Thursday, March 30, 2017

The need for Privacy


Privacy can be defined as "the quality of being secluded from the presence or view of others" or  "a state in which one is not observed or disturbed by other people". A more general definition would be the ability to maintain a space that can be kept away from everyone.
Privacy has long been an underlined issue, but since the last decade and a half, the need to focus on this aspect has exponentially increased. Whether it is the government invading it's citizens' private space, or the infringement of that space by a third party, whether it is an individual's unwitting relinquishment of that private space or a transfer of the same by trickery and fraud, the major question has not been about privacy's nature and functioning, but its need. Whether it’s the naive "Nothing to hide" argument or government's favourite "But security…" argument, the fact that the question it evokes in people's head is not about privacy's accommodation in the current scenario, but about its need and existence in the very first place should be worrisome, if not alarming, to the least.

The state is the result of transference of consent, power, intent and ambition of its people, but its formation doesn't rule out the individual capacity of anyone who participated in the formation of the state. The same applies to private spaces as well. The state gives its people an ambit for exercising their individualism wherein they can make choices that may very well differ from the ruling class itself. The state while ruling, indulges in vigilance but purely as a means to uphold its part of the contract—that it will work in the best interest of its people—and thus the end goal of that vigilance is not surveillance per se but to identify and solve any anomalies and disturbances in the set fabric of the contract. Since privacy would fall under the ambit provided to individuals by the state, it becomes necessary to figure out if the vigilance is, at any point of time, working well away from its original intent to identify disturbances, to merely keeping a record of every action, behaviour and intent of individuals in their respective ambit "in hope" of finding a workaround to future disturbances as and when they occur. The problem with the aforementioned method of vigilance is that, in keeping an image of an individual's ambit, it a) nullifies the sole authority of the concerned individual as it introduces forced power sharing and b) in the state's inability to ensure objective-only analysis of that image as well as prevention of any and all form of sharing with any and all form of third party—whether by breach or otherwise—it infringes the ambit to the point of making it a public space—which by definition, is under direct control of the state—causing complete destruction of the personal nature of the ambit. The personal space thus, ceases to exist.

It now becomes important to understand the point of origin and the functioning of the two arguments that were stated in the beginning.
        First, the "Nothing to hide" argument. The naivety of this argument lies in the fact that it fails to understand the necessity of the existence of the private space and that the state cannot remove the personal space, for that would amount to complete control over people's actions, which not only prevents them from making individual choices, but also forces ambitions, beliefs and ideas on them, resulting in a vessel-operating state, which contradicts the reason of the state's existence in the first place. The transference of consent and intent to form the state is to facilitate an efficient mechanism to carry out the ambitions of the people forming it, while allowing the very same people to work towards a part of that ambition on a personal level. All individual choices are thus, considered a way to fulfill the personal-level functioning of those ambitions. The state influencing the personal-level functioning of individuals, or directing or forcing it, would amount to denial of an ambit to work towards those ambitions, resulting in those ambitions becoming state-centered as opposed to being people-centered. Even as a state progresses, it is necessary to allow individuals to progress on a personal level to create a harmony between state and its people so that the resulting development is synchronized and doesn't leave anyone behind. Therefore, the reason for existence of the private space is not to hide something, but to practice something at a personal level so that it's in harmony with its larger counterpart being carried on by the state.
      Second, the government's favourite "But security…" argument. The primary flaw in this argument is that it assumes that there exists some sort of barter wherein one can exchange privacy for security. Such a barter is neither possible nor does it exist. The two reasons why such a barter isn't possible are because a) there doesn't exist a reason to justify the complete demolition of the private space and b) the primary aspect of security works on the personal level, which wouldn't be possible if there didn't exist a private space to begin with. As mentioned before, the existence of private space is fundamental to the existence and proper functioning of the state. Moreover, every complete action conducted inside the private space has a resultant product outside it, in the public space, which is under direct control of the state. Since this resultant component of the complete action in under constant vigilance of the state, it becomes unnecessary to introduce vigilance inside the private space, let alone demolish the private space completely to merge it with the public space. The vigilance needs to evolve according to the resultant component in the public space and learn to associate it with disturbances, as opposed to bring the private action in the public space "in hope" of finding a disturbance.
        For example, an individual participating in private research about an item on the internet or two individuals participating in a private conversation regarding a meet-up would account to the private component of the action in the private space, which when completed—an online or offline purchase of the item in the first case, or meeting of two individuals at a particular place in the second case— leads to a resultant component which exists in the public space—monetary transaction in the first case, or evidence of meeting of the two individuals in the form of CCTV footage of the place of their meeting and/or transaction records related to transportation if involved—which happens to be under direct vigilance of the state.

