Fault lines - Outsourced: Clinical trials overseas

Do watch the whole video. How will this face of India change? What needs to be done ?

How is it that a billion plus people let themselves be governed by a handful who lack even an iota of conscience?



Day 11 !

Glory

Artist : The legend Sattiraju Lakshmi Narayana fondly called Bapu!


Notice something unusual in the pic?

The snake around his neck is missing. :)

Exudes power on one hand and warmth and peace on the other. The Broad shoulders and the lean body, the posture, the positioning of the hands, Amazing work of art!

This is an image very close to my mind, body and soul.
Only a handful know it's significance.


Day 9!

// Jagadaananda Kaaraka //

My day started with a 10km drive at 5.30 in the morning listening to Carnatic Classical Music.

Bliss !

I am attaching the video of my favourite Tyagaraja Pancharatna Kriti "Jagadaananda Kaaraka" sung by the legend herself MS Subbulakshmi!



Lyrics: (The order of the verses in different versions vary)


Pallavi

Jagadananda Karaka jaya janaki prana nayaka

Anupallavi

Gaganadhipa sathkulaja raja rajeswara
Sugunakara sura sevya bhavya dhayaka sada sakala

Charanam

Amara tharaka nichaya kumuda rahitha paripoornanagha
Sura sura bhuja dadhi payodhi vasa harana
Sundhara thara vadana sudha maya vacho bruntha Govinda
SAnanda mavara ajaraptha shubhakaraneka

Nigama neerajamrutha poshakaa nimisha vairi,
Varidha sameerana khaga thuranga sathkavi hrudayalaya
Aganitha vaanaradhipa nathangri yuga

Indra neelamani sannibhapa Ghana chandra soorya nayana prameya vaa
Gheendra janaka sakalesa shubha nagendra sayana samana vairi sannutha

Karadruta sara jalaasura madhaapa haranaa vane sura suraavana,
Kaveeja bhilaja mouni krutha charitha sannutha Sri Thyagaraja sannutha

Srushti sthithyantha karaka amitha kamitha phaladha asamana gathra
SAchepathi suthabdhi mada hara anuraga raga rajitha kadha sara hitha

Pada vijitha mouni saapa sama paripala vara manthra Grahana lola,
Parama santhi chitha janakajadhipa Saroja bhava varadhakila

Purana purusha nruvarathajasritha paraadheena Khara viraadha Ravana
Viravana anagha Parasara manohara avikrutha Thyagaraja sannutha

Sajjana manasabhdhi sudhakara kusuma vimana surasaripu karabhja
Lalitha charana avaguna sura gana madha harana Sanathana janutha

Omkara panjara keera pura hara Saroja bhava keshavaadhi roopa,
Vasava ripu janakanthaka kaladhara kaladharaptha grunakara,
SAranagatha jana palana sumanoramana nirvikara nigama sara thara

Aganitha guna kanaka chelas ala vidhalana arunabha samana charana
Apara mahimadbhutha suka vijana hrud sadana sura muni gana vihitha,
Kalasa neera nidhijaramana papa gaja nrusimha vara thyagarajadhi nutha



Someday I will get here!

Day 8!

Guest blogger series : Part 1

So I thought, rambling everyday about myself was getting a bit too strange. People (probably out of sheer compulsion) are "feeding-back" quite well though! :p

The one person who had a complaint ( "the theme of my template hurts the eye" ) is the first person to post in my GUEST BLOG series! :D

Author : Ranju !
Title : Conspiracy Theory of the Squishy Blob Called Brain

"I don’t know what I could write that is relevant to this blog! Not that I don’t care for the country’s condition or its bureaucrats, I mean, I do. But it is basically very hard for me to stick with a single idea and go on with it. If we ever get to talk, you’ll know what I mean. Thoughts fly in and out at the speed of light, and it is hard to keep a track of ‘em. My justification for my madness, I am a free-thinker!

Everybody has their madness. (Food for thought)

Ok, so Mahi told me, I could write about anything. That in view, this is gonna be very random and probably a little controversial too!

