Life is a road rather than a destiny...

(After quite an uneventful week was feeling a bit low. So wrote this in an attempt to cheer myself up)

Sometimes we fell very uneasy, uptight. We feel that nothing seems to be working, we are not sure whatever is happening is for good or bad. Our faith in our abilities starts diminishing. The goal which was once very clear in our head, starts blurring. Everything looks a bit fuzzy. We think that we are in a muddle and could not look for a way to come out of this quagmire. And then when we try to look for reasons for all this, we find there isn’t any one solid reason. Then life starts looking like a riddle or rather more like that puzzle in which we have to put the pieces together to make a big picture. There are some trivial things, lying there in bits and pieces but not forming any coherent picture. We desperately try to put all the pieces of this ‘life – puzzle’ to get answers to our questions – all of these are not very clear questions having unambiguous answers – and run to catch that elusive happiness which we feel can come once we reach our goal.

In this pursuit of happiness, sometimes we just focus too much on our goal. We forget that even when things are looking bleak, it’s is not the end of the road, the life or the world. It is just one of those brick walls – mentioned in the speech ‘The Last Lecture’ - which we need to overcome. We forget that this is a test of endurance and we need to really prove our worth that we are indeed capable of achieving what we want, before we can actually get it. Most importantly, we forget that it’s not only focusing on the goal that can lead us to that, but focusing on the means to achieve that goal is also equally or rather more important. And then that is the solution of all our problems. We just need to get our focus back on the means to achieve that goal and keep aside all the trivia. We should play down all the issues which seem to be deviating us and which then cause so much anguish. We should try our best within whatever constraints we are in, and we will find that our goal will become clearer as ever. Not only the goal, but even the path to that goal becomes crystal clear like an highway. We just need to tread that path carefully looking for possible turns which we may have to take, the possible speed breakers where we may need to apply breaks and we must also be aware of when it is required to stop and rejuvenate ourself so that we can cover the remaining path will same vigor. And then don’t think about anything, its just us and the road which we have to travel on. At last we have to leave the rest on our luck to take into account some unexpected things which may put our journey to a grinding halt. But then if such things happen then be ready to start all over again.

Finally when we reach our destination, it will be a feeling of complete bliss. The feeling of achieving our goal, of making our dream a reality will be just terrific. But then all this may be momentary, because its not the end of road. After some time we have to make new goals, find new paths and then get going. Because That's Life!

Completed one year as an engineer

Today as I was sitting in my cubicle, I happened to glance at the bottom right corner of the task bar. The date read ‘7/3/2008’. I realized it has been more than a year since I had left my college. 28^th of june 2007 was my last day at the college. Since then a lot of water has flown under the bridge. This preceding year has probably been one of the most happening years, the other ones being my experiences at kota right after class 10^th (that was a hell of a experience for me) and then 1^st year of engineering in which I was a bit overwhelmed by the change from school to college. But this transformation from college going student to corporate professional stands apart from the others. This transformation has brought with it so many big and subtle changes not only as change from getting pocket money to getting salary but also in the way I think and approach life too.

Right after college I got into job and was required to go thru a training of about 3 months which I had described here. Then I got into production. As far as my work life is concerned, that has been ok sorts without many hassles. I have leant a lot about corporate culture too. One thing which I have noticed based on the experiences of some of my friends not only in our company but also in general is that one must try and take only so much work and responsibility, which he can handle easily in the long run. Even then if things don’t turn out well, then it’s your luck, accept it and get along with life.

After college we start taking life a bit seriously. There are some new challenges and more responsibilities which need to be taken care of. We cannot afford to be complacent. The list of to do things becomes quite long and never ending. We start giving due value to many things which hitherto haven’t been taken care of due to our ‘चलता है’ attitude. We also realize many of the past mistakes whose brunt we have to bear now. But then as the saying goes ‘experience is the best teacher’. So it’s always good to not rue about these mistakes but rather learn from them. I think that’s sounding a bit too philosophical. Let it be.

This corporate life has added to the freedom which we got after entering college. When I joined the company I had made up my mind that first 6 months it will be total fun and indeed after coming into production i.e from oct to march I had a splendid time. Now I am concerned with some serious issues and I am working towards them. Let’s see how things turn up.

