I don't know what a promotion means in a startup - same cube, same work, same people but different compensation :) but yeah it feels good!
Had a good review, good things to improve upon.
New challenges, new opportunities in coming year!
Sunday, January 10, 2010
Life in Nov22-Jan 10
Wow, what a time interval this one has been. Welcome to first Life in series of 2010 which mostly covers events that happened in 2009 end. Without any further delay, here are the highlights -
Travelogue
1. Trip to San Diego with Aman, Nandini, Gursharan, Ritesh and Aseem Batla. Fun trip! Visited Point Noma, La Jolla beach, seaport village, downtown and Seaworld at San Diego. And played a lot of cards - Literature (probably the best non-betting style game) and played lots of literature (at hotel, in car). We drove from San Jose to San Diego during night and drove back also during night. And we were playing the game in car during night as well :) Overall a great reunion and fun trip.
2. Trip to Seattle - Just 2 weeks after San Diego, i went to Seattle. Did a cool 3 hr hike. Visited Boeing factory and ate at Travellers restaurant (impressive!). And ofcourse played poker. And good discussions, meetups etc in Seattle weather. Saw snow flakes! Met Aman, Nandini, Nirmal And Piyush.
3. Trip to Napa valley - With Amit Bhaiya, Babhi and Annika. Went to Sterling Vineyards and tasted white and red wines. Due to lean season, there were no grapes and no active wine brewing but did a pseudo tour anyways. One day trip.
4. Trip to Monterey - With everyone here at Fremont. Day trip.
5. Trip to LA - With Amit Bhaiya, Bhabhi, Annika, Buaji and Uncleji. Went to DisneyLand (1.5 days), DisneyLand adventure park (0.5 days), Universal studios (1.5 days), Santa Monica Pier and downtown (0.5 days), Kodak theater and hollywood (0.5 days). Fun trip but too many things to do. But good experience - been there done that kind of a thing. Hate to admit but driving the SUV was fun!
6. With Harsh - Spent Jan 1 and 2 with Harsh. Starting off with a wonderful brunch, we visited Wisherman's wharff, Civic center, Mountain view castro street :), Santa cruz, highway 1 drive from SC to SF. Met Venkar, Nishant and Manas in the process. Awesome time. Loved the way how leisurely the trip was coming along and how normal walks in the city were enjoyable just to know the city. This can only happen with Harsh and people like him.
7. Japanese tea garden - with family. Chilling cold in SF ; the tea garden is ok. Also peaked into De Yong museum - looks very good.
Movielogue
1. Invictius - Loved it. Here is the deal - it is not the best movie ever but it is the kind of movie that makes watching movies a joy to watch - powerful story telling and acting at a slow pace. And yes this reviewer is a big fan of Eastwood and Morgan Freeman.
2. Avatar - Loved it in the first half. Hated it during second. It had the potential of being a brillaint movie. Everything was believable except the way the ending was done. Good innovation in CGI/animation but sorry Mr. Cameron, i need story!
3. Up in the air - Again a good movie by Jason Reitman (Juno fame). Technology is coming and it is taking jobs - where all can you apply this construct. Jason applies to an absurd area and makes a movie out of it. Ending was little bit let down but all in all a good movie.
4. Delhi 6. On a random morning, after briefly chatting with Gurshi (who is in delhi), readin facebook scraps of people in Delhi, in order to fill my Delhi nostalgia, i thought that i should watch Delhi 6. It is sufficient to say that after watching the movie, i no longer have the nostalgia, i no longer wish to watch any bollywood movie for a long time.
5. Chocolat - Chinese action movie about an autisitc girl who can learn martial arts moves by watching them on tv. ok movie - considered good in its genre.
Bookologue -
1. Snow - In progress
2. Untouchables - In progress.
Worklogue -
1. My mentor decided to form his own company and hence quit his current one. I wish him all the best. Exciting times for me ahead!
2. White elephant gift exchange - Had this on a friday. Idea - Every participating member will bring a gift wrapped in wrapping paper. All gifts are placed on a table. One can either choose to take a gift from table and open it or steal it from someone else. That someone else can again steal or open a new gift. Interesting game and lots of fun!
Travelogue
1. Trip to San Diego with Aman, Nandini, Gursharan, Ritesh and Aseem Batla. Fun trip! Visited Point Noma, La Jolla beach, seaport village, downtown and Seaworld at San Diego. And played a lot of cards - Literature (probably the best non-betting style game) and played lots of literature (at hotel, in car). We drove from San Jose to San Diego during night and drove back also during night. And we were playing the game in car during night as well :) Overall a great reunion and fun trip.
2. Trip to Seattle - Just 2 weeks after San Diego, i went to Seattle. Did a cool 3 hr hike. Visited Boeing factory and ate at Travellers restaurant (impressive!). And ofcourse played poker. And good discussions, meetups etc in Seattle weather. Saw snow flakes! Met Aman, Nandini, Nirmal And Piyush.
