tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-70604381024840572312024-03-08T17:03:25.834+05:30Ashish Gourav's BlogIt's like Tolstoy said. Happiness is an allegory, unhappiness a storyAshish Gouravhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13367298859443158406noreply@blogger.comBlogger117125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7060438102484057231.post-65881996592548877912023-10-28T21:03:00.000+05:302023-10-28T21:03:15.217+05:30Life is series of Cathartic episodes<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="293" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/am1OEaa62Ko" width="519" youtube-src-id="am1OEaa62Ko"></iframe></div><br />Life is series of Cathartic episodes.<br /><br />As 2023 started, I watched Fursat, a film Shot on iPhone 14 Pro by Vishal Bhardwaj.<br />Before you think this post is a movie review, wait!<br />I won't divulge anything about Fursat. <br /><br />Watching this film, triggered few dormant, ungerminated emotions inside me. I went into a state of reminiscence. This made me jump from one episode of my life to the next, realising that we don't really move from sorrow to serenity, it's only sojourn which halts us! Then catharsis follows, it heals you, it makes you another person.<br /><br />Now, another note : The film has nothing to do with nostalgia, healing or melancholy. That's how catalysts work. <br /><br /><a href="https://iitashish.blogspot.com/2010/01/yearnings-of-yore-life-goes-on.html" target="_blank">Life goes on</a>, we are a creature of habit & adjust to all hardships, to go through a series of cathartic episodes and keep healing and evolving!<br /><br />Well, on a slightly unrelated note, crying is also good for health. And, crying is part of Catharsis too! <br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /> <p></p>Ashish Gouravhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13367298859443158406noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7060438102484057231.post-88972266213253187472023-10-28T21:02:00.005+05:302023-10-28T21:02:57.944+05:30The Worth of an OptionWhat do you need to recuperate from, after the death of a loved one? And, what does society offer you the luxury of?<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4Hm1WQyaqBe0OKKASDCqNCiJJgEWReCbSwgcZYJULd3LPgiWuOXJDE2gTfcvXVE2RZBtIe9ha8-VDrb7BBQ5ga1cF_La7Fmwvwah8BV1wZXmPsr_77HzQQrY5JS6VD7X8AOJ2rcdlbD6nKavneAF0XNoM8nSGcGfpDhbpS-5js0JMP8Re-7Zkxv7s4k4/s640/options-ashish.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="426" data-original-width="640" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4Hm1WQyaqBe0OKKASDCqNCiJJgEWReCbSwgcZYJULd3LPgiWuOXJDE2gTfcvXVE2RZBtIe9ha8-VDrb7BBQ5ga1cF_La7Fmwvwah8BV1wZXmPsr_77HzQQrY5JS6VD7X8AOJ2rcdlbD6nKavneAF0XNoM8nSGcGfpDhbpS-5js0JMP8Re-7Zkxv7s4k4/s320/options-ashish.jpeg" width="320" /></a><br /><br />Almost towards the end of <a href="https://amzn.to/3tSTClV" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Norwegian Wood</a>, the main protagonist runs away into the hills to recover from the loss of a person with whom he shared a difficult relationship. <br />We all lose people. People we love, people we care about, people we want to hold onto. And, sometimes we feel their worth, their importance, once there is no way they can walk back.<br />"The dead remain dead." <br /><br />When you lose someone and it triggers an unusual feeling in you, a confused state. A state which shouts at you, "You never cared about the existence of this person. Yet their departure, their ultimate absence is gnawing you from inside."<br />This is the loss of option. <br />Now, you longer have that person.<br />Now, you can't muster up the courage to resurrect them back into your life. This death of an option is more palpable than the death of the person. This is how some people go away, their involvement in our lives, is categorically more important than them as a person!<br />Such a tragedy! It is!<br /><br />Some people die early, some people die alone, some people don't die, only their worth as an option dies, as they were long dead much before their body succumbed. They were dead for the people they considered to be the most important people in their life. This is unfair. Is life fair?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br />Ashish Gouravhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13367298859443158406noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7060438102484057231.post-57145132622402872212023-09-04T07:12:00.003+05:302023-09-04T07:20:46.846+05:30 I Heard Everything <p>When I was in class 4, I was in the swing(Jhula) like just another toddler experiencing the new found joy of oscillatory motion. <br />Going back & forth, with full gusto! <br /><br />My uncles broached a sensitive topic. They started talking in English, oblivious of the fact that kids of my age could also understand English. That was just so naive, on multiple levels! I heard everything.<br />Yet I didn’t respond or react. I kept enjoying my swing. Maybe I learnt to selectively not respond from this incident!<br /></p><p style="text-align: left;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrPjt0SwQ1zITJHxdAiSjv0VQvuayg3Mr_mBwTURxANrYpGII1FyVu4rsT5YhuERwiqNC-05bKPXWr5w-1rdwW5bhx-4wj6GGUue6dwOkO4RxiO6OgkWgzw2-rBfScx8E9a7suyg2M00-B8WVb2FJw-wzSsZwebJSRs_wnBmEt3lVGqdCalj7IvASxR70/s1158/stock-vector-funny-kid-playing-in-a-swing-1920512933.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1118" data-original-width="1158" height="193" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrPjt0SwQ1zITJHxdAiSjv0VQvuayg3Mr_mBwTURxANrYpGII1FyVu4rsT5YhuERwiqNC-05bKPXWr5w-1rdwW5bhx-4wj6GGUue6dwOkO4RxiO6OgkWgzw2-rBfScx8E9a7suyg2M00-B8WVb2FJw-wzSsZwebJSRs_wnBmEt3lVGqdCalj7IvASxR70/w200-h193/stock-vector-funny-kid-playing-in-a-swing-1920512933.jpeg" width="200" /></a><br />I met Purna, while she was almost about to alight from the metro train. It was not out of the blue. We had coordinated that, to the T.</p><p> I just didn’t give her the agency she deserved. In the hopes of bringing fun, to the otherwise mundane lives of ours, I chose spontaneity. <br />I’ve always fancied my choice of spontaneity & extempore, over the carefully curated version of life & speech led by most folks. Of course, excess of most things are/is bad!<br />I just feel that we might have exceptions to this thumb-rule quite often than we realise. <br /><br />So, Purna was visibly a bit displeased. Perhaps, she had something else planned in her mental itinerary. We kept on talking on our metro ride back to the place where I thought it would be more appropriate to spend some meaningful time. <br />She kept on bringing new conversation pointers, and I got immersed in them. It was as if I was trying to hold arrows coming towards me in a basket. <br />And, she started to complain that either am I not listening to her or I have a hearing problem. <br />How do I tell her that '<b><i><u>I heard everything</u></i></b>', I noticed everything, I took all the cues. I just chose not to respond to everything or at times I just wanted to confirm what she said.<br />Maybe to give her a chance to rephrase or choose a different topic to broach. Makes Sense?<br /><br />I heard her joke about the 'fallen bread slice'.<br />'Kitna Gira Hua hai!' (How fallen is this slice of bread!)<br /><br />I listened to the joke, smiled mentally, savoured it and didn't show any reaction.<br />She was unhappy about my lack of acknowledgement. <br />As if, I am just not interested in the conversation.<br /><br />She wanted to know. She wanted the feedback. Did she also want approval? My approval?<br />Why so? Who am I? And, what does my approval mean to her?<br /><br />Of course, if it was Validation which she was seeking, I'm at fault. Validation when sought, must be provided. I have learnt this from her.<br /><br />Purna (पूर्णा or पूर्ण) in Hindi means Complete. She is complete. So, why she seeks my approval or anyone's approval?<br /><br />Yes, I must hear everything what she says. I must listen to her like an obedient student. I must give her the agency, the power of choice when she deserves it.<br />We all keep learning & evolving. Maybe we are not पूर्ण yet!<br /><br />Of course! I heard Everything, Purna!<br /><br />PS : Work of fiction<br />PPS : “Never let the truth get in the way of a good story.” - Mark Twain</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><p><br /></p>Ashish Gouravhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13367298859443158406noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7060438102484057231.post-31887129702935711072023-08-15T06:37:00.000+05:302023-08-15T06:37:18.781+05:30The Accidental EverythingDon't get me wrong! I have traversed a whole lot of distance away from identifying myself as anything.<br />For the utilitarian sake of setting context, when I was a toddler, an Astrologer told that I would either become a Judge or a Doctor.<br /><br />"Are these Respected People?" I asked my Uncle<br /><br />The answer no longer feels relevant to mention it here.<br />Decades later after a series of missteps, mostly likely resembling brownian motion I have become 'Accidental Everything!'<br /><br />Engineer - This didn't put a morsel on my plate!<br />Banker - I always liked Maths & Money; was only a fling!<br />Teacher - This was the closest I was to finding something to settle down with!<br />Economist - I never knew I could like this subject; now I can't switch off the Economist's Lens<br />Statistician - When the world was finding Data Science as the sexiest Career; I found my calling!<br /><br />And on 77th Independence Day, I have to revisit my rumination of 2020!<br />How accidental it feels to live in a country as diverse as India, the largest democracy. Almost crucifies one of the most fundamental underpinnings of Microeconomics (& Political Science) - Arrow's impossibility theorem.<br /><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUhStu_vAO7zI2jvmOJX1Kl4YEhgmXy0WyOlaIDS_LK6ERDIWtBaW1yADg-0BidMrX06Y8oSdBXXWyucLKrVyAx_gBltbAPxuQy57voA6yeD7F3ieEYYZKP0xh6Npf0Y8b-GsDZ1TXGD-AdtocsYt3Qr6ED1sGORsFRHmgxOGGMEhD9ul5uHyxuYSZQEU/s544/Screenshot%202023-08-15%20at%206.16.35%20AM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="282" data-original-width="544" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUhStu_vAO7zI2jvmOJX1Kl4YEhgmXy0WyOlaIDS_LK6ERDIWtBaW1yADg-0BidMrX06Y8oSdBXXWyucLKrVyAx_gBltbAPxuQy57voA6yeD7F3ieEYYZKP0xh6Npf0Y8b-GsDZ1TXGD-AdtocsYt3Qr6ED1sGORsFRHmgxOGGMEhD9ul5uHyxuYSZQEU/s16000/Screenshot%202023-08-15%20at%206.16.35%20AM.png" /></a><br /><br /><div style="text-align: left;">As of 2023, 'Voting' still remains the means to the end of Democratic outcome. Is it flawed or not, is another question altogether. <br /><br />As an idealist 20-something, Nationalism sounded too <span style="text-align: center;">straightjacketed to associate with.<br />With passage of time, my perspective has shifted. Amidst the chaos, it's still a wonder that we are one of the most promising emerging markets!<br /><br />If you look closely & a bit cynically, you might call it the 'Number Crumble'.<br />Our geographical extent & the scale of its inhabitants, are enough to salivate any western Capitalist.<br /><br />Market! Market! Market!<br /><br />Investors invariably think in terms of how big is the 'Market Size'? How big of that pie can we capture?<br /><br />India, or more acceptable these days, Bharat is much more than its market, people or diversity.<br /><br />India is the only Wonder...ergo...Bharat Bumps all Bullies of the West!</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="text-align: center;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="text-align: center;">Happy 77th Independence Day!</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="text-align: center;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="text-align: center;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="text-align: center;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="text-align: center;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="text-align: center;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="text-align: center;"><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /></span></div></div><br />Ashish Gouravhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13367298859443158406noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7060438102484057231.post-74242606443417593502023-07-11T16:14:00.000+05:302023-07-11T16:14:17.895+05:30Alternative Kafkaesque <p>Franz Kafka's most famous Metamorphosis is widely remembered as a Man who turned into a giant insect.<br />Is this what Kafka meant? Is this an exotic style of writing? Or was it just a metaphor lost in translation.<br />Most of Kafka's Novels/Stories feel like a weird world. Readers take everything literally, and they don't even consider the point of view that it could be just a way of Kafka; a technique to tell his stories.<br />Like Orwell's Animal Farm.<br /><br />I personally used to read Kafka because of the technique of Kafkaesque, not because of the underlying intention of the writer.<br />On careful rumination, it feels that Kafka is just writing about contemporary issues with his own style, with his own uses of metaphors, by creating his own world of expressions.<br />Much like the Vector Spaces of Linear Algebra, where you could construct 5-D which can't be visualised yet the mathematics would be tractable.<br />Similarly, Kafka's work could have been an imagined literary space with an underlying contemporaneous issue.<br /><br />This can be appreciated more if we understand how Mathematicians & Physicists look at the same things quite differently.<br />Abstract Vs Applied! </p>Ashish Gouravhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13367298859443158406noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7060438102484057231.post-17738131466766011232023-02-03T18:34:00.003+05:302023-02-03T18:36:17.360+05:30Philosophy of Love - What do I know about Love?<span id="docs-internal-guid-2c39e88c-7fff-d7bb-3829-879e0de2b3e1"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Most people in love, proclaim :
</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">-He/She is the one
</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">-This is the best thing that has happened to me
</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">-I have never felt like this and will never feel like this, again in my life</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;">
None of the above statements have the gravity to last long. It's just a concoction of hormones, childhood issues, availability & desperation, that makes people feel so utopic about their state of mind.
<iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/3dX5COYt3us" width="490"></iframe></span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;">
People in love idolise the other person, they want to see everything from a rose-tinted glass. Each and every inadequacy or shortcomings appear kitschy, endearing & cute.</span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><br /></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">What really has happened is that they have found a sense of assurance, comfort, and a non-judgmental sphere. The sphere in which they want to coalesce together.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><br /></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Now, if they really wanted to become one, they started with two ones, they joined themselves into one!
Is this really necessary?</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Now, you may say they have physical, emotional & dare I say, psychological needs.
Yes! You are in the appropriate direction.
This is ‘Need’!</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Our ‘needs’ camouflage in the form of love.</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Now, if I may ask, What is love?
What do you love about the other person? Or Why do you love them?
Stop! Don’t Answer!
Any answer or even an attempt to answer these questions
mean you don’t love them!</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Love is not dependent on reasons, love is not a means but an end in itself.</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">
Well! What do I know about love, you may ask!</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Don’t you think even I happen to have the above mentioned follies in me?</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Yes! I have fallen head over heels not once but … leave it at that</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">
And, each time I felt enamoured in a new way altogether!</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Truth Time!</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">You only love, truly! You only love yourself!
Everything else is just our inadequacies, lack of connection with the self, finding a refuge in another person!</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">You will have to take my word for it!</span></p></span>Ashish Gouravhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13367298859443158406noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7060438102484057231.post-79841235117169494862023-01-29T10:43:00.000+05:302023-01-29T10:43:05.936+05:30Is Recession Nearby? : Recession & Inflation – Relationship Explained<center><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Times New Roman, serif; font-size: medium;"><b>Recession and Inflation – Relationship explained</b></span><br /><br /><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Times New Roman, serif; font-size: medium;">While there seemed to be a sudden spike of enthusiasm among the youth on investment decisions, the World Back became a killjoy with regard to this optimistic environment. Lay-offs became a leading light in the current economic condition as companies started looking for every means to survive this downturn until sales spike up to dependable conditions.<br />All of this accounts to economic slump called ‘Recession’.</span></span></div><br /><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/C3w1XDWdrZE" width="490"></iframe><br /><br /><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="text-align: left;">To comprehend what exactly is happening, we’ll figure out the two buzzwords in the market at the moment: Inflation & Recession.<br /><div>The gist of rise in inflation is in its cyclical behaviour, meaning, when there is a lot of economic activity in the form of sudden spurt in production and the industries seem to be set up in plenty. As a result, the economy booms or let’s say, overheats. (See the <a href="https://youtu.be/C3w1XDWdrZE" target="_blank">video above</a>)</div><div>Why? There’s a substantial increase in income generation and at the same time the Central Bank also starts printing money in the initial stages. Subsequently, the economy observes a rise in price level which therefore turns out to be inflationary. When this inflation kicks in, the Central Bank tries to bring down the supply of money by increasing the interest rate. <br />This automatically reduces the money supply since the demand for money increases and consequently the economic activity reduces. <br />This is because the investors start chasing interest rates and not economic activity. So, when this happens, economic activity slows down and inflation declines. Hence, Cyclical!<br />Sounds simple right? Well not really.</div><div><br />This reduction in money supply is fertile for recession which happens due to fall in economic activity. What could be the possible reason for this recession? An idea is that, a boom in the economy results in inflation, and when you try to control inflation, you have a dip or slump called recession. Recession is commonly defined as the two consecutive quarters of economic contraction. “It is a significant decline in economic activity that is spread across the economy and lasts more than a few months.”, defines the National Bureau of Economic Research.</div><div><br />The effects of recession might quite possibly amplify the effects of inflation although it is in the cooling period. Since recession is roughly the slowdown of economic activity, businesses struggle to keep their head above water and lay off employees to curtail expenses until the resumption of reliable economic activity. Since labor is one of the crucial factors of economic activity, there will be a spike in unemployment. <br />And, this will last about a few months or up until the output that has plunged among businesses goes up significantly.</div></span></div></center>Ashish Gouravhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13367298859443158406noreply@blogger.com0India20.593684 78.96288-7.7165498361788458 43.80663 48.903917836178849 114.11913tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7060438102484057231.post-58501816701198026902023-01-16T16:26:00.002+05:302023-01-16T16:29:54.458+05:30Punardarśanāya (पुनर्दर्शनाय)<p>Goodbye is a misnomer. How can be parting any good?<br />Only, if you had said Good-riddance, it would have made sense.<br />What we like, we always wish to postpone its departure.<br /><br />You see, <a href="https://iitashish.blogspot.com/2010/01/yearnings-of-yore-life-goes-on.html" target="_blank">life goes on</a>, we feel that a phase of life, a moment, could be captured and relived as many times as we can, or worse, we wish to freeze moments and live forever in moments; life doesn't work like this expectation of ours!<br /><br />We always need to let go of <br /><br />I'm reminded of this famous line, "I suppose in the end, the whole of life becomes an act of letting go..."<br /><br />The intention of a 'Goodbye' in my mind & heart, is : It was great to spend time with you, I wish you the best, take good care of yourself!<br />And, you just let go of the sight, touch & physical presence. How? How are we supposed to take good care of ourselves in the absence of what kept us ticking, what motivated us from the troughs of our menial existence? How?<br /><br />Perhaps, we could pack it up with hope? Let's do it sooner (and mean it!)<br /><br />पुनर्दर्शनाय! (Punardarśanāya)</p>Ashish Gouravhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13367298859443158406noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7060438102484057231.post-6874516091620708072023-01-04T09:21:00.004+05:302023-01-04T09:23:39.629+05:30A Clean SlateHuman beings are more than nature or nurturing.<br />Every human comes with immense potential to make everything a reality, whatever he/she can think and put his/her attention towards.<br /><br />Now, all of us, are surrounded by so much noise of society, its bundle of one-size-fits all processes & guides, that we cease to access our own individual source of authenticity. We start becoming copy of a copy of a copy, that too with our individuality smeared across each copy!<br />Who gains? <br />Greed of Society!<br />Who loses?<br />Need of Society!<br /><br />“He, who has a why to live for, can bear with almost any how.” - Viktor Frankl<br /><br />Each one of us, have different 'Why's', our own 'Why'!<br />Once we figure that out, we can write any script on our clean slate. Yes, we need to erase every impression of the societal conditioning before we can start chalking about our life plans. We need to seek originality, this requires utmost honesty with our true self; which is the 'clean slate'. You can be whatever you put your thoughts, intentions & actions to.<br />There is no need lamenting your flaws, lack of privilege, unique circumstances or any such constraints, which seem to bind your tether to the state of inertia. Your authenticity stems from <a href="http://iitashish.blogspot.com/2021/12/rough-edges-versus-allure-of-finesse.html" target="_blank">your rough edges, so stop seeking that ideal situation</a>!<br /><br />I do understand that we all have <a href="https://theadmiringcritic.blogspot.com/2022/11/kantara-mystical-forest-medium-patra.html" target="_blank">different abilities & Pātrata</a>, it's wise to understand what could give us the maximum returns for our labour & time, that being said, it's just a constraint, nobody can stop someone who has decided not to quit! <br /><br /><br /><br />Ashish Gouravhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13367298859443158406noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7060438102484057231.post-48099442674061479792022-12-14T18:13:00.002+05:302022-12-14T18:13:26.851+05:30Suji ka Halwa - A Lady's Act of Sincerity!<p>My Mother used to care a lot about people in the community. <br />I'm biased, she was my mother, that doesn't discount the fact that she was a great human being, and unmatchable in her cooking skills. <br /><br />So, it happened once. One of her acquaintances, was in hospital. I am not able to recall the cause of Aunty's hospital stay but it wasn't major. <span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4UwTpkDPlSNbtqHixjyDWEMKQcehVkkNV-OVOSFlZYian4rKRDbr0VOeKSMG_oHAo0toW8uNw_Szu_mxAHMzjJXtPExeFfefzXxXlO6Z5FIvlfkIrzKkSATEYXHa-kU5h9W8RNvC7egqkRI-Td2FSFWyKfqYPxsxXnkbRvOguIgAL_5h2TcBPCWap/s1073/10298115_10152120124881818_6800792866620949493_o.jpeg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1073" data-original-width="711" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4UwTpkDPlSNbtqHixjyDWEMKQcehVkkNV-OVOSFlZYian4rKRDbr0VOeKSMG_oHAo0toW8uNw_Szu_mxAHMzjJXtPExeFfefzXxXlO6Z5FIvlfkIrzKkSATEYXHa-kU5h9W8RNvC7egqkRI-Td2FSFWyKfqYPxsxXnkbRvOguIgAL_5h2TcBPCWap/s320/10298115_10152120124881818_6800792866620949493_o.jpeg" width="212" /></a></div>My mother expressed her desire to pack freshly prepared Suji ka Halwa and visit the Aunty. My father wasn't particularly excited about the idea, as he had to go office.<br /><br />So, what would you expect such a lady to do? Picture this! It's late 90s, small mining township, no mode of public transport. Only option my mother was left with was to walk few Kms with the Halwa.<br /><br />Yet she didn't give up the idea!<br />She was like that!<br /><br />There were ample incidents when she went out of her way to serve people irrespective of their social standing & whether her act would be considered as one of kindness or just go in vain.<br /><br />The bottomline of her life would be : She went thankless & left her body too soon! <p></p>Ashish Gouravhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13367298859443158406noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7060438102484057231.post-60693803494006906212022-08-18T06:50:00.000+05:302022-08-18T06:50:24.998+05:30Boon of Unanswerable Questions<p><span style="font-family: verdana;">I was a perennial problem to my School teachers. My stream of questions never seem to run out of supply. No amount of answers could quench my urge to ask questions. When it had started I was jokingly called the "जिज्ञासु</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">" - one who is curious and asks a lot of questions.<br />This soon turned into a nightmare for the teachers.<br /><br />In a class about Earth's Revolution, I asked why Earth revolves? Why Sun doesn't revolve? Once a teacher was explaining L.C.M. of 2,4 is 4 and H.C.F. is 2. I asked if L.C.M. is greater than H.C.F., why the full form of L.C.M. starts with lowest and full form of H.C.F. starts with highest?<br /><br />My questions were not worth entertaining, it seemed.