I watched Vishwaroopam on 24th of Jan when it was released in the bay area.

Vishwaroopam is a very simple movie, which goes about doing it's job in a fast paced way, there is no message told, there is no philosophy sold, there is no nothing in this  movie if you are looking for any anti communal thoughts or speech. If you are Tamil movie watcher, it is like an action king Arjun movie, or puratchi kalaignar, Vijayakanth movie with Kamal Hassan's elements in it. There are traces of fun intelligent style scenes like the "Nanban" movie and all of them make a good package for an entertainer. If you want resemblances to a hollywood movie, then it is like a Dark Knight movie for it's action and thrill elements.

But if there is one clear message we are getting, then the message is not from the movie itself, but from the behavior of certain groups and the Indian state governments. And the clear message is this:

"An ordinary peace loving person is not safe in Tamil Nadu"

And this includes you, me, your family, friends, my family and friends. And it is unsettling to know that this creepy terror from Tamil Nadu has spread quickly to Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka.

We may not realize it immediately and but this a subtle message from the Government which allowed ban on this movie after listening to certain fractions of the society. Here is a movie which shows Afganistan, terrorist outfits of Afganistan, a plot which is positive in saving people from those terrorists and there are people in our society who want that to be removed? If people who demanded that movie be banned made their point after watching this movie, then my conclusion is those groups are supporting  certain terrorists from Afganistan. Simple, religion does not come into picture here. And government is not protecting people from the extremists, but in fact it is helping the extremists and harming the people. That's my take on the whole episode and this is grave.

Since a lot happened with this movie and too many speculations going around, let me add my own views to some of these, because it concerns me.

DTH Delay

Theater owners feared that piracy would be easy if it is released in DTH on the same day it was releasing in theaters. I agree to the theater owners standpoint and can understand their need to protect their business. All business can work out win-win situation for themselves and win-lose situation in a two person business is not going to be help anyone. I hope, that the rivaling parties worked out a win-win situation for their business and no one trying to take a lion's share at the expense of other.

Calling for Ban two days before the movie

I am aghast. What can you say about this action which is not based any sound reason. Politics?

Government and Tamil Nadu Chief Minister's role.

We do not know Tamil Nadu Chief Ministers role in the episode, but as a leader is representative of the actions taken by the subordinates, I think, it is fair to assume that the present chief minister of Tamil Nadu supported the ban. If the chief minister supported the ban based on any of her personal agenda, then she has supported the people with terrorist views.

Publicity Stunt

Some people call it is a publicity stunt. If they say it is publicity stunt by  group who want the movie to be banned, then yes, it is. But they are ignoring the fact that supporting "Afgan Terrorists" for publicity and this is no joke, it is a serious issue.  If they claim that it is a publicity stunt by Kamal and producers, oh wow, can you be more imaginative than this, especially after the movie has seen so many business hurdles?

Rajnikanth's Stance

Rajnikanth's voice comes in press too because he is respectable person. In this case, he asked the group which is demanding the ban to hold talks and work out a solution. Please? Do you see their point of supporting Afgan terrorists and do you want your friend Kamal to give to them?

What can I do?

My influence surrounds the area of software and  the articles that I write. What I can do to the injustices that I see around. My take is,  I can act. I can write boldly and I can support the people who are against the injustices.

There is much to be learned when a nobel experiment faces political hardships, when people inflict harm on others with personal agendas. There is much to do to make our society a safe one to live. Being bold definitely counts towards it.

Sachin's score 138 against Pakistan in a late nighties tour. He was fighting a severe back ache and then hitting the pakistan bowlers all over the ground. As soon as he got out, India fell short of 17 runs from victory. To me, victory does not count anything, but this attempt of a person carrying the team, overcoming personal physical pain and going for it was an enormous gesture.

Sachin returned to his work, i.e. playing cricket and scoring a century against Kenya in a world cup, one day after his father died says millions about work ethic, concentration and love for something. His family appreciated him for that.

Math problems aren’t solved, they are conquered!

Well, this problem below was one that I had to defeat.  I went to battle with it and after losing a few skirmishes (i.e., trying approaches that failed) I finally beat it into submission.  From now on, when I see that feisty integral that won’t behave or a simple number puzzle whose pattern defies identification, I’ll strap on my armor (or sweater vest), grab my sword (or calculator) and wage full-out war on that problem.  No problem is safe!

From  this blog post.

On November 15, 2012, I Reached 10,000 points on StackOverflow Reaching there late, but it is still a figure'tical landmark. :) Also found just after that moment that StackOverflow.com has a brick at my favorite computer history museum wall.  I should go and check it out.

For example, in Year 1 that useless letter "c" would be dropped to be replased either by "k" or "s", and likewise "x" would no longer be part of the alphabet. The only kase in which "c" would be retained would be the "ch" formation, which will be dealt with later. Year 2 might reform "w" spelling, so that "which" and "one" would take the same konsonant, wile Year 3 might well abolish "y" replasing it with "i" and Iear 4 might fiks the "g/j" anomali wonse and for all.

Jenerally, then, the improvement would kontinue iear bai iear with Iear 5 doing awai with useless double konsonants, and Iears 6-12 or so modifaiing vowlz and the rimeining voist and unvoist konsonants. Bai Iear 15 or sou, it wud fainali bi posibl tu meik ius ov thi ridandant letez "c", "y" and "x" -- bai now jast a memori in the maindz ov ould doderez -- tu riplais "ch", "sh", and "th" rispektivli.

