample pressure from the top, the police and intelligence will not work so fast.

If you also have the same question [How did the Gujarat police manage what the police in Mumbai, Hyderabad, Jaipur and Bengaluru could not do in the last two years?] here are a few excerpts from the above mentioned news story:

Modi has projected himself as a "different" leader because he provided safety to people in a country wracked by terrorism. But 18 blasts in 80 minutes seriously dented his image, and his only redemption lay in going about the investigation with professionalism.

By midnight of July 26 the ruling political leadership sprang into action to make senior policemen understand that their investigations will get 100 per cent support, nothing less nothing more. They had at their disposal money, resources, manpower and even a chartered plane.

"From July 26 (the day of blasts) to August 16 (when the breakthrough was announced) none of us went home to sleep. Every morning at 7 we would all go home and return after a shower and in fresh clothes. We would sleep on our chairs in the daytime. We haven't hit the bed yet," said Deputy Commissioner of Police Abhay Chudasama, who along with his boss Joint Commissioner of Police Ashish Bhatia and Rakesh Asthana, police commissioner of Baroda, played an important role in detecting the conspiracy behind the bomb blasts.

A news-hungry media was all the time "fooled" by leaking irrelevant stories and even sketches of the 'accused' were made only to "feed" the media. It was of no use to the investigators whatsoever. In reality, they were going down a different path.

By August 8-9, Modi knew his state police was just days away from success that has eluded the police in other Indian states wracked by terrorism.

Well, I am impressed by the professionalism (which has become an oxymoron to police) and the understanding of sense urgency. Read the full article if you want more details.

Value of Life in India

2008-08-03T17:03:00.003-04:00

The blasts in Bangalore and Ahmedabad caused about 50 deaths. That's sad, unfortunate and alarming. But what about the "at least 146 deaths" caused by stampede at the Naina devi temple in Himachal Pradesh? If terrorism is a big problem, isn't these kind of carelessness thrice big problem? The amount of money and jewellery offered at these religious places is huge. The Tirupati Balaji temple, Rameshwaram, Haridwar, Rishikesh, Dwarika, Badrinath, Jagannath Puri, Siddhi Vinayak, Akshardham, ....and so many other famous religious places get crores of Rupees daily. Why can't the corresponding trusts make enough arrangements so that such incidents do not happen? Is it such a big problem to avoid a stampede? Having seen many of these temples I think it can be done. If only the trustees of the temples care about human life more than wealth accumulation.

This, added with the ailing bridges over many rivers across the country is killing and will kill many more people than the terrorism is.

Opportunity Knocks Our Door

2008-08-01T14:51:00.008-04:00

Since many years I have been a big fan of Swaminomics, the editorial column of Swaminathan Iyer in the Sunday Times of India. If you see the sunday times of last 3-4 years (I do not know before that as I used to read some other newspaper before that) he has regularly talked about the energy security. Here is another article on this issue.

The IT services industry has changed India in a way no one would have imagined. Most of the people of my father's generation never went outside India though they had the higher educational qualifications. And when I see my orkut profile I find my classmates all over the globe. Could a farmer or a clerk imagine that his son/daughter would go to Europe, Japan, USA, Australia.... But that's reality today. And that's just one of the many ways IT industry has impacted us.

But India should not think that IT services would keep pumping in money forever. The way Bajaj used to think in 80s that Chetak would sell forever. Time changes, and it does faster than one relizes. It is time we should come up as superpower in some other area also. Energy services could be one such area. We could not become exporters of IT products but we became dominant exporters of IT services. The same way, we cannot become energy exporters but we can become dominant exporters of energy services. This includes nuclear power plants, equipments, manufacturing, commissioning, maintenance and manpower suppliers. This is going to be a HUGE industry in 10 years time.

Without Title

2008-07-22T18:20:00.003-04:00

Hadu Bondhu Das, a farmer in Kalahandi district of Orissa, a father of 3 children, is contemplating suicide. The never ending draught and loan has left no hope for the future.

Rajiv Ranjan 'Guddu' (who was a good student once) has formed a gang of four to kidnap kids of rich people in Bhgalpur, Katihar, Munger and Begusarai districts region of Bihar. The joblessness in the state has left nothing except this way of earning a living for him and his gang men.

Jokhu Prasad now works as a daily laborer in his village in Gorakhpur, UP at less than half of what he used to earn two months back as an autorikshaw driver in Mumbai. The wave of attacks on North Indians in the city had left him bleeding on the streets two months back. He somehow managed to flee away with his wife Putli and daughter Renu.

Khumukcham Gokul is planning another bloody revolution for Gorkhaland statehood. He thinks that the growth of his community people is not possible in WB.

Naxal groups in Jharkhand, Bihar, Orissa, AP, Chattisgarh are planning a united approach to combat the police.

Ratan, a clerk at municipality office of Jabalpur has decided to take out his both sons from convent school and enroll them in a government school where his two daughters study. He can not afford the increased school fee of the convent school.

Gopichandar and his family of 4 arrived to Hyderabad this morning. Looking for daily laborer job. Their farmland in Guntur district in AP has been taken by govt which will be used for an SEZ.

Shobhit, a newly joined SET of Infosys has postponded the plan to buy a bike for now and will go to office by BMTC bus. Reason: Increased fuel price and heavy traffic in Bangalore.

The prime minister of India has won the trust vote in parliament today.

At least somebody is happy in India.

What’s in a name?

2008-07-18T15:52:00.001-04:00

The family which has done the greatest good to India is the Nehru-Gandhi family.
What else can be the reason for naming several hundreds of important institutes, airports, hospitals, colleges, roads, govt. programs etc after some member of this family. From Indira Gandhi International airport (Delhi), Rajiv Gandhi International airport (Hyderabad), Motilal Nehru National Institute of Technology, Kamla Nehru Road, Jawahar Rojgar yojna………………… and the list goes on and on. Actually it will be hundreds of things for each of the family member. Take Rajiv Gandhi for example:

Rajiv Gandhi National Creche Scheme for the children of working mothers, Rajiv Gandhi National Fellowship for SC/ST candidates, Rajiv Gandhi National Awards Scheme for Original Book Writing, Rajiv Gandhi Bharat Samvrudhi Yojana-Rajiv Gandhi National Institute of Youth Development, Rajiv Gandhi National Drinking Water Mission, Rajiv Gandhi Bhawan, , Rajiv Gandhi Udayam Mitra Yojana, Rajiv Gandhi Grameen Vidytikaran Yojana (RGGVY, Rajiv Gandhi National University of Law, Rajiv Gandhi foundation , Rajiv Gandhi shiksha Mission, Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award, Rajiv Gandhi shelter scheme, Rajiv Gandhi Handicrafts Bhawan, Rajiv Gandhi Computer Saksharta Mission, Rajiv Gandhi National Park, Rajiv Gandhi Swavlamban Rozgar Yojna, Rajiv Gandhi Rehabilitation package for fishermen, Rajiv Gandhi University, Rajiv Gandhi National Quality Awards................... to name a few.

Actually as a progressive thinker, I suggest we start naming buildings and institutions on the name of Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi (Vadera) and her children. Ultimately these are the people who will do the utmost service to the nation in future. Right?

Is this Democracy or Monarchy?

???

2008-07-10T14:00:00.000-04:00

According to an estimate (my own estimate by observing the placement statistics at some Indian engineering institutes websites), nearly 65-70 % of all engineering graduates join IT companies. Interestingly, the institutes have only 10-15% seats for computer science/ IT streams. So I was wondering why we teach so many students Electronics, Electrical, Mechanical, Chemical, Civil etc subjects when we know they will eventually end up working for some IT company. Why not have 70% seats in the computer science class and the remaining 30% seats shared by other branches?

Singh is King

2008-07-08T13:13:00.000-04:00

Dear Dr. Manmohan Singh,

Congratulations for being able to do what you believed was right. Your academic background leaves no doubt that you are an eminent scholar and expectedly you have contributed extremely well as an economist at different national and international positions. But as you yourself admit, you are a politician by accident; I did not have much hope from you as a PM, apart from being free from corruption.

But please accept my hearty congratulations for fighting the lonely battle and at the end convincing your party and allies (barring left) to back you on the Indo-US nuclear deal. I am quite sure that had it been any other Indian politician in your place, s/he could never dare to stake the govt for this (at the time of record inflation and resurrecting opposition). Not that I am happy about the performance of your govt in the last 4 years. I think it was quite pathetic. But this time I am convinced that no one else could have done this. The soft spoken man in turban had the last laugh. I am surprised that media is not highlighting this brave effort of yours. Now, even if your govt falls, you won hearts. Singh is King.

