Chinese new year

Some tips to the dear blogger user for a better 2009 :P ( most of the tips are from various sources )

(1)Smile and laugh more.

(2)Don't take yourself so seriously. No one else does.

(3) Drink plenty of water.

(4) Sleep consciously !!

(5) However good or bad a situation is, it will change.

(6) No matter how you feel, get up, dress up and show up.

(7) You already have all you need. Do the right thing!


Wishing a good year ahead !

Please click on the below pic :)

The increasing terrorist strikes on India makes every Indian sad or angry. But the question is how do we 'deal' with it ? First of all do we need to deal with it or do we need to rise above it.


There is always a choice to make when one is faced with adversity.


Of course we have to either fight it or accept it. We are definitely not spineless people to accept it.

Leaders are called leaders because they know more than the masses. They have seen more . They have always known more and their vision extends beyond the ordinary. That's why they are leaders. Else, they are ordinary people with extraordinary power in their hands. Now, masses in a democracy get excited when they see aam aadmi like themselves in a powerful position. Precisely the reason why we have characters like Mayawati and Naredra Modi as leaders. Are they true leaders ? These are not the kind of people we'd love to showcase to our next generation as examples of forward looking minds. We can atmost tell them that these people reflected the common mind of the nation. But they are not 'leaders'. True leaders forsee the future or have a vision of it and bring it closer. Their methods and means are different and hence their ways are different. Usually a real leader is never recognised by the masses. When it rains , an Eagle is the only specie in the world which soars above the clouds to avoid getting drenched. Many other species may find its method unconventional or even unthinkable but then its a leader and is the King of birds.


So what is the solution if not Modi and his POTA option ? The option is simple. Think Big. Think fundamental. A simple study shows that terrorism due to internal conflicts and dissatisfaction ( like the Naxalite movement and Khalistan movement ) can be curbed relatively easily and was done so in the past. However , when it comes to curbing cross boarder terrorism we have miserably failed.


Now if the above is true , why don't we redraw our borders ??


India has an incredible history and its not religion or language which binds us.Mere history apart, we have a compilation of Epics written over a period of 30 centuries more than 5000 years back which have defined and etched the borders of India in timelessness. These epics have in them the common reference of the Ganges and the Indus ( now Pakistan ), of the Brahmaputra and the Cauveri . In this incredible canvas, the characters of these epics crossed over the Vindhyas from the North or reached over the Himalayas from the south. This is the common heritage of the sub continent and nobody from any walk of life or religion can dare deny it . The borders of India were formed then and not when The queen of England hurriedly decided over the borderlines in 1947. These borders of separation should not be taken as settled facts . The history of the Indus valley and that of Ceylon extends and intertwines with that of us and is a part of the history of India in a way which cannot be denied or forgotten. Unfortunately the people of the sub continent live under the hardened borders created by a colonial rule which has left our land but made its mark. Its time for us to think freely and understand that its thru common action that the region can develop. India can take a leadership role and use its diplomatic initiative* in creating an atmosphere which leads to more and increased collective action. We would be beyond the problem of terrorism just as a Golden Eagle with its wing span of six feet simply soars above the clouds when it doesn't want to get drenched in the damned rain !!


*Hopefully Indian diplomacy is waking up from its slumber .The nuclear deal is a good step forward. Its time to join back the international stream and gain strength in commerce. The Americans can be good allies in putting pressure on Pakistan . Stopping Amercian aid to Pakistan can lead to a quicker destabilization of this unnatural country and might lead to a voluntary return of the four provinces under willed Indian Control. Continued economic support in rebuilding Afghanistan would not only lead to the prosperity of Indians there and lead to an increased business opportunity for us, but might also open up goodwill and new avenues .This is good for everyone in the sub continent. Nepal has always been a neutral ally and a favourable policy will only win their hearts. Opening up the sethu samudram project might kick start Colombo's dependence on India for economic reasons and that will hopefully show them who the boss is in the region. There are no real differences here and its just a matter of finding our roots and being honest. Hopefully India would show its spirit of larger statesmanship and take her rightful position in the world. A union on these lines is a reality which only a true leadership can visualise or bring in . Now since we are a democracy and we can only have 'leaders' who can represent our common thought , its time for us to express this in whatever way we can so that the idea takes root and gets the force of realisation!

The nuclear deal fiasco is super depressing. Here is one country with such diverse groups and self interests that it becomes impossible to take one step forward in the right direction without tea meetings, depreciatory remarks and no confidence motions.

