TIME to be back !!!

"Are we thankful about the things in life that really matter?" I heard myself thinking aloud. Maybe we indeed are, in a deeply personal way...for me, it's almost so personal that the gratitude stays wrapped up inside, treasured, caressed, well cared for...but not well expressed. What should we be thankful about? To live, have parents, have a family, have an education ? .... or maybe, as it suddenly occurred to me as a slightly home-sick 30-year old who had just wished his dad on his birthday, I am most fortunate to just exist ... to just be part of TIME ... to experience it ... try understand it ... an entity that queerly wraps us up within it, but it is also something that is essentially created and given meaning to by the very us that it so well defines! "How interesting!" I thought to myself, before embarking on writing this blog.

TIME is such an erratic and wonderful teacher ... in so many ways like our parents. From the moment we are born, at one instant it is teaching us the value of patience, and on the other it is trying to coach us on the prize of speed. In one moment, it is teaching us to be exuberant and young, but on the other it wants us to be wise and aged. Like so many other treasures of life, we only start valuing TIME more as we have progressively less of it. But who's complaining, as long as the memories keep TIME from fading, and wishes keep pulling over more TIME! 

Yes, that is what I am most thankful for ... I am thankful for TIME ... the eternal teacher, or in Einstein's words, the manifestation of the Almighty. I have never been a very religious person in any institutional sense, but for me if anything hints at a Creator or a spiritual singularity that is difficult to reconcile with, it would be TIME. I still remember the opening lines of the Hindu epic series "Mahabharata" on Doordarshan channel (when we were kids), with the heavy voice saying "Main samay hoon..." (translates to "I am time..."), and with a little bit of Einstein's relativity, Stephen Hawkins and String theory spicing up the physics in my head at just the right time of our adolescence, I get goosebumps every time I recall that line. Tick tock tick tock ... the analog clock next to our bed keeps up the sound of TIME!

NCR - a sorry state!

Hello friends! Good to be back after a long break ……starting to like this long-distance relationship with “blogspot”, only to reconnect after few months.  Today is a day that we got our 13th president – Pranab Mukherjee secured more than 2/3 majority of this country to become the first Bengali president of India! Reason to be proud? Maybe for some, but it’s hard for me to get excited about someone as hard-working and capable as him to be serving this country in one of the least demanding roles in her polity, after spending a lifetime “so near yet so far” from serving as a deserving Prime Minister. We may argue with his ideology/decisions, but please give it up for a hard-working statesman who has pursued his beliefs and served both party and parliament steadfastly for more than 4 decades. There are some that may see this as a deserving honour/retirement gift from Indian politics, but this country desperately needs motivation, capability and good work ethics more in the PMO and North/South Blocks than in the Rashtrapati Bhawan! Anyways, now to come to the subject of this blog……to something that deeply disturbs and enthralls me and many more who try to live this middle-class, MNC-working life in the National Capital Region (NCR). Here is THE region which receives the overwhelming majority of FII’s (through Mauritius) and FDI’s (lakhs of crores) coming into India from foreign investors to set up local corporates and business subsidiaries. This is a region whose civic and government bodies have much deeper pockets than almost any other part of India. This is a region that benefits the most from New Delhi being the political capital of India. And this is also the region which has the highest real estate pricing (residential/corporate) and the fastest growth rates (hence ROI for investors) across all of India. Yet this is ALSO the region which has one of the lowest literacy rates in the country…A region to have the most cases of violence against women…The region with one of the worst law and order situations in the whole country….A region where real estate prices DO NOT obey any established rule or principle of economics….where crumbling infrastructure goes hand-in-hand with towering buildings….one of the few places in the world to have 20-floor buildings without power, and running on diesel generators for the most part…..millionaire flats overlooking broken roads, burn out streetlamps and ruptured water pipes….and so on. At first glance, there is hardly a rational explanation for such extremes coexisting hand-in-hand and one benefitting of the other. Why is the infrastructure and law/order situation not improving? Intuitive answer – most working middle-class are outsiders who don’t vote…..a large portion of the local population are land-selling peasants who have become overnight millionaires with scant education, resulting in societal tension and crimes. They care little for infrastructure, which translates into insufficient demand from politicians of more govt involvement. As a result, builders make merry developing infrastructure however they can, for their outsider residents, charging them hefty “maintenance” sums for basic needs like water and electricity – all in all, a sorry state of affairs for a region that boasts of being the capital of the largest democracy in the world! So, how can Gurgaon or Noida or Ghaziabad be fixed? Or for that matter, how can such overnight “Gurgaon”s in other parts of the country be truly modernized, uplifted from such gross superfluity, and transformed from a dysfunctional “builder raj” into a functional urban centre with basic infrastructure and law/order? Only time will tell, but I fell the key, as with many other things in India, is to link the money with the votes! - A way to incentivize the politician/ruling class to actually DEVELOP the region to get votes……in turn incentivizing the local population towards more infrastructure/education in order to get higher financial returns! Who? How? When? Keep thinking….and so will I….. Fellow IITians out there, SOCIAL ENGINEERING is the battle-cry….that’s what urban India desperately needs now!

