What you want to become when you grow up?

I was 10 by then, I think. Since then lot of people used to ask me with that same uncanny smile "what do you want to become when you grow up?". I don't exactly remember what I told back but two things are clear.
1)My answers are not always same.
2)I still remember the puzzled, uncomfortable feeling when ever someone asked me.

What I want to become something is NOT in my agenda of things to do that time. But after some time I figured out we have to answer something which is in 'tune' with what-people-think-is-cool.
Sometimes the questions are little more dangerous. At first look they look normal ..
a)"What do you want to study...." then come the linking question..
b)"how that will get you a job..?".
If you really answered what you like to study and then you have to relate to career if not you are trapped.

I strongly think what we want to do is supposed to be linked to what is your true passion and identifying your true passion is all your job.
People are successful when they do what they like.
Anyway...coming back...MPC or Bi.PC is the first challenge.
Fortunately,being last in the family while growing up I could figure out what they are well before many. So I know little ahead when and where I have to make this decision. In spite of that, I could not figure out what I want to do. I was little better in Biology than Math. But I hated the concept of killing a frog to do some course. I shd confess I was never good in Math. I am not sure why some people understood Math more quickly than me. This first I figured out when people are able to do logarithms and anti-logs easily.
What I really liked is history. I still remember Ramana sir telling history not by looking any book. I find it interesting and used to read lot of chapters ahead of time.
History fascinates me. I used to raise my hand when ever sir used to ask questions. The fact that I am doing good in class was first noticed by my class leader who selected me to represent class in General Knowledge quiz.
The point I want to say if someone ask me now then the real answer what you want to study I would have said History. I know the next trap question. :)

Democracy is fairly new guys

When people parrot about democracy and it’s values and how we have to live in democracy as if that is immutable and that is our reference...that is what we have to follow forever I pity the ignorance of people who listen to them.
In India democracy sells.Not in it's purest form but just to do 'pom-pom' talking. You get laurels, sabashi if you add worlds like "India's great democracy" blah...blah in their speeches and debates.
But changes happen at all levels.
The problem with people is they don’t realize that change happens macro level and also at micro level. Micro level change is for example change in fashion. Change in technology. But macro level change are these geo-political changes like like huge empires coming down, huge institutions starting from nowhere, huge cultures coming to dust.
People never expected a great Mayan Civilization will fall from within. People at those times never even dreamed Roman empire to fall. People never thought USSR will fall. For 300 years Vijayanagara rules entire southern India and you can imagine 5-6 generations of one family might have easily lived under one dynasty. Do you think anybody in those times would have imagined the glorious Vijayanaga will fall..to that extent that there will be not even a trace of their kingdom?.

What are we now in this tiny democracy compared to that? My father (just my father) saw British ruling India. Some concocted Democracy started around that time. My grandfather would have never even thought British would fall! So when you put this into perspective democracy is nothing. Already we see democracy is not functioning as it was ideally imagined.
But people who gain from so called democracy just say it is great and we have to follow blah,blah. But what is most annoying is common man also just parrot what they listen and even get a pseudo happiness that democracy is working.
This soo called stable system with short history is not getting its marks.How can a weak can control stronger. Inspite of how much we want to have that way isn't it against nature?
It is only the perception that is changed.
Even in democracy there are strong leaders and it always happen that people galvanize towards those leaders.

Have fun in what ever 'cracy' you are right not. Never know what happens next. If nothing happens for you then ask next gen to be ready so they can see through these stuff without any discomfort.

Santa didn't turn up

Christmas came and went.

My daughter was unhappy that Santa didn't turn up and gave her gifts. My wife is angry on ME because of that.

Now this I don't understand.
Santa did not give gifts ...I am taking the blame. Guys did you get it.

If it is between my daughter and Santa why I shd be dragged into this?

Who told her that Santa will give her gifts? I did not say that. May be she should question them. If they are graceful enough then they should plan to give and talk about Santa/gifts etc to my daughter.
Sorry. I might look little mean here. But this is how we should raise our kids. She is allowed to ask questions. The other day she asked me "why God have to make demons and have to destroy them"? Some more questions like that. I don't have proper answers. Have to learn and update her.

