Hammerspace!

...and there might be an MC before that too. Just Hammerspace. Was reading the Wiki for Manga (came to this through a forward, initially from a girl who loves Anime) when this delightful concept of Hammerspace jumped out of nowhere. As defined in Wiki:

Hammerspace draws its name from a semi-common cliché in humorous anime and manga: Male character Y offends or otherwise angers female character X. X then draws a wooden mallet—ranging in size from large to downright ludicrous—out of nowhere and bashes Y with it.

NOw you see where the MC might have come from? :). And in India it might be Belanspace!

Krishna stories and Janmashtami (double meaning!!)

The past three days I have been going to the Art of Living Ashram and every day there is something new to learn. Yesterday was Krishna Janmashtami. Apart from a nice dance and skits by children, there was a lot of learning. We heard a recitation of the Gita and were exhorted to just read the Bhagvad Gita with its simple translation.

A lot of our stories have multiple levels of meaning. Or atleast two :). Like some of the stories of Krishna seem to be plain simple fun but experts say that the essence of Vedanta is distilled into them. The story of Janmashtami and its meaning as told by Sri Sri (all mistakes are mine):

Krishna was born to Devaki (body) and Vasudev(Prana). Krishna stands for Ananda or bliss while his Uncle Kamsa is ego or (dur)Ahamkara. The jail where Krishna was born is the world and the sentries are the five senses. When the senses are asleep (i.e. not involved in the world), Ananda is born. To save Krishna from Kamsa, you have to cross Yamuna or love. On the other side is Go-kul, where knowledge permeates. Go means knowledge or the senses, depending on context.

A sure sign of a wise man is the light (but not disrespectful) manner that very high knowledge rests upon him. A Swamiji from Rishikesh, regular visitor to the Ashram and wonderful orator is a case in point. Regaling us with stories of Krishna as a child, he himself became childlike and innocent. He told the story of Krishna and his friends causing havoc by having peeing competitions in the aangan of a house and of course the stealing butter. In the middle, and you'd have missed it if you were distracted by a bee buzzing, he told about birth and death:
Death is only the Big Sleep, but what we are really afraid of is not dying, but our possessions not remaining with us when we awake.

Much like why we lock our houses when we sleep, i guess. But is that bad?

MLM schemes and Dan B

First, let's get over the sad part. One Art Of Living member told me she had a business oppurtunity when I told her I was a software engineer looking for a change of job. I went to her place at the appointed hour and found another AOL member sitting near a Mac Powerbook. She asked me to help opening a document and I was quite excited - maybe these guys are real novices and somehow have chanced upon a technical venture for which they don't have expertise. The sight of an IIT engineer enthused me even more - although we have never been great friends.

The second slide she showed brought me to the ground. I was soon to go under. It was an MLM. Multi-level marketing. Searching for 'making money online' or 'home business' should give you examples of these. However, read through this blog before you do that.

So, I sat and heard how I can be financially free - I would have to make $3000 a day for that, according to the presentation. The product was a 2gm gold coin - it really doesn't matter - it can be personal hygiene to personality development. The actual cost, she claimed, was Rs. 8000 (not really, but i'll humour her). And the joining fee, was Rs. 32, 000. Anyway, after I found that she was quite dumb, I left - however, I didn't make some scathing remark that I ought to have. It was a shock that these people who I admired were perpetrating such offenses. Thankfully, however, I think these are a minority - Sri Sri still makes a lot of sense and the Sudarshan Kriya is really good!

Anyways, I looked up the internet for some facts on such 'organizations' and here are a couple for you to ponder:

Robert Fitzpatrick's 10 lies of MLM

Center for Entreprenuerial leadership

In fact there are so many ways to make money online that this blog is making money online talking about making money online. Man, I should do something like this...

And in a close by land, not so far ago...

Bhauji was reading Dan Brown. Although he seems to copy a lot of his material, he at least doesn't dupe people. I read Digital Fortress and Angels and Demons recently - and both were quite fast and gripping. It's not great literature - but hey, it keeps the mind occupied.

Another book I shouldn't be reading is 'Perfect sight without eyeglasses'. All such books preach the Bates' Method. Bates was a doc who found that glasses were not the method to correct bad sight - instead they worsen vision by 'helping' us form bad habits. Compulsive reading against reading.

