Me Myself and My Life

Bramha's tower

noreply@blogger.com (Ramakrishna Podila) — Tue, 05 Jan 2010 05:25:00 +0000

According to the tale of the Tower of Brahma, in the Indian city of Benares, beneath a dome that marked the center of the world, is to be found a brass plate in which are set three diamond needles, "each a cubit high and as thick as the body of a bee." Brahma placed 64 disks of pure gold on one of these needles at the time of Creation. Each disk is a different size, and each is placed so that it rests on top of another disk of greater size, with the largest resting on the brass plate at the bottom and the smallest at the top. Within the temple are priests whose job it is to transfer all the gold disks from their original needle to one of the others, without ever moving more than one disk at a time. No priest can ever place any disk on top of a smaller one, or anywhere else except on one of the needles. When the task is done, and all 64 disks have been successfully transferred to another needle, "tower, temple, and Brahmins alike will crumble into dust, and with a thunder-clap the world will vanish."

I solved the problem myself....this is a simple progressing. The answer is in the following pic...I solved for number of steps. So even if you take a second for each step it will take 584 billion years!! Whoa!

Ardham?

noreply@blogger.com (Ramakrishna Podila) — Wed, 30 Dec 2009 05:01:00 +0000

I wish to put my feelings in words. Alas! I am unable to write.
I wish to sing my thoughts aloud. But I fall short of rhythm.
I wish to paint my ideas on the canvas. But I am unaware of technique of such art.

So,

I have no words to write.
I have no tune to hum.
I have no ability to paint.

If this paper can fathom the purpose of its life then can my life not understand its own purpose?

I do not know the meaning of this moment of my life. Neither do I know the purpose of the moment before this one nor the moment after this.

If you can understand the meaning of life, only when time ticks then does time tick only to let us know the meaning of life?

If it takes one whole life time to digest the meaning of life then, is the purpose of life understanding its own purpose?

As soon as I get an answer for one question, immediately another question pops out of such an answer.

I must figure out the purpose this puzzle of life. There may be many hindrances, many pieces to be put together. But I have to work, think and digest the meaning of it.

I may not have words to write.
I may not have tune to hum.
I may not have the ability to paint. But
I have the desire to think...
to think till I understand!

2009

noreply@blogger.com (Ramakrishna Podila) — Sun, 27 Dec 2009 16:59:00 +0000

4 more days and we will be into a new year!...2010! According to the much hyped Mayan calendar we will then have just 2 more years!

Oh! yeah...this is a marker, where we can stop look back and introspect! Here is my account!

January:

I began this year with a lot of resolutions. These were very crucial to my future and life. I am happy that I made the difference. It is all because of His grace! My guitar classes were a new thing. Being the only doctoral student in a music major class make you feel a bit awkward. I could not keep up with the class.

February:

Hmm...Started the search for a new apartment. Leases generally end in Feb.
Of course there were frustrations due to my never ending ZnO work! My adviser probably never realized by then that I could do much much more. I had to keep myself up with the ever poking lab mate of mine. I hated it but you see, one has to live with such ppl. Taking credit for all my work, he made me look like a stupid. But thats ok! We are what we are !

March:

Excited with the APS conference. I went all the way to Pittsburgh, PA to present my research on ZnO. Had it not been for my adviser's time and effort, this talk would have been impossible. I had to spend hell lotta time running around, making samples for SQUID and the data churned out in a week was a whole lot. Gave a good talk at the end. It was infact so good that a Brazilian theorist walked up to me and asked for collaboration! Whoa! and of course how can i forget the call for coffee?

All my lab mate was surprised because many iitians met me at the conference and he was baffled to know what actually IIT is...

April:

I guess we moved back to our labs. I was able to keep all my promises. I had to now worry about the qualifiers that were ahead. Physics PhD qualifiers isn't an easy job.I feel so bad at times that ppl weigh all qualifiers equally. There is a hell lot of difference between physics and others. It's Ok. We, physicists know what it is! The confidence in you after clearing the qualifiers is simply ineffable.

May:

Moved into new apartment. Much more near to the school. It was all good except for the frocking Myrtle beach trip. I met one of the weirdest characters in my life. Life keeps showing you such ppl every once in a while. Chalta hai!

I was yet to start my qualifier prep. I was doing Dr. SS's experiments. After all, thats how I was funded for the summer!

June:

Got a good neighbor and started munching upon telugu delicacies she cooked. It was all going great again. I was back in my elements. At this point I knew I might put on some weight. But who cares? Isn't it boring to have the same appearance every day? I feel bored to see same image in the mirror everyday. You gotta keep changing styles and physique to feel the gift God has given you. It is not about six packs or being fat...it is about feeling good and enjoying his Gift!

July:

US independence day was when I started serious prep for Quals. That left me with 75 days. 15 days into prep, I was called back to the lab to do mor expts.

Oka Badugu raitu vyadha

noreply@blogger.com (Ramakrishna Podila) — Mon, 21 Dec 2009 03:08:00 +0000

Why Telangana?

noreply@blogger.com (Ramakrishna Podila) — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 15:38:00 +0000

Here is an open letter to PM Manmohan Singh, explaining the need of Telangana...So here are my opinions on it. Please do bear in mind the fact that I was born and brought up in Telangana!

Dear Sir,

We take this opportunity to impress upon you the need and urgency of your action in the form of working toward a separate Telangana State. As you quoted Victor Hugo over a decade ago, “No army can withstand the strength of an idea whose time has come” and the Telangana people’s aspiration is one such.

Telangana has been subjected to oppression and neglect for over five hundred fifty years. First five hundred years, Muslim Kings made the decisions for Telangana, and the last 47 years, Andhras are making decisions for Telangana. The Telangana people were free for only four years (1952 – 1956) to make their own decisions. Freedom to determine one’s own destiny, as you know is the highest of the rewards for a true democracy.

