Dazed and Confused Observation of Indian Cinema

The result of 55th National Film Awards are out. And they are quite unbiased ones. National film Awards had also got bad name when Raveena had got it for Daman, Saif for Hum Tum and Karishma for DTPH. It forced me to compile and compose (not purely compose) recent development in Indian cinema through mine observations.

We didn't start the fire, It was always burning
Since the world's been turning, We didn't start the fire
No we didn't light it, But we tried to fight it

Billy Joel definitely should have written that song keeping in his mind about cinephiles unbounded zeal or passion or FIRE for cinema .

Today,in the words of Margaret Mead, I will express myself: Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.

All the people involved in this project of educating people about cinema through making films and writing about it are those handful of committed people. Public acceptance can’t be the only criteria for judging success. Dialectic and sound critique have important roles in the society. When we taunt them or dismiss them off as elitist we are threatening the basis of human progress over ages. My best wishes are with PFC & Indian auteur.

Criticism, like rain, should be gentle enough to nourish a man's growth without destroying his roots. ~Frank A. Clark

PFC and Indian Auteur are leading two poles of cinema writings which taught me what swings inside the mind of film makers and critics. PFC has made it possible for current debut film makers to reach aspirants & cinephiles. Indian Auteur has made the standards of criticism high and quality uncompromising instead of financial woes. I still remember the debate between them and anyone remotely interested in Indian cinema with the nature of film-love in the country should read this discussion. It helped to downplay emotion of people blindly praising Anurag by an external shock. This lead to the write up of Anurag isn’t God, he ain’t Godard either on pfc. Time will reveal that this discussion as a very crucial juncture of Indian cinema and criticism. This in real term is called Manthan, the churning of opposite forces for the sake of greater good. And let us hope that it will produce gems in future, if not poison and elixir.

People think differently and in different directions and to bring them under one direction is the job of auteur. We have today a movement started by the RGV, Anurag Kashyap, Santosh Sivan & Dibakar Banerjee etc. it reminds of American cinema movement of 70's.

Today, Multiplexes has nourished the popcorn movie lovers but it has helped a lot of indie film makers. World cinema has shown that urban Indian audience are ready to deepen the awareness (with all its consequences) that better cinema different from ours, really do exist. Rural audiences had abandoned meaningful cinema of 50s and 60s giving upper hand to the entertainment movies saga of 70s & 80's. Parallel cinema had born and demised in between the urban audiences only. Post 90's liberalisation era, commercial cinema has abandoned rural India completely in the search of new NRI market only. Just look at the difference in dance scenes in our entertainment movies. First all the backstage dancers were local guys/gals from Mumbai but now they are all white firangis.

I used to feel that some story is shown in the movies which is about somebody else or characters are not known to me. Perhaps this is not the cinema. As a viewer, world cinema and new upcoming sensible films made me realise that cinema is all about me either as a film maker or a film viewer. Cinema of Tarantino shows that cinema is all about reflection of film maker. You have to make the film or write a book or event paint a picture in a way as you see it in your mind. There is no need of blindly following west for their appreciation, our films should reflect our experinces and voices.

I want to focus on an issue that why is it so that all greatness in India mostly approved by the west first. This may be either due to our affinity for the approval of white men or west has got eye for appreciation of talent on merit like in the case of Srinivasa Ramanujan to Satyajit Ray. Just don't know the answer...

In arts, especially popular arts like cinema, there’s no right or wrong or what we call binary choice. The difference between the two decisions is too obvious to miss. It’s the difference between being right vs being likable. Objective vs subjective or Facts vs opinion. So while general opinion can be wrong about something that requires deeper data and fact-based analysis. The primary key to determine success is the ‘goal’. Isn’t the goal of popular art likability? The five points of eternal debate in any field are: Quantity vs Quality; Adaptation vs Originality; Price vs Cost; Funding vs Delivery; and Excellence vs Inclusion. Cinema has to optimise the solution between these parameters. Creativity should precede public acceptance and simultaneously stimulates the mind!

In the end, I know that it is a great shame really that even after winning the national award quality cinema will die a natural death due to lack of audience. What a pity...

Wisdom Words

No power on Earth can stop an idea whose time has come. --- Victor Hugo

Indians also refract technology through their ancient social lenses and let the light that falls on the other side reflect their old prejudices and insecurities. --- Ajit Balkrishnan

We shall not cease from exploration, and the end of all our exploring will be to arrive where we started and know the place for the first time. --- T.S. Eliot

To be persuasive, we must be believable; to be believable, we must be credible; to be credible, we must be truthful. --- Edward R. Murrow

If you read a lot of books, you're considered well-read. But if you watch a lot of TV, you're not considered well-viewed. --- Lily Tomlin

The will is not free - it is a phenomenon bound by cause and effect - but there is something behind the will which is free. --- Swami Vivekanand.

Nobody can give you freedom. Nobody can give you equality or justice or anything. If you're a man, you take it. --- Malcom X

Democracy cannot consist solely of elections that are nearly always fictitious and managed by rich landowners and professional politicians. --- Che Guevera

I have travelled across the length and breadth of India and I have not seen one person who is a beggar, who is a thief, such wealth I have seen in this country, such high moral values, people of such caliber, that I do not think we would ever conquer this country, unless we break the very backbone of this nation, which is her spiritual and cultural heritage. --- Lord Macaulay's Address To The British Parliament on 2nd February, 1835.

They say true love only comes around once and you have to hold out and be strong until then. I have been waiting. I have been searching. I am a man under the moon, walking the streets of earth until dawn. There's got to be someone for me. It's not too much to ask. Just someone to be with. Someone to love. Someone to give everything to. Someone. --- Henry Rollins

DYSTOPIA

NYTimes journalist, Anand Giridhardas once asked Mufti Shabbir Alam Sidiqi, an important Islamic cleric, whether disenfranchised Muslims were losing faith in India and taking solace in fundamentalist ideas.

“What you have in India you have in no other country,” he replied. “In this republic there are rights. We can demand our rights, speak out. In other countries: eat, drink and shut up. Go to Saudi Arabia: you can’t speak. There is Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Dubai, Iraq, Iran. These things are nowhere. They are all dictatorships.”

Indian democracy should not work. Democracy brings little to the poor, the state is corrupt, politicians lack principles and ideas. Yet we as citizen with no reason to hope continue to believe, vote, speak, petition for better India.

One fine day, to understand life of people practicing Wahhabi Islam and searching about censorship on blog in Middle East, I came across this blog: The Religious Policeman.