We are in denial

(A write up by Sri Sri - it seems to apply very much to me right now)

Negating identity causes inaction, sloth and lethargy


SRI SRI RAVI SHANKAR

If you come across a Communist, with a Hindu name, and ask him about his
identity, he will deny being a Hindu. Yet, a Muslim Communist often claims
his identity without hesitation. One wonders what causes this difference in
attitude.

It is interesting to probe into the psyche of identity, which often is a
source of security, insecurity, conflict and comfort. Perhaps the following
reasons would answer the identity crises of the Hindus. The broadmindedness
of Hinduism, its inherent inclusiveness and secularism, makes Hindus feel
guilty about claiming their identity, as it is embedded in their philosophy
that it is wrong to exclude others. Claiming a religious identity makes them
feel they are excluding others and so they shy away from doing so.



Hindus have been traditionally groomed by the Vedanta to drop all
identities. This has deeply influenced the Hindu psyche. Hindu philosophy is
woven around egolessness. Let alone their religion, some sadhus don’t even
say their name; they would say, “What’s in a name?” Sanyasis are even shy to
talk about their parentage. A renowned ascetic in Rishikesh would meet with
everybody, but not his own mother and family. When asked, he would say, “I
am Vedanti; once I have taken sanyasa, I have dropped all my identities.”

This is an erroneous understanding of Vedanta. Why do we fear the identity
so much? Seeing identity as stumbling blocks for one’s growth is ignorance.
Sanyasa is transcending identity; it is being in that centredness from where
you have equal love and compassion for all. It is the unshakable light and
richness that one has found in one’s Being which is universal. Transcending
identity is different from denying identity. When religious leaders
themselves denounce their identity, the community follows suit. This is akin
to the thought that secularism is anti-religion.

Caste identity is in some places much stronger than religious identity. The
normal tendency is to go for one single identity than for a dual one. So,
between caste and religion, many Hindus seem to go for caste. Hindus feel
ashamed of the ills of Hinduism — its superstition, untouchability, and
practices like sati are usually highlighted in the media, rather than its
unparalleled philosophy and scientific temperament. Thus, for several
centuries Hindu bashing has been a fashion.

The media seems to have given the prerogative of Hindu identity to the RSS
and VHP and secular-minded Hindus would not like to associate with these two
organisations. As a result they shy away from their own identity.

Within India itself, we witness a great deal of ignorance about the Hindu
religion and its scriptures. Although Hindus form 80 per cent population of
India, there is still only one university which teaches Hinduism — whereas
there are five which teach Islam, five which teach Christianity, two which
teach Sikhism and one that teaches Jainism. You would find every Muslim
would know a couple of verses from the Quran; you can hardly find a
Christian who has not read the Bible.

But Hindus who know Sanskrit or a few shlokas are rare. Most educated Hindus
know the Bible; they know Christmas carols. When they know nothing about
their religion, how can they take pride in it?

There are 1.25 billion Hindus in the world, a little over one-sixth of the
world’s population, but you hardly find a single Hindu lobby at
international forums. You will find a Christian lobby, a Muslim lobby or a
Jewish lobby, but you can’t find a Hindu lobby. Just 12 million Jews in the
world are such a powerful voice. Buddhists also have a voice and make their
presence felt at world forums.

In countries of south and central America and in Europe, although they are
secular democracies, they are not shy to proclaim their allegiance to
Christianity. You will find the religious symbol of the Cross placed in
their parliaments; chaplains offer prayer before every official dinner.
While associations like YMCA (Young Men’s Christian Association) have gained
wide acceptance. Why then is it that Hindu associations are viewed with
scepticism?

A strong community is an asset to any nation. A weak community will always
be in fear and because of insecurity will become aggressive. It is the pride
in one’s identity which strengthens the community. Identity is in no way
contradictory to universality.

People often ask, “Will not the concept of global family, Vasudhaiva
Kutambakam, contradict patriotism? Similarly, will your religious identity
not conflict with your universality?’’ The answer is “No”. Your duty as a
family man is not a hindrance for your realisation that you are Brahman. You
don’t need to run away to the forest to realise “All this is Brahman”. Your
being spiritual in no way contradicts your being a socially responsible
citizen. In fact, it enhances your ability to care and share.

