Onion and Cabbage...

You know, the thing about Onion and Cabbage, particularly Cabbage, is that God has already cut 'em and packaged them into the right form. So you don't really mess with them too much.

Consistent Kalam

More than three months after he gave a five point program for India's development, Kalam reiterates exactly the same in another occasion at another venue.

Calling upon the VIT to carry out research on desalination, he said studies should be conducted to make the process cost-effective. They should also cover the cost of solar power. Agriculture, food processing, education, health care and information and communication technology are the other areas of importance, besides self-reliance in critical technologies, he said, highlighting the concept of providing urban amenities in rural areas.

You might ask, what's the big deal? Nothing, really! But in days when politicians and public figures change stance every minute, I found it pretty interesting that someone is holding on to his checklist for 3 months.

What it means to be a "Hindu Leader"

This man is the leader of RSS and carries considerable political clout in India.

Unbelievable!

How about imprisoning all the religious fundamentalist leaders from India in one cell for about a week? What will happen?

Management Consulting and the Global Delivery Model

Why it is a win-win for Infosys Consulting and the like...

Black...

Watched Black over the weekend... Sorry to say, the movie failed to impress emotionally for the content it handled... Bansali needs a better script writer...

But can appreciate the amount of effort that has gone into the movie... Particularly to make it un-bollywood like... Won't say it succeeded though...

Simon Singh...

It was science lecture time again here in Seattle. This time it was Simon Singh (famous for his book and award-winning video on Fermat's Last Theorem and it's proof). He talked mainly about the Big Bang Theory. However he did touch upon other topics such as some famous pseudo-scientific ones - like the Codes imbedded in the Bible and (guess-what) theory of Intelligent Design (no, not again!).

Once when I told a senior colleague of mine that there is this phenomenon (in a way similar to deja vu) wherein you first come across something (usually a new concept, news) and then that keeps coming back to you again and again in some form or fashion. My colleague, who is also trained in psychology, retorted that it is not that it keeps coming back due to some mysterious intervention of God, but just that you start noticing it more and more. He also said it is a well-researched and documented aspect of psychology.

Back to the lecture, it was short but very interesting. He seemed to be a funny guy (with a funny hairstyle) and his lecture was full of little experiments that made you laugh and think. There were only about 25 people in the audience and I thought a lecture of this sort would have interested high-school students and the like, if only they knew about it. It was simple, yet thought provoking. And yes, he came across as a very simple man too.

Erdos...

After a recent recommendation, watched the documentary "N is a Number" on Paul Erdos. Very touching. I remember reading a few pages of the book "My brain is open" on one of those boring afternoons in the MatScience library in Chennai. (When I say I read a book, it means few pages. When I say few pages, you can roughly equate it to the preface and may be the first few pages of the first chapter). For some reason, Erdos came across as kind of a jack of all trades in that book. Or so I thought. After seeing this documentary, I have a totally different opinion - such purity, such fragility and yet so mathematically powerful.

Only in a religion class, maybe...

Dear Mr. Kasthuri Srinivasan,
Here are some elementary views of mine on your post in the matter of Evolution vs. Intelligent Design. I want to stress elementary - because there has been much fog generated in this debate and I dont want to get anywhere into that. Recently I saw a panel discussion on Larry King Live on this topic and I have to humbly admit that most of what was talked there was above and beyond my reasoning abilities. This is just a counter for one point you have raised in your post which is that it is possible that evolution and intelligent design can go hand-in-hand and your implicit conclusion that they can be taught together (which of course is the central point of the political debate).

I think the basic difference between the two theories is that the theory of evolution bases itself on existing evidence which conforms to the scientific method - observe, analyze, propose theory. And based on that method it is able to explain "certain" things regarding the nature of life in the universe. On the other hand, the corner stone of intelligent design seems to be that (1) the existing "scientific theory" cannot explain "certain other" things (Agree). (2) Thus a superior theory is in order (Agree). (3) The superior theory is the existence of an intelligent designer (No reason to agree).

You can visibly see that the jump from statement 2 to statement 3 above is unaccounted. It is not a logical consequence of any preceding assumption/conclusion/evidence. And that is where university heads and renowned scientists/scientific philosophers cringe. This "theory" (if it can be called one) is based on a giant leap of faith that can make science irrelevant and that is why these two theories simply cannot go hand-in-hand like you seem to suggest.

