srini_vas

The Theory of Everything
-- Stephen Hawking

The futile attempts to understand Stephen Hawking's Brief History of Time and Briefer History of Time, didn't kill my love for physics and here I am with yet another from the genius. This time, I am lucky. He tried to convey the 100s of years of struggle by the finest brains across the world, to understand the origin and fate of the universe, in seven brief lectures. As mathematics and complex laws were taken out completely and simple observable phenomena were used to explain the complicated theories, I could follow most of it.

Author starts with the ideas about the universe as way back as Aristotle's time, and gradually presents the transformation that happened in our understanding. The geocentric theory to heliocentric theory, static universe to expanding universe, black holes to not-so-black holes, ever existing universe to big-bang, the journey was fascinating. More over, when someone of his caliber and credentials presents 100s of years of research in such a simple way, it's hard not to appreciate.

Every single physicist, post Einstein's era (including Einstein himself after proposing relativity), seems to have believed strongly that there exists a single unified theory that explains everything, simply everything, the origin and fate of universe. Currently, there is a different set of theories to explain forces at microscopic level and a different set for astronomical. One can't explain another. But, so far they could only come up with, what such a theory should look like, but not the theory itself. The title 'The Theory of Everything' is author's wish that physicists would come up with such a theory by the end of this century, as they are a lot better off now than Einstein, in terms of the resources and know-how of universe.

I couldn't dare to call it a review, hence the title, book summary :-)

Note: (Courtesy - Wikipedia) Stephen Hawking apparently had denounced the unauthorized publication of this book. Only the publication is unauthorized, not the content.

After passing the stage when I used to enjoy playing with crackers (yes, I don't any more), I used to roam around with friends in that time of the Diwali day, when everyone would be in front of their houses with a bunch of crackers, lighting one after another, as certain things are just as good as (or better) seen as they are done :-). I followed this Circumambulation routine mostly in my home town, where I spent almost all of my childhood. That being a small town, and as I had spent around 15 years there, we used to bump in front of some or other friend's house, once in every few minutes during our walk and spend some time and move on.

This Diwali, Anand proposed a 70 KM Bangalore Circumambulation ride on cycle, along the outer ring road, which forms a neat circle around Bangalore. As usual Sahu too joined us. We started our ride in the pleasant early morning weather. All of us got into the outer ring road at the nearest point from our respective places. Circumambulation should be done in clock wise direction, according to Hindu mythology. And, we followed it by heading towards Banasankari. The first half of the ride had been very pleasant as the weather was soothing and short up-hill and long down-hill stretches added to the pleasure. We reached Bangalore University, which is at the diagonally opposite end of the Bangalore, in a couple of hours. The road was mostly bland after that, but the Sun was not. We could pick up good speed from there, particularly between Yeshwantpur and KR Puram. By the time I reached Marthahalli, it was mid noon and I could see my fore-arms turning dark due to sun burn. But, only after reaching home and after a shower, I could realize that Lotus Sun Block with SPF-60 kept its promise :-)

Anoop invited me for a Malayalam movie in PVR in the afternoon. Kerala Varma Pazhaasi Raja, the inspirational story of a king from Kottayam area, in the later part of 18th century, who led a Guerrilla warfare against the British. Though, Namaku Malayalam Ara Illa (I don't know Malayalam), as I had gone through a few wiki pages about the King and, as words with Sanskrit origin are liberally used through out, I could follow the story with out disturbing Anoop. Mammotty did justice to the role of king and a bunch of talented actors and a few more dressed as Mallukutties contributed their diligent share.

I couldn't escape the crackers session, though I reached home a bit late. My brother and sister-in-law just caught me walking in, and I had to do my share of the Karma, by adding a few decibels.

Yesterday, the 11th of October, Bangalore witnessed a rare spectacle. Around 6000 people treated the spectators, and of course themselves, to long rides on their cycles. The first ever Cyclothon in India, BSA Hercules Cyclothon 09, happened on world class NICE road, that connects Tumkur Road and Mysore Road, on a 18 KM stretch (36 out and back).

Though as per the original plan, the ride was for 50 KM, due to the vehicular traffic carrying flood relief goods, 50 KM long road could not be reserved and organizers had to settle for 36 KM ride. Starting and ending was at Bangalore International Exhibition Centre (BIEC) on Tumkur road. BMTC had arranged Volvo buses to ferry people to the venue and back. Packers and Movers transported the cycles. We reached the venue at 7:30. I was amazed to see the crowd in the Hangers of BIEC. Thousands of people gathered to be part of the first such event in India. Lot of corporates had representation to promote some cause or just to make their presence felt. As promised, 1000+ cycles were arranged neatly to rent out to out-station participants, though they turned out to be not of great quality.

We started at 9:20 AM and I could reach the finish line by 10:50, averaging a speed of 24 KMPH. As usual, I had a gang of colleagues and ex-colleagues. While Anand was an infant in the Mysore trip, we had an unborn this time, in the form of Dilip, who just borrowed a cycle and participated. He could finish 10-15 minutes after me, and the delay could be attributed to the bad cycle that he used. Though 24 KMPH sounds good, I feel, we can do a lot better with a good road bike. My MTB is good for bad roads and no roads. But, good road bikes are available only for 40K+ in India :-(

We didn't want to use the cycle transport back to the city and started riding back to our places. The ride back home turned out to be a bit longer than the Cyclothon itself :-).

Gandhi used such a title after being considered successful in his so called experiments with truth, world over. But, Nicholas Taleb says convincingly in his book, The Black Swan, that one should listen to the losers also. Otherwise, a winner will always give only winning perspective of a process, which might result in success just randomly. One should consider so many losers out there, who exactly followed the same process, but lost.

So, though a looser by many standards, I thought that I could tell the story of my experiments :-)

When I found a right one (at least I thought so, with a questionable maturity, considering my maturity now and believing that I am not doing a Benjamin Button with my maturity) when I was barely 21, my parents shrugged it off saying that's too early, the girl is older and they have to follow a social norm that parents know better. Though she remained older till date (no Benjamin here too :-) ), they were wrong. That was not early at all. They chose not to listen to my well crafted plan that marriage will happen only at the right age, but we just need a nod before we go for higher studies. And about knowing better, time proved. Here I am, sitting in office on a 3-day weekend, blogging about a 10 year old event :-)

I pushed it away from my mind forcibly for the next many years. Again, parents know better. So, they said, it is high time. I 'realized', oh ! yeah ! let us look around (like a stupid). But, how ? This is Information Age. At the click of a mouse, you can find quite a few who are looking for someone like you. I clicked many times (buttons on my mouse are not working any more) , only to kindle the philosopher in me.

I found a whole generation out there that is confused (of course, that includes me). Almost none of them knew what are they looking for. In most of the cases, it is just appearance that matters, once social class(caste and wealth) matches. If you take out the 'It is supposed to be like that only' as one of the possible answers, they don't have answers for many questions and they can't explain many of their beliefs. Many of them even accept that this formal process and short meetings wouldn't allow anything more than that. And then, there are elders to decide who know 'everything'.

I may sound an MCP (a friend introduced this cool term), but, in a few cases, as another friend says, girls typically look for a Brad Pitt who does Sandhya Vandanam. At the same time, guys also might be looking for an Angelina who cooks thrice a day. I have no complaints against them, as it is very easy to filter them out or get filtered out by them. The problem is bigger when they just don't know. And MOST fall in this category.

