Dear ladies, gents and members of unrelated species, in accordance with my utterly bemusing career path, I have decided to pursue a PhD. I will be exploring the boundaries of science, slavery and relentless micro-management. At the same time, I will be obeying all random commands of my Principal Investigators (PI) or “project guide”. It will be, no doubt, exciting times as I work with novel concepts in my field of Systems-Biology/ Bioinformatics/Gobbledygook.
Like any self-respecting UK university, I had been left without funds to start this project earlier. However, now thanks to some amazing ballet by four different Research groups and my own incessant moaning, I have enough resources to get this project off the ground.
The path of the project is very slowly (I saw Pluto going past me twice) being put into place. As each bit is discussed, the collaborating groups have agreed to fight to maximize their share of the pie. Of course, such a fight, usually played with the student’s blood and severed head as the prize, will be very beneficial to me and scientific community as a whole. Hopefully, after a long gestation period of abundant politics, self-interest, science and some very hard labour, I will have made an attempt to move science tremendously, by few parts of a millimetre.
Friday, July 27, 2007
Monday, June 25, 2007
My experiments with truth - Part 3
Even though I felt I had systematically deconstructed L’s arguments, I was still unsettled about the whole issue. There was something which was bothering me. I opine that the BJP is as useless as any other party. The Congress proved its uselessness over 50yrs, the BJP did just that in 5yrs. So in that sense, it probably was less painful. I am aware that the Upper castes were not too happy with Gandhi regarding the Harijan movement. I am also aware, that the upper castes were being stupidly silly about it.
It is another thing to be challenged by a foreigner about something about my country. I am admittedly not a Gandhian. My ideology is somewhat different. However, the debate spawned an interest in the “other” side of Gandhism. What was really the politics of the day ? How did Gandhi become Gandhi ? It is quite evident that Nehru rode on Gandhi’s popularity and made use of it for his own ends. What lies beyond the mysticism, the myth and the legend of Gandhi? Considering it was in the interest of the ruling political party to ride on Gandhi’s popularity and hype, I would certainly take all history of this era with a pinch of salt.
As far as the question of who got "rid" of Gandhism is concerned, I do not think its got to do with any caste or religion.
I think its a social phenomenon. Indians have moved on. We want to buy foreign steel companies not make loin cloth on a spinning wheel. We do not remember our past 'cos our past is tied with shameless corruption, unemployment and poverty. Money is no longer evil. We are the neo-capitalists.
I do not know who was real and who was unreal. As it is being increasingly evident that our history maybe a result of a whitewash I am curious to reverse-engineer the “facts” I know. Any help is welcome.
It is another thing to be challenged by a foreigner about something about my country. I am admittedly not a Gandhian. My ideology is somewhat different. However, the debate spawned an interest in the “other” side of Gandhism. What was really the politics of the day ? How did Gandhi become Gandhi ? It is quite evident that Nehru rode on Gandhi’s popularity and made use of it for his own ends. What lies beyond the mysticism, the myth and the legend of Gandhi? Considering it was in the interest of the ruling political party to ride on Gandhi’s popularity and hype, I would certainly take all history of this era with a pinch of salt.
As far as the question of who got "rid" of Gandhism is concerned, I do not think its got to do with any caste or religion.
I think its a social phenomenon. Indians have moved on. We want to buy foreign steel companies not make loin cloth on a spinning wheel. We do not remember our past 'cos our past is tied with shameless corruption, unemployment and poverty. Money is no longer evil. We are the neo-capitalists.
I do not know who was real and who was unreal. As it is being increasingly evident that our history maybe a result of a whitewash I am curious to reverse-engineer the “facts” I know. Any help is welcome.
