I am a proud owner of a blog.
I started pretty late, in fact from this June. It was more of a solution to pass away my idle time in office and so the posts were mostly private and hence unreadable. I used to think of it as a e-diary of sorts- only its open to all.
The web is a mystery. Its open to all but yet it hides so much.
There are so many blogs out there that I know for sure no one unfamiliar would even bother to check this one out. For effect, the name that I chose is too cheesy- "free from boredom" and the stern message that accompanies it is hardly a nice welcome doormat.
A month or so passed. No one ever found out. But then Google (Search) dumped me.
One of my friends found out. She told others. And then a lot of people knew. Even office colleagues got the drift.
Suddenly a few comments began to appear on my posts.
It felt good.
It was almost as if people were appreciating my new suit, watch, car...
But then it stopped.
The comments dried up. People became bored of my slow harangues. I mean there is nothing I write that makes sense. Its purely dry and pedestrian.
I was left alone.
With my blog.
So here I am. Writing for the sake of it. Writing because I feel like. And keeping my blog alive, so even if someone pounces on it, the natural curiosity in us compels him/her to check it out and if I'm really lucky, post a comment.
But is this really bad?
Well, it allows me to write on anything without offending/disturbing others. And I'll be damned if I say this but this also allows me to edit the blog time and again to smooth en out the posts and remove the errors. Me no perfectionist but I do get bothered by anything that sticks out and can be changed.
That is one liberty I'd have to give up if this blog ever became popular. And Id' have to be politically correct, gender-sensitive etc etc as well as linguistically correct.
Blah!
Too much of a responsibility!
Tuesday, September 25, 2007
Thursday, September 20, 2007
Another comment on JNU
I passed out of JNU three months back. Though I had one of the greatest of experiences in the campus, its difficult to put it down in writing that I love the place.
My belief is that the professors of my department had some role to play in this. CESP professors, or rather most of them are old hacks holding on to a dead school of thought.
No wait!
I'm being kind. They are no more than the extended intellectual propaganda machine of the CPI(M). To them, everything the party does is an unmitigated blessing- from opposing nuclear energy deal with the U.S., to killing farmers in Nandigram.
They do not stop there. They have reduced economics to a farcical textual analysis backed with laughable numbers. Such dilution of the science is hardly acceptable. It has never ceased to amaze me how people like Anjan Mukherji, Satish Jain, Krishnendu Ghosh Dostidar, Subrato Guha etc (high priests of real economics, not the speak-easy leftists) can chose to stay in this stultifying unscientific atmosphere.
Professor C.P. Chandrasekhar (one of those idiots) once mocked those, who according to him, have become economists by reading World Development Reports.
Some of us actually fell for it.
Well to me, JNU rolls out economists whose knowledge is bound by Macroscan and EPW. If you were to ask me, I'd be really confused to point out which one is better.
My belief is that the professors of my department had some role to play in this. CESP professors, or rather most of them are old hacks holding on to a dead school of thought.
No wait!
I'm being kind. They are no more than the extended intellectual propaganda machine of the CPI(M). To them, everything the party does is an unmitigated blessing- from opposing nuclear energy deal with the U.S., to killing farmers in Nandigram.
They do not stop there. They have reduced economics to a farcical textual analysis backed with laughable numbers. Such dilution of the science is hardly acceptable. It has never ceased to amaze me how people like Anjan Mukherji, Satish Jain, Krishnendu Ghosh Dostidar, Subrato Guha etc (high priests of real economics, not the speak-easy leftists) can chose to stay in this stultifying unscientific atmosphere.
Professor C.P. Chandrasekhar (one of those idiots) once mocked those, who according to him, have become economists by reading World Development Reports.
Some of us actually fell for it.
Well to me, JNU rolls out economists whose knowledge is bound by Macroscan and EPW. If you were to ask me, I'd be really confused to point out which one is better.
Sunday, September 16, 2007
A Communist at JNU
Let me proffer a few details about myself- I am a Bengali, born and educated in Calcutta and then when I figured out staying in Calcutta beyond my 21 years of age would actually limit my chances of getting decent education and career opportunities, I moved out.
It so happened that I landed up in JNU, New Delhi and after a remarkable two years, got a job.
(my remarkable period in JNU had a lot to do with the kind of friends and experiences I had and maybe not so much the institution itself)
I don't know whether it was by God's design or not but somehow this made sure I get a lot of exposure to communism- in practice and in theory. Interestingly, the practice came before theory and I suspect that is the main reason my derision for this school of thought remains intact. Some of my Delhi friends have a romanticized left-wing view and my guess is that a month's stay at Calcutta would cure them of their disease. They say if you see what the communists are up to in West Bengal, you'd end up either as someone with staunch anti-left inclinations (centre-right or god forbid, the right-wing!) or someone down the drain (extreme left).
