A point well made

A friend's Facebook status message reads:

A Maharashtra born and brought up Shivajirao Gaikwad, calls himself a ‘Tamilian’ because that place made him ‘Rajnikant’. Hence he feels indebted to it and calls himself as ‘Tamilian’. Therefore when I don’t mind earning/living in Maharashtra, why should I mind the local culture and being called as Maharastrian.............. because it’s not about being Marathi, its about being 'Maharashtrians'.

Well put Romi.

Get back up!

Very useful

I have not verified it. Believe it's genuine. Please pass on this piece of information to all.

Socialism

Received this as a forward. Interesting read.

An economics professor at a local college made a statement that he had never failed a single student before, but had once failed an entire class. That class had insisted that Obama's socialism worked and that no one would be poor and no one would be rich, a great equalizer.

The professor then said, "OK, we will have an experiment in this class on Obama's plan".

All grades would be averaged and everyone would receive the same grade so no one would fail and no one would receive an A. After the first test, the grades were averaged and everyone got a B. The students who studied hard were upset and the students who studied little were happy.

As the second test rolled around, the students who studied little had studied even less and the ones who studied hard decided they wanted a free ride too so they studied little. The second test average was a D! No one was happy.

When the 3rd test rolled around, the average was an F. The scores never increased as bickering, blame and name-calling all resulted in hard feelings and no one would study for the benefit of anyone else. All failed, to their great surprise, and the professor told them that socialism would also ultimately fail because when the reward is great, the effort to succeed is great but when government takes all the reward away, no one will try or want to succeed.

Shantaram

Reading Shantaram. And loving it. Amazing story-telling. Beautiful narration.

Fun time

Just about leaving for a trip to Kerala. Looking forward to a fun-filled 2 weeks time there. My cousin is getting married there and it is one grand family get-together. My childhood has been spent more with cousins than with friends and we all would be under one roof for a lot of time. It will be fun.

Blogging might take a break b'coz of intermittent access to the internet there. Will try to scribble down few thoughts whenever I can. Will be back to business in November.

Will miss my lectures, students, fun with them and classes in general.

Wish you and your loved ones a very happy Diwali. Have a wonderful time with your loved ones. Enjoy safely and peacefully. God bless! Keep smiling.

I did not vote

Yeah, I did not vote. Thought a lot about whom to vote. Could not choose between the lesser evils too. Thought from both a state perspective and local area perspective. Still could not convince myself to favor any person/party. Eventually decided not voting is a better option than voting a wrong guy in.

On a related note, 25% voter (read later that the final number could be close to 49%) turnout in Mumbai! Is it not largely a reflection of consensus view that no one is worth voting from the options given? Sure, textbook answer is find the right person to stand for elections then. My point is how is this different from some funda of voting for no one by filling a form? How does the latter score over the former?

THE

Thank me? If you understand that I acted for my own sake, you know that no gratitude is required.

That is why I thank you.

These are THE best lines I have read ever. Comes from Atlas Shrugged.

Ayn Rand

After two attempts and almost six months, I'm finally done with the second of Ayn Rand's gems. The first I read was Fountainhead (I have read it twice over the last 5 years) and the one I completed now is Atlas Shrugged. The time it took to complete reading the book is primarily because it's a 1000+ pages epic. Moreover, it is not an easy read. The language & the flow is not smooth and so one has to apply himself a lot while reading. I have enjoyed both the books thoroughly and I am a huge fan of the principles she projects in her books, that of Objectivism. The two pivot characters in the two books, Howard Roark and John Galt, inspire me atleast a wee bit every time I think through the books.

I know of many who cringe at Rand's philosophies and the vagueness/irrelevance of the characters she draws up. To each their own!

They say..

They say man must be obedient, to the extent of being submissive. They say man must be respectful of the society around him. They say man must give in to the expectations of the bigger want. They say man must seek advice and do things that the consensus feels is right. They say man has to educate himself to the norms of the world. They say man must dance to the audience. They say man must be more tolerant to every body else's soul than his own. They say man must think to suit those who cannot think. They say man must act for the convenience of those who has never acted.

Why don't they simple say man must cease to be man?