My First Theory - The Certainty of Uncertainty

One Interesting Fact, I came to know from TED Talks.
Do you know that 75% of people in this world dream of similar place of living ?
A small beautiful house situated in plains. A hill on the eastern side with beautiful view of sun rise. A river or stream flowing from top of the hill. Beautiful grass lands with freely moving animals and chirping birds. Dense forests in the background.
Add uninterrupted power supply, 0% dependence for water and waste management. That shall be my dream house too.

Imagine that God granted you a wish. What will your wish be ?
A Life free from worries, tensions, failures and uncertainties ?
Certainty of Happiness, Peace of Mind, Tension-Free Life ?

Does Certainty contribute to Happiness ?
Imagine a Life with No difficulties, No challenges, No failures, No sorrows.
Can I appreciate Light without experiencing Darkness ?
Can I appreciate being Happy without ever being Sad ?
Can I savour the success in a race with no opponents ?

How can I say doing a particular task makes me Happy ?
There are 2 things to be considered.
1. Happiness during the execution of task.
2. Happiness after the execution of task.
Second part is very easy to understand - Uncertainty leads to happiness.
Take cricket as an example. See-Saw contests and Nail-Biting finishes make us more happy.
Take water rides as an example. Water rides that are unpredictable thrill and excite us.

What decides whether a situation leads to Short-Term Happiness or Long-Term Happiness ?
According to me, there are 2 factors.
1. Duration of uncertainty.
Surely, we can never compare the happiness of parents when they see their son/daughter achieve (Long-Term) with as silly as a Salary Hike (Short-Term).
2. How uncertain the situation actually is.
Surely, we enjoy/remember India beating Australia more than India beating Bangladesh.

Does that mean Uncertainty makes Life Happy ?
Surely, we enjoy uncertain and difficult tasks once completed.
However, we also need to consider Happiness during the execution of a task to conclude properly.
Take trekking as an example.
Lets say, I suggest trekking to my friends as a fun outing ! Everyone agrees and we start trekking. After 5KM trek in scorching sun, I start thinking,“How can I get such a crazy idea ?”
Assume, we gathered our internal energies and completed the trek. When we look back, we feel very happy and satisfied. But, are we happy during the trek ?

Agreed, uncertainty leads to happiness. But, how do we enjoy uncertainty itself ?
We can enjoy uncertainty and unpredictability in our lives only if we are sure that we are in right path to achieve our Aim/Destiny. Ya, I know that the difficult part is, not the path to destiny, but, understanding whats one destiny is. That shall be another blogpost though :)
Take the example of a cricket match between India and Australia.
If am captain of the Indian Team,
If its a practice match and India is in a losing position, I can still enjoy the match as my aim is to identify the mistakes not to win the match.
If its world cup final and India is 10/2 chasing 250+ runs, I can still enjoy the uncertainty if I am confident of winning the match.
We enjoy uncertainty and unpredictability of a Water Ride as we are certain that final destination is safe. Similary, we can enjoy uncertainty and unpredictability of a Trek if we are confident that we can complete it safely.

But, How do I know that I am in right direction ?
This is where Planning comes in. Planning provides you with milestones to check whether you are in right path. One famous quote (taken from a colleague),
“Planning is milestone for success. No Planning is planned milestone for failure.”

It doesn't sound convincing always though. Let me explain.
How do you explain the fun in a conversation between a group of Friends ?
We don't really plan to crack a joke. Its spontaneous. No one does any Planning. We still enjoy it. Here the plan is not to have any plan :)

How do you explain the difference between happiness of a person winning a Lottery of 1 lakh and happiness of a person saving 1 lakh ?
When we don't plan but still achieve, we are very happy like the person who won the lottery. However, we need to observe that there is no happiness till that moment. Only a burst of happiness at the end. Also, we are unsure if that moment arrives at all.
When we plan, we are trying to minimize the uncertainty in our thoughts and hence distribute the happiness throughout rather than in bursts. Minimizing the uncertainty in our thoughts doesn't make the task any less uncertain/difficult though.

Hence, Uncertainty leads to Happiness and Planning helps us enjoy Uncertainty itself. Darwin's Theory of Natural Selection says that Species which adapt to the enviroment last long. Human Being is one such Species. As Human Beings need Uncertainty to be happy, I conclude that Certainty of Uncertainty in this World is 1 :)

My First I/N Trip - San Jose -> Tucson -> Los Angeles

How did I end up on a Trip to U.S. ? ( Quick Recap )
Abstract got selected.

Lead Designer busy in another project.

Searching for ....

Finally, I ended up entering the Flight :)

I got indications of what to expect when they told me that Standard Meal ( Food Preference specified in the Ticket ) translates to Chicken or Beef in their language. I replied that I was a Vegetarian. As the Flight was not completely full, they were able to arrange for a Vegetarian Meal fortunately.

My Flight Itinerary was Bangalore to Dubai – 4 Hours, Dubai to Los Angeles – 16 Hours. Bangalore to Dubai Flight was a breeze. By the time you finish the food served, sleep ( Had to as the Flight started around 4 A.M. ), explore the In-Flight Entertainment System, you can hear an announcement saying that the Flight is about to land in Dubai !