<br /></span></p><div style="text-align: left;"><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzxGPA0WZr13_jy-owzNGWJ7rR24OqNUZds2_87L7AJ1JKbUyk2DmELp4wi-5M6AyYCJN1bNzhp8BNllRRwBb-ANXr14o4HassMR-crY97HXt9shmVYJadT7Xr-YZd2LGKTjaHVP7bJp_xJ-OB7R_H2UGjaRWkFvVZ6X8ssWlpNoIwa_c7Xj_8XOqU/s289/well%20of%20questions.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="175" data-original-width="289" height="121" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzxGPA0WZr13_jy-owzNGWJ7rR24OqNUZds2_87L7AJ1JKbUyk2DmELp4wi-5M6AyYCJN1bNzhp8BNllRRwBb-ANXr14o4HassMR-crY97HXt9shmVYJadT7Xr-YZd2LGKTjaHVP7bJp_xJ-OB7R_H2UGjaRWkFvVZ6X8ssWlpNoIwa_c7Xj_8XOqU/w200-h121/well%20of%20questions.jpeg" width="200" /></a></div><p></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">After this harrowing experience with my questions, the teachers hatched a plan.<br />'Sharma Sir, Let's dispatch </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">जिज्ञासु to the well of puzzles' said Mishra Sir.<br /></span><span style="font-family: verdana;">''Well of puzzles'? That room which is full of questions in the form of puzzles?' asked Sharma Sir.<br />'Yes, and no one has ever come out of it' confirmed Mishra Sir.<br /><br /></span><span style="font-family: verdana;">'जिज्ञासु, you remember you wanted to know why Sun doesn't revolve?' <br />'Yes, Mishra Sir', I replied.<br /><br />I was then sent to a mysterious room. It was dark. It had one big Welcome button. I pressed it. A big screen of 10 questions popped and to the right a cage became visible.<br /><br />Inside the cage, there were ~24 people. <br />"These are the people who couldn't answer my questions", echoed a voice<br /><br />"What are those questions?" I asked<br />"You idiot, can't you see the puzzles on your screen?"<br /><br />"Ok, sir"<br />"Do you want me to answer them?"<br /><br />"Duh!"<br /><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">"Okay, Sir can I ask for clarifications?" I politely inquired.<br /><br />"Of course"<br /><br />"These idiots in the cage, never asked for any clarifications. They thought they are too smart. None of them could answer all the puzzles correctly" explained the Voice.<br /><br />I started reading the puzzles.<br />I don't remember any puzzle, though.<br /><br />I started asking for clarifications. The clarifications extended for hours. After every clarification, I used to ask follow-up questions. And, it went for 6-7 hours. It seemed that the Voice really liked talking and no one had ever asked him any questions ever.<br /><br />The voice (of whomever it was) was extremely relaxed and became pleased with me.<br />"</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">जिज्ञासु! I am elated after talking to you my child!"<br />"I would like to give you a boon and I will free you as well from this room"<br /><br />"What is the boon, Sir?"<br />"Oh! Come on!"<br /><br />After that I woke up in my bed. I felt like I was sleeping for days. I woke up and immediately went to my mother.<br /><br />"Mummy! Why am I in home?"<br />She looked puzzled.<br /><br />I changed my clothes and went out for playing with my friends. Everything was like before except for one.<br /><br />Whenever, I used to ask any question, no one ever had answers to them. To my surprise, few hours later, few days later, I used to find the answers in a mysterious way.<br /><br /></span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg49zTavMqn0B4Z0Z9TnQCJsk8LBirvTH3SzCdewJhmY-62UB8kAtcXp1S35dS8_xlP7yQri2_SbpwVns3ZwdGCuRVOd8dKVttaYloFnDO-tVQ1gvAYEeOhLvZa8TWc8apH3a3WS0Sz-0huJp4kGGh-D2rp_w9T4l49wsSg3hzqBMfo6--uchkubAWP/s275/flock%20of%20birds%20answers.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="183" data-original-width="275" height="183" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg49zTavMqn0B4Z0Z9TnQCJsk8LBirvTH3SzCdewJhmY-62UB8kAtcXp1S35dS8_xlP7yQri2_SbpwVns3ZwdGCuRVOd8dKVttaYloFnDO-tVQ1gvAYEeOhLvZa8TWc8apH3a3WS0Sz-0huJp4kGGh-D2rp_w9T4l49wsSg3hzqBMfo6--uchkubAWP/s1600/flock%20of%20birds%20answers.jpeg" width="275" /></a><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /><br /><br />Sometimes I used to find answers, while a flock of birds were flying in the shape of alphabets which formed an answer. One time, I was looking at my plate, the neatly arranged morsels formed an answer.<br />Other times, the answers were whispered in my ear, while I was sleeping.<br /><br />So, that was the story of how I got the 'boon of unanswerable questions'. Hmm, not really unanswerable if you ask me!<br /><br />PS : Work of Fiction, inspired by a mythological anecdote<br />PPS : Can you guess the mythological reference?<br />Book Suggestions Below:<br />.<a href="https://www.amazon.in/India-Bharat-Pakistan-Constitutional-Civilisation-ebook/dp/B0B9846BTX?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1660774525&sr=8-3&linkCode=li2&tag=ashishgourav-21&linkId=079e33d82c344777375e995e1f1cfd93&language=en_IN&ref_=as_li_ss_il" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="//ws-in.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?_encoding=UTF8&ASIN=B0B9846BTX&Format=_SL160_&ID=AsinImage&MarketPlace=IN&ServiceVersion=20070822&WS=1&tag=ashishgourav-21&language=en_IN" /></a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="https://ir-in.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=ashishgourav-21&language=en_IN&l=li2&o=31&a=B0B9846BTX" style="border: none; margin: 0px;" width="1" /><span> </span> <a href="https://www.amazon.in/Thinking-Fast-Slow-Daniel-Kahneman-ebook/dp/B005MJFA2W?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1660774740&sr=8-1-spons&linkCode=li2&tag=ashishgourav-21&linkId=f2478532325f1bc562e92022221379b4&language=en_IN&ref_=as_li_ss_il" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="//ws-in.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?_encoding=UTF8&ASIN=B005MJFA2W&Format=_SL160_&ID=AsinImage&MarketPlace=IN&ServiceVersion=20070822&WS=1&tag=ashishgourav-21&language=en_IN" /></a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="https://ir-in.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=ashishgourav-21&language=en_IN&l=li2&o=31&a=B005MJFA2W" style="border: none; margin: 0px;" width="1" /><span> </span><a href="https://www.amazon.in/Outliers-Story-Success-Malcolm-Gladwell-ebook/dp/B002RI9PKO?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1660774830&sr=8-2&linkCode=li2&tag=ashishgourav-21&linkId=91dcb8ec2ddfffd812f7d6818a0598ea&language=en_IN&ref_=as_li_ss_il" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="//ws-in.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?_encoding=UTF8&ASIN=B002RI9PKO&Format=_SL160_&ID=AsinImage&MarketPlace=IN&ServiceVersion=20070822&WS=1&tag=ashishgourav-21&language=en_IN" /></a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="https://ir-in.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=ashishgourav-21&language=en_IN&l=li2&o=31&a=B002RI9PKO" style="border: none; margin: 0px;" width="1" /><br /><a href="https://www.amazon.in/Black-Swan-Impact-Highly-Improbable-ebook/dp/B002RI99IM?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1660774918&sr=8-1&linkCode=li2&tag=ashishgourav-21&linkId=d9e03dbf2670656c7b55da9be5793400&language=en_IN&ref_=as_li_ss_il" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="//ws-in.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?_encoding=UTF8&ASIN=B002RI99IM&Format=_SL160_&ID=AsinImage&MarketPlace=IN&ServiceVersion=20070822&WS=1&tag=ashishgourav-21&language=en_IN" /></a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="https://ir-in.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=ashishgourav-21&language=en_IN&l=li2&o=31&a=B002RI99IM" style="border: none; margin: 0px;" width="1" /><span> </span><a href="https://www.amazon.in/Psychology-Money-Morgan-Housel-ebook/dp/B08FHZ5L47?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1660774949&sr=8-1-spons&linkCode=li2&tag=ashishgourav-21&linkId=7f9440cd73abf366c9054dd48d2c16b6&language=en_IN&ref_=as_li_ss_il" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="//ws-in.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?_encoding=UTF8&ASIN=B08FHZ5L47&Format=_SL160_&ID=AsinImage&MarketPlace=IN&ServiceVersion=20070822&WS=1&tag=ashishgourav-21&language=en_IN" /><span> </span></a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="https://ir-in.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=ashishgourav-21&language=en_IN&l=li2&o=31&a=B08FHZ5L47" style="border: none; margin: 0px;" width="1" /><a href="https://www.amazon.in/Articulate-Mammal-Introduction-Psycholinguistics-Routledge/dp/0415610184?crid=3BPUQQFTKT9O2&keywords=The+Articulate+Mammal&qid=1660774982&sprefix=the+psychology+of+money%2Caps%2C316&sr=8-1&linkCode=li2&tag=ashishgourav-21&linkId=d3397b1ebc833b780de980723a58d80f&language=en_IN&ref_=as_li_ss_il" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="//ws-in.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?_encoding=UTF8&ASIN=0415610184&Format=_SL160_&ID=AsinImage&MarketPlace=IN&ServiceVersion=20070822&WS=1&tag=ashishgourav-21&language=en_IN" /></a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="https://ir-in.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=ashishgourav-21&language=en_IN&l=li2&o=31&a=0415610184" style="border: none; margin: 0px;" width="1" /></span></p>Ashish Gouravhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13367298859443158406noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7060438102484057231.post-75582765262154620032022-05-08T04:44:00.002+05:302022-08-18T03:56:31.207+05:30How to Understand Death?<p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSnD1uHoK0Y859msqEfzd9du6uhoLCEg9Uc8xKQ1glPrbLo08s8ULj2m96sFmYQ5JQlOaxFK6aar5ZI6uyPqx3ePflMX2nrTe0ra3o4OrGeTndegqNKKuB0hyFBBtDP9eZ-Geh_eMoqIDv1BKbTX93grLVPRApNClzRZxYwe3fIfArGHV5rwDTwB3h/s1280/buddha-g4b87f323d_1280.png" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="1280" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSnD1uHoK0Y859msqEfzd9du6uhoLCEg9Uc8xKQ1glPrbLo08s8ULj2m96sFmYQ5JQlOaxFK6aar5ZI6uyPqx3ePflMX2nrTe0ra3o4OrGeTndegqNKKuB0hyFBBtDP9eZ-Geh_eMoqIDv1BKbTX93grLVPRApNClzRZxYwe3fIfArGHV5rwDTwB3h/s320/buddha-g4b87f323d_1280.png" width="320" /></a>What?<br />Now, that you have put me on the pedestal, let me be audacious & sermonise.<br /><br />Once every few years, keep changing your situation. Meaning, change the place where you live, change where you work, bid adieu to your favourite eatery, ... you get the drift?<br /><br />So, this is what happened.<br />I went to submit laptop to my previous employer. While I was in the cab, this thought dawned upon me. Isn't this exit process & formalities similar to the death rituals or rather I would say, अंतिम संस्कार (Antim Sanskar)?<br /><br />Once you let that feeling seep into you, it's no turning back. You feel drastically different about the same building, same security, same reception, ... everything stays the way it has always been. And, it will be like that for a long time to come. Alas! you would be no more. You would have bid your time, now it's your turn to spread your wings. Now, it's your turn to fly into the next phase.<br /><br />I understand we miss our colleagues, and we soon find new ones. Ultimately, it all feels like a rite of passage. The less we were attached to our old friends in the old company, it has lesser impact.</p><p>How beautiful it would be if we could feel the same for our body, friends, family, belongings...One day we will die, leave all of this behind. </p><p>Do you miss your old childhood school? Old childhood friends? College?<br />Of course, Yes!<br />And, deep down you know that you have grown up and grown out of those experiences & emotions.<br /><br />Ultimately death knocks on all doors!<br /><br />You are closer to death than you were before reading this blog post.<br />Book Suggestions Below:<br />.<a href="https://www.amazon.in/India-Bharat-Pakistan-Constitutional-Civilisation-ebook/dp/B0B9846BTX?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1660774525&sr=8-3&linkCode=li2&tag=ashishgourav-21&linkId=079e33d82c344777375e995e1f1cfd93&language=en_IN&ref_=as_li_ss_il" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="//ws-in.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?_encoding=UTF8&ASIN=B0B9846BTX&Format=_SL160_&ID=AsinImage&MarketPlace=IN&ServiceVersion=20070822&WS=1&tag=ashishgourav-21&language=en_IN" /></a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="https://ir-in.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=ashishgourav-21&language=en_IN&l=li2&o=31&a=B0B9846BTX" style="border: none; margin: 0px;" width="1" /><span> </span> <a href="https://www.amazon.in/Thinking-Fast-Slow-Daniel-Kahneman-ebook/dp/B005MJFA2W?