Eurocentrism, blah blah blah....

Eurocentrism is a conscious or unconscious perspective that whatever coming from the Europe is right and true. This word had been prevalent in the last century, especially during the European colonialist era, and was used critically. So why I got interested in it, and what are the interesting things about it?

I got interested in this word because of some reasons. Recently, I heard one of my friends quoting from a speech he listened to: "...whatever coming from the West (from the Indian point of view, the West means the European and American) is regarded as science and whatever coming from the east (Asia or India) is considered as ___ (the person could not remember the word; it must be pseudoscience, metaphysics, religious, spiritual, or even nonsense)...". Whoever the speaker be, I felt this was incorrect. Science has a set of fundamental rules to accept something true. They include objectivity, repeatability, etc. For example, the basic laws of motions, discovered by Newton applies all over the world. The same must be true for anything that can be called science. And if somebody claims something is science, which is not repeatable or objectively verifiable, I will look at him with suspicion. For example, in the same talk, the speaker claimed that "it was scientifically proved that water has memory". I don't know the truth about this, but I feel suspicious! On the other hand, I have a question: do we accept everything coming from the West as true? For example, the movie Jurassic Park comes from the West (though from the United States). But do we consider it true? It's just a fantasy, according to all of us, isn't it? There are numerous science fiction coming from the West; do we consider them true?

Now a days, we have so much of exposure to what is going on around the world. I followed Prof. Richard Dawkins in Youtube. I found him talking to many religious people, taking part in debates and just talking science to us. One of these videos [1] I would like to mention here is the one where he talks with the Indian holistic healer Mr. Deepak Chopra about the relation between quantum mechanics and his so called quantum-healing process. But Mr. Chopra soon realizes that he can't argue with an eminent scientist like Prof. Hawkins, who is also a man of an extremely rational mind. Then Mr. Chopra says that he never claimed any relationship with the quantum mechanics, he used the word "quantum" only as a metaphor, and in fact, it was quantum mechanics that had hijacked the word "quantum". In a later video [2], Chopra says Dawkins point of view is "mechanistic, Newtonian, outmoded and obsolete". Here, I am confused! Who is outmoded? Dawkins or Chopra? But our point is different: is Dawkins Eurocentric just because he argues rationally, or just because he comes from the United Kingdom? I don't need to explain this point. You catch on Dawkins on Youtube and Google videos, and you will be able to judge.

A third reason why I was tempted to know more about Eurocentrism is the following. One of my friends sent me a speech titled as For America to Live, Europe Must Die [3] by the Native American activist Russell Means (according to him, he is not the Native American, which is a misnomer, but he is the real "Indian"!). He claims that all the European concepts like modern science, modern physics, modern philosophy, Marxism, capitalism, etc. have a hidden agenda of European cultural expansionism, and the proponents of the above fields were trying to expand Christanity in disguise: a version of the "secularized" Christianity. He views Karl Marx, Issac Newton, John Locke, Adam Smith, Decartes, and every other European intellectuals as travellers on the same boat: expand the European culture! Of course, expand against the Native American, Indian (my India:-)) or other cultures. He says, for example, that "European culture itself is responsible [for the sufferings of the Native Americans]. Marxism is just the latest continuation of this tradition, not a solution to it. To ally with Marxism is to ally with the very same forces that declare us an acceptable cost." I understand that this is a cultural argument. He says "After all, Europeans consider themselves godlike in their rationalism and science. God is the Supreme Being; all else must be inferior." This is a religious argument. So, I think this third point which prompted me to think about Eurocentrism is the matters concerned with identity, religion and culture. I have come across the same opposition against the "European thought" such as science, mathematics etc. among some people with Nationalist sentiments in my India, too. The Islamic problem of identity and religion, and their struggle against "the West" in the Middle-East also can be looked at from the same perspective. However, isn't it ridiculous to look at every thing European, including modern science, sharing a common ground and cling obstinately to culture and identity?

In my short search to find out what was Eurocentrism, I came across another interesting fact: Eurocentrist attitude towards Indian mathematics. Forget the nonsense of the Vedic Mathematics, which is a system "consisting of a few isolated tips, totally lacking in coherence and conceptual utility" [4] or "is only an assortment of tricks, based on simple algebraic principles" [5], and whose vedic credentials are disputed. We are talking about the "real" Indian mathematics. An overview of the Indian and Kerala mathematics of ancient times, and how the European historians had neglected and rejected to recognize the Indian contribution to mathematics, is given in Indian Mathematics: Readdressing the Balance [6] by Ian G. Pearce. This, I think, a very good and acceptable example of Eurocentrism.

I would like to end this post by discussing what the Slovenian leftist intellectual Prof. Slavoj Zizek [7] given to the online magazine Bad Subjects. He admits the existence of Eurocentrism and the Christian influence on it (even otherwise, there is no dispute on its existence or the Christian influence; but on what grounds can we attack it is the question). But he says that, as modern humans, we can't help accepting the concept of "universalism", which is clearly a European proposal, influenced by Christianity. Universalism is an attempt to show the world that there is something applicable to every human being, in any culture, religion and ideology. For example, the concept of human well-being or ethics, is universal. If you define separate ethics for Europeans, Indians, Native Indians, Christians, Hindus, Muslims and the Buddhists, then we end up in chaos (the modern world is in such a chaos now!); we'll not be able to define it! I remember Erich Fromm proposing the same idea of universalism in his book Man for Himself. 

