The real idiot..

After a lot of persuasion from my friends, I decided to check out 3 idiots.. I am somehow very wary of watching hindi movies as I never understand any dialogues.. ( @ this point, I would like to request the bollywood film makers to use just hindi expletives as dialogues for people like me.. U can get tips from Gautham Menon on how to do such a movie).Anyways, thankfully though, the movie hall in austin had subtitles for the movie. (apparently there r non desis who watch hindi movies too… :P Wake up bollywood guys.. triangular love stories are not going to sell anymore.. u have the face of a nation to save, now..)

5 point someone never really moved me like this film. I read it in my 3^rd semester (2005) . For me, it was more of a respite from Dr Vijayaraju’s maths 3 class than anything else. I couldn’t bear him saying time again “fourier series also laplace transforms also is also important also actually also”. GKB Ramkumar would be able to tell how many ‘also’s and how many ‘actually’s he used in a single hour of class. I simply went to the last bench and delved into the book..

However coming back to 3 idiots, 1 hour into the movie, No longer could I laugh at the jokes. I was into some serious thinking.. I could see myself as one of the characters. I was virtually looking at my life in celluloid.. My life seemed no different.. Engineering/medicine were the only options.. I was forced into a lot of unpleasant things like tuitions and extra coaching just so I could score more. I even remember feeling very down in confidence when I first entered CEG.. I was from a small town and my worldly knowledge at best was only about cricket. I had no real skill set to make myself believe that my life was worth living. To be frank, this was the case from my schooling days.

Whenever a fellow friend ran superbly in a race or excelled in a chess competition, or was able to speak fluently in English or even render wonderful figures (I am talking abt the structures in paper and not anything else, here), I would just stand there, wow it for a while and then go about trying to do stuff to score marks that would eventually get me into an engineering school or a medical school.. I am sure that is true for many people as well.. Every 5^th grade student would tell u that he wants to become a pilot or a cop or a teacher or a cricketer.. Not many say engineering or medicine.. Whoever says that would be because of the influence of their parents. That notion however slowly changes when u get to the 12^th grade.

The very fact that parents/society influences what u do with life is very disappointing to say the least. But to blame the system alone would be horrendously stupid. If u ask ur parents, they will inevitably tell u how difficult it was for their parents to put food on table and that is the reason why they force upon u, what u need to do with ur life. They don’t want their children to suffer financially.. 100% True.. But little do they realize their children are actually suffering mentally. As brilliantly pointed out in 3 idiots, sadly there is no apparatus to measure the pressure of a brain.. (Now u doctors, don’t chase the logic by saying that u can actually measure intercranial pressure.. I watch House MD too). But to blame the parents or the system would be plain stupid.. The decisions that we take after college should be ours and if they are not, we are to blame ourselves.

At the end of the day, what really matters is not what the society thinks of u, what the so called ‘pakkathu veetu mama’thinks about u or rates of u, but what u think about urself and I got to say that I m not feeling very hot.. I have never really felt very hot.

But all in all, 3 idiots - a good effort. could have done with the melodrama though.. However, I came out of the theatre realizing that I am the real idiot. I am reminded of the dialogue in the Malayalam film Thanmathra when Mohan Lal points to his father, “I could never be an IAS officer.. Therefore I want my son to be what I could not..” Lets hope that atleast this generation doesn’t impose on the future generations…!! Cheers..

Vande Mataram - Hail Mother India

When Bankimchandra Chattopadhyay (Chatterjee) penned down the Vande Mataram in 1876, I do not think he would have expected it to be used as a possible means to create an internal revolt. His intentions were rather patriotic. Infact when Janaganamana was criticized by some for being a paean in praise of the then British Emperor, George V, Vande Mataram was considered as a passionate song that kindled patriotism in each and every soul.
Oh! Boy.. This post is going to be controversial…!!!

