I just saw it couple of feet away!!....

Remember, some years ago, there were only few spots which were "the thing" to do something...for example, in Hyderabad, Koti and Abids was for shopping and the situation was something like people from all over the city would come over to these areas to shop around....whereas in the case of Bangalore, it would be perhaps Brigade Road....But all this is a thing of past. Now, there are just too many options I suppose, which in a way I must say has done a lot of good for the citizens who now will have to travel less....I just hope, the old doesn't ever lose the charm for which it was once famous for...and I hope People always remember such places for what they stood for once upon a time....

Brand Visibility is perhaps the biggest matter of concern for today's market when there's just too many things to choose from. So, that's more or less would be the reason why you see billboards of the same company every 2 miles...leave advertising; this thing is happening for offering services as well...and undoubtedly the telephone service providers are numero uno in this issue...and coming close in that matter would be banks and ATMs perhaps... But over the past couple of years, I have seen something else coming up too...

ICICI bank once had a goal; to establish its branch every 2 kms across India, so that it can provide better services to the people...and SBI did another nice thing....an amazing network of ATMs...more or less one every 200 metres in some places...am sure it has made money transaction easier for most of us.... but giving it close competition is another unlikely brand....I would say it's "Cafe's Coffee Day" outlets...they are just everywhere....trust me in a city like Bangalore, it easily outnumbers any other brand in its segment and otherwise...it's more or less like a deja vu, each time you spot one, it feels as if you saw something just couple of feet away...maybe that's true in some cases!

What I wonder is, how we see this mushrooming of brands as? If it's a case of people loving coffee and the ambiance, may be...if it is a case of giving people a place to chill out..maybe...but my point is, do we need so many of the same brand that too....sometimes just few steps away! I still hope that they do good business in each of their outlets otherwise there's no point...as of now, it looks like that the panipuri outlets of our yesteryears have taken a new form...(hehe..No offence intended!)....wouldn't it be nice if SBI and Cafe' Coffee Day come to an agreement and instead of having one outlet separately, maybe there could be an ATM in every coffee day...this would save lots of space!!!

Protecting the Unknown....

Look around and you will find lots of organisations trying to protect something....well, protecting the elements like Water, Earth and other things makes a lot of sense since they impact the society in one way or the other. But then there are organisations which seem to protect things like Culture, Language, Regions from outsiders...and so on. I wonder what exactly they want to do here. Of course expressing concern and protests are one way of doing it...but we nowadays take the road of violence and stringent action to make our point.

If 20th century was responsible for liberalisation from colonialism and the consecutive drawing of boundaries across the world; the present era demands for a society without any boundaries. I agree that it's our duty to preserve our culture and language but you just cannot ignore the influences that we have in our day to day lives. Take the case of language itself....we go as far as banning schools from teaching with English as the primary medium with the pretext that it might obliterate the respective regional mother tongue. But on the other hand we want everyone to rise up to the current demand of speaking a global language?!!! Is this possible....how can you have both??!! Isn't there a serious mismatch of what we are doing and what we are supposed to do??!!....Another example of such protection is about the wealth and land from foreign settlers....Till 1947 we fought against Britishers and then 60 years later too...we are fighting...but this time it's among ourselves!

Why do we fight among ourselves?? Economic differences are one major cause of this fighting; but what I find it more amusing is that why people blame others for their misery??!! It's not like they were eating in the same plate!!!....In most of the cases the notion that the land belongs to the original inhabitants of the land and so its resources there after should also belong to the native people. What we forget here is the effort that these supposed outsiders among our own people put in to develop those resources...We see this in places like Andhra Pradesh where the demand for a separate Telengana is gaining support day by day. I wonder had Hyderabad been in some other region, would this movement have been this strong??!!....Even in Karnataka we have these organisations which fight for the protection of Kannada and also the notion that all the riches of Bengaluru are being swooped away by the outsiders in the city is just too strong!!....

With the globalisation phenomenon taking centre stage in the present age, there's obviously going to be movement of jobs, money to different regions in the world. And in India it happened to be Bangalore, Hyderabad, Chennai while Mumbai and Delhi were among the list long before big businesses started in the southern cities. It's the innate nature of humans to feed upon resources where they are available in plenty....this is exactly the reason why there's movement of people within the nation...so, instead of resisting such movement, and much worse seeking some kind of security for the locals under these circumstances through reservations and quotas; we have to adapt for what the situation demands...as Thomas Friedman in his book "The World is Flat" says, if someone wants to keep his job, gone are the days when one can promise lifelong employment....it's the time when you have to show others that you are employable.

