Sabya's Niche

It was a short trip From here to nowhere A journey that was on the anvil All along Undertaken well.. In the mind For it never could be. (A short poetry... that never could be!!)

[Topmost pic - current; Pic just above - November, 2008] Hi folks! Sorry for the long delay. Wish you all a belated Merry Christmas and an advance Happy 2009. Fully into bodybuilding now. I've reduced about 7.5 kilos in 3 months and have shifted to full-fledged weight training from chiefly cardio-vascular exercises. No six packs as yet, but have already been seeing the outlines of one. It's alternate-day jogging and 6-days a week weight training now. I'm actually on a split routine, i.e. alternate days of working separate body-parts to give those time to recover and grow. My mornings now begin at 4:50 am on jogging days and 5:45 am on the other ones. The workouts are rigorous - consisting of 2.5 hours on an average. I complete all studies the previous night, of course, till I begin dozing off embarassingly in my chamber! The experience of my new passion is thrilling - overcoming newer and greater weight resistances and reaching new heights ...

Lost 2.5 kgs in 1 month! Gym, what else? And of course, minimal sweetmeat consumption. Gradually I'm feeling the effects of an about 1 hour 45 min workout 6 days a week - cardio (cardio-vascular exercises) and weight training combined. I've even taken a challenge with a 'wise-guy' of the gym, who's been working out for 3 years and has a good physique, that I'll build a six-pack abs by February, 2009. He still doesn't have it and naturally is on a ridicule mode. Wait till he sees my abs next Feb! As usual, I haven't left any second option and since I've thrown the challenge I'll meet it. So it's a rigorous routine now; so much so that even on our vacation tour of 10 days I lost half a kilo instead of gaining any. I trained for about 2 1/2 hours yesterday and hope to do at least 2 hours daily (except Sundays and Gym closures). I'm also beseeching our gym trainer to give me a strict diet. Of course I'll have the half-dozen pack, but the...

Hi people! Welcome back again and Subho Bijoya, Happy Diwali, Eid Mubarak, etc. to you all. Our family went to Shillong in Meghalaya and Kaziranga in Assam via Guwahati this Puja vacation. It was a splendid trip. Shillong is a remarkably busy and extensive hill station, sprawling over quite a large area on the mountains in the Khasi-Garo-Jayantia region of north-east India. It had quite beautiful locations, including picturesque waterfalls like the 'Elephant' and 'Seven Sister' falls. Cherapunjee, the world's ex-wettest place was also on our itinerary, though we found it one of the hottest places we've ever visited due to the scorching sun! Yet, the land (-hill!)-scape was good. We next went to the forest at Kaziranga through Guwahati. Although the core area of the dense forest would open only in the first week of November, we were lucky enough to spot most of the wild species for which tourists visit Kaziranga from a watch-tower on the fringes of the forest...

Gym time! Instruments at home fell lacking in meeting my needs, courtesy John Little's schedule. So joining a gym near home, named 'Fitness Drive'. It's complete with instruments, trainer and all. Will start tomorrow. 6:30 am sharp! Feeling very excited. Another chapter's opening in my otherwise oh-so-boring daily existence.

Sorry folks - a really long gap this time. I shan't make any excuses. Just too busy due to the oncoming annual vacation of our Court.   I'm into the fourth month of driving and bodybuilding! Getting benefits in both. Initially I was getting confused since there's so much literature on bodybuilding on the net. However, I'm getting somewhat accustomed to understanding the needs of my body.  As far as driving is concerned, the teething troubles of the new driver seem to be over. Now I'm trying out techniques in 'hypermiling' i.e. extracting more mileage out of your car than the brochures say. E.g. using the brakes and gas pedal (accelerator) less, shifting the gear to neutral and idling long before you reach traffic signals and so on.  Hey.. saw a movie in the meantime which touched me. It's 'Mumbai meri jaan', using a cliche from an old Hindi movie song to good effect. It's about the change in lives of different cross-sections of the Mumbaikars...

