never out of college...

Now this one I was intending to write since quite some time.. How engineers almost never live out the college type lifestyle.. not necessarily true for all but quite a few of them..

Recently we had a whole lot of freshers who got recruited and had come to our office to find out their respective projects and office locations..Every where they were spotted in the groups and discussing something of prime importance.. canteen or in lobby..

Boys though looked like just out of school types seemed to try and hide their child like looks by wearing ties. :).. and few girls looked so petite that it seemed that they had recently got out of their teens, with their braces off the teeth recently..

No matter how hard these boys and girls tried to look professional that childish look still emerged.. looked funny and reminded me of beginning of my professional life..

the haversacks may be replaced by rich office handbag.. but in months to come by with experience in the professional world building, the haversacks will be out from their closet and used again...
engineers will be engineers.. !! :)

Here and now...

Living each day .. Living each moment mattered,... and while i still say this, future and past at times bogs me ..  growing and outgrowing each day. did it lead to maturity and the greater understanding of universe, i don't know...  or may be it just gave me understanding of mundane circumstances and surrounding people and their behaviour, and i say i became mature...  yet  i don't even realize that time will sweep by and life may end... 

Universe is mysterious , so full of happenings that don't necessary have logic and reasoning.. 

whose life of the past 6 billion years has never been forgotten for the contribution they did  to the universe during their times of existence.. bones would get dissolved into the sand.. and the ones that may have got excavated would not be bearing any name tag... so what is it that matters to me .. 

While sitting in this cubicle and  making better deals or meeting my targets which is in a way is a life that I have accepted, i get these thoughts ..  did i inspire someone in my surrounding.. did i ease someone's pain... did i make some one's life better...is there something that i do that would make some one a little happier...did i wonder on the mysteries of universe, mysteries of life and death, existence of nature and various living beings, can i do such work which makes me happier .. would i get the courage to get out of this bent of mind that one needs to be excellent in their chosen field (chosen field it was by personal choice or the popular choice) and that was the only way to mark ones progress.. 

Life is too short to be led by doing things which may not make you or others around happy...Life's mysteries may never be resolved...  It is here and now..  living it with courage, simplicity, honesty while doing things of liking will for sure matter to me and my surrounding.. 

How do i take the life from Here and Now.. 

Learnings on J&K

While having a conversation with a Kashmiri muslim shop owner here in Mumbai, he mentioned vehemently that J&K was never a part of India and that India has taken over it and that it doesn't even have a mention in the Indian constitution led me to look on net on the facts about J&K..at that point I was trying to recollect history but could faintly remember on it..


Here is what I found an answer to the que.. was J&K taken over by India from wikipedia


"When India and Pakistan gained their independence on 15 and 14 August 1947, respectively; J&K chose to remain independent. There was an agreement by J&K with Pakistan and India that none of them will attack J&K. While India respected the agreement and exercised restraint, Pakistan attacked Kashmir in a bid to annex it by force. On 6 October 1947, Kashmir was attacked by “Azad Kashmir Forces” supported by Pakistan. To save J&K, Maharaja Hari Singh (the then ruler of J&K) chose to accede J&K to India.
In October 1947, the accession was made by the ruler in favour of India in consideration of certain commitments made by Pt. Jawahar Lal Nehru (the then Prime Minister of India). It was in the pursuance of those commitments that Article 370 was incorporated in the Constitution"


"Article 370 of the Indian constitution, which is of a temporary nature, grants special status to Jammu and Kashmir. Under Part XXI of the Constitution of India, which deals with “Temporary, Transitional and Special provisions”, the State of Jammu and Kashmir has been accorded special status under Article 370. Even though included in 1st Schedule as 15th state, all the provisions of the Constitution which are applicable to other states are not applicable to J&K. For example, till 1965, J&K had a Sadr-e-Riyasat for Governor and Prime Minister in place of Chief Minister."


It enjoys a separate Constitution J&K and is the only state in India which has a Constitution of its own. The Constitution of J&K was enacted by a separate Constituent Assembly set up by the State and it came into force on 26 January 1957.