A few days back, when P Chidambaram attended the Deoband national convention, all he would have had in his mind would have been political motives. The support of Muslim organizations like the Jamait-e-Ulema is absolutely essential for a party which claims itself to be a secular one. But this raises an interesting question.! If u r secular, why even bother attending a religious convention? Would he have taken the time off his busy schedule (when he should have been contemplating and formulating defense strategies against imminent attacks from the other side of the North Eastern border or even better, addressing the naxal problem of the north east where innocent policemen and civilians are being decapitated) to attend a Hindu/RSS convention that promotes Hindutwa? It should be either ‘all or none’ if u r a secular party. Shouldn’t it? What this shows is that at the end of the day every single politician in our country is a bloody hypocrite.

This fatwa raised against Vande Mataram states that ‘no muslim can/will worship the Nation. They can only worship Allah, not the mother land. ’ But experts believe that Vande Mataram actually means to respect the motherland and not worship it. Irrespective of this, I believe that when this song was promoted, the people then had no intentions of disrespecting other religions. The first Indian national flag raised by Bhikaji Cama in 1907 is a proof of that. Or atleast that’s what I think. I may be totally wrong too.

The Flag of 1907 (Wikipedia)

I did all my 14 years of schooling (yet I have not learned much :P) in two Christian institutions. I have started each and every working day of those years offering prayers to Lord Jesus. As my previous post most obviously indicates, I have also dressed up as a santa. But I m a practicing Hindu. Does it mean I should never worship/respect other religions? Absolutely NO…! At the end of the day I believe there is only one god. It may be Shiva/Jesus/Allah/Nature. We do not know for sure. But the point is that religion is just a basis for an identity. Not a measure of our superiority.

In this week’s ‘We the People’ in NDTV, when a young muslim musician echoed my thoughts when he said he respected every religion and worshipped every god around because there was only one god, he was fried by the supposedly elder section of muslim junta in the panel. This sums it up totally. For us, the younger generation of India, the future of India, NATIONALITY is our identity and not religion. We may have enrolled to visit temples or churches or mosques but we most definitely have not enrolled to disrespect or disbelieve other religions and gods. Atleast the sane people.

The one major upsetting outcome of this fatwa might be that AR Rahman may not ever be allowed to sing his beautiful version of the Vande Mataram again.

Rammy

http://www.ndtv.com/convergence/ndtv/new/NDTV-Show-Special.aspx?ID=453

Nostalgia I : Jingle all the way...!!

How often do u look back at some of the incidents in life at hard times and feel so relieved, so joyous, so worthy of living the life.. ?? I do so very frequently… So this is where I share some of those moments.. Not all.. Some are strictly for the pleasure of mine…!!
Christmas is a time to celebrate.. a time to revel in excitement..!! And more importantly time to meet Santa Claus…! What are the qualifications of a santa claus?? He should be funny.. He should have a funny body shape with a pot belly..!! He should be ugly (??) .. My primary school was big on Christmas celebrations.. They had their school day celebrations every year close to Christmas ..!! Most of the programmes were hosted and performed by standard 5 students as they were the seniors in the school..!
I was about 10 years old and in my 5th std. And surprise surprise..!! I was the biggest guy in the class..!! So no wonder the teachers convinced me to do the honors of jaunting around as the Santa Claus.!! My job was simple…!! Wander around with as many feet movements as possible, throwing chocolates to students all around..!! There is another reason why the teachers made me do this.. The previous yr, I signed in for a singing competition.. When I started to sing infront of nearly 350 people , the infamous Bharathiyar kavidai “ Bharatha Samudayam Vaazhgave…”, instead of singing “ Oppilaada samudayam vaazhgave”(Long live a society much more superior than others) , I ended up singing “ Uppilada samudayam vaazhgave”( Long live a society with no salt) . So fearing that I might again enroll for a singing competition, they were quick to make me the santa..
I was bloody excited though.. Santa was like the most celebrated performer of any function irrespective of how shabby he went around with things…! But my mom was not over the moon.. Maybe she understood that its not the best achievement or a role that one could be proud about…! But nevertheless, it was ON…!!
On THE day, I dressed up.. Though I was rotund enough, I had to shove in a pillow for a pot belly and there I was all set as Santa… I was locked inside a class room so that the other kids don’t see me and go all in excitement…!! Not that I was a peeping tom, I still peeped out of the window to see what was going on and that’s when all hell broke loose…! Students centered around my class room demanding and pestering the teachers to see the santa..!! It was then I realized that I had screwed up big time again..!! Luckily though that was my last year in that school..!!
Though I felt bad at that time for the lack of my abilities in histrionics and other stage shows, a time would come where I would surprise myself…!! Wait for that post which will be out in the near future..!
Cheers…!

