Born in 1940 before India attained independence from the British Raj and a former Indian Army soldier, Anna Hazare is known as a social activist who was instrumental in upgrading the ecology and economy of the village of Ralegan Siddhi located in the drought prone district of Ahmednagar in the state of Maharashtra. Now widely and wildly popular for having stirred the common man’s interest in his crusade against corruption and corrupt politicians, public figures occupying various government positions et al, Anna has become a household name.
Riding on this crest is 1965 born Baba Ramdev (nee Swami Ramdev) who has earlier gained popularity through his practice and teaching of yoga and pranayama not just in India but abroad as well. Associated with the 2011 anti-corruption movement and involved in the Jan Lokpal agitation, Baba Ramdev is going on an indefinite fast from today June 4th, 2011 to force the government to take effective steps to curb corruption.
Both these gentlemen have a large following from all walks of life. While their intentions are noble, one needs to understand how much the common man understands the implications of being clean and above board. It’s like an ‘I am Okay, you are not okay’ syndrome, but how much truth is there in it? It remains to be seen and felt. Thousands of mini scams go unnoticed every day involving officials and common persons. This country can call itself corruption free only when a customer does not ingratiate with the system to get a positive response to his requirements. One example that comes to mind where the common man ends up paying additional money is at the RTO when he or she goes through the rigmarole of obtaining a driving license. Even the most clean with all the data and documents in place have to pay up this convenience fee to sail through at the counter.
A point to dwell upon is the age at which we get an exposure to such dubious double standards! Parents now-a-days are willing to shell down huge sums of money to get their children into a private institution, all because the government run public schools perennially are in short supply of good educators, instructors and teachers besides the woefully pathetic infrastructure. During the late 50’s and early 60’s the difference between a government run school or college was not much when compared to a privately run institution, but not anymore.
This may sound comical: take a step back and look at the profit and loss arithmetic sum we all must have done in our early childhood: How much profit does a milkman make if a liter of pure milk costs Rs. 10 and he adds a liter of free water from the tap to every 9 liters of pure milk before selling to his unsuspecting customers? If there is a gain from being corrupt and this gets taught in the schools at a tender formative age, whom are we blaming? Rest is just an extension and the degree and decimal point varies.
With no resources at its disposal, the young government at the time of independence faced an ever yawning gap between demand and supply. Creating a socialist democratic republic by removing healthy competition (Nationalization of privately owned Industries and Establishments) and by controlling the daily needs of the common person, the then government thought they had everything under wraps and in control. It took the government a good 35 years to realize the harm their excessive control had brought in. By opening the market through free market economy the floodgates did eventually open up for investments and so did the income. Unfortunately the economy further polarized the population between the haves and the have nots. With the pay scales of the government employees being directly proportional to the tax collection, one can imagine the pressure on the government with just 35 million miniscule tax payers in a country of a billion. The law enforcers came under the less privileged class and thus for them to make two ends meet, they accepted convenience money. The section of people who earn sufficiently to make two ends meet comfortably, were also the persons who were evading taxes but quick to blame the government for corruption. It was like the pot calling the kettle black!
We have refused to stand in the ‘Q’ for a popular movie just released on a Friday and instead buy the tickets in black. We prefer to bribe the linesman to declare the energy consumption meter faulty and pay lesser amount to the Electricity Board. We tap raw power from transmission poles during festivals and deny income to the state run utility companies. Our hospitals demand extra money for providing sub-standard services to inpatients! Office of the registrar of births and deaths demand a huge ransom to issue an appropriate certificate, in spite of the documents being in order. It is as if they are doing us a favor by issuing a certificate!! The list is endless and this parasite called ‘corruption’ has spread its tentacles far too widely for it to be reined in. Where will these two gentlemen Anna Hazare and Baba Ramdev commence? While the rich and the famous besides the politicians and the Government officers and offices are rightfully to be blamed, who will bring in the necessary controls amongst the larger public who are equally to be blamed, if not more?
It was a shock when we visited a temple in a famous south Indian city near Chennai where, we were first invited by the temple priest into the sanctum sanctorum and later forced to pay a tidy sum in order to exit. The creators of the idols are long dead and gone, their names not even carved on stone as a recognition of the years of efforts they put in to erect such ageless magnificent structures – the fruit of their labor is being enjoyed by a set of unscrupulous temple priests who in the name of God extort money from gullible public like you and me and we, willingly pay thinking that the Gods will be immensely pleased and bless us with gay abandon.
While it is nice and easy to point a finger at the others, it is time to realize that by doing so, three fingers point back at us. Are we listening to our inner conscience? It knows what is right from the wrong, one just needs the courage to travel on the right path. As Gandhiji said: Speak the truth! It is an immensely easy thing to do yet, it is a very tough task!
Anna and Baba: I hope you are listening…please ask each of your ardent followers to practice in their personal capacity to make India corruption free as well…only then will this campaign bear fruit and not otherwise!!
Saturday, June 4, 2011
Monday, January 17, 2011
One for Sorrow, Two for Joy!!
While giving my car a nice early morning cold shower on Sunday, I heard the not-so-familiar sound of a ‘myna.’ It had perched itself firmly on my rooftop railing and was chortling with an apparent gay abandonment; something that is a rarity amongst us homosapiens living in a busy metropolis. It took me back in time – four decades and five years…us kids playing in the huge tracts of empty space between two housing rows left by the then British and Indian town planners in Durgapur. It was thankfully created for us kids, the birds and the trees. Lung space, as one would call them now in the concrete jungles of today. Amongst birds, the common sparrow, pigeon, myna, the occasional koel, parrot and the common Indian crow were a familiar sight those days. We would compete with the parrots and mynas to pluck the ripened guavas directly from the trees around for a snack between meals. The excitement would heighten if we had to steal ourselves into the neighbor’s fenced compound, climb the tree, pluck guavas and later scram for safety.
