MY Indian Top 25 B-school rankings!!

A day in the life of an avid Quizzer :-)

[Win Rs.100 by taking part in the online Quiz... read on...]

Last weekend I took part in VENTURES–9th EDITION “REBOOT 2007” INTER-CORPORATE CULTURAL FEST held at “OLDE BANGALORE” RESORT AND CONVENTION CENTRE.

After an internal screening process conducted by Infosys Quiz Circle (IQCircle) my team (Jagat and Sukomal Ray) alongwith Aaman Lamba and Mithun Paul were selected to represent Infosys in ' INTELLECT EXPLORER ' - GENERAL QUIZ

The Sunday morning of 2nd of Dec, 2007 seemed a straight lift from some obscure horror flick… I kept my alarm at 730am so that I can travel the 40 odd kms and still be able to reach the venue in time at 11am. But a hectic week ensured that I overslept until a phone call woke me up at 850am. “This can’t happen to me @$%&!!”—I shrieked and jumped out of the bed and within 10 mins got ready to catch an auto and then a bus and finally a cab so that I can fancy reaching the venue (meeting Sukomal midway in Marathahalli was also part of the plan).

Without breakfast and still grumpy I resigned myself to the horrors that awaits me throughout the day.

9am: Caught an auto-rickshaw to Majestic
Distance: 4.5kms

915am: I reached Majestic Bus-stop and took a Volvo bus to Marathahalli
Distance: Around 12kms

1005am: Reached Marathahalli. Met Sukomal and waiting for the citi-cab he has booked (conveyance bill taken care of by Infosys)

1015-1030am: Still in Marathahalli. The Citi-cab and its call-operator lady (her behaviour was quite un-lady like though) thought of fleecing us. We refused to be fleeced.
Climax: We paid 100rupees as cancellation charges and after a heady exchange of expletives we parted ways.

1035am: Took an auto rickshaw to Yelanka (halfway to the Quiz venue) paying 20 rupees extra on meter since it was considered ‘out of city’ and hence they would get no passenger on their return journey. Tired, frustrated and out of expletives we munched hungrily on the CreamTreat biscuits and resigned to our fate.

1110am: We left our auto rickshaw and parted ways with some 200 bucks… and took another auto who charged us 150 bucks. Wow!! We are still 13kms away from our venue and if punctuality was a norm then we are royally late.

1140am: Finally we ventured into the resort (Olde Bangalore) and were greeted by the event organizer from the first floor terrace of the auditorium telling us that we are late and that another team (from Wipro) were also caught up in traffic.

“We are Late!!”—it seemed like the only logical conclusion for a day that was so pathetic that nothing went right and at the end of it we were too exhausted and hungry to even react.

We went up to the auditorium and after a few queries we were allowed to sit for the Quiz prelims written round although the other teams got a 10mins head-start. But we couldn’t complain much and just about managed to put our pen to paper and tried answering questions to the best of our abilities with a little help from the QM who gave us 7 mins extra to attempt the questions.

Arul Mani, who looks more like a younger version of Rabindranath Tagore with his flowing beard and locks, was the Quiz master and when the prelims scores were answered we were pleasantly surprised to find that Infosys (B) comprising of Jagat and Sukomal were the prelims topper with 16/25 points out of the 30-odd corporate teams.

“Whew! So far so good… maybe we can make a game out of it”- and Sukomal agreed.

After two grueling semi-finals 6 teams reached the finals and we just about managed to reach the finals with some slog batting in the final round.

After the lunch break it was ‘Showtime’—the 6 teams got ready to cross swords and laugh away to Quizzical glory.

After some keenly contested rounds the final 10 questions in the Buzzer round gave all the teams with a chance to steal the show. We managed to answer 2 rights and 1 wrong and we managed the 3rd position with 2 points separating us and the 2nd place team.

Given the cut-throat competition 3rd place was a good enough result and considering the fact that we started our day in such disastrous fashion I would settle for it… and Sukomal agreed (as always!!)

Aaman was kind enough to give a lift in his car to drop us till terra firma and cutting a long story short... I reached home at around 6pm... tired, mentally fatigued but a sense of achievement acted as a panacea nevertheless. And thinking inwardly that this win is dedicated to the li'l one who wanted me to win I fell into instant slumber.

I am looking forward to the prize distribution ceremony lined up for next Saturday and I’ have resolved to book my cab through Infosys’ Travel Agent to reach the venue and not give those day-light robbers (auto-rickshaw and cabwallahs) another chance to fleece us.

Moral of the Story: Life is like this onlie :-)

I am posting the questions asked in the prelims of REBOOT 2007 and giving all of you a chance to win a cool 100 bucks.
[The one with the highest number of correct answers will be crowned the winner and the winning amount will be transferred to the winner’s bank a/c online]

Last date: Dec 25th >> Email me ur answer at: maverick.jjs@gmail.com

REBOOT-2007: Corporate Quiz prelims [First 10 questions are starred questions]

1.The Emperor Chandragupta Maurya came down to Karnataka during his last years to practice Sallekhana, a means of voluntarily ending one’s life. At which famous pilgrimage destination did he die?