It states on its first page: In Memory of the lives of 15 Makkah Schoolgirls, lost when their school burnt down on Monday, 11th March, 2002. The Religious Police would not allow them to leave the building, nor allow the Firemen to enter.

That shivered me deep inside and I dig the digital archives for complete archaeological survey. The blogger has been commenting on Saudi Arabia, off and on, for two years. I have read it completely now and the whole trauma of horrifying real life stories is not going way. Power, Politics, Money and Religion have clubbed together for violation of each good emotions, humanity stands for. It has confirm my worst fears that we humans are living in dystopian society. Here is living example of George Orwell's "1984" in this world. A concrete jungle made on petro dollars..

And then I just cherish in vanity that I have taken birth in India. How lucky I am to have freedom and human rights.......

I had got a mail...

If a tree falls in a forest and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound?

"Does observation affect outcome?" Yes, it does in writing. We can assume the unobserved event functions the same as the observed event in a rare case of writing where external observation is not needed. Sometimes event is self conscious. That is the beauty of writing, it makes you reflective...

I insist everyone to write and to clear their point of view or express experiences. Or it may serve the purpose to inflate weak ideas, obscure poor reasoning and inhibit clarity. This has happened to me long back ago. A great fellow from 'downsouth' had given me his valuable time and comment to improve my writing skills. I got a mail on asking his opinion on one of the blogpost. The email can be traced back on the date of 16th June 2007 when my blog was just 3 months old with full of spelling and grammar mistakes (Later I edited and republished blogpost on his advice). The person has asked to keep his name hidden here in public sphere. Enjoy that email which is still one of the guidelines followed in mine writings and helped in standing out than fitting in the blogland:

"You need to improve your grammar drastically. I had read a few of your posts earlier too (way to IT-BHU, legacy etc.) and the worrying part (sorry to say so) is that your grammar has not improved much. Elementary grammatical mistakes are accepted today but gross mistakes tend to suppress the feelings that are brought out through the medium of writing.

Your narrative style is excellent with a chronological and sequential flow of events. I can sense that you have that keen sense of memory and observation with an eye for the fine details (something I hav not been able to develop till now) and would provide a lot of entertainment and nostalgia if you can put the bricks together. I must admit I was in peels of laughter reading the post. My suggestion would be to write shorter, read it once before posting it and review errors as perceived by you and get both reviewed by someone so that you can have a feel about your grammatical sense.

I also feel that you write without a lot of reading and it simply doesn't work that way. Read slower and and try and appreciate the sense of the sentence. Bahut fatte ho gaye ab ke liye. Keep calling for help.

Cheers,

Senders name

Not everyone knows how to express creativity, but everyone has the capacity to be creative.

Shit does not always float. Things change!

In the words of Irshad bhai only-- "हर आदमी जो सही दिख रहा है, कही अन्दर से टूटा हुआ है। "
And in mine words-- "जीना महँगा हो गया है और ज़िंदगी सस्ती हो गयी है."

I am just sum of these two lines in reality. Rest written here is broken and chaos of my mind.

I am trying hard to inculcate and dissolve ideas into mine reading material, thinking and writing. From now onwards, the frequency of posting on blog will be low and only original matter will appear. More composition, less compilation and adaptation. Instead of plagiarism, a phase to produce mine naive thoughts has came. Shit does not always float. It has to be flushed in sewer one day. Things had changed inside me now!.

Yeh woh Manzil to Nahin:
This is not the article I want to publish here just a day before. A disorganised, disoriented and unthemed writing. But this is how life is, unclear and changing our subjectivity of perception on recollection. Too much order was taking the breathe of the blog, hence a break from established pattern.

Under any 'ism', man exploits man, so the idea of utopia or holy struggle goes in smoke and a grand illusion surrounds regarding every topic. If racism, religious intolerance, and sexism are wrong, can nationalism which is so often upheld as noble, be right? All the emotions can be manipulated in wrong direction by radical falsehood thrust of oration skills. Logic and analysis fail and everybody is happy to just follow. There are thousands who claim to have read Bhagvad Gita but have yet to meet person who actually understood the philosophy and practiced it.Take a example like the principle of Karmayoga only. More than deliberate blasphemers of a scripture, the unconscious misinterpreters of a sacred text are the innocent criminals who bring about the wretched downfall of its philosophy for their own convenience and prejudices. There is no use to fight over the credibility of God who will ever come out to prove himself right or wrong.

I don't want to be fed any boring facts and figures. I'd rather starve my mind a bit and have to search out nutrition in stranger places. People want to breathe a live of luxury and flamboyancy with the route of credit also. The luxury industries is doing what it takes to cater to the whims & fancies of rising class. The aspirational lifestyle doesn't limited to material objects but it has evolved into unique and personal experiences. Our society has taken voyeuristic path and children turning on to the habits of adults. People love to see other's in pain. Yet there are those who have managed to find the balance, ensuring they do their bit to propel their nation forward. That gives me inspiration to preach and express my feelings. Acceptance, Care, Respect and Recognition are terms for which a man struggle. Parallel cinema to caste discrimination or gender inequality, everything revolves around these 4 words only. In the Rebel against the establishment, getting wasted on high dose of liquor or drugs and crashing bike in high speed around a blind turn is no solution. To rebel means to stand for something what you truly believe in till last breathe. The modern idea of world is about equality and the transcendence of social barriers, not about narrow dividing walls. In this sense inspiration may well have come from Rabindranath Tagore’s song: Jodi tor daak shuney keoo na ashey tobey ekla chalo rey. (If none heeds your cry to march together, just walk alone, no if or whether.)

A good news for my fans that I was quoted in a international e- magazine;India: A wave of suicides among farmers. Just learned one lesson of lifetime yesterday: To lead people walk behind them.

My views in yours words

"Blogging won't make you a millionaire, so you should only blog if you love doing it. If you don’t enjoy yourself, your readers won’t enjoy reading your blog." -- Unknown.

It is the first step for start of writing original writeup only. This post is written in the series of flushing collection of other peoples writing from my mind. Reminder, this post is full of plagiarism.

Education-- Tell me about yourself: a brief introduction, talk about your skills relevant to the position, experience are transferable to position available and career objective. It is the sort of basic questions faced by us. For me, a college degree shows not that its holder has learned something but rather that he is the kind of person who could learn something. Today, a hybrid talk on education.

