I Me Myself

I'm just sayin'

2011-12-21T22:30:00.000-08:00

REGAL is a better word than LARGE. I'm just sayin' ...

It occurred to me while in yet another unremarkable commute back from work. To ease the pain of spending 20 minutes with mostly unfamiliar faces, the upgraded metro trains, running between Jersey City and New York, have video screens airing mostly infomercials. Alas, more often than not, they exacerbate the commuter boredom. Things I like about it are weather forecasts, celebrity trivia (mostly to know who is hot these days) and anagrams.

I am usually buried in my phone during the commute, trying to connect with distant knowns than dealing with nearer unknowns. But when I am not, I do look up to the screens and try my luck with anagrams. Yesterday, I saw 'ARELG' flash on the screen and instantly chemical juices in my head started to flow. I can never tell why I can solve one anagram and not the other. But I was hoping to solve this one. Just a split second before the screen revealed the answer, REGAL flashed in my head. As I muttered it, the correct answer came on the screen - LARGE.

The chain of my reactions was something like this - started with 'huh'; followed by second-guessing and making sure I was spelling REGAL correctly; which led to "what the hell? I am right" moment; finally it all ended with a smile. That smile was a result of sort of mini divine tap-on-the-head moment. Multiple 'correct' answers are possible even for an anagram !! Just five characters can sort themselves out to have different meanings depending on who solves it.

Thankfully, English language is finite – there is a limit to the number of ‘correct’ English words that can be formed with these five characters. Try asking a broader question. My favorite, as somebody who follows economic policy, is “how to fix the tax code?”. And then watch the debate. We usually start with the presumption of 'other' side being wrong and end up concluding the same. But is that really the case? You don't have to be blind and feel different parts of the elephant to come up with alternative viewpoint. Even in broad daylight, same things/issues/observations can have very divergent interpretation, depending on how your chemical juices flow. The answers are not necessarily wrong, they might be just different 'right' answers. The follow-up question is - which ‘right’ answer is better?

REGAL is a better word than LARGE. I'm just sayin' ...

My Religion - God Exists

2010-12-26T16:50:00.000-08:00

I cannot therefore It is. I am forced to refer God as “It” as a creator who balanced the two sexes so skillfully cannot belong to a particular sex.

My limitations proves the existence of “It”, nothing else. I cannot explain even my own existence, let alone understand the world or the universe. Yet everywhere I look, there are patterns and laws. Something or someone designed them. Who or what? Humans, other species of animals or plants, rocks, oceans, or other planets? Probably not. There is something or someone beyond what the mind has understood or can understand. Such reasoning proves “It” exists.
Why exists and why not existed? Of course, the creator could have created the laws and the patterns, and simply ceased to exist. My reason cannot answer this question for me. Faith rescues me here. My faith makes “It” alive. My God exists!!!

“It” exists because I cannot understand everything. Even if I understood everything, I cannot create anything beyond what “It” allowed to be created.

I cannot therefore It is.

The question of Democracy

2007-12-30T02:43:00.000-08:00

Plato in the Republic says that a good constitution is only possible when the ruler does not want to rule; where men contend for power, where they have not learnt to distinguish between the art of getting hold of the helm of state and the art of steering, which alone is statesmanship, true politics is impossible.

The minute I read these lines, two images appeared in my mind – Jawaharlal Nehru and Indira Gandhi. Notwithstanding the countless failures that people attribute to Nehru during his tenure as prime minister of India, I believe he had a vision to “steer India”. Indira Gandhi, on the other hand, apparently strove for “holding the helm of affairs” – both in the Congress party and India. Nehru then according to Plato would be a statesman – Agreed. But then what can be said of Indira Gandhi? Deductively she was not a true politician.

But was she bad because she understood concept of democracy well, but not “managed” democracy? I have always been intrigued by this word – democracy. Still haven’t found a good definition for it (Help!!!). Democracy for me (as of now) means a way of accounting for society’s idea on how it wants to govern itself. It can then take a form of being representative (parliament /presidential) or direct. The underlying assumption (at least in representative form) seems to be that political power aspirants accept the decisions of the society to choose them as their representatives or not.

Did Indira Gandhi do this? It seems so. She came to the seat of power through democratic means. Whatever she did inside the Congress party needs to be separated from this analysis. Congress party became a registered national political party after independence – why should they be still considered the torch-bearers for the high idealism of nationalist agenda (except for emotional and moral reasons)? She imposed Emergency as the Prime Minister – a power vested by the supreme law of Indian land, the constitution. The society did not like her, threw her out of office, and she accepted. She came to office again winning democratically on agendas which won the imagination of people (unless of course we assume that elections are mostly bogus voting in India). She maybe not a “true politician” in the eyes of Plato but in my eyes she was a true politician of democracy.