Day before (actually I’m not too sure when, I saw it in yesterday’s paper and the TV), our union health mister, Ghulam Nabi Azad, passed a vivid statement about gay sex. He said, “Admi admi se sex karta hai” at which point I burst out laughing and could not bear to hear any further! But I got the gist of it from the papers. He basically thought it was a disease that spread to India from the west. Of course he “clarified” later! Anyways, it hardly matters what he said and clarified. My thought basically dwells on the Gay part of it.

Being Gay, contrary to popular belief, isn’t genetic. Oprah thinks it is because of childhood events and influences. I am gonna go with Oprah’s opinion. Firstly, she is always rite ;) and secondly, childhood influences do play an important role in defining sexual preferences of an individual (at least with bees!). And since 98% of the DNA is the same for all living organisms, humans could act like bees. (duuuh)

But, why do you suppose humans are allowing such impressions?

A race, any race, tries to proliferate. Pursuing sexual interests with the opposite gender is hardwired into our brains. And to overlook the hardwired data in our genetic models and practice an alternative sexual pattern is quite an intrigue.
Now my theory for such behavior is as follows:

Premise:
Our genetic material is vastly diluted at the moment due to the atrocious increase in population.

Assumption:
Brain I consider is a being in itself. We are mere puppets in the hands of our brain (explains most of my actions! :D).

Conclusion:
So I think, with this alternative sexual pattern, our brain is only trying to conserve our race by limiting the proliferation, selecting the best out of its vast pool; selecting the strongest genes.
So even without knowing it, most of us are actually the fittest! Isn’t that something?! "

P.S. When I told Ranju she could write about ANYTHING! I never imagined I was getting into THIS ! Ha ha!


Disclaimer : All theories appearing in this work are fictitious. Any resemblance to science or facts, is purely coincidental.

Day 5 !

Lesson Learned

This is about one of the most profound moments of my life. I will try n keep it short.

Over the past two years I have spent as much time driving from my place to my sister's as a trainee pilot does to clock a certain number of flying hours. Driving through Kukatpally is basically as bad as it can possibly get. Hyderabad traffic is known for it's utter lack of road sense and deplorable road conditions.

So here I am driving one afternoon last summer. Blazing hot as it is in Hyd when it hits a 42 deg Temp.. we were all hungry and basically on the edge of losing it. It's never easy when your mum is well "Back Seat Driving" as I call it! She has been driving in hyd for over 15 years and she drives now even when she is not at the wheel ;) through shrieks, yells, "SLooww Sloow" instructions apart from pressing the foot down on the imaginary clutch n break!

That day all of us were at our wit's ends fulled further by hunger complaining about how HOT it was, how our sedan wasn't cooling down enough, how horrid it was to drive in such hostile conditions.

Amongst all that chaos I spotted an open truck transporting bricks. On them sat four middle aged men with the most serene expressions as if they were enjoying a wonderful drive under the full moon. They didn't look half as drained as we did, not half as troubled as we were.

That memory of those 4 men gave me the much needed reality check. It changed my perspective and has left an indelible imprint in my life. I do hope I get the opportunities in my career to help such men earn for themselves a much better life. A life they truly deserve.

For the rest of the drive, all 4 of us remained silent.

Day 3 !

Redefining the word Integrity

The 3 songs that move me to my very soul!

1. Elvis Presley's If I can dream

When Elvis heard it he proclaimed "I'm never going to sing another song I don't believe in. I'm never going to make another picture I don't believe in."
He sang this song as a tribute to Martin Luther King soon after he was assassinated.

Presenting my king with his ultimate classic If I can dream..

