Give me some Rain.. Had enough of 'Sunshine'

The Sun Shines..

It was the day before the CAT – 15^th Nov 2008. The next day I appeared for CAT and when the results came out I was in the office of a renowned US IT Company in India. I was 39 basis points

short of a perfect 100 – which means 99.61. I had three calls including one from the top three. I converted all three and went to the one which was one of the top three. After the two best years of my life as a PGP student on campus, I got the diploma from the Polyester Prince in March this year. It was the moment of my lifetime.

Now, I am happy to work in a bank in one of the posh areas of Kolkata. The IT-guy to a Banker – I wanted this transition. I’m loving it – Does it ring a bell? It’s lunch time.

– A Chicken McGrill on the table. As I stand in front of the main gate, I see a waterlogged street and the plight of the family of six living on the pavement struggling to hold the piece of plastic over the oven. As I ride my bike along the streets of this city I see the suffering of the people living on the pavements. As I accelerate, I leave behind those, who are not so fortunate, but they remain in my mind. Yet we crib about promotions, we feel depressed when we see a colleague getting 200 bps more hike, we feel like cursing our favorite whipping boy – our Fortune when we do not get what we want. Then what would you say looking at the eyes of the girl on the right ? We have no answer.

Differentiation at Birth

The biggest differentiation is created at our Birth. Yes GOD creates that even before you know you are being created. We do not know what the basis of this differentiation is. The Theory of Reincarnation is the only explanation. In your past life, you have lived so lavishly without caring for others that God has decided to show you the other side of the world. Or, you may have spent your entire life on the pavement in your past birth - that God has decided to alleviate your pains. If this Zero Sum Game continues over cycles of birth and re-birth, I would like to ask God why the number of people is suffering and number of people wasting money never equates. I really feel hurt when I see a guy in his later teens increases the volume of the car Subwoofer in his Dad’s Merc to impress his skimpily clad girlfriend. ‘Dressed barely’ - By Choice or by chance – is the question. When I turn my head, through the glass of the Studd Helmet – I see the half naked child crying for a piece of bread.

Eventually, I get to turn my head again and see the same girl in the Merc sitting with a sad look on her face. Guess what the reason is – Her father did not gift her the new i-Pad.

The signal lights turn red and I stop. I see a beggar with one hand begging for money and he touches the new white Mercedes. The power windows go down – and I could see the glitter in the eyes of the beggar. His existential dilemma is triggered by a piece of paper with a picture of M.K. Gandhi. The guy shouts – ‘Why did you touch my car with your dirty hands?’ The signal lights turned green and the Merc zoomed past my bike. The beggar kept standing, probably waiting when the lights will turn green for him? May be when he is born again as the son of a rich man. But before that the electric coils in the pyre has to turn red hot for that to happen. What will you call his life – A wasted life?

In a lounge bar, we do not think even for a split second to order our favorite cocktail. But, 99% of the people shout on the rickshaw puller when he charges Rs. 2 more. Would it make too much of a difference to us paying the rickshaw wallah whatever he asks ? But, we can make a difference to his life. Whenever, you spend a money just think it is all because of the differentiation at birth and not because of who and what you are. We could easily have been on the other side of the road.

Little things make them happy

On my way to the office there’s a stretch where the pavements for around half a kilometer is occupied by families. At 9am, we see the women taking a bath on the road. It is so unfortunate that they do not even have a proper bathroom. A 10x10 feet room for a family of six – a drunken husband beating the wife – the children sleeping hungry – the story is almost same in each of these households. They have occupied half of the road for 4-5 days to build a pandal for organizing a Puja. People in big cars have to wait 5 mins. and they start cursing the people for blocking the road. A puja is being organized for 4-5 days – all the men and women coming together to celebrate in their own way.

The children were roaming around with toys in their hand and playing with each other. There was a festive season all around. Little things made them happy amidst their daily sufferings. Or, have they got used to it? The monsoon added to their sufferings. The waterlogged streets – the garbage van spilling over – and water leaking from the 20 yr old tin of the roof.

