Planning to go BUNGEE JUMPING?? Read on...

Date : 11/04/08 - Saturday.
We were all excited. We were headed to Bannerghatta Road where Bungee Jumping was being organised by CARE, an adventure sport organising company. We had made our reservations for reverse bungee, a variant of the traditional bungee jump, in which one was catapaulted from the ground to the open sky with a rope attached to one's back.

We reached there at around ten in the morning already late by an hour from the scheduled reporting time. On reaching there we were told that the setup for the reverse bungee was not yet done and that it would take another half an hour before everything was in place. We waited for half an hour. However, that half an hour turned into an hour and then into another and it went on until it was two in the afternoon. During the "setup" the organisers demonstrated and "tested" the reverse bungee with live demonstrators. The organisers, amongst themselves, had people of different weight categories. So when all the testing and demonstration was done, it was time for us to have a shot at it.

Initially, people below the weight of 55kgs were called, since they had different ropes for different weight categories. So it would be easier for them to change the ropes. Incidentally, there were only two people among the entire aspirant group below 55kgs. Both of them were amongst our group. Wow, so we were finally going to have a go at it. Both of them showed extreme excitement at the end of the jump. We were listening intently to their narration on how they felt and which part of their jump was the most scary.... which translated to the most thrilling. It all sounded so much of fun. Next was the turn of those people in the weight category of 60 to 80. Most of us were in that weight category. We lined up and our turn was after four other persons.

The first of the four, in no time, was through with his jump. He was talking about his thrilling experience to his friends while the second of the four was putting on his gear. After this there were two more and then it would be us. I wanted to watch this one properly, since I hadn't noticed the previous jumps appropriately owing to the fact that I was clicking photographs for my freinds and I couldn't see the entire view through the camera lens.

Well, he was ready for his jump. The crane had built enough tension in the rope to defeat the gravitational pull and fling him high into the air. The organiser, holding him, said ready... and released the hook that was holding him to the ground. The release catapaulted him high up in the air in no time. He was soon descending, and he would oscillate a few times before being helped onto the ground. But alas, that was not to happen. After his descent, midway through his first oscillation upwards, the contact point of the jacket broke and he had a free fall........

..........For a few seconds, I could not come to terms with the situation. My mind just went blank. I stood still, not knowing how to react. My feet were numb and I could almost feel my guts in my mouth. All the people in the arena crowded around the person to have a look. I too ran up to the spot. I will never forget the horrendous sight that lay in front of me. This guy could barely breathe, one of his hands had broken. There was severe damage to one of his limbs and blood was gushing out from his head and face. I couldn't bare to see more. I turned away and receded to a place away from the spot.

The place, which was so lively moments ago, had come to a pin-drop silence. Suddenly, one of the organisers shouts out asking if anybody had an OMNI. I was stunned. These people did not have any first-aid, let alone an ambulance. The nearest hospital was a good 10kms away and the heavy traffic on bannerghatta road would ensure that it would atleast take half an hour for an ambulance to reach the arena. Someone with a Scorpio volunteered to take him to the hospital. I was very skeptical on whether he would survive the traffic, since time was very crucial for him. It proved fatal..........

It was a tragic incident.... In hindsight, I was cursing myself on how I had failed to see the stark realities of the event. There was no safety net, no protective gear, no second line of defence if the cord snipped, no medical aid.. basically no guarantee if you would return alive. Yet, the quest for thrill, had blinded me against all these odds and I was ready to risk my life for it. Its a lesson learnt, but look at the price that we have had to pay for it. Its one my most painful lessons and nothing will reduce the scar that has been carved for ever. I hope, any of you ever going for an adventure sport will not be as foolish as me. Please avoid such high risk sports and even if you do intend to go for it, ensure that the safety measures are of the highest standards. Life is precious and for me, BUNGEE JUMPING is off my list of "TO DO's" for ever....

Envy Yourself!!!

The dictionary definition of envy says that "to wish that you had something that another person has". So how does one envy oneself. I had this thought when I had a lot of time to myself travelling alone in a train from Delhi to Bangalore. Is it actually possible to wish that you had something that another person(you yourself) have? Yes and no!!

