Tube Curse

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!

source : http://xkcd.com/

This and That

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

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.

Numbers in Life

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

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

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

Delhi 6

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

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

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

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!!

‘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

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

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

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

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

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

“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

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.