An Ode To The People Of My 20s And 2016

As 2016 comes to an end, and as I enter the doors of my 30s, I thought of reliving the memories of my 20s by thanking all those you helped me get through it. The last decade and the year 2016 were amazing in every sense. My first travel abroad, riding 3000+ Km from Delhi to Ladakh and back, exploring the beauty of Germany and the Silicon Valley, eating exotic food in Shanghai, freezing amidst the DMZ in South Korea, or experiencing the horrors of Dacau, everything etched in my memory forever. Be it getting my first job, to making it to my dream B-school, to the most amazing year that was 2016, my 20s have been amazing in every aspect. I’d like to honor a few of you for making it so amazing.

To Mom and Dad

Thank you for making me the man I am

Thank you for loving me unconditionally

Thank you for paying my college fees when I couldn't

Thank you for making sure I slept in comfort

Thank you for scolding me when I was wrong

Thank you for giving me advice when I needed it the most

Thank you for your wishes, blessings and faith in me

Know this, it is time for me to return the favor, and I won’t let you down.

To my Band of Brothers

For those moments when we bunked college and ended up playing cards in the next class room

For those moments when we explored haunted houses and abandoned lakes

For those moments when we were insulted for being teetotalers while in Goa

For those moments when I had to endure your snores while I struggled to sleep

For those moments when we rode till sunset in the mystic land of Ladakh

For those moments when we drove through the west coast celebrating the 'encaging' of our beloved BRO

For those moments when we shared 30ml of Pheni with 2 litres of coke

For those moments when we had beers like grown up men in Baveria

For those moments when we celebrated birthdays in the weirdest possible ways

For those moments when we discussed girls we could never have a shot with

For those moments when we fought like kids and forgot about it 2 min later

For those moments when we fell asleep in movie halls

For those moments when we just sat together in silence gazing at the beauty of mother nature

For those moments when we climbed up descending escalators at the malls    

For those moments when we celebrated being single on valentine’s day and hiding from the girls on Raksha Bhandan

For those moments when discussed randomness for hours on Whatsapp groups

For those moments when you made sure to catch up when you were in the city

For those moments when calls began with words like F*****, MC, BC, LKB, Hajaam

For those moments when we christened words like GMG, BIL, G-FIL, B-FIL, CF, ffRff etc (don’t ask me what each of it means :P)

Know this my Brothers, I know I can always trust you with my life and shall always be there for you guys.

 Here's to you guys

To the special women in my life (mother, sisters included)- this is gonna be big

For those moments when you prepared the most exciting dishes I relished

For those moments when you constantly kept calling to know when I was coming home

For those moments when we bunked college and decided not to act our age

For those moments when you slapped/punched/abused me (some I deserved, some I took just to see the look on your face)

For those moments when you drenched my shoulders with your tears

For those moments when you looked so gorgeous that I couldn’t get my eye off you

For those moments when you were the talk of the day when I was with my friends

For those moments when you asked me to wake you up and I did, only to hear you yell at me for doing so

For those moments when fought with me for switching channels when you were engrossed into the TV

For those moments when you made my cry on the happiest day of your life

For those moments when you brought life into this world, making me a proud uncle

For those moments when you made me change the diapers of the very life you created

For those moments when you simply passed a fleeting smile, thus making my day

For those moments when you hesitated to sit on my bike

For those moments when you asked me to protect you from mom and dad

For those moments when you made me have my first sip of booze

For those moments when you and I lunched and dined at restaurants that asked us to leave

For those moments when we were asked to shut up for being too loud at movie theaters

For those moments when you walked out of restaurants for bad service, leaving me to deal with it

For those moments when I was stood up or stuck in the middle of nowhere waiting for you to show up

For those moments when we discussed random nonsense on Whatsapp till 2 am

For those moments when you said goodbye with a smile, promising to keep in touch (but never did)

For those moments when you didn’t forget to wish me on my birthday

For those moments when you hugged me when I felt lost in life

For those moments when you asked me to man up and take control of my life

For those moments when you told me that you didn’t like the color of my thoughtful gift

For those moments when you decided not to invite me for your wedding

For those moments when you invited me for your wedding and I decided to go on a trek instead

For those moments when you called me crying, telling me you had broken up with a guy

For those moments when you told me to be a good son and spend time at home
For those moments when you yelled at me while being my (temporary)crazy driving instructor

For those moments to told me to have some self-respect instead of being the saint

For those moments I had to calm you down after you had a terrible day

For those nonstop chatter in coffee shops, cafeterias, and office lunch tables

For those moments when we discussed national politics like it was our day job

For those moments of cajoling I had to do just to see you get back your smile

For all the gifts I gave you which you in turn decided to give your boyfriends

Ladies, thanks for being a part of my life. It is you ladies that make my life colorful.

