I have had a chance to be a part of a community titled "Bangalore is Full. Go Home !!" on Orkut. Its description is interesting ...
This is a community for all those true blooded, hardcore Bangloreans who believe that people from outside Bangalore, who come and settle down here are the ones who should be majorly held responsible for the recent collapse in infrastructure, bad traffic amongst other negative developments in the city. Facilities originally created for us are being exploited by non-Bangloreans. Growing up in this wonderful city, we knew how this place was 10-15 years ago..or more. We feel extremely attached to this place and we express our hatred and anger towards all those 'immigrants' here who are bringing about the city's downfall!!..Come on in and express your solidarity as a Hardcore Banglorean.. and for all you wimps at heart.. stay away!!
P.S: If you are gonna delete your post after you get owned, please do not join this community. Some pussies have done that earlier and thats why this last line!
Personally i find some of the statements too radical and racist ... like "We feel extremely attached to this place and we express our hatred and anger towards all those 'immigrants' here who are bringing about the city's downfall!!" I am not yet a blatant racist ... and so i do not agree with this point ... yet i do agree with the fact that to a large extent the ills that have befallen bangalore are a consequence of outsiders who come in to bangalore ... grabbing high paying IT and ITES jobs ... they do nothing productive for the city ... dont treat the city as their own ... since anyway within a few years they are going to quit their jobs and go back to wherever it is that they have come from.
I thought there were some enlightened souls in this community who were truly trying to make a change to Bangalore ... make a point that people who come in must integrate into the local culture ... but maybe i am wrong in my assessment.
I believe that there should be atleast a minimum integration into the local culture ... i.e. the learning of the local language ... atleast upto a "spoken" level. This will make the people of bangalore realize that people who come into bangalore are not here just for the jobs ... but are here to be a part of the community ... It is not an easy task and this is an objective that can be achieved over time without compromising on the "cosmopolitan" nature of the city.
Getting back to this community ... there are a lot of discussion threads on this community that are directed against "outsiders" particularly the north indian commmunitites that are coming into bangalore ... most of the threads are abusive with local members just abusing the skin off the impetuous "northie" who dares to post anything that is percieved to be anti-local. I have tried something interesting ... a sort of experiment ... to check if this community is really all about some serious work or just a place for people to let out hot air ....
I have started a thread that outlines ways in which kannada can be taught to people who have come from outside bangalore to settle in bangalore ... It is on a serious note and is meant to get some of the bright sparks to come out with creative and innovative ideas.
15 minutes after i started the thread ... there were 5-6 posts on the "bash northie/immigrant" threads whereas my thread had not even recieved a single hit. This is making me wonder ... are the creators of this communityand its ardent members here to just blow hot air or seriously make a difference to bangalore ... I am going to wait for a few more days before i pass my judgement ...
Sunday, April 16, 2006
The forgotten genre
Completely forgot about the animated movies :) ... Tom and Jerry ... Ice Age ... Shark Tale ...
Now that is a genre that defies age boundaries ... just got off watching shark tale ... and if you are reading this post laugh at this dialogue ... imagine it being said in will smith style :)
"Yo sykes! My brother from another mother ! " .... muhuaaahaahaa ......
Now that is a genre that defies age boundaries ... just got off watching shark tale ... and if you are reading this post laugh at this dialogue ... imagine it being said in will smith style :)
"Yo sykes! My brother from another mother ! " .... muhuaaahaahaa ......
Wednesday, March 29, 2006
My changing view on atheists and atheism
It has been long since I have been contemplating a post on this topic. In the past year or so I have been thinking deeply about my religious obligations, my spirituality and the relevance that these hold for other people in their lives. One contentious issue that I had very strong opinions on was the issue of atheism.
I believed that atheists were just ignoramus idiots.
A little background on my personal journey through the quagmire of faith and GOD.
There was a time in my life when I decided that the best way by which I could avoid the Sunday mass was by declaring myself an atheist. I was hell bent on working towards this goal in my life. Somewhere in between my plan towards achieving this goal a thought struck me. Before I announce my atheism to the world let me search for GOD and when I DON'T find him after my search I can confidently make my transition to atheism without any religious nut telling me I have not searched for GOD. To cut long stories short, in my quest for GOD I somehow managed to rebuild my faith and I just could not come to the conclusion that GOD does not exist ... (and yes though I am not completely dogmatic, I do attend Sunday mass every week).