3. Trip to Napa valley - With Amit Bhaiya, Babhi and Annika. Went to Sterling Vineyards and tasted white and red wines. Due to lean season, there were no grapes and no active wine brewing but did a pseudo tour anyways. One day trip.
4. Trip to Monterey - With everyone here at Fremont. Day trip.
5. Trip to LA - With Amit Bhaiya, Bhabhi, Annika, Buaji and Uncleji. Went to DisneyLand (1.5 days), DisneyLand adventure park (0.5 days), Universal studios (1.5 days), Santa Monica Pier and downtown (0.5 days), Kodak theater and hollywood (0.5 days). Fun trip but too many things to do. But good experience - been there done that kind of a thing. Hate to admit but driving the SUV was fun!
6. With Harsh - Spent Jan 1 and 2 with Harsh. Starting off with a wonderful brunch, we visited Wisherman's wharff, Civic center, Mountain view castro street :), Santa cruz, highway 1 drive from SC to SF. Met Venkar, Nishant and Manas in the process. Awesome time. Loved the way how leisurely the trip was coming along and how normal walks in the city were enjoyable just to know the city. This can only happen with Harsh and people like him.
7. Japanese tea garden - with family. Chilling cold in SF ; the tea garden is ok. Also peaked into De Yong museum - looks very good.
Movielogue
1. Invictius - Loved it. Here is the deal - it is not the best movie ever but it is the kind of movie that makes watching movies a joy to watch - powerful story telling and acting at a slow pace. And yes this reviewer is a big fan of Eastwood and Morgan Freeman.
2. Avatar - Loved it in the first half. Hated it during second. It had the potential of being a brillaint movie. Everything was believable except the way the ending was done. Good innovation in CGI/animation but sorry Mr. Cameron, i need story!
3. Up in the air - Again a good movie by Jason Reitman (Juno fame). Technology is coming and it is taking jobs - where all can you apply this construct. Jason applies to an absurd area and makes a movie out of it. Ending was little bit let down but all in all a good movie.
4. Delhi 6. On a random morning, after briefly chatting with Gurshi (who is in delhi), readin facebook scraps of people in Delhi, in order to fill my Delhi nostalgia, i thought that i should watch Delhi 6. It is sufficient to say that after watching the movie, i no longer have the nostalgia, i no longer wish to watch any bollywood movie for a long time.
5. Chocolat - Chinese action movie about an autisitc girl who can learn martial arts moves by watching them on tv. ok movie - considered good in its genre.
Bookologue -
1. Snow - In progress
2. Untouchables - In progress.
Worklogue -
1. My mentor decided to form his own company and hence quit his current one. I wish him all the best. Exciting times for me ahead!
2. White elephant gift exchange - Had this on a friday. Idea - Every participating member will bring a gift wrapped in wrapping paper. All gifts are placed on a table. One can either choose to take a gift from table and open it or steal it from someone else. That someone else can again steal or open a new gift. Interesting game and lots of fun!
Happy New Year 2010
Yes, a new year post that is 10 days late. Sad and disappointing.
As a typical 24x7 channel, i am also going to do what they do - a look back at 2009 and plans for 2010
2009 -
1. Overall a brilliant year. If i look at the graph of my life, the past few years have been excellent with each year surpassing the previous and hence 2009 stands on top.
2. The best thing that happened - I think the best thing that happened would be me joining the mashup team at my company and after that as they say - it is history. Had i been in any other team, things would have been way different both for me and company.
3. The worst thing that happened - so i have been sitting in front of my comp for 5 mins and i can not think of anything. some bad things happened but they are not worthy enough to be mentioned here.
2010 -
1. My 2010 theme is going to be - More time for self . Yes, my current time allocation for self even though exceeds others but still is insufficient by my standards. I think the frequency of blog updates is a good metric here.
2. Good health - Need to invest in myself for having a good health in future. Lots of things to do. This should also be a year of sacrifice for me.
3. Side projects - Need to focus on my piano lessons and law course.
4. Good movies - Yes, i am forgetting what it means. Need to bring it back,
5. And ofcourse work - the best thing that happened in 2009 should reach new heights in 2010
As a typical 24x7 channel, i am also going to do what they do - a look back at 2009 and plans for 2010
2009 -
1. Overall a brilliant year. If i look at the graph of my life, the past few years have been excellent with each year surpassing the previous and hence 2009 stands on top.
2. The best thing that happened - I think the best thing that happened would be me joining the mashup team at my company and after that as they say - it is history. Had i been in any other team, things would have been way different both for me and company.
3. The worst thing that happened - so i have been sitting in front of my comp for 5 mins and i can not think of anything. some bad things happened but they are not worthy enough to be mentioned here.
2010 -
1. My 2010 theme is going to be - More time for self . Yes, my current time allocation for self even though exceeds others but still is insufficient by my standards. I think the frequency of blog updates is a good metric here.
2. Good health - Need to invest in myself for having a good health in future. Lots of things to do. This should also be a year of sacrifice for me.
