First time attended a Hybrid Conference

Last week I remotely attended IEEE International Conference on Requirements Engineering (RE 20) hosted in Zurich. 

This was a new and interesting experience because of the following reasons:

1. Hybrid conference: This was a hybrid conference, as in, some attendees attended the conference at the local venue, while the remaining attendees remotely connected to the conference on an online platform called Discord. I was attending a hybrid conference for the first time, and was using Discord for the first time. Due to Covid-19 situation, the organizers had to take this decision of hosting a hybrid conference, and this was a new experience for them as well. This, however, didn’t dampen the quality of the conference. We had many lively discussions on various paper presentations and keynote speeches over Discord, using video conferencing and texting facilities.
2. Different Timezones: Attendees and speakers connected to the conference from many different timezones across the world. The conference began at around 10 AM in Zurich. I connected to the conference at 1:30 PM from India. Through our conversations over Discord, I learned that some people remotely connected to the conference at 6 PM, while some connected at 2 AM, as per their respective local time. This is fascinating to me that morning people, afternoon people, evening people and late-night people are able to connect to each other at the same time to talk about something they’re passionate about in a professional setting.
3. The virtual world as a parallel dimension: Remotely attending an event of a grand scale as RE20 made me realize that Discord was like a virtual world that provided a parallel dimension for interaction between attendees, speakers and organizers. For instance, during and after a paper presentation or a keynote speech, many attendees typed their questions and comments on Discord chat facility. This ensued a lot of healthy discussions among attendees and between an attendee and a speaker. Here anybody could discuss with anybody, and others could read their discussion. Multiple discussions went on in parallel without disturbing each other. One could easily move from one discussion to another without having to physically change place. None of this is possible in the physical world when we all get together at a venue. One set of people may be discussing something and, sitting few rows behind them, I would wonder what they’re discussing about with such enthusiasm. The virtual world does feel like The Matrix where certain rules of physical world do not apply, leading to less restrictions and greater possibilities.
4. Virtual world as a log-book/time travel portal: In any conference, certain sessions run in parallel. This is where one is forced to choose one session and may miss out on the talks or speeches in other sessions. However, the way RE20 was organized on Discord, the textual conversations and discussions that happened during every session of the conference was saved on the online platform. This week I could browse through the discussions that happened in the sessions I couldn’t attend. Accessing and reading this log-book of ideas, observations and challenges felt like a time-travel experience such that I could still benefit from the discussions without being present there in real-time.

Overall attending a conference remotely was a new and interesting experience. Uncertain WiFi connectivity and time-difference was challenging at times. Despite the benefits of a parallel dimension and a log-book, I may not want to remotely attend every conference because a face-to-face interaction with other researchers and the overall exciting vibe of the crowd is definitely a better experience than sitting alone in your room and asking if I’m audible and visible. Last but not the least, I missed the goodies at the registration desk, and the tour of the city. Let us hope the new normal doesn’t remain the new normal for very long.

Sabzi mandi during Coronavirus threat

Yesterday at the local sabzi mandi (vegetable market) near my house, I witnessed one vegetable seller stand up from his place, step out and then shout at a customer for not wearing a mask while shopping for vegetables there.

“Pehle mask pehenke aao. Phir sabzi milegi!”
(“First wear a mask and come. Then you’ll get to buy vegetables!”)
That guy remained unaffected and casually turned around (looked like he had just woken up). But when he repeated the same to another incoming customer, he immediately took out his handkerchief to cover his nose and mouth.
The vegetable sellers are as scared about this situation as we are. And just like medical staff and police, the ones getting us essential supplies such as fruits and vegetables are doing us a great service. We must respect that and cover our face when we step out to buy the essential items.

Bicky Pleej

Horror comedy is perhaps the most difficult genre to succeed in.
Bollywood has had a handful of decent films that can claim to be horror comedies. But in those, horror and comedies were separate scenes, such as in Bhool Bhulaiya, Golmaal Again, etc.
But the reason Stree is perhaps the first authentic horror comedy in Bollywood (correct me if I'm wrong), is that there are few scenes where you will laugh and be shit scared at the same time!

The trailer looked promising and when I saw Rajkummar Rao and Pankaj Tripathi sharing screen in many scenes in the trailer, I knew I had to watch this film (especially after their amazing performance together in Newton). Moreover, the trailer showed that women are safe but men are scared to venture out at night, which is essentially reversing the way our society works, which further intrigued me. And lastly, a promise of good horror comedy pulled me to the theater, and my wife and I saw this movie on Friday (1st day) itself, just after we returned from our offices!

Greatest reason for success of anything is consistency. This movie promises horror and comedy and it consistently delivers horror and comedy. Moreover, it keeps raising stakes in the plot until the final face-off with Stree, which is well-shot and well-done!
Moreover, and this is the most amazing part of the movie, humor doesn't dampen the scares. Horror needs certain time to buildup the scare and humor can easily break that fear. But when humor becomes part of the horror and you get to enjoy both, that's when you realize that a masterpiece has been created.
Stree did leave me with few questions but the final scene of the movie overwhelmed me so much that I decided to ignore those tiny little holes in an otherwise beautifully woven experience!
Go for it. Watch it on the big screen for an amazing experience.

My favorite dialogue: "Bicky Please!"
My favorite scene: Too many to count, but definitely the last scene.
Best part about the film: No cheap humor. And blend of horror and humor.

The Sound of Sanskrit

This Saturday morning, randomly browsing I found this link on YouTube and heard the song.

I was deeply impressed!

