Co-Imbatore-Incidence

It was a moderately pleasant sunny day. I was sipping tea outside this food joint whose name I do not know because they only have a Tamil sign board.

Traffic was its peak with college students walking around with their friends and possible girl friends, giggling and smiling at each other.

Engineers and the IT crowd were on their way home, some in cars, some on bikes and some blowing the wind out of their cigarette buds (and their lungs alike).

Impatient vehicles honking, wanna-be sport bikers blazing ahead trying to cut through traffic, birds on their way home, the light rustling of leaves, the clatter of tea glasses being washed, people talking in a foreign language and yet there was a monotonous repetitive sound.

*THUD THUD THUD*

*THUD THUD THUD*

This sound repeated itself in the same sequence despite all the hustle bustle around.

 *THUD THUD THUD*

It caught my attention and I noticed an elderly man digging a hole a few yards away from me. He had little energy left in him but was still digging that hole like his life depended on it.

Despite his age, he showed no remorse on that hole. He was not sure what future holds for him, he was not thinking about his past, all he knew was the present and that god forsaken hole.

*THUD TH..*

His digging abruptly stopped as he twisted his leg and sat down to fix himself.

He had no footwear on, just a blue coloured checks lungi along with a tattered green and orange shirt. He was in a lot of pain, but none showed on his face. Just then a man who looked like his boss stormed in on him and started hurling words in Tamil, which sadly I could not interpret.

The old man regained all his strength and started digging that hole once again. After a while, he stopped and approached his boss probably for his daily wage.

His boss, this brat of a man was not pleased with the old man's work and handed him what looked like a 50 rupee note.

The old man folded his hands in the form of a Namaste and started walking away.

Intrigued by this whole incidence, I had to know where this humble man was headed. My tea was cold and I gulped it in one go.

I followed him to a local mess where he ordered a Parota. I was sitting across from him on the same table and I ordered a Kalaki (a peculiar Tamil Nadu egg dish which has gooey pulp on the inside and a fried omelette covering). I had recently acquired a liking to this dish thanks to my colleague's suggestions.

People from all walks of life come and eat under a single roof, on a banana leaf. No matter how rich or how old you are, you must clean your banana leaf yourself and at the end of your meal you must pick it up and throw it in the trash. That, is the beauty of a typical mess in Coimbatore.

I noticed how this old man was relishing his single Parota and at the end of his meal, he neatly folded his leaf, drank two glasses of water, trashed the banana leaf and paid 10 rupees at the counter.

Yes, his dinner cost him 10 rupees. When was the last time you had a satisfactory dinner in 10 rupees?

He look satisfied with his humble meal, he smiled at the cashier, folded his lungi and started walking away proudly having saved 80% of his daily wage.

I contemplated following him once again, realized I have a PowerPoint presentation due tomorrow and decided against it.

But, right now as the clock on my computer strikes 02:30 AM and I am in the comfort of my Air Conditioned room, scratching my head, punching buttons on my laptop, I wonder.

I wonder, if this is a co-incidence or a sign that we should not spend lavishly on food.

I wonder, if a good meal fills your stomach or excites your taste buds.

I wonder, if you live to earn or earn to live.



P.S.- That being said, I would still devour an expensive chicken dish with no regrets. Old habits die hard.

-- The Ice cream image was clicked on a busy day in Gandhipuram (it costs 10 rupees and so does the tea) --

Food for thought.

To What End?

Have you ever wondered what it would be like to be at the pinnacle of your success having achieved everything that you have always wanted after working hard for years together? Some of us could have already reached there. Some of us could be on our way.

But have you ever wondered what next? What would you do after achieving your goal?

And (god forbid) if you do not achieve said goal, to what end are you going to strive for it? What are you willing to sacrifice to achieve your goal? Happiness? Sleep? Food? Intellect? A Kidney?

If your life goals include living peacefully like a Saint, in the woods away from civilization and meditating, I would respect you but call you selfish.

If your life goals include living off the grid on a remote island in a cabin powered by renewable resources, I would envy you and call you selfish.

If your life goals include buying a plush 2BHK flat in South Mumbai amidst all the population and pollution, I would adore you, patronize you and be jealous of you. But what I would not do, is call you selfish!

