Happy New Year 2010

Happy New Year 2010

    The earth has rounded the sun one more time and we are stepping into a new year 2010.  What does it mean for anyone ?  Well, it might be the time for partying and having fun, for a few people.  Few people would be keen on coming up with innovative, never heard before resolutions(in other words absolutely impractical resolutions).   For some, it is a holiday and thats it.  There are a few, who just don't care about it.

    It looks like, nobody wants to look back at the year, that passed.  After all, it was also a new year, 365 days ago.   This is the ideal time for anyone to look back, re-live, analyze the significant things of the past year.  It's EVALUATION time.  A year has gone and where do you stand ?  What were you doing all these 365 days ?  Where do you want to go from here ? These are the foremost things that should flash your mind when you are welcoming a new year.

    Analyze your past, evaluate yourself, set your priorities, organize yourself, refresh your thoughts and keep moving forward.  Once you have done these things, then you can have a party, have fun, have your own resolution, sit and relax or just pretend that you don't know it was a new year.

    This year has been declared by the United Nations as "International Year of Biodiversity".  This couldn't be declared at a better time than now.  Whatever may be your goal, spare a thought for this earth and make it a point, to make this Earth, a better place to LIVE for our future generation and for the various variety of life that exists in this earth.

     Let's welcome this new year 2010 with a strong motto of "LIVE and let others LIVE" in this earth.

Telangana decision: Good or Bad ?

Telangana, a separate state.  Not the way to go, I guess.   Bifurcation of states, sends a dangerous wrong message.  Now, several other separatists who were in hibernate mode, will wake up and start demanding even more separate states.  Power hungry politicians will be motivated by this.  They will mislead the unbiased people to think, if Telangana could be split, why can't we.  

Though the intentions of why Telangana was demanded are really good, the splitting of AP is not a good sign.  If this is the best decision they can come up with, then I bet, many more such demands are about to come. 

Already, there are conflicts between states going on.  Now, as if, it is not sufficient, they are adding to it.  States were formed, so that the administration could be managed efficiently.  India was splitted into many states based on linguistic barrier, which made sense.  But, after the splitting, people or rather politicians didn't realize that, after all we all belong to one country.  This led to many conflicts between states.  At this point, what in earth will bring good, by bifurcating AP.

In an opposite stand, bifurcation or unification of a state really doesn't matter.  All it matters is the politicians who rule.  If they are real patriots who believe in selfless service for the people of India, to uplift this country, then all will go well.  Otherwise, the Telangana people will probably be called Telanganites and nothing else is going to change for them, which is a pity.   Let us wish, this doesn't happen.

India No.1 in Test Cricket: Celebrations may be short-lived

India has reached the No.1 spot in the ICC test rankings.  Good news for the millions of Indian cricket fans.  After all, Test format is a highly regarded one and to be number one in this format, means something great.  This couldn't come at a better time, when all the top 5 Indian batsmen folded their sleeves, when it mattered.  Well done, Team India.

However, this No.1 ranking may not last long enough.  Not that, India may lose the future matches.  There is just not much Test cricket scheduled for India in the next 2 years.  Why would that be ?  No surprises here, blame BCCI. 

Indian team's future fixture has just 2 test matches against Bangladesh, for the next 1 year, almost.  This is a shock for test cricket lovers.  BCCI has converted all the test matches into either T20s or one-day matches.  The money addicted BCCI's theory is, T20s bring in lot of crowd, TRP ratings are also high and hence the revenue is also high.  So, they are promoting it and test matches are seldom taken into consideration.

What BCCI doesn't care about is, nowadays most of the Test matches are producing results.  It is not like the old days, where a result for a test match would be an odd one.  People, are following test cricket and it has its own charm.  It is not that Test cricket has no revenue, it is that BCCI is greedy.

BCCI, the wealthiest and greediest organization in India, has forgotten the purpose of its existense.  Well, somebody got to remind them, I guess.    They are so obsessed with the money factor, that they are ready to do anything that multiplies their stock.  Who knows, one day, they will reinvent the Book Cricket where each player will be playing from his home with a book.  Minimum investment, maximum money. 

BCCI's bureaucracy is frustrating to tolerate.  Already, it has earned a tag of "the body that controls ICC."  Sooner BCCI would be termed as "Board that Controls the Currency of India".  Reserve Bank of India might want to borrow some money from BCCI.  In the recent bid for Indian team's sponsorship, none of the sponsors were ready to sponsor for India.  Reason: Minimum bid value being so unrealistically set high by the BCCI.  Still, it doesn't seem to have learnt the lesson.  It has requested Sahara to continue the sponsorship.