Another thing that pinches me is, though we say that distances don’t matter in friendship but practically, I feel that apart from some very good friends, it’s difficult to be in contact with majority of others. I still try and call most of my friends at least once a month but the calls have become too few and the ‘friendship’, ‘good morning’, ‘have a great day’ forwards from the same friends have increased to such a number that they have lost their vitality. The forwarding of such mails has become so perfunctory that some of the friends have just become an entry in our mailing list. When you get any such mail, in reply you just fwd a mail or two to your mailing list and you are done with your part and free from the guilt that you feel for not being able to be in touch with so many of your friends.

But whatever it may be, the college will be the best time of my life. Though I was a day scholar at college but some very good friends and a brief sojourn of about 45 days at hotel ensured that I had my share of fun I college life. Even now when I come across some pic of college days in any of my friend’s orkut profile I tend to become a bit nostalgic. The pic sort of teleports me to the time and place when it was actually taken and adds to the nostalgia.

The general mood in all the friends who have been thru first year in job is not very heartening. Most of the people don’t seem to be happy and enthusiastic. But that is just a feeling may be because we all miss our college days. But with time i think we all will get whatever we want but not without required effort.

DRR

Today I attended DRR training in the office. It was compulsory so had to go for it. Was a bit apprehensive about it initially but it turned out to be good. The trainer was quite a hilarious person. He was able to maintain to the interest of people in such a mundane topic through his wits. It was quite informative too (our brain weighs about 1.5 kg...well i didn't know that), also saw the correct procedure for CPR (cardio pulmonary resuscitation) for the first time.
On a more serious note, we were shown a short movie called 'life of firefighter' which was really touching. "When a firefighter goes out for the day's job his wife is so proud that his husband goes to save lives of other people but deep inside she has fear that the fire fighting van may come back without her husband". Also we were told the dire circumstances under which the firefighters have to live in India. They have a meager insurance of Rs 50/- per month which is just too less. Recently there was a article in TOI that put the condition of these people in India in proper perspective and mentioned how fathers are averse to marrying their daughters to firefighters.There are stark contrasts in the level of safety awareness in people in India and the importance accorded to people like firefighters.
Unless govt. (and to some level to Indian ethos) comes out of its 'chalta hai' attitude, this issue along with plethora of other things, is bound to remain as such.

The chimera

Today morning, when my friend and I alighted the bus on reaching the company, we both were feeling a bit low. Currently my friend has got loads of work for now, and I have got none . I may be assigned helluva work anytime now . That’s the way IT industry works – one moment u r thinking of ways to pass ur time and suddenly u can find yourself with heaps of work.
Coming back to the main point, we both were feeling low because our routines have become so monotonous. The day starts at 7:00 in the morning, then have a quick bath, get ready, rush to catch the bus, if the radio is not on, tune in to some radio station on ur mobile, take breakfast at the office. Then in office if you have got work, slog at it else find innovative ways to kill time. Get back home..nd the cycle continues…
Thinking all this, a thought struck us : what if we were stiil living 70-80 yrs back in time. Firstly, there won’t be this tension of deadlines, no hard and fast rules to get to office. No tension about having healthy food or organic food. The mantra would be to work hard, eat a lot – the food would be s’thin like makki ki roti, daal, chach, lots of butter etc.. In free time go to chaupal (a place in villages where all the people who are done with their day’s work meet, play cards, have hukka etc. All in all, it was a thought of complete bucolic life. We thought that it would be great, without any tensions.
But hey, wait..did we consider all the people…the main work would be agriculture…so what about small and marginal farmers. They must have s’thin to save them selves from clutches of moneylenders, a practice from which we are still trying to get rid of – remember all these suicides in vidarbha region. So in the first place, why did a class of moneylenders came into existence? The answer is simple: Man’s greed. One of the oldest sayings is that ‘man’s greeds has no ends’. And then question arises : what causes this greed ? obviously money.
So can we think of a society without money? But then how will people get what all they want? Barter system?? Not really, this will just be replacing money with goods and settiing prices in terms of goods. So the only change would be that instead of accumulating money and other riches(silver gold etc), people would become greedy even for these essential commodities like foodgrains and start accumulating them. So can’t there be a society free from greed? Well, there can be one but it is possible only if there is a change in the inherent thinking of people. This change will include changing ‘me’ to ‘us’, selfishness to selflessness, my family to all the people in the world and so so on. In this system people will do different jobs and will give(not exchange) goods and services gratis. There would be no preferential treatment for loved ones or even to members of own company. The society would be guided by ‘vasudev ktumbkam’ i.e all the world is your family.
We both were in a queue at food court while discussing all this.Just as I was adding more to the above line of thought, my friend interrupted me ‘ oye counter aa gaya’a nd I felt as if I had been woken up from dream.
I know that all theses thoughts are nothing more than just chimera. But then who stopped you from dreaming !