However, the problem seems to be that she failed as a student of “managed” democracy. I qualify democracy with “managed” because it seems like democracy as a concept (if it is defined as above) is very weak in itself. It has to be guided by other (and probably stronger) tacit as well as explicit principles or ideologies. In Indian case, the explicit (in the constitution) basic principles to guide democracy are secularism and socialism. But more importantly, politicians in democracy are expected (tacit principle) to have high moral standards – as if they are guided by some “invisible hand” of ethics. But why this expectation when they are supposedly the “servants” of the society and motivated by power?...[to be continued]

Definition of Power : A chronology

2007-10-13T15:33:00.000-07:00

500 B.C.

Tao Te Ching (Classic text) - Mastering others is strength. Mastering yourself is true power.
Confucious (philosopher) - Choose a job you love, and you will never have to work a day in your life. [which is power]

30 B.C.

Horace (poet) - Adversity has the effect of eliciting talents, which, in prosperous circumstances, would have lain dormant.

1830 A.D.

Honoré de Balzac (Writer) - Power is not revealed by striking hard or often, but by striking true.

1850 A.D.

Benjamin Disraeli (politician) - Nothing can withstand the power of the human will if it is willing to stake its very existence to the extent of its purpose.

1900 A.D.

Andrew Carnegie (Industrialist) - Immense power is acquired by assuring yourself in your secret reveries that you were born to control affairs.

1930 A.D.

Harry Emerson Fosdick (religious teacher) - Our power is not so much in us as through us.

1970 A.D.

Sathya Sai Baba (religious teacher) - Some say knowledge is power, but that is not true. Character is power.

Young Thought

2007-10-12T21:01:00.000-07:00

It is sometimes easy to escape the minds of young. This is manifested in people thinking of us as the Generation Q (Written for the Americans, yet I believe it is more true for Indians - just replace Facebook by Orkut!!)

Such depressing thoughts were going on in my mind (it is depressing to be labeled such), when I again wasting time on Internet stumbled on the website of Crisil and the Young Thought Leader Competition. Excited to channel my boredom into some idea generation, I greedily browsed through the topic list. It turned out to be an absolutely fascinating list of topics. But my adrenaline rush was put on hold by two observations: the last date to enter the competition had passed by and the competition recognized as post graduates only MBA and CA students !!! Maybe others are not even qualified enough to express their thoughts.

In any case (I should stop cribbing about the supremacy of the MBAs of the world), I believe it is an excellent venue provided by CRISIL to bring fresh thinking. Who knows an interesting idea may pop up for the betterment of the Indian Economy !!!

Who owns what? To what end?

2007-09-17T21:13:00.000-07:00

Thirty years ahead of schedule, an ancient discovery resurfaces !!! As bizarre as the above sentence may sound, it is true. The ancient sea route connecting Asia and Europe directly across the Arctic could very soon be open for ship navigation. The ice has melted (predicted to happen thirty years later) which would allow the ships to transport goods faster and cheaper between the two continents. (The article).

As I read through the article, first thought in my mind was: Oh shit !! It was probably a hangover of watching "An inconvenient truth" multiple times. In my brain, the whole chunk of ice at the arctic circle was the "lifeline" of the world. And after the shocking news, I thought the article would immediately cry about the impact on the environment and some analysis over how our current thinking on the pace of global warming could change due to this.

The article subsequently mentions the above, but the first half (and interesting half) of the article tells on who is doing what to capture the route to earn revenues from it. It just doesn't make any sense. After all what we have learned, after all what we have discussed, the fight is over the rights and not over banning the damn route from further ecological disturbances. What if a ship carrying oil spills (or worse blasts), what if human activity increases in that zone, etc?

And these are all the "developed" nations of the world fighting. I constantly fail to understand the true meaning of development. Developed countries are supposed to guide the world towards a better existence. Yet, it seems development is the cause for doom anyways. The EU, (Germany for sure) trying to push solar energy in a big way for environmental reasons, is saying that the route should be international water. Probably there is no legitimate way for them to capture it. Hence it doesn't want other countries to control it either. This would eventually translate into higher profits for the EU exports. Profits seems to weigh more than existence (remember al gore's famous balance scene). Why don't they push for strict no use policy in such ecologically fragile environment?

Maybe I am just paranoid about this, based on my small knowledge about environmental issues!! But even if there is a slightest chance of accelerating the irrevocable damage, is the risk worth taking?

Know your MP

2007-09-02T22:40:00.000-07:00

Why bother? I am really finding it hard to present a convincing case here to do so (btw, I hope you understand the acronym MP - Member of Parliament, in case you forgot that too). Bombings in Hyderabad happened. Everyone seemed to respond. Police, CM, PM blah blah.. Did you hear of the name of the MP from the constituency? No, yes, maybe, whatever !!! Probably he/she would have "responded" too, but that name is hard to register/recognize. Now, that my brain has started to work after a few sips of coke, here are a few reasons:

Impress your friends over coffee that you actually know the trivia about the person (It is hard to get to the topic of politics over coffee, you would have to make an effort).
Impress YOURSELF the next time you hear/read the name and recognize it (You would have to go deep into the political section of the news to achieve this).
Next time you are stuck in a traffic jam during a motorcade and you come to know that it is your local MP, you know exactly the name to curse (should be fun, right !!!)

