Love, Hatred and Seclusion

If too much of anything is bad, I seek hatred for the good!
If I call it a principle of life ... it is quite acceptable that if we have too much of something, in the near or distant future it turns out to be something else which most of the times is entirely opposite of what we seek. Human nature is to seek happiness but do we get always what we seek? The answer is no. And in worst cases where we seek and get too much of happiness, sorrow accompanies as well. Too much of anything is bad. Like too much of food, alcohol, sleep etc etc. Isn't it true for every small thing? It becomes an addiction; but, of a different kind. You are too much addicted to leave it and it just remains in the heart and the hormones, never touching your nervous system.
Similar is the case with too much of love. Though this thought is unnatural, but it cannot be neglected. We do not realize it as everything goes good and we are addicted to it. But if the hypothesis is correct, it ought to be true in this case as well. When there is too much of positive energy, too much of smiles around, too much of joy you get a good sleep tonight but yes there can soon be a knock on the door and there awaits sorrow.
Now its not easy to evade all your positive energy and all the good that is happening to you because of the above stated stupid thought. But there is a time which you like to spend with yourself. That makes sense. Right? The reason why we try to do so is to go away at a mediocre level where there is neither love nor hatred. Or sometimes it is like a phase between these two.
This is the time of seclusion. We talk to ourselves, ask us questions, know the part of you which you have lost in smiles or in tears, the part of you which you lost in others smiles or tears.
Seclusion meets you in dream and in dreams there is no sorrow or even if its is there, it gives you the confidence that its not true.

Poegination

The moon today is full, in its full glory or rather beauty, behaves like a 5 year old, plays Hide and Seek with the clouds and with all of us. An artist is playing with colours under the flash of a street light. A little boy throwing pebbles in the water trying to aim the moon, whenever he sees it. The roadside beggar is serenading his last songs of the dark with his old guitar waiting for the people to come out and admire the beauty. A cold breeze is hitting hard against the eyes. Nightingales are heard no more.

Project to make us Unique!

This is about the much talked about Unique Identification Number project headed by Nilekani. His interview with CNN-IBN's Karan Thapar was an eye opener in this matter. Though this project looks very fancy and on the lines of the SSN numbers of US (as we just try to follow them), the feasibility and the success of this project could gain confidence not before answering hundreds of queries and worries.
The technology -
The technology has a very vital role to play in this ordeal. Mr Nilekani claims that the technology is available and it just needs to scale up. But the project lead is himself not very sure of this. He was talking like any fresher techie would do. There were many research snippets that Karan Thapar always brought into picture throughout the interview, most of them from the London School of Economics. One of them claimed that the high end technology itself is not available which can promise privacy and security even in UK's case. If it were at least available on a small scale without any flaw, then we could think of scaling it up. And even if it comes, it will come at a very high price. That's the next concern.
The cost -
1.5 lakhs crores is the estimate just to implement it once. The hidden costs, maintenance etc comes later. Mr Nilekani claims that the cost would be 10 folds lesser again not very sure of what he was saying. To put it in simple words, we cant take a call on the cost right now but surely its going to be a huge amount. And if this amount doesn't get support that it seeks from the technology, then it is no better than our driving licenses, PAN cards and Electoral Voter's Cards.
The Databse -
The major problem comes here. For every Indian to have a Unique number, there needs to be massive database which has to keep changing and updating continuously. The question here is not about the database but about the authenticity of the information in this database. We all know how easy it is to get your license, PAN card etc. Can the new system prevent this? I think this is not even in the hands of the technology but on the finger-tips of our unscrupulous bureaucrats. Now if this number is going to decide our fate wherever we go, the authenticity really becomes important. Also as pointed out by Karan Thapar, how are we going to solve the problems of mistakes that are often seen in our passports which by far is the most authentic piece of identification.
Privacy and Security -
Do you want any person to just log-in some webpage, enter some digits and get all information about you? Ok lets accept this, that the information would not be made public and steps would be taken to prevent information extraction as Mr Nilekani said the answers would be in "yes" or "no" when you ask the database some question. Our politicians would indeed have access to this information which they would use for their own benefits without falling in the eyes of the law. Also as challenging and secure you make it for the hackers the more efforts they will put into this. Can the existing technology prevent really important private information at an effective cost?
The time -
Even if we assume that all odds are in favour, the time that its going to take to establish this system fully through all generations with least error is indeterminate. By the time it starts resolving errors, a new set of change, update and errors would bother the system managers.