B/w I got a mail with some terrific pics of India in older days. So I will post some of these pictures here:-

Ice breaker – ‘weather is ….’

(wrote this about a week back)

All of us must have encountered many a situation in which we have just to kill some time with no acquaintance around say : say on a long train journey, or passing time at airport or even if u know a person but just can’t figure out how to start a conversation. Yesterday I found myself in such a situation where I wanted to take some advice from colleague, but just couldn’t figure out how to start the conversation. It was then that I mentioned something about weather and the conversation took off. It was then digressed to the thing I wanted advice on.
Then I realized that how often I use anything about weather just to kick start the conversation. For e.g.: I was going home via train, the journey was about 20 hrs long, found a guy sitting next to me. I commented that weather was really good. He responded and our conversation kept going for the complete journey. In the process we became good friends. The phrase ‘weather seems to be pleasant/good/nice/hot….’ has come to my rescue at lot many times.
Actually when you say something about weather, 99% of people will agree to it. After all if the temp is above 40 degrees then you can’t expect someone to feel cold, neither can you expect a person to feel warm at 15 degrees. The point is that more or less everyone will have same views regarding weather, though preferences may differ. For e.g. two persons will definitely agree that weather is cold if temp is 15 degrees but only one of them may like it while the other loathes cold.
When you can find similarity in views with other person, however small it may be, you can always start talking and then he discussion will involuntarily move on to other things of interest. This small comment about weather gives u a small opening to start conversation by at least having some common starting point.
Also if the other person is disinclined to talk and doesn’t responds then your situation will be much better off then when you ask about person’s name, occupation etc. and he does not answer.
P.S : I was just trifling around, trying to find out something to write on…could not come out with anything worthwhile, therefore this post.

Is this art?

A Few days back the delhi high court upheld many petitions submitted by Mr M F Hussain, an eminent painter in India. The artist had sought dismissal of the many petitions against him for indecent paintings of hindu goddesses and of Bharat Mata.
Well frankly speaking, I don’t have much idea about legal proceedings, and Mr. MF Hussain is indeed a great painter who has played a significant role in taking the Indian art to the international level. Also my arguments may be overly simplistic or a bit orthodox for many a people but india is a democratic country and my ‘right to freedom of speech and expression’ gives me enough rights to give my opinions on the matter.
The constitution of India does gives each citizen the ‘Right to freedom of speech and expression’ but article 19 (2) also states (according to an article from TOI) that ‘freedom of speech can be curbed by reasonable restrictions …in the interests of (the sovereignty and integrity of India) the security of the state, friendly relations with foreign states, public order, decency or morality or in relation to contempt of court, defamation or incitement to an offence”.
I have already stated that I have no knowlwgde whatsoever about the legal framework etc. but as far I think Mr.MF hussain’s painting way of expressing himself through these particular paintings may be quintessential piece of art work but it may not be called decent.
Indians are traditionally very religious people and from time immemorial there has been a lot of emphasis on the decency of woman. This Indian culture is ingrained in the minds of most of the Indians. Then the depiction of the hindu deities in the way done by the artist is nothing but sheer insolence to the millions of devotees who hold gods and godesses in highest regards. This act is arrant disrespect to the reverence that the millions of people have for their deities.

Some people opine that any work of art should be viewed by how the artist perceives his work. They think that there is nothing indecent in the paintings by Mr M F Hussain because, for the artist this is just a piece of art. So by the extension of logic – you may go out, make all sorts of pictures of any person and call this as piece of your artwork. Undoubtedly a lot of people will be offended, their relatives and friends will be seriously outarged because for them the person is very respectable. Now same is the case here. At least for the complete hindu community gods and goddesses are the supreme beings, they are to be revered like nothing else. The goddesses are called ‘Maa’ which means mother. Even then not paying heed to the sentiments of the majority of the nation and going on with the so called artwork is nothing less then heresy.

Also of all the things under the sun and above the earth, did the artist not find any other thing to express his art? Why he had to choose only Hindu goddesses or bharat mata to do so. Well, to me all this seems to be a bit out of place.

My opinion on this particular issue is not a attempt to belittle the artist’s unparalleled contribution to Indian art and giving it a place in international arena. It is just that my conscience doesn’t allow me to see these paintings just as a piece of art and I believe a lot of people also feel the same.

