Simply shore...

It’s quite a question for me: Why can’t past be undone (not in deed but in its effect)? Each one of us has had some bad experiences in life, why is it so difficult to just come over them and live life to its fullest in the present? If it’s supposed to take just a little more will-power, why is it that most of us are not able to do it? Why the brain isn’t wired in such a way that you remember only the pleasant ordeals (damn it!:P)? I know I am asking too much. :-P Why cant everything be just as simple as the shore?

Looking at the white foamy waves hitting the shore incessantly, indomitably, today suddenly reminded me of these lines. I love being at the beach. My mind is so much at peace when I am at the shore. The wonderful sight of a lone sail boat slowly fading away off the horizon…waves hitting shore incessantly…coy clouds mollycoddling each other…gentle breeze refreshing you in and out…and as the sun recedes to its abode, the princess of night making its presence felt with the silver twinkling over the dark water. The sky sprinkling a continuum of shades dynamically to welcome Her Majesty, it’s just too heavenly. And that’s precisely when I re-iterate-“Life is beautiful”:-)

Current Mood: Pacified
Song I am listening to: Jewel Spirit –What’s simple is true

Einstein's Monsters (1987)

Martin Amis skillfully brushes away the dust which had laid down shrouding the Nuclear Weapons Race, by the aid of a compilation of five short stories. A well-written set of views do make you indulge into
1) Thinkability – “Nuclear Weapons repel all thought, perhaps because they can end all thought.”…that makes one think, doesn’t it?
2) Reality – so grotesque which is!

“Language cannot live with this reality”-so true. So when you enter the world of nuclear weapons there are two possibilities – Nuclear Warfare or Nuclear Disarmament, both of which are difficult to imagine-the former due to its immense fatal repercussions and the latter because of its immense improbability. His distinct style of writing is unquestionably impressive. The story “Insight at Flame Lake” so uniquely uncovers the life of a young boy suffering with Schizophrenia. A probable future of humankind has been unveiled – and beneath the veil is laying a world so petrifying, dehumanized or rather inhabitable – a world inhabited by the Einstein’s Monsters.

“Events that we call “acts of God” – floods, earthquakes, eruptions – are flesh wounds compared to human act of nuclear was: a million Hiroshimas. Like God, nuclear weapons are free creations of the human mind. Unlike God, nuclear weapons are real. And they are here.”

“Indeed they are remarkable artifacts. They derive their power from an equation: when a pound of uranium-235 is fissioned, the liberated mass within its 1,132,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 atoms is multiplied by the speed of light squared – with the explosive force, that is to say, of 186,000 miles per second times 186,000 miles per second. Their size, their power, has no theoretical limit. They are biblical in their anger.”

This piece of literature/fiction is a masterpiece for sure. Another of his work “Times Arrow” , the autobiography of a doctor who helped torture Jews during the Holocaust, which was shortlisted for the 1991 Booker Prize, drew notice both for its unusual technique — time runs backwards during the entire novel, down to the dialogue initially being spoken backwards — as well as for its topic. I havent read Times Arrow but appears to be quite tempting :)

Quantum Physics et al

If you have had a chance to chit chat wiht any physicist ever, then this is something that you would have already heard of. Quantum Physics, the physics of probability (really!?). It is sufficiently wierd, yet acceptable. Whenever I read anything even remotely based on Quantum Physics, I am more than overwhelmed by the explanations that Quantum physics provides as it infalllibly shakes my understanding.

If you do the mathematics using Quantum, you will be bound to conclude that moon (humongous large body - the star of the night since my childhood) has a non-zero probablity of going around and visiting other planets when you are not looking at it. Once you look at it, it pops into existence. This is what Quantum physics says, everything around you has a non-zero probability of not being there when you are not looking at it. But once you look at it, it pops up and says "Hey, look, u fool, I am real!". Only when it bangs its head against something real, it is real. wow! thats wierd!

Wondering about the heisenberg's uncertainity principle, have you ever also thought that how can the reaction of measurement be so instantaneous? A concept quiet out-of-the-box is Entanglement.Gee...two quantum particles can be so well-associated that knowledge about one is enough to measure the other.

Grass on the other side looks greener. Physics in its purist form, sometimes lures the hell out of me. I also want to see if Schrodinger's Cat is alive. So if you have some interesting reads related to Quantum physics, do pour them on here.

The Castells

Castells is the catalonian word meaning Castles (human towers). I must say I was lucky enough to have got an opportunity to catch this excitement live.

I particularly was held in awe when I saw the needle formation. The highest that I saw was of height 9. It was just spectacular. Hope you can feel the excitement statically with these pictures.

Right Below : Needle Formation in progress (Other team). Notice the people in the middle, which will later be the part of the needle as the cocoon of the surrounding castellers sheds off later. Teamwork incarnated.

Left Above : The cocoon shedding off. Excitement building up. :-)

Right Above : The one of height 9 (attempt in progress, which was later successful). I have no words to describe how amazing it was. Building a real 9 storey high structure is an irrefutable achievement for any castellers team.

Had a good time on a otherwise lazy and hot sunday afternoon. Check out this link of the team Castellers de Barcelona.

Diane Arbus Revelations

“Nothing is ever the same as they said it was.
It’s what I’ve never seen before that I recognize.”
-Arbus

About two months back, I had the opportunity to witness the legendary collection of Diane Arbus’ work. This exhibition catalogue has also been published as one of the four books of her work.