If we compare this with the SSN system of the US, we would say that if it was possible in US then why not in India. First we should understand what an SSN number is. This is a kind of identification number which was started for taxation purpose just like our PAN number. Then gradually as the laws changed, even kids who as dependents of working parents needed to have a SSN number to claim income tax benefits. Also, with time more information was embedded into this number. But duplicates, erroneous cases always questioned the importance of this number.
Furthermore, researchers at Carnegie Mellon University have demonstrated an algorithm which uses publicly available personal information to reconstruct a given SSN. Exacerbating the problem of using the social security number as an identifier is the fact that the social security card contains no biometric identifiers of any sort, making it essentially impossible to tell whether a person using a certain SSN is truly the person to whom it was issued without relying on some other means of documentation (which may itself have been falsely procured through use of the fraudulent SSN). And now there have been thoughts over passing laws that restricts the use of SSN numbers for many commercial purposes.
Records say that 80% Indians have an electoral voter's card. Everyone who pays tax has a PAN. We are not trying to put more information in these numbers but to create a totally different database of information and make another card with this unique number. We are planning to include biometric details of a person as well and promising privacy. We are inviting a lot of cost and insecurity and the technology has her hands up.
There are a lot of variables in this equation. If it happens the way it wants to be, then this would set an example, a code, a process for the world. It is a nightmare project but not impossible. Lets hope that this system would really be helpful for the mass and would address our problems in a much better way. We are at an infant stage in this project and surely we can expect a lot of developments and the questions would be gradually answered.

Good luck Mr Nilekani!

A Midnight Stroll

I was just out on a regular stroll outside my apartment
Near the pan shop two working guys (as evident from the Identity card around their neck) were smoking, their lips were moving and there was a look of frustration. Its a thursday night, must have been a tiring week already! As i neared the shop to fetch my pan, I could hear the moving lips. "Dude.. its too much man .. that lady never understands...she has called us at this hour!!...what time is he coming man .. give him a call"..." Its all the same ... me, you or your best friend...everyone is at the same stage .. just playing games with each other.." "... yeah but .. leave it .. " " .. or rather .. take it and go ..take it and go (Russell Peters style) " "...haha" .. a pretty monotonic discussion with some sense attached to it .. and then a light end... and then within my head "..fantastic (Russell again)".
A drunk guy is my next encounter. Sometimes i just dont understand what do they drink or how much do they drink that they are like a walking stone .. sometimes sleeping by the roadside ... sometimes just hit by a speeding truck.. not even knowing that life is departing them...back to the guy ... he falls down on the road .. almost in front of a cab ... the driver frowns, comes out picks him up, people start extending their hands for help, one tight slap right under his ears, one and a half spin and then all the helping hands were gone. All this happened within a minute! The drunk guy lay drunk, the sleep will induce a drug into him that he wont remember a second of this. Pretty disturbing isn't it. An annoyed driver .. uses all his energy to pick him up just to bestow his peevishness upon him. But the other character in the play jus smiles and says "I don't feel anything..... Did u just hit me?" No one loses no on gains. Its an illusion and upon us to accept and be happy in our own ways.
I left the chaos and moved along the woods by the roadside. I could see the fireflies sparkling and hear the chittering sound of the dark. The music was asking me to stop and behold the beauty of the moonlit sky. Its rejoice above, its bright above, nothing is hidden above. But, this dark aint at all sorrowful. Its dark here, everything is hidden here. Sometimes when we seek happiness far in place, far in time or far in emotions, we walk on our present, crushing it. Most of the times, the grief or the regret cannot be replaced completely even by two folds of the happiness we get.
I saw an old couple sauntering in the same picture, probably talking their past to each other. But they don't care. As they approcahed me, I greeted them with a smile and I got back the sweetest thing I wud expect from them "God bless you ..." The old man then started saying "I was like you ... I used to greet her mother the same way u did...But you are better ... you know why? ..'coz I used to do it with an intention, you are probably vacant in that thought of yours"... I returned a smile back, "Yes, Sir... Goodnight" They passed by, I turned back and I saw them holding their hands and walking in absolute unison and peace and nothing to bother them.
By far it was probably the best times in the dark I had. I decided to wrap it up and go back. From a distance I saw a man and a woman on the roadside pavement in some activity with a guy who is behaving wierd. I moved fast to take a closer look. As I correctly guessed, they were the same couple I met minutes back. They were sprinkling water from their tiny pet-bottle on a man's face who appears unconcious...Was he the same guy? Yes he was. But why would that old couple who were in their own business bother about him. A crowd was gathering. I could see some blood around his nose. I could even see some trapped tears on grannie's wrinkled cheeks. I was afraid to go ahead and find the truth. When people started speaking, I could hear one or two voices "call ambulance" "their old servant" "his daughter's marriage next week" "poor guy"... As he was getting cold, people saw a cab parked by the restaurant. Was it the same cab? Yes it was. "where is the driver" as they patted on the windows and rear glass... The Driver comes out "whats the matter" .. The matter is explained. The driver was reluctant .. " I have to go to office, drop them" (pointing towards the pan shop). They were still there smoking away their frustration. Seeing fingers pointed at them, the come close to take a look at the incident... "Did u hit him?" " I did not, he fell in front of the car"... "Then why are you scared? take him to the clinic" "we will take an auto-rickshaw" ... "but Sir" ... they left .. turning their backs ...the crowd cleared...It was midnight. I walked back home .. As if all of it was jus a dream and nothin had happened.

