tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-66313876813254700202024-02-07T21:08:16.900+05:30HeartMindingLet the heart speak the mind...Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12095324417479723070noreply@blogger.comBlogger50125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6631387681325470020.post-52301587882577073532012-04-29T21:47:00.001+05:302012-04-29T21:48:22.122+05:30Generalisations<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
As Indians we tend to generalise certain things. Sometimes we overdo it. In this post I will highlight some such generalisations common in India.<br />
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<b>Xerox</b><br />
Xerography (or photocopying as some prefer) is generally called Xerox in India. Xerox (the brand) may not have anything to complain about regarding this as they must be getting free publicity about this. But when you see copying on any machine, be it a Cannon , a Kyocera or a Toshiba, being referred to as <i>xerox </i>you say "O ye gods!"<br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xerox">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xerox</a> </span><br />
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<b>Surf</b><br />
Have you been to the corner shop and asked for <i>Surf</i> and then the shop-keeper asks you which one you want? And then you say Ariel?<br />
Detergents have been generalised as Surf for generations now. Whether you want Ariel, Tide, Nirma, Sunlight or Rin, you just go and ask for Surf.<br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Surf_%28detergent%29">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Surf_%28detergent%29</a></span><br />
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<b>Windows</b><br />
Ever been asked what <i>Windows</i> you have on your laptop and you tried to explain to the inquisitive person that you actually do not have any Windows on your laptop, and yes the laptop still runs and does most things that you would like it to do.<br />
Computer Operating Systems have been identified by Windows, mostly because of the absence of other players in the commercial market. To most people you must have some form of Windows on your computer.<br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_operating_systems">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_operating_systems</a></span><br />
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<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><b>Hindusthani-Madrasi-Nepali</b></span></div>
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: small;">I believe this is typical only to Bengal.</span> <span style="font-size: small;">Don't be surprised if you are asked "Are you a <i>Bengali</i> or a <i>Hindusthani</i>?" in Bengal (if you wonder if Bengal is not a part of India then you are not at fault)<span style="font-size: x-small;">.<span style="font-size: small;"> For many Bengalis all Hindi speaking people are Hindusthanis. All South Indians are Madrasis, irrespective of whether one has ever been to Chennai in one's life. And all people with mongoloid features are Nepalis, even if the person belongs to the northern parts of their very own state.</span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Cadbury's</b> </span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: small;">All chocolates are <i>Cadbury's</i>. So if someone offers you a Cadbury's but hands you a <i>Nestle</i> eclairs, please don't be surprised.</span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: small;">I will keep adding to this list as and when I recall more such instances... </span></span></span> </span></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12095324417479723070noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6631387681325470020.post-38360747412186901562011-11-06T19:01:00.004+05:302011-11-11T18:21:46.558+05:30Revolutions 2020A few days back I finished reading Chetan Bhagat's latest book: Revolutions 2020. Bhagat has once again taken up a theme that affects the nation as a whole. He brazenly puts in black and white the industry that education has become in the country, hand in glove with corruption, which is a business in its own right. Some may get the feeling once in a while that he is overdoing the corruption part, in Bollywood style, but, then, that is how things run in this country.<br /><br />Set in Varanasi, it tracks the highs and lows in the lives of three friends. How success or failure in early life can leave the deepest of scars in the best of friendships is beautifully portrayed. The ending leaves a good taste in the mouth, no doubt, but leaves one wondering if protagonists must always play the good Samaritan? Can we not have more characters like Balram Halwai? But then Bhagat's is a book of hope, an attempt to nudge the slumbering youth of the country into consciousness.<br /><br /><a href="http://dipanjanchakraborty.blogspot.com/2011/11/revolutions-2020.html">http://dipanjanchakraborty.blogspot.com/2011/11/revolutions-2020.html</a>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12095324417479723070noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6631387681325470020.post-37204457149495280812011-08-19T01:58:00.005+05:302011-08-19T17:11:00.405+05:30Up memory-laneThere was this time when I was a kid when I had asked my brother when does it become morning. He had told me that it was 2:30 am. That night in bed I kept asking my mother every few minutes if it was 2:30 already or not. My motive was to brag in the morning that I had woken up at dawn! It was only when my mother got angry at being woken up so often after what must have been a tiring day and threatened to send me out of bed did I give up and fall asleep.
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<br />Until a few years ago my brother and I had regular fights everyday. It mainly comprised one sitting over the other and punching the other mercilessly, until the role was reversed and the punched became the puncher. When we were kids and we got into one of these fights our mother used to lock my brother in the bathroom (and switched off the lights) and lock me out of the house. I remember standing outside and crying loudly when the neighbours came and enquired what was wrong.
