This is my third post on reservation.. but i have a feeling that the protests have hit the dead end.. ( Arjun Singh is such an @ss#ole ..) i sincerly hope the goverment realise its folly but i guess the stakes have been made so high that it will be a political 'harakiri' for goverment to now back down.. and there are now voices in this f***n goverment (sorry for being so impolite .. but i can' help ) of extending this to private sector too.. we are seeing a method in this madness.. the goverment now says that it will increase seats to compensate for loss in seats to general category (due to reservation.. ) this is absurd.. i dont think premier colleges have the bandwidth (in terms of infrastructure, teaching staff..) to afford such a seat raise.. already the teacher-student ratio is pathetic... it will only go more down.. but one thing that's bothering me is why the goverment is not going for a monetary-based quota instead of caste-based.. i don't think that even a single soul in this county would be against reservations where the seats the allocated on the families monetary condition.. every party.. every individual.. every student in this country will support such a move and it will be politically correct as well as electorally sound .. but why goverment does not have that kind'of nerve to go for it i don't understand.. maybe the officials in the higher echelons of the goverment ( mind you they are there becuase of reservations) do not wish to share the spoils of reservations with the really-backwards..
~For Those About To Rock ...We Salute You~
work-'karma' @ workplace
Does 'Living Karmic life' in Tech. Sector has any bearing or has 'Karma' as we generally know it, lost its relevance in these days of technology.. Karma as far i know is a cycle of 'cause and effect'... 'if you do good things, good things will happen to you - if you do bad things, bad things will happen to you'. is the simplest of definitions one can attach to Karma.. The effects of all deeds actively create present and future experiences, thus making one responsible for one's own life. The idea is that the beneficial or harmful effects one has on the world ( Read Software Industry here.. ) will return to oneself...
Of-late i have started doubting the existence of 'karmic life'... though i am a non-believer i still believe karma as an inherent principle of the universe( something like quantum physics..) without the intervention of any Supernatural Being. so eventually whatever you sow.. you are going to reap that.. however i have a feeling that this is being lost in this mad mad rat race thats evident in Tech. these days.. consider this...
Exhibit 1 : The 'show me the money' angle : you have just joined the organisation.. but you are willing to quit becuase the other company down the street is offering more...
Exhibit 2: The 'escapist' angle : you join the company.. the initial honeymoon period is over.. the going gets tough for you ,you quit the organisation.. for greener pastures..
Exhibit 3: The 'sleeping colleagues' angle : you are in a team.. and the team is full of people who don't work but still are complaining or bossing around..
Exhibit 4: The 'inner circle' angle : there are some born-politicians in the team who seem to be in good books of some whosoever and form the inner circle who is out there to kick your a** .
Exhibit 5: The 'why-not-me' angle : people who seem to be jealous that others have got the oppurtunity even though they were denied that & they are not willing to consider why it was denied to them...
Now the real question.. if these people are growing in profile/salary & oppurtunities so where is all this talk of 'Karma'. it seems that i have fooled myself sticking to the notion that someday some semblance of sanity will return and those who have made shortcuts will suffer.. but seriously i doubt if that will ever happen.. i don't mean to say that i am a kind'of ideal employee doing always right.. i have many shortcommings, i too have made mistakes but then i tried not to repeat them and learn from my experiences... but where is the incentive (or even recognition ) to excel.. i am caught in a situation where it doesn't matter if i work or not.. the results will always be same in the end.. (nothing at best.. ) as for money its important but then it's not paramount.. what's important is the need to 'deserve it' before you 'desire it'.. ditto for position & recognition.. i always thought that i made correct choices sticking to a job in past 2+ years.. but on second thoughts i am not so sure of the choices made.. on hindsight i feel whats more important is not the amount of work you do.. but how much 'high voltage' impact you make even if you have done/achieved nothing..
Maybe there is nothing of 'Karma' in software.. the mistakes of past never come to haunt you... instead these mistakes ( read job-hopping.. ) just makes your pay packet more and more fatter....
~Wish You Were Here~
Of-late i have started doubting the existence of 'karmic life'... though i am a non-believer i still believe karma as an inherent principle of the universe( something like quantum physics..) without the intervention of any Supernatural Being. so eventually whatever you sow.. you are going to reap that.. however i have a feeling that this is being lost in this mad mad rat race thats evident in Tech. these days.. consider this...
Exhibit 1 : The 'show me the money' angle : you have just joined the organisation.. but you are willing to quit becuase the other company down the street is offering more...
Exhibit 2: The 'escapist' angle : you join the company.. the initial honeymoon period is over.. the going gets tough for you ,you quit the organisation.. for greener pastures..
Exhibit 3: The 'sleeping colleagues' angle : you are in a team.. and the team is full of people who don't work but still are complaining or bossing around..
Exhibit 4: The 'inner circle' angle : there are some born-politicians in the team who seem to be in good books of some whosoever and form the inner circle who is out there to kick your a** .
Exhibit 5: The 'why-not-me' angle : people who seem to be jealous that others have got the oppurtunity even though they were denied that & they are not willing to consider why it was denied to them...
Now the real question.. if these people are growing in profile/salary & oppurtunities so where is all this talk of 'Karma'. it seems that i have fooled myself sticking to the notion that someday some semblance of sanity will return and those who have made shortcuts will suffer.. but seriously i doubt if that will ever happen.. i don't mean to say that i am a kind'of ideal employee doing always right.. i have many shortcommings, i too have made mistakes but then i tried not to repeat them and learn from my experiences... but where is the incentive (or even recognition ) to excel.. i am caught in a situation where it doesn't matter if i work or not.. the results will always be same in the end.. (nothing at best.. ) as for money its important but then it's not paramount.. what's important is the need to 'deserve it' before you 'desire it'.. ditto for position & recognition.. i always thought that i made correct choices sticking to a job in past 2+ years.. but on second thoughts i am not so sure of the choices made.. on hindsight i feel whats more important is not the amount of work you do.. but how much 'high voltage' impact you make even if you have done/achieved nothing..
Maybe there is nothing of 'Karma' in software.. the mistakes of past never come to haunt you... instead these mistakes ( read job-hopping.. ) just makes your pay packet more and more fatter....
