Hamby supports his contentions with references to classic articles ranging from Dr. Vannevar Bush’s famous essay, “As We May Think,” (The Atlantic Monthly, July 1945) to “The Semantic Web” by Tim Berners-Lee, Jim Hendler, and Ora Lassila (Scientific American, May 2001) as well as recent surveys like the 2010 IOUG Database Growth Survey, sponsored by Oracle.

Coming from an academic and business background, I always thought that “instinct” is not scientific enough. For the last decade, I have suffered several excruciating heartaches and have finally come to conclusion that human beings are not capable of explaining everything scientifically. My gut feelings have always been telling me the truth but I chose to ignore them.

It’s time to put forth my new year resolutions for happiness and peace. I thought the following article could be helpful for any single girls as well, so I’m sharing it here. May your new year be happy and loving.

If a Man Wants You
By Salma Rumman

“This advice was passed along to me from a counselor; it was great to hear so I wanted to share it.

If a man wants you, nothing can keep him away. If he doesn’t want you, nothing can make him stay.

Stop making excuses for a man and his behavior.

Allow your intuition (or spirit) to save you from heartache.

Stop trying to change yourselves for a relationship that’s not meant to be.

Slower is better.

Never live your life for a man before you find what makes you truly happy.

If a relationship ends because the man was not treating you as you deserve then heck no, you can’t “be friends.” A friend wouldn’t mistreat a friend.

Don’t settle. If you feel like he is stringing you along, then he probably is.

Don’t stay because you think “it will get better.” You’ll be mad at yourself a year later for staying when things are not better.

The only person you can control in a relationship is you.

Avoid men who’ve got a bunch of children by a bunch of different women. He didn’t marry them when he got them pregnant, why would he treat you any differently?

Always have your own set of friends separate from his.

Maintain boundaries in how a guy treats you.

If something bothers you, speak up.

Never let a man know everything. He will use it against you later.

You cannot change a man’s behavior. Change comes from within.

Don’t EVER make him feel he is more important than you are…even if he has more education or in a better job. Do not make him into a quasi-god.

He is a man, nothing more nothing less.

Never let a man define who you are.

Never borrow someone else’s man. Oh Lord!  If he cheated with you, he’ll cheat on you.

A man will only treat you the way you allow him to treat you.”

• Work like you don’t need the money, love like you’ve never been hurt and dance like no one is watching.

  - Randall G Leighton

• “When one door closes, another opens; but we often look so long and so regretfully upon the closed door that we do not see the one that has opened for us.”

  - Alexander Graham Bell

• Perfection is achieved, not when there is nothing more to add, but when there is nothing left to take away.
  —Antoine de Saint-Exupéry

• When hungry, eat your rice; when tired, close your eyes. Fools may laugh at me, but wise men will know what I mean.
  —Lin-Chi

Gopal is a relatively poor fellow whose barely making ends meet. He’s no stranger to struggles in life whether it is tackling the entrance exams of IITs and NITs or finding his ambition in life. He feels that only money can get you happiness. Raghav on the other hand is ready to mount a revolution against everything corrupt and wrong happening in the society. He believes that someone has to stand up against the system. Aarti is a happy go lucky girl who every guy would dream of having as his soul mate.

The three were the best of friends since school but “Love, Corruption and Ambition” combine together to bring differences between them. As you must have guessed it, both love the same girl and therein lies the main problem.

At its core, this book is a love story like any other Chetan story. But then the expose of the corrupt education system, the profit making private engineering colleges, issue of bribing etc. give the book a contemporary feel. Probably it wasn’t destined since he started writing the book 2 years back, but the issue of corruption has been reignited by Anna Hazare. And for the same reason a lot of readers would associate with the issues mentioned in the book pretty well.

By basing his story in Varanasi, Chetan has shown the willingness to go beyond the metros he has generally portrayed in his story and probably strike a cord with the semi urban populace. His descriptions of each and every ghat are fantastic which goes to show the amount of research he has put in for the same. Another interesting fact different from his earlier books is that the main protagonist is shown (at least in the first half) as someone who isn’t rich but generally has to save money to make do with things in his life.

But the book is predictable and ridden with cliches as usual. You normally know what to expect next. But nonethless the ending was a bit of surprise though yeah it does complete the melodrama pretty well. The premise of the story is interesting but many a time you feel as though things have been a bit extended. A crispier editing job could have made things a lot better.

The characters are pretty well etched it. Actually so well etched out that you can associate movie which actor would be portraying that particular role. The narrative and flow of the story is pretty good as it moves effortlessly from their childhood in Varanasi to Gopal’s coaching classes in Kota to them becoming adults.