Sarkaar Raj - Movie Review

A few days back I watched Sarkar Raaj. Went for it with very high expectations – the team of the bachchan trio and RGV seemed very promising (and then presence of aish in the movie was an added incentive ;D ).
The movie starts with shankar (Abhishek bachchan) getting into sarkar’s (amitabh) shoes quite comfortably and performing exceptionally. He is a person who can do anything for his dad and people of Maharashtra. Then a company headed by Anita’s (Aish) dad proposes a new power plant in Maharashtra. Anita comes to India and meets sarkaar. Shankar sees the establishment of power plant as the best thing that can happen to the people of Maharashtra and makes it his mission. It is then that the game of dirty politics starts and culminates in murdering of most of the people involved in this game.
The movie has some power packed performances from the the cast and the bachchan trio doesn’t lets you down as far as acting is concerned. Amitabh as usual, is at his best. Aish doesn’t have much dialogues but looks stunning, the corporate stlyed dressing does suit her. Abhishek also does justice with his acting. As the role demands, his is an all business – no nonsense attitude. But he remains in a foul mood most of the time and thats a bit too much(As far as I remember there is only one seen where he smiles). The dialogues specially b/w the bachchan father – son due are simply superb.
The movie is quite fast paced and doesn’t let you feel that any of the scenes is being stretched. In some way the movie also alludes to the current situation in Maharashtra. The inspiration from the thackrey clan is also conspicuous.
But still I came out of the hall thinking that movie could have been better. The politics in movie revolves too much around the new project to be set up. The second half sees everybody baring a few getting murdered. Also most of us tend to compare the movie to godfather thereby taking away a bit of sheen off the good effort by RGV.
Final verdict(my opinion): A movie worth watching for movie buffs and a must –watch for aish fans.
Rating 3/5

IPL

Finally The IPL saga came to an end with a match that was indeed worthy of the final – the clash of the titans. What a match it was! The ultimate cliffhanger that went down to the wire. Though there have been a few close finishes in the IPL but this match stands apart. The sheer thrill and the roller coaster ride which the match went thru kept the viewers glued to the tv screens.
I was obviously supporting my home team – the Rajasthan Royals. But frankly speaking when rajasthan needed just 1 run of the last ball, I wanted the match to result in a tie so that decision would be based on ball out. This would have made the match the perfect final one could ever dream of.
Rajasthan royals who were initially considered to be underdogs, made it clear in first few matches that they could not be taken lightly at all. And halfway through the series it was quite certain that RR will be on of the teams in the finals. After the much hyped teams like Royal Challengers, Mumbai Indians and Knight riders gave some very ordinary performances, the semifinal picture started becoming a bit clear. In the end the two best teams met for the final clash.

The IPL T20 spanning for 45 days was exemplary in many aspects:-
1)The mega event’s opening ceremony (courtesy Viajy Mallya) was one the best I have ever seen. It showcased the new face of India – full of technology and glamour. That was because of Mallya’s Glam touch – everything he touches becomes glamorous ;)
2)The money involved in IPL was enough to make the world get a taste of the India’s shining story. Though only subtly, it was an indication of India’s burgeoning economy. After all it’s not commonplace to see corporates and celebrities shelling some astronomical sums of money on players and teams and at the same time viewers willing to pay anything from Rs 250/- to Rs 35000/- just to see a match which doesn’t even involves the national team. Also it made ICC realize the capability of BCCI as the richest cricket governing body which yields enough power to take cricketing sport to a new level.
3)Although the IPL format may have been inspired from other tournaments like the EPL but even then the scale at which it was organized and the preparations done for it were exemplary. The ICL (Indian Cricket League) which started before IPL was not able to exploit this form of cricket. This was because IPL was under the aegis of BCCI and that indeed is a huge advantage.
4)IPL was a win - win situation for everyone. BCCI earned more than its yearly income from IPL itself. The players undoubtedly took home whooping amounts of money. As regards to the investors - seeing the popularity of the game – their teams are on way of becoming money spinners for them. The owners of RR have break even in the first season itself.
As for the the viewers – all have different views. For the connoisseurs of the game, IPL may have been the best thing to happen after invention of cricket itself. It ensured 45 days of nonstop action filled evenings. For some others, it was a total waste of time and money. I feel that the tournament was really good, but it was a bit too long.

The IPL matches were attended by celebrities, bollywood actors, singers, ministers and all the who’s who of the country. Even the politicians and many other people who in normal circumstances are so busy that they can’t find time even for some serious issues made sure that they attend at least a couple of matches, after all what is a better way to gain some media coverage. The scale and grandeur of IPL ensured them a lot more publicity than even page 3 parties.

