So what is your resolution for the new year?
dieting
dieting
Saturday, August 11, 2012
Friday, August 10, 2012
Google Trends - 2
Inspite of the acquisition by Amazon , Shelfari has not exactly done well.
| shelfari |
| goodreads |
Tuesday, May 17, 2011
A brave new Bike- Altius Scmitar
Its not often that I come across a brand new biking concept in the Indian context. The biking market in India is the world’s largest and it’s a pity that this segment is largely driven by the mass market. Which is why the Altius Scmitar is a brilliant product for a largely insipid market. Unlike the Royal Enfields/ Ninjas/CBRs - this beast is a diesel driven off road vehicle. Not for the light hearted or for those with a weak spine. There are a number of biking enthusiasts who will definitely love to explore the unchartered territory.
This 2 wheeler has a bhp of 33 (disp 670 cc)which is far higher than a standard bullet (about 20 bhp for a 350 cc engine) . I am amazed that a vehicle with such a heavy engine can weigh as little as 175 kgs. The vehicle is lacking in design, but for the real biker it would not be an issue. With a price tag of less than 2 lakhs, it’s easily the best thing to happen to Indian 2 wheeler scene since the advent of the legendary Bullet. I have a feeling that considerable R&D investment has been done to reach the ambitious cost and weight targets.
Hope that this goes on to cater to the true niche segment bikes and delivers on the promises with the prototypes.
Image and information Sources:
http://www.thehindu.com/life-and-style/metroplus/article2006622.ece
http://www.indiancarsbikes.in/motorcycles/happiness-diesel-touring-motorcycles-37094/
http://altiusautomotive.com/index.php
This 2 wheeler has a bhp of 33 (disp 670 cc)which is far higher than a standard bullet (about 20 bhp for a 350 cc engine) . I am amazed that a vehicle with such a heavy engine can weigh as little as 175 kgs. The vehicle is lacking in design, but for the real biker it would not be an issue. With a price tag of less than 2 lakhs, it’s easily the best thing to happen to Indian 2 wheeler scene since the advent of the legendary Bullet. I have a feeling that considerable R&D investment has been done to reach the ambitious cost and weight targets.
Hope that this goes on to cater to the true niche segment bikes and delivers on the promises with the prototypes.
Image and information Sources:
http://www.thehindu.com/life-and-style/metroplus/article2006622.ece
http://www.indiancarsbikes.in/motorcycles/happiness-diesel-touring-motorcycles-37094/
http://altiusautomotive.com/index.php
Tuesday, February 22, 2011
The Godhra incident
Update: Today many of them were sentenced to death. Indian judiciary still packs a punch!!!
Its almost 8 years since the train burned at Godhra and at last there seems to have been a verdict. A verdict which holds the muslims directly responsible for murder and conspiracy. Inspite of having a liberal outlook, I have never condoned the aftermath of Godhra. The riots that followed were not just right, but also necessary to set right the balance of power.
At a time when a Hindu extremist is in power in Gujarat, when BJP is at power in the center, had there been no retaliation - then there would have been no stopping the muslim atrocities. We presently put up with a government which is pro muslim & there is little chance that they would risk taking action against any muslim aggression. Lines were crossed at Godhra and they paid the price.
Too bad that most victims( of both the riots & train burnings) are innocent. I would even say that the ones guity of the train burning crime are also responsible for the lives of the muslims who dies in the riots.
The media(local & international) likes to support the underdogs and due to the riots which followed the hindus were given a raw deal. The bias was so strong that even the most independent media outlets were not willing to report the muslim conspiracy angle.
Thankfully the judiciary was not biased and doubt did not enter their minds while setting the death penalty. Only hope that the supreme court follows the same argument from now on.
Its almost 8 years since the train burned at Godhra and at last there seems to have been a verdict. A verdict which holds the muslims directly responsible for murder and conspiracy. Inspite of having a liberal outlook, I have never condoned the aftermath of Godhra. The riots that followed were not just right, but also necessary to set right the balance of power.
At a time when a Hindu extremist is in power in Gujarat, when BJP is at power in the center, had there been no retaliation - then there would have been no stopping the muslim atrocities. We presently put up with a government which is pro muslim & there is little chance that they would risk taking action against any muslim aggression. Lines were crossed at Godhra and they paid the price.
Too bad that most victims( of both the riots & train burnings) are innocent. I would even say that the ones guity of the train burning crime are also responsible for the lives of the muslims who dies in the riots.
The media(local & international) likes to support the underdogs and due to the riots which followed the hindus were given a raw deal. The bias was so strong that even the most independent media outlets were not willing to report the muslim conspiracy angle.
