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.
Saturday, November 14, 2009
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]
Saturday, December 13, 2008
AAJ USHE MILNE AAYA HOON
Kisi ko aaj mudatton ke baad milne aaya hoon..
Jishe kabhi diya tha dil, aaj ushe milne aaya hoon..
hazaron baate he bataane ko, hote bekaar he guftugu ke liye..
jiski sifat karte shayaar bana tha mein, aaj ushe milne aaya hoon..
[guftugu == conversation ; sifat == praise]
nazre jhuk nahi rahe he, dekhne ko ushe aakhen bechain he..
jiski tasweer palkon mein chupaaya tha kabhi, aaj ushe milne aaya hoon..
[ bechain == anxious; palkon == eye lashes ]
bekudi chaa rahi he dil pe, dhadkane bekaraar ho rahe he..
ruuh mein pyaar banaake kabhi rakha tha jishe, aaj ushe milne aaya hoon..
[ ruuh == soul ]
par khuda ke waasute wafa ki baate na karo, bewafaa ban gaya hoon mein..
hum-raaz banke mujhe jisne sawaara he, ushe chodke ishe milne aaya hoon..
Kisi ko aaj mudatton ke baad milne aaya hoon..
jisne hume zindagi banaaya tha, ushe chodke ishe milne aaya hoon..
Jishe kabhi diya tha dil, aaj ushe milne aaya hoon..
hazaron baate he bataane ko, hote bekaar he guftugu ke liye..
jiski sifat karte shayaar bana tha mein, aaj ushe milne aaya hoon..
[guftugu == conversation ; sifat == praise]
nazre jhuk nahi rahe he, dekhne ko ushe aakhen bechain he..
jiski tasweer palkon mein chupaaya tha kabhi, aaj ushe milne aaya hoon..
[ bechain == anxious; palkon == eye lashes ]
bekudi chaa rahi he dil pe, dhadkane bekaraar ho rahe he..
ruuh mein pyaar banaake kabhi rakha tha jishe, aaj ushe milne aaya hoon..
[ ruuh == soul ]
par khuda ke waasute wafa ki baate na karo, bewafaa ban gaya hoon mein..
hum-raaz banke mujhe jisne sawaara he, ushe chodke ishe milne aaya hoon..
Kisi ko aaj mudatton ke baad milne aaya hoon..
jisne hume zindagi banaaya tha, ushe chodke ishe milne aaya hoon..
Thursday, November 20, 2008
Kannada Poem : Aatmaa Neenu ee Jeevanake
Well, it has actually been a long time since I wrote a poem a Kannada.. I ventured into writing one recently.. I find writing in Kannada extremely tough and my poor Kannada Language does not help matters much.. Not sure how it came out.. Hopefully it isnt ridiculously bad..
Balaanu belagisalu bandiruva divya-kirana neenu..
Jeevanake hosa chaitanya tandiruva tangaali neenu..
Munjaane neenu, Mussanje neenu, Beladingalu neenu ee jeevanake..
Sakhi, nee illade na eralaaru, atma neenu ee jeevanake..
Jeevanake ramya haadanu haadalu bandiruva koogile neenu..
Baaleege nava kampina sparsha tandiruva gulaabi neenu..
pada gunja neenu, kavite neenu, saaramsha neenu ee jeevanake..
Sakhi, nee illade na eralaaru, atma neenu ee jeevanake..
Jeevanda payanake haadi toralu bandiruva daari-deepa neenu..
Prati vondu hejjegu jothe-goodi saagalu bandiruva sangaati neenu..
kadalu neenu, kadalu teera neenu, ambiga neenu ee jeevanake..
Sakhi, nee illade na eralaaru, atma neenu ee jeevanake..
Balaanu belagisalu bandiruva divya-kirana neenu..
Jeevanake hosa chaitanya tandiruva tangaali neenu..
Munjaane neenu, Mussanje neenu, Beladingalu neenu ee jeevanake..
Sakhi, nee illade na eralaaru, atma neenu ee jeevanake..
Jeevanake ramya haadanu haadalu bandiruva koogile neenu..
Baaleege nava kampina sparsha tandiruva gulaabi neenu..
pada gunja neenu, kavite neenu, saaramsha neenu ee jeevanake..
Sakhi, nee illade na eralaaru, atma neenu ee jeevanake..
Jeevanda payanake haadi toralu bandiruva daari-deepa neenu..
Prati vondu hejjegu jothe-goodi saagalu bandiruva sangaati neenu..
kadalu neenu, kadalu teera neenu, ambiga neenu ee jeevanake..
Sakhi, nee illade na eralaaru, atma neenu ee jeevanake..
Saturday, October 4, 2008
Cooking and Messing..
Well, first things first. I DONT find cooking boring. Rather I find it a pretty interesting and entertaining past-time. Definitely would be game to learn some interesting preparations :)
But unfortunately, I seem to have this insatiable tenacity to mess up minute and highly unexpected things. And cooking is no exception !
It was perhaps a couple of weeks after we had moved into the apartment. I kept the cooker to boil rice and after sometime, burning smell starting flirting with our smelling senses.
So, I and a couple of my room-mates hustled to kitchen. While I and another room-mate(Sumukh), started removing the cooker, another room-mate,Gokul, as always, holding his "caution" flag, stood a bit(?) far behind us(smart or scared?). After some-time, Sumukh discovered, that I had missed to put water in the cooker.
While it was easy to pass this one as starting woes, today's incident is a bit inexplicable even if we consider the adage "no one is perfect" !
It was couple of minutes after I setup the cooker and steam fizzling out very badly. I called Sumukh and he made me change the arrangement of utensils in cooker.
After some-time, it was deja-vu. The burning smell and three of us entered. Only this time, it was me, Sumukh and another room-mate(Sujith). We observed that no pressure had built up.
While Sujith examined the cooker, Sumukh confirmed that water was there inside this time [I learn from my mistakes and make newer ones :-)]. Then Sujith found out eventually probably after examining for 10 minutes that there nothing much wrong. Except that I had closed the cooker using the lid of some other cooker !!
Hmmm, there is nothing much I could have. Both lids look alike, errrr, actually they dont. The one I, Sujith and Sumukh use[we cook rice separately by applying division of labor], is very clean ;)
But unfortunately, I seem to have this insatiable tenacity to mess up minute and highly unexpected things. And cooking is no exception !
It was perhaps a couple of weeks after we had moved into the apartment. I kept the cooker to boil rice and after sometime, burning smell starting flirting with our smelling senses.
So, I and a couple of my room-mates hustled to kitchen. While I and another room-mate(Sumukh), started removing the cooker, another room-mate,Gokul, as always, holding his "caution" flag, stood a bit(?) far behind us(smart or scared?). After some-time, Sumukh discovered, that I had missed to put water in the cooker.
While it was easy to pass this one as starting woes, today's incident is a bit inexplicable even if we consider the adage "no one is perfect" !
It was couple of minutes after I setup the cooker and steam fizzling out very badly. I called Sumukh and he made me change the arrangement of utensils in cooker.
After some-time, it was deja-vu. The burning smell and three of us entered. Only this time, it was me, Sumukh and another room-mate(Sujith). We observed that no pressure had built up.
While Sujith examined the cooker, Sumukh confirmed that water was there inside this time [I learn from my mistakes and make newer ones :-)]. Then Sujith found out eventually probably after examining for 10 minutes that there nothing much wrong. Except that I had closed the cooker using the lid of some other cooker !!
Hmmm, there is nothing much I could have. Both lids look alike, errrr, actually they dont. The one I, Sujith and Sumukh use[we cook rice separately by applying division of labor], is very clean ;)
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