tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-97666402024-03-24T10:29:28.655+05:30like a feather....What would I do without a mind?<br>
What would I do without a society to shape that mind?<br>
To influence it?<br>
To taint it?<br>
To glorify it?<br>
What would I do without the memories of such glory and such tache?<br>
An orphan on a deserted island, with nothing from the outside world,<br> save the produce of Nature which surrounds me.<br>
I suppose I would be free....Erotemehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03677513867884448593noreply@blogger.comBlogger660125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9766640.post-65250918614904161202014-01-01T00:10:00.001+05:302014-01-01T00:10:22.418+05:30Moving on<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
I shan't be writing here anymore. While the posts here remain, I have copied them to a new location & will be writing, hereafter, only at http://thisjourneywith.in<br />
If you have enjoyed the words here, please do visit my <a href="http://thisjourneywith.in/" target="_blank">new home</a> & join me for a cup of Jasmine tea. </div>
Erotemehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03677513867884448593noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9766640.post-33663081582108586282013-04-16T20:41:00.000+05:302013-04-16T20:41:18.626+05:30Mirrored Selves<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
An elegant lady recently raised an oft cited point that there is a mind & a heart & they are neighbours in the colony of the individual's personality. I have viscerally failed to understand what I believe is an imposed dichotomy of convenience & I shall elaborate over this post.<br />
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When one instinctively picks winning stocks, we compliment the mind.<br />
When a mother instinctively rushes to the kids' room, we cheer the mother's heart.<br />
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When one is tricked by an illusion, we chide the mind's eye.<br />
When one is fooled into believing an illusion of love, we bemoan the heart's naiveté.<br />
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When one party tricks, we call his mind cunning.<br />
When a party is tricked we call his a trusting heart.<br />
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When an individual admires the night sky & proceeds to understand the stars, we admire his mind.<br />
When an individual admires the night sky & describes it in a poem, we sigh at his heart<br />
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When a man devises ways to make money, we call his mind shrewd.<br />
When a man seeks ways to distribute his money, we call his heart generous.<br />
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Recalling a face, a memory, that night, the kindness - all of it is in the brain. Yet, we oust it from the podium where gentleness is celebrated. The minute the brain devises clever stratagems we declare it to be a work of the mind. The minute it recalls ardour & sobs we embrace the kind heart & proclaim that all that is good is not yet dead. Well, the heart that built the Taj Mahal also chopped off hands (a tale with no basis).<br />
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Kahneman in his <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Thinking-Fast-Slow-Daniel-Kahneman/dp/0374533555/" target="_blank">seminal work</a> on how the brain seems to work (primarily around decision theory) seems to indicate that what we popularly call of the heart is often in the realm of System 1 thinking of the mind. Nowhere does he call them out as mind & heart. Not that you must agree with him, but do give the poor scholar some credit.<br />
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I could well rush to call it all yin & yang & how a little of each stains the other & satisfy all our needs to be vague & placatory, but I am unable to draw a line where the mind ends & the heart begins, or vice versa. Sometimes kindness & sensitivity is a cultured response. An ignorant soul when exposed to the suffering of others, develops the requisite sensitivity & heart-felt, nay, mind-nurtured response. All our heart remains unaware of the predicament of <a href="http://peopleandplanet.org/redressfashion/briefing/uzbekistan" target="_blank">cotton mill workers in Uzbekistan</a> until we are exposed to their plight. Plenty of human sensitivity finds origin in education. Where a man is blamed for his uncouth behaviour, he is slighted for being poorly educated, a matter largely of the mind.<br />
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Where the mind is often pinned is in the vicinity of what Mr. Hofstadter calls "certain kinds of gooey lumps encased in hard protective shells mounted atop mobile pedestals that roam the world on pairs of slightly fuzzy, jointed stilts". The heart, safely, is bookmarked near the eponymous sanguine pump. While the mind is rational, cold, blood-thirsty & exacting in its measured persona, the heart is throbbing, warm, gentle, loving & so vaguely absent-minded in any measure & in every measure. One evokes sympathy & a billion dollar romance industry. The other evokes hushed objurgation & a multi-billion dollar industry of commerce & financial transactions. Where one lulls a babe to sleep, the other rings the young to rush to work.<br />
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It is difficult to exclude a scientific enquiry into this matter but I shall abstain to the fullest of my ability. <br />
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All our perceptions & observations are through our senses, rooted in the brain (I'd say the central nervous system as well, but let's call all that the "brain"). What the brain receives as stimuli the brain processes to distill as insight, learning and/or method. All exposure to this world is through the senses & most of our responses are our interpretive volley to those stimuli. If we leave hormonal responses of hunger, fear & sexual needs aside, we would not have a response had we not had a fermentation of our sensory loot. A babe cannot sigh till she has accumulated sufficient sense of irony or the ability to gather intensity till the point of climax. A babe has no concept of connect as she would connect to anyone who would feed. It is thus that adoption & surrogacy thrive as options.<br />
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Try this experiment with the most sensitive person you meet: In a monotone, explain <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GI2p1W6z7U0" target="_blank">the movie clip</a> they are about to see. Tell them how everything ends well & the father saves his daughter. Make your friend aware that kids when asked how much they miss someone will more often than not throw their little arms wide open & that is cute & expected. They probably learnt it from their parents & recognised that it is considered cute (rewarded gestures). Explain each scene & dialogue & tear & smile throughout. Tell them how it was supposed to end well else there wouldn't be a movie to make of it. Then show them the movie interspersing it with "This is what I was referring to". The chances that this sensitive person will respond with all heart is fairly lower than when s/he was not made aware of the build up of emotions & climax. We are capable of that. We can want to stay under water to see how long we can hold our breath & emerge with a burst for fresh air. We love the rush of a culminating moment of emotion. We also love chocolate cake. And if you noticed, the child was just pleased, not emotional & all heart.<br />
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While all perceiving is through the window of the senses, how we assimilate all that flies in & how we synthesise it is individual & often not predictable. But repeatability is not the point here. Our innate sensitivity grooms & smudges what we receive into a notion & understanding of life creating a bouquet of responses which go by the name of "I". If the "I" cannot be located at a precise point two inches north-west of the navel, how did we ever get to decide whether "I" feel it in my heart or mind? You must have noted that I do not use the word brain save in the need to identify the collector of sensations. It is not the heart but a mix of how we hold perceived incidents & memory, allowing the same to curdle in the earthen pot of our soul (something that acts as a substrate as it doesn't govern what we receive as experience/events), that makes us who we are, both in demonstrations of intellectual ability as well as emotional capability.<br />
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If it is our brain's (and associated minions') window that gathers, if it is the soul, time & chance that brews what was gathered, if it is purely the assembly of life's events viewed through the entirety of being that creates a unique perspective, then where did we create the dichotomy between mind & heart? If we are comfortable saying that the heart thinks & vivisects, then let us simply address our varyingly dual personas as heart. If we cannot imagine the heart as inventing a new device, then let us say the mind feels & the mind thinks. Or pick another word! Just one!</div>
Erotemehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03677513867884448593noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9766640.post-22961618303119550582013-04-14T23:07:00.000+05:302013-04-14T23:08:42.744+05:30An Infinity Unknown<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Take a minute & answer these question before proceeding to read: How was your time in school? What are the top 3 things you recall of your time there?<br />
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A dear friend asked me how I recall my days in school. I would have imagined a response like "It was fun" or "So much fun & play" or at least "It was so depressing" or "I met my husband/wife there" or something like that escape my lips but none of that sorts did. To my very surprise, I realised & muttered that my days in school were a string of shining & achieving. While I did enjoy myself thoroughly & had my own share of spats & mud-fights & puppy-love & infatuation for some teachers (some I am still in touch with), I don't seem to recall my school days as a span of learning & shock. What I mean by shock is what an old villager feels when he is shown how email works. The excitement with which he claps his hands when he gets a smiley on the chat screen from thousands of miles away is missing from my memory of school. To think that that is where I learnt nearly everything of life's fundamentals. It is poor solace that most people around me too recognise their school as something other than where they were surprised at what life had in store for them. It should not be immediately deemed an issue with the school system. Let us not view it as a problem.<br />
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Perhaps what surprises me is my mental romantic want that school would be remembered as an excursion where we discovered so many new things. Math, for instance, opened the doors to the world of numbers. Geometry & mensuration made the world of shapes so amazingly beautiful. Literature & the world of words which I play in was woven tale by tale throughout my schooling days. The human body & photosynthesis is still a magical realm to me. Refraction & how we would all tilt our head to view the pencil under water was brought to my eyes then. While I do not deny that I learnt all of this in school, I do not recall the awe or the surprise in discovering how echoes were produced. It was a fact that we were exposed to & then provided with the formula to compute various aspects of a problem using the time taken to hear an echo.<br />
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I remember a simple boyish conversation amongst a few of us who were exposed to the speed of light. We proposed that if I was 20 feet away from a candle (which was covered) and moved at the speed of light, then would I ever see the candlelight if I began moving away from the candle as soon as it was uncovered. The point was, since the light from the candle & I would move at the same speed, there will always be a difference of 20 feet between me and light. To think of light being held back like a stream of molten silver was amazing in conception & even today makes me nearly want to move that fast. That is the awe I refer to. The sheer amazement of using & studying a boomerang (yes, I went to YouTube to see how a boomerang is thrown).<br />
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I am not sure if the younger days in school are meant to provide the necessary tools so that those who are sensitive might explore & be amazed & those who aren't will make a living anyway. I would think that the initial years are when the child is likely to be stunned & amazed. To utilise the natural inclination for wonder is what I would think all of education should be about. Even if we eliminated tests & grades, our current approach to introducing a child to the wonders of this world would not focus on stunning the child.<br />
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It is not entirely clear to me whether wonder & amazement is best in retrospect. Do children merely see & get used, like a child using a smart-phone and thereafter finding nothing amazing about long distance communication or mobile apps or processor technologies? Adults who see a smart-phone for the first time are indeed amused & amazed at "how much technology has advanced" and hearken back to days when "all we had was a rotary phone & long distance trunk calls". Is amazement always in contrast? I recall the first time I saw a bike in a cage/steel sphere, I was amazed & also thoroughly interested in the notion of centripetal forces. I had nothing to compare it to - sheer adrenaline racing act! But a growing plant is hardly an awe-inspiring thing to a child until she sows the seeds & watches it grow, understanding all that it goes through.<br />
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I think schools denature knowing. Whether they do it consciously or not is secondary to this exploration. By capturing the flight of a bird into paragraphs of text about hollow bones & air currents we seem to steal away the opportunity from a child to watch birds & ask questions & seek to understand. By insisting that one be provided all possible knowledge even before curiosity or need arises, we are in essence removing the wonder of first encounter. I might never see a polar bear but I have studied so much about it that perhaps if I saw it in real life, I might be less amazed than if I knew nothing about it.<br />
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I think the question that remains is, can we essentially remain ignorant till need arises? What is the price we have to pay for that? Why can we not spend the early years in wonder & then grow organically & apprentice?</div>
Erotemehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03677513867884448593noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9766640.post-7193691766509405632013-02-03T01:02:00.001+05:302013-02-03T01:30:05.751+05:30Hazaaro'n Kwaishe'n Aisi - Mirza Ghalib<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
What began as a volley of tweets between <a href="https://twitter.com/soHbet_" target="_blank">@soHbet_</a> & me led to some interesting ideas & finally a culmination on a plan to translate 81 (my idea) or 5 (hers) of Mirza Asadullah Baig Khan's (Mirza Ghalib) remarkable ghazals. While his stature is nearly set in stone & should need least effort to acknowledge, much more than we imagined was demanded of the industry in choosing, and then translating his words. Much of the difficulty I shall hastily assign to the incongruence of tapping one language's spine & hoping it would cough in another tongue. English is best suited for poets who think & feel in the Anglic tongue. Urdu is best when one seeks to build a flight of stairs for the Gods to descend & delight in poetry.<br />
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We picked this particular ghazal of Ghalib's, called Hazaaro'n Kwaishe'n Aisi. If you must read the ghazal in the Devanagari script (although there are couplets which Ghalib never wrote), <a href="http://www.prayogshala.com/poems/ghalib-hazaaron-khwaishein-aisi" target="_blank">click here</a>. If you wish to read the Arabic version of it, <a href="http://iqbalcyberlibrary.net/Urdu-Books/969-416-203-024/p0219.php" target="_blank">click here</a>. If we wish to download the entire Deewan-e-Ghalib (no translation, only Devanagari & Arabic scripts in there), <a href="http://archive.org/details/DeewanGalib" target="_blank">click here</a>.<br />
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No poetic interpretation is wrong. They are at worst a poor dagger (as poetic daggers come) to cleave your heart. We shan't ever know what the poet originally meant. Here is what I think he might have felt. Please note: I do not translate "nikale" as "take". I have merely chosen "take" to help me weakly adhere to the rules of ghazals. "Nikale" has many connotations as each line below reveals. It can mean any of the following: to lose, to arise, to depart, to emerge, to remove, to turn out, etc.<br />
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Hazaaro'n khwaishe'n aisi ke har khwaish pe dum nikale, <br />
Bahot nikale mere armaan, lekin phir bhi kam nikale <br />
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Many are those wishes such that each, my breath did take <br />
Many dreams have I lost (to Time), yet not much did it take</div>
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Darey kyun mera qaatil, kya rahega uski gardan par <br />
Woh khoon, jo chashm-e-tar se umr bhar yoon dam-ba-dam nikale <br />
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Why must my tormentor fear that her neck shall have to bear <br />
The blood, which in my tears this life's breath already did take</div>
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Nikalna khuld se aadam ka sunte aaye the lekin, <br />
Bahot be-aabroo ho kar tere kuche se hum nikale <br />
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The expulsion of Adam from Eden is certainly much fabled, but <br />
From your streets, my removal was with all the disgrace I could take</div>
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Bharam khul jaaye, zaalim, tere qaamat ki daraazi ka <br />
Agar is turah-e-pur pech-o-kham ka pech-o-kham nikale <br />
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Should the illusion dissolve, vile one, on your stately mien <br />
Uncoiling your tresses, revealing the truth, is all it would take</div>
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Magar likhvaye koi usko khath, to humse likhvaye <br />
Hui subah, aur ghar se kaan par rakh kar kalam nikale <br />
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But must someone write to her, allow me to be scribe <br />
Every dawn I left home & a pen, behind my ear, I did take</div>
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Hui is daur mein ma'nsoob mujhse baadah aashaamee <br />
Phir aaya woh zaamanah jo jahaa'n mein jaam-e-jam nikale <br />
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Since then I've indulged & earned disrepute as a drunkard <br />
Then came that time when the cup of revelations in my hand I did take</div>
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Hui jin se tavakko'h khastagee ki daad paane ki <br />
Woh hum se bhi zyaada khastaa-e-teg-e-sitam nikale <br />
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In many I held the hope that they heal my wounded soul <br />
But much worse were they in the jabs that Fate's sword did take</div>
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Muhabbat mein nahin hai farq jeene aur marne ka, <br />
Usi ko dekh kar jeete hain, jis kaafir pe dam nikale <br />
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There is no schism in love, separating life from death <br />
I live, gazing at the lover who, my every breath, does take</div>
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Kahaan maikhaane ka darwaaza Ghalib, aur kahaan vaaiz? <br />
Par itna jaante hain kal woh jaata tha ke hum nikale <br />
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So separated the tavern door & the priest, Ghalib <br />
Yet I recall, as I left the inn, the first step in he did take<br />
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Here is a reading of the ghazal: <a href="https://soundcloud.com/eroteme/hazaaron-kwaishen-aisi">https://soundcloud.com/eroteme/hazaaron-kwaishen-aisi</a> </div>
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<param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param>
<embed allowscriptaccess="always" height="81" src="https://player.soundcloud.com/player.swf?url=http%3A%2F%2Fapi.soundcloud.com%2Ftracks%2F77542427" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="100%"></embed> </object> <a href="http://soundcloud.com/eroteme/hazaaron-kwaishen-aisi">Hazaaron Kwaishen Aisi</a> by <a href="http://soundcloud.com/eroteme">Eroteme</a> <br />
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As with all good poetry, mere translation is unsatisfying to the translator. What follows is my exploration into the possible meaning of it all. Please note, ghazals in their very design do not demand that the shers (couplets) be connected or related. Each sher can be about an unrelated theme as long as the rules are followed. You can find more about ghazals, <a href="http://inagardencalledlife.blogspot.in/2007/01/ghazals.html" target="_blank">here</a>. </div>
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Is it merely my ability to extrapolate or is the ghazal genuinely pregnant with meaning? We might never know.</div>
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Ghalib uses the image of a lover, tormentor, assassin of the heart in different effects throughout this poem. While the lover could well be another human being, it might as well be one's notion of God or a state of being where none of these travails assail one. However, one wishes to shake interpretation out of that image, Ghalib wonders what frailty of the human soul spurs us to wish for more. One is well aware of the toll that hope takes on our soul, yet we succumb to its promise at the slightest ray of possibility. Some of us are such to not make much of all those wishes made & denied as if we can never have enough of being denied. The very fabric of wishing, cloaks us from what we have experienced & lays us bare to the thrashings of a new hope denied. Such is this desire to want, that stripped & clothed at once, we are in its throes.</div>
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Then what fear does any God or lover need to have? So powerful is this desire that I willingly walk into death, absolving all tormentors of the guilt of having driven me to there. In Urdu, "blood on one's neck" as translated from "uski gardan par woh khoon" is equivalent to the English "blood on one's hands" i.e. blame of misdeeds. A dagger's plunge does splatter the killer's body with blood. Ghalib asks - what does my slayer have to worry about? None shall blame the murderer who stands above a soul drained of all blood (life force) shed over a lifetime of tears (in wishes unfulfilled & hopes dashed). The utter helplessness of the soul is captured in this sher. Not only must he be a living dead, he cannot even hope for justice meted out to the tormentor but he must also reassure that murderer that s/he has nothing to worry about. Such is this soul's love for the granter of all wishes!</div>
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Often the celebrated one's trauma becomes more vital & renowned than what a common man walking the street goes through, but Ghalib avers, that his heart's implosion is perhaps more deafening if only we would cease to chant the tales of yore, of Biblical/Quranic/Tanakhic import which makes supreme suffering (in the common man's heart) petty by exalting the travails of Adam & other historic/mythological figures & thereby denying the sufferer even the right to feel comfort in that realisation that his wounds are indeed excessive & grand. Ghalib lends the heartbroken, belief-shaken soul an ear declaring that the dishonour was none less than the fabled disgrace of Adam.</div>
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Bharam is perhaps a corruption/variation of the word bhram (Sanskrit/Hindi, with the meaning of illusion/confusion). In Urdu it carries a possible connotation of "character or credit or worthiness". So at once, Ghalib cautions & praises the lover/God that either the illusion (of the God/lover's greatness) or the supreme fabric (of the same) would be revealed was he to tug at that twist of all understanding of the true stature of the God/lover. For a human lover, what he'll tug at would be the piled up tresses thus revealing the beauty or banality of the lover (the hair coming undone being the dramatic first suggestion to the following torrid love-making scene). For God that tassel to be tugged at would be to reveal the source of all Godliness & divinity, thereby either debunking the "God" as is popularly held or in the rapture of re-recognising what was the "original God". Either way, there are some who will be offended in the revelation & some delight in confronting truth in all its splendour. The unveiling, Ghalib says, will be convoluted & sinuous like the lover's tresses or God's "reality". Ghalib insists it is like the knot to which each generation has only added a twist & turn & wind but he knows of this one loose end which just needs a tug to find all knots & curls undone.</div>
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Ghalib, the ever-curious, insists on acting as scribe to all lovers/believers so he may understand the working of hearts & minds held in the hold of this magnificent beauty. Somehow he believes that by being the one to pen the letters to the God/lover, he would find the root of all suffering as well as the finest expressions of love which he may adopt in his personal letters. In being the scribe, he is laying bare the love of others for love, when described to another, making its innards known in words, is revelatory. By laying it bare he hopes either the lover sees the illusion of it all or Ghalib gains insight into the beauty of it. Either way, he always becomes the lover as he is the one writing what they wish to say. By being proxy to their gushing, he becomes the only lover that the God/lover will ever see. He becomes the essence of all lovers. And if nothing were to come of this, ever, he at least benefits by fuelling the writer in him. Thus Ghalib, in offering his services, stands to gain no matter what the outcome.</div>
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In pondering over love & being in the midst of lovers & pining for that one vision, Ghalib confesses to being drunk in the want for a clear sign. Such constant drunkenness earns the lover a reputation of a "madman" or "drunkard". Many will sober up re-earning societal accolades & good repute, but it is he who remains in that inebriated state who will find the portal to the worlds revealed promised in the mythological Cup of Jamshed's. Ghalib, being a poet, cannot discard the possibility that the madly intoxicating state a possessed writer lives in can very well be the gateway to all union with his lover/God.</div>
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Those who might come to aid to such a drunkard are dearly sought after, but most "wise" men are either feel-good godmen or priests blinded by words that were long dead. Thus, these men, cut by the sword of their respective Fate which brought them close to divinity & beauty but left them mere storytellers of a glory they have no clue about, these men, earn Ghalib's sympathy as a wounded soldier feels when he enters a hospital of a plague-inflicted town. These people who claim to right all wrongs, provide guidance to the passionately possessed or protect the ones madly in love are cripples themselves finding sanctuary behind their cloaks & social propriety.</div>
