• Granted…

    Wish.. we all do.. for different things – more money, a better life, that prized job, with which we think our life would become a little better than what it is now, momentarily or for a lifetime… and like always, we forget what has been granted to us without asking, and what we have taken for granted…
    a loving set of parents, a good education,food when we are hungry, shelter when we need it, a lifestyle that is comfortable, money to take care of our needs, all senses intact, a couple of arms and a couple of legs, enough of thinking ability to enjoy a good book, a taste for good music and good food..
    and while taking this for granted we also assume a lot of things – from the newspaper and milk being delivered in the morning to our surviving the day… that we will not fall sick, that the vehicle will not conk, that nothing will rock our personal or professional boat, that a natural disaster will not befall our peaceful existence, that we have all this because we deserve to…..
    and also in between there are some moments when we take a look out of our coccooned world, and see others’ version of reality, a life where survival itself is the biggest victory, and then we wonder… at least for sometime..
    until next time, what if you could grant wishes…..

  • Tech Republic

    Upfront, let me admit that an intense subconscious jealousy might be the reason for the contents of this post, but thats a big ‘might’. and before i start off, let me assure you that i have nothing against the people i write about, only sympathy at the way they are being used.. and it may not be a situation which applies to everyone in the industry… disclaimer over, post start…
    A few days back, i read an article that a reputed software company is going to start a beauty salon, on its campus.. the reason being that since the employees start work early and end late,they may not have time to get a haircut or facial, and so the oh-so-concerned employer is taking care of it… sometime earlier, i had also read about how creches were the latest HR craze in the silicon towers..reason being that employees shouldnt be bothered about finding a safe parking place for their toddlers… i assume the forthcoming attractions would be a work station which will double up as a dorm at night, with facilities for brushing/shaving etc, entertainment facilities for the last generation of visiting parents, express mating services coz baby, who has the time for love and romance, mini sperm banks and artificial insemination procedures, so that the correct genetic ingredients can be used to make a perfect tech kid who might be able to start programming after uttering the cursory ‘papa’ and ‘mama’ utterances, and its formal introduction to them, and yes, before i really lose it, please, a toilet seat instead of the regular seat….
    Welcome to the tech republic, founded on the toil of a million professionals who bravely walk that thin line between their retina and their monitor, and their fingers and the keyboard… who are led to believe that their work is making a difference to millions of users whose life has been made easier because of the billion applications/programs that are being churned out… who are worth so much, thanks to their ESOPs, that it would make every other kind of professional hide his face in shame, but who wouldnt have the time to enjoy it.. whose life, for me, is still an enigmatic code… er, before we got diverted, wasnt the whole process about improving lives? i guess,like every republic has its own set of martyrs, so too does the tech republic…
    until next time < / post >

  • Weight and Watch

    A long long time ago, long before watching one’s weight reached fashionable proportions, we used to have a simple routine at home, that of measuring our weight every month…
    Having hovered around the twenty and thirty kg mark for a long time, crossing the 50 kg mark was a big priority in my wishlist… But we humans are funny folk.. its been a long time since i crossed the magic figure, and now i exercise so that i can keep it somewhere close to that figure.. like the saying goes, the more things change the more they remain the same…in childhood, it was about increasing the weight till it reached there, and now its about decreasing it…
    however, i have always wondered when exactly the body weight increases, when exactly was it that i crossed from 49 kg to 50 kg…. like the movement of the hour hand of a clock, we never manage to know the exact moment… not for any particular purpose, just curiosity…
    until next time, wait a second, and think about it….

  • Login

    Karma was a good movie… Dilip Kumar did a decent job…. simple.. but no, this is not a movie review, this is about the other kind of karma.. not so simple..
    as a kid, and a hindu one at that, i was given a basic understanding of karma and its functionality.. in retrospect, i do believe that it was used more for preventing any unruly behaviour on my part.. karma was the ‘thing’ that would get back at me later if i did any wrong..like in the case of most other things that were told to me, i fell for this one too.. but maybe that was good, anyways..
    but as time passed, the belief in the flawless machinery of karma gave way to a questioning attitude, and then onto absolute disbelief… it could have been that the machinery was having a slow race competition with the indian judiciary, or with some file in the massive indian bureaucracy,anyways, it seemed to be winning.. there was no retribution from ‘karma’, and that was from experience..not that this knowledge was used in some diabolical plan or for some evil purpose, but the belief had been shattered…
    More time has passed, and like most other things, the belief system has also come full circle, and most likely is here to stay, because unlike the first time, this is a self learning, and not something that has been drilled into the conscience.. but i do think that it is time for the karma machinery to get a good overhaul, maybe get more efficient… and like the new nationalised bank accounts, become accessible with a simple username and password..
    so we could actually redeem our karma reward points!! yes, there would of course be the regular issues like ‘Forgot Password’ or an occasional nasty case of hacking, but overall it would be much more convenient… getting movie tickets, that new job, discounts on stuff we badly want to buy, a good marriage/ love life, not getting soaking wet in rains, getting back power supply ..would all be possible with just a karma account… and to get the points, one would have to do good deeds…. a win-win situation..
    until next time, think about the possibilities!!

  • Retro!!

    A while before i was born, there was a generation i would have loved to be part of… they are identified by a number of descriptors – flower power, hippies, love and peace etc.
    the 70’s was their time, and the protests against what was then conventional in society, were made in several forms – from agitation on the streets to men wearing their hair long and from groupism and drugs to song lyrics…That generation was very clear in their belief that society and humanity as a whole were going on a path that wouldn’t quite turn out to be the right one, in the years to come… from the wars that were being fought for all the wrong reasons, to the pressure exerted by society on them to conform, they felt everything was going wrong.. and they fought it, by turning the tables on the way things were functioning then.. by just walking out with long hair and unkempt beards and staying in groups and resorting to drugs… not all of it was good, but they made a point…
    This generation is also seeing wars, but with wrong reasons on both sides. 9/11 wasn’t right, but nor was the attack on iraq… 7/7 was not right, but nor was the gunning down of an innocent guy.. but i dont see terrorism as the biggest enemy, for it can be resolved if people can be made to sit and discuss issues.. and though that was putting it simply, it still can be done…
    the bigger enemy is us, for we have forgotten humanity… in a purely materialistic society, where technological advancement and career/economic advancement are the indeces of society’s and the individual’s development respectively, there is simply no time to lend a helping hand to those more unfortunate than us, because MMS scandals, the status of the brad pitt-angelina jolie affair, the ambani feud etc are more important to us…but when i see a ‘go slow’ movement thats gathering steam in Europe, and a ‘blank noise’ happening around me, i think we might be in for a fight.. a neo flower power movement, and a way to drag us back to a better path…
    until next time, how can we play a part??