When people just want to sing - Stevie Nicks, Beyonce and Lady Gaga

Stevie Nicks (of Fleetwood Mac fame) starts singing Wild Heart, just because she felt like singing. What follows is not only a soulful rendition of another version of the song, but one that has no voice manipulation and no editing - just a person enjoying herself.

It's chilling, she hits the high notes with ease and doesn't waver at all.. I'm going to steal one of the YouTube comments and say there are probably millions right now singing, just because they love to.

Which brings us to Beyonce. Her gaudy videos and skimpy attire aside, there is absolutely no doubt she is a very talented singer. Her performance of Etta James' At Last at Obama's Neighborhood Inauguration Ball was spell binding, given the occasion and it's no surprise she herself teared up.

But even better is the dressing room performance of 1+1. Now the studio version of the song itself is barebones, but this time, there's no editing, no added echo.. Just a piano, Beyonce and her chorus.

These performances leave you speechless because they are flawless, with no cosmetics whatsoever.... and the impromptu joy, sorrow and mood the singers are in rubs off on you.

Most of us know Lady Gaga from, again, her outrageous music videos and heavily electro-synthesized songs. Here's a video of her with a piano in New York University, when she was just the super-talented Stefani Germanotta.

I just wish all good singers would sing just like this..

Are you watching the latest season of the world's biggest soap opera?

It's finally begun - the much talked about 2012 US Presidential election campaigning got into high gear this month, with a host of high-profile candidates announcing their candidacy.

For about 20 months, we can expect twists and tales ranging from astonishing to celebratory to mind-racking. It may not be as exciting as when there's no incumbent, but still, the Republican race is worth following as there's no front runner - yet.

Much more than nitpicking the issues on which the candidates run, I look forward most to the level of subtle wordplay and yes-I-did-but-no-I-did-not statements they make as they fall over each other to garner the support of all the sections of society,  most notably the core party followers and the moderates.

It's also a little unfortunate that candidates are scrutinized for things they did, even as a child, in some cases even before they were born.

It's a litmus test for the PR persons involved - since they have to handle the fire ignited by their boss' comments. Some candidates will run on platforms which are a full 180 degrees reversal from just a couple of years ago and in some cases, just a few days earlier. Reading those press releases shows the giant balls those men and women have to actually go on the offensive.

Once in a while, you get a candidate who's a big disappointment with a storyline even Stephen King can't better.

Who can forget the media, who will run a single clip of a slip-up or quote without context to completely change the meaning even before the candidate can reply properly to the accusation. Even worse is pedantic scrutiny by the liberal news agents on conservatives and vice-versa. And then on a different planet are Stewart and Colbert, whose main goal in nothing but comedy.

However, they are the very enablers - it's the presence of so many news outlets which ensures that the story will ultimately get out, which we can then read.

To follow what's going on, there're a plethora of sources, though I prefer the blogs because the don't shy away from commentary and can afford to read between the lines, which the old news agents like NYT and WaPo can't, because they just 'report the news'.

So grab your popcorn, set your bookmarks, adjust your screen, let's have some fun.

Not perfect, but very endearing: photos of the Royal wedding

Take a look at these two pictures from the Royal wedding of William and Kate:

(source1; source2)

It's been a while since we had such a universally popular fairytale. Lots of buzz, the wedding gown industry got a mega boost, British fashion is suddenly hip and the paparazzi have new targets. It was a grand event, but with a lot of fun.

It was the above two photos which caught my eye, though, for being well, awkward. They aren't 'picture perfect' for a wedding album, what with photoshop and very basic editing tools available.

In the first, it's Prince William's goddaughter Grace van Cutsem covering her ears because of the noise of RAF planes flying overhead, just as the bride and groom are kissing. In many ways, the photo op was 'spoilt' by a distracting Grace, but it only makes it all the more down-to-earth and tells you, 'Hey, they're normal humans too!' Years from now you can look at the pictures and smile remembering 'That girl who didn't care a bit about the world's most famous couple kissing and was more bothered by the noise of it all'.

To be fair to the photographers, there was no way to exclude Grace from the picture(although it was the second time that they kissed) - the kiss was for mere seconds, far away on a balcony, so they had to shoot what they could. Even then it was up to editors to leave her out from the famous kiss, but a few chose to leave her in. It speaks volumes, that they want to keep the 'adorable' part in that photo.

Now on to the second, which is even more fascinating. It's the official photograph, released by the Palace, of the newly-weds with their attendants. Again, it's not all so 'perfect' - Grace is looking beyond the camera, the first boy from the right strikes his own majestic pose with hair standing up and most wavering of all, is the other boy who's decided to showcase his Ministry of Silly Poses pose for the official wedding photo. It's not my point to blame to kids, but rather to ponder over the decision of the photographer and editor to select this picture over many others as the right one.

Obviously, they've let the kids be kids and actually managed to capture that in the photos. No doubt well-behaved, they did make faces and just have plain fun at some relatives' wedding. I just cannot imagine any other wedding photographer having the courage to select these two photos to pass, lest he bring upon the wrath of the person who's paying him for 'such stupid photos'. There have been dozens of incidents where subjects have wanted retakes because their hair was bad or their pose wasn't good. But this is the most famous wedding in the world. And they chose their wedding photos to not be perfect.

I too have had some success in capturing my friends in their 'natural environment', much to their chagrin, that is - they wait around waiting for me to take a picture while I've taken a dozen of them simply chatting and being themselves. The royal pictures are a sort of redemption.

Without a doubt, it will bring a smile to anyone who looks at these pictures in the future. It was some elders' wedding, the kids were just enjoying the spotlight.