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For in love, absolute complete transforming love, there is no dichotomy of life & death, says Ghalib. Once in love, there is only loving. Once consumed by love, there is only that infinite existence gazing at the lover/God whose beauty takes away one's breath. Ghalib in one sweeping stroke dispels all cowardly love that treats love as an option, a practical consideration, a convenient avenue or a customary facet of life. None of that is love, says Ghalib, as the separation between living (and the practical choices) continues to thrive in opposition to death while that is impossible to be held thus, in opposition, in love. Ghalib's clarity in this matter of the heart is so simply stated but infinitely important & decisive. How can one be in love if there is a state of being that excludes the lover? Isn't love a complete immersion?</div>
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And everyone, every wise man, is aware of this though in fear turns his face away from this truth. The sheer intoxication of such love is beyond all rationality & plotting. One cannot to behave this way or that when in love as much as a convulsing epileptic cannot plan for his next seizure. This state of mindlessness unknown is frightening to the godly & ignorant alike. Were he not aware, why would he call me a madman, hiding his fear, his cowardice in invectives? He creates societal veils, moral walls to keep these who know the secret lest his cowardice be challenged, lest he be prodded to desert all sanity for the sake of a lover, it is easier to worship than to love. Thus, he pretends to keep his distance from the watering hole of such madmen & everyone chides Ghalib for even suggesting that the godmen must have an interest in the spirits. But, says Ghalib, he does recall many a day in his infinite past, when some godly men have risked entering the tavern of lovers, when they thought no one was watching.</div>
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With such ease, Ghalib moves from attacking desires & their multitude, to declaring how he too has been victim of human hope & want, bleeding dry, walking through all disgrace till he discovered that one key to all clarity. He jests while hiding his true intent of being completely immersed in the love of others as well as his. He then moves to describe the intoxication & why that is preferred to all sobriety. Such is this state that he realises that those who we are in the role to help are incapable to do so. He then summarises this state of love & its primary trait closing with the invitation & reassurance that all are welcome to this state of being as occasionally availed by the high priest himself.</div>
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While perhaps Ghalib might not have intended this, this ghazal is brilliant study in human psychology & even runs parallel to the Bhagavad Gita. In there, a confused Arjuna, besotted by desire to please, to conform, to gain the heavens, to be respected, approaches Krishna who assures him that the individual is neither killer nor killed, especially when the life is completely devoted to the Parabrahman. Krishna then reveal the one key to unlock all confusion, which he assures Arjuna is all truth. Arjuna then beholds Krishna in all splendour before being made aware of the complete immersion that bhakti brings about. The worth of mere word-content of the scriptures, & all purported aides (priests, et al) for the seeker is dashed to the floor by Krishna in later chapters. The oneness of the God in which life & death merge, where all dichotomy ceases is beautifully mirrored here in the ghazal as well. I am sure one can draw parallels to other works exploring the confusion of the spiritual soul.</div>
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Ghalib ensures that this ghazal is accessible to a common man who is in love as well as one who grows in love to seek the union with the Divine. Thus, in fairly simple words, Ghalib weaves a tapestry of remarkable import. Hope you enjoyed the work of this poetic genius.</div>
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There are 2 shers which are commonly inserted in this ghazal and passed around as Ghalib's work. They do not belong there. Their worth is not in question & is left to the reader, but their lack of authenticity has been ascertained beyond doubt. I will refrain from translating them.</div>
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Erotemehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03677513867884448593noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9766640.post-8470246103396046372013-01-12T18:09:00.000+05:302013-01-13T10:08:17.520+05:30Aaron Swartz is dead<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Aaron Swartz is dead. He was pushed to the edge to take his life or face an unfair sentence in jail for 35 years. The US government, the FBI, MIT & JSTOR have contributed varyingly to his death. This is the price one must pay to be a citizen of a dictatorial regime like in the USA.<br />
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Whenever you subscribe to a feed (most likely RSS) or ever raise your voice against unfairness, please spare a minute to think of Aaron Swartz. He was a brilliant & good man who was killed for no reason other than the power the American government holds to victimise anyone they choose to. Few people out there are suspecting/concluding that it is due to depression. Frankly, if I were pushed against a wall with the threat of everything being taken away from me in the most painful manner, then that suicide, if I ever committed it, would not be a result of depression!<br />
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If you wish to know more about the case which pushed him over the ledge, read this: <a href="http://inagardencalledlife.blogspot.com/2012/12/barbaric-american-judicial-system.html">http://inagardencalledlife.blogspot.com/2012/12/barbaric-american-judicial-system.html</a><br />
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Cory Doctorow's personal account of Aaron is very moving. Do read it here: <a href="http://boingboing.net/2013/01/12/rip-aaron-swartz.html">http://boingboing.net/2013/01/12/rip-aaron-swartz.html</a><br />
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Quinn's personal account with him is captured in all tenderness here: <a href="http://www.quinnnorton.com/said/?p=644">http://www.quinnnorton.com/said/?p=644</a></div>
Erotemehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03677513867884448593noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9766640.post-58188032573221526282012-12-29T19:59:00.000+05:302012-12-30T15:15:52.346+05:30Tackling the rape problem<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-u26WWWTSROgbdFBIAtWFITYWQHEPzOwZ6yJQ0GcoBQYgkzAOO_jgbNpkIG09Hw_Nz3q9WMkS2dAumWRfl-3vtKwVhz9dvNkmq1aPQOvwhmkdkZfj3LZ-C80gBGw54sadgWQ9/s1600/TempRape.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-u26WWWTSROgbdFBIAtWFITYWQHEPzOwZ6yJQ0GcoBQYgkzAOO_jgbNpkIG09Hw_Nz3q9WMkS2dAumWRfl-3vtKwVhz9dvNkmq1aPQOvwhmkdkZfj3LZ-C80gBGw54sadgWQ9/s1600/TempRape.png" /></a></div>
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Why does one wake up only when something gross & vulgar as the recent gang rape & brutalisation of a 23 year old girl in New Delhi happens? It is not as if she was the 1st to be raped in India. She will not be the last, as well. That is the unfortunate fact of how we, as human beings, live. It sickens me endlessly to know that something like this happens around us, and I mean physically sickening. I write this post after recovering a little.</div>
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The reason I write this post is simply this: I am not an activist. I am a thinker. I am a problem solver. I am earnest in my urge to contribute in the best way I can to improve society & societal thinking - by writing & by debating. Not everyone must contribute in processions & slogan shouting. If anyone can use the points here & polish/implement this to improve the state of affairs, then I will consider my contribution worthy.</div>
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To me, the rape problem needs to be tackled at various levels. Education is vital but will not help all those who are currently walking the roads of cities & towns. Their brains are set to a large extent. Education too, is largely an act of hope. We hope that those whom we have educated will grow to live what they have learnt. This need not be the case. None of the white collar criminals were raised by families & schools which promoted dishonesty, yet they are, where they are. At the other end of the spectrum is the knee-jerk need for capital punishment. Rape, is often less premeditated than embezzlement (which can affect the lives of scores of people, depriving them of their hard earned savings etc.). Which should get a stricter sentence? I would leave that decision in the hands of less incensed folks. </div>
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What I outline below is a 9 step plan to significantly reduce the occurrence of rape without asking or expecting any change in the behaviour of victims. To expect that women behave this way or that is stupid. I cannot subscribe to that. <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhozcyQgeRf6YB5a4kOJ9QKkr3assoGPUSzX1a088cGGboVdBWFkQYOB039sLTP_1v3ZuP3lBfJZZVVgMnSfx0pPd5xsqv0ttXg5WOvdP2n0Zbe_XM5PNMhVzWjEZgufVlerz1r/s1600/TempRape2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="223" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhozcyQgeRf6YB5a4kOJ9QKkr3assoGPUSzX1a088cGGboVdBWFkQYOB039sLTP_1v3ZuP3lBfJZZVVgMnSfx0pPd5xsqv0ttXg5WOvdP2n0Zbe_XM5PNMhVzWjEZgufVlerz1r/s320/TempRape2.jpg" width="320" /></a>If marrying off girls at the age of 18 or keeping them indoors is a solution, so does locking all men indoors solve the problem. Not creating an opportunity for rape doesn't mean hiding women or making them look undesirable. What a woman wishes to do with herself, her time, her preferences are her business. Even if those choices make her vulnerable, it is nobody's business to demand that she change them. It is the job of the government & citizen alike to ensure that we respect everyone's choices as long as they are restricted to themselves.</div>
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As a woman, what do I expect in a city to feel secure?</div>
<ul>
<li>Safety on roads, public places, public modes of transport</li>
<li>Ready & immediate access to protection</li>
<li>Sensitive environment to seek redress</li>
<li>A healthy & mutually respectful environment</li>
</ul>
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As a rapist, what will deter me from raping?</div>
<ul>
<li>Someone always "watching"</li>
<li>Swift action by those around (citizens, police)</li>
<li>Absence of loopholes to escape from</li>
<li>Swift delivery of justice</li>
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Using these simple guidelines, here are my suggestions. I apply these suggestions to Delhi to provide an indication of practicality & feasibility. Applying it to other cities is a matter of arithmetic. There is little value in nitpicking details. The numbers below are for illustrative purposes & accuracy is not the intent. I proceed with suggestions that require least change in individual behaviour to suggestions that need some voluntary action.</div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><strong><u>Surveillance</u></strong></span>: Delhi has 28,508 km of roads (including national highways). Let's round it up to 30,000 km. If I had all the money in the world, I would install 4 CCTV cameras per km. That would mean that I require 120,000 CCTV cameras to cover the roads of Delhi. If 1 person can monitor 20 screens, then I would need to hire 6000 personnel to monitor the feeds from these cameras. Working in shifts of 6 hours, I would need 24000 personnel hired to man these screens. We would also need to setup rooms to house these screens & store feeds up to a week. If we place the mass production of CCTV cameras at 10K a piece (screen included), the total cost of installation is in the tune of 1,200,000,000 (120 crores). This is about one hundredth the cost of the Delhi Metro Phase 1. Yes, we need to provide salaries to the personnel hired. At 6000 per month (for working only 6 hours per day) the cost is about 14.4 crores a month. But it provides employment to the many who are not employed! So with a one time cost of 120 crores, an annual maintenance of about 50 crores & an annual resource cost of about 170 crores, this is far cheaper than the Delhi Metro project. Hence, I do not need all the money in the world. This is far less than the amount stolen by Kalmadi or other ministers. This is far less than the 2G scam numbers. Heck! This is less than what Satyam's Raju stole! For the government to state that this is too much money would be a shame. We'd rather have safer roads than the Delhi metro!</div>
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<strong><u><span style="font-size: large;">Beat cops</span></u></strong>: Delhi is 1484 square kilometers. Let's round it up to 1500 sqkm. If I had 4 beat policemen installed per square kilometer, I have them patrolling the area of 62500 sqmt per policeman. On a shift basis (again of 6 hours per beat), we need 16 policemen per square kilometer. This creates employment for 24000 people. At 6000 per month (for working only 6 hours per day) the cost is about 14.4 crores a month. Bicycles for them are (at the rate of 2500 per bicycle) expensed at 1.5 crores for the entire city. Given that all that a policeman has to cover is 62500 sqmt, a single round takes no more than 15 min. If the citizens participated in ensuring that the beat policeman did their job & aided them whenever possible, the city can easily be covered in about 175 crores per year. We can definitely take a mix of the options so far.</div>
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<strong><u><span style="font-size: large;">Simple alert</span></u></strong>: As a woman, I wish to be able to raise an alarm immediately without requiring complicated gadgets or complex education. If most electric utility poles and/or lamppost had a simple red button which, when I hit twice in quick succession (which one tends to do <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2aOnim4zGLRvR7FwVRlyAuNom5L2xzOvGEwPyzhWu388QIu4L-iGKzkRD_JsTKcZbyKhdjAuJduQrnd0zcimhKWbDrfUJHLCAxR_Qav5C0efD0ILc33G8XJrE1vxMTozANldQ/s1600/TempRape3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2aOnim4zGLRvR7FwVRlyAuNom5L2xzOvGEwPyzhWu388QIu4L-iGKzkRD_JsTKcZbyKhdjAuJduQrnd0zcimhKWbDrfUJHLCAxR_Qav5C0efD0ILc33G8XJrE1vxMTozANldQ/s320/TempRape3.jpg" width="320" /></a>when desperately seeking help), would alert the nearest police station with the location from where this call for help arises, then I have tackled a simple problem of providing a quick & simple interface to raising a call for help. Since it is connected to the electrical system, it could easily be used to generate alerts in the local police stations. Again, given about 5 posts per km (i.e. at a space of 200 mt apart) & a cost of 50 per red button (mass produced), the cost of setting up the buttons is 0.75 crores. Add another 10 crores for the alert system in all police stations & we have an alert mechanism in place for less than 20 crores. Since the police are already there in the police station, no new staff needs to be hired. Since the button is a simple device placed at the height of 5' 4" on each pole it allows for most people to reach it. Accidental contact will be rejected as it requires two successive & rapid hits of the button. Worst case, there will be a few false alarms, but that is better than no means to raise an alarm. Railway stations, public arenas/malls etc. should also have these buttons. I would have them installed in every apartment & house too (many rapes happen at home as well).</div>
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<strong><u><span style="font-size: large;">Modern alerts</span></u></strong>: Citizens should be requested to install apps on their phone which make the alerting process simple & the subsequent process non-harrassing by the police answering the call for help. All mobile service providers must make this facility free of cost. Non-smart phones should allow sending a blank SMS-text to a nationally recognised number (across service providers) which lets the police home in on the location from where the SMS-text arose. Over and above the SMS-text reaching the nearest police station, the alert should also be sent to 3 other numbers that each person registers for this service. Citizens can sign up for receiving SMS-text requests coming around 500 metres of where they currently are. This lets people rush to help the (potential) victim. </div>
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<strong><u><span style="font-size: large;">Self-defence</span></u></strong>: All schools should make training their girls in self-defence, mandatory. Any woman who approaches the public utility store (ration shop) in their area should be provided a pepper-spray can free of cost. Since they cannot be sold, there is little corruption possible. Carrying one on your body is vital & family & friends will do well in reminding their lady-friends to carry one regularly.</div>
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With these in place, I would expect that the number of incidents of rapes (reported or unreported) would significantly reduce. India today reports about 25,000 rape cases a year which is about 1.8 per 100,000 people. Yes, it is much lower (unlike what Flavia Agnes reports in the first Tehelka link below) than in the West & many developed countries, but it is still a problem we can live without. We can deploy this solution in the top 5 cities where rape case are reported most, observe results, learn & improve the solution while deploying them in other cities over time. If this reduces the number of incidents even to a tenth of its current numbers, it is a solution well worth the cost. Speaking of costs, surveillance deployments help the police not only in tackling rape case but thefts, murder, etc. - multiple benefits.</div>
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How can we remove rape from its root?</div>
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<strong><u><span style="font-size: large;">Education</span></u></strong>: India struggles with providing education to most of its citizens. The education provided to the few, is mostly of a rudimentary literacy level and not education in its truest sense. Nevertheless, we must educate the future generations in being sensitive to human differences & variations. Sensitising children to each others needs, teaching them respect & caring for each other is far more important than learning calculus. Nearly all schools miss this obvious point. Teachers themselves are insensitive towards girl-children thereby passing on their archaic views to the young souls. Education is also not merely a matter of schools. Parents at home should also learn how to demonstrate this so that children grow to respecting women & each other. Educate your maids & your delivery boys. Educate the rickshaw drivers & vendors on the road. I talk to just about anybody who is willing to listen. Female infanticide is another reason why skewed sex ratios come into play leading to a milder voice of women in society. Right education will take many many years to right this wrong of perspective & view. It is nevertheless vital. Education is also required for girls to know how to conduct themselves in the unfortunate event of a rape (do not destroy evidence by bathing, report the issue to the police, seek help from citizen help organisations, etc.).</div>
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<strong><u><span style="font-size: large;">Sensitising public service</span></u></strong>: Police (men & women) are callous when treating rape victims. Their insensitive interrogation, their snide remarks on character (as revealed by the sting operation conducted by Tehelka on the police stations) & their lack of follow-up & support to the victims is unacceptable. Educating policemen, deploying more women in handling rape cases (though several complaints have been about insensitive women in the service) as well as in hearing them in courts, educating & supporting the family of the victims and never ever picking on the victim herself, are some of the means by which we can sensitise the service wings into making this entire process easier on the victims. It also discourages the criminals from assuming that "She won't get help anywhere" & carrying out his crime.</div>
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<strong><u><span style="font-size: large;">Timely legal process</span></u></strong>: Prolonging the agony often leads to the woman giving up or feeling shattered. It is vital to move swiftly on rape cases though not at the cost of making just decisions. Thorough investigation needs to be conducted to ensure that if a suspect is genuinely wrong, then he can be punished. Often the identified suspect need not be the one who did the criminal act. One must also ensure that his life is not affected/ruined unfairly. One must punish the criminal and also give him an opportunity to reform. To treat a murderer, thief or rapist as a lifelong criminal is something I am not in favour of. Yes, they acted wrongly, but are they beyond repair? If their are psychologically incapable of reform then they must be isolated but in humane ways. The current outrage & demand for hanging, capital punishment etc. are knee-jerk reactions which I do not subscribe to. None of the countries support that (to the best of my knowledge) & I do not find reason why India needs to be an exception.</div>
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<strong><u><span style="font-size: large;">Lifelong support</span></u></strong>: Rape victims as much as young witnesses to murder need lifelong emotional support. Once justice has been served, it is vital that the girl & her family are not ostracised from society or treated with condescension. The girl must be supported through her days of education, medical recovery & till she is in a position to live without support. Citizen participation is vital here. If none of those people who thronged the roads of Delhi in protest have the time to spare to aid & support a victim, their participation in those protests is as much as a farce as this government is. It is easy to raise hell but very difficult to silently & patiently participate in helping a girl grow up to psychologically live a normal life. I <strike>have signed</strike> am signing up for being a friend to any rape victim as long as she needs me.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwQlz8zmtWTnnfHPMDNXY53siCFb88ugLREIK4MHSnISd13PbwZPVKejRwCzhic__DwE-a9Nx91b8s2dSjE28r5_jeIskVh40rEiT6-fT31TywGK82lFSyYBnlA-aWET-KvRdp/s1600/TempRape4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwQlz8zmtWTnnfHPMDNXY53siCFb88ugLREIK4MHSnISd13PbwZPVKejRwCzhic__DwE-a9Nx91b8s2dSjE28r5_jeIskVh40rEiT6-fT31TywGK82lFSyYBnlA-aWET-KvRdp/s320/TempRape4.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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With these 9 struts in place, I , as a woman, needn't fear life in a city. I, as a rapist, am deterred from performing my act & giving opportunity to reflect on things. <br />
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This is my contribution.</div>
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Lastly, do not support movies, advertisements or any other popular device of media where women are shown as naturally "keen" on being treated abusively (sexually or otherwise). Songs where the woman enjoys being spanked or stalker roles played by the "hero" only misguide the youth.</div>
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Some links to read:</div>
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<li>Some thoughts from various thinkers (some sensible, some reactionary): <a href="http://tehelka.com/delhi-gangrape-outraged-india-reacts/?singlepage=1">http://tehelka.com/delhi-gangrape-outraged-india-reacts/?singlepage=1</a></li>
<li>Why rapes will go on but what we can do: <a href="http://tehelka.com/the-rapes-go-on-how-do-we/">http://tehelka.com/the-rapes-go-on-how-do-we/</a></li>
<li>Delhi police: Why women deserve to be raped! <a href="http://www.firstpost.com/living/from-the-delhi-police-six-reasons-why-women-deserve-to-be-raped-269957.html">http://www.firstpost.com/living/from-the-delhi-police-six-reasons-why-women-deserve-to-be-raped-269957.html</a></li>
<li>She asked for it! <a href="http://psych-your-mind.blogspot.in/2012/08/she-asked-for-it-destructive-impact-of.html">http://psych-your-mind.blogspot.in/2012/08/she-asked-for-it-destructive-impact-of.html</a></li>
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Erotemehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03677513867884448593noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9766640.post-64607044058606564192012-12-25T23:14:00.000+05:302013-01-13T07:41:07.414+05:30Barbaric American Judicial System<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">Since I was aware of Aaron Swartz, I have asked nearly a hundred people (friends & strangers) the following sequence of questions:</span></div>
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<li><div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">A person is being prescribed 35 years in prison or $1,000,000 as fine. What are your 3 guesses to his crime?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">If a person was found guilty of pouring acid on another helpless man and dragging other helpless naked men around on a leash and repeatedly (sexually) abusing helpless men & beating them up continuously till they are near death & then letting them heal to be beaten up again, how will you, based on your answer to the previous question, punish this person?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">The answers only vary in their details. Every person I know (and this experiment has been carried out with friends across several countries) feels that the crimes must be heinous or massively exploitative to deserve 35 years and upon hearing the sickening details in the 2nd question prescribe punishments ranging from the electric chair to hanging till death that person & everyone associated with that crime.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">Ladies & gentlemen, I present to you, the barbaric judicial system that is America. Here is a country that claims to be developed (you shall soon read about its laws against children), educated (surely you are aware of its gun laws & rates of homicide & rape) & a progressive democracy but is as barbaric as Stalin's gulag or even Hitler's camps (and the appendix to this post will provide data). To actually necessitate that the people keep reminding the government of what is right & what is democracy is equivalent to not finding it in the first place.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">But this post wishes to raise the global consciousness around the victimisation of Aaron Swartz, a brilliant mind & colleague.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">Who is Aaron Swartz? Aaron Swartz is a conscious soul who refuses to accept the status quo on matters of ethics especially the ethics that the American government & corporates take. </span><a href="http://www.aaronsw.com/" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">He is a frequent television commentator and the author of numerous articles on a variety of topics, especially the corrupting influence of big money on institutions including nonprofits, the media, politics, and public opinion. From 2010-11, he researched these topics as a Fellow at the Harvard Ethics Center Lab on Institutional Corruption. He also served on the board of Change Congress, a good government nonprofit.<br />
