Aliens and “Astronaut” helmets!

I have been watching a lot of TV here in the States! Recently there was a program about ancient cultures and aliens. The Mayans, Egyptians, Persians, Chinese and Indians took their usual high pedestals, interspersed with the mention of Stonehenge and ancient Europe. It was quite an interesting couple of hours.

The idea of the program was to pitch 2 sets of people against each other, those, who believed that ancient civilizations were made up of a mix of aliens and humans and those, who believed that ancient civilizations were just simply intelligent.

What amazed me in this section was, both the sides were represented by Americans and Americans only, whose knowledge of world cultures, archeology and other eastern histories is inversely proportional to their modern scientific knowledge! The moment I observed this key anomaly, I realized that I am in for a fantasy ride!

The participants in the program simply dismissed the idea that humans, from outside the U.S, thousands of years ago, could have been far superior in intellectual capacity. To drive the last nail into the coffin, they concluded the program with a skeptic remark that rest of the world, got their scientific or architectural advancements probably by a “divine” intervention of the aliens. Also, as if to rub salt into the wounds, they put the onus on the world, to prove them wrong instead!!

This is not just a rambling of a guy from east or the orient! Look at some of the statements / scenarios which were used to speculate that aliens were involved in building the giant structures or advancement of sciences like astronomy etc.,

1. They showed some of the ancient cave paintings by humans which depicted some figures with large heads and eyes (typically like your ET creature) and remarked “Look at these paintings, can’t you see that the figures are wearing helmets and their eyes are big and look like aliens??” [I will come back to this point later in this essay…]
2. “These Pyramids are just so huge that we humans could never have built it! They never had cranes or other equipment to climb so high!”
3. Looking at some pictures from Indian mythology they remarked – “Look at these guys, they are flying around in saucers, this definitely means they are aliens”
4. Marveling at the Mayan temples, “Look at these huge, heavy stones! Who could possibly have carried it all the way up, we humans don’t have the strength to do such things and also look at the symmetry, we never had aircraft or something like that to get a birds eye view and help position these building symmetrically”

Well, what can I say?

People from different corners of the world, during a comparable time period have made use of tools and technology in vastly different ways to achieve the same goal.

Have you seen a Soviet radio and a US radio? Well, if not let me explain how it looked. The Soviet radios were bulky and made of tubes; however, the US radios were made of the latest transistor technology and were sleek! I am talking about comparable technology from a comparable time period. They were immensely different but both the radios did the same function, which was to receive the signals that were broadcast.

Let me share another extreme example from my own country, India! Unfortunately I do not have material evidence to prove what I am about to claim. But if you believe that some one in an old cave painting, wearing a head gear or a helmet is an alien, then you might as well listen to the following!

In Indian mythology, we have two great epics. Ramayana & Mahabharatha – The epic Mahabharatha provides hundreds of intriguing stories which if we correlate with modern science would baffle us. Let me quote just three of them

1. Gandhari – the mother of the antagonist Kaurava camp gave birth to 100 children from a single mass of tissue which was implanted in her… thus goes the story. Now, correlate it to tissue culture, cloning or test tube babies, quite possible isn’t it?
2. There was a charioteer in the Kaurava camp who could see what was happening on the battle field (probably hundreds of miles away) and relay it to the king in the palace sitting beside him – Does it sound like telepathy, television? In fact telepathy is a well documented phenomenon!
3. A deadly weapon called Brahma-astra – which literally translates to “Atom weapon” was known to the warriors in the field and there are numerous stories of negotiations of non-usage of such a weapon in the war. Finally the epic claims, that this deadly weapon, capable of destroying the entire planet was never used by anybody and that the world was saved. Does this mean, ancient Indians were aware of the concept that if you can destroy an atom you could destroy the planet because the atom is a microcosm of the universal energy?

Yes, it sounds eerie! But hey, I did not just conjure it up. The epics were written thousands of years ago…

Imagine a thousand years from now. What if, someone digs up New York, London, Shanghai, Bombay, and wonders, if, we humans in 2010 were really capable of building such huge structures like the Empire State building? What if they say that New York was built by aliens?

