To pity the plumage and pity the dying bird

Pratap Bhanu Mehta, member of the National Knowledge Commission, resigned on May 22. This is the full text of his resignation letter to the prime minister, Manmohan Singh

Peril in numbers
May 21, 2006

To,
Dr. Manmohan Singh,
Prime Minister of India,
7, Race Course Road,
New Delhi

Honourable Prime Minister,

I write to resign as Member-Convener of the National Knowledge Commission. I believe the Commission's mandate is extremely important, and I am deeply grateful that you gave me the opportunity to serve on it. But many of the recent announcements made by your government with respect to Higher Education lead me to the conclusion that my continuation on the Commission will serve no useful purpose.

The Knowledge Commission was given an ambitious mandate to strengthen India's knowledge potential at all levels. We had agreed that if all sections of Indian society were to participate in, and make use of the knowledge economy, we would need a radical paradigm shift in the way we thought of the produc- tion, dissemination and use of knowledge. In some ways, this paradigm shift would have to be at least as radical as the economic reforms you helped usher in more than a decade ago. The sense of intellectual excitement that the Commission generated stemmed from the fact that it represented an opportunity to think boldly, honestly and with an eye to posterity. But the government's recent decision (announced by the Honourable Minister of Human Resource Development on the floor of Parliament) to extend quotas for OBCs in Central institutions, the palliative measures the government is contemplating to defuse the resulting agitation, and the process employed to arrive at these measures are steps in the wrong direction. They violate four cardinal principles that institutions in a knowledge-based society will have to follow: they are not based on assessment of effectiveness, they are incompatible with the freedom and diversity of institutions, they more thoroughly politicize the education process, and they inject an insidious poison that will harm the nation's long term interest.

These measures will not achieve social justice. I am as committed as anyone to two propositions. Every student must be enabled to realize their full potential regardless of financial or social circumstances. Achieving this aim requires radical forms of affirmative action. But the numerically mandated quotas your government is proposing are deeply disappointing, for the following reasons:

First, these measures foreclose any possibility of more intelligent targeting that any sensible programme should require. For one thing, the historical claims of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes and the nature of the deprivations they face are qualitatively of a different order than those faced by Other Backward Castes, at least in North India. It is plainly disingenuous to lump them together in the same narrative of social injustice and assume that the same instruments should apply to both. It is for this reason that I advocated status quo for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes until such time as better and more effective measures can be found to achieve affirmative action for them.

Some have proposed the inclusion of economic criteria: this is something of an improvement, but does not go far enough. What we needed, Honourable Prime Minister, was space to design more effective mechanisms of targeting groups that need to be targeted for affirmative action. For instance, there are a couple of well designed deprivation indices that do a much better job of targeting the relevant social deprivations and picking out merit. The government's action is disappointing because you have prematurely foreclosed these possibilities. In foreclosing these possibilities the government has revealed that it cares about tokenism more than social justice. It has sent the signal that there is no room for thinking about social justice in a new paradigm.

As a society we focus on reservations largely because it is a way of avoiding doing the things that really create access. Increasing the supply of good quality institutions at all levels (not to be confused with numerical increases), more robust scholarship and support programmes, will go much further than numerically mandated quotas. When you assumed office, you had sketched out a vision of combining economic reform with social justice. Increased public investment is going to be central to creating access opportunities. It would be presumptuous for me to suggest where this increased public investment is going to come from, but there are ample possibilities: for instance, earmarking proceeds from genuine disinvestment for education will do far more for access than quotas. We are not doing enough to genuinely empower marginalized groups, but are offering condescending palliatives like quotas as substitute. All the measures currently under discussion are to defuse the agitation, not to lay the foundations for a vibrant education system. If I may borrow a phrase of Tom Paine's, we pity the plumage, but forget the dying bird.

Second, the measures your government is contemplating violate the diversity principle. Why should all institutions in a country the size of India adopt the same admissions quotas? Is there no room at all for different institutions experimenting with different kinds of affirmative action policies that are most appropriate for their pedagogical mission? How will institutions feel empowered? How will creativity in social justice programmes be fostered, if we continue with a "one size fits all" approach? Could it not be that some state institutions follow numerically mandated quotas, while others are left free to devise their own programmes? The government's announcement is deeply disappointing because it reinforces the cardinal weakness of the Indian system: all institutions have to be reduced to the same level.

Third, and related to diversity, is the question of freedom. As an academic, I find it to be an appalling spectacle when a group of Ministers is empowered to come up with admissions policies, seat formulae for institutions across the country. While institutions have responsibilities and are accountable to society, how will they ever achieve excellence and autonomy if basic decisions like who should they teach, what should they teach, how much should they charge, are uniformly mandated by government diktat? As you know, more than anyone else, the bane of our education institutions is that politicians feel free to hoist any purpose they wish upon them: their favourite ideology, their preferred conception of social justice, their idea of representativeness, or their own men and women. Everything else germane to a healthy academic life and effective pedagogy becomes subordinate to these purposes. Concerned academics risked a good deal battling the previous government's instrumental use of educational institutions for ideological purposes. Though your objectives are different, your government is sending a similar message about our institutions: in the final analysis, they are playthings for politicians to mess around with. Nations are not built by specific programmes, they are built by healthy institutions, and the process by which your government is arriving at its decisions suggests contempt for the autonomy and integrity of academic life. Your government has reinforced the very paradigm of the State's relations with educational institutions that has weakened us.

In this process, the arguments that have been coming from your government are plainly disingenuous. It is true that a constitutional amendment was hastily passed to overturn the effects of the Inamdar decision. At the time I had written that the decision was property rights decision that was trying to unshackle private institutions from an overbearing state. But since the state had already displaced its responsibilities to the private sector, it decided that the ramifications of Inamdar would be too onerous and passed a constitutional amendment. One can quibble over whether this amendment was justified or not. But even in its present form it is only an enabling legislation. It does not require that every public institution have numerically mandated quotas for OBCs. To hear your government consistently hiding behind the pretext of the constitutional amendment is yet another example of how we are foreclosing the fine distinctions that any rigorous approach to access and excellence requires.

Finally, I believe that the proposed measures will harm the nation's vital interests. It is often said that caste is a reality in India. I could not agree more. But your government is in the process of making caste the only reality in India. Instead of finding imaginative solutions to allow us to transcend our own despicable history of inequity, your government is ensuring that we remain entrapped in the caste paradigm. Except that now by talking of OBCs and SC/STs in the same narrative we are licensing new forms of inequity and arbitrariness.

The Knowledge Economy of the twenty-first century will require that participation of all sections of society. When we deprive any single child, of any caste, of relevant opportunities, we mutilate ourselves as a society and diminish our own possibilities. But, as you understand more than most, globalization requires us to think of old objectives in new paradigms: the market and competition for talent is global, institutions need to be more agile and nimble, and there has to be creativity and diversity of institutional forms if a society is to position itself to take advantage of the Knowledge Economy. I believe that the measures your government is proposing will inhibit achieving both social justice and economic well being.

I write this letter with a great deal of regret. In my colleagues on the Knowledge Commission you will find a group that is unrivalled in its dedication, commitment and creativity, and I hope you will back them in full measure so that they can accomplish their mission in other areas. I assure you that the Commission's functioning will suffer no logistical harm on account of my departure.

I recognize that in a democracy, one has to respectfully accede to the decisions of elected representatives. But I also believe that democracies are ill served if individuals do not frankly and publicly point out the perils that certain decisions may pose for posterity. I owe it to public reason to make my reasons for resigning public. I may be wrong in my judgment about the consequences of your government's decisions, but at this juncture I cannot help but concluding that what your government is proposing poses grave dangers for India as a nation. On this occasion I cannot help thinking about the anxieties of a man who knew a thing or two about constitutional values, who was more rooted in politics than any of us can hope to be, and who understood the distinction between statesmanship and mere politics: Jawaharlal Nehru. He wrote, "So these external props, as I may call them, the reservations of seats and the rest may possibly be helpful occasionally, but they produce a false sense of political relation, a false sense of strength, and, ultimately therefore, they are not so nearly important as real educational, cultural and economic advance which gives them inner strength to face any difficulty or opponent." Since your government continues to abet a politics of illusion, I cannot serve any useful purpose by continuing on the Knowledge Commission under such circumstances.

With warmest personal regards,

PRATAP BHANU MEHTA
The author is president, Centre for Policy Research

Nehru on Reservations

Interesting point of view on Reservation from JL Nehru, India's first PM

People with different colored eyes

Reached here today. Click to see a person with a rare medical condition that produces eyes of differnet colors!!

Bookmobiles, the village kitaabwala

A very nice article on spreading books through technological innovation. Click here to read it.

Radio City Delhi on the net

If you wish to listen to Radio City Delhi FM on the net, click here or copy this link, without the quotes "http://210.7.68.196:8000/" and play it in Windows Media Player.

Mars on Google

Absolutely mind-blowingly beautiful!

Mars on Google

Shayari

I am an amateur lover of Shayari, which means I can appreciate simple and meaningful Shers. If they are complex (tough language) I need to understand the language before I can appreciate it. If they are non-meaningful, I fail to appreciate them.

Here are some that I like.

Yeh Khamosh Mizazi Tumhe Jeene Nahin Degi,
Iss Daur Mein Jeena Hai Toh Kohram Macha Do.

One that finds a place of pride on the top of my blog, till such time I decide to replace it with something else!

Kabhi Kabhi Yun Bhi Humnein Apne Dil Ko Bahlaya Hai,
Jin Baaton Ko Khud Nahin Samjhe Auron Ko Samjhayaa Hai.

Mila Koi Toh Haath Milaya, Gaye Kahin Do Baatein Ki,
Ghar Se Bahar Jab Bhi Nikle, Din Bhar Bojh Uthaya Hai.