Oh, and, about the wedding, just one word: Philippa. Damn.

That time when you hear a song and desperately want to know its name

The first time I heard it was on the college shuttle. It was on low volume and sounded good - just enough to register that tune in my head. Then I heard it on the radio, again, on the shuttle. I wanted to know the name of the song and listen to it again - because the tune was catchy. I strained to listen to the lyrics, but over the noise of the engine and the whirr of the cooling all I heard was 'black and blue'. I thought I heard 'dear' and 'baby', but searches for such lyrics yielded no songs which matched the tune in my head.

As luck would have it I hear the same song playing at an event. I quickly searched for someone to ask and settled on a guy. I asked,

'Excuse me, do you know what song this is?'

'Eh.. Moon or Mars.'

'Moon or Mars.. Ok, thanks, do you know who the artist is, or the full title of the song?'

'Umm.. One second..' 'Grenade... It's Moon or Mars Grenade.'

Strange song/artist, I thought. I kept repeating it in case I forgot.

About half an hour later I am able to get to my laptop. The first thing I did was search for the song. The top result is Bruno Mars' 'Talking to the moon;' I play it, it's nothing like what I heard.

And then, right below, are the links I need, thanks in no small deal to some websites which included 'moon' in the names of their websites: Grenade, by the artist Bruno Mars. In the din of the music I had got the name of the artist when I asked for the song, worse, misheard the artist's name.

That is how I ended up listening to the song I wanted to for quite a while. It's the small victories which bring a smile to your face - nothing substantial has happened, yet, it's one of life's small joys.

Turns out the song is very sad and the music is much more pronounced than on the radio and when played outdoors. I like the tune of the song, the lyrics not so much(because they're not in the mood I am in), which means I had to find a karaoke version.

A totally (un)scientific (anecdotal)study into male pattern baldness among non-resident Indians

One of the first things anyone will say when you're leaving to the West is 'So, you'll come back bald isn't it?' There's not much you can do except crack a smile and just hope the topic changes. This is an investigation of sorts into the phenomenon.

Does it really happen?

Do men actually lose hair in the prime of their youth, with the rate of loss being much more than what it would have been had they stayed put in India? Going with anecdotal evidence here... The answer will be a resounding yes. Photos from aeons ago laid side by side reveal much shorter hair; dramatic inroads on either side of the head like someone clearing the Amazon jungle, little by little.

Then there's the totally eagle-eyed group of relatives, who always have most to say about 1. Hair and 2. Weight. It's either that you've put on weight after eating home-made food or lost a lot of wight by cooking your own. Either way, you lose. Coming back to the topic of this post, they will say, yes, one has lost quite a lot of hair, with lots of advice to not lose more in the future because it may damage prospects. Another thing to worry about.

Probable reasons for the hair loss

Now that we've established that it does actually happen, we have to move on to pinpoint the causes.

• Eating habits

More seriously, there might be some credence to the effect of 'diet' on overall health. In the West, consumption of junk food - soda(anything carbonated has loads of sugar and HFCS), cookies, chips, pretzels and almost anything and everything packaged in plastic with shiny graphics - doesn't count towards nutrition, though the calories count, giving you a neat belly.

Expanding on the topic, growth hormones are probably the biggest unknown variable modifying growth in humans today. Wading in the realm of speculation, consuming milk and meat - 80% of antibiotics in the US is given to farm animals - significantly increases your chances of consuming them and whether they affect you negatively is not yet proven or unproven(it's a conspiracy!).

Almost everyone(except those who keep their finances in control) prefers to eat out rather than cook at home - part convenience, part lack of time and part not wanting to wash the dishes. Even worse is not eating on time and skipping a meal or two. Anything already made has loads and loads of salts as preservatives and additives to improve taste and texture of the food. All you have to do is read the label. My roommate was surprised to learn that the 'butter' he bought contained almost no milk - it was mainly hydrogenated oils. The pressure to improve the look and feel and shelf life of foods has pushed manufacturers to completely modify their The pressure to improve the look and feel and shelf life of foods has pushed manufacturers to completely modify their products so much that they are not what they are supposed to be.

Why take supplements, which may not be absorbed as well as whole foods with that essential vitamin or mineral?

• Bathing habits

I've really thought about this and it might be the biggest factor of them all. Back in India, owing to water shortage and/or lack of continuous hot water supply, most bathing, including a head bath is performed using a bucket and mug; in the US, it's with a shower. I don't even know of any houses with facility for a bucket to be filled from a tap.

The effect of this shower, which coincidentally spurts out hot water at our preference, is that a pointed jet(s) of hot water is directed at the hair, for elongated periods of time. A very poor analogy would be watering a grass lawn with a hose of hot water - continuously(please correct me if this analogy is more wrong than right). Sounds scary. Solution: Use only warm water and avoid prolonged exposure to the water.

Applying oil is pretty often in India, much scorned here - another factor? The oil could be locking in the moisture keeping hair fluffy and not dry. Infrequent cleaning of the scalp - which allows dead skin and dirt to build up - doesn't help matters.

• Climate control

All buildings and confined spaces have temperature control, so it's a given that the temperature will always at the opposite end of that outside the building. So, while all other parts of the body are clothed, the hair is often exposed to extreme temperatures - for a few minutes - everyday. E.g.

Midwest:

Home: 20 C

Outside: -10 C Swing: 30 C

Car: 10 C Swing: 20 C

Outside: -10 C Swing: 20 C

Building: 20 C Swing: 30 C

For the South or during summer the swing might be lesser, about 10 C, but still such a swing during winter is tremendous.