I spent short intervals in between peeking through the window ( I still remember How much I strained my Neck during my First Flight ). If its Night, you could see the Roads & Street Lights combining to appear as Lava from a Volcano. If its Morning, you are in the clouds.

I have a doubt.

Why does every Light look Yellow when seen from top ? Or Is it only Me ?

I watched Mountains covered with Snow for the first time. Excitement wore off very soon. May be too much of anything is also bad. What do you say ?

I came back to the In-Flight entertainment system. I was able to clear 5 Movies out of my backlog of 50. I watched Good Movies like Shrek forever after, Despicable Me, Toy Story 3 and Prince of Persia. In-Flight Entertainment includes Multi-Player Gaming. Sadly, no Age of Empires.

You might be knowing that Beverages are complimentary in Flights. I watched in amazement as a fellow passenger emptied 8 Pegs of Vodka in a 3.5hr Flight and stocked 2 more for future !

Do you believe in Beginner's Luck ( Principle of Favourability ) introduced in The Alchemist ?

Seat beside me is vacant in all the Onward Flights ( Mind you, all the 4 onward Flights ).

All the Return Flights are packed completely ( Mind you, all the 3 return Flights ).

How about now ?

After reaching San Jose ( My Brother's place ) Airport, I had some tense moments as my baggage didn't arrive at the Carousel and I don't even have a phone to call my Brother.

However, Beginner's Luck prevailed.

I found my baggage inside Airline Office ( I went there to lodge a complaint of missing baggage ).

A fellow passenger gave me Phone to make a Call !

First day, We ( Myself, Brother and Vodina ) went for a Trek. Treks here look completely different from India. Paths are well marked and well connected.

No chance of singing Songs like

Right O' Left O'

Left O' Right O'

ముందుకో వెనకకో పై పైకో కిందకో

అసలు ఎందుకో ఎక్కడికో

Lets Go Go Go Go Go

Its called Matt Davis Trail. ( Basically Trek with Sea in the backdrop )

Beautiful View from the Trek Path.

I felt like saying,

Sea or Sky – How does it matter ? - Both are endless, look empty and beautiful. Isn't it?

My Brother and Vodina trekking along.

Hurrah, I did it !

I reached the End of the Trail. ( End of the Trail is unfortunately not the Peak of the Mountain. )

I couldn't stop comparing U.S. with India.

Though People say,”Be a Roman when you are in Rome”.

Some of the observations, I made.

• Clear Skies - You can see the Stars unlike in Bengalooru.
• Empty Roads - You can call them deserted, unless you have a super natural ability to communicate with a species commonly called Cars.
• Closed Houses - All Houses look similar but Beautiful.
• Cold Climate, Cold Food, Cold Water with Ice Cubes added - This left me wondering. How can they manage with Cold Food in a Cold Climate ? I recollect an incident. During the Conference, they were serving Cold Water with Ice Cubes. I asked for Plain Water. Can you guess What happened ? They served Cold Water without Ice Cubes.
• De-caffeinated Coffee - Its possible only in U.S. Why drink Coffee without Caffeine ?
• Obsession with Right Side - Driving on Right Side of the road. Steering on Right Side of the car. I can accept. However, I was amused when I found that in American Flights, you need to strap the seat belt from Right Side unlike from Left Side in other Flights.
• Capitalism at its Best and Worst - I didn't take a Laptop along. When I reached Los Angeles, I thought of sending an e-mail to my Brother and Father that I reached Los Angeles safely. I went to a Computer Kiosk and started Browsing. However, on checking the rate at which I am being charged - $5 for 10 Minutes, My Heart started racing along.
• Water is sold, while Ice Cubes are complimentary :)
• Nothing is fixed. All rates are floating - The Conference, I attended is at Tucson. TI wanted us to book Hotels in advance so that we get best deals. ( Don't know whether its best deal for Hotel or for us ). When I checked the rates 20 days in advance, it was around $150 per day. With TI's discount coupon, it was $99. Once I reached Tucson, I was curious to know the rate if I book then. Believe it or not, it was $89 per day without any discount coupon. Even TI got fooled :)

 

My Presentation was on the last day of the Conference. Though it went well, I was little unhappy that there were only few people. According to my calculations, 50% of participants bunked the Conference that day !

Fennighan's Restaurant inside the Conference Venue.

After much discussion and deliberation ( I would like to say ), we decided to go to Universal Studios at Los Angeles for the week-end. Flight from Tucson reaches Los Angeles at 7 A.M. We have a shuttle to Universal Studios at 7:45 A.M. from the Hotel. If we miss it, the only option left is travel by bus & train for 2 hours.

We reached LAX ( Los Angeles Airport ) by 7 A.M.

We waited for the Baggage at the Carousel for almost 15 Minutes – 7:15 A.M.

15 more Minutes for the Shuttle to Radisson Hotel – 7:30 A.M.

Reached the Hotel at 7:40 A.M.

When we went to the Reception for Keys, we overheard a Tour Guy saying,”Star Line Tours. Star Line Tours. Anyone here?”