Boundaries are diminishing, we are going to live in a place called Earth where each nation is connected to one another by zillions of optical fibres...What we need to understand is that, however foreign we might dress, sound, talk, dress...but within we are still what we are. And what exactly is that....maybe each one of us understand what we are made of....!

How Flat is our world?

If you have read the book "The World is Flat" by Thomas Friedman, you would realise what exactly is my question. This is not a review of the book but something which struck me while I was reading the book. On several occasions in the book, Thomas talks about the challenges in future for America and developed countries from countries like India and China. On the other hand, I wonder how many of us realise that we are capable of doing that one day in near future. Although things have changed to quite an extent, I would say, it should be attributed a lot to the focus of media on the booming economy which has turned our focus onto seeing this possibility.

Schooling is one important thing which has to lay the foundation for young generation to dream big. In an age when we are in the crossroads of deciding who should get what share of the pie; I am afraid we are again on the verge of losing a huge global opportunity. The percentage of people who are working towards this goal of attaining a whole new role and position at the world's stage is so minimum compared to the possible potential of the country! The yesteryear's generation of our country still keeps talking about our great freedom struggle and how this has brought a whole new identity for us....yes, that's true and that's really something to be proud of. But it is the generation of the 60's and 70's which really bothers me, because they are today's decision makers in every home and office and so many other places. Having born and brought up under a not so highly dynamic system of growth and opportunities; it is true that most of our parents had to undergo a lot of struggle to come out of their struggling phase of life. But what about us??....what about the generation of the 80's and 90's which has grown in the post liberalization era?? We haven't gone through the early years of struggle like our parents had and we don't understand what they had undergone....of course I cannot generalise this for everyone.

The problem is there is just too many choices and opportunities in the present age and the world which is changing itself so constantly that, it's difficult to point out which one we should adapt ourselves to. We are advised to take up something because it's a notion that it is good for a comfortable living. But is it really so in the present age? Friedman talks about how motivated were people during Space War in the 60's that it inspired a whole generation to take up Science and Engineering. And how that generation knew what it had to do 10 years from now.
Today, we don't have a space race, neither there's a nuclear race for our nation...we have already achieved both! The thing which we need to ponder upon is, what's next on the line? How long will we implement the present strategy of providing services for others? Do we really see ourselves as someone who can bring the next big change in people's lives? If so, in what way?....

We are going to reach the American standards in everything one day but what happens then? I am sure, when the disaster strikes this will be an immediate reaction too... Going by the present phenomenon and excerpts from the book also say that in this flat world America is stagnant and even receding at times and India and China are fast catching up! I wonder what's it going to be which will reverse the past 60 years phenomenon of G7's dominance?? Russia and G20 might be ready for the challenge, but the question is who will pose that challenge and who will set the parameters for others?? And who is going to be who will realise the existence of such a challange??...It all boils down to, how flat do we think our world is? And what are we going to do about it??....

Equality in the present age....

One reason I believe why equality in the present age has such an important place is that, we are entering into an age of debate how we are looked upon by others. We demand for equality in everything; some wishes are granted and some aren't. And when things don't happen our way, we crib that there's no one who will listen to you. I think there should be equality in things like justice for all and maybe in access to education and employment (Here again...i am just saying "Access" as in I am strictly against reservation or partiality of any kind towards people of any caste/creed/race/region/colour)....

While in other cases the relevance of equality is fast diminishing. Take the case of the present age man himself. I believe that no two men should be equal...they shouldn't treat themselves as equals nor should others look at them as equals. For when you are equal, there's no difference between the two and their existence has no meaning...they are just clones! Differences should exist in our lives, otherwise there's nothing left to trade between two individuals or among a group. What I mean is, there has to be a difference in the knowledge levels, so that the person with more can "share" it with person with less in that field. Again one important that we mustn't forget here is that, if someone isn't good in something doesn't mean that he's not good at everything else...as I said differences should and do exist among us. That's what keeps us alive. Had there been no differences, cultures would have been wiped out, languages would follow in the same category, and jobs too....we do things that we are more capable of doing than others in exchange for something else, like Money.