I think the only answer to the human problem is by accepting the axiom of universalism. More than belief, identity and culture, we have to accept universalism, when defining at least the concept of human well-being. Similarly, we must accept the European(?) notion of objectivity, at least in science, so that its pursuit is satisfied. However, when these concepts are applied to human society, I think we must be careful. There, humanity, not objectivity or materialistic view, is important. Differing from Russell Means I would say that Marxism is not materialistic. It is, on the contrary, to look at the humans as humans, not as workers, and to free them from the exploitations of the forced labour and the powerful class. Marxism dreams [8] of a world, where every human being is a poet!  We can argue its Utopian edge, whether China or Soviet Union could materialize this vision, etc. sometime else.

At the same time, we must not eradicate the culture and identity of some race or ethnic group, and any attempt to do so will meet adverse and dangerous results. Moreover, concepts of universality is not only European or Christian; every other culture or religion contains it, in some way or the other. We must assimilate the good points from the individual cultures, after scrutiny, and dream of the rise of a modern, intellectual (more modern and intellectual than us) race of humanity.

References:

[1] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z-FaXD_igv4

[2] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c-OtVS-icNc

[3] http://www.dickshovel.com/Banks.html

[4] S. G. Dani, "'Vedic Maths' : facts and myths", One India One People, Vol 4/6, January 2001, pp. 20-21, available online http://www.math.tifr.res.in/~dani/ .

[5] S. G. Dani, "Vedic Mathematics" : a dubious pursuit, published in Newsletter of the Ramanujan Mathematical Society, available online http://www.math.tifr.res.in/~dani/ .

[6] http://www-history.mcs.st-andrews.ac.uk/history/Projects/Pearce/index.html

[7] http://bad.eserver.org/issues/2002/59/zizek.html

[8] Erich Fromm, Marx's Concept of Man, 1961.

Dare to be an atheist.

Some Virtual Reality Experiences

Have you ever experienced virtual reality? Not the artificial virtual reality we create using our technical skills but the real one. Of course, yes, if you have taken narcotics or got drunk enough. But without all these, I experienced one on last Sunday, on 26th October. I'll tell you friend, it was awesome! great!

For some reason --- of course, work related to my research, but I defer to tell you the details now --- I did not sleep for two days. Oh-oh, two nights, to be specific. In fact, I was lacking energy and enthusiasm to finish my job in hand in two days. So, I was about to give up, as usual. But thanks to my Kannada gang, they pulled me to a Malayalee restaurant to have dinner on Friday night. And we ate... we ate too much.... To quote the Malayalam novelist V.K.N., we ate to the brink of our palettes (പയ്യന് കഴിച്ചു... മൂക്കററം കഴിച്ചു.). I don't remember what I ate; maybe, I must ask Vidyadharan. It was a wonderful dinner, I had a nice time and my spirit went high. When we were back in IITM, it was twelve in the midnight and it started raining slightly. When my friends went to catch a good sleep of a night, I was tempted to go to work. And I did. Rest is an unforgettable history in my life. I don't remember anything thereafter. I worked like a dog. However, I insisted myself to take food at right time and I took a lot so that an empty stomach would not disturb me in my work. I continued my work, diligently, awake, for two days --- that is, till Sunday early morning. It was then I started seeing the virtual reality. I was doing something in the computer --- at least, I felt so --- but was unaware what it was. Perhaps, my brain had switched itself off automatically. I don't know. I had to stay in my lab till the sun rises, and as soon as I saw light outside, I started to the hostel, to have break fast and sleep like a baby. I was unable to lock the door, I had forgotten how to use the key, where to keep it, etc. After successful completion of doing the room locking ritual (I will write about this usual ritual later), I started to walk. I will never forget in my life that walk. The road was flowing like a river. I saw occasional peaks and troughs on the road. I felt the trees were moving with me. Now and then I got suddenly threatened by a ferocious animal running towards me. When I started seeing human beings in the mess, I felt they were aliens from another world. My stomach was empty, and even in my dizziness, I was aware of it. I knew that if I sleep without food, then I would wake up like a dead dog. So, I don't know how, I ate the break fast. Afterwards, I started walking to my room. There were leaves and small wooden pieces lying around, on the soil. I felt they were all snakes. With so much of fear and troubles, I walked among them. When I reached my hostel, its wall was moving! And when I reached my room, all I could do was to fall on my bed and sink into a sound sleep. That was the nirvriti --- that was the nirvana.

Unconscious Mind of a Room

Does a room have an unconscious mind? For that matter, does a home have an unconscious mind?

It was about two weeks back, a Saturday, I guess, when I thought of tidying up my room. Though I used to clean my room regularly, or irregularly, I have never tried of tidying it up, or to refresh it, or to gave it life again. You, friends of mine, perhaps know that I have been living in my this hostel room at IIT Madras for the past three years. And I have gathered a lot of books --- maths, engineering and fiction --- in my room, which, after reading or skimming through, had never kept in a proper place, but left untouched in my shelf. OK, coming back to the Saturday I was talking about, I set to clean my books and keep them arranged. When I started the job I realized they were so dusty. But that could not weaken my will. To tell the truth, I enjoyed the job --- really! A few minutes into the job, I started unearthing a lot of papers and documents. They came in a pile and ranged from the day I started living in this room. They included one of the drafts of my M.Tech. thesis, which, I remember, had been used for preparing for my thesis defence in August 2007; my admission papers in IIT Madras; my admission order to IISc, Bangalore, which I did not make use of; a lot of technical tutorials and research papers, which I wanted to read but never read (or did I?); the hotel bill I payed for the party I gave to my friends when I passed the comprehensive exam; and so on and on.... Every time I got a new piece of paper from that pile, some memory attached with if lashed in my brain. Those were all my forgotten memories, or rather, memories from the forgotten days. All these documents have been with me during these years without my being aware of them. I like mysteries. Isn't this also an exciting mystery?

I'm sure, if I go home and search my cabinets and old files, I will be unearthing a lot of my forgotten dreams and memories. Thus I started believing that every room, and every home, has got an unconscious mind --- reflective of its inhabitants' !