To take the often-cited cliched example, the shortcomings of classical Newtonian mechanics were well known by the late 19th century. Einstein proposed special relativity to address certain shortcomings. It was a natural extension of an existing theory (however remarkable it might have been at that time) to explain specific shortcomings. This is what is typically demanded of new "scientific" theories. Only so much should be assumed as is necessary - and you very well know how critical a principle this is in most areas of scientific inquiry (Occam's Razor). Taking this argument to an extreme, by assuming 2 = 3, you know that we can prove all mathematical truths and falsehoods. However, you and I won't do that - atleast not in Kulkarni's class.

So my take on your claim that evolution and intelligent design can go hand-in-hand is that, they simply can't because of the fundamental difference pointed out above. Now, to the topic of controversy. Considering the above arguments, taking this giant leap of faith to the classrooms and placing it side by side with evolution seems like a repulsive idea to me, as it does for other teachers and science professors. Of course, I can't oppose learning about such beliefs in a religion class. It will probably be a good debating topic there. However I will oppose learning them as science or on par with science. In my opinion, kids of age 13 will only be confused when we put science and evolution on par with such a "faith" based theory.

The term "scientific theory" itself, is a well-defined one (you can look it up on the Internet) and can only be attributed to certain types of hypothesis-conclusion cycles - not all. Everyone knows that Newtonian mechanics has limitations when it comes to predicting the motion of sub-atomic particles. However no one attributes their motion to the Intelligent Designer (atleast I haven't heard of anyone doing that). Of course, if someone does, Intelligent Design will definitely be able to explain sub-atomic particle movement and behaviour too. But as I said before, it is an unnecessary hypothesis.

At this time, it is once again good to recall what Laplace said.

Wenatchee in pictures...

Welcome changes...

Subscribing to the weekend editions of The New York Times has been a welcome change for both of us. It brings back the twin-pleasure of coffee + quality newspaper for the early mornings, which we both treasure. And NY Times has so many interesting supplements on its Sunday paper (atleast that has been my experience so far, in 3 weeks) and it takes me a week to brush through atleast half of it. This change has coincided with another change for me - travelling by bus to work. And both the changes supplement each other so well. For an ultra-slow reader who tends to go into dreams even while reading something as light as a newspaper, the NY Times Sunday paper deserves a week of study.

Consider for example, last week's Book Review. A review of a book on Mao, two books on Shakespeare, Salman Rushdie's latest book and a heated debate over hidden-racism in public schools in the Letters section.

I am just about immersed in it and tomorrow is a Sunday. :(

***
Watched Paheli. Let's grant for the nth time, Shah Rukh is incapable of getting out of his mannerisms. He is just a bad actor, however charming he may be for some. Considering that, this is a highly restrained effort. And the movie itself was very good, I thought. Music is fabulous - for want of less-trite adjectives. I didn't know that MM Kreem was the same as Maragadhamani (or Keeravani for some). Truly melodious music. Ravi K Chandran's camera has been appreciated by one and all. It seemed to me as if every scene in this movie was a colourful painting of Rajasthan by an accomplished artist. Great Work! Rani Mukherjee was spontaneous as always. Nice, feel-good movie with a hint of figurativeness.

Ganguly...

Here is a confused article about Ganguly and his hundred in the Duleep trophy. I vaguely remember that the same writer wrote an article questioning Chappell's credentials as a coach during the spat.

In this article, he has called Ganguly, among other things "the most human of leaders". Don't know what exactly that means in the context of the discussion.

There are always people with interesting views. By the way, I would be keen to know where Rahul Bhattacharya is from.

Welcome to Bangalore...

Source: Indian Express

Lectures, Seminars, Anecdotes...

Had been to a lecture on symmetry and group theory given by Dr. Mario Livio, famous astrophysicist and popular-science writer. The lecture was part of a promotion for his new book "The equation that could not be solved". He gave an overview of the book in the lecture and the book is about the Quintic equation and the struggles of the 17th/18th century mathematicians to solve it through a formula until Abel and Galois jumped on the scene and told the world that it is impossible.

