May 10, 2009
Does India need its own Obama?
I just finished seeing a debate on NDTV on whether India needs an Obama-like figure in Indian politics--one who represents change, reform, and unification, someone who is charismatic leader, one who gives you hope about your future and makes you believe in it, even when there is nothing left to believe in.
The debate was interesting and similar thoughts keep popping up in my head now and then, especially when I watch the 'circus' that the general elections in India have become. Every party, every candidate, even the media knows and believes that its a numbers game and not about issues. What saddens me even more is seeing them acknowledge it openly that May 16th will decide who their next best friends are. I wonder if I should call our society politically immature? Or is it the 'chalta-hai' attitude that we are so accustomed to? Or am I asking for too much? Because given a choice amongst the self-declared 'leaders' out there, I have to choose someone.
I agree in part with the fact that we choose a party and not a prime minister at the national level atleast. But at the regional level, we do infact look for people who have the charisma, the persona sometimes combined with the ability to lead. There have been many examples of people having atleast some of the qualities mentioned above. N.T.Rama Rao in Andhra Pradesh was elected based on the charisma he had. Chandrababu Naidu was known for his leadership qualities and was considered a brilliant statesman when he served as the Chief Minister. Though ofcourse to appease one section of the society, the other sections were ignored by these leaders. They were not perfect and we have to remember that Obama is not perfect. We can never have a perfect leader in this non-utopian world of ours. But what we are looking for is someone who can connect to a large section of society and bring with him/her a host of issues that are common to everyone. In the gen-next leaders of today, I really like Omar Abdullah, although I don't see him playing a key role at the national level.
So can we have somebody at the national level, who can combine leadership, charisma and be acceptable to all the sections of society? There has never been a person who could unify the country together on a common program. India is such a diverse country with very different socio-economic classes. Each class, each region has very specific issues which concern them. There has never been an overlap of issues or I should say there hasn't been anyone who has brought all the issues together to unify them and pose them as a common threat to the country.
We like to talk about poverty, racial and gender discrimination as being the forces of evil that need to be defeated at every level. But these issues have to be molded in such a way that they reach the ears of the common man and resonates with them no matter what class or social background they belong to. The common man has to identify himself/herself with these ideas. In other words we need a set of objectives, a set of directions, a vision for the future that can be put across to all the people of India and benefits of which can be reaped by almost all (if not all) sections of society. Until that can happen, until we can find someone who can do that, I don't think India can have an Obama-like figure to lead it.
I also believe, that it's too early to say whether Obama is a perfect example of a leader. He does have a lot of the qualities that one would find in a leader, but only time can tell whether he will be successful in what he envisions to be the future of the country. But plenty of leaders in the past have proven to have all the above qualities and have been successful in their programs. So what India really needs is a modern day Martin Luther King or a Mahatma Gandhi or even a Kautilya. One who can unify the country towards a common set of goals, one who has a vision and shares it with the rest of the people, one who drives them towards these goals, one who leads by example, one who is charismatic, modest, and humble in every aspect. I am not saying that unless we have someone like this we are a doomed society. What I am saying is that having someone like this would help us bring some of the important issues we are facing today at the forefront and would help us tackle them in a resourceful manner. Unlike the election 'circus' that we see today, perhaps someday the elections can be more about 'real' issues and the real people who are the true pillars of a great democracy.
Posted by Anuj at 05:43 PM | Comments (0)
December 04, 2008
Are we one nation yet?
India became independent at the stroke of midnight hour on 15th August, 1947. It has since gone on to become the world's biggest democracy and the fastest growing economy. The biggest strength of India is the diversity in people, culture, tradition and religion. While the rest of the world never gave India a chance, somehow, the people of India believed in it. And today we are the intellectual capital of the world. While the rest of the world is getting 'old', almost 55% of India is still young and will remain so for the next decade.
As we sit here a week after 26/11--the most gruesome day in modern and free India, a lot of questions keep coming up in my mind. Am I angry? Yes! But more than angry, I am saddened by the state of affairs, by the shear midhandling of the situation in Mumbai, about how there were intelligence failures, about how the NSG/Marcos commando teams had to fight with no night-vision goggles, no thermal imaging or any advanced equipment, about how the political parties played their funny little games, about how everyone seemed to pass the buck and about how the media showed no maturity.
Are we one nation yet? Unfortunately, the biggest strength of India is also its weakness. There is strength in numbers we say, but we never stand together. Religion, caste, and poverty still separates us. And if this was not enough, even people from different regions choose to separate themselves. Almost all of my previous posts have been on the achievements of India, me being proud of them and celebrating them as a true citizen. But one could be proud and still question the right from wrong, the good from the bad. Six years living outside India has taught me so many things and I can say that I have the insight now to actually look at India closely and see the things that are going wrong. Some people may choose to call me an escapist and that living outside India, how can I really understand its problems. In my view, you can only find out what's wrong when you sit on the outside and observe.
But before I point out what is really wrong, it is important to know why we are what we are. For a long time, Indians have lived as slaves. And it has only been 61 years since we became free. It hasn't even been two generations since that happened. The attitude of taking things for granted, for not retaliating when someone hurts you, for creating a world around you that involves a million safety nets, is a reflection of the fact that we have still not come out totally from the slave era. We are still scared of what the world will think about us. I am not saying that retaliation by force is the solution. Use tough diplomacy! But this is an art and we still need to learn it. Indians are not good managers and this shows even at the highest levels of governance.
From 1947 till about 1991, India was a socialist nation. The markets were closed to FDI, the public sector was losing out to privatization from within, our foreign reserves were depleted and India was dying economically. At this point things had started to deteriorate. The civil servants had created such a thick net of bureaucracy and license raj, that in order to survive, you had to resort to corruption. The state machinery was failing and people were becoming lazy. The babus at the offices were paid so poorly that they could not afford a decent living for their families. So, they had no choice, but to become a part of the system. When India opened its gates to the free market trade (although partially), suddenly the middle class found avenues to make quick money. But they were faced with the same problems of bureaucracy in order to get anything done. The government employees found themselves stuck with their jobs on one hand (sometimes due to lack of good primary education, other times due to monetary difficulties) and saw the rest of the country rolling in money (so to speak). This did not sit well with them and they started wielding their power at the offices and bribery became rampant. This situation exists even today and hence corruption has become a part of the social fabric since then. In fact, honesty is the exception, not the rule anymore!
This attitude has also caused the political system to be a complete failure. With a million parties dividing the votes amongst themselves, we have really given ourselves too much choice. The politicians are not answerable to anyone. To earn our votes, they would go to any extent, even resort to goondaism. Even at the national level, the politicians are mere puppets at the hands of the bureaucratic civil servants (reminds me of Yes Minister). This was very much the case even last week during the handling of the Mumbai attacks. With the NSG,Marcos,RAF,state police etc. all present there, who was really incharge? Was there one governing body that took control of the situation? There was noone from the government side who could stand up like a leader. Neither from the state, nor from the centre. Why was the media allowed 24/7 access to the sites? Why was the information about the covert operations being shown on national television? Why has only Vilasrao Deshmukh resigned? Why haven't the people at RAW, Intelligence bureau at Delhi, state intelligence, coast guard, navy etc. resigned? Why have we not demanded resignations from these people? Why is it that these people are just passing the buck and trying to find scapegoats for the massive damage that has been done? Has anyone even stepped forward to offer any solutions?
A lot has been going wrong. A lot is going wrong. How do we correct it? I offer two very simple and commensensical solutions.
