Inspiration

The four great personalities in this world where I derive the energy and inspiration from,

1) Kids
2) Dogs
3) Very Old People
4) Saints

We can derive unconditional love from these people. They don't care who are and mostly what you are. They just love ..

The Stone Throwers

Outside a picturesque little town was a huge heap of stones. The people of that town had the habit of assembling there and attempting to hit the stars with those stones. They also had the custom of praising people who could fling the stone the farthest. Last of all, everyone in the town used to indulge in stone throwing for the best part of their day.

One day a young male came along to the stone throwing area. He was egged along by everyone to throw stones at the stars. The young lad had a curious question in his mind. He asked them why are they all doing it and why should he also do it? Other youngsters like him frowned upon him for such a question. Most females in the town did not want to associate with him. Some well meaning old men and women in the town tried to impart their wisdom about stone throwing to him. They said it would make him happy now and would guarantee his future happiness.

He was not convinced. He said he is already happy and does not want to shoot down stars by throwing stones at them. He said he would rather sit simply in a corner. The whole town was aghast. They could not believe that a healthy and physically fit person like him would not want to throw stones. A lot of people tried to convince him about the importance of stone throwing. When everyone failed, he was labeled a lazy moron and was kicked out of town.

Other people in the town then continued to throw stones happily.

16000 in 2007

Over 16000 farmer suicides in 2007 - Sainath writes in India Together

16000 * (4 / 365) = 175

Mumbai attacks lasted for 4 days from 26th to 29th of Nov 2008 and at least 173 people. FYI. Read about the aftermath of the November attacks here.

CS MS
கற்றது கணினி விஞ்ஞானம்

So, thats it folks! My masters is over! or in baba style, gatham gatham :D (sorry to non-rajini followers who wouldnt understand this). They've decided to confer an MSc degree in Computer Science on me!!

PostSecret

Postsecret is a wonderful project. Check out its blog here, if you have not seen it before. There is also a book on the same name. There is one post every week in their blog. Some of the posts are so poignant that they have some times moved me to tears. Here is one that made me laugh out aloud. :)

Auto bailout

Auto companies saying that millions of jobs will be lost if they are not bailed out is a bit like terrorists using innocent civilians as human shields.

Mumbai attack aftermath

Hotel Taj : icon of whose India? - by Gnani Sankaran

I completely agree with the above write up. A friend of mine, Naveen, wrote the following in an email discussion that happened about this article in a google group (posted here with permission; emphasis mine).

thanks for forwarding this jaganath. in a face saving effort NDTV added a small segment on the announcers at CST after 3 days of forgetting. Barkha Dutt's coverage made me want to vomit (don't receive the other channels, so cant say abt the rest). It was obvious she was using the whole thing to make a name for herself, and her company. whip up frenzy and act like a moral guardian of the society. and whose icons are these places anyways? i make it a point a walk around south-bombay everytime am in town, but have never even noticed leopold's or the two hotels. CST, vada pav joints nearby, the old book shops, Iranian bakeries and parsi joints, the university etc hold far more charm. Am sure this applies to a lot of common citizens who don't hang out at pubs and 5 star parties. So 'icon'-izing of certain parts over the others, comes across as trying to mainstream a certain narrative of what south-bombay stands for, and thats a deep loss for those of us to whom it means a lot many more things. also, where were all these people who are now jumping up and down about the lack of the "crisis management", during the recent bihar floods (or a hundred other such calamities before) where the govt had been incompetent. There was nobody besieging the home minister then, no celebrities on TV demanding accountability, or no prime-time journalists in the 'line of fire' (or water). While terror related events are serious and needs to be dealt with (hopefully not with more 'WAR on terror'), this whole 'the sky has fallen down', 'we are have been betrayed' etc tone of the channels reeks of hypocrisy. we need to be careful of whatever they are trying to peddle into our heads.

India has always (at least since I have been alive) had inept and self serving politicians. Be it natural calamaities or terror strikes, when it affects the common man it does not matter to the govt but when it affects the high and mighty, the entire might of India is pulled in to respond. In the 2001 parliament attack, a total of 7 people died. India responded by beating the war drums and mobilized its armed forces for a full scale war with Pakistan (thankfully, good sense or good luck prevailed). Yes, the symbol of Indian democracy was attacked and thats a very serious issue. The problem is not with the response per se but with the relative lack of response in other cases when the high and mighty are not injured. Similarly, now, after the rich and famous were attacked, large scale resignations of senior politicians ensued as India is preparing for a war time dance. In the 2006 mumbai train bombings, more than 200 people were killed and over 700 injured. No politician deemed it necessary to resign on account of moral responsibility. Now, after the current crisis, the Union Home minister Shivraj Patil, Maharashtra Deputy Chief minister R.R. Patil and the Chief minister of Maharashtra Vilasrao Deshmukh resigned owning up moral responsibility. These people were in power even during the 2006 mumbai train bombings but none of them chose to own up moral responsbility then. Shouting now about an incapable political system might be useful if it brings about a change but the fact that the govt responds, the govt is asked to respond by media and people, only when high profile lives are threatened is something that all Indians need to be seriously concerned about.

His Holiness Param Pujya Sri Sri Doctor Commander Selvam Siddhar!!!!

எவ்வளவு பெரிய பெயர்????? (What a bigggggg name!!!!???)

Came across a series of videos on youtube that this person was arrested recently. Check out the following video and the related videos. Royal fun!! (slightly old news though)

Inspired by - 2

Every time I am disturbed by some event, this is the song I listen to for mental peace and solace: Raghupathy ragahava raja ram



This song is one of the most favorite songs of this great man - Gandhi. His life and his principles have been a source of tremendous strength and courage for me in times of trouble. He is one man whom I always look up to for inspiration.

I was looking for a photograph of Gandhi to upload here but most of the photos I saw portrayed him with a hallow around his head. This is just nonsense. He was but a fellow human like the 6+ billion humans on this planet. The special thing about him was that with patience, perseverance and a stubborn will he cut through his own ego and demons. By placing a hallow around him, which puts him on a pedestal, he becomes yet another of the countless, useless, gods in India. So, I have decided not to put up any photographs.