Interesting Tic Tac Toe Game

One game everyone will like :)

Oracle Tip : Override or have a local copy of TNSNAMES.ORA

Usually users don’t have access on UNIX box to modify the global TNSNAMES.ORA in the $ORACLE_HOME/network/admin. In this case all they need to do is create a .tnsnames.ora [notice the DOT before the file name] in their home directory. Next time when you login oracle notices this file and when you try to connect it looks up this file before the global tnsnames.ora is referred. In case of conflicts user’s version takes precedence.

Interested read more - http://oracledoug.com/serendipity/index.php?/archives/782-.tnsnames.ora.html

Flag for the DBA - when a user on UNIX says he is not able to connect the culprit could be his copy of .tnsnames.ora too!

And for the still curious this is possible with sqlnet.ora as well.

Oh I love Oracle :)

ICU Stories - the night watchman

His name is Muhammad. He is not the regular guy you recruit as a watchman. He does night duty for INR 5000 per month and the perks are free food and a space to sleep. He works 7 days a week.

The question is what us about him that am blogging about. He is not even an ICU or hospital guy. He works at the guest house where I am living.

He used to be a commercial truck driver and drove in India for 25 years between 1980 and 2005. Those were the times when the national highways were not four lanes and the driving was very troublesome. As per him "saheb aisa koi nazara nahi jo kisi.ne bataya ya humne padha ho aur dekha na ho" - sir I have seen every sight I have heard or read about in India.

But what is so special about him. His life is a sort of contrasts and his faith and manners surprise. He is a short thin man with a white beard like most people keep when they don't want to shave. He drove non-stop for 25 years until his eyes were no longer good enough to drive. He returned back to his native place near Sultanpur, UP for six years. He lost his wife and understood that his sons don't earn enough to feed the family. The only time in his life when he wanted to stay at peace and in one place.

He returned to Noida to earn again. Today at 60 he says "sir yaha jindagi ruki se hai" (life is too static here). And adds "malik ke dua hai, yaha tak wohi laya hai. Peeche ke chinta nahi hai bas aage ka sochna hai. Agar mere haath pair ruk gaye to na jane kya hoga. Bas aise he jaan nikal jaye chalte chalte".

He speaks with a calmness I haven't seen much. Probably it only comes to those who have inner peace and immense patience. Someone who has immense faith in the lord and life.

Hats of Muhammad - we all can learn a lesson from you. It is indeed easiest to blame it on destiny; sulk and cry and you have not chosen that path. It takes immense strengh to stand up alone, take charge of your life and not complain but express Gratitude. This world survives by the spirit of yours !

Hats off !

ICU Stories - The Attendant of Bed No. 7

Let me give you a situation. Imagine this - you are 84. Your spouse is in ICU and very critical. You were a decorated officer with the armed forces. You have four sons - one is a qualified medical practioner himself in the same city. The other three are settled abroad after their respective doctorates. The doctors tell you only one thing - all that can be done is being done and hope is grim.

How will you respond.

Close your eyes. Yeah I want you to really think about your response. There is no point if you can't relate to the situation.

Let me be open and share mine. I guess I will be quiet and withdrawn. I will switch off my phone. I will not talk to anyone and ask everyone to leave me alone. I will not give up but I will face it alone and never entertain questions or thoughts like why is my spouse suffering. I might say a prayer or two. I will cry but no one will see it.

Think about your response....

Now let me tell you about uncle. I never talk to people in hospitals. However uncle smiles in a manner you just can't resist him. He talks in a polite tone. He always asks everyone how they are? He always smiles though I have seen him cry too. His love for his wife I guess makes his voice heavy but he holds his emotions so well.

He never forgets to ask me about my Dad. His politeness manner and composure surprises me every time I speak to him.

I have just one word for him Respect and I wish his wife speedy recovery. This gentlemam has touched me in a manner I guess very few ever will !

Uncle I will not be able to tell you but I really wish you were not alone. Your sons should have been by your side in this hour.

Peace.

ICU Stories - The Critical Care Doctors

With all due respect to the noble profession of doctors - I guess not everything is too well. The profession needs a thorough medical check up and may be intervention cause too much is at stake. In India doctors have been raised to the level of Gods. Yeah if you are an outsider and don't agree you haven't really seen it. Doctors are literally worshipped and no questions are usually asked - may br because doctors did save lives and secondly because of the illiteracy and poverty. This is even more so in rural and government hospitals.

Few things have changed now however - internet boom and the high penetration of internet. And doctors don't seem to like it ! At least the ICU doctors.

First of all let me say I respect doctors. The trauma patients and attendants are always serious. There are restrictions on visiting hours and all that but imagine 21 beds for 1 senior duty doctor and 1 junior. Hats off the system runs in India and the cost vs. quality is very much in favor of patients.

What am I cribbing about then ?

* The doctors are rarely discussing things. The information never includes relevant details until you ask and know what needs to be asked

* Processes and declarations are brought out for signatures but never explained. Dad has been subjected to four spinal taps or lumber puncture for CSF tests - never was I explained the risks. One of my friend explained me the signs to watch out for and potential risks and trust me not many in India have access to such awesone knowledgeable friends.

* Details of treatment - the doctors never disclose the details unless asked about persistently and why is it important? Dad had a stent put in post his MI or heart attack and there is a critical drug he is on for at least two years. The drug was stopped because he was suspected of some blood in urine and we were not updated. So far so good but then they forgot to start it ! Imagine that and it can potentially lead to another blockade and what not !

* The side effects - Dad was on steroids for eight months due to a rare condition called PMR - a kind of rehumatic fever. The steroids are immuno suppressants - we were never disclosed the fact that it induces a similar condition like HIV. He got infected with fungal (cryptococcal) menningitis - a fatal disease which is associated with people having severely low immunity.

