Saturday, November 22, 2008

Quotable Quote

"Salim-Javed never went to a screenwriting school but still ended up becoming a screenwriting school for all of us. Too much education can kill a perfectly smart brain forever. But it's desirable in terms of craft, in basic things like creative writing classes in every university which most people in the west take for granted.

We spend our childhood dreading our Physics-Chemistry-Math scores and hundreds of entrance exams instead, which is a pity for those who are not so inclined.

It's strange, I always say I never went to a film school, I went to Jungle instead-and recently Anurag told me the same thing-that he never went to a film school, he went to Satya instead".

- Jaideep Sahni, in an interview to India FM

Blog :Creative Writing

A blog is a medium which can and does foster creativity and original writing on burning topics and bring up concrete reality completely ignored by the mainstream press. It can also be used for providing information and inspiration about career {in IITs & IIMs}. In my words a blog is a creative license in form of online journal, public diary or e-documentation of your thoughts.

You have to keep seeking and striving, learning and thriving. Reading and writing are in symbiosis with each other. Equating the writing of comments with writing a blog is misplaced but a potentially powerful idea. Its clever marketing, since the term 'blog' has come to stand for the unfettered expression of opinion. But blogging is not something that you do only as a reaction to what other people write! It is about being proactive than reactive.

The challenge is to hybrid creativity and commercialism. To achieve impact in terms of sales, or at least influence thinking / behavior is real goal of a writer. And never be creative for the sake of being creative, especially if it's for a 'creative' purpose or position. It takes extra time and attempt to come up with something creative and more sincere effort to become original. Or, wait for someone else to - and then promptly forward the mail to you!

Read Post by Steve Yegge and Post by Rashmi Bansal for good blogging.
PS: Dedicatd to Rashmi Bansal for her fundoo blog.

For Future Generation

The wishes of the children are never a factor when deciding their future, Even if the part of this creative little soul is dying everyday on that wooden bench, copying Q & A from the blackboard. Earlier the thought was that only civil services, doctors and engineers are suitable careers. Nowadays the trend is that only engineering +MBA degree combo is a sensible career. It can bring in the so called mega bucks. It is all for the welfare of the students. Never mind if the kids are battered by an uncompromising and ruthless system which robs them of any creativity they have had. Failure to get inside a top notch school is considered a family dishonor and enormous pressure brought on kids to achieve targets which they never really wanted to.

And yeah, this is motivational bullshit but you know what, the idea that an entrance exam or two at age 17 can make or break your future is horse manure. Use it - to fertilize your imagination!

Take a bit of a creative leap in your Life!!!
College is just a platform to move in a particular field. Use this time for recreation and climbing on the learning curve. The one-dimensional growth in grades can be good with academics but for long term benefits curricular activities must be done.One time failure cannot stop anyone from climbing the ladders of success.

Whether you join the ‘ultimate’ branch or merely the ‘ultimate’ college after beating neck to neck competition…
Whether you got your dream job on first attempt…
Whether you marry the girl of your dreams or the one your family dreamt of...
All that matters in the long run is how true you were to yourself.

As Oscar Wilde once said,"Most people are other people. Their thoughts are someone else's opinions, their lives a mimicry…"
Honest Advice: Find yourself. Be yourself. Love yourself. Everything else will fall into place.

Software Industry and Engineers

Engineers have always had to endure the "nerd" label, but some catchy phrase might change that image. RHDTM was such incident to me. A dialogue was delivered-“Mechanical Engineer mein fire hone chahiye”. Then in next scene,R. Madhavan ignites a lighter for smoking cigarettes. That snap makes engineering a cool career to me in school days.

I decided in 1s year two things: To get a software job and to excel in any field except academics. I completed this resolution successfully.

Apart from my story, the creation of over 250,000 white collar jobs is something to celebrate. For the first time in recent Indian history, the 'ordinary' graduate is in demand. If it took outsourcing to create this demand - so be it. But remember software industry is not about creating new things. Its all about client giving you work. Work that their IT team is NOT interested in doing.

Well, here’s the deal. Practically every engineer – and not just from IIT but the top 200 colleges in India – can become a software engineer in a TCS, Wipro or Infosys. Regardless of what branch of engineering we study, you can get into them.
But, there is an elite corps which is recruited by global corporations for R & D jobs. And these are the jobs that even IITians die for: To work for a Google, Microsoft, Adobe or Yahoo on new and emerging technologies. To be part of a team creating new products and not merely fixing, maintaining or coding.

But if you’re the square peg who fits their round hole, more power to you!!!
I always remember this line:"Human beings were not meant to sit in little cubicles staring at computer screens all day, filling out useless forms and listening to eight different bosses drone on about about mission statements."(ref)

Test Cricket vs.20-20

The trouble with traditionalists is that they present themselves as protectors of the game's values but are actually doomed romantics. They lament the present state of affairs yet resist innovation.---Peter Roebuck