2. This alloy owes its name to the fact that the cutlery manager of the British firm Mosley, Earnest Stuart, tested it in a vinegar solution and was very impressed by the results. Which alloy?

3. Which game/sport (played under the names of Tak-Yu and Takgu in Japan and Korea respectively) is often referred to in the English speaking world by the name under which it is played in yet other Asian nation?

4.Which water body was referred to by the name Sindhu Sagar in ancient times?

5.Which vegetable is known by its original Mexican name in English but is referred to by a name meaning ‘earth apple’ in many European languages?

6.The name of which animal is traced to one of two Arabic words meaning either ‘very tall’ or ‘many animals put together’?

7.The minimum allowed diameter for this object is 42.67 mm and its mass mayn’t exceed 45.95g. Early versions were made out of leather and feathers. Modern versions have a two, three or four layer design constructed from various synthetic materials. Identify this object.

8.Which female character in the Harry Potter series, often described as looking like a large pale toad, has a surname that resembles an English word meaning ‘to take offence’?

9.Which Indian state was referred to by the name Hill Tippera during the days of the British?

10.Which country gave up the Portuguese version of its name in 1972 and returned to using the original Sanskrit word meaning ‘shining country’?

11.A Sanskrit word meaning ‘true’ is often applied to a certain deity’s first wife. Her name is now associated with a practice banned by the British in 1829. What name are we looking for?

12.It derives its name from the Persian word for ‘fried’ or ‘roasted’. Awadh, Sindh and the capital of Andhra Pradesh have all lent their names to its variants. Identify.

13.The Russian Fyodor Dostoevsky wrote a short story titled ‘White Nights’ in 1849. Which Bollywood movie released in 2007 was inspired by this story?

14.India celebrated National Science Day on 28th Feb as a tribute to who/what?

15.He gave up a position he had held for about 10 years on 27th June, 2007 and was immediately appointed Envoy to the Middle-East on behalf of the UNO, the EU, The US and Russia. Who?

16.Which trophy is traditionally awarded to the winner of the cricketing encounters between the North, East, South, Central and West Zones in India?

17.This American anti-slavery politician founded a magazine titled True American to promote his liberal views. He helped found the Republican Party in 1854, served as US ambassador to Russia in the 1860sand helped negotiate the purchase Alaska. A sportsman born in 1942 bore this man’s name till 1964. Who?

18.The 9 Angas of Buddhist canonical writing are the Sutta (Sutras), Vyakarana, Geyya, Gatha, Udana, Itiyutaka, Abbhutadhamma and Vaipulya. The missing element takes its name from the Pali word for birth. What is the missing element?

19.This form of gambling has enjoyed periods of almost global popularity. It was the only form of gambling permitted in the British armed services during the 19th century. This is how it entered India, where it continues to be played under the two names given to it in the Royal Navy and the British Army. What are these two names?

20.Members of the Mustali’s sect in Islam are known by a name derived from the Gujarati word for trader. A schism arose in the community in the 1500s after Daud Qutub Shah and Suleyman both claimed leadership and the sect then broke into two sub-sects. What name is applied to both the sects?

21.In 1827, French mathematician Jean-Baptiste-Joseph-Fourier proposed an interesting idea in a paper titled A Material That is a Poor Conductor Of Heat Or Electricity. He said the layers of air that surround the earth protect its inhabitants against the freezing temperatures of space, functioning thus as an insulator. He used a metaphor to explain this idea, thus coining a well-known phrase. What idea/phrase?

22.This unit, used in irradiance and in photochemistry refers to one mole of photon, regardless of their frequency. It is employed in studies of photosynthesis since the light requirement for the production of a given quantity of Oxygen is a fixed number of photo-synthetically active photons. After whom is this unit named?

23.In 1977, she represented India at the International Teen Princess contest at Aruba, and won the Miss Photogenic and Miss Bikini awards. A year later, Dev Anand cast her in this film Des Pardes, which launched her film career. She bowed out of acting in the late 1980s and took up another career, so to speak, in 1991. Who?

24.This 19th century invention, still in use, is made in two basic designs known as the diamond frame and the cross frame. It came back into vogue in the West during the 1960s as a result of increased interest in health, ecology and recreation. What invention are we talking about?

25. A question from University of Florida coach Dwayne Douglas sparked researcher Robert Cade’s interest. The question was “Doctor, why don’t football players wee-wee after a game.” He and other researchers created X in 1965 to help the school’s football players replace carbohydrates and electrolytes lost through sweat while playing in swamp-like heat. What did they create?

