jal publishing Inc.

2009-03-21T10:13:00.000+05:30

Watched Slumdog Millionaire last Sun: It is not the film that we should feel insulted about, it should be about how almost half of our population do not have the opportunity to a decent livelihood; and that if there weren't for people fighting in the name of Allah and Ram, (if not lakhs) tens of thousands of our children would not be orphaned to grow unsupported and vulnerable. A Slumdog's suffering could be understood if he was in Mugabe's Zimbabwe or Hitler's Germany, but in a nuclear age/space age democracy??

Update on BlogCamp Kerala

2008-07-05T10:00:00.003+05:30

The date is August 16th and would be held in Alleppey on a houseboat. Looking forward to some interesting stuff. To participate, add your name on the official contacts list: http://www.contactvirus.com/blogcampkerala ; the shared key is godsowncountry .

More on the event here: http://www.blogcampkerala.com

Why Islam

2008-05-11T12:37:00.000+05:30

A very well presented video on what Islam is really about. Pray that you watch the whole video, and understand clearly the true message of islam. I get all these weird questions, rather remarks from people, which I just could not properly answer. Mostly because I myself have insufficient knowledge to truly explain what Islam is all about. A good effort by Baba Ali to put up this simple video. Hope it dispels some of the confusion around.

The Ummah Films channel on Youtube is by Baba Ali, who creates videos on Islamic messages, primarily targeted at Muslims. Though 'Why Islam' is a normal video, most of his videos poke fun at unislamic Muslim practices and are humorous in nature.

What I need to give to this person and his videos were that his humorous videos kindled my thirst for Islamic knowledge and inspired me to think and seek further knowledge. Insha Allah, may Allah give him the reward for that and purify his intentions.

My favorite videos in the channel are(in no particular order):

Looking for a Spouse online

Who hijacked Islam?

Muslim characters at Work

Fisibilillah Discount

The Haram Police

Videos that non-Muslims could also learn from and appreciate:

The Art of Complaining

Racism and Pride

Escaping the Holiday party

Looking for a Spouse online

If you have a question yourself, go ahead and submit it to the Ask Baba Ali series at: http://www.askbabaali.com/.

See the entire Youtube channel here: http://www.youtube.com/profile?user=ummahfilms.

A couple of pple have also come together under the Ummah Films banner to make a film, Tommorrow Never Comes
. Not much, but has a pretty good message to it.

Jaleel Jalaludeen
http://jusjal.blogspot.com

Vanita Ratnam is Back!!

2008-04-06T09:52:00.000+05:30

If there is some original idea, that India can boast of, in the reality shows space, it is Vanita Ratnam. Where else do you have a show contesting housewife mothers. Yes, one of the main prerequisites to take part in the contest is that you need to be a mother.

Telecast between 8 to 9 pm on weekdays, the second edition started broadcasting on 31st March 2008. Well, it is a nice opportunity and all that for housewives who otherwise would have only tonight's dinner to think of. There is a whole array of reality shows that are happening in various Malayalam channels. There are a couple of them for Singing and Dance; then there is one for journalism, one for men on cooking and even on e for babies! Yes, u feel so sorry for the babies.

Coming back to Vanita Ratnam, you might wonder how it would have caught my fancy. Well, I am sure that there are thousands, if not lakhs of people like me who are relieved that their mothers arent spending prime time, sobbing away at some stupid serial plot, which has been running for like ten years now. With this craze of reality shows i am happy that there is at least one reality show happening during prime time, which has pretty much weaned mothers away from serials. At least my mother now watches only one serial, which unfortunately shows a little before prime time. And since you cant change channels when mommy is watching the show you at least have something better to watch than see serial villains trying to look really pissed, but even the babies at the reality show for babies wouldnt look more innocent.

AAI Employees' strike: What a loss of purpose!

2008-03-13T23:37:00.000+05:30

An indefinite non-cooperation strike was called off by Airports Authority Employees' Union (AAEU), and affiliate of the CITU today night. The strike was called for to protest the opening of private airports in the country that would lead to the closure of the existing airports.

Over the two days of the strike, however, flight services were largely unaffected. Though over 2000 workers did not report for work at Mumbai airport, flight operations were not affected. None of the other airports reported any disruption in flight operations. Perhaps, it is enough proof that the striking workers served no purpose at first place; and were slacking away with a government salary and position. Neither did they have the skill and the savvy to get employed with the newer private airports, nor are they looking at other options. They are such a counter productive force on our economy, considering the amount of money that is spent on these slackers' salaries.

Well, since the adventure ism has proved a point, theoretically, the Government is at a better footing in the bargaining process. However, all 14 demands of the union has been accepted. Election year.. blah blah... This is what happens in a centrally planned democracy.

Loan Waiver? What the Hell!&*^^$^%$#!

2008-03-10T22:37:00.000+05:30

P. Sainath, strips the UPA Government bare naked to reveal the hidden intentions and futility of the loan waiver in an article in The Hindu today. Some excerpts:

Even the colonial raj went in for loan waivers or ‘karza maafi’ more than once. And those waivers addressed private moneylender debt. (There were no nationalised banks in those days.) That’s something the present waiver does not touch — even though usury accounts for the overwhelming share of farm loans. In Vidharbha, money owed to private lenders would account for between two-thirds and three-fourths of all debt. In short, we haven’t begun to resolve the debt crisis of these and millions of other farmers.

In Vidharbha, the average landholding size is 7.5 acres or 3.03 hectares. Way above the two-hectare cut-off mark for the bank loan waiver. Up to 50 per cent of Vidharbha’s farmers are above this limit. Not because they are big landlords. They tend to have larger holdings as their land is unproductive and unirrigated.

Is the waiver ‘unprecedented’? Each year, nationalised banks write off thousands of crores of rupees as bad debt. Mostly money owed by small numbers of rich businessmen. And theirs is not a ‘one-time waiver.’ It is a write-off that recurs every year

Between 2000-04, banks wrote off over Rs. 44,000 crores.

BlogCamp in God's Own Country

2008-03-09T21:48:00.000+05:30

Hey all. Had the second meeting to discuss the organizing of BlogCamp. Hopefully, we would be able to have it sometime in June. So if you like the idea of blogging by the backwaters, do check the wiki for more details.

The wiki is: http://barcamp.org/blogcampkerala

You can join the Google group to get frequent updates. To join, go to:
http://groups.google.com/group/blogcampkerala

Anand started this meme to help spread the message. And, i am one of those who were tagged. So here goes a list of my pals:

Bala

Shekar

Jaggy

Ganesh APP

Siddharth Govindraj

Alex Thomas

Do love link your pals also, and spread the message.

2008-03-09T21:38:00.000+05:30

How come SIMI, a student organization that somehow attains a radical undertone gets banned while RSS remains free to eliminate whoever it wants and spread whatever it feels even after 83 years of doing what it does?

Sometimes, somethings are a little too obvious....

How fair is a Higher income tax slab for Women?

2008-03-08T22:14:00.000+05:30

A higher income tax was introduced, if i remember right, by Mr. P Chidambaram, two years ago. Wonder what was the logic behind it. After the revision in the current budget, women needn't pay income tax for the first Rs.1,80,000 rupees vis-a-vis Rs. 1,50,000. That is, income tax slabs start at Rs. 1,50,000 for men and at Rs. 1,80,000 for women.

Okay, i understand that it the women that complain all the time. But, the reason for this simply cannot be understood.

a). Does it enhance, by any means, the economic or social standing of Women?
b). Does it give her any competitive edge?
c). Is there any social upliftment objective? If yes, how?

If you look at it generally, families where the wife would be working are almost always double income households. That is, there would be two earning members, namely, the Husband and the Wife. Compare the standing of such a family with only one earning member. That is, a family with only the Husband working.