It beats me still, how the commonly used term ‘One for sorrow, two for joy, three for letter and so on’ came to be associated with mynas, but then it did leave an indelible impression deep down, somewhere in a few of the 100 billion brain cells. The instant recall upon suddenly spotting the myna on Sunday morning speaks volumes of the way the brain cells are interconnected between the left side (logical & analytical) to the right side (feeling & meaning maker). It brought pleasant memories, when spotting twin mynas was considered to be a good omen but spotting a single one was considered bad or sorrowful. At that young and formative age one does not know what sorrow in its true form meant, but the occasional whack from dad or getting chided by the school teacher for not completing homework or getting singled out for scoring poorly in a ‘surprise’ test was perhaps the limit to which one could stretch our imagination. I strongly feel that the third one got added as we grew older and when a sibling had to move to a different city in pursuit of higher education. Spotting Myna’s in groups beyond three was considered a blessing for material gain and is probably not worth mentioning here. It had very little significance then and virtually none now!
It was such a nice sight to spot this beautiful dark brown myna with a yellow beak and head gear of the same hue. How spotting a single bird can bring in a sad thought of ‘sorrow’ is difficult to imagine; but if you look at this variety in the avian family, they are very social and gregarious and found mostly in southern and eastern Asia. A myna perched on a tree branch would probably look like a two-color dolphin and the similarity ends there. Three to four times the size of a sparrow, these dark and often brown winged birds have strong feet and flight. They thrive on fruits and insects and generally nest in holes. Some species are pretty well known for their imitative skills. A relatively unknown fact about mynas is their contribution towards pollination. They are known to be dispersers of seeds, especially the sandalwood and banyan. This may sound stranger than fiction; their stomach enzymes have the ability to quickly break alcohol when these birds consume over-ripened and fermented fruits. No wonder these birds do not get intoxicated as in their history of existence none seem to have crash landed and their 3-axis flight coordination remains intact with their tiny brain combining the interdependent motion between eyes, feet and wings with precision control.
Unbelievably, it was the twin leg winged dinosaur almost 150 million years ago that turned into an aerodynamic winged creature and birds were thus born. A huge variety of these winged creatures turned birds, came and went before evolving into some 9,000 present day variety of birds. While dinosaurs became extinct some 65 million years ago during the ‘big bang’ when supposedly a meteor crashed onto earth and wiped out the entire family of dinosaurs, the family of smaller birds that evolved post this era have adapted themselves admirably well. The power of flight gave these an edge over other creatures and Sir Richard Attenborough believes that birds may be the most successful creatures on earth, more successful than even insects to have adapted and evolved. From the extremely cold sub-zero temperature in South Pole where emperor penguins have thrived to the extremely hot and dry climate in the South American deserts where grey gulls have survived, the sheer variety is absolutely amazing.
One noteworthy trait of the homing pigeon is its innate ability to return to its nest and to its own mate over long distances up to 1,800 kilometers. These birds cover distances at an average speed of 80 kilometers an hour. The Egyptians and Persians were the first to use these homing or carrier pigeons. Closer home, Tipu Sultan had a fleet of carrier pigeons at his headquarters in Srirangapatna, near Mysore. Closer to its nests, the homing pigeon depends on visual landmarks much like the way humans do while finding their bearings, but when released from distant lands, the pigeons trace back their path using spatial distribution of atmospheric odors also called olfactory navigation.
Birds are not known to attack human beings but the 1963 film by Alfred Hitchcock, ‘The Birds’ struck terror in the minds of people who ventured to see this horror film. This film portrayed ‘fear’ in its raw form and with no explanation of why the ordinary crow attacked anyone venturing out of their homes; the movie left people petrified. Such was an impression Hitchcock could create in his movies! Compare this negative portrayal to Richard Bach’s best selling fable, ‘Jonathan Livingston Seagull.’ This is a story of a seagull; tired of the daily squabbles decides to push himself to improve on flying skills and to eventually attain perfection.
It is indeed a pity that the city bred generation ‘Y’ does not get to see these small wonders of God’s creations. I am told that the proliferating cell phones have driven the sparrows away. The explosion of electromagnetic waves in cities is causing the common house sparrows to quickly disappear. These waves are concentrated in the tower masts and with hundreds of them spread across the cities to cater to the ever increasing demand for cell phones; the day is not far when these winged friends will become extinct. How true are Ken Robinson’s words when he says in his book ‘The Element’, a NY Times best-seller and I quote: “The crises in the worlds of nature and of human resources are connected. Jonas Salk, the pioneering scientist who developed the Salk polio vaccine made a provocative observation. It’s interesting to reflect that if all insects were to disappear from the earth, within fifty years all other forms of life would end. But if all human beings were to disappear from the earth, within fifty years all other forms of life would flourish.”
We need to deeply introspect and remember that; ‘This planet does not rightfully belong to us! We have merely borrowed it from our children and other living beings. We need to take care and be a part of the eco-system, not plunder it!!
It beats me still, how the commonly used term ‘One for sorrow, two for joy, three for letter and so on’ came to be associated with mynas, but then it did leave an indelible impression deep down, somewhere in a few of the 100 billion brain cells. The instant recall upon suddenly spotting the myna on Sunday morning speaks volumes of the way the brain cells are interconnected between the left side (logical & analytical) to the right side (feeling & meaning maker). It brought pleasant memories, when spotting twin mynas was considered to be a good omen but spotting a single one was considered bad or sorrowful. At that young and formative age one does not know what sorrow in its true form meant, but the occasional whack from dad or getting chided by the school teacher for not completing homework or getting singled out for scoring poorly in a ‘surprise’ test was perhaps the limit to which one could stretch our imagination. I strongly feel that the third one got added as we grew older and when a sibling had to move to a different city in pursuit of higher education. Spotting Myna’s in groups beyond three was considered a blessing for material gain and is probably not worth mentioning here. It had very little significance then and virtually none now!