My case in point is… why is it difficult for this handful of people in the U.S to believe that the world was at a much advanced stage thousands of years ago and that some one from outside of U.S could build such structures? Why should one attempt to try and speculate about something?

I think I found the answer! I have observed that U.S has every single thing which makes it a super power, but, amongst a few powerful people, there is a feeling that they lack something! They feel that they lack history which dates back to about thousands of years and a few structures like Stonehenge or Pyramids... There are some people who are absolutely not happy about this fact and hence, they want to put down other country’s history or fantasize an alien story and add a new dimension.

A bunch of people out here in the U.S believe that History is not made and that it is written or worst, that, it is produced in Hollywood! Yes, I just said it - Hollywood. Well, then how do you explain the comments regarding “aliens have helmets???!!!” Dudes, aliens need not have helmets just because we guys from earth wear a helmet when we go to outer space. Look at animals; they do not wear mittens, coats, gloves, sweaters and shoes while they are out in cold. They have their own mechanism to handle it! Where could this concept of helmets stem from other than Hollywood movies, where, aliens are depicted with big heads, spooky eyes and a big helmet with antennas??? By the way, if it helps! I still believe Neil Amstrong went to Universal studios and not to Moon!

I could not help but just feel bad for these guys!

By the way, let me make one thing pretty clear. This is not an essay aimed at berating the American people or this great country. This article is just fixated at a handful of people, who believe that they can carve out or create a translated history. When I say a handful – YES, I mean it.

Do you remember World War – II, when things got out of hands because people’s fantasies turned into beliefs and values?

It took just 3 people to cause the death of 50 million people during the World War II… No, I am not referring to Hitler, Mussolini and Emperor Hirohito! I am talking about, Blavatsky with her “Secret Doctrine”, Dietrich Eckart and his occult practices and Lanz von Liebenfels an Austrian monk who created a perfect villain in Jews and dark skinned people of this planet! These three people manually wrote up a fictitious history about Aryans, Jews, Anti-Christ etc., (the Superman and Superwoman, Superior race, Atlantis stories) which inspired these puppets and the consequence almost wiped out the very existence of human race. Thankfully we stopped short of it!

So guys, relax! There is no URGENCY to create or conjure up a history from your figment of imagination. Please learn to travel a lot and learn other cultures, religions and histories. When I said travel, I strictly meant it! Plain, simple travel and not like your recent “travels” to Vietnam or Iraq! Spend more time in understanding the mega structures or cultures instead of wasting time on fantasizing a story to degrade the ethos of others.

When I came to US, I was flabbergasted at the man made marvels of the 20^th century, the natural splendor of Grand Canyon (I typed “grand canyon” and it suggested that I change it to Grand Canyon, well, OK– I will!) and other museums which are home to some pieces of this planet’s history which is not safe in its homeland (read Iraq)… It is much appreciated that the U.S has preserved some of the world’s treasures…

I sincerely wish that this handful of people will realize and wake up to the fact that greatness comes from tolerance to queerness and not from appreciation of similarities. That - history is made and not written or produced in Hollywood….and that their continued good will and benevolent nature, will endure the test of time. Probably, a hundred or thousand years hence, people will talk about this great nation (U.S) as one which helped mankind preserve the human race for centuries to come and hence carve out a place in history for itself!

Ciao

Protective gears - Part II

When I look at our behavior or attitude I sometimes wonder, is the new India really NEW for us to shed some of the protective gear! Because, unlike other nations which were wrecked in decades, we survived centuries of foreign rule and emerged gracefully after independence. This would not have been possible without the strong fabric of culture of protectionism! So, if we have to shed some of the protective gears, we better be sure that we are ready to do so!

After pondering for a long time I did conclude, YES, it is a new India and it is time for us to shed some protectionism and bring about a change in our business attitude!

Being a liberalized country with tax sops and an environment conducive to do business on a greater scale, we are poised to unleash the human capital and create large multi-national industrial power houses. We are on equal footing with the rest of the world. In fact I would go a step further to say that we are at an advantage on all the three fronts, culturally, technologically and economically to make India the best place to live on this planet!

