I welcome new blogger Rajiv Verma on this site. Rajiv is an expert Computer Scientist and a very respectable member of IITK 89 batch. The group has always benefited from his take on important issues, not just in Science and Technology areas, but in other important areas like nation building, education, social work etc.
Rajiv , a big welcome on the site and we look forward to your blog posts in topics of your interest!!
Sunday, October 25, 2009
Saturday, October 24, 2009
This one for the mathematics fans, welcome Dr Vineet Gupta!
Good news for the mathematics fans, we have just posted a link to Vineet Gupta's blog on this site. Incidentally Vineet is the IIT JEE all India topper of 89 batch, he has been awarded the President's Gold Medal at IIT Kanpur and holds a PhD in Computer Science from Stanford University! Folks please take advantage of the information Vineet has provided on his blog, we are forever grateful to be in his esteemed company! A big welcome Vineet!!!
Tuesday, August 11, 2009
Welcoming Kamal Mukherjee!
I welcome Kamal Mukherjee to the IITK89 blog! Kamal is a very respected member of 89 batch and has been a public servant par excellence, having been a member of Indian Forest Service (IFS) in the past. Kamal is also admired by his classmates for the wit and humor he brings to the group. We look forward to some powerful blog entries by Kamal on topics ranging from deforestation to politics to accountability in the government machinery!
Tuesday, August 4, 2009
Welcoming Dr. Balwant SIngh Lall (Billy)
I welcome Balwant Singh Lall ( Billy) as a new blogger on IITK 89 site. Billy, as we fondly call him, is known for his potent punch-lines amongst the class mates, a natural leader with a talent for thought provoking write-ups! Welcome Billy!!!!
Rules and Sportsmanship
“Rules should be followed but not overdone’ – this quote is attributed to Raja Ramanna, one of India’s former chief of Atomic Energy Commission. Thanks to my dad, who used to often use this quote, this has been one of a lifetime guideline / reference to me and often a fall back option for arguing sense when sensing bureaucracy at work.
Through this blog post, I like to touch upon two current happenings in the world of sports. The first one relates to Indian Cricket & the other to the world of Formula 1 racing.
As widely reported in the media, members of Indian cricket team have reservations regarding signing a clause related to whereabouts declaration in the proposed WADA agreement that deals with anti-doping. I really do not understand the reasons as to why they should have an objection when sportsmen from other sports not only in India but globally have been signatories to similar agreements. This includes champions like Roger Federer, Tiger Woods etc. While it is understandable that privacy and security are concern areas, is'nt that the same for sportsmen from other sports and also cricketers from other nations. What is the big issue in letting oneself being subject to random off season dope tests ? After all, its only a very low % of the sports people who perhaps actually get subjected to these random tests. Well, it can be argued that it is near impossible for them to declare in advance their precise whereabouts, but is it that difficult to make a declaration at a lesser granular level. The question is whether rules should be bent to accommodate Indian cricketers.
Another news making headlines is the return of the great man - Michael Schumacher - to Ferrari F1 team as a replacement for Felipe Massa. Obviously, this is great news for the sport, for TRPs, for Ferrari & fans like yours truly. A read through Schumi's official website reveals lots of interesting things about this champion. One of the things that comes out is supreme adaptability to conditions. This is something which he continues to display even now and the same is evident from a no-fuss no-reaction ( so far) to William's & Red Bull team managements objections to let the great man some test practice on the circuit before his second debut. While most competitors of Ferrari were OK allowing Schumi a test drive on the circuit ( though it is banned this year), Williams & Red Bull deny the great man a chance, something that could have allowed their latitude to be labelled as act of good sportsmanship.
For a sport that has lost its sheen, was a test practice request too much of an ask. Don't we have rules at work but sometimes relationships help bypass some of the rigidity for larger organizational good. Even in competitive sport, some sportsman spirit is fine in the game, despite minor deviation from the rule book.
Well, my take - even with rules as a roadblock, the big man will still make a significant impact. Go Schumi ! Go.
Indian cricket team - Sorry guys - Love it when you guys do well, but no special empathy for you on the WADA matter.
Through this blog post, I like to touch upon two current happenings in the world of sports. The first one relates to Indian Cricket & the other to the world of Formula 1 racing.
As widely reported in the media, members of Indian cricket team have reservations regarding signing a clause related to whereabouts declaration in the proposed WADA agreement that deals with anti-doping. I really do not understand the reasons as to why they should have an objection when sportsmen from other sports not only in India but globally have been signatories to similar agreements. This includes champions like Roger Federer, Tiger Woods etc. While it is understandable that privacy and security are concern areas, is'nt that the same for sportsmen from other sports and also cricketers from other nations. What is the big issue in letting oneself being subject to random off season dope tests ? After all, its only a very low % of the sports people who perhaps actually get subjected to these random tests. Well, it can be argued that it is near impossible for them to declare in advance their precise whereabouts, but is it that difficult to make a declaration at a lesser granular level. The question is whether rules should be bent to accommodate Indian cricketers.
