Are memories really good ?

Now that we have voluntarily uploaded all our personal life on the internet, specifically on the servers of Facebook & Twitter. We have time to actually go down the memory lane and look through our timeline. These experiences were un-attainable before the era of black & white photography, which when viewed brought some nostalgia to our lives, not that it doesn't now, but we prefer attaching a black & white filter to our high pixelated coloured photograph to bring the same effect. But the point is, should we go down the memory lane sometimes or often or may be never ?

Lets try to analyse this situation based on what we have been taught since childhood. The latin phrase "Carpe Diem" tells us- make most of the present and give little thought to the future. Lord Buddha tells us अतीत पे धयान मत दो, भविष्य के बारे में मत सोचो, अपने मन को वर्तमान क्षण पे केन्द्रित करो which means- Do not dwell in the past, do not dream of the future, concentrate the mind on the present moment.

So things pretty much direct us towards living in the present moment, does that mean we should not think about our  past experiences or does that simply mean we should not worry about what happened before. Is there a filter we need to apply to memories and categorise them as black & white or sepia and edit/delete the unwanted memories. 

India's civilisations like Indus Valley, Harappa, Mohenjo-daro and many old age temples tell us about the architectural history that portray the lives of people in that time frame. So in a way, we are purposefully taken down that lane to show us what happened in  past. Was it because our ancestors wanted us to learn from the knowledge they had gathered over centuries ? Or They wanted to transmit some cultural values in us ? Or Were they equally eager to express their thoughts out front on every wall so as to make the world remember even the tiniest unnecessary detail. May be they just wanted to create history from their present, which they actually have. But wouldn't that violate the very principles which we were taught of seizing the present.

Memory has been attached to us since our childhood, it is because of experiential learning that we do not wish to touch the hot pan again because the classical conditioning integrates into a cognitive behaviour that helps us avoid bad experiences. Some life instances teach us a lot, some are to be remembered and some are to be forgotten. But now that we have so much data to manage as "everything is already on the internet" it becomes quite difficult to handle each and every experience of life in one tone. Our thoughts are posted everywhere by us and we can't even contradict them, even if we want because we start believing that the image which we see of ourselves in the mirror would distort. But thats not who we are, we are liable to change, nothing remains the same neither the weather nor environment. So its better not to create a formwork for ourselves and try to fit inside that space.

But if you become inactive from the virtual world and actually start interacting with people near you, you tend to become socially inactive from people far way or way too near to you. So the "Social Umbilical" can never be permanently cut off.

Photographs take us into the time machine inducing a similar emotion as created in the previous situation. The image triggers chemicals in hippocampus part of the brain which connect us through the Neural Pathways created before. Hence we start sending signals to either re-live the past or create similar situations for the future. Hence browsing through photographs could be effective for creating, a desirable future or an indistinguishable past. But is clicking so many photographs necessary ? Could we live without it ? Of course we Can. But can we live without it ? Of course we Can't.

Most of the data we collect on a regular basis is useless and doesn't need to be added to our timeline very often, I mean the infinite pointless selfies taken from every angle permuted with every facial expression possible. However Groupfies would do :P

Data handling will be an important aspect of the future because of the infinite data we download and upload on the internet. More and more cloud servers and external hard drives to store TB's of data would be required. Although our entire genetic code can be stored on a basic DVD of 1.5 GB. As we are buying more and more data to get a spectrum of information, we are saving lesser information in our brains because we are sure that it would be accessible to us all the time, till the internet remains neutral. It seems we have outsourced our memory capabilities to a smartphone. 

Now that you are doing nothing significant to create history, other than clearing browser history, better take time out to clear some of the data from your Hard Dix (except the genetic code) ;P

UnRoasted India

With the ongoing complex sounding problems like Net Neutrality & Global Financial Crisis, India is facing yet another behind the curtain problem of "Ego Inflation". Indians seem to have a very high sense of Pride for the Nation and even for Oneself. It all started from India being the Golden Bird at some point of time and how can we forget the "Cultural heritage" which we have ruined over the years. 

So what are we really proud of ??

I get it ! that we should always be Optimistic and speak Good but since when did it mean that we cannot handle Offence. People in India just can't handle "Insults". How can a Policeman with an Inferior Income stop me from doing Wrong things? How can a man can make Mockery of my Shortcomings ? Don't you know who I am ?