Don Quixote: an inspiration?

Old days should have been much better to live, I hope. Meanwhile, I know that this is a foolish hope. Yet, why I hope so is because of the kind of art that was produced in those lost times. Currently, this thought is inspired in me by the story of Don Quixote. I remember, as a small boy, as small as ten years old or so, reading an abridged comic book illustrating the story of Don Quixote, a person, thin and fragile, in his fifties, who, after reading so many heroic stories of knights, becomes insane and deluded to think that he was a knight, too. Perhaps, he must have been bored of the ordinary country life he used to be going through. He sets forth to travel around the world and foolishly reacts to everything he comes across. And, in all his thoughtless endeavours, he fails. But he believes that he succeeded in every situation and defeated everyone who fought with him. I am trying to recollect how my mind was reacting to this fabulous story. Interestingly, I was very confused; at that age, I was unable to make out why a person should behave like that. In the story, he sets forth to many heroic actions but ends up as a fool. I was confused if he was a hero or a comic character. Hero should not fail, right?

The following picture was included in the comic book I read. It illustrates Don Quixote, going mad, while reading a book. Look at the characters his imagination creates around him! In my childhood, my mind was stuck with it. Even now, looking at it, I feel some mystic sensation within.

Don Quixote going insane, by Gustave Doré. (The photo is from wikimedia
resources and is in the public domain.)

As a grown up, I understand what the author, Cervantes, was trying to tell us. Besides, particularly after joining for Ph.D., I feel like Don Quixote! Have I set myself to a task, without much thinking and preparation? Is this true in the case of my decision to get married before finishing my Ph.D.? Truly speaking, I want to find out if Don Quixote had inspired me and, if yes, how. I had procured the unabridged version (of course, translated to English from Spanish) of the book five years ago, but haven't started reading yet. It is very big, probably with 600 pages or more. I think I must read it in the near future.

Mathematics -- Pure and Applied -- and Engineering

I was trying to understand "what is mathematics" and how it differs from engineering (indeed, a stupid question to ask). I love mathematics, and I am fascinated by it, though I have no good mathematical talents. Furthermore, I know that engineering problems demand so much mathematical skills and knowledge. And many a time, my mind digress from  the simplicity of engineering to the wilderness of mathematics without my knowledge. This creates confusion as to what I am doing. A confused mind needs clarity. That is how I began to ask the above question.

I had heard that there is a difference between pure mathematics and applied mathematics. A notable mathematician of the last century, Paul R. Halmos gives clear distinction between them in his talks, interviews and books. According to him, mathematics is an intellectual discipline, done for its own sake. Though it is influenced by nature -- in the sense that a mathematician is a human being, who is a product of nature -- its objective is not the study of nature. In other words, its objective does not have to deal with any natural phenomena, or control of nature, or use of natural forces for humanity. Its objective is to play around clearly defined axioms -- which are often motivated by nature but generalized and expressed as abstract ideas so that its connection with nature has become irrelevant and invisible -- and to understand their implications completely. That is, mathematicians are after  the complete knowledge of an axiomatic system. Research in mathematics is to discover (note this: discover, not invent) any hidden knowledge in the abstract system, generated by axioms. And axioms are gods -- no questioning them, as long as they are clearly defined (there are debated axioms, too, e.g., axiom of choice -- if I am wrong tell me). On the contrary, the objective of applied mathematics is, using the Halmos' term, action; he implies physical action, or manipulating nature and its forces for some use. In other words, applied mathematics solves mathematical problems, which arise exclusively from applications. For example, suppose we arrive at a weird and so far unheard type of differential equation (I don't know if such an equation exists, but I contrive this as an illustrative example from my limited imagination) while trying to design a system. Finding out a method to solve such a problem means research in applied mathematics. Or else, it can be trying to find an efficient (fast or computationally light) method from the existing ones. Hence, applied mathematics heavily appears in physics, engineering and other applied sciences -- wherever there is action. To summarise, the pure mathematicians are after knowledge, whereas the applied mathematicians are after action.

Of course, an engineer can solve the kind of problems that an applied mathematician works on, but one must be very talented, having a good hold on mathematics. Rather, engineering is probably different. By and large, people say that an engineer is a problem solver. So, he may not really develop the mathematics required to solve a problem, but, rather, he may borrow the most appropriate concepts from mathematics to develop an efficient and practically realizable solution. This is my current thought on this.  However, I know that it is not complete. I am trying to understand this more. I guess that I should look into what the "engineers" have done in the past, especially, the greatest ones.

In the above effort, which was just an errand from my normal studies, I found a few interesting facts. I list them above, without organizing them well and without any purpose.

1. Paul R. Halmos is the first to use "iff" in the place of "if and only if" in mathematics literature (at least he claims so).
2. Paul Halmos is the first to use the small square to indicate the end of a proof in mathematics.
3. Josiaph Willard Gibbs is the first person who was awarded the first Ph.D. in the United States in engineering (strictly speaking, applied science and engineering); this happened in 1863, and he got the degree from Yale University. Why it is interesting to me is just because I, as a signal processing engineer, know Gibbs through Gibbs phenomenon. He is not a signal processing engineer, though.

When I leave this post, a few problems are lingering in my mind: What is engineering? What is a "fundamental" problem in engineering like? What can be considered as a seminal contribution in engineering:  solving a "problem" or inventing "something" new?

Stupid AMMA

Shameful, they call it AMMA -- a word that symbolizes love and unselfish service. By AMMA, I mean the "Association of Malayalam Movie Artists".  They embarrassed all the Malayalis by keeping themselves away from the ONAM celebration function organized by the Govt. of Kerala to honor the great actor Kamal Hassan [1].  AMMA says that Kamal is not a Malayali, and the Govt. of Kerala should choose a Malayali actor to honor rather than a Tamil actor.  This is a blunder -- a Himalayan blunder.  Fortunately, other associations in the Malayalam film industry did not subscribe to AMMA's views but actively participated in the program.

