Wednesday, January 26, 2011
Wednesday, December 15, 2010
Keeping with the times
I know its not fair, and I know it hurts. But it got to be done. I didn't want to and I wished I didn't have to. But growing up is all about making hard decisions.
I never thought I would have to bid it farewell, but I need to keep with the times, not grow old and therefore I'm making this painful decision to say bye to blogger and hello to tumblr.
For all those who've been reading me, or interested in what's been up - akshita.tumblr.com is where you'll find it all. Its a lot more casual and I'm incredibly regular.
I'm sure I'll miss my blog here and I won't be surprised if I come back here to share with it...
akshita.tumblr.com Yay :)
I never thought I would have to bid it farewell, but I need to keep with the times, not grow old and therefore I'm making this painful decision to say bye to blogger and hello to tumblr.
For all those who've been reading me, or interested in what's been up - akshita.tumblr.com is where you'll find it all. Its a lot more casual and I'm incredibly regular.
I'm sure I'll miss my blog here and I won't be surprised if I come back here to share with it...
akshita.tumblr.com Yay :)
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
A so-called summer in San Fran
Let me start with a short background. I am working in SF, in the ghetto to say the very least, where drug addicts roam and homeless people sleep. I live in a house in a predominantly residential area with a little nightclub nearby called "Tropi-Gala" that plays some sweet and challenging Latino beats. After a month in this queer place, where anything goes and nerdy is the new black, I have a few observations I thought would be fun to share.
The caltrain be DAMNED. And I am serious. To get from a "city" that's 10 miles from another "city", there is ONE train that comes ONCE and hour. So yes, if you miss it. You wait. For an hour. At a Mcd. And consume a 600 calorie fries box. Hellz yeah. And to make things better, the cost of the ticket is by zone. To go from the last stop of zone 2 to first stop of zone 3 costs $4.50! So I have paid $4.50 for a 3 minute caltrain ride. I could have walked there!
1. The TV conundrum.
Last week, while looking desperately for parking for my car, I saw this guy drive up, take the spot I was vying for, get out of the car with a TV, leave it on the street and drive off. For fear of a bomb attack, I chose to not park my car in that spot and parked elsewhere. The next morning, I returned to the same street to find the TV still waiting there. Funnily enough, a week later I saw two TV sets just lying on the street, back to back, with no apparent purpose! I am not sure why this happens, or if its a common practice but apparently its a done deal!!
2. Street Cleaning
Those familiar with some parts of the city might remember this nightmare. Every street has a certain date and time when the street is cleaned. During this, generally 2-3 hour period, cars cannot be parked on the street. Since there is a perpetual dearth of parking spots after 6pm, the only streets that have any empty spots are the ones with street cleaning the next morning. So for a WHOLE WEEK, the only place I could park my car was streets like those. So every morning, I kicked my ass out of bed at 8.30am to find and re-park my car in a less tow-able area. It is brutal to have to have to wake up EVERY morning and waste fuel, battery and energy REPARKING your car!
3. Homeless People
They are a phenomenon. its a lifestyle. They wear their hair a certain way, flaunt their style with pride. There is an unsaid competition between the homeless people on who can come up with the most innovative money grabbing techniques. These guys will make posters, write cool notes, sing songs, dance, juggle balls. just about ANYTHING. There was this one lady on the sidewalk, who'd made a life-size poster with a lot of unusual comments written on it. She held it and sang and shook every single day from 9 am to 1am . She even had a chair, just in case she got tired. This is the modern day beggar. Innovative, with a chair!
4. Supersize me
Oh yes. I used to wonder, HOW does somebody eat 1500 calories in one meal from the comfort of my stingy singaporean portions, where you have to pay 50c for an extra grain of rice. These people really lay it on THICK. Weight Watchers says, "If you want to lose even a gram of fat, don't finish your meal. Carry a doggie bag wherever you go" Hell, yeah. If I ate more than a meal a day, i'd be consuming atleast 2500 calories. This is leaving out coffee, beer or cookies, the staple free food you get at events. No wonder Americans need to book 2 seats on an aeroplane. And alas, the healthiest meal costs the most. You can get a 1000 calorie meal for $4 but for a good 600 calorie pasta, you must pay atleast $15
5. Public Transport Hell
The caltrain be DAMNED. And I am serious. To get from a "city" that's 10 miles from another "city", there is ONE train that comes ONCE and hour. So yes, if you miss it. You wait. For an hour. At a Mcd. And consume a 600 calorie fries box. Hellz yeah. And to make things better, the cost of the ticket is by zone. To go from the last stop of zone 2 to first stop of zone 3 costs $4.50! So I have paid $4.50 for a 3 minute caltrain ride. I could have walked there!
Monday, June 28, 2010
Do feminists wear make-up?
For the longest time I believed that feminism was about being as gender neutral as possible. A true feminist would be strong, masculine and shed her stupid girly traits. It was demeaning to dress up, wear frills and put on make-up. I truly believed that the mark of a perfect feminist was one who wouldn't shed a tear, come what may.
And one day, it hit me. I beg an to think truly about what feminism really meant to me. Was it being equal to a man, being able to step into his shoes and carry your bags, open your doors and pay all your bills? But if awoman were to try so hard to be like a man was it not belittling her own self?
Women are made the way they are to serve their evolutionary purpose - nursing, child - rearing etc. To do these, carrying heavy objects was not a pre-requisite. Heavy lifting was left to the men, and rightfully so. After all, they were the ones hunting, bringing home the food. In this scenario, its more than fitting that women are more sensitive to their needs and the needs of others around them, more attuned to their emotions and that of others, more empathetic and a whole host of qualities that come with their role in society way back in the cavemen days.
Granted that today a lot of these functions are redundant - technology has stepped in and filled the shoes of both men and women in so many different ways! That said, somethings are better left to women and some to men.