On a larger scale, what we need to realise is that we can never be like somebody else. We should never be like somebody else....but yes, we should set for ourselves some parameters which look unachievable and progress in that direction....like the saying goes,"Aim for the moon, you will atleast reach the stars!". Forget about equality in the era of globalisation; unless we do something better than others, we are doomed. So, instead of protecting somebody under the umbrella of reservations or waivers we have to find ways to find gold in sand!

My new blog....

Well..well...I thought, maybe I should dedicate one entire new blog just for movies.....so, here's the new one from me....http://moviesarenice.blogspot.com
This blog would be entirely for movies, reviews, trivia/quizzes, other aspects in movies....I hope you would enjoy reading that blog as much as I would love to write one....please do drop in your comments and suggestions...they really mean a lot to me...

Most Viewed on Youtube....

The Video here is from Youtube....titled "Evolution of Dance" created and performed by Judson Laipply, an American Motivational Speaker and comedian from Cleveland, Ohio.

What's so special about the video??...Apart from being a very funny one...it's also the Most viewed video till date on Youtube.....49million+ views till date and the 6th most discussed video of all time. That definitely is something to watch out for!!...

It's a 6 minute video with steps for over 30 songs (out of which one song is repeated twice...)...surely will bring a smile on your face...[:)]

Disruptive Technologies @ H.O.M.E

Disruptive Technologies....probably the better way of describing it as something which changes the way we live either in a good or a bad way. (In this case....technology is presumed to also mean an event/issue or maybe even a consequence.....)

During the evolution of mankind....first it was his power to think! This is what differentiated him from animals...and then there was his discovery of use of Fire...and invention of wheel....and other techniques in warfare starting with a bow and arrow, spear.....Later, there was construction...something unanticipated...for example, the Pyramids of Egypt and other monuments elsewhere across the world. For quite sometime, things went on like this...and then Man had already conquered the seas on his ships and new techniques in warfare...there were swords now!....One fine day, he made Gun Powder. That just changed the very art of warfare...the more the gun powder, the more the destruction! Then there was the Printing Press...this perhaps triggered the Industrial Revolution...then came Steam Engine and the rail roads and airways. Out of nowhere...following the two world wars....Colonialism was gone... and it led to a new world order which just changed the course of our lives in the past 60 years. Then there were Computers and Internet....and now, it's altogether a different story...which doesn't seem to have an end or a beginning....which we all are well aware of.....but what I am going to write about is not what's happening in the world around, but about how these changes around are influencing the disruptive technologies in our own homes and lives.....(It's just an objective point of view....I really can't generalise this issue for everyone...[:)]....)

1. After you are born, the first bottle of milk in your mouth triggers a whole new phenomenon which didn't exist before. It's just an indication of how life's gonna be in future...

2. First day at school amidst a whole new bunch of strangers...still can't forget the first day I had spent in each and every school I studied in....

3. After you realise what studies mean for you....the first report card!....that's one hell of a thing to watch out for...it's a brand on your head what you are "believed" to be made of....some schools go as far as making toppers wear "badges" which say that he/she is class 1st!!....that's so weird when i think about it 10 years later!!!....hehe....

4. This triggers another concept of "Success and Failure". Why does one need to fail to make someone else succeed??!!...I simply fail to understand this point....why does only one 1st rank need to be given??!!...What is the need to start a race to see who wins it?...I wonder, how would
things have been had they allowed the river to flow peacefully??!!

5. CHOICE....this probably is something which is quite ironic to its meaning. Probably the only act of human where he/she has very little right to do it for themselves....because there are plenty others to do it for you. And then you are told to follow it...because that's the best thing for you. It does coincide with your opinion sometimes...but still it's a decision where you would have wished you had more say in it....starting right after 10th!!!....Sometimes I wonder, in what corner of earth has "HEC" (History, Economics, Commerce) group in my own state of AP been thrown into??!!....No one talks about it....I guess some, don't even know it exists!....And then after 12th....it's the path for the next 3-4 years which has to be chosen!....Again here, there's more freedom on the one who has to face the reality's side....they get lucky too...for their wishes are granted and for others...it's again decided by others....you should be actually happy. People are reducing your burden of thinking!!!...