One girl said, "what do you think we will get to know about each other in this 10 minutes that the formal process gave us ? Nothing. Anyway we are taking a chance. Let us not add to the hypocrisy."

Another said, "I just don't know what to do in this process. You better lead."

More often than not, you find parents talking. They even write in colonial English. They introduce their children by saying whatever they 'wanted' their child to be, when she/he was born, forgetting that they were talking about their 25 old year wish list, and their wards had been away from them for the last 10+ years. That's pure noise. No information at all. 

After all these, on finding someone, often people get over excited, and use all the cool phrases in the literature like 'The Apple of My Eye', 'My Soul Mate' etc., etc., only to end up searching for a few more cool phrases to undo the damage :-)

One of my colleagues said, "Don't complicate things. No one gets into a relationship to ruin the partner's life, as it is the same the other way also. So, if one is sensible, and adjust here and there, it should work". Sounds good. Good, if it is as simple as that.

3 cyclists, 300 KM, 3 days. Between Bangalore and Mysore, out and back.

I came up with this idea a month back, considering a lot of 3 day weekends that are lined up in September/October. Sahu (middle one), the owner of my old horse, jumped in when I just mentioned about this. He bought a lot of accessories for the trip, which eventually ended up costing a bit more than his cycle :-). Anand (left), an infant in ProCurve cycling club, though hesitant for a day or two, joined us by the big day. He is a proud owner of a brand new RockRider 5.3, and did just 30 KM 75 KM so far on his new baby.

We met at Domlur flyover at around 5 AM on Friday. The plan is do 100 KM on the first day and stay at Mandya and do the remaining 50 KM next day. In the early morning pleasant weather and mostly downhill road till the outskirts of the city, we started our ride at a comfortable pace. Soon, we lost the count of heads turned and vehicles slowed down, just to ask what is going on. An Audi may miss an appreciative look, but not 3 cyclists in their cycling gear rocking along a high-way :-). We reached Bidadi, 30 KM from Bangalore, for breakfast. As, none of us were used to sitting on the almost non-existent saddles of our high-end cycles for longer periods of time, we started feeling the heat bottom-up. Few hours after the breakfast, we were searching frantically for the next Cafe Coffee Day en-route, for the cozy comfort of sofas to relax for a while. Finally, we found one around mid noon, just before Maddur. With only 30 KM left as per the original plan, we rode leisurely towards Maddur and had lunch at Maddur Tiffany's. Heavy lunch did some damage to my friends and we reduced our pace further down and reached Mandya by 5 PM and checked in a Hotel.

We started at 6 AM the next morning, and did around 30 KM with empty stomachs and reached Srirangapatnam. Unlike the previous day, this stretch was a bit more challenging with elongated uphills. After having a pathetic breakfast there, we are left with just 15 KM more to reach our destination. We reached Mysore Palace by 11 AM and did a cycle salute to mark the finish of our ride, before heading to Hotel.

We treated ourselves to an elaborate lunch buffet at Royal Orchid Metropole. Later, Anand got into a bus and returned to Bangalore. I and Sahu stayed back, to ride on our way back as well. 4 more colleagues reached Mysore by a car by evening. 6 bachelors in a city full of celebrations (the famous Mysore Dasara). Though we didn't participate in the Dasara celebrations, we had a gala time in our own way (Details have been censored).

Sahu wanted to break our just made record of 100 KM in a day, and do 150 KM and reach Bangalore on the same day. When he can think of doing it on a Hero-Octane, it would be an insult to hesitate with a Merida in hand. So, I too was game. We did 45 KM and reached Mandya with out any breaks and emptying bottle after bottle of water. We had a decent breakfast at Mandya and planned to stop next at Maddur Coffee Day. This is the luxury of the chosen route. Bottled water, 5 modern coffee shops, hotels and resorts with air conditioned rooms etc., One deserves them after day long cycling :-). We did 100 KM by lunch time and stopped at Kamat-LokaRuchi for lunch.

We slept for half an hour each at a road side abandoned dhaba after lunch. Then, the inevitable happened. A flat tyre for my cycle. I inflated it a bit, so that I can pedal to the next cafe. We spent an hour taking rest and changing the tube at the cafe. It was 4:30 PM and around 45 KM to go, with practically no distance covered in the last 3 hours. We reached the outskirts of Bangalore at 6:30 PM. The toughest part was to get into the city. What ever route one takes, one can't avoid uphills, while entering into Bangalore from Mysore. Incidentally. we took the worst route for cycling and struggled through the ups and downs and reached home by 9 PM.

Sahu was on the verge of collapse and ecstatic at the same time. I was on a high, as usual. Whether it is a marathon or a day long cycle ride, the feeling would be more or less same.

Finally, a ride that is worth a Merida.

Pics...

The Black Swan
---Nassim Nicholas Taleb

Author is a mathematician, specialized in probability, uncertainty, luck, knowledge etc., and a professor at University of Massachusetts Amherst. The Black Swan theory is to assert that believing in something that you 'see' with the 'knowledge' that you have may not always be correct and may not empower you to make right decisions, unless you appreciate a lot of things that you don't see. When people were aware of only white swans, they used to think that all swans are white. One fine day they discovered Australia and the black swan, and gave a death blow to their belief that all swans are white.

Taleb creates a parallel between the discovery of Black Swan and many phenomenon in the current society. He convincingly argues how knowledge is not useful, particularly to predict, how several well established methods are wrong, how bell curve is a great intellectual fraud, how much luck and circumstances  might have contributed to every success story, how easy it is to explain anything in hindsight and come up with yet another profound theory that will never work again, how a prediction made by a Wharton MBA is not more valuable than a prediction made by an average cab driver. Most importantly, he tries to explain how random the world is, and why there is no point in coming up with theories to explain anything and everything that is happening around us.

He classifies practically everything into two classes, mediocristan and extremistan. Mediocristan are the simple phenomenon that everybody can understand and not much randomness is involved, and extremistan are at the other extreme. Extremistan professions are infinitely scalable, practically impossible to predict, (for example, Warren Buffet can write volumes about how he made so many billions and make a few more billions by selling that Gyan, but, he can't create a process that can make any one a billionaire with 100% probability, not even with 50%). Such are extremistan, extremely random. But, an engineer, a doctor or a cab driver can tell how he reached there and any one can follow that and reach there with a good probability. That is mediocristan. And, it helps to understand whether something is mediocristan or extremistan.

By no means does he trivialize the importance of skills, hard work, planning etc., But, stresses the importance of uncertainty and randomness in the world and urges the readers to appreciate it.

The long alluring Full Marathon finally surrendered to me at Hyderabad Marathon organized by Hyderabad 10K Run Foundation. Though I could complete 42 KM, only at a pathetic timing of 6:03:49, I am a Marathon runner now, just, as I was a Scientist for some time, and an Engineer now :-)

Though there were no big names like Procam behind, the arrangements were fantastic. Well equipped aid stations at every 2 KM, with water, electrolytes, fruits and medicine with very courteous and patient volunteers, organizers and volunteers to receive even the last runner (No, I am not the last this time), with almost the same enthusiasm that they showed to receive the first one (Very important for Marathons. Otherwise, many may find it pathetic to run 42 KM, only to find that there is just no one at the finish line) are the high lights. The first runner had reached in little more than 2 hours, and I reached more than 3 hours later, but still, I could hear the welcome noise in the camp on seeing me from 100 meters away, and a volunteer ran towards me with a bottle of water and a medal.