Questions courtesy: Karnataka Quiz Association

email: kqaquizzes@gmail.com

Imagine-- Greatest Song of All Time

(lyrics)
Imagine there’s no Heaven
It’s easy if you try
No hell below us
Above us only sky
Imagine all the people
Living for today

Imagine there’s no countries
It isn’t hard to do
Nothing to kill or die for
And no religion too
Imagine all the people
Living life in peace

You may say that I’m a dreamer
But I’m not the only one
I hope someday you’ll join us
And the world will be as one

Imagine no possessions
I wonder if you can
No need for greed or hunger
A brotherhood of man
Imagine all the people
Sharing all the world

You may say that I’m a dreamer
But I’m not the only one
I hope someday you’ll join us
And the world will live as one

Become a famous blogger (by Dave)

I found it interesting!!

Cartoon by Dave Walker. Find more cartoons you can freely re-use on your blog at We Blog Cartoons.

'Please, sir, I want some more'

How many of you still remember the story of Oliver Twist that we came across during our school days? Poor soul, he asked for another portion of gruel and got the thrashing of his life by the well-fed gentlemen of the workhouse.

This classic by Dickens is relevant still today with many Olivers still toiling in some sweat-shops, still beaten to pulp, still under-fed, orphaned and still exploited by the Fagins of the world.

The recent news-article which highlighted that young children were stitching clothes for clothing retailer Gap Inc. in a New Delhi factory has created furor abroad and made the company to scamper for cover. Britain's Observer newspaper reported that it had found children making clothes with Gap labels in a filthy sweat-shop in New Delhi. It quoted the children as saying they were from poor parts of India and had been sold to the sweatshop by their impoverished families.

Imagine a company that has its slogan as hippy as Peace. Love. Gap being involved in something as demeaning as Child Labor. When I was going through the news article I was filled with a sense of déjà vu… to those dramatic discussions we have had during my MBA days about CHILD Labor vis-a-vis The Right to Earn Your Living.

Merely stating/identifying the problem is only half the job done… the logical step forward is to provide solutions. Keeping it in limbo would not only aggravate the already burning issue of child labor it would make them more prone to inhuman work-conditions and exploitation.

One may argue against child labor and continue doing so… but what we need to understand is the ground condition… Can we possibly compare and contrast the living standards in an opulent society to the bashti dwellers in Bangladesh, Pakistan, Indonesia and India? Can mere tokenism of ‘human-rights’ activists ameliorate the basic needs of the shanty-dwellers for whom the only comfort is that they are earning enough to keep the wolves at bay. Who needs education for education’s sake? My point of view is that why do we need to put an end to their ‘right to live’ so that they can enjoy ‘human rights’. If we ban all the sweat-shops… let us also provide them some sort of social security… if we talk of education then let us first feed them. What we need to remember is that--‘Education on an empty stomach doesn’t make us more human than we already are!’

Imagine a family consisting of 5-6 members, impoverished and what harm it is for them to lend some of their children to work in those industries so that they can stop themselves from starving to death. 20-25 Rs. per day in USA might be a pittance but in countries where many people are living below poverty line they can’t complain much. Economically speaking the demand-supply gap comes into play… for every child you intend to take away from the sweat-shops there will be another set of kids ready to fill-in the space.

This issue will be there as long as we don’t fight the real issue… that of poverty. Child labor is just a symptom that we’ve failed miserably to nip in the bud. What does a person do when he is desperate to survive? Quite logically he’ll try to grab every morsel that comes his way. When we decide morality (a pet project of the intelligentsia) do we think about the greatest dharma… that of feeding a hungry body? What’s the meaning of God, rights, good vs. bad, education if you can’t even manage to keep you skin and bones together? I don’t give a hoot to those who says I’m being materialistic… I believe that there is no greater deed than feeding an empty stomach… everything else follows.
Abolish child labor, provide them education, give them food and only then one will get my vote for the issue. Otherwise it’s all intellectual Bull****

The MNC companies are also to be blamed in some way or the other… in order to shore up their margins they squeeze up the contractors in the 3rd world countries and these sub-contractors take up such work due to heavy competition, knowing very well that there are hundred other units who are willing to do the same job at even slightly lesser fee. No able to cope with the expenses, these contractors pass on the burden to sub-contractors who in –turn employ children to finish off the work. Children are nimble enough o do the intricate design work on the clothes and their wages are abominably low as compared to the adults. Thus runs the vicious cycle and what the affluent connoisseurs of haute couture ends up wearing is actually made by not-so-fortunate kids in such places as Bangladesh, India etc.
Do we expect the Govt. to compensate/rehabilitate the unfortunate children? We all know the plight of the Sivakasi children who have seen such horrendous days working as bonded labor in the cracker industry… and despite media uproar nothing substantial has been done and my hunch is that nothing will be done for many many years to come.

A country over-populated with a million hungry mouths brings along with it its own sets of priorities. We are at one hand a ‘nuclear’ super-power, a ‘wannabe’ economic superpower and on the other hand we’ve child labors, communal riots, and slums. This dichotomy is very evident and circumstances makes mince-meats of ‘political-correctness’ and ‘human-rights’. Whose side would you take when a young, widowed mother of an infant takes to prostitution to feed her baby? Is it violation of ‘human-rights’ or just the intrinsic human tendency to ‘adapt’ and survive depending on the situation.

