Los Angeles and London

I got an opportunity to visit both these places in a short trip, and this being my first trip to both these places, here are my experiences.

First about LA (that's how people call Los Angeles), the second largest city in US, one of the biggest cities in the world with about 1302 Sq. kms, and being part of the State of California (that was ceded to US from Mexico in 1848).  LA is famous for arts, and it's no surprise that Hollywood is in LA!

I used the local transport extensively. Here they refer to both buses and trains as 'Metro', and like any big city, all are integrated, and you can use the same card (called as TAP card) for payment.Buses are merged with vestibule during weekdays.  Exit are primarily through rear side only except for handicapped. As you enter you tap the prepaid TAP card or pay the amount to the driver. If you want to get down, there is a cable to pull an electronic bell or alarm and the driver stops in the next stop. This is to inform the driver that you will be getting down in the next stop. Security Cameras are installed in buses. All buses are air-conditioned. 

You pay a standard fare of 1.75$ for a ride - that means irrespective of where you get down you pay the same amount. There are daily, monthly passes and also senior citizen passes. For physically challenged and for people in wheelchair, the driver will convert the stairs to a ramp and this is there in all buses. There is a GPS based announcement system inside the bus that announces the next stop name. If you are using a bicycle you can load it in front of the bus (outside of the bus) and then board the bus. Petrol is called as gas and measured and priced in gallons. Gas stations operate on self serving mode - you have to swipe your credit card and fill it yourselves and receipt will be generated.

I managed to visit Griffith Observatory, and Natural History Museum, truly remarkable places. I should stay I was really excited to see a place like Griffith Observatory. Though entry is absolutely free, I bought a ticket for the Planetarium show for 7 US Dollars, and definitely worth every bit of it. I went around the observatory clicking pictures, and also went saw the telescope that was seen by Griffith, and was shown a star - Neveda, and then watched the Foucault pendulum experiment trying to prove that the earth is rotating, and that only few places in this earth can be used to conduct such an experiment. There is also a small souvenir shop in this place. 

Natural History Museum was located opposite to University of Southern California. An entry fee of 12$ is charged, but definitely worth it. Lot of mammal replicas were displayed in a very neat and stunningly look-real setup. Skeleton structures of Dinosaurs and history of man were also on display. Bird replicas really reflect a sanctuary setup. More importantly, they also have paleontologists working on real fossils and their work is also displayed for visitors to see. This will serve as a huge inspiration for the young students. Another astonishing section was the minerals sections, that had almost all treasure stones of the world, including Ruby, Blue moon diamond etc.. for display in a vault guarded by security staff. If you have lots of time, its really worth spending here.  There is a store, where you can buy few items. 

I was lucky to discover Paru's Restaurant, for South Indian Veg Food, that was just 1.5 kms from the place I stayed. Learnt that it was started in 1979 by a person from Tamil nadu, India and though it looks like a house from outside, it was appealing inside. I found many foreigners frequenting it, in the few days I visited it. I used to have their "Queen Paru" - a combo of One Idly, One Ghee Dosa and One Poori for 16 US dollars (after tax). Poori and Idly was Ok, though Dosa did not meet my expectations. 

From L to R: Beverly Hills, South Indian Veg Restaurant, Griffith Observatory, Dino Lab at National History Museum 

Next is London. Just got few hours to spend here, before I had to take the return flight, and a good old friend of mine helped me in this trip.  Here local underground rail transport is called 'Tube', and the charge is 8 Pounds per day. Saw the famous Thames river and we walked and took the tube to reach Westminister (British Parliament), and then saw places around there, including the famous London bridge. 

We had a meal deal pack (Sandwich, Juice, and Chips) from Tesco (the well know grocery store)  and there was lot of crowd doing the same, and doing it with a sense of urgency. We then went to London eye - a giant wheel, and saw a 4D picture about London, and then walked to Trafalgar Square, and took photos at the world famous National Museum. Then walked to Buckingham palace, and then took photos.  London was pleasant at that time, and preserves its old heritage and style, despite the modern developments. 

Both LA and London are modern cities, and have a great history dating back to several centuries. LA and London both are cosmopolitan and have people from several countries who have made it as their homeland today. While LA is fully modern in its buildings and infrastructure,  London strikes a balance between the grandeur of past and its modernity. 

London

P.S: 

I also managed a very short trip to San Francisco, thanks to a good old friend, and saw the Golden Gate - the world famous suspension bridge.  I was pleasantly surprised to see the public infrastructure facilities, in the bay areas, like the library in Pleasanton that was free to all members (living in that area), the parks etc... Also visited the famous Shiva-Vishnu temple in Livermore.