Kerala Chief Minister V.S. Achuthananthan honoring Kamal Hassan on 22 Aug, 2010, at Thiruvananthapuram. (Photo courtesy Mathrubhumi Malayalam daily)

In a larger perspective, the AMMA's argument caters to nothing less but the narrow-minded regionalism, which is otherwise unheard in Kerala.  This attitude is always destructive.  The Chief Minister V.S. Achuthananthan may be right to say that the Malayali actors are coveting only fame and recognition; they have no respect for the true art.  We know this from the recent experience.  The golden age of Malayalam cinema was in the 80's and 90's.  Those days are gone.  To save Malayalam cinema from the grave peril of forgetfulness, new talents are to rise.  Then, the old, sterile idiots will be wiped out forever.  For the sake of the art I wish this happens soon.

[1] Mathrubhumi news -- 23/08/2010

A New Light

Yesterday, I saw a new light flashing in my mind --- a new light of knowledge:

"...have been working on this area for the past twenty years" may perhaps matter much less compared to "have been critically thinking on this topic for the past twenty minutes".

Reduced Activity in sandeeppalakkal.blogspot.com -- An Investigation Report

Reduced Activity in sandeeppalakkal.blogspot.com -- An Investigation Report

Staff Reporter,
July 7, 2010.
PALAKKAL TIMES.

Stupid and irrelevant, or just a waste of time -- these are the phrases that you would most likely utter about the posts that appear in www.sandeeppalakkal.blogspot.com.  However, you might have been surprised to see very less articles in that website recently. In fact, there was not a single post in April!  So what's going on? What happened to the writer? Has he stopped writing? In this issue, Palakkal Times brings you an exclusive report on this most astonishing and unprecedented phenomenon.

For our team it was very difficult to meet Sandeep Palakkal this time. We searched all his dwelling places inside and outside IITM, and just failed. Even his close associates in IITM could not answer our question -- where is Sandeep Palakkal? They faced our questions with bewilderment and they were quite helpless. However, they gave us some clues on this -- a very important one that would finally lead to find the man.

After hearing what happened to Sandeep Palakkal recently, we spotted a few places in IITM where Sandeep could possibly be. Though we would not reveal those places publicly, we would tell you how we found him. It was almost evening, close to 6 P.M., and we were almost going to give up our search for him. One of our last places to search for him was the IITM stadium. We went there, and it was almost dark. It should have been very hard to find him among the numerous health-conscious men and women who came for jogging in the ground. But not quite so! Our attention was immediately caught by the lean man lying on the ground, as if he had fallen, with his hand pressing on the right side of his head. We first thought he was injured on the head when he fell down. We went near him to help him out, and we found -- the man we were searching for! He was not injured; neither he had fallen. Rather he was speaking on the phone, keeping it against his ear. Seeing us he grinned; his smile had an unmistakable touch of shyness. He showed us to sit and told the person on the other end of the phone that he was going to disconnect. We bombarded him with questions. In brief words, he told us (emphasis added):

"Of course, blogging has been one of my mind-soothing activities. And I know that it has been reduced recently. This partly owes to my increased focus in research [ഓ, തന്നെ തന്നെ]; but a major reason is that I spent most of my free hours with the system packed in red shown in the photo [he showed us a photo, which, for the readers' aid, is attached below].  I am connected with this system through India's 3G GSM wireless network.  And my free hours -- i.e., freedom -- cripples [he was smiling].   But the overall performance of this new connection is extremely satisfactory."

 (Lakshmi and Sandeep; they got engaged on July 20, 2010.)

We would like to tell our dear readers that we pestered Sandeep to talk more, but the more we pestered the little he spoke. He just added that he has been engaged with Lakshmipriya, who is a doctor (one who can prescribe medicine) and lives in the city of Calicut. When we asked for more details he told us to wait and see. We know that the readers are more curious as we are. But for the time being, we stop here. Watch these pages -- we will be adding more details as our most skillful reporters dig them out.

Question to the reader: who do you think was Sandeep speaking to when we found him in the ground?
Send in your answers to us and receive gifts to the selected answers. Your answers should reach us before the sunrise on July 31, 2009.

Paradox in thought

What non-vegetarians think when they eat non-vegetarian food: "This contains a lot of proteins. This is good for my health".

What vegetarians think when they reject non-vegetarian food: "This contains a lot of proteins. Excess protein is bad for my health".

Did you see the paradox in thinking?

So, "eat if you like, or don't if you don't; and don't give me reasons".

Eternal Journey of Love: A story

Eternal Journey of Love

Sandeep Palakkal

The old man was reading in his study since morning. In fact, he had been reading for years, every day of his life. In the past he used to find time to read even during his busy work schedule. But now that he had been retired for years and he had nothing else to do, he was free to choose his favourite activity day and night. 

