The Story Of India:The Power of Ideas

The second episode of the legendary documentary by Michael Woods depicts the time in India when ideas started generating in the minds of people and they begin to question the standards. This was the phase in history when philosophers started questioning the old order all over the world; In china Confucius; Old testament in Israel and Greek Philosophers in Europe, but nowhere the questioning was as intense as in India. It was a revoltuionary time for humanity. It depicts the story of various religions which evolved in India especially Buddhism and its effect on Indian civilization and as well as on the world. This story also explains the invasion of Alexander the Great on India and the rule of Mighty kings thereafter like Chandragupta Maurya and his grandson Ashoka which heavily influenced the culture of India. Wood traverses various places throughout the India related to Buddha and unravels the story of how Buddha discovered enlightenment and shares some of his philosophy. 

Then Wood describes the rule of Chandragupta Maurya who ruled all over India from Afghanistan to Assam  and from Kashmir to parts of Tamil Nadu. The Greek ambassadors who visited the capital city of Patna (known as Patliputra as that time) described it as the best city of its time with the city expanding around 9 miles along the banks of the mighty Ganges with palaces lining the riverside. In the end Chandragupta adopted Jainism and lived such a ascetic life that he died of starvation. After him, Bindusara ruled the Mauryan empire. After him came the great ruler Ashoka who expanded the limits of his rule further. Ashoka was a fierce ruler and was involved in lot of violence. His attack on Kalinga(present day Orissa) is said to be one of the most brutal wars in the history of India. 

But the war changed Ashok, he was so moved by the horror of war that he adopted the path of non-violence and for the rest of his life followed the philosophy of Buddha and maintained good relations with neighboring states. Ashoka created a lot of  monuments all over India to preach Buddhism. When India got independent in 1947, the symbol of Ashoka became our national emblem. Ashoka even started various forms of governance to improve the lives of people. 

Steve Jobs Resume

I found the resume of Steve Jobs on internet and I think it deserves to be published.

I think this is splendid. Wow!!!!

Forbes Subscription

Today I completed the first magazine of my subscription of Forbes magazine, the issue of 15 August. It was all about India, its growth and how can it be a great nation after few years if and only if we take some right but difficult steps in the correct direction. It had an article "65 Things We Love about India", listing 65 great things about India on its 65th Independence Day. Moreover, the magazine praised various bureaucratic of India who brought a positive change for nation. Overall it was a good read.

A Tribute to Steve Jobs

Sometimes there are moments in the life, which touch you to the core. One such moment happened to me when I read the biography of Steve Jobs by Walter Issacson. The former managing editor of Time magazine depicts the story of his life in an artistic way. Earlier I had heard of Steve; the legendary entrepreneur and founder of Apple, but now I am little more familiar to his life. Steve was an eccentric, innovative and visionary guy who had the keen sense of judging how thing should be. His life teaches us that facts are not everything, sometimes we have to believe in ourselves, in our sixth sense. He was a college dropout and still he hired some of the best people all around the world. The biography traces his life right from the beginning when he was adopted by Paul and Clara Jobs to the very end when he was on deathbed due to cancer. Steve was very much interested  in Zen teachings and it is said he learnt his love for simplicity from it.

On 5th October 2011, Steve died at an age of 56, don't know whether Apple will survive after him or not. But they will feel the loss for sure. Steve was responsible for quick decisions and binding different departments of the organization together. Whatever Apple does they cannot be leaders without the vision of Steve. The effects are beginning to show, the new iPhone 5 has no wow factor in it. The Apple Maps are a disaster; completely opposite to the perfection Steve craved for. The last time Apple launched such a product 'Mobile Me' in 2008, Steve fired the team lead responsible publicly.

He never did any market research, but believed in his intuition that people will buy this product. He was a magician who had the capability to woo people like the piper. In his lifetime he founded three companies : Apple, Next and Pixar.He believed in simplicity and his products show that. Every product of Apple from Macintosh to iPad was simple to use and futuristic in features. After reading the book I really wanted that maybe Steve Jobs shouldn't have died so soon, so that we can have some more inspiring products. He revolutionized the whole industry by bringing products that changed the viewpoint of people and forced the whole industry to change their plans.