1) What do you mean by 'not allowed' to make their own decisions? Are you going to say, just because you are part of India, you were not allowed to make own decisions but had to follow the country's constitution and you will need to be declared a republic? We all live in a community. I think every one of us has the same freedom to choose the life we want. Of course we need to work hard for it at times. In a country like India, where there are few facilities but high population, competition is to be expected

Four and a half decades have passed since the State of Andhra Pradesh was formed. As you are aware, the merger of Telangana with the former Andhra State became possible only because a set of solemn promises were made and constitutional guarantees were given to protect against the possible neglect and exploitation of Telangana. These promises were made not just once, but numerous times and all were broken.

Consequently, the exploitation of the region and its people is continued. The people of the region are not only deprived of their legitimate share in the development but are also marginalized in the political process. They have been humiliated on the cultural and linguistic fronts and are virtually reduced to the status of second-class citizens in their own homeland. A prolonged neglect of the region has provided a fertile ground for the emergence and spread of Naxalite violence and also unending farmer suicides.

2)It is really wrong to say that Telangana culture is humiliated. Pawan Kalyan has portrayed the langugae very well in all of his movies. In fact even Jandhyala showed it really well. All the telugu movies portray telangana as a stylish dialect. Telangana is identified by its slang. I think Naxalite violence is helpful for ppl. It is something that comes into picture to make the govt. work well.

The development scenario of Telangana is very depressing. There is not even a single sector in which this region has not been ignored. We would, however, like to bring to your notice only a few areas to underscore the gravity of the situation.

EDUCATION

The literacy rate in Telangana is 37% as against 46% in Coastal Andhra, 45% in Rayalaseema and 72% in the Capital City.

3) These are simple stats! 37% to 45%!! What is the big deal? They are almost the same. You guys do not see that the whole of south India has a single IIT. NIT is in Warangal, telangana. If you are not willing to go to school, we can not help it.

You have written the letter to PM in good English. I am replying in English. So here is a clear example of how well educated Telangana is. Just look at ho many telangana students fare well in IIT-JEE...it is much more than any one else?

You will be a literate only if you go to school!

Enrollment of students at the school level in Telangana is 30% instead of 40%, based on the size of population. Over 75% of the expenditure on government and government-aided colleges is incurred in the other two regions.
Out of 21 Universities and University level Institutions funded either by the State or the Central Government, 3 are located in Coastal Andhra, 7 in Rayalaseema, 10 in the Capital city and just one in the entire Telangana region.

IRRIGATION

69% percent of catchments area of river Krishna and 79% percent of catchments area of river Godavari are in the Telangana, and Telangana region gets less than 15% of the river waters.
The Coastal Andhra has usurped 80% of assured waters of Krishna allocated to the State by the Bachawat Tribunal. 90% of surplus waters, yet to be allocated, are reserved for the Rayalaseema, denying the Telangana its rightful share.
The Godavari waters have already been harnessed to irrigate more than 12 lakh acres in Coastal Andhra while the corresponding figure for Telangana is 4 lakh acres. The proposed Polavaram Project on Godavari is to serve the Coastal Andhra region is planned to be six times larger than the proposed Ichampalli Project to serve the backward Telangana region.
The net area under tank irrigation in the Telangana region had declined by 76% between 1956 and 1998. The Telangana farmers mostly depend on well irrigation. The farmers of Coastal Andhra get cheap canal water subsidized by the State, while the Telangana farmers are forced to pay higher electric pump bills.

AGRICULTURE

The net cultivated area in the Telangana region has decreased by 22% during the period 1956 and 1998, while it has increased by 4.25% in Coastal Andhra region.
40% of the cultivated area in the State is in the Telangana region, and the institutional credit available to the Telangana farmers is far less. They get 18%, 23% and 28% of the total credit provided by the District Cooperative Central Banks (short-term), the A.P. Cooperative Central Bank (long-term) and the Scheduled Commercial Banks.

Inadequate Institutional credit is forcing the Telangana farmers to fall into the debt trap laid by the private moneylenders, leading to an unprecedented number of suicides during the last five years.

INDUSTRIES

No major industry worth its name has been setup in any of the districts of the Telangana

This is ridiculous!
1) AP steels
2) Navabharat ferro alloys limited
3) Kothagudem thermal power plant
4) Singareni coal collieries (Kothagudem, Manuguru, Yellandu, Godavari Khani, Ramagundam)
5) Ramagundam power plant.
6) Silk Industry
7) Tourism in Bhadrachalam and Parnashala

region as compared to the establishment of several industries in Visakapatnam, Vijayawada, Kakinada, Nellore, Tirupati, and Cuddapah.

Quite a few major industries established in the Telangana region during the rule of Nizams are being closed one after the other by the successive governments. Important among the closed industries are Azamjahi Mills (Warangal), Sir Silk Factory (Sirpur), Antargaon Spinning Mills (Adilabad), DBR Mills, and Allwyn Factory. Further the famous Nizam Sugar Factory (Nizamabad) is on the verge of closure.
EMPLOYEMENT

There are about 15 lakh jobs in the government and government-funded offices and establishments. Based on the size of population, 40% of these jobs, i.e. 6 lakhs, should have been filled in by the Telangana job seekers. But the total number of jobs now occupied by them is less than 2 lakhs.
The State Government issued orders as back as in the year 1984 to remove all the non-locals appointed and to appoint only Telangana locals against the vacancies created. Besides not implementing these orders, further recruitment of non-locals in the Telangana region is going on.
FINANCES

The contribution of Telangana region to the State’s Exchequer has all along been around 43%. But the expenditure incurred on the development of this region has never been more than 25%.
The lower per capita income of the Telangana region enabled the State Government to get higher allocation of funds from the successive Finance Commissions. But the benefit of such higher allocation of funds never materialized for the Telangana region.
More than 80% of loans taken from the World Bank and other International and National agencies are being spent for the development of Coastal Andhra and Rayalaseema. But the burden of repayment of these loans and interest on them is being borne by the people of Telangana to the extent of 40 to 43%.
A cumulative effect of these and similar factors, over the years, has been the diversion of thousands of crores of rupees meant for the development of Telangana region, for the development of other regions.
The situation in other sectors is equally, if not more, alarming. The Drinking water is a major issue for the Telangana region. The people mostly depend on bore-wells for their drinking water and are inflicted with fluorosis. The fluorides in the drinking water cause permanent disfigurement, brain damage and there is no cure for it.

