Why blogging?

Today I was asked by a friend - why do you blog?

I tried to explain that i write because i like writing - expressing myself without inhibitions and talking about whatever i want to say.

However, he said(something to this effect) - You can do this even without a blog. A blog is public, viewable by everyone. You can maintain a diary for it. (Now, let me clarify. By diary he didn't mean the old-fashioned hard book thick books. )

This got me thinking. I wondered why do I need to post on my blog? Then I got the answer - Everyone in this world likes to get feedback, appreciated, criticized even, by others. This comes from the need to be accepted in the society in which we come - to gel with it. Else, why would we do things just according to societal norms? The need to be accepted is profound in every individual and manifests itself in one form or the other. That is the reason why we have the social networking sites being the rage they are, these days. The constant need to say what we have in our mind to others comes from this yearning to be successful socially.

PS: I am gonna advertise this post too ;)

My Pagalguy Interview

An Interview I gave on Pagalguy.com
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Here I go. Have tried to be as honest and non-diplomatic as possible
Thanks for the questions Abhi. Really made me think.

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If you try to fail, and succeed, which have you done?

Depends upon the perspective. For me, if the final result benefits me, its a success

Why do people pay to go up tall buildings and then put money in binoculars to look at things on the ground?

Maybe coz they want to laugh at the people at ground! Like others did at them .

Or maybe they are aiming to throw a water balloon.

Worst injury you've ever had?

Physical or Emotional?

Physical - have had my right forefinger cut-off partially. (As a result of my own naughtiness though )

How will you define yourself in your childhood days? Naughty..innocent..or smthng else

Very Naughty. I was known as the terrorist of the family

Your favorite puy -male n female

Male - I don't have a single favorite one. So, can't really write. And am not being diplomatic here BTW

Female -

Special/unique about you

I can walk on water .
Nah, just joking. I am a fairly normal person. May be the specialty is my simplicity.

What is the strangest/funniest experience you've had here at PG?

Funniest would be when rani_das used to be around on Shout Box. Miss her there.

What did you want to be when you were 10 years old?

I wanted to be a police officer at 3. Don't really remember what i wanted to be at 10. I guess it was - a geeky,nerdy computer engineer.

Your list of songs, that you play, everytime you get a chance.

Papa Kehte Hain - QSQT
Here Without You - 3 Doors Down
Pehli Nazar Main - Race
Stairway to Heaven - Led. Zepplin
November Rain - G n R
Don't Cry - G n R

Most valuable thing to you is..

My dear ones. Oh well, they are not "things" . So, its my bike, cellphone and laptop - in that order.

What would be your first question to the people of Antarctica?

So, when do we start the Air-Conditioning Business?

What is something that not a lot of people know about you but you WISH more people COULD know?

That I am very sensitive.

What was the funniest incident in your college life?

Well, we were playing this game of truth and dare in our final year sitting at a ice-cream parlor. (A huge group of about 30 people). So, one girl was given the dare to climb the road divider of a very busy road and shout - "main pagal hoon", 3 times. She did that. A really funny sight it was.

If someone wrote a biography about you, what do you think the title should be?

Doesn't matter what I think, right. Am not the one writing it. Well, let me think of one now. How about this -

"The colors and hues of a common man"

What is your first memory of "True friendship"?

During my engineering days, i used to travel to my college from my home on a Kinetic. (A distance of 18 KM). Now mid-way, it got punctured and I had to leave it at a secluded place as I had an exam that day. After the exam, I requested a friend to drop me to that place. When I reached there, i saw that the back tyre was completely deflated and the vehicle wasn't budging even an inch. The puncture repair shop was about 1.5 KM far. We had no option but to lift the vehicle partially and move it in some way. Dragging, pulling, we made our way to the shop by which time we were completely drained out. I felt a great sense of gratitude for my friend. The reasons for that are:

1. We had another exam the very next day. Spending his preparation time for my task was amazing.
2. My friend had acute back pain even before the pulling. It only got intensified after that. It truly showed what friendship stood for.