Firstly, the attitude needs to change. We have to start believing like a nation, start feeling like a nation. Not like a mumbaikar, not like a delhiite, not like a hyderabadi or a keralite or a south Indian or a north Indian, but like an Indian. We have different identities, I agree, but our primary identity has and always will be our nationality-Indian. This change in attitude will go a long way. Suddenly you will find people standing united for everything. There will be more recruits to the armed forces, police, intelligence services, which have been suffering off-late with severe morale issues. This change in attitude will go a long way in doing good.
Secondly, as a responsible citizen, we have a right to vote. We need to exercise it with due diligence. Use the power of voting to set right our political system. Once the politicians see the public standing as one, asking questions and demanding results, they will have to change. You have to make them realize that they work 'for' you and are responsible for their actions. This will make them more accountable and in turn they will finally exercise their executive powers to reform the civil services and other departments that have been plagued with corruption. As responsible citizens and as one nation, we can rid ourselves of a lot of things by this one simple choice to vote.
In summary, a lot can be done by just two simple things-changing the attitude to think like one nation and vote baby vote!
I prescribe a very simple task for everyone out there that they need to do everyday. This would take like 30 secs everyday in the morning to do and infact would help burn some calories ! As soon as you get up and just before brushing your teeth, look at yourself in the mirror and say these 4 words 10 times, with feeling- 'I am an Indian'. And once you get accustomed to do this everyday, start repeating it whenever you feel angry at something, someone, whenever you feel like blaming others for your problems, whenever you blame the government for bad governance, whenever you see these dastardly acts of violence on the street, on tv. Trust me, it will make a difference. Try it out..it won't cost you a dime. It might help our country though!
uthishta bharatha !!
Posted by Anuj at 03:57 PM | Comments (0)
November 10, 2008
Some Pictures of Hazara Singh Ramtaji
All pictures are courtesy: Shawn
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Posted by Anuj at 01:52 PM | Comments (0)
August 20, 2007
Tryst With Destiny
An Article I wrote for I-Day 2003 when I was at UTK, but still fresh in my memory..
Long years ago we made a tryst with destiny, and now the time comes when we shall redeem our pledge, not wholly or in full measure, but very substantially. At the stroke of the midnight hour, when the world sleeps, India will awake to life and freedom. A moment comes, which comes but rarely in history, when we step out from the old to the new, when an age ends, and when the soul of a nation, long suppressed, finds utterance.
Pundit Jawaharlal Nehru spoke these few lines while being sworn in as the first Prime Minister of independent India on midnight of 14th August 1947. India became independent on 15th August 1947 after a long hard fought battle against the British, a battle not fought by swords or guns but by the non-violent principles of Mahatma Gandhi, our ‘Father of the Nation’. The story of Indian Independence is unique in itself. It had all started by the ‘Sepoy Mutiny’ in 1857, which led to a series of independent events in all parts of the country. The mutiny was started by the Indians working for the British army. Due to their deep traditions they faced numerous social barriers. The forced use of certain controversial rifles led them to revolt against the officers of the British army, which led to scattered revolts because Indians formed 96 percent of the British army at that time. The revolt was put to an end quickly by the British mainly because of the lack of coordination and cooperation among all the kingdoms across the country. But it taught an important lesson to the British Empire, that India belongs to the Indians and that the British would have to leave it soon.
This mutiny was followed by the formation of the Indian National Congress in 1885, mainly to improve relations between the ruling British and Indian people, which led to the entry of educated middle class Indians into active politics and changed the Indian political scene. The INC as it was popularly called saw different eras with different kinds of people heading it at the forefront. The moderates held the first era with great leaders such as ‘Womesh Chandra Banerjee’ and ‘Dadabhai Navroji’. The next era saw the extremists come into power with great leaders in the form of ‘Bal Ganghadhar Tilak’ and ‘Lala Lajpat Rai’. India was slowly becoming a merciless nation hungry for the blood of the British under these revolutionary leaders and also by new rising ones in the form of ‘Subhash Chandra Bose’, ‘Chandra Shekhar Azad’, and the legendary revolutionary ‘Bhagat Singh’.
It seemed at that time that India was losing control and the fight was becoming more personal than that for the country. It was not until Mahatma Gandhi came to the rescue of India and instilled in the people a wholly new concept of ‘non-violence’, which had been tried and tested by him in South Africa. This new breeze of confidence unified the country into a common fight for independence. Every person, every family, every house in the country was singing praises of the Mahatma and was following the principles put forward by him. His followers included the great ‘Jawaharlal Nehru’ and ‘Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel’ who were already among the young leaders of the INC. It was this lot of great men that took India on a great ride towards that ‘tryst with destiny’ and gave birth to the largest democracy in the World.
It is virtually impossible to account for every detail of the Indian struggle for independence in a few words. I could have written a few hundred pages and still would have found that I haven’t included many of the things, which need to be there. But instead I thought that the true meaning, the true essence of Independence comes from what India and Indians have achieved in 56 years since the day Pundit Nehru and those great leaders made their ‘tryst with destiny’. The idea here is not to present a chronological summary of all the achievements of India, but to account for those years after Independence in which India and Indians had to fight to give it the status and the power that it enjoys today. It is very easy to point out things that have gone wrong, things that are still going wrong. But to account for all the good things is a tremendous task. India—the largest democracy in the World today is still rated as a third world country. Why? As per the latest ratings India is the fastest growing economies in Asia and the World. Indian economy is slated to rise by 6.5 percent in 2003-04. Indian foreign reserves have risen phenomenally to $84 billion and are still rising. The rupee has appreciated dramatically over the last few months and continues to do so. Indian industry especially the IT sector has created waves all over the World. India has been described as the next Biotechnology and Pharmaceutical hub in Asia. And people still ask me the same question—what has India achieved in 56 years of independence? Has the corruption decreased in India? What has India done to reduce the poverty? My question to these people is which country today does not have any problems? The idea is not to escape from these questions but merely questioning each other will not get solutions. Solutions have to be sought by asking ourselves what we have done to improve the living conditions in our own country? What has been our contribution to our country and the countless people who have given their lives to see that our life today is meaningful?
India—was once upon a time a temple of learning. It was the place where people from all over the world came to study in great universities of Nalanda, Takshashila etc. It was the place where ‘Aryabhatta’ discovered the ‘zero’. Often called as the ‘golden bird’, India was the place where every trader wanted to do business. The ruins of ‘Mohenjodaro’ and ‘Harappa’ speak volumes about the existence of a very modern civilization, the first of its kind in India. Well if this was pre-independence era then what have we achieved in all these years of independence? First of all India is a Socialist and Secular Democratic Republic. It is a microcosm of many religions, many traditions, cultures, languages etc. There is so much diversity when one travels from one end to another. Still people live in communal harmony. India today enjoys a position of power in Asia. In the fields of Science and Technology India has carved a niche for itself in the World. India has been supplying the World with many Nobel Laureates over the years, to name a few ‘Dr. C. V. Raman’, ‘Dr. Subramanyan Chandrashekhar’ and recently ‘Dr. Amartya Sen’. In the fields of Information Technology there is no other competitor for India. And as I mentioned earlier India is slated to be the next Pharmaceutical and Biotechnology hub in Asia. India can today boast of its own missile defence system, indigenous nuclear energy and space technology programmes.
