Following is recent reply to a series of mails amongst a bunch of us. I used it to voice something which I have been mulling for a while now. The point needs more research and elaboration and perhaps a more tighter line of thinking. Initial comments?
Lodu,
I think you are the only one so worked up about elections in the US. And please don't compare US elections with Indian ones. I think Indian elections are infinitely more interesting and exciting than US elections. Ours is a very boisterous democracy like no other in the world.
I have always believed Modi is the right person. Hell, I would love it if became the prime minister and replicated his model of growth in Gujrat throughout India. The key factor in India's current economic growth is Gujrat's growth.
On a tangential note, Modi's recent win has planted this idea in my head that democracy is a farce. I never had an opinion about this but I am beginning to form one against democracy. Not that I advocate a dictatorship based government, but maybe a democratic institution with more check and balances against corruption, special interest groups controlling the country, and the lobbyists. In democracy, we assume that all the monkeys will get together and write Hamlet (Hamlet only na?). It is a form of institution built to perpetuate the bullshit that everyone is equal. They conveniently contort the original intention that everyone is equal before the law, the government etc. I think successful countries everywhere have become a success only because of the single-minded determination, clarity of vision, and a strong will of a few people. Via election, you can only hope that somebody like that will be elected.
Imagine if all doctors, lawyers, pilots, or any other professionals were "elected" ! Then why "elect" people who run the government ? These guys affect the lives of a lot more people with their whim and fancies than all doctors put together.
Enough said. Maybe I will do a bit more research and elaborate my point later.
Abhishek
Update
Following the discussion over dinner, I have to clarify that I do not oppose democracy as a whole. It is necessary for a free, fair and functioning society that every individual in the country have equal rights to everything and be considered equal before the law and the government. It is the process of electing the representatives that I want to debate tooth and nail.
Yes, Modi has his flaws and he can cause a communal outburst but I really believe that if he can sustain his development efforts, nothing else will matter. Really, do you think when a hindu and muslim are leading a good life, earning good money, and sending their children to good schools, they are really going to bother about participating in communal discord? Once the quality of life is lifted, all other considerations automatically evaporate.
Friday, January 04, 2008
Tuesday, December 18, 2007
About: Friends
"I am a great believer in friendship. Friends are my world and my sustenance". This is what I used to say.
I still remember reading in a computer-generated astrology sheet about me at Fun World - "Friends will help you in everything. Don't expect any help from relatives." Oh how happy I was that day. My faith and belief in friendship had got official affirmation. The world was rosy. Unfortunately, I grew up after that.
My dad always tells me that my faith in friendship is unwarranted, over-the-top and that I am an immature fool who does not know anything better. I never listen of course. I don't want to. But I think he is right. There's no such thing as friendship and "best friends". We just fool ourselves everyday. We desperately try to cling on these notions to shield ourselves from the harsh realities of the world, the day to day struggle, the unfairness of it all, and to give meaning to our miserable lives. Hey wait! isn't that what friends are for? Yes, but this does not happen. How long are they going to listen to you going on and on about your life and how you don't have this and how you hate that. They mute you out after a certain point. Fair enough right? You change, they change. You have a different set of priorities than them and you think different. Everything becomes artificial and superficial. Friendship loses its meaning. You have to move on.
Maybe, it all comes down to managing expectations and more importantly, assumptions. You expect too much from them or the wrong things. You measure everything they do with the barometer of your own standards. They assume certain things about you and stuff everything you say down the hole of that assumption.
After the age of 24.42, everyone becomes selfish. Everyone views everything from the lenses of personal gain. Everyone is too busy for their own good. Friendship is flushed down the sparkling toilet bowl with the golden knob and shiny crap. And I think I have already done that. So should you.
Perhaps, that's why I want to open The Chocolate Shop. A dark one at that.
I still remember reading in a computer-generated astrology sheet about me at Fun World - "Friends will help you in everything. Don't expect any help from relatives." Oh how happy I was that day. My faith and belief in friendship had got official affirmation. The world was rosy. Unfortunately, I grew up after that.
My dad always tells me that my faith in friendship is unwarranted, over-the-top and that I am an immature fool who does not know anything better. I never listen of course. I don't want to. But I think he is right. There's no such thing as friendship and "best friends". We just fool ourselves everyday. We desperately try to cling on these notions to shield ourselves from the harsh realities of the world, the day to day struggle, the unfairness of it all, and to give meaning to our miserable lives. Hey wait! isn't that what friends are for? Yes, but this does not happen. How long are they going to listen to you going on and on about your life and how you don't have this and how you hate that. They mute you out after a certain point. Fair enough right? You change, they change. You have a different set of priorities than them and you think different. Everything becomes artificial and superficial. Friendship loses its meaning. You have to move on.
