Idea. On the surface, its just a four letter word - nothing special to drive home. Its neither used as frequently as S--T nor does it generates vivid emotions like F--K. On the surface.
It fascinates me how deceptive this idea of idea is. If we think of it, ideas and men are inter-twined like inseparable. The civilization of man has been based on ideas and civilization of ideas and idea of civilization has been under-taken by men. Men create ideas, ideas go on to become ideals, ideals create men. Well, Ideals create men, Great/Notorious men create ideas.
I am sure all of us have debated quite a few times about some-thing or the other. That is the most fascinating thing about ideas and ideals. Almost each and every idea has its contradictory partner/s. And each of them has its own suitors. Its these idea(l)s which make humans interesting. Maybe, on the contrary, humans make idea(l)s interesting.
Ideas don't die, like men. They cant bleed, they cant get hurt or battered. But, they can make men bleed. They can hurt men and get them battered. The idea of monopoly earlier by kings and now by some governments has left millions of men dead. The idea of religion, the idea of race, the idea of equality et al have caused same effect.
We, as men, cant escape ideas. The idea of escaping from idea(l)s is in itself an idea. I found it amusing as to how we are guided by ideas without our realization. Ideas are inescapable. Ideas can only be created or transformed but cannot be destroyed.
P.S: This is probably the first time, I am going out of my comfort zone of economics, politics, poetry etc while writing on this blog. Like or No-like the post, drop in a shout in the blog comments. Btw, I know a word "dislike" exists :-)
Sunday, December 27, 2009
Thursday, December 10, 2009
Jai Telangana.. Jai Jai Telangana
"Jai Telangana.. Jai Jai Telangana" were apparently the slogans which reverberated throughout Telangana today. For me, it was just a mere reflection of failure of the system, failure of socialism. Yet again.
I had been going through each and every material related to the Telangana issue since the inception of hunger-strike-blackmail about 10 days back. No, I have no attachment to either Telangana, or the 'imperialist Andhra', as it is called by Telanganites. This 30+ mins video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ElF6PaRDZDI on youtube tries to give a lot of reasons as to why a seperate state needs to be carved out. The reasons, unsurprisingly are mostly cultural and economic.
ECONOMIC IMPROVEMENT
Most of the arguments for the separate state start with economic disparity shown towards Telangana. I dont deny the fact that government has failed miserably in developing Telangana. How-ever, comparing to other places in Andhra was naive. There is no country, no state on this earth which is equally developed. There will always be economic centers and low-development centers.
The people of Telangana follow farming and weaving inspite of it not being lucrative. In economic terms, Telanganites made irrational investments over generations.
Telangana has a representation of 119 MLAs out of 291 in Andhra Pradesh, which is a sizeable number. P.V. Narasimha Rao, who headed both the state and nation, hailed from Telangana. How exactly has it change anything ? Telanganites fail to see that its the corrupt politicians and socialism which has caused them their wrecked state and not their association with Andhra. In their ignorance, are now sizing themselves up to hug the same monster in a more lethal way.
Telanganites blame the Andhra government for not providing education, water, bank subsidies (really ? that's legalized robbery, sir !) etc. How-ever they easily forget that they have a sizeable chunk of representation in the government. The failure of Andhra government is failure of Telangana representatives. In democratic terms, failure of people of Telangana.
CULTURAL FACTOR
Unlike many, I believe cultural differences is definitely non-trivial. It is neither exclusive to India. We can cite the example of Catalans in Spain who have an 'international soccer team' of their own or China. Its not without a reason that there is a Little Italy, China Town or an Indian Street in USA. Birds of same feather, indeed flock together.
Yes, it is true that having a seperate state or a nation for a particular culture creates a sense of pride. Unfortunately, for a country like India with 600 odd languages and many different cultures, it is impossible to have a separate recognition in the form of a state for each culture.
Telanganites want to protect their culture by creating a seperate state. World won't embrace Telangana culture just because a new state is created. Telanganites follow their culture and it remains that way. It make zilch differnce, state or no state.
