Delhidreams’ Weekly Digest: Vol. 3, 31/01/11

New ad for Oliver Peoples. Really loved the gorgeous video though I won't say that it's an ad J

Must check the video here: http://vimeo.com/17013920

Who knew throwing paint in the air could be so beautiful? J

Watch 'Highspeed footage of flying paint' : http://vimeo.com/16052801

Incredible idea: Making the world a better place with every credit card swipe!

SwipeGood is a credit card service that rounds your purchases up to the nearest dollar and donates the difference to a charity of your choice: http://ht.ly/3FalZ

OMG! i've never seen anything like this before!!! 'Civilization' http://ht.ly/3FaNe

"Civilization, a video mural created for the new Standard hotel in New York City, by Marco Brambilla, depicts a journey from hell to heaven interpreted through modern film language using computer-enhanced found footage. This epic video mural contains over 300 individual channels of looped video blended into a multi-layered seamless tableau of interconnecting images that illustrate a contemporary, satirical take on the concepts of Heaven and Hell. One of the most impressive and fully realized affect effects projects you will ever see. Bravo Marco."

A very useful infographic on Facebook and how it is affecting our lives.

Soon, your life will be nothing but Facebook http://t.co/5xU4bSe

No one like Steyn

A beautiful article by Cricinfo Assistant Editor, Dileep Premchandran. Must read if you are cricket fan!

"He's the only one today who matches up to Lillee, Thommo, Maco, Wasim, Waqar and the other fast-bowling greats of the past." Click here: http://ht.ly/3HbB5

A timely message from Greenpeace on the need to save our oceans.

"Time is running out. Evidence shows that the oceans cannot sustain this level of abuse and remain whole. They are not the inexhaustible supply that those who profit from them would have us believe. They are living, breathing, incredibly complex systems which, miraculously, if left alone and not abused, have the ability to recover."

Read the complete post and please share it with all you can: http://ht.ly/3HbOl

 

Is a clean energy world possible in next 40 years?

A carbon neutral solar and wind powered world in 20 to 40 years?

"Is it achievable? You bet! All it takes is the political and social will to make it happen says two California based researchers who have just published a study of the material resources and technology required to power the world 100 per cent by carbon emission neutral alternative energy technologies. It would also save 2.5 million to 3 million lives a year through slashing water and air pollution and simultaneously slow global warming and the problems of climate change, and develop secure, reliable energy sources and at costs comparable with what we spend on energy today."

Read the full report here: http://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2011/01/26/18670313.php

Why don't we truly value poetry?

"Yet again, a major literary prize has been won by a book of verse, and the genre has rarely been more popular. So why does it feel as if poetry is losing its way, asks Philip Hensher."

A brilliant and timely article, read it in full here: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/books/poetryandplaybookreviews/8284846/Why-dont-we-truly-value-poetry.html

Music review of Saat Khoon Maaf

As I wrote in the comment to his post, this gentleman makes me love reading about the album more than actually listening to music J do check the fabulous post at: http://ht.ly/3NmX7

Another year of life begins

It is the 26^th of January, 2011. He is at his bachelor pad relishing a morning of calm. It is a holiday, the nation's Republic Day, and thus there is no hurry to get up early and get ready for the office. Like a rare Sunday morning when he has nothing to do and no one to meet. He loves this solitude.

But this will not last for long. In a few hours from now, the girl he loves and a few close friends will come over to celebrate his birthday which was two days ago. 31 years! He is thirty one years old now! The feeling is still to sink in though. He wanted to write how he's feeling for the past two days. But he couldn't. Maybe because he doesn't know what to write.

And he is writing this with a new gold and silver ball point pen in a new notebook made of handmade sheets of paper. Both of them being his birthday gifts. Also, this morning he started reading Damon Galgut's 'In a strange room.' This book was also a (belated) gift for his last birthday.

He is enjoying the book. It is written in short, clear but somewhat broken sentences. And there are lots of pauses in between. This is exactly like how he likes to talk. To talk less and, to think more. By the way, these pauses of his are legendary by now. (And he takes a pause at the use of the word 'legendary'. He realizes that it has crept into his vocabulary due to Barney Stinson and the amazing proclivity of youth to use superlatives. Youth?) This was an example of the way he talks with lengthy pauses in-between. And that's why he is liking the book.

The maid comes. After doing her chores, cleaning the floor, the balcony and the bathrooms, she is out quickly. He thinks that labor class doesn't get any holidays. What is the meaning of the Republic Day holiday for a maid working in a middle class locality? Last night, when coming back from the office, he saw a guard's cabin outside the swanky and huge DTC millennium park depot. Rows and rows of big green and red buses locked inside the gates while outside in a tiny cabin, a solitary guard sat under the light of a single yellow bulb. He wonders who was guarding whom.