6. Society.....This probably has the most devastating effects than any other issue which might influence our lives. It's like an ocean where a tiny drop of water has no value or meaning unless the drops decides to go along with million others....the drop which refuses to go along with others...is either evaporated or left alone in a far far land during the journey with the other drops kicking it out of their path. It's both a boon and a curse...for when wind blows in your direction it becomes a boon and when it's against, it's a curse! It's the most astonishing thing which rides millions along the same path...be it in the craze for jobs....software (My god!!!...this one is just too much.....)....globalisation and what not to name a few....Call it the greatest lesson of Management....it's the best possible example of Chain Marketing or probably it applies to every other type of marketing where your decisions are based on recommendations and also sometimes...replicating what others do!....

7. Ideas....Imagination, Thoughts, thinking out of the box, crazy things which seem to be a misfit...might be termed as some of the synonyms of this disruption. It's quite a tricky thing too...for an Idea which goes well along with the "current" trend or the emerging trend in the society is well received...and if it isn't...then either it's a work of a genius or just a fool who's wasting time!....People who have great respect in Society and who can influence our decisions come under the category of Genius when something like this is told...and the others...well, they fall into the latter category. Well, I am not sure if Ideas can change the world....but the truth is, "Ideas can't be destroyed"....even if you keep your mind shut it thinks of million ways to come out of this condition....in the darkest of the alleys, it searches for the faintest possible light....such is the power of thinking....Maybe the only time we should stop thinking is when we are dead!!!....But look at the situation then....Society comes up with a whole new term for it...calling it as "Rebirth" and "life after death" and imagines what's the path going to be for us from then onwards....

They are all so, interconnected...with one triggering the other...and somewhere in the middle of all this...they get intermingled so badly that it's so difficult to determine which triggered what!...If you decide to come out of all this web at any stage...then good luck buddy...you are about to face "series of consequences" called L.I.F.E.....

Straight from Heaven...

Imagine if something fell from Heaven what will that sound like when it strikes the earth??...hmm...sounds kinda improbable isn't it??...for the simple reason that we don't know where exactly this Heaven is....lets suppose it's up in the sky then??

There's rain from the sky....and I can't describe what it sounds like....probably we are still far from describing it in english with one single phrase!....But nevertheless it's one of the most soothing sounds of nature that you can hear...and right now I am in the process of that!...Countless drops of fresh water....soiled and coloured with all the pollution of the city falling outside my walls....I wonder what exactly I should do to let this feeling stay on for a little longer time??!!....

Rain...Rain... don't go away....
I want to sleep for some more time,
Rain...Rain...don't go away....
It's a beautiful scene to watch things around cleansed by your downpour,
Rain....Rain...don't go away....
For things look far more beautiful without people around,
Rain...Rain...don't go away....
I wish....you stay a little longer....it's nice to see life slow down for sometime,
for, I can smell the aroma of my coffee a little longer
I can smell the beautiful earth's aroma wafting in the air,
It's music to my ears when you dance down from up above,
I always wonder...what's the best possible way to describe you??!!...

And....and...there you go....leaving me alone again,
Maybe you should have stayed a little longer, I wanted to tell you a secret,
I miss you a lot, you don't even tell me when's the next time you shall meet me,
What??!!! You say, I am one among the others??!!And you ask, how different am I from others?

Hmm...that's an interesting question!...I wonder, what do I need to do to prove that I am not like others whom you see everyday?....I wonder, do I really need to do all this??!!...Maybe "others" like me are thinking about something too....but the question is....what's it that they everybody seems to be thinking of and I ain't??!!

Life is a Hologram...

How many times have most of us wanted to be so many things??!!!....I remember as a child I wanted to be a scientist, and then in school after developing a great interest for History, I wanted to be a Archaeologist...and then when finally I went to High school, Science seemed pretty interesting, so I wanted to be a Doctor....but finally it was decided that I should become an Engineer!....

After having graduated recently from College with an Engineering degree, I come to think about it...phew!...what a journey has it been from a scientist to an Engineer...but wait, the list hasn't ended. Owing to the multiple exposure of different topics and options...I guess I have a list which will never end. The moment you start thinking about the life ahead....you want to be something. The question is what exactly out of the given choices that you have?

