Today after aeons I decided to listen to some Rabindrasangeet ..... in the midst of floyd and kanye west and emran hashmi remixes the songs were a breath of fresh air ...... and hence begun a long journey down the memory lanes......
Dad listening to the voice of Hemanta on the our most treasured radio early mornings.... mom humming to it while getting us ready for school .....
The black and white Uttam-Suchitra movies aired on Doordarshan on Sunday evenings when the entire family including kalpona mashi would gather, munching on 'masala muri' ....those in the neighbourhood who did not have a television would peep through our windows to watch it :-) ..... ma commenting that the movies nowadays could not capture the subtle and innocent romance that could touch your hearts (considering this was a decade and a half back wonder what she would comment on watching Mallika Sherawat's Murder!!) .....
Rabindra jayanti programs in school when we would spend weeks practising and choreographing rabindrik dance to Tagore's songs, to pay him a tribute and remember his unforgettable contribution to literature .....literature, poetry, music reading and listening to which we all have grown up...... learning by-heart and reciting so many of his poems every year in Bengali classes ..... some of which we can still recall, surprisingly.......
The songs were sung over and over again by people....in singing classes where little children started with "Aalo aamar aalo ogo" since that was the easiest to play on the harmonium, dance classes where "Megher kole rod hesheche", "Momo chitte niti nritte" and "phoole phoole dhole dhole" were popular......from pujo functions to "Mor binay othe" on Saraswati puja, from basanta utsav to winter there is a song for every season ....collectively its usually called 'ritu rongo' ..colors of seasons ......
As I streamed those songs and listened on the head phones all afternoon while fixing my code ...... a sudden thought struck me.....if my children grow up in this country they will never experience those small things which brought us so much joy....they will never learn to sing and dance to Tagore's tunes or read shishu bholanath or beer purush ..... they will never know what basanta utsav is or the significance of wearing a yellow sari on saraswati puja ....or learn to sing a song for every season ...... they will also get lost in hip hop and rap and probably the only indian music they might like is desi bhangra remixes at clubs !!! :-( noooooooooooo!! I hope I never let that happen!!
Wednesday, February 22, 2006
Thursday, February 09, 2006
My mornings and those dreams
The warmth of a blanket in which I've slept all night not letting go of me, the sunshine peeping through the drawn curtains, faint noises of other people in the house closing restroom doors and the alarm clock interrupting the climax of my early morning dreams - the typical start of my day.
The next few minutes pass away in a hurry...... quick shower, attire choices, hair brush, oatmeal packets microwaved in less than a minute, lunch packing, gathering the laptop, phone, bag, keys, employee id and a coat - thats the next phase which I accomplish all in 15-20 minutes flat :)
Will go to sleep now looking forward to my complicated, confusing, surprising, weird dreams which always leave me wondering.... sometimes I try to reason out how they might have been formed .... trying to analyze how one incident leads to something totally unconnected...try to figure out how different people, places, events get linked together.....some imagination, some reality .... a concoction of blatant truths, hidden emotions, wild imagination, subconscious dilemmas, unknown desires, known faces, set-aside thoughts, unrelated contexts and unanticipated endings!!
The next few minutes pass away in a hurry...... quick shower, attire choices, hair brush, oatmeal packets microwaved in less than a minute, lunch packing, gathering the laptop, phone, bag, keys, employee id and a coat - thats the next phase which I accomplish all in 15-20 minutes flat :)
Will go to sleep now looking forward to my complicated, confusing, surprising, weird dreams which always leave me wondering.... sometimes I try to reason out how they might have been formed .... trying to analyze how one incident leads to something totally unconnected...try to figure out how different people, places, events get linked together.....some imagination, some reality .... a concoction of blatant truths, hidden emotions, wild imagination, subconscious dilemmas, unknown desires, known faces, set-aside thoughts, unrelated contexts and unanticipated endings!!
Wednesday, February 08, 2006
Do we realize how closely we are being tracked?
Was having a discussion about how Google is making itself omnipresent ...how it s tracking every bit of what we do, who we are, where we go, what we like/dislike etc to create a pattern that they will use as information for targeted advertising.... Its scary to think that they know so much abt us without our consent ...
Its not only Google tracking us on the internet, every company of which I may or may not be a consumer is tracking us, our purchase capabilities, preferences etc so next time they know what to advertise to us.
A few instances pointed out in the discussion:
-Mr.X buys stuff on clearance from company Y. Y makes note of what he buys, when he buys, how frequently he buys, how much he spends, where else he buys from etc etc etc.....instantly patterns get created and soon mailboxes are flooded with flyers from Y advertising only stuff which Mr.X can afford and which he might be interested in....
So don't be surprised if you and your husband receive flyers from the same company in your mailbox and they have the same contents but the covers are different, simply to attract the right attention!
-As soon as you call the customer service of any company, they track your records and determine how valuable a customer you are....depending on your worth you will be enqueued in order for receiving assistance, so if you have not generated sufficient business or don't seem capable of it you will end up with a higher waiting time!!
-As soon as you sign into a hotel you will be given RFID tags that will track you ....as you approach the bar counter you would have already been tracked and from your past records your favorite drink would already have been served
At this rate by the time today's kids are grown ups, every minute detail about them, their whereabouts, their preferences would be accessible.....SCARY!!
Can we consciously make an effort to avoid this?
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Its not only Google tracking us on the internet, every company of which I may or may not be a consumer is tracking us, our purchase capabilities, preferences etc so next time they know what to advertise to us.