JNU is a heaven made for leftists. Many people may not be aware of this but there are competing schools of thought within left-wing ideology. They probably hate each other as much as they hate the bourgeois. All these schools have their representative political parties and these form the core of JNU life- politics everywhere.
My batch was an exception. Most students were from DU and even the CU (Calcutta University) people had restrained fancy to politics and ideology. In other words, wanted to take up the responsibility of their own life and career.
There was one exception. The guy was from Kerala, so he had similar background to mine. But with totally different results. I have had always been politically and socially conscious and my ideas generally emanated from a centre-right perspective. This guy, on the other hand, saw great beauty in communist praxis and had a dogmatic belief in the party; it really did not matter to him who ran the ship.
Many students of our batch, upon coming to JNU got a flavor of something that they have never had in their schools or colleges- unbridled politicking. We all had moments of confusion and self-doubt. But this guy was different. He never flinched in the defence of his great party- as it plunged into one crisis to another.
The guy also gave up his studies. He spent more and more time in politicking, trying to shore up support for the party in the keralite minority, making placards or simply listening to countless speeches and talks that keep happening in JNU.
His clarity of thought and prose made him stay afloat in the absurdly easy theoretical papers but deserted him in the math based ones. There his scores came in binary numbers.
I am hardly the one to judge. I did not do well in some papers. I gave up studies too, to a large extent, disillusioned at first by the politicised pedagogy and immersing myself in placement work later. But in the end, my grades come to 6, while his, I guess hovered around 4.5 -5, in spite of taking easier papers.
He had an explanation as well. He was ideologically opposed to the mathematical treatment of a social science, or some such rubbish. I at least have the humility to say I am aware of my intellectual limitations.
This fellow had aspirations of becoming an IAS officer in the start. In the last sem, when we had pretty much a direction in our lives, the fellow dumped his IAS dreams.
I suspect IAS requires dedication and commitment; to studies, not politicking.
God knows how he got through M.phil without no knowledge whatsoever of Econometrics, Game theory, Microeconomics or math. Well, stranger things have happened at JNU.
And now he cribs to my juniors that I have corrupted their minds- that I have shown them that even JNU students can have a meaningful life.
I have high regard for a lot of communists and respect some of what they have to say. But I have seen the worst of them as well and what they can be capable of; in JNU and in Calcutta.
Subin, you are just like any other shitty communist- all talk!
It so happened that I landed up in JNU, New Delhi and after a remarkable two years, got a job.
(my remarkable period in JNU had a lot to do with the kind of friends and experiences I had and maybe not so much the institution itself)
I don't know whether it was by God's design or not but somehow this made sure I get a lot of exposure to communism- in practice and in theory. Interestingly, the practice came before theory and I suspect that is the main reason my derision for this school of thought remains intact. Some of my Delhi friends have a romanticized left-wing view and my guess is that a month's stay at Calcutta would cure them of their disease. They say if you see what the communists are up to in West Bengal, you'd end up either as someone with staunch anti-left inclinations (centre-right or god forbid, the right-wing!) or someone down the drain (extreme left).
JNU is a heaven made for leftists. Many people may not be aware of this but there are competing schools of thought within left-wing ideology. They probably hate each other as much as they hate the bourgeois. All these schools have their representative political parties and these form the core of JNU life- politics everywhere.
My batch was an exception. Most students were from DU and even the CU (Calcutta University) people had restrained fancy to politics and ideology. In other words, wanted to take up the responsibility of their own life and career.
There was one exception. The guy was from Kerala, so he had similar background to mine. But with totally different results. I have had always been politically and socially conscious and my ideas generally emanated from a centre-right perspective. This guy, on the other hand, saw great beauty in communist praxis and had a dogmatic belief in the party; it really did not matter to him who ran the ship.
Many students of our batch, upon coming to JNU got a flavor of something that they have never had in their schools or colleges- unbridled politicking. We all had moments of confusion and self-doubt. But this guy was different. He never flinched in the defence of his great party- as it plunged into one crisis to another.
The guy also gave up his studies. He spent more and more time in politicking, trying to shore up support for the party in the keralite minority, making placards or simply listening to countless speeches and talks that keep happening in JNU.
His clarity of thought and prose made him stay afloat in the absurdly easy theoretical papers but deserted him in the math based ones. There his scores came in binary numbers.