THE FUTURE
Hyderabad, a part of Telangana, is the capital of Andhra. This division would take out half soul out of Andhra[ other half being Thirupathi], in my opinion. I believe, we might need to embrace for the counter-protests and violence from non-telanganites now. This issue, friends, romans and countrymen, is just heating up.
Assuming the formation of Telangana, lets see what progress is achieved. Telangana might try to develop some dams which would help them with storing water(which is one of the major bone of contention). But it will affect the other people. It is not going to add any new resource to the nation, at best can transfer from one place to other. If these dams start building and there is a shortage of water in Andhra, it going to lead to another water issue between two states. In any issue, people lose, politicians win.
We might have more and more 'cultures' coming out asking for a separate state. A coorg-state and uttara-kannada in karnataka, rayal seema in AP, Vidharba in Maharastra, Bodoland in NE come to my mind instantly. Is government going to yield to all these demands ?
Government failed miserably in developing Telangana. Then, some opportunists tried to gain mileage asking for a separate state. Political parties tried to gain mileage by promising one election after election. They dig so deep, that got stuck in their own pit. Shooting at their own foot ? Not really. Like I said, in any issue, people lose.
I had been going through each and every material related to the Telangana issue since the inception of hunger-strike-blackmail about 10 days back. No, I have no attachment to either Telangana, or the 'imperialist Andhra', as it is called by Telanganites. This 30+ mins video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ElF6PaRDZDI on youtube tries to give a lot of reasons as to why a seperate state needs to be carved out. The reasons, unsurprisingly are mostly cultural and economic.
ECONOMIC IMPROVEMENT
Most of the arguments for the separate state start with economic disparity shown towards Telangana. I dont deny the fact that government has failed miserably in developing Telangana. How-ever, comparing to other places in Andhra was naive. There is no country, no state on this earth which is equally developed. There will always be economic centers and low-development centers.
The people of Telangana follow farming and weaving inspite of it not being lucrative. In economic terms, Telanganites made irrational investments over generations.
Telangana has a representation of 119 MLAs out of 291 in Andhra Pradesh, which is a sizeable number. P.V. Narasimha Rao, who headed both the state and nation, hailed from Telangana. How exactly has it change anything ? Telanganites fail to see that its the corrupt politicians and socialism which has caused them their wrecked state and not their association with Andhra. In their ignorance, are now sizing themselves up to hug the same monster in a more lethal way.
Telanganites blame the Andhra government for not providing education, water, bank subsidies (really ? that's legalized robbery, sir !) etc. How-ever they easily forget that they have a sizeable chunk of representation in the government. The failure of Andhra government is failure of Telangana representatives. In democratic terms, failure of people of Telangana.
CULTURAL FACTOR
Unlike many, I believe cultural differences is definitely non-trivial. It is neither exclusive to India. We can cite the example of Catalans in Spain who have an 'international soccer team' of their own or China. Its not without a reason that there is a Little Italy, China Town or an Indian Street in USA. Birds of same feather, indeed flock together.
Yes, it is true that having a seperate state or a nation for a particular culture creates a sense of pride. Unfortunately, for a country like India with 600 odd languages and many different cultures, it is impossible to have a separate recognition in the form of a state for each culture.
Telanganites want to protect their culture by creating a seperate state. World won't embrace Telangana culture just because a new state is created. Telanganites follow their culture and it remains that way. It make zilch differnce, state or no state.
THE FUTURE
Hyderabad, a part of Telangana, is the capital of Andhra. This division would take out half soul out of Andhra[ other half being Thirupathi], in my opinion. I believe, we might need to embrace for the counter-protests and violence from non-telanganites now. This issue, friends, romans and countrymen, is just heating up.
Assuming the formation of Telangana, lets see what progress is achieved. Telangana might try to develop some dams which would help them with storing water(which is one of the major bone of contention). But it will affect the other people. It is not going to add any new resource to the nation, at best can transfer from one place to other. If these dams start building and there is a shortage of water in Andhra, it going to lead to another water issue between two states. In any issue, people lose, politicians win.
We might have more and more 'cultures' coming out asking for a separate state. A coorg-state and uttara-kannada in karnataka, rayal seema in AP, Vidharba in Maharastra, Bodoland in NE come to my mind instantly. Is government going to yield to all these demands ?