Whenever you feel enervated, low, or sad...what kept you going..or let me put it as your source of inspiration...

My parents and the kind of sacrifices they have made for us (Me and my brother).

OK, so what's the speed of dark?

- (Negative) 299,792,458 metres/second

Your definition, MBA

An exaggerated phenomenon - furthered by people like us at PG

Why do you think Charles Chaplin is famous?

Coz he dared to do something different and yet made people laugh - one of the most difficult things to do even with your mouth open.

How do you tackle stress and define stress?

Stress is when you feel frustrated. I generally shout out at someone sometimes. (I know pretty bad :( ) I cool down after that.

What's your pet phobia? Do you have more than one? Name all of them

Cats - They are sinister. . Am not too big a fan of pets anyway.

What would you do when you have learnt that your boat is out of oil?

Run it on coal.

Your Retirement Plans.

Buy a villa on beach-side and live life like a king. Will have to find some insurance good enough to support this

If u r arrested on account of crime ,what it wud be.

Threatening TV News Channel Heads to show "news".

How do you celebrate your happiness..

By having something chocolate first. Sharing the happiness with my family and friends. Going out on a quiet dinner and giving them all a treat.

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All the above answers are true to the best of my knowledge. In case of any discrepancies, you are free to sue yourself.

Why?

Why is it that we look for perfection in everything?
Why do we lose track of our goal sometimes?
Why does life seem so bland and tasteless?
Why do we do certain things we do?
Why do your loved ones act difficult when you need their support the most?
Why do we chase dreams even knowing they won't be fulfilled?
Why do we have to leave people behind in our quest for success?
Why don't I have my laptop when I need to post here? :(
Why is it that life throws up so many "whys" at us?

PS: Will keep adding to this post. So please keep checking it regularly.

Politics in India - Another view

"I want to be a politician". There was a few seconds long stunned silence when Manek said these words in response to the question about his future career goal. This was proceeded by a long round of uproarious laughter - so much so that the Principal had to move to the corridor to confirm if nothing untoward had happened.

This is a scene which could be replicated across almost all the schools and the society with a uniform degree of similarity. Why is it that this career is looked down upon as a viable option in India? Why is it that the respect reserved for the Engineers, Doctors, Artists, Sportsmen (women too :-P), Lawyers gets evaporated when it comes to Politicians? Why is it that the students are not encouraged to pursue politics as an active career? Why is it that the Politicians evoke fear and anger in our hearts and minds rather than comfort and trust? Why is it that entering politics is considered dirty and a job of people who are from some other planet? Why is it that politics is equated to corruption? Why is it that politics is associated with illiteracy? Why is it that every child who dreams about being a politician is scoffed at, laughed at, and looked down upon? Why is it that people like you and me, instead of taking up the responsibility of doing something, simply take shelter in hurling abuses to the politicians?

One of the reasons could be the current state of politics (and politicians) in our country. It could be because of the profile of the politicians currently practicing politics. Politicians in our country generally include a huge cross-section of criminals masquerading as social workers - in order to siphon off the resources of the country further. Not many of them are well educated. The apathy shown by them towards the populace of the country is a major factor in putting off people.

Contrast this with the politicians in US; they have had presidents; almost all of whom have represented the United States in Wars. They are respected widely (exceptions are always there ;)) and are looked up to. It is generally the well educated set of people who turn politicians.

Although, politics may be a ugly career, the youngsters of today should be encouraged to take it up as a serious career. The educated should be re-educated in order to take over the reins running the government so that India could be better for tomorrow. It is the educated who will make the difference to the thinking, to the policies adopted, to the people.

Amen

PS: I absolutely love my country. So, no need to think otherwise. In case this line still doesn't convince you, then you are free to comment.

