Rajnikanth would have had a great future as a comedian even if he had not become a super star in tamil cinema.
His so called stunts are totally humorous.
Check this really hilarious ad out.
Thursday, October 16, 2008
The Power of Pre Conceived Notions
As anyone who works in a Silicon Valley company (or a company with similar outlook) would endorse, there comes a time in an individual's career when she has to choose between an Individual Contributor(IC) role or a managerial role. ICs in general, are viewed as anti-social nerds with technical brilliance. They would be a square peg in the round managerial hole. On the other hand, the managers have the ability to lead teams, solve administrative problems, provide strategy and vision etc.
This model of strict demarcation works great in many cases. But as with anything, attempts to "strait jacket" these would usually be extremely counter productive. I have been in situations where there is a firm division between what they call the managerial growth path and the technology growth path and never the twain shall meet.
Consider my example for instance. I have always been technically strong which in silicon valley parlance means I understand code and programming well. But I want to grow beyond technical ability and want to handle tasks that are more organizational, strategic and visionary. I had been thwarted in these attempts by some of my ex bosses who had fixed perceptions about the managerial role. Some of them think that I would become a bad manager and also lose out on my technical abilities if I choose what they call the "managerial growth path". This myopic view is the most prominent reason for the abundance of "dunce" managers with very limited vision and a general inability to guide people.
This was in line with a discussion that I was having with a colleague of mine recently. We tend to be seen by people according to their pre-conceived notions. If you are viewed as a geek, then you cannot be a manager. So no matter what you do everything will reinforce the geeky thing and negate the managerial ability.
And if such a person who has pigeon holed you, happens to be your boss, then God save you! He is going to create situations that would make you perform sub-optimally in places, that he with his infinite wisdom deems, are beyond your ken. This kind of attitude is extremely detrimental to personal growth. Makes you really want to scream out sometimes.
This made me remember a poem that I had read when I was a kid. It is about a hypochondriac king who refused to believe he was hale and hearty.
Read the poem for yourself - "The Enchanted Shirt" by John Hay.
This model of strict demarcation works great in many cases. But as with anything, attempts to "strait jacket" these would usually be extremely counter productive. I have been in situations where there is a firm division between what they call the managerial growth path and the technology growth path and never the twain shall meet.
Consider my example for instance. I have always been technically strong which in silicon valley parlance means I understand code and programming well. But I want to grow beyond technical ability and want to handle tasks that are more organizational, strategic and visionary. I had been thwarted in these attempts by some of my ex bosses who had fixed perceptions about the managerial role. Some of them think that I would become a bad manager and also lose out on my technical abilities if I choose what they call the "managerial growth path". This myopic view is the most prominent reason for the abundance of "dunce" managers with very limited vision and a general inability to guide people.
This was in line with a discussion that I was having with a colleague of mine recently. We tend to be seen by people according to their pre-conceived notions. If you are viewed as a geek, then you cannot be a manager. So no matter what you do everything will reinforce the geeky thing and negate the managerial ability.
And if such a person who has pigeon holed you, happens to be your boss, then God save you! He is going to create situations that would make you perform sub-optimally in places, that he with his infinite wisdom deems, are beyond your ken. This kind of attitude is extremely detrimental to personal growth. Makes you really want to scream out sometimes.
This made me remember a poem that I had read when I was a kid. It is about a hypochondriac king who refused to believe he was hale and hearty.
Read the poem for yourself - "The Enchanted Shirt" by John Hay.
Monday, October 13, 2008
Sequels and the current financial crisis.
We seem to be living in a world that does not know when to call it quits. For instance, if a good movie is created it has to have its sequels. Exorcist was quickly followed by Exorcist II and so on till the whole world knew about the entire family tree of exorcists. Chicken soup for the (generic) soul got succeeded by a spasm of chicken soups for every species of soul extant in the universe. So you had one for the Pet Lover's soul, father and son soul, adopted soul,mother's soul, preteen soul,ocean lover's soul etc.- Irreverently speaking, there is one for every a$$hole (no offence meant.. just could not resist this diabolical urge to use the pun) And what if a pre teen mother loves visiting acquariums and keeps a rabbit? She has to read like four books now!