It is not uncommon that your choice is influenced by the extent of money you can earn later, yet I don't disagree with the fact that some of us don't bother much about the money factor. They say, you need to look at the global scenario when you think of life ahead. That's probably what most of us end up doing...because lot of times your decision depends on what the person next to you is doing....this could be anybody...your friend, neighbour, relative, anyone else!!....it's like a continuous chain which links to almost each and everyone of us and thus moving forward. The ones who don't want to be a part of this chain....I am worried about the ongoing phenomenon that.....they are looked upon as someone who's irresponsible towards one's life..literally an outcast!.....You want proof of such phenomenon??!!....Just look at the sheer number of Engineers and Doctors we have in our country...phew! unbelievable...I wonder if each one of us wanted to be an Engineer or a doctor....or maybe we just ended up being so!

Life....Life is something like a Hologram...it just changes itself depending on the light...which is similar to ideas and multiple things that you learn each day....and also which angle you look at it!...what i mean to say is, before aiming for the top, never forget to look at your sides..you will get a fair idea of how much your are competing for!!!....But the question is, Are we ready to look at life as a hologram??!!!....Are we ready for the changes that might spring up??!!....Wants can't be suppressed for long...if they are, either you feel that it wasn't the appropriate thing to do, or you are just waiting for the right moment to do it sometime soon....

I wish, if all of us look at this phenomenon from different angles and maybe we can see different things happening which hitherto were thought to be an impossible thing to happen!....Routes to success can be plenty...I think they are....What we need to do is, not imbibe a notion that some routes are bad which will lead to a disaster....because all that matters is the journey and the end goal on the route you take......But what if there is a dead end on some route?!!....Well...well...Life has such endless possibilities...who knows there might be some surprise waiting for you in some corner!!!.....

Whispering through walls...

May 16th, 2007...probably it's one date which I am not gonna forget for quite a long time. The reason being, I unofficially graduated from college. Now, in college there are always two kinds of people, those who love it...and those who don't. And then there are others....who neither love or hate college...it's just another 4 years of their lives....no big deal. And I....I loved it...for everything that it has taught me...and for giving me all the time to think and do what i feel like doing....

Then when I finally landed in my home, things weren't all rosy to be honest. In another 2 weeks we had to shift to a new apartment, which means that I have to help in packing stuff....given the leisurely pace at which I would love to work, I am supposedly way behind the expectations!!!....hehehe...and what followed next is completely different story. And then finally we landed in a new apartment in one of the posh localities of Bangalore....

The very first thing which my dad told me after coming to a new house is...."We have lived the past two years in some sort of hiding; and now, with so many people around who all work for the same organisation...you are bound to be watched...so, be careful in what you do!"..Fair enough I suppose!....

In the first one week of my stay here...I used to look around and wonder...wow! there are so many buildings and apartments around....and plenty of people too. Quite a different scenario from our tiny house in another locality....anyway, another interesting thing about this new apartment is that....there's a huge park in front of it....and if i am not wrong, then you can see people jogging/walking right from 5 PM to night 11PM!!!....that's right....maybe even after 11 PM!!!....of course you get to see only children and families in the evenings and couples after dark...hehe....Looking at so many people doing this routine, I wonder if they are doing it for the health reasons or is it that they feel as if some kind of obligation to utilise an oppurtunity!...whatever maybe the case, it's nice to see so many people at one place!....

Another day, Mom told me that, someone was enquiring about us!...So, in a way, what dad had been telling me was infact true....everyday i stand near my window and stare at the 7 floor high block trying to figure out if i can spot someone in any of the floors....of course i am not always successful in doing so....But for some strange reason, I can feel plenty of people, watching us behind those closed windows and curtains. And I carry the burden of trying to justify that we are a pretty nice, social newcomers!....of course, I don't do anything....I just sit at home, watch movies and blog....pretty much the same what i used to do in college....just that, in this phase of life....I...I...

I wonder, if someone is watching me every 10 minutes,
I wonder, if someone is eager enough to get to know the newcomers,
I wonder, if I can hear yet another airplane go high above me in the next 5 minutes,
I wonder, if I will see the same people jogging in the park,
I wonder, if something interesting will happen on any given day,
I wonder, if someone will give me a call which might make my day
I wonder, If I will ever be prepared for the challenges ahead,
I wonder, I wonder, why does time fly by so soon? Why did I graduate so soon?
I wonder, if I have better things ahead,
I wonder, if it's gonna be as good as my past,
I wonder...why do I just keep wondering almost all the time!....