P.S: Usually on average my daughter will get one gift per month

They say "DNA confirms Osama" and you HAVE TO believe them

My daugther asks proper questions. Seriously!
I can't tell a easy story like this "Osama EKIA" and get away.

Don't worry I myself don't know what EKIA until then. Enemy Killed in Action.

I am not sure why Media did not ask the right questions after 48 hours of the operation. When I said Media I am not referring to American media to ask those questions. You know that.All these people in  CIA,WhiteHouse spokesman, Pentagan blah, National Security blah,etc all give stage managed Press Conferences.They can give a tough fight to all those actors from Hollywood. I bet.

What normal Americans need is "We got that bastard..heyyyy" (sorry for the expletive...remember...my blog) have drinks on those 3000 people and watch "Dancing with the stars" next episode.

No one questioned any proofs? Blood stained floor, mansion that's it.no proofs.

US troops went secretly ambushed and killed Osama and dumped in Sea.That's it.Take flag on your head and shout "God bless America".That's all!

Doesn't the story require some questions. To the relatively clever people this is the proof. "Done DNA tests and confirmed that he is Osama".

Are these the answers we expect when he is declared (in their own terms) the most WANTED man on world?

The problem here is who ever is doubting will be called unpatriotic and conspiracy theorist etc,etc.

But wait a minute.Whom I am doubting here. Isn't it the same US who said WMD are there in Iraq?

P.S: I don't have anything for Osama. Why do I care. He and his agents did lot more harm to Indians than Americans. But that is not the point. The point here is about this country and its 'intelligent' citizens here.

Endhiran means what?

Las week's Rajnikant's latest release Endhiran/Robot/Robo across world have make me curious to know what does Endhiran means? What can be a word as similar as Robot and used only in Tamil version.

This I asked my Tamil friend casually when we are having lunch together.

To that he boastfully told "Endhiran" was the name for machine,robot in Tamil.He sounded as if Tamil is very advanced language and as always think that they have separate roots than all other Indian languages. I am surprised to find Tamil language have a word for Robot. Good to see our own Indian language creating contemporary vocabulary, cursing the English titles for Hindi and Telugu versions.

One week passed by.

I am seeing/reading about this movie in news, internet etc but could not get any idea of that word. I could not even pronounce the word.

The clue came when I was casually watching a video where some anchor was talking about the movie. Suddenly I heard something different.I am shocked to find the roots of the word and can't stop smiling after that.

The mistake we did was we are reading as it spelled.

To understand this word etymology you have to understand how Tamilians speak day to day words. For example, for Satish they say Sadheesh. For Mahesh they even say Magesh. So in the same way "Endhiran" for non-tamilians it shd be "Enthiran" or "Entran".

See the second word. The word is found in almost all Indian languages. If you still did not get it, it is derived from Sanskrit word "Yantra" means machine. Every Indian whether Gujarati, Marati, Andhra, Hindi etc guys every one know it and it also part of their OWN language!

That is the beauty of Sanskrit. It is beautifully embedded in all our Indian languages and keep us together. Great example of Indian Unity as contemporary Indians are becoming more and more regional.

I don't have any feelings against Tamilians but I am against only those specific Periyar followers who say they are different from rest of India etc,etc.They distorted history, culture for decades but were not successful in making Tamilians align.Why? Because Tamil, Tamilians are implicitly,sub-consciously connected to whole India.When anyone is speaking Tamil you can see lot of Sanskrit words. Actually lot of Sanskrit words which are dead in Hindi by Urdu invasion are found in Tamil. They are preservers of Indian culture. Yantra is one great example.

Why didn't the Producers of the movie put "Yentr, "Yentra" or something like that as title in Tamil,Telugu and Hindi? It would then been a real, real pan-India movie.

I have to talk to my Tamil Friend now -:)