Runaway Prices, and Sound-Bites ...

They are kicking up a political storm. And, everyone is left wondering what hit them. I am reading so much about fuel prices, and combine this with the uncertainty around the 123 Agreement, that it seems almost as though the foundations of modern democracy are being shaken. Of course, one of the things anyone would be Hoping for would be restoration of the normal way the world goes round.

However, not many of the soundbites are pointing to this direction, as more and more of the high and mighty folks are busy pointing fingers and allocating blame for this situation, rather than trying to sit together and find a solution which is beneficial to the entire world. Sound bites which are coming through dont sound too encouraging, either ...

There is an article in the Times of India titled OPEC Chief Rules Out Return of Price Band. Interesting reading. According to this, the CEO of Royal Dutch Shell believes its hard to prove that the financial markets have anything to do with the price rise. While that may be, common sense ... There hasnt been any drastic change in either demand or supply side, so why such drastic changes in prices? Basic economics would suggest no such reason should exist. More interesting is the CEO of BP saying ...

Speculators believe in the fundamentals... the era of cheap oil is over as expanding economies like China and India are boosting demand.

Interesting ... I just did some back of the envelope calculations ... based on information presented in two sites ... Consumption data from NationMaster and indexmundi, and population data from wikipedia paints a picture quite different. Of course, these are all back of the envelope calculations, and dont represent exact figures, but the point is, that the per capita consumption of India and China is 10% of the American figure. Also, if we look at total consumption numbers, there is a difference of a magnitude of 10 between the two numbers. About time someone looked at the entire picture rationally?

India and Kamasutra

Whats the entire fascination with Kama Sutra about? There is so much being said and written about the Kama Sutra, that one wonders how the world would have survived without the Kama Sutra. Not that i am being puritanical here. Its just that the Kama Sutra is a book about love, not about sex. Its about human nature, and about the more between the ears than between the legs stuff!

Lot of times, we in India are indignant about the stereotypes that we find ourselves labelled with. Whether it is being called Land of Snakecharmers, or the Land of Kama Sutra ... But, the impression is that in all probability, we are ourselves responsible for most of these stereotypes. Take the example of Delhi airport ... There is a duty free store at departure lounge has a book store (actually, more a collection of shelves than a store) where there is one full shelf dedicated to different versions of Kama Sutra. Different edititions written by different people ... in short, there were more copies of the book in those shelves than all the other books put together. Now, if this is not creating the stereotype, then what is?

On an altogether different note ... the variety of booze which is available in the duty free store at arrival lounge in Delhi is definitely more than at Changi! Cheers to that ...

National Identity ...

No, this is not a jingoistic post ... I came across an interesting post by one of the folks whose blogs i follow regularly, when it comes to KM ... Here Dave Snowden has written about The Assertion of Identity. Interesting post ... And, this is where i have a few observations. When Dave talks about the history of language suppression (if i may coin a term), India (or maybe i should say South Asia?) has been the land where a multitude of cultures, languages, traditions, have not only existed, but flourished.

So, whether it is poetry in Punjabi, or literature in Bangla, or theatre, whether written in Marathi, or poetry in Malayalam (no, i am not using this to list the various languages that are spoken), all have flourished. Today, though, there is a changing trend. There seems to be some kind of "McDonaldization" (again, if i may coin the term, unless someone beat me to it!) happening, with more and more people coming round to a Bollywood way of things. Nothing much to complain about here, except that we need to make sure this wonderful diversity, which we are all proud of, is maintained, and continues to be cherished.

Whither Ethics?

There is a news piece i read in the Times of India ... titled Muslim backlash remark: CPM eats its words after SP criticism ... Not only is this an interesting article, it also brings out the levels to which politics has gone to. Criticism from the Muslims for the N-deal? Why? Because of the Israeli conflict with Palestine, Syria, and Lebanon, and American relations with Israel? Sounds too simplistic, dont you think? One would credit the Muslim population in India for a lot more acumen than this.

But, thats not even the point. The point which one wonders about is more the parameters which seem to be governing political decision-making, and the dimensions which seem to be deciding the direction the political debate is taking. Maybe time for us to pause and think, as a nation? What are the things we should allow in the politics of the country, and what are the things which should be a no-no for all political parties? Maybe a debate on this?