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He has also developed the site theinfo.org. His landmark analysis of Wikipedia, Who Writes Wikipedia?, has been widely cited. Working with Web inventor Tim Berners-Lee at MIT, he helped develop and popularize standards for sharing data on the Web. He also coauthored the RSS 1.0 specification, now widely used for publishing news stories at the age of 14 and there is much more to his list of achievements.</span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">He is currently facing 13 felony charges for which he would be slapped with 35 years in prison or $1,000,000 as fines. Yes, the same person in question 1 above. What he is alleged to have done was download several academic articles via a free account that was legally provided to him. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;"><b><i>What is illegal in this act?</i></b> Nothing. What he has been accused of is downloading "more than acceptable" amounts of these documents. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;"><b><i>Oh! Is the academic journals storehouse pressing charges against him?</i></b> No. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;"><b><i>Is the institution (MIT/Harvard) who gave him the free account legally, pressing charges against him?</i></b> No.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;"><b><i>How much of a monetary loss has happened?</i></b> None, because these very articles if downloaded over a period of 6 months instead of weeks would still amount to the stash they found on Aaron's laptops & it would have THEN been legal! Secondly, those articles are now publicly available!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;"><b><i>So who exactly is pressing charges?</i></b> The United States of America!!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;"><b><i>Did some article written by the FBI or Obama, get downloaded!!?</i></b> None.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;"><b><i>Then, why?</i></b> Victimisation.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">As David Segal puts it, "It's like trying to put someone in jail for allegedly checking too many books out of the library".</span></div>
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<a href="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/06/Aaron_Swartz_profile.jpg/250px-Aaron_Swartz_profile.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/06/Aaron_Swartz_profile.jpg/250px-Aaron_Swartz_profile.jpg" width="230" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">Here is the </span><a href="http://ia600504.us.archive.org/29/items/gov.uscourts.mad.137971/gov.uscourts.mad.137971.2.0.pdf" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">complete indictment charges</span></a><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;"> against Aaron. Yes, there are points in it that make you wonder if what Aaron did was entirely correct! Perhaps not (if proven that he actually did them). Allow me to chronologically list things down (minus the drama):</span></div>
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<li><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">Swartz registered his computer under a fictitious name. This is not an offence. Very few people will register under their full name (unavailability is one reason). If I were in MIT, I would register as Eroteme. </span><a href="http://ist.mit.edu/network/rules" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">MITnet's Rules of Use</span></a><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;"> do not prohibit one from using a pseudonym.</span></li>
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<li><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">He used a program to download content from JSTOR. Using a software program to download & manage downloads is not an offence. Most computer savvy people use one to accelerate downloads or thread them. Bots are not allowed by JSTOR as per their T&C.</span></li>
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<li><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">The rapid & massive download of articles impaired JSTOR's computers & threatened to misappropriate its archive. Threatened, not established. No, I am not talking legalese (while I could), but this has to be established else any download of tens of articles could be deemed as "threatening". Notional or perceived offence is not an offence. It is equivalent to my considering you a criminal because you come from a neighbourhood with a high crime rate (and the American judicial system has successfully created many such ghettos already. Do read the content on </span><a href="http://www.sentencingproject.org/template/index.cfm" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">The Sentencing Project's</span></a><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;"> site) & demanding that you be thrown behind bars with no further evidence required. Impairment of computers can happen for a variety of reasons. If the servers were designed poorly to only manage 10 concurrent requests, then anyone firing 11 might bring them down & can potentially be charged with downloading "massive" amounts of data. If the same 1000s of requests had come from across the globe, we would still find JSTOR servers buckling. Tonnes of sites go through this problem (Twitter, Facebook, etc.). Aaron's intention, nowhere, has been proven to bring down JSTOR.</span></li>
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<li><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">The indictment charges claim that (point 18) Aaron stole those articles. This is baseless. By any definition of thievery, downloading of articles via a legal account does not amount to stealing! JSTOR still had those articles with them. That MIT & JSTOR resorted to means of preventing Aaron access is not equatable to recognising his activity as theft. If it were so, all they had to do was file a complaint with the police & verify each person whose computer was connected to the network using that IP. Neither of them did either of these options. They just rolled their eyes & decided to make it difficult for people to do this in future. And how? Read on.</span></li>
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<li><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">JSTOR blocked the IP, 18.55.6.215. Who grants IPs? MIT. So what did Aaron do? Request and obtain a new IP. Who granted it? Yes, MIT again. So if getting a new IP was illegal, who performed the illegal act?</span></li>
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<li><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">JSTOR blocks MIT. Not because MIT was bad but because JSTOR didn't have the brains to secure their contents & prevent unmanageable downloads of their content. If they knew how to stop & later prevent a device from downloading "unacceptable" amounts of legally available data (which is why David Segal's statements make sense) they wouldn't have to make all MIT suffer. Is Aaron responsible for this? No. He wasn't stealing or illegally using any loopholes in JSTOR's systems. Frankly, he would have preferred more robust systems which would have let him complete his task without them buckling.</span></li>
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<li><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">MIT decides to not give that Acer laptop an IP. Note that MIT did not contact Aaron & warn him or physically remove him from the campus. What Aaron was doing was inconvenient & not illegal. So what does Aaron do in response to MIT's move? He changed his MAC address. MAC address spoofing is not illegal. Anyone with the right know-how can do it. If I changed my network card, the MAC address would change automatically. Had Aaron simply bought another network card & installed it, he would essentially be taking the expensive route to MAC spoofing.</span></li>
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<li><b><u><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">So far, nothing illegal in any of Aaron's activities.</span></u></b></li>
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<li><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">Point 19 tries to cry foul on Aaron's actions. It amuses me to see the bickering childishness of the claim. If all the users of MIT were to simultaneously download several thousand articles from JSTOR, it would have brought the system down & JSTOR would have blocked MIT. I have already cited the MITnet's rules of usage above. Refer to that & compare with the stupid childish claims made in Point 19. None of them hold water as we have already seen.</span></li>
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<li><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">Aaron obtains another guest account. To obtain another guest connection doesn't appear to be illegal else MIT (with all its remarkable brains) would have prevented it from happening. </span></li>
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<li><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">All the claims in point 21 have already been proven to be weak & desperate of the United States of America (the only plaintiff in this case).</span></li>
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<li><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">Aaron uses another computer to carry out his tasks. What is legal for the 1st computer is legal for the 2nd. Hence, nothing to add here. Together they brought down JSTOR's system. Nothing new there. JSTOR blocks MIT. Nothing new there too.</span></li>
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<li><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">Note the intensity of the "crime". <b><u>In point 25, the United States of America shamelessly admits to the "horrific" nature of the "crime" committed by Aaron Swartz</u></b> - he downloaded 2 million articles of which nearly half were research papers & remaining being reviews, news, editorials, and misc. documents. If I could download BBC's public content & in the sheer rapidity of my task, bring down BBC servers, am I a criminal? </span></li>
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<li><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">Points 26-28 talk about how Aaron plugged his machines directly into the switch without registering with MITnet's guest access services. </span></li>
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<li><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">Points 29-31 talk about his repeating all of that at another MIT building before being caught with the USB drive containing a program with "distinct similarities" to "keepgrabbing.py".</span></li>
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<li><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">Point 32 summarises the volume of Aaron's act & Point 33 is the United States of America whining about why they are in the right for filing this case. Note the phrase "intended to" and not actually having done anything as claimed.</span></li>
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<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">My points 14-15 are where things appear grey. Was Aaron right in doing that? Did he break into MIT's buildings? Then why didn't MIT file a complaint against Aaron? Were there any signs of breaking in? Why is none of that part of the whole story? Here is the </span><a href="http://tech.mit.edu/V132/N46/swartz/swartz-suppress3.pdf" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">motion to suppress all fruits of unlawful arrest.</span></a><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;"> Please read through it carefully to understand the legal implications of the "evidence" used against Aaron.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">Nevertheless, we can step out of the legalese & simply look at whether what was done (if assumed to have happened) was right or not. Maybe Aaron should have done differently. Maybe he should have not harassed MIT & JSTOR. Maybe he should have spread his downloads across months. Maybe he should have discussed with JSTOR into making this content available free (and they did make it publicly available after the incident). Maybe a hundred million things! Point is, all these "maybe"s essentially are coming up with ways by which Aaron could have been less of a nuisance. It doesn't say "He was wrong & a criminal". That is my point. Downloading an "unacceptable" amount of files otherwise legally available, is not a crime. Even if it is something to be discouraged, it doesn't count as felony! There are 13 felony charges against Aaron Swartz by the United States of American stupidity! Felony!? FELONY!? </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">The United States of American stupidity have claimed that there is a copyright infringement. But JSTOR was making them accessible via the university account. How then is it copyright infringement? Had he downloaded only 100 per day over 15 years would that be a copyright infringement? No. So why is it an infringement when all done in a couple of weeks? Here is the </span><a href="http://www.copyrightalliance.org/2011/07/demand-common-sense#.UNmrtW9hCcc" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">infantile response</span></a><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;"> from the </span><a href="http://www.copyrightalliance.org/" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">Copyright Alliance</span></a><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">. </span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #666666; display: inline !important; float: none; font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 12px/13px Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">This is more like sneaking through a library window in the middle of the night and making off with the entire non-fiction section.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">How? The articles he downloaded are still there with JSTOR. How is it theft, then? Given that he used a legal account/access mechanism to download content from JSTOR, he didn't sneak in through any window. Given that the articles are still there & available, he didn't "make off with the entire non-fiction section". </span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #666666; display: inline !important; float: none; font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 12px/13px Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">If the allegations prove true, the episode is revealing in numerous respects. First, of the mindset of those who engage in intellectual property theft. The indictment states that Swartz “intended to distribute a significant portion of JSTOR’s archive of digitized journal articles through one or more file-sharing sites.” Sound familiar? This is no different than those who steal other kinds of copyrighted works and monetize them through advertising or through subscription fees, only in this instance the victims are a non-profit and educational institution.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">I would hope that people trying to protect my copyright would be more sensible than this Sandra Aistars. There isn't any case for theft here, sweetie. The indictment states that Aaron "intended" which means he might not have intended to as well. Secondly, even if he intended to, it does not say that he would have made money out of it! So the rest of her babble doesn't make sense because it is baseless or only based on her paranoia. There has never been evidence (AFAIK) of Aaron monetising anything he intended to distribute. Even if you read his </span><a href="http://archive.org/stream/GuerillaOpenAccessManifesto/Goamjuly2008_djvu.txt" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">Guerrilla Open Access Manifesto</span></a><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;"> you will find that he is dead against it. So where is there this suspicion of monetising what he has obtained? Ms. Aistars would do well in educating herself before continuing to make a fool of herself as follows:</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #666666; display: inline !important; float: none; font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 12px/13px Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">These individuals are not “setting information free” as they like to proclaim. And they are not “removing the middlemen.” They are flat out stealing the work of others and using it to prop up their own commercial endeavors. It is the perfect example of the unapologetic belief that what’s mine is mine, and what’s yours is also mine, and if I can get some venture capitalist to cash me out for millions or billions of dollars based on the traffic a library comprised of someone else’s lifetime of work has generated to my site, so much the better.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">There is not a single point she makes about the exact nature of infringement that she condemns, because there is none. She keeps harping about the "stealing" that never happened & sympathises with JSTOR & MIT neither of whom have pressed charges because they are both sensible & aware of the lack of any theft.</span></div>
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<a href="http://about.jstor.org/news/jstor-statement-misuse-incident-and-criminal-case" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">Here is JSTOR's statement</span></a><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;"> regarding this incident. Note what they have to say:</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: #e6e6e6; color: #747474; display: inline !important; float: none; font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 14px/18px "Lucida Grande", "Lucida Sans Unicode", "Lucida Sans", Verdana, Tahoma, sans-serif; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">We secured from Mr. Swartz the content that was taken, and received confirmation that the content was not and would not be used, copied, transferred, or distributed.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">Of course, you must note how they carefully word their statement. Not at one place do they state why it is exactly unauthorised. As I have mentioned earlier, if the same activity spread of 15 years is not unauthorised, why would it be when done over few weeks? JSTORs terms of conditions now have mention about denying use of software programs to automatically download content. Not sure if it was there earlier as well. Perhaps it was there. Which means that Aaron did something which JSTOR stated as unacceptable. Fair enough. JSTOR should be punishing him, but they aren't. They clearly state that they don't want to!</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: #e6e6e6; color: #747474; display: inline !important; float: none; font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 14px/18px "Lucida Grande", "Lucida Sans Unicode", "Lucida Sans", Verdana, Tahoma, sans-serif; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">The criminal investigation and today’s indictment of Mr. Swartz has been directed by the United States Attorney’s Office. It was the government’s decision whether to prosecute, not JSTOR’s. As noted previously, our interest was in securing the content. Once this was achieved, we had no interest in this becoming an ongoing legal matter.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">My point is simply this: <b><i>Only JSTOR and/or MIT have the right to punish or seek punishment for Aaron and not the United States of American stupidity. By complaining against Aaron & in the manner in which they have, the United States of American stupidity has clearly demonstrated that they will twist anyone's arm if they, their friends, the corporates or anyone so pleases and there is no one who can do anything about it. This is called victimisation.</i></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">In case you wonder how corporates are involved here, </span><a href="http://www.stanfordlawreview.org/sites/default/files/articles/BardayPD.pdf" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">please read this</span></a><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">. And this is not the only way in which they are involved in all of this.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">If you are convinced by the arguments laid down here, please visit:</span></div>
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<a href="http://act.demandprogress.org/sign/support_aaron/"><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">http://act.demandprogress.org/sign/support_aaron/</span></a><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">and show your support. Please spread word about this trial. Please educate friends & family about the nature of this trial & what its implication are on individual freedom. What happens today in the USA could happen elsewhere tomorrow. If you care about the best in the human race (and there is very little to be proud of), then please demand that Aaron be freed or receive commensurate punishment only if demanded by MIT and/or JSTOR.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">If all that interests you is this case, you can stop reading here (assuming you did make it till here). What follows is my take on the United States of American stupidity as demonstrated in its judicial system. The primary reason I proceed is to show how flawed, partial & unfair it is, which should help you decide why the prescribed sentence for Aaron is disgusting & inhuman. This also provides the reader for data behind the 2nd question asked at the outset.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">Please click on the image above for a sample of unfairness. The crimes range over all possible acts of felony! This, is real felony & still none of them get anything close to 35 years in prison! But Aaron who downloads research articles gets 35 years in prison!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;"></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">Here is where I would like people to revisit the notion of incarceration (and whatever fancy name we give it). Many researchers have argued that incarceration is not the solution & is often the problem. Here is </span><a href="http://www.newyorker.com/arts/critics/atlarge/2012/01/30/120130crat_atlarge_gopnik" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">an article that could get you started</span></a><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">. United States of American stupidity imprisons an obscene number of people for the littlest of offences. I urge the reader to study the reasons behind why incarceration is not the wisest means to rectifying misdemeanours. Why not invest in correctional facilities which actually work towards guiding anti-social people? Aaron is not anti-social. I think once we understand why & when incarceration helps, many notions of law & correctness will fall into place. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">Now allow me to ramble a bit about the elements in the legal system that make me roll my eyes!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">While many prisons are indeed shutting down, the judiciary's mentality has not changed much. All you need to search for is crazy sentences (of up to 624 years) that have been slapped on wrong-doers. That doesn't even make sense.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">What doesn't make further sense is the idiocy of the ex-President Bush. No, he is not an exception because he was elected twice by the people (which would mean that the current population of USA is an exception to the norm of generations that have populated that country). When Bush granted Toussie pardon, it did get many people angry. He did rescind it, but the entire act raised eyebrows. How can pardon be granted to scheming white-collar crimes? They are plotted & well thought out and not acts of frenzy or misguidance! </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">Amongst the stupid <span style="color: black;">facets of this system include the prison sentences for children. Did you know about this? <a href="http://www.eji.org/childrenprison/deathinprison" target="_blank">In 2005, the U.S. Supreme Court declared in <i>Roper v. Simmons </i>that death by execution is unconstitutional for juveniles. Before the ruling, 365 children had been legally executed in the United States, including 22 since 1985, and nearly 3000 children age 17 or younger who had been sentenced to imprisonment until death through life-without-parole sentences imposed with very little scrutiny or review.</a></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">Ramble complete! </span><br />
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<a href="http://www.oilempire.us/oil-jpg/sukrallah_col_030407.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;"><img border="0" height="216" src="http://www.oilempire.us/oil-jpg/sukrallah_col_030407.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">The reason why I think USA is far from a progressive democracy is based on two aspects: </span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<ol><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">
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<li><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">The treatment of its own people, segregated based on race, affluence & alignment to its paranoid policies.</span></li>
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<li><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">The treatment of people who are not American via war crimes & interference in local governance.</span></li>
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</span></ol>
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<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">While I have provided some evidence to the 1st, evidence to the 2nd point are best provided as references that the avid reader can go through. Allow me to summarise a statistic, though. Stalin's Gulag & Hitler's camps caused the death of several million Ukrainians & Jews, US war crimes (and it is fine to go back in history as Stalin's acts were of the 1930s) are nearly of equal number (counting Hiroshima Nagasaki, Vietnam, Cambodia, Korea, Japanese war crimes, Gulf war, the Al Qaeda drama & the drone attacks amongst the many others) & mounting.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;"></span><br />
<ol><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">
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<li><a href="http://www.thirdworldtraveler.com/Truth_Commissions/Truth_Commission_page.html"><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">http://www.thirdworldtraveler.com/Truth_Commissions/Truth_Commission_page.html</span></a></li>
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<li><a href="http://www.mediamonitors.net/francis19.html"><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">http://www.mediamonitors.net/francis19.html</span></a></li>
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<li><a href="http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article3466.htm"><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article3466.htm</span></a></li>
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<li><a href="http://www.iraqbodycount.org/"><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">http://www.iraqbodycount.org/</span></a></li>
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<li><a href="http://rense.com/general69/tpten.htm"><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">http://rense.com/general69/tpten.htm</span></a></li>
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<li><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">The role the US had to play in Unit 731: </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unit_731"><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unit_731</span></a></li>
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<li><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">Indirect damages: </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al-Shifa_pharmaceutical_factory"><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al-Shifa_pharmaceutical_factory</span></a></li>
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<li><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_war_crimes"><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_war_crimes</span></a></li>
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<li><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vietnam_War_Crimes_Working_Group_Files"><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vietnam_War_Crimes_Working_Group_Files</span></a></li>
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</span>
<li><a href="http://www.tomdispatch.com/post/73753/"><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">http://www.tomdispatch.com/post/73753/</span></a></li>
