chaotic order

A day of remembrance.. I woke up today morning with a mucky feeling in my stomach. My head was heavy, and a sense of uneasiness pervaded my body. It wasn’t the best of nights. My sleep was pretty disturbed, with images of blood smeared bodies, stunned and scarred faces, limbs writhing besides its decapitated owners, buildings in flames – all kinds of grotesque images kept floating across my mind’s eye. I am normally a deep sleeper, but yesterday night, I kept tossing and turn ing for most part. Early in the morning around 4’ish, with a cup of coffee in hand, I stood in my Balcony absorbing the pitch darkness that normally precede a dawn. It is as if the night throws up its deepest black on to its canvas in these early hours, before the stirring brightness of the day repaints it to gold. It was at this moment it dawned on me that today is 9/11, and I understood the significance of my disturbed sleep. It has been fourteen years since that tragic day at the beginning of this beauti

I have always rated Sangakkara as one of the most polished players to have wielded the cricketing bat in my generation so far. Left handers have a natural flair, a gift, an artistry which right handed batsmen belabor to achieve. I can, even after all these years, still stand transfixed, mesmerized by a David Gower cover drive when replayed on television. There is something so poetic about it transcending the mere physicality of the act to a sublime experience where aesthetics and talent mingle in divine unison. After Gower, I must admit, the only other left hander I have openly admired and enjoyed is the cultivated purity and elegance of Sangakkara. I write this short article in lieu of his retirement from the game this month .Here is a man, who could have done anything with his life. Born rich, bred well, educated meticulously - the young boy achieved all meritorious honors one is capable of acquiring in Trinity College, Colombo - one of the foremost elitist educational institutions

"Two days and One night" - a review. Here is a hypothetical situation; and I urge my sensitive readers to put themselves in the situation I am about to describe. Let’s say, you work in small organization of about fifteen employees, earning a salary just enough to lead a dignified life, raising kids and aspiring to remain secure financially You have recently recovered from a bout of depression (an emotionally bad phase), nothing serious, but just enough to put you in a slightly precarious position at work. You badly depend upon this job. It is not that you love it, but it pays you enough to lead a respectable life. And that’s all matters to you just now. Apart from a couple of co-workers, whom you consider friends, other respect you as fellow worker, and one or two remembers professional favors you have extended. Beyond this, there is no bonding between others and you. Your employer faces stiff completion from Asian market and takes a decision to cut down costs. This is th

Shashi Tharoor’s eight minute defense… The Oxford union debating society is one of those hallowed bodies established in 1823 to further free speech and exchange of radical ideas in a liberal environment; and its chief objective is to not cast aspersions on people and places, but rather a forum where Men and Women with reputed intellectual caliber and genuine integrity could exchange ideas impartially within the closed walls of its magnificent debating halls. Except for a few instances in its remarkable history, the society of Oxford union (the body that administrates these debates) have not found any occasion to public retract statements of speeches by its esteemed participants; and they have held debates on almost every conceivable topic that has stuck a resonant chord in national and international consciousness. Even a casual perusal of its speaker list over the decades will show that eclectic array of people: Models, musicians, sportsmen, Scientists TV evangelists and presenters

A Sage passes away.. Dr Kalam When I heard about the sudden demise of Dr Kalam in class today, I was instantly reminded of Einstein’s remark on Gandhi: “Generations to come will scarcely believe that such a one as this ever walked upon this earth”. It will not be untrue to rephrase this moving tribute and write “Generations to come in Independent India will scarcely believe that amidst the turmoil, corruption, bureaucracy, unenlightened leadership and utter lack of vision – t here lived a man, whose life was devoted to the cause of humanity as much as it was to science, whose life was as much a study in humility as it was in the dignity and respect of human beings, whose living presence was a reminder that political life need not be divested of statesmanship, whose prolific and prodigious scientific intellect was tempered with sense of material achievement with a human touch, whose fertile brain at the age of 83 was still young enough to think of a modern and rejuvenated India, who

The pulse of a Leader.. It was one of the finest 30 minutes of technical exposition that I have had the opportunity to hear live in a long time. One often wonders, why CTO’s and CEO’s get paid so well, what exactly at their skill-sets that they make them eligible for a hefty paycheck, or made to blaze forth in the media as icons worth emulating. What is that charm - that tangible, palpable essence of who they are that makes us forget idiosyncrasies, arrogance, inconsistencies or madness so amply displayed in their daily life? The answer is not far: it is simply the vision, a holistic understanding of business, and a mysteriously ability to connect the dots in an astounding simple manner - that to a listener, it would seem almost insanely logical and coherent. It is not so much the detail (which obviously is a path they have trodden assiduously before reaching this level) but a piercing insight into how the juggernaut of their businesses rolls, and an uncanny ability to forecast, pr

