How to get a life..

Private sector caste bias

2007-10-27T16:46:00.000+10:00

Research showing caste bias in calling for interviews for private sector jobs.

A continent lost?

2007-04-13T15:58:00.000+10:00

Why are lemurs only found in Madagascar and not mainland Africa? Perhaps because they were always restricted to the island and never made it to the continental mainland?
When lemur fossils were found in the subcontinent, they spawned theories about existence of a greater continent over the present-day Indian Ocean that connected Madagascar, south India and Australia. These were confirmed by a drilling mission. This is understood to have significant implications to the commonality of origins for Dravidian and Aboriginal races. And a missing continent, of course..

What is a bandh?

2007-04-01T09:10:00.000+10:00

Reknowned for spawning a culture of non-violence, India today has fostered an unhealthy relationship with bandhs. The concept of bandh, although similar to a silent protest is anything but. To protest is for a gathering of like-minded people express their view/ anger against a government or ruling authority. But, bandhs are enforced by powers that be and seldom give individuals any choice in the matter. To interpret a bandh as a direct expression of all those involved/ resident in a state is unjustified. There is not an element of discussion or debate of opinions in a bandh, and hence can't be democratic. To voice displeasure or disapproval, a black armband may have sufficed. Disruption of day-to-day activities could have been minimized and infact may have encouraged discussion of consequences of the issue being protested. This may have even been more informative than a state-organised public holiday spent typically in front of televisions and computers. In a globalized economy, as today's, a bandh is a throwback to the illogical days of displeasure before discussion and action before debate.

India's most consummate politician

2007-03-06T08:52:00.000+11:00

P.Chidambaram mixes his erudite grasp of commerce with un-politician like logic and confidence, never getting fazed by the interviewer here in his post-budget analysis.

Vaiko on Devil's advocate

2006-12-04T08:29:00.000+11:00

Third section on Vaiko's interview by Karan Thapar, who questions him about ideologies and the political bandwagoning..

Jayalalitha's interview on HardTalk India

2006-12-04T08:27:00.000+11:00

Karan Thapar's interview that didn't end too well..

A voice of reason.. finally..

2006-11-21T18:40:00.000+11:00

Article offers much needed advice to Shane Watson like this,
"A bit of advice, Shane: having a batsman caught at mid-wicket off a half-volley doesn't call for a rapturous celebration as if some master plan has come to fruition."

Bigger than Flintoff?

2006-11-14T21:55:00.000+11:00

England's Barmy Arm y take on Ricky Ponting.

The Ashes begins!

2006-11-14T21:52:00.000+11:00

What a start to what may be in store for the rest of the summer..

Business classism?

2006-09-05T23:13:00.000+10:00

Differential treatment of passengers, depending on the money paid for a ticket to go to the same destination, is not exactly breaking news. Recently introduced low-cost airlines are devoid of such distinctions or to such a contrasting effect at least. Perhaps, this is a reflection of the various classes merging together, sharing common amenities and sitting besides one another, literally.
However, the above article seems to have brought out the worst in human skepticism poisoned with classist discrimination by Alitalia staff.

Arun Shourie's CNN-IBN interview

2006-06-28T08:38:00.000+10:00

Arun Shourie, former Union Minister in the Vajpayee government, claims that reservations are unjustified in this interview (Part 1 & 2).

India smiles Contest

2006-06-20T11:27:00.000+10:00

Selected entries and winners..

I heart huckabees (trailer)

2006-06-18T13:31:00.000+10:00

An existential comedy par excellence..

AIIMS doctors

2006-06-15T22:13:00.000+10:00

The doctors at AIIMS (All India Institute of Medical Sciences) are demanding the resignation of the Union Health Minister because they don't get paid when they don't show up to work.

Chidambaram's interview on reservation

2006-06-12T13:32:00.000+10:00

CNN-IBN's Devil's Advocate segment with P.Chidambaram, Union Finance Minister, is here in two parts (1 & 2). The highlights of the interview are:
- Karan Thapar's vindictive and aggressive interviewing style (hype-journalism). Add to this, Karan's poor knowledge of facts which he makes up by repeating irrelevant details and interrupting interviewee's answers in a pathetic effort to create a shock-effect (sensationalism-media).

Karan's feeble attempt at hijacking what Chidambaram says is evident very early in the interview. When Chidambaram says that 'reservations have worked in the southern states' ostensibly referring to the economic advances made by the four southern states, Karan misinterprets this as referring to the 'competition in educational institutions' thus:

P Chidambaram: Yes undoubtedly they have. Let me explain. Once you get a set of parents from the backward communities who are educated, the degrees the graduation the post graduation, then you find the second generation child is able to compete more effectively with children of families who have say 200 years of unbroken tradition of learning.

