So What's Your Coolness Quotient?

Maybe you are the "cool" generation If coolness means a capacity to stay calm and use your head in the service of ends passionately believed in, then it has my admiration.
Kingman Brewster, Jr. (A 20th Century Dude)


The above-mentioned statement exemplifies the image of a 20th century cool person. He was someone who cared little about the worldly things, someone who always appeared to be confident, someone who loved to be liked and liked to be loved, who had goals and almost always achieved them. .


Now, it's 2010. And the cool dudes of today are so much different than the cool dudes of the last century. It's not just what they are- its how they talk, how they walk, their interests, their hobbies et al. Today's cool dudes are more about presentability than personality. More about sound of their voice rather than the contents of their speech. So who is today's cool dude? And what is today's coolness quotient?


From a kind perusal of some of today's hunks, it can be said that the coolness quotient of today's dudes is directly proportional to:


1) Length of the hair
2) Curliness of their hair
3) Closeness of their jeans to their ass (or how less it's covering their ass!)
4) Number of intellectual sounding words they use (per minute!)
5) Number of highly popular, but hardly meaningful words they use ("whack", "yo", "bro", "sup" and "*uck" et all)


The definition and description of coolness has changed gradually over the decades. What people considered cool then, is so uncool now. Take this conversation from The Simpsons:


Homer: So, I realized that being with my family is more important
than being cool.
Bart: Dad, what you just said was powerfully uncool.
Homer: You know what the song says: "It's hip to be square".
Lisa: That song is so lame.
Homer: So lame that it's... cool?
Bart+Lisa: No.
Marge: Am I cool, kids?
Bart+Lisa: No.
Marge: Good. I'm glad. And that's what makes me cool, not caring,
right?
Bart+Lisa: No.
Marge: Well, how the hell do you be cool? I feel like we've tried
everything here.
Homer: Wait, Marge. Maybe if you're truly cool, you don't need to
be told you're cool.
Bart: Well, sure you do.
Lisa: How else would you know?

Ages ago, a cool person was someone who had lot of friends, who was attractive, intelligent, witty, and had a projection of self-confidence. He did not just appear confident but was actually a one-man-army. Now, this one man always needs an army with him! He had muscles of steel and a heart of gold. Now, muscles are rotten and the heart and lungs are fed tobacco and nicotine dozen times a day!


Now, coolness is doing what your parents never wanted you to. Having a killer pickup line (preferably with >10 letters). Having a cool nickname, which has no relation to the person you are, the person you want to be, or even the English language! Going to a coffee shop and NOT asking about the contents of coffee, composition, amount of caffeine. . Its about ordering the coolest sounding coffee! Its about not listening to anybody! Or not letting them know that you did listen to them! Otherwise that'll be so uncool!


Be Cool. There are so many cool sounding jobs, cool sounding people out there. So many cool places. Being cool is entering a whole new world. A world with a new language, where there are so many intellectual sounding, looking, walking people (though not necessarily intellectual people). Cool world will be a perfect cure for global warming!

Its Raining! :D

Mumbai (or for that matter any city) in June-July is a paradise. When beautiful raindrops fall from nowhere, and drop everywhere around me, i can't help thinking "Come on, they can't be God's tears". This is one season when even God asks us to 'take it easy', go out, dance in the rains. There's a reason why God fitted this season between the scorching summers and ruthless winters. Its his way of fitting fun and happiness between sadness and melancholy.


So what is it about the rains? It's not just the picturesque rocky shores or the dewdrops on the leaves, or that sweet fragrance that refuses to part its way. Its also how you feel. The feeling of droplets on your face, and body. The feeling of looking outside the window, a cup of coffee in your hand, at the most scenic and pure sight. The feeling when you love everything around you, even about your enemies :) The feeling when you go off to sleep listening to the falling droplets outside, or waking up to it.

The legend, Charlie Chaplin, is quoted to have said "I Love Walking In The Rain, So That Nobody Can See Me Crying". That's what rains are all about. Pour out all your sorrows. Dont hold back the tears. Remember what rains were like when you were a little kid, oblivious to what people would say or think. Be yourself and relive those moments. Try making the most of the season of love and happiness.

Of Football fever and an Economic History of India!

Its football all the way!! Everywhere.. restaurants, beaches, office, hostel, mess.. Either people are watching football or talking about it.. and surprisingly i find myself watching this game (AND talking about it) i would never prefer over cricket or hockey. . With not much to do during internship other than the internship, perhaps flowing with the wave will be a more viable option! And i won't feel left out in any conversation involving the World Cup! Plus- the game is watchable :p



Reading this book by Gurucharan Das (from which i quoted a line in the first post)- India Unbound. He seems to be too anti-socialism (or should it be anti-socialist?), and against the pre-1991 policies adopted by India. As a result, everybody from Nehru to Indira to Rajeev Gandhi are on his firing list. The book is premised on the argument that socialism has hurt India for over 40 years, and only post 1991 reforms have revived the Indian economy. Perhaps he is right! The book is a fun and interesting read up till now, perhaps owing to the first-person narration style adopted by him. But it will be interesting to see how convincing his arguments will be!

Book Review- Paths of Glory!

Lets start from the end. Coz ending of this real story is what that has bothered mountaineers for over 70 years. Did Mallory climb Everest? Or was he just another casualty of the world's largest mountain? Archer, being a devout Britisher tells their side of the story. No more spoilers.