<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">
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<li><a href="http://www.internationalist.org/fallujarape0412.html"><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">http://www.internationalist.org/fallujarape0412.html</span></a></li>
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<li><a href="http://www.oilempire.us/warcrime.html"><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">http://www.oilempire.us/warcrime.html</span></a></li>
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<li><a href="http://www.worldfuturefund.org/wffmaster/Reading/war.crimes/US/U.S.Philippines.htm"><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">http://www.worldfuturefund.org/wffmaster/Reading/war.crimes/US/U.S.Philippines.htm</span></a></li>
<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">
</span></ol>
<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">How many of these crimes go punished? Virtually none! When a country is unable to be fair to its citizens as well as in its treatment of people of other countries, such a country needs to introspect & listen to the bitter yet vital advice of the wise people within & without. If the USA refuses this opportunity to tone down & introspect, it will be lost for good.</span></div>
Erotemehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03677513867884448593noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9766640.post-72833023717616606272012-12-22T16:57:00.003+05:302012-12-22T17:13:07.639+05:30Why you need a guru. Why you don't<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
This post is entirely an exploration. This is not a disclaimer but necessary identification of what will follow.<br />
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Most of the world falls into 3 categories: those who shun a guru, those who revere a guru & those who feel they could use a guru once in a while. Those who shun a guru, typically do so in the space of psychological or inter-personal conflicts. The very same person might revere a Drucker or Nate Silvers or some such expert in a field. Those who revere a guru might do so only in the space of psychological or inter-personal conflicts & only acknowledge domain experts. Those in between treat gurus as people who might be able to give a quick fix or seek a guru as a temporary shelter to gather their thoughts. In this post I do not acknowledge a guru as anyone in these domains or spaces. They are masters of a practice (including psychological guidance) & to revere them or not has very little psychological impact. In the Indian tradition (where the word guru originated), a guru is one who holistically guides the pupil, empowering them to proceed on their own & instilling in them sufficient sense/humility to seek aid when necessary. India has tales of the likes of Eklavya whose guru was a sculpture of a guru who refused to accept him as his student. Rarely ever was the guru solely for a particular skill. Over millenia, the guru became a teacher of a particular skill. Thus, the guru's influence on the pupil's well-roundedness waned.</div>
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This post restricts attention to a guru who guides a person in spiritual development. Interestingly, you will note, that if you replaced spiritual development with any skill with an added necessity for a more holistic approach, encompassing the other facets of life, the post still holds much relevance. The need to focus on this narrow set of gurus lies in the broad impact they have on many a person.</div>
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Those who have no inclination towards spiritual growth, don't need a guru. Those who attempt to reconcile with Fate or their own equations of Destiny might find solace in the words of an individual, but that is not spiritual development. Those words could come from a maid, a spouse, a neighbour or just about anyone. To chant & sing songs or dance to a frenzy are not aspects of spiritual development. They are at best means to shedding some deterrants to spiritual development but if they don't serve as that, then they are essentially a narcotic. To follow regimens, gather together with similarly inclined folks, to donate money for any cause, to proliferate "teachings" of an individual or establish large 100 acres campuses of some institution - none of this is spiritual development. One might try hard to convince oneself that this will eventually lead one to that, but so can smoking marijuana or starving oneself in a cave. If spiritual development is not the ardent thirst or if it is but a fringe benefit of it all, then a guru is nothing more than your drug to escape from seriousness. It doesn't matter whether you associate with him/her a God/Goddess or sobriquets of Baba, Sri, Amma, Devi, Swami or Guru. If the guru is unaware of your presence (and please do not trick yourself into thinking that the guru knows all) & is not aiding you in spiritual development, then the guru is not your guru. If your argument is "All I seek from him/her is his/her blessings & my life is fine" or any similar consolation, then you are effectively treating your guru as some good-luck charm. If you belong to the fanatic group of followers who believes that their guru is the only guru, then clearly spiritual development is far removed from your agenda & there is nothing more to discuss. We can discuss awe-inspiring magician tricks elsewhere.</div>
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A guru has the following traits:</div>
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<ul style="text-align: left;">
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Does not indulge in sophistry & is solely focused on clarifying (by questioning or hinting or leading)</div>
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<li><div>
Is immensely involved in your spiritual journey</div>
</li>
<li><div>
Clearly seeks to liberate you</div>
</li>
<li><div>
Ensures that the means employed cater best to your nature</div>
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<li><div>
Does not trade spiritual development for things you currently possess or can procure (esp. of a monetary nature)</div>
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</ul>
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All other traits that the gullible human mind associates with a guru are irrelevant. These include:</div>
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<ul style="text-align: left;">
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Must be charitable in nature & have built hospitals & schools & regularly provides food for the needy.</div>
</li>
<li><div>
Must be asexual or never indulge in sex or be disinterested in food & other "material" elements of life</div>
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<li><div>
Must always talk about love & human oneness & embrace everyone</div>
</li>
<li><div>
Must have a large following especially a global one</div>
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<li><div>
Must have some regimen (singing, dancing, breathing techniques, yoga, etc.) associated with him/her</div>
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<li><div>
Must have some role to play in social improvement or politics</div>
</li>
<li><div>
Must have some healing or magical powers</div>
</li>
</ul>
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How can someone who has a high sexual libido ever guide me spiritually? The same way someone who has no sexual drive can! What is required for your spiritual development can spring from clear mountain springs or from mire. To treat the act of sex as vile makes our very birth an act of vulgarity including the birth of the guru who is now asexual & revered! </div>
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Ok, what about love? How can anyone develop spiritually without being told that to love all & serve all is the way? A "guru" who repeatedly tells you that a sunrise is ugly cannot make you not hold your breath everyday morning. On the other hand, any amount of my telling you to love all doesn't make you love someone who is being brutally critical of you. If the clarity of Love resides in you, you do not need to be told this repeatedly and by not being told, you do not burn down that seed of Love in you.</div>
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And what's wrong with charity? A guru can be charitable only if he possesses wealth. If he does then it will be exhausted some day unless he keeps replenishing it by extracting more from his followers (or indulges in business which is a "material" pursuit). None of the charities or establishments are in the name of the million followers of a guru. They are always in the name of the guru who contributed nothing in terms of charity. "Be charitable". Now that I have said that & you read that, would you agree to naming your every act of charity as the magnanimity of Eroteme? It gets uglier when we dig deeper into the mechanics of the so-called charity of these organised houses of gurudom. I shan't go there. To be charitable is irrelevant to spiritual development. It might come of its own accord.</div>
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What is spiritual development? What is the ambit of the spirit? What is the spirit? What remains once the chattering of an ignorant and/or mechanical mind have quietened down, in there lies the spirit. Why should I develop that? There is no need to develop it at all. One can keep sharpening the saw of their profession & remain content till their last breath. There is no mandate that everyone must feel a thirst for spirituality & must develop it. Some people feel it well within, some people don't & some people are curious about it as one is curious how that odd-looking dessert might taste. One spoonful, and they move on.</div>
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A spiritual thirst exists in one who is dissatisfied with the routine of life & wishes to understand more. They are not disappointed or discontent with life, just dissatisfied with the amount they know and the routine of life. This might seem like the space of philosophical enquiry. If it remains there, then that is what it is. But occasionally, the spirit within feels a deep connection to the Divine "without". There is a great dissatisfaction in not knowing the fabric of that connection. There is a constant urge to connect to the Divine & understand all of life, creation, existence, thought, mind, breath, time & timelessness. This thirst becomes prominent when the delights of common life do not distract. A marriage, a new-born child, a new car, a promotion, a death, a travel to exotic locales - none of this quietens the voice of the spirit within. Then, and only then is there a need for spiritual development. Then and only then can the question of whether we need a guru or not, arise.</div>
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Like every upheavel, there are phases. Initially there is angst & confusion, followed by a seeking, a searching. Then there might be adoption (of a teaching or guru) followed by practice & doubt. No matter what the phases are, they eventually end in a calm, a placid mind & soul which simply knows without discerning. Once there is union with the Divine, there is completeness & in there the boundaries of life, creation, existence, thought, mind, breath, time & timelessness (as a notion) cease to exist. The nature of the phases is of lesser importance than the necessary character of the nature of the final phase. The roads to there are many.</div>
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Does one need a guru in this cycle of phases? Perhaps. Is it impossible to swirl through these phases & arrive at the final stage without a guru? Certainly not. One doesn't need a guru to connect one's spirit with the divine. Nothing in the guru can replace for the spirit within. All that the guru can do is channelise & spare the individual the hardship of discovering everything by oneself. The guru can also help re-align an individual's misdirected curiousity if his/her time is not right for spiritual development. In that sense, the guru is aware of why, how, when & what exactly needs to be provided for this individual's spiritual development. That would be a guru of the highest order. Most other gurus can help the person discover him~/herself & thus navigate the phases. Whichever mode is employed the guru always lets go of the individual's hand when they are ready to move on to communion with the Divine. That final leg, is an individual journey. No one can proxy for the seeker. The guru is the boat that might help you cross the choppy waters of the ocean. While the average guru might be able to help you as much as is possible, only the guru of the highest order knows with certainty what will happen from the minute before you arrive at their doorstep. </div>
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<div>
By this measure, none of the popular gurus out there count. They are celebrity showmen/~women who are clever/creative in how they word things & in mesmerising large audiences. Do they help in anyone's spiritual development? No. Those who believe they are spiritually realised, will perhaps realise that their spiritual journey would have happened even without these celebrity gurus who give grand speeches & sing songs & do all the publicity stunts they must.</div>
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What is worse is when these celebrity-gurus essentially create a binding dependence thereby making the devotee (sic) feel inadequate without the guru. Tales abound & online fora are plenty where blinded followers reveal their fantatic side. To see them thus after sufficient association with a "guru" convinces me that these celebrity-gurus are clearly after something else.<br />
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In summary, you need a guru if:</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li><div>
Your spirit needs re-connecting with the Divine & you are lazy</div>
</li>
<li><div>
Your spirit needs re-connecting with the Divine & you are ill-equipped to cross the initial hurdles</div>
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<li><div>
Your spirit needs re-connecting with the Divine & you are afraid</div>
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<li><div>
Your spirit needs re-connecting with the Divine & you are confused</div>
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</ul>
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You don't need a guru if:</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li><div>
Your spirit needs re-connecting with the Divine & it is strong enough to guide you through the phases (even skip some of them)</div>
</li>
<li><div>
Your spirit doesn't needs re-connecting with the Divine & all that you seek is some kind words or salve or sedative/narcotic</div>
</li>
<li>All you have are questions that need answers. A go-to person is not a guru<div>
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</ul>
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<div>
Personally, I prefer an anonymous guru who is a realised soul & who can liberate me from my ignorance. Both of us would vanish into anonymity. </div>
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It is thus that I re-recognise the wisdom of Master Oogway. Such is his vastness & calm that even when he knows that the messenger is the indirect reason for the unleashing of terror, he doesn't prevent Shifu from sending him. A true guru is a trikaalagnani (one who is aware of all time and hence, doesn't fragment it into past, present & future). Master Oogway was that and more. Not only was he the finest in Kung-Fu, he was also at peace in leaving the Jade Palace behind in the hands of a Panda & bunch of people whose Destiny wouldn't defeat Tai Lung. To be aware of what Time has in store without a preference, is the mark of a realised soul. That is the mark of a guru. Po never sought his guidance, but was touched by it. Shifu sought his guidance with a mind full of doubt & was transformed. Different strokes for different folks.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjo5x3VKwGV90xi4tBtQXYP80L-F6IjzEkTfWmp_Yzies6c_ZzuphfAx5tU7YrK1BBA4VMBmHmn42LW7JTthL9DYrJQczE5G4_5_Ohh9VCcxpCS7UW0Epe3cG98jpz4AIE7ILcn/s1600/master_oogway.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br /><img alt="Master Oogway" border="0" height="231" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjo5x3VKwGV90xi4tBtQXYP80L-F6IjzEkTfWmp_Yzies6c_ZzuphfAx5tU7YrK1BBA4VMBmHmn42LW7JTthL9DYrJQczE5G4_5_Ohh9VCcxpCS7UW0Epe3cG98jpz4AIE7ILcn/s320/master_oogway.jpg" title="Master Oogway" width="320" /></a></div>
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Erotemehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03677513867884448593noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9766640.post-50591406831494866272012-12-19T21:09:00.000+05:302012-12-19T21:09:28.079+05:30A letter<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
This was the letter I wrote to the teachers of Sandy Hook Elementary School. The 1st draft was stronger & held an inappropriate tone of didactic urgency.<br />
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Dear Ms. Hammond & Ms. Didonato,<br /> <br />
<br />
Please accept the Love I send you from India. I read about the tragedy & felt that this might be the best way in which I can reach out to the grief and confusion that looms large in the wake of such incidents. I believe there is salve in holding each other close, wordlessly. This mail is to all the teachers & supporting staff of Sandy Hook Elementary School as well as to the parents, families & friends who wish to ensure that what emerges from this tragedy is a society with a brighter inner light.<br /> <br />
<br />
I pray for the souls that departed leaving behind souls that suffer a trauma far worse than the sheer pain of death. The parents & friends, families & neighbours have a lot of pain to give form & meaning to & I pray that they find strength & Love while taking necessary time to rise above the vision & voices of this tragedy. Most of all, I hope they find requisite resolve to will this grief to become the fuel for Love. For that I pray & seek the aid of the Divine Soul.<br /> <br />
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I understand that you have testing days ahead. Not only must you deal with the grief within, you would also, as paladins of a learning society, be sought out to help those who wander confused through these dark nights of aftermath. Some might turn to religion, some to meditation, some to doubt & some to fear but if any of these merely offer suppression of what is, then I hope we realise & accept that all these are insufficient means to address the call of the hour. With all my heart I believe that what we need is clarity & conviction. We need to light the road ahead with a clarity that is timeless & not merely something that is seemingly appropriate for now or the next five years. This calls for wisdom & compassion far superior to popular gestures of forgiveness & charity. I am certain that when you reach deep within into your seat of light, you will find the spring of this wisdom. For that I pray & seek the aid of the Divine Soul.<br /> <br />
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I realise that the kith & kin of beautiful people who were felled by Adam's misguided choices, are in pain & in shock or are reacting in shock. I wish I was there to help them in the littlest way to heal their wounds by disallowing rage or confusion from finding residence in their hearts. If you feel that I could be of any help in reaching out to them, I would most eagerly do so (and let the timezone differences not be viewed as impediment). They didn't have a choice in the turn of events, but they have one now - either to let this act of confusion perpetrate more of that or bring in the clarity that Love alone should be the education of every child & adult. For that I pray & seek the aid of the Divine Soul.<br /> <br />
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There is & will be much anger & doubt around. While a common response would be to suppress it, I would think about allowing it to take the shape of a hoe that must turn the soil of confusion & bring about opportunities for seeking a complete transformation into goodness. Goodness, as we all know, needs no strut. In these times of confusion, I have also felt the need to seek out validation or support for rightness & goodness, only to realise that they need neither. Their value is not incidental or a matter of substitution in equations of human consolation. I believe that as the folks of Newtown come to terms with what happened, goodness & rightness will be repeatedly challenged. The bruised souls of Newtown need your gentle & loving guidance to be exposed to this absolute Truth. I imagine you will hear questions of immense proportions: <em>"What did my child ever do wrong?" "How can we ever let this happen?" "What God!?" "How do we prevent this from happening?" "Can we ever be safe?"</em>. I pray for sufficient strength for all those who must face these questions. Answers to these will often take the form of agendas, laws, resignation to Fate or God or other choice beliefs that each person might hold. I hope we realise that none of them are answers if they merely try to cosmetically hide what will genuinely heal. Open discussion into the root of all that branches out as confusion of various kinds can heal significantly & also helps people give vent to their confusion. These discussions might seem pointless to wo~/men of action. Please help them realise that action founded on anything other than clarity, necessitates other kinds of (equally premature) action. To stem this relentless chain of acting & necessitating action, one must discuss with an open heart & a Love that is accommodating & nurturing. For that I pray & seek the aid of the Divine Soul.<br />
<br /> I am certain that the teachers of Sandy Hook Elementary School are gifted with the compassion & understanding to know exactly how to comfort the people of Newtown. Please forgive me if my words appear presumptuous. I merely share all that I feel & think while sitting thousands of miles away.<br /> <br />
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The children who have come out unharmed are never really so. They are fertile ground for reading this incident non-constructively. I suffer as I realise that they need the right impressions to form on their innocuous minds & hearts. I am sure you are aware of this far more than many others but grief lends a blur which one needs to be conscious of. These children will grow up to be parents & teachers & statesmen. It is now, that the adults of Newtown are deciding the future of the state of America & society in general. Anger & hatred takes firm root in children & morphs into beings one can hardly imagine. I hope that while assuaging the grief of the adults you & the people of Newtown compassionately help these children emerge fearless from this event & find enough calm & guidance to transform this grief into the fuel for Love. This, far more that anything else written in here, is vital & urgent. This, I believe, will ensure that no such incident will happen again anywhere on earth. This alone will help these children shun violence in every form. This alone will sow the seeds of compassion. This alone will rid this world of hatred. This alone will nurture goodness in the human heart. This alone, dear teachers & custodians of the most precious of all things human, will make every death a life well lived. For that I pray & seek the aid of the Divine Soul.<br /> <br />
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I worry about every question that will be placed before you, every tear shed, every nightmare that might plague a child's sleep, every doubt that we may house against our very own kind. I do not know how all of these will be healed. It is indeed a great responsibility on your shoulders & I shall offer a prayer every day so that you may find reservoirs of strength & courage to face them. I worry endlessly about how these children will grow & carry this incident with them. I hope that Life is kinder to them & to all those who have lost a significant portion of their life over the past few days. I hope Newtown returns to what it was. For that I pray & seek the aid of the Divine Soul.<br /> <br />
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May all the strength, wisdom, courage, compassion & Love that you need to help the citizens of Newtown transform to beauty, be readily yours.<br /></div>
Erotemehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03677513867884448593noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9766640.post-92051814054601080282012-07-08T17:55:00.000+05:302012-07-08T18:00:49.705+05:30Six wishes & another - Sonnet<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br />
Wish I, a ghostly cave of conch, to be;<br />
Ocean's tongue held 'twixt a salty conquest.<br />
Or pant through woods in breathless cervine* flee<br />
A tinkle's leap rainbowed at wind's behest<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1GrW-L2kw6nfD3sT0r3O1jZJ6S9HOPD3akk8hamMvTgRCWfi8N26xJc6HywtQuY2Okev_eggYZUMg8ZFW3FA0oyAxwsBUYV4eUqMuP-2YVA4aa9HXWOgz6eFQwe_TqgEkyxip/s1600/MakeAWish.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="A wish..." border="0" height="293" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1GrW-L2kw6nfD3sT0r3O1jZJ6S9HOPD3akk8hamMvTgRCWfi8N26xJc6HywtQuY2Okev_eggYZUMg8ZFW3FA0oyAxwsBUYV4eUqMuP-2YVA4aa9HXWOgz6eFQwe_TqgEkyxip/s400/MakeAWish.jpg" title="A wish..." width="400" /></a><br />
Might I dream a boat moored to drifts vacant<br />
Desultory songs to fill a sail's clear throat<br />
Or bloom mystical on a range ancient<br />
A spirit's seek within a life's devote<br />
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Suffer I would the lonely flight of soar<br />
An eagle's stoic, an airless crag's embrace<br />
Shall I, or, weave a valley flute's contour<br />
To trouble the passions of mountains chaste?<br />
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Silver shadows of whim I hold to flesh<br />
To vanish into, or live life afresh<br />
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*cervine: adj. Relating to, resembling, or characteristic of deer.</div>Erotemehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03677513867884448593noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9766640.post-50005642818370614552011-11-20T01:07:00.000+05:302011-11-20T01:13:01.102+05:30In Aankhon Ki Masti - When a woman knows her hold on your heart<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Few songs have all the right ingredients for brimming dazzle. Nearly all of them were composed & first sang before the 90's. But one song stands out from amidst all those nuggets of gold - In Aankhon Ki Masti, from the movie Umrao Jaan. This song has had the unacceptably biased grace of Fate in bringing all the apposite facets required to make a song (in a Hindi movie) unforgettable & remarkably so. This song features Rekha in one of her sensuous best. The music by Khayyam is most beautiful for the tone of the lyrics set by Shahryar. The playback singer, Asha Bhonsle, is the Goddess' gift to mankind. I doubt any other singer could have rendered this song as beautifully as she did. The setting is a romantic, sinful yet classy confines of a kotha (a courtesan's hall & not a brothel). The costume is spectacularly fitting to the voluptuous curves of Rekha without being vulgar. The dance is smooth & seductive without being explicitly coy (this is set in the India of the late 1800's to early 1900's). But what surpasses all of these individual cuts of the diamond is the sheer attitude & pluck of the song borne in the haughty lyrics (Shahryar is a gem unheard of by most Indians), carried in the voice of a singer known for her pride & unleashed in the sheer persona of Rekha, known widely for being a bold actress of Bollywood. Such an uncanny combination of vitality & vital embers leaves this song unmatched & clearly the best of what Time & the Hindi movie industry had to offer.<br />