Man vs God...!!!

I was reading a book on Nano-Technology, the other day and the introduction chapter was so attractive that I thought, it should go on my blog. So, here goes..

“ Man has learned a lot from nature. Yet his manufacturing practices are primitive. Everyone knows that a lot more needs to be done to get closer to nature. For Ex, no one has reached the efficiency of photosynthesis in storing energy. No one can facilitate energy transfer (or electron transfer) as efficiently as bio-molecules. No factory does water purification and storage as efficiently as coconut trees or water melons. The brain of one person can, in principle store and process more information than today’s computer. It is unlikely for any movie camera to capture visuals more vividly than the human eye. The olfactory receptors of the dog are much more sensitive than any sensors we have developed.

Photo-voltaic devices convert light with only 16% efficiency.. Our best internal combustion engines work at only 52% efficiency. While cooking, we use 38% of thermal energy produced by gas. But our body utilizes almost the entire chemical energy, it produces. Nature as a whole fixes 110-120 billion tons of carbon per annum through photosynthesis. We humans emit only 0.65 billion tons of carbon dioxide through respiration. But carbon emissions due to human activity alone constitute 8 billion tons, 77.5% of which is due to burning of fossil fuels alone. Obviously the technologies we have developed are much less efficient than those operating in nature. But most importantly, the benefits accruing from the processes and machines developed by us are incongruent with the huge amounts of resources we utilize for these developments. “
It was very enlightening for me. I had never looked at technology in that perspective before…!!!

The Anticipation is better than the Experience....

In a month’s time, I ll be back (albeit 4 a small time) to the place where I belong, the place where I have had loads of fun, the place where my loved ones are… INDIA. The very thought of going to places with frenz, having homemade (read not made by me) food, the feeling of security and confidence that I so often get in my sweet home, long but enjoyable train journeys, sound of panjumuttay vaalas in the beach etc. brings chill to my spine. I couldn’t be more excited. With every passing day in my calendar, my face grows brighter (not because I apply Fair & Lovely). The planning of trips within trips, budgeting, planning what 2 get 4 who, etc. etc. gives me a feeling which totally neutralizes and compensates the one I get while doing research.

Having said that, I believe and know that my stay there wouldn’t give me half the joy that I expect. Its not saying that there wouldn’t be any joy. Its just that when I expect a little too much all the time and I believe this is the case with everyone. Whenever anybody plans 4 a trip, always the days leading to the trip are much better than the trip of course. Maybe its because, we think and constantly worry about what’s in store for the future, during the trip we already have the picture of returning back in our mind which ruins everything @ hand. U even curse urself for expecting so high.

I just have one hope. If at all I m having an honeymoon, that should outrank the days preceding it. Adios…

Rammy.

Everything is Amazing... But Nobody is Happy....!!!

The song “Adraaraa Naaka mooka adraaraa Naaka Mookaaa” reverberates in the hall. I wake up not realizing what that sound is. After a brief moment, I understand that it is my alarm tone and my cell phone is promptly obliging to what I asked it to do. “wake me up @ 11 am”. (11 am??? Gosh…!!) I find it annoying to the core; yet I realize I ve 2 get up.

Am off to take a shower. I open the valve and I have the option of getting both hot water and cold water. I also have the option of either using the tub (don’t worry.. I ll never fit in a tub. So I often say ‘No.Thanks’.) or using the shower. Then I come out, switch off the Air-Conditioner unit that has kept me cool irrespective of the scorching weather outside. I put on a jeans pant (which I never need to wash for like 2-3 weeks and I call myself clean and hygienic) and am off to catch the bus.

Here comes the bus. I stroll into it. Try to seat myself in a lovely cushion chair under the air-conditioner. I reach my destination which is like 5-6 miles away, in a matter of 10 mins. On the way I see beautiful freeways, highways, tall aesthetically pleasing buildings, flashy cars, sports bikes, bridges etc.

