Down but not dead
Thursday, November 27, 2008
I have seen it all,
from freshness of spring to autumn's fall,
I have seen the blood diamonds shine,
an amputee telling his family that he is all fine.
Cities being raged by bombs and fires,
the elders being charred by burning tires;
kids being shot and operated without anesthesia,
while their mothers prayed in silence for the panacea.
From the religious hatred to blood drenched rains,
from laughter filled school wagon to blood pouring trains.
An innocuous girl fearing men of her own religion,
a granny crying over her kindergarten grandson's loss of vision.
In one house I have seen a brother kill brother,
the next one had no one's son being cared by someone's mother;
for what we see is that just after a violent strife,
you will see in eyes of people, coming back, the spirit of life.
Cities have bled and nations have been strangled,
Respect has been forgone and humanity wrangled;
Everybody thought they could bear no more and for grim reaper they should send,
but each time, I repeat, each time its the spirit of life that has triumphed in end
We have seen it in Delhi and seen in Mumbai all the time,
every such horror brings humanity to its prime.
people come together and forget small clashes,
the spirit of life makes the beaten to rise from ashes.
An elderly man being helped by a policeman at CST terminal in Mumbai after a terrorist had opened fire in the crowd.See the irony, people have been killed after saving killer's life with water,
killer could have paid by leaving that feeder's life, but he didn't have faith in that barter.
When a youngster's mind is trained nothing astute but brainwashed for terror,
they don't understand humanity but dismiss acts of kindness as a silly error.
So lets hold our hands and stand together against terror,
Gloom has come, but doom shall never...
Labels: My Life, Philosophy, Places
posted by Jas @ 11:04 PM,
,
April 13th - The day of festivals
Sunday, April 13, 2008
Its April the 13th and chances are quite high that you shall be feeling the spirit of festival inside you or in your elders' heart back home, just in case you are abroad :)
It is quite strange how so many civilizations, so diverse in language and rituals are coming together to celebrate this day of spirit and rejoice.
It is quite strange how so many civilizations, so diverse in language and rituals are coming together to celebrate this day of spirit and rejoice.
Baisakhi
For the large farming community of Punjab and Haryana, Baisakhi marks a New Year’s time as it is time to harvest rabi crop. On Baisakhi, farmers thank god for the bountiful crop and pray for good times ahead. People buy new clothes and make merry by singing, dancing and enjoying the best of festive food. In several villages of Punjab, Baisakhi Fairs are organized where besides other recreational activities, kabbadi and wrestling bouts are also held.Rongali Bihu
Beautiful agricultural state of Assam celebrates major agricultural events as the festival of Bihu. Notably there are three Bihu festivals in year namely - Rongali Bihu or Bohag Bihu, Bhugali (Magh Bihu) and Kangali (Kati Bihu) marking the distinctive phase in the farming calendar. Of the three Bihu festivals, Rongali Bihu is celebrated with greatest excitement as it marks the arrival of spring - the agricultural season.People of all faiths and creed celebrate Bohag Bihu by singing traditional Bihugeets and performing group folk dances. Marking the occasion young boys and girls in village don traditional dhoti, gamosa and saadar mekhela and sing Bihugeets or folk Bihu songs in traditional bihutolis or Mukoli Bihus. The accompanied orchestra of dhol, pépa (buffalo hornpipe) and gagana add joys to the celebrations. At several places Bihu fairs are also organized where people participate in the games and other fun-filled activities.
Naba Barsha/Poila Baisakh
Naba Barsha is the celebration of Bengali New Year !! Naba Barsha in Bengal marks the first day of Baisakh - the first month of Bengali Calendar (too). A very important tradition of Naba Varsha is the making of elaborate rangolis or alpanas in front of the house by womenfolk. Rangolis are prepared with flour and its center is adorned with earthenware pot decorated with auspicious swastika. This pot is filled with holy water and mango leaves to symbolize a prosperous year for the family.On Naba Barsha, people of West Bengal propitiate Goddess Lakshmi - the Hindu Goddess of Wealth to pray for prosperity and well being. Many devotees also take a dip in a nearby river to mark the occasion. For Bengalis, Naba Barsha is the beginning of all business activities. Businessmen and traders purchase new accounting books and start new account known as Haalkhata. People also worship Lord Ganesha by chanting mantras.