Telangana is rich with resources. Telangana people are asking: Use Telangana resources for the development of Telangana region for the betterment of Telangana people. We hope that the national government under your stewardship is aware of these facts.

Formation of Telangana State is as explained earlier is the aspiration of the natives.

The selfish political motives are clearly seen in why you need separate state.
I think PM should not allow it. I love to call my state Andhra pradesh! I do not want a telangana.

That aside, the principles governing smaller states to bring government closer to people would build up the economy and empower people in the process. Telangana people opposed the formation of Andhra Pradesh state in 1956, they overwhelmingly voted for a separate Telangana state in 1969. In 2004 elections, the people of Andhra Pradesh accepted the concept of two states, voted overwhelmingly for TRS-Congress alliance, and rejected the TDP appeal for united Andhra Pradesh.

I congratulates you for taking the step toward initiating a dialogue through President’s address to the Parliament and further clarifying it in your first Press conference the future Telangana state. Telangana people have committed to achieve their statehood through non-violence. The conditions are ripe and there is consensus on ground with out any unnecessary hate or dislike toward each other. The time for Telangana has come and please understands that I will continue to work towards the betterment of the region.

Thanking you Sir.
Sincerely yours,

Nijam uniki kosam tanikhi!

noreply@blogger.com (Ramakrishna Podila) — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 20:21:00 +0000

The Identity Crisis (unedited and incomplete)

noreply@blogger.com (Ramakrishna Podila) — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 15:50:00 +0000

The Identity Crisis

The need to understand and protect one’s identity, in an era of global networking, is highly important. Loss of identity can mean that one is no more one’s actual self or at least one can not be associated with the values, morals, thoughts and ideas one used to stand for. An identity crisis is when an individual or a group loses a sense of personal sameness and historical continuity. The million dollar question is, ‘Is the Indian youth under identity crisis?’

To remember the Indian culture and carry with us its values is not chauvinism by any means. Chauvinism would be to believe blindly in the wrongly interpreted ideas. The spatial extent in here will not let me dwell more upon the need of understanding and following one’s culture. Our religions, cultures, and customs are the values, principles we believe in. The faith in them should spring from assimilating their salient features but not originate simply by birth or by force. One should not identify one’s self to be a follower of a certain religion only because one was born in a family of its followers. As a grown up adult one should be mature enough to digest the principles of various faiths and then choose to follow one. But often we see the reverse process occur. One starts to follow a faith as a child and then as an adult one begins to comprehend it. Ultimately, comprehension is most important but not its space time coordinates.

Culture or Samskriti means refinement, adding more values that let us live a peaceful social life. Bharateeya Samskriti is often mistaken to be the philosophy of Hinduism. Politics and misinterpretations have always played their role, in degenerating the picture of Bharateeya Samskriti, to perfection. It does not surprise me that world, also including many ignorant Indians, still thinks that Hinduism follows untouchability. Indian culture has been made to look so vast and complex to the west that they always failed to understand it. How can giants like Mark Twain, Beverly Nicholas, and Sir Charles Eliot fail to comprehend Hinduism when a dhobi can digest its nature and follow it? The answer is it was made complex by its followers: the politicians who wished to rule, the youth who failed to understand it, the priests who twisted facts for personal benefit and many more. Bharateeya Samskriti is neither intangible nor elusive. It was simply made so. My duty here is to explain and show in simple terms what we stand for and to awaken my (br) others from their deep slumber.

MORE to come...

Asamtrupti

noreply@blogger.com (Ramakrishna Podila) — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 01:26:00 +0000

అడుగు అడుగునా అడుగుతున్నా
మది మడుగు అడుగునా ఉన్న మగువని నువ్వు ఎవ్వరని?

నా ప్రశ్న రాగం ఏదైనా తన జవాబు గీతం ఒకటే!
తన మౌనం ఎంతైనా, అది కొనడం నా ధ్యేయం

తను తనువు మరిచి ఆలపించెను,
ఆర్ద్ర నయనాలతో ఆర్తనాదం !

" నిశ్శబ్దం నేర్చుకో,
పట్టని ఈ జగం తో నిత్యం మాట్లాడడం లో ఏంటి అర్ధం?

వినమ్రత నీలో చేర్చుకో,
వినని ఈ జనం తో సత్యం కై పోట్లాడి వ్యర్ధం?

భక్తి ముసుగు కప్పుకో ,
భగవంతుడంటే భయమనుకునే వీళ్ళతో బతకాలి

వినయం కొంచెం ఉంచుకో,
నీ పొగరుని గర్వం అనుకునే ఈ జనం తో ఉండాలి

అబద్దం అరకిలో కొనుక్కో,
నిజం చెబితే నిలదీసే నికృష్టులతో నడవాలి

మోసం మూరెడు బేరమాడి తీసుకో,
నువ్వు మంచి తో సాయం చేస్తే నీ సంచి నే మాయం చేసే మనుషులతో మెలగాలి...

