tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-59126452024-02-07T08:28:56.138+05:30Motley MusingsRants and raves, reflection and reverie, responses and regurgitation, recollections and revelations: rightful restitution by a reprehensible rascal. A blog about me and every other runt that slaps my back while passing by.Anupam Choudhuryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05856337600956412803noreply@blogger.comBlogger179125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5912645.post-38595973897838575822020-11-19T19:42:00.001+05:302020-11-20T12:32:36.797+05:30How to Do Nothing<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtaSAXkc2usr_nbeGZmsiCTQ6VVoHDSwcprwfLQGsxbbkwimb24I0yWPvB1nCXsLpki_BOuckfD0xNcN5G69u5RSeF6CLkaDwS_PtnjgMgRCyi9e9_Qd-RylsO1TiBMJn1vtgR/s1920/pexels-p-hsuan-wang-5911843.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="1920" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtaSAXkc2usr_nbeGZmsiCTQ6VVoHDSwcprwfLQGsxbbkwimb24I0yWPvB1nCXsLpki_BOuckfD0xNcN5G69u5RSeF6CLkaDwS_PtnjgMgRCyi9e9_Qd-RylsO1TiBMJn1vtgR/w640-h426/pexels-p-hsuan-wang-5911843.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br />This article shares its title with a <i>New York Times</i> <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/42771901-how-to-do-nothing" target="_blank">bestseller by Jenny Odell</a>. But I haven’t read it. A reviewer said that Ms Odell’s work is "ambitious". This article’s subject is the antithesis of ambitious.
<p></p><p>I’ve been working. I’ve been busting my ass without a break for months now. I’ve kept my nose to the grindstone working on stuff that turns your brain into an overheated, dried-up, two-stroke engine. But even when I’m not working at the stuff that brings in the bread, I’ve been dosing myself with social media, snorting newsfeed to lull my brain, distract me from matters of bread-earning.<span></span></p><a name='more'></a><p></p>
<p>I feel compelled to be occupied. I feel restless if my brain isn’t paying attention to something, doesn’t matter productive or not. Sometimes I get exhausted and drop everything—laptop closed, smartphone dropped, eyes shut. But once again I’m filled with a strange kind of emptiness bordering on dread … what is happening to me—when in fact nothing is happening to me. And my arms unconsciously fetch the nearest book, device, newspaper, remote, or what have you, to claw back from that emptiness. This is my decades-old sudden acute emptiness syndrome.</p>
<p>Why is it impossible to do nothing? Why is it so difficult to remain idle … to just remain? Often I’m so drained, mentally and physically, that I don’t want to move a muscle. I don’t want to have a purpose, an aim, an objective, a to-do list, a next step, or anything to accomplish in the next moment, minute, hour, or day. I don’t even want to meditate—it’s too … proper. I just want to take a break, a real break, from doing and thinking, especially thinking.</p>
<p>I imagine what that looks like. I’m pretty sure it begins with banishing all “thought provocateurs”. Stuff that get into your head through your five senses and make you process them, analyze them, making you work at it, forcing a consumption of sorts. Books, television, smartphones, newspapers, magazines, product packaging, ad banners, movie stubs, lorry slogans, song lyrics, drug receipts, currency notes, so on and so forth (I’m a compulsive reader: if anything has words on it, I can’t help but read it).</p>
<p>After sanitizing myself of alphabets, what do I do? Do I lie on the bed staring at the ceiling? Am I absolutely still? What am I thinking? Should I even think? But you know it’s maddening maddening maddening to try to have an idea-free mind! I know I’ll give up that line of treatment.</p>
<p>Does it look like what we call relaxing? Maybe listening to some soothing music will empty out my brain. Maybe that is what doing nothing is: you sit comfortably in an inclined armchair, wear your earbuds, and listen to some smooth jazz, or piano solos, or birdsongs, or nature sounds, or white noise. Does that work? Or maybe sitting with a cup of chai and taking slow, indulgent, present-in-the-moment sips is what doing nothing looks like.</p>
<p>What about sleeping? Sleeping is doing nothing, right? But you know, nowadays we sleep like it’s our duty to sleep. I sleep when I’m sleepy at night, but I’m anxious about not getting enough shuteye. I know the perils of lack of sleep, so sleeping feels like taking multivitamins or krill oil or chyawanprash so that I don’t die a horrible, painful death. It feels like a bloody chore.</p>
<p>Why can’t I sleep on cue? Like whenever I feel like? Say I’m done with the day’s work, and it isn’t bedtime yet, and I want to “do nothing”. So I’ll sleep; lie on my bed and just shut off. No, I haven’t tried that; I don’t know if that’s even physically possible. But wait: now that I imagine it, why does it feel like such a huge waste of time? Sleep or Netflix? Sleep or power walk? Sleep or book? Sleep or professional networking? Sleep or to-do list? Sleep or grocery shopping? Sleep or paying bills? How come sleep is always the villain here?</p>
<p>Maybe there are people for whom sleep is such an enduring companion, such a virtuous indulgence that it is always the protagonist in their stories. Such fortunate, privileged folks! I’m not one of them. I think I should try harder, make an effort, put in some elbow grease in my quest for the nothing. Annoyingly ironic.</p>
<p>Suddenly, doing nothing, for me, sounds like something that will make me do something. On top of that is the entire stigma around being unproductive. I think the last time I was effortlessly and guiltlessly unproductive was when I was under the expansive and generous umbrella of my parents. (I have now voluntarily left that privilege.) Can I really spend a “manhour” on something that does not make Zuckerberg or me some money?</p>
<p>Is doing nothing the same as being unproductive? By equating (or confounding) doing nothing with being unproductive, modern society has put part-time bohemians like me on the spot. I cannot shake off the guilt of “wasting daylight”. And I’m so far gone that I can’t see on-demand entertainment or viral content as time sinks. On the contrary, I reach out for them like I would reach out for a painkiller in a migraine, or punctuation in rambling prose, or a paperweight in a windy room, or toilet paper in a public restroom. (Now I sound like a socialist stuck in the Grand Old Party, or a hippie in the House of Lords.)</p>
<p>Even though I do not yet know what doing nothing actually entails, I know that it doesn’t find favor with the modern economic structure. I don’t want to become an enemy of the state of affairs. Okay: before modern society banishes me to the land of no income or throws me in a productivity penitentiary, let me try and make a scientific, logical argument in favor of doing nothing.</p>
<p>Actually, no. I won’t give a scientific, logical, or even a philosophical reasoning for doing nothing. I’m sure there are, and I’m sure others have, but I won’t. I’ll do nothing of that sort. I’ll do nothing. Already this article has reached a pointless end without answering the titular question. But at least I have one firm conclusion, a salve for myself, something that will put my mind to rest: I don’t have to give a reason for doing nothing.</p><div class="level__left">
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<div class="js-copy-attribute-content photo-page__adp-cta__container__attribution"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">Photo by <b><a href="https://www.pexels.com/@p-hsuan-wang-5076851?utm_content=attributionCopyText&utm_medium=referral&utm_source=pexels">P Hsuan Wang</a></b> from <b><a href="https://www.pexels.com/photo/white-orange-and-black-cat-lying-on-gray-concrete-floor-5911843/?utm_content=attributionCopyText&utm_medium=referral&utm_source=pexels">Pexels</a></b></span></div><span style="font-size: xx-small;">
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</span></div>Anupam Choudhuryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05856337600956412803noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5912645.post-15996858043013494302020-09-23T16:35:00.008+05:302020-09-25T10:31:03.992+05:30Leading the Lamb to the Slaughter<p><span data-offset-key="84rlg-0-0"><span data-text="true"></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span data-offset-key="84rlg-0-0"><span data-text="true"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzFmnuj77q-sg6sivv37VQLa1pKhqDAIUD_KV_QBJVzKnzshtq-dVlhSDREtGttDpqxbMk2ZsXdoX5z178ORpkL-Q2GBQZIpYdA4mLqgcwrOvRfBQSnOo5zD-5KAbNRI5J9OT9/s1920/pexels-s%25C3%25BCleyman-%25C5%259Fahan-2669216.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="1920" height="427" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzFmnuj77q-sg6sivv37VQLa1pKhqDAIUD_KV_QBJVzKnzshtq-dVlhSDREtGttDpqxbMk2ZsXdoX5z178ORpkL-Q2GBQZIpYdA4mLqgcwrOvRfBQSnOo5zD-5KAbNRI5J9OT9/w640-h427/pexels-s%25C3%25BCleyman-%25C5%259Fahan-2669216.jpg" width="640" /></a></span></span></div><span data-offset-key="84rlg-0-0"><span data-text="true">Free-market systems mimic nature. In that, the big fish will, naturally, eat the small fish. Because they can. If left to itself, the system will result in a power struggle of the economic kind, which also spills into the social domain. Those who gain power are, again naturally, inclined towards retaining it and growing it through unending acquisitions. Why would they reduce it voluntarily and risk extinction?</span></span><p></p><div data-contents="true"><div data-block="true" data-editor="15hkt" data-offset-key="arvo7-0-0"><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="arvo7-0-0"><span><a name='more'></a></span><span data-offset-key="arvo7-0-0"></span></div></div><div data-block="true" data-editor="15hkt" data-offset-key="crmis-0-0"><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="crmis-0-0"><span data-offset-key="crmis-0-0"><span data-text="true">In the power struggle, which can be constant, each contender or participant tries to gain a competitive advantage via perseverance or information or technology or timing or networks or deception or other such means that are civil equivalents of arms, ammunition, and armies.</span></span></div></div><div data-block="true" data-editor="15hkt" data-offset-key="7rtlv-0-0"><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="7rtlv-0-0"><span data-offset-key="7rtlv-0-0"><br data-text="true" /></span></div></div><div data-block="true" data-editor="15hkt" data-offset-key="530jg-0-0"><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="530jg-0-0"><span data-offset-key="530jg-0-0"><span data-text="true">In a system of transactions and exchange of values, the least informed (or educated) is, often, at the most disadvantage, and hence, the most exploited. System governors try to impose fair play and equity by protecting the disadvantaged using rules and norms. The more powerful participants are, in a way, forced to temper their need to acquire more and more.</span></span></div></div><div data-block="true" data-editor="15hkt" data-offset-key="4eq21-0-0"><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="4eq21-0-0"><span data-offset-key="4eq21-0-0"><br data-text="true" /></span></div></div><div data-block="true" data-editor="15hkt" data-offset-key="6iev-0-0"><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="6iev-0-0"><span data-offset-key="6iev-0-0"><span data-text="true">If left to itself, without neutral referees, the system will ensure the most disadvantaged continue at their subsistence level, and not beyond that. Because that is in the interest of the most advantaged. Without constant production of value and its unequal transfer, those who want to grow cannot grow, unless technology or systems multiply value to a factor that every class of participant benefits. </span></span></div></div><div data-block="true" data-editor="15hkt" data-offset-key="il6p-0-0"><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="il6p-0-0"><span data-offset-key="il6p-0-0"><br data-text="true" /></span></div></div><div data-block="true" data-editor="15hkt" data-offset-key="cgqvs-0-0"><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="cgqvs-0-0"><span data-offset-key="cgqvs-0-0"><span data-text="true">(The most powerful will coexist with a class of contenders only as long as they need them to produce value. Once they don't need them, they will find no incentive to engage with them, and, in worst cases, find them to be a "cost point".)</span></span></div><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="cgqvs-0-0"><span data-offset-key="cgqvs-0-0"><span data-text="true"> </span></span></div></div><div data-block="true" data-editor="15hkt" data-offset-key="ettlt-0-0"><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="ettlt-0-0"><span data-offset-key="ettlt-0-0"><span data-text="true">But no smart contender will depend solely on technology and systems to deliver growth at geometric progression. So they will use whatever means available to gain competitive advantages, thereby necessarily leading to the disadvantage of the disadvantaged.</span></span></div></div><div data-block="true" data-editor="15hkt" data-offset-key="cq2e0-0-0"><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="cq2e0-0-0"><span data-offset-key="cq2e0-0-0"><br data-text="true" /></span></div></div><div data-block="true" data-editor="15hkt" data-offset-key="7b4cq-0-0"><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="7b4cq-0-0"><span data-offset-key="7b4cq-0-0"><span data-text="true">Democracy is an antidote to such "natural" impulses. It is not perfect, because it, too, can be gamed. But it is better than any system we have invented yet.</span></span></div></div><div data-block="true" data-editor="15hkt" data-offset-key="7gmav-0-0"><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="7gmav-0-0"><span data-offset-key="7gmav-0-0"><br data-text="true" /></span></div></div><div data-block="true" data-editor="15hkt" data-offset-key="cui7h-0-0"><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="cui7h-0-0"><span data-offset-key="cui7h-0-0"><span data-text="true">It may not be a good idea, especially in a democracy, to send a contender who is disadvantaged, to do business directly with a contender who is massively advantaged, without first preparing a fair playing field.</span></span></div></div><div data-block="true" data-editor="15hkt" data-offset-key="fe9hj-0-0"><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="fe9hj-0-0"><span data-offset-key="fe9hj-0-0"><br data-text="true" /></span></div></div><div data-block="true" data-editor="15hkt" data-offset-key="34gtp-0-0"><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="34gtp-0-0"><span data-offset-key="34gtp-0-0"><span data-text="true">Middlemen can be inefficient to the transfer of value, but in the list of things that should be avoided by a nation, inefficiency comes way below exploitation.</span></span></div><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="34gtp-0-0"><span data-offset-key="34gtp-0-0"><span data-text="true"> </span></span></div><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="34gtp-0-0" style="text-align: center;"><span data-offset-key="34gtp-0-0"><span data-text="true"> =//=<br /></span></span></div><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="34gtp-0-0"><div class="level__left">
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<div class="js-copy-attribute-content photo-page__adp-cta__container__attribution"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Photo by <b><a href="https://www.pexels.com/@suleyman-sahan-1365370?utm_content=attributionCopyText&utm_medium=referral&utm_source=pexels">Süleyman Şahan</a></b> from <b><a href="https://www.pexels.com/photo/photo-of-herd-of-sheep-2669216/?utm_content=attributionCopyText&utm_medium=referral&utm_source=pexels">Pexels</a></b></span></div>