Know this, I will always be there for you

Here's to you lovely ladies

To all my mentors, managers and teachers

Thank you for allowing me to make and learn

Thank you for not answering me when I questioned you, thus helping me explore the answers myself

Thank you for those words of advice and knowledge imparted

Thank you for having faith in me and giving me responsibility

Thank you for fighting of the wolves when I was vulnerable

Thank you for making me the small success I am

Know this, I will always be grateful to you

And to those countless people in life who have made my 20s worthwhile (NaMo, Raga, included).

Know this, I thank you with all my heart and soul.

I hope you’ll stay in touch throughout my 30s

Here's to you my friends

I’ll leave you with a verse from one of my favorite songs

“So take the photographs, and still-frames in your mind

Hang it on the shelf of good health and good time

Tattoo's of memories and dead skin on trial

For what it's worth, it was worth all the while

It's something unpredictable, but in the end it's right

I hope you had the time of your life

It's something unpredictable, but in the end is right

I hope you had the time of your life

It's something unpredictable, but in the end is right

I hope you had the time of your life”

A journey to Paradise and back : Part 1 - Delhi to Srinagar

It was a pleasant winter evening. I was at my friend, Ashok's place and we were browsing Facebook when I suddenly stumbled upon a friend's album. It had some of the most picturesque photographs I've ever seen. Mighty mountains, lush green valleys, snow capped peaks, wanderlust inducing roads and much more. It was an album of Ladakh. That moment, Ashok said, "I am so going to Ladakh, I don't care if anybody comes with me or not, but I am going". I looked at him in agreement and said,"Someday buddy, someday".

It was the month of February in 2014. I spoken to Sandy a few days ago telling him about my friends visit to Ladakh. This friend of mine rode all the way to Ladakh on his beloved Bullet, all alone. I used to think, "man these guys who ride all the way have some bloody balls. I don't know if I could ever do what they have done. Someday, I will go there and witness paradise first hand." Sandy, being the usual himself, looked skeptical at first. He said he wasn't so keen on traveling to Ladakh as he had already seen most of the Himalayas while at IITD. But I knew Sandy. He is someone who can change his mind in a split second and come up with some random reason for it. Anyway after speaking to him I tried to sleep. After a while, the beeper of my phone beeped indicating that someone has sent me a message on whatsapp. Hari and Ashu wished the rest of us goodnight. And for a moment I remembered the road trip Sandy, Hari, Ashok and I has gone during the previous monsoon. I was thinking to myself, this is one group that I can travel with anywhere and everywhere. Couple of days passed, and one fine night, Sandy pings on our whatsapp group, "Guys, pack your bags, We are going on a bike trip to Ladakh after the summer."


At first I thought, this is Sandy, must be joking for sure. But then, Ashok sounded all excited. They started deciding on the duration and dates. They asked me if June 21st to July 6 was ok. Pessimistically thinking, I said yeah fine.but in my mind I felt, come on 14 days??I'm sure someone, or everyone is gonna back out. Then Ashok did something I knew worked for us in the past. He booked his flight tickets to Delhi and asked us to do the same. Reluctantly, Hari and I booked our tickets and so began the wait for the journey of our lives.

