lies, dammed lies and even more dammed truth

The internet is dead. Long live the internet. Recently I have had this epiphany. Well it’s not that sudden as an epiphany might denote, but it’s come off late. In the last ten years of reading stuff, I have learnt that nothing is the truth. Nothing is the whole truth, the complete truth and nothing but the truth. Everything is questionable. Everything has a bias and everything is subjective. My guru Dharen, said something once. He said – there is science and then there is truth. He spoke about his experience with Parachute hair oil. He said there is science that hair oil doesn’t permeate the scalp more than a certain level and has possibly no effect on the brain function… but there is also the truth that during exam time, my mom puts oil in my hair and then I study and what all I study goes through in the brain. There is science and then there is truth. See – this is the truth – there is no real complete truth. We search for truth everywhere in our lives and place such a premium on it. But in effect there isn’t any! Everything becomes exciting when it offers to tell the truth but then slowly slowly it starts lying. But if there is no truth there can’t be lies as well. But surely there is obfuscation and theories that come from either side as either side use the new propaganda to convince the world of their side of the equation.

Basically I have become a skeptic of everything. Earlier newspapers were the upholders of truth. Today only a fool will believe whatever a newspaper will tell you. But as I see around me – there are tons of fools. A book I read many years ago – called ‘mindset’ by john nasbitt – in which he said –I turn to eth sports page as I know that is the only bit of truth in the newspapers. The score is the score. Today when I came to office I picked up the Bombay time – the tabloid edition of the daily newspaper. A young kid in the team asked me – is that the first thing I read. No – I replied. I read the paper today at home. The first thing I read is the sports page of the Times of India. Then I read some other pages, then I read the first article of the Mumbai Mirror. The Mumbai mirror on the first page will generally take up some expose of something that is ailing Mumbai – some civic or social issue. I like that article. And then to get insights into what the world is veering towards in terms of attitudes and expectations I look at the Bombay times. So first fact, then interpretation and then fiction… as a marketer – all three are important in different circumstances – I would even veer towards saying it’s in the wrong order. Fiction is extremely important for marketers… movies (read: popculture) tell us the most about ourselves…

So newspapers also lie. Then came the internet. The internet with its promise of democratizing information gave so much of it to all and sundry. Now people were not and will be not judged by what they know but how well they will search. This was told to me by a very intelligent man – one of my first mentors – Aditya Shastri. This was in 1997 when I first saw the internet in his office. It was pretty cool. His words have become prophetic. With internet now reaching mobile phones, information has exploded in terms of what is available in the palm of your hand and everywhere you are. So conversations in parties that talk about certain data used tobe done from memory and now if some contentious point comes out – the internet comes to the rescue and closes all conversation. I hope with this getting more and more omnipresent people will be more circumspect in what they talk. They will possibly learn to use words like ’from my memory’, ‘possibly’, ‘likely’, ‘mostly’, ‘I believe’ etc… cause anything said will and can be verified by a quick mobile search.

So I loved that google would be able to help us a lot on spreading knowledge and information. It truly allows us to do tons of research and helps us find the ‘truth’.  I used to joke that whats the internet to believe anything. Tomorrow I would write something and if it ranks on google then would that make it true? Today google has become the answer for what you want as the answer. Whatever you want you will get google to answer that for you. You want to know how microwave is bad for you – there will be billions of links – ditto for why this is all a sham. Just because its forwarded or on a link that looks nice, doesn’t make it true. So many people believe any shit that they see. In the middle there was a video of a lion roaming around in thane… people believed it to be true… er… one question – Which is the LAST refuge of the Asiatic lion? THE LAST REFUGE? You idiot. You don’t get lions outside Gir in India.

So the omnipresence of google is going to be used for both parties – the for and the against. Its up to you to analyse the data presented. The past possibly belonged to the believer – the future with so much data will belong to the skeptic. Everything is but a probability. You play probabilities. You read everything, listen everything, trust nothing and build your beliefs, values and judgment. That’s all.

