Arbit Scratchpad

Shreyas tagged me with the tag : ' Time well spent: Books in 2005 ' So here is the list: 'One Hundred Years of Solitude' - Gabriel Garcia Marquez's classic of events in the different generations of a family in an imaginary town, with his unique style of magic realism and confusing sequences of names of the characters, leaves you numb at the end by the sheer imagery and imagination that words can infuse. Hair raising stuff. 'To Kill A Mockingbird' by Harper Lee A poignant story about racial discrimination and the way people were treated; from the perspective of a little girl as the narrator. 'Foucault's Pendulum' by Umberto Eco A heady exploration of occult practices, and pagan rituals expressed by Umberto Eco through the crazy ideas of three literary editors to uncover a hidden source of enormous energy and power, leading to chaos and a series of gruesome events. '1984' George Orwell's future prophesy - a saga of dictatorial rule a...

Watched three movies at Kolkata: 'The Grudge'. 'Darkness' and 'Hulk' The first one is a haunted house story, a remake of a Japanese movie; second one also a similar story, better than the first though - the evil spirit in the form of darkness, taking its toll; the third one is about a genetic engineering experiment by a professor, on his son, going wrong with the professor's son turning into a green giant when under duress ... All three easily forgettable. Renamed the blog as the previous one seemed too pretentious ... ;-). So turning on the thought stream now: After all life goes on and assuming everything is fake/maya; we cannot deny our existence even though I may never be the ideal being; because there is no 'ideal' being - I am what I am - that in essense is the true identity; there is no need to be ashamed or proud of any particular thing, as either is a false feeling an imaginary 'hobgoblin' created in the mind that brings bondage and ...

Trains have a knack, almost a flair for running late - however things are getting better with Indian Railways. When discussing the general state of affairs one afternoon, we came to the conclusion that technology is intruding into the more culture oriented Bengal and the intrusion isn't especially for the good. Ultra-conservative people even suggest that technology is the greatest bane for society and the eastern way of life which gives prime focus to spirituality, will soon come back with a vengeance - I argued giving some examples of things that make mundane life much more easier like communication or travel which was pointed out as not the ultimate goal. Makes me think - what everyone is following - the general direction that technology is leading us towards - is that the right way for the human species, making limbs and the brains gradually inactive - like slow poisoning. Kolkata is fast becoming like any other place - super malls and western dressing styles, mega filmstar show...

Where will I go back to ? When I am back from the old, renamed, city of joy; Into another awaiting that ceremony. Cold it is more here, getting colder even ... The extra-warmth of people making up, for that deficit in percieved heat.

You have a passion for say reading and writing or dramatics (which are mine) and then you are in an industry say software (mine again) and a background in computer science engineering. So how would you actually combine the two and get double the fun – be doing what you want and earn your livelihood by combining the experience of your current profession and of achieving, what you always wanted to do. Start a firm? Maybe … Cogitations, ideas, thoughts on opening a startup. What do you say ? Do I even make sense? (UPDATE: Key ingredients - Arts, Paintings, Literature, Books, eBooks, reading, writing, authors, libraries, Software, Open Source Software, Linux, OpenSolaris, antialiasing, machine learning, neural networks, startup). Calling for v olunteers and their thoughts.

Promiscuity (physical and mental) is disgusting. It is impossible to enjoy each moment, since that would be like saying, laugh every moment even when the pain increases. How do you make out if life has been a failure? Is it disguising itself as a successful life. Or is this yet another hurdle in life, part of the unending race that has a hurdle every few steps. So if you don't have the gusto or the wind in your lungs to run further ? What do you do ? Take rest ? And then start the run again ... Competitive life. Disconnected to any real peace in life. Are people insane if I call this false - all of this glory, fame, riches, amenities, gadgets and what not? Or am I insane to question things. Unending change; more than change, the process of having an open mind which is very important seems to be missing. People see only the narrow confines, restricting the vision. You are a software developer, means you only read technical tuff, code, code and code more. Think of nothing else; that ...