~Wish You Were Here~
Symptom Of Our Times
Well i recieved this joke through a mail that correctly describes the days of our lives..
Manmohan Singh to Bush Jr. : We are sending Indians to the moon next year.
Bush Jr. : Wow! How Many?
Manmohan Singh : 100
25 - OBC
25 - SC
20 - ST
5 - Sports Persons
5 - Terrorist Affected
5 - Kashmiri Migrants
5 - Minorities
9 - Politicians
and if possible...
1 - Astronaut
Bush Jr. : Me too interested.. Maybe Osama is hiding there or WMD are hidden there..
The way things are going it looks like we would be having quotas in trains and planes as well.. possibly the pilot shouting that the plane will not move untill the reserved seats are full..
~Burning Down The House~
Manmohan Singh to Bush Jr. : We are sending Indians to the moon next year.
Bush Jr. : Wow! How Many?
Manmohan Singh : 100
25 - OBC
25 - SC
20 - ST
5 - Sports Persons
5 - Terrorist Affected
5 - Kashmiri Migrants
5 - Minorities
9 - Politicians
and if possible...
1 - Astronaut
Bush Jr. : Me too interested.. Maybe Osama is hiding there or WMD are hidden there..
The way things are going it looks like we would be having quotas in trains and planes as well.. possibly the pilot shouting that the plane will not move untill the reserved seats are full..
~Burning Down The House~
Sharp Left Turn Ahead
Hmmm... i usually don't write posts on politics.. but this has to be an exception... the assembly results in four states are out.. and there are no suprises as to who the real winners are.. Left parties undoubtedly.. the losers seems to be the ladies brigade (..Jaya and Mamata ...thank God !! ) the mainstream parties are nowhere in the reckoning.. and the left appear to be gaining strength with every elections.. that is surprising when you consider that we are in midst of a red-hot economy and record-breaking growth rates.. the left is not only continuing to hold on.. but it has found more recruits and reached out to newer areas for its 'hugger-mugger' policies... this trend of left revival is not only specific to india but is being seen worldwide.. all of americas except US and Canada has turned sharply left.. leaders like Hugo Chavez of Venezula have become the new poster boys of leftist ideology and student campuses... most of mainland and eastern europe is left-leaning now.. this is ironic.. there is no major total-communist territory left (China hmmm.. is part-communist and part-capitalist..).. no such great difficult times.. no wars.. no food scares.. and yet more and more people seems to be embracing it.. I think the world-wide behaviour is more of an aberration.. people experimenting with leftism politics as an alternative to centre and center-right politics.. but here in india their resurgent influence is plain good organizational support and lack of alternatives.. so what is rise of left bode for india.. futher slow reforms.. and no fuel hike in short term.. as Mr MS gets his acts together..
Btw.. Hail Capitalism .. i todya earned a tidy profit on Reliance Petroleum Listing.. :-))
~The Sounds Of Silence~
Btw.. Hail Capitalism .. i todya earned a tidy profit on Reliance Petroleum Listing.. :-))
~The Sounds Of Silence~
Realms of Unreason
i just finished filling my appraisal form.. another worthless exercise in name of processess .. i counted eight web pages of questions and answers before the final submit button.. i am sure the managers is not going to read this *bullshit*.. but anyways the page validation required that i fill all the fields of the questionnaire.. damn these questions.. just to give you some quick insight.. there was a personal enrichment page where one can specify the training programs that one wishes to take.. and it consisted of certain exotic titles like 'lateral thinking' and 'six thinking hats' (Boy, sounds interesting.. but i am fed up with my one thinking head.. what would i do of six.. ) then there were certain subjective things like.. 'Things the organization should do and should not do' ( ..the answer is as easy as the question .. pay your employees well.. i thought they would have figured this out by now.. ) also there was a list of smilyies (.. each face suggesting levels of your approaval or not..) for a huge list of questions.. same old questions and same old answers.. and to cap this all .. there was a question.. 'How many candidates did you refer to XXXXXX during the current review period' .. ( i suppose by referring candidates you are buying an insurance policy with the company.. ;-) ).. all this is a sham.. a big circus if you could call it.. i knew the questions ..and the answers and what i am going to say in the review meeting... and what my manager is going to say.. and what my salary hike will be... its all premeditated.. all planned out..
I guess the real battle is in the brain...
~Runnin' Down A Dream~
I guess the real battle is in the brain...
~Runnin' Down A Dream~
For What Its Worth
does loyalty pays in long run... or does sticking around for too long actually makes you little out of sync with the times and your abilities.. Big (company) v/s Startup.. Services v/s Products... these are some crucial questions i will be grappling this week.. my second appraisal form came up for filling.. will be doing it tommorrow.. so by next week (appraisal review meeting..) i guess i will be needing answers of the above very 'genuine' questions and some 'idiotic' ones also (sample this... where you see youself three years down.. not surely where i am today.. by the way me thinking of opening an aashram in tibet these days ;-) ) the grapevine has it that the salary hikes will be paltry this time.. (even in these Good Times.. Good Gosh !!!) so you must be thinking now the obvious question is... if the food/coffee machine in the other company down the street better than ours or not.. ( i always think money is a non-issue.. but again i may be wrong.. ) but you know what... situations and circumstances are hardly that crystal clear ever... one sunny morning another bin laden.. another building.. another cause .. same bust.. everything else ends up in smoke.. though i also don't believe that you should live in a relative comfort of your surrounding ( pigeonhole is the correct word.. ) i do not want to be taken for granted.. not even by myself.. nor by abilities questioned.. neither should i get so complacent that i reject or even maybe fear change.. but then i don't want to quit just for the heck of quitting.. defining *self-satisfaction* ( i doubt if there is such a thing.. ) is a tricky buisness i guess..