It is to be noted that the idea behind the state denying a private space to its individuals is to prevent the effort it would require to safeguard the private component of the actions in the private space—if the action is public, it doesn't have a private component—and the need to  establish a mechanism wherein the primary right over an individual's private component is the individual's itself, so that the state doesn’t need to work on a request system to gain access to those private components if the need occurs.  The problem with the aforementioned arrangement is that if the state doesn't ask for permission from individuals for the private components of their actions, the practice extends to state refusing to take permissions for accessing its people's credentials as well since the two are interwoven. If the state no longer maintains a request system for access to its people's credentials, people lose the primary right over their credentials and the credentials cease to exist in the private space and are instead transferred to the public space which is unacceptable since an individual's credentials are the most intimate component to them.
          For example if a state maintained a biometric database of its individuals and didn’t establish a request system for access to that biometric data and didn’t maintain a mechanism in place to check for correct and ethical usage of the biometric data, the state not only denies people the right over their own biometric data, it doesn't even provide them a mechanism to check if their credentials have been infringed. A case-by-case access on request and a checking system for correct and ethical usage allows people to retain the right over their own credentials—since their biometric data is accessed only after passing through a request system that verifies the need to do so, thus maintaining the sanctity of the private credentials—and simultaneously allows the state to work on the disturbances while ensuring all individuals their private safety. If the aforementioned procedure isn't followed, the private space of all individuals is permanently infringed since they no longer possess the primary ownership of their most intimate component-their biometric data. With no rights whatsoever, the concept of security on personal level ceases to exist. If people don't feel secure on personal level as a result of demolition of their private space, there cannot exist security on a public level either. The correct method of providing security is by ensuring proper functioning of privacy as opposed to rendering it useless i.e. the moment all individuals no longer have a private state, the government denies them security on a personal level and subsequently on the public level as well.

Therefore, the primary question is not about privacy's existence but about its accommodation in the current scenario by providing maximum utility to both state and its people. It thus becomes a state's primary priority to safeguard its people's privacy in every domain so that its functioning remains correct and ethical—by not being fueled by greed for money or power, but instead by need—and people retain a primary ownership over what is rightfully theirs.

Leia Mais…

Thursday, December 26, 2013

But this time

But it wasn't the same this time. I should have just stood there, bearing it all, ignoring it all. Things should have gone the way they always did; but the stars no longer aligned the usual way and fates were bound to be different this time. I remembered those teachings which used to accompany daily hair oiling. Mother made sure there wasn't an issue she left uncovered; patience, compromise and tolerance were the three key words. "Is it necessary mum?" I always used to ask her. "(It's) what defines you" came the answer instantly. The winds were always strong at this point, like they wanted to teach me the song of strength and rebellion which they sang. The birds would go renegade choosing to defy the Sun. But mother said I wasn't made for it, "We" aren't made for it. The birds flew high in sky and dogs fought over the only piece of bread. But all these scenes were made to mean only one thing for me, "not for you". Those words stuck with me for so long, but today, they seemed to have gone astray, rather run away in fear. Fear of what was coming, for which mere words weren't going to be enough. They were right. I could only offer as much resistance as silver would to electricity. I was standing still, but the turmoil would soon send these vegetables in action. I had usually imagined myself in chains, made it easier for me to believe I couldn't do anything, that I was helpless. An occasional glance at people around me made it easier to resist the temptation. Asking was the fruit of Eden I was forbidden to eat. Those people only made me fear for them, for I would make them perish because of me. The point is I would generally stop. But it wasn't the case this time, the train had left the station, the bull had left the stable, the arrow had left the bow. There was no stopping. I delayed any action that could occur. Why shouldn't I? All those years of conditioning and molding, they were meant for this very day right? So that no questions were asked and no voices were raised? Do as taught and the rest doesn't exist? I felt an immediate existential crisis as the teachings of my lifetime betrayed me as I swayed to the dark side. But the mantle was strong, and core, true. Doing anything would contradict everything, kill the very reason I was made into this world; but the storm inside insisted something had to be done. As the thought lingered in my mind the breeze tried to cool the heat of the forge. I turned around to see the half-open window. The house in front was surprisingly calm as it glowed with colours of warmth and care. So was this it? It had all been going to the wrong address all this time? Who was I kidding. They were never meant to be shipped to this address. The lack of restraints were proving to be a problem. The urge for the forbidden fruit only grew stronger with time. The window flew open completely and hit the wall. So this was it? No more thinking, no more fighting, no more questioning. This, was the answer. This, was it.

