Must Read Books

• Ambedkar: Towards An Enlightened India by Gail Omvedt
• India In Turmoil by Ved Marwah 
• India Since Independence by Bipan Chandra 
• India'S Struggle For Independence by Bipan Chandra 
• Contemporary India: Economy, Society, Politics by Neera Chandhoke, Praveen Priyadarshi 
• India's Foreign Policy Since Independence by V P Dutt 
• Foreign Policy Of India by V N Khanna  
• Challenge And Strategy: Rethinking India`S Foreign Policy by Rajiv Sikri
• The Sikhs by Khushwant Singh 
• The Fountainhead - Ayn Rand
• Atlas Shrugged - Ayn Rand
• The Catcher in the Rye - J. D. Salinger
• To Kill a Mocking Bird - Harper Lee
• The Train to Pakistan - Khushwant Singh
• It's not about the bike - Lance Armstrong
• I Dare - Kiran Bedi
• Doctors - Erich Segal
• The Class - Erich Segal
• The Kite Runner - Khaled Hosseini
• Animal Farm - George Orwell
• The curious incident of the dog in the night time - Mark Haddon
• Da Vinci Code - Dan Brown
• Angels and Demons - Dan Brown
• Digital Fortress - Dan Brown

The Power of Inference

Few days ago I got a chance to watch television (as I hardly watch it) and as a matter of fact it had to be some good news channel or the sports because of my inability to tolerate all those saas bahu serials. As I was playing with the remote, I happened to stop at one of the news channels exploring the elections. Now when I say elections it has to be something pertaining to our popular political parties. It was fun watching the way the channel was portraying the drama with all the sound and light effects that will put to shame even our film-makers. The target-obviously the category of people which doesn’t have the potency to ‘infer’. There were so many things one could infer out of all that drama which might impel someone to not to vote. But we hardly do that. And I reckon that is what the problem is with most of us Indians and that’s why we don’t see one political party coming out successful election after election. The reason: because they don’t read between the lines and because they take what is in front of them as true. They might know that all that glitters is not gold but they don’t comprehend what it means. I would say, another inference problem.

The next issue is ‘who is to blame for this?’. Frankly speaking it is the people themselves who are to blame but the major proportion of it goes to our education system. From the moment a child becomes a student, he is enrolled into an endless loop of theoretical education. He assumes every written word in the text book to be a fact and starts memorizing it. Now this will always create problems because a person can remember a certain fact only to some extent, the longevity of which depends on the number of times he comes across the same fact again. That is why most of us still remember 1 plus 1 is 2 and tend to forget history dates. But then you’ll ask me is there any logic behind why 1 plus 1 is 2. I will definitely say no. The important point here is that we need to be selective and shrewd as to what needs to be assimilated and what needs to be inferred. And if this inference thing is not practiced at a younger age, then it creates problems later on and that can have a good (I mean bad) impact on your decision making. The decisions that you take when you are someone’s son or someone’s daughter doesn’t matter much but certainly do when you become someone’s father or husband or employee or employer. Because then you are answerable for all the good and bad. Schools should be aimed at exploring one’s mind. I don’t think many schools out here in India are taking any pains to develop a child’s brain. And for the same reason, a few private organizations are coming up that cater to this specific need. But then if you are to send your child to some other organization specifically for this, what the hell schools are doing. The only solution to this problem is when an individual takes the initiative to conjure.

The consequence of this not-inferring-things is that some other people are reaping benefits for your impotence. If you are able to infer you will be able to eliminate most of the options and be amongst the really-required ones. And I guarantee the life also eases out a bit as you can decipher most of the crypted situations in your daily life. There are many people who know ravi goes to temple but only a handful of us ask themselves as to why ravi is going to the temple and what will he do over there and that explains why most of us are ravis and only a few of us - einsteins.

Excerpts/ Quotes

• Blessed are those who are not afraid to admit that they don't know something. (Zahir - Paulo Coelho)
  

• Our true friends are those who are with us when good things happen. They cheer us on and are pleased by our triumphs. False friends only appear at difficult times, with their sad, supportive faces, when, in fact, our suffering is serving to console them for their miserable lives. (Zahir - Paulo Coelho)

• I guess he just din't know how to be happy. That's the one thing they can't teach you at Harvard. (The Class - Erich Segal)

• I din't lose. I just haven't won yet. (The Class - Erich Segal)

• That doesn't make me inept. It makes me fallible.

• Learn what a magician knows. It's not magic anymore.

 

Lessons from the guitar itself!!

I started off with this instrument the same way a normal person does. Never thought i would go this far and learn something which i had never expected. Although this instrument appears to be lifeless but the lessons it imparts says a lot about its human character. There are few things this instrument conveys that i would like to share with you all. Lets see it succeeds in influencing your life.

Here it goes:

• There are areas in which you are not born talented.
• You cannot master anything in one day.
• There are 3P's that you need to follow: Passion, Patience and Practice.
• More time you spend on something, more you become better.
• There is a way of doing certain things.
• Good guidance always helps.
• Be regular.
• There is nothing in this world that you cannot do.
• Keep an idol who is an icon in his field.
• Everything of something is better than something of everything.
• You should know whatever you are playing rather than play whatever you know.
• Fruits of hardwork and patience are really sweet.
• Dont play for others. Instead play for yourself. Then you'll definitely enjoy.
• Respect standards.
• Share whatever you know. All great people share.

These bullets would definitely help a person starting off with guitar. But it has a lot to comment on our lives as well.

Jason Becker

Jason Becker, an American guitarist, was born on July 22, 1969. He is a neo-classical guitarist and a composer. Those of us who dont know what neo-classical metal is all about i would like to define it in a shorter and a broader way. This genre has its influences from western classical music characterized by people like Paganini, Vivaldi, Bach, mozart etc. Yngwie malmsteen (swedish guitar player) is considered to be the pioneer in neo-classical metal. People like vinnie moore, rhandy roads have also tread this path.

Becker had picked up guitar so nicely that at the age of 16 he had formed a band called "Cacophony" with Marty Friedman(another great guitar player). Becker had studied the works of italian violinist Paganini and hence was influenced by it. His compositions include intense use of scales, arpegios (characteristic of neo-classical metal). His display of high speed alternate picking and sweep picking is a characteristic of his playing. His characteristic classical shred style playing is a treat to watch.

After working with Cacophony he had left the band to pursue a solo career and came out with his first solo album-"The Perpetual Burn". At the age of 20 he joined hands with David lee roth but soon he was diagnosed with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis(Lou Gehrig's Disease) which hampered his activity and had weakened his hands, legs etc. To compensate he started taking help of techniques which could help him play guitar easily and finally completed one more album but dint join any tour cuz he couldnt stand. To keep up his love for music and inability to play guitar he continued using keyboard but that dint last too long.

This disease had crippled his body but it did not hamper his mind. He still uses computer aided techniques to compose music. Some of the albums to his name include "The Raspberry Jams", "The Blackberry jams", "Perspective" and ofcourse "The Perpetual Burn". Several great guitarists like Steve Vai, Marty Friedman, Rusty Coolie etc have paid tribute to this great guitar player by featuring in the albums "Warmth in Wilderness I and II".

So much he had achieved at a very young age shows how great he is. Although, the disease has done a great harm to him but his love for music even after so much happening shows he truly is a "Great Musician" and no less than "God".

Official website: http://www.jasonbecker.com/
To know more about him: Wikipedia.com
Take a look at his video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pYauTCAbvh8