Essays from the past : Practicality is now our great idol, which all powers and talents must serve.

In today’s world of cut throat competition every body is running after three things namely; power, wealth and carnal pleasures. These three indulgences have been conveniently named as practical things. Thus a monster who blindly indulges in acquiring them is termed as a practical person; a person who is very important in this world and in fact, people tend to believe, that it is these practical people who are shouldering the burden of entire humanity. It is thus advised to idolize practicality and people like the author believe it should be accepted as a universal religion.
It is true that man needs money and some sort of influence in society so that he can lead a comfortable life. But he should draw a line at point where comfort remains comfort and does not become greed. We have all heard the story ‘How much land does a man need’. In that story the protagonist as a part of a wager was to cover the entire length of land that he wanted to acquire in a day on foot. The amount of land, he needed to spend comfortably the rest of his life, he had covered within the first few hours. But later the monster of practicality made his mind nebulous and he continued running till he died. His dead body ironically needed only six feet of land for burial.
If all powers and talents were to indulge in crass practicality then who will perform the important works like building up of society, development of art, educating the masses etc.
Take for example the teaching profession. Teachers have been traditionally entrusted with the job of educating our young minds, the pillars on which the future of modern society lies. If they start charging exorbitant fees for their services, i.e they become practical then our young impressionable minds will not get molded properly and our social fabric will suffer irreparable damage. Already one can see the effects of practicality swallowing up this noble profession, with opening of coaching centers and prep schools for preparations of various examinations.
Appreciation of art is one virtue that separates humans from animals. Since performing arts and theatre gives little money in a culturally rich and fast becoming practical country like India, many artists have given up art to look for some more practical professions.
In my opinion, running after wealth and power is not an inborn virtue in humans. When we are born we are devoid of any avarice, any malice towards anybody. Slowly and gradually, we are engulfed by the monster of practicality and start leading a life in which we are not happy from the inside; our soul bleeds to death. Therefore these ideas that idolize practicality and call for all powers and talent to endorse and accept it should not be promoted

Essays from the past : If a society is to thrive, it must place its overall success before the well being of its individual citizens

Suppose your father is dying of cancer and your neighbor’s wife is expecting her first born child on the same day. And by the stroke of chance, the timing of the death of your father and the birth of a newborn in your neighbor’s family coincide. Will you be mourning the death of your old aged father who had nothing more to contribute to the society or will you hail the birth of your neighbor’s child, the future of the society? The obvious answer is that you will mourn your father’s death. This is because there is something in each and everyone of us that is close to our hearts, that is private to us, that which we cannot share with anybody. 'That' is what defines us and we in turn define the society. This 'that' varies from individual to individual and the fact is the defining something or a set of things that satisfies the need of society as a whole is a task that in the true sense fits the definition of the term impossible. On the other hand if we adopt a procrustean attitude and try to forcefully fit in everybody in a given frame( who defines that frame is another topic of debate) then there is bound to be dissent in certain individuals and this in turn can cause destabilization of society.
If on the other hand if certain individuals try to fulfill all their wanton desires, then poverty and widespread discontent would result and in the resultant paranoia and agitation, social fabric would face severe and irreparable damage.
So what options de we have to make society thrive? The answer lies in adopting an approach of moderation. In establishing small groups of people having the most similar features and needs and then taking care of most of their needs so that no or very little dissent results.
This model has been adopted in post independence India and so far the integrity of this geographically and culturally diverse nation has suffered little damage whereas socialist giants like USSR have collapsed without trace.
In India there is a practice of awarding economic subsidies to poorer and underdeveloped sections of society. The working class is not overburdened by taxes and the businessmen and capitalists have to pay up taxes proportionate to their income. Newer industrial ventures are encouraged and educational institutes are given land and other facilities at subsidized rates on a condition that they reserve certain seats for students from economically weaker section of the society. The success has not been exemplary, but still there has been almost no damage to the integrity of this country.
I am not saying that this model is an ideal one and everybody should follow it. The principle behind it is essentially correct, i.e. to allow everybody to flourish according to their means and ability but only to a point where they do not start interfering with the lives and destinies of others. But imperfections in its implementation in India have made the model look imperfect. There is a huge scope of improvement in the implementation of this principle and other countries can look to adopt this model with changes that suit their ways.
To conclude I would like to say that the principle of moderation towards the needs of both individual and society as defined above is the best way for the society to thrive. Its implementation however has to done carefully with right attitude in mind