The only thing that I know about this latest fiasco about the Indo-US nuclear deal is that I know nothing about it. In fact, no ordinary citizen of India knows exactly what are the clauses of the deal, though their fate is apparently going to be sealed by it. After a much-hyped Parliamentary hullabaloo about the confidence motion, the ruling party remains with a new set of allies (Politics makes strange bed-mates, somebody said?) and the leftists have reverted back to their more accustomed role of the Opposition. But how are the general masses more enlightened or benefited by this tempest in a tea-cup? Ask me, and I'll say a big Nothing. It is a boon you know, to keep the general people uneducated. It serves two-fold purposes : 1) People would ask less questions 2) They'll be taken for rides (directly into the ballot-box even) more easily.

Have entered into the second month and phase of my weight training schedule. Increased the schedule from 20 minutes to 50 minutes. Believe me, it's real hard work but absolutely worth it. At my age and in my profession, physical fitness is a necessity and nothing can keep one more vital than a moderate dose of planned weight-training. The schedule's three-days a week with weekends off, so it's not too harsh on time too. I feel fresh each morning, though a little tired on the workout days. All said and done, I'll positively recommend some form of exercise for all of you out there. I'm reaping its benefits, want you people to do so too.

Though not a techie, I've tried various operating systems. This time downloaded the latest version of Ubuntu - the 'Hardy Heron' and am using it; in fact, I'm posting from it right now. It's like visiting a new country every time I venture away from the well-treaded Windows path. Yet Ubuntu has its own charm, the homely feeling of smelling one's native soil. It does not have the finesse or sophistication of its superior competitor, but is miles ahead in utility and experimentation. You can mould your own operating system a lot and learn more about the functioning of computers through Ubuntu. The chief con is that most software we're used to don't run on linux. Although there are substitutes for most, but many licensed software do not have any linux version at all. Anyway, I'm on a dual boot - a (legal!) version of Windows XP Media Center and the Ubuntu 8.04 (Hardy Heron) (freeware, so obviously legal). So no problems - I can feast both my workaholic ...

Saw a great video the other day on the net that moved me. I won't burden it with unnecessary words. Follow the link and see for yourselves . http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G2AJ7Vcxk3w

Haven't been coming to the net much lately. How're you all? Two new things. The swift has been kissed on the left rear by a bully bus.. became very sad but recovered. Driving it with full care though! Anyway, the second new thing is my restarting my exercise regimen. Bought weights and started full-blast with a very good schedule by John Little, a reputed bodybuilder, which I found on the net. Already slimmed a bit and feeling more energetic by the day. Driving my own car - the challenge and the responsibility - is changing my outlook altogether. It's as if I've been catapulted from the back-seat of a somewhat passive existence to the driving-seat of life - participating actively and interacting with various situations like never before. It is really amazing how a little change in the pool of life brings with it ripples of unforeseen changes in unexpected corners of it. Anyway folks, too many deadlines to meet tomorrow for Court. See you later. By the way, here's a...

Great News. Got delivery of the new Maruti Swift on May 20, 2008 i.e. last Tuesday. The driver of our family car brought it home from the showroom. From then on, I've been driving it. Enjoying it, I can assure. The model is very comfortable as well as powerful. So engrossed at the moment with the new acquisition and mastering it that I've not even been coming online regularly! We intentionally took delivery during the summer vacation and the decision has proved to be successful. I can't even dream of devoting so much time to the Swift during regular weekdays (apart from driving it to Court and back, of course). Bye for the moment.. have to go out again .... in the Swift of course!! [But the pic here is not of my one, will upload mine asap]

When I was a child, I 'believed' in God. It was rather like supporting my favourite football club, either you are in favour of God or not. Later on my thoughts underwent evolution as my readings opened up a window to philosophy. However, it became clear to me that there were as many threads of logic leading to the non-existence of God as there were to His existence. I grew rather into an agnostic. I was sure at moments about the presence of an omniscient pool of thought creating specific patterns governing the life of myself and the Universe in general - from logic sense as well as personal experience. But at others I was rather sanguine that if a universal law governed the Universe, there was no space for God; because if the law was universal then it would govern God too, but then God would not fulfil His essential criteria, e.g. having created the law, being above it and controlling things covered by the law. Further down the line came the realization that there are numero...

