Rash governance in the name of religion, yet again.

This is with reference to another incident based on communal bigotry which serves not much beyond being a sadist travesty and a practical joke in the name of religion as reported in the Sunday Times. For those not in the knowhow, read the article on the below link and navigate back to this page. http://epaper.timesofindia.com/Default/Scripting/ArticleWin.asp?From=Archive&Source=Page&Skin=TOI&BaseHref=TOIM/2009/03/15&PageLabel=1&EntityId=Ar00101&ViewMode=HTML&GZ=T

It’s a fresh new controversy on the construction of a statue of the ‘Christian Charlie Chaplin’ by a film crew for shooting in the land owned by the Someshwara Temple, Bangalore. One of the reasons for objection is that the statue hurts the sentiments of the Hindu locals. This incident follows on the heels of an alleged ‘rave party’ that was busted a few days back by the Bangalore police, with the authorities and the government practicing the same sort of reckless governance in Karnataka yet again.

A vote of thanks to the Times for practicing prudent voicing of opinions in a subtle yet sensible manner in the section Times View which should accompany every such untoward insensible incident acted upon by thick-headed people. I only regret that they didn’t do the same while reporting the crackdown on the so-called Bangalore based ‘rave-party’. Nonetheless, Thank You. Thank You, the Times Group for practicing meaningful journalism this time around. We hope you continue in the same vein.

The only point I wish to make is the self-proclaimed Hindu chauvinists of the BJP need a reality check. The Bhagvad Gita explicitly says ‘Sarva Dharm Samaan.’ I think these so-called Hindu activists of the BJP need to re-read the sacred Gita before launching a charade in the form of their Hindutva campaign only to make a mockery of the holy text. The Gita believes in secularity and so does India. Why implement something that it doesn’t preach under the guise of protecting the Hindu religion. Now, that is what I call utter disregard and disrespect for the Hindu religion by the authorities of the Someshwara Temple and the BJP and not by the film-makers in question. I’m a secular Indian citizen, who despite being a Sikh, has read the Bhagvad Gita. If those leading the above-mentioned campaign are atleast Hindus, if not secular citizens of the country, please, please, please do read the text. That is my earnest request. Try putting into practice atleast half of what it says. Think about it. We are an educated lot. So do not try to mislead the Hindus.

An ode to my Alma-mater

Self-made engineers. Ever heard of that? Not unless you’re an engineer thyself.  Allow me to elaborate. As I sit in this classroom, for yet another long-drawn out and not-so-academically-fulfilling lecture, as I inch towards the last few days at VJTI, the laughter and light-hearted banter continues camouflaged under muffled voices  and giggles lest the HOD in the adjacent cabin mistakes it for a brouhaha session than a genuine lecture. At this juncture, I can’t help but look back in retrospect at the journey through the making of us engineers. Contrary to popular perception, that VJTI is geek haven, lemme break some long-held myths about this place that is considered by the fellow fraternity the mecca for all engineering aspirants. This place ain’t no mecca if you’re looking for quality education, but it is in case you’re looking for some perpetually intense competition and pressure to perform from your elite peers coz everyone here is either as intelligent as you or slightly more. But, the funny part is that VJTI or for that matter any college in Mumbai University(MU) has no role to play, whatsoever, in the arduous task of shaping, structuring or molding that oh-so-potential candidate into an engineer.

For starters, the lectures don’t take place at all, even if they do by a remote chance, they are just dull and dreary sleep-inducing presentations in semi-understandable jargon by vernacular professors ( or vernies as they are popularly known throughout the university). The labs are not conducted with half the expertise and sincerity that is expected off the state-of-the-art facilities which are a preliminary condition for engineering colleges across the city. So, the financial aid sanctioned by the university to colleges is just rusting in the labs in the form of ill-used apparatus and professors ill-equipped with regards to teaching. So, now you’re wondering how Mumbai University manages to produce the largest in strength and in fact 45% of the country’s best engineers. Seems like an insuperable feat to most. And even if they do manage to pull it off, howcome these engineers are efficiently running the power, infrastructure, technology and manufacturing sectors?

