This is the first time I am blogging an audio. I have done photos and videos, but voice, the first time!
Mobile post sent by aditto using Utterli. Replies. mp3
Archive for the 'Uncategorized' Category
Exchange 2020 is a crazy idea that I had some days back, inspired by Kyle MacDonald.
Your first reaction to the game would be, WHAT CRAP!!! But that is the way it is.
I set out to exchange, yes Exchange, something that I have, with something Bigger and/or Better that you would want to exchange with me.
I start with a very small and simple thing. A metal box of Wrigley’s Eclipse mints! Let’s say someone exchanges something bigger, a pencil box with me for a box of mints. I would put that pencil box up for trade in exchange of something bigger and better! What I get in exchange of the pencil box would again be put up for trade! So on…
I shall exchange things that I would get in change of the previous item. This would go on. The condition is that my barter should necessarily move in a chain. Bartering the previous item for the next. Till I get something really BIG and really GOOD!
Log on now: http://exchange2020.wordpress.com
Daffodils
William Wordsworth I wandered lonely as a Cloud
That floats on high o’er Vales and Hills,
When all at once I saw a crowd,
A host of golden daffodils;
Beside the lake, beneath the trees,
Fluttering and dancing in the breeze. Continuous as the stars that shine
And twinkle on the milky way,
They stretched in never-ending line
Along the margin of a bay:
Ten thousand saw I at a glance,
Tossing their heads in sprightly dance. The waves beside them danced, but they
Out-did the sparkling waves in glee:-
A poet could not but be gay
In such a jocund company:
I gazed-and gazed-but little thought
What wealth the show to me had brought. For oft when on my couch I lie
In vacant or in pensive mood,
They flash upon that inward eye
Which is the bliss of solitude,
And then my heart with pleasure fills,
William Wordsworth I wandered lonely as a Cloud
That floats on high o’er Vales and Hills,
When all at once I saw a crowd,
A host of golden daffodils;
Beside the lake, beneath the trees,
Fluttering and dancing in the breeze. Continuous as the stars that shine
And twinkle on the milky way,
They stretched in never-ending line
Along the margin of a bay:
Ten thousand saw I at a glance,
Tossing their heads in sprightly dance. The waves beside them danced, but they
Out-did the sparkling waves in glee:-
A poet could not but be gay
In such a jocund company:
I gazed-and gazed-but little thought
What wealth the show to me had brought. For oft when on my couch I lie
In vacant or in pensive mood,
They flash upon that inward eye
Which is the bliss of solitude,
And then my heart with pleasure fills,
And dances with the Daffodils.
Today is no special day for me. Its just another day when I would like to thank “God” for everything I do and for everything I am.
A JOURNEY CUT SHORT 
The boy wanted to be a pilot when he grew up. But he died young at the age of 5 years after a short struggle with a lethal form of blood cancer. Five-year-old Subhash, the only son of a Chennai couple who was suffering from acute lymphoblastic leukemia, died in Singapore on Thursday.
The boy wanted to be a pilot when he grew up. But he died young at the age of 5 years after a short struggle with a lethal form of blood cancer. Five-year-old Subhash, the only son of a Chennai couple who was suffering from acute lymphoblastic leukemia, died in Singapore on Thursday.
News like these are not really rare in a place like India… but this is just unfortunate…
Think of his father and mother who gave him birth and who raised him all these years, constantly with the worry and hope that one day their child would be able to run and play with everyone. Think of his parents who sold away everything they had to invest in their child’s treatment. Think of his relatives who knew him. Think of his friends, who might have been few but special. Perhaps god liked him more than others, so god took him away for himself.
But why did I have to include this in my blog?
When this news was featured on CNNIBN website, a lot of people posted their comments. Most of them were “May God bless his soul”. I just glanced at them, but one of the comments held my sight. Something that suddenly brought a gulp down my throat. I cant explain the feeling, but it touched me all the way. Even as I am copy pasting those exact words, it brings a tear to my eye. Maybe I am too sensitive, or maybe there is a lot of “Love” in this world “to live for, and worth dying for!”
will miss u loads…………….
n all the spiderman talks wid u.
Posted by: “:)”
May God bless your soul!