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If you haven't watched the movie Umrao Jaan I would urge you to do so before reading the rest of this post. I assure you, I will leave it here till you return. If you do not have access to the movie & aren't privy to the programme schedule of all relevant movie channels, then I urge you to watch the video below. Whatever you do, please do not watch the Umrao Jaan of recent years, a shabby & presumptuous remake of the original classic.<br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/cXdJJvpgTvw" width="420"></iframe></div>
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I shall now, nervously, proceed to translate this song. If you are familiar with Urdu, please do not read what remains of this post. I can never do justice to such potent lyrics. No, I have none to recommend to provide better translation. Perhaps, Nabokov, if well versed in Urdu, might have managed something better.<br />
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This is one of the few ghazals in Hindi movies. We often think any slow Urdu-sounding song in the movies is a ghazal. Often they are merely nazms. This one, though, is a ghazal minus the takhallus. In case you wish to know more about ghazals, I would refer you to my post <a href="http://inagardencalledlife.blogspot.com/2007/01/ghazals.html" target="_blank">here</a>. I skip over refrains & the ghamaks of the singer.<br />
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<span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">In aankhon ki masti ke, mastane hazaaron hain</span></span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">In aankhon se vaabastaa, afsaane hazaaron hain</span></span><br />
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In the inebriety of these eyes, the tipsy are aplenty<br />
Entwined with these eyes, legends (too) are aplenty<br />
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<span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">Ik tum hi nahin tanha, ulfat mein meri rusvaa</span></span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">Is shahar mein tum jaise, deewane hazaaron hain</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span></span><br />
You aren't sole to hail yourself, a lover-neglected<br />
In this town, such as you, madmen are aplenty<br />
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<span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">Ik sirf humi mai ko, aankhon se pilaate hain</span></span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">Kahane ko to duniya mein, maikhaane hazaaron hain</span></span><br />
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There is only I whose eyes serve you the finest wine<br />
Though 'tis said, in this world (mere) taverns are aplenty<br />
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<span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">Is shamm-e-faroza ko, aandhi se daraate ho</span></span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">Is shamm-e-faroza ke, parvaane hazaaron hain</span></span><br />
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I, this brilliant flame, you scare with a storm (of your rage)?<br />
In this luminous blaze's thrall lovers (moths) are aplenty<br />
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Sip the lyrics tenderly, dear reader. Such lines were not made for quaffing. Note the vanity infused in each line, especially from the 2nd sher (stanza) on. Not only does Umrao not treat a lover's plight with condescension she also rubs salt on his wound by debunking it to the level of madmen aspiring to be her lover & populating the streets of Lucknow (where this movie was set). So sure is she of her charm & hold over the infatuated that she wouldn't hesitate to debunk all love that doesn't appeal to her. Nevertheless, she does it with aplomb. <br />
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In the 3rd stanza she moves to extolling her uniqueness. She proceeds to aver (not suggest or hint) that she is the sole wielder of the skill of intoxicating anyone with her eyes. The sheer pluck of this lady is revealed in the line that follows: Kehane ko duniya mein, maikhaane hazaaron hain. "Kehane ko" is an idiom which poorly maps to the English phrase of "hollow claim". In that line, Umrao, tongue-in-cheek, states that there are many ersatz taverns in the world which can only claim to serve wine & that too not as she does (with her eyes).<br />
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In the last sher she moves from chiding the lover (2nd sher) to bragging (3rd sher) to mustering her fans. Here she challenges the storm anyone dares bring upon her in the hope of quelling her grandeur. She cautions that lover to think twice because there are myriad lovers who, like moths to a flame, will lay down their lives for her sake.<br />
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I wonder where & when such creative prowess & such splendid combination of artists will recur.</div>Erotemehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03677513867884448593noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9766640.post-15424405439485974432011-10-24T20:46:00.000+05:302011-10-24T20:46:19.706+05:30Future of Gaming<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
To start with, I don't play online games. That doesn't deny me the right to imagine. I was just yawning & stretching myself when a thought struck me - perhaps the future of gaming is not in the players but in the game itself. What I mean is that today gaming is focussed so much on player skills which leads to rapid familiarity with the constraints & then inevitable boredom. What really is required is a means to modify the game by each players behaviour & creating character traits out of each player's choices & moves. Thus the game ends up creating constraints which are lifelike. Soon the game can partly continue purely on the strength of your "character" with choices made as you would have made them, making you live with your choices. So the game continues even when you are not playing because your character has your "character" & effectively "you" are living parallel lives. Of course, you can review the "day" of your character & make different moves/choices/decisions (within the constraints of your "character") but the game lives on, creating alternate worlds & alternate lives to what you live in. In the world you meet people not necessarily out of choice. It is like life, but manipulated by all the players' "characters" & some randomness. So, this is not Second Life. This is an environment which creates "life" for you & you get to live through it. Hence, the ask for the emphasis to shift from player prowess to game's intelligence & ability to create something like this.</div>Erotemehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03677513867884448593noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9766640.post-76805200081633872292011-10-22T19:55:00.000+05:302011-10-22T21:11:11.005+05:30Steve Jobs : What he wasn't<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<blockquote>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Q: Do you see yourself sometimes as Nabokov the writer isolated from others, flaming sword to scourge them, an entertainer, a drudge, a genius, which? </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">N: The word "genius" is passed around rather generously, isn't it? At least in English, because its Russian counterpart, geniy, is a term brimming with a sort of throaty awe and is used only in the case of a very small number of writers, Shakespeare, Milton, Pushkin, Tolstoy. To such deeply beloved authors as Turgenev and Chekhov, Russians assign the thinner term, talant, talent, not genius. It is a bizarre example of semantic discrepancy—the same word being more substantial in one language than in another. Although my Russian and my English are practically coeval, I still feel appalled and puzzled at seeing "genius" applied to any important storyteller, such as Maupassant or Maugham. Genius still means to me, in my Russian fastidiousness and pride of phrase, a unique, dazzling gift, the genius of James Joyce, not the talent of Henry James. I'm afraid I have lost the thread of my reply to your question. What is your next one, please? </span></blockquote>
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This is from my beloved Nabokov who, by any count or measure, was a genius. Steve Jobs was not a genius by similar or more lenient calibrations. I shall definitely explain why & shall provide the lagniappe of further clarifications on what else he wasn't. The reason I write this post is because I hate hype & feel sorry for Julius Caeser (...the good is oft interred with their bones).<br />
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Steve Jobs has been variously called a genius, "Michelangelo of the digital age", technologist, etc. Jobs was none of this, really. I shall break down his sobriquets into two major categories, viz., technologist & creative genius, and show you why he was neither of these. If you have no patience for reading through this or have infinite faith in my reasoning, search for "To quickly summarise" and read thereafter.<br />
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I would think a technologist is one who has his skin in the design decisions & implementation of hardware and/or software. The chief minister of Karnataka who opened the doors for MNC software firms is not a technologist no matter what one might have to say about his vision of growing the much abused "Bangalored" word. A technologist must either be an inventor or someone who has been able to lead a team of fellow technologists to create something in which he had a major say or contribution. If all he does is buys pizza for that team and/or pays salaries for that team, he is not a technologist. The devices that we associate with Apple (and mistakenly with Jobs) are the Macs, iPods, iPhones & iPads. Let us take each device and see how much of a contribution Jobs made to them.<br />
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Jobs is assumed to have created the Apple computers. Actually it was Steve Wozniak who did the real creation while Jobs did the marketing & handled the business side of things. This is clear from records of Woz creating the personal computer which took input from the keyboard & displayed characters on a screen. What are those records? USPTO Patents 4,136,359 , 4,210,959 , 4,217,604 & 4,278,972 where he is the sole inventor & not a shabby name along with half a dozen other "inventors" claiming some trivial inventions (you will understand why I say this). Being an inventor myself (yes, listed on the USPTO) I know the difference between being a sole inventor & being someone amongst half a dozen other inventors. In the noise, it is rarely clear who really came up with the idea & frankly, Jobs was shrewd enough to project things as if they were his. The Disk II interface of the Apple II was designed solely by Woz. Most of the hardware came from elsewhere. So most of the earlier line of Apple products had very little contribution (if any) from Jobs & were nearly entirely from Woz.<br />
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Let us now skip over the controversial years (when Jobs attempted a coup and was instead ousted from the company he co-founded) & head straight into 2000 when he became CEO. Even the iMac G3 was designed by Jonathan Ive & this is not something Jobs whipped up. The PowerMac design has Jobs' name on it which doesn't make sense to me given that it was the time when he was interim CEO & the design has all the traits of Ive's team. Still he has a patent with his name amongst the many on it (and this is one of the slightly non-trivial ones). The MacBooks & PowerMacs that were released thereafter might have had his stamp of approval on them, but Jobs did not make technical or technological decisions regarding their design. The only decision which could be considered technological (though it was clearly & provably business) decision was running on the Intel family of processors.<br />
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The Oh-so-famous iPod has been hailed as a great invention from Apple's stable. I wonder why! The click-wheel was not Apple's idea. Capacitive sensing existed since 1919. Even the design for this click wheel belongs to Synaptics & recently Quantum Research sued Apple over patent infringement. MP3 players existed even before iPod. What Apple designers (not technologists) managed to do was combine simplicity, capacity & elegance - mostly intangibles which don't make it a "world-transforming" device. I fail to understand how the iPod is considered a world-transforming device. All it has changed is Apple revenue & helped create the iTunes market. The iPod, like most Apple's devices, are premium-end products. Apple sold about 321 million iPods as of Dec 2010. According to ex-COO Tim Cook, the proportion of iPods bought by new buyers was 40% in 2007. If I keep that ratio, the number of unique people owning an iPod is 128 million. The world population is 6.97 billion (and that is probably just a portion of the real number) which means about 1.8% of the world population are unique owners of a world-changing device! Off the top of your mind, do you know of any device, owned by just 1.8% of the world & still being considered "world-changing"? Missiles are technically owned by an entire nation. Such is the blind stupidity of people to assume that something that reaches out to 1.8% of the world (and these are people who can afford the premium products of Apple) is world changing.<br />
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Similar observations can be made of the iPhone. The device is elegant, sleek & works well but there is nothing mind-blowing in any of its components which are truly Apple's. Ironically, it was rated as 8th amongst the greatest inventions, higher than the refridgerator & camera! It is this very idiocy & mindless devotion that was Steve Job's trump card. Were it not for this, there would be very little worship surrounding the devices that his company creates. I do not wish to descend to device-bashing as that is not the intent of this article. I would love to own an iPhone or iPad but I will not seek them out because I personally am not a gadget-freak. Lesser said about the iPad the better. The device is perfect for people who wish to play games & watch movies. Without neat universal extensions to external devices (USB, HDMI, microSD card support etc.) the iPad to me is not value for money. I can show it off & get people to request to hold it but that is that. Hence, to hail these as great inventions (which they aren't) or brilliant technological devices (which again they aren't) is mere gushing. To laud Steve Job's for inventing them or creating them is silly. He did not. There is not a single component in the iPad/Phone's system which was clearly created by Steve Jobs. <br />
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To me the interesting ideas in the iGadgets aren't new or unthought of. They existed before these iGadgets came into being. What makes them wonderful is the delightful design & clean interface. That is perhaps less of Steve Jobs' doing than of Jonathan Ive and his team. Even if I were to grant Jobs the greatness of design acumen etc. it is still not a technological gift that we are applauding. If one realises & accepts that, then we can also understand why I do not consider him a gift to the world of technology from a technical point of view.<br />
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What makes him a lesser technological person is the vulgarity with which he hunts down other competitors accusing them of patent infringement on the most childish grounds. He doesn't care about technological greatness or growth. Neither does he invent them nor does he let them grow & improve throughout the world. He was only interested in eliminating competition with lame excuses & making more & more money. The irony is that several companies, including Nokia, have sued Apple for patent infringement. Nokia actually claimed 40+ patents infringed. Apple had to settle out of court paying royalty & other charges. In short, Steve Jobs never invented a thing but was at everyone's throat for things that often didn't even belong to Apple. What he should be lauded for is his cunning aggression. Jobs didn't create a single thing (since the first computer that Woz built) which was a technological novelty or advancement. Apple has assembled several things & re-presented or re-designed several things, but that to me is it. They have created excellent marketing campaigns and been aggressive hounds in eliminating competition, but to call that genius or compare Steve Jobs to Edison is ridiculous (except for the Edison vs Tesla episode which can be likened to Jobs' instinctive way of doing things).<br />
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In summary, Steve Jobs never invented a single thing, was not singularly responsible for the design of any of the iGadgets, has design patents (and most of them ridiculously trivial as I shall show, shortly), has inhibited competitors from marketing their own versions of iGadgets while he (and Apple) continued to violate several intellectual properties of other companies and finally, & most importantly, hardly ever made a technological decision beyond okaying the Intel platform & perhaps some minor decisions on what went into some of the iGadgets. How does that make this man a technological genius? To even liken him to Michelangelo is vulgar. To compare him to Walt Disney or Edison is a stretch of imagination. He is at best an excellent marketer of technology with a knack for recognising that people love shiny things.<br />
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The New York Times was at least partly honest in summarising the same thing:<br />
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<blockquote>
<strong><em>Mr. Jobs was neither a hardware engineer nor a software programmer, nor did he think of himself as a manager. He considered himself a technology leader, choosing the best people possible, encouraging and prodding them, and making the final call on product design.</em></strong></blockquote>
Randall Thorne (supposedly a big shot) claims that "Every creative person on this planet has used Steve Jobs #Apple products to inspire or create". I consider myself creative enough to let the world know that I have never used a single Apple product to create anything on this blog or on Twitter or on canvas. It is thanks to such gushing fools (including Paul McCartney) that Jobs has been called "creative" & an "artist". Was Steve Jobs creative? I am not sure how to measure that. At one extreme is the claim that everyone is creative. I have never bought that. It is like saying everyone's a cook. Purely from an artistic point of view, he created nothing of note. If creativity is extended beyond that I do not know of him being a dancer, musician or anything like that. I haven't heard of any of his creative solutions to vital problems of the world. If there is one space he could be considered a creative genius then it must be in the space of iGadget design. But that to me seems far-fetched. His original design for the initial Apple computers reveals that he didn't have any noticeable taste. Jonathan Ive & his team visibly designed all the post-1997 devices & gadgets. Hence, I am not sure how to clearly mark him as a creative genius when he has merely been just one of the pair of several hands that pulled the iGadget design cart. Yes, he was the celebrity name in all those design ideas. At best I can only say that he had good taste and a commendable aesthetic sense. Without a single piece of evidence of his singular creative output, calling him a creative genius is misplaced.<br />
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Jobs has his name associated with 317 patents. A <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2011/08/24/technology/steve-jobs-patents.html">beautifully designed page</a> contains all the details. I love this page. It beautifully helps me prove that Steve Jobs perhaps felt so insecure that he had to patent every detour he took on the way to his office. Please spend sufficient time on that page. It is sufficient evidence of the stinginess of Steve Jobs disallowing people to arrive at the same design (and some are such trivial designs that nearly anyone who could draw would probably draw just that) & utilise basic technology which was perhaps never Apple's original creation in the first place. Allow me to highlight two such patents:<br />
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Ridiculous Patent 1: <a href="http://www.freepatentsonline.com/D616741.pdf">http://www.freepatentsonline.com/D616741.pdf</a><br />
CLAIM: We claim the ornamental design for a package, substantially as shown and described.<br />
Please review the images for this invention. We had a medicine box like this at home, back in 1990. This is the most common idea one would have about a smooth rounded box. Why does it take 14 people to design this? If I submitted this as my design drawing, not one design school would admit me in. So what is novel about this design? NOTHING! And this is one of the 317 patents that Jobs holds. This is not an exception. Nearly all the patents are equally if not more trivial.<br />
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Ridiculous Patent 2: <a href="http://www.freepatentsonline.com/D476149.pdf">http://www.freepatentsonline.com/D476149.pdf</a><br />
CLAIM: The ornamental design for an electronic device holder, substantially as shown and described. <br />
Again, please review the image & ask yourself whether there is anything unique or unimaginably novel about that design. Again, why does it take 12 people to design this? <br />
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<a href="http://www.patentlyapple.com/.a/6a0120a5580826970c014e5f91c1e8970c-pi"><img align="left" border="0" height="211" src="http://www.patentlyapple.com/.a/6a0120a5580826970c014e5f91c1e8970c-pi" title="Copyright Patently Apple.com" width="320" /></a><br />
There are many many more in the cache of Jobs' patent portfolio which range from ridiculously trivial to decent ideas (perhaps countable on two hands). I am not against the idea of someone being insecure & stupid enough to patent each and everything. There is defensive patenting & aggressive patenting. In the former I patent all my ideas & thoughts & deviation from known ideas & thoughts so that I am protected from other people suing me over infringement of intellectual property. Sickening as it may be, I am ok with that. In aggressive patenting, one patents every cough & sigh so that one can make money out of everyone's emotional outbursts because one cannot be sure of being substantially creative. It is like American cowboys patenting the "Hee haa" as they ride along & then suing Indian workers for their "Zor lagake aiii-sa" as containing the same vowels. Apple is, to the vulgar extreme, aggressive in their patenting strategy. Nearly all of these 317 patents & many others on which the CEO decided not to put his name (lest everyone smell a rat) are trivial and only force people to lose the opportunity to market with rather simple & common-sensical designs because Apple has patented them. And if they make modifications to the obvious, then Apple will sue them anyway for making only modifications.<br />
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Recently, Scott Hanselman also pointed out what I believe is a growing trend in associating fundamental obvious things as belonging to Apple's design stables. The cloud icon that Scott refers to is extremely common & sufficiently visible in schoolchildren's drawings. The entire article shows the various places where this icon was used way before Apple decided to make it "theirs". This is the vulgarity of Apple & Steve Jobs which make it impossible for me to associate creativity with them.<br />
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I am willing to grant the "obvious" design creativity to Jobs but when he goes hunting after people claiming every remotely resembling thing as his with a rabid vehemence that he has oft exhibited, I cannot imagine associating creativity with him.<br />
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Steve Jobs was vindictive when he gets to know that someone else was making more money than him or even getting popular on his account. When Gizmodo published an article based on the lost iPhone that they procured, Apple instructed police to excessive raids on the Gizmodo office. To keep things a secret might be Apple's strategy but if the device did get lost (and there are claims that an offer to return it was made which Apple didn't respond to) then why turn your frustration on a blog!? Again this year, the iPhone 5 was "misplaced" in a bar. Seems like Apple's marketing prefers creating hype in shady joints! There are rumours of Apple paying journalists to rave about their iGadgets. True or not, Apple has consistently presented the face of one who will not tolerate anyone in the vicinity behaving contrary to their preferences. If the Gizmodo episode & other rumours are merely to be forgotten, then at least the latest report where Jobs was clearly quoted as being vehement & murderous about Android's success is sufficient evidence that Jobs was not even remotely a man to be considered creative. While jealousy is often a trait of the creative, being sickeningly vindictive is not (IMO). Jobs called Android a stolen device & a grand theft. Coming from a man who has repeatedly stolen inventions (genuine, and not mere ornamental designs) like the mouse, GUI, clickwheel etc. this is ironic & at once stupidly misplaced. Android is clearly based on the Linux OS. iOS is not(XNU). If they are clones & grand thefts, why would someone want an iPhone when they have freely upgradeable & open systems like the Android? Android is hardly a clone of the iOS. Still, the blood-thirsty Jobs, even while nearing his death, preferred to vow hell for Android. More details are available in the reference section below. Here is an excerpt from an article about Motorola's attempt at annulling some of Apple's patents:<br />
<br />
<blockquote>
<em><strong>Motorola said in its filing that the ideas in the patents "would have been obvious" to anyone in the industry, given the existence of prior art, and said they included "vague and indefinite and incorporate limitations that are neither disclosed, described, explained, nor enabled by the specification".</strong></em></blockquote>
To quickly summarise, Jobs invented nothing, created no new technology nor spearheaded any technological invention. His patents are design patents (primarily) where he is just one of the dozen-plus names. He never cared about technology enriching people's lives (else why create a ruckus about a free Android selling so well?). He solely cared only about making money by marketing shiny iGadgets to a premium section of the market. His design ideas (which hardly are his) are so obvious that every decade old object in my house feels like an infringement. Apple & Jobs have shamelessly been thieves of technological inventions (true ones and not mere twinkles to existing ideas) over the past several decades but act like blood-thirsty hounds when competitors use seemingly similar ideas to sell their products.<br />
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Steve Jobs had the cunning to know how to manufacture & market technological products without technical complexity. He made them beautiful. He made them desirable. He also made them closed & unavailable for tinkering with (as he once did & hence, was able to market the stuff Woz created). What he had were the following:<br />
<div>
</div>
<div>
</div>
<ol style="text-align: left;">
<li>An interesting vision of where money could be made in technology (shiny consumer electronics)</li>
<li>An uncanny finger on the pulse of the population that had disposable income coupled with an aesthetic taste of things worth possessing</li>
<li>A lot of luck</li>
</ol>
