Simplicity breeds stupidity
Simplicity is always desired. It throws things in your face, makes it clear and succinct and leaves no room for ambiguity. It makes it easy, clear to the layman. As each layman understands, simplicity becomes famous. Einstein’s e=mc^2 was known to all, but not Poisson’s equation.
Simplicity is preceded by ingenuity and breeds stupidity.
Let me explain before you get me wrong. Think of that man, Einstein. He thought and pondered over the impossible till he made it possible. By his own admission, Einstein said, “I just stay with the problem longer.” And the longer he dwelt, the more visible the solution became. But it is only the man who thinks is enlightened, all others who follow, have in a way, stopped thinking for themselves.
Can I, a layman, travel the mind maze, the routes, the obstacles, the failures, the darkness, the spark that finally led to the discovery of e=mc^2? The answer is no. For me, I get the finished product, only the smooth path to the end result. It robs me of my power to think deeper, to ponder on the alleys leading nowhere and learning from them. I am rendered stupid by every discovery, by every invention that is not mine own. No matter how hard I may force myself to think, there is only so much depth I can plumb, only so much knowledge I can deduce, I am robbed of the entire gamut of learning of the inventor. The simple result in front of me renders my mind incapable of thinking.
I am stupid because I did not receive the same insight to explore a possibility that that Newton did, staring at a falling apple. I am stupid because I do not know the 10,000 ways of not making a light bulb that Thomas Edison does, I only know that the bulb glows. I am stupid, because even as I work on a computer, I don’t know what prompted Pascal to think of making the earliest computer. I am stupid, because every invention around me is gifted from men before my time. I only know so much that the inventor shared, I know not his mind. Even while I feel grateful for the blessings of science and technology, I cannot help but curse them for the stupidity that these inventions breed.
Think for a second of the most developed countries in the world. Think of the US of A. Life is so much easier, they say. Often on the press of a button, you almost get what you want, so much mechanization, and so many processed products – that they allow you to stop thinking. The lesser the struggle involved to achieve, the duller the mind becomes. I don’t have to think of the “how”. In India, there is a word called “jugaad” which implies improvising, managing somehow despite lack of resources. This forces us, the people in the developing nation to think. The day life becomes simple, so will our minds become stupid.

Life is an impulse
Life is an impulse. Remember the impulse function taught in college/school (nowadays)? It peaks in a single instant and has no existence before or after it. It is defined not by how long the instant is, but how high it reaches in that moment. Much like life.
If you close your eyes now and relive your life, what come back are images, few in number. Images you can go over in the fraction of a second. That is the essence. Every hour you have lived becomes a nanosecond in memory. Days merge because they are similar....what remains is the most important event, most important action, the most moving feeling of your past. That would take more than a nanosecond of time. It is not that a younger person lives through his life in just a second. Even the tottering old would take just that fraction of second to recollect life.
The instant, the moment is all that the impulse has. In that single moment, it must surge, it must reach the stars, it must peak. It is but a moment we all have to live, to enjoy, to act, to be happy…to peak. And every moment holds so much promise. Much like the Vodafone ad – “Make the most of now”.

Another inextricable concept linked with life is death. Inevitable, inexorable and any which way you put it, death has been hailed as the only truth. To my mind, death is the only event that gives life its meaning. The impending end provides the impetus for action, for that impulse. Death makes each moment precious. Death makes life worth living. Now and no more. A concept which breaks monotony. Things are beautiful because they are not forever. My friend whom I meet everyday is not going to be there forever and it makes my every conversation precious. Friends will become just a face in my mind. Our myriad conversations will translate into a smile when I think back. Think of those friends from school (all 12/13 years of our lives), from college (3/4 years of togetherness) – all that remain are faces, smiles, some strong emotions and nothing else. Did we think while standing surrounded by “best friends” in school that it would all disappear in a jiffy? Had we known, would we have quarreled? My life now will change in the blink of an eye, making this time priceless. My mirror will show me a different face in a jiffy as I grow older. A moment is all I have to cherish everything in my life now.

When I think of the swirling thoughts in my mind, I often cannot put to words everything that passes through. Some flitter away before I can grasp them.

All that is black and white, I know what to write
That which is black and grey, I don't know what to say.

Take care!
Live now!
:D

In our knowledge, lies our ignorance

The other day, I came across this phrase. Took me quite a few minutes to completely understand what it meant. Oxymoron and quite laconic, the phrase forced me to think again on what I had learnt, that Knowledge removes ignorance.