Karan Thapar: So you are saying that reservations in south India have improved the quality of education for everyone?

P Chidambaram: Undoubtedly.

Karan Thapar: Then let me put you the opposite of that. Because it’s widely believed that what you are saying is an illusion. All the centres of excellence which create the reputation for south India that you are referring to, I am talking about the Shankar Netralaya, the National Law College, the IIT Madras, the Indian Institute of Science Manipal there were other medical colleges, none of them have reservations for OBCs and as the sociologist Dipankar Gupta has pointed out in every single one of these the vast majority of faculty are non-OBC. They come from outside Tamil Nadu and they were not part of the Tamil Nadu education system. So clearly if they are proved its because they escaped from reservations not because of it.

Karan Thapar makes personal attacks at Chidambaram regarding his (and his son's) overseas educational choices. Embarrasingly for Karan (and his IBN team), he gets the Chidambaram's undergraduate institution wrong!

"Karan Thapar: Mr Chidambaram you are sitting in front of me advocating that reservations have improved the quality of education in Tamil Nadu. The truth is that you yourself didn’t go to an institution where there is reservation for OBCs. You went to Loyala College where there is no reservation for OBCs and then you went to Harvard. Your son went to Don Bosco School, Texas University and Cambridge University.

P Chidambaram: You got your facts wrong. I went to Presidency College, which has reservation.

Karan Thapar: For your MA at which point in time affiliation to colleges were not important.

P Chidambaram: Your facts are wrong. I went to Presidency College for my basic under graduate degree where there is reservation. I went to Law College for my law degree where there is reservation. I am not a beneficiary of reservation but I know that reservation brought in students to my class would otherwise have never got in."

- P.Chidambaram's measured responses not letting Karan Thapar's 'quibbling' get in the way of a sensible, level-headed discussion -the need of the hour- of an important topic.

National survey on Quota

2006-06-11T09:41:00.000+10:00

AC Nielsen survey on what India thinks about implementation of reservation. Not surprisingly, a majority of the respondents to the survey agree with the overall policy of affirmative action.

Inherently biased system?

2006-06-04T19:10:00.000+10:00

The CNN-IBN news story on the diversity profile of newsrooms around India paints an intriguing picture. The disproportionally represented profession comes as no surprise as casteism was originally founded on choice of vocation. 70% of 'key posts' in editorial/ newsroom jobs are held by Hindu upper caste men who the article says only form 8% of the total population.
In the context of the 'Reservation debate' that has assumed gigantic proportions, the objective reporting of journalists has definitely come under question. The reservation debate is implicitly 'subjective' and a neutral view point may have not been presented to us. This is evident from the lack of coverage on medical situations when doctors and medicos went on strike for more than two weeks.

Why everyone should get married?

2006-05-10T21:02:00.000+10:00

Or another reason why politics is big money!

ISRO-NASA

2006-05-10T13:33:00.000+10:00

Chandrayaan, India's first unmanned moon mission set to be launched in early 2008, will now carry two American payloads.

UPSC results

2006-05-09T10:14:00.000+10:00

IAS examination results are out.

Exit polls..

2006-05-09T09:58:00.000+10:00

Exit polls (wiki entry) for TN elections predict a win for the DMK alliance.

Kargil and questions of war

2006-05-06T12:16:00.000+10:00

One of India's clearest writers, Praveen Swami, analyses the Kargil "war" and Indian intelligence operations surrounding it.

The second part of this piece is here.

Reservations # 2

2006-05-03T13:47:00.000+10:00

Similar opinion expressed by K.Veeramani, president of Dravidar Kazhagam, appeared in The Hindu Opinion page today.
Meanwhile, more colleges and states have joined in the agitation,reports CNN-IBN.

Achieving equality through unequal measures

2006-04-30T16:44:00.000+10:00

The reservation debate has caught the public imagination more than any other news item in the last month. It is positively refreshing to see that education still remains close to many Indian hearts.

The arguments against 'reservation in higher educational institutions' have been made in the name of merit. But is the assessment of merit accurate and comprehensive?

The last two decades, the Indian economy has grown by leaps and bounds. As a country, India holds claim to the largest democracy in the world and is undoubtedly a leader in the era of 'knowledge revolution'. However, the fact remains that there exists a huge disparity between the country's urban and rural; upper and lower class; overseas educated and illiterate. So, the consideration of who constitutes a “meritorious candidate” must be mindful of numerous socio-economic factors. This is precisely what the Mandal Commission report had done taking into account 11 social, economic and educational factors to provide a scientific basis for communities that have been systematically discriminated or have not been afforded equal opportunities in India.