My experiments with truth - Part 2
“ Gandhi was killed by an upper caste man.” he said. “of course all upper caste people hated him. The upper caste thought his ideology was rubbish. Why was it that they were so motivated to actually kill him ?”. Everyone’s eyes fell on me. I said “ Aw’ c’mon, saying Gandhi was killed by an Upper caste is like saying Kennedy was killed not by Oswald but by a Christian, I think its hardly a fair statement.” He continued “ My friend, you are saying this ‘cos you come from the same background (Caste) and it is possible that you have been brought up on the same anti-gandhi ideology that Gandhi’s killer was” I remained silent. “Gandhi was anti-upper caste, he was a great supporter of the backward caste. As a result all upper caste people hated him. And they got rid of him. Subsequently, in the present day, where no one really cares for Gandhi’s principles, who benefits ? It is the upper castes, is it not? It was always the backward castes who were big followers of Gandhi. Gandhism never really caught on with the upper castes. I am very sure that even in this day, he is still remembered more among the backward castes than the upper castes. Gandhi was good to the Muslims, which obviously didn’t help”
I said “You still haven’t explained why it was the Brahmins who killed Gandhi and not Godse ?”. He said “Godse was a member of Hindu right wing fundamentalists. You very well know that this organisation was completely run by the Upper caste. The Jan Sangh (early BJP) is a hindu right wing party. It’s a fundamentalist organisation. After independence, they found an excuse to get rid of him. Now they have got rid of his ideology.”
I was quite taken aback by the caste angle. I had never really thought of it that way. I never really thought the upper castes had an active hatred against Gandhi for “de-stratification” of the society. But I was willing to agree that it might be possible. It was the first time in my life I was seeing that point. However, I found it very unfair to be branded as Gandhi killer caste. And also, there were innumerable people who fought along-side Gandhi for Indian Independence. How is their fight any less compared to Gandhi’s ?.
It was my turn to speak. “ Firstly, I would like to point out that there are numerous upper caste Gandhi disciples or Gandhians. Secondly, you say the upper castes have systematically eroded Gandhi principles ? How would that be possible my friend ? I am not a supporter of the BJP, as they haven’t done better than any other party. Right wing or Left wing. However, I must point out that in the last 60yrs of Indian Independence, more than 80% of the time India was ruled by the Indian National Congress. The very party which is claimed to be based on the principles laid down by Gandhi. The hindu right wing party has ruled for less than 10%. It is always the victors who write the history, not the losers. If Gandhi’s principles had to be got rid of by a planned campaign (as suggested by you) , don’t you think you would have to be in power to implement such a policy ? Even among the so called upper castes, the Brahmins constitute only a fraction. Keeping this mind, if they have managed such massive PR coup against Gandhism, it would be quite a feat especially when not in power, don’t you think ? If they DID manage such a feat, I beg to ask you the question, why have they struggled to stay afloat as a political force in all 60yrs? All their efforts to come to power have been pathetic. So if today there is a complete erosion of Gandhism, by sheer logic you should be blaming the pro-gandhi Congress party.”
“As far as Gandhi being relatively more popular among the Dalits today, I think that too is nonsense. Only Ambedkar is considered a true leader. I am not sure they give a toss about Gandhi today. And you think I am anti-Gandhi ? Lets not go there as it is besides the point. If you think my ideology is shaped by my caste, you have another thing coming. My family has hardly shown any interests in political issues. Our social circle too indicates a lack of casteist fundamentalism. I too like millions others have been brought up on the mundane text books preaching the very same ideology you are talking about, in four different languages!”
By this time my friend L was struggling to counter my point. Of course, I being Indian gave me a little more edge in gathering the points. But he refused to give up, which I suspect had all to do with ego rather than rationale. He queried “ Where do you think I got such an impression then ?”. I immediately recognized this as a trap. If I had speculated on where he got his impression, he would immediately be in a position to catch me on the wrong foot. “ I don’t know” was the only thing I said. He looked at others around the table and dismissed me “ He is a cynic. He wont give up”. I just said “Prove it” “Prove that I was being a cynic. You cant make random statements, my friend”. He said “ I can say whatever I want, cant I ?” As a man of science, that’s the last thing you would expect him to say. It was the sound of his nerves snapping. I shrugged and let it go.
I said “You still haven’t explained why it was the Brahmins who killed Gandhi and not Godse ?”. He said “Godse was a member of Hindu right wing fundamentalists. You very well know that this organisation was completely run by the Upper caste. The Jan Sangh (early BJP) is a hindu right wing party. It’s a fundamentalist organisation. After independence, they found an excuse to get rid of him. Now they have got rid of his ideology.”