C'est la vie

Wowieee…. Jispa got her first taste of actual school life. Kindergarten was a breezy play way. Welcome to the first standard (first grade). Yesterday she had her very first (I quote) “boring lecture”. She had computers when her teacher took her to the computer lab and taught them computers. They had to just go there and sit on the seats without really doing anything. They were just explained about the computers without touching them. Hehehe. This was the first orientation lecture. I am sure it would get better over time.
Computer classes have surely changed in these years. We had computers when we were in 7th or 8th I think. That too it was a special lab done up in a special section. They needed special air-conditioned lab with us having to remove the shoes outside. This was an extra class done during vacations if I am not mistaken. These were black and white stuff and we learnt basic programming. Woooo. Computers were a big thing. Then also the first lecture was held in a classroom with the prof given gyan on the different parts of a computer. RAM, ROM, Monitor, Central Processing Unit (CPU) etc. It too was really a boring lecture.
I have to teach her to operate the internet. She already knows Google. She know that’s where we keep going to it to figure out stuff she wants answers to. I told Jispa that I would teach her to use the internet on Friday. I figure the laptop is old enough for her to damage in any case. She was pretty excited. She remembered it today as well. Good for her. She might as well get computer and internet friendly.

continue the experiments

The fast on Friday held true. I think you get hungry only if you think about food else it really does not matter I guess. One day is hardly anything. When I am fully loaded and well fed I weigh 71 kgs and the morning after the fast on an empty stomach I weigh 68 kgs. 3 kgs of shit. I didn’t know that! Now I know. Passing through the popcorn aisles was a little wired on the stomach though. But I really liked the experience. I hope I am able to fast once a year. Also one day I want to know what it is to fast for 8 days. It’s also enlightening to know what the brain makes you think. It tells you – forget it. Eat now. You know you can fast, whom are you proving to. Then I am fighting back saying – I have only my self to prove to. NO I am not eating. I can hold it off for sure. I hate to believe that i cannot control the brain!

I watched three movies over the weekend. Mumbai Meri Jaan on Friday, ‘Rock on’ on Saturday and Wall E on Sunday. I loved all of them. Very rare to see three movies in three days and to like all of them. I don’t why but Wall E was one that I particularly liked. These days the a few of the last Disney animations were boring me. Wall E was different. It hardly felt like animation. They could make robots act! Very very cool. Unsaid emotions. Hardly a dialogue but a lots of emotion.

It was Jispa’s birthday on Sunday. Poor kid was a little upset that she could not celebrate with her friends. Her friends were also celebrating paryushan and could not be a part of her day. We tried our best to cheer her. It was her day where she decided what she wanted to do. For some reason she likes going to the zoo. She must have been there some zillion ties already but she never bores. I guess a zoo is special in a child’s life.

We were singing a song from the movie ‘rock on’. It goes something like – yeh pani gila kyun hai. As in – why is the water wet. When she turns around and asks me – papa, why is the water wet? Oh ok – I don’t know – ask Google. So we have written on her whiteboard all the questions she wants to ask. The second one was on the magnets. The third on – you decipher and tell me. It’s in her cryptic language I guess. Actually its just her short form.

The third question is - When do apples grow? the first drawing is 'apple'. the second drawing represents 'growing'. The third is a string of Alphabtes representing - guess guess... go on try it - ok - they represent the first alphabets of the calendar months. translation - when do apples grow? or In which months do apples grow? or in which season do apples grow.

We went to Mahalaxmi temple after a long long time. During our courtship Jasmine and me went more number of times. We asked for a lot form God. I did for sure. It’s been some time that I have asked for some thing from God, except strength and intelligence. I keep trying to inculcate the same in Jispa. Don’t bribe God.


Yesterday I proved to myself that I have some of my dad’s genes. I drive to the railway station and park my car and collect it in the evening. Yesterday while returning I normally cross a small desolate patch. The road’s been recently done and its used by trucks a lot. The gutter’s on the road create hollows. So some good guys I think put stones on the gutter so that motorists are adequately warned. The stones must have broken by the number of trucks going over it and were all over the road. Yesterday for some reason the street lights were off as well. I saw bike coming straight in, hitting a stone and falling over. I got off. The guys was fine, some other guys on the road helped him up. But I felt something. I kept my dad in mind and I picked up all the stones on the road and dumped them at the side. It took some doing. But I felt nice to do it. I hope I did my father proud. He was a nice guy, true, helpful and straight. He would have done it. I did it.