Sunday, December 26, 2004

I would say Newton's third law was for sure an adaptation of certain Hindu philosophy and our ancestor's superstitions. If you want to call them procedures, well.. you may name it whatever way you want to. In fact certain superstitions are actually measures to nullify the reaction. I say 'certain' because I was able to guess the hidden meaning of a few of the superstitions only. Newton's third law says: Every action has an opposite and equal reaction. Now for example, there is a case where elders say: You plan to travel somewhere and at the time of your departure you hurt yourself. The superstition is that it is not a good sign and to nullify it, you should always drink water, sit for while and then leave the place. Ok. The only sane reason behind this could be that when you have hurt yourself, there are chances that you might feel dizzy and is always better to rest for a while, make the body feel at ease by drinking some water and then travel.

Here the action is hurting yourself. The reaction is that you might feel dizzy and prescribed action to be taken is that you drink water, rest for a while, to get rid of the uncomfortable feeling.

Another example is to wash or wet a coconut before you spilt it. In fact, I have been always been the kind to contradict my parents and ask them why I will have to do this before something else is done. Unfortunately, they would not have an answer to my incredible questions. I was just thinking about something else and managed to find an answer to this. Oh ok is this what they call Serendipity? Anyway, the conclusion that I came to is that, when a coconut is ripped off from its hard covering, the hair on the coconut still stays on its body. Generally, it is a practice that, when the coconut is split the water from it is saved in a container and then consumed. Now, what happens if the coconut is not wet? The strands of the hair fall into the coconut water and we will need to take trouble drinking it. Now, when the coconut is wet we wont have such a trouble.

Well, to tell you the truth, I should say I was able boost my confidence and categorize myself as an intelligent creature only after such occasions where I managed to find reasons behind such procedures.

Sunday, December 05, 2004

Phew...what a mind boggling site. I mean sight!! The moment I saw it, I decided that it is for sure a bloggable incident. I know for sure nobody is going to believe that such a thing can happen. Neither did I. Well anyway, where do I start...ok. It was a bright morning. I would have had started my day quite normally I suppose, because I don’t quite remember anything significant. So, I shall give you a glimpse of one of my normal starts. I got up around 6.30 in the morning. The 'Cat' got ready by around 8.00 am and started on its 'Black'. Well that’s how a friend of mine, Rameez, calls me, when I go on my bike!! He calls me 'Black Cat'.

Every time I set out to my office, I need to pass through an ordeal: crossing the closed railway gates. It is an art to cross the pair of closed railway gates. Adjustments have to be made, as the first gate requires power and second gate a special talent or knack. Well when that is done, after surpassing the suburbs, the next thing that I need to concentrate is, on crossing-over to the other side of the main road from the side road. Many a times I have felt so proud of my driving skills, seeing the way I handle this task. I even come to conclusions such as, 'I would have made an excellent racer or rather a maneuverer when it comes to riding two wheelers, such balance, such techniques, such...' OK… I can hear my inner voice warning me, 'Don’t overdo things'. So I shall just stop here.

Anyway continuing on the journey to my office, after I cross the main road, I need to take a 'U' turn. Well this turn is, I could call it, the technical start of my journey to my workplace. This road being the road that almost at least one person of every ten thousand of the population present in Chennai would take - in a week, if not daily. I start afresh from this point, with riding the bike as my mainstream thought, with utmost concentration, with a feeling of 'I am one among the adults qualified to ride on one of the main roads of the city'. It is not that I think of all that I wrote here, every time I go on this road.

As I went a about a tenth of a kilometer, I saw a man on the same road on his Bajaj M80, a possession that every food vendor would have. By the looks of it, I guessed he was a retail fish dealer. Oh yeah, I shall give you hints of identifying a retail fish vendor. One: he would be dark in color. Two: he would wear a soiled shirt; I write ‘soiled’, because one will never be able to register the color of the shirt and other aspects of such people at the same time. It is something like Heisenberg's uncertainty principle: You would never be able to measure the position and the momentum of a particle at the same instance. So you have to assume that he would ideally be wearing that sought of color. Three: he would be wearing the typical striped shorts that covers half of his thighs and just slightly above it would his actual other half of his dress: the lungi. I wonder how they ever manage to do this: folding the lungi to a length just above their short's length. Four: He would be seated in such a way that one slight push from behind, he would be out of his vehicle. These guys have so much consideration to their luggage! A consideration that I can’t imagine he giving it to his newly wed wife.