Random th8s

A simple observation...

It may be OK to lie to someone else if you are not caught.. but at least don't lie to your own self..unless you don't realize that lying has become like a reflex and you don't even realize yourself when u use it.. !!

Diwali festivities..

While there were few people of the upper middle class flocking the malls during Diwali festivities with their dispensable income to splurge on , I found people of the middle class in the near by society where I stay who had organised for some community puja, children's singing, rangoli, elocution contests and drama performed by some professional troupe, antakshari contest for all.. It was amazing to see their spirits and celebrating the festival together...

few of their photos

Pondering over..

Was just wondering over.. during these festivities of Diwali and New Year why are people flocking in malls ?? There are ample places to visit in Mumbai - why just mall?? Was really surprised to see such behaviour of people.. was there any need to go shopping and splurging unnecessarily or is it just an obessession.. ??? Weren't festivals meant to spend quality time with family and near ones doing meaningful things..
With me away from family and with one family occasion nearing November end had gone to check and buy if I liked something for the occasion..but came back with this observation..

There is something we need to do to come out of our ghettoized behaviour..have some 'me time' 'family time' or are we just running away from ourselves and playing puppets to the chants of consumerism!!

Random th8s

Realised at the moment.. giving suggestions and advices was so easy on some one else's confusion..but when it was your turn to take decision it became equally difficult..

Random th8s

At times I wonder, how smartly some people shove off to you the torn money notes that they have got.. only when you go to pay those bills off you realize their potential to be rejected by the other person if he/she is a good observer..

In India some time back we used to get torn Rs notes in two parts with both the parts sealed in transparent plastic.. funny it was to see.. till the time there was a complete ban on such notes...

These days we get notes joined by transparent cello tape.. and they are so nicely articulated and kept between proper notes that one would not realize at the time of receiving...

indeed shoving the torn is an art :)

On water..

See I through it the pebbles lying beneath the flowing river..
so clear like a crystal
flowing incessantly..
frozen it is pure white..
and while it vaporises it knows no form...
so precious it is to life..
why then am I wasting that precious resource.. why then is that I am not respecting it ..
Conserve water... Conserve Life..!!

Under that banyan tree I sat..

Under that banyan tree I sat,

Wearing my thinking hat…

hearing the soft chattering of the leaves and see it dance with the breeze,

how I wish the time to seize..

Calm within with the tunes of nature and time..

Peace pervades within me sublime..

And so I thought.. 

Nature is beautiful,

Nature is Supreme.

So should we not care for the nature which gives us so much,

How could we play like insane fools and take the path to devastate it so much.

Apathy.. Apathy...

In the name of industrialization and commercialization we devastated every thing that came our way,

wish nature had a tongue to share its state and wish we were sane enough to hear its say..

Its time we take care of our greedy selves

Cos in the end if we don’t protect nature, the god of nature will not protect our petty selves..

Under that banyan tree I sat,

Wearing my thinking hat…

Silly Point to ponder

Why does one occupy window seat in the aeroplane when they don't want to keep looking outside the window ? :)

random thoughts..

Thoughts and ideas are so volatile as mentioned in my previous post here..i have come across ample examples to prove that point.. just that you thought of something.. and the next day or may be in sometime you see some one has already implemented that idea and you may not even know that person..thoughts and execution at the speed of light...

such is life...

Talk of the herds..

If you have lived in Mumbai for some time and taken public transport you would correlate to this post probably..

- every thing being sold over foot bridge or in the train is in denomination of Rs 5-10 etc

- only railways in the world where the merchandise comes to be sold in the train..

- as soon as the train halts people start running towards stairs.., initially i used to wonder what is wrong with people..why are they running as if running for their lives.. then I realized if you stroll aaram se you would be the one waiting in the jam packed stairway waiting for others push to move forwards.

- you will find people standing in the middle of the foot bridge halfway staring at the tracks far sighted..one would wonder why there are bunch of people staring like that as if watching some movie shot..then one would realize that they are waiting for train, fast train or slow train which ever comes earlier they will rush to that platform accordingly..