Yours Sincerely,
Sushil Upadhyay

The confession of a finance professional

2008-07-07T07:47:00.003-04:00

Check out this article on rediff.com if you have not already. And we thought that one can make money in stock market.....it actually befools many to make fortunes of the very few. And we dream that we will be among those selected few.

Indian Rail - Indian people - Unparalleled

2008-07-03T20:10:00.002-04:00

Look at this video of indian rail.

Enjoy this poem

2008-06-14T09:13:00.001-04:00

Enjoy this poem.

Poor tax payer

2008-05-27T10:05:00.000-04:00

This is in continuation to the previous post.

http://www.rediff.com/money/2008/may/27oil1.htm

This happens only because of the vote bank politics. I understand that the govt. of India has no control over the international crude oil prices, and hence our oil companies are bleeding with loss. So the govt. has a great idea to bail them out. It’s easy, ask the money from the tax payers.

My point is, why don’t stop subsidizing the petrol and diesel? So that everybody pays what s/he uses. But they won’t do that. Particularly in this election year. The easier way out is to enforce extra cess in our annual tax.

But if I use a bike for commute (because of environmental, economic reasons and commute time) why shall I pay extra tax? To give subsidy to a person who is driving a Mercedes Benz or any other high power low mileage vehicle?? Is it justified to tax me in order to provide petrol at subsidized rate to that fat ass. Why not let everybody pay what what s/he uses? Anybody listening?? Perhaps in the election year, the govt. can’t listen. Sad.

Rising fuel price

2008-05-27T09:41:00.002-04:00

Here is a great analysis from Mr. Maulik Zaveri, which he posted at timesofindia.com.

From: Maulik Zaveri, Ahmedabad (Mobile:9898002186)
Why Rate per Ltr. of petrol is same for vehicle giving averae of 2,4 or 8 per ltr and 40,60 or 80 per Ltr?

Example:
If we take base Rs. 30/- per ltr of petrol and 40 Km. per Ltr. as standard then Vehcile giving average of 2, 4 or 8 Km. per ltr. are consuming 20, 10 or 5 times more that vehicle giving average of 40 per ltr.

So that if price for ltr. of petrol is Rs. 30/- for vehicle giving average of 40 Km. per liter then prices for vehicle giving average of 2, 4 or 8 per lt. will be Rs. 600/- (20*30), Rs. 300/- (10*30) and Rs. 150/- (5*30) per ltr. respectively.

Suppose Mr. X runs car having Avg. of 2Km/Ltr daily for 20 Km., he uses 10 Ltr petrol per day. If we take Rs. 30/- per ltr. of petrol and 40 Km per ltr. as a base his car is using 20 times more petrol than standard so he would be charged Rs. 600/- per ltr. of petrol (20* Rs.30/-). He has to pay Rs. 6000/- per day for use of 10 ltr. petrol in fact he is paying Rs. 300/- only so Rs. 5700/- per day is subsidy to him and for year Rs. 20,80,500/- (Rs. 5700*365. If their are 10000 users of car giving avg. of 2 km/ltr than subsidy to him is 2080,5000000 (Apprx. Rs. 2080/- Crore)!!!!!!.

1)Don't you think that at present governemt is giving subsidy to a purcahse of petrol whose vehicle are giving average of 2, 4 or 8 per Km
ltr. and burden of same is passing on the vehicle owner whose vehicle is giving averae of 40, 60 or 80 per ltr. ?

मिलन - Meeting You

2008-05-22T20:49:00.003-04:00

नयन से नयन जब हमारे मिले
मन मधुर राग था गुनगुनाने लगा
रूप देखा तो सूरज जवाँ हो गया
चाँद बादल में चेहरा छिपाने लगा

स्वप्न में जो लिखे थे तुम्हारे लिए
गीत वो फूल बनकर खिलेंगे कभी
प्रेम के चित्र जो कल्पना में बने
रंग तुमसे चुराकर सजेंगे कभी

सेम की बेल जो उस बगीचे में थी
आम के पेड़ से वो लिपट उठ गयी
देख उनका मिलन दॄष्टि हर्षित हुई
स्वप्न तुमसे मिलन का संजोने लगी

अप्रतिम शुभ्र सौन्दर्य की स्वामिनी
प्रेम सागर हृदय में छिपाती हो क्यों
अर्ध मुस्कान पर नेत्र नीचे किये
शर्म में डूबकर मौन रहती हो क्यों

चंचले सुन्दरी कल्पना की परी
गीत के स्वर मेरे यों सम्भल जायेंगे
ग़र बुझा दो मिलन प्यास मधुवर्षिणी
शब्द मेरे मधुर काव्य बन जाएँगे

This one's a random mix of thoughts

2008-05-16T19:46:00.001-04:00

Pursuing our dreams is the ONLY way to get satisfaction.
On close inspection we observe that the majority of the things we do are a result of circumstances. Just observe how many things you do today because you wanted to do that, and how many of them you strongly wanted to do? For me the count is very less.
The things we want to do can be classified as our dreams. E.g. I wanted to become a journalist, and became an engineer, that’s surrender to the circumstances. Had I chased my dream, perhaps I would have received the Padma Shree along with Barkha Dutt (my favorite), Vinod Dua and Rajdeep Sardesai. (too much, eh?) But chasing the dream requires a lot of energy. As we drag ourselves on the path to our dream the entire universe seem to oppose. And most of the people surrender, some at the beginning, some midway.
I give more weightage to perseverance than to bright ideas. Simple ideas, if persisted, can do wonders. Ideas alone do not give any result. Execution does. Before scratching your head for new avenues for success/satisfaction, just think how many of such ideas are pending in your mind. Each one of them has the potential to give you the desired success.

India does not need any more bright ideas, at least at the moment. What is needed is doing simple things with dedication, till the end. Results will come.

Lord, give me the energy to persevere to fulfill my dreams. Amen.

Indian Heroes:

2008-05-13T19:54:00.000-04:00

I was just thinking about the journey of independent India so far, I thought of listing (ranking) the few people who have contributed the maximum for the good of our country. And here’s my list. You can share your list/views.

1. Mahatma Gandhi (though he doesn’t have much contribution in the independent India, but surely he was the most prominent reason of the existence of something called “free India”).
2. Prof. M.S. Swaminathan – Father of Indian green revolution whose efforts made India food sufficient.
3. Indian Farmer – Who, despite of all odds, is providing enough food to feed the nation.
4. The first generation of Indian technocrats – who dared to cross the national boundaries and challenged the west with there intelligence.
5. First generation of Indian entrepreneurs e.g. Jamshedji Tata/JRD Tata, G.D. Birla, Dhirubhai Ambani and few others who created such big industrial powerhouses from ZERO that too in the license permit raj.
6. Dr. Manmohan Singh – Who started the economic reforms against all oppositions, which triggered the accelerated GDP growth.
7. Sachin Tendulkar – Who became the world’s best in his chosen sport.
8. Amitabh Bach Chan – Who is an icon in his profession, miles ahead of any competition.
Note for points 7 & 8: Some may feel that entertainment industry is not something which has contributed in our growth, but as it is a multi billion dollar industry, it provides thousands of jobs apart from entertaining us.
9. Baba Ramdev – There has always been many yoga gurus in India, but this man has taken the yoga to the household. Lakhs of people worldwide has cured themselves using yoga and pranayama.
10. Indian Media – Though this is also a product of economic reforms, but the comprehensive (and mostly unbiased) coverage holds a high value to the nation.

Well, there are some well known scientists, the likes of Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam, Dr. K. Kasturirangan, Vikram Sarabhai and others but there is no way India can be called a leader in this area. There efforts, in my opinion, were too less to be counted at the world stage. That is why there is no scientist in my list.