Leia Mais…

Saturday, October 5, 2013

Popular Fiction as purveyor of False Consciousness



The way our State functions is that it enforces certain ideologies on its people. Since the formation of the
State is a result of collective transfer of consent, consciousness and rationality of the people, any repressive from of enforcement, using any force or violence would lead to the threatening of its existence for compromising on their rights, liberties and freedom. This not only harms the State directly but also brings the true intentions of the State in light. The State hence, rather than acting to directly change the behaviors and actions it wants changed, attacks the ideologies behind them. The general masses act upon their ideologies subconsciously, not pondering about them once they have found roots or are solidified. This fact ensures the State that replacing that ideology with theirs would definitely do the trick. Now the important thing is that the State as a Ruling body is majorly constituted and influenced by the Upper Class which by default becomes the Ruling Class. The State hence thrives, survives and drives on the facilitation and ideologies of the Upper Class (or in this case, the Ruling Class). The State wants active promotion of Ruling Class’s ways for it ensures State’s power. This is because socio-economic profits are but incentives for the Ruling Class which in turn backs the State. It should be noted that practicing of Ruling Class ideologies (socio) and the demand for their resources (economic) by the masses increase the power and hold of the Ruling Class many fold hence becoming an incentive to help the State. The State achieves this enforcing of ideologies through educational (schools), cultural (Church) and Popular Media. Although the State actively acts only in the first two, it is the third which is left for the Ruling Class to play with so as to achieve the desired results. The Popular Media has got a direct connection with the masses which allow the formation of a consensus among the masses via a discoursive route or via archetypal ideological establishments. The Ruling Class hence affects the popular media by coupling their ideology (in this case, Capitalism/Consumerism) with certain ideologies well rooted among masses (in this case, Patriarchy, Caste and Class structure), and packaging it according to the contemporary demands of the masses. The packaging and the social ideologies (Patriarchy etc.) acts as a façade which allows the Ruling Class ideologies to seep in. The Popular Media as a result now carries packets of enforced ideologies meant for mass consumption without the detection of the tweaked elements. Prolong exposure to this popular media results in a certain reservation and bias in favor of the Ruling Class ideologies; unknowingly. The change which follows is a subconscious one, and results in the formation of a consciousness which, to the general public appears to be their own, but in reality is of the Ruling Class, thus, bringing in the concept of False Consciousness. The term ‘False’ here explains the nature of the consciousness, which guides the masses, promotes certain choices, lifestyles, instills an amount of conditioning and further promotes some ideologies; appears to be integral to the masses because of it appearing to be an individual construct and having origins in their own consciousness, but in reality is nothing more than a product of the Ruling Class which ensured its purveyance so as to make it look like it originated from the masses. The demands, voices and vested interests are all Ruling Class’s and the societal ideology is only used to promote and actively practice Ruling Class ideologies. The societal ideology is either promoted, used as a mere catalyst or sometimes even ridiculed either to enjoy the favoritism of the masses for Ruling Class ideologies or to boost any existing consumption. The point to be noted is that, the societal ideologies never gain a level of high importance for the Ruling Class as they are used as a mere medium to allow interaction of the masses with the Ruling Class ideologies. The societal progress if, in any case it happens would be nothing but disguised economic progress of the Ruling Class. The State benefits from the Ruling Class by making them ensure its prolonged control and power, and the Ruling Class uses both the State as well as the societal ideologies as a mere means to continue Ruling.

Leia Mais…

Sunday, September 8, 2013

Twitter Time!

It's been long since I have fully utilized the Twitter app for Android. But now that I had work in mind, it came with special requirements. Managing multiple accounts. The first thing that struck me was TweetDeck. A very famous and successful app. So successful that twitter bought it! But the expansion plans that the top board had in mind required shutting down of any such third party app, they wanted people to use their official app more and for everything. This was the reason I got a little worried since my work demanded multiple accounts. I guess the top board had it all sorted out. The newest update for twitter for android not only brings in a completely new, more fluid and fast interface; it also allows the option of managing multiple accounts. The simplicity of this feature itself makes  the use of any third party app redundant. Select the accounts from setting and add a new account. Simple! Phew! No wonder twitter had no problem shutting TweetDeck off. I will be working on both my accounts now and will write again about the efficiency and any bugs(if any), but I believe it's gonna be fun. You smart boy, Twitter!

Leia Mais…

Friday, April 5, 2013

The "homely" Facebook

Facebook launched it's new "home" app for Android only which will be available on play store post 12th April. This happened alongside the launch of HTC First, the first phone featuring Facebook home, with a tweaked jelly bean and pre-installed Facebook home app. The home app makes the news feed your home page and integrates very deeply into your phone. Taking messaging very importantly, a new feature of chathead has been introduced where you can message your friends on a single tap. This deep social integration comes with an announcement of advertisement making it's way into Facebook mobile. Zuckerberg had earlier mentioned that they were working for generating revenue out of mobile, well, this maybe it. Will the people be ready for 24X7 Facebook in their face? Will advertisement become an essential part of Facebook mobile? And will the advertisement effect it's users? We need to wait till at least till12th to know about that!

Leia Mais…

Monday, September 10, 2012

Are these names?

