Oh My World!

Okay, it feels nice to be back after a long break. To tell you the truth, I really wasn’t excited about updating my blog. Anyways here goes another attempt.

One of the current hot topics in the news is climate. Yes, the same old redundant topic. Climate change, greenhouse gas emissions, rise in global temperature and the height of sea level, etc etc. So whats new about it? Well, recently the Copenhagen summit ended, with 192 countries(or rather their delegates) taking part in it. Many economists and politicians have termed the summit to be a failure, whereas Obama feels that a good progress has been made, and is looking forward for the next summit in Mexico(I wonder if he will repeat the same thing there). Anyways there has been quite a hullabaloo about these events, pertaining to the pernicious effects of global warming on mankind(Who was responsible for this in the first place?)

Basically, let us sum up the summit talks in a nutshell:

1) The US and the other developed countries refused to accept any legally binding carbon emission cuts. Which basically means that they are free to pollute the environment as much they want and nobody can do anything about it.

2) Instead the developed countries want the developing countries like India and China to increase the restrictions imposed on the emissions so that they can protect their own skins.

3) There is a total confusion as to the financial aid to be provided to the poor and developing countries. No specific amount has been set aside, and all those hyped talks about implementing clean technology and providing capital investment to tackle global warming in poor countries, have remained just talks. In fact its highly unlikely that the poor countries will get any money from the rich fanatics.

4) India and China decided to join together for once, putting their differences aside and also alienating themselves from the G-77. They are not ready to accept legally binding cuts and want the developed countries to shoulder more responsibility for tackling climate change.

5) So ostensibly no action has been taken, and while it has been unanimously decided that climate change and global warming is a threat, it seems that all the leaders and politicians are simply passing the buck, blaming one another while the common man suffers.


So why do politicians make such hyped talks and conferences and meetings and parties and God-Knows-What-Else but refuse to act when the time comes? ‘We will do this and that. We have to do this and that.’ Why don’t you actually go forward and do it then? Nice question. And it has no simple answer.

Isn’t Homo Sapiens the most amazing species which ever existed? We have managed to achieve what no other species has. For our own greed and materialistic gains, we have successfully managed to hurt and almost annihilate Mother Nature- our planet, Earth. We have built up industries; we have increased our population to an unprecedented limit. And we have misused all the natural resources and as a result obliterated the environment and our atmosphere. We cut down trees to make furniture; we destroy wildlife and natural habitats without a second thought. We create weapons of mass destruction which can wipe out life within seconds. Which other species could have done what we have done? But after polluting the environment for over a hundred years, finally man seems to realize his misdoings. Now, he wants to redeem his faults. Or at least, he is talking about it. And after watching glaciers melting, natural disasters cashing in, and the planet getting warmer by each passing day, he has accepted the upcoming dangers.

Now is the time to wake up and stand together for a cause. We cannot change what we have done in the past. But we can make sure that the future generation gets to see and live in a better, cleaner Earth. For this we have to do a lot of things. But every task starts with a single step, so we must not delay and act fast.

In the next post, I will write about some of the steps we(i.e. the Common Man- Not many of us are politicians or Global Leaders) can take in order to keep global warming in check.

*To be Concluded.

Just another Update

*Personal:

This is to inform everyone that I will be taking a break from blogging for around a fortnight, to prepare for my semester exams.

So hope to see you all soon.

Oh and yeah, am trying to implement a Mission 50 programme for my sem preparation. Hope it pays off. :)

Take care, and see ya folks.

Game Review: Batman-Arkham Asylum

All right, here goes nothing. My first game review. I have been an avid gamer throughout my life. My favorite categories are action, strategy and RPG. This time, let me start with one of the best games of 2009(if not the best)- Batman :Arkham Asylum.

I am quite sure that most of you have heard of Batman(come on, who hasn’t?). The legendary Caped Crusader or the Dark Knight, created by the late Bob Kane in the early part of the 20th century. Since then, the Batman franchise has grown exponentially. Initially from comics, to TV serials, to cartoons, to video games and finally Real movies. And who can forget the performance of Christian Bale and the late Heath Ledger, in the last two Batman movies. Personally, ‘The Dark Knight’ has been one of my most favorite superhero movies of all times, and there was no way I was gonna miss a Batman game on the PC. So here is my review on it:


Graphics: 9.5/10

Go and see the screenshots/trailers for yourself(if you have not played the game). I don’t have words to describe the Graphics of BAA. Simply stupendous. It literally took my breath away. From the cape fluttering in the breeze, to the Batarangs whooshing past the goons, it’s all simply awesome. But of course, most games coming out recently have fantastic graphics too. Is BAA extra special? You bet it is. Am getting a bout of aphasia now. So you better check it out asap. Eidos has really outdone itself this time.

Storyline: 9/10

The main backbone of any game is its storyline. And BAA does not disappoint. With a fabulous plot, devoid of any complicated implications (save the Joker) BAA will keep all players on the edge of their seat. The Joker has ostensibly taken control of Arkham Asylum and has released most of the prisoners. He has also brought a gang of 100 plus goons to do his dirty bidding. And he unleashes his most abominable plan yet, to vanquish Gotham city. Now controlling the Batman, the player has to put an end to the Joker’s demonic plans. Along the way, you will have to deal with a host of puzzles, riddles(guess who?) and traps. And of course, Supervillains. Major amongst them are the Scarecrow, Killer Croc, Poison Ivy and Bane.

Gameplay: 9.5/10

This is yet another factor taken into consideration while rating games. The gameplay is equally superb. You have a host of gadgets at your disposal, ranging from the simple Batarangs, to the Bat-Hook, explosive sprays, Bat-lines, etc. You will need to use the Grapple-hook throughout the game. Plus you can also glide along long distances, which is almost equivalent to flying. The combat system is quite engrossing, with a wide range of combos and high-tech arsenal to choose from. You can start out with simply kicking and punching, and go on to perform special maneuvers like Silent Takedowns, Special Takedowns, Hanging villains upside down from Gargoyles, performing a flying Glide kick, etc. Trust me; you will never get bored of it. Plus as you defeat enemies, and solve riddles, you earn experience which can unlock newer items. But quite possibly, the biggest trait of BAA is the Detective Mode. In this mode, you can detect secret passages and hidden enemies. You can also follow the trails of different persons just in case you are stuck. In all, BAA makes a very satisfying playing experience.

Music: 8.5/10

The music is also great. Though it may not be anything superbly outstanding, it’s still quite pleasant and mellifluous. I am not music/sound expert, so I will refrain from further comments on this one. Personally I found the sound and technical affects great. But still, a tad below Excellent.

Overall: 9/10.

Buy it, rent it, steal it(okay just joking). Whatever you do, just get this game ASAP. Even if you are not a Batman fan, you will still love this game. (Its better than Prototype, Xmen Origins:Wolverine, and much better than Resident Evil 5- some of the games released in 2009, according to me). This(BAA) is 12-13 hours of pure fun. Blood and gore lovers, sorry to disappoint you, but this game does not contain any heavy violence or adult material (Stick to the dull FEAR 2 if you want such games).
Batman makes a mark, which you can be sure will remain indelible for a long time.

P.S.(SPOILER)- The game is probably gonna have a sequel as well. According to the ending, ie. But then again, maybe not. It all depends on the makers. After all, Max Payne 2 was supposed to have a sequel made. But it never did. Rather the developers made a mess out of Alan Wake(or some horror crap). Keep your fingers crossed!

Present Scenario

A few days back, I was watching an episode of Yuva Bharat. I really enjoyed listening to the tale of a young Saina Nehwal, an enthusiastic and talented sportsperson who has dominated the arena of Badminton in the past few years. Currently she is ranked sixth in the world and No.1 in our country. She is a good idol for all emerging players interested to make a career in the line of sports. But what fascinated me the most was the problems she highlighted, which a sportsperson generally has to face.

First, we all know, is the ubiquitous and nefarious mentality of majority of the parents. ‘You must become a Doctor or an Engineer. ‘Sports’ is for the poor and stupid guys.’ I believe this attitude is one of the BIGGEST reasons for hindering our country’s growth. Not only is it destroying a child’s creativity and destroying his career, but it is also responsible for the state India is in, currently. A state of malaise. Saina is lucky to get her family’s support, but how many others are? I have seen countless people giving up their passion for sports, just to get an ‘Engineering’ or ‘Masters’ degree, and literally annihilate their life, mostly to fulfill the wish of their parents. Parents don’t understand that a child should be allowed to follow his/her passion. They believe that a child should get a job with a steady supply of income, and that only engineering or a college degree can help the child get a stable job. But if you look at the west, you will see that the popular(and even not-so-popular) sportspersons earn much more than what an engineer will make in his entire life. The reason is simple. In developed countries, people do not consider Sports as a hindrance to one’s life, but as a valuable asset, both in terms of money and fame.

Another thing which Saina spoke about is Specialization. The same old topic comes up, ‘Why does India wins so few medals, and other countries like China and Jamaica win so many?’ Saina explains that the sportspersons outside, are highly specialized in their respective field. For example, a Table Tennis player spends his entire time on Table Tennis and nothing else. You will see very few people pursuing multiple sports/activities simultaneously. But in India, the same old attitude comes and blocks our path. ‘If you are Hell Bent on pursuing Sports, you must get a college degree at the same time. Academics always comes first.’ Can anyone give me a plausible reason as to what help will a college degree do to a person who wants to make an entire career out of sports? The answer which most parents will give is, ‘If he fails in making a mark, he can always get a job to supplement his life.’ See, they are thinking of failure even before the child has actually done anything. They want to play safe, and are simply not willing to let the child take any risk. That way, he has to cope up with both studies and sports and usually does not take either very seriously. He/she also has to take breaks for exams, which impediments his progress in sports.