Back to my original train of thought, if the case is that women and men are supposed to serve a different role in society even today, why is it that women strive so hard to be equal to men. Why do they need to be equal. Equivalent, yes. But not equal. By equivalent I mean "Equal Pay and Equal Respect for Equal Work." Something that even today is not
Think about every thing that is considered girly or feminine, and think about every big female leader : Margaret Thatcher - She was the epitome of stone-heartedness. Fondly called the IRON LADY, a name that screams all that is not feminine in the world. Indra Nooyi - sporting a short bob and manly suits, nobody recognizes an ounce of femininity in her demeanour. It is saddening that women have to shirk off all the qualities that make them female to be taken seriously at a male-dominated role.
There is a massive need in the world to embrace female qualities as potential strengths and for women to not be apologetic of themselves. Isn't that the height of un-feminism?
In my opinion, feminism is to be shamelessly female. To take 2 hours to get dressed, spend an hour on your hair, to cry when a movie's sad, to eject high-pitched sounds when excited and to be emo when something or somebody hurts you are part and parcel about being a women. These things do not define us, but they come with the territory. So why apologize, why shirk? Accept, embrace and just be yourself! That's what being a feminist is all about.
In my opinion, feminism is to be shamelessly female. To take 2 hours to get dressed, spend an hour on your hair, to cry when a movie's sad, to eject high-pitched sounds when excited and to be emo when something or somebody hurts you are part and parcel about being a women. These things do not define us, but they come with the territory. So why apologize, why shirk? Accept, embrace and just be yourself! That's what being a feminist is all about.
21st Century Slavery
House. One Tree Hill. True Blood. Heroes.
It scares me how much of my life is influenced by the TV shows I watch. The undiscriminating watcher of mind-numbing shows that I am, I have one too many times allowed major life decisions to be dictated by the frame of mind that a TV show puts me into.
My perpetual craving for some form of drama, most often satisfied by subconsciously envisioning myself as the protagonist of the said show, has led to far too many mess-ups and hindsight regrets.
What really gets to me the most is the ease with these shows can alter my frame of mind and my philosophy and morals. It takes almost nothing to leave me more than mildly shaken about what I'm really all about.
Giving up is not an option. Try as I might, they find me + haunt me = I'm stuck again, slave to the show.
It scares me how much of my life is influenced by the TV shows I watch. The undiscriminating watcher of mind-numbing shows that I am, I have one too many times allowed major life decisions to be dictated by the frame of mind that a TV show puts me into.
My perpetual craving for some form of drama, most often satisfied by subconsciously envisioning myself as the protagonist of the said show, has led to far too many mess-ups and hindsight regrets.
What really gets to me the most is the ease with these shows can alter my frame of mind and my philosophy and morals. It takes almost nothing to leave me more than mildly shaken about what I'm really all about.
Giving up is not an option. Try as I might, they find me + haunt me = I'm stuck again, slave to the show.
Monday, June 7, 2010
No we didn't table the chair !
One week of chair-dom at the SMUN United Nations Security Council was an interesting experience, to say the very least. Over and above the eternal cliche of standing on the other side of the table, the opportunity offered a plethora of lessons to the novice that I was a mere 10 days ago.
There were the added benefits of insulting the delegates and the chairs in parliamentary lingo, ticking them off for informalcy and non-usage of the personal pronoun. But the most beautiful and profound moment was watching the debate on a topic I had chosen evolve. From the early stages of the debate to the last tense moments, the most fascinating issues were addressed!
The topic : Responsibility to Protect. At what point is it OK for a country to breach the sovereignty of another?
Consider Myanmar, there were thousands starving, homeless and in the depths of a humanitarian crisis. But the junta had the audacity to RESIST aid being offered. The net death toll was over 138,000, blatant evidence to the severity of this natural disaster. It is not a logical move for Myanmar to resist the philanthropy of the international community. While they finally conceded and allowed India to offer aid, the initial move of the Burmese was appalling at the very least.
Had they continued to turn down the relief offered by the international community, it would have been tantamount to genocide. Would it have been acceptable for the international community, obviously led by the United States, to intervene - diplomatically or undiplomatically? This was discussed at length by the committee and a detailed measuring instrument was deviced through which the severity of crisis could be judged and accordingly action would be taken.
What was worthy of applause was the evident concurrence that sovereignty has to be reinterpret in the light of internal conditions and that it cannot be the zenith of authority. There evidently has to be some form of accountability to the international community and some responsibility and right that the latter enjoys by virtue of its membership to the UN.
Another vital point of debate was the result of natural disasters. In case of a severe natural disaster, as in the case of Cyclone Nargis, is military intervention necessary, mandated or even considerable? Some nations, such as France and Bosnia & Herzegovina fought strongly for the cause of inclusion of natural disasters to the mandate of the Responsibility to Protect, however that was struck down by the sovereignty safeguarders like China.
Issues like natural disasters fall largely under the purview of NGOs, however, it is worthwhile to ask if military troops might be capable of doing a more efficient job of reconstruction and rebuilding of disaster-torn areas.
It is certainly a grey area, and it was absolutely mind-boggling to see a group of 17 year olds attempt to solve this issue in a systematic fashion, evidence of their maturity far beyond their years!
There were the added benefits of insulting the delegates and the chairs in parliamentary lingo, ticking them off for informalcy and non-usage of the personal pronoun. But the most beautiful and profound moment was watching the debate on a topic I had chosen evolve. From the early stages of the debate to the last tense moments, the most fascinating issues were addressed!
The topic : Responsibility to Protect. At what point is it OK for a country to breach the sovereignty of another?
Consider Myanmar, there were thousands starving, homeless and in the depths of a humanitarian crisis. But the junta had the audacity to RESIST aid being offered. The net death toll was over 138,000, blatant evidence to the severity of this natural disaster. It is not a logical move for Myanmar to resist the philanthropy of the international community. While they finally conceded and allowed India to offer aid, the initial move of the Burmese was appalling at the very least.
Had they continued to turn down the relief offered by the international community, it would have been tantamount to genocide. Would it have been acceptable for the international community, obviously led by the United States, to intervene - diplomatically or undiplomatically? This was discussed at length by the committee and a detailed measuring instrument was deviced through which the severity of crisis could be judged and accordingly action would be taken.
What was worthy of applause was the evident concurrence that sovereignty has to be reinterpret in the light of internal conditions and that it cannot be the zenith of authority. There evidently has to be some form of accountability to the international community and some responsibility and right that the latter enjoys by virtue of its membership to the UN.