~I Heard it Through The Grapevine~
~I Heard it Through The Grapevine~
Living 'Rented' Lives
For the uninitiated.. i have been living in Noida, a upcoming suburb just outside New Delhi ( i don't know why they call it upcoming... there is hardly any empty strech of land left in Noida now ..) for the last two years in a rented appartment with my couple of friends who all happen to be in IT.. on one sunny summer day our meaningful ( ..or is it meaningless.. ) lives came in for a rude shock ..it was a typical sunday and i was pondering on virtues of bathing or not ( what else can be expected from software-wallas ;-) ).. when the phone rang.. a new number showed on the phone's display.. it was from the appartment's owner ( how come she manages to phone me everytime with a new number.. thats a mystery in itself.. ) and you know what.. i was expecting the call.. there had been rumours doing the rounds that all the bachelors in our housing-society will have to vacate their appartments within a month or two.. but i was not expecting this early.. after all we were kind'of ideal tenants ( tenants who always paid on time.. ) she told that she was serving us a months notice to vacate the flat. the immediate provocation being an unfortunate incident in which a call-center executive in our building jumped from his floor in the state of intoxication (some say he was killed.. and there is a girl angle also... ) after this alleged suicide which was widely covered in media ( ..these news channels-wallas highlight the trivialiest of issues that emanates out of Noida as all channels are based here.. you know convenience-journalism.. ) the society board members (.. retired and have nothing good to do.. other than fretting about where this young generation is going ..) decided to remove all the single-unfortunate-souls from the society (Boy, this is frivolous.. how can they do this.. i thought of filing a PIL, but then the workload on our courts came to my mind ;-) ) ..this bunch of society-oldies had been contemplating this for long and this suicide came as a flash in a pan for them... there had been incidents involving call-center employees in our housing-society but nothing as serious to warrant this... everywhere you have young people engaged in alcohol abuse, live-in relationships, verbal and physical abuse... but you don't shoot the messenger... i find no logic in the society-wallas decision and i guess there is no apparent logic just fool-hardy approach (..what if tommorow a married man jumps to his death.. ) ..if you have complaints against a set of people , why view all the with that same blighted approach.. who will tell them that IT is different from BPO.. on the hindsight.. i believe the BPO people are themselves to blame for their notorious reputation, but thats a seperate issue...
After three weeks plus..of inactivity.. sitting on the notice.. a sense of urgency finally overtook me.. only six days and still no house.. where will i keep my stuff .. my beloved and antique desktop or my better-half (My T.V.) i personally can live out of office..but i hope things would not get that bad.. besides i can pitch in with any of my office friends.. but thats the last option.. (Boy, i hate living in these rented flats.. i really do.. but i don't have a choice..) this realty boom has driven prices to levels where supposedly 'well-off people' (i consider myself among them...) have no hope left of owning a flat ..leave alone a house with a swimming pool.. i picked up the classified and phoned all the nearby property dealers.. err.. real-estate consultants i mean (.. property dealers sounds so down-market as if selling fish on street.. one agent told me.. wow !!) property dealers i guess is the biggest tribe in india these days.. i have heard that besides tax-free, the margins are also good .. i caught hold of a broker err.. real-estate consultants ..typical middle-man like always on phone.. with sunglasses and an attendant.. i told him my requirements and my budget and then this phone did all the talking.. dialing up one numbers after another.. in majority of cases nobody is willing to rent out to single-souls (.. i couldn't figure out why.. a new discrimination is being practised.. ) and never say you belong to BPO or anything thats remotely associated with call-center when looking out for a house ( ..typical witch-hunting i believe !) it has been two days of house-finding and yet to find a decent one.. the rents are exorbitant besides you have to take other considerations also.. powerback-up ( its uttar pradesh after all..) ..RO-water supply (the yamuna water tasts horrible..) security.. close to office/markets.. lot of factors to consider.. four days to go !! and all this pain due to one unfortunate soul who jumped to his death...!!
~A Change Is Gonna Come~
After three weeks plus..of inactivity.. sitting on the notice.. a sense of urgency finally overtook me.. only six days and still no house.. where will i keep my stuff .. my beloved and antique desktop or my better-half (My T.V.) i personally can live out of office..but i hope things would not get that bad.. besides i can pitch in with any of my office friends.. but thats the last option.. (Boy, i hate living in these rented flats.. i really do.. but i don't have a choice..) this realty boom has driven prices to levels where supposedly 'well-off people' (i consider myself among them...) have no hope left of owning a flat ..leave alone a house with a swimming pool.. i picked up the classified and phoned all the nearby property dealers.. err.. real-estate consultants i mean (.. property dealers sounds so down-market as if selling fish on street.. one agent told me.. wow !!) property dealers i guess is the biggest tribe in india these days.. i have heard that besides tax-free, the margins are also good .. i caught hold of a broker err.. real-estate consultants ..typical middle-man like always on phone.. with sunglasses and an attendant.. i told him my requirements and my budget and then this phone did all the talking.. dialing up one numbers after another.. in majority of cases nobody is willing to rent out to single-souls (.. i couldn't figure out why.. a new discrimination is being practised.. ) and never say you belong to BPO or anything thats remotely associated with call-center when looking out for a house ( ..typical witch-hunting i believe !) it has been two days of house-finding and yet to find a decent one.. the rents are exorbitant besides you have to take other considerations also.. powerback-up ( its uttar pradesh after all..) ..RO-water supply (the yamuna water tasts horrible..) security.. close to office/markets.. lot of factors to consider.. four days to go !! and all this pain due to one unfortunate soul who jumped to his death...!!
~A Change Is Gonna Come~
Dazed and Confused
"One who is unable to adjust to one's environment or circumstances or is considered to be disturbingly different from others." is how dictionary.com defines the term 'misfit'. Looks like we all belong to a league of 'misfits'.. a homogeneous set of people who are at odds with the impulses of our times.. are we becoming 'misfits','zombies' and 'monocultures' all at the same time... as for 'misfit'.. i don't think that i need to adjust to environment ( ...and what if the environment is at fault) or i am radically different from a typical youth out there on street.. yet i am different.. different from the normal face in this increasingly faceless crowd.. a 'misfit' yet not a 'MISFIT'.. i think we are a generation of lost souls that may believe that Pepsi is better than Coke or Levi is better than Lee or whatever.. is assertive and appears confident and earns well.. and yet when it comes to decisions that really matter we are found wanting.. A imperfect generation living in imperfect times... I am not sure why i am writing this but over the course of last week there has been three incidents that have again brought the confused nature of our lives...