Another one that is an alltime favourite is

Ek Do Zakhm Nahin Saara Jism Hai Chhalni,
Dard Hai Pareshan Aakhir Kahan Se Uthe.

Yet another one that generally inspires me is

Kyun Aasman Mein Soorakh Nahin Ho Sakta,
Ek Patthar Tabiyat Se Toh Uchhalo Yaaron.

And finally, my own creation. The only Sher that I ever wrote;

Ki Usne Mere Saath Jab Bewafai Yaaron,
Tab Mujhe Uske Dost Hone Ka Guman Hua.

And before you get any thoughts as to what prompted me to write about such treachery, let me clarify that nothing happened :)

Indians spending less on food now

An excellent insight into Indian consumption patterns. Have a dekko.

Fun with words

My job keeps me in touch with lots of words. Here is a nice page on some fun with words. Enjoy!

Funny Flash

This is really cute. Loads of fun watching this clip about the abortive attempts at Olympic Sports by Mr. Otto! Check it out here.

Rhinotillexomania

Was surfing on Wikipedia, that mother of all encyclopedias, and chanced upon this article. Have a look at Rhinotillexomania, which means, nose-picking!

A really funny quote from the same page is "You can pick your friends, you can pick your nose, but you cannot pick your friend's nose" :-D

Warning, this page is not for the easily grossed out!

Are Brahmins the Dalits of today?

A thought provoking article, Are Brahmins the Dalits of today?, even though it appears slightly biased to me. Slightly. Not much.

Funny Video

Have a look at Mahesh R's creation. Good music, good script, funny video :-D

Random Quotes

Putt's Law: "Rejection of management objectives is undesirable when you are wrong, and unforgivable when you are right."

Be more concerned with your character than your reputation, because your character is what you really are, while your reputation is merely what others think you are
- Dale Carnegie

Garlic Oil - Lethal

I am a big fan of The Straight Dope. Very nicely researched articles, with a writing style that is downright funny and irreverent!

Have a look at this article on "Is garlic oil lethal if it enters the blood stream?". Funny and irreverent yet well researched!

Dumbledore is not dead!

I recently got a forwarded a link that claimed that Dumbledore is not really dead. He is just masquerading his death. A detailed and blow-by-blow account is at www.dumbledoreisnotdead.com. The arguments are fairly logical. However I get a feeling from reading JKR's interview (Part 1 Part 2 Part 3) that he is really dead. May be. May not be!

Anyhow that is for some other time. I spent some time recently re-reading the sixth book for a second time to understand some details and to do some detective work of my own. e.g. Regulus Black (Sirius Black's younger and now-dead brother) is surely the mysterious R.A.B. that makes a grand entry towards the end of the book!

Happy Reading!

Fanna Songs

I am listening to the songs of Fanaa. You can download them here. I really like "Chand Sifaarish" but the real gem in the album is "Mere haath mein tera haath ho". The music is good. Surprisingly, Prasoon Joshi's lyrics are great!

Incidentally, rediff.com has a fairly bad review. I blasted them at the message board, and posting that message here!

I think Rediff has bad reviewers, who have bad taste in music and films. Over a period of time, I have developed a simple technique that I want to share; read what is termed as bad at Rediff and that is sure to be good! Why do all your reviewrs have a chip in their shoulders? Do they have unresolved childhood trauma that manifests itself in such stupid reviews.

Sure, all the songs in the album are not great. It has its highs and lows, but that does not take away the mellifluity away from some of the best songs I have heard this year! How can you call it "above average" and yet give it only two stars. You are yourself confused!!

Get better reviewers or stop reviewing.

TV Appearances

I recently made three TV appearances, spread over a period of two weeks. And today I read this.

"The other day a woman came up to me and said, 'Didn't I see you on television?' I said, 'I don't know. You can't see out the other way.'"
- Emo Philips

:-)

Feedback?

I have received very open feedback from many people over the course of my life and career. Both positive and negative; and that has helped me a lot to improve. I am thankful to many people for the same. I have also made it a point to give very clear and open feedback to people; as far palatable as possible. My intention is always the same, improvement.

Anyhow, this post is more about a joke I just read...so here goes!

Cowboy: "Well, I suppose you've been all right. You've been a decent horse, I guess. A bit slow sometimes, but a decent horse, and..."
Horse: "No, you idiot! I didn't ask you for FEEDBACK! I said I wanted my FEEDBAG!"

Jhakkas?

"Abey Itna Kyun Khush Ho Raha Hai? Tujhe Jhakkas Nahin Jackass Bola Hai!"
-- Anonymous

Terrorism and London Bombings

I read with great disturbance, USA's plans to strike Iran with nuclear weapons. I believe we are certainly headed for "The clash of civilisations and the remaking of the world order" if these are allowed to continue.

I wrote a letter to the editor of "The Guardian" of UK after the 7/7 bombings in London. It never got published - seems like they did not have the guts for it - but I think it can certainly find a place of pride on my blog.

Have a look.

Dear Editor,

The recent bombings in London were a sad moment and I empathise with the people who lost their loved ones. As an Indian, I represent a nation that has faced the consequences of fundamentalism, a deep religious divide and a fissiparous origin in 1947; and continues to face them. However, I feel aggrieved at the deep hypocrisy of the British society and in particular the British establishment in matters of terrorism. There are two primary factors that compel me to conclude such a disturbing notion.

While, I strongly condemn the attacks, I cannot help but pass a wry smile at the deep irony of the bombings. The Frankestenian monster created by America and so carefully nurtured by it, is now dutifully fulfilling the second part of the fable. Britain, who has faithfully served as the lapdog of America is of course in the line of fire.

What purpose was served by the attack on Iraq? Where are the elusive WMDs? Haven't these acts of the Allied forces, served to alienate the already aloof Muslim community across the world? The great yearning for the lost colonial glory which has resurfaced as the neo-imperialistic ambitions of the British will surely be the turning point of modern politco-economic history.

You can chant, maintain vigils and observe silence. But can that bring back the innocent and dead children in Iraq, so impassively designated as "collateral damage"? Why is an Iraqi life less precious than British life? In my eyes, both have the same value, and I feel the same sense of loss at both. Why not the British?

Why did the British vote for Tony Blair again? The British people are themselves responsible for fanning this irresponsible fire. The second factor is, of course, the tremendous double standards on Pakistan. India has been crying hoarse for ages, and pointing it as the fountainhead of global terrorism; a fact that the British have conveniently decided to ignore. I hope that the "realisation" of this fact shall alleviate the British misery.

You are yourselves to be blamed for your troubles. It is still not too late, to change your errant ways. I hope you do that, and India and Britain can fight terrorism jointly.

Warm Regards
Ankur Jain

History

Karl Marx said "History is Economics in action." I concur. Have a look at this report that describes English history through an Economics and Darwinian approach!

Did Sonia Gandhi listen to her "inner voice"?

During a discussion today on the word "abdicate" someone asked me whether Sonia Gandhi abdicated the post of PM or not? I told him she did not, since she never was a PM, but that could have been the word to use if she did become the PM and then step down of her volition.

But that question led a great debate, and I thought that people need to know the reality of what happened in 2004. Contrary to the "great sacrifice" as being portrayed, Sonia Gandhi was stopped from becoming the PM.

Here's a blow-by-blow account from "The Pioneer". But before you read this, it is a good idea to click on the law ministry's website and have "The Constitution of India" be ready for quick reference.


Did Sonia Gandhi step down from the race to be Prime Minister because her "inner voice" suddenly told her to do so? Why did this "voice" speak now, despite her being elected Congress Parliamentary Party leader and after obtaining letters of support from all allied parties?

Apparently, it was not the "inner voice" but certain queries that could have been put to her by the President of India, custodian of the Constitution, which caused her to withdraw her name.

Contrary to attempts by Congressmen and Communists to portray her eleventh-hour retreat as a "personal decision" spurred by her children, it could be the clarifications apparently sought by President A P J Abdul Kalam that resulted in the rethink. The President, it is reliably learnt, did not outrightly reject her candidature for the post of the Prime Minister. However, he is believed to have sought certain clarifications on a few points regarding the precise status of her Indian citizenship. In doing so, he may have referred to some pointed queries referred to him by legal luminaries who met him since the declaration of the Lok Sabha election results.

That probably explains why Ms Gandhi's decision to opt out came only after she emerged from the Rashtrapati Bhawan after meeting the President on Tuesday at 12.30 pm. That could also explain why she did not allow the entourage of allied parties to accompany her for the meeting, contrary to custom.

According to highly placed sources, the President may have conveyed to her that in view of the legal and constitutional queries raised, he would need some more time to examine the matter. Accordingly, there could be no swearing-in on Wednesday, May 19 - a date unilaterally announced by Left leaders and enthusiastically endorsed by Congressmen on Monday without consulting the Rashtrapati Bhawan.

Highly placed sources in the Government told The Pioneer that on the basis of various petitions submitted to him, the President could have sought to clarify a few issues from Ms Gandhi. He is said to have informally communicated to her on Monday evening that certain queries needed to be answered, even as he invited her to have a discussion on Government formation.

On the basis of pleas submitted to him by people like Janata Party leader Subramanian Swamy and BJP leader Sushma Swaraj against any person of foreign origin occupying a top constitutional post, and the legal advice that he had obtained from top constitutional experts, the President could have sought three clarifications from Ms Gandhi. This would be a haunting experience for Ms Gandhi. The BJP leaders had already declared that they would continue to support any form of agitation on the foreign origin issue.

The most damaging clarification that has apparently been sought relates to Article 102 of the Constitution that says: "A person shall be disqualified for being chosen as, and for being, a member of either House of Parliament" on any or more of five possible grounds. Clause(d) of the same Article says "... or is under any acknowledgement of allegiance or adherence to a foreign state".