It was midday when his wife, an old woman herself, came and sat near him. She gazed at him with a face gleaming with joy from the thought how delightfully immersed was the old man in his reading. She always loved watching him this way. As though sensed her gaze and thoughts, the old man raised his eyelids around which there were thin white hairs, and looked at his wife, smiling. The wife read the title of the book – Love in the Time of Cholera. She exclaimed how many times she had seen him reading the same book again and again. He replied that he was always tormented by Marquez's this tale of love – a love that began quite innocently, unknowingly, and then waited for long years, from one century to the next, for its fulfilment. Like the love of Florentino Ariza for Fermina Daza, the entire novel had been disturbing him like a flame in his heart ever since he first read the book, he said. As Forentino and Fermina were on an eternal journey up and down the stream in the wild Magdalena river that passed through the Carribbean, the old man wanted to read the novel again and again, eternally. The woman saw the old man's eyes shining with joy as he spoke of the novel. There was another book, lying on the table, which she remembered buying a week ago, on an evening, when they went to the town. It was a recently published book, which the old man showed her as a masterpiece of a writer who won the Nobel prize last year. He wanted to start reading it immediately after finishing the present book. During the last one week, the woman had seen him many times taking that book, reading the reviews on the back, skimming through the pages, and smelling the leaves. And she knew how passionate he was about books and reading. She loved his passion, though she used to tease him that he was crazy.
 

“It is lunch time, and everything is ready,” she pointed out.

The old man put a marker on the page he was currently reading, kept the book on the table, and rose from his chair. The woman stood nearby. Placing his hand on her fragile shoulder, he told her that he  hoped he could finish the book by the evening, as there were only around forty pages left. She smiled and led him to the dining room.

The lunch was simple – a little brown rice, vegetable curry made of raw banana and fish curry with coconut; added to it was pappadam and mango pickle. Both the husband and wife enjoyed their meals; they served each other, and, telling a lot of jokes and stories from their old days, they laughed till the end. As he washed his hands, the wife asked if he was going back to his study to continue reading. But the old man wanted to catch some sleep. He knew the lady slept everyday through the afternoon. And he wanted to sleep with her.

As they were lying down on their backs on the soft cushion bed, he said he was going to dream waking up in the evening and resuming his reading, savouring a cup of black-tea made by her. Giggling, she turned her body to his side, put her hand on his chest, and sank into sound sleep. Feeling her warm breath on his neck, he also fell asleep when he could not tell. When she woke up, the sun had descended from his thrown, and the birds were welcoming a blissful evening with their songs. With a rested, serene mind, she went to the kitchen and prepared tea. She called him when she brought tea into the bedroom. He was still in the depth of his sleep. And the old woman tried to wake him up by shaking his arm which , suddenly, she felt frozen like ice. She sensed the coldness of his body entering hers through her fingers which held his arm for a long time, and flowing through her nerves to her heart. Suddenly she realized that the light of her life – the warmth of his love – was gone forever, and she was condemned to live in that cold loneliness the rest of her life.

She was not an avid reader like him. She used to read sometimes – that was all. But she continued reading Love in the Time of Cholera, again and again, until she died one day, again leaving a few pages unread. She wanted to be a part of that eternal journey of love, up and down the river through the jungle. In this way, she could feel his warm presence in her soul. She  read the other book, which the old man had left without reading on his table, with a sense of fulfilling her husband's unrealized dream. She kept that book always with her, and used to smell its leaves to inspire her memories of a lost, warm love....

Chennai,
May 24, 2010.

A Lesson on Discrimination and Education

Thanks to Swapna (visit her here: http://swapnaravindran.blogspot.com/) I went through the following website and gained some insights into a few things, especially, social discrimination and education.  The web-link is http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/divided/.  The story is exciting: in 1968, after Martin Luther King was assassinated, Jane Elliott,a school teacher, finds it difficult to explain her third-grade students why a national hero was assassinated suddenly.  She does not know how to explain social discrimination to those small kids, but is inventive enough (very much!) to find a way out -- that is, to make them experience it.  She divides her class into two -- those with blue eyes and those with brown eyes.  Then she tells the class that the blue-eyed people are superior to the brown-eyed ones, and make rules to treat the students separately, where all the rules are advantageous to blue-eyed people.  She observes the students, their behaviour and reactions.  The next day she tells the class that in fact it was the brown-eyed people superior than the blue-eyed ones, and reverts all the rules.  The revelations of her study were startling.  Those who were treated as superior started to behave that way and performed well in the tasks assigned to them, while other group grew sad first, angry later, and performed poorly.  In this way, the teacher was trying to prove that (or learn that) social discrimination is evil and creates antagonism among people.  She also was successful to help the students experience the effects of discrimination themselves.  She was also successful in finishing this experiment peacefully, teaching the lesson to the students positively, and bringing back the harmony among the students that prevailed before the experiment started.

Her experiment is not only a lesson on social discrimination, but also in education: how to be a good teacher, how to focus on the lesson rather than emotion.  For example, she has repeated this experiment on several groups of students and adults, and once when applied on a group of inmates in a prison, the adults reacted very badly.  She maintained her composure, responded logically, without losing her focus on the subject -- that is, what she wanted to prove or teach.  These classes are recorded in video and are available in the website.  I suggest everyone watch these videos and take the lessons home.

A Personal Experience:
Regarding discrimination, after watching the videos I can recall how similar my feelings were when treated as inferior on a few situations earlier, especially as a boy.  I still remember an occasion when one of my family members compared me with some children who were around, during a party, citing they were more cheerful and smarter than me.  That person said it was because they were English medium students (I was doing my school in my mother tongue -- Malayalam).  Ever since, I thought I was inferior to every English medium student.  It was a really bad feeling, rather painful and shameful -- a feeling of inferiority.  Though I had long forgotten this incident, I remembered it two or three years ago when a person, after talking at length with me in English, asked which medium I finished my school in.  I said it was Malayalam.  And he was astonished and gave me a strange look, partly in doubt and partly in amazement.  I asked the reason.  He told me that I spoke good English, I finished my post-graduation in a top engineering college of India, and besides, I was planning for higher studies.  He continued that he could not believe that a person educated in vernacular language could do so.  These are his comments.  I'm not here to say that I am smart, but to point out a wrong belief prevailing among the people -- that people who are schooled in their local language are inferior to English medium students!  See how this belief becomes a source of social discrimination.  Just after writing this, I am reminded of our great former President: Dr. K. R. Narayanan, who struggled and made his way from the lowest strata of the society, finally to become the President of India; I used to admire him very much.