Only for you darling

2008-05-13T18:53:00.002-04:00

This one is for my lovely wife:

सुबह तुम्हारी मुस्कानों से
सूरज को किरणें मिलती हैं
रात तुम्हारी अलसाई सी
अँगड़ाई से ही होती है

सुन्दरता की परिभाषा भी
देख तुम्हें परिभाषित होती
फूलों की कलियाँ भी तुमको
देख रंग यौवन पाती हैं

इन्द्रधनुष में रंग तुम्हीं से
पंछी की उमंग तुमसे है
झरनों का संगीत तुम्हीं से
फूलों में सुगंध तुमसे है

मेरी आँखों में देखा जो
जीवन का उपहार दिया है
पलक झुकाकर और उठाकर
नयनों ही से बात किया है

नूपुर की इस मधुर ध्वनि में
जीवन का संगीत सुना है
मेरे मन ने तुमको प्रियतम
जीवन भर का मीत चुना है

गंदे फिरंगी

2007-12-10T21:09:00.000-05:00

After reading this, I don't think I would ever want to go to UK :-)
But wait, can't it be true for the USA people as well?
Ram Ram Ram.....Thank God I am flying back to India this weekend. A dip in the holy Ganga will be my first priority when I visit my hometown Varanasi (Banaras) soon after. :-)

PS: I am sure this is not true for Indians, what do you say?

United States Air Force Museum Visit

2007-12-10T18:49:00.000-05:00

First let me give you an idea of the kind of weather I am forced to survive here:

This weekend I visited the National Museum of the United States Air Force, Dayton, Ohio. Dayton is the city of many scientists. Wright brothers, Neil Armstrong are the most famous among them. I hope the following pictures will give you a virtual visit to the museum:

Rotary Engine of an aircraft:

A Nazi bomber used in WW II:

An aircrft engine:

Camera used to photograph the target from the aircraft:

Three directional bullet firing by the pilot:

Some Nazi weapons:

909 Bomber:

The Wright Brothers:

Entering a giant bomber:

Cockpit:

Surrounded by deadly bombs inside a bomber:

The Dream Girl:

Engineering complexity:

Nuclear Bomb:

A Rocket Engine:

Apollo 15:

Standing between giant rockets:

Space food:

Commander Doggy:

These are some of the pictures to give you a glimpse of the museum. All the arcrafts, missiles, rockets are reals and not the models (except commander doggy).
After visiting this museum I got the realization that I am not eligible to call myself an engineer coz the work I do is several light years behind the kind of engineering involved in these things.

Indian Rail - A Nostalgia

2007-11-24T18:58:00.000-05:00

I was reading this page when my mind went back in the memory lane about my own observations attached to Indian railways. If observed, the Indian railway stations tell a lot about the history and cultures of the place. Many of the Indian rail stations still have the old buildings, truly the historical monuments.

I will not write much here, will just give some pictures to refresh your own nostalgic memories with Indian railways.

Howrah Junction - Bengali, colonial.

The Charbag station of Lucknow is architecture similar to a palace of a Nawab.

The Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus, Mumbai, is built in Gothic-Saracenic style

The 75 years old Thiruvanathapuram station is a pleasant combination of light and steel gray.

Thivim Railway Station (Near Goa)

Shimla Kalka Toy Train

Darjeeling Toy Train

Two kilometers from Darjeeling is the town of Ghoom which is the highest railway station in the world. It also has a monastery and is definitely worth a visit to all those visiting Darjeeling.

S T A R

2007-11-19T20:29:00.000-05:00

Among the stars we see in the sky, many of them do not exist any more. Reason: the stars are several thousands of light years away from the earth i.e. it takes several thousands of years for the light from stars to reach the earth. By this time many of those stars are merged to other stars or become cold (lose energy to shine) or simply destroyed.

Likewise, we see many human stars around us. Some star performers in the office, star players, star students, writers, singers or stars in any other field. We got to see whether the star in them actually exists today or is it the light of stardom they had few years back? In many cases they are the dead stars. Out of ignorance, we still consider (or worship?) them as stars.

So the next time when you see a star, think, “Does his/her star-quality actually exist today?”

PS: This is not my original thought. I had read it somewhere long time back. Some incident reminded me of this and I thought of sharing it with you all.

Balance

2007-11-16T18:58:00.000-05:00

Randomness is the nature of the nature. The nature is balanced by random forces in all the directions. Consider a closed empty box in your room with nothing but air in it. It is kept on your floor. Suddenly if it starts moving up in the space, how would you feel? :-)
We know that the air molecules in the box move randomly in all possible directions and hence neutralize each other’s forces. But what if all the molecules get motivated and become progressive and all start moving up. They will lift the box. Is not it? It will destroy the physical stability of the universe. Thankfully, nature has balanced things by randomness.

Similarly we always complain about various things not happening the way we think they should. We want everything to be progressive, righteous, correct, ethical etc (definition of these terms vary from person to person). Like the left parties and BJP should let the govt. go ahead with the Indo-US nuclear deal, the leftists should allow economic reforms and privatization, there should be no corruption etcetera etcetera. But will not USA start taking us as lightly as it takes to UK if we agree to all their suggestions. I do not know whether this nuclear deal will get through or not, but the domestic opposition has clearly told USA that it is not a charity which we will be glad to accept. Mr. Bush had made it look like a charity that he was offering. But the Indian opposition has clarified that it is a DEAL. Not surprisingly, the US media doesn’t talk about it these days. They are embarrassed.

The Vajpayee govt had a separate disinvestment ministry (first time in our history) headed by Mr. Arun Shoury, whose only job was to privatize the state owned companies. But should it be done mindlessly? Remember at what price did they sell BALCO to the Sterlite group? It was much less than the fair valuation. Also is privatization the only solution for progress? What if the private companies start minting money from the public? Remember Reliance Energy (which supplies power in Mumbai) suddenly increased domestic power cost by 240% a year back? Should not monopolies be checked?

So I believe a strong opposition is the backbone of a strong democracy. Without opposition, countries will become like Pakistan. There should be forces in all the directions to balance the things. That’s democratic way. Sure, democracy runs slower but chances of blunder are very less here.

Regarding corruption, everybody is not corrupt. Also, everybody is not corrupt every time. So it’s balanced too. :-)

भूख और सोच

2007-11-13T18:05:00.001-05:00

सोचकर देखिये, सोच और भूख मैं क्या कोई संबंध है? मुझे लगता है, है, एक अप्रत्यक्ष किन्तु गहरा संबंध है. मैंने इसका अनुभव किया है, और प्रयत्न करके अपने विचार व्यक्त करने का आपसे अनुरोध करता हूँ.
मेरा मस्तिष्क अधिक तीव्र और कुशाग्र होता है जब मैं भूखा होता हूँ. विचारों का प्रवाह तीव्र और स्वचालित हो जाता है. नवप्रवर्तनशील (innovative) और गहरे विचार जन्म लेने लगते हैं. क्या कारण हो सकता है?

भूख संसार की सबसे प्राचीन (old), आवर्ती (periodic) और बुनियादी (basic) समस्या है. मनुष्य और किसी भी समस्या को हल करना टाल या छोड़ सकता है सिवाय भूख के. जब हम भूखे होते हैं समस्त संवेदनाएं और मस्तिष्क जाग्रत हो जाते हैं, जो की और समय में अप्रयुक्त (unused) व सुषुप्तावस्था (sleep mode) में होती हैं. इस जागरण की बेला में यदि कोई नए विचार की चिंगारी प्रगट हो और उसका निर्वाहन (persevere) किया जाये तो हम कुछ नया प्रगट कर सकते हैं. नया स्वयं के लिए या पूरे संसार के लिए, यह आपकी सोच के इतिहास पर निर्भर करता है. शायद यही कारण था कि ऋषि-मुनि भूखे रहकर लम्बे समय तक तप किया करते थे.

निष्कर्ष: भूख के कारण जाग्रत संवेदनाओं और चेतना का उपयोग यदि विचार के लिए किया जाये (जितनी देर संभव हो) तो उत्कृष्ट दर्शन (philosophy) या साहित्य (literature) का जन्म हो सकता है.

मैंने यह भी अनुभव किया है कि मन, भूख के समय में अलग और पेट भर जाने के बाद अलग तरह से सोचता है. भोजन आलस्य प्रदान करता है, शरीर को ही नहीं, मस्तिष्क और संवेदनाओं को भी. आप एक प्रयोग करें. एक कविता या blog लिखना शुरू करिये जब आपको भूख लगी हो. कुछ देर बाद जब विचार आने लगें और कविता बनने लगे, तो उसे वहीं छोड़कर पेट भर स्वादिष्ट खाना खा लीजिये. अब फिर से कविता पूरी करने का प्रयत्न कीजिए. क्या कोई अंतर प्रतीत होता है? कृपया अपना अनुभव हम सब से अवश्य व्यक्त करिये.