The conflict in the world is because people are either stuck in their
identity, and die for it, or shy away from their identity and lose their
roots. One has to opt for a middle path. The ideal situation will be when
every religion transcends its identity. Until that time, it is unwise for
the Hindus to let go of their identity. We cannot, and should not, eliminate
differences on this planet. We need to celebrate the differences. And this
is the uniqueness of Bharat — from the atheism of Charvaka to Bhakthi Panth
and Sufism, it’s one beautiful bouquet.

An identity is related to an action. Denial of identity will dump you in
inaction, sloth and lethargy and hence Krishna reminds Arjuna of his
Kshatriya identity even while giving “Brahma gyan” to remind him of his
duties and responsibilities. Otherwise while giving this High knowledge of
the Self, why would Krishna remind him again and again of his limited
identity. The limited identity in no way contradicts the universal one. A
policeman cannot perform his duties — steer the traffic — if he fails to
acknowledge his identity. Similarly, if a businessman shies away from his
identity, he cannot function. The same is the story of Hindu identity. India
cannot make a distinct mark on the world if it ignores its religious and
spiritual heritage.

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D.D

Ambroce Bierce did us all a big service by putting into words what words stand in the hearts and minds of men and women like you and me. He also adorned it with some verse so we can nod assent and feel guilty doing it. It is now downloadable free of cost from Gutendberg.

Some gems (and I'm in 'A' yet):

ACTUALLY, adv. Perhaps; possibly. (! That's how I use it!)

ADVICE, n. The smallest current coin. (!awesome!)

"The man was in such deep distress,"
Said Tom, "that I could do no less
Than give him good advice." Said Jim:
"If less could have been done for him
I know you well enough, my son,
To know that's what you would have done."

ADMIRATION, n. Our polite recognition of another's resemblance to
ourselves. (insightful and brutally honest!)

AIM, n. The task we set our wishes to.
"Cheer up! Have you no aim in life?"
She tenderly inquired.
"An aim? Well, no, I haven't, wife;
The fact is -- I have fired."
(for those about to marry, we salute them!)

AIR, n. A nutritious substance supplied by a bountiful Providence for the fattening of the poor.

ALLAH, n. The Mahometan Supreme Being, as distinguished from the
Christian, Jewish, and so forth.

Allah's good laws I faithfully have kept,
And ever for the sins of man have wept;
And sometimes kneeling in the temple I
Have reverently crossed my hands and slept.
-Junker Barlow

The six wealths

How wealthy are you?

According to ancient Indian knowledge, you are wealthy if you have a lot of:

1. Sama: Having a say over mental faculties - not letting the mind dictate terms.
2. Dama: Having a say over you physical body - able to stay awake when you want etc.
3. Titiksha - Forebearance. Ability to forbear opposing forces with equanimity.
4. Uparati - Ability to enjoy what one is doing.
5. Shraddha - Faith.
6. Samadhaana - Contentment.

All of us have each of these to differing extents. Are you wealthy? I surely need more!! How do I do it - One of the ways to do that is to do the Art of Living Part 2 course.

Enjoy!

Quotes are great

... especially if they say what you want them to say :)

Here are a few that did...

1. Idleness, like kisses, must be stolen to be sweet.
2. It is impossible to enjoy idling thoroughly unless one has a lot of work to do - Jerome K Jerome
3. You know, you can't please all the people all the time... and last night, all those people were at my show - Mitch Hedgeberg

Cheerio!

Morning laughter...

I like kelas.

As I stood contentedly in the centre of the bus as it approached a bus stop, a woman nearing 50 came plodding to the guy sitting in the window seat closest to her. Me and another man, also in a window seat, disinterestedly observed
"Does this bus go to Ambattur OT"
"Yes", said the guy clearly, with his voice betraying the little satisfaction one gets in helping people in ways that don't stretch us in any way.
The woman, however, started to walk away from the bus instead of getting on. The other man shouted out and told the lady that the bus was indeed going to Ambattur.
Our friend the helper was, however, totally unfazed by this and looked ahead, wide eyed, as if nothing out of ordinary happened.
As the lady finally sat down, I started laughing.