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1660774740&sr=8-1-spons&linkCode=li2&tag=ashishgourav-21&linkId=f2478532325f1bc562e92022221379b4&language=en_IN&ref_=as_li_ss_il" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="//ws-in.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?_encoding=UTF8&ASIN=B005MJFA2W&Format=_SL160_&ID=AsinImage&MarketPlace=IN&ServiceVersion=20070822&WS=1&tag=ashishgourav-21&language=en_IN" /></a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="https://ir-in.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=ashishgourav-21&language=en_IN&l=li2&o=31&a=B005MJFA2W" style="border: none; margin: 0px;" width="1" /><span> </span><a href="https://www.amazon.in/Outliers-Story-Success-Malcolm-Gladwell-ebook/dp/B002RI9PKO?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1660774830&sr=8-2&linkCode=li2&tag=ashishgourav-21&linkId=91dcb8ec2ddfffd812f7d6818a0598ea&language=en_IN&ref_=as_li_ss_il" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="//ws-in.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?_encoding=UTF8&ASIN=B002RI9PKO&Format=_SL160_&ID=AsinImage&MarketPlace=IN&ServiceVersion=20070822&WS=1&tag=ashishgourav-21&language=en_IN" /></a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="https://ir-in.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=ashishgourav-21&language=en_IN&l=li2&o=31&a=B002RI9PKO" style="border: none; margin: 0px;" width="1" /><br /><a href="https://www.amazon.in/Black-Swan-Impact-Highly-Improbable-ebook/dp/B002RI99IM?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1660774918&sr=8-1&linkCode=li2&tag=ashishgourav-21&linkId=d9e03dbf2670656c7b55da9be5793400&language=en_IN&ref_=as_li_ss_il" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="//ws-in.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?_encoding=UTF8&ASIN=B002RI99IM&Format=_SL160_&ID=AsinImage&MarketPlace=IN&ServiceVersion=20070822&WS=1&tag=ashishgourav-21&language=en_IN" /></a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="https://ir-in.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=ashishgourav-21&language=en_IN&l=li2&o=31&a=B002RI99IM" style="border: none; margin: 0px;" width="1" /><span> </span><a href="https://www.amazon.in/Psychology-Money-Morgan-Housel-ebook/dp/B08FHZ5L47?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1660774949&sr=8-1-spons&linkCode=li2&tag=ashishgourav-21&linkId=7f9440cd73abf366c9054dd48d2c16b6&language=en_IN&ref_=as_li_ss_il" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="//ws-in.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?_encoding=UTF8&ASIN=B08FHZ5L47&Format=_SL160_&ID=AsinImage&MarketPlace=IN&ServiceVersion=20070822&WS=1&tag=ashishgourav-21&language=en_IN" /><span> </span></a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="https://ir-in.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=ashishgourav-21&language=en_IN&l=li2&o=31&a=B08FHZ5L47" style="border: none; margin: 0px;" width="1" /><a href="https://www.amazon.in/Articulate-Mammal-Introduction-Psycholinguistics-Routledge/dp/0415610184?crid=3BPUQQFTKT9O2&keywords=The+Articulate+Mammal&qid=1660774982&sprefix=the+psychology+of+money%2Caps%2C316&sr=8-1&linkCode=li2&tag=ashishgourav-21&linkId=d3397b1ebc833b780de980723a58d80f&language=en_IN&ref_=as_li_ss_il" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="//ws-in.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?_encoding=UTF8&ASIN=0415610184&Format=_SL160_&ID=AsinImage&MarketPlace=IN&ServiceVersion=20070822&WS=1&tag=ashishgourav-21&language=en_IN" /></a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="https://ir-in.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=ashishgourav-21&language=en_IN&l=li2&o=31&a=0415610184" style="border: none; margin: 0px;" width="1" /></p>Ashish Gouravhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13367298859443158406noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7060438102484057231.post-90187063782338588862022-05-07T07:00:00.001+05:302022-05-07T07:00:38.110+05:30Robot with Emotions? - The 5 SensesIs it possible to make a robot which can experience your touch like a human being?<br /><div style="text-align: right;"><div style="text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgF0tHti8Q5CzVfm4Osc1JuufmKguEmfaQ9KAPEHu7651SyNd5jQsFqyCaQrZ0Bars1kH9khOiQjL9dR9fJ1oMcTClpx_OqQQlZbbomQTinEpFCM5wtbT2lg67y-N9MXg42gZ_iBNcFljj-IbNG7Kbft8a80fIQCjw55osGhPJKHddeXKoFt-pnZ44J/s1920/robot-g5eafda340_1920.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1920" data-original-width="1920" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgF0tHti8Q5CzVfm4Osc1JuufmKguEmfaQ9KAPEHu7651SyNd5jQsFqyCaQrZ0Bars1kH9khOiQjL9dR9fJ1oMcTClpx_OqQQlZbbomQTinEpFCM5wtbT2lg67y-N9MXg42gZ_iBNcFljj-IbNG7Kbft8a80fIQCjw55osGhPJKHddeXKoFt-pnZ44J/s320/robot-g5eafda340_1920.png" width="320" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: left;">The allure of humanoids has kept scientists busy for decades. <span style="text-align: center;">If we zero down on the 5 basic senses which humans have : touch, sight, hearing, smell and taste, we can ask an objective question and get an answer too.</span></div><span style="text-align: right;"><div style="text-align: left;">Do we have humanoids/robots which can experience these 5 basic senses like humans? NO.</div></span></div></div><br />So, Is it possible, anytime soon?<br />To answer this, we would first need to understand how the 5 basic senses function in humans. <br /><br />Sound : Sound waves hit your ears and your body recognises the waves<div><br /></div><div>Sight/See : Light waves gets inside your eyes and again your body deciphers the object's image</div><div><br /></div><div>Touch/Smell/Taste : Most likely waves could be the reason for these senses as well</div><div><br /></div><div>So, if we fully understand these senses, we could start building that first humanoid which starts to feel like a human. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br />Ashish Gouravhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13367298859443158406noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7060438102484057231.post-72466983751588870852021-12-21T11:17:00.000+05:302021-12-21T11:17:29.720+05:30Rough Edges Versus the Allure of Finesse<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhc58qHtFdvo7FhEha8z3WhjfdBL6pmo2V156HseDflLLWMWY4Bm-AB-VDgH2PYs2aDXe_LfjmEdqS2VS8B4MfThXboMbVLUDb6M5rA7e4xvcqV5J8yEM-fRQULIZ5ZcNjf_GFpa_ieDMgMmTYPeLkRM5e_Ut4f-dpLVe6ZwcBB2bFM5r2u4gU5DWIU=s1920" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1920" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhc58qHtFdvo7FhEha8z3WhjfdBL6pmo2V156HseDflLLWMWY4Bm-AB-VDgH2PYs2aDXe_LfjmEdqS2VS8B4MfThXboMbVLUDb6M5rA7e4xvcqV5J8yEM-fRQULIZ5ZcNjf_GFpa_ieDMgMmTYPeLkRM5e_Ut4f-dpLVe6ZwcBB2bFM5r2u4gU5DWIU=s320" width="320" /></a></div><br /><br />What gives you more joy? Getting 100/100 in all subjects or getting (99,99,98,97,94,...100,99)?<br />I'll choose the later. Not that I am capable of attaining either with no uncertainty. It's just the sight of possibility, the extra room for improvement, something which was amiss, creates a charm!<br /><br />I'm pretty sure you must have heard of <a href="https://youtu.be/UVA8pPxOPk4?t=555" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Casey Neistat</a>. I am not telling why I mentioned him. Go Figure!<br /><br />When there is a mass messaging about going the extra mile, giving that 10% extra, why am I invoking this sense of inadequacy and almost eulogising it? <br />No reason at all. It's just me.<br /><br />Growing like mushroom is not always desirable or attractive. Everybody loves to chase the growth story. Why? I don't have a definitive answer. May be they are chasing wealth/fame/independence. <br /><br />This is the opportune moment to clarify that I am no way promoting mediocrity. Perhaps I am titling towards <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pareto_principle" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Pareto principle</a>. May be even this is not exactly what I mean.<br /><br />Nature & human beings are drawn towards symmetrical things. This may be a reason for the allure of finesse, the craze of the perfect and the worship of the ideal!<br /><br />Recall the moment, when you came back from office with the news of much awaited promotion. You put your bag away, hug your significant other and then after a while take a sip of Masala Chai which has slightly less sugar than you like. Try to capture that emotion, hold it in your hand, and tell me whether you would enjoy that rough edge to your happy moment? May be this would have added a signature, a uniqueness, a sense of individuality, a sense of belonging to that moment. <br />I am reminded of this famous quote , "Happy families are all alike; every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way." <br />I would like to tweak it. Not all happy families are alike. When you are happy irrespective of what's happening around you & in your family, you get an ecstatic family.<br />Now, I am starting to sound cheesy; tsk!<br /><br />PS : Merry Christmas! <p></p>Ashish Gouravhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13367298859443158406noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7060438102484057231.post-60249434440712057652021-07-17T12:12:00.001+05:302022-08-18T04:01:55.819+05:30Coffee?<p> Why do we enjoy coffee? Why do we sit in Cafes? <br /><br /></p><center><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjswSsq6QvtFuw3D3x79I7mr3Ke4ypnO5kVmbSwOLUMGWat8xBWrZnnGlsDc76ZwOzza6J16B34QVGk6E2HLVtaovdSoskYBhJKOSez42SU8u3su9m5sJ-N1gNIjvwyBiAQhcN84Q1LMro/s1920/coffee-5589036_1920.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="1920" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjswSsq6QvtFuw3D3x79I7mr3Ke4ypnO5kVmbSwOLUMGWat8xBWrZnnGlsDc76ZwOzza6J16B34QVGk6E2HLVtaovdSoskYBhJKOSez42SU8u3su9m5sJ-N1gNIjvwyBiAQhcN84Q1LMro/w400-h266/coffee-5589036_1920.jpeg" width="400" /></a></center><br />To listen to something like "<i>All I've Ever Known · Bahamas</i>" and ruminate about the life you wish to have?<br />May be not. May be you have a different reason. That being said, there is a pleasure about sipping an overpriced drink laced with sugar and a kitschy slow/low background music playing around to keep you company. <br />This makes you feel like you have a halo, not around your head but around your thoughts; Around your life which has slipped through your hands like sand. This reminds you about someone. This reminds you about yourself; When you were someone different.<br /><br />Or else, you are just a pretentious braggart buying your expensive coffee to distract your mind away from the senseless chatter you keep recycling in your head.<br /><br />No, I'm not putting people on different rungs or putting anyone/anything on a pedestal. This is just me listening to "<i>All I've Ever Known · Bahamas</i>" on a Saturday morning and reminiscing about the times I hopped around the city to visit the new quaint coffee/tea place to idle away my time or to meet the next ... you know who? *sigh*<br /><br />A lot definitely happened when I had coffee. <br /><br />Leaving you with the song which made me write this (below)<br /><br /> <iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/wNcz5AagtaU" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe><br />Book Suggestions Below:<br />.<a href="https://www.amazon.in/India-Bharat-Pakistan-Constitutional-Civilisation-ebook/dp/B0B9846BTX?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1660774525&sr=8-3&linkCode=li2&tag=ashishgourav-21&linkId=079e33d82c344777375e995e1f1cfd93&language=en_IN&ref_=as_li_ss_il" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="//ws-in.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?_encoding=UTF8&ASIN=B0B9846BTX&Format=_SL160_&ID=AsinImage&MarketPlace=IN&ServiceVersion=20070822&WS=1&tag=ashishgourav-21&language=en_IN" /></a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="https://ir-in.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=ashishgourav-21&language=en_IN&l=li2&o=31&a=B0B9846BTX" style="border: none; margin: 0px;" width="1" /><span> </span> <a href="https://www.amazon.in/Thinking-Fast-Slow-Daniel-Kahneman-ebook/dp/B005MJFA2W?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1660774740&sr=8-1-spons&linkCode=li2&tag=ashishgourav-21&linkId=f2478532325f1bc562e92022221379b4&language=en_IN&ref_=as_li_ss_il" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="//ws-in.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?_encoding=UTF8&ASIN=B005MJFA2W&Format=_SL160_&ID=AsinImage&MarketPlace=IN&ServiceVersion=20070822&WS=1&tag=ashishgourav-21&language=en_IN" /></a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="https://ir-in.