tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-43038904455038371852024-03-13T08:25:06.854-07:00Top of the MindA perspective from the top of my mind.....
some gibberish….some sense...some fun....some introspection....
In short a brain dump from a mind prone to random bouts of rebellion.Devesh Raohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00724347261476559741noreply@blogger.comBlogger11125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4303890445503837185.post-55925840250070565212008-01-13T01:08:00.000-08:002008-01-13T01:14:30.547-08:00How the cookie crumbles !Democracy is the last recourse for scoundrels is what is said and we seem to be hell bent on proving the adage right. <br />Our constitution is held up by the four pillars namely Judiciary who are its keepers, the politicians who are the makers, the bureaucracy who are the doers and the Media also called as the fourth estate the voice of the people, in short the reviewers. It speaks for the greatness of vision of the people who came up with the vision of our constitution to make a nation as nascent and adolescent as India when it turned into a republic, to aim for equality for all in all aspects of life. The primary dharma of each pillar is to stay true to its path and fulfill the work laid out for it. What the pillars have transcended into, in the short course of our independent existence after the imperial yoke being thrown away begets contempt beyond comparison. <br /><br />More so the fourth estate which has to stand up and share in the collective sin in failing to do what it has been granted the civil rights to do. We see an occasional glimpse of what the fourth estate can do with excellent impartial coverage of an event without taking sides but then those occasions are so far and few between. Far from being reviewers of the other three pillars and the moral and social fabric, media has started to look like an extended arm of the other three. The strong voice and pen of the erstwhile thinkers are being replaced with sycophants and mercenaries which do not think twice of the damage being done to the role and the image of the pillar with their shenanigans. <br /><br />When the common folks pick up a paper or switch on the TV for an opinion, they lay implicit trust in what they see and read. The connection is direct. We, the common folks do not have a direct contact with the political class, the judiciary or the bureaucracy on a day to day basis. The other three pillars work in the background as far as a common person is concerned, but the fourth estate is different. They share a bed and bug kind of relationship with the common people be it the first headline on the front page or a breaking news on the breakfast slot. Media has a responsibility to not just bring entertainment but also be the reviewer for the other three pillars. The voice of the common folks is the voice of the media, so that the other three pillars are always reminded that they are in the seat because of the silent denizens of the country. <br /><br />Satyamev jayate - Truth prevails, the all pervasive motto of the Indian nation is by far the most idealist position possible. It cant get more equal than that in any aspect of life. What seems lost on the crumbling fourth estate is that, it is the “Absolute Truth” which prevails, not the make-believe “truth” that is generated by the views and opinions of a select few which sit in the editorial chairs or new desks. When a view is presented with sides already taken the viewer, if gullible is taken for a ride, and if the viewer being a thinker, is instantly turned off in both cases the view presenter not doing the dharma expected of it of being a view presenter and no more. We have not yet outsourced the decision making process to the media czars and it is extremely elitist to see some of the people who make up the intellectual chatterati of the country make a fool of themselves taking or what it seems to them intelligent position on a situation. With each passing day it is becoming more and more intolerable the way news or opinions being “manufactured” or generated in lieu of eyeballs in the vastly commercialized sphere of media in our country. A sense of elitism or holier than thou attitude also is being taken over by the so called channels and papers which each going out of the way to present a “I am better(at attracting trp‘s)” image at the cost of being upholders of our constitutional motto. <br /><br />Example which beget the questioning of the media is the way some of the “elite” abetted a person to commit self immolation all but for the sake of a few eyeballs, what became of the elite no one knows maybe they got promoted. We have cases like the teacher who got framed by a wannabe “journalist” and get her career ruined to help bring news to the world. Even what is so evidently a political issue, the issue of reservations for a set of tribal converts against the non converts gets presented as a religious one as the bogey of saffron surge creates more eyeballs and wins more praise. Channels and presenters get awards not by standing up for the truth but by “presenting” the truth. The “elites” in the media take sides openly in the political spectrum to earn brownie points and maybe preferred slots for interviews, but in the process end up losing credibility which they have so painstakingly built over the period. For the media or people who make up the media, it is the credibility which is the holy grail. Just like money is for a businessperson, credibility is to the news person. If the view being presented is being done by a person who has lost trust the view also loses trust. We cannot have media barons lose the implicit trust that the people have on them by their open flirtations with power which they seem to have got intoxicated with. People are the best judge, they vote out politicians, protest when injustice is done, forgive when the need to move ahead is right and better for the country as they get more and more intelligent and more nationalist, people will start making choices on their own like the recent Gujarat elections proved and such a situation will be disastrous for the fourth estate for it will stand exposed for what mal-intent have committed themselves onto. The fourth estate having lost its way needs to take sides, not with “whoever is in power” kinds but “side with the nation and the truth” kind. There are no individual principles involved in nation building, individual agendas may be good for trp’s but are bad for the nation. <br /><br />Just as Satyamev jayate being all pervasive, even the fourth estate(apart from the other three which anyways win the corruption indexes hands down) being sidelined for its unprincipled ways is not far off , it not yet too late for the fourth estate to gather up the pants that it has dropped. The truth is, if it does not, they stand the risk of having as much credibility of a American dollar in the years to come by. And that is not a good thing, not for the country after all everyone likes a cookie which is firm and crunchy not one that is soggy and crumbling.Devesh Raohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00724347261476559741noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4303890445503837185.post-48853454918753202162007-06-02T10:35:00.000-07:002007-06-02T23:56:01.488-07:00The halwai conundrumIn a land far far away, in fact so far away that it was very near the point you started out on in the first place, only this time the opposite direction was a halwai house, an Indian Halwai House to be precise. The portly owner was justified in calling it an Indian halwai house as it did justice to both words, it was Indian in the true sense as cooks from far corners of India were employed to bring the taste of India to the fore and at the same time only a true blue halwai could claim ownership to a belly which was no less in circumference than the kadhai in which the sweetmeats were prepared in.