Maybe, it all comes down to managing expectations and more importantly, assumptions. You expect too much from them or the wrong things. You measure everything they do with the barometer of your own standards. They assume certain things about you and stuff everything you say down the hole of that assumption.
After the age of 24.42, everyone becomes selfish. Everyone views everything from the lenses of personal gain. Everyone is too busy for their own good. Friendship is flushed down the sparkling toilet bowl with the golden knob and shiny crap. And I think I have already done that. So should you.
Perhaps, that's why I want to open The Chocolate Shop. A dark one at that.
The Chocolate Shop !
The past week, my mind has been furiously thinking of new ideas for business- some related to my existing business, and some not. The ideas have been just crazy and bizarre. However, in all this thinking I have decided that upon obtaining some change money, I am going to open up a one-off chocolate shop in Bangalore.
The aim is to convert my love for chocolates into a business opportunity. It will be an exclusive chocolate shop showcasing the best chocolate in the world and perhaps some home-grown too. Preceding this will be the start of a chocolate club which I plan to found and nurture. I have already thought the name for these ventures.
Any takers?
P.S.: Lewin is going to be my Guest VIP Taster. You hear me Lewin?
The aim is to convert my love for chocolates into a business opportunity. It will be an exclusive chocolate shop showcasing the best chocolate in the world and perhaps some home-grown too. Preceding this will be the start of a chocolate club which I plan to found and nurture. I have already thought the name for these ventures.
Any takers?
P.S.: Lewin is going to be my Guest VIP Taster. You hear me Lewin?
Monday, September 03, 2007
Evil, am I ?
How do you recognize that point when you have stopped being a caring person and have become an insensitive prick?
When do people start perceiving you as something you are not? And why?
What is right and what is wrong? And do I get to decide it?
In the most recessed part of your soul, there's an asshole residing. Waiting to take over your life at the slightest of slip-ups.
Even if you do realize this, can you do something about it?
When do you start becoming arrogant? Are you?
Where has that innocence gone? Where?
Why have we started caring so much? Like our life depended on it.
Do I hate you? Nah.
Do you hate me? I am sure you have every reason to.
I thought I was good. Now, I am not so sure.
No, I am not looking for pity. No, I am not regretful of who I am. It's about self-discovery. To look at your dark side and not be fettered. No, I am not going to change anything. I can't. Nobody can change oneself. No, you can't. Don't even try.
Am I evil? I think so.
When do people start perceiving you as something you are not? And why?
What is right and what is wrong? And do I get to decide it?
In the most recessed part of your soul, there's an asshole residing. Waiting to take over your life at the slightest of slip-ups.
Even if you do realize this, can you do something about it?
When do you start becoming arrogant? Are you?
Where has that innocence gone? Where?
Why have we started caring so much? Like our life depended on it.
Do I hate you? Nah.
Do you hate me? I am sure you have every reason to.
I thought I was good. Now, I am not so sure.
No, I am not looking for pity. No, I am not regretful of who I am. It's about self-discovery. To look at your dark side and not be fettered. No, I am not going to change anything. I can't. Nobody can change oneself. No, you can't. Don't even try.
Am I evil? I think so.
About: Barbecue Nation
Barbecue Nation is simply an amazing place.
Rownak (My Brother) had been speaking about it for a long time, but never got a chance to go there. Yesterday, after an already fun filled evening of dance classes (ballroom jive this time) and jenga (JENGA!), we decided to head down there fore a "light" dinner (as Shruthi put it). We ended up spending more than 2 hours there! The ambience was great, the service good and the maitre'd suitably impressive (it's amazing they are even there).
We started off with "starters" (I don't know why they serve anything else there at all) which was unlimited, and how! I being a veggie was served up paneer and the usually unsightly combination of carrots, cucumber, and cauliflowers (the originial gobhi, bindi!). But oh was it good. Every piece was delectable and gorgeous. The food looked so great that I even dug into the non-veggie fare of chicken, prawn and fish. All equally delicious. Oh! I can't stop raving about it.
We then proceeded to have the main course. There were a lot of choices but we had already laid our eyes the upon delicious assortment of desserts. We made sure we had a light main course, which also very very good, mind you.