So, know the name of the person who is the political kingpin of our district/city. Where to find it? Well, the site Our MP is a great resource. It is trying to compile information on the political stars of our country. It actually allows us to attach a news about the MP we find. But the sheer lack of reports/comments seem to say either no one knows of this site or no one is interested enough. So, it is actually trying to woo you to become one of the volunteer to write about your MP. Hard to find such folks but my personal wishes to the editor in finding them.

[To the editor - Thanks for creating the bio-page for each MP. It can be the only source about the MPs for my research]

Visual DNA

2007-05-19T22:56:00.000-07:00

Read my VisualDNA™ Get your own VisualDNA™

The Guru

2007-01-15T22:51:00.000-08:00

"If you want to know what Indian are thinking or craving for, see the box office hits of Bollywood".
-Unknown (aka me)

I have been for sometime looking for a "Guru" for myself. A person who can direct the energy I think have to whatever best use I can put it to. I need some beads of advice for me to "succeed" in life. My search for the perfect one still continues.

For now however, Bollywood is the best substitute I have got in face of inexperience of those who I believe in and my distrust of those who think they can advise me. Rang de's belief in action, Guru's belief in thinking big and having the heart for it. They send out the message strong and clear. They have a profit motive but so do the consultants who apparently bring huge efficiency gains for businesses. They manipulate my thoughts and my feelings, but also give a hope that I might succeed despite all odds. They try to make a required rebel out of me as I have been too entrenched to follow the rules. As a middle class average person, I am convinced that I am helpless and can make a change or prove myself only if I do something drastic. "India poised" says more directly today is the time for India and Indians. Watching these flicks, my harmone levels are doubled thinking about the success that could be mine.

I may be an emotional fool thinking all the stuff above (sometimes I seriously think that I am one). But bottom line, bollywood remains the best substitute I can get as a 'Guru'. There is only one small issue.

Three punters (fools) back in the good old days of hostel used to talk of life - one 6km runner, one aspiring marathoner and me (no where related to sports). One fine day we started discussing about running and the bhaat (talk) drifted to what is better between 100m and marathon. I supported 100m arguing it gave fame and is run on will power which is the quality of winner. I was almost about to win the argument when I lost with a simple yet deep statement - you win 100m by defeating your competitors but you win marathon by winning with your efforts (think about it, it is simple to understand). Anyone with a healthy body can win 100m any day given the bad performance and state of the competitors but you cannot do the same with a marathon.

What the heck is the connection between the above two? Well, I think there is. An inspiring flick is a story of marathon winner packaged as a 100m win. What lingers behind is the 10 second winning message, what is lost are the details of minute by minute struggle.

I completely agree with the statement - do what it takes till you touch the sky ... but do remember the preparation, time, patience and struggle required!!!

(Disclaimer:- This blog is a kind of self-explanation to an emotional fool that is me)

I moved on - So have you !!!

2006-12-02T22:27:00.000-08:00

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Context : This piece can be best understood, in my opinion, by understanding the context. Here, "I" is India and you is "Indian citizen". India is trying to explain herself to the citizen, in view of the accusation that it is not moving in the "right" direction. I may have done a bad job, but thought was worth an attempt. Thanks for bearing with me.

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I was walking,
crossing streets and avenues.
Met known faces with greetings,
as I entered my venue.

I was running,
perspiring to complete a round.
As I gave up hope of finishing,
I realized it was already my second.

I was waiting,
my heart pounding for the results.
Fear and hope my only companions,
in those anxious moments.

Things changed for better
or worse time will tell.
But success or failure,
realize that we have moved on.

Little talks

2006-11-10T22:24:00.000-08:00

Height of weakness – With all the education, power and wealth, you cannot predict with certainty the next moment.

Best way to overcome this weakness – Share and laugh this with someone!!!

Hahaha … you simply like some moments. All tired up, I entered my room on a Friday night to concentrate on my submissions but my brain just didn’t work. It just failed. So, I took the best medicine I know for such situations – watch a good hindi movie. I searched for a good one and luckily found an unseen interesting movie “Hazaaron Khwaishein Aisi (2003)” (How can I miss this one?). It just took me to different plane of thoughts. With them overloaded in my brain, I walked down to exhale some good air.

Now I have a good friend who I normally meet downstairs. Our security guard. My little chit-chat partner during my frequent trips downstairs. The lady laughs a lot and it is sometimes weird. But I really like her jovial nature. She exhales too and many a times accompanies me. Usually we talk about weather and she keeps me giving little information about the neighborhood. The other day, she really sounded like an aunt (and she maybe of around that age) to take Vitamin C from getting sick during cold weather.

So, as usual we started off as usual and then I mentioned that how tired I was feeling and was bored of studying. She casually replied “Remember!!! It is not going to last forever and you doing for your own good.” I got really engaged and it just came out of my mouth “You know I feel increasingly powerless, the more I study”. Seeing all the anxiety of my face, she calmly replied “I know what you are talking about. You are no better than me. When, I read the newspaper, I am confused what will happen next day. You are confused about the next year which doesn’t mean you know about tomorrow”. “Exactly” was all I could mange with between our hearty laugh…

ING New York City Marathon - Who Won?