The term "adherence" had to be clarified specifically as Ms Gandhi in her affidavit before the Returning Officer of the Rai Bareli parliamentary constituency had stated that she owned ancestral property, namely portion of a house, in Orbassano, Italy, the country of her origin. This fact of ownership, legal experts say, makes her subject to Italian law in this matter and could be interpreted as "adherence" to a foreign country. Since this portion of the ancestral property was apparently bequeathed to her by her father in his will, she inherited it only after his death. Consequently, the property was not her's when she filed her 1999 nomination affidavit.

Article 103 states that "if any question arises as to whether a member of either House of Parliament has become subject to disqualification mentioned in Article 102, the question shall be referred for the decision to the President and his decision shall be final". Clause 2 of the Article says: "Before giving any decision on such question, the President shall obtain the opinion of the Election Commission and shall act according to such opinion."

This means that the President is required by the Constitution to undertake an elaborate process of examining the legal and constitutional issues involved. Thus, Ms Gandhi's swearing-in could not happen before the matter was fully clarified and resolved.

Another point that came in the way of Ms Gandhi was Section 5 of the Citizenship Act. Under this, there is a reciprocity provision whereby citizenship granted by India to persons of foreign origin is circumscribed by the rights that particular country confers upon foreigners seeking citizenship there.

The crux of this provision of "reciprocity" is that a person of foreign origin, who has acquired the citizenship of India through registration by virtue of marrying an Indian national, cannot enjoy more rights (like becoming Prime Minister), if the same opportunity is not available to an Indian-born citizen in that particular country.

While it is not known whether the President mentioned this, legal luminaries pointed out there could be a further lacuna over the issue of her surrendering Italian citizenship. It is believed that while acquiring citizenship through registration in 1983, she surrendered her Italian passport to the Italian Ambassador in New Delhi but did not obtain a formal notification from the Italian Government that her citizenship of that country had been cancelled.

This might be only a technicality that could be rectified in a few days, but it would have certainly helped the BJP raise the pitch of the campaign once the citizenship issue returned to the fore.

Another petition submitted to the President on Tuesday by Sushma Swaraj pointed out that as the Supreme Commander of India's Armed Forces, the President should examine a key issue. It referred to the fact that a Defence or Indian Foreign Service official cannot even marry a foreign national without permission, or must quit his post. How could a person of foreign origin be handed over the nuclear button in such circumstances, Ms Swaraj's petition demanded to know.

What could have prevented Sonia?

Article 102 of the Constitution says: "A person shall be disqualified for being chosen as, and for being, a member of either House of Parliament - (d) if he or she is under any acknowledgement of allegiance or adherence to a foreign state." Sonia Gandhi, in her affidavit, had declared she owned a house in Italy and may thus invite, the term "adherence" of the said provision.

Under Article 103, the President is the sole adjudicator on the issue who has to decide on such matter in consultation with the Election Commission.

Section 5 of the Citizenship Act, dealing with the reciprocity clause for a person who registered herself as an Indian citizen, says the said person could not enjoy more rights than those available to an Indian born person in that other country if he/she acquires citizenship of that country, like Italy for instance.

The clauses of the Citizenship Act were apparently not fully met when Ms Gandhi relinquished her Italian citizenship.

Billionaires and Zodiac Signs

I just learnt that Virgos are more likely to be billionaires than any other sunsign, and, Sagittarius are least likely to be billionaires. Being a Sagittarius myself, I treat this piece of news with great consternation :)

Read the whole article here.

Poetic Resignation

Found this floating on the net....pretty nice, eh?

POETIC RESIGNATION
The name is good, the brand is big
But the work I do is that of a pig
The work or the brand; what is my way?
I don't know if I should stay.

To work, they have set their own way
Nobody will care to hear what I say
My will be NULL, they wont change their way
I don't know if I should stay.

The project is in a critical stage
But to do good work, this is the age
This dilemma is killing me day by day
I don't know if I should stay.

The money is good, the place is great
But the development is at a very small rate
Should I go for the work, or wait for pay
I don't know if I should stay!

The managers don't know what they talk
The team doesn't know where they walk
That's a bad situation, what say?
I don't know if I should stay.

I can go to any other place
But what if I get the same disgrace
I can't keep switching day by day
I don't know if I should stay.

The -ves are more, the +ves are less
Then why have this unnecessary mess
No more will I walk their way,
It's all done, I won't stay.

Long names of Cricketers

If it has anything to do with cricket, we Indians are crazy. Have a look at these long names of cricketers. In addition to the famous Warnakulasuriya Patabendige Ushantha Joseph Chaminda Vaas we have many others. Here is John Elicius Benedict Bernard Placid Quirk Carrington Dwyer for you. But this one takes the cake; have a look at Amunugama Rajapakse Rajakaruna Abeykoon Panditha Wasalamudiyanse Ralahamilage Rajitha Krishantha Bandara Amunugama.

Why did the chicken cross the road?

You must have read endless forwards of American versions of the classic question "Why did the chicken cross the road?".

I once made a long writeup on what would Indians say about this question. Have a dekko.

WHY DID THE CHICKEN CROSS THE ROAD?


ATAL BIHARI VAJAPAYEE Chicken ke dwara (long pause) bina ijazat (another long pause) road cross karna (yet another very long pause) achi baat nahin hai.

LALOO PRASAD YADAV Arre, ee sab to bakwas hai. Yeh sampradayik taktein chahti hain to des ko chicken aur non-chicken mein baant diya jaye. Hum ekjut hogar aise chicken ke khilaf ladenge aur kisi ko road cross nahin karne denge. Waise bhi yeh chicken bahut kam chara khate hain aur kamai ka koi mauka nahin hota hai.

SONIA GANDHI Congress party, aise kisi bhi chicken ka samarthan karne ko teyar hai, jo hamare saath milkar, road cross karne to teyar hai. Mere pati aur meri saas ne road cross karne ke liye apni jaan de di, aur hamari party aage bhi road cross karne ki koshish jaari rakhegi.

MAYAWATI Chicken, bahujan samaj ka ek pramukh anga hain. Manuwadi taktein, chicken ka shoshan kar rahi hain. Main sabhi chicken ko bharosa dilati hoon, ki hamari bahujan samaj party, unke saath road cross karna chahti hai. Woh Mulayam Singh kya janta hai chicken ke baare mein??

AAJ TAK Aur aaiye ab aage badhne se pehle nazar dalte hain ab tak ki kuch khas aur Aaj Tak to mili exclusive chicken dwara road crossings ki tasweeron pe (loud music starts, drowning all commentary)

EKTA KAPOOR Kyunki chicken bhi kabhi egg tha.

PERVEZ MUSHARRAF I tell you that we are completely innocent. We are not helping any chickens cross the road into Kashmir. They are crossing on their own. You may not believe that, but that the truth. Why don't the Indians stop the chicken crossings on their own? We will continue to support morally and diplomatically the Indigenous Road Cross Movement of the chickens in Kashmir and raise the issue at the next UN meet.

MUKESH AMBANI Mere pitajee ka sapna tha ki desh ka ek ek chicken saari ki saari roads, apne aap cross kar lega. Main woh sapna saakar karna chahta hoon.

VIRENDER SEHWAG Hello Maa, maine chicken mutthi main kar liya hai!

AZHAR And, you know, that the chicken, is being victimised.

SALMAN KHAN I tell you that it is the media that is trying to project a bad image of mine. The chicken is just a good friend of mine and we were trying to cross the road to meet him, when he started cross too and we collided. I tell you, I was not even driving.

AISHWARYA RAI I am telling you, it is all over between us. Whether the chicken is trying to cross the road or not, is none of my business any longer.

ADNAN SAMI Thodi see to chicken dila de, thodi is toh road cross kara de, thodi si toh lift kara de.

Confused about Telecom Tariff Plans?

If you have ever purchased a mobile phone connection, that makes you automatically eligible for the highest gallantry award of the nation (The Paramveer Chakra for times of war and The Ashoka Chakra for times of peace; take your pick).

If you think I am exaggerating, just think about the painful moments of labour or getting a root-canal surgery done. I would choose one of these any day, before you could even say cell-to-cell. I once heard a comic quip on a TV show as to why are Indians so good in maths. According to him, we get sufficient practice, while choosing our telephone plans! Choosing from among them is one of the most painful exercises known to the human species. Period!

Look at the process involved and you would get an idea. First step, decide technology GSM/CDMA. Then choose between companies in each section do you choose the one endorsed by the curvaceous beauty or the one endorsed by the now-out-of-team cricket star? Or is the one that lets me communicate with Berliners, Mother Teresa, Churchill and people-buried-in-cemeteries, the right one for me?

Next start the endless rounds of the friendly neighbourhood shops. Someone touts cell-to-cell calls. Another one extols the virtues of the freedom plans that promise to let you talk for as long you want, provided of course that you give them your credit card and debit card for keeps. Yeah, like thats going to happen!

Someone tells me that a particular company is giving the first two minutes of all calls free. So if I want to save some money, what am I expected to do? Call and disconnect after 1:59 ? I guess I will be busy looking at the watch rather than talking!

Do I need the free SMS plans? They could help me enter lots of contests on TV channels and vote for my favourite singer/dancer/actor/producer/spot-boy. That would be utopia, except for the fact that they are all prime rate SMSs with the micro-printed 6 Rs per SMS rates!

Do I need the free friends-and-family plan? But for that I need friends and family. And If I have a free phone and keep them calling at ungodly hours to gain maximum mileage out of my phone, they are sure to severe all ties with me for good!