And give strength to your parents…
And give strength to your parents…
#139 Inha by night…
Published May 19, 2007 South Korea , Uncategorized 1 CommentTags: dance, festival, incheon, inha, lights, university
Ok this is something like a pat on my own back…
But please refer to:
# 119 Millennium Development Goals: Deadline 2015 AD
If you’ve seen this, then the news is that my essay titled “Lets be a part of the generation that would make the difference!” on the Millennium Development Goals of the United Nations, got selected in the Ten Best Essays, in an international essay writing competition conducted by the TERI (Tata Energy Research Institute). The competition is a part of the Delhi Sustainable Development Conference 2007.
Perhaps the worst year for me….
and my family!
Would just hope it is fast forgotten!
Wont like to elaborate on what all we have been through….
But it was just not good.
Would like to offer my shraddhanjali to my beloved grandparents :
Late Smt Rajani Marathe (1934 - March 15, 2006)
Late Shri Prabhakar Marathe (June 23, 1923 - December 21, 2006)
I just hope I get them back in my next birth too!
So many lives lost to cruel human actions. So many tears rolled.
So many bad decisions taken by people who should have acted more responsibly.
Hoping that the world would change for the better.
I wish myself a happy new year 2007 and hope its good for me, my family and everyone around!
The gecko that used to eat up the LGBs from my desk has left me cold, and gone to my neighbour (Bollam)’s room…. Dats long back…
I’d been to Puri and Konark, and also Bhubaneswar… wow nice places really.
But the blessing was to see Dolphins jumping water near the shore!! I had never even dreamt of seeing a dolphin jump waters in my life, it was indeed beautiful! 
Calcutta too is a nice place. My perception of the City of Joy changed indeed when I went there and went out with a few very good friends: Roshnai and Tanker….
Roshnai… you know her well, sweet and bubbly as usual,
Tanker… whos this tanker?? He’s the God of Peace! The eternal TeaPot Mr SnowWhite Chakrabarti! Man I wouldnt challenge his aptitude for tea!
None the less, but for the grades, this sem has been nice. Hope to see myself in a great place next year. The realisation of the dream says: do as much as you can, the bastards will always win the race - be happy with what you are and what you get from your own hard work.
Survival of the fittest is the order of the day, but in the end, its the human who wins and not the man!
(for more funda read my book)
Time to go home now, take care of a few things there. Hav to get back with a bang!
And yes please please please please watch My Sassy Girl, its really awesome, its my inspiration!!
My post #79 of this blog had the same title…
The context was different!
These days are killing me softly. Slowly and gradually with love. Its suddenly that I have nothing to do, and no target to achieve! Is It?
I download a movie but cant watch it cos I just dont feel like. I keep waiting for replies from people I dont know… I keep eating bread and eggs and keep drinking tea… I keep cycling, I keep going to the toilet every hour, I change my clothes 5 times a day… I have everything in the world but I am a begger in my own heart… I have everyone around me, but suddenly the vacuum of solitude encapsulates me like a black hole…
There are so many things I have to do, so many places I have to go, so many relations I have to keep, so many projects I have to complete, so many hours I have to sleep [?], so much to eat and so much to do…. whew! I have ideas in my mind, but most of the times I cant implement them.
Was I able to implement all these ideas, I would have been the Father of Modern India, I would have transformed it like no one ever did. I would have changed so many things around me. I would have made the world a better place.
But I dont. Cos all I do is hang out of the train like this and let the train take me where it is going. I am just a passenger… passenger of my own lazy skeleton!
# 119 Millennium Development Goals: Deadline 2015 AD
Published October 31, 2006 Uncategorized 0 CommentsI just submitted an essay for the Delhi Sustainable Development Conference 2007 on the MDGs of the United Nations. Here it is in full piece. For further information visit: click here.
MDGs: A Panacea for Developing Countries
Lets be a part of the generation that would make the difference!
“Poverty is not a disgrace, but it’s terribly inconvenient” [1]
This comment is a deep reflection! A reflection on the way the world looks at itself. Is this the reason that we divide the world into two? Perhaps Yes. Poverty is in itself a complete form of disorder. With it comes the complete package of life: no bread, no roof, and no cloth! Poverty is inconvenient. Look at myself, or yourself, you are walking past a supermarket on a big street, and there is this couple, poor, with their five children, all torn on their bodies, clinging to you and begging for something. All you do is simply shoo them away, or at the best, give a coin, mostly the one in your pocket that has the lowest dimensions. What are they asking for? Are they asking for bread or money? Or are they just asking for attention? A few kilometers south of the campus in which I live, is a village that is a perfect example of utter poverty and also sheer contrast. Just by its side is one of India’s greatest centers of learning. And here is this village struck by every possible rot in the world. The people are poor, and the government only gives them false promises. Every time I go there on my bicycle, I see families sitting on something that looks like a porch of mud, barely clad, looking at me with despair on their faces but hopes on their eyes. All they wish is for me to look at them, give a smile and not just that, but to go to them and help them out, in whatever small way I can. That is just one of the millions of villages in India. Why just India but anywhere and everywhere in the so called developing world, if I have to be particular. Are these the black holes that are stopping their nation’s growth?