Schools or Universities are places where most young people come together crossing the old boundaries of religion and caste. It is here where the new nation is being constructed in the minds of coming generation.

"Universities, are no longer ivory towers. They were meant to remain above politics, but are very at the very centre of it." -Deepak Nayyar former VC of Delhi University.

In the process of discovering alien side of things, one begins to lose one's identity and falls into the trap of becoming an alienated person contemptuous of everything natural and uniquely inherited in him. Rote memorizing involves the brutal repetition of material just as it stands.The fidelity of memory is greatly affected by the intention. Students like me make a great mistake when they study for the purpose merely of retaining until after examination time. We retain facts after they are once impressed. The ability of retention purely depends upon the way it is impressed onto the brain. Recall is the stage at which material that has been impressed and retained is recalled to serve the purpose for which it was memorized. Recall is thus the goal of memory. Whenever a remembered fact is recalled, it is accompanied by a characteristic feeling which we call the feeling of recognition. It has been described as a feeling of familiarity, a glow of warmth, a sense of ownership, a feeling of intimacy. I learned in graduate school that "knowledge is power" but found that it is not correct ! Knowledge is 'potential' power depending upon how it is applied (if it is applied at all.) It's not what you know, but how you use what you know !!!

Work environment of the place can make any job or academics interesting or boring. Choosing a field and being adamant about it is just restricting yourself unnecessarily. Interest is not something which a profile can develop, it depends more of on the work environment you nurture your mind in. When you are content to be simply yourself and don't compare or compete, everybody will respect you.

Cinema--
The majority of people retain better things that are visually impressed. Hence, cinema can be consider as more effective tool than literature for spreading awareness. The idea is to engage an audience and uplift them in some way and take them into an experience which is emotional at many levels. Cinema no more reflects the society because we no more live in a society. Today we live in a market. And like all other products the market forces also control cinema. In the words of Sudhir Mishra - A great film is a film where you lose the distinction between how a tale is told and the tale itself; where there is an investigation into the truth but simultaneously the idea of being wrong is also present. You want to know the truth but when you reach it you also have an idea that maybe that’s not it. A genuinely vibrant cinema that does not necessarily have to be realistic or naturalistic. All we have to do is not to succumb to those who force to mimic or imitate in the name of 'inspiration'.

Cricket--
A wise team does not depend on recoveries. Cricket is a simple game that can be made to sound very complicated. The people who do the simple things well are the people who are most successful. Simple is repeatable and repeatable is successful. Cricket is execution not a game. Cricket is an isolating and yet public game. Soccer players suffer when they miss a penalty. Cricketers risk that collapse every time they go out to bat. It is not a sport at all, it's an execution. --- Peter Roebuck

All about Kanpur

This is an aspirational information-gathering article. Don't consider it as an inspirational or nostalgic writeup for a land of the leather industry, Kanpur. Kanpur is a big city rich in history. The summed-up details are available on Wikipedia and Kanpur unofficial website .For highly irrational opinions take a joy ride with me.

Tourism: Places of Interest in Kanpur.
For more queries contact: Official blog page of the District Magistrate, Kanpur Nagar.

Hotels and Food:
A lot of hotels are established to cater to thousands of guests yearly. The Landmark Hotel, Kanpur with Mehak Restaurant restaurant serves authentic Chinese and traditional Indian dishes. The names are like this--Angithi Restaurant, Little Chet Restaurant, Chung Fa Restaurant. One person has taken a taste & reviewed nearly all of them. FYI, it's not me. Reviews are at --- My experience with Restaurants in Kanpur.

Cuisine:
Dish name : Kanpur Chapathi.
Processing Technique is explained with photos here.

Scholarly works on Kanpur History: (videshi university se bhaiyaji)
Forgetting the Violence, Remembering the Report: The Paradox of the 1931 Kanpur Riots by Priya Agarwal.

FM radio is now more popular than Vividh Bharati ki prasaaran seva ka kanpur kendra. Times have changed now.

IIT Kanpur:
In my all post, I have not described in detail a heaven on the land of Kanpur, especially for me. That was indeed IIT- Kanpur. It has got a huge campus with a peaceful environment where a feeling of respect & humbleness arises inside the heart. It has sent out many distinct students to the world to spread the name of India.

Official website of IITK.
Again take a look at Kanpur and IITK from a foreign angle: Kanpur Kanpur and IIT.
Excerpt of the talk with Prof Ashok Jhunjhunwala about IITK history.
Forgotten chapter of the History of IITK & MIT together.

Cricket:
Kanpur is also famous for the exaggeration of a simple line. Sahara once was in talks for IPL franchise before the recession. Nothing is yet final but people are damn sure than Subrato Roy about IPL Kanpur franchise. And forget to mention a special series of incidents a few years back would be Crime: A take on green park stadium. The incident was the entrance of a dog in one-day matches. It has happened 3 times at least in live in front of me. Pretty Hilarious interruptions of the whole police squad running after one dog. Also, GP is a brown park wicket for Ranji teams and turns into the lush green for international matches. Enjoy the account of Ken Herr about watching a match in Kanpur. You will be amazed, why I always give the point of view of foren baba's about Kanpur? For introspection, I am here na with Kanpur Series !!!

24 years of my life

I have became 24 years old today. My birthday is like gentle reminder that I am much more nearer to death and consequently I have that much less time to do whatever I want to do. With each passing day, the indefinite future grows a little bit darker, but the past just keeps getting brighter with nostalgic and sweet memories.

Girish Karnad had written his first renowned play 'Yayati' when he was a 21 year old in 1962. Orson Welles made "Citizen Kane" at age of 26 and Bhagat Singh became martyr at the age of 24. Here, I am inheriting this earth, still offering my service to a foreign company for livelihood rather than solving problem of un-proportionate distribution of power and wealth in my country. It's faith in something and enthusiasm for something that makes a life worth living. Still searching for that missing something !

What better to quote something bhokali on birthday:

In life we all have an unspeakable secret, an irreversible regret, an unreachable dream and an unforgettable love. ~Diego Marchi

All above philosophy is worthless without the joy of celebrating birthday for a moment. Happy Birthday to me and Murali. This year celebration was good but the bumps were drastically reduced in comparison to college. Remembered Tintin's kick ass at GPL ceremony at birthday of each person. Great Days of friendship and feud...