Bingo !

Forget going to Room, we dropped the Baggage at the Luggage Storage Counter. Ran to the Shuttle. What a Luck I would say.

  Finally we reached Universal Studios. Round of Applause, Please :)

  Start Camera Action...

We took All you can Eat Pass for $20 under the assumption that we shall eat big time. However, the Rides are so good that we kept running from one ride to the other till the closing time eating just only once !

The Ride that I liked most was called King Kong 3D.

They took us in a Bus inside a Cave. Closed the Entrance and Exit. We realized now that the Cave was actually a Screen. Gave us 3D glasses and started screening a 3D Movie. The Plot was King Kong trying to save us from Godzilla.

What with Special Effects like Spraying Water while going through Water Fall and 3-Axis Bus Movements according to the script, it was made close to real.

  Do you remember me in Shrek Movie?

  Picture Perfect. Isn't it?

Next day, we went to Manhattan Beach.

The day was Cold. I was shivering from top to bottom. It was my own folly. I didn't wear a sweater. My reasoning was that you should experience the actual weather :)

I couldn't place my feet in water. I tried once and covered my feet immediately with sand to reduce the cooling effect !

 

Thats all Folks.

One interesting Info, I gathered - I worked for only 8 days in November excluding last week. Keep it secret. Don't leak to anyone :)

My First Experiment - Freedom from Piracy

Are we not Well-Trained Pirates?

We use Pirated Softwares, watch Movies from Pirated DVDs, listen to Pirated Songs, read Pirated E-books and even explore Pirate Bay! As an Add-On, Run Everything on Pirated Windows :)

So,

Have we lost our Independence to Piracy?

Agreed, I am addicted to Piracy. So what?

What's wrong?

Isn't Everyone that way?

Why should I worry about that?

One Person can't make any difference. Right?

Read on.

One Day, A Old Man was walking along a shore. He saw a Child pick up a Star Fish and gently throw it into the Sea.

He asked the Child,”What are you doing?”.

The Child replied,”Throwing Star Fish into the Sea.”

Surprised, He said,”But WHY?”

The Child smiled brightly and replied,”The Sun is up and the Tide is going out. If I don't throw them in, they will die.”

“I know that. Don't you see? There are Hundreds of Star Fish scattered along the Beach. You can't make a difference.”, replied the Old Man.
The Child listened politely. Then bent down, picked up another Starfish, threw it gently into the sea, and joyfully declared,“It made a difference for that one.”

Inspired?

Are you ready to fight for your Freedom?

If Yes, Continue reading. You are on Right Path!

Firstly, Question Yourself.

You are dependent on Piracy, for What?

Softwares? Operating System? Movies? Songs? Books? Games?

What are the Reasons?

Cost? Convenience? Mind-Set?

Secondly, Commit Yourself.

The Alternatives, I propose, may look ridiculous. Spend Time finding Alternatives that match your requirements!

Thirdly, Eliminate it Step by Step.

Like Smoking, we cannot avoid it immediately. We might be tempted to stop Piracy at one go. But it may not be sustainable.

Lets start with Softwares.

List the Softwares required. Search for Open Source or Free Alternatives.

Open Source or Free? Aren't they Bad?

I mean, Why else would something be Free?

Read on.

Excerpt from Story of Stuff.

One of the problems with trying to use less stuff is that sometimes we feel like we really need it.

What if you live in a city like, say, Cleveland and you want a glass of water?

Are you going to take your chances and get it from the city tap? Or

Should you reach for a bottle of water that comes from the pristine rainforests of Fiji?

Well, Fiji brand water thought the answer to this question was obvious.

So they built a whole ad campaign around it. It turned out to be one of the dumbest moves in advertising history.

The city of Cleveland didn’t like being the butt of Fiji’s joke so they did some tests and guess what?

These tests showed a glass of Fiji water is lower quality, it loses taste tests against Cleveland tap and costs thousands of times more.

This story is typical of what happens when you test bottled water against tap water.

Hope, You got the Inner Meaning :)

Eager to Test-Drive Open Source or Free Alternatives?

Here, I listed the Alternatives for various Softwares in Windows.

PDF, Word, Excel and Power Point – Use Open Office instead of Microsoft Office. It has Features such as Save as PDF which I found to be very useful. For a change, It supports Microsoft Formats and Open Formats too! Use Adobe Reader for Reading & Open Office for Creating PDFs.

Anti–Virus Software – Use AVG Free.

Browser – You may be already using Firefox or Chrome!

Image Editor – Use Gimp instead of Adobe Photo Shop.

RSS Feed Reader – Use RSSOwl.

Music Player & Movie Player – Use VLC Player. Can be used as Converter & Cutter too!

Picture Manager – Use Picasa.

Modeling – Use Scilab instead of Matlab.

Personal Finance Manager – I use Money Manager Ex.

Torrent Client – I use uTorrent.

Surprised? Why do I need a Torrent Client?

We have associated Torrents to Piracy to such an extent that We forgot that Bit-Torrent is just a Technology and One of the best ways to share Popular Files. There are hundreds of Legal Torrents available. For example, Best way to download Open Office is through Torrents!

