The Devil ' I '

           Sorry everyone, I couldn't update my blog for about a month; mainly because of my laziness combined with my over hyped disinterest. I have had many things to share but donno what put be in the back stage, I wasn't up to writing. This post is something which I feel is something very important, is something our culture taught us, our dharma advocates us. It is about I.

                       Situations can mould one's character to such an extent that people change in a way one cannot imagine him to be. It might be for good or bad, God knows but I would say here about a subtle concept which could change one from “worldly and materialistic pleasures " to the ideal atonement which cannot be defined or said but felt and experienced. This may sound preachy and philosophical for many but one should also remember than one cannot always run away from these, which are those that define a being.

                                People many a times speak about the differences, the diversity or to say the indifference surrounding us, but they rarely try to give it a shot themselves. They are differences everywhere, and here comes the “Fight for Identity ". What about me? What about my position there?; everywhere I, I and I. What about we? "We" can be said in a broader scope, it has a power to encompass everyone, can include anything how unimportant you might think. It is like an ocean which humbly adds anything and can be moulded like toothpaste. How wonderful it would be if that closed, inner circle of you, your family and your friends extends to everything on this earth, how big or small, how great or subtle it might be. Where you love everyone and care without caring what it might be. Well too ideal or too difficult, but can be tried. Think of those whom you think as indifferent or mean to be ignorant and give it a shot to feel and care for them. Worth a shot .....

            You find people calling to "believe in yourself", many grope about to find what does 'yourself' mean. Here's my interpretation of it with my experience and my reasoning of it. Believing oneself is completely not in favour of one's animal 'I', which is always seeking for easy gratification, but is almost in every case against it. The devil 'I' is what you do for your own happiness, for your pleasures or to say "selfishness". It is something like "believing in others", here everything is decided already and always in favour of devil I and against spiritual. It is because it is too difficult to believe in one's self, one's self imposed moral constraints; here one has to decide every question himself.
                  Keep trying to fight and never be in a ‘chronic mania of selfishness’

Dear MOM and DAD

                                     This week for me was full of ups and downs, having updated my FB status to "Failed in almost everything this sem" to watching 2 movies back to back to celebrate the only quiz I performed moderately well this sem. Many of your inboxes and Fb notifications were filled with something like "Student-Parent Interaction" survey. The week went on worrying about the number of responses for the survey to diversifying my thought with the responses given. Here's the Integration of it.

                                                            When Kshitij presented to me the idea of survey, I felt very excited about this. Firstly, it was my first survey and I myself felt as "Karta Karma Kriya " (credit to Kshitij) of it and secondly, it was a question that was troubling me over many days. I am not being able to interact with my mom the way I used to do it in my JEE days or before. Is it same for many of others like me in IIT's or students living in hostels. I used to open up everything to my mom (except girlfreind issues) and used to share my feelings, problems. But, here I feel alienated from them. I feel they don't understand the things going over here, as they call it "generation gap" resurfacing in this context. These reasons amplified the importance of this survey to me.

                     Infi Publicity machaya, around 680 responses recoreded and Data put before my eyes (Thanks to GOOGLE!). Shock! Just 39% said the interaction with their parents decreasing over time, 51% said there's no change in it and 10% actually said it was increasing. This was contrary to my thinking, my perception was that people feel more distant from their family as years proceed. I was proved wrong here. If this was a simple mistake, see this, 28% feel comfortable to share their feelings with parents when compared to 39% with friends(bf/gf 12% and siblings 10%), that's quite comparable. This is a puncture to my Zeppelin of thought. I reconciled to my initial thinking.

                    One question asked was "Where you been on a trip with your family?", A very good question which brings many people to think. A trip with your family is a boost for our interactions with them, where we get to know more of each other even after many years of separation. I found many people telling that they are thinking of going on a trip with their family.We asked "Have you ever ditched a quiz to attend a family ceremony?" 21% said yes, they ditched a quiz. There might be many factors behind this like distance from insti, time it takes, importance of it,has there ever been an ocassion for it? blah blah blah. No one can understand everything by a simple survey with this kind of diversity but once again the purpose of question is achieved, there are many people who value them.

