The Bane of Reformism

"We start out as reformists. But in the process of engaging ourselves in the pursuit of truth and the root cause, we unknowingly become a revivalist."

Hindu fundamentalists have often argued against the spread of western ideas (पश्चिमी सभ्यता) in our nation. Often they cite hindu texts (mostly the Dharmasastras and Sanata Dharma, which I'll talk about in a little bit) to support their beliefs. My generation hasn't been helpful either. Instead of exploring the real facts, we deem most of these texts as uncool, archaic and bordering on parochial. I often find myself thinking twice before saying it aloud that one of my favourite books is Karma Yoga. While I can't make sweeping generalizations, I have to admit a lot of my friends are contrarians. It's good to be a contrarian. But being a contrarian just for the sake of it without an underlying thesis to support it will not get people anywhere. If anything, it will only lead to confusion and a crisis at the most fundamental level. 

Today, people often question my rationale behind not touching meat. Why I sometimes observe rituals like surya namaskaram, abishekam and upanayanam. It sometimes goes as far as asking if it out of pleasing my parents or getting money or making an abstract entity called "god" happy. I sometimes wonder why a lot of people don't understand is the significance of our roots. They are too quick to disparage these things. Hinduism is a religion that has spanned over two millenia. As a brahmin, it's my duty as well as a right to preserve my culture. Observe that I have used the word culture, not religion. I don't consider myself very religious but culturally inclined, absolutely. A duty because I consider it my responsibility. A right because I consider myself lucky to have got this responsibility.

Unfortunately, our interpretation of hindu texts has undergone a lot of dilution. An occasional purification, but it has seen a trend towards perversion. People have forgotten the underlying principles and given the authority of interpreting the hindu texts to a small subset of people who have ofcourse conveniently decided to use it to suit themselves. Today the likes of BJP and VHP base their principles on Dharmasastras and advocate for a system of Hindutva which I can't relate to. After a lot of reading on internet and talking to various knowledgeable people, I have slowly come to believe that Dharmasastras and Sanatana Dharma are NOT the authoritative source of interpreting Hinduism. They are a regressive interpretation of our culture. In a large part, they are the reason for caste system remaining rigid. Upanishads (meaning ending part of Vedas) have prescribed the caste of a person to be determined based on merit and work. A person is not bound to a caste and there are rules in place to change it.

However, caste system is not the point of this blogpost at all. A few weeks ago, our Supreme Court passed a resolution scraping the decriminalization of homosexual relations. While SC has scraped it in part due to reasons like spread of HIV, lack of sanitation, etc., BJP has given a new spin to it. Rajnath Singh in this characteristic style has said our culture condemns homosexuality and that it's unnatural and we can't support something that is against nature.

I hope Rajnath Singh thinks deep and hard about what he said. He obviously doesn't have any idea of what he is talking about. Rigveda while talking about genders has used the phrase "vikruti evam prakruti" meaning diversity and perversity in nature. It has indirectly alluded to the fact that everyone can't be classified as a man or a woman and one must celebrate diversity. ManuSmriti, one of the earliest doctrines on hindu affairs and life frowns (not condemns) upon homosexuality and prescribes certain rituals to be relieved of it IF needed. The wiki page on LGBT traditions in India is an excellent starting point to know about these things.

Today the LGBT community of India is feeling marginalized. Many have no place to go or to talk to. I have a feeling congress won't last long in power and BJP will come to power and make sure no such bills even come to the discussion table. It's sad what a bunch of shallow reformists can do. Forcing their notions on the entire country without researching the facts. They are quick to condemn western culture but fail to realize that Article 377 (which criminalizes homosexual activities) is in fact a remnant of the British administrative system. Oh and also Britain is fast making gay marriage legal.

It just comes back to what I said earlier - without an underlying thesis, we are only led deeper into confusion and crisis.

                                                       * * * *

realization of sorts

As usual, I was upto nothing great and browsing through my fb stream when I saw a pic of a girl with a guy and another guy liking it. It so happened that the later guy had a thing for this girl but it never really grew into anything serious. With my hand raised in solemn stance, I can say that I remember the girl spurned his advances and his every attempt to grow chummy.