This "keep a good thing going" spirit has infiltrated almost every walk of life. That was how most of these sagas were born be it in the comics (Mickey Mouse etc.), children's books (Harry Potter etc.) or even good old Jeeves of Mr. P G Wodehouse. What makes this complex is the fact that each saga branched out into a million other "child" sagas. Look for instance at every good tv sitcom. There are follow up sitcoms by the various people who acted in the original sitcom. Cheers and Fraser for instance.
The sequels originate because of many reasons in my opinion:
Anyways, what has all this to do with the current financial crisis? In my opinion, this trend of spawning sequels got extended recklessly into the financial domain,thereby proliferating a slew of products. Consider the situation for yourself. The US was having the biggest boom in the housing industry due to favorable interest rates coupled with escalating house costs due to the disparity between supply and demand. The direct beneficiaries of this unprecedented demand, besides the housing industry itself, were the mortgage banks.
But there mushroomed multiple markets that got set up to milk this "housing cow dry". The good ole housing loan got repackaged with exotic, tongue twisting gobbeldygook such as "High Grade Structured Credit Enhanced Leverage Fund", CDOs (Collateral Debt Obligations), Structured Investment Vehicles etc. which were sold to people all over the world. Not only that, these products were insured by other products such as Credit Default Swaps. Are you impressed by all this knowledge from me?? Dont be.. Just read this rather enlightening article.
At some point in time, the products were so far removed from the housing industry that people did not even realize that a part of their portfolio was dependent on the home prices in America. For instance, if you bought AIG shares, would you have thought that your fate depended on the prices of American homes? So, when the housing bubble finally burst, people felt like the carpet was dragged from under their feet!
To me, this incident smacks of excess greed. But the laugh is on me since I have also inadvertently allowed myself to get embroiled in this quagmire. Let us hope that the spaghetti would wind itself back to the spindle!
PS: You should check this rather hilarious video that talks about exactly what i talked about.
This "keep a good thing going" spirit has infiltrated almost every walk of life. That was how most of these sagas were born be it in the comics (Mickey Mouse etc.), children's books (Harry Potter etc.) or even good old Jeeves of Mr. P G Wodehouse. What makes this complex is the fact that each saga branched out into a million other "child" sagas. Look for instance at every good tv sitcom. There are follow up sitcoms by the various people who acted in the original sitcom. Cheers and Fraser for instance.
The sequels originate because of many reasons in my opinion:
- The original author deems that the last word has not been said on a particular topic.
- The author thinks that he should get specialized to attend to the needs of a particular sub topic in more detail. Ex: The Chicken soup series.
- Plagiarizers want to ride the wave of the original topic's popularity
- Others just want to milk the cow dry!
Anyways, what has all this to do with the current financial crisis? In my opinion, this trend of spawning sequels got extended recklessly into the financial domain,thereby proliferating a slew of products. Consider the situation for yourself. The US was having the biggest boom in the housing industry due to favorable interest rates coupled with escalating house costs due to the disparity between supply and demand. The direct beneficiaries of this unprecedented demand, besides the housing industry itself, were the mortgage banks.
But there mushroomed multiple markets that got set up to milk this "housing cow dry". The good ole housing loan got repackaged with exotic, tongue twisting gobbeldygook such as "High Grade Structured Credit Enhanced Leverage Fund", CDOs (Collateral Debt Obligations), Structured Investment Vehicles etc. which were sold to people all over the world. Not only that, these products were insured by other products such as Credit Default Swaps. Are you impressed by all this knowledge from me?? Dont be.. Just read this rather enlightening article.
At some point in time, the products were so far removed from the housing industry that people did not even realize that a part of their portfolio was dependent on the home prices in America. For instance, if you bought AIG shares, would you have thought that your fate depended on the prices of American homes? So, when the housing bubble finally burst, people felt like the carpet was dragged from under their feet!