If none of you are laughing, know that you had to be there.
www.sinfest.net for more 'u had to be there'. Enjoy!

Consequences...

From who2.com

The playwright AESCHYLUS was the unfortunate victim of his own receding hairline. Clifton Fadiman, writing in the Little, Brown Book of Anecdotes, describes the doom of Aeschylus this way: "Ancient biographies record the tradition that his death came about when an eagle, which had seized a tortoise and was looking to smash the reptile's shell, mistook the poet's bald head for a stone and dropped the tortoise upon him." Other sources identify the bird as a vulture. The incident is recounted in the Alexandre Dumas book Louise de la Valliere, among other places.

Vote

I am finally going to vote and I am quite excited about it. More so because I will vote for the first time in my life. I don't know why people don't want to vote. People say they are disgruntled - whoever comes to power, it does not make any difference to them (more so the reason to vote, I say!!). I think people unconciously subscribe to this disgruntled-ness. Or think it is the right attitude to have. I'm sure most don't have enough direct experience to hold such views.

• To make democracy work, we must be a notion of participants, not simply observers. One who does not vote has no right to complain.
• * Louis L'Amour

• The average man votes below himself; he votes with half a mind or a hundredth part of one. A man ought to vote with the whole of himself, as he worships or gets married. A man ought to vote with his head and heart, his soul and stomach, his eye for faces and his ear for music; also (when sufficiently provoked) with his hands and feet. If he has ever seen a fine sunset, the crimson colour of it should creep into his vote...The question is not so much whether only a minority of the electorate votes. The point is that only a minority of the voter votes.
  * G. K. Chesterton



• Those who stay away from the election think that one vote will do no good: 'Tis but one step more to think one vote will do no harm.
  * Ralph Waldo Emerson

I will most probably vote LokParitran - their ideology took me some time to understand but quite palpably, it stems from first principles. But the dillema pointed out by my Mom was - By voting for LP, we would reduce the votes of S.Ve.Sekhar (whom we would have voted for otherwise). This just increases the likelihood of Napolean, the DMK candidate winning, as he depends mainly on the lower economic class vote.

The truth will be out on the 11th.

Rise, come away with me...

Yesterday, I bought Anoushka Shankar's Grammy nominated 'Rise' and heard side A. Nothing leapt out.

Today, after a relaxing break after lunch, I heard Norah Jones. And finally understood why everybody had been raving so much. Not that I hadn't heard her at all - but somehow, I hadn't gone beyond 'Come away with me' and 'Don't know why'. Today, I went far away... silently.

A lot of the songs are written by her guitarist, Jesse Harris (The pining for a stripper _I've got to see you again_ is smokin) . The bassist also contributes a couple. Bill Frisell's loops envelop the silences of 'The long day is over'. But Norah's voice floats lightly, delighting.

For lyrics and what people feel about them,
http://www.norahjones.info/news.php?cod=23

Thanks, Arun J, and hope you put up a server everywhere you go.

may The Flow be with you

OR... How To never dance alone

This is probably the most useful piece I have written. I didn't have any hesitation in writing a 'How to' - no thought saying - "Ravi - you are being a show-off" or "How do you know it holds true for other people?". So, here it is - peruse or perish :)
Do give u'r feedback!

The Setup:
The day's work ended with a meeting (= a time for rest + creativity) and a game of badminton. So, when I reached the British Council after couple of fruit juices, I was good. DJ Ross Allen had come down from London. The crowd was sparse and the floor wooden - but the sound was good.

I let the beat seep in. Or pretended to do so. I was moving - but it was more like negating stillness. I was doing the i'm-too-cool-to-dance-like-these-people moves - a nod of the head - feet shifting by two inches. Yup, the moves that come from not knowing anyone or indeed, the song.

Our hero learns:
So there I was, rooted to the spot and oscillating, when suddenly, I was reminded of a technique taught by Vijay Padaki during his Summer Project On Theatre (SPOT). The technique is quite simple, really - let any part of the body 'lead' the movement and let the whole body follow where the part leads. Soon (usually a few seconds), another part of the body will want to be leader - and then let the body follow that part.

