The Latest China Report

If you are an economics buff then don't forget to read this latest World Bank China Report

Also here is ATLAS SHRUGGED UPDATED FOR THE CURRENT FINANCIAL CRISIS

Cheers and Happy reading !!!

Happily Single

A cloudy evening and i was standing in the PESIT campus few years back ( Back then in the first year of engineering ).One of the guys then remarked one needs three things to enjoy in bangalore, namely ,money,friends, a girlfriend.Though not in the same order.I begged to differ then and i hold the views now.A Lot has changed between then and now.

So when someone sometime back said i need to get a girl i felt a little irked.Its not that i actively keep them at bay or actively run after a few.Its just that if it happens it happens.More than that i see a lot of upside of not being in a relationship( atleast as of now )All those guys who lament about not having a girl in their life would readily benefit by reading this post.

So here we go advantages of not having a girlfriend :

1)For chocoholics ( maybe that term does not exist in the standard dictionary yet but then i see it coming ) like me you can enjoy the complete bar of choclate without having to share it with anyone.What a blissful satisfaction that is.As for alcoholics no need to worry about waking up by 12 on a sunday morning so that you don't miss the lunch date.


2)You don't have to suffer movies like Ek choti si love story and Leela in a single day.No need to miss your favourite Bond flick.No sobbing sounds from the person sitting next to you in the theatre.

3)You don't have to answer that question " Am i looking fat? "

4)You don't have to understand the differences between mauve and peach.Anything that looks decent and is ironed is fine for office, as for weekends almost anything is fine.

5)I forget my own birthday ( Believe me it has happend with me once )forget about remembering hers.How many birthdays do you remember ?

6)How could i miss this one , phone conversations are over in 30 secs flat without a girlfriend.One need not suffer forced insomnia because someone at the other end of the phone keeps on rambling.How would you feel if you had to suffer the following conversation almost everyday?


How was ur day ?

Oh it was great, i went to work, had lunch andcame back.I dreamt about you with open eyes all day long and just can't get you of my mind

So sweet !!!

hmmm ( Damn it i don't know why they use the same adjectives sweet and cute for you as well as the dog next door )

So what did you have for lunch ?

Roti,sabji,dal and rice.

Same same , i also had that.So nice na we had the same thing.

Yes so nice ( As if i give a damn, i just had something because i had to have something to fill my stomach and get back to work)

U know what i saw a new dress today, it was similar to the one we saw last weekend in forum.But this one is a baby pink the exact shade that i wanted.

Thats great ( As if i understand the difference between baby pink and adult pink )

So when r u buying me that? After all our anniversary is approaching ...

he he , is it? ( i don't know what day of the month it is today )

And then this goes on and on for hours before you drop dead with sleep.


7)You need not worry about whether u r shaved or not (atleast not on the weekend )If you are a smoker then no worries about smelling bad.

8)Two pairs of shoes are more than enough.You can have food at the roadside dhaba or at ebony whereever you wish.Looking for eye tonic is not a sin!!!

So to all those who rave and rant about being single especially guys, it is not all that bad.Please get a life get a hobby.If it has to happen then it will.Life is not sad or boring or any of those dumb adjectives without being in a relationship.

G7 at its vaguest best

Well i hardly ever find any of these big organizations coming out with definite concrete statements that can give the commonman hope.But this time in the middle of the financial crisis G7 has come up with the most vague statements of all times.Is this what they call action plan?Read on ...

The G-7 agrees today that the current situation calls for urgent and exceptional action. We commit to continue working together to stabilize financial markets and restore the flow of credit, to support global economic growth. We agree to:

1)Take decisive action and use all available tools to support systemically important financial institutions and prevent their failure.
2)Take all necessary steps to unfreeze credit and money markets and ensure that banks and other financial institutions have broad access to liquidity and funding.
3)Ensure that our banks and other major financial intermediaries, as needed, can raise capital from public as well as private sources, in sufficient amounts to re-establish confidence and permit them to continue lending to households and businesses.
4)Ensure that our respective national deposit insurance and guarantee programs are robust and consistent so that our retail depositors will continue to have confidence in the safety of their deposits.
5)Take action, where appropriate, to restart the secondary markets for mortgages and other securitized assets. Accurate valuation and transparent disclosure of assets and consistent implementation of high quality accounting standards are necessary.