To me, this incident smacks of excess greed. But the laugh is on me since I have also inadvertently allowed myself to get embroiled in this quagmire. Let us hope that the spaghetti would wind itself back to the spindle!
PS: You should check this rather hilarious video that talks about exactly what i talked about.
Sunday, October 5, 2008
Laughter Therapy
As a person who has travelled to different parts of the world, I did get a chance to experience massage at different places. But today's experience at an ayurvedic massage center at Hyderabad, has to rank as one of the funniest ones ever.
In case the mention of massage conjures in you a calm, peaceful atmosphere that would facilitate relaxation, then you would do well to refrain from patronizing the place that I alluded to above. For by doing so, you would disillusion yourself from all your preconceived notions about massage and also in the process add to it an element of humor. And when I say that this experience was funny, you better believe it - it was rip-roaringly funny. So let me see if my pen is sufficient to capture the humor in this experience.
I went to this place at Jubilee Hills. It was located in a rented house. The owner bade me to be seated and charged me for the massage upfront. That was kinda strange but I figured that since it was late, the guy just wanted to leave. So he pocketed the loot upfront. Anyways, in a few minutes, two guys (my would be masseurs) came in and motioned me to go in. They did not "look" very professional - whatever the hell it means. Somehow I was not expecting this. Anyways, since the owner had already taken my money I thought I might as well get through with this. Besides, this may turn into an experience that is not so bad. Right? Wrong. So to continue, my masseurs escorted me to an inner room.
This room had a couple of low wattage bulbs and a bright fluorescent tube light. I initially thought that there should be some internal sanctum where these guys would do the deed, but the presence of a large formidable massage table in the typical keralite style right at the center of this brightly lit room, belied my belief. So I go in and was asked to strip right IN FRONT of these two guys who made no attempt to look the other way. In fact, they offered to help me tie the "loin cloth" to cover my crotch. The loin cloth, for the non cognoscenti, is a traditional Indian equivalent of a bikini bottom. I guess, it does its job pretty well. But I was just a tad conscious. Besides, it was not really very comfortable having these two ogling urchins at the back of me and inspecting my every move. But be that as it may, I did what I was expected to do and before I can say "hello" I was all stripped except for the loin cloth which was trying its best to protect me. I felt like a performing artist in a brightly lit auditorium!
In a feeble attempt at protecting my chastity, I did ask the two to at least be gracious enough to give me a towel. They readily acceded to the request and handed me a white handloom towel that was more like a napkin. It was probably all of half a feet long! Anyways, I wound it around my frame and proceeded to the massage table where I was directed to goto. But any relief that I had was short lived since the two seized the towel unceremoniously and cast it aside stating that it would be in the way. Then they proceeded to rub oil on my face and head after which I could not even open my eyes. So, here I was in a brightly lit room, with two guys whom I would hesitate to meet down a dark alley, totally naked save for an inadequate loin cloth, with my eyes blinded by oil (and later tears since I was uproarious with laughter visualizing myself) and lying face up. The humor of the situation was so poignant that all effort at suppressing my mirth was futile. And to add insult to injury, my masseurs also seemed to notice the comedy in the situation. So all the three of us were guffawing in the most crazy manner without any thought about the imminent massage. It did accentuate the imagery of the performing artist in a brightly lit auditorium that I initially had. It looks like I really have an appreciative audience to boot!
But all good things must come to an end. So once my spectators were satisfied that the last drop of humor has been extracted out of the situation, their laughter subsided slowly into intermittent chuckles and finally culminated in their grinning at me (though I could hardly notice their grin with all the tears in my eyes). So, now they started their massage. My wife always is under the impression that I do not have too many ticklish spots on my body. But these two guys managed to prove her wrong in the most outstanding way possible. Either their ministrations have made me extra sensitive or more probably I just about lost it. It looked as if the laughter dam has burst today and all the bottled up laughter started bubbling out with great gusto. There was hardly a single minute when I did not bellow with uncontrollable mirth.
As the massage(sic) wound its way to the end, I was not experiencing any lightening of my pressure points but I did experience a stress relief with all this laughter. So much so that I did generously tip my therapists before leaving the place. It might not have been the therapy I expected but it did do its job!