Government failed miserably in developing Telangana. Then, some opportunists tried to gain mileage asking for a separate state. Political parties tried to gain mileage by promising one election after election. They dig so deep, that got stuck in their own pit. Shooting at their own foot ? Not really. Like I said, in any issue, people lose.
Saturday, November 14, 2009
One Side of the Story
A few weeks back I stumbled upon a speech by an African Author, Chimamanda Adiche titled "The danger of single story". It is easily one of the best speeches I have ever heard. She explains how knowing just one side of the story is dangerous. She gives examples of how prejudiced people are when they think of Africans because of stories people have heard about Africa. She cites her own experience of how she thought Mexico was a wrecked nation based on the opinion she formed from things she heard in US and how surprised she was when she went there.
I have been a victim of such ill-formed opinions many times. I am sure all of us have been. An instantaneous example that comes to my mind is how I thought of America as a nation where everyone is reliant on machines for everything and dont do any physical work. But when I saw people cycling and jogging in Gainesville, I realized how wrong I had been. And once I visited Boulder, I realized I wasnt just wrong, I was stupid !
Interestingly, we humans also tend to see only one side of the story; our side of the story. We fail to see the other dimensions in the story. Every story has multiple dimensions. Everyone looks at things differently. But we humans, believe that what we see is the right way to see. No wonder, 'why dont you understand me ?!' is one of the most often used sentence on this earth. Guys, Half opened door is half closed too !
This incident happened very recently. One of my closest of friends had gone to a foreign nation for work-related stuff. She loves traveling. She was telling me that she is planning to go to this country, that country etc. I hit back saying that it means we wont keep in touch for few days. After some-time I started wondering. I love soccer and If I was Europe, I would have gone to Emirates Stadium, London at every possible opportunity to watch Arsenal. That's exactly what she was doing. She was doing what she loves. But being a dormant, reluctant traveler, I felt she was wasting her time. Till then.
Another interesting aspect is how often we try to convince others to accept our side of the story. We try to make them believe that what we do is better. This is not necessarily a bad thing, but not always. Take for example, music or food. Every person has a different taste. And everyone believes that they have the best taste for music/food and most of us try to convince others why our taste is better. We as humans, have a lot of ego, dont we ?
We form and create wrong opinions about people, places, things; look stupid because of ignorance; strain relations, hurt others feelings et al. All this because we fail to look beyond one side of the story; look beyond our side of the story.
I have been a victim of such ill-formed opinions many times. I am sure all of us have been. An instantaneous example that comes to my mind is how I thought of America as a nation where everyone is reliant on machines for everything and dont do any physical work. But when I saw people cycling and jogging in Gainesville, I realized how wrong I had been. And once I visited Boulder, I realized I wasnt just wrong, I was stupid !
Interestingly, we humans also tend to see only one side of the story; our side of the story. We fail to see the other dimensions in the story. Every story has multiple dimensions. Everyone looks at things differently. But we humans, believe that what we see is the right way to see. No wonder, 'why dont you understand me ?!' is one of the most often used sentence on this earth. Guys, Half opened door is half closed too !
This incident happened very recently. One of my closest of friends had gone to a foreign nation for work-related stuff. She loves traveling. She was telling me that she is planning to go to this country, that country etc. I hit back saying that it means we wont keep in touch for few days. After some-time I started wondering. I love soccer and If I was Europe, I would have gone to Emirates Stadium, London at every possible opportunity to watch Arsenal. That's exactly what she was doing. She was doing what she loves. But being a dormant, reluctant traveler, I felt she was wasting her time. Till then.
Another interesting aspect is how often we try to convince others to accept our side of the story. We try to make them believe that what we do is better. This is not necessarily a bad thing, but not always. Take for example, music or food. Every person has a different taste. And everyone believes that they have the best taste for music/food and most of us try to convince others why our taste is better. We as humans, have a lot of ego, dont we ?
We form and create wrong opinions about people, places, things; look stupid because of ignorance; strain relations, hurt others feelings et al. All this because we fail to look beyond one side of the story; look beyond our side of the story.
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
Seflishly Unselfish !
