Courtesy: http://www.dilbert.comMonday, November 26, 2007
Tuesday, October 02, 2007
Power cut?
An odd little political game is being played out in Karnataka these days. At the center of it all is the grand old farmer of Indian polity Mr Deve 'Son-of-the-soil' Gowda.
To lend you perspective, lets flash back to around two years from now. Back then the JD(S)-Cong coalition was trudging along in bursts, with Mr Gowda acting as both benevolent (seemingly) Godfather and irritating Spoke-in-the-wheel. Brand Bangalore sat in a corner licking its wounds, wondering what hit it, and with it sat Gowda Jr, Kumaraswamy with a dour expression on his face. People knew by then, that Mr K chiefly had ministerial ambitions, but no, Mr K actually had Chief Ministerial ambitions. But he knew that, with the old guard at the helm that dream would be hard to dream and possibly impossible to achieve, if things were to go the way they had till then. So what did he do? He rode on the development plank(as most 45 year young politicians tend to). We need some good solid development, he said ,and what better a start than me being CM, he whispered to himself. He convinced a majority of JD(S) MLAs that the 'S' in JD(S) doesn't stand for secular but for 'Satta'. He shepherded them into a luxury bus, got into talks with the oh-so-not-Secular BJP. And thus, did JD(S) stab the Cong in the back and form the current govt. Mr Gowda, at the outset was furious at this sudden volte-face in ideology, but then let time (and power) heals all wounds and thus he welcomed back his prodigal son into the fold. Mr Gowda after all loves being the king maker doesn't he?
As part of the 'arrangement' with the saffron brigade, Kumaraswamy was to rule for twenty months and after that one Mr Yediyurappa from the BJP was to rule for the second period of twenty months. Mr Kumaraswamy was totally okay with the pact with the BJP, saffron hues not withstanding. He said, anything for the betterment of the state.
It was a good start, Mr K seemed to bring youth and exuberance into governance and slowly won the people over. But twenty months don't last forever do they?
As the twenty month stint came to an end, Mr Gowda started making all kinds of noises, of why JD(S) shouldn't have joined hands with the saffron brigade, of how the BJP was trying to tarnish him and his family. Lots of confusion,conflicting statements ,and the Sriramulu (lets not go there) episode didn't help matters either.
And today we stand at a threshold. Today is the day when Mr K will choose whether to keep his promise or to break it. Today is the day he has to chose between being honest or being in power. Today is the Mahatma's birthday. No doubt Mr Kumaraswamy will make lots of speeches praising what the Mahatma stood for, truth and honesty, and how he values these virtues and how these should be the beacon that will show our nation the pathway to the future. But the burning question is whether MR K will choose to follow the path shown by the birthday boy or be a hypocrite.
After all what's at stake Mr K is not power, its not your popularity. It is something that is much much more valuable ( at least they should be to you). Its credibility. Please don't let us down Mr K.
To lend you perspective, lets flash back to around two years from now. Back then the JD(S)-Cong coalition was trudging along in bursts, with Mr Gowda acting as both benevolent (seemingly) Godfather and irritating Spoke-in-the-wheel. Brand Bangalore sat in a corner licking its wounds, wondering what hit it, and with it sat Gowda Jr, Kumaraswamy with a dour expression on his face. People knew by then, that Mr K chiefly had ministerial ambitions, but no, Mr K actually had Chief Ministerial ambitions. But he knew that, with the old guard at the helm that dream would be hard to dream and possibly impossible to achieve, if things were to go the way they had till then. So what did he do? He rode on the development plank(as most 45 year young politicians tend to). We need some good solid development, he said ,and what better a start than me being CM, he whispered to himself. He convinced a majority of JD(S) MLAs that the 'S' in JD(S) doesn't stand for secular but for 'Satta'. He shepherded them into a luxury bus, got into talks with the oh-so-not-Secular BJP. And thus, did JD(S) stab the Cong in the back and form the current govt. Mr Gowda, at the outset was furious at this sudden volte-face in ideology, but then let time (and power) heals all wounds and thus he welcomed back his prodigal son into the fold. Mr Gowda after all loves being the king maker doesn't he?