Anil Kumble may be an exception, but go outside India and try to find out how many Sportspersons are Engineers or doctors? Hardly any. The reason is simple. They have spent their entire life following their passion and given all they had to achieve their goal. This is what I call real education. And not memorizing notes and vomiting in exams and getting Engineering Degrees on paper, as is common amongst Indian students.

Finally, yet another issue addressed (Man, I guess I am becoming a Saina fan) is Sponsorship. In India, sponsorship lags far behind than in the West. Sponsoring companies are just not willing to sponsor new talents or emerging sportspersons who may not be financially well off. But they sponsor a person after he/she has achieved a significant amount of success. We have often seen cases where people do not even have the money to invest in high-quality training or to appoint a talented coach for guiding them. Many of them give up, and this situation is really sad, because the Country is losing valuable talent, mainly due to corruption and nepotism. India is probably the only country where we do not give sufficient recognition to talent. A child who is good in playing table tennis is forced to become an engineer against his will. A cricketer is rejected by the selection committee because he is too poor to give them bribes. A scientist is unable to carry on the research due to lack of high quality equipment (Not that the Government cannot afford it, but rather the money is pilfered by rapacious politicians and other corrupt officials) , leaves the country and gets a Nobel Prize.

The bottom line is that we do not appreciate any Out-of-the-Box thinking. We want to follow the same old inane, repetitive trend of ‘A Job(Money) is All what I want’. This is one of the major reasons that a person who does something unique or different is looked down upon and fulminated instead of being encouraged. No wonder we hardly have any Nobel Prize winners or International Medal/Prize holders.

And even after all this; we keep repeating the same old question, ‘Why doesn’t India win more medals in the Olympics even after having a 1 billion plus population?’ I guess we all know the answer but do little to take pragmatic action.

Anyways, thanks for reading, guys. See ya!

Life as we Know it.

Well, I have always been an avid fan of Astronomy. And passing time thinking about Extraterrestrial life has been one of my biggest hobbies. So I am writing this article in lieu of that.

Well, recently scientists are claiming that the moon hosts water, and it has been doing so for millions of years. And that it has water is an indication that it might have given refuge to living organisms sometimes in the past. Some say it has life even now. Apart from the moon, similar theories for life existence exist for Planets such as Mars, and also other moons of Jupiter and Saturn. In almost all cases, scientists and astronomers are for the lookout of water, or ice and in some cases even oxygen and the presence of a suitable atmosphere, which is essential to sustain life. My question to all of them, is a simple ‘Why?’ Yes, why. Why is it essential for water or oxygen or even an atmosphere to be present for life to exist? Why cannot life persist in absence of water and oxygen? Is there any real, valid, irrefutable scientific theory to endorse this statement?

For long, I kept on wondering about this. There are billions of planets in the universe. Any one of them could harbor life. And it is next to impossible for us, with our current technology level, to locate life in places far outside our solar system. We should keep in mind that we are not looking for earthlings, but any sort of life forms present. So why should they drink water and breathe in oxygen, and live in moderate temperature regions. Let us take a hypothetical situation. Say a living being X, lives in a planet whose average temperature is 500 degree centigrade. Say, X takes in nitrogen and releases hydrogen. Say the planet has no trace of either oxygen or water. Say, X depends on carbon related food material which can even be rocks. So whats the harm? You may say that it sounds too far-fetched, but hey its nothing compared to some of the alien movies we have seen and endured and live to tell about it. The thing is X may exist. There is absolutely no valid law that can refute this statement since we hardly know anything about the entire universe.

One explanation is similar to our mathematical models. We take it that a certain statement is true, and then based upon such given facts, we try to prove that other statements are true is well. Sort of similar to mathematical induction. So we assume that since life exists on earth(and that is a fact), so if we apply the conditions for life to exist on earth, or rather the conditions of the environment, temperature, proximity from the sun, atmosphere, etc, and we replicate these conditions for other planets, we may find life elsewhere. This theory may be correct, but it may be fallacious at the same time. We cannot predict with 100% accuracy, whether or not life can exist in other conditions. But I personally believe that it can. Other living beings need not be similar to Homo Sapiens or any other species found in Earth, for that matter.

But most scientists still follow the principle of ‘Life can exist only if a planet/moon is similar to Earth’. Namely the principles are:

1) The planet must be average size. Neither too big nor too small. Since life does not exist on Mercury and Jupiter.

2) The planet must have an atmosphere belt to protect us from UV light, meteors, harmful gases, etc. Since it is universally assumed that gases harmful for us will be harmful for other beings too. Duh!

3) The planet MUST, ABSOLUTELY HAVE WATER. CAUSE NO LIFE MEANS NO WATER. OR WAIT WAS IT THE OTHER WAY AROUND?? Yeah yeah, believe what you want.

4) The planet must have the same amount of oxygen and nitrogen, as in Earth. Even if some other being depends primarily on hydrogen.

5) The planet must have an average temperature of around 15 degree centigrade, the same of Earth. Else it is too hot or too cold to sustain life. Yawn, can anyone tell these people that hot and cold are relative terms. 1000 degrees may be hot for you, but not for X.


Anyways, enough of my blabbering. Obviously all the Nasa scientists and World renowned astronomers know much more than I do, and if they say the above principles hold true (Note: Without any solid proof), then perhaps they do. But I still believe what I feel like, and that is Life CAN exist without the above 5 principles.

2 States - Book Review.

All right, as I promised here is the book review for 2 States by Chetan Bhagat.
Like all Chetan Bhagat books, this one too is priced at Rs. 95, and has been flying off the shelves. Almost!

To begin with, this book is partly autobiographical. At least that’s what the author says. So its hard to predict what actually happened to him in real life, and which part is total fiction. In any case, the story revolves around Krish and his girlfriend Ananya. Both batchmates at IIM-A(they even share the same room-weird). Both are madly in love and want to marry. But what is the impediment? They belong to two different states. Krish is Punjabi and Ananya is a Tamil Brahmin. So naturally their parents object to their marriage according to conservative Indian traditions and beliefs- blah blah, and thus begins the tale of convincing, separating and re-uniting. With some masala, and fun poured in, to make a typical Chetan Bhagat novel.

Don’t go expecting for any great literary stuff. Far from it. The story is essentially nonsense, but still manages to keep you hooked till the last page. But throughout the book, one gets the feeling that he/she is watching a C-grade Bollywood flick, where hardly anything of importance takes place, and we don’t even notice where the story begins and where it ends. The book also has many loopholes and features many illogical aspects. Basically that’s what you will get, when you take Hari from Five Point Someone, rechristen or rename him as Krish to get a new character with old traits. Ie the same IIT Delhi Mechanical Engineer who lusted after his professor’s daughter.

The book is quite funny than its predecessor, 3 Mistakes of my Life. There are quite a few hilarious moments (Krish blackmailing Ananya’s brother, getting up and running away during his marriage, making his boss prepare his coffee, etc) but there is a equal share of hodgepodge as well. Ostensibly, Chetan has made fun of both the Punjabi and Tamilian communities, pointing out the subtle idiosyncrasies. Now let us look at some of the negative aspects/loopholes of this novel, and of Chetan’s works in general.

i) How come the guy, no matter how ugly or average looking he is, manage to get a beautiful girl all the time? If you look into statistics, around 70% of Indian men(youth) are single, 29% are committed to average looking or poor looking girls, and less than 1% hook up with really pretty gals. So how come the book’s protagonist always seem to fall in the rarest of rarest category, ie the less than 1% one? And why on earth does the most beautiful girl always fall for an average guy in the book? Why can’t it be the other way around? Maybe because the story would not be too spicy then.

ii) According to Chetan, youth (life) seems to be about drinking, smoking, sex, and even drugs. The way he writes almost makes it feel that all of those are perfectly normal, and innocuous. Many guys feel that if they indulge in all those activities, it will make them look cool and feel better little realizing about the negative ramifications. Worst of all is the fact, that most of the girls have been given manly characteristics. They want to smoke, drink and indulge in sex. I would like to stress that very, very few girls (Indian) are actually like that and the ones who are, lack morality.

iii) There are far too many co-incidences. But I suppose that’s true for most authors. For example, in this novel, how come Krish’s dad repair his relationship with Ananya and their parents, even though both(Krish and Dad) hated each other? How come a Tamilian Brahmin girl from a decent vegetarian cum teetotaler family, crave for beer and chicken? How on earth did nobody say anything when a guy and a girl stay in the same room in a hostel? Surely there are some rules to be followed, right? Plus there are many other minor illogical incidences as well, like how come a guy who screwed up his entire life in IIT, manage to land up in IIM-A of all places? But they can be ignored, considering the work is mainly fiction.

On the whole, I would give this book a ‘5 out of 10’. And I will include it in the ‘Time Pass’ category. If you are feeling bored with nothing much to do, go ahead and read it. But I don’t feel that its worth a second time read. Go read some real fiction or literary work.

Nonsense and Updates

*Personal

Yeah, had a very busy fortnight. Or rather, as usual I ended up becoming indolent. Dunno why, but am just not getting the mood to sit down and type. I want to do something else instead.

Anyways, sessional exams finally over, had my first IMS exam as well. Oh well, sem is approaching and I am not making much progress. Sigh!