The book starts at a pretty slow pace. As with almost all the biographies, its not the childhood but the wonder years that are worth exploring. Mallory's was no different, and this takes it's toll on the pace of the book. The first half is pretty boring, with exceptions of his very few climbing experiences. However, the moment he is selected for the climbing party, fun begins, and refuses to die down till the last page.

I've been an ardent fan of Archer. He is one author who never disappoints. True Archer is visible in the last 200 or so pages of the book. The description of the climbing party, mountains, mountaineering etc is lucid and coherent, even to a novice. Last few pages are a roller coaster ride, though with few bumps, but much more excitement and thrill.

This is not one of those books where you are satisfied on reading it. It leaves you with dozens of questions and within few minutes of completing the book, you will find yourself researching on the story, getting various perspectives, reading different versions etc, and the only definitive conclusion that'll be arrived on reading this book is "Truth is indeed stranger than fiction".

BGT Trial Tragedy- 26 years and counting!

The night of 2nd Dec, 1984 was one of the most disastrous night in the history of mankind, for reasons more than one. Bhopal Gas Tragedy(BGT) killed thousands, and injured lakhs. Who knew that night that another tragedy was brewing, one that will go on of over quarter of a century and still not end.

The District Court of Bhopal yesterday convicted eight accused in the case, including Mahindra top shot Keshub Mahindra. Not surprisingly, all the accused were bailed out within 2 hours. The case began in December 1987 after the CBI filed a chargesheet in court. Since then, 20 CJMs heard the case. There were 256 hearings in all. The government ridiculously accepted compensation from Union Carbide and distributed them in a more ridiculous way, pocketing more than distributing.

The Bhopal Gas Catastrophe is a perfect example of how not truth, but the rich and influential prevail. How delayed justice is denied justice. How money cannot replace lost lives. How liability has different meanings for India and the U.S. (while British Petroleum is being charged for a blown up Oil rig in Gulf of Mexico, its liability upto $1.5 billion for killing 11 workers, thousands of victims and their families of BGT got a meager $470 million!)

A case takes 15 years on an average to be disposed off, in a country with 3 million pending cases. Perhaps its all cliche, to the point that the top officials have stopped paying any heed to them. However, i still have faith in the judicial system of India. I truly believe that this will be an isolated case. I hope that the new era of efficient but quick disposal of cases, beginning with the Kasab trial, will shove in fresh air into the torn out judicial system of the country. Till then, fingers crossed!

Advancement from easy to complicated!

My second post of the day. Perhaps boredom and lack of work in the office is taking its toll on me and here i am penning down something that has been bothering me for quite a long time.

When i was a kid (12-16 years), i equally loved watching tv and playing cricket or chess.. and loved even more spending time with siblings and cousins.. i might be exaggerating, but i can't remember a moment when i gave preference to watching tv over being with family.. well, this was atleast 6 years ago!!


The world has changed a lot in the past few years.. Internet, playstation, cellphone etc have made people "advanced".. why call-up a friend or go to his room when we can chat with them, why meet up with them when we have skype at our disposal.. worse, why even think about them when we can do a whole lot of things online.. play games, facebooking, orkutting and what not. i realized it before much damage was done, and i still laugh looking at people who haven't yet given it a thought!

I was surprised to find that a close friend of mine was not on orkut or facebook till about an year ago.. "Sad" i thought, before i noticed she had so many "real" friends. She spent time with her friends when i was in my room facebooking and chatting with mine.. she gave her friends "real" gifts when i passed "drinks" over facebook to mine.. though she has joined such websites now but she still knows her preferences, something i've tried to learn from her!

The young ones are worse off.. they spend so much time online that they dont even have time for the second biggest time waster- TV, let alone playing outdoor games and spending time with the family. . every good news is updated on facebook before even telling their parents, party pics are uploaded even before showing it to siblings!

It seems the world is advancing ahead.. from real to virtual, from easy to complicated! I hope people understand before it is a tad too late!

There's something about Mumbai!

"... I believe that one person's experience, honestly captured, even on the sidelines, not only is unique but is the only certain data of history that we possess as human beings (Gurucharan Das, India Unbound, Pg x)

So here i am, narrating my experiences to be read as "history" for generations to come. Provided the oncoming 2012 massacre spares cyberspace, and that the first generation in the post-2012 era quickly discover internet (perhaps even before wheel or fire).

My first post. And what instigated me to write it? Its the city i love the most after Bhopal- Mumbai. Lets start with the so-called "public perception" of Mumbai. Reader's Digest in a 2006 poll rated Mumbai as the rudest city in the world, many of my friends liked Delhi over Mumbai and would prefer it for jobs, shaadi et al. So why do i love Mumbai like anything? Why i'm forever excited to come to this city for whatever reason?

I think the answer lies within. Within the city, within the people living here! Last year, when i asked a random person on a street the address of a travel agent, i was surprised when he almost guided me personally over there, and even more surprised when he gave me a visiting card of another agent just in case i'm not satisfied with this one. The other day, i was guided to a vodafone store(where i wanted to go)when all i asked was where a particular street is!

Its also the city, where walking on marine drive even in this weather gives you goosebumps(good ones!), where even the names of streets and stations show the chilled out attitude of people, which was divided by political parties but united as a result of terrorist activities, where you just can't hate travelling in a local train even with all its pitfalls and lastly, but not the leastly(?) its a strange city where even the millionaires dont mind travelling in taxis and locals..

Perhaps i'm biased towards Mumbai, perhaps i ignore the traffic rules violations, bad roads, the water level problem that arises every year and so on. Yes, and happily i ignore them. Coz perhaps nothing can defeat this city's biggest strength- The never say die spirit! Come what may, the city will never stop or die down!