The new Baba in Town

   For those who do not keep in contact with the gyaan that is flowing like the wind, here is a specially chance to catch up with the new Baba in town. Although he is not seen batting one eyelid on the TV like the one Baba that we have, he does like blogging and using his recently acquired Windows 2000! Introducing 'The Gyaani-Baba' (I personally prefer to call him the Gyaan-nahi Babe)! I am a disciple of this walking talking crap machine, proud to be so! His words of wisdom soothe my barking dog and make my friend’s constipated cat shit. His power is tremendous and so are his psychopathic aliments! Hold on to your pants and get glued to his philosophy (or whatever!). Right now, Mr. Ishan Naik, one of the creators of the "Indian League" has stated that "Gyaani Baba was a character in their comic series". Aaj Tak has promised me that it will make an inquiry on National TV if this Baba is another plagiarist like Pritam and Anu Malik.

  Till then let your Karmic juices flow with the GYAANI BABA KA BADLA! (Learn to click on links, gyaanless people!)

Yours Truly,

Mid@$Touch

An Ear's Worth

 

        Yay! yippee! It is 3:47 am and I have got to answer my PE and EVS exam in a few hours time but never the less, the exams are over and I am eagerly awaiting my results. If I make it this time, then I am going to make it large! The World-Cup fever has got into my nerves and head, thus I expect to surrender myself to the lord of entertainment in the town, cricket! Have a lot of activities planned this summer. Besides the regular classes, I have to lend a hand to AFA's numerous activities and make hay whether the sun shines or not. Also, we have planned this talk (and PowerPoint presentation) series at the observatory involving scientific principles that is open for all to attend and participate in. And not to forget the astrophotography outings that we have planned.

    Now, let us get back to work. An Ear's Worth. If you are searching for some usual tangy post, then this is not for you. But but hold on! Who knows if it might strike a chord in your mind? Well, as the title suggest, this has something got to do with the ear. I'd say evolution of the human ear to be specific. Now I am not any evolutionist or an expert in this field, I am a great devotee of Charles Darwin, the father of the theory of evolution (and the outcome of evolution, most certainly!). You'd be thinking what do I, a self confessed astro-buff have got to do with the ear? A lot I'd say. Read on! (It is 3:58 am, so excuse me for the brash storytelling)

   The date was 24th May 2010. In Pune for an exam, I experienced one of the best examples of 'whatever happens, happens for the good'. Somehow, I had made it to the top 6 of my age group in the National Level 'JVPP' examination organised by Vigyan Bharti. It was here that I met a radical (but good at heart) dude from my soon-to-be Higher Secondary school besides having my first McMeal with my dad and him. Enough of beating around the bush. Let me take you to the time when the results were being announced. My heat was beating (just like that of Jerry when Tom chases him) and as the announcer started with the reverse order, my mind transported me to the observatory (just got reminded of a friend who dreamt about NSG commandoes at the obs after 26/11, dunno why!).

   There I was lazily sitting in a small circle with a bunch of kids who I was meant to engage into some meaningful activity while a lot of members were kind of really enjoying their heart out at a KK (Krishnakumar Kunnath) concert that was being held in the city. Oh! I had almost cursed myself to death reading the updates that Suyash was sending me! But then I had already missed it and not much could be done. To speak of the work at hand, engaging a bunch of kids in a scientific discussion under a dull, pathetic sky isn't a cakewalk. Right from talking about what I don't recollect to the most important question that came across from a young mind, I kind of ended up enjoying the day. The question that made my day was "How did the main sense organs evolve?". Let us keep the evolution of the other organs apart fir now (especially the eye, which is also interesting..buzz me up on FB if really interested). Read on to see what I said about the evolution of the external structure of the human ear. Mind you, I give you no promise that this is correct as I have not yet googled the correct thing out, will do so soon! I have tried to reproduce as much as I can remember here!

  " The evolution of the ear is actually common sense if you know a little bit of acoustics and reflection of waves. We all know that the ear is concave in shape. If we try cupping our hands around our ears and try listening to people talking at a distance, we hear them much more prominently then we ever could. What is exactly happening in here? Nothing but reflection of the waves coming from infinity which end up 'focusing' into one's inner canal. That is why we have the outer cartilage, if I am not wrong instead of a plain, bland hole to serve as a receptor for our hearing purpose. Here arises the question, why only ahead? I think we could have done better at surviving in during the early periods of man if he had the cartilage cupped with the opening facing the opposite side as it is now so that he could be alert and sensitive to any sound made by a predator. But perhaps, as he grew more social and social, he found an overwhelming need to gossip and therefore it leads us to the current shape"

   Phew! I had just made that spontaneous answer and had never bothered to check the outcome. And then, just like it had started, the next time I had to remember the science behind the way I spy on bitches was at the final written round, wherein we were made to write on the same old topic. How the human ear ear evolved, according to us. Suddenly, I felt a jolt, some-one had pushed me. And the rest as they say, was history! I came, I heard and I conqu-eared!