The road forward for these MNCs who have turned towards cost-cutting by off-shoring their work should comprise of a few important measures. If implemented in good faith and stringent follow-up would help to solve atleast a part of the problem.

• Ensure that children below 14 are not employed
• Good working environment
• Expert supervision
• Guaranteed and transparent wage structure; reduce role of middle-men
• Minimum work hour as stipulated by the Factories Act
• Provide for vocational training/education program during the weekends
• Medical facilities should be provided
• Games and recreation should be provided
• Job should be ensured when these children grows up as young adults
• Surprise visits by Inspectors to ensure that the rules are followed and strict penalties for default on any count

It is understandable that these MNCs also have their own sets of problem but they can’t absolve themselves of their responsibilities. The Govt. can provide them with tax sops for such an initiative which will make the situation a Win-Win one for all concerned.

In India people have grown up thinking that rules can be bent as much as they can and corruption is the de-facto social lubricant. Rules are only on paper with little Govt. intervention and the onus lies on them to monitor the implementation of the stated rules.

So, as long as we don’t tackle these problems in the right earnest the Olivers of this world will continue to ask for more, and then get beaten for exactly the same reason.

Taare Zameen Par--Stars on Earth

What's the purpose of Cinema? Issit just entertainment? Given the immense power of the moving/talking pictures I guess its many things rolled into one..

देखों इन्हें भी ओश कि बूंदें

पत्तों कि गोड में आस्मा से कूदे

अंग्राई ले फिर, करवत बदल कर

नाजूक सी मोती, हंश दे फीसल कर

खो ना जाए यह तारे ज़मीन पर

[Title song: Taare Zameen Par by Shankar Ehsaan Loy]

Notwithstanding the media blitzkreig of OSO and the equally potent daisy-cutters of Saawariya one film has caught my attention nevertheless. Although Aamir Khan and a 'special' child seems like an unlikely candidate to compete against the charisma of SRK and the wonder-stroke of Bhansali... but there is some earthy, warm feeling about Taare Zameen Par... and it has managed to climb to the Top of my "Must Watch" list. Sorry SRK and SLB but I'm sick of seeing all of you everytime I flick through my newspaper, click my TV remote. Being a Marketing student myself makes me abhor over-the-top marketing... as I believe that a good product doesn't need Kill Bill publicity and gimmick... one suggestion is to let your film speak and stand out on its merit.

Directed by the extremely talented and critically acclaimed actor Aamir Khan Taare Zameen Par is slated for a late December release. It promises to be a sensitive, poignant and 'realistic' movie about a 'special' child and the world around him.

Everyone of us has got a story within us but a few of us has the courage to paint the canvas of that story with our imagination, grit and the motivation to walk down the road long forgotten. How many of the present film makers would have the courage to make a film about a dyslexic child and his teacher? These kind of storeis are like pariahs to the mainstream film fraternity... which is mainly due to the very commercial nature of our films as well as the general public. The number of Indian commercial movies without mindless blood and gore, foreign locations, dhinchak item numbers and slap stick comedies can be counted on our finger tips. But off late experimental movies makers have tried to break the shackles with wonderful although small budget movies like Being Cyrus, Bheja Fry, Black Friday, Hazaroon Khwaishein Aisi. In my opinion Taare Zameen Par is a step in the right direction.

Soulful music by Shankar Ehsaan Loy and a seemingly sensitive and innocent story with the added charisma of Aamir Khan and a host of kids has managed to attract attention of the discerning people. Although it pales in comparison to OSO and Saawariya in terms of marketing blitz but I am sure every good film speaks for itself and sometimes word-of-mouth publicity can work wonders... provided the movie is well made. We've all heard from the critics and the aam-janta about some movies being 'arty' type and some being typical 'bollywood' masala type... but what we fail to understand is that a film can either can be a good film or a bad film... Give me a good 'art' film and i'll watch it many times over and give me a bad 'masala' film and I won't even care to watch it [eg. RGV ki AAG being the most recent example].

Taare Zameen Par from what I've read and seen is about childhood, innocence and a-day-in-the-life kind of story of special kids. If they manage to protray even half of what the promos and trailers promises then I think our society would learn to treat these 'special' kids with more compassion and understanding. Sensitivity and a humane touch is what these special kids wants and deserves and hats off to Aamir Khan and his team for believing in such a poignant story.

La vie est belle-- Life is Beautiful

"हुई मुद्दत के घलिब मर गया पर याद आता है,वोह हर एक बात पे कहना के यूं होता टोह क्या होता" -मिर्ज़ा घलिब

This segment tries to bring out the life story of a man through a poet's pen. Through verses (slightly melancholic and brooding!) I've tried to capture the myriad emotions that one comes across in Life. It is an amateurish attempt at best and may sound sappy at times but that's the way it has shaped out over the years. If you can connect with the underlying emotions I think I can escape for many a brickbats!!

Inorder to maintain a good-enuf flow I've quarantined :-) the 'Poetry' section under a different blog. Just click on the hyperlink below to browse. Happy reading

Prisoner of the Mind

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Prisoner of the mind is

what life has made out of me.

