“If you commit a murder in India…there is usually 1 inspector. If you open a business, probably 30.”
– Attributed to V.K. Seth, Professor at Faculty of Management Studies, Delhi University
Archive for the 'Inspirational & Insightful' Category
The Bahrisons Bookshop is a venerable “institution” in Khan Market, New Delhi. Its frequented by the bureaucratic and diplomatic community of New Delhi. The bookshop offers 0% discount. And it closes really really early. But it does have a good selection of books in its limited space. There are predictably a lot of books on current affairs, politics and diplomacy.
Here is a cute sign from Bahrisons…
I came across a very funny and apt coaster at a club yesterday.
I’d like to add that this coaster was inspirational. Even though I didn’t ask “her” to dance…I did end up having a fascinating conversation with a pretty stranger. If it weren’t for the coaster I might not have done that… 
To all my regular readers (are there any ?) sorry for the longish break from blogging. I’ m going to aim for at least two fresh posts per week from now on so keep coming back.
Lets kick off with a wonderful article in today’s Times of India.
What is the purpose of life?
On a day when you are bursting with happiness, did you ask this question? No. Only when life gets a little sedate and depressing you ask.
You need a purpose to life only when being alive is not sufficient. Right now, the biggest thing in your life is that you are alive.
The stock market going up or down is not the biggest thing, you being alive right now is. Everything else is secondary. But most people are not aware of it. Something did not happen or did happen — these are the biggest issues for them.
The mind is always looking for a purpose because people have not experienced life in full. If your experience of life becomes deeper, your question will disappear. When the process of life becomes absolutely exuberant, it needs no purpose.
You go to work, your purpose may be to make this much money or to take care of this or that. But if you go to a party, what is the purpose? No purpose — you just like to be there. If life became like one big party you would not wonder what the hell its purpose is. You just like to be there.
The article is a creative response to the difficult questions of “Why are we here? What is our purpose?” And I agree with the answer. Since we can never find the definitive answer to these questions, its better instead to immerse ourselves in the universe: Live life to the fullest. Accept its ups and downs. Stop wasting time endlessly on a question we can’t answer.
Some learned sages say “There is no purpose to life. Its all Maya (an illusion) ” But these kind of answers cause lethargy. They seem to imply that given everything is meaningless, one should withdraw from the world. Such answers also cause fatalism because you feel powerless to this great illusion and meaninglessness around you.
This article points out another path: the path of action and execution. When you savor each and every moment you won’t get depressed and ask yourself the meaninglessness of it. So how do I go about doing this in my own life? I’ve been through some ups and downs in the last few months and these are some of my learnings. I’d like to say that I’ve implemented these realizations in my life fully…but that would not be true. I know now that these are some of the answers. Implementing these learnings to the fullest extent could take many more years.
So here are of my learnings (an amalgamation of what I’ve read and experienced. I have no pretensions of saying something new but hopefully i have said it in a unique way):
(1) Keep telling yourself that life is a wonderful experience. Have you ever looked at the stars in a clear sky? Have you ever felt the pulse of people while walking through a busy bazaar? Have you ever felt the excitement of the great change that is sweeping our country and world?
(2) If you believe that life is wonderful and you’re just lucky to be alive then happiness becomes magnified and sadness becomes a temporary feeling. Sadness is merely the onset of change. Its your mind and body adjusting itself for a different experience in the future.
(3) Sadness is to be often welcomed. It forces you to evaluate your priorities. It forces you to change for the better. It sparks creativity. Sadness allows you to become more sensitive to the world around you. You learn a lot while you are sad. Too much sadness leads to depression which may not be healthy. But if you have a firm belief that this universe is interesting and you should just revel in it, and that happiness and sadness are just feedback mechanisms, then you won’t get depressed.
(4) We are all going to die anyways. So why not experience all the happiness and sadness that is in store for us rather than look forward to becoming an unfeeling lump of dust? Does anyone know for sure whether there is God? Does anyone know for sure there is re-incarnation or heaven? No. So until we don’t know that, lets enjoy life with its ups and downs.
(5) If you believe that life is an incredible experience, don’t withdraw from it. Jump into it headlong. Do all the things you want. Meet all the people you want. Love others to the fullest. Don’t hold back.