Fainali, xen, aafte sam 20 iers ov orxogrefkl riform, wi wud hev a lojikl, kohirnt speling in ius xrewawt xe Ingliy-spiking werld.

Had a opportunity to talk to Matz, the creator of Ruby Programming language. Some thoughts he shared were, he understood language projects as typically a very long term ones, something like 50 years. That is, if you get involved in writing a new language, the project could keep you occupied for about 50 years. He also mentioned that writing a language is easy, the subjects are taught well and books are available, but designing a good language is a hard task.

It was very entertaining and enriching to hear these thoughts from him.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shavarsh_Karapetyan

Karapetyan had just completed his usual distance of 20 km (12 mi) when he heard the sound of the crash and saw the sinking trolleybus which had gone out of control and fallen from the dam wall.

The trolleybus lay at the bottom of the reservoir some 25 metres (80 ft) offshore at a depth of 10 metres (33 ft). Karapetyan swam to it and, despite conditions of almost zero visibility, due to the silt rising from the bottom, broke the back window with his legs. The trolleybus was crowded, it carried 92 passengers and Karapetyan knew he had little time, spending some 30 to 35 seconds for each person he saved.

Karapetyan managed to rescue 20 people (he picked up more, but only 20 survived), but this ended his sports career: the combined effect of cold water and the multiple wounds he received (scratched by glass), left him unconscious for 45 days. Subsequent sepsis, due to the presence of raw sewage in the lake water, and lung complications prevented him from continuing his sports career.

On February 19th, 1985, Shavarsh just happened to be near a burning building, that had people trapped inside. He rushed in and started pulling people out without a second thought. Once again, he was badly hurt (severe burns) and spent a long time in the hospital.

He later moved to Moscow and founded a shoe company called “Second Breath”. Karapetyan was later awarded a UNESCO “Fair Player” medal for his heroism.

A main belt asteroid, 3027 Shavarsh, discovered by Nikolai Chernykh, was named after him (approved by the MPC in September 1986).

The Dandi March : A simple act of making salt shakes the British Empire

Gandhi had some concrete plans, steps and targets while achieving his goals. He is often known for the the principles he stood for, but this is example where he followed them through, but showed a tactical approach to achieving a goal. Many find it hard to believe as how a march can be equated to a fight, but Gandhi showed that it was an act of disobedience and when done in the same spirit, it achieved the purpose of what's achieved by other means like violence.

In early April, 1930 Gandhi, 61 years old, reached Dandi after walking 241 miles in 24 days. He then defied the law by making salt. It was a brilliant, non-violent strategy by Gandhi. To enforce the law of the land, the British had to arrest the satyagrahis (soldiers of civil disobedience) and Indians courted arrest in millions. There was panic in the administration and Indian freedom struggle finally gathered momentum both inside and outside of India. The picture of Gandhi, firm of step and walking staff in hand (shown above) was to be among the most enduring of the images of him.

Source: http://www.kamat.com/mmgandhi/dandi.htm

This piece is famous as Abraham Lincoln's letter to the teacher of his son and there are good number of sources which dispute that fact. Regardless of that, this is a wonderful piece of advice and some thought provoking ideas.

Yesterday, incidentally, I had to recollect this one from out of blues, when I was listening to some one. Things may not as black-and-white, but I had to say to myself "For every scoundrel there is a dedicated leader."

Letter to a teacher.

He will have to learn, I know,
that all men are not just,
all men are not true.
But teach him also that
for every scoundrel there is a hero;
that for every selfish Politician,
there is a dedicated leader…
Teach him for every enemy there is a friend,

Steer him away from envy,
if you can,
teach him the secret of
quiet laughter.

Let him learn early that
the bullies are the easiest to lick…
Teach him, if you can,
the wonder of books…
But also give him quiet time
to ponder the eternal mystery of birds in the sky,
bees in the sun,
and the flowers on a green hillside.

In the school teach him
it is far honourable to fail
than to cheat…
Teach him to have faith
in his own ideas,
even if everyone tells him
they are wrong…
Teach him to be gentle
with gentle people,
and tough with the tough.

Try to give my son
the strength not to follow the crowd
when everyone is getting on the band wagon…
Teach him to listen to all men…
but teach him also to filter
all he hears on a screen of truth,
and take only the good
that comes through.

Teach him if you can,
how to laugh when he is sad…
Teach him there is no shame in tears,
Teach him to scoff at cynics
and to beware of too much sweetness…
Teach him to sell his brawn
and brain to the highest bidders
but never to put a price-tag
on his heart and soul.

Teach him to close his ears
to a howling mob
and to stand and fight
if he thinks he’s right.
Treat him gently,
but do not cuddle him,
because only the test
of fire makes fine steel.

Let him have the courage
to be impatient…
let him have the patience to be brave.
Teach him always
to have sublime faith in himself,
because then he will have
sublime faith in mankind.

This is a big order,
but see what you can do…
He is such a fine little fellow,
my son!

Inspired from Ramanujam's Magic Square

The process is simple - http://nrich.maths.org/1380

But the interesting part in the solution involves seeing a symmetry in 2d arrangement of numbers like if you fold the square, the external numbers add up to the internal numbers of the facing side. :-)