Beggars to Entrepreneurs

Travelling in local trains is always a difficult experience. Sometimes it is enlightening too.

This weekend, for example I found that beggars can be entrepreneurs too. They aren’t as dumb as they are made out to be.

Here are some striking instances where the begging party applies itself to the situation at hand.

1. At the ticket counter: If you have ever told a beggar that you don’t have change to give him, beware. Enter the modern day street smart beggar. Standing at the ticket counter, waiting for you to give him the Re 1 change that you got from the counter. No excuses now.
2. Catch me game: This was a really smart lady who sent her small kid to go around to get something. On receiving the coin, the kid would throw the coin or roll it across to her mother as if it were a game he was playing. Not surprisingly, he was more successful than her mother at raising funds. The true virtuosity of the kid came to light when he got a packet of biscuits from a generous bystander and returned beaming to his mother holding it like a trophy.

A third instance, to whom I had referred in passing here, was the snake charming beggar.

Obviously, as impressed I was, so was I distressed. Why did these people not spend their energy on something more productive? Rather than spend their time begging (which did not come across as an easy profession to me), why not go out there and do something of value. Maybe sell some newspapers. Or start a roadside food stall. Or become a local tourist guide. Thousands of possibilities.

What drove them to beg is a mystery to me? Was it their attitude, the government or just chance. I have many questions but no answers.

Movie Review: Dabangg

Dabangg is not one of the regular lovey-dovey romantic type movies that are churned out every now and then by the Indian film industry in Bollywood. High on style quotient and in every manner of word, Dabangg: fearless, this is definitely one of those movies that you must add on top of your must-watch list.

To start with, I was tempted to draw parallels of the movie with The Matrix (dodging stuff!) and Sherlock Holmes (look at the final fighting scene in the trailer: ditto Sherlock Holmes), but after getting warmed up to the movie, one realizes that this movie is much above all that. This movie is going to have a cult following in its own right.

Some of the dialogues in the movie for instance are hilarious (हम तुममे इतने छेद कर देंगे कि पता नहीं चलेगा कि साँस कहाँ से ले और पादे कहाँ से) and really gives you the feel of a देसी "Made in India" (not one of those imported ones that you can find if you walk into any cinema hall these days) movie. Salman Khan embraces the character of Chulbul Pandey aka "Robin Hood" Pandey with ease what with the narrow moustache and the sunglasses which he puts behind his neck जिससे आगे भी और पीछे भी नज़र रहे. 

The accelerated/decelerated camera frames, the panning of the camera and the the background music playing whenever Salman Khan is in a scene that demands some amount of studappa really adds to the zing in the movie. And how can one forget the dance scenes with some amazing lighting (Diwali style? notice the expanding hearts on Salman Khan’s glasses!) and refreshingly unorthodox dance moves (How they move their belts?!) that are unlike any other Bollywood movie in recent memory.

One is so enraptured by the antiques of Chulbul that one really doesn’t seem to notice much of the plot. One does find surprises along the way, not many of course but a few small ones for sure (the death of Chulbul’s mother for instance or the Mango box which very innocuously seemed nothing but a box full of mangoes!). 

Content-wise it wouldn’t possibly add up to much, but it is a movie with some class and some Masala. This isn’t a movie for the film critique to analyse an intricately woven plot. But a movie for the masses that is fun-packed, low on Funda but surely full of clean, pure entertainment! Go, watch it!

A Dozen Ways To Spruce Up Your Summer Vacations

This is the toughest time of the year. 2 and a half months of languor now coming to a full stop. It all started with euphoria, turning to ennui and now ending with a sense of wistful longing.

It has been a wonderful summer for half a dozen reasons.

For one, I could get back to playing Squash after a long long time (Yeah! Kgp has no squash court and half the IITians don't know that such a game exists. One more reason to detest IITs!?).

Secondly, I could get back to doing what I loved doing most. Reading books. And what better way to spend your vacation than in the company of Joseph Keller, J.D. Salinger, Michael Crichton and the like.

Thirdly, I took this as an opportunity to refuel myself with all the good food that I could get my hands on: Chinese, Italian, authentic Mallu fish curry and Bengali Mach Jhol & Posto bhaath.

Fourthly, I discovered that gambling(?) isn't all that bad. An outhouse at Tambola fetched me not just 300 bucks but a flurry of 10 rupee notes so that I could become a bus conductor if I wanted to (Alternate profession?!).

Fifthly, I discovered the joy of meditating on the sea beach with nothing but the waves crashing against the rocks.