Well, lets really think upon who we are.....we are the World's Largest Democracy, where the Freedom of Speech under the Article 19 of the Constitution Of India is Honoured but not fully Respected...Why ? Because we are full of Egos and Pride for things that do not matter in today's modern society.

Recently I saw a viral video on YouTube: AIB Knockout roasting Arjun Kapoor and Ranveer Singh and Man!!! they took Insults like a Pro and I throughly enjoyed the show. I wanted to watch it again but the video was removed from YouTube. Why ??Because some Fundamentalists believe it was offensive OMG !! I couldn't believe it.

You Voluntarily signed up for a High Speed Internet connection from your Service Provider with a 5 GHz Router to transmit the Wireless Signal to your costly Macbook so that you could access the world wide web and go on www.youtube.com to watch your favourite channel's video and then you didn't like it. I mean whats the big deal with that, you can dislike, put awful comments and unsubscribe. It wasn't aired on Doordarshan and neither were you forced to watch it.

Its just like asking someone to forcefully cut  Beard or grow one because it is not in accordance with your downgraded likings and disliking. I mean haven't Schools done enough to manufacture students with same mindsets to get jobs in Multinationals or are we still left with Posing our thoughts Forcefully over others.

Our Indian Egos are not satisfied by the click of a button. We need to get things done according to the Genres we like and not let others See, Watch, Hear or Say things that are not liked by few Extremists, Over Ambitious & Overmotivated Ellsworth Toohey's who control Public Opinion.

Why can't we just accept the fact that we don't like certain things, But they Do Exist; Why cant we be okay with the fact that everyone has the right to express and say what they want and not every syllable hurts us to our Core.

This all happens because our country is ruled by Rule-breakers and their Henchmen and not by the Supreme Law which is easily Amended by the Powerful. We need to stop feeling bad and accept the other side of things like Roasts, Insult Comedies this not only helps us see other side of the coin but also clears out the VIP syndrome by removing the air form our Excessively filled blowfish Self-Esteem. 

Now how would you like it if I tell you 

"I can explain it to you, but I can't understand it for you" 

#LearnToTakeInsults
#NoCountryForFunnyMen

Simulated Reality

"One Tip One Hand, Baby Over, Tipi Tipi Top, Ghoda Badam Chai, Sitolia" etc used to be the terms used till the 90's. But now slowly these are becoming extinct coz' now we have a Simulation of Virtual Gaming on each of our Android & iOS Devices.

We have Candy Crush, Hay Day, Leo's Fortune, Ashpalt, NFS, GTA, Monument Valley, Riptide GP2 etc right in our pockets and we need not to go outside to Play Games or get Entertained. 
Games simulate our mind the same way as we act in real life situations, but the actual action is not happening; So basically we are confusing our brains with our eyes open on a costly iPad Air.

Playing games on computer used to be unacceptable during school days, when Mom used to scold us by giving the threat that "If you play too many games, you may spoil your eyesight"

The irony being, now we teach our parents about the new apps on the Playstore and the question whether "Playing games on iPad/Tablet is Good or Bad....remains an unsolved problem"

But why are these innocent Free Games abysmal after all? And secondly why are people forcing us to play them ? Or are they ? May be not..who knows ?

Grandparents used to tell us to play outside, but we have enclosed ourselves in a room in-order to play with friends around the globe. I loved playing games since childhood & I play them till I Complete them. But nowadays, Games do not end. There are infinite levels in each and every one of them and thousands of incentives to keep you sticked. So what do we do ? Should we Play a Little and Delete or Play only 1 and try to Complete or May be we dont play them and Enter Reality.

Games today are a Trap, although Apps were meant for improving our lives by making a device do more and Games were a part of it too, so as to fill in the void of time.

The integration of Social Networking has "actually" made us believe that we are playing with our Friends. Although technically we do. 

Our body secretes similar chemicals while playing games that it would emanate in Real Life Situations and thus gaming feels soo real and we tend to like it more and more. But the action is not happening in practical life, neither are we able to touch the Object nor are we actually doing Work.

I am not onto the Nintendo where you can Play Tennis and Boxing etc with a small stick in your hand. I am yet to analyse the intricacies of it. But the games we play daily on a flat tablet or computer has Questioned my Existence !

We are only giving commands/signals to get a work done. This is what happens in Day Dreaming, we get a thought and start feeling in the direction we wish to. Only that we do not have to accept any License Agreement, nor do we have Advertisements. But we do have distractions in our mind that stop us from dreaming. So why pay and Play Games when u can Dream for Free ?

