stillthoughts

Offshore outsourcing:

2009-05-23T13:50:00.000-07:00

Offshore outsourcing is a new age business concept that is expanding at an accelerated rate. Simply defined it is the collaboration of two or more companies situated in different locations. This makes it possible for a company to hire an employee from another country without the employee having to shift his/her home base. The chief propellant for offshore outsourcing is the internet, which simplifies communication making it possible to interact with employees located in other countries. Outsourcing works as a boon for both employer and employee; the former gets easy access to a pool of talent and the latter gets the advantage of working with global companies. It can be categorized broadly into four compartments: Information Technology, Business Process Outsourcing, Software development and Knowledge Process Outsourcing.

A number of countries such as India, China, Ireland, Israel, Philippines, Brazil, Mexico, Canada, South Africa and Russia offer offshore outsourcing services. India has emerged as a major player. Factors such as a stable government that creates polices that are conducive to the service sector, the excellent language skills, exponential growth in telecom bandwidth, reliability and the continuously updated technical skill set, make India a prime location for an amalgamation of outsourcing services. Undeniably the crucial rationale behind India’s success in this field is the superb peerless quality offered and comparatively low expenditure required to outsource to this country. An added aspect is the mature business like environment India exudes.

Outsourcing can be done in a multitude of areas; from the IT sector to BPOs. India has the capability to meet every outsourcing requirement. An upcoming offshore outsourcing division that is growing by leaps and bounds is the Computer Aided Design and Drafting (CAD) sector. CAD involves the use of computer programs and technology to create or draft two or three dimensional geometric objects. At some stage or another CAD solutions are required by almost every business or industry. But cost wise implementing CAD solutions locally is not a very feasible idea. The logical answer is of course to outsource. Countries like Canada, India, Philippines and Mexico provide CAD outsourcing. India tops the list of favorable outsourcing destinations in the IT and remote business development (according to the Forrester research). Outsourcing CAD services to India provides numerous benefits. One has easy access to skilled professionals who deliver excellent work. India places a premium on quality and one can expect nothing but the best in CAD outsourcing to this country. Besides being extremely cost effective, the advanced infrastructure, quick delivery time and dependability make India the perfect choice. There are a number of companies in India that offer CAD services. From among these Teknovance has emerged as the one of clear leaders in India. Located in Pune, it is reputed to be the fastest growing company in this field. Specializing in the civil, mechanical and architectural sectors, the CAD services this company provides are in a class by itself. All in all, outsourcing to India is a good option for generating low cost quality work.

College Admission Essays

2009-05-21T13:54:00.000-07:00

If you’ve finished school with a perfect GPA and you’ve already got a letter from the university of your choosing, well then you have got nothing to worry about but if you haven’t then writing a perfect college admission essay may be your golden ticket into the college of your dreams. The essay can act as your silent representative that ‘speaks’ volumes about you. It helps the reader gauge your intelligence, your outlook and even the kind of person you are. The manner in which you write can easily garner you admission or it could possibly aid you in kissing your college goodbye. It cannot be argued that how you write your paper is entirely up to you and your writing abilities but following a few general guidelines won’t hurt. So here goes:

Rule number one when writing college admission essays ‘Always follow the rules’ especially the ones laid down by the college you are applying for. Each college will have its own set of instructions as to how you can go about writing the essay. Read the rules thoroughly, if a certain number of words are asked for, stick to the number given. Generally there would be a reason why they asked for the specific number of words. Do not and I say do not add a ‘mere’ hundred or so words more, if they had wanted it, believe me they would have asked for it.

As we all know first impressions in an interview are extremely important, the same rule holds true for your essay, when writing the essay remember to always ‘start strong’. Don’t ever make the mistake of starting off poorly and ending brilliantly, you should be able to grab the attention of the reader immediately to ensure that you’re paper is read.

‘Be honest’ when writing your college admission essay. You may want to embellish a little but sticking to the truth is advisable. Leave out what you do not know and write on what you know. Another point in honesty ‘Do not indulge in plagiarism’, write what you know and though this may sound terribly clichéd be original. Even if you work on an idea that has already been written upon, work on new approach to an old idea.

Check and re-check your paper, make sure there are no grammatically errors or spelling mistakes. Submitting a paper with poor grammar and spelling signals to the reader that A. You are extremely poor in basic English and B. You are simply uninterested. Both of which could lead to the rejection of your application.

After you have finished writing your paper, don’t be afraid to get a second opinion. Ask people to review your essay and let you know which parts need re-editing. Sometimes you overlook important details that others may be able to spot.

Last but not least don’t panic, only the first step is the hardest. So think about what you want to write and then write about what you think, call upon your favorite muse and go write that paper.

Being a Vegan

2009-05-19T02:01:00.000-07:00

Veganism is a lifestyle path that is being chosen by a rapidly expanding base of followers. Many confuse being a vegan with a vegetarian, believe me there is a difference. A vegetarian generally avoids all meat products a vegan the other hand avoids anything that comes from animals, i.e. meat, fish, the by-products such as eggs, dairy and sometimes even honey.