Apart from temperature control, many houses have constant humidity, which could be over or under the required amount. Warm air during winter can sap water vapour from the air, hence the hair could be devoid of the moisture it needs.

• Stress

Have a girlfriend: Stress out keeping her happy

Don't have a girlfriend but friend has a girlfriend: Still stress out

Have a girlfriend back home: Stress out in the middle of the night with lack of sleep

Stuck with a prof who extracts 25 hours a day: Huge stress

Equipment fail: Mega stress

Need to be done with dissertation, paper publications and job within 6 months: Ultimate stress

'Stress' is a proven factor contributing to hair loss.

• Genetic

And finally the most obvious reason of all: Your grandfather lost his hair at 40, your father at 32, so you will at age 23. Simple.

Please chime in with your own well (un)reasoned thoughts on the topic.

Soap and toothpaste are not magic

One of the best things about learning is you get to apply it to real life. Growing up, you learn to look at soaps and toothpaste in a new light.

Soap/detergent

It is imbibed that we wash ourselves with soap well, especially after playing in the dirt, which gives rise to the impression that soap is that magic substance removing all the 'bad things' from us. Well, that's only half the truth. Soap works by the action of micelles, but more practically speaking, scrubbing is essential - to increase contact surface area by producing more lather - so if your hands are really dirty, the soap makes it easier for the dirt to be carried away by it from the dirty surface, but it in itself is not capable of removing anything automatically. So simply contacting your hand with soap isn't going help. This applies to vessels and any other surface which we clean with soap - clothes, cars, the floor, windows and the kitchen countertop.

Toothpaste

One fine sunday a decade or so ago, I decided I hadn't brushed my teeth well enough and had to 'make up' for it by brushing for longer and harder. I didn't repeat it afterward, thankfully, and now realise it was but a futile exercise. That's not how toothpaste and a toothbrush work. Toothpaste in itself is a form of chalk - albeit finely ground chalk, with the toothbrush acting as the tool to use the toothpaste. When we 'brush', we use the abrasive power of the toothpaste to remove the plaque collected on our teeth with the toothbrush additionally removing particles of food lodged in between the teeth.

If you take some toothpaste and grind it between your incisors, you can feel the solid particles. It's something similar to using sandpaper to polish metal or wood. But, beware, unlike those substances which have more if you remove the top layer, teeth are pretty sensitive, and excessive brushing can damage the enamel, i.e. the outermost layer of the teeth.

On a similar note, a full strip of toothpaste on your toothpaste isn't needed - it's just a marketing gimmick used in ads to get you to use as much as the model in the ad is using. Just about a third of the full strip is sufficient. This gimmick extends well to shampoo and laundry detergent also, to the extent it does more damage than good.

Talking of which, there is one substance which works like magic - deicing fluid and rock salt-water for snow. Based on the principle of depression in freezing point, it is very effective at removing ice and snow at not-so low temperatures. But at the same time, it is essential that the salt is added as a solution - it is very common for people to put salt on snow and expect it to disappear - add water and it will.

The only way Rajni can act as a villain - in his own movies in an alter ego - Endhiran

It's so easy to miss it in Endhiran: All the robots are played by the same Rajni. In effect, it's a triple-role. A serious Einstein-esque scientist, a stone faced good robot and the most diabolical robot.

That Rajni is an actor of epic levels is not in question - it's just been lost for a lot of years. Becoming a mass hero for nearly 20 years has taken its toll. I don't think the gradual transition to shun the 'superstar' image is an aberration - Sivaji the Boss had very few 'punch' dialogues with Vivek doing a few for him, this film has almost none('Ennai yaaralayum azhikka mudiyathu'). Whereas he would get the best entrances, his last two have been very simple - one behind bars and the other in a lab.

The best scene in the entire movie has to be the black sheep one - oh how I wish Rajni would act as a villain in a big budget movie - he'd set the benchmark for all future villains. The laugh(not everyone can laugh loudly and in progression - try it), the scowl, the sudden smile-to-frown, the walk - it's 'acting' at its best. More remarkable wearing the exact same costume but acting differently - the Vaseegaran in disguise and evil Chitti.

As far as the movie is concerned, it's worthy of a Hollywood production. The romantic angle(2 songs with Vaseegaran) is a stretch; the delivery of the baby is equally unnecessary. Shankar has written a very clever script - an exemplary scene is when evil Chitti gets 3 reports - the first on someone delivering food, the second on the video cam being disabled and then that his Highness has eaten - getting him to bring all his emotions ahead of other priorities - is genius. However, Shankar too, in his fantasy world, has decided that robots may not learn emotions - he delivers his to the robot via a quirk because of a lightning strike. What Do Women Want much?

Equally genius is the robots joining to form a sphere, a hand, a snake and a bigger robot. The first time I saw the trailer I was blown away.



It's pretty obvious Danny Denzongpa mouthed all his dialogues in Hindi. His actions in trying to derail Vaseegaran are a reflection of the real world, where minor flaws are blown to epic proportions so a competitor's plan does not succeed.

The graphics is excellent - though there are a handful of places where it could've been better.

Vaseegaran's lab is too clean to be a lab; NDTV's Sanjay Pinto makes a hilarious cameo - just words thrown in without much grammar - could be just headlines.

What's with the white guys amongst a group of rowdys trying to beat up Chitti and Ash on the suburban?

No matter how many movies he makes, Shankar never leaves his love for exploding cars behind. It's getting a little bit too boring.