Every flower that I touched

turned into a damnation, a forlorn curse.

How much do you want me to pretend…

That I am not dead yet?

How much do I have to smile…

To hide the tears?

The mind is causing me all the pain

Showing me motifs that just don’t fade.

Like a charlatan… fighting hidden demons

Like a child…chasing imaginary butterflies.

Existence is blurred

In a mire of emotions.

A steely silence lulls me to sleep

Only to jostle me up the next moment.

Imaginary silhouettes are clouding my senses

Doomed for life… in a living hell.

After all, what else can you say of a man

Who’s but a prisoner of his own mind!

oooooooooooooooooo

ooo (click)Mayabini 00o

oooooooooooooooooo

Sound of Music-- Whatte Fun!!

Being eternally stuck on the Hosur Road leading to my office in Electronics City, Bangalore every working day one thing remains a constant companion—my FM enabled Cellphone which helps to maintain atleast a semblance of sanity. From Pink Floyd to Kishore, Eminem to Om-Shanti-Om all tries to mollycoddle my frayed nerves due to the fri**ing traffic jams which is mainly due to massive construction and partly due to the nauseating traffic sense of some morons which thinks that the whole world is a pig-sty and they can do whatever they like. [Ok! Ok! Let’s not divert from the topic J ]. The friendly voice of the Radio Jocks and the assorted mix of music acts as aphrodisiac and shields from the madness all around. The radio ads sometimes are too loud but free-to-air means they’ll need some revenue generating mechanism to keep their heads over water and airing of ads takes care of that… and no major complaints about them except that they can improve upon the storyboards of some of the ads which invariably sound like they are hawking some ‘jari-bootis’ in a busy railway station J
Remember how the entire story of Lage Raho Munnabhai was married around Gandhigiri and how radio played its role to propagate it? Although the sour lemon was that they showed WorldSpace as a FM radio channel although it’s a satellite radio service.

The new-found pervasiveness of the FM radio in buses, cars, mobiles, shops, restaurants and homes kind of stirred me to do some ‘wiki’ search and find out more!!

MTV was launched in the early ‘80s with its broadcast of the song ‘Video Killed the Radio Star’ and it became a kind of epitaph for the radio and its stars. Obituaries were written, people became nostalgic about the good times they have had during a lazy Sunday morning, with the sunrays bathing the verandah of the cottage and the bulky radio nearby… reverberating the whole landscape with the mellifluous voice of the radio stars… with some constant sound of static. Those were the magical days when radio was the only source of infotainment and was an integral part of popular culture with the radio taking multiple roles of a friend, philosopher and guide. AIR and Radio Ceylon created their own band of followers in India and it made the presenter of the shows nothing sort of demi-Gods. After all, who can match up to the honeyed, rich baritone voice of Ameen Sayani… a fact corroborated by the number of RJs who tried to copy his style!

But with the advent of the all pervasive TV and its glitz came the imminent death blow to the radio. The radio suddenly went into a black-hole of anonymity and slowly but surely was heading towards its final destination… oblivion!!

Every beginning must have an end and every end must give birth to a new beginning--- thus runs the circle of karma and fortunately the ubiquitous radio isn’t one of those glorious exceptions!! And off late the growth of the FM radio sector in India has been nothing sort of spectacular and it reiterates that radio is on its way back to capture the collective imagination of the people old and young alike. After the veritable debacle of the initial stages of the controlled allotment of All India Radio’s airtime blocks the Second Phase has been able to generate ample interests amongst the operators, advertisers and the listeners. This has been possible due to the changes in the policies and upgrading of the requisite infrastructure that has made the environment conducive for the viability of the FM radio channels. The key additions are-
Expansion of Network
Availability of Listenership Data
Rationalization of License Fees
Local Advertising
Satellite Radio / Digital Audio Broadcast /Internet radio

As a spin-off of the growth of FM Radio listenership the market for FM radio has gone up. Radios in various shape, sizes, color and design dots the city space… which is a welcome sign for all stakeholders that the radio is being heard and that too in good numbers.

The future of the FM radio sector in India depends on factors like government regulations, competition amongst the various players, the creative content of the programs aired, the revenue models etc. Listeners will be spoilt for choices and ultimately only the fittest will survive. Agility in planning and executing innovative ideas in generating advertising revenues, program content and hence standing out of the clutter will ensure that radio survives beyond the initial hype and hoopla. Various value added services like visual radio, internet radio will ensure that radio transcends its obvious boundaries to become something ethereal which will be like some sweet music to everyone’s ears.

Diwali---- The monologues of an effusive mind

Diwali, the festival of lights is just a hand stretch away and as I am feverishly keying in my desktop I can already hear the din and bustle of people availing of leave to visit their homeplace/vacations etc. I still have vivid recollection of my native place and my childhood home where Diwali was celebrated with such pomp and grandeur that it managed to clung into some special place of my heart.The popular notion was that putting the crackers in the Sun for a while would make them burst with better resonance and O’ boy! did we try those entire thingamajigs so that we could have the better ‘blast’?! The kol-gos (plantain) bedecked with diyas (chaki) and the Maa-made sweets might be a thing of the past and we can only long for them but I guess that’s what life’s all about—you like the things you miss the most (or, issit the other way round?)!

