Made For Each Other

It is strange how I keep coming back to you, even after years of separation. Is it really separation if I keep thinking about you? We will leave that discussion for some other day.

I happened upon this term "Made For Each Other", in a discussion which culminated into an amusing situation. I felt like I should share my perspective and that brought us here. The concept of two people "Made For Each Other", albeit heart warming, and being the center stage for every romantic fiction, doesn't carry much significance in reality. 

We start with, What does "Made For Each Other" mean? When two people have same thoughts and interests, share same opinions and tastes,  react to situations and events the same way, are they made for each other? Does it mean they will have same feelings for each other? What if they don't? Do they cease to be made for each other? What if the only thing common between two people is that they enjoy each others company and nothing else? What if making each other happy is the only thing in common between them? Are they made for each other? 

I don't have an answer. What I have, are stories. Stories of people falling madly in love and everyone around them talking about, how they are "Made For Each Other".  All these stories had one thing in common. At one point or other there was enough evidence that they are not made for each other. When that realization came, some stories didn't go well but others were perfectly fine. 

Now, these stories that went well had their share of problems, there were difficulties, there were differences, and through all those, they had each other. Because, for them, being not "Made For Each Other" didn't really matter as much as the Love they had for each other.

So in conclusion, It doesn't matter whether you are "Made For Each Other", as long as you are "There For Each Other".

Idea!!!

X: Dude listen, I have this great business idea
Y: What is it?
X: Let us open this huge furniture store, that displays fully built furniture
Y: And if the customers like something, we sell them the furniture?
X: No, we are going to sell them boxes, that contain un assembled parts of furniture
Y: Okay, so if they like something we bring them the boxes that contain parts and sell them?
X: No they get to look up the location of those boxes and find them in the warehouse
Y: Oh, So we will ship those boxes for free once they buy?
X: No, No customers are responsible for taking their boxes home or we charge heavy fee for shipping
Y: So, we help them take those boxes from billing and load them up in their vehicles
X: No way! The customers do it themselves
Y: And we send professionals to their homes, to assemble the furniture?
X: No, No, No!! They will assemble their own furniture
y: Okay, so we charge the customers very less for this furniture?
X: Hahahah, God No!!
Y: SO you say that in this store, the customers will see built furniture
X: yes!
Y: They find the boxes containing un assembled parts of furniture in the warehouse
X: yes!!
Y: They take those boxes,load them in their vehicles
X: Yes yes!!
Y: They take it home and spend hours assembling it themselves
X: You got it, and we don't even give them spare screws or bolts or nuts!!
Y: and we will charge them the same price as fully built furniture
X: Ta Daa!!!
Y: Why would anyone come to a store like that?
X: Ummm, well.. the store will have a restaurant inside that serves meatballs
Y: Furniture Store? Serves meatballs?
X: Yes!!
Y: Dude this the worst business idea ever, this doesn't even classify as an idea, this is an ikea at best.
X: Yes!! Yes!! Dude you are a genius,that will be the name of the store... "IKEA"

Repeat after me

1. Not everybody is like me or thinks like me
2. This world is full of selfish, shallow and mean people who fail to think beyond their means
3. Often they think their perspective is right
4. No matter how much I argue they will stick to their perspective
5. Anything else I offer will be met with bitterness and hostility
6. People care more about how someone's behavior affects them and their lives, rather than trying to understand that someone, or put themselves in that someone's shoes, slippers or sandals
7. People are often narrow minded and fail to see a broader view of the world around them
8. People will bring someone down to their level when they fail to understand, rather than rising up
9. No matter how deep I dig, shit is shit
10. When I ask a grumpy, cynical, middle aged sociopath for his opinion, I will get a list like this

Deconstructing "Tale of Two Wolves"

There is an old Cherokee tale about two wolves. 

One evening, an elderly Cherokee brave told his grandson about a battle that goes on inside people.

He said, “my son, the battle is between two ‘wolves’ inside us all. One is evil. It is anger, envy, jealousy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride, superiority, apathy and ego. The other is good. It is joy, peace love, hope, serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion, and faith.” The grandson though about it for a minute and then asked his grandfather, “which wolf wins?”

The old Cherokee simply replied, “the one that you feed.”

When I first read that quote, I was amazed by the truth and simplicity of it. I am sure almost everybody would agree to the fact that there is a constant battle going on between good and evil and it is also logical that the wolf you feed is the wolf that wins. My train of thought doesn't stop there though.

Superficially this makes sense, but let us dig a little deep. 