Over 75% of the middle class households belong to the latter. Compare the total income tax implication of the latter to the former, and it is only too obvious that Households with only Husbands working are at a comparative disadvantage.

I would go on to suggest that Women should have a lower slab and get them to pay higher, because the household is earning a higher lumpsum. Or, maybe have a combined tax slab which would be higher if there is more than one earning member.

Budget '08: Good show by the Finance Minister

2008-02-29T16:41:00.000+05:30

A very good show by the Finance Minister, partially owing to the elections coming up. The budget has pretty much covered all the issues that faced the nation today. With the Global markets getting dirty and the Finance ministry and the RBI looking at further control for the economy from a crash, the stock markets were fearing a lot of bad news.

While the Dividend Distribution Tax remains, the Short Term Capital Gains tax stands revised to 15% from 10%. Hmm.. thats even more pressure on day traders' margins. Hopefully that would reduce the volume of speculation that typically aggravates an upward or downward movement.

Even as the RBI tracked inflation rates were pretty low, common man was increasingly feeling a rise in prices across items. In the end market, somehow the exhuberance of a controlled inflation was not evident as housewives bargained profusely to check monthly home budgets. The increase in income tax slab has clearly provided some relief for the largest middle class of the World. A minimum of Rs. 4000 rupees of rebate would therefore be applicable. Deductions on both the direct and indirect taxes front would cost the Government Rs. 5900 crores. However, he forecasts that the high growth would offset the loss. The slew of measure would ensure that purchasing power remains at the right hands, the consumers. This clearly would help mitigate recessionary pressures in the economy as the Global economy goes on to a slowdown.

The bumper announcement of this year's budget was the debt waiver and one time relief for small and marginal farmers. No impact is seen in the Economy at large since the money is pretty paltry for the Financial system at large. However, it would be a serious dent on the Fiscal side for the government when it gets down to settling the loans with the banks. Am not sure whether agricultural suicides are going to decline, as most farmers depend on moneylenders for credit. This would be a serious dampner for those farmers who are honest with their credit settlements.

Why Krd Rys is not an innovative product

2007-06-21T18:32:00.000+05:30

But it is a really good idea!!

Curd rice is a traditional dish in Chennai and no lunch is complete without a final serving of the cool subtly spicy dish. It is so common in Madrasi homes and restaurants that 'Krd Rys' cannot be called an innovative product. But nobody ever thought of packaging and selling it before Hatsun Agro Product Ltd did. I am sure competitors are banging their heads against the wall for not having thought about it before. The USP of this product is the standardized processing and packaging, making it a hygenic product, besides being pretty competitive in terms of price. While Saravana Bhavan charges Rs. 27, the price of Krd Rys is Rs. 16. The price is at around Rs. 20 at other restaurants. I would go for Krd Rys for the quality plus the price.
Am waiting for sambar rys, lime rys, tomtom rys....
Cant help but echo a blogger when he calls krd rys a treat for bachelors(me incl.) living out of hostel messes and restaurants.

Why do Women spend more time buying mobile phones?

2007-06-16T12:40:00.000+05:30

Yesterday's Economic Times carried figures for consumers in SEC A, 25-40 age group, by In-Store Consulting on 'Minutes spent per visit at stores in metros'. The piece titled 'Gender Bender' goes like this: " Women no longer dominate just grocery and apparel shopping. Recent shopping data in metros reveal that women spend more time at stores selling mobiles and other telecommunications accessories compared to men. And even for erstwhile male dominated categories books and time wear they are coming pretty close to men on time spent per visit to such stores." The piece goes on to list that men spent an average of 19, 11 and 24 minutes each on books & gifts, telecom and time wear respectively, while for women it is 16, 13 and 19 minutes respectively.

The piece looks real shoddy and crudely feminist. Wonder why a retailer would want customers to spend more time in his facilities; The lesser time that it takes to close the sale, the better. The fact that women spend lesser time on books & gifts and time wear is maybe because of the confidence they have in choosing from the said category of goods. Men not being frequent at purchasing books and gifts, fare lower in terms of experience and product knowhow, and therefore need to spend more time, weighing options. When it comes to mobile phones and accessories, men spend lesser time considering their comfort levels when it comes to electronics and gizmos. Women comparatively less comfortable with gizmos and therefore, spend more time understanding the product before buying them.

Why I cant blame my Air Deccan flight.

2007-06-15T17:04:00.000+05:30

The 6.50 Trivandrum - Chennai Air Deccan Flight was my first experience in a low cost Airline and especially Air Deccan. Having read all the bad press that Air Deccan is known for besides what my friends used to say, i couldnt help but being sceptic about the airline's service standards.
However, right from the boarding pass counter to the arrival launch of Chennai airport, i just couldnt complain. The no frills service offered was to take me from trivandrum to chennai within the stated time. And contrary to the bad press, it did. The flight took off on time and arrived on time. Yes, i had to pay excess baggage for just a kilo. But hey, thats how they ensure margins and they are at no obligation to carry the excess one kilo for free, having agreed upon only 15 kilos of checkin baggage.
The new Airbus A320 was tidy and basic. The seats were normal, not reclinable but okay for the short trip.
In my opinion, it is either that Air Deccan has improved its service but still happens to retain the bad image or that people are toying with the conventional notion that anything thats cheap is substandard.

In my opinion, Air Deccan got its strategy wrong right from the beginning. Domestic air travel was and is an untapped opportunity when they first started operations. There was enough demand in terms of additional seats and connectivity from those who could 'afford to fly but couldnt get enough'. But Air Deccan wanted the 'farmer' to fly. Well, we all know, it sounded emphatic and all that but made for a really bad business proposition. Perhaps Capt. Gopinath should have saved his big talk till they would have gained a reasonable footing in the market. Besides, taking low cost as a USP does not create a strong brand. Besides, if the price of a good or a service goes down, there is a deemed rise in demand. And the firm that is offering to slash prices should be able to service the rise in demand to gain from the price cut or low cost offering. While having a fixed capacity, besides the inability to create additional capacities considering the capital intensive nature of the airline business, Air Deccan lost on that front.

Value added tax : the cause of the current inflationary pressure?

2007-04-04T12:23:00.000+05:30

Almost two years ago, when India was extensively debating the pros and cons of implementing a value added tax system, spiralling prices were one of the concerns that the opposition and the left aired against the proposed system. Many policy makers and academics who favoured VAT chose to argue that the system that is an effective alternative to the cascading effect of the present taxation policies, will lead to a decline in general prices while also saying that prices may increase in the short run, before the system fully falls in place.

Is it the short run price rise that academics had forseen that is leading to a rise in general prices?

Kindly leave your comment on what you think.
This post shall be updated with your responses.

Plight of Bangalore International airport.

2007-03-12T18:45:00.000+05:30

Stumbled upon this while searching for Bangalore airport..
this is a page @ karnataka.com that gives the basic details of Bangalore airport. The interesting detail lies in the number of times the site had had to revise the start dates and end dates for the project. The start date have been revised nine times, and the end date four times!!!
Besides the site admins have added a note of caution - "All dates are slippery when wet".
The site also lists a brief chronology of various steps and issues that took place before the project kicked off, a pretty ineresting one that you can check out at http://www.karnataka.com/watch/blr-airport/

Jaleel Mohammed Jalaludeen
http://jusjal.blogspot.com

Geomapping in Google Analytics

2007-02-03T17:31:00.000+05:30

There is certainly more stuff that is really cool in Google Analytics.

But my favourite is the geo mapping of all the visitors. Running over your mouse on the bubbles will pop up names of the places.

Then, for there is the cool colouring of the interface, and the fact that the code is hidden in the actual viewable page.

Have not been into all that optimization and conversion stuff with the tool...