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</div><span data-offset-key="34gtp-0-0"><span data-text="true"> </span></span></div></div></div>Anupam Choudhuryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05856337600956412803noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5912645.post-65972238158287597412020-07-15T19:48:00.005+05:302020-09-25T10:40:38.739+05:30The Rich Get Richer Club<p><a href="https://www.blogger.com/#"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9kRA65WtBLmGW1eMnBLAAFU8VXT32tyCaoZwELrPm-YFcisQvAUmHXgdtYbyOk89oYjLt5uTqn_KWwhPjPOqDYDDK2CAqEp-wN6cwGGubXCbHS7x_QMP9OWtNgolfklC7SCqc/w640-h427/abundance-bank-banking-banknotes-259027.jpg" /></a><br /><br />Dump: OK, pipe down guys. We're not making money doing idle chit chat. This meeting of the Rich Get Richer Club is now in session. So, guys, here are the points on today's agenda. The First is "What's stopping us from getting richer?" The second is "How can we get even richer?" And the third is "How to want more riches?" Let's begin with what's stopping us from getting richer. Eleven and Feku, guys, we had expressly agreed that the border conflict program has to be armed, not unarmed. How do you expect me and Benji to sell weapons? <span></span></p><a name='more'></a><p></p><p>Footin: Don't forget about me!</p><p>Dump: Yeah, OK. So, guys, please change the rules of engagement. I need you both to send across more purchase orders for combat arms, ammunition, scopes, gear, etc. </p><p>Feku: Howdy, Dump. You're forgetting that Covid has brought the darned economy to a halt and government coffers are literally empty!</p><p>Dump: Literally? Be the leader you've been elected for and tax the buggers.</p><p>Feku: Why should I always be the one to always tax the buggers? Why can't you or Eleven do it?</p><p>Eleven: Coz you're not yet aatmanirbhar. And you're called Feku. That's why.</p><p>Footin: Just spin a web. I can supply the tech like last time. We have made some delicious updates!</p><p>Feku: With oil prices crashing, people are beginning to question the logic of increasing the prices. Why can't Soulman and Footin do something about it?</p><p>Dump: Soulman and Benji, what are you whispering and chuckling to each other about? Care to share?</p><p>Soulman: Uh ... nothing, I was just congratulating Benji on winning the election. And he was thanking me for helping.</p><p>Footin: Dump, bro, stop fooling around and make sure you win the elections. We've got a lot riding on you.</p><p>Dump: Yeah, yeah, I've got the people nicely riled up and polarized. There's no way I won't win. Thanks to Feku's formula. </p><p>Feku: He he! Just don't steal my 56-inch idea. That's trademarked! Use Eleven instead.</p><p>Eleven: I'm at your service. We can hack a few servers and leave our footprint. Both your people and mine will be happy! If you don't win after that, then that's your fault. Why don't you stop tweeting for while?</p><p>Benji: Guys, let's focus on making money. Soulman, what's up with oil prices? Why are they falling?</p><p>Soulman: Guys, you gotta stop Musk-type nonsense. </p><p>Dump: Soulman, relax, the electricity for electric cars is going to come from oil-based power plants! I'll make sure of it. </p><p>Soulman: That's fine then. But we all need to raise the prices now, in tandem. Enough of this new-agey bullshit called oil crash.</p><p>Feku: Just wait until Covid situation improves. I'm raking in taxes on fuel prices. </p><p>Footin: I'm with you Soulman. Feku, we gotta bounce back. Your Feku Cares fund is flush now. In fact, I have the exact numbers. Stop pretending that you care.</p><p>Dump: Okay guys, as decided, we'll raise taxes, instigate armed conflict, and hack each others computers to raise anxiety levels. More public anxiety means more money for us. Jonshun,</p><p>Ballsnarrow, you guys have been awfully quiet.</p><p>Jonshun: Umm.. I want a cut from the Covid vaccine business. I, like Dump and Feku, ensured that many of my flock got sick.</p><p>Footing: Hey hey, I did all the hard work!</p><p>Eleven: Wait a minute! We had the demographics and global reach to operationalize it! I have kept it under a tight lid. So I deserve more than half the business.</p><p>Dump: But Feku also offered! </p><p>Feku: Yes, yes, look at our numbers! Soon, we'll be the biggest market for your vaccines. I'm sorry but I'm gonna negotiate hard for my cut.</p><p>Ballsnarrow: And what about me? I'm ahead of you! And I'm willing to cut down more rain forests for vaccine factories. Much more than you, Feku!</p><p>Soulman: Damnit! What about us desert peeps?</p><p>Benji: Dump, you gotta invade something man. Ask your agencies to foment trouble in some African country. We need to take a big slice of their "emerging economy" pie. We need to sell more weapons.</p><p>Feku and Eleven aren't enough. And please raise oil prices for Soulman's sake. Coz we can't get a cut from the vaccine money, can we?</p><p>Dump: OK, more false flags, more deforestation, more sickness, more rhetoric, more fossil fuel consumption, more taxation, and more money for all of us. All in agreement, say "aye".\</p><p>All: Aye!</p><p>Feku: I gotta get back now guys. My Monkey needs a bath. Let's continue next time. </p><p>Ballsnarrow: Me too. I need to keep up being an asshole. I gotta win the next elections like Feku.</p><p>All: Bye! Later! TTYL. Seeya! Adios! Cheers! </p><p>Feku: Oh, hey, how's the weather in Cayman Islands these days? Gotta to open a new Aatmanirbhar Cares account.</p>Anupam Choudhuryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05856337600956412803noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5912645.post-60371459239813703292020-06-09T12:05:00.007+05:302020-06-13T08:41:47.678+05:30How Readers Bought Fiction Titles—And the Non-fiction Books They Should've Bought Instead<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglrJWrUhz1O_PwCsh-k0GaX_Rgglcc5BDov_006vCO9gJRLl9auZZVui1nTHV9oN0EhJT1gG_PmR7ANe_mDQe3CY3FFvC_ilxjyxiaGFyPGwgXD_6rrgK46ePR8fl-C-DPulPa/s1280/animal-pet-cute-fur-137049.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="1280" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglrJWrUhz1O_PwCsh-k0GaX_Rgglcc5BDov_006vCO9gJRLl9auZZVui1nTHV9oN0EhJT1gG_PmR7ANe_mDQe3CY3FFvC_ilxjyxiaGFyPGwgXD_6rrgK46ePR8fl-C-DPulPa/w640-h360/animal-pet-cute-fur-137049.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div>At the <b>General Book Fair of 2014</b>, and again in<b> 2019</b>, people overwhelmingly chose to buy fiction titles. But now that we have a mortal crisis, people are clamouring for non-fiction titles to help them understand, manage, and cope. But the non-fiction titles are naturally out of stock because <span><a name='more'></a></span></div><ol><li>the merchant was remarkably successful at selling the fiction titles</li><li>he wasn’t making any money on the non-fiction titles</li><li>he decided people don’t need or read non-fiction anymore </li><li>he lied that he’s the author of the fiction titles</li></ol><div>Here’s a list of fiction titles that have become bestsellers since 2014:</div><div><br /></div><div><i>Indian Jans and the Temple of Lotus Bloom</i><i><br /></i></div><div><i>I Love You, O Nation, Blindly</i></div><div><div><i>A Passage to Akhand India</i></div></div><div><i>Letters from a Prisoner to the British Raj</i></div><i>Pride, Prejudice, and Parampara<br />The Small Pecker Syndrome<br />Fahrenheit 370<br />Lyncher in the Rai<br /></i><div><i>To Kill a Muscleman</i></div><div><i>Bharat Mehta, Killjoy!<br /></i></div><i>Angels and Demonetization<br /></i><br /><div>Here’s a list of non-fiction titles they should have bought instead:</div><div><br /></div><i><a href="https://www.amazon.in/Constitution-Annexures-Kashmir-Reorganisation-Schedules/dp/B0816WVMLR/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=The+Constitution+of+India+Bare+Act+with+Schedules+2020&qid=1591683625&s=books&sr=1-1" target="_blank">The Constitution of India Bare Act with Schedules 2020</a><br /><a href="https://www.amazon.in/Men-Explain-Things-Me-Essays-ebook/dp/B00TILS7PM/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=Men+Explain+Things+to+Me+and+Other+Essays&qid=1591683664&s=books&sr=1-1" target="_blank">Men Explain Things to Me and Other Essays</a><br /><a href="https://www.amazon.in/Identity-Economics-Identities-Shape-Well-Being/dp/0691152551/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=Identity+Economics&qid=1591683699&s=books&sr=1-1">Identity Economics</a><br /><a href="https://www.amazon.in/Do-We-Care-Indias-Health/dp/0199469547/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=Do+We+Care%3A+India%E2%80%99s+Health+System&qid=1591683733&s=books&sr=1-1" target="_blank">Do We Care: India’s Health System</a><br /><a href="https://www.amazon.in/Health-Care-Reforms-India-Decades/dp/8131243346/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=Health+Care+Reforms+in+India%3A+Making+up+for+the+Lost+Decades&qid=1591683762&s=books&sr=1-1" target="_blank">Health Care Reforms in India: Making up for the Lost Decades</a><br /><a href="https://www.amazon.in/Indian-Higher-Education-Envisioning-Future/dp/8178299410/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=Indian+Higher+Education+pawan+agarwal&qid=1591683813&s=books&sr=1-1" target="_blank">Indian Higher Education: Envisioning the Future</a><br /><a href="https://www.amazon.in/Pivotal-Issues-Indian-Education-Mondal/dp/9351282597/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=Pivotal+Issues+in+Indian+Education&qid=1591683897&s=books&sr=1-1" target="_blank">Pivotal Issues in Indian Education</a><br /><a href="https://www.amazon.in/Fanatical-Schemes-Proslavery-Rhetoric-Consensus-ebook/dp/B008D3BBIG/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=Fanatical+Schemes%3A+Proslavery+Rhetoric+and+the+Tragedy+of+Consensus&qid=1591683936&s=books&sr=1-1" target="_blank">Fanatical Schemes: Proslavery Rhetoric and the Tragedy of Consensus</a><br /><a href="https://www.amazon.in/Demagogue-Fight-Democracy-Worst-Enemies/dp/0230606245/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=Demagogue%3A+The+Fight+to+Save+Democracy+from+Its+Worst+Enemies&qid=1591683962&s=books&sr=1-1" target="_blank">Demagogue: The Fight to Save Democracy from Its Worst Enemies</a><br /></i><br />If you were one of the millions who bought into the fiction oversell and are regretting now, here’s an excellent non-fiction recommendation: <a href="https://www.amazon.in/Intelligence-Trap-people-stupid-decisions/dp/1529311438/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=the+intelligence+trap&qid=1591684447&s=books&sr=1-1" target="_blank"><i>The Intelligence Trap: Why Smart People Do Stupid Things and How to Make Wiser Decisions</i></a><br /><br /><div>If you’re mad at me for this post, you’re welcome to borrow my copy of <a href="https://www.amazon.in/Subtle-Art-Not-Giving/dp/0062641549/ref=sr_1_1?crid=3S3TSNHR7CKEA&dchild=1&keywords=the+subtle+art+of+not+giving+a+fck&qid=1591683496&s=books&sprefix=the+subtle+art+of%2Cstripbooks%2C355&sr=1-1" target="_blank"><i>The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck</i></a>. <br /></div><div><br /></div><div><div class="level__left">
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<div class="js-copy-attribute-content photo-page__adp-cta__container__attribution"><font size="1">Photo by <b><a href="https://www.pexels.com/@ingewallu?utm_content=attributionCopyText&utm_medium=referral&utm_source=pexels">Inge Wallumrød</a></b> from <b><a href="https://www.pexels.com/photo/animal-pet-cute-fur-137049/?utm_content=attributionCopyText&utm_medium=referral&utm_source=pexels">Pexels</a></b></font></div>
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</div></div><br />Anupam Choudhuryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05856337600956412803noreply@blogger.com0India20.593684 78.96288-7.7165498361788458 43.80663 48.903917836178849 114.11913tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5912645.post-38093183235398821392020-06-03T10:17:00.004+05:302020-06-13T08:42:32.043+05:30"I Can't Breathe"<div><div class="level__left">
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</div></div><div><br /></div><div>Decades ago, when I was a schoolboy, something had happened that I was reminded of this week. I was at my study table, poring over my textbooks, engrossed, when I was mildly distracted by a tiny black ant. <span><a name='more'></a></span></div><br />The ant was crawling erratically across the flat, off-white, sun mica surface of my table. Maybe it had lost its way, or perhaps it was attracted to minuscule food crumbs lying on the table, I don’t know. But within a split second, almost subconsciously, I pressed the little finger of my left hand and crushed it. And immediately, I was flooded with intense remorse.<br /><br />I felt extreme guilt about the fact that I had thoughtlessly killed a creature that had meant absolutely no harm to me.<br /><br />Thoughts flurried through my heavy head. I had killed bugs before, mosquitoes and the like. I had even gotten rid of garden snails. But what shocked me in this instance was the casual, aimless, thoughtless way in which I did it. It served absolutely no purpose! In that instant, I was faced with the gargantuan, monstrous power we humans wield over other species.<br /><br /><i>I killed the ant because it could not fight back, it was smaller and weaker than me, it was no match for my physical and systemic strengths.<br /><br />I killed the ant because it had been programmed into me, somewhere deep within, that ants can be a “nuisance”, and, therefore, can/should be exterminated. <br /><br />Because of their nuisance value to humans, their slaughter isn’t something I needed to feel guilty about.</i><br /><br /><b><i>I killed the ant because I could. Easily. </i></b><br /><br />I am a non-vegetarian. I eat meat, which comes from animals and birds that are killed. But even there, there’s a “food argument” that I hold in regard. There was no food argument in the ant’s death. It died because, well, there’s no good reason, really. <br /><br />What does it say about me when I can devalue a life to the extent that I can extinguish it—casually, free of guilt, purposelessly—and carry on with my business?<br /><br />Coming back to the events of the past week, no one’s saying “all lives don’t matter” or “all lives don’t matter equally”. But Black Lives Matter because they are the ants in the story of America, not the various shades of brown, and certainly not any shade of white. Only they are picked on like black ants on the flat, white terrain of American society. And only they get crushed effortlessly, casually, guilt-free, without consequence, and with the full sanction of the law. What does that say about America? <br /><br />As for the Indian society, let’s not deny that we’ve always had our own black ants: Dalits and Adivasis. They can’t even grow a moustache without getting lynched.