And I have come across a doctor who said to me "leave the technical details to us"; "what do you do" in a tone which meant stay out of this you are not a doctor; "did u read that out of internet" in a tone which meant idiot u have no clue - isn't it strange. I have been attending to Dad full time for a month - if I can manage complex supply chains why shouldn't I try to understand my Dad's treatment.

I will try to read every report and document because I have time which means even if I might not be relevant but I can still ask layman logical questions.

However dear doctors either raise level of service for everyone or please be prepared for more concerns and questions being raised. By the way if we step back and see - it is a service being offered and patients are paying for it ! We have the duty to not cross the line but yes it will be difficult to dodge questions and hide behind technical details

ICU Stories - the back ground

Well some strange things happen in life especially when we are a little less obsessed with meetings deadlines and work. One such window has opened up in my life - Dad has been in ICU in Delhi since 22 May 2012. Delhi was an important bit of information because my folks are based out of Dehradun and I work in Bangalore. So in between the two or three allowed visits to see and visit Dad, there is a lot of time with nothing but waiting.

This log is about what happens in those times. The patients relatives and attendants I meet and their stories.

Why I am writing this log - well firstly I feel good when I met some of these. Their resolves were outstanding defying everything else. Some I was sorry to know but most importantly each one touched me in a unique way.

For each patient which lays inside I just say speedy recovery and may the best as per almighty's plan happen.

Peace.

Folk Music: Rajshthani - Senraan Ra Baairya

There is something in the folk music which touched the heart unlike any other form and it need not be in a language that you understand. Music has no language they say but aboriginal songs are much more beautiful if we understand or are able to connect to the words as well.

Am not a strong believer in fusion music or remix but when it brings out artists and exposes the talent to the world I need to take a bow and I have done it over and over again for Coke Studio Pakistan. You can always make money when you make music but too much commercialization  and what you end up with is the Coke Studio India. Anyways I am not an expert with all these things (BTW am I an expert with anything on second thoughts) and I will leave them here only.

I wanted to share a soulful Rajsthani folk tune with my readers and archive it for myself as well.  Before I present the link let us go through he lyrics.

Thanks to the link http://folkrajasthan.com/asif-hussain-samraat/senraan-ra-baairya/ - I have saved the effort to type the devanagari and roman script. The translations are also from the website.

The video is from Coke studio by Asif Samraat and Zoe Viccaji.

सेनारा रा बायरिया धीमो माधुरो री बाज

senraan ra baairya dheemo madhuro ri baaj

listen, O breeze, softly and sweetly blow

धीमो धीमो माधुरो री बाज रे बायरिया

dheemo dheemo madhuro ri baaj re baaireeya

softly, softly, sweetly blow, O breeze

सेनारा रा बायरिया धीमो माधुरो री बाज

senraan ra baairya dheemo madhuro ri baaj

listen, O breeze, softly and sweetly blow

तनरी बनर आउ ढोला राज़ी तांसली ए लो

tanri banṛaaoon dhola raaji taansali e lo

I make a serving dish, sweetheart, of my physical being

मानरे री करूँ मानवार रे बायरिया

manre ri karoon man waar re baaireeya

and following my heart, I offer up my heart to you, O breeze

सेनारा रा बायरिया धीमो माधुरो री बाज

senraan ra baairya dheemo madhuro ri baaj

listen, O breeze, softly and sweetly blow

राजो जी पधारया राज़ी महल में ए लो

raajo ji padhaarya raaji mahal men e lo

when my prince arrived in the royal palace

दूडान बरसयो म्यू रे बायरिया

doodaan barsyo mew re baaireeya

he brought such happiness and prosperity that it rained milk, O breeze

सेनारा रा बायरिया धीमो माधुरो री बाज

senṛaan ra baairya dheemo madhuro ri baaj

listen, O breeze, softly and sweetly blow

इन दिस म्ह म्हारो राज़ी लो बसे रे लो

inr dis maan mhaaro raaji lo base re lo

in this direction, does my darling prince live

इन दिस आवे ठंडरी हीनर रे बायरीया

in dis aawe ṭhandri hinr re baaireeya

(for) from this direction, blows a fresh and cool wind, O breeze

सेनारा रा बायरया धीमो माधुरो री बाज  

senraan ra baairya dheemo madhuro ri baaj

listen, O breeze, softly and sweetly blow 

By the way Ustad Sultan Khan has done an interesting rendition of a similar track. I have been a great fan of Ustad Sultan Khan. Master magician with Sarangi and such silky voice.

:) Enjoy the tradition !

A day in a non-existential life

The alarm went off at 7:45 AM while I was sleeping on the sofa cum bed. Why? 

Good question. The time of the alarms is the first available slot after the kids (I stay with my sister and her teenage daughter and young son) and their mom leave for office and I have access to bathroom and everything else in the house.

If you noticed and wondered why I am sleeping on sofa cum bed – I must say you have an eye for detail. Well thanks to my job and chaos in my life I share with you that I stay with my sister only when I am in India. And if you are contemplating how sad it is to sleep on the sofa in the living room let me warn you. Imagine living in hotels out of a suitcase for extended months – it is zillion times better. You have someone you can ask favors for unconditionally, who knows what you like and is like family. Even when you don’t have time to speak on a day to day basis it still feels like you are at home and with family. Oh I didn’t say why sofa cum bed – well that is the only place where I can sleep in the house though she keeps contemplating that with me around we should move to a bigger house but it lasts only till I move to another assignment.