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=ashishgourav-21&language=en_IN&l=li2&o=31&a=B005MJFA2W" style="border: none; margin: 0px;" width="1" /><span> </span><a href="https://www.amazon.in/Outliers-Story-Success-Malcolm-Gladwell-ebook/dp/B002RI9PKO?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1660774830&sr=8-2&linkCode=li2&tag=ashishgourav-21&linkId=91dcb8ec2ddfffd812f7d6818a0598ea&language=en_IN&ref_=as_li_ss_il" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="//ws-in.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?_encoding=UTF8&ASIN=B002RI9PKO&Format=_SL160_&ID=AsinImage&MarketPlace=IN&ServiceVersion=20070822&WS=1&tag=ashishgourav-21&language=en_IN" /></a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="https://ir-in.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=ashishgourav-21&language=en_IN&l=li2&o=31&a=B002RI9PKO" style="border: none; margin: 0px;" width="1" /><br /><a href="https://www.amazon.in/Black-Swan-Impact-Highly-Improbable-ebook/dp/B002RI99IM?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1660774918&sr=8-1&linkCode=li2&tag=ashishgourav-21&linkId=d9e03dbf2670656c7b55da9be5793400&language=en_IN&ref_=as_li_ss_il" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="//ws-in.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?_encoding=UTF8&ASIN=B002RI99IM&Format=_SL160_&ID=AsinImage&MarketPlace=IN&ServiceVersion=20070822&WS=1&tag=ashishgourav-21&language=en_IN" /></a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="https://ir-in.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=ashishgourav-21&language=en_IN&l=li2&o=31&a=B002RI99IM" style="border: none; margin: 0px;" width="1" /><span> </span><a href="https://www.amazon.in/Psychology-Money-Morgan-Housel-ebook/dp/B08FHZ5L47?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1660774949&sr=8-1-spons&linkCode=li2&tag=ashishgourav-21&linkId=7f9440cd73abf366c9054dd48d2c16b6&language=en_IN&ref_=as_li_ss_il" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="//ws-in.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?_encoding=UTF8&ASIN=B08FHZ5L47&Format=_SL160_&ID=AsinImage&MarketPlace=IN&ServiceVersion=20070822&WS=1&tag=ashishgourav-21&language=en_IN" /><span> </span></a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="https://ir-in.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=ashishgourav-21&language=en_IN&l=li2&o=31&a=B08FHZ5L47" style="border: none; margin: 0px;" width="1" /><a href="https://www.amazon.in/Articulate-Mammal-Introduction-Psycholinguistics-Routledge/dp/0415610184?crid=3BPUQQFTKT9O2&keywords=The+Articulate+Mammal&qid=1660774982&sprefix=the+psychology+of+money%2Caps%2C316&sr=8-1&linkCode=li2&tag=ashishgourav-21&linkId=d3397b1ebc833b780de980723a58d80f&language=en_IN&ref_=as_li_ss_il" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="//ws-in.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?_encoding=UTF8&ASIN=0415610184&Format=_SL160_&ID=AsinImage&MarketPlace=IN&ServiceVersion=20070822&WS=1&tag=ashishgourav-21&language=en_IN" /></a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="https://ir-in.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=ashishgourav-21&language=en_IN&l=li2&o=31&a=0415610184" style="border: none; margin: 0px;" width="1" />Ashish Gouravhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13367298859443158406noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7060438102484057231.post-58233948749357798162021-07-08T18:11:00.000+05:302021-07-08T18:11:30.985+05:30Where there is an entrance, there is usually an exit<p>When you are someone like me, with a switch 'ON' button but no 'OFF' button, you are bound to gravitate towards lines by Murakami like <br /><br />“<i><b>Where there is an entrance there is usually an exit. That’s the way things are made. Mailboxes, vacuum cleaners, zoos, salt shakers. Of course there are exceptions, Mousetraps, for instance.</b></i>”<br /><br />If I have to tell you the truth, I don't have any qualms about my obsessive personality. In the software parlance, I would like to term it as a feature not a bug. Of course, there are times you wish that there was a way out, the so called 'exit'. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTOvI_v97V4L7xttBJjs-zmo3YSEQgF-0ePgThIbC60RugHCsJW7zeo-D-YV4ol3Y3HR1mltZ43GNbEBGmhdr2xg622rbhdrhIm7pSNIuoU-sIcWYuNZpz9rJpJwp4Ks72rrcGZB3I-vg/s1920/entry-1036946_1920.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Where there is an entrance, there is usually an exit." border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="1920" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTOvI_v97V4L7xttBJjs-zmo3YSEQgF-0ePgThIbC60RugHCsJW7zeo-D-YV4ol3Y3HR1mltZ43GNbEBGmhdr2xg622rbhdrhIm7pSNIuoU-sIcWYuNZpz9rJpJwp4Ks72rrcGZB3I-vg/w320-h213/entry-1036946_1920.jpeg" title="All things should have both an entrance and an exit. That’s just the way it is." width="320" /></a></div><p>The art of distancing yourself from things at the perfect time is something which requires certain strand of cold-heartedness, which yours truly lacks. There are just quite a few times I have been able to say the perfect 'Good-Bye' with mathematical precision of a well-aimed projectile. Those incidents still haunt me more than I ever cared while executing my acts. <br /><br />Be it the quaint neighbourhood cafe, breakfast cereal, a new brew of tea, someone special...you get the drift? I have a bad habit of obsessing over them till I get a closure of sorts. As I don't practise moderation in the acts of heart, I drift apart from them too. Perhaps, that's my exit? No! It's more like death. Exit is something which starts another day, something like 'light at the end of the tunnel'. The way I part is more like a butcher bludgeoning an animal to death.<br /><br />Few years back, Alpha & I were discussing about addiction. <br />Alpha asked , "How to stop this habit of sipping diet coke?"<br />"Simple, order ~100 of them and finish them in 3 days" I replied<br />"Wow! Even I follow a similar plan to get off a bad habit, just do it so many times, you get bored of it. More like you overflow the process of quenching your cravings. Like capillary effect, it just adjusts the contact angle and no more of it overflows" added Alpha<br /><br />And in the words of Haruki Murakami,<br />“<i><b>All things should have both an entrance and an exit. That’s just the way it is.</b></i>” </p>Ashish Gouravhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13367298859443158406noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7060438102484057231.post-24417043063405272682021-03-10T09:13:00.004+05:302022-08-18T04:02:19.217+05:30Cryptocurrency Investment Questions<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAotyT7FubowCEELbmDP4_DS5GGV6lKUf9gpl9SkHr87_xNQh1s-NH3USwjel9rpJDXGqaqFcO0GKwqMmDX0KdLLaO8ED_EcicRfpRYACNB-up3ut_7w9UoyZBQzsYvreUVt0hzHVIU3U/s723/Screenshot+2021-03-07+at+3.53.07+PM.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="447" data-original-width="723" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAotyT7FubowCEELbmDP4_DS5GGV6lKUf9gpl9SkHr87_xNQh1s-NH3USwjel9rpJDXGqaqFcO0GKwqMmDX0KdLLaO8ED_EcicRfpRYACNB-up3ut_7w9UoyZBQzsYvreUVt0hzHVIU3U/s320/Screenshot+2021-03-07+at+3.53.07+PM.png" width="320" /></a></div><div></div>If you are planning or pondering about investing in cryptocurrencies like bitcoin, there are 3 questions you must seek answers of. <div></div><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/stSMb9ZPL88" width="560"></iframe><div></div><div><br /></div><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><div></div></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"></blockquote><blockquote><b>1. Is investing in Bitcoin/Crypto worth in 2021?<br /></b><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"></blockquote><b>2. What is the technology behind these cryptocurrencies? Blockchain?<br /></b><p style="text-align: left;"><b>3. What is the 'value proposition' & future of Bitcoin/Crypto? </b></p></blockquote><p style="text-align: left;"></p><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><div></div></blockquote><div><br />I have tried to touch upon these questions <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=stSMb9ZPL88" target="_blank">in my video</a>. And, I am also seeking answers to the above questions, as these 3 questions though are not completely independent of each other, needs different lens to come to a reasonable answer. <br /><br />In my view if you are looking for short gains, seeking the answer to just first question would suffice. <br />Not so, if you are betting a large sum of your long term portfolio in Cryptocurrencies. In that case, you need to holistically look at the answers to these 3 questions in sufficient detail. </div><br />Book Suggestions Below:<br />.<a href="https://www.amazon.in/India-Bharat-Pakistan-Constitutional-Civilisation-ebook/dp/B0B9846BTX?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1660774525&sr=8-3&linkCode=li2&tag=ashishgourav-21&linkId=079e33d82c344777375e995e1f1cfd93&language=en_IN&ref_=as_li_ss_il" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="//ws-in.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?_encoding=UTF8&ASIN=B0B9846BTX&Format=_SL160_&ID=AsinImage&MarketPlace=IN&ServiceVersion=20070822&WS=1&tag=ashishgourav-21&language=en_IN" /></a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="https://ir-in.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=ashishgourav-21&language=en_IN&l=li2&o=31&a=B0B9846BTX" style="border: none; margin: 0px;" width="1" /><span> </span> <a href="https://www.amazon.in/Thinking-Fast-Slow-Daniel-Kahneman-ebook/dp/B005MJFA2W?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1660774740&sr=8-1-spons&linkCode=li2&tag=ashishgourav-21&linkId=f2478532325f1bc562e92022221379b4&language=en_IN&ref_=as_li_ss_il" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="//ws-in.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?_encoding=UTF8&ASIN=B005MJFA2W&Format=_SL160_&ID=AsinImage&MarketPlace=IN&ServiceVersion=20070822&WS=1&tag=ashishgourav-21&language=en_IN" /></a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="https://ir-in.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=ashishgourav-21&language=en_IN&l=li2&o=31&a=B005MJFA2W" style="border: none; margin: 0px;" width="1" /><span> </span><a href="https://www.amazon.in/Outliers-Story-Success-Malcolm-Gladwell-ebook/dp/B002RI9PKO?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1660774830&sr=8-2&linkCode=li2&tag=ashishgourav-21&linkId=91dcb8ec2ddfffd812f7d6818a0598ea&language=en_IN&ref_=as_li_ss_il" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="//ws-in.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?_encoding=UTF8&ASIN=B002RI9PKO&Format=_SL160_&ID=AsinImage&MarketPlace=IN&ServiceVersion=20070822&WS=1&tag=ashishgourav-21&language=en_IN" /></a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="https://ir-in.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=ashishgourav-21&language=en_IN&l=li2&o=31&a=B002RI9PKO" style="border: none; margin: 0px;" width="1" /><br /><a href="https://www.amazon.in/Black-Swan-Impact-Highly-Improbable-ebook/dp/B002RI99IM?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1660774918&sr=8-1&linkCode=li2&tag=ashishgourav-21&linkId=d9e03dbf2670656c7b55da9be5793400&language=en_IN&ref_=as_li_ss_il" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="//ws-in.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?_encoding=UTF8&ASIN=B002RI99IM&Format=_SL160_&ID=AsinImage&MarketPlace=IN&ServiceVersion=20070822&WS=1&tag=ashishgourav-21&language=en_IN" /></a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="https://ir-in.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=ashishgourav-21&language=en_IN&l=li2&o=31&a=B002RI99IM" style="border: none; margin: 0px;" width="1" /><span> </span><a href="https://www.amazon.in/Psychology-Money-Morgan-Housel-ebook/dp/B08FHZ5L47?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1660774949&sr=8-1-spons&linkCode=li2&tag=ashishgourav-21&linkId=7f9440cd73abf366c9054dd48d2c16b6&language=en_IN&ref_=as_li_ss_il" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="//ws-in.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?_encoding=UTF8&ASIN=B08FHZ5L47&Format=_SL160_&ID=AsinImage&MarketPlace=IN&ServiceVersion=20070822&WS=1&tag=ashishgourav-21&language=en_IN" /><span> </span></a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="https://ir-in.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=ashishgourav-21&language=en_IN&l=li2&o=31&a=B08FHZ5L47" style="border: none; margin: 0px;" width="1" /><a href="https://www.amazon.in/Articulate-Mammal-Introduction-Psycholinguistics-Routledge/dp/0415610184?crid=3BPUQQFTKT9O2&keywords=The+Articulate+Mammal&qid=1660774982&sprefix=the+psychology+of+money%2Caps%2C316&sr=8-1&linkCode=li2&tag=ashishgourav-21&linkId=d3397b1ebc833b780de980723a58d80f&language=en_IN&ref_=as_li_ss_il" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="//ws-in.