100+ Million blogs. What makes this interesting? NOTHING! And please, not everyone in the world likes cricket.
14 days. I'm pulling the plug, gonna redesign this site, gonna send out invitation only to interested people and only talk about how we are going to get to 2050!
So serious bloggers (part time/ full time/ whatever), mail me.
Thank you and Thank you for the wonderful 1+ year of support, it was not enough. Like I said, 100 mil blogs, what makes us good?
Friday, March 30, 2007
Emptiness!!!!!
A tiring day….
The sun has receded back to its home
It has brought darkness everywhere in a matter of a few hours
Suddenly the world is engulfed in darkness...
And small illuminated lamps lit up my street
There is the usual hustle and bustle in the streets
The occasional barking of stray dogs
the wails of children
The sound of buses and all sorts of man made transports
I try to focus again on ‘working capital’ decisions’
Nothing is going through my head…
I stare at the white wall before me…
I am filled with emptiness…
A blank feeing…
I try hard to concentrate…
It doesn’t work
I throw my books aside….
I hit the covers of my bed…
The ceiling of my room is pitch black
I stare I stare….
My breathing becomes ragged
I try to think…
What have I made out of myself?
Have I taken all the right decisions?
Am I in the right place where I am?
Have I made a mark?
Will I make a mark?
Would things be different if I had heeded everyone’s wish to take science?
Would I found satisfaction there-more than what I get in solving accounts?
Was I right in deciding that this is right and this is not right for me?
Would I be feeling empty now...even if I had taken science and gone to become an engineer?
Will I be able to prove to the world, that I had made a right decision?
Better, will I be able to prove it to myself?
All I want is to be the on the cream of excellence
Do I have the stuff for it?
Time alone will answer….
Time alone will make a mark for me…
but still why do I feel empty???
??????
The sun has receded back to its home
It has brought darkness everywhere in a matter of a few hours
Suddenly the world is engulfed in darkness...
And small illuminated lamps lit up my street
There is the usual hustle and bustle in the streets
The occasional barking of stray dogs
the wails of children
The sound of buses and all sorts of man made transports
I try to focus again on ‘working capital’ decisions’
Nothing is going through my head…
I stare at the white wall before me…
I am filled with emptiness…
A blank feeing…
I try hard to concentrate…
It doesn’t work
I throw my books aside….
I hit the covers of my bed…
The ceiling of my room is pitch black
I stare I stare….
My breathing becomes ragged
I try to think…
What have I made out of myself?
Have I taken all the right decisions?
Am I in the right place where I am?
Have I made a mark?
Will I make a mark?
Would things be different if I had heeded everyone’s wish to take science?
Would I found satisfaction there-more than what I get in solving accounts?
Was I right in deciding that this is right and this is not right for me?
Would I be feeling empty now...even if I had taken science and gone to become an engineer?
Will I be able to prove to the world, that I had made a right decision?
Better, will I be able to prove it to myself?
All I want is to be the on the cream of excellence
Do I have the stuff for it?
Time alone will answer….
Time alone will make a mark for me…
but still why do I feel empty???
??????
Thursday, March 29, 2007
Saturday, March 24, 2007
Ooh Aah IndIa...nO mORe iNDia
BREAKING NEWS:
The Indian team bus met with a major accident in Jamica, that the whole team as well as their coach and physiotherapist were spot dead in the major crash between the bus and the goods carrier on 23rd march 2007...this happened right before the start of the match..the accident happened when they were coming to the stadium.
A pity sight, and a great tragedy, that now the whole India is mourning.
Wait..wait a sec!
Then who played against Srilanka in the match yesterday?
Hmm.....good question...they were the duplicate Indian team which BCCI has setup to face such tragedies. The news of the accident came only today morning. Because the BCCI were sure that the Subcontinent will break lose..and there will be riots and chaos everywhere...
But they were mistaken...how could they expect a duplicate team to perform as well as our dear old Indian team! the country has broken lose due to their dismal performance!! That I am very sure that only a fit for nothing team could have played such a disastrous game!
But the bowling of our clone team was some what acceptable. It would have been better if the same was the case with the batting side! The players were fielding quite above normal Indian standards..i mean they were better...the were just jumping and flying...a very rare fielding activity seen by the normal Indian team..but I think they thought they were doing good..and suspected people suspecting them to be duplicates, that they messed up the batting!!