There is one scene in which visuals and BG music line up beautifully - when Ash gives Chitti a kiss, his mouth opens in surprise and a draft slightly ruffles his hair, as a modified opening to 'Irumbile' plays(just before the intermission).

The mosquito scene is beyond present capabilities, so it well and truly falls into the realm of sci-fi. Which leaves a glaring mistake in the plot - why aren't the robots using solar power to charge their batteries? Non-solar robots fit into the movie's overall storyline but nonetheless it is a wee bit disappointing.

I remember reading an interview of Shankar, probably 7 years ago, when Boys released, where he lamented about his dream project involving robots being stalled because no-one was willing to spend 100 crores to make it. It's eerily similar to another person's complaints - James Cameron and Avatar. In his case it was that technology hadn't improved and no-one was willing to spend so much money.

AR Rahman's bg score is exemplary especially the trailing trumpet and the final hour or so - except for the '2.0' techno voice while evil Chitti faces the police while holding so many guns between his hands.

Shankar always finishes his movies with a message to the people - in this case it's that machines if used properly can aid mankind in his quest to do whatever.

Endhiran is one of the rare movies to get universal acclaim, including from the North-Indian press, which is suspicious, to say the least.

Whatever, the last 50 minutes, after the entrance of the evil Chitti are fantastic for anyone looking for a wonderful performance.

And Shankar's record of 100% hits with riveting climaxes continues. Still, it's Rajni's movie. What. An. Actor.

Raavanan is a Vikram special; Ravan suffers from poor casting

Raavanan has convinced me that Vikram has even more fire in him to do ever more challenging roles. Sadly, this realisation comes from Junior B's lacklustre performance in Raavan - it's just not easy to play the maniacal villain-hero - especially as portrayed by Vikram. The gym body, gruff voice and evil scowl add tons to a scene much more than music and a storyline could.

Incidentally, the very qualities which make Raavanan remarkable have let Raavan down - casting. In the Hindi version the villain-hero looks too young and 'small'. The point is not to deride Junior B for his lack of muscles, it's just that the script demands an actor who can fill the scene with his presence. It's hard to take a scrawny villain seriously. Same for Prabhu's role - it's some thin guy with passable acting skills. Prabhu seems to enjoy acting, moreso for unconventional movies. His size is a plus(pardon the pun) given that he occupies the screen with ease. But, he just can't get himself to dance, try as much as possible.

There are several parallels between the character of 'Raavan/Raavanan' and the street kid in Yuva/Ayutha Ezhuthu - both have moustaches with unshaven beards, they shout and screech randomly and enjoy beating up people. That must be why Junior B was chosen to play Raavan, but the minor flaws in Guru prove he still has a lot of catching up to do if he wants to do character-based movies.

Speaking of which, I couldn't think of another person to play the title role in Hindi. Aamir is too short; Salman Khan is too mainstream; I doubt anyone would want to play a half-mad man. Naseeruddin Shah maybe?

Karthik and Govinda must be commended for accepting a minor role. They tend to act silly, must have been easy playing Hanuman.

The difficulties of making a bilingual, that too opposite ends of the country, has not been lost on the music too. Some of the songs are designed for Hindi lyrics, some for Tamil. Even more disappointing is the sudden and short appearance and disappearance of grandiose pieces - hardly a few seconds, giving the impression that there are several scenes shortened in the movie.

Now for a few pedantic notes: In the scene where the kids make the boat go in circles and Raavan and 'Sita' are talking, their voices are just loud enough for a person standing next to them, not the far away bank. Of course, they were talking to the camera, which was next to them. In the song Kodu Potta, Vikram is the only guy wearing slippers - probably star treatment.

There are two scenes I like very much - first, when Ash and Prithviraj/Vikram arrive at the train station. Prithviraj in the leather jacket and Ash in those earrings and North Indian dress look gorgeous. Second, the symbolic burning of the newspaper photo with the cigarette - depicted slowly conveys the anger and raging want of revenge.

The climax involves just 3 people - if you exclude a couple of scenes - and is a nice twist to the Ramayan tale.

All in all the Tamil version is much better; Vikram is an amazing actor; Prithviraj moulds himself to the serious role well and Junior B should stick to metro-oriented non-maniacal roles.

The internet made this redundant

Cleaning out my cupboard, I felt my hands on what my mother described as gathering dust and probably insects - my 12 year old collection of newspaper cuttings - mostly the Sci/Tech and Young World supplementary of The Hindu, occasional cuttings from the Sunday Magazine and a painstakingly curated series of articles which appeared before the 1999 World Cup, comprising of the best batsmen and best bowlers.

The newspapers immediately felt huge, because The Hindu reduced the width and length sometime back. Equally reminiscent was the progressive space allotted to the supplementaries - Open Page on Mondays, Sci/Tech on Thursdays and the Sports Extra before they were folded into the main newspaper or, in the case of the Sports Extra, cancelled.

Sad, it is, that the year 2000 we remember as 'a couple of years back' but is nearly 11 years in the past; then, computers and the internet were in the hands of a few, so every bit of information 'had to be preserved' for future use, hence the huge pile of newspapers. There is little use for them today because the web has made it easier to index and search for articles, photos and curious information, even when those science articles are beyond redundant.

But, that 'must preserve' attitude hasn't been lost yet - I currently have over 1800 bookmarks in Firefox right now - with more than a 100 in Chrome; this apart from another 1800 or so I backed-up in the middle of the decade. Videos, 'that famous piece of music'-links, magazine and newspaper editorials, analyses of politics and the economy, 'I will watch this later' documentaries and essays, doomsday predictions, time wasting websites, 'this is a good book' links(nearly 200 of them), website design tips, links to catch the action in cricket and movies(though a good chunk of them are dead) - basically any and every link which says 'this is a good link'.

