The Soul of the Urban Indian

Long Before I went to school and learnt about glorious indian history, or read about the Buddha, Mahatma or vedic wisdom, I learnt from an untutored woman, my granny, the essence of morality. Of being good, moral and to conduct myself with self esteem. The rules were simple. I had to respect what I had been given and be nice to people around. Toys had to be shared with my sister and a smile and hello were mandatory to the milkman. If the kid next door was playing on the slide in the neighbourhood park, I had to wait till he finished. The cycle-rickshaw wallah had to be wished 'good morning uncle' with a smile on the way to school, and then it was the peon at the school gates. The fellow human being had to be respected. Food had to be respected too. Plates had to licked clean, because there were people going hungry elsewhere. Gifts had to be earned. A kind act was always returned with a kinder one. It was what being a 'good boy' was all about. The limits were defined and could not be questioned. There was no room for examining them, dissecting them or even to test their borders. Across the concrete wall, off limits, lay the 'bad boy' image, and that meant punishment. No hugs or kisses from ma or bapa, no chocolates and certainly no gifts. Silence at the dinner table. Nobody would talk to the sinner. The lack of gifts and chocolates would be bearable to a point, but the thought of being unloved or unwanted was too much to take. In school I learnt history, Ashoka's amazing conversion and Puru's glory in defeat. Gandhi's other cheek and Bose's bravado and Mangal Pandey's passion. They were good people, examples of the very things that granny had taught me as a kid. And through it came a realization that I had a responsibility to my country, that of being good. It was my duty and my contribution. It was my pride. Only by trying to be the best that I can be, I could fulfill the promise that came with being an Indian. I was glad I was born here. India was my country and I was proud of it. I would not trade it for the world. Now I am all grown up into a rational adult. I work with big corporates who pay me well. I honk incessantly on the roads, bully smaller verhicles, swear at them using the filthiest of words with the vilest of tempers, if they try to push their way through. I push too, but thats alright. I will take the advantage if I can. I dont mind causing inconveninence to others if I have to do so in order to get ahead. And I am not in the habit of saying sorry. All that ended a long time back. It was a false pride over a nation of rude, violent animals struggling to get by. I live in the present, and I do what I have to, to exist. Being good does not work anymore, blaming the system does. The system put a traffic light. I jump it. I even start moving before I get the amber lights. The rules say that I need to stay in my lane and put on my blinkers if I want to change, but I dont. I just barge in and barge out. The system put a 'No Parking' sign, but I dont heed that. Hey, sab chalta hai, this is India. I crib about general cleanliness, and still throw my cigarette butt ends around. I chew paan masala and spit on the road. I scream at pedestrians crossing streets and scream at cars when I am walking. I speed like a mad dog when I get an empty stretch, and I hit and run if someone comes in my way. I scream at the traffic cops calling them inefficient, but am always on the lookout to sneak out when he isnt looking. The system says 'Q please', but I dont queue up. Instead, I go and ask the guy at the top of the line to buy me some tickets, or sometimes just try to shamelessly stand at the top of the queue seemingly oblivious of the others waiting in line. Are , yahan koi kuch nahin bolta, India hai bhai. You can insult anyone's intelligence. Sab chalta hai. Yeh system hi aisa hai yaar. India mein asia hi hota hai. Hey, this is the way we are, bas aise hi hain hum. Kya karein, India always moves in slow motion. We have lots of other problems to take care of. Cant change it man, just got to endure it. But we are a proud lot. We have a glorious history. Aur waise bhi, so many things are looking up, look at IT industry man.... Aaj kal bahut tough ho gaya hai yaar, Now I want to leave. I want to settle down abroad. Looks like the only thing of importance that the Great Indian Nation gave me was my passport. The other unimportant things that have been written in history books are for dinner table conversations, needless, thoughtless banters. I will tell my kids to read them anyway, might help them score good grades in examinations. India sucks. Hell no, I do. I suck. And I have sucked out the 'good' from my country. My granny is dead and my parents are old anyways. Who would know !!

purple passion !