How else could star batsman Sachin get out for a Golden Duck..to be treasured for sure in his last worldcup match! and Ganguly...my goodness what happened to Dada..he was in great form...he went out for 7!...Yuvaraj's dismissal was our turning point...that run out..which totally knocked our luck....all because of the miscalculation and lack of attention from Dravid as to where the ball is!..and then comes Dhoni....gone for a Golden duck by LBW....wasn't LBW a part of Dada..only he used to get out by LBWs! And then the look Dravid gave..was a thing to be pitied..he stood helpless there in the ground....the fate was destined..'return back to India!!....No more cricket for you Dravid!!....you have let us Down' must have chanted again and again in his ears...then how else will the smooth, slow wall...with a cramp in his leg and with a by runner (highly unlikely of Dravid style)hit 4s continuously in one over....and get out the very next...then comes Harbajan....he is trying all sorts of stroke and by fluke hits a 6 and a 4!...munaf patel for his share hits a 4 and you must have seen the gleam in his eyes....why wouldn't he be gleaming..a 4 to his score in batting in the world cup...which is none of his area!..
After that, everything happened quick.....we were totally knocked out for 185!!..they showed the faces of the Indian team in the pavilion..total disastrous looks they had....completely they were lost and shocked...no one was talking..they were dumbstruck, they did not know what to do? they knew the welcome they were going to receive back home. they were aware of the frustration, and how much of their hard earned property was going to be damaged...it couldn't be helped..they were helpless...what has happened has happened..they are out of the world cup virtually....they could only pray that bermuda wins bangladesh...which has a probability of 1/10000....
In the end...no one died..it was just a game...with a luck on the other side...there is always a second chance for everything in life...a mother wont desert her child just because he/she is disabled. In the same way our Indian team is luck disabled..not talent disabled...it is not right to desert them...nor is it right to show our anger on their properties and effigies. In the end of the day....they have lost a game to a good side..and decent enough..it is not a shameful defeat....let us welcome them back with consoling hands.....let our support go with them wherever they go!! but we can do one thing....we can select a proper coach...Chappell has come to India only to kick them out of the worldcup!!He has to be penalized for coaching India so badly..and for creating all such tensions within the team, starting with Dada
Disclaimer: The first para is completely fictitious and is not written with any intention to hurt anyone!
Zanychild
Driving people insane as always
The Indian team bus met with a major accident in Jamica, that the whole team as well as their coach and physiotherapist were spot dead in the major crash between the bus and the goods carrier on 23rd march 2007...this happened right before the start of the match..the accident happened when they were coming to the stadium.
A pity sight, and a great tragedy, that now the whole India is mourning.
Wait..wait a sec!
Then who played against Srilanka in the match yesterday?
Hmm.....good question...they were the duplicate Indian team which BCCI has setup to face such tragedies. The news of the accident came only today morning. Because the BCCI were sure that the Subcontinent will break lose..and there will be riots and chaos everywhere...
But they were mistaken...how could they expect a duplicate team to perform as well as our dear old Indian team! the country has broken lose due to their dismal performance!! That I am very sure that only a fit for nothing team could have played such a disastrous game!
But the bowling of our clone team was some what acceptable. It would have been better if the same was the case with the batting side! The players were fielding quite above normal Indian standards..i mean they were better...the were just jumping and flying...a very rare fielding activity seen by the normal Indian team..but I think they thought they were doing good..and suspected people suspecting them to be duplicates, that they messed up the batting!!
How else could star batsman Sachin get out for a Golden Duck..to be treasured for sure in his last worldcup match! and Ganguly...my goodness what happened to Dada..he was in great form...he went out for 7!...Yuvaraj's dismissal was our turning point...that run out..which totally knocked our luck....all because of the miscalculation and lack of attention from Dravid as to where the ball is!..and then comes Dhoni....gone for a Golden duck by LBW....wasn't LBW a part of Dada..only he used to get out by LBWs! And then the look Dravid gave..was a thing to be pitied..he stood helpless there in the ground....the fate was destined..'return back to India!!....No more cricket for you Dravid!!....you have let us Down' must have chanted again and again in his ears...then how else will the smooth, slow wall...with a cramp in his leg and with a by runner (highly unlikely of Dravid style)hit 4s continuously in one over....and get out the very next...then comes Harbajan....he is trying all sorts of stroke and by fluke hits a 6 and a 4!...munaf patel for his share hits a 4 and you must have seen the gleam in his eyes....why wouldn't he be gleaming..a 4 to his score in batting in the world cup...which is none of his area!..