Hunger Therapy: I have an idea, all the people who are feeling lazy or dull or out-of-mood should try "Hunger Therapy". Suppose you are feeling dull this evening. Start fasting, don't eat anything until the hunger becomes uncontrollable. I believe the hunger will awaken your senses and remove dullness.

आप विचार करें, मैं अब भोजन करूंगा.

सस्ता शेर

2007-11-10T20:38:00.000-05:00

The following is to tickle Your Funny Bone, taken from सस्ता शेर

Understanding Indian Politics

2007-11-10T19:23:00.000-05:00

Almost every educated and civilized person believes that democracy is the best way for progress of a country. I am no different. But, I think, pure democracy at all levels will lead to a chaos and ego clashes. Because, democracy makes every person equal, and if everybody is equal, there won’t be any leaders. I will take examples of Indian politics. By all means India is democratic. Ideally our political parties should be democratic too i.e. their leader should be ELECTED by the party members, and it happens; only the elected member belongs to the same family of the previous leader.

Axiom: Only a blood relative of a big political leader has the ability to become a big politician in India.

Proof:

• Congress has the most powerful family at helm. That’s why this party has ruled India the maximum.
• Whereas when we see the other parties, they came into power riding high on the public image of somebody but vanished soon after. Janta Party came into power because of JP (Jayaprakash Narayan), but since JP did not have any scion to take the mantle from him, Janta Party disappeared.
• Similarly BJP came to power because of Vajpayee, but sadly he is a bachelor. :-) So no question of son/daughter taking the responsibility. Today, everybody in BJP is equally big leader and there is no super leader to lead them. That’s causing it’s downfall.
• The sons of Karunadhi are the strong contenders for the crown of Tamilnadu. I can predict the downfall of AIADMK after Jayalalitha if she remains unmarried. :-)
• The sons of Deve Gawda are the most likely for chief ministership of Karnataka in future.
• Sons of Mulayam Singh Yadav are ready to take the UP battle from him. Poor Mayawati, she is still unmarried.

So, an engineer can not certainly produce (biologically) an engineer, same is true for a doctor, scientist, cricketer and so on. But only a big politician can produce a successful politician in India. The world’s biggest democracy is run by monarchs, literally.

Well, this is strange and seems wrong from an idealistic point of view, but it works that way in Indian politics. So the future India will more likely be led by the sons/daughters of Sonia Gandhi, Bal Thackarey, Mulayam, Karunanidhi, Chautala, Narendra Modi…..and so on.

Similarly, there are companies in western countries owned by professionals, but traditionally India has had family owned businesses (the TATAs, Birlas, Godrej, Bajaj, and so on). The globalization has given us the professionally owned companies like L&T and Infosys. But still, till today majority of Indian businesses are owned (or controlled) by families.

Conclusion: Family owned political parties and businesses are most suitable and stable for Indian conditions.

* And Gandhis will rule here generation after generation.

Diwali - Missing Home

2007-11-07T11:55:00.000-05:00

Sitting here in USA on the eve of Diwali, this poem of Dr. Rajeev K. Saxena best describes my feelings.

Thanks Dr. Saxena.

Very Happy Diwali to all the guests at this page. Please enjoy extra on by behalf.

कौन हो तुम

2007-11-06T13:07:00.001-05:00

कौन हो तुम,
कौन हो तुम रात की जो
नींद को हमसे चुराकर
याद का आकार लेकर
तब हमारे पास आकर
कल्पना की सतह पर तब
भाव को आकार देती
भाव निर्मित चित्र में
बहु रंग की बरसात करती
स्नेह सागर की लहर में
ज्वार का वरदान बनोगी?
प्रेम की ताकत मुझे दे
क्या मेरी पहचान बनोगी?

कौन हो तुम,
कौन हो तुम हृदय की जो
अनकही कहने लगी हो
स्वप्न में आती नहीं तुम
स्वप्न में रहने लगी हो
विरह की यह वेदना जब
हृदय तल को बेध जाती
याद की खिड़की खुली
औ तुम खड़ी हो मुस्कुराती
इस अधूरी कविता का क्या
तुम ही पूर्णविराम बनोगी?
अपने दिल की बात छुपाकर
क्या अब भी अनजान बनोगी?

Love - Another Dimension

2007-11-02T11:09:00.000-04:00

To love a woman for her virtues is meaningless. She's earned it, it's a payment, not a gift. But to love her for her vices is a real gift, unearned and undeserved. To love her for her vices is to defile all virtues for her sake -- and that is a real tribute of love, because you sacrifice your conscience, your reason, your integrity and your self-esteem.
What is love, if it is not self-sacrifice?

----Ayn Rand "Atlas Shrugged"

2007-11-02T11:03:00.000-04:00

2007-10-21T08:21:00.000-04:00

Here is one of the best movie reviews I have ever read:
http://insearchofi.blogspot.com/2007/10/my-confession.html

NRI

2007-10-15T14:56:00.000-04:00

My idea about NRIs was, since they live out of their motherland, they would be very nostalgic about their country of origin. I used to think that the urge for money was the only strong reason for the several lakhs of NRIs to live in the prosperous countries, and they all would like to return to their motherland someday. Alas! I was so wrong. Here I would talk about the NRIs in Detroit USA, which perhaps can be generalized.

I got to attend the marriage ceremony of one of my relative’s daughter. They are settled here in Detroit since the last 40 year. On this occasion I met many NRI families and talked to them about their views and emotions for India. I will now share my inferences:

The 1st generation of NRI has an identity problem. Though he is settled here since many years, he is still at least 40 % Indian. How do I know it? Talk to some Bengali, Bihari, Tamil guy. You will notice the very unique accent of the place of their birth.
Not only the accent, the thought and behavior is also very much the same. E.g. In India we know the typical characteristics of a Bihari, a Tamilian and so on. From behavior of a 1st generation NRI, one can know in which part of India was he born and brought up. So I conclude, the 1st generation NRI has a divided identity, he may be an American among Indians but he is Indian among Americans.

The second generation who were born and brought up in USA, are no at all NRIs. I am sad that the govt of India tries to give duel citizenship to these people. They may be called Rahul or Vineeta or Surabhi or anything meaning something in Hindi. But nothing else is “Indian” in them. I request the people and govt of India, please do not call the kids of NRIs as NRIs. They are not.

PS: These are general observations and as always, there will be exceptions, but not many I think.

Mindless Research

2007-10-08T15:57:00.000-04:00

I was just browsing the website of my engineering institute and happened to see the “Professional Resume” of one of the professors. He claimed to have 51 technical publications. The document listed the titles of his research thesis, papers published, the lectures delivered at national/international conferences and so on. I started to read the list and it went on and on. My god, such a long list, so many publications, lectures....

While
“Generalized Cell Formation in CMS using Metaheuristic Algorithm”

“Design of Cellular Manufacturing using Neural Network Model”

“A Methodology for Evaluation of Service Quality using Neural Networks”

“Application of Theory of Constraints on Scheduling of Drum-Buffer Rope System”

were some of the titles of his papers almost none made any sense to me.

Then I opened my own “Professional Resume”. It had almost nothing worth mentioning except a B.Tech degree and some 3+ years of experience in an IT services company.
I feel dwarfened. But the logical mind tries to argue.
No, I can not dare to compare my resume with that of my esteemed professor, but I remember Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam saying the universities to stop doing mindless research and do something productive.
I wonder how many people except this prof would have read his research papers. Well, he is just symbolizing the hundreds of research scholars in India who keep publishing technical literature here and there some for getting a better job, promotion, certification etc.

Thousands of people get PhDs from various Indian universities every year in engineering disciplines. So why don’t at least a few exciting technologies come out from India every year. Clearly the researches are directionless (as acknowledged by many including Dr. Kalam). I think the exam oriented mentality in our country has devalued PhD which now is mere another degree or certificate of a course completion rather than being finder of something new.

The heights of Great Britain was fueled by the industrial revolution, that of USA was similarly supported by the pioneering technological innovations. So I think India can not ride high forever by only providing cheap services and labor. Innovations will be needed to sustain the growth and not the hundreds of publications without practical output.