A few instances pointed out in the discussion:
-Mr.X buys stuff on clearance from company Y. Y makes note of what he buys, when he buys, how frequently he buys, how much he spends, where else he buys from etc etc etc.....instantly patterns get created and soon mailboxes are flooded with flyers from Y advertising only stuff which Mr.X can afford and which he might be interested in....
So don't be surprised if you and your husband receive flyers from the same company in your mailbox and they have the same contents but the covers are different, simply to attract the right attention!
-As soon as you call the customer service of any company, they track your records and determine how valuable a customer you are....depending on your worth you will be enqueued in order for receiving assistance, so if you have not generated sufficient business or don't seem capable of it you will end up with a higher waiting time!!
-As soon as you sign into a hotel you will be given RFID tags that will track you ....as you approach the bar counter you would have already been tracked and from your past records your favorite drink would already have been served
At this rate by the time today's kids are grown ups, every minute detail about them, their whereabouts, their preferences would be accessible.....SCARY!!
Can we consciously make an effort to avoid this?
------------
How much is in our hands?
How long do we want to live and is it in our hands how long we live? The other day I heard of someone who is in his 70's and wishes to live 100 years strongly believing that its in his hands .... he has been exercising regularly for 40 years and eats healthy and is a professor who is actively involved in his work .....
Today I happened to come across this article: soon millions will live until 100
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Incidents : I got lost again trying to find my way through the dark and confusing shortcuts of Raleigh ...its time to get a GPS honey :) He said that won't help, that I should get one fitted into my brain .... wonder if that can happen someday ....like a couple of centuries from now ...or like Nanz (our 7 year old nephew says) a zillion billion years from now ! Coming to think of it the earth won't exist zillion billion years from now.... life will cease to exist much much before that ....a planetarium show at the museum of science in Boston had an interesting show on supernovas which opened my eyes towards the fact that there will be a day when the earth becomes inhabitable, the sun's energy dies out .....the question is will we be smart enough to preserve our species by then? Will we be able to produce energy by then? Will we be able to artificially create life? Or can we encapsulate our earth from the perils of the galaxy? Don't know ...... jst wondering
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Today I happened to come across this article: soon millions will live until 100
------
Incidents : I got lost again trying to find my way through the dark and confusing shortcuts of Raleigh ...its time to get a GPS honey :) He said that won't help, that I should get one fitted into my brain .... wonder if that can happen someday ....like a couple of centuries from now ...or like Nanz (our 7 year old nephew says) a zillion billion years from now ! Coming to think of it the earth won't exist zillion billion years from now.... life will cease to exist much much before that ....a planetarium show at the museum of science in Boston had an interesting show on supernovas which opened my eyes towards the fact that there will be a day when the earth becomes inhabitable, the sun's energy dies out .....the question is will we be smart enough to preserve our species by then? Will we be able to produce energy by then? Will we be able to artificially create life? Or can we encapsulate our earth from the perils of the galaxy? Don't know ...... jst wondering
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Monday, February 06, 2006
IIT graduates opt for contrasting careers
IIT Kharagpur placements
IIT graduates form political party 'PARITRANA' : an interview with them
What is fascinating is that its all happening at the right time....India has started prospering and if the rampant corruption at every level of the system can be done away with , there isnt much that can stop India from becoming a superpower.... this is exactly what we need now ....honest, courageous, educated youth who can reform the country ..... Go Paritrana!
IIT graduates form political party 'PARITRANA' : an interview with them
What is fascinating is that its all happening at the right time....India has started prospering and if the rampant corruption at every level of the system can be done away with , there isnt much that can stop India from becoming a superpower.... this is exactly what we need now ....honest, courageous, educated youth who can reform the country ..... Go Paritrana!
Procrastination
Another Monday, another week.....the to-do list carried over from last week keeps growing ...the post it notes on my desktop glare at me ....yeah yeah I will do it.....
Sometimes I wonder what makes us procrastinate.....lethargy, unwillingness... if so why with the important tasks?.....we don't procrastinate watching a new movie in town or reading the new bestseller on stands or the checking the headlines or mails ....but when it comes to paying bills, doing chores, calling people ...
procrastination
well no point contemplating...I don't believe I am writing an entry on procastrination....finding reasons and excuses :)...ok lets get started now
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Last night I watched the superbowl for the first time ....and understood the game of football for the first time.....what I liked most about the game were the ads :D...
Superbowl ads.
India booming.........what makes me proud is that the economy has flourished because of the brains of the people in the country ...
Stock market record in India
Cool stuff :suggestions for Valentine's Day gift
Keyboard Handbag
Maybe I ll use this next time I chat with Mom, at least she wont say that I don't get to eat and am losing my glow :))
Appearance Enhancing Webcams
For a cool kitchen
Toaster
Sometimes I wonder what makes us procrastinate.....lethargy, unwillingness... if so why with the important tasks?.....we don't procrastinate watching a new movie in town or reading the new bestseller on stands or the checking the headlines or mails ....but when it comes to paying bills, doing chores, calling people ...
procrastination
well no point contemplating...I don't believe I am writing an entry on procastrination....finding reasons and excuses :)...ok lets get started now
-----
Last night I watched the superbowl for the first time ....and understood the game of football for the first time.....what I liked most about the game were the ads :D...
Superbowl ads.
India booming.........what makes me proud is that the economy has flourished because of the brains of the people in the country ...
Stock market record in India
Cool stuff :suggestions for Valentine's Day gift
Keyboard Handbag
Maybe I ll use this next time I chat with Mom, at least she wont say that I don't get to eat and am losing my glow :))
Appearance Enhancing Webcams
For a cool kitchen
Toaster
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