Enter www.yourbillbuddy.com - Your saviour, your karnadhar, your palanhaar, your friend-in-need-is-a-friend-indeed! Tell your phone needs and get a personalised recommendation! And if you are an existing subscriber with a post-paid connection (like me), then you just upload the PDF bills that you get and voila! It not only tells you what you have been doing (calling/SMSing) butalso tells whom have you been calling. Oops! Hope the wife did not see that the girlfriend's number has the largest piece on that pie-chart!

And then it tells you which plan would suit you the most (means which saves the most money, Duh!). I uploaded 8 Airtel bills and was surprised that I could save Rs. 541 per month by changing my plan within Airtel, save Rs. 627 by changing technology from GSM to CDMA (Tata Indicom). But the real surprise was that if I changed from Airtel to Idea, I could get an average saving of Rs 767 per month! Whoa! Talk about saving money!

This is a great piece of software! Kudos to the developers. Now only, if they could help me choose the correct broadband plan, I would be in eternal debt to them!
Happy talking!

Here's a mail from the website's founder.

Hi,
Season's greetings to you all. I am a 2002 batch graduate of BIT from Khalsa college. I am currently employed by Trilogy Bangalore and am involved in developing innovative services in the Telecom domain. For the past few months I have been very busy on my latest assignment in Trilogy. I have been writing the engine for a website called Your Bill Buddy. I want to introduce you to the site.

While at Pune, due to the pressing demands of calling my then-fiance-now-wife Nidhi who was in Delhi, and the high variation in the cost of calls across various plans, I used to have a great fetish towards finding the cheapest tariff plan for mobile phones given a specific requirement. So basically, I along with other friends at Trilogy presented this idea to our management and we decided to build a service for everybody to be able to find the best plan for themselves.

So, http://www.yourbillbuddy.com/index.html?utm_id=292 is a FREE service where you can upload your latest e-bills (PDF) and you can get a recommendation. Currently, we are supporting ALL plans in Karnataka and Delhi and ALL NATIONAL plans in all the others states.

As of now, a good 80% of the users in the trial runs have found a better plan to switch to. One guy even discovered a possible monthly savings of Rs. 800. If you have any post paid mobile connection, it is worth at least one try. So just click on www.yourbillbuddy.com , go to Register and check out the service.

For your kind information, we have no motives of calling you or using any of the information provided in your bills for purposes other than calculating the best plans for you. If you still wish to refrain from providing your bills, you can still register and use our recommendation wizard and get the recommendations. This service takes only 3 minutes flat from registeration to recommendation.

Drop in a line if you any feedback/suggestion or hopefully words of appreciation. :-)

Regards,
Shreeniwas

ps: Just check it out and if you find it interesting enough, pass it on to your friends.

Career Songs

Head here for some light-hearted look at Career Songs. See it to understand what I mean by this cryptic statement.

GABBAR LOOT-MAAR SOFTWARE

Here is another one that you can find floating on the net. An old one, but really cute :)

GABBAR LOOT-MAAR SOFTWARE
Gabbar sends Kaalia and his other two colleagues to Ramgad for collecting the 'loot-maar' software which he ordered. They reach Ramgad and start shouting:

'Abe O thakur. Baahar nikal. Kaha hai wo loot-maar software jo hamne order kiya tha?'

Dhaniya,an old man comes out with a floppy in his hand.

Kaalia - 'Kya laye ho dhaniya?'

Dhaniya - 'Financial Accounting software hai sarkar.'

Kaalia - 'Suwar ke bacche. Ye bekar software hamare liye banaya aur woh loot - mar software kya apni beti ke baratiyon ke liye zip file mein chuppa rakha hai.'

Thakur comes out of his house with anger, saying 'Chillao mat kaalia. Jaakar gabbar se kah do ki Thakur Software walo ne paagal kutton ke liye software banana bund kar diya hai'

Kaalia- 'Bahut garmi dikha rahe ho thakur. Koi naye programmers hire kiye hain kya?'

Thakur - 'Nazar utha kar dekh Kaalia tere sar par powerbuilder chal raha hai'.

Kaalia lifts his head. He sees Viru (Dharmendra) working on a PC on one water tank and Jay (Amitabh) on another water tank. Kaalia starts laughing and says 'Haa Haa...Ye log programming karenge thakur. Haa haa.. inko toh DOS commands bhi nahin aate. Suno Ramgad ke vasiyon, thakur ne hijdon ki software company banayi hai'

Veeru shouts - 'Chup chap chala ja kaalia, ham log consultants hain, kuch bhi kar sakte hain.' Jay hits some commands on his keyboard. Then says 'Jao kaalia gabbar se kahna ki uska server down ho gaya'

Kaalia - 'Jaata hoon thakur. Agar gabbar ko pata chala ki Thakur Software services walon ne uska loot - maar software nahin banaya to woh poore network mein virus daal dega.'

At GABBAR's den

GABBAR: Kitnay bugs thay?

KALIA: Do sarkaar.

GABBAR: Woh do! Aur tum teen. Phir bhee fix nahin kar sake? Kya soch kay aaye thay? Gabbar bahut khus hoga. Naya assignment dega, kyun? Iski saja milegi. Barabar milegi!

[Snatches an X terminal from a Junior Programmer(JP)]

Kitne sessions hain iss machine mein?

JP: Chhay Sardar.

GABBAR: Session chhay aur programmer teen. Bahut nainsaafi hai.

[logout.. logout.. logout...]

Haan.. ab theek hai... Ab tera kyaa hoga kaalia?

KAALIA: Sardar, maine aapka code likha tha sarkar?

GABBAR: To aab documentation likh !!! [LOGOUT.....]

Firewall (Deewar)

I wrote this a long time ago, the days when I used to run an IT-outsourcing venture, and had time to kill (sometimes!). This is the sceret script of an IT Film "Firewall" (Deewar).

Scene 1
Bamitabh Acchan (lead programmer) and Shift-hekar (project manager) are discussing the latest projects (Sona) that have just come from USA to India (typical aaj-rat-top-level-design-USA-se-aa-raha-hai style).
Shift-hekar: "Aaj se tum hamare liye programming karoge! Yeh lo!" Throws a thick client specifications document across the conference table.
Bamitabh Acchan: "Shift-hekar Sahab, apko yaad hoga, aaj se kai saal pehle aap NIIT ke Kalkajee center pe hacking karne jaate the, tab raaste mein hamesha ek hi jagah ruk kar apne freelance projects banwate the."
Shift-hekar: "Haan! Lekin tumhe yeh sab kaise pata hai?"
Bamitabh Acchan: "Main phenki hui client specifications aaj bhi nahin uthata hoon!"

Scene 2
Bamitabh Acchan and Kashi Shapoor are standing in the NIIT center, Okhla.
Kashi Shapoor: "Bhai tum documentation likhoge ya nahin!?"
Bamitabh Acchan: "Jaao pehle uss software ka documentation lekar aao, jisko maine delivery date se pehle, saari raat baithkar banaya. Jaao pehle uss software ka documentation lekar aao, jiska Alpha version maine Beta kehkar bhej diya. Jaao pehle uss software ka documentation lekar aao, jisko banane main mere Sun-Sparc server mein crash aa gaya. Uske baad mere bhai, tum jis software ka kahoge, main us ka documentation likh doonga. Haan mere bhai, main documentation likh doonga, lekin main sabse pehle nahin likhoonga."
Kashi Shapoor: "Doosre ke documentation nahin likhne se tumhare requirements fulfill nahin ho jaate hain."
Bamitabh Acchan: "Uff yeh tumhare SEI-CMM aur ISO ke requirements, yeh kiss kaam ke hain? Inko mila kar kya ek lead programmer ki salary bhi nikal sakti hai? Hum dono ne issi center ke bahar khade hokar code likha, hacking seekhi, programmers bane aur aaj tum kahan reh gaye aur main kahan aa gaya. Yeh vahi tum ho aur yeh vahi main hoon. Aaj mere pass Sun Sparc aur IBM ke servers hain, Oracle aur Microsoft ka pirated software hai, RJ-45 ki cabling wala LAN hai, 24 hour connnectivity hai, programmers hain, project managers hain, India mein itna bada development center hai, USA mein front end marketing office hai, NYSE aur NASDAQ per listing hai aur tumhare pass, kya hai tumhare pass??"
Kashi Shapoor : "Mere pass project hai"

What Does Your Birth Date Mean?

Your Birthdate: December 5

You have many talents, and you are great at sharing those talents with others. Most people would be jealous of your clever intellect, but you're just too likeable to elicit jealousy. Progressive and original, you're usually thinking up cutting edge ideas. Quick witted and fast thinking, you have difficulty finding new challenges. Your strength: Your superhuman brainpower Your weakness: Your susceptibility to boredom Your power color: Tangerine Your power symbol: Ace Your power month: May

What Does Your Birth Date Mean?

Decided to put this in without a thought - jab meri tareef kar raha hai toh tension kya hai :)

Random Quotes

The great pleasure in life is doing what people say you cannot do.
- Walter Bagehot

It is better to wear out than to rust out.
- George Whitefield

Work expands so as to fill the time available for its completion.
- C. Northcote Parkinson

It is impossible to enjoy idling thoroughly unless one has plenty of work to do.
- Jerome K. Jerome

Never put off until tomorrow what you can forget about entirely.
- Anonymous

If you asked me to name the three scariest threats facing the human race, I would give the same answer that most people would: nuclear war, global warming and Windows.
- Dave Barry

A debugged program is one for which you have not yet found the condtions that make it fail.
- Jerry Ogdin

A patch is a piece of software which replaces old bugs with new bugs.
- Anonymous

Go Kiss the World

Address on July 2, 2004 by Subroto Bagchi, Chief Operating Officer, MindTree Consulting to the Class of 2006 at the Indian Institute of Management, Bangalore on " Defining Success."

