We just proved Einstein wrong

Are you neurotic? Or some may even go to the extent of saying, are you insane?

First thing first, we or I did not prove Einstein wrong in any conceivable way. It is just what I read on the back of a college T-shirt which was endorsing its college’s brain power in the loudest possible way. It read,” We just proved Einstein wrong….There is something which moves faster than light…..our brains!”

This proclamation reflects the gigantic depth of our romance with Einstein. We are not only in love with Einstein and his ideas but are also practicing a religion which revolves on the periphery of the enigma surrounding Einstein’s theories and ideas. For us, the science flag bearers of the country (and the world), Einstein has a larger than life image. Einstein was a man who lived a life as much mundane as any other individual lives is beyond the comprehension limits of our mind and there are stories to make it even more incomprehensible. Some ay that his (Einstein’s) brain was preserved securely in a controlled chamber for research on his extra ordinary IQ when the technology would be available. This one of the enumerable stories (may be true) which glorifies his aura even further.

“Einstein is to science what God is to faith. This comparison has become pretty enervative to the image of Einstein in our fraternity. We consider him above God. Is this blasphemy? The answer is no because in the first place god has no representation in science and secondly Einstein’s authority is of the order of God in science. This means that his echelon in science is greater than that of God in the realm of religion.

Why Bihar Floods ?

Floods in Bihar have become so much a commonplace in the newspaper headlines over the years that now people have stopped noticing it. Every year most of the districts of north Bihar gets flooded , people are asked to evacuate their homes and finally some staggering amount of money is allotted to flood relief teams in the name of rescue operation. This has become so trite that it no longer fetches of attention of the people of the country. Who is the taker? Certainly the poor and the helpless residents of flood affected villages. It’s impossible for people like us (sitting in a comfortable room) to imagine about the degree of helplessness of flood affected people. It pains me more when our government tries to tackle the situation by declaring it a national calamity and hence releasing a huge sum of Rs 1000 crore for relief operations to the inefficient government organizations. God only knows how much money reaches the actual needy. When the flood is gone and everything is settled some scam will be exposed and everybody will come to know that all the flood relief was availed by Sarkari Babus. What is more disturbing is that such a situation arises every year.

Why can’t we avoid floods and save poor people's assets from getting washed away every year. Every fifth grader also knows the cause of the flood, then why aren't we able to remove the root cause? According to major national dailies heavy to very heavy rainfall in the foothills of the Himalayas causes north Bihar to flood every year. Although this cause may seem trivial but it isn't. But the logic given by government that Nepal is not supportive and hence we are not able to arrive at a solution is also unacceptable to me. How can a country which is totally dependent on India be so insensitive to the problems of Indian people, moreover if it is really the case then it must be dealt strictly. We will have to learn straightening people outside India who are insensitive to India's genuine concerns. We all are witnessing what happens when we fail to do so.

Even if we get done the above correction, then also the chances of improvement in the situation are very grim unless our government sheds its laggardness and comes up with some concrete engineering solution. Our policy makers spend so much of their energy on planning how to rectify the situation once it has worsened by making NDMC type of things. I fail to understand that why don't they recourse to measure which will prevent the flood from occurring in the first place. Why can't we in lieu of allotting money for relief operations after the flooding has taken place, give the money to some private engineering consultancy or to some eminent institution like the IIT's or to a collaboration of both and ask them to come up with some exact solution. They certainly will. Our policy makers will have to learn to depend on and trust in technology. Bottom line is that it would be much better for flood affected people if we could save their assets along with their life by prohibiting the floods from occurring.

Death of Cricket

100 of 50 balls or 20 runs an over every other over is what we come to know while watching any IPL or ICL match. The game of cricket has lost its entire beauty in the 20Twenty format of the game. It is really pain full for a true cricket fan like me to accept scorelines such as 250 in 20 overs. With the coming of 20Twenty matches the game of cricket has shrunk to mere blind hitting, very much alike 'gully cricket'. The only skill which gets attention and applaud is that how hard can you hit the ball.It is true that results arrive in 3 hours with respect to 8 hours and five days for one day cricket and test matches respectively, but then it is worth asking that do we watch cricket only for the sake of results. Does tight balling and show of class in batting have got nothing to do with cricket ? In my opinion , and as a matter of fact any true cricket fan's opinion too, they are as much the part of the game as results are.But sadly enough with the coming of 20Twenty cricket these aspects are fast loosing their significance. Few days back some eminent retired cricket made a comment that in today's cricket Hard hitting pinch hitters are much more valuable asset for a team than a good disciplined bowler. This statement has left me pain struck and i kept wondering that has the era of bowlers come to an end. Has their role ended?
Its very painful for an avid cricket fan to see young talents, who could do marvels for their country in standard forms of the game, ruining themselves in the 20-20 league. I must say that the players have also gone blind after the money. Although a pretty strong statement but i still back it because of the mere fact that many international cricketers, who had a lot of cricket left in them, have opted for a premature retirement for the sake of playing in 20-20 league. My mind refuses to accept the logic given by the players that they too have the right to earn money. So is it that their earnings from international cricket wasn't enough to give them a comfortable living? It would be silly to even open a discussion on it.
20twenty cricket can never give satisfaction to a true cricket fan. I guess the ongoing IPL is much more about SRK and Preity Zinta than cricket. IPL is a sad story which has resulted in the death of soul of cricket, but i am sure that it cannot lure cricket lovers for long.The poor and rubbish quality of cricket on display in IPL will certainly push the fans away from it. Today an article in The Times of India said that already the signs of boredom have started to show up among the fans as they are getting to see the same hard hitting and fancy cricket to see in every match. Pretty soon the fans will become over bored and they will again turn to conventional formats to catch some real cricketing action.

The Elephant Story

I am an Indian so i have all the required rights to imagine about the India of my dreams and i am also certain that no optimistic Indian would like to imagine an elephant as a symbol for India in his or dreams. By all measures i consider myself an optimist, so is it that the image of a roaring tiger did not come to my mind while i was writing this blog. Certainly not, it could have easily come to my mind but then also i think that an elephant would be more suitable to describe India.Why?

Roaring tiger would have been the best image to depict India's 9% annual growth rate and especially when we come across news items like TATAs buying out FORD's brands more than often. But wait there's more to the story. Has anyone till now pointed out that even in the midst of a global economic recession, leaving aside few hiccups, India managed to walk steadily on the path of its growth and progress. This very feeling makes me proudly proclaim that Indai's growth story has been that of the elephant.

Our (economy) has been growing steadily and firmly without being threatened from global recessions which have now and then paralyzed the western world( the reader must remember the 2001 dotcom burst and 1997 Southeast Asian Economic crisis). This motion of India which is not fast ( like that of China) but is surely enjoyable for all the Indians. We the Indians are still in the process of dismantling age old shackles which inhibit our growth but once we do it there is nobody to stop us . We must enjoy each and every moment of our growth story as the elephant does in its movement. Beware world.........we are not roaring tigers but our growth is here to stay.

Your comments are welcome.