When you first start to go vegan diet the switch can be quite confusing to your body especially so if you followed a diet that in corporate meat on a regular basis. You need to find alternatives for the nutrition, proteins and vitamins that meat and it’s by products provide. A must have in almost every vegans diet is Tofu. Being made from soy it is a great source of vitamins, proteins and calcium which can be used an alternative to dairy products. Green vegetables offer a lot of protein; spinach for example has 49 percent protein content. Incorporate nuts, seeds, grains, fruits into your diet, cereals with soy milk works as a nutrition packed breakfast. The core idea is to be aware of where nutrition comes from, ask your self and answer questions such as what are the sources of proteins, vitamins and carbohydrates. Your local supermarket is sure to have tons of options created especially for vegans, alternatives like ‘Soy jerkey’, ‘Fried Chick’ and ‘Smart Bacon’ are easily available.

As a vegan eating out can be quite a challenge unless of course you are aware of the restaurants menus and regularly frequent a restaurant that caters to your vegan taste buds, If you do not know of any vegan restaurants, then research; talk to people you know they may recommend some great places or else get on the internet and search for restaurants in your locality. When eating out at completely new place make sure you speak to the service staff to inform them you do not want any meat or animal products on your plate. Letting them know in advance can save a lot of hassle later on. Carefully study the menu, if the ingredients of a particular dish aren’t listed ask the service staff. If there isn’t anything purely vegan available do not be afraid to leave the restaurant. The decision to become a Vegan may be influenced by many factors, you may have decided to become one for ethical reasons; you can’t stand cruelty towards animals or you may become for health based reasons; a vegan diet is low in saturated fats, no cholesterol, high in vitamins and minerals. Whatever the reason ultimately whether you follow the vegan lifestyle or not, it is completely up to you, so go make a choice that you are comfortable with.

Cholestrol

2009-04-02T13:53:00.000-07:00

Today the word cholesterol is synonymous with the words like heart attack or unhealthy, but it is a little known fact that cholesterol is actually a vital component of cells that make up the human body. Only when consumed in excess does it become harmful for you. When you have too much of it in your bloodstream, it begins to layer the sides of your arteries over time the arteries become clogged ultimately resulting in a heart attack or paralysis.

The best way to tackle cholesterol levels is through your diet. Many people blame fat for cholesterol but not all fat is bad for the body. Broadly classified there are two kinds of fats and it is essential to know the difference between the two. The first is Saturated fat (like animal fat) which raises your cholesterol level and the second unsaturated fat which actually aids in the process of lowering cholesterol levels in your blood stream. It is vital to know that the chief source of cholesterol comes from foods that originate from animals. Products such as meat, whole milk, cheese contain cholesterol, since egg yolks and organs such as kidneys are extremely rich in it, it’s best to avoid or cut them out of your diet completely. The fat that you should totally avoid is Trans fats, this is produced when hydrogen is added to cheap vegetable oil, in order to make them solid. A lot of packaged food contains Trans fats, steer clear of these foodstuffs or else check the label for trans fat free food.

Omega-3 fatty acids reduce levels of cholesterol in your body, so stock up on fatty fish such as mackerel, tuna, salmon and sardines. But don’t fry the fish instead bake or grill it, have two helping a week and you can avoid the doctor for a while. Flaxseed is a good substitute for getting your fatty acids if you can’t stand fish. One of the most easily accessible cholesterol reducing foods is the oatmeal which contains beta-glucan which again reduces the cholesterol levels. Garlic is another item which if taken regularly can prevent the hardening of your arteries. Other foods that lower cholesterol include whole grains, blueberries, and nuts like pistachios, walnuts and almonds. Most importantly don’t forget to exercise, its the most natural way to lower your cholesterol level further more exercise stimulates you keeping you healthy both physically and mentally.

Analysis of Charles Benson’s essay on Art:

2009-01-15T22:42:00.001-08:00

The question “What is art?” has always bewildered and perplexed man endlessly. Though it is easy to give a broad definition of art, it is hard to describe its true nature. For art can only be viewed , felt or experienced not described. Many have even been more perplexed by the question “ What is the nature of aesthetic appeal?”

Since its creation, art has always been valued in terms of something else, either it has been valued for historic, cultural, political or social reasons. Art in the past has never ever been valued for it self thus making the term “art for art’s sake” appear ludicrous to many people. Yet art has to be valued only for it self and not in terms of other things.

Art has also been wrongly been valued for the moral and ethical benefits it is supposed to bestow on society or on the individual who views the work of art. When Beethoven criticized Mozart’s work “ Cosi Fan Tuttle” For its immoral characterization of Don Giovanni, Beethoven’s criticism was completely unjustifiable. For Beethoven character did not improve or undergo degradation while viewing the play neither did the audience’s characters undergo a drastic change. If it were true that art could actually impat a change in the viewers morality and ethics, then by the time an individual walks through an art gallery , her/his personality would have gone through a plethora of different stages of morality depending upon the work of art viewed. However as everyone or anyone who has been to an art gallery knows this is not true.