The effect of Mobile's Mobilizing the world

How important is a cell-phone to our everyday existence? Ever wondered about it? Well, rather important if you may think a bit about it. A case in point would be the example of last week where i forgot to carry my cell-phone with me to office. By the time i reached home late in the evening, there were about 10 missed calls and 15-16 messages to be responded to. (I may be exaggerating a little, but :P). So this brings us to the pertinent topic at hand. Mobile evolution has revolutionized communications so much that even the most unexpected of people have cell-phones. Imagine my surprise when the other day the vegetable stall owner offered her cell phone number to my mom so that my mom could place orders through that. (Truly astonishing). So, availability of mobile phones with everyone now brings us to the matter of Mobile phone users which I have particularly observed over the past few days. They can be classified into the following categories:

The Sabzi Wali(wala): - The type I have already talked about. :P They are those people whose new found sense of connectivity keeps them on cloud no. 9. Although, they rarely make any calls from their phones themselves :).

The Student: - They are typically youngsters barely in their teens, continuously typing out SMS's. (Speaking doesn't give that pleasure mate :P. And yeah, Messaging is very cheap ;))

The High-Flying Executive: - Investment Bankers, (some) IT professionals, Suave Businessmen fall in this category (I apologize if i have missed out someone). They generally own very expensive PDAs which are used for business purposes too. They carry a very important looking attitude and continuous keep fiddling with their Styluses.

The middle-Class: - They, as their name signifies, have the Middle end cell phones, which they are fiercely protective about. Hell, i even saw a person actually keeping his phone packed inside a plastic cover. He had to remove the cover every time he attended a call :O.

And if u don't fall in any of these categories, then you do fall in my category. :P

One special thing i would like to mention is that, contrary to expectations, its not the Lower-Class or the Students who are poor at cell phone etiquettes. It is mostly the educated Indian class which is so poorly literate about Cell-phone manners that it sometimes makes me cringe. Some of the examples would include keeping the phone in loud ringer mode during important meetings, in cinema halls; speaking loudly in Public spaces causing inconvenience to others. I feel we need to learn manners before we are allowed to carry cell-phones. And a fine be imposed on people behaving irresponsibly with respect to cell-phone etiquettes.

Hope i made some sense :P.

Why haven't i posted for the last two months? DUH

Well well well... A realization finally dawned upon my peanut sized stupid brain - I have a blog which i am supposed to post on regularly. However, it too seems to be, like many other things/ people, an object of my complete sense of ignorance which well and truly signifies my current attitude towards life. Why have i been so insensitive and detached? (From my Mom to my blog to my friends) Well, the only answer i can come up with is... I am preparing for CAT (Whoa... CAT - supposed to be a monster of an exam). Well, that indeed cannot be considered as a valid reason my behavior in recent times. It is almost as though i am living in a world of fantasy where nothing else exists except for my preparation for CAT. Oh c'mon, whom am i kidding... CAT... I haven't even been scoring decent enough in the Mocks. What will i do on the actual C-Day? And come to think of it, why am i spoiling my life for one exam. It might have the power to alter the course of my life forever; however does my current behavior justify so? I don't think so...

Anyways feels great to be posting after a long silence. (I just hope not many lambs were slaughtered in the meanwhile ;) ).

My tryst with TT and the lessons it taught me.

About an year back, when i had joined my first job, i developed a keen interest for TT (Ping-pong to some). This was partly because TT tables were available in abundant quantities in the office and I being the work-shirker, loved to while away time playing this game. One of my closest friend also liked playing TT a lot. So, everyday after office, we used to play for about an hour before going home. As we started playing regularly, i realized my 'keen interest' wasn't really translating into performance. I regularly lost to my friend who happened to be a female. Somewhere around this time, i got really frustrated with myself for losing so regularly. A thought entered my mind that I am losing to a girl. The (in)famous male ego was affecting me too. I was horrified. I prided myself to be immune from male chauvinism. But it had roared its ugly head on me too. Consequently, i became petulant and began snapping at her for no obvious fault of hers. Some days later i got involved in my work, and we were unable to continue playing.
A few months went by... My workload reduced and i decided to start playing again. So, i with another project mate of mine began playing. Being rusty, i lost to him comfortably. But this defeat hurt me like hell; even more than the time i played with my friend earlier.

