Prabhu's Literature

Following Fish – Delightful Travelogue

2011-05-18T12:09:00.001+05:30

Samanth Subramanian’s debut work, Following Fish, is a collection of essays which captures the essence of coastal India that is in some way or the other intertwined with fish. The author begins following fish cuisine from Kolkata in search of Bengal’s favorite hilsa fish and along the east coast eventually ending in Mangrol a town in Gujarat on the west coast. The people of Mangrol, even today survive by building boats for fishermen. The author traces the path of fish used in Hyderabad’s famous ‘fish treatment’, does interesting anthropology in Tuticorin in Tamil Nadu, which has a vibrant, largely Christian fishing community, gets high on toddy and karimeen in Kerala, tries hunting for the best fish curry in Mangalore, explores Goans’ fondness for fishing and how the beaches and art of fishing is being lost to overdose of tourism and tries finding the real Mumbaikars — the ‘Kolis’.

How did I, a vegetarian, and one who finds even the smell of fish repulsive get hold of this book which, at the outset, appears to be all about fish cuisine? I read excerpts from the book in the Lounge magazine. The writing about the Kerala toddy shops was lucid and made me realize that the book was not just about the fishes.

What I found interesting was that the book wasn’t just about fish and the delicious cuisine, but also about the people, the places, and their history. All this written in a very elegant manner yet with simplicity.

The most vibrant of all the essays to me was the one on the fishing community in Tuticorin. This essay is a good study of the anthropology of the fishing community which is largely Christian, thanks to Portuguese who set foot here in the sixteenth century and helped the paravas (a caste of fishermen) to overcome their rivals, the kayalar who followed the Islamic faith, thanks to Arabs who arrived in Tuticorin earlier. It was interesting to find overlapping aspects between the Christian faith as is currently followed by the community and the Hindus. Church rituals include the aradhana, the valakappu ceremony for pregnant women, prostration before the church altar and even to the point of referring to the church as kovil.

I learnt a new word from this essay– syncretism — the fusion of two different belief systems. In a very delightful way the author renders the life of the community as they live now and the disintegration of hierarchy which was prevalent till the previous generation.

The author’s experiences trying to get good toddy and tasty Karimeen in shops that dot Kerala’s highways made for a humorous read. The author’s auto-rickshaw rides reminded me of my own observations that auto -rickshaw drivers can be very forthcoming in lively conversations if you are willing to listen. The author comes across interesting characters who help him hunt the best toddy.

Another essay that I liked was that of the hunt for the best fish curry in Mangalore. I had visited Mangalore myself and felt that it celebrated a kind of laid back attitude which I liked the most. The shutters of most shops were down at noon and the roads were bereft of traffic. My thoughts on Mangalore were reaffirmed when Samanth Subramanian described the same attitude in Mangalore. He notes that there was a restaurant which had its shutters down indefinitely on the pretext of ongoing roadwork although the restaurant’s door was easily accessible.

Other essays also made for an interesting read, particularly the one on Mumbai and its Koli fishing community. It was interesting to know the origin of the name Mumbai (from Mumba Devi, the patron goddess of the Koli community). The essay on the dying art of fishing in Goa, thanks to excessive fishing and overdoing of activities to increase the influx of tourists has taken a toll on the ecology and the culture.

Overall, this is a delightful little travel book which was written the way I wanted and not a how-to travel guide but one in which people and places speak for themselves.

Japan's Tragedy And Triumph

2011-03-13T21:26:00.000+05:30

Reading this post of John Cook where he points out how sensible engineering has saved hundreds of lives in Japan despite massive earth quake I recall reading about such negligence of things which are invisible in Nassim Taleb's book 'Black Swan'. In the midst of of great tragedy we often neglect things which aren't visible. Appreciating the great engineering work doesn't come to mind. Taleb refers to that invisible aspects that we ignore as 'Silent Evidence'. He uses following story to drive home the point:

Diagoras, a nonbeliever in the gods, was shown painted tablets bearing the portraits of some worshippers who prayed, then survived a subsequent shipwreck. The implication was that praying protects you from drowning.

Diagoras asked, “Where are the pictures of those who prayed, then drowned?”

As we regret the tragic loss of life in Japan, it gives solace to the fact that man has been able to thwart nature's fury, at least to some extent.

Synesthesia. Majjige and Mosaru

2010-09-08T05:36:00.000+05:30

In one of the Reith Lectures the noted neuroscientist, Vilayanur S. Ramachandran talks about a phenomenon called 'Synesthesia'. When people with ‘Synesthesia’ see numerals they tend to associate them with a particular colour. In some cases sound can give raise to sense of smell. Ramachandran , in the lecture also suggested that we are all Synethetes' in a way. If we were to name a shattered pieces of glass and a round egg with names 'Abubba' and 'Kiki', most of us would name the pieces of glass as Kiki and round egg as Abuba. The shapes get associated with the inflections of the sound of words.

Now, this particular piece of information gets reminded to me many times in an interesting manner. In Kannada 'majjige' refers to buttermilk and 'mosaru' refers to curd. But I often get confused and use the word 'majjige' while referring to curd and vice versa! In Tamil the relation is more in line with Synesthesia. The word 'more' refers to buttermilk and 'thayir' refers to curd.

Math Beauty

2010-05-19T17:33:00.001+05:30

From : http://www.futilitycloset.com

3 Idiots

2010-01-24T08:47:00.006+05:30

Carried away by the praises for 3 Idiots on TV, magazines, newspapers, blogs and people around me I ventured to watch the movie. It turned out to be foolish. The movie couldn’t have been made worse. Masking the movie as a feel good one, intented at questioning the education system what the director dishes out is crap like any other that these days gets dismissed by ‘highbrow’ muliplex audience as low quality and meant for the so called ‘B’ and ‘C’ centers.

I am told that it touches at how the education system is defective and needs a overhaul. But I found nothing convinsing and nothing new other than few scenes here and there that Aamir mouths on how things really should be. Otherwise its just a package of unrefined jokes and jokes we have known from god knows when.

What irks me more than the stupid movie is the fact that people are hailing it as masterpiece and good thing to have happened. Its all the Aamir and the Raju Hirani effect. Everybody would want others to believe that they belong to the exclusive circle of intellectual cinema patrons. Saying anything against the ‘perfectionist’ Aamir’s film would be scorned. I am dying to read a review which trashes 3 Idiots for what it actual is without having to say crap like “..despite its few flaws, 3 Idiots is fun and sets you thinking. Go for it!”. Well, I might not find it anywhere. Infact that’s the reason for this blog post.

Thenkachi ko Swaminathan

2009-09-17T22:11:00.002+05:30

Thenkachi ko Swaminathan is no more. I quite vividly remember listening to his 'Indru oru Thagaval' on All India Radio. The messages and humor said in his inimitable style was thoughtful and mornings were never complete without hearing him. I am sure his demise has come as a shocker to all his followers

2009-09-15T14:26:00.003+05:30

PBS voice is perfect. Rajkumar's performance measured. Good Lyrics. Everything in place. Song on par with 'Malarndhum Malaradha' song from the movie Pasamalar.

Flowers At lalbagh

2009-08-13T19:25:00.003+05:30

Dawkins' Next!

2009-08-12T13:05:00.001+05:30

Richard Dawkins is one of my favorite authors. The passion with which he writes on evolution and defends it against any religious body deriding its significance cannot be missed. It is not just Richard’s writing that is fascinating and enlightening but his lectures and talks too are equally interesting. I am now eagerly awaiting his next book The Greatest Show on Earth. I expect it to be better than his masterpiece, The Selfish Gene. I am confident it would be.

Tube Curse

2009-07-17T20:10:00.002+05:30

I have always observed that when browsing the channels on TV, at times I would come across a particularly interesting piece of program. However what I would get to see with disappointment is the program in its conclusion phase. Recently I experienced such a frustration. I landed on a channel in which a western classical concert was in progress. Listening to the music was pure bliss. But it lasted just few minutes. The loss was more painful, just to wonder what had been missed, to see the audience give the composer standing ovation, with ceaseless applause.

The Rakhi Sawant Swayamwar ‘reality’ show on NDTV Imagine. Totally inane.

How True!

2009-06-24T20:41:00.003+05:30

source : http://xkcd.com/

This and That

2009-06-24T19:56:00.009+05:30

Baaski is one of my favorite humorist. Sample the following from VPL which had me in splits: (non Tamil readers please excuse. Translation won't help)

On the topic of traffic woes:
நேயர் : இனிமேல் எங்கேயும் நடந்துதான்
போகணும் சார் !
பாஸ்கி : நடக்குற கதையா பேசுங்க
சார்!

G.V Prakash seems to have drawn a lot of ‘inspiration’ from various sources for creating Ayirathil Oruvan. Its lack of originality has made me become tired of it!

I am keen to watch Pasanga. Of what ever I have seen of it on TV it appears to be promising.

As much as I love listening to Ilayaraaja's masterpieces, I try not listening to him speak in interviews and events. Most of the time its nonsense. Recent case was in the audio release of Valmiki.