Sixthly, I can now do the one legged situps and use the swiss ball to do pushups in the gym (Beat that!).

Those of you who have been wondering what to do all summer and couldn't come up with something to do: there you are. Half a dozen ways to spruce up your summer vacation.

P.S: You might be inclined to think that bloggers like me are incorrigible narcissistic egocentric personalities. But this is just half of the dozen. The other half is yet to come! More in another post.

P.P.S: Ignore the P.S.

P.P.P.S: I love writing post-post-post scripts. [Nested{P}s?]

P.P.P.P.S: On second thoughts, how did you spend your vacations?! Leave your valuable thoughts as comments to this post.

P.P.P.P.P.S: That is 5 Ps!

Subjectivity vs Objectivity

This is a question that has been haranguing me for a long time. Should one put subjectivity over objectivity or objectivity over subjectivity.

The Board Exams

When I was in Xth, I was taught that I had to present my matter well in the Board exams because the examiner got paid very poorly for the answer-scripts. So, I should try and make things easier for him. And that I did, with wonderful results.

However, it has led me to think about the candidates who were as good if not better than me but ended up with lower marks just because they could not present the matter well.

Step Marking

But then came along IIT. Either you get a zero or full marks. Nothing in between. Nothing for knowing how to go about it. They said it was a question of lives. If you designed a faulty bridge that collapsed, you had failed. You couldn’t go around saying that you had designed the method by the right method. It was the classic case of operation successful but patient dead.

They had a point. But what could they expect out of candidates in 3 hours of tense exam? Shouldn’t they be awarding step marks?

Why I like sports

The best thing about sports is the objectivity. You are either first or you aren’t. Either you ran the race in 10 seconds or you didn’t. You either lifted 100 kgs or you didn’t. Nobody can counter you on that point. Either it is or it isn’t. No middle ground.

And why I hate politics

Politics in the generic sense which pervades our daily lives. For me, it would possibly be the Hall, Kgp elections, interviews and so and so forth. I have felt it is all subjective. What may be good for me may not be good for you. What I like you don’t. What is a perfect answer for me in an interview is possibly the worst answer you could possibly think of.

So, is the verdict in favour of Objectivity? Not really. I wouldn’t want to flunk an exam just because it wasn’t my day. I knew the things but it was just that – it wasn’t my day. Shouldn’t you be awarding me for the hard work that I put in through the year? And oh! nobody would be reading my blog if it was either good or bad. Nothing in between.

What is your opinion? Subjectivity or Objectivity?

Writing about Writing

Recursion

Being an engineering student, one always keeps coming across recursion. Recursive functions, recursive acronyms, recursive photos and what not. Recursion has become a part and parcel of my life. So why not a recursive post? Can that be theoretically possible? Can I write about writing?

About the writing process

Many of those who have read my blog ask me to write on topics far flung. What would it be like if I wrote a book? What it be like if I wrote on the Copenhagen Summit? What would it be like if I wrote on something that was completely unrelated to me.

The truth is - I cannot write on something that I do not know much about. And I find it difficult to do what journalists frequently do - make a bharta out of ideas.

In fact, there are very few authors who write about things they have no or little knowledge of. Take bestselling author Chetan Bhagat for instance. All his novels have been influenced by certain incidents in his life. Take any author. Amartya Sen doesn't write about Rocket Science. He writes Economics. Ramchandra Guha doesn't write Black Swans and Malcolm Gladwell doesn't write about Objectivism. This was something I really got clear when I browsed through the books at the Kolkata Book Fair.

Writing as a Hobby

It is very difficult to write on blogs as if it were your profession. Had I been paid to write like JK Rowling is, it would have been a different affair altogether. But till then, writing is my hobby - not my profession. So if you find me missing from Jazzonomics for few days in a row - you might find me busy with some crazy new hobby that I picked up or possibly reading some novel that I thought is a must read.

Freedom to write (Freelancers?!)

Writing has genres. One who writes on Jazzonomics (whatever the genre may be!) may not be competent enough to write on Scholar's Avenue or Awaaz because it involves a different kind of writing. The kind of freedom that a blog offers isn't available everywhere! One cannot write one's mind on Scholar's Avenue as one can one's blog.

Figuring out

If you still haven't figured out what the whole point of this post was, that is what I was trying to point out!

(Where else could I have my readers skim through lines of complete non-sense?)

P.S: If you are still trying to figure out if it was "writing about writing about writing about ... " aka whether it was a recursive post, you are probably on a wild recursive chase.