My sudden liking of Sanskrit sounds began when I heard the Baahubali movie songs, which have some Sanskrit Shloks, especially the song in which Baahubali lifts the Shivling and walks to the waterfall. Listening to that in the movie Baahubali made me realize how beautiful Sanskrit sounds! And listening to this song, Shiv Tandava Stotram, has verified that opinion. This is a great track to listen to. Don’t miss the visuals in the video.

I’ve been a fan of heavy metal bands like Iron Maiden, Metallica, Nightwish, Within Temptation etc. but listening to this track I realize that even though their songs are great, we do have a great advantage over such bands. They sing songs in English and English language is not inherently musical. It takes effort to find the right words to make it sing-song. I know this because I’ve written poems and lyrics in English during my college days (http://perpetualthoughts.wordpress.com/).

However in Sanskrit language, you can pick any Shlok and sing it the way you like and it will sound awesome!

In India, just because we give English importance and Hindi is our (most of us) mother tongue (and both taught since our first day in school), most of us neglected Sanskrit studies in our school days (which starts quite late in 5th or 6th standard). But over the years I’ve realized the glaring limitations of English as a language and began to appreciate Hindi and Sanskrit. For instance, English language has the concept of Capital and small letters, clearly indicating the tendency to divide people in upper/lower class or white/black race and so on. Whereas Hindi and Sanskrit has no such distinction and all are contained under the same horizontal line, denoting every Varna as equal! More on that later.

An afterthought. These heavy metal bands have excellent music. My desire is that if we take music of, say Iron Maiden, and write lyrics in Sanskrit, we could have the best of both worlds! That would be a great union of West and East and prove Mark Twain wrong.

And for those of you who accept the good aspects of our culture only after its validated by the West, here’s Bob Marley singing Om Namah Shivaay :)

Secret Superstar - Choosing the lesser devil

(Minor spoilers ahead. It reveals the plot but the plot is so simple and predictable that it wouldn’t matter!)

While the movie Secret Superstar is about a teenager trying to achieve her dream of becoming a singing sensation with her mother’s unflinching support, what stood out for me in the film was the difficult choices the main character (the teenager girl, Insia) had to make to realize her dreams.

Secret Superstar Devils — Insia’s father and Shakti Kumar

At the core of these difficult choices was the decision to choose the lesser devil. On one side was her father, who terrorized everyone in their house, and on the other side was Shakti Kumar, an infamous musician ostracized from music community. Her father was the devil she had known all her life and knew what to expect. Shakti Kumar was someone she only knew through news, award functions, reality shows etc. on TV. At one point in the story Insia has to make the difficult choice of choosing between these two devils. While she wants to move as far away from her father as possible, she just can’t do so. And she hates Shakti Kumar, he disgusts her. He is the last person she would want to meet, let alone seek help.

Eventually, circumstances and her desire to pursue singing pushes her to make the difficult choice of choosing Shakti Kumar (no surprises there) over her father. As a viewer I may feel the decision was easy, but when I imagined myself in her situation, I don’t think I’d have had the courage to take this giant leap of faith. Shakti Kumar may have turned out to be a sexual predator or may have exploited Insia for her beautiful voice and then left her without giving her any payment or credit. Choosing unknown devil, no matter how bad the known devil may be, is never easy. Perhaps only an strong unflinching desire to pursue your passion (or a purpose) can help you find the much needed courage to surrender yourself to the mercy of the unknown.

That’s what is truly compelling about Secret Superstar. The chance that a person (irrespective of age) may be forced to take due to circumstances and how one’s passion can be a guiding light to achieve one’s dreams. While the film takes a fairy tale approach, in real life when we make such choices, we must make an informed decision. Each one of us pursuing something beyond one’s comfort zone and societal norms will face many unknown devils, but if our faith and passion is strong, we must find the courage to take that giant leap.

Not a blind one but an informed one.

Birth of a predator

In my previous post I had talked about what more should be done to go beyond Hashtags. Today I'm going to discuss why and how predators may be born in our society.

Nobody is a born predator. At a fundamental level, even though we're animals, we still yearn for higher level things like love, companionship, trust, and so on. However, we tend to take the easy way out whenever possible, and this is true in case of pleasure as well. We are all looking for instant pleasure, even at the cost of others. This particularly happens when we feel we have an advantage over the other person. Such thinking in the past led to slavery and exploitations in different ways. Recent resurgence of MeToo movement is an important evidence that such animalistic behavior is still rampant in our society.
Interestingly, the incidents have been rising over the years, perhaps due to more people becoming vocal about it (a useful and healthy development towards a better society), or such incidents have actually increased (a disturbing trend). Assuming the worst, i.e., the latter case, I would share following reasons which are, in my opinion, leading to an increase in such incidents in today's times.