Another news making headlines is the return of the great man - Michael Schumacher - to Ferrari F1 team as a replacement for Felipe Massa. Obviously, this is great news for the sport, for TRPs, for Ferrari & fans like yours truly. A read through Schumi's official website reveals lots of interesting things about this champion. One of the things that comes out is supreme adaptability to conditions. This is something which he continues to display even now and the same is evident from a no-fuss no-reaction ( so far) to William's & Red Bull team managements objections to let the great man some test practice on the circuit before his second debut. While most competitors of Ferrari were OK allowing Schumi a test drive on the circuit ( though it is banned this year), Williams & Red Bull deny the great man a chance, something that could have allowed their latitude to be labelled as act of good sportsmanship.
For a sport that has lost its sheen, was a test practice request too much of an ask. Don't we have rules at work but sometimes relationships help bypass some of the rigidity for larger organizational good. Even in competitive sport, some sportsman spirit is fine in the game, despite minor deviation from the rule book.
Well, my take - even with rules as a roadblock, the big man will still make a significant impact. Go Schumi ! Go.
Indian cricket team - Sorry guys - Love it when you guys do well, but no special empathy for you on the WADA matter.
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
Karma Correction
Om Namah Shivaya
" When we die, we gather up all the subtle energies that comprise our astral and causal bodies-energies that ultimately are seen to be intelligent thought-force"
What does this mean? so asked a protege to the mentor*. The reply was in the form of an email conversation, the distilled contents of which are presented below in this blog.
All matter- human bodies, trees, animals, stones, mountains, rocks, buses, cars etc are but collection of particles which can be sub-divided into atoms, neutrons, protons etc that in turn are nothing but packets of energy in motion - for gases, the motion is faster, for liquids comparatively slower and still slow for solids- we see things as a box or a car due to the
limitations of our eyesight in not able to see them as their constituent particles- an X-ray machine sees through.
Since the whole world is energy, our thoughts are also energy. Our thoughts form our habits- more regularly you think in a particular manner, the more you are forced to think that way- it cuts grooves in the mind space- called samsakaras; a man is nothing but a collection of thoughts or samskaras- character is nothing but regular habits
When we die, the samskaras outlive the physical body, they continue vibrating in the atmosphere till they get another suitable physical body to be reincarnated- similarly when we are born, we have got with ourselves the samskaras of all our previous lives- these samskaras are called our prarabdha karma- they play out like a movie- the events are predestined and cannot be changed by us since these are results of our own actions in previous lives- I murdered someone in one of my last lives, hence I have to tolerate jokers in this life.
When a person dies, only the physical form dies, the soul is everlasting and the samsakaras as a bundle continue to vibrate and be alive- think of an antenna, if you have good thoughts, you will attract the frequency of similar radio stations or thought packets in the atmosphere- if you are
miserable, all the sad and stupid stations will be connected- hence be extremely careful of what you think- every thought is LIVE- the best is not to think- when you align OM to every breath of yours, thoughts cease, your mind cannot play tricks.
What we can change is to stop reacting and create further karmas in this life; we can change our thoughts to alter our habits to transform our character. When we meditate, we burn up the stored samskaras so that they are not played out like scenes from a drama; meditation is deletion of these scenes from the script; by meditation we can realize God and then we need not be reborn and undergo the pain of human births.
* The mentor happens to be my better half - Swati, whose companionship has been a calming influence not only on me but there are many others among friends & family, who have benefited through her advice
What does this mean? so asked a protege to the mentor*. The reply was in the form of an email conversation, the distilled contents of which are presented below in this blog.
All matter- human bodies, trees, animals, stones, mountains, rocks, buses, cars etc are but collection of particles which can be sub-divided into atoms, neutrons, protons etc that in turn are nothing but packets of energy in motion - for gases, the motion is faster, for liquids comparatively slower and still slow for solids- we see things as a box or a car due to the
limitations of our eyesight in not able to see them as their constituent particles- an X-ray machine sees through.
Since the whole world is energy, our thoughts are also energy. Our thoughts form our habits- more regularly you think in a particular manner, the more you are forced to think that way- it cuts grooves in the mind space- called samsakaras; a man is nothing but a collection of thoughts or samskaras- character is nothing but regular habits
When we die, the samskaras outlive the physical body, they continue vibrating in the atmosphere till they get another suitable physical body to be reincarnated- similarly when we are born, we have got with ourselves the samskaras of all our previous lives- these samskaras are called our prarabdha karma- they play out like a movie- the events are predestined and cannot be changed by us since these are results of our own actions in previous lives- I murdered someone in one of my last lives, hence I have to tolerate jokers in this life.
