epilogue

2003-09-16T13:44:00.000-07:00

Anatha test post!

2002-11-19T01:22:00.000-08:00

The mystery of the Taj: Part one

The legend
The 250-feet-tall Taj Mahal, gardens and ancillary buildings cover an area of 42 acres on the banks of the river Yamuna. As the legend goes, the Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan had the monument constructed in the memory of his fourth wife, Mumtaz Mahal.

So great was Shah Jahan's love for his queen that he wanted the monument to be unique, perhaps unrivalled. He ordered the architect Ustad Isa beheaded. The 20,000 labourers that toiled for 22 years received no special treatment. Their hands were chopped off.

As a curious 14-year-old I could only shudder in disbelief. Hiring 20,000 workers for 22 years was no joke. I was certain that at least this bit in history was dubious - for I knew that different number of people are required at different stages of construction. How was the figure of 20,000 arrived at?

With an impressionable mind, wrong history textbooks and people conditioned by "popular belief" the pursuit of the truth seemed difficult if not impossible. The issue took a back seat in my mind back then. My quest for more information on the topic led me to many roads and possibilities. There are some facts that I haven’t personally verified yet. Maybe it’s all a hoax, but then maybe it’s not. Maybe the truth is entirely different from the things we all know – but the issue certainly deserves a closer look.

An untold story
Shah Jahan's life was utterly vain. A majority of his time was spent on fighting petty battles with his neighbours. So where did he find the time and money to build the Taj Mahal?

In pursuit of the throne Shah Jahan murdered his brothers and five of his elder relatives. Was he capable of living in peace and harmony if not capable of love?

Contemporary accounts of some 17th century European travellers to India even suggest that Shah Jahan's insatiable sexual appetite had found him in affairs with the wives of several courtiers. In lust he didn't even hesitate to commit incest with his eldest daughter. How can a man like this construct the Taj Mahal in the memory of his wife?

Assuming that Shah Jahan really did build the monument, the reasons for building it would certainly be different from what the tour-guides at Agra have to repeat time and again.

2002-10-04T04:49:00.000-07:00

Contact

Olden memories...golden memories. Some of them come right back at you unusually. Today I met a friend whom I just lost contact with for many months. Just like me he has a taste for dangers and risks, but thats not the only thing thats common. His name is Amol too, Amol P. Kawale.

We were together in the same University, shared the the same mess and the sometimes the same notes. He was a voracious reader, and an avid movies fan. He's pretty much the same today. He's even interested to join forces again and start something new. I get similar plans this time of the year. But I was actually surpirsed by the level of trust he puts in me. Our union reminds me of the three musketeers, only that we are more high-tech.

People generally change over time change, but more often than not the reason of change doesn't. But some people like my good friend here aren't affected by the vagaries of time. Amol, lets be all for one and one for all.

2002-10-01T08:08:00.000-07:00

Net pain

We as Indians still live in the dark-ages when it comes to banking. Non-local cheques take months, small withdrawals take hours and drafts even more. Loan agreements are not flexible, almost as if you are being put in bondage of some sort. Government banks are hopeless anyways but even the ICICIs and the Citibanks are not upto it. The help-line phones no longer exist and sometimes there's no one at the other end. Talk about the citi never sleeps eh?

Maybe it because we do not demand better service. The average bank-employee I know sleeps nine-to-five and is put out early on saturdays. No wonder they can afford to be caught unawares even after heavy marketing campaigns of new products.

My friends and me however, don't hesitate to hit back regularly. Trust me, SBI is the Slowest Bank of India. IDBI Bank makes me say "I Don't Believe In Bank".

2002-09-27T02:22:00.000-07:00

Cutesy Radcy

Today, I chatted for hours with I gal I have known for many years from IRC and we did this when both of us were busy. No, we haven't met yet... but yes she's kinda cute.