Because, deep down I want the same thing.

Who am I? You might ask. I am your beloved Society.

Yes, the same Society that judges people all the time, every time.

The same Society that prays for Paris but are not willing to pray for Chennai because no Facebook filter.

The same Society who sees a 'dog' but calls it a 'BIG DRAGON WITH FIRE BLOWING CAPABILITIES WITH A SWORD AND A SHOTGUN AND A NUCLEAR BOMB AND JON SNOW ALIVE.'

The same Society that has the memory of a goldfish.

Or wait. Is that the Media? Some would argue how Media tells nothing but the truth. Yeah, buddy. Sure. Try telling that to Amir Khan.

Information acquiring and distribution is a very lucrative and manipulative business worth billions of dollars. News can make or break a billion dollar company just with the right set of words.

Considering all the vulnerabilities our world could fall into due to News Media, it should be a very restrictive business. Awarded only to those channels who are worth portraying quality news. But that is not the case because every other news channel out there churn out their own story.

Marketing giants are doing the same thing. I mean, marketing experts and business leaders would even try selling you a banana peel under a glorious brand. Probably tell you its 101 uses and make you buy a single banana peel for 100 rupees. Then they would offer a sale for 70 rupees a banana peel and yet people will run to showrooms to buy said glorified BANANA PEEL!

People are not minions, you cannot convince them to buy Banana peels. Come to think of it, even Minions would not buy Banana peels. This was way off topic.

My point being, to what end are we going to live this monotonous life and work to attain materialistic pleasures?

To what end are we going to tolerate this uneven distribution of wealth?

To what end would you spend all the money that you have?

To what end do you think a billion dollars matter in an infinite universe?

We are living in a metaphorical bubble. A bubble made out of titanium, wealth, riches, cars, bikes, mobile phones, diamonds and supposed happiness that one cannot simply burst by living inside it. This metaphorical bubble has a door which opens and lets you experience eternal truth only when you agree to give away your earthly possessions, to experience euphoria. No, I am not asking you to go buy psychotropic controlled substances in exchange for the wealth. All you have to do, is die. Yes, that simple.

But here's the catch, no one wants to die yet wants to attain euphoria. What do you do when you want to achieve euphoria yet no death? You get back in the bubble.

Everyone of us in this bubble.

The real question is, To What End?

P.S.- If you are a recruiter reading this, I did not mean any of the above sentences. I would love to work in your company. Also, I would gladly take off this post if you want me to. Pbbht, I'm just an average dude looking for a job.

P.P.S - Regular readers, ignore the Post Script and think AGAIN.

Alright people, until next time.

Independent, are we?

We celebrated our 69th Independence day on 15th of August, 2015. This is a fact. A fact almost everyone knows.

But, how much of is it true if you look into the true state of our country? This a question. A question one must ask oneself.

Our primary motive ever since we were ruled by the British was to achieve Independence, in its true form. Are we really Independent or is it just a state of mind we live in which is portrayed by social media and other factors contributing to such a debauchery?

The very first time, the citizens of this country voted for a democratic election was in 1951. Some might argue that we were independent before that but how would you know? You were not there! Numerous princely states ruled our country and from times immemorial it has been plundered and looted. There must be rebellions over time and when they were victorious, they might have believed that they were free or Independent, in its true sense. Only for their children to realize hundreds of years later, that it is all an illusion. 

Even though you live in a country which is supposedly a Sovereign, Socialist, Secular, Democratic and Republic nation, are we FREE?

We vote our representatives to guide us on the right path. Each of the said representatives have different ideologies about our vast country. But how would you know their ideologies? How can you be so sure they are not lying in their speeches? What if deep down they just want to get rich and enjoy the helm of power at their hands? You DO NOT. You CANNOT.

Compare yourself with Money for a moment. Is Money free?

Well, try this at home. Ask your 10 rupee note whether it is Independent, it would just stare right back at you, probably flutter away not giving a shit flying in the wind in all its prowess considering itself free as a bird. But you of all people know, that piece of cotton* is your property, and is not free. You own that note. You own everything on it, everything about it. Even though that helpless 10 rupee note could be under the immaculate illusion that it is Independent in its own true sense. But you know, it is a mere illusion of Independence.

