Category: Flawsophy

  • Half Way Through

    Its wednesday and we are half way through the working week……i like wednesdays, they are like the top of the hill, ur next steps are all going to be downwards to the weekend…..i got an interesting phrase from the book i am reading, “cultural commuter”…i think the best way to explain it would be the older gen and mayb some new gen indians living in america…..they have an american kind of lifestyle in their professional life by day…in terms of their interaction with people etc..and at night, when they are back at home, they listen to indian music, have indian food, and talk in their mother tongue etc….nice terminology, huh?? rough day today too, so am too tired to write anymore, so will go to
    manuscrypt trivia
    in the 1500’sHouses had thatched roofs-thick straw-piled high, with no wood underneath. It was the only place for animals to get warm, so all thedogs, cats and other small animals (mice, bugs) lived in the roof. When it rained it became slippery and sometimes the animals would slip and fall off the roof. Hence the saying “It’s raining cats and dogs.”There was nothing to stop things from falling into the house. This posed real problem in the bedroom where bugs and other droppings could really mess up your nice clean bed. Hence, a bed with big posts and a sheet hung over the top afforded some protection. That’s how canopy beds came into existence. The floor was dirt. Only the wealthy had something other than dirt.Hence the saying “dirt poor.”

  • Life etc……

    Not very sure, what i should write about, but first things first, i have to thank Mr.Saltwater Blues, coz he sparked a nostalgic wave in me, about goa, so was looking at some old stuff, and suddenly rediscovered a lot of things that i thought were lost.so thanks buddy!!I think , i will debate a lil more on my post a couple of days back, coz i got some good response from sapna. ..what i still would like to ask is that, was human nature always so “yeh dil maange more”? i think it has been an acquisition of the last 3-4 generations.. and havent the machines intended to make life easier for us, made life too easy, to the point that we become self reliant isolated beings,with no social interaction till we drain ourselves out? Reminds me of an old saying about life “forget the potholes, enjoy the journey”, arent we more of trying to acquire stuff that will fix the potholes now, rather than enjoying the journey?thats enough food for thought, have a great weekend people, and have a great vacation, michelle, you, you lucky thing!! 😉 before i go, this one’s for babita, something that mark twain said about India “the sole country under the sun, that is endowed with imperishable interest, the one land all men desire to see, and having seen once, by even a glimpse, would not give that glimpse for the shows of all the rest of the globe combined” Cheers India!!and for anyone anywhere with that unexplainable ache in the heart
    manuscrypt of the day
    i hear the countless voices of the human heart
    Flying unseen,From the dim past to the dim unblossomed future.
    Hear, within my own breast,the fluttering of the homeless bird, which,
    In company with countless others,
    Flies day and night,Through light and darkness,
    From shore to shore unknown.
    The void of the universe is resounding with the music of wings:
    ‘Not here, not here, somewhere far beyond.’
    Rabindranath Tagore, A Flight of Swans
    STOP PRESS
    Check this out….go to google, type “weapons of mass destruction”, and hit the “I am feeling lucky” button (instead of search)Now, READ THE ERROR MESSAGES VERY CAREFULLY and hey, congrats Andy (the wonder years), u r on rediffblogs mainpage..woohooo

  • War against the machines

    Nope, this is not about arnie’s latest exploits…just thought i will give hinduism a break for a day and return to what i was shooting mymouth off, a couple of days back…I got a couple of notes from michelle and sapna, both forced me to think again, but….. Sapna says that if i am born with a silver spoon, i cant live without it, and its not that bad…true, i cant go lower, but arent i always trying to get a gold or platinum spoon, and at the end of the accumulation mania, isnt what is left a hollow feeling…my question, can we ever teach ourselves to be content?? michelle is right in saying that if it leaves her happy, y shdnt she be having a cell, a player and other consumer goodies, my answer is the same as before, then why are we always cribbing, and looking for an outlet like this….from a different angle, i think what i amtrying to say is, :-), arnt the machines killing our social interaction? i am not talking about the easiness, yes, they have certainly revolutionised communication, but about the quality of interaction.honestly, wouldnt i prefer a face to face conversation than a few sms, chat or a call….when we talk about the good old days of college/university, isnt that what we are missing, the human element, the direct interaction?? but we have easier means now- the net, a cell……and the worst part, in my view is time crunching…..hmmm, that would be tomorrow’s post….