It was such a nice sight to spot this beautiful dark brown myna with a yellow beak and head gear of the same hue. How spotting a single bird can bring in a sad thought of ‘sorrow’ is difficult to imagine; but if you look at this variety in the avian family, they are very social and gregarious and found mostly in southern and eastern Asia. A myna perched on a tree branch would probably look like a two-color dolphin and the similarity ends there. Three to four times the size of a sparrow, these dark and often brown winged birds have strong feet and flight. They thrive on fruits and insects and generally nest in holes. Some species are pretty well known for their imitative skills. A relatively unknown fact about mynas is their contribution towards pollination. They are known to be dispersers of seeds, especially the sandalwood and banyan. This may sound stranger than fiction; their stomach enzymes have the ability to quickly break alcohol when these birds consume over-ripened and fermented fruits. No wonder these birds do not get intoxicated as in their history of existence none seem to have crash landed and their 3-axis flight coordination remains intact with their tiny brain combining the interdependent motion between eyes, feet and wings with precision control.
Unbelievably, it was the twin leg winged dinosaur almost 150 million years ago that turned into an aerodynamic winged creature and birds were thus born. A huge variety of these winged creatures turned birds, came and went before evolving into some 9,000 present day variety of birds. While dinosaurs became extinct some 65 million years ago during the ‘big bang’ when supposedly a meteor crashed onto earth and wiped out the entire family of dinosaurs, the family of smaller birds that evolved post this era have adapted themselves admirably well. The power of flight gave these an edge over other creatures and Sir Richard Attenborough believes that birds may be the most successful creatures on earth, more successful than even insects to have adapted and evolved. From the extremely cold sub-zero temperature in South Pole where emperor penguins have thrived to the extremely hot and dry climate in the South American deserts where grey gulls have survived, the sheer variety is absolutely amazing.
One noteworthy trait of the homing pigeon is its innate ability to return to its nest and to its own mate over long distances up to 1,800 kilometers. These birds cover distances at an average speed of 80 kilometers an hour. The Egyptians and Persians were the first to use these homing or carrier pigeons. Closer home, Tipu Sultan had a fleet of carrier pigeons at his headquarters in Srirangapatna, near Mysore. Closer to its nests, the homing pigeon depends on visual landmarks much like the way humans do while finding their bearings, but when released from distant lands, the pigeons trace back their path using spatial distribution of atmospheric odors also called olfactory navigation.
Birds are not known to attack human beings but the 1963 film by Alfred Hitchcock, ‘The Birds’ struck terror in the minds of people who ventured to see this horror film. This film portrayed ‘fear’ in its raw form and with no explanation of why the ordinary crow attacked anyone venturing out of their homes; the movie left people petrified. Such was an impression Hitchcock could create in his movies! Compare this negative portrayal to Richard Bach’s best selling fable, ‘Jonathan Livingston Seagull.’ This is a story of a seagull; tired of the daily squabbles decides to push himself to improve on flying skills and to eventually attain perfection.
It is indeed a pity that the city bred generation ‘Y’ does not get to see these small wonders of God’s creations. I am told that the proliferating cell phones have driven the sparrows away. The explosion of electromagnetic waves in cities is causing the common house sparrows to quickly disappear. These waves are concentrated in the tower masts and with hundreds of them spread across the cities to cater to the ever increasing demand for cell phones; the day is not far when these winged friends will become extinct. How true are Ken Robinson’s words when he says in his book ‘The Element’, a NY Times best-seller and I quote: “The crises in the worlds of nature and of human resources are connected. Jonas Salk, the pioneering scientist who developed the Salk polio vaccine made a provocative observation. It’s interesting to reflect that if all insects were to disappear from the earth, within fifty years all other forms of life would end. But if all human beings were to disappear from the earth, within fifty years all other forms of life would flourish.”
We need to deeply introspect and remember that; ‘This planet does not rightfully belong to us! We have merely borrowed it from our children and other living beings. We need to take care and be a part of the eco-system, not plunder it!!
Friday, October 29, 2010
When Past was ahead of its Future!!
While returning from US in early October 2010 as I flipped through the latest issue of TIME magazine in the boring and lengthy 9 hours leg between London’s Heathrow terminal and Bangalore, I chanced upon the article ‘The new science of fetal origins,’ researched and written by Annie Murphy Paul. It explores the life as a fetus: besides the nutrients that the mom supplied through her own good or bad dietary habits, which played a significant role in the health at a later age in life; this article explores the stress level and the state of mind the mother eventually unknowingly transferred to her yet-to-be-born.
According to the article in TIME magazine dated 4th October 2010, Mathew Gillman, a professor of population medicine at Harvard University launched project Viva – a study tracking more than 2,000 Boston area children since they were fetuses. Another set of results will be available in the year 2012 from mothers and children aged 21 on a voluntary study being conducted to understand the gestational factors in brain development.
This relatively new subject, known as fetal origins claims that the 9 months of gestation is how the mom influences the wiring of the brain and the functioning of the organs. There is a frightening similarity to what has been explained in the epic Mahabharata – the chapter that dwells on Arjuna’s explanation in detail about the array of battle formations, complete with individual and unique technique of attacking and escaping to his wife Subhadra, who was then carrying little Abhimanyu in her womb. Apparently, Arjuna stopped narrating when he discovered that Subhadra had dozed midway during his explanation of breaking the battle formation: Chakravyuha. Not knowing the escape technique proved fatal for the young warrior Abhimanyu who was cordoned off by six Maharathis defying and breaking all the established war rules.
It would be interesting to note that the scientific dating of the Mahabharata war has been established by Dr. P V Vartak, a scholar from Pune. By using astronomical references he has derived the date as 16th October 5561 BC. Circa 2010: 7,571 years later TIME magazine publishes an article that goes on to prove the already known fact stated by sage Veda Vyasa eons ago. It is a foregone conclusion that in the past, Astronomy and Mathematics were far more advanced than what we have believed. The recordings by sage Veda Vyasa of presence of Saturn, Uranus and Pluto, their orbit around the sun, their relative position to earth bears testimony to this fact.