The way the BCCI is operating, things look gloomy for the game of cricket.  Wish, BCCI realizes the purpose of  its existence, bring transparency and promote this wonderful game of Cricket in a true spirit.   Let the coming generation enjoy and play the game of cricket and not the game of money.

International Space Station

We know about the International Space Station (ISS), which is being constructed in space for more than 10 years.  This ISS can be seen through the naked eye.  For those who are not aware of this, and those who are interested, this information would be useful.

For more details, click here to see when ISS is visible from your place

All the best for your space hunt.

Sixth Sense : Mind blowing technology

Another reason to be proud, of being an Indian.  Pranav Mistry, a gujarati born Indian, a MIT graduate is behind this amazing technology that connects the real world with the digital world. 

This 13 minutes video is mind blowing.  If one tries to explain, the content of this video, you are not going to believe.  He has brought into reality, what we saw in sci-fi films like Minority Report.  See it for yourself.  "Sixth Sense" for sure, will satisfy all your senses.

Pranav Mistry explaining about Sixth Sense technology

What a creativity, innovation and invention.  It is a mystery, how Mr. Pranav Mistry envisioned such a technology.

Congratulations Mr. Pranav Mistry !

2012

Review
One wonders why Roland Emmerich(Director) is so fascinated in taking those kind of movies, where our whole world would be destroyed by aliens or some natural disaster. This time too, its no exception. Well, actually he has improved from his earlier films and destroyed the whole earth to his fullest satisfaction, in this film :-).  Jokes apart, this movie can be classified as a spectacular movie as far as Visual special effects are concerned. But, other than that, it is a normal hollywood disaster flick.

The story is about a family who are trying to survive together, and about how the whole world's top leaders react to the situation, during the year 2012, when all hell breaks loose and our entire earth is in the verge of destruction. There are other people also, who survive. But, this story is said from the lead actor's family's perspective.

First, the positives of the movie. Special effects are just awesome and breathtaking. No other movie can come close to this film, in this regard.  You have to give it to the guys, who did the special effects.  Definitely, deserves an OSCAR for the Special effects. The kids did some great acting in a few emotional scenes. Final scenes, which stressed about humanity and what humanity really means.

Now, the negatives. Since the crux of the story itself, is the world being destroyed, there are scenes of massive destruction every 20 minutes, which is too much to consume. The casting was not perfect. Danny Glover as the US President, did not stand out and the same goes to many others, including the lead guy, John Cussack. Finally the story itself lacked punch. I pity Roland Emmerich, for how one could come up with a good story with the backdrop of, the whole world being destroyed. But, I have to say it. The story was not good enough.

In conclusion, it is neither an epic film, nor a worst film. It is a typical hollywood disaster film.  This movie can be watched once.  People with very tender hearts, better stay away from it.

The final verdict: "You are warned."

Those cherished moments...

There is a saying, that "Best things in LIFE are free". I was trying to collect a few of them. Ignoring certain things like your wedding which happens only once and the exciting FIRSTS like your first child/first kiss, I tried to collect those moments that happen every now and then in our LIFE, in a random frequency, which are so pleasant and wonderful.

Tip for cherishing those moments, right now: Please pause, after reading each line and try to visualize one such moment, that happened in your life.

Here it goes...

1. Lying in bed listening to the rain outside.

2. Taking a drive on a pretty road and hearing your favorite song on the radio.

3. Laughing so hard your face hurts.

4. A good conversation with the friends, on a sunday evening.

5. Watching the sunrise or sunset at the beach.

6. Accidentally overhearing someone say something nice about you.

7. Waking up and realizing that its a sunday and you still have a few hours left to sleep.

8. Watching your style/favorite movie cuddled up on a couch with someone you love.

9. Watching the expression on someone's face as they open a much-desired present from you.

10. At dusk, during the power cuts, talking with your parents about their childhood and youth.

What else one can ask for other than these.....

Please feel free to post such wonderful moments, you can think of. Make sure, it fits my preface.

Cricket, Sachin and the inspiration.