Final day at FOSS.in (2nd Dec 05) had a talk by Jonathan Corbet (Editor Linux Weekly News - http://lwn.net and co-author of the book 'Linux Device Drivers') on mutual exclusion in the linux kernel which was followed by Alan Cox (former kernel maintainer) on Writing a Modern Linux Device Driver which was loaded with far too much info for a one hour session, anyways got some pointers. I attended these two and went to work. Read more here: http://planet.foss.in/ Got a Belenix LiveCD based on Open Solaris - it is memory intensive and the GUI does not render after boot. Apart from that Yahoo seemed somewhat subdued at the FOSS.in conference, they had sponsored the event every year, but not this time. Google was an official sponsor and the buzz in their stall was evident all the time. Sun also generated lots of frenzy with their software and contests. [Update: The OpenSolaris team here in Bangalore, came back and wanted to know what the exact problem was and I registered based on...

First day at FOSS.in was good - its a 4 day event this time. Today's topics included the inauguration by Atul Chitnis and then a talk by Alan Cox (Linux kernel maintainer). Later talks went on among other topics, related to interrupt handling, USB on embedded linux, H/W and S/W aspects of industrial embedded systems, Linux scheduling and NetBSD, Kernel hacking using kernel loadable modules and counter hacks was a very interesting talk. Will go tomorrow - as I got a permission only for first two days from work ...

We had as part of our Annual Day celebrations a group song competition last Friday called 'Sargam', consisting of two separate rounds - first one the Karaoke round with humourous twisted lyrics called 'Bappi Copy' and the second the instrumental round called 'The Band' round. We did well, but since we were doing it for the first time; the team came 5th and 6th in these 2 rounds respectively, out of a total of 8 houses based on which all employees of the organisation were split. First time - so it was a great experience to be on stage performing as a group. The first round we did parody (about PMs and performance appraisals) with 4 good singers (including yours truly ;-)), with lyrics of the Kishore-Asha duet 'Maine Kasam Li'. The second round was accompanied by an amazing guitarist from our house in which I did Kishore's 'Jaana Jaan ...' from the movie 'Jawani Diwani' and 'Dum Maro Dum' by another female team member; along wit...

Neat looks and rock solid stablility - only my sound card doesnt work yet ... First time using Suse Linux on my system. The Knights (GNU Chess) package with all the chess pieces/board themes, that the stupid Fedora installation never comes with, made my day. The updater also works fine (YAST). Again for the dial-up wvdial did the trick ( More here ).

Here is a short story based on partly a brainwave, and partly inspired by Chekov: 'The Song'

Indian Express has exposed the Congress involvement and Natwar Singh's kickbacks and links in the Iraq Oil Scam. The Volcker report on ‘oil for food’ scandal has come as a shocker to the Congress and they in a ridiculous move, want to sue the UN on the findings . Isnt this laughable. The modus operandi and Complete coverage. Watched the movie 'Encounter, The Killing' on DD. The movie though not great in terms of screenplay or having the commercial movie slickness; has a very interesting story as it unfolds. Some of the acting is very amateurish, and the masala songs thrown in are just that, mindless entertainment. But the acting by Naseeruddin Shah as the sincere, humane yet professional Parsee police inspector is just amazing. He is able to mould into any character and handle all the diverse emotions, with so much ease, that he actually seems genuinely living the role he portrays. The movie shows the human side of a few police staff. Some of the actors are from Marathi...

A heavy shadow, the misty plain A bunch of men with a fresh plan, again The steaming cups of tea, sound of prayers A scheme gets resolved in the mind of the slayers. Read more of the poem: A mistaken prayer, a false offering

The controversy that just seems to have spilled over. (Was busy with Durga Puja at that time and missed out on this) IIPM vs a few bloggers ( Gaurav Sabnis and Rashmi Bansal ) & JAM Online Mag's article . Gaurav had to actually leave resigned from his job at IBM - similar to incidents at Microsoft and Google in the US where bloggers were made to leave, maybe this time more an individual's decision rather than the company giving marching orders . . . A gist of the issue from NDTV Read an indepth detail of the legal saga HERE . Also more details HERE . My opinion on this: If IIPM did have a reason to go after JAM Mag which did an expose on its false claims of infrastucture and the MBA degree awarded by them (the IIPM and the degree are unrecognised by AICTE and any other official body in India) then they should have probably done it in a less dramatic and less defiling manner. The hyper-reaction shows that they are indeed guilty of malpractice and mis-advertisi...