Another vital point of debate was the result of natural disasters. In case of a severe natural disaster, as in the case of Cyclone Nargis, is military intervention necessary, mandated or even considerable? Some nations, such as France and Bosnia & Herzegovina fought strongly for the cause of inclusion of natural disasters to the mandate of the Responsibility to Protect, however that was struck down by the sovereignty safeguarders like China.
Issues like natural disasters fall largely under the purview of NGOs, however, it is worthwhile to ask if military troops might be capable of doing a more efficient job of reconstruction and rebuilding of disaster-torn areas.
It is certainly a grey area, and it was absolutely mind-boggling to see a group of 17 year olds attempt to solve this issue in a systematic fashion, evidence of their maturity far beyond their years!
Sunday, March 21, 2010
Ten Things I love about Taipei
1. In Chiang Kai Shek Memorial Hall, the national monument of Taiwan, you find young dancers practicing in the MIDDLE of the national monument, children flying kites. To make it better, our hosts in Taipei managed to erect a DANCE FLOOR in the middle of Taiwan's NATIONAL MONUMENT. Beat that!2. Even though they are not in the UN, they are AWESOME! And a full-fledged country. And they have everything you could ever want...
3. There is a QUEUE to ENTER the metro. Something even Singaporeans don't queue for!
4. Say you want to go to "Sun Yat Sen Memorial". You get it written down in Chinese from your Hotel and show the cab driver. He'll nod and say something TOTALLY different that sounds like "Chee Ling Waow" and take you to the right place! I don't get it!
5. Anytime I look mildly lost, a kind Taiwanese local who knows English and is miraculously going to the same place as me appears from nowhere to guide me to my destination!
6. The Mochis here are better than the ones in Japan :)
7. The concept of Night Markets, open at 6ish and rocking till midnight! That's what I call a happening town
8. Far-Eastern Style Food :)
a. The amazing noodles and curry. I have new-found but probably short-lived love for Chinese food!
b. Bubble TEA!Who knew bubble tea tasted good?! WHO KNEW!!
9. The contradictions!
On one hand : BLING BLING! There are so many lights . Every single billboard is digital and perpetually blinging! WHY? It is such poor use of electricity in the age of climate change, makes me wonder how developed Taiwanese really are.
On the other hand : Every single public dustbin has two flaps - one for recyclable material and one for trash. That is so wonderful to see! The really good ones have 4-5 flaps for different classes of recyclables! And this exists practically everywhere - in every single MRT station - it is great to see such environmentally friendly measures being adopted despite the digital billboards.
10. They have these things called Hot Springs, which are public sulphurous baths. There are many hotels where you can go just to use their public baths. Fortunately, there are separate baths for men and women. Unfortunately, these baths require full nudity - walking into the bath nude, taking public showers nude and being in the bath NUDE with other people of the same sex. I love that they are so open, however, I abstained from enjoying this attraction for personal reasons :)11. An extra one for good luck. Luxy - I love you <3.
All in all, it was an AMAZING trip. As my friend Jamie said, Taipei is live-able!
Wednesday, February 24, 2010
When Population Growth was a GOOD thing...
It has been hammered into our brains ever since we were born that overpopulation was one of the fundamental reasons for the poverty and underdevelopment of nations. It holds an exalted position in the vicious cycle of poverty and has been a major thrust of the United Nations Development Program which has sponsored countless programmes to curb overpopulation in the least developing nations.
Many economists of the developed world have come out with papers and evidence to prove that overpopulation is directly correlated to low GDP.
However, Karl Marx, known to all the founding father of Communism, had a fascinating theory about the role of population in economic development of nations.
Marxian political economy theory talks extensively about the core and the periphery - the developed countries bossing over the developing countries, keeping them under their control economically and politically. The agents of control are MNCs, International Organizations and sometimes even NGOs. While this formed the main part of Marx’s theory and the consequent public policy adopted by Marxist governments, neo-Marxism took these assumptions a step further.
Marx stated that overpopulation is NOT a factor in economic growth and development. The neo-Marxists took it a level further by claiming that this agenda was perpetrated by the developed nations through international organizations and economic research agencies as a form of modern genocide. They believed that the developed nations took the developing nations to be inferior and by promoting population control as a feature of economic growth, the developing world would be outnumbered by the developed and soon the former would be eradicated completely.
I'm going to repeat this purely for effect. The neo-Marxists claim that ALL ADVOCATES OF POPULATION CONTROL ARE PERPETRATING GENOCIDE.
The audacity of the neo-Marxists’ claim was obviously met by unanimous opposition from the capitalist world. I am sure the reader of this article would experience similar emotions. Of course, all our textbooks, governments and everything we’ve ever heard has stressed on the primary importance of population control. China, today, stands living proof of the miracles that can be achieved through population control.
How then, does the neo- Marxists’ claim add up?
Marx believed that population growth was a problem in the capitalist world due to the gross inequities and inadequacies of the capitalist system. Inadequacies which the socialist economy endeavored to eradicate, to the extent where population growth was good. So good that the USSR implemented a tax on single child and childless couples and banned abortion.
Similarly, China was lauded for its massive rate of growth. Mao Zedong is quoted to have said that “A large population is a good thing. With a population increase of several folds we still have an adequate solution.”
Neo-Marxists took the cue from these sentiments and championed the cause of population growth. However, with the fall of Communism, their theories were unequivocally disproved by the capitalist world. China itself took a 180 degree turn from their existing policy and undertook the most stringent population control policy ever seen by the word.
The neo-Marxists were left out in the dark and their sole mode of self-defense was to call on dependency theory to explain this contradiction. They claimed quite shamelessly that any reference to population growth as a vice was a purely imperialist move, aimed at modern, hidden genocide and the developing world, including China had no alternative but to cooperate.
It is fascinating how such an unusual, unexpected line of thought has stayed alive long after its vehement disproval. No non-Marxist in the world today could, while in their senses, claim that population growth is an acceptable phenomenon. The world’s unanimous calls for population control in both the developing and developed world have been almost unchallenged, except for the lone voice of neo-Marxism that stands strong.