The actions should be taken in ways that protect taxpayers and avoid potentially damaging effects on other countries. We will use macroeconomic policy tools as necessary and appropriate. We strongly support the IMF's critical role in assisting countries affected by this turmoil. We will accelerate full implementation of the Financial Stability Forum recommendations and we are committed to the pressing need for reform of the financial system. We will strengthen further our cooperation and work with others to accomplish this plan.

So this is what they have to dish out at the high table.Or are they too, as clueless as any one of us?

Translating it into laymen terms it looks something like this:

1)We will do something about it.
2)We will also do somehting else about it.
3)We will give banks and other financial institutions money.
4)We will give more money to other guys as well.
5)Keep your fingers crossed and hope for the best.


Hats off to these great men and women...

English

Coleridge said " Language is the armory of the human mind, and at once contains the trophies of its past and the weapons of its future conquests." I for one can't agree more.
Some time back was going through the answer copy of this cousin of mine (history paper)which brought back all the memories of school days.Now history is one subject that most of us despise.My cousin is no different.I for one did not exactly hate the subject but did not like the way it was taught.A lot of emphasis was put on unnecessary things(when did someone die? give the exact dates,who cares man)A lot of other things like strategy,decision making and its implications,social trends,understanding of human actions never seemed to be on the radar of the history teacher.This irks me a lot just like it did then.

Thus i never studied for the exams atleast for those monthly tests but still came out with flying colours.The secret as Coleridge mentioned was language.I will explain how.Say suppose you had to say one king attacked another and one of them won the battle.A truly classic way of saying that would be something like this:

"The king sent his platoon of trained,legalised human slaughterers across the border.This sudden charge of the killing machines took the state by surprise.Before they could wake up from their sleep they found themselves sent to sleep forever."

No need for the details,if you want to further spice it up add some commentary about the scenic battle ground and all the gory scenes aka 300 style.Now my beloved history teacher never had a good grasp of language and thought i was one of the real intellectual types.So without much ado I landed up getting the highest marks all the time.

I specifically remember Mrs Biswas( my english teacher )who threatened to fail me if i did not stop writing the way i did.I would not say hairstyle,instead i had to say coiffure.I would not say old man or even greying man instead i had to say methuselah(this is one word which even a lot of english teachers are not able to fathom at first glance)

In college too this tool of using the language creatively has helped me infinite number of times.One subject in particular was MIS.Now though i had not bought the book before the first class test i did know something about the subject( thanks to Business world and other magazines that i have been following since i don't know when )That paper was so full of quotes that i was sure of flunking that exam. Instead came out with the highest.( something like 47-48 out of 50 that too when half the class had failed after studying )One quote which i still remember in particular was "Information is like sand in the beach house,it gets in anywhere and everywhere."

So i guess learning language is not all that bad,as made out by some of the quant jocks.Infact it has stood me in good stead in difficult times in exams,debates,one to one interactions and at workplace.

Say you had to say you are a vegetarian,what would you say? i am a veggie.Nah does not sound nice.How about saying i do not eat fish,flesh or fowl.What if you are pissed of with the btm traffic and all the pollution in the world.Simple, i live in a tiny,overpopulate,suburb of the universe called earth.:)


Last but not the least " The tongue is but three inches long, yet it can kill a man six feet high."

Cheers !!!
I speak two languages, Body and English.

Rock ON

Childhood is definitly one of the most precious moments of our lives.We never realize that as children but then as grown up members of the society we sure miss those days.What great time we used to have on holidays!!And now it so happens that definitions of holiday to me means those days when there are few souls in the office and i for one is surely one among them...

Most of us would have seen the movie Rock on by now.If not then i would ask you to do so.It's one hell of a movie.Met Pranji today, and he gave a very succient definition of life.We say move on, don't carry the baggage.From now on don't just move on but rather move on and ROCK ON !!!

Cheers!!!