<br />Anupam Choudhuryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05856337600956412803noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5912645.post-66121548207493507702020-05-29T10:57:00.002+05:302020-06-13T08:42:56.700+05:30I Miss Neighbourhoods<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPqnlhyphenhyphenOd748qPTf070qBW82mVAVyTo9nCw-lVmhEFGBF2kx-Vtb3NetoFXh4Ru4WqXWPPr7oYCGrPeDbdveuDU9PLuWIhI2C57FDApC8EBIoTUfKngmyFX5rAOCX0UB3WDriI/" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1279" data-original-width="1920" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPqnlhyphenhyphenOd748qPTf070qBW82mVAVyTo9nCw-lVmhEFGBF2kx-Vtb3NetoFXh4Ru4WqXWPPr7oYCGrPeDbdveuDU9PLuWIhI2C57FDApC8EBIoTUfKngmyFX5rAOCX0UB3WDriI/w640-h426/children-1639420_1920.jpg" title="Image by <a href="https://pixabay.com/users/cocoparisienne-127419/?utm_source=link-attribution&amp;utm_medium=referral&amp;utm_campaign=image&amp;utm_content=1639420">Anja🤗#helpinghands #solidarity#stays healthy🙏</a> from <a href="https://pixabay.com/?utm_source=link-attribution&amp;utm_medium=referral&amp;utm_campaign=image&amp;utm_content=1639420">Pixabay</a>" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><font size="4">I miss neighbourhoods ... where you could just pop into a friend's house uninvited, to chit chat or eat or drink something, or just yell your friend's name from outside his house, waiting for him to come out so that you can go to play, or gossip about another friend or talk random shit, <span><a name='more'></a></span>or go for a walk, all the while talking animatedly about something that was the most important thing for you then, or go to another friend's place and yell out his name, maybe plead to his mom to let him come out to play, and walk down to the neighbourhood wall or tree or playground, where you could sit, chat, horse around, or play cricket, or just fling stones, trying to out-throw each other. I miss the neighbourhoods where the doors were always open so that your neighbours could walk in anytime they wanted, to borrow stuff, or just gossip, or ask for help, or have chai, or watch TV together, or discuss the morning's news or argue about things of national importance, and you tolerated each others' quirks because you depended on your neighbours for so many things, from sugar to kerosene to sympathy to emergency help, because systems were broke, technology was basic, governments were poor, people were poorer, and books were valuable, and reading books gave far more bragging rights than owning them. Today's irony is that we have become richer, faster, more powerful, more connected, have better technologies, medical facilities, more armies, weapons, fighter planes, warships, nationalism, cows, gods, religions, temples, churches, mosques, people, entertainment, buildings, vehicles, air conditioners ... yet a virus has beaten us back into our caves. And now we're craving real human interface more than ever. Neighbourhoods changed long ago. If we didn't pop into our neighbour's house uninvited before, now it's impossible. And for all practical purposes, it looks like WhatsApp friends groups are the only neighbourhoods left where you can go and shout out your friend's name, or nick name, like "<i>kauwwe</i>" or "<i>haddi</i>", without feeling judged, or feeling embarrassed, if he called back using your nick name, like "<i>chokkhe</i>" or "<i>pumpum</i>".</font><br /></div>Anupam Choudhuryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05856337600956412803noreply@blogger.com2India20.593684 78.96288-19.012197537062793 8.6503799999999984 60.199565537062796 149.27537999999998tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5912645.post-29322010828530781042020-04-22T09:40:00.001+05:302020-06-13T08:43:46.035+05:30The Social Distance<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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“Stop tossing and turning, Radha. Your bangles are making hell of a racket!”<br />
<br />
“Sorry …”<br />
<br />
“Ever since the lockdown began, you’ve not been sleeping well. And neither are you letting me.”<br />
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“I can’t! I’m worried.”<br />
<br />
“What are you worried about? We’re healthy and fine. The children are fine.”<br />
<br />
“Jobs … savings … We’ve been saving up for a house. And this past month, we’ve only been spending. Food, fees, electricity, rent, mobile. And your factory is shut …”<br />
<br />
“I got my salary for this month. So did you. Don’t worry, it’ll be fine.”<br />
<br />
“But for how long? My uncle in Rewari—his son Vinod’s factory shut down.”<br />
<br />
“Oh! How come?”<br />
<br />
“The owner said he has run out of money … bankrupt. Vinod doesn’t have a job to go back to. What if your owner does the same, Mahesh?”<br />
<br />
“Hmm … I don’t know … How long can he keep paying the salaries of three hundred people? Nothing’s selling, nothing’s moving.”<br />
<br />
“If they extend the lockdown, how long will our savings last?”<br />
<br />
“How can I tell? We’ll cut back. Ask the landlord to defer the rent. Worse comes to worst, we’ll go back. At least we can eat what we can grow.”<br />
<br />
“Tch! The big people brought this disease from abroad and the poor are sinking deeper.”<br />
<br />
“We’re all in this together, Radha. Big, small, employees, employers. Everyone’s human. They too have problems and limitations.”<br />
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“Hmm. It is what it is. Can’t blame anyone, really. My didis are very nice. They love me a lot. Can’t wait for this lockdown to get over tomorrow!”<br />
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“Enough chit chat. Wake up the kids—the tanks won’t fill by themselves. And switch off the damn cooler! Bloody wasting electricity till 6 am.”<br />
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“Wake up, Anuj! We overslept!”<br />
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“What time is it?”<br />
<br />
“It’s 8.30! Your meeting begins in an hour and mine’s at 10. I can’t be late today.”<br />
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“Don’t switch off the AC. And give me some chai, Bhavu sweetheart.”<br />
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“Make it yourself. And for god’s sake, wear at least jeans today.”<br />
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“Yeah, yeah, right after I do the dishes.”<br />
<br />
“You please do the dishes first! Only then I’ll mop the floor and make breakfast.”<br />
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“Oho, I know. Can’t wait for the lockdown to get over tomorrow. I think I need Radha more than you.”<br />
<br />
“Very funny. But Anuj, I’ve been thinking—the virus isn’t dying tomorrow. I’m not sure Radha should join back.”<br />
<br />
“You’re saying that?”<br />
<br />
“I mean, you know, they live in a congested slum. God only knows their hygiene. Who touches whom and what. I don’t want the virus in our house!”<br />
<br />
“Hmm … Okay. But we’ll still have to pay their salary. Tch! Can Radha cook too?”<br />
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“What? No! Misha lets her help both clean and cook. Can you believe it? So unhygienic!”<br />
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“I’m sure she washes her hands.”<br />
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“But still, you know, it’s wrong. On top of that, she’s not a Hindu. I wonder what Misha’s mom-in-law thinks.”<br />
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“Gaurav told me she’s an amazing cook. Makes great non-veg.”<br />
<br />
“So, what if she’s a good cook? I would never allow that.”<br />
<br />
“Yeah, whatever. Hey, how about biryani for lunch?”<br />
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“Yes, let’s do that! Order from Nizam’s. The kids love it.”<br />
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“Okay. Hey, don’t wake them up yet. They look so innocent!”<br />
</div><div class="o9v6fnle cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x c1et5uql ii04i59q"><br /></div><div class="o9v6fnle cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x c1et5uql ii04i59q"><font size="1"><span class="attribution_field hide-sm hide-md">Image by <a href="https://pixabay.com/users/haalkab-3086546/?utm_source=link-attribution&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=image&utm_content=1587863">Omar González</a> from <a href="https://pixabay.com/?utm_source=link-attribution&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=image&utm_content=1587863">Pixabay</a></span></font>
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Anupam Choudhuryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05856337600956412803noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5912645.post-87665036298598183042019-09-02T07:15:00.001+05:302020-06-13T08:45:24.845+05:30Faith versus Religion: How to Tell Them Apart<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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</ul></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOMqeVfQ2RDQpn1h7pJsRfpnwwtEUO8SqvfovNTDLucbRuIqOQiWsvQ4-L7OR4AWGz1MrpHlEsE0dFKAnlXPI_KKad4EYOg_bFLLt2mdnK9TSgmqAuvm7bZamt2q1V7DZR5c6j/s4608/20200119_113722.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2592" data-original-width="4608" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOMqeVfQ2RDQpn1h7pJsRfpnwwtEUO8SqvfovNTDLucbRuIqOQiWsvQ4-L7OR4AWGz1MrpHlEsE0dFKAnlXPI_KKad4EYOg_bFLLt2mdnK9TSgmqAuvm7bZamt2q1V7DZR5c6j/w640-h360/20200119_113722.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br /></div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"> <ul style="text-align: left;"><li>Faith will tell you that there is a god. Religion will tell you his
name, address, contact details, food choices, fashion tastes, gender,
and pet peeves.</li>
<li>Faith tells you
that your prayer will be answered. Religion tells you that your prayer
will be answered only when you have performed a-b-c acts, donated x amount
of food, clothes and money to the institution, and prologued and
epilogued your prayers with these specific sounds.<a name='more'></a></li>
<li> Faith tells you to believe in humanity. Religion tells you to believe in community.</li>
<li> Faith tells you to lay down your beliefs to save lives. Religion tells you lay down your lives to save your beliefs.</li>
<li> Faith tells you to stay simple. Religion tells you that the more complex things are the more they are respected.</li>
<li>
Faith tells you that you have a direct connect with almighty. Religion
tells you that you can contact god only through agents, brokers and
fixers.</li>
<li> Faith tells you that even if you don’t believe in god,
have faith, things will work out. Religion tells you that if you do not
believe in god—in a god who has been prescribed—you will be proscribed.</li>
<li>Faith is a solo activity. Religion requires the involvement of agents, intermediaries, and translators. </li>
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Anupam Choudhuryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05856337600956412803noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5912645.post-36134904165989941622019-07-18T19:09:00.004+05:302020-06-13T08:48:45.954+05:30Unfamiliar Entertainment<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span data-offset-key="ebt40-0-0"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjamnNIyGeZzZTvljO4GvON28sBzMOO1JGsB4VflL7P9PvQr4-1tJ4C1oh1ACODw7n4UUS5ZJRGqtefY7GP1uGopTh4aYPPBy46ErPrkeiCrjqf_PVrpoSm_jT9paazJJTnA6cB/s4096/IMG_20170221_151158.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Toilet stalls urinals (c) Anupam Choudhury" border="0" data-original-height="2304" data-original-width="4096" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjamnNIyGeZzZTvljO4GvON28sBzMOO1JGsB4VflL7P9PvQr4-1tJ4C1oh1ACODw7n4UUS5ZJRGqtefY7GP1uGopTh4aYPPBy46ErPrkeiCrjqf_PVrpoSm_jT9paazJJTnA6cB/w640-h360/IMG_20170221_151158.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><span data-text="true"><br /></span></span></div><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="ebt40-0-0"><span data-offset-key="ebt40-0-0"><span data-text="true">Before Netflix and Amazon Prime, before YouTube, before even cable TV, Indians' choice in television entertainment was limited. Severely limited. To two: Doordarshan and DD Metro. And before that, just one: DD. </span></span></div>
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<span data-offset-key="c11rq-0-0"><span data-text="true">ALL Indians (who could afford a TV and had electricity) watched the same programme at the same time across the country. </span></span></div>
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<span data-offset-key="2q3ph-0-0"><span data-text="true">So, basically, everybody had the same thing to discuss the next day. All adults had the same news and family dramas to analyze. All children had the same cartoons and kids shows to play act. </span></span></div>
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<span data-offset-key="6noj9-0-0"><span data-text="true">I suspect that this lead to a communal sharing of experiences that brought people together. From a social perspective, perhaps there was some merit in this lack of options. </span></span></div>
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<span data-offset-key="j70q-0-0"><span data-text="true">Television was like going to the amusement park together; like going to a diner and sitting at the same table eating the same food.</span></span></div>
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<span data-offset-key="fcsiv-0-0"><span data-text="true">Everyone's always been different, but a kind of uniformity was imposed. I feel that people then tolerated each other much better since they had the same experiences and always had something to talk about. </span></span></div>
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<span data-offset-key="au4to-0-0"><span data-text="true">Now we have more than we can handle, more than we need, more than we ever desired. And yet, we've never had so much FOMO. </span></span></div>
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<span data-offset-key="ce2ts-0-0"><span data-text="true">Someone's watching Comicstaan and someone's watching Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee. Some watch Fleabag and others, Narcos. There are so many cricket matches that even cricket fans have to skip some. </span></span></div>
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<span data-offset-key="1ji3t-0-0"><span data-text="true">You meet your friends, but because you're different people, your taste in entertainment is different, and you end up talking about the weather and the state of the economy in vague terms. (Unless it's something as wildly popular as Game of Thrones.) </span></span></div>
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<span data-offset-key="dsspr-0-0"><span data-text="true">Families are split: father, mother, daughter, dog, each has their own preference. Out comes the smartphone and out goes family time. Now we go to the same restaurant but sit on separate tables. We don't even go to the same amusement park anymore.</span></span></div>
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<span data-offset-key="45fk1-0-0"><span data-text="true">I guess the jury is still out on whether we've lost something valuable in gaining options.</span></span></div>
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Anupam Choudhuryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05856337600956412803noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5912645.post-33341857953015743542019-06-23T11:23:00.004+05:302019-08-07T20:25:44.128+05:30Why People Are the Next Big Tech<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrw6MqZ1tb6i_t0e3CTCWm839T6cLOgYp1XltjvOVZRMnP-0CuTSNq-ZWuy7vC2yk7pfGcw12p5s5vjvR7y6MMy04GyXIwpy1uSnzup8YBg-YwD_DeBKOL9RDew_6fihSO7BiP/s1600/StockSnap_fingers.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrw6MqZ1tb6i_t0e3CTCWm839T6cLOgYp1XltjvOVZRMnP-0CuTSNq-ZWuy7vC2yk7pfGcw12p5s5vjvR7y6MMy04GyXIwpy1uSnzup8YBg-YwD_DeBKOL9RDew_6fihSO7BiP/s640/StockSnap_fingers.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><br />
<h2 style="text-align: left;">Our age is swamped with technology. </h2><div><br />
</div>From robotics to smartphones; from e-rickshaws to international space stations; from CRSPR-Cas9 to Solid State Drives. <b>Human ingenuity and science are being rapidly encapsulated in complex algorithms and packaged into dense devices and executive routines.</b> Governments and corporations are ramping up R&D budgets to create or acquire the next big technology, like with AI, Data Science, and Machine Learning.<br />
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Generally, a tech becomes <b>Big Tech</b> when it gives its possessor considerable <i>competitive advantage over its rivals or power to influence society</i>. Cutting-edge semiconductor design is one such thing, and smartphone makers are constantly pitted against each other in this regard.<br />
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</h3><h3 style="text-align: left;">I propose that people are the next Big Tech.</h3><i><br />