This game has just got me hooked !! Cant stay off it..!! And its one of the simplest I have ever played !! Press spacebar to set angle, and once again to set power and shoot !! Just goes to show the best things in the world are often the simplest !!

http://www.ebaumsworld.com/games/kickoff.html

scrambled.eggs is now salt.pepper.chilli

Kids, scrambled.eggs is now called salt.pepper.chilli.. yoohoo..!!! Quick 2 hrs of graphic designing and we have a "well-ahem-okay" looking front page..

I sorta like the logo though.. I think its neat and nice... and the punchline.. "portal for the home-made gourmet" !! ha ha !!

Now its time the invitations went out to you kids to join.

Ciao

Baps

Achilles' Heel and Duryodhana's loins

The parallels in these two stories are just amazing. The anti-hero and the tragic flaw, the action of their respective mothers and the one weak link that killed both.

Thetis, mother of Achilles dips him in Styx to make him invulnerable while holding his heel by her forefinger and thumb. The Styx water does not touch the heels. Years later, Paris aims an arrow at that exact point and kills him in the trojan war .

Gandhari, mother of Duryodhana, distraught at hearing the demise of all her sons but Duryodhana, wants to make him invulnerable. Blindfolded for her entire married life (out of respect for her blind husband Dhritarashtra), her eyes possess mystical powers. She asks Duryodhana to bathe and come to her tent naked, and prepares to open her blindfold to use her powers to make Duryodhana unconquerable (Worth mentioning that Duryodhana’s name literally means ‘hard to conquer’ ).

Lord Krishna, the omniscient, runs into Duryodhana while he is about to enter the tent, and mockingly admonishes him to dress appropriately (fully aware of queen Gandhari’s plans). Duryodhana, embarassed sheepishly wears a loincloth before he enters the tent of his mother. Gandhari opens the blindfold and is stunned to see the loincloth.

Later in the war, when the mace battle between Bheema and Duryodhana intensifies, with Duryodhana showing no signs of losing, Lord Krishna motions to Bhima, pointing out Duryodhana’s thigh as the possible target. Bheema strikes, and Duryodhana falls, mortally wounded.

The anti-hero and his tragic flaw have been a substantial influence in literature and mythology over the years.

While I say this, the train of thought is equally interesting, given that I started off from Jerry calling George ‘Biff’ –to Biff Loman of ‘Death of a Salesman’-to Willy Loman the anti-hero-to tragic flaw-to achilles and finally to Duryodhana.

Notes : Hamartia + Hubris + Catharsis + Epiphany +

bupkis !

Seinfeld ?! Aw, shut up, enough already.. !!

Jerry’s jewish upbringing shows. The man loves his Yiddish words, doesn’t he ?! Well, sort of like the NYC-Jewish-American inclination of the sitcom. Not all bupkis I tell you !!

Well, in 'The Glasses' (Season 5) Kramer gets the 30% discount and says George needs to just mention his name ! George does just that, goes to J&T opticals, picks up his (eh!) ladies’ frame and just when the cranked-up-sugar-freak proprietor asks for an advance, he does it. Who else cd with so much style and panache say ‘Kramer’, and that smirk on the face!!

That’s a COSTANZA special !!

No disount. Bupkis.

I cant see how I can avoid my exclamation marks when I write about Kramer or George !! Can you ?!

Enough kvetch-kvetch already , as Jerry wd put it.

Mahavakyas

Prajnanam Brahma Consciousness is Brahman. (Rig Veda : Aitareya Upanishad) Aham Brahma asmi I am Brahman. (Yajur Veda: Brihadaranyaka Upanishad) Ayam AtmA Brahma This Atman is Brahman. (Atharva Veda: Mandukya Upanishad) Tat Tvam Asi Thou art That. (Sama Veda : Chandogya Upanishad) * The mahavakyas of Hinduism pronouncing the oneness of the supreme consciousness, the eternal vibration of OM.