Exhibit 1: After not so subtle signs that i am unhappy with the state of affairs at my workplace.. my manager called me up... sat down with pen and paper to make a list as to what can be done to improve employee satisfaction ( Boy, again a list .. these lists are deceptive .. they make things look easy when they are not...) he also said that marriage to Aishwary Rai was not on offer ( Wow !!, i love this company.. even Aishwary Rai is negotiable ) ..so how do we go about improving motivation at workplace .. i guess i don't know.. and i don't care anymore.. do i want more money? different work/project? onsite? and i am still clueless.. no damn answers... not sure of what i need or where my priorities lies.. *sigh*.. i guess the problem is choice..
Exhibit 2: Somebody in my extended family had a heart-break (.. i guess it was more than a heart-break, it was a case of broken marriage and broken promises ) ...The tragedy of the situation is nobody is willing to relent.. living on bloated egos and dried-up minds.. it seems everything these days have become so cosmetic.. disposable if you can say that.. decisions that really matter are made on impulses instead of rational thought and decisions that you may regret later.. but you know what.. even if the 'seemingly superficial' wounds heal .. the pain will be felt long time after.. why do we go about making wrong choices.. even when the margin of error in these not-so-normal-times is so small.. *sigh*.. A 'right here.. right now' solution for a 'right here.. right now' problem in the times of 'Make-Believe' will lead you NOWHERE...
Exhibit 3: me on a typical day .. in a typical goverment office for a typical goverment work... and yet the when you came out of the office.. the feeling was not that typical.. i felt being let down by myself.. i had to bribe an official to had some work done.. this was not the first time i had done this... yet the scale and canvas was much bigger this time.. and i don't feel anything great about it.. all my life i held such strong view on corruption.. and yet... i guess i also now belong to the 'sab chalta hai' brigade... *sigh*
~Jimi Hendrix in "All Along The Watchtower"~
"There's too much confusion, I can't get no relief.
Exhibit 1: After not so subtle signs that i am unhappy with the state of affairs at my workplace.. my manager called me up... sat down with pen and paper to make a list as to what can be done to improve employee satisfaction ( Boy, again a list .. these lists are deceptive .. they make things look easy when they are not...) he also said that marriage to Aishwary Rai was not on offer ( Wow !!, i love this company.. even Aishwary Rai is negotiable ) ..so how do we go about improving motivation at workplace .. i guess i don't know.. and i don't care anymore.. do i want more money? different work/project? onsite? and i am still clueless.. no damn answers... not sure of what i need or where my priorities lies.. *sigh*.. i guess the problem is choice..
Exhibit 2: Somebody in my extended family had a heart-break (.. i guess it was more than a heart-break, it was a case of broken marriage and broken promises ) ...The tragedy of the situation is nobody is willing to relent.. living on bloated egos and dried-up minds.. it seems everything these days have become so cosmetic.. disposable if you can say that.. decisions that really matter are made on impulses instead of rational thought and decisions that you may regret later.. but you know what.. even if the 'seemingly superficial' wounds heal .. the pain will be felt long time after.. why do we go about making wrong choices.. even when the margin of error in these not-so-normal-times is so small.. *sigh*.. A 'right here.. right now' solution for a 'right here.. right now' problem in the times of 'Make-Believe' will lead you NOWHERE...
Exhibit 3: me on a typical day .. in a typical goverment office for a typical goverment work... and yet the when you came out of the office.. the feeling was not that typical.. i felt being let down by myself.. i had to bribe an official to had some work done.. this was not the first time i had done this... yet the scale and canvas was much bigger this time.. and i don't feel anything great about it.. all my life i held such strong view on corruption.. and yet... i guess i also now belong to the 'sab chalta hai' brigade... *sigh*
~Jimi Hendrix in "All Along The Watchtower"~
"There's too much confusion, I can't get no relief.
On The Road Again
continuing from my last post where we were leaving for the two-day mountain camp in Chail (near Shimla ..) on our motorcycles..
Wow.. this is the first expression I could mumble when we got the black beast from the Royal Enfield Club.. A ThunderBird.. 350 cc of raw power that you are riding on... standing on a side-stand it entices you to be rode upon.. waiting for its true power to be unleashed.. Wow !! we packed some bare essentials as we didn't wanted to burden ourself with the stuff.. and whats the use living in a forest camp if you took all that you require here.. on Good Friday day we were scheduled to start sharp at 5 in morning ... we slept little as we needed to start early to escape the Delhi scorching summer sun.. it was a struggle waking up so early.. so starting at 5 was always going to be difficult (I guess we have an excuse.. its near impossible reaching workplace at 10 on normal workdays ...what more can be expected on a biking tour..) but we somehow managed to start 6:30 albeit late.. but now way off the mark.. we were 15 motorcycles from Noida n 10 bikes from Gurgoan that will join us someplace on GT Road... 15 bikes of all makes and color ... mostly Enfield .. Enticers.. Pulsars.. and Good Old Yamaha350.. after a brief photo-opps (how can you forget this !! ) we hit the road with out petrol tanks full and spirits full (of both kinds ;-) who can miss the booze ) ..driving through the delhi roads on a holiday was easy !.. you escape the steady stream of school and office traffic.. we drove steadily , not fast, not slow ..we drove in a group with Enfields n Yamaha 350 leading the group ... it looked like a pack of wolves out for a kill... screeching at the countless redlights .. demanding attention from curious onlookers.. we were joined by the other 10 bikes on GT road.. and the pack became more bigger and more loud .. occupying the whole road.. kids waving at us.. young people looked at us amused.. and oldies asking if we were in for a cause or where we were going upto.. we were here just for the pleasure of motorcycle riding and thats it.. we had been riding for 2 hours and guess what.. *shit* happens.. one of our bikes gets broken down.. punctured.. hopefully we had the Enfield support motorcycle that was acting as sweeper.. collecting the bikers that were left behind from the pack... we continued riding hoping that the entire pack regroups at Muthal..where we will be having breakfast.. and then the unthinkable happened... our bike gets punctured just before the Muthal dhaba.. a knife like tool had puctured through the tube (it looked more like a murder weapon then a punture weapon..) alas.. but thankully the weather was not that bad and the enfield support guys were quick enough to fix the bike.. we went straight into the dhaba.. the dhaba was doing a roaring buisness... at 9 in morning ..it was full of people and lovely ladies
adventures of the camp in the next post .. keep waiting !!!
I usually end my post with a lyrics so here i go again ....