This treaty is all about civilian nuclear power. No one is forcing us to define which installation is civilian or which one is of strategic interest. In fact, America should say the deal is heavily advantageous to India and it should be the American congress or the NSG nations that have to say this is dangerous and India cannot be trusted on this. Instead our people, or at least our very own parliament is saying we cannot trust Americans. This beats sense. Its true the American record has been poor. In fact even Russian record was poor with regards to most of our defense deals. In the early 70's, America stopped giving us enriched fuel due to a change in the American Congress Policy. But they did follow up on an alternative arrangement and let France supply the same to us. If we look at deals and agreements thru the eyes of the Left, no one in this world can be trusted. We don't want to be in a situation where in we'll lose 90 things in our tense effort to hang on to the remaining 10.In any deal, what we lose should be weighed carefully and compared against what we stand to gain and then sign the dotted line.Instead, the Left simply wants to block the deal citing India's policy of sovereignty and independent foreign policy fuelled by its blind hatred towards capitalism and western powers. This deal helps the industrialised countries and the western Industry , helps India, and also in a way helps the world. The Left further says they do not understand the term 'corrective measures'. They say its merely in the preamble of the deal and therefore not sufficient. Well if the left is so worried about a continuous supply of fuel, aren't they worried about the current situation of no fuel at all ? The Tarapur plant is languishing with no fuel and every plant in India is either under utilised or is not working at peak capability and no one is bothered about that. Can India really afford the luxury of non functional Power plants in an energy hungry situation like ours? Its sad that the Left has a policy of saying 'No' to anything which is forthcoming from a capitalistic power like America. And the BJP has a habit of opposing everything the government proposes. If parties take and stick to positions based on such obsolete ideologies and prejudices, we cannot pass a single bill without horsetrading and tea parties which would in turn lead to a classic situation of missing the bus. All this leads to driving countless people into situations which are not warrented in the first place.

If we want to be truly sovereign, we have to carefully see if we are indeed so with our current policies. Not a single country is ready to give us enriched fission material and we are still far away from using Thorium as our staple fuel. Enriched Uranium holds the key and no one really knows if we are capable of producing this in substantial amount. If we cannot as the situation is now, lets take it from other countries and this deal is great still.The Left parties do not understand basic commerce and are always blind to economic realities. Why do they live in the 60's bubble. The days of communialism are long gone. The erstwhile USSR is a classic example of the Left's policy of being completely self sufficient and blocking international trade in the name of military might and policy. Where is USSR now ? What does the Left want to accomplish with their policies? Why are they trying to teach Independent Foreign Policy crap to National Congress ?Don't they know that this policy was the brainchild of Nehru.If we now want to deviate from it for our own foothold in international transactions,why not change with the times?

Its truly deplorable that the people of this country still vote on the basis of caste, region or religion. We cannot afford to be so blatantly foolish in our international policy. The aam aadmi has no clue on the potential India holds. We live in a world which shares resources . We call that trade.If we do not cooperate , we can never hope to become leaders. Self sufficiency is an end which can be achieved ironically thru cooperation and diligent deals. The Chinese have done this effectively and are now in a strong position to turn deals in their favor. India on the other hand wants to throw away every little advantage that comes its way thru sheer human imbecility and human selfishness. Hope such things cannot stay forever against the necessity of nature and a Higher Will.

In the meantime, lets not blame the govt if there is a power cut next time.

