Firstscope - Celestron NexStar 6SE Telescope

This Diwali another wish got fullfilled. And this was a childhood dream to own a telescope and focus at infinity. Keep gazing at stars, planets and other marvels of Universe. I dont belive in rhetorics, but to get a good deal at the time you want is something "...whole universe has to conspire to make it happen". In many ways it happened exactly same way to me. After a lot of deliberation, searching and by timely search found a generous seller who sold it to me at throwaway price. Otherwise this telescope costs a fortune .. With all accesories it will come around 1.5 Lacs in India. 

Here's some pics of my firstscope.

Ice cream

I always wanted to write about it...

About eating Ice cream. 

Journey of that cup of Ice cream. Pampered from the beginning, taken care and kept in favorable conditions since it's made. Reaching to the tongues in same way ... cold and creamy.

Cut to the childhood. 

We didn't had fridge at home when I was a child. Ice or Ice cream was like a delicacy. Going to eat Ice cream used to be a planned event. Going to Ice cream parlor, looking inside that mini sliding fridge at the cups of different flavors. Taking each bite as small as possible so that it wont finish soon...

As a child I had dreamed of a fridge as tall as me when I grow up filled with Ice cream cups, cones and kulfies.

Cut to the adulthood.

Life has been fair and given a chance to grow and achieve the dreams.

Still I haven't loaded the fridge which is taller than me with Ice cream.

Whenever I hold cup of Ice cream or cone in my hand, I get a surge of unexplainable emotions.

It's a consumable delicacy brought to customer's with utmost care. Right from manufacturing, transportation and storage - it's given special treatment.

We care so much for Ice cream but we do not care for..... childhood of million of children dying of hunger. A cup of Ice cream at decent hotel can easily afford a two time meal for anyone who has not dipped his presence into luxuries of life.

Parched tongues at traffic signals, begging for few rupees or selling items to make a livelihood.

I'm not against spending money on luxurious possessions and good lifestyle, but at the same time I would never shy away from generously donating money for social causes.

I live with this battle everyday. Minimalistic living or Consumerism. Donations or Seva.

Donations are indirect ways of helping the cause but Seva is superior.

Giving your time is the best contribution you can make to better your soul. I have observed with self experience, Seva is the only way to free this soul of worries and stress. It is superior to what money can do. I guess this is the reason of profound faith and smile on faces of most NGO workers who work directly with the downtrodden. Joy of Seva is incomparable to any other joy.

Back to Ice cream

I eat after meal or a drink or two but I feel disgusted at my apathy at that moment.


-ciao

Sometimes...

Sometimes I think.... What if all this scientological developments wouldn't have happened? What if there was no invention (or should it be called discovery as it represented itself in universe in form of different shapes) of 0, Shunya, Zero. It's as important as discovery of wheel. Only difference: one is real, tangible and one is manifestation in symbol. But wheel is a Shunya as a circle. I didn't want to use that word Circle because it itself is another manifestation of a natural shape for human understanding.

So what if there was no Shunya?

What if there were no Computers, machines that operate on 1's and 0's?

These thoughts are rushing in because of recently successful Mars Orbiter Insertion of India's ISRO's Mars Orbiter Mission satellite (MOM).

My line of thinking is going back to Invention of Zero. India gave Zero to the world, then somewhere down the line it became country of snake charmers and now it's again proving it's worth by indigenously making a interplanetary mission successful. Have a look into Nasa Eyes DSN website (http://eyes.nasa.gov/dsn/dsn.html). It fills my heart with pride to see ISRO's MOM sending signals back to Earth from Martian orbit. India might be late to Mars party but ISRO did it perfectly on first time and using a complicated yet very very cost effective method. And it's only the fourth to do so. JustSaying... Someone unaware, looking at MOM at DSN website might ask what's that? Well that's a satellite revolving around Mars sent from the country of snake charmers by the very same people. Well every country has its problems. India has dire poverty and millions still cant afford single square meal a day. But that doesn't mean India should not look beyond. Poverty exists owing to many reasons and individuals not taking initiatives to work is the biggest of them all. Our infrastructure development projects cost many more times than ISRO's Mars Mission. Well I'm stopping here about progress, poverty, third world problems etc.

What I was really pondering about was the ability of humans to conquer the space with their limited resources and technological prowess. Sending life on Moon and bringing it back safely, sending rovers on another planet and sending satellites to outer space. "This is where manifestations are helping us to meet the real world...The Universe" 

All those equations and formulae on paper are actually propelling tons of mass to another planets. It does mean a lot to us because these things never existed before. These representations and creations are man made. The Universe is a vast sea of possibilities.

-ciao

May be

I may stay single for life, coz love is distant and I'm not able to accept this arrange marriage ideology. Bullshit this thing is. Crappiest custom in hypocrite India.

It's a tie. 

Ciao.

It's not possible...

No it's not possible to stay the same. 

People change. You yourself have changed a lot. Look at you 15 years before, were you the same? Nops.

Its by design. Rule of nature. You cant live with same innocense, honesty, trustworthiness. You will be torn and ripped if you continue to do you. So mother nature shields you. To protect you she instills the armor of treachery, teaches hard lessons. Make use of it, often, though its not by your nature but its needed. 

-Ciao

MacXitement

My Mac 

Just a thought

Just a thought

Life exists on this planet from thousands of years. Each and every generation has seen new inventions, discoveries and their fare share in accepting new things and technology.  That makes me think, we are part of a big experiment. Consider the college days, just to find out a girls (crush to be particular) name, address, hobbies and interests it use to take days and months. But that investment of time was worth because it used to develop and test the passion over that time. Circa 2014, log into Facebook or search on google and get all the information handy. Does it give any value to relationship? 

Not just this, the pattern of communication 50 years before and today is completely changed. Evolving species. We are victimized. The grasp of technology is changing our ways to perceive the environment and relationships. Quick&Easy is the new age dilemma.

You are not suppose to say anything against it. You can only accept it. There's one thing that can stop you from this evolutionary process. It's called Poverty. Poverty brings you down to the bare minimum thread of humanity. Delicate thread which will break with slightest of experiment. You hold onto it by leaving consumerism. It can only be understood when you are desperately poor. No person on full stomach and a box donuts beside to eat can understand this. Spend one day in an orphanage or work in Gurudwara lunger, you will get to know what it means to be human. One part of society is yearning to wear clothes made up of finest silk and three parts of society are still holding on to that one small delicate thread of humanity.... It wont break but it's weakening day by day 

उत्तरांना प्रश्न कसे हे पडले ?