While on the topic, there has to be far more effort in the direction of renewable resources than there is today. The beauty of renewable resources is that no country is unduly rich in them, for the sun shines equally on all. While the government is batting for the N-deal, there must also be a relook at the extent we are utilizing some of the renewable sources of energy Nature has so abundantly provided us? Solar, wind, hydel, tide ... you name it, the technology is available to harness it. Whats missing are the projects for doing this. And, the will.

Also, Honda launched its hybrid car in India. At a price at which nobody will buy it. Lots of coverage about the import duty making the car prohibitively expensive (104%, if i am not mistaken?). And, a lot of words being written about how the government should abolish this. Longer term, maybe this may not be the best option. Maybe the government should look more at promoting manufacture of these cars in India? The idea, more than promoting the technology, is to develop the eco-friendly mindset, which is so lacking in a lot of people of the country.

The Water Conjurer ...

There was once a conjurer ... a conjurer with a speciality. The speciality was something which was quite intriguing ... making something out of nothing. And, it wasnt even just an ordinary something. It was water!

Yes ... the Conjurer could make water out of nothing. How? Simple ... He would just wave his hand, and lo and behold ... there would be water. There was water in the seas, on the land, and in the sky, and all of this was there, because of the Conjurer. He was a man of Magic ... and, he created magic, too. Whenever it rained two drops, he could make a lake which had four drops of water in it ... two from the rain, and two conjured by the magical Conjurer. Though, he wasnt quite alone in this. He had a friend ... a friend who was unknown. Yes, unknown! Unknown to the world, except by his work ... for his work was path-breaking ... Literally!

One day, the Conjurer left his home. He quite liked it there, but he wanted to see new places. For one of the things he couldnt do with magic was see far-off places. This was because clouds always surrounded him. Being the Water Conjurer, he always carried with him the aura of water, and how better to express this aura than through clouds? So it would almost be fair to say that the Conjurer couldnt see beyond his clouds. Which quite made it impossible to see things which were far away. And no, even spectacles didnt help.

So, one day, he left his home, and went out into the world. He went far and wide, saw almost the entire world. He went around like this for years. For years, he was travelling, seeing some of the most beautiful places in the world, and some of the most unusual too. He went to a place where there was a tower which just wouldnt stand straight. And he went to a place where there was fire flying in the sky. he went to the place with the statue of the lady, and he went to the place with the wonderful fair. He saw merchants, kings and queens, he saw travellers, farmers, shepherds, people of all kinds. And he liked them all. Some of them were good people, who never spared a thought before helping others, and others were not so good, who never spared a thought for others. But, they were all part of Creation, and so they were beautiful.

Then one day, he came to a city ... this was a city with a tower. Only, like the other city with the tower he went to, this tower stood straight. It stood straight, pointing its finger at the sky, a beautiful reminder of people gone by. The city had a beautiful river, and a lovely fort. The city was the land of poets ... There was literature, there was art, and there was music ... and, there was the warmth of the city which welcomed him with open arms. And thats when he decided ... He must live in this city. He would never leave the city.

Now, from time to time, rains would skip the city by. These were times which were tough for the people. But, not any longer. The Conjurer was with them. So, he brought water. And more water. And then some more, till the people were wondering what they were to do with so much water. And they slowly became worried. If the Conjurer stayed there for long, they wouldnt have any place to stay. For there would be water everywhere. So, they all asked the king to ask the Conjurer to go away from there. The king wanted the Conjurer to stay, but then, the power of the people was paramount, so he had no choice ... he had to ask the Conjurer to go away. The Conjurer, upon hearing this, felt sad.

He had been asked like this to go away plenty of times before. But, it was never like this. He had never seen a city as beautiful as this. He had never come across people as nice, warm and welcoming as here. And, he had never felt the beauty of human civilization as he had here. He had never heard such wonderful poetry, such lilting music, and such beautiful art, not to mention the wonderful architecture. All in all, this was the most wonderful city he had ever seen. And he was sad ... Sad, for he didnt want to leave. But, the people were scared.