Companies in the west spend enormous amount on diversity training. India, on the contrary, is already a multi cultural society and tolerance is our second nature. Our core values and the very existence of the concept of India as one nation in spite of the hundreds of languages we speak, the clothes we wear, the geographies we live in, is a testimony to our belief in diversity. If you extrapolate this thought, European Union in many ways is an attempt to create a ‘European: India’!

Technology has been our forte for centuries. A temple around the corner of your street, a mausoleum in the north, the centuries old irrigation canals which work perfectly fine even today, the weather forecast systems passed down the generation via vocal medium, Indian mathematics, astronomy and medical science are all something which we should be proud of. The foreign rule did hamper our innovation cycle, and we missed out on the opportunities during the industrial revolution.

If you observe carefully, the nations which were in action during the industrial revolution are the developed nations today. The IT revolution is the next big thing to have happened to human society after industrial revolution! The world around every one of us has changed since the IT revolution! We as a country are in the thick of things as far as the IT revolution is concerned and we should capitalize! The moment is upon us!

Our economic policies are getting better. It was bound with all the protectionism and protective gears to insulate a just born nation. However, as we have progressed over the last half a century, we now feel that some of these policies impede our growth than expedite. Otherwise, why would you think the Oxford / Cambridge educated conservative policy makers of this nation who in the first place, were instrumental in padding us with these protective measures are working hard to remove some of these un-necessary protective policies?

There is no point in just the system shedding its beliefs; there can be no real progress unless the individuals who make up the system shed some of their age old belief mechanisms!

So, what are the possible items that you could do…

• Ask the why instead of what
• Muster the courage to challenge if you think otherwise on a given topic.
• Treat people the way you expect to be treated and do expect the gesture to be reciprocated, if not, do express your concern.
• Create an identity for yourself and make sincere attempts to move away from the crutches of growth by association
• Feel free to have your own opinions and you can choose to disagree
• Do what you feel is the right thing to do instead of doing things just to please others

The above steps are not some prescription for assured success or achieving greatness in life! These steps will help every Indian to make significant progress in achieving his/her business potential in the new world order!

I was inspired by a huge inscription on the wall of a community hall, it read “Do your duty and expect desired results!” These were the words of Rajinikanth a superstar of Indian cinema who happens to be the owner of that community hall. This is from a man who has been there, seen it and done it! This new paradigm which has been unearthed will create a tectonic shift in our belief system and hence will drastically improve our personal and societal productivity!

You would be surprised to know that when you shed some of your protective gear, you get not only faster but also would not get hurt even if you fall down.

But, the usual Indian “but” – the case I have lobbied for is purely in relation to doing business whilst in the western world and US especially. So keep in mind that this rhetoric is a case in context and not a panacea.

Ciao

Sundar

Protective gears!

My generation in India has grown up smelling the air of new age entrepreneurship in a new invigorated, liberalized India. I have seen an individual grow his personal wealth from 0 to a billion $ in one generation and share it generously as well! This new country has given people like me the opportunity to compete on an equal footing in the new “flat world”.

However, my helmets, knee caps, arm guards, gloves and such numerous protective gears are slowing me down and in fact choking me!

What are these helmets, knee caps, arm guards, gloves? These are some elements of Indian societal set up! We have always been brought up with a sense of caution and boundaries. Some of boundaries were virtual and some physical.

Say, for example, we were always told, not to take risks, never to put all eggs in one basket, not to challenge beliefs, systems, elders, teachers, we were given a framework of family bondage where we have to put up with an annoying wife/husband even though the relationship is not mutually beneficial, to be obedient to our boss at the cost of us feeling unhappy about the situation, to be grounded to reality and never chase dreams, to save and not to spend, that identity comes from our association and not from self, to have a servile attitude to the king, boss, land lord or whoever it was whom we thought put the daily bread on our plate, to not to believe our colleagues but to believe the system, that getting endorsed especially by a foreigner is the paramount, to never fall out of ranks, to follow the crowd and not tread an unknown path, to please people rather than doing the right thing, to work within the system and its constraints, to leave the thinking / innovation / adventure to someone else, the list is endless! These gears were forced upon us over centuries through, stories, myths, ‘modified’ epics, poems and every possible means.