Here are some pics of him I liked:

Some quotes from Steve:

• Again, you can't connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backwards. So you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future. You have to trust in something - your gut, destiny, life, karma, whatever. This approach has never let me down, and it has made all the difference in my life.

• You can't just ask customers what they want and then try to give that to them. By the time you get it built, they'll want something new.

• Do you want to spend the rest of your life selling sugared water or do you want a chance to change the world?

• It is hard to think that a $2 billion company with 4,300-plus people couldn't compete with six people in blue jeans.

• The only problem with Microsoft is they just have no taste. They have absolutely no taste. And I don't mean that in a small way, I mean that in a big way, in the sense that they don't think of original ideas, and they don't bring much culture into their products.

• The only problem with Microsoft is they just have no taste. They have absolutely no taste. And I don't mean that in a small way, I mean that in a big way, in the sense that they don't think of original ideas, and they don't bring much culture into their products.

• Sometimes I believe in God, sometimes I don’t. I think it’s 50-50 maybe. But ever since I’ve had cancer, I’ve been thinking about it more. And I find myself believing a bit more. I kind of – maybe it’s ’cause I want to believe in an afterlife. That when you die, it doesn’t just all disappear. The wisdom you’ve accumulated. Somehow it lives on, but sometimes I think it’s just like an on-off switch. Click and you’re gone. And that’s why I don’t like putting on-off switches on Apple devices.

16/09/2012

From now on I have decided to make regular interval reports to see how am i using my time. What actually I am doing.This will help me in the same way companies use analytics to see their progress. So, for me today started when I woke up at 11 O' clock. I had slept late yesterday night after watching the fourth installment of Mission Impossible Series - The Ghost Protocol. After that I freshened up and had breakfast of fried rice with tea. Then, I took up the newspaper - Economic Times. The newspaper was full of opinions of various people on the new reform agenda unveiled on Friday by the Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. Then, I just had a glance on the 'The Hindu'.

After that, I heard voices coming from kitchen, so I moved there. I saw my freiends preparing something for lunch as cook is on leave on Sunday. We prepared chapatis and heated the tinned curry of 'Kadi Pakoda'. It was delicious. After I had lunch it was around 3 PM. Post lunch, all my friends went to do their daily chores. I also came back to my room and started reading the biography of Steve Jobs. I read about the development of iPhone and cancer complexities of Steve Jobs. After that I started to just browse the internet and watched some videos on YouTube on Apple. I have also started downloading the Windows 8: Preview Edition. Let's See how is the newest edition of Windows is actually.

Then, I saw a ted video on how the usage of thorium reactors can change the energy scenario in the world and can even help us to form colonies in the world. It is five minutes to 5PM now and I am just writing this blog. I have to also send the courier to the mobile guys and I have to rearrange stuff in my closet. I cant believe how fast time passes on. Tomorrow, I have to go office again the weekend is over. :(

Naruto : A Manga

Recently I have started reading Naruto;one of the most famous manga in the world. I started it after a recommendation by a person in his resume online. The story is addictive; it is about an orphan boy who wants to become the strongest ninja in the world. 

Movie Reviews

Just browse a little on Friday and you will see every website's homepage having reviews of movies released that day. So, from now on I have decided I will also start rating the movies I watch and keep updating the same on this blog. Now, the question arises how should one review a movie, there should be a set of parameters on whose basis we can rate a movie. After a lot of thinking and research I have come on the following attributes required in a good movie :

• Screenplay/Story
• Cinematography
• Casting
• Soundtrack 
• Depiction/How you show what is there?

All these parameters carry one star each. Cinematography includes the skill of camera and the backgrounds used. While depiction includes how the plot is shown to evolve in the movie.