On hearing whats going on with the Conjurer, the Path-breaker ran to join him. He brought with him his unique skills, which were path-breaking ... literally. Upon seeing him, the Conjurer started to cry. He let out a loud wail, and started to cry with all the sadness he had ... And, he poured it forth in the form of tears. Seeing his wonderful friend cry, Path-breaker got furious, and let his anger be known to the people of Delhi. And, we can still see both ... whenever it rains two drops in Delhi, water logging is four drops ... two drops coming from the Conjurer. And, the Path-breaker, in his fury, to this day, goes about breaking up the roads, creating astral craters on the roads, whenever the Conjurer conjures up water.

Basic Understanding

I am not an expert on the subject ... but these days, i am reading a book titled Shadows of the Mind by Sir Roger Penrose. I have written about some of the things i am thinking from this book, here. Now, at the cost of repeating myself, i am not an expert, so this post is only about what my understanding on the subject till now is.

First thing i have understood ... that Mathematics and English dont go together. I am sure a lot of less than average IQ folks like me would have found the book more wonderful if we didnt have to take the double whammy of maths and language, simultaneously.

Second, there is an interesting outcome Sir Roger comes to ...

Human mathematicians are not using a knowably sound algorithm in order to ascertain mathematical truth.

Two things ... either these algorithms are not sound, or they are not known to us to be sound, which means that we do not know that these algorithms are sound (there is no chink in their armoury). Either way, there is a mathematical certainty that mathematicians are using something other than pure "logic" at arriving at an understanding of the mathematical world. In other words, either way, the object either knows the algorithm is mathematically unsound, or doesnt know that it is sound, and still uses it.

Interesting ... This implies that the science that we know today to be totally "rational" may not be completely so, at least not the science as we know it today.

More on this as i get to understand more ...

Nuclear (Un)Deal ... (No) Power to the People

The nuclear deal is one of the topics which is of high importance to the nation, and, if opinions in the newspaper columns are to be believed, to the comman man. This is the common man represented by the Left parties ... Wonder how? Interestingly, Jug Suraiya wrote a piece a few days ago ... Do N-Deal With China ... Interesting piece ...

What is even more interesting is the episode with the Governor of West Bengal, Mr. Gopal Krishna Gandhi, employing some of the ways of his illustrious grandfather to illustrate to the powers that be that if the comman man, whome the powers that be purport to support, has to live without electricity for a large part of the day, then maybe the high and mighty ought to share in this deprivation? Read about it ... Wonder why this upset the powers that be? Though, of course, the powers that be ... seem to be more intertested in depriving people of power than in getting much needed nuclear fuel, so the country can actually produce more power. Power that is actually needed much more than political posturing?

More unnerving ... We today have a political system where a set of political parties whose strength in the Lok Sabha is (no, i googled it, but couldnt come up with the number) is quite less can actually hold the entire nation to ransom. Cant give numbers, because i couldnt find them. But, they are definitely not in the majority. Forgive me my ignorance, but this reminds me of a quote ... Wag the dog! Shouldnt we look at some ways where this sort of arrangement can be avoided?

Hyderabadi Biryani ... in Bangalore

I am currently at Bangalore ... and, the team went out for Lunch today. We went to ... guess ... Hyderabad House. Hyderabadi Biryani in the heart of Bangalore. And, every bit one of the best Biryanis i have ever had. I took the Mutton Biryani, and not only was the Biryani very well done, the Mutton was just right ... tender, juicy, and amply immersed in the spices.

Spices reminds me ... the Biryani was spicy. In true Hyderabad style, the spices were subtle, but at the same time, effective, if you know what i mean. Friends tell me ... There is a Double Masala Biryani ... one which is enough to have you smoking with the spices they put in there. Every bit worth the wait (you better make sure you reach there before 1 pm on weekdays, if you dont want to wait for half an hour). And definitely, worth repeat visits (this was my fourth!).

Food from Goa

Goa Portuguesa is tucked away on one of the streets of Mahim. But the food here is something which is amply wonderful to draw you to it. Well, we went there yesterday ... And sure enough, one of the dishes i would invariably order would be the Prawns Balcao, with the Garlic Pao ... These Prawns are like little bits of delight which they serve up. Especially wonderful ... In addition, we ordered the Goencho Tolog ... The Chicken is quite ok, the gravy is quite nice, though. Its gravy thats made of Cashew and the works ... Quite nice ... and, a nice contrast from the Balcao gravy, which is a differet ballgame altogether.

