• The Diary of an Unreasonable Man

    Madhav Mathur

    Many of us could identify with Pranav Kumar, the advertising executive who suddenly thinks out of his cubicle and realises the perils of this generation’s materialism driven existence. But he’s an aspiring author too, so he quits his job and tries to change the world through his writing. But the publishers aren’t really interested in the social commentary and opinions of an unknown person. And that’s when he decides to really do something.

    With a little help from his friends, he treads the anarchist path and tries to shock the system into taking notice of what he’s trying to say. The creativity of his campaigns ensures he gets all the attention from the media and the public, and then some that he didn’t really ask for – the cops and the underworld, because he has managed to disrupt the lives of many important people.

    The book reminded me of the film ‘A Wednesday’ in terms of the basic premise – the common man shocking the system. But the author treats anarchy with the same irreverence that the protagonist has for consumerist society. The plot is fairly simplistic, despite the creative disruptions, and so is the climax. It is perhaps this simplistic approach that takes away from the believability of the book. But it still is a fun read.

  • clip2Box

    Wisdomleaf’s clip2box is an app for Box users that helps users ‘clip’ text images and video on to the cloud.  In conversation with founder Anupama Parthasarathy

     
    [scribd id=115190706 key=key-114lyotvb7i7gzmie2ch mode=scroll]

  • A new era of work

    Sometime back, I had written about institutional realignment – on how the internet will slowly eliminate the middlemen across industries and disrupt every institution that we have built thus far – political, societal, economical, professional, cultural, health and so on. This would have massive impact on our sense of identity and how we live as a society.

    A couple of weeks back, I read this interesting post at Pando Daily titled “Are we becoming a world without big companies?” The post quoted AngelList founder Naval Ravikant “the world would be increasingly made up of very small startups interacting with each other through APIs. No big corporations.” The corporation, at this point in time, plays a lot of middlemen roles – from our sense of identity to global relations – and continuing from my earlier thought, I think the internet will disrupt this one too.

    Which then makes one think of the workforce currently employed in the corporations – that’s most of us. 🙂 From 3D printing which is poised to disrupt the already shaky manufacturing industry and the not-so-shaky distribution systems to singularity, which will have major implications on our health, education and employment, there are macro changes that will affect us. Even the best minds would not have a definite answer on what/ where the jobs of the future would be. As Ray Kurzweil has stated in this interesting interview, “People couldn’t answer that question in 1800 or 1900 either. ” (when asked about the scene in 2000)

    It then brings me to something I believe will be the key to survive and flourish in the coming age – the willingness and ability to live with uncertainty. In this excellent read in the WSJ titled “Learning to Love Volatility“, Nassim Nicholas Taleb argues that rather than trying to predict black swan events, we should be building institutions that are not fragile and can withstand and even benefit from disorder and unexpected events. Though an institution is the protagonist here, I think there are lessons for individuals too.

    In a way, humans could be considered open APIs that big corporations and governments used to meet their ends, it would be interesting to see a future that reverses this. 🙂

    until next time, be the change….

  • Remember the feeling?

    The subject of Augmented Humans has come up regularly on the blog. (see) Sometime back, I saw this short film (via) which featured a dystopian version, in a world where augmentation was the norm. The range of ideas that have been shown in the movie is amazing.

    TRUE SKIN from H1 on Vimeo.

    <spoiler> The most fascinating portion for me was the ‘memory insurance’ concept at the end, which would “implant your memories into a new you” if something happened to your physical self. Essentially, your ‘self’ would be immortal. Can you imagine living for thousands of years, with your memories intact? I have always wondered what it would be like to have memories, and not feel them.

    until next time, brain vs mind?

  • Bakasur

    First appeared in Bangalore Mirror. 