Enough of complaining, lets see whats going on currently,

1)Finished 2 States by Chetan Bhagat. Will write a review in the next post. Found it average.

2) Got 6 new games(mostly highly popular ones like Gears of War, Mass effect and Bioshock) thanks to Kuntal. And my eccentricity for installing them just one month before sem.

3)China and India still arguing. Whatever.

4) Obama passes a Health Insurance deal. Yawn!

5) Attacks continue in Pakistan.

6) India lose Hero Honda cricket cup series versus Australia. Was expected.

7) Unrest continues in many part of the country.

8) I still need to finalize my final plans. Lol.

9) 2010 is coming. No, I said 2010 not 2012. I dont care if Apocalypse is just 2 years away.

10) Big Boss is getting a bit obnoxious. But still addictive for idiots like me.

11) John Cena is once again the WWE Champion. You cant see him though.

12) The world record for typing is 173 WPM. Damn.

See you in the next post. Adios.

5 Reasons on 'Why to do an MBA'

Okay, back after a while with a very important post, especially for all future MBA aspirants. Earlier I had written about 5 reasons for not doing an MBA. Naturally that led to many people asking me, ‘Why then should one do an MBA?’ Here is my answer- 5 valid reasons for doing an MBA.

1) To reach/work upon one’s Goals: Yes, you guessed it. Goal with a capital G. Football lovers, I mean your aims and ambitions, sorry. I know the following statement sounds really clichéd but I will say it anyway- ‘A person without a goal is like a ship without a rudder-ie he keeps moving aimlessly from one point to the other without achieving anything definite and failing to reach his destination.’ So if you have already made some real career goals, and are confident that an MBA degree will help you in reaching new heights, as well as fulfilling your goals, then by all means go for it. And if you haven’t made any goals yet, there is no time like the present. Let those grey cells work, or rot. Your choice, Mon Ami.

2) To enhance your Managerial Skills: You desire to be a successful manager and leader. And you feel an MBA degree will make you one. You want to learn how to manage a team, or run a company efficiently. You already have some innate leadership skills. And you want to develop them or ameliorate them further. Doing an MBA will certainly help you in this regard. Especially in polishing your skills. Note that you need to have some amount of Managerial talent and leadership skills. If you are totally blank, and expect that an MBA will insert such skills within you, as in magic, then you are totally mistaken.

3) You want to become an Entrepreneur: Don’t get me wrong. It’s not mandatory for a person who wants to be an entrepreneur to do an MBA. Far from it. But it will certainly help you in the long run. After all an Entrepreneur should be a good leader and manager as well. He should have the risk taking ability and the ‘Dare’ inside him/her to do something different. Moreover, if you want to become an entrepreneur, you should have a clear vision of your ideas. Do not be tempted by money and try to curb your greed. Make definite plans and put them into action after assembling a team of able persons who share your vision.

4) You have Genuine interest in Business: You are a person who loves reading Business news, and business magazines. You keep a hawk’s eye on the Stock Market. You love watching Business rivals battle it out. You also like working with numbers, as in Finance, and you like comparing different types of advertisements and promotions, suitable for Marketing. Or you like analyzing people and their ability for working in a particular line. You can identify who is suitable to become a manager, as in HR. Similarly so on and so forth. If you are really such a type of a guy/gal, then I am sure that an MBA will help you enhance your career prospects.

5) To make it big in the Corporate World: Just like the world of Fashion, the Corporate World has its own glamour or charm. If you are a person who feels magnetized by that charm or attracted to the Corporate World like a guy who has his first crush, then I believe an MBA degree will certainly help you. You are probably a type of person who wants to make it big in life. But remember by big, I do not mean someone who just blindly rushes after money and fame. In that case, he/she is likely to get neither. But also make sure that you have good communication and managerial skills.

These were the few reasons I had in mind. Of course, there can be many others. But I decided to restrict them to 5. If one or more of the above reasons apply to you, then surely go for an MBA. With hard work, dedication and persistence, success will surely come up to shake your hands. But unfortunately, the current trend of engineers pursuing MBA only for the greed of money, largely persists. Something needs to be done about this, and fast.

Take care. All comments welcome as usual. Adios.

The Dragon Breathes Fire

Okay, this is not really an article. Just something I would like to express my views on.
Recently, India and China have been locked in a vortex of verbal wars or conflicts. China expresses its discontent on some issues and India on others. Let us look into what has got China aggravated.

First of all, the Dalai Lama issue is always ubiquitous. Whenever he makes a statement or visits Arunachal Pradesh, China always has something negative to say about it. I really do not see the point. The war with Tibet is long over (though the belligerent feelings remain). Yet, every move the Dalai Lama makes is closely watched and examined by the Chinese Government. Some Chinese officers claim that he issues statements which are Anti-Chinese. But the Dalai Lama is an Indian citizen now, and I really don’t see the reason why China should keep on interfering with his every move.

Secondly, as I mentioned in the previous paragraph, the issue of Arunachal Pradesh. China proclaims that after defeating India in the 1962 war, it has occupied large territories of A.P. and that now it is a part of China. Can anything be so ridiculous? Arunachal is an integral part of India, and has always been so. The recent elections confirmed this, with over 70% poll attendance. Yet, whenever our Prime Minister/Dalai Lama/Other VIP visits A.P., the Chinese get offended. They claim that such actions will deteriorate Indo-Chinese relations. I really don’t see any legitimate reason for the Chinese Government to get offended by this. Not unless they want to expand their territory and military base.

Lastly, China is now considering Jammu and Kashmir as an independent nation not a part of India. They are even issuing a separate visa (on a piece of paper) for it. The logic being that the region is a disputed area which both the Indian and Pakistan Government lay claim to. Chinese officers have gone so far, as to the extent of creating a separate map for India which does not include Jammu and Kashmir as an integral state, but a separate nation. I would not even like to comment on this ridiculous report. Who knows, next the Chinese people will announce that Alaska is not a part of the USA, and should be considered as a separate nation since it has a far colder climate.

There are many other trivial issues which are resulting in minor and major conflicts between the two countries. And neither side is ready to give in. Anyways, let’s hope for the best, and wish that the issues get resolved soon.

I Stand Alone

These are the lyrics of my current most fav. English song, 'I stand Alone'. Band- Godsmack. Was the theme song of the game 'Prince of Persia- Warrior Within.' Incidentally, one of my most fav. PC games. This song is really good people, do listen to it. I feel its related to my life as well. So here are the lyrics:


I Stand Alone lyrics

Now I've told you this once before
You can't control me
If you try to take me down you're gonna break
Now I feel your hatred nothing that you're doing for me
I'm thinkin you outta make your own way
I stand alone
Inside
I stand alone
You're always hiding behind your so called goddess
So what you don't think that we can see your face
Resurrected back before the final fallen
I'll never rest until I can make my own way
I'm not afraid of fading
I stand alone
Feeling your sting down inside of me
I'm not dying for it
I stand alone
Everything that I believe is fading
I stand alone
Inside
I stand alone
And now its my time (now its my time)
It's my time to dream (my time to dream)
Dream of the sky (dream of the sky)
Make me believe that this place isn't plagued
By the poison in me
Help me decide if my fire will burn out
Before you can breathe
Breathe into me
I stand alone
Inside
I stand alone
Feeling your sting down inside of me
I'm not dying for it
I stand alone
Everything that I believe is fading
I stand alone
Inside
I stand alone
Inside
I stand alone
Inside
I stand alone
Inside

Querulous Ahoy!

Querulous. The word means habitually complaining. Usually refers to a peevish attitude.
But why am I mentioning this now? I don't suppose I am taking any vocab class at present. (Though I intend to in future).

The reason is simple enough. I believe this word is applicable for most of us. One of our favourite pass-times is sitting around gossiping and complaining about others. We like to blame everyone and anyone we detest. Be it our teacher, servant, friend, relative, uncle, principal, washer man, doctor, whoever. It makes us feel good. As if we are taking a load off our backs by criticizing others and finding faults with them. Never mind the fact that we are ourselves far from perfect, and that such faults exist within us as much as they do within others.

Whenever I sit down for a discussion, usually the topic changes till we all begin criticizing or complaining about someone or something. I will give you a few examples.

'Uff, that idiotic teacher knows nothing. In fact I can teach him a few things or too. I wonder why he doesn't go elsewhere to torture students.'

'Damn it, its so hot. I can't stand the heat. And the stupid AC is not working. What kind of a place is this? And I am thirsty too.'

'You foolish servant. You dropped and broke my precious glass. You are always up to no good. Someday you will steal all my goods and run away. You rotten scoundrel.'

'Silly boy. Again got only 75% while XYZ got 90% marks. You never study and waste your time drawing and playing chess. You are a good-for-nothing loser who will never be able to succeed in life.'

'You know what. India can never progress. The over-population is killing me. And there is pollution everywhere. I cannot even breathe properly. The people here are rude and insolent. The crime rate is increasing day by day. And buses or trains remain as crowded as ever. Plus the politicians never grow tired of looting us.'

I could keep on giving numerous such examples but will stop here. I think you get the picture now. I admit I am myself 100% guilty of being a querulous person. Though my favorite topic for criticism is the Indian Education System.

It is very easy to lift your finger and point at someone else to blame. But remember that every time you lift a finger at someone, three more fingers will point at you. So from next time before you start your silly game of complaining and blaming, pause and think for a while. 'Am I doing the right thing?' Sure, we have many problems in life, but we should tackle them with an optimistic attitude. Complaining and blaming will never help in solving your problem. At max, it can give you just a temporary sense of relief.