The Balco is fiery, the Goencho Tolog is soothing ... The Garlic Pao were not as nice as they have been ... the Butter was missing, for instance. Though, of course the Prawns were fresh as always, and the Balcao was wonderful ... as usual. For a cange, i didnt go for the Bombay Duck stuffed with Crab ... but then considering we had gone there for Lunch ... there was no Feni to go along with the Bombay Duck ...

All in all, Goa Portuegesa lives up to its name ... though they have come up with the idea of serve Maharashtra food ... which sort of confuses the issue. As long as they are keeping separate space (as they are doing with Culture Curry), its ok, but the current format ... confusing!

Of Kababs and Biryani ...

I am blaming my data-card ... While the icon at the bottom of the computer says its connected, suddenly it will pop up and say ... Internet is connected. Hello ... what about all this while when the icon was showing connected? Just a means of keeping customers in the dark (its a different thing the telecom companies call them idiots ... that is, if they are in a charitable mood, otherwise its suckers) ... or, as one guy on the laughter challenge put it ...

Customer = Kasht se mar!

Wonder how the service companies, especially in India, manage to make this sound almost prophetic. Which brings me to the point ... whats all this got to do with Kababs and Biryanis! Nothing, actually, except that when i had written about Kababs and Biryanis, and tried to publish the post, the internet connection decided to conk out on me (of course, without bothering to me ... after all, i am just the stupid user!). So, here i am, having to write again, and having to take out my frustration on someone ... and who better than you, dear reader!

Well ... to the Kababs and Biryanis ... I went for Lunch yesterday, with a colleague in a nice restaurant here in Bandra ... Persian Darbar! The decor is not upmarket, but then, i usually dont bother about that ... i have gone there to eat, remember? So, where do irrelevant things like decor and ambience come into the picture? Anyway ... about the Food ... we ordered Kababs ... there was the Pudina Murgh Kabab (its nice if you are hungry, but actually, avoidable!), and the Seekh Kababs (again, nice, but about it!). And there was the Biryani ... Chicken Biryani ... age and weight are both catching up with me, you see! As i had read somewhere ...

Eats is eats, waist is waist,
And never the twine shall meet!

I guess i might do well to consider this while the twine is still meeting. So, even though you might be thinking how anyone can call a Biryani a Biryani without the Mutton, there are reasons, my dear, why old and fat people might want to do so. This Biryani is one of the better Biryanis i have had. Now, its nowhere close to the numero uno ... The Hyderabad House at (you guessed it) ... Hyderabad, and also at Bangalore. I havent eaten a memorable Biryani in Delhi, and Shiraz and the rest of the folks in Kolkata are not quite in the same league. Except for the Potato they give you with the Biryani, of course! So, Persian Darbar is one of the better Biryanis i have eaten. Actually, one of the best. Now, interestingly, this happens by default ... In the land of the Biryani, i have to admit that this was one of the best Biryanis i have ever had ... sad state of affairs! Biryani afficionados ... rise, and we shall have our Biryani!

Of Giving Your Viewpoint

My friend Shubro commented on my post on Aaddaabaajee ... Well, this reminded me of this little episode ... The guys almost beat me up.

Well, in our part of the world, swear words are quite customary ... you use them almost as punctuations (anybody who knows any Punjabi would know this, and of course, Delhi is so, so Punjabi ...). And as such, these pearls of poetic wisdom used to flow freely in our intellectual interactions. They almost used to decorate our prose, and punctuate our discussions, much like the cigarettes used to. Though, of course, i am yet to find out which of the two were the more valuable communication aids.

As it would be ... there was a debate underway ... passionate discussion, if you may (which is where most discussions used to be, after around 5 cigarettes having been smoked in the space of an hour!). So passionate that, as usual, tempers were frayed, and participants were quite eagerly delivering swear words at random. The topic of the debate?

Does familiarity allow us to use swear words with friends, or is this a sign of bad manners!

Trust the guys to not understand the irony of the nature of the debate. As you might have guessed, i wasnt there (since the debate hadnt yet reached rarefied heights). Well, i walked into the narrow alley which was Atlas Radios, pipe in mouth. Being the "impartial" one, the two sides jumped at me, and asked me what i think about the topic. Holding the pipe, chewing on its end, knotting my brows, and thinking from my impartial platform, the only response i could muster was ...