2006-11-05T22:22:00.000-08:00

26.2 !!! This figure does not ring bells in most ears. Yet, for long distance runners this number in miles is pride. Whether it is amateurs aspiring to complete their first one or professionals fighting over the last minute, marathon events are occasions when dreams become reality.

And one such event is The ING New York City Marathon. Here today, around 38 thousand people ran to meet their aspiration. In my opinion, it was good day to run - no rain, no wind and good temperature. I was lucky enough to volunteer at the Medal distribution counter. Although I and my friend, as usual late, were at the right time to perform our duties. As we got ready, we received the first of the disabled category marathoners. They were the ones who stole my heart away. I could not just stop my incessant cheering at their achievement despite whatever disability.

Around 12 to 12:30 PM, there was a loud uproar in the crowd. Our winners were arriving. Jelena Prokopcuka (2:25:05) repeated her performance at NYC marathon, winning in women's category second time in row. Marilson Gomes dos Santos, a Brazilian,won his debut NYC marathon in men's category finishing in 2:09:58. Some in the crowd were surprised (including my friend) that Tergat, last year champion, came in third. His timing was 2:10:10. Just a 12 second trail !!!!

For the next hour, we received our under 3 hour category. This is my dream category. Here people mostly belonged to the professional runner clubs around the world especially France and Italy. Some were disappointed with their timing while some others were happy. I kept my role of cheering with claps.

The crowd started to increase. We were approaching the mean of the normal curve of timing. I shifted my responsibility to direct the people to get the medal distributors. There was a surge in smiling faces. The air filled with joy, hugs and emotion. The limp and pain was lost with the sight of medal. My role shifted to distribute the medals and giving hi-five. A girl came along, took the medal and hugged me. She started crying. I couldn't understand in the noise if she said it was her first or the best. The only words I could utter were "well done...congratulations".

As the day progressed. the crowd kept finishing. A guy came over with 2 bibs. He said his friend was taken to the hospital between the race. He asked if he could have a medal for him. I couldn't deny him that. There were a lot of couples running together. One of the volunteers had a good idea. He gave them medal each and asked them to put on one another. The expression on their face cannot be described in words.

By the end of my day, the air around me was all sweaty, with the sweet smell of success. But it became hard for me to answer the question - Who won this marathon? Gomes kissing his best time medal or the couple kissing each other after they finished? In my opinion, everyone who stood behind the start line with the courage to complete this distance !!!

How to live life?

2006-11-01T00:16:00.000-08:00

chakde chakde chakde chakde chakde phatte ...

I am not kidding. And I should thank Tushar for encouraging me to watch "Khosla Ka Ghosla". Movie was good but the song "Chakde Phatte" just cleared my head on how to approach life (at least for tonight).

You might still be thinking that I am joking. Let me present you some lines from the song:

"...yeh duniya oot patanga

kite hath te kite tangaa

te kukdi dindi baanga..."

This just portrays the society in which we live. World is just chaos. With all the modeling in economics and politics, you can never explain whats going on. Next, everybody is trying to achieve something or other which may make no sense most of the time. But even in this incomprehensible mess, you see some pattern (kukdi dindi banga ... cock crows)

"... taa ate utte bethha bandar

samjhe apnoo sikandar..."

These are the best lines. They show the kind of people in this world (obviously seen from your perspective). I would say that we can say with 95% confidence level that any person we meet or interact with belong to the above category. The problem is that we don't realize that people can be actually bandar(monkey) when they seem to be sikandar (great achiever).

"...tu kahnoo baniya bhikhari

ede chakde phatte..."

So, how am I supposed to behave under such conditions? Well, the verdict is out. One should set his or her own terms and live life kingsize (some actually believe that I do so but I still need to perfect this art).

Isn't it amazing how easy it is to gain wisdom in life?

Defining Intelligence

2006-10-24T22:47:00.000-07:00

A poor man has no food to eat. He has no choice but to eat what he can get hands at. And he is satisfied and happy and thanks god that he got what he got.

A person with money walks through the doors of a superstore. If he is new to this place, he just gets bogged down with the amount of choices he has in front of him. Even the most decisive of persons gets tempted to deviate from his plan till the time he has habituated himself into walking through the same alleys which house his necessities. Habituation and contentment makes a person with resources and/or endowments, experienced and rational. “Having focus” is the euphemism for habituation and contentment. It is one of those sought after qualities which apparently makes people successful and have more and/or control more resources. Externalities may also change the resource levels. But this should disturb the equilibrium for which the person is trained for.

Here comes the role of intelligence. A person who can mould himself with the adjustments in his resource level is an intelligent person. He who does not get bewildered with the change in resource fluctuation is a fool. He who can always push up the resource level is lucky more than anything else. But he, who adjusts to the bewilderment and then takes out something out of the situation before uncertainty changes it again, is an intelligent person. As my friend puts it “Change is an opportunity and not a risk”.