The dessert was heavenly and was the prefect way to finish off a perfect meal. I was very happy. But I don't know what the real reason for my happiness was. Was it the food or perhaps the company of good friends who made the experience worth remembering. Perhaps for the first time after coming back to Bangalore, I felt that I was connecting with them again. Cheers to that! and Cheers to Barbecue Nation!
This evening of "fooding" ranks right alongside the evening at "The Melting Pot", where Bindi, Midhun and I had spent more than 3-4 hours eating to our heart's content and more.
Rownak (My Brother) had been speaking about it for a long time, but never got a chance to go there. Yesterday, after an already fun filled evening of dance classes (ballroom jive this time) and jenga (JENGA!), we decided to head down there fore a "light" dinner (as Shruthi put it). We ended up spending more than 2 hours there! The ambience was great, the service good and the maitre'd suitably impressive (it's amazing they are even there).
We started off with "starters" (I don't know why they serve anything else there at all) which was unlimited, and how! I being a veggie was served up paneer and the usually unsightly combination of carrots, cucumber, and cauliflowers (the originial gobhi, bindi!). But oh was it good. Every piece was delectable and gorgeous. The food looked so great that I even dug into the non-veggie fare of chicken, prawn and fish. All equally delicious. Oh! I can't stop raving about it.
We then proceeded to have the main course. There were a lot of choices but we had already laid our eyes the upon delicious assortment of desserts. We made sure we had a light main course, which also very very good, mind you.
The dessert was heavenly and was the prefect way to finish off a perfect meal. I was very happy. But I don't know what the real reason for my happiness was. Was it the food or perhaps the company of good friends who made the experience worth remembering. Perhaps for the first time after coming back to Bangalore, I felt that I was connecting with them again. Cheers to that! and Cheers to Barbecue Nation!
This evening of "fooding" ranks right alongside the evening at "The Melting Pot", where Bindi, Midhun and I had spent more than 3-4 hours eating to our heart's content and more.
Saturday, August 25, 2007
A Business Idea - Social Networking Sites
It has become a regular feature now.
"Just a friendly reminder that I invited you to Shelfari. Come see the books I love and see if we have any in common. Then pick my next book so I can keep on reading.
Click below to join my group of friends on Shelfari!
http://www.shelfari.com/
someone
Shelfari is a free site that lets you share book ratings and reviews with friends and meet people who have similar tastes in books. It also lets you build an online bookshelf, join book clubs, and get good book recommendations from friends. You should check it out."
Invariably, every month or so, some jobless geek or some clueless organization hits upon this "unique" brilliant idea of starting a social networking site which focuses on one special interest or the other. One seeks to bring together book loving people on a single platform and the other claims to bring all the party-people together. Then, of course, there are the platforms which seek to bring together singles who didn't/couldn't find a life partner.
Barring the last set of websites, I find the others useless and pointless, and a sheer waste of an asset which could translate into a huge commercial success.
Even today, India doesn't have a good, reliable gifting chain (for good measure, let me acknowledge Kinshuk's idea here). If I have to send a gift to someone, I don't know where to look. Do I go look at a website? Do I visit a kirana shop or an archies? But then who will deliver my gift to my friend who lives in another city, another country, another time zone? If I go online, which website do I go to? Even if I do get to a website, locate a chalta hai gift and want to checkout, do you have any idea how painful it is to do so! I have to fill out my credit card details. Worse, I have to fill out her (I wont gift to a guy!) address which I will have to dig out from some dust filled diary, or one of the myriad, address books in my computer.
I digress.
Point number 2 being: Someone please start a good gifting chain which spread nationwide and anyone from any part of India can gift anything to anyone anywhere.
Point number 1 being: Enable me to gift to my friends with a single click through one of the hazaar social networking sites (e.g. orkut, facebook). Imagine - a birthday reminder of your friend's birthday pops up in your inbox. Next to the reminder, there are options for gifting - send flowers, send chocolates, send something! anything!, and all you have to do is click any of these options and voila! you are done!. Your credit card details were already fed in your profile. Her address was already in her profile. You need not know her address at all and yet the gift will reach her and you r card will be charged appropriately. What more could one ask for? I don't have to remember her address, her birthday, her likes/dislikes. Heaven.
Enable me to utilize my network on the platform. Let me do something with it physically rather than just exchange some messages and chit chat. Enable me to do this and the social networking site will rake in huge money. They can tie up with various businesses from who they can take a sign-up check. After sales commission arrangements would mean a perpetual flow of perfectly good money.
