Common Sense

If we think commonsense is something that everybody has, well I have found myself lacking it many times. When we start applying our expert knowledge, say when a speaker does not work we do everything other than checking to see if the power pin is plugged! (Was that me?).

That aside, there is a grave danger when smart people start acting without commonsense. I shall illustrate what that can lead us to. Before that I want to be prophetic!

"There is nothing more dangerous than smart people without commoonsense". -- That was me!

I will come back. I have an assignment due tonight.

See ya
~rAGU

Yugadi - Sarvajit Samvatsara

Indian Hindu lunar calender is cyclical. Four ages, Krita, Treta, Dwapara and Kali are called yuga.
Kalpa is the largest unit of time consisting of 4000 yugas. Kalpas are named and now we are in Shweta Varaha Kalpa (White Pig Kalpa). Next unit is 14th part of Kalpa called Manvantara. Now we are in Vaivaswata Manvantara.


Each yuga consists several 60 named year groups called Samvatsaras. On March 19th 2007 we will enter the year 1929 SE or 1929 of the Shalivahana Saka (Saka Era). This year is named Sarvajit, one of the 60 samvatsaras.


Yugadi (Ugadi) marks the first day of the calender for people in Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, and Maharastra (where it is called Gudipadva).

The first day of the season called vasanta Rutu (spring one of the six seasons in India) and the month Chaitra. Padya is a vernacular name for Pratipada the first day.

Traditionally Yugadi is celebrated by sharing a mixture of Jaugary and Neem leaves.

Ugadiya shubhashayagalu.
~rAGU

Alternative Reading Week

I had an opportunity to work with some of the NGOs working in Saskatoon. University learning centre organised a week long programme focusing on creating awareness about social issues mainly poverty in some communities in and around Saskatoon.

Our group had 26 members and was split in to sub groups.

The group I was in participated in Poverty awareness workshop conducted by Anti Poverty coalition.

Core Community group Walked us through some of the poor neighbourhoods.

SCYAP showed us how they engage kids in art and painting.

We ate in Friendship inn saw how they are helping the people in need.

We worked in the Habitat for humanity ReStore. We also volunteered to paint the house that Habitat was building in I think 18th street.

EGazed showed us how they help street children to get back to normal life.

Reading week is a week long holiday in Canada. I was told that holidays were to allow students to read and prepare for the midterm exams that follow. I was also told that previously this week had highest suicide rate among students.

~rAGU

Who am I?

My ancestors were probably Hindu priests. My parents however are farmers. But we have the practices of pronouncing our ancestry in our daily rituals. One such ritual is called "Gotra Pravara".

According to that my lineage is something like this;

In the era of Yadu (calendar)
Follower of the formulations of Bhodhayana (A philosopher in 900 BC)
Follower of the sage Naidravat
Born to the family of Kashyapa (A sage after whom Kashmir is named(Kasyapa Mihira))
I am Raghavendra. (Wow!)

Good enough. I have no identity issues, even though things written above are debatable.

~rAGU

Cats In The Cradle Lyrics

Artist: Harry Chapin
Album: Cats In The Cradle

 

My child arrived just the other day
He came to the world in the usual way
But there were planes to catch and bills to pay
He learned to walk while I was away
And he was talkin' 'fore I knew it, and as he grew
He'd say "I'm gonna be like you dad
You know I'm gonna be like you"

And the cat's in the cradle and the silver spoon
Little boy blue and the man on the moon
When you comin' home dad?
I don't know when, but we'll get together then son
You know we'll have a good time then

My son turned ten just the other day
He said, "Thanks for the ball, Dad, come on let's play
Can you teach me to throw", I said "Not today
I got a lot to do", he said, "That's ok"
And he walked away but his smile never dimmed
And said, "I'm gonna be like him, yeah
You know I'm gonna be like him"

And the cat's in the cradle and the silver spoon
Little boy blue and the man on the moon
When you comin' home son?
I don't know when, but we'll get together then son
You know we'll have a good time then

Well, he came home from college just the other day
So much like a man I just had to say
"Son, I'm proud of you, can you sit for a while?"
He shook his head and said with a smile
"What I'd really like, Dad, is to borrow the car keys
See you later, can I have them please?"

