MODESTY (finally)BLAZE(ING) AWAY

The people of my generation may be familiar with the comic strip Modesty Blaize.
Though it had nothing to do with the quality that is hidden in the name,still it reminds me of a quote that I read sometime ago:
"Modesty has something weird about it. You've lost it the moment you think you have it."
Today's papers have featured the much later noted quality of Puyol the Barcelona Captain and Dhoni who preferred to have the sidelights instead of the limelight.
It is well known how Amitabh Bachhan has almost perfected the art of magnanimity and modesty to a fault.Never has he posed to have taken the credit of any of his film successes or KBC or anything.Even publicly accepting his failures and financial duress brought about by his financial ignorance has become legendary.
He has never ever called himself a superstar- he just calls himself an Artist unlike SRK.
Same has been the case with Dhoni.
All these public personalities are bringing about changes in the Indian psyche- that had become warped by the faulty influences of the west (read American).
It is also an irony of sorts that the American thinkers who gave the concept of modern management to the world and kept harping about team work and team spirit were the ones who brought about the culture of "I" or I-ism as we can call it.
It is always I did this, I achieved this for my company. Their arrogance was amply rewarded by fat bonuses by bosses who agreed that it was indeed "he" who did it.

This was indeed also reflected on the field where slowly the fine art of slices and cuts in cricket, tennis and soccer gave way to hard and power shots.This was accompanied with words like killing instinct, ruthlessness.The words did not belie the spirit of the sportsman.
While doing prayanama I have learnt and doing anulom-viloma very fast and forcefully gives rise to one's ego and reverses the changes that pranayama was supposed to bring about.
Speaking in the spirit of holicism- they are all connected.
Breathing hard while living normally will bring about anger,anguish,jealousy,depression etc.
Now I'm not preaching that all the sportsmen should start breathing slowly, but prior to their games in the dressing room they are always told to breathe deeply.How does that explain the western thinking of doing everything fast and shallow.
Fast food, fast exercises,power yoga,pop music etc.
We had simple yoga, slow breathing,slow eating and no aggression.
It's possible that we have not achieved what the west has , but we don't try to make a virtue of what we have either.In fact so strong is our spirit of self flogging that it hurts.
The kind of leadership that Dhoni is expressing will have very strong connotations in the otherwise emotionally starved country.With the prominent families of the countries like Reliance, Gandhi,Modis (remember?)etc showing gross distrust of their own families do not leave much for the public to emulate. Now that the bar has been moved by FEW GOOD MEN- I'm sure it will pervade down to the starving public.
It'll probably start like the cult of touching feet that has restarted in the Indian life courtesy the television.

THE INIMITABLE INDIAN WOMAN

Yesterday I was with a colleague of mine for lunch.
While my friend was away at a class for some HOLISTIC course (now how can I complain about that!), his wife was preparing the lunch.
All soaked with the tears generated by the onions she was cutting,the oil fumes from the frying- she was regularly being disturbed by the mobile phone.
Always emerging from the kitchen with a smile - she was patiently taking the calls and giving elaborate instructions to whoever was calling.
Knowing that she was a homemaker I was intrigued as to who she is talking and giving almost corporate like instructions.
Slowly as we slipped into a conversation she told me was the new President for the local chapter of Rotary club.She was planning some event for the induction ceremony.
I'm sure my face did not hide the dismay and various feelings that were adequately being reflected.
Here was a man no different than me doing something that was to improve himself after an arduous tour of duty.
On the other hand was a lady who like any seafarer's better half has brought up the entire family on her own steam.She is handling the college admission of her son and simultaneously an important social event for an international body- from the confines of her kingdom and the comfort of her kitchen while making a great Bhindi dish and other equally sumptuous dishes that so effortlessly seem to be ornamenting an Indian dining table.
I did congratulate myself for being born a male- for it would not have been easy if I was to be born in the shoes of any of these ladies.
Now I can comfortably get away by appreciating their cooking and writing a few good lines for them.