Over the next few months we discussed, debated, fought on the entire plan and still with doubts on our minds we prepared for a visit to paradise. Over the course of planning, 4 more guys, friends of Sandy, decided to join us. We were introduced to Sachin a.k.a bhavari, Sagar a.k.a bele, Rajshekar a.k.a Anna and Nithin, a.k.a Tintin. And thus formed our team. Ashu seemed excited about joining us, though she hadn't booked her tickets. I told Sandy, since Ashu was with us, we must not hesitate in getting the best accommodations. Months passed and when we were lest than a month away, Ashu backs out. I began to think, this is it. Everything is gonna fall apart now. If Ashu backs out, Hari might too. Then someone else. The only guy I was confident about pursuing this trip with was Ashok, a hardcore traveler with resolute intentions. He constantly reminded us about the things we needed to pack. Thanks to him I didn't lose interest. As the D day came close, work began to pile up at office. I started getting worried as I could not find time to do my shopping and planning. Finally on the last weekend before we embarked on our journey, Ashok dragged me for some shopping. We bought shoes, raincoats, bungee cords, got Ashok's visor fixed, tarpaulin sheets. And it suddenly occurred to me, we were doing it. A bike trip, and were going to hire Bullets from Delhi. I had never ridden a bullet before. All I had done was 40 thousand km on my Bajaj Platina. How was I suppose to handle 180 kilos of the best mountain bike in the country? Ashok decided to get his Unicorn, while Hari trusted his Yamaha R15. Nithin to decided to get his legendary Bullet. The rest of us decided to trust our fate hire bullets from Delhi. Thee boys had asked us to buy some additional stuff and we did so. Finally the last week arrived. After all the hype that I created at office, I hoped nothing would go wrong in the last mile. And then, D-day.

I took the day off hoping not to respond to any calls from office. Did some last min shopping and headed to the airport. At the BIAL bus stop I met Ashok, whom was showing of with his shades. He ran up to me and hugged me saying "Macha, after four years of dreaming, it's finally happening". That was the moment I felt, yes, I was going on my dream journey. We met Hari a few min later who said he wasn't sure of making it till the last min. He had come packed with his saddle bags while Ashok and I were with our rucksacks. And we waited for nithin, who was joining us in the flight. Finally, after almost missing his flight, Nithin joined us in an indigo flight 6E114, non stop from Bangalore to Delhi.


As we landed in Delhi, we were exposed to the famous Delhi heat. At first I mistook it for the engine heat from our iron eagle of a plane. But Hari smiled at me an said, get used to it buddy. "Yeh Delhi ki gharmi hai". We were suppose to stay and pick up Sachin who was joint us from Mumbai. After meeting him, we head out to stay at Sagars place for the night. It was a hot night and only thing that kept us going was the thought of the snow capped peaks of Kashmir. Hari's R15, Ashok's unicorn and Nithin's bullet had arrived the previous day via train. The rest of us went to get our Bullets the next day. And finally it was all set. 8 boys, 7 bikes, our luggage, and the road, all ingredients of a perfect recipe for adventure. And we set out to conquer our dreams.

On the first day we managed to reach Panipath and stayed at a lodge after some hunting. I was still getting used to my mammoth of a bike. We fed ourselves well and prepared for the next day. In the morning all of us got our bikes checked and when all the packing was done, we decided to hit the road. The destination was Jammu, 480 km away from Panipath. A tough task through the heartland of Punjab. We rode through the plains of Haryana stopping for breakfast at Karnaal. We decided to ride in pairs as we had a long way to go and the R15 was curious to test it's limits. So was the unicorn. Finally we picked up speed and rode 100km at a stretch reach a dhabha on the Jalander highway. We fed ourselves with roti n daal and then headed out on the Jalander Pathankot highway. We rode for hrs, getting lost a couple of times and faced our first problem when Nithin's bike fell victim to a tire puncture. By know Hari n Ashok were just miles away from Pathankot and since we were losing day light, decided to spend the night at a hotel in Pathankot. After getting Nithin's bike fixed, we headed to a hotel. 400plus km in a day took it's toll on us. My decision to wear half sleeves back fired as I caught a tan in the sun. I had to take a bath twice to feel a bit cleaner. We had our dinner and slept as we had a big day coming up. We were going to enter Jammu n Kashmir.