To remind myself, we are not talking about poverty here, but the package in totality, something that holds the growth of civilization. The Millennium Development Goals, eight of them, were agreed upon by leaders of every country as the vision of the future. In short they are time bound targets providing a framework for development. The goals are feasible and don’t look fictitious. There is hope! The statistics are there for everyone to see. The achievement of those goals is based on the developed countries offering as much support as they can, and the developing countries utilizing their resources and external aid to the best.
The United Nations is no doubt doing its best as the premier institute of sympathy but are the developing nations and even the developed nations doing there same bit? I wonder! Take India for instance. The constitution has all rules in it. The government also knows all the rules in it. I bet no one knows better than them. They also execute them well enough and well in time. A man waits. He still waits. He waits some more time. He either dies of starvation or extremely bad health, or commits suicide. Most of the times his family follows. The help that started out still hasn’t reached. His son, if still alive somehow manages to grow up. One fine day he lands up in the court. The matter is taken up but he is given a date. He returns, just to get another date. Weeks, months, years and not so surprisingly decades pass away but nothing comes of it. India has all the necessary equipments, infrastructure, rules and regulations, a highly intelligent population and not too harsh environmental conditions. Coming to think of it, most Indians feel that the world should stop classifying it as a developing country. Well, if you happen to stay in a good city, you may feel so too. None the less, I would say India has everything to switch immediately to the status of a developed nation. And I am pretty sure there may be at least a dozen other countries like it too, who may be almost there. But it’s unfortunate, that it won’t happen. It won’t happen because administration is bad! Politics is bad and the governance is bad, worse at the micro levels. Just to give a live example of such a deal between the government and the needy, drought affected farmers across many states in India have been granted many millions of rupees worth relief. It is remarkable to note, how in bright open, a drought affected farmer’s family can get a cheque signed for Rupees Three only (that is around six cents)[2]!
Such incidences occur widely all around the nation and with most relief operations. It’s the middle politician and the lower one where the black hole exists. It is also this problem of corruption which we are walking hands in hands with. For the MDGs to be really successful by the deadline, we would have to make sure that we remove bitter hindrances like these from our way.
I would say that it is this generation of ‘we the people’ that needs to stand up and make sure that we make a collective difference. The factors that we need to consider have been excellently highlighted by the UN in formulating the targets of the MDGs. Let us look back at our textbooks and ask ‘What are man’s basic needs?’ Food, clothing and shelter comes a pat reply! But this world has changed from what it was many decades ago let’s say just around or after the world war two and the change has been significant. On an individual scale yes they are the basic needs, but looking in totality, and looking from a region’s human life sustainability, the needs are bigger than just that. They are: 1. Sanitation and Health, 2. Education, and 3. Availability of Natural Resources and Energy. The Goals have been classified according to these three needs which I feel are the fundamental basic needs, basically I am just echoing the UN’s words. The UN has been tracking the progress of various regions around the globe looking for the parameters which correspond to these goals. It is evident that global poverty is on a decline and the goal should be easy to meet. Where 27.9 percent people lived on less than $1 a day in developing countries, the figure in 2001 was just 19.4 percent. But the proportion of people living with insufficient food hasn’t gone down noticeably. Both these parameters have had hardly any change especially in the Sub Saharan region. 44.6 to 44 percent and 33 to 31 percent respectively, from 1990 to 2001.[3] Somewhat similar is the scenario for most other parameters. What concerns most is the availability and tapping potential of natural resources. Natural resources do not mean coal and iron ore, but human resources, educational potential, energy alternatives. Human Resource is what I believe the biggest factor in pushing a nation towards development. Human resources include manpower both quantitatively as well as qualitatively. Human resource stands for skilled men. It stands for distinct category of population, which is intelligent, smart and unbiased, where there is an equal participation of everyone from all regions, all categories, all classes and both sexes! For this a scenario of universal primary education, gender equality and maximizing higher education must be put forth. Management of these resources will only ensure a growing economy.