What I wish for is a satisfied life with a fair bit of activity involved to keep me busy, albeit merrily busy. Am I satisfied? Am I merrily busy? Not really. So can I envy myself? No. Yet, I think I have found a way to be envious of myself? Well not to get confused. Here's how. Some people perceive that I lead a life worth envying. I get into their shoes and then start envying myself. Some others perceive that I lead a life not worth emulating. I get into their shoes and start criticizing myself.

Its a bewildering thought process that comes along when comparing your perceived self to your actual self. You have two personalities of yourself. You could be better in you perceived self or your actual self. So the question now lies that given a choice what would you like to better in? Your perceived self or your actual self?

For me, I would like to continuously improve on my actual self while also being aware of my perceived self. But shouldn't your perceived self be a reflection of your actual self? At times they are, and at times they aren't. I think if they mismatch on a lot of occasions then you are either a "lot of pretence and no material" or you are "too much of an introvert" to let people know about you. I am not sure whether both of these personalities should match or not? I am not sure how different they should be? I am not sure how good it is for you if they match or how bad it is if they don't? I just had this thought of juxtaposing both my personalities and I had the opportunity of envying myself. Try yourself out and you could come out with different emotions.

Opposites don't attract

Today, I received two pieces of information: one through an SMS, another through a forward on my official mail ID. The SMS was from an old friend of mine. He was jubilant on becoming an uncle. He, in his innocent self, was ecstatic on his sister giving birth to a baby boy. Considering his rhapsodic state, I felt honoured that he bothered informing me. I, in my enthusiastic self, called and congratulated him. I learned that they, his sister and brother-in-law, had even named the infant: Adam. I felt pleased that Adam had a bright future waiting for him with so many prospective infallible pilots anxious to steer his life to a meaningful existence.


Then there was this mail from a colleague of mine. It contained a link to a video showing the speech of Severn Suzuki, a twelve year old girl, at the UN Earth summit in 1992. She spoke on behalf of her generation, raising concerns on how the older generations were treating the environment, and how this behaviour would adversely affect future generations. She said she was scared to go out in the sun because she wasn't sure whether those rays were filtered through the fast depleting Ozone layer. She revealed many such fears, the thought of which sent shivers down my spine. If you would like to listen to the speech, you can link to http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uZsDliXzyAY.

After listening to her, I realised how oblivious I had been about Adam's future. I realised how insecure the existence of our future generation was. The thought that there were many more people in the same oblivious state, got me worrying. The least I could do was spread awareness. Here's my first attempt at it:

Global warming is an issue which needs perennial attention. The fact that global warming increases at a minuscule pace makes it an apt candidate for ignorance. There, I would insist, lies the grave danger. We just cannot ignore global warming on the basis that it is not going to affect us. What about the generations to come? Why should they suffer because of our ignorant behaviour? If you do not care about the future generation, then why do you care to give birth to a child and then consider it one of the most joyous moments of your life? I pity those new born babies, who will somehow have to discover how to survive in the polluted world that they are going to grow into. Just to support my concerns lets look at some facts.

Wikipedia says that global warming is the increase in the average measured temperature of the Earth's near-surface air and oceans since the mid-20th century, and its projected continuation. The average global air temperature near the Earth's surface increased by 0.74 degree Centigrade during the 100 years ending in 2005. Although that might sound mere and anyone might want to discard this increase as insignificant, I would prefer throwing 'caution to the winds'(pun intended). This increase, as concluded by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change(IPCC), is mainly due to increase in anthropogenic greenhouse gas concentrations via an enhanced greenhouse effect, which is an outcome of industrialisation. They also project that temperatures would further rise between 1.1 to 6.4 degree Centigrade during the 21st century. Now, that's not insignificant by any standards.