Thankfully the judiciary was not biased and doubt did not enter their minds while setting the death penalty. Only hope that the supreme court follows the same argument from now on.
Saturday, June 5, 2010
Sam Wisegamjee monologue from LOTR- Two towers
Frodo:- I cant do this Sam.
Sam:- I know. Its all wrong. By rights we shouldn't even be here. Who we are?
Its like in the great stories Mr Frodo,
For once that really mattered,full of darkness and danger they were,
And some you didn't want to know the end ,because how could the end be happy?
How could the world go back to the way it was when so much bad had happened?
But in the end its only a passing thing, the shadow.
Even darkness must pass,a new day will come;
and when the sun shines it will shine out the clearer.
Those were the stories that stayed with you ,that meant something.
even if you were too small to understand why.
But I think Mr Frodo I do understand;
I know now,folk in those stories,had lots of chances of turning back only they didn't.
They kept going ,because they were holding on to something.
Frodo:- What are we holding on to Sam?
Sam:- That there is some good in this world Mr Frodo.
and its worth fighting for.
Sam:- I know. Its all wrong. By rights we shouldn't even be here. Who we are?
Its like in the great stories Mr Frodo,
For once that really mattered,full of darkness and danger they were,
And some you didn't want to know the end ,because how could the end be happy?
How could the world go back to the way it was when so much bad had happened?
But in the end its only a passing thing, the shadow.
Even darkness must pass,a new day will come;
and when the sun shines it will shine out the clearer.
Those were the stories that stayed with you ,that meant something.
even if you were too small to understand why.
But I think Mr Frodo I do understand;
I know now,folk in those stories,had lots of chances of turning back only they didn't.
They kept going ,because they were holding on to something.
Frodo:- What are we holding on to Sam?
Sam:- That there is some good in this world Mr Frodo.
and its worth fighting for.
Sunday, May 2, 2010
Going to America
It's been a long time since I moved back from the US. Rarely do I think about my life in the US and I am no longer recognized with the US return tag . I live life as though the 3+ years in US never happened. This is exactly the way I wanted it to be and I am glad for that.
Ever since my return its been a dilemma to advise my friends, who are set to go to US. They are all confident of their impending return back to India- once they make 'enough money'. They assert that those who choose to stay back in the US are hypocrites and they are nothing like that.
I want to tell them that they are wrong. I want to tell that the ones who choose to stay back are there because they cannot come back. Its not really a choice that they made, but its a consequence of a flawed logic . I want to tell these soon to be FOBs that they too are well on course to make the same mistake that the NRIs have made. But, as I tell this they are even more fired up . They will retort that I have questioned their sense of duty towards their motherland and parents. Clearly I cannot take this path.
In my case,instead of proclaiming that I too shall return to india after earning 'enough money' ,I started off by studying the exact reasons as to why people choose to settle there.Information is hard to come by as I cannot ask this question directly to desi citizens of USA. I did find bits and pieces of information in books and talking to people and i patched it up to get some perspective.I also extrapolated the information to predict what hurdles I might face in returning to India. I was able to foresee a rough period of isolation once I return to India. When that moment actually came up , I was depressed, but I was under control for the most part.
These are many such complex ideas which evolved over a period of months centered on this theme. So far no one has asked me how I made it back and how tough was it. Its frustrating. The path I have traveled was lonely and depressing. I have the task of getting across the message to those who are headed on to this journey with no return ticket. All I want to tell is that its not as simple as they think.
Going to US is a big ordeal and the last thing on anyone's mind is coming back. The visa, the travel, setting up a living,student life, research, job, work visa , family will keep one occupied for atleast 3 years.Once employed ,life is so comforting there that the thought of returning dosent occur for next few years. Once married its a different game altogether and things get really complex.
And thus the dilemma continues. On one hand I can tell people what it takes to come back to India, but I cannot do that until people seek my advise. Till then all I can do is to silently watch the parade as a spectator hopeful. You know... Such is life...
Ever since my return its been a dilemma to advise my friends, who are set to go to US. They are all confident of their impending return back to India- once they make 'enough money'. They assert that those who choose to stay back in the US are hypocrites and they are nothing like that.
I want to tell them that they are wrong. I want to tell that the ones who choose to stay back are there because they cannot come back. Its not really a choice that they made, but its a consequence of a flawed logic . I want to tell these soon to be FOBs that they too are well on course to make the same mistake that the NRIs have made. But, as I tell this they are even more fired up . They will retort that I have questioned their sense of duty towards their motherland and parents. Clearly I cannot take this path.