<br /><br />The fame of the halwai shop was spread far and wide and people from all over the place came over to the shop to eat to there heart’s content. Its food was equivalent to heaven and it was said that people’s normally wished for the last thing to eat on the planet before departing from the heavenly abode come from the halwai house. So much so that the halwai started contemplating opening a branch bang opposite the various hospitals and prison on the area. The halwai ran the house as a true entrepreneur would. He had the best cooks from all over the place working at his place. They all worked relentlessly in the kitchen making dishes which most of the times were eaten up before they could make it to the plates. <br /><br />The fame of the halwai spread far and wide and kings and plebeians alike sat at the doorsteps trying to get a order in, children of all hue and colours made the street outside the shop a permanent hangout spot so much so that the local school was shifted to the street and the classes conducted according to the timings of the jalebies, ladoos, samosaes, rabri’s and assorted dishes making it out of the ladle and onto the display panes. <br /><br />The village economy grew and all grew hale and hearty and obscenely obese. Then one day a stranger came to the shop. He looked long worn for the travel and halwai taking pity on the stranger offered him shade and water and food. The stranger from the looks of it seemed to have gone without food and devoured the food laid out in front on him like there was no tomorrow. After he was done he wished to thank the people who cooked such divine food and asked for permission from the halwai to walk into his kitchen and thank the souls who had saved his life. How was it to be known that the stranger was no stranger at all, but a servant of a neighboring village halwai who had borne the brunt of the fame of the Indian halwai house. The envious neighboring village halwai and his scheming servant had thought up a devious plan to put water to the flames of the Indian halwai house’s stove. The halwai none the wiser to his rivals plan gave permission and the wily stranger let loose his plan. In the kitchen he met all the cooks individually and congratulated them on cooking the best dish and also how the Indian halwai house was so good just because of his dish and none of the other dishes warranted so much praise as their creation. <br /><br />All the cooks went to sleep with the thought in their mind that it is their creation which was making the halwai shop famous and well known. Next day early morning each one of them walked up to the halwai and told him that they were quitting and starting a halwai shop on their own as it was their creation which was the real reason for the shop to be famous and so they did not think it was really a good idea for them to work here any longer while they could shake off the baggage of the other dishes which were not so good and make even more profits as a standalone shop. The jalebi wala cook set up his shop below the banyan tree in the shade, the rabri wala cook cornered the bus stop shade while the samosa wala cook thought it made better sense to roam the streets selling his ware while the ladoo cook set up his shop outside the village temple. So in a day the Indian halwai house went from offering an assortment of finger licking dishes to a empty shell of a sweetmeat shop.<br /><br />All the cooks dreamed of making it big and having their own rabri halwai shop, ladoo halwai shop, samosa halwai shop, jalebi halwai shop but it was not to be. They did sell intermittently but business was not as good as before. All the cooks cooked good but the craze was not just the same. They managed to sell food to the devotees making an offering to the temple, urchins playing marbles in the street, the traveler who had missed his bus or the loitering ruffians who sat in the banyan shade during the afternoon. <br /><br />It was not the same as before, none of them offered anything better than what someone else offered, as a whole the combination of the food was unbeatable and no one could touch it but all spread out there was no complimenting each other. The kids from the school who used to drool looking at the spread of the dishes now gave the scattered sweetmeats no more than a cursory look, they all carried on playing or took to break to go home and scamper off with granny’s handmade ladoos or kheer made by their mum for dad.<br /><br />It was not to be… Indian Halwai House which was the best dishes from all parts of the country no longer existed…. Only a shell was left behind by the stupid cooks who never could understand that it is never a single dish alone which gives flavor to a plate but it is the whole experience on the palette which makes people want more….. If only they knew… if only Indians knew…....Devesh Raohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00724347261476559741noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4303890445503837185.post-56113861296549563312007-05-19T01:42:00.000-07:002007-05-19T01:47:47.145-07:00A Different story line...Illusions should come packaged with statutory warnings, something on the lines of <span style="font-weight:bold;">“Illusionary state of mind is detrimental to anyone accompanying the person in question“<span style="font-style:italic;"></span></span>. Its like passive smoking, the difference being the effects are more at a mental level. Spending time with someone having illusions about himself or herself is like spending time in the gas chamber only this time the brain is getting smothered. Now think about spending the whole life with yourself when you are constantly having megalomaniac thought about yourself. Thinking of Jekyll and Hyde, Schizophrenia, Insanity, nah more like plain old stupid<br /><br />So why the above rant?<br />I was going through my mail archives, when I came across a script or that was what it was supposed to be when I wrote it. Not long ago I had illusions about wanting to be a director. I remember the time very well, we were working on a project deadline, my colleague and best friend gaurav slogging away at the terminal doing his best to deliver on time. I too was putting in efforts to do something by not getting in the way, what better way to contribute by not screwing up things more than they already were. So as to keep myself busy in being idle, I was inspired to write a script….. A movie script no less. I could have written a kindergarten play and maybe carried it off with aplomb and little persuasion with my neighbors kids, but no all great people think big and stupid think bigger. I thought the biggest.<br /><br />Also as a dedication to gaurav for his efforts to get me out of trouble by doing not just his work but also mine on our project, I decided to make him the hero of my movie.<br /><br />Please proceed reading at your own risk and gau, if you are reading this, buddy I guess you missed out on your Oscar.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">A Different story line...<span style="font-style:italic;"></span></span><br /><br />Apna hero gau ka wt is around 50 kilo [theek hai, in movies we can add weight by making him put extra clothes]. He doesn’t have any aim in life and all day does java coding. His friend one day decides to put on weight and joins a gym and gau decided to join him just for company sake. His friend drops out of the gym at the last moment coz he got admission for onsite in US. Gau is now left alone and doesn’t know what to do. His dad scolds gau for having no weight target in life and wasting away his life on 50 something kilos.<br />His girlfriend... [Hmmmm I guess this is getting too filmy and the budget does not afford a heroine] ... his WSAD tool which is his first love is happy coz gau will now stay away from coding for some time and WSAD can take a rest from constant compiling and running of java and projects.<br />Gau’s first weeks in gym is a horror show and he runs away back to WSAD who is so very pissed off on gau that she dumps gau's programs and refuses to compile any of his programs.... gau's warrior ego is hurt and he vows to get back to gym and he now comes out a well built person and goes on to win Mr Shivaji park competition.