Reverse restrospecting.

Something to remember always

Whenever you have a bad day owing to some bad people, tell yourself - reassure yourself - that "This world is going on because of people doing good."

"Ye dunia acche logo ke vajah se chal rahi hai."

Agar sab log bure hote toh ye duniya kab ki khatam ho gayi hoti. 

Kuch log hai jinse aap abhi tak mile nahi ho, jinse aap baad me kabhi future me miloge bhi nahi, lekin kabhi kahi kisi jarurat ke pal wo aapko itni madad kar jayenge aap unka ehsaan zindagi bhar nahi utar payenge. 

Never cease to do good. It receprocates and revolves around, might go unnoticed but never in vain. 

Guru Purnima blessings - Sri Sri

Yesterday was Guru Purnima... and in this age of information technology and social media, I received blessings from my third Guru in a Twitter direct message(DM).  It was such a nice experience and those words were somewhat relating. Im a staunch science & fact freak, so I dont want to imply a miracle blessing phenomenon rather simply pointing out the coincidence. Sri Sri Ravishankar is my tech savvy Guru. May people understand his charitable trust's mission rather than branding him as another Godman. Those who know Guruji also know that he himself says "Jai Gurudev". I was baffeled at first hearing that. Because people fondly call him Gurudev and use these words to glorify him, then for whom he uses those words? When he explained this in all his innocense and humbleness, no doubts were left within. Gurudev acknowledges the fact that he isn't a godman or supreme authority. He thanks his guiding principles and his guruji's. On this Guru Purnima let me seek your blessings and wish to have your support with me.

Let the world be stress free society and nurture good values for well being of every living creature.

Follow Sri Sri on twitter: www.twitter.com/srisri

-ciao

How I Wish ... Death and Funeral.

I'm not pessimistic, I believe in living life to the fullest each and every moment of it. Planning all the tours so well in advance, how can I miss my final journey. Death. Second biggest event of Life, after Birth. Death should be a celebration, like celebrating farewells. When I took my first breath, I become entitled to stop somewhere. Given the fact that nobody has survived beyond a certain limit of time... It's inevitable.

Some live longer some live shorter, some live knowing the fate, some live fearing the end. It's their for everyone yet everyone wants to run away from it... Each passing moment is taking us closer to it, Running away is in fact becomes the act of getting closer and closer. These thoughts become stronger when you are alone. That's why those who are occupied with daily chorus feel less about the "certain thing". Stronger the life-support, stronger the desire to live. Stronger is the denial of final certainty. As one poet has said.. "Miles to go before I sleep..." Everyones wants to wake up and cover the distance called Life; full of responsibilities. Certainly everyone thinks pondering about Death is pessimism. Who are you fooling? It's not pessimism, when you can debate and put your thoughts on the meanest of subjects.. why not Death? It's the fear that stops you. When you accept it as part of life it becomes much easier to imagine.

I know, I'm going to die, may be much earlier than what I thought it would happen. Owing to a lifestyle, I stand no chance of survival beyond 60 years. Reaching 60 itself will be a lifetime achievement. As I'm thinking about it, I may make few changes here and there and prolong it for few more years but eventually I will breath my last someday. KNOWING THIS FACT I CANT EXPRESS THE JOY OF BREATHING AT THIS VERY MOMENT. It's the thing that got us started, keeps us going on and will put us to a halt one day. Sighhh.. while writing this I unknowingly took a deep breath.

So how would that moment be when my life comes to a halt? I wish it happens when I'm in deep sleep dreaming of best moments I had. Moments when I felt most alive, like the one when I was chanting "Sachin Sachin" to the top of my voice when Master Blaster played his last 200th test match at Wankhede Stadium. Moments spent with family and friends, and with little ones. Remebering their selfless sweet smiles. I will be thankful if it happens early morning before the sunrise, before the dawn. As I dont like waking up early morning, let that be the time- I never have to ever again. Let everyone gather who wants to meet and let me be on my final ride before the sunset. Like I said, it should be a celebration. No one should cry, miss me silently if you wish to but no shedding tears. Celebrate it with colors. The dress-code for my funeral should strictly be informal.. The best could be Goan style. Shirts and shorts with flower prints, hats of different styles, and carefree attitude... like we all have when we visit Goa. No whites strictly no whites. And I don't want to get carried away in sleeping posture. I have slept enough in my lifetime, so when I go, put me in a Car, seated; in the Navigator seat (and put a map in my hands of the funeral location) and have one of my best friend drive the Car. Needless to say, play songs of MJ(Earth Song), Bob Dylan(Blowin in the wind), Bob Marley(Every little thing gonna be all-right), Nusrat Sahab(Sanu ek pal chain na aave), Lataji(Khamosh sa afsana), Pink Floyd(Time), Nirvana(Man who sold the world), Kishor Kumar (Ye jeena hai angoor ka dana...), Sonu(Abhi Muzh me kahi), Arijit Singh(Phir le laya dil), Lucky Ali(Anjani rahon me) and lastly Metallica(Nothing Else Matters). I deliberately wrote this because Music makes the life worth living and its my wish to play it on my last ride. 

When the ride reaches the destination, have a welcome for the body, burst few crackers, have a DJ blaring Pitbull & David Guetta songs. Let the cremation begin, I wish its old style pyre... as I have always enjoyed the journey more than the destination... want this too, to be slow and enjoyable. As the sun sets, let the flames reach the sky. Have return gifts for the guests, preferably copies of Bhagavad Gita with posters written in bold letters, "ASATO MA SAD GAMAYA, TAMASO MA JYOTIRGAMAYA" and songs of my last playlist.

Is that all? Yes it is. We cant write our own scripts but we are optimistic humans, we never cease to dream...doesn't matter if it's about life or about death.

I'm feeling light hearted for no reason having written all that. Don't know what hidden emotions pushed me thus far to write all this for no reason, on a cool, breezy, drizzly, relaxing, monsoon weekend morning... Just sipped a hot cup of tea and went on writing... 