So, the argument of Mandal Commission's recommendations being purely caste-based and misuse of its provisions by the cream of backward castes fall at this juncture. The assessment of merit would be grossly inadequate if one goes by individual examination marks ignoring ground realities.

Even developed countries like Australia are mindful of the existing gaps in provision of education and rectify this by the 'Countrywide Access Scheme' whereby students from rural regions (and with other disadvantages) may apply to get 'bonus marks' added to their final examination scores. This ensures a level playing field for all involved and it is the responsibility of the government to uphold equality through somewhat unequal measures.

Does this mean there will be no end in sight or a deadline for 'affirmative action' policies?

The answer to this question lies in what may well be the way ahead. Education needs to be standardised throughout the country. At the moment, individual Indian states embrace various syllabi for various reasons. Delhi is the only region where educational standards are fairly similar and the syllabus is unique. This may well be the reason why this controversy has found it's supporters predominantly in the capital. So, in summing up, reservations are necessary to ensure 'equality' until the day when education is standardised and easily accessible everywhere.

The way ahead..

2006-04-29T10:26:00.000+10:00

Decriminalization in Mexico..

Mt.Gingera

2006-04-16T11:05:00.000+10:00

View on the way up to the summit of Mt.Gingera (height 1857 m) ..

Survey success??

2006-04-12T16:28:00.000+10:00

A while ago I read on Naveen Mandava's blog that a cost-effective alternative to elections would be organising a nation-wide survey. If this was comprehensively completed, perhaps we would achieve a greater voter turnout.
The Hindu-CNN IBN survey for West Bengal elections are here indicating a 3/4ths majority to the Left.

Internet media..

2006-04-11T10:12:00.000+10:00

Been a fan of *Forget the Rules* and now this - *Callcenter Movie*.. if you have the time and the broadband luxuries..

Wishful Wimbledon..

2006-04-01T14:56:00.000+11:00

I can laugh at myself over how emotional I get with sports. A vast majority of my blogs (and brain space) is attributed to cricketing nuances. The only other sport that even comes close is tennis. Wimbledon is the 'Mecca of tennis' - where every tennis fan wants to be. The Championships are from 26th of June to 8th July this year. I am willing to prove allegiance to the Queen if it'll get me there. What I wouldn't give to watch Federer play on grass..

*Pic(left) taken at Canberra**Pic(right) taken at Australian Open 2006 - players in action are Bryan brothers, #1 doubles men's team*

Sidin's "greatest indian (cricketer)"

2006-04-01T00:19:00.000+11:00

Indian cricket fans will enjoy this.

So true..

2006-03-31T23:58:00.000+11:00

"Oppositions never win. Governments lose!"
Not sure who said this first but heard it from Hon.David Hawker, Speaker, House of Reps, Australia.

Biocosmology = Reading God's mind

2006-03-31T23:43:00.001+11:00

Charley Lineweaver's talk on biocosmology started with asking the audience if physics has anything to do with 'life'. Biology is often referred to as the 'life science'. Establishing the link between astrophysics or to be specific - cosmology and life is not easy. The real and complete theory of evolution must start right from the beginning. Beginning is known as 'Big Bang' in astrophysics. To understand 'life' one needs to appreciate what type of life is being talked about. Settling on a common theme for life, Charley presented a 'recipe for life':
Recipe ::
-presence of Hydrogen and Helium
-star formation
-possible star death/ explosion (supernova)
-accretion of debris (from star death) to form star and planets (note: debris must contain considerable quantities of Carbon, Hydrogen, Oxygen and Nitrogen, though we started out with only Hydrogen and Helium)
-planet must lie in 'habitable zone' (water-sustainable, as our known life forms depend largely on water)
-now, we don't want star explosions nearby
-with time, we might need some meteorites with carbon/ metals (sulphur/ phosphorus) to strike planet
-planet to form core, mantle and crust
-gases from mantle/ core to evaporate and escape but not all
-some gases get held by planet's gravity and form atmosphere
-lightning in atmosphere sparks amino acid formation
-life as we know it
P.S: Never did say it would be easy..

Hypocrite called Hayden

2006-03-28T16:08:00.000+11:00

Matthew Hayden has every reason to complain. He has been overlooked for a spot in the ODI team by a rank under-performer in Damien Martyn. To add salt to injury, his opening slot in the ODI team is held by Simon Katich who is clearly out of place in the team (and international cricket).
But his outrage at pitch repairing or tampering in RSA is laughable as he was part of the team that was involved in this controversy.