Story Of India : Beginnings

Finally after a long gap, I started the documentary I downloaded a long time ago : The Story of India; a six volume documentary series on India narrated by famous historian Michael Wood. I had first seen this series on my cousin's computer and he recommended me to watch it. I watched the first episode today : The Beginnings. In this episode, Michael tries to find the beginning civilization in Indian subcontinent and how people came here. This journey takes us from the hamlets of Kerala to ruins of Indus Valley Civilization in Pakistan and finally to mainland India. The magic of Michael wood was overshadowing the video, his unique British accent, priceless expressions and huge knowledge about the world was unmistakably charismatic. One more thing which kept me spellbound throughout the episode was the background Indian classic music composed by Howard Davidson.

The Series starts with Wood explaining about the first migrations of humans from Africa. Then, he takes us to remote villages of Kerala; one of the few regions of India still highly culturally intact. He goes to the Brahmin homes where father and sons are reciting incantations in an ancient language. This language is a very old language and there is no written mode of it. It is only known in its spoken form. It is told that this is was one of the earliest languages known to mankind and after research it has come to knowledge that it is composed of strange sounds resembling the hooting of birds. It is speculated that when the humans first came to settle down in India, they were using this language. 

Then, wood packs his bags and moves on the Indus Valley in Pakistan, where civilization is believed to have started around 3500 B.C . There he moves to ancient towns of Harappa and Mohenjo-Daro. In its peak of power, Indus Valley civilization is believed to have been home of around 5 million people. In his eloquent tone, Wood also describes how British archaeologists discovered this place. But suddenly the civilizations got disappeared from here and migrated to other places. The shift in climate is believed to be a major factor in this. The change in weather affected the river system in which was the lifeline of Valley. So, the people migrated to east in the interiors of India; right in the plains of mighty Ganges.

The story then takes us to the earlier capital of British India - Calcutta. The city still shows the impact of British in its architecture and culture. Wood meets some members of Asiatic Society which has lots of historical texts. Wood discovers the Rig Veda and the various theories in it about the Indian gods. Rig Veda is written in Sanskrit and is believed to have been written around 1700 - 1100 BC. It is considered to be the oldest of the holiest scriptures of Hindus. Wood compares the texts of Rig Veda with what he found in Indus Valley that people of that age tamed horses and had chariots. He even mentions Soma, a drink believed to be taken by even gods. He tries to recreate Soma in the markets of Peshawar. Soma is believed to be  prepared from plants in Central Asia and supports the strong relation between Central Asia and India. Then, he observes the fact that the people not just migrated to India alone, but even to upper Central Asia like in Tajikistan, Turkmenistan of present. Wood doesn't leaves these parts behind for his quest to uncover the mystery and goes to an Archaeological complex in Turkmenistan and meets an Russian archaeologist who is working on the same mystery. Then, he concludes the episode by going to Holi celebrations in Mathura and quotes "This is just the beginning". 

Tourism Industry

Tourism is an important industry in world. Every year millions of people travel from one place to another for a wide range of causes ranging from business, leisure etc. A lot of other industries like hospitality; local people are often dependent on tourists. A survey has observed that France is the most toured country in the world. The main reason behind this is the pro activeness of French to be on the top. They have spent a lot of money to preserve their heritage and marketing their culture.

India is said to be the cradle of civilization. India is a colossal country of 1.2 billion people, having lots of cultural, geographical and historical diversity. India has the potential to become the top tourist destination in world. The govt. should take some serious steps in this direction to make this happen as this will create lakhs of jobs directly and many more indirectly. I have thought some initiatives, that can help in this ambition.

 First of all, we need to have an ambitious but achievable goal, that can inspire and motivate us to strive more. Therefore, the tourism ministry should have a committee that should analyse the current trends of tourism; both internal and external and project the demand for next 7 years. Then, we should set our target more than this figure, like 40% more. This committee should also find the major tourist hot spots in country and develop them further. 