In my case,instead of proclaiming that I too shall return to india after earning 'enough money' ,I started off by studying the exact reasons as to why people choose to settle there.Information is hard to come by as I cannot ask this question directly to desi citizens of USA. I did find bits and pieces of information in books and talking to people and i patched it up to get some perspective.I also extrapolated the information to predict what hurdles I might face in returning to India. I was able to foresee a rough period of isolation once I return to India. When that moment actually came up , I was depressed, but I was under control for the most part.
These are many such complex ideas which evolved over a period of months centered on this theme. So far no one has asked me how I made it back and how tough was it. Its frustrating. The path I have traveled was lonely and depressing. I have the task of getting across the message to those who are headed on to this journey with no return ticket. All I want to tell is that its not as simple as they think.
Going to US is a big ordeal and the last thing on anyone's mind is coming back. The visa, the travel, setting up a living,student life, research, job, work visa , family will keep one occupied for atleast 3 years.Once employed ,life is so comforting there that the thought of returning dosent occur for next few years. Once married its a different game altogether and things get really complex.
And thus the dilemma continues. On one hand I can tell people what it takes to come back to India, but I cannot do that until people seek my advise. Till then all I can do is to silently watch the parade as a spectator hopeful. You know... Such is life...
Saturday, April 17, 2010
I got a mail
Its been a wierd week at office. A collegue, whose mail ID is remarkably similar to mine, has been getting a lot of mails meant for me. This must have been happening ever since I joined the company and my namesake, for some reason has chosen not to inform anyone!
Which beings me to my new post. This is a mail has been lying in my inbox for a couple of years. Its a kind of love letter from Hemanth to Aishwarya. Aishwarya forwards it to Karthik and for no apparent reason to me too.
Warning: Super-Bad grammer ahead. The content is so poorly formatted that it can easily confused for Spam.
To: Karthik <@#$%^Y&@yahoo.co.in>
Date: Fri, 21 Dec 2007 15:14:09 +0000 (GMT)
Subject: Mr. H 's mail yar
hi karthi,
hemanth sent the following msg. super comedy.
enjoy !!
Which beings me to my new post. This is a mail has been lying in my inbox for a couple of years. Its a kind of love letter from Hemanth to Aishwarya. Aishwarya forwards it to Karthik and for no apparent reason to me too.
Warning: Super-Bad grammer ahead. The content is so poorly formatted that it can easily confused for Spam.
To: Karthik <@#$%^Y&@yahoo.co.in>
Date: Fri, 21 Dec 2007 15:14:09 +0000 (GMT)
Subject: Mr. H 's mail yar
hi karthi,
hemanth sent the following msg. super comedy.
enjoy !!
Hello ,,,,
How r u??
Hope you will be fine....... I am sorry to disturb you,,, You will be busy at this time ..
I called you and messaged u many times, for days.........
You didnt replied.................. You might have many friends and more close friends that would have made u to forget me...
Butttttttttttttt i dont have ,u know about meeeeeeeeeeeee very welllllllllll,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,
i dont want to miss a nice and golden friend like uuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu!!!!!!!!!!!
Once mine friends Sister told one thing....
" During the final year of engg ,,,, Old Buddies will dispart ,,, all love stories which were prosperous
will come to an endddddddd......... New relations will mould up and that long last forever...........
New friendships willlll Be Begun...."""
That was true to meeeeeeeeeeeeee...
Old Ones got Bursted and new ones are emergerd....................
More over you are too stuborn ....
You have an interesting character.....
how long should i be on u ah!!!!!!!!!!!!!1111111 I have been on uuu for a long long timeeee,,,,
If i have done this on NNNNNNNN ,, means she would accepted mee..
I thought that we would meet sometime alone,, and would talk.....
we can solve this thing only by talking straight one on onee......
remember one day u talked to me in train,,,,, u talked and u only talked on your , not letting me too talk... the whole compartment was watching u only and of course meee tooo..
You were tooo concisee on ur part..... u see only on your side....
Give me a break to explain mine da..................
some time i felt that y should i need uuuuuuuuuu!!!!!!!!!1111
I cant be there without ur friendship.........
But it seems u dont need meeeeeeeeeeeee after alllllll
Shall i tell u one thingggggggggg
from the beginning that is from the first sem,,,,,,,
i thats me and me only was caring about u a lot,,,, i didnt say that u didnt cared me ............... too a small amount only..................
I was calling you i.e by phonee ..... for one or two days .... but u called me once in a month ... Is this true only na.,,
Fine Past is PAst............
Before three weeks also i called uuuuu,,, u didnt even turn,,,,, from behind me one junior boy called you turned and started to talk with with him..... this happens second time...
for the first time u said a reason that was so stupid,,,,
that you cant hear,,,,, poor guy i accepted that toooo
But this time i am so serious.........
