Being Rahul Dahiya

The LAN/DC++ in IIT KGP was indeed a beacon of hope and entertainment amid the wilderness surrounding the institute. The fact that the institute is situated in the poorest district in India, nothwithstanding. The institute was actually a jail in the British Raj. That accounted for the eerie ambience. The place was gloomy in the mornings. The mornings felt like evenings really. Among the few good things was the general interaction with "bright" people from all over India. There was so much knowledge flowing everywhere. And then there was the LAN. The biggest misfortune of our batch was that we stayed in the then newly built MMM Hall - SD Sharma block which did not have LAN for the first whole semester. Only in second semester, did we get the LAN. I remember the first day when I installed DC++ in my old-school clunky desktop. All of us went berserk downloading whatever we could find. And by the end of the week all of the computers were infected by virus! Well most of them. I w...

The monkey jumped upon me. At first, it was right on my head, then turned and clasped my back. I was shaking violently but it did not budge. Finally it did jump away. The monkey was off my back and I woke up. It was a short but strange dream. Last Saturday started with me waking up from this peculiar dream. The day was to become more peculiar to say the least. I had a dentist’s appointment to get two of my wisdom teeth extracted. Two of them had been giving trouble occasionally and I decided 2012 will be the year to bid goodbye to them. I was bit helped my some of my colleagues who had underwent similar procedures. But a surgery involving anesthesia is always tricky! Naturally I was anxious. The dentist’s assistant offered a movie-list to me. I could choose one which she said I could “enjoy” while the surgeon went about pulling my teeth off. Well, I did choose my favorite “Being John Malkovich” assuming I will just get myself deep in to the movie and won’t care what the surgeon was doi...

Even during her decline, Sparta never forgot its claims on being the "defender of Hellenism" and its Laconic wit. An anecdote has it that when Philip II sent a message to Sparta saying "If I enter Laconia, I will level Sparta to the ground", the Spartans responded with the single, terse reply: "If".

Rashmirathi One of my most favorite poems of all-time. Gives a unique perspective of the greatest story ever told: "Mahabharata".

“One thing I like less than most things is sitting in a dentist chair with my mouth wide open. And that I will never have to do it again is a hope that I am against hope hopen. Because some tortures are physical and some are mental, But the one that is both is dental.” Ogden Nash told us long ago (when we were in 9th standard to be precise), how visit to the dentist is one of the most excruciating experiences of all. I had, but forgotten the nice poem in my text book filled with literary devices and humor till yesterday. Like all normal homosapiens, yours truly is blessed with a set of 32. Now, the wisdom teeth, (that must be some strange irony!) have only one function in human body: Cause the occasional pain. I read that a normal adult doesn’t even require more than 28 teeth in the present age. But still there they are, vestigial and remnant of an age where we used to eat what not! Getting an appointment for a dentist is usually a smooth affair, although, most dentists don’t work on S...

Having used and abused it in myriad ways, I feel indebted to all other iPhone zealots to put my feeling of awe in words. Though this is more abt iApps than Iphone itself. Before, I proceed, here’s what I look forward to in an iApp: Useful Information, Easy to read fonts and navigation. Most importantly, it should be like a one stop shop for one’s needs. And simply let you tap your way to a better life. Period. Some of the gems I discovered and regularly use. AroundMe: If you are dropped anywhere from the sky on this earth and you need something/anything, tap on this app. Viola! You will get what you want and the way to get it (phone no/route etc) (restaurants, hotels, hospitals, bars, supermarkets, you name it!) Trapster A cool app. For most of us trying to avoid the dreaded traffic ticket. It will tell you where the “traps” on the road are. Must have. IMDB This is like “Google for Movies”. Like the website, the iApp is the biggest movie DB on the planet. Labyrinth LE Try this even ...

More than a movie, it is a transitional experience for movie-watchers around the world. As one of the critics pointed out, the story does not provide any thrills or unexpected turns and it is truly an "I-Know-what's-gonna-happen-next" type of story-line. At no point of story will the audience be biting their nails as to what happens next.....And I say, if there were no 3-D visual effects as there are, this would've been another forgettable sci-fi flick. But,then, THERE ARE THOSE 3-D effects, and boy, ain't they OUT OF THE WORLD! - pun intended. Yesterday, I became part of the "Have-seen-Avatar" part of the population and totally loved every moment. Thanks to the techno-genius-vision of James Cameron, we, the movie-watchers, could be "in Pandora" and not miss earth for a moment in the entire two and half hours while we are there. Movie making will not be the same again, now that the fans have tasted 3-D wizardry. And nothing will be too big for ...

Dec 08 2009 So here I am, perched between cosy environs of home AND of the office, sitting in my 2000 Corolla (how I bought it could be one of my other blog entries). Hmm, when times are good and weather is balmy, the 6.5 mile stretch is a real stress-buster: cruising at 55 mph and quickly unwinding. (I am talking about Office to home, not the other way around! (Let me be clear and thereby, safe). Listening to local news on AM or good ol’ Bollywood songs, the stretch always seems to end before it started… Not today. Today, there is a snow storm raging since morning, all-eager to cover the city with snow. And to make my driving a life-saving exercise! Did I mention this is Minnesota where weather can be as brutal as any extremist outfit… unrelenting, ever-morphing and demanding! For starters, the Corolla, is a Front wheel Drive, which is anyways not much helpful driving on snowy roads. But when I saw even the “All wheel drive” SUVs “skiing” over a sloped road, I knew this won’t even be ...

"Poverty and Pride are devoted blood brothers until one, always and inevitably, kills the others." "A king is a bad enemy, a worse friend and a fatal family relation." "Mistakes are like bad loves, the more you learn from them, the more you wish they had never happened." "It isn't a secret until keeping it hurts." "We concentrate our laws, investigations, prosecutions and punishments on how much crime is in the sin, rather than how much sin is in the crime." "I love you with all my heart. You do what God should do. You give me a reason to live. You give me a reason to love the world."

