Self ..

Zen
and The Art of Motorcycle Maintenance
-Robert Pirsig

An inquiry into Values..
The fabulous journey of a man in search of himself..

Visions of reality: The world as you see it right here, right now, is reality, regardless of what the scientists say it might be. That's the way John sees it. But the world as revealed by its scientific discoveries is also reality, regardless of how it may appear, and people in John's dimension are going to have to do more than just ignore it if they want to hang on to their vision of reality.

What u've got here are two realities, one of immediate artistic appearance- Romantic understanding - and one of underlying scientific explanation,- Classical understanding - and they don't match...

The romantic mode is primarily inspirational, imaginative, creative, intuitive. Feelings rather than facts predominate. "Art" when it is opposed to "Science" is often romantic.

The classic mode, by contrast, proceeds by reason and by laws- which are by themselves underlying forms of thought and behaviour. The classic style is straightforward, unadorned, unemotional, economical and carefully proportioned. Its purpose is not to inspire emotionally, but to bring order out of chaos and make the unknown known.

Although motorcycle riding is romantic, motorcycle maintenance is purely classic. The dirt, the grease, the mastery of underlying form required all give it such a negative romantic appeal that women never go near it.

To a romantic, classic mode appears dull, awkward and ugly.. Everything is in terms of pieces and parts and components and relationships. Everything's got to be measured and proved. Oppressive. Heavy. Endlessly grey.

Within the Classic mode, however the appearance of romantic is frivolous, irrational, erratic, untrustworthy, interested primarily in pleasure seeking. Shallow. Of no substance. Often a parasite who cannot or will not carry his own weight. A real drag on society.

This is the source of the trouble.. Persons tend to think and feel exclusively in one mode or the other and in doing so tend to misunderstand and underestimate what the other mode is all about. But no one is willing to give up the truth as he sees it, and as far as I know, no one now living has any real reconciliation of these truths or modes. There's no point at which these visions of reality are unified...

The doctrinal differences among Hinduism and Buddhism and Taoism are not anywhere near as important as doctrinal differences among Christianity and Islam and Judaism. Holy wars are not fought over them because verbalized statements about reality are never presumed to be reality itself.

In all of the oriental religions great value is placed on the Sanskrit doctrine of "Tat Tvam Asi" , "Thou art that," which asserts that everything you think you are and everything you think you perceive are undivided. To realize fully this lack of division is to become enlightened.

Logic presumes a separation of subject from object; therefore logic is not final wisdom. The illusion of separation of subject from object is best removed by the elimination of physical activity, mental activity and emotional activity. There are many disciplines for this. One of the most important is Sanskrit "Dhyana," mispronounced in Chinese as "Chan" and again mispronounced in Japanese as "Zen"

Aloha !.. Welcome to my world.. Njoi lyf

I hail from Kannur (the British named it Cannanore), a small town on the Malabar coast of Kerala , the lush green land of coconuts.
This Green Gateway of India is featured as one among the 10 most beautiful places in the Paradise Found section of
50 Places of a Lifetime picked by 'National Geographic Traveler' magazine.(Oct 1999)

I graduated with B.Tech in Electronics& Communication Engg., from Regional Engineering College, Calicut..
am in Bangalore, currently on my second job, with Motorola India..
now into communication software for 3G (3rd Generation) mobile phones.. .. Here r some Prototype phones

From REC, got placed with TCS, Mumbai (Bombay).. software firm.. a workhorse from The Tata's stable..

Munificent Mumbai, the Commercial Capital which caters to every strata of society.. including the xtremes of haves and the have-nots
The Mega Metropolis which taught some lessons of survival..
Overwhelmingly overcrowded local trains.. the lifeblood of The City.. an inevitable part of life..
The City which left an indelible impression.. of its pace of life, where people get damn frustrated if they miss the 8:57 Churchgate Fast-local train and have to wait for the 9:01 Fast..
The island City which grew much beyond into the mainland is mammoth, monstrous.. with Asia's largest slums and thriving underworld..
Mumbai's symbiosis of The Real Estate sharks, The Underworld and Bollywood glamworld is often talked about in the media..
The South has glamorous and fascinating edifices with old-world charm, symbolized by VT, the Victoria Terminus station..
.. oh I loved strolling on those streets.. and going by stairs to the 11th flr office of the seafront bldg- njoing the view and wind thru the windows..
then there's The magnificent Marine Drive.. The sight of two lanky Glam Girls zipping past in an Enfield Bullet on Marine Drive comes to mind..