Come morning, and we started our engines. The roar of the bullet filled our heart with excitement as we headed to a fuel station. Looking at our gear there, a gentleman asked us if we were on an expedition. Yes, the word said it all. We were on an expedition to conquer Ladakh. Our destination for the day was Srinagar. We entered Jammu and rode into the famous Nehru tunnel. 3300mt of shear darkness with just our headlights to guide us through a narrow tunnel. The roar of our bikes made us rev our bikes even further as we cruised through the tunnel in less than 5 min. As we came out we screamed with excitement. We were now heading to Srinagar through the valley. A tough road with immense traffic, ups n downs and serpentine lines of cars trying to make it through the hills. With our bikes we managed to overtake lots of vehicles. However every time we stopped a big convoy of army trucks and cars overtook us. We pushed ourselves and our bikes to the limit and squeezed our way through the traffic. For those of you who are from Bangalore, do not compare this traffic jams to the ones we face around Whitefield or Hudson circle. The traffic jams at this part of the country are much worse as it takes hrs to clear up and one could be at a stand still for a long time. And if someone's car breaks down, well you might as well take rest for few hrs as everything behind the car comes to a stand still until the car is fixed. Well I must say, that bikes are at an advantage but be advised, you can only ride at first gear or at the max second gear with all the traffic and curves. Srinagar is 240km from Jammu, and I don't remember how many hills we had to cross but I do remember that the views were breath-taking. Lush green hills followed by hills cultivated for farming, followed by coniferous trees and serene peaks, we crossed Patnitop. Riding through Patnitop, I couldn't help but think about how people brag about visiting Ooty and such hill stations. But Panitop makes Ooty look like something in your rear view mirror. After riding for hrs, we finally reached a point 68 km from Srinagar. It was already passed 7 pm and we stopped for chai. After a round of photography we headed on to the road. We guys told each other, just 68 km macha, max an hour n half. Let's burn the road. Those 68 km were the longest 68 kms of our lives. We went on and on riding, but this 68 km din't seem to end at all. It got really dark and couldn't see the hills anymore and just followed the traffic, hoping it would lead us to Srinagar. We rode and rode and finally at 10:15 we reached Srinagar. We stayed at a home stay in army land hoping that it was safe. We fed ourselves, bathed, chatted and had fun. Sandy was in the mood of mischief but we were so tired that we stopped responding to him after a while. Finally our ignorance paid off as sandy got bored and slept. I must say that I had a tough time sleeping as sandy and Ashok seemed to have a snoring competition. The next day I asked Hari, how he managed to sleep so well. He let out his secret by saying, all one needs to do is make sure they sleep before sandy or Ashok sleep. That way you won't face the starting trouble you would face when their snores sync. If Ashok n Sandy are reading this, guys, I hope you get married to women who snores as much as you do.



Since I am recalling all the details from memories over 2 years old, please do wait for the second part where we traveled from Srinagar to Kargil to Leh to Pangong Tso to Manali to Chandigarh to Delhi. Yep that was an amazing journey too. But it might take a few weeks(or months :) ) for me to write that. So hang on..

Things I learnt at Google

I had the opportunity of spending a few weeks this winter at Google Korea as I was sent as a technical liaison for my client and this has given me an immense understanding of why Google is the best in the world. I have realized how small things can get a large crowd interested in ideas. How viral marketing in a small scale can still help the larger cause. I shall discuss a few practices here. Hope you catch my drift.

If you hire the best you will get the best
While Korea is a place where you might find very few people fluent in English, you might find that almost everyone at Google is capable of conversing in English. The secret to this puzzle lies in the fact that almost everyone at Google has been hired from some or the other top US university. You will find engineers walking around in sweatshirts from their Alma mater . And by Alma mater I mean Stanford, Harvard, MIT and Caltech. It was evident in my interactions that these guys at Google were no ordinary guys. With degrees from such great universities, these engineers we obviously special in every way. The way they talk, the way the analyze a problem, the way they take up ownership, almost everything that they do clearly shows that they indeed are the best in the world.

If you have an Idea or problem, share it and solve it
 Yep, they just love ideas. in fact they love ideas to such an extent that they have an online forum just to share ideas. And not just that. Anybody can work on it in their free time (its no secret that Google allows their employees to spend 20% of their time on task of their interest). People take this aspect very seriously and spend days and nights solving complex problems. In addition, the whole environment at Google is one that is encourages problem solving and code development. There are pictures and posters of statements like "I am part of Σ ", "Do you love data?" etc that give a sense of the importance that data has in the lives of Google Employees. They have fun coding and testing and breaking others code. Even at the restrooms, above the Urinals, you posters called "Testing in the toilets" that have a code challenge or some link to a code that they want people to log in and test/break code. They believe in generating work. This is how they get their employees to fall in love with their work. It is definitely the place where ideas are born and nurtured. 

