Year of Change

Someone has said that 'only thing constant in this world is change' what can be more true than that. We come to this life with a bare slate of skill, we learn to crawl, we earn to walk, we learn to learn, and we learn and then we keep learning. It is this zeal to learn from each experience and zeal to to move on that separates people who achieve in life what they want to achieve. How important is this zeal to change the status quo can only be fathomed by the achievements man have achieved till now. Nothing is impossible, Walking on moon...exploring boundaries of impossibility have led man to achieve breakthroughs, but again this blog is about 'change'
This year is gonna be the year of change for life of this blogger, for starters i am joining new job in a week, in a new city. Its a important part of my future career, because the progress I am able to achieve will further cement my self confidence on my abilities. For starters from the people who interviewed me, it looks like they have tremendous hopes from me. somewhere in my interview process they are convinced that i can be the right fit for their high development plans. Am i nervous? No! I am only nervous for the fact that will I be able to achieve the standards I have set in my personal development. Will this change of job and my results from this change, further help me find my self? Every small creeps of undecidness about my abilities will be further laid to rest So is it possible i am overconfident? well that will have to depend on what confidence means? does it mean to know that your upbringing and your attitude provide enough faith to weave through puzzle of life and achieve your goals, then yes I am confident ..over? Yes! otherwise you wont have enough zeal to be successful.
Based on what my professors have said about me and what my previous companies owner and colleagues have gauged me, it should be interesting year to challenge myself to bring my self face to face with my self confidence and let my results speak.
Also it will be interesting year of sorts, will one year be enough for me to settle down, I dont know. Will be able to meet social standards which are being laid on me? I guess time will have to answer those complex questions. But I can be assured on one thing, time has told me to judge my judgments, so life.. I am here to challenge the complexities which may be thrown at me !

'Pursuit' and 'Impossible'

Pursuit:
Princeton rates it as

the act of pursuing in an effort to overtake or capture; "the culprit started to run and the cop took off in pursuit"

a search for an alternative that meets cognitive criteria; "the pursuit of love"; "life is more than the pursuance of fame"; "a quest for wealth"

So what do we pursuit in life, money, 'happyness' status, etc. so why do we call it pursuit, ask Chris Gardner in his early life and he would say food and shelter. Pursuit of something which one doesnt have is what makes it a pursuit. But what about pursuit of something impossible! Impossible?

Princeton defines it as

not capable of occurring or being accomplished or dealt with; "an impossible dream"; "an impossible situation"

totally unlikely

something that cannot be done; "his assignment verged on the impossible"

So is 'Impossible' really impossible? or is just something which is not achievable at this point of time? the key is 'time' If men in 18th century was asked we would go to moon in 20th century, his answer would have been impossible. If you would ask Chris Gardner or Bill Gates they would be billionaires, their answer would probably be impossible. So what phenomenon is it that makes the impossible..possible.
It is the pursuit of impossible that makes the impossible, possible. Men and women have strived painstakingly throughout their life to achieve something which was impossible to make it within the realms of possibility.
When something is not achievable, it usually means that things that are needed to achieve that goal are not discovered, those can be new formulations, new materials, new skills, new partners, anything that could achieve that goal. The time frame to achieve that goal is directly dependent to the desire of oneself to achieve it. But we know for onething..when somebody says "it is impossible" remember it is impossible for now and never underestimate humans desire to conquer the impossibility

Blogosphere

I keep wondering about blogs, how easy it has become to instant celebrity with the advent of blogs. All it takes is publish your "chronicles of daily life" put in some curses, blame it on world and some saucy pics and you are up. Be it a pros, or a politician or a dj or just plain me, it just brings drama of every individual's daily life in the theater of internet readers room. So i lamented, what would make somebody open up their world their daily routines, their likes, their dislikes to thousands out there. Is it their quest of becoming celebrity? or their interest for finding answers to their dilemma from complete strangers? or just to prove that they can write and publish? or just to prove they live the coolest life? BUt whatever it is, people are lining up to read about others. So what is it in human nature to anonymously read about other strangers life, when they cant know about their neighbors, or their close relatives, why cant the time somebody type and publish be utilised to go meet someone and talk to them. What is it in human nature that frowns when someone come over to meet them and have a tea or dinner together. what is he afraid from other person for? I am true believer that every individual has a core of humanity if he is not threatened by others be it financially or physically or socially. so why do we mask those good sides and proudly display the crown if being mean? Well to know that answer I will have keep reading more blogs, hopefully!

