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Greed is good

"The point is, ladies and gentlemen, that greed, for lack of a better word, is good. Greed is right. Greed works. Greed clarifies, cuts through, and captures the essence of the evolutionary spirit. Greed, in all of its forms - greed for life, for money, for love, knowledge - has marked the upward surge of mankind, and greed - you mark my words - will not only save Teldar Paper but that other malfunctioning corporation called the USA. Thank you" - Gordon Gekko, Wall Street. This is one of my favorite movie quotes, immortalized by Michael Douglas as the ruthless Gordon Gekko in the movie Wall Street. We often attribute the current global crisis to greed, which is true to an extent. Often people are taught to be free of greed for they believe greed to be root cause of most of the evils plaguing this world (which is partly right!). But then, isn't it the same greed that has made us reach where we are right now, compared to where we were a century ago - for most of the develop

Downhill

That was the last of the drink left, and he gulped it down. They had finished it all. Had there been more booze, they would have gulped it too. It was around 3 in night, but then there was still a lot left in the night. The lights in the city below had faded along ago but it still looked beautiful. After all, the beauty of the city was not dependent on light. And from this place, located uphill somewhere amidst wilderness, human settlement was the last thing that could have come to their mind. But in the end, that was where they all had to go to. They walked back to their cars and planned to head back to their hotel, which was some 20 km away at Shimla. They were a group of 7 people - all college friends out on a trip to Shimla to celebrate the last extended weekend before getting out of the B-School. One of the guys had a car and all crammed into it and headed for the vacation. The owner of the car, Chandru as the fondly called him was too drunk to drive. But he had often been too

Last few minutes …

He listened to the sounds with interest. A weird kind of interest with which one hears when one is unsure of whether he is going to live the next moment. A moment later he may just cease to exist and become just another number. He had just few more minutes to live. As he awaited his end in the small closet of his luxury suite, his life flashed before his eye as it always does in front of the eyes of a dying man. Thirty two years was a long time. But it was not long enough to be length of one’s life. He had seen it all – from being a complete failure to being at the pinnacle of success. But then, it was all a passing phase in his life. These are, after all just passing phases in lives of people. They are at top at one moment in life, and then someone just shoves them off the pinnacle and the next moment they hit the nadir. More often than not, like in his case it was nobody who shoved him off, except himself and his arrogance. That place was under siege since 12 hours now. He he

new year

2008 is gone, and here we welcome 2009. we celebrate this change with a ritual involving music, food, wine and try to have the best of it all. a time when we make a million resolutions. we evaluate happenings of this day minutely as the omens of next 364 days to come. we hope that it has everything to make this day more than ordinary. but at the end of it, it is - just another day. just another year. just another passing moment. ... and this too shall pass!

destined for greatness ...

He had one final look at his work. The ending was perfect. The beginning was perfect. Yes. The pace slackened a bit in middle, but it was acceptable. A handful of people may not like it. He couldn't please all. But he was sure that he would please most of the people, the ones who mattered. Above all, the work would impress him. He had surpassed his own expectations. He had read the final draft for the 27th time by now. It was perfect. Next day he would contact the publishers. He was sure that nobody would refuse. They would lap up his work and offer him some handsome sum of money. Probably much more than any of the first time writers could ever dream of, at an age of 29. That would bring it all - name, fame, recognition, money ... everything! He was destined for greatness, as a part of the title suggested. Maybe in a year ... or two years at max, the world will recognize his greatness. Maybe, that would be fitting reply to the world which had branded him as a insecure, reclusive, w

Hazaaron Khwaishein Aisi

"Hazaaron khwaishein aisi ki har khwaish pe dam nikle. Bahut nikle mere armaan lekin phir bhi kam nikle" Though I am not a big fan of sher - o shayari , nor do I boast of being even slightly knowledgeable in this department but this one by Ghalib is a gem. The depth of it, and the truth in it say so much about about human existence and probably this truth escapes none in this universe, for everyone - no matter how significant or inconsequential his or her existence be in this myriad universe, be it an undernourished beggar on streets of Sub-Saharan Africa or the president of United States. They have their own small and big triumphs and failures - a million aspirations, few fulfilled and few not. "Hazaaron khwaishein aisi" is also one of those 'awesome' kind of offbeat movies to have blessed Indian cinema few years ago. The backdrop of the movie is Indian political landscape of the 70s, but it is essentially about human aspirations - their successes and f

The God Delusion

Just finished reading 'The God Delusion' by Richard Dawkins, a book I wished to read since quite some time. A good read for those who wish to list arguments about non-existence of god or any such superpower. One of the reasons I liked it was that the ideas and views presented in it were quite similar to the ones I hold (although they were presented more in depth and much more articulately than I could have ever dreamt of myself) about god, omnipotence of god, religion, morality etc. A recommended read for those who wish to read arguments for atheism and for religious people or believers who wish to know 'the other side' , although I don't think it convincing enough to convert a priest into an atheist! Meanwhile, I am planning to start reading 'Fooled by Randomness' by Nicholas Taleb soon!

Book-ed ... yet again

Just finished Shantaram after around 8 week of non continuous reading. Awesome stuff. I am tempted to write a review, but am too lazy as of now to do so. But I am now completely fida over the book. Now 'The God Delusion' and 'Fooled by Randomness' in queue. Heard a lot about them. Hoping they turn out to be good !!!

Obama mania

Now that the whole world is going gaga over Barack Obama being elected as the next US President, and that too with an overwhelming majority here goes few points of my analysis of his victory and related things! I think that the reasons of his victory were much more than just what their repective views on different social, economic and international issues were. They did play a role, but I think that wasn't the only factor that led him to victory. I think the two major factors were - 1. General dissatisfaction with George Bush on issues ranging from Iraq to Economy. This was bound to have some disatisfaction with the Republican candidate and thus swing in favor of the Democrat whoever the candidate have had been. 2. Most important factor contributing to his victory was quite symbolic. His victory symbolized hope; hope for the many people who struggle against the odds, and the victory of this hope which Obama symbolized. Seeing the meteoric rise of an Afro American and he occupying t

"On a break"

As mentioned in my previous post, of late I haven't been able to gather sufficient motivation or energy to make posts on this blog. Hence I am going on a self imposed exile from the blogosphere for some time. In other words I am "On a Break" This some time may last for few hours, few days or maybe few months. It depends upon when one fine day I gather sufficient motivation to type what is there inside my head and post things on the blog!!! Hoping to get alive soon on this blog! __ "Life is an infinite, non-converging exponential series of random irreversible screw ups of ever increasing magnitudes one after another "

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