I open the door of my office. (As a grad student, I m given an office and computing resources to facilitate my research. (??)). I then log into the University’s internet domain. The connection is so fast that one whole movie can be streamed in a matter of 10 mins. I open my Gmail account to see if there is any new email. I find plenty of new emails. Some of them, from various corners of India like Chennai, mysore, Nagercoil, Delhi, Coimbatore, surat, pune etc. and some others from New York, North Carolina, Dallas, Los Angeles, Michigan etc. The Winamp in my computer keeps playing one cool song after another. I realize time after time how good AR Rahman is..

I open my bank account to see if there is any money and I happen to realize that my monthly salary has been deposited directly. All that I had to do was click on a button to make that happen. I feel like having a coffee. I stroll down from the 8th floor to 1st in an elevator that takes me down in a blink of an eye. Just a swipe of credit card does the trick in the coffee shop.

Thus goes on my day. I find everything so easy and amazing. But yet I am not very happy. One thing or the other keeps bugging me. It may be as silly as missing a bus to not getting a job. I guess, as ur comfort level and luxury increases, so does the desire to achieve greater things. We never really are satisfied and happy for what we are and what we have, are we? Atleast I never take a moment and cherish what I have. Its always been ‘what I will be in 2 years 4m now, 5 yrs 4m now’. At the end of my good years, I m afraid I will feel that I didn’t stop and have fun. (there comes another fear).

100 years before, I wouldn’t have been able to say anything that I said in the 1st few paragraphs, except maybe having a coffee. That much has the comfort level increased over the years. The world is much easier and comfortable to live in. (of course there are new threats and fears). Yet how many people are really happy? I wonder…..!!!

The NobleST profession....

I was watching a movie some days back. It was a movie about doctors. In a med school, the Dean of Medicine asks a freshman student “Why do u want to become a doctor?” .The student replies “This is the noblest profession. I want to do service to people”.

I remembered my 5th grade then. I guess this happens in all 5th grade classrooms. The teacher used to ask “What do u want to become in the future?” Half of the class used to say that they wanted to become doctors adding that it is the noblest of all the professions and a quarter of the remaining used to say ‘teachers’. Their point of view was that it is the noblest of profession. I guess with time, ur objectives change and monetary reasons overpower benevolence and goodwill. However that is not the point.

We all believe teaching and practicing medicine are the noblest professions. But I beg to differ. Ya. Engineering is my choice. Not because I m one, but because, if ‘making lives better’ is the baseline for grading nobility of professions, I guess Engineering is way ahead compared to any other. Motor vehicles, large buildings, bridges, computer, internet, television, Communication channels, roadways, railways, airways etc. are result of engineering and these have become more than an inevitable part of our lives. Add to that, all the medical devices like MRI scans, ECG, etc. etc. (I m not a doc. So I don’t know much. This is all that I can think of after watching 5 seasons of House MD). again are a result of engineering. I m not gloating, but it is the fact.

Talking abt nobility of deeds, I had a faculty friend while I was in CEG. His name is Mr. George. He is working on his PhD under the great former president of India, Dr. Abdul Kalam. His work mainly deals with developing a chip to be implanted in the brain of mentally challenged kids which will enable them to be happy all the time no matter what. (I hope that I didn’t give away much. If u r reading this, George sir, pardon me for revealing ur research topic). The last two projects that I have been part of have dealt with developing assistive devices for physically and mentally challenged students. If at all it seems to people that Engineering is not as noble as some of the other professions, I guess its because it is not projected that way.


PS: No offense meant to my teacher mom and doc sister…

Fight 4 the chair......