Now, I saw this pic and saw loads of people had liked it. I clicked on the likes and scrolled through the list and saw this guy. The first thing that came instinctively to my head was चुतीया साला, कुछ और तो कर भी नहीं सकता...A moment later I realized I did the same (liked a pic) a few days back and how conveniently I was calling this guy a चुतीया. I realized, with great deal of frustration, despair and stupidity that the joke was on me. One thing that rung clear, like a knock on the door with a stick of wood, is that things seem much more clear when looking at someone else.

A few ______ (months/weeks/days/hours/minutes) ago, I had trouble trying to forget this girl and it was becoming a little bit of a big deal. I wasn't ready to accept the thought that maybe she's not interested in me. If I had seen someone else doing it, I would have talked to him and told him to use his head for once and not let his emotions become the acting pilot. However, while it was happening to me, I kept myself in a state of denial, told myself that my situation was quite different and that every scenario was different and mine begged for emotions to run amok.

I'm a big fan of forums and reddit was just a blessing for the geek in me who wanted to read about everything in the world while sitting in front of his desk.

Ok, geek might have been a bad word, but it sort of gives you the drift right... so let's move on.

I was reading through a pile of comments (mostly garbage) when I came across this guy's comment which said that it's useless trying to run behind a girl, trying to woo her, when you know she has rejected you in her heart. I upvoted that comment , told myself that truer words had never been spoken and then a few days later, I was desperately chasing a girl, hoping that she might change her stance, fall in my arms and let me do things to her. But it was not to happen. What was written in stone and was executed with the same rigidity was I torturing myself and wondering what was going wrong. My failure was not able to think clear headed...?

The only saving grace (would I call it that?) is that there's a first time for everything and maybe this was the first time for me... While I wouldn't go as far as conferring on myself the ultimate medal of hopeless romantic and roam some river side like Adele, I'll leave you guys with the video. ciao.

A slap in the face of a common Indian

UPDATE - this was written long ago. Didn't want to discard it so throwing it in now.


So what is happening in the news? 2G scam. People cutting across professions involved in the scam. From Lobbyists, Industrialists, Journalists, all the way up to the highest office. When has Congress not found itself knee deep in scams? I think that point has been thoroughly canvassed on many occasions. What we need to really worry about is the Journalists and the role they are playing in ...

        I have never been a fan of NDTV. Ok, maybe that is not right. I used to follow them avidly when they used to do that news at 9 pm on Star. But then they went ahead and formed their own news channel. Cynicism Galore. No solutions. Pranoy Roy, Vikram Chandra and Barkha Dutt were the worst. At one time they were known for charismatic shows like the Big Show, Good, Bad and the Ugly and We the People. Now, they represent a force which is hell bent on forcing their opinion down the throats of each and every person who tunes into NDTV. I guess people smell their bullshit. Reflects in the TRP ratings.

Vir Sanghvi is a perfect example of such a journalist. Outlook in its article points to a piece (in Hindustan Times) written by Vir Sanghvi in 2009 which was nothing but a farce. Oddly enough, title of the piece was titled "Time for Transparency" when things are translucent or bordering on opaque. And this time its not the politicians who are doing the dirty work. Politicians hogging on money and accumulating wealth is nothing new but media and journalists lobbying for politicians and misleading public with their stories is thoroughly alarming. Guess we all have to wake up.

Near the badminton court, having stood up, I was frustrated in the least but was really angry too. Angry that people don't care. They don't consider me their part of their circle of existence. It slowly grew into more frustration and then into dejection. Why couldn't my friends do that little bit for me? Friends do everything but don't ditch or fuck their friends. That small part in me that believed in the best in people just suffered a setback. It was a mirror that had just been broken with pieces lying all over the ground.


How difficult is it to convince oneself that things are alright. How difficult is to mend a broken mirror. To get back that mirror without any crack in it?

