- జీవితం ఆస్వాదించడం నేర్చుకో
- సంగీతం - సాహిత్యం; సరస్వతీ దేవికి రెండు కళ్ళు
- తల్లి భాషను మరువకు
- మంచి మాటలు, పాటలు వాణిజ్యానికి వ్యతిరేకం కాదు
- జీవితంలో పరుగులతో పాటు సేద తీర్చుకోవడం కూడా ఎంతో అవసరం
- తోటి వారితో ఆనందాన్ని పంచుకోవడం అలవాటు చేసుకో
- మంచి విషయాలు నెమరు వేసుకోవడం ఆరోగ్యానికి మంచిది
- వినయం ఉంటే ఆత్మవిశ్వాసం లేనట్టు కాదు
- చీకటిని తిట్టుకొనే బదులు చిన్న దీపాన్ని వెలుగించుకొనే ప్రయత్నం ఎంతో ఉత్తమం
Monday, November 19, 2012
పాడుతా తీయగా నేర్పిన పాఠాలు
Friday, May 25, 2012
Socialism vs Capitalism VS Socialism & Capitalism
I had been pondering over writing this blog for quite some time now. Let me start from an interview I read during the days of M.Sc when N R Narayanamurthy was stepping down as chairman of Infosys. He described himself as a man with capitalist mind and socialist heart; it got imprinted in my mind. Years later, I am going through the corporate life and begin to see its both faces, these words keep coming back to me; again and again.
India in my childhood was remarkably different from what I see today. The farthest corners of my own childhood memories take me to the single DD channel and the associated struggles with the Antenna on the roof top. As I grew up, I could see the channels multiply and options increase; not just in the entertainment space but in every sphere of my life. I thought it as part of growing up; I realize now it is also part of the nation's shift towards capitalism.
During the days of its prosperity everybody pointed towards USSR and said that is the way to go. Communism and/or Socialism is the right way to do things. One day the Soviet realized they had weapons to wipe the entire world but no bread to feed their people; and they dis-integrated. Then everybody looked admiringly at the United States and said this is the holy grail. But in 2008-09 the world witnessed a recession so devastating that it erased the myth, at least for me. So, now the world is in search of a new model - that is how I perceive. I was having a chat with a dear friend (and a budding economist) in these lines and he said that decisions and/or solutions should be issue/problem based and not on ideology. Allow me to quote a phrase I read in the book, "The Difficulty of Being Good" by Gurucharan Das. It too got imprinted in my mind, "If greed is the sin of capitalism, envy is the vice of socialism."
As a child I was deeply attracted to the ideals of socialism which were so captivating. But as I grew older I had glimpses of societies built on the sole principle of individualism and they did prosper. I see that today we are moving more and more towards individualism, the foundation of capitalism. But we are also growing extremely selfish and intolerant.I was raised in a joint family(we were one till 2005) with sixteen members in the family. The average family size in India is moving towoards 3 or 4 today. India did not need marriage counsellors & day care centres back then (unlike the west) but is in want of them now. I see this as a direct consequence of our increased intolerance. I feel nothing should be driven to extremes - too much greed or too less accountability; both fail. We need to find the right balance.
In the end, I realized that capitalism or socialism are not just economic models, unlike what I thought, but have huge social implications. And therefore a thorough analysis of what is best in both of them need to be absorbed and assimilated; especially at a time when India is being re-built. Let me end with what my Guru (and my God - I said my God hence don't need comments on that) Bhagawan Sri Sathya Sai Baba says, "A man must cultivate the head of Sankara, the heart of Buddha, and the hands of Janaka."
India in my childhood was remarkably different from what I see today. The farthest corners of my own childhood memories take me to the single DD channel and the associated struggles with the Antenna on the roof top. As I grew up, I could see the channels multiply and options increase; not just in the entertainment space but in every sphere of my life. I thought it as part of growing up; I realize now it is also part of the nation's shift towards capitalism.
During the days of its prosperity everybody pointed towards USSR and said that is the way to go. Communism and/or Socialism is the right way to do things. One day the Soviet realized they had weapons to wipe the entire world but no bread to feed their people; and they dis-integrated. Then everybody looked admiringly at the United States and said this is the holy grail. But in 2008-09 the world witnessed a recession so devastating that it erased the myth, at least for me. So, now the world is in search of a new model - that is how I perceive. I was having a chat with a dear friend (and a budding economist) in these lines and he said that decisions and/or solutions should be issue/problem based and not on ideology. Allow me to quote a phrase I read in the book, "The Difficulty of Being Good" by Gurucharan Das. It too got imprinted in my mind, "If greed is the sin of capitalism, envy is the vice of socialism."