<br />WSAD also finally comes around and builds all gau's projects and makes him happy.<br /><br />PS: I go on to win at the Razzies for the worst story, direction, production, and all categories.<br />PS-1: Gau loses out on winning at the awards coz they all faint and cant watch any further so his acting goes unnoticed<br />PS-2: I make a lot of money [not by selling the movie... its junk, but by getting myself adopted by gau's bapu.]<br />PS-3: The script is absolutely new and is different, Any similarities to a movie called lakshya is a coincidence and figment of critics imagination. Any such claim will be treated with spam of more of my stories and the claimant sued for maligning my creative talents.Devesh Raohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00724347261476559741noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4303890445503837185.post-26128237930155348862007-05-15T11:30:00.002-07:002007-05-15T11:31:16.462-07:00Leap of faith !!!!A drop of sweat trickles down the forehead, I have never done this before. in front of me is a chasm whose depth I cannot fathom. No tape, measure, laser has been invented which could reach the end and tell the world its depth. The gorge lay there from ages, none knows what created it maybe a meteorite hit or a dormant volcano. The gorge has a reputation of being a killer, multitudes of trekker and vehicles have met their nirvana at the base of the sharp and craggy edges. I can see my whole life go past me in a microsecond., a kaleidoscope of colours and events vivid and at the same time compacted into a moment.<br /><br />It is not long back that my kin had tried to dissuade me from going on this adventure, they tried their best to coax me to go to an alternate journey which was equally stressful but relatively safe, relative being the word I am stressing on here. But I was adamant on doing this, it was the monkeys paw on my back. I had to get it off my conscience, I had to complete this journey to feel like I had not given up. It was not just about adventure, about winning, about feeling like it is the best for me. It was a job to be done coz I wanted to do it so that when eventually one day I will meet my creator, I will proudly proclaim myself as the conqueror of something which only the gods could have created. <br /><br />Zap to the present and my palms are all sweaty now, I cannot afford that to happen. My body parts sometimes have a tendency to rebel and act as independent principalities. I need all the senses to work as one, if I have to land safely across the gorge. At the same time the view is beautiful, I look across and the calm waters of the lake just across the gorge shine back at me, the waves rising and lapping the shores in a systematically serene fashion. I am being lulled into complacency by the beauty around. How can anything which is so beautiful be so dangerous at the same time. A lot of people before me may have felt the same but they have met their fate at the hands of the dark lord at this very spot. Nature has a way of being kind and cruel at the same time, volcanoes, earthquakes, floods hurricanes are all natures creations along with the ocean, stars, waterfalls and beaches. I struggle to gain composure. It seems like ages since I was at the edge of the chasm contemplating the most important decision of my life till now, but when I look at the watch it has just been a minute since my mind going for a toss. I look ahead, I have my aim in sight in front of me, the altar of success, the peak which I set off to conquer from my base camp. It is reflecting the sunlight off the midday sun. It looks like glass in brilliance, unreal in all respects, unconquerable and protected by a series of gorges and crevices hidden and dangerous, nothing more than the one I am facing right now. I cannot back off now. I have reached this far not to turn back.<br /><br />I check my safety harness and wink at the person behind me and try a feeble joke. I double check the pick axe and the hooks which I will fasten onto the rope to pull myself across. I take a look down into the deep, say a prayer and toss the rope across. It gets entangled in a sharp projection across and when I pull the rope tight it lassoes itself tight. I give it a pull to check if the rope will hold and I am off. I cannot will myself to look down for that would mean a stare down the dark void or nether land, how many people before me have attempted this crossing I do not know, how many will follow I do not know. What drives humans to do insane things I do not know. All that I know at that moment is to get the freaking hell out of there and reach the end before the rope gives up on me. At the half way stage my hands find an opportune moment to rebel, I guess they anyways have been thinking of that for some time now but why do they have to chose this inopportune moment is beyond me, they are also successful in instigating the legs to go on strike against the inhumane dictatorship of my brains. If only my brain knew what a idiot it was for behaving as if it was the only part which could take decisions. So stuck in the middle with nowhere to go, the blue sky above me, the dark depth below, the cobalt blue lake beyond and in some distance my ultimate goalpost. What do I do, how do I get myself out of this mess. Shouting for help wont do any good. There are people around but they have themselves to care about. Its all one for themselves in these harsh surroundings and the perfect setting for survival of the fittest. I am not going to give up so close to the end, I make up my mind to get myself off this situation. My brain the devil comes up with a plan and promises new gloves and shoes to my feet and arms. This gets them moving, promises have a unique problem though no one bothers about keeping them but then that’s another story.<br /><br />I make it across and clamber down the edge onto safe territory, my hands are raw and feet numb but they are happy with thoughts of the bribe which they have just been promised. I look back and shudder on thinking what I had just accomplished. This is the mother of all of my adventures, I have finally being able to break the shackles which had held me back and done something which will make me proud of myself. I see people behind me look at me with respect showing in their eyes, some were already following me in the path I had blazed for them. Soon there will be a glut of adventure seekers on this route, but I was the first, the first to be here, my name will be covered in glory, the first one to cross P2. Subsequent generations will read about me in history books as follows… <br />Devesh H Rao, the first to cross the pothole P2, depth - unknown on the road under construction in Powai on the way to SEEPZ.Devesh Raohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00724347261476559741noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4303890445503837185.post-56821002868389198192007-05-15T11:30:00.001-07:002007-05-15T11:30:39.868-07:00Three legged race horse.....Imagine a racing event with pure breeds lining the gates, impatient to get off the blocks, neighing to show off the power and in their midst a horse which looks impressive has pedigree but somehow it seems to have one of its legs tied and that too by the jockey. If at the end of the race the three legged horse ends up second will you as the owner of the horse rue the fact, that it did not win the race and retire it to the stables or untie the leg, get the jockey on your knees give him a sound thrashing as one would give an errant kid, put him back in the saddles and promise the jockey a repeat hiding, if he did anything more than move an inch in the opposite way during the race.