I had always found social networking sites frustrating. Now I know why.
"Just a friendly reminder that I invited you to Shelfari. Come see the books I love and see if we have any in common. Then pick my next book so I can keep on reading.
Click below to join my group of friends on Shelfari!
http://www.shelfari.com/
someone
Shelfari is a free site that lets you share book ratings and reviews with friends and meet people who have similar tastes in books. It also lets you build an online bookshelf, join book clubs, and get good book recommendations from friends. You should check it out."
Invariably, every month or so, some jobless geek or some clueless organization hits upon this "unique" brilliant idea of starting a social networking site which focuses on one special interest or the other. One seeks to bring together book loving people on a single platform and the other claims to bring all the party-people together. Then, of course, there are the platforms which seek to bring together singles who didn't/couldn't find a life partner.
Barring the last set of websites, I find the others useless and pointless, and a sheer waste of an asset which could translate into a huge commercial success.
Even today, India doesn't have a good, reliable gifting chain (for good measure, let me acknowledge Kinshuk's idea here). If I have to send a gift to someone, I don't know where to look. Do I go look at a website? Do I visit a kirana shop or an archies? But then who will deliver my gift to my friend who lives in another city, another country, another time zone? If I go online, which website do I go to? Even if I do get to a website, locate a chalta hai gift and want to checkout, do you have any idea how painful it is to do so! I have to fill out my credit card details. Worse, I have to fill out her (I wont gift to a guy!) address which I will have to dig out from some dust filled diary, or one of the myriad, address books in my computer.
I digress.
Point number 2 being: Someone please start a good gifting chain which spread nationwide and anyone from any part of India can gift anything to anyone anywhere.
Point number 1 being: Enable me to gift to my friends with a single click through one of the hazaar social networking sites (e.g. orkut, facebook). Imagine - a birthday reminder of your friend's birthday pops up in your inbox. Next to the reminder, there are options for gifting - send flowers, send chocolates, send something! anything!, and all you have to do is click any of these options and voila! you are done!. Your credit card details were already fed in your profile. Her address was already in her profile. You need not know her address at all and yet the gift will reach her and you r card will be charged appropriately. What more could one ask for? I don't have to remember her address, her birthday, her likes/dislikes. Heaven.
Enable me to utilize my network on the platform. Let me do something with it physically rather than just exchange some messages and chit chat. Enable me to do this and the social networking site will rake in huge money. They can tie up with various businesses from who they can take a sign-up check. After sales commission arrangements would mean a perpetual flow of perfectly good money.
I had always found social networking sites frustrating. Now I know why.
Wednesday, January 31, 2007
Thursday, December 07, 2006
Monday, December 04, 2006
Thursday, October 19, 2006
Olbermann: The Beginning of the End of America (video)
Video of Olbermann's special comment on the "Military Commissions Act" and the end of Habeas Corpus. Aired Wednesday, October 18. "And if you think this, hyperbole or hysteria, ask the newspaper editors when John Adams was President, or the pacifists when Woodrow Wilson was President, or the Japanese when Franklin Roosevelt was President."
read more | digg story
read more | digg story
Tuesday, July 18, 2006
Saturday, July 15, 2006
Friday, July 14, 2006
Zidane !
What happened to Zidane saddens me. I did not watch the world cup in it's entirety and am definitely not a football fan. But I happened to catch the overtime in the final match of this dull edition of the world cup (before falling back to sleep btw) and what happened was certainly something which is now common in the world of sports.
Yes, he head-butted that "poor" guy and yes it was an unwelcone act from this great hero of this supposedly great game (I am sorry I cannot acknowledge it's greatness simply because the whole world thinks that way. And that's only because I have never followed it. It might be of course.) but give the guy a break for God's sake. You will see what I mean when you read this. I sincerely believe that a method has to be established to trap and punish players who resort to verbal abuse to get their way. Verbal abuse inflicts as much damage as physical abuse, perhaps only more. Verbal abuse distracts players, poisons their mind and renders them unable to perform to their fullest ability. Isn't that what physical abuse does too and hence is considered red-card worthy?. Then why punish only those who resort to physical abuse?.
I applaud France and its Prime Minister for welcoming their hero home with the glory and affection he deserves. You cannot discredit a man of his stature for something which was not his fault.
As for Italy winning, I have my doubts about their worthiness after watching this :)
I am in a violent mood today. Dare you not abuse me verbally !