 Everything online and KISS
Yes. They design their products around the one this that is omnipresent and that is the internet. If you have an idea, no mater what it is, get it online. That just make a good idea great. Integrate your idea with the plethora of apps already available online. Google docs, Google+ etc actually make your life easy. In you Business, if you want to share XLS with your clients, forget about the old ways of sending it via mail and waiting for a response the next day (especially if your client and you are in different time zones). Use Google docs instead and get stuff updated in real time. Share data via Google drive and stay connected via Google Plus. Reuse code, use shared repositories and make your life simple.

Work is fun and fun is work
Well, another very important thing that must be addressed. People often have a view that Google is a fun place to work with free stuff and games etc etc. Sounds glamourous right. But believe me, the actual view is quite different.while there is lot of free stuff to eat and drink, and they do have game rooms, I have hardly seen people spend time there. Its only on Friday evenings that I hear noises from the Game rooms. The rest of the time, these guys are having fun on their laptops. These guys hardly talk to each other during the day even if they sit four feet apart. Every one is busy enjoying their work. They love doing things by themselves. Serious dedication and yet full enjoyment.


All this makes me feel that we have so much to learn from the company. Its a company where people are really passionate about what they do. Everyone has a story and is working on something exciting.

Well I shall write more whenever possible. Till then Enjoy

   

What Makes An Idea Great or Fail

Every great product, every great invention, every great comfort, every great policy, every great solution to a problem, that man has associated himself with, has taken it's birth from a figment of his imagination. 'Ideas', as we know it, has often been that point of intersection of Philosophy and Science, interest and passion, Love and War, and at times, Luck and hard-work. People become famous or infamous based on their ideas. Everyone of us has ideas but what is it about an idea that makes 'Great'? Do ideas get created by accidents of is it a the fruit of a well planned course of action and hardwork? How can one go about mastering the thought process of idea-ting?

Here, I will just list a few Do's and Dont's that I feel are the reasons for the success or failure of an IDEA. I don't intent to talk about the 'Tipping point' for ideas as I guess Malcolm Gladwell has already done that with pretty convincing facts. But what i would like to highlight here is our attitude towards ideas. I may miss out a lot of points here because,let me be honest, I promised a friend that I would blog tonight. Nevertheless, these words are right from my ever idea-ting mind.

OK!! Lets get started!!!!

1. Feed the philosopher in you



Give philosophy it's due respect. Engage in conversations regarding philosophy. After all, it's philosophy that is responsible for almost everything around us. Even the clothes we were is a result of some great philosophical thinking. Philosophy often deals with asking questions and justifying beliefs. If you ask me, I feel philosophy is what drives science to come out with explanations. And when you start questioning things, you often tune your mind to an alternate thinking which my friend, is the ignition to a idea-ting mind. So give it your full respect.




2. Stay away from addiction



Try not to get addicted to anything. this includes drugs, alcohol, electronic gadgets and even work. An article, Why I returned my Ipad, that I read in the Harvard biz review might give you a better idea



3. Never share you idea while it's at its natal stage



try not to talk about your idea to anyone when you have just thought about it. There is a high chance that it might get killed before it takes shape.Derek Sivers seems to have a valid explanation for it when he talk about Keep your golas to yourselves here



4. Do not sell an Idea if you don't believe in it



This is definitely a no-no as you might just end up killing a good idea that you failed to understand



5. Don't waste time



Start working on your idea right from the time of inception. This is very critical as the world has reached a state where Time-To-market takes priority and if you wait, you will be late.



6. Invest in a hobby, passion or recreation



Dont be addicted to one thing. By this I also mean that one must never get addicted to his or her idea. take your mind of and explore various other avenues. They are perfect boosters for generating more ideas



7. Good Company



Maintain a group of enthusiastic buddies. Refrain from spending too much time with pessimists and hypocrites. People have a great influence on your ideating process. So choose your company cautiously. Encourage criticism but ignore pessimism.