I was the last child of a small-time government servant, in a family of five brothers. My earliest memory of my father is as that of a District employment Officer in Koraput, Orissa. It was and remains as back of beyond as you can imagine. There was no electricity; no primary school nearby and Water did not flow out of a tap. As a result, I did not go to school until the age of eight; I was home-schooled. My father used to get transferred every year. The family belongings fit into the back of a jeep - so the Family moved from place to place and, without any trouble, my Mother would set up an establishment and get us going. Raised by a widow who had come as a refugee from the then East Bengal, she was a matriculate when she married My Father. My parents set the foundation of my life and the value system which makes me what I am today and largely defines what success means to me today.

As District Employment Officer, my father was given a jeep by the Government. There was no garage in the Office, so the jeep was parked in our House. My father refused to use it to commute to the office. He told us that the jeep is an expensive resource given by the government - he reiterated to us that it was not 'his jeep' but the government's jeep. Insisting that he would use it only to tour the interiors, he would walk to his office on Normal days. He also made sure that we never sat in the government jeep - we could sit in it only when it was stationary. That was our early childhood Lesson in governance - a lesson that corporate managers learn the hard way, some never do.

The driver of the jeep was treated with respect due to any other Member of my Father's office. As small children, we were taught not to call Him by his name. We had to use the suffix 'dada' whenever we were to refer to him in public or private. When I grew up to own a car and a driver by the name of Raju was appointed - I repeated the lesson to my two small Daughters. They have, as a result, grown up to call Raju, 'Raju Uncle' - Very different from many of their friends who refer to their family drivers as 'my driver'. When I hear that term from a school- or college-going Person, I cringe. To me, the lesson was significant - you treat small people with more respect than how you treat big people. It is more important to Respect your subordinates than your superiors.

Our day used to start with the family huddling around my Mother's Chula - an earthen fire place she would build at each place of posting Where she would cook for the family. There was no gas, nor electrical Stoves. The morning routine started with tea. As the brew was served, Father Would ask us to read aloud the editorial page of The Statesman's 'muffosil' Edition - delivered one day late. We did not understand much of what we were Reading. But the ritual was meant for us to know that the world was larger Than Koraput district and the English I speak today, despite having studied In an Oriya medium school, has to do with that routine.

After reading the Newspaper aloud, we were told to fold it neatly. Father taught us a simple Lesson. He used to say, "You should leave your newspaper and your toilet, the way you expect to find it". That lesson was about showing consideration to others. Business begins and ends with that simple precept.

Government houses seldom came with fences. Mother and I collected Twigs and built a small fence. After lunch, my Mother would never sleep. She would take her kitchen utensils and with those she and I would dig the Rocky, white ant infested surrounding. We planted flowering bushes. The White ants destroyed them. My mother brought ash from her chulha and mixed it in the earth and we planted the seedlings all over again. This time, they bloomed. At that time, my father's transfer order came. A few neighbors told my mother why she was taking so much pain to beautify a government house, why she was planting seeds that would only benefit the next occupant. My Mother replied that it did not matter to her that she would not see the Flowers in full bloom. She said, "I have to create a bloom in a desert and whenever I am given a new place, I must leave it more beautiful than what I had inherited". That was my first lesson in success. It is not about what you create for yourself, it is what you leave behind that defines success.

My mother began developing a cataract in her eyes when I was very small. At that time, the eldest among my brothers got a teaching job at the University in Bhubaneswar and had to prepare for the civil services examination. So, it was decided that my Mother would move to cook for him and, as her appendage, I had to move too. For the first time in my life, I saw electricity in homes and water coming out of a tap. It was around 1965 and the country was going to war with Pakistan. My mother was having problems reading and in any case, being Bengali, she did not know the Oriya script. So, in addition to my daily chores, my job was to read her the local newspaper - end to end. That created in me a sense of connectedness with a larger world.

I began taking interest in many different things. While reading out news about the war, I felt that I was fighting the war myself. She and I discussed the daily news and built a bond with the larger universe. In it, we became part of a larger reality. Till date, I measure my success in terms of that sense of larger connectedness. Meanwhile, the war raged and India was fighting on both fronts. Lal Bahadur Shastri, the then Prime Minster, coined the term "Jai Jawan, Jai Kisan" and galvanized the nation in to patriotic fervor. Other than reading out the newspaper to my mother, I had no clue about how I could be part of the action. So, after reading her the newspaper, every day I would land up near the University's water tank, which served the community. I would spend hours under it, imagining that there could be spies who would come to poison the water and I had to watch for them. I would daydream about catching one and how the next day, I would be featured in the newspaper. Unfortunately for me, the spies at war ignored the sleepy town of Bhubaneswar and I never got a chance to catch one in action. Yet, that act unlocked my imagination. Imagination is everything. If we can imagine a future, we can create it, if we can create that future, others will live in it. That is the essence of success.

Over the next few years, my mother's eyesight dimmed but in me she created a larger vision, a vision with which I continue to see the world and, I sense, through my eyes, she was seeing too. As the next few years unfolded, her vision deteriorated and she was operated for cataract. I remember, when she returned after her operation and she saw my face clearly for the first time, she was astonished. She said, "Oh my God, I did not know you were so fair". I remain mighty pleased with that adulation even till date. Within weeks of getting her sight back, she developed a corneal ulcer and, overnight, became blind in both eyes. That was 1969. She died in 2002. In all those 32 years of living with blindness, she never complained about her fate even once. Curious to know what she saw with blind eyes, I asked her once if she sees darkness. She replied, "No, I do not see darkness. I only see light even with my eyes closed". Until she was eighty years of age, she did her morning yoga everyday, swept her own room and washed her own clothes. To me, success is about the sense of independence; it is about not seeing the world but seeing the light.

Over the many intervening years, I grew up, studied, joined the industry and began to carve my life's own journey. I began my life as a clerk in a government office, went on to become a Management Trainee with the DCM group and eventually found my life's calling with the IT industry when fourth generation computers came to India in 1981. Life took me places - I worked with outstanding people, challenging assignments and traveled all over the world. In 1992, while I was posted in the US, I learnt that my father, living a retired life with my eldest brother, had suffered a third degree burn injury and as admitted in the Safderjung Hospital in Delhi. I flew back to attend to him - he remained for a few days in critical stage, bandaged from neck to toe. The Safderjung Hospital is a cockroach infested, dirty, inhuman place. The overworked, under-resourced sisters in the burn ward are both victims and perpetrators of dehumanized life at its worst. One morning, while attending to my Father, I realized that the blood bottle was empty and fearing that air would go into his vein, I asked the attending nurse to change it. She bluntly told me to do it myself. In that horrible theatre of death, I was in pain and frustration and anger. Finally when she relented and came, my Father opened his eyes and murmured to her, "Why have you not gone home yet?" Here was a man on his deathbed but more concerned about the overworked nurse than his own state. I was stunned at his stoic self. There I learnt that there is no limit to how concerned you can be for another human being and what is the limit of inclusion you can create. My father died the next day. He was a man whose success was defined by his principles, his frugality, his universalism and his sense of inclusion. Above all, he taught me that success is your ability to rise above your discomfort, whatever may be your current state. You can, if you want, raise your consciousness above your immediate surroundings. Success is not about building material comforts. His success was about the legacy he left, the mimetic continuity of his ideals that grew beyond the smallness of a ill-paid, unrecognized government servant's world.

My father was a fervent believer in the British Raj. He sincerely doubted the capability of the post- independence Indian political parties to govern the country. To him, the lowering of the Union Jack was a sad event. My Mother was the exact opposite. When Subhash Bose quit the Indian National Congress and came to Dacca, my mother, then a schoolgirl, garlanded him. She learnt to spin khadi and joined an underground movement that trained her in using daggers and swords. Consequently, our household saw diversity in the political outlook of the two. On major issues concerning the world, the Old Man and the Old Lady had differing opinions. In them, we learnt the power of disagreements, of dialogue and the essence of living with diversity in thinking. Success is not about the ability to create a definitive dogmatic end state; it is about the unfolding of thought processes, of dialogue and continuum.

Two years back, at the age of eighty-two, Mother had a paralytic stroke and was lying in a government hospital in Bhubaneswar. I flew down from the US where I was serving my second stint, to see her. I spent two weeks with her in the hospital as she remained in a paralytic state. She was neither getting better nor moving on. Eventually I had to return to work. While leaving her behind, I kissed her face. In that paralytic state and a garbled voice, she said, "Why are you kissing me, go kiss the world." Her river was nearing its journey, at the confluence of life and death, this woman who came to India as a refugee, raised by a widowed Mother, no more educated than high school, married to an anonymous government servant whose last salary was Rupees Three Hundred, robbed of her eyesight by fate and crowned by adversity - was telling me to go and kiss the world!

Success to me is about Vision. It is the ability to rise above the immediacy of pain. It is about imagination. It is about sensitivity to small people. It is about building inclusion. It is about connectedness to a larger world existence. It is about personal tenacity. It is about giving back more to life than you take out of it. It is about creating extra-ordinary success with ordinary lives. Thank you very much; I wish you good luck and Godspeed....... Go, kiss the world. May God Almighty Bless You With Health, Happiness and Prosperity Always

Film Nonsense!

If you have some time to kill, have a look at this website. It is named after Bob Christo, the white baddie from the Bolllywood of 80s. He always spoke with an affected English accent.

India wins over Pakistan

I am fresh from India's victory over Pakistan at Abu Dhabi. Every Indian has his superstitions about cricket, favourite clothes, favourite seating position etc. to help India win the match!