More recently, I watched with fascination the six-part serial ‘Ancient Aliens’ that first made an appearance in the History channel. The 1935 born Swiss author Erich Von Daniken, best known for his hypothesis that human culture in the ancient times have been influenced by extra-terrestrial is prominently featured in this television series. Daniken’s first book ‘Chariots of the Gods’ was a best seller in US, Europe and in India; his books have been translated in more than 30 languages and have sold more than 60 million copies worldwide. While he claims visitations by aliens having the know-how of vastly superior technology, the historical artifacts that he uses to prove his hypothesis is clearly not established. His explanation of the superior technology used to erect gigantic prehistoric monuments across the world, namely the Giza pyramids in Egypt, Stonehenge located in the English county Wiltshire, Piri Reis Map is quite convincing that the accuracy with which the monuments were built and the maps drawn, surpassed the tools and measuring equipments available at that time. The Piri Reis map is indeed mysterious as it contains a precise representation of the coasts of Antarctica, a continent unknown at that point in time. Such a map could have been drawn during the mythical Atlantis days or were drawn from pictures taken from the sky, by satellites, aircraft's or spaceships some 15,000 years back. This map known after the Turkish Admiral Piri Reis is actually just a fragment of the original map drawn on gazelle skin.
Using the hydrocarbon dating technique the monument building of the Stonehenge site began in 3100 BC and ended around 1600 BC. A debate still exists whether the Stonehenge was constructed based on a religious belief or as a scientific observatory. There is a strong belief that the site was created to commemorate the solstices – an astronomical event that takes place twice each year when the position of the sun moves to the northernmost or southernmost end. For half the year the northern hemisphere of earth is inclined towards the sun with the maximum inclination occurring on 21st June. Likewise for the other half of the year the southern hemisphere is inclined towards the sun with the maximum inclination occurring on 21st December. In the Hindu calendar the two solstices are named Makara Sankranti (January 14) which marks the start of Uttarayana and Karkata Sankranti (July 14) which marks the start of Dhaksinayana.
The Hindu calendar descends from the Vedic times and many references have been found in the Vedas. The Vedas are amongst the oldest sacred texts and dates back to the late Bronze Age – early Iron Age; 1500 BCE (Before Common Era). It is interesting to note that the Mayan calendar dates back to 5th century BCE and is believed to be amongst the most sophisticated, well documented and widely understood. This unique civilization in the western hemisphere flourished from 2000 BC to 900 AD with the period 250 BC to 900 AD being devoted to building impressive monuments and temples. During this period the Mayans made astonishing discoveries in mathematics and astronomy. The No. 1 amongst the Mayan architecture is the temple: Chichen Itza. The design of this temple has special astronomical significance. The four corners of the base is a true match to the sunrise and sunset positions of the summer and winter solstices. What is amazing is this was precisely built during the period when there were no measuring instruments and compass to show the direction. Each face of this pyramid Chichen Itza has a stairway with 91 steps, which together with the shared step at the very top add up to 365, the number of days in a calendar year.
The Great Pyramids of Giza, one among the seven wonders of the ancient world constructed over a 20 year period around 2560 BC has been built on such a precise location that a deep knowledge of mathematics and geometry was necessary, something that never existed. More intriguing is the comparison between the three pyramids and the three belt stars in Orion constellation. There is a striking resemblance: three stars in the middle of the Orion constellation, diagonally with one star deviating and three pyramids also with one deviating from the diagonal. The relative positions of the stars and the pyramids match each other perfectly.
While Von Daniken’s theory of alien influence over mankind in the past can sound far fetched and perhaps preposterous, it does leave more questions in the mind about the vastly superior knowledge of our forefathers in the fields of mathematics, astronomy, geometry and precision engineering. It is indeed amazing to learn how the human brain, if channeled correctly, is capable of delving into the complexities of laws governing the formation of this Universe, be it in any era. One just needs to have the curiosity and urge to seek knowledge. The fact that our ancestors were able to do so with pinpoint accuracy tells us how much more focused and superior they were to us. Are we willing to learn?
Cheers!!
According to the article in TIME magazine dated 4th October 2010, Mathew Gillman, a professor of population medicine at Harvard University launched project Viva – a study tracking more than 2,000 Boston area children since they were fetuses. Another set of results will be available in the year 2012 from mothers and children aged 21 on a voluntary study being conducted to understand the gestational factors in brain development.
This relatively new subject, known as fetal origins claims that the 9 months of gestation is how the mom influences the wiring of the brain and the functioning of the organs. There is a frightening similarity to what has been explained in the epic Mahabharata – the chapter that dwells on Arjuna’s explanation in detail about the array of battle formations, complete with individual and unique technique of attacking and escaping to his wife Subhadra, who was then carrying little Abhimanyu in her womb. Apparently, Arjuna stopped narrating when he discovered that Subhadra had dozed midway during his explanation of breaking the battle formation: Chakravyuha. Not knowing the escape technique proved fatal for the young warrior Abhimanyu who was cordoned off by six Maharathis defying and breaking all the established war rules.
It would be interesting to note that the scientific dating of the Mahabharata war has been established by Dr. P V Vartak, a scholar from Pune. By using astronomical references he has derived the date as 16th October 5561 BC. Circa 2010: 7,571 years later TIME magazine publishes an article that goes on to prove the already known fact stated by sage Veda Vyasa eons ago. It is a foregone conclusion that in the past, Astronomy and Mathematics were far more advanced than what we have believed. The recordings by sage Veda Vyasa of presence of Saturn, Uranus and Pluto, their orbit around the sun, their relative position to earth bears testimony to this fact.