Back to today, yes... I was doing most of the talking (like always) and she was a patient listener. All I can say as of now is that she's too darn cute. More whenever I know more, or if at all if I ever get to meet her in person. (Gosh! Am I nervous here?)

Blogs and instant messengers, what would I ever do or be without them. Just as I was editing this post, she agreed to meet. Yippeeee! Thanks a lot Radcy.

2002-09-15T03:38:00.000-07:00

Caught in The Matrix

In a way this post is special to me. For one, this breaks my two-week-long silence and secondly because it does that with a startling fact.

Well... just how many hours do you spend on a PC everyday? One, two perhaps three or even more. Few try to regulate this, but on an average computer usage time has only been increasing. This is somewhat obvious - there are a zillion ways our lives are touched by computing and these ways are increasing too.

Recently, I was looking at some code that did 3D animation and rotoscoping in real-time. Rotoscoping is an animation technique, where Computer Generated Imagery (CGI) is sumperimposed on real life images (or videos). This is how logos are added to TV channels. The reverse can also done, superimposing real-life images on CGI, but it's considered difficult to do real-time if there are a lot of moving subjects. But mind you, if one throws in enough hardware its very much possible.

I came across software that did this too. The actors are put in front of a blue-screen, while the rest of the set (tables, displays and maps) is CGI. Such sets are aptly called as virtual-sets. If you look carefully you'll find that you're favourite news channel uses this technology (barring DD of course!). Using this even the 10x10 studio can boast of a big-market appeal.

Couple this with technology that allows you to push video real-time to mobile users, immersive displays that are worn in front of your eyes and multiplayer games; how far is The Matrix really? Projects like Oxygen, DotGNU and more recently, controlling brains of mice only add weight ruthlessly.

I wish I could say going in this direction would be good or bad conclusively. Limited applications like doctors practicing some difficult surgery remotely looks beneficial, but heaven knows what may happen if such things get rolled-out for the masses.

Waiting and watching is sometimes a good policy, but when there is sufficient knowledge that the end-result may be a disaster its better to proactively silence such things; nuclear-arms for instance. Who knows what the furtue may bring? But one thing's certain, the future is looming closer than I thought.

2002-08-29T02:49:00.000-07:00

Contact

I woke up yesterday morning to find a pleasant surprise in my mail box. It was red envelope with a card inside. My address on it was written neatly. Looked like the work of some unfamiliar feminine hands.

The envelope looked as if it had a card and a Rakhee. I was right, but there were not one but two Rakhees, and a letter signed by Samantha.

Dear Bhaiya,

Hows you? Hows life? Could you please send me an e-mail when you recieve this card. Hmmm my handwriting is not very good, in fact its not good at all. I jus hope you understand it. <--- You bet I understand, you are reading your letter here :). In fact I think your handwriting is good.

So when do I get my gift. <--- Pretty soon dear, as soon as I come to Mumbai.

Samantha or more aptly Sammie as I call her goes on to say many more nice things and ends her letter with...

P.S: I am not very good at writing letters either. So don't laugh at this please.

Sammie is a nice lil' gurl. I met her first around two years while chatting to get off from work. Full of wit, life and humour this girl would brave the oddities on the Net alone. Even after stopping volunteering for CyberAngels (known as CyberPatrol now), I would try to ensure that young people around me didn't get into trouble. In the process I made a sister.

Our relationship has been unique. She knows my sister (Anu), she knows all my girlfriends on the Net (well almost). We have fought, laughed and sometimes scared creeps together. But the strangest fact is that I have never been able to see Sammie in person, and yet I know her as if like she lives right next door.

Well know what Sammie? Your letter just made my day. And yeah, you write letters very well. The Rakhees were beautiful too.

Though your Rakhees reached a little late, but they are the reason I am still celebrating Rakshabandhan - I am wearing them as I write this, and they have been catching peoples attention for over 27 hours now :).