<br /><br />Think again what you would do, why should it be any different when the horse in question being India, the jockey our esteemed politicos and the race, the race to create a livable future for all and live up the ideals enshrined in the constitution. <br />A growth rate of 9% over the past years, trillion$ club, outflow from the country on par with the inflow of investment revenue. Anyone would be led to believe the government is leading a revolution and so it should seem considering it is being led by a globally recognized fiscal expert. Time to think again, industry having to cope with multitude of restrictions, power woes leading to almost 20% off times, infrastructure which would make a martian proud, accountability and responsibility by the bureaucracy woeful and the Indian mindset of “chalta hai, what to do its karma” aiding in underutilization of potential. <br /><br />Why is it that we blame the nuts and the bolts on the politicians, why are they our favorite target practice. Good politicians do exist, who are not corrupt, who think for the betterment of the society. Then why is it that only the bad lot get highlighted. No one talks about a politician leading a campaign for social justice errrrr not the reservations, I meant equality not inequality. Why do we not cover politician setting up schools and not engineering/medical colleges. Why do we not cover politicians talking about growth and opportunity of employment through empowerment at election rallies rather than free power and free jobs for anyone who bothers to turn up to hear the poor fellow. Is there such a kind in the first place or we have seen the last of those kind go extinct along with a multitude of visionary journalists, teachers and such during the period since the 80’s. <br /><br />Corruption is anathema to growth, any thing which is corrupt will corrupt the surroundings. Corruption is like a skunk in the rose bed. We know the rose bed is untainted and fragrant and looks gorgeous but the skunk will make the whole experience nauseous. This is what a few corrupt in the political class do to the image of the political class in the Indian consciences. We know there exist good thoughts and visionary amongst the people who fill up the benches, but when faced with people who do not think twice before bribing or getting bribed for crossing over parties on which they have won to a party which they poured scorn on during elections., people who will kill to win, people who will sell their souls and passports, people who think nothing of denigrating the sanctity of the hallowed precincts of the parliament by hurling footwear at each other what is there for the common folks to think of them. Even if they deserve the benefit of doubt, the doubts are just growing longer and longer over the period regarding, if these people really deserve to be put in posts which carry such high levels of responsibility and commitment needed of them.<br /><br />We get to hear that we deserve the kind we ourselves are, we chose people so we deserve them. I refuse to buy that argument. Even if I buy a 1 rupee toffee I am entitled to redress and reimbursement if the toffee is defective so why is it that I am denied something of the kind when we vote in a government. A case in point being we are stuck with the mother of all inefficient governments as of today, even Nero will turn in his grave as someone has just stolen his thunder and the adage of Nero fiddled when Rome burnt to “Someone wanted Mumbai to be shanghai when farmers couldn’t afford the ticket and chose to end their journeys” kind. The power crisis has hit the roof and I am writing this in the light of the laptop screen, something which settles scores with my earlier generation which studied by the lamp light. So who says it’s the 21’st century, its still middle ages in here. <br /><br />The best are supposed to rise to the top, the best filtered out from the chaff for a job, the best should survive and win a race. Think, if the winning a race was bribing your completion to race slow or you getting a handicap of starting of a few feet from the finish line or better still hiring muscle power to stop the completion from even taking off while you stutter and splutter to the finish, is that a fair finish, does the winner deserve the win in the case. Is that a race or a mockery of the people putting faith in the race to decide the best. <br /><br />In all aspects of life eventually the chaff gets shorn off, the rivers cut through the stones, diamonds are sorted from glass then why should politics be any different. It is high time the ruling class needs to realize the impatience that is growing against them from the common folk. We live in a democracy and Indians always have been pragmatic when it comes to deciding their own fate. We also have a high level of adjustment factor but if and when we have been tested by internal or external forces the backlash has been severe enough. We threw out the kings when we had enough of them, we threw out the British, French and the Portuguese when they got a bit more intrusive than just playing rulers. The present day novae rulers, the political class needs to remember that they serve the constitution and their duty is first and foremost towards the country and not onto themselves. They need to get their act together and fast, India is in no mood to compromise and compromise it wont. We have a destiny to fulfill, a vision to succeed, a path to greatness great not in wealth or power great as in all living souls being happy and taken care of. It is utopian but then like the mirror is for showing the true face, the mirror is also for imagining the ideal us. The mirror speaks to us in multitudes of images, the past, the present, the future. <br /><br />Speaking of the mirror throwing up many images just imagine the future, if we have the right people in the right places working for the betterment of the country, the growth will not be slave to a select few. It has the potential to be all encompassing and benefit the multitudes from the lowest of the income groups to the high fliers, from the small scale industries to the Indian multinationals. From the farmers owning share crops to huge landowners. The growth will be an pan Indian growth, if only we have the right people. If only we could untie the legs of the horse and spank the jockey back to his senses. If….Devesh Raohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00724347261476559741noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4303890445503837185.post-53296590702243121562007-04-15T07:46:00.000-07:002007-04-15T08:06:53.551-07:00Software Architecting vis-a-vis EngineeringTo build is to visualize and create. In any core science, a necessity triggers a process which culminates with an solution for the problem which mandated the search for an answer in the first place. Since ancient times a need has driven the human kind to reach out of the sphere of its intelligence and come up with an “Idea” which is thought not possible in the prevalent realm of finite. <br />There have been innumerable ideas which have given a new course to the direction in which the world has moved. A wheel may be the mother of all inventions also laying claim to the earliest possible inventions known to humankind. A wheel was driven by the need for momentum and it has passed through various stages from a oblong rock in the earliest period to the composite spheres which we are now building for robots which can use them to travel on any surface. <br />This whole process of the solution for momentum can be segregated into 3 parts, the need which is the requirement for momentum between two finite points, an idea which foresaw motion and the engineering aspect which converted that idea to concrete elements like a wheel.<br /><br />The engineering has gone through many iterations in from the ages when humans may have traveled a bumpy ride between the caves on a night out of home made beer to the work of art wheels we see today on some of the vehicles made of carbon composites and having the capacity to bear speeds which routinely break the sound barrier. What has stayed consistent though is the need which is momentum and an idea which fulfills that need.