Sparsh

Reading creates capacity for deep, linear concentration. That is one unintended positive outcome of the habit of reading. Books always touch man’s head and heart with a burning/soothing/boring sensation. I read books on cinema, consumer behavior, leadership and culture having various overtones this year. They helped me to fight desperation, myopia and close-mindedness prevailing inside me; I have always tried to pay attention to theories that conflict with common perception, only if those theories are more driven by human behavior than common stereotype assumptions. Books of great authors are the best tools to understand these theories. "Rich people have small TVs and big libraries, and poor people have small libraries and big TVs." Quite an apt statement to start about reading tour of this year. I am enlisting the names of books read by me in 2011 with their background and my feedback. Ratings are highly personal. My Name is Red  by Orhan Pamuk - English - 8/10 A murder...

Continuing from the 1st part of the Development series in RM , I will move towards the 2nd part of the learning in the field of Rural Management. Looking into mine MBA and engineering curriculum, I can easily conclude that it is heavily influenced by American model and lacks novelty. Despite of mine low academic orientation, I have not seen really good books from an Indian author. Most of the books are from western universities. Hence, there is dire need to dejargonise and accept superfluos nature of our education. During this trimester of PGDM-RM (rural management) at XIMB, I asked this question again and again :- why one chooses any course or college ? Whether one prefers a brand or academic learning or mere placement records of the college for routing the career path. Any college should have these aspects for growth : Creation of knowledge through research, Application of knowledge within the industry through commercializaion and Dissemination of knowledge through classroom l...

"It is good to be curious because that is how one starts the journey of inquiry... into existence; but if one simply remains curious, then there will be no intensity in it. One can move from one curiosity to another — one will become a driftwood — from one wave to another wave, never getting anchored anywhere. Curiosity is good as a beginning, but then one has to become more passionate. One has to make life a quest, not only a curiosity." --- Osho  I am now searching the root of mine reading habits and how they have changed my behavior over the span of time. Even though I was attracted towards schoolbooks, I don't remember any interest in the reading at KG level. Only memory I have of reading, it is of nursery rhyme ' Johnny Johnny Yes Papa ' in the classroom. I spent most of the time listening to the old songs of Kishore Kumar and Mahendra Kumar in the cassette player. I had started reading Children stories in Hindi newspaper ' Dainik Jagran ' initially...

Harvard professor Larry Lessig is one of our foremost authorities on copyright issues, with a vision for reconciling creative freedom with marketplace competition. 1- The Indian state of Bihar has long been a byword for bad governance. It was however governed particularly badly between 1990 and 2005, and has since experienced something of a ‘governance miracle’. How can we account for the 1990–2005 deterioration? Through this working paper - State Incapacity by Design: Understanding the Bihar Story , we will understand that the low state capacity is often a political choice . 2- La Grande Revolution, Encore? A comparison between France of 1787 with present USA as both had financed an overseas war with borrowed money. 3- The War Dogma : This article appears in the July issue of Agenda/Infochange for the theme on the ‘Limits of Freedom’. An insight on Dantewada and Operation Green Hunt. 4- Playing fast and loose by Pratap Bhanu Mehta : A overview of tussle on Janlokpal Bill ...

Anton Chekhov once said that you must trust and believe in people or life becomes impossible. There was a vacuum inside despite of huge knowledge in comparison to peers. You can't be thrilled with the life if it is full of knowledge. One who not been able to love, or not been able to receive love. He has not been able to share his being. That’s the misery of one's existence. The worst bit is one does not know where to seek love. People have no idea and nor do they care how a loner live and struggle. Life was rather repulsive once! Anton Chekhov once said that people who lead a lonely existence always have something on their minds that they are eager to talk about. I was alone once yet not lonely. A development of relationship blossomed but was crushed in between. Aren't the most painful stories those where the relations are left broken yet open? Yet, I prefer silence than stories. It takes the darkest hour of your life to find yourself. The more I know who I am an...