Happy Birthday Ma!

Hello friends and fellow bloggers! This post is going to be for a very special person in my life ..... a small birthday gift for someone to whom I owe everything that I am today and will ever be! Yes, this is for Ma! In a way, this is also dedicated to all the mothers that I know ... everywhere!

Eito Shedin

Mone pore ma sheidine tei tomar kole ghumiye achhi,
Mone pore ma shokal shokal dakte tumi ador kore,
Mone pore ma dupur balay tomar pashe ghapti mere,
Khelte giye shondhe hole oi je tumi baranday ...

Eito shedin school er shokal - doure giye buse otha,
Eito shedin din er sheshe roj tumi ashte nite,
Eito shedin pora dhora - shekhan thekei bhashar bhit,
Protidiner school er khobor bolar chhilo tomay ....

Porashonar phanke phanke shorir monke gora,
School er pore, maidan ete, bheer bus ete lora;
Shathe chhile ... shohay chhile ... shokto chhile tumi -
Aaj o bheer er modhye "Boro howo baba" baare baare shuni ...

Ador-shashon smritigulo, ma, mishe aaj akakar,
Manush korechho jeebon diye - kende heshechho baarbaar;
Onek dukhyo koshto lorai ... shara jeeboner kaaj -
"Shukher din eshe gachhe ma - dakho notun shopno aaj"!

- BABIN (ebong MUNNI)

Goodness.......

Hello amigos!

It's the "blue moon" back again after another longish Arctic summer day! After 3 years, I am reliving the experience of spending Durga Puja away from my family or close friends, because of some last-minute change in plan for a deferred vacation. This seemed to me to be an opportune moment to resume that which I enjoy doing, but also struggle to do more often...as it is not an easy escape for me to get into the mental frame for it frequently! But, I am not here to complain or opine - in fact, I AM enjoying this time alone much more than I thought I would 2 weeks back....and this 1:30 am blog will break my singular monotony with some recent things in the news that baffled and intrigued me so much, that I almost remembered the feeling of childhood....that same feeling of coupled bafflement and intrigue I still vividly remember I used to feel with every new learning at that tender age...prior to the actual understanding of such things much later! So friends, this is my effort to understand the recent headline-hogging issue of all issues - no you didn't guess it right this time - it's not Corruption, but the very antagonist of it - I call it "goodness"!

"Goodness" does not seem like a very intellectually nuanced word to use, but isn't it a very simple, subtle and yet powerful message to begin such a discussion from? It is that something every human being is born with, his/her genes programmed with, him/her having the capability to express or live by in this world. Agreed, it is a theoretical absolutism not practically encountered....but to understand and appreciate complex questions such as "why is a human being corrupt/greedy/violent"?, we might as well start from this nonchalant truism, and then work through the process of its degradation through earthly life.

Let's try it. A child is born - he is "good" in the truest sense of the word. He is innocent, curious, fragile and yet "good"! As he grows up, he learns, imbibes his learning, thinks and finally interprets the information - and this process is repeated for billions of such "learning"s. All this happens via a combination of his innate curiosity, the vast unknown he encounters in daily existence and within the social structure of human civilization. He is also fragile and innocent to start with, but gets progressively stronger and more mature with age and experience. So what happens to "goodness" in the mean time? To me, "goodness" is perhaps the one thing within us that starts to age the earliest, starting from the very day we start employing our cognitive senses for the first time! I also think "Goodness" ages faster than anything else within us...our bones, muscle, organs and even neurons! I feel this "goodness" (you may substitute with "conscience" or "inner voice" or even "God"), from that 0th birthday onwards, fights a long and hard battle with our other "X-ness"s for a viable existence within us.......very similar to the competition in the natural world!