My Story Session: Hemu Ramaiah

2007-01-07T18:54:00.000+05:30

Image Courtesy: Chennaionline

TiE Chennai organized a 'My Story' session by Hemu Ramaiah on friday. She narrated her story of how she built Landmark bookstore. A Love for books since childhood got her an assignment at the Danai chain of Hotel bookshops at the Taj Coromandel, as she was a Bachelors student at the Stella Maris College in Chennai. In her nine years with the chain, she set up stores in various other stores in the city.
In the nine years she had pretty much figured out the books market in India, to find a vaccum in the market primarily because importers were not exactly connecting with the end readers, besides the dearth of a general book store in the city. This led her to starting her first store in Nungambakkam. The idea was to have a large multiproduct store with an open display. There would be no hardsell, and visitors could browse books unlimitedly, without any interruption. To Indians, shopping is an entertainment she says. It is a family ocassion mostly, and this led to her decision to have a multi product range to appeal to the entire footfall in the mall. She also spoke of how in 2002, she was excited about the prospect of Koramangala to start a store in the Forum Mall there, way before Koramangala was on the Bangalore city map.
What i respected most about Ms. Ramaiah was the conviction and humility with which she spoke. What was even remarkable was the whole hearted communication she had made during the session. All the audiences' questions and opinions were well recieved by her. Like she says, its when one reads more and more that one realizes that one knows hardly anything in this world. I think it is this heartfelt conviction that she possesses, that made the session remarkable.
I would say that her talk was so unbusinesslike but made a lot of business sense.
From what i could make out from her story, i understand that for her, scaling up was not an ambition, but highly necessary to stay in business. She told how she had to move into trading and importing of books because her existing supplier had started a store of their own and had played foul to put her out of business. This drove her to think of importing books on her own. And to import books directly, she needed volumes, so she had to start supplying to 'competitors'. Now, she is looking at being present at every level of the books business, to cash in on Landmark's existing market position. Again the need for scaling up made her think of an external partner. In 2005, she sold 76% of Landmark to TRENT, while she continued as the CEO of Landmark.

Jaleel Jalaludeen

An introduction to Web 2.0: The User Role

2006-11-20T18:36:00.000+05:30

A very objective and theoretical introduction to Web 2.0, by Fransisco...

Earth 2050: An Economic forecast

2006-11-15T22:32:00.000+05:30

1. There will be no poverty. Either our Poverty erradication programs are going to work(chances of which are minimal), or all those under the 'poverty line' are going to starve to death or suicide.
2. We ll miss Vision 2020. Anyway who would care about Vision 2020, maybe like five years from now. Somewhere down the line we may have another public figure(Che Arindham Chaudri perhaps?) bring out a fresher vision that is going trash sooner or later.
3.'Gawd' is not going out of Fashion. A major style makeover is due somewhere in between now and 2050.
4. Dont worry about Oxygen, you ll get it for free. Most people worry about pollution and stuff like that. Yes, obviously you would require an oxygen cylinder to live, but why worry, its yours to take, absolutely free!!(buy two get one free that is).
5. Corruption is not going to decline. No way!! But when all the poor are gone, why bother about welfare? The rich who got richer over and over again over the decades will actually look at corruption as an easy way out of the system and get things done, without the hassles.
6. Wealth v/s Burden. The rich will claim more incentives and rebates, which the Governement will be only too happy to offer, because while the Middle Class are a 'burden' to the Economy and its the Rich who make most of the wealth of the Economy. The rich will fight against the blatant hypocrisies of the earlier policy makers who would snatch hard earned money of the rich to 'waste'on the poor.
7. There will be no retirement. The quest for higher efficiency and growth of the economy, will require more manpower, which the replacement rate is not able to meet, therefore the abolition of retirement limits. However inefficient manpower, who turn out to be a burden to the Economy, shall be disposed off from Earth, at the earliest with due consideration(dont worry about that, by that time you wouldnt want to live).

Initially posted at http://earth2050.blogspot.com

Google in a trademark dispute?

2006-11-10T00:14:00.000+05:30

A few weeks ago, innocently, typing adsense.com, to log on to my google adsense account, i chanced upon the website of this small time consulting firm.. and today, again when i tried adsense.com, the URL had directed me to google.com.
It seems to be a business and marketing consulting firm, and seems to be in serious business, and does not seem like a squatter.
Anyway, the first time itself, the firm had hosted most of the details in another domain, that is, adsense2.com. Maybe because it was rather certain that google would contest the domain. Anyway,then, in adsense.com, it had on the top claimed that it was around since 1995..
Besides, it had the following, very interesting disclaimer,
"If you think you can get rich quick placing other people's ads on your site or blog, please contact Google who has taken and used our business name without permission or compensation."
Maybe it is that they kept getting queries about the Google adsense product.
It should be anyone's guess that the firm's resources may be relatively rather flimsy vis-a-vis Google's huge financial reserves, and obviously could not contest the case by law.
Maybe google has sorted it out, with it being able to get the domain name for itself...
The dispute may turn out to be real murky considering that the consulting firm also uses the name 'Adsense Consulting', and different service categories like, 'AdSense research & evaluation', 'AdSense project management', 'Yellow Pages Marketing and Advertising by AdSense', besides Google Adsense being one of the most strategic programs of Google, supporting Google Adwords, that is the sole revenue generator for Google.

To visit Google Adsense, go to adsense.google.com

To visit Adsense Consulting, go to adsense2.com

A K Antony for Defence Minister?

2006-10-25T15:21:00.000+05:30

still half asleep, fetching the newspaper today morning, i had to take a second awed look, to get to terms with the news. as chief minister of kerala for four years during the last legislature, he passed off as a total coward, that his successor, Ummen Chandy had in vain sought to make up for.
Hmm, maybe with all those scandals running through in the Defence ministry, the Defence minister could really do with a 'Mr. Clean' image..
and yeah, any guesses why he is got through?
oh yeah maybe the Mr. Clean image and maybe his uncanny ability to deliver nehruvian bullshit and gandhian crap.

Do we need traffic lights in a democracy?

2006-10-20T14:44:00.000+05:30

This video sort of challenges directly, an earlier post of mine in a different blog of mine, 'Do you need traffic lights in a Democracy?'. In the blog i had sarcastically argued that in a democracy, where its citizens are assumed to be rational enough to choose its leadership and influence macro policy decisions, there would be no scope for such civil regulation since citizens are assumed to be rational. This video sort of directly challenges my perception..
Lets see...

2006-02-20T21:10:00.000+05:30

Found this scribbled in a desk in my college...How true!!! How Considerate of him.....

So, did Vasco Da Gama discover India?

2006-02-19T15:12:00.000+05:30

We learn in western textbooks, that Vasco Da Gama discovered India.. How insane can that be? As insane as claiming the popular joke of a mallu offering tea, to Niel Amstrong, when he set foot on the moon, to be true. It was not that Vasco Da Gama discovered India, it was that his discovery was the stepping stone of Europe in fact joining the Global scenario. Then,when the East was flourishing with the bounties of Globalization, the West was just catching up. And what did they do with the whole scenario? Messed it all up. If at all Globalization is not working today, it is because of European Imperialism and its effects, like insecurity among nations due to the World Wars.
India, China and Arabia were the front runners in the Classical free trade system that existed then. The Arabs dominated every trade route except Silk Route. India was the dream land then, and was the ultimate destination for exotic luxury goods. Though China joined late, it never lagged behind, nor did it exploit.
Wondered how Arabs took to drinking coffee and tea? where did they get all the tea and coffee come from? Trade, free trade of course. Walking along the streets of Cochin, ever wondered where all the Chinese fishing nets came from? Cultural exchange, free cultural exchange of course.
When Zheng He, the great mariner, of the Ming dynasty went for his voyages, his main port of call was Calicut in India. At the peak of his fleet, he had around 317 ships and over 22000 men. And Vasco Da Gama 'discovered' India with three, that could all fit into one ship of Zheng He's fleet and still have some space left.
Globalization is not a new process. The East practiced and mastered it long before the West.