Facts about Higher Education

Let me begin with the paragraph cited from above article: Redefining meaning of world class:-

What a pity! 18% of the worlds population (Indians) call third rate colleges as world class and continue to delude themselves. Not only that, they fight tooth and nail to fight to get into universities which are trash by any standard. To add icing to the cake, these 3rd rate institutions say that they are better than Harvard (factoring in just the exclusivity factor) or say that they are "world class". Its better that they these institutes recognize the garbage they are in and first come out of the trash can, before trying to make any claims to delusionary greatness.

Thats one reason why our colleges never look beyond national rankings. Every year, one sees different magazines coming up with headline breaking news, that some IIT has overtaken the other as the top college or that one of IIM's A/ B/ C has been ranked above the other. And the gullible Indians lap up this trash being doled out to them. Never mind that they learn nothing from such rankings because its the same trash being served in different ways year after year. And everyone is happy, the public with the hope that these institutions would help them get the "world class" status and "world class" opportunities, and the media because it sells a record number of copies of their magazines.

I don't completely agree or disagree with his views. Still, they are worth looking for introspection.

Recently, In the latest issue of Current Science, the director of NISCAIR, Dr. Gangan Prathap has written an article, Ranking of Indian engineering and technological institutes for their research performance during 1999–2008. Three esteemed bloggers has done their work of evaluation on this matter: Prof T Abi of IISc, Prof Giridhar of IITM & Cogito Ergo Sum.

I would like to present a view of my friend who wants to remain anonymous [Highly Credible Source].

Prathap's paper about the 10 years research progress at IITs/BHU/ISM/IISC. He didn't consider a few things like IITs/BHU/ISM are indeed technical institutions which specific mode towards engineering education and they should only compare that component with IISC or Jadvapur. Recently, US NEWS has done that. The rankings should be passed to as many people can be, so that the old faculty of India which is on a constant urge to nullify the best technical commodity to the entire world. ---- World's Best Colleges and Universities

A take on Old Indian faculty problem with reasons:

1: They they are nationalistic by holding PHDs of students from 6.5 to 8 years in fundamental sciences in India. They blame it to the equipments but I don't know how equipments play a role in Theoretical Physics.

2. They don't want any free transaction of knowledge in between you and the collaborator which hinders a lot of insight about the problem. Guys who really solve the problem never get to be on the committees which are meant for having discussion on the problems.

3. Most of the Indian PHD professors have anti-Btech emotions especially at IIT M/K and B. I dont know about your institute. They think Btechs leave India for their own good, but think about it, a PHD student gets a salary of 10-15K in India on a MHRD project worth 25 lacs and I have seen professors billing 1 lacs Rupees on Miscellaneous items, and Believe me he is one of the most famous Professors from India. They will never accept that a good sum of money is going to their individual pockets and they dont spend that money paying the students or buying new equipments.

4. For an equipment, they will write another grant and as usual that will get accepted. A student will be employed to set it up obviously on a low enough salary and expected to do the bullwork. Again Miscellaneous.

5. Newest of the faculty cribs: We should get higher salaries. Okay agreed. Tell me what is the quality of your publication and why should I buy your research when it doesn't solve any problem in industry, only meant for making publications at the cost of hapless students.

Welcome to Kanpur

Every city has a character, a pulse of its own. Kanpur as a city is infamous for its uneven roads, irregular traffic and heaps of garbage. But its people love the city. They add color and spice to this city. They love to live here, no matter how bizarre their ways! This post is all about searching colors of life in this city in the images through the images taken by a foreign tourist.

Business:

Elgin Mill, Kanpur’s oldest textile mill, J K Cotton Mill, Pulse mills, J K Jute Mills, Kanpur Unnao Leather Development Company (KLC), Ghari detergent & Duncan Fertilizers were all part of the industrial culture of Kanpur. The city may have been robbed of its historic smoking chimneys and requisite infrastructure, threatening the expansion of existing industries, but Kanpur still remains a commercial hub for traders. For more, Why Kanpur is still UNDEVELOPED?

Pollution & Traffic:

There is nothing more for me to say about the Pollution of Kanpur. Kanpur has topped the list as the most polluted city in the state. [Ref]. I will give you a summarized view of traffic and pollution from a blogger view---

Dust never settles down on this road, just like a desert rally. The traffic at Ghanta Ghar, Kidwai Nagar and Tatmill always create a lock jam. Most of times, people are trapped in matrix of trucks formed by their grand entry possibly from all directions with Their revved up engines were kicking up dust plumes. The rush of cyclists, hand driven, cards, loaders, tempos, car, buses and trucks, rickshaws has never been easy to conquer. The visibility can become zero and first impression was the entire stretch was shrouded in thick blanket of fog. The lights couldn't penetrate the cover and you will vigil scampered for the missing road. The bravehearts on their motorcycles negotiated the potholes with such speed and perfection, Ghost Rider with all his divine powers might be ashamed of himself.

Always in the media for all the wrong reasons. Run! Quick! Cover the girls! or Fake Cheque Scam.
Kanpur & its people are magnanimous. They will live on if it means living with problems, problems, problems, and problems. Seriously, Nothing rhymes with Kanpur.

Independence Day

A collection of songs for provoking emotion of nationalism in this numb mind.

Hum Hindustani


Hum Honge Kamyaab


Aye Mere Watan ke


Aye Watan Aye Watan


Sarfaroshi ki Tamana


Being deeply loved by someone gives you strength; loving someone deeply gives you courage. Loving my country gives me courage to change it for better tomorrow and alter yesterday's mistake. Despite many intellectuals think 15th August,1947 as change of government, I prefer to stick to mine opinion. All those who sacrificed blood and life for this country were not fools and they deserve respect from our side. And there is also no use of silent gratitude for all martyrs. They deserve more than these patritoc songs, they deserve more...

I know that hundred years of rule did not just colonize the land but it also colonized the body, mind, thought and culture of the conquered people. Independence to the Indian people was supposed to have come over 62 years ago but we are not free because of the brown sahibs surrender and denial of their self esteem and their dominance in politics, media and public discourse.

Still, want to read more. Stop and just think on this line -- "What do they know about India, who only know about India !!!"

Do the Right Thing - 2

A man far greater than you or me, Mahatma Gandhi gave us a talisman “Recall the face of the poorest and weakest man you have seen, and ask yourself if this step you contemplate is going to be any use to him.”

I see this line in class 1st in ncert books.
I was able to read this line in class 3rd in Hindi book.
I understand true meaning of these magical words at this phase of life.
I don't know when I will feel those words ?