Yes, he head-butted that "poor" guy and yes it was an unwelcone act from this great hero of this supposedly great game (I am sorry I cannot acknowledge it's greatness simply because the whole world thinks that way. And that's only because I have never followed it. It might be of course.) but give the guy a break for God's sake. You will see what I mean when you read this. I sincerely believe that a method has to be established to trap and punish players who resort to verbal abuse to get their way. Verbal abuse inflicts as much damage as physical abuse, perhaps only more. Verbal abuse distracts players, poisons their mind and renders them unable to perform to their fullest ability. Isn't that what physical abuse does too and hence is considered red-card worthy?. Then why punish only those who resort to physical abuse?.
I applaud France and its Prime Minister for welcoming their hero home with the glory and affection he deserves. You cannot discredit a man of his stature for something which was not his fault.
As for Italy winning, I have my doubts about their worthiness after watching this :)
I am in a violent mood today. Dare you not abuse me verbally !
Thursday, July 13, 2006
Mumbai !
It pisses me off! It pisses me off so bad that I want to hit someone, someone from Mumbai preferably. What illusion are these people living under? Over 150 people were dead and several injured in the latest Mumbai blasts but what is the common refrain! - "Don't worry, Mumbai will be back on its feet tomorrow.", "Mumbai people are resilient! Mumbai rocks!". Oh my god! I can't believe my ears when I hear people say this. It's as if mumbaites and perhaps the whole of India is waiting eagerly for some tragedy to befall on this once great city just so that they can get up, give a standing ovation, pat Mumbai on its back and say "Well done Mumbai! Once more have you survived a terrible tragedy and stumbled back to your feet. Congratulations! keep it up!". Fuck you all ! 150 people are dead! can't you see that? tomorrow it might be you!
It's not the Mumbai spirit, it's apathy is what it is!. Force the government's hand to take more security measures, perhaps educate the people on how to watch out for the perpetrators of these heinous acts, be alert citizens... this is what people should be thinking. But nooo!! Mumbai people think "Oh this is so terrible! but not to worry, this won't happend to me and my family, so let this reside in my memory as a figment of somebody's imagination and let's go on living our life.. and Oh! by the way so that the rest of the world doesn't think we are such cowards that we cannot try for a safer environments for our loved ones, let's give this apathy a glorious term - ah! I know.. the Mumbai Spirit !!". It is nauseating.
When I was googling for some information on Mumbai Blasts, I came across this site which is dedicated to Mumbai Blasts. It's called the Mumbai Blasts Homepage.. wow! Do I hear Mumbai people thinking.. so cool.. we have a site dedicated to our oh so great city! Atleast there's somebody who agrees with me (and lo behold! it's a mumbaite!). He articulated what's boiling inside me well (better than me). I haven't taken his permission yet to quote him but couldn't resist. If he refuses I may take it off.
"No one i know has been physically affected by the blast. But my father was in *** hospital that day - some conference stuff. and he described the grusome scenes: He satyed there till midnight with te resident doctors....X-ray dept. He had never seen anything like
this....In the CT-MRI scans, he saw that someone's kidneys, liver all split....robs punctured the
lungs....he came home at around 2:30 AM....he wasnt able to eat for the whole day.
The next morning i switched on the TV and the fuckers were barking something about the spirit of Mumbai--- i say its already dead. Because we have resigned to the fact that life must go on and there is nothing we can do about it.
Spirit of Mumbai, i believe, is nothing but a concoction of sterile innocence and absurdity, and
false building of hopes....There are reasons why people go to work the next day - they need that salary cheque, or that wad of cash....Its not spirit stupid, its fear of 'no work, no pay.'
What will happen? Considering the 'spirit' of Mumbai, people will go to work the next day, and the days after, and finally within a fw weeks, the dead will become only statistics, and the government will set up committiees and will wait for the reports....In the meanwhile, we will hear the stupidest reasons for the blasts - gujrat riots, general dicontent, poverty among muslims.... and the cycle will repeat...it has repeated 6 times since 1993
Dumb spirit of Mumbai - what could be more convenient for Government? Normalcy resumes Look at what happened in US - 9/11 - in its aftermath, was there normalcy? or was there the talk of spirit of NY? no. instead there was the united blasting of intelligence failures and the impotency of govt...whether they should have attacked afghanistan is a different story...Here, the govt took a long time in trying to blame the terrorists... that soft our
govt is...cant even build a national rhetoric SIMI is banned in India. What the fuck was its chief doing givin press interviews 2 days after the blasts in Mumbai? Spirit of India? no. i think it is this that makes India a soft target...