You will be surprised at the content available under Creative Commons Licenses. For example, I found Mathematical Imagery – Dimensions under Creative Commons License. Check out ClearBits Website for more Content!

You can check out Open Source as Alternative Website, OSALT. It lists Open Source Alternatives to Proprietary Softwares!

Hoping that You are successful in your First Step forward!

Are you ready for the Next Step, Operating System?

I chose Ubuntu! How about You?

I chose Ubuntu for 2 Reasons.

Ubuntu makes your Transition from Windows Easy

Ubuntu can be tried without disturbing Windows. Check out Installation Guide.

Its only 700MB. Can be installed from CD.

Forget CD, You can install using USB! Check out Guide by PsychoCats.

Installation using USB is incredibly Fast. I installed Ubuntu in 5 minutes!

Forums & Documentation

Lets say, I couldn't figure out How to Play Movies in Ubuntu. When I Google it, I find Multiple Users in a similar situation with solution well documented. The only constraint, According to me, is Internet Access!

Myth 1 – Linux is for Experts.

Am I not using it?

Myth 2 – Linux doesn't have Softwares and Games.

More about this later.

Myth 3 – User Interface is Poor.

Its more like Neophobia, Fear of anything New, rather than Poor GUI. Spend Time exploring. You will enjoy it.

Lets see whether Ubuntu has Softwares I require.

Pdf, Word, Excel and Power Point – Ubuntu comes with Open Office!

Document Viewer in Ubuntu can be used for Reading PDFs or Install Adobe Reader.

Anti–Virus Software – Not Required!

Browser – Ubuntu comes with Firefox!

Image Editor – Use Gimp and Dia.

RSS Feed Reader – Use RSSOwl.

Music Player & Movie Player – Ubuntu comes with Rhythm Box for Music and Movie Player for Movies. Install VLC Player if necessary.

CD/DVD Creator - Ubuntu comes with CD/DVD Creator.

Picture Manager – Ubuntu comes with F-Spot Photo Manager. Install Picasa if necessary.

Modeling – Install Scilab.

Personal Finance Manager – Install Money Manager Ex. (Install libwxbase2.8-0, libwxgtk2.8-0 before MoneyManagerEx.)

Torrent Client – Ubuntu comes with Transmission Bit Torrent Client.

What are you waiting for?

My First ??? - Why is that?

Why is that

I pay Rs100 for a Pizza,

but
Complain about Rs50 for a Proper Meal?

Why is that

I pay Rs150 for watching a Movie in Multiplex,

I pay Rs500 for Broadband and download Movies encouraging Piracy,

but
Think twice about Rs375 for Big Flix Monthly Subscription?

Why is that

We crib about paying Income Tax?

Even though

We are among Top 10% of India's Population in terms of Income.

We are offered subsidized education during B.Tech.

Effective Income Tax Rate comes to only 20% of Income.

Why is that we value Money, not Happiness?

Why is that we value Hikes, not Recognitions?

Why is that

I think about Opportunities available elsewhere.

May be Other Companies, Other Fields.

but
Forget conveniently about Opportunities available in Current Company, Current Field?

Why is that I fight for my Rights, but sleep on my Duties?

Why is that we value Mental Work, not Physical Work?

Why is that we love Nature but like to live in Cities?

Why is that

We complain about Corruption.

We complain about degradation of Values in Politics.

but don't have

Time for Voting and Campaigning for Good Candidates?

Why is that

We complain about Attitude of Government Companies and Government Employees.

but
Dream of joining and becoming one?

Why is that

I always have Questions

but
Never Answers :)

My Second Trek – Kudremukh National Park – 13,14.02.10

After Grand Success of Skandagiri Trek, I expected People to agree for another Trek easily. It didn't seem so. Plans for another Trek hit multiple obstacles. Finally we decided to get in touch with other groups in Bangalore for Trekking. When Bangalore Moutaineering Club announced a Trek to KNP, we decided to join them.
Enough of Non-Sense, Can you share Trek details?

Caution - 
Initially, I was under the impression that KNP is just 70KM from Bangalore. It was actually around 300KM. I thought it was just 12KM Trek ( Up and Down ). It was actually 20KM.

So Believe at your own risk.

Kudremukh means Horse Face.

Peak has 90° Slope on one side and Gradual Inclination on other side similar to Horse!

Trek started with great deal of excitement around 10:30 A.M.

Initially, we spent more time on Photography than Trekking.

 Thats when Guide showed us Kudremukh Peak.

My heart didn't stop. But Can I scale it?

'We are not going to scale the peak. We only view it from distance”. Rumors spread fast.

However Guide assured us ( Fortunately for me and Unfortunately for my feet ) that we are going to scale the peak. Have a look at the Trek Paths.

Caution – Objects are distant than they appear in Picture :)

We crossed several Snakes ( I would like to say, but I could find only one ) and Spiders on the way. 

We also realized that Water is the elusive Elixir, Chemists are searching for.

Thanks to Innovative Idea of someone, we were able to have water even from small streams.

