Once upon a time, Manchester United was a footballing powerhouse. Under the benevolent dictatorial reign of Sir Alex Ferguson, the club won titles for fun, scored goals at will, and even reached the promised land of a treble in the 98/99 season. Manchester United was at the forefront of the commercial revolution of the Premier League in the 90s and racked up record titles, profits, and fans. The club felt too big to fail and guaranteed success for decades to come even when the venerable SAF would eventually retire.

However, in the early 2000s, seeds of doubt were sown. It all potentially started with a racehorse. Dispute over a fabled racehorse's ownership structure between the owners and SAF turned ugly, and it is believed that that incident caused the then owners want to divest from the club. This subsequently emboldened a certain American family to train their eyes on the club and ignited their desire to own it.

Ah, the Glazers. How ye ruined the club.

The club has seen zero investment since they took over. Of course, with SAF being the sheer force of nature that he is, the club continued to collect titles and trophies for fun till he retired in 2013. There was even another Champions League victory in 2008! However, the final years of SAF started to give us some warnings. The consequences for the absolute lack of investment would show themselves soon enough.

All it took was SAF's retirement.

And then, it completely unraveled.

A decade of mismanagement

The past decade can be thought of as an instructive lesson on how not to run a sporting enterprise. Yes, the club is making boatloads of money, but how much longer can that revenue generation be sustained without proper investment and instead just implementing shoddy band-aid solutions?

The transfer strategy is scattershot. The once world-class scouting system is in disarray. The youth setup is nowhere near what it used to be. The stadium is an embarrassment. The wage bill is out of control for a side that barely even finishes in Champions League-qualifying positions.

All of this boils down to a lack of investment in the club and the interest of the owners to just bleed the club dry while financing their leveraged buyout from eighteen years ago.

A lot of this is also the result of the hare-brained manager appointment strategy that the club employs. No tactical continuity. Or player recruitment. Or manager support with a director of football. Hiring old players as staff in positions of power for sentimental reasons.

If you look at modern, successful football clubs – they run like a well-oiled machine. In contrast, Manchester United runs like ... Manchester United? Sorry, I don't know what to say because the club is run that terribly. The United Way™️ is now a meme and nothing more.

The only change the fans get every few years is a new manager. While I try not to use memes in serious discourse, this aptly sums up the absolute shambles of a club that is Manchester United.

It happened with David Moyes. It happened with Louis van Gaal. It happened with Jose Mourinho. It happened with Ole Gunnar Solskjær. It happened with Ralf Rangnick. And it is happening in real-time with Erik ten Hag.

This is what happens when you have incompetent people running a club at every level. Players take advantage of this too! And rightly so. In 2014, Edward Woodward, the then chief executive of the club said,

"We can do things in the transfer market that other clubs can only dream of. Watch this space."

Who says that? Even the richest clubs in the world like Real Madrid publicly whine about high transfer fees and wage demands. It is PR 101. Did this club never even hire a competent PR person? Color me unsurprised. And fans wonder why the wage bill is out of control and no club wants your outcasts who are on £ 300k a week despite not even being bang average (or even making the bench!). It also befuddles the rational mind how many nonsensical contract extensions have been doled out in the past decade.

Is it even a surprise that these overpaid players throw their toys out of the pram at the first sign of trouble and demand a new manager? Sure, some of them had to go. However, when you have a proper structure in place, such a series of managers with vastly different philosophies would never have even been hired. How does the club go from van Gaal to Mourinho to Solskjær to ten Hag? Make it make sense.

A lot of the points I talked about in this article almost eight years ago still hold true! I was still a student when I wrote that! Frankly, it is embarrassing.

There was a glimmer of hope more than a year ago when it was announced that the Glazers may sell the club. And finally, after 13 long months, it was announced that Sir Jim Ratcliffe and INEOS will buy a 25% stake in the club with fans hoping that it will be 100% in the future. More importantly, INEOS also gets sporting control.

New beginnings?

Thanks to the Glazers, the past decade has been one of depression and hopelessness. In fact, the group chat with a couple of my friends who are also supporters of the club was called #DeadInsideGang for a long time.

As Ralf Rangnick famously and accurately said, the club needs open heart surgery. In no particular order, the club needs to:

• Completely overhaul scouting and transfer policy.
• Have a defined wage structure and contract renewal policy.
• Reimagine training, recovery, and medical philosophies.
• Renovate Old Trafford or build New Trafford. Start by fixing the leaky roof at least!
• Hire new staff in every department with a consistent ideology.
• And apparently, even rethink the kitchen so that raw chicken is not served. How dysfunctional did the club get?

The club needs an unholy amount of sustained long-term investment in every department across the length and breadth of the club and one can only hope that INEOS has the stomach for that. While I was critical about Sir Jim purchasing the club, I have since realized two things: a) Anyone is better than the Glazer family, and b) It seems that INEOS has learned its mistakes with Nice who are currently doing very well this season in Ligue 1 (2nd in the table at the time of writing) so fingers crossed! It is certainly heartening to already see some of the new executives (given their track record)​ expected to start handling business once the PL finishes its review process.

For now, however, the bitter truth is that Manchester United is a mid-table club at best. But finally, us fans of Manchester United may after all have some glimmer of a light at the end of a long and icy tunnel. And when that happens, you will be sure to hear about it from me. So, subscribe! It is free!

Watch this space! 👉​

Let’s look at digital storefronts that are more comprehensive in their offerings. The two big ones are the Apple App Store and the Google Play Store. Both these stores take a 30% cut of all app purchases and also in-app purchases if they’re exclusively digital like subscribing to Netflix or Spotify or removing ads.

Of course, nobody knew how gargantuan these kinds of stores would become when Apple first introduced the App Store way back in 2008. I don’t think even Apple expected the scale that it would operate at more than a decade later. Google launched the Android Market soon after and the stage was set. Initially, nobody thought much about these 30% cuts, but as the stores grew and more and more people bought iPhones and Android devices, this duopoly soon became the de facto online storefront for mobile devices depending on your platform and every digital good you bought on them funneled a 30% cut right back for the purpose of operating and maintaining these said stores.

The question in our current landscape therefore is, “Is this fair?” Critics claim it stifles innovation and that it is like the cartel or the mafia where you must give them their cut or face consequences. And proponents rightly affirm that the app store model has supercharged innovation and has opened the floodgates in terms of both users and revenues for developers big and small alike.

Well then, which is it?

I think that it is a bit of both. This is a blog of reasonable discussions and not hot takes so let's take a balanced look.

In part, the biggest problem is the lack of precedent in this sector. Apple and Google are some of the first purely digital storefronts with a broad market. The closest I could think of are online marketplaces like eBay and Amazon. Their fees are lesser for a storefront that deals in physical goods! Yes, Apple and the like also manage infrastructure for app downloads and distribution but Amazon, for instance ships goods. And charges less than 30%.

So, should Apple, Google, and the rest of the storefronts take a cut? Yes. Should the cut be as all encompassing as it is today? Probably not. It should target app sales and a few categories of in-app purchases but not be too greedy. A line should be drawn somewhere. Consider the new family of apps supporting the creator economy. Let's take a look at Fanhouse which was recently in the news. Fanhouse lets creators share exclusive content with their fans for a fee. Fanhouse splits the revenue 90:10 - they keep 10%. Apple wants 30% of the pie - hurting both the startup and the creators in the process. It is not hard to spot the mafia parallels here.

Oh, and fun fact. A similar app, Patreon, pays no cut to Apple. Why? Even Patreon doesn't know. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯. Not only are they draconian but also inconsistent. These inconsistencies don't end here. Subscribe to Netflix on the iOS app and Apple gets 30%. Rent a movie on Amazon Prime Video's iOS app however, and Amazon gets 100%. Why this backroom deal with Amazon? ¯\_(ツ)_/¯. The differences don't end there. While subscribing to Netflix requires you to use iTunes for payment, renting a movie on Prime Video allows you to use your stored payment on Amazon. For both Patreon and Prime Video, you are not just bypassing the cut, but Apple's entire payment infrastructure. Apple's argument of protecting its customers from fraud by forcing payments through Apple for everything falls apart right here. Stop babying your customers.

Apple even prevents apps from mentioning that purchases can be made directly from the website to get around. Spotify cannot say on its app that you can subscribe on their website for a lower rate to avoid the Apple tax being passed on to you. And no, the argument that Nike shoes in a Target can't advertise lower prices from Nike.com is ridiculous. Because once you buy the shoes, the box inside can tell you whatever Nike wants but Spotify can't even after you download the app.

Most of these points apply to Google as well, especially after they said that they will start enforcing their policies.

Both companies started to offer some concessions of late. Google had the more sensible approach of giving an extra 15% of the developer's cut on the first million every year. It works like a progressive tax system and is simple to understand. Apple of course had to complicate it. If your annual revenue is less than $1 million, you can apply to the program to take advantage of the lower 15% cut. Make even a dollar more and you get kicked out of the program and pay 30% on the entire amount. Absolutely ridiculous. Amazon's concession took the cake in weirdness as they reduce the cut to 20% for developers making under a million bucks and offer an extra 10% in AWS credits.

The worst part is that these revenue streams are not even that important to the respective companies. It is hard to see why they are choosing to die on this hill. Apple sells a silly amount of iPhones every quarter and Google has the most expansive ad business. Both these businesses would benefit if the cut was lower as it would definitely help even more in ecosystem lock-in. Especially all those apps that charge their Apple customers higher prices.

Games are of course a whole other discussion. But I'll say this and this is for Apple. Not letting Stadia and xCloud bring their platforms to iOS because you want to protect Apple Arcade is shooting yourself in the foot. There's also the antitrust angle but that's a topic for another day.

In conclusion, what is it then? Should Apple and Google take a cut? Yes. There is significant benefit provided by the centralized nature of app stores in a capitalistic economy and they deserve a cut of the proceeds. However, 30% is too high a cut and digital storefronts should start passing on the benefits of scale economics to the developers who make the store possible. Thought must also be given to what activities warrant taking a cut and whether allowing developers to use their own payment systems is a benefit to the ecosystem.

If you truly want to democratize software development and distribution and empower the developers, don't let it be mere lip service.

Hope you found my thoughts on this topic worthy of your time and let me know what you feel below. If you would like to read more such posts in the future, subscribe! It is free!

I also heavily customized the default Ghost theme, Casper, to use on this site. I have open-sourced the code at https://github.com/pratnala/casper-pn. Stay tuned for a future post on the changes made to that theme and how you can use it in your own Ghost-powered blog if you so desire! I still need to iron out a few kinks but rest assured that I am working on it.

In any blog you read, site analytics and comments are two important external components that are highly prone to tracking abuse. Most websites use Google Analytics and Disqus which are known to extensively track the user and also negatively impact site performance. I am not interested in tracking you and selling ads to you. I just want to write high-quality posts on this blog. Therefore, I forewent both Google Analytics and Disqus and instead used Fathom Analytics and Hyvor Talk. I was impressed with their focus on privacy from the ground up, and you can be confident that you won't be stealthily observed by the big ad machines. For more details, see the privacy policy.

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Here's hoping that fourth time is the charm, and I will see you in the next post! ✌

After a brief hiatus of a few months, I started a new WordPress blog with just my name and resumed writing. It was sporadic and it folded after 18 months with just a few articles. Life just happened and with college and preparing for foreign studies, there wasn't much time to spare.

Once I graduated in 2015, I made another attempt to resurrect my fledgling blogging career and set myself up on Medium this time. Medium's clean looks was a definite attraction, and "PratNala's Corner" was born. It had another decent run but eventually fell by the wayside after a semi-regular 2-year run. I published its last post after a 2+ year hiatus on my skydiving experience.

And now, it is attempt #4. This time, I am using the Ghost blogging platform and have retained the name from my last outing - PratNala's Corner. I like this name! Now, here's what I am going to do next. I will migrate most of the articles from my previous blogs and give them an archive tag along with the tag of the category that it belongs to. I will likely exclude the welcome articles and guest articles (my first blog had a few guest articles) as I want to keep this blog's direction focused. Then, all the old blogs will be unlisted from the Internet.

Following the migration, you will see my first post on the Ghost platform with a post-migration update. Afterwards, I will post my first substantive article on this new blogging home of mine. I am really excited about this new article that I am already writing, and we hopefully have a longer and more fulfilling journey together with my writings this time.

I will see you soon.

skydiving | noun

the sport or activity of jumping from an aircraft and performing acrobatic maneuvers in the air during free fall before landing by parachute.

2011 saw the release of one of my favorite movies of all time: Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara. Among other things, a segment of the movie was on skydiving. Three friends do crazy adventure sports on a road trip and one of them was skydiving. It was exhilarating to just watch!

After seeing this, it became a bucket list item. I knew I wanted to do skydiving. I knew I wanted to experience that thrill. It had to happen.

But how?

That was the million-dollar question. Clearly, I couldn’t do it solo. I suffer from a rare genetic disorder called Spinal Muscular Atrophy that has me permanently confined to a wheelchair. I can’t even stand, much less do a running landing after jumping out of a plane at 10000+ ft.

Enter tandem skydiving. Tandem skydiving is basically the best invention ever known to mankind. You are strapped to an experienced skydiver, and you get the thrill for free.

Great. The conundrum was solved. The possibility of me jumping out of a plane seemed realistic. There was hope.

After I moved to Seattle for work, I decided that I needed to take the step. There was still some fear, but what fun is it without that fear? I had a friend who was interested as well, so I had some company. Since my mom stays with me in the summer and fall months (which is the only time Seattle weather permits skydiving), all 3 of us would do it. Yes, my mom too. I got my daredevil attitude from her, so you can say it runs in the family.

2017 passed. 2018 passed. Work has a tendency to keep you busy and make you forget about the things you want to do. Days pass slowly, but years pass before you know it.

2019 came around, and it had to be done this year. Let’s make it a new year resolution. Turned out to be a good move in hindsight because a bunch of proteins lumped together basically canceled 2020 and forced us to live like hermits.

Summer in 2019 was however, a disaster. It was one of those Seattle summers that happens every few years where the clouds decide not to take their summer vacation and decide to party with you. Although temperatures were still ok, we had rainy days and overcast days. Big no-no for skydiving.

Weather forecasts were analyzed. And we finally picked Thursday, August 29 because it was forecast to be one of the sunniest days that week. Tickets were booked, money was paid. The week rolls around and starts off bright and sunny. Yay.

Thursday turned out to be cloudy and overcast with the sun peeping through every now and then. Classic Seattle.

And oh, before you ask. Yes, I did plenty of research before even paying for the tickets. I asked my orthopedician who medically cleared me provided that necessary equipment was supplied. My physical therapist had the same opinion. I asked others in the disabled community and there were other people like me who have the same condition and did skydiving.

Yes, the risks were greater due to weaker bones and yada yada yada. But YOLO. Carpe diem. It was time to jump. 🪂

29th August. The day finally arrived. My mom and I made the trek to Skydive Snohomish. 3 buses and 2 hours later, we finally checked in.

The excitement was palpable.

I bought the package to increase our freefall from 30 seconds to 60 seconds. Might as well go all in, right?

There was tension. There was eagerness. There was scare. There was joy.

And there was going to be drama.

Lots of it. Why?

Read on.

In tandem skydiving, most of the work is done by your instructor. They jump out of the plane, monitor altitude, open the parachute, stick the landing, and so on. The only expectation on the individual is to hold your legs horizontally while landing.

Naturally, I couldn’t fulfill even that basic expectation. Hence, my legs had to be tied to the harness so that it is held horizontally for the entire duration. Simple enough. The center had used this same method in the past with other wheelchair users. Tried and tested. Besides, even a woman who was more than 100 years old did skydiving with them. This center had a proven track record, and I was ready to jump.

While I got dressed up, they showed me the strap to tie my legs. It looked simple enough. They put my legs in it and held it real tight. You can see it in the video at the end of this post. The rest of the preparation was identical. You wear a suit with multiple safety hooks to strap you to the instructor, while he is strapped in with the actual gear that matters.

The only issue was that my right leg felt a little awkward as if it may slip out. It wouldn’t but it felt that way. While we were in the plane going up, I asked for my leg to be adjusted. We were all sitting on the floor of the plane, and since my instructor was behind me and couldn’t reach ahead, the instructor next to us helped. It was a little better, but it still felt awkward.

Being first in line to jump, I was holding up other people with these adjustments. We didn’t want to delay them further and there was also a storm forecast in a few hours, so we had to keep track of the time. I thought it is only a little awkward, so it shouldn’t be too much of a problem. Let’s jump.

What a mistake.

We jumped and the free fall felt glorious. Exhilaration is an understatement for what I was feeling. The adrenaline was incredible. It is such a raw emotion. You also feel free. Very free. In hindsight, the 60 second free fall felt like therapy for the soul. Meditative. A state of Zen. Really hard to top it.

Then, the parachute opened.

I felt a sharp burst of pain in my back. I had no idea that the jerk of the main parachute opening would be so hard. Luckily, it died down in a couple of minutes, but it was a sudden jolt as I was hurtling towards the ground. My legs still felt fine, and we were ready to land.

The landing was fine — a smooth landing without any hiccups. I felt a huge sense of relief that I was safe and sound on land. And then, it started. My right knee felt funny. I couldn’t sit up straight on the ground. The guys on the ground were sure my legs were alright during landing. I didn’t know what happened, but the funny feeling soon became pain.

I lied down for a while, but it wouldn’t get better. The center wrapped an ice pack around my knee and gave me some Ibuprofen. My mom was worried. Neither of us knew what went wrong. It was much later that I analyzed that the slightly awkward positioning of my right leg made it incapable of taking the force. My left leg was perfectly placed and was therefore able to take the force.

My mom and I grabbed lunch at the only restaurant in that small municipal airport complex, and I booked a cab. There was no way I could spend 2 hours in 3 or 4 buses again to get home or to the hospital near my home. Now, the Pacific Northwest doesn’t have a reliable on-demand accessible taxi service. I called up a cabulance service and they could pick me up in 90 minutes. Great, something is better than nothing. We had lunch and waited. The pain seemed slightly better so that was a plus. At this point, I thought it was just a sprain and that I’ll be fine in a couple of weeks.