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?_encoding=UTF8&ASIN=0415610184&Format=_SL160_&ID=AsinImage&MarketPlace=IN&ServiceVersion=20070822&WS=1&tag=ashishgourav-21&language=en_IN" /></a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="https://ir-in.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=ashishgourav-21&language=en_IN&l=li2&o=31&a=0415610184" style="border: none; margin: 0px;" width="1" />Ashish Gouravhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13367298859443158406noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7060438102484057231.post-24091213077568551482021-02-13T19:34:00.000+05:302021-02-13T19:34:42.252+05:30Unknown Unknowns HindsightHindsight is the wisest philosopher, unequivocal macroeconomist, best predictive modeller and ... you get the drift!<br /><br />Few years back, I had read a response by Donald Rumsfeld , "...<span style="background-color: white; color: #202122; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">But there are also unknown unknowns—the ones we don't know we don't know. ...</span>"<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8-8yMYh_mJUttXYBYcIWzRza0oOQxhBSTtj7LuaqE6OJYMxJQc9bjb13SrrHGmqclgx5kldcUyg21IfNOAgLLHGq7H00hKo54NE8bBAYR6_p_g4FqJ2Zpd8YH-yRQ36k9cvwcmBYzX1Y/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="434" data-original-width="600" height="289" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8-8yMYh_mJUttXYBYcIWzRza0oOQxhBSTtj7LuaqE6OJYMxJQc9bjb13SrrHGmqclgx5kldcUyg21IfNOAgLLHGq7H00hKo54NE8bBAYR6_p_g4FqJ2Zpd8YH-yRQ36k9cvwcmBYzX1Y/w400-h289/image.png" width="400" /></a></div><br /><br />In most of the situations, we are in the land of 'unknown unknowns' and our choices today are hardly going to be the result of any optimisation exercise based on careful weighing of all the variables concerned. Most of the time, we have to choose the action & rationalise them later. Only, when we hit the bulls eye, our hindsight puts a label of 'success' or 'outperformance' on them. I hope you remember the famous line from Steve Jobs’ 2005 Stanford Commencement Address, "...you can’t connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backward..."<br /><br />Does that mean we are helpless at the hands of future? <br /><br />Does that mean we can't optimise?<br /><br />Does that mean we can only produce helpless policy makers?<br /><br />Of course, the answers to above questions need to take in the nuances involved on a case-by-case basis. I will tell you what I do. Thumb-rules! When you observe life all around you, there is a development of intuition. By intuition, I am referring to the type described by Daniel Kahneman in '<a href="https://amzn.to/3rR7Ays" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Thinking, Fast and Slow</a>'. Well, this is what I follow, if my gut says do this, I ask myself, "How much knowledge I have gathered about this situation/scenario from past experiences?". Contingent on the above two steps, the choices are made. And, borrowing from <a href="https://amzn.to/37djryL" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Aldous Huxley's Ape and Essence</a>, "...Ends are ape-chosen; only the means are man's..." <br /><br />Thumb-rules, I realise make one prone to biases & prejudices. This is definitely a tight-rope walk, of balancing between thumb rules & not taking prejudiced decisions. Remember, all actions have consequences. No right or wrong actions exist, such value judgements merely cloud you!<br /><br />PS : Putting 'life back' to this dormant blog! Ashish Gouravhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13367298859443158406noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7060438102484057231.post-61761579701800478132021-02-06T12:59:00.003+05:302021-02-06T12:59:27.896+05:30Money, Assets & Friends<p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPiBzvfrpIRzIiKL-eq2PmR_YKdyhxfVtBY6ay3mEGSxEHKYE1DBXXHuiXNnlUSUHkw-geciTulEPMF2GINAsBn0KcaeHNlJpjZ5AH1Auxinf3F1AGlLIIfjttaRFczMnBh_7v9MKtA5g/s257/what+you+need.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img alt="What you Want?" border="0" data-original-height="196" data-original-width="257" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPiBzvfrpIRzIiKL-eq2PmR_YKdyhxfVtBY6ay3mEGSxEHKYE1DBXXHuiXNnlUSUHkw-geciTulEPMF2GINAsBn0KcaeHNlJpjZ5AH1Auxinf3F1AGlLIIfjttaRFczMnBh_7v9MKtA5g/s16000/what+you+need.png" title="What you Want?" /></a></p><p>What do you really need in life? No, apart from Oxygen, Water & Food?<br />Do you need money? Do you need a house? Do you need a lot of friends? <br />Do you need a lot of servants? Do you need a chauffeur driven car? <br />Do you need to be an Investment Banker? Do you need to be as relevant, popular & wealthy as Elon Musk? </p><p>Chew on it!</p><p>There are no absolute answers, you have what you need. You strive for what you want. Your life, your choices! But, yes your choices have consequences. No value judgement on either your choices or consequences.<br /><br />You want what you want!<br /><br />As, I have aged <a href="http://iitashish.blogspot.com/2021/01/10-year-transformation-iit-kharagpur-to.html" target="_blank">over the last decade</a>, it has dawned on me that I really don't desire all the fancy things/titles I so aspired for, few years back. A lot of what I wanted appear quite frivolous and meaningless. May be this is a phase, too! No, this isn't mid-life/quarter-life crisis! All I want now is a cup of tea, a comfortable chair & view of snow-clad mountain glistened by early morning sun! Is it a lot? <br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjdTGe91R43OJDlEYo7iETZHVwW1_ALaODH63-PcQbQhDZ_KynVzNzPiQgRdZBKpK1Ii9hTbUudM9WAoKLJkGqfs79ZBl6jt4VTIdOKZTj6BqnLM4RWN3jjTJfnUeUU-I9MTTRsjcCszs/s1280/tea+view.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="721" data-original-width="1280" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjdTGe91R43OJDlEYo7iETZHVwW1_ALaODH63-PcQbQhDZ_KynVzNzPiQgRdZBKpK1Ii9hTbUudM9WAoKLJkGqfs79ZBl6jt4VTIdOKZTj6BqnLM4RWN3jjTJfnUeUU-I9MTTRsjcCszs/w640-h360/tea+view.jpg" width="640" /></a><br /><br />Money still buys ...<br /><br />Of Course, nothing is free in this world. You either need to have a lot of assets or stream of money/cash flow to get anything of material value. Tea is not free, chair isn't free unless you make your own, any picturesque view comes with a price tag! <br /><br />How about expanding the radius of your self-centred life?<br /><br />We have all become hyper-individualistic, or is it just me? Anyway, truth is we mingle only to jingle, these days. Most of our material needs are taken care of without any human interaction! But, is it sustainable? I know, I am failing miserably to drive down the point that we all need people. Call them friends, family or well-wishers! <br /><br />There, I have completed the triad! Money, Assets & Friends! That's all we need in life. Rest are just bells & whistles. Again, over-simplifying a lot of nuances of life.<br /><br />PS : I have written more than 100 posts on this blog! </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br />Ashish Gouravhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13367298859443158406noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7060438102484057231.post-16367723593211563652021-01-29T23:16:00.004+05:302022-08-18T04:03:52.240+05:3010 Year Transformation - IIT Kharagpur to ISI Kolkata Convocation<p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhL9BkqDM-b_BFlVtvcOjbOXIYc6kt1fENarAufgQ19mQX9KuKfy7R4bEtlwFqXradCq1edyptDBVqhUtJs_5EBaJ17KRTEhL0YQDy_aPHTmdquCKYvfeWdy3a8Os7HjB7VwF9FP_hKoPw/s701/IMG-20210128-WA0004+copy.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="324" data-original-width="701" height="199" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhL9BkqDM-b_BFlVtvcOjbOXIYc6kt1fENarAufgQ19mQX9KuKfy7R4bEtlwFqXradCq1edyptDBVqhUtJs_5EBaJ17KRTEhL0YQDy_aPHTmdquCKYvfeWdy3a8Os7HjB7VwF9FP_hKoPw/w430-h199/IMG-20210128-WA0004+copy.jpg" width="430" /></a></div><br />More than once Indian Statistical Institute (ISI) had caught my attention, while I was 24*7 dreaming of getting into an IIT. Two things which I knew about ISI were, it's for Maths & getting in is 10 times tougher than IIT. Needless to say, I did my B.Tech from IIT Kharagpur. The mention of KGP in the above line, sounds quite underwhelming, such is the stature of ISI. Also, please keep aside the ISI jokes about certain intelligence agency in certain nearby nation.<div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>When I was in class 9, I was only good in Maths and I had an enthusiasm about Biology. I wanted to become a doctor. Those days were quite formative and I could almost sense my line of thought now, on why I chose not to pursue medicine. I just couldn't let go of my Maths skills, having only gained a fair grip on the subject pretty late. Till Class 6, my Maths scores were unimpressive to say the least. Also, I wouldn't even count myself as a serious student. I have been and remain a day-dreamer, always lost in the sand-castles of my own. Ruminating and brooding are my allies.<br /><br /><br />It was around this time, that I decided to become an IITian as most people around me were successful in selling the brand IIT & its association with Math. To a 14 year old Class 9 student, that was not really difficult. The story thereafter, of how I went to IIT is something I have already documented in detail.<br /><br />This post is not about IIT but about ISI, about the 10 years to ISI, about the 10 years of pain, about the endless attempts at landing onto a ship which sails my boat. You can watch the convocation video <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wmlUe_bNSpo" target="_blank">with campus tour below</a>:<br /><div><br /><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/wmlUe_bNSpo" width="560"></iframe></div><br />I worked in startups, taught kids, just read books and kept ruling out career options. Finally, better sense prevailed and my pillar, my wife stood there at a corner while I gave all I had for ISI preparation. I had read a bit of pop economics, pop psychology & pop statistics to pique my interest in Quant Economics at ISI Kolkata.<br /><br /><br />I can't speak for other programmes but a course in ISI gives you a new way of thinking, a new way of looking at data problems, a new appreciation for statistics. Statistics is not mere complex algebra with lots of numbers interspersed, it's simply the language of experiments. Just like Mathematics is the language of Science; Statistics is the language of all empirical studies. <br /><br />Quantitative Economics course at ISI is meant for equipping economics students with Mathematics & Statistics tools. This makes this course quite specialised and this is not for everyone. And, this is not an alternative to MBA. This course required deep study and mere skimming concepts before exams won't help you in passing exams.<br />This is like tailor-cut for me. Almost!</div><div>I am not the best student when it comes to examinations. I only like examinations which have disproportionately high payoffs and don't require you to mug a lot. <br /><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmLlL05yVcdnQdwBTHtMVq8itXsKthdV2cr654caTLNu5_jaQzqXjfDyFjA85NL1j9Gg20Au85e4DLV-2aUu2jaVb6FmV-X31B3tVZt6QQqQGrsvj1JwWWncWhxsHyq1S0UYLGbnPXkzA/s578/10+Yr-LinkedIn.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="358" data-original-width="578" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmLlL05yVcdnQdwBTHtMVq8itXsKthdV2cr654caTLNu5_jaQzqXjfDyFjA85NL1j9Gg20Au85e4DLV-2aUu2jaVb6FmV-X31B3tVZt6QQqQGrsvj1JwWWncWhxsHyq1S0UYLGbnPXkzA/s16000/10+Yr-LinkedIn.png" /></a><br /><br />In the past 10 years, I know most of my batchmates would have completed their PHDs, MBA+Job+Promotion, Startup+Funding, & what have you. And, here I am, happy with my Masters in Quantitative Economics. Perhaps, things are not perfect they have to be made perfect!<br /><br />Or in my wife's words, "दिन Perfect नही होता, उसे Perfect बनाना होता है" which loosely translates to ,"Days are not perfect, you make them so"<br /><br />I really cannot say that the ISI Convocation day was my happiest day, but it was the perfect day!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div></div><div></div><br />Book Suggestions Below:<br />.<a href="https://www.amazon.in/India-Bharat-Pakistan-Constitutional-Civilisation-ebook/dp/B0B9846BTX?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1660774525&sr=8-3&linkCode=li2&tag=ashishgourav-21&linkId=079e33d82c344777375e995e1f1cfd93&language=en_IN&ref_=as_li_ss_il" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="//ws-in.