The Fabric of a Dream!

I created this place to pen down some of the thoughts and feelings flowing through my consciousness which add a new paradigm to the way I perceive and experience life.

Elon Musk is a South-African born American, He has in the past co-founded Zip2, led and later sold PayPal, is CEO-Tesla Motors, Chairman -Solar city, CEO -Space exploration technologies, is somewhere worth close to USD 7 Billion ( INR +40,000 Cr ) and is Fortune magazine’s Businessperson of the year-2013 ( Oh! and he's just 42 years old ). 

No, this post is not his autobiography.

In 2002, he founded Space Exploration Technologies, it designs, manufactures and launches advanced rockets and spacecraft, with an ultimate goal of enabling people to live on other planets. Currently it has secured long-term contracts with NASA and has 50 launches in its manifest representing USD 5 Billion in contracts.

Let’s just think about what he’s trying to do here, he’s trying to build a business around the opportunity of colonizing other Planets in the universe!!!

What really intrigues, rather inspires me is the sheer conviction he has not only in his dream but also in his ability to eventually see it come true. At one point of time he virtually put everything he had in order to keep SpaceX afloat.

I don’t know if he’ll succeed in eventually achieving what he has set out to, what I do know is, here’s a man who has the audacity to conjure up a dream larger in magnitude than any in comparison and has the genius and courage to pursue it.

George Bernard Shaw famously said, "The reasonable man adapts himself to the world; the unreasonable one persists in trying to adapt the world to himself. Therefore all progress depends on the unreasonable man."

 Elon Musk fits marvelously well into this quote.

P.S : All facts and figures are collected from the following sources:

1.       Wikipedia

2.       www.spacex.com

3.       www.forbes.com

Time-slice!

Some memories get etched in our minds for life. These small time-slices shape our lives in the most unimaginable ways.

It was a Sunday. There were about 10 of us.

Everything about that day was different. The air, the weather, the damp smell of the soil, everything.

And to say that it was raining heavily would downright be an understatement.

Fortunately, our house is surrounded by green spaces; gardens, trees, grounds and it’s a perfect place for 12 years olds on a rainy afternoon.

That Sunday will in-arguably remain one of the best days of my life. Soccer, kho-kho, kabbadi, you name it and we played it. And the icing on the cake? The game session in the rains was followed by hot servings of bhajiyas and vadapavs.

Surprisingly, the only emotion I remember having then was that of happiness. Sheer happiness. Happiness that was of the purest form, simple and unconditional. Just me, with a few friends. And the rain.

In this rat-race called life, sometimes we tend to lose our inner human. We tend to get lost, confused with complicated choices and circumstances that surround us. But such memories of Sunday afternoons, close friends (and piping hot bhajiyas :p )  help us in restoring our faith in the fact that somethings never fall apart. They make us believe that eventually it’s all going to be worth it. 

So all set to take that trip back in time? 

P.S : Edit, courtesy Grey murmurs, Thank you  :)

Battle of the worlds

World - 1

So which is a better ice-cream, Chocolate or butterscotch? Which is a better movie, Dabaang or Shanghai? Who is a better leader, Rahul Gandhi or Narendra Modi?, Which is a better phone, Samsung S3 or Blackberry?. You see there’s no absolute answer to these questions, each of us have a variety of preferences which are right and justified in their own right.

I happened to watch a debate on a popular news channel, 6 educated and high-achieving people were passionately discussing on “The institution of marriage”, some talked about the importance and sanctity of it, while others spoke of its futility.

The way I look at it ( and again I may be wrong !), such issues just can’t be argued and debated upon, simply because there’s no objective basis for the same. Some get married, some don’t, there’s no right and wrong there. Its a choice which every individual has a right to make without having to justify it.

World - 2

What is the speed at which light travels?, What is the chemical composition of water? How many infrastructure projects have been completed during the tenure of Mr. Narendra Modi as Chief Minister of Gujarat? What are the hardware specifications of The Blackberry Z10? In this world the answers to all of the above questions are absolute and undisputed. They are facts that everybody must concur with.

Recently, one of my friends linked me to a TED talk, Allan Savory spoke on how we can fight desertification and reverse climate change, when I say that those 22 minutes were jaw dropping I wouldn't be exaggerating. One reason why I really enjoyed it was because it was so factual and objective in its content. He presented a problem, provided a solution and showed proof to back it up. His research is self explanatory and undisputed.