India has always been the land of spiritual development. It has been the birthplace of non-temporal values and attitudes like renunciation, meditation, the physico-psychic discipline of yoga etc. In terms of arts Indian film Industry is one of the largest in the World, and the works of Indian directors are appreciated by one and all. How can one forget the World famous concert of ‘Yanni’, which was held in Agra near the ‘Taj Mahal’? India can also boast of World famous musicians in Tabla maestro Zakir Hussian, vocalist Pundit Bhimsen Joshi etc. Indians are among the richest in the World—Azim Premji—Chairman of Wipro, Lakshmi Narayan Mittal—the steel tycoon of UK, Anil Ambani—Chairman of Reliance Industries; they are amongst the richest and most successful Indians in the World. You might be wondering why am I talking about individuals here, well Indians are the ones who have made India proud. And India today is in this position because of them. The achievements of India in these years have been phenomenal. To cite all of them here would be impossible. My only question to all of you is ‘Has any other country achieved so much in so little time?’
People still argue that India has a lot more to achieve. Well I would say ‘Yes’ because if one has achieved everything, then where would the need arise to be better? But for every achievement there has to be a first step and I say that India has crossed that step. It is not easy to carry the likes of different kinds of people in today’s World and make them think alike. But the struggle is going on and I say we are doing a good job. I agree basic needs like education, sanitation, reduction of poverty; corruption and dramatic changes in standards of living are required. I agree we need a political system, which is more stable, and governance is free and just. But as I said earlier merely talking will not solve the problem.
Today the time has come to make another ‘tryst with destiny’, to rise and salute the land that has given us our life, our freedom, to help our country in whichever way it is possible. India needs us today. It needs the courage and determination of every Indian on the face of this Earth to help it achieve the place every Indian has dreamt of. A French Philosopher named ‘Romain Rolland’ once quoted
If there is one place on the face of this Earth where all the dreams of living men have found a home from the very earliest days when Man began the dream of existence, it is India.
It is this India which I dream of. I have decided to dedicate my life to my country. I have woken up from the deep sleep. It’s time for you to wake up too.
Posted by Anuj at 03:04 PM | Comments (0)
August 15, 2007
India is 60 years Old..61st year of Independence..
Here's wishing all fellow Indians a Happy Independence Day.
Jai Hind!
Posted by Anuj at 08:45 AM | Comments (2)
July 09, 2007
There's something about Shalini
Yes..I am talking about the Indian American and very matured filmmaker Shalini Kantayya. Today might not have been the best day for her, but she is one very talented lady. I loved her previous movies especially:- Dr. In-Law
Even though her movie today 'First Sight' bombed big time..I do believe there's something about her that makes her different..and it's not a 'brown' thing..she is really good..I thought that 'First Sight' had the makings of a good movie except the ending. She should have ended with the girl signing the form to donate money and not done the whole message thingie in the end. But I am sure she has a long way to go..u go girl..we r all with u..
On the lot is one TV reality show I am begining to like and love the great work that some young and talented filmmakers are putting up.
Posted by Anuj at 10:29 PM | Comments (0)
May 16, 2007
Blogoscience & Edward Luce
Thanks to desipundit for introducing me to nonoscience, a very interesting blog on science and more science. Nonoscience is maintained by a Professor from IIT-Madras Dr. Arunn Narasimhan and Lakshmi Gopal. Some of the articles were very interesting expecially Borromean rings and use of carbon nanotubes in biomedical applications.
This is exactly what we need - some good information on cool happenings in the scientific community.
On another note, the book by a Edward Luce titled 'In Spite of the Gods: The Strange Rise of Modern India' is a great book to read. The first thing I noticed was that the author was never afraid to speak his mind out loud. I especially liked the parts where he discusses about the caste politics that India still suffers from inspite of having come a long way after independence. Most of his book is an unbiased look at India and its current economic, political and social state.
Posted by Anuj at 05:31 PM | Comments (0)
January 13, 2007
What's next?
Relative 1: So beta what's next?
me: let's see
Relative 2: So beta what's next?
me: let's see
.....
.....
Relative 100...: So beta what's next?
me: let's see
Friend 1: So, buddy what's next?
me: let's see
Friend 2: So, buddy what's next?
me: let's see
.....
.....
Friend 100...: So, buddy what's next?
me: let's see
It seems like this has become the standard question that everyone seems to be asking now. Not only do you not have a precise answer to this rhetorical question, but are altogether put in a place so uncomfy that even the best answer is sometimes foolish. Finishing up or being close to it is hard enough to endure, and then on top of that there are big questions about the future. hmm..sometimes I wonder if this will ever stop. If I would ever 'settle' down as everyone calls it. To me it just seems to go forever and ever and ever and ever.. I don't think anyone 'settles' down truly, only the settings change, the people around you change. The battle is still the same, the numbers increase though, the responsibilities change, and the craziness increases. Wonder how my parents did it (are doing it) though.
High school, undergrad, graduate, job, money, marriage, kids, their schooling, marriage, their kids...phew the cycle never ends..but I guess that's what life is about. So why whine about it. Just sit down, relax and enjoy the ride. Life's a beautiful journey, experience it, enjoy it, and let it come to a peaceful end. That's all there is to it.
So what's next? Well..to live life kingsize and never look back, enjoy every moment, love everyone who passes by, gain all the knowledge and use it to do good, and above all live and let live.
Posted by Anuj at 06:26 PM | Comments (0)
October 06, 2006
Pain and Meredith Grey
Meredith Grey is the not so typical surgeon you would find in real life. She is so lost and confused in her personal life that you know that she will have a slump soon, yet is strong when it comes to becoming a doctor. One of my favorite episodes of Grey's Anatomy was the one titled 'Bring the Pain'.
Some unforgettable quotes:
" Pain, it comes in all forms. The small twinge, a bit of soreness, the random pain that we live with everyday. Then there is the kind of pain you just can't ignore, a level of pain so great that it blocks out everything else, makes the rest of your world fade away until all we can think about is how much we hurt, how we manage our pain is up to us. We anaesthetize, ride it out, embrace it, ignore it, and for some of us the best way to manage pain is to just push through it. "
" Pain, you just have to ride it out, hope it goes away on its own, hope the wound that caused it heals. There are no solutions, no easy answers. You just breathe deep and wait for it to subside. Most of the time pain can be managed, but sometimes the pain gets you when you least expect it, hits way below the belt and doesn't let up.
Pain you just have to fight through, because the truth is you can't outrun it, and life always makes more. "
And ofcourse O'Malley (George) and Izzie are my other two favorite characters. I don't like Cristina that much. But George somehow has that schoolboyish charm with the innocent look that makes him adorable. And Izzie is just the type that you would not expect to become a doc and yet she surprises us. A fun to watch series which seems to be doing what ER did a long time back.
Posted by Anuj at 04:18 PM | Comments (0)
August 15, 2006
60 years of Freedom - Happy Indian Independence Day
Here's Wishing everyone a very Happy Indian Independence Day. 15th August, 1947 was the day India got her Independence from the British. And here we are 60 years hence, making good progress on the long winding road to success.
Well success has different interpretations. For me India breaking out of the shackles and becoming a free economy is success, that we are the fastest growing economies in the World is success, that we have become an important factor in the IT revolution is success, that some of the richest people are Indians is success, that we have had the most beautiful women in the Miss World and Universe competitions is success, that we are moving towards an unmanned mission to the moon is success. I could keep going on and on and yet there would still be many more things we need to do.