This luggage, a rectanglish box rested on the stand, occupies three-fourth of the bike. The box is ensured that it is well placed on the stand, with the usage of the rubber tube running alongside the opening of the box that is looped from beneath the driver’s seat. Now this main road is where there is a considerable amount of traffic. As obviously I wasn’t quite impressed with this guy. However handsome the guy may look, one can never be impressed by the side profile of a guy fitting the characteristics of my description given above. After all this, my eyes did turn towards the guy!! Not exactly towards the guy, but somewhere rear to whole setup.

Now, the box that I mentioned was covered with a cement sack: a sack made of synthetic strands. This is another trademark of a fish vendor. The box was loosely covered with this cement sack. With the said considerable amount of traffic remaining on the road, I saw a crow perching on the rectangular box. I didn’t know from where it originated!! But I just saw it landing on the box. Our man would be traveling at a speed of 30 Km/hr. My first wonder was how the crow managed to land on the box. While I was still wondering, the crow started pulling aside one part of the cement sack. After that was done, it pulled the other part of the covering from the opposite side. 'Amazing!!!' I thought. I suppose those are exactly your thoughts. After doing all these, I saw its head vanish into the box. Guess what? the next second it was holding a fish in between its beak. Yessss a FISHHHHH. Oh my Goddd!!! Unbelievable.

As a human being I was able to identify the setup of a retail fish vendor. How did the CROW ever manage to do it??? As human beings I believe we all have the excellent capability to adjust to the speed and position. An excellent proof of that is a teenager managing to get onto the moving bus. But how did a CROW ever manage to do this??? As a human being we all have a moderately fair road sense. Where did the CROW pick it from? Well believe me, such a sight it was. We think we are all intelligent creatures!! Well, take the last sentence in place of the usual tinge of sarcasm present in my writings.

This happened quite a few weeks back, say about 3 weeks back. It has still managed to stay on top of my mind. AMAZINGGGG!!! That’s Intel Inside in its true sense!

Monday, November 01, 2004

Last time i spoke to my brother, he had asked me to blog without fail. I didnt find a reason to, so I didnt. I cant blog unless I find a reason to. I have many doubts with regard to the identity of teh bloggers or rather the source of inspiration to blog. Are most of the bloggers loners in some way? Is it that they imagine they have an unknown friend out there who can shoulder and support their thoughts? Or is it that they plan not to let out their thoughts and instead convert them into masterpieces? Or is it that even after all the catharsis, they still have a few of those bitter thoughts on their mind and would want to release them by blogging. And now, I do have a reason to blog.

Monday, October 25, 2004

I have always wondered how poets write poems especially the ones that write lyrics for a situation in movies. Where do they draw the inspiration? I am sure any person who is in love will tend to craft poems. Any person who is in poverty may write poems, but of a different genre. But we can’t call them poets. Eventually, poems originate when there is a sustaining source of inspiration and when a person has a strong feeling about something.

I have had strong feelings about many things, but nothing has left deep impressions on mind like the way love has, not even my passionate thought of joining the army. I can’t call it love. I have shared this kind of feeling with a few people in my lives. These are relationships that I treasure.

I am sure one can get immersed in a person completely.

Hear them say 'Please don’t look at me. Your eyes are too strong.'

Kill them with your words and still get away for what you did.

Think exactly the same thing at a given instance and acknowledge the same when the other person blurts it out.

Feel good about the match in the wavelength.

Feel the pain when the other person is in deep trouble.

Sit a thousand miles away but still feel restless when you know that the person will be undergoing one of the toughest moments of ones life then.

Sit just opposite them and feel they have departed you and feel sad for that.

Walk a few kilometers amidst the body ache, just because they insisted, not feel angry and instead smile at them.

Do something that bores you just for a simple fact that doing so will lead to something that they treasure.

Hear them say 'You are such a comfort', even when all you did was just to listen without uttering a word.

Write a few lines about them, read what you have written, relive those written moments and yearn for the same to happen again, with a slight pain inside your throat.

When you land up writing a few of those poetic lines, when you never planned for one.

Now what can I call the above. A poem?? Not sure. Those are just my thoughts translated into words. Well I suppose that is just about it. If I think anymore, I may get into a state where I cant even translate them into words. I shall stop for now. I have to do a planning for the entries of my blog. And not just write. Maybe when I run out of ideas for my blog I can use them. Bye for now!!

Tuesday, October 19, 2004

Well, today I shall for sure keep up my words and write just about the interesting things that happened over the weekend. The tamil movie 'Azhagiya Theeyae' was playing in one of the mediocre theatres in my locality. You need not stand in a queue to get tickets, search for seat numbers in this theatre. It is under your discretion to sit wherever you want to, under the fan, on the floor, wherever you want to. Though you cannot expect high quality seating arrangements and sound effects, there are always advantages such as not having to wait to get the tickets, a fairly decent picture quality, choose the seating that suits you best. All these are absolute welcome breaks when compared to the disappointment of not getting the tickets or the uncertainty in getting the tickets when you make a hasty decision of watching a movie that runs in a posh theatre.