Classic Hits Radio

Why am I not posting?

Its been long that i posted anything. And why? Lesser coffee sessions and lesser chats..

Work has become hectic nowadays ... a strange phenomenon in the times of recession .. but yes its true. And when it becomes hectic, it becomes boring. 

I am in India, probably the country which is least affected by recession as it appears, if you do not consider the lay-offs. The part of our economy that is dependent on the west is affected only i believe. If you are reading the newspaper everyday, you would know. Recent headlines being, air conditioners and refrigerators sales increase 35%, Indian auto majors in all time high profits, PSUs declaring record quaterly results etc etc. Indian market is not affected. A huge part of the working class are employed in Govt jobs and their salaries have seen a steep rise in the recent year. The middle class is getting richer, cultivating luxurious desires in their mind and they are not stopping themeselves fulfilling them. Thanks to them, cash is still flowing in the market.

When you come to the real estate the story is a bit different. Their  major customer is the highly paid IT sector which has seen a downfall recently. The reason being their dependency on the American economy which is in deep shit. But comparatively with the measures that they have taken, for instance, major cost cuttings by reducing travels, paid leaves, lesser use of resources etc etc., they now realise what were they misusing and that their profits could have been even higher had they walked on this line before. Sometimes, recession looks to be an Awareness mission, an eye-opener to the executives running billion dollar businesses. As it is rightly said, you get the maximum out of your brain when you actually need it which in turn reflects that recession has asked us to start thinking, to make more use of our grey cells, which we would have never done otherwise. 

I too work for a company whose economy is largely dependent on US and I am fortunate enough that I am still not jobless though i do not expect much increments in our salaries. The first increment, the first promotion might not be as exciting as the first job and the first salary. But then there is a ratio we would always look at: the output we are giving to the input we recieve which is becoming higher and higher. Work has increased, at least in my firm, lesser people employed for the same job, cuts on resources, sharp and stiff deadlines and much more. At the same time, no increment means lesser inputs, lesser resources that we consume, no team outings, entertainment, more hours at work, have to even fight time for coffee with friends. The job was already not much exciting and recession has snatched away even that much. Many are saying that its a good time for higher studies and yes it is. The competition has increased even more. Many fresh graduates are jobless and they are more in need of that degree. The cost of a degree has also risen tremendously though they cannot promise a job good enough to repay the loan that the students would take. Thinking about all this sometimes creates an attitude of "Why am I existing, when everything is temporary and going to end soon" sorts. But the consolation is in the attitude itself that everything is temporary and it will end soon. 