21

21- . Like most greed based plots depicted in innumerable Vegas centered movies and books, the movie goes on expected lines with some minor change of backdrop.The story revolves around a group of youngsters of MIT who are supposedly smart and good at number crunching ( ! ) . The script is so totally obsessed with Casinos in Vegas and Black Jack in particular that one tends to completely forget that there are banks and financial institutions too in this world which can lend loans to credible 4 plus GDPA smart pants from MIT !!! So our poor poor hero who got everything else in life except money is desperate to get into Harvard Medical and the only thing stopping him is three hundred thousand dollars ! ( give me a break, the kid hasn't heard of education loans and he is in MIT ? ) . Anyway Ben, our poor hero, is noticed in the classroom by a crafty math Prof ( Kevin Spacey ) who quickly invites the guy to join his group which usually spends its weekends flying to Vegas and making money basically playing black jack. So here's what we got - this professional team who supposedly use their number crunching ability , word codes, body signs and some other glam sham tricks apart from probability to keep winning and stay unnoticed. ( I always thought playing cards is all about having a great memory and ability to read body language and conceal ones own ..anway..its all about math it seems ..we are told ) . So the wonderful smart team with two chinkis and two Americans ( and a perfect male / female ratio ) led by the maverick math prof goes from success to success until one drunken moment of Ben ruins it all. The second half shows him recovering from the situation he digs himself into. Anyway, the depiction of glamor, greed and the power of money keeps the audience mood upbeat. Of course the backdrop of Harvard and MIT tends to add some awe and the contrast of Vegas makes the movie interesting . However, I couldn't somehow believe that a MIT grad would save 315,000 dollars in a false ceiling when they could use few of their brain cells to beat thru Anti Money Laundering and easily come up with proxy accounts to save that money and earn some interest on it ( watch Shawshank Redemption, That's 'based' on a real story too ! ) . Guess for an MIT grad, beating the banking rules is as simple as getting a casino down. Well if you doubt that, look beyond Mezrich ;) .Anyway considering all my respect and love for MIT and Harvard institutions and Mezrich and Vegas , I would surely rate the movie gud :)

Tales from Distant Lands

THE SPACECRAFT WAS LONG WAY FROM HOME, speeding away from the sun at 40,000 miles an hour, but in early February it was overtaken by an urgent message from earth. Obediently it turned its cameras back towards the now distant planets, it snapped 60 pictures,and stored them in digital form on its recorder.Then slowly in March , April and May it radioed the data back to earth. Each image comprised of 6,40,000 pixels . the space craft was 3.7 billion miles from earth , so far away that it took 5 and half hours for the pixels travelling at the speed of light to reach us.

Its true that all the above might sound quite inconsequential and remote, but for the sake of records, the spacecraft's name is Voyager 1 . This ship and its sister Voyager 2 , have explored 4 planets and more than 60 worlds. Both the ships were on an outbound trajectory away from the solar system and they were guaranteed to work only till they reach Saturn ( that was the agreed critical mission objective) . So while Voyager1 was travelling, it was suddenly agreed* upon that it would be a great idea to take one last look at earth from that distance. It was this thought which was urgently messaged to Voyager-1 and one of the pics taken there formed the cover pic of Carl Sagan's amazing literary work titled the " Pale Blue Dot" .

Yes, it might sound inconsequential, but these simple but profound images are triumphs of human engineering and one of the glorious gifts of the American space program.They will be in history books when much else about our time is forgotten ..

*From the outer solar system the earth lies very close from the sun, NASA was not very sure if they wanted to aim the camera so close to the sun and thus risk burning out the video con system and hence wanted to delay it until all the images from the Uranus and Neptune system were captured first ..and so they waited .. from 1981 at Saturn till 1986 at Uranus ..till 1989 near Neptune ..and at last the time came ( even then a few instrumental calibrations were there to be done first before that pic could be taken in 1990 ) ..The planets were at the right alignment and although many were supportive of the idea, a few project personnel opposed it .." Its not science" they said ..and then it was discovered that the technical personal who devised and transmit the data from Voyager who were in a cash strapped NASA were to be laid off immediately or transferred to other jobs. If the picture had to be taken, it had to be done right then, at the last minute , actually in the midst of Voyager's outbound encounter with Neptune. The then NASA administrator Admiral Richard Truly stepped in and made sure that these images were obtained. The space scientists led by Kandy Hanson of NASA's jet propulsion Lab and Caroline Pokov of the University of Arizona designed the command sequence and calculated the camera's exposure times. So here they are, telling the tale from such distant lands ( in fact its our own tale of miraculous survival and existence as one living race which we so obviously fail to see or acknowledge and which ironically becomes so clear from such obscurely distant places ) . Enjoy the following inimitable Narration by Carl on what he calls the pale blue dot !!!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2pfwY2TNehw

Cinderella's Slip errs ~

In Perrault's retelling of the story of Cinderella , he used the phrase pantoufle de verre, which means glass slipper . However, he apparently mistook vair , an old french word for fur with verre which is glass . Now that means Cinderella was actually meant to wear slippers made of fur and not glass in the original narrative !!! Many may not know that , but that is not a big shock for blogger users who reconciled with the fact that google after all was the result of a misunderstanding of the original spell googol !

We all indulge in errors .. some are really fateful and there is nothing we can do about them ..here is a chronicle of some funny incidents in real .They are true,but they were never meant to be ..