New Blog

2006-10-20T17:09:00.000-07:00

Somebody said "Learn to segregate ideas". This is my attempt to keep my thoughts and analysis of public policies different. Checkout my new blog. I am not sure how it would shape up but I want it to be a response to my belief that people should know and participate more in policy discourse. Whether you like it or hate it, it would affect you. So, participate in it.

What is democracy?

2006-07-06T14:18:00.000-07:00

“…What is democracy? What is democracy? It got something to do with young men killing each other …”

One, Metallica

Until recently, I believed that there was an absolute definition of this term – Democracy is where the government is chosen from the people, for the people and by the people. But people seem to apply the above suiting their specific needs. People of Uganda feel that they need democracy to form political organizations. Bahrainians believe that they do not have democracy as it would have allowed them to question the ministers (appointed by the king) on their actions. But a common thread runs across all the above – Democracy is a well-defined process which is at a different level of implementation in different countries.

The above thoughts on democracy led me to another question – At what level of democratization process is India at? And I committed a mistake by linking it with Reservation. Consider the following hypothetical scenario. A country is divided into majority and minority on a particular issue. If the process of democracy is working perfectly and assuming politics and policies are governed by voting, the minority would feel that they stand to loose as it violates that it works “for” the people. To curb this situation if we allow some special concession for the minority like reservation, it violates “by” the people for the majority. They feel democracy is not working. Wait a minute. Democracy is now manifesting itself as a feeling. If everyone feels that whatever is done is democratic, we have democracy.

Confused, I turn to seek help. But who can help? Maybe policymakers of US of A. They have led the beacon of democracy. They have believed that democracy works for good and their experience with it can be applied to improve the well being of humankind. And that they would go any limit to get it endorsed. Multi-party system, elections, separate central bank, method of checks and balances. But is it the way it can be achieved? Surely they say, they have experienced it. Yes, now democracy is the experience that has worked.

Maybe Metallica was not as foolish as I thought. Remember Mandal Commission, Invasion (oops democratization) of Iraq etc etc. Democracy surely has something to do with young people killing each other...

Theory of Life (Part 1) - Competition

2006-05-29T14:36:00.000-07:00

Not long ago, I was asking everybody (as I usually do) a question - What is excellence? And if there exists anything like it, how do you measure it? And believe me, I never expected so much variance in the answer - ranging from that it’s a crap concept to fool people to its comparison with GOD (excellence personified).

I guess I was not very keen at a concrete answer. It was a deeper fight which manifests itself in different forms time and again - What should I do in life? (I know it’s a rather heavy question to ask at this tender age ;), but can't help it). Should I compete for the material wealth (resources, as my friend puts it) or seek spirituality? Inspire people? Become a lonesome standing on a hill observing the valley of world? Or just be another "person"? (Btw, they are all very interesting things to do).

If I assume free will and control, all the above would lie on the same indifference curve for me. But when I relax this constraint, things fall apart because I believe all the above require inputs apart from my will and deeds. The uncertainity inherent due to external factors make things hard.

The problem I face is of externalities (again I love Eco). You are always affected by and in turn affect others. In thinking and in action. Let me explain it algebraically:

y - c = F(x)

where
F is the function of life,
x is your cumulative input,
y is the output of life,
c is the externality ( - sign as it deviates you from the desired output of life).

That y depends or is a function of x should be trivial to understand. I would rather like to elaborate on c. I propose that c is a function of F i.e. c = Q (F). The type of life (F) you choose directly affects the amount of externality you have in life and hence more/less deviation from the desired output of life.

So, as a risk-averse person (which I am), what kind of life (or F) should I choose to limit my variation in desired output? Its a long and tough question. And lets solve it by parts (which means different post :D). But let me try to explain one of the characteristics of it.

Competition - This is definitely one of the determinants of life function. At any point of time, you are competing (even if you feel or are pegged as the 'coolest' guy in the world, believe me you are). So, how can you define competition in your life to minimize the effects of the outside world? Simple - start competing with yourself. The only assumption I am making is that I would know myself. I would then know my strengths perfectly and can devise to beat myself again and again (did you not see weakness in the above phase? Well, I have none). I wouldn't have to worry about how my competitor got additional advantage or spend time trying to analyze and know 'him'. I will live, breath and know 'him' every moment. Such a perfect knowledge of competitor!!! Man, I would definitely going to enjoy this.

PS: - The above presented ideas are not truly mine. I have just tried to put thoughts on paper (here MS Word) of folks around me. So, if you don’t like it please do not blame me J.

Reservations in India - A Root Cause Analysis

2006-05-17T12:40:00.000-07:00

I oppose reservation. But as always, I am not doing anything about it. Why? Simple reason - Apathy. I have got what I needed in terms of education from this country and the education of my 'children' is a long way to go. The dynamics might change (hopefully) and hence, I am not concerned right now.

Another reason is Economics (I love Eco). Law of economics says that if there are economic profits in any area, more people would try to enter the area till the profits become zero. I am busy minting money (in the same country) and trying to enjoy the development (whatever) the politicians and diplomats are trying to achieve without any costs!!! There is ample scope of competitors and there are already a lot who have joined the bandwagon. What are you waiting for?

