Friday, October 30, 2015

In the company of Mozart, Beethoven and Bach

With Western classical music (instrumentals), I didn't know where to begin. When in doubt, choose Mozart. So I did, with a sprinkling of Beethoven, Bach and Chopin in between. 
After listening to a few pieces, surprisingly there was a feeling of déjà vu… I had heard this before!

Realization dawned later, while watching cartoons with little Aditi… The background score for many Tom & Jerry episodes is Western Classical music! No wonder it sounds familiar.
And, the splendid signature tune of Titan Watches is Mozart's  Symphony No. 25 in G minor.



I haven't yet delved deep into Western classical (instrumental) music, but there are some clear trends. 

For peppy, upbeat music, Vivaldi and most of Mozart do the trick. 

For calmness and tranquillity, choose Schubert. 

If you are crazy for mathematical rigidity and structure, Bach is for you. 

For a stormy, angry mood, Beethoven is good. 

But when you want something fiery & explosive, something that will send an adrenaline surge through your body… Ride of Valkyries by Wagner takes the honours.



Tuesday, October 27, 2015

[Poem] तुमचं आयुष्य तुमच्या हातात...


Today morning while driving to office, I saw a slogan "तुमचं आयुष्य तुमच्या हातात" on an auto-rickshaw. It inspired a a few verses in me, sharing them here.



Thursday, August 13, 2015

A gem from Sahir....


I have always wondered why old film songs are more dearer than recent ones.  The answer came when reading lyrics written by Sahir Ludhiyanwi… They are good poetry first, film songs later.

Here's an expressive non-film ghazal from Sahir…

न मिलता गम तो बरबादी के अफसाने कहां जाते
दुनिया में सिर्फ बहार होती तो वीराने कहां जाते
अच्छा हुआ अपनोंमें कोई गैर निकला
अगर होते सभी अपने तो बेगाने कहां जाते
दुआएं दो उनको जिन्होनें खुद मिटकर मोहब्बत निभा दी
न जलती शमा मेहफील में तो परवाने कहां जाते
जिन्होनें गम की दौलत दी, बडा एहसान फरमाया

जमाने भर के आगे हाथ फैलाने कहां जाते

A bus ride

I dreamt that I am travelling in a red ST bus (State Transport bus of Maharashtra), sitting in the last row, just behind the door. It is early morning, around 6 AM and it is raining heavily. The bus stops at a village stop.

Matt Damon gets in the bus. 
He is wearing goggles, white shirt and jeans, and sits next to me. Am all excited: MATT DAMON! 
We take a selfie... Using his phone. 


And then I wake up, wishing that we had taken selfie using my phone so that I could have posted it here.

Thursday, July 30, 2015

Words of Fire: A tribute to Dr APJ Abdul Kalam

Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam was once asked:
What would you like to be remembered as: A renowned scientist, a successful technocrat or a popular president of India?
His answer: A good teacher.

It was a fitting finale to a lifetime of accomplishments that he passed away doing what he loved: Teaching to students.

Today on Guru Pournima day ("Teachers' Days" in Indian culture), here's my tribute to Dr Kalam sir: A collection of inspirational and enlightening passages from his autobiography "Wings of Fire."

May his soul rest in peace; and may his words continue to guide and motivate us. 

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WINGS OF FIRE---by APJ ABDUL KALAM
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  • The difference between an energetic and a confused person is the way their minds handle their experiences.

  • We need our difficulties because they are necessary to enjoy success.
Accept your destiny and go ahead with your life. Forget the failure; it was essential to lead you to your destined path. Search for your true purpose of your existence.

  • Anyone who has taken the responsibility to lead a team can be successful only if he is sufficiently intelligent and powerful in his own right to become a person to reckon with. This is also the path to individual success in life. What can one do to strengthen oneself ?
First , by building your own education and skills. Knowledge is a tangible asset, the most important tool in your work. You must have the most up-to-date information. A leader should keep abreast of all that is happening around him. To lead, is to engage in continuing education.
Second, develop a passion for personal responsibility. Work for the things you believe in.

  • All of us carry some sort of super-intelligence within us. Let it be stimulated to enable us to examine our deepest thoughts, desires and beliefs.
Work as hard as you can at something that presents a challenge and is approved by your heart.


  • The trouble is that we often merely analyse life instead of dealing with it. People dissect their failures for causes and effects , but seldom deal with them and gain experience to master them and thereby avoid their recurrence.
This is my belief: thru difficulties and problems, God gives us the opportunity to grow. So, when your hopes and dreams and goals are dashed, search among the wreckage, you may find a golden opportunity hidden in the ruins.