As a child I was deeply attracted to the ideals of socialism which were so captivating. But as I grew older I had glimpses of societies built on the sole principle of individualism and they did prosper. I see that today we are moving more and more towards individualism, the foundation of capitalism. But we are also growing extremely selfish and intolerant.I was raised in a joint family(we were one till 2005) with sixteen members in the family. The average family size in India is moving towoards 3 or 4 today. India did not need marriage counsellors & day care centres back then (unlike the west) but is in want of them now. I see this as a direct consequence of our increased intolerance. I feel nothing should be driven to extremes - too much greed or too less accountability; both fail. We need to find the right balance.
In the end, I realized that capitalism or socialism are not just economic models, unlike what I thought, but have huge social implications. And therefore a thorough analysis of what is best in both of them need to be absorbed and assimilated; especially at a time when India is being re-built. Let me end with what my Guru (and my God - I said my God hence don't need comments on that) Bhagawan Sri Sathya Sai Baba says, "A man must cultivate the head of Sankara, the heart of Buddha, and the hands of Janaka."
Saturday, March 31, 2012
The many faces of Facebook... as I see it
"Why do I spend so much time on Facebook?"
"To be in touch with all my friends"
"Whoa! I don't know my own neighbours properly yet I stay in touch with friends separated by thousands and thousands of miles!"
"Why do I spend so much time on Facebook?"
"To be up to date with everything that goes on in the world"
"Whoa! I don't care to know what happens in my colony; don't know who is the ward councillor; don't know who is the Mayor of the city I live in. Yet, I want to know what goes in the entire world!"
"Why do I spend so much time on Facebook?"
I can wish my friends on their birthdays though I never remember any. I can share a pic, link and feel happy because people hit Like Button. I can always be at the surface of things, never need to know them deep. I can measure my popularity based on the likes and comments I get. It makes me feel important in a world that makes me feel insignificant with every passing day. It gratifies my ego. That's the key. In a world of increasing loneliness, I resort to Facebook which fills the void in the short run but ensures it in the long run.
"What do I like about Facebook?"
It connects me to people - something so true of Internet in general and FB in particular. Something so powerful that one blog will not suffice to write about it.
"What do I don't like about Facebook?"
Its rewards are inversely proportional to intellectual depth.
"To be in touch with all my friends"
"Whoa! I don't know my own neighbours properly yet I stay in touch with friends separated by thousands and thousands of miles!"
"Why do I spend so much time on Facebook?"
"To be up to date with everything that goes on in the world"
"Whoa! I don't care to know what happens in my colony; don't know who is the ward councillor; don't know who is the Mayor of the city I live in. Yet, I want to know what goes in the entire world!"
"Why do I spend so much time on Facebook?"
I can wish my friends on their birthdays though I never remember any. I can share a pic, link and feel happy because people hit Like Button. I can always be at the surface of things, never need to know them deep. I can measure my popularity based on the likes and comments I get. It makes me feel important in a world that makes me feel insignificant with every passing day. It gratifies my ego. That's the key. In a world of increasing loneliness, I resort to Facebook which fills the void in the short run but ensures it in the long run.
"What do I like about Facebook?"
It connects me to people - something so true of Internet in general and FB in particular. Something so powerful that one blog will not suffice to write about it.
"What do I don't like about Facebook?"
Its rewards are inversely proportional to intellectual depth.
Tuesday, March 20, 2012
Why I started getting interested in Natural Languages
I was, am and will be an ill-literate in fine arts. However, allow me to make a reference to music as it extremely close to my heart. I know this much that there is lot of science and engineering that lies within music(art); and I find the converse is also true. Both Science and Engineering have lot of overtones of art, in my humble opinion. A case in point is the symmetry in Maxwell's equations.
I vividly remember our English Professor repeatedly telling us, during our Undergraduate days, "Boys, English is for Life." Later on I moved from being student of Physics to Computer Science which meant transition towards Engineering from Science. And today, I repeatedly visualize that writing a good piece has as much of engineering as writing a good piece of code; one deals with natural languages and the other with that of computer. I know that there is a whole field of computer science in natural language processing but let me not digress.