We had 2 hospitals near our apartment, so we checked into ER. They took me in for an X-ray and when they removed all the ice packs and moved my leg, the real pain surfaced. It was agony. I was in so much pain that they couldn't even take an X-ray in all the positions that they needed.

Once the X-ray results came in, it was clear. I had a fracture. A tibial plateau fracture. This was going to be a nightmare. After taking me to my room, they took me for a CT scan to assess the extent of damage. By this time, my pain was off the charts. I had to be given morphine via IV every 1–2 hours to keep me sane.

It was suggested a surgery may be necessary. However, after seeing my CT scan results and taking into account my weaker bones due to my disability, it was decided that natural healing was the better option. I am glad that they decided on that because fixing this with screws would lead to its own set of complications down the line that I am happy to avoid.

The next 2 months were very tough. I spent a week at the hospital and another 7–8 weeks recuperating at home. The brunt of all this fell on my mom and she had to single-handedly support me during this period. Taking care of me without a fracture was hard enough on her already. But now, everything was dialed up to 11. All credit to my mom who helped me get through tough times without a hitch. I had a great roommate who chipped in with whatever help he could, so that was great. We rented a hospital bed at home and that’s pretty much where I spent the next ~2 months.

It was Diwali (very end of October) by the time I could sit and bend my leg properly again. It was workable but still needed further healing. This recovery was soon followed by a bout of flu so that kept me home again. Very annoying. Even now, in the end of March, a full 7 months after the injury, my leg isn’t fully 100%. It is at like 95% maybe? That’s enough of a score to satisfy Asian parents. 😝

In the aftermath of my injury, a lot of people asked me if I regretted going skydiving.

The answer is a RESOUNDING NO!

Injuries are temporary. They heal. I am okay now.

But skydiving? It is a once-in-a-lifetime experience. It is something to cherish.

This was what I told my friends who were worried before I went skydiving:

If I die doing this, at least I died with a rush of adrenaline and went out with a bang!

Enjoy the video below of my skydiving experience!

Until next time. 🪂

It seems like just yesterday that 2017 came around. And now, it is already time to enter 2018. I chanced upon this saying once which said that "As you grow older, days pass by slowly but the weeks pass by quickly". It can't be said better than that! It is up to us to make the most of whatever we have.

Starting the year off by chilling

Personally, 2017 started in vacation mode in India. It was a welcome break after the madness of Columbia. Absolutely nothing on my mind but sun, sand, and coconut water. February came around and it was time for my parents' silver anniversary celebrations. It was an evening filled with fun and frolic. Yours truly was the host of the evening. Before flying back to the United States, I visited my old school in Chennai, where I spent five years. They had asked me to address the students and that was a great honor.

A lookback on this early part of 2017 was covered in my other post here. I must add that I am still waiting for Air India to suitably compensate me for the ordeal. Digressing a bit, the problem was not just with Air India, but with the entire airport apparatus we have here in India, which is just not designed to treat passengers that are not "normal" in a dignified way.

Microsoft, ahoy! Starting a new life at the Emerald City

It was time to fly to Seattle and start my new job. Microsoft was calling!

In Microsoft, I write code for one of our flagship cloud services called, "Virtual Machine Scale Sets". Watching the product you work on grow in scale and user reach every day is exciting and is a reminder to the vast impact you can potentially have on so many customers. Writing code at scale for a big company is leagues different from writing code for your class project at school. Every single day is a learning experience. And the feeling you get when you ship a feature which will be used by your customers is unparalleled.

Seattle is much more than just Microsoft. 2017 was also a year of exploring a brand new city! There were so many places I visited: Space Needle, Pike Place, Columbia Center, Fremont Troll, Ballard Locks, Seattle Japanese Garden, Bellevue Botanical Garden, and so on. The highlight of course, was when my high school friend and now flight instructor, flew down to Seattle all the way from Texas to see me. We went to the Boeing factory in Everett and also went flying in my friend's plane — a Piper Comanche. That had to be the highlight reel of 2017! Also, fall and spring in Seattle are absolutely gorgeous! The vibrancy of the colors is unmatched and it was pure bliss seeing all the trees change colors — first in the spring, and then in the fall. That is a scene that cannot be described in words and needs to be experienced!

Giving back

In the summer, I mentored a few Microsoft interns as part of an internal mentorship program. I remember how much my mentors helped me when I was an intern — it is now my turn to give back! I also continued my tradition of mentoring incoming students at Columbia even though I have now left the university. Especially for those coming from a different country to the United States, it is always good to know someone who was in a similar situations a few years earlier. In fact, I returned to Columbia in September as part of a recruiting trip. I attended a career fair and a Microsoft info session — not as a student, but as a company representative! It felt really great to be back on campus!

In the spring, I volunteered for a couple of months at an elementary school in Kirkland. A teacher there had started a Tech Club for fourth grade students to learn basic programming via scratch exercises on code.org. It was also nostalgic in a way for us volunteers as we simultaneously interacted with those kids and re-lived our own schooldays. I am looking forward to more such opportunities in 2018 and will keep you all posted!

Commencement and beyond

May was time for #ColumbiaCommencement. The campus was filled with a festive mood, and we were officially graduates of the Class of 2017. It was also a time for meeting old classmates again — a reunion, you can say. We were all scattered across the country in our jobs and new lives. I was also honored at the Engineering school's ceremony with the 2017 Graduate Student Life Award. The said award honors and commends students "whose participation and involvement at Columbia has enhanced the spirit of graduate life on campus ... creating a more purposeful, caring, and celebrative community." It was an honor to be given this award and I was humbled by the fact that the institution cared and recognized all the efforts I put in to improve student quality of life at the university.

And I am continuing my contributions to Columbia beyond graduation. Earlier in 2017, I re-launched the Seattle chapter of Columbia Venture Community — a private network of Columbia students, alumni, and employees who are interested in all aspects of entrepreneurship. The Seattle chapter had been dormant for some time, and I have taken the initiative to kick-start it again. We had a kickoff mixer in September, and 2018 is for sure going to bring a lot more events. If you are a Columbia alumnus (or a student doing an internship) in Seattle, hit us up!

India

In November, I had to take an extended trip to India due to some personal reasons and I decided to make the trip productive by working at Microsoft's Hyderabad office! I worked with my team's counterparts in India for a month and it was great to see how very same yet different in its own way Indian offices are in comparison to the ones in the United States.

The year ended where it started — in the serene village of Mandapam. Physical restrictions aside, I tried a bit of water sports this time! I went riding on a jet ski and sat in a kayak! It was calming just sitting on the beach in waist-deep water and letting the water and salt just flow over you. A visit to the newly-opened Abdul Kalam Memorial — in honor of possibly India's greatest President and human being — was the highlight of my trip.

Looking forward to 2018

Seattle itself has been an interesting place so far. With its predominantly overcast weather which takes some getting used to, it has been a fun ride. I have met lots of interesting people with their own, unique stories over the past few months. There's lot more to explore in this beautiful city.

Working at Microsoft has also been a really pleasant experience so far. I am on a great team with a fantastic manager. I am really looking forward to 2018. If 2017 was a year of learning and observations, I want to make 2018 the year of action and continued learning. I have a few ideas in mind planned for the coming year, and will share it with you all as they come to fruition. But dang, planning for the years ahead. When did I become old? #BringBackMyChildhood

I hope all of you have had a great year in 2017 and let's kick on in 2018 and reach for our dreams!

Until next time.

Regardless of what the naysayers might say, college is one of the best times of your life. The diversity of people you meet and the experiences you absorb is something incredibly unique. However, the question remains: how do you make the most out of it? As it becomes increasingly expensive to get a degree, it is imperative that you maximize the return on your investment.

As someone who has graduated twice — with bachelor's and master's degrees in Computer Science, I believe I can give a few pointers to help you make the most out of your stay.

Identify your purpose

What is it that you want out of college? It is okay if you don't know. Your purpose can be to find out your purpose. That is fine. However, always keep this at the top of your mind, as you figure out way and chart your course. What is that one thing for which you will even forget your meals and stay awake at night? What makes you forget to eat and poop?

Keep in mind, however, that whatever awesomesauce field you pick there is going to be helluva work to do as well. Nothing is going to magically become easier because you are passionate about it. You still need to burn the midnight oil. Life is not easy and there is no free lunch.

And for better or for worse, college prepares you for that with its endless stream of homework and exams.

Explore

College is also a time to explore the multitude of avenues the world offers us. Irrespective of whether you found your purpose or not, it is good to have a little diversity. Diversity of thought would help you in your personal and professional life too.

For example, if you are in tech, try dabbling in the humanities, or economics, or the fine arts, or student leadership, or other disciplines of engineering. Broaden your horizons. Someone with a holistic viewpoint is highly sought after in today's competitive and conflict-ridden world.

Pick your battles

Having said that, there is another side to this coin. Don't stretch yourself too thin. Prioritize what you want to do. It is tempting to be involved in a bazillion different societies and do everything. However, it is also important to…

Stop. Take a Moment. Breathe.

Reassess your goals and ambitions. Time is a limited resource. Involve yourself only in those activities which really interest you and are worth your time. Don't miss the forest for the trees.

The previous 2 points might sound conflicting. But they really aren't. It is important to strike the right balance. You might ask me, "But Pratyush! Where is the right balance to be found?" The answer is quite simple. That is for you to figure out.

Discipline yourself

This can't be stressed enough. We live in a distraction-filled hyperactive world. It is extremely critical that you zone out to get shit done. Minimizing distractions — like social media, games, Reddit, TV series/movies is essential. Have time limits and follow them strictly. It is not easy but make an effort. I am learning to this day. 😉

As best captured in the quote above — Discipline is the bridge between goals and accomplishments. It is the difference between someone who wishes to be successful and one who actually is. Remember why you came to college in the first place — make your tradeoffs and optimize for your personal circumstances.

Network

Networking. Networking. Networking.

You certainly hear that a lot. The way I see it — there are two components to every successful person. The cool shit they achieve, and the people they know and meet. Both go hand in hand.

Those "professional networkers" you see at parties just handing out business cards and collecting other people's business cards? Yeah no, they don't make it too far. Remember, if you want someone important to talk to you and connect with you, you need to offer something of value too. Everyone's time is important. Make it worth the other person's time to know you.

Having said that, it should be a balance. Taking a tech analogy, you can't just be a code monkey and expect stuff to fall in line. You need to get out there and be known. Strike that balance, make those tradeoffs, and optimize at every step along the way.

Grades

Let's tackle the elephant in the room.

Grades.

Do they matter? Do they not?

They matter. Up to a degree. How much depends on what you plan to do in the future. If you intend to go for grad school, they matter much more than if you intend to just go for a job. Good grades can never hurt. Definitely, keep it respectable.

Yes, none of us like to study for exams. However, getting good grades gives out an important signal. That you can put down your head and work even if you don't like something. That is an extremely valuable life skill to have.

Stress

Sorry to break it to you. College is stressful. With all the jazz about grades, finding your purpose, networking, and so on, it quickly adds up. College is not like the happy-go-lucky scenes presented on admissions brochures. It is going to break you and then some.

Most people won't tell you this. Many a times, seniors give off the impression that it is all hunky dory. It is going to be hard. It is going to be long. Sometimes, you will feel like giving up (you shouldn't).

However, don't get me wrong. College is definitely enjoyable. You make friendships that would last a lifetime. College develops you in so many aspects, pushes you to achieve in ways that you didn't know you were capable of, and makes you grow up for the real world. It is going to be one of the best years of your life. What it is not is a walk in the park. Prepare to be pushed, broken, molded, and developed. Embrace the challenge.

Strap in and get ready for the ride. It is a wild one.

Wrapping Up

By now, you would have identified a common theme throughout my rant. And that is of balance and making your own tradeoffs. Someone once said life is a series of tradeoffs. Oh, how right (s)he was!

Time is a limited quantity. Your energies are a limited resource. Take a call on what best serves you and be relentless.

Find your purpose. Pick your battles. Stay disciplined. Meet people. Embrace the challenge.

And remember, don’t neglect your GPA too much. You have no idea how much sway that number can hold in the short term.

I have purposely given a very broad-minded spectrum of advice. It is supposed to be a wake-up call and set your expectations. The devil is in the details and they differ for every individual. Nevertheless, I hope that these pointers are useful for you. It is all based off my own personal experiences. I wish some of those points were told to me earlier in life. Feel free to reach out to me if you have any questions or just want to chat.

Until next time. 🎉

The Break

I went back to India for a kind of long-ish break (6 weeks almost). It felt great to just tune out of life for a while and chill out. My dad is currently posted in Mandapam, a small village in the south-eastern corner of Tamil Nadu. I had a usable Internet connection and good, warm weather. It was also right on the sea. Along with tender coconut water every day. And a fun hovercraft ride to the India-Sri Lanka maritime border. Perfect vacation spot.

January got over pretty quickly — with me just lazing around and basking in the sun. February came, and it was time for my parents' silver anniversary celebrations! While my mom did most of the planning, I definitely had some contributions to make. Naturally, I was the host of the evening, and I kicked off with a short speech, which you can see below. It was a wonderful evening, lots of family and friends came. It was fantastic.

Ready to start, but wait

It was time to fly back. Vacation was over and it was time to start my new job at Microsoft in the Greater Seattle Area. My tickets were to New York via Air India, and what was supposed to be a smooth flight into the United States turned out to be a nightmare.

When I landed at JFK Airport in New York, I was informed that my motorized wheelchair was left behind in New Delhi due to "security reasons". I ultimately got it next day without batteries and it was quite a hassle to get it fixed. Read the Facebook posts by me below laying out the events. I will blog separately about some thoughts on this issue soon. It is also interesting to note that, at the time of writing (March 26, 2017), Air India is yet to compensate me.

Seattle-bound

With all this done with, I was finally on my way to Seattle to start a new life! Microsoft was calling! I am placed in the Azure Compute team, one of the most happening divisions in Microsoft. And if settling into a new job was not stressful enough, I was hit by a new force.

Adulting.

Finding a new apartment. Furniture for the said apartment. Figuring out the most sensible commute options. Bank accounts and credit cards. Developing financial literacy. Since I stay with one parent, it was a bit easier, but being the stubborn guy I am, I wanted to take all decisions — and try to simulate a person living alone as much as possible. It didn't help that I also fell sick at around this time.

However, it is all done! I have more or less settled down now. While not as happening as the Big Apple, the greater Seattle area has its own charm, and it looks like a fine place to be — barring the constant wet weather.

It is the end of school and the start of work. However, one thing is clear. School might have ended, but learning goes on. Learning is what makes an individual. Learning on-the-fly is what helps you survive. And my learning is going to carry on. For now, and forever.

I look forward to this new chapter of life, and I will be in touch with all of you, as I embark on this new journey.

Until next time.

Will code for food

It was an arduous search. Moreover, college was also going on. The job search had to go on amongst the din of sleepless nights and last-minute submissions. After facing many rejections, there was light at the end of the tunnel. I landed an internship in BlackRock's Aladdin Product Group in a software engineering role. I was elated.

BlackRock is a financial asset manager headquartered in midtown Manhattan. I was placed in the shadow accounting division. Initially, I was a bit suspect as we know how financial institutions typically are. Nevertheless, BlackRock blew me away. It had a fantastic culture and I worked with some great people — some very smart people. It felt like a tech company with a dress code. I had an intellectually stimulating and personally rewarding experience over the summer.

Wrapping up school

Graduating from Columbia was an enriching experience. I will take this opportunity to say that one of the best classes I ever took was Natural Language Processing by Professor Dragomir Radev. Professor Radev, if you are reading this, thank you so much for an amazing class!

Outside of academics, 2016 was the year in which I undertook a lot of fun activities on campus. Serving as the Digital Media Chair for the Engineering Graduate Student Council was personally rewarding. I overhauled the entire web and social media presence for the council and dragged it into the 21st century. I also served on the Alumni Affairs and Career Development Committees and helped organize some of their events.

Another humbling experience gained was by sitting on the University Senate Subcommittee for Students with Disabilities. It was really an eye-opener to see students with a diverse range of disabilities being represented and was heartwarming to see them voice their concerns on a platform that matters.

Ladies and gentlemen…

2016 was the year when I (hopefully) started a public speaking career. Along with my friend Gaurav Ragtah, we gave two talks. The first one, entitled "From Resume to Revenue", was to our peers telling them about various tips and tricks to have a successful job hunt. The other one, entitled "Bit by Bit into the World of Bytes", was to high school students of New York City, encouraging them to take up a career in Computer Science. It was sponsored by Columbia Open Labs, a student group we were a part of, which motivates high school students to take up a career in the sciences. Watch the talk below:

The end of school

And well, just like that, my last semester came to a close. Possibly my last degree in the short to medium term. What next? I have landed a software engineering role at Microsoft in Redmond, WA with their Cloud and Enterprise division. I am excited to be starting in this role — especially as Microsoft and Bill Gates were two entities I looked up to while growing up.

2017

So, what am I looking forward to in 2017? Lot of things, in fact. It goes without saying that I want to do well at my first full time job — laying the foundations for years to come. Apart from that, I plan to be more frequent on this blog. There are some good topics I plan to write on. My two side projects need to be woken up from hibernation — a stressful last semester applied the brakes on them. And lastly, I plan to continue my learning. College might be over, but learning is a lifelong process, and it is one's best interests to keep it going.

2016 was a good year. Here's hoping for a great 2017! As always, see you soon in the next post!

The guiding principle of the EU has been the freedom of movement — of goods, people, capital and services. There has been suspicion of the EU and its intentions in the UK from before and talks about leaving the EU have been doing the rounds from quite some time now. It must be noted that the UK was never completely a part of the trade union — as it used its own currency, the pound (£), instead of the common currency of the EU, the euro (€).

The Announcement

When David Cameron announced that a referendum would take place on whether the UK should leave the EU, much of the talk was how it wouldn't happen and that it would all be fine in the end and the UK would vote to remain a part of the EU — much like Scotland's referendum where it narrowly voted to remain a part of the United Kingdom. Many industry experts and leaders felt that ultimately "Remain" would emerge victorious and the status quo would prevail.

"Leave" gains steam

However, as the months passed, some vicious campaigning by the "Leave" side led to a rise in the poll numbers for a Brexit to happen. People's fears were played upon, and racial and xenophobic slurs were thrown around. It is the same kind of pandering that the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, Donald J. Trump has been using on his campaign trail.