2002-08-23T08:15:00.000-07:00

Read! Then talk

When I was attending an Intel meeting some years ago, someone high-up on the corporate ladder had remarked, "No wonder people believe in God so much... the country is run by the Gods". I felt like arguing then and there. But the Independence Day special of India Today made my job easier. Inside there was special covergae on India's achievements as a nation - 55 of them. Everyone of them based on solid facts.

I read them over and over again, they filled me with a sense of pride. The press and the media has always been blamed for portraying a bad image of India inside as well as outside. The story belittles them all. Kudos to India Today for that.

But as Indians we constantly undermine ourselves and blame the system. We must stop this, accept what is, and try to get better. I have decided to pass copies of the issue to any foreign national who tries to belittle my country. Alll of us have a lot to be proud about.

Thanks to people who read me, I have a lot to be proud about too. When in Mumbai, almost all of the people I know liked reading my blog. Suggestions were plenty and so were opinions, considering the fact that my blog has barely completed a month. For all you people that make my desire to write better tick: Thank you! Your suggestions are important to me please keep them coming.

I am good, I will get better.

2002-08-21T22:34:00.000-07:00

It's out

It required more than a years work. The traget audiences and the final goals changed. At the cusp there was very less material to print - things were spruced up at the end. But yes, it's finally out.

Digit Special "Protect Your PC" is out and available on stands. A year long effort and disease has finally come to an end. Hope you enjoy it. Disease why? perhaps I will put more details on how it was made when I get time later.

2002-08-17T05:16:00.000-07:00

Nobile

How do I keep in touch with people things, and everything that goes around me - I use phones once in three days on an average. And no I don't use a mobile phone. Puzzled?

In my list of priorities, messengers come first, then e-mail and then a personal visit. Phone is the last thing that I ever do. Am I going over-the-hill? I don't know, but ever since I left using mobiles and phones life for me has become less reactive. Before, an unintentional disaster would make my mobile burn with fire. Calls after calls. I remember one such event before a router at a major ISP went awry. Everytime something would happen, I had to move even if I had nothing to do with it. Why? because they knew that I can get it done fast and reliably.

And for any organization this is bad. Disasters are great opportunities to learn, if they are not mission critical. People should know how to solve problems on their own - if they don't they should learn. And the best way to learn is to do it on your own.

But ideally, technology equipment should be like the human body. You probably don't break down when a simple bacteria infects it. The defense mechanism eliminates it. You get chicken pox only once -- your body knows how to protect itself after one infection. It learns it the hard way.

So as long as this happens, I'll chose to live an unreactive life remain unaccessible and keep developing things that come close to mimicing the human body. Amen!

2002-08-15T07:43:00.000-07:00

No smoking

Smoking - I picked the habit during my sophomore days, around the time when my first girl friend left me. My second girl friend told my folks that I smoked - I shamelessly reaffirmed. The third ensured that I didn't smoke in her presence, she went away too and my habit returned. Since then my habit constantly ensured that I had no girl friends.

I have come to believe that leaving smoking was easy - I had left it so many times. Everytime I left it, it would pounce back more vigorously, victorious than ever. The smooth 555s turned into Marlboro Lights or MLs. Too many MLs would kill my throat they so gave way to a hard worker's Wills Navy Cut with an ocassional spicy Gudang Garam after meals.

I don't quite remember the day when I started, but I do remember that I hated every thing about smoking - the taste, the smoke... everything. As I progressed I found it to be more relaxing. Smoking calms the nerves and the brain cells but it does this at a very bad price. Research shows that idling gives the habit more impetus like an accelerator. But I was born upside down, the more I worked the more I smoked. It also proves that every puff is inextricably linked to the other - the more you do it the more you want to do it.

It confuses an individual's senses of pleasure and pain. Un-noticable slow long-term damage occurs slowly for small delightful puffs of tobacco. One businessman, a jap, even told me that the habit was old-fashioned and that they see it as a loss of self-control.