A few IPS officers also participated. So, there was excellent cooperation from police as well, who manned most of the route, and made it free of vehicles. How does it feel like, when a bunch of cops stop a couple of Mercs (Quite possibly, with a few self impressed elitists on board. Phrase borrowed from Randy Pausch) at a road junction, when you are running across the road, almost alone, at a leisurely pace of 7 or 8 KMPH ? I felt like stopping in the middle of the road and loosen and fasten my shoe lace :-)

The race started at 5:30 AM and the weather was excellent. But it was only short lived. After a couple of hours, when we were out of the city and running along the newly laid shiny tar roads through the hills around Hi-Tec city, it was terribly hot and it would get only worse. A few KM stretch along Hyderabad-Mumbai highway was the worst. The run started at the posh Jubilee-Hills area and ended at Gachibowli stadium, covering some scenic areas like Indian School of Business and University of Hyderabad.

Unlike my earlier distance runs, I was perfectly normal after the run. I could walk a KM to catch an auto. The real damage was apparent only in the afternoon. I could feel my body temperature raising and blood sugar levels going down miserably. Where I couldn't reach after a quarter of Vodka, I could reach for free :-). As per the standard computation, I should have lost around 2500 calories (KCal, to be precise). A liter of water full of Glucose brought back my senses. I could travel back to Bangalore by a train the same day and was at work next morning.

Now, Mumbai Marathon targeted at 5:00:00 (with Vijay Mallya sponsored cheer leaders and south Bombay kids offering biscuits and water through out the route) and Athens Marathon in 2010 don't appear to be much challenging. It is just a matter of little improvement, as, I understand the game well :-)

BSA Hercules Cyclothon - 2009

TI Cycles is organizing the first ever Cyclothon in India on October 11th in Bangalore. This event has multiple categories. A 50K ride for elite, competitive athletes and amateurs, 25K corporate and green rides, 2K and 5K for kids and teenagers respectively. The ride starts and ends at BIEC and the route overlaps mostly with the world class NICE road.

It is good to be in a developing country (or roughly put by many, a third world country). One will get to see and be part of a lot of 'firsts'. For example, with the pace at which Indian economy and sense among Indian politicians is growing, my grandson (by no means I am trying to indicate that, I will get married someday) may get a chance to travel in the first Bullet Train in India, may be between Mumbai and Bangalore :-) Duathlon a couple of months back, and a Cyclothon now. Not that bringing a Duathlon or a Cyclothon to a country makes it a developing one, but, the former generally follows the latter. As a typical developing country, we are emulating the developed west (tried, tested and proven to be bad model), by going to super markets that are 1KM away in cars and SUVs, by dropping kids at their school bus stops, which are 200 meters from our houses, and of course, driving down to fully air-conditioned 24x7 gyms by taking out some of our valuable time etc., So, we definitely need these Cyclothons and Duathlons to teach us and make us "aware" of exotic stuff like "cycles" :-)

I have registered for 50K amateur ride and have already pooled a few guys from current and former workplaces. TI Cycles is even arranging around 1500 cycles on rent for out-station participants and participants who don't own cycles, on FCFS basis.  So, if you or any of your friend are a cycling enthusiast, but, do not own a cycle or not from Bangalore, better act quick.

H1N1 took its toll on me with out even touching me. Mumbai seems to be virtually shutdown for the next 3 days. Already, Theaters, Multiplexes etc., were ordered to be kept closed and shops were requested to follow the suit. Someone was  saying in a news channel interview that Mumbai Local Trains would be the most dangerous carriers due to the crowd (Will they stop running the trains too ?). moebiuscurve  advised me to cancel my weekend trip to Mumbai, unless I enjoy confining to closed rooms in Kharghar. Anyway, I am used to backtracking now-a-days, so, I let it go.

My colleagues classified the idea of visiting Mumbai and Pune over this 3 day weekend, as one of the craziest. They even requested me to work from home for 3 weeks after return, till all the virus that I bring from there dies off. Otherwise, whenever someone sends a 'Not Feeling Well" mail in the next one month, I have to die with guilt under the suspicious looks of colleagues. So, for common good and world peace, I here by sacrifice my Mumbai trip :-(

Earlier, I planned to defer my Full Marathon debut till Mumbai Marathon 2010. But, I am going to stretch and test myself much before that in Hyderabad, in a few weeks, at Hyderabad Marathon on 30th August. 42 KM run in not so pleasant climate of Hyderabad is going to be damn tough. I may not be able to finish. But, the aim is to test myself in standard testing conditions.

Another run in a scenic trail, Kaveri Trail Marathon, is coming up at the historic town of Srirangapattana (associated with Tippu Sultan), 100 KM from Bangalore, on the banks of the river Kaveri, on 13th September. Though all options are there, I am going for only 10KM, due to very less time gap. I have a good group too, for this one.

I am going to be in Mumbai this weekend. Just to catch up with all the buzz that I miss here. Thanks to Janmashtami, which made it a 3 day weekend. As per the itinerary, I have to visit Pune on Saturday, the 15th, for a function at a friend's place. But, the function is canceled due to Swine Flu scare. I may still visit Pune. Otherwise, I have 3 full days in Mumbai with out any plan.

I would be staying at C-DAC, Kharghar. Apart from attending the lecture planned by moebiuscurve  on the marriage between Origami and Mathematics, I would love to do the following things,

• Jogging in Kharghar campus
• Have Chicken Biryani at Sagar Restaurant, Vashi
• A few trips in local trains
• Evening walk at Marine Drive
• Walk with a Coffee at Band Stand
• Dinner at Bhagat Tara Chand, Sanpada
• A visit to Centre One, though, I heard a much bigger InOrbit came up in the vicinity
• Of course, catch up with as many friends as possible

Ordered lists in two consecutive blogs ! No, not yet infected by any corporate virus. Just, a mere coincidence :-)

What is it that I want to achieve by writing random things in my journal? To be frank, I have no clue. My journal is now more than four years old. I feel, a retrospective writing is worth.

I came to know about this blogging through the_little_sasi . During one of the post lunch walks in NCST, Kharghar, he suggested that I should start writing. By that time, everyone in that office had an ID and some used to write regularly. Initially, I used it to vent out my frustration. A sample. peeyush used to say that one should not use it for that purpose.

Later on, it took different turns. Finally, I started writing book reviews (as suggested by _samurai_jack, after observing me reading books, while traveling from Bandra to Juhu), updates on treks, distance runs to keep my friends updated, and out of context philosophical musings. Though not elaborate, I try to bring out the gist of every book that I read now-a-days, which can be used by people interested in reading, to make a choice. These reviews gave me a good topic to discuss with my friends, at many occasions. Updates on planned adventures helped me pool people for some of the trips. A rare raga, that I never met, feels that there is some gradual improvement in my writing :-)

Recently, one stranger (of course, a girl. She tried to be anonymous, so, let me share her name anyway, some Ranjani Panta) added me to her g-talk, just to tell that she read my journal. And, my Marathons and Politics are boring. What the **** ? (There are many decent four letter words in English dictionary. Reader is free to fill the space, as per his/her discretion :-) ). Anyway, it was great to know that there are people who take so much pain to give this kind of constructive feedback :-) Sounds arrogant ! I don't know what Linda Goodman has to say about me in her Star Signs, but, I am a true Scorpio. I have an invisible sting behind. And, yes, it is venomous.