So, missing a concert wasn't that bad an idea, eh? Now hopefully, If I fare badly in my PE and EVS paper, do not forget to remind me that everything happens for good!

  (P.S. - It is 05:01 am now. Time to post and sleep. Till date, only Kirit Ayya has undergone my half-asleep science lectures. Just because that nut put me to sleep doesn't mean that you do not notify me of my mistakes! Happy vacations and do comment!)

DREAMS& Co.

Yeah, Hope!

      The one thing that drives my life. I am sure it drives yours too.  They tell me that it was this hope alone, this very dream and determination that got the Wright Brothers soar in the skies. Where will my, where will your dream take you and me? I am tired of playing around with my backspace key for the zillionth time now and I still hope to complete this post before I loose my train of thoughts.
     This post will be a frank account of the roller coaster of life that I have been on for the past few years. And of course, most of the people who have been with me through this trip. I will declare names at my will (it is really tempting to do so!). So, if you wish to start, lets get going!
    The first things first. I am a human and it is human to dream. Therefore I dream. But they never come true. If you know me well, you must be cursing me right now. Fine, I am not being modest, but what is the harm in listening to my side of the story? I agree I have been an achiever in life, high achiever some would say. But that is in the eyes of the world. “Who am I in my own eyes?” – Isn’t that the real question that matters? I believe that I shouldn’t care for what the world thinks about me, and yet go ahead with pursuing my goal. I believe that we should let our passion shape our self and not our marks or whatever for that matter.
   Allow me to cite an example. In the 9th grade we had this Science Seminar competition and seeing my senior do a very good job at it I was really motivated to make to the Nationals like him. Unfortunately for me, I did not manage to even clear the school round. Oh yes, I had the passion, I felt I had whatever it takes to make it there. I ended up 3rd, a miserable 3rd in my own eyes. The world thought I did a good job, hah! It still has an impact every single time I dream of something.
  Another event to be mentioned is this particular quiz, the Monginis Quiz that used to take place every year in the state. In the second edition, Shantanu Kulkarni and me ended up second, just by 15 points.  We had a fair chance of winning it, all roller coaster all right! But then it was a fair win for the champions. I realised that only losers give excuses, and the people with the killer instinct just accept defeat! Now we did not think we were petty loosers, despite just being in the 8th grade. Our hunger just grew! The next year I teamed up with Jayant Karn just for fun, and lost to Shantanu and Ashray on the last buzzer. The wait just grew longer. The most desired victory just eluded me. The next year I did not give up, but the sponsors did. Another title gone forever. Yes, I did manage to convincingly grab the TOI Big Quiz 2009, but…..the inability to get the Monginis title still pricks me. It is like you yearn to meet your favourite movie star in your childhood but you end up meeting his super-duper star son decades later. But hey! you still didn’t meet your favourite star!
   I dream of things, they never end up happening right. Instead things that I never dream of just happen! I couldn’t clear the Balshree regionals, but I ended up topping another national level science exam. I still didn’t get what I wanted. I know I am being a jerk, one should be happy what he has and blah blah. Frankly, what would you do if you were in my position? Hasn’t such a thing happened to you too? However big or small it might be? These were my thoughts, and I would be rather disappointed if all of you reading this (piece of random bullshit?) agree with it.
  Back to the present. I idolize Rakesh Rao. I idolize him for whoever he is. It would be not good on my part to talk about his story but just to summarize, he has had his share of struggles and difficulties in life. Overcoming all that, he has just come back from Antarctica and he is gunning for more. That sums it up really well. However I would like to share with you two things that he had told me on ride back home. At that time I was going through a rather frustrating and (cant describe the feeling in words) phase. I still remember two things that he told me. He might have forgotten the incident, but not me!
1) ALL BAD THINGS HAPPEN TO PEOPLE  WHO DO GOOD
2) THE MIDDLE FINGER IS THE LONGEST FINGER, JUST SO THAT YOU CAN SHOW IT TO THE WORLD WHEN IT TROUBLES YOU
     And he topped the last one with “A great person once said that” to add to the drama and the person turned out to be he himself! Heh! I am not trying to make a point that ‘I am a person who does good all the time’, but rather hope that you remind yourself of it whenever you are feeling low, for it at least  keeps you going!
    So what do I do? Stop dreaming? Give up hope? Hell no! Let them crash. Luck favours the brave right? So let me be brave, let us all be. I plan to dream bigger this time, my career is at stake. So what? Doesn’t taking risks make us brave? Travel the road least trotted upon. One thing for sure is that we will never know where we would be if we had chosen otherwise (even if they had parallel universes). What happens to me, how high I (or for that matter, anyone) will only be known after we bat our last ball, take our last breath.
   To sign off, let me quote a great man.

“If life is a joke played on you, make sure you have the last laugh”

No prizes for guessing who the great man is