Even though a bit too melodramatic, 'Black' is a good movie that I just finished watching a few minutes back. The girl ( Ayesha Kapur ) who played the younger Michelle gave an excellent performance! Rani Mukherjee is definitely a good actress (not just a dumb pretty face) no doubts on that, and as Debraj, a stellar performance by Amitabh Bachhan, even though overacting at times, more towards the beginning – he is best towards the end. (Photo: bbc.co.uk) The movie is anything but subtle. The colours in the movie are brilliant and a bit too much variation ie jarring to the eyes - as I said anything but subtle. Dhritiman Chaterjee who is a renowned bengali actor as usual superb and controlled acting as the blind and deaf girl's father; also the lady playing the role of the mother has done the emotional role well, only sometimes seeming a bit too joyous. All in all a very good movie and well directed and choreographed by Bhansali - offbeat and away from the usual fair. My Rat...

A series of ghastly terrorist attacks struck New Delhi on the eve of Diwali - 50 people are being reported dead in 3 serial blasts at different spots. Yet another mindless violent massacre. Red Alert has been declared all over the city and parts of the country. Doordarshan always seems to skew reports, projecting a lower death toll; 50 would probably translate to more than 100 dead. Officials have not yet confirmed terrorist atacks. Police should have tightened the security settings during the festival season - terrorists managed to do this at this time, speaks something about the lapse of intelligence gathering. News videos of dead bodies of kids and others looks gruesome and very very depressing, especially when it was supposed to have been a joyous Diwali. Bombs were diffused in some other areas of Delhi too, such as Chandni Chowk etc I believe. Currently reading 'The Art of Innovation' by the general manager of IDEO the famous design firm. Gives insight into the general a...

Advaita - A short sketch of the philosophy of Non-dualism. This essay is purely from my understanding and reading of the philosophy - any errors, may please be pointed out and corrections/suggestions are welcome.

Watched 'Swades' on the PC last weekend, courtesy a friend's borrowed CD. Shahrukh Khan has given a very natural performance and the topic chosen along with the direction is a sincere effort from Ashutosh Gowarikar. The first part is excellent; though the second part is a bit patchy with the screenplay – some of the scenes and songs suddenly appear and seem disconnected. The central theme of the movie is about how a successful NRI scientist goes back to India works in a village for sometime trying to fulfill the villager's hopes and aspirations ; feels the call of the nation and his conscience and eventually gives up a lucrative post with a foreign organisation (NASA). Depicts the rural underdevelopment in India and how every wealthy and well to do Indian needs to feel for and actively participate and do something based on his capacity; to alleviate the poverty and the lack of basic empowerment - power and education so these actually start percolating down to the masses...

Another enjoyable Durga Puja comes to an end (Jayamahal Durga Puja Samiti, Bangalore, India; 51st year celebrations, 09-13 October 2005) (Photo Courtesy AnandaUtsav.com - excellent site for Puja enthusiasts.) Five days of worship, friends, community feasts, cultural programmes and much much more. Shashti, Saptami, Ashtami, Navami and culminating with the immersion on Vijaya Dashami. To come out of that mood is immensely difficult. The essence of Bengali culture and traditions so well etched out and blossoms during the season. The identity catches fire and all the joyous flames are fanned; even though the rains tried to dampen the spirits this time, however it failed. A warm glow is all that remains, for the rest of the year , until the next Puja ...

Just back from IDF ( October 06 - 07, 2005 • Palace Grounds • Bangalore, India. ) : 2 days of immersive experience into technologies ranging from multicore processors, Intel software tools to Wideband/Wimax and other technologies for the home and enterprise. Good conference lectures, lab sessions, and ofcourse food too ;-) all sponsored by the company ! At the road leading to the IDF there was a huge hoarding by AMD with an arrow pointer saying 'Way to IDF' . And below another arrow 'Way to the Future' pointing to the AMD logo. But seems AMD cannot stand the tech prowess and advertising might of Intel.