I dont know how mathematically accomplished Dr. Livio is, but I heard he is one of the really big names in Astrophysics today in the world. A professor at UW gave an introduction where he said that the hubble telescope, for all it's merits, also has the dubious distinction of shattering many theories propounded before. And because of the concrete evidence it provides, many astrophysicists were disappointed that the theories so close to their heart were infact false. He however remarked, that Dr. Livio on the other hand was one of those who picked up those shattered theories, combined them with the evidence produced by Hubble and gave birth to newer (and more concrete) theories about the stars and the Universe. He also said, Dr. Livio has been involved in one way or the other in any major advancement in the area of Astrophysics/Cosmology in the recent past.

Coming back to the lecture, apart from the scientific/mathematical content in the lecture, what fascinated me was the number of anecdotes Dr. Livio provided. Being a humorous man by nature, Dr. Livio had the knack of picking up related anecdotes from thin air that generated instant laughter.

For example, when asked whether we should be doing such "meaningless" space experiments at all when there are people starving due to hurricane effects, he said doing science for the sake of science had a lot of practical benefits. He said meteorology would not have advanced this far unless some scientist did it for the sake of his pleasure. He followed it up with a Michael Faraday incident. It seems Faraday was working on electromagnetism when a minsiter of his government came and asked him whether what he is doing is going to be any worthy at all for the people. Faraday replied, "Sir, I don't know if what I am doing will be useful to the people today but I do know that tomorrow you will be able to collect taxes from it!!"

And when talking about superstitions, he narrated an incident where Schrodinger and Heisenberg met in the former's cottage in the woods. The entrance of the cottage had a big horse-shoe embedded on it (a belief that it drives away evil). Seeing this Heisenberg remarked "Surely, you can't be believing in all this". For which, it seems Schrodinger retorted, "Of course I dont believe in it. But they say it protects even those who don't!"

'I will not allow IT sector to go away from Karnataka' - Deve Gowda

I am not sure if everyone understands what Deve Gowda means when he says he will not let IT sector go outside Karnataka. No, he is not talking about making Karnataka infrastructure so good, that no one would want to leave. He is talking about physically blocking the roads so that no one gets away.

Of course he is hiding the fact that he does not need to do anything from now on to accomplish that, atleast in Bangalore. Bangalore roads are already like that. You can never go anywhere once you are on the roads.

Instead of admitting and addressing the point in debate, which is whether Karnataka's infrastructure can handle the disproportionate growth, he rather chooses to talk about what was done during his CM tenure. He says he asked Narayana Murthy what the problem was and why the industry was blaming the government. What can one do with the guy?

Sathish recently had a post on how long it took to reach from E-City to Silk Board and how horrible the journey was that they had to crack PJs to survive the journey. But Deve Gowda still asks, "What is the problem?"

Poor NRN Murthy probably does not understand all this and he and his mates prepared this 6 page blueprint on what can be done to improve things. Only 6 pages. Probably that's what hurt Deve Gowda. Being 6 pages, obviously they missed out on what all Deve Gowda had done in the previous years - however unrelated they are to the topic of interest. And anything like that is not worth reading. Did Mr. Gowda actually turn around to reading it before he called it "old wine in new bottle"?

Even if he had not read the thing, I won't have a problem with that. What can you expect from the guy who slept in public meetings for the sake of the pooor? It is only the denial that makes the whole thing hopeless.

Unrelated Tidbit: I heard that all ex-PMs and their families have Commando protection for the rest of their lives (is this true?). And Mr. Gowda's immediate family is a total of 9 or 11 people. That's probably money that could be spent in widening roads in Bangalore.

In Wenatchee...

Over the weekend, had been to Wenatchee, the apple capital of the world, accompanying Lakshmi on a Teacher's Conference. America is known for associating such ad-campaign statements for towns and cities. However, I found Wenatchee, otherwise a very small town, not to be as much hype as it was apple orchards all the way on either side of the road. They did a tour of an apple packaging industry and the WSTA was kind enough to allow me tag along with Lakshmi free of cost. (The conference itself costs about $150 for the sponsoring school).