Leave this idealistic talk one way, be practical for a while. FYI, I have done a small share of mine social responsibility. I have just taken fees burden of Sruthi [Profile] completely and Hemant [Profile] partially for this academic year. This is made possible through a NGO, Sankalp Foundation. I had enquired about this NGO completely before helping the students in their educational endeavours. Arun Tangri [CSE-06, ITBHU] is the person who had arranged all the formalities and meeting with the parents of Sruthi and Hemant.

Reason to take credit publicly in blog is simple. I want to show you a way through an example. I am just a person like you, a earning member of society. If we could donate just 1% of our annual income towards good causes, our society will become a better place to live for us and others. Please invest (not spend) your hard earned money or precious time to make life better for others. A helping hand by you is really a great help for someone.

Kindness in words creates confidence, Kindness in thinking creates profoundness, Kindness in giving creates Love.-Lao Tzu.

Jay Hind! Title Track : First Look

Lyrics : Varun Grover
Sung By: Sumeet Raghvan
Music : Claver
Directed By: Abhigyan, Varun, Jeevak and Rahul

Sure a big controversy will arise and I am waiting for moral scavengers to attack on this show [Streisand_effect]. My personal reason to cheer it, off course Varun Sir and plain satiric truthfulness of opening song.

No rain drop blames itself for the flood

JRD Tata had once observed “I don’t want India to be an economic superpower. I want India to be a happy country.”

Currently, there is the alienation of students from the ground realities of India. In the race to become technologically advanced, we have given no attention to social science and the rural sector. See, everyone knows and has seen the fact that if the rich sell a gun, the poor use it to destroy them. As long as the idea of 'potential resource' is equated to power and control, development will always be about money. Never about people or real social development perhaps. Deep Joshi, Magsaysay prize winner in 2009 points out the fact that "Development work is considered intellectually inferior, unlike high science, industry or diplomacy. We want to prove that it is both a challenging and a noble choice."

The lack of social scientists is hurting the growth of India. There is a lack of serious study of economics and social science in India. Read Fractured Social Sciences for a detailed view.

There is a huge lack of awareness among youths about our own country. I once commented in desperation " When youth do not associate their identity with the social and cultural fabric of their country, nothing is going to change. People from UP do not know about Vijay Tendulkar and people from Tamilnadu do not know about Amrita Preetam. A whole English medium-oriented generation has no idea of the ‘Samporan Kranti’ movement by Jayaprakash Narayan and Ram Manohar Lohia. They will die to see MTV Roadies or Splitsvilla but do not have heard names of Carnatic or Hindustani classic music."

The whole system has failed to equip students with either reasoning, language, or logic skills, this is the effect of putting a premium on mediocrity over the last 60 years. Indians have fallen in love with selectivity. Everyone loves rejecting everyone else. Infosys selects 1% (link), jobs paying 100 rupees a month claim 5% selectivity (link), police jobs claim less than 1% selectivity (link), and becoming a police constable in Bihar implies you belong to the top 0.7% out of 130000 applicants (link) and the list goes on. Unfortunately, no one asks what the standards of our top institutions are.

Technical growth was the main area of progress along with learning English as a medium of communication. We are ahead in the service sector more due to our efficiency with English rather than technical super skills. What we are waiting for is, for the whole of Africa to learn English and adapt to technology. Then these MNCs will switch their production and services to Africa and the third world for the search of cheap labour and we will become a leading developing country with 100 million consumers and a very tiny contribution to world trade. Our country has turned into a dustbin of MNCs as a country of mass consumption rather than mass production. This growth will not long last if we don't invest this wealth in the production/ manufacturing sector. For example: We need to create tech companies like Google, Microsoft, and Adobe from the generated money through the IT industry.

There is a great paradox of what economist A.K. Shivakumar points out the children of the rich go to public universities and children of the poor go to private money-squeezing institutes. These second-rate institutes turn out second-rate students, condemning the peripheral to further periphery. The lack of scholars from our universities is stagnating our chance to grow as a developed nation. A blogger correctly pointed out the fact that:

In the humanities, we need a William Dalrymple to teach us about the history of the Deccan, or Delhi. There are many economic and social factors involved in this sad state of affairs, but one of the most prominent of these factors is the utter lack of a vibrant university system fostering unfettered interaction and exchange of ideas among people of widely disparate interests and expertise. All this affects another important part of the higher education system of the country – Graduate School. We are creating more PhDs than any other country in the world with the possible exception of China, but are our PhDs really worth the title of “Doctor of Philosophy”? I am not sure. Are our research institutes producing loads of doctorates who are nothing but highly trained technicians or are we producing leaders and thinkers who can cross boundaries of discipline and think creatively?

Another blogger makes an analytical study on social sciences in this worth-reading article. One paragraph on the liberal arts education is worth excerpting here:

Regarding education in the liberal arts, you have to admit there is a certain class element to those who choose to/can pursue serious study in its various fields. For example, someone who is a first-generation college student, i.e. first in his/her family to pursue education beyond high school, would much rather choose a ’safe’ field such as engineering or medicine or aim at clearing the IAS exam, simply because it makes the most economic sense to do so. I would even go so far as to argue that for a country to have a vibrant intellectual environment in the liberal arts, a substantial middle class is a pre-requisite; the liberal arts being a more likely choice of perhaps the 2nd or the 3rd generation college student. Now whether the second or the third generation born in India post the 1991 reforms demands better avenues for education in the liberal arts remains to be seen.

India is and has been a banana republic where organized greed always defeats disorganized democracy. Our populace never felt to be really democratic; it is dishonest, corrupt, and opportunistic. The middle class has degraded to rank money making without ethics, businessmen profit without quality, and at our basic nature in the country, we are becoming aware of rights but unaware of duties. It has eventually led to politicians and bureaucrats who are liars and hypocrites with additional power-hungry nature. The increasing disparities between the rural and urban sector is creating a big vacuum in the development model. The irony is that nobody bothers about the poor anymore or needs a real change. The most basic need is urgent and inexpensive medical care. There are teachers in private schools who don't get even 4,000 a month. And so many other people working in hundreds of other unorganized sectors. A serious illness or an operation in a family is enough to give them a financial jolt for several years. As the vocal middle class has abandoned places like government hospitals and schools, nobody takes up these issues as newspapers and mass media only listen to this class of the software techie, the BPO guy, a businessman, or an IIM graduate. It is this particular section of the urban class, which constitutes less than 5% of the population, that gets disproportionate coverage. Job shredding at the airlines becomes a bigger issue than the mass suicide of farmers in our country.