Uh Huh!!! Well, the term stated in the beginning is your answer to the above question. So, we have a chunk of engineering undergrads who are mentally prepared for some tough overhaul of their pre-conceived notions, well equipped with the will to face this uphill task all by themselves. I can safely corroborate this coz through my 4 years of engineering, I haven’t attended a cumulative 4 weeks of legitimate lectures or 4 months of labs meant for application development (a must while one is training to be an engineer) and I still managed to maintain a 1^st class without a single KT through 8 semesters (for the equally intellectual but less privileged counterparts , I’d consider a leeway of 2-3 KT’s to account for MU’s absolutely unpredictable marking scheme & pattern of checking). Yet, I’m an engineer in the making, quite comfortably having completed 6 live projects with a mega final year project in Java, a language that wasn’t even formally taught in the curriculum. Every fellow-engineer in the fraternity has a similar story to tell. So, this story isn’t mine. It’s the proud flagship story of every engineering graduate. So, we appear for exams without having undergone formal training in the relevant course and yet manage against all odds the elusive 40-mark milestone. That’s an engineer cut out for you from Mumbai University, the academia-proclaimed, university conferred self-made engineer. Rightly so!

PS: I wonder if I could’ve acquired the degree without paying a tuition fee of 2 lacs with all the above paraphernalia, with equal panache and ease, but then I would’ve missed out on the joys of the oh-so-great-college-life that I’d kill for when I’m 35+. (Who told you techies don’t know how to have fun?). So, I’m glad I went to college. Thank you, my alma mater. Thank you the apparently-inefficient-MU. I still adore you and I shall always love you!

Getting rich to get richer

I am writing this as I am reminded of a conversation with a friend wherein I said ‘What’s the point in buying an Ipod and shelling out some 10 grands on something that we barely even have time for, except for while travelling to and from work in the bus.’ So I spend almost a month’s salary on an mp3 player that I barely have time to use. The same holds true for a digicam. I never took a lot of pictures for around 10 years between 1995 & 2005 unless it was an occasional trip with the family to the North or a hill station or a family wedding and stuff like that. But since the time Orkut & Facebook have invaded my surfing zone with the in-your-face updates about which gang of friends is partying or dancing or drinking or visiting which new place in the country or abroad with pictures splashed across their photo albums, I wanna buy a digicam too coz I wanna do the same. Commercialization has lived much beyond its target shelf-life and encroached upon an un-thought of modus operadi. I’m sure the makers of Sony Cybershot never in the wildest of their wildest dreams thought about this form of cross-selling strategy that has been nothing more than a stupendously successful fallout.

Commercialization spelt another new craze for us mortals: assets and investments, be it property, real estate, equities or whatever else can possibly be traded. So, I earn some 10 lacs p.a and I’m willing to buy some property, forsake the joy of splurging my hard-earned money on something meaningful or atleast on something that means to me (like a trip to the Carribean). But hey no, I don’t do that, I go ahead and invest hoping with all my heart and soul for the prices to rise to make me more richer. And then when they do rise, I indulge in another bout of trading and buying and selling and reinvesting coz I wana get more outta this thing. So I forsake another dream (like buying myself a Lancer: I’m aware these are materialistic dreams too, but being human as we are, on an equitable scale though, the desire to get more affluent weighs more.)

I have found people who can come up with absolutely clear reasons in their defense. But fact remains, we are probably deluding ourselves into believing we want something that we don’t really need. So, to my friend who indulged in a conversation with me relevant to the aforementioned, all I can say is ‘Do not justify to me. It doesn’t matter. I’m probably a different version of you, myself. Reconsider and think clearly.’

I saw this movie once called Failure to Launch wherein the male protagonist is a dealer in boats. His friend expresses his desire to buy a boat and he tells him ‘Dude, lemme tell u since you’re my friend, u don’t wanna buy a boat, you just like the idea of buying a boat.’ So I presume, his business was to fool people into believing that they do wanna buy a boat. Fairly reasonable, I must say.

My point here is: I am no different from the rest of the species, like we have carnal desires no matter how sexually prudish we act, same way somewhere deep down we are hedonistic people nurturing dreams for material possessions. I’m not judging by saying if it’s right or wrong. The truth remains it’s all a matter of sating yourself. Your threshold of complacency can only be defined by you. We’re all aware of it, but yet we all like the idea of owning more than what we exactly need like Matthew McConaughey aptly put it. It’s about the perception, the mirage that we build for ourselves, coz if we look past the obscure, we shall be able to see clearly.

The Law as we know it

I am compelled to write this as I read about yet another raid on a group of young revelers in this morning’s paper. The report as in the Times of India stated that a group of 110 youngsters partying at a farmhouse off Bangalore were caught in a raid. They were slapped with charges of obscenity at a public place (because they were shaking a leg or two on the dance floor) and illegal sale of liquor (which is a definite accompaniment to any party? Don’t they know that? If they do, then why didn’t they raid Abhishek Bacchhan’s wedding celebrations? What, was he serving? Virgin Pinacoladas at his wedding?) And these charges were forcefully slapped against them in a bid to sabotage because they didn’t find anyone in illegal possession of drugs. (Kya zabardasti hain yaar! I must say) The behest was a complaint from a neighbor about excessive noise post 1:00 a.m. Agreed! So, dude, press charges against that. Give them a warning. Why put behind bars a group of youngsters who believe in the maxim work hard party harder on a deserved weekend break.