</i> <i>It is time to stop seeing employees as employees and start looking at them as creators. </i>They create value. And they create that in myriad ways—as innovators, as customers, as educators, as thinkers, as leaders, as mentors, as opinion-makers, as decision-makers. Looking at employees as mere cogs in the wheel is failing to derive that value to the fullest extent.<br />
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</h3><h3 style="text-align: left;">We must recognize the fact that organizations do not just provide products and services to society; they also provide citizens. </h3><blockquote class="tr_bq"><span style="font-size: large;">Organizations should never underestimate the impact that they have on people beyond their workplace and how they can influence the general level of happiness in society. </span></blockquote>Everybody works somewhere, often for most of their lives, and it is my contention that they derive a lot of their understanding about their fellow citizens from their workplace.<br />
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</h3><h3 style="text-align: left;">Their ideas of what is fair and what is not, what is kind and what is not, what is profit and what is not, what is a useful activity and what is not are strongly influenced by organizational culture and the behavior of their coworkers.</h3><br />
I believe that organizations—both corporate and non-corporate—that can re-frame their understanding of people as <i>something more than just employees-on-the-rolls</i> will be able to create a massive competitive edge over their rivals.<br />
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I must add here that what I'm proposing is just the opposite of looking at employees as automatons. Automatons cannot think, feel, and express the way human beings can. That is the main USP of people. Yes, maybe one day Artificial Intelligence will become wholly human in that sense, but when that happens, we will have to address yet another debate on what it means to be human. So, we'll set that aside for the moment.<br />
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Currently (and in the near future at least) society is going to be by the people and for the people. <b>People will continue create value that will be consumed by other people</b>. Even if people work for animal rights and earth rights, they have the ultimate interest of mankind in their heart.<br />
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</h3><h3 style="text-align: left;">After all, in the long run, disappearing species and climate change are bad news for humans.</h3><br />
If we look at the various competitive advantages that an organization can have, be it strong R&D, great IPs, sales and distribution channels, cost/volume advantage, excellent management, superior processes—all have human beings behind them.<b> It is the people who think and plan and execute these competitive advantages.</b> So, it logically follows that what we really need to do is have the best people on board.<br />
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That is a foregone conclusion that management literature already acknowledges and promotes. But what is important is that we not only look at exceptional individuals as targets of acquisition, but also look at creating and nurturing those exceptional individuals within the ecosystem of the organization or society.<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq"><span style="font-size: large;">While it is important to get great people to work with you, it is more important to ensure that they do not become secondary to the technology or systems or processes that they are working on.</span></blockquote><b>Systems will come and go. They have their use-by dates. </b>But people as both the creators and consumers of systems have the infinite flexibility and intellectual capacity to create something that better serves the society. And as a society or an organization, this is where the o<b>rganizational culture and ethics need to be frame-worked</b> so that people's efforts are directed towards creating positive value (even while disrupting existing systems).<br />
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</h3><h3 style="text-align: left;">How can societies do that? </h3><br />
By investing in education, rights, and healthcare (both physical and mental). The difference between the research output of less-developed and developed nations is because in less-developed nations, people spend more of their energies in surviving. They do not have the luxury or the time to think big. <i>They're often not encouraged to think different.</i> Fragile ecosystems naturally elicit such a response. In developed nations, leisure and luxury contribute to the urge to innovate. It is a virtuous cycle.<br />
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Similarly, organizations that want to create a competitive edge through its employees should create an ecosystem where their innate creativity can be unleashed in a methodical way.<br />
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</h2><h2 style="text-align: left;">Redefine your offering as a product of creativity rather than a product of repetition. Reveal the values created by employees. </h2><h3 style="text-align: left;"><br />
</h3><h3 style="text-align: left;">Wean yourself away from the thought that what you sell in the market is your primary offering. </h3><blockquote class="tr_bq"><span style="font-size: large;">Do you have efficient systems? Do you have cost-effective processes? Do you have a healthy work environment? Do you have a proactive innovation culture? Do you invest enough in learning and development? Do you provide family-care support? Do you allow employees to work without fear and prejudice?</span></blockquote>Many organizations are already doing these things, but with the end goal as product/service sales in mind. That is the mindset that I think needs to change. <b>Employees are also consumers.</b> If we <b>re-frame our employees as the main offering</b>, then I'm sure that organizations (that is, basically, people) can come up with various ways in which this offering can be the best for all consumers. Just like a smartphone maker would design a product with the best features for its consumers, can you <b>instead ‘design’ employees that can be the best people who can work with you?</b><br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq"><span style="font-size: large;">People as the main offering means that these people will design the products, services, technologies, processes, or virtually everything that will bring in your revenues. It also means that you must do everything that will result in your organization having better people than your rivals. </span></blockquote>This idea as employees as being the main product/service/offering/tech is still in its infancy in my mind, but I believe that there is much to think about in this direction. How will organizations of the future be designed? How would hiring and compensation change to accommodate these changes? What would it mean to be a stakeholder? And much much more…<br />
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</div>Anupam Choudhuryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05856337600956412803noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5912645.post-36132195612410084932019-05-25T11:49:00.003+05:302020-06-13T08:55:41.234+05:30Narendra Modi, The Iconoclast<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-size: large;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjp06lVq9eHNMAHp0Q1SkH3Gq5yHFeLDNMWO8wo02Q_08EsIEclYbegkD6LWVRtifa7HAetH7DEnbxs3wWow7mwciDMIkBuxGyVVnSzsdAm4YrrRtJSamnEO-zXEhJl5BBhZtM/s1920/Narendra-Modi-HD-Wallpaper-01843.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1250" data-original-width="1920" height="416" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjp06lVq9eHNMAHp0Q1SkH3Gq5yHFeLDNMWO8wo02Q_08EsIEclYbegkD6LWVRtifa7HAetH7DEnbxs3wWow7mwciDMIkBuxGyVVnSzsdAm4YrrRtJSamnEO-zXEhJl5BBhZtM/w640-h416/Narendra-Modi-HD-Wallpaper-01843.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>The Modi era may give rise to a new crop of citizens who are unafraid to question the sacred.</span></blockquote>
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<b>I went looking for a silver lining, and I think I might have found one.</b><br />
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<i>iconoclast (noun): a person who criticizes popular beliefs or established customs and ideas. Origin: mid 17th cent. (originally referring to someone who destroyed images used in religious worship): via medieval Latin from ecclesiastical Greek eikonoklastēs, from eikōn ‘likeness’ + klan ‘to break’.<span><a name='more'></a></span></i><br />
Given the Hindutva credentials of Narendra Modi, it would seem odd that I'm calling him an iconoclast. But I'm not referring to Modi, the individual, and I'm definitely not talking about destruction of religious images.<br />
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I see Narendra Modi as a conglomeration of ideas and influences, from the right wing to the non-elite. In the longer term picture of India, Modi is a phenomenon, an event that has become an inflection point in our history.<br />
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This inflection is such that it has massively disoriented the leftists, the liberals, and the intelligentsia. Everything these groups held sacred is being challenged, questioned, insulted. And this is where I see the silver lining: the courage to challenge the established and entrenched—things that are held as sacred by the rulers, the privileged, and the gatekeepers.<br />
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I have a problem with anything that is held as sacred. I have a problem with that word. It comes with the implicit condition that there must be a blind, unquestioning deference to that which is sacred. I find that a constriction on my intellectual freedom. I prefer 'useful' or 'important' or 'paramount' over 'sacred'.<br />
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I understand why anyone would like to convert something to sacred. You've got a good thing going—it may be a deity or a moral or a technique. It has benefited your generation, and maybe even the generations before you. For your own sake and for that of your descendants, you don't want to lose your grip over that flow of benefits.<br />
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You want to discourage anyone from disturbing that flow. You want to prevent people from challenging the primacy of that method or idea, because you're well-versed in it, you're familiar with it, it belongs to you and you belong to it. It defines you, your identity, and your existence. Disturbing the sacred is akin to disturbing your own existence. You will resist it with all your might.<br />
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Even when people tell you that there is another way out there, you will question the fidelity and legitimacy of that way. Even when massive evidence is presented to show how the 'new' is 'better', you will block any attempts to dislodge the sacred.<br />
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If we read enough history, we will find that immutable ideas that were held sacred brought down civilizations and corporations alike. I feel that it is a necessary exercise to occasionally question our deeply held beliefs, to question ourselves and our ways, even if we feel snug in the warm couches of our comfortable lives (meaning even if we feel there's nothing wrong in how we're doing things).<br />
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This exercise will uncover ideas, perspectives, and methods that may, potentially, further benefit the continued existence of our species. Unfortunately, nothing of the sort happens by design. More often than not, it is a voyage, an invasion, a discovery, or a work of art that provides the happenstance that leads to the uncovering of the new and the better.<br />
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Of course, scholarly research is a systematic way to uncover the hidden, but scholars are also prone to holding on to sacred theories. The human species is naturally intelligent but not naturally wise. This exercise may result in social regression in the short to medium term, but the arc of history tells us that human civilization has always taken three steps forward, one step backward.<br />
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What has happened in India? Suddenly, in the last five years, we are hearing a large number of voices questioning the legacy of Mahatma Gandhi. People are labeling him as a villain who ruined India forever. They are deifying Nathuram Godse, Gandhi's assassin. More and more people are accusing Nehru of being a careerist who illegitimately snatched the prime minister's post from Vallabhbhai Patel.<br />
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These things were unthinkable 30 years back. If even now we do not recognize that perhaps there was an overwhelming influence of a single line of thought then we are setting ourselves up for greater disappointment. As distasteful as I may find it, I would not ascribe any value judgement to the act of insulting Gandhi or deifying Godse. People have a right to their opinions and a right to voice it (just don't enter my personal space!).<br />
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I am a great fan of Gandhi. I'm an even greater fan of the values that he propounded—truth and non-violence. Within the limits of my knowledge, my experience, and my learned inclinations, I believe that truth and non-violence have been of great utility to mankind—they have helped us build large-scale economic systems and increase our population (which seems like our only raison d'être).<br />
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But I say we should always ask 'What if?'. What if what has helped us till now is not going to help us in the future? What if our future is in becoming lying, cheating murderers? What if the species will survive only by reducing its numbers? No, I'm not endorsing killing anyone; I'm endorsing such thought experiments.<br />
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I'll also not discount the fact that there may be a central design behind questioning Gandhi—to dislodge left-leaning secular elites or to dislodge a political dynasty. Maybe people are being seduced into delegitimizing Gandhi's legacy. That sounds terrible, but I see (or I hope) that there will be a residual effect of all this iconoclasm.<br />
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Therein lies the real legacy of the Modi era (for me at least!). People will, hopefully, learn to shed the sacred, to question authority, and maybe even to question their own instincts, methods, and incentives. The interesting thing is that it's possible that the beginning of this era has sowed the seeds of its end. The ones who’ve been labelled as 'bhakt' may well turn out to be the shatterers of icons.<br />
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And who can we call the biggest icon of India today?</div>
Anupam Choudhuryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05856337600956412803noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5912645.post-83066735193553819232019-05-24T18:59:00.000+05:302019-06-20T07:40:09.450+05:30The Liberal Fringe: In Today's India and Family WhatsApp Groups<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Oh, how the times have changed!<br />
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There was an age when moderate/liberal/progressive values were so highly regarded that people with such values were looked up to. Around me they were in larger numbers than people on the right of center. Right-wingers and conservatives were usually less educated, belonged to right-wing groups or were highly religious or highly feudal. A right-winger would either mask his inclinations or completely avoid the liberal 'elite'. Usually these two groups did not overlap, so there wasn't much friction. We can even say that people were happy in their own bubbles.<br />