~Bob Seger in Turn The Page~
Here I am, on the road again. there I am, up on the stage.
Ah here I go, playing star again.There I go, there I go.
Run Back To The Hills
The charm of the old hills calls us back ...glad to be back on the road again...those country roads... long and winding roads.. will be leaving on our bikes for the hills tommorrow ..this time Chail..Shimla.. thankfully the Gods are favouring us... the weather has just turned good... but who cares ..
people usually ask whats the purpose of doing it on a motorcycle... my opinion is usually pert... not everything can or should be done for a purpose.. its fun riding in the countryside and thats it.. we go steadily ,not fast, not slow... the objective is not on reaching somewhere but enjoying the ride to nowhere.. we stop.. think about the sights and sounds, on the mood of the weather ... on the machine and the countryside you're in... wondering how old the hills are ... thinking about things at great leisure and length without being hurried .... without feeling you're losing time... we have been used to living these 'Big City Lives' and the result is a kind of endless day-to-day shallowness , a monotony that leaves a person wondering years later where all the time went and sorry that it's all gone...
~Zen And The Art Of MotorCycle Maintenance~
" Vacationing on a motorcycle in a way that is completely different from any other. In a car you're always in a compartment, and because you're used to it you don't realize that through that car window everything you see is just more TV. You're a passive observer and it is all moving by you boringly in a frame.On a cycle the frame is gone. You're completely in contact with it all. You're in the scene, not just watching it anymore, and the sense of presence is overwhelming. That concrete whizzing by five inches below your foot is the real thing, the same stuff you walk on, it's right there, so blurred you can't focus on it, yet you can put your foot down and touch it anytime, and the whole thing, the whole experience, is never removed from immediate consciousness. "
people usually ask whats the purpose of doing it on a motorcycle... my opinion is usually pert... not everything can or should be done for a purpose.. its fun riding in the countryside and thats it.. we go steadily ,not fast, not slow... the objective is not on reaching somewhere but enjoying the ride to nowhere.. we stop.. think about the sights and sounds, on the mood of the weather ... on the machine and the countryside you're in... wondering how old the hills are ... thinking about things at great leisure and length without being hurried .... without feeling you're losing time... we have been used to living these 'Big City Lives' and the result is a kind of endless day-to-day shallowness , a monotony that leaves a person wondering years later where all the time went and sorry that it's all gone...
~Zen And The Art Of MotorCycle Maintenance~
" Vacationing on a motorcycle in a way that is completely different from any other. In a car you're always in a compartment, and because you're used to it you don't realize that through that car window everything you see is just more TV. You're a passive observer and it is all moving by you boringly in a frame.On a cycle the frame is gone. You're completely in contact with it all. You're in the scene, not just watching it anymore, and the sense of presence is overwhelming. That concrete whizzing by five inches below your foot is the real thing, the same stuff you walk on, it's right there, so blurred you can't focus on it, yet you can put your foot down and touch it anytime, and the whole thing, the whole experience, is never removed from immediate consciousness. "
Boom , Gloom and Doom
There are things 'Known' and things 'Unknown' and there are some 'Known Unknown' ... and Indian asset market can easily be compartmentalized in the last category ...the asset market had entered into an 'terra incognita' ages back and yet the forward march continues ...levels after levels fall like ninepins ...every buisness news channel worth its salt cried wolf from every roof-top that they could muster ...and still no stopping this relentless money-machine ...are our markets in the state of 'irrational exuberance' to quote Fed's Alan Greenspan prophesy in those heady days of tech. boom ..as a keen market watcher and 'self-declared' analyst ..i just agree to disagree with the general mood of the markets... no doubt that large foreign money is pouring into Indian securities and debt ..indian comanies are going for cap-ex after nearly ten years of excess capacity ..exports and local consumption is growing.. and growing fast... housing demand is red-hot, new sunrise areas are fueling growth and job creation ( Retail,IT and IT-enabled.. )
but somewhere in this exuberance the fundamentals have been sacrificed.. overlooked .. the markets looks overheated,trades at P/E's (post-2007 earnings) way beyond the many country averages and we are seeing lot of speculative action these days ...and yet we are cheap (how ...i don't know ...) the reform program in in tatters.. privatisation is a strict 'no-go lane' ..fiscal situation is anything but rosy...and you just need one terrible monsoon and we again sink back to abyss ..normally the best of the times are there to make the toughest of decisions .. but the greatest the goverment could muster was airport privatisation ... there are no quick fixes .. no magical wand ... the choices of today will decide the growth of tommorrow... there has to be postive reforms to sustain and further this growth instead of relying on foreign funds to do the trick.. we also need some semblance of sanity in these markets or many people will lose their shirt this time round ...and don't you ever believe on FII's ... for they have a very long rope ...
~DISCLAMIER~
The view expressed are mine and mine alone .. my company or blogspot have no linkages with my opinion ... and its doesn't matter anyway ..the retail people had already sold-out at levels that were half of what the market is ruling today ...typical spectators ...you know !!!
but somewhere in this exuberance the fundamentals have been sacrificed.. overlooked .. the markets looks overheated,trades at P/E's (post-2007 earnings) way beyond the many country averages and we are seeing lot of speculative action these days ...and yet we are cheap (how ...i don't know ...) the reform program in in tatters.. privatisation is a strict 'no-go lane' ..fiscal situation is anything but rosy...and you just need one terrible monsoon and we again sink back to abyss ..normally the best of the times are there to make the toughest of decisions .. but the greatest the goverment could muster was airport privatisation ... there are no quick fixes .. no magical wand ... the choices of today will decide the growth of tommorrow... there has to be postive reforms to sustain and further this growth instead of relying on foreign funds to do the trick.. we also need some semblance of sanity in these markets or many people will lose their shirt this time round ...and don't you ever believe on FII's ... for they have a very long rope ...
~DISCLAMIER~
The view expressed are mine and mine alone .. my company or blogspot have no linkages with my opinion ... and its doesn't matter anyway ..the retail people had already sold-out at levels that were half of what the market is ruling today ...typical spectators ...you know !!!