When I had created this blog , I had set out to explain "the world according to garp"(a book from the seventies)- I mean the world as I saw it.
I had hoped to put forward my point as to how the different aspects in a person's life are not as random as we think but are very closely connected.
It is not a rare accident that he gets to be born where he has no choice,studies in a place and in a way that he barely can control (right upto higher education)- then pursue a career that he has no aptitude for.
So far it was alright but hence on the way his physical health and spirit keeps up with him is in the same pattern that he has been destined or he has designed himself and.
The way that he will create wealth and succeed in it (or not), the type of illnesses that he will encounter; the way he will keep and raise his family will all have a single thread running thru. This thread will be the most natural thing when viewed in totality.If you fail to see this thread you will only see randomness.
It is this thread that is referred to as HOLICISM - or about the WHOLE.
It is very important for everyone to recognise this thread and try to bring about all the actions (taken and proposed) to be connected with this thread.
I do not mean that one has to conform to a pattern thruout his life - but simply recognise in everything that he does and happens to him.
All the philosophers from Socrates to Buddha have given philosophies so that this thread could be identified.
Buddha called it the five fold Madhyam marg.
Which I feel is very appropriate as much later even Shakespeare acknowledged (not that we care about his endorsement)- "It is no means to be in the means".
I still feel that I haven't written all that want to write- but considering what I'm thinking - this much is sufficient.

THE SOCIALIST AMERICA (U.S.)

Strange are the ways of god.
Strange are the ways of those who follow that god.
Even stranger are the ways of those who advertise their trust in THAT god on their currency.
A country that victimized a large no. of it's citizens in the 50's and 60's on the pretext of being communist.
Is giving into equitable distribution of wealth...Ayn Rand must surely be turning in her grave.
Today POP Obama declared that he will endeavor to make Healthcare affordable for it's seniors and underprivilged.So that it's citizens don't have to go to Mexico and INDIA.
Quite a noble step for a nobel prize winner.However not when he adds in the next breath that he will tax the rich more in order to collect more tax and intends to bring about a legislation by July.
I don't have anything against a leader in trying to get his country out of trouble - when it means doing away with all the "isms' and simply trying common sense.

What it does remind me is a quote by Hegel:
There is no system, no idea that is permanent.Every system or idea breaks down and combines with it's antisystem to form a quasi stable system which lasts for another period till it discovers and forms another unstable system, which will last for some time.
In our very short life span we have already seen the downfall of UK,rise and fall of EU, CRASH of USSR, actual fall of the Berlin wall... what else?
I also read somewhere that no currency has ever lasted for 100 years.(Don't be fooled the modern dollar is only 50 years old when it was taken off the gold standard).
If that is right the $ is in for even a meteoric crash in the next 10 years ...if not earlier.





By the way Google still hasn't accepted Obama as it's normal dictionary entry, it shows up red when typed.

FAKE LICENSING IN AVIATION

It's one thing to invite public opinion in these matters and quite different to know what goes on.
Shipping is an elder brother to aviation in more ways then one.Most of the things including uniforms,technical vocabulary has been taken from Navigation and Engineering part of shipping.
In India itself the qualifying exams for various grades have been and are very tough, and that sends people to UK and Singapore where they are relatively easy. However that is not to say that the Indian Licenses command less respect in the shipping circles.Indians are in the top 3-4 nationalities in terms of salary.
The reason why exams are tough in India is because the surveyors are quite out of touch with the latest and ask questions about systems which are obsolete.However that is no more and the exams structure has been modernised in keeping with world trends. The present DG has brought about transparency in the system . However the surveyors who finally pass the candidates always keep a mental quota of the passout, just like CA or ICWA.However it is called M.O.T.(Matter of Time)- and everyone manages to pass in a proper way. We did have cases of fake licenses itself all over the world but that is history with new STCW conventions.
So finally to say that nothing can change without will to change.-