After that, everything happened quick.....we were totally knocked out for 185!!..they showed the faces of the Indian team in the pavilion..total disastrous looks they had....completely they were lost and shocked...no one was talking..they were dumbstruck, they did not know what to do? they knew the welcome they were going to receive back home. they were aware of the frustration, and how much of their hard earned property was going to be damaged...it couldn't be helped..they were helpless...what has happened has happened..they are out of the world cup virtually....they could only pray that bermuda wins bangladesh...which has a probability of 1/10000....
In the end...no one died..it was just a game...with a luck on the other side...there is always a second chance for everything in life...a mother wont desert her child just because he/she is disabled. In the same way our Indian team is luck disabled..not talent disabled...it is not right to desert them...nor is it right to show our anger on their properties and effigies. In the end of the day....they have lost a game to a good side..and decent enough..it is not a shameful defeat....let us welcome them back with consoling hands.....let our support go with them wherever they go!! but we can do one thing....we can select a proper coach...Chappell has come to India only to kick them out of the worldcup!!He has to be penalized for coaching India so badly..and for creating all such tensions within the team, starting with Dada
Disclaimer: The first para is completely fictitious and is not written with any intention to hurt anyone!
Zanychild
Driving people insane as always
Monday, March 19, 2007
Banks of Tomorrow
The bank of tomorrow is already moving…towards community based services.
In UK: Zopa.com
In UK, Zopa contributes since March 2005 to the democratization of the banking economy and festival its second birthday. During these 2 years, Zopa called on 135.000 users impassioned who lent themselves money between them, without traditional banking intermediary.
Thanks to Zopa, the lenders obtained an average output of 6.75%. The borrowers could obtain advantageous interest rates (4,2% on appropriations at 3 years). The noted rate of average defect (borrowers not having been able to refund their loan) was not 0,2%, which much lower than what is noted in the traditional banking environment. Why? The social relations create a pressure by the pars which control the good relations within the community.
Also, Zopa is plans to move into US Market
In US: Prosper.com
In the US, the bank of tomorrow thrives with Prosper (180.000 members, 1 year of existence). Prosper, it is the eBay money. Prosper is a creator of confidence. A place of market of “social lending” can function only with the active participation and the enthusiasm of its members. The latter give a constant feedback: Zopa and Prosper work without relache with their community to improve their platforms uninterrupted.
Prosper is America's first people-to-people lending ... all » marketplace, and was created to make consumer lending more financially and socially rewarding for everyone. The way Prosper works is intuitive to people who have used eBay. Instead of listing and bidding on items, people list and bid on loans using Prosper's online auction platform. People who want to lend set the minimum interest rate they are willing to earn and bid in increments of $50 to $25,000 on loan listings they select. People who lend can easily diversify using "standing orders", which automatically make many small loans to different borrowers. It's a new asset class in investing. In addition to criteria commonly used by institutional lenders, such as credit scores, people who lend can base their decision on a borrowers' group affiliation. Groups on Prosper are critical to bringing people together for the common goal of borrowing at better rates. Groups earn reputations according to their members' repayment records. Groups with successful repayment histories should attract more lenders offering lower rates.
In the Netherlands: Boober.nl
The bank of tomorrow has just opened and has as a promise: “No banks, better deal”.
MicroFinance: http://kiva.org/
Kiva lets you connect with and loan money to unique small businesses in the developing world. By choosing a business on Kiva.org, you can "sponsor a business" and help the world's working poor make great strides towards economic independence. Throughout the course of the loan (usually 6-12 months), you can receive email journal updates from the business you've sponsored. As loans are repaid, you get your loan money back.
In UK: Zopa.com
In UK, Zopa contributes since March 2005 to the democratization of the banking economy and festival its second birthday. During these 2 years, Zopa called on 135.000 users impassioned who lent themselves money between them, without traditional banking intermediary.
Thanks to Zopa, the lenders obtained an average output of 6.75%. The borrowers could obtain advantageous interest rates (4,2% on appropriations at 3 years). The noted rate of average defect (borrowers not having been able to refund their loan) was not 0,2%, which much lower than what is noted in the traditional banking environment. Why? The social relations create a pressure by the pars which control the good relations within the community.