Red Hat Linux Commercial: Truth Happens Most of us see this advertisement either as User oriented or expert oriented operating system from marketing point of view. [ The Fedora and Red Hat Projects were merged on September 22, 2003. Fedora 15, codenamed Lovelock, was released on May 24, 2011.] Ideas that spread, win but just because an idea spreads doesn't mean it's good for us. LINUX is a Unix-like computer operating system assembled under the model of free and open source software development and distribution. Since free flow of ideas makes them worth more and LINUX is product of such idealogy, I enjoy this advertisement of Linux more than others. When the willful ignorance and avoidance of the competitor become a litmus test for the applicants, the age of fall of person/company begins with this ! You can be brilliant yet ignorant if you choose to ignore the inevitable. Any market leader will try to keep others from bringing new ideas forward but then truth happens !...

As college brings out all abilities, including incapability. There was one person in my college Rajneesh who didn't want to fit into any specific mold. He has started a website recently : Hi There, You! Hi There, You! is a place where procrastination meets witty anonymous posts composed of choice words. All your need is a bit of dry humor and you are good to go. Go forth, check it out and spill the beans. 'Like' Us on Facebook: www.facebook.com/HiThereU Twitter: www.twitter.com/HiThere_You Why Do I like "Hi There, You!" -Most obvious reason, It is started by my friend. - I love sarcasm, dry humor and wit. - Its a great idea and all great ideas are amplified when others build on them. - Since its anonymous, there is no censorship, ownership, regulation and control of property on our ideas. - But Don't Pay no attention to “fancy advertising” of mine that conflict with your “common sense,” and check these theories that are driven by shear gut...

John Stuart Mill is right here: there is no development, democratic or economic, without an educated citizenry. Hence with this statement, I will shade mine myopic narrative of the last 3 months of the education. Roughly, the things I am doing out here is to fight the common perception between development and management. During this trimester of PGDM-RM (rural management) at XIMB, the question that was constantly asked by me was how much of it is “Development” and how much “management” ? With rural India in the context, this issue becomes a divergent for many budding rural managers. The purpose of nearly all writing is to communicate easily. Here in 10 points is what I learnt in 3 months: 1- The first lesson towards developing an understanding that development is not merely about subsidies, urbanisation and poverty but also about being sensitive to the people. 2- As an aspiring rural managers should have understanding that must encompass history, sociology and th...

26 years of Life completed on 21st August. Yahoo ! Annus mirabilis is a Latin phrase meaning "wonderful year" or "year of wonders". A year where many dreams blossomed and similarly many nightmares ended. So life was never better than previous year (Though just late but not too late for me). Between the end of the illusions and the awakening as a different person. I am missing my friends today. But now, they have all gone into parts of India -- and I remain alone here, with only their memories in my heart, and tears in my eyes. "When the facts change, I change my mind," said Lord Keynes once. I am also doing the same while understanding the tussle, cooperation and competition between development sector and corporate sector in academic life here. The motto of life in the busy schedules of life has changed to न दैन्यं न पलायनम् !

1- Why Zappos Offers New Hires $2,000 to Quit : The policy of providing a let-out after one week has gained worldwide attention. Columnist Keith McFarland explains why it makes sense. 2- Who Was Milton Friedman? : Keynesianism was a great reformation of economic thought. It was followed, inevitably, by a counter-reformation. A number of economists played important roles in the great revival of classical economics between 1950 and 2000, but none was as influential as Milton Friedman. 3- End Financial Control of European Governance : In developing countries and now in Europe, government debt allows creditors to exercise undue power over decision making. The Euro crisis is clear evidence that we need to break out of the economic straitjacket imposed by an over-powerful financial sector, says Susan George in an interview with Nick Buxton. 4- Who needs a bank? : Should we make banks better, or just make them redundant? Peer-to-peer currency schemes like bitcoin.org offer the possi...