                                       I might have showed you the pomp of my stats. But let's get back to the debate of " Is it necessary?". If anyone understands more of us, they are our family, though we might underestimate their view of us. If anyone has a solution to every problem that we face, they are our family. They don't 'Give up' so easily like our friends do. They always add a word of love and caution. Some might argue that parents have demands which are to be met by us, say acads or  CPI or job etc and so we gradually move away from them. But from their view it is their right to expect something from their children, which they have been dreaming for many years and it is equally right for you to convince them of your plans, goals, wishes. Instead of alienating yourself from them due to differences and in the end take a step that might seriously go against their wishes. I would say interact with them and convince them gradually.

                                                 Thanks to technology and competitive telecom market for the opportunities it provided. Say low call rates, online video chatting etc there are ample of opportunities for us to interact with them. How happy your dad would feel when you say you got AA in a course, a cup in sports, an award in a cult event (may be not be true in all cases! :P), think how happy your mom would be when you say I met him, i went to diner with him, we went there, I learned this,i learned that. Think about these things.

        Well, this was an opportunity(survey) for many of us to shout out loud on this issue. So, one of them suggested he would improve interaction with parents ,in his own words " Shift IIT Bombay to Delhi "  and someone suggesting "to buy a house in powai" and many people telling the need for "insem break after mid-sems or during festival", last one seems to be a workable idea. I personally felt satisfied by this survey, it improved my confidence to increase my interactions with family, trying to be open with them and also that many people actually thought of this issue for a while(while filling survey atleast). So work on whatever that convinces you but with a sound judgement.

IDEA, INNOVATION AND NONSENSE

              It was a tough week for me. Lots of lectures, night-outs and thought provoking talk's by famous entrepreneurs. This would be a compilation of all that happened this week.

                       Firstly I am very much irritated by the fact that I am very poor in basic grammar. Whenever my roomie corrects me, I remind myself of my carelessness to English in school days. Anyway moving on, here it starts.

                                              IDEA is whatever is before the mind when  you think. You think when there is a need. And a need arises when you interact and respond to your surroundings. Some of us even me have an Idea which has a potential to change a lot around us, may get us a billion dollars or change the way of life or anything that one can think of. Even I felt few of my Ideas were radical and worth many things, but this week proved otherwise. One can be sure that with increased exposure the 'idea' that you have is the roots of a hundred other's brain cells. The only difference is the execution of the thought that matters. To be true not just execution, the rigor in which you execute your idea is most important. As you sit and think, think, think and pen down you will be left with textbooks of ideas. What matters is the way you respond to your ideas.

                                                            So folks out there just don't sit around waiting for a path breaking Idea to strike you, just start implementing those simple ones and you would know the joy and pain of it. May be one day with your hands-on experience you might have an idea and be the next Zuckerberg.

                                            Innovation- getting out something new. What does new mean here in this context? It definitely shouldn't mean  material objects like a machine or  a method to improve productivity of something as it's often perceived. It can be an idea, it can be a character in you or it can be a feeling you have. So innovating yourself gets a shape by this. It means discovering more of yourself, getting a change in way you think, the way you behave or have feelings. So guys(gals) when do you innovate? when there's is a idea. When do you get an idea? When you think and respond to your surroundings and the argument proceeds. So let's not just live without caring about anything, you are makers of your destiny. Who knows what is awaiting us.

                                          and Nonsense,     hmm.... well it is because few of you might feel what I wrote is nonsense :P. This is like "Never judge a book by it's cover" or " Never decide anything by the way they look "

THE SECRETS OF EGYPT

                     I loved reading about this in INDIAN EXPRESS, so I thought of presenting it to you all in my own way.