కుళ్ళు కళ్ళలో ఉంచుకో ,
లేకుంటే పక్కోడు పైకొస్తే చూసి ఏడ్చే ఈ ప్రజలు నిన్ను వెలి వేస్తారు

దురాశలు దాచుకో,
దూరపు కొండల నునుపు కై దేవులాడే ఈ దరిద్రులతో ఉండాలి "

తన పాట తెలిపింది నాకు
ఆ పాడే మగువ పేరు .....అసంతృప్తి!

Sachin...Sachin...

noreply@blogger.com (Ramakrishna Podila) — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 14:45:00 +0000

'Sachin' is how I wish to address him.Because the sound 'Sachin' carries with it the euphony of all those perfectly executed straight drives, elegant square cuts, cute paddle sweeps or cunning leg spin. Twenty years and not out still! It is not something new to Him. Indian cricters hail him and only hail him...they can not go an get 4 more runs to acknowledge His valiant 175! They can not win a final to greet his 98 vs Pak or 5/32 against Aus. He fights and fights! I get so disappointed when people term Sachin as a run machine or an elegant batsmen or often compare Him to Taj. Because He is a phenomenon. A simple question to prove my point...how many of you have ever heard his name in conjunction with a scandal? In a country where the term 'celebrity' is often mistaken to be 'a person involved in scams, scandals or similar kind of controversies', he is one of the very few who lives with no spot on him.

He is not a run getter but he is an inspiration. An inspiration not only to cricketers but to many others. He has been batting sincerely enough to inspire the author to be a good physicist. He has been batting innovative enough to inspire design engineers. He has been batting dedicated enough to make a point to the youth of the country. He started out as a cricketer but now he has out grown his profession...He is a 'God'. This God may not be almighty you would like to think of with all the power to do what he wished...but this God can instill in your kids sincerity, dedication, commitment, and humility above all. He speaks through his bat. His rare spoken words can tell you volumes about his notion of celebrity.

Sachin, you have inspired me as much as your stats. I learnt from your elegant drives to understand the technique well instead of simply blasting it blindly for a six. Your cut shots taught me to be smart enough to get around the away to find a simpler solution. Your paddle sweep could help me solve Schrodinger equation with enough innovation. You have showed me how to think laterally. You helped me find gaps when I was stuck in Quantum Mechanics. Your defense told me way to master Electrodynamics. I passed qualifiers for you. Your leg spin was the perfect way to show some one to be cunning enough to succeed in things not of your expertise!

You are my best Physics teacher ever...

To you, Sachin...I dedicate this post!

Windows 7 and Diwali

noreply@blogger.com (Ramakrishna Podila) — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 22:03:00 +0000

Windows 7 at last...it feels good to work on windows 7. Though Mac might say a lot of things, I am really liking 7. It boots way faster than vista and works much better. I am in love with the snap, snip and the magnify apps... they r thgs I always needed.

I should also appreciate CISA for a good cultural portrayal of India in diwali celeb, especially the koochipudi and bharatanatyam dances and the paki song. Keerthi as was usual at his best and the folk music got good appreciation from the audience...Though the cheap and at times unfathomable humor of the hosts was a negative, a good job by the other participants made the show look good..

Tapana..

noreply@blogger.com (Ramakrishna Podila) — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 14:51:00 +0000

I am not the reflection of your muscular body,
I am not with the insolent might that declares a war for no reason.
(I am not in physical strength)

I am not in, the incessantly estimating, human mind
I am not in ever prostrating slavery.
(I am not in mental strength)

I can not be found in the pride of human race, that deems to have understood the nature.

'Death' can not understand me...
(I am beyond life and death)

If you were to challenge then I am the arrogance that answers
I am the bitterness of the truth that you hate to hear

I, exist in those smiling waters despite their fall.
I am the incessantly running time.

I am the power that can conquer the world
I am the pen that can write a new era.

You can not buy me with money.
If you leave your egoistic self and cross the colonies of fear
then you wills see me in the streets of your heart.

I am your real self of which you are unaware
I am your passion to achieve!

The Mahatma?

noreply@blogger.com (Ramakrishna Podila) — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 18:28:00 +0000

Yes, the question mark in the title is apt. Because, I have very recently heard a lot of controversies, as always, on Gandhi. After my own interaction with some Gandhi's and Gandhi followers around the world, I felt the need to critic Gandhi. Though I may not be a scholar like Balram Nanda, I guess I am qualified enough as an Indian to know more about the 'father of the nation'.

So I'm almost done with most of my research in the past 15 days on Gandhi. I will post a critical review here soon!

Kya bolu?

noreply@blogger.com (Ramakrishna Podila) — Sat, 03 Oct 2009 22:46:00 +0000

So here I am...in the lab on a fine weekend..with innumerable ideas in my brains and a lot of time waiting for me...time to stand, play and achieve...

Firstly, I need to put off the fat I put on in the past 10 weeks. I need to kick myself and be ready for it. Yes, I know I will be.

I'm waiting for the fall break to go sumwhr and enjoy!

more to come...abhi mood nahi hain likhne ka!

Quantised...

noreply@blogger.com (Ramakrishna Podila) — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 13:41:00 +0000

This is my effort to put forth the relationship between contemporary Physics and Indian scriptures in a new way. Inspired by Wachowski, Spielberg and Dan Brown...here I go.