The hungry cat which has got fully drenched is waiting for food. They have a small temple of their on the footpath – A little boy comes after taking bath and sits on the road to pray to someone whom he believes in. I am sure he is doing that for the last 4-5 years. But, will God look up to them? The little boy does not cry about Sony Play Stations – he cries for food. Of late, companies are shouting – Fortune lies at thebottom of the pyramid. What fortune are they talking about? A rupee of profit from the pocket of every poor people multiplied by the huge population of poor people would give you very estimates. But, the cash accruals of the HULs and ITCs will go on increasing and the poor will become poorer and poorer. Why the hell do we need to make money out of these poor people?

Every corporate presentation nowadays touches upon Demographic Dividend. Since childhood I am hearing that India will become superpower. We do not need to be a Superpower. We need to look after the weakest in the society. I attended the Air Show in Bangalore and all the major fighter jet manufacturers came. The reason was India will buy 126 fighter jets and the deal is worth INR 52,000 Crores. We are 115 Crore Indians and out of us 65 Crores live on less than a dollar a day. In this kind of scenario, is a INR 52,000 Crore deal justified. The GOI would counter that it has a signaling effect to the rest of the world. For nurturing the demographic dividend, we need to invest in the poor and give them a better life.

Leaving you with a thought

" Smile, an everlasting smile ,
A smile can bring you near to me ........... "

Money is dear to all of us. If you do not want, do not donate. You may argue that it is not a sustainable model. And, I will say that wealth has to percolate to the bottom of the pyramid. But, smile does not cost a penny. When you meet a person who is not so fortunate as you are, just smile and ask him how are you? It can be the rickshaw wallah, the office housekeeping boy – who was forced to discontinue his studies when you were preparing for your board exams. A smile can make a difference. The office boy may have inadvertently kept paper wastes on the floor and forgot to clean it up. The poor chap is having his lunch – You have no right to exercise your authority and order him to leave his lunch and clean up immediately. Please be a bit considerate for the less fortunate ones. Do not forget someone is watching everything and will make it even when HE decides your fate as an embryo next time you are born! When does a little kid ask his mother – ‘Why was I born Mamma’? It’s when he sees that the rice on the plate is too little for his parents, his younger brothers and sisters.

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Disclaimer : The pictures have not been taken by me. I thank the person(s) who has(have) clicked those.

Poverty sells - This is NOT an attempt to sell my blog using poverty. This is what I feel from within. I am thankful to my Professors at the Indian Institute of Management Bangalore who had repeatedly told us that we are fortunate to sit in those classrooms and we have a responsibility to help those who are not so fortunate even to have access to basic amenities of life - let alone basic education.

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Life.... in the light of "Gita"

Easy to read , but too tough to realize.....

My first post in my vernacular language. It feels great to write about the sacred book of the Hindus- "BHAGAVAD GITA" . It forms a basis of the Hindu philosophy...The Bhagavad Gita , commonly referred to as the Gita , is a Sanskrit text from the Bhishma Parva of the Mahabharata epic.
The content of the text is a discourse between Lord Krishna and Arjuna on the Battlefields of Kurukshetra just prior to the start of the climatic war. Arjuna was sentimental to fight and felt very sad to participate in the war against his own cousins. Responding to Arjuna's confusion and moral dilemma, Krishna explains to Arjuna his duties as a warrior and Prince and elaborates on a number of different Yogic and Vedantic philosophies, with examples and analogies. This has led to the Gita often being described as a concise guide to Hindu philosophy and also as a practical, self-contained guide to life. During the discourse, Krishna reveals his identity as the Supreme Being Himself (Bhagavan), blessing Arjuna with an awe-inspiring glimpse of "His" divine absolute form.
I dare not even to try to explain what Gita states .. Is it possible for us , humans, to fathom the depth of the Divine words ? Surely not. But I always had a passion for reading the epic. Without going into the details of the different themes of the Yogas , I put up a very simplified version of the summary. A three stage summary would probably be too tough to realize. After a few iterations for simplifying the key idea , the result would be tangible, at least to some extent.