As kids We (I believe I am not alone) were always told to concentrate on the Sciences - Math, Physics, Chemistry... Languages and Social Sciences were always side-lined. But today, as I look back, I feel Humanities should have been given equal importance if not more.
So, these are some of the reasons why I started getting interested in Natural(Spoken/Written) Languages(apart from the artistic ones):-
- Thoughts are infinite in nature but words are finite. However, I am not sure of the former's mathematical nature - whether the are countably infinite or uncountably infinite. One needs to arrange, re-arrange and engineer words to convey thoughts.
- Syntax and Semantics of Natural Languages are extremely fuzzy unlike that of programming languages where they are extremely precise. This is a challenge for the Computer Scientists in the field of Natural Language Processing but it makes Writers' lives very exciting.
- Thoughts can be packed in varying dosages using language. And I find it very interesting.
Friday, March 9, 2012
My Kindle and the Morning Cab
The morning cab comes at 7.30 and I get to read at least half an hour before reaching the office. This is very rejuvenating as I was deprived of reading for the first two years of my professional career. Now, I get to read when the day is young and mind fresh.
My Kindle was unused for almost a year from the time I bought it. Thanks to Project Gutenberg, I have loaded it with lots and lots of old books now. Presently I am reading lot of short stories(translated to English) from the universal poet Rabindranath Tagore. They are so good, I wonder how scintillating it would have been if I knew Bengali and could read the originals!
It has been years since I read short stories and now I am getting the glimpse of their power. In Telugu, my mother tongue, letter is called as 'Aksharam'(అక్షరం) which means 'That which can not be destroyed.' The letter is a container to put your thoughts. You can make it heavy or light in varying degrees based on the need. I think writing is also like drinking. I don't have any experience in the latter though; not that I am good at the former. You can have it like a power packed tequila or a light weighted breezer.
Going back to the blog's title, I have loaded my Kindle with works of Leo Tolstoy, another favourite of mine, and a lot of other stuff. It's getting more and more exciting!
My Kindle was unused for almost a year from the time I bought it. Thanks to Project Gutenberg, I have loaded it with lots and lots of old books now. Presently I am reading lot of short stories(translated to English) from the universal poet Rabindranath Tagore. They are so good, I wonder how scintillating it would have been if I knew Bengali and could read the originals!
It has been years since I read short stories and now I am getting the glimpse of their power. In Telugu, my mother tongue, letter is called as 'Aksharam'(అక్షరం) which means 'That which can not be destroyed.' The letter is a container to put your thoughts. You can make it heavy or light in varying degrees based on the need. I think writing is also like drinking. I don't have any experience in the latter though; not that I am good at the former. You can have it like a power packed tequila or a light weighted breezer.
Going back to the blog's title, I have loaded my Kindle with works of Leo Tolstoy, another favourite of mine, and a lot of other stuff. It's getting more and more exciting!
Sunday, February 12, 2012
Trends that irk me - I
What's wrong with our language?
Every time I hear the word "F***", I get annoyed. I feel cheap when I see the word re-spelt and put on T-shirts and there is even a brand of watches that way. It has been only two and half-years since I have been living in a city and therefore I find it very hard to digest when this word is used for all kinds of feelings - anger, excitement, shock, dissent...
I happened to visit a literary festival yesterday in Bangalore and there was a short skit that was performed. I loved the entire skit but for the last part when the son says to his mother "F*** You" more than once. I could tolerate it only because it was a play. But, what I ask is, "Is this the way you talk to a person who gave you birth?" My son will find his skull echoing with the sound of my palm colluding his cheek, if he speaks that way to his mother.(Of course I am still 27 and un-married; I am only saying how offensive I consider it)
And then people repeatedly use the expression "WTF." It only signifies frustration and exasperation; nothing more. To me it symbolizes how happy a person is with his/her life and how often is he/she getting fed up with it. It is certainly a bad symptom.The F-word is still in the vulgar category in a dictionary. It may not be long to be moved to the colloquial category but I have already missed the bus and I will continue to get irked with this word; especially when girls use it.