I was quite taken aback by the caste angle. I had never really thought of it that way. I never really thought the upper castes had an active hatred against Gandhi for “de-stratification” of the society. But I was willing to agree that it might be possible. It was the first time in my life I was seeing that point. However, I found it very unfair to be branded as Gandhi killer caste. And also, there were innumerable people who fought along-side Gandhi for Indian Independence. How is their fight any less compared to Gandhi’s ?.
It was my turn to speak. “ Firstly, I would like to point out that there are numerous upper caste Gandhi disciples or Gandhians. Secondly, you say the upper castes have systematically eroded Gandhi principles ? How would that be possible my friend ? I am not a supporter of the BJP, as they haven’t done better than any other party. Right wing or Left wing. However, I must point out that in the last 60yrs of Indian Independence, more than 80% of the time India was ruled by the Indian National Congress. The very party which is claimed to be based on the principles laid down by Gandhi. The hindu right wing party has ruled for less than 10%. It is always the victors who write the history, not the losers. If Gandhi’s principles had to be got rid of by a planned campaign (as suggested by you) , don’t you think you would have to be in power to implement such a policy ? Even among the so called upper castes, the Brahmins constitute only a fraction. Keeping this mind, if they have managed such massive PR coup against Gandhism, it would be quite a feat especially when not in power, don’t you think ? If they DID manage such a feat, I beg to ask you the question, why have they struggled to stay afloat as a political force in all 60yrs? All their efforts to come to power have been pathetic. So if today there is a complete erosion of Gandhism, by sheer logic you should be blaming the pro-gandhi Congress party.”
“As far as Gandhi being relatively more popular among the Dalits today, I think that too is nonsense. Only Ambedkar is considered a true leader. I am not sure they give a toss about Gandhi today. And you think I am anti-Gandhi ? Lets not go there as it is besides the point. If you think my ideology is shaped by my caste, you have another thing coming. My family has hardly shown any interests in political issues. Our social circle too indicates a lack of casteist fundamentalism. I too like millions others have been brought up on the mundane text books preaching the very same ideology you are talking about, in four different languages!”
By this time my friend L was struggling to counter my point. Of course, I being Indian gave me a little more edge in gathering the points. But he refused to give up, which I suspect had all to do with ego rather than rationale. He queried “ Where do you think I got such an impression then ?”. I immediately recognized this as a trap. If I had speculated on where he got his impression, he would immediately be in a position to catch me on the wrong foot. “ I don’t know” was the only thing I said. He looked at others around the table and dismissed me “ He is a cynic. He wont give up”. I just said “Prove it” “Prove that I was being a cynic. You cant make random statements, my friend”. He said “ I can say whatever I want, cant I ?” As a man of science, that’s the last thing you would expect him to say. It was the sound of his nerves snapping. I shrugged and let it go.
My experiment with truth - Part 1
It is not often that you start analysing things you have always known. However, I had that chance in the past week. I was in the middle of a very interesting discussion which subsequently boiled into a political maelstrom. The topic was Mahatma Gandhi.
I was hanging around with my usual bunch during lunch. The bunch consisted of an Uruguayan called B and two Italians, P and L. One of the Italians called L has considerable experience living in India and has a fair idea of Indian history and politics. Our discussion was spawned like this:
B: So do you believe in the Military ? And Nuclear Weapons ?
Me: Yes I do believe in my Military very much. I’m still undecided about this world having Nukes, though.
B having lived her life under a dictatorship and was not too impressed with my answer. And asked me “ That is strange coming from someone from the land of the Mahatma.” At this point my Italian friend L interjected and laughed and said in a very absolutist and judgemental manner “Are you kidding !? These guys have trashed Gandhi long time ago. No one cares anymore. The upper caste have systematically eradicated all teachings of Gandhism.”
The last sentence hit me as ignorant. I did want to stop and laugh. B ignored him and continued with her interest “So, why do you support the military?”
Me: “The military is what keeps my country a democracy. Unlike many other nations, the military in India has never crossed the line of democracy. That’s why I support it.” B was fairly happy with my reasoning and resigned. Then I turned to L and picked his last comment and told him I was very offended by his comment and that it was very irresponsible. Being a man of fairly large ego, he was flustered. The debate began.