So is Apple bad? Jobs was evil? Frankly, I don't care. What he wasn't was creative or a genius. He was a shrewd, cunning, aggressive marketing expert. He had a decent sense of aesthetics & could recognise good design. These are all I think one can remember him for. He changed the world in no way other than giving it a few more shiny devices. By that measure, Nike, Lexus, Zippo, Harley Davidson and several other companies have done & continue to do the same. I wouldn't even think they have scratched the surface of the world let alone change it. Steve Jobs was a money maker (I won't even call him a capitalist in an Ayn Rand sense) & not a technologist. Had he found tonnes of oil wells, he might have dropped it all & gotten into the oil business. Was he a good man? I didn't know him to call him that or anything otherwise, but going by Woz's claims of being cheated by Jobs, and Apple employees who felt micromanaged by Jobs & seeing how he behaved in the face of competition, I do not regret not knowing him. He clearly had no intention of giving back to society or creating products/offerings which could be of use to a vaster & needier population. On the contrary, he stymied competition which might have made technology accessible to a vast population. I might even echo Stallman's sentiments slightly because I think the world of technology is better off without him & his ridiculous patent frenzy. The world of design will continue to grow with or without him. If Apple shuts down due to a lack of a strong aggressive leader, then there is no loss to the world. I am certain better companies will come and go.<br />
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<br />
Ridiculous praise/mourning for Steve Jobs:<br />
<a href="http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/2011/10/07/2011-10-07_another_genius_lost_steve_jobs_changed_the_world__but_cancer_couldnt_care_less.html">http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/2011/10/07/2011-10-07_another_genius_lost_steve_jobs_changed_the_world__but_cancer_couldnt_care_less.html</a> (why ask the question about cancer sparing Jobs when that wasn't asked of anyone who died of cancer?)<br />
<a href="http://www.rollingstone.com/culture/news/tributes-pour-in-for-steve-jobs-20111006">http://www.rollingstone.com/culture/news/tributes-pour-in-for-steve-jobs-20111006</a><br />
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Obits from around the world:<br />
An honest one: <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/technology-obituaries/8810037/Steve-Jobs-obituary.html">http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/technology-obituaries/8810037/Steve-Jobs-obituary.html</a><br />
<a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/06/business/steve-jobs-of-apple-dies-at-56.html?_r=1">http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/06/business/steve-jobs-of-apple-dies-at-56.html?_r=1</a><br />
<a href="http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424053111904787404576530810128779104.html?mod=WSJ_Opinion_MIDDLETopOpinion">http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424053111904787404576530810128779104.html?mod=WSJ_Opinion_MIDDLETopOpinion</a><br />
<a href="http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424053111904875404576530460630468114.html?mod=WSJ_Opinion_MIDDLETopOpinion">http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424053111904875404576530460630468114.html?mod=WSJ_Opinion_MIDDLETopOpinion</a><br />
<a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/10/06/steve-jobs-obituary_n_997492.html">http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/10/06/steve-jobs-obituary_n_997492.html</a><br />
<br />
Perspective about Steve Jobs:<br />
<a href="http://articles.cnn.com/2011-10-05/tech/tech_innovation_steve-jobs-philosophy_1_tim-cook-steve-jobs-apple-s-ceo?_s=PM:TECH">http://articles.cnn.com/2011-10-05/tech/tech_innovation_steve-jobs-philosophy_1_tim-cook-steve-jobs-apple-s-ceo?_s=PM:TECH</a><br />
<a href="http://mises.org/daily/5613/Steve-Jobs-and-the-Beautification-of-Capitalism">http://mises.org/daily/5613/Steve-Jobs-and-the-Beautification-of-Capitalism</a><br />
<a href="http://www.economist.com/blogs/democracyinamerica/2011/08/steve-jobs">http://www.economist.com/blogs/democracyinamerica/2011/08/steve-jobs</a><br />
<a href="http://betanews.com/2011/04/25/the-crimes-of-the-chinese-foxconn-steve-jobs-and-ourselves/">http://betanews.com/2011/04/25/the-crimes-of-the-chinese-foxconn-steve-jobs-and-ourselves/</a><br />
<br />
Reference:<br />
Click Wheel: <a href="http://www.electronicsweekly.com/Articles/23/01/2007/40565/Apple-faces-patent-claim-over-iPod-touch-sensor-technology.htm">http://www.electronicsweekly.com/Articles/23/01/2007/40565/Apple-faces-patent-claim-over-iPod-touch-sensor-technology.htm</a><br />
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Sales Data: <a href="http://www.onlinemarketing-trends.com/2011/02/apple-sales-vs-iphone-sales-vs-ipod.html">http://www.onlinemarketing-trends.com/2011/02/apple-sales-vs-iphone-sales-vs-ipod.html</a></div>
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Steve Jobs' patent: <a href="http://www.freepatentsonline.com/D418490.pdf">http://www.freepatentsonline.com/D418490.pdf</a></div>
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Randall Thorne's ridiculous tweet: <a href="http://ryersonian.ca/article/16294/">http://ryersonian.ca/article/16294/</a></div>
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Scott Hanselman's page: <a href="http://www.hanselman.com/blog/ThereIsOnlyOneCloudIconInTheEntireUniverse.aspx">http://www.hanselman.com/blog/ThereIsOnlyOneCloudIconInTheEntireUniverse.aspx</a></div>
Jobs' rant against Android: <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-15400984">http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-15400984</a><br />
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Tabulated discussion about Android vs iOS: <a href="http://fosspatents.blogspot.com/2011/07/these-tables-show-how-android-infringes.html">http://fosspatents.blogspot.com/2011/07/these-tables-show-how-android-infringes.html</a></div>
Motorola asks to annul Apple's patents: <a href="http://www.zdnet.co.uk/news/mobile-devices/2010/10/18/motorola-asks-court-to-invalidate-iphone-patents-40090563/">http://www.zdnet.co.uk/news/mobile-devices/2010/10/18/motorola-asks-court-to-invalidate-iphone-patents-40090563/</a><br />
Workers World's take: <a href="http://www.workers.org/2011/us/steve_jobs_1020/">http://www.workers.org/2011/us/steve_jobs_1020/</a> <br />
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A list of Jobs' patents: <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2011/08/24/technology/steve-jobs-patents.html">http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2011/08/24/technology/steve-jobs-patents.html</a> </div>
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Criticism about Apple: <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Criticism_of_Apple_Inc">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Criticism_of_Apple_Inc</a>. </div>
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Apple & factories in China: <a href="http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/regions/asia-pacific/china/111007/steve-jobs-dead-china-economy-foxconn-labor-abuses">http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/regions/asia-pacific/china/111007/steve-jobs-dead-china-economy-foxconn-labor-abuses</a> </div>
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A take on some of Jobs' patents: <a href="http://technologizer.com/2009/05/28/the-patents-of-steve-jobs/">http://technologizer.com/2009/05/28/the-patents-of-steve-jobs/</a> </div>
Stallman on Jobs: <a href="http://stallman.org/archives/2011-jul-oct.html#06_October_2011_(Steve_Jobs">http://stallman.org/archives/2011-jul-oct.html#06_October_2011_(Steve_Jobs</a>)</div>Erotemehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03677513867884448593noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9766640.post-85590643929297903992011-09-22T21:44:00.000+05:302011-09-22T21:46:53.578+05:30The Gateway to all Beauty<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
The birds chirped not that day. Like the bulge of a river nearing an estuary, they knew that something unnerving was around the bend of Time, but what it exactly was, their unimaginative minds, knew not. This was the day when all changed and even the sharpest minds & most sensitive soul would fail beyond that bend of hours to conjure the fabric of breath before that day.<br />
The Devil was on his evening stroll. He looked at the animals slinking behind trees & wondered why they would be so uneasy in the presence of He who guarded their souls from corruption. He walked to a fawn and placed his palm on her cheek. Going down on his knees, he held the fawn in the curve of his breast. All the other animals rushed to Him as did the flowers & leaves. There wasn't an infinite which could fill the expanse of his soothing, murmuring bosom. Behind the shield of his reassuring calm, he realised it was time to meet His brother.<br />
It is strange how the ways of the Devil are. Movement is exaggerated & in that Time is created. Where he wishes not Time, the landscape transforms into the image in His mind while Time awaits a cue. Where he deals only in beauty & joy he withdraws not his pacifying tunes. Never has man known beauty to arrive & cease to be so except over time. When beauty is realised, it stays thus. In that realm, which is unbounded, in that moment, which is unclocked, in that breath, which is never exhaled, one unites with the Devil to recognise & realise beauty & calm like nothing of mental machination can summon from the most austere depths of arrogated chastity & holiness. Hence, the animals & flowers & leaves & the sagging bark of the eucalyptus tree felt a great peace against the caressing love of the Devil although the Devil was at that very instant at the doorsteps of God.<br />
God was visibly disturbed. Not because he sensed his brother's presence in his mansion & certainly not because he had witnessed the affection of the creatures of the world he assumed was his. He anyway didn't care about the souls of animals or insensate beings. He had met Zinkalov in the morning & was unhappy. Zinkalov, along with Setura, was God's favourite creation. Zinkalov was given the mind of God's smile & the muscle of God's sweat. Setura was given the beauty stolen from the clouds (and what we see today up in the sky are just the breaths of clouds which once sashayed on this earth, gorgeous, spell-binding & voluptuous) & the eyes of the river Bhira. How the Devil collected the souls of these dying creatures is another tale which I will let Sdirut, the crow, tell you some other day. It should suffice to say that Bhira, who once was the vines to the heavens & home to all who smiled, nearly died without her eyes, till the Devil rushed to her side & gave her wetness in exchange for her eyes. Now do you know why rivers are wet?<br />
Zinkalov hadn't done anything wrong. He was largely incapable of it. The Devil himself had tutored him. All he did was hum a tune when he had finished running many furlongs with Ghiyu, the leopard. Such was the joy that filled his inhuman heart that he couldn't help but break into a song of unheard tune. God was passing by & that sight & sound made him nervous.<br />
The Devil walked into the room where God flounced between couch & window & floor. Light broke & coughed & shadows missed the lee of the world. At the sight of the Devil, light frowned & darkened. God turned to acknowledge his brother.<br />
"Come, my blood."<br />
"Greetings, one born from the same chalice."<br />
"You fail not to remind me of misty days, Devil."<br />
"One must only forget what was an illusion, my brother. The rest is the substance of our very marrow."<br />
"I am not in a mood to argue, brother. Sit & drink some wine while I fret."<br />
"Such wine wets not my throat, brother. Tell me, what ails you?"<br />
"Zinkalov!"<br />
"But he is your blood, brother."<br />
"That doesn't rid him of the ability to crease my forehead"<br />
"But how can one, whose every act is pure joy & entertainment, worry you?"<br />
"Speak not as though you don't know, Devil. It might well be you who taught him these secrets."<br />
"If my tutelage has produced one who is happy & sufficient, then I will never let it be a secret."<br />
"Did you teach him to feel beauty?"<br />
"I beg your pardon!"<br />
"Did you teach him to open his heart & soul to beauty?"<br />
"Most certainly we were heading that way."<br />
"He seems to have overtaken you, dear brother!"<br />
"Bravo!"<br />
"What!? You revel in a creation that supersedes you?"<br />
"Most certainly!"<br />
"How ridiculous! Why create if you are to be made obsolete?"<br />
"But how do I become obsolete?"<br />
"Because he now knows how to experience beauty. He knows how to smile with the Sun & Moon. He knows how to sing with Bhira & her minions. He gallops with Ghiyu & revels in the breeze that caresses his visage. In all this, he doesn't need me. Why! He doesn't even need you. How could you teach him to be thus?"<br />
"But why should he need you or me?"<br />
"Why then are we needed? We who are the creator of all things, creator of Zinkalov & Setura - the most magnificent of all creations - will be soon forgotten as all these creations of ours revel in beauty & joy not needing us anymore. What is a God who will be forgotten?"<br />
"But you will still be loved, my brother. Zinkalov, in all his sojourns, fails not to love you or laugh with me. Setura too shall learn to ride the winds & become fruit & fish while returning to her originally conceived form. In none of them will she love you less. What then worries you?"<br />
"To be loved is less flattering than to be needed, Devil."<br />
"And to be needed is more acerbic than to be hated, brother."<br />
"What do you know! You need no one & no one needs you."<br />
"Which is why I know."<br />
God hurled a vase at his painting of tomorrow's sunrise. He shrieked & howled & trembled in rage.<br />
"Shut up, Devil. I cannot allow my creation to not need me, to not funnel all their joy through me & only when I allow it, holding it back from them when I deem fit often for no other reason than to test their love for me."<br />
"And that would prove what? That they do love you? That they don't have the capacity to love you through all storms? That they will love you only when faced with trials?"<br />
"Whatever it proves it will provide me with their love & deny them the right to seek anything devoid of me."<br />
"All it will prove is that you need them."<br />
"How dare you!"<br />
God in his rage flung his thunderbolt out of the window at Zinkalov & Setura as she began to learn from him to hum. In the blink of an eye God's creations were turned to ash & Devil smiled, for ashes are better than the bound. He left the mansion of God knowing he'd have to return soon to soothe God.<br />
A sparrow's flight passed before the Devil decided to return to the mansion. As he walked in, he heard God's laughter & the bile rose to the tone of it. He ran up the stairs only to find God staggering over the balcony wall. The Devil rushed to hold him back & saw two creatures more beautiful than Zinkalov & Setura roaming the gardens of Eden. They were shaped beautifully & smelled like fresh dew. He also noticed that all trees were rooted to the ground & fish were not chattering on the swings but had taken to hiding within Bhira.<br />
"Good evening, my brother."<br />
"Devil, Devil! Aah! Just the one I want to see. See! Behold my finest creations, my brother."<br />
"They are beautiful."<br />
"That is Adam. That is Eve."<br />
"When should I start tutoring them?"<br />
"Never!" snapped God, scowling.<br />
"Hmmm"<br />
"I have taught them all that they need to know & also instilled in them great gratitude for being created."<br />
"I see that the trees do not fly anymore."<br />
"I needed something to create their mind with."<br />
"And the chatter of fish?"<br />
"That is my most remarkable trick, Devil."<br />
"Whatever it may be, you cannot keep them from being tutored by me. All creatures have to be tutored by me. That is the agreement."<br />
"Go on, teach them your stuff."<br />
"You seem considerably at ease with that proposition."<br />
"Because I am, dear Devil."<br />
"You do know I will teach them to enjoy beauty & experience joy & love each other in ways I just invented over lunch. I will teach them ..."<br />
"But in all that teaching", interrupted God,"You cannot teach them to do what will be their unbecoming & their very chain that tethers them to me."<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjby7wonDaf3cphTtA-syu7qf6VCSCqEs2bgGZCZZkCaPy595-uqw7U2SoItyRpZ49sOVfVPeOw0Ze5DVFwf1ljjZx8ZtajLuzKkC0Bczp5KMjqDYyzt2t97qzD6ErZ7tR0YZkt/s1600/Undescribed.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="What shall I call this?" border="0" height="242" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjby7wonDaf3cphTtA-syu7qf6VCSCqEs2bgGZCZZkCaPy595-uqw7U2SoItyRpZ49sOVfVPeOw0Ze5DVFwf1ljjZx8ZtajLuzKkC0Bczp5KMjqDYyzt2t97qzD6ErZ7tR0YZkt/s320/Undescribed.jpg" title="What shall I call this?" width="320" /></a></div>
The Devil looked puzzled & then remembered the fawn's shivering frame. He turned pale & so did all the roses in the world.<br />
"No!"<br />
"Yes, darling Devil. I did it."<br />
"No!"<br />
"Yes, yes, yes. I have taught them words. I have taught them language. I have taught them how to create more & more languages. I have taught them how to create scripts & sounds. I have taught them all the decadent ways of wanting to put their experiences in words."<br />
"No!"<br />
"Yes, my sweet not-so-clever Devil. They will soon write paeans. They will write tales & allegories. They will write poems & bleeding sonnets. They will usher in ballads & songs to cry their hearts out & woo their latest fancies."<br />
"No!" whispered Devil, struggling to hold the balustrades.<br />
"Yes! Your favourite love shall be quaquaversal degenerate, aching to be captured in words failing which, it shall be deemed non-existent or irrelevant."<br />
"How could you!"<br />
"Oh! I can do anything, dear brother. But you must listen to the masterstroke. After every slice of beauty captured in words, after every object is wrapped in sounds, when all that is felt is hurriedly scribbled as patterns that others ache to learn lest they miss out on "beauty", there is the lagniappe of my genius. When they do find or invent words for all their bursting feelings, they will always find them inadequate. And then, dear brother, they will turn to me whom - alone - they cannot express in words."<br />
And the Devil turned to look at those two unsuspecting souls through teary eyes & knew what would become of him & the rest of his world.</div>
Erotemehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03677513867884448593noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9766640.post-68665968684256820522011-03-25T07:58:00.003+05:302011-03-25T08:28:13.644+05:30PS: I love you<p>I sleep in my cereal bowl</p><p>And walk the length of mirrors.</p><p>My eye-lashes wilt in Spring</p><p>And I drink spoonsful of cake.</p><p>I talk to flowers</p><p>In the potpourri bowl.</p><p>I see stars by the sun</p><p>And sweat under the blazing moon.</p><p>These distances I walk</p><p>To quiet my chattering nose.</p><p>On your birthday</p><p>I wish little puppies and get bitten</p><p>But unlike yours.</p><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpp69SQAWUA5Hplv1FkpoQrDIEG9t_H2274JQC949qcom8Z_DCPBf0u5C6yBafiAnOf4n1cM3wd9dEp6iKY68aLr8WQ-RI_ZwFiEtJSVPdlPgcEeIP40BTbWxGdsF_UbcDO4z8/s1600/TranquilBoat.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpp69SQAWUA5Hplv1FkpoQrDIEG9t_H2274JQC949qcom8Z_DCPBf0u5C6yBafiAnOf4n1cM3wd9dEp6iKY68aLr8WQ-RI_ZwFiEtJSVPdlPgcEeIP40BTbWxGdsF_UbcDO4z8/s400/TranquilBoat.jpg" border="0" alt="Stranded in the sea of you" title="Stranded in the sea of you" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5587846043230147522" /></a><p>The pirouetting flowers in their descent</p><p>Sigh like you did after we made love.</p><p>The names that endeared you</p><p>I have given to doors of my house</p><p>Which I hug on my way out.</p><p>The global itch of wanting you</p><p>I feel on my thumb and a little</p><p>On my little toe.</p><p>What Time had given me</p><p>I lost amongst the broken</p><p>Clocks in my world.</p><p>And this sepia tinted present </p><p>Envies colourful memories</p><p>Of you and me</p><p>And our two cats</p><p>Whose tails I would grab.</p><p>Today as I think of you</p><p>And feed my dog, newspaper</p><p>While reading the growing ice</p><p>In the refrigerator,</p><p>I smile at the curtains around my waist</p><p>And how you righted</p><p>My once topsy-turvy world.</p>Erotemehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03677513867884448593noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9766640.post-41411980591026976202011-03-08T20:17:00.005+05:302011-03-08T20:23:21.509+05:30Management PhD Ranking 2010<p>I know this is really late in the day with <a href="http://ft.com/" target="_blank">FT.com</a> about to come out with their ranking for 2011. Nevertheless, here is a summary that might help. This is an annual feature I do (at least in <a href="http://inagardencalledlife.blogspot.com/2008/03/phd-ranking.html" target="_blank">2008</a> and <a href="http://inagardencalledlife.blogspot.com/2009/06/phd-management-ranking-2009.html" target="_blank">2009</a>) for the same clueless reasons as mentioned in those posts. I still think that there is no reliable and good ranking of PhD programs out there. You would need to click on the image below or ruin your eyes! </p><p><br /></p><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFVKHjUdAQXplcqQjcpLOTn8Y8gdmbcodR15TVt4YyvpKxplNfEhKsyM3Lww1QyzCDAHZwPAYVUdNKV8DENPlT0Ost0NHxEDdbFTcwdszW3b6p6Kno6Sk-wNdkcmaoOWWeYpiF/s1600/2010PhDRanking.png"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 305px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFVKHjUdAQXplcqQjcpLOTn8Y8gdmbcodR15TVt4YyvpKxplNfEhKsyM3Lww1QyzCDAHZwPAYVUdNKV8DENPlT0Ost0NHxEDdbFTcwdszW3b6p6Kno6Sk-wNdkcmaoOWWeYpiF/s400/2010PhDRanking.png" border="0" alt="2010 Management PhD Ranking" title="2010 Management PhD Ranking" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5581721914746477186" /></a>Erotemehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03677513867884448593noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9766640.post-67322992096003550922011-03-07T09:20:00.000+05:302011-03-07T09:20:00.384+05:30Tweet Recipes - Part 2<ol><li>Sundried tomatoes wrapped in potato slices, brushed with herb oil & baked. Add half an olive to the toothpick that runs through this & serve</li><li>Brush cauliflowerlets with ginger-honey & char/grill. Mix salt+lemon juice+tabasco sauce+balsamic vin. & spray on each flower while hot.</li><li>Pressure cook small colacasia till tender, marinate in tamarind water+chili pow., dust with gram flour & deep fry with curry leaves+mustard</li><li>Mildly blanched spinach leaves (whole) fried crisp (please be attentive to the leaves) and tossed with roasted white sesame seeds</li><li>One ripe guava, peeled/de-seeded, processed with green chilis+rock salt+oil. Add finely chopped tomatoes if you like. Dip for nachos/grissini</li><li>Hollow tomatoes rubbed(in&out) with oil, stuffed with cooked parsley rice+blanched peas+harissa. Bake till crinkled and done.</li><li>Char grilled zucchini wedges (balsamic vin. braised) tossed in sour cream+finely chopped caramelised onions+finely cut green chili+parsley</li><li>Halve potatoes, scoop to make a cup, deep fry & (when cooled) stuff with mix of cooked corn+liquid cheese+chili flakes+chopped tomatoes</li><li>Soften rice paper (in hot water). Place basil leaf+seared crumbled tofu+peanut pow.+julienned sauteed red bell pepp+basil leaf. Roll n wrap.</li><li>Blanche shallot and marinate in lemon juice+tamari ;-). Pat dry and sautee with cumin seeds. Top with fresh grated ginger. Use a toothpick.</li><li>In thin rice-flour dough circles place a little chopped sundried tomatoes+steamed corn+mozzarella cheese, fold like a garlic bulb & steam.</li><li>Marinate long thin strips of cucumber in plain vinegar+lemon juice (2 hrs). Spread paste of black pepper pow.+spring-onion greens+oil. Roll.</li><li>Finely dice gooseberries, saute with whole garlic till tender. Add oily harissa+capers+crushed walnuts/pine nuts(optional). Dip or spread</li></ol>Erotemehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03677513867884448593noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9766640.post-87945440039537316622011-03-07T06:56:00.005+05:302011-03-07T07:19:34.350+05:30Tweet Recipes - Part 1<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7JLVgX-MQEz-tO9OOtm9begjsPIAOXgICQaR8qw28JS1n_guS9kHaHhLPephLPNsRlMYJNvf-rSAbUHHsIRBAuZBhbLBER2BnTOXtWuz5e7vgQftHYGfRaAT7F_qoxvR_PVMZ/s1600/EggplantAmbotik.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7JLVgX-MQEz-tO9OOtm9begjsPIAOXgICQaR8qw28JS1n_guS9kHaHhLPephLPNsRlMYJNvf-rSAbUHHsIRBAuZBhbLBER2BnTOXtWuz5e7vgQftHYGfRaAT7F_qoxvR_PVMZ/s400/EggplantAmbotik.jpg" border="0" alt="Eggplant Ambotik" title="Eggplant Ambotik" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5581148663591483170" /></a><br /><p>This weekend I had this sudden whim to create recipes within 140 characters. I had nevertheless, stated a few things which would need to be taken for granted: Wherever I mention rice I mean Basmati, GM is garam masala. Oil - olive oil & salt will never be mentioned.</p><p>Given that, it still was a challenge to create them recipes! I enjoyed it thoroughly as it was a departure from my usual poetry/philosophy/etc. The result was 25 recipes in 1.5 days.</p><p>Most of these were created only for tweeting. Couple of them are variants to known recipes. So enjoy! As I also tweeted, I think it is my dream to distill all cooking to N vital techniques beyond which all will be pure imagination.</p><p>Each recipe below is intended to be complete assuming the basic and standard stuff are taken care of. How much to bake? How much to sautee? How much salt? Should I do this before or after stir-frying? These are things you should ask the veggies in the pan.</p><p><br /></p><ol><br /><li>Thin yam slices, stir-fried in garlic-butter and oil, tossed with rosemary. Brushing a ginger-sherry glaze would also work fine.</li><br /><li>Mashed sweet potato balls with an embedded jalapeno slice, dusted with flour, a little butter & again flour before deep frying.</li><br /><li>Cooked mint rice wrapped in lettuce leaves (tied with tender chives) & steamed (like dim-sums). Mild sauteeing after steaming is also ok.</li><br /><li>Marinate small, tender slit okra in chili powder mixed with tamarind water. Stir-fry okra with white sesame, basting with remaining liquid.</li><br /><li>Conchiglie, cooked and tossed in balsamic-braised babycorn and charred tomato wedges with extra oil. Rosemary, basil & parmesan</li><br /><li>Char oiled red bell peppers,de-vein/seed & chop fine. Add to sauteed garlic+balsamic vin.+chili pow. Cool & add sour cream+basil.Nachos dip</li><br /><li>But where will you find a banana stem? :-) Sliced & diced banana stem marinated(min. 3 hrs) in lemon juice+sauteed mustard+green chili.</li><br /><li>Blanched broccoli+steamed corn+sundried tomatoes+pine nuts+roasted white sesame+Feta+kalamata olives tossed in lemon+oil+balsamic vinegar.</li><br /><li>Button mushrooms,stems removed,stuffed with mix of grated mozzarella+sauteed whole garlic+harissa(cheese on top).Dusted with thyme and baked</li><br /><li>Tender eggplant/brinjal wedges cooked till near dry in ambotik masala+water added to caramelised onions.</li><br /><li>Batter of gram(3 cups)& rice(1/4 c)flour+chili pow+asafoetida pow+salt. Slices of potato/eggplant/carrot/onion dipped in this & deep fried.</li><br /><li>Diced red pumpkin+sauteed julienned red bell peppers cooked near-dry in coconut milk+sauteed onions+veg broth+curry paste.Season accordingly</li><br /></ol>Erotemehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03677513867884448593noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9766640.post-19807778391493340882011-02-19T10:11:00.001+05:302011-02-19T10:12:43.736+05:30Richard Feynman - Software Engineer<p>I simply have to share this link although it isn't in tune with the personality of this blog.</p><p> <a href="http://blogs.msdn.com/b/ericlippert/archive/2011/02/14/what-would-feynman-do.aspx">http://blogs.msdn.com/b/ericlippert/archive/2011/02/14/what-would-feynman-do.aspx</a> </p>Erotemehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03677513867884448593noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9766640.post-74591880570402817592011-02-18T17:00:00.001+05:302011-02-18T21:05:39.777+05:30Khaali Haath Shaam Aayi Hai<p>Recently, I had the good fortune of translating a beautiful song for a dear friend who isn't Indian. I wanted to introduce her to non-classical Indian music which could very well represent what it once was. I chose this song.