Anyways, he has to start getting ready now. In a few hours, the people he loves will start showing up. He has to get his room in some sort of order, have a bath and preferably something to eat as well. Oh, she is calling him now and he'll talk to her, enjoying the prospect of meeting her today.

Maybe today he'll get a sense of a year gone by, of another new diary, written by a new pen. Maybe he'll write well this year.

traveling back in time, notes on Raja Deen Dayal photography exhibition

images swirled around my head and i amongst them, a few moments ago i was in 2011 and when i landed at the bottom of the rabbit hole i'd traveled almost 125 years in time, to the India of the late 1800s!

medieval forts and palaces, long abandoned even 100 years ago; new cities of Bombay and Kolkata, unspoilt and uncrowded; Red Fort's Diwai-e-Khas and the Jama Masjid of Delhi, 'only' 28 years after the mutiny/revolution; the Nizams of Hyderabad, their noblemen and their families in all their royal splendor; the hunting parties; the foreigners who traveled to catch a glimpse of the exotic; the Kings and Queens and Princes lording above the poor natives who sadly still remain in more or less the same condition- all of this seen through, photographed and recorded for posterity by the keen eye of India's pioneering photographer, Raja Deen Dayal.

this Sunday, i went to the Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts (IGNCA) where an exhibition of Raja Deen Dayal's extensive oeuvre is on till February. for three hours i roamed amidst these hundred of images framed on walls, images of a distant yet vaguely familiar India, because the more India changes, the more it remains same.

the Kings and Princes are long gone, but a new royalty is seated in their place; these days tigers are not sported as trophies, business deals are the sport; SUVs are the new elephants; corporate houses and political parties are the new kingdoms; and still, the common man is as common as he was a 125 years ago.

only the veneer has changed, the world Raja Deen Dayal a hundred years ago still is the same, bafflingly contradictory, sanely insane.
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created a slideshow out of the images i clicked there. do keep in mind that the image quality is quite low as there was a lot of reflection and all these were clicked by my Nokia C-6 only :) and here you can watch it full screen

 

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related links:
Raja Deen Dayal's Wikipedia page

two pages from the IGNCA digital archives, Raja Deen Dayal Collection and the legacy of Raja Deen Dayal

Delhidreams’ Weekly Digest: Vol. 2 15/01/11

NG Photo Gallery: How to Take Camera Phone Pictures

Brilliant tips for all of us mobile phone camera pros: http://ht.ly/3AVLI

Gas - Microscopic (Ambient Electronic Space)

MUST WATCH!!! Brilliant! amazing, puts our universe sized egos into a much-needed perspective!!!  http://ht.ly/3Cldu :)

A Light in India

By DAVID BORNSTEIN NEW YORK TIMES

A small company's innovative system is turning rice husks into electricity and illuminating India's poorest state: http://ht.ly/3Co4R

What the company illustrates is a different way to think about innovation — one that is suitable for global problems that stem from poor people’s lack of access to energy, water, housing and education. In many cases, success in these challenges hinges less on big new ideas than on collections of small old ideas well integrated and executed. “What’s replicable isn’t the distribution of electricity,” says Pandey. “It’s the whole process of how to take an old technology and apply it to local constraints. How to create a system out of the materials and labor that are readily available.”

Justice, System and Jessica

A good blog post on the now ‘ever relevant’ topic in urban India, No One Killed Jessica. Do read here: http://ht.ly/3CoXE and share your feedback.

Diesel's SFW XXX Party Clip

This is old but this is good! Diesel rocks the advertising world with whatever it does. Check the safest xxx video to watch in workplace here: http://www.break.com/index/sfw-porn-clips.html

Smart, eco-friendly sanitation for all

The technology choice that China made for sanitation and wastewater management has led to not only blistering economic growth but also rapid urbanisation as it helped Beijing reduce GDP loss that poor sanitation brings.

Read the full report here: http://ht.ly/3Cpop

10 Amazing Uses For Toothpaste

Yeah you read it write ;) and here they are: http://preventdisease.com/news/11/010411_toothpaste_uses.shtml

Earth project aims to 'simulate everything'

“An international group of scientists is aiming to create a simulator that can replicate everything happening on Earth - from global weather patterns and the spread of diseases to international financial transactions or congestion on Milton Keynes' roads.”

Read more here: http://ht.ly/3CtC1

Movies, Music, Books and all that...

New blog I discovered by a twitter friend @rohwit I respect a lot for his knowledge of and zeal to share to good music with us. Do check http://almostareview.blogspot.com/

Swami Vivekananda and the social networking generation

"Take up one idea. Make that one idea your life - think of it, dream of it, live on idea. Let the brain, muscles, nerves, every part of your body, be full of that idea, and just leave every other idea alone. This is the way to success." - Swami Vivekananda.