Keith Barry does brain magic at TED. Watch it and be astonished!

I am currently reading The Perfect Thing: How the iPod Shuffles Commerce, Culture and Coolness. My black iPod appears much cooler now!

Guns, Germs and Steel

2009-05-30T15:10:00.006+05:30

Guns, Germs and Steel by Jared Diamond tries to answer a fundamental question: Why did history unfold differently on different continents. In dismissing any racial superiority of humans of one region over the other the author takes up the challenge of explaining the root cause of the difference that we find today. Since the end of the last ice age about 13,000 years ago different parts of the world have evolved in a very contrasting ways. From being hunter gatherers humans in some parts of the world evolved to non literate farming societies and in some other parts progressed into literate industrialized communities with metal tools. Some remained hunter gatherers. The book tackles in very engaging way the question of why and how peoples of Eurasia had the head start in the race of human progress and went on to conquer and dominate regions like Africa, Americas and Aboriginal Australia.

The book which has the subtitle, “a short history of everybody for the last 13,000 years”, tries to seek by means of rigorous analysis the ultimate factors that gave rise to proximate causes which in turn affected the course of history. It establishes that the environmental differences were the ultimate factor responsible for the diversification of the continents. The geography of Eurasia was such that it aided plant and animal domestication and farming. A community which starts food production rapidly evolves into a community of large, dense, sedentary, stratified societies. Owing to east/west orientation of continental axis of Eurasia the developments spread easier and rapidly as environmental conditions are more or less the same across the continent. Contrasting this with north/south orientation of Americas and Africa we find that variation in the geography hinders the spread of species and skills developed in one region to spread to other easily. Large population has the advantages that it can develop technology like guns and steel much more easily than distributed and isolated societies. Political organization and writing is the later logical outcome of it. There is also the other factor of germs having evolved from domesticated animals in Eurasia and its population over the years gaining immunity to those. And hence Eurasians armed with their guns, germs and steel went on to conquer other less blessed continents. Guns were no match to stone and primitive tools, germs carried by Eurasians unleashed epidemic of great proportions which resulted in disappearance of native communities in other continents in a limited time span. Steel and technology enabled Eurasians to establish their rule in new world in quick time and oppress the disadvantaged easily.

In the above paragraph, I have taken the liberty to put things in very broad terms what the author has painstakingly explained in the book with scientific rigour. I request that one should read the book to find out how and why various factors had affected the human history.

I found the book very engaging. The book which had me riveted with its initial chapter progresses with lot of intricate details which at times was difficult to read through. However this isn’t a novel and I appreciate the author for his efforts in narrating the history of a long timescale effectively. If you find the title and the subtitle inviting then I say, please indulge. You will not be disappointed.

Being Free.

2009-05-29T19:06:00.002+05:30

Numbers in Life

2009-04-27T12:37:00.007+05:30

My friend Swathi tagged me to write on the significance of numbers in my life. After much thought I have figured out how some numbers have had importance.

It was fun, Swathi. Thanks!

1: No of subjects I failed in my engineering examinations. It was Analog Communications! I had secured 23 :(

2: No of books I was gifted by friends cum colleagues on my farewell day in my previous company. Those were "Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance" and "Guns, Germs, and Steel”. I am reading the latter and its brilliant!

3: No of languages with which I am quiet comfortable reading and writing; Tamil, Kannada and English. Also I stood third in the only essay competition that I ever participated. The essay's title was "Art for Art Sake"

4: My favorite movie of all time is comprised of four names! - "Michael Madana Kama Rajan"

5: No of my team mates at office currently!

6: My birth date! 6th of April

7: In my current company I am a grade 7 engineer!

8: No of my fans on Orkut!

9: It was in standard 9 that I was caught red-handed for indulging in examination malpractice. No, I did not try to clear the exam through short cuts but I passed on my answer sheets to my friend to help him out. That was the first and last time that I did such a thing!

10: No of unique badges that I have earned in Stackoverflow, my favourite Q&A site out there in web.

Black Is Ugly

2009-03-29T09:59:00.012+05:30

I heard the following conversation on a TV show in which the host of the show discusses with college students regarding all things about their institution.

Host: Oh! Why do you call that dog ‘ugly’?
Student: You see, the dog is black in colour, so we call it ugly...

I might not have reproduced the conversation verbatim but the gist is intact. I don’t know if anyone found the response insensitive, but I felt it was nauseating to say the least.

Need For Arch-Enemy

2009-03-25T19:09:00.002+05:30

Jeff Atwood reasons the need for an enemy : Who's Your Arch-Enemy?

Delhi 6

2009-02-28T23:17:00.006+05:30

I was interested in catching up with Delhi 6 for two reasons; A. R Rehman’s score and the book The Last Mughal by William Dalrymple. I was mighty impressed with OST of Delhi 6. And the book had ignited in me an interest in Old Delhi. An article in Outlook magazine which said that the film is a tribute to Old Delhi and that it leaves a strong impression by getting under viewers skin further kindled my interest. But what I experienced was in contrast to what I had expected. Delhi 6 is driven by a spineless script and weak characterization. The movie is not an ode to Old Delhi as embraced by the article in Outlook. Watching the movie was a trying experience and the ordeal ended with a finish which unintentionally is comical. Interestingly I felt that the music lacked luster when heard in conjunction with viewing the film. I didn’t find absolutely anything in Delhi 6 to recommend it and I am baffled on reading some rave reviews.

A. R Rahman's Delhi 6

2009-02-02T19:38:00.006+05:30

It has been quite some time that I am overwhelmed by an entire sound track of a movie. A. R. Rahman's Delhi 6 is right up there with any piece of music that is considered classic. In the same way that I get letdown when ever I hear new works of Raaja (Naan Kadavul is good ,but again, I cannot help but do the mistake of comparing it with his own lofty standards), I was dissatisfied with Rahman, with his efforts in past couple of years. I just wondered when will I get to hear another OST like Duet. Delhi 6 quenched my thirst! My pick of the album is 'Rehna Tu' sung by the man himself.

R.I.P., Nagesh

2009-02-01T10:38:00.002+05:30

The legend is no more. Nagesh's performance in Kathalikka Nermillai is just one of the many that stands testimony to the fact that he is one of the greatest actors to have graced Indian cinema.

Ghajini

2009-01-15T09:53:00.002+05:30

Watching Ghajini, the Tamil version on TV, I was left wondering what was in it that made it a block buster. More baffling is how the Hindi version is being touted as being a good thriller. Is it because it is Amir Khan’s flick the critics do not want to trash it and lap it up despite it being mediocre. I am pretty sure that if Murugadoss had not cast Amir in the lead role, his movie would have gone down with out a trace.

Rock On!!

2008-09-13T13:15:00.002+05:30

‘Rock On!!’ is all gloss but no substance. It is about a four men rock band which having a strong passion for rock music and aspiring to make it big stray away and try reuniting after a decade or so to realize its dream again. The problem is that neither the passion for music nor the struggle is said in a telling manner. Instead what we see is a very loosely connected sequences from the past to present that leaves one guessing whether the guys were really willing to make it big in music. (The lead vocalist quite literally becomes deaf to the sound of music for ten long years and when reunion happens brings up the same level of sophistication that he had in the past!). The soundtrack of the movie is the only saving grace in an otherwise nondescript movie, which could have been better if the screenplay had packed more punch by making music central to the narration than the individuals. In the end what I felt was that the film pretends to be an honest and realistic movie but actually is far from it.

The Kite Runner

2008-09-02T17:25:00.003+05:30

Poignant. Brilliant. I cannot praise enough the first novel of Khaled Hosseini, The Kite Runner. The story is about love, loyalty, betrayal and redemption set in the backdrop of the cruelty of civil war that wrecks havoc in the life of Afghans.

As I read through, I felt that I was in the grip of a master story teller. I recommend it highly and I am eager to read his second novel, A Thousand Splendid Suns.

தபு ஷங்கர் கவிதைகள்

2008-08-05T22:37:00.002+05:30

காற்றோடு விளையாடிக் கொண்டிருந்த
உன் சேலைத் தலைப்பை இழுத்து
நீ இடுப்பில் செருக்கிகொண்டாய்.
அவ்வளவுதான்...
நின்றுவிட்டது காற்று.


கண்ணாடித் தொட்டியில்
நான் வளர்க்கும் மீன்கள்,
உன் மீது புகார் வாசிக்கின்றன...
'அந்த ரெண்டு மீன்களுக்கு மட்டும்
ஏன் அவ்வளவு அழகான தொட்டி?' என்று.

Love exudes out of the writings of Tabu Shankar. I can't help but feel jealous about those who have fallen in love and experience love as imagined in Tabu Shankar's writings.