" To action alone hast thou a right and never at all to its fruits; let not the fruits of action be thy motive; neither let there be in thee any attachment to inaction " ... We have to do our work without thinking of the results.. The result should never be the motive. We should not even think or try to extrapolate whether the results are going to be fruitful or abortive. Its the sincere effort that begets the fruits .. we need not worry about that ..

I have pasted the summary , I once read , on the right pane. But I really apologise that the image is in the Bengali script. I will try to make a very easy direct translation of the above and express the ideas in English. Everybody in his / her life goes through a phase when they are lost. Lets read Gita and try to explore our life in the divine aurora .. Trust me , it will show you the way.

Regards,
JOY

N.B: People who can read Bengali , will only feel the essence of the summary.

The First Monsoon

Walk in the Rain... Nobody will see you crying........

At last ....The monsoons arrived last evening. Everyone was thankful to the "The Rain Maker" .. the first drops were like the dews . The first smell of the rain , the relief from the oppresive summer heat all added to the ecstasy .. Although majority of the people returning home after the day's work had to get bedraggled by the unexpected rain , the traffic was slow .. still everyone welcomed the first monsoon.. Actually, is it the monsoons that we love .. or is it the change ? We hate monotonicity and hence we always look for a change .. Can we deny that after the long winter months when the mercury column rises, we still love the change ? The compressor of the AC machine wakes up after hybernation .. The Sun gets hotter as we approach the Summer Solstice ... Dont we love it ? We do ! But then after a few months we start cursing the unbearable heat .. We pray for monsoons.. But is our Love for the monsoons an eternal one ? No , definitely not. After long monsoon for four months we cannot tolerate the rains.. The feelings of the first monsoon has faded into the oblivion.. We start praying for the autumn.. So the nature has adorned herself with so many seasons with unique feels ..Every action of the Nature bears a periodicity .. the period may vary .. Every sunset and sunset in the micro level translates to the seasonal changes in the macro level .. And may be to ages when we become more liberal about the time period under consideration..
The Seasonal Change in our mind...
Just as a pendulum swings , we all pass through a State of Depression following a State of Elation.. and the cycle is never ending..What makes people infinitely different is the non discrete nature of the amplitude.. Just like Sunset has to follow a Sunrise , which in turn is followed by another .. So the Nature itself conveys the message of Change of State , so to say.. Life does not demand to be simply harmonic , nor does it support inequality.. but there remains some inequality triggered by the Inertia.. the lack of strength to overcome the undesired , unwanted - lastly the obvious .

Some incidents , I was a 'witness' to since last evening ....

"Who cares .. a fast world ......?"
Whenever I go out , I do not walk !! I love my bike and he faithfully accompanies me wherever I go (a slightly modified version of the Hutch doggy who loves to carry his master ).. Bikes do what horses used to do in the Mughal era. The two wheeler is the modern day " Equus ". It feels like riding a horse ... I was returning home last night through the freeway (on my bike, obviously ) when I suddenly saw a bike lying on the side of the road and the rider was lying under the bike. He was struggling under the bike. He was not able to move the 200 Kg bike which was above him . All the cars did not even care to look , let alone stopping to help that victim . The first monsoon was about to claim her first victim . The road was slippery and the result of applying sudden brakes was a obvious 'skid'. I stopped and so did a few other bikers. Finally , the man recovered from the trauma and returned home with the help of some bikers who had cared to stop .some first aid was also provided. Thanks to the Bike manufacturer who provides a first aid pack hidden under the tool box. We speak of philanthropic activities, we speak of CRY , we speak of human welfare.. I revealed that the man was lying there for almost 15 mins and so many cars have seen him lying. But I would love to know how they felt when they did not even care to apply the brakes . How can people avert their eyes ? As Mother Teresa had said "We always feel that what we are doing is a drop in the ocean , but the ocean would be less because of that missing drop".. But what made the cars so inhuman? May be some revenge related to resurrection or probably insurrection against his values? I know there have been a few cases when the hijackers pretend an accident scene and hijack the car who cares to stop. I do not disagree. But majority of the cases are genuine accidents. So following the probability theory we can care to stop. Or may be stop to care . There are police posts every 5 Km on the freeway , so they could have at least informed them. There are so many ways.. If there is the will there are so many ways. Those who want to sing will always find a song... But the problem lies we do not have the will. We care for our near and dear ones only .. But the term "our" could also be a bit generalised. Lets care for each other .. again the self centered and unfeeling man will misinterpret the meaning the 'each other'

