Hum Log - serious musings

saw Rang De Basanti tonight. comments on that can wait, though. Before that, i want to express the thoughts i had while pondering over the movie. what we see and know and what is depicted is a situation of extremes. At one extreme, there is a constant lament on the state of affairs of the country and at the other, we see, and in movies alone, people going all out for their country. Just as bad it is to keep cribbing about our country while doing nothing about it, equally impractical it is to do what is shown in the movies. What i'd like to share is something i feel can be done by one and all effortlessly.
what struck me as unnerving is the level of cynicism in our society. even my mom had the standard comment after watching the movie, " nothing is going to change". by saying so we're killing an idea rightaway. Its our defense strategy. If u can't do something, label it impossible. When everyone thinks like that, we have india as of today.I myself have been a cynic throughout my life. But i have started changing. I ask you to change too. I think it can make a big diference to our society. Try to respond positively to everything that you see around you. If you don't find it at frst sight, look for it. everything has a positive side to it. I know from experience. Only the staunchly resolute can self-motivate them. For the others, a simple word of encouragement or a gentle help can do wonders. I think that there are many people amongst us who wish to do good for the country but lack the initiative. After all, you don't want to fall flat on your face trying. Life is also about being practical.
so in the end, its a very simple thing to do. Just be positive to whatever you see and hear. Who knows, the friend you encourage today may actually do something really great which otherwise may not have materialized.











what india needs is not a set of great people at the helm of affairs, but an entire population of good citizens. The rank of an ideal citizen is a difficult one to achieve and hence it can take time.

Mario Puzo syndrome

i experienced a classic case of the mario puzo syndrome while reading the tipping point, by malcolm gladwell. before that i'd read Blink, which was actually his 2nd book, so that, most people have read tipping point first...I liked what i read in blink, but the person i borrowed tipping point from vehemently maintained that blink is crap and nothing compared to the tipping point. well!, i felt otherwise..whle blink was an interesting read throughout, tipping point started of nicely but the middle pages featuring sesame street were such a drag..the ideas seemed to be a tweaked version of those in blink....probably the others felt the same for blink after reading tipping point first...even so, i must admit that tipping point does overcome the syndrome at times..surely blink would do too!...
...apart from the concepts presented, the most striking thought that came across my mind was the amount of time spent and dedication showed by the researchers mentioned in both the books..we had guys sending letters to over 500 people, people doing tests on hundreds of children individually and what not...i admire their conviction.

Hum Log - ep 2 "awaken"

we are simpletons, we indians. we are intelligent, but we use our intelligence to mostly sit in a group and crib about whats wrong with the world, whats beyond the universe and of course whats happening in the neighbour's house.now don't imagine mahatma gandhi,subhash chandra bose et al, i'm talking about the common man...hum log...what we lack most and which makes a hell lot of difference is ATTITUDE..you don't need a PhD in comparative social studies to figure that..just watch an india australia cricket match...while an indian batsman, in a crunch situation, looks to defend every ball; the first thing, an australian, even a tailender, would do is ,maybe, step out and hit the bowler for a six and dominate him...thats ATTITUDE and it has very little to do with skill...we've all seen Irfan Pathan's devastating form in the ongoing indo-srilanka series...its attitude dominating there!..a devil may care attitude, coz he has nothing to lose if he gets out for a duck...his reputation remains the same..but that cannot be said of sachin,dravid,yuvraj,kaif...they are burdened by expectations and that gets to them more often than not...the australians don't seem to have such mental issues...just watch gilchrist playing for that matter..absolute abandon! and that's why he's able to play like he does...its very difficult to have such a mental frame..and thats why i say its genetic...or from a different perspective, socially induced...

Afterthoughts:
we are an 'unsure of ourself' race..maybe we became so as a result of british domination...we look down upon ourselves and look up to the west...because our society brainwashes us to do so...because, in a way, its true...but don't forget that our histories are different...our generation is more confident, but we are yet to bravely look everyone else square in the eye...that day will come and it will come soon...and then there is no stopping India...All of us should do our bit to make the future generation of india confident..we have one of the best cultures to fall back on, we are among the most intelligent races in the world, we are globally acknowledged as a peace loving nation...we have what it takes.
..Be proud to be an indian,Be proud to be yourself.

hot cocoa psychology

i was having my morning cup of hot chocolate when i was reminded of the innumerable ocassions when authors have extolled the combo of a hot drink on a cold/rainy morning...i went on to relate it to the feeling you have when u'r all warm and cozy in your seat,looking out of the window of a car/train at a wintry morning..its a very nice feeling, very romantic too!..nothing like it, if there is someone to cuddle up with under a thick blanket and watch dew drops condensing on the window pane......well,aside for the romantic touch, my point revolves around the human thought process. the pleasure we derive in such an environment is not as much as from being warm than from experiencing the contradiction....just imagine, would you feel as happy if you are in a closed room all warm and cozy....definitely no! knowing that you're warm, while seeing that everything around you is in the cold, gives a kind of ego boost and that is what makes us happy. So childish is the human mind!