Children Of Lesser Gods
As if the politics was not sickening enough.. the government (...whose government is it anyway ...) shot itself in the foot again...it passed a notification to introduce 27% reservation for OBCs in 20 central universities, IITs and IIMs ...that makes it 50% reserved... full fifty percent ..one half of prized seats will be filled not on the basis of merit, but on the basis of other considerations...where does this leave us.. the 'unfortunates' ..the 'Children Of Lesser Gods'..if the anomaly lies somewhere else (....lack of proper education in these backward classes ) why apply the solution some place other (...reservations) ..the government of the day ...and why only current government ..every government we have seen in distant memory has been making decisions based on considerations that were anything but people-centric... vote being the sole driving factor and self-fulfillment being the only prerogative... as i have said it before 'a piecemeal-by-piecemeal approach always gives a piecemeal solution'.. The solution lies not in caste or religion based quotas but by making sure every student irrespective of his caste or religious affiliations gets the best of education possible and a quota for people who are economically deprived ..Nobody ..Nobody ..wants to re-live the ghosts of those tumultuous 'mandal' days...those bright young lives lost in the senseless 'mandal' fire ...do we need another 'Rajeev Goswami' to make the deaf hear ...hope we have some sane people sitting in Supreme Court ..or God save 'India Rising'..
~V for Vendetta~
"PEOPLE SHOULD NOT FEAR THEIR GOVERNMENT, GOVERNMENT'S SHOULD FEAR THEIR PEOPLE"
~V for Vendetta~
"PEOPLE SHOULD NOT FEAR THEIR GOVERNMENT, GOVERNMENT'S SHOULD FEAR THEIR PEOPLE"
Confessions of a Lazy Mind
Some more musing about myself . a set of one liner questions to get more insight into myself .. boy .... am i beoming a narcist ? ....but thats a seperate issue .. and thanks to Vivek for the inspiration for this
Q. What am I currently listening ?
AC/DC - Big Balls
Q. What am I currently reading ?
Zen & The Art Of Motorcycle Maintenance
Q. What is my short-term goal ?
To complete this post ..
Q. What is my long-term goal ?
To learn guitar ..
Q. Which camp I belong to , Dravid-camp or Ganguly-camp ?
Does that matter anyway ..?
Q. Anything I wish to see in my life-time ?
Aliens
Q. Ultimate Fantasy ..of anykind ?
Travel on the footsteps of Marco Polo but this time on SUV ...
Q. Any Band I wish to see reunited ?
Pink Floyd ..
Q. Dream Date ...again definitely female ?
Charlize Theron ...ever been her fan since Devil's Advocate
Q. Favorite Holiday Destination ?
Sea Of Tranquility, Moon
Q. What I wish to be born in my next life ?
I guess .. a rock-star
Q. How do I Look ?
Not my age ..
Q. What is my Favourite movie ?
Definately ...Forrest Gump.
Q. Favourite Channel on T.V. ?
History Channel
Q. Do I have any gay friends ?
No.
Q. What is better..marooned on island or abandoned on an oasis in desert ?
Oasis in Desert ..atleast there is fresh water ..
Q. Do I believe in collective good/social justice ?
No.
Q. Any role-models ?
No.... none
Q. Do I have a GirlFriend ?
No ...Never ...
Q. Does the above question bother you ?
If yes don't worry ...gives me sleepless nights as well..i am 26
Q. Do I always say No ?
No ..
Q. What is my Favourite color ?
Black
Q. What am I wearing today ?
Black T-shirt and Black Jeans ..
Q. Am I willing to improve myself ?
No ..Take me as I am ..
Q. Do I belive in God ?
No ..
Q. Have I ever done drugs ?
No ...
Q. Again , Do I always say No ?
No ..but i can't help ..
Q. What is the biggest luxury I had ..till date ?
Campus placement ..
Q. Does it look like that I have no work in office today ?
If you think yes ..its true...
Q. Do I believe in Global Warming ?
Again ..yes
Q. Do I drink alcohol ?
No...socially ...hmmmm..occasionally ....yeah...regularly .. bas..bas ..
Q. Do I belive in "love-at-first-sight" ?
I don't know ..
Q. What is difficult to find these days ..comfort or peace-of-mind?
hmmmmm.....I guess Osama Bin Laden ..
Q. Do I believe the in 'India Rising' ?
Yes ..you can see it all in TV ...i guess
Q. Has 'Democracy failed India' or 'India failed Democracy' ?
How about putting it as ..have 'politicians failed India' ..and answer is Yes..
Q. Do I see myself as an activist ?
A lazy activist...but surely not communist ...
Q. Anything I love about the soaps on Indian TV ?
Yes .. the ladies are lovely ..flawless
Q. Anything I wish to see being widely used ...?
Renewable Energy ..and condoms as well..
Q. My opinion on corruption ?
Does my opinion change anything ?
As i have already said before ...analysis and therapy is highly welcome ..
Q. What am I currently listening ?
AC/DC - Big Balls
Q. What am I currently reading ?
Zen & The Art Of Motorcycle Maintenance
Q. What is my short-term goal ?
To complete this post ..
Q. What is my long-term goal ?
To learn guitar ..
Q. Which camp I belong to , Dravid-camp or Ganguly-camp ?
Does that matter anyway ..?
Q. Anything I wish to see in my life-time ?
Aliens
Q. Ultimate Fantasy ..of anykind ?
Travel on the footsteps of Marco Polo but this time on SUV ...
Q. Any Band I wish to see reunited ?
Pink Floyd ..
Q. Dream Date ...again definitely female ?
Charlize Theron ...ever been her fan since Devil's Advocate
Q. Favorite Holiday Destination ?
Sea Of Tranquility, Moon
Q. What I wish to be born in my next life ?
I guess .. a rock-star
Q. How do I Look ?
Not my age ..
Q. What is my Favourite movie ?
Definately ...Forrest Gump.
Q. Favourite Channel on T.V. ?
History Channel
Q. Do I have any gay friends ?
No.
Q. What is better..marooned on island or abandoned on an oasis in desert ?
Oasis in Desert ..atleast there is fresh water ..
Q. Do I believe in collective good/social justice ?
No.
Q. Any role-models ?
No.... none
Q. Do I have a GirlFriend ?
No ...Never ...
Q. Does the above question bother you ?
If yes don't worry ...gives me sleepless nights as well..i am 26
Q. Do I always say No ?
No ..