That really added so much value to my knowledge base and opened my mind to a new subject which I was earlier completely unaware of.

If we just introspect a bit, we’ll realize that most of the conversations around us belong to World-1.We' re engrossed in discussing issues which are extremely subjective in nature and depend on individual choices and tastes. World-2, in contrast provides an alternative way to look at things, it provides an objective platform for people to talk and discuss issues without ambiguity and personal preferences. Its productive and precise.

Which world do you want to be a part of? That’s a choice after all.

Its never too late..

What makes a good film? Naturally Its arduous to put a finger to any one aspect. Film-making is complex, with so many variables which enjoy a rather symbiotic relationship.

Recently, I watched "Maqbool" , in those two hours I saw all these so called variables work seamlessly together to produce a magnificent piece of art.

Its adapted from the famous "Shakespeare" play "Macbeth". What I found really amusing is that the story has very little to do with the sheer beauty of the film.

The story is relatively simple, its how greed and lust overwhelms Maqbool ( Irfan khan ) to kill Abba-ji ( Pankaj Kapoor ) and take over the reins of his large criminal empire and his mistress Nimmi ( Tabu ).

The original plot gives the film its flow and direction, however the characters give the film its life. Every scene adds another layer to the already complex world of theirs and leads to the inevitable tragic ending. Needless to say Irfan Khan and Pankaj Kapoor are at their best and Tabu plays the role of the seductive mistress rather brilliantly.

For me my best charachters are these two mischievous corrupt police officials played by the sheer geniuses of Om Puri and Naseerudin Shah.  They reprise the role of soothsayers and its simply a delight to watch them on screen together, not merely spectating as events unfold but enforcing them.

Its a film you shouldn't miss, with all the interesting charachters, powerful performances and a solid plotline, "Maqbool" is a fine adaptation of its original counterpart. It  released around a decade back. Sometime in 2003, I'm surprised that I skipped it for so long. But as they say its never too late. .

Labyrinth of chaos

“Life-tree” was the written equivalent of the grand plan I made for myself. It extensively detailed the road-map to achieve both professional and personal goals. It also covered the time-lines to achieve those benchmarks. I was impressed with this exercise; I had effectively laid down the blue print for the next 50^* years of my life. I was confident. However, there is a small glitch..

Humans have a peculiar trait, we like to see order, plan, organize and trick our minds into believing that we are in complete control of our present and future. The universe, in contrast behaves quite the opposite, it embraces chaos where change is constant.

The Black Swan, written by Nassim Taleb explores this theme in greater detail. At its crux, the book focuses largely on the extreme impact, rare and unpredictable events have on our lives. Although the book is quite complicated in its structure and content, it did however, make me aware and take notice of something I had so far ignored – Uncertainty.

You see, “Life-tree” was a very good effort; it channelized my efforts and helped me take charge. The problem was that it had an implied assumption of life being linear and predictable. It had no room for uncertainty; there was no space for change. The fact is, I have no idea what lies in store for me and the future is filled with infinite possibilities.

Today, my “Life-tree” is simpler. I avoid setting too many numerical benchmarks for myself, I don’t plan too much and too far, I don’t set rigid time-lines for activities and plans which extend beyond a short period, I try to keep my thought process flexible to adapt to new ideas and information.

People think differently and respond to situations in their own unique ways, after many bitter experiences, unexpected turns and some deliberate efforts I am finally learning to traverse this Labyrinth of chaos called Life.

(*) This figure is subject to change.

Greed is good?

Would you sell your house in exchange for a few flower bulbs? , No? If I had put this offer across 375 years back in Netherlands (Holland), you probably would.

For those who don’t know, I’m referring to “Tulip mania”, one of the first economic bubbles in recorded history. Tulips were originally introduced to “The Dutch” by the Flemish botanist ~ Carolus Clusius in the late 16^th century, It was unlike any other flower known to Europe at the time, it soon rose in popularity and became a status symbol among the rich and affluent.

It usually takes between 7-12 years for the seeds to grow into flowering bulbs, so you can imagine the scarcity in production in contrast to the prevailing demand.