I would like to end this post with a quote from Guru Granth Sahib:

'Nanak Dukhiya Sab Sansaar. So Sukhiya jis naam Adhaar.'

This means that according to Guru Nanak, the whole world is sad. The only person who is truly happy, is the one who takes the name(and believes in) of God.

5 Reasons on Why not to do an MBA

You may be surprised about this, coming out of an MBA aspirant himself. But yeah, MBA has become the recent fad, and I believe its too over-hyped. So here are the 5 main reasons. There are other reasons too, which I will mention later.

1) Money. Yeah, money. Cold, hard cash. Money, honey, yeah yeah. There is a saying in Hindi, ‘Paisa Bhagwaan Nahi Hai. Par Bhagwaan se kam bhi nahi hai.’ (Money is not God. But it is also not less than God). Probably it’s one such thing, which almost every man or woman is after, in this world. It’s also probably the major reason for the majority of crimes and wars which are prevalent ubiquitously. So what is my point? That money is not important? That we should not aim at making money? Isn’t that illogical and absurd? What are we studying for anyways? Isnt it to get a decent job and make loads of money? Well, money is surely important, no doubt about that. But if your primary aim is just to make money, and do nothing else, mark my words, you will never succeed in life. But unfortunately this is the number 1(and plausibly the only) reason for the majority of students who want to pursue an MBA. So it is but natural that most of them end up as failures, or get into some odd jobs which they end up hating. Reason being simple enough: They themselves had no idea what they wanted in life apart from money. Earn money, surely. But by good means. And though an MBA degree will surely help you in doing so, money in itself should NOT be the main reason for becoming a manager.


2) Because my friends/peers are doing it: So if your friends decided to jump off a 100 storied building, you would too, right? Please say yes. Come on, lead your own life. Create your own individual identity. You should not pursue anybody else’s dreams. Make your own. And just because all of your friends are giving Management exams does NOT mean that you should blindly follow them in lure of money and fame. According to me, this is also a major reason for failure. The student himself is clueless as to why he wants to do an MBA, and consequently he plans nothing for the future and makes a mess of it. This is because he/she never performed a self-analysis test. On whether an MBA will actually help him/her achieve his/her goals or not. In fact, I have seen students giving CAT simply because their room-mates/friends were doing the same, and they did not want to be left behind in the rat race. Nowadays, in India, the situation has become such that almost 4 out of 5 students want to do an MBA. And most of them are doing it because they see others doing it. Some do it because their parents/uncles/relatives advise them to. This is not only silly buy extremely ridiculous. As Napolean Hill remarked, 98 out of 100 people do not pause and think as to what they actually want to do. It’s the remaining 2 guys who obtain success as well as money.


3) Because MBA is the only way that I can be successful in life/Get a great job: On the contrary the truth is far from it. Though it’s true that if you get into a top Bschool, you will definitely get a good job, with a handsome pay-check. But then, not everybody is suited for the corporate world. We all hear about youngsters getting into IIMs, young entrepreneurs making it big, but scarcely do we hear about people who have passed out of IIMs(or other good bschools) in their 30’s or 40’s. This is because most of them join any job they get with a high salary, get so immersed in the hectic schedule that they have little time for anything else. As a result, they don’t even get time to spend their money and enjoy or relax. Rather the only thing they are spending their money on seems to be on ‘health’. Not surprising for persons who work 14-18 hours a day. Ultimately, one should remember that a person comes empty handed and returns empty handed. You cannot take your money with you to heaven. So why so much greed for it? But we don’t seem to learn our lesson. Money is all that matters. No matter how much I have to sacrifice for it. Sigh! Guys, becoming a manager is good, and an important occupation no doubt, but it’s not something everyone and anyone can do. The current trend is a good example. Most engineers go into Bschools only for money and fame. They are least interested in Business or the Corporate World, but more interested in placements. They end up becoming mindless machines who keep working past their limits and finally lose everything they have earned. Their family, their money, their fame, and sometimes even their sanity. No wonder so many of them commit suicide in depression. Why does something that tragic happen? Simply, because most of them were not suited to work in the Corporate World. But they went ahead, because their friends were doing the same and due to their lust for money, without realizing their true potential.


4) Because you want to study in the IIMs/Other premier Institutions:
Sure, getting into an IIM/Other good Bschool is a very prestigious thing, and something which is a dream of lakhs of students. But you should not aim to do an MBA only for that reason. I have seen people who badly wanted to get into the IIMs but had no clue as to what an MBA/PGDM was. Their logic was that they wanted to study at a Premier institute, and since there are no IICs(Indian Institute of Commerce) or IIAs(Indian Institute of Arts) or IIMEs(Indian Institute of Medicines), or IILs(Indian Institute of Law), it would have to be the IIMs. For such people, the course contents or the degrees do not matter at all. The only thing that matters is the money and fame. By getting into an IIM, they will supposedly get both. Who cares whether they teach Business or Management or Economics or Law or whatever. We can adjust to anything. Just give us quick bucks and fast fame. Obviously if you feel that you can be a good manager and can adjust well in the Corporate World, definitely aim for the IIMs, but please don’t do it only for the fact that you feel they are the ‘shortcut to success’, because they are not.


5) Because you feel that you are consummate in English and also a Maths Wizard: Even if you are impeccable in Maths, that does not automatically qualify you for an MBA degree. Rather if you are really that good, you should either do an MSc./Ph.D. in Mathematics, and continue your research in Mathematics either in India or outside, under the guidance of an experienced Mathematician. But no, you would not do that, would you? The reason simply being that it’s not luring enough, and it would not give you a seven digit salary. So, rather you opt for an MBA. Never mind the fact that you don’t know the B of Business, or that you have not even touched a Management book in your life. But you are supremely confident of cracking the CAT, because your Maths is God-level, and you speak in English (more to show off than anything else) wherever you go. Though the CAT and other Management exams do test your proficiency in Mathematics and English, that does NOT mean that if you are good in either or both, you should do an MBA. But unfortunately, in our society such is the prevalent case. People only see MBA in front of them, killing any scope of creativity within them. The student could have done better if he had pursued English or Maths at a higher level, say he could have become an eminent etymologist or Operations Research Expert. But he is rather forced to do an MBA, and get into a corporate job which he hates from the start. People presume that since a person is good in English and Mathematics, he should do an MBA. In fact the actual truth is just the reverse. A manager should be proficient in English and Maths, and NOT the other way around. In fact I have seen people attempting CAT, simply because they loved the feel of the paper, its pattern and the way it was set. No wonder CAT attracts so many engineers. Because engineers love working with Maths, Logical Reasoning Puzzles, even Verbal puzzles. But one should have a real motive as to why he is pursuing an MBA. And that should not be something asinine as ‘I like the syllabus/pattern of CAT’ or ‘I am good in English and I love solving puzzles.’

Anyways enough typing for now. More on MBA later. Hope all of you liked this article. I definitely enjoyed typing it. See you later. Take care folks.

Future Posts.

Okay, everyone, this is not a general post. Am just writing the topics which I will discuss some time in future. Am really sorry, for not blogging for so long. Have been both busy and lazy.

Here goes:

1) Problems in the Education and Job sector: Related to wrong choices of students.

2) Favoritism and Nepotism

3) Psychology and Philosophy

4) Astronomy - Will be something specific.

5) The Mangekyou Sharingan- Don't ask what it is. Just wait, and watch.

6) More on Bleach and Naruto

7) Something related to politics and economics.

8) Few books/movie reviews.

Thats it for now. Keep reading.

Thanks again, folks.
Take care.

I love that Taste.

Well, its festive season. So wonder, everyone wants to enjoy and celebrate. So let us focus on a light topic for now. What about say, food? Oh, well, no need to start smacking your lips yet. Am not writing an article on food, but on a far more specific topic related to it. So let’s begin.

Ever asked yourself this question, some point of your life, ‘Why is it that oily and unhealthy food tastes so good, and healthy, nutritious food tastes like crap?’ I am sure, that many of you must have. I, personally keep wondering this almost every day. Now, please let us refrain from make a biological analysis, mainly because I dislike(okay I abhor, happy?) that subject. Who cares, if its related to hormones, cells, nerves, enzymes, platelets, or whatever the heck it is responsible for the sensation of taste. What I want is a layman explanation. If anybody of you reading my blog has a concrete answer, do leave a reply. I will be quite grateful.

Let us take a few examples, shall we? Imagine that you have entered a marriage party, and are about to take your dinner. Look at the items served. Most of them come under the junk food, or harmful food category. Almost definitely, majority of the items will be deep fried in gallons of oil. Maida is surely to be present. Whether it be in the form of puris, or the scrumptious naans, maida items are simply irresistible. Especially when they are deeply fried in oil. Say bhaturas. A doubly deadly combo of maida plus deeply fried. Enough to give a heart-attack. Yet, we hardly, if ever, bother about our health, whilst greedily devouring down such food items.Add to that some Chilli Chicken, Ice cream, fried rice, fried fish, and tons of sweets, and we get a perfect recipe for a health disaster. But why should we bother, as long as we get that awesome flavor of food in our mouth.

Take any good tasting food, and examine its nutrition value. Most of them will be loaded with unhealthy fat, and gargantuan amounts of calories. From simple Samosas, to Vadas, Bhajis, Pakoras, Dosas, and any other tasty desi dish you can take off. Go western, and you will find even more junk(I mean food of course). Pizzas, burgers, French fries, Red meat, honestly do you need any further reason as to why obesity is on such a roll in the developed countries? This is the prime reason. But all these food items have one thing in common. They taste real good. At least for majority of the people. That’s the reason people keep eating them incessantly. At the cost of their own health.