Random Thoughts ...

"Rain rain come again little johnny wants to play ...", is what we used to sing as children.Now a days i seem to be singing "Rain rain go away,little johnny wants his clothes today (dried and ironed)"As Dilbert says "If something has to go wrong,it will."It won't rain for days and then suddenly one day when the clothes are washed and left out to dry GOD decides to cry...

I was recently reading one of my friend's blog who had dedicated ten posts in a row to her beloved partner since their anniversary was approaching. She wrote of 10 qualities in the guy which makes him so special to her in those posts. Nice,touchy and lovely use all the adjectives one wants to use.I guess she is head over heels in love with this fellow.Good for both of them and i wish them all the luck.But just then it got my grey cells buzzing with activity.What exactly is love,have had my fair share of smiles and sweet kisses,trials and tirades of this thing called love.But yet i somehow fail to understand all this.Have seen to many valentine day couples not even greeting one another after a year and behaving as total strangers when they encounter one another at a common friend's party.Do we learn from our mistakes or is life and relationships in today's age where hymen and not hearts are broken to ephemeral to ponder over these.I guess i would try writing a dedicated post on how and why relationships don't work ( sounds very mechanical ) but something of that sort.

Now this one is a killer,have this new juno in office,lets call him X.X had to schedule a meeting with participants coming from various timezones.So i happened to ask him at what time he would schedule it so that it's convenient for everyone.In the process i discovered he is completely unaware about this worldy wisdom on time and timezones.After all he has had all the time in the world all these years.So i decided to educate him.Here is a piece of the conversation:

Me:How much time does earth take to revolve around the sun?

X:How can we know that !!!

Me(Astonished): What???Dude what is the difference between rotation and revolution?

X is speechless,wondering from where on earth have i come and why am i talking greek and latin.
Me:So why do you think it's day here when it's night in US? Why are there these different timezones?
Now the answers that i got were complete killers.Here it goes

X:God decided that (Pause) hmmm... NO USA decided to keep it like this.A long pause
Don't ask me these social science questions it was not there in my syllabus.

Shocked and aghast, another colleague and me introduced him to this thingz called Google, asked him to draw from our collective wisdom as a society form Wiki and had the best laugh of our lives.

Cheers !!!

Must Watch Documentaries

Hi,

Check out the following documentaries.They are on varied subjects and provide an interesting insight into things.

1)Slow Poisoning of India
2)The fog of War
3)Enron-The smartest guys in the room
4)Super Size Me
5)The Corporation
6)The journey of Man

Enjoy !!!

Classic Insults

Some smart insults.An era in English language when everything was not expressed in terms of the four letters (f***)

The exchange between Churchill & Lady Astor:
She said, “If you were my husband I’d give you poison,” and he said, “If you were my wife, I’d drink it.”

A member of Parliament to Disraeli:
“Sir, you will either die on the gallows or of some unspeakable disease.”
“That depends, Sir,” said Disraeli, “whether I embrace your policies or your mistress.”

“He had delusions of adequacy.” Walter Kerr

“He has all the virtues I dislike and none of the vices I admire.” Winston Churchill

“A modest little person, with much to be modest about.” Winston Churchill

“I have never killed a man, but I have read many obituaries with great pleasure.” Clarence Darrow

“He has never been known to use a word that might send a reader to the dictionary.” William Faulkner (about Ernest Hemingway).

“Poor Faulkner. Does he really think big emotions come from big words?” Ernest Hemingway (about William Faulkner)

“Thank you for sending me a copy of your book; I’ll waste no time reading it.” Moses Hadas

“He can compress the most words into the smallest idea of any man I know.” Abraham Lincoln

“I didn’t attend the funeral, but I sent a nice letter saying I approved of it.” Mark Twain

“He has no enemies, but is intensely disliked by his friends.” Oscar Wilde

“I am enclosing two tickets to the first night of my new play; bring a friend…. if you have one.” George Bernard Shaw to Winston Churchill

“Cannot possibly attend first night, will attend second… if there is one.” Winston Churchill, in response.