Lemme know what you guys think
yeah yeah, i know you may call me cynical, but really, i too believed till now in the 'spirit' of mumbai -- but what has that spirit given? not even false hopes that this wont repeat. coming to think of it, the above cycle that i mentioned has repeated 6 times -- so did the 'spirit' give the message to teh terrorists that mumbai will not stop come what may? no. else they
would have chosen some other targets. Infact, it presents India as a soft target...it reduces the pressure on govt to step up the security measures..."
People just never stop amazing me.
And you know what? if and when a mumbaite read this, his/her first reaction won't be "He might have a point" but would rather be "F***in b****rd how dare he abuse Mumbai and its people. Doesn't he know how great we and the city yaar. Where does he live? Iska to patta abheech katna padega"..
God help us all..
Edit: Oh! I almost forgot.. to quote someone I know.. "Why don't they understand that the city will be back to normal tomorrow morning?" .. So what man? so what? It's not about Mumbai and it's "spirit".. It's about the scores of people dead.. nobody outside Mumbai cares about its spirit. We are just happy that we live in relatively safer environs. Thank you, but please keep this "spirit" to yourself.
It's not the Mumbai spirit, it's apathy is what it is!. Force the government's hand to take more security measures, perhaps educate the people on how to watch out for the perpetrators of these heinous acts, be alert citizens... this is what people should be thinking. But nooo!! Mumbai people think "Oh this is so terrible! but not to worry, this won't happend to me and my family, so let this reside in my memory as a figment of somebody's imagination and let's go on living our life.. and Oh! by the way so that the rest of the world doesn't think we are such cowards that we cannot try for a safer environments for our loved ones, let's give this apathy a glorious term - ah! I know.. the Mumbai Spirit !!". It is nauseating.
When I was googling for some information on Mumbai Blasts, I came across this site which is dedicated to Mumbai Blasts. It's called the Mumbai Blasts Homepage.. wow! Do I hear Mumbai people thinking.. so cool.. we have a site dedicated to our oh so great city! Atleast there's somebody who agrees with me (and lo behold! it's a mumbaite!). He articulated what's boiling inside me well (better than me). I haven't taken his permission yet to quote him but couldn't resist. If he refuses I may take it off.
"No one i know has been physically affected by the blast. But my father was in *** hospital that day - some conference stuff. and he described the grusome scenes: He satyed there till midnight with te resident doctors....X-ray dept. He had never seen anything like
this....In the CT-MRI scans, he saw that someone's kidneys, liver all split....robs punctured the
lungs....he came home at around 2:30 AM....he wasnt able to eat for the whole day.
The next morning i switched on the TV and the fuckers were barking something about the spirit of Mumbai--- i say its already dead. Because we have resigned to the fact that life must go on and there is nothing we can do about it.
Spirit of Mumbai, i believe, is nothing but a concoction of sterile innocence and absurdity, and
false building of hopes....There are reasons why people go to work the next day - they need that salary cheque, or that wad of cash....Its not spirit stupid, its fear of 'no work, no pay.'
What will happen? Considering the 'spirit' of Mumbai, people will go to work the next day, and the days after, and finally within a fw weeks, the dead will become only statistics, and the government will set up committiees and will wait for the reports....In the meanwhile, we will hear the stupidest reasons for the blasts - gujrat riots, general dicontent, poverty among muslims.... and the cycle will repeat...it has repeated 6 times since 1993
Dumb spirit of Mumbai - what could be more convenient for Government? Normalcy resumes Look at what happened in US - 9/11 - in its aftermath, was there normalcy? or was there the talk of spirit of NY? no. instead there was the united blasting of intelligence failures and the impotency of govt...whether they should have attacked afghanistan is a different story...Here, the govt took a long time in trying to blame the terrorists... that soft our
govt is...cant even build a national rhetoric SIMI is banned in India. What the fuck was its chief doing givin press interviews 2 days after the blasts in Mumbai? Spirit of India? no. i think it is this that makes India a soft target...
Lemme know what you guys think
yeah yeah, i know you may call me cynical, but really, i too believed till now in the 'spirit' of mumbai -- but what has that spirit given? not even false hopes that this wont repeat. coming to think of it, the above cycle that i mentioned has repeated 6 times -- so did the 'spirit' give the message to teh terrorists that mumbai will not stop come what may? no. else they
would have chosen some other targets. Infact, it presents India as a soft target...it reduces the pressure on govt to step up the security measures..."
People just never stop amazing me.