It is generally assumed that people are inherently "good" — that they always wish well for themselves and the rest. I would also go as far and say that one of the reasons democracies have been so popular is this very assumption that people are inherently good and that as a collective, they would choose the best possible outcome regardless of individual differences. It was also something I believed in to an extent but my belief in this has steadily been eroding over the past few years as I take stock of various political developments.

Aspersions on democracy

The Brexit vote has made me cast aspersions on the system of democracy we currently use. While I still believe that democracy by itself is one of the best ways of governance we have, the real problem is lack of information and transparency. If you want the people to make a decision, you need them to make an informed decision. But when you peddle wrong and misleading information, like saying the UK gives the EU £ 350 million every week when it is actually far less than that and the implicit reward reaped by the UK far outstrips it, it is natural that the people get angered over what is essentially a non-issue. The decision-making capacity of the citizen is being blinded by mistruths broadcast by power-hungry and drama-inducing politicians.

A dangerous precedent is being set due to such developments. We are being drawn back to fervent and misguided nationalism with xenophobic tendencies. While not perfect, a globalized world with open (but with reasonable restrictions) borders and trade is definitely more advantageous than closed-off economies. And especially in the case of Europe, the open border model followed by them definitely made sense in my opinion given how small each country is. There are whole countries which are bigger than Europe (even more so if you exclude European Russia).

Financial implications

While many of the "Leave" campaigners pooh-poohed the implications on the financial markets, the struggle is real. Concerns are not just short-term. Developments in the short term will affect the long-term structure and makeup of the world economy. With the UK being such a powerful economy, any shocks on it could potentially have global effects. It has been widely reported that the Bank of England might have to reluctantly undertake quantitative easing once again to stabilize the economy. Quantitative easing is something which we don't completely understand yet and has unknown macroeconomic effects — effects which will take a few more years to be shown. In such a volatile and unsure economy, Brexit could potentially tip the scales in the wrong direction.

It is also unclear how UK citizens working in the EU would be affected by this. New trade and labor agreements would have to be drawn and the EU led by Germany has looked increasingly hesitant to come to any compromise. There is definitely a sense of anger and betrayal in the air from a European perspective and that's understandable.

A wake-up call?

The success of the UKIP in engineering a Brexit vote and the rise of a certain businessman named Donald shows how society as a whole is being led down the wrong path. The future for the human race really doesn't look bright with such kind of "leadership". We need to sit back and take notice of the path we want to take. Irrespective of which ideology you support, I am sure you will agree that one based on fear and racism is definitely not the way forward.

The Brexit vote raises more questions than answers, but it is time we analyze the situation at hand and take it as a wakeup call. Massive restructuring is needed — from an economic, political and social angle. We can do this.

It is time for the human race to come together and rise together.

Squandering a good start

It was a bright start and the victory against Liverpool would be written in the history books which heralded the rise of a new superstar, Anthony Martial. The new recruits seemed to be doing well. And all of a sudden, there was a Luke Shaw-shaped vacancy on the left flank after he suffered a major injury. While results kept up, other injuries and inexplicable tactics from the boss led to the team going downhill in December after briefly being table toppers towards the end of September.

The season never really recovered after that point. After being kicked out of the Champions League in the group stage, an exit at the hands of archrivals Liverpool in the round of 16 in the Europa League followed. This, after surviving a scare against FC Midtjylland (nice password).

Disappointing finish

It was a disappointing season. Champions League was missed again (after it being well within reach), performances in Europe and the League Cup. The only positive was winning the FA Cup. Even when the team won, it was never very exciting. Play was boring and sideways. Useless possession was racked up. Fans were furious. Concerns on team harmony and relationship with the manager were oft raised.

Glimmer of hope

However, one silver lining in an otherwise dull and frustrating season (in addition to that FA Cup victory) has been the infusion of some talented youth. Anthony Martial — bought for a steep £ 36 million from AS Monaco — was the one who made an impression from the get-go. Quickly becoming a first team regular, fans looked forward to the Frenchman's play as their only ray of hope in a sideways back-passing game played by the team.

Marcus Rashford was the other youngster who supremely impressed. Put in as a substitute on his debut in the Europa League, he scored the decisive goals which put the result beyond doubt. He was similarly impressive in his Premier League debut scoring some spectacular goals. His partnership formed with Martial will be the focal point of the team for years to come.

Jesse Lingard had his moments — most notably scoring the winner in the FA Cup final. Others put in solid shifts too — although Andreas Pereira would have wanted to play a greater role. It is a bit strange that Louis van Gaal didn't field him in more games.

A new beginning (yet again) with José

With a new manager for the forthcoming season, all eyes will be on José Mourinho and how he makes use of this youthful and excellent talent available to him. While it is true that not all of them are world-class, they are more than capable of putting in a shift and playing their heart out for the team. I hope that they don't just get pushed out of the team and they have roles to play while he is busy charting the path to success.

One more thing

His Royal Highness, Supreme Emperor of the Universe, King David de Gea Quintana, please stay with Manchester United forever.

See you in the next post!

The successor had already been announced. David Moyes of Everton — another Scotsman — was hailed by the gaffer as the man to succeed him. Expectations were soaring through the roof. And Mr. Moyes surely had a huge reputation to live up to.

A key point to note was that David Gill, Manchester United's chief executive was also leaving the post. He was to be replaced by executive vice-chairman, Ed Woodward. It was a tumultuous time, and the summer would be an indication of the times to follow. The Thai tour was a disappointing outing, but it was pre-season, and all was well. Having won the FA Community Shield and then the season opener against Swansea City, hopes were up. But they quickly dried up.

An aging team, the weaknesses were hopelessly exposed. United had a pathetic transfer window — chasing fancy targets and missing out on achievable ones. Moyes was ultimately sacked and replaced with Ryan Giggs in the interim before being replaced by Louis van Gaal.

While there was a good pre-season and LvG met the expectations of qualifying for the Champions League, transfers were still a mess. It defied logic why somebody like Falcao — who never really recovered from that major injury or Ángel di Maria — who always had his sights set on Paris were even bought. Next season's transfers were even more befuddling. While strong reinforcements for the midfield were bought (finally), selling someone like Robin van Persie did not make much sense.

In the meanwhile, the commercial juggernaut of Manchester United was on a roll. Esoteric sponsorships were signed, a new blockbuster jersey deal with Adidas was the talk of the town and the money was flowing in — despite the disappointing performances on the pitch. It seems to be the case that there is more focus on marketing than on the football within the club. And this is worrying.

Yes, Manchester United has a large fanbase. However, if the results keep following this disappointing trajectory, it won't sustain. Legions of young new fans don't wish to follow United anymore. History is immaterial. Continued success is the only way to keep attracting those new generations of fans. The club needs to set its priorities straight. Marketing is successful only when there is a valuable product to boot.

Manchester United is risking becoming the next Liverpool. The talk always seems to be how the club was so great under Sir Alex Ferguson and how the glory days were. Yes, those were heady days, but it is time to move on. The club needs to strategize efficiently how to take the club into the future. The first team still needs plenty of fixing in defense and on the wings. At the same time, even the youth team needs attention. It is well-known by now that even the "noisy neighbors" have a better youth set-up.

In hindsight, it seems that appointing Louis van Gaal was not such a wise decision. He seems to be a footballing dinosaur who is out of touch with the times. While he did drag the team out of the rut Moyes left them in, it still hasn't been very encouraging.

The top management at Old Trafford need to sit up and take notice. Stop this obsession with sponsorship and first, fix the issues with the team. The team is rotting and a wholesome overhaul of the team and how it is managed with a clear vision is needed. Years of neglect have led to deep-seated issues and just papering over the cracks.

Sir Alex Ferguson had a glorious tenure of a quarter-century and transformed Manchester United into a force to be reckoned with. While the Glazers have made a mess of the transition so far, it is time to set right the mistakes. The club is no less in potential than the likes of Real Madrid or Barcelona and it is time to reach those dizzying heights.

Foundations and sustainability are the need of the hour. The revenue will follow when success is guaranteed.

#GGMU

"The Internet bubble is bursting."

"The Silicon Valley party is over."

These are some of the headlines making the rounds these days. Everyone is too happy to predict the doom of the tech industry. Having disrupted so many industries, many people, especially those who hail from the "establishment", are so excited to predict the industry crashing down. The media, as usual, sensationalizes it at a 10x rate for eyeballs.

The struggle is real

Sensationalism aside, there is a real problem in the Valley. For instance, unicorns — which is a term used to denote companies with a valuation north of $ 1 billion — were few and far in between. Of late however, their number has increased — there were 229 unicorns as of January 2016. One might think that so many companies are doing well. Seeing the recent and ongoing crash/correction, it seems otherwise.

From an outsider's perspective and as a student who is looking to start a career in this very industry, I might be way off mark. That said, it really feels to me that there is a fundamental problem with how these companies and VCs operate.

Get rich quick

The mindset of the Valley feels like a gold rush. Everyone just wants to get rich instantly. Companies want to grow too quickly and become valued at unsustainably high prices overnight. Even the VCs just encourage such behavior. For a young, growing company to be successful, growth has to be sustainable, not rushed. The allure of quick growth is tempting but there are many more facets to building a successful company than just acquiring more and more users. It is important to understand the term — "Move fast and break things" — from the right perspective. A company shouldn't move so fast that it breaks itself.

Funding-prudence

Sometimes, the weirdest of companies get funding. Consider the app, "Yo". It got millions in funding, and still continues to exist to this day. As an app launched on April Fools' Day, it boggles the mind that such companies actually receive so much funding.

Talking about funding, companies regularly used to be valued way more than what they are really worth. For instance, the company Square (a company which I actually admire), was valued at $ 6 billion before their IPO. Post-IPO, their valuation has fallen to almost half at the time of writing. While unsustainably high valuations make for nice headlines and positive news coverage, they wouldn't last long. Such a trend of over-valuation can hurt promising companies (Square is a particularly good example of this). Warnings have been sounding on this from many years and it has finally started to show its effects.

A correction

In the short run, this market correction will hurt. People will lose jobs. VCs will lose money. Blood will be shed. In the long run, however, this is a boon. Provided this doesn't degrade into a full-blown recession/depression — I hope it really doesn't — a market correction can revitalize the industry. If the stakeholders take this in the right sense and look inwards, the market fundamentals can improve, and the ecosystem can metamorphose into a more sustainable one.

Companies need to go back to their roots. VCs should repurpose how and who they fund. A solid business plan is imperative. It is okay to burn cash in the initial phase. However, there should be the opportunity to earn money in the future. And there needs to be a solid ethical foundation. Bait-and-switch tactics help nobody. Companies like Peeple need to be nipped in the bud. Only when the foundation is strong can a structure support a towering skyscraper.

Final thoughts

2016 will be a defining year for the industry. Through this year, we will observe what are the lessons learnt and how it bounces back. I am all for a stronger tech industry. Technology has changed our lives for the better and now is the time for the industry to correct its missteps and put itself on a sustainable growth path. A market correction is humbling and helps to re-focus. Let's hope that in February 2017, I will be writing a more positive piece here. I am sure that it will be the case. I leave you with a relevant quote —

Failure is a great teacher — Steve Harvey

But don't.

Keep the spirits high

I am doing my second college degree now and this is a common thread. People wanting to give up. I won't lie. It occurred to me too. But it is important to keep pushing. Yes, one loses hope and the future looks bleak. But remember, it is always the darkest hour before the dawn! What fun is life if it was all easy and a bed of roses? The thorns are what makes it worth living!

I will quote an oft-used saying here: “Take the bull by the horns”. And it is true. You have to try. Work your ass off. Without putting in the effort, it is always going to be a failure. Success gives you a chance when you try.

To all students reading this, don't lose hope. However unfair the world is, effort will ultimately get rewarded. At the risk of sounding lame, I will say this. My parents named me Pratyush. It means the first rays of the rising Sun. I was named for such situations. Darkness won't last forever. The Sun will rise soon.

Keep pushing!

Introducing…

We started off with a short introductory video about HoloLens. The main takeaway was that HoloLens has three main ways of interacting with it: gaze, gesture and voice. Your gaze is like the cursor, it follows wherever you look. For gesture, only one gesture was demonstrated today and that was the "air tap", which is equivalent to a left mouse click. I am sure more will be added in the future. And the last one is voice, where you issue commands to perform specific tasks. A neat thing was that HoloLens supports people who wear spectacles without any modifications. Neat! One interesting thing was that before we were sent to the demos, our inter-pupillary distance was measured. Apparently, the final version would do this automatically but for now, it was manually fed in.

The demos

There were three sessions for the participants. The first session was a pretty basic one. A watch was projected onto a table, and one could go around and see it from different angles. The watch was then "expanded", and its different layers were shown and based on where your gaze was, the appropriate layer's information would pop up. Then, it also illustrated how you could give presentations. Your notes would always be in front of you and your gaze and gestures would control which slide is shown.

The next session was more hands on and showed off more capabilities. First, you scanned the room by looking around and HoloLens would assess the topology of the room. Then, you could take a painting out of a "toolbox" and place it on the wall. The scanning of the topology helped with that. The next part of the session had an undersea landscape shown where you could increase the number of fish, resize them, rotate them and so on. The last part was painting. There was a quadcopter placed in front of you. You could select colors from a palette and paint the different parts. You could go around the room and see the quadcopter from different angles to decide your best coloring choice.

The last session was a first-person shooter game, and it was the one where I had the most fun. You had to defend your planet against alien robots. Your gaze was where your gun shot. The "air tap" gesture acted as firing the weapon. What made it more fun was that when you were fired on, you could duck and move out of the way by actually moving. The entire 360 degree was your panorama, and you could be attacked on from any side. It was nice to play a first-person shooter by actually moving around the room and ducking from shots like some soldier.

Some Thoughts

Today's sessions were a very enjoyable experience and a glimpse into the future. What I definitely liked was that you could wear it on spectacles without any adjustments or modifications. However, I definitely had some issues with it. First off, the software was definitely very much in beta or even alpha stage. The screen would flicker sometimes and even go off completely. Gestures wouldn't be recognized, and my Indian accent definitely caused it problems. This is understandable as it is still in development. However, my biggest gripe was that your field of view for the holograms is so very small. Couple this with the fact that I felt the device to be a little on the heavier side and caused discomfort at times. This is not to take away from the positives though. The demonstrations were incredibly fun and instructive and was a small peak into the powers of this new and exciting device. It remains to be seen how the developers make use of this new augmented reality platform and what wonders can be created.

Finally, I want to thank the employees of the Microsoft Store for a wonderful and pleasant experience, and it was really nice on Microsoft's part to show off these devices to the consumer. I definitely had fun and I encourage you to sign up for it if it is there in your city!

A rocky start

2015 started off with my final semester of undergraduate study at IIT Bombay. It was a jam-packed semester as always and was significant for another reason. This semester was going to be career-defining. Admission results for the colleges I had applied to started rolling out and it quickly turned out to be a disappointing affair. Rejections after rejections started coming in. Even though I had a job at Amazon waiting, I wanted to advance my educational career. Ultimately, there was some good fortune as I had finally received an admit from Columbia University. Exciting times!

The semester finally ended, and my four-year journey had come to an end. We also had a one-of-a-kind senior prom night at college and that was a fun experience! I graduated in Computer Science and Engineering with a minor in Management and IIT had been a crazy and enriching experience which would last a lifetime. We had a farewell and dinners and going out with friends for one last time!

Convocation

The holidays passed by, and the time was nearing for one last hurrah. Convocation! It was also the last few days with family, and we had done some travelling in and around Mumbai. Kailash Satyarthi was the chief guest, and he delivered a brilliant speech. In the last few days, we went to various fine dining restaurants in Mumbai and my parents also threw a party for me (an early birthday party). Lots of shopping was done for the impending cross-country transplantation.

New York

And then, I was off.

The jump was made. Time zones and seas and countries were crossed.

After the jetlag subsided, the initial few days were gone in settling in and going around New York. The weather was still quite favorable, and I had gone to a whole bunch of new places with some new friends. It was desi tourist time.

Then of course, it was time for college. A second time. Grad school. The high-pressure days were back. Sleep schedules were all over the place. There was no distinction between days and nights.

And the weather. Oh, the weather! Temperatures were dropping. For a person who always lived on the Indian peninsula, this was COLD. Adjustments were made. Clothes were bought. Still waiting for the snow though.

The semester finally winded down and the much-awaited winter break arrived. The year has come to a close. If any tech recruiter is reading this, I am still looking for an internship, thanks.

Here's hoping for an even better 2016! Until next time!

There are many, many observations I have made in my time here and it is as similar as it is different to life in Mumbai.

Accessibility

Being in a wheelchair, this is the single biggest improvement from India. While accessibility in New York is still far from perfect, it is a much better experience. All buses and major subway stations are accessible. Most public places like restaurants, banks, and the like are wheelchair friendly. However, most apartments, owing to their age, aren't accessible with flights of stairs and no lifts, which makes it hard for me to go to a friend's place.

People and culture

People and the culture here is so different here that it took some time to get used to. It sometimes feels whether people are trying too hard to be nice and polite and honestly, it has creeped me out on more than one occasion. You go to a bank to deposit a cheque and you are immediately greeted with, "Good morning! How are you? How is your day? How was your weekend?" It was a bit overwhelming at first, but you get used to it. Culture is a wonderful thing, and it is intriguing as you see so many diverse cultures in just one city.

Food + Alcohol

Today's stereotypical, consumer-oriented, maniacal world has given us the portrayal of the youth as an alcohol-consuming, meat-eating demographic. Unfortunately, I am a non-alcoholic vegetarian. Yeah. I am a part of the most boring and least relevant customer segment. Not surprisingly, eating out is a big headache. Seemingly, the only vegetarian food you get is plain cheese pizza, some uncooked leaves (salad), Subway, and Chipotle. And then of course, every mixer and networking event is in a bar. I am just dying for some pani puri.