We are talking about two metaphorical wolves representing traits in a human being battling each other constantly. Consider a scenario where a person is constantly feeding the good wolf. As time passes, the good wolf  is well nourished and healthy while the bad wolf is starving and slowly deteriorating. This kind of situation will in turn make the bad wolf more savage, more aggressive and desperate to lash out and strike more lethally than before, for its own survival. There is every chance during this period of time, the bad wolf might gain a temporary advantage and mortally wound the good wolf if not kill it entirely. 

If the situation continues, the bad wolf will get weaker, losing the battle all the time and eventually starve to death, and the good wolf triumphs forever, in an ideal world. I guess the question here would be "Will the good wolf let the bad wolf starve and die?". If you think about it, the good wolf represents love, compassion, empathy, kindness, hope etc., and these will not allow the other wolf to die, no matter how bad. I would think that the purpose of battle for the good wolf is to uphold the virtues it represents rather than defeating the bad wolf or even letting it die. If the Good wolf lets the Bad wolf starve, suffer and die, it would have failed to uphold the virtues of compassion, empathy, and love. If that happens, will the Good wolf still be considered Good? 

Another train of thought is, how do you know which wolf you are feeding? In a world where everything is black and white, and there is a clear distinction between good and bad, it is easier to realize which wolf is being fed. In the world we live in, there are an infinite shades of grey between black and white, an no clear distinction between good and bad. There are very fundamental deeds that can be easily classified as good and bad. At the same time there are choices you make on a daily basis where good and bad are not easily distinguishable. In situations like these, the battles are intense and unknowingly you have fed the Bad wolf and helped it defeat the Good wolf.

A Promise To A Friend

During some aimless conversations (They are the best) with my friend, she mentioned that we should start posting in our blogs. She kept her end of the deal, but I slacked off. So, this is me keeping my end of the deal. This post is for her and it is going to be... about her. Where do I start, I think I will take inspiration from Lewis Carroll's, Alice in the Wonderland and "Begin at the Beginning..".

Well.. that picture says almost everything about her. A complete nut job, but then, I wouldn't want to be friends with any other, than this nut job. Why, you might ask, and I will answer. To understand that you should understand what she is to me. She is a reminder, of a friendship that spanned across generations. She is also a nag and an expert at it, and on multiple occasions, she nagged me until I came  out of my cave that I like to go into and brood. If I ever go to the remotest location on earth, away from everybody, and hide in a deep dark cave, I am pretty sure I will hear a  voice "Oye moddu, kya ho raha hai!!". She is stubborn, she refuses to give up on me even though, I gave up on everything in life.  She will stand by me no matter what, not because I asked, but because of the kind of friend she is.

Don't be fooled, she is not all sunshine and rainbows. She has her imperfections, annoyances, idiosyncrasies and those are what make her "Her", and not anybody else. If there is someone I would like to watch a sunset with, read a book, grow old, spend quality time, that will be her and nobody else. I can keep writing about her and this post will never end. So let me just say that, through everything in life, she has always been and will be my friend and I wouldn't have it any other way. 

 

 

 

 

What is it....

What is it about society that disappoints me so much...

I don't know.. maybe it is because we all collectively think, that somebody is great based on how rich and popular they are, despite the path they have taken to get there

Maybe it is because of the feeling that all our heroes and role models, whom we believed in and counted on are counterfeit and have let us down one way or other

Maybe because we allow the social media to fake intimacy, and people willingly indulge in social media attention whoring masquerading bullshit as insight

Maybe because people try to fill their shallow lives with things they can buy which empties them even further

Maybe because we can't think about  anyone or anything  else beyond our selfish existence

Maybe because we feel privileged to waste and abuse resources as long as we can afford them 

Maybe because we choose to ignore, because it is painful to care, show empathy, or compassion


Because we want to be sedated, to make us oblivious to all the suffering around, because we are cowards

..... Fuck Society!!!


PS: My take on a dialogue I heard from a series

First steps...

It has been 3 years in this country, and when somebody asks if I miss India, I don't have  an answer. Now when i think about it, I don't miss India, I don't miss Hyderabad, I don't miss my relatives, I don't miss my friends. Apparently that is a very bad thing to say but I don't know if I agree with that. I guess my answer is more sincere and honest than people who are outside India, who keep thumping their chest about patriotism and how they miss India, but would never want to go back and live in India. I started this post aimlessly and after a long time and I am not sure what to write, I think it will take some time before I can get back on track. 