Also, Zopa is plans to move into US Market
In US: Prosper.com
In the US, the bank of tomorrow thrives with Prosper (180.000 members, 1 year of existence). Prosper, it is the eBay money. Prosper is a creator of confidence. A place of market of “social lending” can function only with the active participation and the enthusiasm of its members. The latter give a constant feedback: Zopa and Prosper work without relache with their community to improve their platforms uninterrupted.
Prosper is America's first people-to-people lending ... all » marketplace, and was created to make consumer lending more financially and socially rewarding for everyone. The way Prosper works is intuitive to people who have used eBay. Instead of listing and bidding on items, people list and bid on loans using Prosper's online auction platform. People who want to lend set the minimum interest rate they are willing to earn and bid in increments of $50 to $25,000 on loan listings they select. People who lend can easily diversify using "standing orders", which automatically make many small loans to different borrowers. It's a new asset class in investing. In addition to criteria commonly used by institutional lenders, such as credit scores, people who lend can base their decision on a borrowers' group affiliation. Groups on Prosper are critical to bringing people together for the common goal of borrowing at better rates. Groups earn reputations according to their members' repayment records. Groups with successful repayment histories should attract more lenders offering lower rates.
In the Netherlands: Boober.nl
The bank of tomorrow has just opened and has as a promise: “No banks, better deal”.
MicroFinance: http://kiva.org/
Kiva lets you connect with and loan money to unique small businesses in the developing world. By choosing a business on Kiva.org, you can "sponsor a business" and help the world's working poor make great strides towards economic independence. Throughout the course of the loan (usually 6-12 months), you can receive email journal updates from the business you've sponsored. As loans are repaid, you get your loan money back.
Cricket World Cup Prediction
notice this on Deepa's post
very interesting..
Year 1981
1. Prince Charles got married
2. Liverpool crowned Champions of Europe
3. Australia lost the Ashes
4. Pope Died
2 years later India won the world Cup!!!
Year 2005
1. Prince Charles got married
2. Liverpool crowned Champions of Europe
3. Australia lost the Ashes
4. Pope Died
2 years(2007) later will India win the world Cup???? .........
1982 Football World Cup won by Italy
1983 Cricket World Cup won by India
2006 Football World Cup won by Italy
2007 Cricket World Cup: INDIA ???
very interesting..
Year 1981
1. Prince Charles got married
2. Liverpool crowned Champions of Europe
3. Australia lost the Ashes
4. Pope Died
2 years later India won the world Cup!!!
Year 2005
1. Prince Charles got married
2. Liverpool crowned Champions of Europe
3. Australia lost the Ashes
4. Pope Died
2 years(2007) later will India win the world Cup???? .........
1982 Football World Cup won by Italy
1983 Cricket World Cup won by India
2006 Football World Cup won by Italy
2007 Cricket World Cup: INDIA ???
Sunday, March 18, 2007
oOh aAh INDIA...OUCH it huRtS!
What did we ever do to deserve such a shameful defeat?
what happened to the men in BLUE...that they have now become a black shadow on us??
where did they go wrong?
are the allergic to the first match of the world cup?
were they overconfident?
what was the very reason that they lost badly to such a young bangladesh team?
aren't they ashamed?
do they realize the consequences of their poor play?
what is the use of having a squad which cannot face a situation?
chappel should be chappaled...why did he have to experiment with different combo of 11 before the worldcup..before focusing on a fixed 11..?
why did dravid support shewag?
the people are boiling with rage throughout the subcontinent
we had packed the men in blue with such love, pressure and confidence, that they repay us back with such gratitude...
shewag should either be kicked out of the team, or sent in the middle order...
sachin should focus more on his cricket...
dada is amazing..he is the odd one out of the team....but he cud focus on increasing his strike rate...
dhoni has to bashed up if he doesn't perform the way he is supposed to perform...
dravid must continue to be the wall....the wall broke big time yesterday...he mustn't let that happen....
we have a team which is a mix of young and experienced players..there are three players having more than 10000 odd runs...
there are efficient bowlers...who must become more focused....
it was a huge disappointment to watch the match yesterday....losing to bangladesh was totally inexcusable...