On the lot

The brand new TV reality show being aired on Star World in India seems to have generated quite a lot of interest....hehehe...I am not too sure of that statement, but what I am sure of is that this is one of the new shows which I don't miss on TV these days....[:)].....to put it in simple terms....the show is about Film-Making.

After screening several applicants and after several rounds during the show, the number is down to final 18. Out of which last week 3 were eliminated. Since, I started watching the show very recently, I would like to write about the recent episode that I had seen in the show. A two hour premiere of the 1 minute short films made by the contestants....they were evaluated by 3 judges comprising, Carrie Fisher (Actress, screen-writer), Gary Marshall (Director, Runaway Bride) and D.J.Caruso (director, Disturbia).

A small investigation from Wikipedia shows that this show hasn't done well in US...but still it's captivating enough...the reason. The big prize which the winner is gonna take home....

A 1 Million dollar deal with Dreamwork Motion Pictures!!!!......isn't that good enough??

Anyway, in those 18 minutes.....here's my favourite short film...made by Zach Lipovsky, a Canadian, Special Effects expert....titled..."Danger Zone"....check out the video
something about the movie....A simple concept...which was completed in one single 360 degree shot....Zach says he had to do it 46 times to achieve this level of perfection!....

Check out the show...it's good enough especial if you love movies...then please do watch it....it's now down to final 15!...

7/7/7

555 became famous as a cigarette brand....666 became famous as the number of Devil....but 777 beats it all....because 07/07/07 is just gonna change the face of history as we have known it for the past 4000 years. This is the date on which the New Seven Wonders will be announced in Lisbon, Portugal. And we have a chance to select the new seven wonders of the world from the remaining 20 candidates...(Pyramids of Gaza, Egypt has been removed from the voting process....since it's the only remaining monument of the old 7 seven wonders...it has been declared the honorary new 7 wonders candidate )

The last 21 candidates are....

1. Acropolis (Athens).......
2.Alhambra, Spain
3. Angor Wat (Cambodia)
4. Chichen Itza (mexico)
5. Christ the Redeemer (Rio, brazil)
6. Colosseum (Rome)
7. Easter Island Moais (Chile)
8. Eiffel Tower (Paris)
9. Great Wall (China)
10. Hagia Sophia (Turkey)
11. Kiyomizu Temple (Japan)
12. Kremlin, Red Square (Moscow)
13. Macchu Pichu (Peru)
14. Neuschweistein Castle (Germany)
15. Petra (Jordan)
16. Pyramids of Gaza (Egypt)
17. Statue of Liberty (USA)
18. Stonehenge (England)
19. Sydney Opera House (Australia)
20. Taj Mahal (India)
21. Timbaktu (Africa)

And here's the final seven which I voted for....
I must confess that as a student when I was back in high school, I had a great interest in History and various civilizations across the world. So, probably my final 7 list has been more or less influenced by my past....anyway, here's how the list goes....in No Particular Order.....

Acropolis.....I see this monument as the greatest symbol of Greek Civilization and also once the greatest empire of Greeks. True to its attributes of Civilization and Democracy, we owe it quite a lot for the democracy that we are seeing today.

Christ the Redeemer..... Standing on top of the Corcovado mountain overlooking Rio de Janeiro, Brazil this statue strikes me as the numero uno symbol of Brazil. Although a representation of Christ....it's something more than just a religious statue....it stands for the Love and Welcoming and openess of Brazil to the world...something which I think each one of us should replicate.

Colosseum....Another symbol of the mighty Roman Civilization...this once was a playground where people of Rome used to watch the Gladiators fight!.....A symbol of a by gone era....it deserves all the attention you can give.

Hagia Sophia....To be frank I hadn't seen this monument anywhere on the net, until I saw the movie Guru....but when I did, I was dumbstruck at its sheer beauty and enormous layout of the whole structure.....A symbol of the Byzantine empire...now, it stands as a monument both for Christians and Muslims....sometimes I wonder, how similar does it look like Taj Mahal....this one too has 4 minarets and a central structure of course both of them stand for different things....a beautiful amalgamation of Islamic and Christian architecture...this has stood the test of time of all the crusades of the medieval ages!