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?_encoding=UTF8&ASIN=B0B9846BTX&Format=_SL160_&ID=AsinImage&MarketPlace=IN&ServiceVersion=20070822&WS=1&tag=ashishgourav-21&language=en_IN" /></a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="https://ir-in.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=ashishgourav-21&language=en_IN&l=li2&o=31&a=B0B9846BTX" style="border: none; margin: 0px;" width="1" /><span> </span> <a href="https://www.amazon.in/Thinking-Fast-Slow-Daniel-Kahneman-ebook/dp/B005MJFA2W?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1660774740&sr=8-1-spons&linkCode=li2&tag=ashishgourav-21&linkId=f2478532325f1bc562e92022221379b4&language=en_IN&ref_=as_li_ss_il" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="//ws-in.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?_encoding=UTF8&ASIN=B005MJFA2W&Format=_SL160_&ID=AsinImage&MarketPlace=IN&ServiceVersion=20070822&WS=1&tag=ashishgourav-21&language=en_IN" /></a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="https://ir-in.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=ashishgourav-21&language=en_IN&l=li2&o=31&a=B005MJFA2W" style="border: none; margin: 0px;" width="1" /><span> </span><a href="https://www.amazon.in/Outliers-Story-Success-Malcolm-Gladwell-ebook/dp/B002RI9PKO?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1660774830&sr=8-2&linkCode=li2&tag=ashishgourav-21&linkId=91dcb8ec2ddfffd812f7d6818a0598ea&language=en_IN&ref_=as_li_ss_il" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="//ws-in.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?_encoding=UTF8&ASIN=B002RI9PKO&Format=_SL160_&ID=AsinImage&MarketPlace=IN&ServiceVersion=20070822&WS=1&tag=ashishgourav-21&language=en_IN" /></a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="https://ir-in.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=ashishgourav-21&language=en_IN&l=li2&o=31&a=B002RI9PKO" style="border: none; margin: 0px;" width="1" /><br /><a href="https://www.amazon.in/Black-Swan-Impact-Highly-Improbable-ebook/dp/B002RI99IM?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1660774918&sr=8-1&linkCode=li2&tag=ashishgourav-21&linkId=d9e03dbf2670656c7b55da9be5793400&language=en_IN&ref_=as_li_ss_il" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="//ws-in.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?_encoding=UTF8&ASIN=B002RI99IM&Format=_SL160_&ID=AsinImage&MarketPlace=IN&ServiceVersion=20070822&WS=1&tag=ashishgourav-21&language=en_IN" /></a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="https://ir-in.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=ashishgourav-21&language=en_IN&l=li2&o=31&a=B002RI99IM" style="border: none; margin: 0px;" width="1" /><span> </span><a href="https://www.amazon.in/Psychology-Money-Morgan-Housel-ebook/dp/B08FHZ5L47?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1660774949&sr=8-1-spons&linkCode=li2&tag=ashishgourav-21&linkId=7f9440cd73abf366c9054dd48d2c16b6&language=en_IN&ref_=as_li_ss_il" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="//ws-in.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?_encoding=UTF8&ASIN=B08FHZ5L47&Format=_SL160_&ID=AsinImage&MarketPlace=IN&ServiceVersion=20070822&WS=1&tag=ashishgourav-21&language=en_IN" /><span> </span></a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="https://ir-in.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=ashishgourav-21&language=en_IN&l=li2&o=31&a=B08FHZ5L47" style="border: none; margin: 0px;" width="1" /><a href="https://www.amazon.in/Articulate-Mammal-Introduction-Psycholinguistics-Routledge/dp/0415610184?crid=3BPUQQFTKT9O2&keywords=The+Articulate+Mammal&qid=1660774982&sprefix=the+psychology+of+money%2Caps%2C316&sr=8-1&linkCode=li2&tag=ashishgourav-21&linkId=d3397b1ebc833b780de980723a58d80f&language=en_IN&ref_=as_li_ss_il" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="//ws-in.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?_encoding=UTF8&ASIN=0415610184&Format=_SL160_&ID=AsinImage&MarketPlace=IN&ServiceVersion=20070822&WS=1&tag=ashishgourav-21&language=en_IN" /></a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="https://ir-in.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=ashishgourav-21&language=en_IN&l=li2&o=31&a=0415610184" style="border: none; margin: 0px;" width="1" />Ashish Gouravhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13367298859443158406noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7060438102484057231.post-13638236386602543842020-07-28T10:19:00.001+05:302020-07-28T10:20:40.975+05:30Daily Gratitude Affirmation for 'Jivatma'The universe provides me everything I need. <div>Its timing is just perfect. </div><div>Food, clothing, shelter, knowledge, joy, entertainment, sensual pleasures </div><div>and everything amongst them is provided by a diligent mechanism </div><div>to nurture the 'Jivatma' and dispel the darkness of ignorance. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /><span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBa2U1OpDEeCSwl1PS_tztq2O6sJKygKP5m6Lbg2kkssBKgUdJMxy8NzmjaivgwxXDbY7odZYwibX-wnNMQNpT2W2uMpMdSTa5U0MrgKbLdD4BijudXbE7AQ6pRgEWlXibMwBjOx7_QKo/s943/Daily+Gratitude+for+Jivatma.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="531" data-original-width="943" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBa2U1OpDEeCSwl1PS_tztq2O6sJKygKP5m6Lbg2kkssBKgUdJMxy8NzmjaivgwxXDbY7odZYwibX-wnNMQNpT2W2uMpMdSTa5U0MrgKbLdD4BijudXbE7AQ6pRgEWlXibMwBjOx7_QKo/s320/Daily+Gratitude+for+Jivatma.png" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div>Universe is listening to you. </div><div>Be sincere and clear, </div><div>universe will send everything your way. </div><div>Caveat is you need to start treading the path, </div><div>universe doesn't knock on doors, </div><div>it meets you at the highway of life. </div><div>Now, it's your choice to stay at home and be foolishly wishful </div><div>or step out take a bus/auto/metro </div><div>or drive your own car </div><div>or else book an Uber! </div><div>But you need to be on the way to meet your gifts coming along</div>Ashish Gouravhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13367298859443158406noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7060438102484057231.post-32436063424053848132020-06-16T10:52:00.005+05:302020-08-09T10:57:14.535+05:30Depression : Come out of it <div><u><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixd2wrZPszGFJxJvrqUFHOM8uOl3S04eZklt_ySVjqXh6LJzATe68tYQTEU4UJNFikfLpo4UtPVeH1DeVp4Y70yMSipKesI0cbtveROSHEVy9fCErtOCShTevJykYl8cTEToMQ-1lwhsY/s225/depression+hedonism.png" imageanchor="1" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0px; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="225" data-original-width="225" height="351" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixd2wrZPszGFJxJvrqUFHOM8uOl3S04eZklt_ySVjqXh6LJzATe68tYQTEU4UJNFikfLpo4UtPVeH1DeVp4Y70yMSipKesI0cbtveROSHEVy9fCErtOCShTevJykYl8cTEToMQ-1lwhsY/w351-h351/depression+hedonism.png" width="351" /></a></div></u></div><u><b><div><u><b>To Anyone Thinking About Depression </b></u></div></b></u><br /><i><b>First of all</b></i>, what most people need to learn about 'Depression' is that it is NOT extreme sadness or despair. Depression is a disease like Cancer, ....(put other diseases you know here)..., So, It needs to handled by only experts. Society often judge depression patients as 'weak'. I certainly know it is NOT TRUE. The chemicals/hormones/neurons are in a bad state and need an intervention. It can happen to almost anyone <br /><br /><i><b>Next on the list</b></i>, is to not give two hoots to what society thinks about you & their idea of 'success for you'. You have an extremely short life and you don't have time to fit in as per their preferences. The good news & most important thing here would be to understand that 'mental health' is always in your hands. It requires work. Real work. Mind or Brain is a tool. <br /><br />I would like to personally suggest that <i><b>'Meditation & Self-Awareness' </b></i>helps. But the key is you need to do it when you are happy and at the highest state of mental health as that creates a refuge for your brain to go to when it is not feeling in the best shape. So, it becomes the chicken-egg problem. <br /><br />Anyway it is always prudent to bring in any form of meditation in your daily life. There are some very good resources on podcasting sites and YouTube. There is a mediation method for everyone, no-one-size-fits-all. <br /><br />Meditation must not be confused with any religious ritual, it is a mental exercise. That being said, it is unfortunate that the monopoly of meditation lies in the hands of Religious & Spiritual Leaders & NOT Medical Practitioners. In the world of second bests, you could give 'Zen Meditation' (<a href="https://amzn.to/2YwUBVi" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Get it on Amazon</a>) a try without dipping yourself too much in the mystical aspects. Also, if you want to take it to the next level, try 'Prāṇāyāma'.<div><br />And, reading books on 'Meditation & Self-Awareness' is highly recommended if you can give that much time. (<a href="https://amzn.to/3frauU5" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Get it all on Amazon from here</a>) </div><div>My personal recommendations are: <br />1. Man's Search for Meaning by Viktor Frankl (<a href="https://amzn.to/2Y4H7kR" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Get it on Amazon from here</a>)<br />2. When All Is Not Well by Om Swami (<a href="https://amzn.to/3d4ORHU" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Get it on Amazon from here</a>)</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div>Ashish Gouravhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13367298859443158406noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7060438102484057231.post-63441112410566980482020-05-17T15:52:00.002+05:302020-05-17T16:01:32.164+05:30Woohoo! Announcement & Changes!When I started blogging, way back in the previous decade, (2008 to be precise! Yeah, this blog is that old) I just wanted to write short stories in the blog form and maybe become another IITian author (sigh!). Then, life happened. <div><div><br /></div><div>I met a lot of people and jumped from one choice to the next choice, each taking me further away from my initial pursuit of writing. The silver lining was that I kept reading a lot of books. Back in 2014(well 6 years back), I read 50+ books/novels/novella. On the whole, I aged with my reading habit and my writing became restrictive and it was more directed to individuals than anonymous readers. </div><div><br /></div><div>In the mean time, I started putting weird stuff on my blog, one day I would do a movie review, next day an interview with a founder, then a poem then election result prediction. So, my blog started out like a Cafe and soon became Big Bazaar. </div><div><br /></div><div>This ain't cool!</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQm3LXvUwQA3sc9WeZA9UiX7b2RNjwQtfGI0KgaDpHU6lmDiWaRCQSIa8O95AsQn_LBk7t0eoq7zhET2CWTICangz0DNKE502JHOt680qhNp-Q_xDUaOxlK05gYfXMASdIhyphenhyphenRyH3cjgco/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="493" data-original-width="638" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQm3LXvUwQA3sc9WeZA9UiX7b2RNjwQtfGI0KgaDpHU6lmDiWaRCQSIa8O95AsQn_LBk7t0eoq7zhET2CWTICangz0DNKE502JHOt680qhNp-Q_xDUaOxlK05gYfXMASdIhyphenhyphenRyH3cjgco/s320/blog+fork.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>So, here I am finally doing the sane thing or may be not. I have forked my blog. Yeah!</div><div>I'll keep this blog for short stories and essays on public issues; a sort of 'my writing space'!</div><div><br /></div><div>Apart from this blog, I have started 3 more blogs. One catering to my reviews(books,movies,series,...), one for my number crunching stories and one for Career Progression</div><div><br /></div><div>Find the links below respectively </div><div>1. <a href="https://theadmiringcritic.blogspot.com/ " target="_blank">https://theadmiringcritic.blogspot.com/ </a>(The Admiring Critic)</div><div><br /></div><div>2. <a href="https://statisticaldharma.blogspot.com/ " target="_blank">https://statisticaldharma.blogspot.com/ </a>(The Statistical Dharma)</div><div><br /></div><div>3. <a href="https://careersaar.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">https://careersaar.blogspot.com/</a> (Career Saar)</div><div><br /></div><div>Most of the content in the new blogs is old. (How oxymoronic!) I have just curated them from this blog and will add future content according to its type & relevance. Thanks for bearing with my inanities. </div><div><br /></div><div>In this fickle age of short attention spans, if you still like to read blogs, it'd be a good idea to bookmark these new ones mentioned above, depending upon your interests. Show some love. </div></div>Ashish Gouravhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13367298859443158406noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7060438102484057231.post-28419065825058689422020-01-08T05:46:00.001+05:302022-08-18T04:04:34.602+05:30Why protest?This generation has now transitioned from being 'armchair activists' to 'placard-bearing protestors'. This comes in the wake of the new 'woke-generation'[1][2]<br />