As part of the 'arrangement' with the saffron brigade, Kumaraswamy was to rule for twenty months and after that one Mr Yediyurappa from the BJP was to rule for the second period of twenty months. Mr Kumaraswamy was totally okay with the pact with the BJP, saffron hues not withstanding. He said, anything for the betterment of the state.
It was a good start, Mr K seemed to bring youth and exuberance into governance and slowly won the people over. But twenty months don't last forever do they?
As the twenty month stint came to an end, Mr Gowda started making all kinds of noises, of why JD(S) shouldn't have joined hands with the saffron brigade, of how the BJP was trying to tarnish him and his family. Lots of confusion,conflicting statements ,and the Sriramulu (lets not go there) episode didn't help matters either.
And today we stand at a threshold. Today is the day when Mr K will choose whether to keep his promise or to break it. Today is the day he has to chose between being honest or being in power. Today is the Mahatma's birthday. No doubt Mr Kumaraswamy will make lots of speeches praising what the Mahatma stood for, truth and honesty, and how he values these virtues and how these should be the beacon that will show our nation the pathway to the future. But the burning question is whether MR K will choose to follow the path shown by the birthday boy or be a hypocrite.
After all what's at stake Mr K is not power, its not your popularity. It is something that is much much more valuable ( at least they should be to you). Its credibility. Please don't let us down Mr K.
Monday, September 03, 2007
This and that
A long lazy weekend.
Watched The Departed and liked it! Our desi directors should learn a thing or two about how to remake a movie from Martin Scorsese.
September is a month full of treats and incidentally, birthdays. Last Sat was P's birthday and he gave a nice little treat. Tomorrow is Peanut's birthday.Hopefully he'll follow suit! ;-)
My brother is back from Aus! Its odd that I realise what was missing at home, some unspoken quality, when he was away, only now, when he is back. I still can't put my finger on it and say Oh yeah that was what was amiss!
Its amazing to see how brothers get along as well as Kol and his brother get along. I believe they share everything that happens in their lives with each other! I can't imagine telling my brother about how a day out with the gang was and other stuff. Both of us believe in keeping our out-of-the-home lives separate, although this doesn't stop him from asking all kinds of questions!
I kept mis-spelling believe all through the post. I've always done that when a word has i and e together.But I didn't do it in the last time I typed believe!! Not this time either!!
Back at the office I'll be joining my old team again. Its like a whiff of fresh air after the last two months!
That's about it for now I guess. Signing off!
Watched The Departed and liked it! Our desi directors should learn a thing or two about how to remake a movie from Martin Scorsese.
September is a month full of treats and incidentally, birthdays. Last Sat was P's birthday and he gave a nice little treat. Tomorrow is Peanut's birthday.Hopefully he'll follow suit! ;-)
My brother is back from Aus! Its odd that I realise what was missing at home, some unspoken quality, when he was away, only now, when he is back. I still can't put my finger on it and say Oh yeah that was what was amiss!
Its amazing to see how brothers get along as well as Kol and his brother get along. I believe they share everything that happens in their lives with each other! I can't imagine telling my brother about how a day out with the gang was and other stuff. Both of us believe in keeping our out-of-the-home lives separate, although this doesn't stop him from asking all kinds of questions!
I kept mis-spelling believe all through the post. I've always done that when a word has i and e together.But I didn't do it in the last time I typed believe!! Not this time either!!
Back at the office I'll be joining my old team again. Its like a whiff of fresh air after the last two months!
That's about it for now I guess. Signing off!
Saturday, August 18, 2007
Jaagte rahoo
Work,work,work. Blah,grind,blah. To other interesting stuff....
Man, you gotta read the script of the Matrix series. I've just finished the script of Matrix reloaded and its awesome! I just can't believe the level of detail!! Every damn scene,every move is spelled out. Hail those script writers! I'll start reading Matrix Revolutions tomo. I would've read it today, but haven't slept properly through this week and I gotta get some shut-eye.
You can find the scripts here .