                                 Protest: What does it signify? How it happens? What happens ?  Political parties gather people to fight on a cause. Firstly they call for a bandh, stalling the economy for the day, send few people to shutdown the city by force if necessary, protest near the government offices or ruling party houses, holiday for children, tension for someone who has to attend an event, worry for someone about his closed means of livelihood and a festive season to loot for a theif.
                                           But, there are things which come from the people, trying to show their grievances, protesting for greater good, voluntarily calling for a non-cooperation like recent Egypt protests. What all I saw about that in news headlines was 'Thousands march to tahrir square to protest and oust the corrupt Mubarak government'     '27 killed and scores injured in protests'       ' India in an awkward situation on Egypt crisis' etc and in contrast to this I read a live account in the editorial page which describes it like this:-

                                                     It is not an ordinary protest, a diehard supporter of Mubarak, with a stone cold heart would be convinced once he speaks with the people and understands their contribution and sense of belonging to it. An Old man was bringing food and water to the supporters, shopkeeper's getting vinegar, coca-cola bottles and cloth to reduce the effect of tear gas shelves bombarded on them, police signalling their inability for action, youth trying to spread the message with social-networking sites like Facebook and Twitter, rich, old and households  caring the needs of the protestors.

                            And the strange part is, Hundreds of volunteers guarding the National Museum from Looting, an obvious outcome of a protest of this scale. Hundreds of them putting up checkposts and guarding them day and night to curb this menace. All this happening from the people, to the people. An old woman was weeping on the road, when asked, her reply was, her son was shot by the police in his throat and he is now in coma. She also adds that, the blood spilled here shouldn't go for waste. See the emotion in her words.


           A striking point of these protests is, It can be arguably said that it started by the youth, getting the message of reform spread across length and breadth of country by Facebook and Twitter being inspired by Tunisian protests. Let's hope the welfare of these people would follow the protests.

PHULENAGAR

                     "Mey Chitrakaar banna chahtah hun"    "Mey Scientist banna chahtah hun" . These were the dreams of those 2 brothers Nilesh and Dinesh, who welcomed us heartily with great enthusiasm and respect for us to their home. This happened yesterday in our Phulenagar slum visit outside IIT.

                                         The brother's enthusiasm to show what they know, their handmade crafts, hip-hop dance moves they learned, their innocent questions asking us about our home?. Wah! The burden in my heart reduced  once i was looking in to the happiness and joy in their faces. The surroundings didn't come into the picture in my mind. I was content with what I saw in the boys house.

       This is Nilesh's drawing of his favorite cartoon Ben 10, he is the one who wants to become an Artist.

                                                    My first view of the place where they lived was so bad,roads filled with plastic and waste everywhere, children playing without chappals, sewage overflowing on roads, houses so cramped and everything that you definitely wouldn't like to have in your surroundings. But this does not hinder the glow in the childrens eyes. Nilesh's eldest brother discontinued his studies after 8th standard to work, to feed his family. Dinesh wants to be a scientist, but how he gonna achieve, that is a question right now unanswered. let's hope for  better life of the brother's.

                                                              This was my first visit to a slum. It was quite shocking in two ways, one their surroundings and way of life and two their mentality. Though my interaction and knowledge their is limited, but one interesting point which I myself do not know completely is their intention to grab.
Nilesh's second eldest brother was operated due a hole in his heart, from kind donation of student's and professors of IIT Bombay. Their parents wished to payback the amount in form of dues every month, but they were heartily refused.

                           This to a surprise changed the view of our insti people to them, they began to visualise us as a way of getting money for their needs!! (needs irrelevant). From this incident we have realised that we shouldn't approach these people in an NGO way, were they give something to these people(in form of medicines, textbooks etc) which is undoubtedly exploited ( means they show to them that they do not have anything and make money out of those things by selling them) by these people. I am not offending them but they are used to such sort of life. Who is to blame? I have no answer. GRA is planning to conduct a survey of these people to know their financial, educational, social standards. Let's hope everything goes well for them and we know the truth behind the foggy picture.

