As I’d mentioned in my previous posts, I am contemplating abandoning this personal blog of mine… or in other words, I am going to keep my private life, private. Well, to the most part.
I have shifted my Tech Blog at PROJectBee.org . I might post a couple of philosophical rants, and may be personal notes once in a while. You could subscribe the feed of my new blog. Please make necessary changes to your blogrolls and feed readers. I ensure, it’s a quality product 🙂
By the way, I am not going to abandon the blogs I have been reading and commenting on. I’ll still be visiting you guys. 🙂
Yes, then is there something for which you can leave your current profession?
If No, What is it “that” which takes your breath away?
Note:
1. I love this picture. It’s taken from Jean-François Chénier’s flickr photostream. The best thing I like about the picture is it’s name: Trust. 🙂
No relation to this post whatsoever, though.
2. This post is concerned to myself, more than anyone else.
Yesterday while standing at a railway crossing, waiting for the train to pass by, I realized that I love train journeys. Bus journeys are painful, and flight journeys -too short. Trains provide you enough space to move (and jump) around. People you come across are interesting. Moreover, the journey is long enough to let you enjoy your “break” 🙂
Tonight, I’ll be leaving for home to celebrate Holi and my B’day with family after a long time. This will probably be my last visit to Orissa because father got transferred. Return journey is flight from Kolkata, but tonight’s for my loving train :). I have also realized that each time I get down from a train after finishing the journey, a sense of realization that I have failed to enjoy the journey to the fullest comes to me. I know that not everybody would be able to relate to this feeling, but what the hell! 🙂
This feeling, I guess, has a lot to do with my childhood train journeys. This is when I used to fantasize having a camera to click pictures of the changing landscapes. This fantasy is what drove me to buy a DSLR. There is also a disturbing memory associated with trains, but that’s quite personal.
Anyhoo! I don’t wish to stretch this post anymore. I posted it just to let you guys know a couple of things. One, that I’ll be on leave for around 10 days (Saturdays, Sundays included). Second, my love and fantasy for train journeys :). But there’s also one more thing on my mind, and it doesn’t have much to do with trains.
I am considering abandoning this blog. There are several reasons for this. Most prominent of them (which I’d like to mention here 🙂 ) are that I’ve never liked pouring my personal thoughts on anyone (Okay, a few 😀 ), and I don’t REALLY feel comfortable doing it here. This blog started out as an outlet of my frustrations during the final year BTech (and a medium of one sided communication to a few). However, I am not sure if there’s any point continuing it.
Secondly, I am planning to move my tech blog to my server http://projectbee.org, once I return from home, and would like to focus on it. Nothing’s decided yet. Let’s see! 🙂
I was working on an introductory paper on RFC 2616 (HTTP Protocol v1.1) today, and had my free iPod shuffle plugged in. I was on the verge of finishing the paper when it transitioned from MaahiVe (Kaante) to Tere Bina Zindagi (Aandhi).
I’ve listened to this song a thousand times, if not more. In fact I must have heard it at least twice yesterday night, and skipped a couple of times. But this was something different. I had a strange feeling. Then the dialogue between Sanjeev Kumar (SK) & Suchitra Sen (SS) came in:
SK: Suno Arti, ye jo phulon ki belen nazar aati hain na ye dar-asal
arabi main aayaten likhii hain. Inhe din ke vaqt dekhna
bilkul saaf nazar aati hain. Din ke Waqt ye saara paani se bharaa
rahataa hai. Din ke Waqt.. ye jo phuhaare hain…..
Suchitra Sen: Din ki baat kyun kar rahe ho. kahaan aa paauungi main din ke Waqt SK: Ye jo chaand hai na ise raat main dekhnaa… Ye din mein nahi nikaltaa… SS: ye to roj nikaltaa hogaa SK: haan lekin kabhii kabhii amaavas aa jaati hai. Waise to amaavas 15 dinon
ki hoti hai lekin is baar bahut lambi thhii SS: Nau baras lambi thhii naa..