1. Pornography.
It was nothing short of miracle that I almost completed 4 years of my college life without watching pornography. My batchmates argued that every guy needs to watch such videos to know what to do at their wedding night. And I counter-argued that such "education" wasn't needed since Early man didn't have any videos to guide them to procreate! Sadly pornography is not about education but about instant gratification of sexual desires. There is too much ugliness and violence in pornography and it can hamper more than help a young mind in understanding complexities of their body post-puberty and respectful interaction between him/herself and their companion.
During the last semester of my Bachelor's degree program, I succumbed to the idea of watching pornography, perhaps not to feel left out as the only guy who hadn't seen pornography during his college days! But I wish I hadn't. If I could go back in time and sleep early that night, I happily would. Because once you watch pornography, its difficult to undo the effect it can have on you. I couldn't go back to being "accha baccha" anymore! Any girl I looked at after that, I felt that, simultaneously, a predator was also looking at her from within me. This made it almost impossible for me to have normal conversation with a girl. This is horrible for a 22 year old boy who never had a girlfriend. In such situation, a person tends to watch more pornography, which makes it even more difficult to talk to girls. This vicious cycle can pull you down and keep you there. That's why pornography should not exist, whereas it might be increasing in quantity due to availability of internet and tools to make videos.
Add to that, the increasing number of disturbing reports of molestation and rape makes a pornography addict even worse about himself and can lead to depression and severe inferiority complex. For many years after college I lived in this fear that I might end up becoming a predator myself. I constantly kept "one hand distance" as taught to us all in school, from girls and in closed crowds, kept both my hands in my pocket to make sure I don't touch any female (or even male) in a wrong manner.
It gets even worse when others don't get it and sometimes laugh it off. My friends told you that since I'm a guy, obviously you'll be attracted to girls, unless you're gay, and then they may tell you that being a guy, isn't it better to feel attraction to girls. They'll tell you its normal, and its no big deal. And when I shared my fear of becoming a predator, most of them laughed, maybe because I don't look like one. Either they don't understand the difference between attraction and lust or they were avoiding the topic. Attraction is often healthy but lust is what awakens the predator. And pornography is the easiest way to awaken the predator.

2. Advertisement.
Its atrocious that the advertisers need six pack abs or size zero figure models for selling soaps and flavored drinks. Times of India and some other news bulletins are flooded with pictures of women, and these days men too, flaunting their perfect bodies, barely wearing any clothes. Earlier I had reasoned that it was because those models were poor and couldn't afford clothes of longer length but I knew it was a silly reason I gave myself to look away from the harsh reality. And the reality is that the advertisement world has been trying to appease our animal side that enjoys watching semi-naked women and men. And this, in my opinion, is also leading to our predatory tendencies coming to the surface. Consider this scenario - a person looks at nudity in advertisements, on TV, and billboards, which makes him/her desire for more. Daily exposure to such advertisements only leads to increase of thirst for such pleasure which may lead to an innocent person becoming a victim. In the opposite scenario, if advertisements were not selling scantily clad men and women, people would focus more on the product and what it offers, and make better choices while shopping. Moreover, they wouldn't unnecessarily be turned on every now and then, and would be able to focus more on what truly matters: family, work, friends, personal health and growth.

3. Repressed society.
We don't openly talk about certain "taboo" topics. MeToo has been a bold move to break away from such a construct. Good news is that its working. But it must continue, not just on social media, but also within our homes, and especially between a child and his/her parent/guardian/teacher. Such interaction is of utmost importance because parent/guardian/teacher are the authority figures for children in their formative years and wholehearted support from them would give these children strength to talk about such incidents, get the predator punished and also help them grow up to become strong and empathetic adults. While many have confessed about their ugly experiences to their friends or girlfriends/boyfriends and even spouses, this has often happened much later in life. Such confessions are always helpful but nipping the issue in the bud will be more effective.

In conclusion, building trust and focusing on delayed gratification can go a long way to discourage birth of predators. We must foster trust among each other so that we could freely talk about such issues, the way one talks about an injury or illness, and also understand that certain pleasures must come after certain effort. Preying on someone else for one's own pleasures not only makes the other person suffer, but the predator themselves suffer for such pleasures do not last long and they look out for more, making themselves miserable in the process.

MeToo - Are HashTags enough?

I had an animated discussion with my wife regarding recent resurgence of HashTags to promote yet another social cause, only this time I wholeheartedly support and feel it is very important (actually the second part of this statement was the result of my wife convincing me that it was important, but that's not important here!).

While sharing our sentiments online gives us momentary relief and a sense of community, and also encourages people to share their experiences and not suffer alone, we should not stop there. In the past there have been instances of sudden rise of HashTags and Profile Pictures, but such instances died down like a wave dies down after reaching the shore. But our shore is nowhere near, when it comes to #MeToo.

(Read: http://edition.cnn.com/2017/10/17/us/me-too-tarana-burke-origin-trnd/index.html)

#MeToo is a good first step in the right direction. But what next? Do we feel complacent because we've at least start talking about it? Its good that we have but talking doesn't remove the danger. And the danger is real and still lurks nearby. There is more to be done. In my opinion we can begin with the following:

1. Be vary of predators. In pre-historic times, living in a jungle and forgetting that we share the jungle with lions and cheetahs, would have cost our lives. Similarly we must not forget that predators exist in today's world also. They look like an ordinary person, and are sometimes a near/dear one, which makes it difficult to spot them. Nonetheless, we must, firstly, survive like we survived in pre-historic times, by evading such predators.

Best way to do that is to take obvious precautions. These may seem "ancient" and "outdated" but so is the mindset of the predators we are up against. Hence, we should pay heed to what the older generations teach us and warn us about/against. Coming home early and not venturing out at night won't make you less of a "modern" person. Moreover, despite how "modern" we feel we are, we are still living in a jungle and humans are still animals, at least in certain aspects. Just like we take precautions to not fall sick, we should also take precautions to stay safe. Because falling sick is not our fault but we do suffer because of it, and I don't think we should suffer anymore when it is not our fault.

2. Educate everyone you can. It is sad but true that some predators have already been born and are here to stay till they die. To prevent birth of future predators, we must educate everyone we can, that includes our own children, other children, and other people who may not be children anymore but are willing to understand and behave properly. Moreover, we must remember that any form of permanent change in a species takes time (Darwin's theory of natural selection). But here it is not the nature but we humans who will bring about the change in our species through teaching people about mutual respect. And maybe, just maybe we will witness the change as the reduction in the number of predators in the next few generations. We may not live long enough to witness such momentous change, but we must be the ones to initiate it.