"The Fish Market , literally..."

The cuisine dominating the dinner plate was hotch potch and Hilsa fish.. So obviously the fish sellers cashed in on the situation. The Hilsa fish is available only during monsoons. The fishes enter through the estuary to lay eggs and end up in the dinner plates. It belongs to the same class as Silver Cup and Mrigel.. The price goes up initially as the monsoon sets in and then the "Invisible Hand" controls the price . Do not even think that the fall in demand attributes to the fall in price.. Rather the supply increases. Every Bong cannot even think of a meal without Hilsa on a rainy day. The fish market reflected a festive mood and was a cause celebre for the fish sellers. A sumptuous dinner to end with......

"The Chaos.. The Cosmos...."

As the monsoon sets in , the stability is disturbed and it takes sometime to limp back to normal.For a moment, every entity jerks a bit to overcome the internia. On my way this morning, I saw a bus leaning by the side of the road and the passengers struggling hard to get out through the emergency exit . Some were trying in despair to leap out of the window. It was raining hard .. Everywhere there's a scene of chaos.. May be the changes are setting in .. This would take sometime to settle .. The decantation process would follow but only after the initial chaos..

"Prisoners of the Mind , not the Heart ...."

Ony my way , there are so many amusement parks , water theme parks , so many bars .. a lot of places to spend the day as your heart wants.. A rainy day , a water theme park , a chilled bottle of beer invites you.. But you cannot stop. I have never shot any Black Albatross... But still

" Water, water, everywhere,

And all the boards did shrink;

Water, water, everywhere,

Nor any drop to drink. "

There are so many things inviting you to spend one day as your heart wants.. But still not a drop to drink. Coleridge made the sailor to kill the albatross in " The Rime of the Ancient Mariner" . Hence nature retaliated. But I cannot understand why are we held prisoners? The only answer that echoes within me is that , since there's the prison , the outside appears so beautiful. Or which is the prison?? The Monkey is the zoo thinks that the visitor is in the cage .. The killer, turned psychopath, thinks the policemen are in the prison. Its a relative world , we live in . Einsteins' Theory of Relativity - holds true in our day to day life ... Life moves on and so do we in the prison or may be in the open air. Relative , it is !

Signing off ,

Have to go and count the rain drops.........

JOY

The Man Behind the Lens....

A Moment frozen in time....

What is a "photograph" or a "photographie" in French or a " fotografía " in Spanish ?? Some years ago , when the digital camera was not in every photographers' pouch we all had to depend on the negative and the positive ..The (optimistic) Argentum Chloride solution was the only way out to develop the positive out of the negative . After coming back from a long tour all of us had to hand over the rolls to the studio and wait for at least 4-5 days for the prints to arrive. And when the prints came we could hardly wait to see those. I can bet everyone saw all the photos standing in the counter inside the studio before stepping out. The person who took the shots sees all the photos repeatedly and every time there's an "Aha.... how beautiful is this one !!! .. I , I myself, shot this ..." effect.

So for every passionate photographer like me, Photo (light)+Graph(Signature) or the impression of the light has a emotional touch in each and every click of the shutter.