The deafening noise of the ‘chocolate’ bombs, the spry phatt of the red ‘Jolokiya’ bomb and the ‘swoooosh’ of the ‘Rockets’ managed to paint some stupendously vivid picture into my infant mind. The dark night ornamented with diyas and the get-togethers we’ve had during those days are great snapshots for posterity.After many a blast (!) the small town boy grew up (still trying)… Went through the arduous task of being a ‘student’ (tried hard to bluff my way thru’) which took me to many places all over India and ensured that I won’t be home for Diwali… serious pangs of home-sickness was morphined only by those childhood memories—imagining a 1.5ft tall kid with his ‘Band-of-Brothers’ trying hard to play it ‘Brave’ with nothing but a single bead of ‘Jolokiya/Mirchi’ bomb!

Moreover, serious issues related to child labor in the Cracker-making Industry have dampened my spirits in the later years. The plight of those unfortunate children kneading those harmful chemicals in sweat-shops in abominable working conditions and low/no wages was too much anti-climactic to the spirit of Diwali.

I really don’t know where I would land up this Diwali… maybe I would go back to my Playstation-2 and whack off the heads of some gangsta’ with my Uzi or would challenge Mohammad Ali to a bout of Boxing. Or I can lay my hand on the half-finished Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy or would even try to watch one of those Akira Kurosawa’s DVD that I’ve bought some time back. Or I can still go out with my Digicam and roam the streets of Rajajinagar in search of another 1.5 ft tall kid who still thinks that bursting ‘Mirchi’ bomb was the most daring thing in the world!!

Or, to prove my Capricornian gene I can light a solitary diya on the balcony of my flat and lock my room and go alongwith Paulo Coelho on THE ROAD TO SANTIAGO!!

And as the Jharkhand gal said it in Chak De India—“Happy Diwali”

Convergence and Embedded Technology-- A POV

Convergence has become the buzzword for technology that aspires to be in the collective ‘wish-list’ of the discerning techno geeks. 

Be it mobile phones, do-all personal computers, music players, refrigerators, intelligent ACs and the list goes as long as The Great Wall of China and a bit more! Embedded technology has made every dream gadget possible and if cost wouldn’t have been a dampener every one would have acquired what they wanted to have to increase their convenience and comfort.

The moot point here is whether companies would be able to match their pace of innovations with the consumer’s need for new toys to flaunt. A path breaking product like an Apple iPod has sold an obscene number of units worldwide and is a must buy on every music lover’s list. Now what makes an iPod a runaway winner? Agreed that it’s from ‘Apple’… comes in a wide variety and can store and play an immense number of songs… but it has done a bit more than that. It has almost become synonymous with what Sony Walkman was until a few years back. It has become the symbol, the flag bearer of cool, uber and fashionable music player. It's ease of operation has added that gloss which makes competitors shy away from launching a full fledged war head-on… atleast not with the ‘iPod’! Now we have our mobile phones embedded with blue tooth, mp3 players, digital cameras, net connectivity et al. And the mobile service operators are raking in the moolah not only from the data and voice transfer… they are indeed laughing all the way to another telecom circle after they have started providing sms services like astrology, news, dating as well as facilitating the downloading of video clips, ringtones, singtones, callertunes and through tie-ups with popular contests like KBC, Indian Idol etc whereby viewers’ are asked to send sms that costs almost 5 or 10 times more than the normal rate to take part in the viewer’s contests. 

Now to move on to the next point of discussion, which I am sure, would find a congruent node with a lot of people.

Scene I: 

Imagine going through one of those cyber malls and coming across an exceptionally good deal on a digital camera that you wanted to give to your sister on her birthday. You follow the usual procedure of filling up your name, address and telephone number and at the very last page you are informed that payments can be made only through a credit card. You seethe with anger and dejection as owning a credit would be like living far, far beyond your means. Besides in your small city credit cards doesn’t have much utility value either.

Scene II:

Imagine after a hard week’s slog in the office you are taking the weekend off to catch up with much needed sleep. After hitting the sack you immediately fall into instant nirvana… and lo! Within a few minutes the relentless ringing of the cellfone jostles you up and you wonder who was it?!“Hello sir! I am calling from xyz bank. Would you like to get a credit card from our bank? We are giving an early bird offer to the first 100…”You interrupt the lady on the other end and try to mask your anger with an air of artificial chivalry and tell her that you already own one such credit card. The lady apologizes profusely as if she has just entered the White House without Presidential consent and hangs up after wishing you a great day!! You lie down on your back and stare at the ceiling. You have lied to the sales lady about you owning a credit card already. Your modest job doesn’t even permits you to harbor any dreams of acquiring a credit card although you would like to avail of the convenience of ‘anytime, anywhere money!’ Angry, sleepless and without a credit card you try to fall asleep again.

