Nothing...............

We can always be more mature than people of our age but we can only go as far as 15-20 years ahead of the rest. Yet we learn that it was not good enough. I have lost lots of ego yet whatever remains is more than required! Our thoughts get more realistic yet not realistic enough! We get better bigger yet not enough......

I had told you; last time I left Belgium I had two bags. I thought they were all I needed. Yesterday I picked up my cabin bag to check some back account information while keeping it back realised that just that bag, I repeat just the bag I was holding was all I needed to earn my living! It had my university certificates, passports etc.

Extending that philosophy we may recall what Indian philosophers had argued since long. (My favourite: when days were not worth counting!)

We need nothing to be happy! Things only create trouble!







At first, they said in RigVeda:

was neither Being nor Nonbeing.
There was not air nor yet sky beyond.
What was wrapping? Where? In whose protection?
Was Water there, unfathomable deep?

Some mystic thing ...............

~rAGU

Problem with intellectuals

In every country and almost everywhere intellectuals are against the government. Anarchism seems to be only solution acceptable to them. I talk about this because I was reading this, thttp://www.tehelka.com/story_main14.asp?filename=hub110505_In_India_CS.asp interview given by Aundhanti Roy, where she talks about oppression, morality, corruption etc.

The day I find an intellectual who offers a practical solution to real world problem, I shall appreciate their existence. All the time I see so called intellectuals opposing every solution that an authority comes up with, and almost everything that exists in society. That is the problem with the intellectuals. They highlight problems and aggravate it by halting some solutions that may work partially. They never offer a solution. It is all in bits and pieces. Do not like that, that is wrong, That is oppression blah blah.....
Solutions? No they have no idea.

~rAGU

Napoleon's March on Moscow

This photo might belong to somebody. Being used just beause it looks nice. All right belongs to authors.

Bengaluru - Fetch me a glass of milk!

The day Bengaluru will be called by its name and when the colours of colonialism have faded, I will be so much satisfied. A feudatory of the Vijayanagara Empire and called Bengluru by my ancestors is an international city that truly deserves its own name.

It pains me to read those who say that the city is being renamed. No. A common name is being officially declared to clear the confusion. It is called Bangalore in English, Bangalour in Hindi and Bengaluru in Kannada.

Locals have sovereign right to call their cities by their own name. Imposing the name liked by the immigrants to the city can at best be undemocratic. I did not know until I was 16 that the capital city of my province was also called Bangalore. It smacks of intolerance when immigrants from other parts of India hate local culture and disrespect the language. I have been humiliated in Bengaluru for speaking the language of my mother. A native can not be a sitting duck, when his own language is being disrespected in the capital of his province.

Today the name of my country to the English educated is India. There is no harm in calling us what others call us. We should not forget what we call ourselves. Germans always call themselves Deutsch. Dutch are from Nederland. Belgians are from Koninkrijk Belgie. The French call themselves Français. The sacred Sahyadri mountain ranges are a strange name! Western Ghats are a more familiar name.

It is for us to learn respecting freedom of the people. Respect everything that contributes to the identity as something of value. I do not want New Delhi to be Hosa Dehali (as in Kannada). But I would vociferously protest those who think that Bengaluru is not trendy and the city does not deserve to be called by the simple yet soothing name.

Eight years ago I was standing in one of the bus stops in Bengaluru. A smartly clad guy, who until now was talking in Kannada, asked me if the bus in front goes to the Bengaluru city centre. I said, "Yes, It does" and turned to my brother. I was wondering why he was asking me, a man who has just seen the city a day before. My brother pointed towards the rubber slipper I wore. He said, "Your rubber slipper told him that you can read Kannada"!

Fetch me a glass of milk, now my capital will be called in my mother's language.

Ragu Kattinakere

Deepavali: The Festival of Lights

(Image: Thanks to Sushruta Dodderi)

Deepavali is one of the festivals celebrated in the Indian subcontinent. It is one of the biggest festivals Indians celebrate. Sanskrit name Deepavali is a compound word made up of 'Deepa' (light) and 'Avali' (row). These two words are joined by most frequent of the Sanskrit compounds, 'Savarna Dheerga'. etymological meaning would then be 'row of lights'. [Most popular name however is the corrupted from which is 'Diwali']. Let us see how the festival is celebrated in my part of India.

This is a four day festival yet festivities go beyond. The festival starts on the 29th day of the 7th month (Ashwija) of traditional calendar and ends on the 1st day of 8th month (Kartika) [Note that months are divided into two groups of 15 days].
On 28th day (Krishna Paksha Trayodashi) it is time to clean and worship the water spring (water well). Kids go to every house in the village with bells and cymbals (Jaagate) and participate in spring worship performed by the women of the house. People believe that the water they use everyday as a symbolic representation of the Holy Ganges River (River Ganga). It is in fact called the Ganges worship (Gange Pooje). Kids leave for next house after munching the fresh coconut sugar mix. The lady of the house sprinkles the water freshly drawn from the well on everyone around.

Most interesting thing happens during the same night of the 28th day of Aswija month: The Steeling Night! It is called Boore Kalu Haayuvudu in Kannada language (Steeling for Boore Festival). People are free to steel from other's produces on that night. Normally the things that were traditionally required for the next day's festival are stolen! Mostly youngsters steel Coconuts, Beatle nuts, and some other agricultural produces. This probably stems from 'Charvakas' the atheist group of Hindus. They believe in life, not in GOD ("Borrow and eat but live happily").