- walking in crowd learn to walk with one hand bent at elbow ahead .. stream lining people who come in the opposite direction to move out of your way.. :)

funny these encounters may seems and daily you may encounter many such experiences.. but it teaches you how to survive in the city which has no time and no breathing space..

enjoy...!!

Random Thoughts...

Bird swimming on the ocean floor,
Dare not know the depth of the ocean,
Yet it fear not the depth of the ocean…

- x -

Thoughts are volatile,
If you don’t catch them some one else will..

- x -

on rains..

tea, rain, the sound of rain, smell of mud, the fresh air and the breeze...

Life unparalleled embarks its journey..

After almost 3 yrs of starting this blog, Lifeunparalleled has embarked its journey. Lifeunparalleled is about life in any form is unique and unparalleled.. preserving it is equally important as saving one's own life. Alas! if human realises that the whole ecology is the center of universe and not just human alone. Death of one species would have its cause and effect though may not be in direct form.
Are we not awakened by the ringing bells of the climate change? the melting glaciers ? the rising sea levels, the unusual weather patterns??

This blog is not just about the bads but about showing ways to succumb and adopt which would help reduce our own demise..the exemplary work of outstanding people who are torch bearers in the road less travelled to conservation would be showcased ..

It refers more about ways that we can adopt at home and day to day use effectively with one step towards healthy and green living..

You can contribute by sharing about Conservation topics, people and their works in the area of conservation and their products we could use in our lifestyle to make it more healthier and greener..!!
Enjoy!!

passing thoughts

that bunch of yellows looks more pretty in the association of the reds,whites,greens and the purples..

earth tilt or changing direction of east?

March 22 2010

May 22 2010

(here the sun has risen high, is covered by clouds and appears to be a small spot)

Morining shot of rising sun from the same place of two months before and after.. it shows the tilting effect of earth..or is it the changing direction of East...Interesting isn't it ..

Laughter stalk ?

While walking on the railway platform alongside a lady.. suddenly a piece of mysterious flying roti comes and lands on top of her purse, the lady turns to see what came on her back.. and shockingly saw a piece of roti atop her purse...both she and I looked on top to search for the source, couldn't spot it tough.. ( may have been creativity of some spooky crows ;) , who sit on rooftop and at times shower their stool for free to the passerbys beneath ;) ) ...

looking at the sudden fall of the flying roti from nowhere onto the top of this lady's purse and her face expression of that sudden anonymous fall made me fall into peals of laughter..

Suddenly I realised why do we laugh..the situation was funny but it had actually put that lady in some sudden shock and embarassment.. Funny it was for the observer but embarrassing to the one who experienced it..

Confused still, I came and put search on internet of why do we laugh and I hit upon this site.
It says why we laugh can be categorized into three theories viz :
- incongruity theory humor arises when logic and familiarity are replaced by things that don't usually go together.
- superiority theory we laugh when we see somebody else doing something stupid or having some kind of misfortune and we feel superior to this person
- relief theory holds that laughter occurs when tension breaks without anything serious happening.
I could have categorised my laugh on Superiority theory.. but still would not know why I will laugh on some one's misfortune cause that would not have been my intention to show her my superiority.. or was it that it's so hard wired in us that it comes out as reflex action ..

So that next time you laugh you can categorise your laughter based on the laughter theories ...anyway Happy laughing and enjoy...;)

views, counter views on mega cities and multicultralism..

To add to the view point I mentioned in the previous blog..coincidentally, I came across an article in TOI editorial of yesterday about UN report which Predicts transition from Metropolises to Mega regions and is an extension to that random thought that I just pondered on.

The article is about views and counter views of mega regions..
Times view quotes:
"From cities to metropolises to mega regions – contiguous areas of urban development that often include multiple cities with extensive economic and transport links – is a natural progression...Linking contiguous centres of economic activity can limit inequality. Labour mobility between these centres means that supply and demand come into play over a wider region, levelling wage scales. And given that transportation costs are still a factor, the dense linkages within a mega region can situate consumers and suppliers closer to each other, thus cutting down on those costs and boosting economic efficiency even more."
Like how Gandhinagar-Ahmedabad have developed, delhi-NCR have developed etc..