Chalo then chao! Hopefully I'll not dream up something related to work or witness my assasination.
Before I crash though here's something that you could chew on:
"Hope. It is the quintessential human delusion, simultaneously the source of your greatest strength, and your greatest weakness."
The Architect
Man, you gotta read the script of the Matrix series. I've just finished the script of Matrix reloaded and its awesome! I just can't believe the level of detail!! Every damn scene,every move is spelled out. Hail those script writers! I'll start reading Matrix Revolutions tomo. I would've read it today, but haven't slept properly through this week and I gotta get some shut-eye.
You can find the scripts here .
Chalo then chao! Hopefully I'll not dream up something related to work or witness my assasination.
Before I crash though here's something that you could chew on:
"Hope. It is the quintessential human delusion, simultaneously the source of your greatest strength, and your greatest weakness."
The Architect
Saturday, August 04, 2007
Dark bodings
He stood at the crossroads and turned back. He was confused already! He couldn't tell which path had brought him here, all four seemed identical. He stared at each in turn. Somehow he knew in his heart that one meant glory,one ignominy, one lead to pain and one happiness. As he started to wonder which was which and which one he should choose, a fog started setting in. He was astonished; it was sunny a moment ago! He looked up and inexplicably a dark sky bore down upon him. He pinched himself, certain that this was a dream. It hurt! He tried to remember if he had had a dream in which he had felt pain. There was no memory. Everything seemed fuzzy, the past, the present and as a result, the future.
The fog closed down upon him and it was dark all around. He closed his eyes (as though that would make a difference!). An idea!He tried to conjure light and hope in his own heart. But what was light? What was hope? He seemed to have forgotten what hope is! What light is.
What is hope? What is light?
One little clarification. The 'he' in this post is not me neccesarily! I was just thinking and voila!! I had thought this post out! Maybe the 'he' could be any of us.
The fog closed down upon him and it was dark all around. He closed his eyes (as though that would make a difference!). An idea!He tried to conjure light and hope in his own heart. But what was light? What was hope? He seemed to have forgotten what hope is! What light is.
What is hope? What is light?
One little clarification. The 'he' in this post is not me neccesarily! I was just thinking and voila!! I had thought this post out! Maybe the 'he' could be any of us.
Saturday, July 07, 2007
Bungee brownie park
Now there are three things in life that one should try at least once.* Of these three, you'll definitely want to do the first one again and again, the second one never again and the third one .... err that depends on your temperament and taste. So lets cut the chase and get down to the three things
1. Bungee Jumping!!
1. Bungee Jumping!!
"Woohoo" Yo people! After planning things out for a week (which means tons of mails spamming every which inbox and mail server), returning back home disappointed on the first day (Windy conditions spoiled the party) and waiting for 7 odd hours the next day, we finally got to bungee jump! Man was it awesome!! Just wish the instructor gave people more time up there. It was like you go up with him and as you look below (we were hoisted around 140 m in the air) and try to soak it in, he barks 'Hold your arms straight in front of you! Loosen your body and when I say 1 2 3 jump, jump! 123 jump!!''. And you are just standing there petrified. Its only after a moment or two that you gather enough gumption to actually jump. And when you do, oh boy, what a sensation you go through. The whole world around you goes bonkers. The ground seems to hurtle towards you at break neck speed and just when you come around to think that life insurance is not a bad idea after all, the rope goes taut and you go high up again! For a few seconds more elasticity and gravity have fun at your expense, and then its all over. The whole jump lasted all of ten seconds ( the first downward motion must have taken three seconds), but you go totally nuts in those ten seconds and trust me its worth every paisa you pay!
2. Eat 'Death by that-brown-thing-that-girls-like-to-eat'
If you can eat more than once cup of 'Death by that-brown-thing-that-dairymilk-is-a-brand-of' at Cornerhouse, all hail thy sweet tooth. I wasn't able to finish one cup of this blasted thing! And I feel sick when I hear that brown thing mentioned!! To top it all today is supposed to be 'that-brown-thingy's day!! I saw this pic in today's newspaper and was sick to the stomach.
