My Blog

Yes, you, I am talking to you. Don’t look at the back. Am I talking to the wooden walls? Why are you laughing? (Pause) Come tell us the joke, we’ll laugh too.  Any guesses, whom I am referring to? YES, it’s OUR TEACHERS or shall I say our AWAKENERS When I say the word teacher the first image that comes to our mind is homework, tests, high pitch sound and their standard jargons, like AM I MAKING SENSE is all they ask but the truth is that they don’t. "Give me a blue pen of any color". This is what happens when the Hindi teacher tries her hand at English. Do you think we are behind? We have our own bank of code words to lighten the serious school environment. And I am not going to open the pandora box right now? 😄 Well, jokes apart. Regardless of what we say and think about them, teachers play a pivotal role in our lives. They mould our personality, boost our morale, show us our real worth and support us through thick and thin. They are like a compass and activate the magnets ...

"We, politicians give all that we can for as long as we can and then its time and for me it's time. I don't have enough left in the tank to do justice", said Jacinda Arden in her resignation speech.  This announcement came after a series of personal and professional challenges and has had a major impact on New Zealand's political landscape. Arden has been a popular leader, and her resignation has left a void in the leadership of the country. Many have expressed sadness and disappointment, while others have praised her for her accomplishments during her tenure.  It is good to see how one of the world's most powerful working women chose her family over her country. Her baby will have her attendance as she would start her first day of school, but what about us, who held her as a rare example of true and ethical leadership. Her tenure as Prime Minister saw the country become a leader in progressive policies, including the legalization of same-sex marriage, carbon ...

Famous novelist Salman Rushdie, a man of peace and dealing only in words has been hiding his existence for more than 30 years, ever since Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini issued a fatwa against him after the release of his controversial book "The Satanic Verses" which some Muslims deemed to be blasphemous. The book is considered so as it portrayed a fictionalized version of the Prophet Mohammed and an interpretation of the Quran. However, being hunted down like a quarry 34 years after the publication of a book only underscores the institutionalisation of hatred and the outright rejection of the concept of freedom of expression. The New York knife attack puts the author's book and the circumstances behind the author's death threats back in the spotlight. Salman Rushdie was stabbed in the neck and torso while giving a lecture in New York on Friday. This attack was a result of judgement blinded by intolerance.  We all are aware of the brutal attack t...

Indian-origin British politician and former chancellor Rishi Sunak lost the race to become the next prime minister of the United Kingdom. Sunak, who was dominating the race in the initial phase of campaigning lost out on his PM bid due to his waning support both inside and outside the Conservative Party. Liz Truss, the third woman to become the prime minister of Britain was elected after defeating Rishi Sunak with 81,326 votes to 60,399 among party members.  After the result was announced, Rishi Sunak referred the Conservatives as "one family" and gave a call to unite behind Liz Truss as "she leads the country through difficult times". He has now lost, but what could be the reason behind it? Was it because of his ethnicity and religion?  Maybe, but it wasn't the dominating, decisive factor for why he lost, but it may have added to everything else.  Britain as a country has changed phenomenally over the years. The days when Blacks and Asians were disparaged as ...

Do you want to change your mood or take your entertainment on the go? Well! Daaa Freestyle is there for you, with different styles for whatever you do.  Simply say the word, and it will come to our aid! So, let’s dim the lights and see it in action!  print ( "Hi Bixby, Turn ON the Freestyle!" ) Yay, it’s the good old Samsung Bixby by default A few months back, kit. info ( "Samsung - Wikipedia" , lines = 10) (Samsung) unveiled the most intriguing gadgets of CES 2022, the portable projector, Daaa Freestyle. Of course, portable projectors have been around for a while but the Samsung freestyle is easily one of the more compact and lightweight efforts that I have come across. Weighing just 830 grams, this fist size device with its curved form factor effortlessly slips into the backpack without too much bother allowing us to experience unexpected joy everywhere, keeping the entertainment on the go, at all times. It is an impressively dinky portable projector which works...

Look at this baby dance! Why does this flying cat poop rainbows? Well, it turned 10 last year and is one of the first memes to be sold as a one-of-a-kind piece of crypto art. Should you be afraid of this bear? If a picture is worth a thousand words, then a meme infuses life and emotions in that picture!  And, if happiness is the best medicine then, memes are one of the best ways to deliver it.  Memes: They are something we as teenagers can relate to so much.  According to a recent study, 75 percent of 13 to 36 year olds engage with memes. 71 percent of people who share memes send them to make people smile or make them laugh and 28 percent send them when they're unable to put their thoughts into their words or in the form of a text. So, memes don't just act as comedic relief but they also in quite a few cases help make digital communication more eloquent.  Well, before beginning, here is a treat for you! Your eyes! Your soul!  Memes: The stunning variety of circu...