EX119, EX128, Lumia 800,820,710,700,900,920, Curve 9360,9250,8860etc. Are these names? Really? Till i knew every new phone came with a new name, exciting names. But it seems like the creative heads of these hot shot tech firms are out of names, or at least it is safe to assume so. 100 is succeeded by 120, which is further succeed by 200. Or rather play the safe game, take one big bang phone, and then its extensions for next 3 years, S, S2, S3 or add a new feature and then the same to its name. Razr, Razr maxx, Razr HD, Razr M and so on.... is the tech dictionary exhausted of all names? Or is it such a difficult task to spend a fortnight on a name?? Infuse, galaxy, charm, nexus and what not. The history bleeds colorful names, and the future will witness only dreaded numerical extensions! Why blame all when you can hit the king, Nokia; no offence but your 6600, 7620 were never liked by my memory, and my STM detested its mere mention. Not leaving the runner's up behind, there is Blackberry. Where the bolds get a bit of an escape as it goes only till 4, the curve sucks every inch of grey matter present as you fruitlessly try to remember your favorite. Give them names people! They might just be the next miracle of the year, and you certainly don't want them to be known only as an extension! And about problems with the creative heads, Creative Summer Camps! anyone?

Leia Mais…

Saturday, September 1, 2012

The Art of Equivocation


It was there in the past, it followed man throught history, is standing with us in the present and will be our companion even in the future. The art of equivocation has been moulding and brainstorming minds ever since this thing was invented. No one knows who invented it, but it surely would have been a clever person, clever enough to say something and yet not have a say in it. Thus saving itself from the consequences. No, petty people dont do it, i mean not that they don't, but it is used more by the people of greater status, greater say, and sometimes even by the foremost authority. I know the mere mention of foremost authority raises the question of hipocracy, but then this is what equivocation is all about. What people need is a definite stand, a perfect solution, a true comparision and most of all, true knowledge of the best. It is rightly said that equivocation kills the motive of knowledge to the masses, but hell, nobody gives a damn about people's knowledge. The more alien they are to the truth, the better. It's not the fact that foremost authorities equivocate that is fascinating, but the fact that they stay in power and mostly go unchallenged that fascinates me the most. Due to the virtue of those few good men who take the burden of enlightening the masses, people can now at least question the authority. Why am I bothered? I have been reading various tech reviews since years and the odd thing that i noticed is that those on the higher pedestal often indulged in this act and always went unchallenged. Are they afraid of the corporates? Are they afraid of accusations? But then the second face of the coin of reviewing IS accusations! The moment you hold the pen for reviewing, you declare your credibility out loud and there is no way out. Yet these people indulge in this crime of infecting people's mind, to keep them in darkness. To never let them know what is good what is the real value for their money. We need mavericks, we need wikileaks, we need all kinds of leaks! We need to tell the world their right. They need to learn to question, they need to learn to reason. To offend what is placed on the plate, and defend the little true knowledge that they have before it gets corrupted! Question the good, question the bad. Question the silence itself. And then we will get an answer, an answer worth listening, an answer worth acknowledging. Open your eyes, open your minds, and shout EUREKA!

Leia Mais…

Saturday, August 18, 2012

Go Mobile!

This is my first mobile post as every single post before this came from my dual core PC). A mobile is now capable of almost everything that once only a PC could perform. Well that's because we no longer live in a world of 300MHz processors but a crackling 1.6 GHz!. The 14" CRTs have been transformed into 22" LEDs but the meager two inch screens have also been replaced by screens measuring 4 inches or more. Couple it with the fact that a technology in appreciated more if it becomes mobile. The same happens to gadgets when super-fast 1GHz+ processors are put under 4" hood that pack retina or AMOLED display and are fitted with cameras capable of shooting in full HD. It has become a new arena for battle where everyone is trying their level best to outrun others. The tech world has found a new driving force in the form of the mobile platform. Facebook forcing marketing sector to adjust and respond to this new mobile platform is a good example of that. Organizations like Instagram are getting paid billions of dollars as it witnesses an increasing subscriber base as it adds up android to the existing iOS platform. It would be rightful to say that if there will be a Facebook killer, it will be born mobile. A fact backing this assumption is that over 425M of Facebook's active users are mobile, with some sources listing the number as high as 488M, which is more than 50% of it total subscriber base(900M).
The fight for creating the most superior OS has reached a new level and has now got a new platform. It's Android vs iOS vs Windows( yes some will argue that I forgot Blackberry OS, Bada and Symbian, but in this age of tech crusade these oldies have failed to cope up. They might just vanish!) Apple's iOS 6 was a crisp and bold answer to Ice Cream Sandwich and Windows8 but the upcoming android upgrades are packing a punch as well, making the war truly looks "thermonuclear"! Browsers, development software or design and graphic packages, there's a new platform for them all.

Leia Mais…

Sunday, June 17, 2012

Prometheus : Where was the edge?

The expectations were quite high and a thriller sci-fi was imagined, yet what was recieved  was a less exciting movie which failed to keep me on the edge of my seat. The opening of the movie reminded me of Pandora and the idea of sleep chambers was so overused. The character of the cyborg kept the script alive and protected it against complete plagariasm. The only unexpected thing came from the somewhat negative cyborg. The scientists posing as serious researchers, failed to stand up to the expectations. The colonies on distant planet seemed so "mission on mars" and "planet of the apes". The technology used is also not something that you expect to be in used in 2093, especially the fact that after spending trillions on a space expedition, the researchers are armed with mere flame throwers( you expect laser guns and big bazookas don't you?). You can't really acclaim anyone's acting except the unpredictable cyborg that kept the tempo, though little, running throughout the movie. The breeding and mating reminds you of species while the alien looks like a rip fromaliens and predator. Its true that the motive behind the expedition was our reason of existence and more you end up knowing nothing! The movie was like an expensive cracker that made little noise and less firework! The storyline was good yet failed to be exciting and ended up being boring. Keeping in mind hints of plagariasm and lack of thrill it gets only 2 from me plus half for the cyborg.

