tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-200435272024-03-16T06:42:17.933+05:30Scratchpad of LifeSujit Kumar Chakrabartihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11424095559961037990noreply@blogger.comBlogger297125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20043527.post-14945426302637330022023-10-14T15:15:00.002+05:302023-10-14T17:54:18.170+05:30Belligerently Virtuous<p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"> </span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5IuuFRfNIMP2KGAuEyD3aFeUlI-R3nl5wTCENzXbuiLNUXV37FThIKMgvoAAAy4TlwC52ToG8suf0KNF24rG_sHFHh3uSKU9i4bePwO5sDJrq-5UBKBw_3dagGGONNaDGVg_igrgmNCKSxswwN-VGmhwBuJCMguU7ItUTJLJiATz19huW0RJtow/s1280/air-bus-2023.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="960" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5IuuFRfNIMP2KGAuEyD3aFeUlI-R3nl5wTCENzXbuiLNUXV37FThIKMgvoAAAy4TlwC52ToG8suf0KNF24rG_sHFHh3uSKU9i4bePwO5sDJrq-5UBKBw_3dagGGONNaDGVg_igrgmNCKSxswwN-VGmhwBuJCMguU7ItUTJLJiATz19huW0RJtow/s320/air-bus-2023.jpeg" width="240" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;">I have spent years and decades (in fact, much of my life) being rather secretive about my ethical stands. Reasons?</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><ul><li><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;">I wanted not scare people off.</span></li><li><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;">I wanted to come across as modest and approachable.</span></li><li><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;">I didn't want to be dismissed and persecuted as being prude.</span></li><li><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;">I didn't want to invite criticism that I am showing off my virtues.</span></li><li><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;">I didn't want to be misunderstood. For example, in multiple cases, my riding a bicycle to work, or not splurging on clothes has been openly interpreted as my miserliness or even poverty. I don't see anything wrong with being a poor man. But I have problems with something I am doing out of my choice being interpreted as something being done due to circumstances.</span></li><li><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;">In this world of 'cancel culture', there's a fear that those who choose to feel threatened and offended by you, will someday call out a small perceived slip by you as a weapon to shoot you down. A person who has been open about his good deeds in the past is more vulnerable to cancellation, because on top of whatever charges are levelled against him at the moment, he lays himself open to charges of being a hypocrite owing to his earlier opposite image.</span></li></ul></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;">Over time, I have realised that the above line of thought was useless and caused much time in getting wasted? Wasted in what?</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><ul><li><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;">In caring about opinions which don't matter held by people who matter even less.</span></li><li><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;">In not allowing, to be positively influenced by your actions, many who are open enough to feel inspired by anything good you do, rather than feeling threatened by you.</span></li></ul></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;">In summary, I do what I do because I think it's right to do it, not because I want others to praise me or even take to my ways. Having said that, getting praised or becoming a positive influence is acceptable, even desirable. It makes complete sense that, if you do something good with good intentions, you be open about it. And know that in doing so you are not being vain. In fact, those who say so are up to nothing good themselves than pulling down someone behaving well. This world indulges in unbridled voyeurism in lusting over images expressly intended to show off and make others feel deficient on account of money, physical beauty, exclusive attainment of sexual love and so on. And in this, they do not bat their moral eyelid. These buggers have no right to judge you if you are doing something good with your talent and intentions and are generous enough to share it with others.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><h3 style="clear: both;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;">In the Picture</span></h3><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;">This Thursday, I chose to travel by public transport bus to Airbus Takeoff. While their high official did a lot of talking about sustainability during the session, I did my little part to help sustainability. I took a bus (and enjoyed the ride) to and from the venue. I carried my own water bottle and refused to pick up the plastic packaged water bottle. A gentleman at the conference even tried to pick me on why I carry a plastic bottle and not a steel bottle.</span></div></div>Sujit Kumar Chakrabartihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11424095559961037990noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20043527.post-62534364700576545462023-08-18T09:28:00.000+05:302023-08-18T09:28:02.216+05:30Concern for Inclusion or a Marketing Ploy<p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"> In discussions about professional products and services, there often is vehement shaming of any opinion that seems to require the user to up his ante and try to learn, understand and perceive something which he currently doesn't. Accessibility, inclusion and customer focus are used as weapons to counter any demand on the cunsumer's skilling up. We see ourselves falling for this ploy pretty quickly. To do so is very easy, convenient and most importantly safe (because talking about accessibility, inclusion and customer focus is socially acceptable behaviour). However, one must also be mindful when the concern is genuine and when it's driven by the deeper desire to keep people in the shackles of stupidity. If your business and your profits, and your personal wealth, depends on your customers' weakness, you have no right to banter about you concern for their limitation. You basically are interested in perpetuating the power you hold on them by keeping them stupid and unskilled so that you can keep using these to increase your own wealth.</span></p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">I hope consumers of any product and service are mindful of this phenomenon. Beware! When the seller is talking about accessibility, inclusion and customer focus, it may be motivated by a pure selfish concern: to perpetuate their market by deepening your dependence on their offering.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Example:</div><div style="text-align: justify;">MOOCs have been selling the idea hard that human attention span is 7 minutes or something, and that any form that puts a demand on the learner's attention for anything more is, by definition, not going to work. This is probably true for a lowest common denominator of learner population but is untrue in general. However, this aggressive repetition has ridded many of our learners from the little guilt for their waning attention. As a result, now, many of them don't even try to pay attention for anything longer than a few minutes thinking it's natural and conveniently pass on the blame of their wavering attention to the unengaging (read unentertaining) performance of the instructor or the inappropriate nature of the longer format of classroom lectures.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">I don't want to dismiss the success of MOOCs as a purely evil thing. But a good portion of it can be attributed to the above idea which has been sold really hard by using the lip-service of influential pedagogues.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">An unfortunate collateral damage of this phenomenon is the ability of the students to hold their attention for a longer time, a mental ability of great importance in a wide range of situations (e.g. engaging deep conversations, profound literature, classical music) where paying attention and patience leads to a growth, fulfilment and enjoyment unmatchable through instant gratification.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div></span>Sujit Kumar Chakrabartihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11424095559961037990noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20043527.post-66746119120566433732023-07-18T15:52:00.007+05:302023-07-18T15:52:56.281+05:30Humans and Operating Systems<p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"> Multitasking is the act of switching between two or more tasks, both of which are in the middle of executing. If one task is waiting, say for some input from the environment, the operating system will switch to executing another for the time being, thus ensuring that the computing resources are utilised judiciously, and progress happens.</span></p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Human adults are often needed to multitask. When the currently executing task stalls or waits for some reason and you can't do much about it except wait, a human often experiences emotions that an OS can't. There's impatience. Theirs anxiety. If the result of this task failing are bad or disastrous, these emotions are particularly strong.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">A human may have to switch away from this stalled task since there are other tasks running and waiting for your attention. They may meet a sad fate if they don't get your attention while you can give it to them. Switching to other waiting tasks is but the most logical thing to do, because that's what an operating system would do. But this is also one of the hardest skills to learn because humans are not operating systems.</div></span>Sujit Kumar Chakrabartihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11424095559961037990noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20043527.post-51276915025536222352023-06-26T21:43:00.004+05:302023-06-26T21:43:55.479+05:30Beauty of Mind and Beauty of Matter<p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;">It's been a constant grouse for me why it's easier for physically attractive people to get </span><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">attention much more than for people who are mentally capable. For example, it's not uncommon for fashion models to have millions of followers on Instagram. Comparatively, an artist should consider himself fortunate if he can garner even a few thousand followers.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">In fact, the attitude that the world seems to have for intellectuals (in which I include those who make their living using their mental capability; this would include teachers, scientists, creative professionals like artists, writers, film and theatre directors and even bureaucrats to some extent) is more than just lack of interest. Instead, I see a certain degree of animosity and intolerance too. The world around us as we see it is the product of the the thoughts and work of intellectuals. So, no one can simply ignore the existence of intellectual beings. However people seem to prefer having nothing to do with this aspect of their being, thus trying to restrict their relation to intellect as a transactional thing. Where intellectuals must be dealt with at a social level, they are boxed into stereotypes of being geeks, nerds, studious, scholars etc. amounting to grumpy, mean, serious, sever, belligerent to being</span><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"> socially inept and insufferable to some extent.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">This animosity and unfair bias against intellectuals -- often known as anti-intellectualism -- placed vis-a-vis the enormous appetite that the world has for anything glamour has appeared very unfortunate to me to the extent of causing me great and enduring pain.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">Here, I try to make peace with this predicament by trying to explain it based on psychology, to the I extent that I understand it.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">So, I would like to distinguish virtues in terms of being associated with mind or matter. There are h</span><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">uman qualities that cause immediate sensual pleasure. A beautiful body, apart from the neutral aesthetic angle, causes sexual titillation. Cooking done well leads to pleasurable eating. A beautiful painting or sketch leads to a visual treat for the viewer. A piece of music is nice to the ears whether one understands music or not. All these, I would like to call the experiences of the matter. Experiencing these involves no training or preparation.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">A level above these involves aspirations, arguably a thing of the mind, with which we are born. Aspirations to look good, to be rich and influential, to be accepted and respected in our social surroundings -- these aspirations lead us to see beauty in things which otherwise may not be having any apparent beauty. For example, being rich draws looks of admiration because people aspire to be rich. Possessions -- cars, gadgets, house, properly jewellery, dresses -- receive compliments and admiring looks from those who wish to have these for themselves. Of course, as a rejoinder, let me add that it would not be completely correct to say that the above things of possession have no inherent beauty of their own: а house can be really pretty and grand; a car may be majestic, sleek, fast and powerful; a gadget may be sleek, </span><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">a piece of jewellery or garment can be really fine. Yet, I would say that a large majority of humans aren't so concerned about how inherently beautiful these objects are -- at least not until they find them well within their financial reach -- but what it entails to possess them.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">Collectively, the above two forms of admirations, I would like to categorise as those of the matter. They would evoke reactions from almost anyone, with or without any special training, education, talent or intelligence.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;">The other form of beauty is the beauty of mind. This form of beauty, in order to be admired, demands us to get into the semantics -- the structure and the kinetics -- of the object in question.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;">To sense this form of beauty one certainly needs to get into a state where he concerns himself as much with the process that creates the object of beauty as with the object itself. The process that created a piece of beauty is an arbitrarily deep thing. For example, to be able is sing a particular song, the singer must go through a prolonged and rigorous training in music. The poet must feel something extraordinary or something ordinary extraordinarily that he expresses through the song. The music composer, the orchestra and the singer must internalize the details of the song -- both the technical and the emotion to put together a performance powerful enough to grab the notice of the most insolent of hearts. While the song itself has the beauty of the matter, the process that creates it is unboundedly more beautiful. But it is accessible to the person only with his mind's eye open. </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;">Unfortunately, staying in a state where the mind's eye is open is not effortless in most cases. In fact, most of us spend only a small part of our conscious life in that wakeful state. For most part, we are in an unconscious state, a mist of insolence and apathy surrounding us. I suspect that for most unfortunate people, this wakeful state happens for a disappearingly small period of time. I am unprepared to believe that there are people who never experience this wakefulness. You may consider it my form of faith that says that each one of us is blessed with that spark of divinity that can be stoked into a blazing fire </span><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">with the right kind of nurturing. But anyway, what's important here is that statistically most people have their mind's eyes closed. Hence, appreciation for the beauty of the mind is so difficult to find. Places like Facebook or Instagram are where most of us spend the moments when we are in no condition or mood to perceive anything that's not out on the surface or doesn't assert itself loudly.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;">Sometimes creators of the beauty of mind, in their frustration of not being able to garner are kind of popularity that those with the beauty of the matter do, try to assert themselves in all sorts of ways. Unfortunately, this hardly ever ends well. In most cases, they are judged as belligerent, that is, pushing their supremacy on others. One question is: is indeed this belligerence there? Hard to say if it's right to interpret this behaviour as belligerence. It's definitely born out of anger and frustration, and has an element of violence in it. But belligerence?Belligerence amounts to an act of aggression in an attempt to force someone to to do something without his consent. What is an overassertive creator of beauty of mind trying to force people to do by making a noise about his creation? It's hard to point out. It's often construed as an attempt to force people to acknowledge the superiority of such a person. This mayn't be the case though. Such a claim, if at all there (which I doubt it is) as vacuously true and is in no need of validation. If someone is wilfully denying this, it's clearly a mean act. For most creators, their so called belligerence is really an act of retaliation against this meanness. But interestingly, to begin with, the denial of the above acknowledgement doesn't originate from meanness, but from intellectual incapacity. When intellect is slumbering, where is the question of it seeing below the surface?</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;">The other, even more unfortunate, way the creative mind asserts its presence to the intellectually asleep majority is by commodifying itself. 'Become so good that the brilliance of your goodness pierces through the thickest of the wall of intellectual slumber', that's the maxim. This commodification is the unfortunate mechanism that drives the commercial world. It legitimises consumerism which is the advanced state of intellectual slumber; and it legitimises the alienation caused by the non-interest in the deeply beautiful thing in favour of that whose beauty is shallow and of the material. It also normalises the claim that there's no fundamental difference between the beauty of the mind and that of the matter.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;">Before I close, I would like to return to the infinite potential of the experience involving the beauty of the mind. There is really no limit to what you are allowed to see and experience behind an act of creativity. In fact, it's completely legal to perceive things that even the creator may not have perceived. Experiencing the beauty of mind is an act of creation.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;">On a completely tangential note, this may provide at least a partial resolution to the following conundrum: 'Does a copy (probably produced mechanically) have the same beauty as the original creation? Beauty of matter: yes! Beauty of mind. no! Beauty of mind can't be copied. It can't be manufactured. Process of creation happens only once -- in the mind of the creator, in the mind of the experiencer. In fact, beauty of mind is not a thing, but a process. Ephemeral. Unique. Unreplicatable.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;">Final word: Beauty of mind is not meant to be popular in the manner the beauty of matter is. It is sacred, and trying to push it through the wall of the widely prevailing intellectual slumber may sometimes work, but often will break it, defile it, turning it into the beauty of matter.</span></p>Sujit Kumar Chakrabartihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11424095559961037990noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20043527.post-88209659327512707152023-03-09T14:30:00.001+05:302023-03-09T14:30:55.672+05:30Dividing the Prize of Good Work<p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #050505; white-space: pre-wrap;">Can organisations consider transferring a part of the salary of their employees to their partners, family members, or anyone at home, who makes it possible for the employees to put in his or her hard work?</span></span></p><div class="x11i5rnm xat24cr x1mh8g0r x1vvkbs xtlvy1s x126k92a" style="background-color: white; color: #050505; margin: 0.5em 0px 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div dir="auto" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;">The world has run long enough with the assumption that an employer pays its employees their salary, and it's the responsibility of the employee to share the benefits with his/her family members. Clearly, had this been a sufficient mechanism for all benefits to trickle down equitably, the whole gender discrimination issue wouldn't have arisen. The fact is that the person who has a direct access to the finances has an upper hand in the outside world in various ways. This advantage plays out very distinctly over a long period.</span></div></div><div class="x11i5rnm xat24cr x1mh8g0r x1vvkbs xtlvy1s x126k92a" style="background-color: white; color: #050505; margin: 0.5em 0px 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div dir="auto" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;">Personally, having been a family man for a decade and a half, it's quite clear to me that neither of us -- my wife and I -- would have been able to flourish in our professional craft without the other stepping up to help at every step. Unfortunately, this invaluable help gets a fairly sad compensation as a mention in the thesis acknowledgement or as a 'thank you' in an award ceremony, however sincerely and emotionally spelt. We need to make the compensation more explicit.</span></div></div><div class="x11i5rnm xat24cr x1mh8g0r x1vvkbs xtlvy1s x126k92a" style="background-color: white; color: #050505; margin: 0.5em 0px 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div dir="auto" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;">There could be objections to the above idea that a spouse's devotion or a parent's love are invaluable and thinking of compensating them in financial terms is like devaluing them. I get that, and I don't want to be dismissive about it outright. However, undeniably, the current system has led to a long-term drift and needs some correction.