Machu Picchu....All we have now of this place is the ruins of what was once was the prime seat of the Incas. I had read about the Inca's civilization in High School...but the visual representation of this Mountain and the ruins....I had was again from a movie Motorcycle Diaries...simply amazing!....I always wonder why in India, most of the temples are on top of a mountain....but this one beats it all....there's actually a city on top of a mountain!!....I guess if ever I got a free world tour this would be my second choice....first being the entire archives of Pyramids...Egyptian civilization and the exhibits in British Museum!.....Please....please vote for it....

Petra......I saw a wall paper long time ago in college which showed an amazing formation of rocks leading to something.....and sometime later...I saw a video song which was shot in the same location....and thanks to Discovery channel...i saw it one day......Phew!...to have that kind of architecture amidst those mountains requires some skill!....and to create a whole city inside the mountain...well, i just don't have any words for it....this city once served as a pit stop for travellers who were moving across Asia and Europe.....a man made wonder in true sense!...

Taj Mahal....Yep, I voted for this one. Everyone keeps talking about it....people from far away lands...it's more or less seen as a symbol of India....there's so much myth and controversy about this monument...some allege that it was once a Shiva's temple named Tejo Mahal long before Shah Jahan remodelled it....some have serious doubts about the exact date when it was built....whatever the case maybe...I guess I voted for this one....because this is the only chance that we have in our lifetime to make a difference....only chance to make our misconception that Taj Mahal is one of the 7 wonders of the world into reality ( I still remember...how I used to argue that it's not one officially long time back!)....but to be honest....I guess I voted for this one...because I felt it was a self imposed obligation that I vote for this as an Indian....I hope the A.R.Rahman's song motivates more people to vote for it.....do vote for it....to prove what our misconception about it being a wonder of the world is infact true.....hurry up,....last time i heard...it's got less than 1% of the total votes!!!......

Remember....the voting ends on 7/7/7...that just a month away....[:)].....

Amen!

India and its Catch 22 issue

"There are two roads...if you take one, you are doomed. And if you take the other you are doomed too!" This is more or less a definition of the Catch 22 phenomenon. Some of us would have read the Joseph Heller's novel by the same name and I am pretty sure it's a good one too...but what has India got to do with the Catch-22 phenomenon??

If you had seen the news on 31st May, 2007...the Ministry for External Affairs "demanded" its Sri Lankan counter-part that it shouldn't approach either China or Pakistan to fight against the LTTE. What makes this extremely interesting also being a Catch-22 situation....after the assassination of Rajiv Gandhi by LTTE, India vowed that it will never forgive LTTE. But 16 years later, LTTE did accept that it was a big mistake and gave a formal apology...but even now India hasn't forgiven what LTTE had done. On the flip side, one of the main ally of the present UPA government, DMK is known to be inclined towards LTTE...more precisely for the rights of Tamils residing in Sri Lanka. And we have seen several times in the recent past, DMK and its allies voicing opinions regarding this issue.

What makes the entire issue a Catch-22 for India is that, it doesn't supply arms to Sri Lankan Army which is fighting against LTTE and trying to subdue the civil war; neither does it agree to be the mediator between the Lankan Government and LTTE during the recent peace talks....(can't believe it was Sweden which agreed to do so!!!....and Thank God, someone came forward!!!)....and now...now that Sri Lanka wants an external support to fight against LTTE....India says that it is the Big Power in the region, so Sri Lanka shouldn't go to other countries for help. What's even more surprising is that, India has always been a sovereign state and it's actually hard to believe that it's acting like a big brother to its neighbouring nation. Lets say even if it agrees to supply the arms given a condition that Lanka asks for help from India....I wonder if DMK would agree to it!!!....you just can't allow your country to fight against your own people residing in other countries!!...can you??

Which brings us to our second issue.....owing to its foreign policy which doesn't allow India to indulge in other country's matters....it just cannot sit silent to allow China or Pakistan to come anywhere near its shores....such is the level of trust we have with our neighbours!..[:(]

It would be interesting to see the developments in the near future on this issue and I am actually wondering if we would be able to get ourselves out of this issue without hurting anybody. But in the end I guess someone has to lose. Whether it's the "ego" of the UPA govt to not forgive the LTTE and thus playing a major role in the peace process....or will it be conceding the Sri Lankan government to go ahead with its plan of asking for help from either China or Pakistan to come so close to the Indian shores which might have some future implications.....well, we will have to wait and see....!!!