Terror

2008-07-28T16:53:00.002+05:30

After the serial blasts in Bangalore, it was said as usual that all cities would be put on high alert. With in 24 hours we see bomb blasts happening in prominent places of Ahmedabad. Not one, not two but 16 blasts killing nearly 50 citizens. It makes me wonder what it means by having cities on high alert. The political rhetoric is as much sorrowful as the tragic deaths of innocents in the face of terror. It is high time that the intelligence agents have more teeth and become efficient in subverting the terror activities.

Dasavatharam

2008-07-14T16:24:00.008+05:30

Thanks to Kamal's adept screenplay Dasavatharam is saved from becoming a complete failure. If only he had restrained a bit in his indulgence the final outcome could have been much better.

Song Appreciation

2008-07-02T18:21:00.003+05:30

The song 'Hosa baalina hosilali..' from the movie Shravana Banthu is a perfect song to suit a wedding occasion. Rajkumar's rendering of the song is flawless. Subtle variations in his diction not just in this song but in many others as well is something which sets him apart from others.

The Last Mughal

2008-06-16T06:11:00.007+05:30

“At 4 p.m. on a hazy, humid winter’s afternoon in Rangoon in November 1862, soon after the end of the monsoon, a shrouded corpse was escorted by a small group of British soldiers to an anonymous grave at the back of a walled prison enclosure”

Thus starts the introduction paragraph of the book Last Mughal. The author later reveals that the corpse was that of state prisoner named Bahadur shah II, widely known as Zafar who is a direct descendant of Genghis Khan and Timur, of Akbar, Jahangir and Shah Jahan.

With such a riveting introduction to a book I was sure that the book was not a mere historical account about the Mughals and the 1857 revolution. And I was right.

The Last Mughal by William Dalrymple is an impressive body of literary work which brings history to life. The 1857 Uprising and the fall of the Mughals; Reading through the book, I was astounded by the sheer magnificence of the author’s dedicated research that had enabled him to write with such élan that would enable the reader to understand and interpret history. The book is not a catalogue of dates and events of the last days of the Mughal Empire and the Sepoy mutiny but is an evocative narrative of the fall of a dynasty which ruled for 300 or so years.

William has done a rigorous research by reading through archives which was untouched until he came and thus has written a whole new perspective in to the mutiny. And succeeds in explaining in a manner which is thoroughly enjoyable;
Inserted into the passages at various times are the actual letters that were written and exchanged by the characters. This makes reading an emotional act.

William brings out his uninhibited love for Delhi with great passion that it has made me wish for visiting the old historical city and picture the history for myself.

This book can easily be a reference to how to write history text books should be for schools. If history is told in manner how it ought to be it can be exciting and students can learn quiet a lot and mainly interpret it which I think is not done.

Made To Stick

2008-05-31T13:06:00.002+05:30

Made To Stick by Chip and Dan Heath is delightful book about how to have our ideas and thoughts find its way in to the minds of our audience effectively. The key aspects of information that make them click are explained with loads of interesting anecdotes. The authors by dissecting ideas that have stuck strongly with the people bring out the essential ingredients of sticky ideas. There are six principles at work in making ideas last for long.

Simplicity: Ideas must be compact and at the same time have the ability to have a strong impact. The audience should be able to easily find the core message. The core should be profound as well. We shouldn’t bury the core by making our message complex.

Unexpectedness: When we are trying to get our point across to an audience we need to break their expectations. We should shatter their current understanding, surprise them and pull them in. Curiosity and interest needs to be created by filling out gaps in their understanding. This way we grab their attention.

Concreteness: Avoid abstractions. Concrete ideas tend to be in human understandable terms. While abstract thoughts leave the audience struggling to decode on what is being conveyed, concrete ideas let the crux of the matter quickly stick. The audience would understand the ideas better and remember them as well.

Credibility: People will be ready to hear you out only if your ideas have credibility. Give them an ample set of proofs that would enable them to asses for themselves the credibility of ideas.

Emotions: Our ideas need to touch audiences’ emotions. This way we can make them care for our ideas. The audience must feel, experience some kind of emotions when hearing our ideas.

Stories: If we wish that people act on our ideas, we need to present them with stories that let them picture themselves in the stories. This way people will try to act and try out things as was told in the stories. Stories enable us to imagine. They inspire us.

All these principles are explained in a lucid manner with lot of anecdotes that makes the intention of the book stick in the minds of readers! I enjoyed reading the book and I recommend it.

The Development Process

2008-05-10T12:53:00.003+05:30

Steve Maguire's book Debugging the Development Process is an indispensable one to any engineer who is involved in software development task in any ways. Reading through the book, I was enlightened about the mistakes that I do and the wrong practices that software developers/leads and managers in general follow. I have resolved to put in practice his suggestions. And also its time that I dust Steve's other fine book Writing Solid Code from my book shelf and have it in my work desk for constant reference.

Bijapur

2008-05-07T07:17:00.007+05:30

Thanks to my friend's wedding in Bijapur last week, I had the opportunity to visit the historic city.Gol Gumbaz and Ibrahim Rouza are the most prominent monuments in Bijapur.

More images can be found in my flickr page .

Aramane

2008-05-01T21:11:00.004+05:30

Aramane was disappointing. In the initial moments the crux of the story is revealed and I found it quite interesting and was expecting a good watch. Ganesh is a photographer who tries to get the separated family of Ananth Nag together again. But the screen play falters in presenting the story convincingly. Ganesh tries to shoulder the movie by his wit and timed dialogues. His quips most of the time are no doubt humorous, but that alone cannot engage the audience. Gurukiran’s score is average. Aramane can be watched only to get few genuine laughs, thanks to Ganesh’s witticism a la Tamil’s Parthiban. Otherwise it can safely be skipped.

Coding and Testing

2008-04-19T19:52:00.003+05:30

Code is not ready for release until unit test cases are run and verified. It is always recommended that this rule is religiously followed no matter how little changes that the programmer might have done. Recently I had to relearn this rule the hard way. Confident that nothing would have got broken with the kind of changes that I did, I merged the changes to mainline with out complete testing. The code was released to the test team. And when I attend the office the next day and check my mail, there is a high severity bug reported. A bug so severe it had blocked a huge chunk of test cases of the test team. I had to resubmit the code with the fix sooner. The fix was trivial, thanks to Rational clearcase, I could diff the versions of code and find the cause for the issue. The lessons learnt are, always do complete analysis of the difference b/w the mainline code which has been thoroughly tested and the changed version before merging the codes. And do exhaustive testing before release of the code to avoid the test team report embarrassing issues. The time for testing might be greater than the time invested for writing code but still DO the testing. Lastly I would say that I have fallen in love with the Rational clearcase. I haven’t had experience on any other but I say any amount that might be quoted for the license of the tool is highly justifiable!

IPL

2008-04-19T19:18:00.002+05:30

The IPL cricket has begun. But somehow I am not finding it a least bit interesting. The first thing that puts me off with IPL is the names of the teams in the tournament. A huge amount of money has been thrown in, still no creative thought given in naming the teams! I am not an avid fan of cricket. But if at all I watch it on TV is just when players like Sachin and Lara are in their flow. The T20 is just going to display mediocre cricketing skills and one would not get to see graceful cricket.

The Divide

2008-01-31T06:28:00.000+05:30

Extract from Arundhati Roy 's article "Listening To Grasshoppers" in Outlook:

..the era of the free market has led to the most successful secessionist struggle ever waged in India the secession of the middle and upper classes to a country of their own, somewhere up in the stratosphere where they merge with the rest of the world's elite. This Kingdom in the Sky is a complete universe in itself, hermetically sealed from the rest of India. It has its own newspapers, films, television programmes, morality plays, transport systems, malls and intellectuals. its own class struggles. An organisation called Youth for Equality, for example, has taken up the issue of Reservations, because it feels Upper Castes are discriminated against by India's pulverised Lower Castes. It has its own People's Movements and candle-light vigils (Justice for Jessica, the model who was shot in a bar) and even its own People's Car (the Wagon for the Volks launched by the Tata Group recently). It even has its own dreams that take the form of TV advertisements in which Indian CEOs (smeared with Fair & Lovely Face Cream, Men's) buy over international corporations, including an imaginary East India Company. They are ushered into their plush new offices by fawning white women (who look as though they're longing to be laid, the final prize of conquest) and applauding white men, ready to make way for the new kings. Meanwhile, the crowd in the stadium roars to its feet (with credit cards in its pockets) chanting 'India! India!'

Many might dismiss her as just being mere rhetoric, but give it a thought, you would agree with the crux of her arguments. And I do.

Jack The Ripper

2007-11-27T08:08:00.000+05:30

When History Channel on cable TV announced that the film Jack the Ripper would be screened in the weekend that passed I recalled reading long back an article on the film in Deccan herald. The author had said that the film was a masterpiece worth seeing many times. I didn't want to miss the movie and I watched it. The author had got it right. The film is indeed a masterpiece. The movie is based on the true events that occurred in London in the year 1888.Wikipedia quotes -"Jack the Ripper is an alias given to an unidentified serial killer (or killers) active in the largely impoverished Whitechapel area and adjacent districts of London, England in the latter half of 1888"

Everything was done to perfection in the movie. The story telling and the background score were excellent. What impressed me most was the performance by each actor in the movie, particularly Sir Michael Caine in the role of Detective Inspector Frederick Abberline. Each had done their best. There certainly would be repeat telecast of the movie. Do watch it. To quote from the article mentioned earlier -for the subtleties and complexities in movie are truly worth savoring.