Leia Mais…

Friday, June 15, 2012

iOS 6 : And what it packs

Apple's WWDC 2012 finally broke the ice and revealed the much awaited iOS 6. To the much debated controversy that android is giving apple's iOS a run, and that windows 8 might become the ultimate platform for tablet, apple gives an answer and yes, it's solid! The new OS is quite appealing and is packed with some features that can declare apple as a winner hands down, with maps and Siri remaining the stars of the show. Apple rounded out on 10 basic features which I take on one by one.
Maps:
Map elements being  vector based, and graphics and text being  incredibly detailed — even when zoomed all the way in, is very smooth. 3D mapping and turn-by-turn voice navigation makes sure iOS users ditch Google maps now. Real time traffic and ETA details adds to it as bonus.

Siri:
Your very beloved Siri can now book movie tickets and can do dinner reservations. Can check the best food of your taste and tell the latest movie reviews. Want to know the latest scores and stats for your favorite teams and players? Thanks to iOS 6, Siri knows the answers. Siri has also been taught to post directly on Facebook and open your favorite apps without you tapping the screen even once.With Siri now available in more languages and more countries, and the addition of the same to the new generation iPad, it surely becomes your favorite assistance.

Integrated Facebook:
Facebook has been integrated deep into the core of iOS, sharing of photo or location now does not need any app and can be done directly from the camera and maps. Profile information has been integrated into Calendar and contacts. No update will be missed now.

Shared photo streams:
Photos can now be shared with a simple share button with people having apple devices directly, and for those who don't, there is web. You can even view shared photo streams on Apple TV.

Passbook:
Now that is something that is one of my favorites. Apple brings all your boarding passes, movie tickets, retail coupons, loyalty cards, and more in one place. This one integrated app that lets you check in for a flight, get into a movie, and redeem a coupon. You can also see when your coupons expire, where your concert seats are, and the balance left on that all-important coffee bar card. No more hunting through your wallet searching for gift cards, coupons, passes, or tickets. Passbook keeps everything organized — and handy. Also Passbook is time and location enabled, so passes and tickets show on your Lock screen when and where you need them — just swipe to get your pass.

FaceTime:
FaceTime now works over cellular networks as well as Wi-Fi, so you can make and receive FaceTime calls wherever you happen to be. You can even make and receive FaceTime calls on your iPad using your phone number.

The new iOS lets you decline a call and immediately reply back with a message or puts on a reminder for calling back. The new Do Not  Disturb feature suppress all incoming calls and notifications which can be enabled manually or scheduled at a  recurring time. It also allows calls from your favorites or specific contact groups.

Mailing and browsing get a bit of an edge with Safari getting faster, lets you pick up from where you left, and allows you to post photos and videos without exiting Safari via camera roll. Mail has a VIP inbox so that you never miss something important from someone important.

Accessibility:
iOS 6 comes with even more features to make it easier for people with vision, hearing, learning, and mobility disabilities to get the most from their iOS devices. Guided Access helps students with disabilities such as autism to remain on task and focused on content by limiting an iOS device to one app by disabling the Home button, as well as restrict touch input on certain areas of the screen. VoiceOver, the revolutionary screen reader for blind and low-vision users, is now integrated with Maps, AssistiveTouch, and Zoom.

Find my phone is something where apple takes on BlackBerry's BlackBerry Protect allowing user to track the position of their lost iphone and locking it instantly via a simple pin. iOS 6 gives you location base alerts and supports up to 30,000 characters. Now that's something in-special for China. Another treat is Baidu being an in-built option in Safari, and sharing of videos directly to Youku and Tudou. iOS 6 will be available on iphone 3GS, 4, 4S, iPad 2, the new iPad and 4th gen iPod touch although not all features will be compatible with all the given devices.

That was the whole new OS summed up briefly. But the big question still remains, will it be enough for apple to keep iOS as the pioneer OS and prevent Google's android from taking over? Recent researches show that apple still holds the major web traffic in tablets i.e. around 91%, but will that along with the new "feature-full"  OS be enough? New OS came but kept many a people disappointed as they got nothing about iphone 5. With iOS 6 hitting the market this fall we just hope iphone 5 comes along. And if it would be packing a few of the rumors that are going around, then it would be a legend, only without Mr. Jobs this time.