    For those unfamiliar with mythology, Bakasur appears in the Mahabharata as a glutton who pioneered home delivery, bless his soul. Not only did he force a village to send him enormous quantities of food, he also ate the person who brought it – an extreme version of ‘bite the hand that feeds’. That was until the Pandavas arrived on the scene and Bhima decided to help the village. One day he took the food for Bakasur and not finding him, began eating it. Bakasur finally arrived, saw that there was hardly any food left and questioned Bhima. Bhima said something to the extent of ‘first-come first-served’ and in the fight that ensued, killed Bakasur. But in the annals of gluttony, the legend of Bakasur lived on. The current version of Bakasur, on Outer Ring Road (just before the IBP Petrol Pump on the Service Road when coming from Koramangala – map) has its soul right going by the quotes “Now serving in L, XL and Bakasur” size. Spread over two floors, with the one above offering semi-open seating, the quirky theme carries across the menu, coasters, and other messaging, including the ‘toilet club’. On one corner, I could see a cart wheel. If it was a hat tip by design, it was a stellar job – the village in the myth was called Ekachakra. Speaking of wheels, there’s valet parking.

    The menu is not really Bakasur size; it literally fits into a plate, but the options are quite unique. There’s also a liquor menu. We started with the Malai-wala Lassi, Zeera Chaach and a Virgin Bakasur! The Lassi and the Chaach were served in slightly larger-than-normal earthen mugs. The Chaach was particularly refreshing and the Lassi got the sweetness just right. The mocktail turned out to be just the standard Virgin Mojito and not the best we’ve had.

     

    The first starter to arrive was the Top Secret Gosht Kastoori Tikka – the meat was cooked well and the subtle fenugreek flavours did a reasonably good job, though it would’ve been better if it were served hot. The Mushroom Galauti, served on an ulta tawa paratha, had a smoky flavour that might not find favour with many. From greenery, we shifted to aquatic life – the Tandoori Panja Prawns was mildly spicy, succulent and had a tasty ginger garlic flavour. But the pick of the starters was the Beera Murg, 4 chunky pieces of spicy chicken that we couldn’t get enough of. The wind kept us company throughout and often sent tissues flying. Also present were flies, which seemed to take our frantic waving as a sign of friendliness!

     

     

    The main course took its time to arrive, but the good news was that the flies became tired of waiting and left. The dishes arrived in huge vessels, as though meant for bottomless appetites, but appearances were deceiving – they turned out to have false bottoms. We started with the Paneer Saag, Doodh Kalimiri Murg and the Palak Puri. Combined, there was enough oil to warrant a WMD search. The Paneer Saag, in particular, was a heavy dish and was tasty enough to make us just pile it on! The chicken dish was more subtle, with mild explosions of pepper. The Palak Puri was another oil factory but well worth the calories. The Tandoori Ragi Roti was a unique bread that turned out to be surprisingly good, a chocolate hero look helped. The Taash Gosht was a bit of a disappointment – though the masala was spicy and well appreciated, the meat itself was tough and we were in no mood to wrestle. The other let down was the Keema Naan that turned out to be more bland than expected. Though we had also asked for a Dum Apricot Pulao, we were told much later, when we asked for its whereabouts, that it was over. Probably there’s a Bakasur in the kitchen?

     

     

     

    Though we expected the Ghee Jalebi with Doodh Kurchan to be the dessert star, it was the Pista Kulfi that actually stole the show. The crisp, cloyingly sweet jalebis were no match for the subtler, creamy kulfis.

     

    Bakasur is definitely a unique experience – large tables, an open, relaxed feel and an ambiance that’s enjoyable despite the strong wind and the flies. For about Rs.1600, you could share a non-alcoholic drink, a non veg starter, a couple of rotis, a non-veg gravy, and end with a dessert.  (Inclusive of taxes and charges) The food, except for a few items, was quite good. The pricing though, is debatable, and though it isn’t the “bakwasur” it was made out to be on review sites, it probably needs to figure out a better price-quantity proposition before laying on the Bakasurcharge!

    Bakasur, Surami Plaza, Outer Ring Road, Next to Shobha Hibiscus, Bellandur, Ph: 9916076720, 8095501980