Nature offered us

Inspiration – Beautiful Mix of Greenery and Lighting,

Adrenaline Rush – When we Slipped,

Rest – When we are about to collapse.

Did you observe the Silver Lining on Hills?

Don't you think Imagination of Tolkein in Lord of the Rings came alive here?

I felt like Shouting

'One Peak to Rule Them All. One Peak to make your Adrenaline Rush. One Peak to bring you to your Knees and make you feel Human'.

Based on following Dialogue in Lord of the Rings

'One Ring to Rule Them All. One Ring to Find Them. One Ring to Bring Them All and In The Darkness Bind Them'

I wish I had the White Horse of Gandalf to ride on these Beautiful Hills.

1KM away from the peak, my legs ( May be Gollum ) betrayed me.

They refused to move forward. Thats when Glucon D came to my rescue :)

( Ok, It was an Ad for Glucon D. Actually Satya offered to carry Water Bottles till the Peak. )

And Finally,

After having the Packed Lunch, We started chasing the clouds and Satya his Photography Skills.

However, I never dared to go near the Edge.

Ofcourse, Satya had his adrenaline rush while sitting near the Edge.

Finally, We started back.

Thats when I had a doubt. Did we actually climb this?

Next Day, We had a refreshing dip in nearby Water Fall.

Have a Look at our Guide.

Hats Off to him for making this a Grand Success.

While walking down from the Base Camp, we had our own doubts.

Are we on the Right Path?

We could only sing,

Right O' Left O' Left O' Right O'

ముందుకో వెనకకో పై పైకో కిందకో అసలు ఎందుకో ఎక్కడికో

Lets Go Go Go Go Go.

My First Comment - Inkless Printing with Colorless Color

If you have patience, read the complete article in Spectrum Magazine.
Zink: Inkless Printing With Colorless Color

Else, continue reading this :)
Currently, Printers use Ink for printing on White Paper.
However Researchers have found a way to enable Inkless Printing. They coated Paper with Organic Compounds which are colorless in crystalline state, but take different colors on melting. This color is retained on cooling. Any color can be obtained by a combination of yellow, magenta and blue. So they took 3 different Organic Compounds which turn yellow (1) at 200°C, magenta (2) at 150°C and blue (3) at 100°C respectively.

But the interesting part lies ahead.

How do they heat Compound1 to 200°C without allowing Compound3 to reach 100°C?
They use something called Fried Ice Cream Approach - If you roll Ice Cream in a dough and throw in hot oil for a short duration, dough gets fried without melting Ice Cream because you're hitting the shell with a high temperature, but the heat doesn't get to the Ice Cream.

Finally the Paper had 3 Coatings.
Compound1 which gives Yellow on melting at 200°C is at the top,
Compound2 which gives Magenta on melting at 150°C is at the center and
Compound3 which gives Blue on melting at 100°C is at the bottom.
So to get Yellow, Heat the Paper to 200°C for a shorter duration.
To get Magenta, Heat it to 150°C for a duration which is long enough to melt Compound2 but short enough to prevent melting of Compound3.
To get Blue, Heat it to 100°C for a longer duration since Heat has to cross Compound1, Compound2 to reach Compound3.

Doesn't this kindle something in our minds?
Isn't this principle used in making of several Indian dishes like Paratha, Ariselu, Boorelu?

What's my Comment?
Any Problem has a Solution. It might be in front of us or in unlikely of places. The only thing that's stopping us is determination to find it.

What's your Comment?

My First Book - A,B,C of Telugu Calendar

Everything has a start point.

One day, I was reading about Diwali. I came across this.

“Naraka Chaturdasi is celebrated on Chaturdasi, Krishna Paksha of Asvayuja Month. Diwali is celebrated next day.”

Chaturdasi ? Krishna Paksha ? Asvayuja Month ?

I heard each of them some day or other. But What do they mean? I knew nothing. I felt bad that day. Thats when a desire for understanding Telugu Calendar has born. As it always happens, its not going to be easy.

I started searching web for information on Telugu Calendar. Most of them (not all) don't arise any curiosity in you. Let me give an example.
There are 30 tithis in each Lunar Month. Tithi is the duration for the distance between Sun and Moon to increase by 12°. They are Prathama, Dvitiya, Tritiya...

How does it matter if the distance between Sun and Moon is 60° or 72°?
Why should I consider positions of Sun and Moon?
Why did they chose units like Tithi and not something else?
I do not blame them. Its just that I am looking for different information than provided by them. So I decided to explore further in this direction, add my ideas and write a book. Most of it is already known. I just tried to look at them in a new perspective.

Initially, I was thinking of completing the book and then placing it in my blog. However, I realized that its going to take time. I was losing interest as days pass. So I decided to document as I explore. However this might result in several errors and corrections!

Why did I call this A,B,C of Telugu Calendar?
This is not going to be comprehensive covering entire spectrum of topics related to Telugu Calendar. I left out letters D to Z in the title to signify that there are many things unexplored :)

How did I structure this?
We shall start with Basics of Astronomy covering the background necessary to appreciate Calendar units like Tithi, Nakshatra. Later, we shall explore the qualities desired in a Calendar unit. This way we shall try to understand how various Calendar units could have come into existence! Then we shall actually try to understand each Calendar unit.