Leia Mais…

Saturday, March 31, 2012

The Dreamer

Do the horses of your audacious mind run tirelessly in the playground of your world? Do they pose as the proud denizens of it? Is your mind always knitting new connections, constructing new roads that lead to a different and exotic locations every time? Do the limits disappear as soon as the mind starts scripting its imagination? Do you suddenly transform into a free bird which knows no boundaries, has no boss, who does not believe in destiny, who does it all but by itself? Let me abbreviate it for you; Are you a Dreamer? Talking of a dreamer it is me who stands in the witness box for I represent my race. We have no fear, we feel no pain and know no limits when we dream. We think solutions, not problems; we participate, not gaze. Do YOU too belong to our kind? Have you worn that dress that somehow never came out of the showroom? Have you ever driven the car whose keys you never had? have you ever eaten stuff that never came off the menu? Have you condemned what you always detested although you could never govern it? Have you lived everyday? have you laughed in the face of the most adverse conditions? Have you been adroit and called the whole world oaf? Have mysterious people come and allayed your pain magically? Have you alleviated the whole world from its abject condition? have you showed altruism even if you are penniless? If yes, then we are alike. It's great, isn't it? To be able to do everything beforehand, gives you foresight into the future.. You have a magical place where every wound gets healed. Where every person is amiable and supporting, where you always live under some aegis. We win, we celebrate; we fail, we dream again, and this time we win.If we fail again, we dream bigger and win bigger. You get a cure for all the distress, all the solitude, all the "nobody-gives-a-damn" feeling. It's all up there, its obscure, no one knows about it. Yet, tens of parallel connections create the greatest wonders possible. If its the first time you have realized it, aim bigger this time; if you already knew, know that you are alone. We are like the immortal army that somehow never gets defeated and always returns victorious. So for all our brothers and sisters, all those who are with us, abreast lets dream, lets dream together, and lets achieve it bigger, together. So leave the busy schedule, leave the monotonous routine. Go! just Dream...am waiting... we all are waiting...!

Leia Mais…

Tuesday, March 27, 2012

Silverlight

The clock struck 12 and so does solitude. Gazing tirelessly into the mist of nothingness, wondering if there exists, a reason for it all. It is the beginning of a new day, the might sun will scorch brightly a few hours later, but till then its the moon, the solitaire up there standing lone among the black curtains, with light falling on my face, enlightening my vision, telling that there's someone up there, standing in the midst of darkness. Someone who took the baton from the yellow burner to spread white light at night. The burden of enlightenment in the midst of solitude because everyone's dozed off. He does not need to talk, his emotions are bound, or maybe it's because there's no one at this stark darkness to accompany him. He still does not care. Throws white light on my face as I stare. I think we have a lot in common. Our worlds are same but we rarely find someone. Its like pitch darkness, you see nothing, you see no one; maybe because there is no one. But he does not complain, fulfills his duty, he is enlightening, I might be his only company , but he doesn't care. s my face lights up, half though, with the silver light that enlightens both my body and soul. I look closely, I gaze back at the gazing moon. I see spots, I fell his spots. They are like incomplete, missing puzzle piece, denting his personality. But he is solitaire, he does not care, he's doing what he's appointed for- enlightening. But enlightenment is for people, and there are no people, there's only darkness, pitch black, hollow darkness, eating away anything that is present, or may be. But am sure there's no one, no one needs enlightenment, its just darkness. But he doesn't care. Just a few more hours and the yellow burner will take his baton back, as people need to see him for their morning. The white light goes unnoticed. But he doesn't care. And I still stare, stare at those spots, like hollowness, like fear, but he stands alone and does his work so its not fear. Its hollowness, something's missing, those missing puzzle pieces. But he does not bother, he doesn't want to find. I stare, I care, I feel the hollowness, looking for the missing pieces. I make efforts, but its just me, not he, for he does not care, just plays his role every night and leaves silently. He let the yellow burner brag. Is it the spots? is it because he's ugly? is it because he's tainted, imperfect, unlike the yellow burner which burns every inch of himself, nothing missing? I care, I think he's not ugly, the spots are scars, love scars, war scars, scars of good, scars of bad. They make him beautiful. The scars are beautiful, the spots are beautiful. People would disagree, although some might agree, but he doesn't care, for it is only I who stare and cares, I think too much. We have in common. I suffer, he suffers. I feel, I tell, he just stands quietly, silently, gazing, throwing the silver light, enlightening the darkness, enlightening the "no one", enlightening the nothingness. In the midst of solitude, he stays, I stare, but he does not care, he does not care, he does not care...  

Leia Mais…

Thursday, January 5, 2012

Samsung is next, When is Nokia?