Nodi Swamy Navirode Heege!

2007-11-21T12:10:00.000+05:30

What an irony! In the month in which Karnataka should be celebrating it’s Rajyosthava it is under President’s rule. It is a shameful political drama that Karnataka is witnessing presently. Amidst all the noise a particular message from the political class is clear - nodi swamy navirode heege!

Nothing But Gimmickry

2007-11-13T20:52:00.000+05:30

If you think that the hype and hoopla seen with the release of the Bollywood movies Om Shanti Om and Saawariya is nothing but gimmickry, read this article that appeared in Deccan Herald. The reason is apparent as to why pretty decent movies like Iyarkai, which has the same story line as that of Saawariya, go largely unnoticed but Saawariya receives more attention than what it deserves. The hype makes you believe that you need to watch the movies else you will be the odd person in the crowd.

Azhagiya Thamizh Magan

2007-11-11T12:17:00.000+05:30

Vijay plays a dual role in a movie, which is devoid of a strong storyline.All other characters, is inconsequential. A R Rahman's score passes through your ears. I think, we cannot expect any more breath taking music from A R Rahman; at least as far as his contribution to Tamil cinema is concerned. Rajni in his later part of career started making movies, which were powered by his presence alone, Vijay tries it quiet too early. Give the movie a miss. Watch it when it is on TV. But wait, do yourself a favour - give that a miss as well.

BMTC

2007-10-17T23:30:00.000+05:30

Bangalore's public bus transport facility maintained by the BMTC ought to be the best in the country. Its service and quality of the buses that ply have improved by many fold over the years. This I can assert because BMTC buses have been my companion over the last 10 years or so. And Chennai's Pallavan transport should be among the worst.

Ramanujan - The Man Who Knew Infinity

2007-10-14T21:05:00.000+05:30

Roberts Kanigel's "The Man Who Knew Infinity" was an interesting read. The book is about Srinivasa Ramanujan’s incredible life and his Mathematics. The author details the life of the math genius in an accessible manner even for a reader who is remote to the kind of work Ramanujan excelled. The author succeeds in this because he does not dwell into the esoteric areas of Mathematics in which Ramanujan excelled but just makes a succinct reference to his works wherever necessary.

The story begins with an account of Ramanujan’s birthplace, Kumbakonam and his school education. Ramanujan faltered in all subjects but Mathematics. He stood apart from the rest in the way he worked out his favorite subject. After initial struggle in getting spotted as a boy with bundle of talent he does come to be recognized as a person with real mathematical skills. The significant recognition does not come from India but from England. Failing to find anyone in India who would properly understand him, he is advised to write to Cambridge and other places of repute. He writes to couple of distinguished Mathematicians in England for assistance only to be disappointed. But fate has it that he also writes to G. H Hardy. And Hardy responded with a keen interest in Ramanujan’s works. That was enough to spread the name of Ramanujan across the educated circle in South India. Hardy’s endorsement helps Ramanujan in getting rewarded with a scholarship. This enabled him to do his Mathematics at will not needing to care about his daily mores of his personal life, which had become a concern having been wedded at a young age. Hardy invites him to Cambridge and after initial apprehensions Ramanujan crosses seas against his caste traditions.

The author dedicates a chapter on Hardy, which gives a very good insight to the stuff that he is made of. The author does well in bringing out his love of Mathematics, penchant for Cricket, his atheism and much more. Then begins the engrossing passage of the book, Ramanujan’s life in Cambridge. Ramanujan finds in Hardy much-needed companion. Their ‘friendship’ and the work together would become a stuff of legend later. Though Hardy helped Ramanujan in finding his true self by enabling him to do his Mathematics, he failed to be friend at personal social level. The seven years that Ramanujan spends in Cambridge wrecks havoc to Ramanujan’s personal life. He remains totally unaware of most of the happenings back home. The straining of relationship between his mother and wife and many such painful events occur in India These and his staunch vegetarianism has him afflicted with Tuberculosis. But the work he does in Cambridge earns him a Fellow of Royal Society [FRS].

He returns to India as a FRS only to be pulled into the struggle of social life. His mathematical contribution remains at a minimal. Unable to cope up with pressures of life and unyielding health problems he passes away at a young age of thirty-two. The passage of his life towards the end makes for a sad reading. One can only wonder what could have been if only Ramanujan was healthy and lived for many more years.

I appreciate the author’s skill in writing the biography of one of enigmatic figures of India in a lucid manner. A very good read and I highly recommend it.

Bug Fixes

2007-09-24T07:16:00.000+05:30

Fixing a bug in an application, which uses a third party stack is always challenging especially if it isn't obvious at outset where the problem lies. Recently I was up against two such issues in the application that I code. The fascinating thing is that both required a single line change of code but almost twenty man-days to find out which line to change! The multithreaded client application uses the OpenSSL stack to secure the communication with the server. One issue was significant memory leak and the other a crash. Both issues did not give direct pointers to the buggy code.

Valgrind is a very good tool for debugging memory leak issues. It reported 3k bytes of leak for every connection that was made to the server. The mailing list gave hints to the solution. After about ten days of analysis and help from top-notch developer in team it turned that I was using an OpenSSL API incorrectly. The fix turned out to be calling a different method than what I was using.

The application crash problem was tougher. It couldn't make it to the targeted release of the product. The crash was occurring when the application was heavily stressed. The mailing list was of not much help. After days of investigation it turned out that the bug was in the OpenSSL code. The OpenSSL method of getting thread IDs was failing in the Linux kernel 2.6. The implementation returned the same ID for every thread. As such the stack was to be changed to fix the issue. And even this time the fix is just a change in one line of the code. Here too I should be thanking my friend who helped me in having the issue fixed and the product released. It helps in having a high quality developer in the team as very good friend of yours!

Crazy Ho Gaya!

2007-07-30T12:37:00.000+05:30

I watched Dhoom-2 on TV. It is one hell of a hilarious movie. The movie is dud but never mind it is fun. ‘Serious’ moments are outright comical and comedy is bland. I forgive Sivaji.

Math Atheist!

2007-07-20T12:55:00.001+05:30

Sivaji

2007-06-26T15:03:00.000+05:30

Sivaji saw an unprecedented pre release media attention. And the movie fails to deliver in a manner, which would justify the hype. A bad screenplay fails the movie big-time. The movie is devoid of common sense even at microscopic level and is surprising given the fact that Sujatha has penned the dialogues. Rajinikanth might satisfy his die-hard fans to some extent with his screen presence, but if one was expecting another Baasha, it’s a big letdown. The comedy for most part is naïve and at times crass. The conflict between the hero and villain isn’t presented effectively. Money has been spent lavishly on songs, which are mediocre, by ARR standards.

The biggest flaw is the way the story has been told. Events seem disconnected. One scene does not lead to the other. It appears like the director/writer was content if he succeeds to feed the larger than life image of Rajinikanth. Apart from Vivek none else get much time on screen. Even the anti hero character is denied its fair share. The movie I feel has necessary flaws to have become another disaster like Baba for Rajinikanth. But thanks to the marketing that was done during the course of the filmmaking and prior to its release the movie has survived. It has been declared a hit.

Pet Peeves...

2007-06-13T10:46:00.000+05:30

The more I listen to the FM radio stations, the greater my distaste for them becomes. Even after I had vented my frustration in one of my earlier post, I am not at peace. I find myself arguing with those who listen to FM radio regularly.

What have the 24 /7 news channels become these days? They would give entertainment channels run for their money. These channels when watched do nothing but add noise to my understanding of what’s happening around me. There are many channels but too little to offer worth while. I would be better off with just my daily newspaper.

All shows in which you are given advice as to how to improve your life by means of numerology, gemology, tarot reading and such nonsense. These kinds of shows hog the air time of most of the Tamil channels. There is one show in which a crackpot called Satyamurthy claims that he has cures for AIDS and tumors. Wonder why there has not been any PIL filed against the flourish of pseudoscience in society? May be I should.

The Tamil film music scene. Is there one song which has come in recent time which would stand the test of time? Which has moved you? Which had you in rapture? Sadly none and gems of IR and ARR loaded in my iPod have not been replaced for quite a long time.

I cannot stand theBangalore traffic. It’s getting worse.

Editorials and Humour

2007-06-11T16:14:00.000+05:30

The Editorials written in the New Scientist magazine never fail to impress me. When commenting on science that has wider social implications like global warming, its opinions are always honest. One should read magazines like New Scientist to form an opinion on matters like science and religion, impact of science on society at large and so on. And Feedback is another column which I enjoy reading in this science and technology magazine of repute.