Well life has been, eventful since I moved to US. I wouldn't exactly say I was busy, all the time. We all know that, that is not true, You  just have your priorities and preferences or you are outright lazy.

I will survive

And just like that... out of the blue.... I am back....to prove that this blog will not die. There is a lot to write, lot to catch up, just short on time, but we will get there

More Conversations

Scene: Exam days during Post Graduation.

Me: Dude where is X
Dude: His leg got fractured.
Me:How?
Dude: well you know that we live in first floor right
Me: Yeah
Dude: you know about papers leaking right
Me:Right
Dude: Well, Y went out to get the papers and when X heard the sound of his bike, he ran downstairs for papers, tripped, fell,
Me: LOL, ROFL, ROFLMAO
Dude: His leg got fractured, he couldn't write the exams and you are laughing
Me: Well that doesn't stop it from being funny ROFL

Scene: Post Graduation senior years

Me: Dude what is that thing
Dude: It is a vintage yezdi bike that I bought for 40K, then i spent 30K for customizing it and repainting it, pretty cool huh!!
Me: You could have got anew cool bike for that price and this doesn't even have a lock.
Dude: Get lost you are just jealous

Next day

Me: Dude why the long face
Dude: My bike got stolen, and I dont even have papers for it
Me: LOL, ROFL, ROFLMAO

Conversations

I keep visiting our client's office in Colorado on Business Visa every year. Next to the lab I work, we have a hardware lab where a summer intern works by the name XXXXXXXX or some name like that. You know how these summer interns are, a chance to do apprenticeship and they think they are at the top of the world, no offense!! One notable feature of her is that she is painfully thin, size 0 if you must. So one day me and my manager were done with our work and went to the parking lot and were thinking where we should head to. Then this girl comes out of another door and stands there looking confused and lost.

Manager: Look at that babe!! Is she Indian
Me:  yeah she looks lost, probably thinking about how to get home
Manager: you should go talk, ask if she needs a ride.
Me: Why me??
Manager: She Indian You Indian, Indian Indian
Me: Well today morning I wished her but she didn't even look at me, let her suffer!!

Then we hear the engine roar of an awesomely customized Ford Mustang GT which zooms past us and stops in front of her. She shouts at him for being late and he gives her something probably a gift, they hug and leave while we both were watching with our mouths open.

Me: It is at times like these that I wish I were a hot chick
Manager: Me too!!
Me: Lets go drink
Manager : Good Idea!!

MIlestone!!!

Me : I would like to mark October 2012 as one of the major milestones in my life, not because I got my work visa approved, nor because I will be moving to USA and start working there. It is because my life has reached a crucial point after which it will never be the same again, just like the day I lost my bachelorhood and the day I became a father.This is going to be a huge change that will impact almost every aspect of my life and it is making me nervous.

IV : Well BOO HOO!! You are not the first one to get a work visa and move to USA, nor you are going to be the last one. Many have done it before you and many will do it after you.

Me: You don't understand!!Many aspects of life are going to change drastically and there is a fear of uncertainty.

IV: Well suck it up and stop sounding like a teenage girl. There is no uncertainty, you already have a job there, so  you will work like others, earn like others and live like others. The next time you start talking like this I am going to come out and whack the bejesus out of you....

The rest of the sentence has been removed because of its objectionable content that does not comply with the policies of the blogger.

T.T.T

If you are wondering what the title means, then wait no long, go ahead and read to find out the answer. It means Time Traveling Terminator. Before you go any further in this post you need to know and understand who The Terminator is, and why is he trying to kill Sarah Connor!!!

To sum it all up, in the future, the world is taken over by Skynet which controls all the machines and uses them to destroy anything and everything that comes in their way. There is human resistance that fights back the machines to regain control, under the leadership of John Connor, son of the aforementioned, Sarah Connor. Somehow John Connor is the key to winning the war against machines and Skynet realizes it and sends a Terminator back in time to kill Sarah Connor (SC) before she can even conceive John Connor (JC), the chosen one.

There are too many loop holes to the plot but let us not dwell into those. The one I am interested in, is the level of Artificial Intelligence (AI) Skynet uses in trying to eliminate the threat. Since finding JC is out of question, Skynet does the only sane thing any AI device would do, send a terminator back in time. Now I have a problem with that.