Hot Air Balloon..Taken @ National Geographic `Adventure One' event, Feb 25 2001, Bangalore

Kids waiting for lift-off of Hot-air Balloon.
National Geographic `Adventure One', Feb 25 2001, Bangalore

After an year and a half of life in the fast lanes, I came down to the cool climes and greener pastures of Bangalore .. the City which some call as The Czar of the Cyberworld.. there's much hype and hoopla about it in IT circles these days..
It has a comparatively sedate and peaceful outlook.. But 'tis a Happening place.. Though a cleaner, greener City, it lacks the glamour of a seaside city..
It gives more freedom and flexibility.. Overall, a great place to be in..

Love trekking in the Western Ghats, one of the 18 most important Bio-diversity hot-spots on earth identified for conservation. (Some of the trails and trip reports with photos.. are listed in my home .. )
During the forays into the forests, awareness of the Avian world heightened and I got hooked to Birding.

Outa the urge to Capture Nature's features and its Creatures, arose the interest in Photography.. Some moments are too precious to be lost in the sands of time..
Now trying to understand the nuances of photography.. yet to acquire my first 'serious' (SLR) camera...

Whenever I go home, I look forward for the morning jog on the beach.. if ya ask me, IMHO, there's no better place for a jog, .. which lifts your spirits.. no end.. Mostly I go with my cousin's kids Arjun & Amritha, for a company..

When I get free time, I catchup with Current Affairs, cozy up with some interesting novel, dig up the Net scouring for info, play word-games etc.. or hangout with friends.. I've been lucky enuf to be with my best friends till now..

Who doesn't like Cartoons ?? My favourites are Asterix, Calvin & Hobbes

Like most souls on earth, I'm a fun-loving, Nature-loving creature.. with an urge for adventure.. or stuff that guarantees higher levels of Adrenaline.. (I'm No drug addict :)

Garfield

Argue for your limitations, and sure enuf, they r yours !
- Richard Bach in Illusions

REC Lyf :

After my schooling and pre-degree(+2) in Kannur, the mystery about the latest electronic gizmos and computer networks fuelled the curiosity, and that prompted me to study that stream.. and luckily I got what I opted for..

I landed in a different World, cool green campus of Regional Engineering College, Calicut, with a National Merit Scholarship. The verdant grass and sylvan surroundings provides a great backdrop for small talks stretching into darkness, and the view of the Happy Valley in the twilight brings in tranquilness which makes one forget all the tensions of student life. I wasn't worried too much about marks, (may be cos I wasn't getting much ;-).. but I tried to get the grip on some subjects.. I came to know that Maths is at the heart of everything in this world.. including DNA structure.. I wished I were stronger in Math.. Life w'd 've been less of a struggle :-)
In those four years of hostel life, accrued many grreat friends and lots of unforgettables...

BALL OF A TIME...

Some Thunderboltz Gangsters wearing team-bandanna Outside the world of Technology and blah blah.., t's the Monsoon Cup Soccer matches that I enjoyed thoroughly.. playing as Defender (I can't dribble much.. but can only defend ;) for our team, The Thunderbolts...( Nuts really !! :)

Once on a weekend, went for a practice match with the Phoenix gang.. t's threateningly overcast.. the ground was already rain-soaked from overnight showers.. and we were having real fun playing.. and then it started raining cats and dogs.. so heavy downpour.. couldn't hear guys shouting from the other side.. still we carried on kicking'n'splashin.. once I tried a High-kick.. and the next moment I was on a free-fall.. crashed onto the fresh pool of water.. I was lying there flat with water level touching my ears.. transported into a trance.... with the heavy pattering sound up close.. at ground level.. showers not letting me look skyward.. I froze my frame for at least 5 minutes..I didn't wanna get up.. t'was NIRVANA....