For instance the economic success of a few has created a wide disparity between the middle class and lower class. There is a growing need for clean water, afforestation, newer medicines and vaccines, breakthroughs in Science, good education, upliftment of the poor, and cutting the red tape and bureaucracy which is still prevalent in India. I think these issues almost always take a back seat and we need to keep them in mind.
But for today let us first bask in the glory of the nation that we love dearly-India. India, the cradle of civilization and culture.
The sounds of Vande Mataram are the sounds we want to listen to today. Look at the following article where both the Bengali and Hindi(Devnagari) versions are given:
1. Wikipedia
2. Maa Tujhe Salam - A.R.Rahman's own rendition of the song
3. Video on Indian History - Made by a couple of friends at UT, Knoxville
Apparently there is also a Telugu movie titled Vande Mataram made in 1939.
Posted by Anuj at 02:10 PM | Comments (51)
August 07, 2006
CBITWORLD 2.0 is here
The new website of CBIT (my undergrad school) Alumni has gone live today after months of very hard work by some very dedicated individuals. If you are an Alumnus, check out the website at:
Kudos to those involved with the project. The new website is loaded with new features. The coolest thing is a new module YShout which is simply a message board but is dynamic which is amazing.
Also watch out for the new CBITUSA website which will hit the net very soon... so hang on tight...
Non-Cbitian's We Have Arrived.....
Courtesy: CBITWORLD
Posted by Anuj at 11:10 PM | Comments (0)
July 26, 2006
And then there were dolls !!
Looks like building temples for superstars wasn't enough for us. Spinmaster Toys UK has come out with 'Bollywood Legends' - a new category of dolls to be sold in the UK. The first four would include our beloved Shah Rukh Khan, Hrithik Roshan, Kajol and Priyanka Chopra.
Picture courtesy: Amazon(UK)
The biggest joke about the whole thing is that the dolls don't even look like the actors. Also why would I wan't to have a 'doll' of all the things, when I can get a poster which looks more like the actor/actress. And what would happen to the good old 'Barbie' which has been my sister's favorite growing up. I am sure she would not want to replace it with a Shah Rukh or Hrithik doll.
So if you want to grab one for yourself, then Amazon is the place to buy.
Some of the funny Product features :
1. "These dolls are truly authentic & approved replica images" - check it out yourself, i can barely see any similarity
2. "Each doll comes with traditional Indian clothing" - Well Shah Rukh and Hrithik are wearing western outfits, not even close to being East Indian
3. "For ages 3 years and over" - right!!, from now on all or kids will learn to play with Shah Rukh growing up. (Oops! that didn't come out right)
Manufacturer's Description : "...replica images of 4 of the most successful Bollywood actors Hrithik Roshani, Shah Rukh Khan, Kajol & Priyanka Choppa...". Roshani and Choppa...the manufacturer should be sued for this...hahahaha...
Posted by Anuj at 09:46 AM | Comments (2)
June 27, 2006
Warren Buffett - It's all about being Passionate
Everyone by now knows that Warren Buffett, the second richest person in the World, is giving away $37.1 billion to several Philanthropic foundations, the largest chunk going to The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. First of all let me say that this is such a beautiful gesture, one that gives you hope that not everyone is dead from the inside and that some people do care.
Yesterday on the Charlie Rose show, where all three - Bill, Melinda Gates and Buffett, were present, there was so much of passion flowing everywhere. Buffett had high opinion about the Bill/Melinda Gates Foundation and the kind of work that was being put in. I believe that Bill Gates will officially retire from Microsoft sometime in 2008 and start working full time with the foundation alongside his wife and father. And not for once did Buffett say that he is thinking twice about what he has done.
The entire episode has taught me that it's all about passion. If you are not passionate about the thing you do, you will not be successful. The story ends there. There has to be passion in the work you do, every ounce of sweat and blood you put has to be loaded with passion. Only then can you be successsful.
Moral of the day: Try, try till you succeed. And then try again...
Posted by Anuj at 09:32 AM | Comments (1)
June 10, 2006
The soccer fiesta is on !!
The biggest and the best names in Soccer battle it out in Germany for the World Cup 2006. Some say it's the most watched game in the World. I couldn't agree more. One of my favorite games, having played during my school days, this is more than fun. This is that time when legends are born, team spirit is tested, individual performances can make history. It's the time for Ronaldinho, Kahn and Bechkam. Enjoy some pics from the Official FIFA World Cup 2006 page.
Posted by Anuj at 03:14 PM | Comments (0)
June 05, 2006
Nice article on Reservation
An excellent article dealing with the right and logical issues at hand. It's written by Prof. Rahul Varman from IIT Kanpur and questions the very foundations of reservation and merit. Thanks to How the Other Half Lives, where I found this article.
"The first part of the above argument is that reservations will bring students who lack merit and hence will lower the standards of the elite institutions; hence they should be kept away from such reservations. The point is that what does this merit really mean? In any exam where lakhs appear and only thousands get selected, it is not that rest are ‘bad’ but only that there are very limited opportunities. But does it mean that if we go down in the performance list of the exams, others are incapable of undergoing the training and we as an institution are incapable of teaching them in whatever it takes to make them a good professional?"
Very true indeed. In fact the ratio of students getting selected to those appearing is amazingly large. Others may argue that this is necessary to separate the creamy layer. But let me point out that very few of these students actually give something back to the system. The issue here is to improve facilities in many more schools and create really world class institutions of higher learning.
"In contrast, is it merit when we see that overwhelming majority of those who clear the JEE and CAT are able to do so, only after spending huge resources, money and time, as will be borne out from the newspapers inserts everyday and hoardings at every corner in vast urban parts of the country? What this shows is the singular lack of opportunities and the desperation of educated youth to find a berth in the elite institutions that will catapult them into a different social and economic orbit."
"One can at this point ask a further question, is merit all about passing exams? After all, are the exams a means or an end? If the exams are means to look for ability to make better engineers, doctors and managers, then can there be better methods to look for such ability?"
I don't think merit is about exams. I think it comes from a deeper sense of understanding the subject and applying it the right way. Better methods could be practical challenges thrown to the student to enhance his/her creativity, sense of imagination, improve thinking 'out of the box'. The students should be taught to demonstrate their skills, know what they are good at and learn to sharpen these talents. But instead we give in to rote learning. Most of our education is based on memorizing everything one after the other, not really understanding why are we doing it or how it is going to help us. This mundane way of teaching has killed our imagination. I would say our brains are totally and completely rusted. In fact this has also led to many students finding solace in other forms of entertainment and hence lose interest in their education alltogether.
I was talking to a friend today and discussing the pathetic state Indian Science is in. I guess there is no point in reiterating the same story which all of us know very well. The point is what are going to do about it. A couple of thoughts come to my mind:
1. Improve basic primary and secondary education. Teach the students the importance of learning and education.
2. Help them find out what they are good at. Help them sharpen their skills.
3. The process of development in any country comes from the progress in Science and Technology. The higher educational institutions need to be given more resources and guidance to offer more incentives to good faculty in every discipline of Science and Engineering.
4. Help encourage the students and faculty to work together collaboratively on projects not only for the Government, but also for the Private sector.
5. Offer more scholarships to students to pursue higher studies esp. PhD at schools in India, so that the talent still remains in India.
6. Cut the red tape in Government Labs by having stricter guidelines for spending resources and producing results.
There are many more and all these are doable. It just needs a little more effort. Now the question is 'Who bells the cat first?'. Well, I guess the answer is 'All os us have to at the same time'. How? Well start by making a difference at your own school/college/university. Guide your juniors well. Tell them not to fall into the trap of accepting fields of study just because it seems to the most happening thing. Believe me, I have seen many people falter along the way, just because they chose to do what they didn't really like. There is immense talent out there, in every field possible. This just needs to be nurtured the right way. Not just in academics, also in sports, television, theatre etc.