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But now the tables have turned (and overturned). Conservative and right-wing ideologies have made such inroads into the mainstream that it feels like liberals (derisively called 'libtards') and secularists (derisively called 'sickulars') have now become the fringe. But it's not all black and white, cut and dried.<br />
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There are progressive, modern people who voted for a right-wing party thinking that they're choosing a strong leader, decisive economy, and national security. Therefore, they chose to ignore (or downplay or deny) the darker aspects of the party, like sectarian/majoritarian ideology, silent endorsement of hate-speech and violence, polarization and divisiveness, questionable economic performance, etc. They felt it was a fair trade-off.<br />
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Then there are people who voted for the said party for exactly the darker aspects. Then there are people who are kind of bipolar in their views, being progressive and conservative at the same time. Maybe they're just opportunistic. Then there are people who voted for a right-wing party simply because there was no worthwhile alternative -- the centrist parties carry an unsavory baggage of corruption and dynasty.<br />
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So, in effect, in a battle of fascism versus dynasty (the respective negatives of the two sides), fascism won because dynasty just didn't have the bells and whistles that fascism brought along. Of course, it is abundantly clear that not all who voted for a right-wing party are fascists. But based on their best judgement, this was their only choice. That's how people vote anyway -- to the best of their judgement.<br />
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If you're like me, chances are that you're in the minority in your school and family WhatsApp groups. It's a bummer. I avoid responding to right-wing-supporting posts in the fear of upsetting a family member or a childhood friend. In social settings, I'm afraid of being 'outed' as a liberal for the fear of embarrassment and ostracism. I resist all temptation and instigation to reveal my predilection.<br />
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So that's how it is now. Yes, things have changed completely in my forty-two years on Terra. It may not be 1984 yet, but sure is an Animal Farm.</div>
Anupam Choudhuryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05856337600956412803noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5912645.post-48028317993516919532019-05-24T18:48:00.001+05:302019-06-20T07:40:27.664+05:30It's Time to Thank God—And Make Some Changes<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
I guess it's time I thanked God for sending me down as an upper caste Hindu male. Now, if only I could also pretend that I hate minorities and find gau mutra delicious—that'd set me up nicely for the next quarter century or so. I hope I'm able to coz I've heard terrible things about concentration camps.<br />
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I'll learn to hate books and love TikTok. I was never very good at history, but I can discard the sense of it too. I'll add more saffron to my diet—I've heard it's an aphrodisiac. I'll bench-press my way to a 56" chest. Instead of just keeping it in my heart, I'll broadcast my love for my nation. I'll add government-mandated prefixes to my Twitter handle. I'll take up vegetarianism seriously (goats and chicken may become deities soon). I'll hire an ad agency to market myself. I'll learn how to troll effectively and deflect logical reasoning. I'll attach a pair of blinkers to my eyes.<br />
<br />
Being a minority in a minority-hating nation sucks. So while I won't be able to give up independent thinking fully, I'll pretend hard that I'm fully integrated with the hive. That'll be my sacrifice on the altar of democracy. Cheers to the good days ahead!<br />
<br />
#bmkj</div>
Anupam Choudhuryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05856337600956412803noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5912645.post-69700068165892310752019-05-18T17:43:00.000+05:302019-05-28T17:45:31.527+05:30A Strange Encounter: Bin Laden and the Value of Life<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Many years ago, I had an interesting encounter. At my workplace, there was this grumpy young accountant who I rarely interacted with. He wasn't very social, but was professional while being uninviting. He was a north Indian upper-caste guy who religiously performed <i>puja</i> every morning and came to office with a <i>teeka</i> on his forehead.<br />
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<a name='more'></a><br />
It was the day after US government revealed that Osama Bin Laden was captured, killed, and dumped in the ocean. I was at the basin in the men's restroom, when he appeared next to me. Naturally, I avoided eye contact and any unpleasant pleasantries. Out of the blue, the gentleman asked me what I thought of Bin Laden being killed.<br />
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Taken by surprise, I shrugged. I seriously had no idea what his thoughts on the matter were, and I didn't want to get into an argument. I had slotted him as a probable right winger. I guessed he was just going to say something bigoted about a community.<br />
<br />
I mumbled something like I need to find out more about it. And that's it's definitely a big news, etc. etc. To my utter surprise, the gentleman said, '<i>Ye galat hua. Agar aap jaan de nahin sakte toh jaan lena bhi nahin chahiye</i> (This was wrong. If you can't give life, you have no right to take it.)'<br />
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I left the restroom agreeing with him and developing a mild admiration for him for his anti-capital punishment stand. Looking back now, I can see that the gentleman was even more religious than I thought he was. I can imagine now how he would conflate capital punishment and abortion.</div>
Anupam Choudhuryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05856337600956412803noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5912645.post-61800557762867140112019-05-09T11:10:00.000+05:302019-05-10T11:12:14.011+05:30Nature's Wrecking Ball: Cyclone Fani and Its Aftermath<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
It's a Monday evening in Delhi. The ugly, white-LED lights that show you the way while you drive back home don't soothe your discomfort at being stuck in traffic. But they're comforting in their predictability; they signal that you'll be back to the cool comfort of your air-conditioned home.<br />
<br />
<a name='more'></a><br /><br />
I'm currently sitting in a comfortable room, after having evening tea and snacks. I'm feeling neither hot nor cold; hungry nor thirsty. Meanwhile, on the eastern edge of the subcontinent, my family has been in dark for three days now.<br />
<br />
Cyclone Fani seems to have taken the state of Odisha 30 years back in time when frequent load-shedding was the norm and fuel supply was iffy. But while people then had workarounds to these problems -- lanterns, candles, <i>chulha</i>s, hand-pumps, etc. -- people now were unprepared for a prolonged 'siege'.<br />
<br />
My parents have a generator that they can use sparingly. Petrol pumps are crowded, so fuel supply is uncertain, for vehicles as well as generators. So self-rationing is a must. Submersible pump conked off and had to be repaired. Now they get some water when they run the genny.<br />
<br />
Apparently, Good Samaritans (or entrepreneurs) are going around renting out generators on a per-hour basis to charge phones and run motors, etc.<br />
<br />
People are coming to my parents' place asking for drinking water and for their phones to be charged. That's the least you can do to help fellow sufferers.<br />
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For the first time in many many years, lanterns are lit at night, candles are aflame, hand fans are swinging, and my family is having to sleep at night without a fan in the humid heat of summertime Bhubaneswar.<br />
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It reminds me of my childhood, in my village and in Bhubaneswar, when this was frequent. And like everything childhood, there's a certain romanticism that I feel about it. But you know what, it's fun to chit-chat with family in the light of a lantern, with no smartphone to distract you, but everything else is no fun at all.<br />
<br />
The city of Bhubaneswar looks like a war zone. Vegetation has been stripped off of leaves or uprooted or snapped. It will take decades to restore all that. With the trees gone, people are already worried about how hot the city will become in the coming months.<br />
<br />
Hoardings, facades, kiosks, roadside shops, huts, all blown away and strewn all over the city. The place is heartrendingly unrecognizable. The worst sufferers are of course the poor. They'll have to rebuild everything from scratch. But I feel they're a resilient lot. They're not bogged down by a sense of entitlement. I hope the government and others give them a leg up.<br />
<br />
Phone lines are getting restored. Hopefully electricity supply will be back on soon. But this is a time of adversity for all those who have been affected. Adversity that affects an entire community has a way of bringing the best or the worst out of people. From my mom's voice, I get a feeling it is the best.</div>
Anupam Choudhuryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05856337600956412803noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5912645.post-31567761463373978192019-05-05T11:07:00.000+05:302019-05-10T11:12:03.456+05:30When Disaster Strikes: Cyclone Fani<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
One cannot imagine the enormity of a natural disaster if one hasn't been in it. So it is difficult for me, or anyone who wasn't there, to fully empathise with the millions of Odias who were battered by 200 kilometres-per-hour-plus winds of Cyclone Fani, which has been categorised as Extremely Severe Cyclonic Storm.<br />
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<br />
Here's the Tropical Cyclone Intensity Scale:<br />
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<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li>Super Cyclonic Storm: ≥221 km/h</li>
<li>Extremely Severe Cyclonic Storm: 166–220 km/h</li>
<li>Very Severe Cyclonic Storm: 118–165 km/h</li>
<li>Severe Cyclonic Storm: 89–117 km/h</li>
<li>Cyclonic Storm: 63–88 km/h</li>
</ul>
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<br />
When winds, accompanied by rain water, hit things at that speed, trees snap, roofs get blown away, vehicles overturn, massive waves called storm surges flood inland destroying houses, boats, farmlands -- it's just like they show in Hollywood movies, but real. Unless prepared, it can lead to massive loss of human and animal lives. Loss of trees and forests is a given.<br />
<br />
The energy released by a cyclone is equivalent to thousands of nuclear bombs. If you were to stand outside resisting that kind of wind, well, you won't be standing; you'll be kicked around the ground like tumbleweed. And you don't want to experience raindrops hitting your face at 200 km/h! The rain hitting your house at that speed is so relentless that it seeps inside through nooks and crannies that you never thought existed.<br />
<br />
Fani has left a trail of disaster in its wake. Cities like Puri and Bhubaneswar are in shambles. Fallen trees blocking roads, kuchcha houses blown away. Tin, tile, thatch roofs are mostly gone. Billboards, cranes, false ceilings, glass panes, aluminium facades ... all blown away.<br />
<br />
My family back home in Bhubaneswar has been without electricity, water, internet or a working telephone connection for more than 24 hours now. (But they got a message through to me that they're safe.) I hope they've been able to run the generator though.<br />
<br />
The Super Cyclone of 1999 was the worst ever (winds in the range of 300 km/h). And we were caught so unprepared that more than 10,000 people were killed. It was a human disaster of an epic scale. That triggered a massive upskilling of the Odisha Government and upgrading of cyclone-relief infrastructure. There is a system in place for prediction, tracking, communication, logistics, protection, shelter, food, water, and post-cyclone restoration. The establishment of the National Disaster Relief Force in 2005 has helped too. And that has ensured that Cyclone Phailin and Fani have had minimal impact in terms of human lives lost. But still, around 8 people have died, according to the last received reports. I wish they could have been saved. But I'm happy that millions were.<br />
<br />
And because of the preparedness, the state will get back on track soon enough. People will rebuild their lives. Hopefully those who have lost property, homes, etc., will get some state support. What worries me most is that the frequency of such cyclones is increasing. Fani, Phailin, Hudhud, Titli, Gaja ... I'm forced to say that perhaps this is due to climate change.<br />
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I won't like to be identified as a regionalist, but Odisha is where I'm from -- my identity and origin. So I do feel a sense of sadness when I see that a disaster of the scale of Fani doesn't get the kind of coverage on national news media or social media as something like this happening in another state. I know the reasons -- we're few in numbers, with less political, social, and economic clout, and, in this case, because not many human lives were lost. Anyway, all's well if lives are saved!<br />
<br />
Finally, please consider donating towards relief:<br />
<br />
<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li>Chief Minister's Relief Fund: https://cmrfodisha.gov.in/donation/onlinedonation.php</li>
<li>BHIM UPI: odishacmrf.fani@icici</li>
<li>Paytm Helping Odisha Cyclone Relief Fund: https://paytm.com/helpinghand/odisha-cyclone-relief-fund</li>
<li>Action Aid: https://www.actionaidindia.org/cyclone-fani/</li>
</ul>
</div>