The Inconvinient Truth...

An Oscar award winning documentary on Global Warming featuring Al Gore, the former Vice-President of US during Bill Clinton's time is what this is about. Undoubtedly one of the best documentaries I have seen in the recent times. What makes this so interesting and compelling piece of work to watch is that it shatters so many myths and notions that you would have had about Global Warming and its long term affects.

Coming to the story of this documentary, it travels along the political and sociological conquest by Al Gore to address the problem of Global Warming and also explaining the major concepts and affects to a studio audience in front of a huge screen. As a student when his professor presented the first ever measurements of CO2 levels in the atmosphere and based on his predictions, Al Gore, states is what really compelled him to take upon this mission and this remained as one of his major issue during his entire political career spanning 3 decades. First as a senator and then as a member of the Clinton administration, Al Gore explains his battles fought in the court over the first ever case on Global Warming, then allegations on one of the chief member in Sr.Bush's regime and then also some on the Kyoto Protocol which he himself suggests is controversial in US....

What is equally interesting is the comparison he draws between the mother nature and his own son who was fatally injured in an accident while he was a senator. He terms it as a reaction when you see your beloved is fighting for their lives!....Also, he goes back and forth in his own life and talks about how his life in his childhood was...emphasizing that it is the responsibility of the current generation to make the future safe for our future generations. He uses his presentation on Global Warming to the best possible extent to explain several factors in the issue and the picture below is one among the slides.......
I want to talk about this slide and the elements shown; this infact has been my wall paper for sometime now...(a "safe" desktop wallpaper when at home, i suppose...hehehe!!)
What you see in the picture above is the direction of the principal ocean currents, where the red one indicates the warmer, lighter current and the blue one indicates the colder, heavier current. This basically explains that all the ocean currents are interconnected to each other....and the area right next to Europe where the warmer current becomes heavier and colder thus going back in direction...this inturn generates lot of heat which blows across Europe and keeps it warmer. But, as explained in the documentary, thousands of years ago, the whole of Canada was one huge landmass of ice which over a period of time melted and suddenly the water gushed into the Atlantic Ocean thus jeopardizing the whole conversion process. This created the five lakes on the US-Canada border and as a result of sudden injection of thousands of gallons of fresh water...the conversion of warmer current to colder one stopped, thus stopping the warmer air to blow over Europe....this had such massive implications that the whole of Europe went into an ice-age!!!

The modern day implication of this process is the process of another huge land mass of ice in the adjacent area of Greenland...and given the pace with which the ice is melting as a result of global warming, there is a possibility of triggering another ice-age in as less as 10 years time!!!...One possibility which the governments across the world shouldn't overlook while talking about this phenomenon....

Among other problems related to global warming is also that, it causes stronger storms and on the contrary, another major issue is the dislocation of precipitation; this is the reason why some areas across the world have been facing sever drought in the recent times...esp in North Africa, Darfur...while some other regions receiving excessive rainfall. There are other problems with migratory birds and the birth of caterpillars which are the food for the young birds....outbreak of new diseases and the resurface of problems which were minimized....and above all of this...the problem of migration under such circumstances....Are we ready for a huge wave of refugees??...That's one of the major issues right now, we can already see the implications of this thing about refugees in the ongoing Iraq war.

The documentary also stresses on stringent measures by the governments across the world to tackle the issue...for example...the Himalayan Glaciers are melting at a dangerous speed...and not in a distant future, 40% of the world population which gets water from these glaciers is in serious trouble. But, what's equally puzzling is the situation in which India is right now. The government says...this is all happening because somebody elsewhere in the world is contributing majorly to global warming and India and the adjacent countries are paying the price....true, very true!....Hope there is a solution for this problem soon....

I guess, there are enough reasons for everyone to watch this flick....even though it's a documentary, the style of narration is engrossing enough to keep you interested. It's a brilliant film from a scientific point of view, which I think should be shown in every school and college so that the students are aware of the danger of the present age because they as the future generation of the world would have to come terms with it....something which is even more threatening than Terrorism!.......

"Two Thumbs Up"....."Must watch Flick"....rent it/buy it/ copy it....ain't matter...if you miss this, you really are missing a masterpiece....[:)]