Many economists of the developed world have come out with papers and evidence to prove that overpopulation is directly correlated to low GDP.
However, Karl Marx, known to all the founding father of Communism, had a fascinating theory about the role of population in economic development of nations.
Marxian political economy theory talks extensively about the core and the periphery - the developed countries bossing over the developing countries, keeping them under their control economically and politically. The agents of control are MNCs, International Organizations and sometimes even NGOs. While this formed the main part of Marx’s theory and the consequent public policy adopted by Marxist governments, neo-Marxism took these assumptions a step further.
Marx stated that overpopulation is NOT a factor in economic growth and development. The neo-Marxists took it a level further by claiming that this agenda was perpetrated by the developed nations through international organizations and economic research agencies as a form of modern genocide. They believed that the developed nations took the developing nations to be inferior and by promoting population control as a feature of economic growth, the developing world would be outnumbered by the developed and soon the former would be eradicated completely.
I'm going to repeat this purely for effect. The neo-Marxists claim that ALL ADVOCATES OF POPULATION CONTROL ARE PERPETRATING GENOCIDE.
The audacity of the neo-Marxists’ claim was obviously met by unanimous opposition from the capitalist world. I am sure the reader of this article would experience similar emotions. Of course, all our textbooks, governments and everything we’ve ever heard has stressed on the primary importance of population control. China, today, stands living proof of the miracles that can be achieved through population control.
How then, does the neo- Marxists’ claim add up?
Marx believed that population growth was a problem in the capitalist world due to the gross inequities and inadequacies of the capitalist system. Inadequacies which the socialist economy endeavored to eradicate, to the extent where population growth was good. So good that the USSR implemented a tax on single child and childless couples and banned abortion.
Similarly, China was lauded for its massive rate of growth. Mao Zedong is quoted to have said that “A large population is a good thing. With a population increase of several folds we still have an adequate solution.”
Neo-Marxists took the cue from these sentiments and championed the cause of population growth. However, with the fall of Communism, their theories were unequivocally disproved by the capitalist world. China itself took a 180 degree turn from their existing policy and undertook the most stringent population control policy ever seen by the word.
The neo-Marxists were left out in the dark and their sole mode of self-defense was to call on dependency theory to explain this contradiction. They claimed quite shamelessly that any reference to population growth as a vice was a purely imperialist move, aimed at modern, hidden genocide and the developing world, including China had no alternative but to cooperate.
It is fascinating how such an unusual, unexpected line of thought has stayed alive long after its vehement disproval. No non-Marxist in the world today could, while in their senses, claim that population growth is an acceptable phenomenon. The world’s unanimous calls for population control in both the developing and developed world have been almost unchallenged, except for the lone voice of neo-Marxism that stands strong.
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
Satellite
"Maybe you will always be... Just a little out of reach" - Guster
The sky and the stars have an unexpected effect on people. It can send them over the edge in a good or bad way. But few people leave an observatory unaffected. I wonder why that is.
In the book I'm reading now, "A Fraction of the Whole", a small observatory is built in a little town. Suddenly everybody started showing more love - fathers bought gifts for their sons, husbands took their wives out and children shared their chocolates.
Its nice to know that something so far away can have such a strong impact on people here on earth...
The sky and the stars have an unexpected effect on people. It can send them over the edge in a good or bad way. But few people leave an observatory unaffected. I wonder why that is.
In the book I'm reading now, "A Fraction of the Whole", a small observatory is built in a little town. Suddenly everybody started showing more love - fathers bought gifts for their sons, husbands took their wives out and children shared their chocolates.
Its nice to know that something so far away can have such a strong impact on people here on earth...
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
House of Cards
What happens to a House of Cards?
It falls. Inevitably.
Its made to break. If you get lucky, you'll get out while it's intact.
But If it crashes while you're there - You die.
It falls. Inevitably.
Its made to break. If you get lucky, you'll get out while it's intact.
But If it crashes while you're there - You die.
Saturday, July 18, 2009
riddle
Like shadows, tip-top
'Boo'. incessant, unrelenting
Poison to his soul
Tumour to his heart
Static, stuck, daughter of earth
Revolves, but he stays
Rooted, the tumour feeds
'Boo' incessant unrelenting
Soaked with gasoline
He burns and seethes
Confession- don't douse the flames
They flare, they lick
The gates to his soul
And he can't see anymore
'Boo'. incessant, unrelenting
Poison to his soul
Tumour to his heart
Static, stuck, daughter of earth
Revolves, but he stays
Rooted, the tumour feeds
'Boo' incessant unrelenting
Soaked with gasoline
He burns and seethes
Confession- don't douse the flames
They flare, they lick
The gates to his soul
And he can't see anymore
permanent high
a high is a high because it preceeds/succeeds a low. otherwise it would just be a plateau.
Tuesday, June 9, 2009
"Crisis"
The placement lists shrink, the names turn obscure, monthly allowance vanishes in a week, something is not right. In a nutshell, money is missing. This is the average young person’s view on the crisis.
The papers, the economists and the experts have analyzed the crisis to the point of exhaustion, and every contradictory point of view has been debated, supported and torn down. They discuss hundreds of theories that economics has spewed out, they talk about the definition and squabble about the semantics of it – is it a recession or is it a downturn? Speculations are unending about when the economy will rise again.
For the young world, definitions are irrelevant. We are not scholars or intellectuals, we are the masses. For us, the name of this situation is secondary to the solution. As far as we are concerned, what we see exemplifies the crisis perfectly – no work, no money. That is the extent of this issue. And our high school civics textbooks have more than sufficiently highlighted the many vices of unemployment.
Then we hear and read about the many hundreds of theories being pushed around. Yes, we understand how stimulating the economy might help, how increasing money supply is now the only option left. We do agree that these things will have a positive impact in the Long Run. But we don’t see these processed in action, the invisible hand is truly invisible and for the youth, inadequate.