-Ciao

Anatomy of Pain

You know what is greatest pain- it's being alone after hard days work and not been able to reach the spot on back to apply ointment to tend severe aching. Having to cook to feed hungry stomach makes it even more miserable. Not lamenting just expressing. 

This too shall pass.

The physical pain slowly subsides. 

The bleeding heart starts paining more.

Pain isnt always physical ... You, yourself is a reservoir of pain, waiting to find cracks in the pot internally or externally.

Doesnt feel right. How much strong one can be. Is it being strong or feelingless? Look at the other guys, they crib about their companions but they forget its the very shadow of their loved ones, they are finding solace. Without that umbrella they wouldn't survive a day without complaining. 

Not having anyone to complain about is also painful.

-ciao

Sick & tired yet unconquerable & optimistic

Sachiin Sachin !!!

Bazar

Bazar me utar aaye hai, koi boli toh lagao..

Bechne ke daam alag hai dekhne ke alag.

Bazar ke ritirivajo se mukhatib karvavo,

Ye naye parinde hai, roj roj nahi bikte.

In pursuit of dreams

I wish to get a job in far away remote observatory or setup one of my own, away from city crowd, high atop mountain. I write software for astronomy and do astrophotography all night. Enough time for research and meditation, no worldly distractions, no obscurities of living. A man of few things and a lot to accomplish. This was the childhood dream and it's still not faded. Along these many years, I may have lost or gained thoughts, but these few wishes are so close to heart; they seem to never leave me. Now I have everything to make it possible, so I will not be greedy or lusty for a city living. I will soon start on the path of my heart; a journey and a destination known only to me. This is the land of childhood dreams. I wish I never grow up to extent of forgetting them. It's because of that guy, Albert Einstein. What should I say... He ruined my teenage. He filled me with dreams so big, so different and so uncommon, that I never felt its important to be part of rat race. I never competed against anyone to get good grades, good house or for that  matter a beautiful girl by my side. It's not normal but everyone is different. Why should I? That was the pertinent question and above all, I was always competing with myself to get better and better -to reach to that destination I had dreamed of. I'm still striving to get there and I have strong faith that my perseverance will get me there. That will be fullfilment of my life. No worries, if I breath last after fullfilling my destiny. Let all the universe conspire to help me achieve that, because thats what I want from the core of my heart.

My first messier marathon with JVP

A Day In Life

Redfish18: Riding Solo, Single person in auditorium. Watching "Her" @ Audi3 @AmanoraPune Thanks #Inox for not canceling. #HappyValentinesDay #Her #Pune

Happy New Year 2014

AAP ka accha samay shuru hota hai ab.

May Tagore's words come true, starting this year... Revolution has began.

... Let my country awake.

 

Inquilab Zindabad

Arvind kejriwal sworn in as Chief Minister of Delhi. The era of good Governanve begins. It's opposition party's responsibilities too, to keep them on challanges and perform their duties selflessly.

Inqulab Zindabad. Parivartan aa chuka hai.

Long Live Rebellion.

Wisdom for Life. You only need to know this.

In the end, only three things matter: how much you loved, how gently you lived, and how gracefully you let go of things not meant for you.

 - Buddha 

Creating 1st world experience in 3rd world !

Way of life, 

Way of thinking, 

Way of perceiving things 

Way of giving back to society

Way of narturing individualism

Way of nurturing relations

Way of honoring personal spaces

Way of positive criticism 

Way of healthy competition

Way of lawful duties

Way of moral obligations

Way of daily routine.

Doesn't take latlong change, but mindset. Nothing Else matters.

-ciao

11/12/13

How often we get a date like that ! 

When you wonder, why its December so soon, you have no idea how you wasted those 11 months. 

Klueless !!!

-ciao

BELIEVE TRY LEAVE

First You Need To BELIEVE.

Second You Need To TRY

Third You Need To LEAVE it to Destiny. 

Nikal Pado Re Bandhu .. Nikal Pado re

Nikal Pado Re Rahi .. Nikal Pado Re

 

http://youtu.be/p7LvIUbA4_o

Namumkin Bhi Mumkin Hove Karke Dekho Re

Nikal Pado Re Bandhu .. Nikal Pado re

Nikal Pado Re Rahi .. Nikal Pado Re

ciao

Sachin Sachin - 16 Nov 2013

The God Moment 

It was one of the best moments in life to listen to Sachin's speech. Will never forget the moment when after the victory lap got over, he walked down the ground alone and bowed down to the pitch... touched billions of hearts & made millions cry. We didn't go out of the stadium for almost 1 hour after the match is over, until police started to intervene.. we few gathered around the MCA pavilion and chanted Sachin Sachin... That was the moment he came out again to wish everyone final goodbye... The God moment... Dear SRT we will miss you. 

#ThankYouSachin

Happy Retired Life. 

Sachin Sachin - The Sachin Phenomenon

It's not mere a ticket, it's deliverance of a fan's undying faith and continuos toil to see Master Blaster's last Cricket match. 

The chants of "Sachin Sachin", the eclectic exuberance, overflowing joy and contagious smiles on fan faces when Sachin comes to bat, indispensable... cant be compared to anything else.

Aisa koi zindagi se vada toh nahi tha

To the dreams unfullfilled and the fullfilled ones too.

Jo mila hai, woh kabhi sapno ke barabar tha. Aur jo nahi mila uska sapna aaj bhi aankhon me hai.

Jo mila woh mila, jo nahi mila woh nahi mila.

Ab na maut ka dar, na rab ka vasta.