It was a very good learning experience in the end and I was surprised at the amount of technology implemented in such a small town. Inventory management in the company is done with Oracle Applications. A separate R&D division explores how taste of the apple can be measured by using Infra Red cameras without cutting the apples. Picking and boxing is done by robots (though the manager asserted that his Hispanic employees did a way better job). The GM of the company (who is also a member of the board for this family owned company) did the tour for us and gave a lot of insightful details. For example, he said a majority of his workers are hispanics and his company would support every move of the government to bring more workers from Mexico. During harvest season his company would require 2000 additional workers (to a regular workforce of about 1500 - so more than double) and in a small town like Wenatchee, he said we will be "scraping the bottom".

He also made a comment on students who come in and work in the company for short terms during harvest season. After a couple of days at work, the students claim this is "real work" and are reluctant to return (sorting apples, is harder than we thought it was and is not cool)! I remembered the statement made by one reporter in CNN who commented on Lou Dobbs' tirades against illegal immigration, saying that some companies have no other way out because to stay in business they have to employ a large amount of short-term workers and the boys and girls who work at Starbucks are not ready to pick peaches. This experience was a live demonstration of that comment (or rather lament)! I don't know what kind of workers work there but if I was the director, my options really would be to either let the worker from Mexico earn the honest buck and stay in business or let him get a certificate from the US government that he is not a terrorist and shut down part of my operations. You know which one would be my pick.

For a manager (and originally a grower), the GM was surprisingly technology savvy. His tour talk were filled with technical details. You know, I am from the IT industry where managers and technical talk are like Hitler and world peace! I thought all managers were like that, but was glad to be proved wrong.

*****
Wenatchee, a little town that it is, invited us with some funny encounters. Wenatchee, lies on two sides of the humongous Columbia river. The eastern side is called East Wenatchee and the western side is just Wenatchee. When we reached there, we didn't know all these tidbits. It so happened that we went to Wenatchee instead of East Wenatchee (where the conference was). We stopped at a gas station (petrol bunk, as I used to call it) and enquired a couple where Eastmont High school was. The couple gave us back shocked looks and gasped "Oh, that is in East Wenatchee. You are in Wenatchee." I thought we were screwed because we were already late for the conference. I explained to them that there were no good directions available on the internet and asked them how long it would take me to reach the long-and-distant East Wenatchee. They said I had to go along that road until a bridge came and then cross the bridge to the other side of Wenatchee. A total of around 10 mins drive. Until now, I haven't figured out why they exchanged shocked looks for us missing our destination by about 10 mins! Maybe it was just a rural/semi-urban facet of the town and its people.

Later, when I was in the town library killing time, the guy next to me was browsing something objectionable (I think porn) on the library computer. I saw the librarians see it and they were involved in hush-hush discussions on what to do. Later one of the courageous lady of the lot stepped over to talk to him. She approached him and said "You have to leave now for doing this". The guy responded "Arright" in a very non-chalant way and started closing all the open windows (the Microsoft ones, I mean). The lady was as surprised as I was at the response. But she was also probably disappointed that her so-called strict voice and manner did not evoke the necessary reaction in the boy. After a pause she said in what looked like a continuation of the previous sentence "... And you are not allowed to come back again in the library". The boy again replied "Arright" and left.

With a look of confused bewilderment the lady went back to the main desk where other librarians looked up to her for solving the matter so easily. I could hear a "Well, that was easy" from the lady!

50 miles per gallon!

For the first time in American television, I saw a Honda Civic ad today that showcased 50 miles per gallon as a selling point.

I never thought this day would come.

Male Female Ratio...

While browsing the internet on male-female ratios across the world, I came across this website where they have listed male-female ratios among people of various racial origins in USA.

None of the ratio's have more than 10% difference. In fact many of them have less than 5% difference in ratio. I am positive that the ratio will be similar across the world. In fact, I am equally positive that it will be a less than 10% difference for all such species in the world. (Is there any species where the ratio is skewed?)

Is the only scientific explanation for this, probability?

Katrina

Watching CNN, Katrina refugees were heading to Houston for shelter. The CNN reporter said that the city of Houston was making a "great" "sacrifice" in letting people in from the neighbouring states and "allowing" them to stay in one of it's superdomes.

Kalam...