What we want, need and strive for is practical solutions. In the practical world, we see our friends, our brothers and sisters, our families not being able to find jobs, unemployed, underemployed, settling for any job they can find. To ensure the same fate does not hit us, we are constantly reinventing ourselves, trying to do anything and everything to set ourselves apart from the mediocre – be it through extra classes, pursuing a higher degree, doing double degrees, more professional courses, dance lessons, internships. A perfect example would be the ricocheting level of competition in higher education. Everybody would rather pursue a Master’s degree than jump into work directly. And this means more demand for higher education and far more competition. And thus the need for flexibility.
We feel all organizations should be doing the same – being flexible, reinventing, offering more for less and being more efficient. Which is easy for the smaller companies, but for the rigid MNCs, it is a long and arduous process.
The way we see it, this crisis has its upsides. It makes the world and us re-evaluate the bubble we were living in, get realistic and become better equipped to handle the cut-throat competition that has emerged from the downturn. Natural Selection has spoken and no harm can come from that. Although socialism and the welfare state exist to buffer the impacts of this natural selection, they can do so only for a while. The world is going to catch up with us.
The papers, the economists and the experts have analyzed the crisis to the point of exhaustion, and every contradictory point of view has been debated, supported and torn down. They discuss hundreds of theories that economics has spewed out, they talk about the definition and squabble about the semantics of it – is it a recession or is it a downturn? Speculations are unending about when the economy will rise again.
For the young world, definitions are irrelevant. We are not scholars or intellectuals, we are the masses. For us, the name of this situation is secondary to the solution. As far as we are concerned, what we see exemplifies the crisis perfectly – no work, no money. That is the extent of this issue. And our high school civics textbooks have more than sufficiently highlighted the many vices of unemployment.
Then we hear and read about the many hundreds of theories being pushed around. Yes, we understand how stimulating the economy might help, how increasing money supply is now the only option left. We do agree that these things will have a positive impact in the Long Run. But we don’t see these processed in action, the invisible hand is truly invisible and for the youth, inadequate.
What we want, need and strive for is practical solutions. In the practical world, we see our friends, our brothers and sisters, our families not being able to find jobs, unemployed, underemployed, settling for any job they can find. To ensure the same fate does not hit us, we are constantly reinventing ourselves, trying to do anything and everything to set ourselves apart from the mediocre – be it through extra classes, pursuing a higher degree, doing double degrees, more professional courses, dance lessons, internships. A perfect example would be the ricocheting level of competition in higher education. Everybody would rather pursue a Master’s degree than jump into work directly. And this means more demand for higher education and far more competition. And thus the need for flexibility.
We feel all organizations should be doing the same – being flexible, reinventing, offering more for less and being more efficient. Which is easy for the smaller companies, but for the rigid MNCs, it is a long and arduous process.
The way we see it, this crisis has its upsides. It makes the world and us re-evaluate the bubble we were living in, get realistic and become better equipped to handle the cut-throat competition that has emerged from the downturn. Natural Selection has spoken and no harm can come from that. Although socialism and the welfare state exist to buffer the impacts of this natural selection, they can do so only for a while. The world is going to catch up with us.
Tuesday, June 2, 2009
Invictus
Why does life become so hard sometimes?
It feels like you’re always running towards this great something that will bring you happiness and personal satisfaction until the end of time. So every future action of yours feels like it should be motivated towards this great something which will fulfill you. Unfortunately, there is some higher rule which has somehow decided that only a select few can be awarded with this great big something and the basic prerequisites for this great something are having an excellent education, playing you cards right, having a good job of course because without that the world would just crumble and fall away.
And, if ever in life, for even a minute, you get this feeling that what you’re doing isn’t leading you to this great big something then it feels like the whole world is closing in on you, its like you are going to be a big fat failure because you will not have a wonderful job and get a fat paycheck to service your selfish needs and make you a perfect person. Why is everything so hard all the time? Why can’t we just be happy and experience life? It doesn’t seem fair that we have to be running towards something eternally – yes, some things need to be done – studying, working etc. but how can they become the very foreground for your existence, why should they control who you are and how you feel. If you love to sing, just sing... why worry if that’s cutting into your time of making yourself a better asset for the corporate world so some MNC or big conglomerate will hire you and give you a large paycheck for doing a job you secretly hate and wouldn’t be in if it weren’t for the money.
What’s worse is competition. You see somebody who’s made a little more money than you in a shorter period of time, somebody who’s done something a little more exciting and immediately the world comes crashing down, you feel that constriction in your chest, the panic sets in and al of a sudden you feel worthless, because the other person’s success just reminds you of your blinding failure. Ah, the woes of humanity. Pathetic as we are, we are perpetually held in this trap of the world, we don’t just live for ourselves and our loved ones. We live more for our boss, our teachers, the people we hate because they’re better than us, or so we think.
We’re all just caged in this cycle of impressing others and fulfilling this pre-existing mould of what’s right and what’s good. But what’s the point in life? Why waste our lives living it for somebody else. Every moment is gone when we blink it away worrying or just pointlessly working on something we hate.
If only there could be a way to exit this cage and this cycle and be completely free of it. Invictus – ‘I am the captain of my fate, I am the master of my soul.’
It feels like you’re always running towards this great something that will bring you happiness and personal satisfaction until the end of time. So every future action of yours feels like it should be motivated towards this great something which will fulfill you. Unfortunately, there is some higher rule which has somehow decided that only a select few can be awarded with this great big something and the basic prerequisites for this great something are having an excellent education, playing you cards right, having a good job of course because without that the world would just crumble and fall away.
And, if ever in life, for even a minute, you get this feeling that what you’re doing isn’t leading you to this great big something then it feels like the whole world is closing in on you, its like you are going to be a big fat failure because you will not have a wonderful job and get a fat paycheck to service your selfish needs and make you a perfect person. Why is everything so hard all the time? Why can’t we just be happy and experience life? It doesn’t seem fair that we have to be running towards something eternally – yes, some things need to be done – studying, working etc. but how can they become the very foreground for your existence, why should they control who you are and how you feel. If you love to sing, just sing... why worry if that’s cutting into your time of making yourself a better asset for the corporate world so some MNC or big conglomerate will hire you and give you a large paycheck for doing a job you secretly hate and wouldn’t be in if it weren’t for the money.