-ciao

सचिन स्तोत्र - Sachin Stotra Stuti

सचिन स्तोत्र

बॅटधारी महारुद्रा पूर्णरनवान मारुती

रमेशी अंजलीनाथा रनदूता प्रभंजना ||१||

विक्रमानी तुझ्या देवा भरली सर्व दफ्तरे

एकहाती काढिली त्वा अख्तराची लक्तरे ||२||

कसोटी खेळसी जेव्हा, सारे विक्रम तोडिले

लारासी टाकिले मागे , रनासी तुलना नसे ||३||

एकदिवसीय सामन्यात बोलरां धडकी भरे

तयासी तुलना कोठे , पॉटींग कॅलिस धाकुटे ||४||

एक्सप्रेसची होते पॅसेंजर, स्पिनर सरळ होतसे

वॉर्न तो महा बिलंदर तुजला स्वप्नी पाहतसे ||५||

वकारे आपटून ऐसा तुजवर चेंडू सोडीला

नाकावर जाऊन बसता चेहरा रक्ते माखला ||६||

पुढचाच चेंडू झाला लॉंग ऑफला सीमापार

सर्वासी कळले तेव्हा हा जरा वेगळा प्रकार ||७||

वन डे चा तू राजा चॅरीटी करतो बरी

२०-२० व कसोटी धावयंत्र ते चालले ||८||

इतकी वर्षे खेळून तुझी भूक ना भागली

विराट अश्विन रैना मागती तुझी सावली ||९||

कधी पाठ वा कोपर दुखता माकडाहाती कोलीते

सचिन तो सर्वदा शांत त्याची बॅटच बोलते ||१०||

तोडले झोडले फोडले कधी सीमेपार भिरकाविले

सगळ्यांची केलीस शेळी, जे तुझ्यावर गुरकावले ||११||

कधी कठीणसमय येता घेशी हाती बॉल तू

मंदाविशी फटकेबाजा, देशी पटकन ब्रेक-थ्रू ||१२||

स्लीप-गली-कव्हरआदि शॉर्ट-लेग समस्तही

जाती सीमेपाशी आनंदे सचिन दर्शने ||१३||

जिंकविले किती सामने तरी एक इच्छा उरी

विश्वचषक जिंकून देवा तीही तू केली पूरी ||१४|

हे धरा पंधराश्लोकी लाभली शोभली बरी

दृढदेहो निसंदेहो धावसंख्या चंद्रकळागुणे ||१५||

फलंदाजी अग्रगण्यू मुम्बैकरांसि मंडणू

रनरूपी तू महात्मा शत शतकेधारी तू ||१६|

इति श्री ऋग्वेदकृतं संकटनिरसन नाम सचिनस्तोत्रं संपूर्णं |

ज़िन्दगी कैसी है पहेली हाय .... Manna Dey ... RIP.

One of my favourite, Legendary film singer Manna Dey passed away today at the age 94. Rest in peace.

In memory of #MannaDey, the voice of love, of playfulness, of desire, of longing.

Movie/Album: आनंद (1971)
Music By: सलिल चौधरी
Lyrics By: योगेश
Performed By: मन्ना डे
 
ज़िन्दगी कैसी है पहेली हाय
कभी तो हँसाए, कभी ये रुलाये
कभी देखो मन नहीं जागे, पीछे-पीछे सपनों के भागे
एक दिन सपनों का राही, चला जाये सपनो के आगे कहाँ
ज़िन्दगी कैसी है पहेली...
जिन्होंने सजाये यहाँ मेले, सुख-दुःख संग-संग झेले
वही चुनकर खामोशी, यूँ चले जाएँ अकेले कहाँ
ज़िन्दगी कैसी है पहेली...
source: http://hindilyricspratik.blogspot.in/2009/06/zindagi-kaisi-hai-paheli-manna-dey.html

-ciao

Pune Rains

Unapologetically Random ! 

It rains it thunders it showers it drizzles it pours ... all at its will. anytime anywhere.

Love to hate. 

My Facebook Experiences : Using and Deleting !

Disclaimer: Generally people say "It doesn't matter as long as you don't give importance to it or don't make a daily routine... Whole world is using it and what stops you from using it ?"
To those: That thing "whole world". Get over it.

Ok, Get it right ...Click my Facebook profile link on the left ...

Waht ?? Not working ?? "This content is currently unavailable"

YES ! that's precisely the reason why you are reading this blog.

This is interesting and long story short I deleted it. Whoaaa.. 2500+ photos, 400+ friends, admin of 7 pages and thousands of pagelikes. Has he blocked me? Has he gone mad? Is he troubled or facing any tough time? Has he become psycho? (well that's what all your FB friends think "first thing" when they couldn't find you anymore on social networking)

BUT Believe me, everything is all-rite and it's a decision taken in full consciousness.

Facebook is new age "social" experiment. Yes, It is.

We were not born when the society came into existence. We were part of it the moment we came to existence. Now see it through this experiment, When you came on this social platform, how you used to share things freely when there were not many people using it, as time passed, it got more concrete.. all your family members are there, your colleagues, your near/far and dear/non-dear ones ... Don't you now think once before sharing things (social obligations)? Worst it is for the infants & kids... even before they know anything they have profiles on Facebook, they are getting it as legacy... legacy ..that's traditional society thing. So they don't get the freedom to choose there social environment because they already have one... and who are their friends, the friends of their parents and their kids.... a lot of parental control since the beginning. Ohh yeah ..now you know what I'm getting at. Think about it you can draw umpteen parallels.

I created profile when Facebook was not at all popular ... Very first among my friends, back in 2008. It was QUITE. No Buzz.

Since 2010 it picked up, Posting frequent updates, sharing photos & videos, ranting out daily, keeping away for weeks, Showing and hiding stuff, restricting updates and bombarding others daily, posting opinions on owned pages, spamming, promoting pages, creating groups, events and so on ... All this started giving new insights about social networking, personal space, building relationships and understanding how it works and affects the relationships.

It's quite interesting. "Facebook is a real society." Declare it ...may be a showmanship country. But like a real society it feeds itself on your life span. The time you give to it out of your life.

"The expression of experience takes the priority than experiencing the moment itself." A lot can be said about this, but when we hear at tourist places "Hey take my profile pic here.." "Let's take a cover photo ..come everyone .." enough!

Well I like to be social, I'm an ENTJ and I must draw my energy from the external world. To top it, I'm a hobby photographer and like to share my clicks. Yet I'm choosing to stay away from Facebook. There are numerous reasons and I will detail it out...

1. Facebook makes you a public entity. : Yeah... pretty common. Where I spent my weekend, with whom I was, what I ate and what I drank ... everything is out there in open. Earlier the security was controllable, but due to recent timeline changes, many sections are left public. Only a keen observer can make out how to hide your activity feed. Many wont even bother but they are making themselves and their friends more vulnerable to ad agencies and bringing a bigger danger of letting the information go in public domain. It can even hamper somebodies personal life. Oftentimes Facebook over glorifies a person who is high on sharing things. It doesnt necessarily mean the same because you are still seeing the person from the window he/she has opened for you and not in entirety.