Cost Reduction

2007-10-08T11:34:00.000-04:00

Why are things so sluggish in big organizations? As students we do a lot of activities in our colleges, which are parallel to what the industries do. For example, I am working on an assignment of modifying an electronic circuit (which is an intelligent brake control of automotives) in order to reduce its cost. I belong to a service provider company in India which has posted me in USA at the client company location for this assignment. I have a couple of suggestions to achieve the goal. These are nothing but some slight modifications similar to what we used to solve in our engineering classes while solving numerical problems. My company sent me here in USA bearing all the cost to do these slight modifications which an engineering undergraduate does in his classroom as simple problems. Worse, with these ideas I am waiting for multiple levels of approvals so that it can be implemented or rejected. It has been one week since I am waiting for the team members and the manager to assemble for a meeting to discuss my idea. I know that if they accept it, it does not end there. It will go to the design team and from there god knows where for approvals. My concern is, why does it take such a long time to do a small thing in a big organization?

Actually, my company will be happy if it takes more and more time. Because they will get more and more hourly billing for my work. But it is a definite loss for the client company. Well, my job here is to try and reduce the cost of the product by modifying the design, but I think, if they become a little more efficient in execution of works, co-operation and communication among the various departments, they can reduce a lot of cost. Alas! I can not give this feedback for cost reduction here as it is against the interests of my company.

Relations

2007-10-02T15:12:00.000-04:00

Life is an unknown journey. Everything, every moment is unknown. Although we can predict the outcome on a few occasions, most of the times future remains unpredictable. In this journey we make friends and relatives. Whose behavior towards us is pretty much predictable, e.g. I know how my mom will care for me when I go to my native place after many months. This also is a function of time and space. A mom in USA will not have the same feelings (or expression of feelings) for and the same expectations from her son as a mom in India. The relations mean differently in different parts of the globe.

NBC news channel here once reported that people have 40-45 % divorce rate in USA. Even the couples over 60 have around 40 % chances of getting divorced. I am sure these couples would have spent over 10 times more money on their honeymoon than an average Indian couple. (I am yet to go on a honeymoon after 7 months of my marriage.)
So, it implies that these cosmetic affections do not promise a stronger bonding. An Indian husband can not tell his wife, “Well, it was nice living with you these 5 years, may be we should look for a change.”

Detroit Diary

2007-10-02T11:44:00.000-04:00

The world is a village, thanks to the globalization, internet, the economic reformers and MNCs. Today you do not feel away from home in the sense of food and commodity market. I wonder what those early birds had faced when they flew to the USA or Britain all the way from India in early 80s or even before. It is unlikely that those people knew if pizza is edible or anything else, what is MacDonald’s or Subway or any other such brand. Today we are used to all these even in India, so when one comes to USA for the first time, apart from the infrastructure and the cars, you do not find much difference when compared to the Bangalores or the Delhies of India.

I reached Detroit at around 12:40 PM local time. As I came out of the airport, a smart young man approached me, “Taxi service required, sir?” I answered in affirmative but before that I wanted to make a couple of calls. He gave me his cell phone to make the local as well as international calls. This kind of generous behavior is hard to find in India. The taxi was a luxury car (I dunno which make it was as it is not available in India). With the help of GPS we reached the hotel without any difficulty. In India, I am sure; you can’t reach a place without asking several people if you do not know the way.

The first day, Vic and Steve took me for a lunch. We went to “Jimmy John’s” a famous restaurant here. Having spent around 27 years in India, I can’t say a veg sandwich and a coke a good lunch but their gesture was good. They wanted to know more about me. It was kind of a welcome meal.

The next morning as I was walking to office, someone called from a car, “You want a ride Sushil?” It was Hamid, my colleague here. He told me how he spent time till mid-night playing soccer at a club. My god, the guy looked above 45 and he has got such an enthu. And we Indians feel too old to play after 25 or so. It reminded me the saying, “You do not stop playing because you grow old, but you grow old because you stop playing.”

Then came the News of strike at General Motors. I saw all the demonstrations as the GM plant is just next to the hotel where I am staying. In our office people were of the opinion that the GM employees are cutting their own throat by going on strike. Fortunately, within 40 hrs the employees union reached at an agreement with the GM management and the strike was called off. Still the strike left its impact as I read many other suppliers of GM (primarily Delphi) started laying off people.

Truly, Detroit is the automotive capital of the world. All the major automotive companies are having their presence here. But hey, are not all the major global companies (of any sector) have their presence in India and still going strong? So India is definitely on her way to become the world’s factory and the world’s market.

अभिमान सौन्दर्य का

2007-09-04T05:28:00.001-04:00

गर्व मत कर पुष्प अपनी अधखिली सुकुमारता पर
गूँजते चाहक भ्रमर की कामना की विवशता पर
मत अकड़ इस वायु विस्तृत फैलते मकरन्द ही पर
तितलियों का दिल लुभाती देह के इस रंग ही पर

पवन तुझको गोद में लेकर झुलाती है सदा
सूर्य की किरणें अभी तुझको हँसाती हैं सदा
किन्तु इतना ध्यान रख तू ऐ सुकोमल पुष्पवर
रूप के अभिमान की तो कुछ दिनों की है उमर

अन्त की तो कल्पना कर जरा को ला ध्यान में
वृद्ध सा मृतप्राय सा जब तू पड़ा उध्यान में
जिस पवन की गोद में तू झूलता था प्रेम से
उसी के इक तीव्र झोंके से गिरा तू भूमि पे

श्वास अन्तिम ले रहा तू है पड़ा अब भूमि पर
साथ देने आज तेरा है नहीं आता भ्रमर
सूर्य की अब वही किरणें जो हँसाती थीं तुझे
आज तेरे वृद्ध तन को हैं जलाती तपन से

अन्त के इस दृश्य को ही याद करके पुष्पवर
रंग का अभिमान मत कर गर्व मत कर रूप पर

क्या हुआ जो.....

2007-09-04T00:36:00.001-04:00

क्या हुआ जो अब हमारे, स्वप्न में आने लगी हो

अधखिली सुकुमार सी जो कली थी वो खिल रही है
और उस पर ओस की जो बूँद थी वो हिल रही है
ओस की उस बूँद सा ही स्वच्छ निर्मल प्रेम मेरा
और उस कोमल कली के बदन जैसा रूप तेरा
वर्षा ऋतु के बादलों सी हृदय पर छाने लगी हो
क्या हुआ जो अब हमारे, स्वप्न में आने लगी हो

चाँद से नजरें मिलाकर पूछने अब ये लगा मन
क्या कभी देखा धरा पर तुम सदृश सौन्दर्य का धन?
रूप यौवन औ गुँणों की कल्पना से भी अपरिमित
मंजु मुख की कांति जिसकी सदा करती जग प्रफुल्लित
हाँ तुम्हीं तो काव्य बनकर छंद में आने लगी हो
क्या हुआ जो अब हमारे, स्वप्न में आने लगी हो

सूर्य की हों रश्मियाँ या चन्द्र की हो चाँदनी
नदी की लहरें हों या फिर खगों की कलरव ध्वनि
देखकर सौन्दर्य जिसका प्रकृति भी ऊर्जित होती है
रूप रस का पान करके स्वतः गीत सर्जित होती है
हाँ तुम्हीं तो कलम बनकर गीत लिखवाने लगी हो
क्या हुआ जो अब हमारे, स्वप्न में आने लगी हो

Sine Wave

2007-08-08T07:18:00.000-04:00

My professor of Electrical Engineering once opined, “Sine wave is the most natural wave.” It seems to be true. Everything in this world has rise and fall. Be it our age, friendship, strength, beauty, knowledge, progress, wealth, happiness or anything. The sine wave has equal rise and fall at regular intervals. Physics tells that everything in this world has a natural frequency of vibration. That means everything, including the massive planets and stars, is vibrating. Vibrating in simple harmonic motion (a sine wave pattern).
So sine wave is the most natural wave which describes the behavior of the universe.

We don’t have the same level of affection with our mother as we had when we were babies; we could not live without mother then, and now we can easily be away from her for a few months or years.. Your love (or infatuation) towards your GF first increases till the peak and then reduces. Same is true for success and failure.
So don’t you worry if things are not going your way, it will one day. Yes efforts should be continuous else your sine wave wavelength may be comparable to your life span i.e. by the time success comes to you, you may be too old to enjoy it.