There was a time when Nokia ruled the country, there was a time when every new cracker launched in the sky hailed Nokia, but now it seems Samsung is celebrating a much louder Diwali. There was a time when N series filled every shelf, but now its Galaxy S II that resides in every other hand and Galaxy Note ready to shake it further. Where has Nokia lost it? Is it lack of creativity and fewer products? or the supply and demand gap that the generation demands and Nokia is unable to shell? N8 did a thing, so did E7; but like a 3 star movie it faded in few weeks leaving the Korean Giant rule the ancient territory of the Finish authority. What is next? Yes its Samsung! Guru caters the lower, Champ the entry. Corby caused a crave and now Galaxy is conquering. Is Nokia Lumia 800 enough for Nokia to regain it's status? Is it packed enough to make eyes crave and make people reach for their pockets? Yes its true Nokia enjoys the trust of us Indians; we have been mentally structured to favor, trust the one that's been coming for long. But the market is changing, changing fast for the demands to become more demanding. Symbian might not even work it's charm anymore. Nokia has played it's gamble it's gamble with Microsoft packed inside Nokia. A 3.7 inch screen which could have been a little bigger and only 720p resolution display put a big question mark. We can only hope, this truly acts as a comeback weapon for Nokia and let the Finnish rule again. It's New Year Nokia, do a miracle and rule our hearts. Make us shout Next is Nokia. Till then...all hail Samsung?? 

Leia Mais…

Cruise Control

How did you celebrate the new year? Grooving to the beats all night? Getting dunk? o maybe just sitting back at home and watching those late night award shows. Well my one was celebrated watching movies, that too Cruise Mania! Apart from the outing that happened on the 31st morning, the main party started at 9 pm with Knight and Day. Must say, Cruise did a wonderful job and Cameron Diaz was hilarious. A wonderful action comedy accompanied by a big cheese burst farm house pizza, Thank You Dominoz!! like they say, "Khushiyon ki home delivery" Just amazing! 11 pm and its animation time. Entangled-everyone read the story of the long haired Rapunzel. The same old story with a good Disney twist and modern day punches. The stud thief hero and the innocent princess make their way back just in time for the "Minority Report" to start. It was my second cruise doze and the new year had begun. 1 am and the pre-cog, 2054 era set movie stated where tom portrayed a pre-crime patrol officer who stopped crime before happening booking accused for future murders.. The movie ended with me desperate to have a little more of the thrilling actor. And I did!! The movie was followed by "Top Gun", the hit Tom Cruise flick. Well trust me. if you haven't seen it, better do!! You'll find Ton irresistibly cute. Damn! The movie ended at 5 leaving me adrenaline filled but its time to clean a bit of the "party material" I gave away my stating hours to Tom Cruise. Whom did you give it to? Oops! nearly forgot the resolutions. Suggestions? Will just hope my this year is better propelled and cruise controlled!!

Leia Mais…

Friday, December 16, 2011

Disc-o-Death

It's surprising , yet it's true; it's shocking, yet it's true; its like an end of an era, but its true and it is gonna happen pretty soon. Yes, I am talking about "Compact Discs" or CD's. The round discs have been with us for a pretty long time ever since they replaced the ancient and less effective floppy drives. May it be your DJ collection, holiday pics or marriage video, it all got stored on that round thing which you used to carry around and show the world, apart from viewing it yourself from time to time. Something that became a part of us so easily and so soon has now got it's existence threatened by a smarter, more efficient competitor- Flash drives(or pen drives as we say) It's small, comes in all sizes, more durable, endures our careless attitude in a better manner and comes in all sizes from a small 1GB to a mammoth 16 GB. Yes, that's 4 DVDs o 2 Blur Ray Discs. People might say that till the idea of home theater exists.. theses discs have a secured future. But with our desktop's screen getting bigger and bigger, faster broadband and Torrens at will will make sure you don't waste your precious money on those expensive DVDs and Blur Rays. I DO agree that the traditional players offer 1080i resolution full HD and 5.1 surround sound, but wouldn't a 22" screen and a 5.1 attached to a PC do it all...?? There can be different views on that though, and maybe the only reason of their existence. Did I forget piracy? how can I? Those "non-genuine" windows, those 15-a-buck software, and then of-course the benefit of watching the Friday movie on Saturday. But then again, torrents blow this one too! Fast and Large variety streaming allows us to download almost anything and that Blur Ray rip on that 22" LCD of yours! Where the discs were limited to 4.75GB or 8GB for blue rays, flash drives cut in with their efficient and huge storage. One time investment and you have over 16GB of data storage to be used again and again. The truth is undeniable, the flash drives and increasing "external hard drive trend" this sure has become a graveyard for theses discs and the coffins are ready already!

Leia Mais…

Monday, May 30, 2011

Hollow...

Searching endlessly into the weary night, tired, but yet not sleepy, am waiting for someone, waiting for something. Am no longer sure whether it is an assurance to sleep or the reason for the opposite! The search seems so long as the clock ticks yet another hour, am eaten up by the hollow night and the scrounging thought. I lay down in a conflicting yet disturbed state. The night is hollow, the thought is hollow, the sleep is hollow...