Columbia

Columbia is a happening place. To be honest though, I slipped into the college culture pretty well. The events. The parties. The socials. But oh no, you are just in the lab doing your assignments. That's life summed up in two lines. I used to think that life at IIT Bombay was tough. But there, I could at least breathe. Sigh. Otherwise, college life and practices are pretty much the same as my college. It makes me realize how actually world-class IIT was. We used to crib a lot back in college but now I see that some of our practices and rules were on par with the best. When I see how students from other smaller colleges or other countries find some stuff new (which I think is pretty standard), I feel immensely grateful to have graduated from an institution like IIT Bombay. Columbia needs to up its game with regards to vegetarian food though!

New York

The Big Apple. The Capital of the World. The City That Never Sleeps. New York has fascinated me from childhood. I don't know why. Maybe because it shares so many similarities with the city I grew up in - Mumbai. To finally set foot in New York and live in this city - that too in Manhattan, is like a dream come true. Yeah yeah, the costs are high, the taxes are high, yada yada yada, but to study in such a happening place for sixteen months transcends all expectations. The only uncomfortable thing is the weather though. It gets cold! *shiver*

That's a wrap for now. I hope to write more stuff here in the coming months. Stay tuned! And give me feedback! :)

A great first chapter

School was of course, a roaring success. Great grades, excellent friends, numerous awards for various stuff I put my finger in and generally enjoying and being good at it. It ended with me gaining admission into IIT Bombay for an undergraduate degree in Computer Science. The future was looking bright.

A not-so-great second chapter

I came to IIT bubbling with energy and enthusiasm and with the well-wishes of the schools I graduated from. Somewhere along the line, the enthusiasm morphed into complacency, and it all went downhill. It might not seem bad for you, but I set very high standards for myself, and I was not up to the mark. It really caused a lot of agony but there was light at the end of the tunnel.

A ray of light

So yes, life was looking down a bit. But there was hope. And one thing I learnt was to never give up hope. Hope was and is an essential part to my life. If not for hope, I would have never been able to fight the system in India because of being a physically challenged individual. Of course, my parents deserve all the praise for this.

And keeping up hope, Columbia shone the ray of light this time. While it wasn't a Stanford or a CMU (I wish), I am still happy. It is the right opportunity for me to prove myself and come out of the rut I have landed in. Don't get me wrong. IIT wasn't bad. I had good internships and a final year project, but it was just that. Ordinary.

And this is my goal from Columbia and beyond. To put the zing back in life. Build up the academic standing. Do exciting work. Have some sexy side projects. Meet new people. Get involved. Have fun. It is time for a new beginning. Time to wipe out the ordinary and the underwhelming. Time to embark on a new phase.

Wish me luck, peeps.

Until next time.

The plastic problem is a well-documented one. Hundreds of millions of tons of ecosystem-threatening, non-biodegradable plastics are consumed by humans every year. Keep in mind that plastic is non-biodegradable. In case you don't remember, it means that the good bacteria in the soil can't decompose them to simpler stuff like water or carbon dioxide or organic material. They just stay that way. For hundreds of thousands of years.

And this is the problem. According to this site, we consumed about 300 million tons of plastic in 2010 globally. And it is estimated that we will consume about 540 million tons in 2020. And this is just a conservative estimate. And most of it isn't even recycled. This site claims that about 27% of plastic bottles are recycled and 13.3% of plastic packaging was recycled in 2008. And over here, it says that some encouraging growth has been seen in recycling plastics.

But that is just not enough. So much of plastic garbage is thrown into the ocean. Look up "The Great Pacific Ocean Garbage Patch". It is twice the size of Texas and is somewhere in the Pacific Ocean between Hawaii and the western United States with an estimated weight of 3.5 million tons. That is just expected to grow as we keep throwing more trash which doesn't decompose into the ocean.

By now, I think how huge a problem we have on our hands. Plastic is really ubiquitous. Buying something at the local supermarket? You get them in a plastic bag. Ordering something on Amazon? The packaging inside is in plastic. The wirings in your house? They are insulated with a plastic-like material so that you don't get shocked. This should convince you that plastic is everywhere.

Plastics is a huge industry. The Plastics Industry Association website claims that in the US alone, over 850 thousand people are employed thanks to this industry and over $380 billion is generated in annual shipments.

Why am I telling you all this? Wasn't this supposed to be on some thoughts on how to combat the plastic problem? Yes, I am coming to that. What I wanted to show was the scale of the plastic problem. It is easy to proclaim that we should ban plastics. Fine, what do we use then? We probably can use paper and cardboard for packaging. However, to replace all the plastics with paper and cardboard would entail cutting so many more trees. Even if we did, what would replace all the insulating material or the myriad other uses of plastic? We can't just run a command, killall plastic. That won't work. We need to go deeper.

I was thinking of this the other day. How do we revamp the plastic industry so that it is more environment-friendly without necessarily killing the entire industry? What will a feasible solution to this be?

And that's when I hit on this thing called "biodegradable plastics". Basically, these are plastics which can be decomposed by bacteria and other living organisms. So, problem solved right? Let's just replace all these plastics with biodegradable plastics and we are done. Yay! Plastic problem solved. Next one please.

Hold on, mister. Not so soon. Not so soon. If it was so easy, it would already be widespread, wouldn't it? The problem is one we have with so many other environmental-friendly technologies we have today. Cost and feasibility. It is still more expensive than conventional plastics and it cannot be disposed of with normal plastics. Moreover, biodegradable plastics needs us to devote farmland to organic crops which are the raw materials for biodegradable plastics. We still need to iterate on the technology and make it feasible enough for large-scale usage.

This World Environment Day, I really hope that governments and industries investigate this further to make it commercially feasible. Of course, the most suitable, albeit impractical, solution would be to completely replace plastics. But like I said, being such a ubiquitous product, it seems more pragmatic to me to change the innards of the plastic and make it more eco-friendly.

Until next time, see you!

The Aam Aadmi Party (translating to common man's party) or AAP came into existence in November 2012 and was met with a wave of widespread skepticism. Even I was a skeptic at first. And as I see it, there were two reasons for the disbelief.

First up were the skeptics in the political circles. They obviously didn't want a "corruption-cleansing" party among the ranks to protect their own interests. When you are thriving because the system is dirty, you don't want it to be cleaned.

The other skeptics were the everyday people like you and me. Here was a party with absolutely no track record and it needed a leap of faith from people to believe in them. But the good thing was, there were individuals ready to take the leap.

Personally, I wasn't ready to show belief either. The AAP didn't have my support. I wanted Narendra Modi to become the next Prime Minister. No, I am not a BJP supporter. All the political parties in the country are hypocrites. Seeing Mr. Modi's track record in Gujarat, I supported him because I thought that he could kick-start our economy which is in the doldrums. Poverty, hunger, and the like can only be dealt with when the economy is in good health. Not when it is in the intensive care unit like right now.

And then, Delhi elections happened. I was expecting the AAP to score in single digits. Happily, that happened to the Congress. With the AAP giving the BJP and the Modi factor a run for their money, I took notice, and I was ready to rethink who I am going to support.

Of course, the AAP isn't perfect. Nobody is. And they still have to prove themselves. But now, I am ready to take the leap of faith and support this new style of governance. A style of governance which vindicates the principles of democracy by listening to the voice of the common man, the aam aadmi.

It is a good thing that the Aam Aadmi Party doesn't have any partisan ideologies to divide the public and capture specific vote banks. Their only vote bank is the people. And their only ideology is Swaraj - one of self-governance, equality and community building. Frankly, we have had enough of pseudo-secularism, saffronism, and leftism.

It is sad that already the AAP is being targeted by the other parties on foreign funding when they have already come clean once. Let's look at your funding statistics, Congress and BJP, shall we?

It is time for the political parties to eat humble pie and accept the winds of change blowing against them. Also, the AAP should refrain from making dramatic promises like the power issue as it might not be as simple as it appears to be.

I hope they do well in the forthcoming Lok Sabha elections, but I honestly feel that they will not become the majority party. It would be too much too soon for such a young party. I would rather see them as the principal opposition to what is looking like a Narendra Modi-led government. Let Modi show us what he has got and come 2019, I think the AAP has a damn good chance of showing itself.

The Aam Aadmi Party has shown it can take the challenge and I just hope, that after 10 years, it remains the way it is today. Hopefully, it can put up resistance against the curse of corruption.

Nevertheless, the Aam Aadmi has arrived for the Aam Aadmi, and it is time to celebrate a new era in Indian democracy. I just hope that in the name of serving the poor, they don't bring back socialism and Marxism.

But then something happened.

Mobile happened.

Android took off like a rocket. Gmail overtook Hotmail. People are more comfortable with using Google Drive for casual tasks rather than Microsoft Office. And of course, Windows Phone bombed (though it is showing some progress of late).

Microsoft Now, IBM Then

Compare this to the 80s. IBM was the dominant mainframe manufacturer. It had supreme control over the entire market, so much that many companies called it "Big Brother". It could do nothing wrong. Microsoft was just another company making software for IBM and Apple.

But then something happened.

The personal computer revolution happened.

More and more people wanted to buy PCs. And Microsoft unified the entire market by making an operating system which would run on computers made by any manufacturer. And manufacturers took it like fish to water because this gave them a chance to compete with IBM whose half-hearted attempt at OS/2 was miserable. IBM eventually sold off its PC division to Chinese manufacturer, Lenovo.

Sounds similar? Of course, it does.

IBM refused to acknowledge the personal computer revolution because this hit at the heart of its core business. It shunned the inevitable that if you don't cannibalize your own business when the market is changing, someone else will. Ultimately, as more and more consumers used personal computers, the enterprise started to use them as well and IBM had to rework its strategy to remain profitable.

They say, "History repeats itself". And history has indeed come back to haunt Microsoft.

Microsoft missed mobile, for similar reasons IBM missed PCs. Windows and Office were not something which worked well on mobile, and they weren't prepared to accept this. Windows Mobile was a half-hearted attempt. Windows Phone 7 was a half-hearted attempt. It even had Office, but consumers didn't care. Windows Phone was given the cold shoulder as Android captured the market and consumer's imagination. To their credit, Windows Phone 8 is a much better attempt, but it is likely far too late, and the momentum has been lost. And neither is this being helped with sales of mobiles and tablets touching all-time highs.

Market Leader turned Market Challenger

And this is being reflected in everything from marketing strategies to consumer perception. Market leaders distance themselves from the competition. Market followers and challengers try to differentiate themselves from the leader and always try to take a dig at them.

Once Microsoft surpassed IBM, Windows was always about how unique and easy to use it is. In contrast, IBM's OS/2 was about how well it could run Windows programs.

Let's look at it in today's scenario. Google always hammers home that it makes the best products. While Microsoft keeps telling you not to get Scroogled. See the pattern?

And when you are the market leader, you bully the competition. Microsoft bullied the competition in order to make them follow its own rules. And Google is doing the same thing today too. It bullied Acer when it wanted to make a version of Android significantly different from what it wanted. And as Android has advanced from Cupcake to Kit Kat, it has closed down more and more and forced its own policies. This article on Ars Technica explains it beautifully. Of course, manufacturers don't move away because of Android's rich ecosystem. This is exactly what happened in the desktop computing scene when Microsoft bullied its partners and they had to use Windows because no other operating system had such a diverse range of applications.

With Chromebooks now aiming to supplant Windows PCs, the transformation is nearing completion. Of course, Chromebooks are woefully inadequate today. But, as we use more and more Google services and buy more and more Androids, in the future, buying a Chromebook to complement your Android would make immense sense.

Google has arrived.

The transformation is complete.

The Last Straw

And time is running out for Microsoft and the competition. However, there is one thing Microsoft has and IBM didn't. Patience and the willingness to accept mistakes. And Steve Ballmer's resignation has showed that. And they still have one trick up their sleeve in the form of Xbox. Only the living room can help Microsoft thwart Google.

But then, Google has Chromecast. Turn the above paragraph around. And only the living room can complete the power transplant from Microsoft to Google.

The next decade is going to be awesome. Fasten your seatbelts!

However, I always pondered over the question, "How much of this is true?" Have we really attained gender equality as a society? Or is it just a myth? The aftermath of the December 16 Delhi gangrape incident reaffirmed these questions in my mind.

Now, don't misconstrue my statement as saying that rapes don't show the inherent gender inequality of our culture. No, what I mean is that the various statements you heard from insensitive politicians and self-styled ungodly godmen is the very reason rapes and atrocities against women are committed. Consider this:

"The protests for the gangrape victim are being held by dented and painted women"

– Abhijit Mukherjee, son of the First Citizen of India

"The victim should have begged her attackers for mercy and called them bhaiya (which means elder brother in Hindi)"

– Asaram Bapu, self-styled "godman"

"Rapes do not happen in Bharat, they only happen in India (meaning it is a purely urban phenomenon)"

"Women shouldn't go alone at night and should fully cover themselves"

"Girls should go out only with their fathers or brothers before marriage and their husbands after marriage"

And more recently

"It was the mistake of the girl's friend that all this happened, he fell for lust, the attackers did nothing wrong"

– The lawyer fighting for the accused in the case

All these statements smack of an inflated male ego and a desire to keep the women suppressed under their power. I have not made any of these statements up and you can check for yourselves as they have been widely covered by the media. It shows that in our society,

"Gender Equality Is Still A Big Fat Myth"

Looking down upon women is as much a psychological issue as a cultural one. If you look up the ancient (the very beginning of civilization) history of man, it is said that there was no discrimination between man and woman. Equal importance was given both to the male occupation of gathering food for the family and the female occupation of tending the house and the family. Even the Bible says that God created Eve from Adam's rib – not from his head, not from his foot – implying there is no difference between both.

However, somewhere along the line, man started to take advantage of this. And this is when crime started – not just crime against women, but crime in general. When ambition turned into greed and compassion turned into oppression, problems started. And women being the so-called weaker sex, they got subdued. They became objects of desire for men. It got worse as women began to be viewed as a servant of the house and as someone who exists just to satisfy man's carnal desires. Women became commodities for men. This very attitude is reflected in the quotes at the beginning of this post.

It is even reflected in our laws. Seven years is the maximum jail sentence for rape. That, if he is convicted in the first place. So many incidents go unreported because the victim is afraid to complain. There have been so many incidents where the victim who goes to the police station gets raped by the officer on duty. This is an extremely sad state of affairs.

The issue on hand is not just rape and molestation. It is one of a broader psychological problem. And, we need not one but a slew of measures in the short-term and long-term perspective.

And, it should start with laws. The present laws are just too lax. Heck, the Middle East – where women don't even have equal voting and legal rights – gives a death sentence to rapists. This shows why more rapes happen than anything else. People are simply not scared. The first step in changing such a rigid and primitive psychology is to plant the seeds of fear. Logic and rationale come later.

Yes, logic and rationale are important too. There are many influences in society which portray women in a bad light. If you take movies for example, almost every movie shows the heroine as a subordinate to the hero. People wrongly blame item songs for crime against women. It is not as if Katrina Kaif dancing to the tunes of Sheila ki Jawani wearing skimpy clothes converted everyone into rapists. When you return after a movie, it is the story and the behavior of the characters which sticks with you and not an item number which is not more than 5 minutes long. The heroine being subservient to the male hero throughout the movie in every movie is a big subconscious driver in attitudes as well.

Another very important factor is the kind of poisonous statements these politicians and "godmen" make. Many people, especially in the villages, look up to these people (more so to the godmen) and even take their statements as the gospel truth. All this affects the psyche of the people. Especially men start to believe that they can do anything with women and subdue them. It is shocking how much people can be influenced.

It is difficult to name measures and think of them as a silver bullet which will solve this problem. It is a long battle to get justice for women. More importantly, we as men should realize that women are not less than us. A huge task lies ahead of us and we should be up for it. Next time, you see someone making fun of the fairer sex, stop them and make them think. If things get out of hand, don't hesitate to use the laws' help.

It is time to get rid of stereotypes and swing into action.

Let's make gender equality a reality and way of life. Do let me know what you think about this in the comments.

Starting with Apple's WWDC 2012, Apple made quite a splash at its annual developer's conference. Although iOS 6 looked like just a bugfix to iOS 5, OS X Mountain Lion and the new MacBook Pro with Retina display grabbed all the eyeballs. Let's look at the Retina MacBook first. Apple has once again been at the forefront of innovation by making a display which has more pixels than an HDTV. This sets new standards for the competition – they have to catch up, the web – websites are now forced to be forced to be optimized for higher resolution displays, software – developers now have to make better use of all those pixels. This is a good thing as it will lead to more innovations and ultimately, the consumer enjoys the fruits.

Then, there was OS X Mountain Lion which is the first step in a fusion between OS X and iOS. Apple looks to have done a better job than Microsoft has done with Windows 8 by maintaining familiar interfaces and gradually changing it instead of pulling off a blinder (no doubt Windows 8 is an excellent OS - read our review of the Consumer Preview here). One thing is certain. Mobile is the future. How touchy it will be is the question.

Watch the complete video of the WWDC 2012 keynote below.

Just when Apple had the whole world buzzing with its gadgets, Microsoft secretly slipped in a note to top tech bloggers about a top-secret event in Hollywood for the following week exactly 1 week after WWDC. The world was confused as this was very un-Microsoft like. Microsoft generally never keeps anything secret and most of the details leak to the media much before. But this was something different. And we weren't disappointed either. Microsoft unveiled the Microsoft Surface, touted as the next-generation tablet with USB ports and a touch keyboard which doubles up as a cover. Some basic specs were released and the full spec sheet and pricing is yet to be announced. Rest assured, it is an amazing device in its own right. Can it beat the iPad? Time will tell.

Watch the full Surface reveal below.

Next was the Windows Phone Summit which would unveil the next generation of Windows Phone: Windows Phone 8 codenamed Apollo. The biggest announcement according to me was the shared core with Windows 8. What this means is that developers can now write apps for Windows 8 and port them to Windows Phone 8 or vice versa. How useful this will be and whether apps can be made for two different types of devices and computing paradigms remains to be seen. Also unveiled was a newer, more functional and more customizable Start screen which is basically the hallmark of Windows Phone. Another point to note was greater enterprise features. Apart from this, most other announcements at the Windows Phone Summit were long-awaited ones and nothing jaw-dropping. This firmly places Windows Phone at the level of iOS and Android feature-wise and it is time now for OEMs to make super phones.

Watch the full summit below.