I let u on ur way,,i thought ,,,when u get time and when u remember mee , u will talk or messaghe.... but that didnt workkkk.....
I cant be like u ice ,, its somewhat iching me not in the nook and corner of my heart but on the whole..
I tried to speak u after many times but u were tooo too busyy,,,,,,,,,,,
I know about ur character pa,,,, if a person doesnt treat u well , then u will treat him as a third person... L:ike just a Hai .... Bye friend ............
I dont want to be like that di.......................
Even now i am calling u .. But u father and mother are attending not uu,,, dont know whether they are telling you or not.......................
And one thing aishwarya..... i wanna tell this to you from the begining but canttt............
you know that i dont like karthi.....
its fight .... He started.....
I dont like him..... He toooo....
We both are not talkinggg......
One thing .... For boys ....
if there is a fight surely they wont like their friends talking to him...
I am also a human being,, a normal boy...
i too doesnt like... Surely he also doesnt like.....
To be frank He doesnt like kalpana talking with meee....
Surely i have....
i dont like u talking to himm..
But i didnt say this to uuuu.... Because i dont want to interfere your thought...... Sorry for mentioning this thingg.....
But its a great comedy............
U are talking to him onlyy....... Really it hurted me a lot..... '
of course as u say,, i am possesive... my character is a possesive one.. you dont know me fully..... you may think that i have changed,, No no a have not changed... I am as i am...
I was just hiding my character thats it.....
really i am a shy type , closed minded,,, will not talk freely,,
fine thats
i wanna tell u so said,, Sorry it hurts u......
If u find time think of me in the future. i will be so glad...
Bye bye
from a friend whom u have forgot!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Sunday, March 7, 2010
A mid march resolution list
It’s been a good year so far. 2010 started slowly for me with absolutely no festivities marking the New Year. I would much rather sleep than party on New Year’s Eve. But finally things have started to move. In feb I was finally out of the bench and started moving things to the desk. Things are flowing now and this is where I suppose I need to take charge of how my life is going to unfold.
Lumuhuku(a blog I just came across) seems to have a very interesting style to his resolutions. He has done anaudit of his past years life and come up with related resolutions. I wish I could do that, but since this year is gonna be totally different I will stick to the resolutions part.
I don’t think I will have any unlimited internet access this time around. That means no TV, no internet or even old friends to procrastinate with. YEEAAHHH!!!!
I have decided to continue my boycott of theaters and IPL matches. I am not against either of them, but I guess there is a lot of time left in life for somesuch. Right now, when I have the josh I need to be on the move. Should I extend this resolution to TV serials and TV in general?? Still debating.
I suppose the big change this year is that I am not trying to read any books. Sans any direction, I have read some 100 novels of varying genres over the past few years. I have spent the last few years working it our and now that I am on track I don’t feel the need to read any more arbit books.. So only technical books and acad worthy readings from now on.
Work will obviously take its toll on me and using the weekends effectively is gonna be a challenge. I have shortlisted a few activities for myself in Bangalore like trekking, but i still am not sure. Over the next month I will find some concentration to keep me busy in the weekends and simply do it.
Budgeting expenses has been my biggest weakness over the past 7 years now. I have this new cell phone which has the nokia expense manager software. It seems to be useful and if I even have a fair idea of my expenses I will be a happy happy man.
2009 was a great year with respect to health. I started 2010 with big plans of an exercise routine upgrade, but things have gone badly. I need to re start my exercise-prayer routine ASAP and get things back on track. Early this year I was hoping to continue my previous years form and get into running and cycling.
The past couple of years have seen a lot of travel, official and personal. I am not sure about travelling, but I came across a brilliant temple right next to my place. Will put as many visits to that at least till the time I am based here.
Procrastination continues to be my greatest enemy and I intend to continue the duel with my nemesis.Its seems to be a simple list, but getting back to the simple life is what I am hoping to do.
Lumuhuku(a blog I just came across) seems to have a very interesting style to his resolutions. He has done anaudit of his past years life and come up with related resolutions. I wish I could do that, but since this year is gonna be totally different I will stick to the resolutions part.
I don’t think I will have any unlimited internet access this time around. That means no TV, no internet or even old friends to procrastinate with. YEEAAHHH!!!!
I have decided to continue my boycott of theaters and IPL matches. I am not against either of them, but I guess there is a lot of time left in life for somesuch. Right now, when I have the josh I need to be on the move. Should I extend this resolution to TV serials and TV in general?? Still debating.