</span></div></div><div class="x11i5rnm xat24cr x1mh8g0r x1vvkbs xtlvy1s x126k92a" style="background-color: white; color: #050505; margin: 0.5em 0px 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div dir="auto" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;">Also, this idea wouldn't directly correct many other issues, for example, the fact that some people will never get an opportunity to demonstrate their capabilities in certain fields of endeavour due to this arrangement of division of labour. But, if we as a society take the task of estimating the financial value of handling a home and family, the issue of one feeling unrewarded and unacknowledged for his/her effort would be reduced to some extent, hopefully. It is likely that, in turn, everyone -- regardless of gender -- would feel motivated to contribute to domestic duties in the same way as to professional ones.</span></div></div><div class="x11i5rnm xat24cr x1mh8g0r x1vvkbs xtlvy1s x126k92a" style="background-color: white; color: #050505; margin: 0.5em 0px 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div dir="auto" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;">There's a trend to turn our workplaces into gender equitable spaces. This is a very good thing and should continue and strengthen by all means. But a dual force should also be created wherein men feel more encouraged to participate in managing home and family. It's definitely done in some of the developed economies, and it works. For example, some of the European countries like Sweden give paternity leave equal to the maternity leave, and that too a lot of it. This shows that the society there acknowledges the importance of nursing and raising a child, invests on it as a society and encourages men and women to participate equally in it.</span></div></div><div class="x11i5rnm xat24cr x1mh8g0r x1vvkbs xtlvy1s x126k92a" style="background-color: white; color: #050505; margin: 0.5em 0px 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div dir="auto" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;">A couple of points to tie up a few loose ends. Firstly, though I am thinking and writing about this subject around Women's Day, the matter is not about upliftment of women, or gender fairness. It's about fairness in general, which is gender/caste/race/class neutral virtue. This includes the interests of parents, caretakers and others who stand guard at home while a person goes out into the professional battlefield to earn bread and accolades. In the same vein, this thought has nothing to do with feminism, which is a sexist term in my opinion. Thinking like an ethical human being is an age-old idea, though put to use to a miserably insufficient extent. If feminism has done anything to help anyone do that, there're also evidence that it has brought up a generation of women (and men) who have misplaced notions of being knowledgeable about this issue and use it only to further strengthen their own privileges.</span></div></div><div class="x11i5rnm xat24cr x1mh8g0r x1vvkbs xtlvy1s x126k92a" style="background-color: white; color: #050505; margin: 0.5em 0px 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div dir="auto" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;">If our society considers itself a developed one, it should develop mechanisms of estimating the (economic) value of all contributions to the society; and, if possible, create channels through which credits and rewards flow to the people and places where they are due. I know, this may be a bit out of the way the world works. But to get important results, we should consider making fundamental/radical changes.</span></div></div>Sujit Kumar Chakrabartihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11424095559961037990noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20043527.post-8073922091393040762022-08-13T11:51:00.005+05:302022-08-20T11:43:26.766+05:30Laal Singh Chadda - A Review<p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"> Dressing up and driving out at night is not my idea of chilling out on a Friday night following a gruelling work week. This movie is a remake of a classic -- Forrest Gump. I have watched that movie many times, am a lifetime fan of that movie and of Tom Hanks. So, I was partly mentally preparing myself to feel disappointed on the remake, as is the case with most remakes. The ongoing trouble on social network about #boycottlaalsinghchadda was there somewhere. I can swear on anything you wish that this filth doesn't sway me this way or that at all. But we surely were worried that there could be trouble at the venue. There are plenty of precendents available to show that this concern is not unfounded.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">Nevertheless, the tickets were prebooked. So, we went ...</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">One of the first and biggest things that the movie does different from most remakes is to proclaim aloud that it's a remake. It pays tribute the original work of art and takes on squarely the challenge of offering something over and beyond what the original does. To put it as mildly as I can: LSC doesn't fail.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">This note doesn't intend to be a spoiler. So, no dramatics!</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">Very like Forrest Gump, the movie portrays a simpleton whose life exemplifies one of the purest ideals of our life: simplicity of heart paves way to great accomplishments: be it in love, war or profession. The ability, resilience and perseverence can and will follow if you learn the art of losing yourself in the experience. There's pervasive message in the movie which has a profound spiritual scent to it. And it does it through a thousand funny and sombre moments that leave you in splits, and sometime with a lump in your throat. But that's there in Forrest Gump too, portrayed as well if not better.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">What do I get from the movie as an Indian? I could relook at the grandeur, vastness and beauty of my country: its terrestrial beauty, its cultural richness and plurality, the trials and tribulations through which it has emerged post independence, its moments of tragedy: Emergency, storming of Golden Temple, Indira Gandhi assassination and the carnage of Sikhs, the terrorist attacks in Mumbai, on the one hand. On the other, its glorious moments of victory: be it in the '83 Cricket World Cup or at Kargil.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">The screenplay and locales were natively and inimitably Indian. My music playlist, after years of having been locked up in the 60's and 70's, will have some new songs in them: Lyrical, profound and soothing to the ears.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">So, there you go: my assessment of the movie for all its worth. Go watch it if you want to be entertained and touched by stellar acting, beautiful screenplay, picturesque picturisation, soothing music and the overall spiritual ambience the narrative sets up. Aamir Khan doesn't surprise me here. He has a long track record of having made movies which will make its millions of viewers reflect over good things: friendship (Dil Chahta Hai), impact of corruption on youth (Rang De Basanti), our attitude as a society towards learning disabilities (Taare Zameen Par), pursuit of excellence (3 Idiots), biopic of a forgotten wrestler (Dangal), looking at human society from an alien's (unbiased) eyes (PK) ... and I am sure I am missing many of them.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">I remember many movies where our mythological characters have been made fun of. One example is the classic satire, Jaane Bhi Do Yaaron, where characters from Mahabharata were spoofed to the limit.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">But if something he had tweeted years ago which you have been convinced to consider religiously offensive (in spite of the fact that we say much more severe things about our own religion, culture and country on a daily basis, and find nothing offensive about it), please #boycottlaalsinghchadda!</span></p>Sujit Kumar Chakrabartihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11424095559961037990noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20043527.post-65042311622500444692022-02-04T15:54:00.003+05:302022-02-26T10:47:19.341+05:30How to (re)Start Reading<h3 style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">WHY PEOPLE DON'T READ OR GIVE UP READING <br /></span></span></h3><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">The benefits of reading are beyond debate. Reading a book is like a free appointment for a chit chat with a great mind. Inputting good words and the thoughts they convey can produce pathways in your thoughts that never existed earlier. Just like various infrastructural facilities like roads, hotels, factories, etc. allow you to explore and use your country better, likewise, vocabulary, phrases, narratives and scenarios formed through habitual reading make it possible to think in newer ways, generate newer ideas, and learn new knowledge. This leads to more mental infrastructure getting created, resulting in a compounding effect.<br /></span></span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"></span></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">And yet, not as many people benefit from reading habits as one would want.</span></span></p><ul style="text-align: justify;"><li><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Common laments are that people don't find time to read.</span></span></li><li><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Reading is often found to be an effortful process.</span></span></li><li><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">The benefits accrued from such an effort is often deemed intangible if at all there.</span></span></li><li><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Developing a regular habit of reading by dedicating a specific hour of the day doesn't work for those who maintain erratic hours. As a result the reading hours fall victims to the vagaries of an irregular lifestyle, and so does the habit of reading.</span></span></li><li><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Not being able to read a book cover to cover leads to frustrations, triggering further avoidance and procrastination.</span></span></li></ul><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"> Later in this article, I create a list of suggestions which may help you get started with your reading habit, or in case if you are facing a reader's block, in getting your lost reading habit back on track. The tips do so exactly by getting around some of the above issues. I will leave the discovery of the mapping the method to issue as an exercise for the reader.</span></span><br /></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"> </span></span><h3 style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">A WORD ABOUT THE ADVISOR<br /></span></span></h3><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"></span></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">I don't consider myself an expert in the subject of reading. To substantiate this, let me confess that up until recently, I used to average at about 4-5 books a year which is nothing impressive. Recently, for reasons I don't completely understand, I have jumped up a bit to about 8-10 books a year, which also is a very modest rate compared to what I find some other people being able to do. My son, for example, finishes reading a book every 3-4 days. He glides through 100s of pages, literally in a matter of hours. A friend of mine read an unbelievable 63 books last years; and such has been her rate steadily for years. Achieving such extreme speeds may require some special talents, skills and circumstances not all of us may be blessed with. Nor may all of us be so keen to clock up to such high reading rates.<br /></span></span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"></span></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Nevertheless, the point is made that I can claim not to be an expert in this subject of reading, at least going by the numbers. Yet, what may actually qualify me to advise on this topic is precisely the same reason. I am a struggler too. I have tasted the nectar and am surely hooked for life. So, while I know pretty well why a reading habit is such a powerful thing to develop, I sympathise with the difficulties faced by a beginner/struggler.<br /></span></span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">So, here are the tips:<br /></span></span></p><h3><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">GO FOR VARIETY</span></span></h3><h3 style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"></span></span></h3><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Try reading various types of books: novels, short-fiction, non-fiction, philosophy, science politics, ... Likewise, please give various languages a try. Since most of us have been educated in English medium, and since English has such an unfortunate aspirational angle to it, most of us default to English literature. When some are not able to connect with the content, they make the mistaken conclusion that reading is not their thing. However, Indian literature is equally rich. And even though we may not be very confident about our knowledge of, say, our mother tongue, when we start reading a book in that language, things may prove unexpectedly smooth, simply because this still is probably the language we converse in in our day-to-day life, and our thoughts may be tuned to the vocabulary and idioms of that language. Further, the scenarios, cultures and contexts may be far more familiar in books written by compatriots compared to books written by western authors. Anyway, short of the long: try Indian books too.<br /></span></span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"></span></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Everyone can't read all kinds of books. We are naturally conditioned to like certain topics, styles of presentation and languages more than certain others. To know our fit, we should try reading many kinds of books. Only after having developed some familiarity with one's tastes and distastes, should one start aiming to go deeper into a genre at the exclusion of other possibilities.<br /></span></span></p><h3 style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">READING SPRINTS<br /></span></span></h3><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Read in small bursts. Instead of making marathon sessions, go for short sprints. This has several benefits. Not having to commit a huge chunk of time to a reading session makes it look less daunting, and hence easier to do. Shorter gaps of 15-30 minutes are easier to find than 2-3 hour slots. Holding your attention for 15 minutes is a very doable target. All these make it easier to start reading every time, and that makes it more likely that you will sit down to read more frequently.<br /></span></span></p><h3 style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">FREE YOURSELF OF BURDENS<br /></span></span></h3><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">We often carry certain unnecessary burdens in our head which block us from feeling rewarded every time we read a few paragraphs. Such continuous feeling of tiny rewards is very necessary to make reading a sustainable process. Hence, before starting to read a book, free yourself of the following burdens:<br /></span></span></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">that you will read the whole book</span></span></li><li><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">that you will read in the same sequence as in the pages</span></span></li><li><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">that it's only after having read a book cover to cover that you get the benefits of reading it <br /></span></span></li></ul><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"></span></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Remember that each word you read brings in something new. Hence, the moment you pick up your book and start reading, you are already better off than when you hadn't started; your benefits have started piling, and you are progressing.</span></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Likewise, if you have some preconceived notions about the proper method of reading a book, free yourself of that too. There is no such <i>proper</i> way of reading. Your way is the most proper. Just read!<br /></span></span></p><h3 style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"></span></span><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">BE HUNGRY</span></span></h3><h3><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"></span></span></h3><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Read with focus and hunger. Mentally pause to wonder what the next chapter or paragraph is going to reveal. Launch on your reading sprint with one such question in mind, and with the goal of finding an answer to that question.<br /></span></span></p><h3><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">MINDFULNESS VERSUS ATTENTIVENESS</span></span></h3><h3 style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"></span></span></h3><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">If you haven't ever thought about the difference between attentiveness and mindfulness, may be you would like to. While both are states of focus, attentiveness is a purely conscious process of sticking your thoughts on one subject, and hence is effortful by definition. It may work for sometime but will lead to fatigue before long. Mindfulness is the act of creating an experience of emotional oneness with what you are doing. When we are immersed in the experience instead of thinking about the act, focus automatically happens. The way I say this here may make it appear somewhat exotic. But, it's not. It happens to all of us at some point: for example, kids experience it when playing. Mindfulness doesn't exhaust you even after a period of intense focus and effort. And, with practice, therefore, mindfulness leads to increased focus for longer periods of time.<br /></span></span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"></span></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">So, why do I mention mindfulness here? Because, like in all hard stuff to do, learning to be mindful leads to focus during reading. And focused reading leads to more learning and more immersive experience. Outcome: more enjoyable and rewarding reading.<br /></span></span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"></span></span></p><h3><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">HAVE A REASON</span></span></h3><h3 style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"></span></span></h3><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Identify a reason why you would like to read a book. Here, your wishing to develop a reading habit is not the kind of reason I am referring to. Suppose, you are struggling with time management and would like to improve there. That makes for a good reason to pick up a book on time management or personal organisation. Similarly, some topics you may be curious to about (may be due to pragmatic reasons, but may be not) can be learned by reading a book. I realise that for me the lure of being transported to places and times where I can't otherwise go (e.g. fastastic Middle-Earth of Tolkien, Faraway planets and galaxies of Arthur C. Clarke, Olden Victorian England of George Elliot and Jane Austen, pre-independence North Indian rural and urban settings of Premchand). The fact that our mind works hard in filling up the gaps left by the written words in describing the situation is one of the primary lures of reading as opposed to watching a movie/TV series.<br /></span></span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"></span></span></p><h3 style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">DIFFERENT STROKES</span></span></h3><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Reading is a matter of skill. Like all other skills, it requires prolonged practice to learn and perfect. Unless you intend to stick to a limited palette of genres, you will realise that there are different kinds of reading styles to be employed for different kinds of texts. A novel needs a different method of reading as compared to a book on philosophy. Even among novels, a book by Joseph Conrad can't be read using a style of reading that you found useful in reading Stephen King. In fact, every book is a different species and needs a different treatment. A seasoned reader will be prompt in estimating the tone and timbre of the conversation a book is trying to strike, and will adjust his reading style accordingly.</span></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Therefore, if a book you just picked up doesn't come across as as easy a read as the last book you read, don't despair. It may just need a bit of adjusting the reading style to start enjoying the book. This will prevent unnecessary feelings of failure that often lead to a break.</span></span></p><h3 style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">SUMMARY <br /></span></span></h3><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">I hope the above tips are found practical and helpful in case you feel you are beginning on book reading or are trying to resume it. While reading may not be everyone's cup of tea, I think, it can be enjoyed by more people than we find doing today, if they free themselves of some of the hangups and mental burdens they carry about the idea of reading.<br /></span></span></p></div>Sujit Kumar Chakrabartihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11424095559961037990noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20043527.post-47054345317563067402022-02-01T22:53:00.000+05:302022-02-01T22:53:05.824+05:30In Defense of Gandhi<div style="text-align: justify;"></div><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Today (started on January 30) is the 74th death anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi. I am currently reading his autobiography -- a long pending life assignment for me; I am halfway through. From some conversations I have been witness to recently, where his contributions to India and its independence was questioned, and he was called over-rated, I feel motivated to express my current views on him.