With Google reader, feeds, status updates on social networking sites, one is obviously overwhelmed with lot of information. It is quite hard to choose how to spend the spare time, when one has so many options. Of late, I stumbled upon a few interesting blogs, and I already feel that it is too demanding to follow all of them :-(

Back to the question: Why do I write ? Possible answers, in no particular order or importance.

• Just to pass time. No better things to do.
• Show off. To impress strangers.
• Because, some people read it.
• To vent out feelings that can't be contained, and blurting them out makes me feel better.
• I get the pleasure of winning a debate, with out any opposition. ( All comments are screened :-) )
• To start intellectual debates.
• To think aloud.
• To create and live in a fool's paradise.
• ...

If one can abstract out everything that one does and the whole world does, and pose the same question, and, if there is a comprehensible answer to that question, that would hold good for this question too. I am in search of that.

i-Race is the Indian Institute of Technology’s (IIT) iconic running race that is held simultaneously in cities across the globe. It is a unique race where runners race against themselves to compete with every other participant across the world. The i-Race organizers have developed a complex and sophisticated mathematical model to compare one's performance with one’s ideal best.

One such run happens every 4 months. Second run in the series was held today at Embassy Golf Links IT Park, Domlur, Bangalore. I was there with a few other friends. We reached the venue on our cycles and did a 5K run (I planned to do a 10K, but my calf muscles gave up after first loop). We took out our cycles and did cycling for the second loop and cycled back home. A good 25K cycling + 5K running on a cold Saturday morning...nice way to start a weekend.

As there was no better thing to do for the rest of the day, I headed for office. One of my colleagues, who was in office to actually work, proposed to go for lunch to a good place. We chose Bay Leaf, Raheja Arcade, Koramangala, an expensive restaurant, particularly if you go for À la carte (with extremely different reviews on the Internet).  Bay Leaf offers a decent buffet, with good starters, priced at 300/-. It is worth a try. I regained all the calories lost during the strenuous morning :-)

The Last Lecture
--- Randy Pausch

Randy Pausch was a professor in the computer science department of Carnegie Mellon University (CMU). CMU has this culture of arranging a general lecture by professors before the end of their careers. Ironically, in Randy's case it had become really the last lecture. By the time he got his turn to give the lecture, he was terminally ill, with pancreatic cancer and only a few months were left for him. He had 3 children below 5 years of age. He wanted to make this lecture as the legacy that he is leaving for his kids, all that he would want to tell them, when they reach an age, where they can understand all that he wanted to say. The lecture had become a huge success and he made it into a more elaborate book.

It is an amazing read. What people like Paulo Coelho, Robin Sharma, Stephen Covey try hard to convey by filling volumes with fiction, Randy conveys in a few pages, with simple examples from his life. A few,

• He had a few dreams as a child, and he realized them in subtle ways. En route, he comes across a few brick walls and realizes how important they are,  to stop people who don't want something badly and to allow other people to find ways to cross them. He resigns from the post of faculty adviser and turns into a journalist, when he understands, that is what it takes to realize one of his dreams.
• His football coach comes to coaching classes with out football and talks about why it is important to learn what  21 people, with out football, do in the ground (11 people a side, 22 together. Only one among them has football, at any given time). He quotes this to nail down the importance of fundamentals.
• Many a time, we feel, something is just not fair. But, when that is the way things are, one should just move on. A 45 year old professor in CMU, who is one of the very well known names in virtual reality circles has to suddenly die. That is just not fair. So what ? One can't do much with already dealt cards. Just play well with the left ones. One can see this spirit through out his video lecture.
• We may contemplate sometimes, is it worth to worry about something or not. When all you have is 6 months, would you prefer spending 15 minutes of that to reverse a wrong credit card transaction that is worth a few dollars, over spending that time with your infant daughter ? Great question and the answer is obvious.
• Now-a-days, we get to see a lot of self impressed elitists living in fool's paradise. It is fun to be a recovering jerk at something, all the time. There is a lot out there, if only, one cares.

For the impatient: Video is available on YouTube.

A 'rare raga', that I happened to meet on a matrimonial web site, reminds me of things that I would like to be different in my life, which I compiled, when I turned 30. And here I am, back to Music and Mathematics.

A random entry into my life slaps me right across my face, in public, and exits. A more philosophical, stronger and matured me emerges.

I don't buy the philosophy, "Everything that happens, happens for good. If no good came out of it, that means, it is not over yet". But, I do buy, "You should be able to bear practically anything which you can't influence, with out any complaint". That keeps a lot of things simple. That takes me closer to my wish list by each passing day. If I get closer, I am in the right direction. If I don't, I just have to adjust my direction little bit. As simple as that :-)

Everybody Loves a Good Drought
--- P Sainath

Ramon Magasaysay award winning journalist Sainath presents the poverty and official apathy (both political and bureaucratic) in India towards poorest of the poor people in several states, in his "Everybody Loves a Good Drought - Stories from India's Poorest Districts". He visited several districts of poor states, like Orissa, Bihar etc., and studied how people live (rather, exist) there.

Corruption and diversion of funds in every damn scheme that one can name is one thing. And, irresponsible behavior due to mere apathy towards helpless and underprivileged people is something else. Sainath brings our the second issue here, with out resorting to too much of investigation to find out "who are the culprits".

The terrible state of health, primary education, infrastructure, employment in those areas is brought out. Interestingly, in many cases, it is not due to lack of funds or corruption, but, due to bad or no planning. Asking politicians and bureaucrats to travel in Indian made cars and spend the tax payer's money on development projects might be too much, but, expecting them to spend whatever they have decided to spend in the best possible way, while traveling in a Skoda and having scotch should be a humble request.

It seems, already some of the stories he presented through his research made a lot of difference to the effected. Some politicians and bureaucrats who came across his study took corrective actions. That is definitely worth a lot more than Magasaysay for Sainath.

Mumbai Marathon - 2010, on 17th Jan 2010.
Registration is open from 9th July to 18th August or till the places are filled

I have registered for Full-Marathon. My current fitness levels permit me to go only 20-25 KM at a stretch (of course, in Jeff Galloway's Run-Walk-Run style). As I still have 191 days to go, I will try to add another 15 KM to that, and hopefully be in a position to walk back to Churchgate Station from Azad Maidan after finishing. The target timing would be some where around 5 hours (against 2 hour 15 minutes of elite athletes)

The Great Indian Novel
--- Shashi Tharoor

Though, I am not a fan of fiction, I picked up this book due to two reasons. First, it is not entirely fiction. Shashi Tharoor presents the modern history of India (the freedom struggle and the struggle after freedom), using the mythical Mahabharata (hence the name Great=Maha Indian=Bharata Novel) and the characters and plots of it. Second, after reading his articles in The Elephant, The Tiger and The Cellphone, I naturally wanted to see, what more he had to tell about the pre-eminent India.