I suppose the big change this year is that I am not trying to read any books. Sans any direction, I have read some 100 novels of varying genres over the past few years. I have spent the last few years working it our and now that I am on track I don’t feel the need to read any more arbit books.. So only technical books and acad worthy readings from now on.
Work will obviously take its toll on me and using the weekends effectively is gonna be a challenge. I have shortlisted a few activities for myself in Bangalore like trekking, but i still am not sure. Over the next month I will find some concentration to keep me busy in the weekends and simply do it.
Budgeting expenses has been my biggest weakness over the past 7 years now. I have this new cell phone which has the nokia expense manager software. It seems to be useful and if I even have a fair idea of my expenses I will be a happy happy man.
2009 was a great year with respect to health. I started 2010 with big plans of an exercise routine upgrade, but things have gone badly. I need to re start my exercise-prayer routine ASAP and get things back on track. Early this year I was hoping to continue my previous years form and get into running and cycling.
The past couple of years have seen a lot of travel, official and personal. I am not sure about travelling, but I came across a brilliant temple right next to my place. Will put as many visits to that at least till the time I am based here.
Procrastination continues to be my greatest enemy and I intend to continue the duel with my nemesis.Its seems to be a simple list, but getting back to the simple life is what I am hoping to do.
Monday, February 22, 2010
Pen Pal(repost)
I think it must have been in 8th when I saw the ad. It was in this children’s monthly called Champak and the ad was for some kind of pen pal connecting service. My dream of having a friend in Madagascar or Lesotho was so much closer to reality. But since having a pen pal didn’t fetch you better marks at school, the very thought was considered to be a sin by my family.
It was in undergrad when I finally put my plan in action. With unlimited access to internet and no supervision, I googled some friendship sites and mailed a bunch of people saying I wanted to be friends with them. Needless to say all were girls of the right age group. Yahoo chat rooms were a rage then and social networking was unheard of. I wanted something more sophisticated than ASL. A couple of the replies seemed legit but somehow I thought that it was not a good idea. (The rest were selling Viagra)
Later on in undergrad, a television series about teenage life in US made me really desperate to have at least one girl in my friends circle. (Engineering colleges are not really green in some aspects) I remember going out of my room towards the computer center, with the sole intention of sending a mail to this girl from school whom I knew vaguely. I had just then friended her on orkut. But alas, fate intervened and the computer center was closed.
All along undergrad , I had a friend who sent me mails often. He was in Kohima and we used to meet once a year. A couple of years later we realized that it was the mails that kept us going while most of our common friends fell out of the loop. I tried to follow the same example and asked a few friends to mail me while I was off to do my MS in US.
I met a bunch of them yesterday and I am not quite sure if the mails really did have a role to play as I had good interactions with people irrespective of them being in my mailing list.
And just when I was about to leave US I met her. To this day I am certain that provided a longer time frame- there was nothing to stop me from falling in love with her. I was glad that I met her only 4 times because inspite of everything we had religious incompatibility. I have successfully been in touch with her for the past couple of years via long mails. She knows that we shared something special and I am glad to have retained that one friend from my US days. In some sense my 10 year search came to an end and I found a pen pal at last. God bless
It was in undergrad when I finally put my plan in action. With unlimited access to internet and no supervision, I googled some friendship sites and mailed a bunch of people saying I wanted to be friends with them. Needless to say all were girls of the right age group. Yahoo chat rooms were a rage then and social networking was unheard of. I wanted something more sophisticated than ASL. A couple of the replies seemed legit but somehow I thought that it was not a good idea. (The rest were selling Viagra)
Later on in undergrad, a television series about teenage life in US made me really desperate to have at least one girl in my friends circle. (Engineering colleges are not really green in some aspects) I remember going out of my room towards the computer center, with the sole intention of sending a mail to this girl from school whom I knew vaguely. I had just then friended her on orkut. But alas, fate intervened and the computer center was closed.
All along undergrad , I had a friend who sent me mails often. He was in Kohima and we used to meet once a year. A couple of years later we realized that it was the mails that kept us going while most of our common friends fell out of the loop. I tried to follow the same example and asked a few friends to mail me while I was off to do my MS in US.
I met a bunch of them yesterday and I am not quite sure if the mails really did have a role to play as I had good interactions with people irrespective of them being in my mailing list.
And just when I was about to leave US I met her. To this day I am certain that provided a longer time frame- there was nothing to stop me from falling in love with her. I was glad that I met her only 4 times because inspite of everything we had religious incompatibility. I have successfully been in touch with her for the past couple of years via long mails. She knows that we shared something special and I am glad to have retained that one friend from my US days. In some sense my 10 year search came to an end and I found a pen pal at last. God bless
Saturday, September 5, 2009
Why fight
Agent Smith:Mr.Anderson ,Welcome back ! We missed you.You like what I have done with the place.