Arranged Marriage ...still exists?

As you grow older ..you start thinking about your career, your life, you future..as a matter of fact you start making your own decision. Decisions which might change your future, like what should I make my career of? which city should I move? which college should I attend? Most of these decisions are made by you, based on the past experience you have had and your own liking. But there is one decision probably the most important in ones life which is not taken by you, at least from where I come from, but by your parents and that is marriage. That is arranged marriage, believe it or not there still exists a country where majority of marriages are still fixed by their parents. So why do people still do it and above all why are educated and modern youths still give in, obviously their numbers are decreasing. I am a strong proponent for arranged marriage, because I have seen it work, does it make me a traditionalist or conservative? may be. But the fact is just because something which is traditional doesnt mean that it is an anemia to growth of society. I have seen both societies (Indian and Western) and have tried to learn the differences which exist in pairing of individuals and have figured that what make bonds of marriage last are, when expectations that exist about our partners, have to be compromised inorder to fulfill the demands that society lays upon us to make marriage work, can make a more stronger marriage. Imagine meeting your potential for a matter of few minutes and making your judgments about them with just a few questions. It might terrify the living hell out of people. To top that the pressures that your parents and elders exert on an answer from you so that they can fix a date for marriage as soon as you say ya. But what makes me so confident in this blind faith, that just a pic and background troddles an entourage of relatives to the girls door. Faith that ones parent makes a right decision about their child, faith that their knowledge of world and people have led their quest to this family in first place. Grapevines that have been so trusted and tested before have given them the right information to take such a decision. It might just be inconceivable to western society that such a society exists. society where in the only dates before the marriage are the subtle twisting of social events to facilitate few hours of togetherness. The only live-ins are family holidays which two family might undertake before the main event. After all as it is said in indian culture, 'Marriage is a meeting of two families' rather then two individual'

THINKING IS BANNED!

Everyday you get up and then start your day. I normally brush my teeth once i am up and thats where it happens, a stroke of thought and one thing lets to another and i am soon enough thinking from what will I be doing today, whom i have to call, what do i have to plan, etc etc. Normally you wouldnt think about 'Thinking', but i always get this vibe from some people OK most people, that I think too much, is planning out my day a crime? is fore sighting my career a crime? I love to design my daily life inorder to prevent any unforseen circumstances in advance (save money) and for that I have to think, after all thats what differentiates a man from animal. So is thinking a crime? or is calling out name just a way to get back at more cranially superficial mammal by those who lack the understanding of grey matter. I am not saying you should be thinking sitting on a roller coaster, or watching a game or at pubs. but when you are taking a decision you better do or else you would depending on social security ! Striking thoughts come to me when I am watching a movie and the people around me are in peel of laughter and I am thinking am I different from them all ( not that scene was not funny) but something about dark room and concentration on screen makes me think about my future more. So why do people say "dont think so much" well thats just me !