Another requirement for development comes as the improvement of natural habitat of human being. Historically we have only seen a decline in the quality of the relationship that man has shared with nature. Nature has been brutally affected, environment has been hit hard: waters are not potable and soils are not tillable. In reverse effect it is he the man himself who has suffered. It has been projected that by the year 2007, majority of the world’s population, for the first time in history would be staying in urban areas. But with urban development comes more and more slum development. It has however been noteworthy that compared to 1990, the number of people having access to improved sanitation has gone up considerably: from 25 percent in 1990 to 50 percent in 2005.[3] Along with sanitation, access to better medical facilities has been found helping the decline in the rate of child mortality and maternal health. The deadly diseases like HIV and malaria still exist with thousands of new infections diagnosed everyday, but the rates are not growing as fast as they had peaked in the early 1990s. Tuberculosis unfortunately has been one of the biggest killers of late. So we see, in a way it is the effect of environment around us and our interaction with it, that determines the outfall of our actions.
These and few other such parameters have been demarcated to assess the growth and prosperity of nations. But I believe there is someone else who needs to play a larger role than UN or any other agency doing noble work. It is we the citizens who must take on the responsibility onto ourselves. If the government funds are going into wrong pockets I believe it is because we haven’t elected good leaders. It’s because educated people like us don’t go to cast votes, so the ones who vote are the ones who know nothing about anything. Let’s educate the masses. Lets educate the youth, lets bring in equality and a sense of sustainability amongst the down trodden. It will be only when they will see an improvement in their lives that they will gain confidence in the systems around them. It will only be when they know what is happening and how far they are from their means that they will see light at the end of the tunnel. Let’s educate! Education is the primary way to realize any goal. It will only be when they understand the working behind the system, behind the way of life, behind the true way of life in today’s world, that they will be happy for themselves. It is for this that we need a stronger sense of commitment from those who have already got the benefit of education. We need a stronger base, to come from bigger institutions of social change and financial help. We need a larger involvement of the entire so called white collars. The problems that the sufferers in the developing nations face are not because of discrimination from other nations, but from people within their countries who call themselves white collars. The double standard society has to break down to give way to a freer nation; a feeling of belongingness must be infused into the population. They must be treated not as a hindrance to the growth, but as god’s gift to the nation. It is in a way something like the rich gets richer and the poor gets poorer. Only when the social backwardness of the population gets through, we can think of educational prosperity and financial prosperity. Social backwardness here stands for double standards of the society.
I do believe that the UN Millennium Development Goals are the key areas which are responsible for the development index of a nation and they must be met with utmost priority. The way to success and universal enhancement of the human life is an achievement of these goals! The unprivileged are also one of us! By 2015 most of my young friends would be doing the best jobs in the world, minting lots of money hopefully, and I just request them to stop by, look into this and do something if they can to the best of their power. Remember, together we can, because we are a part of it! Would you want to be remembered as just another generation in which poverty increased from x percent to y percent or AIDS spread from these many million to those many billions? Or would you want to be remembered as a part of the generation that made the difference?
References:
[1] Famous Jewish American comedian Milton Berle
[2] Govt. puts price on farmer tragedy: Vikrant Dubey & Manasi Tewari for CNN-IBN
[3] The Millennium Development Goals Report 2006: United Nations
Young children have to do stuff like this to earn a piece of bread. Instead, when we get a bread we demand for cakes….
This one is actually made up by merging laterally 3 different photographs taken radially apart. Its behind our gymkhana here at IIT Kgp, should I call it a pond or rather a Lake Island!! The bridge takes us straight to the center of the island forest, much like the bridge linking HongKong city to the international airport! Well, does it really??
Do I need to say something?
He is my dear friend Ashish…. thinks a lot, wants to do something, particularly in the field of Power, specifically with Electric Machines, but wherever he goes, people keep cutting his fate …. Cheer up man, there is a long way to go.
#111 Photoblog 1: Me, manyyyyyyyyyyyy years back
Published September 1, 2006 Uncategorized 2 Comments
#110 Photoblog: proves that I am running out of time
Published September 1, 2006 Uncategorized 1 CommentSo what good is a VGA camera on my MotoSLVR? Well, its really good if I just wanna click, see, share, store, mail, and blog pics!! Its excellent. Picture quality is good enough to be visible! Size is th least you can get on any camera around! And portability is excellent due to the small size. All in all its great and handy! BTW its not a digital camera so shouldnt have expectations like that from it. But then I dont want to print the pics I click, so its good enough. And not to forget, its a phone!
Recently Differentiated