About 10 yrs back, the day of election (or should I say days) was/were very exciting for me. Not only that my school, being a govt aided school and hence a polling and counting booth, we d get a truckload of holidays, but also I enjoyed the whole concept of people thronging for a long time in polling centers to make a fool of themselves by voting for an idiot time after time. Man, I used to say to myself, those days, “ I m gonna vote for an idiot one day too. “. So when I read abt the imminent election days , I was excited abt a possibility of my first vote.. But as it turns out, I m away 4m my home now and I guess, I will have to wait further to cast a vote.
Now that we r in this topic, It was a no-brainer to find out that the contesting candidates for the top chair are well past prime age. The NDA goes for Advani who I guess is 90 years old and the UPA (is it still an alliance???) backs Mr.Singh. Though highly capable and skilled, he is also in his 80’s. The third front is a comical one. So I am not even going to consider them here. I remember studying in Civics about the various party systems in d world and in some place it said that the bi-party system is the most effective one in democracy. I said 2 myself “ We have more options in our multiparty system? Then how come they say that the bi-party system is the better one?? “ . Only now do I get a clear picture. Man, Bi-party system is way better.
Another interesting aspect abt this election is that almost all the leaders have started talking abt Post-Poll ties.. I can’t do anything but laugh. “If ideological difference is why CPI left the UPA, how come post-poll ties are possible?” , will ask an intelligent man. But we, the common people of India know that these power longing idiots will do anything to get the chair.
During the last yr elections, there happened a mini-scale revolution. A group of IITians formed a party known as d LokParitran. As one would expect, they didn’t even win any constituency. But however, as manirathnam points out in Ayudaezhuthu, it’s the right step forward. This time, a young entrepreneur from d IIM A, Sarath Babu is contesting. I m curious to find out how many votes he d get.
Having said all this, I still feel quite sad to miss out on voting in this election. I personally feel, that it is one time, that I will ever matter to the nation or the society. So irrespective of which idiot, I vote for, I will always feel happy of doing it.

Rammy.

What IPL brings to the table

Its been a long time since i wrote a post. Was busy with all the assignments, projects, research and ofcoz IPL. Last year it was considered a copycat move by the richest sporting board of the world to get out of the predicamen caused by the so called "rebel" ICL. But it turned out to be quite exciting and enthralling. I personally shelled out a lot of money to see some matches (and of coz the hot CHEERLEADERS) live in action at the Chepauk. It was a lot of fun.
But this year, its even more exciting for me,the reason being that I m now in US and not in chennai anymore. This means that no longer do i sit and watch the matches in my hostel TV hall, where the only team hailed is the Chennai Super Kings. (Except for some DADA fans and Sachin fans ofcoz). But here there are people from all sorts of regions. There r goluts, marattis, bengalis, kannadigas (sorry 4 soundin like a racist). So its like a totally different experience.
If Chennai defeats Hyderabad, When I take the bus to my college, I can mock the goluts and Vice-versa. Its so good. At the end of the day we know that its a friendly banter. But nevertheless, this year's IPL doesn't seem like dead rubber to me.
Sticking to the topic, many ppl find it annoying that IPL was shifted to SA. But its actually gud (@least in my perspective). The pitches are more lively. The chicks are far more HOT. We have Mark Nicholas as a commentator (though I miss Tony Greig and Geoffrey Boycott). What more do u want if u r going to watch it in the TV anyway.
The other factor that has made IPL all the more interesting to me is this blog
http://fakeiplplayer.blogspot.com/
It is amazing. Its just not the quality of his language but his writing as a whole. It is sarcastic, witty, informative and sardonic. Do take a look at it guys.
The one thing and the only thing that bothers me in the IPL is the appearance of these celebrity bufoons who happen to be te Franchise owners of some teams. ( Since i like Preity Zinta, I consider her an asset to the IPL). The other 2- SRK and d Big Sister annoy me like anything. It may be a commercial extravaganza. It may have only business motives. But @ the end of the day one cannot say that IPL is not fun.

Rammy.

ABCDs are KDs....!!!

I was having my lunch at a South Indian restaurant in Austin,Texas a few days back.. They have this beautiful picture of Madras Central station hung up on their walls. There was this geek looking fellow who was showing his kid around the restaurant. He stopped by the wall paper, looked at it for a second and told his son " There is something very strange about this picture." Curiously the son asks " Wats that, dad??" The reply was shocking to me. " There is no trash on the roads in the picture." The son again "Why has there got to be trash on the road?" The dad " Thats the way it is in India!"