Pyramid of a Capitalist System

2006-02-19T14:13:00.000+05:30

Saw this poster when browsing through wikipedia, in the article, Economic Inequality. This was a campaign poster used by the Industrial Workers of the World, for protesting against the evil effects of capitalism and its ignorance of the marginalised and underprivelaged. Their main aim was to bring up a workers' union, and to gain support for it.
This poster is relevant even today and it is so sad that this is so... What is Capitalism, Globalization and Technology when such systems has not resulted in considerable positive change in Human Welfare?

My Niece...

2006-02-16T16:35:00.000+05:30

wheew.. Friday night. No work. it seems like a deep breather in the midst of the race. A pit stop which you can take without worrying about the seconds ticking, or about someone overtaking you. Below, from my terrace i can see those still in the race. life goes on like this for sometime more, before some retire for the day and some(like me) start a day. the traffic all seems to blur in a psychadelic yellow below me, in its rickety journey to nowhere.

My niece struggles to stretch her body long enough, along the parapet to take a look at what i am eyeing. before she starts to whimper, i lift her up to my arms, where her eyes restlessly start following the traffic. for her, its just cars, buses, bicycles, scooters... street vendors, people.... for her it is a new world, a new discovery. she keenly eyes every character, trying to understand the plot, getting the go of things... just curious, dead curious...
she starts to whimper, struggling to be left alone in her quest for the world. shes got enough of traffic...
I give her a "you were the curious little kitten" look. she shrugs off with a " i never asked you to hold me" attitude.
she slowly goes on to pick up her doll, careful to trace each foot on the teracotta tiles so that each foot does not transgress a tile. for me the sight is just child's play. for her it was a new pattern.. a new dimension.. a firm step.. shes already in the race..

1st July 2008: An attempt at a short story, left incomplete..

History Of My Blogs

2006-02-14T09:20:00.000+05:30

Its been a year and 2 months since i should ve started blogging. If my memory does not prove me wrong, i think i first read an article in ET by i think Kiruba Shankar, that day. And I think the first blog i had reviewed that day was Kiruba's. Though I had read stuff before, and had read this again, i was not very keen on blogging. I signed up for a blogger account anyway. That was in the British Council. Here is the history of my blogs:

URBANSIEGE: The basic idea i had in mind was to write about my frustrations in this urban jungle called Chennai. However, like any confused dude, i just could not maintain the theme, and it turned out to become more of a plog(personal blog)than something theme based. I still maintain this blog. I had planned to delete it and start anew, but, couldnt. Anyway whats in a name? This is stll my plog. More than one year and just 48 posts!!(DUH!)

XPLOITEDBLOGGER: Another experiment at theme based blogging, this one failed because i could not sustain my enthu. When i got the idea, i was in the middle of my sem exams, and at that time i had big big plans etcetra, but by the time i had got all the resources and time to start the thing, the idea just got cold. I deleted this blog.

Intellectual Property in an Unequal Society: This was supposed to be a blog that would solicit ideas and inputs for my papern that i was working on with my friends. However it did not go well, since the paper itself did not go well due to a number of reasons.

AGRIPRENEURS: This was supposed to be a blog that reported about agriculture based enterprises and sought to give valuable info on agri initiatives. Hmm... well that just did not work out.

EEKNOMIX: Now this is the newest one. I have nice hopes for this one. It is going to be MY perspective on Economics, and would be something that no other media would publish. Wait and watch whether this is gonna work out..

However confused my journey was over the year, i certainly have matured....
And miles to go before i sleep..

Are Muslim Protests Justified?

2006-02-07T17:41:00.000+05:30

It is very unfortunate that we Muslims, inspired and guided by the teachings of Prophet Mohammed (PBUH) himself have to degrade ourselves to such illicit forms of protests. People have even called for boycotting EU products. Till now four people have been killed during protests and, the Norwegian and Danish embassies of Damascus was set ablaze by protestors. An Iraninan paper has called for an international cartoon contest as a tit-for-tat attack.
Come on people, why are we doing this? What did the EU or for that matter Denmark do for them to invite such a wrath? Are we being unnecessarily hostile to the West? What is the point in Arab(not Islamic) nations closing down missions? Why is it that this thing came up only when the Norwegian paper published it and not when Jyllands-Posten published it in September 30 last year?
Ok, i as a muslim is offended, but then what did EU do about this? It is the newspapers that needs to be boycotted, not the nations. For Allah's sake lets not take this as a confrontation with the West. Lets look at constructive dialogue, and let us not look for adventurism. And how come French and German papers publish the cartoons?, because of the very controversy we ourselves created. See, how we spoiled our own purpose? Was this how our Prophet would have dealt such a situation?
IslamOnline reports a Tehran Times article that states suggests that this whole situation was a plot to create animosity between Islam and Christianity.
Read the message by JP, to the Muslims of the World here.

National Symposium: Poverty In The Era Of Globalization

2006-02-01T18:30:00.000+05:30

Our Department is conducting a National Level Symposium on "Poverty in The Era Of Globalization." P. Sainath is rumored to speak at the symposium. While Prof. Amal Das is cornering students for Sponsorships, we are giving the last touches for our paper, "Intellectual Property in an Unequal Society". Hope to see it past the selection process with a couple of please pleases, to our profs. and HoD.
Students,Profs. and Research scholars from all over India were invited to submit papers for the event.
And about our paper, this perhaps the first practical and serious research experience for the three of us. Saw a lot of hindrances. We just could not team up till the last minute though we had decided to do this long back. Lots of hindrances like my going off to IITM for the course, Nivesh going to Stephens for paper presentation, Christmas hols, My extended vacation, internals etc.. and finally we meet up to realise that each of us had matured our thought and the debate in three entirely different planes. And we had to drop a lot of things to actually integrate the whole discussion together.
No decent website on the Sym, but you can access the following at least:
Symposium Handout/Brochure
Department of Economics, Loyola College.

Date: 9th and 10th February.(Drop in anytime after 10.00)
Venue: Laurence Sundaram Auditorium(Most Probably), Loyola College(anyway you will see a banner on entering college..

Will try uploading podcasts..
Anyway will publish abstracts..
Loyola College, Chennai-34.

My first Photo that got published..

2006-01-31T17:04:00.000+05:30

Took this snap as part of the NIE Photography workshop conducted by The Hindu, that i participated in. Walked the whole of the city for two whole days, using up around 3 rolls of film to discover that all had been overexposed and i was lucky to not use the flash for this one, when it was around 7.pm.
for the newspaper report of the workshop, go to, http://www.hindu.com/thehindu/quest/200305/stories/2003051007090400.htm

Political Pakistan... A view from the other side of the fence..

2006-01-31T14:41:00.000+05:30

Stumbled on this blog, http://politicalpakistan.blogspot.com/
A good view of politics at the other side.. But it still is amazing how we share a common perspective. And also the concerns of the people, is a lot like what we feel. Perhaps Indians would have written the same way when Indira Gandhi declared emergency..

Look at the letter to Editor published orginally in Daily Times, which he has put up and analysed in his blog,

What India lacks

Sir: The Indian leaders lack style. That perhaps is the reason why they do not undertake frequent foreign trips. Indian claims of big foreign exchange reserves also appear hollow. For what else could force its leaders to forgo a lavish lifestyle, limousines, private jets and others perks that our leaders enjoy? The hotels where Indian ministers, senior bureaucrats and CEOs of state-owned corporations stay during their foreign trips are not fit for the personal attendants of our VIPs.