I am hardly the one to judge. I did not do well in some papers. I gave up studies too, to a large extent, disillusioned at first by the politicised pedagogy and immersing myself in placement work later. But in the end, my grades come to 6, while his, I guess hovered around 4.5 -5, in spite of taking easier papers.
He had an explanation as well. He was ideologically opposed to the mathematical treatment of a social science, or some such rubbish. I at least have the humility to say I am aware of my intellectual limitations.
This fellow had aspirations of becoming an IAS officer in the start. In the last sem, when we had pretty much a direction in our lives, the fellow dumped his IAS dreams.
I suspect IAS requires dedication and commitment; to studies, not politicking.
God knows how he got through M.phil without no knowledge whatsoever of Econometrics, Game theory, Microeconomics or math. Well, stranger things have happened at JNU.
And now he cribs to my juniors that I have corrupted their minds- that I have shown them that even JNU students can have a meaningful life.
I have high regard for a lot of communists and respect some of what they have to say. But I have seen the worst of them as well and what they can be capable of; in JNU and in Calcutta.
Subin, you are just like any other shitty communist- all talk!
A try at fiction
It was a warm Sunday afternoon. The sun was up, the air was still and most people were indoors.
Aseem was trying to take a nap after a sumptuous Subway brunch. His roommate Guru was following on the net an yet another cricket match India was on the verge of losing. As his roommate's facial expressions turned from one of disgust to sadness, Aseem drifted off to sleep, thanking a non-existent entity for making Guru lose his commentary skills.
No such luck. The cell phone made its presence felt. Aseem has got a new text message. Reluctant as hell, but knowing it could be important, he got up. Grooggily he went up to the place where his cell phone, a priceless Samsung antique was on the charger.
It was from his friend, Siddhant. Aseem smiled; he checked the time. It was four PM. Almost time Seedu got up; for the first time in the day.
Seedu had heard about some Indra Sinha getting nominated for the international booker prize. He wished to know whether Aseem had checked out his stuff.
Aseem had no clue. But he was high on the Borat fever. Trying to be witty, he messaged his reply: "Me in my country. Book ban here. No read. So no know. Me with my sister. She good!!!". Then pressed the send button.
With a smile on his face, satisfied by his juvenile humor, Aseem lied down again.
Five minutes passed. The cell phone was ringing.
Aseem picked up. "Congratulations! your message has been selected as the funniest one sent at this hour of the day. If you choose to make this message public, you win... Even if you do not, you still..."
Aseem was stunned. He did not know what to say. He cut the call. He could not figure out how to feel.
P.S. - This is a work of fiction. The characters are all imaginary and bear no relation with real people whatsoever.
But this could happen.
Aseem was trying to take a nap after a sumptuous Subway brunch. His roommate Guru was following on the net an yet another cricket match India was on the verge of losing. As his roommate's facial expressions turned from one of disgust to sadness, Aseem drifted off to sleep, thanking a non-existent entity for making Guru lose his commentary skills.
No such luck. The cell phone made its presence felt. Aseem has got a new text message. Reluctant as hell, but knowing it could be important, he got up. Grooggily he went up to the place where his cell phone, a priceless Samsung antique was on the charger.
It was from his friend, Siddhant. Aseem smiled; he checked the time. It was four PM. Almost time Seedu got up; for the first time in the day.
Seedu had heard about some Indra Sinha getting nominated for the international booker prize. He wished to know whether Aseem had checked out his stuff.
Aseem had no clue. But he was high on the Borat fever. Trying to be witty, he messaged his reply: "Me in my country. Book ban here. No read. So no know. Me with my sister. She good!!!". Then pressed the send button.
With a smile on his face, satisfied by his juvenile humor, Aseem lied down again.
Five minutes passed. The cell phone was ringing.
Aseem picked up. "Congratulations! your message has been selected as the funniest one sent at this hour of the day. If you choose to make this message public, you win... Even if you do not, you still..."
Aseem was stunned. He did not know what to say. He cut the call. He could not figure out how to feel.
P.S. - This is a work of fiction. The characters are all imaginary and bear no relation with real people whatsoever.
But this could happen.
Thursday, September 13, 2007
Where is the alternative?
On my way to office, I managed to catch glimpses of the world outside. It was calm,serene and ravishingly beautiful (I'm talking about the Noida-Greater Noida expressway here and not Noida, mind you!). The sweet smell of wet vegetation entered my nostrils and as the wind swept by my face, I drew a long sigh.
Makes me wonder...
Am I wasting the best years of my life? waking up early, getting ready, reaching office, tuck into a chair and stare at the computer for ten hours?