This is my first attempt to present the things researched already in a new perspective.
Hope that I accept the errors that creep in!
Hope that I am as enthusiastic as now till the end!

My First Translation - TED Talks

'TED Talks - Ideas worth spreading'
This sums up the whole concept of TED Talks.

Recently they started a massive Translation project that aims to translate each TED Talk into languages other than English. I got attracted instantaneously and volunteered for a translation. I signed up for translation of TED Talk on Sixth Sense.

If you are not following TED Talks, its worth checking it out once. Start with Sixth Sense. If you do like it, register yourself as a Volunteer and start translating. (However I should warn you that Telugu Subtitles are still not being rendered properly by any of the Video Players, I have seen)

I started looking for tools required for translation.

• Telugu-English Dictionary - It is funny, but I find it difficulty to recall the exact word immediately.
• Google Transliteration Bookmarklet - This transliterates input entered in any text box to Telugu.
• DotSub Interface - This provides the necessary interface by allowing you to translate line by line with the help of English Subtitle.
• Best of all, I have room mates who can help me out if i am stuck somewhere.
  

Finally, I received a mail saying that your request has been accepted and you have around one month to complete it, I wondered why would it take such a long time for translating a 8 minute talk.

I started with full enthusiasm as it always happens. But no sooner did I translate 2 lines, I got stuck. For example, consider this line.
'TED is the best networking place of this year'
How do I say it in Telugu? ee yeti goppa kalusukune chotu. This looks comical to me. How about the person viewing it?He may think that he is better off using English Subtitles.
or
Should I leave it just as Networking which destroys the purpose of Translation itself.

However I did complete it after one month or so. You can check it out here.
After review (It looks like not many volunteered for translation to Telugu Language), it will soon be on TED Talks.

I realised that translation requires much more than mere understanding of two languages. And some of the words look quite difficult. That explains why one would still get only C.P.Brown English-Telugu Dictionary when you google or for that matter bing internet. For your info, this is written around end of 19th Century.

But I am surprised that this doesn't stop people from developing wikipedia, wikitionary in Telugu. They deserve real appreciation from us for this.
Similary, I wonder how people wrote telugu blogs until now. If you don't believe me, check out Jalleda.

But after this, I can feel the excitement when you start writing in Telugu. If you don't believe me, read the racchabanda section of wikipedia or any Telugu Blog. You can immediately feel the warmth in it.

My First Initiative - Plan Your Career

If you ask a group of 100 children what do they want to become when they grow up, they have very diverse views - Journalist, Scientist, Astronaut, Cricketer, Historian and soon. But why then 45% of them choose medical and engineering streams?

Most likely the reasons are wrong notions like

• Job prospects are good for engineers.

• Salary is higher than many other professions.

• Peer pressure - When most of your friends join engineering stream, you tend to join it too.

• Lack of awareness among parents and students.

But the main culprit according to us is lack of awareness among parents and students about what to do after completing 10th and 12th according to their aspirations.

Result could be seen now. Mushrooming engineering colleges, IIT coaching from 6th standard being offered by schools and worst of all loss of innocent childhood for thousands of children. Though we don't have any solution for this, one step forward could be providing information to parents and letting them help their children in achieving their aim. Most websites offer admission notifications and jobs search which can never be useful for someone coming out of 10th or 12th. What they need to know is whether the next step they are taking is in according to their vision.

This is where www.planyourcareer.in comes in.

We alone cannot unilaterally make this as we have little or no idea of other careers. This is where you come into picture. If each one of you chooses a career and get hold of someone already in that career, it would be really helpful to us.

Why do you need to help us?

• You are not satisfied with prevailing scenario.

• You are one of its victims.

• You don't want another person suffer due to lack of information.

• You want some website which can offer comprehensive information on diverse career options.

What are we trying to offer?

• Path to be taken for achieving one's career vision.

• Career prospects like Financial benefits, Job satisfaction, Social Outlook, Career growth

• Experiences of a person pursuing that career.

A sample page is created for Lawyer - http://www.planyourcareer.in/career-options/lawyer
It may not look good. But we hope, its a step in the right direction. What do you say?
Feedback can be directed to planyourcareer.in@gmail.com

My First Experience - Is India Changing?

BBMP – Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Pallike
ECI – Election Commission of India
EPIC – Electoral Photo Identity Card
FAQ – Frequently Asked Questions
RTI – Right To Information
VFC – Voter Facilitation Center
Form 6 – Application for inclusion of a person in electoral roll

Everything has a beginning. This story too has one!

An election official came to our house in Vijayawada for voters list updation. When he went through the names of voters registered in our address, it had names like Yellamma, Venkatayya. Luckily among those 6 voters in our house according to ECI, my mom and dad are also there. I could have easily got a Voter Id then. But when he asked me,“Do you stay here?”, of all words it could think of, my stupid brain answered,“No, I just completed my B. Tech in NIT Trichy and will be working in Bangalore”. An opportunity was lost. That was when I decided to become a voter. But I did nothing until someone sent me a mail of Jaago Re movement. I almost deleted it ( one of my stupid habits ), though due to some reason decided to check it out. Its slogan “One billion votes” is really inspiring. It has all the election related rules in FAQ format. I shall tell you the two sentences which caught my attention.