There is a big hoopla going on for the “incident” involving frisking of APJ Abdul Kalam. That incited me to tap vigorously on my keyboard to blog my thoughts away.. I feel amazed at our (Indians) audacity to talk of such issues when there are far more critical problems lying unattended to (What about the places where people have taken arms against the government? Does that not weigh heavily in politicians’ minds? The politicians waste time in parliament over the issue which is nothing but a mundane but pretty strict security check for the US airlines. I think, we Indians should take a definite lesson from this episode. If the security forces have to provide top-quality security standards to people anywhere, the rules will have to be followed. After having suffered in the past due to terror strikes, Indians should just treat such procedures as sacrosanct. Dr. Kalam, on the other hand, should not dwell more time on this than it deserves. This is one more aspect of our daily lives, h...

My take on dance. Dancing is when someone is relaxed, mind and body are together; eyes, if not closed are looking into nothingness filled with bliss...The spirit induces the body to flow and float.That's the reason why people can't resist from dancing on joyous occasions like marriages or victories etc........Dancing to me, cease to exist if it happens for the outer world. Dance, I feel can only be pure when someone is dancing for oneself...there is no need for rehearsed steps, no performance anxiety and no worries about how one is looking to rest of the world.The way Sufis dance is one of the supreme forms of dance. Dance is at its purest as it becomes the way to connect to God. Compare that to today's so called "dance", where competition kills the dance as dance exists no more for inner self but entirely concentrates on outer world The whole body becomes conscious of its movements. Mind is tense and the smile does not reach the eyes.To enjoy dancing, one does no...

Bill Maher's documentary film on religion or rather against any form of religion raises very pertinent questions. Although the questions are not new but they do try to shake the base of every religion - "faith". Bill attacks all religions, does not believe in God and asks everyone he meets "Is faith good?" My take on the doc and the subject it deals with... The premise of the movie is something I am completely in sync with. That goes "Religion has done more harm than good to people till now" Even before the Holy Wars, religion has spurred on people to kill. The irony being, no religion preaches killing other human beings.But then, do people really care? No Christian behaves like Christ, no Jain like Mahavira and so on.... It is all around us. Again, we must realize that man has been out of jungle for only 25000 years. That's very little part of the human history which involved killing everyday to survive. When man became "civili...

To begin with, the word "friend" is frequently used rather..abused by each one of us..Who, then is a friend and what is a friend's purpose? My take on friendship on these lines..... Let's look at the potter a bit differently. What is his goal everytime he starts creating a pot? Simple, to achieve the perfect round shape and smooth finish. In every pot he makes he strives to achieve that perfection which gives him a creative satisfaction besides means of livelihood. It is so deeply engrained in the potter's mind that he does not stop till he has achieved "that" Shape which gives him everlasting sense of accomplishment. Ever wondered about this special bond between the potter and the "shape" of his articles...? This is exactly what a friend would do for you..I don't say "true" friend coz there is no need for that.Either one is a friend or one is not. There is no other adjective required.  This is like love, either you love someone o...

Few things I want to say after having watched this movie on big screen last night. The movie experience is truly world class. I am the biggest movie fan I have ever known and I bow before Anurag K for this brave attempt. India needs more directors like him. Dev D's soul reverberates in every youth of today. Unlike the novel and like the youth of today, our "Dev D" is perched between 'Desi' mind and 'Ultra-Mod' lifestyles and struggles on a daily and nightly basis. Danny Boyle's suggestions have been optimally used. The journey of the Coke-infested DevD's mind is a visual treat. Danny Boyle's cult movie Trainspotting was a similar experience. As a movie fan, I feel the camera work and positioning sets the tone and gives a 3-D like experience to the viewer. The twist given to the Trinity of characters leaves the viewers stimulated. Dev D's protagonist has a moment of truth at the fag end of the movie where he stops, realizes and collects what...

What is non-violence? is it merely what is preached by Gandhi baba? My take on Non-violence.......Gandhi and Munnabhai.. Non Violence is ... The One Religion .....it is even greater than truth (coz truth might hurt somebody)….it is certainly better not to be truthful in some cases. Is Gandhi a non-violent sage? No , i don't believe it. Gandhi baba does not appear to know a simple fact -> first, love yourself man ,your body ..Then think about loving others. Gandhi baba u showed to the world that u r fasting for so and so cause Isn't it ...inflicting 'hinsa' on your body? Isn’t it a contradiction? by the way fast unto death as u said it was…..is not fun. It is the worst form of death ……..when the body dies inch by inch..[Jatin Das died fasting after 64 days in British jail. But who remembers him now ? I say ” Is bande me tha dum.”] Those people had “Dum” who had the guts to die horrible deaths...fasting unto death, hanged unto death, shot at ……but not pretendin...

can india play in soccer world cup? She got the chance once! alas that was not meant to be...but that is past ..now WHAT? i guess india can play in the soccer world cup if: 1.India manages to get hosting rights to the world cup ,which is a distant cry,given India's lack of infrastructure and Fifa's reluctance to let a 'non-footballing' nation host the event. 2.India will have to do it differently.League football will have to to be strengthened and glamourised.The existing form will have to be done away with.As has been done with hockey in premier league,football also needs big-time marketing and in-your-face advertising to reach out to the public.Information about existing clubs in India has to be made popular.The new tournament may have foreign players playing to make it more compettive and challenging.Remember the rule of chess-"You can only become smarter by playing a smarter opponnent." Once the new domestic tournament takes off ,the ball will not stop rol...