Now, do just the opposite. Take any healthy food, and comment on its taste. You’d rather not say? I don’t blame you. There are many people who do eat healthy food, and even like it, but most agree that the taste is nothing when compared to junk food. Take green leafy vegetables. What about gourd? Highly beneficial. But at the same time, highly bitter. Food when boiled, doesn’t even come close to the taste of fried food. Take a very simple example. A boiled potato versus a fried one. Most people know that a potato loses almost all its nutritional value when fried, yet its taste multiplies a 100 times. Is it magic? Or is it simply because our taste buds response more quickly and effectively towards fried food? Who knows.

Wouldn’t it be simply wonderful, if we could obtain food that was both healthy as well as delicious? That’s an ideal gourmet’s dream. There are certain food items like that, though. Like idlis. Both healthy and tasty(at least for me, I know many people don’t like them). Some amounts of dhoklas, chaat, and bhelpuris are also good, if made properly. But it’s quite unhygienic to buy them from roadside vendors. Best would be , to prepare them at home itself. Keep experimenting with food. But to stay fit, try to avoid oily stuff, and stuff which has maida in it. Go for whole wheat, and brown bread instead. After all, we can’t have the cake and eat it too(No, cake is NOT healthy. Especially the chocolate one). Health or taste? Your choice. Pick any one.

Adios amigos. And keep reading. Gracias.

CSE- Truths and Myths

Okay guys, am sorry for the delay. Guess I got really indolent back there. Anyways, now its time to write about something which is closely related to me, my engineering stream, CSE.


For those of you who do not know, CSE stands for Computer Science and Engineering. Till last year, it was one of the most popular engineering streams in India, easily the cynosure of all eyes. Only after the recession, and the fall of IT markets, have people started avoiding it, opting for Core engineering branches(Mechanical, Electrical, etc) instead. However the demand for CSE and IT graduates will never go down, since IT has become ubiquitous in every arena. Still now the trend of most engineering graduates, irrespective of their streams, getting into IT jobs continues. Since the early 90’s, the IT sector in India has seen an astronomical growth, and an inflationary boom. It employs lakhs of people every year. Companies like Infosys, TCS, Wipro, etc have all made tremendous growth and profit. And I don’t even need to mention the number of IT coaching centers which have popped up in recent times, offering anything from classes on C++, to Networking. NIIT is a prominent company which has hugely bolstered the IT sector by training thousands of students and professionals.


But enough talk about the market and companies. I would rather like to focus on CSE in particular, ie its course contents, curriculum and scope. CSE was introduced as an engineering branch in 1980’s in a selected colleges, though it made itself known only in the late 90’s when many colleges started this branch as a part of an engineering course. Apart from CSE, we have BCA, MCA, etc, which focus more on Computers and Programming, rather than the scientific/engineering aspect of computers. Very soon CSE became the first choice for most high school students who opted for engineering. I too, wanted to get into CSE. But unfortunately I did not get it. However, I did not give up hope and ultimately managed to change my stream in second year, and got into the branch of my dreams. So, did CSE live up to my expectations? Not really. Let me try to explain this in detail.


First of all, one must remember that the ultimate aim of almost every student is to get a lucrative job. So understanding the industry environment prior hand is quite essential. We should know what the company wants and expects from a Computer Science Engineer. Ie apart from basic knowledge on both Hardware and Software, a CSE student should have apt programming skills, he/she should know how a Computer operates and what is the function of each peripheral. He should also keep himself updated with the rapid technological progress, in areas such as Networking, Microprocessors, Algorithms, Data Structures, etc. This is to say in short. But unfortunately, the designers of the CSE curriculum fail to notice these facts, rather they remain forcefully oblivious of it. They design the syllabus in such a way, that not only does it fail to arouse a student’s curiosity in the subject, but it almost totally neglects the programming aspect, and rather features tons of redundant theoretical stuff which the student will never require. As a result, yet again the student has only bookish knowledge, and finds himself at a total loss when he enters an industry. I have even seen students going to the extent of memorizing programs and algorithms just to get good marks in their exams. They are least interested in sharpening their acumen, or developing a program cum project on their own. This nonchalant nature of the students, leads to a sort of travesty.


Add to that the immense dearth of good faculty across the nation. Most people do not prefer to work as a lecturer in a college, mainly due to the abysmal salary given. As a result we have teachers, who themselves do not know anything about the subject, teaching whatever fallacious things that comes into their minds. This only encourages the lack of creativity. I carried out a mini survey, and found out that most students do not like their subjects. Just a handful of them are genuinely interested. In fact, many of them took CSE, just because they thought it will get them a good job. Now if the desire itself is not present, there is no way that the student can actually progress in any sphere.


Another negative factor is the poor selection of subjects. I still cannot comprehend why do CSE graduates (at least around where I stay) need to study Circuit Theory or Control System? Or even Analog Communication Electronics. What use will be that to them? Some people blatantly answer for knowledge. Okay, if I required knowledge, I would have taken Electrical or ECE, right? If I have taken CSE, I should get to study more computer related subjects, isn’t it? Unfortunately, the syllabus setters do not agree. Their logic is that, since we are about to become engineers, we should have basic concept of all engineering streams, including but not limited to Electrical, Mechanical, Electronics, etc, since they are all related to computers in some way. Okay, lets see, a Computer requires electricity to function. So EE is essential. It generates lots of heat, which causes thermodynamic changes. So Mech is required as well. Apart from the various chips and instruments installed in the motherboard. So Instrumentation becomes a pre-requisite. And of course, we have thousands of capacitors, resistors, microprocessors and what not. So electronics is of prime importance. That means, barring computers, we should try to learn everything else, as much as possible. Nice idea, but doesn’t that alter the meaning of the word, ‘Specialization’ ? Aren’t we supposed to focus and narrow down our study area over selective topics, rather than learning nugatory subjects which we will never require? I wish people would pay more attention to this, rather than cramming things which they will forget the next sem.


Now to the final and most important part- Programming. CSE students are expected to have decent programming skills. At least they should be capable of working efficiently in a Java/Dot net/others Environment used in industries. But it is seen, that apart from the top colleges, programming is given a back seat in CSE. Whereas useless theoretical stuff is given prime importance. Oh come on, for God’s sake. We are not going to recite such stuff in offices are we? We have to perform programming by writing codes. Which is exactly the thing omitted in colleges. In fact, we do not even have separate papers/subjects on JAVA or C++. But they just constitute a miniscule amount of the syllabus. And shockingly languages such as Visual Basic, HTML, XML, etc, are not even included in the CSE syllabus. Not to mention about the DOT NET package, which most teachers and students consider to be a nefarious alien not deserving enough to be included in the syllabus, lest the students develop interest in programming even by mistake. And yet, we are expected to have adequate programming skills. Now unless a student takes tuitions/classes outside(which are quite expensive), there is little chance that he can develop good programming skills. Moreover, most teachers are more concerned about finishing the syllabus in whatever way possible, than trying to make the student genuinely interested in the subject. They limit themselves to whatever is given in the syllabus and focus only on theory. Hardly, if ever they relate the subject to the real world and its practical aspects. No wonder so many students have only bookish and no practical knowledge about the subject.

Anyways, I am going to stop here, as I want to shorten my articles from now on. I am proud to be in CSE, but at the same time I wish the course contents were changed, and the subjects taught in such a way, that would make a student fall in love with it. Okay the last line was an exaggeration.

Take care folks. And thanks for reading.

My Favourite Quotes

*Personal




1. (Truly) If there is Evil in this World, it Lies Within the Heart of Mankind. - Edward D. Morrison, Tales of Phantasia.

2. You cannot change your fate. No man can. - Blind Man, Prince of Persia- WW.



And some other classic ones.



1. No good deed ever goes unpunished.

2. When the going gets tough, the tough gets going.

Tuitions - For and Against

All right, time for yet another serious topic. This time, it’s going to be tuitions. By tuitions, I mean basically the craze for attending private tutor’s classes, during one’s school life. There may be other type of tuitions, which I won’t be focusing on.

During the past decade, in India, the demand for private tuitions has shot up astronomically. People are now willing to shed gregarious sums of money, to invest in their child’s studies, by forcing him/her to attend scores of tuitions, so that he/she can improve his/her score and attain more marks in exams. Many new coaching institutes have opened up, all around the country. Most of them focus on cracking competitive exams like IITJEE, AIEEE, CBSE-PMT and others. And thousands of people have entered the private coaching vocation by offering classes related to Mathematics, Sciences, English, etc. Ie, the subjects in high demand (for coaching) by the students. Why this sudden rise in demand? Did not people study the same things in the past, say in the 70’s and 80’s? And they certainly did not need any special extra coaching or tuitions for cracking IITJEE, or even scoring high in their board exams. There are many factors for this. I won’t delve into them in this post. But in short, some of them are Rise in Population of youngsters making the competition reach an insane limit, improvement in communication, rise of IT sector, more awareness as a result, and rising hunger for marks, so that people will do anything to get a few marks more.