Now, ask yourself this. Are you really Independent? Or is something giving you the illusion of your freedom? Is it the government which is at fault? Is it religion? Is it the Lord Almighty?

Whatever be the reason, know this -- "Human beings governed by a set of human beings can never be Independent in the true sense."

I am sure most of you reading this would have watched Vidhan Sabha proceedings on your television sets. Have you ever wondered whether they are true patriots of our beloved nation? Or just a bunch of businessmen trying to get the highest quote on their end? Are we not just Money for them, rich ones bearing higher denominations and the poor "janta" bearing lower denominations? When you see opposite parties throwing allegations on each other which is not really necessary, do you ever wonder? Why do they be-little the other party? If the primary motive of all parties in India was to make India a superpower, why is it not already after 69 YEARS! Is it just the hunger of mind boggling power that makes parties go crazy over seats or is it true patriotism? If it was indeed true patriotism, irrespective of whichever party comes into power, why don't other parties work hand in hand giving suggestions or better yet culminating into one party that truly looks after "peace in our time"**. Why is it that the Prime Minister of our country is throwing allegations at other ministers in an open speech instead of trying to help them? Why is it that the alleged ministers are mimicking the Prime Minister of our nation just because of a mockery? Who holds the upper hand? Who is superior? I say, NOBODY.

Why should other Human beings hold a superior power over us if all are considered equals? Why should some Human govern us when it is just another mere Human!

If a 10 rupee note would be governed by another 100 rupee note, it would be infuriated! Even though 100 is a higher denomination, who gives it the right to rule over other notes. Hell, the 10 rupee note would go on strikes, burn banks for all we know. But it is not, because Humans are ruling money. WE are superior.

To Conclude with, Humans could never govern control over humans to be truly Independent. We need a superior power. What this superior power would be, only time could tell. (The movie, Transcendence might give you some hint also.)

*-Yes, Indian rupee notes are made out of cotton.

**-That was a quote by Iron Man in the second setting of Avengers (Age of Ultron) -- Amazing movie, again.

P.S- Rejoice, we still have hope --> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_RENcw7a140

No, just in case if you are curious, I am not affiliated with any political party.

Also, there are many events that are bothering our nation and I have mentioned only some in this blog post. I know some pretty foolish events and would love to hear some more. Feel free to drop in comments. :)

The Implications of a Mythological Consipiracy (End of the World 2025)

Its been a while since I last blogged, but this post is not going to let you down.

On a particular night when me and my room mates were having heated discussions about the way our Indian Mythology came into being, one of our friends (Sharath Nair) opened our eyes by narrating a beautifully crafted story. I am sure most of you reading this post know at least the basics of Ramayana and Mahabharata before continuing to this story. If not, read nevertheless, because the world is going to end.

The summary of this story goes like this.

As we know, Hanuman was faithful to Lord Rama and swore to protect his life throughout. However, Rama was an incarnation of Lord Vishnu, and like all of his physical incarnations on to our material world, even Lord Rama had to go through the phase of death. Hanuman was adamant and successful in driving Yama Raja ( Indian version of grim reaper) away everytime he came to claim Rama's life. Now, this was getting out of hand and Rama had to distract Hanuman so that the world is balanced and the basic natures of law are maintained. He then came up with a plan. Rama dropped his golden ring strategically in a crack of his palace and asked Hanuman to bring that ring back.

Hanuman, could change his size as big as the Chrysler building or as small as a fly. Without second thought, he went down into that crack, only to realise that this was a never ending hole right till 'Naga lok' (The land of snakes). When he finally reached 'Naga Lok', he met the King of Snakes (Nagaraj) and confronted him about his problem. Nagaraj knew just what to do and led him to a cave. This cave, was full with a heap of golden rings just like Lord Rama's.

Nagaraj said, "If you can find the correct ring of your Lord, you may take it and go back".

Hanuman was sure that he would find his Lords ring in this heap, but when he went closer, he realised that all of those rings were identical. There was no difference in any of them, none whatsoever.