What kind of systems will pass the test of time?

My immediate answer would be almost nothing, probably for time itself,  but then we shall restrict our length of  'time' to few generations, and then analyze.

An inflexible system that does not allow change to happen, and therefore being rigid cannot with stand the test of time, and eventually will collapse, however strong it may look at a given point in time. Here, I am using the phrase 'test of time' in a very abstract sense, as it is very difficult to predict what time will throw at.

Only flexible systems, that allow change, and therefore adapt and evolve can potentially pass the test of time. Let us look at few examples. Take the case of language, English as a language is able to stand for centuries now, not only because it has been the language of the rulers of the past centuries, but also it ability to assimilate (absorb) words and constructs of other languages, and evolving continuously with new words getting introduced from various fields, including science and technology.

We all know the fate of various systems of governance practiced in different countries across the world. The testimony of non-democratic systems of governance had shown us that a rigid system will eventually collapse one day, while a democratic system that has an inbuilt mechanism to accept change and evolve with it will survive for long.

Therefore one can safely conclude that, only a system that has tolerance and acceptance for change alone will survive for long, which shall make the system flexible and adaptable. A system that does not allow for adaptability will eventually shrink in its mass before eventually collapsing under its own weight.

However, this does not mean a completely arbitrary and flexible system will survive the test of time. It will not only lead to chaos, but also will come up with a random order, thanks to the 'incentive mechanism' and 'herd mentality' that will get automatically inherited into most of the systems.

So, the conclusion is that a system has to be well-balanced between rigidity and flexibility, so that it can produce the desired (or even wonderful) results and has more probability to survive the test of time. This again points out to my concept of Art of Delicate Balancing.

A brief history of Madurai

Madurai is one of the of the oldest continually inhabited city in the World (along with Varanasi in India), which I had already mentioned in my older post.  So, obviously it has a very long and eventful history.  So, this is an effort to summarize the history so far in few words, and the primary sources of this article were several well-written Wikipedia articles and ofcourse other literary sources. Here it goes ... 

History of Madurai can be started atleast from 500 BCE (though there is a mention that first Sangam - a sort of - academy happened in Madurai around 9000 BCE) , wherein Pandya kings were ruling the region. There have been numerous references to kings and the town in texts of Ramayana, and Mahabharata. An interesting part is that the Pandya king sided with Pandavas during the war, especially king Malayadwaja Pandya (son of Kulashekara Pandyan) - the father of Meenakshi (an avatar of Goddess Parvati) who later ruled Madurai. Though there have been confusions raised stating that the Pandians / Pandyas were actually Pandavas, it is amply clear that Pandya/Pandian kings were separate members as they have found mention even in Ramanyana which predates Mahabharata and the Pandavas were one branch of descendants from the Kuru.  

Cut to 3rd Century AD - the end of the last Sangam period. Pandyas and Madurai appear to be flourishing as they appear to have established trade relationships with Rome, and Egypt. Historians of China mention them after Greek historian mentioned them in 1st Century AD. Jainism then followed by Buddhism appear to have taken dominance in the region during this period.  Archaeologists and Historians concur that Elukadal Street  (one of the streets of Madurai), is said to have been the biggest trade market street of those days.  So, Pandyas / Pandian kings dominated Madurai from 500 BCE till 400 AD, and then again from 1190 AD to 1334 AD.

Cut to 1300's. Jalaluddin Ahsan Khan, an viceroy of the Delhi Sultanate proclaimed independence in 1335 (then ruled by Mohammed Bin Tuglhaq) and established the first independent sultanate. The Madurai Sultan rule continued till 1378, after which the kingdom of Vijaynagar during Harihara II's rule in 1378, invaded it and formally declared as its possession. Kumara Kampana, also known as Kampana Udaiyar, an army officer in the Vijayanagar Empire led the successful invasion of the Madurai Sultanate. He had previously conquered or subdued the Sambuvarayar Dynasty (a vassal of Delhi Sultanate) in Kanchipuram.