With such impending predictions, what is the world doing about it? As late as December 1997, there was a Kyoto Protocol adopted, which came in to force in February 2005. This is a protocol to the international Framework Convention on Climate Change with the objective of reducing greenhouse gases in an effort to prevent anthropogenic climate changes. As of May 2008, 182 parties have ratified the protocol. USA which makes a significant contribution to global warming has not yet signed the Kyoto Protocol.

The above facts seem to have a lot of bureaucracy involved in them. Instead of getting appalled at the seemingly brutal governments and nations, lets glance at the mirror and face our own atrocities. There are a few brutalities that we might might be committing in our day to day lives, out of absolute ignorance. Here's a list of few of them:

1)Do we take part to reduce waste by choosing reusable products instead of disposables? Or is that too trivial a matter to even bother about?
2)Do we care about keeping the AC and heater utilization to a minimum? Or are we so discomforted at 25 degree centigrade that its almost impossible to work without the AC being switched on?
3)Have we ever cared to switch off a light before leaving a room.? Or is that too frequent a task to accomplish!
4)Have we ever planted a tree? Or is that too cumbersome a job to visit a nursery to buy a seed or a plant.

I could go on and on and fill out many more pages, but its high time we realise that burning fossil fuels such as natural gas, coal, oil and gasoline raises the level of carbon-dioxide in the atmosphere, and carbon dioxide is a major contributor to the greenhouse effect and global warming. We could play our part by helping to reduce the demand for fossil fuels, which in turn would help to reduce global warming.

Please, lets use energy wisely, so that many more Adams can be introduced to this world without any fear of being annihilated. Lets create a world where the birth of a child gives us immense joy instead of creating pitiful emotions within. Lets face the situation with a little more determination and not reconcile to tacit approvals of the threats of global warming. And I am sure these opposites don't attract and we would all want to be on the same side of the see-saw. There's nothing that cannot be tackled once confronted, and global warming is no exception.

Want a change?

Wow its been been really long since my last post. I think it would be really hard for me to summarise what has gone through since the last time I posted. So what I'll do this I skip all of that with a small apology. How easy it is to apologize? Isn't it? Nevertheless, I really for sorry for not writing for such a long time, and I'll try and avoid these unavoidable breaks. I think I have made enough apologies and its time I put the blame on someone. After all isn't that an easier way to prove yourself innocent? I think I could blame the entire world and come up with reasons for not writing. But what I have realised is that at the root, the fault will lie within me. So I'll take the blame on me and endeavour to be more regular.

Well let me see. How often have I put the blame on others though? If I hear news about women getting beaten up on TV? I say: Why isn't the government doing something about the perpetrators of the crime? If I see dirty streets? I say: Why isn't the municipality cleaning up the trash. The list could go on and on. I seem to have tacitly agreed that the government is incompetent and that there's nothing that can be done about it. But have I cared to change that? Have I even taken part in electing the government? Have I voted? No. Then what gives me the right to question the government? Why should a government act according to me when I haven't exercised my power to elect the government? What I deserve is what I get. I deserve anything that the government imposes on me because by non-participation I have agreed to any ruling body and any rule that it might impose on me.

But I don't want that to happen to me again. I want to participate. I want to elect my government. I want to vote. I will vote. But does that mean that I get to question every move the government makes? More importantly will the party, at the helm, be obliged to answer every question that I ask? Ofcourse not. Then what do I get out of voting? And in such a large country with this huge a population, will my vote make a difference? Allow me to reason with each question at a time.

What do I get out of voting?
I increase the chances of electing a government whom I think will bring about a change for the better. If it does not happen the way I expect, the next time the elections come, I will not vote for that party thereby reducing the chances of that party coming to power again. So, to get re-elected the ruling party would need to fulfil its promises. It becomes accountable and obligated.

Will a single vote make a difference in this huge a democracy?
In December '08, in the Rajasthan state elections, Congress candidate, C P Joshi lost out on one vote. Yes one vote! He was the chief ministerial candidate for Congress in that state. Congress did come to power but with Ashok Gehlot as its chief minsiter and not C P Joshi. Need I say more.

I need to vote. I have to vote. I am on my way to bring about a change. Please join in!