Q. What is my Favourite color ?
Black
Q. What am I wearing today ?
Black T-shirt and Black Jeans ..
Q. Am I willing to improve myself ?
No ..Take me as I am ..
Q. Do I belive in God ?
No ..
Q. Have I ever done drugs ?
No ...
Q. Again , Do I always say No ?
No ..but i can't help ..
Q. What is the biggest luxury I had ..till date ?
Campus placement ..
Q. Does it look like that I have no work in office today ?
If you think yes ..its true...
Q. Do I believe in Global Warming ?
Again ..yes
Q. Do I drink alcohol ?
No...socially ...hmmmm..occasionally ....yeah...regularly .. bas..bas ..
Q. Do I belive in "love-at-first-sight" ?
I don't know ..
Q. What is difficult to find these days ..comfort or peace-of-mind?
hmmmmm.....I guess Osama Bin Laden ..
Q. Do I believe the in 'India Rising' ?
Yes ..you can see it all in TV ...i guess
Q. Has 'Democracy failed India' or 'India failed Democracy' ?
How about putting it as ..have 'politicians failed India' ..and answer is Yes..
Q. Do I see myself as an activist ?
A lazy activist...but surely not communist ...
Q. Anything I love about the soaps on Indian TV ?
Yes .. the ladies are lovely ..flawless
Q. Anything I wish to see being widely used ...?
Renewable Energy ..and condoms as well..
Q. My opinion on corruption ?
Does my opinion change anything ?
As i have already said before ...analysis and therapy is highly welcome ..
Imagine ....
you know ... the one thing i love about these tech. companies is the coffee vending machines and the water cooler..... they are the kind'of oasis in the desert....where life grows with all its vigour ....these innocent looking corners are the hub of all the ideas... plots ..gossips .. intrigues... that go about in a typical tech. company.....in these endless discussions around these machines ..some topics are as old as the sun... old rants about the company ....kind'of work and the other company down the other end of the street....but occasionally there are intresting discussion that crops up and keep you busy for days apart ...sample this ....what we had been had we not been into software... hmmmmmmm ....well its a difficult ask ....and i guess i don't know how to answer this.....But surely if you were given a chance to re-live your life all over again ...what will you choose ..?? people come up with all type of ideas and thoughts ....but tell you one thing .... and this is true in most of the cases ... atleast in my case...people would make the exact same choices they had made...One friend of mine said he wants to be a truck-driver who earns a ton....this is frivolous ...no truck-driver earns that much...vikas (my-to-be-reborn-truckdriver-friend) i could better that ...i want to be a shepard who manages a flock of yak in the forbidden lands of tibet....a shepard with a GPRS-phone and email ...how about it...but jokes apart...my ideas of doing something different with my life changes with the passage of time ... but i guess thats true with the kind'of influences and distractions one is exposed to these days ...these days i think of being reborn as a rock-star in the sixties .. how about...a 'famous five' instead of 'fab four' .... boy i love those years... i really do ...even if i dont not become a rock-star ....living in those radical and turbulent years ...years that represented a new state of consciousness, the questioning of authority, a sense of empowerment, the intense idealism and the experience of community , time of cultural and political movements and ....i want to relive the magic of the sixties.
so what was the the sixties all about ... outside of great music ...The era of the sixties was marked by an expansion of consciousness ...people alienated with materialistic comforts embraced a new kind of spirituality. ..i.e. experiences involving non-ordinary modes of awareness 'transpersonal' ....psychedelic drugs like LSD played a significant role in that movement ....rightly expressed in as ....."Get out of your head and into your senses!" also expansion of social consciousness, triggered by a radical questioning of authority....the American civil rights movement demanded that blacks be included in the political process, the free speech movement in universities throughout the US....the very vocal anti-war campaign by students and peace loving citizens against the horrific war in Vietnam and Indo-China and the movements and marches against the Soviet occupations of the eastern europe countries....watergate ... nuclear weapons ...communism...greens ...cultures and counterculture...drugs...there was also a strong sense of community.... people wore long hair, colorful and individualistic clothes, flowers, beads, and other jewelry. ... we call them hippies these days ...who can forget the Beatles lovely voice .. the Bob Dylan lyrics ... the Rolling Stones exuberance....Jimi Hendrix stage histronics ...... the LSD influenced Pink Floyd psychedelic rock....the sounds of Led Zeppelin ...and the innocence of Jim Morrison ...The rock and culture of the sixties found its ultimate visual expressions in Woodstock 1969 ....boy ...who doesn't want to live in those desperate times...
finishing off with some lines from Johnn Lennon 'Imagine'
You may say I'm a dreamer,
but I'm not the only one.
I hope some day you'll join us
and the world will live as one.
so what was the the sixties all about ... outside of great music ...The era of the sixties was marked by an expansion of consciousness ...people alienated with materialistic comforts embraced a new kind of spirituality. ..i.e. experiences involving non-ordinary modes of awareness 'transpersonal' ....psychedelic drugs like LSD played a significant role in that movement ....rightly expressed in as ....."Get out of your head and into your senses!" also expansion of social consciousness, triggered by a radical questioning of authority....the American civil rights movement demanded that blacks be included in the political process, the free speech movement in universities throughout the US....the very vocal anti-war campaign by students and peace loving citizens against the horrific war in Vietnam and Indo-China and the movements and marches against the Soviet occupations of the eastern europe countries....watergate ... nuclear weapons ...communism...greens ...cultures and counterculture...drugs...there was also a strong sense of community.... people wore long hair, colorful and individualistic clothes, flowers, beads, and other jewelry. ... we call them hippies these days ...who can forget the Beatles lovely voice .. the Bob Dylan lyrics ... the Rolling Stones exuberance....Jimi Hendrix stage histronics ...... the LSD influenced Pink Floyd psychedelic rock....the sounds of Led Zeppelin ...and the innocence of Jim Morrison ...The rock and culture of the sixties found its ultimate visual expressions in Woodstock 1969 ....boy ...who doesn't want to live in those desperate times...
finishing off with some lines from Johnn Lennon 'Imagine'
You may say I'm a dreamer,
but I'm not the only one.
I hope some day you'll join us
and the world will live as one.
