About a Girl

I need an easy friend
(I do) With an ear to lend
(I do) Think you fit this shoe
(I do) But you have a clue

I'll take advantage while
You hang me out to dry
But I can't see you every night (for) free
I do

I'm standing in your line
(I do) Hope you have the time
(I do) Pick a number to
(I do) Keep a date with you

I'll take advantage while
You hang me out to dry
But I can't see you every night (for) free
I do

I need an easy friend
(I do) With an ear to lend
(I do) Think you fit this shoe
(I do) But you have a clue

I'll take advantage while
You hang me out to dry
But I can't see you every night, no I can't see you every night...
For free

--About a Girl, Nirvana

Why was the man expected to be a saint?

Recently, this picture of J L Nehru has been circulating...

The title of the mail is "Pyaare Chacha Nehru". I see sarci.

Earlier I've seen pictures of the man having a laugh with Lord Mountbatten's wifey. I saw sarci there too.

Never understood why do we expect our leaders to be saintly? I mean they're men and women after all, right?

Why would I like some Chacha any less if he smoked. Don't see sarci.

Venkatesa Suprabhatam

I've often thought of turning more religious than I presently am (which is traces of religion in my life), I've often believed in and advocated the power of Hindu chants. Recently had a chance to listen to Suprabhatam. The "lyrics" and their English interpretation are available here. More information is available at http://www.suprabhatam.org

I have another more "consumable" version, called Suprabhatam-Remix (mail me at rahul.jindal@pangea3.com if you'd like to get that). I know "remix" turns sensual images. But this is religion, not sensual, in most instances. In some instances, it is.

After the war

Nach Nach Laashaan Utte Kalla, Man Hi Man Itranda Hai
Khabar Nahin Key Unhon Behka, Shaitan Khada Muskanda Hai
--After the War, Indian Ocean - Jhini, 2003

(He's gleeful as he dances alone over the corpses,
Little does he know that the Devil is happy influencing him so)

War and malice are no good.

Peace.

What makes Instant Messaging so popular among teens?

A very interesting study is at http://www.cs.cmu.edu/~kraut/RKraut.site.files/articles/Boneva04-TeenCommunicationInIMEra.pdf

One thing that I love about my job is the scope to author such studies, even though this one wasn't authored by us :)

Amir 'Mangal Pandey' Khan

... is in the blogosphere too! Check this out.

This and That

An excellent photo-series on Sufism
Inadvertently, I had refered Sufism to be kind of an addiction in a discussion at office. People called smoking an addiction and said (yawn) that it leads to deterioration of health. It causes trouble, not only for the smoker but his family. So its a social phenomenon. I couldn't agree more with them, but my point was that the social phenomenon thing is true for any other addiction. Take Sufism for example. People get so much into it that they leave home. They become disconnected, I did. Try listening to Man Atkeia Beparwa De Naal by NFAK. That is a social phenomenon like no other. Religion is. Who has quit religion? But, yes smoking is worse. Quit now!
As with most other times, my inadvertent remark made me probe, so I came across the photo-series and I am glad.

Here is a great link from The Hindu about the American way, a do's and don'ts checklist for Indians :). Quoting:
Americans are fussy about personal cleanliness. Body odour makes them shudder in disgust. Personal care products such as shampoos, deodorants, dental floss and mouthwash are multi billion dollar industries. Put these down on your shopping list and use them liberally and frequently.

Finally, Sunil's excellent posts on AID-India are here, here and here. I had joined the AID-Delhi mailing list while I was in Gurgaon, but didn't do much apart from lurking on the list, but I do appreciate their spirit. For the more filmy inclined, Ashutosh Gawariker movie Swades was inspired by a group of AID-India members who worked at making a village self-sufficient when it comes to electricity.

Remembering KC

The safe landing of space shuttle Discovery brings back the memory of a landing that wasn't safe. In fact, it wasn't a landing at all.

The Jan 13, 2003 special issue of India Today had a picture on its covers with the words ‘American Astronaut Kalpana Chawla’ written on the lower-left, the theme of the issue, ‘The Global Indians, doing us proud’.

Almost around six-and-a-half-years ago, we (at Punjab Engineering College, Chandigarh) were introduced to Kalpana ‘Global Indian’ Chawla by Prof. Gurdial Singh saying, “These are the very benches where she sat and attended lectures, lets see how far can you go.’ “How far can one go than the space itself?” was, may be, the passing thought.

That was a year after she became the first Indian women to ‘rocket into space on a NASA fact finding mission on microgravity’. Quoting from India today, “In the 16 day trip during which disconnected bubbles of water were caught for taking a cosmic shower, Chawla traveled 6.5 million miles, made 252 orbits of the earth and logged close to 400 hours in space”.

Soon after she came back from her first trip to the stars, she sent back to her alma mater a photograph of the entire crew personally signed by each crew member. This photograph even today is on the walls in the admin block at PEC. Everyone waiting to see the principal looks at the photograph outside his office. “To the teachers, students and staff of Punjab Engineering College”, says the caption she wrote.

When her second flight was announced some time early this year, the students of Aeronautical Engineering Department sent her a letter with letters from Governor of Punjab and others. “You do us proud”, was the headline of the article describing the letter the next day in a local newspaper in Chandigarh.

Cut to a few years later...

Saturday, 1st Feb, 2003, about 7:00 a.m. IST: Seeing her photograph on the top of Times of India, I told my friend, “I heard she’d be visiting our college sometime this year, may be during the convocation”. She was scheduled to land that day after a 16 day long trip in the NASA space shuttle Columbia that took off on the 16th Jan.

Saturday, 1st Feb, 2003 about 8:00 p.m. IST: We watched with gross shock and disbelief a bright streak of light on the Texan sky, something the newsflash called the “Crashing Space Shuttle Columbia”. “First time in the history of NASA has a space shuttle crashed while landing” said the voice behind the screen.

But with that first time, we also lost the First Indian woman in space, but with that first time, we also lost the first Indian to go to space twice, but with that first time we also lost the ‘First among the stars’ as India Today called her.

“All Indians must be immensely proud of her”, said a voice on CNN. Seeing the TV channels this seemed true.

I remember KC, American Astronaut, who attained eternity, literally among the stars, with these words...

“…after partition my family was left without possessions but we learnt you couldn’t lose by working hard.”

We're working hard, KC Ma'am. We won't lose. Discovery did land safely.

Dropping the Albatross

Not so long ago, in a place that demands the most raw of the survival skills, where wild animals, Jaats, prowl free, there existed a firm. Name is not important. Only that it was “The Firm” wannabe. Hah!

The place was infested by khabris, dreary and sly men (and women?), men of no honor, in fact they sold their honor on that hungry night at Convergys. They bought half-a-plate Maggi doing so.

Deleted the rest of the post (about 1-1/4 pages more) to sound politically correct.

I for Inspiration

I inspired a blog and a post!

And God said, "May you live in interesting times!"