Now, coming to the word shit. I have found even myself using this word and have gradually reduced its usage and am trying to completely remove it from my expressions of exclamation marks. People no more call out to their mother when they get hurt; they use this word. There is this short story where a foolish wood cutter is cutting the branch on which he is sitting. Lord Shiva and Mother Parvati are going around Earth and see this.They agree that if he uses the word "Amma", Mother Parvati would go and save him. If he uses the word "Abba," it would be Lord Shiva's turn. But the wood cutter neither says Amma nor says Abba but "Shit."(modified to suit the context) So, he falls down and dies.
Every time I hear the word "F***", I get annoyed. I feel cheap when I see the word re-spelt and put on T-shirts and there is even a brand of watches that way. It has been only two and half-years since I have been living in a city and therefore I find it very hard to digest when this word is used for all kinds of feelings - anger, excitement, shock, dissent...
I happened to visit a literary festival yesterday in Bangalore and there was a short skit that was performed. I loved the entire skit but for the last part when the son says to his mother "F*** You" more than once. I could tolerate it only because it was a play. But, what I ask is, "Is this the way you talk to a person who gave you birth?" My son will find his skull echoing with the sound of my palm colluding his cheek, if he speaks that way to his mother.(Of course I am still 27 and un-married; I am only saying how offensive I consider it)
And then people repeatedly use the expression "WTF." It only signifies frustration and exasperation; nothing more. To me it symbolizes how happy a person is with his/her life and how often is he/she getting fed up with it. It is certainly a bad symptom.The F-word is still in the vulgar category in a dictionary. It may not be long to be moved to the colloquial category but I have already missed the bus and I will continue to get irked with this word; especially when girls use it.
Now, coming to the word shit. I have found even myself using this word and have gradually reduced its usage and am trying to completely remove it from my expressions of exclamation marks. People no more call out to their mother when they get hurt; they use this word. There is this short story where a foolish wood cutter is cutting the branch on which he is sitting. Lord Shiva and Mother Parvati are going around Earth and see this.They agree that if he uses the word "Amma", Mother Parvati would go and save him. If he uses the word "Abba," it would be Lord Shiva's turn. But the wood cutter neither says Amma nor says Abba but "Shit."(modified to suit the context) So, he falls down and dies.
Thursday, February 2, 2012
ఎలుకపందెం
ఎలుక పందెమా? ఇదెంటబ్బా! అని తెల్ల మొహం పెట్టకండి. Rat Race అంటే నవ్వు రావడం లేదని ఇలా అన్నాను. ఎలుక పందెం గొప్పతనం ఏమిటంటే మనం మనుషులం అన్ని మరిచిపోయేలా చేస్తుంది. అరె! ఎలుకలకు కూడా అవి ఎలుకలన్న సంగతి బాగా గుర్తుంటుంది, మనకేం పోయేకాలంమండి బాబు! పక్కోడు పరిగెడుతున్నాడని నేను, నేను దూసుకెలిపోతున్నానని నా దూరపు చుట్టం, వాడు ఏదో పొడిచేస్తున్నడనుకొని వాడి బావామరిది. ఇలా ఒకడిని చూసి ఇంకొకడు జీవితంలో ముందు చేరాలనే ఆలోచనోలో మునిగిపోయి, దిక్కులు చూడకుండా పరిగెడుతున్నామే కాని సరైన దిక్కులో పరిగెడుతున్నామా అని మాత్రం అడగటం లేదు.
ఉదాహరణకి Facebookగాడు. వీడి మూలంగా ప్రపంచంలో ఏదో ఒక మూలనుండే మిత్రులకి కూడా పుట్టినరోజు శుభాకాంక్షలు చెప్పొచ్చు. కాని పక్కింట్లో ఎవడు ఉంటున్నాడో కూడా మనకి తెలియదు. రెండో వాడు Youtubeగాడు. గంటలు తరబడి అవి ఇవి చూస్తాము కాని ఒళ్ళు వంచి సాయం సమయంలో చల్ల గాలిలో తిరగడానికి కూడా మనకి బద్దకమే!
చిన్నపుడు చాల బాగుండేది అండి. ఎండాకాలం కరెంటు కోత. ఇంట్లో దోమల వాత పడలేక మేడ పైకి ఎక్కి చుక్కలు చూస్తూ, కధలు కబురులు చెప్పుకునే వాళ్ళము. ఇప్పుడు పిల్లలంతా "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star" అని అనడమే కాకుండా వాటిని చూస్తున్నారని ఎవరైనా చెబితే మాత్రం నేను చాల సంతోషిస్తాను. ఈ ఎలుక పందెంలో పడి పిల్లలని అదేదో play schools అట! అక్కడ చేర్పిస్తున్నారు తల్లిదండ్రులు. వారం పొడుగునా పిల్లలతో గడిపే తీరిక లేక, వారాంతాలలో shopping mallల చుట్టూ తిప్పి గారాబం చేస్తారు.