Neo:It ends tonight.
Agent Smith:I know it does. I have seen it. That's why the rest of me is just going to enjoy they show.We already know I am the one who beats you.
Can you feel it?Closing in on you.Oh.. I can..I really should thanks you for it was that your life that thought me the purpose of all life.. The purpose of life is to end.
Why Mr.Anderson why why?Why do you do it?Why get up?Why keep fighting?You believe you are fighting for more than your survival!Can you tell me what it is?Do u even know?Is it freedom?Is it truth?Perhaps peace.Could it be for love?Illusions Mr.Anderson,vagaries of perception,temporary constructs of a feeble human intellect trying to justify an existence that is without meaning or purpose and all of them is superficial as the matrix itself;Although only a human mind would invent something as insipid as love.
You must be able to see it Mr.Anderson.You must know it by now.You cant win ,its pointless to keep fighting.Why Mr.Anderson why?WHY DO YOU PERSIST?
Neo:Because I choose to.
Neo:It ends tonight.
Agent Smith:I know it does. I have seen it. That's why the rest of me is just going to enjoy they show.We already know I am the one who beats you.
Can you feel it?Closing in on you.Oh.. I can..I really should thanks you for it was that your life that thought me the purpose of all life.. The purpose of life is to end.
Why Mr.Anderson why why?Why do you do it?Why get up?Why keep fighting?You believe you are fighting for more than your survival!Can you tell me what it is?Do u even know?Is it freedom?Is it truth?Perhaps peace.Could it be for love?Illusions Mr.Anderson,vagaries of perception,temporary constructs of a feeble human intellect trying to justify an existence that is without meaning or purpose and all of them is superficial as the matrix itself;Although only a human mind would invent something as insipid as love.
You must be able to see it Mr.Anderson.You must know it by now.You cant win ,its pointless to keep fighting.Why Mr.Anderson why?WHY DO YOU PERSIST?
Neo:Because I choose to.
Monday, August 10, 2009
Godmother
Now that I think about it, it seems strange to me, that I have not come across any articles linking Sonia Gandhi and the legendary Italian mafia.
The power,the family ties, corruption,innumerable supporters willing to do anything & not to mention the threat of assassination are a few common details shared by both the mafia and the Gandhi family. If I were Sonia Gandhi , I would be pinching myself every minute, hoping that the dream would come to an end soon.
I haven't thought of it before, but the act of giving up the post of Prime minister , might have its roots in the Italian mafioso mindset. After all, the mafia is never comfortable in dealing with things in a transparent manner and prefer to wield their influence by arm twisting in the dark. So, is Sonia, sitting comfortably away from the media glare, controlling the affairs of the country in a way resembling the mafia hierarchy?Is she teaching her children and her congress supporters the golden rule of Omerta,in dealing with power?
But perhaps ,the most intriguing question of all-will someone,one day,make a movie on sonia ,which would be as awesome as the Godfather? If so, there are no prizes for guessing the name of the movie.
Image from http://www.soniagandhi.org
The power,the family ties, corruption,innumerable supporters willing to do anything & not to mention the threat of assassination are a few common details shared by both the mafia and the Gandhi family. If I were Sonia Gandhi , I would be pinching myself every minute, hoping that the dream would come to an end soon.
I haven't thought of it before, but the act of giving up the post of Prime minister , might have its roots in the Italian mafioso mindset. After all, the mafia is never comfortable in dealing with things in a transparent manner and prefer to wield their influence by arm twisting in the dark. So, is Sonia, sitting comfortably away from the media glare, controlling the affairs of the country in a way resembling the mafia hierarchy?Is she teaching her children and her congress supporters the golden rule of Omerta,in dealing with power?
But perhaps ,the most intriguing question of all-will someone,one day,make a movie on sonia ,which would be as awesome as the Godfather? If so, there are no prizes for guessing the name of the movie.
Image from http://www.soniagandhi.org
Sunday, August 9, 2009
Published!
Someone actually took note of my views and thought it was good enough to be published.
Probably no big deal for most,but very satisfying for me.
Thanks ammani!
Probably no big deal for most,but very satisfying for me.
Thanks ammani!
Friday, July 31, 2009
The collectors
The collectors is a short story by Rohington Mistry. I had heard of the author but never really read any of his works. And I am thankful that I did not invest in any of his novels.