Combined forces of their demand, rarity and time taken to grow these beautiful and exotic flowers caused prices to rise dramatically over a period between 1600’-1636’. This hike in prices was fueled by speculative trade, traders and merchants entered into formal futures contracts to buy and sell bulbs at the end of the season, what is more surprising is that neither party paid any margin money or mark-to-market margins, only a paltry deposit- “Wine money” prior to entering into a contract.

Things got out of hand when at its peak a single tulip bulb sold for more than 10 times the annual salary of a skilled craftsman, sometime around 1635, 40 bulbs were exchanged for 100,000 florins which equates to 2500 florins for a single bulb, For that amount  you could buy all of the following:

2 Lasts of wheat	448 f
4 Lasts of Rye	558 f
4 fat oxen	480 f
8 fat swine	240 f
12 fat sheep	120 f
2 hogshead of wine	70 f
4 tuns beer	32 f
2 tons butter	192 f
1000 lb. cheese	120 f
A Bed	100 f
A Suit of clothes	80 f
A Silver drinking cup	60 f
Total	2500 f

*Courtesy Wikipedia

By 1636, it wasn't just the traders and merchants involved in this rampant speculation, the common masses  joined in too, so much so that people ignored their primary occupations and participated in Tulip trade. In the last few months leading to the subsequent crash of this irrational euphoria, the prices of tulip bulbs rose by close to 20 times.

Tulip trade reached its peak during the winter of 1636’-37 and had attention of the entire nation. February 1637, tulip bulb contract prices suddenly began to fall, and no deliveries were made to fulfill any of the contracts, this lead to free-fall in the prices of these bulbs, the market for “Tulips” evaporated overnight, there were simply no buyers for any contracts any more, only sellers. There was widespread panic and merchants turned to the government for help. Tauntingly, the Government announced that anybody could pay a 10 percent fee and void the contracts; the courts of law wouldn't help either as they termed this activity as “Gambling” and declared that these contracts weren't enforceable by law. This led to further fall in Tulip prices, any attempts to reach an agreeable solution failed and they couldn't find any brakes to halt or even slow down this continued fall in prices.

The mania finally ended and People were left with flowers, worth a fortune just a few weeks back, now fetched a fraction of that amount. The Dutch economy was in mild recession for a few years following this event. The market values of various commodities was questioned, people were now fearful and more cautious than ever.

Think about it, Prices of these bulbs which took years to appreciate and rise in value were beaten down to almost nothing in just a few weeks.

At the crux of this incident lies a very basic human instinct and emotion ~ Greed. It’s a drug which you simply can’t afford to abuse.

* Primary source of facts and figures - Wikipedia. 

Moora..

Frustiyaao nahin moora,
Narbhasaao nahin moora,

Anytime moodwa ko,
Anytime moodwa ko,

Upsettaao nahin moora...

Anytime moodwa ko,
Anytime moodwa ko,

Upsettaao nahin moora...

Jo bhi wrongwa hai usey,
Set right-wa karo ji,
Naahin loojiye ji hope,
Thoda fightwa karo ji...

Some months back we were rather going through a difficult phase in our lives and there was a rather tense situation my family was pitted against, it was a Sunday afternoon, so when my Father suddenly switched off the tele, I realized either I was in trouble^* or he had something unusually important to say, thankfully it was the latter.

He turned to me and said “ Dhruv, life is going to throw many challenges at you, some you can get past with ease, some would be unyielding, when the whole world gives you an accusing glare, you might even doubt yourself”, while I was fidgeting with my phone, came the most important bit, He said “ However, you need to have that one person who stands by you against all odds, who gives you the strength to keep moving when all chips are down, that one person who’s faith in you is undying and eternal”.

Now, what do the first few lines ( in blue!) have to do with what follows subsequently? “ Moora”, is a song from  the film- Gangs of Wasseypur, everything about the song queerly resonates with what my Dad said to me that afternoon. It almost personifies that sentiment. Maybe that’s what music does; concocts thoughts, emotions and memories in unexpected ways.

Take a moment, ask yourself, who’s that person who inspires you to take one more shot at life every single day...and listen to Moora; hopefully, it’ll strike similar chords...

(*) I did eventually manage to get into trouble, but that’s for another time ;)