TITBITS WITH BATCH MATES

We the batchmates of the Class of '86- have something in common- and that is not just age.It is the common 1460 days spent together in common environment.
The bond still holds strong(at least some of us).
Even being of the same age I have learnt so much from each of them- and most of it about life.
A difference of class and families that existed on 7th Dec 1982 vanished overnight and what emerged was a common comradeship that got defined only by our attitude to life and each other.
Probably people like John Kuruvilla, Thapar , Sanatani and the inimitable Hrishi will never know how they positively influenced my life. How, not they, but their bringing up helped ME change my thought process and mould my attitude to life.. A whole aspect of life...and that's the truth.
Growing up must be a collective process of various inputs. A healthy companionship is one of them…and today when Pradeep wrote about his daughter it triggered a very strong sense of a common feeling and common life inflexion point once again.
This phase is one of the most enjoyable and introspective when we know what exactly our progeny is thinking.
How can they think different about life than what we did 28 years back.
However since their life will also depend upon what we (did or did not) taught them. Does it not say that somehow the values commonly learned and adhered to by all of us are being transferred to our children.
So do they also not have some common thinking platform howsoever small it may be.

I think time has come when we must meet with or sans our children but definitely with our better halves to talk and talk and talk. Without any expectations from the meeting. Even if it does not mean 118 but just 18 or 8 … we must.
************************


Hi, Rajeeve,

Why the doubt came to my mind was that there is only one cable overhead from
where electricity is transferred, hence it has to be single phase. Since it
is all 11KV lines, it has to be AC. Then to use a single phase induction
motor for such high load looks improbable. So how do they manage.

With regards to my daughter, she is in a age when she is supposed to feel
she knows everything and she can give me a funda or two.

B/Regards

K.Pradeep

years
******************************

Just on a different note, Does electric locomotives have single phase/ three
phase motor, A/c or D/c and what could be the actual voltage on the motors.
Apologies to Mr. Saha.
********************************
Hi Pradeep

Last I checked the Motors used to be DC but in India over the last decade
and a half there was a changeover to AC.

Elsewhere in the world the change is almost complete.

I remember being told how the pantograph used to change at VIRAR from AC to
DC.

The rectifiers also used to be big serious stuff(some mercury rectifiers).

Of course now Maglev trains are rewriting technical history.

Looks like somebody's son is giving 'someone' tuff time.

Check out this site:

railway-technical.com/drives

A Story and .... a story!!!

There was a rich man in a locality (for a change we'll not call it a village).
He wasn't rich in the beginning but due to his hard work and diligence he slowly gained wealth and name for himself.
His achievements were expressed in form of his house which slowly grew in the locality both in terms of height and splendor (since it could not grow in area- there was restriction by other houses).
The prosperity grew with time as did the family as he had 4-5 sons (I don't know why no daughters).
Then as is supposed to happen with people - whether rich or poor, big or small- he died- suddenly .
Now that the old man was away ,the sons were left to their own devices with their own families.The families started having their own strategies and finally decided to part their ways - partitioned their splendid house. Then within the limits of their smaller mental divisions called houses they started doing their own things.
This included back biting against each other, plotting, cross plotting etc. etc.
First the wives didn't get along then the children and finally the brothers themselves fell apart.
The mental boundaries of their houses became physical and the boundaries were not really equal.
The big brother managed to get the biggest piece.
Slowly with time each of them went about their own business independently, however not without having periodic skirmishes.
Sometimes the venting of their emotions spilled over to the neighbors as well who tried to mediate.
Some of the neighbors in all their goodwill even advised them to keep weapons and guards.
Amidst all this each brother went about his own business- some flourishing- some not.
One of the brothers raised the walls of his own house so that he could seclude himself from his inferior siblings.
The siblings tried their best to bring him down by attacking him physically and socially.
There came a day when the world declared the elder brother as the richest man in town.
He was given a warm reception by civic authorities where his brothers were also invited.
The mayor called the brother up on stage and felicitated him of being the richest man in town.
However the elder brother stopped him and said that all of his brothers present there were together the richest family in the state, and must be all felicitated together...

...then somehow the ship took a roll and I got up...
the story that I had dreamed took the shape of so many families in town..city..state..country...AND FINALLY COUNTRIES.
I though about the BIG BROTHER that we are spoken of as...
Our much touted status as richest country by 2050.
I wondered if the younger brothers would ever let us be there.
..and even if we're there, will it be worth it under the fear of something happening at the hands of unknown...
...just thinking