Momentum

2007-07-30T07:21:00.000-04:00

In physics the momentum of an object can be conceptually thought of as how difficult it is to stop the object. So, the moving object continues to move unless it is stopped by applying an external force. That’s why in all kinds of vehicles, the power required while starting is much more than the running power. Life is also like this. We know that doing certain things will benefit us; still we are not able to do it, rather not able to start it. Only if we apply extra efforts and start doing the work, it will be difficult to stop.
“Well begun is half done.”
What is the explanation of the juggernaut of Australian cricket team? How else can one explain of some player being in-form for certain time? It is the momentum which plays a vital role in win and loss.

Late Mr. Newton also told us that the objects will remain in no motion state unless they are applied on by “sufficient external force”. So there is also a momentum of no motion, laziness and defeat. This explains some players being out-of-form.

Momentum p = mv

So we need to have mass (knowledge/talent etc.) and we require external force (extra efforts/motivation etc.) to acquire substantial velocity. After that life is cool. Enjoy Madi.

Deserve, Then Desire

2007-07-16T03:00:00.000-04:00

This has become the current trend. We often find people complaining about their salary, people changing companies for better pay package etc. Some of them may be really deserving better salaries than their current employer pays, but, I think, most of these crying souls desire more just because some of their pals are getting more. A recent NASSCOM survey says that the number of jobs outsourced to India has started reducing because of the explosive increase in salaries and attrition rates. Do these people really perform extraordinarily in their new companies to justify the hike? Well, Dinkarji answers logically in the following lines.
छुद्र पात्र हो मग्न कूप में जितना जल लेता है,
उससे अधिक वारि सागर भी उसे नहीं देता है॥
-------दिनकर (रश्मिरथी)
(The water taken by a small vessel from the sea is no more than the water it takes from the well.)

The steep increase of salaries is the root cause of many problems in the socity. An average employee in IT/BT sector gets 20% annual hike whereas an average government servant gets 2-4% annual hike. So year after year the difference in their assets widens. Is the Hi Tech cities like Bangalore, Gurgaon, Noida, Hyderabad are occupied only by these priveleged IT/BT sector employees? Certainly not. Then where from a govt. servant will get Rs 60 lakhs to buy a house or Rs 1 lakh for deposit + Rs 10,000 per month for house rent? How will he be able to pay Rs 40,000 donantion for admission of his kid in a good school in LKG?
What happens to the education and career of his children? No wonder, the crime rate in Bangalore (and other Hi Tech cities) is on ramp. The increacing financial imbalance makes it difficult for the lower middle class to survive. The easier option to their kids is to loot an IT employee on the street in mid-night or so. There has to be a way to reduce this financial imbalance. Otherwise the 21st centuary will have new set of naxals, mostly in Hi Tech cities.

Creator Vs Degree holder

2007-07-10T03:25:00.000-04:00

When I see graduates rushing for an MBA degree in order to “boost their career”, I wonder if it is the only way to boost one’s career? I don’t know what they teach in B schools. But when I see most people who are top achievers in the corporate world, I find that most of them do not hold an MBA degree or equivalent. Dhirubhai Ambani was a non MBA. He made india’s biggest business empire from zero and many MBAs including his sons are busy running his business. Ghanshyam Das Birla created a similar business power house and his grandson Kumarmangalam Birla, an MBA is running it. Same holds for almost all the big enterprise creators e.g. Richard Branson, Steve Jobs, Bill Gates, Steve Balmer, L.N. Mittal, the founders of Infosys and a host of successful companies of today. The other day I was reading a story in “The Week” about a 10 class pass guy from Pune who started as an unskilled laborer and today owns a Rs100 Crore company manufacturing power equipments. Many MBAs are working in his company to take care of his business. Then I watched “The Pursuit Of Happiness” where the hero builds a business empire struggling all the way with no college degree.

All these thousands of examples force me to believe that an MBA degree, or any degree for that matter, is not a prerequisite to excel in business. It needs something that is not taught in the college. Possessors of “that thing” create businesses and possessors of degrees work under them to run their business.

Mrityu

2007-07-03T05:05:00.000-04:00

मृत्यु तू ही संगिनी अन्तिम छणों की, फिर मुझे तू क्यों डराना चाहती है।
प्रेम में तो हार को हम जीत कहते, फिर मुझे तू क्यों हराना चाहती है।
छोड़ देंगे साथ सब अन्तिम छणों में, दीर्घ निद्रा में हृदय जब व्यस्त होगा,
तू ही है वह प्रेमिका जो साथ होगी, आ अगर तू पास आना चाहती है॥
---- माधव कृष्ण
The story goes in the epic “Mahabharatha” that Yaksha asked Yudhishthira, “What, in your opinion, is the biggest surprise in this world?” And the eldest Pandu replied,” Even after knowing that everybody will die one day, people are afraid of death. This is the biggest surprise.”

I asked myself, am I afraid of death? I think rather than death, I am afraid of the suffering before death. Death may be a natural one, or an accidental. In any case, I am least bothered about what happens to this world after I die. I am afraid of the suffering before I die. One of my friend’s father is a driver in Indian Railways. He tells that he has seen many people coming on the railway tracks determined to commit suicide, but as the trains come frightening close, they run away. A person who has decided to die is surely unbearably sad about what is happening (or not happening) with him in life. But the terror of watching death face to face closely proves to be bigger that anything. I am afraid of the sufferings of life more than the death. May God let me die painlessly and peacefully, whenever it happens. I am not afraid of it.

Learning n Teaching

2007-06-20T00:29:00.000-04:00

You teach that what you want to learn most.

Learning is infinite. We start learning any subject physics, biology, literature, arts, finance or anything. In the beginning we don’t feel the infinite volume and depth of the subject. But as we progress in learning the subject, the depth increases, and the more we learn the more depth we discover. At the end we decide a limit on how much we want to learn on that particular subject.

One of the professors of my engineering institute told me once, “When you finish your B.Tech, you feel that you know a lot. After finishing M.Tech you think, the subject is really vast but you know quite much. And when you do your PhD, you realize that you don’t even know 5% of the subject.”.

The best teacher of a subject is the one who himself is learning the same subject. Experiences are important but merely sharing experiences doesn’t make somebody a great teacher. The teacher should be aware the condition of the student. Whether he/she is actually an eager student or the teacher is trying to force his/her teachings.
So, though teaching is great, one should teach only to an eager student and not insult his knowledge by forcing it to an unwilling person.

Happy Learning n Teaching.

There is time for everything.

2007-06-12T07:29:00.000-04:00

There is time for everything.
----- Thomas Edison

In today’s busy schedule we feel short of time. Short of time to study something or doing yoga or other activities which interest us. But surprisingly we get time to eat, shit, sleep and other necessary activities regularly. The only explanation is we always do high priority things in life. So, the so called interesting tasks actually possess lesser priority than the things we do. One may think that if s/he had enough time, s/he could go for jogging every morning. But actually jogging has lesser priority in his/her life than half an hour of extra sleep or late night internet browsing / TV show.
So, there is time for every high priority thing.

Job Dilemma

2007-05-24T02:47:00.000-04:00

रहा नहीं ब्रह्मास्त्र एक इससे क्या आता जाता है,
एक शस्त्र बल से न वीर कोई सबदिन कहलाता है।
नयी कला नूतन रचनाऐं नए ग्यान नूतन साधन,
नये तेज नूतन उमंग से वीर बने रहते नूतन॥

----------दिनकर “रश्मिरथी”

Gone are the days when people used to get a degree, get a job and that’s it. Life is secure, no tension of bread and butter. Those people were working in the same organization for all their career. My father, for example, is in his 33rd year with Hindalco Industries. But now, he askes me to change the company for “faster growth”. He just got his B.Sc. before getting this job and never studied after that. And the other day he was suggesting me, “May be you should go for an MBA degree, full time or part time. This will give you that extra edge.” Enough proof of the changing time. Now I can not expect to get a monthly pay cheque all through my career for the skills I have acqired.

Alvin Toffler once said, “The illiterates of twenty first century will not be those who can not read or write, but those who can not learn, unlearn and relearn.”
Continuous innovation and change is what in demand. If I can’t do this work better, there are many who can. So I have to do it to survive. Yes, this is living in FEAR. So the best option is starting own business. Innovation is required there also, and the work is much harder than the 9 to 6 job. But I will be doing my own work. Other’s mistakes will least affect my growth.

किसी के तजरिबों का क्या भरोसा,
मैं ख़ुद गिर के सम्भलना चाहता हूँ॥

Let’s see.