After getting Frustrated from 7 games on my tablet simultaneously and waiting for 2 minutes more so that my airport gets upgraded to Level 47 really made me think that all the effort I applied on this silly 7 inch tablet, had I done some Physical Labour, I would have owned a real Aerodrome. 

At the end Conclusion seems simple that we shouldn't play too much Games. But hey, which level are u on Candy Crush ? Coz u keep sending me that extra life as a Good Gesture ;p

What Is Our Future ?

Despite being in a phase where I am yet to decide, What am I going to do with my Life? I am confused with the question, What is the future of Mankind? Not that I care less about my future prospects of becoming a Resource to the Family.

With the increasing complexity of the world which confuses us in day to day affairs of our lives. I am wondering what will happen to us in the ultimate future. Will we be like "The Jetsons", living a High-Tech life of cars Flying in the sky Or will we move to the Moon as shown in WALL-E because of destruction of Earth which according to 2012 should already have taken place.

Whichever the case may be, the medical science will take over tremendously, increasing our life expectancy more than average. Too sad for those who have been sentenced for more that 250 years in U.S Prisons.

Various Futurologists and several successful CEO's suggest that the future of mankind is "COMMUNICATION"

This is what the Western Culture has been trying to teach us over the years. Be it Social Networking, Instant Messaging, Blogging or Telecommunication. We are coming close to the "Star Trek" situation where, by mere tapping of chip on our shoulder would we be able to communicate among our fellow beings. Our thoughts would create signals that would help communicate with the person we wish to talk to. 

In all this process of advancement of technology we never thought about "What?" are we going to communicate. Or even the deeper question; Was Man born to Communicate by sharing their lives over a Complex Coded Sophisticated Network which we call the World Wide Web. Or Man was born for higher pursuits like finding the purpose of life, discovering the Realms of his own Brain by increasing the psychic powers, as our Sages used to do. But it seems we have off-shored the potential of Human Brain through the ionosphere to a bunch of pinheaded gadgets.

I don't wish to put any light on the advantages of communication media, which has definitely changed our lives. But I believe that too much sharing of thoughts has Complexified our Worlds, as we have gathered a pile of prerequisite information and history is becoming huge day by day. We may have servers at Google that can handle Terabytes's of data, but we sometimes need to Empty our Brains so as to view the true purpose. With the advancement of technology, communication would become much faster, but life will become more complex as every next generation would require more and more data to process so as to catch up with the ever growing Threshold of Information.

I wish the Sages of India had not been so protective about the Knowledge of Salvation that they possessed. Now we have a faster medium of communication, but have nothing substantial to Communicate.

This explains why I didn't blog for so long !!

Circle Of Boastfulness

Ever wondered, why do Rich & Less Scholarly Politicians & Businessmen say things like- "Mera baccha London se padhke aaya hai". Or when a Clerk boasts about "Mera beta IIT/IIM se hai".

Although these things don't bother me at all, but this is yet another example of Compensating your underachievement with the Successive Generation. This is only the start of a vicious circle. If my Dad was a pass-out form Harvard university and I couldn't get there, may be because of Circumstances or may be I wasn't Capable enough, doesn't make me an failure at any level.

If u look at the root cause of it, you will find Politicians again, who can afford an Unrealistic value for money Exchange Program for their Child, sponsored to do a job at Starbucks & living as a Second Grade Citizen, just so that his father/mother can speak to his fellow mates about the achievements of his child as mine have come to a halt.

In other case where a Babu becomes extremely Egotist thereby increasing his daily dose of "Kharcha Paani" or becomes totally, a Materialistic Ascetic because of the Unending System of providing Privilege to all the Sections of the Society, not because they are Poor, but because they have a Privileged Surname.

I don't wish to touch on the lines on Aarakshan. But I am onto the point where, Proud parents feel the continuous Urge to validate themselves with the Scholastic Achievements of their children.

I consider myself to be a Privileged child as my Parents are unconcerned about my Result. They ask me only if I have passed the exam; Or Are they supposed to provide me fees for reappearing in exam? Although I have never provided them such prerogative, despite Spoiling their habit by scoring good marks in School. I believe in staying down to earth. 

May be this is the reason that makes my parents proud, for a child whose Self Esteem is Sufficient that he does not need us promoting his Minor Scholastic Achievements in front of everyone. 

This does Prove that I am quite against a lot of Requisite Norms of getting a Brand Tag over me. But I am Happy to be born in a place where I have Freedom of Thought and Speech. I just wonder when this Attitude transcends in our entire country.