The ones who are just one year into their first job are most affected i guess after the ones who still do not have one. They are strangling themselves in the thoughts of a higher degree or a better job or continuing this job. They are the ones who are most Lay-off-phobic. They do not even have enough capital to invest which their richer managers are doing with the saved cash over the years. They hope for a good rise in salary after one year into the job only to find that they are hoping against hope. Situations like these are even responsible for suicide cases of the best brains in the world. Recently i got to know that one of our batchmates who had passed out from one of the best engineering colleges of India succumbed to recession. Students belonging to the middle  and lower middle class who could not afford the education and took heavy loans have nowhere to go without a job. They are cursing themselves that they were born in the wrong time. Their families are also completely out of any clue, helpless and giving up.

The future of so many bright brains of this country is at stake. The rusted sword of recession is still sharp enough to rip their confidence apart. The govt is doing a lot to control this situation. Our banks are still doing strong when major banks across the globe have collapsed. Financially, the Govt companies are going very strong. A large section of the freshers have opted for government jobs this year bringing fresh and aspiring talent into these organizations which would obviously gain a lot. Also, the ones recruited in these jobs are more or less recession proof with a salary even higher than the private jobs. They are the happiest amongst us today. Somtime down the line they would be the most in demand in the private sector companies as they always allure people from the public sector to buy their talent.

Looking at it positively, this is a good learning experience in life and only a few are fortunate enough to face this.

A really haphazard post it is - all the trash in my head is just dumped into this bin. Hope the coffee stimulates something good out of me next time.

Indian Political League

What is hot in news? IPL and Politics.

The former has been running for a while and has become a little boring. Time for adding some spice up to the news and here you get a lot of it. 

When the whole world waits for the finals tomorrow of the Indian Political League, there is more than a regular drama happening out here. But that's not the end of this largest of its kind tournament in the world. Its just the beginning of the news season, a fresh season with fresh biddings in place. Its a big stage of opportunistic louts demanding a place in the team of "make money from home" union ministers.

For instance the captains of most of the parties demand a few seats in the cabinet, the safest business, make fast money, as much as you can and you are completely recession-proof. Plus you get free security for your money. They are also claiming the insurance over the past as their teams lost some legal cases by demanding the cases to be wiped off the records.

I think time is not far when BJP and Congress will have their own teams in IPL gaining enormous amount of publicity. Advani may then invite Manmohan to the pitch and challenge his skills. Rahul Gandhi receives an enormous support as the youth leader who the audience thinks can move his body around the field. That might also ask Jaya for a fitness test :| and she would be more than ready for it. Sonia & Priyanka can definitely cheer their team performing some essential backstage roles ;). Offcourse they have spokespersons too who will take up the position of commentators and fight a verbal battle there. And don't you think that the international stars wont get a place in their teams. Imagine a traditional political turban on Hayden going around Haryana and promising them reservations for Jats. And Monty Panesar supporting the Akalis. There is a point, isn't it? Very soon a bill will be passed in the parliament duly approved by our sincere president that international cricketers can avail Indian citizenship and file nominations for the General elections. And then as one of my mates said, our PM will  no more be desi. That's interesting! 

Now there are some serious security issues when they go to the field without their A,B,C... class security and bullet-proof BMWs. So our home minister and National Security Advisor suggest that they don't want to exhaust the Indian Security forces and put a proposal in front of the Election Commission to host this game outside the country! Ah..haan...Quite Possible!

AAh.. all this crap and why not if there is a lot more happening in the minds of our incredulous politicians. This has become as cheap as the actual IPL where a team which says "korbo lorbo jeetbo" is fighting hard to keep its position lowermost screaming aloud "lorbo morbo harbo". So  much of cheap shit brought to you by the Indian Political League, the largest in the world. Ain't you proud of it?

One more point, this extravagant event will be displayed live tomorrow @ places across the world in big screens.. They really need some entertainment.