the joy on the bangladeshi team was radiant..of course it will be....they have defeated the MEN IN BLUE....it is a huge victory for them.....while it is a huge shame for us with a bigger magnitude.....they scored runs amazingly...the ball was flying....while for our team....i could not even imagine it..we were 154/4 and then 157/9.....!!!!!!!!....totally unpardonable...
the bangladeshi team has lost one of their young colleagues and were mourning for them....and played great..they showed determination..
while this was bad enough...the fate of pakistan was much much worse....they lost to furst time debutants Ireland by scoring a meager 130 odd runs....but the celebration of Ireland was enjoyable....they totally smacked the pakistanis sending them packing home!!
well...all is well and good.....let us try to be optimistic....past is past, nothing can be changed....the men in blue would have learnt their lesson the hard way....let us hope..they make an amazing come back in the next two matches..have a ravishing victory over Bermuda and Srilanka....and walk with their head held high into teh super 8...nothing is impossible for the men in blue..... still nothing can dampen our hopes on them.....let us pardon them and smoothen their ruffled feathers.....we will come back...show the world that we indians are not easy to defeat.....we are a nation with cricket as our religion...nothing can make us turn our back to the world cup!!
I pray with whole of my heart that we will come back.....
ALL THE BEST TEAM INDIA!!
NOTHING CAN STOP US FROM GETTING THE WORLDCUP BACK HOME...
(don't ever make me rite a blog that is complete inverse of this one!)
what happened to the men in BLUE...that they have now become a black shadow on us??
where did they go wrong?
are the allergic to the first match of the world cup?
were they overconfident?
what was the very reason that they lost badly to such a young bangladesh team?
aren't they ashamed?
do they realize the consequences of their poor play?
what is the use of having a squad which cannot face a situation?
chappel should be chappaled...why did he have to experiment with different combo of 11 before the worldcup..before focusing on a fixed 11..?
why did dravid support shewag?
the people are boiling with rage throughout the subcontinent
we had packed the men in blue with such love, pressure and confidence, that they repay us back with such gratitude...
shewag should either be kicked out of the team, or sent in the middle order...
sachin should focus more on his cricket...
dada is amazing..he is the odd one out of the team....but he cud focus on increasing his strike rate...
dhoni has to bashed up if he doesn't perform the way he is supposed to perform...
dravid must continue to be the wall....the wall broke big time yesterday...he mustn't let that happen....
we have a team which is a mix of young and experienced players..there are three players having more than 10000 odd runs...
there are efficient bowlers...who must become more focused....
it was a huge disappointment to watch the match yesterday....losing to bangladesh was totally inexcusable...
the joy on the bangladeshi team was radiant..of course it will be....they have defeated the MEN IN BLUE....it is a huge victory for them.....while it is a huge shame for us with a bigger magnitude.....they scored runs amazingly...the ball was flying....while for our team....i could not even imagine it..we were 154/4 and then 157/9.....!!!!!!!!....totally unpardonable...
the bangladeshi team has lost one of their young colleagues and were mourning for them....and played great..they showed determination..
while this was bad enough...the fate of pakistan was much much worse....they lost to furst time debutants Ireland by scoring a meager 130 odd runs....but the celebration of Ireland was enjoyable....they totally smacked the pakistanis sending them packing home!!
well...all is well and good.....let us try to be optimistic....past is past, nothing can be changed....the men in blue would have learnt their lesson the hard way....let us hope..they make an amazing come back in the next two matches..have a ravishing victory over Bermuda and Srilanka....and walk with their head held high into teh super 8...nothing is impossible for the men in blue..... still nothing can dampen our hopes on them.....let us pardon them and smoothen their ruffled feathers.....we will come back...show the world that we indians are not easy to defeat.....we are a nation with cricket as our religion...nothing can make us turn our back to the world cup!!
I pray with whole of my heart that we will come back.....
ALL THE BEST TEAM INDIA!!
NOTHING CAN STOP US FROM GETTING THE WORLDCUP BACK HOME...
(don't ever make me rite a blog that is complete inverse of this one!)
Wednesday, March 14, 2007
What About Us That They Dont Like?
Excerpt from a local Newspaper:
The stupidity of the person who wrote this doesn't hide the ingenuity of this article in the eyes of the world. By writing this, the person revealed, bare naked the skin and color of his masters and their gripes and their fear.