After reading the article, reservation or no reservation is not the bigger issue here. The issues here are deeper and have to do with the current education system in place. I always believe that improvement should happen right at the begining, the foundations have to be strong otherwise the entire building will collapse under the immense pressure of performance.
Posted by Anuj at 01:17 AM | Comments (1)
May 26, 2006
What's in her mind?
Found this on Kiruba's blog...hahaha...awesome...
Posted by Anuj at 05:22 PM | Comments (0)
May 03, 2006
Code of Ethics for Responsible Blogging
So do we need a set of rules to govern what should or should not be written? Well this is certainly debatable. Some bloggers feel that a code of conduct needs to be setup so that things which are published on the web don't contain any obscenities. Some others feel that it goes against everthing a blog stands for. Acoording to me a blog is more a medium through which a lot of people can express themselves freely. But as long as it does not insult or pinpoint at something unnecessarily it should be fine. All of us are opinionated and are entitled to the freedom of speech and expression. But with freedom comes responsibility. Responsible blogging is the order of the day. That's how things are exposed or brought to limelight or even shared. Blogs are personal yet highlight the ideas and thoughts of a generation of people and this is what makes them special. Every blog is special in its own way and has a unique identity of its own.
A lot of times I get most of my daily news by just looking at the blogs. I find them to be better than most of the Newspapers or Magazines available on the web. Cyberjournalist.net has come out with a blogger's code of ethics and most of the points look generic and reasonable.
Where all this leads to is something we have to wait and watch.
Posted by Anuj at 02:46 PM | Comments (1)
April 14, 2006
Political Ideology
Well I took the World's smallest political quiz and my results came out to be the following:
CENTRIST
" CENTRISTS espouse a "middle ground" regarding government control of the economy and personal behavior. Depending on the issue, they sometimes favor government intervention and sometimes support individual freedom of choice. Centrists pride themselves on keeping an open mind, tend to oppose "political extremes," and emphasize what they describe as "practical" solutions to problems. "
Photo Courtesy : http://www.theadvocates.org/
Posted by Anuj at 05:40 PM | Comments (0)
April 12, 2006
R U Orkuting?
Well that's the latest craze right now, or I guess has been discovered be me recently. I didn't know about it at all until a couple of friends sent me a invite to activate the account. And then started my exploration of this network called Orkut.
Well for starters the entire world seems to be there, I have met so many of my friends there, whom I hadn't talked to since 10th grade. Yeh, thats true. It's a craze, I must say. You could send instant messages (well almost instant) in the scrapbook, write testimonials, declare that you are a fan, and much more. There are communities you can join and find people with the same interest. And trust me the communities sometimes are really weird, something you wouldn't have imagined at all. Just search for the strangest thing and I am sure you will find someone with the same interest.
The World sure has become a small place. It's the 'in' thing now to network, meet people and make new friends and relationships. I wonder what's after this. Well that's for the creators to decide. Till then Happy Orkuting !
Posted by Anuj at 11:02 AM | Comments (2)
March 24, 2006
Ism's - definitions and more
Economic and Political Ideologies
Capitalism: System where the means of production are predominantly privately owned and operated for profit through employment of labor
Socialism: System where the means of production are owned and run by collectives such as the state for the people
Communism: System where the means of production are owned and run by collectives such as the workers and the produce of labor is collectivized
Marxist Communism: Communism where the products of labor are directly distributed "to each according to his need"
Objectivism (Ayn Rand): System where the individual is the key to everything
From Wikipedia:
"that there is a mind-independent reality, that individuals are in contact with this reality through sensory perception, that they gain knowledge by processing the data of perception using reason or "non-contradictory identification", that the proper moral purpose of one's life is the pursuit of one's own happiness or "rational self-interest", and that the only social system consistent with such a morality is laissez-faire capitalism"
Meaning of laissez-faire from dictionary.com
1. An economic doctrine that opposes governmental regulation of or interference in commerce beyond the minimum necessary for a free-enterprise system to operate according to its own economic laws.
2. Noninterference in the affairs of others.
Liberalism: System which holds liberty as major political, fundamental rights of freedom
Libertarianism: where liberty is the freedom to do whatever one wishes up to the point that one's behavior begins to interfere with another's person or property
Book:
Posted by Anuj at 03:21 PM | Comments (0)
March 15, 2006
Happy Holi
Here's wishing everyone a very Happy Holi and a year filled with colors of joy and love !
Posted by Anuj at 10:09 AM | Comments (0)
March 08, 2006
To me India is a miracle
Thomas Friedman said the above quote in one of the videos shown on ABC news. The video talks about what India's booming innovation and economy would mean for the Americans. He even goes on say the following for Indian youngsters:
" If you want to know what India is like, (Take) a champagne bottle, shake it for an hour and then take the cork off, you wouldn't wanna get in the way of that cork."
The video is available at the following link:
ABC News
Check it out. For a change it is a good look into the hustle and bustle of India, the finest example of order from chaos, and a nation with hopes and aspirations of a billion people. I think the fact that in a few years more than 50% of the Indian population will be roughly in the age of 20-40 is the worrying part for the rest of the World.
Well look out, here we come.....
Posted by Anuj at 11:34 AM | Comments (1)
March 07, 2006
Just deleted over 17,000 emails !!!!!!!!!!
Oh this must be a world record of some kind. I spent all morning today deleting close to 17,000 emails from my Inbox. So how did this happen? Well I was trying to run a program on the cluster using a queuing program (Portable Batch System, PBS), we have here in our group and for some reason it died on me. Now I had written a script such that it sent me an email in case the job aborted,stopped,started etc. I just assumed that since it died I didn't have to explicitly kill it. But overnight the program kept sending me emails and this morning when I opened my Inbox, I had over 17,000 emails. Man did I go crazy looking at this. Luckily I could use remote login using ssh and just use the 'd' button to mark all the emails to delete and then trash them.
But it was one hell of a morning. So thumb rule-NEVER ask anything to send you an email, unless absolutely necessary.
Posted by Anuj at 04:58 PM | Comments (0)
February 19, 2006
Salman Oh Salman !
Well Sallu is in news again. This time for being sentenced to a year in prison and fined Rs. 5000. Am I reading this right? Yes, Rs.5000, a meagre amount for killing an endangered species. But then again some would say-well he is also being punished right? a jail sentence. For that we still have to see, I am not too confident that he would do jail-time. Firstly since this is a lower court, he will appeal to the higher courts for bail. Next there are a no. of factors like the movies he is doing etc. which can play a role.
But Sanjay Dutt had to do time behind bars. But see, Sanjay was involved with TADA for possession of arms and with respect to the Bombay blasts. Now that is a serious crime and no political clout could help him with that. In Sallu's case things are at a lower level. Wildlife protectionists would argue otherwise. Killing an endangered species is as grave as killing another human being. So my question to them is-Why is the price of killing an endangered species just Rs.5000? There should be a system that prevents this from happening again. I know that even a couple of lakhs is not a big deal for the film stars, but then why not do it so that is sets an example atleast.