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<br />The Bangla newspaper that we took in our house had 2 white spaces on the left and right of the masthead (as do most other newspaper mastheads). My brother and I used to put our <span style="font-style: italic;">signatures</span> on these two spaces. But each morning we competed on who would sign on the space to the left of the masthead. Initially whoever woke up first would sign on the left and whoever woke up later would throw a tantrum. That's when our father arbitrated that we should take turns on alternate days to sign on the left. But I used to sign on the left out of turn on mischief and we used to have huge rows. Similar was the case with who would sleep on the only pillow with a Mickey Mouse pillow cover when it was decided that we would take turns.
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<br />We also had these games of counting the number of images of Ma Durga in the newspaper during the Puja season. We also counted the number of Mother Teresa images in the papers everyday in September 1997.
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<br />Then there were these psycho neighbours downstairs who thought any noise in the building was due to us jumping upstairs. They would come and complain to our parents of us disturbing them even if we were not there in the house. Our father therefore forbade us to make any noise on the floor. That is when we took some spare wool from our mother, wound it up into a spherical shape and used it as a noise-proof cricket ball. And did it bounce if you hit the deck hard! Necessity is the mother of invention after all.
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<br />I had on numerous occasions broken glasses in the house. On one occasion I had boxed the glass of our new showcase to bits because my father had not taken me to the market with him. My mother had kept me tied to the bedstead with my pair of track-suits after a sound trashing.
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<br />Today that I am away from home, away from family, these memories come gushing up memory-lane.
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<br /><a href="http://dipanjanchakraborty.blogspot.com/2011/08/up-memory-lane.html">http://dipanjanchakraborty.blogspot.com/2011/08/up-memory-lane.html</a>
<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12095324417479723070noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6631387681325470020.post-47586855840885081422011-08-05T23:20:00.003+05:302011-08-05T23:50:52.194+05:30the endEvery time a book I am really enjoying ends, I feel that I should have read a little slower. That way it would have lasted a little longer. I had finished the Harry Potter series a year back. And now, when I have seen the last movie too, it has actually ended.<br /><br />The last book was certainly not the best of the series. And the last movie is certainly not better than the book itself. Of course there are practical constraints in adapting a book into a movie. In a book, there are no limits to the number of pages that you can write. But in a movie, there is certainly a limit to the length to which you can stretch it.<br /><br />But, one must just pause for a few moments and reflect upon the parallel universe that the author had so easily created in her books. A universe that the readers had no difficulty in relating to. She picked up a Dickens-ish orphan who was ill-treated by his relations, put him into a Blyton-ish boarding school, wove magic around the world, put in suspense and we had creations that were close to being thrillers. All are recipes that have enthralled readers for centuries now.<br /><br />I must stand up and salute the creator. And if I was in the habit of wearing hats, I would certainly have taken it off to her.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12095324417479723070noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6631387681325470020.post-26133155579211500272011-03-11T16:32:00.006+05:302011-03-11T23:07:35.312+05:30A lot of GASI have been a student volunteer in this workshop on Indo-US research collaborations. And at the dinner meet yesterday they had set up a panel discussion. The discussion was supposed to bring forth something concrete. But instead all people said was "We should..." and "We could..." and "We need...". They spent a hell lot of money in organising the stuff. I guess they could have funded a small project with the money they spent.<br /><br />And it was all restricted to the IITs. No one bothered (or ever bothers) about an India with potential that exist beyond the IITs. If the quality of the second and third tier institutes in India is on a constant decline, it is mostly because of the step-motherly treatment they get from the governments.<br /><br />However, it is hard to change the system.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12095324417479723070noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6631387681325470020.post-30458581296486810672011-03-05T01:04:00.005+05:302011-03-05T02:42:12.274+05:30Judicial ActivismIt is said that the 3 pillars of a democracy are the legislature, the executive and the judiciary (some also speak of the media as the 4th pillar, but the less is spoken about it in the Indian context, the better). It was also said that in India the pillars of the legislature and the executive are broken. What stands as a hope for the common man is the judiciary.<br /><br />With much fanfare, Justice Balakrishnan was appointed the first <span style="font-style: italic;">dalit </span>Chief Justice of India some years ago. And going by his tenure one could conclude that the last pillar of the Indian democracy is also broken. First it withdrew its stance on the OBC quota issue and gave in to the government. Next it did nothing when UPA I bought out support in the Lok Sabha after the left withdrew support. Predictably, this <span style="font-style: italic;">dalit</span> ex-CJI's kins are now facing charges for amassing assets disproportionate to their known sources of income.