Does this show that people are afraid of the blogger movements, collaborations that the powers that be think can topple them, where mass flow of information can crack open any crevice that these scums of the world seems to hide their tyranny and let it percolate hidden until the bloggers play their game and end their days. Maybe now we can understand what political blogging, and the freedom of speech is all about.
What text messaging has done to literacy is well documented (or maybe not) but while the cellular masses have dumbed themselves down to lives devoid of vowels, the Internet revolution continues apace. There is now a place called the "blogosphere", touted by its denizens as a Utopia of freedom of expression.
In my opinion, what they’ve really done is prove why freedom of expression was a really bad idea. In this country, a host of folk who never had a hope of getting published are now proving why not.
The local blogosphere is the domain of life-challenged grumblestiltskins and disenfranchised pundits whose asinine maunderings only show why they should never have had day jobs in the first place.
Rumour, innuendo, half-truths and damned lies are their stock- in-trade, and previously sacrosanct standards, principles and ethics are now laughable.
Are they not entitled to their opinion? Of course they are, as much as everyone else is entitled to ignore them. I would venture, however, that everyone has an opinion and a rectum, and not that many seem capable of telling one from the other.
But no, it’s all good. Let a hundred thousand million flowers bloom; let all voices be heard, in however fractured language, whether or not they have anything pertinent to communicate or any information worth more than spittle to offer.
The stupidity of the person who wrote this doesn't hide the ingenuity of this article in the eyes of the world. By writing this, the person revealed, bare naked the skin and color of his masters and their gripes and their fear.
Does this show that people are afraid of the blogger movements, collaborations that the powers that be think can topple them, where mass flow of information can crack open any crevice that these scums of the world seems to hide their tyranny and let it percolate hidden until the bloggers play their game and end their days. Maybe now we can understand what political blogging, and the freedom of speech is all about.
Monday, March 12, 2007
is India's future success a Myth..?
recent article made me think is India's success story really Myth,,!? may be or may be NOT..would recommend to read this before - Pankaj Mishra's "The myth of the new India" in The New York Times
While India is making significant strides in some areas thanks to opening up of its economy and a drastic change from a focus on agriculture and rural economy (an agenda of prior prime ministers) there is a lot that needs to be done. The current prime minister had been responsible for the economy change when he was the finance minister in an earlier administration.
One of the strongest things going for the India is its democracy "to the ultimate" - a country where it is possible to have a communist party take lead in some parts of India (something that cannot be dreamt in US). It is a democracy where the have-nots kick out technocrats in favor of communist party candidates - AND THAT IS TRULY DEMOCRACY!
Today, the strides made in India are focused on the educated elite - there is some trickle down affect - but not as much as desired. However these major strides have been in the past 16 years ONLY. What will the next 16 years bring about - I feel - A LOT. We have not given India enough time and one generation needs to pass before one can see significant changes at other levels.
There are still some remnant ills of past generations like, the caste system, poverty and poor distribution system - and not all have been fixed. But major strides are happening in all areas. Even
poor people see that their hope in a better life is in higher education, hence they are eager to give their children what they could not accomplish in terms of education. It will take a generation for those results to manifest. There is a VERY STRONG focus on education. Also notice nobody seems to talk about hunger in India. That has a lot to do with the distribution infrastructure and tech.
Investment is pouring in from all parts of the world. "Hi-tech" was focused on service oriented jobs, and now that has changed and a lot and VCs from the silicon valley and Europe are investing in the country - and so are big corporations.
Focus of the country has moved to nuclear energy for obvious reasons. Electric car manufacturers (like Reva) are beginning to taking a foot hold as well. India will be more nuclear than US because that is the only hope. I feel India is on the right track... give it time... it could end up exceeding China in the next generation.
When you hear about "hi-tech" in India, one thing that you do not hear about is "hi-tech" investment by the country in military. India will become a major power in economy AND military might.
Somethings to watch out for wrt India, will be its military might and to some extent Hindu fundamentalism. Why I say this, because ultimate power can bring about arrogance.
if you thinks Hindu fundamentalism, even though a weakling must be kept in check - and I feel it is under check for now. I don't expect Hindu fundamentalism ever taking a significant foot hold in India. Here is my hope: Hindu fundamentalists do get riled up because of other religions like Christianity and Islam trying to convert. Hindus do not have a branch in the religion that focuses on 'conversion to Hinduism' and that irritates many folks. The saying goes in Hinduism - "we do not want to or are even willing to convert you to Hinduism- don't do that to our people". One good thing going for Hinduism is its basic tolerance to other religions. Thanks to "Pantheism" they will worship any god of any other religions like Jesus Christ etc.