Anything that we know and believe, also acts as an impediment to expanding our horizon of gullibility. How often have I heard the phrase, "not to my knowledge" - final and decisive in tone, questioning everything beyond it. Very few can actually realize, that while they know, that what they know itself is subject to change. That frameworks, definitions, basic tenets are as much basic as shifting sand dunes.

There is no truth. (Oxymoron...even while I say it). Only a window of time, whose dimensions keep changing, the viewing angles keep rotating and moving, viewers keep taking turns to peep and opine....much like kaleidoscope. Those opinions become truths for that moment.

For every individual, at some point of time in our lives, we need to ask ourselves what our strengths and weaknesses are. And while we answer from what we know, we prove that in our knowledge lies our ignorance. What we have never achieved, does not mean it is not our strength. Much like Hanuman. He needed Jambuban to tell him what he never knew he could do. That he could fly. Something that his knowledge told him he couldn't.

The same goes for other aspects of our life too. What we believe, is subject to what we can imagine. What we can imagine is limited by our knowledge. You see, as human beings we are limited by our five senses. God just gave us 5 senses...and left the rest of the world beyond that realm of knowledge. To help us make do with what we had naturally, he gave us the ability to think. So human beings thought. What we couldn't see, we made the telescope and microscope. What we couldn't hear, we made sonar, telephone. That was it.

We are yet to overcome the challenge, where we can touch what we cannot see or hear. For example, can I touch someone sitting miles away? Can he feel my touch? Imagine, how powerful that would be! All those video conferences miles away, could actually have people shaking hands. All those lovebirds separated by distance, could talk on the phone while holding hands. Reminds me of a tag line..."imagine the possibilities".

Right now, my knowledge says its not possible. And makes me ignorant of other possibilities. The same goes for smelling. What I cannot smell, can some device do that? Smelling is something so intrinsic, that we feel unless we do it, it is not done. Again, our knowledge makes us ignorant.

The sense of taste. Can that be substituted by an artificial tongue? Can you know the taste of the food before trying it? So many of us, would have helped save all those dishes, whose tastes we disliked. Something that knew what I liked...personalized, recommended or disapproved food. Also encouraged me to try something new based on my mood...People died trying to taste cyanide and write down what it was like. Died before their pen touched paper. Those lives could have been saved through this device.

In our knowledge lies our ignorance. In its realization, we go a step further to fulfillment.

"Beyond", "Limitless"...the concept is baffling. When I was a kid, and even now, when I think that the universe is unlimited, I lose myself. I fail to imagine. I am stuck, fighting, grasping, accepting the concept. You see, my knowledge makes me ignorant. Earth is round, with x square miles, states and nations have boundaries,you do this and not that...limitation is inbuilt in me from birth. And to think, that something beyond could go on till the end of nowhere stumps me.

Remember watching those Extra terrestrial movies? All aliens were humanoid in nature. They had eyes, fingers...looked similar to humans. Our knowledge made us ignorant of other possibilities. In all possibility, ETs or intelligent life-forms could just be a Dot. If you could do everything in the smallest possible dimension, why wouldn't you? Aren't we saying we are advancing when we make things smaller and more powerful. The smallest screen now is the mobile screen. Simple and powerful. That's what lasts.

Perhaps human beings have unlimited abilities, everyday we invent/discover something new ...what limits us is our knowledge. Making us ignorant.

There was a gamut of thoughts swirling in my mind when I read the phrase. I have not been able to post all of them. Some things need a little more thinking through. The writer delivered an insight, quite hidden in the article he had posted. An insight, which forced me to blog.

In the meantime, life is good.
Got my book review published in http://www.kolkatamirror.com/
Winter has limped in, in Kolkata. It is not too cold to freeze, neither hot to leave the cardigan home. Miss the Delhi, Pilani chill, sleepless freezing nights, foggy days. Kolkata weather is mild...much like its people.

Take care!
:D

Those days

It seems just like a breeze,
That touched your face and left,
Days at ISB are like perfume;
The ether goes leaving the effect
Just the other day,
I subscribed to “isb-pgp” yahoo group to find,
Alumni answer questions swirling in my mind
The application and interviews followed,
Some reached salvation, others returned to ground zero.

With bubbling curiosity,
I entered the “Indian School of Business”
Passed the peacock crossing,
Found people of different types looking eager and fresh
The larger-than-life alums, their gyaan, and scares of huge work load
The scare by professor Ramachandran on “Honour Code”
Life started for 420 of us on a roller coaster ride
Our only solace - the counselors stayed nearby.