“I feel so miserable without you; it’s almost like having you here.” Stephen Bishop

“He is a self-made man and worships his creator.” John Bright

“I’ve just learned about his illness. Let’s hope it’s nothing trivial.” Irvin S. Cobb

“He is not only dull himself, he is the cause of dullness in others.” Samuel Johnson

“He is simply a shiver looking for a spine to run up.” Paul Keating

“There’s nothing wrong with you that reincarnation won’t cure.” Jack E. Leonard

“He has the attention span of a lightning bolt.” Robert Redford

“They never open their mouths without subtracting from the sum of human knowledge.” Thomas Brackett Reed

“In order to avoid being called a flirt, she always yielded easily.” Charles, Count Talleyrand

“He loves nature in spite of what it did to him.” Forrest Tucker

“Why do you sit there looking like an envelope without any address on it?” Mark Twain

“His mother should have thrown him away and kept the stork.” Mae West

“Some cause happiness wherever they go; others, whenever they go.” Oscar Wilde

“He uses statistics as a drunken man uses lamp-posts… for support rather than illumination.” Andrew Lang (1844-1912)

“He has Van Gogh’s ear for music.” Billy Wilder

“I’ve had a perfectly wonderful evening. But this wasn’t it.” Groucho Marx

Definitions

Hi , it has been long since i wrote something.Well not any dearth of thoughts but then just didn't find any time.There has been a lot of interesting reading that i have done of late.One book, i swear, that everyone must read is "The selfish gene" by Richard Dawkins.Will write more about it in a post dedicated to it sometime later.For now what i can say is this book will change the way you see things forever!!!
By swear , i remember this ( swear ) , finally research shows that swearing is good at work place.Now this is what i have been saying all along ( Warning : At your own risk :) and too much of anything is bad )

Finally, now this one is special.Most of us would be aware that in US presidential elections are approaching and there are reams of newspaper print saying who will come to power and why,what will be good for India and why , bla bla bla ...Lot of friends have been giving their so called expert opinions.So i decided to do a small test.Ask them the definitions of Liberals and Conservatives.I mean dictionary definitions ( i hear you saying wht the hell , wht other definition can be there )Well most of us would agree as per any standard dictionary,
Conservative: A person who is reluctant to accept changes and new ideas
Liberal:Showing or characterized by broad-mindedness

So then what would a Conservative and Liberal party mean ? If you are forming any notions on the basis of the above definitions , then without further delay let me tell you that you are making a grave mistake.In political parlance a Conservative party or CONSERVATIVES - believe in personal responsibility, limited government, free markets, individual liberty, traditional American values and a strong national defense. They firmly believe the role of government should be to provide people the freedom necessary to pursue their own goals.Conservative policies generally emphasize empowerment of the individual to solve problems.

On the other hand Liberal party or Liberals believe in governmental action to achieve equal opportunity and equality for all, and that it is the duty of the State to alleviate social ills and to protect civil liberties and individual and human rights. Believe the role of the government should be to guarantee that no one is in need.Liberal policies generally emphasize the need for the government to solve people’s problems.

So there you see the difference between the dictionary definition and political use of these two terms.Next time be careful when a social networking site ( Orkut / Facebook ) asks about your political views.

Wall Street and V for Vendetta

Wall street is one movie that inspires me everytime i see it,watched it the Nth time last night.Here is one of the most wonderful and diplomatic speech by Gekko(Michael Douglas) :

