GIGO - So said the management guru... For those of you wondering what it means, it is an elegant way of saying Garbage In, Garbage Out. So, if you input garbage in your program, your output will be the same! We all go on applying similar funds to our professional life.. but why do we neglect to apply them to our life... as a whole. We eat "wholesome" food rich in artificial fertilizers, drink "enriched" water , drown in cell phone waves, and still expect to remain healthy at the end of the day. We are conditioned to buy the latest gizmos and keep on updating them!!

The movie that comes to my mind is "Gods must be crazy".. Even a simple cola bottle - for us,a symbol of civilisation- a can create havoc.Ironically, man made these implements to reduce his efforts.. and we end up spending more effort to learn about those very implements!!!

Well, food for thought for you till next time... what would you do if all power suddenly shut down...

Rambling Thoughts

Do we believe in the "divine" powers of Paul the octopus, instead of the players' abilities?

CW Games committee dismisses all caterers appointed through fair bidding, so that the "Chairman" aka Suresh Kalmadi can nominate names.

Saintliness or Goodliness does not come from race, caste,age, position or dresses.But comes from behavior within.

Not content with just playing "Farmville"? Now spend real money to buy "points"!!

Memories and Time

Does Time really heal? We have people saying it does, but personally I do not believe so. In fact , what it does is make those memories more distant, memories that we cherish. More complications in life, more twists. So that those memories become a faded picture hanging on a wall.

Time goes by, seasons come and go, people grow up and change. but the picture on the wall is the same as ever. Is this what we all are reduced in the end? Fond memories, slowly fading? gracing a wall and being remembered ?

As the BG says, "we are all in a prison by Maya" and this is just another manifestation of what we have to endure.

Maoists ? or Terrorists ??

Its been a long time since I wrote last here. And yes, I missed writing here. But the train accident of yesterday in India's Jhargram stirred up strong sentiments and I felt I had to express them. In fact I have travelled on the same train once, long time ago. The Kurla-Howrah Gyaneswari Super Fast Deluxe. What a name! But that night, even the long and illustrious name could not save it.

Due to handiwork of a band called the Maoists , more than 100 died with numerous injured. Arundhati Roy called them "Gandhians with Gun". Excuse me, Ms Arundhati, have you heard what OxyMoron means? Your statement is a perfect example. Civil rights activists cry that human rights are being violated every time a maoist is killed. Don't the CRPF and train travellers have any human rights? Or have you guys conveniently forgotten that?

Maoists say they are fighting for the poor and the landless. How?? By mass killing them? so that there will be no more poor and landless? What a novel idea! Even Hitler would have been proud!!

The Indian government says "its mandate is limited", when dealing with the maoists. Limited?? What do you mean by limited? Either you can deal with it or you can't.

Hopefully someone, some where will wake up and remove this pestilence.

Analogy in Theology

Why do we look surprised if we see a young man chanting or following devoational service? But older man and women are encouraged to spend their time in spirituality!!! I read an analogy which disputes our conventional thoughts. Do we give old, dried out flowers while doing Puja? We always give fresh, nice smelling flowers. Similarily, why donot we give our young, youthfull bodies in service f Lord. The dried out husk of a body in old age is akin to the old flowers.
Lets say a beggar has a few loaves of bread and you ask him to throw those away. Will he do it? No! Because that is all the poor man has managed to scrounge to eat! Now, give him a couple of delicious dishes and he will automatically discard the bread loaves! well, our material world is akin to the bread loaf with the spiritual world akin to the delicious dish. (And remember, there is someone to give the delicious dishes!)

Down memory lane

It has been a long time since my last post. Though so many thoughts have crossed my mind in between, I have never gotten around to putting pen to paper, unfortunately.

A few weeks back, I took a trip down memory lane to Pune, a city still retaining its old world charms. I had lived in Pune, when it was still a city of pensioners and students. BPOs and IT hubs were yet to come up. Weather was still cool and pleasant even in the peak of summer. Neighbours were friendly and helpfull. Bikes were more plentifull than cars.

Those were the good old days. Only a few nostalgic memories remain now. The population has trebled, thanks to BPO and IT industry, and so has the pollution. Cars rule the roads now. Its hot and humid even during winters.

We did visit "Durga's", the coffee shop. For 10 bucks, the cold coffee is work it. NDA, with is sylvan surroundings, is like an oasis in a desert. Deers and peacocks still roam freely on the campus.

Maybe memories are all that will remain, when we visit Pune next time..............

Power of Yoga

A few skeptics say that Yoga is slowly dying out in India, its birthplace. Maybe those skeptics have never traveled in a peak hour local train. Our fore fathers would have been amazed at the ingenious use of the Yoga Asanas ! Try standing on one foot, with one arm extended backwards and the other arm extended forwards. Now, maintain this position for 20 minutes. I am sure, even the Baba from Rishikesh will be impressed.

Even Tom Cruise in Mission Impossible was hanging on to a train for dear life. However, our guys are so highly trained that they can hang with their fingers and a singled wedged toe, for more than an hour.

All this calls for a high degree of coordination of hand-leg-eye movement starting from the time one jumps on to the running train, to the time he/she gets off. Ah well, maybe the Army can recruit these skilled chaps to bolster their decreasing strength!!!