HashTags are good. Becoming the change you want to see in the world, is better. Participating in gradually changing the mindset of this world, is best.

Let us make #MeToo not only a symbol of a bad past experience but also the building blocks of a safer and happier future, by shouting: #MeToo will make a better future.

The Howling Maid

Today morning while having breakfast, I heard a maid shout at the top of her voice at the woman behind closed doors of her house, to pay her for the last month's work. The woman, apparently, seemed not to care. The caretaker of our apartment came to resolve this issue and tried to talk this maid into leaving. The maid said that she had worked very hard and deserved every rupee that was being denied to her. She then added that the woman was accusing her of theft and hence wasn't paying her and had even threatened to call the police. Nonetheless, the maid was determined to stay put until she was paid in full.

The maid left after about ten minutes, for reasons I'm not aware of. But it made me realize something important, what if the maid was telling the truth and the woman was lying just to get back at the maid for something else she had done to her, or perhaps the maid didn't do anything and the woman's attitude was unsympathetic. I am not sure whether the allegation of theft was true but based on her voice and tone it seemed that the maid badly needs the money she had earned and deserved.

What I don't understand at all is, why give someone a chance to steal anything from your place? Why keep precious valuables lying around in the house? I've seen the tendency to carelessly keep one's important at some place and over time forgetting about it, in almost every household I have visited or know of. We seem to get too comfortable in our own home but forget that we are inviting an outsider who is probably less wealthy than we are, and may therefore have a tendency to steal things. Would we not have taken care against predators had we lived in a cave in a jungle? Then why consider some outsider to be a saint, when (and I am sure of it) everybody has heard of stories of maids stealing from their master's homes sometime or the other. Instead of enticing her to steal by keeping things in the open and then accusing her of stealing when things go missing (even if it may be your 10 year old who misplaced it), why not keep our valuables safe?

You may argue that, can't one live the way one wants in one's own home. Sure you can, but it is your home only because you occupy it at the moment. Moreover, its like saying, can't I eat the way I like because its my body. And you know where such thinking leads to.

Stop blaming others. Instead organize your life such that you minimize such incidents. That will not only help you retain a maid for longer time without any bitter feelings that is so rare these days, it will also provide you with some peace of mind, which I dare say, is rarer still.

Newton - Idealism or Practicality?

In one of my favorite scenes from the movie, Newton's supervisor asks him, "Do you know what your problem is?"
"My honesty and sincerity."
"Your vanity in your honesty and sincerity."

Newton is a film about Newton (Nutan Kumar), perfectly portrayed by Rajkummar Rao who wants to make a difference. He is a fresher and as his first assignment he volunteers to serve as the presiding officer of an election booth in one of the Naxals infested areas. He does everything by the book to ensure the operation is a success. And when the operation doesn't go as per his expectations, he is devastated. In a scene towards the climax, you can witness his anguish and feel the pain of shattering of his worldview and idealism.

The polar opposite is Aatma Singh, played beautifully by Pankaj tripathy. He is a practical man who from his first conversation with Newton tries to discourage him from pursuing his operation. He understands the safety risks of the area under his supervision and was not interested in losing any more of his men or civilians to Naxal attacks. He even promises him a successful (fake) report for the election operation, to ensure that both of them maintain the image of a work well done.

Why did he do that? Was he not interested in serving his country by ensuring fair elections?

In one of my favorite scenes which was the main reason I went to watch the movie, Aatma Singh offered Newton to hold his rifle in his hands, "It is heavy, isn't it?" he said, and continued, "this is the burden of safety of our country, and this burden is on our shoulders."

It may not seem this way but Aatma Singh was as patriotic as Newton. The difference was in their perception. Newton was an extreme idealist, perhaps being a fresher and driven to make a difference. Aatma Singh, with years of experience in Kashmir, Mizoram and other terror prone regions, understood the risks of holding such election operations and used that to make practical decisions. Both were doing their duty, and that is why this clash between idealism and practicality makes for a riveting watch.

Even though Newton is being praised worldwide and is India's official entry as a foreign film to the Academy Awards in 2018, to me this film excelled to depict the clash of idealism and practicality that was a great learning and a useful takeaway for me.

What side do you choose, idealism or practicality?
And how far are you willing to go for your idealism or practicality?

Toilet: Ek Prem Katha - A lesson for professionals

While the movie Toilet: Ek Prem Katha was marketed as a different kind of love story (more rooted in reality), I discovered that the movie also presents a lot of lessons that we as professionals can learn.
Keshav, the protagonist was faced with a daunting challenge (absence of private toilets), one of its kind that never happened in his village. But he doesn't give up and gives his best to address the issue. Consider Keshav as the organization or professional and his wife as the client in this scenario. Following are the lessons we can take away from his efforts in this scenario (SPOILERS AHEAD):

1. Explore all options: Be it stealthily sneaking into other's house that has a toilet, with any vague excuse he could find, or driving his wife to a stopping point where a train stopped for exactly 7 minutes to use its lavatory facilities, to even stealing a portable toilet from a shooting set, he explores all options.
2. Short-term solutions don't work: Even though Keshav was coming up with innovative solutions, each was fraught with some flaws. Having a difficult client (his wife) does push him to seek for the long term solution.
3. Benefiting not only his client (his wife) but also rest of the village (society): Solutions proposed should be replicable and scalable and benefit the society at large. While the solution was already present, making it reach to the people in need for it is itself a challenge and something we must strive to do as good professionals.
4. Sometimes solutions are there, but people are not ready for it: Keshav's fight was against the archaic traditions that prevented him to deploy the long-term solution in the first place. In our organizations also we might have to deal with outdated policies and processes. However striving to overcome such hurdles to deploy long-term solutions that are clearly better for the organization and the society at large is a worthy effort.
5. Smart one-liners have high stickiness factor and using them to promote your cause is an excellent idea.