Democracy in action

So after a day of American midterms and transfer of power of house, you would imagine the light house of democracy has ones again exercised a cherished trasure. But I am from india, and the first sign that greets you once you enter India from Wagah border from Pakistan is 'Welcome to worlds biggest Democracy' So are the two democracies different? The way of government is, but are the ideals same? Yes they are, they all mean government of people. But this blog isnt about comparing democracies, it even isnt about comparing nations. The origin of this blog is to be found in the article on CNN.com (not my fav) it was by Louis Dobb. Articles was about how middle class of america struck back. I cant agree more with the fact that middle class has taken for a ride in last six years (again I am not making remarks on any country, since India opened up its market in 1995 its going to happen there too some time in near future) But I think people are being used as a pawn by few and powerful. How can you explain gas in atlanta being at 1.97 (read importantly <2) for a month and then go up to 2.09 day after election and then I read in CNN a quote from an independent oil analyst on why it went above $60/ barrel, something like lower oil reserve in US, problems in Nicaragua !!!! what a bull !! then why was Saddams trial so mysteriously done with at a time just before election and yeah the best yet, not a single bomb in Iraq on the curfew period after saddam decision..actually it was a week before the elections..Why was so popularistic important decision mysteriously appear before important people democratic events? If you believe in miracles, you are reading a wrong blog! but I have always felt and know a fact that up there are few powerful people (businessman and politicians) who are making and controling how we live our life, so is Bush telling me how I should eat ? how i should breathe ...nope.. but he is telling me i am eating spinach which looks all good and dazzling, but in reality it has been grown by a farmer who has used artificial seeds, used chemically perfected fertilizer, which is spread in the air by a plane, and on the way to my table cleansed and shined by i donno what chemicals stored for how long in storages.. he is also telling me sit in a car and drive to work, cos that will help car makers make more money and oil companies richer. and why not use a train or a bus where we can save money or interact with other people so I ask is this democracy? is it the rule of people? is it because common man cant think past his daily life cycle of earning money to buy HDTV or pay mortgage, because big banks, credit companies and lending companies have screwed him so much that he is living in a neck deep credit society. has the human become so materialistic that he has been curtained by the general good of society and humanity. How is this democracy making my life being stopped by being governed by big business and politicians. I am sure there are some people who will talk away from from it. But the fact is that I dont trust anybodys word nowadays and there is a reason to it. when media campaigns by politicians bombard you with the goodness of some one and evilness of others, you are taking the word from them. But do you go and investigate those facts being presentated by them? No, cos you are being considered as a dumb sponge absorbing whatever is being dished out by someone. So I ask you again is this democracy?

History and its relevance to culture

History repeats itself..one of the most golden proverb you would hear time and time again.. civilizations rise and fall..only to be grown better next time they rise..If you believe in Darwins theory of survival, every generation is born smarter and smarter than the previous one. Which means that today we are much smarter than my ancestors. The lives we live in present is a part of history for a future generation, so as we live, we are creating out history. Given the fact that we are smarter and creating our own history, why do we still repeat the same mistakes that lead to downfall of our civilizations, arent we smarter than our ancestors so why dont we learn from our history to avoid the same pitfalls which led to downfall of our ancestors. So if we still repeat our mistakes even after learning history, what is the relevance of it? Should we just burn the books of history? I think the relevance of history is in its value to retain culture and present historical facts. Interpreting them is where each civilizations differ. To quote 'Hitler' who thought that the history is not mere dates and names to remember but is forces which created those dates and names. Coming back to culture, what is culture? Is it the way a man/woman handles himself in front of a bunch of upper class stiff noses? Is eating with knives and fork more cultural than slurping with hands? How do we define a civilization is more cultured? In the end you will be amazed that it doesnt mean any of the above material things, it is the way people in a civilization treat humanity on whole. Culture adds value to meaning of life. the importance eachs own culture is quite apparent when one is placed in other country. It makes its importance stand out more because his identity is his culture then. The way he does things. The way he makes his decisions are all influenced by his culture. It is the important unkowing part of his soul which differentiates him from others. Man is born in this world clean slate. He is his influenced by his parents, by his society, by culture of society. You are born in this world naked with no jewels, no money and eqo, he earns all the materialistic things in life, he also earns his culture, but when he dies he can only take with him his culture with him. so doesnt it become imperative to respect one's culture and his heritage. I am in midst of seeing one of the best serials ever created on India's most cuning diplomat Chanakya, we are talking about BC's now. If i can recommend anything out of this blog, it is to buy those DVD's and watch it. Its just amazing when the world around him was waking up to civilization, kingdoms in India were talking about taxes, state welfare, etc. One of the things which i want to bring in relevance is his statement on various kingdoms in India. Land can be divided into kingdoms. people can be seperated by kings, but in the end we are allbinded with common culture. You can create 100 partition of land but in the end people to people contact is invariable. If they are binded by same culture, you cannot keep them apart for long. Well i think this is good enough to think about for future.