8. Never Under-estimate an Idea



This is an all important rule. develop an attitude where you appreciate ideas. Any idea, good or bad, is still and idea.Try to make an idea better instead of killing a few before they are born.



9. And the most important one, Never stop idea-ting

Why are we like this?

It was 5:30 in the evening on a rather sunny Bangalore sunday. I was watching the news on the TV. The usual stuff, politics, sports scandals etc. Suddenly I heard the phone ring. My friend,lets call him Murthy, asked me if I was free to meet up. Well I was bored all day so I was more that relieved to meet someone. Once we met, we discussed various stuff ranging sports to politics. And the moment we discussed politics and good governance, Murthy got a bit cynical. He kept on cursing the system. I told him that it would take sometime for things to change but he would not listen. I asked him for ideas to make things better but he didn't seem to care too much.I gave him concrete examples of how things are changing and how life is becoming better than what it used to be. I tried to convince him that things aren't that bad but he kept comparing our state to that of the the western powers. In the end, It turned out to be an inconclusive argument.

The other day I was sitting at home when I heard my mom, dad and Uncle talk about some topic related to how kids behave these days. They went on to say that kids who don't respect their parents are gonna suffer. They discussed their feeling about how children these days disobey their parents. I partly agreed with them considering the fact that lots a kids need some discipline and should learn how to talk to elders.But the went on to say that today's kids are useless and don't use their head. And are spoiling their future. They said that kids these days want bikes and cars and pocket money to enjoy. And yes, they came up with dialogues like "I bought a cycle when I was 26" etc etc. They went on say that technology is spoiling us further and that it has done more harm that good. Kids spend a lotta time on the computer and watching TV. They predicted that the same technology would kill us and that and that kids should spend more time thinking about how to earn more money for that family. I popped in and said that its wrong to only look at the negative aspects of today's technology and one must acknowledge and admire the boon in it. If it wasn't for technology, kids would not be able to talk to people who are thousands of miles away using the web chat. Kids can now book train tickets for their parents using a technology know as the internet. I argued giving many more examples saying that kids have become smarter with the advent of technology and kids are becoming more independent and that they must be encouraged. But, the elders again didn't care a damn and told me that I was too young and haven't seen the world. They could not give me any solid reason but did not consider my comments too.

It's a hot weekday. All of us are slogging trying to give our best at work. Finally we decide to give ourselves a break and head out to that balcony to have a cup of coffee. We relax in the shade and then someone pops up an argument. They say that the company is not good and it does not cater to the need of the employees. I ask them why they felt so. They said they don't pay us well. They went on to compare the company to the likes of google and they other biggies. I had a simple a question. Do we do work that deserves a paycheck of google standards? They were not ready to accept my argument. I asked them what they thought was needed to be done by the company to change its employees fortunes. And i didnt get one solution. They went on to say that I should not work very hard and should rather go home early and not work late as i usually do. I argued that at one end you guys wanna work less and go home early and on the other end you wanna big paycheck. They just smiled and said yes. I've been in several conversations with them and not once have they said that they like the company and are proud to be a part of it. They to compare the company with ones that are not even in the same segment as that of ours. When I bring out fact and figures they just shun it away and behave as if what they say is final and what the truth is doesn't matter. I mean give it a min and think about what you said.

There are many such examples that we come across in our day to day lives. Why have we become so cynical? Are we really living in such horrible times? Cant we admire any thing in life. Cant we take up responsibility to change things. why is the problem always someone else's problem. Have we turned blind to all the good things in life. Even the media always highlights the negative news and hardly considers publicizing the positive. Why do we complain so much? Why do we add to the problem rather than being a part of the solution? Do facts and figures not make any sense to us? Why do we influence people with negative thoughts though there is no basis to our argument? Why do we do this? Just to convince ourselves? When will we change? When will we contribute to the society. When will we start to encourage natural true talent? We don't care if we are right or wrong but we try our best to demotivate the and prove others wrong. When will this change? Will we ever become wise?

The Unemployed literate

Education ... has produced a vast population able to read but unable to distinguish what is worth reading.