If you are of a kind, for whom a book you read makes you act or behave as the protagonist in the book; then reading the right book becomes very important. If you see it that way I tend to put the contents or the personality in the book in practice. I finished Paulo Coelho's 'Veronica Decides to Die' some weeks back - in parts, it is brilliant and the ending is quirky with a message, but the overall book was lousy and made me squirm at the behaviour of the protagonist and other insane or so called 'mad' inmates of the asylum. Unlike 'One flew over the cuckoo's nest', 'Veronica ...' tends to be sickening at times, even though the prior is a tragedy and the later has a more hopeful ending.

A: It is ok to be confused. It is ok to be sad. It is ok to want money and fame. It is ok to feel what you feel about things. There is no such thing as the ultimate truth, and if it does exist, but someone chooses to make it so difficult for ordinary human beings to see it, then so be it. Face reality, change the things you can change, and accept things you can't. No point in wondering, what if you had done something different in a situation in the past. Because if you had done something else, you wouldn't be you, you would be someone else. You are what you are, because you are you.... SB: That is what a Karma Yogi would say, but you cannot keep your questioning mind in the refrigerator and just ignore it. True, lamenting about the past has no benefits, but we are only being spineless by adopting a life that is just too easy to live. Eat, sleep and be merry ! How disgusting. Of course each one has his own view. We are indeed individuals and would not like any interference in ou...

Shame on the US administration for the way hurricane Katrina was handled. The way Mumbai was handled after July 26 was much more effective. Photo & Links (NYTIMES): Point Those Fingers By PAUL KRUGMAN Killed by Contempt By PAUL KRUGMAN Kristof: The Larger Shame . Rains again lash Mumbai

Vakratunda, Lambodara, Gajanana, Vinayaka. The festival of Ganesh Chaturthi celebrated with great fervour and festivities in Maharashtra, Karnataka and Andhra was revived by Balgangadhar Tilak as a means of raising national pride, towards the beginning of the last century when British rule was still strong in India.

Finished 1984 by George Orwell (The complete book is available here ; All of Orwell's novels , and other works ) Removed FC4 - it is buggy Installed MandrakeLinux 10.1 Community . Browsing from it ... Mandrake ( now Mandriva ) is a more user friendly linux distro. Could connect using modem setup and kppp. Got the OSS sound drivers Video playback using Kaffeine

Man - protecting or trangressing Earth ? (GIMP 2.2 on FC4 Linux) Some more snaps from Fedora Core 4

Independence Day Greetings . Shifted completely From pirated OS to Open Source freedom (XP to FC4) FC4 is a bit buggy and a memory hog - often freezes. Bought Combo drive and External modem -> for Linux How to make an external modem work KPPP and Internet Config Wizard were useless and reported 'No Modem' However wvdial saved the day after some googling ofcourse. Steps to set up an external modem using wvdial: 1) Keeping the modem on, run 'wvdialconf' to create the default entries into /etc/wvdial.conf It should detect the presence of the modem on the serial port. (/dev/ttyS0 for COM1, /dev/ttyS1 for COM2 - ttyS 'S' in caps) 2) 'man wvdial' - see the sample file and copy it into /etc/wvdial.conf 3) Connection details including Baud, Phone, Username, Password etc needs to be updated. Add Init2 = ATX3 to ignore detecting dialtone while dialing. 4) Update /etc/resolve.conf - this is for allowing DNS resolutions by browser and other apps. 4 a) Run '...

Review of Foucault's Pendulum by Umberto Eco (Translated from the original in Italian) The novel said to be a thinking man's 'Da Vinci Code' and written in 1988, is dense (500+ pages) in historical references and is almost like an encyclopaedia of European and Jewish religious and occult history. It has all the ingredients of the Templars - the knights of the Christian holy order, the crusades, the Jewish symbology related to the universe and the hidden facts, philosophy and theological wisdom and cabalistic secrets that are coming on since ages, preserved by secret societies and rituals all over the world. This novel depicts the intellectual game of three editors of an Italian publishing firm which specializes in all studies of historical importance. The book is a roller coaster ride into the minds of those engrossed in the history of mystical and occult sciences. To read it once may not suffice as the author puts in so much detail that at times it may be difficult to ...