More recently, I watched with fascination the six-part serial ‘Ancient Aliens’ that first made an appearance in the History channel. The 1935 born Swiss author Erich Von Daniken, best known for his hypothesis that human culture in the ancient times have been influenced by extra-terrestrial is prominently featured in this television series. Daniken’s first book ‘Chariots of the Gods’ was a best seller in US, Europe and in India; his books have been translated in more than 30 languages and have sold more than 60 million copies worldwide. While he claims visitations by aliens having the know-how of vastly superior technology, the historical artifacts that he uses to prove his hypothesis is clearly not established. His explanation of the superior technology used to erect gigantic prehistoric monuments across the world, namely the Giza pyramids in Egypt, Stonehenge located in the English county Wiltshire, Piri Reis Map is quite convincing that the accuracy with which the monuments were built and the maps drawn, surpassed the tools and measuring equipments available at that time. The Piri Reis map is indeed mysterious as it contains a precise representation of the coasts of Antarctica, a continent unknown at that point in time. Such a map could have been drawn during the mythical Atlantis days or were drawn from pictures taken from the sky, by satellites, aircraft's or spaceships some 15,000 years back. This map known after the Turkish Admiral Piri Reis is actually just a fragment of the original map drawn on gazelle skin.
Using the hydrocarbon dating technique the monument building of the Stonehenge site began in 3100 BC and ended around 1600 BC. A debate still exists whether the Stonehenge was constructed based on a religious belief or as a scientific observatory. There is a strong belief that the site was created to commemorate the solstices – an astronomical event that takes place twice each year when the position of the sun moves to the northernmost or southernmost end. For half the year the northern hemisphere of earth is inclined towards the sun with the maximum inclination occurring on 21st June. Likewise for the other half of the year the southern hemisphere is inclined towards the sun with the maximum inclination occurring on 21st December. In the Hindu calendar the two solstices are named Makara Sankranti (January 14) which marks the start of Uttarayana and Karkata Sankranti (July 14) which marks the start of Dhaksinayana.
The Hindu calendar descends from the Vedic times and many references have been found in the Vedas. The Vedas are amongst the oldest sacred texts and dates back to the late Bronze Age – early Iron Age; 1500 BCE (Before Common Era). It is interesting to note that the Mayan calendar dates back to 5th century BCE and is believed to be amongst the most sophisticated, well documented and widely understood. This unique civilization in the western hemisphere flourished from 2000 BC to 900 AD with the period 250 BC to 900 AD being devoted to building impressive monuments and temples. During this period the Mayans made astonishing discoveries in mathematics and astronomy. The No. 1 amongst the Mayan architecture is the temple: Chichen Itza. The design of this temple has special astronomical significance. The four corners of the base is a true match to the sunrise and sunset positions of the summer and winter solstices. What is amazing is this was precisely built during the period when there were no measuring instruments and compass to show the direction. Each face of this pyramid Chichen Itza has a stairway with 91 steps, which together with the shared step at the very top add up to 365, the number of days in a calendar year.
The Great Pyramids of Giza, one among the seven wonders of the ancient world constructed over a 20 year period around 2560 BC has been built on such a precise location that a deep knowledge of mathematics and geometry was necessary, something that never existed. More intriguing is the comparison between the three pyramids and the three belt stars in Orion constellation. There is a striking resemblance: three stars in the middle of the Orion constellation, diagonally with one star deviating and three pyramids also with one deviating from the diagonal. The relative positions of the stars and the pyramids match each other perfectly.
While Von Daniken’s theory of alien influence over mankind in the past can sound far fetched and perhaps preposterous, it does leave more questions in the mind about the vastly superior knowledge of our forefathers in the fields of mathematics, astronomy, geometry and precision engineering. It is indeed amazing to learn how the human brain, if channeled correctly, is capable of delving into the complexities of laws governing the formation of this Universe, be it in any era. One just needs to have the curiosity and urge to seek knowledge. The fact that our ancestors were able to do so with pinpoint accuracy tells us how much more focused and superior they were to us. Are we willing to learn?
Cheers!!
Saturday, October 23, 2010
Freedom from Defects..
How would you feel if each time you present a ‘Self’ cheque for Rs. 1,000 at your bank, the teller hands you Rs. 998? Unhappy! Anger or just despair and without a whimper accept the cash before walking away from the counter. Come on, how you can be so unfair in your demand of 100% Quality when you at your job are barely able to meet your contractual service levels?
Let’s look at another example: You have booked yourself in Island Express from Bangalore to Trichy. For those of you who may not be aware, in my good old college days in the late 70's, this train would get split in Erode Junction with one half getting attached to the train going to Trivandrum from Chennai and the other part proceeding to Trichy with another Link. What if you woke up in the morning and found yourself in Trivandrum instead of Trichy. The gangman who is responsible to split the carriages at Erode Junction obviously made a small mistake. How would you feel? I am sure this would be akin to a horror dream! The Indian Railways don’t talk about their record of transporting millions of passengers to their respective destination – not one mistake in their 150 year history, of the right train reaching the wrong destination.
One last example: You wake up in the morning (evening for our friends in the BPO industry) and before you finish brushing your teeth, your mom, wife or sister is ready with a hot cup of coffee or tea and a smile, perhaps. Remember, she is providing the service anticipating your need, while you haven’t even made a demand for it!! How would it feel if she does not do it?
These are a few ‘taken for granted’ examples of defects free service being provided and Wow – we don’t even appreciate it. This is exactly what each of your end customer is expecting out of you.
I am reminded of the following story doing the usual rounds in the internet. Believe me, this is a perfect example of how it is all within us to make this shift in our minds to deliver services, ‘defects free’:
One evening a scholar was addressing the participants on the concept of work culture. One of the participants asked the following question:
"I am a senior manager of Materials Department and I joined an organization 25 years ago as an Engineer Trainee and over the last 25 years I have gone through every experience in the organization.
During the initial part of my career, the job was very challenging and interesting.
However, all those exciting days are gone since I do not find my job any more interesting because there is nothing new in my job. I am now feeling bored because I am doing a routine job.
However, Sir, I am living in the same house for over forty years, I am the son for the same parents for over forty years, I am the father for the same children for the past ten years and the husband for the same lady for the past twenty years!