Did I say costs? What can be possibly the cost of living in a country you were born in? I pay tax (man its cut at source, otherwise it would have been more profit) ... thats it!!! Rest the govt should take care ... if I am providing the money (or even not)... Rest should be managed by the government like any efficient services company. But wait a minute, who appoints the government? I am smart and have cut costs here too - the pain to go and vote once in 1-2 years (in the worst case) and delegated it to my fellow citizens who I believe are least productive - the 'backward' class of the society.

Seems like a good setup, right? But the plan does go haywire sometimes. Since politics runs on votes, sometimes politicians ignore my demands (which they should implicitly know). But whenever this happens, I do cry foul (read agitations mostly within the comforts of my room) but nevertheless overall, the plan works for me. Does it for you???

I hate 'Always'

2006-05-11T12:20:00.000-07:00

It was past midnight when after finishing shit loads of paperwork, I went for a quick game of pool. As the balls started to roll, my colleague unwittingly asked a trite question "Do you always stay late in office?". I was in no mood to spare and pat came my reply "I never do anything always". He was taken aback by the reply and had no words to say. But I was quite amused by my reply.
Do I really ever do anything always? I tried hard to find the answer, but no luck. No single emotion, ambition or work could hold my attention for long to qaulify as 'always'. I had no permanent habit, no everlasting faith. Either I am a loser or a wanderer (do I qualify as philosopher?).
But what about you? Its a simple exercise. Try to find 'always' in any aspect of your life. And if you find one (you are lucky), answer another simple question - Does this 'always' in your life because you seriously want it, do not want it or just do it (like wearing nike)?
And why do I ask the second question? I dared to compare myself with Hector. One of his most impressive speech in the movie said "All my life, I have lived with three simple rules - honor the gods, love your woman and defend your country...". Was he right or I am? (You would get bonus points for voting for me).

My blood group is AB – Who I am?

2006-04-08T10:25:00.000-07:00

Browsing through the newspaper, I found an interesting article stating that folks in Japan and Korea believe that there exists a high correlation between blood group and human qualities. For example, people of O type are leaders, A type are strict disciplinarians. First question which stuck me (it maybe due to my limited knowledge in biology) – If there are only four blood groups as I know, is it really possible? But this question was not the culprit. What irritated and frustrated me was the fact that even after reading the fine prints, I couldn’t find the qualities associated with AB type (btw, I hope now you know my blood group). But after this storm, the calm left a BIG question mark. Why was even I searching for it? And though I admit I am a confused person in the world of self-confessed know-alls, never did a single thought created 2 opposite trains of thought.

First Train: Do you believe you are unique? I always take pride when people call me different. And yet, here I was searching for the common qualities that people believe I have due to some external factor. I don’t know about you, but I do get biased by such classifications and they affect my thinking and personality. A quick example. I am a ‘baniya’ by caste and anybody who knows about Indian caste system knows that baniyas are supposedly stingy. Looking at my spending habits, you would swear I am not. Yet people have reminded me of it so many times, that I feel guilt conscience after spending (though I still keep on spending). Take it to the bigger picture. It is quite possible that people who have grown up with a particular classification reinforced on them time and again would behave in a particular way. It is equally likely that another sect would oppose them vehemently for a similar reason (sounds like ‘manufacturing consent’, right?). Who is wrong? Depends on which side you are. But one thing is sure – I hated such classifications and did not want to be a part of any classification.

Second Train: A deeper look into me. I am an atheist in religious India, I like living on credit when people like to save, I want to live in a far flung independent house (preferably hut) when folks are buying amazing apartments, I love to bunk office when colleagues are competing fiercely [for good] (I hope if my manager reads this he understands its just a literary piece). And yet, somewhere in my mind (or heart), I want to be like ‘normal’ people around me. It is immense satisfaction when appreciated on standard scales. Moving out of myself. People were orthodox; they fought hard to become liberal. Now when they have become so liberal, they want to identify themselves with something. They wanted to experiment with relationships, now they want stable partners (or worse, for some no partners). Some long subdued and new classifications (either ideological or physical) are being endorsed with full zeal and unfortunately or fortunately consciously. See Paris burning, Nepal fuming, Oil burning, blood groups classifying. Good or bad? Don’t know, but again one thing is sure – I want to be a part of some classification (how about a caste called mavericks).

Did you understand the difference between the two trains? And if different, which one to choose? I am still trying to find the answer for both. All I need you to say “Best of luck…dude”.

My Trip To Uttaranchal - Prologue

2006-01-09T11:07:00.000-08:00

Prologue

Thanks to the allegations, promises and ditching on my “idea” trips, I resolved to make this one happen at any cost. The final companions met on December 28 at Delhi – Gult, re-christened Mota Gult, the walking encyclopedia about the people and events of RK Hall, the energetic bulla (yes, this is the true bulla) satvik and me (no adjectives attached, you know me). The mission of this trip was simple (yet so elusive) – to “chill” out. The only constraint we imposed (as always) – be on shoe string budget. The mistake we made was to make gult, the in charge, who had no idea about the string and the shoe became quiet loose. The asset we had – KODAK EASYSHARE DX 7590 – Digital SLR Cam.