So much for the facts, all I am bothered about is do I want to leave smoking for forever? Well everyone dies and I certainly don't want to - as a smoker that is. So today marks a death of my smoking. Let the electrons that leave my server and beam at your face at speeds of light as you read this serve as a testimony.

Circumstances evoke decisions, but growth starts only when decisions change circumstances forever. Happy Independence Day.

2002-08-12T00:29:00.000-07:00

Content vs. code

The battle is over. Whether to develop content or to develop applications - the battle was raging in my mind for quite sometime.

I was a good coder. Solving real-life problems in languages like C was natural to me. There were more than seven years of experience at work here. Suddenly programmers most dreaded disability amongst programmers, CTS (Carpal Tunnel Syndrome) happened. CTS is an extreme case of Repitive Stress Injury relating to excessive use of the keyboard. Even signing my name on a paper had become difficult - leave alone lifting my morning cuppa.

The mouse went into my left hand from the right and I had to make more money for every page written. I couldn't do much programming using dictation software. And writing was something I was particularly good at anyway. I had shift but the thought of making coding a long forgotten skill only made me more miserable. The law made my hack fests difficult to carry on - I wrote about hacking and I shifted. Somehow my disability proved beneficial. Because prolonged keyboard use was banned, ideas would play a lot in my mind before I put them down. But peers constantly gave the rhetoric: Don't you think you are in the wrong line at the wrong time?

All over the world, the dot-com picnic was getting over. The high that tech-journalists got from writing about things they never used or understood was getting over too. The bubble of lies and hype that they had built around themselves had burst. The whole market of content developers, suppliers and users (writers, publishers and readers) shrinked. Many lost jobs. I was on a boundary wall between content on one side and code on the other and jumping soon was writ on my cards.

Today, the information cloud (amount of information in the world) doubles every three years - who reads all this stuff? Needless to say, not all of it useful. People who read a lot think of content that can't be used is like a virus. No matter how well it is written - it simply wastes time. If it can't be used, it's useless.

However, the field is still open for people who understand technology and know how it will or won't contribute for making a positive difference in our lives. In a way whatever happened, happened for the better. There should be no room for tech-journalists who just hail and popularize new acronyms.

I was only fortunate that my coding experience gave me deep insight about things, the hows and whys about things as they call it. I will continue maintaining this edge. This singular fact has changed all the lines for me.

I was once a coder, once a content developer and once a consultant. What do I do now? I wish I knew ... I haven't come across a word that says "I like doing it all".

2002-08-10T09:05:00.000-07:00

Desi Ghee

My mess is a mess. This used to be a oft-heard sentence for my friends and relatives here in Nagpur. Food has always been problem for me whenever I am away from home, especially after my liver condition. However my new mess is a good one. It dishes out stuff that always reminds me of home-cooked food. My weight will finally show some improvement.

The other day a new customer plonked more than generous amounts of ghee from the can on the table on to his chapati. A morsel, then another ... soon he was relishing the food with his eyes closed. As he got up he commended the owner loudly, "The food is great, keep it up."

As he was washing his hands, the owner meekly said to the man: Bring your own ghee next time - the can that made your food great belongs to the person over there as he pointed towards me. The man was stunned and made a hasty retreat. The rest of the people in the joint were rolling in laughter.

I guess thats more than enough for sharing lighter moments whenever the punter walks in next. The mistake was obvious, the ghee is simply great. I was gifted a kilogram by my friend who is into farming. The ghee comes from his farm. The ghee is granular to right degrree, pure and is made from cow-milk. One more thing, its totally inviting.

Thanks Ashish, your gift wass wonderful and is much appreciated. You can expect my call as soon as I finish this can :).

2002-08-09T06:21:00.000-07:00

Empty Graduates

On August 6 this year someone's life changed. That someone was a friend whom I had known since grade eight. He left for US for a graduate program. He wants to have a foot in the US.

