Power of Technology

Tuesday, March 30, 2010

 Science is organized knowledge. Wisdom is organized life. - Immanuel Kant

I was once talking with a Software Engineer friend of mine about the importance of work done by a typical city dweller in the Information Age. I said that Primary occupation such as Farming, and then Secondary occupation dealing with processing of the products of the Primary occupation, seemed so real and vital for human existence. A Tertiary occupation like writing Software, in contrast, only created a virtual world far removed from the real needs of humanity. Her arguments in favor of the virtual world created by juggling ‘0’s and ‘1’s didn’t impress me much.

I took up the discussion with my Software Consultant husband, and again found my primitive instincts favoring work done with our physical selves against the one done by pressing of buttons of electronic gadgets.

The other day, I went to my Bank pedaling hard at my bicycle only to find that it was closed for a holiday. The next day, I pulled myself before the computer at home, and started studying the instructions for using the online services provided by the Bank. Slowly and gradually, I went through the entire process on my computer and found that I had activated my online banking system as well as the telephone banking system while sitting in the comfort of my cushioned chair. The time and energy that I saved in the process got invested in my writing work that day.

I had finally hit upon the answer to my question about the relevance of technology in our life.

Any convenience, whether of Primary, Secondary, or Tertiary nature, that helped me in making my life simpler and more productive in my particular field of work, was valuable.

The Taj Mahal

                                                         Photographed by Shalini Goel

Emperor Shah Jahan described the Taj in these words:

Should guilty seek asylum here,

Like one pardoned, he becomes free from sin.

Should a sinner make his way to this mansion,

All his past sins are to be washed away.

The sight of this mansion creates sorrowing sighs;

And the sun and the moon shed tears from their eyes.

In this world this edifice has been made;

To display thereby the creator's glory.

As i stood at the Darwaza (The main gateway), with unblinking eyes rested on the Rauza (The main mausoleum), my feet slowly began to tip-toe the Bageecha (The gardens) leading me to the Rauza. Sideways glance brought into perspective 'The Great Symmetry' provided by the Masjid (The Mosque) on one side, and the Naqqar Khana (The resthouse) on the other side of the Rauza, disturbed at the interior chamber by the 'Lover of Symmetry' himself, for he could no longer have his symmetrical way with the placement of his own cenotaph. 

The Perfect Party!

Monday, March 29, 2010

Our revered scriptures have emphasized upon the importance of various art forms in human life.One such shloka goes as follows:

Kala sahitya sangeet viheena,

Sakshaat pashu puchch vishaanheena.

Meaning - Those without inclination towards Art, Literature, and Music, are but animals without a tail.

Human life has to be lived on three planes - Body, Mind, and Soul. Just as Food, Clothing and Shelter fulfill the needs of the Body, and Education of the Mind, similarly, Fine Arts, Literature and Music provide nourishment to the Soul.

At the birthday party of a friend’s son, while tasty food filled our stomachs, and conversation, ranging from light-hearted chatter to meaningful exchange of ideas, satisfied our minds, something soulful went amiss till we decided to hum and sing some beautiful old melodies. As soon as the nectar of music started flowing out, everyone of our group started feeling animated and more closely bonded with each other. Our souls were breathing through our tuneful humming.

The Party had finally been perfected!

The Somnath Temple

                                                                                             Photographed by Shalini Goel

Monday, March 29, 2010

The first time I had the full view of the Somnath Temple, my eyes became still, slowly drinking the beauty and grandeur of the Chalukyan architecture of the temple. The rhythmical beating of the drums and the bells at the evening and the morning Aarti inside the Sanctum Sanctorum made me sway in ecstasy, and for a moment, I found myself merging with the infinite. I lingered in the sea-facing gardens of the temple and found myself gazing across the oceanic waters at the Antarctica. I sure felt endowed with limitless power in the corridors of ‘The Shrine Eternal’.

Itsy Bitsy Spider

Thursday, March 25, 2010

The itsy-bitsy spider
Climbed up the water spout
Down came the rain
And washed the spider out
Out came the sun
And dried up all the rain
And the itsy-bitsy spider
Climbed up the spout again

Alain Robert, the French Spiderman, the ‘human spider’ climbed up 100 meters high, 20-storeyed building in Pune, and left different people feeling differently about his extra-ordinary ‘ascent’ atop the most fundamental of all human fears, ie the fear of height.

I watched him weave a pattern with his bare hands and feet while crawling little by little like a spider on the vertical challenge before him. My fears started troubling me as I watched him move higher and higher. What if he misses a step? ... his grip loosens? ...his head gets hazy? I knew he had the experience as well as the expertise, but still, he is human…prone to errors.