The movie as such was good. But I am not going to write about the movie, but about the things that I found interesting right from the minute I entered the theatre till the minute the actual movie started.

The screen was kept busy right from the fifth minute I entered the theatre. Our standard FILM DIVISION presents title came up. Unlike the usual faded visual with thousand and one dots on it and the distorted voice in the background of a documentary, this was quite engaging right from the start. You should be surprised if I say that there were a few plaudits for the documentary, considering the fact that there were only a handful in the theatre!!

Well it shows a potter, who makes clay pots and utensils. The frame encloses his house in the background. Guess what the potter and the surrounding is made of? Clay. And how does the director differentiate between the clay utensils and the potter himself? Well till the time the untamed clay is on his wheel, both he and the clay are in a wet grayish green color. Once the puppet potter shapes the clay, it turns into a dry and hard textured red colored object. The potter makes utensils, sells them and makes a living out of it.

One fine day, he decides to make something different. He makes a face. He removes it from the wheel and keeps it aside. And there stands a girl. That’s his daughter. His clay daughter is engaged in the household work all through the day: sweeping and mopping the floor, cooking food, transferring water from the well to the water pots that are nothing but their very own dry and hard textured red colored objects. After a while, in the background, emerges the chorus of students reading out the basics of any language - the ABCs. After our clayey girl is done with the chores, she stands by the window, and mimes the pattern of the letters.

This happens daily. One day, our argillaceous potter, who is seated at the door, takes a break from his routine, looks into the house and happens to notice this. He then turns his head to the right of his wheel and notices a sheet of newspaper. Can you guess what he sees on the sheet? You will not be able to, unless you have seen the picture yourself!! KALPANA CHAVALA. I went, ohhhh cmonnn. Didn’t the director find any person, other than her. Agreed it is a very good concept, and people would readily relate it to the resurging flower power, but somehow it seemed very ugly to see a smiling kalpana chavala attired in a blue suit amongst her other gray haired colleagues.

As long as the director reaches the audience in the right sense it is fine. I suppose the director has a clear understanding of the audience for his documentary. Neither are they a set of MBA aspirants waiting for their turn in a group discussion panel nor are they the censor committee who oppose brain drain.

The unexpected happens next. The potter imagines his daughter in the place of KC. The next minute, he calls his daughter. Takes up some clay and guess what he makes out of his magic wheel? A slate! That’s creativity! - and don’t you ask Who is creative? - it could be both the director and the potter. Slate out of a clay wheel!! Ok fine. Enough of mockery. He hands it over to his daughter and sends her to the school.

I forgot to mention the high point of patriotism. The potter's clayey daughter marches towards the school with pride. The school bears our national flag. Atttttaaaaention!!! Please interpret it as 'attention', but with a tinge patriotic fervency. At the end of it comes the slogan and then the titles.

OK. I am done with blogging for today. Seems like blogging occupies too much of my time space. I suppose it will be so, until I am well versed with the art of writing with minimal thinking, or rather develop the art of writing a final draft as I think. I know that’s a long way to go. By the way, there is one more interesting thing that I wanted to share. I shall write about it the next time I blog. Till then... auf wiedersehen!!
I remember that I had promised to write a few interesting anecdotes revolving around my watching the tamil movie, 'Azhagiya Theeyae'. I shall keep up my promise and write about it.

This is an intersting obsevation that I made. Everytime I am anrgy, I would feel a rise in temperature around my ears. Now, I understand why cartoonists drew clouds beside each ear and portray them as being really angry. I agree one should reason out the age-old concepts and representations; But not at one's own cost!!

One more information that i would like to share is the word catharsis. (catharsis /kuh-THAR-siss/: n, the release of pent-up emotions. DERIVATIVES cathartic adj. ORIGIN Greek katahirein 'cleanse')

Now, I shall get back to some work and write anecdotes later. Please remind yourself the 'Regurgitating Capabilities' and the 'Self-Developed art of forgetting things that I want to forget'. :-) arrivederci ;-)

Sunday, October 17, 2004

Yesterday at around 11 pm, I happened to be a bit restless; could be primarily because of absence of the company - the lone and steady company - that i have been keeping for the past 8 years. Can u believe? its EIGHT YEARS. Its good to know a person for that long - but considering the fact that i might have to lose out on that person in a few months, i saw this hiatus as a forerunner to the same - and hence was in a very pensive mood last night.