The quality of education in US Universities may be debatable. Perhaps it may be better than what happens in India. The teacher-student ratio is certainly more. Indian Universities starve for funds to maintain toilets. The syllabi is outaded anyway. Sometimes even the teacher hardly speaks English. So what does a prospective student stand to gain from such an institution? Nothing barring elligibility to graduate programs and babudom.

But why then students flock to Technological Institutes in huge numbers? Perhaps they don't know ... but I think it's the value that us Indians put on education. Valuing education is good. But on the other hand, we are far away from knowing that what the Universities and Institutes give you is _not_ education. In Future Shock, Alvin Toffler lucidly writes that people will suddenly find that the jobs they are doing no longer relate to their education. True, in the more developed countries and cities the value of the degree has been for long been decreasing. More than three designations and job responsibilities out of four didn't exist three years ago. Whoever heard of Developmental Editors and Usability Consultants. Are our Universities able to cope up with this?

One of my colleagues is now working for an MLM scheme and makes a living convincing people to buy products (degree not required). Another who made good marks just sits at home applying for companies that need more than five years of experience. Both of them are B.Engg. Computer Technology.

Do the Universities know what kind of education they are passing? I can bet four years of private studies in any field will make you more progressive. Indian companies are just now waking up to the fact that a good degree doesn't mean a good worker. Skills, practical and real-world knowledge are need of the hour. We should teach what needs to be done rather than teaching what already is. And before that we should teach how to make your degree earn you three meals a day.

2002-08-08T07:41:00.000-07:00

Remembering Rutu

I met her first on IRC. She was an interesting lovable girl. Then I met her in person. My second opinions about her bettered the first ones - we became instant friends. It was a tale about a guy who didn't want to fall in love and gal searching for Mr. Right. She did find Mr. Right, but then I was history. That Mr. Right must be a very lucky person to have Rutu as a life-long companion.

Times have made me not look back and move on. But one can't help looking back, especially when it comes to moments he wants to return to. Rutu was a warm girl, always giving everything and everyone the best of her. She was a believer. She made people feel more than they could ever be. She had that characteristic charm around her that would make you forget all your troubles and start singing. She was always a freind to me, perhaps more. I felt maimed when I lost touch.

When I first heard Rutu, I thought it was just a nickname. Rutu in Marathi means seasons - it was her name for real. Seasons change, come and go. Somehow I can't help wondering if Rutu can come back again.

2002-08-05T01:16:00.000-07:00

Death Insurance

As I walked around the streets near my place yesterday, something caught my attention. The paan-thelas looked different, there were no rows of gutkha sachets that used to hang like a curtain in front of the hawker. A thela (Hindi) is a small roadside shop, big enough to occupy the hawker and light enough to cart around. While a paan (hindi) is a beetle-nut leaf filled with spices and condiments to ease digestion. However, some kinds of paan preparations contain tobacco. And almost all paan-thelas sell cigarettes and gutkha. Gutkha is flavoured beetle-nut and may contain some amounts of tobacco.

Starting from August 1, sale and manufacturing of gutkha was banned throughout Maharashtra. It is rumoured that an Ex-Chief Minister's jaw condition due to excessive gutkha eating might have influenced the decision. As a state Maharashtra spends more on treating people with cancers resulting from tobacco than it gains from the high taxes levied on the products that use tobacco as an ingredient. The move seems to have been made to ensure community-health. More and more states are rolling into position to exercise a ban. Today the Supreme Court stayed a High Court ban on gutkha in Allahbad.

Interstingly, nothing has been said about the consumption of gutkha. In Nagpur, where I live, a sachet of gutkha is colloquially called pudi (Marathi for sachet). After the ban, a majority of people converted to kharra from pudis. There is absolutely no difference about the ingredients that go into the making of kharra, the only difference is that it is more expensive as it is made to order by the hawker in small quantities according to the customer's preferences.