He does not disappoint. But, if one knows fair amount of history of those times (freedom fight and congress party) and did not miss much of Doordarshan's Mahabharata, there is nothing much to gain from this book, and it would be purely of an entertainment value. On a good note, reader would definitely marvel about the way author presents so many incidents of Mahabharata, depicting them in terms of the incidents happened in the recent past, with professional ease.

Bhishma plays the role of Gandhi, King Pandu as Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose, King Dhritharashtra as Nehru, Indira Gandhi as Duryorhana, Dronacharya as Loknayak Jaya Prakash Narayan, Vidura as Sardar Vallabahi Patel. Only important character that is missing, with out which the mythical Mahabharata is incomplete, is Krishna. There were many controversial incidents all over the book, and, it is a wonder how the author had got away with all that and ended up as a Union Minister in the Government led by the very Congress party, which he stripped through out his book, which is, of course, a good sign.

On the eve of World Music Day, that falls on 21st June, Shoonya performed at the state-of-the-art auditorium in Christ University, Bangalore.

Shoonya describes themselves as a collaborative platform for people from various artistic backgrounds to introduce their musical ideas into the mix (taken from their website). They have Pandit Prakash Sontakke, who holds a triple masters degree in music (Vocal, Violin and Guitar) and plays Hawaiian Slide Guitar, Sridhar Sagar, who plays Saxophone and a disciple of none other than Kadiri Gopalanath, and a few other likes. 

During their World Music Day performance, they chose well known Carnatic Classical Compositions and enthralled the audience by playing them on a set of completely western instruments (Djembe, Hawaiian Guitar, Violin, Saxophone, Percussion, Bass Guitar, Drums). Inimitable Sumathi lent vocal support. During Sumathi's Sufi recital, along with audience, co-artistes on the stage were also visibly spellbound.

A nice treat on a Sunday evening.

Kalidasa, Bhavabhuti and Dandi get into some quarrel to decide who is great among them and ask Kali to resolve. She says, "Bhavabhuti is a poet and Dandi is a pundit. One should not compare apples and oranges". She ignores the great Kalidasa. The furious Kalidasa asks, "Who the hell am I" ? She says, "Tvameva Aham (I am You)" and disappears. As in other cases, these three legendary figures never lived in overlapping times, so, it is just a legend :-)

11 years back, a friend of mine said the same to me, rather, wrote the same about me, only poetically (the image is digital scan of the manuscript, which is in Telugu). Not just 'a friend of mine', but, that doesn't do any harm. So, I would settle with that introduction. The above image used to adorn my cube, when I was in C-DAC, Bombay. It would soon make it to my current work place too.

Transliteration:
                      Neevu Negana ?!!?
"Saradrutarambhapu Nikunja Sundarananda
Vanahasita Vihara Poorna Sasankudaveni,
Ala Sweta Vilasita ila Jaru Jalataru
Kirana Divya Jyothsna Prabhanu Nenaugana"

Tatprya:
Neevu Negana ?!!? Tvameva Aham. Are you not me ?!!?
You are the satiated full moon, enjoying a solitary time on a night with out any clouds (beginning of Saradruthu), on a beautiful garden. And, I am the moon light that emanates from you and reaches the earth (garden) as silvery white rays.

I couldn't do justice with my modest vocabulary. But, that's pretty much it.

When I was a student in Agricultural college, our professors used to use a rhetoric "Agriculture in India is a gamble on monsoon". I feel, so are elections (of course not on monsoon, may be, on a film star or a sports person).

The result of recent general elections and elections to state assemblies in a few states confused my understanding of democracy. If one looks at the vote shares in Andhra Pradesh, there is around 1% difference between the winning Congress and the loosing Grand Alliance. Where as, Chiranjeevi managed a 15% of vote share. If Chiranjeevi had kept himself to movies, that 15% would very well have done magic for the Grand Alliance and reversed the fortunes of Congress at state and, may be, center as well.

Let alone the good old argument that winning with a 35% vote share means having 65% of people against you, so, the process itself is farce, I have new questions from this elections. There are many people like Chiranjeevi in several states of India who manage a large local mass following, either through regional movies or sports or religion. But for a few exceptional cases, these guys can never make it to the office in a short while (perseverance may take them there), but, definitely can ruin the chances of others, and screw up the standard equations. One can always argue that democracy is all about what comes out through the ballot boxes and postmortem reports are irrelevant, and end the argument. That's what gambling is all about, Isn't it ?

I am part of History. That's what the organizers of India's First Duathlon say. Then, who is not ? :-)

On an unusually pleasant Sunday morning, the 14th of June, Runners For Life organized yet another meticulously planned endurance event. I was part of the enthusiastic crowd with their high performance cycles and running attire. We gathered at Inventure Academy, on the national highway that joins Sarjapur Road, Bangalore at Dommasandra, at 6 AM. Commissioner of Police (Traffic) flagged off the event and participated too.

As the commissioner himself was a participant, one need not worry about the treatment on a national highway. Traffic police manned the entire route and made sure that we were safe. We had taken to road at 7:20 AM. The race was divided into 5KM Run + 20 KM Cycling + 5 KM Run. Cycles were arranged in a transition area in the Inventure Academy. While doing the first 5 KM loop itself, the pain in the knee that I carried from Himalayas surfaced. As usual, I tried to ignore it and finished among the last few. Though, not many people could beat me in the next 20 KM. Credit goes to my Merida. Last 5 KM again pushed me behind a bit, but, I finished in a decent 130 minutes. The winner was somewhere around 85 minutes, I guess. The race was followed by an elaborate brunch in the enviable cafeteria of the Academy.

The highlight of the event was a sexagenarian, who cycled 40 KM to the venue, participated and touched the finish line and cycled back home.

Unlike my previous trips, it has all the flavors that one can expect from an adventure trip. Breathtaking views, hitherto unknown people turning into amicable friends, adrenaline rush, fatigue to the last muscle, challenging hurdles, eccentric people, changing weather (chill - rain - burning sun) etc.,

We reached Aut, the base camp, late in the evening. Weather was very pleasant. A slight drizzle welcomed us to the modest Youth Hostel in Aut, on the Chandigarh-Kullu-Manali highway, 30 KM before Kullu. We took rest for the night and started with an acclimatization trek the next day to a near by hill. We got our cycles and gear by evening and went for a trial ride in the evening on the highway.

Whole group was excited with the cycles and gear as almost all of them were new to mountain biking. I didn't miss a chance to brag about my 6000 KM experience in the last one year and they gave me a lead role, whose responsibility is to come behind the group and make sure that everyone is comfortable :-(. I religiously did my duty for one day and quit. First day was a very comfortable ride of 17KM to gain an altitude of 500 feet. Almost all the team members could do it successfully. The trouble started on the second day, when we had to gain an altitude of 2000 feet in just 15 KM. Many members resorted to 'zero' gear (pushing and pulling the cycle, while they walk). I and Prasad decided to give a try and never get to push-pull business. With prolonged breaks, we could complete the whole stretch with out walking. With my tough guy image, I gave a few cycling funda to some of the admiring team members. Third day brought me down to my knees, when we had to ascend again 2000 feet in just 7 KM, with innumerable hair-pin bends. After struggling for around 3 KM, I gave up and completed the remaining stretch (cursing all my funda) in 'zero' gear. That takes us to our destination.