Fashion 'Re'viewed

Not every time you come across a movie which gets you thinking. Not every time there is a perfomance from the actors that stir you to put yourself in perspective. Not every time, and yes, not even Madhur Bhandarkar, can make a movie like Fashion. Though, I remember saying this for Page 3 also. Fashion's a movie which has got everything right about it. When I say everything, I mean right from the essence of the movie to the minutest detail possible.

For instance the "scene of the movie" for me was when Meghna(Priyanka Chopra) realises her life is near failure. She is shown entering her apartment after spending a night with an unknown man whom she had befriended in a party. As she enters, there's complete darkness on the screen symbolising her state of life till that instant. When she switches on the lights, the screen is lighted up with the dim lights emerging from her room, again symbolising that there is still hope and things could still get better. If a director can show all of this without getting his characters to utter a single word, then you can do nothing but admire his talent. Then there's another moment in the movie, which is unparalleled. Towards the end of the movie, when Meghna has made her re-entry into the fashion industry, she is about to walk the ramp as a show stopper. Just then there's news for her that her fellow model friend has been found dead with drug overdose. There is that endless two minutes of contemplation within her, where she is hysterical yet she cannot afford to ruin her designer friends fashion show. How I wish the director had somehow put across her thoughts in words to the audience. But then, I wouldn't be writing this blog, if he had done that. Its these little things which have been so intelligently taken care of, that makes this movie a must watch.

Even when he's adhered to such minute details, he hasn't lost out on the plot. The pace of the movie is such that, you'd want to be back at your seat halfway through the interval, just to be double sure that you do not miss out on anything. He's shown how one can reach insurmountable heights when one knows where to draw the line between attitude and arrogance. He's also depicted how important it is not to cross that line once you are at that insurmountable height, cause a fall from there will only spell disaster, from which a very few can recover. More than all this, he has cleared a lot of air about the glamour industry, which loom large in the minds of people like me. I was under the impression that to be successful in the fashion industry, you would have to sell your soul even before entering it. He's shown, that you can be at the helm with your soul intact. Mind you, he does not deny the fact that people do sell their soul before entering this industry, but that is not the only way out to be at the top.

All in all, I loved the movie. I do not want to be overtly appreciative of the movie, so I will stop here. Moreover, I am sure the director wants every individual to watch the movie from his/her own perspective. What I've presented above is what I saw in the movie, and the way I interpreted it. Kudos to Madhur Bhandarkar for giving his best in what he is best at.

The India US Nuclear Deal

I was wary of some nuclear deal going on between India and US. I was also wary of the fact that the UPA government would face stiff opposition in passing the deal, because presumably the Left( a member of the United Progressive Alliance) had its own inhibitions on the deal. However, irrespective of the political stance on this issue, I was more intrigued by the intricacies of this Nuclear deal. There were numerous unanswered questions circulating my head:

What is this Nuclear deal?
What is IAEA and what is its involvement?
Why is the US so keen on getting on with the nuclear deal?


Hence, I read the newspapers for some insight into these questions. Apparently, the newspapers were more intent on capturing the dramatic events in the parliament. I thought to myself, perhaps, I was looking in the wrong place at the wrong time. Next, I googled. Bingo! There was a plethora of information waiting to be read, but, none that I could be content with. I usually prefer details right from its origins with all the glossary intact. If I don't know the meaning of any term that's used, I should be able to find it in the glossary. My efforts to find such an article went in vain.

After a few hours of intense searching and reading, I could claim that I had a fair idea on some of the questions listed above. So, I thought I should share some of my understandings and interpretations on this 'nuclear deal'. I do not claim that this article would explain everything on the subject, but yes, I do want to make an attempt at simplifying things. Moreover, the facts below have been fetched from reliable sources such as the wikipedia, though the opinions thus fomed are purely personal and are open to confrontations, should you feel to do so.

Before leaping into the nitty-gritty of the deal, lets look at some 'glossary', which will be used frequently henceforth.