Essays from the past : People in position of power are most effective when they exercise caution and restraint in the use of that power

Man lusts for two things: power and money. Both power and money are like two sides of a coin. They complement each other perfectly. With money comes power and with power comes money. People like rulers and heads of states of developed nations, businessmen heading cyclopean organizations, leaders of small yet militarily powerful nations and heads of nation having strong allies sit on the throne of power and play games with destinies of the people and nations of world. At times these games are nothing more than reckless pursuits towards selfish ends of these individuals. The conclusion of such games is nothing but devastation on a large scale. Devastation that destroys people, creates deep chasm in the social fabric of a nation and redraws the world map.

It is said that 'with great power comes great responsibilty'. Men in the position of power are most effective when they exercise caution and restraint in the use of power. There are many examples that elucidate that when power has been misused that consequences have been tragic. Take for example the mindless imperialistic pursuits of germany, france, england, italy etc during 18th and 19th century. These imperialist powers indulged in rapid colonization and left a gory trail of blood and destruction behind them. Taking the specific case of systematic colonization of india by east india company. After forcefully taking over most of india, the east india company had to deal with sporadic revolts taking place all over the country.The great revolt of 1857 shook their foundation and the crown had to take control of the indian empire. What followed was a continous struggle for independence both by violent and non violent means. And if the internal conflicts were not enough, the raj had to deal with the growing insecurities between various nations of power about the growing boundries of others. These insecurities led to world war I and subsequently world war II. These two wars particularly the later one saw the use of most potent weapons of destruction ever invented by man. Machine guns, AK 47, submarines, trench warfare, chemical and biological weapons and the most destructive of all atomic bomb were unleashed on both civilian and military establishment. Millions of people died and for what purpose? because some people on the throne or power had a voracious appetite for something that was not theirs.

Now looking at the present day scenario, after the fall of USSR and end of cold war era, governments, jaded by the mass destrution caused by these two world wars are more careful before engaging in military option. A pakistan indulging in misadventures like kargil faces severe economic sanction from even its closet ally (USA).An afghanistan sheltering a terrorist organization like al-qaeda faces military action. But later on the people in position of power(USA AND UK) take the initiative to rebuild the war ravaged country. Clearly the focus of the people in power has now shifted towards exercising restraint and caution before using power. This is the obvious need of the hour. The hydra headed monster of terrorism(our past haunting us) refuses to subside and it is in the best interest of everybody that we direct our resources and powers in quashing the monstrous reptile before it consumes the entire humanity.

happy 2009 and an ode to the readers of this blog

well this is my first post in this new year. This year it will be two years since i first started blogging. I dont know how many people read my blog, but those who do happy new year to all of you out there. People who i probably will never meet but who are connected to me through this blog.   I find such connections fascinating to say the least. I would like to imagine an average 25 year old person  way back in 1950. How many people he/she would be connected to? your family, people at your place of worship, your neighbours, your workplace, your school (if you go to one), college was a dream prospect back then for a family with average means.  Cut to 2009 and you meet people from all walks of life. I for one, who is an average 24 year old guy, have met people, who i am still in touch with, at school, college, tuitions during middle school, tuitions during high school, coaching classes for entrance examination to college, college, college parties, other college parties, dads business associates, distant cousins in foreign lands, online networking forums with dedicated theme, online general purpose social networking forums, graduate school, people who read my blog and so forth.

These different people that i have met during the course of my life, have left a distinctive impression on me. And most fascinating thing about meeting so many people is something like a classmate of mine went to college with a present associate of mine, or bumping into somebody you met years ago seven seas apart years ago, or calling up somebody you havent met for better part of a decade and then getting to meet them or when your childhood buddy whom you havent met for more than 15 years decides to get married and calls you/or email you and so forth. Its like if you are a pin in this vast sea of pins and the world is like a cardboard on which all these pins are placed and when you connect these pins with a thread; a thread representing a connection and each connection representing a color, you will get such vibrant patterns. These patterns define and individuals life. The people you meet, the people you connect to leaves a distinctive influence on who you are. You are a sum total of colors of all these connections. The more the connections, the more the colors and more complete you are. 