Its not as if I'm changing the world. My work does not alleviate poverty. All that nonsense about trickle-down won't work with me because I know economics. The real one, that is.
So here I am. Not changing the world and not having fun either.
But still getting paid.
And that, my friends, is the root cause of the problem. The payroll account has enabled me to raise my standard of living considerably.
Really?
Lets ponder over this. Yes, I have gained access to outrageously priced restaurants. Gradually I am becoming enveloped by gadgets- all bought by me and not by my folks. There is a sense of pride in that. I can think of the future, raise a family and this that.
I never had it better than this?
You gotta be kidding me!
Makes me wonder...
Am I wasting the best years of my life? waking up early, getting ready, reaching office, tuck into a chair and stare at the computer for ten hours?
Its not as if I'm changing the world. My work does not alleviate poverty. All that nonsense about trickle-down won't work with me because I know economics. The real one, that is.
So here I am. Not changing the world and not having fun either.
But still getting paid.
And that, my friends, is the root cause of the problem. The payroll account has enabled me to raise my standard of living considerably.
Really?
Lets ponder over this. Yes, I have gained access to outrageously priced restaurants. Gradually I am becoming enveloped by gadgets- all bought by me and not by my folks. There is a sense of pride in that. I can think of the future, raise a family and this that.
I never had it better than this?
You gotta be kidding me!
Thursday, September 6, 2007
Re: Delhi girls are like no other
Yesterday, 7th September, 2007: Went to the Delhi Book Fair.
Before I go any further, Let me explain my relationship with books. I love books. That does not necessarily mean I read them. If you were to compare my reading habits with most people in my office I'd come across as an intellectual. On the other hand, do the same with my friends from JNU then suddenly I'm a half-literate.
Doesn't say much for my office people. Can't help it.
I love books. I buy lots of them and now that I've started earning, I care a damn about how much I spend. This pathological condition let me spend 2.5k on books even though I have like two year's supply waiting for me back home.
Let me get back to the topic I started writing for. Delhi girls are like no other! the previous post on this amused and bemused guys and offended girls. Well... Can't please them all. Was never my intention anyway!
Ok, now, when I was getting myself out of Pragati Maidan, I managed to catch a glimpse of the India Fashion Week. I mean I didn't go inside, there were guards to ensure people like me do not. But I probably managed to see what is going to be displayed inside.
By that I do not mean necessarily refer to the nature's wonderful creations that are going to walk down the ramp but also the scores of wannabes who won't get the opportunity but still have dressed up for it.
Delhi girls are like no other. What I managed to see in those five minutes or so I spent gaping at mother nature's wonderful creations blew my hats off.
As Sid would have put it, they were awesome, rubbing his hands in glee! (for the uninitiated, please do not feel lost, Sid is one of my best friends and a testimonial is expected shortly!!!)
I have spoken to my friends in Bangalore and Mumbai and all are of the same opinion- that if you were to check out the nature's finest- 'saada delhi' is the place to be.
Makes me a proud citizen of NCR. If nothing else, at least I can gape at them.
How many more "committed" souls can do that? :)
Before I go any further, Let me explain my relationship with books. I love books. That does not necessarily mean I read them. If you were to compare my reading habits with most people in my office I'd come across as an intellectual. On the other hand, do the same with my friends from JNU then suddenly I'm a half-literate.
Doesn't say much for my office people. Can't help it.
I love books. I buy lots of them and now that I've started earning, I care a damn about how much I spend. This pathological condition let me spend 2.5k on books even though I have like two year's supply waiting for me back home.
Let me get back to the topic I started writing for. Delhi girls are like no other! the previous post on this amused and bemused guys and offended girls. Well... Can't please them all. Was never my intention anyway!
Ok, now, when I was getting myself out of Pragati Maidan, I managed to catch a glimpse of the India Fashion Week. I mean I didn't go inside, there were guards to ensure people like me do not. But I probably managed to see what is going to be displayed inside.
By that I do not mean necessarily refer to the nature's wonderful creations that are going to walk down the ramp but also the scores of wannabes who won't get the opportunity but still have dressed up for it.
Delhi girls are like no other. What I managed to see in those five minutes or so I spent gaping at mother nature's wonderful creations blew my hats off.
As Sid would have put it, they were awesome, rubbing his hands in glee! (for the uninitiated, please do not feel lost, Sid is one of my best friends and a testimonial is expected shortly!!!)
I have spoken to my friends in Bangalore and Mumbai and all are of the same opinion- that if you were to check out the nature's finest- 'saada delhi' is the place to be.
Makes me a proud citizen of NCR. If nothing else, at least I can gape at them.
How many more "committed" souls can do that? :)
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