Art does not impose any values not does it bestow changes in personality, it just exists in it simplicity of being, of existing. Deep inside man knows that he values art only for itself not for what it represents yet he is so stunned by the discovery that it becomes hard to accept thereby at is related to other values.

The true nature of art is revealed by the experience of viewing art. Art has in it the capacity to make one forget the present, the now. As soon as one views art, one forgets the “have beens”, the “have nots” and the “will be’s” . Art takes a person away and hold the individual in freedom, freedom for doubt, fear, agony but most of all from life itself. In the experience of viewing art one is taken beyond the now and into the absolute moment of truth.

There are some people who ‘decide’ that there is something to be learned from art. Then there are other people who consciously decide not to judge art or learn anything from it but are so engrossed in the process of ‘not judging’ that the experience of art is lost.

Art cannot be judged only valued , it has in it a quality that gives us freedom, for it possess a beauty that is truth in itself. Benson once said that if there were to be a heaven it would be exactly like earth except devoid of suffering, pain and discontentment. Likewise art offers us a glimpse of heaven. It gives us the gift if being truly present in a moment, which is essentially the secret of happiness to live each moment even though only for a moment.

Adversity

2008-10-20T05:21:00.000-07:00

Before the caterpillar metamorphoses into a butterfly it must first break out of its cocoon. The painful struggle that it endures, while escaping the cocoon actually strengthens it .If the insect were to be helped out of the cocoon it will be unable to fly, the continuous struggle to freedom, save it from death. When it finally emerges from its cocoon it would have transformed into a thing of beauty, which is a joy to see and behold. Like wise in human life the painful struggle to betterment, strength of character, is named adversity or trouble.

Each and every person would have faced Adversity at one point of his or her live or another. Adversity is an integral part of an individual’s life. It helps one be strong both from inside as well as out. Just as metal must be tested for purity by fire, so must person mettle be forged in the fires of adversity.

Adversity comes in many forms, shapes and sizes. It many come in the form of a problem, or a person, or of a situation. There are many examples of people who have overcome adversity, such as poverty. These people have fought against all odds, and are now extremely successful and rich. We generally term this sort of overcoming adversity as the typical rags to riches story. For example take the case of oprah winfrey, she is now a multi – billionaire, she started out as a penniless thirteen year old who ran away from home, by the age of nineteen she was a newsreader, by the time she was in her twenties she had her own show, own radio station and her own magazine. She has also published a large number of books. Her overcoming of adversity is almost like a novel, despite the difficulties that she endured, she overcame them all.

Difficult times are woven into our very existence, though many may balk at the idea of facing adversity, one should remember that “what does not kill us only make us stronger”. One should also realize that how one views adversity is jut a matter of personal perspective, as the age old adage goes, and as everyone knows viewing the glass as being half full than being half empty I a much better, happier way of existing. Another cliché that describes the benefits of adversity is ‘failure is the pillar to success.” however this holds true only if one has the flexibility of a rubber ball and be able to bounce back up again. If one does not face adversity, one will gradually disintegrate into a backless, spineless individual.

There is a song that describes the attitude required while facing adversity:
“When you walk through a storm,
Keep your head up high
And don’t be afraid of the dark,
For at the end of the storm is
A golden sky and the sweet silver song of a lark.”

Therefore never fear adversities instead embrace it for it has hidden goodness. If you fall get up for there are better times ahead, and as Winston Churchill once famously said, “Kites rise against the wind, not with it.”

Analysis of Thomas Dequiency’s Literature:

2008-09-15T22:38:00.000-07:00

While History is the exact record of facts, literature is the record of the creative forces present throughout various ages in different societies. Literature is valued on a higher scale than history because history has nothing to with creation, while literature depicts the evolution of human thought, of human intelligence itself.

Most people suffer from the common delusion in believing that everything that is contained in books is literature. This is not so. Not all of which is contained in books is literature nor is all that not contained in books not literature. There are forms of literature which are not contained in books. For example the spoken word; many sermons, preaching which have gone by unrecorded. Another example is the acted word; drama is a major par t of literature but much of primitive drama has been lost.

Literature according to Dequiency can be divided into two distinct bases – the literature of knowledge and the literature of power. It is so divided due to the different set of views each imparts unto the reader. The literature of knowledge is like the sail while the literature of power is like the rudder.

The difference between the literature of power and that of knowledge can be aptly shown with the help of an example none other than John Milton’s “Paradise Lost”. It represents the literature of power while a cookery book represents the literature of knowledge. When one reads Paradise Lost, one is immediately drawn into the psychology of man, the paradoxical and ambiguous nature of the human mind. One receives an insight into human behavior, the turmoil of man’s life. While on the other no such information is received while reading a cookery book.

A reason why works of knowledge are not held in high esteem is due to the fact that knowledge is constantly upgraded. Each year, each month, each week there are new discoveries, new inventions which a;; surmount to knowledge. While works of power such as Shakespeare’s plays live on because they cannot be improved upon as it would be considered plagiarism. How many of us can remember the author or our history, science or math books that we studied in school, while on the other hand we can easily remember at least one author of our literature books. It is said that the literature of knowledge takes us further on a horizontal path whereas the literature of power speeds one into a vertical ascent.