I am very happy to have one more color to my being. My connection to those who read this blog. I am not sure if i will meet any one of you at any point in my life. We may or may not bump into each other as complete strangers, sit right next to each other in a movie theater, be related to one another without knowing that this is the person whose this article i liked and so forth, but we have a connection. A connection which at a very basic level connects our thoughts. To be very honest i write for my self. I am not a professional blogger who clocks cpl of dozen articles every month, or the sorts who makes money out of it by promoting commerical products on his/her blog (I may become that at some point in distant future but not now),  nor my pieces are always pleasing to the eye. I write what i feel should be written. What i feel to be important either to myself or to people who at some level think like me. On an average i would write an article every month or two or even less but i write for i love writing and i thank those who read what i write and give comments whether constructive or criticizing. 

the journey, the destination and the fun

1.) the begining (outside san jose)

I recently started on an absolute fun journey from san jose to LA to phoenix to death valley and back to san jose. This photo blog will describe in pictures and not in words the journey that i undertook with my uncles family to lands so beautiful so pristine that words are insufficient to describe them and as they say, a picture says a thousand words:

 3.) sunrise in san bernadino

4.)  morning walk in san beradino. The peaks were awesome!!We went chasing them later in the day

5.) We robbed steve and barrys in san bernadino point blank :P. After we were done for over 5 hours in two shifts there was nothing left there

6.) Glow Golfing: a kids delight and favourite time pass while parents do the boring shopping.

7.) who says sun and snow cannot coexist? we waned to so to some lake ended up going to san bernadino park while chasing snow clad peaks on serpentine roads. Totally awesome experience!!

8.) Our curious attempt at making a snow man

correlation between bidirectional stockholm syndrome and arranged marriages : risk management in indian wedlocks

Stockholm syndrome is a psychological response sometimes seen in an abducted hostage, in which the hostage shows signs of loyalty to the hostage-taker, regardless of the danger (or at least risk) in which they have been placed. The syndrome is named after the Norrmalmstorg robbery of Kreditbanken at Norrmalmstorg, Stockholm, Sweden, in which the bank robbers held bank employees hostage from August 23 to August 28 in 1973. In this case, the victims became emotionally attached to their victimizers, and even defended their captors after they were freed from their six-day ordeal. The term Stockholm Syndrome was coined by the criminologist and psychiatrist Nils Bejerot, who assisted the police during the robbery, and referred to the syndrome in a news broadcast ( from wikipedia) . My view of arranged marriages in a positive sense is that most of them are one form or other of this stockhom syndrome. However it is not a plain stoclkholm syndrome. It is more like a modfified bidrectional configuration. let me be a little more clear about it. 

In arranged marriage, two hitherto unknown strangers, get hooked up. They are hooked up either by their parents, their social circle, shaadi.com, NRI matrimony servies, newspaper ads etc etc. The mode may be anything, but the end result is the same. Two virtual strangers are bounded by lifelong bond of holy matrimony. This bond is governed by a two way stockholm and after the kids are born, they are part of that equation. The husband and wife are both captives and captors in this bond. Another way to at this is that this bond holds husband and wife captive together. They both dont know the true self of the respective partner. In most cases, they dont know each other and they havent met before as well. Thrown together under one roof, they start looking, cooking and cleaning after each other. That when carried on for a period of more than year creates a stockholm like situation. The husband gets to know the wifes wierd notions, the wife gets to know the husbands habits. They both start making mutual adjustments .Dislikes become likes and likes become dislikes. When a child is born of such a wedlock, it further cements such a relation. Both captor and captive now have a common subject which they both like. That common liking further unites them. Their happiness lies in the happiness of that kid. With time, this bidirectionl stockholm mutates into something more concrete, a four lettered word called love and everybody lives happily ever after....

Hold on.. I aint a rajshri banner fan. Theres got to be catch in this tory somewhere. So heres the catch. Even in these so called perfect wedlocks, nothing can turn out to be perfect. The guy may turn out to be a dowry seeking, drunk moron who has this notion that beating his/her spouse whih he got after no effort of his, is the ideal way of exerting his manhood. Such idiots are well left early to minimize any long term physical and emotional trauma. On the other hand, the girl might turn out to be a picture perfect caricature from desperate housewives TV shows who goes around flirting with all the friends of his hubby while he is out earning bread and butter. A well qualified professional wife is an easy solution to this problem.