<br /><br />How about the judiciary's shoddy dealing of the Bhopal gas tragedy conviction and the Binayak Sen case?<br /><br />Faith is slowly being restored to the Judiciary under CJI Kapadia. The judiciary under him is giving the governments a hard time: the CWG scam, the 2G scam, black money in tax havens, the Godhra train burning conviction, the Netai case, etc. The common man can once again turn towards the judiciary for justice.<br /><br />Can all judgements passed under Balakrishnan's tenure be re-examined?<br /><br />Read a related TOI article <a href="http://epaper.timesofindia.com/Default/Scripting/ArticleWin.asp?From=Archive&Source=Page&Skin=TOINEW&BaseHref=TOIKM/2011/03/04&PageLabel=1&EntityId=Ar00102&ViewMode=HTML&GZ=T">here</a>.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12095324417479723070noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6631387681325470020.post-55398148940824477842011-03-01T00:48:00.002+05:302011-07-10T17:16:13.670+05:30On the way to homeCame home for a one week mid term break. The journey by train was by and large uneventful this time as the train was bang on time.<br />There was this gentleman, however, who was on constant suspicion that the catering staff are not giving him his due. He deserved better food but the railways was stealing from him. Why was the railways overcharging him?<br />Mr. Gentleman, suppose you work in a government office. The office starts at 1000 hours and ends at 1830 hours. You go to office at 1130 hours and leave for home at 1700 hours. (Note that I am not, in the least, exaggerating.) You steal 3 hours of public time every day. 5 days a week, 4 weeks a month, 12 months in a year makes it 720 hours stolen in a year. If you can steal from the government without any scruples, can the government not steal from you?Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12095324417479723070noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6631387681325470020.post-75892952950505319612011-02-23T21:42:00.005+05:302011-02-23T22:04:36.285+05:30talksYou must have heard of those talks that go on here every day (and sometimes more than one in a day). Well there was this talk by John Hopcroft (of Hopcroft-Ullman fame) the other day that people say was very nice. I don't know for sure because I was fast asleep in my room when it took place.<br />As if to make amends for my sleepiness I went to this French guy's talk in the evening (sorry I can not recall his name at all). He talked on Lambda Calculus (of which I knew nothing beyond the spelling), had a heavy French accent (I could not decipher half the words he spoke) and cracked a joke once in an hour (I couldn't laugh as I was too dumb to get them). And after two and a half hours of endless drawling he finally said that it was over. I had just sat through the worst talk in my life. I fell half asleep and hurriedly ran to the coffee-shop as I had a report to complete. The talk had started with around forty people in the room, but, as people could stand it no longer and trickled out, there were only five left in the end.<br />But there are these nice talks too. There was one on P vs NP. A professor sitting through the talk was trying very hard to stay awake but was invariably dozing off on his neighbour's shoulder. On another such occasion, a professor was nodding off and as his shoulder strained he jerked to consciousness. This happened every 5 seconds. And every time he awoke with a jerk he put on an expression that he was the most attentive listener this side of the table.<br />But the best show was put up by a senior professor who came in late, took a chair, closed his eyes, leaned backwards and went off to sleep. He kept nodding in his sleep, as if to agree with the speaker. He was brought to reality by his phone ringing. He went out answering the phone and never returned.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12095324417479723070noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6631387681325470020.post-80037602925106567552011-01-02T14:24:00.007+05:302011-01-04T11:27:37.511+05:30JourneysI like journeying by train. The liking is mostly due to my passion for the railways which I have nurtured since my childhood.<br /><br />Among several reasons that I do not like air journeys within the country is that they are very short. Another is that the passengers are very unsocial. They tend to keep their nose high and lips pursed.<br /><br />I reached Delhi by the Calcutta Rajdhani Express. Although there is always more entertainment in travelling by a sleeper class coach of a less hyped train, a Rajdhani does not always lie far behind. Take for instance the family travelling with a one and a half year old child who kept roaming the compartment on her own tugging at people's books, newspapers and laptops, all the while smiling. Then there arrived another child who always looked angry and the two children immediately took to rivalry. A lot of crying and shrieking followed of course.<br /><br />Then there was a Bengali family who boarded the compartment at Dhanbad and woke up an old lady sleeping on the lower berth because she could not climb to the upper berth and immediately picked up a fight (typical of Bengalis) with the others on where to put the luggages.<br /><br />But the peak of the event came at dawn. At Kanpur Junction a girl boarded the compartment and woke up the nice lady sleeping on the berth below me claiming that the berth was hers. I immediately knew where the confusion lay but chose to wait and watch. After a lot of debate and cross examination of tickets I raised my voice and asked which train did she want to board. She promptly and confidently replied, "Sealdah Rajdhani". I smugly replied that this was the Calcutta Rajdhani. The Sealdah Rajdhani would follow in 10 minutes. She hysterically cried, "O shit! o shit". But, shit or not, the train had started moving. It was left to the merciful Deputy Train Superintendent to find her an empty berth and let her travel 'ticket-less' for the rest of the journey to New Delhi.