Anupam Choudhuryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05856337600956412803noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5912645.post-13663627724563017582019-04-28T11:39:00.002+05:302019-05-10T11:12:47.778+05:302019: A Face Odyssey<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Demagogue-class Castecaster crash-landed on a strange planet in the Tch O-kid ‘ar cluster of stars. I had lost my bearings and the crash had left me badly disoriented. I precariously stumbled out of the craft onto the alien terra firma. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial";"><span style="font-size: 14.6667px; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial";"><span style="font-size: 14.6667px; white-space: pre-wrap;">As far as my eyes could see, the landscape was swathed in eyeball-melting orange. A strange chant reverberated in a loop with unbearable oppressiveness: “dimodimodimodimodimo”. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial";"><span style="font-size: 14.6667px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial";"><span style="font-size: 14.6667px; white-space: pre-wrap;">It was torturing me to the core of my soul! I pressed my palms on my ears and shut my eyes to block it out. But it seemed to seep into every pore of my skin with an inexorable urgency. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial";"><span style="font-size: 14.6667px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial";"><span style="font-size: 14.6667px; white-space: pre-wrap;">Before I knew, I was surrounded by strange creatures with large ears and eyes. Their horn-like appendages were sheathed in shining gold. They forcibly took me to a shed and pushed me on a bed of hay. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial";"><span style="font-size: 14.6667px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial";"><span style="font-size: 14.6667px; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Chew the cud!” they ordered. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial";"><span style="font-size: 14.6667px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial";"><span style="font-size: 14.6667px; white-space: pre-wrap;">“What bull?!” I screamed. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial";"><span style="font-size: 14.6667px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial";"><span style="font-size: 14.6667px; white-space: pre-wrap;">Presently they brought in a yellowish liquid in massive jugs and handed it to me. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial";"><span style="font-size: 14.6667px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial";"><span style="font-size: 14.6667px; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Refreshments,” the stern brown one said. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial";"><span style="font-size: 14.6667px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial";"><span style="font-size: 14.6667px; white-space: pre-wrap;">I said I won't have it. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial";"><span style="font-size: 14.6667px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial";"><span style="font-size: 14.6667px; white-space: pre-wrap;">She yelled, “Moo!” </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial";"><span style="font-size: 14.6667px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial";"><span style="font-size: 14.6667px; white-space: pre-wrap;">I said, “OK! OK!” and slowly began to drink that disgusting liquid that tasted like piss and grass. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial";"><span style="font-size: 14.6667px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial";"><span style="font-size: 14.6667px; white-space: pre-wrap;">I began to choke … I couldn't breathe … I thrashed about … Nooo!!! </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial";"><span style="font-size: 14.6667px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial";"><span style="font-size: 14.6667px; white-space: pre-wrap;">With a start, I woke up, drenched in sweat, heavily panting. What a nightmare! </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial";"><span style="font-size: 14.6667px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial";"><span style="font-size: 14.6667px; white-space: pre-wrap;">Phew! I was still on Earth and the national elections were on.</span></span><br />
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Anupam Choudhuryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05856337600956412803noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5912645.post-5615483832208681912019-04-27T11:20:00.003+05:302019-05-10T11:13:09.465+05:30Invisible Currents in the Ocean of Democracy<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div style="background-color: white; color: #1d2129; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px;">
As far as the eyes can see, there’s a thrashing ocean of blood-red tongues screaming at the top of their voices defending their candidate. It is the roaring forties of representative governance -- the general elections of the world’s largest democracy.<br />
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<div style="background-color: white; color: #1d2129; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; margin-top: 6px;">
Beneath the chaos runs a strong and vast undercurrent of opinions that dare not show its face to the mob above ‘cause tongues easily bully minds into silence, or worse, into humili<span class="text_exposed_show" style="display: inline; font-family: inherit;">ation.</span></div>
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<div style="font-family: inherit; margin-bottom: 6px;">
But that ocean current -- invisible, inaudible, intangible -- is moving with great speed, mixing up the waters of the national ocean, bringing hot to cold and cold to hot, balancing the salinity of emotions, getting ready to throw a bitch-slap of a surprise.</div>
<div style="font-family: inherit; margin-bottom: 6px; margin-top: 6px;">
In human society, it is easy to mistake the audible opinion for the popular one. The key mistake that most people make is not factoring in the silent. The fact is, most people keep their electoral choice to themselves and express it only in ballot. You can even blame them of deception because sometimes they will readily nod in agreement with loud, caustic voices just to avoid confrontation, to remain an insider, to maintain relationships.</div>
<div style="font-family: inherit; margin-bottom: 6px; margin-top: 6px;">
The anonymity of the ballot confers a massive power to the silent undercurrent -- unlike in other forms of government, in a democracy, even the silent can make themselves heard. Right down to the last frail individual, everyone gets to vote their voice. That is the biggest magic of the secret ballot in representative democracy.</div>
<div style="font-family: inherit; margin-bottom: 6px; margin-top: 6px;">
As magic tricks go, the surprise that these diffident individuals can pull out of the ballot box has got to be the most astonishing. They can topple purportedly popular governments, making red-tongues red-faced, demagogues eat humble pie, and psephologists scramble to cover their exposed backsides.</div>
<div style="font-family: inherit; margin-bottom: 6px; margin-top: 6px;">
Will these elections be one that will throw up such a surprise? I don’t know. But I sense a pattern in the silent voices around me -- they seem strategic, devious, like a tiger stalking a prey just to pounce at the right moment. There are thousands of loud voices on the surface. The cacophony this time is full of vileness, hostility, and disgust. The silent ones haven’t got a snowball’s chance in hell on the surface.</div>
<div style="font-family: inherit; margin-bottom: 6px; margin-top: 6px;">
But underneath these waves, I feel millions are waiting quietly. I see many voices go silent suddenly. I see some people staying away from political discussions. I see many opinions diving down and joining the undercurrent. Is a surprise possible? Maybe.</div>
<div style="font-family: inherit; margin-bottom: 6px; margin-top: 6px;">
Or maybe not. But let’s not underestimate the meek. They may end up inheriting the PMO.</div>
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Anupam Choudhuryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05856337600956412803noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5912645.post-12189596709792792472019-04-25T11:00:00.003+05:302020-12-06T18:36:08.341+05:30Teenager Makes Man Molest Her: News from 2084, Issue 7<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhU4sFPGKb4WHlVkPwfSVqqOJu0MwhFb0eQhYC0JiKWAjqNQ47RTMClF8AWqed_b4UfY8ieIe2TYnG-Hs3dhCbmE5S2f_yxijr01DCuAzGbnY1mUSPiFKjiKLFPqQm19prQiYcd/s1280/2084.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="550" data-original-width="1280" height="276" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhU4sFPGKb4WHlVkPwfSVqqOJu0MwhFb0eQhYC0JiKWAjqNQ47RTMClF8AWqed_b4UfY8ieIe2TYnG-Hs3dhCbmE5S2f_yxijr01DCuAzGbnY1mUSPiFKjiKLFPqQm19prQiYcd/w640-h276/2084.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br />★25 April 2084, Staff Reporter, Purushottampur★
<p>In yet another shameful incident, a 15-year-old girl named Kusum Kumari compelled a middle-aged gentleman to molest her. </p><p>The incident took place four days ago but came to light only yesterday after the man's family protested outside Mardnagar police station alleging inaction. We cannot disclose the name of the man to protect his identity. The incident took place around noon on Friday when the man was passing by Kusum's house.
</p><p>Kusum had laid a trap by being at her home with the door open. The victim was lured into the house by the open door. Seeing Kusum at her own home in broad daylight, the victim felt compelled to molest her. He raised an alarm when Kusum resisted him, and was rescued by some men standing outside. Kusum tried to escape from the bathroom window but was caught, beaten up, and handed over to the police.
</p><p>An elderly lady from the neighborhood, on condition of anonymity, said, “Kusum is a known bad character. She frequently stays at home during the day. She had no business keeping her door open. This is how unsuspecting, innocent men are forced into molesting young girls.”
</p><p>Kusum's parents are claiming that at the time of the incident, Kusum wasn't even at home. They're saying that the woman who made the victim molest her was actually their domestic help. The police have filed an FIR against Kusum and are currently questioning the maid. If convicted, Kusum faces life in jail without parole.
</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p>Anupam Choudhuryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05856337600956412803noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5912645.post-67388282781099739052019-04-21T17:39:00.000+05:302019-04-21T17:39:46.716+05:30I Hate<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><span style="color: #202124; font-variant-ligatures: none; letter-spacing: 0.1px; white-space: pre-wrap;">Detestable, to say the least</span><br style="color: #202124; font-variant-ligatures: none; letter-spacing: 0.1px; white-space: pre-wrap;" /><span style="color: #202124; font-variant-ligatures: none; letter-spacing: 0.1px; white-space: pre-wrap;">The things that don't deserve </span><br style="color: #202124; font-variant-ligatures: none; letter-spacing: 0.1px; white-space: pre-wrap;" /><span style="color: #202124; font-variant-ligatures: none; letter-spacing: 0.1px; white-space: pre-wrap;">My respect or my love.</span><br style="color: #202124; font-variant-ligatures: none; letter-spacing: 0.1px; white-space: pre-wrap;" /><span style="color: #202124; font-variant-ligatures: none; letter-spacing: 0.1px; white-space: pre-wrap;">Say, for instance, the sun.</span><br style="color: #202124; font-variant-ligatures: none; letter-spacing: 0.1px; white-space: pre-wrap;" /><br style="color: #202124; font-variant-ligatures: none; letter-spacing: 0.1px; white-space: pre-wrap;" /><span style="color: #202124; font-variant-ligatures: none; letter-spacing: 0.1px; white-space: pre-wrap;">I hate the sun–</span><br style="color: #202124; font-variant-ligatures: none; letter-spacing: 0.1px; white-space: pre-wrap;" /><span style="color: #202124; font-variant-ligatures: none; letter-spacing: 0.1px; white-space: pre-wrap;">It shines bright for all</span><br style="color: #202124; font-variant-ligatures: none; letter-spacing: 0.1px; white-space: pre-wrap;" /><span style="color: #202124; font-variant-ligatures: none; letter-spacing: 0.1px; white-space: pre-wrap;">And doesn't dim itself for the 'others'</span><br style="color: #202124; font-variant-ligatures: none; letter-spacing: 0.1px; white-space: pre-wrap;" /><span style="color: #202124; font-variant-ligatures: none; letter-spacing: 0.1px; white-space: pre-wrap;">Who are not like me.</span></span></span><br />
<a name='more'></a><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br style="color: #202124; font-variant-ligatures: none; letter-spacing: 0.1px; white-space: pre-wrap;" /><span style="color: #202124; font-variant-ligatures: none; letter-spacing: 0.1px; white-space: pre-wrap;">I hate the moon–</span><br style="color: #202124; font-variant-ligatures: none; letter-spacing: 0.1px; white-space: pre-wrap;" /><span style="color: #202124; font-variant-ligatures: none; letter-spacing: 0.1px; white-space: pre-wrap;">It shows the path</span><br style="color: #202124; font-variant-ligatures: none; letter-spacing: 0.1px; white-space: pre-wrap;" /><span style="color: #202124;"><span style="font-variant-ligatures: none; letter-spacing: 0.1px; white-space: pre-wrap;">To all travelers of the night</span></span><br style="color: #202124; font-variant-ligatures: none; letter-spacing: 0.1px; white-space: pre-wrap;" /><span style="color: #202124; font-variant-ligatures: none; letter-spacing: 0.1px; white-space: pre-wrap;">Without checking their caste.</span><br style="color: #202124; font-variant-ligatures: none; letter-spacing: 0.1px; white-space: pre-wrap;" /><br style="color: #202124; font-variant-ligatures: none; letter-spacing: 0.1px; white-space: pre-wrap;" /><span style="color: #202124; font-variant-ligatures: none; letter-spacing: 0.1px; white-space: pre-wrap;">I hate the trees–</span><br style="color: #202124; font-variant-ligatures: none; letter-spacing: 0.1px; white-space: pre-wrap;" /><span style="color: #202124; font-variant-ligatures: none; letter-spacing: 0.1px; white-space: pre-wrap;">They give shade and oxygen–</span><br style="color: #202124; font-variant-ligatures: none; letter-spacing: 0.1px; white-space: pre-wrap;" /><span style="color: #202124; font-variant-ligatures: none; letter-spacing: 0.1px; white-space: pre-wrap;">Equally!–</span><br style="color: #202124; font-variant-ligatures: none; letter-spacing: 0.1px; white-space: pre-wrap;" /><span style="color: #202124; font-variant-ligatures: none; letter-spacing: 0.1px; white-space: pre-wrap;">To Hindus and Muslims and atheists.</span><br style="color: #202124; font-variant-ligatures: none; letter-spacing: 0.1px; white-space: pre-wrap;" /><br style="color: #202124; font-variant-ligatures: none; letter-spacing: 0.1px; white-space: pre-wrap;" /><span style="color: #202124; font-variant-ligatures: none; letter-spacing: 0.1px; white-space: pre-wrap;">I hate the earth–</span><br style="color: #202124; font-variant-ligatures: none; letter-spacing: 0.1px; white-space: pre-wrap;" /><span style="color: #202124; font-variant-ligatures: none; letter-spacing: 0.1px; white-space: pre-wrap;">It lets elites farm</span><br style="color: #202124; font-variant-ligatures: none; letter-spacing: 0.1px; white-space: pre-wrap;" /><span style="color: #202124; font-variant-ligatures: none; letter-spacing: 0.1px; white-space: pre-wrap;">And the Dalits too</span><br style="color: #202124; font-variant-ligatures: none; letter-spacing: 0.1px; white-space: pre-wrap;" /><span style="color: #202124; font-variant-ligatures: none; letter-spacing: 0.1px; white-space: pre-wrap;">Without discriminating.</span><br style="color: #202124; font-variant-ligatures: none; letter-spacing: 0.1px; white-space: pre-wrap;" /><br style="color: #202124; font-variant-ligatures: none; letter-spacing: 0.1px; white-space: pre-wrap;" /><span style="color: #202124; font-variant-ligatures: none; letter-spacing: 0.1px; white-space: pre-wrap;">I hate the wind–</span><br style="color: #202124; font-variant-ligatures: none; letter-spacing: 0.1px; white-space: pre-wrap;" /><span style="color: #202124; font-variant-ligatures: none; letter-spacing: 0.1px; white-space: pre-wrap;">It doesn't beat down harder</span><br style="color: #202124; font-variant-ligatures: none; letter-spacing: 0.1px; white-space: pre-wrap;" /><span style="color: #202124; font-variant-ligatures: none; letter-spacing: 0.1px; white-space: pre-wrap;">On anti-nationals.</span><br style="color: #202124; font-variant-ligatures: none; letter-spacing: 0.1px; white-space: pre-wrap;" /><span style="color: #202124; font-variant-ligatures: none; letter-spacing: 0.1px; white-space: pre-wrap;">No privilege for patriots?!