Coming to risk management in indian/desi wedlocks, I am not any expert in the mixed desi couples. but as far as purely indian couples( both hubby and wife of indian origin), the idea here is to compare the element of risk in romantic relations as opposed to arranged relations and what sort of risk lies in either. 'love' based relationships are almost always based on some sort of farce or the other. As opposed to a solid scientifically proven phenomenon (stockholm syndrome), love marriages are based on abstract concept called 'love' Its an invisible candy very aptly marketed by various film makers so that their multi million dollar movies based on Mr Right finding the Mrs right and vice versa, them falling in love and living happily ever after sell like hot cakes. Various conceptions propogated in these movies include nonsense such as true love transcends life time, true love is infalible, ideal couples dont fight and so forth. Many people take this nonsense to their heart, especially at an early age, when lines between practicality and idealism are as blurred as houses when you look out of the window of a fast moving train. With such notions in their head at this stage, some people begin the quest of true love. In this quest, i am not aware of intentions of the fairer sex but being a guy i know what men want ( I am talking about straight relations here. this is because i am not aware of homosexual relationships). That want, that desire guides them for most part. This is true for all men atleast in their early years. As they grow up, some of them grow up but for most part, many dont and they still want the same them. Their defination of love can be summed up by phrases such 'kiss kiss bang bang' , 'cover the face and f*** the base' , 'game', 'scorecard' , 'list' and so forth. Such men do end up suceeding at what they want to do but for large part they succeed in conveying the shallowness of the term true love. I have known many a women who do the same which much more panache than their male counter parts but their reasoning and motives are unknown to me. When these relations actually manage to reach the point of marriage, then comes the influence of practical issues. All this while either counter part can be putting up apearences, simply because eihter/both of them have invested heavily in a relationship and none of them are willing to let go of the other even if it means lying to other till they are married. Lie being discovered before marriage leaves both parties emotionally scarred. Lie being discovered after marriage bacomes a statistic in raising number of divorce cases.

In the case of arranged marriages, this bidirectional stolkholm like situation actually assuages the situation and statistically it has been shown in various studies that arranged marriages are more successful then love marriages; the only yardstick of success being divorce rates. In my opinion it is this stolkholm like situation which minimizes the risk of such marriages failing. In these relations, you do not fall in love but if everything goes well, you grown in love and this growth actually strongly roots such relationships in firm grounds thus minimizing the chance of their failing unless some specific circumstances occur.  

of completed projects, colliding realities and truth that is stranger than fiction

completed projects:
I am done with another semester at graduate school. It looks like a race half left rather than race half completed. It is not because i am pessimist but from the looks of it, i have more work to do from now than i have done until now in the same time period. Of all the projects that i intended to complete, I have come good on most of them. I now have a full flavor of grad school and truth be told i like it here professionally. My life here from office to ghar and ghar to office is peaceful with no obstructions. I do what i need to do and things happen accordingly. Personally however, there are somethings i dislike and some i really really dislike. But then again, the whole deal with the devil when i signed on this venture was that "against my personal life ( and lack/dislike of thereof) and a menial stipend, i agree to donate the next five years of my life to grad school." back then doing my own thing was so important to me that everything else looked meaningless. Now my own thing is about as important but other things are slowly becoming more and more important.

colliding realities:
I know its not very original but my way of seeing life is numbers and equations, Balance. I am a big fan of balance. I believe when new variables get introduced in the equation of life, they need to be balanced with newer variables still. Being an uncomplicated person, I am not a very big fan of adding new variables. Of late I have however learn that balance itself is not very intuitive. Life equation is not like equations i work with or atleast as simple. The thing with new variables is that they best be left alone. attempts to balance realities of life, however meager they may be are futile. all they end up doing is changing the equation itself.

truth that is stranger than fiction:

truth indeed is stranger than fiction. I always thought of this dialog as a rambling of a half ass old dude who has nothing to do but come up with random quotes of the day (no offense). Turns out this right here is one of the the most important take home message of life itself. Take home message in sense that assuming you get a second chance at life, this statement probably should be your guiding light. Truth is strange, very strange. Fiction you can predict. but truth is an unpredictable and unmeasurable reality that governs your everyday existence.