1- Great compilation of cultural article at BBC Hindi : Enjoy Reading about Hindustani Tahzeeb 2- ऑन स्‍क्रीन ऑफ स्‍क्रीन : बहुरुपिया का माडर्न अवतार आमिर खान 3- Death by Dialogue By Trisha Gupta : What does it mean for the future of Hindi cinema if most films are now in fact conceived, thrashed out and largely executed not in Hindi but in English? Will filmmakers only tell the stories of a minuscule section of the population? 4- National Film Awards : The absurdity of censorship - An open letter to Hon’ble Minister for Information & Broadcasting on July 14, 2005 by Rakesh Sharma , a prominent Indian documentary film-maker. 5- Paradoxes of memory by Helmut König : Lasting peace agreements after wars and civil wars were for a long time considered to be conditional upon damnatio memoriae – the deliberate and reciprocal forgetting of violence and injustice. However, the established amnesty clause is only realistic where certain rules were not broken during war. The First...

Welcome, there is a change in the Blog outlook to make it more simple and sober. I did this after struggling with slow internet connection. I am wandering in the landscape of loneliness. Today, I writing this blog in order to comprehend, not to express myself. A paradigm shift in mine thinking ! How many memories/information can a person stand, and how many does he need? Does one need either huge academic knowledge or field work only to prove his case of merit ? What is the definition of luxury or necessity for a family (not individual)? These are some basic question that is haunting me. Leave alone these question on fate. Despite introspection, We Are Strangers to Ourselves. Ability to be ourselves is crucial, not flowing in the shallow water of superficiality. There is inbuilt existential frustation and restlessness in humans. No person can escape from the thoughts buzzing in the mind. The difference between getting lost and finding new ways distinct achievers in the fighters. ...

Derek Sivers: How to start a movement With help from some surprising footage, Derek Sivers explains how movements really get started. (Hint: it takes two.) A pioneer with courage has just to stand up and do it first :) TED Video There were five points that I came across in recent days. Each of them opened a new door of analysing the world and mine life in different manner. 1- One question recently bumped me off : Am I A Product Of The Institutions I Attended? I am caught in the web of traditional outlook of liberal, conservative, socialist, anarchist or even fascist. The whole is greater than the sum of its parts. That is the human nature emerges as a complex patterns out of a multiplicity of relatively simple interactions. Much of learning is not done in the confined environment of the institute. Institutes are just facilitator for providing suitable environment for the growth of an individual. But an institution should balance insanity and genius activity of the individ...

A scarcity of availability and a ticking clock changes our perspective and the desire to take action. I have become busy in the new routine of Yem Bee Aey (MBA)college. I am not able to read and write due to busy lifestyle. I have never imagined that a day like this can come ! An advertisement (spoof) on the fact that major credit card and online payment companies have withheld over $15 Million in donations to WikiLeaks has created a buzz between liberals and youths. Support WikiLeaks ; Inspired by Wikileaks, I have started a secret blog --- Diary of A Grass Root Manager ! . I am updating this blog as per weekly basis with both positive and negative perspective of my stay here in XIMB. Nobody can access the blog now due to its sensitive nature. I will make the blog available in public realm after getting my MBA degree. A person should have right to document his experiences and learning. I can't rely always on the history lessons presented by state or authority. Milan Kun...

Everyone has their beliefs as to how they fit into the world. However, only those who think for themselves, rather than blindly follow, will truly experience. A denial of one’s roots, whatever the attitudes and realities of the present, is an invitation to a crisis of identity. This is my opinion on history. Romila Thapar: India's past and present — how history informs contemporary narrative In conversation with IDRC President David M. Malone, historian Romila Thapar, widely recognized as India's foremost historian challenged the colonial interpretations of India's past, which have created an oversimplified history that has reinforced divisions of race, religion, and caste.