Leia Mais…

Wednesday, September 8, 2010

The Sleepless Night

It was late, probably midnight, but I didn't seem to get any sleep. It was drizzling outside and the beautiful moonlight lit the street giving it a glorifying touch, like what Leonardo gave to Mona Lisa. Sleep was something, that wasn't coming naturally, at least that night. The soft felling shower made the scene even more irresistible, let alone the thought of sleeping and forgetting it. I wasn't going to sleep last night, the sound of rain hitting the ground, the silver moonlight and the beautiful weather, all made me sit up all night. I went out, opened the door and entered my balcony. The street light looked different today. It was spectacular indeed. All quite, so serene I could hear myself breathing. The night was indeed a memorable one, one that I will always look out for. I enjoyed and absorbed the gist of it. Rejuvenated, I prepared to go back to sleep, with the silver moonlight shining on me, and rain singing soft shower-lullaby to me....

Leia Mais…

Tuesday, February 23, 2010

Euphoria amid contentment

Writing in the midst of perplexity, am still thinking that I might be divested of the happiness that resided in me some time ago, beside the fact that now I have found people who are very much amiable and it has been going pretty well with them. Well am still wondering whether it is really the happiness that is missing or that after getting much of what I wanted, all at the same time, the curiosity for the near future has ceased, bringing that tinge of unhappiness. I am expecting though, next time when I write, I write amid Euphoria, but that would possibly happen only when I'll be able to take the thoughts out of my mind that neither am I chained nor have I been handed a Pandora's box. Well this sure sounds like paradox, but a little contentment can rage in you all the happiness that you wan. With thoughts flowing flagrantly through me, am bewildered and seemingly helpless in which one to give heed. Well the question I have been asking myself is that " can Euphoria be found without contentment?" and well with all I have got and all I know, I think the answer is a straight NO. I might be citing the story of those thousands, who have got almost everything in prodigious amount, still there is happiness that they lack. Contentment being the root cause of it. Indian philosophers have said it throughout, so have such thoughts hailed from Bible and Kuran, but it's like the Kohinoor, difficult to possess but pleasant to see. I'll continue the work i decided, whether I'll be feeling that "Euphoria" or not, but consoling my heart, I'll try to reach that level of contentment so that my happiness seeking mind may rest in peace amid happiness. A small suggestion from my side. even if you think that what you have is not enough, even if you think that your contentment meter is hitting an all time low, just look at the brighter side of it. Wouldn't being contented in the most needy situation make you even more contended? " I have got enough" can't this one statement soothe our raging mind? Halt, slow down a bit, add contentment as a new fuel to your life and feel how you fly without wings, and the journey ahead will only make you more amiable with whatever situation you are popped in. Leave those strands of perplexity and wear the coat of slumber. But, wait you! do not sleep in complacency as you still need to flap your wings when you are in mid air. Hope we have a happy a.k.a. Contended day.

Leia Mais…

Friday, July 3, 2009

Argonaut : The Mark of Royalty


Must be wondering what that royalty means....Actually Argonaut was the name of the house boat in which I stayed while my stay in Srinagar. Man... that place is awesome.. a must visit... even if there is a little militant problem over there. Our house boat AKA Argonaut was the most special house boat in the whole Dal lake.It has to be... especially when three of India's Prime Ministers have stayed in it, those are Jawaharlal Nehru, Rajiv Gandhi and Indira Gandhi. The whole Nehru family stayed there in different years, no wonder why the boat was 125 years old. Luckily we had Abdul Gaffar Jogoo,the owner, Gul Hassan Abdul's son and even his son. Three generations living on something that marked the presence of three highly prestigious persons i.e. our prime ministers. Though the roof was closed and we couldn't go there as 125 years old could not hold weight, but the interiors were something that were preserved throughout the three generations. The food we got was very wonderful and also the pride to live where "Mahan" people stayed. Due to the strike we had to shorten our stay there and get out of there missing the special "Shikara" safari but we were able to eat our delicious dinner on the 125 year old dining table!!! I also learned some of chess with the help of my chess champion brother..(though the members of the Honolulu house boat were troubled as we played till 12:30!!). The house belonged to the Honolulu group whose owner were again Abdul Gaffar Jogoo and Gul Hassan. We saw the photographs of Abdul Gaffar Jogoo with Indira Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru, Rajiv Gandhi and even Rahul Gandhi(he looked cute with those round spectacles on!!) and even the signed letter from Rajiv Gandhi and Indira Gandhi. I will be posting some of the pics I have of the house boat. The photo above is our house boat with Gul Hassan on it, son of Abdul Gaffar Jogoo.

This is Abdul Gaffar Jogoo. the owner of Argonaut house boat.

















Abdul Gaffar Jogoo and his house boat.














Argonaut as it was 125 years ago.

Leia Mais…

Tuesday, December 23, 2008

Holiday


Christmas holidays are starting and so are starting the days of wintry joys and the countdown to New Year!!
My holidays have started and I am very happy, after all I am getting off with those big books and going off course from studies. But the holidays are not just gonna be full of online hours, but I am going on a "Hilly Trip"!!
the thing I am not gonna forget is my Digicam, cuz I wanna capture those moments and maybe even share with all of you!!
I would be leaving tomorrow for my trip and after visiting several places, I would be going to my grandparent's place(that also on hills!!)
It would be a time when would be forgetting what's happening all over and would just be spending my day, with lots of fun!!

Leia Mais…