  • One of the main driving forces is: Motive. It is the force which is internal to the individual and forms the basis of his behaviour in the work environment. Most people posses a strong drive for growth, competence, and self-actualization. The problem is the lack of a work-environment that stimulates and permits them to give a full expression to this drive.

  • Most of the time, communication gets confused with conversation. In fact , the two are distinctly different. A conversation full of pleasantries is often devoid of any useful information, whereas the communication is meant only for the exchange of information.
  • Your willingness to invest your own inner resources to invest your life , esp. your imagination, will bring you success. When you undertake a task from your own uniquely individual standpoint , you will become a person.

A basic aspect of a person’s working style is how he plans and organizes tasks.
  • At one extreme end is the meticulous planner, who carefully spells out each step before making any move. With a sharp eye for what can possibly go wrong, he tries to cover all contigencies. At the other end is the fast mover, who weaves and dodges without a plan. Inspired by an idea, the fast mover is always ready for action.
  • Another aspect of a person's working style is control- the energy and attention devoted to ensuring that things happen in a certain way. At one extreme is the tight controller, a strict administrator with frequent checkpoints. Rules and policies are to be followed with religious fervor. At the opposite end are those who move with freedom and flexibility. They have little patience for bureaucracy.

To succeed in your mission, you must have single-minded devotion to your goal. Such individuals are called "workaholics". The term is misleading because it implies a pathological condition or an illness. If I do that which I desire more than anything else in the world and which makes me happy, such work can never be an aberration.

Total commitment is a crucial quality for those who want to reach the very top of their profession. The desire to work at optimum capacity leaves hardly any room for anything else. Total commitment is the common denominator among all successful men and women.

FLOW is a sensation we experience when we act with total involvment. There is no hurry, there are no distracting demands. The past and future disapear. So does the distinction between self and activity.


  • Everything solid contains great space within and everything stationary contains great movements within. It is as though as the great dance of Shiva is being performed on Earth during every moment of our existence.

  • Desire , when it stems from the heart and the spirit, when it is pure and intense, possesses awesome electromagnetic energy. This energy is released into the space each night , as the mind falls to sleep. Each morning it returns to the conscious state reinforced with the cosmic currents. That which has been imaged will be surely and certainly be manifested. You can rely, young man, upon this ageless promise as surely as you can rely upon the eternally unbroken promise of sunrise.

As the process of confronting and solving problems often requires hard work and is painful, we have endless procrastination. Actually, problems can be the cutting edge that actually distinguishes between the success and the failure. They draw out innate courage and wisdom.

  • Performance dimensions are factors that lead to creation. They go beyond the competencies such as skills and knowledge of a person. They exist at various levels of human personality. At behavioural level, the outermost ring, we can observe skills and measure knowledge. Social roles and self-image form the intermediate level. Motives and traits exist at the core level. If we can identify those performance dimensions that are most highly co-related, with a job, we can use them for outstanding performance.


  • The kingdom of God is within you, in the form of internal power  to help you achieve your goals and realize your dreams. There are many different types and levels that turn this internal power reaction critical. Sometimes, when we are ready , the gentlest contacts with him fill us with insight and wisdom. This could come from an encounter with another person, from a word, a question, a gesture , or even a look. It could come thru a book , a conversation, a line from a poem , or the mere sight of a picture. Without the slightest warning , something new breaks into your life and a secret decision is taken, a decision that you may be completely unconscious of , to start with.
Each individual creature on this beautiful planet is created by God to fulfill a particular role. Whatever we achieve, is through His help and as an expression of His will. We are all born with a divine fire within us. Our efforts should be to give wings to this fire and fill the world with the glow of its goodness.

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Tuesday, July 21, 2015

Einstein vs Quantum physicists

Would the Moon exist if there was no one to see it? 
Would a falling tree make a sound if there was no one to hear it? 

Does reality have a separate existence or does it require presence of an observer? 

Einstein believed that the Moon would still exist and the falling tree would still make a sound regardless of whether there was anyone around. 


Quantum physicists disagree. According to them, reality has no separate existence and it is only a manifestation of measurement by an observer.

Thursday, June 18, 2015

No Internet, No Birthday wishes....

An office colleague of mine looked depressed. Upon inquiry, she informed it was the birthday of her best friend and her mobile data connection being down, she wasn't able to message him on WhatsApp or wish him on Facebook.

