the dhaga theory

Bewakoof aur chutiya mein dhaage barabar ka farak hota hai. Dhage ke henge bewakoof aur hunge, chutiya. Dhaga khench lo to kaun hai bewakoof kaun hai chutiya, carore rupiye ka prashan hai bhaiya...

-From the movie OMKARA.
Posted to salute the spirit of a great movie.

उत्तम क्षमा

I ask for your kind forgiveness, if knowingly or unknowingly I have hurt you (directly or inderctly) by any of my words, thoughts or actions in the past one year.

To forgive is divine.

"विगत वर्ष में मेरे द्वारा यदि मन, वचन या काय के माध्यम से आपको प्रत्यक्ष या अप्रत्यक्ष रूप से कोई भी चोट पहुची हो, तो मैं हाथ जोड़कर आपसे उसके लिए क्षमा याचना करता हूँ।"

क्षमा पर्मोधरमा

- Pritesh

anamika...

A pretty face attracts everyone. It has a charm of its own that makes you look for it again and again. You search for it in the crowd and somehow spot it every time. Amazing!!! Human nature is indeed amazing.

Add to it its name. It might not seem that enchanting an experience as looking at the face itself. But then think of it, don't we all have a dream girl who has a name. Be it Senorita or Maya or anything else. Lets call her Anamika. Its plain human nature to associate a name to everything. Forget pretty faces, even worst of our fears have name too. Everything has a name.

But for you the Anamika has no name as of now.

And now try to associate a name to the pretty face. This has been one of my favorite pastime in office these days. Of course I do it only during the break. There are so many pretty faces in my office and so many of them I don't know by name.
I can do two things in such scenario:
1. Find out their name.
2. Associate a name to them.

And trust me, both have been fun so far. I see this girl daily while having breakfast and somehow her face always keeps me thinking. I tried to find her name. I asked my friends in the company who I thought had some clue about it. I tried checking company intranet. I checked the bus routes and so on. Its like those little tricks we play as kids. We know there are always better way to do it. But the fun always lies in doing it rather than the result. The day I find her name, the charm might go. It's the game and not the result that gives me a kick.

And guess what!!!
There came one more girl like her. And then another. Its been so much fun all along.
Many a times I see two of them together. Its fun all along. Game is becoming interesting.
I gaze at all those faces and enjoy it every time. And I still think of new and innovative ways to find the name.

Come to the second point: associating a name. This one is also good fun and really provides a lot of food for thought. Have you ever had a dream-girl named Surpankha. No, right? Why not? Coz this name is somehow related to an image that we really can not have a dream girl. Most of the time the name is Aishwarya or Senorita. It can even be Maya but not Mayawati. It's human nature to have association between what we see and a name. Think about it sometime. It will be a great fun. I am thinking of names for these faces. For now let them be called Anamika... :)

PASS FAIL or REPEAT

In a recent development NCERT has suggested to do away with result system in terms of "PASS/FAIL" and switch to a grading system.

The national focus group of NCERT includes eminent educationists, directors from IITs, IIMs, and various education research institutions, so it will be blasphemous of me to challenge its findings. If they think calling a failure REPEAT is better than FAIL then it must be.

And if it saves life of a 10 year old kid I will surely support this move.

I just have one point.

No kid comes to this life knowing meaning of PASS, FAIL or REPEAT. When I was born only sound that could come out of my mouth was that of crying. It took me at least 3-4 years to properly speak meaningful sentences. And this was the time that I learnt the words PASS, FAIL and REPEAT. I went to my playschool coz all my friends went there. All those chunnu munnu billu from my neighborhood were going to playschools, so did I. I went to Kindergarten coz all the kids of my age were going there. And it went on like this.

Initially it was fun. Go there and play. There were so many like me there. All crying, playing and enjoying. But then studies came into picture. Teacher aunty said, "A for Apple", I said "A for Apple". She said, "B for Ball." And I said so. And thus I started learning. Alphabets and then numbers, words, poems, songs and it just went on.

When did I learn word FAIL or PASS, I don't remember now. But I clearly remember one thing. A PASS meant that I could continue going to school with my best friend pappu while a FAIL will result in we not going together. This was it. To be with them or not to be with them. That's all. But that meant a lot to me. And I am sure this is the same with all the kids in those age.

Its my parents, my friend's parents and teachers that were concerned with some other meaning of PASS or FAIL. They would boast to their friends that I had PASSED with some good marks or something like that. It was as if they were more concerned with PASS or FAIL. For me it was all about being with pappu. He was my best friend you know.

And then I kept studying till I came to know of importance of PASSing or FAILing. One year, pappu FAILed in exam and he was left behind. I got admission in good school. What happened with him I never came to know. They engraved it my mind that I was successful and he was a failure. And from that time, I became like my parents. PASS and FAIL changed their meaning for me.