Literature on a whole is an integral part of our existence. It is a personal record of our ancestors, their thoughts, their interactions with their environment and flights of fantasy.

Prayer

2008-07-22T16:09:00.000-07:00

Just for one day Lord:
Let there be a beautiful Morn’,
Let hope in souls be born.
For one day God Let man learn to love,
Let him lift his thoughts above,
Let there be no more fear,
Let it be laughter we hear.

For one day lord
Teach us to do right
Make our faces warm and bright.
Let there be blissful peace,
Let all wars and fighting cease.
Teach us how to be kind
Let pure thoughts fill our minds.

Just for one day god
Let there be joy in every heart,
Make all sorrows depart.
Let us learn to have faith in man,
For one day lord, I am sure we can.
Let all men on earth be one,
Just for one day lord, just till the day is done.

Cultural Jamming

2008-07-12T16:12:00.000-07:00

We live in a world where advertisements and posters dominate the streets, company logos adorn shoes, clothes, caps, cars, buildings and beauty products. And we all know that little can be done in a city without a certain amount of money. Cultural Jamming is a response to the spread of a homogenous global culture dominated by larger corporations.
Cultural Jammers use the medium of media such as advertisements, newspapers, radio, billboards to make a commentary on the media itself or on the issues of society. Basically cultural jammers challenge the manner in which people’s lives are governed and ruled by the marketing industry.

Our value systems have become so warped due to the ‘culture of consumerism’ that we now measure the goodness of a person not by their character or contribution but by their possessions and their ability to acquire more. We are continuously bombarded by advertisements which make us feel that we need to buy more in order to be happy individuals accepted by society. The life of most products are short so as to ensure that more products can be manufacture, so that we continuously buy more, so that companies earn a profit and so that some where down the line or more appropriately up the line a group of people or an individual gets richer by the day. As we buy more we gradually crowd our minds and our environments with things we really do not need.

Cultural Jammers fight this, they fight consumerism. The term was coined by a San Franscio band: Negativland in 1984. Cultural jammers alter corporate logos, distribute advertisement parodies, spoofs, they jam radio broadcasts, deface billboards, construct fake newspaper advertisements and develop websites to disrupt the message of major corporatives.
The concept of cultural jamming was introduced because certain groups of people were alarmed to observe that the role of the ‘citizen’ had shifted to that of a consumer. If one were to observe the habits of people, one would come to the obvious conclusion that a majority of the population indulges in consumer orientated activities such as shopping, visiting the movie theater or eating at restaurants in their free time.

Of course there is nothing wrong in being a consumer. However the disturbing part of the current situation is that commercial media and public entertainment is carefully designed to isolate people from politics and other ‘real world ‘problems. The atomization of society is occurring at an alarming rate and this leads to the alienation of citizens from the decision making process. The foundation of a democracy rest in the power of the people to choose. These days the power to choose, seems to have fallen into the hands of an increasingly niche group of people. Media in a way works as a tool to ‘mass hypnotize.’ It shows us colorful pictures, painted faces, beautiful things and we believe.

Cultural jammers convert easily identifiable images such as the Macdonald’s logo into larger questions that reveal the social and economic condition of the workers behind the product, as well the environmental devastation caused by the corporation.

A number of methods are used by the jammers to spread their messages. The following is a brief outline of a few.
Media Hoaxing:

A tool used by cultural jammers wherein a false story (which is extremely convincing) is invented and a newspaper or a news channel is persuaded to print or publish it without double-checking, so that the message embedded in the false story is spread. An example of this would be the one carried out by two political artists from the U.S known as the "Yes Men." They released a fake website known as ‘dow-ethics.com’ which claimed to be the social responsibility program of Dow Chemicals . Dow Chemicals owns Union Carbide the company responsible for the Bhopal Gas tragedy in India. The Yes Men were so convincing in their story that BBC believed dowethics.com to be a genuine website and subsequently invited and interviewed one of the Yes Men, Jude Finnistera who claimed that Dow Corporation would take full responsibility for the Bhopal chemical disaster that occurred in 1984. This would be done by distributing 12 million dollars among the survivors. The effect of this act was that the Dow Corporation stock dropped 2 billion dollars overnight.

Flash Crowds:
These are crowds comprised of people who suddenly appear in public places to do something unusual for a short period of time around quickly disperse. These crowds are organized through alternative media such as SMS’s or the internet. For example in New York about a hundred people entered a carpet shop. They then proceed to surround an expensive carpet and then they disappeared. Similarly two hundred people entered the lobby of an upscale hotel applauded for 15 seconds and then disappeared.

Shop Droppers:

This is another cultural jamming strategy. In this case shop droppers purchase items, alter them to convey a message and then return the items to the sore shelves where they wll be bought by unsuspecting customers.
An example of this would be the "Barbie Liberation Organization’ or ‘BLO.’ Members of this organization surgically replaced "Teen Talk Barbie’s" voice-box with G.I Joe’s. Thus Barbie instead of saying "Will we never have enough clothes", "I hate Math" and "I Love Shopping" Barbie said "Vengeance is Mine." In addition BLO also replace the Mattel customer service with a sticker asking customers to call their local TV station, which inevitably lead to the spread of BLO’s message across the country.