If Skynet can send someone back in time, why would it just send one termiantor, and that too to kill JC's mother SC. With all the machines at it's disposal it could have sent a small platoon of terminators increasing its chances of succeeding. Also, when the first terminator failed to kill SC why would it send the next terminator to a later time in SC's life. If the terminator could not kill SC given the time and technology, what made it think that the second terminator will be any successful in a later time when it has to deal with both SC and JC and advanced time and technology. I have started to think that Skynet's AI has a very high learning curve as the only logical option would be to send the terminator further back in time which would give him a technological advantage, to kill SC's parents before they can conceive her. Even better send a terminator even further back in time to kill the ancestral male and female who are responsible for the lineage that will ultimately result in the birth of SC and thus, JC.

Here is the mother of all ideas, send every machine/terminator to post Cretaceous period, identify the dwellings of primates and terminate ever primate that tries to leave the trees to set its foot on the ground thus removing any scope for millions of years of evolution of mankind. I bet your AI can't come up with an idea like that in a million years Skynet!!

R-Evolution

No, this is not about Earth's revolution around the sun, nor it is about the revolutions that have happened throughout the history of time, all in the name of bringing change to the prevailing sociopolitical scenarios. This is about evolution or rather reverse evolution or devolution.

It all started one day when early Homo erectus based in Africa, discovered the edge stone tools gave him in defending and hunting, which were primarily used by his ancestor Homo habillis  for cleaving and tearing meat off  dead animals. "What a bunch of morons!! No wonder they were a staple diet for  Dinofelis and eventually became extinct.", he thought.

Now he had to convey his thoughts to his social group. There was a problem. The existing screams,grunts, howls and gestures were very basic and inadequate for such sophisticated communication. He had to come up with a new set of sounds which would communicate his thoughts to others, and then he will have to come up with another set of sounds to communicate the new sounds he has come up with to communicate his thoughts. This laid foundation to an epic saga of enhancing communication to accommodate new thoughts, ideas and feelings that spanned epochs of evolution, which evolved into the modern day spoken and written languages  with their syntax, spellings and semantics. True Story!!!

When the evolution of communication was at its peak, the language spoken or written used to strictly adhere to the spellings and semantics of sentence construction and any minor deviation was considered atrocious. At this point communication was free in the sense, nobody was charged for speaking or writing their mind, not in the form of money at least. The problem with reaching the highest peak is that, there is only one way to go, down, and so, began the evolution of tools to communicate, starting with printing press to mail to telegram to telephones that enabled man to overcome the limitation of geographical locations. Then came internet turning the world into one global village. This was the golden age for communication with all sorts of languages reaching their pinnacle and people basked in their grandeur, until the invention of mobile/cellular phones and internet chat.

While internet chat enabled the users to talk(type) with multiple online friends, it made typing whole sentences and expressing their ideas to multiple audiences a bit difficult. The ones who could type really fast got away with it but the ones who couldn't, had to resort to other ways. Soon phrases and feelings were reduced to acronyms like, "BRB" (Be Right back), LOL (Laugh Out Loud), and words have been replaced by letters that sounded similar like, "C" (See), "U" (You). Thus began the colossal slaughtering of languages by  countless hordes of chatters chatting away using various IMs and chat rooms.

 If internet chat destroyed the structure of languages, mobile phones pillaged the remains of these structures with SMS "Short Message Service" with a limit of 90 letters per message. The aim here is to communicate your ideas/emotions/thoughts within the given word limit and  to achieve this, all rules had to be broken, spellings plundered, grammar ravaged and the very fibre that built the language is torn to pieces like an angry kid tearing away anything and everything that he can lay his hands on.

People started omitting vowels, shortening words, ignoring articles, misplacing prepositions, forgetting conjunctions and interjections, and changed sentences into meaningless jumble of letters and numbers, here are some examples.

1.  R U BZ  --------------> Are you busy?

2. 2GTBT   --------------> Too good to be true

3. Itz getin l8, letz meet 2mrw ------------>It is getting late, let us meet tomorrow

Eventually ppl wl *t tlkn lke dis n fucha genr8tns wl contribute in stripping down languages  further to their bare minimums until all that will be left are weird sounds, grunts, howls, and gestures, reversing all the evolutionary changes of communication spanning multiple epochs, and sending it back to the dark ages. Well, so much for trying to improve the language for communicating your thoughts Mr. Homo Erectus!!!

The things I do

This is something I did to one of my poor unsuspecting niece, I think I will never hear from her again
I am mean , NO??

The things I say

or rather the things I said...not all are my original creations.
 