In this world there are more stupid reasons to discriminate people.  In India, they are religion, caste, colour, local language, and so on.  While religion, caste etc. are universal sources of discrimination, local language should be typically Indian, I feel.  Indians are not a single people; they are divided as Malayalis, Tamils, Kannadigas, Telugus, Marathis, Kashmiris, Panjabis, and so on. Or, even as North Indians and South Indians.  To handle the Indian situation, to impart knowledge to Indian students, to keep the harmony between our people, I think, we need thousands of teachers like Jane Elliott.

My Answer

It is needless to say that movies (I'm talking only about Malayalam movies) are becoming worse and worse in their artistic qualities these days.  "Art is the only justification to life," said Nietzsche.  Then, if art becomes just a money-making business, what does remain to be upheld as a justification to life?  My answer is this: Imagination.  The ability to imagine everything in my life, even impossible things!  When movies degrade I should acquire the ability to imagine my own life as a movie!  Or broadly, as a novel.  Of course, this is a reductionism -- reductionism of a complicated, non-interpretable life as a simple, integral story.  But, in this way, I can find some meaning... some justification.  What else is life but an interpretation?

After A Journey

April was a very dry month -- oh, I mean I had no post in my blog!  Otherwise, it was a very hot month.  And I was very much immersed in my work, I mean my research work.  My eyes were soaring by looking at the monitor; my fingers were almost broken by writing programs; and my brain almost ceased to work.  Then I took a journey to home -- a journey which was composed of a few short travels.  I had to attend two marriages and a family function, and had to travel to Mangalore.  All my travels were confined to the Indian west-coast, mainly within Kerala.  One thing is for sure -- Chennai is hotter than Kerala and Mangalore.  Indeed I was sweating in Kerala, but as soon as I got to Chennai, my body started taking bath in sweat.

Also, since I was making so many travels after a long time -- maybe, for the first time in this year, especially using the public transport system -- I felt very glad to see that the world is still out there: it exists naturally, normally, without my knowledge and involvement.  It is I who is away from the world, sitting in front of a computer, in an academic environment.  For me, this was a sweet reminder -- a reminder of life itself.

World, wait there for me,
I am coming to you....

Now, May is getting hotter and hotter.  And I am back at my desk, looking at the monitor, sitting muddle-headed, and writing functions after functions in MATLAB.

Sandeep Palakkal

"I am God"

A new T-shirt caption reads like this:

"I was an atheist

until I realized

that

I am God".

How's it? Great, right? I like it!

So, is there any hidden ideology behind it? Who cares, in a time when ideology itself lacks an ideology?

Dialectical Materialism and Bachchan

"Since Amitabh Bachchan is the brand ambassador for Modi's Gujarat government, he is not fit to become Kerala's brand ambassador" --CPI(M).

I don't understand the logic. If the aversion is against Modi, what Amitab has to do with him? If it is against the capitalist concepts of marketing and brand ambassador, then, again, what Amitab has to do with it? The logic against capitalism and industry did not work when West Bengal invited Tata to start the Nano manufacturing plant in their state. WB is also ruled by CPI(M)!

Boy, dialectical materialism is sometimes hard to understand! My limited intellect tells me: "may god save CPI(M)".

Any way, it is very bad to insult a great actor like Amitab in the name of "Dialectic Materialism". Amitab should've been excluded before inviting him. The image now is that CPI(M) lacks integrity.

Autumn of IITM

It's a hot, sultry afternoon, and I am taking rest in my room, after lunch. My room is hot but cosy, and it's very calm and quiet outside -- I can hear only songs of birds and the wind. I rise from my bed; get dressed slowly, like a person with no purposes; come out of my room, and, after locking it, start walking. I am walking very slowly, completely aware of everything around me. The corridor of the hostel is deserted, and every room is locked -- there is none in their rooms! The sky is blue and there are small, bright, white clouds scattered around. I start descending the stair case -- descending is always easier than ascending! I know that my bicycle should be somewhere in the porch, though the exact location I never care to remember. Without any difficulty, however, now I am able to locate it, as there are only a few of them there. I get on the bicycle with ease and start driving towards my lab.

The afternoon is hot and sultry. And the roads are almost empty, except occasionally for some people riding to the canteen for food or returning to work.There are trees on both sides of the road, giving me shadows, and thus saving me from the heat of the scorching sun. I see some young girls in white-and-green school uniform coming from the school for lunch break. They are talking to each other continuously while looking around and enjoying the afternoon. Their faces are gleaming with immense joy which make them even more beautiful. Until I pass them my eyes keep scanning them -- I see their happiness, liveliness, innocence, and joy. I look at every guy passing me as though I am trying to learn something from his face; they all pass me, with calm faces.

The afternoon, though hot and sultry, looks beautiful and serene. As I am heading towards my workplace, I look at the long road; I can see till the next turn, which comes a hundred meters away. I sense with wonder that my immediate future is waiting for me on the road and I am passing through my life as I ride the bicycle. Suddenly, there comes a soothing breeze, caressing my face and hair, as if it wants to tell me something; a shower of dead, yellow leaves from the trees falls on me... and around me. I wish if this moment would just freeze and stay forever... but, no: it passes me... and I go on.  It is autumn in Chennai. The trees are becoming dry and leafless. They remind me how they (and me) celebrated the winter and spring. That joy is gone. Those moments are gone. And we will also be gone. There is none on the road, and I can see until the next turn. Everything is green... and serene. Again, another moment, which I wish to freeze. I don't know if the world is a reality or a mere idea. But, at this very moment, I love the very idea... that I am alive. And... I know... I will be gone tomorrow....