My Trip To Uttaranchal - Day 1

2006-01-09T11:03:00.000-08:00

Day1: Jim Corbett Park

Ranikhet Exp (with pathetic sleeper class coaches) reached Ramnagar at around 6 in the morning. The expensive resort booked had exotic setting but was overpriced. As tariffs included meals, we were inspired to gobble up everything possible. By the end of the day, we ourselves were amazed on our capacity to consume.
The 8 km drive to the Corbett Park was the coolest event of the day. The open Gypsy with the cool breeze was beating the merc scene of Goa trip in “Dil Chahta Hai”. I went a little far by imagining myself as a warlord who was visiting his territory.
This park is known for tigers. But to spot one out of 140 counted dudes is real hard. The striking feature was the expanse and the undisturbed natural habitat. Spread across 1822 sq. km, it is a world away from bustling sounds of human settlement – it was quiet filled with sweet humming of n species of birds. Besides appreciating this serenity, we were trying to improve our “checking out” skills (please refer to the “photographs of the day” section).
At night, we had two lively conversations at bonfire. One was with the resort manager who explained how the creation of the new state had helped the local economy and industry to grow. Second was with 2 drunken sardarjis having contrasting views on the political condition of the country. But they really scared us by citing the temperatures this year (Amritsar had hit -0.5 C yesterday).

Photographs of the Day

My Trip To Uttaranchal - Day 2

2006-01-09T11:00:00.000-08:00

Day2: Reached Rishikesh

Unfazed by the warnings, we started off to our next destination – Rishikesh. After 6 hours of bus journey (good govt bus), we were in the religious and yogic city. But for us, it was to serve as the base camp before we hit the mountains. The hotel rooms were surprisingly cheap and neat – so it was easy to pick one at the “quietest” area in town, Lakshman Jhula.
The stroll at the hanging Lakshman Jhula (it really vibrated as we walked) in the evening culminated at the German Snacks Bar beside the Jhula. This small setup was filled with “only” foreigners mingling freely and discussing their classes of yoga. The deadly combination of interesting tea flavors (remembered “Finjaan”) with an impressive book (Ramayana by banker – there is something religious in the air here) held me there for over 2 hours. This gave good opportunity to bulla and gult to befriend our table neighbors from Holland. While gult got busy in getting his portrait made, satvik was engaged in a deep discussion with a lady who had come to India for around 6 months to feel and live the “spirit” of India.

Photographs of the Day

My Trip To Uttaranchal - Day 3

2006-01-09T10:57:00.000-08:00

Day 3: White Water Rafting

We all were first timers to any water sports adventure and naturally were quite excited about what lay ahead of us that day. After a short trip in bare minimum clothes, we were at the starting beach. It was a sunny day and our spirits high. The adrenaline pumped in even higher as we saw some rafts leaving. As we embarked the raft, our guide, a local boy, briefed us on what were supposed to do. The closest analogy is a military commander giving instructions to his commandos on a secret mission. Another one, personally close to my heart, is the situation when Alexander surrendered himself to the knowledge of a local shepherd boy to guide him and his army through an unknown terrain.
We were a few meters in the water when our “captain” said it was the time to go for a swim. I was the only one who knew ABC of swimming (though we were wearing live saving jackets and there was no need to know swimming). I touched the water and within a split second was in the water. I knew if I took more this duration to decide, my sanity would take over and I would not enter in that freezing cold water. The water felt like thousands of ant bites simultaneously and over and over again.
The first “rapid” (were actual action happens) we encountered was called “3 Invisible Mice”. The raft inclined to about 400 and we 3 froze with the intensity and power of the water even when our captain asked us to continue to row forward. It was feeling which cannot be described only felt. I and bulla became better prepared for next and better “rapids” though gult used to “hang on” at every gush of water. It was a good exercise to actually row across 25 kms across the ganga. The only lunch break was quite welcome with simple yet tasty food and few hands with actual beach volleyball.
As it was 31st night, we decided to celebrate it outside our hotel room. From striving to get a pass to the only DJ nite available in town, we landed up being with the same set of guys from morning at their beach camp. But it was surely a very cool and nice experience. Around 7-8 of local folks gathered around the bonfire with us being the only tourists. The evening started with bulla gazing the star lit sky, gult as usual making pally with the cooks, and I engaged in the local politics talk, ranging from uttaranchal movement, rising naxalism in the area and state of NGOs. As the spirits rose due to the “spirits” (procured from Dehradun for the occasion as rishikesh is a dry area), we moved to singing our favorite hindi songs appended with some sweet uttaranchali folk songs. I was applauded for my high pitched voice. Already high on several shots, few moments after taking the concluding “Ji”, I crashed well before the evening was over. As far as I remember, it was one of those rare occasions when somebody other than jaat, dragged me back to my tent.

