"Onward to immortality and eternal youth"

When we went to "Tomorrowland" at Disney Land and saw Microsoft surfaces (not the tablets, these were the coffee table kind of things they had prior to the handheld ones) we laughed and said, "that was made yesterday, why is it in Tomorrowland?" The thing is, being in the software industry there is nothing that really feels science fiction-ish for us. We know how those software are written, how buggy they may be, how they are tested and everything from an end to end perspective. But recently an almost 150 year old science fiction bowled me over, that too, reading the translated version of it. It is nothing other than 20,000 leagues under the sea by Jules Verne.

I love the ocean and the marine life. There is something so exciting about a whole world of animals and plants that live down in the water. After coming back from Hawaii, I decided that I should start studying about marine biology (I haven't yet, but this book gives me another reason to). It fascinates me at how little we know and how even less we care. This particular book showed me things about marine life and it also showed me that even though we are submerged in technology now and we are discarding things a little more than two years old, good literature, even after 150 years still stays as good literature. It was not that I haven't been in a submarine myself, it's not that I don't know the fundamentals of using a compass, reading a barometer or something like that, but even if those don't hold any surprise for me, the story did.

And did Captain Nemo!

What a strength of character! Technically speaking, he probably was not a very good person, at least he could have acted in nicer ways at times. He kept these people imprisoned, his existence was very revengeful, he sank ships whenever he felt threatened, he didn't forgive easily. But there is something about him which doesn't let me categorize him as someone bad. He had his share of grief. We don't know what it was which caused the deaths of everyone in his family - his parents, wife and children. It could be a war, it could be anything that the "civilized world" brings up as a necessary evil. But he decided to go against the human race totally. I don't really approve of that, but it can be reason enough for someone to turn away.

Then there was the adventure. The depth of water, innumerable creatures, dangers of sharks, giant squids (I hate the look of them), that was fascinating as well. With the adventure, I was ported back to my teenaged self with whom I thought I had lost touch :P

With more Jules Verne coming into my life soon I intend to move "onward to immortality and eternal youth".

My country

It was just a normal regular afternoon when I was writing test automation. Just now I renamed some packages and all the import statements were showing red squiggly lines under them. We don't like those squiggles so I was getting rid of them. There's no connection with the state of mind I was in to the caption of this article. Is it? Well, I was listening to our Independence Day flag hoisting clip on YouTube at that time. I don't remember watching the Independence Day flag hoisting ever, it's the Republic Day one that has more viewers, but with Narendra Modi as the new PM, I wanted to see what is special this time.

Firstly, the tune of "sangachadwam" got me interested. I have never heard it being played on military drums. But the thing that made me sit up straight was when the National Tricolor unfurled and immediately the Anthem started playing with gun salutes! So brilliant and so bold! Yes, bold. That was the adjective I thought of. Did I swell with pride? Of course I did. I am yet to find an Indian who would not jump up at that moment. It doesn't matter who I am or where I am located at this moment, I could well be in the outer space for all that matters. It's just that moment when you realize you are first an Indian and then everything else. Religion, language, society, financial status, nothing matters. It is at that time when you realize what Swami Vivekananda meant by "I am an Indian, every Indian is my brother." Say, "The ignorant Indian, the poor and destitute Indian, the Brahmin Indian, the Pariah Indian, is my brother."

I have traveled in India. Not a lot, but enough to get a general idea of my country. But I still wonder have I ever seen the real India? Probably not. The one which is far away from glittery shopping malls, designer wear, Bollywood or million dollar advertisement contracts. I hardly have an idea about that country. I can count three of my "India moments" right now. One was when I traveled in the general compartment in a train back from Darjeeling. Where people sat and lay on old newspaper spread on the compartment floor. 

The second one is quite ongoing. That is when I see my students at the orphanage over Skype. Their handed down clothes, bare feet, very minimal school stationery and in general a very rural lifestyle shows me what most of my countrymen are like. Families where sending their kids to school is a luxury, where having access to internet over modem is a dream come true. Last week those kids sang patriotic songs for me. As I was looking at them, I realized that they are the "future of our country" as people say. Their dreams and aspirations would be the path our country will take. If they learn to lead an honest life, we would have a whole population working by honest means. We will have to make sure that they get enough opportunities to bloom. 

The third moment was something very close to my heart. It was in the Himalayas, at the last village before India-Tibet border. I saw our National Flag flying high. All by itself, just a solitary flag. It did not have any language or expression like the human beings I mentioned before, but there was something in that lonely flag that made me wonder about my nation. It felt like a symbol of the motherland that we need to love and protect.

We don't really think of our country much. We probably don't have a "national feeling" because until the British came, there was nothing called "India", just a collection of states which always fought against one another. Our nationalism only shows during cricket matches and at the Wagah border. That is not going to help us. We need to start "doing something" instead of "saying things" and blaming each other or the government. Think of one thing you can practically do for India and stop procrastinating... just do that!

11110

There are 10 kinds of people in the world. Those who understand binary, and those who don't. If you fall into the "don't category" then let me just tell you, the title means 30 in decimal. That's because I turned 30 today.

I was asking myself, how does it feel to get into the third decade, but for some reason I couldn't sense anything different. I can still remember my second birthday party with ease. For that matter I remember all of my birthday cakes till date. I can still comfortably fit into a dungaree which I got in seventh grade and a top from eleventh grade and most importantly, my likes and dislikes have stayed the same. Other than learning some new things, I don't see myself changing.

The things that mattered to me, still does matter and the ones that didn't will never do. I am certain of that. I don't have any chances of spending money over designer clothes or a lot of cosmetics. Nor would I care for a sports car. However, the things that got instilled in me will stay there. Hopefully those are the virtuous things :) Another thing will be there, which is about making mistakes while calculating powers of 10. For some reason I can't manage to get rid of it.

I won't say I have a lot of past yet, but I see the past building up in my old journals or in nostalgic Facebook posts by my friends. However, there is a lot to dream about and a lot to make happen. There is one thing I should say that is getting different from my earlier years, that is I used to dream but now I am finding ways how to make those dreams work. They say, it takes as much effort to plan as to wish. I am using that time to plan.

There is so much to do and so little time in the human life. So much to know, so much to experience. Only one thing got checked off my bucket list so far. I will have to work through the rest. Building dreams and planning the way to reach them. And on the way I get to meet people, learn to do new things, gain experiences and cherish the good stuff!