For a physicist the fourth dimension or the time axis extends both left and right.. and a photograph is a moment frozen in time. We see a photo but do not know what lies on the left or right of that point. Or how many light years away is that moment from us...But a photograph has frozen that moment for us.. Sweet memories ........ For an octogenarian to see a photo of his convocation with all his batch mates or the photo of his last day in school drifts him back to those days. All those moments have travelled very far from him .. yet frozen in time in a piece of paper....

The Efficiency Aspect :
If the ( Output / Input ) ratio is calculated for different hobbies photography would probably end up at the bottom of the list. The shutter opens for a 100th of a second or may be even less (actually depends on the shutter speed you select). The photographer waits for at least 5 mins to find the scene he wants . So the time ratio becomes ( 1/100 upon 300) = 1/30,000 !!!! The time in which the work is done is 1/100 th sec but you have to wait more than 5 mins for that moment. That makes photography interesting. The man behind the lens feels the charm ..

Now let me take up the photos on the left side of this page one by one .

1. SKY IS THE LIMIT

This photo was NOT taken by me ...I have downloaded it from the Boeing website. The legendary Boeing Dreamliner 787 take off , intimidating the others. In today's world the biggest issues are Energy Conservation and Pollution Control. This aircraft is highly fuel efficient than its peers. The 787 will provide airlines with unmatched fuel efficiency, resulting in exceptional environmental performance. The airplane will use 20 percent less fuel for comparable missions than today's similarly sized airplane. It will also travel at speeds similar to today's fastest wide bodies, Mach 0.85. Boeing has selected General Electric and Rolls-Royce to develop engines for the new airplane. But how does the fuel efficiency come from ?? Light weight Composites have replaced metals . For example, by manufacturing a one-piece fuselage section, 787 is eliminating 1,500 aluminum sheets and 40,000 - 50,000 fasteners.


Now, the title "Sky is the Limit..." Do we wish that we were like aircrafts and fly high in our life and sky was the limit for us ... thats the dream.. To achieve whatever we want.. The moment the tyres leave the ground you feel like the air-borne king of the world.. the nerve tingling speed and the high acceleration .. the pseudo force shows its presence.. We want to win in life and take off ... We try and try , we work hard .. in the process we are building the the 787 engine within ourselves and the runway is the life we have left behind. But as the aircraft has to touch down on the runway again ,we also refer back to the past.. We can never forget the past..

The cos(theta) effect : In our ninth standard we have learnt cos(theta) = base / hypotenuse (or the acclivity).. The stronger the base , the higher will be the rise . Unless the runway is proper the 787 can never take off. Unless our base is strong we can never rise high in life...


2. ACCORD

This photo is from my own album. It was shot when my better half was by my side.. It was just after sunset. A beautiful moment , it was. She was the everything of my life .. Our feelings were in complete accord and we were soulmates.. The accord or the synchronization of the heart beats caused the resonance.. But I heard them say resonance causes tremendous vibration which leads to collapse.. Resonant Frequency is to be avoided in structure design.
The Nature reflected our feelings too .. The water and the sky .. reflection on the two halves "in complete accord", just like we were.. Suddenly the cumulonimbus formation changes , the virtual image on the water changes .. The water reflects the feelings of the firmament .. Also why does the water appear blue ? Or why do we say - Blue Ocean .. ? Its because of the blue sky.. But the does the sky reflect the water ? Throw a stone into the water .. the ripples are formed because the water feels the pain. Gradually , the ripples attenuate. But does the sky reflect this change ? So was it a one way accord ? I know not the answer ..
But what i know is that ..
. If it rises , it has to set ,
. Sunset and sunrise happen everyday ,
. But why does the Sky bleed day after day on the verge of parting ??
My photograph has frozen that moment of accord in an eternal arabesque........
If we could freeze the beautiful moments of our life too..........