We as youth are the tools of change. We have to raise voices for our countrymen who are fighting for their survival daily without any representation. And I don’t want to be a product of an environment where only no. of zeroes of your salary will reflect your potential & prestige in relatives and society. The environment of society should be balanced by giving empowerment to women and removing caste discrimination. Dalit, farmers, and women's social empowerment embedded with democratic values can only guide India towards integrated development. How India uses health care, consumes energy, and educates the next generation, the future will be determined. No raindrop blames itself for the flood, we as citizens are that rain drop...

Value of College Education

1- What a College Education Buys:

But the education kids are rewarded for may not be the same education their parents think they are paying for. Economists would say that a college degree is partly a “signaling” device — it shows not that its holder has learned something but rather that he is the kind of person who could learn something. Colleges sort as much as they teach. Even when they don’t increase a worker’s productivity, they help employers find the most productive workers

In recent decades, the biggest rewards have gone to those whose intelligence is deployable in new directions on short notice, not to those who are locked into a single marketable skill, however thoroughly learned and accredited.

2- College Education and The Placebo Effect:

The placebo effect is scientifically established, well-known effect in medicine. Basically, when doctors prescribe a sugar pill (a placebo), a good percentage of patients do get better. Note that while a placebo is just a sugar pill, the effect on the patient is very much real - patients do get better, not just imagine that they get better, so there is no quackery involved. The human mind and the human body have powerful self-healing mechanisms, and these seem to be triggered by the placebo.

3- Education Unbound:

IIT Bombay has a budget of Rs 120 crore a year, of which Rs 100 crore comes from the central government. With 5,000 students, this means a subsidy of Rs 2 lakh per student per year. This is not sustainable and is the key reason why the government system has not expanded. The private sector has to step in, and it has.

When you turn degrees into commodities and anyone can buy one from somewhere, you're going to lower the overall level of education in the population - while those with the pieces of paper hold them up as proof that they are educated. They FEEL educated. The universities are charging for their human capital as much as their teaching prowess. Yes, it is partially selling certification and there is no doubt that many schools engage in this. The value of this certification fades over time, though. The chance to be around so many people who are driven and creative and resourceful at an important time in life does not though, it pays dividends through the years.

Vichaar Shoonya + 1

From RGV's blog, a thought for the day---
Q: Can you give me an example to differentiate between knowledge, intelligence, genius and wisdom?
Ans: Knowledge is to know that a snake contains poison; intelligence is to figure out what the poison contains and how it can kill you. Genius is to create an anti venom. Wisdom is to know all this but yet not to fuck around with the snake just in case the first three go wrong.

Capital gains : A vivid, wide-ranging (and very scary) portrait of unbridled consumerism in the post-liberalisation years. [Thanks to Jai Arjun Singh]

Infamous List: To clarify, the people in these lists are/were good, honorable people. What is unpleasant/infamous about the lists are the circumstances in which these people found themselves.

Rabindranath Tagore in Conversation with H. G. Wells

Gapminder: Unveiling the beauty of statistics for a fact based world view.

Free Hindi Ebooks Download.

Mentor Yourself: Five core strategies for developing a more satisfying and successful academic career.

End of an Argument. How ?

Agrippa's Trilemma :The trilemma is a breakdown of all possible proofs for a theory into three general types:

* The circular argument, in which theory and proof support each other.
* The regressive argument, in which each proof requires a further proof.
* The axiomatic argument, which rests on accepted precepts.

This Trilemma is just for giving you an idea about types of arguments and little bit of creating impression about me (:P).

We came across several heated debates on the online community, forums and blogs about any topic. In a typical argument, each person tries to prove themselves right and the other person wrong. Instead of synthesis or refining of ideas, our focus shifts to stick to our owns idea as prime and supreme one. In the end, each person only ends up either more entrenched in their views or influenced by dominant juggling of words, regardless of who seems to deliver the most rational argument. Arguments are done for the sake of progress than victory. An argument can't be won by resistance. It will only increase the stubbornness of others and a little communication of importance will be achieved. Trying to prove yourself right and the other person wrong is like making a frontal assault on an entrenched enemy position. The goal of your argument is attempting to raise the other person’s awareness while maintaining your own sense of inner peace and identity with the idea.

I wanted to know why so brilliant individuals can't agree on a small point for evolving into next level of discussion. Its major reason which I can catch was that our education system fosters competitive excellence rather than intellectual curiosity or cooperation . Also, I want to know how to conclude these arguments as per seen similar situations in much popular fish market like Group discussions (GD). Any suggestions ??????????????

For good reading purpose,

1- Tagore and his India --- Amartya Sen.

2- Leszek Kołakowski (1927- 2009)

3- Who killed the Indian University ?

4- An interview with Fatima Bhutto.

5- Recession: How Risk Models Failed Wall St. and Washington?

Introspecting Career

"I am an enthusiast, not an expert."

It took me 23 years 11 months to realise and write this line. Now, this line holds key to my future. I was never involved with full extent in anything in past. I was working as a CATALYST for the process but didn't actively participating in it. Further, this nature prevents me to start anything new as entrepreneur or provide service under hierarchical structure order. What I am able of was to inspire/aspire others for achieving higher goals. So, I have decided to plan my career on this inherent talent. Now on, I will give a talk about my career in casual manner in this post.

A Quote for Self Motivation at Start:  "Don’t meet people who just want to meet you. Do something that makes everyone want to meet you. Make a short that is good enough that no one can ignore.”--Anurag Kashyap

Once upon a time, I met a mechanical engineer working in Delhi metro project. What we majorly talk is irrational here but his one sentence always keep in the mind. He stated that make yourself irreplaceable with gaining expertise in the line of work, otherwise you had wasted a great opportunity in the life. I may not fully agree with him still consider it for introspection purpose in the professional life.

I was more process oriented doing thing step by steps till I entered ITBHU. My thinking changes 180 degree after that. Soon due to carelessness, I came in the category of Engineers for whom: It doesn't matter ki question kya hai, they say bataoo answer kya laana hai. Rest of the account about my graduation years is briefly stated before. Then, I escaped from the core mechanical area after graduation and got job in the I.T. (service sector). Long gone back those days of relaxation and now I have highly monotonous routine of office-home and viceversa. I can describe my life in the words of Anton Chekhov (provided by the furobiker)-: Any idiot can face a crisis, it's day to day living that wears you out.