I think I should dump a few really interesting links every now and then. Like this one - the top 100 classical pieces of music you've probably heard. Did you know the Raymond's suiting theme music is Schumann's Traumerei and the simply classic Titan watches music is cleverly adapted from Mozart's Symphony No. 25(you can find almost all the ads by Titan on their official youtube page).

I find tons of such interesting tidbits, which if I don't blog about, my twitter handle is @1729. Follow me/RSS if you find it interesting.

I'll also be including more of my photographs in blogposts. I don't think there's any use of keeping the photos on only my harddrive.

Timeless excerpts from 'Ramble and Recollections of an Indian Official' by WH Sleeman

While following links about the British' disastrous Afghan campaign in the 19th century, I happened upon a memoir, 'Rambles and Recollections of an Indian Official', written by a highly proclaimed, well appreciated and universally welcomed official of the East India Company, W. H. Sleeman, which is a timeless collection of his thoughts, observances, tales, opinions and adventures. Initially it was the effort to get to know 19th century pre-Sepoy Mutiny India through the eyes of an Englishman; but as I read through the chapters, it astonishes me how, inspite of vast technological advances and nearly 170 years, many situations and conventions still hold true. At times I wonder if someone has replaced some text with that which was written yesterday or the day before.

I will excerpt some interesting passages from the memoir; I am about quarter way through, so I might make a few more such posts.

Abandoned forts and a possible scientific explanation for a 'homa' or 'gruhapravesh'(separate post)

Action plan for employment and government help during a famine, and also steps to take to curb high prices(separate post, soon)


Author's opinions on the 'absurdity' of Hindu customs, but also the tolerance Hindus show to other religions, followed by a Muslim official's regret of infighting which brought down the Mughal(?) empire: Chapter 8

'This is all very true, Mīr Sāhib, but you must admit that, though there is a great deal of absurdity in their customs and opinions, there is, on the other hand, much that we might all take an example from. The Hindoo believes that Christians and Musalmāns may be as good men in all relations of life as himself, and in as fair a way to heaven as he is; for he believes that my Bible and your Korān are as much revelations framed by the Deity for our guidance, as the Shāstras are for his. He doubts not that our Christ was the Son of God, nor that Muhammad was the prophet of God; and all that he asks from us is to allow him freely to believe in his own gods, and to worship in his own way. Nor does one caste or sect of Hindoos ever believe itself to be alone in the right way, or detest any other for not following in the same path, as they have as much of toleration for each other as they have for us.[10]

'True,' exclaimed Salāmat Alī, 'too true! we have ruined each other; we have cut each other's throats; we have lost the empire, and we deserve to lose it. You won it, and you preserved it by your union—ten men with one heart are equal to a hundred men with different hearts. A Hindoo may feel himself authorized to take in a Musalmān, and might even think it meritorious to do so; but he would never think it meritorious to take in one of his own religion. There are no less than seventy- two sects of Muhammadans; and every one of these sects would not only take in the followers of every other religion on earth, but every member of every one of the other seventy-one sects; and the nearer that sect is to its own, the greater the merit in taking in its members.'[11]

A description of weird practices people follow to rid disease:(Chapter 25)

The procession took place about nine the same night, with all due ceremony; but the advocates for noise would none of them assist in it. Strange as it may appear, the disease abated from that moment; and the great majority of the population of both towns believed that their prayers had been heard; and I went to bed with a mind somewhat relieved by the hope that this feeling of confidence might be useful. About one o'clock I was awoke from a sound sleep by the most hideous noise that I had ever heard; and, not at that moment recollecting the proposal for the noisy procession, ran out of my house, in expectation of seeing both towns in flames. I found that the advocates for noise, resolving to have their procession, had assembled together about midnight; and, apprehensive that they might be borne down by the advocates for silence and my police establishment, had determined to make the most of their time, and put in requisition all the pots, pans, shells, trumpets, pistols, and muskets that they could muster. All opened at once about one o'clock; and, had there been any virtue in discord, the cholera must soon have deserted the place, for such another hideous compound of noises I never heard. The disease, which seemed to have subsided with the silent procession before I went to bed, now returned with double violence, as I was assured by numbers who flocked to my house in terror; and the whole population became exasperated with the leaders of the noisy faction, who had, they believed, been the means of bringing back among them all the horrors of this dreadful scourge.

with his thoughts on 'offerings to cure diseases':

'This of course arises', I observed, 'from the industry of his priests, who are now spread all over the country; and you know that there is hardly a village or hamlet in which there are not some of them to be found subsisting upon the fears of the people.'

followed by a subtle dig at English and Hindu customs:

A complicated religious code, like that of the Hindoos, is to the priest what a complicated civil code, like that of the English, is to the lawyers. A Hindoo can do nothing without consulting his priest, and an Englishman can do nothing without consulting his lawyer.

Describing the lawlessness in Oudh and Bundelkhand, now Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh:

There is hardly a single chief of the Hindoo military class in the Bundēlkhand or Gwālior territories, who does not keep a gang of robbers of some kind or other, and consider it as a very valuable and legitimate source of revenue; or who would not embrace with cordiality the leader of a gang of assassins by profession who should bring him home from every expedition a good horse, a good sword, or a valuable pair of shawls, taken from their victims. It is much the same in the kingdom of Oudh, where the lands are for the most part held by the same Hindoo military classes, who are in a continual state of war with each other, or with the Government authorities. Three-fourths of the recruits for native infantry regiments are from this class of military agriculturists of Oudh, who have been trained up in this school of contest; and many of the lads, when they enter our ranks, are found to have marks of the cold steel upon their persons.