Photographs of the Day

My Trip To Uttaranchal - Day 4

2006-01-09T10:55:00.000-08:00

Day 4: In Rishikesh

Even after heavy dose of intoxication, the New Year started with a clear head. The first task of the morning brought back memories of DTLs at NCC Camps.
After breakfast, it was time for resolutions. Already crashed and burnt by the big last year resolution, I decided to have smaller 5 point resolutions (inspired by 5. someone). But hari stole this show by making a direct (quantified) yet hard to achieve vow.
This was our day to relax around in Rishikesh. Mention on such a trip to laze, and first thing that would come to any mind is good food. We luckily found a Rajasthani place and as it was a Sunday, it was time for dal-bati (a different variety though). But it was desserts which were orgasmic – amazing gazar ka halwa and hot gulab jamuns.
Unable to concentrate and walk after such a heavy lunch, we walked down to the nearest ghat and sat for a while trying to capture the vibes of the city – so different from the frenzied pace of our own lives.

Photographs of the Day

My Trip To Uttaranchal - Day 5

2006-01-09T10:51:00.000-08:00

Day 5: Reach Joshimath

Bulla went back to Delhi and we undertook the long and arduous 10 hour bus journey to Joshimath. With gult trying to cope up with the motion sickness, I sat enchanted with the heavenly sights and views. The observation – the size and apparent mightiness of the mountains increased progressively. The thought – Which business besides agriculture and tourism, could be setup here so that I can earn and live in one of the prayags (deo, rudra, nandi) on the way?
After the grueling journey, the sight of Joshimath was a little disappointment. It was cold here but no sight of snow. The folks here told us that it snowed only once till now and that too 10 days back. With a heavy heart, we checked into a hotel. The news channel reported the snowfall in srinagar and how tourists were taking the full maza of it. With those scenes in our dreams, we hoped the best for tomorrow.

Photographs of the Day

My Trip To Uttaranchal - Day 6

2006-01-09T10:49:00.000-08:00

Day 6: Auli

Early morning, we were chilled even after the 2 wraps of razaais. As eyes balls gazed around, we realized it was raining outside. Worrying about being stuck while still lying in bed, the whiteness on the mountains, visible as we put our spects on, made us sprang on our feet. The bare mountain tops were capped with snow. The manager of the hotel informed we were lucky as it had been snowing all night at Auli. After a quick breakfast of aloo pranthas, we headed towards the ropeway to Auli – the only transport now available as roads were blocked. This ropeway, 4.15 km long, is the highest and longest ropeway taking around 25 minutes to reach Auli – the skiing resort of India. The gradual transformation of rain water into snowfall, enthused each and every passenger on board. The road, the trees, the whole landscape beneath was covered by a white sheet. The last tower, No 10, took us to Gorson, a little higher up than Auli. The scene outside was mesmerizing. I had seen snow a couple of times before but this place had something different about it.
Gult after a brief venture into the snow decided to sit inside the restaurant and chat with the folks. I found a bunch of new friends who had come better prepared. We prepared the bar on snow and shared the glass on stringent rule of 3 sips per person. After few rounds, we became bold and started to play with the pure form of water. These guys actually had come a day before and performed a small yagna to please gods for snow. It was thrilling to realize that uparwala actually listens and we couldn’t defy the ordeal. After a while gult joined in too and we had amazing time making our own sliding path. This day became the real “chilled out” day of the trip with continuous snowfall.

Photographs of the Day

My Trip To Uttaranchal - Day 7

2006-01-09T10:42:00.000-08:00

Day 7: Back Home

We knew we could not do anything more. The cold was increasing. Gult was incessantly cluttering his teeth. I was unable to walk any long distance due to the sprain in my ankles. All the roads higher up were closed.
But more importantly, we had reached the zenith of our trip. We didn’t want even an hour where boredom could even be felt. So we took the right decision to cut short our trip and head back home. With an exception of lunch break, 11 hours of pain-in-the-butt bus journey left us at Haridwar. Frenzied inquiry with gult digging in the railway time table, we got the right tickets available. One day stay at delhi was spent fulfilling small desires like eating at Mc-D, coffee at Barista, watching “Bluffmaster” and yes catching up with good old JP Singh.

My Trip To Uttaranchal - Epilogue

2006-01-09T07:20:00.000-08:00

Epilogue

The trip was fantastic and unplanned nature of it was the spice. But for those who always want to know what could still have been better, a bigger group might have been more fun. Also girlfriends would have been quite welcome, though some parts of the trip would then have to be censored and definitely the taxis would have replaced buses.

People say “Kashmir is the heaven on earth”. I haven’t seen it but sounds like a place to appreciate the beauty of nature. But Uttaranchal is the lap of Mother Nature where one can both play and relax.

An Optimist Lover

2006-01-07T09:23:00.000-08:00

(Composed on the lonely trip in Rajdhani Express on 23/12/2005 and dedicated to the poet in me and my inspiration(s))

Neither push it too hard
Nor push it too slow.
Love is a game of hearts,
Let the hearts themselves glow.

Seasons don't matter
Winds of change will someday blow.
It takes a while to realize what
You really want and already know.