Towards the end of the first year our gang went for big time outing in the City, played handball on the Beach with local kids.. went for a night show for the movie 'Khiladi'.. and back to the beach at 12 midnight and in the darkness we were all lying there on the Sands like a pile of stale fish.. with others as pillow.. after our stories and noises died out, one Auto driver who heard the murmuring in the darkness came near us after all were silent.. lighted his matchstick and was trying to see whether we were some drug addicts lying stoned on the beach.. we watched him silently.. amused..

Then there was the Karate Dojo.. booming voices inside the Audi.. Hard work outs.. pushing to the Limits.. and stretching.. It was pure thrill.. enjoyed watching the seniors doing sparring..

Bunking sessional tests to do odd unix programming in the CC, the comp center. was an activity that I's 'involved' in.. :-)

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FLASHBACK...

<< Memories of childhood and early teens.. >>
I enjoyed most of the country side games, cricket, football, country Hockey, marbles, fishing in the ponds, climbing trees etc ;) ..and when the Monsoon downpour starts, used to have real splash... swimming, diving and frolic in the countryside pools.. hours together.. fishing in the ponds, hmm.. Yes, I miss those days :-(

CYCLE.. The companion.. Who brought Freedom.. for roving the countryside.. pedalling to the top of hills and freewheeling down.. My favourite destination being the Azhikkal estuary & beach 15kms away....

BOMBS !
Summer Vacation starts with the season of Mangoes, Cashews and Crackers.. The festival of Vishu.. during April mid.. when we burst crackers and celebrate.. During those times after I got into the company of 'seniors', I learnt how to make Bombs.. using Potassium Chlorate and small pieces of stones and paper.. There's always the chances of them bursting while you tie it tight.. if u do it in a jerky manner.. initially t's scary to watch the guys do it.. But they were great in Sound Effect.. better than any that u could buy.. and it's not to be lit .. but to be thrown against a hard surface.. and you feel proud when your effort literally shakes the place.. it rocked.. The deafening waves, the momentary blindness after the blast if u look at it, it sometimes caused hallucinations and euphoria.. a psychedelic experience..

SQUIRRELS..
One favourite pastime when vacation starts, was to trap Squirrels and try to make 'em pets.. but ne'er really succeeded as none c'd be tamed.. the plan was to tame and then release it so that it'd come back for food sometimes.. and many times rats ended up in the traps.. This activity was inspired by the squirrel which turned up almost daily during breakfast time at my cousin's place.. it'd eat straight off his hands!! .. sometimes perching on his palm.. a treat to watch..

Homing PIGEONS..
Boys used to have competitions with Homing Pigeons.. some used to buy trained ones and some guys trained pigeons on their own.. white pigeons cost around 100 rupees.. we would go to the fields and release them.. and mostly they used to return..

CRICKET.. The Madness:
during early childhood, watching cousin Rajesh and other Big guys playing with the hard cricket ball and wearing pads.. pulled me to the game.. I thought.. it took grreat courage to face a pace bowler with just leg pads and gloves.. Cousin Rajesh has been an inspiration.. he was good @ Soccer also.. a Calicut University player.. one of the best Uty teams in India..
When we friends bought a good bat, gloves and cork ball, games on the grounds stretched to dark evenings.. Wicket Keeping was my favourite.. cos u get to wear the gloves, do dives, there's Action most of the time.. and always close to Action.. We used to have high-voltage tournaments with kids of neighbouring villages.. sometimes, they'd invite us.. we 'tour' their places, playing on their 'homeground'..
The Punishment: Mom was strict when it came to studies.. The study time started before 7pm.. had to be home by 6:30 latest.. but Many a days I overshot..difficult to leave cricket ground.. then she w'dn't let me in the house.. I had to stay out in the verandah or portico till late.. no TV, no food till 10 or 11! But that never deterred from playing again till darkness..
During Pre Degree (+2):
During a week of cricketing frenzy... Bunking the Whole Day of college and returning to the town in the same college bus we boareded from town to go to the college !.. with cricketing gears.. including hard leather balls, gloves and pads.. we played in the Collectorate grounds.. .. Arun, Anand Pattar, Manju, Shaheen, Maqtoom, Mahsoom, Sanjay, Sunoj, Sunil et al.. The pals..