</span></span></p><h3 style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: red;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Victim of Idolisation</span></span></span></h3><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Like many of his likes, Gandhi has been a victim of idolisation. It mayn't be wrong to say that calling him 'Mahatma' has done more to damage his life's work than anything else. Calling him the father of Nation may have been an act of love done by his devotees and friends. But today, this title has little function beyond being a fodder to controversies.<br /></span></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Congress had a vested interest in projecting him as <i>Mahatma</i> and then claiming the inheritance of his political legacy. They ran their shop for a long time in large part by appropriating this false legacy. The result: The Gandhi we see is through a veil of misinformation, exaggeration, and data manipulation propagated through 7 long decades. <br /></span></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">The common man has his own reasons for making a deity out of anyone leading an inspiring life. Giving a status of Godliness is the most potent method of stunting a teacher ability to teach. It becomes a free pass for devotees to keep the benefits of being under the wings of a great man without having to follow in his footsteps. Each time someone expects such a thing of you, you excuse yourself, calling yourself a mere mortal. You escape the real test, and get a point for modesty!<br /></span></span></p><h3 style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: red;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">The Narrow Lens</span></span></span></h3><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Gandhi's most predominant fame is as a freedom fighter which is again a very unfortunate thing. Gandhi was really a public worker who would gravitate towards what he encountered around himself. He started his career as a public worker in South Africa where he fought a long battle for the upliftment of the conditions of immigrant Indians. His public work would often bring him against the authorities. And he kept going back to South Africa after returning to India whenever he was called.</span></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Gandhi worked on almost all conceivable areas of public work: health and sanitation, education, rural emancipation etc. From what appears to me from reading his autobiography, freedom struggle must have been only a part of his life's agenda and goal. Probably, it mayn't be wrong to say that it was, like all other areas, an avenue where he put his theories of truth to test.</span></span></p><h3 style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: red;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">The Spiritual Seeker</span></span></span></h3><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Public work itself was the outlet that Gandhi's spiritual quest found. Gandhi was deeply religious person, achingly in search for the spiritual secrets of life which he interchangeably refers to as truth or God. This lay at the base of his extreme compassion, courage and tolerance on the one hand, and deep disconnection with many things external. Yet, Gandhi was blessed with great worldly wisdom and tact, which kept getting better over the years. Many of his decisions and choices, particularly in his personal life, weren't half as worldly.<br /></span></span></p><h3 style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: red;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Standing on the Shoulders of Giants</span></span></span></h3><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Early twentieth century was to Indian social reawakening what it was to Western Science -- a golden period. There were many greats including Gandhi, Nehru, Madan Mohan Malwiya, Gopal Krishna Gokhale, Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose, Tilak etc. all on the political and social front. On the other side, we had the likes of Vivekananda, Tagore, JN Tata, JC Bose etc. all doyens in their respective areas. Gandhi was not the only great soul walking on the Indian soil.</span></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">One observation we could easily make is that Gandhi diligently worked towards developing a strong network with influential people. This may very well be his most distinctive characteristic which contributed to his immense influence. And, looking at his methods, far from getting a feeling of a <i>Mahatma</i>, I get a feeling that he followed the best practices of networking to an extent that today's IIM graduates would be envious of.<br /></span></span></p><h3 style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: red;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Unnecessary Comparisons</span></span></span></h3><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">There are many unnecessary comparisons drawn between Gandhi and many of his influential contemporaries. One of the most prominent of them is with Subhash Chandra Bose. And I upfront admit my very scant knowledge about Netaji except what was taught to us in our school textbooks and the conspiracy theories that never seem to settle about his death and afterlife. <br /></span></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Netaji was of the opinion that Independence should be snatched; we can't reason with the imperialists so they peacefully let go of their control on their prized colony. It goes without saying that his point of view wasn't without merit. However, his ideas couldn't coexist under the same roof with Gandhi's ideas of non-violence. So, they parted ways.</span></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">I would like to see this as nothing more than an intellectual difference between two great men. I don't find great merit in trying to insist to settle as to whose role was primary in India's independence. To the best of my understanding, it was neither. England was then a war torn country driven to the verge of bankruptcy. They would have been keen to invest their energies in rebuilding their nation rather than worrying about a colony which was already milked dry for 2 centuries, where the public faith on the <i>Raj</i> was at its all time low, and mutinies waiting to erupt anywhere and everywhere. I am sure, this would have already bumped up their willingness to leave us to the breaking point. Now what gave them the final push is neither easy to decide nor so important.</span></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">I am also aware that the relations between Gandhi and another great man, Dr. Ambedkar, weren't the sweetest. I have nearly no knowledge about the details of this disagreement. I am all too aware of the scholarly brilliance of Dr. Ambedkar, and the ground-breaking contributions towards drafting the Indian constitution and the upliftment of <i>Dalits</i>. Yet, he was no fan of the other person who worked along with manual scavengers to improve the sanitary conditions of the city during plague, and worked towards their emancipation. This fails to perturb me one bit. <br /></span></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Consider how we do not make a big deal when statesmen or scholars of the present day debate and disagree vehemently with each other on matters professional, ethical and even personal or scientific. Why then does it perturb us so much when big guys we love who died decades ago didn't agree with each other? Because we are stuck with the idea of making gods out of them. It's we who make them into Gods, it's we who expect infallible behaviour from these Godly men, and it's we who fight like religious fanatics when our Gods don't agree with one another. It again us, who lynch out gods when they fail in living up to our picture perfect image of them. Isn't it stupid?</span></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">In other words, to pit two great souls against each other long after after they are gone is a vain debate fit for idle hero worshipers who contribute little to the real glory of either of them.</span></span></p><h3 style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: red;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Non-Violence</span></span></span></h3><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Gandhi is often ridiculed for his overbearing fascination with non-violence. Non-violence, it seems, is all about <i>giving your other cheek</i>. I think, it's such an incredibly narrow interpretation of an unfathomably deep concept! Like truth, non-violence is open to interpretation. Gandhi didn't invent non-violence. It has found mention in many schools of thoughts over millennia. Gandhi just created a resoundingly successful experiment in using it as a tool to break the spirit of the mighty imperialists and empowering the teeming millions to think that they could take on the Britishers by coming out into the streets and filling up the jails in thousands.</span></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Even if we look at non-violence as just a tool in the struggle for independence, it is not an exclusionary policy. I am sure there were people on both extremes and everywhere in between. Non violence was super effective in solving many complicated standoffs, and there are numerous examples of that. And admittedly, it wasn't a panacea for all issues.<br /></span></span></p><h3 style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: red;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">A New Lens</span></span></span></h3><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Let's forget the <i>Mahatma</i>. Think of a shy, mediocre teenager from provincial Gujarat -- unsure of himself in everything: be it in his ability to speak English, his control on lust, his professional capability or his spiritual depth. And start tracing his journey from this state to when the whole nation starts looking at him as an imposing influence in some of the most stressful and controvercial of its social matters. You see that he made this big transformation possible through things which each one of us would -- in theory -- be able to do. The tricks he used were of study, self-examination, honesty, perseverance, non-violence, self experiments (in a variety of social, economic and religious austerities among others), networking with a wide-variety of people from various political schools, nationalities, religious backgrounds and races. These are none the qualities of a highly intelligent or talented person, but of a simple and ordinary person who just didn't know how to give up.<br /></span></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">And that, in my eyes, is the most inspiring legacy of Gandhi. He essayed his life as a story of a simple man who reached dizzying heights of greatness using nothing but his pathetic experiments with truth. In front of these achievements, I count even his contributions to the National Independence as nothing.</span></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">So, let's give Gandhi a second chance. Let's liberate him of his titles and the unrealistic expectations of infallible public/political behaviour from him. Let's study his journey and his experiments with truth. Debate with his thoughts and opinions. Disagree with him, ridicule him, sometimes even feel a sense of revolt at his many naivetes and failings. But let's acknowledge him for his numerous merits which include courage, tact, willpower, resilience and so on. And then see if he fails to impress and inspire.<br /></span></span></p>Sujit Kumar Chakrabartihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11424095559961037990noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20043527.post-86707521186352664772021-12-06T10:27:00.003+05:302021-12-06T10:27:57.567+05:30Blame it All on Nand Ghosh*<p> </p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">We
Hindus have been picturing our evils as an anthropomorphic entity like
Ravana, Mahisasura, Duryodhana, Hiranyakashyap etc. We have been
celebrating the single act of vanquishing them by burning their
effigies, thinking that's a step towards getting rid of the evils of the
world. We have been struggling to conquer them for thousands of years.</span></span><br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"></span></span><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Modern
people create more sophisticated effigies: Rightists, leftists, Bhakt,
Hindutva, Libtards, patriarchy, capitalists, socialists, racists ...
their number seems to have grown bigger.<br /></span></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">I
don't say these things don't exist. But picturing all evil in the world
as emerging from one such identifiable source -- your favourite one --
is naivette. To think of it as an external to ourselves is a form of
denial.<br />I think, the practice of mapping all evil you see around you
to one source is not doing us any good. Instead, let's acknowledge the
complexity and multiplicity of the phenomena that lead to social evils.
Oversimplification of problems has never led to any real solution. They
may create quick improvements, but would soon replace one problem with
another.</span></span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"> </span></span></p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">* যতো দোষ নন্দ ঘোষ -- In Bangla, the proverb talks about the act of finding a single person to blame for all goof ups.</span></span>Sujit Kumar Chakrabartihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11424095559961037990noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20043527.post-32168296819449136872021-06-12T11:09:00.004+05:302021-06-12T11:09:43.073+05:30Let's Draw a Cartoon<div style="text-align: left;"><span class="d2edcug0 hpfvmrgz qv66sw1b c1et5uql b0tq1wua a8c37x1j keod5gw0 nxhoafnm aigsh9s9 d9wwppkn fe6kdd0r mau55g9w c8b282yb hrzyx87i jq4qci2q a3bd9o3v knj5qynh oo9gr5id hzawbc8m" dir="auto"></span><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Let's draw a cartoon.</span></span></div><p style="text-align: left;">Let's tell a story.</p><div style="text-align: left;"><div class=""><div class="ecm0bbzt hv4rvrfc e5nlhep0 dati1w0a" data-ad-comet-preview="message" data-ad-preview="message" id="jsc_c_kv"><div class="j83agx80 cbu4d94t ew0dbk1b irj2b8pg"><div class="qzhwtbm6 knvmm38d"><p><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span class="d2edcug0 hpfvmrgz qv66sw1b c1et5uql b0tq1wua a8c37x1j keod5gw0 nxhoafnm aigsh9s9 d9wwppkn fe6kdd0r mau55g9w c8b282yb hrzyx87i jq4qci2q a3bd9o3v knj5qynh oo9gr5id hzawbc8m" dir="auto"></span></span></span></p><div class="o9v6fnle cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x c1et5uql ii04i59q"><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;"><span style="font-size: medium;">That looks funny,</span></div><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;"><span style="font-size: medium;">But mayn't be so beneath.</span></div><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;"><span style="font-size: medium;">That brings smiles,</span></div><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;"><span style="font-size: medium;">And some frowns.</span></div><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;"><span style="font-size: medium;">That tickles some funny bones.</span></div><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;"><span style="font-size: medium;">And ruffles up some feathers.</span></div><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;"><span style="font-size: medium;">That needs hours of hard work,</span></div><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Just to give the illusion,</span></div><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;"><span style="font-size: medium;">That it came out,</span></div><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Of just a casual stroke.</span></div></div><div class="o9v6fnle cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x c1et5uql ii04i59q"><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span><br /></span><span></span></span></div></div><p></p></div></div></div></div></div>Sujit Kumar Chakrabartihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11424095559961037990noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20043527.post-5063791349011906922021-04-29T10:08:00.005+05:302021-04-29T10:08:43.576+05:30Once in an Indigo Moon<div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><p style="text-align: left;"> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYfgPZXevWcjKMcDhLw7rpAifihEkITptTCsNzMnmxmBHTPB8rBTfLDVkMPLfE4fdAdp671scnu2s3Mk3M7t07BEH1PN_Xk1I19Z4_ODCSq5aJNjEJ5n-c3naQy4qcJj1EFQs3NA/s1280/indigo-moon.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="720" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYfgPZXevWcjKMcDhLw7rpAifihEkITptTCsNzMnmxmBHTPB8rBTfLDVkMPLfE4fdAdp671scnu2s3Mk3M7t07BEH1PN_Xk1I19Z4_ODCSq5aJNjEJ5n-c3naQy4qcJj1EFQs3NA/s320/indigo-moon.jpeg" /></a></div> <p></p><p style="text-align: left;"> </p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">There was nothing beautiful about this journey. A night spent outside the airport (they wouldn't let me in as I was too early) without a wink, being bitten by mosquitoes and trying to strike a conversation with stray dogs. Heart laden with every negative emotion that you can think of: Panic - that I would get stuck away from my family during the suddenly announced Karnataka lockdown. Guilt - as I knew I would have to dodge the authorities for not having done my mandatory RT-PCR (I tried my level best to find out if I would be able to travel after the lockdown was enforced so that I could travel with the COVID negative certificate, but I couldn't. The more likely thing was: I wouldn't be able to travel). Sadness - as I had to drop unfinished what I had travelled to Nagpur to do. Exhaustion - out of having to deal with three serious illnesses and hospitalisations in the family in the last twenty days. Worry - for the health of those who were sick. Anxiety - Work piling up.<br /></span></span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">In such a moment, Nature challenged me. "While negativity crowds your mind, will you still be able to notice a thing of beauty that passes before you." I took that challenge. I showed her this scene which I noticed during a split second spent on the tarmac. She smiled and said: "Son! You have been granted admission to my art school!"</span></span><br /></p>Sujit Kumar Chakrabartihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11424095559961037990noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20043527.post-47228052756966391202021-04-23T21:48:00.003+05:302021-04-23T21:48:46.191+05:30Getting Your License Done -- the Proper Way<div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Let me ask you a question: <i>How hard do you think it is to get a driving license done in India by following the proper process, i.e. by not using the help of driving schools, agents and middlemen?</i></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><i><span style="font-size: medium;">1 - cakewalk ... 10 - impossible</span></i></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Of course, I am assuming that you satisfy the necessary legal requirement for holding a driving license in the first place, i.e. you are an adult who knows how to drive, and doesn't suffer from any of the listed health conditions which debar you from driving.<br /></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">I have waited for this day with bated breath for three months so that I could share with you my answer to the above question. Today, I want to share with you all that <i>I have got my driving license issued from the RTO, Electronics City, Bangalore -- all using legitimate methods</i>. And, in my estimate, I would place the difficulty level somewhere in the middle of the bar (between 4 and 6).<br /></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Last evening, when I finally got sure that my license is indeed done, I shared the news with many of my friends, assuming that this achievement was one of its kind. What I came to know is that there are many amongst my own friends who have been there done that before me. Instead of dampening my exhilaration, it only strengthened my conviction that this piece ought to be written. There are many who have been getting their license done without resorting to curved paths (or short cuts): driving schools, agents, or blatant bribing. It's possible go straight for it and get it. People have been doing it successfully.<br /></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">And this positive fact needs to be talked about as much as the issues of the system. One of the reasons corruption and inefficiency sinks into the DNA of a system is because citizens lose hope and stop trying to use it in the legitimate way. Only the negative aspects get talked about, and the positive instances, which are probably already in minority, get ignored. Eventually, a public opinion that 'nothing works here' gets entrenched in the public psyche. Therefore, if there are positive instances, they should definitely find mention, so that the vicious cycle of cynicism and despondency can be broken.<br /></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">So, that's the first reason I write this article: to spread a message of hope and positivity, and encourage people to try going the legit way. It was indeed an eye-opener for me to learn that so many of my friends had actually successfully got their DL through legitimate method. Had I known this before I embarked on my journey to get my license, it wouldn't have appeared so perilous and daunting to me.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Following are the other reasons for writing this article:</span></p><ol style="text-align: justify;"><li><span style="font-size: medium;">I wish to share my experience of wading through the process with those who would like to try getting their driving license done using legitimate means. Hope it helps them.<br /></span></li><li><span style="font-size: medium;">I would like to share some observations regarding why might the citizens' current experience with the RTO not be as pleasant as it should be, and what could be done to improve it. I would like to assume that someone out there is listening, who has it in his hands to bring out positive changes in the system.</span></li></ol><h3 style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: red;"><span style="font-size: medium;">How to Get Your License Done</span></span></h3><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Well, the process is all out there on the Internet I think. Yet, following it isn't all that straightforward. There are bells-and-whistles, pitfalls and caveats, which can cause the whole thing to become disproportionately complicated.