<br />Software as different it appears to be to the layman also follows the principle of a core science namely software architecting and software engineering. Given the need for a solution a software can be architected and then engineered. It is similar to a dam being visualized, architected and then built or for that matter an automobile being visualized, designed and built. Software also supports visualizing, architecting and then engineering. If only we get down to identifying and following the process in the true sense.<br /><br />A building wrongly built is visible, a dam wrongly architected is a fatal danger, a automobile designed in an ugly fashion is open to ridicule but a software which is wrong architected or engineered stays out of the sight by the inherent quality of software which gets it treated differently. <br />An application shutting down on a daily basis draws at most our curses while if our car did that ahem, would not like to be in the shoes of the person who sold the defunct vehicle in the first place.<br />Software as we know today is patch built and not architected, we have so many frameworks floating around but not a single one stresses on the need to visualize and then engineer. We have so many unknowns in the design of an software when we start the actual construction that we end up building a system and then patching it up to make it work the way we wanted it to be built like.<br />Visualization is a science where we can think of out of the box solutions, ideas which can range from the unorthodox to the mundane. Architecting is like a science which runs like a dream, which is not bound by the dimensions and constraints known to us. How many times have we had brainstorming sessions in our teams when faced with a requirement which would either take too long to create and too costly to implement. How many times have we shouted down someone who had the gumption to stick the neck out and propose something radical or something too simple to be considered a solution. Some of the answers out there for questions which are hard to understand are simple in nature. We do not need the unnecessary mumbo jumbo and expressions running into a vocabulary of a 3 times doctorate holder to always solve something complicated. We pour resources in time, money and efforts solving bottlenecks without out seeing if there is an alternative to the idea itself. Imagine if human mind did not have the inherent quality to find alternatives we would still be driving vehicles on oblong tyres - ouch…<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4EKnBQfGSMP549Wr-7oP3EF1iSkW88CbTMIIwNRRuzcftTT4m5Sto3Y_LvtBNh1cK4bjbw5jkTKKjzBZ87kzcCe7PVxwgQ7teEePaasVdOISFDjUercZE99_ewYer1KHUALHfOtp6EPg/s1600-h/3D.GIF"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4EKnBQfGSMP549Wr-7oP3EF1iSkW88CbTMIIwNRRuzcftTT4m5Sto3Y_LvtBNh1cK4bjbw5jkTKKjzBZ87kzcCe7PVxwgQ7teEePaasVdOISFDjUercZE99_ewYer1KHUALHfOtp6EPg/s320/3D.GIF" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5053667524555781282" /></a><br /><strong><em>A messy rendering of a 3-Dimensional object which can only be rendered but not constructed.</em></strong><br /><br />Imagine trying to build everything we could possible think of, imagine trying to build the image above in the constraint of 3 dimensions, we would somehow have to wrap the straight lines of the diagonals around each other to make that possible. Is that possible in the current scheme of things that we know of? Considering that we are talking hypothetically, if we took time as the fourth dimension and any one who has read the time space theory will be quite familiar with what it means by time being an dimension, suppose the two diagonals exist in different time dimensions altogether, never overlapping each other in a particular time instance can we still say construction of the above structure is impossible? I know the idea exists but can I build it?<br /><br />Similarly we have constraints in architecting a software solution, we are constrained by the lack of dimensions in software engineering. When it comes to plumbing a software we are stuck with dimensions which are less that what we would like to have. Software is heavily dependent on what gets written hence it is prone to be buggy and fall short of standards which is the expected norm in pear industries like civil, mechanical and the automobile sector. All the core sciences are governed by laws which give them a predictability of behavior. Software has no laws to govern it, hence the predictability of a software code is unpredictable. Shine a ray of light and you know how it will behave in a environment where it has been observed before, write a piece of code and run it in an environment where it has run zillions of times before in test conditions and still it may fail for all you know.<br /><br />Software architecting is a core science which is analogous with architecting any thing, it requires tying to known the unknowns to such an extent before a software is even attempted to be built that the unknowns remaining when we actually start the engineering part probably form a miniscule part and end up playing no major part in the failure of a solution. Software has to mature from need - engineering basis that it currently runs on to a need - architect - engineer basis to come up with application which do not fail at such regular frequency.<br />Industry norm for a application or product following the processes to meet the requirements have to be replaced with the processes followed for say launching a satellite or possible a heart surgery. Imagine opening up a heart for a transplant and realizing that the size do not quite match, or the blood groups do not match or for that matter the main heart surgeon jettisoning the operation theatre in the middle and someone else asked to take over to complete the patch.<br /><br />Software in the next phase will mature where architecting a solution will find its due and solutions will be thought of first and then engineered rather than patched up as in most of the cases today.<br />The wheel of the software is yet to be invented, till then it’s a bumpy ride on a set of oblong tyres.Devesh Raohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00724347261476559741noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4303890445503837185.post-91954672959183829052007-04-08T01:37:00.000-07:002007-04-08T08:46:58.156-07:00Band aid for cancer….....In all the hype and the hoopla surrounding the shenanigans of the “gods” of cricket, aka the board, players, media, agents, ad agencies, spouses, cooks, drives “falana dimka” one phrase which has stuck is “Band Aid for Cancer”.<br /><br />Greg for all his follies or good at heart spirit that he may have carried, which we will never know due to our wise old men’s decision to lay to rest his legacy or lack of it whichever way to look at it, couldn’t be more apt when he quoted the above phrase…. None have hit the middle stump in summarizing the psyche of actions of the people in question more than Messrs Chappel.<br />Why just cricket, isn’t that how it has always been, in all spheres of our life, in all spheres of our interactions and daily needs. Band aid for cancer…. The mother of all medications. Band aid to solve all the ills. The one cure for all. A hypocritical solution called band aid for a menace called cancer.<br /><br />We are governed by some of the most corrupt and inept administrators the world has known, they do not as in the old days kill you physically at least not as openly as before, if you go against them, but they sure are adept at killing you morally and socially.<br />If ever anyone finds the courage to stick up his hand to be counted and find the will to challenge the powers to be, the person soon enough finds himself in the minority, a minority of being the only one against the system. It’s a game of either our way or the highway. What do we do to fix the problem, elections.