Rueing the sad state of transportation of grain, lack of machinery in agriculture and the lack of non-perennial sources of income like industry(although post-liberalisation we have become more of a services industry with agriculture contributing about 20% to the GDP compared to 70% then, the problems plaguing agriculture are the same) and how a famine impacts all these: Chapter 24

This machinery is the great assistant of the present generation, provided for us by the wisdom and industry of the past; wanting no food itself, it can always provide its proprietors with the means of purchasing what they require from other countries, when the harvests of their own fail. When calamities of season deprive men of employment for a time in tillage, they can, in England, commonly find it in other branches of industry, because agricultural industry forms so small a portion of the collective industry of the nation; and because every man can, without prejudice to his status in society, take to what branch of industry he pleases. But, when these calamities of season throw men out of employment in tillage for a time in India, they cannot find it in any other branch, because agricultural industry forms so very large a portion of the collective industry of every part of the country; and because men are often prevented by the prejudices of caste from taking to that which they can find.[20]

The entire chapter is a fantastic read on how to manage famines and prevent them.

The memoir is available online, is about 1.8 MB in size and about 93 chapters; it contains notes from the author and an editor from around 1890's. The grammar is antiquated - with 9 phrases in a sentence being common(separated by commas), requiring a careful re-reading. Some of the words are no longer in use and definitely need a dictionary - for e.g. did you know that 'litter' is a sort of palanquin, open-air, to carry the most respected persons.
The memoir was primarily written in the late 1830's but published in the 1840's.

Scientific reasons for a 'homa' or grihapravesh puja?

Reading 'Rambles and Recollections of an Indian Official' by W H Sleeman (some selected passages are here), he writes of his experience in dealing with abandoned forts - and how soldiers or prisoners housed there had a very high risk of dying or becoming sick beyond recovery.

He writes of the presence of 'carbonic acid gas'(he could be referring to carbon dioxide) in 'all abandoned forts in India' and describes its characteristics accurately, namely that it is denser than air and remains stagnant.

Most interestingly, he says the native remedy is a puja - where guests are fed and a fire is lit in the fortress, while explaining that the movement of the people and the rising air from the fire causes circulation with all the doors and windows open (or 'large openings'). In an occupied fortress, the normal movement of people prevents such accumulation of gas, he says. By his account about 6% of those who were lodged in these abandoned forts died within 5 years, which translate to 'thousands' of men.

This explanation seems to account for all the practices for a new home or some other 'special puja' to 'clear the bad air' (haven't you heard an elder say that?); it is also possible that the commotion and smoke could chase out insects and reptiles which may be in the building.

As to how the 'carbonic acid' got into the forts in the first place, it could be general decay from plants growing there, or, in my opinion, from the plaster or building material used - usually some form of mud or limestone(CaCO3) - which could degrade to give off the gas the author describes.

In India we carry out many practices in the name of tradition and culture - many of them may have had proper reason to carry out, but over time they have been exaggerated and their true purpose hidden.

Full relevant passage:

" The fortress is now entirely deserted, and the town, which the garrison supported, is occupied by only a small police-guard, stationed here to see that robbers do not take up their abode among the ruins. There is no fear of this. All old deserted fortresses in India become filled by a dense stream of carbonic acid gas, which is found so inimical to animal life that those who attempt to occupy them become ill, and, sooner or later, almost all die of the consequences. This gas, being specifically much heavier than common air, descends into the bottom of such unoccupied fortresses, and remains stagnant like water in old reservoirs. The current of pure air continually passes over, without being able to carry off the mass of stagnant air below; and the only way to render such places habitable is to make large openings in the walls on all sides, from the top to the bottom, so that the foul air may be driven out by the current of pure atmospheric air, which will then be continually rushing in. When these fortresses are thickly peopled, the continual motion within tends, I think, to mix up this gas with the air above; while the numerous fires lighted within, by rarefying that below, tend to draw down a regular supply of the atmospheric air from above for the benefit of the inhabitants. When natives enter upon the occupation of an old fortress of this kind, that has remained long unoccupied, they always make a solemn religions ceremony of it; and, having fed the priests, the troops, and a crowd of followers, all rush in at once with beat of drums, and as much noise as they can make. By this rush, and the fires that follow, the bad air is, perhaps, driven off, and never suffered to collect again while the fortress remains fully occupied. Whatever may be the cause, the fact is certain that these fortresses become deadly places of abode for small detachments of troops, or small parties of any kind. They all get ill, and few recover from the diseases they contract in them.

From the year 1817, when we first took possession of the Sāgar and Nerbudda Territories, almost all the detachments of troops we required to keep at a distance from the headquarters of their regiments were posted in these old deserted fortifications. Our collections of revenue were deposited in them; and, in some cases, they were converted into jails for the accommodation of our prisoners. Of the soldiers so lodged, I do not believe that one in four ever came out well; and, of those who came out ill, I do not believe that one in four survived five years. They were all abandoned one after the other; but it is painful to think how many hundreds, I may say thousands, of our brave soldiers were sacrificed before this resolution was taken. I have known the whole of the survivors of strong detachments that went in, in robust health, three months before, brought away mere skeletons, and in a hopeless and dying state. All were sent to their homes on medical certificate, but they almost all died there, or in the course of their journey. "

The memoir is available to read online(or you can save the html page to read offline).

The internet is a magical land where stuff happens

Every time I meet friends and we talk of the internet, a joke from a decade-and-a-half old Reader's Digest comes to mind.