• "Biwi paas chaahiye toh ghar mein sandaas chaahiye (if you want your wife to live with you, better have a toilet in your house)."
• "yeh maamla shauch ka nahin soch ka hain (this matter is not about defecation, it is about our thinking)."

6. Lastly, the movie was about flushing out archaic methods that have lost their utility (since better methods are available) and moving into the future. As a professional, one must keep updating oneself about latest developments to stay in the race.

Radhe Radhe! (salutation)

Zombieland - Too good to be true

Watching Zombieland (2009) the movie made me feel that I wish I was in that world rather than in present world. While I feel stupid about thinking that post apocalyptic world could be better than present world, I do have my justifications, based on the movie:

1. Everything FREE! You see a car you like, just drive it away. You feel like having chips or snowball or Twinkie, just walk into a shop, shoot some zombies and take all the delicacies, for FREE! Refuel your car for free, get clothes for free! No income tax, no salary negotiations, no pressure to buy a house (just walk into any house and start living there!)

2. No traffic on the road! It would be like a dream come true, considering the traffic these days. Of course there was an occasional presence of zombie on the road whom you can hit and drive away.

3. In that world, the only task to do was kill the zombies. And in the movie, they make it look so easy! Its a video-game fantasy come true! Moreover, people shared stories of the best Zombie kill of the day/week/month/year/all time!

4. And if there is a HOT girl stuck with you, the only eligible bachelor, she might eventually start liking you! Same might be true the other way round.

5. Healthier life: No internet, which means more time to do "real" things like running, fighting, talking to other people, and "enjoying the little things"!

Of course we must follow the 32 rules laid down by Columbus in the film, from Cardio (#1) to Enjoy the little things (#32). Anyways we need to follow so many rules daily, most of which we don’t even understand or find useless but these 32 rules will be vital for survival.

Driving a Hummer on a long empty roads and killing zombies with a shotgun, wouldn’t that be amazing!

BTW, you can totally barge into empty mansions of millionaires and enjoy the luxuries there!

Why I won't have children, and you shouldn't either

For a moment

• Lets forget that all kinds of pollution has reached their zenith: air, water, noise and many others.
• Lets forget the greedy consumption of agricultural and forest lands to make malls, apartments and bars/casinos, thus leading to death/extinction of many animal/plant species and tribes. And in recent times, floods!
• Lets forget that these days one consumes more medicine than ever before, perhaps making it a part of our staple diet.
• Lets also forget that everyone is running this "rat race" to reach that bigger and better stage in life, when in most cases, bigger and better is actually worse because in many cases it ruins our health and relationships, leaving us with superficial relationships and life on medicines.
• Let us also forget the ever increasing gap between the rich and poor, leading to wasteful habits of rich and the starving children of the poor.

Once you've successfully forgotten all this, you can go ahead and produce as many babies as you like. But if you can't forget even one of the points I've mentioned above, think the kind of world you're planning to bring your baby in. Your own child is someone you'd end up loving more than your life and your dreams. Will you be able to bear the suffering this child might undergo while growing up in this world? If he's a good person you'll feel pity for him, if he's shrewd you'll hate him for being so mean and selfish. Moreover, you'll also worry about his job and career, most of which are artificially created and add no meaning to this world or one's life.

So we're left with two choices. Either we begin to fix this world or not produce any more babies, let the human race become extinct and then allow our planet enough thousands of years to recuperate the damage done to it.
Since we're busy in our daily lives, and trapped in this "rat race" chasing a dream life, I have a suggestion for you, in case you're interested in fixing this world.

Stop Wasting:

• Order/cook based on hunger.
• Buy only what you need instead of getting carried away by monthly Sale offers. Why not try meditation/yoga/exercise instead of shopping as therapy?
• Use public transport but if you need personal commutation use two-wheeler and wear a helmet. Help reduce traffic on the road.
• Grow trees in your neighborhood. Only trees can save us now.
• And please, no more startups on same services that already exist!

Following the above will reduce your monthly expenditure and will give you the option to stop overworking yourself and spend some time with family, friends and hobbies.
Once we've achieved a balanced life and reduced pollution to a large extent, then you can think of bringing a new life into this world. Don't give them a chance to curse you for this condition of earth because they'll anyways be cursing you for many other things!

Jabra Fan

“Kehte Hai Agar Kisi Cheez Ko Dil Se Chaaho Toh Poori Kaynath Tumhein Usse Milane Ki Koshish Mein Lag Jaati Hai!” - Om Shanti Om.

 

Perhaps someday few years back I might have wished that the superstar and one of the most talented actors of Bollywood, start doing good movies again. The answer to my prayers seem to have been answered in the movie Fan.

In Fan, Shahrukh Khan does what he does best. And the movie has enough thrill and substance to keep you engaged. I watched it yesterday on the big screen and was pleasantly surprised, and relieved. Shahrukh Khan is back!

 

Since we’ve been going to cinema halls in hordes for movies like Dilwale, Happy New Year and Ra.One, I was expecting similar reaction for Fan, and I feel it deserved it. But NO! Fan is a decent movie to hit the screens but even with a superstar in all the lead roles, it fails to have a big box office collection. That’s ridiculous. Have we really become so ridiculous? Is the movie failing to succeed at the box office because it doesn’t have songs/item songs or a love story?