Counter view quotes:
"We only need to look at our mega cities to imagine what even bigger units are likely to become. Too many people are packed into too little space. There is a premium on space and intense competition to own and hoard space. The economics of space in these cities is unsustainable because it is dependent on a never-ending supply of energy. Mega regions need to be built vertically to accommodate its residents...When communities are smaller in size, it becomes easier to use resources more efficiently. Better resource management will help reduce social and economic inequality. Decentralised urbanisation will also help to preserve and promote diversity of culture, landscape, food etc.
This point in turn supports the point that I raised of curtailing the growth of mega city and promoting growth and city size which is more sizeable and manageable in a subtle way..


More over I came across UN-Habitat site which quotes of the report on celebrating Multicultural cities.. which is also supplementing my previous view point..
Few of the excerpts :
"new multiculturalism that has the potential to broaden the cultural and ethnic dimensions of cities. However, it notes that some cities have been unable to cope with multiculturalism, which has generated increasing xenophobia and ethnic tensions. It therefore calls on local governments to help create harmonious and inclusive multicultural cities by combating xenophobic ideologies and anti-immigration policies."

"In many cities, lack of affordable housing and discriminatory practices force the newcomers to live spatially segregated lives in ghettos where they suffer labour exploitation, social exclusion and violence. This is unfortunate, says the report, because immigrants make important economic contributions, not only to the urban economies of the host countries, but also to the countries that they leave behind. Remittances back home are second only to oil in terms of international monetary flows, providing an important and reliable source of foreign exchange finance. In 2003, for example, the Indian Diaspora sent back US$ 15 billion, exceeding the revenues generated by the country's software industry, the report says. "

View, counter views and report just suggest the same... Sustainable is the word..what's your say.. ?

city talks..

While doing leisurely talk to one of my friend, we came up with the topic of our ever growing city size and the changing mindset..
Government has taken all the steps to popularise the city as The destination with the business friendly approach of the state which has thus attracted a lot of business..

With the growing business set up in and around the city , there's a huge influx of people from all over the country.. Enormous developments going around the city to make it a metro.. All this is good to an extent.. but the over exploding population and the infrastructure , with increase in vehicular population and pollution.. decreasing natural resources.. etc.. is in a way creating a lot of mess ..

It helps in changing mindsets when the city has multi lingual population to stay in harmony with different sects of community but when you see that its changing very certain roots that bind you as a community its not for good..

Gujarat has now got an ever increasing non-veg eating population with non- veg so easily available to suit the new customer base, an ever increasing youth who is liquor addict ( not that the state was totally dry ).. which was not very much like the state of Gujarat.. ( Gujarati community are majorly Veg eating populace )

With all this that my friend and I discussed, in my mind I had questions raised, Mega cities in a way become unmanageable.. then what should be the size of a city which has opened its doors as a metro and development..or when should the size of the city be restricted to have a balanced environment..??

Long after Kalaghoda...

Long after the Kala Ghoda arts festival 2010 is over, here i am with its post...just that when I checked my camera of the pictures taken recently I saw and remembered of the photos taken at Kalaghoda fest which had not been transferred on my pc... so here are few in the form of post...

Attended this festival third year in a row though this year was a very brisk visit on the last day of the festival... I have been fan of the festival ever since I had heard of the festival... Its a huge platform to showcase some extremely creative art work...

The Kala ghoda

3D art..

Amazing piece of work.. the picture of horse came out very well in the camera...Unfortunately, couldnt get the whole picture of this fabulous art..

The theme of the festival this time around was Saving Earth and Environment.. Beautiful collages using various mediums, paintings, models with apt slogans had been showcased...

Here are few of its pictures..


People taking pledges to put check upto their capacity on all their activities that over use and abuse nature/natural resources in a way of over using..


Plight of mother earth..
nice collage drawing, with apt messages...