<br />Elections are nothing more than band aid for cancer, its like we have eruptions of cancer here and there periodically and all we do is put on a band aid and hope the cancer goes away. We see off a party in an election and bring in another party in the hope that this time it will be different, the only difference at the end of the term is we have been made fools of in a different way….is it not that corruption is the cancer in here and parties, just the host… Band aid for cancer.. Band aid called elections.<br /><br /><em>Obscenity is defined as “disgusting and <strong>morally</strong> offensive, especially because of showing total disregard for other people”</em><br />The morally upright society will raise to arms on the subject of sex education for the youngsters in this generation under the pretext of shielding them from the degradation of the western culture, but turn a blind eye to a kid working the roads, or eking out an existence “earning a living” in the various child intensive small scale industries out there. Is not child labor more obscene, more uncivilized than any thing the western culture has ever imported into the country.<br />How can anyone ever compare an educational endeavor in teaching kids the bad effects of getting into physical relations or guarding against misadventures from the scum of the society with kids working in inhumane conditions and barely making an living and say that the former is obscene while turning a blind eye to the latter.<br />So called protectors of the moral fabric of my culture…..is it not that the unequal and ineffectual opportunities to the kids, and a lack of knowledge in differentiation between the good and the bad in the society a cancer in here…… Band aid for cancer….Band aid called shielding the kids from “immoral” western influence in the guise of sex education for a cancer called hypocrisy.<br /><br />Is not education a birthright as in our constitution? is it not the duty and dharma of the government to provide for the basic education for each and every kid out there?. What do we get in turn, realms and more realms of paper and time spent on discussing the moot question of reservations and making the society morally and socially equivalent to each other.<br />A child having his parents support his educational needs by pouring in money in tuitions and tutors, references and unimaginable amount of notes is purely at an advantage with a kid who works for supplementing his families income and reads by the light of a street lamp and still somehow manages to secure a passing grade. Does it make the kid “privileged” enough to have someone to provide for him a better prospect than the other kid. Hell no, in a world which is brutal in selection of the best and pruning of the week the latter has a better prospect of being a success, if ever the latter kid gets an opportunity to do so in the first place.<br />We are dividing the society on name of caste and reservation without going into the merits and demerits of the same. We need meritocracy to be supported and sustained in the world but not meritocracy as in the marks obtained in tests given by kids mugging the syllabus or by coaching factories churning out the IIT prodigies.<br />Merit is not winning or being the best in a given context, merit is the ability to survive and outlast the competition in the race called life.<br />If reservations are said to be inimical to merit, lack of equal opportunity for everyone to play the game is equally harmful to a system which needs the best to get through. After all a person starting off a game in golf gets a handicap in relation to someone who has been playing the game for long. Holding on to the handicap for life is inimical to merit, having the handicap in the first place is not.<br />Merit is talent, reservations should be about channeling that talent nothing more nothing less. But what do we have in its place, Band Aid for Cancer… a band aid called reservations for a cancer called a society, a socially irresponsible and biased society.<br /><br /><br />Sports, coming back to where it all this vent started from, band aid for cancer. We have a cancer called as commitment in our midst. A country of billion souls finds it difficult to find people who are good at excelling at a sport is the common lament. We hear complaints about lack of infrastructure, lack of support, officials treating international events as family picnics and so on and so forth. We keep hearing excuses of India being a poor country, ill able to afford the luxuries of the first world to support the sports.<br />We end up in the international games well below countries from sub Saharan areas where life itself is a challenge rather than getting selected for a sporting event. We adore half baked “gods“, we treat sportsmen whose only claim to fame being whipping the minnows for records as world beaters. We expect the moon from a person jumping on a trampoline.<br />I am no one to comment as I have no achievement to speak of my own but commitment is not one of them. We should believe in being committed to anything and everything we get into and expect the same for everyone else. we may not succeed always but then that is not expected, being committed to the common cause, cause of doing the best for winning is expected in all cases though. After each debacle we replace the sportsmen, while the problem actually lies at the people who are making those changes. sportsmen come and sportsmen go but what stays is the system which changes them.<br />It is the system which is at fault and needs to be changed and not the sportsmen. Its like feeding goats to the wolves, the problem is not the goats, it’s the wolves is what we forget, Band aid for cancer.. Band aid called as reports submitted and action taken by various committees in almost all the sport associations for a cancer called as commitment, commitment starting from the top rung.<br /><br />We are a short cut country, we want to be on the fast lane to success, always wanting to drive in the outermost lane, even if we have the most run down jalopy not capable of winning a race against 2 legged competition. We are a intolerant kind, a kind which has a crab mentality, wanting to succeed by pulling others down and rather than trying to be the best by being the best.<br /><br />Am I being hypocritical, am I being one of the problem rather than trying to be one of the solutions, Am I being someone who I was critical of just in the paragraph above, yes, in a way yes, but the target of criticism includes me. it is not passing judgments, it is not about being holier than thou, it is not about finding a solution, its not about being the one who has all the answers.<br /><br />It is more a brain dump to vent the feeling so as to feel having done the bit …… Band Aid for Cancer….A band aid called a personal opinion for the cancer called the unethical and the immoral.Devesh Raohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00724347261476559741noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4303890445503837185.post-45207128523200828602007-04-06T08:05:00.000-07:002007-04-06T08:06:41.013-07:00Rising from the shadows....<span style="font-family:times new roman;">Shadows are good for concealing the form of the object it hides. You can make out the silhouettes in the shadows, but can only guess as to what lies in there. We as a nation have always been afraid of what lies in the shadows, afraid of facing ourselves in the harsh glare of the light, content to live in the dark, content with past, content in singing hosannas to our culture as in the past, content in basking in the glories of the kings long gone and kingdoms long lost.<br />India as a entity has been content living in the shadows for a couple of centuries, never really finding the courage to step out in the light, let the rays illuminate it for all its glories and the warts. India has chosen to live a life in the darkness, happy with what could be the future rather than what is the future.