2. Eat 'Death by that-brown-thing-that-girls-like-to-eat'
If you can eat more than once cup of 'Death by that-brown-thing-that-dairymilk-is-a-brand-of' at Cornerhouse, all hail thy sweet tooth. I wasn't able to finish one cup of this blasted thing! And I feel sick when I hear that brown thing mentioned!! To top it all today is supposed to be 'that-brown-thingy's day!! I saw this pic in today's newspaper and was sick to the stomach.
"Yuck"Added later : What I meant was you gotta try this once! After this, you'll either like chocs even better or stay away from it for a month or two at least. I am doing the latter right now! :P
3. Watch South Park
3. Watch South Park
"Awesom-o"South Park is an animated series about the lives of four fourth graders, Kyle, Kenny, Stan and Eric Cartman. These guys live in the small mountain town, South Park hence the name.
Try and get your hands on one of the episodes of this series, its hilarious (and totally over the top , totally politically incorrect , sometimes vulgar). These guys have parodied everything under the sun. I might just write a post about one of the episodes I watched.
Btw are you watching Wimbledon? This year has seen some amazing tennis. Did you catch the Bartolo-Jankovic match, or the Serena-Henin one? My money is on Bartoli for the women's title. (But wish Henin had faced Venus in the finals, what a match that would've been!! ) This lady(Bartoli) has loads of talent and if she could just get less chubby and improve her fitness she'll go a long way. Boy, didnt that Gasquet fellow play some awesome tennis against Roddick?
Ps: Call it irony or whatever, since I wrote the last post, work at office has become more hectic than ever!! But what are weekends for? :D
* If you'd expected something more.. erm.. sophisticated like maybe going around the world, or watching the sunset at the North Pole or something ,remember that I've had a 55+ hr week and that my world view is limited to the bugs that are waiting on me and what I will do over the next weekend right now! :P (You're thinking are ye post khatam kyu nahi ho raha? Me too! chalo chao! )
Try and get your hands on one of the episodes of this series, its hilarious (and totally over the top , totally politically incorrect , sometimes vulgar). These guys have parodied everything under the sun. I might just write a post about one of the episodes I watched.
Btw are you watching Wimbledon? This year has seen some amazing tennis. Did you catch the Bartolo-Jankovic match, or the Serena-Henin one? My money is on Bartoli for the women's title. (But wish Henin had faced Venus in the finals, what a match that would've been!! ) This lady(Bartoli) has loads of talent and if she could just get less chubby and improve her fitness she'll go a long way. Boy, didnt that Gasquet fellow play some awesome tennis against Roddick?
Ps: Call it irony or whatever, since I wrote the last post, work at office has become more hectic than ever!! But what are weekends for? :D
* If you'd expected something more.. erm.. sophisticated like maybe going around the world, or watching the sunset at the North Pole or something ,remember that I've had a 55+ hr week and that my world view is limited to the bugs that are waiting on me and what I will do over the next weekend right now! :P (You're thinking are ye post khatam kyu nahi ho raha? Me too! chalo chao! )
Saturday, June 23, 2007
Mish mash post, Grooks, Jobs.
Hmm long time isnt it? This is gonna be one cocktail-post.
At the work front, things have at last fallen back to the usual routine. Although, things have known to change rapidly and drastically every time I think this very thought. To moot, our manager now uses our team as an example in meetings and urges other teams to match our levels of 'commitment'. Quite a thing huh?
I've never been a poetry guy. I mean, I am not into poetry in english in a big way, although poetry in hindi has been a favourite. Well, who can forget Saroj Smriti by Nirala, Madhushala by Bachan Srmost ( Well if you haven't heard of Harivansh Ray Bachhan , thumbs down to you mate! :( ) , Satpuda Ke Ghane Jungle etc? Those were the days of Swati and Parag. Hmmm....good old days!
But recently, thanks to a friend of mine at office, I've been exposed to some real good English poetry. One of my personal favourites, among these are the works of Piet (which are referred to as grooks. Grook, wikipedia tells me stands for "GRin & sUK" ,"laugh & sigh" in Danish). Here's one for you to enjoy.