Kalam gives five key areas of development for India -

1. Agriculture and Food Processing
2. Education
3. Information and Communications Technology
4. Networking of Rivers
5. Self-reliance in critical technologies

I am impressed with the order of these 5. Importance of 1 and 2 for India cannot be overemphasized.

He talks about the importance of PURA and administers a couple of oaths among school children - one to have a vision for India's development and another not to support any religious, caste and language differentiation.

When asked who his role model is, he replies that it is his science teacher Sivasubramanya Iyer.

It is so refreshing to read news about Kalam.

Two movies and the director...

Needless to say, Quentin Tarantino has his own style of film making. From what I have seen in "Reservoir Dogs" and "Pulp Fiction", he considers a movie as a bunch of scenes. He takes special effort in sculpting each scene - with sparkling dialogue full of wit and humor. Many scenes are movies in themselves - with so many "take-aways".

But the movie as a whole always seems to miss something. It is almost as if that missing something is an intentional omission. There is no definite word for that something and the closest I can get to what is missing is a strong storyline.

They are good movies, nevertheless.

After the movie is over, when you sit and think why Tarantino made this movie, it is very difficult to come up with an answer. Except that, maybe he wanted to have fun.

Puzzle Time...

You might have seen these puzzles before -

USSR
USA +
-----------
PEACE
-----------

SEND
MORE +
-----------
MONEY
-----------

Can you characterize exactly when such strings make a unique valid sum?

God Hypothesis...

Nancy Gandhi paints a beautiful picture of Coonoor. She also says that God, and associated beliefs, are theories of convenience.

I recall the anecdote involving Laplace and Napoleon. When Napoleon asked Laplace why there wasn't any mention of God in one of Laplace's books, Laplace apparently replied that there was no need for that particular hypothesis.

Advani - The Opportunist!

How irresponsible is this? Makes me think that the only good thing happening to Indian politics over time is probably that such politicians are aging.

My first photo upload...

Google Vs. Yahoo!

Couple of days back, trying to find driving directions to Crater Lake - I searched Google (my first choice)... And I got to here.

I then had to go to Yahoo! (second choice) to find what I wanted.

Same thing happened today trying to find a SSN office here and then here...

Maybe I will switch my first and second choices soon...

Journalistic License

Because this article has Pune as its theme and highlights it as the future silicon valley of India, it had to say this -

While Chennai, Bangalore and Hyderabad suffer from the accent factor, the BPO industry has Pune to look to, for a large English speaking public.

I would really like to know from a BPO industry expert on this. Does a city like Bangalore really have an "accent factor"?? And is there something called an "accent factor"?

Bride and Prejudice...

I saw Bride and Prejudice and pretty much liked everything except Aishwarya Rai.. Granted that some of the dialogues were completely out of place and there was maybe something else that I could have disliked... But none of the other shortcomings of the movie stood out like the presence of Aishwarya Rai... So I thought I should mention that...

This lady who was travelling with me was jumping in joy after watching the movie... She said she loved it... So, I should also mention that Gurinder Chhaddha (I know the spelling is wrong.. Never mind) has successfully established a distorted image of Indian culture to the western world through this movie...

Agreed, the arranged marriage system somewhat resembles a shopping market in some places... But there was no necessity to underline it so much, that you only see the underline and nothing much else in the movie...

"Blogs have Integrity!"

Did you know that?

Secular-Right India, in what could be termed as the best glorification of blogs yet, comprehensively proves that blogs have "Integrity". The reason - because a few blogs got hysterical and decided they should put a poster on their websites protesting Musharraf's recent visit to India (to watch a cricket match!).

From elementary (il)logic, it follows that commercial media does not have integrity. It also (somehow) follows that commercial media is actually a mouthpiece of the government. In fact, "it's a means for the Government, and its proxies, to shape public opinion."

Okay?

Ideas for an Indian Century" claims the tagline of this blog. Here's definitely one very very 21st Century idea being propounded. "If you are not with us, you are with them." We all remember that, dont we?

Russell on Pure Mathematics

Pure mathematics is the subject in which we do not know what we are talking about, or whether what we are saying is true.

I did not understand the meaning of the above statement until very recently.

Why Helmets Are Important (An Anti-Libertarian Post)

Recently, a few libertarian bloggers got together and logically deduced that helmets should be banned for the greater common good.