This whole episode taught me a lesson. I was susceptible to losing at anything. It made me cranky and i snarled at everybody and anybody around me. This placed my behavior in the right perspective. I was able to analyze that i am fiercely competitive person who doesn't like losing. A loss made me moody and bitter. It also taught me that i am indeed not a target of male chauvinism.

PS: Did i tell you that my female friend is a college champ at TT :)

Randomness in life.

Just the other day while i was waiting for a signal to turn green, observing many people going about their business, a weird thought hit me:

We are all birth relatives by some way or the other. Coz the ancestors to all the human race are the same. We are all siblings as we have common root nodes to our family tree. And now we don't even care about anyone except for our nearest family.

- Weird...

Through the eyes of the beholder

Have you ever thought what would happen if you had no eyes? Even the little thought about such a thing sends shivers down my spine. Eyes (vision) are among the most neglected parts of our body. (Well, atleast i don't take great care of them). We take them for granted. Do you ever wonder - what if you were blind? What if you had lost your vision? What if you could not see the beautiful colours of the world, all the breathtaking sceneries, the spectacular forests, the colour of the setting sun, the subtle differences between the colours of your clothes, the visual treat which you would be deprived of?

Some Pearls of my wisdom

First a little background:

Being a S/w engineer, there are times when i am relatively free from all work and then there are times when i don't even have a minute to speak to friends(I sure must be rude to people who dare to disturb me at such a time). Such is the oscillation between boredom and "I cannot handle the work" scenarios that it tends to leave the cerebral part of my body in a hazy state. The following statements are the result of such a condition:

"Solving a mistake may create another even bigger mistake"

"There are more people trying to pull you down than wanting you to go up. So, Effort >= force of gravity!"

"The universe is only as big as your imagination; a problem is only as big as your thinking"

"Wine, women and wealth - the three vices of (un)successful men"

Disclaimer: This are only my weird quotes; which may of may not apply to all. Please don't sue me if they don't. :D

The First Ever

Well my first post…

I have always been perplexed by the word “HYPOCRISY”. Most people when asked for one thing which they disliked say that its hypocrisy. So I decided to find the literal meaning to it. Some googling led me to this meaning. So as per my interpretation, it is something which you preach but do not follow it yourself. Now, when I had joined my current job, we had a soft skills session where the instructor asked us to introduce ourselves and state our likes and dislikes. So, as I expected (I ought to have good sixth sense ;-)), most people came up with the clichéd answers for their dislikes. Topping the list was – you guessed it right – “HYPOCRISY”. Now, one observation I made was that it was the representatives of the fairer sex who were very vocal in their dislike for Hypocrisy and hypocrites. (I am not a sexist… But this was just an observation). So, I decided to observe the behavior of these so-called hypocrisy haters unobtrusively. Now, I know this person who made very strong statements showing disapproval of certain people whenever he/she was conversing with me. So, I thought this person may be really dislikes those people. And yeah I forgot to mention, he/she had also mentioned hypocrisy as his/her most disliked characteristic. (Is it really a characteristic…? Now I am sounding like a chemistry lecturer ;-) ). Anyways, so continuing with my analysis –

A month later, I found this person being very friendly with the exact same people he/she had ridiculed. Now, this led me to the conclusion that may be the people who dislike hypocrisy are hypocrites themselves. Hell, this is also a kind of hypocrisy. (Saying you dislike hypocrisy and practicing it yourself).

So, in conclusion, I had like to categorically state that I really dislike hypocrites. Crap, I am turning into a hypocrite myself.