Last book I read 'Learn To Live' - Vol I, by Swami Jagadatmananda. The book dwells on various aspects of life and what can be done to improve it; better than most of the other self-help books that I have read. The book is a translation from the actual book which was in Kannada. Through his advice and excellent examples which are wide ranging and not just limited to national events but about incidents, personalities and anecdotes from all over the world, he explores human psychology, spirituality, history, worklife and many many other things that make a person's life successful. Some pointers from the book will definitely help you in both your professional and personal life. A must read, now I need to buy Vol II. Other books in fiction I want to buy/read, based on reviews that I read up. Lets see if I can go to someplace, where I could get them cheap ... 'The Namesake' by Jhumpa Lahiri Immigrants to America and their life in turmoil, their not fitting in any...

A copy done in Gimp of the painting 'Bharat Mata' by Abanindranath Tagore. First one is the original [from Kamat's Potpourri ]. The second one, my copy. In isolation my copy looks pretty decent, but in comparison with the original, it just pales out and vanishes in the level of grace that the original painting holds. The painting by Abanindranath is beautiful, the borders and lines are delicate and finely composed, the hues so rich and yet the melancholy, mundane look and the mystic, hazy aura makes it very captivating - a gem. Leader of the Revivalist Movement in the field of Modern Indian Painting in Bengal, Abanindranath Tagore is also credited with a key contribution towards ushering in the renaissance in Indian painting. ( More )

The eternal flame of hope always burns, 'Bright' Through the depth of hell and the pleasures of desire, 'Undiminished' All the illusion, the dance of the puppets, 'how beautiful' The real, the true self is just a part of that, 'always joyful' Existence, knowledge, bliss - absolute, eternal. 'man = divine'

Here is a poem on Bangalore. 'Tomorrow and the city'

Dear fellow Indian Y ou are requested to show your solidarity with an effort to aid the inquiry into the fate of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose. Kindly consider the following with an open mind: It has been 60 years since Netaji was reported killed following an air crash in Taipei, Taiwan. Since then, a torturous debate has been gnawing at the conscience of grateful Indians. Intelligence records show that under the ruse of a faked air crash, Netaji may have escaped to the then Soviet Union. And that this may have been known to top Indian leaders of that era. You would have heard many fanciful as well as dreadful stories. It has been alleged that Netaji died in a hideous Siberian camp in the 1950s. God forbid that should be true. The truth, whatever it is, must be found out. Now it has come to the crunch. In a few months from now, the report of the Honourable Justice MK Mukherjee Commission of Inquiry will be out. Set up after a Court order, this Commission has, against all odds, found...

Cringley: Apple and Intel to merge; Steve Jobs finally beats Bill Gates Fortune: Apple's switch to Intel processors to accelerate Windows users switching to Mac OS X A dig on the Hare Krishna Cult From the cartoon strip 'Joy of Tech'

From: Anuj Dhar <anuj.dhar__at__gmail_dot com> Date: Jun 2, 2005 2:11 AM Subject: Re: Back From Dead - Inside the Subhas Bose Mystery (contd.) To: Shamit Bagchi <shamit at_gmail__dot__com> Should we close down all cases in case we are not able to resolve them in time? Why are we still probing journalist Shivani Bhatanagar's murder? It's been 5-6 years. And what;s the fuss about 1965 war leak. It's been 40 years. We should look into future. I dont understand the logic people give. Let commission's report come...everyone will now how "futile" Justice Mukherjee's probe has been. there was no crash in 1945. there is no evidene that Bose and General Tsunamasa Shidei visited Taihoku on 18 August 1945. TAiwan Govt told me and later told Commision that they have many records. these records show other crashes but there is no evidence of any crash involving Netaji...I have not made my case just on this. I have seen intelligence reports and quoted from...