I usually ponder a lot, over such unchangeable things. My (age old and very famous) way of forgetting worries would be sleeping it off, if it was day time and losing out on sleep if it was night. I know that it is a very healthy way to maintain one's mind and psyche. But this time I thought I would do something productive. I mean... productive in my own way. I thought I shall get peep into somebody else's open space. I mean the blogs.

I was wondering where to start? Meanwhile, I visited my blog and clicked the 'next blog' link. Unlike how i thought, the blog that the browser displayed is not the one that is next in the alphabetical order. It chooses a blog in random. It could be in Latin, in Arabic, in Spanish, in any language. In fact I bumped into a some revolutionary movement’s blog. The next minute I closed it :-).

Thinking about the word random - is there a degree in randomness? I am not sure on the logic behind random number generators (RNG). The RNG program should certainly be a piece of code that runs in a loop. It should certainly have a formula that generates consecutive numbers or a sequence that repeats itself after a very long interval. I suppose, the lesser the chances of deciphering the relation between the two conscutive numbers the greater the randomness. With respect to sequence, the sequence should be long enough that one will not be able to follow the pattern. Anyway, if any of you know the logic behind it, please let me know. I know i can google and find out how an RNG works. I know I will!!

Coming back to my rambling, I thought it was too random and I wouldn’t reach anywhere if move so. So i decided to start from the links present in some of the blogs that I know. I found quite a few interesting blogs. The one that caught my attention was '-- L-a-P-S-u-S --- L-i-n-G-u-a-E --'. The minute a saw these words, I was taken aback by surprise. :-).

By the way, I have immense interest in etymology - the study of words and its origins - and in words that have a foreign root (of course English by itself is a conglomeration of foreign languages). Lapsus Linguae and Lapsus Calami were the two words that I discovered when I was looking out for the meaning of a word. They mean 'slip of the tongue' and 'slip of the pen'. I remember the Hindi word: Kalam that means pen.

Anyway, I was awestruck seeing the blog. As I wrote the word 'awestruck', I wanted to be sure of the meaning of the adjective that I used. Word Web says 'Having or showing a feeling of mixed reverence and respect and wonder and dread'. Well, expect for the word 'Dread' this is the word that would be right to use to describe my feelings. I felt so because, I saw the translation of Suprabatham, wordings of Swami Vivekanada, the blog of a Geminine (well, so much for not believing in sun sings!!!), seems like a chennaite (I have used the word 'seems', because I don’t remember seeing the word Chennai). I then read the profile and it said that the blogger has interests in violin and the one of the favorite movies is 'Life is Beautiful'. Wow! that’s amazing. I wanted to read the archives. Luckily the blogger started blogging just a few months back and that made my idea turn to a resolve. More so because I would be able to achieve what I thought - to read the complete archives section. Overall a good blog and by the end of it I was under the impression that the person reads a lot, unlike me. A college goer, unlike me, 21 years unlike me, the part on the 'religion', went over the top... Anyway, so that’s my rendering of the blog 'nous-reigns' - '"common sense"-reigns'.

I wanted to comment - but then I lost the courage (not courage but....probably I would have gotten into the brittle shell that I get into whenever I see a good piece of work. The brittle shell being: Me being unable to perform the way my fellow human beings perform. Forget that - its brittle anyway!! I think I have overdone blogging today. It shows - because 'New brooms sweep well!'. By the way, I saw 'Azhagiya Theeyae' and shall blog about the things that I found interesting, the next time I blog. Trust me! I believe I have one of the most powerful brains in the world. One of the unique features is the regurgitating capabilities that I have. Not to forget the self-developed art of forgetting the things I want to forget. A Perfect Paradox. Right!!

Saturday, October 16, 2004

Well, in fact I was wondering what a blog really is... I was introduced to blog through Mahesh - my blessed brother - who is studying at IIM Lucknow - a fact that I would be happy to reveal to anybody - so would anybody - anyway... coming back to the what-a-blog-really-is question... when i dont understand somethin, i use the dictionalry to get to the basics of it and then try to get the hang of the concept - be it physics, electronics, grammar. So here i go again... to the basics. I opened the browser, typed www.dictionary.com, entered 'blog' in the field provided and there we go...I found what you see below.

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Main Entry: weblog
Function: noun
Definition: a personal Web site that provides updated headlines and news articles of other sites that are of interest to the user, also may include journal entries, commentaries and recommendations compiled by the user; also written web log, Weblog; also called blog

Usage: computing

Source: Webster's New Millennium™ Dictionary of English, © 2003 Lexico Publishing Group, LLC

blog
n : a shared on-line journal where people can post diary entries about their personal experiences and hobbies [syn: web log]

Source: WordNet ® 2.0, © 2003 Princeton University

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