In all, the festival passed on message to save earth very creatively.. Not sure how effectively...

Kalaghoda has been artists epitome and creative haven and has attracted audience in increasing order year on year.. for all creative souls out there.. its a must go...

Sealink ride and the mumbai cyclothon...

Recently C experienced one of the nicest way to visit Bandra-Worli Sea link ... Guess what ?

C was lucky to have participated in the 1st ever Mumbai Cyclothon - the cycling event and the category she had participated had the route via Bandra-Worli Sealink... C wanted to go and see the sealink since the time it had opened last year..but didnt know this was the way she would see it ever..

Lucky because in the normal course, two wheelers are also not allowed on the sea link but for this event the whole of sea link was booked for the enthusiastic cyclists... It was one of the best way to see the first of its kind of bridge in India..

Thanks to the cyclothon event, C came in contact with many like minded enthusiastic cyclists and groups organising cycling events ..

Main Objective of Cyclothon was:

"The main objective of Mumbai cyclothon was to create a mass mobilizing cycling event in the country - Cyclothon. This would be a public event involving the general public, corporate sector and the city at large. Projection of cycling as an ‘in sport’ – which connotes the values of speed, passion, excitement, thrill, fun and most important of all as an environment friendly sport for all, with fitness benefits especially targeting the younger generation of Indians.Cyclothon would imbibe the elements of a distance running event namely mass involvement and participation of World class cyclists, to support and encourage the Indian cyclists and promote the concept of cycling along commercial, social and environmental planks. " More details on mumbai cyclothon click here

It feels great to be a part of the event with all the spirits high and such huge participation.. wish more such cycling events start picking up and youth is drawn back to this great sport called - Cycling..

Udaipur glimpse

More pictures here

random th8s..

At times I think, every thing happens for a reason.. and the whole picture is revealed in parts only with those connecting dots, if we look back in time ...

Picture gallery.. sunday stroll and mumbai sanskruti

Did you know...Sewri bay, mangrooves, flamingoes and migratory birds..

C was lucky enough to go and see few of the many migratory birds at Sewri bay.. that chaddar of pink with a glint and a shimmer of gold on a hazy bright sunny day..the horizon of pink with lesser and greater flamingoes shadowing others like ergets, ibis, sandpiper, plover, common green shank..

Did you know some of the facts of Sewri bay and Mangrooves??
lesser flamingos

The Sewri Mangrove Park was declared a protected area by the Bombay Port Trust on January 15 1996. This park consists of 15 acres of mangroves in the mudflats between Sewri and Trombay. It can be reached from Sewri station on the Harbour line of the Mumbai suburban railway network.

In 1995, the BPT had undertaken to protect this area from any new construction or dredging activity. It had also declared an intention to influence the chemical industries along the coastline to check air and water pollution by reinforcing effluent control measures. The Trust further planned to protect the park from residents of nearby areas who cut down the trees for fuel, as well as from unscrupulous developers who remove sand from the area, thereby weakening the grip of anchor roots. In all this, the BPT was more successful than people had expected. However, more than a decade later, in 2007, this wetland habitat is in danger of being wiped out by the planned Mumbai-Nava Sheva road link ( this information is collected over from the internet)


On Mangroves

Mangroves are essential to the ecology of the coast and the island. They provide fertile ground for fish to feed and breed in and nurture a large variety of birds. Seven species of mangroves have been identified in this area. The Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS) will help the BPT to replant barren areas inside the reserve. ( this information is collected over from the internet)

intestine of some bird/animal used as bait to catch crabs

To conclude:

There are many concerns that lie for these migratory birds that come to inhabit from various parts of the world in this industrial area during winter..

Our Human activity is impacting every other species living on this earth..to add more , the planned Mumbai-Nava Sheva road link will endanger these species further.

Sanctuary asia has urged the civilians to appeal against this road link by writing our concern to CM of Maharastra, to build this link road 400 mtrs further then from where it is planned in order to affect the least to these wonderful guests of winter..

Lets do our bit...raise our voice and stop what is wrong....

More of pictures here