  • Beware of the Hind-OozeI

    I completely forgot about poor Schumi yesterday, the elder one, that jackass montoya, i hope he fails to complete even a single race the rest of this season. he actually ran poor schumi out of the track, now objective analysers would say that part of it was schumi’s fault,but i am a fanatical fan, so i have rights…hehe
    now to where i left off yesterday…..the fanatical tunnel vision..any community, if it builds up tension for long periods is going to experience frustration and hence spawn militancy among its ranks. thats exactly what has happened here, right from the invasion of alexander, indians have always been the defenders, and mostly unsuccessful in their attempts, which explains why even when we have been aggressors, the exploits have been limited to what we now call the Indian subcontinent, because we never encouraged offense, and were therefore never good aggressors. yes, there are exceptions, but too few, chief among whom is Ashoka, and he got the tag of being an inhuman barbarian. I guess he knew that if he stayed a hindu, at some point of time, there would be a rekindling of his aggressive side again, maybe thats why he moved to buddhism.there were also exploits by samudragupta, but these are all exceptions to the rule.we never had the sheer grit that the romans or the mughals possessed, to invade,conquer and hold.At a later stage, maybe this is the reason why the non violent doctrines of gandhi had more supporters than bhagat singh or the subhash chandra bose, although the latter certainly had the charisma.(hell, i am most definitely a bhagat singh fan, at an age where me and most of my generation are preoccupied with a career and lovelife, the poor guy sacrificed himself for the country, and it was not the death of a guy obsessed with ideals, but a very calculated and bold death).and so therefore, i cannot blame the fanatical tunnel vision , it is only the backlash of a civilisation that, inspite of triggering the best of the science and arts we have, has been pummelled into submission by various forces.We still stand helpless when pakistan chooses to attack our parliament, hell, if the plo ever tried that, israel would wipe it out in a day, but we condemn the act and run crying to the international watchdogs who have a history of asking us to sort it by discussions and bilateral talks!!
    When the US chooses to reciprocate the taliban’s greetings, it bloody ctrl+alt+del afghanistan, and then goes on a prememptive strike on Iraq for wmd that were never there, (no, i dont support saddam), i can safely say that the total headcount, as far as attacks by pak on india goes, would have easily exceeded the figures of 9/11. kashmir easily gets around 20 people killed in a day by terrorists sponosored by the isi(pak’s agency) and trained in their camps, whose evidence is there for all to see, but NOT acknowledge. BUT if india launches an attack on its neighbour, it is going to have strong repurcussions from all around theglobe.I think it is this sheer helplessness that is gradually increasing the revebrations of hindu militancy in all its forms, from burning ofmissionaries to pulling down mosques. Thats part of what i call the Hind Ooze – the eruption of the dark side of a so far subdued community!!
    to be continued………….

  • Hin Dos and Donts

    today’s post has been inspired by simple simon’s blogpost about hinduism, which in turn has been inspired by someone else, so its almost becoming a chain.But first the routine work. Spare a prayer for Katherine Hepburn , who died at the age of 96.Also,check out this article for a 360 degree view on Beckham’s Real experience. Have included a new link, its a music band from my lil town, they are called motherjane, doubt if the website will impress , and no free music, but get hold of a cd if u can, the music is definitely worth it!!
    There are lots of statements i would like to debate on, but will start with the ‘definability’ of hinduism, it is , i agree, a way of life,now, but i dont think it was always like that.there was a time when hinduism could define itself, in terms of philosophy, practices in life, forms of worship etc. But, now, even i, as a practising hindu, (practising because i am not a passive hindu in terms of worshipping my 33 crore odd gods, i have my favourites, of course 🙂 ) cannot explain to another person what i, as a hindu, stand for. subjective idiosyncrasies not withstanding, i think every other religion has a thread, that creates a bond among its followers, which allows them to firmly define their religion. can we do it, i dont think so.so where did we hindus lose it?
    i guess, a long time ago, the time when hinduism became a religion that started assimilating tidbits from every other religion, there could have been political (read survival) reasons, but i cant justify that as an excuse. Now, the way i see it, the very aspect that has earned hinduism bouquets from everyone everywhere, its absorbing and forgiving feature, is going to kill it. Unlike Linux development, not everyone who modifies the source, has an interest in its survival.And that brings us to the next source of debate “is the fanatical tunnel vision” that is brewing in hindus worldwide justified??to be continued…………..
    manuscrypt for the day
    if god brings you to it, he will take u thru it.