3. Side projects - Need to focus on my piano lessons and law course.
4. Good movies - Yes, i am forgetting what it means. Need to bring it back,
5. And ofcourse work - the best thing that happened in 2009 should reach new heights in 2010
Sunday, December 6, 2009
Books finished
Me of little faith
by Lewis Black.
To start with, i love Lewis Black's shorts on The daily show with Jon Stewart. Both his material and style of delivery is unique and makes me laugh. So when i saw that he has written a book and that too on religion, i was on to it. The cover of the book says something like this - "there is only one man who can yell in print form and that man is Lewis Black". I agree :) Me of little faith is more or less a personal story of Black's relationship with religion, how he became an atheist after being a Jew and how others react to him. While it is humorous, it is not a Laugh out loud kind of book and frankly towards the end it even feels that i have had enough of Mr. Black. But still the book is very interesting take on religion filled with anecdotes and one liners that are typical of Mr. B. Not the kind of book i would like to buy but nevertheless a good read while you are sitting on THE seat.
Book can be found here - http://www.lewisblack.com/Me-of-Little-Faith.aspx
Guardians of being
Eckhart Tolle and Patrick McDonnel
Amazon link
Guardian of being is an awesome book - a perfect gift to someone. It is also the closest that i will ever get to a spiritual kind of self-help book. It is a very short book containing small spiritual deep meaning sentences, written by Eckhart Tolle, accompanied by graphic images illustrated by Patrick McDonnel. Both people are masters in their genre and this book is like an experiment to merge the two art forms. And it is great. The title Guardains of being refers to the pets. The book is the importance of having pets, what we can learn from them. The book illustrates how pets help us in realizing what nature is, what life is, what stillness is, what enjoying the present is. And many things. I will highly recommend this book.
Some lines -
“The vital function that pets fulfill in this world hasn’t been fully recognized, They keep millions of people sane.”
Whether it’s a dog leaping joyously after a butterfly or a cat curled blissfully in the lap of its person, the messages are clear: “Life is good!” and “Enjoy the here and now!”
Millions of people who otherwise would be completely lost in their minds and in endless past and future concerns are taken back by their dog or cat into the present moment, again and again, and reminded of the joy of Being.
Look at a tree, a flower
by Lewis Black.
To start with, i love Lewis Black's shorts on The daily show with Jon Stewart. Both his material and style of delivery is unique and makes me laugh. So when i saw that he has written a book and that too on religion, i was on to it. The cover of the book says something like this - "there is only one man who can yell in print form and that man is Lewis Black". I agree :) Me of little faith is more or less a personal story of Black's relationship with religion, how he became an atheist after being a Jew and how others react to him. While it is humorous, it is not a Laugh out loud kind of book and frankly towards the end it even feels that i have had enough of Mr. Black. But still the book is very interesting take on religion filled with anecdotes and one liners that are typical of Mr. B. Not the kind of book i would like to buy but nevertheless a good read while you are sitting on THE seat.
Book can be found here - http://www.lewisblack.com/Me-of-Little-Faith.aspx
Guardians of being
Eckhart Tolle and Patrick McDonnel
Amazon link
Guardian of being is an awesome book - a perfect gift to someone. It is also the closest that i will ever get to a spiritual kind of self-help book. It is a very short book containing small spiritual deep meaning sentences, written by Eckhart Tolle, accompanied by graphic images illustrated by Patrick McDonnel. Both people are masters in their genre and this book is like an experiment to merge the two art forms. And it is great. The title Guardains of being refers to the pets. The book is the importance of having pets, what we can learn from them. The book illustrates how pets help us in realizing what nature is, what life is, what stillness is, what enjoying the present is. And many things. I will highly recommend this book.
Some lines -
“The vital function that pets fulfill in this world hasn’t been fully recognized, They keep millions of people sane.”
Whether it’s a dog leaping joyously after a butterfly or a cat curled blissfully in the lap of its person, the messages are clear: “Life is good!” and “Enjoy the here and now!”
Millions of people who otherwise would be completely lost in their minds and in endless past and future concerns are taken back by their dog or cat into the present moment, again and again, and reminded of the joy of Being.
Look at a tree, a flower
I love NPR
Before i forget to write about it, let me write about it.
I love NPR - National Public Radio.
It is primarily a news radio with some shows at particular times. To start with, their news coverage is awesome. Their reporters are professional, it is unbiased to any political party and they report genuine stories from around the world. Kudos to NPR for this one.
As far as shows go, the one that i have become a fan is selected shorts. In this one, they call actors to read short stories selected. The one that got me hooked was a short story Jobs's Jobs by Aimee Bender. It can be found here - http://www.webdelsol.com/Other_Voices/Bender.htm
Podcasts can be found here - http://www.npr.org/rss/podcast/podcast_directory.php?type=main&id=-1
NPR website is here - http://www.npr.org/
It reminds me so much of AIR FM Rainbow - its days in 2000/2001. Te fact that they combined both english and hindi songs, jazz songs, classical (both indian and western) and other things, awesome!