In case the mention of massage conjures in you a calm, peaceful atmosphere that would facilitate relaxation, then you would do well to refrain from patronizing the place that I alluded to above. For by doing so, you would disillusion yourself from all your preconceived notions about massage and also in the process add to it an element of humor. And when I say that this experience was funny, you better believe it - it was rip-roaringly funny. So let me see if my pen is sufficient to capture the humor in this experience.
I went to this place at Jubilee Hills. It was located in a rented house. The owner bade me to be seated and charged me for the massage upfront. That was kinda strange but I figured that since it was late, the guy just wanted to leave. So he pocketed the loot upfront. Anyways, in a few minutes, two guys (my would be masseurs) came in and motioned me to go in. They did not "look" very professional - whatever the hell it means. Somehow I was not expecting this. Anyways, since the owner had already taken my money I thought I might as well get through with this. Besides, this may turn into an experience that is not so bad. Right? Wrong. So to continue, my masseurs escorted me to an inner room.
This room had a couple of low wattage bulbs and a bright fluorescent tube light. I initially thought that there should be some internal sanctum where these guys would do the deed, but the presence of a large formidable massage table in the typical keralite style right at the center of this brightly lit room, belied my belief. So I go in and was asked to strip right IN FRONT of these two guys who made no attempt to look the other way. In fact, they offered to help me tie the "loin cloth" to cover my crotch. The loin cloth, for the non cognoscenti, is a traditional Indian equivalent of a bikini bottom. I guess, it does its job pretty well. But I was just a tad conscious. Besides, it was not really very comfortable having these two ogling urchins at the back of me and inspecting my every move. But be that as it may, I did what I was expected to do and before I can say "hello" I was all stripped except for the loin cloth which was trying its best to protect me. I felt like a performing artist in a brightly lit auditorium!
In a feeble attempt at protecting my chastity, I did ask the two to at least be gracious enough to give me a towel. They readily acceded to the request and handed me a white handloom towel that was more like a napkin. It was probably all of half a feet long! Anyways, I wound it around my frame and proceeded to the massage table where I was directed to goto. But any relief that I had was short lived since the two seized the towel unceremoniously and cast it aside stating that it would be in the way. Then they proceeded to rub oil on my face and head after which I could not even open my eyes. So, here I was in a brightly lit room, with two guys whom I would hesitate to meet down a dark alley, totally naked save for an inadequate loin cloth, with my eyes blinded by oil (and later tears since I was uproarious with laughter visualizing myself) and lying face up. The humor of the situation was so poignant that all effort at suppressing my mirth was futile. And to add insult to injury, my masseurs also seemed to notice the comedy in the situation. So all the three of us were guffawing in the most crazy manner without any thought about the imminent massage. It did accentuate the imagery of the performing artist in a brightly lit auditorium that I initially had. It looks like I really have an appreciative audience to boot!
But all good things must come to an end. So once my spectators were satisfied that the last drop of humor has been extracted out of the situation, their laughter subsided slowly into intermittent chuckles and finally culminated in their grinning at me (though I could hardly notice their grin with all the tears in my eyes). So, now they started their massage. My wife always is under the impression that I do not have too many ticklish spots on my body. But these two guys managed to prove her wrong in the most outstanding way possible. Either their ministrations have made me extra sensitive or more probably I just about lost it. It looked as if the laughter dam has burst today and all the bottled up laughter started bubbling out with great gusto. There was hardly a single minute when I did not bellow with uncontrollable mirth.
As the massage(sic) wound its way to the end, I was not experiencing any lightening of my pressure points but I did experience a stress relief with all this laughter. So much so that I did generously tip my therapists before leaving the place. It might not have been the therapy I expected but it did do its job!
Thursday, August 7, 2008
Google and The Story of Search
"The Search" is a book by John Battelle. It talks about Google and its rivals and their supremacy in the internet era. With my trace of megalomania the first thing this story did is of course to spark a tad of envy in me. Why not me? I had written some interesting things in my lifetime but never attained mainstream status etc. But then I digress.