So are tuitions good or bad? And do we really need them? Do they actually ameliorate our adroitness or are they just another set of nefarious tools, utilized by the rapacious businessmen. Well, the answer, as in most cases, is both yes and no. We shall check out both its advantages and disadvantages. First, the good side. If the tutor is genuinely good, and interested in imparting knowledge towards others, then a child will almost certainly benefit under his guidance. For weak students, it will be a munificent boon. I have seen that many students are hesitant in asking doubts, while in the school classroom. They are afraid that they will be ridiculed by others, or will get a feeling of inferiority complex that while all of my classmates understood, I did not. So if I ask something, I will just be showing others that I am a fool. What they fail to realize is that ‘The one who asks a question, is a fool for 5 minutes. The one who does not remains a fool for his entire life.’ (okay, I borrowed that quote) But such students feel more comfortable in their tuition class, where they get their particular doubts cleared.

But I have seen, even many good students taking tuitions. Such students usually do so, in order to practice as many numerous problems and exercises related to their curriculum, so that they can maintain their rank and continue doing well in class. They generally do not need any extra help as such, and I personally feel they can manage quite fine on their own. If we take the case of private coaching institutes for competitive examinations, such as FIITJEE, RESONANCE, AAKASH, etc, we find lots of brilliant students opting for their classes, even though they are already quite good in their concepts. But it’s a fact, that such training does ameliorate their strengths, and make them get a possible better score. Study material and practice material is also a pre-requisite. I don’t believe that such institutes can make anybody crack a competitive exam. After all, it depends on that individual student, and his desire to win, and work hard. Such institutions will always focus on their success rate, and will widely endorse their achievements. For example, many will say these many thousand students got into such and such. Not a single one will mention that fate of over lakhs of students, who take coaching and tuitions, and yet fail to deliver.

One such factor amounting to failure, is the lack of interest from the students side. It is often seen that parents force their wards to take multiple tuitions, against their will. They feel that they are doing a favor for their children, not realizing that its doing them more harm than good. Such students often skip tuitions, for a cricket match, or if they do attend, all they do is sit somewhere out of the tutor’s sight, and indulge in asinine talk with their friends, or dabble with their mobiles. Such levity or flippancy only deteriorates the student’s performance even further. No wonder the parents are shocked after receiving a call from the school, saying that their child has performed miserably. They believe that they have performed their dharma or duty by sending a child for tuitions. As if ‘tuitions’ is a magical wand which can make their child top his class. Here is a real incident which happened during a parent-teacher meeting:

Teacher: Mr. A, I am sorry to inform you that your son has not performed well this time. In fact, he just managed to pass, procuring 40% marks.

Parent: This is ridiculous, Mr. X. How can my son do that badly? It must be the mistake of all of you teachers. They must have targeted my child, and given him low marks on purpose.

Teacher: I assure you, Mr. A, that is not the case. There is no reason for any teacher to target your child. Your son is a poor student, and he scarcely pays any attention in class. I think you need to have a proper talk with him.

Parent (after reading the report card) : But this is nonsense , I tell you. My son has got only 37 marks in Mathematics, and 41 in Science. I made him take 3 tuitions for Maths, and 4 for Science. How then is it possible that he gets such low marks?

Teacher: I think, I now understand the problem, Mr. A. Your son has been taking too many unnecessary tuitions. I think he will benefit more, if instead of taking multiple tuitions, he starts taking genuine interest in his subjects.

This is but a small part of a large story. In today’s scenario, it is estimated that more than 90% of the children going to school, amongst the middle and high class, take some form of tuition. And unfortunately, in majority of the cases, the child is being over-burdened by them. He detests them, and ends up abhorring his subject, becoming totally nonchalant towards it. Rarely, is the child asked whether he actually wants to join a supplement tuition class, or even if he Actually needs one. I believe that unless a child is a very weak student, that too in an exceptional case, he/she can easily manage his/her subjects on his/her own. After all, the subjects are common for everyone. It’s not that one student is doing algebra, and the other has to do rocket science, in the same class. Students should make groups amongst themselves, and solve any problems they find difficult. They should also take help from their school teachers, as and when required. I do not believe that just by taking tuitions, one can bolster his performance in an astonishing way.


The situation is gradually going from bad to worse. Earlier, only those studying in high school, would prefer tuitions, especially for Physics and Mathematics. Now the situation has become so that, even KG and Standard 1 students are being forced to take tuitions. Why don’t parents realize that they are just destroying their child’s career and life by overloading him with tuitions, at an age, when he should be playing and learning basic things of life. And the even sadder part is that parents don’t seem to realize that they are doing something wrong. All they desire is a report card stamped with 90% marks in all subjects. But in today’s competitive world, no one can blame them. After all, students scoring 92-93% marks in their boards are not getting admission in good colleges. This is because of our inane education system which favors only the absolute toppers. But in a highly over-populated country like ours, we just can’t let this happen, if we want to avoid disastrous consequences, like unequal distribution of wealth and resources.


The situation in high school has become such that, one feels as if he MUST take tuitions in order to survive in this brutal world. Most average students have lost all faith in their own ability. They feel that in order to match up to the toppers, they have to take tuitions, else they won’t get admission in any good college. I have seen many students, who don’t even know the basic concepts of calculus, or mechanics, taking IIT tuitions, hoping to make it big, without making any significant effort of their own. Some of them get the remiss feeling that the institute will get them into an IIT. ‘My job(of taking admission) is over. Let the institute do its work now’. And when they fail, they curse their tutor, or the institute, little realizing that they were just a part of those lakhs of undeserving people, who believe that their world is centered around the IITs and IIMs. Roughly, around 2+ lakh people who give the IIT exam are totally unprepared for it, and have no inclination towards engineering whatsoever. Same is the case for the CAT, and other competitive exams. Such people are mere gamblers, trying to push their luck, uttering flippant quotes, such as ‘Arrey bhai, exam dena main kya harz hai. Jab baki sabhi de rahe hain, to hum bhi de dete hai. Mil gaya to accha hai. Nahi mila to bhi theek hai.’ Some are even more tepid. They remark, ‘Lagta to nahi ki mera kuch hoga, jab itne saare exam de rahe hai. Hamara to dosh nahi hai, bhai seats hi bahut kam hai. ‘


Anyways, I know that I deviated from the main topic of tuitions. Nevertheless, I personally have never supported tuitions, and never will. I firmly believe that they are just a waste of time, effort and money. Most tutors are just itinerant people, who only try to hoodwink others and earn more money. In any case, if you feel that you simply HAVE to take tuitions, try to minimize the number. In any case, taking more than one tuition for a single subject is nothing but mere folly. As I advise everyone, do a proper self analysis first, to find out where exactly you lag, and whether taking tuitions will actually solve your problem, and whether you are 100% sure that you can’t manage it on your own.

Okay guys, I know I wrote a lot on this one. Almost 2000 words. Anyways, thanks once more, for sparing your precious time, to read my articles. Take care. Ta ta.

The Indian Education System Part 3

Okay, am back after a while, and am sorry for the delayed post. I had a hectic college schedule, and ended up falling sick. Anyways, enough excuses. Let me finish my discussion on the Indian education system in this post.



This time I shall focus on Stress Learning, another principle very common in educational institutions, as well as in industries, in India. So what does this stress learning principle say? It says that if we overload a child/student/worker with excessive work load, which may include studies,projects, or any similar demanding work, then the child/student/worker , under stress or duress, will perform better and deliver a more sustainable and profitable output. I have seen many people follow this inane logic blindly, hoping to get better results. But the unfortunate situation is that, few people seem to realize the tragic and harmful effects associated with it.


Lets start off with education. Later, in another post we will discuss about the job scenario. In school, the curriculum is mainly designed in such a way, so that a child gets very little time for pursuing extra curricular activities, or sports, and is over burdened by his/her studies. Before his brain has fully matured, he is forced to study complicated Scientific definitions, fatuous mathematics formulae and what not. Instead of following a logical, increasing order of difficulty level approach, the child is bombarded with information which he is simply not ready to take. Now many of you might ask why such a horrible system is followed in our schools? Its because we believe that children should be exposed to useless, complicated things which they will hardly require in practical life, as early as possible. The total opposite of what is followed in American and European schools, where practical education is given more stress, and a simple step by step study system is followed so that no student feels overburdened. But look at the plight of the children in India. Carrying bags which weigh a ton, and handling books the size of a dictionary. Yet, as always the education sector here is blatantly ignored.


The same vapid trend is continued in our higher educational institutes. The syllabus set for a single semester is so vast, that even good students find it hard to cope up. Add to that, the lack of experienced faculty and infrastructure in majority of the institutes, and we cook a perfect recipe for disaster. Though it is true, that many students in colleges, rarely study, and mostly open their books a few days before the exam, yet manage to pass. That is a different thing altogether. But take the case of Bschools in India. Ask any guy who has done a MBA/is pursuing a MBA degree, if he faced stress due to a hectic life schedule in the campus, and the answer will almost certainly be a resounding ‘yes.’ Yet, many of them also remark that they are enjoying studying in a stressful environment. Some of them even boast of sleeping for only 1-2 hours per day, or not sleeping at all. In fact, the work load is so designed such that the student hardly gets any time to relax, but is showered with assignments, projects, quizzes and what not. The insipid excuse for this is that a Manager has to handle stress in his everyday assignments, and he should be prepared for a hectic lifestyle. Though partly true, this changes the mindset of the student. He will develop a negative frame of mind, and will expect every assignment to be tough, and will accept stress as a part and parcel of his daily life. In such a manner, most of the students are compromising with their health, a factor which is ubiquitously ignored,even by the Government. If one sleeps for just a few hours every day, and makes it part of his daily schedule, especially by overloading himself with work, then very soon, he will keep suffering from one ailment to the other. Common ones include high blood pressure, diabetes, heart problems, migraine, etc, many of which are related to stress. One should keep in mind that money is not everything. In fact, I believe that if you are not getting time to spend the money you are earning, and enjoy time with your family, then such a job/environment is useless. Do not compromise with your health, people. If you take care of your body, it will respect you. If you ignore it, then one day it will certainly take its revenge, by extracting a heavy toll from you.