I found this article which I had written long back.. I thought of editing it [ bad decision, as it turned out to be w.r.t time] and posting it on the blog. Hope it doesnt have too much of spaghetti code :D
During our entire years of schooling, we kept studying chapters about Mother Theresa, Raja Ram Mohan Roy, Nelson Mandela amongst others. One common thing is all those chapters? They worked unselfishly for the society.
The aim of this blog is to debunk the theory of working "unselfishly for others". In no means, I am looking down on the achievements of these great people. Its a take on "unselfish" part and not their achievements !!
INCENTIVE TO WORK
The first sentence which people come up when speaking about these people is "They didn’t derive anything out of helping others". Strange, how years of socialism and bad academic teaching can continuously breed the wrong stuffs even in the most competent people.
Didn’t Mother Therasa really have any incentive to work for? Lets start with seeing whats an “incentive”.
Everyone dedicates time to one’s family and friends. We speak to them over phone, we travel miles to together to meet them amongst many other things. But why do we do that? We have an association with them; we get mental tranquility and happiness in what we did. We invest a lot of money and time and surely most often DON’T derive monetary benefits out of it. So, are we being “unselfish” here? NO!! We derive an “incentive” in finding happiness, mental tranquility etc.
Lets take an hypothetical situation. A software company XYZ Technologies is making huge losses. Its owner ABC knows that he would be better off shutting the company. However, he decides to continue because he doesn’t want to see the workers jobless. So, is ABC being “unselfish” here? NO!! The “incentive” here is he finds happiness in seeing his workers happy.
There is an incentive behind every action. Its just that Beauty lies in the eyes of the beholder !
Are they NOT great ?
Why is diamond costlier than water? Water is more important for life than diamond. People don’t die without diamond but people die without water. But still, why is diamond costly? Yes, you guessed it right. It because its tougher to find another unit of diamond than finding another unit of water.
Why athletes are paid more than college professors? The contribution of professors to the society is more valuable than athletes. But still we don’t see a professor earning as much as a Ronaldo or a Kaka. [ Hell, not even as much as a sullen, wrecked certain bayor ! ] Why? If I have to replace a Ronaldo from a team, the probability of finding a replacement is very less (Valencia, anyone ? :P]. However, finding a replacement for a college professor is not "that" difficult.
Similarly, people who work for the upliftment of others are greater than the lesser mortals like us because they are similar to athletes. It's tough to find people like them. But are they unselfish ? Hell NO.
People always have worked for incentives and always will. There is nothing like “working unselfishly”. Period.
During our entire years of schooling, we kept studying chapters about Mother Theresa, Raja Ram Mohan Roy, Nelson Mandela amongst others. One common thing is all those chapters? They worked unselfishly for the society.
The aim of this blog is to debunk the theory of working "unselfishly for others". In no means, I am looking down on the achievements of these great people. Its a take on "unselfish" part and not their achievements !!
INCENTIVE TO WORK
The first sentence which people come up when speaking about these people is "They didn’t derive anything out of helping others". Strange, how years of socialism and bad academic teaching can continuously breed the wrong stuffs even in the most competent people.
Didn’t Mother Therasa really have any incentive to work for? Lets start with seeing whats an “incentive”.
Everyone dedicates time to one’s family and friends. We speak to them over phone, we travel miles to together to meet them amongst many other things. But why do we do that? We have an association with them; we get mental tranquility and happiness in what we did. We invest a lot of money and time and surely most often DON’T derive monetary benefits out of it. So, are we being “unselfish” here? NO!! We derive an “incentive” in finding happiness, mental tranquility etc.
Lets take an hypothetical situation. A software company XYZ Technologies is making huge losses. Its owner ABC knows that he would be better off shutting the company. However, he decides to continue because he doesn’t want to see the workers jobless. So, is ABC being “unselfish” here? NO!! The “incentive” here is he finds happiness in seeing his workers happy.
There is an incentive behind every action. Its just that Beauty lies in the eyes of the beholder !
Are they NOT great ?
Why is diamond costlier than water? Water is more important for life than diamond. People don’t die without diamond but people die without water. But still, why is diamond costly? Yes, you guessed it right. It because its tougher to find another unit of diamond than finding another unit of water.