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">One more point. While much of the following information should apply nationwide with minimal modifications, there are details specific to Electronics City RTO too.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Another point. These instructions are as per how things stand at present. By the time you are reading it, things may change: the process, the website design etc. <br /></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">One final point. A disclaimer. These are not official instructions, just what I am able to recollect from memory, which already is beginning to gather dust due to the passage of several months since I went through it myself. But, I am confident that I will say nothing that will misguide you.<br /></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">1. Learner's License</span></p><p style="margin-left: 40px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">1.1 Get written test appointment (online). Your first point of stop is <a href="https://sarathi.parivahan.gov.in/sarathiservice/stateSelection.do" target="_blank">this</a>. This is Parivahan site, courtesy GoI. Select your state. And you land with many choices. The first of them (as per the layout while I write this) is Apply for Learner's License. Go ahead, click it!</span></p><p style="margin-left: 40px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">The list of things you would do here will appear. The online wizard will help you go through the process. If I remember correctly, at some point, you would need to upload a photograph. The photograph file is required to be very small, probably < 200KB.</span></p><p style="margin-left: 40px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">You would need to pay up the charges for the online test. Note that the online test isn't completely online. It's more a computer-based test. To take this, you have to visit the RTO on the day you select as a part of the above process.<br /></span></p><p style="margin-left: 40px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">1.2 Appear for test (RTO)</span></p><p style="margin-left: 40px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">You reach the RTO on the designated date at the designated time. But as per my observation, its complete chaos at the venue. You stand in a long queue. You pay up your fees at the cash counter. Your name gets called, and you have to strain not to miss that. If you do catch your name called, you get into this room with 10-15 computer terminals. You go sit on one of them, and start your test. It's a computer based quiz consisting of 15-20 multiple choice questions. If you know the answers, you get done within a matter of minutes. If you pass, you will immediately be notified. You receive a link in SMS later that day or may be the next from which you can download the soft copy of your learner's license.<br /></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">2. Permanent License</span></p><p style="margin-left: 40px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">2.1 Get driving test appointment (online)</span></p><p style="margin-left: 40px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Your learner's license is valid for 6 months after which it lapses. The permanent license must be obtained within that period. You can apply for a permanent license only when you have a valid learner's license.<br /></span></p><p style="margin-left: 40px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">2.2 Appear for test (RTO)</span></p><p style="margin-left: 40px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Here's where I saw a lot of confusion, not just among the applicants, but also among people inside the system, including RTO employees. Remember this: All tests happen in the testing tracks around RTO Electronics City (and I am being specific here only for applications for this RTO). There are many there who will tell you that you have to go to the testing tracks near Huskur Gate to appear for your tests. That's a misinformation. All driving tests for LMVs and two-wheelers happen right there, near the RTO. Tests for applications coming via driving schools are taken in a different track -- about 300-400 metres south west of the RTO building, while tests for individual applications, which comprise of a small minority of all applications, happens almost right outside the RTO gate. It's an ad-hoc arrangement; no designated track or anything. The inspector stands in some corner and asks you to take rounds in the midst of general traffic. It's anybody's guess as to how closely he examines you when there are multiple applicants driving their vehicles in the midst of a sea of general traffic. But let's not get into cynical thoughts.<br /></span></p><p style="margin-left: 40px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Another important practical insight is that the appointed date of your test may be of consequence, but the precise timing is not. You may take the first slot in the morning intending to get done and save the rest of your day for something else. No! The time at which your test will take place depends on the availability of the inspector, and the crowd that day. We have two instances to quote. In both cases, the tests happened around midday. But, I wouldn't advise you to take a morning appointment and arrive around midday. It's better to arrive on time and be mentally prepared to wait till noon.</span></p><p style="margin-left: 40px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Yet another thing to remember. If you have applied for multiple vehicles, e.g. LMV and MCWG, please either take two appointments one for each so that you can go with your car and motorcycle separately. Another alternative is to take a companion so that you have both your vehicles with you. Yet another alternative is to find someone and borrow his vehicle (of course, I consider this a very precarious way of doing things). In other words, it's essential to have handy a vehicle one which you would appear for your test. Common sense!<br /></span></p><p style="margin-left: 40px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">2.3 Document verification (RTO)</span></p><p style="margin-left: 40px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">If you clear your test, you proceed to counter number 9, first floor (again, this is an information specific to RTO, Electronics City). There, you stand in a long queue. When your turn comes, you get a retina scan and a signature, and thumbprint done. You pay some extra fees (around Rs. 60/-) there.</span></p><p style="margin-left: 40px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">That's it. You are done. You can go home. If things work well, you will get your DL through speed post delivered at your address, typically within a week, but sometimes within a month (caveats apply -- see below). <br /></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><h3 style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: red;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Suggestions to RTO</span></span></h3><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">The declared process really has only two steps: LL and DL. That's it. But in reality, it turns out more winded than that -- all due to unnecessary things. By recounting my actual experience of following the process, let me see if I can bring out where the system suffers inefficiencies which can be dispensed with. <br /></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><b><i><span style="color: #2b00fe;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Help desk</span></span></i></b></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">I felt I wasted the greatest amount of time in trying to figure out what to do next. There is one <i>Sakal</i> counter where there sits an official whose mannerisms, when he is there, aren't inviting enough to make you feel like asking for guidance from him. In short, it's an ineffective contraption -- that <i>Sakal</i> counter. In fact, to minimise the time wasted by the applicants in muddling around in the RTO, a good helpdesk is critical. It should be the single point of entry and should have enough width to be able to handle to peak load gracefully. Right there, all document verification, payment, and any other paperwork should be gotten out of your way. If you get past the helpdesk, all probability of your failing due to process hurdles should be eliminated.<br /></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><i><b><span style="color: #2b00fe;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Make it Transparent</span></span></b></i></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">A sheet charting out the steps to be followed by the applicant should be handed over to the applicant after the verification gets done at the help desk. When the applicant gets past any desk, the official there should provide his signature and seal as an acknowledgement of how far the applicant has gone through. Any paper needed for progress should be managed internally. Token system should be followed to manage the queue at any counter to manage crowding and ensure fairness. </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">A number of shops have mushroomed around the area who provide services the need of which really exists because the RTO makes no attempt to provide you with assistance. These people should be brought into the folds of RTO, given employment there.<br /></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><i><b><span style="color: #2b00fe;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Revamp the Website</span></span></b></i></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">The website is terrible ... terrible! It's designed to make you make mistakes which will cost you time, money and cause a lot of frustration. Again, I am getting rusty with the details. I made a number of mistakes while using the website. This, when I reached the RTO, put me at the mercy of an agent who fleeced me for my services.<br /></span></p><p><i><b><span style="color: #2b00fe;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Fix the Delivery Process</span></span></b></i></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">The DL, once printed, is supposed to be delivered to you via speed post. Mine never arrived. Attempts to follow-up turned out futile. So, what am celebrating about then? Basically, I could download an electronic copy of my DL in my Digilocker app. So, I consider this done and dusted.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">But the point is: why are we forced to go back home and wait for our license to arrive via the very unreliable medium mode of Indian Post (sorry, another instance of that pervasive cynicism!)? If we choose, we are happy to come to RTO and collect it from there. Or give us the option of receiving it through some other private courier service. Whatever!</span></p>Sujit Kumar Chakrabartihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11424095559961037990noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20043527.post-83216545181632160352021-02-17T05:44:00.000+05:302021-02-17T05:44:03.320+05:30Living Every Moment<p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Sometimes, I think ...<br /></span></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">How sad it is that we end up leading the life of a slave to meet our expectations of ourselves -- to become rich, successful, inspirational ... But the worst happens when we actually become successful! Because we create a false example of success for many others who consider us their heroes or role-models, condemning them to a life of slavery!<br /></span></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"> How about we let go of those false self-expectations and focus on leading each day, each moment as if were a lifetime, a work of art? What would happen if we stopped defiling the present moment so that somebody would erect a statue of us and worship it when we are gone?</span></span></p>Sujit Kumar Chakrabartihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11424095559961037990noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20043527.post-66833033774433076822020-12-28T16:13:00.017+05:302021-01-03T11:03:41.968+05:30Wild Wild Western Ghats<div><div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">If you are pressed for time, here's the <a href="https://photos.app.goo.gl/GV96jUi5Uqgb557o8">photo album</a>. <br /></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">I am sure most people are now tired of staying home all the time. Following social distancing "strictly" has now clearly got understood as very unnatural. We, as individuals, as a species, are hunter-gatherers, foragers. We have a biological need to go out, and interact with others of our kind. Staying home 100% of the time probably provides the best protection against the pandemic. But doing so comes with its costs both in terms of health -- both physical and mental and social connections.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Hence, as far as social distancing goes, most of us are playing the game of probability. That is, we are good kids most of the times. But every once in a while, we get naughty -- we break the rules and take the risks. Doesn't mean that we don't think COVID is real, nor because we think that social distancing is not needed. But simply because doing so all the time would drive us crazy!</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"></p><p style="text-align: justify;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjK3BDgxE10U5LhnOIqPaGs0OZZVtxcEcE_Kbx3G1D6b6-QenjI7n4kqZC4mh4HlTZ4uPkSXc7mV2b69tFck9rPoxbq63V-FHixEiuJsToasJ7Eqf7HpE2QUMlFlHs-YDfRo0jrGw/s4000/IMG_20201225_080830.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3000" data-original-width="4000" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjK3BDgxE10U5LhnOIqPaGs0OZZVtxcEcE_Kbx3G1D6b6-QenjI7n4kqZC4mh4HlTZ4uPkSXc7mV2b69tFck9rPoxbq63V-FHixEiuJsToasJ7Eqf7HpE2QUMlFlHs-YDfRo0jrGw/s320/IMG_20201225_080830.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /></div><div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">So, all for the keeping of our sanity, we headed out to <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sakleshpur">Sakleshpur</a> on Christmas day (December 25, 2020), to have a short vacation in the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Western_Ghats">Western Ghats</a>. We chose <a href="https://www.kadumanehills.com/">Kadu Mane Hills</a> Resort for our stay a mid-level resort with excellent amenities, friendly staff, and great surroundings.</span></div><h3 style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="color: red;">Drive Up</span> </span></h3><h3 style="text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3zGiU2HHWx7bZjoKKwUKijSTHlI9TknURWNuX3XcdvHvzqrKX2Ldr2S_MUdHA_S37BB3eY97TNrOylbze4H6m0PdET58BTc67dJvsTO42xF5LpIr54l-vIu0os0URVO41IzTnHw/s4000/IMG_20201225_115036_1.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3000" data-original-width="4000" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3zGiU2HHWx7bZjoKKwUKijSTHlI9TknURWNuX3XcdvHvzqrKX2Ldr2S_MUdHA_S37BB3eY97TNrOylbze4H6m0PdET58BTc67dJvsTO42xF5LpIr54l-vIu0os0URVO41IzTnHw/s320/IMG_20201225_115036_1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div></h3><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">The drive is of about 6 hours. We started sharp at 6 am from Bangalore, and were at our destination by around 12.15 pm, with approximately an hour in between for two break -- one for breakfast and one for water.</span></p><h3 style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: red;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Day One</span></span></h3><h3 style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: red;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"></span></span></h3><h3 style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: red;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"></span></span></h3><h3 style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: red;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnY4PvEpxwn7kqgc9Cylh8gBy7Xt3bGymaBdXf1YuRd3stArupHtPBKgLJU7TAV3D5wuV1Wv_BTceKoxfBezpJ8CDqYo3ycUKlrA4RdT-r8LMrejewY1zd3JNo-EJZbUo8kB6M8A/s4000/IMG_20201225_135643.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3000" data-original-width="4000" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnY4PvEpxwn7kqgc9Cylh8gBy7Xt3bGymaBdXf1YuRd3stArupHtPBKgLJU7TAV3D5wuV1Wv_BTceKoxfBezpJ8CDqYo3ycUKlrA4RdT-r8LMrejewY1zd3JNo-EJZbUo8kB6M8A/s320/IMG_20201225_135643.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_kynK3usGVmO7TCELz6ZFBDXii6D8Vdv0A8H12M1YjDq2mpRsSE014GBDROav97BmSzX85ceT0lchGcr7p9ZqgC-SZSBsZ7Ewlh7q4QtC8N_bpGW_s3nU-5VRlLWHH02Azo_mmQ/s2048/IMG_20201225_125207.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_kynK3usGVmO7TCELz6ZFBDXii6D8Vdv0A8H12M1YjDq2mpRsSE014GBDROav97BmSzX85ceT0lchGcr7p9ZqgC-SZSBsZ7Ewlh7q4QtC8N_bpGW_s3nU-5VRlLWHH02Azo_mmQ/s320/IMG_20201225_125207.jpg" width="320" /></a></div></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-1QrjqGfs9pretGPG_9N2QOyydCIlMa_EDSNT5FtSFnOklCTB5USLUigCN653inxp8qjoMX9TUzZMGOQ22so6U74Bfwqiw6iDGT0D6tb9tTk1gfyDLNbo9GXuMTEBfv_F7KRqrA/s4000/IMG_20201225_130507.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4000" data-original-width="3000" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-1QrjqGfs9pretGPG_9N2QOyydCIlMa_EDSNT5FtSFnOklCTB5USLUigCN653inxp8qjoMX9TUzZMGOQ22so6U74Bfwqiw6iDGT0D6tb9tTk1gfyDLNbo9GXuMTEBfv_F7KRqrA/s320/IMG_20201225_130507.jpg" /></a></div></span></h3><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">We settled in and relaxed for the rest of the day. When we arrived, we saw no other guests, but within hours two to three large groups arrived. By 4-5 pm, the resort was bustling with around 30-35 guests. We took short walks to explore the surrounding area which is mountainous and covered with forest, tried some of the adventure games in the resort, and enjoyed the bonfire set up for the guests in the evening.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYR78vlDBiI4k9ww7-aq1ynWMUPYjQgNeVFViJfMGo4Ot9BIeJbhoUPTAG4bA5ktWairXLigFJs9WkTu_EU7oXL9EOhrfze7rp4zGKaeO9al2Q0-G3sjeCgEJ7Jcqs3YFYl_Y2Pw/s2048/IMG_20201225_165024.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYR78vlDBiI4k9ww7-aq1ynWMUPYjQgNeVFViJfMGo4Ot9BIeJbhoUPTAG4bA5ktWairXLigFJs9WkTu_EU7oXL9EOhrfze7rp4zGKaeO9al2Q0-G3sjeCgEJ7Jcqs3YFYl_Y2Pw/s320/IMG_20201225_165024.jpg" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: georgia;"> </span><span style="font-family: georgia;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgltYJGRrFe31zKCWAi1XGHgSy1daFI6Y7ael0139CY05FozBZnC7QT-c0FIc_eoVbkLqkPqFAryVmBTKXBqffAsPPrwOMoYXdRyqiJTyzOp_pNqxakTed4e82XC3lHF3xxNS_XxA/s1280/ropewalk-sujit.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgltYJGRrFe31zKCWAi1XGHgSy1daFI6Y7ael0139CY05FozBZnC7QT-c0FIc_eoVbkLqkPqFAryVmBTKXBqffAsPPrwOMoYXdRyqiJTyzOp_pNqxakTed4e82XC3lHF3xxNS_XxA/s320/ropewalk-sujit.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div></span><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8nPay3DJ9A7ww6OUGTrih9bdGXl3PyIOWANdH21L1Zl7MOTZhhdGyW-yJ1oM8FfKisWlC5HBvaBW80XgsMPYOrGCs-GUp7g-uAJ__9nXVLmNehqdpF8XHqJ2D5MCU8O9jgci4pA/s2048/IMG_20201226_111959.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8nPay3DJ9A7ww6OUGTrih9bdGXl3PyIOWANdH21L1Zl7MOTZhhdGyW-yJ1oM8FfKisWlC5HBvaBW80XgsMPYOrGCs-GUp7g-uAJ__9nXVLmNehqdpF8XHqJ2D5MCU8O9jgci4pA/s320/IMG_20201226_111959.jpg" /></a></span></div><br /><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLnp3trNG371AYGIpIOHvgUnYr4vtQnRaA_RixH36iiip-43t6_mGAQAvgsOjK8BxZ07aywcaOarDGIXh_JwCHv9eS0iRcQvnhWNCGgZhd1kfSGN6bQpMP2AMRK-fVB6oYSlmfVw/s3264/IMG_20201225_200251.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3264" data-original-width="2448" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLnp3trNG371AYGIpIOHvgUnYr4vtQnRaA_RixH36iiip-43t6_mGAQAvgsOjK8BxZ07aywcaOarDGIXh_JwCHv9eS0iRcQvnhWNCGgZhd1kfSGN6bQpMP2AMRK-fVB6oYSlmfVw/s320/IMG_20201225_200251.jpg" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsA3Av0WQA1UE1r8AN_nZyIJc4sOxdhfB574Ajwq2Dgrbv1Tz667aRdYCuR5j2P1uwYpSXMMFfMyEEpGdhtD3VOfmM2SdTJJd30i-yLPVrbFnZ78fUeCBWRJFOaVtYlkY8QjksFA/s4000/IMG_20201225_200323.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4000" data-original-width="3000" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsA3Av0WQA1UE1r8AN_nZyIJc4sOxdhfB574Ajwq2Dgrbv1Tz667aRdYCuR5j2P1uwYpSXMMFfMyEEpGdhtD3VOfmM2SdTJJd30i-yLPVrbFnZ78fUeCBWRJFOaVtYlkY8QjksFA/s320/IMG_20201225_200323.jpg" /></a></div><h3 style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: red;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Day Two</span></span></h3><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">The second day started with an unplanned trek up the hills. There must have been 20 trekkers ranging from 10 to 70 years of age. A 2 km walk took us through paddy fields, thick jungles and steep ascents to the top of the nearby hill. The view was breath taking.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMCUSIN-NQXwoWOnRgHF38kSIOJW4vJLo4D2kG4NMwWIg34-KAqoI-4ydh1XO3YSfRpTCwMVXYFzzoULxt4Ie-MmTL7rNnukpDHgM1qQWMiYLrwEXMmjirtPIBih2LfRAnYUPA_w/s4000/IMG_20201226_083233.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4000" data-original-width="3000" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMCUSIN-NQXwoWOnRgHF38kSIOJW4vJLo4D2kG4NMwWIg34-KAqoI-4ydh1XO3YSfRpTCwMVXYFzzoULxt4Ie-MmTL7rNnukpDHgM1qQWMiYLrwEXMmjirtPIBih2LfRAnYUPA_w/s320/IMG_20201226_083233.jpg" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-rWkVpfTx640jp35t9X0LzvwRZld09WULo_DjYCT-oe6e3huPgDEuT1kwodRPKn2b2eW8i_DyE5JI843u8uVy4J2lsOaiLo3WziXqmG9cv9bqBBonEPXKxNyOLq7koA5gw7LL4A/s4000/IMG_20201226_094344.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3000" data-original-width="4000" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-rWkVpfTx640jp35t9X0LzvwRZld09WULo_DjYCT-oe6e3huPgDEuT1kwodRPKn2b2eW8i_DyE5JI843u8uVy4J2lsOaiLo3WziXqmG9cv9bqBBonEPXKxNyOLq7koA5gw7LL4A/s320/IMG_20201226_094344.jpg" width="320" /></a></div> </span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjhyxfRpnNq2eVkWxWyhPikbgWZ6kvio1jceR-QePa7X-_ehYJ3QRrgtVJOzt-wD1lrY71HOnfUUNWYBQ6bTJLomAssTQvm17n18B7wGMVToZSCSsvih5C8NZtVFM6S3HRgneEtw/s4000/IMG_20201226_090332.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4000" data-original-width="3000" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjhyxfRpnNq2eVkWxWyhPikbgWZ6kvio1jceR-QePa7X-_ehYJ3QRrgtVJOzt-wD1lrY71HOnfUUNWYBQ6bTJLomAssTQvm17n18B7wGMVToZSCSsvih5C8NZtVFM6S3HRgneEtw/s320/IMG_20201226_090332.jpg" /></a></div><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">We came down the same way, and marched straight on to the dining place for a well-earned breakfast.