The Cloak Of Euphemisms

We live in a society where we have developed an intolerance towards truth. People have no resistance towards insults and hence, direct form of speech is fading out. Although language is becoming more formal and respectful in many ways, but it should not be to the level that it alters the feelings behind it.

Let me make my point clear by making a positive example. These days we do not call a crippled man as handicapped, instead we use terms like Physically Challenged or Differently Abled. However referring to an old man as senior citizen is not a problem. The problem is the manipulation of truth, by government, media and organisations publishing factual information.

We seem to have a lot of trouble dealing with reality. Poor people used to live in slums, but these days the underprivileged or economically disadvantaged occupy the substandard housing in inner cities. These are mere broke penniless people in abysmal condition but the higher authorities sugar coat it, as if these people have a negative cash flow.

Moreover the government or the politicians don't lie these days, they engage in disinformation. Print media glorifies even the worse human conditions and makes it a catchy statement, complex to be understood by a normal human brain thereby decreasing the true impact of the current scenario.

The top 1% of the population which controls the world has modified language at their convenience to conceal their sins. These people have been misleading us into believing that if u change the condition, that is going to decrease its intensity. It would have been so great if real life problem could have been solved on a mere piece of paper. Truth is always bitter and it should be left that way.

Euphemisation of real life problems like hunger, poverty, rape, murder is only going to take us away from reality, keeping these issues unresolved. Slavery of women in these days is termed as "trafficking". People who are murdered are coined as missing and those who die because of Military's negligence are termed as "Martyrs". Henchmen do not commit crimes, they make mistakes.

Most of us dont still find this a problem because we have become numb to the realities of life. Continuous use of euphemisms is bad for the countries' health. 

Such aspects of our modern language make me wanna vomit, or rather loose some of my lunch by engaging in an involuntary spill of partially digested food. 

"Ab Ki baar, No Bakwaas Yaar"

Bollywood Aftermath

Late 1940s to the 1960s was considered as the "Golden Age" for Indian Cinema. Some of the most critically acclaimed films were made during this period. It was the time of portrayal of Idealism on Celluloid to establish ideologies that people could imbibe in their real lives.

Then came the time for modern cinema from the late 1960s to early 1980s where the rebellious image of an "Angry Young Man" was established to give people strength to fight for their rights and against injustice.

During the late 1980s to 2000s the pendulum swung back to the family centric romantic musicals where serene love was portrayed with some commercial viability and the soaring box office figures started fascinating the producers.

Bollywood's progress was a parabola facing upwards in terms of content as well as economy. Even without a high pixel density, the cinema had the power to form people's opinion and inject doses of human values and ethics whenever required. But the dimensions of visual media were yet to be explored.

Recently, with the progress of Science & Technology, and the advent of Ultra high Definition Cameras and Retina display, the impact became clearer, quality of sound improved and Virtual Images became indispensable part of our lives.

With the onset of time, as the pixel density of the picture increased, the thought carried by the movie decreased and the "Content" part of the movie was compromised in the race of capitalistic ideas. Films were being appreciated for their reach to a wider audience, over the "thought" they communicated.

As the social media prevailed, success became a chain reaction and a direct link was established for the fans. Selling of underrated, mediocre ideas became much easier due to a flexible market. The content quality was lowered to the requirements of the inferior taste of the audience.

Bollywood's Aim, which could have been to improve the intellectual standards of the people was burnt at the stake and people were served deliberately with abusive language, item numbers, cheap slogans to titillate their minds & bring out the devil hidden inside them. Female were objectified to corrupt people, taking the western culture as a shield. Although Hollywood movies built an audience with patience; Bollywood preferred quick profits over training the masses.

Social Image and market value of celebrities were exploited by the directors and even small achievements were awarded with national awards. Appreciation of work seems a good idea to keep a person motivated. But when it is done at an underachiever level, then comes a problem of falling short of role models. A debutant with a single movie becomes an epitome of success and people aspire to be at that susceptible position. People want to establish their place in industry not by their work, but by their popularity charts. 

Quick success seems a dream for everyone and therefore the long lastingness in the industry becomes difficult. As a result they become a part of a Supply Chain where they are Highly Replaceable thereby turning into a mere Commodity in a Society lacking essential thrust for Excellence.

Criticisms could be unending, but as a consumer we can only learn to appreciate real art over mediocrity.