A military man is transferred to a distant place, and his wife talks for hours on end, daily, with her close(pun intended) friend. He decided to get her a computer and hoped with the magic of the then nascent email, he could save some serious bucks on his phone bill. Alas, that was not to be: The two friends did communicate by email, but ended up talking about what they had emailed on the phone!

Very often, most social gatherings turn into a did-you-watch-this-did-you-watch-that or he-did-this-to-her-on-x-website or she-put-this-photo-on-her-profile conversations. No one denies that they are uninteresting, but it does seem we are making subtle fools of ourselves for talking about stuff twice over.

Billionair philanthropy, eh... Not so much

Warren Buffett convinced several gazillionaires to pledge a major chunk of their charity, which at the top is a very selfless act.

A few days later, Der Spiegel reported that Germany's super-rich rejected the idea, saying those duties should be the responsibility of the state, arguing that such donations in the US are tax free and there is a profound difference in the societal system between the two countries.

Which, had me thinking, which is best expressed in story form:

Begin

Long long time ago, there was a greedy Raja who oversaw a huge swath of land. He would tax all his citizens atrocious rates, leaving them with just enough food and material to support themselves. With all the taxes he collected he bought himself gold, lots and lots of gold. He pinched every single subject that they hated him and wished nothing good to him.

Several years later the Raja now had tons of gold in his coffers. But age was catching up with him; he felt the need to do something with all that gold. So he set up charitable institutions to distribute the gold - to his citizens - so he could feel good about having done something good.

End

It's true there are several factors involved in such personal wealth, including stock prices and CEO salaries and so on, and that Gates has pledged a lot of his fortune to research; but still, the German's opinions sure sounds reasonable.

Avatar is a mind blowing Matrix-Captain Planet-Last Samurai movie

Review in a paragraph: Avatar is a superhuman mind blowing free-bird creative expression by James Cameron. Do watch it on a big screen, with 3D if possible. It may not be the best movie ever made, but it is the best movie experience I've ever had. Two and half hours of non-stop awe inspiring graphics with every t crossed and every i dotted.

Contents: Storyline(possible spoilers)-Acting-Depth of graphics-Political statement-Reception of the movie-Trivia/Observations

Storyline:

The storyline is a mix of Matrix, Captain Planet and the Last Samurai. People controlling their bodies in another conscience, a sacred tree removed to benefit from the land and a last charge by lesser equipped beings against a superior force - it fits in perfectly. It is not chockablock with cliches to keep the ordinary guy chuckling, like single words dropped in tense situations to induce laughter('Hi... you don't need to stand up' or 'You guys aren't the only ones iwth guns here').

This soldier is sent to replace his brother who was a nerd unlike him, a soldier. He infiltrates the indigenous people because the living soul of the planet accepted him... So in 3 months he does what? Inducted fully, some intelligence regarding the structure of the tree(with all that firepower does it really matter if that tree is hollow or thick or spiral inside?) is got and he still hasn't gotten them to evacuate the area.

The tribe try their best to save the sacred tree from bulldozers(an episode straight out of Captain Planet), are unable and retreat deep into the forest. Our hero tries to convice them to get out, they don't, he is imprisoned, they escape because of one rogue officer and set up a mobile base to help the tribe again.

Everyone is rallied, they attack and take unexpected welcome help from all the animals around. When the scientist said the entire planet was a network of thoughts, I expected the trees and plants to rise up and march like in Two Towers, but instead it was the animals who responded to the call of the mother tree.

Acting:

Cameron said the faces of the actors were recorded on camera and mapped to the characters in virtual reality - well, we could make out anger, happiness, sadness and a menacing face. Beyond this trying to recreate and observe requires keen attention to the face which needs a second viewing. The human characters were, well, cliched. A man in charge who acts like a dumbo, the military guy stern, yes, in that sense they have performed well. Zoe Saldana is beautiful, but it's sad she isn't in the movie in-person.

Depth of graphics:

The first clips to emerge was the Thanator chase clip. That itself was pure awesome, with bubbles in the water sealing the deal. The different plants in the forest, their colours and response to stimuli are amazing. You can see the face muscles twitching and the muscles rippling when the avatars move their limbs.

The robots react nicely to the recoil of the gun - the more the power, the greater the load time and kickback.

The colours used are so rich they remind one of a rainforest - the birds, flowers, flying creatures, arrow feathers. Ash, embers, jellyfish-insects, leaves and the tentacles of the mother tree appear to be floating when seen in 3D.

Cameron said in an interview he waited for 10 days waiting for the right sunset for the famous arms-stretched-together scene in Titanic, so for him to manipulate everything in graphics is a testament to the advancement in technology and perseverance.

Political statement:

When the characters mention the offense as a 'shock and awe' campaign, call out the hero Jake for 'betraying his race' and are unconcerned for deities and show their ultimate goal is material gain inspite of loss to life, it is both obvious and inevitable that James Cameron is making a statement, maybe even politically. The military chief is bothered with a tactical success, elimination of occupying persons and securing the required area. The guy-in-charge is bothered about the 'cost to lives' and hopes not many are lost because if maybe a bad corporate image. That is a lot of not-so-subtle poke at materialism.

In fact, if those tribes were not on another moon but in a pocket of undisturbed land on earth, it is a story often repeated over and over again, where indigenous people want their lands to remain untouched. Did Cameron knowingly take a risky jab at all these events?

Reception of the movie:

It's been beyond expectations. Persons hellbent on it failing were impressed. Sandy predicted Avatar would out-gross Vettaikaran in Tamil Nadu itself. Keeping anyone still for 150 minutes isn't easy.