After this realization of my faith in the existence of GOD I decided that any person who claims to be an atheist should be able to substantiate his atheism by giving concrete evidence that he failed in his quest to find GOD, i.e, he actually went searching for GOD :) ....
What I would have wanted to ask an atheist is "Have you succeeded in finding reasons why GOD does not exist after having gone searching for him or is it so that you have succeeded in finding reasons for not finding GOD and therefore disproved his existence?"
My opinion has changed ... somewhat drastically of late (actually the past two days ...). It all boils down to faith. The common denominator between believers and atheists is faith. Believers have faith in the existence of GOD and atheists have faith in the non-existence of GOD, period.
It is very difficult to get a straightforward objective answer to matters related to faith, and that is because of the personal nature of this attribute of human beings. I am strong in my faith in the existence of GOD, and an atheist is a true atheist if and only if he is strong in his faith in the non-existence of GOD, after all faith as i have defined it for myself is my personal belief of the truth...
I believed that atheists were just ignoramus idiots.
A little background on my personal journey through the quagmire of faith and GOD.
There was a time in my life when I decided that the best way by which I could avoid the Sunday mass was by declaring myself an atheist. I was hell bent on working towards this goal in my life. Somewhere in between my plan towards achieving this goal a thought struck me. Before I announce my atheism to the world let me search for GOD and when I DON'T find him after my search I can confidently make my transition to atheism without any religious nut telling me I have not searched for GOD. To cut long stories short, in my quest for GOD I somehow managed to rebuild my faith and I just could not come to the conclusion that GOD does not exist ... (and yes though I am not completely dogmatic, I do attend Sunday mass every week).
After this realization of my faith in the existence of GOD I decided that any person who claims to be an atheist should be able to substantiate his atheism by giving concrete evidence that he failed in his quest to find GOD, i.e, he actually went searching for GOD :) ....
What I would have wanted to ask an atheist is "Have you succeeded in finding reasons why GOD does not exist after having gone searching for him or is it so that you have succeeded in finding reasons for not finding GOD and therefore disproved his existence?"
My opinion has changed ... somewhat drastically of late (actually the past two days ...). It all boils down to faith. The common denominator between believers and atheists is faith. Believers have faith in the existence of GOD and atheists have faith in the non-existence of GOD, period.
It is very difficult to get a straightforward objective answer to matters related to faith, and that is because of the personal nature of this attribute of human beings. I am strong in my faith in the existence of GOD, and an atheist is a true atheist if and only if he is strong in his faith in the non-existence of GOD, after all faith as i have defined it for myself is my personal belief of the truth...
Saturday, March 25, 2006
Sucker for mushy movies ?
Two weeks ago, I finally got to see Pretty Woman from the beginning till the end without any interruption. And i thoroughly enjoyed myself.
I totally and thouroughly enjoy these mushy romantic light hearted comedies more than any other genre of cinema.
I dont understand why is it so that i enjoy mushy cinema but i cant stand books that fall in this genre (the mushy light hearted romantic ones). When it comes to books, my preference leans towards mystery, edge of the seat action and roaring comedies, heavily mushy books are a complete turn off.
Does this indicate that my preferences are putting me in the category of people who are well balanced, or is it just so that i need to get more patient at reading books and get a nice hi fidelity home theatre system to watch my movies :)..... !!!!
I totally and thouroughly enjoy these mushy romantic light hearted comedies more than any other genre of cinema.
I dont understand why is it so that i enjoy mushy cinema but i cant stand books that fall in this genre (the mushy light hearted romantic ones). When it comes to books, my preference leans towards mystery, edge of the seat action and roaring comedies, heavily mushy books are a complete turn off.
Does this indicate that my preferences are putting me in the category of people who are well balanced, or is it just so that i need to get more patient at reading books and get a nice hi fidelity home theatre system to watch my movies :)..... !!!!
Tuesday, February 28, 2006
A small change in attitude
The first three moths of work was a period that i would best describe as euphoric ... the money was great , the work light and the "wow" factor of working for TI had not yet come down.
The next two months was like the dark ages ... i felt out of place ... was struggling like a fish out of water. It was not a baptism by fire ... though the heat was definately on. Well i did emerge well baked ... (self assessment). From Jan work has been quite smooth ... but i felt that on the personal front i was not able to achieve any of the goals i was setting for myself.