As we grow with age and experience, our "goodness" gets compressed more and more within us by the now ever-increasing forces of learning, possession and maturity. Now these aspects, some may argue, do not necessarily compete for that same space in the human mind that "goodness" also occupies. Others may say that the mind expands, hence allowing for such extra non-innate aspects to take shape beside the inborn "goodness" as we grow up. But let's think for a moment. Have we really come across another human being in our lives who had absolute "goodness" in him/her? I know, care for and love many human beings in my life....but I would never spell out that I, or any other person, is completely free from the aberrations on "goodness" that growing up brings about! Do you know anyone who is as "good" at 10 or 30 or 70 years old as ANY new-born baby?

Now let's rethink this logically once more....if EVERY baby is born essentially "good" and NONE of them later on is able to retain that pure "goodness" in him/her through worldly life, can we still say that growing up has NOTHING to do with "losing or eroding of goodness"? Can anyone still argue for or believe in that one perfect form of growing up, wherein the "goodness" would be preserved....even when not a single person in this world is really as perfect or "good" in its truest sense as he/she was as a new-born? So now, this would then mean that we are ALL "not good" to some degree...in our own little way....and when none of us is clean, definitions/judgments of "corruption", "violence", "deceit" and "falsity" are ONLY relative at best, and convenient at worst!

If it is man who has defined relative boundaries of acceptable behavior, acceptable selfishness, acceptable ego, acceptable rudeness, acceptable dishonesty....based on popular or arbitrary vote.....and these ever-fluous opinions vary from one society to another....from one civilization to another.....from an election to the next....from one religion to another....between countries........which definition / opinion / vote is right? How can there be multiple definitions of morality for different grown-ups, when babies of all sex, color, country and race were indeed "good" - the same "good" to start their life journey? Suddenly, all our ideal-sounding debates and finger-pointing at each other over corruption and violence dim into the relative gloom of misplaced self-righteousness! How tragic to realize that all of us (from a saint to a death-row convict) were "good" once.....the same "good"....at birth?!

I wrap up with some verse ---

With every breath I take I fall a little ....
With every fall I have I grow a little ....
With every bit I grow I free a little ....
With every freedom I value I hope a little ....
With every hope I have I live a little ....
With every step of life I dream a little ....
A dream to be "good" once again ....

- Shammodip Roy

Three conversions later .......

Hi friends! What better time to resume blogging than having just got over 6 hours of hysterical rejoicing over India's world cup victory, and thus bearing witness to history as it got created on my 15.6 inch laptop screen, on an innocuous TV channel streaming spurts of live action. But this blog, unlike 99% of the others being written right now, is not going to be about the cricket!

The reason I am back after this longish break is primarily the hectic last few months, a slice of which experience I want to share with you here. During this time, I had shifted between different kinds of work, bought my first car, went on a memorable family vacation to Dooars (North Bengal Himalayan forests) after 5 years, returned to barely get my papers done before I had to fly over to the US on a project! Hectic, isn't it?

But the funny part is, of all the places in the US, my destiny brought me over to a sleepy town called "Kalamazoo" (sounds like Timbaktoo! - far from American) in the heart of Michigan, the American mid-west! And, as every Indian professional, I also boarded the flight from the dazzling IGI airport with 2 important CONVERSIONS (besides a ton of luggage) - dollar to rupee and "EST daylight saving" to IST! But by the time I got off at K'zoo (probably the smallest airport in the world), after immigration ordeals at London and Chicago, 10 inches of ice added a third CONVERSION to my list - fahrenheit to celsius!

Now, the American mid-west is a bit like the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh, with nothing really famous/iconic about it that the outside world might know about that country! But at the same time, the heart of any big country is often the most bare representation of her society, culture and character - and K'zoo, unlike the New Yorks and LAs of the US, embodies in many ways the true average American way of life! As a result of interactions with a large number of very friendly and warm locals, it was fascinating to observe, understand and get familiar with the American psyche.

One of the first things that struck me was that Hollywood / CNN / Washington / other American icons are VERY DIFFERENT from what average America is and its normal population are. Michigan was the erstwhile seat of the US automobile industry (with Detroit being the cradle of GM, Ford and Chrysler), before recession devastated it, primarily caused by the crash in the real estate market all over the US. This state, having one of the highest education levels for all of America, its people are very aware of current affairs and quick to point out to you the flaws of their own govt and at the same time inquisitive about things outside the US. For much of the Mid-west, it is the same human concerns, fears, hopes and aspirations that ring throughout most societies of the world .... unlike the American IMAGE we are familiar with! Now coming to my CONVERSIONS which I brought along with me, I have gradually realized that these conversions throw up some interesting facts about this country.