It depends on what viewpoint you hold.

Of course, thats the impartial view. Listen ... i go one way, i get bashed up by one set of guys, and i go the other way, well ... you get the picture! Sitting on the fence was the safe option. Or so i thought. The response this brought on was something i obviously cant write here (folks might object to it), but it definitely was quite in flow of things, and i almost got bashed up by both the set of folks.

Of Science and Humour

This one's for folks who believe scientists are drab folks ... no sense of humour! I am reading about dark matter here. Well ... they have two categories of dark matter ... Machos and Wimps ... No no ... these are not mere words, they even dreamt up full forms of these, making these acronyms ...

MACHO: Massive Astrophysical Compact Halo Objects

WIMP: Weakly Interacting Massive Particles

Almost as though someone thought up the words, and then made the expressions?

Dark Matter ... Beginners

I am reading about dark matter these days. Highly interesting ... First question ... what is dark matter. Simple ... its matter thats dark. Oops ... that sounded like a typical consultant ... or, Sir Humphrey (or are they pretty much the same thing?)! Well ... to make it simple ... Dark matter is stuff which is out there in the universe which we cant see. For some reason ... dont ask me why. The brains (read scientists) havent figured that out yet, or at least thats what i think.

Only thing i have been able to figure out yet is how they figured out its existence if they cant see it. Well ... its simple. We all know galaxies rotate around a centre. Now, the rotation speed of galaxies can be calculated using the Doppler effect. So, if the galaxy were like a disk, then one end of the rotating disc would be coming at you (blue shifted), and the other end would be going away (red shifted). Based on the extent of the spectral shift, they could calculate the rotational speed of the galaxy. Knowing this, the mass of the galaxy can be calculated using Newtonian mechanics. Now, the speed of rotation of galaxies is such that the stars along with their solar systems should probably get hurled out of the galaxy, given the calculated gravitational pull of the mass calculated for the galaxy by the Mass-Luminosity equation.

In other words, the calculated mass of the galaxy is not enough to keep these stars in place in the galaxy, and overcome the centrifugal force they would feel. Now, since the stars are actually in place in the galaxy, the only thing that can explain this is that there is mass in the galaxy which we cant see. Ergo, Dark Matter ...

According to what scientists say ... Mother Nature has hidden away 90% of the universe from us. Question is ... why? I dont know! Maybe someday soon, we will find out.

The Indus Saga ... Cont'd.

As i have written earlier ... i am reading The Indus Saga. Now, the book is written about a topic which is bound to raise emotions about everything written in the book ... Some for, and some against. But, i think thats what Mr. Ahsan would like to see ... the book sparking a healthy debate about the reality of things in the subcontinent.

Well, i have been reading this book for around a month now (thanks to IPL). I am reading the part where he is talking about the Hindu-Muslim divide. Mr. Ahsan has written masterfully about this. And, come up with a few arguments which its very difficult to disagree with. But then, i am writing about the things i disagree with (why waste my time trying to agree with something which is masterfully done, so if you wanna know more, read the book, not my blog ...).

The first important thing ... Religion definitely was an aspect of the Partition. We would be fooling ourselves if we were to say religion wasnt at the forefront. However, religion itself shouldnt be seen as the reason. Because, if it were, then Pakistan would probably have been far closer in terms of geo-politics to Afghanistan than they actually are. Also, this wouldnt explain the second largest population of Muslims in the world ... in India. It also wouldnt explain the centrifugal force which drew Bangladesh away from Pakistan.

Taking all of these together, i would think that the raison d'etre for the Partition would be religion, associated with a regional identity. I think the regional aspect must not be overlooked, which is something which Mr. Ahsan has written throughout the book.

Another aspect i wanted to comment upon ... "Honour" killings, to my mind, are by no means the preserve of the Muslims. I see them more as an Indus phenomenon, rather than as a phenomenon associated with Muslims in the subcontinent. Might be that these are present certian parts of the subcontinent because of a greater central Asian (or Arab?) influence than in other parts of the subcontinent. For example, i am not aware of "honour" killings in Bengal or the southern parts of the country.