There are certain times in research when you follow a thought process to the core and go to the brink of madness. Yes, I mean madness, as opposed to sanity. Certain moments come when you live in the brain, maybe due to pressure of work or the lure of the culmination of a theory. These moments are hard to define. They make impossible things seem possible and unsettle settled views. Logic takes you to a point when you have the sublime experience of being able to predict many things and to establish many concepts hitherto unknown. I've felt these moments occasionally during hard research work and thorough spells of reading interesting books.

The scorching Summer has arrived. The days are burning, the nights are hot - tropical heat at its very best. Kolkata is yet better positioned than certain other cities in India in terms of temperatures. Maybe this is the onset of global warming, of which we have been so aloof in spite of repeated warnings by environmentalists. The environmental sciences are no longer 'mental' but have assumed tangible proportions, giving us sufficient warning to save our greenery while there is time.

Guys, came back to bore you with my new-found fad of maruti swift. It's now time to practise driving hard whenever I get the time and opportunity. The experienced driver of our family Tata Sumo vehicle is helping out a lot. Although my driving licence is of the year 1989, I've virtually forgotten driving. That's why I've been concentrating on watching the manouevres our driver all the time I ride our family vehicle. Today my confidence has been rather boosted after a moderately successful bout of driving, though in the comparatively less populated streets of nearby Salt Lake.

I'm very excited. We booked a new Maruti Swift LXI car today from Jalan Distributors, Moulali in Kolkata. This is not only the materialization of a dream, it's an aspiration taking shape - a new stage of our life. Our need for the car was there for some time. Then came the planning, the savings (which is still on - mind the EMI's!!), and now the initial steps for purchase. Searched the net and other media. My friends also helped a lot in making the choice. Now the wait begins for a new era in the humble universe of our little family.

Sorry friends, couldn't blog for a long time - partly work-pressure, partly lethargy. Anyway, am back again. Was having a discussion the other day. Some friends were of the opinion that the Indian society is deteriorating in view of the advent of Western culture. I was taking a contrary view. According to me, whatever is happening is for good. A bout of demolition of old attitudes is necessary for a major change in social psyche to occur. Just remember the transformation of a rather ugly caterpillar into a beautiful butterfly - metamorphosis is not only a part but a prerequisite of life. In fact life is change. So the apparent erosion of medieval values is to a substantial extent the result of an attrition between the stretching new skin of civilization and the straight-jacket outer coating of existing social norms. It is welcome to me at least. ... and about the new generation - let them commit mistakes. The intuitive obstinacy of youth is often wiser than the preconceived ethic-...

Sri Ramakrishna, an 'Avatar' as some call him and a well-revered spiritual teacher of Bengal, used to say "Jato mat tato path", meaning literally that there are as many ways (to attain spiritual liberation) as there are doctrines. While studying and practising law, I've felt this in a very wee scale. When one delves into the realm of inner thoughts and reasoning to fully understand and develop a legal point in the mind's eye, one often gets a sort of insight, a flash which not only explains the issue at hand but entire concepts and outlooks. One feels at these moments that full and sustained concentration on any subject ultimately leads to the same rudimentary principles of existence. I know I appear to be unnecessarily philosophical, but believe me, it's my most practical experience.

Six Words of Advice from Tilopa Let go of what has passed. Let go of what may come. Let go of what is happening now. Don't try to figure anything out. Don't try to make anything happen. Relax, right now, and rest.

Purchased a new operating system and using it right now. Microsoft Media Center Edition 2005. It really has the windows xp pro core, of course, minus some advanced networking features which I'll never need in my life. The additional wallpapers and themes are great, apart from having the media center software inbuilt. Since this time it's a legal version ( :P ), I'm getting all updates without having to search for unnecessary cracks! The feeling is great, and I'm on a high right now. Will experiment more and post later!

Guys, a confession to make. I'm on an illegal ms xp pro (sp2) os. Have got only one legal version, i.e. my xp home edition, which is installed in another pc of ours. However, I've decided to switch over to a legal version (sooo honest, am I not?  :P ) . Anyway, was thinking over my options. One is obviously xp pro, which is costlier than both xp home and media center, but has better networking features than both.     Yet, I've heard that the media center edition has xp pro as its core, and the media center software over it, which will save installation of a picture manager (yes, cost is a factor in India, even though I'm an Advocate!).   Hey, why don't you people leave a comment suggesting which one to buy?    P.S. I use my pc both as an office (documentation, email, internet surfing, etc.) as well as for domestic things like dealing with digital pics, listening to music, etc.