• Karma Cafe Doesn't have a menu, it serves what you deserve!!!
• Independence is a myth!!
• The needs of the many, outweigh the needs of the few, or the one!!!
• If I could, I would!! But I can't, So I shan't!!!
• Bird gone, snake come!!!
• Dresses don't make you look fat, you look fat because.... you are fat!!!!
• Is it time to build pyramids and spaceships yet!!!!
• Adverb: A verb that is used in too many Ads!!!
• Pronoun : A noun that lost it's amateur status!!!
• They are awarding military ranks to cricket players, what next!!! Awarding Param Veera Chakra to the guy who marries Rakhi Sawant!!!
• The day will pass.... just close your eyes, breathe deeply, don't make any movements and the day will pass....
• You know what they say about alcohol numbing your senses and destroying brain cells...
• Thought of the Day!!! I am still thinking!!
• It's funny when people say they are busy, no they are not busy, they are just busy to talk with the likes of you!!!  
• Men are like nerves, Women are like muscles!!!
• Correlation does not imply Causation!!!
• Inner peace!!! I need to find my Inner peace!!!!.. I think I will just get some coffee
• If you are "Randomly Selected" for additional screening 99% of the time at airport security, then there is a possibility that the "Selection" is not "Random"!!!
• A normal, functional life has become a privilege I can't afford anymore!!!
• Life is like a multiple choice question, sometimes the choices confuse you, not the question itself
• Dentists!!! We can use them better for interrogating tough cookies
• The way some people find fault, you'd think there was some kind of reward.
• Men are from earth. Women are from earth. Deal with it!!!!
• I don't suffer from insanity. I enjoy every minute of it!!!
• The dentists asks "This is going to hurt a bit, is that OK?" like I have a choice!!! It's like the executioner asking the man to be hanged, "This is going to break your neck , is that OK?"
• Sarcasm helps keep you from telling people what you really think of them!!!
• I'm leaving now to go find myself. If I should return before I get back, please ask me to wait!!!
• Everybody is entitled to be stupid at one time or other, but some people abuse the privilege!!!
• Google must be a woman, It knows everything!!!
• Sometimes your whole life boils down to one one insane move... I am yet to make that move!!!
• Its official!!! my wife can go shopping even in a medical store, now somebody beat that!!!
• Point to Ponder: Noah's Ark was built by Amateurs, Titanic was built by Professionals...
• Too much rest is very tiring...
• Don’t look unless you’re prepared to see
• Always keep your words soft and sweet, just in case you have to eat them
• If you're good at something, never do it for free
• After all is said and done, more is said than done!!!
• My wife always spells Husband as Hus-Bend, I used to wonder why!! i don't anymore!!!
• We don't see things as they are... we see them as we are....
• Which is worse? Ignorance or Apathy? Who knows? Who cares?
• When everything is coming your way... you probably are in the wrong lane
• Says, Confucius!!! since you have asked here is one in your honour, "A day without sunshine is like.... you know.... Night"
• You only live once, but if you do it right, once is enough...
• Life is a bleach and then you dye!!!
• All choices are not compromises, but every compromise is a choice...
• I think the pointers that connect a name to face are broken in my brain
• True Friends are like Chocolates, you can't have too many of them at the same time
•  When life gives you lot of chocolates, distribute them all and go for a low fat, low calorie, high fibre Salad
• Life is like a box of chocolates, when I opened it tonight, I found a yummy pizza thanks to a very dear and close one, actually two....
• Life is like a box of chocolates... Don't open it if you are afraid of cavities
• Life is like a box of chocolates, when i opened it I found granola bars!!!
• Life is like a box of chocolates, at some point or other, you will finish all the chocolates
• Life is like a box of chocolates, When I opened the box I found peanut butter cookies
•  Life is like a... Roller Coaster Ride and you thought I would say Box of Chocolates didn't you!!!
• Artificial Intelligence is no match for Natural Stupidity
• My father used to carry a news paper, I carry a laptop...  
•  The greatest trick the devil ever pulled was, convincing the world he didn't exist.
• We don't tear the the screen because the movie was bad, do we!!
  We don't throw away bread because there is mold on it, do we!!
• When I talk.. simply vibrating No!!!
• When you can't laugh on the same joke again and again, why do you keep crying over the same thing again and again!!!
• The world ain't all sunshine and rainbows. It's a very mean and nasty place and no matter how tough you are it will beat you to your knees and keep you there permanently if you let it. You, me, or nobody is gonna hit as hard as life. But it ain't about how hard ya hit. It's about how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward. How much you can take and keep moving forward. That's how winning is done!
• Don't EXPECT Miracles, BELIEVE in them!!!
• I am in an ethical pickle....
• Everything in life is a miracle, that's for certain.
  Some are just not the kind of miracles one hopes to see...
• The more I read, the less I Know
• I don't do something doesn't mean I Can't do!!!
• I have no complaints with death, it is life that is troubling me ;)
• Reality is the ultimate illusion...
• When others ask you for advice, they are not really looking for your opinion, they are looking for you to agree with their opinion                                                              
• No matter where you go, no matter what you do, no matter who you meet, at the end of the day you gotta be home,... and I am going home
•  The problem with being fair is that the world isn't....