- G. M. Trevelyan



Almost everyday, one would definitely come across articles in the news papers that motivate its readers to invest their efforts in teaching and educating the younger generation. The Government keeps coming up with various programs to educate the youth and children of the nation and are often supported by management gurus who are often in the hunt for the limelight. NGOs, which are often considered as messengers of god by the general (ignorant and at times anti-government) public, also come out with their philosophical, yet noble ideas to support and promote education for all. B-schools, social clubs, volunteers jump in and 'adopt' villages in order to educate them and teach them. With these kinds of efforts one may definitely hope that one day the whole country would 'literate' in its literal sense.



But how does one define the term 'literate'. Kerela, a state often referred to as "Gods own country", is reportedly said to be the only state in the country with a literacy rate of 100%. Something that every Kerelite can be proud of isn't it. But are they? Or has the term literate been misunderstood or overrated? Though the state's literacy rate is impressively high, why is it that the most sort after profession in Kerela is 'Nursing', rather than the main stream professions like medicine(as a doctor) or engineering or for that matter, even business . More often than never, nursing, though noble, is often considered as a profession for those who aren't bright enough (at least in a nation like ours that is driven by cynicism). Then what does the literacy rate represent? Is the ability to read and write enough to consider someone as a literate? Even if we do consider this ability as an important criterion to define literacy, does it contribute to the progress of the nation? Are these efforts just creating a bunch of unemployable literates?



Highly possible isn’t it?





Imagine a situation when we have a whole population graduate out of school. What would be the first thing that they would want to do? Find a job? Quite obviously that could be the first thing they would try to do. But when you have such a vast population hunting for jobs, how do expect, if not all, at least a majority of them to get them? The basic intention of education is to groom a person to think differently or in the more "INDIAN" context, make them "Employable". But if you don’t have jobs, how do you expect education to bring about a change in the system. The papers are filled with news of unemployment with the recession just adding to the damage. Looking at all this, one question that lingers in my mind is whether the emphasis on education is really all that India needs. Can education also solve all problems that we face? Are we spending too much time trying to solve the problem of education, when we should be thinking of creating jobs and careers? We have professors from various B-schools going to villages and spending quality time in trying to solve the problem of education. Don’t you think they must build strategies to make this education useful instead?





Some great person once said, "Necessity is the mother of all inventions". Similarly here, education is needed for employment. But if employment opportunities aren't created, what is the justification in the education for all propaganda? I am not against education. All i am saying is that we are spending way too much time and effort in solving the problem of illiteracy rather that solving the problem of unemployment. One may argue that once the problem of illiteracy is solved, it would automatically lead to other problems like unemployment being solved. But looking at the current facts and figures, it seems that unemployment is causing more damage than illiteracy. It’s driving people with a master’s degree to do petty jobs that can give him and his family only one meal a day. Is this what he had invested in? Highly debatable isn't it.



I'd like to take moment to emphasize on the kind of education that is being imparted these days. With the current "syllabus", all that people learn is to leave their villages and venture into the cities to pursue their ‘dreams’. Obviously this would only add to the already existing problems faced. Why doesn’t this education emphasize on helping individuals to think differently and use their acquired knowledge to their benefit. Why do i get a feeling that education is just making man greedy. Is education the pathway to the disappearance of villages? We are already facing a food crisis. Is it only because the population has increased or is the reduction in farming area also a factor? Why is the educated population leaving their ancestral land and moving to the city?



In short, I feel education is very important. It will take some time for the literacy rate to rise. But i believe that the government and other must start investing a larger share of their efforts in creating jobs and reducing the unemployment numbers. And let’s support quality approach to education and not a quantitative one.

I Felt Like I Was In A Blockbuster Movie

Movies are fun. What makes us enjoy the unrealistic crap one can find in most movies? Is it the idea that such masaledar stuff happens only on the small/big screen. How do the film makers come up with such crazy unrealistic ideas. An entire village tortured by few goons. A fight scene in the middle of the city with people crowding around. The hero tackles 30-40 villians single handed . Do they have brain storming sessions where they come up with such ideas and the craziest of them is selected and added in a movie? I used to laugh at the various action scenes is several movies until one day, when i found out how actually these ideas are generated.