The strangers on the first day,
Assumed names as days went by…
Sections stuck together, six-member groups huddled
To solve cases - hours started to fly
Submission boxes were
“Suspicious and unwanted objects” lying around,
But authorities wouldn’t register
Any complaints on compassionate ground.
Late night parties were our saviors,
Where we danced/drunk the night away
Endless hours online, networking,
Speaker bhashans with a promise that it will pay

Soon we were throwing our caps in the air
Graduating Class of 2007 and families – ISB became a fair
Jobs sought, dreams made or the promise to fulfill
We were MBAs - What a feeling of thrill!
Now, we are alumni,
With a halo behind our head
Life @ ISB – what a journey we’ve made!

Rural Bengal

My work with Airtel took me to rural bengal. Though I've spent my formative years in Bengal, my life was limited to Kolkata, with yearly visits to my grandpa's place in Dushghara (a town in WB, basically a village). My knowledge of village life and conditions were all that I assimilated during those visits...

My project needed me to travel. From Kolkata to Murshidabad's interior and almost inaccessible villages. More than a week on the road on a Tata Indica. I was lucky, the driver didn't declare a bandh against me even as some political groups brought bengal to a standstill. Clocking almost 10-12 hours a day, with a hurried breakfast and no lunch. I think it was a little better than MTV Roadies 5.0....at least, I was not a bike on the bumpy roads.

It was a learning experience. Life in the village is much tougher...made me thank God for being born and brought up in a city. People have more time on their hands...the idea of telecommunication is yet to catch up. Coz, most often it is "word-of-mouth" and face to face.

These guys stay together, and know each other...so a shopkeeper knows his customer much better than a city guy would ever know. People talk and discuss more, with more time on their hands. The need to communicate on the phone arises when one wants to travel, or show the fact that he's better off than the rest of his kind. Certain answers, which I would have never been able to get from a city shopkeeper seemed like obvious knowledge to a small retailer in a village.
Events that would not draw a glance in the city attract crowds in villages :D
The travel helped me know a little more about bengal...a mixture of good and not-so-good memories.

Back in time for Diwali, or Kali Puja as we call it here. My car was stopped "n" number of times on the roads in the villages, as young men blocked the road till they were paid the customary "chanda" for the puja. Being back, I love my life here more than I did when I went there.

Happy Diwali!
:D

"Click"

Yesterday night,I saw this movie. Adam Sandler starrer. One word, awesome!
I was late by 1/2 an hour, nonetheless, the story did not lose its beauty.

Adam Sandler has a great life. A beautiful wife, a bonny son and a cute daughter, a good job(he's an architect) and everything is beautiful. Only, he wishes to rise higher in his job, but the boss (who flirts/harasses female colleagues) always dangles the carrot a little further away. Adam also hates the mild quarrels with his wife, the monthly get together with his parents and all the neighborhood children making a ruckus. Mild causes of concern in a blissful life.

One day, he goes to a store and meets the scientist who had designed most of the products. He reveals his heart's desire to him. "I want a remote to control my universe". And the scientist says, "So be it" and gets to work. One day, Adam gets the gift. A simple remote control, which the scientist claims would give a nice guy (like him), a much needed break. All he needs to do is "click". Initially, Adam sees nothing untoward. Not until, his dog starts barking and he wants him to shut up. He presses the volume down-down-down. And the bark becomes a mutter. When his wife starts to fight, he presses the pause, and time stands still. Adam, the nice guy, finally gets his break!
The world is completely different. At will, he rewinds, at will he skips parties he does not enjoy and jumps to times, which he really loves.

Then, the scientist visits him one day to show him "chapters"...His entire life is saved and can be viewed on a button press. From the time he was conceived to now. He shows him the "skip" feature...Adam prefers to skip his sickness, his wife's quarrels, hours he slogged to complete his design...
The boss is impressed with Adam's new zest for life and ability to work. So, when Adam asks for his promotion, boss says sure, after 3 months. That is when Adam decides to "skip". 3 months is not that long in his life...he doesn't mind missing that part. Whenever, he skips, Adam, the person though physically present, is mentally absent. As if, on autopilot. So, whenever he skips, he doesn't have a memory of events that took place during that time.