I was hanging around with my usual bunch during lunch. The bunch consisted of an Uruguayan called B and two Italians, P and L. One of the Italians called L has considerable experience living in India and has a fair idea of Indian history and politics. Our discussion was spawned like this:
B: So do you believe in the Military ? And Nuclear Weapons ?
Me: Yes I do believe in my Military very much. I’m still undecided about this world having Nukes, though.
B having lived her life under a dictatorship and was not too impressed with my answer. And asked me “ That is strange coming from someone from the land of the Mahatma.” At this point my Italian friend L interjected and laughed and said in a very absolutist and judgemental manner “Are you kidding !? These guys have trashed Gandhi long time ago. No one cares anymore. The upper caste have systematically eradicated all teachings of Gandhism.”
The last sentence hit me as ignorant. I did want to stop and laugh. B ignored him and continued with her interest “So, why do you support the military?”
Me: “The military is what keeps my country a democracy. Unlike many other nations, the military in India has never crossed the line of democracy. That’s why I support it.” B was fairly happy with my reasoning and resigned. Then I turned to L and picked his last comment and told him I was very offended by his comment and that it was very irresponsible. Being a man of fairly large ego, he was flustered. The debate began.
Thursday, June 14, 2007
The litmus test
I am a big fan of seemingly useless research and amusing conclusions. With easy access to journals of current science, I obviously spend a great deal of my work hours looking for such gems. Of course, all this is done during work hours, so not much of my time is actually wasted. Yesterday, I caught this very amusing piece of research in Human Physiology. A man of science has hypothesised and provided some evidence that the ratio between the Index finger and the ring finger on the right hand could be indicative of testosterone levels! Basically, the ring finger should be longer than the Index finger in males. This is due to higher testosterone levels in the womb before birth.
So, does this mean if your ring finger is not longer than the Index finger, you are ..er ..not male? I don’t know, but there seems to be enough evidence around to suggest that in such a case either you are low on testosterone or just not male. However, I can gladly extend my scientific opinion and encourage all of you with shorter ring finger that its time for you to reconsider that sex change operation you always wanted (but your parents refused, saying it wasn't value for money). That should keep you on the safer side.
Stop Press: I have just been informed that there is a more absolute way of determining whether you are male or female. Damn, science IS quick.
So, does this mean if your ring finger is not longer than the Index finger, you are ..er ..not male? I don’t know, but there seems to be enough evidence around to suggest that in such a case either you are low on testosterone or just not male. However, I can gladly extend my scientific opinion and encourage all of you with shorter ring finger that its time for you to reconsider that sex change operation you always wanted (but your parents refused, saying it wasn't value for money). That should keep you on the safer side.
Stop Press: I have just been informed that there is a more absolute way of determining whether you are male or female. Damn, science IS quick.
Monday, March 26, 2007
I'll know
I know it’s a difficult world to live in these days. Trouble in Iraq, civilians shot and tortured in Afghanistan etc, we hear this everyday. Anyway, while on the subject, it also seems to me that a lot of people are getting married lately. My younger cousin got married, which to me was more of a surprise than my own impending marriage, for various reasons.
As a practising sadist, I occasionally like running through marriage photographs. I always find myself saying “tsk tsk”, by the end of it. I’m sure we can all agree that the costumes can make anyone look like a chump. However, that’s not the biggest worry here.
The pics look like a frame by frame dissection of the art of self-realisation. The pictures before the ceremony arguably show evidence of disorientation with a moronic expression in the groom’s face. With gradual transition toward complete self-realisation, where the pics show evidence of an “Uh oh!” state. Arguably, in some cases, the bride has an unexplained smug look. We will never know. But I have a feeling I’ll be able to help, soon.
As a practising sadist, I occasionally like running through marriage photographs. I always find myself saying “tsk tsk”, by the end of it. I’m sure we can all agree that the costumes can make anyone look like a chump. However, that’s not the biggest worry here.