From: Shamit Bagchi Reply-To: Shamit Bagchi To: Anuj Dhar Yes that is true - The Mukherjee Commission was almost terminated last month. Even Supreme Court of India termed it futile. May be he is not alive now - but may be he did not actually die in the 1945 Taiwan plane crash as claimed/reported. Though one of his close associates had confirmed his death. You would have done much more research; I cannot say much as i am not very knowledgeable on this. But i have heard of certain conspiracy theories on how Jawaharlal Nehru may have been involved in leaking Netaji's whereabouts to Lord Mountbatten; as someone who had typed the letter has come out as a witness. The Congress government also, does not seem to be very open on this issue.

From: Anuj Dhar Reply-To: Anuj Dhar To: Shamit Bagchi Date: May 31, 2005 10:38 PM Subject: Re: Back From Dead - Inside the Subhas Bose Mystery Reply | Reply to all | Forward | Print | Add sender to Contacts list | Trash this message | Report phishing | Show original Dear Shamit How nice of you to say that! I am glad that you replied despite your not being so enthusiastic by details of his death. Your opinion is about to be changed. Please do tell others about the site and you please go thru the links. On 10 June the Mukherjee Commission will hold its next sitting. We will know whether or not the Govt is letting them go to Russia. Funny people cant see this simple thing: the commission has evidence suggesting that Netaji was in Russia after his "death" and the Govt is not letting them go there. What's is it they want to hide from the people? Regards Anuj Dhar http://www.geocities.com /netajimystery/home

Hello Anuj, Wow! The author of this book: 'Back From Dead - Inside the Subhas Bose Mystery' by Anuj Dhar I am excited by the fact that you commented on my blog. I am more enthusiastic about his unparalleled life, than details of his death. Not sure of the mysteries. However, there is compelling evidence, as your book states. I'll try and read the book. Regards, Shamit

Just finished 'Bharot Pothik' translated into bengali from ' An Indian Pilgrim ', Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose's autobiography. In it he mostly describes his childhood days, school and college life and a chapter on his philosophy of life - at a stage he refutes the belief that everything is Maya and this world is untrue. He was greatly influenced by the teachings of Swami Vivekananda and Shri Ramakrishna and also Shri Aurobindo and ended up participating in many social and spiritual causes. It ends with a collection of letters to his mother, which gives an insight into his extreme devotion and respect for his mother. I was amazed that my Bengali reading skills have not deteriorated that much - though some words were difficult to comprehend (that obviously has something to do with a bad vocabulary). My kannada is miserable for which I have often had to face the wrath of my friends (one of them almost strangulated me once ... ;-)); Its a matter of interest. In other ne...

The Official site for the film : Give me blood and I shall give you freedom' - Called Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose urging Indians onto selfless patriotism. Catch the tumultuous last five years of the life of Bose that marked the turning point in India's struggle for independence from British Colonial rule. The highly controversial events including a daring escape, travel across Afghanistan in disguise, meeting Hitler in Germany, and ending in a mysterious plane crash; providing screen drama and visual adventure that would leave any James Bond movie wanting. Come, re-discover one of our greatest heroes, and be awed by this life-extraordinaire. http://www.bosethefilm.com/ Some more links : 'I will always remember Netaji' A fitting tribute 'Bose' hits the turnstiles today Benegal on his next film, Bose Interview with Netaji's daughter, Anita Bose Pfaff The Introduction Part I: 'India has not behaved honorably' Part II: 'Gandh...

The movie Subhash Chandra Bose - The Forgotten Hero by Shyam Benegal was not premiered as planned in Kolkata, on 5th May and the 6th May release was stalled, I am not sure if it is yet running as I did not see any ads in newspapers etc. Some deponents of the Mukherjee Commission of Inquiry, inquiring into Netaji's disappearance, are opposing the release of the film in current form. This seems mindless - as the essence of the movie is to inspire people and portray his life of undauntable courage and determination as a fearless leader - he was human nevertheless. Update: "We just do not want to give a chance for violence," Benegal said, adding that he and film producers Sahara Motion Pictures postponed the release to May 13 from May 6 - Gulf Daily News Some more articles : VCL does submarine sequence for Benegal's Bose The return of Bose Currently listening: The brilliant song 'Kadam Kadam Badhaye Jaa' , which was the marching song of the INA. Vijay Prakash ...

