Welcome to Atulya Bharat

The dazzling blue sky with the free birds that fly

the beautiful mountain peaks but nothing beats the deeps

Welcome to Atulya Bharat, a land of beauty and diversity

come witness natures beauty in each city

discover secret beaches embraced by oceans and sea

trek the snowy peaks of the Himalayas, experience an adventure spree

Bharat is a land of rich heritage and culture

where history's legacy is alive from monuments that still survive

Experience vibrant traditions and customs across the lands

where every other day is celebrated with festivals and bands

It is a land of wonders and attraction

you can witness its magic and beauty in each person

from ruins to modern structures it is lined

where the best brains thrive and is a cultural gold mine 

 

Be amazed with the diversity in languages, attire and religions

 Seek blessings from the shrines and ride the mystic engine.

Office Office.....Government Office

Most of the below narration might sound as rhetorical to many, but this is my real experience.

I had made the decision to cancel my landline for two reasons,

a) it has become obsolete with smartphones for each human being on this planet 

b) draconian service quality

so I searched for the relevant documents and 4 different government issued ID's to prove it is who I claim to be, reached the bsnl office after being redirected twice as they have weird circle offices

my observations:

 1) Government offices are the ugliest buildings occupying prime real estate in the centre of the locality

2) Antique offices - teak wood furniture, solid iron office equipment, great quality stationary.

3) Antiquated staff - here comes the interesting point

I have no disrespect for the people who serve the office but...you simply cannot get to the right person without being bounced off to multiple people. it is like musical chairs.

once you have reached the right person, you start to cover up for the wasted time by sputtering out the purpose of your visit.....hold on.....they will not let you complete your statement but instead start asking you questions....

What is your Name..?

What is your Address..?

Do you have the Original invoice..?

Do you have the Last invoice bill..?

Have you paid all your bills..?

....and then the original documents to validate your answers.

at the same time the officer is one-finger typing into the x86 pentium 2 computer and adjusting his/her glasses to view the clipper program to render the results on the crt monitor.

sometimes the results don't match because your aadhaar has last name+first name and your original was based on your SSC certificate which followed First name+ Father's name+ Surname.

this is a total mismatch....!!!

you are declared a persona-non-grata.

So here you realise this torture. you beg to prove you are yourself.

after some convincing, the officer says come back after a week.

Do I need to tell you S/He never meant an earth week.

Second week I reached the same officer who was first busy in a call, then talking with a colleague bitching about the work load, then it was a small tea break...and then..Who are you?

This time I am prepared.

I start handing my ID's as i tell my demographic information.

The officer realises my game and throws a googly at me.."Have you brought your phone instrument to surrender"

wow, I did not...i start sweating and sheepishly grin, realising i have made a blunder and will have to seek appointment next week. i apologize for wasting the officers invaluable time and obstructing the development of this nation. without any further delay i gather my papers and scoot-off red-faced.

week 3 - I re-run my introduction with documentary proofs, and also place the beetel instrument for surrender.

the officer scoffs and whispers curses while collecting the instrument and throwing it in box where all telephones die.

S/He punches few buttons on the clackity keyboard and waits for the extremely screechy dot-matrix printer to spew off a paper roll.

S/He tears down the roll and takes a wooden scale to tear off a small piece from the roll. scribbles at the bottom, stamps indigo on it and hands me the scrap of paper.

I am speechless and cannot read the local language printed on the paper, the officer grunts at my illiteracy and says, "Just show the receipt to the accounts department, they will reconcile and settle your connection".

phew, now I go ahead bravely, experienced and wise to the accounts department.

i was lucky there an old gentleman who is going to be retired in a month took my request, he went on grumbling about how many years he has spent with the department, how good it was before and how bad it is now.

he asked me for a cancelled cheque, and bam...said everything is done, my deposit will be refunded in my bank account.

it was 1pm and I was about to turn and go back home with a victorious grin on my face. i noticed the old man was toe-ing behind me.

he smiled and said, "Lunch break!!" and we walked together, he asked if I had tried tea at the cafeteria and pledged it was the only thing left original, thanks to the old chef.