In these personal roles I do not feel bored. Please tell me why I am bored of the routine in the office and not in the house?"
The response from Scholar was very interesting and convincing. He asked the executive a question:
"Please tell me for whom does your Mother cook?"
The executive replied that obviously the mother cooks for others.
Then the Scholar said that the mother "Serves" others and because of this service mindedness, she is not feeling tired or bored. But in an office, we "Work" and not "Serve". Anything we consider, as service will not make us feel bored. That is difference between Serving and Working.
He asked the executive to consider his work as service and not merely a work!! This was a very interesting analysis!! Whenever you put a larger context around your work and see a broader meaning for your work, you will take interest in your work and it will make a very big difference in your internal energy.
Attitude Matters!!!
If you think you are working for the organization you will get frustrated. If you feel you are doing a service and getting some service charges you will feel happy.
After all - doing what you like is freedom but liking what you do is happiness!
It is just a paradigm shift that is required! Try this once – you will be amazed to discover your own potential.
Cheers and Best Wishes!!
Let’s look at another example: You have booked yourself in Island Express from Bangalore to Trichy. For those of you who may not be aware, in my good old college days in the late 70's, this train would get split in Erode Junction with one half getting attached to the train going to Trivandrum from Chennai and the other part proceeding to Trichy with another Link. What if you woke up in the morning and found yourself in Trivandrum instead of Trichy. The gangman who is responsible to split the carriages at Erode Junction obviously made a small mistake. How would you feel? I am sure this would be akin to a horror dream! The Indian Railways don’t talk about their record of transporting millions of passengers to their respective destination – not one mistake in their 150 year history, of the right train reaching the wrong destination.
One last example: You wake up in the morning (evening for our friends in the BPO industry) and before you finish brushing your teeth, your mom, wife or sister is ready with a hot cup of coffee or tea and a smile, perhaps. Remember, she is providing the service anticipating your need, while you haven’t even made a demand for it!! How would it feel if she does not do it?
These are a few ‘taken for granted’ examples of defects free service being provided and Wow – we don’t even appreciate it. This is exactly what each of your end customer is expecting out of you.
I am reminded of the following story doing the usual rounds in the internet. Believe me, this is a perfect example of how it is all within us to make this shift in our minds to deliver services, ‘defects free’:
One evening a scholar was addressing the participants on the concept of work culture. One of the participants asked the following question:
"I am a senior manager of Materials Department and I joined an organization 25 years ago as an Engineer Trainee and over the last 25 years I have gone through every experience in the organization.
During the initial part of my career, the job was very challenging and interesting.
However, all those exciting days are gone since I do not find my job any more interesting because there is nothing new in my job. I am now feeling bored because I am doing a routine job.
However, Sir, I am living in the same house for over forty years, I am the son for the same parents for over forty years, I am the father for the same children for the past ten years and the husband for the same lady for the past twenty years!
In these personal roles I do not feel bored. Please tell me why I am bored of the routine in the office and not in the house?"
The response from Scholar was very interesting and convincing. He asked the executive a question:
"Please tell me for whom does your Mother cook?"
The executive replied that obviously the mother cooks for others.
Then the Scholar said that the mother "Serves" others and because of this service mindedness, she is not feeling tired or bored. But in an office, we "Work" and not "Serve". Anything we consider, as service will not make us feel bored. That is difference between Serving and Working.
He asked the executive to consider his work as service and not merely a work!! This was a very interesting analysis!! Whenever you put a larger context around your work and see a broader meaning for your work, you will take interest in your work and it will make a very big difference in your internal energy.
Attitude Matters!!!
If you think you are working for the organization you will get frustrated. If you feel you are doing a service and getting some service charges you will feel happy.
After all - doing what you like is freedom but liking what you do is happiness!
It is just a paradigm shift that is required! Try this once – you will be amazed to discover your own potential.
Cheers and Best Wishes!!
Sunday, September 5, 2010
Saturday, September 4, 2010
Saturday, August 28, 2010
Bus Day...
For once it was good fun not driving my car into the city! Thanks to Bangalore Metro Rail Corp Ltd. the entire stretch of Kanakapura road between Konankunte cross-road and Banashankari bus stand has been converted to a construction zone or a war zone to be more precise. The construction islands created by BMRCL by putting up artificial metallic barricades to carry out uninterrupted pile foundation work has taken away a good 75% of the road surface which was once available for the unending number of 2, 3, 4, 6 and 10 wheelers plying on this road. The narrow stretch left over on either side can only allow a self regulating single file of vehicular traffic much like the way ants behave while moving from point A to B. The recent incessant rains, doing a catch-up of sorts after playing truant at the beginning of the monsoon season, have only made it worse. With nowhere to flow, the stagnant puddles make the surrounding mud slushy and with each heavy vehicle passing over it, this small puddle deepens into a cavity before becoming a crater making the craters on the surface of moon pale in comparison. With rain water filling these craters, it is quite impossible for the first time users of this road to gauge the depth and they end up going either too rapidly through the pothole splashing the muddy slush on innocent pedestrians or too slow in their attempt to be cautious and end up becoming a speed-breaker to the vehicles following them. The determination to sit on the horn only intensifies; adding decibels to the general cacophony.
Interestingly, city of London did the honors by operating the world’s first underground suburban metro link in the year 1863. With multi layers of tracks criss crossing the city, it is the second largest urban metro after Shanghai Metro with 400 KM route length and serves 270 stations. While it is popularly known as ‘The Tube’, more than 55% of its route is over ground. Our very own ‘Namma Metro’ is scheduled to commence commercial run in December 2010 between Baiyappanahalli and MG Road. With just 20% of the track underground, ‘Namma Metro’ cannot be compared to ‘The Tube’ in any which way. While 42 KM of the route length will be fully operational by December 2011, it is estimated that by 2014 our city will boast a total length of 111 KM of track, still a far cry from the existing 400 KM within London. The routing is on the North-South and East-West corridor more like a diameter connecting the gigantic ring road on the periphery of this ever ballooning city. Come to think of it, we are roughly 150 years behind London Underground.