Now some humour from Feedback:

Computer rage

FROM the department of computer rage: Peter Brennan was working with the latest version of Adobe's Dreamweaver. When he tried to use the "recent files" list to open a file not available on his network, a box popped up saying, "No error occurred". The only other thing on the box was a button saying "OK". He pressed it and the box disappeared, but the file he wanted didn't open. He tried to open the file again and the same thing happened. Whereupon he took out a gun and shot his computer.

No, he didn't - but we wouldn't blame him if he had.

Cheeni Kum

2007-05-07T20:29:00.000+05:30

Ilayaraja has recreated three of his classics for Cheeni Kum. Its amazing how the songs sound contemporary even after a decade or so and not like a remixed version. Orchestration has his signature. Though the songs are good I wish the interludes in the originals were retained. May be it wouldn't have suited given the Bollywood's style of music. It is to be seen how this album is received by Bollywood.

Adieu Brain Lara.

2007-04-24T16:58:00.000+05:30

I am not an avid cricket fan who watches the repeat telecast of a cricket match. But there is an exception. I would watch any day the masterful innings of Brain Lara. His stroke play is akin to a musical symphony. According to me there is no batsmen as stylish as Brain Lara. Thanks Brain for all those wonder ful stroke play of yours.

Collective Magic of IR, SPB and S Janaki

2007-04-17T21:52:00.000+05:30

There is something unique and special in many of the songs that Ilayaraja composed in the eighties. It carries with them the inimitable trademark of his that even if you hear it for the first you can identify those as Ilayaraja’s compositions. One such song is in Kannada, which I heard in radio recently. I was left wondering how did I ever miss such a vintage Ilayaraja song. I soon found the song here. Do listen to the song which has the mesmerising magic of Ilayaraja, SPB and S Janaki.

Examination Days

2007-04-09T19:05:00.000+05:30

Its examination time and I get to see while commuting in the bus students discussing about the exam that they have written and about the subject that they will write next. Seeing them reminds me of my days in college and in particular the examination days. Of all days the examination days are quite special. The days would be joyful if everything goes right else gloomy if one does poorly in the exams.

There are two types of discussion that will happen on the exam day. One is the discussion that we friends would discuss before entering the examination hall. One later, when we step out of the hall. On the day of the exam we would gather in the canteen and many of us will be in serious discussion with each other. Every one would have some part of the syllabus not yet prepared but would be hoping to get whatever info in the last minute from one who has prepared it well. A set of previous question papers would come in handy to at least to pass the exam if not to score more. While some would be quietly immersed in their books, some would be pestering others to let know them how to solve particular problems. Couple of them would play the role of jesters disturbing some and entertaining some.

When the bell rings to indicate that we should enter the exam halls, our bags would be packed and all the needed accessories like pen, calculator and the hall ticket would be pocketed. We would enter the hall and quietly occupy the seat marked with our register number. Answer sheet would be handed over and with another ring the question paper. While some would start writing immediately and some spend few minutes and start writing quite a few would keep staring the question paper for well over thirty minutes. Clear indications that the candidates think questions have come out of prescribed syllables. When the supervisor tells that the time remaining is only thirty minutes its time for us to scribble what ever comes to mind. What we write from this point on would not be illegible even to our own eyes!

When we step out of the hall, we would start evaluating our performance. Faces of all kinds, some smiling, some gloomy, and some emotion less, all could be seen at the college gate. We would assign marks to each question and see how much we might score. We would continue discussing about it when we are traveling back home in the bus. Some would rue their fate and some would be ecstatic oblivious to the fact that others are watching. Examination days are truly special.

Sivaji

2007-03-24T13:00:00.000+05:30

Certain tracks of Rajnikanth’s Sivaji is now available. After the first listen, my opinion is that the album falls flat with all the high expectations over it. It does not reflect A. R Rehman. The A. R Rehman that I know is not seen in the audio tracks of Sivaji. As per the audio listing here, there are three songs and theme music. One of the duets has Udit Narayan as the play back singer. Udit Narayan for Rajni and I cannot imagine how the visuals with the audio is turning out to be! If one should go by the stills that have been doing the rounds it’s going to be awful. There is a theory that Rehman’s album should be heard over many times to appreciate his work with which I do agree. But with Sivaji the theory is not going to work out. Hope that atleast the movie is as much entertaining as was Baasha.

Comment

2007-03-23T20:44:00.000+05:30

The following is Harry's comment to my post "FM Radio" in which I was critical of radio jockey's talks and the kind of programs that get aired. Harry makes a hard hitting statement.

You hit the nail on the head! You took the words out of my mouth!

"Commercial needs" doesn't, in any case, imply the stupid SMS and telephone line chatter I heard not only in Bangalore but also at Dubai, there with Malayalam stations. It is evident that someone suddenly 'discovered' this old and tired-out phenomenon discarded from 50s, 60s, and 70s North American radio (just as India has done with cell phones) and decided to ape it. As usual, with sad results - thanks to satellite television which is the reason Indians try to out-do the whites and carry imitation to comical exaggerated extremes! Having lived in the US and Canada for 39 years, with a degree in radio and tv broadcasting, and having listened to smooth, polished super-stations where the announcers make anywhere from $100,000 to $20 million (that is correct) or more a year, I believe I am qualified to separate the men from the boys in radio! These FM stations I heard in India and Dubai are amateurish, to say the least.
Many stations are going to automated programming in the U.S. and Canada, getting rid of the irritating motor-mouths. Who needs them? Listeners want more entertainment in the form of music, as can be seen from channel-hopping in North America. Take it to another extreme, and you have Indian AM radio. But, that is another story!

If these Indian and Dubai stations would only listen...:( The possibilities are endless for AM and FM in this part of the World, if only they knew what they are missing!

Harry , thanks much. You made my day.

World Cup

2007-03-19T09:35:00.000+05:30

The world cup is turning out to be an interesting one. Who would have thought that the Pakistan would be the first team to be knocked out of the tournament or that the Indians would be pushed to the wall and the prospect of them making into second round a 50-50 chance? Herschelle Gibbs hits six sixes in an over and Ricky Ponting isn’t surprised for he thinks the ground was very, very small (which does not surprise me. If I remember right, when Lara scored 400 test runs in an innings Ponting didn’t have words to praise the effort). Bob Woolmer unfortunately dies. It’s all happening and for now I am looking forward to the India-Sri lanka game. I believe that match would go down to the wire and would be worth sacrificing one’s sleep in watching the Cricket.

If India should lose the match against Sri Lanka they would be out of tournament and who would be more upset than the Indian cricket fan? The Indian media which have been churning out programs that would make one believe that the world cup is what India needs most and nothing else. Nonsense is what, at least I find in those programs. One such stupid show is where a tarot card reader is invited in the studio to discuss the prospects of team and players. What I prefer is to just watch the game, draw my own judgments and predictions. I would not waste time in watching any thing else than the game itself.

World Cup Resolutions

2007-03-08T09:34:00.000+05:30

Nirmal Shekar writes about resolutions worth considering with regards to the forthcoming Cricket World Cup. Read all the resolutions here. All his points are very much valid. I liked the following much:

Let us resolve that we will not elevate — apeing the tacky TV tripe peddled by sportscasters — the latest match-winning century by an Indian batsman into `the greatest ODI hundred ever made.' Even a cursory knowledge of history will be enough to realise that there were, indeed, a few in the past who could do a bit with the bat in World Cups. Ever heard of Viv Richards?

Let us resolve that we will never again say that Team India carries the hopes of a billion people and the prayers of that many are with Rahul Dravid's men. The truth — if anybody still cares for it in this age of ephemera, an age of boosterism and saturation coverage of popular sport in the media — is that a vast majority of that billion has rather more mundane everyday concerns. Their hopes and dreams are not hooked to the fortunes of the men in blue.

Let us resolve that we will not glorify the triumph as the `greatest achievement in the history of Indian sport' should Dravid's men come back with the World Cup. It might not even be the greatest achievement in the history of Indian cricket. Twenty four years ago, on a lovely English summer day, a bunch of one-day cricket minnows from this land beat one of the greatest sides ever to take the field in a World Cup final — Clive Lloyd's 1983 West Indians.

Let us resolve to revel in the glory of every great performance in this World Cup irrespective of the nationality of the performer. Let us not be prisoners of our passions and become sorry losers. It never did matter to me that Shane Warne wasn't Indian; nor did it matter to me that Pete Sampras and Roger Federer were unlikely to get goose-bumps when the Jana, Gana, Mana is sung. Tendulkar apart, these are the men who have given me the greatest sports-watching pleasure in recent times.

Baasha

2007-02-27T09:44:00.000+05:30

This is the scene which I like the most in the movie Baasha where Rajni says ‘Oole Po’. No other actor, I think could have done justice to that scene. I would also say that Baasha is also one of the finest entertainers. Nowadays watching films like Pokiri, Sivakasi and the like I am very much critical of actors like Vijay and Ajith. The reason is that they try to imitate Rajni. One gets a sense of déjà vu .I am not a huge fan of Rajni but I vouch for the fact there can be only one who can do movies like Baasha and make it entertain: that is Rajnikant. It is high time that the present breeds of actors realize that and choose scripts that are suitable to them.