I named the novel 'Quantized'...Click to read

Why I killed Gandhi?

noreply@blogger.com (Ramakrishna Podila) — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 13:40:00 +0000

Born in a devotional Brahmin family, I instinctively came to revere Hindu religion, Hindu history and Hindu culture. I had, therefore, been intensely proud of Hinduism as a whole. As I grew up I developed a tendency to free thinking unfettered by any superstitious allegiance to any isms, political or religious. That is why I worked actively for the eradication of untouchability and the caste system based on birth alone. I openly joined anti-caste movements and maintained that all Hindus were of equal status as to rights, social and religious and should be considered high or low on merit alone and not through the accident of birth in a particular caste or profession. I used publicly to take part in organized anti-caste dinners in which thousands of Hindus, Brahmins, Kshatriyas, Vaisyas, Chamars and Bhangis participated. We broke the caste rules and dined in the company of each other.I have read the speeches and writings of Dadabhai Nairoji, Vivekanand, Gokhale, Tilak, along with the books of ancient and modern history of India and some prominent countries like England, France, America and’ Russia. Moreover I studied the tenets of Socialism and Marxism. But above all I studied very closely whatever Veer Savarkar and Gandhiji had written and spoken, as to my mind these two ideologies have contributed more to the moulding of the thought and action of the Indian people during the last thirty years or so, than any other single factor has done.

All this reading and thinking led me to believe it was my first duty to serve Hindudom and Hindus both as a patriot and as a world citizen. To secure the freedom and to safeguard the just interests of some thirty crores (300 million) of Hindus would automatically constitute the freedom and the well being of all India, one fifth of human race. This conviction led me naturally to devote myself to the Hindu Sanghtanist ideology and programme, which alone, I came to believe, could win and preserve the national independence of Hindustan, my Motherland, and enable her to render true service to humanity as well.

Since the year 1920, that is, after the demise of Lokamanya Tilak, Gandhiji’s influence in the Congress first increased and then became supreme. His activities for public awakening were phenomenal in their intensity and were reinforced by the slogan of truth and non-violence, which he paraded ostentatiously before the country. No sensible or enlightened person could object to those slogans. In fact there is nothing new or original in them. They are implicit in every constitutional public movement. But it is nothing but a mere dream if you imagine that the bulk of mankind is, or can ever become, capable of scrupulous adherence to these lofty principles in its normal life from day to day. In fact, honour, duty and love of one’s own kith and kin and country might often compel us to disregard non-violence and to use force. I could never conceive that an armed resistance to an aggression is unjust. I would consider it a religious and moral duty to resist and, if possible, to overpower such an enemy by use of force. [In the Ramayana] Rama killed Ravana in a tumultuous fight and relieved Sita. [In the Mahabharata], Krishna killed Kansa to end his wickedness; and Arjuna had to fight and slay quite a number of his friends and relations including the revered Bhishma because the latter was on the side of the aggressor. It is my firm belief that in dubbing Rama, Krishna and Arjuna as guilty of violence, the Mahatma betrayed a total ignorance of the springs of human action.

In more recent history, it was the heroic fight put up by Chhatrapati Shivaji that first checked and eventually destroyed the Muslim tyranny in India. It was absolutely essentially for Shivaji to overpower and kill an aggressive Afzal Khan, failing which he would have lost his own life. In condemning history’s towering warriors like Shivaji, Rana Pratap and Guru Gobind Singh as misguided patriots, Gandhiji has merely exposed his self-conceit. He was, paradoxical, as it may appear, a violent pacifist who brought untold calamities on the country in the name of truth and non-violence, while Rana Pratap, Shivaji and the Guru will remain enshrined in the hearts of their countrymen forever for the freedom they brought to them.

The accumulating provocation of thirty-two years, culminating in his last pro-Muslim fast, at last goaded me to the conclusion that the existence of Gandhi should be brought to an end immediately. Gandhi had done very well in South Africa to uphold the rights and well being of the Indian community there. But when he finally returned to India he developed a subjective mentality under which he alone was to be the final judge of what was right or wrong. If the country wanted his leadership, it had to accept his infallibility; if it did not, he would stand aloof from the Congress and carry on his own way. Against such an attitude there can be no halfway house. Either Congress had to surrender its will to his and had to be content with playing second fiddle to all his eccentricity, whimsicality, metaphysics and primitive vision, or it had to carry on without him. He alone was the Judge of everyone and everything; he was the master brain guiding the civil disobedience movement; no other could know the technique of that movement. He alone knew when to begin and when to withdraw it. The movement might succeed or fail, it might bring untold disaster and political reverses but that could make no difference to the Mahatma’s infallibility. ‘A Satyagrahi can never fail’ was his formula for declaring his own infallibility and nobody except himself knew what a Satyagrahi is.

Thus, the Mahatma became the judge and jury in his own cause. These childish insanities and obstinacies, coupled with a most severe austerity of life, ceaseless work and lofty character made Gandhi formidable and irresistible. Many people thought that his politics were irrational but they had either to withdraw from the Congress or place their intelligence at his feet to do with, as he liked. In a position of such absolute irresponsibility Gandhi was guilty of blunder after blunder, failure after failure, disaster after disaster.

Gandhi’s pro-Muslim policy is blatantly in his perverse attitude on the question of the national language of India. It is quite obvious that Hindi has the most prior claim to be accepted as the premier language. In the beginning of his career in India, Gandhi gave a great impetus to Hindi but as he found that the Muslims did not like it, he became a champion of what is called Hindustani. Everybody in India knows that there is no language called Hindustani; it has no grammar; it has no vocabulary. It is a mere dialect; it is spoken, but not written. It is a bastard tongue and crossbreed between Hindi and Urdu, and not even the Mahatma’s sophistry could make it popular. But in his desire to please the Muslims he insisted that Hindustani alone should be the national language of India. His blind followers, of course, supported him and the so-called hybrid language began to be used. The charm and purity of the Hindi language was to be prostituted to please the Muslims. All his experiments were at the expense of the Hindus.

From August 1946 onwards the private armies of the Muslim League began a massacre of the Hindus. The then Viceroy, Lord Wavell, though distressed at what was happening, would not use his powers under the Government of India Act of 1935 to prevent the rape, murder and arson. The Hindu blood began to flow from Bengal to Karachi with some retaliation by the Hindus. The Interim Government formed in September was sabotaged by its Muslim League members right from its inception, but the more they became disloyal and treasonable to the government of which they were a part, the greater was Gandhi’s infatuation for them. Lord Wavell had to resign as he could not bring about a settlement and he was succeeded by Lord Mountbatten. King Log was followed by King Stork.