Netaji - The Forgotten Hero, Shyam Benegal's film on Subhash Chandra Bose, is finally ready after three years in the making. The film releases on May 6, 2005. (PHOTO COURTESY: REDIFF.COM) Benegal, who says he feels that Bose “has been forgotten by modern India because he was unfairly sidelined by the establishment as they did not agree with his views”, aims the film at the present generation, a fact that can be gauged from his comment - “that (people forgetting about Bose) is a pity because the youth of today could have learnt a great deal from him about commitment, standing up for values and idealism”. Benegal has assembled one of the most talented cast for the film, with the underrated but brilliant Sachin Khedekar in the lead role, and it has been shot in locations within India and also in Uzbekistan, Germany and Myanmar. It is probably also the first Indian movie to have shot inside a World War II vintage German submarine. (FROM DECCAN HERALD) More information and details in th...

1) I was reading an article in the The New Indian Express about the loss of freedom of the press and media in the US not because of state control but because of the complete control of news by large conglomerates and corporate houses - thus twisting and limiting the news only for the sake of competition and catering to the targetted audiences; it ends up becoming pure entertainment not information or thought provoking reports, but dumbed down; the state's manipulation tactics is also prevalent, as during the Iraq war coverages ... 'Embedded Journalism'. The dismal scene of media may percolate on to the Indian scene too, as only the middle classes are targetted in all channels 'the class capable of paying and shopping and with the maximum buying power' and those facts or issues that need to be focussed on will get blacked out - because there is actually no audience for them, because they cannot actually are of not much use or pay no returns, the objective and investi...

This is a disturbing piece of fiction that I wrote recently. It is supposed to be in the genre of dark humour. It has certain bizarre and intended uses of violence. Do read it and give in your views, but note you have been warned. Alibi

Nice article I was reading about frugal travel in Paris ( Needs registration I guess ) - More travelogues from The New York Times . European destinations here ... PHOTO SOURCE : NYTIMES Also a fellow Bangalore blogger and chef and owner of a food joint called 'Shiok' - read his stories of travel and exciting food from Singapore.

Finally felt 'exercise' should get an entry into the dictionary of my life. Started voluntary exercises for the first time ever in my life ;-). Started going to the gym at office, since past one week - approx losing 150 kcal per day (atleast thats what those hulky machines tell me) . . . PHOTO SOURCE : Google + gymcareaustralia Hope to shed some flab as excessive weights can cause hypertension and diabetes etc etc as I am well aware and as the doctor has been repeatedly threatening. It also releases certain good chemicals and I was feeling much better than on all those other days when I used to be sitting all day in front of the Dell Black Box and not doing any form of physical exertion ... Wish me luck ;-)

Was watching the movie ' Pyaasa ' by Guru Dutt on Doordarshan today ... A brilliant movie which focuses on the society's indifference towards a poet played by Guru Dutt himself. He is reduced to penury by certain circumstances after his brothers throw him out of his house. Its only after he is mistaken to be dead that his poems are published and he becomes a sensation. He actually has survived and escapes a suicide attempt. Later he is put into an asylum for claiming that he is the poet whose poems have now become famous. Then everyone first avoids him as they will have to share the profits from the published works. Then everyone starts claiming that he is the true poet and they are his friends and relatives so that they can now share the riches. Though sometimes appearing fatalistic the movie, has songs and sequences replete with theme of the exploitation of women and the rampant poverty in our country. PHOTO SOURCE : REDIFF.COM The songs are marvelous, and Waheeda Rehman...