On a side note, when I think of adventures, I don’t know of any notable adventure sport or adventure club which existed in India (not in pockets and that too again performed by specialists) some 10 years ago! Think, think, think!

Also, I would want to take this opportunity to showcase a fundamental belief in majority India. “Do your duty and do not expect results!!” This belief is derived from Bhagavad Gita – one of the holy books of Indians.

Indians did a great deal of introspection throughout the ages. So if this particular interpretation/statement was made to help an individual to transcend from the materialistic world onto the world of universal truth, it makes sense!

However, in India people are advised to apply this belief on their day to day tasks. Why would someone want to do something in life without expecting desired results? This is the driver for creating a totally unproductive society.

Though, I do agree that these elements keep you safe and help you lead a long life! But, is that what life is about in rest of the world, especially the western world and specifically the US? No!! Absolutely not!

I get reminded of a commercial for a battery which depicts two old men in a wrestling arena, clasping on to each other and wrangling away softly at each other! Then the ad concludes with the caption, what’s life without power?

I am not able to run at the speed at which I can (personally and professionally), whilst in the US or western world because, either, some of these protective gears slow me down, or, even if I shed some of the gears, my colleague’s (fellow country men’s) protective gears hurt me whilst I run along with them. When I extrapolate this thought, I am sure; my country is also being slowed down by the sheer weight of such protective gears!

Imagine us leading a long life consistently protected by these gears!! Huh! Think of R.K. Lakshman’s iconic “Common man of India”. An old doddering, spectacled man with a mustache and a kitty of life savings. Ironically he has a smile all the time… which, especially, I just cannot fathom.

I feel totally dejected and weighed down by the protective gears, the very thought of such a depiction of the common man from India suffocates me!

It’s time to think of what we have and what we could do about it?

More in the sequel!

Ciao!

Sundar

Jet lag!

Never really had been alone physically and mentally - Now, I am!

Well, the story is, I had been dying to go to the US of A. 2 VISA rejections, 1 VISA approved but did not travel and again 1 more VISA and this time after 1 year of securing the VISA, it materialized last week – FINALLY! I said to myself! I called up my friends and family and had informed them about my trip.

I reached US of A yesterday.

This trip was planned with much fan fare both personally and professionally – after landing in the US, I realize, there is no fun anymore, the excitement is all gone, there is no adrenalin gush, well, apart from the intermittent gastro-intestinal acidic bursts! "What happened?" I wondered! This is what I wanted very badly - To travel to THE States. I thought to myself, when stars align and smile at you, what the hell is bothering you?

I realized the root cause.... it was the lack of urgency in life!

I quickly recollected one of Barrack Obama's speech when he was running for Presidency - He said "I am running in this race because of what Dr. King called "the fierce urgency of now." Because I believe that there's such a thing as being too late. And that
hour is almost upon us."

How true!!

There is such thing as being too late! I was not enthused anymore because, it was too late in the day! Nevertheless, there are miles to go and this too shall pass - I have got other reasons to be enthused about whilst I am in the US now - The most important thing is, I have realized what needs to be done.

The "fierce urgency of now" as Mr. Martin Luther King reveals is a very powerful motivator. I realized that I did not pursue my dream fiercely enough, I waited for things to fall in place. Incidentally, on the flight, I chanced upon a quote of Mark Twain – He says, "Time and tide wait for no man. A pompous and self-satisfied proverb, and was true for a billion years; but in our day of electric wires and water-ballast we turn it around: Man waits not for time nor tide. "I have been nurturing a dream for a while now! I will not wait for the tide and time! I will make it happen...March on to MARCH (2) 2010- watch out for the date folks!

Phew!!! It was a long Jet lag indeed for 9 years!

I am awake! Finally!

Ciao

Sundar

Are We Content?

Sindhu's first article on www.justcribbing.com!

Are We Content?

