Author: Swati Sani

The Banni Grasslands of Kutch.

After a complete SWOT analysis, we selected to visit The Rann of Kutch (greater as well as little) as our holiday destination and I must say it was a decision well made. The place is a must see not just for its avi-fauna but also for its cultural and geological importance.

Featureless plains of Banni
The Featureless plains of Banni Grassland

Gujarat is a colorful state, and perhaps Kutch still retains most color. People here are simple, helpful and very courteous, their attire enticing, their language sweet despite the hardships they face.

Our first destination was the Greater Rann of Kutch. We stayed at CEDO, Moti Virani Village. CEDO, the Center for Desert and Ocean is a trust run by one of the most knowledgeable persons about the region, Mr. Jugal Kishore Tiwari.  Nearest to CEDO is the Banni Grassland where we spent a lot of time.

Continue reading The Banni Grasslands of Kutch.

The Zeroth Law of Robotics!

I am mortally scared of delusional intellects who root for the good of mankind! The pages of history are soaked with the blood of people who have been slaughtered, maimed and tortured at the altar of the super ego of great people who claimed to be working for the larger interest of mankind. The world today is comparatively civilised place; which is to say that we don’t burn our heretics piecemeal but butcher them en masse using modern technology. Unfortunately, while physical violence still manages to grab international attention, the financial and societal persecution of people in the interest of greater good continues unabated and does not draw much attention. Intellectuals pass off such persecution in the guise of various esoteric ‘isms’ which pervade the globe today. Communism is the first such philosophy which comes to my mind. Let us not overlook the harsh fact that in most instances, pursuit of larger good has made the pursuer rich and powerful while doing precious little for the mankind in the long run.

Such examples are abundant in our daily life also. For example, the teacher who lowers the standard of question paper for the lowest rung of student to pass is guilty of this act too!  Recently, I came across an interesting explanation of working for the interest of larger group. The proponent quoted Asimov’s Zeroth Law of Robotics.  Now there was a phase in my life when the world was divided in two distinct halves – people who read Asimov and people who did not! People who read Asimov had the capacity for creative and lateral thinking whereas people who did not were plain wimps. For the uninitiated     (and I no longer consider non Asimov readers to be wimps) the Zeroth Law was laid down after a particular robot faces the million dollar dilemma – whether to obey the extant law and prevent harm to an individual or to use his positronic brains innovatively and prevent harm to humanity by sacrificing the individual. The Zeroth Law empowers the robot to act for the greater good of humanity. So, the proponent said, if Asimov could propagate the Zeroth law, there obviously is nothing wrong in acting for the greater good of humanity at the expense of a few individuals. I have only one observation – the last time an individual seriously sacrificed himself at the altar of greater good, it was 2010 years ago. And frankly speaking it wasn’t a bad deal – a few days of torture and crucification in exchange for immortality!

Me – I believe in good old fashioned capitalist value sans hypocrisy and the need to hide behind wimpy excuses. If we all work for our individual good, we – by and large- work for collective good also. And I am not eager to donate my hard work and intelligence for the sake of the undeserving indolent.

Ekum Janwari hai, naya saal hai.

Looking forward to 2010
Pregnant with a new promise

What set 2009 apart from other years I have lived so far is the experiences I  had and the lessons I learnt. I evolved through  2009, grew and I can say that the process is not an easy one.

2010 started on a new  note, went for a walk this morning and came back enriched. I hope to write more this year, read more than I did last year, continue on my weight loss goal, and do something that I have never done before.

How 2010 enfolds, is to be seen. The only thing I am sure of is that I’ll make the best of it.

Continue reading Ekum Janwari hai, naya saal hai.

Moving Thunderbird mails from Linux to Mac

The most important thing to me in office are my emails, I need to keep years of records. So while shifting to another Linux machine has never been a problem to me, I encountered it when I decided to shift to an Mac for my main machine in the office.

My original plan was to copy the .thunderbird file from my old hard-disk to the mac as I have been doing over the years. However, I was totally taken aback when realized that there was no apparent way to view hidden files in the Finder. Continue reading Moving Thunderbird mails from Linux to Mac

Tanha

This aazad nazm is from a very old television serial “Tanha” I remember switching on the TV set just to listen to the beautiful title song written by Javed Akhtar. After a long search I finally found it on youtube.

देखिये तो लगता है
ज़िन्दगी की राहों में
एक भीड़ चलती है
सोचिये तो लगता है
भीड़ में हैं सब तन्हा

जितने भी ये रिश्ते हैं
काँच के खिलौने है
पल में टूट सकते है
एक पल में हो जाये
कोई जाने कब तन्हा

देखिये तो लगता है
जैसे ये जो दुनिया है
कितनी रंगी महफिल है
सोचिये तो लगता है
कितना ग़म हैं दुनिया में
कितना ज़ख्मी हर दिल है

वो जो मुस्कुराते थे
जो किसी को ख्वाबों में
अपने पास पाते थे
उनकी नींद टूटी है
और हैं वो अब तन्हा

 

Rascals

Kaminey
Kaminey

I should actually write Rafcalfs as Charlie would say!!

What would be  recipe for a “good cinema”. Something that entertains yet makes you think, keeps you on the edge of your seat and yet relaxes you. End result – you come out of the theater humming “Dhan ta nan’ na na na na.

A friend remarked that he found Kaminey to be very violent  – my take is, we live in violent times. However,  I prefer the violence shown in Kaminey to the dark, and extremely depressing torture shown in a film like NewYork (and even in the movie Khuda ke liye). The violence in Kaminey is a mockery whereas the ones shown in Newyork and Khuda ke liye a reality.

Continue reading Rascals