Some excerpts: Is it a fallout, a sort of appendage, of globalization that was critical in rescuing our economy in the early 90s – I don't deny the kind of economic progress and better standards of living it has brought in, but the baggage which comes with anything external is here to stay. The money has come along with the consumerist, lascivious culture glorified in the western society. Earlier it was less of everything from sense pleasures to money to celebrations, but now more is in – excesses in everything is the order of the day. There are a lot of positive aspects in the western society, the fastidious nature, the punctuality, the industrious and reasoning mentality and the cleanliness; but we seem to have copied in all the wrong things. Read the essay Ad Nauseam

Disputed world champion and the highest ELO rated chess player Gary Kasparov quit chess - the genius ended his career after winning the Linares 2005 chess competition recently. The main contender in recent times against Anand; had a row with the one of the two major chess governing bodies worldwide, FIDE. I was a great fan of his... We had been on an outbound with our team of 90 project members to Shakti hill resorts recently. Good spot with lots of greenery. We had games, teambuilding sessions etc etc and good food ...

How the Jharkhand fiasco was initiated and the behind the scene operations .... For that matter, the manner in which constitutional norms where thrown to the winds, and all ethics and rules subverted, the PM was busy in the budget and not even aware of what the Italian lady and her cronies and syncophants are up to. The country seems to be largely run by the whims and desires of an italian waitress and au pair combo, Sonia Gandhi, the next Indira Gandhi duplicate on the block. She acts, as if she doesnt get into any of this, is so innocent and doesnt know anything - but because of these recent elections, the actual dark side of this scorpion-like venomous personality is out (is she from the Mafia family background or undergone training for some nasty tricks at some Mafia training camp, I sometimes think). Haryana (read Bhajan Lal's statement?He has sworn to topple Hooda within a few months), Goa, Bihar and Jharkhand all in a mess for Congress. Did the docile PM know who initiated t...

Listening to 'Sun sun sun sun zaalimaa' ... from Guru Dutt's movie 'Aar Paar' on Doordarshan. The Google blog template , seems a definite hit ! However, I hope its not a copyright infrigement. Copying a web template should not be; but you never know. I was just reading a document back at office; each and every publicity note or advertisement or even internal notices have to follow a format, a particular specified style. Was reading 'To Kill a Mockingbird' - it is one of the most poignant and subtly humourous and touchingly sensitive books that I finished recently ... The ending is very unexpected. Just started 'The Alchemist' by Paulo Coelho . Ashwin Kumar 's movie LITTLE TERRORIST has been nominated in the SHORT FILM (LIVE ACTION) category at the Oscars ... Lets see if the Indian director picks up an Oscar today ...

Started reading this week, ' To Kill A Mockingbird ' by Harper Lee. It is the best book I have read till now, (earlier it was 'A Clockwork Orange', and 'Uncle Tom's Cabin'; in the classics category); the way imagery has been captured is just amazing at that time (1960) its as if you were watching a movie about a little girl as she grows up. The way people behave in her neighbourhood; along with her brother, and her father, a lawyer fighting for the rights of blacks, when the black and white divide was still rampant. I have read about half the book and I am enjoying this, like I havent done with so many books, for a long time ... It strikes a chord, right with my heart, an amazing classic. Lovely. Sometimes serious, conveying a message ; and simultaneously humourous with a subtle humour at every step. Its a novel I would have loved to write. Highly recommended !

What do you think are the advantages of corporate blogging? Both EXTERNAL and INTERNAL usage for the organisation ?

Today is the 108th birth anniversary of Netaji, the revolutionary freedom fighter and leader who gave up everything for our country's salvation. Subhas Chandra Bose, The Indian National Army, and The War of India's Liberation Anecdotes Give Me Blood! I Promise You Freedom!! Speeches and articles Hitler's secret Indian army

After almost two years I was finally able to write something. I was undergoing a severe bout of writer's block. I had started a few pieces of fiction, but was unable to find plausible ends to any of them. Here is a short story : Missing Read it and send in your views as to how you liked it or didn't ...

The way I could interpret it with art ... The water monsters gulp down humans, as if for their redemption. So many died, but the people affected are in a more terrible state. It is possible that the death toll may cross 5 lakhs. Helpless in front of the natural cleansing process. Nature - Infinitely more powerful. By the way, wish you a happy new year !