2. News Feed that fades away your time. : Constant updates on timeline makes you a spectator than a doer. Sometimes you are on the other side but that doesn’t make you wise either. This itself is the most effective reason to stay away. I tried to control the news feed but it's useless to have a blank news feed. Human mind doesn’t work that way. Once you are there you must get all the updates. No matter how repetitive and irrelevant they are to you. Moreover it's not educating you or letting you form your own opinions. In non FB days people were more inclined to read and focus on what they like, now we keep on reading junk photo messages which may be funny but low in taste(most of them) and non educative. We spend hours reading some "Page Admins" views on status quo and keep on sharing them. This surely degrades our own appetite for learning. Feeding mostly on the comic, satire and sarcasm makes you psychologically unbalanced. You must have noticed, People generally (mostly) use Facebook for celebration of victories, happy stories, achievements, travelogs, purchases, happy life events, meetups or anything that like  (seldom we come across heartbroken lovers who keep on sharing sad poetry n songs). This constant dose of  happiness is what makes you restless. It asks your subconscious to push harder to stay afloat in this Happy wave. With a little introspection it wont be hard to believe in this fact. Haven't it made you miserable when sometimes you see  -your dreams, someone else is achieving?

3. Facebook doesn't care for your privacy. : This is reason enough. Since Facebook's inception, it has changed privacy policies and settings every year, making you more public and thus more vulnerable.The sense of getting spied is getting stronger. Every search of yours every keystroke is monitored, and if I'm guessing it correctly: There's a meta-profile of every individual with Facebook. It probably knows more about you than your closest friends. A online activity cannot be undone, it only propagates leaving more traces. Facebook servers must be full of such traces and they are using it freely to target you. I'm not even touching cookies here. That's a whole different story. Heard of Facebook bug bounty program? Well it doesn't address your genuine concerns over privacy, automated friend requests being sent or allowing any new profile/app to take over your and your friends personal information. The more open your profile is, the more profit they get through advertisements. Why would they pay attention to these loopholes? These are the means of Facebook's earnings.

4. Stops relationship growth. : Yes, it doesn't allow relationships to develop naturally. The moment you add someone... an acquaintance or peer or stranger as friend you get to know all about them... photos, interactions, friends, hangouts, thoughts, past history... that naturally makes you think and start building first impressions, opinions about personality, leaving a very less scope to talk and know the person "in person". Novelty takes a hit, you find nothing new when you meet the person because you have got to know his/her spheres of interest and likes.  Does it excite you to know more of person when you already know so much, or does it make you speculate the next moves of the person or helps you plan your next moves? Manipulations... It's works more than different ways subconsciously than it appears on surface. Most of the times the speed at which you post exceeds the speed at which you meet/casually talk with that new person. This makes the other person more aware about your whereabouts without even talking to you and leaves them wondering. This is a new kind of experience coming to fore using social networking. We build relationships through experiences and togetherness. Those experiences are now scattered in two major categories.. one that includes your new friends (you might have added them after having such experience together) and the one that doesn't include your new friends. It's slightly disturbing. The person you barely know is now all over your news feed, and most of the times you may take things in wrong way because you don’t know the person well or the context in which he/she is posting something. It's a troublesome proposition. In other ways it also entices spying behavior,  jealousy, constant need of receiving updates and likes for stuff you posted. It unsettles you if it stops, because sharing is caring and if others don't care and pass it off without acknowledging it starts building insensitivity in so called (barely) friendly relationships. This insensitivity might just show up when you actually meet the person (reserved behaviors, as if keeping hidden mental accounts, again it's not superficial but subconscious:  you cant pass it off saying it's not true, the environment real or online affects everyone in same way.) This is the case, where the tool takes more importance than the objective itself. By oversimplifying things Facebook actually dumb down everything.  

Ok, there are ways to protect your privacy up-to some extent but that makes you manipulative and untrustworthy. In a open society people talk and share with each other. Hiding things from select people (or sharing with few) wont do any good to you in this scenario.

5. Any surprises. : NO we know about everything the moment it happens, on Facebook.

6. Tag me : Ohh yes and get blocked. Why on earth everyone should know about every person I hang out with. Places, people, likes, dislikes, food, clothing, music, movies, books everything is shared to everyone out there. Why ..because we like to and we don’t give a damn about privacy. And even if we do, Facebook keeps updating their privacy policies and uses all the information we provide in numerous ways to benefit them and corporate eyeing for our personal data. It's simple thumb rule "Nothing comes for free in this world."

7. Unwanted friends & followers. :  This happens with lucky few (and mostly with beautiful girls). Haven’t you seen hundreds of followers in a profile (thank god if your friend request is accepted). Those are the one's hopelessly waiting to get added. Funny but true. Same goes with friend requests from unknown people, spammers, sponsored ads and promotions. Unwanted Likes? yes that’s also new age problem. Do it never or do it always. Go on a "Liking" spree or stay quite, if you choose to be selective ..wait for the payback or silent treatment.

8. Real-time availability. : The moment you post something on Facebook, you give away knowingly or unknowingly your location details (to Facebook always & sometimes to all) and your availability. You might not be in a mood to start conversation but Some people just wait to message at the same moment and might get offended if you don’t promptly respond. Well isn't it annoying? Moreover you cant pretend that you are sleeping because the update says "It's midnight and I'm preparing Maggi noodles..." real gotcha !

The list can go further because there are deep caveats of human mind and sociopsychological influences at work.

It might turn out to be useful tool if used carefully and with balance. But again human mind is not that helpful, it makes you wander haplessly whenever possible and it's carefree & limitless. Striking right balance is always questionable too, everyone has a different threshold. On other side, Facebook is high on exploiting personal details, interactions. The Observer pattern is turning out to be  "Loudspeaker" pattern. Facebook is trying to be everything-  Twitter, Flickr, Yahoo IM, Instagram, Blogger, Skype... they all served different purposes without crossing the lines and letting one express freely in that particular space. Facebook invaded those boundaries, by connecting all the dots they destroyed ecosystem. It looks convenient in first glance, but it's treacherous. One monolith giant trying to track all online activities of a person. They can reveal a lot about a person or just provide information for money. Hope it finds sense of privacy and personal space only then I might reconsider to ponder upon it again.