NPT: Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty
As the name suggests, this treaty was proposed to limit the spread of nuclear weapons. The signatories would also commit to disarmament and peaceful use of nuclear energy.
The treaty was proposed by Ireland and opened for signature in 1968, and first signed by Finland. Today 189 countries have signed this treaty.
India is among the three sovereigns, never to have signed the NPT, the others being Pakistan, and Israel. North Korea is the other sovereign which did sign the NPT, but later violated its norms and then withdrew, thus increasing the count of non-NPT members to four.

Five states are recognised by NPT as nuclear weapon states(NWS) - France, China, Soviet Union(now Russia), US and the UK. These were the states which possessed and openly tested nuclear weapons until then. i.e. 1967. All of these states had agreed to sign the NPT.

India tested its first nuclear weapon in 1974. So you could say, it missed out by a whisker on being recognised as a NWS by the NPT.

IAEA: International Atomic Energy Agency
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) is an international organization that seeks to promote the peaceful use of nuclear energy and to inhibit its use for military purposes. One of the clause of the NPT was that IAEA safeguards must be applied to nuclear exports.

NSG: Nuclear Suppliers Group
It was founded in 1975 in response to the nuclear tests done by India in the previous year. Signatories of the NPT felt the need to further curtail the supply of nuclear equipment, material and technology. Henceforth the members of this group would restrict export of nuclear supplies to countries which did not sign the NPT. India, of course, was among the countries to which the export restriction applied.


So, with all these background information, I understood that India had to depend on itself for any nuclear energy that it might want to generate, right from the raw materials to the technology aspect. One of the key raw materials for nuclear energy is Uranium. India does not have enough of Uranium, the fuel that powers the reactors, to harness nuclear energy. To reduce the shortage, India couldn't even import Uranium from other countries because there was an organization called the NSG which would not supply India with Uranium unless it agreed to IAEA safeguards. Now if one were to ask, why not import it from the non-NSG members? Well, all the countries which have surplus of Uranium are members of NSG. Another question to ask is why do we need nuclear energy? Isnt there any other source of energy? Moreover, why is it that Uranium is required for nuclear energy? Couldn't there be any other fuel from which nuclear energy could be harnessed?

First things first, the spiralling prices of crude oil has forced nations to look for alternate sources of energy. The available alternates are: among non renewable sources, coal, natural gas and propane. Nuclear energy, though argued by many to be a renewable source of energy, has not been legally classified under renewable category. So, being a law-abiding global citizen, I would put it under the non renewable regime. Among renewable sources wind, solar and hydro are the main contenders. I am not sure why these forms of energy is not chased after. I would presume because of its non reliability and the costs associated with it. Among non-renewable sources, nuclear energy seems to be the automatic choice then.

Now that nuclear energy is the de-facto source of energy that seems viable, atleast in the near future, why Uranium? Thorium is another fuel which could be used in nuclear reactors. Besides, India is believed to produce 25% of the world's thorium. I am not too sure on this either, but I am led to believe that technology has not yet caught up on nuclear reactors running solely on thorium. Even if research on this is carried out and methods invented, based on which thorium could be a sustitute to uranium, it would not be commercially available in the near future.

So that leads us back to Uranium, and India is facing acute shortage for it. The government, along with private players are waiting to bring up nuclear plants but the shortage of Uranium has thwarted its intentions. So to account for this shortage, India requires this nuclear deal, a bilateral agreement on nuclear cooperation between the United States of America and India. Under this deal India agrees to separate its civil and military nuclear facilities and place its civil facilities under IAEA safeguards and, in exchange, the United States agreed to work toward full civil nuclear cooperation with India. Not surprisingly, now that the nuclear deal between India and the US is on the verge of being inked, many companies have announced major investments in the energy sector.