I scolded myself for attracting negative emotions to the whole spectacle, and sat watching him go up and up like a Yogi in trance. Suddenly, he stopped, standing precariously on the edge of the window-sill at the 12th storey, waving to the spectators, whipping up the frenzy of the cheering crowd. The cameramen inside the building, following his every step through the window panes, started clicking away poses of the man hanging in the middle of nowhere. My stomach churned at the thought of the Yogis of the highest order like Durvasa and Vishvamitra, falling prey to distractions; and here was this modern Yogi, in the jungle of distractions. What if his meditation gets disturbed?

I found my eyes welling up with tears of relief as our Hero arrived safely back to the ordinary humanity, in awe of the laws of Nature, especially the law of Gravity.

God's Own Gujrat !!

Thursday, March 25, 2010

"Cleanliness is Godliness."
"Life is a field of unlimited possibilities."
"Honesty is the best policy."

Powerful quotes when put into sincere action create wonders.

 Gujrat, the Karmabhumi of the two greatest Yogis of India – Shri Krishna and Mahatma Gandhi, showcases all the above quoted attributes.

Right from the Railway Station to the narrowest alley, every inch of land of Gujrat looks strikingly clean and well-maintained.

Right from the neatly uniformed women porters in Rajkot to the wealthiest Entrepreneurs like Gautam Adani, Dhirubhai Ambani, Uday S. Kotak, Karan Bilimoria, Dilip Shanghvi, A. M. Naik, Azim Premji, Anil Ambani and Mukesh Ambani, every son and daughter of Gujrat seems to be making use of the unlimited possibilities around them.

Right from the smallest fruit vendor to the biggest business conglomerate, every hard working Gujrati demands and accepts only the honest value for the product sold and the service offered.

No wonder Gujrat is such a Wonder!

The Art of Focussing

Wednesday, March 23, 2010

When photographing a moving subject, the ‘panning’ technique is achieved by keeping the subject in the same position of the frame for the duration of the exposure. The length of the exposure must be long enough to allow the background to blur due to the movement of the camera as you follow the subject in the viewfinder.

One cool summer morning, after running at moderate speed for about two miles, I sat down at a stone bench and experienced something very similar to the aforementioned ‘panning’ phenomenon taking place right inside my head. I found my eyes closing softly on their own accord, my breathing becoming deep and regular, and my attention following a beautiful creative idea from among a cluster of hazy thoughts running alongside it. I pressed the shutter release button inside my head and lo! There it was… a clearly segregated idea… full of potentiality… waiting to blossom into a meaningful write-up.

Tapur-Tupur

Tuesday, March 22, 2010

 Bristi Pore Tapur- Tupur…Tapur- Tupur goes a sweet Bangla song celebrating the Pitter- Patter of the raindrops on the parched Earth.

Pitter-Patter, Tapur-Tupur, Rim-Jhim…all are the verbal garbs of the same phenomenon, namely, the rhythmical falling of raindrops on any hard surface.

I met her at a friend’s place; thought her to be much younger than her real age; liked the lyrical sound of her name –RimJhim, and was instantly reminded of the equally musical name of the friend’s niece – RunJhun; saw her many-a-times at many-a-occasions dressed up prettily, joking n laughing merrily, making the exact same impression on the onlookers as the gracefully falling raindrops on a tin-roof.

However, her clear understanding of the abstract terms such as ‘depth’, ‘God’, ‘Godliness’…made me take a closer look at her, and I discovered her water-like quality of taking the shape of the vessel that she finds herself in.

The Conqueror!

Monday, March 15, 2010


‘Veni, vidi, vici’ – “I came, I saw, I conquered” wrote Julius Caesar as a comment on his short war with Pharnaces II of Pontus.

I would like to write, “He came, he saw, he conquered” as a comment on the impact that the protagonist of this write-up made on our household during his three day stay with us.

The moment he entered our house, he straight away bent towards his bhabhi’s feet (that’s me) to pay his respect, got stopped in the midway, and was offered an affectionate hug by her instead.

He serenaded one and all with his brilliant talk on any conceivable subject in the world; made us laugh and smile in turns with his skills at histrionics; left us spellbound with his honest account of the meetings that he had been having with his prospective bride.

He made everyone dance at the Holi Party; reprimanded his bhabhi for not paying heed to the golden adage – Spare the stick, spoil the child, while dealing with her two naughty kids; became his bhabhi’s confidant of all her woeful tales.

He went back and then came the biggest news that he had successfully convinced his traditional father in favor of the strong and independent young lady that he had been seeing for matrimonial purpose.