I liked the idea that someone pointed out in one of the news item that all the stars involved should have been punished and not only Sallu. I agree. Everyone wanted to have fun right? So then why should only Sallu be made to suffer? But sadly this is the state of affairs in the Indian Judicial system which is heavily coupled with Politics. I remember my Civics course back from 9th grade where we had learnt that the Indian Judicial system was made in such a way that it is above the political system atleast in terms of governance. But I am not sure if this is still applicable or not.
Posted by Anuj at 06:35 PM | Comments (1)
February 04, 2006
Arundhati Roy and Paritrana
A number of thoughts go through your mind everyday. Some good, some bad. Today has been the same. One one hand I have been reading Arundhati Roy's 'God of Small Things' and on the other listening to Rang de..... God of..... is a story of two twins, Estha and Rahel, their transition from childhood to adulthood. I came to the part where Estha, a shy and reserved boy, is abused at the hands of another guy. It made me stop and wonder. I was watching Nightline on CBS the other day and they were doing a story on paedophiles. What a weird world man has created? God created light and we created darkness.
One good thing that I read today was Sonia Chopra's column in Rediff on Rang de..... she talks about fighting for the cause and scattered heroes how the youth of today are leaving jobs to join NGO's, politics, working to make a difference, journalists etc. One such story is that of five IIT'ians who have formed their own political party called 'paritrana-the Political party for the Bharat of the 21st century'. I found this entry in Rachita's blog. An inspiring thought, something which gives you faith, that a difference can be made. Paritrana means to relieve a concious entity from the state of distress or pain. The other day I talked to a friend who was trying to make a difference in his own way.
These may be isolated cases, but it is the common thought that brings a revolution.
Posted by Anuj at 12:25 PM | Comments (2)
February 03, 2006
Phewwwww...............
WooHooooo.....I taught my "first" class today.....well yehhh.....actually teach teach.....It was fun I should say. I had to teach the course-Heat Transfer to the Juniors (3rd year students) of Mech Engg and cover a significant amount of material in the absence of my advisor who is actually teaching this course. Well to start off, I was surprisingly confident, although a little shaky in between. A quick glance across the room and I could find sections of dazed, surprised, confused and disinterested people. But there was also a section of very interested students. And that gave me some satisfaction that atleast someone would listen.
So the lecture went rather well, I was happy this being my very first lecture and I didn't make any major mistakes. One thing that stinks is that I had chalk all over me at the end of class.
Other than that it was a nice experience and well I might end up getting into acads and take up teaching as a full-time profession.
but that's very far away.........
Posted by Anuj at 03:27 PM | Comments (1)
January 26, 2006
Does Sania deserve the Padma Shri?
Well even though I am a big fan of Sania's forehand drive on the tennis court, I don't agree that she deserves the Padma Shri so early in her career. Well let her win a Grand Slam first and then you can shower her with all the accolades you can give. I guess this is the problem with us in particular. We tend to overdo things. If we want to lift someone we place them on a pedestal and worship them, and if we choose to ignore then we let them be. I guess this has been happening for a long time and we need to shift focus on from pampering old players to nurturing the upcoming ones. Build world class facilities for Sports and not just malls, build world-class airports, roads. At the least preserve what we have in terms of forests and trees, wild-life.
Well I leave you with this thought on this Republic Day-
Let's pledge to make a 'better India' and not really a 'western and advanced India'. We should be the third largest economy in the World, and use that tag for building a more safe and sound India, a destination for education like the olden times of Nalanda and Taxila and a better place for people of all races, caste, creed to live and prosper.
Posted by Anuj at 12:09 PM | Comments (0)
Happy 57th Republic Day
India is celebrating its 57th Republic Day today. Here's wishing all Indians a Happy Republic Day and success along the path to make India the third largest economy in the World only behind the US and China and ahead of Japan.
Jai Hind!
Posted by Anuj at 12:00 PM | Comments (0)
January 21, 2006
Back from India
just came back from a great and funfilled holiday in India. well back to work and some blogging also. have a lot to write, so shall take some time out to do just that.....right now jet lag time.....
Posted by Anuj at 04:56 PM | Comments (0)
November 13, 2005
My High School-HPS Begumpet
Read the wikipedia entry on The Hyderabad Public School from where I graduated in 1998. The most amazing experiences of my life have been at this place.
Wikipedia-HPS, Begumpet
HPS Official Website
Posted by Anuj at 05:49 PM | Comments (3)
October 14, 2005
CBIT Mentorship Program and New CBITWORLD
This is the day that some of us working for the Alumni at CBIT (my undergrad college) have been waiting for. For the first time ever, we are introducing a Mentor-Mentee program in which students on campus would be paired with the Alumni all over the world. Well that's the idea, to create a small world in itself. And we reached our first milestone today by releasing a web survey which would help us design our program in a better way. It makes me very happy to see that things have gone well till now and hope that we are successful in our endeavours.
Check out the program details on Mentor-Mentee Program
The new, revamped CBITWORLD.COM website is also up and running. Check that out for some really cool photos of campus.
This is where I spent most of my time..Never went to class ;)
Posted by Anuj at 11:30 AM | Comments (2)
October 07, 2005
Sania on Time Asia
Well, it seems like Sania is going places. The latest being her feature on the Asia edition of Time magazine. She's being called 'India's rebel tennis star'. And a rebel she is. It's always nice to hear someone from your country trying hard to prove to the World that we are no less in sports having already proved that we form the intellect.....
Read the article here:
Time Asia
Posted by Anuj at 10:44 AM | Comments (0)
September 29, 2005
Final Season- Will & Grace
Today is the season premiere of Will & Grace at 8.30 pm EST on NBC. I can't get enough of this sitcom, since the time I have started watching it. My favorite character is Jack with his famous 'Just Jack' look. And ofcourse Karen with her never ending boisterous laugh and unsettling attitude.
Posted by Anuj at 10:32 AM | Comments (0)
September 06, 2005
The New Orleans Tragedy-Katrina
Here's something which was forwarded by a friend. A blog by an employee of a software company who was there when the hurricane struck and has been blogging ever since every day giving live details on the devastation and the relief efforts. He also has tons of pictures on his webpage and some of these are gruesome.
Here are some of his entries:
Monday Aug 29, 2005, 9.29 am
" Lost power a few hours ago. I'm updating from Directnic.com's data center on the 10th floor of 650 Poydras. Lots of windows out all over the building. Total mess outside, but no water in the streets. Downed trees, signs gone, flags gone, debris everywhere. One truck was pushed down the street into a car...."
Monday Aug 29, 11.33 am
" Here's my info again, to reiterate:
650 Poydras (look it up on Google Earth or something similar). We're on the 10th and 11th floors of this 27 floor building. Some 60 NOPD guys are on the 18th floor. We're online because we're running a data center with our own power. I can answer any question related to my weather and the CBD around our building. We are located between Poydras Ave and Lafayette Square and between St. Charles Ave and Camp Street. "
He gives an almost minute to minute account of the wind speed, the rain, the buildings creaking and the nightmares that people would have undergone in New Orleans.
For more on this read his blog here:
Posted by Anuj at 02:13 PM | Comments (0)
August 22, 2005
New official webpage
My new webpage is up and running. Still need to add stuff to the Research section. Other than that it looks good. Changed the feel and look totally and have kept it simple as much as possible. Check it out at MyPage@Penn
Posted by Anuj at 04:04 PM | Comments (2)
August 17, 2005
Meaning of 'Guru'
The true meaning of guru as given in the Advayataraka Upanishad and is based on the syllables gu and ru. gu means darkness and ru is the one who disperses them. Hence guru refers to a person who dispels darkness.