Running a slight temperature and all my joints groaning with pain, I decided to take a bus to Yediyur lake to attend to a family function on Thursday last week. Earlier during the day I had applied for a day off from the daily grind at office to relax and recoup from my brief illness. With the bus stand just a 2-minute walking distance from where I live, I found hopping onto a bus at 12:30 PM in the afternoon a cake-walk. I was even able to get a seat to park myself for the entire journey that lasted a good 45 minutes. There is a big difference between sitting behind the driving wheel and sitting on a back bench in a rickety contraption called ‘bus’ operated by BMTC – Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corp. Sitting high above the road surface, one gets a vantage view of the surroundings which is quite different from the confined tunnel vision while driving a car. I was able to observe quite a few things that would not have been otherwise visible in case I was driving and I found this a pleasant change. I was able to see quite a few workers sleeping in the islands created by BMRCL on stacked steel plates meant for construction purpose, quite oblivious of what was happening in the surroundings. It was a wonder how one could sleep amidst all the honking, the clutter and the noise from the construction drilling and pile driving machines. Well, if the erstwhile Prime Minister of India could be caught snoring in the Parliament when his fellow colleagues ran to the well of the house under the slightest pretext to shout slogans and throw missiles at each other, I guess lesser mortals like us should be excused in case we try and catch up with a power nap during our endless meetings!!
With the horrendous rattling noise inside the rickety bus as it inched along the crater ridden Kanakapura road, I found it pretty strange to see almost all the passengers sporting a cell phone; not just sporting it but also quite busy talking into the instrument. Strange, because I wonder how they could hear the other person above the din of the moving bus; leave alone the external noise that kept sailing in from all known directions. To make themselves heard they were shouting on top of their voice much to the irritation of their fellow passenger. At best they could probably hear each other talk and not make out what the person at the distant end was saying; this was my firm conclusion. It was a comical sight when the conductor came around for tickets; fellow passengers ignored him under the pretext of using their cell phone. This only helped in earning his wrath. The conductor got into an endless tirade against usage of phones in the bus, but during one of his quieter moments when all passengers had been issued their respective tickets, we too spotted him using his cell phone. One of the passengers was so engrossed in his phone conversation that he missed getting down at his scheduled stop and no amount of pleas helped make the driver make an unscheduled stop. The conductor was having his last laugh and suggested that he talk his way back from the next stop. ‘Serves him right’ he was found to be mumbling.
Not satisfied with the din and bustle inside the bus, there was one bright guy playing songs on his mobile and quite loudly at that. It was funny to note that he also had his ear phones on. I mustered some courage to ask what the logic in having the ear phones was and also play through the speakers. With a cold glare that I got for my question, I decided for myself that I must confine my questioning within the four walls of my home or at the office, lest I get clobbered for being nosy. While it was quite irritating to see my immediate neighbor blowing large bubbles with his bubble gum, I decided to keep mum and not act brave by commenting or asking him some crazy question; my mind was behaving like a streaming video. Lost in our own thoughts, a sudden brake jolted us out of our respective dreams. A quick peep and we realized that a bevy of ladies had crossed the street unmindful of the chaotic traffic and almost landing below the wheels of another onrushing vehicle from behind, hell bent on overtaking our bus. Looks like people train themselves to be focused when it comes to spotting a public transport. Much like the way Arjuna of the Panch Pandavas fame told his teacher Dronacharya when asked about what he saw, when he had positioned an arrow on his bow and was taking aim, ‘I can see the object’. No wonder our folks fail to exercise caution when they spot a bus; their focus turns to getting in at any or all cost. Seldom do they watch out for their personal safety.
Further down I spotted a fairly senior couple trying to cross the road. From their behavior it seemed obvious that they had returned from a foreign land. They would take a hesitant step thinking that it was time to step forward and then an oncoming vehicle with its horns on full blast would make them quickly retreat. The bus in which I was traveling was stationary and I was able to observe their adventure or should we say misadventure. Finally the lady, more pragmatic between the two, started giving instructions much to the irritation of the husband who was finding difficulty combining his feet movement with his thought process. At this time, our bus started moving and I will never know how the couple managed to cross! However, one thing is for sure; eventually every wife with time begins to behave more like a mother to their husbands – the continuous stream of instructions on the dos and don’ts never seem to cease. I myself kept getting calls from my wife who, of course with very noble intentions and genuine concern was checking whether I had to wait for a long time at the bus stop, did I get the right bus, what was my relative position with respect to each time she called, would I reach the venue in time, did I know the address of the venue so on and so forth. It was a wonder how one could keep such a close track and monitor progress through a series of well intentioned and logical set of questions. It struck me then; perhaps, she might make a better manager than me – with such a meticulous follow-up, virtually nothing could go wrong!!
Indeed, I reached just-in-time as the ‘Blessings’ ceremony was coming to an end and plantain leaves were being neatly arranged for the meal to be served. After a tasty and sumptuous meal my wife and I headed straight home and on the return trip we hopped on to a three wheeler – my wife was right when she said that if its two then an auto works out more cost effective…I thought only I was paranoid about being cost conscious!!
I did enjoy my adventurous outing and given a chance, I will board a BMTC once again without hesitation. It brought memories of my earlier and more energetic days, offered me small pleasures and the freedom to sit and observe which I would never get from the confines of my own car. And, I look forward to the day we can use the Metro to commute to office and back. Only time will tell whether I would have retired by then!!
Cheers!!