The pics look like a frame by frame dissection of the art of self-realisation. The pictures before the ceremony arguably show evidence of disorientation with a moronic expression in the groom’s face. With gradual transition toward complete self-realisation, where the pics show evidence of an “Uh oh!” state. Arguably, in some cases, the bride has an unexplained smug look. We will never know. But I have a feeling I’ll be able to help, soon.
Sunday, March 18, 2007
All is flux
While walking down the road, I suddenly realised I had lost something. My mind’s focal point has always changed directions quicker than a fly, more so these days. This makes resolving blurry pixels in the mind almost impossible. The annoying buzz of the white noise does to my mind what my cooking does to the ingredients. But then suddenly the noise is tuned out for a split second. The feeling is not much different than finding your thick spectacles for a second before losing them again. These are the times when I realise if I have lost/gained anything. It was precisely one of these moments, on the road the other day.
The million calculations in the mind have brought a million expectations of what the future should hold. Every inch of nerve has been claimed by ruthless calculations. However, I forgot to add change as a variable in my calculations.
To be fair, I have been pelted with hints like they were rotten tomatoes and eggs. The hints were all over the place like pink neon signs. Change of tube timings when I’m about to miss the train, change of locks on my office door just when I had managed to get a spare key for the old ones, overnight change of MY career plans by someone else, change of voice in people, all of these passed before I could move an eyelid. I still didn’t get it. But god tried his best. He made sure the goal posts were moved every two seconds. It is frustrating, and you feel exactly like you have peed on your foot ‘cos someone moved the potty.
All this makes my planning skills look like Hitler’s. Or maybe I need to let out a philosophical discharge of methane, and convince myself that change is the only constant. What a gip.
What I had lost and found was the point that everything has flown, and will continue to do so.
The million calculations in the mind have brought a million expectations of what the future should hold. Every inch of nerve has been claimed by ruthless calculations. However, I forgot to add change as a variable in my calculations.
To be fair, I have been pelted with hints like they were rotten tomatoes and eggs. The hints were all over the place like pink neon signs. Change of tube timings when I’m about to miss the train, change of locks on my office door just when I had managed to get a spare key for the old ones, overnight change of MY career plans by someone else, change of voice in people, all of these passed before I could move an eyelid. I still didn’t get it. But god tried his best. He made sure the goal posts were moved every two seconds. It is frustrating, and you feel exactly like you have peed on your foot ‘cos someone moved the potty.
All this makes my planning skills look like Hitler’s. Or maybe I need to let out a philosophical discharge of methane, and convince myself that change is the only constant. What a gip.
What I had lost and found was the point that everything has flown, and will continue to do so.
Thursday, March 15, 2007
These days
These days I’m intrigued by intelligent people. I’m talking about people whose intelligence is obvious. Or at least, it is made obvious to my eyes. The endless sentences on the fallacies of life, the streams of words about philosophy are taking their toll on me. They are slowly corroding my Kevlar-like mind shell. Years of practice has rendered me immune to irritation by an outsider. At the same time, it has left me prone to irritation and intolerance on the inside. Of course practice makes man perfect, or bored. So I’m still working on it.
Intelligence and intelligent people have hogged most of the limelight on my fascination list. I always wanted to be one because I never really got to be one. This was confirmed time to time by my folks. Teachers, marks card, degree all included. The question mark on my mind whether I belong to the Intelligent or effing stupid category slowly faded as I grew up. By the time I reached adolescence, I pretty much knew I was stupid.
So what in the name of god’s beloved earth is the problem now ? I know which category I belong to. So that means my life is sorted. Job well done, so let’s move on, I thought. Strangely it never proved to be so easy. Incidents in life always left me bewildered. They left me thinking, “is that magic ? no wait, that must have been my intelligence kicking in”. The choices still remained. Stupid, Mediocre, Intelligent. When asked, I’m biased towards being mediocre. The idea is, it upgrades my stupidity and humbles my intelligence. Smart.
Intelligence and intelligent people have hogged most of the limelight on my fascination list. I always wanted to be one because I never really got to be one. This was confirmed time to time by my folks. Teachers, marks card, degree all included. The question mark on my mind whether I belong to the Intelligent or effing stupid category slowly faded as I grew up. By the time I reached adolescence, I pretty much knew I was stupid.
