Welcome to the Fight Club

I watched Fight Club yesterday and the movie had profound impact on me.Don't panic I don't suffer from a personality disorder.But what I do realize that each one of us has an alter ego which is subdued somewhere in our subconscious mind. We constantly have an inner struggle with our alter ego in each and every decision we take in life.The alter ego could be at times negative and at other times positive depending on one's state of mind. GOD blessed us all with a brain , but over the past 10000 years of human existence as a homo sapien the brain has proved to be both a boon and a bane.
All of us are sometimes forced to lead and live our life's in accordance with the norms of the society.Now some of these norms are archaic and totally irrelevant in present times , hence they need to be modified.As most of the societies and cultures don't offer a flexibility of modification this leads for the human mind to struggle and ultimately choose path to redemption and complete self satisfaction. Some people who inherently are introverted and like to lead a quiet life are forced to lead a completely extrovert and public life due to circumstances and paths they have chosen.Some people are lucky to lead lives which completely match their personalities and inner self , these cases of a person with no alter ego , because life and society has offered them all they wanted.
In the movie "Fight Club" Edward Norton creates a split personality in Brad Pitt and leads his desired form of life through his character. Some people would described such people as insane and mentally sick , but I would take a different perspective on it.I think its in our human rights to live our lives the way we want to , till the time we don't harm anyone.Nature has given us better sensing capabilities as compared to all other animals and we need to exercise our basic right to live to the fullest. Hence let other live life in accordance with their own terms and lets not criticise each other with what is defined as right or wrong by the norms of the society.

His Masters Voice

HIS MASTERS VOICE

When I hear my masters voice
I have, but no choice
To go running towards him
To put my face on his face's rim
His face shines like a beacon of light
as I catch a glimpse of his sight.
and it puts away all my fears of night

He is my master
He is my friend and my father
I long for his return back to home everyday
So that we can have fun and play

Yes you guessed it right
I am a dog for I cant be cat
Because I think their conscience smells of a rat

We more than often have a telepathic dialogue
To anyone else it would look like a monologue
But don't be fooled by the scenes
As it is a way to our means

Our paths crossed when he was in work life's sophomore
But who knew that we together will weave around our own folklore
Our love knows no boundaries
Every other relationship feels like sundries

At time he experiences his soliloquy
But it is a cover up for time he wants to buy
We are now separated by seven seas
Our lives are like chalk and cheese
But I know deep inside he yearns
His heart full of guilt
For the fortress he has built

But I know someday I know
We will be together for us to show
I pray to God for all the births I have
I still want the same masters voice
Because I don't want any other choice

-

Dedicated to my pug

A Freakonomics Quorum

Age old wisdom and laws of nature state that every action has an equal and opposite reaction.
Experiences in my life have taught me that your own actions good or bad in life come back to either reward or haunt you in the most mysterious and unexpected ways.
It is my belief that each instance of our lives is an outcome of a past event either connected to us or connected to our kins.I am not John Nash hence cant promise a mathematical equation to you defining each and every life moment of yours however what I can try to do is to provide an insight on how life is charted or planned for each of one of us.

How do we connect our lives with destiny , is destiny a phenomenon which can be quantified or is it a dependant variable which is governed by a multitude of events , actions and people around us. I would like to combine two theories here : one of Six Degrees of separation and the other one of the butterfly effect. The first theory states that an individual can be connected to any other individual on this planet by not more than six relationships , the butterfly effect theory states that a the most trivial of all events can have life changing impacts.Its based on experiments on variance in the batting of wings of a butterfly which can change the course of a tornado.
Combining both the theories together their is a possibility that the small events in peoples lives we are not directly connected with can have far reaching implications on our own lives.

The combination of the above two theories can have profound effect in letting the human mind decipher the code of how event unfold in our lives.The theology has been described to a large extent in the book "Freakonomics" trying to link up events of small significance with huge ramifications over the next few decades of its occurrence.The unconventional premise here is if morality defines how we would want the world to work , our individual actions define how actually the world works.

I sometimes wonder what would have happened if Gandhi had not be subjected to racial violence in South Africa - would India have gained independence earlier by virtue of the efforts of Subash Chandra Bose and his allies or would India be still under the British rule.Would Nelson Mandela have been inspired by non-violence and led a freedom struggle of such magnitude spanning over sixty years to change the way the world viewed South Africa. Would India and Pakistan still have been a unified state there would have no acts of terror.