In fact, a widely popular trend followed by companies is too lay-off older people, and appoint younger ones, because they feel they need fresh blooded people who can work hours on end. And unfortunately, due to our over-population, there is never a dearth of people struggling and fighting over a single vacant position. If one guy is fired, over a 100 fight to take his place.

Anyways, more on the job environment in a future post. Have written enough for now.

Take care people. And as always, thank you for reading.

Game On!

Am back after a while.
Today’s topic is Sports. Well, not exactly. It’s more about India’s dismal performance in almost all sports, in any international event.

I will try not to go into the Cricket Vs. Rest of the Sports debate, as that topic itself is quite descriptive. But its quite obvious, that almost everyone in India, including the Government endorses cricket, while brutally ignoring and neglecting other sports, and events. A top Indian cricketer earns more money via a single match and advertisements than a hockey player earns in his entire sporting career.

Everyday, when I turn to the Sports column in any newspaper, I almost always find the same news. ‘Indian players disappoint. So and so fail to qualify. So and so, exited in the first round itself. India loses yet again. Indian players give a miserable performance at so and so.’ And so on and so forth, this news continues. Every single day. Apart from cricket, India has hardly demonstrated any adroitness in any sporting event, at the international level. We always perform disastrously in the Olympics, we have yet to qualify for the FIFA World Cup, and our once unbeatable hockey team has gone down the dumps. Not even to mention events such as athletics, swimming, golf, etc, in which India hardly has any eminent player to talk about.

Why is this so? Why does a country with a billion plus population fail to produce even a few good sportsmen, when it comes to sports apart from cricket? Do we lack the potential? Or the financial resources? Or is it due to politics and corruption? Let us now delve into this problem deeply.

First of all, India has always been a poor country since Independence. Even till date, almost half its population is below the poverty line. So when people were not even getting food to eat and a house to stay, it’s quite evident that they would hardly be bothered to take sports seriously. And quite frankly, the Government has never really promoted any sport. Sports has always taken the back seat, whenever political issues were discussed. There is no permanent autonomous Sports Organization in our country, which handles all sporting events(am not talking about cricket, and BCCI is more famous for controversies than anything else). As a result, we lack the necessary financial resources, and the capital to build world class training institutes, and to induct qualified professional trainers. Most of the training institutes are paltry buildings and the trainers themselves have little idea about the sport.

India is not short of talent. We have immense potential, when it comes to sports. There are millions of budding athletes in our country. But unless they have political connections, or unless they are rich, they keep facing one hurdle after the other, when it comes to progressing in sports.

Corruption is another factor. There are many corrupt selectors throughout the country. They select their own preferred candidates (who often bribe them) to represent their team, for any event, instead of selecting a better candidate. Favoritism has diluted the efficacy of sports. For example, in the 2008 Beijing Olympics, all the people sent to represent India, in sporting events, were linked to the Railways. Why this discrepancy? Does it mean that people from outside this nexus, are inefficient in sports? Obviously not.

Finally, one last factor I would like to mention is the attitude and mentality of the Indian people themselves. In many households, parents want their kids to study hard and always come first in class. Sports always take the least importance. Scarcely if ever, is a child encouraged to participate and excel in sports. All parents want is a 90% mark in their child’s report card. Apart from this, most children prefer playing cricket and football, limiting themselves to these two games. Very few(compared to rest) opt for tennis, polo, hockey, athletics, sword-fighting, fencing, skating, martial arts etc. I have seen many budding sportsmen/sportswomen being forced to abandon playing the sport they loved, and forced to become engineers and managers by their hypocritical parents, who believe that forceful studying is the only way to success.

The main problem is that many people don’t take sporting events seriously. They only take it up as a leisure activity, something to kill time with, or to enjoy with their friends. And with this casual outlook, no wonder, so few prominent sportsmen are coming up nowadays, in our country. We should take a page out of some other countries books. Like China or Australia, who in spite of lagging behind in the past, have produced some of the Worlds best sportsmen, and now they excel in numerous sports. They have not remained unidirectional like India has, by focusing on only one sport.

There are quite a few more factors that I have not mentioned, like politics. But I feel this post has become too long, and I will stop now.

I assume, sometime in your childhood, you must have heard this saying, ‘All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.’ Well, even if your name is not Jack, its high time you took this saying seriously.

Take care, folks. And thanks for reading.

25 Random Facts About Myself

Personal:

Well, I will do a detailed character sketch of myself, sometime in future. For the present however, am copying a concept popular amongst bloggers. The topic is ’25 Random things about Myself.’ All right, it need not be 25, but I decided on saying 25 for now. May write more such facts later.

All the facts written below are true to the best of my knowledge. And no, I did not take a Polygraph test for them.

So, I begin. Here they are, in no particular order or hierarchy:

1) I do NOT believe in Love.
Don’t ask me why. I believe that true love is either very rare, or non-existent.

2) I simply love South Indian food ,especially Idli and Dosa.

3) Red is my most favorite color. Ironically I once suffered from severe haemophobia or fear of blood.

4) I am a monotheist. I believe in the presence of One God, One Universal Power that controls our living.

5) I detest crowd and over-crowded places.

6) I do not believe in marriage. I think marriage without love is meaningless.

7) I do not believe in numerology or astrology. I believe that man builds his own future and destiny, on which stars have no role to play. [Recollect Mithun’s dialogue from CC2C: ‘Man’s fate lies not in this(points to his own hand lines), but in this’: clenches his fist. ]

8) I love playing RPG(Role Playing) games. I like to live in a world of fantasy, and I believe that my imagination knows almost no bounds.

9) I scarcely if ever, trust others. I have been betrayed by my best friends in the past, whom I trusted blindly.

10) I have very few real friends. Most are fake, and come to me whenever they need something.

11) I am a kind of a reticent person. Some people also call me an introvert. However, I can also go on talking if I am in the mood.

12) I am altruistic. I like helping others.

13) I am a very good flirt (Try me). Though of late, I have stopped flirting. May resume in future.

14) I have never, till date sweared at any person. In fact, I have never used(spoken or written) a serious slang(I dont consider 'damn, crap' etc as slangs) anywhere, anytime, anyplace. I maintain this as a rule.

15) I abhor smoking and drinking. I believe the world will be a much better place to live in, minus alcohol and tobacco.

16) I am a total bookworm. I cant stay 30 minutes without reading something (books, magazines, newspapers, whatever).

17) My most favorite author is the late Michael Crichton.

18) My most favorite actor of all times is Akshay Kumar.

19) I love watching Hollywood action movies, especially the ones featuring Arnold S. The Terminator series (minus T4) is one of my favs.

20) Of late, I have become emotionless. External events hardly affect me from the inside.

21) My biggest idols are Uchiha Itachi from Naruto, and Kuchiki Byakuya from Bleach. For those who don’t know, they are animation characters.

22) I do NOT believe that in order to be successful in life, one must follow the ‘Btech+MBA’ path. Though most people in India follow this almost like a law.

23) I respect the truth. I find it quite difficult(though certainly not impossible) to lie to others.

24) I believe that attaining true knowledge, is more important than running after marks, degrees, or even money.

25) I have a deadly fascination for swords of different types, shapes and sizes. I will purchase a few in future. (Maybe from Japan, whose Samurai’s and Ninjas belter my imagination).

That’s all from now folks. See ya soon. Take care..

Happy Independence Day

All right, Happy Independence Day to all(Indians) of you, folks. Let us celebrate our 62nd Independence Anniversary with pride. While the country may still be plagued by a host of problems, India has nevertheless risen to quite a high position in the past 60 plus years. We have witnessed lots of technological progress, including the rise of the IT sector. Literacy rate has risen from 30% to over 60%. Infant and maternal mortality rate has fallen. Our GDP is growing at a stable rate. Millions of villages have obtained electricity and water supply. India produces some of the Worlds best leaders, doctors, engineers, etc. We will soon have the maximum number of billionaires in the world.
Mobile and internet connections have penetrated the entire landmass.
United we Stand, in the Worlds Largest Democratic Republic.

Yet, in spite of all this progress, we have faced innumerous impediments in our path. So many nefarious and parasitic problems remain. I will now, divide them into some questions, which I ask to the general public and the Government, both.

Q)1) Why, even after 62 years of Independence, are so many people (over one-third of the population) still so destitute that they are even unable to afford a daily meal?
What happened to the ‘Garibi Bhagao Abhiyaan’? The number of poor has increased, and so has the number of slum dwellers. The disparity in wealth is quite evident.

Q)2) Why has the Education and Infrastructure sections been neglected so badly over the past 50 years?

I believe these 2 fields are of prime importance for any country’s development, yet it is precisely these 2 fields which we have utterly neglected. So many million people are still illiterate. India produces the largest number of school dropouts every year. And Female Education is still ostracized. India has the Worlds Largest Road connection, but most of the villages(and even some cities) are still inaccessible via road networks. Most projects get delayed in red-tape. And the condition of the Roads and Railways is deteriorating every day. India can boast of having the worst public transport system in the world. See the condition of our normal buses and non-reserved train bogies, and one will get a decent idea.