Today, the November 5th, 2009, hyderabad city hosted the 5th ODI between India and austrlaia, with the 2009-10 India-Australia cricket series tied at 2-2. India had to chase a target of 350, set by the Aussies. Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar, today played a wonderful innings, considering the wear and tear, he has gone through and the age he is into. One cannot simply stop admiring this guy, when he plays those awe inspiring strokes. He scored a splendid 175 runs from 141 balls, but he was not that happy at the end of the day. Reason: India lost finally to the aussies by 3 runs.

We have seen several such knocks of sachin which went in vain. The famous(or rather infamous) chennai 1999 test match against pakistan is a classic example. Sachin is being worshipped as the God of Indian cricket. Along with this tag, comes a curse, "He is not a great match winner". Well, so be it. Look at this way, on one side he has got all the fame one can ask for, on the other side, he is the unluckiest person. Several matches like today has ended up with India in the losing side. One can keep wondering, what Sachin did wrong. What was his fault ? Nothing, can be thought of. Only one thing shall be concluded. He is the unluckiest great cicketer ever.

Taking today's india's loss, out of the equation, we are left with a wonderful cricket match. Aussies prove time and again that they are a good mental cohesive unit. With their main players down with injuries, they showed tremendous guts and still made a match out of it. Hats off to them.

At the match presentation ceremony, Sachin was asked a question. "What keeps you motivated to play like this ?". Sachin's answer:"I care about playing for India, it's a passion and I have been absoloutely honoured to play for India so long.". Though he spoke only few words, it was full of inspiration. This is why people love sachin. If from tomorrow, ICC puts a new rule stating, none of the individual's statistics/records henceforth will be recorded, and all the records, sachin has acquired so far are put into trash, I bet, still people will love sachin. Sachin is being loved for his passion towards the game, for his commitment, for his patriotism and for his constant hunger to improve upon his game and not for the records he has created. Just, forget the records.

Sachin is a match winner or not. Doesn't really matter. The things that really matters is something else, something beyond this winning and losing. It becomes all the more ironical and important to publish this post on the day, when he played a sensational knock and, still, India lost. But, Sachin won many of our hearts and continues to inspire us, which is what counts.

To attribute this, India's new tennis sensation Yuki Bhambri recently said that he draws inspiration from Sachin Tendulkar to deliver at the highest level. "At this level, expectation will be there. There are hopes of a billion people on Tendulkar to hit a century every time he takes the bat. He is still the best player and continues to perform for the country," the 17-year-old Delhi lad said. Now, that is called inspiration.

Yuki Bambri could have easily said Federer or Nadal, as his inspiration. But, he felt Sachin was his inspiration. Sachin is a common icon for any Indian. He can be associated with any game or any field for that matter, and he can be an inspiration to any person.

Such great personalities like Sachin, should be treasured and cherished during these days, when he is still playing cricket and not after he retires.

Sachin, You are truly an inspiration. We love you.

Sadhguru on floods in Andhara Pradesh and Karnataka

Such a great calamity; what can we do? Are the gods
angry with us?
- Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev -



Q: After the recent floods in Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka, wherever I go, one question I'm repeatedly asked is: "Such a great calamity; what can we do? Are the gods angry with us? Is there some spiritual process that we can do to avoid cyclones and floods in this country? Can we do some yaga or yagna for this?"

Sadhguru: I want you to understand, a cyclone or a flood is not a calamity but just a natural process that can happen anywhere, and at any time. Two-thirds of the earth is under water anyway, so a little extra gets displaced now and then due to natural reasons or maybe because of global warming. But what is a calamity is that so many people have died and so many more have been displaced, their lives shattered perhaps to a point where they will never be able to put it back in their lifetime. This could have been avoided to a large extent, if we only managed our lives better.

The present devastation by floods in Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka is not sudden or unforeseen. In 1998-99, when people in this region complained of lack of rains, I said that the way we were progressing in another 5-6 years there would be too much rain. It does not take any great intuition to say this because if there is any slight disturbance in climate over the oceans, a certain low-pressure area will get created over a dry peninsular tract of land with oceans on both sides and with insufficient green cover. This will naturally attract enormous amount of rains.

If there was enough vegetation, it would have held the rain and let it out in small drops to become streams and rivers which we could have enjoyed. But unfortunately, we have stripped the land completely of green cover so the rain, which should have been a great blessing, has become a curse upon us. This is just a natural progression; it is neither God's wrath nor is it some unforeseen force acting upon us. We are the cause for the effect that we are facing right now.