People who know me are well aware of my fickleness and desperate search for career path. Standing on one leg and balancing other leg may not be my favourite stance but my career progress is like that only. A sort of dissatisfaction from the present and highly aspirational future dream. This parallel career with 'happy go lucky' attitude is taking too much toll on my health with loneliness increasing another psychological problem.

It is my philosophy that our thinking is not best expressed in words. It is expressed in the choices we make up with fully owning responsibility. I have interest in Cinema, Socio-cultural studies, Intellectual Property rights, Composite material, Energy Engineering, Administrative Services, Knowledge Management & Developmental Studies at different span of time-line in last 5 years. Finally after a long run in diverse field, I have started preparing for entrance examination of MBA in rural management.I had previously heavily criticized my fellow batch mates (not all but most of them) for blindly pursuing MBA without even assessing their inherent potential. It may be my prejudice but I think it takes very long time to decide your career shape before investing your time and hard work in it. So, IRMA Anand or XIRM Bhubaneswar are my dream destination. If the dream comes true, I will be abiding technical/software and corporate field forever. Note down that I write this blog without fear of HR & Management which can easily sneak into personal blog in recession times.

There is no right or left for me now...there is only up and down of life.

For the times they are a-changing and I have found something to compete for finally..

A Quote for Self Motivation at End:. “All men dream: but not equally. Those who dream by night in the dusty recesses of their minds wake in the day to find that it was vanity: but the dreamers of the day are dangerous men, for they may act their dreams with open eyes, to make it possible.”—T.E.Lawrence

A Crazy Post !@#$

Image is of Madman painted by Theodore Gericault. Now the preview of this writeup should be cleared to you.

"Logic is deduction, not description. Understanding is secondary; the reasoning is the thing. In Logic and Mathematics, we do not understand things . . . we reason and deduce."
--- Quoted from the movie :The Enigma of Kaspar Hauser.

This slightly amended dialogue from the movie set the mood of this post. I haven't seen the movie but read this punch line on pfc. Suddenly, I wanted to compile some hotch potch about wisdom, knowledge and information.
Starting with poetry.....

Where is the Life we have lost in living?
Where is the wisdom we have lost in knowledge?
Where is the knowledge we have lost in information?
-T.S. Eliot

And then progressing with a quote...

Knowledge comes by taking things apart:analysis. But wisdom comes by putting things together.--John A. Morrison

On reading about genius people on nimmy's blog, my heart propelled me to put my crazy idea into words. I choose very arbitrary topic: Knowledge Management. I have put a paragraph here of my crazy idea about KM....

"Reducing carbon emissions of corporates is vital to green IT, a task that recession-induced cost cutting has indirectly fulfilled. I found new mantra for information usage in the era of green IT. Reduce, reuse and recycle the information. Information pollution is term coined by me only in this age of knowledge economy. Knowledge management people should have used this mantra, Its free and open source. Thesis of green IT, Antithesis of Information network and prosthesis for KM guys."

See, I have no clue what I had written here in chaos. I think it is there to confuse people involved in KM field. If you are smart then figure the meaning yourself...

I am going Insane or mad with each day, now you decide....
I am off.

Cast off Caste

I was talking to my flatmate yesterday. We had a small argument about intercaste marriage. He will not do intercaste marriage due to his family and community background. Thats, ok reply for me. Then, I fired next shell on him, " What about your daughter in the future?". He replied that he will go for intracaste marriage if the girl does not opt for the love marriage (consider it against his wish). I was astonished by his reply and blaming his impotency to stand on this issue on his family and community. I can imagine the upbringing of the girl (daughter) in that environment very easily. So full of prejudice and what more to say..

Most of the people who support intercaste marriage openly, they are not going to do that. They said that just to show people their pseudo open mindness. At the juncture point, they don't have guts to do that. And latter justify that he/she can't marry intercaste girl/boy because of there parents and relatives, community. The neutral accent of these people derail reforms more than brutal atrocities done by caste prejudices.

Rigid Stand of most people against inter caste marriage pisses me off and then on argument, they give bullshit theories of tradition, caste superiority and then fear of society. I believe them as the same people who suffer from white man syndrome. I was giving previous example from daily life to show you that educational degree does not reflect mindset of an individual . Its the broad mindset to accept and judge things rationaly on the basis of merit rather tradition or style which matters most in our life.

From 5 years, I am learning about new India and Indians strangely hidden by mass media from us. I am pretty sure that only few people reading this blog will be aware of the name of Martin Luther King Jr. and Civil Rights movement in America. Strangely, But I am damn sure that none of my friends (Read: Hindutva follower) will be knowing about Self-Respect Movement started by Periyar in Tamilnadu a century above. Getting the youth involved is crucial in the process of social change against caste discrimnation. The root of this prejudice lies deep in our histories, but its impact is felt every day.

Will be updating more on this issue....

"It is not God that is worshipped but the group or authority that claims to speak in His name. Sin becomes disobedience to authority not violation of integrity." - S Radhakrishnan.

Fight against Hunger

I have never written anything for the sake of publicity or public lobbying in this blog. Today, I am breaking this rule. Please read all the posts (atleast this news article only) of this blog for the awareness campaign run by a single man against the whole system. It is a fight to ensure most basic right of existence of an individual: Right of food.

Core area of the discussion here is about food, agriculture and hunger.

Ground Realities : by Devinder Sharma

Music, Mango and Samosa

Music:
Indians are exposed to a lot of rural folk, bollywood music, pop albums and bhakti songs. Few of us also ventures into Indian classical and Carnatic music also. The unique amalgam of traditional music and popular cinema sounds, being performed by musicians on stages and arenas, depicting the cultural lifestyle of Indian. I am here giving you links of street music of Indian. You may have heard thousand of western classical, rock, jazz and blues but I insist for giving attention to our own musical heritage: Street Music of India.

Samosa:
Kanpurites has good sense of business sense and one of the example is here.Its a story of branding and marketing Samosa in recent times of Lokshabha election.

"The sweet shop in focus is Satya Sweet House's one-rupee 'samosa' and rightly naming it as 'Nano Samosa'. It is the current hot favourite with the political workers of the various political parties. To ensure the smooth sale of samosas to field workers of political parties the shop has made some special arrangements. The shop has set a target to sell 6,000-7,000 samosas daily. It is supplying 1,000 samosas daily to district Congress party headquarter at Tilak Hall alone, while BJP office is trailing with a consumption 600-700 samosas per day." [As read in India Today]

Mango:
I am not great fan of Mango like Mirza Ghalib but really missing the diverse mango varieties in Hyderabad. I have never eaten Malda and Aamrpali (Bihar region), but now wants to taste these varieties. Before that, rolling again back to the Kanpur memories, a reproduction from local news of Kanpur..