Green India ...

Today is World Environemtn Day. Interesting, this ... A lot of people are exhorting India to a greener future. To my mind, though, this is no longer a luxury. Its not just about a better quality of life for people, its about economics.

Coming a day after the Govt. hiked fuel prices, causing huge uproar across the country, green energy is an alternative which is more beneficial than conventional fuels. Wind energy, solar energy, hydel energy ... There is ample of each available in different parts of the country. Seen in light of the fuel price hike, and non-availability of greater sources of neclear energy, thanks to the Left, green energy is the alternative for the future, from the economic perspective, too.

Aaddaabaajee ...

Aaddaabaajee ... a term not very familiar to lots of people. To the inhabitants of Kolkata (or Calcutta, if you may), an integral part of their lives. Though, surely aaddaabaajee is not the preserve of the city. There were the days ... rather, evenings ... the vanue? Atlas Radio! Not an address known to many, but to the boys of Darya Ganj, or at least the folks i grew up with, this is an address which is closely linked with our growing up years, through school and college.

No matter how, come evening, and we would gather there. If we werent playing cricket, of course ... though, cricket playing took a back-seat sometime during school. At the risk of having our parents read this, i would admit that this is where cigarettes were smoked (surreptitiously, of course). This is where we graduated from smoking Navy Cut to Wills Kings (dont see them around anymore), to Gold Flake, to the ubiquituous Prince Henry (and no, we are not the only ones to prefer this brand ... read this). As Avinashjee writes ...

From the next day it started. Ashish brought an assortment of four pipes for the supervisor to select one from. He kept all the four. “You tend to get tired of smoking the same pipe day after day,” he said. Impeccable logic, that. We bought cigarette paper. Ashish had brought “Capstan” brand tobacco. The supervisor told him to buy “Prince Henry” brand next time. “The flavor is rich,” he said. The valuations were rich too – Prince Henry was retailed at a price almost one and a half times that of Capstan.

And this is where we discussed ... we discussed almost everything. The discussion ranged from politics, to social issues, to philosophy, to movies, literature, and the occasional mention of girls. And no, i have not covered all the topics we discussed. Then there was the time when, influenced by the pipe-smoking charm of Sherlock Holmes, we took to smoking a pipe. It made you look so elegant, though of course we all shared one pipe (hey ... who had the money to buy so any pipes).

And even when it went to college, to study at BHU, holidays were times when i could meet all my friends ... and guess where i would find them?

Khuda Kay Liye ...

The movie has become popular ... And, it should have. Khuda Kay Liye is a movie about human frailty. A frailty which is to be seen whereever one might go ... In every part of the world, among followers of every religion. Importantly, it brings out the fact that goodness is neither the preserve of a particular religion, or a particular belief system.

More than anything else, the movie brings out the fact that inherently, any religion cannot be narrow minded. Inherently, any religion is not about building hatred, or imposing one belief system on another. Nor is any belief system, any society homogenous, and should not be branded as such. Whether it is the so-called "Islamic terrorism", or whether it is the so-called "hegemonic west".

But i am getting ahead of the story, i guess. The story revolves around the lives of two brothers ... One who is convinced, though half-heartedly, into becoming a Jihadi, and the other, who is forced into proclaiming he is a terrorist. I guess i shouldnt be writing much more ... much rather you watch the movie. It should be treated as one of those rare movies which can shake the foundations of the thought processes of a society. Because, it can ... It would be very nice if the movie brought about a thought process that religious belief is not necessarily reflected in one's dress, or that Faith is not hostage to a beard. A jeans clad, cap wearing boy can still recite the Aazaan, and that would probably be more valuable than an insincere one. This very point reminds me of a movie of a totally different genre, a hilarious movie titled Gol-Maal. You must be wondering whats the connection. The connection is in one line. Utpal Dutta believes that a young man who doesnt have a moustache is not a decent man. Thats when he is told ...

Sharaafat koi chidiya hai jo moonchh mein ghonslaa banaati hai?

The thought process of the movie is exemplary. I was reading a report recently where it said that the Darul Uloom have issued a Fatwa against terrorism. One would praise the Darul Uloom for this, though i believe all the seminary has done is uphold the grand tradition of Islam.