Posted by Anuj at 10:23 AM | Comments (0)
August 15, 2005
Happy Independence Day
Here's wishing all Indians a Happy Independence Day.....today we've completed 58 years of Independence and will be starting our 59th year. Incidently I have also completed 58 posts on my blog and this is my 59th.
I saw Mangal Pandey yesterday and it was a good movie. Aamir was the best part of the movie and the direction was superb. At no time did the movie stray away from the subject of Mangal which was very good. But I think other movies like Lagaan or Swades which dealt with the subject of Nationalism were better. That's my opinion ofcourse.
Today an article comes to my mind which I had written for the University of Tennessee Indian Association's magazine on Indian Independence. The last few lines were quotes from a French Philosopher named ‘Romain Rolland’
‘If there is one place on the face of this Earth where all the dreams of living men have found a home from the very earliest days when Man began the dream of existence, it is India.’
Posted by Anuj at 10:14 AM | Comments (0)
August 13, 2005
The best day ever !!!!!
Oh man ! What can I say about today. I had a great Friday night yesterday having fun at Penn's Landing. Lots of friends and some lip smacking food by Vikranth. And today got up late and had a good conversation with a lot of CBIT friends about some things which I would bring out later (a big secret, you see).
And then finally an awesome game of cricket. A lot of Indian guys here had organized "The Independence Cup". A two innings match (test match) was played. And what a match it was. The other team had scored 31 runs in 15 overs coz of some awesome bowling from our side. I took a great catch too.....And then we made 42 for our first innings. The second innings was a dramatic one which I guess I would remember for a lifetime. The opposite team made 54 runs alltogether with we needing to make 43 to win. I had an amazing run out attempt catching the ball with one hand and a direct hiton the stumps. But unfortunately the guy was just in. Then I got the same guy run out in the next ball, again by an amazing throw. Gee.....I was getting good at it.
But the best part was yet to come. I was sent as the opening batsman. I had never played cricket after 5th grade probably. I was totally a novice at it. My first innings was a disaster, out in the 2nd ball. But I finally hit a solid 20 runs, the highest scorer in the match. I started out with a blast. A four in the 2nd ball itself. The score was 14 runs in 2 overs and we were comfortably placed at 30 runs in 6 overs. But then I got out by a brilliant ball which took my inside edge and hit the stumps. And finally the saddest part is that we lost by 2 runs. After I went there was a lot of hope but the middle order crumbled and we lost when we so near.....
It would have been great to win, but the very idea of me playing so well made me sooooo happy that I can't tell you. Definitely one of my best days ever.....
Posted by Anuj at 10:21 PM | Comments (1)
August 02, 2005
You've got to find what you love
A great beginning to the lovely month of August.....the speech by Steve Jobs, CEO of Apple Computer and Pixar at the Commencement address, Stanford University on June 12, 2005 promises a bright future and more only if you believe in yourself. The speech is strongly inspiring and the best part is that it is simple and easy to comprehend with no flowery images or words.
He stresses on the vital point that is we all know yet choose to ignore. The fact is that you have to " do what you believe is great work. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do.
If you haven't found it yet, keep looking. Don't settle. "
Posted by Anuj at 09:09 AM | Comments (1)
July 24, 2005
Friday night
Well TGIWF-Thank God It Was Friday.....went out with friends for dinner to his awesome restaurant at Penn's Landing called Kabul. Totally Afghani cuisine the restaurant served rich kababs and biryani. I had a little of both and I can assure you that's the best food I've had out of India. Reminded me of the biryani back at Hyderabad, at paradise.....
Well those were the days.....nevertheless I recommend this restaurant to everyone who's in Philly or plans on visiting it.
Posted by Anuj at 04:23 PM | Comments (1)
July 06, 2005
Good News India
Here's something nice I read on the Good News India website. A nice website which only talks about the good things which happen in India and how a handful of people are making an effort in planting trees, digging wells, reducing pollution, saving out natural resources and helping India become a better and healthy place to live.
"If you have food in the refrigerator, clothes on your back, a roof overhead and a place to sleep, you are richer than 75% of this world.
"If you have money in the bank, in your wallet, and spare change in a dish someplace, you are among the top 8% of the world's wealthy.
"If you woke up this morning with more health than illness, you are more blessed than the million who will not survive this week.
"If you have never experienced the danger of battle, the loneliness of imprisonment, the agony of torture, or the pangs of starvation, you are ahead of 500 million people in the world.
"If you can attend a church meeting without fear of harassment, arrest, torture, or death, you are more blessed than three billion people in the world.
"If your parents are still alive and still married, you are very rare, even in the United States.
"If you hold up your head with a smile on your face and are truly thankful, you are blessed because the majority can, but most do not.
"If you can hold someone's hand, hug him or her or even touch them on the shoulder, you are blessed because you can offer healing touch.
"If you can read this message, you just received a double blessing in that someone was thinking of you, and furthermore, you are more blessed than over two billion people in the world who cannot read at all.
"Have a good day, count your blessings, and pass this along to remind everyone else how very blessed we all are."
--Anonymous author
Posted by Anuj at 10:53 AM | Comments (1)
July 05, 2005
House on the Rock
Just came back from an amazing trip to Madison, WI. I had gone to visit my Uncle and Aunt there. I left for Madison on Sat Jul 2 and came back today. Watched the fireworks for fourth of July, the biggest in WI happen at Madison. The fireworks went on for 40 minutes and was attended by more than 200,000 people. The fireworks were the best I have seen.
But the best part was our trip to The House on the Rock. This house is made by Alex Jordan perched on 60 feet of rock. In the middle of a thick pine forest, it houses the biggest collection by a single person. His collection is very unique with things as big as steam engines for ships to the smallest jems and replicas of the Kohinoor.
Here is a photograph of one of the crowns worn by the Emperor of India:
There are amazing things in there. One of the engineering marvels is the Infinity Room.
'This unique room with walls of glass, projects out over the Wyoming Valley 218 feet. A glass cocktail table provides visitors with a breathtaking view of the forest floor 156 feet below. With 3,264 windows, there's no doubt about it, there truly is no other room like it in the world.'
--from House on the Rock website
Here are some pictures of the Infinity Room. I have many more pictures. Will put up more later.
Posted by Anuj at 11:50 PM | Comments (1)
June 25, 2005
Installed Fedora Core 4 successfully !
I installed Fedora Core 4 yesterday on my second hard drive. It was a great experience as it didn't do it the right way the first time. The problem had something to do with the monitor resolution I set the first time. Odd, but that's how Linux behaves. But now that it's up, it's fun. I also plan on converting the entire hard drive to the FAT filesystem so that I could mount the drive in Fedora and then use it to transfer data. Yeh, I am becoming a comp junkie.....
Anyways also saw Scent of a Woman yesterday, the only movie for which Al Pacino won an Oscar. He was nominated for many, but only won this one. I liked the movie, but I don't think it was his best one. His acting as a blind retired Army officer was superb, but the movie as such did not have that punch. I guess maybe I am biased as I like seeing Al Pacino in more Godfather, Scarface or Donnie Brasco kind of roles. But nevertheless a good movie and I plan on seeing Heat today.
Fun, Fun weekend.....
Posted by Anuj at 12:16 PM | Comments (1)
June 24, 2005
After Indian Idol, it's Gurukul
Looks like the Reality TV craze has hit India as well. First it was the Indian Idol similar to the American Idol and now it's Gurukul.....