I liked the idea, went with the old man and got myself a cup.

I asked him how long has he been working..."40 years"..wow.

I praised him for his service and quality in getting my settlement within a hour.

He then asked me if I knew what was the problem..i drew my dumb face..he laughed and said 

"Beta, it is the recruitment process.

Earlier recruitment was done only on the basis of merit in academics, entrance results and aptitude in interview.

now, 65% of the staff has passed neither academically nor in the interview. the only ticket is the caste certificate and reservation quota. 33% is for women too. there are some bright people, but if I tell you that don't struggle or compete just get 40 marks and your job is secured... will S/He really be motivated to work hard.

what does this give the citizen...poor customer service, bad quality, and attrition.

people like you are switching to the Jio and Airtel's. they charge you more, they are almost untouchable and have no obligation except for the revenue you generate for them.

I am retiring in a month but I don't think I will ever be able to explain my grand children what I did, where did i work for....?

it is like telling them i was a sailor on a boat that sank".

IGNOU launches Flexi-Learn for continuing education

Good news atlast for those who have a long desire to continue education.

Prospective students can now log on to Indira Gandhi National Open University’s (IGNOU) Flexi-Learn , to pick the subject of their choice and gain education free of cost.

According to an official press release, Flexi-Learn provides free and easy access to IGNOU’s courses. It integrates free learning resources with learning management systems for anyone who wants to learn, whatever their educational needs and experience.

The platform provides an alternate way of awarding degrees and diplomas. The student can pay the fee later and get a Certificate.

“Flexi-Learn offers courses in a completely open and flexible environment with a number of unique features, like, a visitor to the Flexi-Learn site has the option to register for any particular course or for a full length programme. A modular approach is followed wherein a learner can combine course credits to obtain a degree or diploma of their choice,” said an official.

In addition, the platform provides a self-learning environment with a list of Academic Advisors/ Course guides to act as mentors. The Personal Learning Environment (PLE) will also have interactive tools like Discussion Boards, Blogs, Wikis, podcasting, RSS Feeds etc.

Each course also has the option for both online as well as offline assessment, as per the choice of the learner, who can take exams ‘on demand’.

A complete tracking mechanism is integrated into the Flexi-Learn platform through e-portfolios of individual learners. The E-portfolio will keep a formal record of all formal and informal studies carried out by the registered learner.

Certification of the courses will be based on stipulated time spent on a course and completion of all learning activities identified by the faculty.

The Flexi-Learn platform provides an opportunity for prospective learners to sample a course before enrolling and help them in choosing courses and programmes of study.

Course wise registration facilities will also offer topic specific continuing education programmes.

“This platform also provides a flexible framework for Schools of Studies to identify and combine different courses already available, for offering tailor-made, need-based programmes,” he added.

In the long run, this unique initiative will help in achieving IGNOU’s objective of democratization of education by taking it to the doorsteps of the learners and providing high-quality education to anyone who seeks it.

The courses that are offered now are limited to the below, but there is a long list worth watching.

• Law
• Agriculture
• Library Science

There are some virtual classes that are really worth looking at too. The portal is designed using moodle which is a cool open-source education/course oriented content management system.

I am really glad that open source is used for good purposes instead of relying on flashy or silverlighty commercial softwares.

Should India be broken into smaller states to facilitate better governance?

There is no direct answer like Yes and No for such a herculean task.

India is the 4th largest democracy and number two in terms of population.

Any wise administration would not encourage further divisions to happen as it is a huge cost to the exchequer and directly to the tax-payers like you and me.

I believe that radically thinking the government should plan for reforms in the immediate future not only for development but also for administrative reforms.