L,R and W # 1

2006-03-28T10:11:00.000+11:00

Listening, Reading and Watching..

Listening to - Beethoven Symphony # 9 in D
Reading -
Watching - Love me if you dare

Political arithmetic - 2

2006-03-27T21:08:00.000+11:00

The AIADMK's seat-allocation has been announced. The 'equation' is given here.
Jayalalitha, incumbent CM, will contest from Andipatti. Last time elections were held here, the situation was quite different. The then-current MLA from Andipatti - Thanga Thamilselvan resigned so that Jayalalitha could get elected and become the Chief Minister.
The significance of Andipatti (in political terms) is that it was MGR's constituency and the nostalgia has been sustained since then. Loyalty is a major factor and the extra mile that the AIADMK MPs and MLAs go to make sure their leader gets elected will make this one a no-contest.

Update::
List of other AIADMK candidates are given here.

Practical love

2006-03-27T12:18:00.000+11:00

I propose an alternative to everyone who does not want to believe in *true love*.. I give you - Practical love. Does you life get so hectic that you can't spend every living moment thinking about your beloved one? For those who still crave takeaway dinners and watching a DVD.. but can not be bothered with flowers and choclates..
get some PRACTICAL LOVE..

New beginnings..

2006-03-27T11:54:00.000+11:00

Are new beginnings ever possible? As a concept, will they work?

Can anyone start completely anew, whilst still being a part of many other processes in life? Is it flawed to think of new perspectives without being judgemental of it? I think being 23 years old is not an easy task. My opinions are becoming rather firm. It's difficult to stay open to fresh ideas all the time, as there is a tendency to stick with 'what works'. So when I plan to make a new beginnings, there are many hurdles. Hurdles of 'old processes' and routines. Breaking out of this pattern is what I'm interested in..

Political arithmetic

2006-03-24T08:20:00.000+11:00

DPA's seat-sharing has been decided. Still working out their arrangements are :
- AIADMK + MDMK + DPI combine
- BJP (who are going at it alone, but will only contest a few seats)
- DMDK Vijayakanth's political party (rumoured to contest all seats)
- Thindivanam Ramamurthy's breakaway Congress group

Knowlwdge is power..

2006-03-21T13:24:00.000+11:00

An ABC broadcast on India tells us why there are one billions reasons to care.

Mr.Nice-Guys or why NZ won't win the CWC '07

2006-03-16T21:46:00.000+11:00

Thank God for New Zealand's all compassionate cricketing samaritans. The world would be so worse off without these wonderful, caring gentlemen of highest calibre.
Scott Styris, "He[Shane Bond]'s trying to hit him [while bowling, presumably] but he's not trying to knock the guy out and if he does hit him then he is looking to see if he is okay."

Why Australia will not win Cricket World Cup 2007 - 1

2006-03-07T22:05:00.000+11:00

Damien Martyn expresses 'amazement' at being selected in the Australian cricket test team after a mediocre performance at Ashes 2005, where he scored 178 runs at 19.77. Martyn's supporters believe that he was made scapegoat for the Ashes defeat but his performance in one-dayers since Ashes 2005 are summarised below (courtesy: Cricinfo Statsguru). He has averaged 32.53 in that period which is 7.5 lower than his career average of 40, considered the benchmark for a top-order batsman.

Statsguru - DR Martyn - ODIs - Innings by innings list

DR Martyn (Damien Martyn) [Player Page] - RHB; RM
Born: 1971-10-21 (present age: 34y 137d)

Filter: in matches that started after 2005-07-08.

                     Mat  Runs  HS   BatAv 100  50   W    BB  BowlAv 5w  Ct St

filtered              19   488  79   32.53   0   4   -   -       -    -   7  0

Gaaji mannan..

2006-02-28T22:41:00.000+11:00

'2-G', 'dokku', 'baby over', 'kaava', 'waitees'.. These words dominated my childhood as the next Indian boy. Reading them here (link is http//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Street_cricket) I felt some pretty special memories creeping back - almost being run over by cars, breaking window panes, ill-fated-Rhodes-inspired dives that land you on a rusty nail...! I couldn't believe however, that there was no mention about 'Book Cricket' - probably the most widely played sport in Indian classrooms, during Chemistry/ Accounting classes.
So I thought I'd write this up on this single activity that sharpens our collective mathematical brains:
The game is played with the any book (more pages the better) with a minimum of two opponents. Batting team representative opens a page in the book randomly and records the score (last digit) on the even-numbered page (2, 4, 6 or 8). A 0 ('zero') signals the long walk back to the pavillion. At the end of innings, book is handed over to other team representative. Game depends on luck, requires minimal skill and can be played during boring lectures worldwide, regardless of weather.Whilst doing wonders to arithmetic skills, it also requires the 'bowling team representative' to keep a sharp eye on the batsman, who may be too eager to turn away from getting caught out.
Link via Rajan.