The Congress, which had boasted of its nationalism and socialism, secretly accepted Pakistan literally at the point of the bayonet and abjectly surrendered to Jinnah. India was vivisected and one-third of the Indian territory became foreign land to us from August 15, 1947. Lord Mountbatten came to be described in Congress circles as the greatest Viceroy and Governor-General this country ever had. The official date for handing over power was fixed for June 30, 1948, but Mountbatten with his ruthless surgery gave us a gift of vivisected India ten months in advance. This is what Gandhi had achieved after thirty years of undisputed dictatorship and this is what Congress party calls ‘freedom’ and ‘peaceful transfer of power’. The Hindu-Muslim unity bubble was finally burst and a theocratic state was established with the consent of Nehru and his crowd and they have called ‘freedom won by them with sacrifice’ – whose sacrifice? When top leaders of Congress, with the consent of Gandhi, divided and tore the country – which we consider a deity of worship – my mind was filled with direful anger.

One of the conditions imposed by Gandhi for his breaking of the fast unto death related to the mosques in Delhi occupied by the Hindu refugees. But when Hindus in Pakistan were subjected to violent attacks he did not so much as utter a single word to protest and censure the Pakistan Government or the Muslims concerned. Gandhi was shrewd enough to know that while undertaking a fast unto death, had he imposed for its break some condition on the Muslims in Pakistan, there would have been found hardly any Muslims who could have shown some grief if the fast had ended in his death. It was for this reason that he purposely avoided imposing any condition on the Muslims. He was fully aware of from the experience that Jinnah was not at all perturbed or influenced by his fast and the Muslim League hardly attached any value to the inner voice of Gandhi.

Gandhi is being referred to as the Father of the Nation. But if that is so, he had failed his paternal duty inasmuch as he has acted very treacherously to the nation by his consenting to the partitioning of it. I stoutly maintain that Gandhi has failed in his duty. He has proved to be the Father of Pakistan. His inner-voice, his spiritual power and his doctrine of non-violence of which so much is made of, all crumbled before Jinnah’s iron will and proved to be powerless.

Briefly speaking, I thought to myself and foresaw I shall be totally ruined, and the only thing I could expect from the people would be nothing but hatred and that I shall have lost all my honour, even more valuable than my life, if I were to kill Gandhiji. But at the same time I felt that the Indian politics in the absence of Gandhiji would surely be proved practical, able to retaliate, and would be powerful with armed forces. No doubt, my own future would be totally ruined, but the nation would be saved from the inroads of Pakistan. People may even call me and dub me as devoid of any sense or foolish, but the nation would be free to follow the course founded on the reason which I consider to be necessary for sound nation-building. After having fully considered the question, I took the final decision in the matter, but I did not speak about it to anyone whatsoever. I took courage in both my hands and I did fire the shots at Gandhiji on 30th January 1948, on the prayer-grounds of Birla House.

I do say that my shots were fired at the person whose policy and action had brought rack and ruin and destruction to millions of Hindus. There was no legal machinery by which such an offender could be brought to book and for this reason I fired those fatal shots.

I bear no ill will towards anyone individually but I do say that I had no respect for the present government owing to their policy, which was unfairly favourable towards the Muslims. But at the same time I could clearly see that the policy was entirely due to the presence of Gandhi. I have to say with great regret that Prime Minister Nehru quite forgets that his preachings and deeds are at times at variances with each other when he talks about India as a secular state in season and out of season, because it is significant to note that Nehru has played a leading role in the establishment of the theocratic state of Pakistan, and his job was made easier by Gandhi’s persistent policy of appeasement towards the Muslims.

I now stand before the court to accept the full share of my responsibility for what I have done and the judge would, of course, pass against me such orders of sentence as may be considered proper. But I would like to add that I do not desire any mercy to be shown to me, nor do I wish that anyone else should beg for mercy on my behalf. My confidence about the moral side of my action has not been shaken even by the criticism levelled against it on all sides. I have no doubt that honest writers of history will weigh my act and find the true value thereof some day in future.

-NATHURAM GODSE

Tested and Certified

noreply@blogger.com (Ramakrishna Podila) — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 15:58:00 +0000

Congratulations to me...this is my 200th post.

I write the blog with the sadness that India could not make it to semis of the champions trophy and the happiness of topping the qualifiers. I am really happy that I did, with His grace, what I wanted to. I proved myself yet another time. I think, this is only a beginning. I will, probably, need to prove my worth more and more number of times in the times to come. But I feel good after the qualifiers. I made a 86% (I guess 100% in Quantum, 85% in Mechanics and ~75% in Electrodynamics). Noting that the all time highest is 92%, I guess, I am looking pretty good. Thanks to all your prayers and efforts in encouraging, inspiring me. A simple thanks to Pooja and my Mom will not be sufficient. She stayed by my side, gave me the confidence and food of course. A special thanks to Rijosh, Kiran and Shilpa for their support. And with Big boss's support was the most essential, which I did get! Sachin and Chiranjeevi for their inspiration....

I realized one thing. Every one has talent. But they have to prove it under pressure. The most important thing is to go out and deliver and show yourself. What if Sachin can play well but not score centuries to show the world his worth? What if chiranjeevi never made movies like Rudraveena, Swyamkrushi, and Aapadbhandavudu?
So the most important thing is to show to the world and display it well. I am happy that I did it when it mattered.