I need an NPR in India as well!. Somebody do it please!
I love NPR - National Public Radio.
It is primarily a news radio with some shows at particular times. To start with, their news coverage is awesome. Their reporters are professional, it is unbiased to any political party and they report genuine stories from around the world. Kudos to NPR for this one.
As far as shows go, the one that i have become a fan is selected shorts. In this one, they call actors to read short stories selected. The one that got me hooked was a short story Jobs's Jobs by Aimee Bender. It can be found here - http://www.webdelsol.com/Other_Voices/Bender.htm
Podcasts can be found here - http://www.npr.org/rss/podcast/podcast_directory.php?type=main&id=-1
NPR website is here - http://www.npr.org/
It reminds me so much of AIR FM Rainbow - its days in 2000/2001. Te fact that they combined both english and hindi songs, jazz songs, classical (both indian and western) and other things, awesome!
I need an NPR in India as well!. Somebody do it please!
San Diego trip
6 people, all from NSIT - will they be able to bring back the NSIT josh?
What was the best part about the San Diego trip?
Was it seeing killer whale jumping up and down in Seaworld?
Well not exactly my kind of fun, infact i realize that i do not like zoos and sea worlds, i think asking animals to entertain us and that too 4 times a day is not entertaining to me atleast. May be i need some fresh perspective.
Or Playing Literature (card game) / Dumb charades sitting at the back seat of the mini van while driving at night? Guessing those cards in darkness or understanding those hand gestures without being able to see them clearly? Well, playing literature was surely THE thing that reminded me of NSIT days.
Was it going to the Seaport village and talking to the man who know how to balance rocks. Yes! balancing rocks one on another with his bare hands. You can see the seaport videos here - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OM7XVAsbTLk and here - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7bEEuthN4VI&feature=channel I believe he is the same guy as in this site - http://www.rock-on-rock-on.com/ . Talking to him, he told us about the magnetic attraction between rocks, 3 years of his life spent in understanding this energy. Gurshi was also able to balance after seeing him. Pretty cool stuff. [The youtube videos are not mine, i have just taken the liberty to post them here without asking the video owners] . At seaport village we also went to this super-cool kite shop - http://www.kiteflitesd.com/ . They have amazing kite crafts and more - wind mills, magic sticks etc and the shop owner was so friendly, he even showed his tricks. I would have bought something if it was cheaper but super-cool crafts come with a price too. But the shop was amazing - do check their website.
Or was it eating at the Indian places - the gujrati food with its theplas and mouth-watering chaats?
Well it was ok, and any place in US (yes any place here) can not compare to what i have had in India. And when it comes to sub-optimal, algo a is as good (or bad) as algo b. Bad joke! Got it!
Or was it going to Point Loma - the highest point in San Diego and watching sun rays come behind a veil of clouds.
Yes, for me this was the highest point of the trip as well. It was a beautiful scenery. We were standing on a mountain with sea in front of us. It was evening, almost the time for sunset but not quite yet. The sun was there sitting behind black clouds but we couldn't see it. What we could see were the sun rays, piercing the clouds as if they were bullets. You could see the clouds in between the rays and rays in between the clouds. A cold wind is blowing but it is not freezing. No matter how much i describe, you will not get it. There are some pics as well, i will pose once i get them.
What was the best part about the San Diego trip?
Was it seeing killer whale jumping up and down in Seaworld?
Well not exactly my kind of fun, infact i realize that i do not like zoos and sea worlds, i think asking animals to entertain us and that too 4 times a day is not entertaining to me atleast. May be i need some fresh perspective.
Or Playing Literature (card game) / Dumb charades sitting at the back seat of the mini van while driving at night? Guessing those cards in darkness or understanding those hand gestures without being able to see them clearly? Well, playing literature was surely THE thing that reminded me of NSIT days.
Was it going to the Seaport village and talking to the man who know how to balance rocks. Yes! balancing rocks one on another with his bare hands. You can see the seaport videos here - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OM7XVAsbTLk and here - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7bEEuthN4VI&feature=channel I believe he is the same guy as in this site - http://www.rock-on-rock-on.com/ . Talking to him, he told us about the magnetic attraction between rocks, 3 years of his life spent in understanding this energy. Gurshi was also able to balance after seeing him. Pretty cool stuff. [The youtube videos are not mine, i have just taken the liberty to post them here without asking the video owners] . At seaport village we also went to this super-cool kite shop - http://www.kiteflitesd.com/ . They have amazing kite crafts and more - wind mills, magic sticks etc and the shop owner was so friendly, he even showed his tricks. I would have bought something if it was cheaper but super-cool crafts come with a price too. But the shop was amazing - do check their website.
Or was it eating at the Indian places - the gujrati food with its theplas and mouth-watering chaats?
Well it was ok, and any place in US (yes any place here) can not compare to what i have had in India. And when it comes to sub-optimal, algo a is as good (or bad) as algo b. Bad joke! Got it!