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12095324417479723070noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6631387681325470020.post-54425678658279837602010-12-11T00:57:00.004+05:302010-12-11T01:04:46.271+05:30I am home...Ah! Finally I find time for another post. I have been back in Howrah a week after what I must describe as the toughest 4 months of my life. 4 months during which my routine was ...sleep-eat-class-assignments-eat-assignments-eat-assignments-sleep... And what would I not give for a peaceful night of sleep then. I had nightmares all night of I not finishing an assignment, of an instructor failing me, and then there would be a segmentation fault and I would wake up with a jerk.<br /><br />I have been making up and sleeping a lot this last week. But work has already piled up and I must go back to it soon.<br /><br />Until next time, good bye.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12095324417479723070noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6631387681325470020.post-81627250858373000052010-11-10T19:12:00.005+05:302010-11-12T01:53:09.193+05:30ObamaniacThe CWG scams disappeared from the front pages of the newspapers, so did the Adarsh scam. Why? Because Barrack Obama had come to India. The minutest details of his daily activities had to be featured in the front page of every newspaper... and there can be only one front page for a newspaper (if you do not consider the latest gimmick of selling out the front page for full page ads). God!!!<br /><br />Even the death of Sidhdhartha Shankar Ray could only find the bottom most column of the Kolkata edition of The Times of India.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12095324417479723070noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6631387681325470020.post-50872370384508698162010-09-11T15:53:00.003+05:302010-09-11T16:17:21.776+05:30Kudos to The Indian ExpressI have been skeptical about the materials that appear in the print and visual media since long. Regular followers of yours sincerely will have noticed that. The point that I always tried to drill home is the media criticises all, but who criticises the media? Well, the unfortunate answer is that the general Indian public is so overwhelmed with the gimmicks that the media come up with that they will believe anything presented to them, and there is none to find faults with them. Taking advantage of this, the media now manufacture <span style="font-style: italic;">breaking news</span> to increase their TRP.<br /><br />I was very happy that The Indian Express reported on the drama being manufactured by news channels on the Delhi Floods. Please read <a href="http://www.indianexpress.com/news/paani-live/680263/0">it</a>, it's kind of hilarious.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12095324417479723070noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6631387681325470020.post-68713258689943747452010-08-21T15:32:00.004+05:302010-08-21T15:45:16.992+05:30UdaanThey were running a free show of Udaan at the Dogra Hall yesterday. I took it as a welcome break from the strangling schedule here.<br /><br />The theme was very contemporary: boy wants to do something while the father wants him to do something else. Add to it that the father is a psycho who keeps beating his children and marrying every time his wife dies.<br /><br />The director does an excellent work mostly, except at the end. The ending could be better. If the solution is to run away from home, he could have done it a lot earlier: why wait so long?<br /><br />The music was good and the background songs were well placed. The acting skills of all the actors deserve special mention.<br /><br />It was a good experience which refreshed my mind.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12095324417479723070noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6631387681325470020.post-64907385445963770162010-08-10T18:25:00.003+05:302010-08-11T10:30:34.607+05:30P ≠ NPWhile we carry on with our daily chores, one of the biggest breakthroughs in the realm of theoretical computer science may have just been made.<br /><br />Vinay Deolalikar of HP Research Labs, Palo Alto has just released a <a href="http://www.hpl.hp.com/personal/Vinay_Deolalikar/Papers/pnp_preliminary.pdf">paper</a> to his fellow researchers claiming to have proved that P ≠ NP. This was something that has been baffling the greatest computer scientists of the day. Everyone sort of knew that the result was this, but, somehow, the proof had been eluding them. Such was the craze that there's a $1M prize money for the proof. Now the paper will be scanned from jacket to jacket under the eyes of <span style="font-style: italic;">uber-math geeks</span>. (To get the feel of the uber-math geek thing, see <a href="http://stackoverflow.com/questions/3436978/explain-the-proof-by-vinay-deolalikar-that-p-np/3437006#3437006">this</a>.) And if the approach turns out to be genuine, quite a few text books will have to be written.<br /><br />The most important thing is that the gentleman at the centre of all this is an Indian.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12095324417479723070noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6631387681325470020.post-24118459558916082112010-08-03T19:53:00.002+05:302010-08-03T20:11:40.921+05:30If I have been away from my blog for a little over two weeks it's because I have not had much time to think beyond eating, sleeping and solving assignments, the last forming a major part of the daily chores.<br /><br />The professors keep setting assignments and we are expected to find time to do them. And, mind you, they are not routine assignments: each one of them is enough to fry your circuitry for good. Lectures are neither long nor too many. But self-study and assignments form a major part of the goings-on. And as a result we spend most of the day in the lab: be it weekday or weekend, night or day.