I have found that there are a lot of things about Google that I like. One of the first things I like about them is that there is a lot of "Good Karma" about the company. And by this, I dont mean their somewhat bombastic "Don't be Evil" motto. What I mean is that Larry and Sergey went about building their search engine with no trace of profit motive to begin with. They did not even heed the "Build it and they will come" dictum. (or maybe they did). But their motive was to build the thing for the sake of doing it. And we all thronged to google.com. They benefitted a ton of people by directing valuable traffic to their websites.
All this happened BEFORE they evolved their adWords model (which the book says is based out of the Overture.com business model) I think it was quite natural and inevitable that they succeeded.
The other thing I like about google is their emphasis on technical leadership. This is one topic that I have firm opinions about. I have seen many a startup succumb to the pressure of VCs and Wall Street and delegate its leadership to more "finance savvy" CEOs who may or may not be in line with the founders' mission. The founders think of building a bird and suddenly end up with a dinosaur! Google still emphasizes technical leadership. I would say that is a great trait indeed.
Like many high growth companies, Google has its share of problems. But I can't think of any that is unsolvable.
I also think that the book is written in a very compelling, story telling kind of fashion. This makes it extremely readable and at the same time very informative. Five stars both to the book and to Google as a company!
I have found that there are a lot of things about Google that I like. One of the first things I like about them is that there is a lot of "Good Karma" about the company. And by this, I dont mean their somewhat bombastic "Don't be Evil" motto. What I mean is that Larry and Sergey went about building their search engine with no trace of profit motive to begin with. They did not even heed the "Build it and they will come" dictum. (or maybe they did). But their motive was to build the thing for the sake of doing it. And we all thronged to google.com. They benefitted a ton of people by directing valuable traffic to their websites.
All this happened BEFORE they evolved their adWords model (which the book says is based out of the Overture.com business model) I think it was quite natural and inevitable that they succeeded.
The other thing I like about google is their emphasis on technical leadership. This is one topic that I have firm opinions about. I have seen many a startup succumb to the pressure of VCs and Wall Street and delegate its leadership to more "finance savvy" CEOs who may or may not be in line with the founders' mission. The founders think of building a bird and suddenly end up with a dinosaur! Google still emphasizes technical leadership. I would say that is a great trait indeed.
Like many high growth companies, Google has its share of problems. But I can't think of any that is unsolvable.
I also think that the book is written in a very compelling, story telling kind of fashion. This makes it extremely readable and at the same time very informative. Five stars both to the book and to Google as a company!
Thursday, July 17, 2008
Beautiful Earth and its people
Did you guys check out this video?
It is one of the most beautiful things that you can ever see. Bad dancing at its best. The guy goes all over the world, encourages everyone to dance with him, has a good time, shoots a video in the process, does a great edit on the video and here it is right there posted on the internet!!
The beautiful lilting song of Tagore's ( makes me want to go and grab his Geetanjali and read it) and the nicely choreographed indian dance from Gurgaon add some unique touches to this shoot. We need more of these world unification videos. Makes us all understand that we are in effect one happy family inhabiting this wonderful planet.
It is one of the most beautiful things that you can ever see. Bad dancing at its best. The guy goes all over the world, encourages everyone to dance with him, has a good time, shoots a video in the process, does a great edit on the video and here it is right there posted on the internet!!
The beautiful lilting song of Tagore's ( makes me want to go and grab his Geetanjali and read it) and the nicely choreographed indian dance from Gurgaon add some unique touches to this shoot. We need more of these world unification videos. Makes us all understand that we are in effect one happy family inhabiting this wonderful planet.
Monday, July 14, 2008
Entering fatherhood
Several things have happened in my life over the past few months that merited their entry into this blog. But I havent been able to put myself into a frame of mind to bring these blogging thoughts onto a computer. So guys, brace yourself for the worst, I gotta announce to you that those thoughts have vanished and are lost for posterity. But let me pull a few of those thoughts from the embers and publish them in this entry.