I tried venturing into the Linux community. Tried out Ubuntu and its ancillary operating systems. I found excellent quality for freeware and a new freedom to experiment, because open source software usually provide much more scopes for tweaks. However, I had to revert back to good old Windows since many of my law-related and other programs were not running on the linux platforms. Undoubtedly Ubuntu 7.10 ('Gutsy Gibbon' as it is called) was very exciting and satisfied most of my computing needs, apart from coming with an array of useful free applications. But without my licensed applications which have become a part of my daily life as well as essential tools for my job, I couldn't stick to it long. So bye linux for the time being... back home to Windows!

A very happy Doljatra, Holi, Fateha Duaz Daham and Good Friday to you all!

So, the great battle of Khans is on! I'm really amazed how the media can capitalize on simple witty comments by two extremely intelligent men. Aamir and Shah Rukh both have a keen sense of humour and seem to relish commenting on each other! (Ahem.. who doesn't like a li'l box office out of nothing??) Remember the great English literateur's comment: "Much ado about nothing" !

China has its own brand of Communism - so much so that it is changing the basic tenets of Communism. Annexing the territory and market of sovereign nations to build its own, which is diametrically contradictory to the theory developed by Marx and Lenin, and Mao too, is the order of the day for China. See Tibet. A small pocket of peace-loving Buddists; so trouble-torn due to the dictatorial tyranny unleashed by the pseudo-Communists of China that they have to take the streets and their spiritual leader has to come out of his tranquil world to speak out for their cause. I feel all of us should at least threaten China to boycott the Olympics. I know that so much commerce and international politics is involved that nations can't support this boycott officially. As we all know, too many people stand to gain too many things from the Chinese market boom - unfortunately the money of these people move nations! However, at the personal level and from the daily toils of the common masses shou...

It was a sunny Saturday. Three of us were off to attend a junior friend's marriage ceremony. Soon we left behind the outskirts of the city and were out on a road, flanked on both sides by strips of water and vast expanses of paddy fields beyond... An hour later we were on our own, with no remarkable landmarks and only our cellphones to contact civilization. Initially we began to wonder whether we'd lost our way, but after a while found indications that we were on the right track. Upon reaching our destination, we were overwhelmed by the cordiality and hospitality we received. Our hosts left no stone unturned to make us feel at home. We had a wholesome meal and roamed around a bit - all around were signs of a decadent cultural heritage. An array of dilapidated houses bore evidence of an affluent past, complete with arched gateways and stables, which were now grassy wastes. Occasional glimpses through aged windows of ailing semi-palaces revealed worn-out people and interiors, ti...

Nowadays my Sundays are more busy than the weekdays. Chamber, client-dealing, drafting petitions, preparing for the next week's Court..... Once upon a time the Sundays were Sundays - vibrant, sunny days with the meat lunch, day-dreaming, books, afternoon cricket / football in neighbourhood fields, occasional cycling stints, blank looks at the 'Krishnachura' tree nearby... But still, now that the leisure is sparse, it has become dearer. Scarcity has increased its price, as economists would say, perhaps. Now I relish those moments of peace with myself, my family, sometimes friends. I explore my computer and the net and lap up the books with far greater zeal than in my childhood days. Thinking so, my Sundays are again Sundays.. with lesser but more expensive leisure moments.

So India wins at last in the Tri-Game Cricket Final in Australia, beating the so-called world-beaters Australia. Many analyses are pouring in for this spectacular performance. Yet our problem is continuity, not performance. India has seen many a spirited but sporadic performance on the Cricket field. The key to success, however, lies in continuing to believe in ourselves and to go on pouring in 100 % every time on the field and in the nets. If this spirited team can retain their present mindset without getting unnecessarily egoistic, India has every chance to dethrone Australia and get coronated as the new King of World Cricket. ... and by the way, the recent success ought to teach the critics, who said that India is seeking to buy world Cricket by money power, a lesson or two!