After Apple and Microsoft, could Google be left far behind? Definitely not! And they had one of the best and jaw-dropping keynotes ever on Day 1 of Google I/O. The demo of Google Glass with skydivers and bikers was spectacular! Apart from that, Google announced Android's next version, Jelly Bean 4.1. Frankly, iOS 6 pales in comparison. With Project Butter, which has significant speed improvements, offline Google Maps and a nice new intuitive interface, Apple can no longer say Android is an iOS-rip-off. Android now has its own unique identity. And who can forget the Nexus 7 and Nexus Q? While the Nexus Q didn't impress me much, the Nexus 7 is sure a killer tablet for $199. With a 12-core GPU and quad-core processor, along with Jelly Bean, Google looks to have made the perfect tablet.

Enjoy the full keynote below.

So many exciting developments this summer! Which one has you the most enthused? Let us know in the comments!

Have a great week!

And guess what? We were left disappointed. One. More. Time. And as if to rub salt in the wounds, the weightage of boards was increased from 40% to 50%.

So, what exactly happened? The proposed system will have two examinations: JEE Mains and JEE Advanced. They will be held now on the same day. For admission to the IITs, 50% weightage will be given to Class 12 Boards and 50% to JEE Mains. A merit list will be drawn and the top 50000 (roughly) of these candidates will have their JEE Advanced papers evaluated. The final rank list will be drawn on the basis of only the JEE Advanced marks.

Even this new system is completely flawed. The very system of giving any sort of weightage to the boards defeats the purpose of admitting students to the IITs based on analytical abilities. Especially in India, the boards are hopeless at testing a student's analytical abilities. This is even more true in state boards. The practical exams are a well-known farce and is the Indian education system's worst kept secret. And the theory exams are regularly in the news for all the wrong reasons - from irrational correction to question paper leaks. Are these very same exams going to decide the admissions of several lakhs of students every year to the elite Indian Institutes of Technology and the National Institutes of Technology?

They say that students don't give importance to school. Point taken but does that mean you put their future in jeopardy? First of all, giving any sort of weightage to boards for admission to a university which admits students on the basis of their analytical abilities is blasphemy and giving it 50% weightage is sacrilege!

The new system will reduce the pressure on a student – Sibal

And then there is Sibal's favorite statement that "he wants to reduce the pressure on students". He says it so often that it has become a sort of cliche now. What he doesn't understand or refuses to understand is that this proposed system of his just places additional pressure on a student. (S)he now has to ensure his/her marks in some rote-oriented examinations whose questions repeat every other year and whose papers are corrected in the most lethargic and unprofessional manner are among the top 50000 of the country so that his/her JEE advanced paper which (s)he prepares with due diligence and uses the most of his/her mental faculties are evaluated! Is this fair?

The new system will be in place from 2013 – Sibal

And this is the biggest shocker of them all! He wants to implement a system which is nascent and faces dissent/assent from a new quarter everyday as early as next year in 2013! I just don't understand how a man who claims to want to reduce the pressure on the country's students can take such rash decisions.

The new system will reduce the importance of coaching institutes – Sibal

Seriously, Kapil Sibal doesn't understand the system of coaching institutes in this country. He fails to realize that by giving such a pivotal role to the board examinations, coaching institutes will now launch a two-pronged strategy to target both the boards and the JEE. All I can say is "R.I.P. to the Indian Student".

Are we fixing something which isn't broken?

There is an old adage – "Don't fix something which isn't broken". I can't say how much of that applies to the present system, but I can say for sure that what Kapil Sibal is doing is not going to fix it. The real problem is not in the JEE itself but in the various supplementary exams conducted by the private colleges. After talking to various people and listening to varied opinions, what I feel is that the IIT-JEE and the AIEEE should continue as separate exams, but the various multitude of exams conducted by private institutions (like BITSAT, VITEEE, SRMEEE etc.) should be banned. All of them should admit students based on just the AIEEE. Another thing is the state level entrance exams. This requires more debate and discussion on whether they should be scrapped or continued with. Personally, I feel that they should go on.

Once we have just two exams (and probably an additional one at the state level), we can then think of reimagining education with an additional aptitude test. However, reimagining education in our country is something which we should first start from bottom up. First, we must reform the primary education, secondary education, the system of boards, assess the feasibility of having a common board across the country and then we can think of admission to higher education - not just to engineering but to other disciplines as well.

Coming back to the boards, I just want to highlight that we have around 3o boards in the country whose marks are impossible to be standardized given the heterogeneity of our education system. You can't just conjure up a mathematical formula and attempt to standardize the so many boards in our country in order to give them weightage in an engineering entrance examination.

Another point to remember is that one change in pattern will not make coaching institutes irrelevant. One must understand that the very reason that coaching institutes thrive in our country is the immense competition to get into engineering colleges. Every student wants to do engineering irrespective of whether his interest exists or not. We need to develop world-class facilities like the IITs in other disciplines as well and make them attractive to students so that a student can deliberate on what he really wants to do instead of just blindly shading the engineering option.

What do you think about the proposed changes to the JEE? Sound off in the comments!

Cheers!!

Quite understandably, the most contentious issue in this new operating system has been the absence of the Start menu and the presence of the Start screen. Many people want to know how to get the Start menu (and the Start button) back and if some hack is possible etc. However, the problem here is the default shell of the operating system on which it operates is the Start screen. Previous versions of Windows ran from the Desktop. Windows 8 runs on the Start screen. Even the Desktop is just an app on top of it.

Critics are correct when they say this Windows is built for touch. But they are wrong when they say it cannot be used with a keyboard or mouse. They are still evaluating the Developer Preview. The Consumer Preview is a huge improvement over the Developer Preview in terms of usability with the keyboard and mouse. This is one operating system which works fantastic with touch, keyboard, and mouse. However, I would like to add a rider. While using Windows 8 with touch is an intuitive and seamless experience right from the beginning, working with a keyboard and mouse can take some time. It is not as intuitive as you would like it to be. Considering the fact that users are used to working with a desktop, keyboard, and mouse on PCs from many years, Microsoft should have taken more care to make it more intuitive with the keyboard and mouse. While the touch interface shines, using with keyboard and mouse takes some getting used to and it can be quite a pain. But once you know it, trust me, it is a breeze working with Windows 8.

Coming back to the Start screen, I think it is better we accept it and learn to live with it instead of cribbing over it. There is an always an option to see all your apps so there is no need to have all the apps pinned to Start. Many businesses complain that it will lead to a loss of productivity from employees as they will be always looking at the live tiles showing them notifications from social networking sites. While this is a valid concern, they have missed a point here. It is possible with Windows 8 to block apps from the Store through the company firewall which means that the employee can never use it.

I have also heard people complaining too that you have to drag a Metro app (the apps which run in full screen are called Metro apps) way too much to the bottom to close it. Well, it isn't necessary to do that. Windows 8 is so efficient that you don't need to kill Metro apps like their Desktop counterparts.

Many individuals complain that they don't want the immersive Metro experience. And Microsoft must really look into this concern. Probably, it should allow Metro apps to run in smaller sizes too and allow them to be placed anywhere on the screen (or even overlap with the Desktop). Even the snap feature according to me is a little let-down. It allows only a fixed size of one-third of the screen size and no custom way to resize it as I wish. In a way, this is a little too quaint and reminiscent of Windows 1.0 with a new look. And that's not good news. Allowing resizing and overlapping of apps will be a brilliant move. Because, then it will allow you to run the Desktop app and place other apps on top of it (like we are used to). This is something I would like to see. Frankly, running every Metro app on full screen doesn't make sense. And, since many of them won't have desktop alternatives like Internet Explorer, it can get on your nerves. Also, I would like to have the facility to run multiple instances of Metro apps in some cases. For example, Windows Reader allows you to open just one PDF at a time. If I want to have more PDF files open simultaneously, I have to open good old Adobe Reader.

Let's see what the Windows team comes up with. For one thing, there are rumors that it might be allowed to run three apps side by side in Metro unlike the current two. So, wait and watch (however, I would definitely prefer custom resizing and overlapping of apps as many others would prefer. Working on a laptop/desktop provides much more flexibility than a tablet/smartphone so this is something Microsoft should think about).

Moving on from Start (on which enough has been ranted about) to other features of Windows 8, this is really a fast operating system and beats Windows 7 by many a mile. Windows 8 has this new feature called "Fast Startup" that makes startup seem almost instantaneous. It is a basically a cousin of Hibernate as it saves the current settings to a file before shutting down. Talking about Shut Down, even that is almost instantaneous. You click shut down and it switches off in a flash. I always used to think how fast my Ubuntu is in comparison to Windows but not anymore. My only gripe is with Restart. It still takes ages to restart Windows.

The next important feature after Start which you must acquaint yourself with is the Charms menu. Move your mouse to the top or bottom right corners and you'll see a sidebar with 5 buttons – Search, Share, Start, Devices, and Settings. And these are app-specific too. So, clicking on Search while in the Music app will search your music and clicking on Settings when you are in Mail will allow you to add accounts and so on.

Moreover, Windows 8 is even lighter on your resources than Windows 7 (but heavier than Windows XP, of course). When it is idle, Windows 7 uses around 1.2 GB of memory on my laptop while Windows 8 uses less than 1 GB. And it is fast too. Another neat thing about Metro which must come to the Desktop is suspending inactive apps. If Windows detects an app is not being used for an extended period of time, it is just suspended. However, the good thing is it still works in the background (as it is not offloaded from the RAM) but your processor is not strained. Sometimes, you really begin to feel Desktop as quaint compared to the powerful features of Metro. However, we do need the Desktop for many things, and it gives comparatively greater flexibility than Metro in some cases.

Furthermore, Windows 8 is the most social and cloud-friendly OS yet. If your account is an online account (or a Microsoft account as it is called) which is a must to download apps from the Windows Store, all your apps and settings are synced to the cloud. Hence, when you sign in from another Windows 8 PC with your Microsoft account, it is as if you are using your own computer.

However, I find the new Windows Store a little bit too unintuitive, and it was hard to navigate in the beginning. It is the hardest to get used to and also it doesn't connect to the Internet that well. Plenty of bugs over there, I must say.

Moreover, SkyDrive is coming in a big way with Windows 8. Though it is just an app in the Consumer Preview, a desktop client is coming soon (even for Windows 7 🙂) which will enable you to effortlessly sync your data with the cloud. With 25 GB of free storage, it beats iCloud, Dropbox, and every possible service out there. Cloud never got easier. Plus, you can now connect your Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Google (however, Google+ is missing because its API is still under development), and Flickr accounts too. The People app gets all your updates from Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn. The Photos app pulls all your Facebook and Flickr photos. They do have some bugs though. "People" doesn't manage to pull everything, and Photos doesn't render the photos on your hard drive that well. The Messaging app automatically connects with your Facebook account and is really a breeze to talk with Facebook friends from here (again, the Consumer Preview has some bugs here).

For the first time, Windows has in-built Mail and Calendar apps (no need for Outlook for home users). They are extremely easy to use and work with. Calendar even syncs seamlessly with your Google and Hotmail (of course) calendars. Mail currently supports only Hotmail and Gmail, and I haven't seen basic settings like signature as well. But then again, this is just a Consumer Preview so it is understandable.

The in-built Camera app works beautifully. You don't need to install any driver for it to work. It just detects your camera and you can click photos (point to note – existing camera drivers are incompatible with 32-bit Windows 8 so don't install them unless you want a blue screen; 32-bit users, camera just works and no need for drivers). It even works on my old laptop on which I could never use the webcam because of incompatible drivers. But Windows 8 detects it and allows me to click photos.

Going to the Desktop, there are three major improvements here. The first is the inclusion of the Ribbon in Windows Explorer. The Ribbon which is present in Microsoft Office is one of the most amazing things developed by Microsoft and seeing it in Windows Explorer was gratifying. It makes life much easier as commands are neatly grouped together and it is a fantastic job put together. Even the "Up" button is back!

The next big improvement is the Task Manager. Frankly speaking, the present Task Manager looks like Windows 98, and it is hard to decipher anything out of it for the average user. The black and green graphs even scare away some users. The new Task Manager has a very nice interface and neatly lists all the apps, how much CPU they are using, how much RAM it is consuming, and how much data it is downloading. There are two new tabs in the form of App History and Startup. App History shows how much data Metro apps have downloaded from the first day of you using Windows. Startup has been moved from the System Configuration Utility to the Task Manager and it is extremely simple to disable the apps which you don’t want to startup with Windows.

The final improvement is with regard to moving and copying files. The interface has been completely reworked upon and it is much easier to choose files when there is a conflict. Users will definitely like that.

There are many other neat improvements to Windows 8 like better integration of sensors, easier to choose the language you wish, and Windows Update is a lot less intrusive with the introduction of Maintenance Window. Moreover, there is an in-built PDF reader which I mentioned before called Windows Reader. Also, Windows 8 has a fully functional anti-virus in the form of Windows Defender (anti-virus, firewall, anti-spyware, and anti-malware). And, the good thing is third-party anti-viruses can build on the existing database of definitions. So, if you want to put Kaspersky or Norton, you are free to do so (though they do not work in the Consumer Preview).

So, what do I like the most about Windows 8?

1. A fast and swift operating system
2. Lesser load on system resources
3. Start (yes, I really love it)
4. A much improved Task Manager (power users will love it)
5. A fully-functional Desktop
6. Charms - makes life a lot easier with common commands in one place
7. Excellent cloud and social capabilities.

And, what do I hate the most?

1. Metro apps can't be resized or overlapped. It is too reminiscent of Windows 1.0 and also affects productivity.
2. The interface is unintuitive and needs some time to get used to. Microsoft should take a leaf out of Apple's usability.
3. Some apps like Windows Reader should be allowed to run multiple instances or have tabs in order to have more than one file open.
4. The Start preview which appears when you move the mouse towards the bottom left corner disappears if you move your mouse over it. Very unintuitive.
5. The option to "Manage wireless networks" has been done away with and I can now change the settings of a wireless network only if it is connected or attempting to connect. This is a glaring omission.
6. Windows 8 (especially the Store) doesn’t work that well on proxy. Hope to see it change in future releases.
7. The missing "Show Desktop" button in the right corner of the taskbar. There is just a gap instead of the button and I initially though the option has been done away with.
8. The Windows Store should work with Desktop apps. Desktop is very often treated like a second-class citizen.
9. Metro is good for everyday tasks but not for serious but not for the developers who make the great softwares and apps for Windows.

And talking about developers, they are sure to be a happy bunch with the spate of measures Microsoft is taking to please them. Firstly, developers do not need to learn the native language of the operating system to make apps (as I think is the case in iOS and Android). They can build great apps with HTML 5, Visual Studio, SQL, and anything they please (only thing it has to be Microsoft software which is understandable). And they even preview how the app will look and feel on different screen sizes as Windows 8 is basically an operating system for everything from a smartphone to a desktop. It is also easier to port apps developed for Windows to iOS and Android, so developers can make use of all three ecosystems. This is an indeed, surprising move. You will also notice that all rounded rectangles have been sharpened. There is even a new Windows logo. Apparently, the Windows team was told that the current system of rounded rectangles and wavy rectangles (in the logo) makes it look like "FLAGS" and not "WINDOWS". Hence, this version of Windows is full of right angles.

The most common question being tossed around is why has Microsoft suddenly changed the entire complexion of Windows? This is the biggest design change ever in the history of Windows. All those performance and design improvements could be given without Metro and the Store could have been designed to work with Desktop. But we have to look at the larger picture here. Microsoft has received a lot of positive feedback for the new Windows Phone interface. And the aim is to have a common interface across phones, tablets, desktops, and all possible screen sizes so that it is easier to use all of them. We can see Apple bringing more and more iOS-like features to OSX (the Mountain Lion preview proves it). And since it is known that people have a limited gadget memory, having a common interface across all devices will make it easier to use. With the future looking more and more inclined towards touch, Windows 8 might prove a winner in the long run (though it will bite some dust in the short run). As more and more people start buying Windows Phone, they will see the need for Windows 8.

Steve Ballmer has rightly called Windows 8 the biggest risk in the history of Windows. It might even lead to a large-scale migration to Apple (Mountain Lion really looks like it has got the right mix of iOS and OS X). Time will tell what happens. In the meanwhile, leave your comments below on what you think. Do you feel Windows 8 is a game-changer or just a damp squib?

He is Rahul Dravid.

And now, he has bid goodbye to Indian cricket.

Rahul Dravid started his career in 1996 against Sri Lanka in ODIs and was subsequently dropped. His Test debut was more fruitful scoring 95 against England at Lord's. He cemented his place in the side following a successful 1996-97 tour of South Africa. He continued to be a consistent batsman both home and abroad and was the highest run-scorer in the 1999 Cricket World Cup. Post 2000 saw Rahul Dravid emerge as India's premier Test batsman. His most memorable knocks will be the 180 against Australia in 2001 at Kolkata when he along with VVS Laxman won the match for India and his 233 against Australia again in Adelaide. This showed Dravid's character to bat for extended periods of time with unmatched focus and concentration. In India's disastrous of England in 2011 when they were whitewashed 4-0, Rahul Dravid was the lone star for India scoring three centuries in the series.

The strength of Dravid's batting was in his strong technique, rock-solid defense, and no-frills approach to batting. He never took unnecessary risks and calmed the nerves of the Indian dressing room when he was in the middle. He did face criticism for playing slowly in ODIs where speed is also an essential factor. However, more often than not, he has delivered match-winning performances in the shorter version of the game too.

Rahul Dravid has plenty of records to his name. To name a few, he has the most number of catches, is the first person to cross 10,000 runs batting at No. 3, and has played the longest innings by any Indian batsman in Test matches. He has been moderately successful as a captain and was also the wicketkeeper of the Indian side for a very long time.

He retired in his typical unassuming fashion; neither did he run a victory lap like Sourav Ganguly, nor did he have a farewell test like Anil Kumble. It was just a quiet exit for India's most dependable batsman.

What do you feel about "The Wall"? What is your favorite moment of his career? Pen down your thoughts in the comments.

Cheers!!

Enter "Facebook". Facebook turned this concept on its head and gave people something new. As it opened up to the public, more people wanted to be in it. It spread its reach beyond the youth. Slowly, from around 2008, the older population started to embrace it in the hope of finding old and forgotten friends. As more and more people joined and Facebook started generating revenue through advertising, businesses saw the opportunity. It was the birth of social media as we know today.