The human tragedy due to these rains is because the land is also overpopulated. In the beginning of the twentieth century the world had a population of only 1.6 billion people. Today we have grown to 6.7 billion, which is an enormous and unprecedented increase. So wherever there are any small changes in nature like earthquakes, tsunami, floods etc, human beings are badly hit, because they are everywhere to die. This has become our condition today.

This is because, through the advancement of medical science, to a large extent we have taken death into our hands. So it is all the more important that we also take birth into our hands. But today various vested interests in the form of religions and other forces are resisting any kind of control over the growth of population. So the pressure on the land will be high with more forest being cleared resulting in more devastation.

We can create human societies either with conscious action or nature and other situations will force us to act in a certain way. It would be worthwhile if we act consciously and see that such situations, such pain and such devastations don't happen to human societies. One of the most important things that we must do right now, as a nation, is to aim for reduction of population by at least one third in the next 50 years. We must also ensure that a minimum of 33% land is under green cover. If these two things happen we can largely control such calamities.

As a part of our efforts in this direction, Isha Foundation started Project Green Hands. I must say, since 1998 we have been making efforts to plant trees in people's minds and in the last six years we have been transplanting it into the land. We have planted millions of trees in Tamil Nadu where the green cover according to official figures, has actually increased by 4.2% in the last 5 years. This is probably the only geographical entity of its size in Asia where the green cover has actually gone up in the recent years, everywhere else, it has been going down. It is not enough if we do this in one state. Everywhere the political leadership, the citizenry, the religious leaders, media and everybody should come together and make sure that our goals on population and environment are achieved.

This is the yaga and the yagna that needs to be done.

For every calamity that we bring upon ourselves there is no need to look for cosmic explanations, this is a local disaster. When I say local I'm talking about what we have done to our surroundings and the planet. This has nothing to do with the cosmic phenomena and is very localized to our planet and to our country right now. So this is something we have to handle and there is no need to look for any cosmic solutions or divine interventions.

What matters and what doesn't.

I came across a short moral story. Liked it and I wanted to share it with everyone. Here it goes...

A philosophy professor stood before his class with some items on the table in front of him. When the class began, wordlessly he picked up a very large and empty mayonnaise jar and proceeded to fill it with rocks, about 2 inches in diameter.

He then asked the students if the jar was full. They agreed that it was.

So the professor then picked up a box of pebbles and poured them into the jar. He shook the jar lightly. The pebbles, of course, rolled into the open areas between the rocks.

He then asked the students again if the jar was full. They agreed it was.

The professor picked up a box of sand and poured it into the jar. Of course, the sand filled up everything else.
He then asked once more if the jar was full. The students responded with a unanimous "Yes."

"Now," said the professor, "I want you to recognize that this jar represents your life. The rocks are the important things – your family, your partner, your health, your children – things that if everything else was lost and only they remained, your life would still be full.

The pebbles are the other things that matter – like your job, your house, your car.

The sand is everything else. The small stuff."

"If you put the sand into the jar first," he continued "there is no room for the pebbles or the rocks. The same goes for your life.

If you spend all your time and energy on the small stuff, you will never have room for the things that are important to you. Pay attention to the things that are critical to your happiness. Play with your children. Take your partner out dancing. There will always be time to go to work, clean the house, give a dinner party and fix the disposal.

Take care of the rocks first – the things that really matter. Set your priorities. The rest is just sand."

My ultimate GOAL. Still a dream...

Today, my best friend forwaded me an email. It was about Mr. Senthil of Thenur village. He is also known as "Ilam Gandhi" in his village for all the social work, that he is doing. I know Mr. Senthil, officially. He was working in the same office, that I am working now. After reading the email, I managed to find the source of the email content.

It was from the following blog
Ilam Gandhi

I was impressed very much, after browsing the above website. Not just me, any Indian who has a social thought would be impressed by the activities that is discussed in the above website.

It reminded me of my goal, my wish and my dream. Yes, I wanted to be like Senthil or at least do, half of which, what he is doing now. But, the family ties are so much that, I don't even think about my wish or my goal or my dream, even once in 6 months. I was shocked by the fact that, I had a DREAM, but not even moved an inch, towards that. I am ahamed of myself.

But, reading this article, has re-kindled the spirit within myself. I made up my mind, that, very soon I should start contributing to my society, my people and my country.

I am writing this blog, so that, it would keep reminding me about my DREAM, and not prolong it. I would like to end this blog with a quote from Albert Einstein

"Only a life lived for others is a life worthwhile."