Hello Team, I want to bid farewell to you all and today is my last day at work in CSC.  Over the span of 2 years 4 months 15 days,  I have seen many stereotyped resignation e-mails still today I can't come up with something original to say. The decision to leave the firm was a planned one. I was selected for MBA and the bondage period of 2 years as fresher was served. For nearly as long as I’ve worked here, I have known that I might one day leave this company. And now that this has become a reality, please know that I could not have reached this goal without your encouragement and care. CSC has helped me in shaping my career path and now it is the right time for me to bid adieu.   I have enjoyed working with you and I appreciate my friends and colleagues for providing support all these years. It's been great interacting and knowing each one of you. Comrades, please do keep in touch at Facebook (Profile Link : http://www.facebook.com/ Yayaver ) where I am alw...

There are so many books, blogs and magazines in this world, nobody can read them all. Nobody is waiting for another one of them. If I didn't have to write in order to keep myself together, I wouldn't do it. I don't want to be a seasoned writer, this isn't the reason I write. Every man dies, not every man observe how he really lives. I enjoys writing and reading but it consumes a lot of energy. I am not even replying to the comments. Such is the phase of life going on. I am going for higher education and have faith on my talent. This job has taught me not to expect the better man to bow before the fool. To be better take more guts than average thinking. Those who can't say Fuck to their status, can't design the future. There are people who have once survived through some life time experience and don't understand the nature of it. Experience can supply the information but even then wisdom may lack. Equally, There are people who have not gone through lif...

One realizes one's root when every new occurrence brings back a memory and search for an identity is over. I was trying to track history of my family through relations of fathers and sons and tell a simple story. It is not summary of growing divide between the generations but a simple tale documented fist time ever. It is a story of my family based on the values that changed with time yet remain same in core. My great grandfather had been 10+2 passed out (first in my family) in 1902. He was born in mid 1880's and joined Primary School as a teacher despite of Zamindari background. My grandfather was born in 1920's and was educated till High-school. He didn't do any job due to his Zamindari Background. Such was the difference of view between them. My grandfather was eldest of three brothers and remain a farmer till his last breathe. His brothers went to Jharia Bihar to work in coal mines. With the Zamindari system being abolished after independence and few court cases...

1- Why Pandits aren't returning to roots ? : The Pandits, though, will tell you another story: of murders and village loudspeakers issuing threats. Jagmohan is rarely the central figure that Kashmiri Muslim makes him out to be. 2- Will Pakistanis put their national interest first? by Harini Calamur :If there is any country in the world that is a poster child for dictatorship, it is Pakistan. Over the last two and half decades at least, Pakistan seems to have been more stable and more prosperous under its military dictators than its “democratically” elected leaders. 3- Islamic Banking System: Threats and Opportunities --- The Islamic banking system is an important component of Islamic finance. Islamic finance has unique features because its foundation is laid on the principles and rules of Islamic law (sharia), which states that everything is owned by Allah and man has only been permitted to use it. 4- The predicament of the Islamic Republic by Hamid Dabashi. Green Movement...

Life is going fast and I have discovered that reading poems are anytime better than economics. Summer, summer, summertime and it is time to sit back and unwind. I am spending too much time on Facebook. That is a quite worthless pleasure of addiction. Sitting on the roof-top chatting with friends is better time pass than this. I can only say that I am finding it hard to bear the unbearable separation from internet for 2 hour also, need guts to overcome! Writing has brought a fundamental error of intellectuals in front of me. An intellectual knows what one opposes but does not seem to be sure what one proposes. Status quo challenged has no meaning until an alternative appears. Change happens where previous appear even slightly worse than current to the people. This is a fundamental factor in determining the nature and degree of the solution to any problem. The criticisms, ideologies and debate are the second necessary but not sufficient condition for uplift of the unprivileged ones...

A lonely pond in age-old stillness sleeps . . . Apart, unstirred by sound or motion . . . till Suddenly into it a lithe frog leaps.