INT. HOTEL BALLROOM - DAY
The annual Teldar Paper stockholders' meeting is in session: 400 stockholders are there -- many middle aged and older, one bag lady. Cromwell sits on an elevated platform at the front of the room surrounded by an army of bulky EXECUTIVES, none of them weighing less than 200 pounds, ACCOUNTANTS and LAWYERS. Gekko in contrast seems like Robin Hood seated with Alex, Harold, Bud and the other stockholders. Cromwell is delivering his prepared attack on Gekko in a highly sarcastic, gruff manner. CROMWELL ...Your company, ladies and gentlemen, is under siege from Gordon Gekko. Teldar Paper is now leveraged to the hilt, like some piss poor South American country...instead of using our cash to build plants, build our business, all this man really wants is to get paid to withdraw his tender offer and that will cost us approximately another $200 million in greenmail which will be passed on to the consumer...
Gekko seething, jumps up.
GEKKO Where do you get off speaking about me like that, making remarks to the press, I resent these remarks, I demand the right to speak.
CROMWELL Sit down, sir, you're out of order, haven't you done enough damage to Teldar as it is?...have you no sense of decency? (to shareholders) How can your management...
Gekko is urged to sit down by his people but we hear various catcalls, "Let the man speak!" "Sit down, Gekko!"
CROMWELL (CONT'D) ...concentrate on long term growth when we're busy fighting the get- rich-quick, short term profit, slot machine mentality of Wall Street when we should be fighting Japan! The original fundamental reason for Wall Street was to capitalize American business, underwrite new business, build companies, build America. The "deal" has now succeeded goods and services as America's gross national product and in the process, we are undermining our foundation. This cancer is called "greed". Greed and speculation have replaced long-term investment. Corporations are being taken apart like erector sets, without any consideration of the public good. I strongly recommend you to see through Mr. Gekko's shameless intention here to strip this company and severely penalize the stockholders. I strongly recommend you to reject his tender by voting for management's restructuring of the stock.
CUT TO:
Gekko is now at floor level with a microphone. He's calmer, makes his pitch to the stockholders, looking up at the management.
GEKKO ...I appreciate the chance you're giving me, Mr. Cromwell, as the single largest stockholder in Teldar, to speak. (gets some laughter and applause, loosens) On the way here today I saw a bumper sticker. It said, "Life is a bitch... then you die". (gets another laugh) ...well ladies and gentlemen, we're not here to indulge in fantasies, but in political and economic reality. America has become a second rate power. Our trade deficit and fiscal deficit are at nightmare proportions. In the days of the 'free market' when our country was a top industrial power, there was accountability to the shareholders. The Carnegies, the Mellons, the man who built this industrial empire, made sure of it because it was their money at stake. Today management has no stake in the company. Altogether these guys sitting up there own a total of less than 3% and where does Mr. Cromwell put his million dollar salary? Certainly not in Teldar stock, he owns less than 1%. You own Teldar Paper, the stockholders, and you are being royally screwed over by these bureaucrats with their steak lunches, golf and hunting trips, corporate jets, and golden parachutes! Teldar Paper has 33 different vice presidents each earning over $200,000 a year. I spent two months analyzing what these guys did and I still can't figure it out. (a big laugh)
Cromwell is pissed.
CROMWELL This is an outrage Gekko! You're full of shit!
GEKKO One thing I do know is this paper company lost $110 million last year, and I'd bet half of that is in the paperwork going back and forth between all the vice presidents... (increased laughter, he's getting them) The new law of evolution in corporate America seems to be 'survival of the unfittest'. Well in my book, you either do it right or you get eliminated. Teldar Paper is doomed to fail. Its diversification into casualty insurance has not worked. Its crown jewels are its trees, the rest is dross. Through wars, depressions, inflations and deterioration of paper money, trees have always kept their value, but Teldar is chopping them all down. Forests are perishable, forest rights are as important as human rights to this planet, and all the illusory Maginot lines, scorched earth tactics, proxy fights, poison pills, etc. that Mr. Cromwell is going to come up with to prevent people like me from buying Teldar Paper are doomed to fail because the bottom line, ladies and gentlemen, as you very well know, is the only way to stay strong is to create value, that's why you buy stock, to have it go up. If there's any other reason, I've never hear it. (laughter) That's all I'm saying...it's you people who own this company, not them, they work for you and they've done a lousy job of it. Get rid of them fast, before you all get sick and die. I may be an opportunist, but if these clowns did a better job, I'd be out of work. In the last seven deals I've been in, there were 2.3 million stockholders that actually made a pretax profit of $12 billion. When I bought the Ixtlan Corporation it was in the exact same position Teldar is today -- I turned three of its companies private and I sold four others -- and each of these companies, liberated from the suffering conglomerate has prospered. I am not a destroyer of companies, I am a liberator of them. The point is, ladies and gentlemen, greed is good. Greed works, greed is right. Greed clarifies, cuts through, and captures the essence of the evolutionary spirit. Greed in all its forms, greed for life, money, love, knowledge, has marked the upward surge of mankind -- and greed, mark my words -- will save not only Teldar Paper but that other malfunctioning corporation called the USA...Thank you.


