Quriosity - 3

Who says there aren't pretty woman on Dalal Street :) She for one is pretty and talented. Identify her and her more famous father?





Answer (Highlight to View): Roshni Nadar (Executive Director and CEO of the HCL Corporation) , She is the daughter of Shiv Nadar (founder of HCL)

Quriosity - 2

Identify the painting. Brownie points for the painter.

The Power of a Question Mark

Heterodoxy, until a few years ago, and sometimes even today, was considered a taboo and a path most feared to tread. Why? It is because human beings are uncomfortable with change. There is an innate resistance to question the way things have been and to follow reason to discover the truth that may not only be unraveling but unsettling too. It is easy for us to comfortably pretend that things are perfect the way they have been and that ignorance is bliss. It is here that we surrender reason to superstition.

Perhaps, no symbol, or forms thereof, in the English language is as wonderful as ‘?’. The power to ask questions, to look for answers and to challenge notions has played a far greater role in the development of civilizations than all of man’s other tools put together. While we were being taught the fundamentals of research, at our orientation in CCS, we were told that every good research project begins with a good research question – a ‘?’ seeking answers to or challenging pre-conceived notions about the way the society works. This would not only serve as the keystone of our research here but also for any other task that we would embark upon in our future.

Whether it is laying down rules and policies for the world’s largest democracy, delivering products and services to millions as a corporate entity, as a liberal think tank or even as an individual fighting for his/her rights, we must realize the immense power of asking the right kind of questions. Rather than accepting things at face value, we need to approach things with positive criticism. We need to question why things are they way they are and vision what if they were different. We need to look for solutions beyond what our surroundings have conditioned us to.

 The only thing that separates man from animal is his ability to reason beyond the obvious, and if we surrender the one faculty that sets us apart, we would send the civilization back a million years.

A recent article that I came across on the Web, which triggered this chain of thought:

http://clearwater-uk.com/MyBlog/2010/02/28/five-monkeys-a-banana-and-corporate-culture/

Simpler Graphic

http://i.snag.gy/kdu77.jpg

Quriosity - 1

Poster for which Bollywood movie ? Which movie's poster is it inspired from ?

Rashmirathi - Krishna Ki Chetaavni

Rashmirathi is a poem by Ram Dhari Singh Dinkar which I came across while watching videos from the movie Gulaal. Piyush Mishra recites than piece in a manner that leaves you in complete awe. The poem in itslef is a marvel.

Piyush Mishra's recitation:

"As per the original agreement Pandavas were to get back their kingdom when they returned from 14 years exile in the forests. But Duryodhan refused to oblige and part with the land. Lord Krishna came to Duryodhan to persuade him to see the reason and give Pandavas at least five villages where they could live peacefully. Refusal of Duryodhan ultimately became the cause of the mother of all war, the unparalleled war of Mahabharat. This excerpt describes the meeting of Lord Krishna with Duryodhan that ended with Krishna announcing the inevitability of war that Duryodhan would surely lose. Dinkars narration is superb and captures the drama beautifully. Meter is perfect and language , as always, very pure. On the eve of Mahabharata War Kunti, went to Karna and requested him to diffuse the war by leaving Duryodhana and coming over to Pandavas side as he was her first born and it was only appropriate for him to fight from the side of Pandavas. A part of Karnas reply in words of Ramdhari Singh Dinkar is given below. Karna says that even as he foresees a defeat for Kauravas, he must fight from the side of Duryodhana. He says that the war is quite pointless yet it is a destiny that has to be fulfilled. - Rajiv K. Saxena"

Here is the full text of the poem:

वर्षों तक वन में घूम घूम, बाधा विघ्नों को चूम चूम

सह धूप घाम पानी पत्थर, पांडव आये कुछ और निखर

सौभाग्य न सब दिन होता है, देखें आगे क्या होता है

मैत्री की राह दिखाने को, सब को सुमार्ग पर लाने को

दुर्योधन को समझाने को, भीषण विध्वंस बचाने को

भगवान हस्तिनापुर आए, पांडव का संदेशा लाये

दो न्याय अगर तो आधा दो, पर इसमें भी यदि बाधा हो

तो दे दो केवल पाँच ग्राम, रखो अपनी धरती तमाम

हम वहीँ खुशी से खायेंगे, परिजन पे असी ना उठाएंगे

दुर्योधन वह भी दे ना सका, आशीष समाज की न ले सका

उलटे हरि को बाँधने चला, जो था असाध्य साधने चला

जब नाश मनुज पर छाता है, पहले विवेक मर जाता है

हरि ने भीषण हुँकार किया, अपना स्वरूप विस्तार किया

डगमग डगमग दिग्गज डोले, भगवान कुपित हो कर बोले

जंजीर बढ़ा अब साध मुझे, हां हां दुर्योधन बाँध मुझे

ये देख गगन मुझमे लय है, ये देख पवन मुझमे लय है

मुझमे विलीन झनकार सकल, मुझमे लय है संसार सकल

अमरत्व फूलता है मुझमे, संहार झूलता है मुझमे

भूतल अटल पाताल देख, गत और अनागत काल देख

ये देख जगत का आदि सृजन, ये देख महाभारत का रन

मृतकों से पटी हुई भू है, पहचान कहाँ इसमें तू है

अंबर का कुंतल जाल देख, पद के नीचे पाताल देख

मुट्ठी में तीनो काल देख, मेरा स्वरूप विकराल देख

सब जन्म मुझी से पाते हैं, फिर लौट मुझी में आते हैं

जिह्वा से काढती ज्वाला सघन, साँसों से पाता जन्म पवन

पर जाती मेरी दृष्टि जिधर, हंसने लगती है सृष्टि उधर

मैं जभी मूंदता हूँ लोचन, छा जाता चारो और मरण

बाँधने मुझे तू आया है, जंजीर बड़ी क्या लाया है

यदि मुझे बांधना चाहे मन, पहले तू बाँध अनंत गगन

सूने को साध ना सकता है, वो मुझे बाँध कब सकता है

हित वचन नहीं तुने माना, मैत्री का मूल्य न पहचाना

तो ले अब मैं भी जाता हूँ, अंतिम संकल्प सुनाता हूँ

याचना नहीं अब रण होगा, जीवन जय या की मरण होगा

टकरायेंगे नक्षत्र निखर, बरसेगी भू पर वह्नी प्रखर

फन शेषनाग का डोलेगा, विकराल काल मुंह खोलेगा

दुर्योधन रण ऐसा होगा, फिर कभी नहीं जैसा होगा

भाई पर भाई टूटेंगे, विष बाण बूँद से छूटेंगे

सौभाग्य मनुज के फूटेंगे, वायस शृगाल सुख लूटेंगे

आखिर तू भूशायी होगा, हिंसा का पर्दायी होगा

थी सभा सन्न, सब लोग डरे, चुप थे या थे बेहोश पड़े

केवल दो नर न अघाते थे, धृतराष्ट्र विदुर सुख पाते थे

कर जोड़ खरे प्रमुदित निर्भय, दोनों पुकारते थे जय, जय .

रामधारि सिंह दिनकर 

'रश्मीरथी'

The Man in the Arena

Below is the most valuable extract from the 35-page speech - 'Citizenship in a Republic' by Theodore Roosevelt. Inspiring indeed.

It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.

The Morality of Free Markets with Michael Sandel

The title and content of this post has been inspired from a book by Michael Sandel, whom I got a chance to meet at the Jaipur Literature Festival this year. For one thing, Professor Sandel is amazing entertainer. He enthralls you with his extremely simple yet profound analogies. And then he makes you stress your grey muscles, makes you think along lines you’d never have imagined and walk those dark corridors of your inner self that you’ve rarely treaded before.

The moment I got to know Professor Sandel was coming for the Jaipur Literature Festival, the urge that lay within me to go to this incredibly amazing event heighted to new levels. The first time I heard about him was when Roshan, a senior and friend, suggested me the ‘Justice with Harvard’ series. It is an introductory compulsory course in philosophy for every undergraduate at Harvard.

 http://www.justiceharvard.org/

The essence of his talk, like always, was a seemingly simple dichotomy: “You are the Principal of a school where the performance of children is deteriorating by the day. The main reason seems to be that the children are not inspired to read enough books. Someone comes up to you with an excellent idea. Pay $2 to a child for every book he/she reads. How many of you would do it? Why?”

Unlike the minority of hands that went up in the air, I was against this solution. For one, by paying children to read the books, you’re destroying the essence of learning. Learning is not only Science, Commerce or Economics. Learning is experience, learning is knowledge that you get by constant voluntary exposure to things that you like. And it is that inherent thirst that drives you to put that education into practical use, to create, to innovate and to find yourself farther than you were yesterday - pushing limits and creating new boundaries. The concept of education cannot be limited to paper. It is in the world around us. I believe that somebody who can dance well is every bit as well educated as one who can solve algebra. It’s just that perspectives are different and extremely sad that the latter is valued much more than the former.

Even if, for the purpose of this argument, we were to assume that education and learning can be confined to reading more and more books, I find the solution majorly flawed in several aspects. For one, what happens to the children’s reading habits when the money stops? How far can you educate them by bribing them to study? How will one ensure the integrity and quality of the education being imparted now that education is no more that actual goal but just the means to the goal – money. To substantiate what I was thinking, Professor Sandel actually told us that one of the effects of this experiment, where it was implemented, was that it resulted in children reading thinner books. The questions are numerous once one starts pondering over them.

However, the counter-arguments posed by those who thought otherwise were, if not entirely convincing, quite impressive. One said that. “By rewarding those who come first in class with monetary incentives, we are giving them more resources so that they can make use of them to advance even further. It’s just a better way of re-distributing resources from the less deserving to the more deserving.” Another argument posed was that the ends justify the means, i.e. , even though it is not the right way to go about it but the forcing children to read more through monetary incentives may arouse their interest in certain fields and may thus help in their education. I could relate well to this argument I have seen this happening to my peers. Forced to read books to crack the Verbal Ability section for CAT, some of them actually liked the practice becoming avid readers.

However, I still feel that, firstly, we interpret the meaning of the word ‘education’ in a much narrower manner than we ought to. Secondly, there is only so much money and free markets can do for you. Education is like evolution. It’s a process that takes place gradually. The path travelled is as important as the milestones crossed. There are certain things money can’t buy, and its better we realize that and take appropriate measure than bargaining for the wrong kind of deals.

Meeting Professor Sandel in person was certainly one of the most amazing experiences I’ve had. I even bought his new book – What Money Can’t Buy and got it personally signed from him.