Sandeep Palakkal
March 19, 2010.

Women's Bill: The First Step

Indian Rajya Sabha passes with 191 against 1 votes "the women's bill" for reservation up to 33% for women in the parliament seats. Now the Lok Sabha should pass the same for it to become effective; will it happen?

"Now the fight is no longer between the boys, but between us--girls": Sushma and Brinda celebrating the moment. (photo courtsey to The Hindu daily, March 10, 2010).

On Baudolino, Snow, and white lies

    "... I am a writer of histories... Where will I put the story that Baudolino told me?" [Niketas]
    "Nowhere. The story is all his. And anyway, are you sure it is true?" [Paphnutius]
    "No. Everything I know I have learned from him, as from him I learned that he was a liar." [Niketas]
    ...
    "It was a beautiful story. Too bad no one will find out about it." [Niketas]
    "You surely don't believe you're the only writer of stories in this world. Sooner or later, someone -- a great liar than Baudolino -- will tell it." [Paphnutius]

This is how Umberto Eco finishes his novel "Baudolino"--just by admitting that "I am that someone (of course, a great liar than Baudolino) who has now told you the great story of Baudolino, which, in turn, is a great lie". Thus he joyfully laughs at himself, and once again reinforces his concept of a novel. For, I remember him saying in "The Name of the Rose" that he (or the narrator in that story) was writing it, claiming to be based on a true historical event but without assuming the narration to be historically true, to enjoy the sheer pleasure of writing. But, at the same time, both his stories named above are very beautiful, investigating on the deep nature of human beings--their love, deception, hatred, jealousy, lust for mysteries etc. And in every aspect these novels are more than imaginative: they are brilliantly intellectual. And this is why I love his novels. I believe that this philosopher-cum-medievalist-cum-semiotician-cum-novelist has written five novels, and I, having finished "Baudolino" this week, am already feeling an internal urge to read all his other works.

"Baudolino" is the story of Baudolino, who lived in twelfth century as an adoptive son of the emperor Frederic, and his mysterious ventures. Specially, he ventures deep into Asia, probably into India, to find a lost Christian kingdom of "Prester John". Baudolino is an intelligent, learned, widely read man, who easily learn any language--a skill that helps him wander into the unknown places. His most celebrated talent is the ability to tell lies so convincingly. Maybe, Umberto Eco means that he was a great story teller. Anyway, the novel is written as is told by Baudolino to Niketas. While reading, like "The Name of the Rose", I was thrown into an unknown medieval world. In this novel also, again as in "The Name of the Rose", the main character (Baudolino) walks through a lost, ancient, underground cemetery, where dead bodies of monks are kept. That was a beautiful moment of the novel.


This weekend, I also finished another novel from another exceptional novelist, which I was reading in parallel with "Baudolino". It was "Snow" by Orhan Pamuk. Unlike "Baudolino", which takes place in twelfth century, in the medieval Christian world and Asia (or India?), "Snow" is set in Kars, a remote city in Turky, in the modern times (90's), in the modern Muslim world. The story is based on the headscarf issue in Turky, and, more than that, it talks about IDENTITY. Yes, a conflict of identity between the Western and Muslim worlds. The perspective of radical Islam is portrayed well. I, being from India, can see the point, and, after reading the novel, have started doubting my own identity as an Indian. To what extend am I really Indian, or Malayalee, for that matter, vis-a-vis am I influenced by Western thought? I don't know. As always, I find an excuse for my ignorance: I am not so intelligent to answer this (any) question.

In "Snow", the author starts narrating the story of his poet friend, Ka, who ventured to Kars to meet the woman of his dreams, Ipek, and to propose her. He is then caught in the political and social issues in Kars. Finally, the author, Orhan, himself becomes a part of the story and talks to us as a character in the story. This was very beautiful. Furthermore, to my surprise, and to provoke me to remember my own opinion on Eco's concept of a novel, a character, Fazil, in "Snow" tells the author, Orhan:

"If you write a book set in Kars and put me in it, I'd like to tell your readers not to believe anything you say about me, anything you say about any of us. No one could understand us from so far away."

To this, the author replies:

"But no one believes everything they read in a novel."

My question: does the author imply that the entire novel was a lie that he created out of his imagination to say something that he wanted to say (of love, deception, jealousy, identity, Western vs Islamic)?

Lately, I have started coveting to become a man, a BIG liar, who can imagine a lot, who has a repletion of words in his consciousness, and to write great stories.... My god (though I am an agnosticist in theory and atheist in practice, to tell a lie), if I were to become so!!!

Lost Freedom

Mother, you created me free,
I was free to savour your milk,
And enjoy my life.
But I created a cage,
And imprisoned you there,
Hoping to gain greater joy,
And power.
I did not know that I was
Incarcerating myself.
Losing all my freedom,
Now I live in vain....

--Sandeep Palakkal,
Feb 12, 2010.

Roads and highways: another view.

Inspired by Sankar's roads and highways:

I don't know how to differentiate between a road and a highway; quite unsurprisingly, I don't have the insight Kundera possessed. But I've traveled enough, on the roads and on the highways. When I am traveling on the road, I am not free: I have to constantly take decisions as to which way to turn, where to stop etc. I'm still in the common life that I am always in. But when I am on the highway, I feel a sort of free of myself. I know that the highway has a destination, and that is the same as mine. I just have to go, without effort, without much thought; it is like a river flowing effortlessly to its destination, without worrying about it. In that process, I am free and can see a lot of dreams. During such a journey, my dreams are absolutely "unnecessary", without any particular aims. That is what I mean "I am free". If somebody ask me which is better, a journey on a road or on a highway, I've no answer. I don't know!