An ethical grook
I see
and I hear
and I speak no evil;
I carry
no malice
within my breast;
yet quite without
wishing
a man to the Devil
one may be
permitted
to hope for the best.
Liked it? Ok, here's another,
A psychological tip
Whenever you're called on to make up your mind,
and you're hampered by not having any,
the best way to solve the dilemma, you'll find,
is simply by spinning a penny.
No - not so that chance shall decide the affair
while you're passively standing there moping;
but the moment the penny is up in the air,
you suddenly know what you're hoping.
Real good ,eh? Thanks due to my friend!
If you want to read more, google Piet Hein.
(Its speaks a lot about the strength of a brand name, when it is used a verb doesn't it? Hail Google! )
One thing long work hours have brought in, is late night telly watching. After a long day at office, it feels good to round off the day with an episode of Sienfeld followed by one of Friends ( and of course, the now routine scoldings about working late by the folks at home).
The last book I read was iCon. A well researched ( I hope!) book about the life and times of Apple Inc's CEO Steve Jobs. It was a pretty good read. A lot harsh things have been said about Jobs, his (mis)management style, aggressive attitude and misdemeanor. But all said and done , at 22 (my age) Jobs had already found Apple (Jobs went on to found nEXT and Pixar too!). And here I am fixing bugs in a stupid tool! Well, the urge to 'make a dent in the Universe', as Jobs would put it, has grown stronger ( and with it the desperation of dealing with the work I am doing at off right now).
Aur ab aap bataiye, aap kaise ho?
At the work front, things have at last fallen back to the usual routine. Although, things have known to change rapidly and drastically every time I think this very thought. To moot, our manager now uses our team as an example in meetings and urges other teams to match our levels of 'commitment'. Quite a thing huh?
I've never been a poetry guy. I mean, I am not into poetry in english in a big way, although poetry in hindi has been a favourite. Well, who can forget Saroj Smriti by Nirala, Madhushala by Bachan Srmost ( Well if you haven't heard of Harivansh Ray Bachhan , thumbs down to you mate! :( ) , Satpuda Ke Ghane Jungle etc? Those were the days of Swati and Parag. Hmmm....good old days!
But recently, thanks to a friend of mine at office, I've been exposed to some real good English poetry. One of my personal favourites, among these are the works of Piet (which are referred to as grooks. Grook, wikipedia tells me stands for "GRin & sUK" ,"laugh & sigh" in Danish). Here's one for you to enjoy.
An ethical grook
I see
and I hear
and I speak no evil;
I carry
no malice
within my breast;
yet quite without
wishing
a man to the Devil
one may be
permitted
to hope for the best.
Liked it? Ok, here's another,
A psychological tip
Whenever you're called on to make up your mind,
and you're hampered by not having any,
the best way to solve the dilemma, you'll find,
is simply by spinning a penny.
No - not so that chance shall decide the affair
while you're passively standing there moping;
but the moment the penny is up in the air,
you suddenly know what you're hoping.
Real good ,eh? Thanks due to my friend!
If you want to read more, google Piet Hein.
(Its speaks a lot about the strength of a brand name, when it is used a verb doesn't it? Hail Google! )
One thing long work hours have brought in, is late night telly watching. After a long day at office, it feels good to round off the day with an episode of Sienfeld followed by one of Friends ( and of course, the now routine scoldings about working late by the folks at home).
The last book I read was iCon. A well researched ( I hope!) book about the life and times of Apple Inc's CEO Steve Jobs. It was a pretty good read. A lot harsh things have been said about Jobs, his (mis)management style, aggressive attitude and misdemeanor. But all said and done , at 22 (my age) Jobs had already found Apple (Jobs went on to found nEXT and Pixar too!). And here I am fixing bugs in a stupid tool! Well, the urge to 'make a dent in the Universe', as Jobs would put it, has grown stronger ( and with it the desperation of dealing with the work I am doing at off right now).
Aur ab aap bataiye, aap kaise ho?
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