It was a busy Wednesday morning and I just got down from my bus and started walking towards my office. I was all exited as i had got my first assignment in my new project the previous day. As I was walking from Domlur towards the congested intermediate Ring road, I was thinking of various ways to solve the problem of asynchronous functions in a multi-threaded programming environment.

As i was walking, I looked up and say the terrible Bangalore traffic jam near the flyover. Although, somewhere in my mind, i was cursing the Bangalore civic authorities, I was actually happy because now I could cross the road without waiting. I grabed my chance and ran through the vehicles that were constantly honking in the scorching hot sun. Once I crossed the road, I got back to my programming problem. However my eyes fell on 2 pretty girls who were waiting for a bus at the bus stop. I began thinking to myself, if I had a bike, I would have tried offering one of them a ride. I began visualising that situation in my mind when i suddenly heard the brakes of a BMTC bus.

My reflexes made my head turn in an instant. Though my head was kept turned, my legs were moving constantly towards my destination. It didn't look like some accident, nor did is look as if someone had just averted an accident. Just then the bus driver of the bus got down pushing through the crowd of women around front door of the bus. He looked shabby with his shirt buttons open and lousy hair cut. he could have been in his early 30s and his eyes were filled with anger. He went pushing through the crowd and finally got hold of a middle aged man with slight grey hairs near the footpath besides the gutter. And in an instant started thrashing him. Well the other man also tried to defend himself by landing a few punches but was over powered by the speed and aggressiveness of the bus driver. Slaps, punches, filthy verbal abuse flew all around. The bus had around 50-60 passengers, all of who were staring at the tamasha outside. in the meanwhile the bus driver managed to grab a stick from a nearby gutter and began pounding the rib cage of the middle aged man, who was trying hard to block the blows and manged to punch the driver a few times. With the kind of filthy language they were using, it seemed like one of them had verbally abused the other led to this real life action. Two wheelers stopped as people began to crowd around and it seemed like they were enjoying a free show. I just screamed and asked them to let go, but in vain. Since no one was making an effort to stop the fight I decided to venture in myself. I ran in and tried to separate them with all my power. And that is when i got my dose of punches and blows. The bus driver was about to hit the other man on his head when my hand came in the way. The blow was a good solid one. Wonder how my bone didn't crack. Tother man tried to grab the opportunity and tried to land a heavy punch into the ribs of the driver but again he found the wrong person and i found myself in his way. The saliva that flew from their verbal abuses now found ground on my already sweaty forehead. The pain was excruciating, but I managed to hold my balance. I tried to ask a few people who had gathered around to help but they just smiled, as they were enjoying the free real life cinema fight scene. I gathered all my courage and decided to give it one last try to separate the two gladiators. I manged to squeeze through them and finally got the firm grip of the middle aged man and pushed him to the side and came directly in the way of the bus driver. At that moment i felt like giving the bus driver a tight blow myself just to calm him down and stop the fight. I tried my best to block him from getting to the middle aged man who was now on the ground after my push. Just then the bus conductor came to the rescue. he managed to get a grip of the driver, and i manage to grab that stick from his hand. Still there was no one who came up to help us. everyone was crowded around as if we were performing a street play. somehow the conductor dragged the bus driver away and i dragged the other man away from the scene. No one seemed to be hurt as the anger was still raging within them. i pleaded with the middle aged man to leave the scene keeping an eye on the bus driver. But still the crazy public was just staring at us but not a single pair of hands to help. I felt like i was in a block buster movie where there is a fight in the middle of the road and the public is just watching us. I did feel like the movie's hero as i had managed to stop the fight.

Once things settled people began to disperse and i decided to go my way towards the office as i was already late. thanks to my block buster movie contribution. i walked up to my office and then realised the huge swelling on my hand. But it didn't bother me much. But what bothered me the most was the people's attitude. they just stood there enjoying the fight but no one tried to stop it. There were more that 70 people there but no one helped stop the fight. After all they has50-60 seconds of action. I felt proud of myself for ending the fight but at the same time I was very angry cause firstly I was hurt and secondly no one came to our rescue. Well one thing is for sure. I realised how crazy "unrealistic" ideas come up in movies. These ideas are born from real life experiences like the one I had. When people standing there enjoyed it so much that they didn't bother to stop it, I can imagine how much they'd like it on the big screen. Cheers to the Public.