Fateful error in college : During my first year at engg ..on a fateful afternoon ..I mentioned to my Bihari friend that we needed to show some will power ( in some context related to academics ) ..he misheard it as "we need wills" . During those days 'wills' was a popular cigg brand and he got me some.. and insisted I should try especially since I had 'asked for it' ....I had to give in and there started a life long addiction.. which continues to this day ..

Fateful wrong number : A Filipino friend of mine once mentioned to me that he 'met' his wife for the first time because of a wrong number . She erred while dialing the number ..but surely it resulted in a lot of rights ...they are still happily married to this day and are a very handsome couple ...

In WW2, Hitler was cruising towards world domination when during the decisive Battle of Britain, a critical error hapenned. Britain mistakenly bombed Berlin's civil areas ( a simple case of target miss ) and it made the Fuhrer Furious. He immediately ordered the London bombings and stopped concentrating on wiping out the British Royal air force. This gave breathing time for the last bastion of Europe to recuperate.Paris already fell and it was just a matter of time for Germany to take Great Britain and secure Europe. However , that never happened and historians know how crucial and how subtle that error in judgment was and how remarkably the tide of war changed in the favor of the Allies. The attack on Russia prematurely led to Hitlers sure downfall , but there is a story behind that too which cant be retold here. Few know what was at stake during those crucial moments of world history. Our own Indian leaders* were blind to the happenings of the world and yet providence made sure the world and India along with it didn't slip into the worst kind of decadence ever seen on the planet ..which surely would have resulted had Nazi Germany succeeded in its plans even partially..

I am sure there are hundreds of course changing incidents in any individual's life and just as it usually is in world events, they appear like apparent accidents or errors but leave a long trail .. So for a change, take it easy and enjoy the roller coaster ride ..after all ..sometimes our best laid plans are overruled by the hands of fate and what results is either simply called life or history .. and more importantly don't drool over your achievements or poke yourself for your failures ..remember there are hidden forces at work all the time and not all we do is our doing and neither is all you see 'yours' ...

* The war theatre of WW2 was not a mere another battle. It was undoubtedly the biggest war waged in human times ( Gandhi was openly clapping at England's fall as if that would free India like an ignorant kid and guess its a little Karmic that India had ignorant leaders leading her at the political level ) . How could India have become free if the Nazis won ? Isn't it the duty of a leader to look at the bigger picture carefully before taking sides? What gave Gandhi the right not to accept Cripps mission which in essence wanted India to put her force behind the Allies? And who is he to comment that the offer was a "post dated cheque on a crashing bank ?" The 'bank' never crashed ..we simply failed to en cash the cheque due to poor leadership and poorer vision. Hope the same providence which helped the world and ensured that the highest attained cultural goals, possibilities and dreams of humanity were kept open and free before the all consuming war machine of Nazi Germany, would, in essence, also help India realise her destiny of being a mighty nation it always deserved to be , in spite of continued myopic leadership at the political level..

Golden Summers !

Its been a nice summer & its time to blog. Summers thru the years have changed so dramatically ! No, its not about global warming, its about growing up . Summers meant once upon a time endless cricket matches in the day , book fairs in the evening , local gangs and new ideas , expeditions , fun adventures with copy book execution of ideas from 'famous five ', drinking citra after chipping in money , meeting new kids in the colony who came from different places to spend summer vacations or go to familiar grand mother's village and get acquainted with endless mango trees.

Years rolled and summers meant watching 'cable TV' ..figuring out 'DOS' , getting to know cool older friends who were into weird things like computer games , floppy discs and 'magazines' ..years still rolled and summers meant wondering what that high school hottie' must be doing and wondering when school would reopen . That was when things started changing dramatically. The silvery dawns and the glowing noons of summers were not felt or noticed anymore ..how to learn to ride a bike and how to get taller than the rest of the guys 'this summer' suddenly became priority one.

Summers later meant just additional time to prepare for the next class in advance and crack competitive exams, summers meant endless rounds of studies ,studies and just more studies. There is nothing more important than this. Later on , summers meant movies, chatting on the internet or simply lazing waiting for college to reopen.

Ofcourse now all things are different. We don't need summers to freak out ..we freak out everyday ..just like we have cricket everyday in some form ( IPL or ICL or some other circus ) and the days of waiting for those original India England series to begin in beautiful summer settings at Old Trafford are all long gone. So I have planned to revive the summer concept with a vengeance. This summer me resolved to enjoy the silvery dawns and the glowing noons once again the vintage way ..