Should not surprise you that the Prime Minister is Sikh and the President is Muslim. Democracy and tolerance again. India narrowly missed getting a Christian prime minister.
There is a lot going on in defense technology. I would not be surprised it India is not working on Cruise missiles and Missile interceptors. They have neighbors that have not been very friendly in the north and the east.
Today, Indians are more free in India than Americans in US. You want Viagra you are free to get it without remorse or feel the the strong arm of a police state. Your life is not an open book to the
government like it is in US. Your finances are not 100% in the face of electronic tracking. I presume 50% of the economy does not show up on any books. It has its ills. Lack of proper taxation leads to
poor infrastructure. Flip side - the underground economy in completely legitimate products is capitalism to its ultimate.
My take: Give India another 20 Years. Many ills will be taken care of. It is a very good time for US to partner with India. India will not, ever be like China, a country to fear. It will be a very strong country, and will remain friendly and open.
India has a lot going for it in the realm of higher education.
It should not surprise you that the highest rated engineering school in the world is IIT and the highest rated Management school is IIM. Both tougher to get into than MIT and Wharton. Medical schools like AIIMS and CMC Vellore are not household names yet in US but they are names to watch, both with extremely tough standards. But these are schools you hear about. There are other schools as well, may not be as the well known, but still producing good human resources and in fairly good volume.
Give it time (and not too much either) India will surprise you and very fast.
India, with its rich culture, strong economy, friendliness and openness will be a country to envy.
Ahimsa Silk!
Thanks to BlueMoon for information about "Ahimsa Silk" - that is woven from a cocoon after the butterfly/moth has flown away from the cocoon so that the worms escape the dip in the fatal boiling hot pail of water. And kudos to Kusuma Rajaiah for this excellent idea of varying the silk retrieval technique slightly to reap the huge benefit of not having to kill thousands of silk worms! This Hindu article dated 3/6/2007 has the story about the inspiration behind Kusuma's invention, Mrs. Janaki Venkataraman, wife of the former President of India, R. Venkataraman. I commend her stand that led to this wonderful invention! "Ahimsa" - a perfect name too!
This surely is wonderful news for animal lovers, not so much because it opens doors to a guilt free wearing of the fine material, but the hope that some day, yes some day, there would be a total transformation in the silk industry to produce silk in this non-violent manner. Until the production of the Ahimsa silk is streamlined and produced in masses, the costs will probably remain prohibitive to become the mainstream silk production. And until such a day arrives, we will still be pained by the cruelty behind silk, fur and other animal based products.
But today, I join the many compassionate folks who care, in celebrating the "Ahimsa" silk and do hope that when you go shopping for this much fancied fabric, you would consider choosing the non-violent alternative!
Please visit the official website www.ahimsasilks.com for details.
This surely is wonderful news for animal lovers, not so much because it opens doors to a guilt free wearing of the fine material, but the hope that some day, yes some day, there would be a total transformation in the silk industry to produce silk in this non-violent manner. Until the production of the Ahimsa silk is streamlined and produced in masses, the costs will probably remain prohibitive to become the mainstream silk production. And until such a day arrives, we will still be pained by the cruelty behind silk, fur and other animal based products.
But today, I join the many compassionate folks who care, in celebrating the "Ahimsa" silk and do hope that when you go shopping for this much fancied fabric, you would consider choosing the non-violent alternative!
Please visit the official website www.ahimsasilks.com for details.
Thursday, March 08, 2007
MIT's I/O Brush
Tuesday, March 06, 2007
2006 Department of State Human Rights Report
Read the full report here and find out how your county fared.
On a related matter, US calls the Darfur genocide the worst crisis now, and still doesn't do anything about it. I think for sure they don't do anything about it because it doesn't involve oil, Israel and America. In a few years when it turns into a holocaust, the world will call it a holocaust level crisis and still never do anything about it.[+] The report
Friday, March 02, 2007
Evoloution of Marriage [contd.]