Rahul has now come into Akila's life and mine as well - her life moreso for the time being than mine. He is of course the expected bundle of joy. The entire family is busy arguing as to who he resembles more and we left it for them to fight it out between themselves - with the express stipulation that they don't say that he resembles the postman or the milkman.
Things have been hectic over the past few months. I have changed jobs, relocated to Hyderabad ( a city in South India for the India ignorant), remodelled our flat etc. But behind this excess blur of activity, things have remained placid. I am still getting sweepstake winning notifications from non existent lotteries, getting spammed in my blog periodically (tho less so now than formerly - see my entry about this in my other blog) and still eating my three meals a day and havent lost a wink of sleep thanks to Akila and my inlaws. And yes I put on some weight in sympathy with Akila who quickly lost her weight gain after pregnancy.
But more importantly, there is this almost obsessive thought that I have become a dad of a little adorable child who trusts in me implicitly. It is almost a repeat feeling to the one that I had after marriage when I realized that there is this girl (my wife of course) who has plighted her troth with me. I think that is the greatest benefit of fatherhood.
And when you see your child sleeping peacefully, I am reminded of the Hangman at home poem that we used to be taught at school. It is almost impossible to resist the picture of a little baby sleeping and if the moon decides to shine on the baby's cheek and make the baby more adorable.. more power to the moon..
Rahul has now come into Akila's life and mine as well - her life moreso for the time being than mine. He is of course the expected bundle of joy. The entire family is busy arguing as to who he resembles more and we left it for them to fight it out between themselves - with the express stipulation that they don't say that he resembles the postman or the milkman.
Things have been hectic over the past few months. I have changed jobs, relocated to Hyderabad ( a city in South India for the India ignorant), remodelled our flat etc. But behind this excess blur of activity, things have remained placid. I am still getting sweepstake winning notifications from non existent lotteries, getting spammed in my blog periodically (tho less so now than formerly - see my entry about this in my other blog) and still eating my three meals a day and havent lost a wink of sleep thanks to Akila and my inlaws. And yes I put on some weight in sympathy with Akila who quickly lost her weight gain after pregnancy.
But more importantly, there is this almost obsessive thought that I have become a dad of a little adorable child who trusts in me implicitly. It is almost a repeat feeling to the one that I had after marriage when I realized that there is this girl (my wife of course) who has plighted her troth with me. I think that is the greatest benefit of fatherhood.
And when you see your child sleeping peacefully, I am reminded of the Hangman at home poem that we used to be taught at school. It is almost impossible to resist the picture of a little baby sleeping and if the moon decides to shine on the baby's cheek and make the baby more adorable.. more power to the moon..
Monday, May 12, 2008
Unstated Truths and HR Jurisprudence
I think it is tacitly agreed that HR (Human Resources group) in any company should refrain from using any kind of language or do anything that can even be mildly construed as amounting to a special treatment of an individual. Because, a view that an individual is getting special attention might lead to all kinds of complications. Others might get offended and sue the company for preferential treatment on any number of charges ranging from sexual harassment to racial, religious, gender or any other type of discrimination.
Now this is all good but robs the "personal touch" from the company. One of the greatest promoters of loyalty is to feel wanted by the company. This kind of impersonal tone creates an undefinable wall between the company (as represented by HR) and the individual.
A case in point is the HR manager of one of the companies that I worked for. Whenever she does a favor to me, she goes out of the way to make it clear that this favor was extended to me not because i am special in any way but because i happen to be an employee of the company. No doubt, she was heeding the clearly laid out injunctions of her supervisors. Though I do appreciate her honesty, it would be nice if I can think that people are viewing me specially because of either some skills that I am bringing to the table or due to the position that I am in or due to the goodness of my heart or what have you.
It may be a honest truth that my HR Manager is stating. But it is far nicer if she just did not state it. She does not have to lie and state that she is doing me a favor. But not stating a truth should not be confused with suppression of truth. Every truth in the world does not have to be stated. Let us say I am walking on a street and see a stranger. It is true that since this person is a stranger to me, I won't probably trust him with a $100 note or love him as much as I love my family. But this truth is better left unstated. Going out of my way to actually state it is in my opinion totally unwarranted, irksome and offensive.. What say?
