AN ENHANCED VISION SERVES DULY

It is my belief that the perception of beauty is one that most differs from person to person. No two people have the same perception of beauty, which is similar to fingerprints, but unlike tha latter, this perception of beauty I am referring to is very very noticeably different from one to another. We have to however realize that beauty is something that eases our mind and gives us joy. It transports us out from the reality that has become part and parcel of our existence and gives us an experience of life beyond this reality. This experience is undoubtedly one that is universally cherished, for the simple reason that it reminds us, that there's much more to life, and this something more is what makes life as wonderful as it is. The restricted reality that we normally experience, then seems like a mere medium to experience this very beauty, a means to an end, if you will. I truly believe that was what we were expected to experience when life was created, and anything and everything we do, goes some way in making that experience possible.

It is quite obvious then that, one whose perception of beauty is least restricted is one who will extract the most happiness out of life, and will eventually die a happy person. The more restrcited our vision of beauty, the lesser the things that make us experience true joy, and hence I rest my case. However one who sees beauty in chaos as well as discipline and not one or the other, is one who is truly blessed. It is how we look at things that determines how we perceive them, there's enought beauty to be extracted from chaos and well as discipline, so why let it go to waste, when it does in fact serve our needs. Here's a small poem I had written about a perfect sight that i had envisioned, one that truly made me appreciate the reason of life and my being a part of it.

A RIOT OF COLOURS

It was a journey through the unknown,
Yet it seemed so familiar;
As I walked down the hill,
With the blurred colours transforming into "Art"'
The sight that beheld my vision,
Would have had no universal par.

One look was all it took,
To fill my senses with "A RIOT OF COLOURS";
Such was the enrapturing sight,
That it would have put a thousand rainbows to shame.
There was beauty in everything that came to view,
From the flowers, the grass, to the birds hovering about.

Now that I look back to this experience,
A realization comes to mind,
That the beauty of it,
Lay not in its many colours,
But in the chaotic distrcibution surrounding the whites, the greens and the reds,
That would have touched the sponge and stone hearted alike.

A PERSPECTIVE ON RELIGION

There's always a lot of talk on how religion should be taken for granted without any questions or making any judgements about idelas or interpretations. The argument given for this is that its been thought of by scholars throughout the centuries, and the thinking has been done for you before your lifetime, by people much more learned than you will ever be. Even interpretation is not open to judgement becos it has also been done by people learned and knowledgable about the religion itself. That surely is one way to look at it. And that is a direct stepping stone to forcing relkigion down the throats of religion without them even knowing what it entails, what are the ends it strives to meet, or whether it has any faults or fallacies. This leads to breeding a group of persons who cannot even be branded as individuals for a brief second, owing to how their individuality has been suppressed in the most brute force manner possible. Some might think that suppressing individulaity is suppressing radicalism and hence encouraging discipline and organization. This, many believe is the best case scenario for the world in general, considering that radical thought is the seed for any sort of problem or deviation from normalcy in the world that we live in. Septmeber 11th is cited very proudly by this school of thought as an example.

The other way to look at it is of course my way, and though this whole article may seem very cliche' to a lot of self righteous bums out there, I am forced to write my own perspective of the same, arisng from what I have seen of the world in general. I believe that the understanding of the meaning behind the faith in an invisible man or woman who watches over us, is an integral part of growing a sense of maturity about the world we live in. I feel that the concept of religion itself speaks so much about our society, and here please bear in mind that I am not an aetheist, i just think that the fact that we do believe in God tells us a lot about our society, about our characteristics as social animals struggling to survive in a crazy world with chaos and no sense of discipline. Let us explore this concept of religion really and see what it is all about. Some day in history, men thought, wouldn't it be great to belive that there was someone watching over us all, that we are not at the mercy of luck and fate, or of nature. That even this nature that we talk about and fear so deeply is actually controlled by an almighty God, and he controls it in a way that judges and rewards or punishes our deeds. It does tell me a lot, to say the least, and anyone who's still in any doubt at this point of time, I suggest you stop reading this post right away. It tells me about how man, even being the most intelligent of all beast, fears something in this world. It tells me about the insecurity that every human leaves with, not only of his/her life being snatched away but of not gaining what he/she set out to achieve. It tells me about the powers of belief of man, and how these beliefs are strong enough to be embedded in us long after the concept owas ever thought of. It tells me how, even with everything in his/her favour, man still fears that something might happen, something might be taken away and how happiness is short lasting. It tells me how each and every one of us needs something more to look to, above and beyond our society and its constituents. And last but not the least, it tells me how faith is underrated and how it has and will continue to work wonders for many involved.