3. THE KISS

I was inspired by Gustav Klimt.. His famous "The Kiss " (1907 - 1908) , a masterpiece with oil on canvas currently at Österreichische Galerie Belvedere , at Vienna , Austria. My photograph is not as explicit as his but still I prefer to christen my photograph as "The Kiss" This photo was shot on a Diwali night. The two diyas , the flames kissing each other in a mild zephyr. The meeting of the two souls , the burning passion within takes the control , or may be "out of control" .. Fire was invented by men in the stone ages . Invention -- ?? Was fire invented or discovered ?? Men found out a way to strike two stones and ignite that spark. Fire was always there. It was just waiting to get ignited. And since then fire has given us warmth , the heat to keep ourselves alive during the cold winter months . The two diyas in the wind , when the flames become unite they go even higher up. But at the same time the fuel gets depleted. Death is the ultimatum - the two diyas had to burn out after a few hours .. death is inevitable because entropy of the living system cannot decrease with time. The chaos inside leads to the end of everything. A zephyr is not strong enough but a stormy wind is-- the diyas cannot survive the strong wind. The unexpected , but much feared , end to life. But as long as they were alive , they were close .. very close .. kissing each other every now and then . So enjoy life .. be with your beloved ones . You never know when the strong wind will come .. In this world , the greatest threat is terrorism , which may lead to the Third world war . What we need now is to spread the message of love . The greatest terrorist in this world was not born a terrorist. War is not the end to all wars.. rather .. Love is . Love has the power of a million canons. So let love rule so that there's never any strong stormy wind to "murder" the two diyas....


Here ends my longest post so far .....
I wanted to let people know what I felt when I froze that micro-sec in time.....

Signing off...
JOY (photographer JOY :-)

The FIRST day of the REST of my life........

The first day of the rest of my life........
Yes......We wake up with new hopes every day...

Sometimes I feel leaving the bourgeois, monotonous life and resorting to a bohemian life style ... the constant blare of the responsibilities sometimes make our life morbid... we live for the sake of living...

I would rather prefer a simple lifestyle than a luxury, for maintaining which I need to waste the vital moments ... So , to say , A simple living and high thinking intoxicates me.... I always wanted to be a teacher , to see the little buds burgeon into successful cognizant human beings ..... Moving closer day by day to a state of indescribable beatitude.

Actually, my parents are both professors... some people say I genetically bear the passion for teaching... Someday , I dream to become a professor.. a professor loved by all his students......

In the evening , may be attending a French class and then discussing french poetry over a brewing cup of capuccino....

The weekends ..... Working for an NGO... May be education of street children and school drop outs .... spending quality time with the octogenarians....... Thats going to be our destiny too..........

But alas, .. the damn PC and endless LOC s ...... thats the difference between Reality and Dreams...

Every waking moment , is out of phase with the dreams...........

Newyz, have to concentrate back on the code......

Signing off... But will be back soon....

JOY

The name of my Blog

Dreams ....
Something that keeps us going on and on....
When they come true , we are elated ......
When we know that they are never going to come true , we are devasted ........

When we are in a comastose state , we dream... the subconscious mind changes the gears very fast.... Suddenly, the door bell or the crankling sounds of the milkman's cans .... we are just thrahsed back to the ground reality .... or may be we feel safe that it was a mere nightmare... Now, we try to remember what the dream was all about.. We Fail....................

They are transient reappearances of the things we think very deeply of .....
We dream when we sleep , but a dream is something that inspires us to stay awake trying hard to achieve our dreams...

But at times the reality becomes so tough , that we start dreaming (rather a nightmare) of the reality.. the toughest hurdles of life , not demanding cerebration , but taking its toll on you .. Because you may sometimes fail to change the destiny....

To quote the great Bernard Shaw : "Try to get what you like , otherwise you will be forced to like what you get..."

So throught our life , we dream and dream ...... and I will share all those in black and white here on this blog...

"I Read, I Understand , I speak "

Signing off......
JOY