The first thing I do is pick up the phone and check three things – office email, gmail and facebook and in that order. If there is some message then it is an interesting plus from a loved one J

The morning maddening rush begins with the realization of the fact that the hot water geyser (yeah we don’t have running hot water here in this part of the world except in hotels and that too in some cases is a young chap running with hot water bucket to your room) and needs to be switched on. I pick up the popular daily “The Times of India” and by the time am done with the ritual of emptying my bowels the paper is only worth throwing in the bin. Not because I did something bad with it but because of the substandard news and the stuff that gets published in the news paper it is worth only that much of time. And I don’t even touch the “Bangalore Times” supplement – which probably qualify as the most useless four pages I have ever noticed in my life.

I move on with the decision to ride on or drive to office. Usually the bike wins as it means only thirty minutes of commute versus the minimum one hour thirty minutes of driving.

By the time I park my choice of vehicle in the basement and if the day is Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday I have the luxury of attention telephonic conference calls for an hour and on Tuesday until noon. Imagine two hours of phone next to your ear or on speaker just next to your mind. It drains you out even before you are ready.

Then comes the lovely part of the day called Lunch – simply awesome time with pals and friends at the lunch table. Always something to look forward to especially when you travel a lot the food feels awesome. We keep on contemplating when the vendor is going to file for bankruptcy. For the price contributed partly by us and by the company, the food is awesome.

Follow this up with the calls in the evening late night and some work in the afternoon with breaks for tea and smoke – the day curtains slowly to an end any time between 6-9 PM usually. Again a long ride home and then that is it – kids are asleep by the time I head home and the only task is to eat and doze off.

Trivial and boring isn’t it?

So what is so interesting about it that I thought I should blog about? A little bit of background here. I work for JDA and I have been working for almost 8 years now. I have worked with startups and Infosys as well.

Imagine that I don’t actually need to set up a time to wake up. The job requires me to just clock four hours in office – maybe it is five hours. I don’t really know how many. I have the luxury in the morning to decide which route to take – what should I eat for breakfast and even if there is an interesting show on TV watch it. The other day they were showing Bugati Veyron’s making and I watched it all the way till 10 AM.

Is it great because of flexible hours? Not really. The best part is I don’t even need to dress up to go to office. I have the choice of wearing almost anything (not shorts though) – jeans t-shirts anything any day. No rules at all. I can decide which shoes to wear to work – leather trekking boots or running even flipflops.

Not impressed no worries but this is also not the best part. Imagine having breakfast at 10:30 AM not in office but in an up-market restaurant and being the only customer there.  Waffles, sandwiches, crepe or anything and without anyone asking where are you. Even you can take a day off from work and head to drink beer at say 11 AM – yeah anyday.

I might not be the best paid guy in the company but as a consultant with JDA I have the flexibility to roll up my sleeves and start working or having fun any day.

That is what I call life and if you want to see a day in my daily life. The breakfast day was today at 11 AM on Wednesday. The beer day was couple of weeks back. Gloria Jeans is always an option for awesome evening coffee, the riding pack is waiting for the weekend, there is a movie lined up for Thursday night and this keeps repeating. And trust me I am not a popular social guy!

Damn they say college was interesting - I say better this. With disposable income and friends - nothing beats this. All said and done a plain boring day in everyday life ;) 

Life School Lesson: Being Sensitive yet Detached

We all wonder what it means to live. Osho said "this very body the Buddha". Easier said then done - no wonder he had a series of discourses on the topic. To be very frank I haven't read or heard them but I always wondered what it meant.
However life is the school we all attend and there is no teacher but every day is a lesson.

It was a thought which just precipitated today. Most of us in our daily lives are going through phases which stimulate us mentally as well as physically. Mental simulation leads us to feel emotions like joy or sadness or happiness. The physical stimulus causes pain or pleasure too which is in turn interpreted by mind as good or bad. We are continuously being exposed to hundreds of such stimulations and emotions.

However the question is how does one remain sensitive enough while being able to detach from a situation or emotion. The dark side of things pull one self to lose either one of those as the easy solution. Either become involved or attached of become too insensitive.

As they say prolonged exposure to negative experiences tends to harden people like steel is hardened by Quenching. Metallurgically speaking it is a process in which steel is exposed to high temperature and then cooled quickly. The temperature difference hardens it - makes it stronger. Humans I perceive have a similar response to emotional stress - it tends to harden us. The natural process is to get involves and gradually lose sensitivity. What a pity and price to pay !

Remember as a kid what joy the bubbles gave us or was it the rainbow in the sky. It was all fun until we grew up. The emotional stress grew on us and we matured and look at the price we paid !
 

"Self-purification by self-observation" some claim is the summary of Buddha's teaching. Unless we learn to observe the thoughts and the mind how will we be able to understand them. Some call it witnessing - without bias, morality, questioning anything and without opinions - just being there sitting on one side and watching how things unfold.

However being so detached moves us away from being us to some extent. In such a pure state how will these material things and feelings move. If being detached in a state of meditation becomes a reality how will be not lose the sensitivity.

The eternal conflict is the experience to escape the hardening process of emotions - remain sensitive like a kid and yet be detached enough to observe and act.I guess this would be the real living - that would be the real emotion and that would be the real bliss or my interpretation of "this very Buddha this very mind".

Dil Akhir Tu Kyun Rota Hai

dil aakhir tu kyun rota hai
sab kuch manchaha thode hota hai
sard mausam mein bhi dhoop khilite hai
lekin barf ka bhi wohi mausam hota hai

patjhad ke baad he bahar aate hai
kamsin alsaye se kali bhi ek din phool ban muskati hai
sookh kar gir jana uska maksad nahi
lekin bahar ke liye woh hota hai
kya vrikhsha kabhi rota hai

Sapna bhi to ek haqekat hota hai
Jaise har kahani ka manjar hota hai
Kismat ke panne humne khud na likhe ho
lekin himmat se bahut kuch hota hai

dil, tu phir bhi rota hai?