However, now it has come to light, that they did not consider all factors.

Here is one they missed.

Rajdeep Sardesai on Thackeray and Cricket

"C'mon Balasaheb, be a sport!"

Social Extremism

If extending the dynamics of the market to its logical extreme and criticising any kind of regulation is "economic extremism" (also known as libertarianism), this is social extremism.

The legalization of some drugs that are illegal today could be one of the most humane beneficial acts that can happen today in India. Imagine the amount of spousal abuse/hooch deaths that can be reduced, if the masses had access to marijuana, instead of relying of country liquor and tobacco.

As a moderate, I don't think I will have any problems in debating whether marijuana should be legal or not. That will be a good sport. But only as a sport, does it qualify for debate.

To extend the argument and claim that marijuana will reduce spouse abuse, in my view, is an attempt to try and shock the audience by sensationalising the consequence just so that people might take notice. To try and establish a credence that it otherwise does not deserve.

It is called fundamentalism, when religious texts are taken in literal sense and preached as maxims. This is very similar, only that we probably need a different word to qualify this.

Respect for the National Anthem

Amit, while pondering over Laloo & Family's alleged disrespect to the national anthem, wonders whether milking a cow, when others are singing the national anthem will be considered a disrespect too?

For me, its all in the way it is packaged.

Two christian alcoholics went to a priest to check if it would be considered blasphemy if they drink while praying to God. The first one asked the priest if he will be allowed to drink while praying. The priest condemned him for even entertaining the thought.

The second one asked if it is wrong to think about God and pray all the time, even when drinking. The priest, with nodding approval, announced that there is no time that is bad time for prayer!

Saarang...

Nostalgia can really be intoxicating... And leave you numb for hours together...

Thanks Lazygeek, for the photos...

Next Step for Google...

Google, in its current state of being in an innovation spree, might think of

1. "Institutionalizing" the blog mela concept by introducing a website that will extract the best of blogs in a particular area and allow voting/rating (on) them.
2. And for those that read blogs that don't fit in a particular area, could offer an easy way of personalized meta-blog that will comprise entries from a defined set of other blogs every day.

"Reservation in pvt sector, a risk factor" - Infosys

[From Sify.com]

"Recently, the Maharashtra State Government introduced legislation requiring that certain employers in the State give preferential hiring treatment to various under-represented groups resident within the State. The quality of our workforce is critical to our business. If the legislation becomes effective, our ability to hire the most highly qualified technology professionals in the State of Maharashtra may be hindered"

says Infosys in its latest filings with the SEC, USA.

One more for the season...

{Really Easy}
Assuming that you have a large tank of 500 gallons of water and you have a six gallon can, a nine gallon can and a 21 gallon can at your disposal.

I want exactly 50 gallons of water.

Can you measure and give?

On Plagiarism, Apple Pie and Sumo Wrestlers...

As you all know, Ravikiran recently had a dream where there was this innocent person who, by force of habit had started to make photocopies of newspapers from all around and distributed them from the middle of a desert. You also know that the folks who actually owned the content of the newspapers built the now-famous highway to the desert for readers to drive over and swear at the innocent person.

Now, when all the readers went there to do that, they found that the owners of the newspaper were already there swearing at "innocent person" left, right and center. I was there too. And I am so pleased that the whole issue has ended peacefully now. You might be interested to know how it was finally resolved...

Owners: (making angry faces) Give us an explanation for why you copied from all our newspapers?
Innocent Person: I always thought I could!
Owners: (bewildered) Is that right??
Innocent Person: Yeah, I never knew I should not copy!
Owners: (with happy faces) Oh Okay, fine then! Come people, lets all go.

After that, we all got on our cars and drove back to our homes.

By the way, here's some more puzzles. Assume that you are the arbiter and...

1. Devise a method to split a piece of apple-pie between two Sumo wrestlers without dispute.
2. Devise a method for 3 Sumo Wrestlers.
3. Extend to n

.
Since I am very careless with my logical deductions, I might have missed a few assumptions/constraints in this puzzle. So assume as you deem necessary. Do give your solutions. I don't know what to do with the second and third situations myself.

Dr. Kamal Hassan...