Ila Arun, Shankar Mahadevan, KK are going to be the judges. The contestants would have to live in the Gurukul Academy or something where they will be trained and then eliminated one by one till only a couple remains. Well sounds familiar?
Well, I think this would work for some time, coz the Indian Idol was also a big hit. And then as more and more of Reality shows hit the air, I guess people would just get sick of them. Read the story here.....
Posted by Anuj at 10:50 AM | Comments (1)
May 27, 2005
Finished my quals
Finally got my quals out of the way.....results in mid-june, so chilling out till then, saw a couple of movies, Lawrence of Arabia- a very long movie, but great cinematography, also saw Dr.Strangelove, or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb, nice and funny movie, rather serious comedy i guess.
Posted by Anuj at 04:50 PM | Comments (0)
April 22, 2005
No entries for some time
I have been extremeeeely busy these past few days.....it's qualifier time and so there might not be any interesting post till end of May.....
Posted by Anuj at 02:32 PM | Comments (1)
March 15, 2005
Interesting
L N Mittal, world's third richest man. Well he's worth $25 billion. The article I read on rediff on what he could de with the money was hilarious and interesting. Go on and read it, it's fun.
Posted by Anuj at 09:45 PM | Comments (0)
March 12, 2005
What does Swades and MIT 'Technovators' award have in common?
Well, if u haven't got it as yet, then look at this article on Rediff.
The MIT 'Technovators' prize for 2003 was won by Anil Kumar and Madhusoodanan C. G., two Engineers from Kerala, who have inspired many with their projects in micro-hydel power plants. They have given light to many homes in the remotest parts of India, to people who have never seen the glow of a light bulb.
Yes, this is the inspiration for the movie Swades as Dilip D'Souza points out correctly in his article. This certainly tells us that nothing is dead as yet and there is still light left in the best and the brightest. People like "Mohan Bhargava" are not figments of someone's imagination and exist to inspire future generations like us.
Keep up the good work Anil and Madhusoodanan !
Posted by Anuj at 07:38 PM | Comments (0)
March 03, 2005
Foxxxxxxxxx
Yessss, I have become a Fox too.....didn't get it? Well I installed the Mozilla Firefox browser and to put it simply I love it. It's cool with all those themes and extensions and other stuff. Well, I had some problems before with the previous versions, so hopefully this one wouldn't disappoint me.
But the really cool stuff is the dictionary extension where u can just highlight the word and right click on it to know the meaning. Also the weather forecast extension is really good. The nice little bookmarks toolbar is damn convenient. I mean in IE, the toolbars are so big that half of ur screen is filled up, but not in Fox.
Yeh Yeh, I know I am behaving like an 11 year old kid who just found out that he has this wonderful magic lamp which will fulfill all his wishes. Well.....see it to believe it.....
Posted by Anuj at 11:57 AM | Comments (0)
February 26, 2005
Rani Rulezzzzzzzz
Rani looked absolutely stunning at the 50th Filmfare awards held yesterday. She also took both the Best Supporting Actress and Best Actress awards for Yuva and HumTum respectively. As usual King Khan (Shah Rukh) won the Best Actor award for Swades. And I am quite sure Rani will take the next year's award too for her brilliant performance in Black. Check out the awards list here.
Posted by Anuj at 06:04 PM | Comments (0)
February 24, 2005
Awesome start to a perfectly good day
Oh, things can't get any better. Very good day today. Got great news about my friends, Bobby got into UT MBA and so did Manish. That was really good news. Also Siva Kali is in Germany after having not so good a time at Pune. But he looks happy in his photographs. Also I had a good start as I came in early to work. So hopefully the entire day would be as good as the beginning.
Something from my quotes collection:
"Life is not measured by the number of breaths you take, but by the moments that take your breath away"
-- Unknown
Posted by Anuj at 10:04 AM | Comments (2)
February 20, 2005
chaudhri.in registered
I just registered my .in domain, chaudhri.in , thanks to Bobby ofcourse. It might take some time before its up.
I have plans of starting a family website and nothing better than having it on a .in extension. The official website for the .in registry is: .in registry
For more info see this entry in Bobby's blog.
Posted by Anuj at 12:25 AM | Comments (0)
February 07, 2005
Google and Me
Looks like I am all over the place in Google search. Well maybe not all over, but definitely all my pages are showing up very nicely on the searches. Look for Anuj Chaudhri on Google and see for yourself. or just Anuj would do and I feature on the 1st page itself. (the bottom two entries)
Ain't that cool !
Posted by Anuj at 02:02 PM | Comments (0)
January 26, 2005
Happy 56th Republic Day
Here's Wishing all the Indians across the World a Happy Republic Day.
A lot still needs to be done to see that India moves on the right track towards progess and prosperity. Let us contribute in every way we can towards the good of India and Indians.
Jai Hind !
Posted by Anuj at 12:00 AM | Comments (0)
January 17, 2005
MLK Jr. Day
Today is Martin Luther King Jr. day. He was a great man who fought for the rights of The African American people during the Civil Rights Movement in North America. He believed in non-violence or "Ahimsa" and reminds me deeply of our very own "Bapu"-Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, a great freedom fighter and a great visionary.
I read something which was amazing, this is too long to be a quote so I put it under the general category.
From the book by M.J.Akbar--India:The Siege Within, written by Mr. Yavar Abbas, a distinguished filmmaker and broadcaster.....
...like Martin Luther King, I too have a dream.
I have a dream that the people of my land will be able to travel its length and breadth without let or hindrance. I have a dream that out own Berlin Wall, erected in our minds with the brick and mortar of fear and suspicion, will be taken apart brick by brick with the labour of love and mutual trust.
...I have a dream that the divided and estranged people of our ancient land will come together again and pool their enormous talents for the greater glory of all.
I have a dream that love will triumph over hate and that Gandhi's life will not have been lived in vain.
I have a dream !
Posted by Anuj at 01:38 AM | Comments (0)
January 11, 2005
Nice article
I just finished this gr8 article sent to me by my Bio course Professor. I can tell u it was amazing. It spoke about the importance of computations in Biology but was more of a "morale booster" in terms of being an Engineer. Of late I was getting the feeling that Engineering is all a big sham and that Sciences are "the" ultimate in determining any technology. Well it is true to a large extent, but its finally the Engineers who understand, develop and maintain the new technological advances by making products useful for mankind. It is only through Engineering that complicated systems even in Biology can be understood and modeled and effective devices can be made.
To cut the story short, it makes me feel better about being an Engineer now. Well, the article is really nice to read and even discusses the life cycle of any field. So follow the link above and Enjoy !!!!!
Posted by Anuj at 11:53 PM | Comments (0)
January 02, 2005
Last day at Knoxville
Well, here I am at the end of my holidays at Knoxville. Came down to meet old friends and celebrate the New Year with them. Had loads of fun. Also Thanks to Bobby :) got my domain registered and created this blog. I never knew that the process of getting a domain name and linking it to the webspace server was so complicated. But Bobby made it sound so easy. All this is entirely his effort! Went to the Nashville temple yesterday. Also bought kabhi haan kabhi naa, one of my favorite movies, from the Indian stores. And finally had dinner at Sitar. Gr8 fun!
Oh! btw Happy New Year!
Posted by Anuj at 01:48 PM | Comments (0)
December 31, 2004
First entry
Yesterday (30 Dec), I registered my domain name www.chaudhris.com .I also set up my blog. This is my first post.
Posted by Anuj at 07:42 AM | Comments (0)