'We had a tough time getting a good maid', thundered one of my friends. It was a Saturday evening and customary to the week-end routine, we had gathered at a friend's place. One topic led to another and we found ourselves discussing the issue of employing maids in Bangalore. 'These maids do not seem to be satisfied what we give and they keep demanding more and more. And one fine day, you would find them absconding, not wanting to work for you anymore'- he said in disgust.

That set a line of thought pondering in my mind. Are we satisfied with what we have? Do we strive to reach for more and in the process stop enjoying what we have?

I need to draw a line here between 'aspiring for more' and 'wanting more'.

Aspiring to reach higher is a process of growth. We strive our best to use our skills and abilities to aim higher and grow higher-spiritually, materially, and socially. In the process, we learn more, acquire new skill sets, enhance our thought process, and make new social connections. And this contributes to growth in a positive direction. What is key here is that we are content with what we have and draw new goals to reach them. We do not complain but develop ourselves.

Wanting more on the other hand is a process whereby we have our goals stuck at a place for a period of time. When we attain them, we draw new goals and strive to reach them. The mind is not content with what we have. We remain in a constant state of dissatisfaction at not being able to appreciate what we have achieved. We start comparing ourselves with others. We start a thought process in which the mind is engaged in a constant battle between what it is and what it wants. Our happiness is soon guided by the mission of obtaining 'x'. And if 'x' is not reachable, we feel shattered. We feel useless.

I tried googling for some interesting quotes on 'Satisfaction' when I chanced upon the following said by Mahatma Gandhi.

"Earth provides enough to satisfy every man's need, but not every man's greed." Profound indeed!

One of the main lessons I learnt from the Art of Living course is to 'live in the present'. While it sounds simple, adopting it indeed requires monitoring the mind and bring it to the present each time it reels back to the past and forwards to what may happen in future. Engaging the mind to be in the present is actually 'living with awareness'. The more we live with awareness, the more we are able to appreciate what we have, explore more opportunities, lead a contented life, contribute to growth and most of all, live and not just exist.

It was placement time during my final year of my post graduation course. The placement committee had invited a deluge of companies enough for each of us to be placed. Many even landed with two or three offers. What should basically be a euphoric atmosphere turned into a battle of minds where each one was busy comparing what the other had landed with. So, who should have been responsible for happiness? The placement committee? The companies? or the students themselves? The answer is obvious.

Why blame the maids when we have to debate upon what we want and what we seek in our everyday lives?

- Sindhu

Welcome Sindhu!

Dear Friends,

It's my pleasure to introduce Sindhu Kalyanasundaram! She is a friend of mine and married to Santhosh, who happens to be a close friend of mine :-)

Now, the idea is, we thought it would be better if we both started sharing the same platform to express our news and views on issues that affect us personally.

I know that I myself make you cry or think about misy mushy stuff! So, with a "gal" now joining the party, you can expect more of it and we will endeavor to get the hanky out of your closet every time you visit us.... just to help you with the happy / empathatic tears!

Sindhu will introduce herself in detail shortly -- In the meanwhile, here is an article from Sindhu which she was meticulously sent me last week and I could find only this muhurat* to release it!

So, request you to enjoy the double scoop!

Yeah, in the times of recession you need to "add value" to your customer you know! And what more - here you go! I offer you 2 for the price of 1.

Have fun!
- Sundar

*Muhurat - an auspicious occassion

Embarrassed!!!

“Embarrassment is the proudest virtue of a loser!” – Sundararaman Viswanathan

Yes!!! I coined this quote!

“At least to my knowledge”, “in my humble opinion”, “If I am not wrong”, “hope you don’t mind”…. Every day, we are faced with a typical situation where in we hide behind these phrases.

Why is that so? Are we trying to be polite? No!!! We do so, simply because, we fear of “embarrassment”, if proven otherwise!

Why do people fear about getting embarrassed? Because, it could prove fatal! Yes, people do commit suicide because they got embarrassed!!!

Last week, it was just another meeting at our local Toastmasters club*.

Again a session of table topics, and the usual suspects walked up to the lectern, got their topic, and fumbled with words (mind you “words” not even “sentences”) for about 10 seconds and walked back for a round of applause! It is customary in Toastmasters to applaud no matter how the performance was, just to encourage people! As someone who believes, “there’s nothing called trying” and “you are either a winner or a mere spectator”, I never applaud for poor performance. There was never a sense of purpose in my applause at the club meetings… So, it was just the ritualistic thud thud thud...