I do not have the facts, but the constitution should have addendum to facilitate the minimum requirements for further division of a particular state, district or tehsil. it should not succumb to mere pressure politics and give in to rioting mobs.

the good part of what has happened today for a widely spread state is that it will now will have a respectful number of regions that it can focus on. I hope the people of India whichever state they belong to will vote for the right people, encourage and support the right administration.

we need to grow not in number of states alone but grow towards better infrastructure, administration, economy and social security.

God Bless India - Jai Hind

Ganya goes to UK

This post is a bit outdated (thanks to my selective amnesia)

But to give you a bit of a background, I attended the OR2008 at Southampton, UK.
1) inflight announcement - "welcome to Singapore airlines A380 airplane, the best and most spacious aircraft you can ever travel on"
ground facts - economy class crammed with 9 in a row divided in 3 columns. legspace not more than 22 inches. so hercules has to buy two tkts to fit in.
pity the caucasians and lucky the asians for once.

2) arrived at heathrow airport at 6 something am.
customs was full of Punjabis and Gujus.
baggage conveyor belt was creaky, first class baggage was rolled for 15 mins with no takers,
while the belt was eyed with overwhelming economy class passengers

3) trolley was heavy cast iron and stiff wheels which dont move together but try to go to independent directions

4) bangladeshi's pakistanis clean shaven and trim bearded punjabis madrasi's and what not.

first impression- the airport is dirty and dull.

5) London is gloomy, cloudy and cold around 4 degree celcius

6) airport bus went 2 circles before coming out from the same place to an adjacent lane

7) roads are narrow and all types of vehicles move with equal frenzy to finish the invisible race

8) strange parking rules in southampton.

if vehicle stays for 24hrs then guests get discount else every hour a pound, even if it means exceeding by a second.

9) had fun (mis)navigating using incomplete maps and obscure landmarks.

10) trying to find hertz car rentals in the maze, hertz was hidden infact behind a huge Honda used car show room

11) fish and chips joint run by punjabis who speak equally well in cockney

the medium fish & chips can be easily be fit for an elephant breaking a fast

12) I am in love with 1 minute signals and equally frantic drivers.

13) cold wind, sunshine and cool breeze again. what can be worst with a 2 hour walk covering the entire city under a drizzle.

14) And finally the best, some famous captions and sights in southampton

"we serve hot and cold food and ice creams too"

"Posh Clothes - we sell clothes for big and large men"

"Maritime memorial - dedicated to the Titanic, closed today"

"SCBRIG - Oldest bowling ring - since 1209"

"thieves would love to know you have kept valuables unattended in your car, dont complain if they are not found later"

car wheel cover on road "owner can contact the traffice police recovery department"

signage on a truck - "if you cant see my mirrors then I cannot see you either"

Choose your path

At this time of economic recession when everything seems to be like hell and there seems to be no end to it.

all around you find people clinging to their jobs, fearing loosing their livelihood would starve them.

At this pathetic time, I came across a beautiful quote, that I would like to share with you all.

" If you follow the crowd, you will likely get no further than the crowd. If you walk alone, you're likely to end up in places no one has ever been before. Being an achiever is not without its difficulties, for peculiarity breeds contempt. The unfortunate thing about being ahead of your time is that when people finally realize you were right, they'll simply say it was obvious to everyone all along. You have two choices in life. You can dissolve into the main stream, or you can choose to become an achiever and be distinct. To be distinct, you must be different. To be different, you must strive to be what no else but you can be "

Unknown Wise Men

Ancient Indian Temple Architecture

One of my good old colleagues in NLB does a great job for living. Apart from his regular digitisation work, He also helps and conducts exhibitions mostly around Indian influences in South East Asia.

One of his popular contributions was evident in the "Kaalachakra" exhibition.

Over a coffee he had asked me to translate few sanskrit terms that were in a book called -
"Temple consecration rituals in ancient India. text and archaeology" By Reknowned Indologist, Anna A. Ślączka.

Anna holds a Ph.D. (2006) in Indology, from Leiden University, in the Netherlands. She was a research fellow at the Research School for Asian, African and Amerindian Studies (CNWS) and is an affiliated fellow at the International Institute of Asian Studies (IIAS) in Leiden. She presented several papers on consecration rituals of South and Southeast Asia.