Considering that all this can be gained from the concept of religion itself, why someone would try to hide the concept and force feed another is a mystery to me. Radicalism is not symptomatic of curiosity or gain of knowledge, it is in fact quite the oppoosite. Radicalism and indiscipline is and inherent consequence of suppressive behavious and lack of knowledge, which quite clearly breeds a situation where concepts are omdified and misunderstood, and this lack of communication is displayed in the form of radicalism. I am not against radicalism that does not hurt, but any kind that harms society or any part of it, is not my cup of tea. Hence, if a child is made to understand the meaning of reliigion, and not through some sermons which deal with everything but the concept, but in simple word, he/she would definitely have a better view, and would be at a better pedestal to make the allimportant decision. I believe sincerely that there would be a lot more faithful people in this world, if this were to be the regular practice. Because when you see anything clearly, as long as its ideals are genuine, you cannot but want to follow it.

Life's like that, its about knowing and understanding. Its about living and gaining something from every step of the way. It is certainly not about following a blind dark path and finding danger at the very end, because the dark path is a direct consequence of hidden knowledge. So let's ligjht up this path, I say, let's burn a light, and cliche as its seems, this light needs to burn on the oil of knowledge.

JESTER AT THE HELM

Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad has been having a gala time over the past few days taking digs at the Singaporeans and the Singaporean adminsitration in the most undiplomatic fashion and getting huge acclaim in his own country for the same. I don't like drawing a judgement on a particluar group of people so let's just consider the prime Minister's educational and enlightening remarks, which have left me wondering whether this is the top administration of a country talking, or just a three year old blabbering after being scolded by his parents. Some exerpts from Mr. Mohammad's speech are given below and don't really refelect to highly about the number of digits in his IQ. I frankly, amd appalled, not becoz I am a very loyal supporter of Singapore, but for reasons that you'll figure out once you read all the shit written below:

On the plan to replace the Causeway with a bridge



Today, I will tell you the story. Normally, I won't tell. No one knows of this until today. But I am forced to tell because all my letters have been exposed. So I have to tell the truth (applause) so that people won't say: look at Malaysia, they want to build a one-sided bridge without cooperation from Singapore.No, I have given the map, I have given the plans, I have given the design of the bridge to Datuk Lee Kuan Yew when he came to see me. And he was very impressed. He said (in English): this is very good, man. (Laughter) I felt happy that we were going to get cooperation from Singapore. He brought the plans back, and long after that I received a letter from him and he also saw me. In his meeting with me, he said that even though he liked the bridge to replace the Causeway, unfortunately Goh Chok Tong doesn't like it .He said Goh Chok Tong was nostalgic about the Causeway. So he said we can build the bridge after Goh Chok Tong retires. (Laughter)

On his love for Singaporeans and their tourist dollars

The Singaporeans are not strangers: they are our brothers and sisters, our kin. (Applause) We love them, we want them to visit Johor and Malaysia, with easier access. In Singapore, there are roads but when shifting into fourth gear, you fall into the sea because it (the country) is not big. (Laughter)The problem of Singapore is like Perlis. In Perlis when you shift into fourth gear, you are already in Thailand. Change direction, and in fourth gear you are in Kedah. (Laughter) So it is like Singapore. It is only 18 miles from Keppel harbour to the Causeway. Not even time to change into fourth gear. You buy a Ferrari you can't change into fourth gear, there is no use. So we want to give them the opportunity to change into fourth gear on our roads. That is why we need roads. We want them to come, we thank them: because they are rich, we are poor, so when they come here, they spend money, we can tumpang (piggy-back) a bit. Never mind, we are not angry at Singaporeans. Welcome, Singaporeans.(In English) We love you. On Valentine's Day, we love you. (Claps and laughter) Please come. Please come.

On his quips and barbs


I am just jesting. When you meet Singaporeans, tell them: Don't take the Malaysian PM seriously. He likes to talk like that. He doesn't mean it, he has a good heart. (Applause)
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Wasn't that simply amazing. I have read those comments five times already and they haven't stopped ceasing to amaze me. I mean, i have a cousin who's six years old. But even she would be more diplomatic that this guy has been. There's one thing in making jests inside closed doors, but when you talk like this in public, its a completely different ballgame. I mean, is that man really ruling an entire country?? Whet conclusions are to be drawn from this speech, I have no clue. However reading this has benefitted me in one way. Now i don't think too badly of the Indian adminsitration. As long as they can behave about 18, its good enough for me. Meanwhile, please Mr Mohammad, don't cease your comments, give us something to laugh about. Just keep in mind, that everytime you say something like what you did, your IQ in my perception drops 20 points.