"What sorcery is this? Which among them is my Lord's ring?" Hanuman questioned in a fit of rage.

Laughing away, Nagaraj replied, "Oh you do not remember? Every once in a while, you come and search for the same ring and then return empty handed only to find your Lord no more"

Hanuman panicked and flew all the way up back to Ayodhya only to find his Lord in eternal sleep.

This is when he realised that time is a loop, and after every specific set of years, history repeats itself.

Hanuman is one of the many Chiranjeevis (Immortals till the world ends) known to roam the lands of Earth till this day. There have been reported sightings and many theories however none of them have enough proof.

Now, this was one part of the story. After which, I started doing voracious research on the vedas and I came across a website in which they clearly mention how the world is going to end in 2025. The Mayans were never wrong but the conversion from their calendars to the one we follow now was not matched correctly.

Yes, you heard it right. The world is going to end (more like reboot). Here is the proof to support my claim which aligns with all the other worldly calamities or messiahs who came to this materialistic earth.

This is a long theory and you could read the bigger, more elaborate version here.

Now, we consider that each Yuga lasts for a period of 2700 years, which ends with a world changing calamity and a recovery(buffer) period of 300 years.

There are Four Yugas in Indian mythology namely Satya Yuga (Golden Age), Treta Yuga (Silver Age), Dwapar Yuga (Bronze Age) and Kali Yuga (Iron Age).

Satya Yuga was believed to be a time when all living beings were god like and there was no sign of violence, hatred or any bad qualities in the human nature.

Treta Yuga saw Lord Rama, and had people with some amount of violence and hatred.

Dwapar Yuga saw Lord Krishna and had people with an even more amount of violence and hatred.

Then came, Kali Yuga where violence was at its peak.

After this cycle continues, it resumes itself in the reverse order which implies again kali yuga followed by dwapar yuga and treta yuga in the reverse order.

Now, if you observe carefully then at the end of every Age, there was a world changing calamity. In 9900 BC there was Ice Age due to a meteor strike which lead to the total annihilation of earth. Some however survive only to further humanity. 

Next was the Black Sea Catastrophe at the end of the Silver Age in 6676 BC.

There was again a major calamity during the transition from Bronze to Iron Age, details are given here.

Then came the longest period of Kali Yuga the world has ever known. from 3676 BC to 2025 AD kaliyuga will prevail according to the calculations shown in the above table. This holds true to the fact that various mythologies all around the world correlate to this particular date. The lost city of atlantis is also true, and correlates exactly during the Black Sea Catastophe.

There are strong claims that the world is going to reboot in 2025, considering earth quakes, cyclones, hurricanes, volcanoes and heat waves occuring at various parts, the end of the world is near.

However, fear not, because everyone is not going to die. 

Only the utter violent are, because humanity must be continued back till the golden age. After the end of kali yuga comes dwapar yuga with a hint of violence and hatred, then comes the Silver Age with minimal hatred and then comes the Golden Age where all humans are equivalent embodiment's of the Lord himself.

The Kalki Avatar of Lord Vishnu is supposedly claimed to ride the Earth on his black horse while he clears violence and hatred off of our lands. However, there is still little belief to his existence.

The other day on the bus, I saw a septuagenarian who when asked to sit on an empty seat, refused because it was the ladies seat. His unshakable morale, moved me while two 25 year old guys were carelessly listening to music not even bothering to offer that old man a seat.

That old man is an example of people who shall move to the next yuga, and those two young guys are the ones who shall not according to prophecy.

Long story short, we only have TEN years left to make it big. So, the lazy ones who are sleeping hours together (me included) better start doing something REAL with their lives.

Alright people, keep reading!

P.S.- I wish to build an ark, but I am not sure if some bad people come to my ark any of us would survive, because then to kill those bad people, the ark would have to drown also. Sigh.

Here's a picture of cat. Because nowadays cats are everywhere on the Internet, why should my blog be any different! Also, which God would have the heart to kill such an adorable cat!

The Curious Case of a Bald Head

To shave or not to shave, that is the question!

A True Story from Mangalore, Karnataka, India.

A lot of people go around asking why exactly I shaved my head clean. Smack. Bald. Nothing.