One thing that has been conspicuously missing from my write up till now is the mention of cheer girls. This was one the controversies (IPL had its fare share of them) that clouded the IPL.
IPL introduced to India the concept of cheer girls. They are said to boost the morale of the teams and fans alike. In india this concept gained popularity for some very obvious reasons and at the same time some moral policing ensured that nothing was left unturned to make it a burning political issue. Indian society is indeed getting a lot westernized – that’s what people call as opening up of the society and introduction of cheer girls is a another step towards this. Whether it’s for good or worse depends on a person’s individual views.

The second controversy which got a lot of media coverage off the field was the Harbhajan – Srisanth isuue. Harbhajn’s slapping of Sreesanth was an egregious incident. It was not only detrimental to the spirit of game but also brought bad name to the country. It also gave Australians a chance to point fingers at BCCI or Indian Cricket at large as the whole country had stood behind harbhajan singh in the Symonds - harbhajan incident and Ricky pointing made sure that he didn’t miss the opportunity.

Barring these couple of incidents IPL has been a huge success. Now it remains to be seen whether BCCI is able to carry it forward and create the same level of enthusiasm and interest in the viewers year after year.

Our flat gos Wi-fi

Finally here we are..all 3 of us(me and 2 of my flatmates) having laptops in our laps and surfing the net simultaneously. Since the time we came into this flat and got a net connection, we have been facing quite a few problems.
Initially it was reliance broadnet connection of the renowned ADAG group. We expected the ISP was reliance so it will be reliable. But it turned out to be just the opposite. We used to get connectivity only for about 10-15 days per month and the speed was pathetic.
Also we weren't able to set an ad-hoc n/w to share the connection. After about a couple of months we got fed up of reliance braodnet and got it disconnected but till this day the reliance officials haven't taken away their equipments.

Then we had another problem of fining a ISP that would suit us. Our options were airtel, BSNL, You, and tata indicom. finally we zeroed in on tata indicom hoping that at least TATA - which traditionaly has been viewed as a common man's comapnay with sound values and principles - will be realiable. After some calls to the concerend person we got tata broad band installed. But the problem of sharing the the connection among three laptops remained.
Finally we have bought a Cisco wireless home router and our ordeals seem to have come to an end. Although there were some initial hiccups but in the end it seems to have pay off. The system is working just too good.
So now if any of you are planning to pay a visit to our flat then we can keep you connected wirelessly 24x7 :)

Hoping that this system will keep working well.

Training to Production.

( I had written this post on the 3rd day after getting into production. It has been over 3 months since then but i forgot about it. So I am publishing this post now. At the time of writing it, I was feeling a bit nostalgic about my training days. Things have changed a lot after that and now I enjoy doing work in office as well. Have learnt a lot in these 3 and a half months into production)

The last few months of my life have been quite eventful. I went through some of the best (and also most stressed) times of my life. Well this was the transition from college life to professional life.
I left my home town on 7th july for my fisrt job. We were told that we would be having some training before we actually get posting. And what a training it was! I never knew I could do only with four hours of sleep everyday until I completed the training though with moderate scores. At one moment passing the training exams itself seemed to be a Herculean task. But thankfully I passed it without failing in any of the tests.
Like college life this training period has also become reminiscent of the past. I made some really great friends during this period. Well, when everyone is in some boat then this mutual feeling of going through tough times gets people close a bit fast.
There were exceptions to this also like my friend N. He was a person who will always complete his assignments first, will get out of exam hall first, will never study till late night and you guessed it, even then got the highest marks in all tests consistently.
On the other hand were people like me who somehow managed to stay afloat though by working hard, that is according to my standards because I didn’t study this much in whole 4yrs of engineering.
Anyways, alls well that ends well. During training I was dying to pass the training and get into production and finally when the day arrived to get into production I realized how attached we had become to the campus.

As regards my liking :- training classroom V/s life in production, here is the comparison
During we were not bound by cubicles and had friends all around us, in office we have cubicles and software engineers around us.
Remaining in classroom even late at night meant having fun with friends alongwith studying, being in office for late night means coding, debugging etc.
In the hostel we knew even people from other batches too, here we don’t people from the adjacent cubicle.
This comparison can go on and on…
Conclusion for my preference. Do I need to mention it now after the above comaparison?
Well, in continuation from the last mail I can make out one thing: as we are going older, our circle of close friends is decreasing, the tensions are increasing, life is becoming more and more mechanized. Well can’t write anymore of this feels like we are going downwards from here maybe because of current state of my mind…dunno..