(just a li’ll background. These two people were married, but one fine day, the lady leaves her husband to follow her father’s inheritance of politics. Nine years later, she visits the city for a political campaign and stays in the hotel where her husband is a manager. She goes the house for a dinner, following which both take a walk, this is when the song is played and a conversation takes place. Following is just part of it.)
…and Thud! Something hit me really hard. I don’t know what it was, or why! It just made me feel really.. helpless.
May be it was simply the excitement of finally finishing the paper coupled with an emotional line; or may be just a transition from a fast paced song (MaahiVe) to this one; or may be the story of Kashmir Singh, a prisoner of war, being released by Pakistan after 35 long years was still on my mind when Suchitra Sen reminds Sanjeev Kumar of their troubled relationship of 9 years…
…Or may be it was all. 🙂
Trust me. I am not at all being dramatic. The thought of a relationship floating in troubled waters for 9 long years just because two people couldn’t sort things out… despite being in love so strong that’d eventually survive a separation so long, send shivers in me.
Uh! What the hell! Who cares? Life goes on… Doesn’t it? 🙂
…or does it?
Anyhoo! You enjoy the song 🙂
The above written dialogue is at the beginning of the 3rd minute.
It hurts me when people keep crying about corruption, and complaining that nothing is being done for the society/common name blah blah blah. But it hurts even more when the people responsible for dissemination such vital information do not “play their part” responsibly.
Yes! I wish to blame the media. I’ll, however, resist and put it on hold for some other time.
This post is dedicated to Baba Amte. The man who dedicated a big part of his life for the “not so common men”. The meaning of “not so common men” can be understood by watching this small documentary.
Baba’s life is also a lesson for people who doubt in the power of one. His mortal structure is no more, but he’ll continue to live in the hearts of thousands…
p.s. Thanks to Amrit for sharing the video. It can be downloaded from BabaAmte.net
Zara Aawaz ka Lehza to badlo,
Zara Maddham karo is aanch ko Sonaa.n
Ke jal jaate hain Kungre narm Rishton ke
Zara Alfaaz ke Nakhun tarasho
Bahot Chubhte hain jab Narazgi se baat karti ho…!
-Gulzar Saab
A few days ago, a very special friend of mine sent it to me. The couplets left me wondering, which hurts more in a relationship when things are not so good:
1. Harsh words… that convey things one never meant to say, OR
2. The piercing silence… that nullify every attempt to bring things on track.
That sad evening when I came back from office, I knew you’d be waiting for me… waiting for me to take you into my arms and start………
Little did I know that you were sick. It was not even half-an-hour when you started showing the initial signs of sickness. We talked for around 3 hours and you felt a lot better. We decided we could work.
What an amazing night it was! We worked till 4:30 AM… and we did some really productive work. Then we both went to sleep.
I woke up a little late… around 10:00 AM. You were still lying beside me. I didn’t disturb you.
I went to freshen up, and returned in an hour after having breakfast. I woke you up… but your wireless disappeared AGAIN. 😦
I then spent the whole day trying to update your drivers, uninstalling and re-adding the hardware, and what not. Nothing would work. Neither in Windows, nor on Linux. The wireless device wouldn’t even show up in the hardware profile. I knew it was time for you to visit your family doctors. I took you to the HP Service center at Indira Nagar. They said that since the medical policy has expired, I’ll have to pay a minimum of 300 bucks, in case I didn’t want to go with the prescribed medication. They promised to send the quotation within two working days. Money was hardly any problem… or so I thought.
Those two days and the corresponding nights without you were one of the worst I can remember… Moreover, the mere thought of you being alone in someone else’s house was shivering. Anyhoo, as they had promised, they sent the quotation on the second day. They demanded Rs. 15,838.00/-. They said your motherboard has come trouble.
I knew, I couldn’t afford such an amount… and you know it too. Don’t you?
Several thoughts crossed my mind. Will I have to get a new lady! Will you never be able to talk again!
I consulted a number of people. My younger bro asked me to give you to him and get a new wife for myself. Other people, including my uncle, supported his view. However, Swenny came as a saviour in the midst of all confusions. He told me about the wireless usb modules. They could make you talk again using 802.11 protocol without any need to g for a surgery. They even cost less.