And I have a lot of different versions and I splurge different versions to different people.
Well, here is the original unadulterated story.

It was just another lazy day in a typical Engineering college.
What do people do in Engineering colleges you might ask.
Well, the one's staying in hostel wake up at 8, move to a different location (lectures) for some more sleep and then finally wake up a few minutes before the lunch break. That is pretty much a sane persons story in a sane Engineering college.
(I also know people who posses a superpower of getting up at 8:50 am and attending lectures at 9 am. We'll discuss more on that later)

Students who eat food in the hostel mess are very less. One of the many reasons could be that they do not have enough time to eat in the hostel.
Fair Enough.
But the main reason is the food that these hostel guys try to feed us outrageously bland! Our food is so bland, the word bland itself is a very bland word to define it! (The dinner is good at times. The lunch is what spoils the reputation of good food)

Coincidentally, me and my room mate Sharath (one hell of a guy) decided to have food in the mess. Well, we couldn't finish half of it but that's another story for another time.
It was initially a random question to Sharath who was fooling around on his phone and giggling. (probably on whatsapp(I hope!))

"Ae, mein takla karu kya?" (Should I shave my head?)

Sharath looks up from his phone with his eyes all blown up and I imagine he is going to exclaim and say some words which would be inappropriate to post on here. Oh C'mon, don't grin, we know we all say inappropriate words every now and then. Some more than the other. But surprisingly his reply was very cool.
"Ha kar na! Mast lagega!" (Go ahead man, do it!)

Strike one.

That's it, I was convinced that I was going to go bald today.

Later that day, I had to go to Mangalore to buy a Stretched Canvas.

Oh, I made a painting for a friend and gifted it to her as a birthday gift. The only reason I am mentioning this is with the hope I would get some orders for portraits. :D
Yes, prices are negotiable. ;)

I had almost forgot about shaving my head until I saw a bald guy in Mangalore in his mid twenties, wearing a yellow T Shirt, a diamond earring, beats earphones and sporting a goatee. "I want to do this", I said to myself.

Strike two.

Apparently, all the barber shops were closed that day. Disappointed, I come back to the hostel. I made a loud statement in my room that I am going to go bald tomorrow.
Shreyas (one hell of a guy too) notifies that the next day is Diwali, and it is inauspicious to go bald on a festival.

Damn Traditions! (You could say superstitions, but I prefer sticking to the term traditions)

With more time to spare, I tell a couple of friends about my bold decision and ask for suggestions.
Some sulked, some gave me the heads up while some got more excited than I was!

Strike three.

Within a minute, I make another statement of going bald right now!

Heads turned. People laughed.

Armed with a trimmer and a shaving blade, me and Sharath get to work.
Experimenting with a Mohawk first and then some.

*Eye of the tiger playing in the background*

Then I rise a champion, along with my head.
There it was, shining in all its glory.
The Bald Head.

I move my hands fearlessly over my head and feel the energy, the blood flowing beneath the skull, the feeling of achieving something which I longed for. The feeling of Victory!

And then somebody abruptly shut the background music.

A giggle which turned into a laugh.
Well, there were a lot more laughs and questions than I could possibly imagine right now.

I know that by the time you finish reading this post you'd have laughed your arses off as well. :P

The summary of why I shaved my head was because I really wanted to do it, and feel the wind when you run, ride a bike or sit on a window seat.
You don't have to comb.
Your hair does not get wet.
The possibilities are limitless when you are bald.
Except, you cannot sport a hairstyle because you do not have any.
You become a singularity in your area and you make a statement wherever you go.
People look up to you, and you feel confident all of a sudden, or so it is led to believe.

So, if you are planning to shed some weight, Go bald! Well, technically hair also amounts to a few milligrams, right?

What's the worse that could happen, you'd grow back your hair in a month!