Also here is one from V for Vendetta :

Evey: Who are you?
V. : Who? Who is but the form following the function of what and what I am is a man in a mask.
Evey: Well I can see that.
V. : Of course you can, I’m not questioning your powers of observation, I’m merely remarking upon the paradox of asking a masked man who he is.
Evey: Oh, right.
V. : But on this most auspicious of nights, permit me then, in lieu of the more commonplace soubriquet, to suggest the character of this dramatis persona. Voila! In view humble vaudevillian veteran, cast vicariously as both victim and villain by the vicissitudes of fate. This visage, no mere veneer of vanity, is a vestige of the “vox populi” now vacant, vanished. However, this valorous visitation of a bygone vexation stands vivified, and has vowed to vanquish these venal and virulent vermin, van guarding vice and vouchsafing the violently vicious and voracious violation of volition.The only verdict is vengeance; a vendetta, held as a votive not in vain, for the value and veracity of such shall one day vindicate the vigilant and the virtuous.Verily this vichyssoise of verbiage veers most verbose, so let me simply add that it’s my very good honour to meet you and you may call me V.
Evey: Are you like a crazy person?
V. : I’m quite sure they will say so.
Remember remember the fifth of NovemberGunpowder, treason and plot.I know of no reason why gunpowder, treasonShould ever be forgot…

This one from V for Vendetta is just too good, i dont know how but somehow i need to pen my own version of something similar with another alphabet ...

Biz...

It was the usual shortened weekend with me working on Saturday, had lot of mundane work for Sunday (getting the bike serviced, laundry bla bla bla) Evening met up with Rakesh (aka rocky, he still is the good old rocky) and we went to CCD (Am tired of going to ccd and barista and that coffee shop in kormangla with all the board games, I keep forgetting the name) Caught up after a long time paid some two hundred odd for some 1 hour of sitting space, bad music and ok coffee) Neither me nor he bat an eyelid when giving out those 2 printouts of the Father of our Nation ( no puns or offence intended ) Now to cut all the bakad while coming back our bike's tyre went flat and with some luck we got hold of a roadside mechanic and got the tube replaced (no other choice our bike mistry was not in a mood to mend the tube) All said and done when he asked for 50 bucks as labor charge for his work we did not agree, haggled and paid him twenty)Some points to ponder over :
1)What is the exact net worth for his work? It was 10 in the night, he had to slog hard to procure the new tube (though I definitely feel that it is not original), had to leave his dinner in the middle.
2) Could he not have charged us more if his shop was little more polished, his manners more courteous and sophisticated.

We did not mind paying 200 bucks in coffee day but 50 to him was a strict no no. The difference that I see is of service. CCD served coffee but more than that it sold a service (comfortable sitting, music, smiling staff, fancy lights etc etc) an experience of enjoying that coffee. On the other hand our dear old Hamid (that’s the mechanic's name) did sell the tube to me but in terms of service he sold nothing (did not leverage on the fact that it was late in the night and I did not have too many options near by, always wore that rough look and that stiff upper lip would give any brit a run for his money, no smooth talk and the appearance of his shop did not give much confidence either). There is not much in terms of money that these roadside mechanics and pan shops need to invest but a lot more on the service front. Our dear old leaders of the left who spend much time shouting slogans against MNC's and globalization can maybe give a thought to this and impart the necessary lessons to the poor. This would help them survive and prosper something that no amount of subsidy can. Entrepreneurship is not just about iims and dotcoms; it’s about the common man. What i am afraid of is without the right skill set our dear Hamid will not be able to survive for long. Ten years from now that kind of shop will not be able to exist because some smart operator will come and start selling the service instead of just the tube and people will go all out and give him an extra buck just because he gives you a wide welcome smile, looks neat, looks respectable, genuine and is certified. Cynics may say that’s not possible, I just have one question for them how many of them would have predicted that we will not mind giving 100 bucks for a cup of coffee 10 years ago?