I questioned myself many times, if I could pass. Until the last moment I never expected anything. Not even when one of friends learned from my advisor that I topped the exam. Only when I was congratulated, did I feel happy. I was a shy and timid Indian kid who was asked to start with undergraduate coursework in order to be able to clear the qualifiers and when my advisor asked me to take 400 level course, I was quite. I made the grades speak. And yesterday when he said, 'We are proud of you' I raised my head for the first time. Yup, that was the moment for me. I put in effort and prayers and today I am here. For two seconds I felt, I was a kid studying in telugu medium who grew up from a small gurukul and went to chota sa college, made it to IIT with out coaching and now topped a Phd qual exam, with Caltech grads on the board!!

Well, I am happy I made it to this stage. I have a lot more to learn and a lot more to achieve. I have miles to go before sleep.

Pray for me brother....

noreply@blogger.com (Ramakrishna Podila) — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 16:05:00 +0000

Pray for me friends...

On the verge of qualifiers...I never studied this long for any exam in my life and yet I am not confident enough. Something feels missing!! I hope I worked hard enough.. July, August and September..the toil was heavy. But all the net practise, gymming and training wouldn't matter, only the runs scored do!!

God, I dedicate all my efforts to you in silence. I am wherever I am, only and only because of you. Please be my side and lead my way!

India Rising (say what?)

noreply@blogger.com (Ramakrishna Podila) — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 23:17:00 +0000

Pogaru...

noreply@blogger.com (Ramakrishna Podila) — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 18:53:00 +0000

Pogaru is neither arrogance nor over-confidence. It's a special word in Telugu that is most often mis-interpreted. Pogaru ante Ganga leader lo, rudraveena lo chiranjeevi attitude. Ye bowler ni ayina aadi, Century kotti India ni gelpista ani sachin ki unna pattudala. Sachin, knows he can play any bowler and hit a match winning knock. It does not mean that sachin under estimates the bowler or has over confidence. That is his pogaru!!

If confidence was a damsel, her elegance is pogaru...Dheema bhama sogasu...Pogaru

Is Quantum right?

noreply@blogger.com (Ramakrishna Podila) — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 00:42:00 +0000

Gimme time and coffee (and money). I will tell you the right quantum theory. I believe in Maxwell and if he and Einstein were right, in the spirit of it, probably, orthodox approach of quantum is wrong!!

I think the world is not understanding it the right way. I am falling short of salary, confidence and motivation to stand up and prove them wrong.

Are you all set to change the theories?? The answer is NO

it does not matter as long as it works!!

Being a Physicist....

noreply@blogger.com (Ramakrishna Podila) — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 00:14:00 +0000

One can not deny the importance of Physics in the understanding of world around us. What every one of us, in the research world, is trying is to understand and fathom the (not man made) presence as well as gain the ability to predict the future. In the process, we have drawn the invisible lines of division, categorizing science into various streams. All these ultimately boil down to the same point, our ability to fathom and capability to predict.

In this incessant journey, we have tests and questions to certify an individual. This will tell the world how much he understands and what can he predict. Now there are two simple divisions: science and engineering.

In my perspective of the man-made world, engineering deals with application of science. Engg. leans more towards the man made world. Some things in basic sciences may sound absurd to them. They may not require a complete understanding of the science they follow. They already have something to begin with. They have theories proposed and made by scientists and basic idea or the skeleton. They fill in the flesh.

While both skeleton and flesh are equally important, one should not forget to appreciate the hardwork of scientists, who have begun with nothing and experimented, proposed, and tested theories . The difficulty in science does not lie in understanding it but in making it. Physics, at times is completely underrated by most of the engineers and even other scientists. They often forget to give it the respect it deserves. We, physicists, take the responsibility to let the world realize how they work. THe branches of physics like Quantum Mechanics, Electrodynamics, Classical Dynamics, Statistical Mechanics and Thermodynamics are so complex and working in tandem with the abstract spaces and conducting only thought experiments might seem same as other sciences or even simpler.

Qualifying for a physics phd is not same as qualifying for other phds in the modern world. This statement does not mean to put down other streams of science not does it over rate physicists. It only requests the world not to disparage physicists of the respect they deserve. Every subject is vast but the vastness does not decide anything at all. May it be chemical bonds, or the DNA, we physicists have worked on it. If any theory goes wrong, we take the responsibility and we are the ones who assure thee of your predictions. We have been putting in all our heads together, drawing least salaries, just to make you comfortable.

If you think physics is same as what you do, please we do whole heartedly welcome you to take the challenge. With due respect to every stream of science, I simply wish to request one thing:
Please give the respect physicists deserve. Do not portray them same as engineers.

Silence...

noreply@blogger.com (Ramakrishna Podila) — Mon, 07 Sep 2009 00:37:00 +0000

At times silence speaks a lot more than words or actions. I choose to be silent for some time.

May be it will give me more peace than ever.

Silence does not mean not speaking or speaking less, it means to avoid unnecessary thoughts!

Logaan!!

noreply@blogger.com (Ramakrishna Podila) — Sun, 06 Sep 2009 13:43:00 +0000

One of my friends, whom I have met may be twice in reality but a lot in the blog world, wrote about expectations recently. After reading that post, the word 'Expectations' came rushing and hit me at least a 100 times while I was interacting. Yes! the problem is we do expect. But I think, I can not stop myself from expecting. I was looking back into the past and I was laughing at what I had done and how easily I was influenced! and that is the only mistake that keeps poking me a lot. May be many of the wise readers do not know what actually happened but I can comfortably say that most of you would have done the same, had it happened to you.

I am expecting from ppl and I know that it is the bare minimum. Attitude makes a big difference in life. I am not going to teach ppl like a kid. They must understand that I am not a servant. It is embarrassing too live with what is happening! There is a limit to every single thing.

Our etiquette speak a lot about us. They may not say everything. Portray what you are to the public thro' the same. If you fail, ppl misunderstand you. Be careful about yourself and watch your actions always!!