29th day (14th day of Krishna Paksha) is Naraka Chaturdashi also called Boore Habba in Kannada. According to Indian mythology this day 'Naraka' a daemon was killed and hence is a day of victory. Almost everyone goes for an oil massage bath called Boore Meeyuvudu. Then wears a block bindi prepared by women of the house called Boore Kappu.
The last day of the festival is Bali Padyami, the day of Cow and Bali worship. Cow enjoys the day with nice starters (Turolge), main course (Rice) and desserts (Banana!). This is believed to be the day of King Bali, an honest and beloved king of the people as mentioned in the Bhagavata one of the ancient Indian chronicles. The 5th incarnation/Avatar of the GOD is named Vaamana. Vaamana steps on Bali and sends him to the world beneath the earth called Patala. But grants him a boon that he will be honoured with a day dedicated to him where it is believed he returns to earth. King Bali is thus remembered every year.

Evening that day is the time to party, a torch party. Folk songs galore. People sing songs while they march to the temple with torch in their hands. They shout, "Light Light Light So Sweeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeet". Climax comes when they set fire in front of the temple and start singing folk songs in rural dialect: "Mettilu mettilu chanda eemane mettilu chanda...."

Cotton immersed in vegetable oil glows with a blissfull light in earthen crucibles, rows of them as you see in the picture above. That is Deepavali Festival of Lights. The message festival carries is simple, "Asatoma Sadgamaya". From falsehood to truth, darkness to light, mortality to immortality.

To culminate, I should pray not in my own words but in the words of Tagore, "To that heaven of freedom, my father, let my country awake"

Waiting To Fall

I will, believe me! It is snowing you know, so early in the autumn. I am waiting I said, I am waiting to fall. Nobody hates snow. (I do!) But this ice that makes us float on the land is hmmm..... frustrating.
That is why I am going to fall. It is slippar everywhere. This should be last blog before y bones are broken.

¬rAGU

Stolen Thoughts

Not that I have not stolen. I was caught stealing a bunch of beatle nuts from my neighbour's attic, when I was a kid (must be 5 or 6). No, I did not steal anything this time around.

What happened to my name?

I am Mr. Raghavendra! Note that dot after Mr. My full name, as it used to be in my mark sheet however is, Raghavendra dot K dot S.

Well you must ask me a question. What is my name?My name is Maximus Desimus Marideous! Commader of the depleted fleets of Hans, loyal servant to the true emperor whatever, not yet married and no known children!

Getting little serious, to be honest I do not know my name. Really believe me. My first name used to be that you see on top.Anyway, I was supposed to be named Sandesh (Literally 'message' may be an sms:)). Then I was named Raghavendra. (Supposed to mean charming one after a complex mythological survey). But all turned in to hell when my passport was to be ready.I had to choose First name Middle Name (which I did not have) and surname (Again I had none). After a careful thought I selected my middle name to be 'Seetharamaiah' which actually is one of my father’s name (Note the apostrophe and my father having N names is a different issue altogether (That is his name anyway!)). I made my last name 'Kattinakere' which actually is my village. That was a nice choice indeed. I just avoided being called by father's (I hate apostrophe but I do not want to mean something else you see) name if I was to make it my last name. So I became Raghavendra Seetharamaiah Kattinakere. Probably one of the longest names in the subcontinent.

Then I was called Raghu as well. I leave its pronouncement for heavens. I decided to be what they call me rather than insisting them to call my version of my nick name. Then I changed it to simplify. Avoid that South Indian 'H' pronounced 'hech' instead of 'yech'. I became Ragu. Then when I changed my employer my boss was also a Ragu. I had to find a way to distinguish. I made a e-trick. I became ~rAGU (Linux users would call it @home rAGU). Tilde Ragu was my nick for a while. I still use that to distinguish between the mushrooming Ragu`s in India.

I then left India. Nobody was ever able to call my first name after that. I always showed my passport when somebody asked my last name. Because nobody knew what my first name actually was, all mails addressed me as Ragu Kattinakere. Short form of my legal name then is Raghavendra S Kattinakere.

My last name I said is name of my village. Yes, I am called by my villages name in the west. It's like calling you Mr Bangalore or Mr Amsterdam after you city. I am formally Mt Kattinakere!

My colleague asked me "what name to put in the labs` website". Your full name please?My full name as in passport would consume whole row, as it does in Department’s grad students list. I asked him to write 'Ragu'. I told him, "It does not matter. None of them are my names anyway ".

~rAGU :))

Why big governaments are bad.

I was reading a poem that nicely put forward the thought: "too much is too bad", in an interesting way. (Forgive my puctuation. I am still learning!) . ...

An Algorithm for Segmenting Elements in an Image

-Write-up defending a hypothetical algorithm

Segmenting patterns and objects in an image is a challenging problem. Several segmentation algorithms are in use, offering distinct advantages of their own. We propose an algorithm that segments elements in an image taking a totally different approach.

The algorithm that we have developed needs more computation and memory compared to the existing algorithms. Segmentation efficiency however is no better. Yet the algorithm has its place in the research as it opens a new paradigm in approaching the segmentation problem. Instead of seeing segmentation from image processing stand point, we choose to look at it in human interaction stand point. The result is that the segmentation reduces to, focused element identification problem. Humans focus on certain portion of the image where the element is concentrated and try to recognise it. Segmented element then need not precisely be an object corresponding to real word but can be the portion of the image that contains it.

The algorithm that implements this change in approach opens a new avenue for research. We hope that, the shift in approach that the algorithm introduces will result in more practical and efficient solutions to the problem.

~rAGU

Sriram, My Nephew. 5 Months old.