Interestingly, city of London did the honors by operating the world’s first underground suburban metro link in the year 1863. With multi layers of tracks criss crossing the city, it is the second largest urban metro after Shanghai Metro with 400 KM route length and serves 270 stations. While it is popularly known as ‘The Tube’, more than 55% of its route is over ground. Our very own ‘Namma Metro’ is scheduled to commence commercial run in December 2010 between Baiyappanahalli and MG Road. With just 20% of the track underground, ‘Namma Metro’ cannot be compared to ‘The Tube’ in any which way. While 42 KM of the route length will be fully operational by December 2011, it is estimated that by 2014 our city will boast a total length of 111 KM of track, still a far cry from the existing 400 KM within London. The routing is on the North-South and East-West corridor more like a diameter connecting the gigantic ring road on the periphery of this ever ballooning city. Come to think of it, we are roughly 150 years behind London Underground.
Running a slight temperature and all my joints groaning with pain, I decided to take a bus to Yediyur lake to attend to a family function on Thursday last week. Earlier during the day I had applied for a day off from the daily grind at office to relax and recoup from my brief illness. With the bus stand just a 2-minute walking distance from where I live, I found hopping onto a bus at 12:30 PM in the afternoon a cake-walk. I was even able to get a seat to park myself for the entire journey that lasted a good 45 minutes. There is a big difference between sitting behind the driving wheel and sitting on a back bench in a rickety contraption called ‘bus’ operated by BMTC – Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corp. Sitting high above the road surface, one gets a vantage view of the surroundings which is quite different from the confined tunnel vision while driving a car. I was able to observe quite a few things that would not have been otherwise visible in case I was driving and I found this a pleasant change. I was able to see quite a few workers sleeping in the islands created by BMRCL on stacked steel plates meant for construction purpose, quite oblivious of what was happening in the surroundings. It was a wonder how one could sleep amidst all the honking, the clutter and the noise from the construction drilling and pile driving machines. Well, if the erstwhile Prime Minister of India could be caught snoring in the Parliament when his fellow colleagues ran to the well of the house under the slightest pretext to shout slogans and throw missiles at each other, I guess lesser mortals like us should be excused in case we try and catch up with a power nap during our endless meetings!!
With the horrendous rattling noise inside the rickety bus as it inched along the crater ridden Kanakapura road, I found it pretty strange to see almost all the passengers sporting a cell phone; not just sporting it but also quite busy talking into the instrument. Strange, because I wonder how they could hear the other person above the din of the moving bus; leave alone the external noise that kept sailing in from all known directions. To make themselves heard they were shouting on top of their voice much to the irritation of their fellow passenger. At best they could probably hear each other talk and not make out what the person at the distant end was saying; this was my firm conclusion. It was a comical sight when the conductor came around for tickets; fellow passengers ignored him under the pretext of using their cell phone. This only helped in earning his wrath. The conductor got into an endless tirade against usage of phones in the bus, but during one of his quieter moments when all passengers had been issued their respective tickets, we too spotted him using his cell phone. One of the passengers was so engrossed in his phone conversation that he missed getting down at his scheduled stop and no amount of pleas helped make the driver make an unscheduled stop. The conductor was having his last laugh and suggested that he talk his way back from the next stop. ‘Serves him right’ he was found to be mumbling.
Not satisfied with the din and bustle inside the bus, there was one bright guy playing songs on his mobile and quite loudly at that. It was funny to note that he also had his ear phones on. I mustered some courage to ask what the logic in having the ear phones was and also play through the speakers. With a cold glare that I got for my question, I decided for myself that I must confine my questioning within the four walls of my home or at the office, lest I get clobbered for being nosy. While it was quite irritating to see my immediate neighbor blowing large bubbles with his bubble gum, I decided to keep mum and not act brave by commenting or asking him some crazy question; my mind was behaving like a streaming video. Lost in our own thoughts, a sudden brake jolted us out of our respective dreams. A quick peep and we realized that a bevy of ladies had crossed the street unmindful of the chaotic traffic and almost landing below the wheels of another onrushing vehicle from behind, hell bent on overtaking our bus. Looks like people train themselves to be focused when it comes to spotting a public transport. Much like the way Arjuna of the Panch Pandavas fame told his teacher Dronacharya when asked about what he saw, when he had positioned an arrow on his bow and was taking aim, ‘I can see the object’. No wonder our folks fail to exercise caution when they spot a bus; their focus turns to getting in at any or all cost. Seldom do they watch out for their personal safety.
Further down I spotted a fairly senior couple trying to cross the road. From their behavior it seemed obvious that they had returned from a foreign land. They would take a hesitant step thinking that it was time to step forward and then an oncoming vehicle with its horns on full blast would make them quickly retreat. The bus in which I was traveling was stationary and I was able to observe their adventure or should we say misadventure. Finally the lady, more pragmatic between the two, started giving instructions much to the irritation of the husband who was finding difficulty combining his feet movement with his thought process. At this time, our bus started moving and I will never know how the couple managed to cross! However, one thing is for sure; eventually every wife with time begins to behave more like a mother to their husbands – the continuous stream of instructions on the dos and don’ts never seem to cease. I myself kept getting calls from my wife who, of course with very noble intentions and genuine concern was checking whether I had to wait for a long time at the bus stop, did I get the right bus, what was my relative position with respect to each time she called, would I reach the venue in time, did I know the address of the venue so on and so forth. It was a wonder how one could keep such a close track and monitor progress through a series of well intentioned and logical set of questions. It struck me then; perhaps, she might make a better manager than me – with such a meticulous follow-up, virtually nothing could go wrong!!
Indeed, I reached just-in-time as the ‘Blessings’ ceremony was coming to an end and plantain leaves were being neatly arranged for the meal to be served. After a tasty and sumptuous meal my wife and I headed straight home and on the return trip we hopped on to a three wheeler – my wife was right when she said that if its two then an auto works out more cost effective…I thought only I was paranoid about being cost conscious!!
I did enjoy my adventurous outing and given a chance, I will board a BMTC once again without hesitation. It brought memories of my earlier and more energetic days, offered me small pleasures and the freedom to sit and observe which I would never get from the confines of my own car. And, I look forward to the day we can use the Metro to commute to office and back. Only time will tell whether I would have retired by then!!
Cheers!!
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