A few things that make me wonder:

1.      1. Obscenity at public place (as reported). The poor guy who hosted the party/rented out the place for the party is in legal possession of the farmhouse in question! Goddammit! That ain’t no public property.

2.      2. Consumption of alcohol by anyone above the age of 21 is legal in any damn province within the Consolidated Union of India. What was so unlawful about having alcohol? The newspaper reported that most of the youngsters were from the ITes, so 21+ I guess with valid pan cards issued by the Govt. of India. Well, I’m aware that you need a liquor license of something in the range of Rs.5000+ for distribution of liquor at a party. But how many people actually do follow that? Besides, even if this harmless gang of youngsters did not acquire the said license, the incident was not worthy of being a source of cheap publicity of triumphant glory for the Bangalore police. They could have issued a warning or a fine or a punishment commensurate with the miniscule level of default committed.

3.      3. The newspaper reported that the cops seized Rs.1000, 35 four-wheelers and several 2-wheelers. What for? Is owning a four-wheeler or two-wheeler illegal in the country?  (I mean, Holy Cow! what kind of charges are these?)

4.      4. ‘Rave party’ busted! was the tagline below the heading of the article. Harmless dancing and drinking with friends on a Saturday night does not by any means figure in the definition of a rave party especially when they were not doing drugs. Why report it as a rave party when it actually wasn’t?  Why compel the young and hearty to overtly cover their faces whilst clicking them when the poor souls haven’t actually committed a grave crime.

I reckon, the newspapers should practice some kind of judicious discretion in the way they report. And I as a vigilant citizen of the country would have preferred reading something on the lines of what I’ve written here instead of the indiscrete report published by the Times.

Violation of law is taking place on an equally large scale by the law-makers and law-enforcers. Well, we always have been aware of that. But, oppressing those who ascertain their independence and liberty in this day and age has never taken place on a scale in which it is taking place now. We must not only stand up and take notice, but also stand up and raise a voice against it. We the youngsters of this country, the future of tomorrow, are cultured Indian citizens and we don’t need no moral brigade to drive home this point!

The Great Engineering Student dilemma

Human expectations and desires, in a nutshell, can be summarized by the immortal Pink Floyd line “In a world of magnets and miracles…..we reached the dizzying heights of that dreamed of world."  The species of engineering aspirants are victims to it too.

As I enter the final lap of my engineering, I can safely say tht I have learnt some of the grim realities of the business (that are a definite accompaniment while one is training to be an engineer.)

At the threshold of an important career decision, lies the age-old question where most engineering students falter. Most of us have asked our own selves at one point or the other, the crucial question of “MBA or MS?” The predicament remains the same, but the victims keep changing. There are exceptions to this majority though, the one’s who are determined and know exactly their roadmap in life. However, for the larger chunk of the fraternity, awaits a voyage that traverses confusion-stricken crossroads, brainwashing sessions with seniors and peers, the same discussion that repeats itself over and over again. And it doesn’t end at that, the by-products being, parental pressure and the drive to seek an avenue that will fetch lucrative job opportunities. Amidst all this, there are those who might suggest the confused souls to do a bit of introspection, to ask themselves what they really want from life, where exactly do their interests and aptitude lie. Some ring the bells of the process of elimination, which comes in handy when you are playing with your luck in the midst of a GRE or CAT exam. But personally, I’m not sure if it does help at this juncture in life. Different people with different perceptions definitely give varied opinions. Having gone through this myself, I’m aware that the oppressed underdog knows all of these and more. What he doesn’t know is the path to take through the maze.

The solution indeed is not easy to find. Atleast I haven’t found a single spirit who knows a fool-proof way out of it. However, after much hearsay and conjecture I have realized that there is no definite answer or modus-operandi. The question remains unanswered but what I did learn is…..You can go anywhere you want, the question is…..where do u want to go? That brings us to where we started from, the seed of all desires….the ultimate pedestal that one wants to reach in life and that zenith is different for every person. Once you know the goal, you know the path. And the only way to reach it is to resist the mob psychology and FOLLOW YOUR DREAM!!!

So, to all my fellow engineers, as I pass out of engineering, the only word of advice that I pass down to you in legacy is: Listen to your heart!