When Adam skips to the time, he is the partner; he has actually jumped a year. He had missed a year of his life, and looks in amazement at the changes in his office and home. He finds out that his marriage is on the rocks and they are seeing a counselor.
Bewildered, amazed and lost, he seeks the scientist. Then he learns, that the remote has a mind of its own. It not only lets him control his universe, but also remembers how he controls it. So, when he prefers to skip quarrels, sickness, hard work, in all his future life, he shall skip those events of his life.

At his office, his boss is happy, and says, you have become a partner now...that day is not far when you can become the CEO. The minute it is uttered, he finds himself on his bed. Fat, ugly, 10 years older as the CEO of the company he served. He is shocked to see his teenage son and daughter, his wife's new husband Billy, and his own life. Angry, frustrated, jealous, he fights with Billy. A hit on the head is all it takes for him to loose consciousness.

Waking up in the hospital, he realizes he has recovered from an illness of the brain that took away 6 years of his life, a lot of his fat, and his youth. An old and graying man stares back at him. His son is the new partner of the company and is handsome and able. His father is no more. When he tries to see his father at his deathbed, he can't. The remote shows him the part of the universe that he is a part of. Frantic, he clicks to be with his dad, the last time as he had seen him. An old and graying man, his dad seeks his alter self's attention, as he is busy on the laptop. The old man, pats him on the head, and says, "I love you". Adam stares in awe at his alter self which looks more like a zombie to him, dead to the world, emotionless, without response. He then finds himself at his son's wedding. He sees his beautiful daughter, sees his wife happy in the arms of another man, and feels torn in his heart. As the pain sears through his heart, he realizes that he has had an attack.
In the hospital, he is on respiratory controls. He looks at his son, his daughter and doesn't want them to go. Tearing away the straps that supply him oxygen, he rushes out as his son leaves him. Surrounded by a family he wishes he had been more a part of, he breathes his last as the scientist waits to take him out of the universe, beyond the control of any remote.

Adam wakes up on a white bed…and stares into a mirror and exclaims, “I am young again!” The store boy amazed at a customer who had slept off on a bed, corrects him. “I am young sir, you’re not quite so young”. Adam really doesn’t care. Having had a glimpse of life he’s just dreamt, he rushes home to hug his wife, kiss and play with his son and hold his daughter tight. As his wife starts to argue, he takes her in his arms and doesn’t turn away. He rushes home to his parents in the dead of the night, to tell them, that he loves them. Life never seemed more beautiful to him. Smiling he walks into his room to find a gift. “The remote to control your universe”, from the scientist who wanted to give him a break. A smiling Adam, throws it down the trash can. He refuses to “click” and control his world ever again.

:D I may not have been able to bring out the beauty of this movie…but I think it is a must watch. There are parts that tug at your heart, and re-establish the value of simple phrases in life and the importance of people.

The last post of mine was on my shoulder ache...Thanks to all who wished me well. I am fine now :D

Just like a daily jog or exercise is mandatory for some people, just like a cup of tea a day is a must, so is wondering a part of my daily existence. So, I wonder. About life, people's actions, reactions, the rules of nature, the reasons that He might have had to make the world the way it is.

I started the blog, 30 posts and 1 year back as an "in" thing to do, like the rest of the batch. Then, I talked of my professors, my courses, and my takeaways. Now, it is more about me. The reason for starting this blog was to share what I learnt in MBA. I had felt before joining ISB, that a prospective student wants a glimpse of the life inside a B-school. At least, that's what I felt...striving to answer "How's it like inside?" Now, its different.

So, I wondered. How personal can your blog be? Can anyone, who has never met me, draw a mental character sketch of mine? Does my writing move someone I've never really known? Does my writing give away myself more than I want to reveal? I usually read blogs of people I know, or have met, or have a link through an institution (BITS/ISB). And, I think, in some phrases, in some words, in some thoughts, you almost get to know the writer. Reading him frequently, you get to know his dominant mood, his sense of humour...and perhaps, one-tenth of the writer himself.

I was feeling grateful the other day, because I am literate. No, I did not realize it late, that I am literate, I only felt thankful more acutely for it. Certain feelings and thoughts can never be expressed. There is no way, if I start talking I shall do justice to my feelings. It is then, that the pen comes to my rescue. Words, that, when uttered loose their meaning, yet when written captures the essence. So, I wrote it down. A blog helps. A part of me resides in the virtual world...just like a shadow gives an idea of the person, so does a blog give a glimpse of the mind guiding the hand.