Puthandu
Puthandu marks the Tamil New Year’s Day and is celebrated in the beginning of Chithirai - the first month in the Tamil Calendar year. The auspicious occasion of Puthandu is also popularly known as Varusha Pirappu or the birth of New Year and falls on 13th or 14th April according to the Gregorian Calendar. Many people in Tamil Nadu also celebrate Puthandu as the day when Lord Brahma - Hindu God of Creation started creation. People of Tamil Nadu celebrate Varusha Pirappu in a big way by merrymaking and feasting.A popular custom of Puthandu is 'kanni' which means the auspicious sight. Following the ritual, people start the Puthandu day by watching auspicious things like gold and silver jewelery, betel leaves, nuts, fruits and vegetables, flowers, raw rice and coconuts. A bath and a visit to the temple usually follow Kanni.
Vishu
Vishu Festival heralds the beginning of Malayalese New Year and is celebrated in a big way in the state of Kerala and the adjoining areas of Tamil Nadu. Vishu falls on the first day in the Malayalam month of Medam. Kerala also celebrates the custom of Vishu is Vishukani or Kani Kanal (first sight) same as Kanni of tamil. In villages of Kerala, young men and women dress up as the 'chozhi' by wearing a skirt of dried banana leaves and masks on their faces. These entertainers would then move from house to house and collect reward for their performances.Vaishakha
People of Bihar celebrated Vaishakha twice a year, first in the Hindu month of Vaishakha (April) and then in the month of Kartika (November). Vaishakha Festival is dedicated to Surya Devta or Sun God in Bihar. Vaishakha celebrations in Bihar are marked in a village called Surajpur-Baragaon. Following the ancient practice, devotees pay obeisance to the Sun God by taking bath in the temple tank and offering flowers and water from the sacred rivers of Ganga.In pic you can see devotees from Bihar offering bananas and coconuts in front of Sun on the occasion of Chhath Puja.
Songkran Water Festival
Songkran marks the start of the Buddhist New Year and officially lasts from April 13-15. Most business pretty much grinds to a halt during the festival period with schools, government offices and many shops shutting down. Airports, bus stations and train stations are jammed with travelers headed back to their home provinces.But then where do all these people go? Well, you can see the families crammed into the back of pickup trucks, chugging along in bumper-to-bumper traffic and squirting water at other vehicles and pedestrians. The water warriors use squirt guns, super soakers, hoses, buckets, garbage cans and anything else they can get their hands on in order to disperse their liquid ammunition.
The origins of Songkran date back nearly a thousand years to when the Tai people (ancestors of modern day Thais) in China's Yunnan Province celebrated the start of a new farming cycle during the fifth full moon of the lunar calendar. Water is used in Songkran as both a symbol of cleansing and renewal. In the past, Thai people would delicately sprinkle scented water from silver bowls or the hands of respected family members. They would also make pilgrimages to area temples and carefully bathe the Buddha images in a similar manner. Songkran is also a time when Thai people routinely do a thorough cleaning of their homes. Additionally, people make offerings to local temples and provide food and new robes for monks.The Water Splashing Festival
Traditional festival of Dai people of Xishuangbanna and other places; is also known as the Festival for bathing Lord Buddha. The festival is related to the Buddhist legend of dragon sprinkling fragrant showers on Lord Buddha at his birth. The Buddhist legend has gradually been mingled with the customs of the Dai people since their conversion to Buddhism.People take part in the rowing dragon-boat race, launching Gaosheng (a kind of mini rocket) and fire lamps. Water splashing is the most exciting of all. People splash water onto each other as a symbol of benediction.
So Happy April the 13th! Wherever you come from!
Labels: Cultures, Experiences, Places
posted by Jas @ 1:28 PM,
,
Economic behavior of Asia, US and Europe
Thursday, March 27, 2008
When I joined my team here in Hyderabad, I was introduced by my supervisor to the team in a monthly town hall meeting. When I told about my MBA exchange program from France, he asked me why did I choose France/ Europe and why not US. There I just replied that I always loved Europe and had been longing to go over there, so when opportunity came I grabbed it (which was the true reason!); but it sparked a query inside me. America, having its past as a slave country, one of the greatest revolution and Civil war, its meteoric rise as the worlds largest economy post WWI and so many embellishments, still did not appear an embellishment as good as Europe. So there HAS to be an explanation. So here is my explanation:Now let’s see the reasons behind all this. Europe can be taken to be a land that cultivated the culture, the manners and protocols to much of its formal nature we have today. It started exploration of lands with purpose to exploit it for resources, for advancement and development. It was the region that gave the world the Industrial revolution and hence the base for the present. If you see them, you will see many innovations, advancements and explanations for supernatural. Europe has decent distribution of resources per capita. It gives every one the opportunity to sit, relax and ideate. The philosophy and the concept of gods in human form have made them go around the world and ‘enlighten’ the others. This makes them long for the ultimate truth, glory and prestige. So you will see many innovations that have been implemented, but still not commercially viable like Concorde, world’s fastest trains (TGV) etc. So I correlate Europe to Innovation and Art.