We roamed around Jalori-Pass and did long walks/treks to nearby places. Coming down to base camp is another challenge, where one has to be extremely careful. The entire route has a steep valley and river, right next to it. A small mistake at one hair-pin bend and you will land in the middle of the river.

We spent next two days in visiting Kullu and Manikaran (famous for its natural hot water springs). On the way back I could catch up with sahaj , ripul , prodizy and jangid in Delhi. I couldn't bring authentic Agra peta for my colleagues this time and I was ordered, when I showed up empty handed in office on Monday, to get the best peta that I can manage in Bangalore or work from home for some days till people forget about my Delhi visit. I settled for the first option.

Pics...

No, not to replace The Lost Apple with a Shimla Apple :-). This is to try my hand (and legs) at, yet another adventure in one of the most beautiful parts of India. I am all set to leave for Mountain Biking (Cycling) Expedition  organized by Youth Hostels, this Friday, the 29th May.

Prasad, who accompanied me during the last trip to Himalayas, would be the only one whom I know in the group (of 20, I guess). We would be reaching Delhi on 29th night and spend the night in International Youth Hostel in Chanakyapuri area. Expedition ends on 6th June, and I will try to catch up with my friends on that day in Delhi and reach Bangalore on 7th June.

We would be ascending around 7000 feet (Aut, near Kullu (3500 ft) to Jalori Pass (10500 ft)) over 3 days and descend in 2 days. Apart from crossing a few fly overs in Bangalore regularly, I didn't practice continuous uphill. And, I don't expect Youth Hostels to provide a cycle that is on par with mine (Yes, Proud :-)). So, I don't know how daunting a task this is going to be. As I heard and read that the stretch is one of the most beautiful places in Himachal, and as the per day distance is not too much, I expect it to be an enjoyable ride.

The Short History of Nearly Everything
by --- Bill Bryson

Bill Bryson presents science and the evolution of  science since the dawn of civilization on earth, in an amazingly simpler way. At a time when I was trying to understand the intricacies that were dealt in books like Briefer History of Time (by Stephen Hawking), Quantum Theory can not Hurt You (by Marcus Chown), annacoder suggested this book. I was already feeling bit heavy due to those books. So, deferred considering Bill Bryson for some time.

He describes several aspects of the world around us, like geology, physics, chemicals, minerals, astrophysics, biology, atoms, sub-atomic particles, volcanoes, mountains, oceans, universe and its vastness etc., Once one gets the hang of it, the complexity of the world around us, the astronomical figures in terms of which one has to understand the world, the personalities who literally expended their lives to demystify the world around us, one would become humble, and can't help getting philosophical about several other things around us, which would seem irrelevant in several ways.

My new status is hardly a few weeks old. But, the honeymoon is already over.

I don't know whether this is the fault of the arranged marriage system or the stupidity of the parties involved in it , who don't know how to use it(for example, I). In my case, we (I and that girl) thought that we spoke everything that is important before committing. And happily went ahead and made rest of the plans.

But time (yes, yet again) has a different plan for me. A few days back, she found that my 'ego', which none of my friends complained about so far, will not allow her to get along well with me, in the long run. And, suddenly she also got obsessed with the numbers in my back account, which are not great (contrary to her expectations from a software engineer with 7 years of experience :-) ). That's due to my tenure at NCST/CDAC, with out which, I am just a nobody. I consider those years as the best part of my life and my association with NCST/CDAC as better than my association with IITB. But, she doesn't.

Now the fun starts. This deep exploration started only when we both were committed after preliminary examination with a positive result (sorry to use too much jargon, but that's the way it is), and our parents have started planning other things. So, I thought (despite my IIT education :-) ), this is to understand each other well, so that we will not be strangers anymore by the big day. But, it turned out that she has different plans. The numbers in my bank account put her off. The so called 'ego' made her think. And after a day long thinking, she says, "let us call it off". I was not exactly startled to hear that, but, definitely not ready to hear something like that, at this stage. So, I tried my best to picture the future in the richest possible colors in my kitty, but, in vain. All the philosophy about life that I learnt from my readings of Jiddu Krishnamurthy, Feynman and a lot others didn't help. I could not convince her about what is important in life and what is not so important :-(

And, there ends the saga.

Only sad part of it is, all the excitement that I created among my friends through my "Apple of my eye" introduction, the hearty wishes that I received from them, the shock that my parents (I am sure, her parents as well) received out of it. I, personally, don't regret it. Why would anyone regret loving someone, that too such a chirpy little girl :-), even though for a short while.

The bottom line is, I am single, yet again. The take away from the whole episode is, I don't hate Ekta Kapoor and viewers of her serials, any more :-)

Runners For Life has announced India's first ever Duathlon (Running + Cycling) in Bangalore. It is on 14th June. The location has not been decided, yet. There are 2 categories, 5K running + 10K cycling and 10K running + 20K cycling. Participants have to get their own cycles. Organizers will arrange transport of cycles to the finish line of running. I have registered for the latter one.

A year back, when I started learning swimming, I had a dream of participating in a Triathlon (Running + Cycling + Swimming), as I was already doing OK with the other two. But, I couldn't quite make it to swim. Though we have a facility in our apartments itself, I never did get past the inertia and experience the floatation with out fear. My manager promised me that he could make me swim in just one weekend. But, there is a big pre-condition. I have to trust him and do just whatever he asks me to do. That's too much of a condition. But, I will try out this option too. At least, before some one comes up with a Triathlon in Bangalore.

Sanjay Dutt had been arrested (I don't know how many times), slapped TADA, convicted. So far, I was (and I feel, the whole world was) thinking that the crime that he had committed was assisting the perpetrators of Mumbai Blasts and possessing lethal weapons illegally. Today, thanks to the general elections, he revealed the real reason behind his arrest, during election campaign. He had been arrested, beaten, tortured by police, because...his mother is a Muslim. What a breaking news !

I remember one more legendary person revealing something like this some time back. Mohammed Azharuddin, former captain of Indian national cricket team, I repeat, Captain of Indian National Cricket Team, got into some mess, due to his alleged role in match-fixing. Instead of trying to prove his innocence (for a while, let us assume that he is an innocent), he revealed something: He's been dragged into match-fixing controversy because... he belongs to a minority community. Another startling news !!

And how do people receive this news ? Particularly, the people and leaders who belong to these communities, whom people like Sanjay Dutt and Azharuddin are trying take for a ride ! Nobody has condemned their statements (the shameless statements, after reaching the pinnacle of their respective careers, despite the origins they were lamenting about now), not even issued a fatwa to kill them !!!

Merida SUB 40 MD: A sports utility bike with mechanical disk brakes, aluminium frame and a decent class Shimano gears. A true pleasure to ride. After riding Hero Octane 26T for more than a year, I thought of an upgrade (as my office has been shifted to outskirts of city, and 16 KM on Octane would not be much of a pleasure). I chose Merida TFS 100 V, a stunningly good looking bike, and more or less of same class as SUB 40 MD. But, it is not available in India now. So, I had to settle for a SUB 40 MD. It costs a cool 25K.