Newsweek International

2006-02-28T21:40:00.000+11:00

Latest edition of Newsweek International profiles India Rising. There is an excellent article by Fareed Zakaria on India- Asia's Other Superpower.. The messy, chaotic market economies entangled within corrupt beaurocratic channels, in turn chained to whims of political coalition are explained with ease. Gurucharan Das writes about India's Private-School Revolution as one of the reasons behind India's growing economy.

Pandora and music

2006-02-22T11:57:00.000+11:00

If you are more curious than Pandora but less patient than me, this is just the tool that'll help you find music similar to what you like..

Privatized roads = No potholes?

2006-02-22T11:52:00.000+11:00

This interesting article spans libertarianism, liberalism and even has a Valentine's day message. But what caught my eye was this quote:
"Public property is a misuse of hard earned money stolen through tax."
(Link through Varna)

Planetary atmospheres

2006-02-03T10:16:00.000+11:00

Earth and Venus were borne out of the same primordial cosmic dust and were formed at similar distances from the Sun. But why do they have such vastly different atmospheres?

Understanding Venus Express - 1

2006-01-30T11:38:00.000+11:00

Venus Express launched late last year is ESA's first mission to Venus. Shifting the balance ever so slightly back in Venus' favour, Venus Express will spend 500 days in Venusian orbit carrying out a range of experiments and observations.
The rocket used in the launch of the $260m mission is a 'Soyuz-Fregat'. To escape Earth's gravity, the space needs to be ejected at greater than a certain (escape) velocity. The Soyuz-Fregat rocket achieved 'inter-planetary trajectory' in three phases.
The Soyuz-Fregat rocket consists of three (main) Soyuz stages and (an additional) Fregat stage at the top onto which Venus Express is attached to.
PHASE 1: In the first nine minutes after launch, Soyuz stages take the spacecraft 190 km in a vertical ascent, with the three Soyuz stages separating one after another.
PHASE 2: First burn of Fregat engine injects Venus Express into circular parking orbit around Earth.
PHASE 3: After completing almost a circle of Earth's atmosphere, the Fregat will burn again to fire Venus Express into a hyperbolic trajectory headed towards Venus, after which Fregat separates itself.

Kukunoor and Jobs

2006-01-28T15:25:00.000+11:00

Two speeches given by Steve Jobs (CEO, Apple and Pixar) and Nagesh Kukunoor (non-comercial filmmaker) at top educational institutions - Stanford and IIT - look similar. Both are refreshingly individualistic accounts of 'finding what you love'.

Barely Cognizant

2006-01-28T11:51:00.000+11:00

Mr.Lakshmi Narayanan, President and CEO of Cognizant, a Technology/ Business Software & Services company based in Teaneck (NJ), has called 'reservation in the private sector' a 'retrograde step' in an interview to Rediff.
Mr.Narayanan, much like very many 'Corporate giants', concentrate solely on maximising personal profits under the guise of 'creating challenges for the best minds' and 'innovation'. In reality, Mr.Narayanan's claims that 'Cognizant has come to India beacuse 'the best minds are in India' defies the basic maxim of a company like Cognizant - Profit Margins. He lets his veiled motives slip out in another interview when he talks about 'having to pay an American Ivy League Almuni much more than their Indian counterparts'.
By far, the most bemusing and poorly conceived argument he makes in the first interview is that 'reservation (in private companies) does not reward meritocracy'. Here his subliminal bias cannot be supressed under some noble notion anymore. Mr.Narayanan, also claims that 'reservation in the private sector has never been attempted anywhere'. Ofcourse, based in New Jersey, he would be oblivious to Affirmative Action and benefits to India if a similar strategy was adopted.

Australian Open 2006

2006-01-27T11:10:00.000+11:00

The Junior boys seeding at the Australian Open has been made to seem like a sham with 13 out of 16 seeds losing in the first three rounds.
The Junior doubles top-seeded pairing of Neduncheriyan and Singh lost out in the second round in a tight three set encounter. Is the competiton greater with juniors closely packed and falsely seeded? The Indian doubles pairing seemed clearly out of their depths in the tournament and their singles performance further supports their lack of mental and physical toughness - all of which I hope are proven wrong in the year to come.