 

Fan isn’t flawless, but it is MUCH better than Shahrukh’s recent films. His last decent film was My Name is Khan (2010), which suffered the same fate at the box office in India. This makes me urge everyone to re-evaluate the kind of movies we choose to watch.

 

In a nation filled with passionate movie-goers, one would expect world-class high quality movies being made. Sadly most of our movies are trash. Once in a while some decent movie comes along, from a giant production house with enough star power, yet it fails to attract enough audience.

 

I have witnessed your comeback Shahrukh, and I hope it gets better. I hope others witness it too. Lets not give him or other stars and producers make another Dilwale, or Happy New Year or Ra.One. Let us watch Fan to show our support for good movies and encourage Shahrukh Khan to continue doing good movies and good roles.

Why we shouldn't make movies like Neerja

She really didn’t have to do it. But she did. She led her team to comfort the passengers, and at the right time initiated their evacuation. At one point of time, she even convinces the hijacker of her intentions by this simple statement: “I am just doing my duty, just like you’re doing your duty.” I salute her, for rarely such acts of bravery happen and rarer are the instances that they’re noticed.

 

What I really admired about Neerja is that she continued to do her duty while she was playing the role of head air-hostess, even in dire situation. At that time she didn’t bargain for lives of Indians (I mean, come on, nationalism is the in-thing these days isn’t it!), instead she tried to saved the Americans that were the main target of hijackers. Was she anti-national because of this?! OMG !! A movie on an anti-national person who was even awarded Ashoka Chakra, highest bravery award for a civilian!! That wasn’t my thought but isn’t that how the mob thinks these days?

 

A 23 year old girl keeps the hijackers stalled and negotiates with them at every step. Will our so called “leaders”, with years, even decades of experience in people management, have the guts to do this, or will they wait for “help” to arrive? Our brigade of politicians, business tycoons and other powerful and wealthy people must hang their head in shame, for rarely someone from this “prestigious” lot does something brave or worth inspiring.

 

Fine, what she did was great, she was a great person, but was it worth making a movie on? Yes, so that we learn about such people and their courage under fire. But nothing changes, does it? Nope. I watched movie, shed few tears then came back home, “liked” the movie on Facebook, added an update praising the movie and performances, and went on with my life (which includes believing and arguing on every bullshit posted on social media).

 

Making a movie on her is an embarrassment to her. And to all the other brave people who do their duty and fight against any wrongdoing, because we are all well aware of what happens in the end. In India, they either die (are killed) or are posted. We don’t care. We just want a reason to get angry at someone, hate someone and blame someone.

 

That reminds me, have to rush back to Facebook, got a new notification, must be about that JNU student’s case. I’m fighting for him and supporting him by arguing with others who want him punished. My efforts will not go in vain. My hours of toil on Facebook will certainly get him justice and get the culprits the punishment they deserve!

Out of the blurred world

This is my first post in the long (hopefully) series of posts concerning objects in daily use as the theme. Each post will specifically and exclusively talk about that one particular object, which will serve as the main focus in that episode of my memoir.
Today I'll begin by talking about something that I use everyday, and sometimes forget that I'm using it and end up searching for it while wearing it: my spectacles.

My sister had a habit of incessantly watching TV everyday and my parents had started to get upset and worried by it. One day she began to complain of her eyes watering. Even after washing her eyes with cold water and limiting her TV viewing didn't help, my father decided to get her eyes checked despite her insistence that she could see clearly. My mother, not surprisingly, supported my father. She does that when it comes to the matters of health (where you must fail the test) and education (where you must pass the test). While my sister got a clean slip, I got a number, - 0.5, after what happened the next day.
At the hospital the next day, I discovered that I couldn't read the last two lines on the eye testing board. That reminded me of a famous idiom in hindi, "Kaala akshar bhains baraabar". This is in reference to the illiterate population living in villages for whom black is synonymous with the color of a buffalo. And alphabets written in a book are generally black in color. Since they are illiterate, they can't differentiate between the two blacks. Hence the idiom translates to, "black alphabets are equivalent to buffaloes." Hence, I felt as helpless as the illiterate people while reading those last two lines.
That day at home my parents made me wear their spectacles to make things clear (pun intended) which it certainly did. The result of this realization was that one week later I was wearing my first new pair of spectacles.
At the optician, I felt odd. I had seen my fellow classmates and friends wearing spectacles but never thought I'd be wearing one too, that too at the age of 15 (seems similar to how guys feel about marriage). The optician tried to cheer me up by saying that many boys and girls these days wear spectacles so it wasn't a new phenomenon and I had no threat of being labeled a pariah, or teased as a chashmish. I soon got comfortable about wearing spectacles because I was already a socially awkward kid and a pair of spectacles couldn't really make it any worse.
The day after the hospital visit my father asked me, again with the same surprise in his tone, how I didn't realize I need a pair of spectacles to see clearly. At his insistence I could recall and hence confess that I often tried to squish my eyes to read from the green board at my coaching classes for Physics, Chemistry and Mathematics, while sitting in the first row. On that I also remembered my best friend Himanshu's comment with giggles, "Abe ye kya kar rahaa hai buddhe ki tarah?" (What the heck are you doing like an old man?)
Honestly, I wasn't jealous of my younger sister. I was happy for her, she could now watch TV guilt free, or so I thought. Now that I joined the club of people with four eyes, my parents had a living example to scare my sister away from TV. She, however, has a mind of her own and tends to ignore things she knows are not important for her at that time. Despite everything, she did watch TV guilt free as she always does.
I felt odd to have this frame sitting on my nose and its arms firmly holding on to my ears. I twitched my nose to readjust the frame or adjusted it with my hands to ensure it is correctly aligned horizontally. The world through spectacles looked sharper and clearer. However while sitting at my study table at home, I realized that I couldn't glance sideways that I often enjoyed doing, since my vision went beyond the frame and into the blurred world. In the last few months I had got so used to my blurred world (gradually of course) that I never realized that a clearer world existed. The feeling of ecstasy to see everything so clearly (just like Blu Ray print of a movie) during the morning bicycle ride to school while wearing the spectacles for the first time, was surprisingly new and unmatchable. Nothing that day could dampen my spirits; I was out of the blurred world!