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Next was a drive to a nearby waterfall named <a href="https://metrosaga.com/magajahalli-falls-sakleshpura/">Majagahalli Falls</a>. Most chose to hop on to a rugged truck. We decided to drive ourselves. There was again a small trek down to the falls from where we parked. The shallow brook, nestled between thick foliage, decked with a gushing waterfall, was one of the most beautiful places I have been to, straight out of some Bollywood flick. I gradually got tempted to first wet my feet in the ice cold water, then to wade till waist deep, and eventually to go all out, taking a full dip and swim -- with my trousers on! That chill in the flowing water will warm my heart for many years to come. Of course, the site of Vigyan, who was visibly upset on not being able to participate in the fun due to his fracture, was very difficult for us. And yet, I feel, such heartbreaking moments are a precious source of learning for kids (and grown ups too) -- to know that it's better to make the best of what's available, rather than lamenting over what's not.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAJzGwWNnS_rKcf_ffzrSNhD2QIb6m4JFs6OJwTx4UcysygBsutLEulJ07lfBnRm9Eff7jiZqR5lo7rs-8ZaJqn4QeCcCRfV_YW73Qd-Cp3YBoyxfq6JKUqz3wIQvKUHbLq3GN1A/s4000/IMG_20201226_122013.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3000" data-original-width="4000" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAJzGwWNnS_rKcf_ffzrSNhD2QIb6m4JFs6OJwTx4UcysygBsutLEulJ07lfBnRm9Eff7jiZqR5lo7rs-8ZaJqn4QeCcCRfV_YW73Qd-Cp3YBoyxfq6JKUqz3wIQvKUHbLq3GN1A/s320/IMG_20201226_122013.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: georgia;"> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbq4zZcXODc6WSfLnGp5Ymxwgk1Jn8XN1_uw64d7ExF-FXYBR3Tr8b6kjr5PILPgsWRKb-mvoW3GI8X8ZHyAcYbqlyS7BrhexO-GsRcAeqhPIzXGOkRGfYCn0ko17MUXILlqyyvQ/s4000/IMG_20201226_123300.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3000" data-original-width="4000" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbq4zZcXODc6WSfLnGp5Ymxwgk1Jn8XN1_uw64d7ExF-FXYBR3Tr8b6kjr5PILPgsWRKb-mvoW3GI8X8ZHyAcYbqlyS7BrhexO-GsRcAeqhPIzXGOkRGfYCn0ko17MUXILlqyyvQ/s320/IMG_20201226_123300.jpg" width="320" /></a></div></span><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">On our way back two senior ladies from the other group -- one of them the 90 year old matriarch of the family -- decided to join us in our car as the truck ride was too jostling. I didn't try to keep up with the truck which moved too fast for me; and probably that was a mistake. Soon we lost them, and we had to resort to Google Maps. Initially refusing to come up, Maps led us through some seriously rough, narrow and bumpy paths. It gave me many a moment of jitters, not the least as I was driving two ladies of the other family. Thankfully, we did make it back to the resort with no event to report of.</span></div><p style="text-align: justify;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuLjZnlq74xrx-PNhuQZEbMFIsZavL1AMe1RJ4_RaizpwY3rHzFyT7UY-mDh05JD_msxwbYmEiDEHjYJWoX_hVVN8GuWAJD0hzINIa5S6T59JrvK_b-VFzE4ZLIXBS4ZI_nFxqrQ/s4000/IMG_20201226_175151.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3000" data-original-width="4000" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuLjZnlq74xrx-PNhuQZEbMFIsZavL1AMe1RJ4_RaizpwY3rHzFyT7UY-mDh05JD_msxwbYmEiDEHjYJWoX_hVVN8GuWAJD0hzINIa5S6T59JrvK_b-VFzE4ZLIXBS4ZI_nFxqrQ/s320/IMG_20201226_175151.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBauvmQJkKw7lr4RQ9UeaGc_SQfaXrofRD1N-OHfCWPQBKelSjpQhVbawTE0GiS2M2WhQdJuqJD9_Sx4wOhCkkqHuRhPIdrF22TAekE0ET5qRJYD5H34_HywkqMzsET20N_OHqCA/s4000/IMG_20201226_175917.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4000" data-original-width="3000" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBauvmQJkKw7lr4RQ9UeaGc_SQfaXrofRD1N-OHfCWPQBKelSjpQhVbawTE0GiS2M2WhQdJuqJD9_Sx4wOhCkkqHuRhPIdrF22TAekE0ET5qRJYD5H34_HywkqMzsET20N_OHqCA/s320/IMG_20201226_175917.jpg" /></a></div></span><span style="font-family: georgia;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxE82F1LdHjAVlyK8u1sIzxkbrlK23cLnZ0B3wAoucvPxzxNhNfz1vrLEyIEXbOZxykEnQevtKp4KZmF7Gbyir162gaPtQQuPtWmfLPdc4ILBEj6TZ8duZsuKJKRTtWft6aGiziA/s361/sujit-singing.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="361" data-original-width="343" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxE82F1LdHjAVlyK8u1sIzxkbrlK23cLnZ0B3wAoucvPxzxNhNfz1vrLEyIEXbOZxykEnQevtKp4KZmF7Gbyir162gaPtQQuPtWmfLPdc4ILBEj6TZ8duZsuKJKRTtWft6aGiziA/s320/sujit-singing.png" /></a></div></span><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;"></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Evening, like day one, saw a bonfire being lit. Many of us gathered around it to play Antyakshari, but were soon pleasantly interrupted by notes of live music from the dining area. A musician was commissioned for some live music, karaoke and dance. Many of us performed several songs. Of course, Shilpi and I were there too. It was great fun! The tempo gradually rose to a point where you could just dance to the beats, not sing along with it. There was some alcohol in the atmosphere which helped turn the heat a few degrees higher. We didn't partake of it. But did enjoy its effects nevertheless!</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Thus came to its end the most eventful day of our short trip.</span></p><h3 style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="color: red;">Day Three</span></span><span style="font-family: georgia;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6-mV1joMEfxlancitlLKMZGcO4Nvl_BKJnBfplmdcuepSHOc4nXp8KvzBAIsnECZDlTo5aH9Gzlzamaif0BrRLoxFiLBanoNJEjVt7QMExTeSuNKZhap5Aw2f4-v-RFFvDQ6O9A/s4000/IMG_20201227_111840.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3000" data-original-width="4000" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6-mV1joMEfxlancitlLKMZGcO4Nvl_BKJnBfplmdcuepSHOc4nXp8KvzBAIsnECZDlTo5aH9Gzlzamaif0BrRLoxFiLBanoNJEjVt7QMExTeSuNKZhap5Aw2f4-v-RFFvDQ6O9A/s320/IMG_20201227_111840.jpg" width="320" /></a></div></span></h3><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkfROXSegRNXbmgq5Q5opqzo3Xit7w7h-zTAHORZwxjxptc5tkp55D7zHRut2Pn-AXr3Vl39duYjYxAkCV0EeA9vvBl-7lTrY3fagKz0OKYgL7plZTzx-WdIENvTMcbSgvoDeaQQ/s4000/IMG_20201227_110726.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4000" data-original-width="3000" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkfROXSegRNXbmgq5Q5opqzo3Xit7w7h-zTAHORZwxjxptc5tkp55D7zHRut2Pn-AXr3Vl39duYjYxAkCV0EeA9vvBl-7lTrY3fagKz0OKYgL7plZTzx-WdIENvTMcbSgvoDeaQQ/s320/IMG_20201227_110726.jpg" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Third day was the day for coming back. We finished our breakfast and headed out for the Manjarabad Fort. It's a nice hilltop site with a fort belonging to Tipu Sultan. A 250 and odd steps took us up the hill. By now (11 am), the day was warm enough to make the star-shaped stone fort swelter with heat. Up there, I plonked myself at a shaded spot and enjoyed the view of many visitors enjoying the site.</span></div><p></p><h3 style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="color: red;">Journey Back</span> <br /></span></h3><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">We finally started back home by about 12.30 pm. The journey back was reasonably comfortable. We stopped to have our lunch at <a href="https://www.tripadvisor.in/Restaurant_Review-g503696-d14108763-Reviews-Suruchi_Veg-Hassan_Hassan_District_Karnataka.html">Suruchi restaurant</a>, a vegetarian eatery near Hassan. Shilpi and I opted for vegetarian meals and Vigyan went with Naan and Paneer chilly. In the midst of the mental discomfort we were feeling due to the overcrowding of the place in the pandemic times, we found the food quite good. We entered the hustle bustle of Bangalore by around 5 pm. Barring some unpleasantness and delay near the Tumkur Road Toll Gate of NICE Road, the drive back was uneventful. We were home shortly after 7 pm. A drive stretched by well over an hour due to heavy traffic.<br /></span></p><h3 style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: red;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Highlights and Memories</span></span></h3><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">The Kadumane Hills Resort will take the prime spot among our memories of the place. The timber cottage was spacious, clean and comfortable, providing a breathtaking view of the nearby hills.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">The food would be a close next. Kadumane is a vegetarian place, and serves food cooked in Malnad style. The food is delicious -- not spicy, not bland -- just cooked the right way. People who like South Indian food would surely love it.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">The resort pays attention to environment friendliness -- serving food in biodegradable utensils. However, it would be a lie if I say they succeeded completely. There were some tissue-papers, some styrofoam cups and such. But given the pandemic scare, and the staff which still seems not to have built to its full strength, I think they deserve a pat for trying hard.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">For some like us, the absence of the need to plan our vacation days ahead of time is a great blessing. The resort, housed in natural and rugged environs of the Western Ghats, provides umpteen opportunities to the enthusiastic soul to explore and experience the jungles and hills. Some of the guests actually even treated themselves with a game of mud-volleyball. Further, a number of adventure games are there to be enjoyed within the premises.<br /></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">One of the top memories would be of the large family of guests. There were -- I think -- sixteen people, connected through an elaborate family tree. At its head -- as mentioned earlier -- a senior lady nearly 90 years of age. A majority of them were seniors in the fifties and sixties. A few were in their 30s. Rounded off with two little girls may be 5 and 10 years of age. It was a treat watching their bonding and dynamics, to interact with them and gradually get friendly.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Vigyan's arm injury and how it came in his way of enjoying the vacation to the fullest was a saddening aspect. Often, we were tempted to abstain from certain activities as our child wasn't able to participate. But, we knew it would be wrong to do so. Vigyan's mature attitude in accepting this limitation was both heartbreaking and heartwarming for me as his father. On the day three, Vigyan finally took to the ropewalking game. I was apprehensive, but supported him. Here's him in the middle of his adventure:</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdjLndy3PebzYOD_by9qGLwNpR2fQui5ziGZFD5RbL52ruwg-c_8o9TovGdnRpJ6uUYhd1rxyArlI06DrsHywnEQBRqd-DWzyjjw36bNjywZNWRAjeZaSw20GQ-WcgExLdyyLt0g/s4000/IMG_20201227_075500.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4000" data-original-width="3000" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdjLndy3PebzYOD_by9qGLwNpR2fQui5ziGZFD5RbL52ruwg-c_8o9TovGdnRpJ6uUYhd1rxyArlI06DrsHywnEQBRqd-DWzyjjw36bNjywZNWRAjeZaSw20GQ-WcgExLdyyLt0g/s320/IMG_20201227_075500.jpg" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Yet another observation was the complete disregard for the pandemic. Proponents of social distancing would probably cringe at the liberty people -- many in their senior years -- were taking whether in the eateries <i>en route</i>, in the tourist spots, or in the resort. In fact, there was a doctor family lodging in the adjacent cottage. On day 2, the doctor himself sprang a cute surprise. Definitely with a few drinks down, he made a fairly jovial sight being seen dancing to foot tapping numbers in close proximity with other guests. To hell with social distancing; and to hell with masks! When we put our masks back on on re-entering Bangalore roads, we smiled to each other, at the irony of it all.</span></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">We all have been through much this year. I will not pretend that I was amongst the sufferers. I was most likely not, considering what many others went through -- losing life and livelihood. In fact, personally, I recollect this year as one of the most rewarding years of my life. And yet, the monotony of working from home had, somewhere, taken its toll. This little vacation was an attempt to break that monotony.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">If this post has taken you away -- even for a moment -- into the misty mountains of Western Ghats, I would consider the effort of having written it well paid for. 😀<br /></div><div><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"></span></p></div>Sujit Kumar Chakrabartihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11424095559961037990noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20043527.post-82727003756869298612020-12-24T10:48:00.004+05:302020-12-24T18:26:08.601+05:302020 - Annual Summary<div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">This is a personal journal to document my highlights and experiences of this year. It's meant for feeling gratitude and, if possible, personal joy, and is by no means </span><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">meant as an instrument of self-promotion</span>. Why then do I share it in public? I feel that looking back at your year brings clarity and accountability. One year is a substantial amount of time, a great resource. It's a good exercise to assess how well it was used. Hopefully I will inspire some to take up something similar. Also, my format is there for my readers to use or not use.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">This year has been one of the most fruitful years in my life so far. I thought up better technical ideas than before and was able to turn some of them out to the world in the form of papers, articles, talks and such. I clearly took very well to online mode of teaching. I read more than ever before. I drew more than ever before and grew better in my own eyes (which, believe me, is the hardest part!). I wrote a lot both technically and otherwise, though I couldn't publish anything in popular media this year. And I think, I kept improving my singing and my understanding of the nuances of music in tiny little steps. I am about to complete a year of living peacefully with my family under near-lockdown conditions. Knowing how divorces and domestic violence are on the rise all around, I would like to thank my stars on that count. I continued doing Yoga as per the regime started last year, and then diversified to jogging and cycling. Though I could definitely have done better on fitness front, I wouldn't say I did too badly there. I am a kilo or two lighter than I was a year ago.<br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"> </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">The causes which drove these externally visible changes are deep inside me. It's impossible to write about them without sounding silly. But I will try to share a few reflections in the end of this post. Hope they will be found helpful.<br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">(My near and dear ones! A request. If you see any omission, please remind me through a personal note.)<br /></span></div><h3 style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: red;">Research</span></span></span></h3><h4 style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Conference Publications <br /></span></h4><ol style="text-align: left;"><li><span style="font-family: georgia;">StaBL: Statechart with Local Variables (ISEC 2020)</span></li><li><span style="font-family: georgia;">Automated Testing of Refreshable Braille Display (HCC 2020)</span></li><li><span style="font-family: georgia;">Discovering Multiple Design Approaches in Programming Assignment Submissions (SAC 2021)<br /></span></li></ol><h4 style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"> Workshop</span></h4><ol style="text-align: left;"><li><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span>A Simulator for State Chart Based Language (</span>Workshop on Research Highlights in Programming Languages, FSTTCS 2020)</span></span></li></ol><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"></span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"></span></p><h4 style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Student Milestones<br /></span></h4><ol style="text-align: left;"><li><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: small;">State-of-the-art Seminar of Varsha Suresh</span></span></li><li><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;">State-of-the-art Seminar of Nikhila KN</span> <br /></span></span></li></ol><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><b><span style="color: red;"><span style="font-size: large;">Teaching</span></span></b></span></p><ol style="text-align: left;"><li><span style="font-family: georgia;">Programming Languages (Spring 2020, iMTech)</span></li><li><span style="font-family: georgia;">Fundamentals of Programming (Summer 2020, MSc Digital Society) </span></li><li><span style="font-family: georgia;">Program Analysis for Software Engineering (Autumn 2020, PG Elective)</span></li><li><span style="font-family: georgia;">Programming in Python (Autumn 2020, iMTech)</span></li></ol><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><b>Voluntary teaching.</b> In summer 2020, I taught a short online course on <b>'Introduction to Programming and Computational Thinking'</b> to some kids of friends and neighbours. As a note of thanks, the parents of the participants committed to contribute to COVID relief work.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><b>Projects.</b> I did a number of projects this year with various students. I consider the willingness of students to work closely with you a very distinctive evidence of your having connected well with them through your teaching. That way, I am very happy with this achievement.<br /></span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><b><span style="color: red;"><span style="font-size: large;">Talks and Panel Discussion<br /></span></span></b></span></p><ol style="text-align: left;"><li><span style="font-family: georgia;">Webinar on Online Teaching (July 2020, NIE)</span></li><li><span style="font-family: georgia;">Panel Discussion on Online Education (August 2020) </span></li><li><span style="font-family: georgia;">Webinar on AI for Education (November 2020, MINRO)</span></li><li><span style="font-family: georgia;">Hindi and Premchand Sahitya (December 2020, IIITB Samvaad)</span></li><li><span style="font-family: georgia;">Symbolic Execution in Testing and Verification (December 2020, Philips) <br /></span></li></ol><h3 style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="color: red;"><span style="font-size: large;"> Books Read</span></span><br /></span></h3><ol style="text-align: left;"><li><span style="font-family: georgia;"> ग़बन</span></li><li><span style="font-family: georgia;">राग दरबारी</span></li><li><span style="font-family: georgia;">Sapiens</span></li><li><span style="font-family: georgia;">Talks in Washington (J. Krishnamurthy)</span></li><li><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span class="ILfuVd"><span class="hgKElc">The Shape of the Ruins</span></span></span></li><li><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span class="ILfuVd"><span class="hgKElc">The White Castle</span></span></span></li><li><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span class="ILfuVd"><span class="hgKElc">The Moor's Last Sigh</span></span></span></li><li><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span class="ILfuVd"><span class="hgKElc">Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief</span></span></span></li></ol></div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span class="ILfuVd"><span class="hgKElc">... and many others which I started but left unfinished, as always.<br /></span></span></span><div><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"> <b><span style="color: red;"><span style="font-size: large;">Art</span></span></b></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="color: red;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: black;">This year was phenomenal in terms of my productivity in art. This is the first time, I am able to list (almost) all the drawings I have made<span style="font-size: large;"> <span style="font-size: small;">this year. This itself is a phenomenon for me!</span></span></span></span><br /></span></span></span></p><ol style="text-align: left;"><li><span style="font-family: georgia;">Milind Mulick's water colouring workshop -- July 2020</span></li><li><span style="font-family: georgia;">Stockholm Water painting -- August 2020</span></li><li><span style="font-family: georgia;">Laapataa -- Dishwashing</span></li><li><span style="font-family: georgia;">Laapataa -- Meditation</span></li><li><span style="font-family: georgia;">Laapataa -- Online Antyakshari</span></li><li><span style="font-family: georgia;">Laapataa -- Why PhD 1</span></li><li><span style="font-family: georgia;">Laapataa -- Why PhD 2</span></li><li><span style="font-family: georgia;">Laapataa -- Digital Migration</span></li><li><span style="font-family: georgia;">Laapataa -- Nothing works in India <br /></span></li><li><span style="font-family: georgia;">Untitled comic strip -- Watering plants</span></li><li><span style="font-family: georgia;">How to do Studies <br /></span></li><li><span style="font-family: georgia;">Motu Patlu</span></li><li><span style="font-family: georgia;">Autism -- Hold Mamma's Hand</span></li><li><span style="font-family: georgia;">Autism -- Do not drop things from the Balcony</span></li><li><span style="font-family: georgia;">Autism -- Behave Well in Shops</span></li><li><span style="font-family: georgia;">Pen Sketch -- Deserted Electronics City</span></li><li><span style="font-family: georgia;">Pen Sketch -- Landscape for Vigyan's Project</span></li><li><span style="font-family: georgia;">Lonely culvert</span></li></ol></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><b><span style="color: #800180;">Photo links:</span></b> <a href="https://goo.gl/photos/4Vrz6aga1DTkBNfp8">My Drawings</a> <a href="https://photos.app.goo.gl/jnClWMv7GUNg0R8I2">Laapataa</a><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div><h3 style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="color: red;"><span style="font-size: large;">Highlights</span></span></span></h3><ol style="text-align: left;"><li><span style="font-family: georgia;">Migration to online teaching</span></li><li><span style="font-family: georgia;">Migration to digital art</span></li><li><span style="font-family: georgia;">Vigyan's injury <br /></span></li><li><span style="font-family: georgia;">Commitment to physical fitness <br /></span></li><li><span style="font-family: georgia;">Promotion</span></li><li><span style="font-family: georgia;">Entry to Instagram<br /></span></li></ol><h3 style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="color: red;"><span style="font-size: large;">Entry</span></span></span></h3><ol style="text-align: justify;"><li><span style="font-family: georgia;"><b>Kiki.