<br /><br />However, you keep liking the things because the environment keeps you going. You always want to utilise the resources being provided to you to the fullest. And that is why there is no reason to complain.<br /><br />Until next when I find time, have a good time.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12095324417479723070noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6631387681325470020.post-62715515493406565362010-07-18T01:12:00.005+05:302010-07-18T01:26:50.272+05:30The Bicycle ThiefI had heard about Vittoria de Sica's <span style="font-style: italic;">The Bicycle Thief</span> long back but had never had the opportunity to watch it until recently. And I soon enough realised why this film is so widely acclaimed.<br /><br />The film is based in the post World War Italy when jobs were hard to come by, when women in Italy fetched water in buckets from a common tap, when unemployment reigned. The protagonist (Ricci) gets a job but must have a bicycle to execute it. Things get complex when the bicycle is stolen and he and his kid (Bruno) go trying to find it.<br /><br />The film does not tell. It does not preach. It <span style="font-style: italic;">shows</span>. And that is what the visual medium of entertainment is supposed to do, isn't it? And there is not much to wonder why Satyajit Ray was inspired by it. How easily the director shows the realities of life without any extra effort or spending of extra frames for these. We learn so much but yet never feel that the film is deviating.<br /><br />It is no wonder that this finds mention in all lists of must watch films. Go and watch it somewhere. You will never regret it.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12095324417479723070noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6631387681325470020.post-3981744071822175462010-07-12T23:33:00.004+05:302010-07-13T01:26:26.914+05:30Two roads diverged in a yellow wood...I have come across Robert Frost's <a href="http://www.bartelby.com/104/67.html">The Road Not Taken</a> innumerable times during my school days. And I distinctly remember our teachers explaining how relevant this piece of poetry would become in our lives. We did appreciate its implications, but then it was only in a theoretical sense.<br /><br />Times when the poem could have assumed practical significance include the moments to decide whether to take up science, commerce or humanities; or whether to take up engineering or something else. I say that they were <span style="font-style: italic;">moments</span> because these decisions were sort of automatic backed by a lot of peer pressure and parental expectations. And, hence, this poem did not look so imposing back then.<br /><br />Now, when most peers are going for jobs and my parents are not deciding for me, I just let go a lucrative job and opted for higher education. Suddenly Frost is ringing louder than ever in my ears. No doubt "Two roads diverged in a wood, and I, / I took the one less traveled by,..." but will "...that has made all the difference" be in a positive sense is to be seen :"...Somewhere ages and ages hence...".Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12095324417479723070noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6631387681325470020.post-63337306143969872002010-07-01T01:27:00.003+05:302010-08-28T19:46:51.644+05:30Religion in the Harry Potter seriesAs I was reading the books in the Harry Potter series, one factor kept nagging me from time to time: the lack of direct reference to any religious beliefs.<br /><br />However, they do celebrate Christmas (they have gifts and special dinner) and Halloween. But the church services, including the regular Sunday services are missing. Neither is there any reference to Santa Claus. This is unlike the other British authors I have read. The only time a church is mentioned is in the last book when Harry visits Godric's Hollow. Of course, when the Room of Requirements transforms into the place where people hide their things, it is compared to a cathedral.<br /><br />Christian names are abundant throughout. And Harry has a godfather (Sirius Black), and is a godfather to Teddy Lupin. A godfather is a Jewish/Christian concept.<br /><br />There is no direct reference to any god or almighty anywhere who the magical people worship or look up to. There is this wizard called Merlin who recurs but is surely not a god. Neither is it mentioned if Voldemort wanted to be god-like. He was more interested in the Ministry and forming a new world through his faulty ideals.<br /><br />It will be wrong to suppose that they are pagan as no such proof exists either.<br /><br />Perhaps Rowling anticipated objections to a witch-craft laden theme from the religious sectors and so carefully steered clear of offending (through the slightest allusion) anyone. Presence of witches/wizards in a church might be enough to cause widespread agitation. The stance of the barbaric medieval church towards witchcraft was enough of a deterrence. (Though it is mentioned in the series that the church burnt all the wrong people and the actual witches/wizards managed to escape using magic, what else?)Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12095324417479723070noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6631387681325470020.post-64411056704830837262010-06-30T11:45:00.004+05:302010-06-30T13:03:17.490+05:30RevelationsAs I glanced through today's TOI, I found several articles worth sharing with the people who do not take the TOI (or who take but don't read it).