India also lacks the unity of command, provided in Pakistan by our uniformed president in supreme national interest. The Indian president does not look like he can even name the designers that provide our suave leaders’ wardrobe. This prevents the Indian president from speaking annually at Davos to attract foreign investment.

India has to do without a prime minister with experience as a senior executive of world’s leading bank or the right to reside in the United States. These advantages ensure that our PM feels at home in America.

India continues to be held hostage to democracy — half-literate peasants decide the fate of the prime minister and the president. It needs to learn from its neighbour. It needs to stop useless expenditure on providing housing and protocol to former prime ministers. Can’t they be forced into exile or imprisoned if not hanged? India made a mistake in shedding the legacy of British Raj. No wonder there is no Defence Housing Authority in any part of India or a training institution like Kakul, where a two-years course makes a man competent to handle just about any job. Instead it wastes its resources on IITs.

Blogging? Eh?

2006-01-19T14:29:00.000+05:30

Seems like this blog of mine is going to be like the few diaries i had
maintained over the years. this time i planned not to buy one for the
obvious reasons, that is, that i simply was not into it. lots of blank
pages between entries, that is...
Perhaps 2003 was an exception. some of my best entries should have been
in 2003.. the year i was behind S*****...all those cupid feelings.. tense
encounters, nervous talk, 'sweet times' together.. aah... and that was
when all those golden voices of yesteryears made lots of sense to me..
"Pyaar Hua Ik Raar Hua..."; "Kabhi Kabhi Mere Dil Me.." . Adnan Sami was
an inspiration. He proved that even fat guys stood a chance with hmmmm..
the opposite sex...

Now, i think i am deviating.. What i fear is whether this blogging is
going to last, in my list of activities(which i do very unusually).. Yeah
man, maybe there should be someone like S***** so that i get into the
swing of things...

Naa....

Whatever... Checking my blog, gave me exactly the feel of a typical diary
of mine. Small infrequent entries... And that meant that, my diary was of
little use, if i wanted to have a sweet recall of what I was and who i
was... And my blog looks similar.. Skipped a lot of crucial things last
few days..or perhaps last month. I still have not posted a thing about my
term in IIT, Madras.. not a thing about her... no frustration about the
public buses i were using between Egmore and IITM.. nothing about the Nava
Kerala Yatra that i happened to witness... nothing about my coming F2F
with Muralitharan....nothing about my journey back to chennai... and SHeks
had told me to do a posting about my college.. and whoa!!!! i dont have a
posting that talks anything about my college!!!
I can say this is due to three things...

1. I am lazy..
2. I dont have a stable internet connection. I
use a cafe or the college digital library.
3. I dont type all that efficiently.

will have to try that all that does not suppress my interest in
blogging...

NB: This is the first time i am posting from the college digital library.
Cool man.. i like the setting, and woow that too in loyola!!!Though the
digital library interface is not working properly and does not have
extensive material, who cares? As long as there is the World Wide Web..
the connection(but have to pay for it) is real fast, LCD screens, slick
enviro... Got all this with funding the colleg e recieved as part of the
College For Potential For Excellence grant from UGC. I am Lovin' It!!!

Who said my visit to Bheema Palli was wholly dissapointing..

2006-01-08T13:02:00.000+05:30

The last time i came to photograph the mosque, i wandered into the beach, as i was desperately looking for some shots for the assignment that i had when i was doing a workshop in photography, conducted by The Hindu-NIE.

I liked the beach because, no others seemed to like it, and it was deserted and calm except for a couple of fishermen. And last Friday evening when i wandered into the beach, come on machi, it was terrific, the experience of a typical fishermen community at dusk...

Was surprised to see an old person training a group of teenagers in Duff-Muttu. It is a sort of group dance, that is danced in rhythm with songs of legendary praises of Allah and his Prophet, Mohammed(Peace be upon him). It was real interesting, to see how local culture, permeats from the old to the young, especially when it is to a group of youngsters, who though coming from lower middle class( i wouldnt say they were in dire poverty or were unclean or marginalised) were at the pulse of global culture. At the pulse of Global culture, thanks to the vast number of cheap pirated DVDs and CDs of Hollywood and Bollywood movies being traded in the streets of Bheema Palli.

Like in any backward( i dont think its just to call them backward, but i didnt have another word, that i could think of) settlement or colony, there were children(however, they seemed well looked after ones and were not unclean), lots of them fooling around. I should say i really got carried away photographing them, at the cost of other scenes in the colony.

Fishermen checking and setting the nets for the next day.

Folks playing dominoes. They dont know the name of the game. Not a surprising find. Some lucky chap of the colony who works in the Gulf might have introduced the game here.

Fishermen setting out to sea, into the sunset...

and more kids....

I HATE THIS DIAL UP CONNECTION!!!!! SOMEONE HELP!!!!

2006-01-07T00:13:00.000+05:30

7 reasons why trivandrum is better than chennai

2006-01-03T13:08:00.000+05:30

Seven reasons that i feel that triandrum is much much better than chennai are:

1). Girls need not risk getting molested, to use the public transport in Trivandrum.
2). The cost of hiring an auto will not necessarily be the cost of buying the very auto you are hiring, very unlike chennai. And in fact, we rely on the auto meter. Admitted that we need to pay a rupee or two additionally..
3). Petrol and diesel is cheaper.
4). Girls!!! They are a lot prettier, but aren't WMDs(Women of mass distraction). And also the sex ratio is such that there are more females than males, this means more choice and also more gals per guy ;-) (can be both boon and bane).
5). And Girls are more homely, understanding and more easy on the pocket.
6). The streets do not popularly serve as public latrines.
7). Water scarcity? whats that? Water conservation? You are nuts man...

NB: My knowledge of girls in chennai is based on info supplied by pals, not exactly my genuine experience... I study in a mens college(sigh!).

Bheema Palli contd....

2006-01-01T13:33:00.000+05:30

This is the store where you get all the essentials to "please the bawa".....ridiculous....poor bawa, never expected this i suppose...

Notice the filth around the kid.... even urine.... and this all by a closed entrance to the mosque!!!!

Camping pilgrims lounge in the steps of the dargah.....Wonder what is the difference between what they believe and idol worship....

Bheema Palli Snaps...

2006-01-01T12:57:00.000+05:30

On friday, went to Bheema Palli hoping to get some decent snaps, but, to tell you what i feel, i feel that all that i got were conventional ones... nothing very new or fresh..... It was a real dissapointment....

But was really excited by the fresh new coat of paint, that really has brought a certain charm to the mosque.. i cant figure out the architecture.. what influences it had etcetra, or which age it belongs to etcetra.... perhaps some archiect should be able to figure out...

Why is Google Promoting Firefox?

2005-12-29T06:30:00.000+05:30

Google has come up with a new Adsense referral program that promotes Mozilla Firefox bundled with Google Toolbar. And they give 1$ if you refer anyone to download the program. At one glance, one may think that it is to promote the use of Google Toolbar... HELL WITH IT!!