What would have happened if US had not entered into a battle with Vietnam , maybe it would not have shown that the worlds mightiest power is vulnerable.It gave hope to other freedom struggles and epitomized Guerrilla warfare as a way of defeating the Americans.

What would have happened if Billie Jean King had not played the battle of sexes match , maybe WTA would have existed anymore...maybe we would have seen stars like Sharapova and the Williams sister come into prominence.

These are some of the zillions of past events which impact our daily lives in some way or the other.The only way we can define our future is my doing things the right way to ensure that our coming generations bear the fruit of it.....

My Karma is my Dogma......

Dev D is an emotional ATYACHAR

I was encouraged by one of my mates to watch Dev D and was set the expectation that it is a cult movie in its own sense ...well after having watched the movie over a tumultous period of 150 mins I would like to replace the "l" in cult with letter at my disposition...please pardon my syntax here but its straight from the heart.
I dont blame my mate for it I guess he too has been a victim of "Keeping up with the Jones" syndrome and to have social conformance with his mates might have watched the movie in disgust .....
Well well what can I say about the movie I feel empowered like Khalid Mahmud like having the right to tear apart the movie to shreds......the movie has a decent plot with the protaganist Dev D delivering well in his role ...what I just struggle to understand is why has the director put in so many real life stories into the plot of the movie ...I guess the USP of the movie is the frequent foul language and the openess with which sex is being discussed....

Now now I know that Sex sells and that we as audience gather a vicaral pleasure from watching lewd/nude scenes and Iam not a follower of Ram Sena......but what Iam concerned with current mental decadence of the current youth population of India...with the movie vividly portraying famous scandals like the MMS Scandal whereing the actress has scant respect for her father and at one point of time accusing him of jer@#$g at her MMS leading to his suicide.This prompts the girl to take the path towards prostitution.
Now portraying this as the independance of a teenagers mind inspite of doing something wrong is what I take as inference from the movie....
Abhay Deol is the only one who has done justice to himself and the movie by acting well....morever the movie meanders off track in between and fails to come back to its original plot....
If movies like Dev D and shows like Splitsville are a reflection of the mindset of the youth of India then Iam thouroughly sorry to say that Iam sad and that it disappoints me a lot.....what our teenage population see from the west and what we try to copy are two different things....
nyways I just sincerely hope that the future of India is in safe hands.....

Celebrations of an abstract mind

Welcome to my world of evolution…To an existence beyond your wildest imagination…To a life of inspiration…To the eternal hope for salvation! I live in a world which exists only in your dreams! …
and THIS IS JUST THE BEGINNING!

I’m back… and I’m bigger…better…and stronger! A new and improved version! We spoke of stories and songs…of life and rejoicing… of exhilaration and anticipation. So I ask myself… where do we go from here! And the answer my friend… is as clear as water! There is only one constant… CHANGE! And as I change… as I evolve… as I adapt…so must my thoughts. I find myself on a threshold. Make no mistake…I do not talk of a new life. I talk of change to an existing one.

I am not revolutionary… I am just another man…livin’just another life…fighting for his right to belong…fighting for his place in the sun! I stand on the edge… but I see a horizon.

Do not question my belief…for my life is free. I do not ask you to follow me…I ask you to keep the faith! I can only show you the way…the road is yours to take!

So I welcome you once again…to the musings of an abstract mind. Where my world rests on the laurels of my faith… where my freedom leads me to eternal hope…where it is not the power of my mind but the depth of my soul which will determine the fate of my existence.

Welcome to my world without boundaries…to a life without rules… to a celebration called humanity.

Welcome to my life… I AM THE WAY!

The Power of Six Hats

Early in the 1980s Dr. de Bono invented the Six Thinking Hats method. The method is a framework for thinking and can incorporate lateral thinking.The six hats represent six modes of thinking and are directions to think rather than labels for thinking. That is, the hats are used proactively rather than reactively.The method promotes fuller input from more people. In de Bono's words it "separates ego from performance". Everyone is able to contribute to the exploration without denting egos as they are just using the yellow hat or whatever hat. The six hats system encourages performance rather than ego defense. People can contribute under any hat even though they initially support the opposite view.The key point is that a hat is a direction to think rather than a label for thinking. The key theoretical reasons to use the Six Thinking Hats are to:
- encourage Parallel Thinking - encourage full-spectrum thinking - separate ego from performance.For me EGO stands for "Edging GOD out", a trap which all of us fall into.