Inspired by the legendary Javed Akhtar's poem with the similar title. Last evening while I was undoing my laces the idea just ran through my mind and here it is the poem.

 

Tutorial : Move YouTube videos to your iPOD

My techie friends pardon me for posting something trivial but few days back a colleague at work asked me how do I download a video from YouTube on my iPOD or any other player for that matter. The fact is it is pretty straight forward though for the uninitiated it might look like a difficult task as there is no direct "Save" button available.

Just in case before I explain how it works - I would like to say that am not a piracy advocate. There are thousands of videos which are legal to download and thousands which aren't. It is possible to download any video but please use your own judgement or check with the owner to save your self any piracy troubles.

Past that gibberish, iPOD any  general or your iPhone supports mp4 format. iTunes recognizes the format and if a file is encoded as MP4 it will play the video.

Step I:  Identify your video.

I will use a video from Coke Studio promo. By the way you are allowed to download the video from the coke studio website as long as you agree to their terms and conditions which are reasonable.
Click on the video and it will open in YouTube and copy the link in the address bar.(Click any picture for bigger size)

Step II: Visit http://keepvid.com/ and paste the link you have just grabbed.

Paste the URL copied from the YouTube addressed bar and pate it in the text box just before the DOWNLOAD button and the following prompt will come up.

Click "Run" and the following screen options come up.

Notice the option with MP4 and click the corresponding link to download the file as an MP4 file which can be sent to your iPOD in the usual manner like any other video file.

Step III: Cheers and enjoy your video. There is no step III.

It is possible to download file in multiple formats. 3GP is a popular format for mobile phones.In case you are interested in just extracting the audio - select the MP3 option and you are done.

Now Reading: What the dog saw

What the Dog Saw and Other Adventures by Malcolm Gladwell





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Book Review: Lila

Lila: An Inquiry Into Morals by Robert M. Pirsig
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Not as thought provoking as the Zen and the art of motorcycle maintenance but if you think about what he talks about it is indeed a beautiful book to read. Pirsig has this uncanny ability to make you read a page and take a walk into your head.


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"Lila, as was its predecessor, is an intellectual rebel's book, a loner's book - the writing of a thoughtful, sensitive social and cultural observer who has had his fill of academic pretentiousness and phoniness, not to mention the arrogance of our various secular experts." - Washington Post

And for the first time I didn't feel they were just writing reviews to sell books.

Copying the originals and being lost in translation

 “Beijing's Peking University has now launched an ambitious program to train more than 60 Chinese students in Sanskrit, with the hope of creating a team of researchers to help translate hundreds of manuscripts containing scriptures that were found in Tibet and other centers of Buddhism, such as Hangzhou in China's east.”

Recently read this article in Hindu about an ambitious project that Chinese government is undertaking to translate scriptures in Tibetan and Chinese back to Sanskrit.

Background


Let’s spend some time on the background and the link between India and China. Buddhism is the thread which binds the two countries and the language that traveled alongside it was Sanskrit. Sanskrit is an historical Indo-Aryan language and has been the language of Hinduism and Buddhism and it is believed that the first grammar of the language is dated to be written around 4 century BC.

Gautam Buddha was born in India as Siddhartha, a wealthy prince and the movement or religion called Buddhism started in India. Slowly the movement crossed the Himalayas and Buddhism and Sanskrit which was the language of the elite Brahmins (priests) moved along with it across the border to Tibet (which is now Chinese territory) and then to China and even Japan. A lot of Tibetan texts and manuscripts were written in Sanskrit and was later translated to other languages.

Let’s talk about the project now.

I guess there is much more going on here – I have a feeling that this is a political process which has been known since the time of Akbar. If one writes his own version of history all one needs to worry about is that in future, there is no other version which can refute it. The future can be tomorrow, two years or may be generations and there are known catalysts to the whole process. This has been deployed over and over again and works better than most other forms of control and comes across as education rather than propaganda.

What forms the basis of this thought – I guess a recent history of Tibet and the way China handles religion – the way Dalai Lama has been treated. Art and culture are in a way reflection of society but they reflect back and can be easily exploited as a means to deliberately fabricate consent and opinions. Recreating these sacred texts and manuscripts might be an attempt to do so and I guess Chinese government will strongly refute it if any one raises this question and no one else will ever know what the real motive is.

For the sake of discussion I presume there is no hidden agenda and ulterior motive here. We need to understand the subtle differences when we talk about languages and translation here. Sanskrit has been around for a long time now. As we all know languages grow with time – this probably explains why more and more words are added to dictionary every year.  For example, today “googling” is a verb, one can chair a meeting – these things were unknown to English as we know it even ten years back.

Consider on the other hand existing idioms and expressions – they evolve and their intensity fluctuates over time and sometimes even the context changes altogether. I will quote two words that I know –boob and Gay which changed over the years.

"Boob" is a 1950's shortening of "booby", which in the 1930's came from "bubby". Linguists aren't sure, but "bubby" may derive from the German "Bübbi" which means 'teat'. In 1347, when the bubonic plaque ravaged Europe, one of the symptoms of the plaque was called bubos or boobos which was a swelling of the lymph nodes, hence swelling of the chest can be referred to as boobs. From the novel The History of Joseph Andrews by Henry Fielding,(1762) the Lady of the house( Lady Booby) attempts to seduce the hero and the first thing she does is reveal her breasts, and for convoluted reasons it was also mistake not to have "taken up the offer".