Technology for Dummies

Technology is a funny thingamajig. Through every technology breakthrough man has gained an edge or advantage over other species or elements of nature, or so he thought. The early Homo Habilis who used tools for hunting, or the Homo Sapien  who built fire to protect himself from dangers of nature during Paleolithic period of Cenozoic era, might have not thunk that they achieved a technological breakthrough but in fact these are the milestones that defined the rest of human evolution. There are people who get all bent out of shape about how technological advancements have helped mankind reach the pinnacle of evolution and placed us at the top of food chain etc., etc., but as usual we agree to disagree.

There are technologies that enabled/aided humans to achieve excellence, like airplane, traveling around the world is faster, easier (not considering the security checks at the airports), efficient. In the beginning, it was limited to people who had to have the right amount of aptitude and attitude to learn the proper use of technology.and usually it involved a considerable amount of effort. Needless to say, people who did not qualify, could not use it and people who considered it a complicated effort stayed away from using it.

These technologies lacked business viability in the sense that they did not appeal to the masses. Clearly the standards for usage of technology have to be set lower and lower for it to appeal to the masses, so that they sell huge quantities and earn obscene profits. This is where you throw your hands up in the air, roll your eyes, turn your head sideways in disbelief and accuse me of discriminating. Let me explain.

Driving - Over the years, technology breakthroughs in automobile industry, like power steering, power brakes, Auto Shift, ABS with EBD, cruise control, roll over mitigation, made it a lot easier and enabled people to drive cars who otherwise would have stayed away from driving. I have three accounts of stupid accidents that could have been avoided if the cars that involved in the accidents had manual shift instead of an auto shift. I will mention just one and for my own safety sake, the driver's name and the gender of the driver will not be mentioned. 

The driver has pulled the car into the parking lot and the car came to a complete stop. Then the driver noticed that it was not parked properly between the lines. To increase visibility, the driver pulled the seat forward, which in turn moved the driver's body in the forward direction, which sent a chain reaction to the foot which was happily resting on the accelerator ("gas pedal" as they would call it), and the foot pinned the accelerator to the floor, and the power of the engine enabled the car to jump over the divider, climb uphill, and crashed into a tree. Again, thanks to technological breakthroughs like seat belt and airbags, the driver survived, but the car did not.

An advertisement of Mercedes Benz features a certain big shot of a certain firm talking about how he was driving and did not see the traffic before him coming to a halt, but his car sensed it and stopped automagically without the driver's involvement. While others think, "WOW What an amazing technology!!!" my mind thinks, "WOW What a moron!!!". In fact I think the tag line of that advertisement should be " Mercedes Benz, enabling morons to drive cars and live to tell their stories since 1926".

I shudder at the thought of technology invented by humans getting more smarter than the humans who use it, while others are amazed by it. The technology gets smarter and smarter, enabling people to make least use of their brains, making them dumber and before you know it, The Terminator is sent from the future to kill Sarah Connor.

 

TGIF

There are things I don't like on a Saturday morning, as soon as I wake up, especially when they are linked, like in the list below

1. Hearing news that wife's grand mother passed away

2. which meant Impromptu travel

3. to a village

4. with no internet and long power cuts

5. or western amenities for attending nature calls of the second kind

6. in mid summer when temperatures are soaring at 46C

The result is you end up going to the funeral of your FIL's mother, a lady with whom you have not quite established a "functional relationship" owing to multiple circumstantial constraints which are not on agenda for this post. Now don't get me wrong, I have utmost respect for the elderly, the departed and the elderly that departed. My FIL has four daughters and I married the third one. In any ordinary circumstance my presence over there wouldn't be noticed but in this particular case, where all the other three daughters are settled in US and I being the only RI son-in-law, and that place being a village, everybody who isn't anybody would ask "where are your daughter (Number 3) and son-in-law (Number 3)?". So half owing to the respect for the departed and half owing to the obligation of being present, we set out on this journey.

I can't write everything that happened there, but here are the highlights.