This post is to bring to fore a very interesting theory put forward by Uma in addition to the 2 theories proposed in an earlier post.
She says
So do post your thoughts on the same.
She says
The theories you have posted are nice, but I think they are not strong enough, if you see it in the evolutionary point of view. Biologically the concept of ‘marriage’ is more favoring women than men. The basic animal instinct is to propagate their genes. For male, more they have sex, the chance of propagating their gene is more, but for women, she is fertile only 3days(even less) a month and even if she is successful in that period, she has to wait for another one year to reproduce again (after child birth etc.) So, naturally man worry about the quantity of partners he can get, but women more about the quality of the partner. If you see the sexual behavior of our ancestors, there were always fight between men to get their mating partner. The male have to prove their strength, to prove that their genes are worth and are the fittest to transmit to the next generation. Then why and when this concept of marriage came into existence?
The theory of “population control” is good, that can be justified biologically. The concept of marriage controls males and hence the population. But in nature always the sex ratio is maintained, so, the population control theory can be justified with an assumption that something terribly went wrong with the sex ratio.
But to have a women as a slave, might have evolved when man started being ‘lazy’ to fight with another male every time, when he wanted to have a mate. But to manage slaves is a big disadvantage for him. Also this is against the psychological evolution of men. Men’s psychology always makes him feel confident, only when he gets success after a fight by proving himself. So the “slave theory” favors only a smaller group of weaker men. So, biologically and psychologically marriage is a big compromise a men make and a big favor for women. Why the entire ‘male dominated’ cultures are favoring marriages? When we relax the cultural constrains (like in the western world) we can see less and less men are opting for marriage. I think there should be a stronger reason for the evolution of marriage. This comment is purely based on my readings and discussion I had with my fellow biologist. Please write if there are any flaws in my comment.
So do post your thoughts on the same.
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Thursday, March 01, 2007
Marriage- The Evolution
I have two theories to propose as to how the current concept of 'Marriage' came about.
This Photo of a Marriage is from DeviantART done by SoundofSanity.
Both the theories are based on my reading and interactions and discussions i had with with people on the same subject.
Centuries back, there were tribes roaming this earth. They used to hunt for food and copulated when ever they felt like. As a result, the population increased. Food started becoming scarce.
There was one tribe leader who noticed this phenomenon. He came to a conclusion that for his tribe to survive, sex [As it led to a large number of children] should be controlled. Initially, he must have allowed 3 or more women for a man; which as time passed reduced. As of now, it stands in most places as one.
A picture depicting a tribe or tribes:
[Source:University of Texas]
Long long ago, tribes used to raid other tribes for jewels and precious things. And women used to be taken as slaves. More slaves implied that they had more wealth. By and by, a slave leader came to be. Probably the importance of the slave leader grew and grew and transmogrified into the 'wife'. [Women being taken as slaves and how the prominence of a 'single' slave grew is documented in Thorstein Veblen's 'The Theory of the Leisure Class']
This painting by Gustave Boulanger portrays a 'Slave Market' of olden times.
[Source:Wikipedia]
NOTE: Readers, if you have any other logical explanations, both accounted and unaccounted, please post them as comments.
This Photo of a Marriage is from DeviantART done by SoundofSanity.
Both the theories are based on my reading and interactions and discussions i had with with people on the same subject.
Centuries back, there were tribes roaming this earth. They used to hunt for food and copulated when ever they felt like. As a result, the population increased. Food started becoming scarce.
There was one tribe leader who noticed this phenomenon. He came to a conclusion that for his tribe to survive, sex [As it led to a large number of children] should be controlled. Initially, he must have allowed 3 or more women for a man; which as time passed reduced. As of now, it stands in most places as one.
A picture depicting a tribe or tribes:
[Source:University of Texas]
Long long ago, tribes used to raid other tribes for jewels and precious things. And women used to be taken as slaves. More slaves implied that they had more wealth. By and by, a slave leader came to be. Probably the importance of the slave leader grew and grew and transmogrified into the 'wife'. [Women being taken as slaves and how the prominence of a 'single' slave grew is documented in Thorstein Veblen's 'The Theory of the Leisure Class']
This painting by Gustave Boulanger portrays a 'Slave Market' of olden times.
[Source:Wikipedia]
NOTE: Readers, if you have any other logical explanations, both accounted and unaccounted, please post them as comments.
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