Or was it going to Point Loma - the highest point in San Diego and watching sun rays come behind a veil of clouds.
Yes, for me this was the highest point of the trip as well. It was a beautiful scenery. We were standing on a mountain with sea in front of us. It was evening, almost the time for sunset but not quite yet. The sun was there sitting behind black clouds but we couldn't see it. What we could see were the sun rays, piercing the clouds as if they were bullets. You could see the clouds in between the rays and rays in between the clouds. A cold wind is blowing but it is not freezing. No matter how much i describe, you will not get it. There are some pics as well, i will pose once i get them.
Sunday, November 22, 2009
Life in Oct1 - Nov 22
I intentionally stopped writing life in series because all my other blog posts were talking about whats happening in my life. I had to change that - so i went and read these genocide books by Jean Hatzfeld (reviews posted in last two posts). So in this installment of Life in series, i will write about the small small things that happened in my life which didnt make to individual posts.
Let me start by talking about last 3-4 weekends.
This weekend - Friday night, i went to dinner at Zeni restaurant that serves Ethiopian cuisine. Thanks Gurshi for giving me company. I loved the food, mostly because their food is so close to Indain food. Their roti is like plain light Utthapam and our order consisted of (behind the complicated dish names) - dal and alu-Gobhi. Loved the food, will go there again. Yesterday since morning was spent going to a unique coffee shop (Philz coffee) and reading the book. Apparently the coffee shop is the rated highest in bay area and the coffee that i tried was called - Ambrosia - Coffee of God. It was quite delicious. In evening, i made Gulab Jamuns (i had told my roommate that i will make it for him - the promise was made in Diwali, its only a month late). Other culinary expedition included Egg masala which came out very delicious.
Last weekend -
Went to a Dhrupad concert by Ashish Sankrityayan at Sangati center. Dhrupad after a long time, should do it again soon. Sunday morning was spent in another coffee shop reading book. Sunday afternoon, i went for a hike with Nikesh, Deepak and Nikesh's wife. Small hike - about 2 hrs (~3 miles) but good fun.
Three weekends back -
Went with Gurshi for a hike at Linda Mar. Again small hike - 2 hrs. A video of that hike was posted on facebook. I dont have the video, so cant share. Went to eat dosa at Dosa at SF and watched a film at South Asian film festival.
Other major activities like Yosemite, Rennaisance fair, etc were covered before.
In general -
1. Piano classes are going on. I now know how to play Ode to Joy, Greensleeves, Jingle bells. By know i mean which keys to press, i claim no guarantees on sound quality :)
2. Knitting is going fine. I am learning to rib these days. So far i have made 1 wash cloth, 2 cup handle covers, 2 flowers, 1 leaf. I now own a whole set of acryllic needles.
3. Movies - Quite impressed by myself that i am able to sustain myself without a persistent desire to watch movies. But still in between i saw - Inherit the wind - a very good movie on Monkey trail. I saw Tykwer's International (so-so), 3 episodes of Monty Python and flying circus ( I can see why it is a cult) and 6 episodes of Fawlty tower (It is a cult).
4. Went to a meetup event at Google. In a 80 people gathering, 20 said that they are either VC or co-founders in their company. Quite impressive.
5. Becoming a coffee addict slowly - it feels good so far :)
6. Tried Banana leaf sometime in Sept - it is a Malaysian cuisine, interesting!
7. Played Pictionary with Nikesh and his friends. Truly a hilarious experience. Those who know my drawing skills can visualize what i am saying. Nikesh was my partner and he got to experience it first hand. My first word was Polar bear and my version of polar bear was one amoeba and three lines. Poor Nikesh! It took us 4 rounds to score first point. But we won in the end. Haha! Apparently i realized that i can guess way better than my drawings. But great fun!
8. Played Mafia during Diwali. good fun again! Played Poker with Dave and his friends Won 2$ :)
And work has been good so far.
Machete season
Machete season - The killers in Rwanda speak.
A report by Jean Hatzfeld.
The first thing that came to my mind when i picked this book was "A report by Jean Hatzfeld". The usage of the term "A report", interesting. It told me what the author's intentions were.
Last weekend I read the Antelope's strategy, the third book by Jean on Rwanda. I was so curious to read the killer's account that the first that i did yesterday (Saturday) morning was to go to library to get this book. My notes on Antelope strategy can be read here - http://arvindbatra.blogspot.com/2009/11/antelopes-strategy.html
Why i wanted to read?
A report by Jean Hatzfeld.
The first thing that came to my mind when i picked this book was "A report by Jean Hatzfeld". The usage of the term "A report", interesting. It told me what the author's intentions were.
Last weekend I read the Antelope's strategy, the third book by Jean on Rwanda. I was so curious to read the killer's account that the first that i did yesterday (Saturday) morning was to go to library to get this book. My notes on Antelope strategy can be read here - http://arvindbatra.blogspot.com/2009/11/antelopes-strategy.html
Why i wanted to read?