 “Gay” is even more interesting. It was during the Gay Nineties it became synonymous with homosexuals and the usage became popular in 1940s. Back in 14 century however it simply meant some one full of joy, merry, light-hearted person. In 1890s the promiscuity crept into the word when the gay house started to mean a brothel.

There must be hundreds more and idioms will be more complicated.

Add to that new idioms and expressions are coined every day like “war on terror”, “Prague spring” or even “Arab uprising” by media and writers around the world. These are powerful concepts in a language which describe situations perfectly but were not available to the creators of the original manuscript.

And top that with complicated research which says that language changes in sudden leaps. I am not into languages but I guess I will leave the theoretical and academic interests outside. I insist this is a layman’s view onto translation and my limited understanding no way meant to undermine the efforts of the translators. I respect them a lot.

I guess translators are smart people and look into the development of language and everything including the time and space when they translate but there is one last point which I want to bring up.

I am going to use an example – Urdu to English in the context of Sufism. There are two words in Urdu to describe love – “Ishq” and “Mohabbat“

“Muhabbat” is the ordinary love and is an emotion, a sentiment, superficial and even transient. Someone can love a person today but the feeling may be gone soon. It is usually short lived and non-permanent though it can span over years and life time. They say there is no depth.

“Ishq” in essence described the passionate love for God and is not mortal love. It is the center of the being and comes from within – it possesses people. There is no turning back and is like an elated state one can never leave once reached. The “Ishq” cannot be reached without “Mohabbat”. One loses all control and is like drunk and mad.

If translated in English – the only corresponding match is “LOVE”.

Conclusion

Imagine working with ancient translations of Sanskrit texts - the translation itself was done hundreds of years ago and now Chinese want to translate it back into Originals. What will we gain back an original or a new version or the remaining in the ancient scripture will be “Lost in Translation” from Chinese/Tibetan to Sanskrit.

Idries Shah said west has limited understanding of Sufism as the interpretation is based on Sufi texts in English which were translated from Persian which was itself a translation of ….

Copy of a copy is again a copy and wouldn't translation of translation always be a translation?

References:

For more information on Sanskrit check out the Wikipedia - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sanskrit

Check here for Buddhism -http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buddhism

The link to the Hindi Article http://www.hindu.com/2011/05/18/stories/2011051864340600.htm

History of “Boob” http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_is_the_origin_of_the_word_boob#ixzz1MjOZBAg8

History of “Gay”: http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=gay

Tribute to Nusrat Saheb - Part I

In these times most people think of Pakistan as the training ground for the terrorists but it is a mixed picture for me. For me Pakistan is the home of brothers and sisters which were sent across killed and forced (or may be some by choice) by the cunningness and shrewdness of politicians both British, Indians and Pakistani's alike.

Somethings from Pakistan however are as close to heart as from back home in India. My days in Singapore knowing Nabeel (my colleague from Pakistan ) and the stark amount of similarity in our food habits oour culture and in general life was a humble reminder that partition did cut through the veins and there was indeed blood on both sides. And on that note how can i forget countless meals at Usman (a small shop in Little India) always made me feel home !

The most surprising thing however was the ease with which I could always connect with Pakistan's music scene. The whole world could connect to Nusrat Saheb's magic but even Rahat is easy to follow. How can we forget the Noor Jehan, Begum Akhtar, Faiz sahab, Gulam Ali, Mehdi Hasan and so on.

As a tribute to all these musicians and as a catalog I thought why not share the best of these artists and especially Nusrat Sahab. I have been listening to him for 16 years now and I still remember when I first heard the more pop and new sounding "Dum Mast Qalandar". Over the period of years Nusrat Saheb moved from the traditional qawaali's to the modern ones, Bollywood film music (with legendary Lata Manageshkar), Eddie Veddar (oh I love Pearl Jam), Micheal Brooks, Peter Gabriel, Rahman and so many more. One thing I must admit is even after all these years he surprises every now and then with his range and my personal favorites are from the period when he was not that popular in West and he wan't experimenting with the pop to create fusion music. Having said that those were the tunes which allured me into his world.

As part of this series what I will try to do is put up songs, may be lyrics and put what I love about the song. And if you are a Nusrat fan or in general like music I guess you will love these too.

It is always tricky to pick the first one but I will make it simple, I will pick the track am listening to now and here it goes.

Mere Dil Mein Teri Yaadon Ke Saaye

Hawa Jaise Khandar Mein Sarsaraaye

Humine Sab ke Ghum Ko Apna Jaana

Humine Sab Ke Haatho Zakhm Khaye

Mere Dil Mein Teri Yaadon Ke Saaye

Dil-e-Betab Ki Mussat Toh Dekho

Zamane Bhar Ke Is Mein Ghum Samaaye

Mere Dil Mein Teri Yaadon Ke Saaye

Kisi Ne PyaarSe Jab Bhi Pukara

Toh Palko Par Sitare Jhil Milaye

Mere Dil Mein Teri Yaadon Ke Saaye

Shab-e-Furkat Har Ek Aahat Pe Mujhko

Yehi Dhoko Hua Shayad Woh Aaye

Mere Dil Mein Teri Yaadon Ke Saaye

Khushi Bhi Hai Jamane Bhar Ko Imdad

AmbarKe Umra Bhar Aanso Bahaye

Mere Dil Mein Teri Yaadon Ke Saaye

Hawa Jaise Khandar Mein Sarsaraye

And in case this was interesting there will be many more to come.
Relax and enjoy the voice from heaven.

State for the few or Few for the state ? The Jaitapur Story

“And so, my fellow Americans: ask not what your country can do for you — ask what you can do for your country”
~ John F. Kennedy.