Now if we can somehow combine the second part of this article (about mobile phones) with the previous one (about credit cards) maybe we can work out a solution to all the inconveniences. Can we find an answer to all the credit card blues or rather the lack of it in the ubiquitous mobile phone? Can a mobile phone become to online transactions/paper less currency what an iPod has become to on-the-go music? The answers are waiting to be worked upon… and let us explore a bit more.

Suppose you enter a shopping mall and happen to buy an expensive set of digital camera. Instead of paying cash you can type in the codename of that store (allocated to them by the mobile service provider after becoming part of the ‘mobilecash’ network) just as we type in the answers in one of those contests in TV. Let’s assume the store-code is KDK and we have to pay an amount say Rs.10000. The payment mode would be like:PAY KDK 10000

What happens after that is your account gets debited (if you have the requisite currency in the mobile card) or it can play the role of a full-fledged credit card. The service provider gets a small percentage of the transaction from the accredited store as well as from the user . The credit limit can be set after ascertaining the customer’s salary and income level. Although security might become an issue but in the days of multi-digit encryption I guess our electronic engineers can work around that and make it fully reliable. The store or the Internet site must become an accredited member of the mobile network before availing of the ‘mobilecash’ facility. Depending on mobilecash’s popularity it can open up endless possibilities like paying our utility bills, paying for petrol, getting a movie ticket amongst others. Imagine a credit card like ‘mobilecash’ that doesn’t charge like one and provides even an average Joe the convenience of paperless money. Technology thrives when there are competition and people benefits out of such a situation. Maybe this idea has been thought of in the past since people nowadays think almost alike! But is it an idea worth pursuing? My answer will be as good as yours! 

On Top Of the World.. (Snapshots from the Past)

"What Quizzing means to you depends on what you make out of it"

The buzz on the quiz--A grand total of 1,098 entries — with most pouring in way past the deadline — makes it the biggest open quiz in India. The Telegraph Open-quiz Show (TOPS) has taken the east by storm, as eager quizzers line up to prove their mettle. Space constraint means 600 teams, chosen on a first-come-first-served basis, will take the stage on Saturday at Science City auditorium with a 2,000-plus audience expected to cheer them on. Young Metro catches the buzz.
Guwahati Gangs--Quizzing is sometimes like the 100-metre dash in the Olympics — it’s all about speed and photo-finish. Three young men, calling themselves MI3, crossed the finish line a fraction of a second ahead in the tie-breaker to emerge winners in the Guwahati leg of TOPS on September 4. Jagat Jyoti Saikia, Manasjyoti Sarmah and Biswajit Phukan, however, will not be able to make it to the Calcutta finals due to exams. Taking their place will be Vedanta Kumar Talukdar, Pranami Tamuli and Hrishikesh Mali — Class XI students of team Mensa, who came in second after losing the tie-breaker, despite tying with MI3 with 105 points after eight rounds. Quizomaniacs came in third. Six teams qualified for the final round from the 150.
Here’s what quizmaster Derek has to say on D-Day eve: “The response is absolutely fantastic. It’s a very humbling experience. People said the tradition of open quizzing was dead, and just look at the enthusiasm. I am very happy and excited about the show.”

[Excerpts from The Telegraph]

Woh Kagaaz Ki Kashti [Childhood, Paperboats, Rain & Hope]

One day I was going to college as usual at around 8:45 in the morning। Descending from the flight of stairs and into the pavement I found that it was that kind of a day in which you don’t want to do anything but to sleep for an eternity taking advantage of the gloomy conditions and overcast skies. The monsoon has finally arrived in Shillong… a small picturesque hill station in the eastern part of India. The raindrops just holding back a little… waiting to spit their venom afterwards, perhaps! I braved myself without an umbrella and ventured into the cold, dark, mean streets. As a high bred Capricornian I like being aloof, all alone… “Me, myself, in the middle of my world” type. But that day there were ominous dark clouds gathering overhead and within thus making my heart skip a beat or two. The numbing silence seemed like the harbinger of something unexpected, unreal or maybe something really out of the blue.

After covering around three quarters of the way to my college, one fairly large drop of rain kissed my forehead। I transfixed my for a second or two on the menacing low altitude clouds ripe with ready to pour rain manufactured by the perennial Raingods! Within no time I found myself searching for cover. I finally took refuge under a ramshackle thatched shop just near the big church from where Mother Mary was gazing intently towards all. The rainy season has finally unleashed its fury and I was left wondering whether it was the beginning of something… as if my mind was playing a “Cat and mouse game” with my senses!! Raindrops seeped through the veins and arteries of that worn-out thatch and soaked my clothes making extremely uncomfortable and my heart sank along with the gloominess pervading otherwise. The rain, deserted town, ghostly winds presented an abstract piece of art… a kind of blank canvas on which my reddened soul have painted… very incomprehensible, partly insane piece of my idiosyncrasy. In a nearby tree high up amongst its branches my eyes caught the glimpse of a predominantly yellow striped bird the name of which didn’t occurred to me at the spur of the moment. The birdie was drenched with the onslaught of the torrential downpour but surprisingly, it seemed to be fairly enjoying the magnificence of the Rain. It reminded me how a change of paradigm can change your whole outlook of life. Just then two small kids in their squalid existence and wearing little more than their b’day suits, but only just, came within the vicinity of my line of sight. They were running along with an old cycle tyre and occasionally giving it a gentle push to sustain its momentum. They reminded me of the things we used to do during our “Salad days”. Kids, of all the things, will always remain kids whether it’s raining or not!