</b> My neighbour and friend Sabyasachi and his wife Jhuma was blessed with a daughter this year. Kiki's arrival and growing up through the last few months has been a source of much joy for our entire family.<br /></span></li><li><span style="font-family: georgia;"><b>Hasuni's grandchild.</b> Our domestic help Hasuni got a grandchild -- her daughter's son.<br /></span></li></ol><h3 style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="color: red;"><span style="font-size: large;">Exit</span></span></span></h3><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="color: red;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: black;">This year has been one of the worst in terms of the number of demises that happened in my extended circles. A major killer, expectedly, was COVID. But there were other reasons too.</span></span><br /></span></span></span></p><h3 style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Personal acquaintances <br /></span></h3><ol style="text-align: left;"><li><span style="font-family: georgia;">Tridib Roy Choudhury</span></li><li><span style="font-family: georgia;">Aseem Banerjee</span></li><li><span style="font-family: georgia;">Arun Kumar</span></li><li><span style="font-family: georgia;">Sunil Shetty</span></li><li><span style="font-family: georgia;">Surendra Mule</span></li><li><span style="font-family: georgia;">PVN Murthy</span></li><li><span style="font-family: georgia;">Sheetal Amte <br /></span></li></ol><h3 style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Celebrities <br /></span></h3><ol style="text-align: left;"><li><span style="font-family: georgia;">Irrfan Khan<br /></span></li><li><span style="font-family: georgia;">Sushant Singh Rajput<br /></span></li><li><span style="font-family: georgia;">Rishi Kapoor<br /></span></li><li><span style="font-family: georgia;">Soumitra Chatterjee<br /></span></li><li><span style="font-family: georgia;">S P Balasubramium</span></li><li><span style="font-family: georgia;">Pranab Mukherjee</span></li><li><span style="font-family: georgia;">Rahat Indori<br /></span></li><li><span style="font-family: georgia;">Edmund Clarke<br /></span></li></ol><h3 style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"></span></h3><h3 style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="color: red;"><span style="font-size: large;">Reflection</span></span></span></h3><ol style="text-align: justify;"><li><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="color: red;"><span style="color: black;"><b>Problem decomposition.</b> I can't trace back to the origin of this idea that big problems can be broken down to smaller manageable chunks. Over the years, I have started more and more interested in this idea. So much so that the act of trying to do something difficult has started turning into an exercise of problem decomposition. It won't be wrong to say that the whole fun of doing anything now is centred around this aspect. In 2020, I made significant progress in this direction.<br /></span></span></span></li><li><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="color: red;"><span style="color: black;"><b>Keeping journal.</b> I have been planning my days for at least a decade if not longer. Recently, I came across an interesting variant of maintaining to-do lists: bullet journal. For the last one month or so, I have migrated to bullet journal. It's working well so far.<br /></span></span></span></li><li><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="color: red;"><span style="color: black;"><b>Looking at obstacles as milestones.</b> This is very much a part of problem decomposition idea. You may start with a very restricted definition of the problem you want to solve. But you realise that to start taking the steps leading to its solution, you need to get certain things out of your way. It's been long an attitude to look at this secondary elements as hurdles or obstacles in the way of my doing what I want to do. However, a recent realisation has been that being able to look at unforeseen obstacles as an integral part of the problem is a very important part of keeping calm and staying focused.<br /></span></span></span></li><li><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="color: red;"><span style="color: black;"><b>Benefits of solitude.</b> The pandemic has many evil aspects to it. And they talk a lot about them. And they are all true. But one thing that's true and not evil is the fact that the solitude and isolation it has brought has been soothing for the introvert part of me, which likes to sit quietly and talk to itself, and imagine and brood and create. It's hard to pin down, but it could well be that the reason why this year has been one of the most productive and rewarding years of my life so far could be this disappearance of the overhead of meeting lots and lots of people: students barging into the office, classroom of more students staring at you during the lectures, visitors, colleagues stopping by to say Hi. No, none of them is really bad. It's just that when we were working from office, it used to be just too many of them. It was draining and unhelpful beyond a point. Now, I am protected by this screen I face. Each meeting must be scheduled. I am allowed to not pick a call if I don't feel like. Yet, surprisingly, I feel I have had more meetings during this pandemic period than ever before. I have collaborated more. I have done more teamwork than in a face-to-face mode. Or may be, it's just that I have been able to make my interactions with other count more as I have been able to prevent my energies from getting dissipated in futile and unproductive socialisation.</span></span></span></li></ol><h3 style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="color: red;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="color: red;">Thoughts about the Coming Year</span></span></span></span></span></h3><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="color: red;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="color: red;"><span style="color: black;">I definitely would like to see the pandemic losing its iron grip on humanity this year. I would like us all to be free to move around more: attend schools, colleges and offices, socialise more fearlessly and travel. I hope people who have lost their livelihood, things should brighten up for them.<br /></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="color: red;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="color: red;"><span style="color: black;">What I would not want to change is the calm I hear from the road, </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="color: red;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="color: red;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="color: red;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="color: red;"><span style="color: black;">the purity of air I breathe and the enjoyable experience of driving</span></span></span></span></span> due to lessened traffic congestion. If the pandemic has taught people a few lessons about doing more with less, about finding methods of self-employment and self-reliance, I hope they don't quickly forget them once the pandemic goes away.</span></span></span></span></span></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="color: red;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="color: red;"><span style="color: black; font-size: small;">Personally, lockdown taught me many valuable lessons: about online teaching and collaboration, digital art, and most importantly about myself and my natural preferences, which indeed lean towards peace and solitude and not towards unbridled socialisation. I manifested in my productivity and the general pleasantness of my disposition. I would like to continue to give myself this peace and solitude even when things open up outside.</span> </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: georgia;"></span></p><h3><span style="font-family: georgia;"></span></h3></div>Sujit Kumar Chakrabartihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11424095559961037990noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20043527.post-35912049371403364582020-11-07T10:57:00.002+05:302020-11-07T10:57:41.223+05:30Hypocrisy of Film-stars<p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span class="d2edcug0 hpfvmrgz qv66sw1b c1et5uql gk29lw5a a8c37x1j keod5gw0 nxhoafnm aigsh9s9 d9wwppkn fe6kdd0r mau55g9w c8b282yb hrzyx87i jq4qci2q a3bd9o3v knj5qynh oo9gr5id hzawbc8m" dir="auto">The other day. in a weak moment spurred by boredom, I started watching Tiger 3 (someone<span></span> just made me realise that it was Baaghi 3 starring Tiger Shroff! <span class="pq6dq46d tbxw36s4 knj5qynh kvgmc6g5 ditlmg2l oygrvhab nvdbi5me sf5mxxl7 gl3lb2sf hhz5lgdu"><img alt="🤮" height="16" src="https://static.xx.fbcdn.net/images/emoji.php/v9/t84/1/16/1f92e.png" width="16" /></span><span class="pq6dq46d tbxw36s4 knj5qynh kvgmc6g5 ditlmg2l oygrvhab nvdbi5me sf5mxxl7 gl3lb2sf hhz5lgdu"><img alt="🤮" height="16" src="https://static.xx.fbcdn.net/images/emoji.php/v9/t84/1/16/1f92e.png" width="16" /></span><span class="pq6dq46d tbxw36s4 knj5qynh kvgmc6g5 ditlmg2l oygrvhab nvdbi5me sf5mxxl7 gl3lb2sf hhz5lgdu"><img alt="😝" height="16" src="https://static.xx.fbcdn.net/images/emoji.php/v9/ta1/1/16/1f61d.png" width="16" /></span><span class="pq6dq46d tbxw36s4 knj5qynh kvgmc6g5 ditlmg2l oygrvhab nvdbi5me sf5mxxl7 gl3lb2sf hhz5lgdu"><img alt="😝" height="16" src="https://static.xx.fbcdn.net/images/emoji.php/v9/ta1/1/16/1f61d.png" width="16" /></span>).
I couldn't survive beyond a few minutes. The stereotypical characters: a
macho hero, a weakling sidekick brother, a sexy looking dumb heroine
cracking double meaning jokes ... I can stand all that. What I can't
stand is that these film stars, in their public appearances, will talk
intellectual sounding fashionable stuff ... talking about emancipating
ourselves from those same stereotypes: that a man needs to be macho,
that men shouldn't cry, or being sensitive is a sign of weakness, that
only dumb and physically attractive woman have "a chance". Presumably,
these are movies made for mass entertainment. These masses have nothing
better than your movies as sources of information! If you feed them with
all unrealistic images in your movies, no amount of talking
intellectual sounding stuff about equality etc. in your press
appearances is going to make up for that. In fact, it's worse than
hypocrisy: You feed the public with junk when you want their money, and
then you talk about social causes and philosophy in your press
appearances in an attempt to absolve yourself of your sins. Shame!
Shame!</span></span></span></p>Sujit Kumar Chakrabartihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11424095559961037990noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20043527.post-53691925562404320012020-09-07T12:42:00.003+05:302020-09-07T12:42:22.008+05:30Losing a Close Colleague<p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;">This is not an obituary. This is a cry of pain. <br /></span></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;">For the first time, I am feeling the depressing weight of the pandemic truly weighing on me. I realise that I am exceptionally shaken by the heart breaking news that came crashing down on us last evening. Tridib Roy Chowdhury, the centre manager for the MINRO Centre in IIIT-B left for the heavenly abode yesterday. Suddenly. <br /></span></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;">Tridib wasn't the kind of a guy you would expect to go like this. Tridib was in his late fifties, but was extremely fit. An avid sportsman and cycling enthusiast. By his looks, he could have given any young person in his early thirties a run for his money. You read the obituaries that came pouring on Facebook yesterday, and you know what he was: and IITian, an inspiration, a mentor, a successful corporate, an exceptional human being.<br /></span></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;">His going like this hurts at many levels. Firstly, this is my first experience of losing a close colleague like this. I had got many opportunities of interacting closely with him over the last one and half years. I had seen how hard he was trying to bring in the positive energy, the movement, the result-orientedness that drives the corporate world, into our laid back academic world. I had found his energy infectious. And all the accolades that came along through the Refreshable Braille Display project had largely to do with him.<br /></span></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;">Secondly, It wasn't COVID, or an accident, or something of that kind for God's sake! Seeing a fit person like him succumbing to a freak cardiac incident fills my heart with a chill. If keeping fit doesn't safeguard you from your heart giving up on fine day just like that, then what does? I tend to lose my enthusiasm about the effectiveness of a healthy life-style in preventing your life from getting cut short from something we typically associate with bad lifestyle. It's really disappointing.</span></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;">Thirdly, I realise how inept, unequipped we are in feeling -- leaving alone expressing -- our shock and pain! For an hour after getting the news (from Facebook), I sat there alone in my living room: numb, dazed and stupefied. Both my wife and my son were in two different rooms doing their things. They had no way to know how nerve-wracking those moments were for me. My education, my 'status', has robbed me of my ability to scream out, to accept that I am suffering, to acknowledge even to myself that I am in pain, to cry for help.</span></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;">And finally, the ominous reality of the pandemic seems to finally dawn on me. It's not an open wound, not a raging burn. It's a slow, dull pain which is continuously at work inside us. It has shifted the ground level of our despair just that much higher so that one or two incidents of this kind will throw many of us over the edge. Government figures will write these off as collaterals, co-morbidities. Not COVID deaths.<br /></span></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;">A brief moment yesterday brought me the realisation how alone we are away from our near and dear ones, how helpless and vulnerable we are against the power of fate, how ridiculous it is to centre your life around thoughts of the future, and to make too much of our glorious past and present. At that moment, I would have given anything to have a shoulder to cry on, a heart that would know my feelings, a voice that would tell them to me without my having to find my voice, a reassurance that it was OK to feel sad and afraid.</span></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;">At this moment, I am looking for a bunch of friends to huddle together with and whimper and cry. Nothing else!</span></span><br /></p>Sujit Kumar Chakrabartihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11424095559961037990noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20043527.post-57654909545227511822020-08-22T11:01:00.004+05:302020-08-22T11:01:21.232+05:30Dissociating Emotions from People<p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">It's not possible to like or dislike people uniformly. There are people with whom we share warmth and liking. And there are those with whom there's a coldness that can't be removed. In many cases, our interactions with people are so shallow that it doesn't matter if we let them go out of our life because we didn't enjoy our first few interactions with them. This is not affordable in some cases, in particular when it involves a friend, a colleague or someone within the family.</span></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">At work, developing an overall negative emotional chemistry with a co-worker can have very detrimental effect on our productivity and our sense of fulfillment from our work. With friends, a person with whom you must have spent many beautiful moments, tagging that person with one adjective based on an isolated experience could prove very costly. In the family scenario, tagging a person as unlikable or obnoxious may make it hard to feel happy and peaceful in your own house. Again, it's not meant to say that people can't be obnoxious. For example, if you are trapped in a relation under a roof with an abusive person, you may actually get to realise that much after you decide to get into a relation with him/her (if at all you get that opportunity to choose in the first place).</span></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">Assuming that not to be the case, one thing which does help a lot in such situations is to look at persons as a collection of, often unrelated, characteristics. A person may be lazy, but creative; lacking focus, but witty; insecure, but diligent; haphazard and disorganised, but sharp; rude, but honest ... you get it, right?</span></span></p><h3 style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: red;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">Controlling the Visceral Reaction</span></span></span></h3><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">If we see that the relation with a person is going downhill, more often than not, it's because of a negative spiral of show of mutual dislike. When we see a sense of dislike in another person, we often feel hurt, and before anything, want to hurt back. This is a natural visceral reaction. But with practice, this can be controlled. If we realise that the dislike for us in that person may be because of a particular aspect of us, it (often) immediately attenuates the sudden urge to dislike back.</span></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"> A person disliking us (or mostly certain aspect of us) isn't a clear evidence of that being a negative characteristic in us. Rather, it's most likely something that is causing the other person to feel threatened for some justified or unjustified reason. Here's an example of an unjustified reason: your being talented may be a disadvantage to the other person if both of you are in the same competitive space. Often, something good in us forces the other person to the unpleasant predicament to having to look at some of his/her negative aspect. For example, if you are quick at finishing tasks, while the other person takes longer, your showing quick results may force the other person to accept his/her weakness w.r.t. you. He/she would rather not do that, even if projecting it as a vain, show-off or beligerant attitude of yours. Another example: if you are good orator while the other person struggles to hold the interest of the audience even with great effort, that person may judge you as using flowery and fluffy language -- probably because he/she doesn't want to accept to himself/herself that he/she is not as good as you in communication skills.<br /></span></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">In short, when a person shows dislike for us, instead of falling for the visceral reaction of disliking back even more intensely, it helps to critically look at the above aspects. If not anything else, it helps tone down and/or slow down our own reaction. This may be crucial in arresting a relation with another person in going into an irreversible negative spiral.</span></span></p><h3 style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="color: red;">Reflecting</span><br /></span></span></h3><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"> Note that, we are also subject to these reactions. So, I am not being
judgemental about anybody, nor am I assuming that we are free of these
vices. It helps knowing and accepting this. It's important not to loathe oneself for not being perfect. Self-loathing is often the biggest reason why we react in a toxic manner to others.<br /></span></span></p><div style="text-align: justify;"><h3><span style="color: red;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">Expressing Appreciation</span></span></span></h3></div><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">Treating people as a collection of disparate characteristics also allows us to look at their positive aspects in isolation. Assuming that the interpersonal dynamics haven't already degenerated to irreversible damage, there are opportunities coming our way every now and then to express this positive observation. Being able to look at different characteristics of the same person in isolation has a lot of benefits. For one, the other person realises that we haven't mentally given up on the relation from our side, and are willing to do our bit to save it. This itself is a great plus. Further, when the other person sees that we don't look at him/her entirely in a negative light, it's a proof that our dislike for them isn't so great as to have blinded you from looking at his/her positive aspects. Internally, when we genuinely see a positive aspect of the other person, it appears morally OK to appreciate that. Note that we don't praise or criticise a person but specific characteristics. Two negative and positive characteristics can co-exist in the same person. And it's completely OK to praise or criticise them at two points in time.<br /></span></span></p>Sujit Kumar Chakrabartihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11424095559961037990noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20043527.post-81536372205097550252020-06-11T13:37:00.000+05:302020-06-11T13:37:07.619+05:30Is Religion Such a Ridiculous Idea?<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">You may count me as an atheist. Some reasons:
</span></span></div>
<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">I don't think all nature leads to any conclusive evidence of it having been created by a sentient/intelligent creator, or being maintained by one. </span></span><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">I don't think that for a moral society, we need constructs like God.</span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">I don't consider religious rituals the only good or even the best way to bring camaraderie or cohesion among people.