చిన్నపుడు చాల బాగుండేది అండి. ఎండాకాలం కరెంటు కోత. ఇంట్లో దోమల వాత పడలేక మేడ పైకి ఎక్కి చుక్కలు చూస్తూ, కధలు కబురులు చెప్పుకునే వాళ్ళము. ఇప్పుడు పిల్లలంతా "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star" అని అనడమే కాకుండా వాటిని చూస్తున్నారని ఎవరైనా చెబితే మాత్రం నేను చాల సంతోషిస్తాను. ఈ ఎలుక పందెంలో పడి పిల్లలని అదేదో play schools అట! అక్కడ చేర్పిస్తున్నారు తల్లిదండ్రులు. వారం పొడుగునా పిల్లలతో గడిపే తీరిక లేక, వారాంతాలలో shopping mallల చుట్టూ తిప్పి గారాబం చేస్తారు.
పని రాక్షసులు కొందరు. వాళ్ళ ప్రభావం వల్ల మనకి hike రాదనుకొని ఇంకొందరు. దారుణంగా పెరుగుతున్న ధరల ధాటికి తట్టుకోలేక అందరూ. కిక్ సినిమాలో అన్నట్టుగా సంతోషంగా ఉన్న క్షణాలు వేళ్ళ మీద లెక్క పెట్టుకొనే ఖర్మేమిటండి బాబు!
ఈ ఎలుక పందెం వల్ల ఇంకోటుందండి. అమ్మ భాష అంటే చిన్న చూపు. ప్రపంచీకరణ మూలంగా అందరు ఆంగ్లం నేర్చుకోవడాన్ని నేను తప్పు పట్టను కాని మన భాషను మర్చిపోయి, పిల్లలకు నేర్పించడం మానేసి, తెలుగులో మాట్లాడితే నామోషీగా భావించడం మంచిది కానే కాదు. పోనీ అటు english అయిన సరిగా వచ్చా అంటే అదీ రాదు. రెండిటిని ఎలాబడితే అలా కలిపేసి రెండు భాషలనీ అవమానిస్తున్న వారెందరో! ఇలా చెప్పుకుంటూ పొతే తిన్నది అరిగేదాకానో, మీ చెప్పు తెగే దాకానో వెళ్ళడం ఖాయం. అందుకే ఇవ్వాల్టికి ఇది చాలు.
Tuesday, January 17, 2012
The Sugar Cane Theory
I have vivid memories of my childhood with the sugar cane. We would sit on the side parapet wall of my house, hold the large sugar cane pieces and peel the skin using teeth, take large bites, deliciously grind them in the mouth and spit the pulp after extracting all the juice. While we could do this brave act only as kids, I am told our parents generation could do it upto their late 30s and early 40s. I know it is un-imaginable and alien to the kids growing up with video games and the Internet.
My Sugar Cane theory has emerged from these cherished childhood memories. Learning during school and college is like drinking machine extracted sugar cane juice. It is everything together, without frills, neatly served, not savoured the hard way. Passing out of college is not the end of education. Rather it means that one is ready to start learning. Learning now becomes having sugar cane the traditional way. Learning is hidden in the chewing of work, hard earned. It requires one to be vigilant, learn the art of extracting and filtering learning while undergoing the grind of Job and Life. To me, learning in school/college sans exams was always fun. However, learning today has been lot more subtle and I am enjoying it in on a different plane.
My Sugar Cane theory has emerged from these cherished childhood memories. Learning during school and college is like drinking machine extracted sugar cane juice. It is everything together, without frills, neatly served, not savoured the hard way. Passing out of college is not the end of education. Rather it means that one is ready to start learning. Learning now becomes having sugar cane the traditional way. Learning is hidden in the chewing of work, hard earned. It requires one to be vigilant, learn the art of extracting and filtering learning while undergoing the grind of Job and Life. To me, learning in school/college sans exams was always fun. However, learning today has been lot more subtle and I am enjoying it in on a different plane.
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