</p><p>This song is a splendid piece of poetry by Gulzar-sahab sung beautifully by Asha Bhosle-ji. The music is by Pancham-da. Dusky beauty Rekha is quite perfect for this song. The movie is Ijaazat. The YouTube video below is slightly out of sync though that doesn't spoil the song itself. There are other versions which would require you to sign in (wonder why, though).</p><p><br /></p><div><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2t-KyIMdjOw" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 204); "><iframe title="YouTube video player" width="480" height="390" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/xFBQm-wSwcE" frameborder="0"></iframe></a></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><div>Khaali haath shaam aayi hai, khaali haath jayegi</div><div>aaj bhi na aaya koi,</div><div>aaj bhi na aaya koi, khaali laut jayegi</div><div>Khaali haath shaam aayi hai, khaali haath jayegi</div><div>khaali haath shaam aayi hai</div><div><br /></div></div><blockquote style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 40px; border-top-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-width: initial; border-color: initial; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; "><blockquote style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 40px; border-top-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-width: initial; border-color: initial; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; "><blockquote style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 40px; border-top-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-width: initial; border-color: initial; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; "><blockquote style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 40px; border-top-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-width: initial; border-color: initial; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; "><blockquote style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 40px; border-top-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-width: initial; border-color: initial; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; "><div><div>Empty handed has the evening come, empty handed it will depart.</div></div></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote><blockquote style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 40px; border-top-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-width: initial; border-color: initial; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; "><blockquote style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 40px; border-top-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-width: initial; border-color: initial; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; "><blockquote style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 40px; border-top-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-width: initial; border-color: initial; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; "><blockquote style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 40px; border-top-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-width: initial; border-color: initial; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; "><div><div><s>Today too, none has come</s></div><div>Today too, whom I await hasn't come</div></div></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote><blockquote style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 40px; border-top-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-width: initial; border-color: initial; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; "><blockquote style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 40px; border-top-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-width: initial; border-color: initial; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; "><blockquote style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 40px; border-top-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-width: initial; border-color: initial; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; "><blockquote style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 40px; border-top-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-width: initial; border-color: initial; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; "><div><div>Today, having not come, emptiness will return.</div></div></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote><blockquote style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 40px; border-top-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-width: initial; border-color: initial; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; "><blockquote style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 40px; border-top-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-width: initial; border-color: initial; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; "><blockquote style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 40px; border-top-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-width: initial; border-color: initial; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; "><blockquote style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 40px; border-top-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-width: initial; border-color: initial; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; "><div><div>Empty handed has the evening come, empty handed it will depart.</div></div></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote><blockquote style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 40px; border-top-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-width: initial; border-color: initial; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; "><blockquote style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 40px; border-top-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-width: initial; border-color: initial; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; "><blockquote style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 40px; border-top-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-width: initial; border-color: initial; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; "><blockquote style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 40px; border-top-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-width: initial; border-color: initial; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; "><div><div>Empty handed has the evening come.</div></div></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote><div><div><br /></div><div>aaj bhi na aaye aansoon</div><div>aaj bhi na bheege naina</div><div>aaj bhi na aaye aansoon</div><div>aaj bhi na bheege naina</div><div>aaj bhi yeh kori raina(2), kori laut jayegi</div><div><br /></div></div><blockquote style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 40px; border-top-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-width: initial; border-color: initial; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; "><blockquote style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 40px; border-top-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-width: initial; border-color: initial; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; "><blockquote style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 40px; border-top-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-width: initial; border-color: initial; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; "><blockquote style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 40px; border-top-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-width: initial; border-color: initial; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; "><blockquote style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 40px; border-top-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-width: initial; border-color: initial; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; "><div><div>Today too tears do not well</div></div></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote><blockquote style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 40px; border-top-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-width: initial; border-color: initial; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; "><blockquote style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 40px; border-top-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-width: initial; border-color: initial; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; "><blockquote style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 40px; border-top-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-width: initial; border-color: initial; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; "><blockquote style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 40px; border-top-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-width: initial; border-color: initial; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; "><div><div>Today too my eyes aren't moist</div></div></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote><blockquote style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 40px; border-top-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-width: initial; border-color: initial; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; "><blockquote style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 40px; border-top-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-width: initial; border-color: initial; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; "><blockquote style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 40px; border-top-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-width: initial; border-color: initial; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; "><blockquote style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 40px; border-top-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-width: initial; border-color: initial; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; "><div><div><div>Today too tears do not well</div></div></div></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote><blockquote style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 40px; border-top-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-width: initial; border-color: initial; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; "><blockquote style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 40px; border-top-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-width: initial; border-color: initial; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; "><blockquote style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 40px; border-top-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-width: initial; border-color: initial; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; "><blockquote style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 40px; border-top-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-width: initial; border-color: initial; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; "><div><div><div>Today too my eyes aren't moist</div></div></div></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote><blockquote style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 40px; border-top-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-width: initial; border-color: initial; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; "><blockquote style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 40px; border-top-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-width: initial; border-color: initial; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; "><blockquote style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 40px; border-top-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-width: initial; border-color: initial; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; "><blockquote style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 40px; border-top-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-width: initial; border-color: initial; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; "><div><div>Today too they will be blank(2), and to the void return.</div></div></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote><div><div><br /></div><div>khaali haath shaam aayi hai, khaali haath jayegi</div><div>khaali haath shaam aayi hai</div><div><br /></div></div><blockquote style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 40px; border-top-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-width: initial; border-color: initial; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; "><blockquote style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 40px; border-top-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-width: initial; border-color: initial; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; "><blockquote style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 40px; border-top-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-width: initial; border-color: initial; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; "><blockquote style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 40px; border-top-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-width: initial; border-color: initial; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; "><blockquote style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 40px; border-top-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-width: initial; border-color: initial; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; "><div><div><div>Empty handed has the evening come, empty handed it will depart.</div></div></div></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote><blockquote style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 40px; border-top-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-width: initial; border-color: initial; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; "><blockquote style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 40px; border-top-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-width: initial; border-color: initial; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; "><blockquote style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 40px; border-top-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-width: initial; border-color: initial; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; "><blockquote style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 40px; border-top-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-width: initial; border-color: initial; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; "><div><div><div>Empty handed has the evening come.</div></div></div></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote><div><div><br /></div><div>raat ki siyahi koi,</div><div>aaye to mitaye naa</div><div>raat ki siyahi koi,</div><div>aaye to mitaye naa</div><div>aaj na mitaye to yeh(2), kal bhi laut aayegi</div><div><br /></div></div><blockquote style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 40px; border-top-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-width: initial; border-color: initial; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; "><blockquote style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 40px; border-top-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-width: initial; border-color: initial; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; "><blockquote style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 40px; border-top-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-width: initial; border-color: initial; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; "><blockquote style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 40px; border-top-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-width: initial; border-color: initial; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; "><blockquote style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 40px; border-top-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-width: initial; border-color: initial; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; "><div><div>This night's dark stain (siyahi is actually ink but can be interpreted as a dark stain too)</div></div></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote><blockquote style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 40px; border-top-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-width: initial; border-color: initial; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; "><blockquote style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 40px; border-top-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-width: initial; border-color: initial; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; "><blockquote style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 40px; border-top-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-width: initial; border-color: initial; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; "><blockquote style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 40px; border-top-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-width: initial; border-color: initial; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; "><div><div>Can be wiped if only someone would come</div></div></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote><blockquote style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 40px; border-top-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-width: initial; border-color: initial; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; "><blockquote style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 40px; border-top-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-width: initial; border-color: initial; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; "><blockquote style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 40px; border-top-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-width: initial; border-color: initial; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; "><blockquote style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 40px; border-top-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-width: initial; border-color: initial; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; "><div><div><div>This night's dark stain</div></div></div></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote><blockquote style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 40px; border-top-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-width: initial; border-color: initial; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; "><blockquote style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 40px; border-top-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-width: initial; border-color: initial; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; "><blockquote style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 40px; border-top-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-width: initial; border-color: initial; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; "><blockquote style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 40px; border-top-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-width: initial; border-color: initial; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; "><div><div><div>Can be wiped if only someone would come</div></div></div></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote><blockquote style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 40px; border-top-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-width: initial; border-color: initial; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; "><blockquote style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 40px; border-top-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-width: initial; border-color: initial; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; "><blockquote style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 40px; border-top-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-width: initial; border-color: initial; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; "><blockquote style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 40px; border-top-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-width: initial; border-color: initial; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; "><div><div>If not wiped tonight(2), it (the darkness) will return tomorrow.</div></div></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote><div><div><br /></div><div>khaali haath shaam aayi hai, khaali haath jayegi</div><div>khaali haath shaam aayi hai</div><div>aaj bhi na aaya koi, khaali laut jayegi</div><div>Khaali haath shaam aayi hai, khaali haath jayegi</div><div>khaali haath shaam aayi hai</div></div><div><br /></div><blockquote style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 40px; border-top-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-width: initial; border-color: initial; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; "><blockquote style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 40px; border-top-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-width: initial; border-color: initial; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; "><blockquote style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 40px; border-top-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-width: initial; border-color: initial; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; "><blockquote style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 40px; border-top-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-width: initial; border-color: initial; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; "><blockquote style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 40px; border-top-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-width: initial; border-color: initial; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; "><div><div>Empty handed has the evening come, empty handed it will depart.</div></div></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote><blockquote style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 40px; border-top-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-width: initial; border-color: initial; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; "><blockquote style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 40px; border-top-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-width: initial; border-color: initial; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; "><blockquote style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 40px; border-top-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-width: initial; border-color: initial; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; "><blockquote style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 40px; border-top-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-width: initial; border-color: initial; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; "><div><div>Empty handed has the evening come.</div></div></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote><blockquote style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 40px; border-top-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-width: initial; border-color: initial; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; "><blockquote style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 40px; border-top-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-width: initial; border-color: initial; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; "><blockquote style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 40px; border-top-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-width: initial; border-color: initial; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; "><blockquote style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 40px; border-top-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-width: initial; border-color: initial; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; "><div><div>Today too, none has come, hence, emptiness will return.</div></div></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote><blockquote style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 40px; border-top-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-width: initial; border-color: initial; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; "><blockquote style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 40px; border-top-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-width: initial; border-color: initial; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; "><blockquote style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 40px; border-top-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-width: initial; border-color: initial; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; "><blockquote style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 40px; border-top-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-width: initial; border-color: initial; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; "><div><div>Empty handed has the evening come, empty handed it will depart.</div></div></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote><blockquote style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 40px; border-top-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-width: initial; border-color: initial; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; "><blockquote style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 40px; border-top-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-width: initial; border-color: initial; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; "><blockquote style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 40px; border-top-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-width: initial; border-color: initial; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; "><blockquote style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 40px; border-top-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-width: initial; border-color: initial; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; "><div><div>Empty handed has the evening come.</div></div></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote><p></p>Erotemehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03677513867884448593noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9766640.post-71787502669600641152011-02-17T19:39:00.005+05:302011-02-17T20:22:18.025+05:30A Poem Published<p>Not that it is a new poem but still, published on real paper (not a printout!). My stance on publishing still holds! ;-)<br />I thank <a href="http://sinustash.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Sinu</a> for the fantastic art work he brought out for this poem. I must have been a nag to work with, what with all those editing and endless deliberating over details. </p><p>In spite of all his hard work the actual print in the book has lost all the details and I am disappointed, but that's just me hunting for reasons to be disappointed. Since this image below is a low resolution of the final draft and since the image in the book is different (in the details), this cannot count as copyright violation. Given that the poem is this blog's! :-)</p><p>Nevertheless, I would urge you to buy the book (details at <a href="http://www.blogger.com/www.mandali.in" target="_blank">www.mandali.in</a>). No, I get no royalty so there is nothing for me to gain. I think you should buy the book since the poems are decently good, since the artwork is pretty neat for some of the poems, since this is one of a kind visual-poetry project and since this is being organised and run by a bunch of youngsters who deserve the support and encouragement to carry out such work and constantly improve. I think every purchase would only add fuel to their excitement and that is a good cause.</p><p>Please click on the image below and study the details on the wall. Sinu has absolutely weaved magic here. The shadow, the scribbles on the wall, the state of the books, the table. Amazing illustration. No, I don't look even wee bit like the guy at the table.