1. Do you know how it feels when fire is set all around and the hot air from it is blown all over you? I do.

2. I saw people everywhere but recognize only a couple. I spent most of the time trying to be around those couple of people.

3. The average conversation with the people I knew lasted... 2 minutes.

4. There are people who came and asked me if I can guess who they are. I resisted saying " Oh I love this game, but you have to tell me if its one word or two words!!!!"

5. Then I got introduced to a lot of people and I still don't have a clue.

6. Everybody who met me wanted to know What I did for a living.

7.I tried to explain my line of work to a bunch of them and their reaction even before I went into details was "Ohh Software aaa!!!. Never was I more embarrassed to mention my line of work.

8.The next question "Why aren't you in America, like other son-in-laws?", before I could answer, some NRI parents (parents of NRIs), debated among themselves, came to a conclusion and recommended that I "talk" with their kids in US, so that they can see if I too can get a "Chance". Did I already type, how I was never more embarrassed to mention my line of work, cut it from there and paste it here. 

9. Then somehow I was made responsible (not just me, the IT industry which I am part of) for the hike in prices, high cost of living, change in lifestyle, increase in divorce rates etc etc. Some people got to live that day because, killing is illegal. and I am taught to respect elders.

10. I got to sleep in somebody's house that has air conditioning. As soon as I fell asleep, the power went off and only returned the next morning.

11. We left the following day only to return for the 11th day ceremony.

12.Only this time the fire was set under you and you get the feeling of slowly turning into tandoori chicken.

13. About 2000 people attended the lunch that is given.

14. While I was eating, the sun positioned himself such that you could make a freaking omlette on by back.

Now you must be wondering how does the title fit into this entire story. That is for you to figure out.

Why So Serious!!!

I keep hearing about "people" wondering and often getting offended by the fact that Indians don't respond to their greetings or don't return their smiles. Let me be more specific, when I typed "people", I meant "NRIs" who have spent some 20 odd years in India, been in US for about 5 years or more and have either returned or on a visit. Here is my take on it.

1. When you have spent majority of your life here in India, it shouldn't be a surprise to you that Indians don't respond the way you expect them to respond.

2. Just because you are outside the country for some time and learnt some courtesies and manners, things don't change back here. We are like this only!!!

3.This is same even with the Indians in US too, there have been instances when my existence was not even acknowledged  when I tried to smile or wish them.You can take an Indian out of India but you can't take India out of an Indian.

4.Finally, in those years that you spent in India while you were growing up did you ever respond to strangers smiling at you or wishing you? Really???

Now I am fine with foreigners wondering or getting offended when Indians don't respond to their greetings or smiles and feel obliged to explain couple of things, draw some comparisions and give them a different perspective.

First, some vital statistics...

United States of America

Area : 98,26,675 Square Kilometers

Population : 31,35,94,000

Density : 33 people per Square Kilometer

India

Area : 32,87,263 Square Kilometers

Population : 1,21,01,93,422

Density : 369 people per Square Kilometer

1. If your response to the statistics above is among the lines of "Holy Mary Mother of Jesus!!!", I will assume, I have made a good start.

2. India is one third the size and 4 times more in population in comparision with USA.

3. Effectively, with the density of 33 per square kilometer one would be happy to see another human being in USA, whereas with the density of 369 per square kilometer one would be happy not to see another human being in India.

Example: Eating 2 slices of double cheese, all meat pizza is delightful and satisfies your hunger whereas eating about 10 slices of the same pizza will give you acidity, indigestion and constipation. 

4. In USA, with the kind of unique lifestyle, people are alone most of the time and would want to be greeted or smiled at, whereas in India  Everybody involves in Everybody Else's life all the time, resulting in people getting suffocated and would want to be left alone.

5. It is not entirely true that we don't smile or greet anyone, we do that with our family, friends, relatives, acquaintances, colleagues which will be equivalent to the population of a small town in USA.

So, next time when you visit India, instead of wondering "Why So Serious!!!", please realize the above facts, eat  Biryani, take pictures of Taj Mahal and leave happily ever after.....

Fix It!!!

One thing I thought I would never post is anything related to cricket. Don't get me wrong, I don't hate cricket, I was crazy about cricket to the extent of losing my engineering seat in the entrance exam. But those were different times when cricket was a game. I can tell all about how things have changed and all that but we digress.

The focus of our topic is the news that is making rounds, "Match Fixing in IPL".

The authorities, media and cricket fans are shocked about the news, the same way politicians are shocked about corruption in politics, or people visiting Las Vegas are shocked by the gambling in the casinos. I for one, agree to disagree based on some facts.