Definitely, it is to challenge Microsoft. Most people use Internet Explorer, so, Google is spreading the use of Firefox, to considerably bring down that influence... What a direct attack!!!

http://pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/show_ads.js

2005-12-28T09:58:00.000+05:30

Clear morning sky@ TVM...that is the kanakakunnu palace grounds..
Posted by Picasa

2005-12-28T09:55:00.000+05:30

Sunrise in Trivandrum skies... This was taken atop the Kanakakunnu( hill of gold), it is situated in the heart of tvm city , and there is a palace of the travancore kings, which is now a public retreat from the chaos of urbane life.
Posted by Picasa

Intellectual Property in an Unequal Society

2005-12-18T09:24:00.000+05:30

I and two of my classmates, Alex Chandy and Nivesh Shankar are coming up with a paper for our National Symposium to be held sometime in February.. So, our study is titled "Intellectual Property in an Unequal Society". The theme of the symposium is "Poverty in the era of Globalization". In that case we are critically studying the effect of Intellectual Property and Copyright policies in increasing inequality by means of accumulation of wealth in the hands of the very few and very fortunate( people, corporations and countries) who can afford access to critical knowhow, thereby leaving the less unfortunate behind, to sink further into the marsh. In short, we are going to study the behaviour of a society that looks at Knowledge as Capital, and spreading it freely means, you are losing out..
Yes, like how we argued in Social Behaviour classes last semester, Human beings are rational and objective only to the extent of what they believe and only to the extent of their welfare, they are totally irrational when we take into account the collective behaviour of the Society in which they are in, which by no means is rational, since everyone is in a race for his own rationality, thereby discounting the society's collective wellbeing///.....
So, for the purpose of discussion and sharing of ideas regarding this issue, we have started a blog...

Here we seek to give you a model of how it feels, when Knowledge is free and Ideas are boundless. Of course, when we propose a model, this interface is going to be a working experiment of what we are neccessarily going to address and develop.
In days to come, most of my action will be shifted to that blog...
Please do drop in and please make your voice heard so that you need not grudge when the whole debate goes beyond control, and who knows perhaps some time in the future this may come into being. So we believe that every person of the system should have a stake in reforming one's own system...

Go on... The blog is http://ipreco.blogspot.com

Its time for genuine blogging...

2005-12-17T15:02:00.000+05:30

I still remember the background of how i started blogging some one year ago...
i was hooked up on the internet, in British Council, and was excited about the medium and was sort of testing the waters...was not actually serious, but wanted to make some money out of google adsense....And then, i had the acute lack of access to the internet. now, that is not the case...
Actually i wanted to cover how Chennai frustrates me (and so the name), but then, all that ill attitude has died away.. I have removed the adsense banners. Its time for actual blogging... something that is out of my heart and not to gain adsense clicks...
Anyway this transition was inevitable.. Of course, that was how i discovered the potential of blogging.
NOW.. BLOGSOSPHERE HERE I COME...

I wonder why people blog...

2005-12-14T20:52:00.000+05:30

Last month when we had the bloggers' meet in The Amethyst, i met this guy in my class who was there hanging around with his friends. Later he enquired about the meeting we had. You know,i lead a really 'sleepy' life, i dont hang out much, which might have got him curious.
And so I had to give him a detailed introto the world of blogging and bloggers. And I gave him my blog URL and asked him to also follow the links i had blogrolled.
Now this is the actual conversation that took place between us yesterday:
" So, man have u been checking any blogs recently?" i ask...
" yeah man, yeah i should admit, fantastic medium..." he was rather convincing..
" so,starting a blog anytime soon?"
" No way!!! I am not that wierdo type."
Now what was that? Wierdos? bloggers? come on man, this is irony, we bloggers, commit so much of our spare time, writing gyan out of personal experience, and sacrifice our secrets so that our readers get good stuff to read, and we still are the wierd, strange, unpredictable lot....By the way What was the purpose of blogging anyway?

Railway woes..

2005-12-10T18:19:00.000+05:30

Hmmm..
went to reserve tickets for going home today.
since it was around 9.30, the reservation office was not really crowded and the queue was not frustrating. It so happened that, as i was following the queue, which most Indians using Railways know that it is a sitting queue where chairs will be provided and will have to change your seats as your turn advances, and then i had to sit in a particular seat. it looked creaky alright, but i did not bother, so just like that i sat down. and nnnnnnnch ptuckk.......the only bolt that was left, securing the seat, snapped and i was on the floor....
people near me helped me into my feet. luckily i was not hurt, and i took it in a lighter vein
and it all ended up as a moment where common man could share each others' worries and laugh over their common plight..
the plight of the common man....

A very interesting link...

2005-12-09T18:35:00.000+05:30

hey fellow people there...
chanced upon this very interesting URL....
i cant give u a description, since it will spoil all the fun,....
go visit : http://comp.uark.edu/%7Esanand/myworld/gazette/MagicSlate.htm

Moving on...

2005-10-31T23:28:00.000+05:30

its been long since the last post.
i just thought about how my blog was going....
just been honest to myself. i just am not interested in my blog.
lookign back, i had started off, just as an experiment, just as a sort of moving along the tide when i saw many peoples' work.. i had started off just because other people had it, not because i was fully interested. And that was how i started it in the british council office: not sure of it but dreaming a lot.
but then, i am not leaving blogosphere. i ll be back and be around.
and for that, the first experiment was really worth it. I owe to it all my knowledge and ideas.
so, the next experiment i am going to do, will be more calculated. My nimble fingers had by now learnt the trick...
hope to return soon...
no more blogging here....

Thomas Friedman in both?

2005-07-30T15:43:00.000+05:30

Yes, and even Thomas Friedman comes on both Hindu and DC. I think both of the papers subscribe to the New York Times News Service. Can understand why DC is doing this. But, The Hindu? To give readers a different view point? Cheap articles? Lazy editors or writers? Brand Promotion?

My AIESEC GD..

2005-07-29T11:09:00.000+05:30

Yeah, and I went to the AIESEC GD yesterday. Obviously got stuck in the
public transport, and it of course was not a good experience with the auto
walah. A mallu, and of course, he was a cheat. He snatched 40 rs from me.
Anyway at that moment I did not care for I was already around 10 minutes
late. Otherwise I would not have let go without a fight. I was hoping that
these AIESEC people would defeat the notion of 'Indian Punctuality'. No
way!! Whatever MNC you are from or whatever 'Global experience' you have
had, the basic rudimentary characters of an Indian is hard to go away.
Anyway, I cant say much, I was late too. Probably it is the traffic and
poor infrastructure in India that plays spoil sport in an Indian's life.
Come on, I dont think it is infrastructure problem that I missed first
hour today, I was late to wake up.. Wait, it is probably because the
social infrastructure of education is soo poor that I dont find any
productive work going on in college and that makes me averse to college. I
was definitely not so for my +2. I was very enthusiastic and besides.....
No, I have wandered away too much. Yes, and the GD I should
say was good, all the students were loyolites, but I was the
only day college student. The GD went on well for me, but for
both topics, the group could not reach a definitive
conclusion, but I should say it was my efforts that helped
the group come really close to its conclusion. I believe it
was a learning experience. I could not cover the group
entirely and coordinate as a leader as I could not get the
support and every one had started off with their own domains,
but I believe I acted out neatly as a coordinator for the
group and if at all the group reached some conclusion, it was
definitely my efforts.
Anyway, and went to the Anjuman masjid, for Asr, had Zhuhur pending.
The masjid was huge ok, but hmmm.. it was ok, thats it.

The Afghan Opium Mess..