It is Swami Vivekananda's birth anniversary today. But does this matter to we the facebook, twitter generation of young Indians? Pity is, many amongst us don't even understand what he was and what he did for our nation, for our spirituality. That our government has labelled this day as National Youth Day is ironic at best!

I'll keep this post short, very short. All i would request you, my young friends is to study some works by him. Because if you are an Indian, if you've to know and understand the idea of India, and if you are interested in the spiritual aspect of Hinduism (though you don't have to be a Hindu to appreciate him!) you've to know, understand, study, the life and works of Swami Vivekananda. I've read some of his works, that's why i can say this with surety.

And maybe, by the time we celebrate the next youth day, we'll have better understanding of him and his contribution towards the making of India.

आजकल नहाते समय, गीता की बड़ी याद आती है

आजकल नहाते समय,

गीता की बड़ी याद आती है

पानी के प्रथम स्पर्श से ही

देह तो नश्वर है की गूँज आती है

आत्मा का क्या है,

वो तो अजर है, अमर है

न उसे पानी भिगोता है,

न आग जला पाती है

पर बाथरूम की

महीन झिर्रियों से आती हवा

इस देह को

बेहद सताती है

हे कृष्ण, तुम तो कह गए:

कर्म करो और फल की चिंता न करो

पर इस मौसम में देवी रजाई की सिखाई,

अकर्मण्यता ही ज्यादा भाती है

आजकल नहाते समय,

गीता की बड़ी याद आती है

आत्मा अमर, देह नश्वर,

तो नहा के क्या होगा का पाठ पढ़ाती है

कहत कवि 'आदि'

नहाना तो सिर्फ है बहाना

मन साफ़ रखने की कला,

अब किसे आती है

Delhidreams’ Weekly Digest: Vol. 1 08/01/11

Coke signs Sachin for Rs 20 cr; will feature in corporate ads
Ace batsman Sachin Tendulkar has finalised a three-year endorsement deal, estimated at around Rs 20 crore, with Coca-Cola India. PepsiCo had dropped Tendulkar about two-and-half years ago as part of its strategy to phase-out aging brand ambassadors.

Read the full report at: http://ht.ly/3zfaS

Injured Kallis out-thinks India

Jacques Kallis faced more adversity on the fourth day than he did in the first innings and came up trumps again, winning the mental battle against the Indians

Read the full report at: http://ht.ly/3zfev

England on the brink of series glory

England were three wickets away from an emphatic 3-1 series victory after more superlative all-round cricket left Australia in tatters on 7 for 213, still 151 runs short of making the visitors bat again.

Read the full story at: http://ht.ly/3zfh4

Fat World

A study shows species across the board putting on weight. Is there something in the environment contributing to it?

Read the full story at: http://ht.ly/3zpDs

No risk, no reward for South Africa

South Africa made sure they wouldn't lose this Test by not declaring in their second innings, but in the process might have missed out on winning it too

Read the full story at: http://ht.ly/3zMzB

England complete crushing Ashes victory

England ended 24 years of hurt in crushing style at the SCG as they secured an innings-and-83-run victory to take the Ashes series 3-1. The crowning moment came shortly before noon when Chris Tremlett found Michael Beer's inside edge to bowl him leg stump. It was the first time in their history that Australia have suffered three innings defeats in a series and left nobody in any doubt where the balance of power now lies.

Read more at: http://ht.ly/3zMGo

Yet another GoM!

January 07, 2011   7:08:44 PM

Soon a full-time Minister will be required to keep track of and coordinate with all such groups that have been set up to deal with the problem of corruption.

Read the full editorial at: http://goo.gl/9PFhl

Floppy disk art

Nick Gentry is a British artist who uses obsolete media formats, such as floppy disks, VHS tapes, polaroids and cassettes, to create his unique portraits.

He is also using his art to make a comment about waste culture, limited life cycles and identity in general. His works have been exhibited in the UK, USA and Europe, and his book, Obsolete, is available for sale. All proceeds will go to Oxfam, a global movement of people working with others to overcome poverty and suffering.



The complete post with visuals at: http://ht.ly/3AnXz 

Amazing Kinetic Typography Examples

Kinetic typography the technical name for "moving text" is an animation technique mixing motion and text.

It's a cool way to add motion to your words! Do check it at: http://goo.gl/60Pwc

When...

When did it become ok, fashionable even, to hate? When did tolerance and co-existence become "weakness"? When did pride in one's culture, faith, or language start being based on hatred for another faith, culture or language? 