Pokkiri

2007-02-19T11:38:00.000+05:30

With nothing much to do in Chicago, I decided to watch Pokiri which is available in Internet. Thanks to a 24 hours high speed Internet connection at an affordable price in my hotel room the video streaming was good.

As for the movie, only hard core Vijay fans can enjoy it. I felt the movie had a hopelessly written screenplay. I couldn’t, even after watching the complete movie, understand what the movie was about. It is an outright Vijay movie with other characters having absolutely zero significance. Comedy track with Vadivelu was naïve. But there is one scene seeing which one would laugh out loud, watching Vijay in a police costume. Yes, Vijay is an IPS officer, a fact which comes to light at the last moment in the plot. Vijay should not even remotely think of donning police officer character in his movies. Less said the better about Manisharma’s musical score for the movie. I am not sure if Pokiri is a hit but Prabhu Deva should be more sensible and be more creative as he would be in his choreography, if he wishes to become a film maker of appreciable quality.

Chicago's Winter

2007-02-19T03:21:00.000+05:30

The winter in Chicago is so harsh that after two weeks of stay here I haven’t had the opportunity to do any sightseeing but to stay in my hotel room or in office. Even to my office that is just a stone’s throw away, I have to take a cab. With just couple of more weeks left for my stay in Chicago and the whether not relenting I am afraid I might not see anything worthwhile. The trip to Hong Kong was better, lot better.

Chicago!

2007-02-10T05:30:00.000+05:30

Here are some interesting quotes on the American city Chicago:

I miss everything about Chicago, except January and February.

- - - Gary Cole

Chicago is the product of modern capitalism, and, like other great commercial centers, is unfit for human habitation.
- - - Eugene Debs, 1908

I think that's how Chicago got started. A bunch of people in New York said, "Gee, I'm enjoying the crime and the poverty, but it just isn't cold enough. Let's go west."
- - - Richard Jeni

Satan (impatiently) to Newcomer: The trouble with you Chicago people is, that you think you are the best people down here; whereas you are merely the most numerous.

- - - Mark Twain "Pudd'nhead Wilson's New Calendar," 1897

Here is the difference between Dante, Milton, and me. They wrote about hell and never saw the place. I wrote about Chicago after looking the town over for years and years.
- - - Carl Sandburg, in Harry Golden, Carl Sandburg, 1961

Now why would I be writing quotes on the Chicago? Well I am now in Chicago fighting out the toughest whether that I have ever seen!

While most of the quotes that I have mentioned here render a negative impression on the city (the quotes are pretty old as well), I would blog about what I feel about the city in my future posts.

Raj Kumar – One of India’s Finest Singers

2007-01-22T13:08:00.000+05:30

The late Kannada cinema icon Raj Kumar is widely known outside of Karnataka as the film personality who had grown to a stature such as to represent the Kannada culture. But what is not known is that he was an extremely talented singer. Its surprises me often that whenever someone discusses about Raj Kumar, his singing talent is hardly mentioned. In my opinion Raj Kumar excelled more in his singing than his acting. And I would certainly consider him to be one amongst the finest singers of Indian cinema.

Some of the memorable songs sung by Raj Kumar:

· Sadha Kannali …

· Hosa Baalina…

· Ide Raagadalli…

· Jeeva Hoovaagidhe…

· Nina nana Manavu…

· Haalu Jenu…(excellent rendition by the thespian in this song)

· Beladingalagi Baa…

· Anuraga Yennaithu Manaseke …

If there is one reason that I still at times tune into FM stations notwithstanding my dislike of them is just because to listen to Raj Kumar’s mellifluous voice.

Unreal Reality Shows

2007-01-22T13:02:00.000+05:30

I have always maintained that the reality shows on television channels are not worth spending my time on. Whenever I come across such shows, particularly the ‘Big Boss’ kind that is on Indian television now, I feel that they insult my intelligence. And my views are strengthened more with the recent noise over the British television show the ‘Celebrity Big Brother’. I would switch over to watch Cartoon Network or switch off my TV rather than watching these stupid shows and the meaningless discussions about them on news channels.

No Man's Land

2006-12-18T14:12:00.000+05:30

Last weekend I had a chance to watch the movie No Man's Land. The Hindi film Lagaan had lost the oscar for 'best foreign film' category to No Man's Land. Rightly so. No Man's Land deserved the oscar and other numerous awards that it had bagged.

A powerful movie showcasing brilliantly the futilty of war. The film brings out the hatredness among waring regions, the hypocrisy that prevails in the media, the uselessness of United Nations splendidly. The story is universal. Consider any war torn regions the film fits aptly everywhere. Appreciate the director's talent in narrating a sensitive story seriously and with great wit.

Do grab the DVD if you haven't watched No Man's Land yet.

FM Radio

2006-12-15T14:12:00.000+05:30

Many new FM Radio stations have come on air in Bangalore in recent past. I believe this is the case in many other metros in India. Radio listeners will have many choices now. But I have found them wanting. The talk of the radio jockeys leaves lot to be desired. To listen to a good song I will have to bear senseless chattering of the hosts, ads lacking in creativity and many songs of not my liking. The most irritating is the lack of sense in the talks of the hosts. This is more so if two or more are conducting the show. And I can’t understand why a radio jockey should repeat a catch line of the radio station a hundred times every minute. It’s painful to ears to listen to same wordings again and again. Add to this the listeners interacting with the hosts and sending SMS. The hosts will have to keep repeating the numbers to dial in and message. All this makes me to avoid the FM radios particularly when I am traveling and switch on my iPod which is loaded with songs and podcasts of my preferences. I do agree there are shows which are worth listening but those are few and far between. I can enjoy songs with my iPod sans all things that are boring with the FM radio stations. I hope the quality of shows improves, given the powerful media that it is, with people at all levels of society listening to it, imagine how effective the FM radios would be in bringing about a useful change.

Indian Cricket and Fighting Spirit

2006-12-06T10:27:00.000+05:30

Rohit Brijnath is one sports columnist whose writing I follow keenly. He writes for The Hindu regularly. Be it Cricket, Athletics, Tennis or any other sport, he writes with great élan. Read his comments on the recent slump of Indian Cricket here .

"Fighting is many things. It is the constant warding off of impatience. It is battling the waistline. It is the honest struggle to lift personal standards. It is the desperate hanging on to concentration…Part of the contest of sport is not with opponent, but with the self, the ability to find faith and courage when the hands quiver. Furthermore the great player separates himself from the pack because he asks more from himself than others do"

Indian Cricketers should learn from their mistakes and others else they could well forget about the World Cup.

Post Cards from Hong Kong

2006-10-31T21:17:00.000+05:30

more will be uploaded in flickr soon

Hong Kong!

2006-10-30T18:11:00.000+05:30

I was in Hong Kong last week on a work related assignment. Being on my first visit to any foreign land, it was quite an experience. The city is beautiful, densely populated with numerous high raise buildings. It surprises me on how a city could be so clean notwithstanding its dense population. The attitude of people does matter not just of the authorities, isn’t? I had no difficulty in moving around the city. The city is very well organized to give the visitor knowing English a pleasant stay. But I being a vegetarian who refrains from egg as well it was a tough time. I couldn’t find even a single Indian style restaurant in the commercial hub of the city where I stayed. Nor was I able to spot many Indians, residential or as visitors.

Hong Kong is methodical in contrast to the city in which I live. The Bangalore authorities are planning to establish a metro rail system in the city. It would be many years before Bangaloreans could see metro rail system as good as it is in Hong Kong. Having traveled in the Bangalore city buses regularly I found the metro rail system in Hong Kong too could to be true! The city is costly as well. And it’s a shopping paradise. If you have got the money then Hong Kong should be one city that you would love to be in. In the next post I shall publish some more of photos that was taken during my stay in Hong Kong.

Question

2006-10-21T09:29:00.000+05:30

Read the following question in the Last Word column of New Scientist :

Is it true that if the Earth's atmosphere extended all the way to the sun, then the noise the sun makes would deafen us all? How much sound energy does the sun create? And what other effects would manifest themselves?

Pat Morgan, Greenock, Renfrewshire, UK

Interesting question I felt. I think the answer is yes. The Sun sound would deafen us all.

Blogging

2006-10-09T14:27:00.000+05:30

It’s been a little more than a year since I started this blog. The frequencies of my posts over the last few months have been very minimal. Though my preoccupation with my work could be one reason, the fact that I didn’t have anything useful to say should also be factored in. I do not wish to continue in this fashion lest this blog should appear as inactive and lose it tiny readership base that it might have! I shall be updating this blog as often as possible, of course with information that would make sense to its readers. I should be posting regularly and with more verbose if the blog title Prabhu’s Literature should make any sense.

Cricket

2006-09-13T15:02:00.000+05:30

Only West Indies can lose a game like this!