Machete season, where the killers speak. Why was i so curious to hear from them? Because the idea that a normal farmer can become a killer in 3-6 months, the fact that you can kill your neighbor with whom you grew up, went to same school etc, you can kill that person without blinking an eye - how did the transformation happen? Is there a pattern between Jewish and Rwandan genocide. Stanford prison experiment had a deep impact on me. I wanted to know that can the conclusions of Stanford prison experiment (mentioned on the wiki page ) be applied in this context?
The report review
One of the recommender, Susan Sontag, writes on the cover of this book - "Everyone should read this book". I completely agree but i will not call this a book, it is as jean writes, it is a report. Jean in this book gives first hand experiences of 10 killers who belong to the same gang. They went to the marshes together, killed together, and were very good friends. Jean justifies that this worked better than asking people from different gangs because they often lied and there was little way to check their facts. Jean also has a chapter on his methodology of conducting interviews etc which is a very insightful chapter to read. I think the reason Jean calls this a report because after the interviews, he tries to understand the meaning of it. In the last 2-3 chapters, he tries to understand why they did what they did, he tries to make some sense of it. I agree to most of his points.
The interviews -
The book is organized in a chapters where each chapter has got interviews from killers on a common subject. The subjects are like - how it started, first killing, going into marshes, evening celebrations, looting, killing neighbors, organizers etc. In the last few chapters, the subject become more personal such as "remorse and regrets", "And God in all this", forgiving, "Words to avoid saying it (genocide)" etc. I read some reviewer who didnt like the fact that interviews were broken down by subjects because it was difficult to track the ideology of one killer from another. Using this the subject becomes primary, the killer secondary. I can see why the reviewer was upset, for me i didnt mind much. It would also be interesting to read each killer's conversations by itself so that we can change the psychology.
Why did they do it ?
The question that started it all. Interestingly, it was not just my curiosity, it was also Jean's and also of his first book readers'. The first answer is that even they don't know. They were swept into this thing in such a small time that even they couldn't introspect. But what they do know is that those who didn't comply were killed. Those who resisted were killed, or were imposed heavy fines. To some extent it became greed because there was looting, the more you looted, the more richer they became. But initially, it was just force/fear of organizers. They also say that Hutus and Tutsis although may be living next to each other, there are always suspicion, one was always alert for the other. The radio/television/speeches etc where always hinting toward the division, a Hutu since childhood had heard so many bad stories about Tutsis that he had been already brainwashed. Everything contributed, looking back even they couldnt believe that did something like that. Killing also became a social activity, lack of participation caused rebuke from comrades which was unacceptable.
Some interesting points -
1. One killer points that some of the killers are executed, some like him are in prison, and some are outside free. But most importantly he says that the idea of genocide is still free. You can not imprison the idea or execute it. There is still distrust between Hutus and Tutsis and even more so now. Nothing has been done to kill the idea.
2. One killers says that we were farmers who got tempted by greed, tempted by looting, living luxuriously etc. "Through greed and obedience I found the cause worthwhile and i ran down to the marshes" ..... "Afterward the temptation can not go to prison so they imprison the people. And the temptation can certainly show up just as dreadful further along"
3. One of the killer remembers the organizer speaking - "There is not enough land in this country for two ethnic groups, and neither one will leave. So it is up to the Hutus to solve the problem".
4. Another one says - "What we did was beyond human imagination, so it is too difficult to judge us - too difficult for those who did n0t share our situation, in any case. "
Among the above, point 3 is the one that disturbs me the most. I can see it easily happening in India in future. The question is when or what it takes to avoid it?
Jean has done a fantastic job in explaining the killers, pointing the difference in interviews when he spoke to survivors and when he spoke to killers. There are many small small things in the report which are very deep.
With this, i end my reading on genocide. I do not want to read Jean's first book now, may be some months later. Jean has given some references which i should check out in future - these are Movie Shoah, book Ordinary men by Christopher Browning.
Monday, November 16, 2009
The antelope's strategy
The antelope's strategy - Living in Rwanda after the Genocide
By Jean Hatzfeld.
The atmosphere:
I just finished reading this book. On a Sunday morning, quite cold by California standard, while sitting at Peet's coffee shop at 7:30 am i started reading it from 100 page or so and finished it at 11:30 am while sipping my coffee. Peet's coffee on Castro is a spacious coffee shop where you can see allkinds of people doing interesting things - some with their laptops open, some solving crosswords from today's paper, some forming business plans, some merely grouping with friends, old people just relaxing there and some like me are reading books - all while drinking good coffee.