By now the Government should know that by banning products it cannot exercise control over people's habits. Especially, when the raw material that is used to make such products floats around unchecked. Institutions all around the world have learnt this the hard way. I still remember the case of a certain US University that banned cigarettes on campus. Some time later they saw people smoking bidi.

If the Government is truly interested in community-health there are other departments that need looking into first. These departments have been around since Gandhi's time. If one looks around such problems that need immidiate attention are plenty.

There is one thing worth mentioning here, gutkha makers make profit in plenty. I still remember seeing last years filmfare awards being sponsered by Manikchand (Manikchand is a popular gutkha brand). In one of the speeches Manikchand's MD said that Manikchand just doesn't make gutkha, it is also involved in public service. Examples on how aid for earthquake victims was dispatched in Gujarat and numerous other incidents followed. This was hypocrisy at its highest.

The effects of gutkha consumption might not be well known, but cigarettes have been well researched. The short 15-minute-bliss a cigarette gives knocks out more than a 1000 neurons besides releasing over 1500 toxins in the blood. Prolonged smoking is known to have carciogenic effects. Cigarettes are still not banned because they give the government a lot of revenue. More than 83% of the tax payed in West Bengal comes from the Indian Tobacco Company (ITC). Thats not all about ITC; Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) has investments over 1,437 crore rupees in ITC, and is thinking of increasing this sum. Where did the era of Indian ethics go?

I firmly believe that a population that can exercise their right to vote can certainly choose what is right for them. The Government should absolutely have no business trying to control or regulate it. They can surely make the survival of such companies difficult by imposing rigid tax-structures and controlling the price. They can also inseminate young minds about gutkha-evils at school - we have sex education don't we? Whatever the solution may be, they should play this dangerous game ethically.

As for the five year gutkha ban goes, I don't think it will last that long. Perhaps, the tax on such products may increase or huge sums of money may change hands at a discreet private party. And for community-health, the Government needs to think more creatively rather than reacting to some whims and statistics.

2002-08-05T01:10:00.000-07:00

Guniea Pig

Guniea pig: This is something all elder brothers have to be for younger sisters. While I was in Mumbai I was brutally put into service everytime my 15-year-old sister got a new beauty product. Moisturisers, bleachers, face masks, hair colour and every other concotion, I have been forced to try them all.

This time before coming to Nagpur, she made an attempt to color some of my hair red. She even combed them and styled them up nicely. Pleased with what she had done she innocently said, "Amol, you should be a model."

Whenever I am in Nagpur, my colleagues don't bother to ask why I look different. Perhaps they know weak I am in putting my foot down for my sister. Or maybe I just look plain "ugly". Today the neighbourhood venus confided, "Amol, you look great. If you manage to put on some weight you can become a fashion model."

Well, in a way I must say I alowed all the expirements to happen because of curiosity. I am only happy nail polish and lipstick never held my attention. Perhaps, my sister is old enough to know that if her bro goes out like that - he's gonna look less male. But when I called her up yesterday, I figured out she's much more older and mature than I thought.

Me: What should I send you from here? (Brother being generous)
Anu: Nothing. (Hesitant Sister)
Me: Tell me ... (Making sure that he'll really be able to save some money)
Anu: No, keep your money for your own projects. (Bombshell falls right on target)
Me: No Anu, I really want to get you something. (Bro is earnest this time)
Anu: OK, get me a CWC and anything else that you feel good. (Yippee, mission accomplished)
Me: Happy Birthday, I'll try to call you tomorrow.

She deserves a gift for being such a good sister, truck loads of gifts rather. There have been really few birthdays when I have gifted her something. She sends me gifts on all my bithdays. She's been there with me through all my ups and downs. She's always been more than a sister. So here's something for Anu: Happy Birthday. Keep marchin' near your mailbox honey, your gifts are coming.

2002-08-01T05:04:00.000-07:00

Blackout!

I am back at Nagpur and comfortably numb. Inspite of having a swell schedule up ahead, I am taking the day off. I got blacked out.