INCREDIBLE INDIA

                          Firstly, I thank Jithendra and Sampath for preparing the presentation for me, without them it would be a disaster , next I thank all the listeners who have patiently listened to my long presentation on DRDO, ISRO and Indian Railways in Republic day celebrations of GRA( Group for Rural Activities) IIT BOMBAY.

                                                      Incredible India, yes it is incredible but in what way and what's the proof for it.  There may be many ways to show it but i will give you an example. Consumerism is a very good proof of India's development.. Proof ??  Here's the proof: India has been represented in various beauty pageants from 1953, but we had won just 1 title until 1991 and suddenly after liberalisation of our economy, we have had 7 titles from then in Miss Universe, Miss World, Miss Earth contests. How could Indian women get suddenly beautiful and talented? Well, this is the proof of development and it was pointed out in the talk given by Atulji in celebrations.

        One of my friends asked me, "have you written anything about the recent ruthless burning of the Additional Collector?". A few things have fallen in to place for me with this question. Atul sir explained that media points out more of negative things to increase their TRP ratings than that of good things happening around. A killing will find it's place in front page, an accident killing 10 people will, an MLA physically harassing women will, but not those which have saved many people's lives, not those laws which ensure better protection of Women, not those new infrastructure used to prevent accidents.

                             This made me to think, if such negative incidents are not properly shown and given importance, then it's like hiding the truth and showing a wrong picture of India. I asked  Mr Atul the same. His reply was spontaneous: "well that might be true to some extent, but if people do good when there is good shown to their eyes, it comes from their own heart like self-realisation rather than doing good to rectify something which is born out of desperation to change, though both give the same positive result". Wah! I was awestruck by his reply. The former is THE ultimate thing that one can achieve,willing to do good coming from your heart. The latter is a sort of a vengeance which is my present state. Until then I was sort of not liking him, but after this, I loved his view and my respect for him grew.
                                  
                                                                    This was my next question: " Sir, India is developing, right? But what about the values that we are all forgetting? ". His reply was simple and straightforward: "the negative side of what media is showing is losing those age old values that our society and family stood for, and because of this, we think that way. A point worth noting is that, once the media has shown YOGA to have become very popular all over the world, even we started following it, remembering the importance of it. It is like getting back to those values. There's good and bad happening all over, it's up to you to see that.

                     For those of you who say "Where are good people today??" the reply is " It is your problem to see, they are everywhere ".

QUESTIONS FROM WITHIN-2

                                  These are the questions that arised after my recent experiences ( refer my last post before this ), I am very much confused over the answers for them, so I am putting it here. I am begging you to comment on this ( I am serious this time!! ). I want your answers for my questions.

• What if your actions like my first incident in previous post, tends to have a negative effect?? I mean what if there are poor people waiting for some certificates, which they need for a loan, for some treatment ( not an ideal one! I would get better the next time ). This is just a example, my idealness shouldn't be a bane for many others! I am with this doubt. What if the result I expected doesn't turnout? When at all should I do such things?

•   I could do what i did ( my second incident in previous post ) possibly when I am alone or with a group of like minded people, What if I am not with them?  What if I was with my family? What if there was an urgent need and I have to loosen my pocket ? These questions kept troubling me even during that time when I was in dilemma of what to do during those incidents.

•  I love Gandhi( more after I saw Ben Kingsley's movie ), the way he sticked to his ideas always following them. I even more liked the way Dhirubhai Ambani managed things, making situations favourable to him, bending the system to match his expectations. Which is better and when?                In this context when should I refuse and when should I go along with system?

                          Many of such similar things trouble me. Please give your opinion on these, try to answer my questions. Right now I am banking on experiences of people that is everyone of you. Give it a shot guys and gals. Think.      LIVE THE WORLD   LIVE FOR THE WORLD.