I got out of my room and made my way to Indiranagar. I knew where I was headed. It was a celebration of what I had become. A macabre fest to celebrate the failure that I was. I went straight to the barber shop and asked him to shave my head. Mind over body. One final act of vengeance against my own body. For letting me become this person that I was. The battle was over even before the body could react, let alone draw the battlelines.

Take that bitch. You deserved it. You got what you deserved. We'll come back to this everytime I feel I've been let down by you.

*  *  *  *

Sipping tea while sitting under the friendly shade of a tree is one of those rare things which we yearn for and look forward to. At such moments when the last sip of tea tastes infinitely sweeter than all the tea put together, we begin to look at the world around us. A world which begs to be seen from an alternative perspective and which inspite of its unlimited number of flaws. At such moments when someone is angry, situations arise which in retrospect seem like contraptions designed by some higher power to ease you. Soothe you and force you to sit back and wonder why was I even bothered.

*  *  *  *

Fresh from the my newest conquest, I wanted to go to my room and settle with my miserable self. In loathing and disgust but only after another campaign. One to satiate my other visceral needs - nutrition, food and the desire to fill my stomach. A plate of idli did a lot to help in the cause. It allowed me a little more energy to curse. To boo. And to spit. I knew I needed something to make me more agile. Things were beginning to dull a bit and I took a cup and tea and stood by the road watching the world. Its denizens rushing to some imaginary destination not knowing the that they were already at their destination. Their destination was this world - where they were destined to always rush. Convince themselves that life is but a journey which can never end and when it actually does, it is only a small wait. A stopover at some airport before we embark on another journey...

Amidst all this pandemonium, I saw a guy, tall and lean. He was waiting to cross the road. With him stood a lady, old and frail. By the looks of it, she seemed like his grandmother. He held her hand and led her through the traffic. Through the ceaseless chaos of the world. Bending down to listen to his grandmother say something and add something of his own. Their love seemed timeless and ethereal, something that would stand out in any street, any bazaar and any city. His respect for his grandmother and she content with her love for her grandson. Hand in hand, they walked. He walking much slower to match the stride of his grandmother. I guess it made my evening and put my heart at ease. I ran into love and caring and it made me feel that I had run into some familiar territory. A territory which would have appeared unfamiliar and implausible minutes back. In my head, the guy was replaced by my body and I was walking with my grandmother. Crossing the same road and holding her hand. Bending down the same way to hear her voice and feel good again and again.

Body over mind.

"mail" crisis

It all begins with admitting that there is a problem. It was the same for me too. I admitted that I had a problem. And if I didn't do something about it soon, I would be in a terrible mess and things would go awfully wrong. Crisis brings out the worst in scenarios but also makes us man enough to face it and get ourselves out of it.

My gmail a/c is 26% filled and it's starting to worry me. 26% and I have to do something about it. Ok, I have to say I have this whole hoarding thing in my veins which makes me an inveterate miser, always saving everything for the future. The situation demanded an action and I was totally down for it. Who isn't. If you have a month of semester break and if you aren't anything worthy to shouting over the rooftops, there is something you've got to do to keep yourself busy. So, I pushed my proverbial sleeves, rubbed my palms and got ready to delete some (read lot) mails to reclaim some space.

Horror of horrors! I dig a little deeper and find out there are very few mails addressed to me. Most mails are sent to a mailing list and end in my inbox. So my next few days will be devoted to cleaning my inbox.

THIS IS WIERD - halfway into writing this blog, I totally lost interest in the post and ended it abruptly. It is strange and my lack of patience definitely doesn't help in thinking this situation out...

and lo! My shiniest new toy

My ever increasing impatience climaxed today as I unboxed the camera that I ordered on Amazon a few days back. The camera is Canon elph 300hs. It's a lovely camera with some really neat features packed in a small form factor and a lovely design.

and my camera is RED in color!

Before you folks jump to any conclusions about my choice of color, there is some clarification in order. The camera is available is three colors and I have been watching the price of each of these three models on amazon for some time. At the risk of giving away the analytics guy in me, I should tell how I went about it. Went to Amazon about a month and half ago and started noting the price everyday. Entered it in the spreadsheet and made a plot. Did the same for used models as well. After a few days realized that the price isn't dropping beyond $164 and the used camera was being sold at $154. Now, armed with this data, I decided to buy the camera whenever it approached $164 and one day it fell to $161. Next thing I know, I got my credit card out and bought it. Felt happy because now the camera is being sold for $177 :P. Now, only the red model was available at this price and taking the red one seemed like the best choice.