It might not be an unsuitable time after all, to ponder over what is good and what is not about arguably one of the best of contemporary actors in Indian Cinema. An honorary doctorate is the latest addition to the awards and recognitions that adorn Kamal Hassan's accomplished career in cinema.

A university doctorate is probably very appropriate when you consider the fact that, if there is one thing that sets Kamal apart from his contemporaries, it is his ability to be a keen student. Having learnt the basics of the trade in the Balachander School, Kamal never misses an opportunity to pay due credit to his one time mentor. And of all Balachander's students, it is well known that this one has a special status with the guru.

Kamal was the first to experiment to his heart's content with his home productions fairly early in his then-blooming career. Raja Paarvai, Vikram, Aboorva Sahodharargal were all large-scale experiments in one sense or another. If he had pursued academics, maybe he would have done well in Science, for his thirst to experiment continues till date. There are not many areas of cinema which Kamal has not learnt at some point in his career. From music and dance to make-up and stunt direction, Kamal has probably not missed an opportunity to learn any facet even remotely concerned with Cinema.

Kamal was the first of leading actors to announce his open admiration for Sivaji Ganesan. In South India, when round the clock TV entertainment (a rather new concept) boomed in the early nineties, I remember Kamal in more than a few interviews singing hosannas about Sivaji and highlighting what Sivaji meant to Tamil cinema. Sivaji - inspite of his immense popularity among the elderly - was still a fat and aging actor for the youth of Tamil Nadu. Someone who tended to "overact" at the least opportunity and not too different from other actors of the bygone era. But not according to Kamal, who had no qualms in admitting that everytime he saw Sivaji on screen, there is only one feeling that came to him - "Bramippu" (roughly shocked astonishment). If Barathiraja paid Sivaji his due first respects in "Mudhal Mariyadhai", Kamal followed up with his in "Thevar Magan". For Kamal, it was an attempt to attain completion as an actor - to share the screen with the King, and if possible, compete! Kamal, the pupil, would go so far as to say that the Thevar Magan project itself, was his effort to neutralize the feeling of "Bramippu".

Kamal has never stopped short of imitating other greats in his clan - be it national or international. His inspired imitation of Brando and Pacino in Nayakan and Thevar Magan only reinforces his willingness to learn and accumulate bits and pieces of acting gems from wherever he could. Kamal looked out and adapted from International cinema (particularly Hollywood) when he could, be it for the "kulla-kamal" technique in Aboorva Sahodarargal or the ultra-natural old man make-up in Indhiyan. If a Tamil cinema follower mentioned the Oscar award in any conversation, it is a certainity that the conversation was about Kamal. That his swing at the high honour was dampened by the lack of funds is a rather sad event for Tamil cinema. Maybe someday he will turn around and make Marudhanayagam. And maybe he will win the Oscar, then.

Even when seen under the most critical of lenses, Kamal - The Actor does not fail to impress. For all his acting abilities, Kamal probably does not need the acclaim as a great writer or a director to get registered in Indian Cinema's Hall Of Fame. For a Tendulkar does not need a five-wicket haul to enter cricket folklore. Only that, Kamal wants it. He wants not only to be known as a great actor but as a great film-maker. And as a great film-maker, he wants to be involved in the three corner-stones of film-making - script, screenplay and direction. In more than one occasion, both explicitly and implicitly, he has expressed his desire to be the all-in-all of a film. Where he controls everything.

He wants the film to be - one man's idea, one man's talent, one man's implementation. His.

- To be continued -

A Brand New Car...

So, in this game, there are three closed doors behind one(only one) of which there is a Brand New Car. I know where the car is and you don't. And you have to pick the right door for you to win the Car.

The game is played in two stages. First you make a guess and pick one of the doors as the door with the Car. At this stage, I open one of the remaining two closed doors and show you that there is no Car behind it. I repeat - I show you one of the doors with no Car behind it. Now you are given an option to change your initial pick.

Will you?

Anger...

I know not of any good that has come by as a result of anger...

Experience...

Have you noticed? Anything that one learns out of experience doesn't get to the head as much as other kinds of learning do. With experience, humility is mostly part of the package.

Plea for deletion of `Sindh' from National Anthem

Interesting news...

And I wish all a happy new year. Let's hope the new year brings relief to those affected by the Tsunami quickly and effectively.