I was immediately drowned… no! no!! no!!!... hey!... not by the rain water or anything as such, but into a superfluous sea of nostalgic emotionality। The blurred, dusty vision of my younger self playing in the rain with my armada of paperboats occurred before me. A lean, happy-go-lucky kid of around four or five years trying to see himself as the “monarch of his little, beautiful kingdom” replete with “knights in shining armor, angels, ghosts and butterflies”… a perfectly virgin imagination akin to those stupendous stories my granny used to tell me near the fireplace during those sweet winter days of yore. I still have vivid recollection of those halcyon days when I tried to guide my paperboats through the water and when they get damaged or otherwise my heart would sink alongwith them. Childhood knows no fear of the silly rain, no sign of any nauseating duplicity. I ran after my brother’s kite trying to contain its ascent towards heaven or to fly alongwith al fresco. But my age at that time deceived my aspirations… I couldn’t touch the sky!

Years rolled down the drain and Paperboats made way for cycles and the kites for tomes। I was the happiest person in the whole, wide world… a sense of joie de vivre… the day I pedalled my cycle for over a few yards… without falling sideways. In retrospect I can say that such small moments gave us such BIG joys in our childhood but its essence is somewhere lost when we engross ourselves in speciousness associated with adulthood! As I was trying to reconcile and regroup my emotions and composure my taste buds detected something salty in and around my lips… maybe… err… I have momentarily lost my stoicness and shed some silent tears taking liberal advantage of the downpour. I took out my handkerchief and thoroughly wiped my visage erasing every sign of my vulnerability. Those silent tears acted as a panacea for my tormented soul and even though I knew that Boy’s Don’t Cry I couldn’t help myself. The pusillanimity of the post childhood era makes us a sort of mono-maniac mixed with what Vanity Fair has to offer.

The rain recede after an eternity but I still stood there intensely watching that tiny bird until it flapped its wings and flew away only to disappear in the farthest heavens. My eyes then suddenly rested on the statue of the Virgin Mary in the upper echelon of the majestic church just at a distance form where I was surveying. The Mother’s face was so full of warmth; it seemed to me that it was the metaphor for all the mother’s in the world. She was at peace with herself and I was just withstanding a storm of different order and hue! Although it know it well that if Wordsworth and his likes goes through my brand of poetry (?) they would simply do a double somersault in their graves and laugh till their bellies ached, I couldn’t but add a few disoriented lines from the pages of my diary and I’m no one but a dilettante or maybe a somniloquent!!

O’ my childhood It was so nice and fair
Full of sweet nothings and care
I carve for that tree-house
On which I dwelt
And the swing on which I played Round and square
On nature’s bosom I slept Like a monarch’s son
I dreamt about the Fairy queens and angels
And longed to touch the distant moon
It was a life so carefree and simple
Anger and hatred I knew none
A child’s life is indeed like an incarnation
On whose heart the Almighty dwells!
Oh! My childhood
It was so nice and fair
Full of sweet nothings and care
Can anyone hand me back my infancy?
Those days of a bygone era
Which were full of mirth and honey
Or was it a trance… a mirage
In the sea of deceit and duplicity?
Childhood is forever lost In the dust called life
Never to be found again
The dove still flies in my vale
And the cuckoo does sing
But I’m not to be found there …
my goodness what a miss!
Oh! My childhood
It was so nice and fair
Full of sweet nothings and care.

After my monologues with the mother I came back to reality… a grown up, intelligent (?), level headed guy who must look ahead to his future and not wander in those nostalgic memory lanes replete with laid back values, ideals, memoirs and innocence. Childhood memories can act as a philter to move ahead in the journey called life. But there’s no way I can ever forget those salad days… which were once my ultimate reality. I cannot dream of forgetting my childhood, my roots… the whole bunch of my idiosyncrasy have been sourced from it which has molded my life in an intangible way. Thinking about all these I went ahead on my way dreaming about a naive child playing with a paper boat on a really wet rainy day. My mind became the brewing ground of a new tempestuous rain and I was really not aware where to find refuge from this kind of rain… where raindrops of raw emotions and nostalgia fell in the desert like life of an unhappy child trapped in a young man’s body who doesn’t want to grow up!! “Goddammit! I’m already an hour late for college”, I said to myself and went hurriedly towards to college. I reached my destination or have I gone past it?

Written during the month of April, 2003 in Shillong, Meghalaya, India