America on other hand has been the land of money, so all the people who migrated to US were having a commercial mindset. This made them to work had, use best of practices, keep cost lowest and earn more profit. Even a common man there thinks of the individual return and profitability. America, post American revolution, has been a land of green cash, opportunities, commerce, capitalism and growth. It has always promised that life of glitter, gold and glamour. If there has been an innovation worth its money, US has used it fully. If there is an optimization path available, they have achieved it. So I associate US to conceptual and commercial implementation.
Asian story is entirely different; it was more like a land with practical utility rather than concept innovation. If something doesn’t work then we have a way of making it work somehow, albeit for a shorter time, but saving us from throwing away the thing as useless anyhow. It had most fertile lands, climatic conditions for life to propagate in all seasons and high density of flora and fauna. All this resulted in high human density and hence higher fight for now limited resources. All this has resulted in Asians being street smart. We have a high degree of groupism, react more by emotions than plain commercial viability and the body language shouts much more than our words. This all makes us great at on the floor implementation. We excel in execution.
While my story is a plain fact here that am attracted to art, ideas and research; it also brings us to a great economic model. Wherein the innovative concept comes from Europe, US does the blueprint and develops a trimmed revenue and business model and Asia provides its high number labor available at low cost to attain a great immaculate product at attractive price. But ya, there is a lot of intricate details here which will change the dynamics; but then it’s the future concept we are listing here.
America on other hand has been the land of money, so all the people who migrated to US were having a commercial mindset. This made them to work had, use best of practices, keep cost lowest and earn more profit. Even a common man there thinks of the individual return and profitability. America, post American revolution, has been a land of green cash, opportunities, commerce, capitalism and growth. It has always promised that life of glitter, gold and glamour. If there has been an innovation worth its money, US has used it fully. If there is an optimization path available, they have achieved it. So I associate US to conceptual and commercial implementation.
Asian story is entirely different; it was more like a land with practical utility rather than concept innovation. If something doesn’t work then we have a way of making it work somehow, albeit for a shorter time, but saving us from throwing away the thing as useless anyhow. It had most fertile lands, climatic conditions for life to propagate in all seasons and high density of flora and fauna. All this resulted in high human density and hence higher fight for now limited resources. All this has resulted in Asians being street smart. We have a high degree of groupism, react more by emotions than plain commercial viability and the body language shouts much more than our words. This all makes us great at on the floor implementation. We excel in execution.
While my story is a plain fact here that am attracted to art, ideas and research; it also brings us to a great economic model. Wherein the innovative concept comes from Europe, US does the blueprint and develops a trimmed revenue and business model and Asia provides its high number labor available at low cost to attain a great immaculate product at attractive price. But ya, there is a lot of intricate details here which will change the dynamics; but then it’s the future concept we are listing here.
Labels: Experiences, Philosophy, Places
posted by Jas @ 11:26 PM,
,
Brussels
Wednesday, June 13, 2007
Brussels, the land of museums, history, Mini Europe, Mannekin Pis and more museums. It all sounded so exciting, only that it wasnt! Coming from Europe, Brussels can be quite a shock for some tourists, atleast the asians. The travel plans, tourist guides, city maps... all talk a differnt language. We were to go to Battlefield of Waterloo and then to the Mini Europe, but it took this plain journey of about 4 to 5 hours, a full day to complete! It was always just so easy to get lost anywhere. We were staying at Gare Du Midi aka Zuidstation, the main international connecting station of southern side. That side of town had a visible sadness, even on the faces of people. The traffic signs either werent working here or the cars were just running instead of pedesterian sign! In the end, I found it better to cut the plan to adjust a day in Amsterdam.
The battlefield of Waterloo was the only sunshine for us. A well preserved land, with all the landscape details, it still has the same trenches, hills and houses from that eventful day of 1815. But then it was the battle of Waterloo, which saw the decline of Napoleaon, a part due to rain washing away the strategic use of canons (he had strategised to use canons so that they bounce on striking the ground and in this way crush away a lot of soldeirs, but a torrential rain a night before not only ruined his plan, but also made already tired French to toil more), a part due to betrayal and a part due to Wellington's brilliance.
Labels: Places
posted by Jas @ 5:08 PM,
,