</span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">I don't consider spiritual experiences as necessarily religious.
</span></span></li>
</ul>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">But hello my atheist friend! Wait a moment before considering me one among you. Here's how I am not exactly like you:
</span></span></div>
<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">I don't think religion is a stupid construct, let alone being a vile one.
</span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">I don't think science conclusively proves the absence of an intelligent creation.
</span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">I don't consider religious people stupid in any way. I know extremely intelligent (and wise) people who are religious. And I don't count it as their failing.
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<li><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">I don't reject the good deeds, qualities, thoughts of people just because they place it in a religious context.
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Faith, like food habits, are not all cerebral in nature. They are handed down to us from our culture, and by the time we get the intellectual choice to question them, they would have played too critical a role in our making -- both in good ways as otherwise -- for us to have a total freedom to forsake them.
<br />In fact, if one is a true sceptic, he will refrain from judging and ridiculing others, or passing blanket statements about someone's faith. When this restraint is broken, your atheism is no different than those religions you so eloquently ridicule.</span></span></div>
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Sujit Kumar Chakrabartihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11424095559961037990noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20043527.post-8705964326333888332020-06-03T10:53:00.001+05:302020-06-03T10:53:31.454+05:30On World Bicycle Day<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">I wish to join in to try and spread the message of clean commute using bicycles. On a broader canvas, I would request you all to give a serious thought to minimalistic living, to question the edification of consumerism as the driver of economy and prosperity.<br />Sharing two pictures.<br /> </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">The cartoon depicts how cynics would see vanity even in your simplicity. To many, showing off wealth, physical beauty and such is acceptable, but being proud of your simplicity is not. I have experienced something similar, and found that experience an immensely humbling one. On the one hand, it gave me the realisation that I shouldn't have too much expectation about the influence that exemplary behaviour can have in spreading a positive message. How far a good message can spread depends far more on how receptive people are to them. Good, positive thoughts and messages have to struggle against people's ego and judgements about you to spread. On the other, I have realised that good behaviour isn't vindicated only when its message is spread. It's a vindication by and of itself. So, it's correct to do the right thing. If it doesn't scale, it's most likely due to the negativity of the naysayers, not necessarily due to any inherent limitation of what you do.<br /> </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Grocery. The second picture is something I am very proud of showing off. My neighbour Arun Awasthi took it for me when I returned after doing grocery one Sunday morning. And I feel, this picture shows what I consider bicycles really good for. Apart from all the other good things they are -- clean, cheap, healthy -- they are quick, light, manoeuvre-able machines and very useful!<br />At this point, I wish to tag several of my friends who have inspired me very much through their use of bicycles. They all are eminently successful people in their lives, capable of lavish exteriors like most, but had the courage and ingenuity to prefer simplicity and sustainability over vanity:</span></span></div>
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<li><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Pritesh Ananth Krishnan</span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Ananthakrishnan Gopal</span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Ganesh Shankar</span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Niranjan Roy</span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Sethu Madhavan</span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Ashish Verma</span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Satvik </span></span></li>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br />#worldbicycleday #ResetWithCycling<br /></span></span></div>
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Sujit Kumar Chakrabartihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11424095559961037990noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20043527.post-80056882358700826522020-05-15T15:21:00.002+05:302020-05-15T16:08:57.195+05:30Can We Give another Chance to an Alternative Economy?<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span data-offset-key="6c0nc-0-0"><span data-text="true">On the one hand there's being sympathetic to people who have been displaced due to the COVID-19 pandemic. On the other hand, there's this belief that the over-consumption led economics that we have been forced to leave behind us by the ravaging virus, is unavoidable to prevent famine from hitting large swaths of population.</span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span data-offset-key="6c0nc-0-0"><span data-text="true">Quite the contrary! Very powerful people have it in their interest to make people believe that the most important way they help the economics to thrive is by consuming. Because consumption generates demand. And demand generates business and employment.</span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span data-offset-key="e43ae-0-0"><span data-text="true">But this also makes millions of people hook themselves up helplessly to one monolithic system (which we so grandiosely call the global economy) and rest all their hopes and dreams on it never failing. And this starts the unending cycle of people scrambling hard to get away from the fringes of this system closer to its core. While there's no denying that this scrambling leads to high productivity and quality of output, that's not the complete picture. Please note the reason why we scramble so hard in the first place: Firstly, because we know that being in the fringes of this system is very bad for us, because it makes us vulnerable, helpless and pushes us to the brink of extinction. Secondly, because deep down there's this realisation that, by definition and design, a large majority of the population will be in the fringes, because the urgency to get out of those fringes is the basic engine that drives this system.</span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span data-offset-key="e43ae-0-0"><span data-text="true"> </span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span data-offset-key="e43ae-0-0"><span data-text="true">But there are certain invariants about this system:</span></span></span></span></div>
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<li><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span data-offset-key="bvl5m-0-0"><span data-text="true">It can generate wealth as no other system can. </span></span></span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span data-offset-key="59u8t-0-0"><span data-text="true">It critically depends on creation of global super-specialists. These are the <i>winners</i> of this system. They are enormously rewarded with wealth and power. The overall efficiency of the system is entirely to the advantage of this very minuscule minority of the population, say R%.</span></span></span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span data-offset-key="4ldob-0-0"><span data-text="true">One of the most towering achievements of this system is that R keeps getting smaller and smaller.</span></span></span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span data-offset-key="buf82-0-0"><span data-text="true">There simply aren't enough number of specialised jobs to employ to the entire human population. In fact, nowhere close. And there never will be.</span></span></span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span data-offset-key="3ov2o-0-0"><span data-text="true">The rest of the population is doomed to struggle fruitlessly to find a toehold in this system. The efficiency thus generated from the insecurity of these <i>suckers</i> leads to efficiency and productivity.</span></span></span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span data-offset-key="4t45l-0-0"><span data-text="true">Whenever the system totters, not always from external forces (e.g. pandemics), but more often under its own weight (e.g. recessions, wars, terrorism, revolutions), the people at its fringes are washed away like ants. Nobody comes to know how many perished.</span></span></span></span></li>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span data-offset-key="e4tum-0-0"><span data-text="true">Therefore, the sufferings that are descending on our poorer brethren is not due to the pandemic, but is a result of the very structure that we have created. It's efficient on the one hand, and extremely fragile on the other. But most importantly, it's extremely unjust and unfair: those who drive it with their sweat and blood are the first ones to perish when crisis hits.</span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span data-offset-key="c996-0-0"><span data-text="true">Alternatives do exist. But the reason why they don't get tried is not so much because they are unrealistic, unscalable, impractical or academic, but because the ones who decide the fate of so many people in the current system are also those who gain so disproportionately from this system, primarily by keeping millions -- billions -- on the brink of starvation. Why will they ever agree that anything else can work? Because no other system will allow them to appropriate such unrealistic shares of the commercial loot.</span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span data-offset-key="dihco-0-0"><span data-text="true">One such economic system that I have in mind would be rejected as plain regressive by most. I am no economist. So, I may not be able to articulate everything well and do I have elaborate arguments in defense of my ideas. Also, the whole idea may be trashed on the basis of the lack of clarity on how to get there from here. But anyway, it's my blog. I can at least write about it here.</span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span data-offset-key="dihco-0-0"><span data-text="true">Here are a few salient points of this economy:</span></span></span></span></div>
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<li><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span data-offset-key="dihco-0-0"><span data-text="true">It will be less 'advanced'. Technological advancement will definitely be slowed down.</span></span></span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span data-offset-key="dihco-0-0"><span data-text="true">It will be slower. Commercial activities will be far less. Many businesses which exist today will not exist or will be severely curtailed.</span></span></span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span data-offset-key="dihco-0-0"><span data-text="true">There may be some severe penalties to pay. Many advanced healthcare facilities will no more be there. Deaths from deadly diseases etc. will be harder to prevent.</span></span></span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span data-offset-key="dihco-0-0"><span data-text="true">It will be agrarian, artisan based economy. Megapolis economy will not exist.</span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span data-offset-key="dihco-0-0"><span data-text="true">Government may play a role in ensuring that the above basic structure doesn't get compromised. In that sense, there will be similarity with socialism. But the Government will not be the owner of capital as in socialistic system.</span></span></span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span data-offset-key="dihco-0-0"><span data-text="true">Population mobility will be curtailed, because the probability of doing well in life will be comparable everywhere. </span></span></span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span data-offset-key="dihco-0-0"><span data-text="true">Scholarly pursuits will be done as an integral part of the agrarian, artisan sphere of life. On the one hand, education, research, art and culture should be closely associated to the needs of people. On the other, it should be kept away from becoming a recreational activity of the rich and privileged. The idea of scholarly independence must be rethought.</span></span></span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span data-offset-key="dihco-0-0"><span data-text="true">The idea will never be to banish hardships and manual labour from people's lives. Focus of progress will be empowerment, not emancipation from inconvenience.</span></span></span></span></li>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span data-offset-key="dihco-0-0"><span data-text="true"> I don't claim all the above to be realistic. Particularly, there's something about the way humans are wired that it will be (and has been multiple times in the past) very difficult to set up an economic system similar to the above. Every attempt so far has succumbed to the baser human aptitude for greed, hunger for power and domination, sexual and material insatiability born out of ignorance and suffering.</span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span data-offset-key="dihco-0-0"><span data-text="true">Nevertheless, some of the brightest minds and elevated souls in history (e.g. Plato, Gandhi, Vinoba Bhave, Buddha, E.F.Schumacher etc.) have time and again thought about something in similar lines (no covert attempt here to gatecrash into that august party). So this idea is not all that silly. It can for sure act as a reference, a prototype to work towards. I would definitely want to think and read more about it.</span></span></span></span></div>
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Sujit Kumar Chakrabartihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11424095559961037990noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20043527.post-62047386709729938832020-04-30T09:57:00.001+05:302020-04-30T09:57:17.637+05:30Remembering Irrfan Khan<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Was it '87? '88? I was a young boy. There used to be a serial called Katha Sagar on DD -- which would show dramatised versions of short stories written by great writers of the world. Many of you would remember.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">There was this Anton Chekhov story 'Ward No. 6' made into three episodes. The story was about a psychiatric doctor who befriends one of the patients in the madhouse (named 'Ward No. 6') because his ramblings would make more sense to him than the so-called sane people around him. The story traces the gradual degradation of the doctor's social standing, eventually landing him in the same ward.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">A young adolescent, already struggling to find my standing in my circles, I was deeply affected by this story. The story was an insightful illustration of the fact that what's popular needn't be sensible, nor that what's sensible need to be accepted by the public. Somewhere, the growing child in me identified with those characters -- that doctor who had the intelligence and innocence to not blindly follow a popular judgement but listen to his own thoughts and even with that madman who talked sense. It gave me strength to believe that it's not necessary to agree with the majority to make sense. Secretly -- perhaps -- I had also pledged to myself that I wouldn't go down meekly like that doctor.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Even 30+ years ago, that lean actor with a run-down, deeply sad and intelligent look in his eyes who had played that role so beautifully, had caught my notice. I didn't know his name then and didn't try to find out either. And he remained lost for years after that, making sundry appearances here and there doing often nondescript rolls. It's only after he resurfaced and sky-rocketed into becoming a major star in the last 15 years or so that we came to know his name. He was Irrfan Khan -- the late bloomer.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Yesterday, we dug out those episodes on YouTube and watched them. At least to me, they touched me equally deeply even now. Added to that, the whole minimalism -- almost penury -- of the whole set-up affected me deeply. Those were the times when the actors and directors had nothing except the raw intensity of their performance to narrate a story with multiple layers. Nothing else than an Irrfan Khan could have essayed that role so completely. To me -- that schoolboy, Irrfan </span></span></div>
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was already a star even when he wasn't one.</div>
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To the ocean of tears that's been created in the last 24 hours by his billion fans, I join in with little drop of tribute. In lamenting his premature passing and the death of those innumerable roles that will never get played as only Irrfan could have.</div>
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Sujit Kumar Chakrabartihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11424095559961037990noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20043527.post-21954493100521089952020-03-05T20:05:00.001+05:302020-03-06T10:26:09.073+05:30सोशल नेटवर्किंग के रंग<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span style="font-size: large;">कहने को तो है बहुत कुछ,</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">पर तुमसे कुछ न कहूँगा। </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">भले मन में ही घुट जाऊँ,</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">फिर भी मैं चुप ही रहूँगा। </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">भक्त को मैं libtard लगूँ। </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Leftist को मैं भक्त। </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">क्या बीच की कोई राह नहीं ?</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">ये कैसा आया है वक़्त ?</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">मेरी हँसी को व्यंग्य बनाया। </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">मेरी सादगी को मेरा अहम्। </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">मूर्ति के सामने हाथ क्या जोड़े,</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">तो यह था मेरा वहम। </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">feminism का समर्थन ना करूँ ,</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">तो सोच मेरी नीची है। </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">प्यार से कुछ सलाह दूँ,</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">तो सुजीत, तू बड़ा preachy है। </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">यहाँ थप्पड़ कहलाए </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">प्यार भरी थपकी </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">सरदार सजा बरोब्बर देगा ,</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">भूल भले हो कब की। </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">ये Internet पे बहते शब्द,</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">क्या कहर ढा गए। </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">दोस्त मेरे मुझसे रूठ गए। </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">गहरे रिश्ते पल में टूट गए। </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">इन शब्दों के पीछे का चेहरा ,</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">जब नज़र नहीं आता है। </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">उन्हें पढ़ने वाला उनमें ,</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">मनमाना अर्थ पाता है। </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">खुद को उत्पीड़ित समझने वाला </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">अपनेपन में racism ढूँढता है। </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">तुम्हारी party की तस्वीरों में ,</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">pervert नंगे जिस्म ढूंढता है। </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Fake news का ज़हर ,</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">ये propaganda का </span><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;">तेज़ाब</span>।</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">तुम्हारी एक चूक पे घात लगाए ,</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">बैठा trolling का </span><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;"> सैलाब</span>।</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">तेरे हाथों में ऐ बहरूपिये क़ासिद,</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">ना मेरे माशूक़ को पैग़ाम दूंगा।</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">कहने को तो है बहुत कुछ, </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">पर सोचा है मैं चुप ही रहूँगा। </span></div>