Six months of stay at any place makes you eligible to be in electoral roll of that constituency. All you require is an Id proof (Passport) and Address Proof (Telephone Bill or Rental Agreement).

I started doing the calculation mentally. I joined TI on July 7. So I need to wait until Jan 7. After Jan 7, I filled out Form 6 available on the site. Believe it or not, Jaago Re website mailed the pdf of filled out Form 6 and Name, Address, Phone numbers of Electoral Registration Officer of my constituency.

Wait, its not over yet. Its easy filling out a form on-line. Anyone could do it. But submitting and following it up is the most difficult task. I called up after thinking for two to three days what to ask? First phone number gave no response. Second phone number asked me to contact third phone number. Third phone number asked me to contact second phone number! Yes, I am stuck here. This is how it would have ended.

Suddenly things started happening. I read an advertisement in The Hindu about 14 VFCs being opened in Bangalore alone. “What if VFCs are opened, their timings will be different from ours”, thats what I thought. Thanks to Google Search, I found website named ceokarnataka.nic.in which contains the addresses of VFCs! Could you believe it? They are open on weekends too and timings are 4pm to 8pm! One VFC is near our area. I noted down the address and started searching for it. What surprised me was, I met around 5 people also searching for it. Finally after one hour, I found it. I could have said “Eureka!”. Sadly it was past 8pm by then. So I came next day and started searching for some official to submit my form. Finally I could find one. He asked me to take a xerox of it and come tomorrow. I immediately replied “No, I will bring now itself”. Thoughts suddenly started pouring into my mind. “He is one of those corrupt officials. He will make me come repeatedly for silly things and I may finally need to bribe him”. When I took the xerox and gave it to him, he checked it and asked me to collect EPIC after 10 days. He explained that pending address verification is the reason for the delay.

After two weeks, I went to VFC, showed the receipt and asked for status. He told me that there was no date of acceptance of application on the receipt. So he has to search the entire database. It is time consuming and since there was heavy rush, he asked me to come tomorrow. When I went the next day, he asked me to come in the afternoon. Again those corrupt thoughts started entering my mind. When I went in the afternoon, he searched for my name and issued the EPIC!

Many applicants were angry about the delay. But the officials were cool, willing to listen and explain the reasons for the delay. Best of all, they were prepared to stay beyond mandated working hours.

P.S –

Motivation for writing this is to thank everything that helped me become a voter.
Person who sent me the mail of Jaago Re movement
Jaago Re website sponsored by Tata Tea and Janaagraha ( If you drink tea, then drink Tata :) )
ECI and BBMP for opening VFCs
The Hindu for creating awareness about VFCs Google Search for directing me to ceokarnataka.nic.in
Yahoo Maps for helping me find the address of VFC
Texas Instruments for transport and printouts
VFC Officials for their dedication
NIT Trichy for helping me in getting passport – Id proof and
My room mates who asked me what am I doing to change the status quo during that discussion on Income Tax which encouraged me to become a voter.

Motivation for sharing this
I thought Government Officials are lazy and corrupt. I blame them for everything. For example, I never applied for a gas connection. My thinking is that even if I do apply, I will never get it.

But this entire episode presents a different picture. They are young, dynamic and willing to improve the system. They are people like us. They are changing. Why not we?And now we have tools which are absent previously – RTI and Internet for example.

A new young generation is replacing the old guard. Yes, India is changing. Whether its for good or bad is in our hands now. Success or failure, blame is entirely on us.

I would be most happy if this inspires any one of you to become a voter. Hope, this isn't too late. And remember, you can't blame the government now. Its working harder to get us enrolled as voters than we actually do!

My First Article - Is 4 percent cut in Cenvat on Cars justified?

We know that recently the government effected 4 percent cut in Cenvat which brings down the prices of cars. I wanted to put forth my view that this is bad for everyone (Government, People and even auto-mobile companies) in long run.

First, hardly months back, international oil prices skyrocketed to $150 per barrel resulting in huge subsidy burden on oil exploration companies like ONGC, oil processing and marketing companies like HPCL, IOCL and government. Prices were artificially administered to low levels because of huge dependence of everyone on petrol and diesel. So bringing down the prices of cars is like an incentive to further increase that dependence. Though the prices have nose dived now to $50 per barrel which may be attributed to recession in developed economies, we must keep in mind that once world economy starts growing, prices may even go beyond $150 per barrel. This is a certainty in future if not now. Even conservative estimates predict that at current levels of consumption, oil reserves don't last beyond this century.

Secondly, many cities are unable to cope up even current traffic levels. Add to this, the huge number of vehicles that get added every month under normal conditions without any incentives from government. So best way forward is to encourage mass transportation projects like BRTS (Bus Rapid Transit System), Metro Rail. Speaking fairly, steps have already been taken in this direction by several governments. But these are getting delayed due to land acquisition problems, shortage of funds or in some cases, lack of willingness on part of authorities. Also, Mass transportation stands better environmentally than individual transportation.