We have heard these words so many times and I have never doubted the belief that the country is above self. Even though I have never been able to relate to the National pride people associate with sports and similar stuff but for me it is nothing but National Pride for what the armed personnel are surviving for in Siachen the world’s highest battlefield while I type these words in a comfortable room.  There are no words to describe the courage and the valor of these guys and I will not even attempt that. For them I will just say “respect”.

At the same time I must say I am paranoid about my dwindling trust for the political agendas, propaganda and the nexus between them and media. I strongly agree with Noam Chomsky’s description that the public opinions are to be fabricated (in literal sense – manufactured) even in so called democracies of the world. We have seen this happening numerous times in the recent past - Germany before the Second World War, all of the world’s dictators and even in democracies like United States of America ( WMD in Iraq , War on terror and what not).  Keeping in view the two opposing sides of the thoughts associated with the “National Pride” sometimes I am really confused and can’t see the line between genuineness and the propaganda.

A recent development in Japan and the proposed nuclear power plant in India have made me even more confused. Let’s look at the specifics in Indian perspective and the events that are happening as of now like the ongoing protests against the proposed nuclear reactor in Maharashtra. In the light of the current nuclear accident and situation in Japan’s Fukashima nuclear power plant, there have been protests as expected around the World and countries like Germany have put the nuclear plans on hold. The world is currently divided at the cost of a nuclear power plant and the implications in case of an accident.

For a country like India still developing; where we don’t have enough fossil fuels to satisfy for the power demand we have limited options. Power cuts are frequent in almost all over the country and sometimes the situation is so bad that peak months of summer and winter there is a scheduled power cut almost every day. For a nation of billion plus people we have tried building so many hydro electric projects, we have tried thermal power plants and we also have nuclear power plants operating in the country.Our cities are teeming with millions and the need for power is increasing.

The question is what is the cost of a Nuclear power plant and more importantly can the state force a nuclear power plant in my backyard. In the light of the facts – no nuclear power plant or technology is safe enough. We can’t say a bomb inside a shell is safe – it is still a BIG bomb. The radioactive fallout of plutonium can survive for more than 20,000 years; we still are counting the health hazards of disasters in past and even today we don’t know what the safe limit for radiation exposure on humans is.

With this nuclear power plant proposed in Jaitapur, Maharashtra (9900 KW) there are several big risks associated – the area is prone to earthquakes (it is in a seismic zone), closer to the sea (probable tsunamis) let alone any accidents of possible fallouts because of human error. Areava is supposed to build the power plant, France will supply fuel for 25 years and the state has already ordered compulsory land acquisition. The cost of generating electricity will be much cheaper. There will be huge investment in terms of building the plant and the French company is surely going to make a good deal of money.

What for the people of Jaitpur and nearby region? They will be forced to lose out on their land. We have seen the issues with Narmada and with Tehri dam; the rehabilitation efforts have been questionable leave alone the agony of being forced to move and the emotional impact. It was a heart wrenching moment for people in Tehri to see the land drowning under the water when the dam filled up – for few they had spent all their lives in that landscape. The nearby areas of twenty to thirty kilometers will be the high impact area that needs to be evacuated in case of any nuclear threat. These people fear the worst could happen to them because this will be unplanned, sudden life threatening and possibly much worst.

The question is what is the real cost of development? What sacrifices can the state really ask for and what is the moral limit? If there is a nuclear power plant in my background that State intends to build – there is a potential risk (however minimal) that the whole area may become a ghost town and even death and several long term emotional, physical and financial implications. This is not an exaggeration but a reality of Chernobyl accident. When the question comes down to life and death, existence and everything, do we still need to support the cause?  Is the state for the good of few at the cost of others?

When we have the right to weed out plants which destroy our crops from our fields shouldn’t we have bigger rights to decide if a Nuclear power plant needs to come up in our region? Especially when the power that is going to be generated is going to be supplied to the national grid and going to light up the industries and being consumed more in the cities. Isn’t it like saying that ship breaking industry is safe because it is being done in Bangladesh or recycling being done in China.  The poor are paying for the sins – lives are cheaper in China and Bangladesh then in US or West from where the waste originates.

I am going to make another stark comparison and a bold statement.  What I described above sounds like a lesson from the history book and describes what was the reality in pre independent India. We were all forced by British to do things like growing Indigo which had long term implications on land and livelihood for the benefit of people in England.

Sometimes it looks like the same thing the people in rest of India are directly or indirectly offering to the people of Jaitapur. There are riots going on – police is trying to keep the situation under control, the memorandum of understanding has been signed the state is gearing up, people are fighting for it but I can’t decide what is right and what is wrong?

I still know the soldiers know and fight for the National Pride. They even lay down their lives for the cause of it and it is easy to comment. If everyone steps back how will the country move forward? Can someone enlighten me?

References:


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jaitapur_Nuclear_Power_Project
http://www.hindustantimes.com/tabloid-news/mumbai/14-held-for-2-month-old-rioting-case-in-Jaitapur/Article1-668432.aspx
http://www.thehindu.com/news/states/other-states/article1501268.ece

Image credit:  http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d6/Nuclear_power_plant.svg/446px-Nuclear_power_plant.svg.png

Token award for the heroes of Rajdhani Fire Accident - Shame for the Nation of Billion

Recently there was a fire few days back in one of the most prestigious trains called Rajdhani Express. Four coaches were gutted including the pantry cars and thank fully no one was hurt. The news was covered by almost all the media in detail. The train was running between Delhi and Mumbai.

Today the railways announced a prize for the pantry staffers who helped to contain the scale of the tragedy and helped the passengers escape the accident. There was not even a single casualty which is usually a rarity with railway accidents in India. No minister had to resign no blames and no politics was required. There was a commission set up to investigate the incident as it usually is in all such cases and I guess it will be the first or last time we hear about it or it’s recommendations.