Ad Busting:

The word consists of ad meaning advertising and busting. And ad-busters do exactly what the legendary Ghost busters did to ghost, bust them. Ad-busters bust corporate owned culture. It is a form of creative resistance attacking billboards, brands and logos to create ‘anti-advertisements.’ Ad busting was started to counteract the global brands who concentrated their energy on advertising and promoting while their products are manufactured by exploiting workers in so called low wage countries.

An interesting example of cultural jamming was the attempt to jam Nike. The famous slogan of Nike "Just Do It" was changed to "Just Do It….. or Else" which was in reference to Nike’s sweat shop practices. Nike was offering the option of customizing shoes in response to this Jonah Puretti, a jammer tried to make Nike stitch the word ‘Sweat Shop’ into the shoes. Nike didn’t do it of course. This incident was wide spread and it brought to light the plight of workers employed by Nike.

More than 75% of Nike’s shoe production occurs in countries where it is illegal to form independent trade unions. Moreover the companies have incorporated themselves so firmly into the economy of these countries that were the companies to leave the entire economy would come crashing down, Thus even if the workers were to protest about the low wages the company would threaten to pull out and go to countries which have even lower wage rates such as China which has a daily wage of 80 cents or about thirty rupees.There was an incident when workers in Indonesia protested against Nike’s low wages where upon many of these protestors were arrested while other’s simply disappeared.

If Nike were to use just 1 % of its annual budget of 280 million dollars it could easily raise the income of all its Indonesian workers above the poverty line. But Nike won’t do this because it knows very clearly that if this happens its workers will begin to save money, start local enterprises and Nike would loose its source of cheap labour, so Nike does nothing.

Other companies which the cultural jammers protested against was Disney, Disney has sweat shops were people are paid 6 cents or two rupees forty paisa for every pair of ‘101 Dalmations’ outfit that is made. This outfit then sells for about twenty dollars or rupees eight hundred. In Salvador workers get 12 cents ( rupees four, eight paisa) per Gap t-shirt that sells for twenty dollars. In the U.S workers are paid 40 cents for Guess T-shirts that sell for 58 dollars a piece.
Other examples of cultural jamming was changing the ‘Apple’ log to a skull and changing the word ‘Shell’ to $hell. The changing of Macdonald’s to Macdeath. Given below is an example of adbusting done on Macdonald's.

Then there was the ‘Whirl-Mart’ which is an event hosted in order to mock the absurdity of the shopping process. This is done by organizing a crowd to walk around the Wal-Mart in an apparent daze for hours buying nothing. Also there are "Buy Nothing Day" which is held every year in the U.S, Canada, Australia, Japan and Europe. There are Black spot shoes which are splitting replicas of shoes manufactured by Nike but where the Nike Logo is usually present on these shoes there is a Black Spot.

Other Examples of Adbusting:

On Nike:

Busting done on Pepsi:

Tears never came

2008-05-18T14:15:00.000-07:00

As i watched:
White turned into Black,
Day into Night.
Everywhere,
Soul killed Soul.
Yet not a drop of blood flowed.

As i watched, i wept:
For Innocence,
was torn no sooner born.
For hearts held fire,
not of love but of hate.
Yet my tears never came
For i had forgotten how to cry.

Little Girl

2008-05-01T06:29:00.000-07:00

Once upon a time, last year, yesterday, today and in tomorrow there lived a little girl. She was known as little girl because the world was so big and she was so small. On the outside she seemed to be like everyone else but deep inside she knew that she was different. And she was different because she was she; there was only one of her in the entire universe and after her death there would never ever be any like her.Yet despite being different from others, she was just like the other people, like others she had her insecurities and fears. Her moments of strength and her moments of weakness.
Now little girl had a constant companion, who was with her through thick and thin; a companion that she called fear of loneliness. She also had a secret quest; a search for love, true love but little did she realize that because of her constant companion she had always accepted any kind of love that came her way, it didn’t matter if the love was good or if the love was bad as long as it was love. (One might question what is ‘bad’ love? For isn’t all love good? Well ‘bad’ love is love that only takes without giving). So little girl went with people who did not really love her. Though she knew that they were pretending for her anything was better than nothing.

For she was afraid, of being alone. So little girl fell into the habit of pretending to be who she was not, being happy when she was not. She tried and tried to suppress who really was just so that she could be accepted, just so she could fit in, just to be loved a little.The biggest mistake little girl always made was pretending to be strong, afraid that others would mock her if she showed them her weakness, her fears they would use it to their advantage. At times she tried to break free and live only for herself but then the people she loved would end up being hurt. So she would stop being herself and be what others wanted her to be .And the little girl grew up, half alive, never herself and never getting the love she so badly needed.