I said, almost jokingly, "Well, you could consider calling him." And she exclaimed, "Oh yes, I can do that!"

So, she called and they talked happily after.


It seems for many of us the birthday wishes have been reduced to just a WhatsApp message or a Facebook post.

Sunday, May 17, 2015

Sunday scrum

You realize you're too much into office when looking at your watch at 10:30 AM on a Sunday morning, the only thought in your head is...
 "It's time for the daily scrum meeting."

Wednesday, April 29, 2015

Interview with Tushar Joshi

Pulse was a monthly newsletter published in Infospectrum Inc., the software company I worked in from 2006 to 2011. As the chief editor of this newsletter, I often participated in conducting interviews of senior managers in the company.
Here's the interview we conducted with my friend, philosopher and guide, Tushar Joshi.


Celebrity: Tushar Joshi 
Reporters: Raghunath Soman, Chandrakant Raju 
Date: 23rd March 2008

Tell us something about your favourites.
My favourite book would be 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, because unlike other self-development books written in West, this one talks about building one’s character first. 

Other one is Fountainhead by Ayn Rand. I like hard work pictured in that book with character of Howard Rock, which has been my own philosophy. 
I watch all sorts of movies, but have a special liking for art films, esp. the ones that show simple people, such as movies of Amol Palekar, Smita Patil. I love watching movies with epic proportions. If I ever get around to building a library, I would collect movies like Patriot, Gladiator, Castaway, etc..
Favourite actors.. Raj Kapoor, and Aamir Khan from the Khan clan.  
Favourite actress is Rekha esp. from her Silsila days. And of course I must mention Amitabh Bacchan… He is in a class of his own! My favourite movie of Amitabh Bachchan is Main Azad Hoon. It depicts transformation of an ordinary person into an extra-ordinary man. Favourite food… biryani!


Tushar does not know ANYTHING about cricket. He did not know why Nagpur was celebrating when India won T20 world cup.

You cooked for your team-mates during your Norway visit…
Yes, I can cook quite a few dishes pulav, anda-burji and some Chinese stuff.

How do you relax? 
I read books. Nowadays, a major pastime is surfing the net and reading blogs, articles and E-books. Our family often goes for long drives, and movies. Eating pani puri together is something that we enjoy the most. 
Tushar was a power lifter. He considers his shift from a trainer profile to IT professional as ‘a wild animal getting domesticated’

One thing that you like about yourself? One thing you wish to change?
Well, I think I can explain things in an easy to understand way, that is to say, I am a good teacher. Of course, my students may have some other opinions.  
One thing I would like to change… well, I find it very difficult to say “No”. It so happens many a times that I agree to do something to avoid bitterness, but when I cannot make it due to lack of time, it becomes even more uglier . So I have been trying to get myself say “No” at the right time to avoid further bitterness.

Working as a senior technology manager in a highly complex project, writing so many blogs, and poems… Taking part in many social activities… how do you manage all this?
The answer would be in two parts:
First n foremost, we must get our priorities right. If I need to do something that will make me a better person, I must do it, no matter what. 
And secondly, I understand that everything comes at a cost… I must say my family has been paying the cost for my so many activities I owe the time I spent on writing blogs and articles to my family. It is because of their understanding and support that I can do all this. The time that I spend in coding or writing at home is the time I take away from being with them. But that is the price we have to pay. I will not say I am making a compromise with the family time, we sit together and decide our priorities and then the time spent is after thorough discussion and our own decision so it becomes investment and not compromise. 
Tushar writes in blogs regularly. Just search by "Tushar Joshi" in Google and the query will return a number of hits about him. Internet is almost like an oxygen for him. Tushar's ORKUT profile has highest number of testimonials that we have come across.

Writing a piece of code and writing a paragraph of article or a stanza of poem… How do you compare these? Do they originate from the same creative source?
A piece of code that works; a well-written article or a beautiful poem…All three gives me happiness; irrespective of whether there are other people to appreciate or not. Appreciation from others is an added bonus! Such creative activities save us from making a machine out of ourselves.