Some of the photographs were really amazing. Diane Arbus photographed a variety, but freaks are what she concentrated on. In the exhibition, I also got to read some of her hand scribbled thoughts in her personal diary/planner. It was perplexing to read how invincible she was for her passion. The boldness of her subject matter and photographic approach were recognised as revolutionary. Not only were displayed over 200 photographs (making it the most complete presentation of her work ever assembled), but also were there her cameras, contact sheets, letters, notebooks, and other writings...as well as books from her personal library.




“I want to photograph the considerable ceremonies of our present because we tend while living here and now to perceive only what is random and barren and formless about it. While we regret that the present is not like the past and despair of its ever becoming the future, its innumerable inscrutable habits lie in wait for their meaning…These are our symptoms and our monuments. I want simply to save them, for what is ceremonious and curious and commonplace will be legendary”
-Arbus

I was particularly shocked (a lil numb) when I read those few words from her diary when she tries to describe her hotel room where she was staying. The way she describes everything that is very much static and dumb around her to be so noisy and annoying for her; somehow those words made sense to me. The world around all of us is very much the same; but to reason out or accept why it appears vastly different to some people is intimidating.

Arbus was also attacked by critics and her contribution to art remains controversial. She committed suicide in 1971.

“A Photograph is a secret about a secret.
The more it tells you the less you know.”
-Arbus

Quotes from Diane Arbus: An Aperture Monograph

Introducing Banerjee

I really relish the evening jogging, sometimes brisk walk when I am not well instead. Though I haven’t accommodated it permanently in my schedule, but whenever I go for it, I have a fresh feeling…freshness of being alive.

Spending time with self is probably the best gift that you can give yourself. And one important lesson that I always sincerely -recommended- myself to learn is that 'none other than yourself should be yours more than anybody else' (makes sense?). When you live for self, when you strive to make your self a better person, that’s when the true purpose of your existence can be realised. Sometimes, I think I have revelations… of what wrong I did on the day that was, of what I can do, and of what I should do. Sometimes, I make plans, motivate myself.

I believe that to synergise your different levels of existence - spiritual, physical, emotional and mental, you should spend time with yourself to make yourself more aware of what you really are. That -is- true if you want to believe it.

The most beautiful walk/jog is but on the full-moon night, when I am accompanied with the princess of the night with her blissful , calm and divine white light all the way playing hide and seek…hiding behind the trees, high buildings :-)

I feel different.

I feel I am not alone.

On a lighter note, see who I met today on my way. This is the one and only ...Banerjee (The name rings a bell? This is the only name I had for him as the algorithm that I implemented yesterday was the Banerjee Test for Data Dependence). So this justifies the title of my post. Doesn't it? :-) I love the way he shied away, on knowing that someone is going to capture him. God bless Banerjee [-o<. The picture quality isn't that good, I used Nokia 6600.

Love is...

I am not sure if many people are aware of this beautiful strip (updated daily except one) - The Love is...on Comics Page.

I love these gifs and involuntarily check these daily every morning :) I think its just a perfect gift for your love to remind him/her that you are indebted. :D What came to me as even a sweeter surprise was to see the gifs in spanish as well. It a bliss to have the gifs befitting your mood on some days.

Have you sent your love this gif today? :P

Link to the Love is...strip.

Stop Cribbing...

I wonder why some Indians here ensure that they always crib against India, now that they are away from the homeland. Almost any discussion that is taken up ends with a patent remark "In India, you cannot expect this!".The discussions varying from movies to politics, from literature to education et al.

If you have ever heard of this famous expression in Hindi "jungle mien mor nacha...kisi ne na dekha" But if nobody saw the peacock dancing, does it imply that the beautiful peacock doesn't dance? India is rich and diverse, full of opportunities and corruption, love and violence, and freedom and struggle. Its a hell, thanks to the irresponsible ingrates Mother India is nourishing. But its a heaven too, kudos to the people who want to make a difference.

I personally feel that India is struggling and is trying hard to cope up with all the problems...India has a chaotic system for democracy/administration/education/politics..but the beauty of it all is that -it works!- Because if there is a black sheep amongst us, there is a revolutionizer too!

Every nation has witnessed a vivid history...is marked today with dynamic levels of intrusion of technology/science/education...is at different stage of development...and is fighting against its respective odds. Its simply wild to think and compare society and cross cultures et al. , as wild as trying to find intersection of two subsets from disjoint sets.

I am sure there are numerous people striving for a better tomorrow for the country in face of NGOs/social reformers/politicians/teachers..., but they just don't get the limelight, thanks to the irresposible and highly commercialised media. But do you comprehend no message from the formation of a political party by IIT guys? Is cribbing about one's own country justified? Let me assert that I am not talking of adopting extreme aggressive nationalism which stands insignificant in wake of globalization. I am talking of arousing -the nationalism- that gives you a sense of oneness as a nation, a sense of Singular Identity, a sense of resposibility. The time calls for resposibility, responsibility on the part of every citizen of India and not sit back and crib!

Having an opinion, I take no authority to bar others from having a different one ;). I have the right to express mine but also the duty to respect others' :P ..Any takers?

Bingo!

Well, I should have posted something here around 15 January 2006, the day which marked a month of my stay in Barcelona! :P

Apart from the teething problems, I think life here should be easy. The days are passing by without my knowledge...hectic week days, and a lil dull weekends at times. I am looking forward to making some gala time, memories that I can cherish all through. But a void in some form will still remain. And yes, travelling with the turk flight wasn't that bad an experience. I have received compensation for the luggage delay, even when it took me around 4 weeks to fax the required documents. I had been told a majority of airlines are a bit orthodox with the compensation stuff. I won't mind travelling again with the same flight even ;) (assuming that I get compensation again)

Right now, listening to Welcome to my Life - Simple Plan. This song has it...