I used to wonder, well, how embarrassing it would be for those losers who couldn’t even manage to speak for 10 seconds… This was happening for quite some time. That evening, after the meeting, during a casual talk, I stumbled on a startling revelation that one of the speakers was the wife of the President of our club. The very moment I came to know of this fact, my world view about “embarrassment” had changed for ever.

This man, the President of our club, a man of great stature, admired for his public speaking skills, did not have any qualms or embarrassment in bringing his wife who had pretty inadequate public speaking skills to the very same club. It occurred to me that he would have been a loser if he had felt embarrassed and had left his wife at home. By not feeling embarrassed and bringing his wife to the very same club, he showed extraordinary levels of maturity, sincerity and importantly lead by example as to how one could be successful if he/she were to shed the cloak of embarrassment. I am sure his wife and our fellow Toastmaster one day will become a competent speaker!

When I extrapolated the same to other speakers who fumble at the lectern week after week, I could only admire them. The new perspective which I acquired, helped me identify the enduring spirit in people, who, do not feel “embarrassed” but continue to have a go at it week after week just to ensure they improve their public speaking skills…

I have come to realize that one has got a lot to lose by feeling embarrassed.

I have been dying to have a line or quote from myself which people could use… So, when I framed the quote “Embarrassment is the proudest virtue of a loser”, I was delighted! But as always, there was a thought lingering at the back of my mind that I might make a big fool out of myself by claiming something like framing a quote. So, I wanted to dilute my stance by adding one of the escape lines mentioned above like “in my opinion…embarrassment is the….”

But then, I realized that I am going back to the same old bad habit of wearing the cloak of embarrassment! I have shed that cloak now. Instead, if someone can prove that the quote was already formed, I will apologize and get on to the job of forming another quote. Otherwise, I will never frame a quote in my life!!!

Also, had people who committed suicide because of embarrassment, just stepped back and thought for a second, they would have realized that it is always a better choice to live and be embarrassed for a moment rather than die and be remembered as a coward!

Next week when I go to my local Toastmasters club, my applause will have a sense of purpose and will probably louder than anybody else’s!

Remember! “Embarrassment is the proudest virtue of a loser”!!!

- Ciao

* Toastmasters International is a movement started in 1924 at Santa Anna USA by a visionary called Ralph C. Smedley with an objective to improve public speaking skills and build leadership qualities in an individual. A typical meeting consists of 3 parts (prepared speech session, evaluation of the prepared speeches and then a table topic session). The table topic session gives every member a chance to speak extempore for 2 minutes on a given topic. Today there are about 200,000 members and the movement is spread across 82 countries.

For more details visit: www.toastmasters.org

Playing to the gallery!

I have heard this quite a few times. Some of the most popular artists have followed this idea and have

been highly successful!

My writing style has become something I call “Canned writing” in the last 6 months.

When I received a good response to my articles on a particular stage, I started enjoying it and was

basking in the glory of “The prestige” as I call it!

I have come to realize that, I have weaned away from my original style of writing, (by the way if you had

not noticed ;-)), which was that of critical, sarcastic, incisive commentary on issues in life that touch me

to the one that of “canned writing”.

It’s stifling! I don’t want to be the one who “plays to the gallery” anymore! I am ripping off the band-aid

and here it goes!

Now that I have shared with you how I feel, I am much more relieved!

Phew!

Will be back with a bang soon!

Ciao

-Sundar

Embarrassment!

“Embarrassment is the proudest virtue of a loser!” – Sundararaman Viswanathan

I coined this quote recently and wanted to share it!

When I shared this with my brother, it took a little while for even a brilliant guy like him to get it! So, I

wouldn’t blame you if you don’t get it in the first go. Take your time!!! :-)

My next blog essay is is based on this statement… I look forward to publishing it soon.

I know, you are itching to say something about this quote, common' spit it out!

Comments box… well... you know what to do!

- Ciao

Sundar