Quite recently, I had a long journey on a highway. However, this time, I was not free of thoughts, and was not aimless. I was struggling to make a solid decision on something concerned with my life. Of course, I forgot the highway, the destinations, and myself.... I swear, I will never forget that nauseating journey.

Inner Voice

This is between us, you and me.
I am communicating to you
Through this unsophisticated poem.
You know, poetry is my way
To understand me.
Me? Who is the me?
That is the doubt now....
Is this me a thought?
No, I've conflicting thoughts.
But me is peaceful.
Is this me a feeling?
No, I've conflicting feelings.
But me has integrity.
Is this me an ego?
No, my ego is a burden to me.
But me is soothing to me.
Is this me a body?
No, my body is sick.
But me is strong.
Is this me an action?
No, all my actions are empty.
But me is my only meaning.
Then who is this me?
Who knows? And who cares?
All I know is that
The night is cold;
It is late, silent, serene;
And my bed is warm, cosy;
And I am almost sleeping.
Or I no longer can say
If I am awake....

--Sandeep Palakkal.
Chennai, Jan 2010.

Song of a Mystic

When I said I have infinite fingers,
They felt I am crazy,
For, none can  have infinite fingers.

When I said I have infinite intelligence,
They assumed I am deluded,
For, none can be infinitely intelligent.

When I said I have infinite talent,
They replied I am arrogant,
For, none can be infinitely talented.

When I said I have infinite joy,
They said nothing,
For, they didn't understand me!

--Sandeep Palakkal,
Jan 2010.

Why don't I hate?

(Ref: http://sandeeppalakkal.blogspot.com/2010/01/reason-to-laugh-constitutional-rights.html; and its comments)

Q) Why don't I hate human beings?

A) Because, my hate is a paramount instinct; it is reserved for the great.

Some "serious" thoughts

Chennai is cool these days. I can't believe that I am in Chennai, especially after the hot summer that we had last year. So, again, after the really hot summer and this really cool winter, I have started loving hot days and cool nights!

Yesterday, I sat in my room, feeling the coldness of the night, with a lot of dreamy thoughts in my mind. I was not disturbed by any worries of life. The night was very silent, and I could even hear clearly the dogs barking somewhere at distance. I was just reminded of my home and school days. Elders used to say that dogs bark and howl in the night when they see "Yamadeva" coming on his vehicle, a big cow (or was it bull?),to take lives of people; and I used to imagine him, riding a big, black cow, holding a sword shining in the moon-light. I felt nostalgic.

Then I lay down on my bed, though sleep was nowhere near. I felt cold, very cold; I craved for warmth. I put a thick bed sheet on my body (in Chennai--oh, I still can't believe!). Then I closed my eyes. Calm... release... silence.... There was no thoughts in my mind; or rather, I was thinking through images. Many a time, I visit a world, far away, hundred-thousands of light years away from earth; humans haven't yet discovered that world, and I hope they will never. It is beautiful... green... silent... calm... full of animals, birds, trees, and everything that is on earth, except human beings. Hence there is no nonsense, or I don't have to check if something is nonsense or not! I walk on that lonely planet alone, with a calm but thinking mind, sometimes stopping to talk to some animals and birds.

Today, the world is that of the working man's. Everyone is working hard. Work is worship. When I was dreaming under the thick bed sheet, enjoying its warmth, I felt no urge for anything. It was relaxing, calm. Then it occurred to me that the modern man doesn't know why he/she is alive. They have just forgotten the simplicity of life. Work, worship, god, religion, marriage, war, gossip, bikes, cars, roads, people, music, movies, books... the world is full of nonsense, and noise. I just went outside the campus recently, just to get out of the boring campus life. I found only people, in buses, trams, roads, everywhere. Vehicles were continuously flowing on the roads. Why? After all, it was a Sunday evening, and why can't people just rest at their homes? I don't know.

Thinking all these, yet feeling serenity in the mind, I fell asleep... when? I don't know...

Now, will you call me a misanthrope?

A reason to laugh: Constitutional Rights; Fabrication; Twist; and Forgery.

Rathore refused to speak to the media, saying, “Only if you have the constitutional right to make me speak, I will talk."

The Hindu, Dec 31, 2009.

Does a 14 year old girl, who is a budding tennis player, living in India, have the constitutional rights to grow up, playing tennis, leading a successful career and a happy life, with her parents and brother, or does she have the constitutional rights at least to dream so, without having been raped and harassed, and finally prompted to commit suicide, by a person who knows and talks about the constitutional rights, like you for example, Mr. Rathore sir? Does a 14 year old boy, living in India, have constitutional rights to register a complaint against a police officer who raped his sister, without the fear of being charged with fake cases and humiliated in the public and the police station? I am an ignorant, so do I ask these questions.

[Rathore's] wife Abha, who is also his lawyer in the case...alleged that “fabricated, twisted and forged” allegations were being presented by the family of the victim in the case, in which Rathore was sentenced to six months in jail. 

The Hindu, Dec 31, 2009.

Ms. Abha, possibly you know that the victim has a brother. When the case against your husband was going on, the brother, who was just 14 years old, was "framed" and a number of "twisted and forged" cases were charged against him by your husband, who was the DGP of Haryana, and his men. That young boy not only faced "fabricated, twisted and forged" allegations, but was undergone horrendous torture. We would like to hear your valuable comments on this, not as a lawyer, nor as Rathore's wife, but as a civilized human being.

Mr. Rathore, I don't hate you, because you are just a human being. But I just would like to remind you that you are a grave shame to humanity. And you know it... you know that you are guilty!

Dear reader (if there is any), what do you feel? Aren't these people making a mockery of all of us? Do you feel hurt, or shame, or nothing at all? Or, do you, like me, just feel like laughing?