Second, a separate marketing department should be created to popularize India across the world. The 'Incredible India' campaign was a really successful campaign, but we need something new now, something more energetic and fresh, depicting the new spirit in the ministry to rejig the structure completely. India boasts of everything that a person dreams from calm beaches of Goa, to stubborn mountains of Himalayas, what is required is awareness among people.

Third, a high level committee should be formed to  look into the ways, we can enrich the experience of people. Their should be a proper tourism infrastructure in the country. By tourism infrastructure, i don't mean just basic infrastructure of roads, rail, power etc. , but proper accommodation and other facilities. The experience of tourists will portray us in the view of world, so strict laws should be enacted to make sure these places have proper sanitation and hygiene. The tourist operators should be multi-lingual.

Fourth, better maintenance of monuments, archaeology, push for international recognition, world heritage, open  museums, collect antiques

Tourism will also infuse the spark in the dormant economies of northeast India which really needs development now.China is the recent example of nations rising up in the tourist table. India has the potential to be one of the best tourist place in world. What is required is an indomitable will to succeed.

ISRO

Human being is a very curious animal. It is the curiosity that has led him from the depths of oceans to the unknown worlds in space. But now in this modern globalized world, nations launch space missions not only to fulfill human curiosity  but to show their superiority and reap its economic and scientific benefits also. I admire Vikram Sarabhai for his vision. After the independence he put forth a space policy for nation, people questioned his idea as why does a poor nation like India needs to spend huge amounts on space, when people in our country are dying of hunger. But Mr. Sarabhai remained persistent and told people that India is not going into any space race, but the advancement will help people in long term.

India is reaping benefits from his vision now. Today, we are not dependent on some other country to launch our satellites into space. Even world acknowledged India's prowess after Chandrayaan. But we need to work hard as we have conquered just a peak, the mountain is still there. It really hurts me to see that corruption has not left Isro, India's one of the most prestigious institution. The ongoing war between the former and current chief of Isro will surely affect its future.

One of the main reasons why Russia lost to US in space war was lack of adequate rocket which could take payload to moon and return. Werner Von Braun's Saturn 5 rocket is till time the largest rocket ever made. China is playing superb by investing in rockets, its long march family is developing fast and was responsible for their manned missions.

Just a few days ago, I read in news that govt. has approved ISRO's mars mission. This mission is nothing but a show mission. The payload will be only 25 kg. Moreover, the mission is not much complex. Rather than spending so much amount, India should now focus building capabilities by improving its rockets. We need GSLV mark III as soon as possible. It will allow us to launch heavier satellites, moon missions like Chandraayaan 2 and manned missions in space. The only reason Chandrayaan 2 is delayed is due to lack of such a heavy launch capability. So, rather than be in a race to send first thing to Mars, India should focus on basics first and invest in building heavy rockets. I have devised a four step approach for Isro that can help it to be a  world leader in space :

 ~ Change the organisation structure of Isro, make different subsidiaries based on their roles like rockets, satellite, space missions, R&D etc. These subsidiaries should be allocated budget on their priorities.

~ Invest higher amounts in Research and development so that we can find more innovative and creative solutions for our problems.

~ Improve the work culture of Isro so that more and more better people join it. Improve the life of people in Isro.

~ Increase the level of space education in India. If we want to increase the level of we need some world class educational institutes  IIST is a good step in this direction but we need to increase the quality and quantity of courses. IIST should increase MOU's with top aerospace institutions across the world.

Moreover, I believe the time has come for Isro to go into a new phase with new ambitious objectives and a new momentum. Nothing tells more to the world at a first glance than your logo. The current logo of Isro was adopted in 2002. Few weeks ago, I saw the logo of CNSA - China National Space Academy and i was really amazed by the detail and the logic in it. I suppose the ISRO has lot to learn from it, not just in terms of their creativity, but also their zeal to excel and hard work.

TV Shows

1. Big Bang Theory (Season 1 - 4)
2. Friends (Season 1 - 2)
3. Supernatural (Season 1 - 2)
4. Story of India
5. The Finland Phenomenon