Businesses saw the numbers and with the roll-out of fan pages, a unique opportunity was recognized. Companies started to build their presence on social networking sites likes Facebook and Twitter. "Like" and "Follow" became the new buzzwords. Competition ensued to get the greatest number of likes and followers. More social networking sites followed and as people joined more of them, companies too kept pace. Liking, following and circling are common terms today. But what caused this madness to get likes and followers? Ok, but what if you have a million followers?

On the surface, it may look futile, but you have to read between the lines.

Social media shows your personality. It is not about creating a fake profile online anymore. Businesses, schools, teachers, parents, relatives and family are all watching you. Social media is all about creating content and engaging in conversations with your followers, friends or whatever. It is about creating an image of yourself that you are such and such a person with so and so interests. It is a good way to illustrate how you can interact with various kinds of people. These days, employers are using social networking sites to peruse through the profile of potential employees. So, a small slip can prove costly!

There is another angle to this too. Social media is a powerful tool to meet people from various countries across the world. It is a great way to learn about the different cultures of the world from the people themselves. We realize the vast diversity of population on this planet. Of course, there is the possibility that you meet malicious people online but by going through the tweets and wall posts of people, it is possible in most cases (not all) to ascertain whether they are genuine or not.

Social media is more recently being used to predict results of elections and even predict who will win sports tournaments. Companies use social media to reach out to fans, conduct contests and drive engagement. It is used by businesses to gauge the responses of people when they release a new product. For example, when Apple released the iPhone 4S, there were many complaints of poor battery life. This made Apple work on a software update to fix that issue. Whether the update worked or not is another debate, but the point here is that the company noticed.

The Arab Spring is a good example of how social media can bring out the power of the people and topple governments. The revolutions in Egypt, Syria and Libya were all started on social networking sites before it went on the streets. In India too, social media played a large role in the anti-corruption movement spearheaded by Anna Hazare.

Today, more and more companies are including social media specialists in their IT teams. They speak the voice of the company online and thus, are responsible for the image and reputation of the company. They are pretty much like "online PR managers". Social media specialists are becoming increasingly important and vital in today's connected world.

As always, skeptics are in full force here too. They are harshly critical and say it is a complete waste of time. Well, it is up to the individual how he uses social networking sites. Just as the television or the computer can be used for good or bad, same applies with social media as well. Moreover, there is enough statistics to show the power of social media. It can't be taken lightly anymore. Social media is here to stay.

I have spoken enough. It is time for you, the reader to voice your opinions and concerns. Sound off in the comments below.

Let's have a look at both the systems, the old and the new. Then, I'll tell which one I feel is better or if we need a third, different system. And, finally, I'll discuss what I said in the heading i.e. a broader perspective to admission to colleges in India and not just engineering colleges.

Let's examine the status quo first. You have the IIT-JEE to get admission into the IITs, the AIEEE to get admission into the NITs and the various state entrance examinations to get admissions into colleges in a state (e.g. EAMCET, MHT-CET, WBJEE etc.). Plus, as if it is not enough, various private colleges conduct their own entrance examinations because they don't like these government-run exams. And, by the time you finish your twelfth class, a student writes at least a dozen entrance exams because you don't know in which one you'll get admission. Let me tell you, by the end of May, when you are done with this mountain of exams, you feel like you have won a war (let's not worry about results now 😉). Of course, coaching colleges have decoded every single exam and train you accordingly. It is more about reading the paper-setter's mind than using your intellectual facilities (the JEE is an exception here). All said and done, there is enormous pressure on the student.

Enter Kapil Sibal. Right from day 1 of him assuming office, he has stressed the need to de-pressurize the Indian student population. While his intentions are good, the plans are not so good. Doing away with Class 10 Board Exams was a big mistake. And now, the system he has proposed to replace the JEE and AIEEE is just jumping from the frying pan into the fire. He has proposed that there will be a new Common Entrance Test (CET) which will do away with this multitude of examinations and also, 40% weightage will be given to Class 12 board exams. While the CET part, which essentially consists of two examinations, is a good thing, the 40% weightage to board exams is a huge blunder of massive proportions. I'll give two reasons why giving 40% weightage is a folly of the government.

First, Kapil Sibal must realize that you can't arbitrarily give so much weightage to an examination which is not standardized at all. We have the ICSE, CBSE and a state board in every state. The syllabi of these various boards are not completely the same and the ease of scoring marks is also different. For example, consider two students of the same intelligence but one is in ICSE and the other is in a state board. Since scoring marks is so easy in state board, the student will most probably get in the range of 95-97%. But the student in ICSE who has the same intelligence will probably get around 92% because it is a known fact that scoring in ICSE is more difficult than state boards because the grading in ICSE is stricter and also, questions are more challenging in the sense they are not directly lifted from textbooks like is the case with many state boards of the country. Kapil Sibal can say all he wants about "One Country, One Board" but that won't happen anytime in the near future. You see, teachers of the state boards are not trained to effectively handle the challenges presented by ICSE and CBSE boards. So, Mr. Sibal should realize that arbitrarily assigning such a high number as 40% to boards doesn't make sense.

The other reason is what the government is always harping about, "pressure". The present system places way too much pressure on the student, says the government. So, how does assigning a weightage to board exams "reduce" pressure? Now, a student not only has to prepare for the CET, but there will be a mad rush for marks in the boards as well. There can only be one result of this. The student is fried at the end of twelve years of schooling. And that is foolishness.

I can see one thing in the government's approach here. While they are right in saying we should reduce the load on the students, they are trying way too much to ape the education system of the West. You can't just ape the system like that. India is a different country with different challenges, a different ethos and a different culture. Reimagining education is not copying the West. And, definitely not giving two-fifths weightage to boards for admission to engineering colleges. We should devise a new system, something which has the "India" stamp and not an "India (copied from abroad)" stamp. The demands and features of Indian education are different. Students from various regions study in different ways. All these things should be taken into account. Moreover, we should unify the admission process to all disciplines, engineering, medical, arts, humanities, law etc. Plus, the examination shouldn't be online (more on this towards the end) and should be conducted only once per year (not twice as it is being proposed).

Let me explain why I feel that the examination should be conducted just once a year and not twice. This is where the government is trying the US system of conducting the SAT several times a year. It works for them, but it won't for us. Allow me to elaborate.

If you see the US examinations, they are not of that high a level. They are designed in such a way that anyone from Grade 11 and Grade 12 or even younger can write them. In other words, they are not that advanced (yes, even the famed SAT Subject Tests). Hence, it is fully acceptable to write them several times a year. But that is not the case with India. Most of our entrance examinations, be it JEE, AIEEE, PMT or anything, they are based on the syllabus of eleventh and twelfth class and typically even go higher than that. So, if you are conducting an entrance examination in the middle of the year, when the syllabi aren't yet finished, it doesn't make sense at all. This is again just added pressure on the student, as coaching classes will now try to finish portions before the mid-year examination so that a student can again attempt it at the end of the year. Sorry, Mr. Sibal, this is a perfect recipe for pressure.

The other aspect which I think is a step backwards is making the exam online from 2014. Online exams fail on standardization which is providing a common paper to all. Each slot attempts a different paper and never is the standard of the paper same from slot to slot. Some slots have it easy and some have it tough. It is playing with the lives of lakhs of students across the country. Not. Fair. At. All.

So, how do we re-imagine education to handle the admission of lakhs of applicants to professional colleges every year? Firstly, we do away with the concept of giving weightage to boards. More prestigious colleges can say that student should score above a basic cut-off in boards. That's all. No business of giving weightage. Then, we adapt this system of a common entrance test to Indian conditions and for all disciplines. It should consist of two papers, the aptitude test and a scholastic test. Why do I say that an aptitude test is required for all disciplines? I say it because aptitude is something which spans all disciplines. It is a way of measuring your mental facilities irrespective of the branch of study. It is not all-encompassing but gives a basic idea of things.

Secondly, you have the scholastic test. The scholastic test is not a test common for everybody. It varies from discipline to discipline. Engineering students will have a different test; medical will have a different test and so on. All of them need not be held on the same day. Each subject can be on a different day, and it can be spread throughout the months of April and May. However, that is more of a logistical issue. You see, this doesn't drastically change anything. It is just streamlining the system and making it more manageable by removing tons of exams.

This is what I feel. I am open to what you say and what you think. Spell them out in the comments section below.

Cheers!!

As mentioned in my previous post, I went on a week-long vacation to the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. It was a memorable and an extremely enjoyable trip. There are many places of interest and varied activities to be done. A lot more is left to be seen in this archipelago and one week is not enough.

However, I don't have any regrets. In just a week, what I did and witnessed was more than what I did in my entire life. Despite being on a wheelchair, I attempted scuba diving, travelled on a catamaran, speed boat and canoe, went to beautiful and clean beaches, saw Jarawa tribes living in the forests and visited green and luxuriant mangrove forests.

All in just one week.

It is nature's bounty in all its glory!!

I stayed in Port Blair, the capital of these islands and also visited Chidiyatapu, Havelock, Baratang, and Ross Island. One positive aspect of the islands which I noticed was that a greater proportion of people are genuinely concerned about the environment. They believed in living in sync with nature rather than against it. I was pleasantly surprised and delighted to see that the beaches in these islands are cleaned everyday. Yes, each and every day. In comparison, I have seen beaches in Mumbai, Chennai and Visakhapatnam being cleaned once a year. And it is performed with great fanfare and media coverage. You even get a certificate for taking part in it! That's the difference. This is the very reason why the beaches in the Andamans are so clean and wonderful while in cities which boast of great development and living standards, they are in such a pitiable condition.

Is this what we want? Is this the way we want our environment, our surroundings to be? Do we want our beaches to be like the ones in Havelock and Port Blair or like the ones in Mumbai and Chennai?

You decide.

And it doesn't end with beaches. Even the monuments are taken great care of. The Cellular Jail in Port Blair is a shining example for all monuments in this country. It is very clean, and you can focus on the monument in front of you rather than the graffiti. Graffiti does exist but it is hard to find.

How do you want our national monuments to be? Clean and wonderful to behold or dirty and full of graffiti?

Again, you decide. The power is with you. Not Manmohan Singh. Not Barack Obama. Not David Cameron. You and ONLY you. Swami Vivekananda said, "All power is within you. You can do anything and everything. Believe in that." Those are pearls of wisdom.

If everybody keeps his surroundings clean, will the world (except landfills) be dirty? No. If everyone does his bit in conserving energy and fuel, I bet that global emissions will come down. Remember, "Little drops of water make a mighty ocean."

In the Andamans, people follow these principles to a certain extent. Then, why is that that we can't do it even to that extent? Is this what development has taught us? To neglect the environment? To keep yourselves clean and pollute your surroundings? Why this callousness?

And we have these leaders who are equally complacent. The just-concluded Durban COP17 conference showed how careless our leaders have become. Not just Durban but every conference has shown. Be it Copenhagen, Cancun, or Bali. They do hours and hours of negotiations and backroom talks. And what negotiations are they? To decide who will curb their emissions the least or not curb at all.

The attitude of India, China, and the USA was the most heart-wrenching. At a time when global warming is going at a perilous rate, these countries squabble saying that, "If he reduces emissions, I'll also reduce." Excuse me? What sort of attitude is this? On top, everyone professes concern for the environment. But in reality, this is what they do. If you are so concerned, you should take the step forward and say, "Yes, I will reduce emissions to meet such-and-such targets. I will take the lead in curbing climate change."

Countries complain that emission cuts come in the way of development. Do these countries pump in money for R & D on renewable energy? What they do is negligible. What stops these countries from marching on the path of development using clean sources of energy? The vast tracts of deserts and dry, wasteful land can be utilized for producing huge amounts of solar and wind energy. The windows of all the glass buildings of various multi-national corporations can be converted to solar cells. But nobody thinks of this. They all think how not to reduce emissions. Just lame excuses.

Before you click away, think about these issues and sound off in the comments. Let's collaborate and save the environment!

Cheers!!

Since there is no direct flight from Port Blair in Andamans to Mumbai, a connecting flight via Chennai or Kolkata needs to be taken. I chose Kolkata and was roaming around in Kolkata when I had a harrowing experience at the two temples I visited. The first temple was the Dakshineswar Temple. In order to go to the sanctum sanctorum where the holy deity is kept, a flight of steps needs to be ascended. Now, since I'm in a wheelchair, my father asked the guards to assist in lifting my wheelchair. They flatly refused saying wheelchairs aren't allowed inside near the deity. My parents approached the temple management, and the following conversation shows the rude treatment we received.

Dad (D): Please allow the wheelchair to be lifted inside the sanctum.
Temple management (T): Wheelchairs aren't allowed. Carry the boy and go inside.
D: My son is 18 years old, and I can't carry him for long periods of time. Why don't you allow wheelchairs inside?
T: (getting angry) DON'T ASK WHY!! IF YOU WANT TO SEE THE DEITY, CARRY YOUR SON AND GO. IF NOT DON'T!!

Does religion teach discrimination or preach equality? I always thought the latter, but this incident makes me think otherwise. What makes us, the disabled, the differently abled, so inhuman that we can't take our wheelchairs inside a temple? Did our wheelchairs commit a sin? We got the same response even when we visited the temples inside Belur Math. In the end after a bit of fighting, they reluctantly allowed the wheelchair inside.

The attitude of the people in these religious institutions is primitive, rigid, and inhuman. They refuse to change with the times.

According to them, people like us who are disabled are inferior people and don't deserve admittance. This is a thought process which doesn't belong to the 21st century. There is no reason at all why wheelchairs shouldn't be allowed near the deity. You can very well see their attitude in the conversation snippet above. People show oodles of sympathy to the disabled. But that's not what we want.

It is Empathy.

Sympathy is saying, "Poor chap." Empathy is saying, "Poor chap. Let me see how I can help you." That's what is important. What the priests at Dakshineswar did lacked empathy. Empathy is the need of the hour. Nobody needs sympathy. Everyone shows sympathy. But only a few people show empathy. Empathy is feeling what the other person feels. Empathy comes from the heart. Empathy is compassion. When a person on a wheelchair can't ascend a flight of stairs to a temple, empathy is helping him go up. Not telling him that wheelchairs pollute the temple and are sinful.

I have experienced incidents like these in the past with other temples too. The Golden Temple at Vellore meted out similar treatment to me. The wheelchair wasn't allowed inside the sanctum sanctorum because the tires are supposedly similar to shoes and pollute the temple premises. This shows us how primitive the attitudes of so-called religious leaders are.

I take this opportunity to tell the management of Belur Math, Dakshineswar Temple, Vellore Golden Temple, and other temples which hold similar beliefs to forget traditions and rituals for a second and think as an ordinary human being who is in a wheelchair. Also, I want them to think what God would feel about this. Would God not allow his children into a temple just because they happen to be in a wheelchair? Think about it.

At this point, I must also acknowledge the temples which have been very kind to me - and I am very grateful to them. The Chilkur Temple near Hyderabad, Satyanarayana Swami Temple in Annavaram, Kamakshi Temple in Kanchipuram, and Narasimha Swami Temple in Simhachalam went out of their way to ensure that I did not face any difficulty in seeing God in all His splendor.

Before you go to sleep tonight, think for a moment what you would do if you were in the temple management. Would you allow my wheelchair inside or leave me in the lurch outside and order my father to carry me? Would you show empathy or sympathy?

So how good is it? How tasty is the ice cream? I must admit, it is delicious. If you would have seen the video above, you would have got a glimpse of its amazing features. Let's go over the main ones. If Apple introduced the Notification Center with iOS 5, Google has taken the existing Notification Center a step forward. You can now clear notifications just at the flick of a finger. Whoosh! And it is gone! The same revolutionary change has been applied to the Task Manager. Just flick away an app to kill it. Intuitive!

Another path-breaking change is the introduction of face unlock. No need of remembering clunky patterns or random four-digit numbers. Show your face and it is done! However, just as in the case of Siri, it remains to be seen how accurate this can be.

ICS also brings sweeping changes to photography and photo editing. You can do a lot more photo editing and video editing than was possible before. Also, the hardware for the camera has been beefed up. There is a new panoramic mode akin to that found in the high end CyberShot cameras. Just switch it on and move it across the landscape. ICS will stitch it up automatically for you and produce a beautiful panoramic photograph.

The feature which caught my fancy the most and one which will be very popular in developing countries like India is the ability to limit data usage while using 2G/3G networks. You can set a data limit of how much the phone can use and it will warn you appropriately when the limits are approached. Now, isn't that brilliant? Another new feature called Android Beam was unveiled which enabled fast data transfer between Android ICS devices.

Also shown were the completely new and fluid interfaces for Gmail and calendar. The interface has been made very easy to use with a touch of elegance. ICS also has a brand-new typeface optimized for HD.

The first phone which will run Android 4.0 is the Samsung Galaxy Nexus which will roll out in November! All Gingerbread phones too will get the ICS update soon. It will be interesting to see what phones Samsung and HTC will release based on ICS. Galaxy S2 and Sensation were truly revolutionary!

In my opinion, iOS 5 is not even close to Android 4.0. This has all the makings of a superstar, and it is by far the most advanced and amazing mobile OS of all time.

Say hello to Empire Avenue!! One of the youngest social networking sites and gaining popularity by the day, Empire Avenue is a virtual share trading site. The currency on the site is called "Eaves" and each one of you has a unique ticker (pretty much like the Sensex or Nasdaq, isn't it?). Each guy on Empire Avenue can invest shares in others and also other people can buy shares in you. You get 10,000 shares in your kitty which people can buy to start with. It gets automatically upgraded when you exhaust them. You can of course disable that in the Settings.

You start with a share price of 10e (symbol for eaves is "e"). Just like the stock market, your share price increases if people buy you and decreases if people sell you. Simple? But wait! There is another important aspect to this. The most important factor in your share price isn't how many investors buy you and dump you. On Empire Avenue, you connect your various social networking sites like Facebook, Twitter, Foursquare, and even various RSS feeds. All the activity on these sites counts towards your share price in a big way. How they are calculated, no one knows. Also, the feed from these sites will be up on your profile.