People who have influenced you? 
The list ought to begin with Swami Vivekananda. I feel inspired by his sense of curiosity, his unquenchable thirst to find out answers… 
I admire the devotion of Baba Amte, and the bare honesty of Mahatma Gandhi. George Washington Carver, the Negro scientist who did pioneering research in agricultural in spite of heavy odd is another person I admire. 
In personal life, if there is one person I can name it would be Dr Kishore Mahabal, who is a reader at Nagpur University. I am influenced by his style of asking thought-provoking questions and leaving the other person to find out the answers for themselves. Over the years, I find I have ingrained a bit of his style in myself.
Tushar has been a very active contributor to Vivekanand Kendra. He hates being alone and is at his best being in crowd. He has a huge fan-following of his students.
Best pals at IIPL?
There are many friends at IIPL. I will mention only them whom I have seen closely. Harshawardhan Pandit & Dr Saurabh Sethia… both these have been my close pals, as well as professional colleagues. 
Another person I appreciate is Milind Tapas… very practical when it comes to work! These people have exhibited trait of never making a compromise on quality and they have been delivering consistently against heavy odds. 

In your Infospectrum blog, you have mentioned about your luncheon meetings…
Jay, our CEO, has time and again emphasized the importance of earning our pay-check, and I agree with him. Everything that does not relate to end-deliverables finds no place in our office-hours. Harsh, Saurabh and I meet sometimes at lunch and discuss about our own passions, technologies or current events. 
Tushar perhaps has the highest number of certifications in IIPL. He is expert in Java, PHP, mysql, system programming, designing, Linux, C++, VC++…

At this point, Mrs. Seema Tushar Joshi, made an entrance with a tray of tea-cups and biscuits, and we seized this opportunity to ask her a few questions…

How is to be wife of someone like Tushar who is always busy with his work and other creative pursuits?
Before we got married, he had told me, “See, I am already married…. to computers! My work would always be my top priority.” So, in a way, I knew what I was getting into … But I must say that he has managed the balance quite well. Whenever required, he always manages to steal some time from office work he is doing at home, for us.
Tushar is an excellent poet and is equally versatile in Marathi and Hindi. His poem collections date back right to his school days. These poems are on varied subjects, ranging from romantic songs to philosophical poems. You can see reflection of Tushar and his surroundings in these poems.
Which of his dishes do you like?
Maggie… he has a unique method of preparing it, with a couple of chilies thrown in, which makes its taste special!

Does he remember your birthdays?
Oh yes! I must say he is quite particular in this regard. In fact, there was a time when he used to prepare hand-made cards and give them to the birthday boy/girl in person, but nowadays, a phone-call is all that he can make, and he never misses that.

Does he take homework of the kids?
By the time Tushar comes home, the kids hardly have time to talk with him. So whatever time he spends with them in late evening is all playtime with the kids. 
Tushar: My daughters are very young as of now, and their homework, is completely managed by Seema. I may get more active at a later stage, as they grow up, for taking their homework.

Thank you, Seema-taai…
Tushar, What do you like about IIPL? 
We experience a true flat hierarchy at IIPL. The top management, right from CEO is accessible to every one of us, irrespective of whether one is project-manager or a fresher. Another good thing is, we still have a sense of being in a big, huge family… we have not turned ourselves into a factory.  

You have been on Editorial board of Pulse before disengaging voluntarily due to work-pressures. How do you feel about the way Pulse has developed? Any ideas, suggestions for improvement?
Pulse has been doing well. It has some good sections that I always look forward to. 
One thing I wish to mention is about marketing the Pulse. You need to make it more people-oriented so that each and every employee feels inclined to read it. 

Tushar has a huge internet presence. The list below is just indicative of his prowess in cyber-space, and gives an insight into the many facets of his personality. 

Technical articles:
http://omitsoft.blogspot.com/
http://netbeanside61.blogspot.com/

General Blogs:
http://zdirection.blogspot.com/
http://tusharvjoshi.blogspot.com/

Photo album:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/tusharvjoshi/

Poems:
http://shabdachitra.blogspot.com/
http://yetaajaataa.blogspot.com/
http://anuwaad.blogspot.com/

Thursday, March 12, 2015

No food for thought

With the arrival of smartphones equipped with WhatsApp, Facebook and other social networks, it's becoming an increasingly rare sight to see someone lost in their own thoughts.

Thursday, February 19, 2015

Immersive 3D dream

I dreamt that I was in a movie based in medieval times and starring Benedict Cummerbatch and Anne Hathaway. 

Initially I thought I was an actor in it but soon realized that this was actually an advanced 3D experience and I was actually watching the movie. But I could move about the scene at my will and see it from different angles and positions. 


Hope such an "immersive" 3D becomes a reality soon.