When a person dies, only the physical form dies, the soul is everlasting and the samsakaras as a bundle continue to vibrate and be alive- think of an antenna, if you have good thoughts, you will attract the frequency of similar radio stations or thought packets in the atmosphere- if you are
miserable, all the sad and stupid stations will be connected- hence be extremely careful of what you think- every thought is LIVE- the best is not to think- when you align OM to every breath of yours, thoughts cease, your mind cannot play tricks.
What we can change is to stop reacting and create further karmas in this life; we can change our thoughts to alter our habits to transform our character. When we meditate, we burn up the stored samskaras so that they are not played out like scenes from a drama; meditation is deletion of these scenes from the script; by meditation we can realize God and then we need not be reborn and undergo the pain of human births.
* The mentor happens to be my better half - Swati, whose companionship has been a calming influence not only on me but there are many others among friends & family, who have benefited through her advice
Thursday, July 16, 2009
One good action is better than million good intentions
"One good action is better than million good intentions; because we judge ourselves by our intentions, but others judge us by our actions" - so says my longtime school & family friend - Seemaa *- on FaceBook today.
To me, these words are precious pearls of wisdom.
Blame it on education, age, economy, IQ - and other such true, invented or conveniently attributable factors - humans, particularly those from the so called elite / intellectual class or pretenders seem to take to cynicism pretty easily. This is quite evident from nature of messages that I get to glance from other networking forums, which allow my mailbox to keep getting bombarded with middle aged erudite (but not always esoteric) criticism of how systems are bad, and how elite individuals have done well in life mainly due to our their individual calibre without much of a help from systems they've been part of.
The age old adage " Pen is mightier than the sword' seems to rule the roost and guide networkers to pride ( verb) in their analytical ability & articulation skills, beside serving as an outlet to cater to their competitive urge(s) & creative juice(s). Writers write lots of good stuff as to what should Governments, Systems & Individuals do to remedy unfavorable situations and make life better on the planet. A common knee-jerk in some cases is to propose forums & sub forums for more writing and analysis.
Seldom, do we see thoughts or intentions becoming actionables or implementables. Writing, counter writing & more writing seems to be the real trip , for not only does it satisfy the Maslow(ian) social & esteem needs of the individuals, but also provides excellent opportunity to further improve upon or maintain their already good writing skills.
While most of it makes for good reading or feeling good when the intentions sound good, it is worth pondering if thought leaders have it in them to be the great action men too. Are both - thought & action - possible in a class of individuals, albeit serially if not together?
I like to think most fellow bloggers on this forum as thought leaders & my intention on this blog is definitely not to catalyze action, but to spur further thought on the concluding portion of my friend's remark ".....but others judge us by our actions". Do we care for judgment??
* Just for a background, Seemaa Middya assists Corporates and Individuals as a transformation agent . She runs her own consultancy and her experience includes about 7 years of being associate / partner of the well known trainer & hypnotist Santosh Babu, also known as the trainer with a snake, besides teaching in school for 21 years.
To me, these words are precious pearls of wisdom.
Blame it on education, age, economy, IQ - and other such true, invented or conveniently attributable factors - humans, particularly those from the so called elite / intellectual class or pretenders seem to take to cynicism pretty easily. This is quite evident from nature of messages that I get to glance from other networking forums, which allow my mailbox to keep getting bombarded with middle aged erudite (but not always esoteric) criticism of how systems are bad, and how elite individuals have done well in life mainly due to our their individual calibre without much of a help from systems they've been part of.
The age old adage " Pen is mightier than the sword' seems to rule the roost and guide networkers to pride ( verb) in their analytical ability & articulation skills, beside serving as an outlet to cater to their competitive urge(s) & creative juice(s). Writers write lots of good stuff as to what should Governments, Systems & Individuals do to remedy unfavorable situations and make life better on the planet. A common knee-jerk in some cases is to propose forums & sub forums for more writing and analysis.
Seldom, do we see thoughts or intentions becoming actionables or implementables. Writing, counter writing & more writing seems to be the real trip , for not only does it satisfy the Maslow(ian) social & esteem needs of the individuals, but also provides excellent opportunity to further improve upon or maintain their already good writing skills.
While most of it makes for good reading or feeling good when the intentions sound good, it is worth pondering if thought leaders have it in them to be the great action men too. Are both - thought & action - possible in a class of individuals, albeit serially if not together?
I like to think most fellow bloggers on this forum as thought leaders & my intention on this blog is definitely not to catalyze action, but to spur further thought on the concluding portion of my friend's remark ".....but others judge us by our actions". Do we care for judgment??
* Just for a background, Seemaa Middya assists Corporates and Individuals as a transformation agent . She runs her own consultancy and her experience includes about 7 years of being associate / partner of the well known trainer & hypnotist Santosh Babu, also known as the trainer with a snake, besides teaching in school for 21 years.
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