I literally ran from the office, got a linksys one for you, and bingo! Here you are completely (okay okay, almost) fine. 🙂 I am sorry honey that I could afford you a new mother board, but you do understand that we couldn’t have afforded 16K. Moreover, the linkysy thingy i just 1.6K. Isn’t it simply great. 🙂
In another news, I won an ipod shuffle (2nd Gen) – 1GB for sending an sms to the number imprinted on a packet of HappyDent White. This seems to be the first time I have won something so costly… and it feels a little…ummm… strange to have it. I mean I didn’t really earn it… or do any kind of *meaningful* work to get it.
Anyhoo! I just hope that your new body part is comfortable. 🙂
The tunes/songs I am talking about are:
1. Mile Sur Mera Tumhara
2. Baje Sargam
3. Jungle Book
4. Malgudi Days
5. Surabhi
6. Byomkesh Bakshi
7. Tipu Sultan
8. Mahabhart (a small part)
It’s one of the various promotional ads for the Lead India initiative (another reality show) by the Times of India group. It’s written by Gulzar Saab, music by Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy, and sung by Shankar Mahadevan. It’s being termed as the new anthem. An amazing number of people find it inspiring, and a few find it a wave similar to Rang De Basanti.
The “different” aspect, however, of this reality show is that it promises to deliver leaders (or politicians) who have the potential to lead and to change things that we all keep complaining about, but never stand to oppose. It’s unfortunate that not just other news channels, but even we have all have been ignoring, if not mocking, it. IMHO, it’s a pretty amazing move. Try to keep an eye on the happenings.
To appreciate the video even more, I thought it’d be good if people could understand the lyrics.
Falak pakad ke utho, aur hawa pakad ke chalo, –2
Tum chalo, to hindustan chale –4
Lagao haath ke suraj subah nikala karein, ]
Hatheliyon mein bhare dhoop aur uchhala karein, ]–2 Ufaq pe paav rakho, aur chalo akad ke chalo,
Falak pakad ke utho, aur hawa pakad ke chalo, –2
Tum chalo, to hindustan chale –4
Although the song has only too pretty uncommon urdu words -Falak (Sky), and Ufaq (Horizon), yet the video is so gripping that a number of people just ignore the magical web of words that Gulzar saab has created.
The video attempts to convey a very simple message –stop complaining and be the change. It reminds me of Majrooh Sultanpuri’s lines:
Main akeyla hi chala tha Jaanib-e-mazil magar, Log saath aate gaye, Kaarvan banta gaya!
Similarly, the lyrics of the song convey a very simple message –have a pride in your existence and your actions. Nothing is “big” enough for you.This message has a very special significance. Most of us, the Indians, have a good inferiority complex. Leave other aspects, we don’t believe that an Indian movie can be better (or may be even as good as) a Hollywood movie.
Here is a literal translation of lyrics of the New Anthem: Disclaimer: The lines below are just translation, not a poetic translation.
Hold the sky to stand, and walk with the wind in your hands,
Be the front-runner; because when you walk, Hindustan (India) walks with you.
Lend your hand to pull out the Sun in the morning,
Fill your hands with sunlight, and throw it around, Keep you legs on the horizon, and walk with pride, Hold the sky to stand, and walk with the wind in your hands,
Be the front-runner; because when you walk, Hindustan (India) walks with you.
If it doesn’t shake you up, just imagine yourself doing all this literally. Imagine yourself pushing the Sun and being the reason for the sunrise. Imagine yourself walking with your leg on the horizon, as you walk holding the gusty winds like a rope.
That’s the kind of pride and courage needed if ones wishes to change and challenge the world.
Remember, the Tank Man?
Anyhoo! Here’s another video (not from the Lead India campaign), that I found on YouTube.
Well, some of you know that I maintain 3 blogs (one being a group blog). Hence, quite obviously, it sometimes gets a bit troublesome to decide where do I post the ..ummm.. post. So, I am here with crosslink category to link from one blog to another. 🙂
I am the monarch of all I Survey 