(6) Give to society and society will give back. Sometimes people give more and get less and vice versa. Thats possible. But no one knows what it will be for you. But you do know that giving more to the world increases your chances of getting more back. Its a positive correlation most definitely!!
(7) Stop thinking of yourself as individual always. We are part of the world. Don’t be greedy for everything. Everyone has a role to play. And everyone will take the world forward. Together. All professions are noble. We need farmers to grow our food. We need scientists to increase our understanding of the world. We need MBAs to sell us soap. All are important pursuits and each of them fulfill a need. Become a farmer if you think you can do a good job. Stay at home and look after the kids if you want. Everything is useful. Just do it well. Because if you do it well you would have lived life to its fullest. Otherwise you would have seen life in an incomplete fashion.
I agree with the thrust of the comic. However, it seems to imply “Let them believe what they want to believe cause we are right.” Thats are dangerous approach. What happens if you want to recruit the next generation of scientists and no one is available because their minds are closed by religion?
Its important to propagate views on science and rationalism lest we be overrun by the hordes of obscurantism and religion.
We must recruit more people to science, logic and rationalism because “they” are recruiting too.
This is BIG NEWS. India has arrived on the supercomputing scene with a bang! As of November 2007, India has the 4th fastest computer in the world!! This supercomputer is located in Pune and cost about \$30 million to build.
Twice a year, top500.org compiles the most respected supercomputer performance rankings. A computer by Computational Research Laboratories(CRL), Pune placed 4th on the November 2007 top500.org rankings. CRL is funded by Tata Sons, India’s largest business group.
My first reaction was disbelief because Indian computers typically do not figure prominently on top500.org. Then I did some hunting on the Internet and reassured myself that it was really all true. Ratan Tata (Industry leader and Chairman, Tata Sons) and Ramadorai (Chairman, CRL and CEO Tata Consultancy Services) were talking about their achievement. Major newspapers were carrying the story.
Then I got worried that perhaps the benchmark numbers were flawed or inflated. We Indians are so used to bad news that good news is hard to believe . But those fears were laid to rest when I noticed that the 5th rank was taken by a Swedish government computer that has almost the same processors, architecture, interconnect etc. to EKA*. If the Swedish guys with a similar configuration are 5th, our 4th rank made sense!
Then another thing started worrying me: Supercomputers of this power typically cost \$100 to \$200 million plus. How did our guys manage to build one at \$30 million only? (After all, all the hardware has to be imported…so there would be very little cost savings compared to, say, an American facility). The answer is not clear but a blurb from CRL’s homepage reassuringly says the following:
CRL’s vision is to be a global leader in the field of HPC by developing its own intellectual property and by achieving spectacular disruptions in the prevailing price-performance levels (emphasis mine)
I think what has happened is that we are seeing the emergence of the next generation of supercomputers built with cheaper and newer technologies. CRL is simply the first off the block. In the coming few months we should see more computers based on similar architectures (and low price) causing upheaval in the rankings.
This news item has just made my day. I have a big Math exam today (its 4 am now) and here I am blogging about EKA! Good Night!
November 2007 supercomputer rankings
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*The 4th rank Indian and 5th rank Swedish computers are quite similar in configuration
Indian: Cluster Platform 3000 BL460c, Xeon 53xx 3GHz, Infiniband
Hewlett-Packard (14240 processors)
Swedish: Cluster Platform 3000 BL460c, Xeon 53xx 2.66GHz, Infiniband
Hewlett-Packard (13728 processors)
How does it feel to win the Nobel Prize? Are all Nobel Prize winners mad geniuses or imperious dons? What is the atmosphere in the university after “one of your own” wins the Nobel? How do professors behave after winning the Prize? Why is science so exhilerating? What is greater – the happiness of making a scientific discovery or winning a major prize?
If you are interested in answers to the above questions, have a look at the webcast of George Smoot, the 2006 Physics Nobel Prize winner. He has just won the (2006) Nobel Prize the previous night and the Berkeley is holding a press conference to celebrate his achievement.
You need RealPlayer to see this video. Inspirational. God please send a Nobel (or two) my way
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