Now this is all good but robs the "personal touch" from the company. One of the greatest promoters of loyalty is to feel wanted by the company. This kind of impersonal tone creates an undefinable wall between the company (as represented by HR) and the individual.
A case in point is the HR manager of one of the companies that I worked for. Whenever she does a favor to me, she goes out of the way to make it clear that this favor was extended to me not because i am special in any way but because i happen to be an employee of the company. No doubt, she was heeding the clearly laid out injunctions of her supervisors. Though I do appreciate her honesty, it would be nice if I can think that people are viewing me specially because of either some skills that I am bringing to the table or due to the position that I am in or due to the goodness of my heart or what have you.
It may be a honest truth that my HR Manager is stating. But it is far nicer if she just did not state it. She does not have to lie and state that she is doing me a favor. But not stating a truth should not be confused with suppression of truth. Every truth in the world does not have to be stated. Let us say I am walking on a street and see a stranger. It is true that since this person is a stranger to me, I won't probably trust him with a $100 note or love him as much as I love my family. But this truth is better left unstated. Going out of my way to actually state it is in my opinion totally unwarranted, irksome and offensive.. What say?
Sunday, March 2, 2008
Unconditional Love
As a would be father I am obviously ecstatically waiting for my little one.
Indian retrograde laws that prohibit revealing the sex of the baby,( aimed at nitwits who don't appreciate feminine progeny) have made sure that I am kept in suspense as to the sex of the baby. (By the way, I got to tell you that these kind of laws, though they vary in content from country to country, are still universal. But that is another topic for another day). Despite all this, I am thrilled thinking about the state of my little one in my wife's womb. I know this is fairly symptomatic of the state of mind of expecting fathers and mothers.
This got me thinking about the entire mechanics of love. Viewed objectively, it is odd that I should develop so much fondness for a child whom I know so little about. I don't know whether the baby would think the same way as I would want him or her to think. How will the baby look like? Everything is in suspense. But I still have this real overwhelming love waiting for the little one to come into this world. Isn't it inexplicable? How can you love someone without knowing anything about them? I guess this is the kind of love that falls under the banner of "Unconditional Love". The only other place where I see such love is in Indian movies where the idiotic hero falls head over heels in love with a gal whom he had just seen in passing.
Anyways, I wonder if this is the kind of love that would be required, to make any relationship work. Do I love my wife just because she happens to be my wife? Or do I impose pre-conditions for my love? I love her because she cooked dinner for me. I love her because she is so well read. Or because she is so pretty? I think at some point in time we need to ask ourselves this question about most people around us.
One of my theories is that I love someone unconditionally if they are not around me. After all like someone said "Distance is a great promoter of admiration". This is especially true for relatives. You love them when they are not around you. The moment you see them, you want them to leave! So from all this, I am jumping to the possibly precipitate conclusion that we love anything unconditional if it stays conceptual. I love my brother since he is my brother. The moment I see him, I want him to alter all kinds of behavior. (Won't you stop chomping your food etc.)
Now I know why God does not show himself (or herself) to us. We love God so long as they are conceptual as the benevolent father (or mother) of the Universe. The moment they show up, we are busy judging them. Do you really have to don that kind of apparel, God? Can't you speak colloquial language like the rest of us? ...
I think I understand the world a little bit better now.
Indian retrograde laws that prohibit revealing the sex of the baby,( aimed at nitwits who don't appreciate feminine progeny) have made sure that I am kept in suspense as to the sex of the baby. (By the way, I got to tell you that these kind of laws, though they vary in content from country to country, are still universal. But that is another topic for another day). Despite all this, I am thrilled thinking about the state of my little one in my wife's womb. I know this is fairly symptomatic of the state of mind of expecting fathers and mothers.