“The scale of the human socio-economic-political complex system is so large that it seriously interferes with the biospheric complex system upon which it is wholly dependent, and cultural evolution has been too slow to deal effectively with the resulting crisis.” —Paul R. Ehrlich is president of the Center for Conservation Biology at Stanford University. ................................................................................... Both - the US and the Islamic Republics - wish the region back to its status quo ante, where and when they much benefited from the state of war they had manufactured, and under which they both shared the control and domination of the democratic aspirations of the people in the region. Political crises are definitive, sustained, and even beyond the structurally dysfunctional state apparatus rooted in the demographic facts of a young and restless population ruled by an outdated and obsolete theocratic ideology. Questions about loyalty, the role of mil...

Living a regular and tedious life, suddenly I started pondering over thought that whether professional and personal success are mutually exclusive. I find a certain rootlessness, a deracination. But they are only passing thoughts. Currently, I am in mood of celebration, as the coming to power of the Trinamool Congress is a Berlin-wall-breaking moment. The last big state holding Communist is gone with the winds. The decay of Left has started on that day when the arrogance of power led them to adopt narrow, sectarian and regional politics. There was no more unconditional affiliation or ideology-based support in voting this time. The road to hell is paved with good intentions is a proverb or aphorism. An example is the economic policies of the Bengal. That is why I stress for an individual in learning in detail at-least one aspect of society. Clueless ‘intellectuals’ and bureaucrats are arguing all day have never created a job. Ground reality is different. Experience counts and it...

मेरे ब्लॉग पर बहुत पोस्ट हैं लेकिन सब के सब जोड़ तोड़ एंड फिर घटजोड़ कर के लिखे गए हैं. बहुत कम में स्वंय का योगदान है और अधिकतर में केवल किताबी ज्ञान और दूसरों का प्रभाव है. साले बहुत से एकदम बासी हैं कागज़ के फूलों की तरह. क्यों कागज़ के फूल, उसमें जीवन अनुभव की खुशबू कहां से आएगी ... I am also cutting short the blogs from the reading list. most of them are not updated from long time or has diluted with respect to my reading taste. It is the person you are, rather than the knowledge you possess, that determines success. Hence, I am making blog little more personal in the nature. My writings were becoming incoherent day by day. I am trying to mend my ways. The last post on off beat traits about me was prime example of new reformed pattern. Recently, I was in Azamgarh. I observed hunger, poverty, corruption and unemployment. There is a lack of opportunity even after education such is the case of unemployable work force. I felt that I am going to XIMB for correct academic path...

Life is chaotically complex series of events, so beautifully woven into a coherent whole. And I am writing most about worldly affairs, Today, I present an off beat weblog about me. Writing : First and most important, I like blogging. When I found the power to express what was in his heart, I found the love of a lifetime. A rare habit that is even continued today with full enthusiasm and pleasure. Also, there is dire need of educated persons who can not only perform better but also express better. Writing skills help one to present himself/herself before others, and also enables to think. Hence, I always encourage people to write and read. Blog : I speak and write a bit harsh and with irreverence in the blog. Anything and anyone is subjected to scrutiny and there should be no sacred cow in the society or nation. I uphold the fact that if an individual spends writing in praise of the authority because of the benefits this brings — as opposed to objective assessment — then t...

1- How China reports the Arab world :- In a post made to his Chinese-language weblog on April 15, Ezzat Shahrour, chief correspondent for al-Jazeera Arabic in Beijing, voiced his frustration with Chinese state media reporting on the upheaval in the Arab world this year. 2- The rules of entrapment :- The noise against Tehelka after last week’s cover story was to be expected. Much more surprising was the confusion over the ethics of political baiting. 3- Haaretz prides itself on being the conscience of Israel. Does it have a future? :- by David Remnick 4- James Gosling joins Google, what can startups learn? :- Cultivating talent is not about hiring only those people who will work on assignments or wait on benches for projects that are in the sales pipeline. You also require people who are not in the thick of daily grind; those who can think up new paradigms and new ways to doing things without the pressure of how it will impact the company's next quarter's bottom-line. ...