"There is hardly anything tempting about summers but for the succulent mangoes. As the sun beats down mercilessly,the only good thing is arrival of aam in the city. Kanpurites wait till the end of May to dig into their favourite varieties -- Langda, Chausa and Dussehri. Before that, they have to settle for the more readily available Alphonso, Badaam-Safeda, Totapari and Gulab Khaas.

And if mango is the king of fruits then Alphonso is the king of mangoes. Alphonso mangoes are known for their superior quality and their sweet taste. The northern belt, especially UP, is known not only for its varieties of mango but also for the legends associated with it. Legend has it that the Nawabs of Awadh and people in Bihar planted thousands of mango saplings in their area and hence, the maximum number and variety of mangoes are from this region. People of this region have also experimented with methods of hybridisation and grafting to produce new varieties. Another legend associated with this variety of the fruit says that the famous Langda variety of mango was a result of a chance seeding near Benaras." [Times of India]

Kanpur- Pigs, Vikrams & Gutkha.

Once upon a time, Kanpur was called the land of swine and auto-rickshaws, speaking in English: pigs and Vikram auto only. It was a popular idiom among citizens that beware while driving Vikram and the pigs. They can stop, run and take unpredictable turns on the road. And in fighting, you can't win from their masters.

Kanpur is without a doubt one of the most polluted and chaotic cities. Today the world is hit by swine flu, I recall the old days when private pig farms proliferated in the city without any monitoring. Kanpur was the center of bristle trade for the whole of India under colonialism mainly done by Khatiks. After the decline of the bristle trade, the Khatik switched over to public pig rearing which became a menace to the whole of Kanpur.
The brief rides on the “Vikrams” for roaming in the city can invariably be left an outsider tired, irritable, and generally sick. Still, People prefer Vikrams to crammed buses for their mobility and fast service inside the jammed road of Kanpur. But I loved them for their talkative drivers and mithun da-type sidekicks hanging outside autorickshaws. The image down there is of an old autorickshaw which was the master of the road in starting '90s. Pretty fun to ride in them, now they are replaced by better ones. Still, a crazy drive in Vikram having a seat beside the driver is a must part of all Kanpur trips.
Now the number of pigs is significantly reduced by the action of ex-mayor Anil Kumar Sharma. And CNG buses considerably reduces the workload of transportation and outing of old vehicles (15 years old) reducing emission considerably.

One more deserving mention about the specialties of Kanpur is Gutkha. Wikipedia defines Gutkha (also spelled gutka, guttkha, guthka) as a super kick a** version of Skoal tobacco. Spitting paan masala is so common that even your white shirt is saved from blackening due to pollution, a journey on the local bus will surely make it damp with a red mark. Pan Parag, Kamla Pasand, Talab, Rajshree, Natraj, and Wah are the name of the popularized brands here.
While the decision to ban gutkha is well received by and large, it is seen as a big blow to some five-lakh people who are employed in this sector and the revenue loss to the state government is immense. Over fifty different Paan Masala and gutkha industries will not be the only losers, even the itra (perfume) industry of Kannauj fall into this trap. Ninety percent of the perfume here is used by the Paan Masala and Gutkha industries in Kanpur.

I am not uttering a single word about the dying roads having valleys and plateaus on them. On every single Billboard and wall, there is the name of the Member of the parliament of this city Mr. Sriprakash Jaiswal who also happens to be a cabinet minister and that too home minister (state). I wonder if he ever visits his constituency or makes cunning speeches!!

Here only, I saw filth all around and myself experienced this, now I call it a ‘Human Jam’. What a city, what a mess. Kanpur Series goes on....

Truly, Wah Kanpur, Ahh Kanpur!!!..........

13 Screen Divas

5 Actress I Like:

Waheeda Rahman
Shabana Azmi
Meryl Streep
Cate Blanchett
Kate Winslet

8 Heroines I Like:

Madhubala
Salma Hayek
Meg Ryan
Monica Bellucci
Priety Zinta

Drew Barrymore
Scarlett Johansson
Ayesha Takia

Missing Friends

I felt like living in exile or alienation although in contact with friends virtually through internet. Forget about last post or anything preachy, I said about ontology or spritualism.

Missing love crushes, na. They never care about me as you people have.

Just missing you friends.. sonal, vishu, dada, vvs, golu, chaudhary, hathi, agp, bond, chammo, kunal, chandan, chandu, shukla, srikant bhaiya, garima, soni, rajjo, gupta jee and many not named here.

Tanhaai.....!!!

As the famed Czech poet Jaroslav Seifert said, for anybody else, not telling the truth can be a tactical maneuver. But for the writer, staying silent is lying. Instead the bulk of readers and viewers seem comfortable with witty sarcasm & sexual oriented comedy or sensationalism and xenophobia, What do I have to offer going against mainstream. My friends may point about that they read my mental condition in the images and words in the blog updated in every 3 days.

Moods and passion are reflected in the phenomenal world which came to bear on the deepest concerns of human life woven as I am into intricate web of life. Few evenings, I only went to walk and concluded to stay out even after sunset alone. The mood was of going out, but I realise that I was really going in dissolving in old thoughts. Suddenly a question arose in my mind about my nature. Is Love of sublime landscapes linked with reactionary romanticism?

You push yourself to achieve in love. After a failure in the love, the tinge of infatuation and innocence of heart is lost from life. The maturity comes as a byproduct and you are not the same person as a second before with time. You became much distant to many and intimate to few. You will found soon that to talk with someone without sharing your secret pain is very tough initially, latter to reveal your history become more gruesome. I was asked to reply my emotional un-attachment to people to whom I love and care silently. Simply, I got one line solution to all my problem: People who are sensible about love are incapable of it. (Thnx orkut)

Finished 3 part biography of Swami Vivekanand and felt that Bookish knowledge isn't always bad and, as some celebrities say, has the power to transform lives forever. As an professional IT employee, I am following tough vow of : Early to bed, early to rise, work like hell, and advertise...

Note: Above posts does not reflect mine life on the brink of collapse by pessimism. I am well functioning as sovereign country of Pakistan with the emotional support of friends and family. Yes, I am disillusioned about my career with each passing day.

Chao, more to come like always.