One of my friends posed a query sometime back.
Would encountering a South Indian chef in a Punjabi restaurant dilute the culinary experience?
The immediate response that I have is, yes it would. The reason, no matter how hard I imagine I cannot imagine a Sardar serving me a Dosa. But as I said this is a very personal and top of the mind answer.
However this is not just an interesting passing thought...As my friend put it, can this be extended into a more significant or broader context?... and suddenly quite a lot of questions pop out…
Would we then want Indians to be only Indian, Caucasians to be only Western in culture?
Do I being multicultural involve others being mono-cultural?
Is it prejudice or racism or just cultural conditioning?
And then I was reading this post about a stroll in a mall.
A metro city mall in India is as multicultural as it can get in most parts of the world, given our diversity. Though it is an in-country experience, you do find cross-cultural behavior at its best. This means a great deal of homogeneity has already happened.
Or going back to my friends question, are we now being culturally conditioned the other way? I mean to accept things normalized for the multitude.
If I am not bothered by a Sardar serving me a dosa, am I being culturally tolerant or am I homogenized?
Well… right now, I don’t care if it is a Mallu cooking me Pasta or a Tam serving me Paneer Butter Masala, I am bloody famished and I need food. When you are hungry, there is no culture vulture hovering over your food!
Monday, August 22, 2005
Wednesday, August 10, 2005
the doomed world of RAM
RAM’s world is in a mess.
RAM has been having peaceful existence all these days. RAM was nestled in the comfort of a nice resting place. This place has been designed to suit RAM’s specific requirements. This place has so many resources. There are many to do the same job. This means rarely has RAM has been disturbed from the wonderfully sanguine existence.
Of course now and then RAM is pulled up to work. RAM brushes those aside, with a swiftness and agility of an ice hockey player. For, after all, that is what RAM has been trained in. The faster RAM deflects the work towards others, the better it is.
There have been times when RAM has not particularly felt like working. However, there are redundant resources to back up RAM’s non-availability. RAM thanked the high priests of technology for that. And RAM was always surrounded with many of that kind.
RAM was always hailed as something precious. In any system where RAM has been, RAM reigned supreme. RAM was most sought after. People used to look out for RAM. They could never say no to RAM. They wanted more and more of RAM. But RAM was then not so accessible. You need to find ingenious ways to just get near RAM. Once you find RAM, RAM is the answer to all your worries. Such was the reputation for RAM.
Unknowing to RAM, however, there has been a lot things happening around.
In the technology world map, there are certain epicenters. Disruption of such epicenters would cause issues. Relocation of such epicenters would call for change of the world map.
Something like that happened in RAM’s world.
One, the Far East part of the normal world became the epicenter for RAM’s world. RAM started losing value. The exclusivity RAM enjoyed, no longer remained. The very people who used to treat RAM with respect, now show disdain. Not that RAM has changed any which way.
Two, advent of the species called the Software Engineer and more importantly the sudden explosion of this species in India. Consequently, the advent of the super species called the Indian Software Engineer.
A note about this weird species. An Indian Software Engineer, working for Indian Software Company writes (sic) Indian Software. And the Indian Software Engineer is a product of pirated software and stolen PC time. The Indian Software Engineer believes in theory of Chaos. The Indian Software Company believes in Order among Chaos. Since both have managed to survive, some thing sure does work. This ‘thing’ does not mean the software, most of the time. With an Indian Software Engineer working in Indian Software Company, there are no rules. No rules meant, very long and often unnecessary, Indian Software. But as I said, both the Indian Software Company and the Indian Software engineers have survived.
Coming back to RAM..
All this meant bad news for RAM. The so far blissful existence of RAM was broken. RAM was not prepared for the onslaught that’s going to be. RAM has been made to work incessantly for very long hours. Every bit and piece of RAM has been torn apart. RAM has been chiseled, interleaved, sorted and released, only to be immediately captured. RAM has never been pushed to a state of such a disorder.