I have two, both used against Pakistan :-)

One is to play the song "Aaj Hum Apni Duaon Ka Asar Dekhnge; Teer-E-Nazar Dekhenge, Zakhm-E-Jigar Dekhenge" from Pakeeza. I can guarantee that if I play this song, a Pakistani wicket is sure to fall!

And the second is even more ludicrous. If the first trick fails for some reason, I have to eat an orange. As I eat an orange, a Pakistani wicket will fall. Never failed me :)

The first one worked today and made India win the match. At least that is my theory ;-). I was too lazy to get up and do it yesterday, otherwise we would have won yesterday's match too!

The second one, I used in that famous quarter-final in World Cup 96 (remember Jadeja hitting Waqar for 40 runs in 2 overs, and the infamous Amir Sohail - Venkatesh Prasad spat!!)

Ah! The stupid joys of watching a cricket match!!

Didi's comedy show

Searching for something else and somehow landed up on this. Didi's comedy show - oh the laugh riot! I have mentioned this show earlier in my blog here.

The files there are in RAR format, a format similar to ZIP format. For these you will need winrar.

Sketching by Amit Morya

Amit Morya, a student of mine, drew these. Sketching is one of his hobbies. Really nice work; the allure of the eyes is really captivating!

If you want larger (original size) pics of the same, click here. Warning: Large sized images; may take time to load.

Appraisal Season

In the appraisal season, I don't want to look like a smiling monkey.
- Ashish Dwivedi

Dol Dol

Dol Dol from Yuva, is one of the songs that I really enjoy. The unrestrained energy of the song, the wild abandon of AB's dance and the sheer tempo is really cool.

Not many people have seen me dance, but I do dance with such wild abandon...my favourite remains "Mehbooba Mehbooba" from Sholay....I am thinking of changing my favourite to this one now!

Here's to Lallan :-D

Download the song here.

10,000 Year Old Family Tree

Have a look here.

My take on reservations for educational institutes

As a person who is in close contact with the educational system of the country, I believe I can provide a viewpoint that is rooted more in fact than just hearsay. Let me put forth my points:

1. Affirmative action is important, necessary and even critical. I say this because of several factors. Firstly, all human beings are created equal and it is we ourselves who create these boundations of caste, gender, religion etc. Secondly, a fair society that encourages everyone to come forward and march together is a society that is likely to survive and not disintegrate. Poor social conditions or poor economic conditions lead to social tensions; that is why governments all over the world try to bridge the gaps between the various sections of the society. These gaps are inevitable, as a result of the Capitalism. Capitalism is the best socio-economic system, as is evidenced in its continued success; and the repeated failures of various other systems. So gaps are inevitable, and plugging them is important. Gaps are the reason that the crime rate is likely to increase when the people of a country are divided sharply in their income strata or caste status. Thirdly, affirmative action is important for creating conditions that encourage economic growth. It helps foster an environment of co-operation. Better educated people are more productive resources of the country. This is why reservations, in principle, are fine.
2. However, the fault lies in the application of this principle to the real world. Note that no one of us shouts about parliament reservations of 33% for women, but all the political parties have lacked the direct will to do this and most of them actively work against it to ensure it does not get tabled/passed in the parliament. And we are shouting about educational institutes, but the politicians are moving ahead with this. The one who is affected, is the one who shouts. At the end of the day, we also suffer from the same 'what's-in-it-for-me' syndrome.
3. Another issues is that the constitution envisages an egalitarian society, a noble but slightly utopian goal. If we want that, reservations are a fairly good way to achieve that. Reservations when originally envisaged, were planned for 10 years for SC/ST etc. It is now nearly 59 years since independence and a clear 56 years since the constitution was adopted. But they continue since removing them is akin to political harakiri. OBC reservations were envisaged in 1980, by BP Mandal Commission and implemented partly in 1990 for the government jobs and the second part is happening now in educational institutes. If we have time bound reservations, may be that will serve the purpose better.
4. Other checks and balances like one reservation in one life time - be it college, job or some entrance exam; one-reservation-per-family - so if father got it for job, then no more for son/daughter etc; creamy layer exclusion; reservations for all poor people are some solutions that are needed.
5. Another way is to encourage SC/ST/OBC to be given more chances/more coaching etc. Merit should not be replaced by caste. Would you like to be treated by a doctor who got in a medical college based on 0 marks out of 500 in medical entrance exam, just because he was from a reserved category. Or for that matter, travel on a flyover made by an engineer who entered PWD after getting a job/admission based on caste than merit. These are true cases, not fabricated cases.
6. Reservations are good and important, provided they are done well. They can be voluntary, e.g. USA has voluntary affirmative action for black rights, even in the private sector; otherwise it would be difficult for others to enter and break the stranglehold of the upper castes / rich people on the whole system. To take a case, during the past 80% of all IAS officers were brahmins, whereas they formed only 4% of the population. While this is also because brahmins have better education, the need is not really for SC/ST/OBCs to be given more jobs, it is just that they should be given equal opportunities. The case of brahmins is interesting; a large percentage of IT engineering firms are launched and run by brahmins, not because of any caste-conspiracy, but because these guys are, in general, educated better. Take Jains / Marwaris etc. They are stronger in finance and money related companies, simply because there is a strong culture of learning finance and money related concepts, early on. No one can demand that more SC/ST/OBC be given more jobs in this sector based on their caste.
7. The debate is long. We need to recognize that the step is correct in principle, but wrong in its implementation. The war-cry should be for better and fairer implementation, not removal of a good principle.

That's it!

Cynical Humour

I love dry wit. I have realised that for some reason I like characters that have a slightly stinging, biting and droll sense of humour. Examples include Hobbes in "Calvin and Hobbes", "The Far Side", "Non-Sequitur", Richard in "Caroline in the City", "Seinfeld" etc...wonder what this tells about my psychological makeup - that I an over-optimistic and see a balancing force in this type of humour; or that I am cynical and look for role-models in these characters? I guess the former :-D

Calvin and Hobbes

Here are two of the most beautiful collections of C&H, that amazing and the greatest ever comic!

Ask Dad
Snowman Show

One of my future plans is to buy all the C&H, all the Asterix, all the Tintin, all the "The Far Side" - the ones I see on Amazon.com - all hardbound in leather, all lovely artpaper, excellent printing!

Other plans include buying all the DVD/CD collections of Seinfeld and "Caroline in the City". And buying "Kachhi Dhoop", "Chanakya", "Bharat Ek Khoj", "Yatra" and a few others from India will not be a bad idea.

Another plan is to have an excellent library of all the good hindi movies of all times. An indicative list below, called "The 100 Hindi movies that you should see" is the first place to start; of course I will buy more than these!

The 100 Hindi movies that you should definitley see

1942 A Love Story
Aan
Aandhi
Abhimaan
Agneepath
Aks
Amar Akbar Anthony
Anand
Andaz
Ardh Satya
Awara
Bandini
Bandit Queen
Barsaat
Bobby
Border
C.I.D
Chalti Ki Naam Gaadi
Chandni
Deewar
Devdas - New
Devdas - Old
Dharam Veer
Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge
Do Bigha Zameen
Don
Ek Dujje Ke Liye
Ghulami
Guddi
Guide
Gunga Jumna
Haqeeqat
Hum Aapke Hain Kaun
Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam
Jaane Bhi Do Yaaron
Jab Jab Phool Khile
Jewel Thief
Kaagaz Ke Phool
Kabhi Kabhie
Kala Patthar
Kanoon
Karz
Kaun
Khamoshi
Khamoshi The Musical
Kranti
Kuch Kuch Hota Hai
Kudrat
Lagaan
Lamhe
Madhumati
Mahal
Majboor
Masoom
Mera Naam Joker
Mission Kashmir
Mother India
Mr. India
Mughal E Azam
Muqaddar Ka Sikandar
Naseeb
Padason
Pakeezah
Parinda
Prem Rog
Purab Aur Paschim
Pyaasa
Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak
Qurbani
Ram Aur Shyam
Rangeela
Roja
Roti Kapada Aur Makaan
Saagar
Sahib Bibi Aur Ghulam
Sangam
Sarfarosh
Satya
Satyakam
Seeta Aur Geeta
Shaan
Shakti
Shatranj Ke Khiladi
Sholay
Shor
Shree 420
Silsila
Teen Deewarein
Teesri Manzil
Trishul
Umrao Jaan
Upkar
Yuva
Waqt
Zanjeer

This list, for some reason has only 95 movies listed. Where are the rest 5 ? :-)
Abhi dhoondhte hain!

Just 3 Words

There are many things that you can do to strengthen your relationships. Often the most effective thing you can do involves saying just three words. When spoken sincerely, these statements often have the power to develop new friendships, deepen old ones and even bring healing to relationships that have soured. The following three-word phrases can be tools to help develop every relationship.

1. Let me help
Good friends see a need and then try to fill it. When they see a hurt they do what they can to heal it. Without being asked, they jump in and help out.

2. I understand you
People become closer and enjoy each other more when the other person accepts and understands them. Letting your spouse know - in so many little ways - that you understand them, is one of the most powerful tools for healing your relationship. And this can apply to any relationship.

3. I respect you
Respect is another way of showing love. Respect demonstrates that another person is a true equal. If you talk to your children as if they were adults you will strengthen the bonds and become closer friends. This
applies to all interpersonal relationships.

4. I miss you
Perhaps more marriages could be saved and strengthened if couples simply and sincerely said to each other "I miss you." This powerful affirmation tells partners they are wanted, needed, desired and loved. Consider how important you would feel, if you received an unexpected phone call from your spouse in the middle of your workday, just to say "I miss you."