STRONG DISCONTENT

Anyone reading this blog would think that I am obsessed with the cricket world cup, but considering that it comes up once in four years and all, I think another note with regards to the same would do no harm.
I am not hesistant to admit that I frankly am proud at how the general Indian public is reacting to the failiure of the Indians at the world cup. Ok, maybe throwing black paint and oil at Kaif's house was not asked for, but somethiong I just heard was very interesting and made me feel quite nice. Indians all over have been taking out rallies against the cricketers and my Dad's e-mail talked about how an sms campaign has started all over the country to stop buying all products endorsed by members of the Indian cricket team.
I think all this is justified considering that we treat them like Gods, and give them so much respect and so much attention. People give up all that they have to travel far to watch an their matches. And the least we expect is a respectable performace. OJ had an idea, that we should show all the cricketers a number of Advertisements egging them on before the match. Frankly even that would work, cos they're shameless idiots.

Indians are intimidated(The Times Of India)

A LOSS THAT SAYS WE SUCK

Yes, the Indian cricket team has lost again, and lost quite badly at that. There is no joy to be gained out of defeat, I admit, but salvaging some dignity is I think a phrase non-existent in the dictionaries of the Indian cricket team. Admittedly it was never gonna be easy to beat the Australians, but the way they lost was quite pathetic.
We have been going to watch the matches at the place of a Graduate from NTU and everytime we go, we end up spending money on beer for no reason. We expect a time when it would be fun to drink, maybe when Sachin goes great guns, or we win big. Instead the whole World Cup has been spoiling our moods so much that the dude's fridge is full of beers, and we are yet to get a chance to consume them. Will there ever be an occasion in this world cup when it'll be worth celebratingl? Let's wait and see.

CRAP GALORE

If there's one conclusion that me and some of my friends have drawn in the past few days, it's this; there is an unlimited supply of crap talk that every 3 digit IQ person has. And when you put a lot of them together, its crap flying around all over the place, and its time to take cover. That's what happens when people having nothing to do, start putting their mind to any arbitrary topic.

We have spent hours over the past three days, furthuring the case of science, by thinking of experiments involving a man, a bull and a small room, in order to observe adaptability scenarios. Just this sentence would give you an indicqtion of the shit that lies ahead. It was amazing, and everyone had something to contribute. There was a third year NTU student lending his imaginative mind to give us templates, and then there were the others doing the moulding of the scenarios and perfecting them to fit the description of "Practicality", and of course at times, lending our templates as well. It started off by the very basic idea for capital punsihment. Lock a man in a room and feed him damn well, so that eventually he gets buried in his own shit. This was kind of modified eventually where we decided that a laxative would quicken the process, and the man would then drown and not be buriedd. However sick you make the above out to be, this is what you get when you do what we did TALK CRAP!!!

Then we come to the bull man scenarios, here we consider a case, where we put the bull and the man in the room and starve them, and see who eats whom first. This tests the adaptability of the room in observing whether it changes from a vegetarian to the opposite. There were a lot more, and too many to pen down here. One thing we can rest assured about, it was utter crap and it was non-stop. Makes you think doesn't it, about why God would give us this ability in the first place, when it doesn't serve a purpose. MAYBE HE LIKES TO WATCH THE FUN!!!

Yes, today is the big day. The day of reckoning has finally arrived. The match that everyone's been waiting for. India vs Australia in the World Cup. There are two ways of prediciting the outcome, one is stretching your imagination so as to incorporate your wishes as part of reality. The other is to take a practical perspective and make a third person judgement, totally ignoring your thoughts, emotions and the like.

Let's start with the former. Me, being an Indian have been brought up in a cricket crazy environment, and now that I'm away from home in a university in Singapore, the one thing I truly miss are the long talks with my dad about cricket and about our chances of winning. I have played a lot too, the point being that an inherent fanaticism for the Indian team exists in most of us, ignoring for a moment the team's fallacies. I would like nothing better than for the Aussies to get their asses screwed, and screwed badly at that. That can be hoped for as a very desirable outcome.

Let's now move to the latter, which is of course taking a practical perspective on the wholes issue. As it stands, the Indian team is playing pathetically, and had a tough time even beating the Dutch. Considering that the Dutch have enough to deal with already, with theirs being the only country situated below sea level, I don't really feel that cricket would be their forte'. And then we come to India, a country that's been playing the game for a long time. So, pathetic is the only word that can best describe the Indian team's performance at present. Considering on the other hand that the Aussies are the best and have been for a long time, it is not very difficult for even a flea brained idiot to see the more probable outcome.

However, it never hurts to hope, and we do have one of the best batting lineups in the world. Let's just hope for the best, and maybe my prayers will be answered. Maybe we will prevail in this David vs Goliath battle that I am very eagerly anticipating.