Happiness

2007-05-21T02:11:00.000-04:00

Happiness is nothing more than good health and a bad memory.
----- Albert Schweitzer
उद्देश्य जन्म का नहीं कीर्ति या धन है।
सुख नहीं धर्म भी नहीं ना तो चिन्तन है।
विग्यान ग्यान भी नहीं ना तो दर्शन है।
जीवन का अन्तिम ध्येय स्वयं जीवन है ॥
------- दिनकर

The aim of life, in simple language, is being happy all the time. Some people get happiness by amassing money, some by playing a game or pursuing certain hobbies, or by following relegious activities etc. But while doing all these, many a times we forget the very purpose of life.

“We run so fast for so long that we often forget what we are running for.”

Sometimes we take life so easy that we don’t care what is happening, why it is happening and so on. Just doing the essentials, eating and shitting (of course breathing also, but it happens effortlessly). Too much of carelessness may cause troubles in a long run.

Some people take life too seriously, analyzing every fact, each incident. While it is good to be wise and cautious, there is a risk of being lost in the infinite maze of thoughts and principles. It is not necessary that you apply all your knowledge acquired in the simplicity of life. You just need to extract happiness out of life every moment. And if your complex thoughts prevent you from doing so, forget those thoughts and principles. You can not be a slave of knowledge. Freedom Zindabad!

Understanding Mind

2007-05-17T01:30:00.000-04:00

Somewhere I read a Sanskrit shloka meaning, “The state of mind after reading a good book or after visiting crematorium or after having sex, if persists for a lifetime, no one will indulge in bad deeds.” So that justifies Osho’s “Sambog se Samadhi tak” principles up to some extent. By the way, I am not a fan or disciple of Osho, nor have I read any of his books. So this article is not about Osho or sex.

Many gym going people separate body development from mind development. The body can not be healthy without an equally healthy mind. Both are linked together. The body can only be temporarily shaped in gym. A saying goes, “A chain is as strong as its weakest link.” So a balanced personality is a harmony between body, mind and soul. All of these are created and maintained by the food we eat, the air we breathe and the thoughts we follow. You are a renowned intellectual, don’t eat anything for 3-4 days and see how intelligently you are able to think. Even thoughts are generated by food. Ever experienced, we think differently when hungry and thoughts change after filling the belly?

Sometimes mind becomes impulsive, e.g. after reading a book the writer type people may get excited to write, after listening to a motivator one may get charged up to do something etc. We need to assess whether it is an impulsive thought or a more stable prolonged desire. We can also use the impulses for a small duration works, e.g. if you got involved in a spot fight, the impulsive fit of rage (catalyzed by gaalies) will give you enough strength to win the fight. But if it is a more strategic, longer duration fight, the impulsive anger will not help. Similarly one cannot expect success if s/he starts preparing for CAT/GATE/GRE/GMAT inspired by an impulsive motivation. It requires strategy and continuous hard work. Understanding mind will enhance probability of success. Hope so.

Morning….Ah……Wonderful Morning

2007-05-16T00:01:00.000-04:00

I used to get up late in the morning. Then rush for the daily routine and run to office. Life was hectic, not much time for exercise and breakfast. I had a feeling that mornings are beautiful. So to experience that, the other day I forced myself out of bed and went for a walk at 5:30 AM. To my amazement, what a pleasant feeling it was. Cool pure breeze, I felt like filling my lungs with as much fresh air as I can. In a city like Bangalore one cannot expect to get such pure, cool, pollution free air at any other time. I tried to have a rough estimate; I had missed this beautiful time for almost 90% of my life so far because of my laziness. And almost 90% of all urban people (In India, not sure about other countries) miss this poetic, pure and beautiful time daily. Probably that’s the reason this time is so pure.
The whole day we exploit and pollute the nature in as many ways as possible. In metro cities, I think we inhale more petroleum smoke than oxygen. But Mother Nature purifies all this by each morning to gift us such a pleasant morning. Just like our mothers used to clean up all our dirt and shit when we were babies. And I had ignored this gift till now. Today my eyes are tearful in gratitude of such a love by Mother Nature. I will try not to miss this wonderful time again. Promise Mother.

Changing Mood…..

2007-05-15T23:59:00.000-04:00

The other day I was feeling irritated and sad about something which was totally beyond my control. When I think in this direction, I find there are millions of things which are not happening the way it should happen, and most of them are beyond my control. I can not make those things happen the ideal way. And a cloud of gloom shadows my mind.

But after some time, I see somebody laughing, I see a pretty lady (my wife) smiling, a cute little kid playing, birds friendly playing and chirping. All these events mock my intelligence and understanding of life. I see the birds, playing, singing and flying. They don’t even know whether they will get enough food tomorrow or not. Still they are happy. At least my food is fixed for a couple of months (presuming my company will give me at least 2 months notice before ditching me).

After a little introspection, I am happy again. Planning for an exciting future, expressing my heart through writing, watching a good movie, cracking jokes, playing with my friends…..and all this transforms my mind from a gloomy bundle to an energy pack.

I feel this is a cycle of mood. From happy to neutral to dull to sad to happy again. This happens with everybody. Only frequency of this change of mood and duration of each state varies. We can stay happy for longer time by reading good books, watching good movies, spending quality time with friends and/or partner, playing like kids, singing, painting, dancing, playing on musical instruments, blogging ….whatever suits the individual. This will make life very light and simple.

For every task I do, I ask this question to myself, “Am I doing it because of some compulsion or because I am interested to do it?” The percentage of time I spend with a happy mood is directly proportional to the percentage of interesting works I do.So, mood changes, but the frequency of change can be well controlled.

Accountability

2007-04-17T05:30:00.000-04:00

When a person is paid for doing some work, it is expected that s/he will do the work. Isn't it? Not anymore.

Almost daily I see people blasting some courier people for not delivering their consignment or to credit card company for over charging or the telemarketing people who buzz us all the day for selling their products etc etc. Not only that, even in an MNC, their own employees are also treated in the same way by their support teams like HR, for example delayed payment, delayed bonus or settlement of bills etc. This doesn’t end here. Even the employees who serve some outer customer behave irresponsibly in delivering the service.

So this makes me think that just paying is not enough, you need to fight along with paying to get the work done. Just like in a democracy, only voting to elect the right government is not enough, we need to protest, write and shout to get the justice.

The accountability is getting reduced, because:

The number of job options available. If you commit a blunder in one company and get fired, there are other companies to hire you.
Lack of motivator and leader in the work place. This makes the work a burden and increases the probability of careless errors. We have more than enough number of managers but very few of them understand the need to motivate and unite the team.
Nature of the nation probably makes a difference. In countries like Japan or UK the situation will be different. Apparently they have more sense of responsibility.

There may be many more reasons, but the bottom line is, be prepared to fight and shout in addition to paying, to get the services (and your rights).

Self Respect

2007-04-17T01:55:00.000-04:00

Self Respect or Self Esteem, what is that?? Easy question isn’t it? We all know what it means. It’s just respecting our identity and pride. It’s the understanding of what we are capable of and what we are not.
We, the educated people are supposed to be aware of this simple thing. But are we? All the time I see people buttering the boss for a promotion, a foreign country work assignment, a good salary hike etc. Almost all the time killing their SELF RESPECT. Is it necessary? Won’t these things come automatically to the deserving person? I strongly believe IT WILL.

The nature is balanced all the time, in all the aspects. Each particle is gravitationally balanced. From Newtonian physics we understand that in a force balanced system of objects if we displace even a single particle or object, the entire system will collapse. So, if we move a book from one place to another, all the other object movements (done by others) happen in such a way that it balances the system again. Similarly each person’s deeds good or bad are balanced all the time. At any given time, we only get what we deserve. I repeat, we get only what we deserve. No one can break the law of nature. So, first deserve and then desire. You will get it.

If we understand this fact, why do we sacrifice our self esteem trying to achieve something? Does it suit a graduate person to beg to his boss for a good pay hike? The market is open. If he doesn’t get what he deserves, he can change the company. Remember, a beggar never deserves anything.
Today I ask myself, “Do I really respect my self respect?” The answer will probably determine my career direction.

You ….. Liar….

2007-04-16T01:03:00.000-04:00

Saturday, 15th April 2007
4:13 PM, Bangalore
You ….. Liar….