There were 30 staffers in pantry at the time of the accident and 9 of them are said to have displayed heroics beyond the call of duty.  The blaze broke out at 2:20 AM. They pulled the chain – a mechanism to stop the train, alerted the passengers and helped them evacuate. They even delinked the burning coaches from the rest of the train to prevent a major disaster. In simple words, the cost of the disaster in terms of just loss to railways would have run into thousands of dollars easily let alone the shame and disgrace for the biggest rail traffic carrier. It is a different story that railways is so used to this that it doesn’t even bother any more with accidents which don't kill people.

These railway staffers are most probably the employees of catering service and am not even sure if they are on Railway payrolls. They were honored today and a princely sum of Rs. 3000 was collectively given as a token amount to 9 of them.  That is approximately INR 333.33 – what else could be more derogatory? Compare it to the 212 passengers were paid about INR 5000 each as compensation for the gutted luggage. That that USD 8 per person but it is just a token of appreciation.

Let’s step back few days our glorious cricketers won the world cup. Millions of rupees were showered on them and these are boys who already have millions in the bank. Most of them are sitting on pile of it and some even have net worth almost more than the cost of the whole train and they for sure did a good job lifting the World Cup.

Haven’t we lost our sanity? 

I am sure we have.  It was not only the government but the corporate showering money on these cricketers. They all wanted a share of the pie and world cup euphoria but these 9 people they played with their lives to save more than 1000 passengers on that night. The death toll would have been more than the number of players in the cricket match including the commentators, extras and even the officials.

Is there even a comparison between the two and if there is on any day the bravery and presence of mind of these pantry boys is worth much more than any currency and maybe that’s why the “token” amount.

Indian’s usually aren’t concerned with the other fellow countrymen. We don’t report crimes. We hide information. We cuddle back in our houses when someone needs help because we know that no one will help us. God forbid one of these guys would have been disabled or burnt during the accident. He would have been in the limelight of channels – his grieving widow and mom on TV for TRP and then what?

We have already forgotten the heroes of the Delhi bomb blast – what about all the commandos fighting in the Taj in Mumbai. You know why we call them Heroes? I guess because it is a generic term and easy to remember than the individual names.Let's talk about one of them. Kuldeep Singh (32) who lost both his eyes while he was evacuating the people from his bus. He was evacuating people when some one alerted him about the bomb. He saved lives of 60 people and hadn't even received the full compensation until Apr 2006. The blasts occurred on 30th Oct,2005.  Read more about him here.

When interviewed Kuldeep said "if you were in my position, you would have done the same thing" .If you were to step into the shoes of Kuldeep would you lift that bomb - he was sure about what it was and loose your both eyes, cripple your career your life. I am a shamed to admit I would have run away. Isn't is easy to think why we don't give way to ambulances. Why people don't stop to  help on highways. There are no rewards for these things not morally, not emotionally and there are eternal complications police, lawyers, court cases.

We can say the case has always been the case of the humble souls like Kuldeep fight for the rights and security of the riches and even state and today am not only ashamed but sorry for being an Indian. But I guess who cares IPL is on, we have lifted the WC - Sachin and Dhoni are batting. I will also crib about it and then even I don't know what to do.

References:

http://www.indianexpress.com/news/rajdhani-staff-got-us-out-spread-blankets-on-field-till-help-came/777980/

Credits for the photo: http://www.flickr.com/photos/kalyan/455432870/

Information or Propaganda - whom should we trust?

There is no such thing as free and fair reporting. Humans are incapable of it and if you don't support that bold statement think about this - we perceive something through our senses, process it and then reproduce/report it. Let's imagine it as a three step process.

Imagine standing in front of a beautiful flower that has bloomed for the first time in the world and you are the first one to spot it and as part of your job you are supposed to report it.

The first task is to identify and take a call if it is a "beautiful flower". This decision is based on the prior knowledge conscious and sub-conscious, the prior norms, documented facts about the beautiful flowers which the reporter had access to previously. This is the first step and has already been biased a lot in the selection of what is important and needs to be reported.

Our senses process hundreds of TB of information daily. The beautiful lady in the silk dress, the red ferrari, the bird which just started chirpring, the smooth sweet taste of weiss beer, the bitterness of cheese and hundreds of things like that. This is the step one which I referred as "perceive". The flower was noticed - the eye saw it. Our mind simultaneously is "processing" information. This is where the real bias comes in and we decide if the perception was valuable or just ordinary.

A child is interested in the criss cross tiles in the big haul but as grown ups mom and dad are not at all interested in it. In his preachings Buddha describes as an ultimate state where by an individual is able to detach from the present and become just an observer. Difficult for most mere mortals I guess.

And the third step is to report it in an amicable manner. It's so interesting to note here that the emphasis is on amicable more than on the reporting.


And this is why am so concerned when I look around the world.


For example today I walked around Berlin. I have seen and read hundred of videos or books about the Berlin's days during the cold war. I guess all of us know that the Berlin wall was erected by East Germany to prevent people from the East i.e. communist to defecting into the west. I am not here to justify what why where. I have very limited understanding of the world history but I want to share something I always thought about but never found answers to.

Check out this video on the Berlin Wall. It will put things into perspective.

Many people died escaping the Berlin wall. About 120 people are known to have escaped. Hundreds others were caught shot and executed.  There are hundreds of documented videos with the same footage. The Westerns helped the East Germans escape. They were very vocal and it was clearly evident in the video above as well with the fireman holding cloth to provide cushion to the people jumping out of the windows. It represented a picture that East Germany was very repressed and West was the way to go.