Wake Up

2006-08-04T18:38:00.000+05:30

The day's begun, the sun has sprung,
My shingle on the door is hung.
So work I must, without disgust,
Lest my bank account should gather dust.

- By Bill Cameron

Busy with my work of late, hence my blog is gathering dust!

The Meaningless IIFA Awards

2006-07-07T14:17:00.000+05:30

Read here an article commenting on the hypocrisy of the Indian Film Academy (IIFA) Awards.

Excerpts from the article:

"Indian cinema is not just Bollywood, and Hindi is not the only language. Why should our films be called South Indian cinema instead of being under the banner of Indian films?" - Mammootty

…South Indians have won 14 out of 26 National Awards over that many years (Mammootty himself won it thrice, the Big B once, King Khan never) and that a significant number of Hindi films are remakes of successful South Indian films — Telugu, Tamil, and Malayalam. And these include all old record-breaking Telugu and Tamil remakes. Remember those Jeetendra starrers?

Whether it's Chachi 420 or the more recent Hulchul: the modus operandi is to take an intelligent, riotous comedy with well-knit plot and great dialogues, all blended lightly. Whip it up to a thin fizz, add lots of noise, more songs, often more heroines, give it a hit-over-head quality taking care to remove the intelligence, and presto! you have the Hindi version.

I completely agree with the author of the article.

President's Bus Ride

2006-06-12T09:47:00.000+05:30

As one of those who use the Bangalore metropolitan buses to commute to office and back home, I couldn’t help but laugh out loud seeing the cartoon in The Hindu edit page. Mr. President would find the bus ride much more adventurous than the Sukhoi and Submarine experience. Just see the smile on our President and plight of his security guard. Excellent cartoon.

The Beautiful Game

2006-06-09T10:50:00.000+05:30

The World Championship of the beautiful game kicks off today! Forget about the ongoing Test Cricket series between India and West Indies and get ready to enjoy the live actions from Germany. Except for the most prominent teams and few players I am not aware of the any thing else about the World Cup. But I don’t care. Watching the matches would no doubt be bliss. When I was in school not a day would pass without my class not having played the game. In fact I have rarely played Cricket in my school. But after joining college for lack of opportunities to play football I had to rest my legs. With this World Cup I am going to revive all those memories of school days.

Quote

2006-06-07T14:13:00.000+05:30

“Ever tried. Ever failed. No matter. Try again. Fail again. Fail better.”

- Samuel Beckett

I Seek A Ban On...

2006-06-06T17:50:00.000+05:30

Aamir Khan’s film Fanna is banned in Gujarat. The Da Vinci Code is banned in few states. Even I would like to seek a ban on the following things:

Mega Serials - These are highly reprehensible.
Tele-shopping shows - Nothing else can insult one’s intelligence as these shows.
24x7 News channels - Can’t imagine how low they have stooped of late.
Shows on numerology, gemology and craps like that.

I have no opinions on the bans on Fanna and The Da Vinci Code but I strongly feel if all things that I have mentioned are banned, TV viewing can be much better.

The Da Vinci Code

2006-06-02T19:39:00.000+05:30

There are many movies that are made based on a book. The Da Vinci Code must be the first movie that I have watched after reading the book upon which the film is based. Having appreciated the book I was bit skeptical that the cinematic version would be a let down, particularly after reading the reviews in media. But it was not. Though not as gripping and riveting as the book, the movie as well can be appreciated. I feel that presenting a literature in a cinematic form has it own limitation. By that thought I give The Da Vinci Code thumps up.

"Avian bird flu" joke

2006-05-05T19:08:00.000+05:30

A bear, a lion and a chicken are talking about who is the hardest. The bear says, "When I roar the whole forest trembles." The lion says, "When I roar the whole jungle shakes with fear." The chicken says, "All I have to do is cough and the whole world runs for the hills."

Source: New Scientist

Short Stories

2006-05-02T10:02:00.000+05:30

Hot Days Long Nights is an anthology of African short stories. The book is a collection of twenty-six stories by African writers. This book having published by the National Book Trust is priced at a very less price. The first thing that comes to my mind when I think of Africa, sadly, is its backwardness. So while buying this book I thought the most of the stories would be about the plight of the Africans, particularly its women. And I was right. Most of the stories that I have read so far have been poignant. I believe the other sories as well would be as as much touching.

Rajkumar

2006-04-15T10:50:00.000+05:30

Kannada matinee idol Rajkumar is no more. His death has left millions of his fans devastated. More than as an actor I liked him as a singer. Rajkumar has sung number of memorable songs one of my favorites being the song 'Halu Jenu'. But the violence that occurred in Bangalore on the day of his funeral was most shocking. I would not accept those who were part of the violence as true fans of the thespian. It was some anti-social elements, which took advantage of the situation and caused trouble to people who cared for the actor. Other wise how can we explain the burning of buses and cars? Is it possible for people who are grief stricken to do such inhuman things? I don't think so. Ultimately it resulted in Rajkumar not receiving the kind of funeral he deserved. It was said that he would be provided a state funeral. But the scenes at his burial place said a different story. There were numerous fans at the funeral but I think he was buried like any other ordinary citizen. I truly felt very sad at the way the whole episode was carried out.

The other thing that I didn't like was the English news channels discussing why southern India is so much obsessed with film stars. I really don't appreciate the question. Idolizing someone is a characteristic that exists throughout the world in some form of the other. It is the Bollywood stars that bring in major revenue to these news and the so-called lifestyle channels. Salman Khan's arrest was breaking news, why? . While the English channels were covering the mob violence in Bangalore, the Hindi news channels were busy with Salman Khan's possible release from prison. Were it not for people's interest in Bollywood, Salman Khan would not have occupied the front pages in newspapers and prime slots in electronic media. The difference is just that while the Bollywood stars endear themselves to people representing the elite class the southern stars endear themselves performing roles, which the common man who is not part of the elite can easily identify with. Nothing was more telling than the incident that occurred in a news channel. As the host was discussing the question of southern India's idol worship with a panel the news of Salman Khan reaching his home must have trickled in. The host immediately interrupted saying that Salman Khan has been released and has reached his home. "We bring you the live pictures from his residence…you can see the fans thronging his home." It was thought that the news of Salman Khan reaching home was hot news and one should not miss it, anything else can wait. Oh, how I hated it!

Thandege Thakka Maga

2006-04-03T09:55:00.000+05:30

The new Kannada movie Thandege Thakka Maga starring Ambarish and Upendra is the remake of the Tamil film Devar Magan. Though I haven’t watched the entire movie, going by the few scenes seen on TV, I can assert that the remake falls way short of the original. Devar Magan starring the late Shivaji Ganesan and Kamalahasan was a neat movie. The two versatile actors had given a performance of great élan and Illayaraja very well backed the movie. Ambarish performs Shivaji Ganesan’s role, as that of the patriarch. The latter is peerless no doubt. S.A Rajkumar has rehashed the tunes of Illayaraja in the Devar Magan. Effort has been put to recreate a movie that is considered to have set a benchmark of sorts but not enough to match its quality.

Bird Flu Threat

2006-03-15T18:15:00.000+05:30

Bird Flu cases have been reported in few parts of India. There is global concern over the bird flu. New Scientist carries a special report on the bird flu threat in its January’s edition. The reason for the alarm that is being raised globally is based on the fear that the virus H5N1 once inside a human may mutate and become capable of using humans as the carriers. As of now, even though the bird flu kills a third of people, whom it infects, it cannot spread from person to person. A pandemic can occur if humans become the carriers, which would be devastating especially if it is in poorer countries. A vaccine can be developed only after finding the exact strain, which is causing the pandemic. Distributing it to the affected people would be a herculean task. Answering a myth, ‘It’s a 21st century, not dark age and death due to massive plague is not possible’, the article had this to say: “…. even though leaders know death and misery anywhere will have global consequences, we don’t have the capacity to produce antivirals or vaccine fast enough to protect everyone. We have 21st-century technology. But when it comes to getting it to people, we are still in the dark ages”. Very true. Its high time the rich countries get together and go all out in stopping the pandemic from occurring.

Thirukkural

2006-03-01T20:34:00.000+05:30

Finance Minister ,P Chidambaram while presenting the Union Budget, quotes Saint Tiruvalluvar . A beautiful kural .

“Karumam Sidhaiyamal Kannoda Vallarku
Urimai Udaithu Iv Ulagu”

“The world is his who does his job
With compassion”

Being a Tamilian , I feel ashamed for not having learnt the Thirukkural. The only kural that I know by heart is that which gets said in every Balachander’s film !

"Agara Muthala Yelluthellam Aadhi
Bhagawan Mudhatre Ullagu"

" 'A' leads letters; the Ancient Lord
Leads and lords the entire world"

Fascinating Read..