Few things reveal a nation better than what it censors. Human societies that allow the free expression of ideas do better than those that don’t allow new ideas. The evidence is all around for us to see and judge. The renaissance was the triumph of ideas over church power after a long struggle. The ignorance and lethargy of the poor are the direct result of the whole economic, social and political domination. It is the failure of elites and policy makers that failed in creating inclusive growth. Hence, the violence emerges from the poor neighborhood or a specific region. State can't arm people to fight insurgency; it will only lead to legalization of violence with state backing it. The order can't be maintained by violating spirit of law in the first place. Hence, they opt for torture technique to suppress the will of people. The other strategy to deal with challenges to legitimacy of state is by promoting and reinforcing identity politics within a system of...

History shows that where ethics and economics come in conflict, victory is always with economics. Vested interests have never been known to have willingly divested themselves unless there was sufficient force to compel them. ---B. R. Ambedkar 1% has been hoovering up an ever greater share of the nation's wealth. Why ? The “seeds of decay” lay in the “disparity between rich and poor” that is growing fast in the country until middle class redefine it's role. Which is much what Chomsky states : Modern "democratic" governments exist to protect their sponsors not their people. Is it really true that media has become the agency of politicians and burglars ? News channel works as ferocious disinformation machine aimed at convincing people to vote against their financial interests. James, Dresden has quoted : When a well-packaged web of lies has been sold gradually to the masses over generations, the truth will seem utterly preposterous and its speaker a raving ...

“Islam [is] a different civilization whose people are convinced of the superiority of their culture and are obsessed with the inferiority of their power.” - Samuel Huntington ; This quote comes to the truth several times by the most religious persons of Islam. We have to make new perception on Islam, hence accepting that all Islam is on a par with Al-Qaeda is grotesque and dead wrong. To understand why even falsely proclaimed perfect system of rules "Islam" is failed by its own followers ? . Religious fanatics are present in every society, it does not mean that they are a part of the culture. The extremism and level of violence permitted help us to view the norms of the civil society. Islamic scholars only look Kuran and Hadith as a pious source and reference while ignoring evidences or voices outside this. The critical mind on the other hand undermines revealed truths and subjects the scriptures to exegesis and interpretation. To confuse the two is to shift religi...

When you talk about Pakistan, as an Indian a question simply arrives:  What do you do with a problem like Pakistan? . There are 8 steps proposed by the author need to be taken at least from Indian perspective. I. Cause economic pain to Defence forces / related entities: II. Offer to pay this mercenary nation for better behaviour III. Reach out to the suffering masses IV. Denuclearize this rabid state V. Increase focus on fissures within Pakistan VI. Resolve Kashmir VII. Threaten to break all diplomatic relations VIII. Provide a face to India’s Pakistan initiative For (super funny) history as read by most Pakistani citizens, the two news article summary is here. Concise history of Pakistan Part– I and Part– II ; I will analyze the situation in another perspective. Ideas did not face organized opposition till monotheistic invaders arrived into India. Since Indian Dharmas were not much organized, the blood shed and violence conflict existed in less proportions. There was fight b...

Salman Khan: Let's use video to reinvent education Salman Khan talks about how and why he created the remarkable Khan Academy, a carefully structured series of educational videos offering complete curricula in math and, now, other subjects. [ TED Talk Link Here ] So, we can see here the advantage of the online availability of learning material. That will clearly break the monopoly of the universities as a center of  knowledge. 2- A paragraph in the Review of The Namesake by Roger Ebert attracted me lot : “The Namesake” tells a story that is the story of all immigrant groups in America: Parents of great daring arriving with dreams, children growing up in a way that makes them almost strangers, the old culture merging with the new. It has been said that all modern Russian literature came out of Gogol’s “Overcoat.” In the same way, all of us came out of the overcoat of this same immigrant experience. 3-  I liked the praise of Uttar Pradesh in the words of Nida Faz...