And the cat's in the cradle and the silver spoon
Little boy blue and the man on the moon
When you comin' home son?
I don't know when, but we'll get together then son
You know we'll have a good time then

I've long since retired, my son's moved away
I called him up just the other day
I said, "I'd like to see you if you don't mind"
He said, "I'd love to, Dad, if I can find the time
You see my new job's a hassle and kids have the flu
But it's sure nice talking to you, Dad
It's been sure nice talking to you"

And as I hung up the phone it occurred to me
He'd grown up just like me
My boy was just like me

And the cat's in the cradle and the silver spoon
Little boy blue and the man on the moon
When you comin' home son?
I don't know when, but we'll get together then son
You know we'll have a good time then

More than what most knew..........

Yesterdays, in future, might look funnier. Then, everybody is likely to know more than what the most learned knows today. Like it could have appeared to shepherds a thousand years ago if somebody told them that every one on earth will be able to read and write one a day, It feels impossible to assume that one day every one will be able to know and do what the specialists of today do. I see it coming. A day when an average man on the street will know more than what the PhDs know today. Entirely new level of knowledge will flow around the world making all the complicated things of today a little less than trivial thing to do. I mean, if I am taken a thousand year ahead in time, I will be, what the new word they would have invented to replace and enhance the meaning of the word 'stupid', means.


Last few centuries saw everybody learning to read and write. The concept of public education that is so obvious today is probably one of the best policies that was made in the human history. Whoever thought of it deserves appreciation for it was partly responsible for information explosion we are talking about today. What I am talking about is an obvious extension of the phenomenon then.


More realistic imagination would be that there will be things that everybody can not do. We do not need a barber to shave as our ancestors did back then but we do need a barber to cut our heads. Only scientists used computers back then. Five year old kid designs a webpage, today, using computers. Yet there are things that only programmers can do. This distinction of 'leading' and 'being led' is likely to remain but in a different fashion.


Sun shall rise in the east if they abstain from turning the whole world around!

~rAGU

Christmas in Christopher Lake

We spent several days in Christipher Lake. Anglican community had organised this programme. We were taught Skiing skating etc. The food and fun were really great. I got good idea about Bible studies and we had bible discussion every evening.

A day before we left international food were served. We along with students from Nepal coocked Chana Masala and Chcicken Fried Rice.

We got an oppurtunity to present a slide show on India.

I made lot of friends. Warren, Rob, and the bear killer!(?)

Social Integration and Future of Canada

I would like to emphasize the need for cultural integration of the immigrants with the proactive initiatives from the local community. As immigrants increase, next 50 years will see an in creasing difference of opinions in Canada. To create hormony, community should take up social integration agressively by involving and educating the youth about the need for accomadating the immigrants. When the immigrants actively involve in local initiatives the become part of the nation and start to share the concerns. Social differences will eventually dissolve owing to mutual respect and knwoledge about each others culture.

Easier said than done. My understanding is that at present, cultural sensitivity is veryless. Open mindedness to different languages and traditionas will have to be highly emphasized before it becomes an important tool in social integration. For instance, wearing ethnic dress is seen as opposing local values. (An old Canadian lady toldt me "You are fine, you wear nice trousures.... but...why is that those people have long strange clothes...when in Canada the have to dress as Canadians do"). Speaking a different language is sometimes seen as being insensitive to local sentiments. Not that they do not have anything legitamate in their arguments, they lack a sense of openness. Being used to diversity is probably one of the gretest chalenges to soceity.

It appears that some universities such as in Regina are doing some research related to social integration. However the impact of social segragation has not been a topic of importance so far. Thinking in tha direction, if we concider the case of India where several socities exist with a huge cultural diversity, we can see that communal disturbances are an impact of alianation.

Canada needs serious political and social initiatives to stop communal disturbances from flaring up due to alianation. As immigrants from differents parts of the world arrive, there is a chnace that they will form small groups of segregated communities. It is natural for such communities to develop a feeling of insecurity when they start to think they are a minority. That may bring canada to a situation where India is today: full of communities which do not entertain marriages into communities other than their own and continue to maintain segragation in the name of diversity. To prevent precisely this, that I feel that extra efforts should be made by local community to bring all the communities together.

I am not in denail that there is reluctance from the immigrants to integrate into the Canadian soceity. This, I think is common with most of the immigrants irrespective of the place they immigrate to. Being repulsive and rationalizing our acts, come naturally to us. But moving away from such dangerous instincts by not only accepting the diversity but also by appriciating it will aid efforts to build more hormonious Canadian soceity.

~rAGU

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.