And you know what? if and when a mumbaite read this, his/her first reaction won't be "He might have a point" but would rather be "F***in b****rd how dare he abuse Mumbai and its people. Doesn't he know how great we and the city yaar. Where does he live? Iska to patta abheech katna padega"..
God help us all..
Edit: Oh! I almost forgot.. to quote someone I know.. "Why don't they understand that the city will be back to normal tomorrow morning?" .. So what man? so what? It's not about Mumbai and it's "spirit".. It's about the scores of people dead.. nobody outside Mumbai cares about its spirit. We are just happy that we live in relatively safer environs. Thank you, but please keep this "spirit" to yourself.
Friday, June 16, 2006
What my birthdate means !
| Your Birthdate: March 10 |
 Independent and dominant, you tend to be the alpha dog in most situations. You're very confident, and hardly anything ever shakes you. Mundane tasks tend to drain you - you prefer to be making great plans. You are quite original. When people don't "get" you, it bothers you a lot. Your strength: Your ability to gain respect Your weakness: Caring too much what others think Your power color: Orange-red Your power symbol: Letter X Your power month: October |
Sunday, June 04, 2006
Life: Update
You would think that one would update his blog when he is relatively free. But no, such things do not happen. Even when the person is absolutely jobless during his weekends and should spend time constructively reading books (which he misses) and writing more, he would rather stare at his computer day and night, downloading stuff from the internet and what not.
Below you will find a post which this person had started almost 3 months ago in the heat of frustration and anger over the university. You will find that its incomplete and this is only because 3 months have been enough to change the author's viewpoints and he cannot recall the emotions of that time required to complete the post.
Speaking of downloads, this person found a new thread of timepass called "Scrubs". Its a TV series featuring a hospital and the quirky doctors and staff in it. Scrubs-ER duo is analogous to the AllyMcBeal-ThePractice. Its a really funny and touching TV series and I would recommend it to anyone who has the time for such worthless pursuits.
Speaking of pursuits, this person has started his internship in Mentor Graphics Corporation and has already completed two weeks of it. He is posted in Wilsonville, Oregon which is on the west coast below Washington and above California. The place is scenic and breathtaking. He is enjoying it a lot and can't believe his good luck in landing such a great job with a superb group. The people in the group are brilliant and make their interns very comfortable. The company knows how to take care of their employees and this person already has several testimonials to that effect. In short this person is having a great time.
Speaking of having a great time, this person rented a car last weekend (for which his company paid even when not asked for!) and decided to explore the place. He went to the Evergreen Aviation Museum and the next day, Multnomah Falls. It was amazing to see the SpruceGoose and the B2 Bomber side by side. It was an overwhelming experience. Check out the photos here. The person you will see in front of the falls is Willy Joseph who is his current roommate.
This person will not be able to visit India this summer because of his internship commitments (in other words: greed). He will be in India in december most probably.
This was meant to be an update of his life. He should be posting more. Pray for him.
Below you will find a post which this person had started almost 3 months ago in the heat of frustration and anger over the university. You will find that its incomplete and this is only because 3 months have been enough to change the author's viewpoints and he cannot recall the emotions of that time required to complete the post.
Speaking of downloads, this person found a new thread of timepass called "Scrubs". Its a TV series featuring a hospital and the quirky doctors and staff in it. Scrubs-ER duo is analogous to the AllyMcBeal-ThePractice. Its a really funny and touching TV series and I would recommend it to anyone who has the time for such worthless pursuits.
Speaking of pursuits, this person has started his internship in Mentor Graphics Corporation and has already completed two weeks of it. He is posted in Wilsonville, Oregon which is on the west coast below Washington and above California. The place is scenic and breathtaking. He is enjoying it a lot and can't believe his good luck in landing such a great job with a superb group. The people in the group are brilliant and make their interns very comfortable. The company knows how to take care of their employees and this person already has several testimonials to that effect. In short this person is having a great time.
Speaking of having a great time, this person rented a car last weekend (for which his company paid even when not asked for!) and decided to explore the place. He went to the Evergreen Aviation Museum and the next day, Multnomah Falls. It was amazing to see the SpruceGoose and the B2 Bomber side by side. It was an overwhelming experience. Check out the photos here. The person you will see in front of the falls is Willy Joseph who is his current roommate.
This person will not be able to visit India this summer because of his internship commitments (in other words: greed). He will be in India in december most probably.
This was meant to be an update of his life. He should be posting more. Pray for him.