Let me ask a question here. Have you ever seen a video which showed what happened to the people who took the risk of crossing the wall. I haven't seen any information or documentary of there lives. And if that question is not enough think about hundreds who lost their lives doing so. Was it worth doing it. No one knows and we all have been fed to belief the life in West was good compared to East. And I guess over the period of so many years we have all soaked the information.

This is what media reporting does. No one feels the importance of reporting what is not happening in Tunisia. The reporting process that i discussed in the start still has to go through a filter of vested interest and propaganda be it economical or whatever. This is the thin red line where by revolutionary fighters like Azad before 1947 were referred to as "terrorists" in India and after that they have been acknowledged as "freedom fighters".

So the question is what is the real story of Libya? Why are the people willing to die in Chattisgarh? Who are these Maowadi - who are Naxalites. And we will never know because the media is allegedly in control of people like Barkha Dutta and Vir Sanghvi who have been tainted in the Radia Tapes.

So the question is whom do we trust and what to we make out of the news beaming into our living rooms. Information or propaganda and if you think you know - are you sure?

And the answer probably lies with in you and the question itself. Decide for yourself can we trust others?

The culture of gift vouchers

Literally speaking and as per dictionary.com “gift” is a noun meaning “ something given voluntarily without payment in return, as to show favor toward someone, honor an occasion, or make a gesture of assistance; present” or “something bestowed or acquired without any particular effort by the recipient or without its being earned” . In the context of this note, I will abstain from other meanings like a special ability or something.

What is the reason behind giving someone a gift certificate? 

From a strategic and tactical perspective for retailers it works wonders. Just before Christmas when the retailers are struggling to cope up with demand the gift vouchers are available in abundance and when they are redeemed after new year – retailer are more than happy to see the lift in the sales. They shifted the demand from high period to low demand period in order to utilize their resources better.

We hardly know people enough these days. Hence buying a gift for someone is a real pain but I guess it is worth a try and effort.  Especially when you want to buy you a gift as a real gesture (not for the sake of formality like Boss's birthday) and I guess an effort needs to be put to understand the recipient as a person. A gift was never about the gift alone. It was always about the care and time spent in choosing something for someone you care and love. 

Do you like a gift vouchers? 

Personally speaking I don’t. I hate them it is like a short cut and means buying some gift for the sake of it. Well in my opinion a currency note would have been better at least every one will redeem it unlike vouchers at any place they choose with fewer terms and conditions. If that sounds rude what about a wire transfer – a gift certificate is socially acceptable way of doing the same thing. The difference is more like sipping single malt vs. country liquor and irrespective of where it comes from alcohol is injurious to health. 

Over the period of years I have come across situations when people asked “what do you want for your birthday”. This used to be more frequent in my younger years. Months before the occasion the wish list used to be ready. Some time it was as trivial as the new set of sketching pens, some time it was a watch sometimes more trivial things as well. As the count of years steadily increased (does it sound like am very old – am just 30 and you know what they say about it – 30 is the new 15) the number of people who asked this question suddenly decreased and I have started receiving vouchers. There is no fun to receive a voucher.

I guess we need to step back and preserve this beautiful thing called gift. I know it is complicated to ask someone or choose something on behalf of someone but knowing someone better was the idea of a gift. It’s a tricky line – we all don’t want to sound greedy but a voucher culture is not a substitute. 

Just for the sake of doing it, let’s go out and ask people what they want as a gift. A “Wish List” is a good idea to have – a lot of websites allow that. Or at least when someone pops up the let’s be frank share the information about the budget or at least give some options. A lot of people are afraid of dealing with this but I am sure this is not difficult compared to hundreds of complicated decisions you make every day. If you don’t like flowers please go out and tell people. If you want something special we can put it up on our desks.

Let’s preserve the personal touch of the gift and save it forever. And if you are looking for something to buy for me – please let me know. I will ask you the same question soon if I can’t make the decision on your behalf but please don’t send me a gift voucher.

What do you say. Do let me know :)

Democracy survives on Memento Man - you and me

Democracy survives on our short term memories not only in the world's biggest democracy but around the world. This is the whole premise which explains how the leaders even the ones with strong question marks on their deeds, character or whatever get re-elected. In some countries it is very obvious and in some it is very subtle but the point is our short memory snaps allow the culprits and tyrants to survive.

India is a big democracy and when the world big is used here it refers to a billion strong people with a complex system of governance. The question is how we forget all these so easily. To bring into perspective let's work on simple facts.

Let's go into the recent accolades, medals and appreciation for Congress (the current part in power) in India. Dr. Manmohan Singh with his cabinet and with the support of the allies like DMK and blessings of Mrs. Sonia Gandhi. How many big scandals or allegations can you remember? 

One of the colleague asked the question and here is the list we compiled together. It took us some time to recall. Here is the quick list.

a) Nuclear Deal special plan for MP's - money for vote
b) Common Wealth Games
c) 2G Scam
d) CVC Appointment
e) Adarsh Society
f) IPL - Tharoor resigned
g) Mumbai Blasts
h) Datewada Massacre
i) Kashmir Roits
i) Clemency plea filed by Ghulam Nabhi Azad for Afzal guru
j) Radia Taps

Probably Congress is setting new standards in terms of what it costs to the Indian ex-chequer and may give tough competition to any other corrupt government. Each of these was worth hours of prime time media coverage and kilometers in terms of print coverage.

And the last one on the list probably explains a part of how we forget so easily. Media plays an important part in making share the information is carefully screened and then propaganda fed to the voters. Even setting up especial envoys in media like Barkha Dutta and Veer Sanghvi ( as per 'Radia Tapes') to the extent of setting up questions for key interviews.

It is still a long time for elections and hence clean up but I guess we got to remember before we VOTE !