What’s worse is competition. You see somebody who’s made a little more money than you in a shorter period of time, somebody who’s done something a little more exciting and immediately the world comes crashing down, you feel that constriction in your chest, the panic sets in and al of a sudden you feel worthless, because the other person’s success just reminds you of your blinding failure. Ah, the woes of humanity. Pathetic as we are, we are perpetually held in this trap of the world, we don’t just live for ourselves and our loved ones. We live more for our boss, our teachers, the people we hate because they’re better than us, or so we think.
We’re all just caged in this cycle of impressing others and fulfilling this pre-existing mould of what’s right and what’s good. But what’s the point in life? Why waste our lives living it for somebody else. Every moment is gone when we blink it away worrying or just pointlessly working on something we hate.
If only there could be a way to exit this cage and this cycle and be completely free of it. Invictus – ‘I am the captain of my fate, I am the master of my soul.’
Wednesday, May 20, 2009
Clay
Human nature seldom ceases to amaze me. Day by day I learn new little secrets about people, things that cannot be taught but that can only be learnt by feeling them yourself.
The day I returned, I shocked myself. India was a little overwhelming for me. The dust and pollution made me cough, the dirty streets were par impossible to navigate, the oh-so-crowded malls were the antithesis of fun. Why? How? Bangalore, my home, my first love, was suddenly unfamiliar, hard to adjust to..
Had I been so spoilt by the clinical efficiency of my new residence that suddenly home is something else. I had gotten so fully assimilated, emotionally and physically into my other home that this one was foreign. It is so shocking that people can so quickly forget something and move towards another.. With the speed and completeness akin to an amoebic engulfing, we just are something else.
On the first day, it was pure shock, it was a shock of the sort i felt i could not handle. . But slowly I eased up, slowly the loud buzzing of the traffic started to sink beyond the conscious and just became a part of living. I slowly figured out how to avoid the potholes, slowly I relearnt all these small existential problems that afflicted me initially and I moulded back to my old self.
Its a hard life, alternating between one and another distinctly different societies. But I guess the more you stretch, the more you deform and reform yourself over and over again, the more flexible you become. Like a dancer who trains and with that training comes her alarming grace and agility, we too train ourselves to adapt, to asimilate, then detach , reassimilate.. It is like a game, we just keep playing and the more we play, the better we get.
we are the children of change.
We adapt, we reform, we float, we just mould into anything, into everything.
The day I returned, I shocked myself. India was a little overwhelming for me. The dust and pollution made me cough, the dirty streets were par impossible to navigate, the oh-so-crowded malls were the antithesis of fun. Why? How? Bangalore, my home, my first love, was suddenly unfamiliar, hard to adjust to..
Had I been so spoilt by the clinical efficiency of my new residence that suddenly home is something else. I had gotten so fully assimilated, emotionally and physically into my other home that this one was foreign. It is so shocking that people can so quickly forget something and move towards another.. With the speed and completeness akin to an amoebic engulfing, we just are something else.
On the first day, it was pure shock, it was a shock of the sort i felt i could not handle. . But slowly I eased up, slowly the loud buzzing of the traffic started to sink beyond the conscious and just became a part of living. I slowly figured out how to avoid the potholes, slowly I relearnt all these small existential problems that afflicted me initially and I moulded back to my old self.
Its a hard life, alternating between one and another distinctly different societies. But I guess the more you stretch, the more you deform and reform yourself over and over again, the more flexible you become. Like a dancer who trains and with that training comes her alarming grace and agility, we too train ourselves to adapt, to asimilate, then detach , reassimilate.. It is like a game, we just keep playing and the more we play, the better we get.
we are the children of change.
We adapt, we reform, we float, we just mould into anything, into everything.
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
float.
its always the most random things. the strangest, most trivial things. They just take you away and make you hide or rejoice, but always confine. Its those little things that I want to live for. Those moments where life feels more, and better, and higher.
Its like living on a cloud, floating somewhere, hanging down in pleasant ecstasy. It makes you want to jump with joy, to create, to love, to just float a little bit more.
It always comes when you don't expect it, when you don't want it, when you have more important things to do. But pushing it away is like letting go of a rare gem. Life's short, hold the gems. The sparks just fly around, buzzing in pure happiness.
Don't you just love the perfection? YOu could live in it, and die in it and if you're in it. nothing else matters - the world doesn't, friends don't , politics, family, success - everything is just second to this. Sigh, its perfect.
But it never lasts.
It always evaporates and you curse your stupidity for ever having believed that it was here to stay.
The conflict arises then.. do you live for those moments, hoping and awaiting their arrival? Or do you just assume they're ephemeral aberrations and live with that non-expectation?
I wonder.
Its like living on a cloud, floating somewhere, hanging down in pleasant ecstasy. It makes you want to jump with joy, to create, to love, to just float a little bit more.
It always comes when you don't expect it, when you don't want it, when you have more important things to do. But pushing it away is like letting go of a rare gem. Life's short, hold the gems. The sparks just fly around, buzzing in pure happiness.
Don't you just love the perfection? YOu could live in it, and die in it and if you're in it. nothing else matters - the world doesn't, friends don't , politics, family, success - everything is just second to this. Sigh, its perfect.
But it never lasts.
It always evaporates and you curse your stupidity for ever having believed that it was here to stay.
The conflict arises then.. do you live for those moments, hoping and awaiting their arrival? Or do you just assume they're ephemeral aberrations and live with that non-expectation?
I wonder.
Friday, April 17, 2009
The City Of Blinding Lights
The city made for tourism, the city alive for the visitors, the transient town, where every structure was erected for exhibitionist purposes. The history behind every museum was to attract somebody in its general direction. An amusing phenomenon but highly successful.
Amsterdam kicked butt. It was fun, exciting, there was always something going on - street football, live football, cycles and camping at a youth hostel gave me ample opportunity to figure out this seemingly idyllic, radical, freezing, European City.