Considering the title and the different set of expectations I had, its a bit of a disappointment. But for crazy Chetan fans, go for it! As a matter of fact if I am not wrong, this is Chetan’s most expensive book till date at an MRP of Rs 140. Wonder the reason behind such a hike? Was the content really worthed this hike?

Spoiler Alert: Book version of Hazaaron Khwaishein Aisi (Mostly), Rajneeti / Guru(Some parts). It sometimes reminds you of “If God was a Banker” by Ravi Subramanian as well.

Rating -  2.5/5 (Light breezy read as usual)

Update – For people who ask, the poor rating has been given because of the following reasons: -

1. Predictable, cliched and melodramatic script

2. Not too great editing

3. Nothing much with respect to the title other than a few instances (The title is important because a Chetan Bhagat book is keenly awaited. And with a title like Revolution 2020, you associate something more than just rehashed versions of movie scripts)

Most middle class Indians feel that education is the only way to get rich and earn respect ethically in this country and IITs symbolise the very culmination of this ‘Indian dream’. The sentiment is so strong that it makes 15 year olds toil for years away from their family in places like Kota to prepare for an exam that lasts just a few hours!

Parents sacrifice their own aspirations and save money to send their children to expensive coaching institutes that prepare them for this tussle between lakhs for a few thousand seats.

And now when Narayana Murthy has openly questioned the quality of graduates from IITs, it is this very national obsession that has caused everybody to express an opinion on the issue (I guess with this blogpost, you can add my name to that list).

However what amuses me here is that coaching institutes and quota system have become the whipping boys of one and all. I beg to differ. Here’s why:

1. Coaching classes: I see nothing wrong with commercialisation as the spirit of enterprise, the very foundation of any country’s progress, is based on the possibility of profit making. Entrepreneurship and charity are almost an oxymoron according to me. These coaching classing are a direct consequence of the demand for that ‘extra edge’ in the super competitive exam.

And why do aspirants look for that advantage when the topics tested in IIT-JEE are taught in school?

They do because the curriculum of ICSE & CBSE isn’t rigorous enough for IIT-JEE. So how are the coaching classes to blame here? They saw an underserved market here and are encashing on it. I fail to see anything wrong with that.

2. Quota system: This is a sensitive issue and one on which there is no clear consensus. No doubt the underprivileged deserve support but should the same come at the cost of compromising on the quality of the students being churned out? I think the answer is a resounding yes. The onus in this case lies on the infrastructure, both physical and human, of the institute to bring these students at par with the others.

The same can be achieved by means ranging from ‘extra lectures’ to ‘remedial classes’.

Still, if a corporate has a problem with the quality of the students that get admission thorough quota system, then there is a simple solution to it – in-house training. The same would be cheaper than running behind fewer coveted students from ‘General’ category that would be more expensive to hire as they shall have multiple job offers at their doorstep.

So, if coaching institutes and quota system is not to be blamed, then what can be the reason for the alleged drop in quality for students? Well, in my humble opinion, it is the IIT aspirants themselves.

Ask any IIT aspirant the reason his/her motivation behind getting admission into an IIT, the answer is rarely ‘to become a world class engineer’ or ‘to do cutting edge research’. Most of the responses are ‘to get a well-paying job on graduation’ or ‘to get admission into a top-notch American University or MBA institute’.

Appallingly, the fact that an IITian commands a heavy dowry in some parts of India is another motivation for a few aspirants who are clearly messed up in their heads. The bottom line is that a degree from an IIT gives them three things that prove sufficient to succeed in the real world – the brand name of an elite institution on their CV, top notch analytical skills and an enviable alumni network. Frankly (and sadly), this is all these aspirants and their families care about.

Majority of the students from IITs use little or no part of the knowledge gained at the institute in their job upon graduation. Writing codes in software industry or preparing pitch books in investment banking clearly don’t require the knowledge of Fluid Mechanics or Electrical Circuit Design. But these jobs pay big bucks and that’s the end goal here for most IIT aspirants.

Hence, how can they be good engineers when they start out intending to use engineering degree from IIT just as a stepping stone to a successful career in some other field? Clearly the quality will suffer which sadly means that Murthy is right. However by hiring civil, mechanical and electrical engineers to write codes in his company, he can’t deny that he is a part of the problem himself.

A very Happy New Year to all…

As i attempt to write my first ever blog , my fingers are shivering and the alphabets on my keyboard seem to be dancing! Haha.. But i promise you my friends (take it as my new year resolution) , that i will never skip writing to you all..!!

New year..new day… a fresh start to our work.. The cold morning, covered with mist and fog brings with it positive and energetic vibes within it. There is life on the roads, children are heading to their schools, people are starting their cars for their office and the elder ones walking with their sticks..  No wonder this cold can kill people..!