Alright people, keep reading! Follow and Like my Facebook Page if you find this post interesting, and I shall shower you with more such interesting posts, or posts of your choice. Drop me a mail ashishvirar@gmail.com

P.S.- The pictures attached are of my painting and my Bald Head! Also, random people who read my blog, I love you guys! You ROCK! :D

Ponky Bird Unleashed :P

                The last few months I have been off the hook. I figured my blog was getting rusty and it needed the right amount of juice to jump right away. A silly bet with a senior of mine, proves to be just the right topic to blog about. :D

               If you are reading this, I suppose you know what Flappy Bird is. Well, for those who do not, it is a very intriguing and mind boggling game that you just cannot stop playing. You either get so addicted that you master the game, or you chicken out and complain how frustrating the game is until the developer takes it off the internet. I belong to the former group, and my obsession with flappy bird, leads to the creation of an entirely new game. Ladies and Gentlemen, I present my first ever android game, 'Ponky Bird'. (Well, it is not entirely my game, the code still belongs to the original dotgears developer, and I just did a little tweaking. I do not intend to have any copyright issues, and dotgears developers still have full access over the game).

           

All I had to do was decompile the .apk file, change the bird's picture with one of my friend's (in this case, Ankitha's) picture, recompile the folder into an .apk file, and you get a brand new game with Ankitha hitting the pipes, and falling down. So, Ankitha, I win the bet and you owe me a treat. :D

            And the attached screenshots are of the actual gameplay. :D You can download the game from the following links. :D

Download Ponky Bird

OR if that doesn't work, here's the direct link

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0BwrJJgyNbNKOQ3BBcVVjdWZ3LVk/edit?usp=sharing

Brought to you by, ASS,ET and if you wish to put your face instead of the bird, we'd be happy to oblige. ;)

Until next time, Keep reading folks. :D 

Friday Food Fiasco

              It was just another Friday for the likes of us. A normal Engineering student trying to enjoy his study holidays, because that's what study holidays are for, right? I wake up according to my daily schedule at 10am, skipping breakfast and occasionally lunch.. Any one with sane taste buds would tend to do that. Our hostel mess somehow manages to treat us with the most bland, tasteless food one would ever taste. Considering the bright side, we at least have food, considering the 3.6 million dying of hunger, a very interesting but harsh statistic I read in another blog. Still, there are students who eat nothing but mess food. Some tend to save huge amounts of money by not eating outside and then spend it all in a day on the luxuries of life, known to man. While others prefer saving some more, and buying a particle accelerator. The perks of being in Engineering 
             Getting back to the point, I'm hungry by this time after running all the daily errands which apparently are necessary to keep us healthy. I run down to the common eatery where you get all three forms of matter, customers can eat, drink or inhale. The management of the said eatery has been changed since I last blogged about the hotel. Very strategically nam
ed R.K hotel (stands for Hindu gods, Rama and Krishna) hopes that naming a business after deities is a profitable venture, or could be the name of the owner. I do not actually know. So, I go down to the counter, take a token which cost me forty Rupees and handing my token over to the cook, I place my order. One half chicken noodles and a chicken kebab. The daily diet. The cook, a very shabby, dark complexioned guy gives me one of his typical 'why the fuck do I work here' face and gets to my order.

            This cook, must be in his 50s, wearing a dull checks shirt with a lungi (a large piece of cloth which acts a towel, Google for more references, and no, lungi cannot be considered as an apron). This guy goes in somewhere and comes back out. Now ready to make my order, he puts all the ingredients in place and starts cooking. He goes back to the inner kitchen and while coming back notices a green chilly lying helplessly on the floor, floor filled with footprints and other pathogens invisible to the naked eye. Without another glimpse, he picks the chilly, strides towards the kadai which allegedly has my order in along with 5 others and throws the chilly in, ever so gracefully. I stare at him, not flinching for once, but the cook has no remorse. Usually, people tend to look around when they do something wrong, hoping no one would catch them. But not this guy, he knew exactly what he was doing. Probably because he has always been doing that(you never know). For once, I thought I would complain to the manager but then I did not want to create a scene, plus I was really hungry and how much damage could a silly chill do? The cook comes back with my order and shouts in your typical Kannada accent, "AAA, CHICKEN NOODLES." I seriously hope that that helpless little green chilly is not in my otherwise delicious dish of chicken, and I was lucky enough. But I still wonder, whose dish could the little green chilly be in?

Until next time, keep reading folks. ;)