However, I wonder, what could a city constructed purely for tourism have to offer? It would be foolish to assume that history can be created but shockingly that is exactly what I saw. The Anne Frank House, a reconstruction of the house that Anne Frank, the little Jewish girl who wrote a book that shocked the world, hid from the Nazis in, was a stark and telling tale of the atrocities on humanity. Beyond just the historically informative benefits, some NGO had set up shop within the house and promoted awareness on a plethora of humanitarian topics. It was a pleasant surprise to see another tourist site being converted into a medium for raising awareness. And I think it is this House that is characteristic of the city of Amsterdam. Yes, it is merely a city- museum, built purely for revenue and Heineken, but behind every tourist spot there is a purpose, there is something they are trying to achieve out of it.
Yes, weed is legal, it is ubiquitous, the stench of hash was evident from 100 yards of any of the “coffee shops”, but from a reliable source it was known that the whole process of legal smoking is aboveboard. They ask for IDs, alcohol is banned inside the shops, the officer who is in-charge is a burly threatening-looking guy who seems capable of single-handedly taking down dozen people,and they rehydrate you if you seem off. Maybe somehow this is a better solution than what Bangalore/India has now. Underground Rave parties, weed patches in Law Schools, are that really the way to do this? Granted, more people will be wary of breaking the law and doing drugs but is the cost of those few turnovers worth all the 16- 25 year olds who risk a police record by possessing, dealing and smoking /snorting/ swallowing drugs?
Shady red lights with negligibly clad women displayed on the windows like dresses, people bargain and choose which they like the most. Sources inform me that if a lone man lingers in front of a window long enough, the women start doing things! Now, this may seem the basest form of perversion, legalized prostitution, but it is safe, the police patrol the streets ON HORSES and intervene in case of some problem.
Anything goes, everything goes in Amsterdam, but somehow with a grace that is lacking in most of the developed world .
Amsterdam kicked butt. It was fun, exciting, there was always something going on - street football, live football, cycles and camping at a youth hostel gave me ample opportunity to figure out this seemingly idyllic, radical, freezing, European City.
However, I wonder, what could a city constructed purely for tourism have to offer? It would be foolish to assume that history can be created but shockingly that is exactly what I saw. The Anne Frank House, a reconstruction of the house that Anne Frank, the little Jewish girl who wrote a book that shocked the world, hid from the Nazis in, was a stark and telling tale of the atrocities on humanity. Beyond just the historically informative benefits, some NGO had set up shop within the house and promoted awareness on a plethora of humanitarian topics. It was a pleasant surprise to see another tourist site being converted into a medium for raising awareness. And I think it is this House that is characteristic of the city of Amsterdam. Yes, it is merely a city- museum, built purely for revenue and Heineken, but behind every tourist spot there is a purpose, there is something they are trying to achieve out of it.
Yes, weed is legal, it is ubiquitous, the stench of hash was evident from 100 yards of any of the “coffee shops”, but from a reliable source it was known that the whole process of legal smoking is aboveboard. They ask for IDs, alcohol is banned inside the shops, the officer who is in-charge is a burly threatening-looking guy who seems capable of single-handedly taking down dozen people,and they rehydrate you if you seem off. Maybe somehow this is a better solution than what Bangalore/India has now. Underground Rave parties, weed patches in Law Schools, are that really the way to do this? Granted, more people will be wary of breaking the law and doing drugs but is the cost of those few turnovers worth all the 16- 25 year olds who risk a police record by possessing, dealing and smoking /snorting/ swallowing drugs?
Shady red lights with negligibly clad women displayed on the windows like dresses, people bargain and choose which they like the most. Sources inform me that if a lone man lingers in front of a window long enough, the women start doing things
Anything goes, everything goes in Amsterdam, but somehow with a grace that is lacking in most of the developed world .
Monday, January 5, 2009
The Accidents of Circumstance
Where are we headed? The ubiquitous 'youth' of today - the urban youth in particular,
have acquired a new class of thought - this new-age awareness. They feel the urge of the hour, that something is
truly wrong, they feel the need for change, they hear the earth and their country screaming for help. But they are torn,
like Robert Frost waxed in his work 'The Road Less Traveled' - the conflict rears its head day in and day out.
Should we take the beaten path - become the engineer or the doctor or the new age lawyer breed, with great promise of
salary but job satisfaction being a distant dream. Or should we answer our heart's call and pave a new path - help
the world, save the environment, fight against poverty, corruption and ease our country of it's malaise.
Most choose the in-between road, or at least tell themselves its the in-between road, that all hope is not lost, there
is still time and it can all be done. There's no limit to dreams, we can have it all! They hope to start with a
conventional path - make the money, built a family, pursue an MBA in an IIM or abroad, and once they've saved up enough
to send their grandkids to the moon, they'll feel that urge to help society and pay-back. Their morals will being
to pull on their heart's strings and Voila! overnight they work for/own an NGO, each one resolved to its own cause,
hoping to make that change and be featured in the 'Offbeat' section of the daily supplement.
In a way it's a good thing, unlike our predecessors, we can claim to care, claim to be aware and claim to know
where the world might be headed. Most of all we can claim that we want to make a change, and save the world.
A noble enough thought to begin with. And though most of these noble thoughts are largely for show, to out-do
your friends and pretend to care and pretend to want to change, there's this little part of all of us which truly unselfishly
wants the change. But what's the harm with a little selfishness. Objectivists would nod furiously at this statement
for after all doesn't everybody just want to be happy with themselves, and make others around them happy, albeit for
selfish reasons yet again? The Bhagavat Geeta did after all say that strong neighbours ensures happiness for the man,
the country and the world. Which is all too correct especially in today's global scenario. With all our neighbours crumbling,
don't we Indians feel the backlash? Sri Lankan and Bangladeshi refugees, Pakistani terrorists, even the Tibet crisis is
felt by us in no small way.
So, lets pin down the final motive of our breed to objectivist selfishness. If it helps the world in some infinitesimally
small way why complain, just let the world take it's course.
But, if all we want in the end is our own precious happiness, why do we all insist on running behind some idealistic
vision of 'HAPPYNESS'? The money, the power and the fame. The conventional success of the newspaper and the television.
We all watch in awe as some underdog from a village in Karnataka struggles to come first in the IIT entrance exam and,
Lo and Behold! clears it much to the delight of the TOI human interest reporters. Why not create a massive story out of this?