Nayaka's dominance and dynasties start from 1538. They were originally military governors under the supervision of the Vijayanagara Empire, but after the downfall of Vijayanagara Empire, many of them declared independence. In 1538 AD, the Vijayanagara commander Kotikam Nagama Nayaka defeated Veerasekara Chola who occupied the Pandyan region. However, Nagama Nayaka declared independence from the Vijayanagar dynasty instead of handing back the Viyanagara kingdom. To check the rebellion of Nagama Nayaka, emperor Krishnadeva Raya sent a large force under Viswanatha Nayaka (who is actually the son of Nagama Nayaka). Viswanatha eventually defeated and imprisoned his father. However later he only obeyed the orders of the Vijayanagar king nominally, and placed the Pandya on the throne who ruled for a while. However, Vishwanatha Nayaka later set out to rule on his own account; and in 1559 when the Vijayanagara Kingdom was in decline, he established a dynastic rule, and there was born the Madurai Nayak dynastic line.

Thirumalai Nayakar the most famed ruler of the Nayak dynasty established the famous palace in 1636 in Indo-Saracenic Style. Earlier his capital was in Dindugal, which he moved to Madurai. The structure of Meenakshi Temple was significantly expanded during his reign - which is the structure that we see today - sprawling around 17 acres. The nayaks rule of Madurai came to a complete end by 1739.  Ceylon (now called as Sri Lanka) was invaded during his period.  There was a brief period  (1734-1740) of domination by Chanda Sahib, who started as a sepoy under the Mughal emperors and controlled Madurai from 1736. From 1740 onwards he had to fight wars and with many potential rulers like the Marathas, Nawabs, French & the Britishers, entering in and around Madurai. Meanwhile in 1750's Hyder Ali, the nawab of Mysore said to have plundered wealth from temples in and around Madurai.  Yusuf Khan (Marudhanayagam) who served under Chanda Sahib,  then fought with Hyder Ali, and pushed him to Dindugal said to have helped in restoring some of wealth and glory of the temples back. 

British Rule in Madurai started after 1750s and after 1800's they ruled comfortably till independence without any troubles. (before 1800, they had to fight the polygar wars - with palayakarrars, (a title given to administrators assigned by Nayak rulers controlling a territory;) like Puli Thevan, Veerapandya Kattabomman and the Marudhu brothers). Cut to 1900s. Mahatma Gandhi visited Madurai 5 times, first in 1919 to enlist supporters for Satyagraha against the Rowlatt act. It is in Madurai, he renounced his traditional attire and switched to simple clothes. He refused to enter Meenakshi temple until all classes of people were allowed to enter it, and after it happened he visited in 1946.  Here's an video of Madurai of 1947

50 Career Defining Words starting with P

Just thought of putting down the words in English that define and shape one's career and discovered so many words starting with 'P'. Discovered 50 words and classified the words into few categories, and tried to sequence them within each category. Though some words may fit in more than one category, have tried to put in that category that requires it the most.  

• Academics: Planning, Promptness, Practice, Pass 

• Career: Position, Priority, Potential, Peer, Pressure, Performance, Promotion

• Characteristics: Prejudice, Positive, Playful, Plain, Pleasing, Pleasant, Polite, Profound, Principle, Presence, Pillar 

• Economics: Principal, Protection, Proportionate, Penalty

• Innovation: Passion, Persistence, Peculiar, Perseverance, Product, Precision, Pioneer

• Philosophy: Problem, Progress, Philosophy, Period, Permanent, Purity, Preach  

• Politics: Policy, Police, Politics, Polling, Proximity, Popular, Predominate, Power, Prime, President

God and his Merit System

The idea of penning down this post occurred, when there was a casual discussion with my friends and colleagues about the interesting facts or values behind Ramayana and Mahabharata.

In my observations, I noted that believers of God, had always sought or resorted to God, during their tough times. Generally believers of Hinduism, not only put the onus of their tough situations on God, but also on their own fate. So what is fate or destiny or karma?

Fate (leaving aside the bookish definitions) can be considered as a meritorious system of effects for the deeds done by a person - which we either construe as rewards or punishments; rewards for good deeds and punishments for bad deeds; which in Hinduism, not only relates to what one does in his current birth but also had carried forward from his/her previous births (what else can explain about a child being born to poor parents, while at the same time and almost at the same place, another child being born to rich parents). 

The role of God is to serve as an administrator or that of an implementer of the fate or meritorious system. God may give solace, reduce the impact, or effect of a bad fate, and even may help you to completely pass you through the tough times, but then wise men say that,  it is how the fate has been defined for you - that you will be blessed and be guided by God.

Therefore, God as an administrator (though very much could be the creator) of this system, reserves the right to add/increase/decrease/remove the effects, therefore bringing in the flexibility to the otherwise rigid system of cause (deeds) & effect. However it should be noted that whatever the deeds and effects may be, they once again gets added up to one's list, and will be evaluated again as the cycle (of birth and death) continues. 