It's Springtime, the typical short spring of a tropical country. Season changes make me think about the ageing process. I'm 37 now and growing older by the day. Do you know where our problem lies? We always search for something, even in ourselves, which is not there. Instead of enjoying our 'now' we crave for a different time-frame, a different 'us'. When I was in school, I awaited youth eagerly. When I attained majority, I was unsure of myself, looking forward to the day I'd earn my own living. Now at the doorstep of the fourth decade of my life, I'm already feeling nostalgic in many respects! But this cannot go on for ever. I'll definitely try to age gracefully, taking whatever comes in my stride and being proud of the typical attainments of my own age. Let me see whether I succeed.

So what next for Google? Microsoft has given an unsolicited bid for Yahoo, obviously vying to replace Google in the various im and allied services sector. Yahoo's taking time, evidently to bargain. I feel offence is the best defence and Google ought to pay Microsoft in its own coin by taking out an operating system of its own. With already so many cross-platform software in vogue and with Google's own network, it ought not be very tough for Google too. Just think of the range of free software that would come by default with the new o.s.! Picasa, Gtalk, and on and on... The o.s. can be competitively priced or be accompanied by ads on updates to pay back. Whatever it may be, I'm looking forward to Google's next step and am very excited about it!

Oh sooo busy friends... not getting any time to myself at all. No blogging, no reading.. :(

Hi folks! Saw Jodha Akbar on Feb 23, Saturday in the '89 Cinemas' (a multiplex near my home). Liked a lot, particularly some sequences like the one where a Sufi song 'Khwaja mere Khwaja' culminates in a trance-like movement of the ascetics singing the devotional song and emperor Akbar (Hrithik Roshan) joins in the movement. It was just wow. A must-see.

Friends, I'll be trying out Kubuntu 7.10, a linux-based operating system, tonight. It's developed on the core of Ubuntu 7.10, actually a KDE version of the same. Wish me best of luck, because it sometimes makes the other o.s.'s go awry (I've already got Win XP and Win Vista Ultimate, both x64 versions, dual booted in my machine!). Goodnight and have a nice day tomorrow all of you.

Why do we have to prove time and again that we are basically animals? The big news today is a poor truck driver being burnt alive after being beaten up and smashed by an irate mob. His fault? Ran over a child by accident on a highway. Is killing a man so brutally the way to avenge a child's death? The accidental death is pathetic, but the cold-blooded murder in the aftermath is brutal, to say the least. The funniest part is the role played by the media. Cameramen zoomed in and newsreels went whizzing, witnessing and selling the death of a man, being burnt alive by fellow human beings (or should the pack of wolves be called so?). None came to save the victim.... God bless the soul of the two victims - the child and the driver - by the way, the latter was also someone's child.

Was thinking something very interesting and liked to share with you folks. The basic difference between oriental and occidental philosophies lies in the respective outlooks of the East and the West. While the East concentrates on the zero, the inner world, the West strives for excellence in the material realm, reaching outwards to infinity. It is not merely by chance that the mathematical significance of zero was discovered in the Orient. If we look at classical music, we see that the endeavour of the West is to capture the harmony of Nature, ecstasy as manifested in the macrocosm. On the other hand, the efforts of Hindusthani Classical music is to study the 'Nada', the primal sound which created all existence, through the solo effort of individuals, an inward journey to touch the core of existence.

I'm still unsure whether God exists, and if so, in what form. Surely no person of moderate education and / or intelligence would imagine God to be a large man (or for that matter lady!) behind the clouds. Then what is he? I often feel, as supported by our philosophy, that there are various planes of existence, all carved into one another. At the same time I live in the body, the sensory perceptions, the mind and inwards. There must then be a basic plane of consciousness from which all cognition emanates and which binds the world together. This rudimentary consciousness can very well be God. If so, there must be direct modes of relating to Him apart from the network of logic which the human mind creates. This direct mode of cognition and realization may be achieved through meditation, surrender, prayer or maybe otherwise, through a preparation of the body and faculties for receiving something which is much greater than the receptacle, which is the body-mind framework. On the...

Long since, I've cherished the idea of creating my own blog; but couldn't start it partly because of lack of time and partly because I thought I'd soon run out of new ideas to post to the blog! Ultimately today I decided to commence, irrespective of the results. A blog would provide me the window for expressing the kaleidoscope of ideas which haunt me now and then. It would also be a forum to exchange ideas and nourish my tentative forays into the world of writing. So let me do my 'Sree Ganesh' and hope for the best.