Life ceased to exist as it were for RAM.
Life itself will cease to exist for RAM.
Ironically, RAM has to thank the very same high priests of Technology, even for that.
And so RAM’s World is in a mess.
RAM = Random Access Memory
RAM has been having peaceful existence all these days. RAM was nestled in the comfort of a nice resting place. This place has been designed to suit RAM’s specific requirements. This place has so many resources. There are many to do the same job. This means rarely has RAM has been disturbed from the wonderfully sanguine existence.
Of course now and then RAM is pulled up to work. RAM brushes those aside, with a swiftness and agility of an ice hockey player. For, after all, that is what RAM has been trained in. The faster RAM deflects the work towards others, the better it is.
There have been times when RAM has not particularly felt like working. However, there are redundant resources to back up RAM’s non-availability. RAM thanked the high priests of technology for that. And RAM was always surrounded with many of that kind.
RAM was always hailed as something precious. In any system where RAM has been, RAM reigned supreme. RAM was most sought after. People used to look out for RAM. They could never say no to RAM. They wanted more and more of RAM. But RAM was then not so accessible. You need to find ingenious ways to just get near RAM. Once you find RAM, RAM is the answer to all your worries. Such was the reputation for RAM.
Unknowing to RAM, however, there has been a lot things happening around.
In the technology world map, there are certain epicenters. Disruption of such epicenters would cause issues. Relocation of such epicenters would call for change of the world map.
Something like that happened in RAM’s world.
One, the Far East part of the normal world became the epicenter for RAM’s world. RAM started losing value. The exclusivity RAM enjoyed, no longer remained. The very people who used to treat RAM with respect, now show disdain. Not that RAM has changed any which way.
Two, advent of the species called the Software Engineer and more importantly the sudden explosion of this species in India. Consequently, the advent of the super species called the Indian Software Engineer.
A note about this weird species. An Indian Software Engineer, working for Indian Software Company writes (sic) Indian Software. And the Indian Software Engineer is a product of pirated software and stolen PC time. The Indian Software Engineer believes in theory of Chaos. The Indian Software Company believes in Order among Chaos. Since both have managed to survive, some thing sure does work. This ‘thing’ does not mean the software, most of the time. With an Indian Software Engineer working in Indian Software Company, there are no rules. No rules meant, very long and often unnecessary, Indian Software. But as I said, both the Indian Software Company and the Indian Software engineers have survived.
Coming back to RAM..
All this meant bad news for RAM. The so far blissful existence of RAM was broken. RAM was not prepared for the onslaught that’s going to be. RAM has been made to work incessantly for very long hours. Every bit and piece of RAM has been torn apart. RAM has been chiseled, interleaved, sorted and released, only to be immediately captured. RAM has never been pushed to a state of such a disorder.
Life ceased to exist as it were for RAM.
Life itself will cease to exist for RAM.
Ironically, RAM has to thank the very same high priests of Technology, even for that.
And so RAM’s World is in a mess.
RAM = Random Access Memory
Tuesday, August 02, 2005
Enroute..
Buffalo soldiers of Indian kind
For a life, in the decadent city …
That child with a broken leg
Runs to get that expectant half rupee …
I look around, for hope
But hopelessness is all I see …
And then it happens: The light, the signal and the movement …
There is wind in my hair
And this song in my ear …
All the worries a minute ago
Seem to kind of disappear …
Things are so beautiful, full of life and cheer
Why would anyone complain of despair …
For I have just moved out of a traffic jam, my dear …
For a life, in the decadent city …
That child with a broken leg
Runs to get that expectant half rupee …
I look around, for hope
But hopelessness is all I see …
And then it happens: The light, the signal and the movement …
There is wind in my hair
And this song in my ear …
All the worries a minute ago
Seem to kind of disappear …
Things are so beautiful, full of life and cheer
Why would anyone complain of despair …
For I have just moved out of a traffic jam, my dear …
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)