</span><br style="color: #202124; font-variant-ligatures: none; letter-spacing: 0.1px; white-space: pre-wrap;" /><br style="color: #202124; font-variant-ligatures: none; letter-spacing: 0.1px; white-space: pre-wrap;" /><span style="color: #202124; font-variant-ligatures: none; letter-spacing: 0.1px; white-space: pre-wrap;">I hate the rainbow–</span><br style="color: #202124; font-variant-ligatures: none; letter-spacing: 0.1px; white-space: pre-wrap;" /><span style="color: #202124; font-variant-ligatures: none; letter-spacing: 0.1px; white-space: pre-wrap;">Why doesn't it hide</span><br style="color: #202124; font-variant-ligatures: none; letter-spacing: 0.1px; white-space: pre-wrap;" /><span style="color: #202124;"><span style="font-variant-ligatures: none; letter-spacing: 0.1px; white-space: pre-wrap;">Its colors from the gay?</span></span><br style="color: #202124; font-variant-ligatures: none; letter-spacing: 0.1px; white-space: pre-wrap;" /><span style="color: #202124; font-variant-ligatures: none; letter-spacing: 0.1px; white-space: pre-wrap;">That's just not natural!</span><br style="color: #202124; font-variant-ligatures: none; letter-spacing: 0.1px; white-space: pre-wrap;" /><br style="color: #202124; font-variant-ligatures: none; letter-spacing: 0.1px; white-space: pre-wrap;" /><span style="color: #202124; font-variant-ligatures: none; letter-spacing: 0.1px; white-space: pre-wrap;">I hate the river–</span><br style="color: #202124; font-variant-ligatures: none; letter-spacing: 0.1px; white-space: pre-wrap;" /><span style="color: #202124; font-variant-ligatures: none; letter-spacing: 0.1px; white-space: pre-wrap;">She flows through my country and theirs.</span><br style="color: #202124; font-variant-ligatures: none; letter-spacing: 0.1px; white-space: pre-wrap;" /><span style="color: #202124; font-variant-ligatures: none; letter-spacing: 0.1px; white-space: pre-wrap;">Can't she see the lines on the border?</span><br style="color: #202124; font-variant-ligatures: none; letter-spacing: 0.1px; white-space: pre-wrap;" /><span style="color: #202124; font-variant-ligatures: none; letter-spacing: 0.1px; white-space: pre-wrap;">Can't she see we're at war?</span><br style="color: #202124; font-variant-ligatures: none; letter-spacing: 0.1px; white-space: pre-wrap;" /><br style="color: #202124; font-variant-ligatures: none; letter-spacing: 0.1px; white-space: pre-wrap;" /><span style="color: #202124; font-variant-ligatures: none; letter-spacing: 0.1px; white-space: pre-wrap;">And who is responsible for all this</span><br style="color: #202124; font-variant-ligatures: none; letter-spacing: 0.1px; white-space: pre-wrap;" /><span style="color: #202124; font-variant-ligatures: none; letter-spacing: 0.1px; white-space: pre-wrap;">Nuisance in the name of nature?</span><br style="color: #202124; font-variant-ligatures: none; letter-spacing: 0.1px; white-space: pre-wrap;" /><span style="color: #202124; font-variant-ligatures: none; letter-spacing: 0.1px; white-space: pre-wrap;">The maker of trouble? </span><br style="color: #202124; font-variant-ligatures: none; letter-spacing: 0.1px; white-space: pre-wrap;" /><span style="color: #202124; font-variant-ligatures: none; letter-spacing: 0.1px; white-space: pre-wrap;">The rouser of the rabble?</span><br style="color: #202124; font-variant-ligatures: none; letter-spacing: 0.1px; white-space: pre-wrap;" /><br style="color: #202124; font-variant-ligatures: none; letter-spacing: 0.1px; white-space: pre-wrap;" /><span style="color: #202124; font-variant-ligatures: none; letter-spacing: 0.1px; white-space: pre-wrap;">I hate God–</span><br style="color: #202124; font-variant-ligatures: none; letter-spacing: 0.1px; white-space: pre-wrap;" /><span style="color: #202124; font-variant-ligatures: none; letter-spacing: 0.1px; white-space: pre-wrap;">Punch drunk on equality,</span><br style="color: #202124; font-variant-ligatures: none; letter-spacing: 0.1px; white-space: pre-wrap;" /><span style="color: #202124; font-variant-ligatures: none; letter-spacing: 0.1px; white-space: pre-wrap;">In denial of differences,</span><br style="color: #202124; font-variant-ligatures: none; letter-spacing: 0.1px; white-space: pre-wrap;" /><span style="color: #202124; font-variant-ligatures: none; letter-spacing: 0.1px; white-space: pre-wrap;">Mocker of man's rules!</span><br style="color: #202124; font-variant-ligatures: none; letter-spacing: 0.1px; white-space: pre-wrap;" /><br style="color: #202124; font-variant-ligatures: none; letter-spacing: 0.1px; white-space: pre-wrap;" /><span style="color: #202124; font-variant-ligatures: none; letter-spacing: 0.1px; white-space: pre-wrap;">That bleeding-heart </span><span style="color: #202124;"><span style="font-variant-ligatures: none; letter-spacing: 0.1px; white-space: pre-wrap;">sympathizer</span></span><br style="color: #202124; font-variant-ligatures: none; letter-spacing: 0.1px; white-space: pre-wrap;" /><span style="color: #202124; font-variant-ligatures: none; letter-spacing: 0.1px; white-space: pre-wrap;">Of creatures big and small.</span><br style="color: #202124; font-variant-ligatures: none; letter-spacing: 0.1px; white-space: pre-wrap;" /><span style="color: #202124; font-variant-ligatures: none; letter-spacing: 0.1px; white-space: pre-wrap;">That traitor to my nation</span><br style="color: #202124; font-variant-ligatures: none; letter-spacing: 0.1px; white-space: pre-wrap;" /><span style="color: #202124; font-variant-ligatures: none; letter-spacing: 0.1px; white-space: pre-wrap;">To my religion, to my gender.</span><br style="color: #202124; font-variant-ligatures: none; letter-spacing: 0.1px; white-space: pre-wrap;" /><br style="color: #202124; font-variant-ligatures: none; letter-spacing: 0.1px; white-space: pre-wrap;" /><span style="color: #202124; font-variant-ligatures: none; letter-spacing: 0.1px; white-space: pre-wrap;">No, he won't get any</span><br style="color: #202124; font-variant-ligatures: none; letter-spacing: 0.1px; white-space: pre-wrap;" /><span style="color: #202124; font-variant-ligatures: none; letter-spacing: 0.1px; white-space: pre-wrap;">Of my love or my respect.</span><br style="color: #202124; font-variant-ligatures: none; letter-spacing: 0.1px; white-space: pre-wrap;" /><span style="color: #202124; font-variant-ligatures: none; letter-spacing: 0.1px; white-space: pre-wrap;">He's detestable to say the least</span><br style="color: #202124; font-variant-ligatures: none; letter-spacing: 0.1px; white-space: pre-wrap;" /><span style="color: #202124; font-variant-ligatures: none; letter-spacing: 0.1px; white-space: pre-wrap;">Like the things that I hate.</span></span></div>
Anupam Choudhuryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05856337600956412803noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5912645.post-84244210742073664512019-04-21T12:49:00.000+05:302019-05-10T11:24:34.637+05:30कहां चले गए हैं सारे कवि?<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div style="background-color: white; color: #1d2129; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px;">
समय के चौराहे पर खड़ी सभ्यता<br />
द्वेष की राह को निहार रही है।<br />
ये कौन बताएगा हमें<span class="text_exposed_show" style="display: inline; font-family: inherit;"><br />कि उस पथ का शेष केवल शेष है?</span></div>
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अंतर्भास अन्तर के आभास से आएगा,<br />
ये कौन समझाएगा इस पीढ़ी को<br />
अपने सशक्त, कोमल, तीक्ष्ण, प्रेरक, स्नेही<br />
पंक्तियों से?</div>
<div style="font-family: inherit; margin-bottom: 6px; margin-top: 6px;">
कहां चले गए हैं सारे कवि?<br />
<a name='more'></a></div>
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जब देशभक्ति का अमृत लोगों के रगों में<br />
राष्ट्रवाद के विष में परिवर्तित हो रहा है,<br />
वो कवि ही तो है जो इस विष को<br />
बिना सुई दवाई के निकाल सकता है।</div>
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वो कवि ही तो है जो बिना तस्वीर, तरकीब, या<br />
तकरीर के<br />
असत्य को सत्य से परिचित करा सकता है।</div>
<div style="font-family: inherit; margin-bottom: 6px; margin-top: 6px;">
वो कवि ही तो है जो शांतिप्रिय लोगों को अपने<br />
सोच, तर्क, और भविष्य के सपनों को<br />
प्रकाशित करने का मनोबल दे सकता है।</div>
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वो कवि ही तो है जो भूख, भय, और भावनाओं<br />
के दलदल में पनपते<br />
नफ़रत, हिंसा, और सांप्रदायिकता<br />
के बीज को ढूंढ निकालता है।</div>
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वो कवि ही तो है जो अपने<br />
कविताओं के मरहम और गीतों के पट्टी से<br />
एक घायल देश की आत्मा को<br />
फिर से सजीव कर सकता है।</div>
<div style="font-family: inherit; margin-bottom: 6px; margin-top: 6px;">
कहां चले गए हैं सारे कवि?<br />
क्या अब तक उनके कलम में आक्रोश<br />
और व्यथा की स्याही भरी नहीं?</div>
</div>
</div>
Anupam Choudhuryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05856337600956412803noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5912645.post-84825969334580197852019-04-21T12:46:00.003+05:302019-05-10T11:15:22.787+05:30The Demagogue<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;"><i><span style="background-color: white; color: #666666;">There was once a man named Abu,</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #666666;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #666666;">Who lost his marbles in the loo.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #666666;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #666666;">So around the general elections,</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #666666;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #666666;">To beguile certain sections,</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #666666;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #666666;">He let his mouth do the poo.</span></i></span></div>
Anupam Choudhuryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05856337600956412803noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5912645.post-56655174410406586232019-04-21T12:42:00.000+05:302019-04-21T17:45:59.302+05:30No Bark, No Bite<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Once upon a time, in a big and diverse country, there lived two large communities—Group Ma and Group Mi—among several smaller communities. Group Ma was the biggest and Group Mi the second biggest in numbers.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Group Mi people traditionally ate tree bark. A vast majority of Group Ma also ate tree bark, but on special occasions, they chose not to. On those special occasions, which were special for Group Ma but not for Group Mi, the Group Mi people continued to eat tree bark.</span><br />
<a name='more'></a><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">There was abundant tree bark and no confusion about who ate what and when. Each group was free to follow their own customs and was comfortable about others' practices. <br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">One day there arrived a politician who claimed to be a monk belonging to Group Ma. He brainwashed the Group Ma people into thinking that their tradition-imposed limitations should extend to other groups too, such as Group Mi, and Group Pa, and Group Bu, and Group Ch, and Group Si. If these other groups do not stop eating tree bark in sync with Group Ma, then they're insulting Group Ma people and their traditions. <br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Thus brainwashed, the Group Ma people went about with swords and rods, forcibly shutting down tree-bark shops and roughing up anyone who resisted. Group Mi people pleaded that bark is not only food for them, it is also their livelihood. But Group Ma didn't relent. <br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Robbed of their tree-bark selling business, and desperate to make a living, Group Mi people moved on to other occupations, such as manufacturing, healthcare, software development, consulting, education, finance, etc. Meanwhile, Group Ma people continued to specialize in holding rods and looking menacing. <br />
</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">A hundred years passed. While other groups moved up the economic value chain, Group Ma people leveraged their specialization to become proud watchmen for all other groups.</span><br />
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Anupam Choudhuryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05856337600956412803noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5912645.post-60917996208748345892019-04-21T08:19:00.000+05:302020-04-25T19:23:19.059+05:30American Signage: A Journey through America<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">I like to read words and interpret them. I like to think about what they mean. I want to get into the head of the person who wrote them. Why did they say so? What were they going through in life when they wrote that. All this mulling makes me a slow reader. But for me, half of the joy of reading is imagining and charting out the unsaid landscape behind and beyond words---be it a literary novel, a children's illustrated book, or a business non-fiction.</span><br />
<a name='more'></a><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Words surround every individual in the civilized world. They help us make sense of our human settlements. Books, newspapers, periodicals, packaging, advertisements, public announcements and notices, directions, instructions, graffiti, tattoos, stickers, digital media, and so on. Without words we may as well be mute.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">We humans know the impact of words. We know they can make or break, build or demolish, soothe or lacerate. The way people use words depends a lot on their education, training, enculturation, gender, upbringing, and economic and social circumstances. You can paint a fairly accurate picture of a person from the way they use words.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">For me, the same applies to a nation. The way a society, a nation speaks to its citizens, or the way authority figures use words to put across ideas to the public, gives me an insight into that society. These public-space communications give me an idea about how people in general are treated in that society. Do the authorities respect their people? Do they find them dumb? Are they strict with people? In turn it gives me a sense where in the arc of civilizational development that society is currently placed.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">I love taking pictures of texts that sound odd to me. They may just be different from what I find usual. Or they may just be humorous. Recently I traveled across a few cities and regions of America. This post is a photo-documentary of American public-space texts that I encountered.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">*****</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">I know nothing about Penguini. Maybe it's a well-known New York City restaurant. I just found the name funny and imagined a penguin move to 78 Nassau Street :)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Saw this outside a church. The saying is poetic, beautiful. Importantly, it makes an appeal to society today for more diversity and inclusiveness, for respecting each other, for accepting each path to finding almighty as equally valid. Imagine, a Christian church decided to use the words of a Muslim, Sufi poet! Now imagine the parallel of that happening in India...</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">That's a beautiful sign. But it kinda made me feel sad. It's pretty common for books to go on discount. I myself buy discounted books. But I think as an asset class, books depreciate even faster than cars. Books are my bread and butter. I would prefer that books sell in high numbers and with high prices. But high prices would take them out of reach of most readers, especially in a country like India. And that is not something I would like. Books -- and learning -- have the power of changing people's lives for the better significantly and within a short period of time. They are pretty much public goods and should be easily available to all people.