How can anyone ,in a story about stamp collection, come up with a story arc involving sodomy? Its as inconceivable as an item number , in the midst of a white house press conference. For no reason whatsoever, the innocent boy in the story , is subjected to sodomy by a classmate. In fact the naive kid agrees to it, on being promised a few stamps. I mean..common Mr.Mistry.. get a life .. I am pretty sure that there might have been traumatic incidents in your life which makes you think different, but you are one big asshole , taking undue liberty of freedom of expression(misuse i say),to come up with random events to make a name for yourself.[faiL]
How can anyone ,in a story about stamp collection, come up with a story arc involving sodomy? Its as inconceivable as an item number , in the midst of a white house press conference. For no reason whatsoever, the innocent boy in the story , is subjected to sodomy by a classmate. In fact the naive kid agrees to it, on being promised a few stamps. I mean..common Mr.Mistry.. get a life .. I am pretty sure that there might have been traumatic incidents in your life which makes you think different, but you are one big asshole , taking undue liberty of freedom of expression(misuse i say),to come up with random events to make a name for yourself.[faiL]
Thursday, July 30, 2009
Going ISKCON 4:The Grudge
This is the concluding part of a 4 part series on my experiences with ISKCON.
Please read introduction,section 2 & section 3 by following the links.
So all of this is fine. However the association with ISKCON comes with a price.The devotees have sold their soul for the 'perfect' life they are living. Most of these bhaktas marry and lead a outwardly normal life. But in a way, they live a life of deceit. They never tell their parents , until its too late , that they are having a completely different set of believes and practices.The children of these bhaktas are brought up in a closed environment where they are taught that everything in the outside world is evil and they are only messengers of God.
The opinion of the bhaktas on most things are narrow. They discredit most scientific theories because they are not a source of happiness. Although discussion within the group are encouraged ,before joining they are made to accept a few assumptions.
One - That Krishna is supreme lord. He passed his knowledge to his disciples and everything they believe had been handed down by lord himself through a disciplic succession. This series of disciples involve historical and mythological figures and the link between the two is something which cannot be questioned .
Two- the only way to become god conscious is to be a part of this line of disciples. (Nothing else will do.)So, only by coming into contact with this succession can one achieve moksha.
So , basically any scientific theory -such as Big bang, theory of evolution etc which contradicts anything in the knowledge bank is simply NOT accepted. Any discussion which happens is done within the space where the above are true.
Proof for the above is simple- faith.So, anything is accepted- lying , stealing,begging,even murder-provided the purpose of is to impress the lord.
Another rule ,which is an offshoot of the above is that the Guru cannot be questioned. The analogy given is usually that of a parent and child. Just like a child cannot find its path in life without the guidance of parents, a raw devotee cannot find his path in the spiritual world without the guru. And this rule holds good for ever. Anyone senior to you HAS to be obeyed and likewise-anyone junior to you will not question you. If the guru makes a statement like-'democracy is for fools'- the mind has to search for examples which justify this . To even think of contradicting the opinion is considered a major sin.
But perhaps the greatest grudge which I have is of the false sense of humility which they have. No doubt they have a humble lifestyle- simple food, clothes, etc. But early in their initiation, the fact that -being a part of ISKCON philosophy makes them special, is deeply drilled in to their minds. The need to be superior to the normal populace is one of the strong driving forces which makes them join the movement in the first place. They cannot realize that actually want superior societal status-when they initially join the movement.
The lectures of the Guru in ISKCON during the initiating is full of anecdotal stories . Its not hard to convince anyone that we are all headed towards certain doom.Anyway, during the initiation a key question which comes up is this-"what makes your path different than other religions?". A very standard question asked by almost all targets. The answer is this-"Christianity and Islam are also path to God. No doubt. But they are inferior.
The following would be said to you as a part of the answer to the above questin-"In Bible, there is a line which says -Do not kill . Its not for you and me, because we are not people who do such things. Its for lower levels of human birth. Islam too is very similar. There is a quotation which says do not sleep with your friends wife. If you are someone who thinks along those lines-then Islam is for you. We are all born,based on our activities in previous birth, at a level.Islam is for people in lower levels, Christianity for next level, and vedas are only for people who are of highest calibre and if you can accept this YOU belong to the best." The last sentence is key. The target is made to believe that accepting the principles makes him superior . For someone who trusts the speaker, not accepting the above does not mean the theory is false-It means that he is dumb and that path is never taken.
Its only by telling the targets that they are better off than any religion that they are convinced that this is the right path. How is is possible that a path to spiritual awareness begins with belittling the principles of other religions?