There are six metaphorical hats and the thinker can put on or take off one of these hats to indicate the type of thinking being used. This putting on and taking off is essential. The hats must never be used to categorize individuals, even though their behavior may seem to invite this. When done in group, everybody wear the same hat at the same time.

White Hat Thinking
- This covers facts, figures, information needs and gaps.Its the phase of time when one drops arguments and proposals to look at the data.
Red Hat Thinking
- This covers intuitions,feelings and emotions.The red had allows the thinker to put forward an intuition without having to provide any justification for it.
Black Hat Thinking
- This is the hat of judgement and caution.It is the most valuable hat and is used to point out why a suggestion does not fit the facts,the available experience,the system in use,or the policy being followed.Black hat must always be logical.
Yellow Hat Thinking
-This is the logical positive.It can be used in looking forward to the results of a proposed action,but can also be used to find something of value in what has already happened.
Green Hat Thinking
- This is the hat of creativity,alternatives,proposals,what is interesting,provocations and changes.
Blue Hat Thinking
- This is the overview or process control hat.It looks not at the subject itself but at the "thinking" about the subject.In technical terms it is connected with meta-cognition.

The Day the Music died

Generation after generation has grown up listening to " American Pie" by Don Mclean and over the years fans have fallen in love with the song all the more and many are still trying to decipher the exact meaning of the lyrics as Mclean still maintains his silence of what he meant when he wrote the lyrics.3rd February (1959) is officially known as "The Day the Music Died" when three American Rock and Roll musicians - Buddy Holly,Ritchie Valens and J P Richardson died in a plance crash near Clear Lake , Iowa.The death of these musicians inspired Don Mclean to express his feelings through his song the "American Pie".The song has had a profound effect on me as each line is as meaningful and intriguing as the previous line.The songs exihibits the vicissitude of emotions Mclean felt and went through during the 1960's.Sociologists credit teenagers with the popularity of Rock and Roll, as a part of the Baby boomer generation, they found themselves in a very influential position. Their shear number were the force behind most of our country’s recent major transitions. McLean was a teenager in 1959 and he begins by simply commenting that the music had an appealing quality to him as well as the millions of other teens. McLean also had an intense desire to entertain as a musician. His dream, to play in a band at high school dances, was the dream of many young boys who wanted to make people dance to Rock and Roll.Music was believed to “save the soul” and slow dancing was an important part of early rock and roll dance events. Dancing declined in importance through the 60’s as things like psychedelia and the 10-minute guitar solo gained prominence.McLean was asking many questions about the early rock ‘n roll in an attempt to keep it alive or find out if it was already dead.Back then, dancing was an expression of love,and carried a connotation of commitment. Dance partners were not so readily exchanged as they would be later.Before the popularity of rock and roll, music, like much elsewhere in the U. S., was highly segregated. The popular music of black performers for largely black audiences was called, first “race music,” later softened to rhythm and blues. In the early 50s, as they were exposed to it through radio personalities such as Allan Freed, white teenagers began listening, too.McLean was writing this song in the late 60’s,about ten years after the crash.
The jester in the song is Bob Dylan , there are several interpretations of king and queen: some think that Elvis Presley is the king, which seems rather obvious. The queen is said to be either Connie Francis or Little Richard.An alternate interpretation is that this refers to the Kennedys — the King and Queen of “Camelot” — who were present at a Washington DC civil rights rally featuring Martin Luther King.The song also mentions about a generation lost in space which refers to hippies, who were sometimes known as the “lost generation,” partially because of their particularly acute alienation from their parents, and partially because of their presumed preoccupation with drugs (which was referred to as being “spaced-out.”).Being on drugs was sometimes termed — being lost in space because of the TV show, “Lost in Space,” whose title was used as a synonym for someone who was rather high.
The song inspired Janis Joplin (lady of the blues) to write and sing the song "Killing me softly with his song."
The song is one in its class and has been voted as the 5th best song of all times...please take some time out to listen to the song its an absolute beauty....