Patriotic movies during Republic week

This has been a patriotic week for me. I watched the following three totally different kinds of patriotic movies. Interestingly all there were about significant transformation in the character of the protagonist(s). Apart from details on Wikipedia and IMDB, I'd like to share few of my thoughts on them:

1. Lakshya:

(Watched on Saturday, 23rd Jan 2016)
This movie is about a college kid looking for 'lakshya' in his life. He finally finds his lakshya in winning back his country's land taken over through deceit by Pakistani army. So this movie is about protecting one's country from outside invasion.

2. Rang De Basanti:

(Watched on Sunday, 24rd Jan 2016)
This movie is about a group of college kids who're just drifting with time, aimlessly. But a personal tragedy agitates their soul and their conscience awakens and they decide to bring the truth to light. So this movie is about protecting our country from corrupt officials within our country.

3. Airlift:

(Watched on Tuesday, 26th Jan 2016, India's Republic Day!)
This movie is about a shrewd businessman who's only parameter for success in life is profits. However, forced by circumstances he identifies his humane side and helps rescue lakhs of Indians from a war torn zone. So this movie is about protecting our people outside our country.

Such diversity in flavors of patriotism was purely coincidental (first two movies were available in my sister's hard disk drive who'd come home this weekend). And Airlift had released last weekend.
My only desire is that all lessons learned and emotions felt while watching these movies stay with me and I realize my responsibility towards my family, friends and my countrymen.

Fun fact: All actors in three movies form mutually exclusive set.

Filmfare awards are dead (to me)

My last hope, Filmfare awards have also disappointed me. For the following reasons:
 
1. Nawazuddin Siddiqui got no awards.
He was nominated for best supporting actor for two good movies, "Badlapur" and "Bajrangi Bhaijaan" both popular and his performance, as always, top notch. However the award went to Anil Kapoor for Dil Dhadakne Do, again a movie I enjoyed and I liked his role too but he was not the best, Nawazuddin was.

2. Kalki didn't get the award for best actress.
Her performance in Margarita With a Straw made me believe she was actually suffering from cerebral palsy. It was so authentic. Yet the award went to Deepika for Piku, a fine movie and a good performance but not the best. Deepika could have got an award for best entertainer but not the best actor. Was this because Margarita with a straw wasn't a family movie and had some explicit scenes?

3. Sooraj Pancholi got award for best debut actor.
Reminds me of the day when Fardeen Khan got the award for best debut actor for Prem Agan. When I read that Sooraj had got this award, I thought he had no competition but I was wrong. Vicky Kaushal from Masaan and Shashank Arora from Titli were his competition and better than him. Then again, who cares!

Are we really giving 'best actor' awards or 'best entertainer' awards? Even in the latter category these awards don't make much sense!

Biggest shocker of the Filmfare awards was that Shah Rukh Khan was nominated for best actor for Dilwale (because you know, he has done a film so he must be nominated) and Salman Khan was nominated for Bajrangi Bhaijaan (because you know, he was a lead actor in a good movie after so many years, last one being Dabangg). BUT Nawazuddin Siddiqui was NOT even nominated for Manjhi! Had it not been for Ranveer Singh winning the award for Bajirao Mastani, one of these two Khans would have got it. Thank you Ranveer.

The cherry on top goes to none other than nominations for best actress: Kajol (Dilwale) and Sonam Kapoor (Dolly Ki Doli).

From now on, just like Aamir Khan, I'm also going to boycott these award functions (on TV) !!