Piled Higher and Deeper
http://www.phdcomics.com
Never thought sad truth could be told in such a poignant manner. I guess I feel the same way when I read phdcomics as a new office-goer would feel reading Dilbert and actually relating to it for the first time.
I started reading this comic 2 days back and boy is it addictive. I have already finished 703 strips and the number 703 only because Jorge Cham is on his PhD Winter 2006 Tour and doesnt contribute to his strip on a regular basis. Most of you reading this who are not pursuing graduate studies will not relate to the comic just as I can't still relate to Dilbert. But if you wanna know what kind of life grad students lead, then there cannot be a better indicator than this strip.
Its true to the dot. The sustenance on Ramen noodles, there being no life outside the lab, professors treating you like dirt and making you feel miserable and a low life.
Procrastination - now that's a word which has become an integral part of my vocabulary after coming here. Is it grad school which does this to you or is it a phase which everyone goes through? If the answer is yes to the former alone, then why? My reasoning would be that somehow grad school doesn't enthuse and doesn't drive a person enough to overcome the constant tempatation to slack off, to not do anything and leave everything for tomorrow.
"I think I will start my own company. Anyways I don't get to implement my ideas here!", said I, to which a to-be-PhD friend of mine replied, " Then do a PhD ! You can most definitely excercise your ideas there." Can I? After encountering professors and their sick attitudes here I am least inclined to believe that.
I came in with a passion for technology, a passion to learn, and to implement my ideas. The University of Michigan has very effectively nipped any ideas/passion I may have had in its very bud. I have become this person who now detests any mention of the word tech, who will do anything to get away from it asap.
(Started writing this long back.. will finish sometime..)
Monday, April 03, 2006
An apple a day keeps the love doctor away?
I know this is going to invite very sidey comments, but still.. had to put it up.. found it in one of the apples I have at home.
Sunday, April 02, 2006
Guess who got a foosball table baby !!
Yipppeee !!!
Yesterday, we actually got a foosball table home ! Can you believe that ?! an actual foosball table ! Our dear roommate Siddharth "Fundingwalla" Athreya gave us a pleasant surprise and bought this amazing table for $60 only. Its a steal for 60 bucks.
Anyway, we have been at it since yesterday. Hours and hours of backbreaking foosball play. The point of this post of course is to make all of you extremely jealous ! heeheehaahaahooo (evil laugh). I hope I achieved that purpose.
Yesterday, we actually got a foosball table home ! Can you believe that ?! an actual foosball table ! Our dear roommate Siddharth "Fundingwalla" Athreya gave us a pleasant surprise and bought this amazing table for $60 only. Its a steal for 60 bucks.
Anyway, we have been at it since yesterday. Hours and hours of backbreaking foosball play. The point of this post of course is to make all of you extremely jealous ! heeheehaahaahooo (evil laugh). I hope I achieved that purpose.
In any case, if any of you stay in Ann Arbor and wanna play a game or two, you are always welcome to 11B1. Yes Arnab, that means you ! :).
(Aside: notice the really cool effect when u scroll up and down and look at the bottom pic)
Wednesday, March 29, 2006
My blog goes public.. well.. almost..
Dear All,
For some insane reason, i have decided to make a part of my blog public. I have removed the personal stuff and retained stuff which might interest general junta. Actually, i was never confident of my writing and therefore didnt want to make it public. But recently i showed it to a certain someone and she said that it was pretty decent. So, i thought - "Why not!". In any case, i felt like writing again and write stuff which public needs to know. Hence the IPO :).
Keen eyes will notice that all my posts have been put up at approximately the same time but on different dates. I wonder why... hmm.. :)
So there it is.. shekisms.blogspot.com .. yet-another-blog.. do leave comments - good or bad.. i welcome criticism and would like you to point out things which would improve my writing.. or in general if u just want to give me gaalis, thats also ok..
For some insane reason, i have decided to make a part of my blog public. I have removed the personal stuff and retained stuff which might interest general junta. Actually, i was never confident of my writing and therefore didnt want to make it public. But recently i showed it to a certain someone and she said that it was pretty decent. So, i thought - "Why not!". In any case, i felt like writing again and write stuff which public needs to know. Hence the IPO :).
Keen eyes will notice that all my posts have been put up at approximately the same time but on different dates. I wonder why... hmm.. :)
So there it is.. shekisms.blogspot.com .. yet-another-blog.. do leave comments - good or bad.. i welcome criticism and would like you to point out things which would improve my writing.. or in general if u just want to give me gaalis, thats also ok..
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