">

There must be lights burning brighter somewhere
Got to be birds flying higher in a sky more blue
If I can dream of a better land
Where all my brothers walk hand in hand
Tell me why, oh why, oh why can't my dream come true
Oh why

There must be peace and understanding sometime
Strong winds of promise that will blow away
the doubt and fear
If I can dream of a warmer sun
Where hope keeps shining on everyone
Tell me why, oh why, oh why won't that sun appear

We're lost in a cloud
With too much rain
We're trapped in a world
That's troubled with pain
But as long as a man
Has the strength to dream
He can redeem his soul and fly

Deep in my heart there's a tremblin' question
Still I am sure that the answer, answer's gonna come somehow
Out there in the dark, there's a beckoning candle, yeah
And while I can think, while I can talk
While I can stand, while I can walk
While I can dream, please let my dream
Come true......right now

2. O Mahatma.. O Maharishi.. from the Telugu movie Akali Rajyam ("Hungry Nation")

This song was written by the great telugu writer Mahakavi Sri Sri (Pen name for Srirangam Srinivasa Rao.) The simplicity and the beautiful interplay of words here are beyond my ability to praise.

Here you go.. Kamal Hassan and Sri Devi in one of their all time best in this video

">

O Mahatma.. O Maharshi...

Edi Cheekati Edi Veluturu
Edi Jeevitam Edi Mrutyuvu
Edi Punyam Edi Paapam
Edi Narakam Edi Naakam
Edi Satyam Edi Asatyam
Edi Anityam Edi nityam
Edi Ekam Edi Anekam
Edi Kaaranam Edi Kaaryam

O Mahatma.. O Maharshi...

Edi Telupu Edi Nalupu
Edi Gaanam Edi Mounam
Edi Naadi Edi Needi
Edi Neethi Edi Nethi
Ninna Swapnam Neti Satyam
Neti Khedam Repu Raagam
Oke Kaanti Oke Shaanti

O Maharshi..O Mahatma...

3. Elvis Presley's My way

Elvis renders this beauty in a way no one else can.

">

And now the end is near
And so I face the final curtain
My friend I'll say it clear
I'll state my case of which I'm certain

I've lived a life that's full
I traveled each and every highway
And more, much more than this
I did it my way

Regrets I've had a few
But then again too few to mention
I did what I had to do
And saw it through without exemption

I planned each charted course
Each careful step along the byway
And more, much more than this
I did it my way

Yes there were times I'm sure you knew
When I bit off more than I could chew
But through it all when there was doubt
I ate it up and spit it out, I faced it all
And I stood tall and did it my way

I've loved, I've laughed and cried
I've had my fill, my share of losing
And now as tears subside
I find it all so amusing

To think I did all that
And may I say not in a shy way
Oh no, oh no, not me
I did it my way

For what is a man what has he got
If not himself then he has not
To say the things he truly feels
And not the words of one who kneels
The record shows I took the blows
And did it my way

Yes it was my way

( Written by Paul Anka and popularized by Frank Sinatra )


P.S. There will come a time somewhere in the future.. when I will upload my version of all these three songs :D Beware!

Realisations Galore

A blog about me will almost certainly revolve around UPSC. Now that I have spent a good half hour of my life in the SANCTUM SANCTORIUM aka the UPSC chairman's office, the least I can say is I am awe-struck! It's almost the first time that I have had a crush on a man almost thrice my age.. :p Wearing a Pista green shirt with sleeves rolled up, he devoured me in the half hour that I sat there. The sheer aura of the room (fantastically designed )and the man himself emanated power in the truest form.

Ok.. I now come to the point.

Civil Services Examination in India comes with a great deal of hype from the time the notification is out to the service you get alloted to eventually IF YOU DO! So much so that the first timers are thoroughly intimidated by it. Having been through the whole process myself, I am certainly one of those enlightened ones.. the one with the halo?? :p

My realisation? The exam's most amazing test is putting up with the hype.

No matter what people say about it being the most non transparent body, with archaic testing methodologies, and a cumbersome process, I for one, know for a fact that only people who deserve to get through actually do. And going by that fact alone, UPSC is an unparalleled institution in India.

One whole attempt done. I have learnt from my mistakes. Most importantly the hype is gone.

It's just another exam. I wanna crack it because it will get me the job I have wanted. Its just another job. The next time I enter that building, I will know for sure, those walls had nothing different in them. It was all in the mind. This time I will know I belong there..