More Than Words
Everytime i go home .. dehradun i.e ..which is usually rare given how stingy these tech. companies can be ......in those moments of careless abandon .....basking in the winter sun ....far from the maddening "big city life" ..and those technology essentials that we have become so used to ...I spend some time with the books ... good books..war novels ..world history.. buisness magazines et al. ...anything that keeps you mind occupied and enchanted...In these busy times I always relish two short english novels that have kind'of influenced me ...
The one that i like most is Eric Remarque's "All Quiet On The Western Front". This is an epic war novel ..'anti-war' to do justice to the book .. it is the story of a group of young men fighting for Germany in those last desperate days of the WW-I. The mood of the book is rightly put in these few lines ...."its a story about group of men who though may have escaped the shells, ...but were destroyed by the war"...It describes the horrors of that war and the deep alienation from civilian life felt by men returning from the front..The protagonist is Paul Bäumer who joins the germany war effort on the western flank with the group of boys who have just finished high school. He volunteered for the war when his instructor in school, urged the class to join up for the glory for Germany. But as soon as the first shells explode ,Paul and his friends realize everything is a lie. ..As Paul's friends slip away one by one through death, disease,desertion, and injury, Paul begins to wonder about his own life and whether he will survive not only the war but also a world without war. Remarque's book brilliantly exposes all of the insanities of war especially the things that were used on such a mass scale for the first time ... like poison gas,tanks,aircrafts and horrible trench warfare.The book is cold, brutal,depressing yet brilliant ....but then every war is cold and death...
Another book that i love is J.D. Salinger’s " The Catcher in The Rye" .This book is based on the teenage Holden's experiences in the days following his expulsion from the school...The book seemingly has disjointed ideas and episodes that comes across the young boy. There are various underlying themes in the novel .....interpretations are fractured. The underlying theme is "phoniness.".... He feels surrounded by dishonesty and false pretenses, and throughout the book is frequently picking out the "phonies" he sees around him....He wants to protect the young and innocent minds of young children from the “horrors” of adult society....He hopes to freeze the children in time, as wax figures are frozen in a museum.When his sister asks him what he wants to do with his life he said he wants to be "Catcher in the Rye" .....i.e. he wants to be the person that keeps children from falling off a cliff. That cliff symbolizes the transition from childhood to adulthood, and he wants to keep them as innocent children, not phony adults.....Another theme in the book is obviously his strong desire to be an adult and live in the adult world, though he is not yet ready and doesn't succeed, to his immense frustration. He repeatedly tries to fit into adult society...but being rejected, Holden's response is an even stronger rejection of the people he was trying to fit in with a few seconds ago......The novel is incredibly depressing yet the protagonist's self-destruction over a period of days forces one to contemplate society's attitude toward the human condition. Salinger's portrayal of Holden, which includes incidents of depression, nervous breakdown, alcohol abuse,impulsive spending, sexual exploration, vulgarity, and other erratic behavior, have all attributed to the controversial nature of the novel....Impressive yet too dark and tragic.
Both the books just make you think that things are not always as simple as they look to be and behind this veil of calmness on the human face lies our deepest fears and frustrations.....Right now I am reading another brilliant novel William Golding's "Lord Of The Flies" ..which shows the exploits of a band of young children who make a striking transition from civilized to barbaric.Its a pessimistic.... and shows that man is inherently tied to society, and without it, we would likely return to savagery....
~The End of Innocence~
The one that i like most is Eric Remarque's "All Quiet On The Western Front". This is an epic war novel ..'anti-war' to do justice to the book .. it is the story of a group of young men fighting for Germany in those last desperate days of the WW-I. The mood of the book is rightly put in these few lines ...."its a story about group of men who though may have escaped the shells, ...but were destroyed by the war"...It describes the horrors of that war and the deep alienation from civilian life felt by men returning from the front..The protagonist is Paul Bäumer who joins the germany war effort on the western flank with the group of boys who have just finished high school. He volunteered for the war when his instructor in school, urged the class to join up for the glory for Germany. But as soon as the first shells explode ,Paul and his friends realize everything is a lie. ..As Paul's friends slip away one by one through death, disease,desertion, and injury, Paul begins to wonder about his own life and whether he will survive not only the war but also a world without war. Remarque's book brilliantly exposes all of the insanities of war especially the things that were used on such a mass scale for the first time ... like poison gas,tanks,aircrafts and horrible trench warfare.The book is cold, brutal,depressing yet brilliant ....but then every war is cold and death...
Another book that i love is J.D. Salinger’s " The Catcher in The Rye" .This book is based on the teenage Holden's experiences in the days following his expulsion from the school...The book seemingly has disjointed ideas and episodes that comes across the young boy. There are various underlying themes in the novel .....interpretations are fractured. The underlying theme is "phoniness.".... He feels surrounded by dishonesty and false pretenses, and throughout the book is frequently picking out the "phonies" he sees around him....He wants to protect the young and innocent minds of young children from the “horrors” of adult society....He hopes to freeze the children in time, as wax figures are frozen in a museum.When his sister asks him what he wants to do with his life he said he wants to be "Catcher in the Rye" .....i.e. he wants to be the person that keeps children from falling off a cliff. That cliff symbolizes the transition from childhood to adulthood, and he wants to keep them as innocent children, not phony adults.....Another theme in the book is obviously his strong desire to be an adult and live in the adult world, though he is not yet ready and doesn't succeed, to his immense frustration. He repeatedly tries to fit into adult society...but being rejected, Holden's response is an even stronger rejection of the people he was trying to fit in with a few seconds ago......The novel is incredibly depressing yet the protagonist's self-destruction over a period of days forces one to contemplate society's attitude toward the human condition. Salinger's portrayal of Holden, which includes incidents of depression, nervous breakdown, alcohol abuse,impulsive spending, sexual exploration, vulgarity, and other erratic behavior, have all attributed to the controversial nature of the novel....Impressive yet too dark and tragic.
Both the books just make you think that things are not always as simple as they look to be and behind this veil of calmness on the human face lies our deepest fears and frustrations.....Right now I am reading another brilliant novel William Golding's "Lord Of The Flies" ..which shows the exploits of a band of young children who make a striking transition from civilized to barbaric.Its a pessimistic.... and shows that man is inherently tied to society, and without it, we would likely return to savagery....
~The End of Innocence~
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