Where did the system went wrong. Or did it actually went wrong?
Was I correct then or am I correct now?
I think with the kind of education system we have setup, PASS and FAIL will always have meaning like they have it now for everyone. Call it Repeat or Fail, nothing is going to change.
The change is required at some more basic level. Where exactly, that we all know. How exactly, that all of us have to figure out.

It will take at least two generations [my parents and mine] to finish before we can come out of this PASS/FAIL mode. But it might be worth it.

But for now, lets hope REPEAT will save some lives.

Go kiddo, its not for you...

News item taken from rediff.com.

Smoking, liquor has always been out of bounds for minors. But now mobile phones too will follow suit in Karnataka.

The state government has announced that mobile phones shall not be sold to children below the age of 16. This would mean that there shall be a statutory warning outside mobile shops saying that children below 16 will not be entitled to buy mobile phones.

This announcement was made by Minister of State for Education Basavaraj Horatti. He also announced that the use of mobile phones will be banned in all schools and colleges. Horatti said that mobile phones are a hindrance to a child and hence it was in their best interests that it is banned.

Horatti said that the issue would be discussed in the Cabinet and then an official order would be passed. The order will also spell out the punishment to those selling mobiles to children below the age of 16. The ban on the usage of mobile phones will also apply to professional colleges.

Now here are some very simple questions that I want to ask honorable minister.

Q1: How many kids of 16 year can afford to buy a cell phone for themselves?
In India, very rarely it happens that a child starts earning before the age of 18. In only cities like Bangalore that it is possible that kids can do odd jobs and small time internships to earn their pocket money. Its a trend that is just catching up. But again it hardly matches to salaries that will enable them to buy cell phone [specially when everyone wants the most jazzy one these days]. Coffee and movies hogs it all from their pocket.
Another group of 16 years who earn are the kids who are actually doing it for their living. Domestic helps, mechanic shop helps and other such labour work. They toil their day and night for the luxury of a so-called comfortable life. If such kid buy a cell phone from their earnings, it is their decision. Moreover they are not the ones who use the mobile day in and day out. Somehow I feel this is not the crowd Mr minister wants to address.

Q2. Is cell phone really more harmful that lets say drinking or smoking?
Drinking and smoking is banned for minors [as per Indian laws, a person is minor till he completes age of 18 years]. But how far is the government able to implement this law? Pubs and Bars in this city seem to have flooded with kids. Very rarely do the pub admins check the age proof while giving entry to someone. And this is just the organized side of business. What about those thousands of Liquor Shops and Panwala shops which make these things available for anyone anywhere. What is the logic of such laws that can not be properly implemented.

Q3. Is cell phone such a big menace after all?
There have been innumerable studies happening all around the world dealing with effects of cellphones. They have been trying to prove that cell phone can cause you so much harm - from brain cancer to impotency. Its like the universal reason for all the problems. The scope of such studies and their result can hardly be verified and applied as a general rule as this is a really vast area. The government simply comes up with this reasoning that cell phones are harmful for kids and thus they should not be allowed to use it. This is only till they are 16 years of age. On their 16th birthday, the harmfulness of cellphone goes with the tick of clock. And its all fine then.

What crap!!!

Teachers have raised objections on use of cell phones in class rooms. This is a valid point as it does affect the concentration levels in class. But a blanket ban does not serve the purpose. VTU has tried implementing a similar ban in its affiliated colleges. After the initial hoopla, everything has come back to normal. How long can they keep checking of cell phones in students' bags. After all there is one more noble and important task that they have to accomplish - to teach kids. Clearly approach to such issue has to be more novel than a blanket ban.

Government really needs to use their brain, that is if it has any.

nineteen eighty four

I am at loss of words. The more I read 1984, the more I felt sad. I so badly wanted it to be a happy ending. But a happy ending takes place in Utopia. We are nowhere close to it. The search will continue. Forever.

Animal Farm was my first encounter with anything political. It made me think so much. While reading it I had a feeling of satisfaction as I could relate to all the events described. Most of the times, I would think of the way story will proceed and events that will follow. And to my amazement they all happened exactly the same way. Winston thinks the same way in 1984 after reading Goldstein's book. He asks himself, "What was it that I didn't know. Or rather what was it that Goldstein tells me new through this book?" The same questions pop up again towards the end, only difference being that this time it's O'Brien whos posing them. Answer remains the same. Its all in the mind.

If Animal Farm had an allegorical theme, 1984 is more on the see-the-reality-the-way-it-is types. Literary critics and political historians have found numerous events and references in the book which are related to some real life events. Orwell never refused the possibility. And this is what makes it more interesting and necessary for everyone to read Orwell. Read about this history else you will never know "How far have we come".