I had this model in my mind for quite sometime. Went to a variety of review sites before zeroing in on this model. I went as far as going to Flickr to see the tendencies of this camera. In addition to a graph of people using it, it gives you different photos to look at. A great tool if you are thinking of buying a camera. For example, you might wonder if the camera you are interested in is good for motion photos. No sweat, go to this place in flickr and select the action category. Good right...! I haven't come across many people who have Flickr as a kind of review platform.

Ok, this post is about my camera and taking pictures and it wouldn't be fair on the world of sayings if I talked too much. After all a picture is worth a thousand words :) Throwing in a few pictures and one lovely video.

Colors seem to come out really well and not washed out

A lovely photo of the parking lot and the buildings beyond as seen from my apartments. The photo has wideangle written all over it thanks to the wide angled lens that this camera has

I'm starting to like this picture a lot. The orange which I kept on the table seems to grab my attention. Same there for you too? I discovered this video after the arrival of my camera. I was searching youtube on red canon elph 300hs and landed on this video. It does a good job of summing my excitement at the moment.

How far is too far for Google?

Today's topic of discussion in one of my courses was search engines in general and Google in particular. And while we started off the class by the need to examine the implicit-ness of the crowdsourcing aspect in Google, there was ample digression during which a lot of other things were also discussed. While I'm inclined to talk about almost all of them, I personally feel attached to some privacy issues that Google is dangerously toying with.

There is a very interesting debate on how far will Google go in its pursuit to store and index everything. Google's grand vision is to understand web and understand each and everybody who is using the web. However, there is a growing feeling that this intrinsic desire on the part of Google mission's statement is what will bring it down one day. Look at the number of the anti-trust lawsuits that are coming to light. Look at how fast privacy policies are changing in facebook. Look at why diaspora is becoming such a hit. Why was the second challenge of Netflix cancelled? Privacy is becoming the focal point of consumer and industry alike. However, while the consumer, an unapologetic stickler to risk aversion, doesn't want any of his/her data to be used, there is the industry, which is equally inveterate when it comes to using the data of the user. By summoning the best paralegals and asking them to write (in perfect prose!) hard to dissect User Agreements, companies are hell bent on using every piece of the information of the user and infer whatever, they can't extract.

Add to it the fact that Privacy laws in US, like all other laws in the country, are bent heavily in favour of the industry. Under the umbrella of these companies, some of the most intelligent people sit and design algorithms that threaten to divulge all the information that there is to anyone on the web. If one looks at the evolution of the research in social networks and the aspect of being able to mine information from these networks, US has always been far ahead. On the other hand, Europe with its stringent privacy laws, has been shining example which has wreaked the complexions of companies like Microsoft, Google, Facebook, etc. for violating various privacy agreements

The truth is that this is not the first time, companies have had a jolly good time in US. United States, in its zeal to demonstrate values of "liberty", "freedom" and all that jazz has gone out of its way to create a market that is a free-for-all. Today, Google has a lot of money. So, it sucks in Bachelors, masters and PhDs in its company. It has the money, so it brings in the lawyers from the best law schools, businessmen from the finest business schools and sociologists from the most well known universities. While this paints a beautiful and utopian picture of a perfect melange, where great people meet and do great things, we need to take a few steps back to look at the big picture.

The big picture is that these people are all trying to figure out the genomes of the collective intelligence of the people that the world wide web is made of. Google with its fingers, hands, legs in almost everything from android to blog to mail to search to chat to documents and to offers, it is trying to figure out the social DNA of each and every person. And that is where I have a problem. I don't want my social DNA to sit in some computer and be used. Worse still, used at the expense of my time. I absolutely don't want my social DNA to be used in some multivariate Gaussian distribution to figure out the parameters of some graphical model that will help Google earn more revenue.