Tamil Nadu elections '06

2006-01-22T17:08:00.000+11:00

The appeasement of electorate prior to elections has started. This must rank as a desperate measure of applying a layer of 'fake gold' over some rusted metal. Of the various schemes that are being intiated, in view of impending elections, the 'one light scheme' - whereby free electricity is provided to hutment dwellers living within 250sqkm - is typical of goverment action that administers a bandaid where brain surgery is required. Instead of addressing the bigger issue of 'housing allocation and slum clearance', the goverment concentrates on providing light, nevertheless keeping the beneficiaries in economic darkness.

Deputy Mayor of Chennai, Mr.Thiagarajan, may be absconding but he seems to have his finger very much on the pulse of the Chennai Corporation. His absence withstanding, this may have to be one of the bravest, dedicated attempts at fulfilling job responsibilities. Mr. Thiagarajan has threatened the Corporation Commisioner, M.P.Vijayakumar, with legal action for producing false reports. Has Mr.Thiagarajan, not in 'active duty' for more than three months now, explained his leave of absence? And does he have the authority to issue such legal warnings and direct proceedings from afar?

Update :
Mr. Thiagarajan could be disqualified if he does not attend the Council meetings on Wednesday and Thursday (2nd and 3rd Feb '06), The Hindu reports.

The Marina's moral

2005-12-06T03:36:00.000+11:00

At home in Chennai.
I feel at home in Chennai and the standout landmark in Chennai is the Marina beach. The beach brings together many different people. Couples sit facing the Indian Ocean enjoying the splendid dusk setting and the soothing, mischievous breeze. Dads bring their sons along to play cricket. You see friends walking near the waves after a long day working indoors, catching up on old times. You can spot old men and women power-walking or just ambling along the pavement, talking politics in wise tones.
I've had some wonderful memories of this place. My earliest is of coming here for big picnic-style dinners. My dad's friends and their children would meet at the Marina (near the Gandhi statue, someone would decide). We'd all drive there, set out bedsheets, and whilst the adults chatted, kids ran around occasionally building sandcastles and always building appetites. And the food was always excellent..
Then there were the days, when I'd come to the beach with some boys my age. The odd game of fulltoss cricket and the swim in the ocean afterwards.
Following this, was when we'd come with friends - boys and girls. These were all innocent and purely fraternising opportunities that are (were?) hard to come by in our society. This often resulted in going for walks by the wet area, where the waves crash on the beach. Sometimes, we would bring some beers down. We'd sip on the beers facing the ocean (always!) and indulge in funny(always!) banter.
Then, there were times I went to the beach with a significant other and spent quality times together. The beach provided a privacy that was public (hard to imagine? Think of an island surrounded by chaotic oceans.)
Today I went to the beach by myself.. for the first time. I was confused and searching for answers. But I realised I wasn't sure of the questions. (Ah it's getting cryptic..it should)
The moral of the Marina was that it can not always provide the solace you are looking for although it's one hell of a place to chill out while still looking..

Freedom and politics

2005-11-25T17:44:00.000+11:00

The Maanga argues in his blog titled 'Khushboo and PMK' that the PMK or the self-appointed 'Tamil Protection' squad is well within their rights say what they may about Khushboo or anyone they consider a threat to Tamil culture. What The Maanga has conviniently or negligently ignored is that Khushboo never through slippers, tomatoes, etc at the 'moral police' of Tamilian culture but she was treated to that and worse. Maybe 'Freedom of Speech' is one thing but agitating and instigating people towards such activities for sheer political mileage is despicable.
I will also be following the impending TN elections in 2006 and would like to start reporting on the lead-up campaigns, candidacy and leadership issues ala The Maanga.

Hurt and healing

2005-11-18T14:09:00.000+11:00

I've done some very stupid things and hurt myself physically in the last 22 years. Pain that accompanies these injuries have taught me to appreciate the value of good health. It is the healing process though that has really amazed me. The body heals itself through a series of pre-determined processes.
But what about emotional trauma? Does the body/mind have a set process by which it goes about repairing the pain?
Is pain a part of the growing up process? This heaviness in the heart is disconcerting.
I saw a movie recently, where the heart is described as a muscle and analogous to going to the gym, is the process of going through mental trauma. The heart grows.. stronger. It is fitter for the next time around.
No pain, no gain.. eh.

Master's proposal - Venus atmospheric research – significant yet unanswered questions

2005-11-14T08:27:00.000+11:00

Venus has been dubbed Earth’s ‘evil twin’. Looking closer, the underlying depth of science behind this odd nomenclature becomes clearer. Ruthless temperatures and pressure conditions on the surface characterize the planet’s unforgiving nature, while similar structure and genesis establish kinship between the closest neighbours in the Solar system. In spite of this enigmatic combination, of a resemblance mixed with stark differences, the level of research in recent years has not done justice to the scientific potential.