2005-07-29T10:43:00.000+05:30

I Planned to post yesterday, but my hands were too full and i did not
bunk any classes. I wanted to comment on the article that appeared day
before yesterday on Deccan Chronicle, taken and republished from The New
York Times. It just is amazing how these westerners make a lot of money
with their influence and reach. Probably popularity is a good word. New
York Times used earned money when they first published and again earn
them selling the rights to publish the same articles to newspapers from
third world countries or to countries who take the white man's word as
gospel. The Paul Krugman column, comes both in DC and The Hindu. God
knows how many other papers in other countries publish the column. And
this article by Maia Szalavitz, on Afghanistan's immense Opium harvest.
Come on, the international community thought of legal exploitation only
now? Come on, I thought about it long ago, when Afghanistan was in the
limelight, and when reports of the country started appearing in CNN and
BBC, before the start of the "War on Terror". I always thought that we
could help Afghanistan earn Foreign exchange, and contribute to their
development, by helping them legalise their crops and use them for legal
purposes. Even when India launched all those cosmetic aid measures, I
thought, about India being able to help Afghanistan in that regard, both
policy wise and logistically, as India was the largest producer of legal
opium and had considerable knowledge in the field. But then, I never saw
anyone talking about it. Probably out of Fear of losing India's
competency. But India could always have sourced Opium from the Afghan
farmers, for further value addition and for legal use. Of course, it had
a lot of political and liscensing tangle, but USA would have been only
too happy to lobby for the case. Whatever, India still have the
opportunity to source Opium from Afghanistan for processing and value
addition and then could export them. Thats what India does to silk,
cotton, diamonds, cashews, coir etc...Why not opium also. India
definitely has the processing capabilities and obviously the market at
hand, it could definitely help Afghanistan and its farmers. Otherwise,
Afghanistan requires a lot of work to do if it has to do things on its
own. It has to get investment for establishing processing facilities,. it
has to establish such facilities, take care of the logistics of sourcing
from farmers and processing and worst of all it has to market the
processed stuff. It just is unthinkable now for Afghanistan, it just does
not have the money and it just does not have the entrepreneurs and most
of all it just does not have the right people or the right structure. So,
it is upto India, as a strategic neighbour and ally to help Afghanistan
out. But then, thinking of the logistics of the whole process, Pakistan
needs a lot of sharing to do. It probably has to tolerate Indian or
Afghan trucks using their roads to establish the link between the
countries. That probably is not a problem with the improved ties with
Pakistan. Indian farmers need not worry, considering the huge forecasted
Global demand for pain medications. If we are not going to act, then it
is wiser of them to destroy the crops and leave the 10 percent of the
Afghan population in the dark and the Afghan government with a lost
opportunity, and of course leave those cancer, AIDS and other patients,
suffer in agony...

That Was a Good Day for Me

2005-07-27T08:53:00.000+05:30

I think, it was probably in my schedule to be late for college and to set
in and post this. Fresh out of a self imposed break from college, I think
I am going to do real fine in college today, and it is real refreshing
that I was able to do a lot of thinking, without any tension yesterday.
But then there were a lot of things pondering me yesterday. Like, the
suicide case and the article by Agnes Flavia. The suicide thing once again
confused me and now I am wondering as ever before about this migration
thing. Hmm, Dance bars? Now these feminists say closing dance bars will
render girls jobless and it will affect Women and so on, sez Agnes Flavia
in yesterday's Deccan Chronicle. But then when men go and spend all their
money and time to go to these bars and their family is deprieved of
dignified lives, basic needs or most important of all, quality time
together, the same Women activists get to the streets. Come on... what is
it that they want? The limelight or Women Upliftment?
Yes and there were those interesting case studies that I read in Business
World. I ll talk about it if I can a couple of posts later.

An Olympics Commemmorative Stamp 4 India?

2005-07-25T14:18:00.000+05:30

My Account at Lalitha's has expired, and I hope to renew it after the internals, but I just couldnt help but key in a few lines. Come on, I went to the post office to post a letter for a pal of mine and when the guy at the counter, gave me the stamp, I just had a look at it and to my shock, it was a 2004 Olympics commemorative stamp. Come on man, what right does India have to celebrate its sicess in the games? I wonder how the performance by India was. As far as I could remember, there was just a silver or so isnt it? Then how come we are into celebrating that achievement? A nation of One billion people, and just one medal? Ha!! And its time to celebrate?

An Ordinary Person's Guide to Empire

2005-07-24T19:15:00.000+05:30

First Look Commentary

Another non-fiction book from Arundhati Roy. Unreachable for an average Indian @ Rs.395 cover price. But I got a pirated copy from the street. Though I did not reach deep into the book, it is promising, obviously because the last book I read of Roy, God of Small Things left a sort of scar in my heart.
The book I should say seems to have very little content, as the alignment is centred and too small. The book is basically a collection of articles she had written earlier for magazines or journals, though there are some exclusive stuff. I should admit that an Arundhati Roy article is Gospel when it comes to social issues, and the inspiration she evokes is phenomenal. I had read the first article, 'ahimsa' on the Narmada Project, and woow, thats one article that convinced me, after all I have read to convert from "pro-development agenda".
Besides she has incorporated nice titles, that catch the reader's eye, like, 'do turkey's enjoy thanksgiving?', 'peace is war', 'how deep shall we dig?', 'the lonliness of Noam Chomsky' etc..
And also the book does not at all go like a non-fiction title, particularly because of her style of writing. The fact that I have picked up this book, and have sustained the enthusiasm, speaks a lot.
Will try posting the Commentary of the book within a fortnight or so, by which time I hope to finish reading it..

Found this scribbled on my pad...

2005-07-23T14:35:00.000+05:30

Found this poetry I should have scribbled loong time back in my writing pad. i can't say it is very good, but:

The heat is unbearable,
The stress is terrible;
Success, as you may see it,
maybe a faint, faltering dream.

The heat is unbearable,
bear it anyway;
The stress is terrible,
withstand anyhow.

You never know,
how far you have travelled;
You never know,
how far you have reached.

Down.. But not out...

2005-07-15T17:30:00.000+05:30

Though I have made little progress, since the last posting, I still am confused and cant set any priorities right, besides, I cant concentrate on what I am doing at the moment. Life still seems meaningless. However, I have been experimentng over the week. But still, my college work is in a jumble and wonder what I am going to do. And I have a hell lot of catching up to do in japanese and RMT. I still have no definite goal or purpose. It was not so, before I came to Loyola. I had an entirely different route in my mind, that my parents didnt approve of. And here I am. I can see in my day to day activites that I sure have lost all my creativity and ideas which used to tickle me when I was in TVM. I am not bold enough to quit my course, but now, I feel that except for the premium that comes with being a Loyolite, I have gained lesser than what I had expected. I still have the same goals that I had carried to Chennai by the Ananthapuri exp, but there is a clash, thats coming in between, that is, studies. Its probably because I visit British Council too often and rave at LSE and Leeds Univ. prospectuses, that i am having this dilemma. I have the desire to study in LSE, but what about my other goal? Will LSE change my perspective so harshly that I wont be able to return to the path I am supposed to be in? Or am I going to get through at all? Vimal says you need 80% agg., for LSE, Warwick, O**ord or C**bridge. Will I get there? My 1st year was BAAD!! Or at least will I be able to come back and settle at home? I have seen too much of all this migration shit that I am bored and dejected. By the way, the books I took from British Council still sound Chinese....

I am Real Confused.....

2005-07-09T09:07:00.000+05:30

Life is confusing.. I just can't crack it, we still seem to be in a jumble in society? Why do we live? Were are we going to with all our efforts? Parents claim that they live for their children. But what do children live for? To study, get a good job, and a higher position in society. And when they get there, they have the same excuse their parents had. Actually, why are we living this life like this?
Personally for me, my life has turned out to be much like burned avial. I just am not able to set my priorities. I just cant decide between Harvard or Oxford. Yes, my plans are bit ambitious and there is a hell lot of gap before i get there. It just is not what I wanted to do. It just is not right for me. Life is turning out to be a jumble, distributing itself over a universe widely diverse. In common man words, I just am confused and dont understand what to do. I am virtually doing nothing nowadays. College was very dry today, i could not concentrate. i have lost all my focus. All I do all day is sleep, roam around and think of what I should do. What is it that I dont want to do that is distracting me from living? I just dont have the ideas and creativity I had during my days in TVM. Here, though I am struggling to find a resting track, it just is not possible for me. I find it difficult to forego my pursuits, though I just have not delved too deep into any. I just cannot get it, why should i live my life for others? Where is my life? Where is my universe and why am I into this if I am not into it?

"Could not think of one........"