Read the complete post at my friend N's blog here: http://goo.gl/WQlVH

Kawah Ijen by night

Photographer Olivier Grunewald has recently made several trips into the sulfur mine in the crater of the Kawah Ijen volcano in East Java, Indonesia, bringing with him equipment to capture surreal images lit by moonlight, torches, and the blue flames of burning molten sulfur. Covered last year in the Big Picture (in daylight), the miners of the 2,600 meter tall (8,660ft) Kawah Ijen volcano trek up to the crater, then down to the shore of a 200-meter-deep crater lake of sulfuric acid, where they retrieve heavy chunks of pure sulfur to carry back to a weighing station. Mr. Grunewald has been kind enough to share with us the following other-worldly photos of these men as they do their hazardous work under the light of the moon. (30 photos total)

See them all at: http://www.boston.com/bigpicture/2010/12/kawah_ijen_by_night.html

खबर आई है के बड़ी अम्मा मर गयी!

खबर आई है के बड़ी अम्मा मर गयी! अम्मा, यानि दादी, बड़ी अम्मा यानि दादी की भी माँ. पूरे 105 बरस की थी बड़ी अम्मा. स्वाति कहती है, "50 हज़ार रूपए, एक जोड़ी कानों की बाली और एक भैंस छोड़ गयी है मेरे लिए! मुझे नहीं पता के मैं रोऊँ या खुश होऊं!"

105 बरस! एक पूरी सदी गुज़र गयी आज. और कुछ नहीं, लोग सुबह उठेंगे और काम पर चल देंगे अपने-अपने. सभी बढ़ जो रहे हैं अपने बरस पूरे होने की तरफ.

बड़ी अम्मा मर गयी. मेरी दोस्त स्वाति की, मेरी नहीं. फिर मैं क्यूँ लिख रहा हूँ ये सब?

जैसे बच्चे पूरे समाज की ज़िम्मेदारी होते हैं, वैसे ही बड़े-बूढ़े भी तो इसी समाज के साझा अनुभव का पिटारा होते हैं, वो सबके होते हैं न? पता नहीं कितने किस्से, कितनी कहानियां, जीवन के खट्टे-मीठे अनुभव  बड़ी अम्मा के साथ ही चले गए!

न जाने क्यूँ, पर स्वाति का मेसेज आया तो लगा जैसे मेरी ही दादी गुज़री है. दादी चाहे दोस्त की हो, होती तो अपनी ही है न?

Remembrance

They are talking about people from the past. A young, male relative who one day made such delicious and evenly fried pakodas* that even the ladies of the household couldn’t stop envying him; a long forgotten neighborhood aunt whose clothesline was the embodiment of middle class organizational skills; their always grumbling mother/mother-in-law and how she was not happy with the way the young male relative made those pakodas.

They are talking about them, remembering them from their last storehouse of memories, because when they left home, their relatives and snapped ties with that old life forever, they ceased to make new memories about it. So now until they themselves cease to exist, the now old male relative will always be young, forever cooking delicacies for the extended family, freshly washed clothes will continue to drip proudly in the backyard of that neighborhood aunt and the now (presumably) dead matron of the house will continue to grumble away forever. This is the fate shared by everyone who has left something behind in a hurry, more so of the refugees of fate itself.

As if time is a river which though doesn’t stop for anyone, it is we who drop the anchors of our memories and linger on, sometimes for a moment, sometimes forever.

A *Pakora (पकोड़ा; پکوڑا; பஜ்ஜி;); is a fried snack found across South Asia. Pakoras are created by taking one or two ingredients such as onion, eggplant, potato, spinach, cauliflower, tomato, chilli or occasionally chicken and dipping them in a batter of gram flour and then deep-frying them. ...en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pakoda 

joining the resolution bandwagon

the first two days of the 'new' new year are coming to an end. not only is this the beginning of a new year but of a new decade as well. agreed, these divisions of time into moments, months, years, is just a facilitating tool and memory doesn't always follow its cold, logical precision, nevertheless by compartmentalizing our life in time, we can compare where we stand today in relation to our past(s).


normally, my personal favorites for this pensive task are the two days of my birthday and the festival of Diwali. the universally applicable new year resolutions mania doesn't affect me much :D this time though, i'm making an exception.


now, i want to start collecting, transcribing my memories, capturing the swirling sounds and images with my magic wand and storing them in clear glass vessels, one page at a time. the purpose is twofold: a written record of my experiences will help me gather my thoughts better, hopefully help me journey constructively towards my goals (not in the chaotic, haphazard manner i've all my life till now) and secondly, help sow the seeds of discipline and craft that i so desperately require to succeed as a writer.


hope i'll be able to stick to this resolution and bug you with more regular posts throughout the year :)

welcoming the new year