Diaries of a vacation - Part 5 Excellence in life often boils down to very simple principles: Following one’s heart, dedication, willingness to commit oneself to a chosen task with passion, energy and zeal, grabbing opportunities as they come by, constantly innovating and finding ways of adapting to changing needs and times - all these are to found in the myriad books, inspirational speeches that abound for the benefit of common man. But what they don’t, won’t or cannot tell you is why then Excellence and success is so uncommon then, and discouragingly hard to come by. After all, if there is a fixed regimen to be followed; and if one is willing to follow it to the tee- then success must be inevitable. But that is not the case. It seems that Men and Women who are successful, and have reached the pinnacle of their chosen field of work seem to be “divinely chosen” for whatever they are destined to do, and the rest can, at best emulate their ways and means with a fervent hope that they

Diaries of a Vacation: part 4 Decades ago the study of “Humanities” was considered a respectable vocation (especially for Women... Don’t ask me why?). The choice of many parents would invariably narrow down to this after much deliberation, because it was considered respectable and a homely course to study. After finishing, the door to Teaching were open, and many preferred the comfort of a good stable teaching job in a decent school as indicative of having reached somewhere. And of course, prospects of marriage would increase, and along with all other goodies life has to offer. Almost every university in India, even today, offers a course in Humanities. It is sadly the lowest rung of the ladder in terms of scholastic achievement, but nevertheless a last refuge if one doesn’t get into anything else, after school. The thinking is that there is still a vestige of respectability left in it, though future may not be as bright as one would want it to be. That’s alright, I guess - conside

Diaries of a vacation : Part 3 While describing the crucial period in Western mind when philosophical thought was just about incubating at the dawn of recorded history, Gustav Flaubert , the great french author beautifully wrote “Just when the gods had ceased to be, and the Christ had not yet come, there was a unique moment in history, between Cicero and Marcus Aurelius, when man stood alone…”. We could slightly modify this brilliant insight and write “Just when the gods ceased to be and Adi Shankara had not yet come, there was a unique moment in Indian history , between Buddha and Vikramaditya, when Man stood alone, lost in the alleys of discursive abstractions…”. And then Shankara arrived! And what a life it proved to be... The life and work of Shankara is a turning point in revitalizing and resurrecting the purest strains of mysticism that lay buried under the hubris of intellectual debates and arguments of a thousand differing schools of thought. And in a brief life time of 32

Diaries of a vacation - part 2 Rain gods have a special relationship with Kerala. They start their journey from this southern tip, and slowly move across the country bestowing their blessings. And the months of June, July and August find them at their capricious best. Low lying dark clouds hover perilously close to the damp earth, almost touching or kissing them; threatening to burst into tears (which they sometimes do with ferocious intent) or sometimes move away allowing streaks of Sunlight bathe its verdant skin with a warm, humid glow. They are as unpredictable as young lovers, reveling in inconsistency. It is not for nothing that this piece of land is called “Gods own country”. Surrounded by waters, enriched by luxuriant vegetation, relatively secure habitat, isolated communities formed, sustained and nourished on values and way of life that is radically different from mainstream – Kerala has always resisted distinct categorization. There is a fierce pride in its people one wo

Diaries of a vacation: Part 1. It is amazing how the mind collapses into a declutched state when vacation begins. After nearly two years, I am on a break with my family in Kochi. My journey began from Atlanta on Tuesday afternoon; and by the time I set foot in my home at Kochi, it was Thursday afternoon. I chose to fly Emirates this time. Though Delta would have yielded free tickets, it was convenient for me to fly through Dubai to reach Kochi, than take a circuitous route through Delhi or Bangalore. And I am glad that I did so for a variety of reasons. What an aircraft the A-380 is? Introduced to the world of aviation about five years ago, this monster of a machine is perhaps the most convenient piece of passenger aircraft I can think of. Emirates has close to 50 of them (Airbus sells most of their A 380’s to Emirates). The sheer size is daunting. A two storied, 800 capacity flight with 35 Air attendants and four captains - it is almost a mini universe within that big elongated