Sudipta's Life

At work, my team comprises of people from all over the world. So as part of our Friday evening fun, we sometimes have these sessions where people teach languages from wherever they come. So far, we've been taught how to ask a girl out for a date in Cantonese, Mandarin, Spanish, Portuguese and Hindi. Yeah, thats on the last slide. ;) So it usually begins with the first greeting of either hi or hello in the language, good morning, good bye, etc. So at least we try to learn a few phrases and repeat them in front of the people who taught us those. In front of the elevators, perchance near the cafeteria, or just plain dropping by at someone's cube -- it is kind of fun trying to babble out things you don't understand and get greeted with a smile and another phrase you don't understand either :D Well, the smile is what matters I guess. Our Hindi lesson came after a few other sessions. And of course, the familiar question came up, " How do you say hello in India? ...

 I grew up in an industrial town. The steel plant was the major driver of the economy there, since most other businesses, schools, hospitals, etc flourished due to the scores of workers at the plant. As a kid, I would always be amazed by the huge chimneys spewing white smoke or the conveyor belts carrying coal to the furnaces, or even the electromagnets carrying scrap metal for re-use. I think the image of the skyline for the town was pretty much an outline of the chimneys and the tall furnace building. The ensuing pollution and all -- well, that is a completely different story.  So one day I was headed homeward on a local mini-bus and happened to sit beside a bunch of middle-aged people who got in at the stop in front of the steel plant gate. Typically at these older industrial plants, the concept of a weekly team meeting is non-existent. Therefore, as anyone who has had a close family member work at such places will know, time off from work where they meet a colleague soci...

The following is an article I sent to my mother based on which she presented at one of her conferences. Do read. =======================================  The common perception of Swami Vivekananda as the religious leader who preached Hinduism to the West and established the Ramakrishna Mission in India is a very limited definition of the impact he had on the collective psyche of the common Indian. Besides his direct impact in adding steam to the Indian Renaissance, a large part of his thoughts and writings also affected the other stalwarts of the movement. While fathoming the entirety of his impact on the Indian Renaissance would be impossible, we will briefly explore some aspects of his influence in the following pages. Raja Ram Mohan Roy is generally credited with ushering in the revolution. His numerous ventures that contradicted the prevailing religious opinion of right and wrong broke the stranglehold of the prevalent quasi-religion, the norms of society and its sole autoc...

Inspired by this: Amar praner manush There is chaos all around. So many thoughts, worries and feelings; all quarreling with one another. Some distant thoughts long lost have found their way into your psyche, adding to the menagerie. Somehow, all arguments, counter-arguments and silence have all decided that today is the day to speak up, in unison. The sole thread of thought you had in mind is lost somewhere in the madness. And desperation leads to despair. The melody of yesterday becomes a discordant note. The churning, twisting splinter of your own thoughts becomes an inferno engulfing the rest. It is madness, it is fire, it is rage everywhere. And you seek the truth, the solace -- the one thing that you think will set you free. Your quest for enlightenment begins. But then, the epiphany strikes. Like a madman finding his treasure, the heart leaps with joy. Suddenly, the worries do not matter any more. They are trivial, compared to the joy you've found. Like rediscovering the mirt...

My apologies to the regular readers for not posting for so long. The above is a placefiller. But I'm so proud of the guy. Go MIT! Go India! :)