First up, the "dollar to rupee conversion" - it is easy to say that this implies things are likely to be more expensive in the US than in India. True, but not always! Using this conversion, there are some things EQUALLY expensive in India as the US - non-veg, dairy, drinks, fuel; some actually MORE costly in India than the US - electronics, cars (same category), houses (not flats) and other so-called luxury items. Everything else like fruits, veggies, manual labor, transport, education is cheaper in India. This means that our so-called essential items are more expensive in the US, middle-class items are largely equivalent or slightly cheaper in the US, but luxury items are way cheaper in the US! That partly explains why the American middle class finds it easier to afford luxury items, compared to their Indian counterparts who have to take a bigger jump!

The second CONVERSION of time is also interesting, as it explains why most Western cultures have dinner (and NOT supper) - simply because the diurnal 24 hours get realigned as much as possible with sunlight time, to trigger an earlier start to the "working day" and consequently an earlier close, often with the sun still out in summer! That also means I had to fight against my "IST" habits to leave for work when it's still dark outside, and go to bed just 3 hrs after sunset! Apart from the daylight saving, another challenging aspect to contend with is the multiple American time-zones, which can create logical impossibilities like me getting on my return flight at 1:30 pm from K'zoo and reaching Chicago ALSO at 1:30 pm (1 hr flight Westwards from EST to CST)!

The third CONVERSION of temperature was not only the hardest to calculate mentally, but also difficult to reason with while in India - I mean, why would anyone take such a rational reference of 0 degrees celsius (below which water freezes) and twist it into something as non-intuitive as 32 degrees fahrenheit? It deviated significantly from the core outlook of the American society - trying to make things simple and intuitive (from english spellings to gas station instructions)! But then I arrived in the middle of the freezing K'zoo winter - and I have since realized that 25 fahrenheit sounds much warmer than -4 celsius, and might be significant for people to carry on psychologically through the 8 month Winter!

In all, it has been a fascinating and educating experience with the REAL America for me - from mexican cuisine, burgers, barbecues and hot dogs, to Ice hockey, bowling and Nintendo; from tight schedules and long hours, to online and retail shopping; from left-side driver seat and right-hand driving, to marvelous traffic discipline and 75 MPH (120 KPH) on highways - all along the way befriending some really nice and helpful people!

Happy birthday Baba !!!

Today's blog is a short poem I have written for my parents ... as a way of saying a small 'thank you' and 'i love you' to the very people who always stand by me through thick and thin no matter what ....... happy birthday baba!!!

The poem is in Bangla ........ the language in which I wrote my first poem 11 years back ....... and since this one is for my parents, mother tongue it will be! But for you guys who don't know the language, the poetic translation in English is just below that .......

AMI UTHI ABAR

Amar meghla bikelbalay
Akla mon kharaper ghum,
Shei brishti dekha kanche -
Amar alochhayar room |

Kichhu phontar shathe kotha,
Kichhu shobdo bhalobasha,
Klanti ghum hoy na chokhe -
Amar chhelemanushi asha |

Er modhye onek bhaba,
Khata ankhre dhore thaka,
Mon shanto hoy abar -
Buke shopno ma-babar .......

Kokhon shurjo dube gachhe,
Chena shobdo ghorir kantar,
Abar karon khonja othar -
Asha japte uthi abar |

-------------------------------------------------

And the english translation in verse is .........

I RISE AGAIN

Another of my cloudy eves,
On a pensive mood I sleep,
Watching rain on the window pain -
Light and shadows paint my room !

Words I speak with drops I hear,
Some sounds I've heard make me endear,
These tired eyes hold no sleep -
My childish hopes surround me !

Amidst all this thoughts crowd in,
Holding on to scribbled sheets,
Again I calm down deep inside -
My heart carrying my parents' dreams ........

Don't know when the sun had set,
The clock ticks on familiarly,
I search again for a reason to rise -
Embracing my dreams I rise again !

----------------------------------------------------------

ENGINEers

Not long ago they looked down on us
As men who toiled with tools and nuts,
We sawed through wood and hammered out ore,
We were 'penters and 'smiths till they wanted more !

In reply the machines started to come
And they needed men to run the beasts,
Under tin roofs they called us in -
We started working with the milling machine !

Over time the machines got bigger and better,
Gears and levers had become our tools -
No matter what rolled out on the belt
The world outside always needed more !

In time the engine took its place,
And they found us a name at last -
Since then "ENGINEers" we have been,
Chugging the new world onwards !

The new world needed machines to build,
Engines to travel...machines to unravel,
We built machines for a better world......
We built machines that threatened us all !

Today with machines we've bonded so deep
That without them life seems empty and steep,
Our work is getting machines to "engineer" -
So ENGINES are today's real ENGINEers !