I dont think anything here would offend any ISKCON devotee. They would agree that everything here,but for my opinions are true. They would also add that they used to think in similar lines when they were new to the organization,but after understanding the pure intentions of the Krishna Bhaktas they have supressed such thoughts successfully.
As a finishing thought I can share another analogy commonly shared by the devotees. The bhaktas are not allowed to read anti-ISKCON material online, talk to people who are experts in other religions or even have independent ideas. Yet, they refer to people living in the material world as frog in a well who thinks that the well is the world(Koopa-mandooka). Its a pity that their arrogance and narrow thought makes them think that they are the last hope of mankind in aspects of humility and intelligence.& as manju once put it- Weird people:weird world.
Please read introduction,section 2 & section 3 by following the links.
So all of this is fine. However the association with ISKCON comes with a price.The devotees have sold their soul for the 'perfect' life they are living. Most of these bhaktas marry and lead a outwardly normal life. But in a way, they live a life of deceit. They never tell their parents , until its too late , that they are having a completely different set of believes and practices.The children of these bhaktas are brought up in a closed environment where they are taught that everything in the outside world is evil and they are only messengers of God.
The opinion of the bhaktas on most things are narrow. They discredit most scientific theories because they are not a source of happiness. Although discussion within the group are encouraged ,before joining they are made to accept a few assumptions.
One - That Krishna is supreme lord. He passed his knowledge to his disciples and everything they believe had been handed down by lord himself through a disciplic succession. This series of disciples involve historical and mythological figures and the link between the two is something which cannot be questioned .
Two- the only way to become god conscious is to be a part of this line of disciples. (Nothing else will do.)So, only by coming into contact with this succession can one achieve moksha.
So , basically any scientific theory -such as Big bang, theory of evolution etc which contradicts anything in the knowledge bank is simply NOT accepted. Any discussion which happens is done within the space where the above are true.
Proof for the above is simple- faith.So, anything is accepted- lying , stealing,begging,even murder-provided the purpose of is to impress the lord.
Another rule ,which is an offshoot of the above is that the Guru cannot be questioned. The analogy given is usually that of a parent and child. Just like a child cannot find its path in life without the guidance of parents, a raw devotee cannot find his path in the spiritual world without the guru. And this rule holds good for ever. Anyone senior to you HAS to be obeyed and likewise-anyone junior to you will not question you. If the guru makes a statement like-'democracy is for fools'- the mind has to search for examples which justify this . To even think of contradicting the opinion is considered a major sin.
But perhaps the greatest grudge which I have is of the false sense of humility which they have. No doubt they have a humble lifestyle- simple food, clothes, etc. But early in their initiation, the fact that -being a part of ISKCON philosophy makes them special, is deeply drilled in to their minds. The need to be superior to the normal populace is one of the strong driving forces which makes them join the movement in the first place. They cannot realize that actually want superior societal status-when they initially join the movement.
The lectures of the Guru in ISKCON during the initiating is full of anecdotal stories . Its not hard to convince anyone that we are all headed towards certain doom.Anyway, during the initiation a key question which comes up is this-"what makes your path different than other religions?". A very standard question asked by almost all targets. The answer is this-"Christianity and Islam are also path to God. No doubt. But they are inferior.
The following would be said to you as a part of the answer to the above questin-"In Bible, there is a line which says -Do not kill . Its not for you and me, because we are not people who do such things. Its for lower levels of human birth. Islam too is very similar. There is a quotation which says do not sleep with your friends wife. If you are someone who thinks along those lines-then Islam is for you. We are all born,based on our activities in previous birth, at a level.Islam is for people in lower levels, Christianity for next level, and vedas are only for people who are of highest calibre and if you can accept this YOU belong to the best." The last sentence is key. The target is made to believe that accepting the principles makes him superior . For someone who trusts the speaker, not accepting the above does not mean the theory is false-It means that he is dumb and that path is never taken.
Its only by telling the targets that they are better off than any religion that they are convinced that this is the right path. How is is possible that a path to spiritual awareness begins with belittling the principles of other religions?
I dont think anything here would offend any ISKCON devotee. They would agree that everything here,but for my opinions are true. They would also add that they used to think in similar lines when they were new to the organization,but after understanding the pure intentions of the Krishna Bhaktas they have supressed such thoughts successfully.
As a finishing thought I can share another analogy commonly shared by the devotees. The bhaktas are not allowed to read anti-ISKCON material online, talk to people who are experts in other religions or even have independent ideas. Yet, they refer to people living in the material world as frog in a well who thinks that the well is the world(Koopa-mandooka). Its a pity that their arrogance and narrow thought makes them think that they are the last hope of mankind in aspects of humility and intelligence.& as manju once put it- Weird people:weird world.
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