One reason behind 4 percent cut in Cenvat could be saving the automobile industry and thus millions of jobs associated with it. Lets not make the mistake what the Americans made earlier. They are suffering the consequences now. With no economical mass transportation available, every American was forced to buy a car. This made them heavily dependent on oil. Many even allege that America went to war against Iraq only for oil! This helped in growth of auto-mobile giants like Ford, General Motors generating millions of jobs. But this approach is not viable in long run. As soon as oil prices rise, demand for auto-mobiles slackens. Even if the automobile sector is bailed out now by the government, same situation arises later. Its like postponing the inevitable. Thus its better to think of alternative solutions for this problem.

This can be solved by ensuring creation of millions of new jobs in viable industries. First, electric cars have to be encouraged. This can be done by giving incentives to automobile companies to invest in development of electric cars. One may point out that Indian power basket contains 75% power produced using coal, which is another natural resource available in limited quantity and also biggest polluter of environment. Also one may ask why not cars that run on liquid hydrogen. As researchers are still unable to zoom in on a suitable non-conventional energy source, it might be wise to go for electric cars. When suitable non-conventional energy source is found, just produce electricity using it and connect to the power grid. This turns the electric cars into a greener option. It also avoids designing cars that run specifically on a particular non-conventional energy source like liquid hydrogen.

Secondly, even electric cars use similar components like those that run on petrol or diesel. Hence, automobile industry needn't die down. Instead, it gets a new lease of life. Also, it is environmentally viable!

Next step could be huge investments in mass transportation in Tier-II cities. Just imagine, if every Tier-II city in India embarks on a public transportation pro gramme, it will not only be a huge asset later but also spur the growth of economy. Huge investment required could be the hurdle. But innovative solutions to this problem are possible given the vast amount of talent India has.

Has someone already found it?

My First Discussion - Are you paying Income Tax?

Yes, its that time of the year when everyone is worried about tax. As first time tax-payers, we (until recently students) are also worried about the amount of tax that needs to be paid. We had a good discussion on this which I want to share here.

Ravi: Hi guys. Do you know that I need not pay a single rupee as tax this year?

Sunny: You are joking, Aren't you?. You are earning 3.5lakhs this year. So even after 1 lakh exemption under section 80C, you need to pay tax on remaining 1 lakh.

Ravi: HRA and Medical reimbursements are also exempted from tax. Since I am declaring rent of Rs10,000 per month, my income falls below 1.5 lakh limit.

Sunny: Rent is only around Rs2,500. Isn't it?

Ravi: But I can get rent receipts declaring that I am paying a rent of Rs10,000 . Come on, its quite common these days. Its a public secret that people supplying fake medical bills, rent receipts are in good demand.

Sunny: Aren't you encouraging such persons? You are justifying tax evasion since it is rampant. Is that what you are trying to say?

Ravi: Whats the purpose of paying tax? It goes into politician pockets. If you pay hundred rupees, hardly fifty rupees is put to proper usage. So I can instead give it to a charitable trust and actually do more good.

Sunny: Government has started several innovative projects like NREGP, JNNURM, NRHM, Golden Quadrilateral which no trust does. Many of them are getting curtailed due to shortage of funds. This situation is forcing the government to increase revenue through surcharges and widening the tax net. I agree that there is a lot of scope for improvement. We should help the government by plugging loopholes rather than trying to make unfair use of them. One can't be sure that trusts make proper use of money. Also how many tax evaders actually are donating money to trusts. And how many of them are just giving it as an excuse for tax evasion. If this form of government is inefficient, then the blame lies with us. How many of us got registered as voters? How many of them are voting? And how many of them are actually exercising it properly by going through candidates background and parties manifestoes?

Ravi: We cant change this system in short term. As long as the system is inefficient, there is no use paying tax. I don't know what other tax evaders do. But this is what I want to do. I shall give the money to a needful person, mentor him and free him from depending on government's assistance.

Sunny: What if someone loots you and justifies it by saying that the money looted is distributed to the poor. What if a corrupt official says that he is only using the money to improve someone's lives. Tax evasion is also similar to that. At least we benefited from the government by way of lower fees, jobs due to tax concessions to IT and Electronics industries. We are earning far higher salaries than national average. We have sufficient financial capacity to actually pay the tax and also spare some amount to help someone. By the way, we are so called educated citizens of India.

Ravi: Truly speaking, I realize now that I am only trying to find some reasons for justifying tax evasion. I didn't realize how severe a problem it is. Since everyone is doing it, it didn't appear to me as such a big scam.

Sunny: We might have done several mistakes until now or even doing still. But lets not do a mistake knowingly. Then, there is no difference between us and fraudsters.

(End of Conversation)

After Mumbai attacks, many started justifying tax evasion on the pretext that the government wasn't able to protect them. But they don't realize the difficulties in running a government considering its vast responsibilities. Yes, there are several problems plaguing it. There are also several solutions. One needs to carefully chose the proper one which improves existing one rather than trying to destroy it.