I would recommend this book to everyone. At moments it might be slow and preachy. But then there are others where you sink into Winston's skin committing all the thoughtcrimes. It is simply superb reading.

Wikipedia has unlimited resources on this book. Have a read if you have time:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nineteen_Eighty-Four

Shoeb does it again

Shoeb has done it again. Have a look at this piece of news:

Shoaib will be sent back from the Twenty20 World Championship in South Africa after he was involved in a dressing room spat with Mohammad Asif.

"A decision has been taken to call back Shoaib on the basis of an initial inquiry by the touring team management in South Africa," Shafqat Nagmi, chief executive of the Pakistan Cricket Board, said on Friday.

According to reports, Shoaib and Asif were involved in a dressing-room brawl in which the latter was struck by a bat on his left thigh on Thursday, after a verbal duel.

A team source said a heated argument between the two led to Shoaib striking Asif on the thigh with a bat.

Meanwhile, Ehsan Malik, media manager of the Pakistan team, said Asif had escaped any serious injury and his x-ray reports showed no internal damage.

Malik also added that the team management held several meetings since last night to investigate the incident.

The Pakistani team arrived in South Africa on Thursday to begin preparations for their first match of the tournament against Scotland.

Shoaib is already on probation for a disciplinary breach last month. link

It was just few days back when he was threatening PCB of going to ICL. I wish he does that. And ICL, in turn, tells him to F*%# OFF. What a waste he is!!!

Laughter the best medicine

Readers Digest humor is the best in town. The first thing I go through as soon as I get hold of a copy of RD is go through all the jokes and funny life incidents that come under its various sections.

Here are two of the best from the latest edition:

"Two ESKIMO newlyweds spent the night together. The next morning, the bride found out she was six month pregnant."

"Got an ODD-JOB man in. He was useless. Gave him a list of eight things to do and he only did number one, three, five and seven. Had to get an even-job man in to finish off."

Get some more here: http://www.rd-india.com/newsite/humer/laughaday.asp

Rangashankara Sept-07

Here is the schedule for Sept 07.
Interestingly not many English plays this month too.

Click on the image to enlarge and save.

Godfather

There is so much to a movie than what we see during those 120 minutes in front of big screen.
I was reading about Godfather and here is an interesting excerpt from the same:
Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Godfather

Film scholars and fans of the Godfather movies note what they believe is the symbolic significance of oranges in the films, suggesting that after the appearance of an orange in the film an important "death scene" follows. In the first film, Tom Hagen and Woltz negotiate Johnny's movie status at a dinner table with a plate of oranges on it, and Woltz soon discovers his dead horse's head; Don Vito Corleone is buying oranges from a fruit seller when he is attacked; Sonny drives past a billboard promoting Florida Oranges before he is attacked at the toll booth; oranges are placed on the table at the meeting of the Mafia bosses (and specifically in front of the ones who will be assassinated at the film's climax); and Don Vito Corleone dies while eating an orange, as he plays with his young grandson. Tessio is also seen peeling an orange at Connie's wedding. Carlo, who is responsible for Sonny's death, is wearing an orange suit when Sonny beats him up.

Here is one more links for the same. http://jgeoff.com/godfather/oranges.html

bookworm

What a productive saturday it was. I bought 6 books and got two more from a friend. Its going to rain books next few months. Expect to see some reviews and discussions here for the same.
Here is what just got added to my collection:

• Animal Farm by George Orwel. [I have read this book, bought just to add to collection. Any booklover can not afford to miss it.]
• Nineteen Eighty-Four by George Orwel [ After reading Animal Farm, I know I have to read more by the writer. Priyanka's recommendation. And just FYI, this books features in top 100 books list in most of the literary reviws sites.]
• Freakonomics by Steven Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner [Needless to say I have been delaying reading this book. Finally bought it. Chandu is having nice time with it these days.]
• iWoz by Steve Wozniac [This is for Saurabh. Actually after reading iCon, I knew I had to read about the other Steve too. Saurabh is sleeping with it till I am busy with 1984]
• The End of the Affair by Graham Greene [This one is on a recommendation. My first attempt to read Graham Greene. Lets see how it goes.]
• Love in the time of Cholera by Gabriel García Márquez [This is second time I bought this book. Have not read it though. Gifted to a friend last time, given to a friend this time. Hopefully I dont need to buy it a third time. Sucharita would be cursing me for not reading it still.

Few more coming soon in the collection. And yes, I am going to read them. As fast as I can. Needless to say, if you want to borrow anything, you are most welcome.
And recommendation are always appreciated.
Rout I always look forward at your suggestions. And don't think I have forgotten about "A Clockwork Orange."