Who’s your favourite musician?  Well, whosoever it might be, I don’t know, but what I actually know is that they’re likely wondering if they can keep it going through the pandemic. Singer Nadine Shah said - "Music streaming makes major labels rich, while the musicians like me go broke." Music Streaming services aren't on the best terms with musicians, the latter often disapproving the former's policies and functioning. For me, that’s fair. Here’s how! I will approach this through two angles, one the concept of discovery of new artists and two the payout that artists get.  Firstly, the majority of musicians we're talking about here aren't those who have billions of streams and millions of listeners. The majority of musicians are those who are trying to get their music out to a larger audience, trying to earn money by doing what they are passionate about and streaming services aren't really amazing for them.  Most musicians work for years upon years trying t...

Today, most people know about Bitcoin and cryptocurrency, but blockchain is the underlying technology that makes them all possible.  Blockchain is said to be the largest potential set we can envision over the next decade or so which can vastly improve the efficiency of anything that is conceived of as a supply chain whether its people, numbers, data or money. Today, most technologies tend to automate workers on the periphery doing mundane and menial tasks, however blockchains automate the center. Instead of putting the taxi driver out of a job, blockchain puts Uber out of a job and lets the taxi drivers work with the customer directly. The goal of blockchain is to allow digital information to be recorded and distributed, but not edited. So, a blockchain serves as the basis for immutable ledgers of transactions that cannot be changed, deleted, or destroyed. A blockchain is a distributed database or ledger that is shared by all of the nodes in a computer and stores information electr...

From the failing security council of yesterday to the humanitarian council of tomorrow. Is this the transformation that we, Indians, desire? The UN Security Council's primary role is to maintain international peace and security while also resolving conflicts by addressing their root causes. As a second objective, it is in charge of determining when and where a UN peacekeeping force is needed and addressing a subsidiary pursuit.  The United Nations has always been involved in turbulent situations and is doing all in its ability to ensure that they prevail in Ukraine and for all mankind. However, lately, it has been pursuing the secondary purpose of being a humanitarian council, rather than the primary goal of maintaining world peace and security. The most current example is that of the situation in Syria and Ukraine. The UN Security council has merely applied a band-aid. Its role in maintaining peace and security has never been as weak as it is now, and it is only going to get weake...

In today’s world, millennials have enormous obstacles when it comes to choosing jobs or getting into institutions that need high percentages. There are several possibilities and choices available, but it is difficult to choose one due to family and peer pressures, as well as incorrect counselling. Following in the footsteps of previous generations, the military forces have been the primary professional choice. The government last week introduced Agnipath, a recruitment paradigm for inducting personnel into the armed services for a specific timeframe. The two objectives of this scheme were one, to create a younger force and two, to develop a disciplined youth that would be available for employment. A good first step is the government announcement of 10% reservation for agniveers in Central Armed police forces, Assam rifles and Ministry of defence. Some of the benefits of this scheme include: 1) Exposing India’s youth to a disciplined lifestyle instilling valour, nationalism and passion ...

Some argue that 25 years after independence, we Indians haven't accomplished much in terms of standing on our own as self reliant, Aatmanirbhar citizens. From then till today, we've squandered and lost a lot of time. Two generations have passed with nothing of great eminence taking place. I, on the contrary believe that we as Indians have accomplished a great deal in the first quarter century, which we should never forget and be immensely proud of. In this year, when we commemorate the 75th anniversary of our country's independence, it's important to remind ourselves of the milestones we've achieved since then. Three years after independence, India gave itself a constitution to eternally boast of. It enshrines the value and freedom we cherish today. The country had its first national election two years later, in which every adult, rich or poor, literate or illiterate, had the right to vote. This is taken for granted nowadays, but it was a newfound freedom back then....

Telephone… radio… television… the Internet... the Printing press… Papyrus... Throughout history, whenever a new medium of communication emerges, many people, including many government officials, get highly anxious about the new power and the purported new dangers and evils it brings along. With the increasing impact of social media, there are eruptions of fear and outburst of terror about the new power to disseminate information and the potential harm that information and disinformation may cause. Today's social media platforms present the same difficulties that we've been dealing with with regard to older media. The social impact of big tech is at an all time high and so is the censorship of content on these platforms. As the power of the common person waned, the power of the Big Tech grew - power over attention, over time, over users’ judgment and eventually power over their speech. Censorship is a problem that has managed to visit every corner of history, from ancient civili...