Arnav's Angle

We gained our Independence about 67 years back. Our history after independence is much shorter than the British reign over India, which already seems long gone, forgotten. Over these few years, we have had 13 changes to our Prime Ministers, couple of wars with Pakistan and China, resolution of Kashmir still seems murky, more than 65% of the population still living under $2 a day which by any reasonable standards is way below poverty line, our GDP growth today is the lowest ever, INR - USD exchange rates are the highest ever, and infrastructure development is dotted with sub-standard quality construction and corruption which is eroding the feathers off the gold swan that India once was. The British on the other hand, built our rail networks, started the use of the telegraph system, taught us how to harvest and process tea, taught us the English language - a means through which we are able to connect to the entire world and able to travel and settle in foreign countries effortlessly, a...

1. Build a mental playground. 2. Do something for others 3. Read good books 4. Love what you do and if you don't then change what you do

At some point you gotta decide who you gonna be. Can't let nobody make that decision for you - Moonlight (2016) "Leave the world better than you found it" - Khaleesi, Game of thrones You know you've reached the epitome of technological success when you can contain the knowledge of an entire 50000 sqft library in a coin size chip. - Me Financial resources should be given to those who are more concerned with making the world a better place for all. That should be the premise of resource and financial allocation. - Me.  "Do not go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path, and leave a trail" by  Ralph Waldo Emerson Quis custodiet ipsos custodes? or  Who will police the police? - Original Latin phrase, which I first read in Deception Point by Dan Brown Does the man make the  suit , or does the suit make the man? - First read from Iron Man 3 previews One can always continue to learn from others Do not look down upon tho...

The Economic Times Sunday edition makes your mind go out and think. It presents facts from various facets of life, science and business and allows the reader to really wonder how this all works. It's a modern and current how-stuff-works concept which works very well with educated or inquisitive readers. In fact, even though I miss the newspaper on every weekday (because I'm a late riser) I wait for each Sunday's edition of Eco Times, and I rummage through the stack of newspapers and pick this one out. Its almost like a short magazine, something like a Fortune magazine for Sunday. However, this pattern of writing is very apt for Sunday but would be overload for other days. Its more of wholesome business facts and figures relating to various industries, instead of current news relating to business events that happened the previous day. As a whole, it's a good, intelligent and idea inducing type of read which is very enjoyable and apt for the Sunday.

I saw a brilliant quote today which I thought I should store/share: Of true knowledge at any time, a good part is merely convenient, necessary indeed to the worker, but not to an understanding of his subject: One can judge a building without knowing where to buy the bricks; one can understand a violin sonata without knowing how to score for the instrument. The work may in fact be better understood without a knowledge of the details of its manufacture, of attention to these tends to distract from meaning and effect. -- Jacques Barzun In fact, I often also believe that the opposite is true. And that to enjoy the work truly, you need to know the background and the effort taken to really come up with it. Both these concepts work in their own ways.

Now that we have moved so far ahead with technology we still don't have the option in our phones to sort messages by name, star mark them and sort it using that or any other way of organizing. Because messages can now be stored for years till being deleted manually, things get really cluttered! For instance, I have had my iPhone for 2.5 years now and I have messages that are almost 1.5yrs old. I would really want to be able to organize this better. Google (Android), Apple and BB, are you listening? Also, Google should allow us to tag emails with notes. Such as how you want to respond to an email, or something that you need to remember in regards with a specific email then it would be convenient to be able to tag your emails with a note and refer to them later. It could be made as a lab feature which people who really want it can activate it and others don't. Google, you really need to one up FB here. What if they come out with this feature and you have to go and copy them la...

I was just watching a Steve Jobs speech (video) at a university's commencement and he mentioned something from his life that really touched me. For 33 years Steve Jobs woke up every morning and asked himself: "If today was the last day of my life, would I want to do what I am about to do today?" If the answer to that question was 'No' for too many days in a row, he knew he had to change something. Life is truly quite transient and we should not stutter and lose a moment to do something that we like and enjoy. We should not falter in trying to achieve what we believe in and what our heart wants as we face a situation where not having done something wont matter and having done it will have made the bigger impact. The world would be a much happier place to live in where we find the answers to things we are searching for much faster than we currently can.

Canada is planning to go plastic with their bank currency notes! I have been waiting for some country to start this trend for so long. It makes much sense to have plastic money which is basically indestructible as well as much more difficult to counterfeit. Also, in India after the pan wallas and parking wallas have gotten a hold of that paper money it goes through a lot to remain in shape and stinks up your wallet if you receive it. Plastic would definitely solve all these issues and make money last much longer in a better condition. Though we'll loose the crispiness of freshly printed cash from the bank!

Isn't it a paradox that the police/government charges a person if they disobey the law. This amount effectively acts as a revenue for them. Though it is in the best interest of the nation for a person to follow all laws, it is also in the interest of the police department if people commit any unlawful activities, since they get revenue from these actions. Its like a suppliers market: the government provides for the rules that "shouldn't" be broken and the police makes an income when these rules are broken. By driving past a red light and paying a fine, I effectively purchased the action of driving past that red light. There is however a better way of dealing with this situation. Since, the government has a network of various different businesses they conduct, they can allocate all "fine" revenues to a separate purpose such as educational fund, or improving health and sanitation in the city and keep rotating this every year and fix a permanent budget for th...