I have seen most of it or should I say used it to the highest possible extent ... but now I don’t want to see more. Call me psycho...whatever. I don't care. For now I'm not returning back.

Nearing the end of this blog, Thank you for being good reader, now the million dollar question...

So how does it feel after deleting, well... ask yourself, how you ever felt before having one.

Reclaim the calm.








-ciao

I sucked at public speaking today.

I don’t know why ??????????

I got no stage fear, I got no chills, I got no butterflies in stomach...still...

This is where my world opens inside out, so I must say I need to work hard on getting it right.

I was Ok in the beginning, but when I looked at the audience in front a sudden feeling of awkwardness crept in.. Do I really know these people, why suddenly they look so unfamiliar to me? Is this feeling pointing to my reserved work relationships... do I need to open up more at workplace on my floor with everyone casually?

It was a sure sign that I'm not feeling comfortable in present setting.
And I must make conscious efforts to set it right.

#BITSiansDay BITSians Day - 2nd August 2013

If you are a proud BITSian, join the thousands of BITSians to celebrate the first ever 'BITSians Day' - the day when the world will witness the BITSian pride and what it means to be a BITSian!

2009HZ12681 Celebrating the #BITSianday @BITSAA   Proud to be one.

Ship Of Theseus

Seldom one come across something, which challenges his belief system, challenges his worth being a human... Ship Of Theseus, is one such movie which did exactly the same to me. I was excited to watch it the moment news broke that Kiran Rao is going to present it along with UTV. When I booked the ticket online for 10 PM show, I knew I'm going to watch it with just a couple of other people, not more than 6 to 7 ... because that's the number of audience you get for something different than mainstream. To my surprise, the hall was almost full, mostly the crowd from age range 23 to 30 and the 55 onward. There were some cold sighs in the beginning few minutes, but slowly everyone got engrossed in movie. No one left hall in interval, in fact everyone tried to finish their business and came back quick not to miss a moment when it began after interval. The crowd was surely enjoying as there were hearty laughs in the last story. Everyone got connected to what was shown , may be that is the reason that no one got up even as the credits started rolling, there was a unanimous applause in the end.  

This happened exactly at Inox Amanora Pune, two days before. 

The movie left me wondering about everything. The cinematography is pulling me again to theater to watch it one more time. One time is just not enough for that splendid work of cinematography. 

The discussions between Maitreya and Charvaka, between Navin and his grandmother, between Aaliya and her boyfriend... everything is so real. Every word of it.

One dialogue between Maitreya and Charvaka, made a lasting impact on me "Your inaction is also your Karma" , and so does between Sohum and his grandmother "bas itna hi ho pata hai", and so does between Aida and reporter "Why is it so amazing to not have any limits or doubts". I must say the whole movie made a lasting impact.

Lastly what really carved my heart is the pounding heartbeat in the ending scene.The cave exploration, Was it a cave or human body? It gave whole new meaning to intuitive thinking, filmmaking and leaving a lot to think about.

Self exploration is the journey one must take to find himself.

This will surely get extended welcome from the fans of good cinema. My sincere request to movie distributors, please hang on and let this movie play for longer.

The Ideal Day

as imagined years before...

T.I.M.E.

Time as Metal - "Bahot time gal gaya yaar."

Time as Sand - "hath se fisal gaya yaar"

Time as Span - "kharab chal raha hai yaar"

Time as Opportunity - "mera accha time aane de"

Time as Weed - "Burn that time"

Time as Person - "Bahot time pass ho gaya yaar. "

Time as Tears - jane kab beh gaya katra katra ...

Time as Bird - udd gaya ...

Time as Time - ye sab kab hogaya pata hi nahi chala...

My First Car !

yes, finally !!!
It's Hyundai Accent Viva (ABS, 1.6L DOHC ). Brought it from Mahindra First Choice showroom for used cars. I decided to buy a used car after a lot if pondering over this purchase. And when I saw this powerful Black Pearl, I couldn't resist!!

Rest and Relax, stop the search.

I don't know whether all what I'm doing is right or wrong... I'm just trying to go with the flow and that's certainly not me. However I think that's what is the right thing to do! So keine problem. Rest and Relax !!! When you are already there don't start searching again, just Rest and Relax for a while... and don't forget to enjoy !

Happy Bday to Me :)

Half life !!! Turned 30.

Qt, Android, Ubislate : Marrying Frugality with High Tech App Development

I was working on this thing from long time, finally before 2 days got success at it.
My recently purchased  Ubislate 7C+ (Also called Akash Tablet) is now running Qt (C++ based) applications on Android Platform.

Tum Bin

Happy Valentines Day !

Manjil pe pohachne ki khushi tab hoti hai jab hamsafar sath ho...

Long Live Love. Forever and ever...

-Ciao

Temple Run

I was running ... I got very good at it. I ran more than 5k meters in single run without tripping. I loved running. And then I explored the "Store". I was totally unaware of it before. It had many things to buy with coins. I started running to collect the coins to buy those powerups and wings and to live those extra personas alias characters. I lost all the joy of running and I became coin hungry runner completing objectives one by one. Now I run only for objectives not for fun. Temple Run taught a big lesson ... a lesson for life.

H N Y 2 0 1 3

the best year has just began ... It's this year. Either I do it this year or never and I lead a normal life. And I have no plans to lead a normal life.


Happy New Year

Live Long & Prosper !

ciao.

12-12-12

last repetitive date they say ....
1-1-1 to 12-12-12

next time will be only after 90 years !

1-1-2301 to 12-12-2312

Hope somebody from that time finds this post !


It's a message for that person from future

Life of Pi .. deserves a post !

This is how I saw it. Morale of the story ..the tiger is not an animal..it's something which challenges you and keeps you alive on your journey... teaches the art of life..of letting go and keep moving forward !

Careless

I have always been true to my blog... it's something like a diary since 2005.

Nowadays a lot of social networking has taken its toll on good old habits of reading, blogging...