There is no doubt that the 17-year-old certainly outdid himself, and deserves a big clap on his back, but all those
1lakh odd who didn't make it into IIT even though the odds were in their favour and they had the most charmed
background they could've asked for end up feeling like massive failures, like their purpose in life has been
defeated and they have eternally disgraced their family and their institution of education. Alas, that is how they have been brought up.
They can't shirk this system. But why must it be this way?
Why is success so narrowly defined? Why can't an academically average person who enjoys reading books and drawing on walls but is
phenomenally happy just doing that also be successful. After all, life can't possibly be about this urge to be something,
its got to be about something most fundamental. Because, whether we like it or not we all were born into this world,
by the accidents of circumstance, and if we leave it as happy as we can, it should be enough.
But it never is. And I guess we'll never know why. T
have acquired a new class of thought - this new-age awareness. They feel the urge of the hour, that something is
truly wrong, they feel the need for change, they hear the earth and their country screaming for help. But they are torn,
like Robert Frost waxed in his work 'The Road Less Traveled' - the conflict rears its head day in and day out.
Should we take the beaten path - become the engineer or the doctor or the new age lawyer breed, with great promise of
salary but job satisfaction being a distant dream. Or should we answer our heart's call and pave a new path - help
the world, save the environment, fight against poverty, corruption and ease our country of it's malaise.
Most choose the in-between road, or at least tell themselves its the in-between road, that all hope is not lost, there
is still time and it can all be done. There's no limit to dreams, we can have it all! They hope to start with a
conventional path - make the money, built a family, pursue an MBA in an IIM or abroad, and once they've saved up enough
to send their grandkids to the moon, they'll feel that urge to help society and pay-back. Their morals will being
to pull on their heart's strings and Voila! overnight they work for/own an NGO, each one resolved to its own cause,
hoping to make that change and be featured in the 'Offbeat' section of the daily supplement.
In a way it's a good thing, unlike our predecessors, we can claim to care, claim to be aware and claim to know
where the world might be headed. Most of all we can claim that we want to make a change, and save the world.
A noble enough thought to begin with. And though most of these noble thoughts are largely for show, to out-do
your friends and pretend to care and pretend to want to change, there's this little part of all of us which truly unselfishly
wants the change. But what's the harm with a little selfishness. Objectivists would nod furiously at this statement
for after all doesn't everybody just want to be happy with themselves, and make others around them happy, albeit for
selfish reasons yet again? The Bhagavat Geeta did after all say that strong neighbours ensures happiness for the man,
the country and the world. Which is all too correct especially in today's global scenario. With all our neighbours crumbling,
don't we Indians feel the backlash? Sri Lankan and Bangladeshi refugees, Pakistani terrorists, even the Tibet crisis is
felt by us in no small way.
So, lets pin down the final motive of our breed to objectivist selfishness. If it helps the world in some infinitesimally
small way why complain, just let the world take it's course.
But, if all we want in the end is our own precious happiness, why do we all insist on running behind some idealistic
vision of 'HAPPYNESS'? The money, the power and the fame. The conventional success of the newspaper and the television.
We all watch in awe as some underdog from a village in Karnataka struggles to come first in the IIT entrance exam and,
Lo and Behold! clears it much to the delight of the TOI human interest reporters. Why not create a massive story out of this?
There is no doubt that the 17-year-old certainly outdid himself, and deserves a big clap on his back, but all those
1lakh odd who didn't make it into IIT even though the odds were in their favour and they had the most charmed
background they could've asked for end up feeling like massive failures, like their purpose in life has been
defeated and they have eternally disgraced their family and their institution of education. Alas, that is how they have been brought up.
They can't shirk this system. But why must it be this way?
Why is success so narrowly defined? Why can't an academically average person who enjoys reading books and drawing on walls but is
phenomenally happy just doing that also be successful. After all, life can't possibly be about this urge to be something,
its got to be about something most fundamental. Because, whether we like it or not we all were born into this world,
by the accidents of circumstance, and if we leave it as happy as we can, it should be enough.
But it never is. And I guess we'll never know why. T
Sunday, August 31, 2008
Ephemeral
its been so long since the last time i was here.. SO much has changed..
Different everything. Nothing is the same. Except me.
Coming here first was a big and scary experience.. It seemed like there could be no way for this to feel real and for me to be happy. IT seemed like I was stuck, suffocating and jsut sinking into a vortex that i didn't wish to be a part of.
But like child thrown into the middle of a deep pool I found a way to the edge - splashin and sturugling but there nonetheless. And like the child who learnt to swim, I emerged the better.
Now in one short month, everything hre is so familiar, the faces known and it feels like i've known these people for years and like I could not hav been in any other place.
My room feels comfortable and the view is beautiful. Life is falling into place.
BUt thers always that litle nagging sensation - the inevitabl WHAT IF.. if i'd taken some other choice, not this.. Would I be happier, more successful?
One small "yes" or "no" ca change lives so instantaneously. The future gets altered with that wave of a hand and nothing remains the same.
Some of us like this transiency but many feel rooted to their past. They don't want to be shaken from their abode of comfort.
But life is change. SO craving change might be a goood thing. Just hope you're happy once you get it.
Different everything. Nothing is the same. Except me.
Coming here first was a big and scary experience.. It seemed like there could be no way for this to feel real and for me to be happy. IT seemed like I was stuck, suffocating and jsut sinking into a vortex that i didn't wish to be a part of.
But like child thrown into the middle of a deep pool I found a way to the edge - splashin and sturugling but there nonetheless. And like the child who learnt to swim, I emerged the better.
Now in one short month, everything hre is so familiar, the faces known and it feels like i've known these people for years and like I could not hav been in any other place.
My room feels comfortable and the view is beautiful. Life is falling into place.
BUt thers always that litle nagging sensation - the inevitabl WHAT IF.. if i'd taken some other choice, not this.. Would I be happier, more successful?
One small "yes" or "no" ca change lives so instantaneously. The future gets altered with that wave of a hand and nothing remains the same.
Some of us like this transiency but many feel rooted to their past. They don't want to be shaken from their abode of comfort.
But life is change. SO craving change might be a goood thing. Just hope you're happy once you get it.
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