Many people tell lies in some situation or the other. The question is why do we lie? Or WHY DO I LIE? Is it a necessity or a habit? Many may argue, it becomes a necessity sometimes. For example, while bargaining at a shop, you may tend to tell a lie to the shopkeeper that the same thing is available at a lesser price in other shops. The logic is, since he is telling a lie to me by exaggerating the price; I have to do the same as a counter attack. Ok, accepted, but what about other situations? I think, most of the time we lie in order to gain something like respect, admiration, praise or some other favor which we do not deserve. A guy in the college boasting about his special talents to his classmates (mostly girls) or an interviewee bluffing about his abilities to the panel, there is a clear visible benefit expected.

We lie because we are not comfortable about telling what we actually possess. By boasting, the guy may get a GF or two and the candidate may get the job, but they actually do not have the talents they boasted. So there is a good chance of them being caught at a later stage. This ruins the relationships as the person no more remains trust worthy. Unearthed lies are the main cause of broken marriages (or relationships).

But there is a third category also. I have seen many people lying for no gain at all. These noble souls are slaves of habit. Whatever the situation may be, they will lie or exaggerate the fact.

Personally, I have never seen a person who lies a lot and still command a great respect from his/her peers. And I know a few people who do not lie (or do not appear to). All of them command a lot of respect from people. So I find lies and respect as inversely proportional to each other. It can’t be a coincidence; your own experiences will give a boost to this statement.

Prayer

2007-04-13T01:41:00.000-04:00

The man of prayer will be at peace with himself and with the whole world.
-----M. K. Gandhi

It gives me strength. I get the realization of right and wrong during and after prayer. It teaches me how insignificant are the daily matters worrying about which I spend most of my time. I feel energized, charged up after each prayer. The mind is so balanced and calm. Creativity, for which I struggle during my busy times, comes by its own after prayer. Sometimes, in distracted frame of mind I tend to ignore prayers for a few days. Those days though I feel satisfied by comfortable life, the internal bliss remains absent.
And only when I again pray that I realize what was missing.

Many people directly link prayer with religion and they argue that religions are man made and have no meaning. I agree. I only say that prayer is just a communication between two existing things – mind and soul (or conscience or driving force or energy center). Believing in any religion is not at all a pre condition for prayer. It is a simple talk between the soul and the mind.

Many say language doesn’t matter in prayer. What is required is feeling. May be, I don’t know. What I know is each word of the following prayer hammers my mind and heart and that sheds away the dust and corrosion accumulated so far.

O Absolute energy! O Ultimate consciousness! Grant me the fearlessness to be myself. Grant me the knowledge to keep my body and mind healthy. Grant me the patience to understand, strength and courage to struggle. Grant me the wisdom to keep myself balanced even in harshest of situations and highest of rewards. Let every breath of my life be a learning and growth. The moment I stop growing and learning, let that moment be the end of my life.

Science n Spirituality

2007-04-12T04:20:00.000-04:00

Science n Spirituality -- Is there any conflict between these two? Many modern, science loving people around the world would argue that it is the science that gives us all that is needed in life. It is well proven. We believe in electromagnetic induction, because the fan revolves etcetera.

I take it inverse way. The phenomenon of electromagnetic induction was existing since the birth of the universe, Michel Faraday only discovered and named it. So far, man has discovered many principles/theories and it is continuously evolving. So we believe in science because we see the proofs in our daily life. Now consider this, try making blood and muscles out of rice, wheat, fish, egg and all the things we eat. Isn’t it amazing that this conversion has been taking place in our bodies since birth? How much do we understand about the science of this process? The ancient sages who discovered Yoga or Martial Arts, understood what posture would affect the body in what way, they experienced the tremendous benefits of breathing techniques, they found out the soothing and balancing effect of chanting of Oom on the brain, they discovered and practiced energy accumulation in human body and so on. Today many of these facts are proved by medical science. The Kirilian camera shows human aura. Those sages were spiritual. Don’t you think they were scientists too? Ok, let’s come to much recent past. Almost all major scientists Einstein, Marconi etc had spoken about spirituality. So I feel spirituality is also science, at a much higher level. One needs to raise his or her level to understand it.
I conclude it in this way. Both science and spirituality are searching TRUTH. But the difference is, science proves it and then believes it, but spirituality believes it and then proves it.

President of India

2007-04-11T06:58:00.000-04:00

The news papers are speculating about the names of the next president of India. There were names of Mr. N. R. Narayanmurthy, Founder of Infosys Technologies, and the Bolywood superstar Amitabh Bachchan. In my openion, making a superstar president will not solve any purpose. What difference has Dr. Kalam made in the indian system during his tenure. He has no hands in policy making, removing corruption etc. He could not even hold the office of profit bill. I think he can best do teaching, research, writing books and inspiring youth rather than sitting in the Rashtrapati Bhawan. Similarly, I think IT secratory or IT minister will be a better suited role for Mr. Narayan Murthy rather than President. And Mr. Bachchan, let him make movies. I don't understand based on what leadership credentials his name is being considered for the post. It's funny. If glamour is the required criteria, I would suggest better names. Consider Mallika Sherawat PLEASE.

Inner Voice

2007-04-11T06:45:00.000-04:00

Human conscience knows everything right. Whenever I attempt to do anything, I get a feeling whether it is right or wrong. It is wrong to compare human body with a machine. So human being cannot be treated like machines, they cannot work all good, expected thins all the time. But the ratio Good/Bad things done determines the personality.

There may be many people who don’t understand this distinction between good and bad all the time, but there are several, who, in spite of understanding it, still do the wrong deeds. That is because they have grown so sluggish, lazy and low of self respect that they often tend to go the easy, luxurious way. Once you get the habit of ignoring your conscience, you seldom do otherwise.

A hard working person is MUCH MORE satisfied than a lazy one.
Satisfaction gives happiness which is invaluable.
Work is offering to the divine.
Break the habit of ignoring your conscience.
Voice of your conscience is the voice of GOD.
Challenge yourself ALL THE TIME.
NEVER give up.

Today my conscience screams at me, “Enough, now if you are still reluctant to follow the above, you are a CRIMINAL and will remain the same forever.”
I feel filled with zeal and energy at the moment, but it should not be an impulsive one. Well, let’s see.

Random Thoughts

2007-04-11T06:37:00.000-04:00

11th April 2007; 2:44 PM, SDC Bangalore

Just now I was going through an article in Wikipedia explaining the Chaos theory. I wonder, if there exists any such theory which can explain CHAOS, will it still remain chaos? I mean, that which can be explained by any fixed theory, how can it be a chaos? Human mind tries to explain ALL what happens around it. And most of the time the explanation is wrong. Any explanation is accepted only till it is not proven wrong and the pages of history have enough proof that many (or most) of the theories which were once laws, were proved to be erratic later. So, what is correct? What/Whom should I trust? Why is everything so complex? My mind gets confused when I ponder into all these thoughts. Then some inner voice consoles, asks me to stop analyzing superficially. Think, is it not EVERYTHING part of nature? Nature is not only all the greenery, the rivers, the birds and the likes. Am I not a part of nature? Isn't the stones, buildings, solid, liquid and gas, everything part of nature? So, how can the man GENERATE anything which is already not a part of nature? He can't. What man does is, mixing two or more things (or ideas) to generate a third thing or idea. The science we know, knows that "Energy/matter can not be created, nor it can be destroyed." So, we can not create or destroy even a single molecule. It is only the inter-conversion from one form to another. When a child is born, are not the elements of nature used for its birth and growth? Now, human mind tries to explain every happening of the nature and evolve laws for that. So we can say that every single particle of this universe is bounded by certain law. Man only tries to understand those laws. All the possible experimental data is already scattered in the nature since genesis. Man only reveals some of those data through experiments. Nature is outside us, nature is within us. Every thought is a part of nature. Every thought has as real existence as any other physical object. The science knows that energy can travel from one place to another in invisible form (telecom signals for example). Is not thought also a kind of energy which is invisible but does a lot of powerful things? The science knows that every single particle has immense energy trapped in it. So why won't thoughts contain energy?
So every thought contains REAL energy. Let's move on. Science tells that every cause has an effect and every effect has one or many after effects. So thoughts also should have their effects. Every thought has its effect. That is why the masters of Yoga and different Martial arts emphasize on purity of thought. James Allen, in his classic book "As A Man Thinketh", has also stressed on the importance of pure thoughts.
Enough of preaching. Let me practice purifying my thoughts now.

Sushil