Ravi = Jamiroquai?
Soon I was moving in a way not dreamt of by me (Hail the cliche king!). At first my legs were leading most of the time - the upper body was inert. Although I noticed this, I let it be. 'Billie Jean' floated out of the speakers. Hitherto, I would have probably cursed the DJ for playing MJ -but now the music was directing new parts of the body - fingers. Moving with fingers leading is *total* fun - I was smiling. Were the others finding this strange? I was reminded of Jamiroquai and smiled even more:). After a while, shoulders and head took charge. And then fingers again, small of back (also fun!), pelvis, knees, back of left foot - oh! it was fun.

The Mistake:
As I said, I was having fun, when I noticed two girls - one English and one Isreali, dancing close by. I joined them. Here is where I made the mistake - I continued to concentrate on my body parts leading me. It was almost as if I didn't register their presence. Not that I wanted to - but I was enjoying my body movements too much.
And here is where I should have used another Vijay Padaki technique, with a twist - I should have let *their* body parts lead! I would have continued the game - with them. Notice there needn't be a connection between the bodies. This concept may be difficult to swallow but i am so convinced it is the way to go - once you are comfortable with your body, then see if you can be comfortable with other bodies.

The Looking Back:
In retrospect, this technique has two advantages:
1. You forget the environment - since I didn't know anyone, it was even better - it took attention away from feeling out of place to the body, which, in most of our cases, is not getting enough concious attention anyways

2. There is no 'wrong' or 'awkward' step. In fact, there is no judgement! And you don't care what others think, because you have no time to give them attention!

All said and for a change, done, I *will* end up being influenced by the environment/mood etc. - but I hope this comes back to me, like yesterday

For the show to go on:
An article on SPOT and Vijay

FreeStyle Dancing

If the link does not work: http://www.dance.net/topic/2846764/1/Freestyle/freestyle-defined.html

Ta Ta:
Let it grow, let it grow,
let it blossom, let it flow
- Clapton 'Let it grow'

Somebody start me!!

I weigh 69kg. Or maybe less. Why the f*&^ then do I have the inertia of a wolly mammoth in winter or that of Kumbhakarna during his sleeping phase is quite beyond me. I abhor continuity. I start more things than I destruct but that count is tending to zero rapidly. Maybe i am dead. Or just passing through. Nothings gonna change my world.

Later, Earthlings

TGIT

Cold, blustery winter morning here in Broomfield but it is Thursday, the day where the soul begins its travel from God_knows_where_it_was back to its rightful place - they say it is in the human heart. Got some time to laaazily do some Yoga and some more time to take a few deep breaths waiting for the bus. A little espresso in the office after an egg and some bread with jelly put me in the mood. The sight of one of the very few good looking women in office and Mark Knopfler's What_it_is in my headphones capped it. The unseen sun was shining on me.

These are the days when you don't wonder what you are doing on this earth - what you are meant to do - the whole purpose in life thingy. Just do your work, sing a few words from the song... and drink lots of water so you can get out of your seat and walk to the farthest toilet to pee. Thank God for such days.

Peace out.

TAAQ roq

Bend the world
_____________________________________

Bend the world
Through the lens of your eye
Wrap it around like tie-and-dye
Bathe in the warm colours
Don’t you worry about the others
And suddenly
Unexpectedly
You are God

When you’re asleep, are you alive
Or just a dream in the sky, so high in the sky
You’re a poor little mouse in a white maze
Under a microscope that you made
And suddenly
Unexpectedly
You’ll find your way out.

All of this stage is the world
And all of us are little people
And suddenly
Unexpectedly
You’ll find your way out

But they have a loooooooong way to go before...

What it is?

The drinking dens are spilling out
There's staggering in the square
There's lads and lasses falling about
And a crackling in the air
Down around the dungeon doors
The shelters and the queues
Everybody's looking for
Somebody’s arms to fall into
And it's what it is
It's what it is now

There's frost on the graves and the monuments
But the taverns are warm in town
People curse the government
And shovel hot food down
The lights are out in city hall
The castle and the keep
The moon shines down upon it all
The legless and asleep

And it's cold on the tollgate
With the wagons creeping through
Cold on the tollgate
God knows what I could do with you
And it's what it is
It’s what it is now

The garrison sleeps in the citadel
With the ghosts and the ancient stones
It's what it is now
High up on the parapet
A Scottish piper stands alone
And high on the wind
The highland drums begin to roll
And something from the past just comes
And stares into my soul

On Charlotte Street I take
A walking stick from my hotel
The ghost of Dirty Dick
Is still in search of Little Nell
And it's what it is
It's what it is now

Engineers like me (but so unlike me!)