5. Maybe you're right
This phrase is very effective in diffusing an argument. The implication when you say "maybe you're right" is the humility of admitting, "maybe I'm wrong". Let's face it. When you have an argument with someone, all you normally do is solidify the other person's point of view. They, or you, will not likely change their position and you run the risk of seriously damaging the relationship between you. Saying "maybe you're right" can open the door to explore the subject more. You may then have the opportunity to express your view in a way that is understandable to the other person.

6. Please forgive me
Many broken relationships could be restored and healed if people would admit their mistakes and ask for forgiveness. All of us are vulnerable to faults, foibles and failures. A man should never be ashamed to own up that he has been in the wrong, which is saying, in other words, that he is wiser today than he was yesterday.

7. I thank you
Gratitude is an exquisite form of courtesy. People who enjoy the companionship of good, close friends are those who don't take daily courtesies for granted. They are quick to thank their friends for their many expressions of kindness. On the other hand, people whose circle of friends is severely constricted often do not have the attitude of gratitude.

8. Count on me
A friend is one who walks in when others walk out. Loyalty is an essential ingredient for true friendship. It is the emotional glue that bonds people. Those that are rich in their relationships tend to be steady and true friends. When troubles come, a good friend is there indicating "you can count on me."

9. I'll be there
If you have ever had to call a friend in the middle of the night, to take a sick child to hospital, or when your car has broken down some miles from home, you will know how good it feels to hear the phrase "I'll be there." Being there for another person is the greatest gift we can give. When we are truly present for other people, important things happen to them and us. We are renewed in love and friendship. We are restored emotionally and spiritually. Being there is at the very core of civility.

10. Go for it
We are all unique individuals. Don't try to get your friends to conform to your ideals. Support them in pursuing their interests, no matter how far out they seem to you. God has given everyone dreams, dreams that are unique to that person only. Support and encourage your friends to follow their dreams. Tell them to "go for it."

B o n u s : 11. I love you
Perhaps the most important three words that you can say. Telling someone that you truly love them satisfies a person's deepest emotional needs. The need to belong, to feel appreciated and to be wanted. Your spouse, your children, your friends and you, all need to hear those three little words: "I love you." Love is a choice. You can love even when the feeling is gone.

Remember....................The Days

Receieved this recently!

Gone are the days!!!

When the school reopened in June,
And we settled in our new desks and benches!
When we queued up in book depot,
And got our new books and notes!

When we wanted two Sundays and no Mondays, yet
managed to line up daily for the morning prayers.
We learnt writing with slates and pencils, and
Progressed To fountain pens and ball pens and then Micro tips!

When we began drawing with crayons and evolved to
Color pencils and finally sketch pens!

When we started calculating first with tables and then with
Clarke's tables and advanced to Calculators and computers!

When we chased one another in the corridors in Intervals,
and returned to the classrooms drenched in sweat!

When we had lunch in classrooms, corridors, Playgrounds,
under the trees and even in cycle sheds!

When all the colors in the world,
Decorated the campus on the Second Saturdays!

When a single P.T. period in the week's Time Table,
Was awaited more eagerly than the monsoons!

When cricket was played with writing pads as bats,
And Neckties and socks rolled into balls!

When few played "kabadi" and "Kho-Kho"
in the scorching sun,
While others simply played "book cricket"
in the confines of the classroom!

Of fights but no conspiracies,
Of Competitions but seldom jealousy!

When we used to watch Live Cricket telecast,
In the opposite house in Intervals and Lunch breaks!

When few rushed at 3:45 to
"Conquer" window seats in our School bus!
While few others had "Big Fun", "peppermint",
"kulfi", " milk ice !" and "sharbat !" at 4o Clock!

Gone are the days
Of Sports Day,
and the annual School Day , orchestra
And the one-month long
preparations for them.

Gone are the days
Of the stressful Quarterly,
Half Yearly and Annual Exams, And the most
enjoyed holidays after them!

Gone are the days
Of tenth and twelfth standards, when
We Spent almost the whole year writing revision tests!
We learnt,
We enjoyed,
We played,
We won,
We lost,
We laughed,
We cried,
We fought,
We thought.
With so much fun in them, so many friends,
So much experience, all this and more!

Gone are the days
When we used
to talk for hours with our friends!
Now we don't have time to say a 'Hi'!

Gone are the days
When we played games on the road!
Now we look at the dirt on the road which can infect a wound

Gone are the days
When we saw stars
Shining at Night!
Now we see stars when our Treatment doesn't Work!

Gone are the days
When we sat to chat with Friends on grounds!
Now we chat in chat rooms.....!

Gone are the days
Where we studied just to pass!
Now we study to save our job!

Gone are the days
Where we had no money in our pockets and still fun filled on our hearts!!
Now we have the atm as well as credit card but with an empty heart!!

Gone are the days
Where we shouted on the road!
Now we don't shout even at home

Gone are the days
Where we got lectures from all!
Now we give lectures to all... like the one I'm doing now....!!

Gone are the days
But not the memories, which will be
Lingering in our hearts for ever and ever and
Ever and ever and ever .....

Gone are the Days....
But still there are lot more Days to come in our Life !!

NO MATTER HOW BUSY YOU ARE ,
DONT FORGET TO
LIVE THE LIFE THAT STILL EXISTS....

Petition against reservation

Sign this petition here.

Doctor Fun

Stumbled upon Doctor Fun today. Quite nice! Have a look here.

Counseling

Shreshth, one of my students, has decided to chuck DMS@IIT-D in favour of a job at C-DOT, to take another shot at some of the better institutes.

He, Pranay Gupta, Manish Vidhani, Pawan and Akash Aggarwal take the crown of the most-counseled-students of this year. Last year this title was for Pawan, Rashi Goyal and Nitika Nagpal. I really enjoy talking to all students equally, so this list is not of any favourite students. Just that these souls have had more doubts than others :)

Counseling a student is a really tough job. A person's expectations are very difficult to manage, since sometimes he may have the incorrect notion that a counselor is a panacea for his troubles. On the other hand, the reality is that one can only listen to the problems and hope to guide the person on the right path. Finding the solution is the person's job, my job ends with showing the probable paths to the solution. It is his responsibility to ensure that he walks on those paths.

A counselor is in a dificult position, since many-a-times, he has the difficult responsibility to shoulder, that of being the student's only hope for a solution. It is not an enviable position to be in!

What I hate about counseling is the shopping-mentality some students have these days; with an I-paid-for-it-so-I-need-to-have-it attitude towards counseling. They will come with a strong chip in their shoulders, of being a know-all, of challenging one to find answers to their questions, giving the impression that they are in a great tearing hurry and they want to fill up their grocery bags before they leave the shop. They come with an almost bargaining attitude that really puts me off. I tend to feel irritated with these chaps. Earlier when I was faced with someone like these, I would try to soften the person; however with passage of time, I have become more brusque and tend to brush them off, instead of letting my irritation get the better of me.

Such are the joys of counseling!

Maalamal Weekly

Recently watched "Maalamal Weekly".

My take:
1. Good story
2. Poor characterisation
3. Lots of old one-liners
4. Overacting by some actors - especialy Om Puri
5. Weak role to Riteish Deshmukh
6. Good twists and angles to a predictable plot
7. Slight problem in pacing of the movie
8. Excellent negative with comic shades in Sudha Chandran and Rajpal Yadav


My verdict!
Still good - worth watching.

I particularly liked the way Sudha Chandran rides the side-car of the motorbike :)

Watch it - good timepass!

Ugh!

Q: Why do Gorillas have big nostrils?
A: They have big fingers.

What a shell account looks like!

This is what a shell account looks like - completely text based browser. This is how yahoo looks like on shell. Imagine I surfed for more than a year on this!! Really getting nostalgic :)

I used Lynx browser on telnet://arbornet.org for this screenshot.

Those of you who could understand the previous line can get their free account there.

Next in line, a screen shot of some old BBS (Bulletin Board System)!

Email Archives

I am an email junkie. I live, breathe, eat and drink email. I have been using it since January 1997 and the last 9 years have been an ever increasing reliance on it for doing my work, and keeping in touch with friends, colleagues and clients.

I opened my first email account on hotmail, through what was a shell account of VSNL. For those who do not know, and I suspect most do not know, a shell account was a stripped down, text based internet service that was very costly. The normal service cost Rs. 15,000 for 500 hours, Rs. 5,000 for 100 hours, but the shell cost 900 for 100 hours.

Since then, I ported my email account from hotmail (1997) to vsnl paid email (1999) to gmail (2005). In the process, I bought my first PC (1998) and then my second PC (2000). I always took great care to transport my complete email, my address book, bookmarks and documents with me. I took backups, both online and offline.

I have not been very successful with transporting my bookmarks, which got split between browsers (maxthon, IE, opera, firefox) and various PCs.

I have been fairly successful with my documents, with only some documents lost over the years.

However, I have been very successful (touchwood!) with my email. Since most email software are designed for quick and fairly painless import of email from one software to another I have been fairly succesful with this portion of the journey.

I have used Outlook (horrible), Outlook Express (passable), Incredimail (2-3 days, atrocious) and finally Eudora since 2001. Of course I have used webmail interfaces of hotmail, yahoo, rediffmail and gmail. Eudora is fantastic and I rate it 9/10. Gmail is very nice, with 9/10. There are somethings in Eudora that I desire in gmail (delete attachment, edit email before storage) and some in gmail that I desire in Eudora (conversations).

I deleted a lot and preserved some email over the years. Whatever I preserved, I preserved it carefully. Reading it is like delving into a treasure trove. Old friends, acquaintences, memories, meetings, clients, projects, promises all come flooding back whenever I chance to search through it.

Hierarchichal archiving makes it easy to find things. Searching is not difficult and therefore interesting! I currently have 15,266 emails in my eudora in 133 email boxes. That's a lot of email. The earliest saved email is from 18th June, 1998 and the last one was received 33 seconds ago. Carefully preserved archives of my life. If one were to read them, one would get a very accurate picture of me, my interests, my likes and dislikes and therefore, the real me.