Travelling Mumbai-Nagpur in trains has always been fun, especially if you throw a second class sleeper compartment in. Yes, I travel second class. I don't want to condition myself to luxury so soon. Besides, the fellow passengers are always a pleasure to talk to. Approachable-thats the word; the other passengers are generally first-class snobs. Maybe it's just that I don't like connecting with super-reserved people who bask in false self-esteem. But when I got on the train, I had no idea what it had in store for me.

My train (2105 Vidarbha Express) reached Nagpur at 18:00-the expected time of arrival was 10:00 hours. I was eight hours late, courtesy National Power Grid. I was lucky I got the news early at Igatpuri Station near Mumbai where my train stopped for over two hours. There was a power outage in Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh. Fortunately, the train stopped at a station, there were other trains that were in the middle of nowhere. I had almost lost hope of reaching Nagpur anytime by 21:00 hours.

The Railways however, were taking no shit from the power companies. Tides of hope swept me over when I saw Punjab Mail chugging along happily with a Diesel engine. But the schedules of most of the trains that passed from Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh were spoilt.

I had been delayed before when I was travelling Ernakulam-Mumbai. I spent four days in a railway bogie on Konkan Railway. By experience, I thought my carefully calculated estimate for the time of arrival of 21:00 hours were unbeatable. The Railways got better by three hours. Trains generally travel fast at night touching speeds between 90-100 kmph. During the day speeds seldom cross 70 kmph. Indian tracks are speed-safe till 115 kmph. A small chat with the driver at Nagpur revealed that he did 105 kmph during the day.

Thanks to the driver I was able enjoy some night life, forgetting a day spoilt as a singular sad story in a bunch of happy ones.

But even today, I find that the aftermath of yesterday's power outage is still reeling strong. Today happened to be one of the very few days that I visit humans at my bank (SBI). I prefer the faithful noiseless ATMs more. The bank employee who slept nine-to-five and got thrown out early on Saturdays was actually trying his best to keep with work. Yesterday July 30, was closing day when banks go through the monthly audit cycle.

None of the yesterdays work was done. Their Uninterrupted Power Supply systems ran out before the power was restored. Power generators had given up on them. I spent and additional one hour there to get a simple withdrawal done. The rest of my transactions will only be completed tomorrow after yesterday's audit is complete.

I am aware of company that makes Optical Fibre for telecos (telecom companies) in Taloja, Mumbai. The last time an unserviced MSEB transformer went up in smoke, it took them an entire month to start manufacturing again. The delay, I guess is caused because equipment has to be cleaned, resantized, recallibrated and sealed. Even a small outage can punch major losses into the company's balance sheets. A similar incident in the Silicon Valley a few years ago saw companies hit the red. How many other organisations and busy individuals must have lost time like this? How much money did we loose?

The bottomline: Nobody cares. The Government hardly values time. Maybe that's why as a Nation we remain grossly unproductive. But a few questions still pop-up in my mind. Though the schematics and maps relating to the country's power grid are classified information, how much can we afford to loose to a cleverly planted bomb?

2002-07-30T04:30:00.000-07:00

Going to Nagpur

Resting at one place these days is becoming extremely difficult. Today I will leave for Nagpur at 5:30pm. Maybe the rest of this entry will be completed there.

2002-07-29T13:48:00.000-07:00

Hello, World!

I remember these lines very well. These were the very few lines that I wrote on to my display as an amateur C programmer. Today, seven and a half years after many C programs and languages like C, it feels nice to use the same lines again. Welcome to my online journal and thanks for reading my first entry.

As I write this I have learnt a few things like I always do, (the hard way of course!). I was putting off the decision of writing and maintaining a blog because there was never enough time. But then things that ought to be done--ought to be done.

It is difficult to say how regular I will be at this. But, the possibility of having a dated blog somewhere on the Web as an artifact that may aid to personal embarassment is good enough to motivate.

Note to self: Busy people always find time to do things they love doing.