<br /><br />The subject of <a href="http://epaper.timesofindia.com/Default/Scripting/ArticleWin.asp?From=Archive&Source=Page&Skin=TOINEW&BaseHref=TOIKM/2010/06/30&PageLabel=2&EntityId=Ar00204&ViewMode=HTML&GZ=T">this</a> article has been going for a while at Esplanade. (Of course TOI reached about a year late and is now claiming credits.) The Grand hotel blocked off a stretch of the road for the vehicles of it's guests only. As it is, the footpath along the stretch is at the blessed mercy of the hawkers. So, the pedestrians often have to get on to the road. And if the pedestrians happen to venture into the Grand Hotel's cordoned off area, they are summarily shoved off by the security personnel. Serves them right that the KMC is imposing a fine on them.<br /><br /><a href="http://epaper.timesofindia.com/Default/Scripting/ArticleWin.asp?From=Archive&Source=Page&Skin=TOINEW&BaseHref=TOIKM/2010/06/30&PageLabel=3&EntityId=Ar00301&ViewMode=HTML&GZ=T">This</a> article substantiates my last post. It is only a matter of time before the government <span style="font-style: italic;">gives in </span>to the demands of the transport operators and increases the fares. (All ironies intended in the <span style="font-style: italic;">italicised</span> 'gives in' in both posts).<br /><br /><a href="http://epaper.timesofindia.com/Default/Scripting/ArticleWin.asp?From=Archive&Source=Page&Skin=TOINEW&BaseHref=TOIKM/2010/06/30&PageLabel=4&EntityId=Ar00402&ViewMode=HTML&GZ=T">This</a> is a follow up of <a href="http://epaper.timesofindia.com/Default/Scripting/ArticleWin.asp?From=Archive&Source=Page&Skin=TOINEW&BaseHref=TOIKM/2010/06/26&PageLabel=3&EntityId=Ar00301&ViewMode=HTML&GZ=T">this</a>. (Note the wrong spelling of Fr. Siby in both articles. The print media has a knack for getting the spellings of places and people wrong, while the audio visual media almost always gets the pronunciation wrong. And they are arrogant enough not to correct them. Of course way back when I was in class 7 I thought it was Fr. C.B., short for some unpronounceable south Indian name. But then I was 12 years old and was surely not a journalist). The students of DBL who were oppressed under the rule of Fr. Siby Joseph Vadakel (he was vice-principal there for some time) will be the happiest if the haughty and arrogant brat of a priest is brought to book and taught a lesson for once. But, I feel sorry for those students of DBL who became a victim of Fr. Siby's whims and whose lives were shattered forever. But the media do not consider DBL worthy of news space as it is unlikely to increase circulation/TRP (why! one had called it Don Bosco Bally!) It is only when the sons of influential people get affected that it becomes worth a mention. (The students of DBL love to believe that Fr. Siby was packed off to a centre at Azimganj, where there was no toilet and he had had to poo in the open, after his unpopular stint at DBL)<br /><br /><a href="http://epaper.timesofindia.com/Default/Scripting/ArticleWin.asp?From=Archive&Source=Page&Skin=TOINEW&BaseHref=TOIKM/2010/06/30&PageLabel=6&EntityId=Ar00601&ViewMode=HTML&GZ=T">This</a> has caused great delight to me. Perhaps now BCCI will stop over-commercialisation of cricket and let the game be at peace and be enjoyed for just the incidents on field.<br /><br />Note <a href="http://epaper.timesofindia.com/Default/Scripting/ArticleWin.asp?From=Archive&Source=Page&Skin=TOINEW&BaseHref=TOIKM/2010/06/30&PageLabel=17&EntityId=Ar01700&ViewMode=HTML&GZ=T">this</a>. And I quote: '(PM) Says Reforms Need Of The Hour As Govt Can't Resort To Populist Steps'. Excellent Mr. Prime Minister, you have come to terms with reality (conveniently forgetting the socialist principles of the nation). But, I must say you are being a ruddy two faced son of a she-dog (the word starts with <span style="font-style: italic;">b</span> and rhymes with <span style="font-style: italic;">rich</span>) in saying so. You forget all about reforms and not taking populist steps when you woo the minorities, SCs, STs, and OBCs, don't you Mr. Prime Minister? They must be doled out sops regularly and their quotas increased so that they suck up to you (and your Madam) during the elections, must they not be Mr. Prime Minister?<br /><br />And finally <a href="http://epaper.timesofindia.com/Default/Scripting/ArticleWin.asp?From=Archive&Source=Page&Skin=TOINEW&BaseHref=TOIKM/2010/06/30&PageLabel=18&EntityId=Ar01801&ViewMode=HTML&GZ=T">this</a>. Jug Suraiya writes sense more often than not. He correctly highlights the importance of the knowledge of English from a global perspective. The opposition of English by the likes of Mulayam Singh accusing it of being a colonial hangover reeks of political self-centralism. I was impressed to learn that Mayawati supports the knowledge of English. (Jug Suraiya is a more reliable source for such information than the other blessed people who write in the TOI). Whether the support is to counter Mulayam Singh, I do not know. Whatever be the reasons, the end justifies the means (in this case at least).Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12095324417479723070noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6631387681325470020.post-38248054011839079672010-06-30T02:18:00.005+05:302010-07-01T00:14:34.776+05:30O no, not again.The Central Government has hiked the price of petrol once again. And I guess that a bus fare hike is in the offing in Kolkata. The process is simple: every time there is a hike in the prices of the fuels, the transport unions (leftists through necessity of survival) call a transport strike and soon the government <span style="font-style: italic;">gives in</span> to their demands and increases the bus fares. The commuters do not have a union (they prefer the secret ballot than brandishing their political affiliations in public) and hence there is hardly any protest.<br /><br />The government must think of alternative methods of running the public transport before the situation spirals out of control. It cannot go on increasing the fares while the spending capability of the common man does not improve. While CNG and LPG as media to power the transport are available, there has been very few takers for them. However, as these too are non-renewable, research has to be undertaken in long-haul solar powered, battery powered, nuclear powered vehicles.