India isn't intolerant, it is too tolerant

Aamir Khan​'s situation reminds me of a scene from Sholay​ in which Kalia does something wrong and says, "Sardar, maine aapka namak khaaya hai", and Gabbar says, "Ab goli khaa..."
People have assumed that Aamir's statements were his opinion but it wasn't an opinion, it was a concern and it wasn't his, it was his wife's. It was like during my school days, everyone hated when teacher taught too much and for many days but no one spoke a word. One day a student is heard talking about it, merely expressing his concerns to someone, and that student is made an example of, bad mouthed, branded a "traitor" of sorts. At least despite realizing the consequences, Aamir still stands by his word. Satyameva Jayate indeed.
So what is it that's bothering us? That we, the Indian people made him The Aamir Khan? Is it about money and fame? We willingly adored him for his performance and he earned his wealth legally doing things we enjoyed. Compare his statements to the obscene remarks made by our politicians on the most horrendous crime, Rape. "Boys will be boys", "Chowmein should be banned because it propagates rape", "girls should not be allowed to wear jeans for their safety" etc. (paraphrased of course). I am sure most of you will remember these statements. Moreover, we laughed off the matter of politicians watching porn during an active parliamentary session. When our guardians who were elected to serve us take our safety so lightly, why don't we raise our voice against them? Because they have power. Celebrities don't have the kind of power to put you in prison. And let us not forget, most of these politicians do earn wealth through bribery and other illegitimate means (scams).
Are we trying to protect our national image? What national image? A nation where millions don't get to eat food twice a day and have to sleep hungry, and live in deplorable conditions, what image should it really have? How does intolerance even matter in the face of lack of basic amenities for majority of our population?
It is easy to boycott a certain brand and movies of a certain actor (i.e., easier to stop doing something) than to try and fix the real issues (not the ones fabricated by political entourage) faced by fellow Indians on a daily basis.
"All Indians are my brothers and sisters", remember? Perhaps with these sentiments he would have shared his personal conversation with the whole nation, like one shares with our siblings. And what do we do? We decide to dig out his past and boycott his movies and brands. (slow clap!)
Perhaps Aamir was wrong. We're not intolerant, we're too tolerant !! We tolerate all the crap and fabricated bullshit fed to us like whether to ban beef or not, when millions are shivering and starving, in our own country.
A country where we let politicians get away with anything but target powerless celebrities, where we get offended by what a person says rather than what a person does or doesn't do (fulfilling promises made during election campaign), where we're ready to attack someone's livelihood (be it Aamir or Beef sellers) just because they hurt our sentiments rather than using our time and effort towards helping other citizens live a better life, I can never be proud of such a country. Perhaps no country is perfect but I always thought India and Indians were better than this.

It happens only in India

People blowing horn incessantly really pisses me off !!
I mean, are the vehicles driving ahead, a group of oxes that you whip with your horns?
And then they are blown horn at by the ones behind them, and so on!
Its like they propagate their frustration ahead.
Sometimes I just feel like turning back and showing them the finger or shout at them, for real!
But then I am not the one who can stand a fight, so I prefer to beat it and keep myself safe!
Nonetheless I've seen this has been a growing trend on Indian roads, the trend of blowing horns, thinking that the traffic ahead will magically start moving faster, or even better, disappear! I mean, how primitive can we be to feel such nonsense!

While the blowing horn mania is quite a recent one, an age old habit that truly is unique to being an Indian, is spitting!
Indians are quite good at it, in fact it doesn't matter what they're doing, if they feel like spitting, they will spit. They turn their head to a side, collect all the material and with certain required amount of force, pull their head back a little and then thrust out the spit while their head also jerks ahead a little. Some who are more proficient don't have to move their head at all, to attain that thrust. Their mouth is powerful enough to produce that long trajectory of spit that's so clearly visible to the naked eye.
Given the insane amount of spitting that goes on, on Indian roads, I am surprised that I haven't witnessed any victim yet.
Indians can spit anytime, anywhere, but only when they're in India! They can spit while driving, or being driven, while walking, while talking, while sitting, while standing, while eating, while drinking... haven't seen them spit while dancing, but who knows, maybe someday!

Another thing Indians have mastered over the years is Moral Policing! And surprisingly, they feel quite righteous about it! But you know what they really are, a spoilsport! They're worse than the guy who asks questions in the class after the bell for recess has rung! They're worse than that monitor who complains to the teacher about those who talk and make a mess in class! They're worse than ... well lets say they're the worst. So what if two people want to be in love and make love, be it within the walls of a hotel or out in the open, perhaps in a park! But NO! They're the ones who decide what's right, because, obviously it seems they either never got any "action" or they suffered heartbreak or they've been brainwashed by those who suffered from the above two reasons... had it been two minors or a minor with an adult, one can understand the concern but two consenting adults, comfortably above the age of 20, have the right to make love any way they way wherever they want! Trust me, they won't go naked and fornicate in a public park, they won't. If they do, please arrest them. Until then, let people have fun! Let them enjoy the good fortune that they have someone to love who feels the same!

And the latest one... girls please don't falsely accuse guys that they've abused you. The situation is such that anything against a girl is now a crime and most guys have no interest in abusing or hurting a girl's feelings intentionally. They don't, nobody does. Please don't be the shepherd who shouted wolf when there was none because when one actually appears, nobody would be willing to believe you and we'd be back to the "dark ages" for females. Things are looking good for females, lets help this movement and usher an age where everybody enjoys all the privileges! I hope I live to see that day.

customers and babies

There was a time when joint families were quite prevalent in India. And just like in a corporate job, in a joint family after marriage, results (babies) are expected!
With good results, i.e. loaded customer (only baby in the family), or great results, i.e., loyal customer (baby boy), that girl became the favorite daughter-in-law in the house. The jealous ones used other tactics like bribery (getting goodies for everyone from their parents' home), to earn that favorite category.
The tyranny of big corporations (joint families) led to startups/freelancing (nuclear families). Now they can work at their own pace (i.e. do the activity that produces babies), whenever they like, and produce results and get customers (babies) the way they like.
Because the investors/temporary (in-laws) boss can only suggest and they hold no real power over you.
That power has shifted to customers (babies) and their future with the partners in their new venture (family) is of utmost consideration now.
No wonder we've been pampering customers so much !! Now everything can be home delivered, I won't be surprised if they manage to do that for a new house also. Everything can be done online, all a customer has to do is click (all a baby has to do is cry). And customer's complaints are adhered to asap (same with when a baby cries, a different cry).
And how can we forget the rise of third parties (baby-sitters, maids, and baby products companies).
Respect for boss/investors (elders in the family) is important but that shouldn't make the customer's well being (baby's well being) suffer. Nor should the customer (baby) be pampered so much that it forgets the importance of your company (family).