<br />
So why do we protest? Rather why protestors protest?<br />
Protestors can be generally categorised in 3 categories<br />
<b><span style="color: red;">A) They understand the real issue and feel protest is the only or one of the key ways to affect change</span></b><br />
<br />
These are well meaning people whose only intention from the protests is brewing the steam of change. People of this category are well versed with the issue in concern and don't have vacuous reasons and stay away from propaganda. As you might have realised, this section of protestors form the minority of protestors.<br />
<br />
<b><span style="color: red;">B) They understand that their protest is the last thing the world needs, but they have insidious agenda and they are catalysts for the next category</span></b><br />
<br />
Their motivation can be anything. Money, 15 minutes of fame[3], political leanings, propaganda conduit, etc.<br />
This group causes the most chaos. They have expertise in making the environment of society caustic and volatile. Who are these people? You guessed it right, 'The Usual Suspects'<br />
<br />
<b><span style="color: red;">C) The Gullible 'woke-generation' </span></b><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1pdomXR7cpKAotPPU4ARaVtnGr2QghFn8oCEw1N4B7ZHsM1UFuVHStiq7-b9ejxv5z3zPbt_8rBPHTOJjuXSQ2gWewCpJvLUmbyk975Fc2eOPmF9YY0FJY-LO4H7EZxiz08y9sFxabrs/s1600/woke+generation.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="479" data-original-width="640" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1pdomXR7cpKAotPPU4ARaVtnGr2QghFn8oCEw1N4B7ZHsM1UFuVHStiq7-b9ejxv5z3zPbt_8rBPHTOJjuXSQ2gWewCpJvLUmbyk975Fc2eOPmF9YY0FJY-LO4H7EZxiz08y9sFxabrs/s320/woke+generation.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2019/06/10/a-standoff-at-the-last-abortion-clinic-in-montgomery" target="_blank">Image Source</a></div>
<br />
These are 15-30 year old people who haven't seen much world, are not well read, have been unlucky to get unsuitable nurturing by their immediate surroundings, etc. These people don't have voices of their own. They just depend on the next 'cool' phenomenon to latch on to. It's fashionable to follow/pursue a particular ideology or a school of thought or your political inclination based not on your understanding but because it sounds 'the in thing', and not because it's your idea but based on what a few handful of 'narrative-savvy marketers masquerading as social activists'[read Category B] propagate as wisdom.<br />
<br />
<br />
Now, when you mix the above categories, it makes a very potent concoction for protests from every nook & corner of the society. The need of the hour is better primary education. An education system which favours cultural sensitivity, originality, ethics and rewards creativity. We need societies which are not another ape-version of a different society. We need to live local and breathe global. The gradual hatred of the new generation towards its roots creates rifts in societies and makes room for vested interest groups to take powerful and unfavourable seats.<br />
<br />
My question to these protestors would be<br />
Q. What are the top 3 actionable economic decisions world leaders need to take?<br />
Q. Are there such examples currently?<br />
Q. What are the top 3 social decisions we need to take collectively?<br />
Q. What kind of society would make them leave all protests all-together, basically what is their utopian or not-so utopian idea?<br />
<br />Book Suggestions Below:<br />.<a href="https://www.amazon.in/India-Bharat-Pakistan-Constitutional-Civilisation-ebook/dp/B0B9846BTX?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1660774525&sr=8-3&linkCode=li2&tag=ashishgourav-21&linkId=079e33d82c344777375e995e1f1cfd93&language=en_IN&ref_=as_li_ss_il" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="//ws-in.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?_encoding=UTF8&ASIN=B0B9846BTX&Format=_SL160_&ID=AsinImage&MarketPlace=IN&ServiceVersion=20070822&WS=1&tag=ashishgourav-21&language=en_IN" /></a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="https://ir-in.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=ashishgourav-21&language=en_IN&l=li2&o=31&a=B0B9846BTX" style="border: none; margin: 0px;" width="1" /><span> </span> <a href="https://www.amazon.in/Thinking-Fast-Slow-Daniel-Kahneman-ebook/dp/B005MJFA2W?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1660774740&sr=8-1-spons&linkCode=li2&tag=ashishgourav-21&linkId=f2478532325f1bc562e92022221379b4&language=en_IN&ref_=as_li_ss_il" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="//ws-in.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?_encoding=UTF8&ASIN=B005MJFA2W&Format=_SL160_&ID=AsinImage&MarketPlace=IN&ServiceVersion=20070822&WS=1&tag=ashishgourav-21&language=en_IN" /></a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="https://ir-in.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=ashishgourav-21&language=en_IN&l=li2&o=31&a=B005MJFA2W" style="border: none; margin: 0px;" width="1" /><span> </span><a href="https://www.amazon.in/Outliers-Story-Success-Malcolm-Gladwell-ebook/dp/B002RI9PKO?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1660774830&sr=8-2&linkCode=li2&tag=ashishgourav-21&linkId=91dcb8ec2ddfffd812f7d6818a0598ea&language=en_IN&ref_=as_li_ss_il" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="//ws-in.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?_encoding=UTF8&ASIN=B002RI9PKO&Format=_SL160_&ID=AsinImage&MarketPlace=IN&ServiceVersion=20070822&WS=1&tag=ashishgourav-21&language=en_IN" /></a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="https://ir-in.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=ashishgourav-21&language=en_IN&l=li2&o=31&a=B002RI9PKO" style="border: none; margin: 0px;" width="1" /><br /><a href="https://www.amazon.in/Black-Swan-Impact-Highly-Improbable-ebook/dp/B002RI99IM?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1660774918&sr=8-1&linkCode=li2&tag=ashishgourav-21&linkId=d9e03dbf2670656c7b55da9be5793400&language=en_IN&ref_=as_li_ss_il" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="//ws-in.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?_encoding=UTF8&ASIN=B002RI99IM&Format=_SL160_&ID=AsinImage&MarketPlace=IN&ServiceVersion=20070822&WS=1&tag=ashishgourav-21&language=en_IN" /></a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="https://ir-in.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=ashishgourav-21&language=en_IN&l=li2&o=31&a=B002RI99IM" style="border: none; margin: 0px;" width="1" /><span> </span><a href="https://www.amazon.in/Psychology-Money-Morgan-Housel-ebook/dp/B08FHZ5L47?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1660774949&sr=8-1-spons&linkCode=li2&tag=ashishgourav-21&linkId=7f9440cd73abf366c9054dd48d2c16b6&language=en_IN&ref_=as_li_ss_il" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="//ws-in.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?_encoding=UTF8&ASIN=B08FHZ5L47&Format=_SL160_&ID=AsinImage&MarketPlace=IN&ServiceVersion=20070822&WS=1&tag=ashishgourav-21&language=en_IN" /><span> </span></a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="https://ir-in.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=ashishgourav-21&language=en_IN&l=li2&o=31&a=B08FHZ5L47" style="border: none; margin: 0px;" width="1" /><a href="https://www.amazon.in/Articulate-Mammal-Introduction-Psycholinguistics-Routledge/dp/0415610184?crid=3BPUQQFTKT9O2&keywords=The+Articulate+Mammal&qid=1660774982&sprefix=the+psychology+of+money%2Caps%2C316&sr=8-1&linkCode=li2&tag=ashishgourav-21&linkId=d3397b1ebc833b780de980723a58d80f&language=en_IN&ref_=as_li_ss_il" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="//ws-in.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?_encoding=UTF8&ASIN=0415610184&Format=_SL160_&ID=AsinImage&MarketPlace=IN&ServiceVersion=20070822&WS=1&tag=ashishgourav-21&language=en_IN" /></a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="https://ir-in.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=ashishgourav-21&language=en_IN&l=li2&o=31&a=0415610184" style="border: none; margin: 0px;" width="1" />
<br />
Notes:<br />
1. <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Woke" target="_blank">Woke-Wikipedia</a><br />
2. <a href="https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=woke" target="_blank">Woke-Urban Dictionary</a><br />
3. <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/15_minutes_of_fame" target="_blank">15 minutes of fame</a><br />
<br />Ashish Gouravhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13367298859443158406noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7060438102484057231.post-87772816834065642102020-01-03T05:29:00.001+05:302020-01-03T05:42:16.976+05:30Questions : Measured Approach<h4>
<span style="color: red;">Is science just another point of view?</span></h4>
Most of what we say as natural laws or theories of science are based on empirical findings. So, the question implores you to clarify if empirical findings can be taken as absolute truth. You might as well say that science is just good statistical analysis at play. The answer as always is with you.<br />
<br />
<br />
<h4>
<span style="color: red;">What is the one thing you would like to change in the world?</span></h4>
Your answer could be anything. Something as basic as end of global hunger or as dramatic as a world with no national boundaries. Take any '<i>bit of change</i>' you want to see and ask yourself if the cause is your own or is it of a significant value to you.<br />
<br />
<br />
<h4>
<span style="color: red;">Are you taking any steps to affect the change as answered above?</span></h4>
Well, we all want a million things in life but those wishes are just that, mere wishful thinking if we don't act or make a systematic plan to bring our dreams to fruition. You can take baby steps, it doesn't matter as long as you are moving at least a bit forward everyday.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjl8KAngjPHTYr_glWjLHYIOZMqofZWgF-H68qaD0aPJ6NKQSzju2uN2En9qOv2vp4zS_99PJddNtDFVUrc-jkr_xQ5DIPClcPxHdGXXe7KthZJg5SvXj61mWimvNnbTNrJH7RMY4KJPHw/s1600/onepercentrule.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="319" data-original-width="675" height="189" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjl8KAngjPHTYr_glWjLHYIOZMqofZWgF-H68qaD0aPJ6NKQSzju2uN2En9qOv2vp4zS_99PJddNtDFVUrc-jkr_xQ5DIPClcPxHdGXXe7KthZJg5SvXj61mWimvNnbTNrJH7RMY4KJPHw/s400/onepercentrule.jpeg" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
[Image : <a href="https://medium.com/@chrisgardener/the-1-principle-998b33512100">https://medium.com/@chrisgardener/the-1-principle-998b33512100</a>]<br />
<br />
<br />
<h4>
<span style="color: red;">Are you measuring your progress?</span></h4>
As the famous saying goes, "<i>what gets measured gets improved</i>". If you are not measuring your steps then perhaps your outcome will also be random. So, ask yourself what tools or methodologies are you employing to track your progress in the mission of your life as answered above.<br />
<br />
<br />
<h4>
<span style="color: red;">So, when can we see that change you are about to bring in this world?</span></h4>
Setting an end date to any activity gives it life. Think about humans or any living being, we die because we live. So, if you put an end date or expiry date you have given your vision a life, which will turn into a mission.<br />
<br />
<br />
Thanks for reading the third and final part of my series on Questions.<br />
Read <a href="http://iitashish.blogspot.com/2019/12/questions-ab-initio.html" target="_blank">Part 1</a> & <a href="https://iitashish.blogspot.com/2019/12/questions-gender.html" target="_blank">Part 2</a> if you have missed them :<br />
<br />
<a href="http://iitashish.blogspot.com/2019/12/questions-ab-initio.html" target="_blank">Questions : Ab Initio</a><br />
<br />
<a href="https://iitashish.blogspot.com/2019/12/questions-gender.html" target="_blank">Questions : The Gender</a><br />
<br />
<br />
<br />Ashish Gouravhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13367298859443158406noreply@blogger.com0