The text:
The antelope's strategy is the third book by Jean Hatzfeld on Rwandan genocide. The first was an account of survivors in the book -Life laid bare, the second was an account of killers in Machete season. After 7 years Rwandan govt released the killers from prison and asked both the survivors and killers to live amongst each other, to reconcile differences and try to lead humane lives. In Antelope's strategy, Jean talks to people from both sides the killers (Hutus) and survivors (Tutsi) on what they feel about this govt's decision, how are they coping up, what happens when they see a person from other group. This book is account of actual people living there and through them Jean talks about justice, reconciliation, faith, God, past-present-future, motivations, guilt, shame and many deep ideas. In between these social discussions, Jean also gives a context on how people live there now, how they used to live before genocide and what happened during genocide. On one side there are survivors who expect atleast some apology from killers now they are set free, and there are some survivors who know that even if they apologize it wont make any difference. On the other side there are killers who think same, some dont apologize because they know that it wont make any difference and some who do. Jean also describes although not in complete detail about steps taken by Govt to promote reconciliation, how the prisoners were trained, how survivors were trained etc etc.
I have not read the first two books but after reading this one, i am definitely going to read them atleast the Machete season. Why Machete season? The idea that a normal farmer can become a mass murdered within a time span of 3-6 months, the idea that a normal man can murder his neighbors without blinking an eye, murder children etc is very strange to me. I hope to fund these answers in Machete season through their accounts.
Non-fiction writing comes in many forms, the one that i read i summer - Hamas vs fatah gave historical account of the two factions in 300 pages. This book, however, instead of talking about historical facts takes a social commentary type of position and explains the lives and times of suring genocide and its aftermath, something that i think is very difficult to record, something that is very difficult to put into words but it is of immense value both from historical stand point and to a reader who has no idea of what or how it was. Shaking hands with the devil - the journey of Romeo Dallaire was my first introduction to Rwandan genocide and that moved me deeply. This book gives a thousand time better picture and shows how different human see the same thing so differently. I highly recommend this book.
The contrast:
Such was the contrast that i was seeing between what i was reading, what i was seeing in the coffee shop and what i was imagining aka India. It could be very well the difference between underdeveloped nation, developed nation and a developing one. It shows how easily India could have been Rwanda (to some extent it already happened i think about Godhra) or how easily it can become a Rwanda (if i look at what is happening - MNS in Maharashtra, Manipur, Naxalites etc), so there are many lessons to learn here. Sitting at the coffee shop and looking at people around me, it just tells you how life should be, this is what meant by peace by civilization perhaps. And in the text it was antithesis, of humanity is capable of...etc etc.
I lost, gained and fought for hope several times in a matter of 4 hrs.
By Jean Hatzfeld.
The atmosphere:
I just finished reading this book. On a Sunday morning, quite cold by California standard, while sitting at Peet's coffee shop at 7:30 am i started reading it from 100 page or so and finished it at 11:30 am while sipping my coffee. Peet's coffee on Castro is a spacious coffee shop where you can see allkinds of people doing interesting things - some with their laptops open, some solving crosswords from today's paper, some forming business plans, some merely grouping with friends, old people just relaxing there and some like me are reading books - all while drinking good coffee.
The text:
The antelope's strategy is the third book by Jean Hatzfeld on Rwandan genocide. The first was an account of survivors in the book -Life laid bare, the second was an account of killers in Machete season. After 7 years Rwandan govt released the killers from prison and asked both the survivors and killers to live amongst each other, to reconcile differences and try to lead humane lives. In Antelope's strategy, Jean talks to people from both sides the killers (Hutus) and survivors (Tutsi) on what they feel about this govt's decision, how are they coping up, what happens when they see a person from other group. This book is account of actual people living there and through them Jean talks about justice, reconciliation, faith, God, past-present-future, motivations, guilt, shame and many deep ideas. In between these social discussions, Jean also gives a context on how people live there now, how they used to live before genocide and what happened during genocide. On one side there are survivors who expect atleast some apology from killers now they are set free, and there are some survivors who know that even if they apologize it wont make any difference. On the other side there are killers who think same, some dont apologize because they know that it wont make any difference and some who do. Jean also describes although not in complete detail about steps taken by Govt to promote reconciliation, how the prisoners were trained, how survivors were trained etc etc.
I have not read the first two books but after reading this one, i am definitely going to read them atleast the Machete season. Why Machete season? The idea that a normal farmer can become a mass murdered within a time span of 3-6 months, the idea that a normal man can murder his neighbors without blinking an eye, murder children etc is very strange to me. I hope to fund these answers in Machete season through their accounts.
Non-fiction writing comes in many forms, the one that i read i summer - Hamas vs fatah gave historical account of the two factions in 300 pages. This book, however, instead of talking about historical facts takes a social commentary type of position and explains the lives and times of suring genocide and its aftermath, something that i think is very difficult to record, something that is very difficult to put into words but it is of immense value both from historical stand point and to a reader who has no idea of what or how it was. Shaking hands with the devil - the journey of Romeo Dallaire was my first introduction to Rwandan genocide and that moved me deeply. This book gives a thousand time better picture and shows how different human see the same thing so differently. I highly recommend this book.
The contrast:
Such was the contrast that i was seeing between what i was reading, what i was seeing in the coffee shop and what i was imagining aka India. It could be very well the difference between underdeveloped nation, developed nation and a developing one. It shows how easily India could have been Rwanda (to some extent it already happened i think about Godhra) or how easily it can become a Rwanda (if i look at what is happening - MNS in Maharashtra, Manipur, Naxalites etc), so there are many lessons to learn here. Sitting at the coffee shop and looking at people around me, it just tells you how life should be, this is what meant by peace by civilization perhaps. And in the text it was antithesis, of humanity is capable of...etc etc.