So what in the name of god’s beloved earth is the problem now ? I know which category I belong to. So that means my life is sorted. Job well done, so let’s move on, I thought. Strangely it never proved to be so easy. Incidents in life always left me bewildered. They left me thinking, “is that magic ? no wait, that must have been my intelligence kicking in”. The choices still remained. Stupid, Mediocre, Intelligent. When asked, I’m biased towards being mediocre. The idea is, it upgrades my stupidity and humbles my intelligence. Smart.
Sunday, March 11, 2007
The super car
Being a car nut is a great job, especially if you live in Surrey. When I first saw the Ferrari Maserati dealership in Egham, I thought I had seen it all. Scagliettis, 360 Spyders, 360 Modenas, F430, a bunch of Maseratis and a couple of Aston Martin all lined up in the sun made for one of the most evocative pictures of my life. Of course I visit this place almost every weekend and drool over it endlessly. The meaning of a “rare car” changed tremendously in the past few months. The usual Ferraris were not rare anymore thanks to the Dealership. To top it, the place seems to be filled with rich slobs with ridiculous amounts of money to spend.
So as rarity goes the rarest automobile I have seen in my life has to be the Honda NSX. I know the name “Honda” is as rare as a bus, but you see, only 7 NSXs reportedly exist in the whole of UK. A McLaren SLR comes next (it does indeed sound like a Spitfire), but the rarest of all of them beasts has to the Ferrari F40. I couldn’t believe my eyes for a moment. One of the greatest Ferraris ever made.
So as rarity goes the rarest automobile I have seen in my life has to be the Honda NSX. I know the name “Honda” is as rare as a bus, but you see, only 7 NSXs reportedly exist in the whole of UK. A McLaren SLR comes next (it does indeed sound like a Spitfire), but the rarest of all of them beasts has to the Ferrari F40. I couldn’t believe my eyes for a moment. One of the greatest Ferraris ever made.
Sunday, March 04, 2007
The museum
I finally made it to the British Museum. Though it has been nearly three years since I first set foot in this country, I had never really got on with discovering London. Though previously I had trashed London as being uninteresting, I do admit it can be quite promising at times. Two weeks earlier, I had been to the Imperial War Museum. This time around, it’s the British Museum. I had gathered a lot of hype about it. Almost everyone marvelled at how fabulous it was.
Admittedly, I’m not an arty person. I really have no clue about paintings and laundry stains people pass off as art. My friends convinced me that this was no art gallery but a vast collection of things from around the world.
The place indeed is fabulous. The collections are massive. But, you see, it is all loot from around the world. It’s not like the Egyptians gave up the mummies. “Yeah o’right mate, you can ‘ave it”. Nor can I imagine the Brits asking the Egyptians “Please my good Sir, could we have the mummy?”. They are more likely to have said “Ahmed, load the trucks”. The same applies to the Indian and Tibetan idols. I am quite sure they didn’t ask anyone before borrowing them either. In that scale, this is probably the world’s largest collection of stolen goods.
In the entrance of the huge building is a sign sanctimoniously proclaiming that the entry to the museum has been free since 1753. And a box next to it is marked for any donations. Loot the world and ask for donations to keep the loot.
Admittedly, I’m not an arty person. I really have no clue about paintings and laundry stains people pass off as art. My friends convinced me that this was no art gallery but a vast collection of things from around the world.
The place indeed is fabulous. The collections are massive. But, you see, it is all loot from around the world. It’s not like the Egyptians gave up the mummies. “Yeah o’right mate, you can ‘ave it”. Nor can I imagine the Brits asking the Egyptians “Please my good Sir, could we have the mummy?”. They are more likely to have said “Ahmed, load the trucks”. The same applies to the Indian and Tibetan idols. I am quite sure they didn’t ask anyone before borrowing them either. In that scale, this is probably the world’s largest collection of stolen goods.
In the entrance of the huge building is a sign sanctimoniously proclaiming that the entry to the museum has been free since 1753. And a box next to it is marked for any donations. Loot the world and ask for donations to keep the loot.
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