Sujit Kumar Chakrabartihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11424095559961037990noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20043527.post-67307580982280726272020-02-13T09:54:00.000+05:302020-02-13T10:27:54.067+05:30Fighting Oppression without Catch phrases<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span data-offset-key="f76pn-0-0"><span data-text="true">How silly it is to tag someone as privileged or oppressed just by their collective identity! A subset of feminists think being a man is all you need to be privileged and to have no idea how it is to be discriminated against while just being a woman automatically gives you all the knowledge about being oppressed and banter about it on social network. Similarly, being born upper caste condemns you to being identified as privileged lifelong, while having been born in a dalit family gives you all rights to consider yourself a struggler who has risen up in status against a biased society.</span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span data-offset-key="diggo-0-0"><span data-text="true">I think, we all are privileged and oppressed in different measures. If I am born an upper caste male, I still am born a lower middle class Asian. In my local experience, I have experienced what it is to be denied entry to desirable or aspirational positions on the basis of caste. I am not raising any flags as whether it's fair or not. But most importantly, I am a person with reasonable intellect and empathy. I can feel emotions even if I have not been subjected to their primary triggers. So, I understand it in various ways.</span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span data-offset-key="drd12-0-0"><span data-text="true">Take for example 'patriarchy'. Of course, there are a hundred rejoinders about what it means and what it does not. But literally it names the father. In fact, it's originally a morally neutral term meaning just a social system. However, it's now tainted with a negative shade. And it's used in a negative sense. Isn't it unfair and sexist? 'Male dominated society' is much more closer to reality, because it explicates the fact that the society has largely been dominated by males. And yes, why should that be? <i>Feminism</i> is another word. It claims to encompass all the work that gets done in the name of uplifting women. But it silently propagates a falsehood: that doing fair and just things has something to do with being feminine. How ridiculous and sexist is this?! Being fair and just is a human quality, not feminine. If people have forgotten this, they should be reminded of this with all the force you can muster. You don't coin a new inherently sexist term and keep throwing it around just because it's locally effective due to its shock factor.</span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span data-offset-key="drd12-0-0"><span data-text="true"></span></span><span data-offset-key="drd12-0-0"><span data-text="true"><span data-offset-key="drd12-0-0"><span data-text="true"></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span data-offset-key="erk4g-0-0"><span data-text="true">Oppression
and discrimination has existed forever. No point in denying that. Oppression
has been done against gender, race, caste, religion, ethnicity, disabilities and several other
collective identities. We all have taken part in such acts, knowingly or unknowingly. We all have been the victims too.</span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /><span data-offset-key="drd12-0-0"><span data-text="true"><span data-offset-key="drd12-0-0"><span data-text="true">So, my point
is: let's discuss social issues. Victims of social oppression can be identified to some extent by name: e.g. women, Muslims, Dalits, coloured people, Asians etc. But let's refrain from using terms
corresponding to the compliment of the victim set which directly or indirectly implicate certain collective identities as
the perpetrators. </span></span></span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span data-offset-key="drd12-0-0"><span data-text="true"><span data-offset-key="drd12-0-0"><span data-text="true">Constructive discussions and useful actions can be taken by not identifying specific collective identities. This will let open minded individuals of all identities to freely participate in the movement as long as they have their head and heart at the right place. On the other hand, you create unnecessary strife by using inflammatory terms. For example, I am all for fighting for women's right, because that's just the right thing to do. But, I don't want to fight patriarchy because I am not with the whole drama of first attaching a moral innuendo to an otherwise neutral term and then using it to indirectly implicate an entire gender.</span></span></span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: red;"><span data-offset-key="erk4g-0-0"><span data-text="true">The King of All Oppression</span></span></span></span></span></h3>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span data-offset-key="erk4g-0-0"><span data-text="true">One collective identity which cuts across all others, and probably explains the phenomenon of social oppression the best, is economic status. If you are poor or economically dependent, you will face discrimination and oppression. Economic bounty gets you social power. And power is the key. All oppression is in some sense done for it and using it. Haven't you heard of women who treat their domestic helps cruelly? Haven't you come across a Dalit who beats his wife or a Muslim who is sociopath. Then why do we keep talking about the mere symptoms and shy away from the main disease -- the inequity in economy?</span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span data-offset-key="erk4g-0-0"><span data-text="true">Before you immediately tag me as a socialist or communist (which are another bunch of collective identities I find ridiculous), let me deny being either. <i>Anti-capitalist</i> -- to some extent. All I say is indefinite freedom to earn and spend as much material wealth as one wants is a ridiculously unrealistic and unsustainable ideal. Differences in social status/power should be treated as a necessary evil (but evil all the same). Its blatant and crass display or manifestation should be something that should be frowned on, or even curbed if required. If we do agree to do that, we will encompass all social discrimination. If we continue to consider this a taboo the way we do it now, we will keep hoping to get rid of the disease by treating its symptoms.</span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span data-offset-key="frl8d-0-0"><br data-text="true" /></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span data-offset-key="diggo-0-0"><span data-text="true"></span></span><span data-offset-key="drd12-0-0"><span data-text="true"><span data-offset-key="drd12-0-0"><span data-text="true"> I would even say that these social identities which are used to simplify discussions by representing concepts often turn into a weapon of imposters to hide their intellectual ineptitude and laziness. These terms also get picked up by radical factions of all movements and are used to propagate hatred against people. These terms are so susceptible to misuse that I am all for a social experiment wherein we carry out our conversations without using them at all even if that means explaining what we say at length every time.</span></span></span></span></span></span></div>
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Sujit Kumar Chakrabartihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11424095559961037990noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20043527.post-89165113579560324092020-02-01T21:14:00.004+05:302020-02-02T15:11:46.646+05:30Saraswati Puja Celebrations -- An Environmental Report<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="color: #741b47;"><i><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">With inputs from Shilpi Banerjee</span></span></i></span></div>
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<span style="color: #741b47;"><i><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Photographs by Arijit Banerjee</span></span></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">We celebrated <i>Saraswati Puja</i> in our apartment complex on Jan. 29. The festival brought a lot of positivity and joy to hearts, and hopefully contributed to a general view of learning, science and arts as something pure and pious.</span></span></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCCI14XJ_P1RYhfshhL7ENp9d1n01Ty2coajbz7ZGwBrf9qTjfSZc7l9Ac9sl1RsjMx3YiA2iUtz8pExsBtt_pmiIPHP3S9mipNMs_2ArGbkNPY-rLXCas-qCA-5EtvJmtf3lihA/s1600/pujari.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="863" data-original-width="1280" height="215" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCCI14XJ_P1RYhfshhL7ENp9d1n01Ty2coajbz7ZGwBrf9qTjfSZc7l9Ac9sl1RsjMx3YiA2iUtz8pExsBtt_pmiIPHP3S9mipNMs_2ArGbkNPY-rLXCas-qCA-5EtvJmtf3lihA/s320/pujari.jpeg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The goddess and the priest</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">As I have been pointing out the environmental aspect of community events in our neighbourhood, I think it would be good if I apply the same scrutiny on something we organised. So, here we go:</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: red;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Decoration</span></span></span></h3>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">We mostly used paper, flowers and leaves for decoration. The drapery used as a backdrop was reusable and went back to the tent house. The organic waste goes to the central organic waste disposal of our apartment.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">After the puja, we ourselves removed the decoration. We created three heaps of waste: organic, recyclable and reject (very little). What remained were mostly work of art and craft done by ourselves. We retained them.</span></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRo4jqOx_lFq2aezwesoTtj0untIOSPo_Ew5__g7QJ1kempgm9Zws3LX5_UjQhweL6nWtC76_fmekPIWUfnZYP33nw4mP_4gD7nb-h7R40GMyzWupqZtjJe7xupBsGXGhrTNPdDQ/s1600/while-decorating.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="721" data-original-width="1280" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRo4jqOx_lFq2aezwesoTtj0untIOSPo_Ew5__g7QJ1kempgm9Zws3LX5_UjQhweL6nWtC76_fmekPIWUfnZYP33nw4mP_4gD7nb-h7R40GMyzWupqZtjJe7xupBsGXGhrTNPdDQ/s320/while-decorating.jpeg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">During decoration - 1</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_ZUcKEXIisaavw40dGOXqbWGbfdCiCBmkg6wp5sVVJSLddqRm9CkyGDWNOv4cF3vgqQyXWZXEOoDU2kxP2vg4x2ixabOQxesFYxoC7-GdPu2VtUbKdp90r9lQVi7U6ov1vcXZug/s1600/while-decorating2.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_ZUcKEXIisaavw40dGOXqbWGbfdCiCBmkg6wp5sVVJSLddqRm9CkyGDWNOv4cF3vgqQyXWZXEOoDU2kxP2vg4x2ixabOQxesFYxoC7-GdPu2VtUbKdp90r9lQVi7U6ov1vcXZug/s320/while-decorating2.jpeg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">During decoration - 2</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJyi-YH-zVxPA1jZkKRPZJnvXgH-MSvEz_YucHS62SyPTrEr6ZRrJMiqaQ5wMzxAEY7Kagkx3of0Rzv77KgMsQr-pywuUmgVfPXFHoZd8piZbVoWHN9kguXEEdklv5nRjrtX3_WQ/s1600/drawings.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="1280" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJyi-YH-zVxPA1jZkKRPZJnvXgH-MSvEz_YucHS62SyPTrEr6ZRrJMiqaQ5wMzxAEY7Kagkx3of0Rzv77KgMsQr-pywuUmgVfPXFHoZd8piZbVoWHN9kguXEEdklv5nRjrtX3_WQ/s320/drawings.jpeg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Drawings and paper decoration</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiFuyXfhe_PmA1X6pWnRMWGf1KNMPqPoGahHQe8YMG3U6THJto0iySYes-vx5AbaO6ilbMTPfTxlZsFFDDxPw60Y0NPXtNg947D3I6oYkI4SM1R2JhdZ6OVN_ZDVX-PVYtDu-AyQ/s1600/flower-decoration.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1230" data-original-width="1280" height="307" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiFuyXfhe_PmA1X6pWnRMWGf1KNMPqPoGahHQe8YMG3U6THJto0iySYes-vx5AbaO6ilbMTPfTxlZsFFDDxPw60Y0NPXtNg947D3I6oYkI4SM1R2JhdZ6OVN_ZDVX-PVYtDu-AyQ/s320/flower-decoration.jpeg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Outdoor flower decoration</td></tr>
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<span style="color: red;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Idol</span></span></span></h3>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">The goddess idol was a clay one; no plaster of paris or plastic. The idol was painted using organic colour and accessories were stuck using organic adhesive. After Puja, we did the immersion in a drum normally used within the society for sundry construction work. The drum, though not of a very presentable appearance, was very clean and hygienic. It was orders of magnitude cleaner than most ponds and lakes. We used freshwater for immersion. After immersion, the water and the dissolved clay was used in the society garden. The non-degradable parts of the idol, e.g. the clothing, hair and crown, were extricated and retained.</span></span></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtayrtOzMZktboGmjEEYh3RajtpEYFVsfRUDDbLTjxs1nhTfB-8A7cZlQBKNqHugw5qDjaZOKJD73QaorjW0htK39oNM-whzVSD4RXvRgx420orPeYQRdSnBA-FBxXP_usX41IeA/s1600/goddess.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="863" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtayrtOzMZktboGmjEEYh3RajtpEYFVsfRUDDbLTjxs1nhTfB-8A7cZlQBKNqHugw5qDjaZOKJD73QaorjW0htK39oNM-whzVSD4RXvRgx420orPeYQRdSnBA-FBxXP_usX41IeA/s320/goddess.jpeg" width="215" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Goddess Saraswati</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJX0kotmBn72gY5WEJwIEQlPZGmcLBXZA24kyOZv87TJEtoLSo13ylAMDHan1E_iBVz_1V-cQroZGUhFCJbnfG4-EwbDnfvTJTZIy2uBhVnCbf2vesBm2MP4YvvFrBw7h4qdLwKg/s1600/visarjan3.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1040" data-original-width="780" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJX0kotmBn72gY5WEJwIEQlPZGmcLBXZA24kyOZv87TJEtoLSo13ylAMDHan1E_iBVz_1V-cQroZGUhFCJbnfG4-EwbDnfvTJTZIy2uBhVnCbf2vesBm2MP4YvvFrBw7h4qdLwKg/s320/visarjan3.jpeg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The immersion drum (PC: Mrs. Sudeshna Banerjee)</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfKvlqdOGqQ_jEdq5EEGHj4WggbV16Gk2BPVq2a0RZlahsnaYFR587fLm6pdku7Q25-8Uzy5RqtuqwjzhBwanrpg8qguAOFsXPCPynTNzC5OSKCrP0x1TxmxVEIC-eHH5kclOYbw/s1600/visarjan1.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfKvlqdOGqQ_jEdq5EEGHj4WggbV16Gk2BPVq2a0RZlahsnaYFR587fLm6pdku7Q25-8Uzy5RqtuqwjzhBwanrpg8qguAOFsXPCPynTNzC5OSKCrP0x1TxmxVEIC-eHH5kclOYbw/s320/visarjan1.jpeg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">During immersion</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitdq1SENrKhsfExhwNN5sH7u2K9d7eTL7XRBrsJpw4wvoTpX8P5ZB2_3T2nAqUXMZIxZAc4mH-1-_cYZNcmAdsqD8mkI_u2kQqZw5J13uK9G6mJIwyKSt8Vgjk1VIVezGecSNa8A/s1600/visarjan2.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1040" data-original-width="780" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitdq1SENrKhsfExhwNN5sH7u2K9d7eTL7XRBrsJpw4wvoTpX8P5ZB2_3T2nAqUXMZIxZAc4mH-1-_cYZNcmAdsqD8mkI_u2kQqZw5J13uK9G6mJIwyKSt8Vgjk1VIVezGecSNa8A/s320/visarjan2.jpeg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">After immersion (PC: Mrs. Sudeshna Banerjee)</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYsT3urpRJPcqGOhyTWRnREbQF4d86CNrR1gikGRiqybK4zXmDYrKncoCoxK_yt9GNhP2FYPnYKA7ayCffMGwYXgda_GfV8IOe3l_DffNpS6edEmS8V3rRSDJ5VDfNexbFvHziHg/s1600/hair.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="1280" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYsT3urpRJPcqGOhyTWRnREbQF4d86CNrR1gikGRiqybK4zXmDYrKncoCoxK_yt9GNhP2FYPnYKA7ayCffMGwYXgda_GfV8IOe3l_DffNpS6edEmS8V3rRSDJ5VDfNexbFvHziHg/s320/hair.jpeg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Left over hair and accessories</td></tr>
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<h3 style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: red;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Prasad</span></span></span></h3>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Much of the morning time prasad was served in biodegradable plates. However, we eventually ran out of them and were forced to use paper (foil filmed) plates which are non-eco-friendly.</span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"></span></span></div>
<h3 style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: red;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Lunch</span></span></span></h3>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Main course of the lunch was served in biodegradable betel leaf plates and spoons. Sweet Dahi was served in earthen pots, rosogolla was served directly on the plate.</span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Lunch being the most real time, populated and probably the most sensitive aspect of the festival, saw a few points of failures.</span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Towards the end of the queue, we ran out of plates. Eventually, we had to arrange more plates which were, unfortunately, not bio-degradable. Since all used plates ended up in the same bin, it all turned into reject waste. This was a bad failure for us.</span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Water was served in use-and-throw plastic bottles.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaTNlrtL-NZaSyGoKHULk81j-jhwZvjLfLiebaaV3Zpl-CjQ006MUJKOmw_u8eVkdbTx0Spc-xz21Twic1gKkSKfZSaL-k3botrI1AWo0H2CETfKg6T_7p5AbpBTiIOH-21dXJvQ/s1600/food-coupon.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="157" data-original-width="572" height="87" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaTNlrtL-NZaSyGoKHULk81j-jhwZvjLfLiebaaV3Zpl-CjQ006MUJKOmw_u8eVkdbTx0Spc-xz21Twic1gKkSKfZSaL-k3botrI1AWo0H2CETfKg6T_7p5AbpBTiIOH-21dXJvQ/s320/food-coupon.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Number of people taking lunch was kept track of using lunch coupons generated out of the payment records. No paper coupons were printed. Of course, on the ground, most people having lunch were friends and acquaintances. Hence, the coupons were not used.</span></span></div>
<h3 style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: red;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Waste Management</span></span></span></h3>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Amid her many tasks, my wife Shilpi was continually keeping an eye on the way waste was being managed on the puja venue. She ensured that all organic waste generated from the process was kept segregated from non-biodegradable waste. When we finally left the puja hall after cleaning up in the night, we had three neat heaps of waste: organic, recyclable and reject.</span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">One failure on our part was that we couldn't ensure that the above segregation was honoured by the waste collection people when they picked it up in the morning. This happened primarily because none of us was available onsite at the time of clearing of waste.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div>
<h3 style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: red;">Conclusion</span> </span></span></h3>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Though not directly related to the environment, let me mention that the surplus fund (which was of course rather tiny at this scale) was donated to fund the education of one poor child through Akshay Patra foundation: as a tribute to the Goddess of knowledge a small deed of kindness to make knowledge accessible to one more person.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaXgyDXuURcKqMHQfKfQlJsRLeChywMuFrQqW9fOwc-Gygbp_TKBkkSwzC8E0eF6BI1Ku2dnaD2KvBqLMP_dmg6yc6Wpqar7K5jimb549gS_3iGctpGREHxspNLRM_QJbM1eBgDQ/s1600/donation.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="290" data-original-width="770" height="120" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaXgyDXuURcKqMHQfKfQlJsRLeChywMuFrQqW9fOwc-Gygbp_TKBkkSwzC8E0eF6BI1Ku2dnaD2KvBqLMP_dmg6yc6Wpqar7K5jimb549gS_3iGctpGREHxspNLRM_QJbM1eBgDQ/s320/donation.jpeg" title="" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Overall, I think, we did set a good example of an eco-friendly celebration. Not so much because we didn't create any pollution at all, but because we paid attention to this aspect, and at least a few members of the team consciously worked hard to ensure that this aspect was not forgotten as unimportant. And it showed in the output.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">We couldn't prevent being eco-unfriendly in some aspects. I think, we will do better in future through better planning, more explicit buy-in from the organising committee and better communication to all participants.</span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">For celebrations of larger magnitude, the organising committee should appoint one person who keeps an eye of the environmental footprint of the entire event. Of course, such a person should be passionate about sustainability. As much of his/her responsibility will involve making other people's work a bit harder (at least that's how many would perceive it), he/she will have to mentally sign up to earn a bit of unpopularity amidst other organising committee members and public. However, such a member's role will exceed in importance to most others'. By paying special attention to sustainability, organisers of large festivals and gatherings can make a big difference to the level of pollution that such events create.</span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"> Sustainability is going to be the key mantra of future public events. </span></span>Because that's precisely where we tend to forget about the planet we live in and what we are doing to our habitat through our unsustainable lifestyle.</span></span></div>
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Sujit Kumar Chakrabartihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11424095559961037990noreply@blogger.com2