2005-05-01T23:26:00.000+05:30

All I could remember was the gloomy, dull dark feelingas the Sun withdrew and the night started creeping in, like a blanket in tow. One by One, golden streaks of dying sunlight modestly withdrew from the corners of my room. It was always the same. The same slow loss of light, the same gloom that modestly, but horribly darkens the heart and fills in it the agony of a day gone by and the night as it approaches. It is always a strange feeling. A feeling that grossly builds up in the darkest corners of the house.

" I seek refuge,
With the Lord of the Dawn,

From the mischief
of created things;

From the mischief
of Darkness as it overspreads;

From the mischief
of those who practise
secret acts;

And from the mischief
of the envious one
as he practices envy.

I must have succumbed to the jet lag. It was probably for a couple of minutes or so. The sun had withdrawn and darkness had spread. But the short doze off had done me much good. There was a long night to go with his mother and father. Umma should be checking on me any minute now, its been quite long since I came up to my room to have a wash and change.She should be ready with a nice dinner set for him.
Wash, I did, and was I shocked to find the golden streaks of sunlight coming back, this time, fresh and tender, with promise. This is no science fiction. I had dozed off for twelve hours.

________________________________________________________

It is remarkable how memories tend to blackmail you and try to haunt you, bringing up the same old chill of the nerves, forcing you into reliving what you have left behind yesterday. It just is not fair, that man should be carrying a baggage he tries hard, in vain to leave it behind yesterday. However hard he tries, the harder it gets for him to shrug off the extra baggage. No matter what, it still comes back to you, finding its way through the various nerves and neurons of your brain from the deepest, darkest dungeons of your brain. It just is not like exam mug up. What you do before exams, is rawly mug up from books and reproduce on the answersheets. As soon as you leave the hall, if it was your final exam of the academic year, you would wish that all that you had just fed into your brains for the exams, would leave your brains immediately. As though it was looking for a shelter at first place and you were not generous enough to accommodate such volumes of "knowledge" anymore. But, forget it, you will. You dont mug up memories. You experience them. Some you cherish; some you dont. Some you wish to shelter, to relive whenever you wish, the pleasure of a life gone by; some you dont. Simple....
________________________________________________________

This was the first chapter of my novel. I dont think I will be able to complete it as I feel I have poor imagery style. Anyway please post your comments.

I never Thought You Guys Would Miss Me So Much!!!

2005-04-24T10:58:00.000+05:30

Hey Pals!!!

Rakesh has been complaining for quite a while now that he keeps checking my blog now and then, but cannot find any new postings. Sorry rks, and sorry all my pals...., i never thought you guys would miss me so much, or for that matter depend so much, on my words for inspiration!!! :-) (Hehehehehe!!!!!!i am having a lot of fun!!).

Now onwards you guys are never going to miss me. From now onwards i will have a policy of atleast one posting per week. You always need your private spaces to explore your creativity to the fullest and you just cant settle down in any other. That is exactly what happened to me. But i will try my best.

Dhiraj even thought that this blog was one of my usual initiatives that gets an initial push and shall stagnate and finally be abandoned. Even I feared that. Hey, I m thinking now! I did have good ideas all this semester. But what about them?

What about them? You just cant keep that in your head. You have to post them and posting counts. If you cant have the right resources and frame of mind to compile and post a piece, how can you? Simple...

By the way what was i doing all this semester? Even for that matter all this year? I joined Campus Today and published nothing. Niether did I productively do anything. Even my classes were useless...What did I study all this year? I just dont remember a thing... I just cannot connect to anything. Where was I? How come I just dont recall things? How come I was dead all this time and then ideas start flowing to my mind once I am home? Is it because Chennai is too much of a public space? Maybe I should have stayed in Trivandrum even if it meant going to college or doing CA. Loyola is a top college. But considering the aspirations I have and the things I would like to achieve, where am I heading to?

I have been fooling around, the whole week i was in Trivandrum. Still haven't followed the gameplan i formulated for the holidays. But looking at it now, i find it sort of obsolete. I wrote it down in the midst of exam preparations, and I was dreaming then. Now I am in reality. However, i am going to follow the plan to an extent of 35%, alright...

Movies....movies...movies have been my days till now... I am wasting my time. Come on!!! Should find something to do!!! Tried finding a job, but, the only offer i got was a marketing one. I cant do that. I am awaiting another offer.

Still searching over the internet for some productive stuff. But the useless ones frustrate me. But the ones that work require hard work and am getting to it.

Will post another soon....

No Happy New Year

2005-01-03T15:00:00.000+05:30

No happy new year for me! The first two days were terrible. Yesterday, I messed up my specs with super glue and today, I am not able to connect to the Internet. I am returning to Chennai day after tommorrow. I have lots of work to keep me on my heels till then. Because I need you people to get to visit my blog. It really feels irritating that nothing has changed over the years.
Its been four years since I started using the net from home. Before that I used swanky cafes where I had to initially wait till the 'dialing.... ' box dropped itself near the clock and two computers started blinking side by side. Those days one hour in cyberspace cost Rs.60, about one dollar and a quarter as of now. I am usually accompanied by my brother, and both of us had no idea what we were doing. Though, my cousin, my first internet trainer, had explained to me everything in detail. And my mother gave me the money to waste in cybercafes for the little peace of mind till I next felt like going to cyberspace and start laying the kitchen under siege. Those were the days when India was opening up to the various possibilities of the Internet. Those were the days when heroes shed sweat and blood to be what they are today, those who now, own swanky ofices and live on multi crore homes. Yes, they are the ones who hold equities that NASDAQ will kill (or rather die) for.
And I was really excited to explore (no, Xplore) the internet. It was a new plaything for me. My cries to buy a computer fell into the deaf ears of my parents. The information technology boom then, caused a steady surge of computer ads on paper. At, them I used to stare at, in desire . Every channel that showed something about computers, i wanted to check out. I stared at the newspaper ads like a guy raving at his favourite chic. I learned a lot from the ads. Soon, I was known in class for my knowledge in computers. Yeah, the prices, and configurations and stuff. I even started having those real horrific dreams, once I remember crying for something in the middle of some dream. I got one of my best pals because of my romance with computers.
And four years ago, when I finally got a PC, there was another problem. Net connections were real expensive. I had to live under the mercy of the government connections and yeah the good old, Caltiger, which I used to seldom get. Caltiger was just no reachable all the time as my telephone excahnge did not support it. And the government connections were real busy all the time.
And later when I finally got a good connection, it made no difference except for that I could log in any time (well, almost), but the connections remained worse.
And much much later, no, around two and half years ago, the government setup those fiber optic cables all over the state, set up a gateway and stuff. When the telecom guys dug up our roads, to lay the cables, we bore the hazard and the trouble without a word, because, we saw ourself cruising on the information super highway, years later. And years later, what do we get? The roads still lie broken, and the cables are conjested once again. Come on! Where are we heading to?(oh Yeah, UN Security Council).
And today, it is no different. Bandwidth is still a distant dream.
I dont know whether I could post this today, but I ll try one last time today and go to sleep. You will get to read it tommorrow.

Child Labour

2004-12-31T11:30:00.000+05:30

CHILD LABOUR

Children of the 21st age,
Can you not see?
Can you not feel?
What your peers are up to?

Fetching rags,
saving every tit and bit,
for our nation to capitalize.
Can you not see?

Delivering newspapers,
braving the daybreak chill,
for a populi, informed.
Can you not feel?

Playing on the streets,
amidst the rush-hour chaos,
to ease the urban mood.
Can you not see?

Selling Harry Potters,
they cannot read,
for you to kill time!
What a shame!

Can you not see?
those innocent peers of yours,
working hard,day and night,
to earn their bread.

Can you not feel?
the dreams they conceal,
the time they do not have,
the life they do not live.