My state of affairs has taken a turn for the better since the past two weeks. I have changed my attitude towards work. I have made Job related activities the core thing on which i spend my effecient time periods at office. Setting up VPN connectivity from home has helped too. I make a schedule of the goals i wish to achieve for the day that are in line with the goals i have set for the week tha are in turn aligned with the plan i have set for six months ... whew !!
I think the change that is impacting me in such a great manner is the fact that i am attempting to get more organized and succeding at it.
Reflecting on the past, i think one of the biggest impediments to my personal and academic growth has been my lack of organization and planning. I was more of a JIT person (just/jest in time) . Not a spontaneous bloke ... just a last minute fire fighter ... and a darned good one at that. But being a good fire fighter is not the best approach to what i wish to achieve in the long run. Forget fighting fires, i am good at that, now i need to be in a position to prevent the fires that might flare up, and that is where being organized is important.
I hope to continue maturing in the aspect of planning out things in my life. At the same time i should never forget to be spontaneous in my approach too. Flexibility, spontaneaty and productive change should complement my newfound resolve to plan out my activities.
There are four vectors that i have identified along which i should grow for the next two years. 1) Multimedia 2) Systems 3) Management 4) Personal. The order stated above is not indicative of any sort of priority. All vectors are imporant and and equal and rapid growth along each of them is important to achieve professional competence and personal satisfaction.
I need to plan my activities along these vectors, setting acheivable goals. These vectors may seem skewed in favour of my professional side, however after deep thought i am convinced that for the next two years it is my professional development that matters more.
1) Multimedia -> my bread and butter at work . I need to develop a high level of competence in digital audio and video principles.
2) Systems -> not my bread and butter ... but very very interesting. Being aware of systems, hardware and supporting tools has never hurt.
3) Management -> the binding glue. Very important from a personal and professional perspective. This includes process adherence at work and balancing out my activities at home.
4) Personal -> i should never forget friends family and myself. Spending some quality time on these three aspects of this vector is extremely important.
This is a reminder blog. I hope to be reminded continuously of what it is that i have set out to achieve for myself.
The next two months was like the dark ages ... i felt out of place ... was struggling like a fish out of water. It was not a baptism by fire ... though the heat was definately on. Well i did emerge well baked ... (self assessment). From Jan work has been quite smooth ... but i felt that on the personal front i was not able to achieve any of the goals i was setting for myself.
My state of affairs has taken a turn for the better since the past two weeks. I have changed my attitude towards work. I have made Job related activities the core thing on which i spend my effecient time periods at office. Setting up VPN connectivity from home has helped too. I make a schedule of the goals i wish to achieve for the day that are in line with the goals i have set for the week tha are in turn aligned with the plan i have set for six months ... whew !!
I think the change that is impacting me in such a great manner is the fact that i am attempting to get more organized and succeding at it.
Reflecting on the past, i think one of the biggest impediments to my personal and academic growth has been my lack of organization and planning. I was more of a JIT person (just/jest in time) . Not a spontaneous bloke ... just a last minute fire fighter ... and a darned good one at that. But being a good fire fighter is not the best approach to what i wish to achieve in the long run. Forget fighting fires, i am good at that, now i need to be in a position to prevent the fires that might flare up, and that is where being organized is important.
I hope to continue maturing in the aspect of planning out things in my life. At the same time i should never forget to be spontaneous in my approach too. Flexibility, spontaneaty and productive change should complement my newfound resolve to plan out my activities.
There are four vectors that i have identified along which i should grow for the next two years. 1) Multimedia 2) Systems 3) Management 4) Personal. The order stated above is not indicative of any sort of priority. All vectors are imporant and and equal and rapid growth along each of them is important to achieve professional competence and personal satisfaction.
I need to plan my activities along these vectors, setting acheivable goals. These vectors may seem skewed in favour of my professional side, however after deep thought i am convinced that for the next two years it is my professional development that matters more.
1) Multimedia -> my bread and butter at work . I need to develop a high level of competence in digital audio and video principles.
2) Systems -> not my bread and butter ... but very very interesting. Being aware of systems, hardware and supporting tools has never hurt.
3) Management -> the binding glue. Very important from a personal and professional perspective. This includes process adherence at work and balancing out my activities at home.
4) Personal -> i should never forget friends family and myself. Spending some quality time on these three aspects of this vector is extremely important.
This is a reminder blog. I hope to be reminded continuously of what it is that i have set out to achieve for myself.
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