Trivia/Observations:

-As I said, the movie reminds me of Matrix, Captain Planet, Last Samurai and Two Towers.
-When Michelle Rodriguez doesn't press the button and withdraws saying 'I didn't sign up for this sh_t', obviously there would have been an inventory check of who's empty and who's not, revealing she hadn't fired. That didn't happen.
-Noone seems to bother chasing her when she hijacks the copter.
-I wonder what happened to the scientists who chose to stay back on Pandora - were they absorbed into the tribe too?
-The tribe have rituals akin to almost any Earthly indigenous tribe: treating the Earth and other beings to be sacred, observing a deity, spirituality, afterlife, living off the land.. Cameron's just taken an Earthern tribe and made their home Pandora.
-The concept of 'Bird of Prey doesn't look up' is well thought of and used.
-Wonder why the mobile base was not attacked by animals or the people.
-Floating islands, I remember seeing them years ago when people were setting up snazzy desktop backgrounds. I've searched, this is all I could find, but the description is photoshops of a beach in Thailand with the rocky coves made into floating islands.
-The insect which twirls and spirals when touched immediately reminded me of da Vinci's drawings for a helicopter.
-'Unobtainium' negative 50 points for the writers for such a stupid name.
-Minus 50 again for the most ineffective trailers. The movie is so good, the trailer couldn't keep up.
-Another negative 50 points for using Papyrus font for the movie title.
-Watching blurred background objects in 3D is painful, because you try to sharpen them when they aren't.
-I do not understand, and what is not explained in the movie, is how the human controls the avatar. It is just a mental link, but no explanation beyond that.
-Being brutally honest, the characters are practically naked. Couldn't resist mentioning it.

Pics used via Wikipedia, Official Avatar Flickr page.

Chetan Bhagat didn't get the memo on the Interwebs

I may have just realised that the author of Five Point Someone isn't that savvy afterall. Arguing on the internet? And losing? What a pity.

In the older pockets of the internet, i.e. Europe and America, it is well known that you do not argue on the internet(as this xkcd comic puts it aptly and is discussed at length), because it's more than a waste of time. That Chetan fell so quickly and easily into the trap laid for him is sad.

You see, on the internet there are a section of people called 'trolls' who will say anything simply to poke at the coals and fan the flames. Hey, the Wiki page on trolls itself is locked down - no points for guessing why. Fly You Fools is snarky enough to qualify.

If you want a simple answer, it is akin to leaving a comment on a Sachin Tendulkar fansite saying 'Tendulkar doesn't have proper footwork' -this is laying the trap. When someone takes the bait, it is instant gratification: You may or may not believe in Sachin's footwork, but you take immense joy in the walls of text dumped in favour of Sachin, when in fact it is a non-issue.

Taking a larger view, I don't understand what Chetan wanted to accomplish by blocking his detractors. Won't they or can't they create a new account and taunt him even more? Why was Chetan so bothered about someone replying to him? Why couldn't he just plainly ignore them?

Users on the internet are trigger happy - anything exciting to be accomplished by moving just your fingers and is plain simple to do is simply asking for trouble. The target here is big too - a much revered author.

There are two topics I would like to dig deeper into - the first is Twitter. It is a tool best for one to one communication with instant feedback. A prominent example is television personalities getting reviews the moment their show is done with - or even better, an immediate comment on a particular section. If you use is rightly, you can leverage it to crowdsource your needs or push information to them. It should not be forgotten - there is no gap between you and the end user. No newspaper journalist, no publicist, no email inbox to pad for an avalanche. When it comes, it is an unedited stream of raw emotion. An avalanche of what, depends on how you reply to the trolls and users alike.

The other is the question of piracy. Any reader of Techdirt will remind you that pirates are users whose choice of consumption has not been met or have not been marketed to properly. To expand my point, what if Chetan's book was available on every street corner like the pirated version? It's already been proven to work: c.f. Moser Baer. Low cost discs(movies as low as Rs. 50) have brought in huge revenues to the company.

Sifting even finer, a good lot of readers are those with little patience and so lazy as to not read a book. These obviously prefer ebooks. Case in point: My friends bragged about finishing 2 States in less than a day. Why didn't they buy the book? 1. It wasn't available on Amazon.com 2. The book was so hot they couldn't wait for a hard copy. So courtesy of a good samaritan who passed along the pdf they finished the book and wrote glowing reviews. Do these readers pirate the book because they want to bankrupt Chetan?

No, they love him so much they want it in the easiest way possible. Piracy and intellectual property is a huge can of worms made worse by a lack of online shopping capability as far as India is concerned. Fun facts: free ebooks have been 'pirated'. Even tracks given away by a band for free were distributed widely through P2P networks. Lesson to be learnt? People will do the simplest thing to get their stuff.

A wider post on IP and what to do about piracy later.

But as far as Chetan is concerned, I hope he is more wiser now regarding the known unknowns lurking on the internet and doesn't undertake silly fights. It's better to have the moral higher ground. A lesson for all internet users: DON'T FEED THE TROLLS.

Edit: This will be fun for a while: a genius sets up a site specially for #chetanblocks. Check out the 'best of' at http://www.chetanblocks.com/#cb2. Another lesson for all internet users: NEVER FIGHT THE INTERNET. YOU CAN'T WIN.

P.S. 'Interwebs' and 'internets' are slang webspeak for the internet.

Tags: Twitter war, Chetan Bhagat vs flyyoufools, chetanblocks, chetan blocks twitter user