Why athletes are paid more than college professors? The contribution of professors to the society is more valuable than athletes. But still we don’t see a professor earning as much as a Ronaldo or a Kaka. [ Hell, not even as much as a sullen, wrecked certain bayor ! ] Why? If I have to replace a Ronaldo from a team, the probability of finding a replacement is very less (Valencia, anyone ? :P]. However, finding a replacement for a college professor is not "that" difficult.
Similarly, people who work for the upliftment of others are greater than the lesser mortals like us because they are similar to athletes. It's tough to find people like them. But are they unselfish ? Hell NO.
People always have worked for incentives and always will. There is nothing like “working unselfishly”. Period.
Saturday, September 12, 2009
Culture in Dream Land
It has been more than an year since I landed in the "Land of Dreams". I know people who can complain, go on and on about getting snubbed, flaws in American culture etc. Surprisingly, I have mostly good things to say. Unlike Many. USA is a wonderful nation. HANDS DOWN.
Yes, I have had my share of snubs here and there for being an alien. But in general, I have found people to be extremely affable, courteous and helpful. Be it a group of young girls helping me find my apartment when I "got lost" in Boulder, first day I reached there. Or group of guys and gals calling us over for the party in their house [ I had a forgetful time though because of my phobia for dogs :D ]. Or should I mention the American Professor who paid money for my Grad Assistance from his own hands and waited for one month for project funding to replenish the paid money. I can go on and on. Perhaps, I tie up good experiences with Americanism and who criticize do the opposite.
A few days back, I and my friend came across a group of Indians in local bus. They were shouting at the top of their voices in their local language. I and my friend felt like giving them a piece of our mind for shouting. Wonder what an American has to say about it. Hell no, if he does, its racism. I have seen group of Indians sing Hindi Song loudly in chorus in local bus like they have hired it. Then, there are guys who dont tip, though they know its the culture here. The list unravels endlessly and can get uglier but then criticizing what we do is not the point. Neither am I saying I am perfect. I have been dumb lots of times but at-least cant we avoid when we know we are not right ? We are the representatives of our nation. For an American, an Indian is what he comes across in a bus or during pizza delivery or in a saloon or the likes. Isn't the onus on us to give a good account of ourselves ? If we sow wheat, we cant eat lobsters.
Coming to American culture. Like in any culture, they have things which are good, things which are bad and things which we perceive to be bad because its bad in our culture. Its all about how one looks at things probably. Whats crowd in a bus is atmosphere in a disco. Almost.
I am amazed by how much Americans trust people and how courteous they are. Like it goes in a famous war-time movie, Americans are extremely proud people. They are extremely passionate about THEIR sports. A stadium with a capacity of more than 100,000 to just host university soccer games [ which would be mostly full capacity]. Their celebration of Christmas, revelry during weekends are mind-blowing. The list can be endless. Culture too, like Beauty, probably lies in the eyes of the beholder.
It amazes me when Indians complain about racism, cultural flaws etc. We Indians are some of the worst discriminators. We discriminate on the basis of language, religion, caste, status, race and list goes on. And then here we come and complain about apparent discrimination in an alien land. Speak about animal rights petition by mass murderers. Speak about discrimination complaints by Indians !!
Make no mistake, I am not a big follower of Americanism. I am too much of an Indian for that. But then, every coin has two sides. I am not calling "for the head". Pun intended.
Yes, I have had my share of snubs here and there for being an alien. But in general, I have found people to be extremely affable, courteous and helpful. Be it a group of young girls helping me find my apartment when I "got lost" in Boulder, first day I reached there. Or group of guys and gals calling us over for the party in their house [ I had a forgetful time though because of my phobia for dogs :D ]. Or should I mention the American Professor who paid money for my Grad Assistance from his own hands and waited for one month for project funding to replenish the paid money. I can go on and on. Perhaps, I tie up good experiences with Americanism and who criticize do the opposite.