I was really in a happy mood that day til that happened. Whatever he said might be partially true if not 100%. But still, how many gud things r there to say abt our country.. For heavensake, Madras Central station is one of the largest, most populous, very beautiful railway stations in the whole world. It is so historically unique. Of all the things he could say, see what he chooses to share with his 3 yr old kid. Unbeliavable. Such is the mindset of Indians settled here. I m not generalising but still with most of them, it is the case.

One of my buddies was tellling me abt his cousins who have been born and raised in US. They believe that India is a land of the poor, for the poor. It lacks any kind of development and it is a thirld world country. They even are shameful of the fact that their roots trace back to India..It is really painful when it comes from somebody who is an Indian. The Americans, that i have seen so far have terrific views abt India. For them, its a land of culture, a land of traditions, a land of diversity, integrity and now a land of opportunities.

In my university, there are many events that are organised by the Indian Cultural Association, per se. Whenever u attend such an event, u feel " This is definitely not Indian...!!" Why is that?? The answer is simple. Most of them are conducted by the local Indians and they are kind of caught up between the two cultures. Neither are they indian..nor are they american.. It looks just not natural when two of them hug and say "Oh My god..Oh my god.. I m so happy". It makes so much sense to me when we address them as ABCDs (American Born Confused Desis). Just to state here, they call us DCBAs (Desis Confused By America).. Why wouldn't we be, when we see guys like u?????

I am thankful to people who took time and read through my 1st post. I will get better with time, guys.. Keep reading and post ur valuable comments.. Thanks...!!

Rammy

MS in US-A boon or a bane???

After reading some of my friends' blogs (read saisu and kama)I feel that I should start blogging myself.. especially now that my social life is no longer the way it used to be a year back (thanx 2 US)

Without rambling around, let me try to get to the topic in hand. MS- a worthy option???

While I was still wandering around as an irresponsible student in my 3rd yr of my bachelors, my dad asked me to be clear of what i wanted to do in the future.. I hadn't given it much of a thought till that date and i had to make a decision soon.. His preference was for MBA and he thought I had it in me 2 make it to the IIM's or the IIT's.. Sometimes I pity the confidence the fathers have in their sons.. I was 100% sure that my intellectual ability was no way near to what was required to get into IIM. So at that point I decided that I choose GRE and didnt look back once I made that decision. Making truck loads of money was not the reason (primary) behind my choice. Rather I was forced to do some sort of post graduation and I thought that i had a chance only with GRE. Enough said abt that, I got an admit in UT Austin and some other colleges. My choice to select UT was primarily because of the reduced fee structure than anything else.

To be honest, i was very excited to come to US. The very thought of being independent, far away from home was an experience that I was always anticipating. i thought I was game to that challenge. So with that thought I boarded the flight.

Excited I was, I also had a lot of apprehensions. Funding was one major worry. Though I d say I m in no means, financially chellenged, i often used to think (and still think) that I shouldn't be depending on my parents for money. (@least 4 grad studies). The other major worry was social connections.. I m not talking abt relationships with the opposite sex here (although those r welcome). Finding new friends was a tougher challenge than I expected. It was so easy for me in CEG where i made a lot of buddies very early. Not to happen here in US.

The university as such is way better than CEG.. For, its facilities, the way we,the grad students are treated (even though I m from a different country), free food ( how can i 4get free pizzas), high speed unrestricted net access (as Dr.Velamurali d put it), figures (hotttttttttt....) (namma college attunga podra scenaa paakum podhu, here these gals r goddesses ) are gud.. MS is not as challenging as it sounds. U r given a lot of assignments but if u r serious and sincere, its a cakewalk.. So dont get d false notion that MS is damn hard.. It ain't.. Well.. How worthy is that?? Thats entirely up to u.. I am not the Hi-fi, luxury seeking, prestige seeking individual.. I like to believe that I m a galeej dog and so I like being in Chennai, dining in andra messes, ogling in Besant nagar beach, watching night shows in jayanthi or theyagaraja theatre..

As u can see 4m this, I m still not very comfortable writing blogs.. Hope i get better with time.. Kindly keep following and post ur comments.. Bye..!!

Rammy