<br /><br />As a temporary measure to check the burden on the common man, the government must ear-mark two categories of petroleum product users: one essential and the other luxury. The public transport, cooking gas and kerosene dispensed through the fair price shops must fall in the first category. These users must be provided the daily doses of fuel at a subsidised price. The second category must comprise the shopping malls (running gen-sets), private vehicles, airlines, etcetera which may obtain the fuels at a premium. This will ensure that only the people who can afford to are made to pay higher (and also might bring down the pollution level).<br /><br />Yes, there may be pilferage on a large scale. But, a government is supposed to prevent malpractices: tamper-proof locks may be fitted on petrol tanks, fuel-cards may be issued to ration fuels.<br /><br />The means are present. The will is missing.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12095324417479723070noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6631387681325470020.post-88358759851438798212010-06-28T12:30:00.004+05:302010-06-28T19:43:34.438+05:30Harry Potter and his reader from Belur.I just finished reading the Harry Potter series of books, including a non-authentic but convincing copy of the fifth book. (All <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">pdf</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">ebooks</span> obtained for gratis).<br /><br />Even a year ago, I was strongly against the idea of reading these books. I never thought that I could comprehend the idea of magical fairy tales. Wand waving and incantations never really got to me. However, I had watched 2 of the 6 films that have been made based on the series: one at school and the other with friends at <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">Nandan</span>.<br /><br />Shortly after the release of the 6<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">th</span> film (Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince), my friends forced me to agree to watch it. We decided on a budget hall. But the hall was a disappointment. The projector was out of focus, the projector bulb dim. The sound was more that of a rowdy crowd. I understood neither head nor tail of the film. That's when I decided that I am not watching any Harry Potter film until I have read the books. As soon as I reached home, I downloaded the entire series via bit-torrent and started reading it. As I began reading and had done the first few pages, I realised that this was no joke. The more I read, the more I wanted to read. As if the wizards had cast a spell on me. I could not leave it. However, academic engagements delayed the process and it took me almost a year to complete the series. Now I crave for more. I await Rowling's next books as much as I await Dan Brown's next books.<br /><br />I strongly recommend the series for children and adults alike. (Just look out for the wrong copy of the 5<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">th</span> book)Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12095324417479723070noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6631387681325470020.post-19827330313306267372010-04-02T00:23:00.001+05:302010-04-02T00:24:38.176+05:30I faced this today. Did you?Did you face a gmail without vowels today? I did. Check <a href="http://gmailblog.blogspot.com/2010/04/todays-vowel-outage.html">this</a> out.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12095324417479723070noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6631387681325470020.post-14110309097692447272010-04-01T04:39:00.003+05:302010-04-16T03:41:42.809+05:30SLUG seminar on 30-03-'10The initiators of the <a href="http://www.lug-rcc.webs.com/">SLUG</a> in our college are going to pass out soon. And we have to do something to ensure that it does not die a natural death. Towards this end, we have planned a series of seminars to filter out some really enthusiastic and interested students who can carry it forward.<br /><br />The first of the seminars was organised on the 30th of March, 2010. The agenda was:<br /><ul><li>Ubuntu 9.10 installation</li><li>Intro to FOSS</li><li>Post installation configuration</li><li>Venue: IT Gallery</li></ul>We didn't have much time to publicise the event this time. But the turn out was quite encouraging. Manash Pal (4th year CSE) and Sandipan Das (2nd year CSE) took us through the process of installing Ubuntu 9.10 on a machine. Following our instructions, a lady from first year IT had brought in her laptop and installed it on spot. This was very encouraging. Manash took us through the concepts of partitioning, the system requirements, and other essentials.<br /><br />We had decided on a bit of pipelining. While the new setup was on on the Dell Optiplex, we switched the projector cord to the Acer laptop with Fedora 10 where Arijeet Mukherjee (3rd year CSE) presented a lively piece on introduction to FOSS. This enlightened the uninitiated on what we are on about. This was followed by Truth Happens to a thunderous applause.<br /><br />By the time Arijeet had finished, the installation had been completed on the Dell Optiplex. Shinjan came into the scene with his take on post installation configuration. He demonstrated how to set up the network, where to find which package, how to install new packages by the Synaptic Package Manager, the command line and the Ubuntu Software Centre.<br /><br />At last, we divulged the purpose of the seminar. And when we asked how many would be interested to carry the SLUG forward, at least 5 hands (all belonging to different people) went up. That was quite encouraging as when we had started, we were only 2 of us.<br /><br />The complete set of pictures from my cam are <a href="http://lug-rcc.webs.com/apps/photos/album?albumid=8609468">here</a>.