I got a chance to skim through the book and was amazed at the amount of research the author had undergone. I was enlightened and ashamed to the fact that I dint know anything about the rich architectural science Indian scholars had left behind for us.

I was trying to help my friend in interpreting the "box" which is laid during the temple construction. the book describes it fantastically. I googled for him before reading the book and sent him an excerpt from a blog article published in http://www.sulekha.com/ by Shri Sreenivasa Rao that describes Temple architecture in the common man's language.

"As per the tradition of Vedic worship, the rituals of Vastupujan, Bhumipujan, Bhumishodhan, and Shilanyasa are performed at an auspicious time before commencing the construction of a building.

Vastu Shastra is counted among the sixty-four principal faculties of knowledge which emanated directly from the Vedas. Several hymns or formulae in the Rigveda and Yajurveda pertain to the origin of Vastukala (architectural and constructional art).

Like the four Vedas there are four Up-vedas, namely, Gandharveda, Dhanurveda, Ayurveda and Sthaptyaveda. Of these, as mentioned in our introductory article, the last one happens to be what was developed as the Vastu Shastra in the successive ages – the periods of the vedic scriptures like the Brahmans, Aranyaks, Upanishads and Puranas. The subsequent post-vedic times of the Ramayana and Mahabharata are believed to be the periods when this knowledge (of Vastu) was deciphered and disseminated in its most evolved and practicable form. The planning and architecture in the grand cities of Lanka, Ayodhya, Hastinapur, Dwarika in that era are regarded as exemplary monuments of Vastukala

Garbhadhana, Shilanyasa is the ceremony for laying foundation stone. It is the laying of the first stone (square in shape) or a brick signifying the start of construction. It is laid in the north-western corner of the building plan, drawn on the ground. After this, the construction of the foundation is taken up. The foundation is built and the ground filled up, up to the plinth level, except in the middle portion of the garbhagraha area, which is filled up three-fourths.


The Brahmasthana , the principal location in a temple where the Garbagraha will eventually come up, is the nucleus of the Vastu Purusha Yantra. At the brahmasthana, as drawn on the grounda ritual is performed called garbhadhana, inviting the soul of the temple (Vastu Purusha) to enter within the buildings confines. In this ritual, a golden box is imbedded in the earth. The interior of the box is divided into smaller units exactly resembling the vastu-purusha-mandala. All the units of the gold box are first partially filled with earth. In the thirty-two units representing the nakshatras (lunar mansions), the units of Brahma and the twelve sons of Aditi, the priest places an appropriate mantra in written form to invoke the presence of the corresponding divinity .An Image of Ananta , the hooded serpent , is also placed in the box. Ananta, meaning eternal or timeless, also represents the energy that supports the universe. The box also contains nine precious stones - diamonds, emeralds, rubies, pearls, yellow sapphire, and blue sapphire, red coral, cats-eye and jade – to appease the nine planets.

The whole thing is covered by another stone slab called Brahmasila, over which the image of the deity will later be established.

Once the garbhadhana and agni-hotra ceremonies are complete the actual construction of the temple commences according to the plan. When the foundation is finished the vertical structure is raised. The external features of the temple are brought to life through finely sculpted figures and paintings. The art and sculpture frequently portray the forms of divine entities and the different stages of consciousness in the gradual evolution of life throughout the universe.

It is believed that the Vastu Purusha sleeps during Bhadrapada, Ashviyuja and Karhika months facing east. During Margashira, Pushya and Magha months he sleeps facing south; In phalguna, Chaitra and Vaishaka, he sleeps facing west. And, in Jeysta Ashada and Shravana, he sleeps facing north. The doors facing towards those directions are fixed in the respective months."

Its amazing that an Indian temple is not just a symbolic place of worship. but its architecture is dedicated to the Brahman aka the human form itself.

Do read parts 1-7 from Shri Sreenivasarao's blog, its enlightening indeed.