So I have a taken a short break from all that..believe me I cant keep it away for longer ..the Fact is I'm an ENTJ. (figure what it is on your own, it will dawn some light on your personal life too, if you have passion for understanding good things, go for Myers-Briggs Indicator...ok.. enough clues)

Most of the times I'm misunderstood or not at all understood by those surround me and that's a childhood problem... courtesy physics and computers... sometimes I speak something which I only know what it means or a close friend who has stayed with me for long time and who knows my interest levels. I am blessed to have at least 5 friends like that. Very lucky man I am.


Coming back to blogging, It's always a clear reflection of my thoughts, moods..may be erratic, positive negative ..whatever... it's My Space.

Some people say I do a lot of facebook ..well I was a blogger SINCE 2005  and I had this hobby/habit of expressing myself... that time I used to send my blog links to my friends to get their feedback and comments. ONLINE space was ALIEN to them at that time. I joined "THE FACEBOOK" in 2008, none of my friends were even aware of "the facebook" then. Le 2011, everyone is online. Everyone is on FACEBOOK ...Now that they have entered the online space doesn't mean I stop doing what I was already doing since 2004. It's just that I'm more visible to them now.. and they say I do more... well guys you have come to my world so you will obviously see more of me ;) But that's not all. Blogging is always superior to all those random posts and likes on facebook. I have stopped sending links to my blog posts a long back.. never did I published my blog link anywhere else on social networking. It's something that reveals me ..laid bare my thoughts ..  so I keep it subtle, under wraps unless you find it on your own or stumble upon it.

Whats makes blogging different is it's free from interference. You write what you feel, you write not for the sake of someone to read it, but to express yourself..well at-least for me it's that way. It's not a tech or monetary blog to attract more traffic, rather musings of a soul on his journey.

Silence thundering Silence.

Sach hai samay ka hi...

LG

Jee le zaraa !

-ciao

Talaash - The never-ending quest

In search of nothing, you get nothing. in search of something, you get that something. In search of unknown, you get happiness with whatever you have got.

Talaash is never-ending...


-ciao

Just like that ..profile pic for lync

Happys Endings..hahahahaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa

USA - September 2012

Being in USA is lot different than being in Europe. I liked the later one.

Countries where I have set my foot far...
Austria
Germany
France
Italy
Czech Republic
Netherlands
Switzerland
United Kingdom
United States

Me@John Deere ISG Office, Urbandale, USA

By far the most hopeful 15 Aug !

From common man, to politicians, to PM... everyone was involved in finding solutions for social issues.

By far this Independence day brings more hope... that a small beginning will bring major changes.

It's a duty of all of us to keep this fire burning and keep renovating our own thoughts and our country.

Hats Off to the Team of SMJ... and to all people who contributed to various causes. It's a movement and must be continued... gr8 work ! 

Amir Khan had a noble idea and it worked wonders looking at the donations received.

It's a noble and pure cause and must be lifted by all of us. We have seen how it's going to help those NGO's.

Donate generously and bring out a change by acting and not just discussing and forgetting the cause.

Satyamev Jayate is not just a show but a people movement. 

We are with you team SMJ, in whatever capacity may be, we will bring out the change for good of society and our country ! 

------------------------- 

Sirf hangama, khada karna, mera maksad nahi

saari koshish hai ki ye soorat badalni chahiye

mere seene mein nahi, to tere seene mein sahi

ho kahi bhi aag lekin aag jalni chahiye.

Jab Dil Pe Lagegi Tabhi Baat Banegi !

- Satyamev Jayate !

------------------------- 

Satyamev Jayate .

-ciao

Happy Independence Day ! 66th year of freedom.

The journey is beaconing, the light is coming.

The best day in your life is when you are of some help to someone out there.

This should inspire you when you are down.
When "One" person succeeds he takes the entire race head with him... it's not a personal achievement it's a boon for mankind. Help people Succeed in their dreams. You will be successful too.

ciao.

One thing

I love my life, I love my job, I love companies I worked for, I love my work, I love the people surrounding me, ...what I will regret is that one thing I never said when I should have :(

4 June 2012, Starting my own electronics lab @ my flat.

Another wish has found it's way, "on it's own". Enough working for others, it's now time to work for own sake. Nothing is more pleasurable. All what I have learned and assimilated, it's time to give back... in the form of products.

My motto is as simple as that,

Make things simple if not simpler. Simplest things makes the most of all the senses.

Let the journey of thousand miles begin with small steps from today.

No looking back now, only a sense of moving ahead in the direction of dreams that always haunted me, kept me awake, learning and yearning.

It's not for the world, it's not for money, it's not for superiority, it's for satisfaction... a sense of being.

It's for my parents, it's for my friends, it's for my school, it's for my teachers, it's for my college, it's for my employers, it's for my mentors, it's for everyone who entrusted in me.

It's time to form a team. Spartans needed !

-ciao.

Partner - Va Pu Kale

I can't resist to put the best things I've ever experienced on my space. This book of Va Pu Kale has a special place in this blog. It talks about something I can relate to. How can a person write at such factual details. How can he know the "Pattern" so very well. It's not easy to write with such personal touch. Va Pu himself once said... If you write personal it becomes universal.

"पोरगी म्हणजे एक झुळुक. अंगावरून जाते, अमाप सुख देऊन जाते. पण धरून ठेवता येत नाही."

 

"तुला मी हाक कशी मारू? पार्टनर ह्या नावानं. आपल्याला खरं तर नावच नसतं. बारशाला नाव ठवतात ते देहाचं."

Va Pu Kale. You are the best !

Thanks Sheldon Cooper. I got US Visa because of you.

I don't know what went into my mind. When I was standing in front of US Visa Officer at US Embassy in Mumbai, I ACTED EXACTLY LIKE SHELDON COOPER. The Nerdy Stance, The Talking, The Mannerisms. For a moment I felt like dual personality coming out of me.

April Madness ! Turning 29 & Alone !

Keep Moving !

...

Down the memory lane... strolling haplessly.


ciao

Why Art Of Living ?

A lot of people ask Why Art Of Living?

The only reason sufficient  is because I say go ..