<br />But what is it that make a nation, what is it that defines the Indian-ness in an Indian. What is it that is identified with being Indian. Is it not the people who make up the identity of a nation, the people who are born, nurtured and perish who define the nation. Or is it more to it than just people. What would be India without Indians, what would be India without the millions of mass which make up the country. Would India still be India, if all of a sudden it is rid of all the humanity it shelters, the answer is no, so is it not befitting to say that it is us Indians who make up India and who are to blame or take credit for what ever that India is credited or derided for.<br />What makes a pan Indian identity a bit difficult to explain is because we as a group of people have never had an pan- Indian identity, but for after our independence from the British. We have always lived close to each other for eons before that without a nation-state binding us. We have always identified ourselves by moot things like religions, caste, language, aristocracy, fair skin, dark skin, rice eaters, meat eaters. We kind of take pride in being diverse than in being inclusive. Ask a person his/her identify and more often than not the last thing he/she will flaunt is the nationality, the more common answers being the caste, religion or the region to which the person belongs to.<br />We have over the course of the last centuries ended up building so many shadows around us, we have grown to disown our own image. Personal experience have led me to believe that we more often than not tend to disown our heritage, our identity and try to be something which is not what we are. We are afraid of our own image and try to put on a mask to please the global audience.<br />Is it bad to be a xenophobe, yes it is. To blame someone for our fault is running away from our mistakes. Is it bad to blame all an sundry for our state in today’s world, it is. Is it the fault of the British that they were able to rule us for so long, is it the fault of the invaders who were said to hold sway over large swathes of India? If we let someone walk all over us, is it their fault or our weakness which is more to blame for all the troubles. We have our history being told to us by people who have never set foot on our soil, we have our traditions being degraded as ritualistic and heretical by people who have no idea what India has to offer. We are apologetic about traditions and customs in India when at a contemporary time people were no less barbarians in other parts of the world.<br />We do not need to hide our shortcoming, for if we do that, we will never get to correcting the wrongs. Human beings are a learning kind. We learn with experience and time. We as a nation have had some of the greatest social and philosophical reformers in our midst. India as a nation has a diversity unmatched by any nation out there in the world. We are a conglomeration of the widest section of identities which comprises of most of the religions in the world. We have a biodiversity which has a desert in the west, tropical forests in the east, the highest mountains in the world in the north and the ocean lapping at our southern borders. What is it that we lack, is it the resources, is it the economics, is it the manpower, is it the ability? We are a capable nation but capability is not ability as long as we remain in the shadows of our past.<br />It is time the nation, steps out and learns to accept what was the past and what will be its future, but for that to happen we should first step out of the dark to the present, go from being a silver line in the cloud to being the light itself.<br />India owes it to itself to be great. To be great is not a burden or to be immodest. It is only acknowledgement of a fact long lost in the shadows out there……</span>Devesh Raohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00724347261476559741noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4303890445503837185.post-13462721569808546552006-12-24T23:28:00.001-08:002006-12-25T00:07:14.502-08:00God is mathematics.......Anyone solving a mathematic equation with unknown variables will know what I am talking about. The solution to the most simple of solutions is evasive and someone can easily land up somewhere from where the person will have no clue as to how to get back on track to finding the solution.<br />What needs to be done is wipe the slate and start all over again. Isn’t that a feeling one gets when we try to make sense of what god is, we sometimes get so hopelessly lost thinking about the infinite spirit that we have to have a rain check and chuck out all our beliefs and start all over again.<br />Mathematics is also something which is the reason that people are religious, have you ever wondered about the potency of the prayers one offers when one finds that the math problem one is faced with in the exams is no where near to the zillions of problems solved during revisions.<br />Yes, god is the last recourse during that time and we dive into the unknown with belief that somehow we will get to rhs=lhs.<br />The similarities do not end, ever heard of limits and tending towards infinity and tending towards zero, ever thought what they actually meant. I think the root cause of baldness in human beings is math’s. People go so crazy trying to make sense of the concepts that the poor hair gets the brunt of all the scratching and pulling and hence the eventual drought on top of the head. Think for once how easy it will be to give example like what is god, something which tends to infinity, what is a living soul on planet something which tends to zero, does that make sense now.<br />Something which cant be grasped, something which stays the same irrespective of how much you add to it or remove from it something which is beyond the realm of intelligent comprehension is limit tending to infinity and hence god, and what is a soul something which exists but whose existence is so infinitesimally in significant in the whole scheme of the world that it tends to zero but still it exists and the existence has a value and it makes a difference in this world though infinitesimally small and tending towards zero but it exists and has a value whose limit tends to zero.<br />Humans have always had questions and any one reading the hitchhikers guide will always know the one question which is the mother of all questions, the answer is “42” a numerical, it could have been anything out there but it is a numerical. So god is math’s or math is god any which way you look at it.<br />Now if we think what is the question which has evaded human being all the time other than “What do I do to make my wife happy” that I guess is a question which even god will have no answer for, is the ever lasting quest for god. “what is god” is something which we have been trying to find for centuries and generations altogether and have come up with so many answers in the guise of so many religions that we have ended up confusing ourselves about it all the same. Talk about not knowing something, what we have now is options for ways not to know something, just like mathematics, not that it was difficult enough to solve a problem in the first place we have to divide the whole thing into equally incomprehensible divisions like algebra, geometry, calculus, logic so on and so forth for each his own way.<br />Even the symbolism that we have in religion and mathematics is so similar, say x = starts off simple and x + y = something nasty where y = completely incomprehensible and undecipherable Greek symbol. Religion has its mantras which start of with god = something simple and knowing god = god + some path which is not only unknown but also so highly strewn with difficulties and the directions in language known by only Chinese [coz they made the manuals], talk about a difficult path, I daily travel on roads made by BMC difficult is alien to me, or maybe BMC are messengers of god preparing us for the road to heaven. Huh, what happened gods run out of money, no doubt the priests live in lavish bungalows and sorry for digressing from topic, back to mathematics. Ok where was I ? This is what happens, when I pray and when I am solving a math problem, A similar state of mind, state where my mind has a tendency to tend towards zero and stay there …..