Then one fine day, when little girl was all grown up in the eyes of the world but still was a child inside, she saw Love but because she had seen love walk past her so many times, she stood aside and waited for Love to walk away. To her surprise this Love did not walk away, it stopped and asked her for her hand. Little girl was so surprised that she just stood there afraid to breathe for fear of seeing Love disappear. Still Love stood there but because she had never trusted anyone ever she decided that this Love was playing an awful trick on her, thus she decided to test this Love. She was sure that this love was leave anyway so she pushed, she hurt, she screamed and she shouted. Love still didn’t walk away. Little girl began to grow alarmed. She did not want to pull down her defenses for in doing so she could be hurt horribly. She realized that she was so used to her loneliness that she was now afraid of love. Yet Love danced around the walls that she had created over the years. Love slowly stripped down the walls half way. Then Love told her that he could only break down half the walls, the other half she had to break her self. With the walls half way down for the first time in her life she could finally feel the warm sunshine. It was the most beautiful thing that she had ever felt and she was happy as she had never been. Yet because the walls were only half broken her constant companion was still crouched in the shadows of the remaining walls. But little girl was still afraid so when Love asked her if she had broken down all the walls she answered yes; she felt that she needed a little darkness for her self where she could hide if Love were to hurt her.

Like everyone else who has met love knows that love is not always kind and so many a time love was intensely cruel to her. Little girl could not understand how love could be so cruel and she wept. As she thought, she understood that the more pain she felt the more her soul deepened. Soon she realized that she had learned to swallow her pride to be humble, she had learned to beg but she also knew that there was no shame in begging. In begin a beggar the real shame should be felt by those who walk away. So she was happy.

Then in one especially cruel moment that love gave her, little girl began to wonder whether it was worth, whether life was worth living. And so she thought and thought. Suddenly she knew that live was worth living as long as there was something to live for. She looked at the half broken down walls, she knew that the walls were keeping in fear with her just but they were also keeping out love. She also knew that the walls were still standing because it was she who didn’t want to break them down. She found her courage and finally broke them down. In that instant her fear no longer had a place to hide, and it fled, for like things of darkness fear is afraid of light.
Her feet were no longer bound, she could move. Where earlier she had only been able to stand in the sunlight now she could move. And she moved, she laughed, she ran and she danced. She knew that she was ready even if Love wanted to leave, if love wanted to hurt her. If that love did not want her anymore she could always find more.

She saw the greener grass on the other side of her wall that she had always wanted. Then she looked down at the grass under her feet and she realized that it was just as green but because of the shadow of her walls had seemed paler.With her fear gone she could accept love, everything it could offer; the good the bad, the sadness and the joy.

Little girl laughed and walked away holding love in her arms and in her heart.

Man and Machine

2008-02-06T05:15:00.000-08:00

Through out human history, mankind and technology has developed side by side. With the birth of human intelligence, technology was also simultaneously born. Changes and advances in one sphere instigate and support changes in the other sphere. It is a strange paradox that humans have a rather, what can be termed as a” Classic Fear “of technology – that it will rob us of our humanity, though we ourselves have created this technology... moreover our humanity is to a great extent built and maintained by techonology. In particular, information and communication is infused into human life on all levels of analysis and function – there are personal computer, business and social networks, servers, browsers, service providers, tele-communication systems, computerized industry and products and of course the internet- the biggest machine ever built. The World Wide Web is literally evolving into the nervous system of human civilization.

Our environment is becoming increasingly flexible, intelligent and computerized. Everything from the home, the automobile, the transportation system ,urban centers, industry, businesses, commercial and service centers and networks are being” wired” and progressively integrated. The line between technology and humanity are gradually blurring, as each moves into the other. Even the educational system is becoming increasingly liberalized thanks to technology. Due to the free flow of information available for anyone and everyone who wants to access it, the mode of education has also changed. The teacher no longer dictates from a book, instead the teacher freely interacts with the students, and the student no longer blindly follows what is taught but questions and thinks for himself.

Due to the tremendous rate of growth of the information technology each and every individual is being empowered to create a unique personal and professional niche for theselves. The World Wide Web provides opportunities for the individual to take on different persons or selves. The Internet has become a sort of alter ego According to Drucker and Bell; the entire world is gradually morphing into a World mind or a World Brain. H.G. Wells also predicted a global brain, which consists of a collective intelligence.

Today it is hard to imagine a world without technology. Man has become so dependent on technology, that it at this stage technology were to be completely removed from the lives of man , the world as we would know it would come to a stand still, chaos would reign supreme and we would be plunged right back into the dark ages. The growth of technology has lead to the transfer of major businesses into the cyber world. These days a company without a computer is not even imaginable.

However as with all things, information technology has also its minus points; it has been argued that technology has robbed individuals of personal contact. The Internet hides rather than reveals – the computer is a drug that hypnotizes the mind and numbs the body. It is also feared that the individual will be lost swallowed up into the world mind.

However the overall benefits of information technology greatly outweigh the disadvantages. Its future appears too bright and promising, and the future most certainly belong to man and technology.

Bigg Boss – The New Face of Reality.