Alright, so coming to the important part about privacy. By now, you must be wondering if all our Facebook feeds are displayed then what is the point in our Facebook privacy settings. This is a valid doubt, and you need not fear. Even though, Empire Avenue calculates based on all your activity (public and non-public), they respect your privacy settings and show only those feeds which are marked public. So, if your Foursquare check-ins are private, they will remain so and will be solely used for calculating share prices. They will not be on your profile. But, if you have friends from your social networking sites on Empire Avenue, they'll be able to see what's visible to them already. So, if they can see your Facebook update, they'll see it on Empire Avenue too. Fair enough?

Empire Avenue has its own share of critics too. Critics say it encourages you to become on more social networking sites (not just Facebook) and leads to an overall loss in productivity. Well, that is true on paper but in reality, it is different. Studies have shown that people continue to use those sites which they have been already using and Empire Avenue hasn't caused any significant behavioral changes.

Another nice feature is you have to choose which index you want to be a part of (again like a real stock market). There is social networking, blogging, media etc. In each index, there are ranks. You start off as an employee of an index. As your share price increases, you rise up the ranks and get promoted. For instance, I am the Vice-President of the Blogging Index which means I am in the top 20% of investors in that index.

There are also things on Empire Avenue which make the experience so amazing. The concept of dividends is what impresses me the most. Based on your share price and number of shareholders, you give out dividends to your shareholders daily. As your share price rises, so does your dividend. And it makes sense to invest in people with high dividends so that you earn more money. You also have a portfolio value or net worth which is the combined value of all the shares you have bought.

There are so many things on Empire Avenue that it is not possible to describe them completely in one post. And the thing is even I'm still learning! So, as I learn more features and write another post in the future, you sign up for Empire Avenue at https://www.empireavenue.com. Stay tuned for more articles on Empire Avenue.

In view of this post, let me know what you feel in the comments below.

Cheers!!

Founded in 1976 along with Steve Wozniak by Steve Jobs, Apple has always stood for innovation and elegance. Even the name, Apple is profound. In an age when developers gave weird model numbers as names, Jobs chose "Apple". Whether it refers to his diet or what, only he knows. The half-bit apple was born and was all set to mesmerize the world.

Unconventionality and elegance were the trademarks of Jobs. He never did any market research. He believed people didn't know what they want. Yet, the iPod, iPhone, and the iPad are the largest selling MP3 player, phone, and tablet, respectively. He redefined apps with the iPhone. Also, in an age when touchscreen phones required a stylus to operate, he made the iPhone for which fingers were enough. In 2001, when Metallica sued its fans for piracy and the music industry was on the verge of a collapse, the iPod was born. Half a decade after Microsoft's failed attempt at tablets, the iPad set the market on fire.

However, his products faced a lot of criticism for tying them only with Macs and not with PCs. But, as Julian Baggini of The Guardian points out, Jobs showed that there is after all, some merit to the idea that excellence requires tight control. Maybe. Maybe not.

Ultimately, Steve Jobs will be remembered for the elegance with which he spoke on stage. Always dressed in a black, long-sleeved mock turtleneck, blue jeans, and sneakers, he captivated the audience when he talked. He was famous for his signature "One More Thing" at the end of every keynote, in which he would enthrall the audience with a groundbreaking feature, product, or anything whatsoever.

An innovator till his death, Steve Jobs commanded enormous respect among the public and his sudden death has brought upon an outpouring of grief and condolences across the globe.

Here are a few wacky pictures on Steve Jobs.

A man who always believed in making the unconventional conventional, Steve Jobs would be remembered by the world for ages to come.

One more thing.

See this Apple logo incorporating Steve Jobs's silhouette designed by 19-year-old Jonathan Mak, a student at Hong Kong's Polytechnic University School of Design

Furthermore, watch this YouTube video on Steve Jobs's commencement address.

Don't forget to send your condolences directly to Apple at rememberingsteve@apple.com.

The conference started off with Tim Cook throwing out a whole bunch of stats about the iPod, iPhone, and the iPad. He moved on to iOS 5 and iCloud, both of which Steve Jobs had told a lot in July. The only new thing was that iOS 5 and iCloud are releasing on October 12 to the public. The first 40-45 minutes was all this, a bunch of facts, figures (a lot needs to be verified) and a very non-Apple like boring conference. A new iPod Touch and a new iPod Nano were also released.

Coming to the main part of the conference, about the iPhone, it was possibly the biggest anti-climax ever. With weeks and months of a speculation of an iPhone 5 with a completely new design (there was even talk of a transparent iPhone!), Apple released the iPhone 4S in typical Apple style calling it the best phone in the world (yawn). The big change was on the inside. Some of the changes were long overdue. Apple finally gave the iPhone a dual-core processor, the A5. The camera has been upgraded from a 5 megapixel to an 8 megapixel one. All these were expected. According to me, the two revolutionary changes in the new iPhone were Siri and GSM/CDMA compatibility.

Siri is the new voice assistant in your iPhone. Voice recognition and assistance takes a giant leap with Apple's new venture. Apple claims Siri is intelligent and will learn as time progresses. It is supposedly programmed in such a way that it gives you meaningful answers and much more when you ask something. For example, if you ask whether you need to take a jacket when you go on a vacation, it will respond by showing the weather forecast. Ingenious, I must say. Let's wait and watch how Siri lives up to expectations.

The other feature which caught my fancy was the GSM/CDMA compatibility. An iPhone now works on GSM or CDMA networks and also if you are using a CDMA handset in a place where there is no CDMA network (for example, when you are roaming), the iPhone will automatically switch to a GSM network. Neat.

Most of the changes to the iPhone were long overdue like the dual-core processor or the 8-megapixel camera. Its competitors like the Samsung Galaxy S2 or the HTC Sensation already boasted these. This was the reason why the "Let's talk iPhone" conference was a big disappointment and Apple's stocks in the USA faced a slump. There were other minor things too like Cards and Newsstands. On the whole, this Apple conference sorely missed the charisma of Steve Jobs, and the world has to wait for a while to see a revolution from Apple. With rumors abound on the Internet that the iPhone 5 might take as long as 2013, the wait might be longer than expected.

And while we wait for Google's release of Android Ice Cream Sandwich in December, share your thoughts on what you think of the iPhone 4S below. It also deeply saddens me that the genius called Steven Paul Jobs is no more and he will forever be missed. Stay tuned for the tribute to one of the greatest technological innovators the world has ever seen!

Cheers!!

Here is a question for my Indian readers. Today is the 142nd birth anniversary of which Indian great?

Yes, you are right. It is Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi popularly known as Mahatma Gandhi and affectionately known as Bapu. For those who don't know, today, the 2nd of October is the birth anniversary of India's Father of the Nation, M. K. Gandhi. Born in 1869, Mahatma Gandhi was a man of lofty ideals, and it was mostly because of him that India gained independence or 'swaraj' from the British rulers in 1947.

The Mahatma didn't believe in violence. He loathed the very concept of harming your enemy. Instead, he was a champion of non-violence. All his protests against the British rulers were non-violent. He encouraged his supporters not to partake in violence. According to him, non-violence required greater courage and mental strength. He and his followers willingly courted arrest and filled up the jails of the country. He undertook numerous hunger strikes in order to make the British sit up and listen. He was a model for truth and simple living. His famous quote is, "There is enough for everyone's need but not for anyone's greed."

The question is whether his ideals of truth and more importantly, non-violence hold any importance in today's world. The answer is a resounding "YES". In a world where people are agitated at the drop of a hat, terrorists keep terrorizing everyone, the values of truth and non-violence hold a lot of water. Gandhi says that we should not be greedy but should use only as much resources as required. If this was the case, a lot of the environmental problems the world is facing today would be present to a much lesser extent. A modern-day example that non-violent protests can bring results is that of Anna Hazare. The way he made the Indian Government sit up and take notice is ample proof that non-violence stands the test of time.

Here is a short YouTube video on the Mahatma.

Let me know your views on this article in the comments section below.

Satyameva Jayate!!

Let's have a look at the features which rolled out at f8 and how much of an impact they will have on our lives.

The first revolutionary launch was the "Timeline", which Mark said they had been working on it for a year. It is the biggest haul-up ever of the Facebook profile. Over the years, the Facebook profile has seen numerous changes, but this is by far the biggest and the most profound. Timeline essentially is your new "Wall" on Facebook. Facebook wants you to represent yourself as an individual on the Web via Timeline. It aspires to be your identity on the Net. Basically, Timeline is like a scrapbook of your life on Facebook from the time you joined. All your information like your status updates, photos shared, the apps you have used are all posted in a completely different fashion. It encourages you to fill in the details right up to your birth. You can actually go beyond the time you joined Facebook and fill in all the details from the day you arrived on this planet. Interesting, isn't it? The Timeline will be an opt-in feature at first starting from the 30^th of this month and will gradually be the default profile in the future.

Also announced was a new way of sharing things onto the social networking website. Until now, whenever you wanted to share another page on Facebook, you 'liked' that page. You can even see that all posts on ReflectionsPN have a 'Like' button at the bottom. At f8, Facebook announced that the 'Like' button is getting new companions. This is because it thinks that the 'Like' button is like an endorsement for the site, app or whatever even though the user might be showing genuine appreciation. To remedy this, the social networking giant announced the roll-out of Facebook Gestures. You can now [verb] any [noun]. So, you can now 'Listen' to a particular song, 'Watch' a particular movie, or 'Read' an article on ReflectionsPN (provided WordPress allows me to have a 'Read' button). This is completely up to developers what verb they want to use with what. Experts believe that this can cause a 'sharing mania' - with so much information shared, we might even get sick of it. But, again let me point out that only time will tell how these changes affect the way we connect on Facebook.

In the early days of Facebook, an average user spent 5 minutes a day on the site. Now, it is around 55 minutes. Will that go up in the future? Facebook wants that to happen and at f8, it announced a slew of partnerships with various companies which basically means the following. You can now listen to a song on Spotify or watch a movie on Netflix or anything else from "within" Facebook. There is no need to go to another site at all. This is how it works. If your friend listens to a song on Spotify, it will show up in your Ticker, and then you can listen to it "inside" Facebook. For those in the dark, Spotify is an online service which allows you to listen to songs for free but charges you for downloading. An important note: all these songs are licensed from the various artistes or companies, so you can listen to an original song for FREE.

A new controversial tweak was that apps only need to take your permission once to post to your wall. Previously, every time you saved an animal on FarmVille, (do you still play that?) you had to authorize and could decide whether you want to post it to the feed. However, now you need to authorize just once, and the app will share in the future without your knowledge. I expect this feature to kick up quite a storm once it is rolled out but there is also a positive side to this. All the irrelevant information from apps will go to the Ticker and won't be displayed in the News Feed. The News Feed will only contain photos, status updates, and questions.

There was also a mind-boggling statistic revealed at f8. An unbelievable 800 million users are now signed up on Facebook and the site also saw an unprecedented 500 million log in on a single day. Overall, the Zuckerberg of f8 2011 was quite different from the Zuckerberg of yore. It has been a remarkable transformation from a nervous, media-shy Zuckerberg to a strong, vibrant CEO of an emerging, path-breaking company called Facebook. He portrayed a characteristic charisma on stage, and we might have just seen the next Steve Jobs.

All these changes are chalked out like this because Facebook believes that the future of the web will be a more social experience. And with these changes, the big daddy of all social networks aspires to be the social fabric with which we communicate on the Web. It will be interesting to see how Google+ responds to all these changes. And time will only tell whether these changes will help Facebook cement its position as No. 1 in view of Google+'s emergence or encourage people to port out to other social networking websites.

So, tell me what you think about these revolutionary changes below. I too will be rolling out my Timeline in a few days, so stay tuned for that.

Cheers!!

MS Dhoni was the man with the Midas Touch. It was always an increasing success curve for India's poster boy. His first claim to fame was India winning the ICC World Twenty20 in 2007. He announced the arrival of a new leader on the cricket map. Soon, he became the ODI Captain and subsequently the Test skipper. Under him, the Indian Cricket Team showed a remarkable streak of consistency, something which was missing all these years. The Indians won matches with amazing regularity. His success reached greater heights and people were left to wonder how much more he could grow. In the inaugural Indian Premier League in 2008, he led Chennai Super Kings to the final. However, in the third edition, in 2010, he led the Chennai Super Kings to their first IPL victory. Subsequently, the team emerged victorious even in the Champions League Twenty20 2010. Even on national duty, India defeated a series of teams both home and away. They became the No. 1 Test side and retained the place for more than a year before the English horror.

Undoubtedly, the pinnacle of his achievement was India's victory in the ICC Cricket World Cup 2011. He ably motivated a team with an excellent mix of youth and experience and led the team to the zenith. He was praised for his cool-headed way of looking at things. MS Dhoni never lost his composure even in the tensest of situations. He was one man who could never be flustered. It was if Dhoni could never put a foot wrong. He even figured in the "Time 100 2011" List, a list of the 100 most influential people.

Nevertheless, all good things come to an end, don't they? And the English summer tour which just concluded showed how a success story can come crashing down. India failed to win a single match on tour. They were affected by a spate of injuries (9 in all) and the hurried replacements sent in were not match fit to say the least. It was a collective failure in all departments and by the end of the tour, the body language of the Indians said it all. Even Dhoni's motivation couldn't pump up the team.

The tour has brought Dhoni a lot of negative repute. However, I feel that Dhoni is not much to blame in this. The team lacked sufficient bench strength and the whole board of selectors should take collective responsibility for not properly grooming a good reserve set of players. Look at the Australian side which dominated world cricket for a decade and a half. That team had excellent reserves. Even if a few players were injured, the team always looked threatening as always. This is what lacked in the team. The absence of a genuine all-rounder too was genuinely felt. And, for the first time, MSD looked so grim and devoid of life in the press conferences. This terrible tour has surely taken a toll on him.

But don't lose hope! Captain Cool has the uncanny knack of turning things around when they are at their worst. He sees the silver lining in the clouds and the light at the end of the tunnel. He will surely use the upcoming tournament, Champions League Twenty20 to prove all his critics wrong. Who knows, we might just see the Chennai Super Kings win the tournament for the second consecutive time!

Mahendra Singh Dhoni is one man you can never write off and the next time he dons India's colors, be sure to except a blitzkrieg from a resurgent Indian side. Leave your thoughts below and let me know.

गुरु ब्रह्मा गुरु विष्णु गुरु देवो महेश्वर: |
गुरु साक्षात् परब्रह्मा तस्मै श्री गुरवे नमः ||

Hello everyone!! Before I begin, let me explain the verses in Sanskrit above.

The first line श्री गुरुभ्यो नमः means salutation to the Guru or the Teacher. The next two lines imply that a Guru is the representative of Brahma, Vishnu, and Shiva (the three presiding deities of Hinduism). He creates and sustains knowledge and further destroys the weeds of ignorance. I salute such a Guru.

This is a sloka recited by Indians in honor of their Guru or Teacher. Today is the 5th of September and it is celebrated as Teacher's Day across India. Happy Teacher's Day to all the wonderful teachers!

September 5th is the birth anniversary of India's first Vice President and second President, Dr. Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan. He was a much-acclaimed teacher, and his legacy continues to live to this day. It was his suggestion that instead of celebrating his birthday, it would be great if it is celebrated as Teacher's Day in honor of all the teachers and not just him.

Most of us often don't realize how important our teachers are and tend to neglect them and even forget them over time. Well, Teacher's Day serves as a reminder to all those forgetful people. A teacher is one of the most paramount individuals in your life after your parents and imparts learning to you. Moreover, (s)he also teaches you how to live, how to serve society and above all, how to be a good human being.  Teachers are the unsung heroes of society. Their contributions go unnoticed. They are the cutting tools which transform uncut diamonds into a dazzling human being. In fact, they are the backbone of human civilization. I would even say that they are the real gems of our times.

This Teacher's Day, contact your teachers via phone, email, Facebook, or any other platform, and let them know how important they are to you and the difference they have made in your lives. And for all those forgetful people, remember your teachers and cherish them not just today but on every single day of your existence on this wonderful planet. You should be really indebted to have them.

Tell me what you feel about this article. Share it with your teachers and friends so that they can share it with their teachers and so on. Most importantly, let your teachers know that you care for them and express your gratitude towards them. They will be very happy, and it will make their day.

श्री गुरुभ्यो नमः||

So, what was all this hue and cry about? Surprisingly, many people do not even know what the whole fuss was about. Allow me to deconstruct this for you in a clear and lucid way.

Basically, the Lokpal Committee is an organization designed to root out the menace of India – yes, you guessed it – Corruption. Lokpal basically means an ombudsman to weed out corruption from India. This idea of a Lokpal for the nation was mooted when India gained freedom (yes, so many years ago). Moreover, it was decided that a Lokayukta committee would be set up at the State level too. All these organizations at the national and state level were supposed to prevent corruption by Central Government and State Government officials. As I said in my previous post, our country has excellent policies, but we fail to implement them. Post-Independence, the Government was supposed to create such a committee, but it never happened.

In fact, Karnataka is the only state which passed the resolution and has a fully functioning Lokayukta today. Everywhere else, it is defunct. Over the years, it has been tried time and again to get such a resolution passed on the floor of the House. But nothing ever materialized.

Enter Anna Hazare. A Gandhian in belief and thought and a well-known public activist, he finally decided it was time to make it happen. After repeated appeals to the Government failed, he fasted earlier this year for about a week that a strong Lokpal should be brought into force. The Government was initially adamant but later agreed that by August 15 the bill shall be passed. It also agreed to Hazare's demand that a strong and effective Lokpal bill will be put into place. Anna took the Centre's word and called off his fast. The people were jubilant, and it was viewed as a victory for democracy.

August 15 passed and the Lokpal bill of the Government was toothless. Anna decided to go on a fast again until his demands were met for a fully charged-up Lokpal. The recent events are fresh in our mind, and we know the way Parliament tormented the Gandhian before finally relenting.

Ok, let all this be. So, what exactly is the big deal? The thing is there are two Lokpal bills - one given by the Government and the other by Team Anna. Let us analyze both and we will soon find out that both the bills have their own set of flaws.

The Government's Lokpal Committee has the PM, Vice President and other members in the Committee. It only investigates high-level corruption and can only make recommendations to the judiciary to prosecute offenders. It basically has no powers and all the high officials like the PM are out of its ambit. Moreover, there is no protection for whistleblowers. The only positive aspect I can see is that the Committee is answerable to the judiciary.