2006-02-23T21:07:00.000+05:30

Absolutely enjoyed reading the book ,Richard Dawkin's Selfish Gene about which I had a post here. It's a brilliant book and I highly recommend it. Each chapter was a revelation to me. I was impressed with the authors knack of explaining concepts with understandable analogies . Extended Phenotype is another book by Dawkins. I will hunt it down soon for Dawkin considers it to be , more than anything else in his professional life , his pride and joy.

Genes And Survival Machines

2006-02-04T13:38:00.000+05:30

I am currently reading Richard Dawkin's The Selfish Gene. The central theme of the book is that genes are the fundamental units of evolution,of natural selection.The altirusm or the selfishness of the individual life forms is the result of the gene and nothing else.Life forms, plants and animals are just the vehicles for them to survive. The author refers to the life forms as the survival machines.Once the survival machine have served their purpose they are cast aside but genes continue to survive through the next generations of the survival machines. Genes are the denizens of the geological time.Like diamonds genes are forever.

The book gets me riveted on it while I travel to my office in bus everyday.A excellent way to escape the traffic snarls in my city. Once I complete the book I hope to blog in detail about the genes, the immortal coils.

Comedy - Then & Now

2006-01-18T19:25:00.000+05:30

I watched the classic comedy of the late Thangavelu from the film Kalyana Parisu again. I think that the performance of Thangavelu along with his wife Saroja in Kalyana Parisu should find place in the list of all time great comedy in Tamil Cinema. Other equally brilliant performance should be that of Nagesh in the movie Kadhalika Neramillai. When I see such great comedy in old movies I can’t help but contrast them with the present and feel that the performances of Nagesh and Thangavelu are far more accomplished than those done by present breed of comedians like Vivek, Vadivelu and others.

ID Is Not Science

2006-01-18T16:45:00.000+05:30

Should Intellegent Design (ID) be taught in science class as a scientific theory challenging evolutionary theory? No. The arguments put forth by the exponents of the ID are naive. Their argument that it is impossible for a complex organism to evolve just by chance defeats itself cyclically.One who designs the complex organism should be much more complex and demands much more explanation. But ID supporters refute this arguments saying that the Intellegent Designer is simply immune to the normal demands of scientific explanation. In such a case ID should find no place in science class but instead be confined to theology studies.

I studied in a christian school where we had a separate classes taken to preach Bible. I had no issues and did study it for it carried weight in my overall performance in my exams. But I would not tolerate when some one suggests that let the Bible classes be part of my Biology curriculam.

Read here a very good article arguing against ID

Vijay's Political Ambitions ?

2006-01-16T13:47:00.000+05:30

The Tamil Film Star Vijay receives the first stamp album of the special postage stamp on ‘Pongal’. After reading the news in the newspaper I was wondering why was Vijay chosen for recieving the stamps . But if rumours are to be believed then what my friend says must be true.My friend who came from his hometown in Tamil Nadu after celebrating Pongal, says that according to news reports in dailies there, Vijay is all set to campaign for DMK for the upcoming elections. Why would Vijay do that ? After recent IT raids in the houses of the cine stars of Kollywood, he is in need of some political support to shield himself from the IT raid squads in future. Though one shouldn't jump to conclusions , the rumour does make some sense to me!

Aaaru - Keep Off

2005-12-26T14:22:00.000+05:30

I suggest you might do yourself a favour from avoiding the Tamil film Aaaru. Violence being the main theme the movie fails miserably. Hari did much better in Saami.

PS: There were days during which I used to argue with my friends that commercial Tamil cinema was better than Hindi and kannada( atleast if one considers comedy and music). But now those arguments will fall flat on their face.

IF..

2005-12-14T20:47:00.000+05:30

If you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you,
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you
But make allowance for their doubting too,
If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
Or being lied about, don't deal in lies,
Or being hated, don't give way to hating,
And yet don't look too good, nor talk too wise:

If you can dream--and not make dreams your master,
If you can think--and not make thoughts your aim;
If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster
And treat those two impostors just the same;
If you can bear to hear the truth you've spoken
Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,
Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken,
And stoop and build 'em up with worn-out tools:

If you can make one heap of all your winnings
And risk it all on one turn of pitch-and-toss,
And lose, and start again at your beginnings
And never breath a word about your loss;
If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew
To serve your turn long after they are gone,
And so hold on when there is nothing in you
Except the Will which says to them: "Hold on!"

If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,
Or walk with kings--nor lose the common touch,
If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you;
If all men count with you, but none too much,
If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds' worth of distance run,
Yours is the Earth and everything that's in it,
And--which is more--you'll be a Man, my son!

--Rudyard Kipling

Inspiring , isn't?

Brain Lara, The Enigma II

2005-12-12T13:54:00.000+05:30

Mike Marqusee in his Column 'Level Playing Field' in Hindu writes

"Lara's artistry blends the spontaneous and the cultivated, flamboyance and discipline, inspiration and stamina. It is irresistibly seductive. Even fanatical opposition supporters sigh in disappointment when he's out early. They know that a major innings by the walking puzzle we call Brian Lara is one of the glories of modern sport, a privilege to behold, whatever the outcome of the match"

same thoughts I intended to put in my post on Brain Lara , but couldn't put in words as Mike has done.

Maxwell's Equations

2005-11-29T11:33:00.000+05:30

God Said Let ..

And There Was Light!

"To anyone who is motivated by anything beyond the most narrowly practical, it is worthwhile to understand Maxwells equations simply for the good of his soul." - J R Pierce

Inspiring statements that helped me in understanding the Maxwell's Equations better while studying Electromagnetics .

Life Membership Expires On..

2005-11-28T19:36:00.000+05:30

From New Scientist

"David Lake was given a life membership card for the Royal Zoological Society of South Australia. On it were the words: "Life Member. Expires 30/06/2006". "Should I be worried?" Lake asks."

Shamelessly Biased News Coverage

2005-11-28T18:24:00.000+05:30

I can tolerate the endless serials that get aired on TV but not the NEWS on the SUN TV and JAYA TV. Tamil Nadu has been severely affected by the rains and the coverage is shamelessly biased against the parties to which they are loyal. On SUN one just gets to hear the plight of the people and the central ministers visiting the affected places. Not a single mention of the TN state ministers relief efforts; On Jaya it is just the opposite. One hears people hailing the CM for her help, no scenes of despair. The coverage tries to impose on the viewers the feelings of the political parties rather than the affected people.

Brain Lara , The Enigma

2005-11-28T16:08:00.000+05:30

Brain Lara does it again. He holds another awesome record. He holds the world record for most test runs, 11,187. He as well holds the record for the highest score in one innings, 400 runs. He broke this record twice!. In his twilight of his career, he remains an enigma to me. Just as I think his magic is over, he bounces back with a spectacular innings time and again.

Illayaraja's BGM Score

2005-11-25T19:31:00.000+05:30

Listen to the BGM score of the movie 'Kadhalakku Mariyadhai', the climax scene. It is compositions of this kind which establishes the fact- There is none on par with Illayaraja when it comes to scoring BGM.

Jal Jal

2005-11-24T15:04:00.000+05:30

Powered by Castpost

Listen to this song sung by S. Janaki. The film is 'Paasam'. This song is one of my favourites of old Tamil film music collection.

Thoo...

2005-11-16T20:25:00.000+05:30

Image from 'The Hindu'

Last Sunday, I read this musing in The Hindu. The author writes about the spitting habit that has become the integral habit for most of the people in India. Others doing that can be intolerable if you are travelling in a bus and the person sitting in front of you goes on a spitting spree..Thoo...

Though a frequent traveller in a bus , I hadn't endured the experience which the author of the article had. But yesterday was the day. I was in the bus going home from office. The window besides which I was seated had a glass pane for cover but it was common for two windows. I had my window wide open with the night breeze blowing gently. It was pleasant. Then he started. Gentleman sitting in front chewing his paan spit the first time. Nothing happened, the bus was going bit slow. I thought he wouldn't do that again when the bus catches speed but I was wrong.He did it again , this time I was not spared , his bit of thoo falling on my cheek. My friend seated next to me laughed . I kept silent. There was the third thoo. I could n't bear it . I stood and said something murmering, leaned forward and pulled the glass plane covering his window towards mine. He did not stop though, but I was safe.

Why do some people be so unconcerned about others ?

History of AT & T

2005-11-08T13:46:00.000+05:30

Read here a very well written article on AT & T , company which led the revolution in communication . AT&T's history of research and innovation is unparalleled. But now its not into the research and development which was its lifeline .The company is still a telecom giant but more focused on the corporate market.

Movies , Movies and only Movies

2005-10-31T15:01:00.000+05:30

Its festival time and various Tamil channels have 'variety' of special programmes lined up tomorrow. But why is that all programmes on all channels are always centered on movies ? Can entertainment be not provided by other means? Least thought is given to other forms of art. Even on Tamil new year it is cinema which rules. Why not give some space for Tamil Literature?I don't think it is movies alone which is in the psyche of people. I wish things change..

Let Our Life Lighten Up

2005-10-28T17:57:00.000+05:30

Wish you all a happy Deepavali.