AUM

aum The pranava mantra, the seed syllable symbolizing the limitless vibrational whole of the cosmos. In Hindu metaphysics, it is proposed that the manifested cosmos (from Brahman) has name and form (nama-rupa), and that the closest approximation to the name and form of the universe is Aum, since all existence is fundamentally composed of vibration. This is considered by some to be remniscent of some current physical theories such as quantum physics and super string theory, which describe the universe in terms of vibrating fields or strings. A - emerges from the throat, originating in the region of the navel U - rolls over the tongue M - ends on the lips A - waking, U - dreaming, M - sleeping It is the sum and substance of all the words that can emanate from the human throat. It is the primordial fundamental sound symbolic of the Universal Absolute. In fact, when correctly pronounced, or rather, "rendered", the "A" can be felt as a vibration that manifests itself near the navel or abdomen; the "U" can be felt vibrating the chest, and the "M" vibrates the cranium or the head. The abdominal vibration symbolises Creation; It is interesting that the "creative" or reproductive organs are also located in the lower abdomen. The vibration of the chest represents Preservation, which is also where the lungs are situated (the lungs sustain or preserve the body through breath). The vibration of the head is associated with Destruction or sacrifice, since all that gives up or destroys is first destroyed mentally. Hence, the entire cycle of the universe and all it contains is said to be symbolised in AUM.

The fantastic allegory of the Vinegar Tasters

The Vinegar Tasters The fantastic allegory of the 3 different views of life and their unification. The vinegar vat symbolizing the essential ONE truth and the three tasters with their three different taste buds symbolizing the different perspectives of the ONE single truth. To Confucius, the left most, life seemed rather sour. The present was out of step with the past and things were falling into disarray. A strict order was needed. To Buddha, the one in the middle, life was bitter. All attachments and desires (symbolized by the vinegar) turned bitter in the end, and led to suffering. To Lao Tzu (or Lao-Tse), the right most, the founder of the Taoism, life is sweet. Life is sweet, once one knows the natural balance of things. The world is governed by balance, and out of balance causes sourness or bitterness. It is the knowledge of being out of balance that leads us back to the eternal balance itself. The sourness or bitterness come from unappreciative and shallow thought process of the interfering mind. The conscious understanding mind will identify the bitterness and move towards the sweetness. Once understood for what it is, the balance of life (or the vinegar), is sweet. For more on Taoism

DOF and Robotics of the Human Arm

Degrees of freedom (engineering) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia In robotics, degrees of freedom is often used to describe the number of directions that a robot can pivot or move a joint. A human arm is considered to have 7 DOF. A shoulder gives pitch, yaw and roll, an elbow allows for pitch, and a wrist allows for pitch, yaw and roll. Only 3 of those movements would be necessary to move the hand to any point in space, but people would lack the ability to grasp things from different angles or directions.

Is human evolution a matter of chance, Darwinian adaptation or Hand Of God !! Excerpts from the wikipedia link: In mechanical engineering, aeronautical engineering and robotics, degrees of freedom (DOF) describes flexibility of motion. A mechanism or linkage that has complete freedom of motion (even if only in a limited area, or envelope) has six degrees of freedom. Three modes are translation - the ability to move in each of three dimensions. Three are rotation, or the ability to change angle around three perpendicular axes. Moving up and down (heaving); moving left and right (swaying); moving forward and back (surging); tilting up and down (pitching); turning left and right (yawing); tilting side to side (rolling).

Dutch Ruins at Pangkor Island

Dutch Ruins at Pangkor Island. Fascinating old red bricks and cannon holes. And some pretty darn pretty gunpowder !! :)

Lincoln, Kennedy and Ford

Lincoln was shot at Ford's Theater. John F. Kennedy was shot in a Ford Lincoln. Gerald Ford was shot at, but they missed. Actually true, Lincoln shot in Ford theatre, Kennedy in a Ford Lincoln. Both wives dreamt assassination in advance.Both succeeded by a Johnson. No existing accounts of Gerald Ford's wife dreaming anything, nor of his succession by a Johnson (Didnt I tell you , they missed.!!) It should be noted that week before their respected shootings, President Lincoln was in Monroe, Maryland while President Kennedy was in Marylin Monroe. ;-). Where was Geral Ford? Well, mate, they missed, didnt I tell you that already !?

digital - skyscrapper

Vector Graphics in Adobe Illustrator.

sketch - hardly working

Inspired by RK Laxman !

sketch - Centre Court Scream

2B pencils

sketch - Ducati

2B pencils