So what does US stand to gain out of this deal? I believe there are two major gains. Firstly, US will have major benefits from the huge amount of exports it makes in terms of technology and raw material. It would boost their economy. Next is the more strategic, albeit controversial, gain. Before I lay out my opinion, few questions to be asked. If the deal were to be signed, India would be required to open up 14 of its 22 nuclear reactors to the IAEA. So what about the remaining eight? Since India is not required to sign the NPT, it could still proliferate its nuclear power in these remaining eight reactors. Moreover, why are the NSG countries giving their consent to this deal? Isn't the US breaking one of NSG's clause: supplying nuclear material and technology to a non NPT member? I think thats exactly what US wants. It does not want India to be a non proliferator. This would help keep check on China, deemed to be a nuclear power, should it wish to showcase its nuclear power to become a super power. A definite threat to US , China, kept in check by its neighbour. What better could US have asked for? No danger to its staus as the superpower, while further strengthening its economy.

To conclude, if India needs to progress, it needs energy. Rising prices of crude oil have proved detrimental to India's cause. So what it needs is nuclear energy to boost its energy supply which is possible only if the nuclear deal is inked. One could question US' strategy behind this deal, but who cares, as long as India stands to gain. Go India go!!!!

The ASD phobia!!!

"ASD Results."

That was the subject line of the mail, I received in my inbox, which made my heart skip a beat. In fact anything to do with results always gets me fidgety and this was no different. With regained composure, I opened the mail. The anxiety in me suddenly turned into a deep rage. Our training coordinator had sent the mail only to inform that there would be a slight delay in obtaining the results due to unforeseen reasons. If only I could lay my hands on our coordinator. Firstly, I would have given him a substantial amount of verbal dose. Secondly, I would have set out a training course for him where they train you on how to write apt 'mail subject lines'. I mean, you just cant write a subject line saying something and mean something else. There's got to be some relevance.

Nevertheless, it took around two more days for those unforeseen reasons to get sorted out and there I was staring at my ASD results. It took some time to sink in. I had cleared the exam with 12 strengths, which I later realised was the highest ever in Symbian India. I was in a state of disbelief, but then I couldn't help being delighted too. I had pulled off one of the most challenging exams with amazing "results".

I call the exam "challenging" because it measures you on numerous parameters. There are five options to a given question. There could be multiple right answers. As if that wasn't difficult enough, you are also tested on the level of difficulty of the question. Say, if its an easy question(who decides whether its an easy question? - the guys who've set the paper) and if you get it wrong, you ll be penalised heavily, but if you get it right, you are not awarded as heavily as you would have been penalised, had you got it wrong. Confusing? My sense of reason had gone for a toss on hearing this. Then to add to all this, they also measure you on your speed. I mean, what's speed got to do with this. But that's the way the exam is and that's the way you are going to be judged.

Now to master all of these at one go is near impossible - at least that's what I thought. But then looking at the results one would think that I had reached a certain level in 'decoding' ASD. So, I thought, maybe, I could share some of my experiences which might just lend to your preparation, if at all you intend to give the exam.

Just in case if you have booked your date for ASD, then make the ASD Primer book your bible for the next few days. There' s no book which can prepare you better for this exam. You should at least read it once before D-Day. I read it twice. Then the sample paper available at the majinate site is a must solve. How to get the paper? Google ASD sample exam and you should get a link to a majinate website, which offers a free sample paper. I lost count of the number of times I solved that paper. Now you would ask why the same paper over and over again. Firstly, there isn't any other paper available. Secondly, I never got the answers correct on the first or even the second attempt. So I solved it repeatedly until I got it right. There are a few questions which do appear from this paper, so that was motivation enough for me to get it all right. At least I shouldn't miss out on these 'gift' questions if they do appear on the exam- that was my approach.

During the exam I got questions, which got me questioning and doubting my C++ skills. After the exam, I thought I was an illiterate as far as C++ is concerned. Believe me, C++ questions are really tough. Only later did I realise that the tougher the questions get, the more the chances you have of ending up with a high score. Because that's an indicator that you are doing well. So don't panic if you think the questions are tough. Its just that you are doing really well. Another thing which might have helped me was my speed. I completed the paper within 75 minutes, thanks to my reading speed. But then its more important to answer your questions correctly, rather than mess it up by being in a hurry.

Well that's my ASD story. Hope it helps. All the best for those preparing for it.