Q)3) Why has the Government failed to check the unprecedented growth of population in the country?

India has almost reached the state of hyper-population. Forget un-employment. There are so many people, that all the resources are falling scarce. Including crops, and other food items. In fact, almost every problem that India faces, can be linked directly or indirectly to over-population. From shortage of college seats, to lack of jobs, discomfort everywhere, etc. The poor, even today, prefer to have around 5-6 children, on an average. Proper awareness needs to be generated and adequate measures to be taken, before the situation goes totally out of control.

Q)4) Why has the Government done practically nothing to get rid of the worm called corruption?

India has the uncanny reputation of being one of the most corrupt countries in the world. And it has done nothing to prevent it. It’s the political parties and various thousands of unions, which decide what is to be done, and rarely the common man. Oppose them, and you can get killed. This is hardly in accordance with the ‘By the People, For the People’ tagline. The situation has become so perverted, that its next to impossible to find an honest person affiliated to politics. Even the police is corrupt. The security system is almost non-existent. Terrorism is rampant.

Q)5) Why do we still have one of the worst Law Systems in the World?


Justice delayed is Justice denied, they say. Yet in India, the average litigation period is around 15 years. Compare that to less than 1 year in other developed countries, including China, and you can get the scenario. First of all, due to a highly in-efficient system, people in India rarely if ever, get true justice. The political leaders see to that. Secondly, almost all cases are delayed by un-necessary red-tape and favoritism, to the extent that the hapless victim can do nothing but watch, as the culprit goes scott free. The police is just as inefficient. They are under-paid and rely on black money, which they obtain from underworld dons. Bribe is as common as sweet distribution.


I could go on and on, with India’s never ending problems, whole day. But I will prefer to end this post here. I hope to see the Government take steps regarding these infirmities, in future, to create a fully developed Super Power nation, with an infinite potential. We have identified the problem. Now we need to put an end to all evils and threats.

Jai Hind.

Killer Flu

All right, this topic is so much ubiquitous nowadays that I simply had to write about it. And as usual, the reference will be towards India.


As of now (when I am typing this), already 6 people have become victims of this deadly disease in India, Swine Flu. As most of you must be aware, it is caused by the H1N1 virus, and there is no complete cure of it, as of now, though scientists are on their way in developing a successful vaccine for it. Already around 800 recorded victims in India, the number stealthily rises every day, almost like an exponential graph, ever increasing.


Globally, over a lakh people have been infected, and thousands have died as a result. In fact, the WHO estimates that within the next 2 years, the number of infected people can climb to over 2 Billion. That’s around one-third of the total World Population. Swine Flu has already become a Global Pandemic, and unless adequate steps are taken to control and curb it, the results can be very disastrous indeed.


The only known drug for Swine Flu, is Oseltamivir, or in short Tamiflu, as it is more popularly known. It is effective, only when it is supplied in the early stages. In Later stages, it becomes useless.


Currently, Swine Flu is spreading like wildfire, even in India. And the attitude of the Government towards it, is shocking, not to say the least. The health minister, Ghulam Nabi Azad, recently remarked, that the number of cases, is very small , when compared to the total population of India. So that is why we should not panic. So what he means to say, is that we should calmly sit back and watch while the total number of cases, crosses the million mark, and then blatantly state that the situation has become out of Government’s control, as it’s simply impossible to cure so many people, and prevent further penetration of Swine Flu. This situation could become a fact, if no adequate measures are taken NOW.


The situation is not very different, over 2 decades ago, when AIDS was exposed to India. Naturally, it spread like havoc, while in the meantime, both the Government and the people, remained totally nescient about it. In fact, the lackadaisical attitude of the Government towards AIDS, was quite appalling. It made almost no attempt to prevent the spreading of the disease, or to educate the general mass, about the causes of it. Within a few years, millions of people had become infected with AIDS. And with no actual cure, millions began to die as well. Still, the Government promptly kept on sleeping, and till date, it has hardly done anything effective or worthwhile in stopping AIDS. The situation will probably be similar for Swine Flu as well.


Why is the Health Sector neglected so badly in India? The Government Hospitals are awfully managed, and the less said about them, the better. The private ones may not be as shabby, but charge an exorbitant sum, usually way beyond the reach of most people. The Government allocates just around 5 percent of the total GDP for Health. Whereas in USA, it is closer to 16 percent. It’s no wonder, that so many people are suffering from ill health, yet have nowhere to go for their treatment. There are very few good doctors in India, and the cost for procuring a medical degree is sky rocketing.


In fact, I have seen that there are so many aspiring medical students, who simply do not get a chance to pursue medicine, due to dearth of seats. These students usually get into Engineering, and waste their careers. Instead of having so many people competing for a handful of seats(AIIMS, Delhi has around 70 seats), we should demand for more medical seats.


The Government needs to wake up, and wake up NOW, before its too late. We certainly should not panic about Swine Flu, but that does not mean that we should just sit back, and do nothing. Follow the instructions, given by the Government about staying 6 feet away from the victim, donning protection masks, etc. Make sure to wash your hands properly. Spread awareness amongst others, especially the poor. Remember, every single thing you do, will have a repercussion. Its up to you to see that’s a good one.


Combat Swine Flu. Stay Healthy.

See ya guys… thanks for reading.

Anger Management

Okay guys, am taking a break from the education system topic, which I will continue later.

For now, lets focus on a new topic, ie Anger Management, and Toleration.


Anger is an emotion, which I am sure all of you must have felt at some point of time. In fact, maybe every single day. Some people get angry at the slightest provocation or incident which occurs. Others incessantly remain bovine or calm, even in the toughest of situations. But the later category of people forms a very small group in practical life. The first group consists of the majority of the people who exist.


In fact, human toleration level has vastly degraded from the past. We are always in a state of war and conflict, whether physical, mental or emotional. Rarely do we spare time for ourselves, for thinking and pondering, etc. Instead, we often get frustrated, and in that frustration we want to vent out all our anger. This may happen in several forms. We may scream out aloud, we may start breaking vulnerable, hapless things or in the worst case, we may even physically attack others (happens quite often).


But why do we do such nefarious things? Why can’t we remain calm and keep our cool? Is it really because our tolerance level has gone down to such a great extent, that we cannot even stand minor hiccups? Anger is one of the major deterrents towards good health. Not only is it harmful for us, but indirectly becomes harmful towards other people as well. For example, a few months ago, I read in the newspaper that a man killed his wife in fury, because she had asked for some money to buy vegetables. This man, a drunkard, later regretted the incident. Such cases are very common. Often, they take up unprecedented proportions, and go out of hand.


I will give a few, common examples. I travel by bus regularly. Very often, I see people quarreling over simple things, such as seats, place to stand, etc. They start shouting and abusing each other. The same thing is quite common in trains and even airports. Anger outbursts are common at crowded places. Such as ticket counters, banks, etc. More often that not, the issue is a very baseless one. People don’t need a reason to get angry. Teachers, at school are also quite prone to anger. Without thinking, they mercilessly beat the child, and scream till the child’s ears split wide open. And on being questioned, they blatantly claim that they beat the child, for his own good. As if they even bother one bit about the child. I firmly believe that if you really want to be a good human being, you should learn to control your anger, first of all.


Some scientists believe that anger is necessary for everyone. And that it’s also important, to take out your anger in some form, otherwise you will gain internal maladies. This is simply ridiculous. What do you want an angry person to do? Take a knife and stab his child, just because he(the boy) got punished in school? Of course not. What you should do ideally, is to take deep breaths, count from 1-10, think of something pleasant that happened in the past, and relax. But of course, most people do not bother. They simply stand up, and whack, slap the child across his face. And if that person is a friend or colleague, they verbally abuse him without the slightest hesitation.


Consider anger to be a form of negative energy. You need to translate this energy into something positive. Always think before you act. Your actions could have disastrous consequences, in the future. I have seen many people starting a fight, after being sweared at. I say to them, ‘That guy sweared from his mouth. Why did you take it in, from your ear? Just block it out.’ Yeah, many of you belligerent people, will say, ‘What do you expect me to do? Stand still, and ignore him? He is responsible for my anger….’. Yes, ignore that person. And NOBODY BUT YOU are responsible for any anger, that emerges within you. We always lift our finger, and point at others, when asked who is responsible for the damage done. Its always others who make us angry, always others who hurt us, and make us frustrated. I say, if that’s the case, you are not much better off than the idiot box. Yes, you heard me correct, I meant the Television. You have just given the remote of your life to others. Just like people change channels on the TV, people come and change your mood as per their will. This makes you little better than a slave, who responds to others commands.


What should be done for this? First of all, become strong from the inside. Don’t let what others say, affect you in any way. Believe in yourself, and your principles. Getting involved in arguments, and fights, will NEVER benefit you in any way. Instead, it will only lower your image in society. Never get blinded by anger. In most cases, the people who succeed and rise to the top are ones who have a high tolerance level, and who remain calm in grim situations. The calmer you are, the better you can work. That’s a proven fact. And try not to raise your voice, as far as possible. Its not that if the person standing in front of you is shouting at you, then you should shout louder to prove your superiority.

So the next time, you start abusing someone, and raise your hand, pause, and think for a moment. Anger blocks our reasoning ability. This is also one of the prime reasons for crime. With anger, comes an array of diseases. High blood pressure, tension, stress, fatigue, migraine, even heart attacks, are related to anger.


Combat anger. Live a healthy and peaceful life.

See you soon, folks. Take care..