1. Manjunath

2. Satyendra Dubey

3&4. Anil and Madhu

Engineers by education - but so much more than engineers. May Manju and Dubey come back soon. More power to Anil and Madhu (no pun intended!)

Lemme know if you know of such not-so-well-known people!

Twogether - I

This is the first photo in my blog! I have been thinking of doing this for a long time now - and it took Seema's own push technology (she sent a snap of her and Pete at Pete's house in Bangalore without me asking for it) to shake the laziness and post the snap. Congrats, Seems.

Actually, it took more than that - Pete took me home from Ashram and Seems prepared onion/tomato Uttappam/Dosa and other goodies and fed me till I was ready to burst. They also dropped me off at Bikram's places. All in all, made me feel very good. And this is how I thank them? Sure!!

Pete (Karthick P.T.) and Seema are both engineers who worked with me at PoseidoN Design Systems. Seema is now with Intel and Pete works with ARM - keeping the semiconductor thread alive. All the very best to them.

Coming soon : more celebrity couples!!

nashaa hai tu, ay husn-e-aala
peene ko aatur hai ye matwala
par haath mein nahin mere pyaala
isliye pehlaa jaaonga madhushaala

(you are intoxication personified, ye beautiful one
and I am eager to drink till I drop
but alas, I don't have a glass
coz I left it at the wine shop)

The great original which I have imitated is by Harivansh Rai 'Bachchan'

and here you can find a translation of a few verses - the ones by Ramana are far better

let me end by a short praise of the author of this blog:

waah, ravi waah - bahut aala!
kyaa tune khaaya bharela karela?

(Oh Sun -you are great - so great you are past the stratosphere!)

piyo sar jhuka ke!

RRNT #1

Welcome to Angel's Revolutionary New Theory #1
-------------------------------------------------

A bird told me that all the folks she knew in the IT industry were dissatisfied. I nodded my assent but it wasn't until i got out early from office today that walking to the bus stop, an angel told me the reason by revealing to me ARNT #1 (No copyright issues with her - so feel free to publish it elsewhere)

Most people in the IT industry are discontended because they get paid hazaar and don't work enough!

Simple, yet shocking. And it's the truth. Nary a bunch of more conceited people like software engineers. We are for most part lazy - a trait we doubtless share with many more of our fellow homo sapiens, but that's not all. On top of that, we are _full_ of gas from half baked knowledge - and we demand outrageous money for it.

There is the seed for that vicious cycle - you go to a new company - they pay you more - you work a little more perhaps - but there is that gap still and you grow more discontent.

I'm sure HR knows all about this - but having no time for any D for development from their actual role of HRD, they just spend time getting the resources. Resources who will run away next year if not given enough bonus.

Not sure what the solution is - except that us software enggs do more work - but given that that is not always forthcoming, we need to perhaps give more away - after all, we can't say we will work for less, can we? Not us.

2ofu2

Beautiful day
The heart is a bloom... shoots up through the stony ground
Teach me - I know I'm not a hopeless case

With or Without U
Sleight of hand and twist of fate
on a bed of nails she makes me wait

Back in text

The love was always there in my heart - it had been relegated to the dusty corners of my mind, but it was very much there. I would always be handicapped without it. Well, not handicapped perhaps - but I would be like Gabbar without his voice. It took me some free time at work and chance question to after it - something I should have done ages ago...

Was loitering around when my SysAdmin asked me if I knew how to enable telnet on a linux system. Of course I knew - a little pottering about and it all came back to me - /etc/rc.d/init.d/network restart - NO? oops - a little 'find' told me that telnet was ready to go - only I should restart xinetd! Yes - and the two proud hands high in the office you could see were both mine!!

But, I realized this is not enough - I need to be in constant touch with muh baby - linux. And shure enuff, this blog is from Firefox on RH9! I am gunzipping and untarring and configuring and making and installing and all this is sooooooooo much fun!!

Thank God for ttys!
Long Live Linux!!