This got me thinking about the entire mechanics of love. Viewed objectively, it is odd that I should develop so much fondness for a child whom I know so little about. I don't know whether the baby would think the same way as I would want him or her to think. How will the baby look like? Everything is in suspense. But I still have this real overwhelming love waiting for the little one to come into this world. Isn't it inexplicable? How can you love someone without knowing anything about them? I guess this is the kind of love that falls under the banner of "Unconditional Love". The only other place where I see such love is in Indian movies where the idiotic hero falls head over heels in love with a gal whom he had just seen in passing.
Anyways, I wonder if this is the kind of love that would be required, to make any relationship work. Do I love my wife just because she happens to be my wife? Or do I impose pre-conditions for my love? I love her because she cooked dinner for me. I love her because she is so well read. Or because she is so pretty? I think at some point in time we need to ask ourselves this question about most people around us.
One of my theories is that I love someone unconditionally if they are not around me. After all like someone said "Distance is a great promoter of admiration". This is especially true for relatives. You love them when they are not around you. The moment you see them, you want them to leave! So from all this, I am jumping to the possibly precipitate conclusion that we love anything unconditional if it stays conceptual. I love my brother since he is my brother. The moment I see him, I want him to alter all kinds of behavior. (Won't you stop chomping your food etc.)
Now I know why God does not show himself (or herself) to us. We love God so long as they are conceptual as the benevolent father (or mother) of the Universe. The moment they show up, we are busy judging them. Do you really have to don that kind of apparel, God? Can't you speak colloquial language like the rest of us? ...
I think I understand the world a little bit better now.
Friday, February 1, 2008
Monkey Business
The recent Indo-Australian cricket series 2008 had a series of incidents. Apart from bad umpiring decisions and aggressive posturing by the Aussies there was the the Harbhajan debacle. Harbhajan Singh was accused of calling Symmonds the Aussie cricketer a monkey which was allegedly due to his racist leanings based on the Australian's aboriginal origins. I am not sure as to what happened. As it turned out in fact the ICC judge exonerated Harbhajan from the charges since they could not be sufficiently corroborated.
But what was interesting is if calling someone a monkey indeed constitutes racism. There were all kinds of theories from our ever fertile minds. Some people said that since Hanuman the monkey God is worshiped in Hinduism, it is not a bad thing to call someone a monkey. To me that is the worst argument that can ever be used in favor of Harbhajan or Bhajji as he is sometimes called. It is like saying that calling someone a "sheep" is not bad since Jesus the Shepherd is worshiped in Christianity. People mock us for these ridiculous arguments and many times with good reason.
There were others who felt that Indians were always racist. Someone came up with the example of the Indian buffalo. He said that the majority of Indians drink buffalo milk (as opposed to cow milk). Yet we worship the cow and not the buffalo because the buffalo is black. Now it is true that "white" is a preferred color with a lot of Indians. People like to be fair skinned rather than dark skinned. But I have seldom seen an Indian being discriminated on the basis of his being black. On the other hand, most Hindu gods are black. Krishna literally means "the dark one". So a preference to a certain color would not necessarily translate to racism. Americans do like blonde people. That does not necessarily translate to "hair color racism". Or maybe it does...
But what was interesting is if calling someone a monkey indeed constitutes racism. There were all kinds of theories from our ever fertile minds. Some people said that since Hanuman the monkey God is worshiped in Hinduism, it is not a bad thing to call someone a monkey. To me that is the worst argument that can ever be used in favor of Harbhajan or Bhajji as he is sometimes called. It is like saying that calling someone a "sheep" is not bad since Jesus the Shepherd is worshiped in Christianity. People mock us for these ridiculous arguments and many times with good reason.
There were others who felt that Indians were always racist. Someone came up with the example of the Indian buffalo. He said that the majority of Indians drink buffalo milk (as opposed to cow milk). Yet we worship the cow and not the buffalo because the buffalo is black. Now it is true that "white" is a preferred color with a lot of Indians. People like to be fair skinned rather than dark skinned. But I have seldom seen an Indian being discriminated on the basis of his being black. On the other hand, most Hindu gods are black. Krishna literally means "the dark one". So a preference to a certain color would not necessarily translate to racism. Americans do like blonde people. That does not necessarily translate to "hair color racism". Or maybe it does...
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