I took it out this weekend to visit my niece (around 20 KM from my house). And, I couldn't believe, it just took 75 minutes, against 110 minutes on my old bike. More over, it consumes a lot less fuel. I am not sure whether it is due to the good design, light weight , easy movement of chain, amazing gear shifters or all of these put together. But, after the ride, I felt, it is worth the price. I started cycling to work again. As of now, only alternate days. I would love to do it every day. But, rains have just started in Bangalore and these high-end bikes will not have mud guards and the carrier of this is not as good as Octane's. So I have to carry the lap-top bag on my shoulders and keep a set of spare clothes for rain and mud. 

The Elephant, the Tiger & the Cell Phone
by Shashi Tharoor

The book is a compilation of various articles written by Shashi Tharoor in the last few years on various topics related to India, like, The diversity in India, Hinduism as what he believes in and follows vs Hinduism as preached by Pravin Togadia and Pramod Muthalik, How Indians work, play & live, a few individuals who shaped the India that we see today, his experiences during his visits to India.

I wouldn't say that he is an extra-ordinary visionary or analyst, but, he is a typical intellectual with whom I would like to spend an evening, once in a while, discussing several events that I came across in the recent past and try to relate them and understand where the world is going, by getting his wider perspective. He served as a high ranking official all his life and had an opportunity to meet and interact with great people. In these articles, he presents his perspective, which he got through several means, which is worth listening to.

About the Author:
He is contesting Lok-Sabha elections this time from Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, and that is a welcome sign. I don't know what his ideology is and what exactly he wants to achieve by being with a party against whose ideology and sycophancy, he wrote quite a few articles. But, this indeed is a welcome sign. Well educated, with proven track record at responsible positions world wide, with good exposure to various kinds of developmental policies in different countries, he would be a great value addition to Indian polity.

No, not another dear colleague. It is my bicycle's turn. After covering 6000 KM in the last 15 months, I decided to upgrade to a much better one. Our office has been shifted to an IT park, which is the last possible office complex in old madras road in white-field. The distance between my house and office is around 16 KM and difficult to cover on my old horse, due to its rear suspension which prevents me from crossing the top speed of 20-25 KMPH and not so amazing gears. Though, there is no problem with it as such, with the rear suspension absorbing the discomfort due to uneven roads so well, but, the suspension also swallows your energy, as it hardly knows the difference. So, anything beyond 5-6 KM, it looks like, rear suspension is not advisable.

One of my colleagues who stays near by that office showed interest and we both had a good deal. Now, I am looking forward to "Merida TFS 100", which is around Rs. 25,000 (where as "Hero Octane 26T" is around Rs. 9000) and is supposed to be worth every pie. Today, I used office transport and got bored on the first day itself. I am looking forward to, at least alternate day cycling and then, may be, full time, again. All depends on my new crush which looks something like this:

i-Race is IIT's iconic running race that is conducted thrice a year, and is held simultaneously in cities across the globe. It is a unique race where runners compete with themselves, and against others across the world (Verbatim from the organizer's website). One such run is held today (8th March 2009), near Embassy Golf Links business park on the road that connects inner ring road, wind tunnel road, old airport etc.,

There are two things that are special about this run. First, it is a multi-city run conducted at several cities in India (Mumbai, Pune, Bangalore) and abroad (Bay Area and Melbourne at their 8th March, Sunday, morning). Second, you compete with yourself, along with others. If you are a 100 KG obese guy, and if you complete the run in 90 minutes, against a fat free 55 KG guy who finishes in 40 minutes, you both might end up at the same level in the rankings. The organizers have come up with some cool formula that takes  Age, Sex, Height and Weight into consideration.

I participated in the 10K category and made my personal best (66 minutes against my current 72 minutes in Sunfeast World 10K). The Bangalore winner finished in 48 minutes. Though organized by Alumni Association of IIT, the run is open for anyone. So, I pulled a few of my friends too, who are running enthusiasts.

Kumaraswamy, an ex-chief minister of Karnataka classifies people like me as, sophisticated non-voting Bangaloreans, who don't give a damn about the problems that people face in villages. So far, I thought that it is his job (worrying about problems in villages). And, my job is to work and earn huge salary and pay huge tax to fund all his projects. That non-voting part definitely irked me and I have submitted the voter registration form immediately.

I pay professional tax to the state government and income tax to the central government, but, when it comes to voting, I don't exist !!! I have to prove my existence by submitting the same PAN card copy (associating to which, I pay tax). I am still cool with it and submitted all the proofs that are required. Hopefully, if everything goes fine, I may be eligible to vote this time. But to whom ?

But to whom ? It is supposed to be a very personal question, which should not be answered in public forums. But, it can be discussed, I guess. Some guys who seem to have some vision for a state, and who are knowledgeable enough to get invited to give guest lectures at Wharton are offering colour TVs, this time (Chandrababu Naidu). Some other guy, who goes to any mile for development and industrialization gets communal on the last day to get some extra mileage (Narendra Modi). Grand son of a 'son of soil' roams around in Bangalore in a Siwss Hummer or a BMW, beating the restaurant workers, and still the 'son of soil' claims that he is a humble farmer (Devegowda family). And the other party that is left out is full of sycophants (Congress).

There are people like Jaya Prakash Narayan of Lok Satta in Andhra Pradesh, who are talking about sacred politics and scientific administration, new politics for new generation, who are generating some hope. But, they have a really long way to go.

The Music room by Namita Dindayal

It brings out the intricacies of traditional lineage (Guru Sishya parampara) in Indian classical music beautifully, by depicting the lives of famous Hindustani Classical musicians for 3 generations (Alladiya Khan -> Kesarbai Karkar -> Dhondutai Kulkarni). The author is a student of Dhondutai, the last musician in the lineage mentioned above, and had the first hand information about a lot of interesting details about the then society, culture and music.

A couple of weeks back, I had an opportunity to literally loose myself in music. Fireflies music festival, a whole night musical extravaganza, organized in the outskirts of Bangalore in an ashram, in open air, under a massive banyan tree. It is a 12 hour long event (6:30 PM to 6:30 AM), with 14 different groups performing in a variety of styles, from folk to rock. I was a first timer to most of those styles. And, I stopped being biased towards classical now.

I particularly liked Kabir/Sufi performed by Shabnam Virmani group of The Kabir Project.

The list goes like this:

BHUMI THAYI BALAGA (Folk)
ANUSUYA KULKARNI (Indonesian Anklung)
PRAKASH SONTAKKE & GROUP (Hawaiian Guitar Fusion)
SHABNAM VIRMANI(Kabir/sufi)
SOLVITEUR CANENDO (Acapella)
GEETHA NAVALE & THE ESPERANTO PROJECT (Soul Fusion)
VAYALI (Kerala Folk)
SWARATMA (Folk Rock)
VEERAGHASE (Kannada Folk)
SHAHID PARVEZ of NAGPUR (Qawali)
RANJANKUMAR BARUA & Group (Hindustani fusion )
REX ROSSARIO (Jazz Quintet)

Apart from the introduction to several styles of music, I also had got an opportunity to witness a life-style/society which I only read about, so far. The place being an ashram (of OSHO kind), there were a lot of foreigners. And, it has everything that I typically read about a Rave party. When I took a walk in the ashram next morning, I had to be very careful, not to step on a Foster's beer can. Many of the 1000+ attendees were smoking whole night and a few of them have well equipped portable mini-bar too, with them. Some of them were under the influence of banned grass, which looks like very common among such crowd.