Three cheers to email! Hip Hip Hurray!! Hip Hip Hurray!! Hip Hip Hurray!!

Main Aur Mere Room Mates

This was written by my friend Akhilesh Shukla, when he lived with a few colleagues in Kolkata, circa 1999-2000. A real gem of an expression, if you ask me!

N' joy!
===================================
Main Aur mere roommates
Aksar Yeh Baatain Karte Hain
Ghar saaf hota to kaisa hota
Main kitchen saaf karta,tum bathrooom dhote
Main hall saaf karta, tum balcony dekhte
Log is baat pe hairaan hote
Aur us baat pe haste....
Main aur mere roommates ,
Aksar Yeh Baatain Karte Hain

Yeh hara bhara sink hai
Ya bartanon ki jang chidi hui hai
Yeh colour full kitchen hai
Ya masalon se holi kheli hai
Hai farsh ka naya design
Ya doodh, beer se dhuli hui hain
Yeh cellphone hai ya dhakkan,
Sleeping bag ya kisika aanchal,
Ye airfreshner ka naya flavour hai,
Ya trash bag se ati badboo
Yeh pattiyon ki hai sarsarahut
Ke heater phirse kharab hua hai

Yeh sonchta hain roommate kab se gum sum -
Ke jab ke usko bhi yeh khabar hai
Ke machhar nahi hai, kaheen nahi hai
Magar uska dil hai ke kah raha hai
Machhar yaheen hai, yaheen kaheen hai !
Taund (pot-belly) ki ye haalat, meri bhi hai, uski bhi,
Dil mein ek tasvir idhar bhi hai, udhar bhi
Karne ko toh bahut kuch hai magar kab kare hum
Kab tak yoon hi is tarah rahe hum
Dil kahta hai Safeway se koi vaccum cleaner la de
Ye Carpet jo jine ko joojh raha hai, fikwa de
Hum saaf rahe sakte hai, logon ko bata dain,
Haan hum roommates hain - roommates hain - roommates hain
Ab dil main yehi baaaat, idhar bhi hai udhar bhi......
Sab ko bata dain.........

Main Aur mere roommates
Aksar Yeh Baatain Karte Hain
===================================

Absolutely Topicless

Bharathy is a second year student at IIM-A. Have a look at her blog
Absolutely Topicless.

Optical Illusions

I am sure many optical illusions keep floating over the net and most of them are fairly charming. I also love them.

But, here are two that are positively creepy!

Have a look at the pinwheel. This one works best when after you look at the image, you look at the hand on your mouse :) - try it to see what I mean.

And then have a look at dizzying motion. This one's not so striking as the previous one, but is enough to make you dizzy!

N'joy!

Reality

Your goals, minus your doubts, equal your reality.
- Ralph Marston

Laws of Real Life

LAW OF QUEUE: If you change queues, the one you have left will start to move faster than the one you are in now.

LAW OF TELEPHONE: When you dial a wrong number, you never get an engaged one.

LAW OF MECHANICAL REPAIR: After your hands become coated with grease, your nose will begin to itch.

LAW OF THE WORKSHOP: Any tool, when dropped, will roll to the least accessible corner.

LAW OF THE ALIBI: If you tell the boss you were late for work because you had a flat tire, the next morning you will have a flat tire.

BATH THEOREM: When the body is immersed in water, the telephone rings.

LAW OF ENCOUNTERS: The probability of meeting someone you know increases when you are with someone you don't want to be seen with.

LAW OF THE RESULT: When you try to prove to someone that a machine won't work, it will!

LAW OF BIOMECHANICS : The severity of the itch is inversely proportional to the reach.

THEATRE RULE: People with the seats at the furthest from the aisle arrive last.

LAW OF COFFEE: As soon as you sit down for a cup of hot coffee, your boss will ask you to do something which will last until the coffee is cold.

Bicycle

"What am I supposed to do with this?" grumbled a motorist as the policeman handed him a speeding ticket.

"Keep it," the cop said, "when you collect four of them you get a bicycle."

Senseless Syndrome

Reached Senseless Syndrome today. Interesting blog. Have a look!

Funny Incident

This dates back to 1994. I was in the first year of college and my elder brother was running his own factory. He used to work very hard and long hours and had started to miss out on the simple pleasures of life, like watching a movie. Now remember this was 1994, so the cable TV boom was yet to be unleashed on the Indian skies in its full glory. A good movie was considered good time pass.

He returned one night from work and excitedly announced that our local theatre was running the latest hit, Krantiveer. He asked our mother to prepare a quick meal so that he and I could go and catch the last show (9-12). That taken care of, we rushed on his scooter to the theatre.

A word about this theatre, it was one of the worst you could imagine. We had shifted to this new house some 2 years ago. While our old house was close to lots of good movie options, our new house could not boast of a similar story. Again remember, this was 1994, so the multiplex boom was unheard of. A good theatre meant clean and a not-good one meant unclean.

Anyhow, we rushed and rushed we did. Around half-a-kilometer before the cinema hall, there was (and still is) a crossing, where this cinema hall would post the latest movie's poster. I asked him to slow down a bit, so that I could see what was playing (remember it was dark, and oh, did I mention it was the winters, so fog too!). He, in his excitement, actually accelarated and drove faster, and I could not see what was playing.

We reached the hall, hastily parked our vehicle and purchased two balcony tickets from the window without even bothering to ask what was playing. We reached the hall, well in time and waited for the show to start.

The first major shock was because the hall was a bit run-down. Many of my brother's factory workers were present in the balcony along with us. We settled down after a round of "Namaste Bhaisaheb", "Namaste Sir" etc.

Some ads meanwhile played themselves out on the screen. Then some promos of some stupid movies came. Then Mithun Chakravarthy (that talent of Mrigaya, hugely wasted) came and started to dance on the screen. As we say "Vishal parde par". That continued for some time. Then Sadashiv Amrapurkar came and started mouthing some dialogues. Mithun abused him in some of the choicest expletives. I still remember Sadashiv's character's name was "Manjit Seth". Then some more dances and songs with Madhu. We were sick of this long promo.

We asked our neighbour, "Picture Kab Shuru Hogi?". (When will the movie start?) He looked back at us as if we had just landed from the moon and replied "Yehi to hai!" (This is it!)

Turns out it was a Friday. The movie had changed from Krantiveer to Janta Ki Adalat. There was a song that went like "Hum Bhi Pagal, Tum Bhi Pagal". My brother remarked "How apt!"

We decided to stick around to squeeze our money's worth and stick we did. Till the interval. But by that time, it was too much for us to digest. We beat a retreat; two idiots after wasting our money over a stupid movie.

I was reminded of all this today, when I stumbled upon this :

Janta Ki Adalat



Enjoy!

Pappu Phir Pass Ho Gaya!!!

You Passed 8th Grade Science

Congratulations, you got 8/8 correct!

Could You Pass 8th Grade Science?

Hutch Ad for Engineers

Ha Ha!! This is cool!

Have a look at The New Hutch Ad for Engineers

Pappu pass ho gaya!!!!!

You Passed 8th Grade Math

Congratulations, you got 10/10 correct!

Could You Pass 8th Grade Math?

Shaving Tips

An unusual post!

How to shave better :)

1. Always use cold water on your face before applying shaving cream. In fact the brush should also be dipped in cold water. Cold water will tighten your skin, give you goose bumps and make the hair come out of the skin more. End result - a close shave. If you use hot water, the opposite happens, as the hot water puffs up the face and retracts the hair back into the skin. Some one hour after shaving you will notice that your shave is not as close as you wanted it to be!

2. If you don't want refrigerated water touching your face on a cold winter morning, don't worry. At least use tap water which will be quite cold.

3. Shaving against the grain of the growth is fine, if u do it slowly. Don't scrape fast and you can do it. It does not harm you. Believe me that is a myth perprated by shaving products companies and barbers to increase business.

4. If you want to save money, then you can shave immediately after taking a bath, without using cream. That will give nearly the same results. But if you want to look your best, shaving before the bath is a better option. Then of course, you will need to use shaving cream.

5. Washing the face with hot/warm water after a shave is the best bet since that will puff up the face a bit, and pull in any hair that has escaped close cutting. The result, a clean face.

6. Buy a good quality razor and blade. I use Gillette Mach 3 and it lasts six months with careful use. It is quite costly, but surprisingly lasts so long. Other normal twin blades last 1-2 weeks. Cost-benefit analysis for the Mach 3 is definitely superior to any blade in the Indian market.

Anger

Holding on to anger is like grasping a hot coal with the intent of throwing it at someone else; you are the one getting burned.
-Buddha (c. 566-480 BC)

Visual Quiz

A long hiatus from quizzing and I am back - this time because I am ill, confined to bed and with nothing better to do than watch India beat Pakistan at Lahore (WOW!) and indulge in my old hobby - quiz making (WOW again)!

So on the "shubh uplakshya" of "sant vilayat nandan divas" (aka valentine's day) here's the next visual quiz round for all u visualisers....

If you are a quiznet member head to http://groups.yahoo.com/group/quiznet/files/ankur/ and download ankur_jain_visual_quiz.zip

or if you are an ordinary mortal, head to http://www.angelfire.com/ma/ankurjain/quiz/quiz.html and download ajvq.zip

All responses to email address mentioned in the file.

Answers in 7 days or when replies trickle down to zero/day, whichever is earlier.

If u know even one answer, send your entry! Even if you don't know a single answer, still send your entry. Honourable mention to all those who give funny/creative answers. Come on man, I am ill, I need a laugh or two.