FACT1: The players are bought by different  team owners  by bidding on them in an auction based on their capabilities and the highest bidder gets to own the player. The more money you have, the more capable players can be bought and the more chances for winning the game. The entire premise for IPL is folks contributing hefty sums of money to increase the chances of winning the series and get more returns.

FACT2:Now not everybody is rich enough to own a team, but would be willing to contribute meagre sums of money in this event  with the expectations of winning the series and getting more returns, A.K.A Betting. However, unlike the owners they don't get to buy capable players. So they do the next best thing, buy the capabilities of one or more players which increases their chance of winning.

I don't see a difference between these two facts. So I say, go ahead and make it official to bid on the capabilities of  some players,  so that everybody (Not just some obscenely rich Industrialists/Actors/Corporates) has a fair chance at winning and getting more returns out of the game. You call it whatever you want, for me, it's just good business.While we are at it let's make some rules too.

1. Make Match Fixing counters available at stadiums similar to race courses.

2. To avoid the rush it should also be available online

3. Anyone can bid on the capabilities of a maximum of four players

4. All the bookings have to be closed four hours before the match like in Railway Reservation System.

5. Charts containing the information on which players have been booked and for how much amount should be displayed and should also be circulated among the players.

6. The performance of the respective players has to degrade depending on the bidding amount. The higher the biding amount, the worst the performance.

7. To make it more interesting 50% of the players whose capabilities are auctioned can choose to either decrease their performance or play their original game. Why 50%? Why not 30% or 60% or something else??? You might ask, Shame on you we are talking about fair chance for all and thus 50%.

8. To add a twist to that, a player should be awarded for playing up to the expectations of the bidders and it should not be high enough that all the players would be competing for the award.

I can go on, but I chose not to!!!

 

The Story

I watched this movie "Kahaani" by Sujoy Ghosh after reading a review of the movie. I am assuming that anyone who is reading this would have already watched the movie and if you have not then there will be no fun in watching the movie after reading this post. I for one, was always a big fan of Bengalis for their intellect, I guess it has got to do with all the fish they eat. This movie was wonderfully written, directed, acted and never gives away the plot even for the intelligent viewer, and thankfully no song and dance sequences. Moreover it has one movie cliche that I love and use in my posts, repeating the title in the end and it has been used so subtly that you don't even realize it at that moment. Then there is Vidya Balan, my personal favourite. The plot of the movie is, a pregnant lady comes from London to find her missing husband who has been to Calcutta on an assignment.

Even though the movie keeps the suspense intact till the very end, there are intelligent hints left all over for viewers to think there might be more to the story than what is being told and the interesting part is that even after that most viewers fail to recognize them. Some of them are...

The guy in the metro train trying to find the bottle containing poisonous liquid that kills everybody including him.

The fact that  Asst. Sub Inspector Rana, willingly helps Vidya with everything, including picking locks and hacking into systems  and takes her around all the time as if it is his official assignment.

The scene where Vidya asks for the actual name of Rana and when he replies "Satyaki", she thoughtfully smiles to herself and says "Arjuna's Charioteer".

The scene where Rana tells Vidya that she will be a great mother the way she treats kids and she turns around to hide her tears.

The scene where the retired IB officer tells the IB chief that he had trained three people and one has gone bad.

The fact that Vidya copies all the information from Sridhar's computer into a flash drive but does not use it to recover data when IB officer Khan asks her to look for proofs in the computer. 

Then we again come to the point where we try to critique the movie from my point of view.

The movie follows a typical flow and approach that makes it  very unique and different from the regular run of the mill movies with  exaggerated emotions and Hindi movie cliches but by the end it turns into one. 

The perfect ending for me that would sync with the rest of the movie would be the scene where Vidya confronts Milan, the guy responsible for the poisonous gas attack on the metro train.

After Vidya fatally injures Milan and takes his revolver, the guy asks "Who are you?" and she replies "What difference does it make?", shoots him and walks away leaving the envelope containing the flash drive. The movie should have ended there with Rana realizing how she has been spinning a story to use the police and IB  to get to her target.

The scenes where they show the relationship between Vidya and the guy in the metro train and the retired IB officer, and she losing her pregnancy after hearing the news of his death and the final scene between the retired IB officer and Vidya don't sync with the mood set by the rest of the movie. Theses scenes appear as if they have been made to explain mundane details to the average viewer. Instead it could have been just another hint for the viewer to deduce the untold story.

Overall its a great watch and is thoroughly enjoyable.