Comparison of the current states of the Venusian, Earth and Martian atmospheres shows the extraordinary divergence in evolution of similar terrestrial planets under slightly varying initial conditions. Venus, subjected to warmer conditions early in planetary evolution, is believed to have evaporated all the water and creating a greenhouse environment, which resulted in increased temperatures and baking of carbon dioxide out of rocks, which in turn amplified the greenhouse environment. Earth atmosphere underwent some greenhouse effects but biotic life and presence of liquid water helped dissolve excess carbon dioxide, thus creating a delicate yet essential balance for life to evolve. The Martian atmosphere, on the other hand, may have experienced little greenhouse effects and the carbon dioxide dissolved in the soil and the water froze from the cold temperatures. Such vast differences amongst adjacent planets stress the importance of simultaneous research efforts in this regard and negligence of Venusian research will invariably paint an incomplete picture.

Moral authority or Fem Adolf

2005-11-11T13:31:00.000+11:00

I got to this link while browsing thro The Maanga. Whilst not completely convinced by The Maanga's judgment of what this woman needed more so than people need oxygen, I am confident that she's talking through the wrong orifice. In other words, she's farting.
I'm appalled that The Hindu, where the article was published, has even allowed this sort of nonsense to be printed and distributed. Maybe, they should start a weekly section, publishing select pieces from the 'Mein Kempf'.
The Hindu partially redeems itself via this.

You read it here first..or second # 1

2005-11-09T15:24:00.000+11:00

Metaphors are the sweetness of this bitter-sweet life or are they?
Getting carried away like 'a corpse on a funeral procession'.
Haha

CBSE directive

2005-11-05T23:48:00.000+11:00

The Central Board of Secondary Education has directed its affiliated schools to provide free education to all girl students who are "single child" in their family.

This article was in The Hindu dated 5th November.
My thoughts on this are, as commented on The Maanga:
Private schools, with the exception of few, have proved to be big money-minting institutions. Large sums of money, under the official billing of 'Facilities Development schemes', are being demanded as donations.The norm today is that majority of students attending private schools take tuitions outside the school. The schools have become but another 'state' institution - something everyone has to attend but with no great meaning, significance or 'educational' quality. Sure, this CBSE directive may not be the best solution, but it tries to address an issue that was being swept away under the carpet as if it never existed. I believe in a loan-type system, where the student's fees are paid by the government to the private school. The student once passing out of the school pays the goverment back in the form of taxes. This way, I believe that the schools won't have to compromise on teaching quality or facilities due to the greater number of students or due to the financial constraints that would arise out of the proposed system.

Rural E-literacy

2005-11-04T14:39:00.000+11:00

I've been intrigued by this concept that has been the one of the cornerstones of Indian President APJ Abdul Kalam's 'India 2020- A developed nation' plan. I also read on the internet, about some fine work done in development of villages into 'Information Centres' by the MS Swaminathan Research Foundation. Reading verbatims of Presidential addresses and listening to MS Swaminathan at his recent lecture in Canberra, I somehow was not totally convinced how beneficial these development schemes were going to be. How relevant will it be for a daily wage labourer or farmer to familiarize himself with computers, I naively wondered.
But, today I see how increasingly dependant people are on E-bay and other internet based shops. E-commerce is a recognized degree in many universities.
So I reconsider my previous thoughts. I can see the merits in cutting out the money-minded middle man in the process. Thus making the farmer or weaver in the rural region the beneficiary of profits.
Some of the possible drawbacks of the implementation of such a scheme, other than mind-boggling logistical issues, would be how that may affect local markets. I read a fine post which defined GDP as such:
GDP = export - import + investment
Going by this an increase in export would definitely help with the GDP.

Cricketing conundrums #1

2005-11-04T11:29:00.000+11:00

Finally, I like reading Cricinfo articles again. I feel I can open the 'Sports' section in every Indian newspaper without trepidation! Life is beautiful.. when India does well at cricket. :O)
However, one minor bone I have to pick with the Supersub rule (though it has worked wonders for India recently) is that of substituting a batsman. According to the rule, a bowler can be 'supersubbed' after bowling, say, 4 overs and the Supersub will be allowed to bowl the remaining quota of that 'subbed' bowler's overs (6 in this case).
But can a batsman, whilst in the middle of his innings, be 'supersubbed', thus leaving the 'Supersub' to play out the remainder of the 'subbed' batsman's innings?