<br />The way to nirvana and eternal bliss is oh so clear, if only I could solve a damn problem….Devesh Raohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00724347261476559741noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4303890445503837185.post-30892263893310159742006-12-24T10:08:00.000-08:002006-12-24T10:10:28.361-08:00The Right to say No........A choice is “A<em> decision to choose one thing, person, or course of action in preference to other</em>s”. A choice is made between options which are acceptable to the person making them.<br />The right to say no is a required option when faced with choosing between options not favorable or acceptable to us. Why is it that we are denied the basic right when we chose our representatives in parliament, legislature or municipalities. Time and again we have to vote and chose between options which rather than being the best are more likely to be the least of the worst variety. What stops the election commission from introducing the “<strong><em>None of the above</em></strong>” option in the election rolls.<br />It does throw up pertinent questions as to what is to be done, if this options wins, what happens next, so on and so forth, but is the answer really that difficult to answer. If the option garners more votes then it means, none of the people who were on the roll were found eligible by the people to lead the constituency and should be barred from contesting any elections from the place for a predetermined time and new elections should be held and should be held till a candidate gets votes more than not only the rest of the candidates, but also more than the “none” option.<br />This will be a way to make sure parties put up candidates who are acceptable to the majority and at the same time they will hesitate to put forth candidates who do not have the a fair chance of making it coz if they garner less votes than the “none” option the candidate finds himself out of contention for a period of time.<br />This is a way to make politics more responsible to the people they represent and also make them aware of the rights of the people to not just chose them but also “reject” them when they do not match up.<br /><br />RTI, if it continues in the current form will go a long way in cleaning up the system, if used proactively by the common populace and the media plays a positive role in highlighting the poster cases, similarly the election commission can clean up the electoral system by introducing a seemingly insignificant option but which when veiled by the common masses will make sure only the responsible and the truly worthy get into the field of representing the people.<br /><br />Why shouldn’t India set an example and introduce the option having the power to nip in the bud unfavorable elements getting into the system in the first place?Devesh Raohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00724347261476559741noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4303890445503837185.post-18725940099847313952006-11-22T03:47:00.000-08:002006-11-22T03:49:13.444-08:00Top of my mind.......What is it that drives a human being, is it the things that a person experiences, is it the things that are heard, told, seen, felt which give structure to the persons actions or is it something else. We are so busy trying to live our lives that we sometimes forget that we have to “live life”. Is survival all about just staying alive or is it something else, is it just about the place we want to be, rather than how we want to be at the place we want to be, is everything fair in love, war and life.<br /><br />When does ethics, principles, ideals come into the picture, is it just some words we learn in our infancy and which eventually gets obscured when we move on and start the struggle for existence. Can we think of these as just buzzwords which get thrown around when we need to impress someone or when we try to come up with reasons for our own shortcomings, “I can’t do it because my ethics don’t allow me to do it”. What is this ethics anyways, is it a rule, is it a way, is it a compulsion, what is it all about. Who decides what is good, what is not good, who decides the priorities. Who decides that to be selfish is bad, who decides it is wrong of us to live and want the best for our self. What is our identity, is it “I” or “ME”. What is it that differentiates “I” and “ME”, are these just two ways of representing ourselves or is it something more. Isn’t it the “I” and “ME” in us which define who we are, where do we stand, what are our ethics, principles, way of life. Isn’t life made up of two types, “I want” and “I will” and why is it that we somehow tend to land up on the “I want” territory. We always get to hear “I do not like the way things happen”, ok, but given a chance how will you change it, “no idea but I do not like the way it runs”. Why is it that we are a complaining kind, a kind where ideals and ethics are frowned upon, where life starts and ends with a bribe, why is it that we favor false gods like money, power, clout. Why is it that we are like a pond where the biggest of stones will create the biggest of ripples which eventually settle down to the calm self again, why is it that we cant be the ocean which is always in motion, throwing out the muck and sand and keeping the pearls for itself. Why is it that we tolerate and give it the name of patience, why is it that we are taught to have patience when what is needed is action, patience is a good trait but isn’t too much patience as good as cowardice. Yes, with patience even the hardest of rocks will crack but does that mean we wait and watch for the rock to crack just because it got bored sitting out there in a sun and rain and wanted a change of scene.<br /><br />Isn’t patience mistaken for inaction and inaction a spillover from pretense of everything being alright? Why it is that mediocrity is not only accepted it is actually treated on par with meritocracy. Why is it that we let things be just the way they are because of lack of drive or want on our part to change things, why are we the kind who will always look out for someone else to do our work for us, just because of our fear of failure. Inertia is a bad thing for a stone, it gathers moss but it is worse for a human as it leads to a loss of identity, who are we to question the wrongs in others when we ourselves are not perfect, when we ourselves run away from taking responsibility, who are we to expect others to pick up the burden for us. What do we stand for if we are shy away from accepting our part in running our lives, how independent are we if we live our lives according to the rules and priorities set by others. Will I live my life according to what others want, if no, then what is it that makes me set guidelines for others to follow?<br /><br />Isn’t accepting responsibility for our shortcomings and mistakes a matter of principle, why is it that we always need to have a scapegoat for things that do not work, why is it that, if something is not right, the fault is always due to someone else. When will we learn to stand by our words and treat our commitments as a reflection of our own, our identity is what we stand for, if our stand itself changes with time, isn’t that a direct reflection on we as a whole instead of a situation. Mistakes happen, every person commits mistakes, what someone learns from the mistakes, is what will make or break the person.<br /><br />Are we ready to accept our image in the mirror, the way the world sees it. It’s when we will stand before the mirror and see what we see with eyes of another person is when “I” and “ME” in us will be known. Can I accept the real me and live life accordingly or am I content living the life which I am supposed to live.Devesh Raohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00724347261476559741noreply@blogger.com2