I lost, gained and fought for hope several times in a matter of 4 hrs.
Sunday, November 8, 2009
Children of the pyre
Imdb link - http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1347314/
I saw children of the pyre today at San Francisco Castro theater as part of South Asian film festival organized by third I group.
Now a group with name like third I (aha - remembering the Spic logo) i had to watch one and Children of the pyre was an arbit selection.
Children of pyre is a story about 6 children who are working to cremate bodies in some holy village in Varnasi. The movie is an account of theiry work, the environment around them, why they are doing it, what do they think about it etc etc.
In the movie/book Blade runner, humans have devised a test to check whether the entity they are talking to is actually a human or an android. It is related to pupil dilation when some emotional questions were asked. The argument there was that accuracy of tests was questionable. But all they had to do was to make them watch this movie and observe reactions - only an android could not have been affected by such movie.
Children of pyre is a very well made documentary. With a subject that deals with child labour, human rights violation, cremation, poverty, drugs etc and that too it is a documentary, it is bound to be very very heavy. But the brilliance of this film comes from the 6 child actors who simplify everything for us and present their lives in such a candid manner that it is bound to make you laugh. The director's questions to these kids are also well chosen, not only he pokes around about what they think about it, he goes into their lives asking about their girlfriends, family etc. The very fact i was smiling in atleast some parts in the movie is a great achievement and it makes the movie watchable otherwise it would have been too heavy for people like us not used to such harsh realities of life. Another thing that i love about this movie is the camera work. The director has been very kind in omitting many brutal scenes of cremation, there are some but i am sure it could have been worse. There is a scene in which the camera is placed on the boat and you see it go up and down as the bloat floats from one side to another. There is a scene where the kids try to perform last rites on a stranger's body. There is a scene where there is a Navratri festival going on 10 metres away where bodies are getting burnt. The contrast was unbelievable. But most importantly, it is the kids, their lives, their tales that move you to the core and ask questions that no one knows. At one point in telling answers, one of the kid says - "If you feel so sympathetic to me, just send a check of 5000 Rs every month to my home, i will stop everything. If you can not do anything then do not question my actions, leave me to my own state"
The movie ends with "Udd jayega" sung by Pt. Kumar Gandharva , written by Kabir. The song fits into the ending perfectly and makes sense.
I saw children of the pyre today at San Francisco Castro theater as part of South Asian film festival organized by third I group.
Now a group with name like third I (aha - remembering the Spic logo) i had to watch one and Children of the pyre was an arbit selection.
Children of pyre is a story about 6 children who are working to cremate bodies in some holy village in Varnasi. The movie is an account of theiry work, the environment around them, why they are doing it, what do they think about it etc etc.
In the movie/book Blade runner, humans have devised a test to check whether the entity they are talking to is actually a human or an android. It is related to pupil dilation when some emotional questions were asked. The argument there was that accuracy of tests was questionable. But all they had to do was to make them watch this movie and observe reactions - only an android could not have been affected by such movie.
Children of pyre is a very well made documentary. With a subject that deals with child labour, human rights violation, cremation, poverty, drugs etc and that too it is a documentary, it is bound to be very very heavy. But the brilliance of this film comes from the 6 child actors who simplify everything for us and present their lives in such a candid manner that it is bound to make you laugh. The director's questions to these kids are also well chosen, not only he pokes around about what they think about it, he goes into their lives asking about their girlfriends, family etc. The very fact i was smiling in atleast some parts in the movie is a great achievement and it makes the movie watchable otherwise it would have been too heavy for people like us not used to such harsh realities of life. Another thing that i love about this movie is the camera work. The director has been very kind in omitting many brutal scenes of cremation, there are some but i am sure it could have been worse. There is a scene in which the camera is placed on the boat and you see it go up and down as the bloat floats from one side to another. There is a scene where the kids try to perform last rites on a stranger's body. There is a scene where there is a Navratri festival going on 10 metres away where bodies are getting burnt. The contrast was unbelievable. But most importantly, it is the kids, their lives, their tales that move you to the core and ask questions that no one knows. At one point in telling answers, one of the kid says - "If you feel so sympathetic to me, just send a check of 5000 Rs every month to my home, i will stop everything. If you can not do anything then do not question my actions, leave me to my own state"
The movie ends with "Udd jayega" sung by Pt. Kumar Gandharva , written by Kabir. The song fits into the ending perfectly and makes sense.
Thursday, November 5, 2009
Fall Colors on the Georgia Tech Campus
Yes, the video is real - fall season is amazing at tech!
Also, thanks Vidya for this link - http://onlyattech.net/
Similar to FML.
Also, thanks Vidya for this link - http://onlyattech.net/
Similar to FML.
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