This, being far from a cricketing or logical fallacy, I assume arises from the imbalance in the fact, that a batsman could bat for as long as he wants (upto the 50 overs per side limit) but the bowler regardless only gets 10 overs. Maybe, the sport of cricket is indeed tilted towards the bat beating the ball!

P.S: http://aus.cricinfo.com/db/ARCHIVE/2005-06/SL_IN_IND/SCORECARDS/SL_BOM-PRES-XI_22OCT2005.html

Personal phobias #1 - Fear of failure

2005-10-31T11:43:00.000+11:00

Degree of success is what my life is measured by. It is similar to life's 'report card'. One gets judged, marked, assessed and 'worthed' based on achievements. I see an increasing number of child proteges in academia, sport and creative arts. So that must make the 'fear of failure' the most important and deep-seated emotional phobia.
This fear could have stemmed from many sources. High-success-demanding parents/ competitive-society while growing up. Humiliating experiences suffered from a past failure.
The results of this kind of fear is mainly a total paralysis of the body and mind. The nervous system, courtesy the ever-paranoid brain, neatly archives a database of failed experiences and associated humiliation which it can bring back to the forefront of the human mind when in a decision-making or outcome-analysing mode. Most 'mortal fearers' often look at the worthlessness of the impending failure and accompanying embarassment and opt to keep safe. This avoidance of chance-taking, they rationalise, will reduce their chances of potentially slipping into an abyss of failure and being buried by further failures!
Argh!

2005-10-28T16:10:00.000+10:00

The License Raj, as Amit Varma writes, is a system tailored to be inefficient. Beaurocracy and red-tapism have seeped into our way of life. Varna Sriraman recalls a horrifying day in the middle of one of the most cosmopolitan Indian cities. Accidents are not uncommon elsewhere in the world. But the crisis managements systems in place are effecient and trained to cope with such situations.
A trauma centre at a major hospital must see numerous accident-related cases everyday. The system in place to tackle with emergencies is appalling, as Varna finds out. The difference between saving someone's life and not happens to be that short period of time.
But this accident has turned into a money-making scheme for a corrupt police official and an inefficient, beaurocratic hospital (not to mention the autodriver).

2005-10-27T12:09:00.000+10:00

Universal truth #1
What goes up must come down.

If you think you are having too good a day to be true, you are probably right! Your perfect day will self-disintegrate like one of those mission-for-spy gadgets, only a lot slower and painfully.

2005-10-25T09:52:00.000+10:00

Find what you love

-read these words in a recent speech given by Steve Jobs. Having always sought to find what I love, I can personally testify how fruitless and frustrating this search could possibly be to some of us. Not even Google has helped.
With me, at times it's been a case of 'love what you find'. I think that suits me (and other lazy, safe-keeping 20 somethings). But that doesn't change the fact that this must be my greatest fear. Fear of not finding what you love; of meandering through life rather meaninglessly.

Fear. Sometimes fear stops you from finding what you love. Fear of failure; of commitment; and of pain. I'm not alone and that's comforting, in thought atleast. Fear stems from pre-judiced notions of life. Fear builds from past experiences. There's many of us going through life with a fear of living. On few occasions, I can claim to have truly lived. Been happy. Happiest. But I fear never being that happy again. How crippling?

2005-10-23T09:47:00.000+10:00

Measure of happiness

The irony of discussing aspects of happiness over beers - which I still regard as depressants - is interesting. Central to the conversation with SA and IC was whether one could be socio-economically 'poor' and still be happy. Whether someone could work a ungratefully-paying 'clerical' job, come home to 'lower-middle-class' household, battle for basic commodities like clean water and still take pleasures from other aspects of life..ie find happiness. I was of the opinion that this could very well be possible as some of my happiness derived from events that required/neccesiated very little or no monetary resources (money/credit card). But I will be the first to admit that my argument is not qualified enough, as I have always had access to monetary resources and my point of view can not be considered middle-class.
But then, I can not assume that I or my friends have found more happiness than someone who is not as socio-economically privilleged. So, is happiness a social construct? A feel-good factor? A state of mind? A real state of mind? Can it be measured? What would the parameters be? Most of the times, I have found happiness to be relative and an illusion.
The crux of my argument was also that socio-economic status may contribute to happiness, but the two are not correlated. Someone who owns a motorbike may think that a car would bring happiness; whereas one who rides a pushbike may regard happiness as owning a motorbike. IC quipped 'A zen monk could wander with no material possesions and still be happy/content/etc'. So it is relative. And if it is a state of mind, then you can set your own parameters.

The discussion sparked an interest within me to understand what everyone else regards as happiness and a desire to find out if those living below the 'poverty threshold' are indeed happy.