On the other hand, Team Anna's Jan Lokpal Bill is armed to the teeth. The entire bureaucracy can be investigated and the Lokpal Committee can impose sentences if the accused is found guilty. Even the PM is under the watchful eyes of the Lokpal. Initially, the judiciary was also supposed to be under the Lokpal, but Team Anna later gave up this demand after the Government promised a strong Judicial Accountability Bill (click here to know more). Whistleblowers too are given adequate protection. The only drawback as far as I know is that this committee is like the Almighty and is above the three organs of the democracy (Executive, Legislature, Judiciary). Anna also demanded a citizen charter which is a noteworthy step in the right direction.

Of course, the Jan Lokpal is far better than the Government's version but the only hitch which can be its bane is zero accountability. This can cause dictatorship. This should be addressed as soon as possible.

All said and done, there was also a major debate recently on whether a hunger strike is a good way to bend the Government and make it listen to you. If this was true, every Tom, Dick and Harry would start fasting. But no, this is not the case. Hunger strike is a last resort option. People are fighting for a Lokpal for the past 60 years. Only now after being fed up did Anna go on a fast. I think that should clear misconceptions.

With the Government accepting Anna's demands, India celebrated and it had every reason to do so. It was also a victory for democracy. But there is still a lot of work to be done. And even the citizens can help. Don't bribe that traffic constable the next time around.

You can read more about the two Lokpal bills here.

Inquilab Zindabad!!

Again, shall I say, so we thought. Because all this was simply not to be. Soon after attaining freedom, we faced infiltration from unfriendly neighbors for a specific state called Kashmir. That issue troubles us to this day and has given an ugly by-product called terrorism. Terrorism has reared its ugly head time and again. For more on this, read my recent piece on the terrorist attacks that shook Mumbai.

India is a free country but the problems which plague us today in effect nullify it. Take poverty for instance. Yes, it has reduced by a great deal from 1947 to 2011. However, it is still the single largest issue affecting the Indian Union today. Moreover, the problem is that all the mechanisms to reduce this are in place but they are simply not functioning. We have NREGA to alleviate poverty. Everyone knows that it doesn't give results how it is expected to give. Then, there is the Public Distribution System which is supposed to distribute grains but ends up filling the distributor's coffers. The root cause is corruption. Corruption has engulfed every facet of society. All schemes are drawn up with great fanfare but everything, yes everything, succumbs to corruption. We all know what happened in the CWG Scam or 2G Scam. I don't wish to elaborate.

If it is not corruption, it is mismanagement. For the past few years, the farmers of India have toiled and toiled and produced bumper harvests year after year. The excess grains have been given to be stored in the FCI Godowns. In such a situation, you would think that the country would be free from hunger and starvation. But, that's hardly the truth. Hunger and starvation levels refuse to come down. The recent media expose showed how grains were rotting in the godowns in the rains and being eaten up by rats in the dry season. If this is the state of affairs what will happen when we are actually short of food?

And, we have the other big menace of caste in our country. SC, ST, OBC, MBC, blah blah. The Father of the Nation, Mahatma Gandhi envisaged that India will be truly free only when it is free of caste, poverty, and hunger. Poverty remains. Hunger continues. And most saddeningly, caste continues to thrive in 21st century India. It continues to survive in a country which boasts of 9% growth driven forward by a highly successful IT sector which supports the United States.

Alright, enough of the bashing. India is not just a country of negatives. There are a whole lot of positives as well!! 😃

We are the world's second largest growing economy behind China. We have an IT sector which is running the whole world. The culture and diversity of India is unmatched and despite so many issues, we live together in a multi-cultural land. We have a rich history and beautiful heritage. When the British ruled us, India showed how it can be as a united force. It is time to show that spirit to the world again!

So, are we really free? I would say the answer is yes and no. Can we achieve former President APJ Abdul Kalam's dream of India 2020. Maybe. Maybe not. Nevertheless, it is the people who can do it. As the old maxim goes, "Where there is a will, there is a way".

This is what I think on India's 65th Independence Day. Let me know what you think in the comments section below. And enjoy this YouTube video which is the country's national anthem along with English translations.

Jai Hind!

The most followed and the most popular league is the Barclays English Premier League (or EPL for short) in which the top 20 teams of England battle it out for ultimate glory. The EPL turns friends into foes and enemies into buddies every single year. Every season has its set of fireworks, and this season promises to be another explosive one!

Transfer speculation was terrific and interesting throwing up out-of-the-world headlines as it is every year with all tabloids competing with each other for the latest news more fiercely than the 20 EPL teams. This year had the most rumors on Sneijder, Nasri, and Fabregas with none of them being yet confirmed. It was highly entertaining to watch dramatic reports being churned out everyday. In future, I think a Newspaper Premier League can be started! 😉

Well, the 20 teams are not the same every year. Each season, the bottom three are relegated to the lower division and the top three of the lower league are promoted to the Premier League. The 20 teams this year are Arsenal, Aston Villa, Blackburn Rovers, Bolton Wanderers, Chelsea, Everton, Fulham, Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United, Newcastle United, Norwich City, Queens Park Rangers, Stoke City, Sunderland, Swansea City, Tottenham Hotspur, West Bromwich Albion, Wigan Athletic, and Wolverhampton Wanderers.

Manchester United, who won the league for a record 19th time last season are the defending champions. They will of course look to snatch that for a 20th time. The other strong contenders are Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester City, and Tottenham. Chelsea will look back to get their crown which they last won in 2009-2010. They will analyze their astonishing mid-season slump last year after having the best start ever to an EPL season. Moreover, Arsenal would sacrifice even their bodies to win a title because it is such a long time since they put their hands on some worthy silverware!!! Liverpool will be glad to forget last season and take solace in the fact that a certain Rafa Benitez isn't their manager. 😉

Alright, jokes apart. This EPL season is going to be one of the toughest and most hardly contested League in recent times. Ferguson, Wenger, Dalglish, Villas-Boas et al will all be out to prove their mettle. The stage is set for one cracker of a season. So, pull out your jersey and shout for your team!!! Wondering who my favorite is? It is the Red Devils. United forever!!! 😃

Cheers!!

Both the teams had fantastic captains. England had Andrew Strauss who led them to an Ashes victory. Moreover, Strauss had an excellent record as captain in Tests. If England had the dependable Strauss as captain, India had the charismatic and dynamic M. S. Dhoni as their skipper. On a high after leading India to victory in the World Cup and a triumphant Chennai Super Kings in the Indian Premier League, a lot was expected from the 30-year-old Dhoni who also has a reputation of being able to handle immense pressure with ease.

It was expected to be an exciting and highly entertaining contest between the two teams. There were also various impending landmarks. Sachin Tendulkar was on the threshold of a ton of tons. Furthermore, it so happened that the trio of Sachin, Dravid and Laxman had 99 test centuries in between them before the start which would also become 100 if any of them scored a ton.

Then, numerous comparisons were made between the two sides in aspects like batting, bowling, fielding. India had a line-up full of superstars who are capable of demolishing any line-up. Whereas, England had a batting order of consistent batsman who knew their job. While England had a superb pace battery, India looked threatening only with Zaheer Khan around. In the spin department, Graeme Swann was recently crowned the world's No. 1 bowler while India's Harbhajan Singh a.k.a. Bhajji recently attained the landmark of 400 Test wickets and was hungry for more.

All these statistics and landmarks were in the end futile. What was supposed to be an enthralling Test and be an advertisement for Test matches turned out to be what I think was a horribly one-sided affair. Except for some flashes of brilliance in a couple of sessions for India, England held all the aces led by a dominant Kevin Pietersen. India were a pale shadow of the champion side we saw them to be in the past few months. The visitors were humbled and by the end of the match England were on a high and rightly so.

In my view, the reason for the sudden poor performance of the Indians due to the absence of Zaheer Khan and Virendar Sehwag is the lack of a nice and big bench strength and the absence of genuine all-rounders. These two have been the bane of Indians  for a very long time. On the other hand, England were a confident bunch and believed in themselves. Apart from the home support, they were in the right frame of mind whereas the Indians saw it more as a warm-up game like against Somerset.

All said and done, the stage for the second Test starting today has been set. A wounded India will be out to prove a point and justify their numero uno status. Nonetheless, a resurgent England would like to build on the advantage and seal the fate of the Indians. The next 5 days will show which team held their nerve this time. May the best team win!

Cheers!! Happy reading!!

It is the beginning of a new era. Professors just outline the chapter. As students, we have to fill in the gaps using whatever resources available. Apart from examinations, we have to cope with newer ways of testing like projects, group work, quizzes etc. These existed in school but were always classified as non-evaluative and were seen as leisure activities. Terminologies change. A small example is teacher becoming professor. Moreover, professors don't ask you to submit assignments or study for the forthcoming tests. The onus and responsibility is on us. If you wish to improve your life, complete them and study. Or else, leave them. No one will bother. Furthermore, the art of time management comes to the fore. It was irrelevant at school if you participated in the extra-curricular activities or not. Anything could be given a miss in the name of studies. But now, you have to study well and at the same time take part in activities to improve yourself as a human being. As I said, it is the art of time management.

College is the transition period before we go out and live in the world all on our own. School was a time when we were completely in the nice, cozy nest of our parents with all our needs taken care of. College helps us to be independent and live in the world all by ourselves as that time we won't have a cozy nest to safeguard ourselves. It helps us to change and transform. It is a necessary stage in our lives. It is a vital cog in the process of being dependent to independent. As our dean said, "It is the time to cut the umbilical cord."

Until next time,

Cheers!!

This is just one example of the various environmental "eyewash" policies by the Government. Not just in India, but across the world. There are numerous environmental "sweet talk" policies put forth by various countries but they all lack teeth. We have had Kyoto, Copenhagen, Cancun, and numerous summits with talking heads and empty press conferences. They fight on how to dilute whatever agreements are reached because "development" shouldn't be hampered. I mean, what gibberish is this? Development shouldn't be hampered? What development will you have if you don't have a planet to live on? There is only one EARTH!! Such doublespeak in the name of the environment by talking about environmental preservation on one hand and making destruction of the planet easier on the other hand is worthless and a complete waste of time. It is just about garnering publicity, votes, and political mileage.

However, it is not only the governments to blame. What are common citizens doing to protect the environment? It is just not blaming the government. We should even look in what ways we as individuals and as a society can help. The age-old suggestions of carpooling, switching off unnecessary fans and lights, and turning off the tap when not required hold good even today. You might balk at me saying all this is too old and I don't need to tell you this. But the reason I am telling this is because many people do not even follow these simple rules to make a change for the better. Things like switching off the car at a red signal must not be told a hundred times. Nevertheless, even if it is told a thousand times, people don't heed the advice. Such small things go a long way. The oft-repeated phrase, "Little drops of water make a mighty ocean" holds a lot of water.

Societies can also do their bit to help. For example, all buildings can install solar water heaters on the terrace. This will help to reduce, if not eliminate the dependence on geysers. Also, solar cells can be placed on rooftops. This way, the building can be partly self-reliant and reduce its dependence on electric power from the grid. There have also been some interesting inventions which I have come across. One of them was replacing the glass on corporate buildings with solar cells with the same transparency and properties. This is a brilliant idea in fact and companies should look how to implement them to their greatest advantage. It will definitely reduce the burden on power generation to a large extent. The possibilities are limitless and their applications exciting.

Moreover, even governments should implement more stringent policies to preserve the environment. In recent times, the government tried a lot but was just arm-twisted by the companies. This is extremely saddening. Corruption is also a reason for this. To make money, they forgo environmental procedures to fill their coffers. Officers and ministers should be more honest and realize that the environment comes above money. In fact, we have many good policies, but their implementation leaves a lot to be desired.

Let's hope that the people change for the better and governments mend their ways to preserve our dear planet.

Cheers!!

In India, all government jobs and admissions to higher educational institutions under the purview of the government have reservations. A certain percentage of seats are reserved for the lower castes like Scheduled Castes (SC), Scheduled Tribes (ST) and Other Backward Classes (OBC). This policy has been highly debated in the country. Both pro-reservation and anti-reservation groups vehemently argue for their point of view. The country has stood witness to innumerable debates, talk shows, protest marches and even police lathi charge on unruly mobs in this regard.

So, how did all this begin? Originally started by the British and later endorsed by our freedom fighters, most notably Gandhi and Ambedkar, it was meant to provide equal representation to all sections of the society. India has a very rigid caste system, and in the olden days, the lower castes were mistreated a lot. They were poor, deprived, and lived in abominable conditions. They were forbidden to mingle with the "upper castes" and were looked upon as sub-humans. They were made to do all menial jobs and were even forbidden to enter places of worship. Moreover, they were denied to even receive proper education. Hence, the reformers of the day opined that by providing reservations, these people will get equal representation and moreover, help society to change their impression about these people.

Post-independence, India's founding fathers decided to allot reservations for the SC and ST classes and also ruled that the situation should be reviewed every 10 years (it must be noted that the review was only for political reservations while educational reservations had no such deadline). Successive governments extended this provision every 5 years. Later, reservations were introduced even for the OBC section of the people. It might seem very fair and fine but there are many aspects which we should consider.

First of all, the real poor and deprived individuals who should benefit from this are not getting anything. As India developed through the years, the economic conditions changed and even a select group of people from the so-called "lower classes" have become rich and prosperous. However, these people continue to draw the advantages of this system and the real people for whom the system is meant remain in the same, pitiable state. Under the name of caste system, even incapable people make use of it and prosper. There is yet another important aspect to reservations. The reason why successive governments continued the system of reservation was that they started indulging in caste-based politics. Essentially, the population was divided into vote banks and political parties started to appeal to each caste separately. This was another reason apart from religion for the parties to indulge in divisive politics. The country was, and still is, engulfed by communal and caste-based politics. This is a sad state of affairs.

The protests which ensued when successive committees and commissions increased reservations echoed throughout the country. Castes were up in arms against each other. The "upper castes" said it was unfair. The "lower castes" accused the "upper castes" of taking all benefits. It was extremely ugly. Normal life was disrupted across the length and breadth of the nation.

The "lower castes" had merit in whatever they said. It was true to a certain extent that upper castes had a lot of benefits. However, before we draw conclusions, we need to look into yet another facet of the reservation drama. Over the past few decades after reservation started, it has so happened that the "lower castes" are actually making hay. For instance, the system of reservation exists in admission to institutes of learning. Essentially, for these people, the cut-offs are lowered so that they also have a fair chance of qualifying. Alright, everything seems very fair. But the problem started when these cut-offs became atrociously low and even incapable people started to have an unfair advantage. Another area where reservations are increasingly misused is government jobs. There are a certain portion of seats which are reserved. Now, I told you about the rich "lower castes", isn't it? These people started to use their money power to get these seats where the demand is comparatively lower than the general seats. Corruption is a rampant issue in India. And, then you have a deadly combination when corruption is combined with reservations. This is what angers the "upper castes" the most.

Reservation is a good system. I do not deny it. But the way it is implemented needs urgent review. The system was actually meant to benefit the poor people who also happened to belong to the lower castes. Nevertheless, times have changed, and the wrong people are benefiting now. How should we handle the situation? If we really want to give equal representation, we should change the system and instead, base it on economic status. Many people who belong to the "upper castes" and are poor do not get any benefit. We should implement a system based on economic status so that the people who are actually underprivileged can compete on an equal scale. I do realize that this is a double-edged sword and incomes can be faked. The onus is on policymakers to figure out how one can reduce the opportunity for fraud. Moreover, the government should undertake necessary steps to see that the economic inequality is minimized in the nation. And then, the system should be done away with once it is assessed that all are on an equal footing.

Also, another point to be looked into is where reservation is implemented and whether it is worthwhile and sensible to have reservations in that field. Take for example, the system of reservations in the higher education sector. First of all, we need a proper primary and high school educational system so that people have the basic education. It so happens that the level of primary and high school education in the public sector is very poor. If you don't have people who can pass even high school and junior college, will reservation in higher educational institutions do any good? This is an important question and needs to be addressed by the Centre.

These are my own personal views, and I don't intend to hurt anybody's personal feelings and sentiments. If anybody has been offended, please let me know. I am of course open to more opinions and perspectives to refine my perspective. So, in general, what do you think? Leave your comments below. Share with your friends by clicking on the various buttons below. Or even personally tell them 😉

Also, watch the YouTube video below which is an excerpt of the interview Tom Weisskopf gave to NDTV. It looks at reservations from a completely different angle.

So, why do these blasts happen? This is of course, a most logical question. It shows the blatant intelligence failures and the softness of Indian cities as a target. Indian intelligence has often been a weak point for terrorists to exploit.

And it is imperative that the Centre acts on this in time before another blast. Well, the reason is because there are a whole bunch of agencies to start with, which collect intelligence. In addition, these agencies don't share this "classified" information among themselves due to reasons best known to them. It was this sort of non-information sharing which led to 26/11. All the intelligence was there but it was split up among different agencies. The Centre has mooted the proposal of NATGRID to tackle this problem. However, it is far away from implementation due to red-tapism and government inaction. It needs to be put on the fast track.

It has been three long years since 26/11. There were several proposals to improve the robustness of security. But they have still not been implemented. However, the terror strikes have continued. How long will red-tapism continue to derail the safety of this country?

We need solutions instead of talking heads on television channels. Every time after a blast, we have dozens of shows talking nothing but nonsense.

So, what are the solutions? Firstly, we need to beef up the police and give them better weapons. A policeman with a .303 rifle can't even protect himself, forget the citizens. Next, the politicians should stop interfering in the police regarding transfers and personnel changes. The police know best regarding that. Moreover, there have been various reports about politicians being cozy with the underworld. All such people must be rounded up and thrown behind bars. We also need to strengthen our intelligence. NATGRID should be implemented as soon as possible. Even the UID program, Aadhaar will help a lot in this regard. Lastly, our bureaucracy needs to be accountable and efficient. Corruption will continue to be a roadblock not just for development but also security. The Lokpal Bill is something which the Government should put high on its priority list.

I would like to end with a message to the terrorists. Stop this jihadi nonsense and be sane. Whatever you do, you cannot stop us. And we will win ALWAYS.

Let truth be upheld.