Think, introspect, act, think again!!

...Log bhi na...you are the best as long as you pls them
and you are 'KONDA", ;METTA" if you point out a mistaje!

The Tryst

noreply@blogger.com (Ramakrishna Podila) — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 02:00:00 +0000

I tried my best not to do this...but my heart would not let me study..it keeps poking and that really hurts.

I had a 9 hr long 'tryst' with the A.I.D founders and volunteers. I realized not things about physicists, Indians but humans in general. We often forget the word human in us.

I have done mistakes in my life. Every one of us did and we will. But does that mean we should stop doing anything at all? Nope..what we should do is to improve and stop repeating those mistakes. I am happy that I have realized many of my faults with the help of my fellas and corrected them and I am still striving hard to stretch my hands towards perfection!! May be of late, I have been blaming everything and every one I see. I am judging them! I have forgotten, 'Judge not, thy shall be judged!'. If not in the fear of being judged, but at least in the idea of getting rid of the guilt, I wish to stop this. I am trying my best. I think it helps to think of myself as the worst ever human being ever made by Him... then every one would look better than me...and yes they are!

But before I do that, I have somethings to share regarding the 'tryst' with aid.

To AID: please realize that every minute I am using to do this is so valuable. This itself should make it clear how genuinely, sincerely I suggested you what I did. For God's sake, leave the egotistic self behind for a while and consider this!

My only point to AID was this:

AID portrays poor India more effectively than the actual cultural India. Showing only half the problem disparages India of it's self respect. More over, we are displaying only half the problem. We are showing the problem but not the one's who caused it. It is you and me who have caused it. When we portray our mother in a foreign land, we have to be really careful. There are no excuses!

I am not against AID portraying the problem. But then, put forth yourself as a non-profit organization not as a fund raiser! There is a lot of difference. In specific to Clemson chapter,what cultural values have you portrayed in your programs?
The programs are really poorly conducted. Leave alone the quality, the stage manners is pitiable. No one needs to tell you this or help you out with this. Please stop giving reasons like, 'we are hardly 7 volunteers!!'. Look! you want to do this. Find ppl. Find resources and do it the way it is to be done. No one is going to come and help you. You do not need a professional band come and play! Good and tidy presentation of what you have is good enough. Don't say it happens when you do such a kind of a thing....nope!! it should not when you present what a whole country represents to a foreign audience.

When AID stands for some values, should not it's members follow them before they preach and raise funds? Should AID not have bare minimum guidelines for volunteers?

Following were the comments made on my questions and requests:

The founder: Yes, I do agree with you that we are indeed a part of the problem. But we can not display the whole part of the problem. (He explained some things. I did not understand how it was relevant to my question). But you do have a valid point. This is at least better in the sense that we can make the NRI community think. We can make them realize that they are indeed a part of the problem. About other Americans who come for the program, we can not do anything. We can not conduct a function here in the US looking for IDs and allowing only Indians. And if Americans think something, that should help the NRI community think better.

May be AID should make better skits and show case India's cultural part better. I can forward some of the things we had done in the beginning to Clemson chapter. In fact, in 1993-95 this is what we used to do, portray India's cultural heritage/history thro' skits. This is like out second independence movement. So it will be good to have songs.

Ar. Bis: You know your problem...You do not know what AID does. You simply think there is nothing. How can you simply speak about the quality of the program? My friends have come to the programs and they said, they have learned a lot about the Indian cultural values. How can we exercise control over personal life of the volunteers? We can not ask them to follow rules. The realization should come by itself. If you are so bothered abt all this, why haven't you joined AID?
(How do you know that I do not know what AID does? I can give you more info than you know. I even read the Solution to the Strong CP Problem: Supersymmetry with Parity by your founder!! I have done the home work I should have done to speak about AID. I am not an idiot wasting my time simply politicizing the issue or wanting to employ meaningless criticism. So first, consider what the other person is saying. Especially the organization being dependent on the donors! ( I donated too!! ) you can not outrightly reject what a person has said!!)

Bala: How can you simply show the problem and leave it at that stage? Give us the solution. The criticism is useful only if you give us the solution to the problem. Until you show the solution, your criticism is useless! and Dude! I know you! you have stolen a food packet from AID, day with India...

(Hmmm, the blame is interesting... I am not wasting my time trying to prove myself. People who know me, that I won't do such a thg even my dreams! Well...I can not understand any of your points. If I show the problem and give the solution...what will you do? )

Mit:Even we have qualifiers, phds and stuff. But we still work for AID..it is not just you...
(hmm! please look into physics qualifiers once and then speak! It is not as easy as engg! I know what they are like! I am not here to discuss personal stuff)

Well!! Except for sud. and nag. every one else was simply resisting. Please do feel the responsibilty of representing a nation. I hope all my comments were taken positively. I am not here to open an endless argument. I am just lending my helping hand.

The above conversation are not verbatim!!But I put the same thing in my words.

A.I.D

noreply@blogger.com (Ramakrishna Podila) — Sun, 30 Aug 2009 16:00:00 +0000

I have really a little/no time. Yet I spent more than 9 hrs for AID on constructive criticism. and yet another time I was bogged down by the group 'egotism' (loving what they do too much) and egoism. I should also mention about people who showed real maturity, much more than the founder! More on this soon...
My heart says, 'write it now' but my head says,'study for the quals'. I know I gotto follow my head for the time being!

But one of messages, I want to convey to AID volunteers: 'You are by no means working for a grater cause. Understand that the problems are because of us and we are solving our own problems'.

P.S: Bala, an AID volunteer claimed that I had 'STOLEN' a food packet once! :) How do I respond to this foolishness? I do not want to make a useless argument based on this but this is a classic example of how ppl blame in politics!!!

I never understood (and will never )how educated ppl can simply make such claims in public?