2008-01-02T04:02:00.000-08:00

The reality bug has bitten Indian Television hard with a multitude of reality shows hitting the small screen which have all paved their way into the hearts of the Indian audience. Recently, the reality scene has witnessed a drastic change. Reality TV no longer wants to make celebrities, it wants them ready made.
The success of reality TV in India has come as a big surprise to many for India was a country which was considered as an "entertainment escapist." But with the outstanding success of reality shows, it is clear that reality TV is rapidly gaining acceptance of the Indian audience and is here to stay.

Launched on November the 3rd in 2006, Bigg Boss is Sony TV’s answer to the ever popular Big Brother created by Endemol. Endemol is an international company having extensions in other countries such as the UK, Australia and the Netherlands. It decided to expand to India and collaborated with Sony to bring Bigg Boss to India. The Indian version of the universally acclaimed Big Brother which took India by storm was hosted by Arshad Warsi. Celebrity Bigg Boss signed up to fifteen "semi retired and not so famous" celebrities for the show; Rakhi Sawant, Kashmera Shah, Rahul Roy, Carol Gracias, Deepak Tijori, Rupali Ganguly, Bobby Darling, Anupama Verma, Arayan Vaid, Amit Sadh, Deepak Parashar, Salil Ankola, Baba Segal, Ragini Shetty and Ravi Kisshen. All the participants were chosen from different backgrounds which led to a cultural synthesis.

The celebrities were locked into a house for a period of hundred days under the surveillance of 30 cameras. Like the UK series, the celebrities had no contact with the outside world. While the UK and the U.S versions of Big Brother have been quite loud and "uncensored", Bigg Boss was a much toned down version. Unlike the Uk version where there were cameras were placed in the bathroom there were no cameras in the bathroom in the Indian version.
Bigg Boss, the disembodied voice, played the role of an all powerful God-like entity who ruled the lives the fifteen ‘hand-picked’ celebrities. Bigg Boss made them do things in the form of tasks which showed the audience a side in the celebrities which they had never seen till date. Bigg Boss claimed that it showed drama "live" as it happened. Occasionally well-known celebrities from Bollywood such as John Abraham dropped in at Bigg Boss’s ‘command’ to add to the already excitement in the house.

The celebrities were housed on the outskirts of Mumbai where the cameras captured their every move to ensure that the celebrities did not have any privacy ( except for the bathrooms). The celebrities had to ‘fend for themselves’ by which it meant that the celebrities had to do basic things such as cook, clean, and sweep themselves. Once inside the house the housemates could not leave until they were evicted. Bigg Boss gave the celebrities daily tasks through which they earned their weekly budget. The group used the budget to buy food items to survive in the house. Each housemate nominated two celebrities for eviction from the house (no one could nominate themselves). Bigg Boss chose the celebrities with the maximum number of nominations to be put for public vote (the ultimate decision for eviction of inmates lay in the hands of the public).

In order to gain viewer ship celebrities are needed, even if they are not exactly ‘A’ list or at the top-rung of this charmed circles. The producers selected celebrities who were not so ‘popular’. Moreover the show had just made its debut entry into the market and most of the celebrities were not sure of its ‘audience appeal.’ Most of the top stars of the industry had prior commitments and were also unwilling to air their private lives on national television. For example, Riya Sen declined Sony’s offer for the show. There was also a monetary issue because the producers had to work within the constraints of their pre-assigned budget. The selection process was also based on the character profile of each individual. Each of them was different from the other and this resulted in the creation of a dynamic on-screen chemistry.
The reality show tries to be as close to reality as possible and in their effort they tend to counterfeit the truth. The on-screen drams in the Bigg Boss’s house can con anyone who wants to add some ‘zing’ in their monotonous lives. But on closer scrutiny one would realize that one is wasting time and money on celebrities who are the ones who ultimately get all the fame and the money. With Sony reality shows are fast becoming a permanent fixture in their programming. But are the reality shows real or are they staged? Bigg Boss certainly seems to be more of a staged drama rather than a reality show.

What you see on Bigg Boss is "laundered reality." Because they’re showing you only a glimpse; one hour, that has been carefully picked out of their 24-hour footage, they can show you only what they want to. They can make a character look very good or very bad with some clever editing.
For example; it so happened that at the start of one episode, Sony showed the once evicted sultry Kashmera Shah being smuggled back into the house while all the occupants are blissfully unaware as they are asleep. The first thing that she does is to steal ginger which Ravi Kisshen likes in his tea. And what does everyone including Ravi Kissen talk of the exact same morning? Ginger in tea, of course! He speaks of how he would like a steamy ginger waali chai or words to that effect. What a co-incidence! This kind of drama that is shown itself puts doubts over the authenticity of the show.
Taking another example, its unexplainable how suspicion rose against the identity of the infiltrator when the celebrities were supposedly completely out of contact with the outside world.
The show was broadcasted during the prime-time slot from 9.00 p.m. to 10.00 p.m. This specific time was selected because it guaranteed maximum audience viewer-ship. The show was targeted at the urban section of the society as the voting was conducted strictly through the SMS polling. The voice of Bigg Boss was never identified because the voice symbolized the audience themselves. Just as the voice was anonymous, yet powerful so was the audience because though they too were anonymous, they played a major role in determining the course of the show. Every Friday the voting lines were opened and the viewers voted to remove the celebrity they liked the least from the house.