After falling in love with Himalayas during the last trek in Chamba valley, I got a chance to venture into yet another new activity, over seeing the beautiful Himalayas: Mountain Biking. YHAI is organizing a lot of treks and other activities this  year, as it is their centenary year. I and Prasad (joined the previous trek too) have already chosen a date and registered for Mountain Biking.

Mountain Bikes (Cycles), and other accessories will be provided by the organizers. Registration fee, that includes food, accommodation and biking gear is around 2200/-

The itinerary would be as follows, as per the date that we chose:

May 30: Reporting at Aut (3500 ft) near Kullu (200 KM from Chandigarh on Kullu-Manali highway)
May 31: Acclimatization at base camp (3500 ft)
June 1: Biking to Banjar (22 KM - 4000 ft)
June 2: Biking to Jibhi (10 KM - 6000 ft)
June 3: Biking to Jalori pass (10 KM - 10500 ft)
June 4: Nature trail at Jalori Pass. Biking to Banjar (22 KM - 4000 ft)
June 5: Biking to Aut (base camp, 22 KM - 3500 ft)
June 6: Disperse after breakfast

If any one is interested to join, please let me know.

It was last day in office for one of my colleagues. She would be on long leave and then, may quit office after the leave. So, for all practical purposes, it was her last day in office. She is getting married and would be moving to US. What is so special about her, to merit a blog ?

I had not spent more than a few hours with her in the last one year. I don't recollect having a coffee with her, not even in our office cafeteria. But, we share a special bond. We suddenly jump into some unplanned conversations and talk about a lot of things, which I would not have preferred to talk with others. Obviously, the talks were about love, life, society , marriage, life after marriage, how to deal with a complete stranger in arranged marriages, or a known one in love marriages etc., Some of the talks helped me strongly realize my stupidity and prejudice, about which I already have some fair idea.

I will really miss her in office. Some acquaintances are quite strange. We did not even exchange our mobile numbers and promises to keep in touch. But, I am sure, I can go for a long lonely walk anytime, with pride, for having someone like her to talk with me, sometime back.

As I read some where, a real friend is some one, with whom you can go for a long walk, sit for a few hours with out exchanging a single word and come back, and feel, that is the greatest conversation you ever had.

I am leaving for Mumbai tonight to participate in Mumbai-Marathon-2009. _trespasser_ would be the host for the next 2 days. moebiuscurve promised to take one day off, out of his busy schedule for me, and gave me a choice to choose the day, and I chose Saturday (17th).

I have to go to World Trade Center at Cuffe Parade tomorrow to collect the running kit. Rest of the day is to catch up with Mumbai. Nothing has been planned yet. I am planning to spend tomorrow evening at Band Stand. I used to visit Band Stand almost every weekend (some times, even week days, after returning from office) during my stay at Nandina, Bandra. I used to be very loyal to Cafe-Coffee-Day at that time. Recently, I shifted loyalties in the favor of Baritsa. So, may be, I will visit Barista this time. Taking a lazy long walk in Band Stand (any road for that matter), sipping coffee (cold, if it is Cafe-Coffee-Day; hot, if Barista) is one of my favorite pastimes.

About Marathon, this time too I am settling for only Half-Marathon (21KM). My right knee is little weak now. I suspect Repetitive strain injury. Nothing serious, but, it may give trouble after a few KM run. So, I am not hopeful of improving my old timing (2:40); Though, my target would be 2:20.

So, my dear Mumbaikars (among the readers of this blog),  please  keep yourself free tomorrow evening and join me at Barista. Yes, it's a treat. I will not have dinner on the day before marathon, so no dinner treat :-)

In response to my earlier blog, my friends made some interesting comments, which I am trying to consolidate here.

parwana says, "I don't care whether God exists or not and I don't care what Vedic scriptures have to say. What I care is the world around me. If there is any tradition / protocol / ritual, that can't be connected to today's world, that is unfair to some, while giving a false satisfaction to some, I would dump it"

sharma_apoorv says, "What if there is something called supreme energy / ultimate truth (which doesn't care about today's world) ? What if the only way to get connected to it is by following what has been told to us since generations (the rituals) ?"  (Corrected on request with due apologies) "What if there is no god but some form of superior energy which is the ultimate truth ? That energy won't see what you are doing, but if you are able to connect yourself to it, you will be able to know see feel the truth and will be able to understand all about the world we see"

I could see more people associated with the second version. What else can explain senseless ambitious projects like "Anantha Swarnamayam" or several kinds of Abhishekams (sacred bathing) which we can regularly see all over our country ? What else can make people, who seem that they can't be more careless about others, also seem to be deeply devotional at times ?

The 'ultimate truth' thing that is raised by sharma_apoorv is also intricate to me. When one can see a lot more with naked eye, why should one run for something, that one doesn't even know, whether exists or not. Moreover, history (recent past) is replete with references that support parwana's way.

A comment made by one of my arrogant (anonymous) friends in response to my arrogant comment, on one of annacoder's blogs on vegetarianism made me search for a good introductory book on Vedas by a well known and dependable author. I found one such book in Landmark; Vedas by Sri Chandrasekhara Saraswati (Sankaracharya of Kanchi Kamakoti Peetam. He is a well respected acharya with out any controversies, unlike the current Sankaracharya).

Though the original aim was to vindicate myself, I got to know much more from the book. According to Swamiji, Vedas are nothing but the sounds due to cosmic vibrations, as heard by some great Maharshi's after attaining higher levels of spirituality by their meditation. They were passed generation after generation by these Maharshis. Some of them were never written down and lost in time.

Vedas, Vedangas, Upanishads can all be loosely called as Vedas, which are beyond the comprehension of a common man. Most part of the vedas is about rituals and chants that one has to follow through out his life, to keep several gods happy and in turn the world in order. Swami gives some scientific angle to these mundane protocols, by saying that all the chants are to create some kind of vibrations in and outside our bodies and slightest alteration in a chant might lead to completely different result.

Apart from these cryptic rituals and chants, there is a lot of science that is part of the Vedas, which is stored mostly in Vedangas, like, Jyothisha, Kalpa, Meemaamsa, Nyaaya, Vyakarana etc., I attended some lectures on Indian Astronomy at IITB, where our professor used to take some verses from Vedas and map them to the complex formulas derived using modern mathematics, to make us appreciate the knowledge stored in Vedas.

Smrithis (Dharma-Shashtras) are the interpretation of these vedas in a way that people like me also can understand. Swami strongly says that Smrithis should not be considered as the personal interpretations of their authors, but should be considered as the Vedas themselves (So, whatever stated by me and _dodo_ about ManuSmrithi in annacoder 's blog stands valid). Taittareeya Samhita (part of vedas) says that people are born with some debts and they have to repay them. Brahmins repay their debts through a lot of rituals, and others may have some other way of repaying their debts.

As usual, people (who were privileged to have access to the Vedas) seem to have respected only that part of Vedas which made them superior and others inferior, which had resulted in misuse of Varnashrama-Dharma, whose original aim seems to create balance and order in the society.