Medical Certificate

I came across this in one of the forward mails and I strongly recommend that everybody should get it signed by his or her doctor
Certified that Mr. /Miss ____________ _____ , working in your organization, is suffering from ‘time-bound’ illness. Due to this, he will NOT be able to work more than 8 hours a day and 5 days a week.
Any attempt to stretch beyond this timing will lead to severe health problems. The losses to the company due to medical reimbursements will be far more compared to the gains made by stretching beyond 8 hours.
It is also warned to keep my patient away from any kind of shocking news such as “Come over weekend..”, “Let’s work on holiday..”, “Leave cannot be granted” etc. which can directly lead to heart strokes.
In view of the above, it is strongly recommended to adjust your deadlines in accordance with the convenience of my patient.
Sd/-Dr. ImpatientCyber Clinic

Food for Thought

1)We need to distinguish between a slash which divides and a hyphen which unites even when it divides.

2)A bird does not sing a song because it has an answer.It sings because it has a song.

3)There are two perfect men,one dead the other unborn.

4)The reason most people fail instead of succeed is because they trade what they really want most for what they want most at the moment.

5)Heart has its reasons which reasons don't understand.

6)It is easy to open a business but it is difficult to keep it open.

7)Life is a disease and the only difference between one man and another is the stage of the disease at which he lives.

Tamso ma jyotir gamaya

Asato ma sat gamaya

Tamso ma jyotir gamaya

Mrityor ma amritam gamaya

The lines have been taken from Brhadaranayaka Upanishad, the first time i came across them were on my school emblem and it has fascinated me ever since.Thats the simple reason why i chose it for my blog's name.

'sat' means truth and 'asat' therefore means false; 'gamaya' means 'to go' or 'to lead'; 'tamaso' is darkness; 'jyoti' means light; 'mrityu' means death; 'amrit' means immortality.So the lines basically mean:

Lead me from the false to the real

From darkness to light

And from stagnation to the ever vibrant action and living.

Recently i was reading this book named Argumentative India which had this lovely poem by Rabindranath Tagore .

Where the mind is without fear and the head is held high

Where knowledge is free

Where the world has not been broken up into fragments

By narrow domestic walls

Where words come out from the depth of truth

Where tireless striving stretches its arms towards perfection

Where the clear stream of reason has not lost its way

Into the dreary desert sand of dead habit

Where the mind is led forward by thee

Into ever-widening thought and action

Into that heaven of freedom, my Father, let my country awake.

This too echoes the very same concept of moving from darkness towards light.

In the same vein we also have a song from Kishore Kumar target="_blank" rel="nofollow">"Aa Chal Ke Tujhe Mein Lai Ke Chalu ..."

Science VS Religion

I was coming out of the pathology lab after giving my blood samples when i came across this man worshipping a model of clay, with a baby by its side crying aloud .The child looked famished and was crying for food .The man in tattered clothes offered a banana to the clay model and chanted some hymns .Once he was done with his prayers i approached him and asked why he did not feed the child and apt came the reply, " Sir i am poor and i don’t have any money to feed the child." I was still wondering could he not have given that banana to that child instead of offering it to GOD.

Ever since then i have been wondering about the conflict between Religion and Science .It has been an age old debate with both the sides vehemently pushing their case .Now lets look at the Hindu Religious system and try to decipher if we can get some message out of it .Hinduism is one religion which has number of Gods and Goddesses all equally worshipped and respected .Also one GOD too can have many different avatars Lord Krishna being a case in point.

How does this fare in scientific light? Science says we have different forms of energy sun, wind ,mechanical ,chemical etc . Also energy can neither be created nor destroyed and the various forms can be transferred and transformed from one form to another. Is then not this energy similar to our Gods? They too can’t be created or destroyed and there are various forms of them too. Also is not the divine form manifestation of energy itself?

So science and religion are trying to point to the same thing but in different ways .One may call it energy someone else may call it GOD.