Art of being happy

All human beings are in constant search of one thing. Happiness. No matter whatever they do, their goal of each and every activity is to be happy. Are we really happy ? I mean, always. The answer would be a big NO. Here are a few tips that I can suggest when you feel very low. These are my views and anybody can add to this...

Healthy food, body, mind and a good quality of life will guarantee happiness. Having a healthy food and body is under our control. So, i am not going to elaborate on that. I am more concerned about the things that are not under our control and which I see as the enemies of happiness.

Disappointment
Disappointments can't be avoided. It hurts. When they do happen, indulge in activities that are passionate to you, like listening to music, reading books, play your favorite sport. I bet, you will forget your disappointments and feel refreshed.

Insult
Did someone abuse or insulted you ? and you are feeling so bad about it. Look at it this way. The person who did this to you is having a bad day, not you. There are so many wonderful things happenning around you. Give attention to those. LIFE and TIME are precious. Don't waste it.

Anger

Are you angry at someone or something ? Woww....that's a wonderful situation to be in. YES, I mean it. Turn you anger into a constructive thing. In one way, I started this blog because of my anger and I am so happy about it. Never let you angst to conquer you.

Jealous
This is one feeling that is hard to get rid of. This is the worst enemy of happiness. Our mega serials are all still running successfully because many of us are yet to get rid of this ghost. JEALOUSY is the common current that flows in all our mega serials.

A little bit of jealous or envy is good, because it can be a motivating factor. But, when jealousy occupies your whole mind, you cannot be happy.

To get rid of jealousy, understand the facts of life. Today, you are jealous about one thing. Say, you are jealous about your neighbor being rich. So you are worried about how you can become rich or why you are not rich. The next day, you see another neighbor who is the famous personality in your neighborhood. So, now you are worried about how you can be fame and why you are not famous. Like this, how many things you can be jealous of. There are zillions of things. If you are going to be jealous for all these zillions of things, you are ruining your own life. Be proud of who you are. Be proud about your own nature, your own qualities. Have your own identity. Be proud about it. These are the things that matter. Not the money or fame or other things that you usually feel jealous of.

Sorrow
To get rid of sorrowness, you have to accept that it is a part of our life. When you are in deep sorrow, it is very difficult to come over it. But, TIME will help you in healing yourself. May be it's a beginning of a new life for you. May be you have to start everything fresh over again. May be the purpose of your LIFE is something else. Consider it as a second LIFE for you. Take things positively. Remember, LIFE is a boon and don't let your sorrows spoil that.

Last but not the least, 10% of what happens to you is not under your control, but the remaining 90% is with you, on how you react to it. How do you want that 90% to be ? Favorable to you or against you ? You decide.

Celebrate LIFE !

This is my first BLOG ever and I thought there is no other better choice than writing on the LIFE itself. Without which, this blog is not possible.

LIFE, The Way I see it...

LIFE Asks us many unanswered questions. Seek the Answers.

LIFE Beholds many miracles & surprises. Appreciate them, as they happen.

LIFE Comes at you fast. Slow it down.

LIFE Discloses its secrets time to time. Safeguard them.

LIFE Ends when you stop dreaming. Keep dreaming...

LIFE Forces you sometimes at something. Stick with it.

LIFE Gets better every day. Don't worry.

LIFE Has a new meaning every now and then. Adapt to it.

LIFE Is beautiful. Live it !

LIFE Jolts you sometimes. Keep your focus. Hang on !

LIFE Keeps you guessing all the time. Enjoy the thrill.

LIFE Lessons are, so many to learn. Be a good listener.

LIFE Moves on. No matter, what ever happens.

LIFE Never ends. Have Fun !

LIFE Only once. LIVE to the fullest.

LIFE Pushes you to the edge of the world. Survive it. Never quit !

LIFE Questions your qualities. Prove yourself.

LIFE Rewards you with sweet things. Cherish them.

LIFE Sometimes seems stopped. Overcome it.

LIFE Teases you, sometimes. Play with it.

LIFE Unfolds every day, every minute, every second. Appreciate it !

LIFE Values everything. Understand it.

LIFE Without friends. Don't even imagine.

LIFE Xtends, if you keep smiling. Be humorous.

LIFE You can save, are so many. Lend a hand.

LIFE Zero-in on your goal. Have a goal. Make your life meaningful.