I'm a devout Atheist. Someone who has left prayers and temples since 10th grade.. (immediately after getting the horns.. that's what we call in Hindi.. singh nikal aane ke bad..). Since then I never prayed, stayed miles away from religious gurus/saints/leaders. Still I have faith in gaining knowledge. So continued reading the scriptures like Vedas, Geeta and many other books from prominent religions.

After all this reading, my belief in Atheism got concrete because especially no scriptures in Hindu religion ask you to worship any God. If one read them by heart and know the meaning ..interpret it in correct and true sense, one will understand the concept of "Oneness".  The point of telling all this is, I'm NOT a religious God happy guy!!! Even then, If Vikram Hazra sings his Bhajans I will get up and dance.  Because I'hv broken those inner barrier. I'm still the same..non believer but I appreciate the Art Of Living for bringing in the spirituality and the calmness in society.

Now enough prologue.. coming straight to the point.

Think about this.

We have seen many baba's/gurus/saints/leaders. You can find them easily on any devotional channel.

Who are their followers? Ans: Most of the people are illiterate masses, and sometimes the miracle happy fools who want them to do a magic trick and take away their sorrows.

Who are the followers of Art Of Living: Ans: The elite class of society as well as masses. From NASA/ MIT / IIT / graduates / Engineers/ Doctors ... to the simple breadwinners in small towns. Mostly the highly educated young folks all over the world in 134 countries. Even the teachers of Art Of Living are Graduates from premium institutes. They enjoy the company of Guruji more than earning big bucks. THIS IS THE KEY DIFFERENCE.

Why these many so well educated people turning towards AOL. Because AOL is not about any religion,nation,sect or follower-ship. It's all about learning the vast knowledge and implementing it in real life. Sri Sri is not a magician to perform tricks and heal you. But certainly he is the leader who teaches you how you yourself can heal you. and That's why we call them GURUJI. He will not preach but teach you physical and breathing exercises  which will help you keep fit. He will clean your thought process from stress so you can make clear decisions and stop worrying. I was very reluctant in my initial encounter with AOL when people used to say "Jai Gurudev". I was not able to get these words out of my mouth because I had strong forces inside telling me why should I say that? One day I listened to Sri Sri, He also used to say "Jai Gurudev". I was puzzled. Everyone says jai Gurudev for Him, then for whom he is saying the same? He explained it very well, after listening to that the inner barrier was gone. It's all about gaining the knowledge and dissolving your ego and learning the best of spiritual teaching which is above any religion. This knowledge is pure.

I know that even after reading this people will say, I'm happy I don't  need AOL. Yes, stay the same. Because that's the very essence of AOL. Stay Happy, stress free and keep smiling and spread happiness to the others. :)

Personal note:

After attending the Yes+ course, I became fan of AOL. Direct interaction with Sri Sri /Bawa/Dinesh/Rashmin was very good. After seeing them I understood that earning money is not the only thing. Giving it back to society means a lot. I'hv been to AOL ashram many times, doing seva is the most blissful experience. No one teaches you, you learn your lessons the best way after doing the seva. It teaches you a lot. Cutting the vegetables, cleaning the utensils and floor...that was my education. Those small acts of  Seva will get you immense knowledge. You dont need highfi classrooms or dignified speakers. When you do seva you learn a lot by yourself. Try it.

JAI GURUDEV.

The Breed Called IT Engineers !

There's always a bright side... a silver lining as they say.

I have many friends added on facebook who are fueled by their passion.

Some like botany, some like astronomy, some like photography (bird, nature, wildlife, astro, wedding etc), some like trekking, some like painting, some like singing, some like cycling, running ... WOW Did you see any IT thing in there.

They are full time loyal employees to their companies, but the fraction of time they get out of their schedules, they dedicate it fully pursuing their passions. Some of them have gone so far that they are like institutions. You ask them and they are as good as experts working dedicatedly (i dont know if this word exists) in that field.

Soo whats the point of writing all this?

 Well, the point to be noted is, people scream from base of their stomach that how IT has taken away their lives, how it has imbalanced work-life. To all those guys: IT (Information Technology - some call it "software job") has given you enough money in your hand which you can use to pursue your dreams, chase your passion. You get money, you get two days off in a week and if you are not right behind seeking loans for materialistic things then it's right time for you to chase your passion. Whatever you do, the crux is if you are well placed in your job... you know you can finish the work by just concentrating not more than 4 hours a day.

That is a fact. You may have to slog in the beginning but as you grow mature you master several things, and if you wisely plan your projects you will wonder how easily without much stress they can be finished. This leaves behind the the most important thing other than money ..the much needed TIME to master your skills involving your passion.

Now something personal

I don't know much about human psychology, but I think we discover our passion very early ...may be in our school days. At least that's what happened to me and most of my friends. I am interested in sky watching, astronomy from a very tender age.. that was first passion. Then came physics, cosmology,  computers and photography.

Everything is linked... now I use computers to track the planets and constellations and use my photography skills to capture the wonderful universe, celestial marvels. My pics is my wealth. I love to do this and I will keep doing it.

Leap Year !!! 29Feb2012 !

Special blog on a special day !

Next time will be in 2016 !!! Who knows where I will be. Who can say ! nobody!
Where the world will be heading for !

If I write a blog after 4 years on this exact day, I will surely remember the time just as I am writing this.
#tags to remind me the events of today.
 #isg #2630 #skywatching #agile #visa #shilp #JD #kuberavihar #D5100 #pune #mylife #myrules !

If tomorrow never comes...

-ciao

Occasional blog on a Leisurely spent weekend.

Chilled out  weekend... no hurry no worry. just chill out.. enjoy whatever you are doing.. go wherever you want to, do whatever you like and ignore everything else you don't like.

Pretty simple..huh...

HOPE

Nonetheless howsoever I might have said I expected this but alas it pains in the end. It's never easy to let go something, with it, it leaves small beautiful permanent prints. what can I say in despair. It's life it's practical no dream world. not always bound by cause and effect, many things beyond that. How you wish is not how it happens always.
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GONiLbKSX3k

Aarambh hai prachand

Rajputana ho ya Maratha sab ki yahi soch hai. 

Prajantra kuch raas nahi aa raha hai. Sab aatank hi aatank hai.

Life is so much beautiful you can never get enough out of it.

It's just a matter of getting right perspective. 

HNY 2012

Welcome 2012.

Wish you all Happy New Year!