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12095324417479723070noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6631387681325470020.post-11464407615010918622010-03-29T00:17:00.004+05:302010-03-29T00:33:24.215+05:30Reservation- once again<div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-size:100%;" ><span style="font-family:verdana;">There was a widely circulated mail during the time that Arjun Singh brought in reservation in Central Education Institutes for the OBCs. Now that there are talks for religion based reservations in jobs, it is apt that I share that mail with everyone. The words in the mail had been attributed to the Wipro Chairman Mr. Azim Premji. I doubt its authenticity. So , I quote only the words, because they are unfailingly catchy.</span></span><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:Tahoma;font-size:100%;" ></span><blockquote style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"> <!-- @page { margin: 0.79in } P { margin-bottom: 0.08in } --> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br /></p> <blockquote><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><span style="font-family:Tahoma;"><span style="font-size:100%;">I think we should have job reservations in all the fields. I completely</span></span><br /><span style="font-family:Tahoma;"><span style="font-size:100%;">support the PM and all the politicians for promoting this. Let's start the </span></span><br /><span style="font-family:Tahoma;"><span style="font-size:100%;">reservation with our cricket team. We should have 10 percent reservation for</span></span> <span style="font-family:Tahoma;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Muslims. 30 percent for OBC, SC/ST like that. Cricket rules should be</span></span><br /><span style="font-family:Tahoma;"><span style="font-size:100%;">modified accordingly. The boundary circle should be reduced for an SC/ST</span></span> <span style="font-family:Tahoma;"><span style="font-size:100%;">player. The four hit by an OBC player should be considered as a six and a</span></span> <span style="font-family:Tahoma;"><span style="font-size:100%;">six hit by an OBC player should be counted as 8 runs. An OBC player scoring</span></span> <span style="font-family:Tahoma;"><span style="font-size:100%;">60 runs should be declared as a century.</span></span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:Tahoma;"><span style="font-size:100%;">We should influence ICC and make rules so that the pace bowlers like Shoaib Akhtar should not bowl fast balls to our OBC player. Bowlers should bowl</span></span> <span style="font-family:Tahoma;"><span style="font-size:100%;">maximum speed of 80 kilometer per hour to an OBC player. Any delivery above</span></span> <span style="font-family:Tahoma;"><span style="font-size:100%;">this speed should be made illegal.</span></span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:Tahoma;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Also we should have reservation in Olympics. In the 100 meters race, an OBC player should be given a gold medal if he runs 80 meters.</span></span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:Tahoma;"><span style="font-size:100%;">There can be reservation in Government jobs also. Let's recruit SC/ST and</span></span><span style="font-family:Tahoma;"><span style="font-size:100%;"> OBC pilots for aircraft which are carrying the ministers and politicians </span></span><span style="font-family:Tahoma;"><span style="font-size:100%;">(that can really help the country...). Ensure that only SC/ST and OBC doctors do the operations for the ministers and other politicians. (Another way of saving the country...)</span></span></span></blockquote> <blockquote><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><span style="font-family:Tahoma;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Let's be creative and think of ways and means to guide INDIA</span></span> <span style="font-family:Tahoma;"><span style="font-size:100%;">forward... </span></span><br /><span style="font-family:Tahoma;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Lets show the world that INDIA</span></span> <span style="font-family:Tahoma;"><span style="font-size:100%;">is a GREAT country. Let's be proud of being</span></span> <span style="font-family:Tahoma;"><span style="font-size:100%;">an INDIAN...</span></span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:Tahoma;"><span style="font-size:100%;">May the good breed of politicians like ARJUN SINGH long live...</span></span></span></blockquote> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br /></p> <span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 255);font-family:Tahoma;font-size:100%;" ></span></blockquote><br /></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12095324417479723070noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6631387681325470020.post-18217904485816694562010-03-19T01:56:00.004+05:302010-03-19T02:03:10.638+05:30Samsung Hoarding in a Videocon ad!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjb0y352Edr6Dpx7_zAKR1RGQdoiuOGzHjefnig3qu6MQCPz6QvN2CfSha4167TKVkvq2tCGKBdSivVcUgZJO0wNzDYMLEWZGQSZ9KIWkQmNmoSxT3XkO89L9cE9QY2J5IazxO2SJjKc9k/s1600-h/Videocon-Samsung1.jpeg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 640px; height: 488px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjb0y352Edr6Dpx7_zAKR1RGQdoiuOGzHjefnig3qu6MQCPz6QvN2CfSha4167TKVkvq2tCGKBdSivVcUgZJO0wNzDYMLEWZGQSZ9KIWkQmNmoSxT3XkO89L9cE9QY2J5IazxO2SJjKc9k/s320/Videocon-Samsung1.jpeg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5450073297801048850" border="0" /></a><br />Just look at the pic. within the red circle. Or click <a href="http://lite.epaper.timesofindia.com/mobile.aspx?article=yes&pageid=24&edlabel=TOIKM&mydateHid=18-03-2010&pubname=&edname=&articleid=Ad02403&format=&publabel=TOI">here</a> to see it big.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12095324417479723070noreply@blogger.com0