A few days back, I and my friend came across a group of Indians in local bus. They were shouting at the top of their voices in their local language. I and my friend felt like giving them a piece of our mind for shouting. Wonder what an American has to say about it. Hell no, if he does, its racism. I have seen group of Indians sing Hindi Song loudly in chorus in local bus like they have hired it. Then, there are guys who dont tip, though they know its the culture here. The list unravels endlessly and can get uglier but then criticizing what we do is not the point. Neither am I saying I am perfect. I have been dumb lots of times but at-least cant we avoid when we know we are not right ? We are the representatives of our nation. For an American, an Indian is what he comes across in a bus or during pizza delivery or in a saloon or the likes. Isn't the onus on us to give a good account of ourselves ? If we sow wheat, we cant eat lobsters.
Coming to American culture. Like in any culture, they have things which are good, things which are bad and things which we perceive to be bad because its bad in our culture. Its all about how one looks at things probably. Whats crowd in a bus is atmosphere in a disco. Almost.
I am amazed by how much Americans trust people and how courteous they are. Like it goes in a famous war-time movie, Americans are extremely proud people. They are extremely passionate about THEIR sports. A stadium with a capacity of more than 100,000 to just host university soccer games [ which would be mostly full capacity]. Their celebration of Christmas, revelry during weekends are mind-blowing. The list can be endless. Culture too, like Beauty, probably lies in the eyes of the beholder.
It amazes me when Indians complain about racism, cultural flaws etc. We Indians are some of the worst discriminators. We discriminate on the basis of language, religion, caste, status, race and list goes on. And then here we come and complain about apparent discrimination in an alien land. Speak about animal rights petition by mass murderers. Speak about discrimination complaints by Indians !!
Make no mistake, I am not a big follower of Americanism. I am too much of an Indian for that. But then, every coin has two sides. I am not calling "for the head". Pun intended.
Saturday, March 28, 2009
Waqt na raha !!
Hey,
I was browsing recently through some of my old ghazals and I found this interesting.. Probably because it makes more sense during M.S than it made during work :D Hope you guys find it good enough..
Kisi ke yaad me bheegne ko waqt na raha..
wafaa se koyi rishtaa nibaane ko waqt na raha..
jis raftaar se ghuzar rahi he zindagi..
paak-e-iltimaas padne ko waqt na raha..
[paak == holy ; iltimaas == prayer]
kuch pal tanha rehene ko waqt na raha..
muraad-e-dil samajne ko waqt na raha..
jis raftaar se ghuzar rahi he zindagi..
qwaish-o-qwab sajaane ko waqt na raha..
[muraad == desire]
Kisi ke sittam paehechaan ne ko waqt na raha..
Khud ki ghum bayaan karne ko waqt na raha..
jis raftaar se ghuzar rahi he zindagi..
Do pal aasu bahaane ko waqt na raha..
[sittam == pain]
Izhaar-e-Mohabbat karne ko waqt na raha..
Humnawa ke intezaar ke liye kuch waqt na raha..
Jis raftaar se ghuzar rahi he zindagi..
Yaaro, halaaqat se pehle sone ko waqt na raha..
[Halaaqat == death]
I was browsing recently through some of my old ghazals and I found this interesting.. Probably because it makes more sense during M.S than it made during work :D Hope you guys find it good enough..
Kisi ke yaad me bheegne ko waqt na raha..
wafaa se koyi rishtaa nibaane ko waqt na raha..
jis raftaar se ghuzar rahi he zindagi..
paak-e-iltimaas padne ko waqt na raha..
[paak == holy ; iltimaas == prayer]
kuch pal tanha rehene ko waqt na raha..
muraad-e-dil samajne ko waqt na raha..
jis raftaar se ghuzar rahi he zindagi..
qwaish-o-qwab sajaane ko waqt na raha..
[muraad == desire]
Kisi ke sittam paehechaan ne ko waqt na raha..
Khud ki ghum bayaan karne ko waqt na raha..
jis raftaar se ghuzar rahi he zindagi..
Do pal aasu bahaane ko waqt na raha..
[sittam == pain]
Izhaar-e-Mohabbat karne ko waqt na raha..
Humnawa ke intezaar ke liye kuch waqt na raha..
Jis raftaar se ghuzar rahi he zindagi..
Yaaro, halaaqat se pehle sone ko waqt na raha..
[Halaaqat == death]
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