Today the focus of reality shows has shifted from aspiration to voyeurism. Voyeurism is a quality that is inbuilt in the human psyche. Every human has he tendency to peer into the live of those around them and even more so in to the lives of celebrities which has an unattainable quality. Therefore the concept of watching the every day life of celebrities is extremely alluring. However it is paradoxical that though the general public on one hand themselves place celebrities on a pedestal, on the other hand they want the celebrities to be on the same level as them. This is precisely why the show enthralled the audience with its unadulterated drama, raw emotions, genuine laughter and much more.

Sandeep Sickcand, Chief Creative Director, Sony explains in one of his interviews the guiding philosophy behind the ‘Big Boss.’ He said "We all have peeping Tom’s inside us and we are all voyeuristic. So we are all basically playing with that one quality that we have."
Even the logo of the show was depicted by an eye which clearly represented its voyeuristic nature that the producers wanted to portray.
The media propaganda played a large role in promoting the success of the show. During the three months that Bigg Boss televised most of the forms of media; from television to print, advertised the highlights of the show. Sony collaborated with the news channel Aaj Tak which exclusive footage of the show. Zee news conducted special interviews.

CNN-IBN reported that the romance between Anupama Verma and Aryan Vaid was for real and they even conducted an exclusive interview on the issue.
Times Now reported that interestingly, when the average Indian was probed on their preference between asprational reality shows, which made celebrities out of commoners or the peeping Tom variety, which make the somewhat known face into very known face, they got reactions from viewers favoring celeb quotient. Most of the viewers were quite candid that the celebrity ‘hook; works but what works more is just good entertainment!
Newspapers like Indian Express, DNA and Mumbai Mirror constantly kept the public’s interest in the show alive by printing articles on a regular basis. The hype behind Bigg Boss was so intense that other news got sidelined in order to create space for articles on the show.
Bigg Biss has its own internet website called www.bigboss.in . This website has information about the celebrities; it has special unedited video footage, news articles, clipping, blogs, reviews and many additional features. Besides having its own website there are more sites which give information on Bigg Boss.
The promo of Bigg Boss was equally captivating as the show itself. The curiosity of the people was aroused due to the suspense created by the promos. A month prior to its release the promo began titillating the audience by its sudden appearance during commercials; the screen would blank, then an eye accompanied by a buzzing would appear and without any explanation the promo would end.
The advertisers came up with innovative idea where instead of making a separate commercial for a product they advertised they directly in the show. By far Big Boss is the only reality show which has the potential of advertising most of the products which used in day to day life.
The advertisers got a bonus share of the publicity as theirs products were not only viewed during the commercials but were aired during the show as well. The products played a crucial utlitraian function within the show, for instance celebrities washing clothes with Ariel detergent, dishes with Pril dishwasher, using toiletries from Garnier and Neutrogena, food products from Chings, Horlicks, Kraft foods etc. Other articles like soaps, shaving cream, tea-coffee, cosmetics, grocery, towels, bed sheets and even articles like clothes were advertised. This innovation reduces viewer’s boredom by watching commercials of products. Not only this, the program and channel viewrship will increase due to minimum advertisement breaks.
TRP’s decide and define the popularity of a TV channel. The view ship for a TV program will bring in more sponsors and advertisements for it and hence more revenue. Everything and anything is implemented by the serial makers to bag the best of TRP’s for the commercial benefits. But, the times have changed as reality TV shows are the latest tools in the hands of the TV gurus to play with the emotions of the viewers.
The Indian audiences are readily accepting the concept of reality television as seen by the success of shows such as Indian Idol, MTV’s roadies and Fame X. These shows are frequently accused of fixations and planned conflicts among the contenders. One would accept that nothing has been confirmed about the drama on the sets but one tend to believe after a period of time that it’s all for the business of making more money via the emotional saga and higher TRP ratings for a reality show.
Besides getting money from the show itself as well as from the advertisers, the producers also made crores of rupees through the subscribed dialers of Airtel, MTNL and BSNL. This huge sum was equally shared between the channel and the telecom partners so it benefited both parties.
The reality show has a wide impact on the celebrities, producer, advertisers as well as audiences. The show was a boon for each of them; celebrities gained fame, money and lucrative contracts which would have otherwise eluded them, they also managed to revive their fading careers; the producers managed to recover the money that they invested and acquire viewer ship; the advertisers got extra publicity for their goods and the audience got the entertainment they desired.

Verse

2007-12-01T05:03:00.000-08:00

The choices we make were already made,
So we pass through sun and shade.
The port, the path is already chosen,
The story of life already woven.

Fight it not, you will see,
Nothing but your destiny.
Happiness lies in what you’ve got.
Live in now’s, not in will be’s.
Easy to preach, hard to follow,
Never chew more than you can swallow.
Take a little, give much more,
Push harder than you can endure.

Everything fades;so swift, so fast,
Was, is, will be cannot last.
Still love those who will not care,
Give to those who will not share.

Unchain thoughts that will not stay,
Let go of two faced words,
Read but always a little more
This and this but nothing more.