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">This was clicked across the road from Trump Tower on Fifth Avenue in New York City. Two gentlemen were selling anti-Trump buttons and posters. Now, this is what is amazing about America (or is it only in NYC?). The freedom to engage in this kind of dissent. Neither were the police stopping them, nor was any pro-Trump group lynching them. Imagine this happening in India, with such posters and buttons. There will be mayhem! In the current political climate I don't see this happening. Even well-known cartoonists tread carefully, trying to be as oblique as possible, so as to not invite right-wing ire.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">The fun part of this demonstration/sale was that a Trump supporter who was passing by started an argument with these guys. There was some shouting and screaming, and homophobic words, such as 'faggots' were used. But the two gentlemen stood their ground and eventually told the miscreant off. More than once they invoked their right to freedom of speech.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">This granite inscription is at the Rockefeller Center, one of the most 'pretty' sights of NYC. The quote by John D. Rockefeller, American tycoon, begins with, "I believe in the supreme worth of the individual and in his right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness." This is probably in the spirit of the philosophy of individualism, and in a way summarizes the American entrepreneurial spirit. An individual should be given these rights, and if given, an individual can, with sheer grit and labor, overcome any obstacle in the path to success. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">This picture was taken somewhere on our way from Syosset to NYC using the Long Island Railroad trains. What stands out for me in this notice is the genuineness of the apology that MTA is offering its users. There is no arrogance, no apathy; just a plain and simple apology along with the reason behind the inconvenience. What also stands out for me is the choice of these words: "...to restore the system to a state of good repair." Something about that gives me a lot of confidence in their intent and abilities.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Maine is a beautiful state! But please beware of poison ivy :) This picture was taken at the beginning of our hike at Mount Pisgah in Maine. A beautiful hike through a beautiful forest resplendent with fall colors! The sign stood out for me because I can't imagine that a similar sign would be seen anywhere in India. And it may sound strange, but this sign also made me feel like I'm entering a safe space. Even though the forest looked very 'Blair Witchish', it felt much safer than the dense tropical forests of India.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">We were blown by the beauty of Maine! You can get a glimpse of the foliage in this picture, along with a gafitti that I found beautiful and calming. "You are exactly where you need to be."</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Here are two more that indicate the modern American spirit. Exist loudly but be bravely vulnerable. It is an America that is changing; an America that is coming to terms with its softer side, yet wanting to break free from imposed silence in an individual's life.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">The above and next few pictures are from a quaint food/groceries shop somewhere in rural Maine. I love these message placards wherever I see them. They're funny, conversational, and sometimes very wise. This particular was especially delightful in it's decor and warmth, and these messages was like its trademark.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">This was the first advert ever that I had seen of a marijuana-related business. Treeline Cannabis Co is a Lewiston, Maine-based medical marijuana clinic. It would seem that in Maine, Marijuana can be prescribed for medicinal use. Notice the contrast between a the two companies advertised. One is firmly in the legally acceptable domain, the other is a recent entrant into that domain, albeit still seen with some suspicion in terms of scientific and moral principles. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">This is just funny and odd. I can't imagine a product in India using the word 'naked', let alone 'bear (bare) naked'! American is definitely more permissive in that matter. What is odd is why would you call a brand of granola bear naked? What's the connection with bears or being naked? Ultimately, I felt that the naming could have something to do with the packaging where you can see what's inside through a transparent film. The picture was probably taken in Hannaford supermarket in Lewiston, Maine.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">This picture, taken outside the main dining hall of Bates College, Maine, shows a clear change in the tone of the authorities. Why? Coz students are idiots! :D Just kidding. But yes, one needs to be firm with them. Otherwise, as is apparent from this notice, they will bring all kinds of animals into the dining hall, and will come in skateboarding, cycling, rollerblading, scootering, Segwaying, playing frisbee, and golfing! And they may even come in bare feet, coz they felt like, or couldn't find their shoes. Oh the things college students will do with their hormone-addled brains!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">This was taken inside the Auburn, Maine branch of the Mechanics Savings Bank. From the point of view of Corporate Social Responsibility and fighting cyber crime, this to me is a great service. It made me think about what kind of security measures I myself take to ensure safety of my documents and identity.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">One of the best experiences of our trip to USA was our journey to and stay at <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monhegan,_Maine" target="_blank">Monhegan Island</a>. This particular picture shows the wall of a house that is on the main road of the island. The house is now used to display ads and notices of local businesses and also to hand lost-and-found items. Apparently, if you've lost something on the island, sooner or later it will turn up on this wall.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">For a place as beautiful as Monhegan, the 'PASS AT YOUR OWN RISK' is bit of a buzzkill. But I guess the authorities are just doing their duty in informing the visitors to Monhegan island about their risks and duties.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"> Taken at a crossing on the way to Port Clyde, this picture reflects the dynamism of American politics. These are candidates fighting the mid-terms (I guess). Of course, there's some commerce and some protest in there too. That's the entire arc anyway! :)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">The porta-potties near Pemaquid Point Lighthouse had a hilarious slogan on them: "We're #1 in the #2 business." On point! :)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Does America really run on Dunkin? That may be an advert-exaggeration, but, yes, Americans do consume a humongous amount of fast food (and donuts). But here I found Dunkin's overconfidence in claiming that America runs on their food somewhat odd and upsetting.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">This was outside a photobooth in Luxor Resort and Casino in Las Vegas. It was just funny :) But it also says that photographs taken in a photobooth may have a different impact a year later, a decade later, or even the next morning. People change; but the photographs remain the same.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">The Venetian in Las Vegas has a man-made canal with functional gondolas. Naturally, in the middle of the Mojave desert that is a huge privilege. I was happy to note that they are being responsible about it and there are rules and regulations about it.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">This was taken perhaps inside a shop on Pier 39, San Francisco. So shoplifting is a universal nuisance. But the shopkeepers here hope to prevent it by simply asking. I wonder if it works! It must be. Human beings can be persuaded if they're asked nicely.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">The above two pictures were taken inside a Muni Bus in San Francisco. I found them very clever, persuasive, and catchy. Whichever creative agency they hired for this has done a great job!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">I found these two 'artworks' on a steel railing on a view point en route to Big Sur on the California coast. First of all, I don't understand why they're there by the side of a cliff overlooking the magnificent Pacific ocean. Second, what does the gorilla have to do with concrete jungle (Is there a King Kong reference in there?). Third, I just don't know what the garbled text in yellow means. I intended to google about it, but forgot. (If you find out, let me know) It's just odd. Is that a secret society of some kind? Is that a message for an alien race? Odd.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">You will find such plaques at many monuments and scenic places. What is interesting for me in such plaques is the massive sense of grandeur with which the authors are communicating with the public. I felt a distinct feeling of 'we are doing something great here' in all such messages. They did not just state a fact, they also projected a vision, a purpose, a mission, an achievement. And that is something that I have not seen in India yet. Maybe the nation needs to reach a certain level of achievement, both social and economic, before it will feel the need to put such grand words down on a bronze plaque that will last forever.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">From the point of communication design, this notice is brilliant! Clear messaging, clear and simply understandable instructions. There is appeal to the good conscience of people. And in the end, there is a statement of service. Just great!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">If the size of the 'please' doesn't do it for you, then nothing will :) I felt the power of emphasis in that please -- the desperation with which the authorities are requesting the visitor to not be an idiot for their own safety. And the fact that this sign is required tells me how many people may be ignoring this advice :-/</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Someone has stuck this sticker inside a train (in San Francisco?). No explanation needed. But I'm sure it lightened the heart of many a commuter. You are beautiful.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">This was perhaps at San Francisco airport. I liked the fact that they have built facilities for pets too! How kind and considerate of them! Not only can you travel with your pet, you can also take them to do their business if they feel the need to. I love it! :)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">This photo documentary is a very small slice of life of America. I hope to build on it in future, and also do the same in other countries (if I know their language). </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">An interesting aspect of signs in America is the predominance of sans serif fonts. Most house and office numbers, most new signage use sans serif font. I think it is a deliberate choice in favor of the modern, no-nonsense feel of sans serif font. They're very business-like, though a bit cold, if you ask me. But the message about America gets across.</span><br />
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Anupam Choudhuryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05856337600956412803noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5912645.post-50368963606473306972019-04-03T10:35:00.002+05:302019-04-21T17:46:13.817+05:30The Facebook Apologia<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">I think I've had enough. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">This is my apologia for unfriending you.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">That classic dissertation on political affairs, 'Yes, Minister', has this razor sharp observation: "World history is the triumph of the heartless over the mindless." (It has hundreds of such gems. Please watch it if you haven't yet. Well, I'm surprised that you haven't! Positively appalled! I'm adding you to the 'list'.)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">It pains me to see some of my Facebook 'friends' give a demo of this observation. The thing is, they're educated people who have bought into a 'heartless' ideology, which is opposite to mine. I don't want to call them mindless; that's what history will call them.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">But let me focus on myself for a moment. When these friends share with impunity political trash endorsing the heartless ideology, it riles me up. For years I've tried to act stoic about it -- unaffected, unmoved, looking at the 'big picture', being accepting of diversity of views. That's how I would like to be offline as well.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Something has come over me of late. It could be the recent transition of Mars through my sign, or it could be the state of the nation. I get angry. I get worked up. And I feel that if I do not express where I stand, the other side will become stronger. Numbers matter, and I want to publicly add to the numbers on my side.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">As a counter, I ask myself: What about freedom of speech? I'm not yet deep on the philosophy of freedom of speech (which I love, by the way), but let me hit the brakes here and pronounce my decision: not on my fucking timeline!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">People act on Facebook (and Twitter and the like) as if it is their personal toilet; they require zero-to-nil self-regulation. They tend to say whatever shit comes to their minds! I won't blame the medium for that -- just as I won't blame the earth for people defecating on it. But you know, it's Facebook -- I have a clear, ringside view of your bloody toilet! So, behave yourself, or close the door, or, well, I'll pull the curtains. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">See -- let's remain friends. Let's not allow our sociopolitical leanings reveal more about ourselves than would appear charming to the other. We don't do that offline, so why should we do that online? If I get to know that you're actually a rabid xenophobe, a misogynist, a homophobe, or a sectarianism-loving majoritarian (big words, right?), then I'll be honest -- I don't want to be friends with you -- online or offline.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">But let's not get that far. I'm going to unfriend you and retain an 'as good as new' and almost-unblemished impression of you. And whenever we meet offline, we can carry on being civil to each other and have polite conversations without getting worked up about your hate-mongering shares or my libtard/sickular views.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">I know I may be creating an echo-chamber for myself, a sort of an ideological bubble where I'm coming across people who are just like me. But hey, we literally live in an echo-bubble called Earth, of which we have become these tax-levying, territory-expanding, oppressive overlords. It's safe and cozy, isn't it?</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Right. So, I'd rather get my daily dose of diversity from books, movies, newspaper, articles, courses, etc. That's what education is for! Read, people, read!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">This may be the last time you're reading a post from me, so I'm going to leave you with this:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">https://www.amazon.com/Yes-Minister-Season-1/dp/B0015KI4HU</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Toodle-oo!</span><br />
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Anupam Choudhuryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05856337600956412803noreply@blogger.com0