P.S: May be this merit system can be thought of a well-balanced zero-sum game, another example highlighting the art of delicate balancing.  

Magician Vs Actor Vs Politician

After a long time, thought of publishing a post in Tamil. Though this was written by me, over 15+ years ago, and discovered recently, I thought this still sounds fresh and spicy in this election season!

வித்தைகாரரின் திறமை - நடந்ததை நடக்காதது போல் காட்டுவது
நடிகரின் திறமை - நடக்காததை நடந்தது போல் காட்டுவது
அரசியல்வாதியின் திறமை - இவ்விரண்டும் ஒரு சேர பெற்றிருப்பது  

Quick Translation: 

A magician's talent is in acting that nothing has happened, while an actor's talent is in acting as if something had happened. A politician's talent is in mastering both the acts! 

Madurai and Melbourne

Madurai, the temple town or city, was where I was born, and spent few years there.  Melbourne was the first place that I roamed around outside of India (forget the airports). So I was obviously, though unconsciously trying to find similarities between these two places. 

Though it's like comparing apple to oranges, I want to share my perspective primarily with respect to the structure of the cities. So, here goes the list of similarities.

• River: Both (Madurai and Melbourne) have a river flowing through in the City. Madurai has Vaigai (though most part of it is without water, and poorly maintained) and its length is 258 KMs, Melbourne has Yarra river flowing through with a length of 242 KMs. (Yarra is beautiful and well maintained river supporting lot of recreational activities. ) 

• Street Layout: Both Madurai (old Madurai) and Melbourne (Old Melbourne) have streets designed in a rectangular/squarish way, and from an inner rectangle, you move to an outer rectangle and so on. In case of Madurai, the Meenakshi Amman temple is considered as the central point, surrounded by the 4 Tower streets (North, South, East and West), and as you move outer and outer you will reach the 4 Veli streets (North, South, East and West). In case of Melbourne it has Flinders Street, Collins Street all parallel to each other in the rectangular pattern.

• University: Madurai and Melbourne have a University starting with their name. - Madurai Kamaraj University and Melbourne University (Though Kamaraj refers to a person, atleast they are starting with the name of the place). 

• Market: Though it is quite common for every city to have it, the structure of markets were quite similar - noise, smell :), dedicated day of the week for markets, etc... 

P.S: Do not get misled by the above, if you had never visited these places. Both of them are great and unique places in this world, that I would recommend you to see for yourself. Madurai has a very long history (several thousands of years), and one of the oldest continually inhabited city in the World (along with Varanasi, India). Melbourne, founded in 1835 (though occupied by local hunter-gatherers for thousands of years) is rated as one of the best places to live.

The Year 2013 - for me

I would like to maintain my style of posting about a recap of events that happened in the last year, as my first post of the year - a sort of autobiography.  So, here it is:

• It's difficult to start learning something new, especially as basic as a skill like driving, and that too when people less than half your age, already have mastered it. Nevertheless, with a firm mind, I started with a two-wheeler, and within a month, mastered it (simply means, you keep driving in chaotic traffic, and try to find way, even within a very narrow space!). Then came the bigger one - Learning to drive a manual transmission car (with gears!), in real traffic and that too in curvy and slope roads, (ofcourse after getting trained from a professional driving school) 
• Had the experience of being pulled into a project and being pushed out of a project purely for non-technical reasons! - Though I had to admit that, I was wishing for it to happen.  
• Met reasonable success in a project that involved overcoming huge administrative challenges, and happy as it brought a sense of satisfaction after a lot frustration and will be a very important milestone in the history of the organization that I am working with. 
• Yet another project of mine, relating to academic networking saw some reasonable success; However all the above projects require continuous follow up to sustain the success!
• Started to do some serious study on DNS, that I had kept in my wish list for a long time. 
• My mentor and boss, for almost a decade, moved to another location of the organization. This lead to series of changes, but at the end, you learn to accept the changes.
• Had a busy time authoring proposals in areas related to Information Security, the domain that I had been involved with for the past few years  
• Got a feel of Hybrid PC or Convertibles - (Laptop with detachable screen, and screen can act as a tab), but soon realized that these products are immature and not going to suit someone who spends considerable time in front of the PC. 
• Had the experience of learning and working with good number of interns this year
• Had the experience of running around the government offices to apply and collect few essential documents!
• Travel: As usual made trips to New Delhi, Tirumala, Madurai, Mumbai, Chandigarh, Chennai