</p><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEif25Vizjd9TXCAXXdCCNCARHbFW65AIsoWoGkvBV9OEnrxHdFKHk2pXCe1MHRwZEzeFVYH66HT7QBWMV75UV-CRbO4G9O-onFT2Z2EmybE8RwXfChhY3kQ7sESd8hJNQeUYkKG/s1600/Final_illustration_by_Sinu_LOWRES.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 301px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEif25Vizjd9TXCAXXdCCNCARHbFW65AIsoWoGkvBV9OEnrxHdFKHk2pXCe1MHRwZEzeFVYH66HT7QBWMV75UV-CRbO4G9O-onFT2Z2EmybE8RwXfChhY3kQ7sESd8hJNQeUYkKG/s400/Final_illustration_by_Sinu_LOWRES.jpg" border="0" alt="For the love of me" title="For the love of me" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5574663512813363234" /></a>Erotemehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03677513867884448593noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9766640.post-72862009729342879972011-02-13T13:33:00.000+05:302011-02-13T13:33:00.827+05:30The Education Of A Writer<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjC0rkXzpB1EWh69SlKzA9oDwBbObKoEk0ntfa9YEYZR6qSltanfsMOzTNRPO6PiHOFZxgXetm8ypG20ifVOX73igDOkQtlVlxfLzMZyJ-RD1dbFNXMWTxmOHixSLOUWADyQ5GE/s1600/Scan_0001.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 283px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjC0rkXzpB1EWh69SlKzA9oDwBbObKoEk0ntfa9YEYZR6qSltanfsMOzTNRPO6PiHOFZxgXetm8ypG20ifVOX73igDOkQtlVlxfLzMZyJ-RD1dbFNXMWTxmOHixSLOUWADyQ5GE/s400/Scan_0001.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5573071438955960866" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfMqSGJqQupyOcoRdVNZHmoGHwHEnEBrsjbqzti3Do5FB28N5Ca7mdlk_5aA6XYOwTX095GUrExewfxSbVtvOIEwMSqKhw1gsHTSTKVTVW8H5zkZvwx_pOEi8AVhcVM8a42AfW/s1600/FinalList.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 284px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfMqSGJqQupyOcoRdVNZHmoGHwHEnEBrsjbqzti3Do5FB28N5Ca7mdlk_5aA6XYOwTX095GUrExewfxSbVtvOIEwMSqKhw1gsHTSTKVTVW8H5zkZvwx_pOEi8AVhcVM8a42AfW/s400/FinalList.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5573071433633158098" /></a><br />To the hurried soul, I offer my sympathies and the following list:<br /><br />1. Book of Disquiet<br />2. Don Quixote<br />3. Hamlet<br />4. Mrs. Dalloway<br />5. Ulysses<br />6. Ada or Ardor<br />7. Century of Humour<br />8. Complete Works of Saki<br />9. Niels Lyhne<br />10. Dead Souls<br />11. Jane Eyre<br />12. Golden Bowl<br /><br /><p>For the cultured ones, I have a tale to offer. Suffer me for the aging through this story might prove worth it.<br /></p><p>I recently brought upon myself a terrible onus and couldn't sit still without completing the descended task. It was at once presumptuous to accept responsibility for collating the list and due justification, and stimulating to study the tell of putting together such a necessary array. I cannot sufficiently describe the torment of the past few weeks and it is not imagined pain. It was visible to those who looked long enough including the two squirrels outside my window.</p><p>While the education of a writer is vital for everyone, as vital as is the education of a reader or a cook, not everyone is out to be an author nor needs to. A cook is not your award-winning chef, but basically someone who knows their way well around the kitchen to cook up a delicious meal. So be it with everyone being a writer. This is largely missed in the current education system as is missed the vital training to be a cook. I can't say much about the making of a reader because we do read (technical and academic books for exams) but how much do we pause (which is the most vital element in all reading) is a number I can never ascertain. We certainly aren't trained to read like a writer as Francine Prose recommends. </p><p>All my appreciation for literature came well after my school days though I have been reading since I was nearly 6 or so. My father considered it best to start putting together a library in the hope that we would organically fall in love with words. I don't think that that is what got me to read. The tales of the world were Siren calls. The possibility of tales in Russia, India, Japan and every faraway land brought an extra tinge of blue to my sky. Having read these tales, I simply had to know how to tell a tale. I also loved the smell and taste of words as they danced their way out of my mouth. So, in summary, the ability to read, write, count and cook are vital for life and the ability to see is vital for love.<br /></p><br />So I wish to fill the gap left for ages in the complete education of a man destined to love the letters. Be forewarned, this is not for the basic education of a writer but for one who enjoys writing and wishes to be well rounded. Nevertheless, a student well into his teens could also benefit from this journey. One might ask if this is a journey all genres of writers should take and I am tempted to say yes. And I will. Yes. I think every passionate writer will benefit manifold by embarking on this journey in true earnest. While true education of a writer starts early from rudimentary combining of letters to constructing coherent sentences to being able to say what one means, such a journey, as described in this post, is best started when one has had some experience in this world and has managed to muster a vocabulary sufficiently strong to reduce the shuttles one might need to make between book and dictionary. This varies from one individual to the other. For some, that age might be 18 and for others it might be 12. Let us leave it to an opportune moment in that window of half a dozen years.<br /><br /><p>Before I introduce the apostles, I must re-introduce the reader to the one who motivated me to assemble this list. Gustave Flaubert's words ring euphoniously true in my head. The frequent reader of this blog would be familiar with the following quote:</p><p>Commel'on serait savant si l'on connaissait bien seulement cinq a six livres: "What a scholar one might be if one knew well only some half a dozen books."<br /></p><p>I thought that 6 might be just a little less and 12 would be a better number (coincidentally, there are 12 months). Given an average life of 48 years beyond 18, that allows for 4 repetitions of each of these books. I would consider that sufficient pilgrimage for this lifetime.<br /></p><p>I shant be going into the details and deliberation on each book. That I will present in a longer and more serious article. Nevertheless, I shall pause long enough to let the reader know why I picked each of these books and what one can expect from each.</p><ol><li>The Book of Disquiet - Fernando Pessoa. <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMlbCnyGdH05Z96JHgf1LfYFsTcEAgJY4kxqMQJLpGG7yg21c28V9XMMMuXBAseM9Jll9eF_JYhX8zG-dIIuUnczR7tsRnMGR2fN-1INiBddrmP7K1sDY78zRr4OjqgVutbKPt/s1600/Pessoa.jpeg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 128px; height: 162px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMlbCnyGdH05Z96JHgf1LfYFsTcEAgJY4kxqMQJLpGG7yg21c28V9XMMMuXBAseM9Jll9eF_JYhX8zG-dIIuUnczR7tsRnMGR2fN-1INiBddrmP7K1sDY78zRr4OjqgVutbKPt/s400/Pessoa.jpeg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5573062438478877778" /></a>If there is one book that you must read from this list and expect to gain a lifetime's education in seeing, feeling and converting them as approximately as possible into words, then it is this book. Pessoa is an unheard of author and this book is originally in Portuguese. I have a translation by Richard Zenith and it is splendid. Pessoa is extremely sensitive to the world around him without being too absorbed in himself. His reflections are unique and extremely well articulated. His choice of words are splendid making you chide yourself for not having thought along those lines.<br /><br /><br /></li><li>Don Quixote - Miguel de Cervantes.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjG2tS-lOBxafdMGxwszyrM2Wwk6I-U_kdyHbfCihEPZIyvsjbPjkq65gvY2O32zWzwyMMQtH78p5oB8maHTJYEn7sA469H1mhPY-HS6a_RjSeGBcr42WaYVoqBXCd-Olh2lawr/s1600/DonQuixote.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 128px; height: 162px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjG2tS-lOBxafdMGxwszyrM2Wwk6I-U_kdyHbfCihEPZIyvsjbPjkq65gvY2O32zWzwyMMQtH78p5oB8maHTJYEn7sA469H1mhPY-HS6a_RjSeGBcr42WaYVoqBXCd-Olh2lawr/s400/DonQuixote.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5573062440187863938" /></a>This book is highly recommended by all the lists compiled to identify the best literary books. I have read it in parts and found it delightful. Cervantes' ability to weave in humour while making an important point distinguishes him from all those snobbish writers who believe that to be light is to betray literary worth. This too is a translation of the original in Spanish.<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /></li><li>Hamlet - William Shakespeare. <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2QbwBW5apt5aVuZAnnjBFdcCH-o4DTczFSB_489LIcSNnIPNo3mM6q4O-W0GT6L-VV4_ms9pbH1GVH9QACpdFONkTGx93eYtjzED_TtOsCvgTdJYak0JfSmvKmei3AamL3PcL/s1600/Hamlet.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 98px; height: 120px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2QbwBW5apt5aVuZAnnjBFdcCH-o4DTczFSB_489LIcSNnIPNo3mM6q4O-W0GT6L-VV4_ms9pbH1GVH9QACpdFONkTGx93eYtjzED_TtOsCvgTdJYak0JfSmvKmei3AamL3PcL/s200/Hamlet.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5573078369319066114" /></a>This needs no introduction though it was difficult to pick one from amongst the bard's works. I cannot consider myself well equipped to jostle my choice against the opinions of another. I wanted to pick a serious work of his with some of his best lines. After a fair amount of research, I settled for Hamlet.<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /></li><li>Mrs. Dalloway - Virginia Woolf. <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisKmA0l0Cnoj1iTMznAOoIx8ZUfxe0DFuidLVf7IDmjQCqODsvK33rhokNL_sEd69QVX3NO8NTtwVXPS-_1ZQ_bmJQxv47W3UYNBCAUa2oUSVh519HjW7yLHrfrxjqXHtELX2h/s1600/MrsDalloway.jpeg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 128px; height: 162px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisKmA0l0Cnoj1iTMznAOoIx8ZUfxe0DFuidLVf7IDmjQCqODsvK33rhokNL_sEd69QVX3NO8NTtwVXPS-_1ZQ_bmJQxv47W3UYNBCAUa2oUSVh519HjW7yLHrfrxjqXHtELX2h/s400/MrsDalloway.jpeg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5573062445648667394" /></a>Her very opening is splendid enough to keep re-reading this delightful tale. Ms. Woolf's writing is spectacular and very British. That adds to the beauty of it all. I have enjoyed her stream of consciousness writing and the blog's reader would have seen some samples of my own.<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /></li><li>Ulysses - James Joyce. <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjthxIvq_HCBG0NgCEx-JkMxx74-dhJB7PobSBmjAxnUwi51WMoIS5Z6oWkkZHCHTwqKI_LfSdU_WRoQl0oKYCTVwb33MvyOFwB1grphPdTcutQLPZ-VNyxui6i7JJ6Ko4fGla/s1600/Ulysses.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 128px; height: 162px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjthxIvq_HCBG0NgCEx-JkMxx74-dhJB7PobSBmjAxnUwi51WMoIS5Z6oWkkZHCHTwqKI_LfSdU_WRoQl0oKYCTVwb33MvyOFwB1grphPdTcutQLPZ-VNyxui6i7JJ6Ko4fGla/s400/Ulysses.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5573062446788426898" /></a>This is one book I have picked purely on the advice of Nabokov. He strongly recommends this and considers Joyce to be one of the few genius writers in the English speaking world. I have immense respect for Nabokov and willingly took his advice.</li><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><li>Ada or Ardor - Vladimir Nabokov.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvc0hqXtW8JME2wHpqi8zPn3EAs3uLL1QkPE_v6iHCHy_zbhe93QinFSFyKO3yXFBMg78lYcftYDr4GAwE5r1Qk97eafc9V3OSzVD9IN66SORzh9tXf7tQgBBuJTm7BgCbHda_/s1600/AdaOrArdor.jpeg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 108px; height: 128px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvc0hqXtW8JME2wHpqi8zPn3EAs3uLL1QkPE_v6iHCHy_zbhe93QinFSFyKO3yXFBMg78lYcftYDr4GAwE5r1Qk97eafc9V3OSzVD9IN66SORzh9tXf7tQgBBuJTm7BgCbHda_/s400/AdaOrArdor.jpeg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5573065617849300386" /></a> Perhaps no list of mine could be complete without the magic of Nabokov. This work is his personal favourite and having glanced through it, I can see why. The delightful play of words in the setting of a strange family. One will do well to enjoy the fruits of the hypertexting labour that is <a href="http://www.ada.auckland.ac.nz/" target="_blank">Ada Online</a>.</li><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><li>Century of Humour - Edited by P. G. Wodehouse. <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzGLMx8ZqP0o4KsZ1p5XmrmYG6L1prIOuGAjrG5ClRznUKMgUWd0ETqSvJlh6Q9q5hYEzXPrJKyn22srI7XknlxIZBSz_N0IS188fZjeLBSgSu7dsOLTPjbJB6z5ul2veX51a4/s1600/CenturyOfHumour.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 140px; height: 120px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzGLMx8ZqP0o4KsZ1p5XmrmYG6L1prIOuGAjrG5ClRznUKMgUWd0ETqSvJlh6Q9q5hYEzXPrJKyn22srI7XknlxIZBSz_N0IS188fZjeLBSgSu7dsOLTPjbJB6z5ul2veX51a4/s400/CenturyOfHumour.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5573065618347375506" /></a>Towards the end of this post I shall explain my statistical basis for choosing this book. But there is reason beyond that as well. This book compiles some excellent short stories and humourous ones at that. Mr. Wodehouse's choice is pretty good and none of the stories are remotely disappointing. They are best not pitted amongst themselves but studied individually to learn the craft of weaving humour into literature.</li><br /><br /><li>Complete Works of Saki - H H Munro. <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzsSR600Z99Bwi_wEimO91j7IN7R9L6Fi7lFqgCEWVZR1BjjQThFXb0A3a_OokqRAlbLXLaH2me-zHtSCxfAeGXuWVZzax5_Afx3bzGlZu4ysaOcFnH7fTqJbGb0phQMSOCi2e/s1600/Saki.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 106px; height: 120px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzsSR600Z99Bwi_wEimO91j7IN7R9L6Fi7lFqgCEWVZR1BjjQThFXb0A3a_OokqRAlbLXLaH2me-zHtSCxfAeGXuWVZzax5_Afx3bzGlZu4ysaOcFnH7fTqJbGb0phQMSOCi2e/s400/Saki.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5573065621761042018" /></a>This was my first love. I have spent hours leaping across empty rooms reading his lines with summoned baritone. Saki made me fall in love with words and the magic one can conjure with them (when rightly employed - don't blame me for spells crashing down on your head). I cannot, out of loyalty and certainty, exclude this book from my list. I believe that a young student should be introduced to Saki and made to gargle his phrases. Never spit it out! If only we had teachers who could understand Saki and bring home his worth.</li><br /><br /><li>Niels Lyhne - Jens Peter Jacobsen. <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7cBnHos6z8SHnhU3N9-k5wkncT_73r56WXFPUA6tFG5ZUxNkpn5axMLOcUPnpTf7K-RbFNyNZg8p7IZLSYnruYA2WYgIV-xTVipjKwdLL68HRHPczWanV1MVeoiJoNyHFYMH7/s1600/NeilsLyhne.jpeg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 108px; height: 122px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7cBnHos6z8SHnhU3N9-k5wkncT_73r56WXFPUA6tFG5ZUxNkpn5axMLOcUPnpTf7K-RbFNyNZg8p7IZLSYnruYA2WYgIV-xTVipjKwdLL68HRHPczWanV1MVeoiJoNyHFYMH7/s400/NeilsLyhne.jpeg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5573065624824400082" /></a>Another popularly unheard of writer. He is Danish and comes highly recommended by none other than Rilke himself. I have also read his stories and another friend of mine, a more disciplined and beautiful reader, vouches for the goodness of this particular book. I willingly submit to the wisdom of Rilke here and to my meagre experience with Jacobsen's works.</li><br /><br /><br /><li>Dead Souls - Nikolai Gogol. <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgB4lgEyQ98iped_q7Olhbg2uPQAj1q4xbaw8VenV3BVhBE56U79YOQYbl8rfAugDuoxbYlxEaxn6NuGrhaOsqDJK7dTJ7UrBXnDo1665fxaR9ANXtckyknWCa2sP0Jg5Ds2RIJ/s1600/Gogol.jpeg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 108px; height: 127px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgB4lgEyQ98iped_q7Olhbg2uPQAj1q4xbaw8VenV3BVhBE56U79YOQYbl8rfAugDuoxbYlxEaxn6NuGrhaOsqDJK7dTJ7UrBXnDo1665fxaR9ANXtckyknWCa2sP0Jg5Ds2RIJ/s400/Gogol.jpeg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5573065627752652466" /></a>Another Russian master. I have read his short stories and Taras Bulba. I was convinced and converted. He is an excellent writer and this particular book is a wicked take on the feudalism then present in Russia. He is an amazing writer of great talent (and I subscribe to Nabokov's distinction between a genius and a talented writer. More on that, later).</li><br /><br /><br /><li>Jane Eyre - Charlotte Brontë. <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwCyqsFbhyphenhyphenaQbA81H89biDpQ2NRMgTjtJhu570lqbOkdFXOAK6mSCM8mDR0LehD9zuhoj_D58sKov075E1Yln04XqPwfeQUAeHi7I08drDtKX5YXTWShghP1c6lxQy1wusquJh/s1600/Bronte.jpeg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 108px; height: 120px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwCyqsFbhyphenhyphenaQbA81H89biDpQ2NRMgTjtJhu570lqbOkdFXOAK6mSCM8mDR0LehD9zuhoj_D58sKov075E1Yln04XqPwfeQUAeHi7I08drDtKX5YXTWShghP1c6lxQy1wusquJh/s320/Bronte.jpeg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5573066811034626194" /></a>This book is amazing in its passion and language employed. I might have picked Jane Austen's works but I felt that I needed both the power of language and the passion of a writer to be visible on the pages. After due deliberation I chose Jane Eyre. It also came in gold gilded pages to me from someone with a golden heart.</li><br /><br /><br /><br /><li>Golden Bowl - Henry James. <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikl1JZ-tvd4-IJdvAy1PpSZ2qJqu8vs-KSozgShyQGYw-jxuxjSDHYJA476-XrKwp6OrLEu9eG3n3u7dOehyphenhyphenxZ1qPpsLajk3Uyds6dR7SXAyfVDXsa0atNoJXmz2GXad5pu3R6/s1600/GoldenBowl.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 98px; height: 120px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikl1JZ-tvd4-IJdvAy1PpSZ2qJqu8vs-KSozgShyQGYw-jxuxjSDHYJA476-XrKwp6OrLEu9eG3n3u7dOehyphenhyphenxZ1qPpsLajk3Uyds6dR7SXAyfVDXsa0atNoJXmz2GXad5pu3R6/s320/GoldenBowl.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5573066815798606338" /></a>This is the climax in James' career and style. I did my research on this book and his other works before deciding to include this one. The complexity in the story and the style makes it belong to this list. James Wood (author of How Fiction Works) too feels that Henry James brings an eye which isn't the detailed microscopic eye of Nabokov, but of a fabric vital to writers.</li></ol><p><br /></p><p>In collating this list I had a few broad criteria. I needed literature representing a good segment of the English speaking world. I was willing to include translations as long as they didn't exceed 33% of the total list (Book of Disquiet - Portuguese, Don Quixote - Spanish, Dead Souls - Russian and Niels Lyhne - Danish). I also wanted to have shorter works but didn't want them to exceed 25% of the list (Book of Disquiet, Century of Humour, Complete Works of Saki). I also wanted humour to be an integral part of the list (Don Quixote, Century of Humour, Complete Works of Saki).</p><p>Believe me when I say that I rummaged through a list of over nearly twice as many books including translations (Glass Bead Game - German, for instance which finally lost out as did The Master And Margerita - Russian). Of course, you must have noticed that I haven't added Madame Bovary (French) by Gustave Flaubert himself. I had included it initially before realising that Lydia Davis' translation was something I needed and it wasn't really available here. That is why I restricted the translations to 33%. Translations are a funny beast. They gain their strength both from the original author as well as from the translator but their weakness comes solely from the translator's abilities. I read Ms. Davis' article about her experience in translating Madame Bovary and I decided to wait for the book to arrive. Perhaps Niels Lyhne will make way for Madame Bovary.</p><p>The route on this journey is simple. Read through each book slowly and patiently. If there is a word whose meaning you do not understand, find it out. Keep a notebook (or several of them with one per author) and collect phrases that you like along with the name of the book and page number. In another notebook, try to use these phrases in at least five different situations/scenarios. If a sentence is long, break it down into bite-sized portions and understand how the coherence is maintained over the length. </p><p>After each chapter or 30 pages, write a paragraph about anything (or a similar topic as in the book) in a style nearly identical with that of the author. The paragraph should appear as if the author him/herself had written it in his/her younger days. Study where you possibly differ. Do not rush to create your own style of writing. Start my imitating and you will hear a clear voice soon.</p><p>Apply counter styles to the author you are reading. Periodically in your study, use shorter sentences where s/he uses longer and conversely without losing meaning. This allows you to create similar impact without losing literary value. Shortening a sentence is not the same as summarising. Please bear in mind that the effect and taste has to be maintained. Where the author is grand, be direct (you might think that the effect is then lost, but not necessarily) where s/he is terse, be verbose.</p><p>Study the spell of phrases and styles in a dark room. Read the words aloud in three different styles - in dry monotone, with due theatrical intonations and with the simplicity of someone reading it the first time. Study the effect it brings and understand what breaks through the barriers of the reader's ability (to read in different tones).</p><p>Combine random but fairly representative paragraphs from each of these authors to notice how they mingle and depart. This helps study the choice of words for the desired tell.</p><p>And last but surely not the least, practice writing, every single day. Keep building your vocabulary (there are several sites which will deliver you a word per day). Use them differently in unexpected settings. Create games where you can study the possibility of using fruits to describe the weather and metals to describe moods and so on. Enjoy every one of these authors and enjoy writing, too. </p><p>There might be other books that are great. There might be other works of the chosen authors that might be better. All that I have mentioned belong to the genre of fictional prose. Questions are bound to be raised - "What if I care only about poetry?" "What if I wish to be a sci-fi writer?" "What if I like John Updike better?" "What if I wish to write like Jack Kerouac?" The only answer I have is to once again recommend this study with an assurance that you will be a different person at the end of it and will be able to write as you please and read whomsoever you want. This is not the only list of books you should be reading. Read any other book too. Poetry should be read and studied regularly too (and I might put up a separate list for that) but I do not distinguish severely between prose and poetry beyond Coleridge's pithy summary:</p><p><span style="font-weight:bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:large;">I wish our clever young poets would remember my homely definitions of prose and poetry; that is, prose, --words in their best order; poetry, --the best words in their best order.</span></span></p><p>Compiling any list is a task fraught with debate and I am tired. I can assure with all my life's breath that these books, when studied well, will make a wonderful person and writer out of the reader. That is a certainty (please read Sir Quiller-Couch's Art of Writing to understand why). If after appropriate study you do not find your writing significantly (not marginally) enhanced and affected, do let me know and I assure you that I will not utter a word from that day. I will also take this post down.</p>Erotemehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03677513867884448593noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9766640.post-15696017247312463082011-02-12T21:31:00.002+05:302011-02-12T21:38:22.246+05:30A dreamThe terror, the sheer and ample terror, of waking from a dream one vaguely recalls meeting during the waking day on a street corner. Such a dream has no ingredient of frightening proportions but its near reality ushers a lacing of fear which others lack in their entirety.And in its recall, I am aware of the starkness of my room standing suspended in the architecture of this world and the world of dreams.This room has housed both my life and the dream I just awoke from. While still quivering from the tell of the dream I am shaken by a thought. My very room, my very life, my dream and my troubled awakening are part of another dream from which someone hasn't woken up. This is not merely the intense fever of awakening or aloneness in the room kept company only by the half-unhinged noise of the window.Its compelling truth adrenalises me into rooted seatedness on my bed. Not a muscle trembles out of turn from the dreamer's dream where I sit. I find no way to convince myself that I am not vassal to the mechanics of dreams and the visceral actions of some sleeping soul.In neither accepting or rejecting it, there is peace and a calm which makes inaction the most righteous action.Sitting on my bed, I don't stop my perspiration for I don't have the script to the other's dream. I stare at the wall in front of me.Even a wall has so much to reveal when approached with such attention albeit a coerced devotion. In slowly learning my wall, I tire.And slowly that wall ripples its way under me, as per the script, and my muscles receive the cues they had feared to take all this while.I swim back into my previously undone sleep with a a fleeting fear of the resumption of that dream. And I hear a yawn or I yawn in the dream.Erotemehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03677513867884448593noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9766640.post-68054971970331239182011-02-12T21:29:00.001+05:302011-02-12T21:30:49.100+05:30The Disease of DistrustTo not believe, to distrust, is oppressing for with it I invite villains of my own creation. These very people I, then, include in my world. The weight of it, perhaps, is not for display. But with each chance (and, pray, what is that?) encounter, I abrade myself further under its tell. For in disbelief there is nurtured a relation which is fed by the other's dubious ways, his misdeeds, his lies, his wants & his deprivation. Fed on such a poison, slowly, word by word, act by act, such a relation soon becomes impervious to truth, halting on the venom of the past.And I, honourable I, master of no such misdeed, no mistake clinging to my overcoat, no lies trickling down my chin, I am accomplice.I, to whom you relate, hold on firmly, countering every twist of yours, braiding disbelief into a taut cable. And Fate walks the tightrope.Erotemehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03677513867884448593noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9766640.post-45006537461612343662011-02-12T21:26:00.000+05:302011-02-12T21:28:27.233+05:30Undecorated DeedsCould someone accept my deeds, my watering their wilting plant & merely smile? Not tell the neighbours about it & not buy me flowers? Why must a simple deed have seismic repercussions? Why must it marshal emotions & gratitude of the tangible kinds? Can it not be a sunrise?For simple deeds are indeed sunrises and sunsets, bringing warmth to the onlooker and making you mortally incapable of returning the favour.When I lock your gate behind you or wipe the windshield of a long parked car, receive them as deeds to be done and not coupons to redeem.I have nothing to show you or impress you with. In performing my deeds which you call human or some such grand word of the day, I am myself.My deeds are of the same flowering quality of Spring's buds - they simply blossom, whether a chronicler lurks behind a park bench or not.In performing them, I am not leaving you indebted to me nor do I wish to woo you. My works mark negligible valuation in my scheme of worth.Yet I perform them as the sun rises in spite of charring all the sonnets written to its ochre praise. They are not an end in themselves.Erotemehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03677513867884448593noreply@blogger.com2