Confused Soul

Since last few days, I saw a lot of worries and discussions regarding tax calculations among my colleagues and today was the last day of all this. The reason was simple that the last date of filing IT return was today. But if you have deposited all your tax, or your due taxes have been deducted by your employer or you are not claiming a major amount as refund, you need not rush to the income tax office. In fact, if you have no losses to be carried forward too, you need not worry about meeting the July 31 deadline. You have the option to file your returns by March 31, 2009, without any penalty. Unfortunately many aren’t aware of this.

But there is a drawback also, if the return is filed by July 31, 2008, then you can revise the return by March 31, 2010. but such revision is not possible if you file after July 31.

Now a days, what I love most on the TV is FEAR FACTOR on COLORS. The show is a true reality show that doesn't eliminate its contestants on the count of SMS (votes). The only factor that counts in elimination is the performance. This show was started with 13 female celebrities of glamor world of India and in every subsequent episode celebrity is being eliminated. Each episode contains two dares, first one is for immunity and second one is for elimination. The dares are really horrible sometimes (especially when it include some wild creatures).

Yesterday in it's 14th dare, Yana Gupta has been eliminated. From the beginning of the show, she was awesome and performing each and every task brilliantly. She always used to come forward to take initiative in every dare and offered herself to do it first. There is a certain advantage if you are not first to do any dare. Because you can learn from other's mistakes (attempts) and make your strategies. But She had this advantage rarely. Also if you see the stunt she performed yesterday (in which, she was eliminated), she did that brilliant. Tana was very confident and did that superb and better as compared to all other contestants. But she just missed the target which doesn't scale your Fear Factor, the theme of the show. I am sharing the videos and now you decide yourself.

Again as the task demanded, 3 contestants were failed to qualify but Yana was named as failure :(. Yana was always my first choice to win this show but as she is out now, I hope on Aditi and Anita to win the show.

Today, I saw the live traffic map for my blog and was glad to see that there were so many locations in the world, where my blog has reached. I am sharing a screen shot with the country-wise percentage of the readers of my blog.

Courtesy: Postsecret

13th May 2008: 7 serial blasts in Jaipur
25th June 2008: 8 serial blasts in Bangalore
26th June 2008: 17 serial blasts in Ahmadabad with one live bomb diffused
27th July 2008: 2 bombs diffused in Surat


What all these figures are telling us? These figures are telling that India is once again in the custody of terrorists. The blasts are very similar in terms of method of execution and in the terms of intensity. The blasts targeted crowded, economically important and communally volatile areas. In all the three cities, the explosions took place within a short span of time and within a radius of less than 10 km, perhaps to minimize reaction time. And also look at the guts of these bloody terrorists that they sent an e-mail to Gujrat Police just before the blast. The mail read, “We the Indian Mujahideen have carried out attacks and will continue to do so. Stop us if you can.”

One more thing to notice is that these terrorist attacks are targeted to BJP ruled states only. Also Jagadguru Sankaracharya received a letter from terrorists. The letter read “This is just a trailer; we will show the complete movie. The scenes will the same in every city of India.” So we can’t neglect the possibility that the aim of attacks is much more than to just cause some deaths and panic. It may also result in communal riots all over the country, which may be the main aim of terrorists. If they are successful in their aim then it will hollow the main strength of the country (UNITY).

Below is a picture, which shows the major terrorist attack in India in recent time.


Let’s promise ourselves not to panic and take any step, which these terrorist want. We need to remain unite as ever and reply to these terrorists that whatever you do, you can never divide us. Let’s show them that we are a country which respects all the religions and no anti-social power can divide us.

Look at this video and think if social media is encouraging vulgarity or providing new ways to protest. I am purposely not embedding this video in this blog ( you will come to know why after watching it). This video is nothing but a slap: a slap on the face of Indian culture, a slap on the image IIM-C and a slap on social media. If these girls are thinking that they are bold and did a great job by doing this and after the uploading this on youtube increased in their boldness then these poor girls are in a big mistake. They not only spoiled their image but also raised many questions. If you can not see this video on youtube (in case deleted) have a look here with a discussion.

I came to know about this video while reading webyantra. You decide whether this is the right manner or the most shameful manner you have ever seen to show rivalry.

It has been more than a month since the launch of firefox3 and I have been using firefox3 since then. I am explaining my experiences with firefox3 (FF3). The things I liked most about FF3 and the things I disliked about FF3.

Things I liked:

1) Smart Keywords: This is an amazing feature. Using this, you can assign a key to each of your search engines and then whenever you want to search something in a particular search engine just type the key corresponding to that search engine and the text you want to search in location bar. I love this feature the most and believe me that I hardly type anything in search engine field in FF3. Example: Say I assign 'G' to google so now if I want to search 'akash' in google, I just need to type "G akash" in my location bar.

2) Find: The find feature appears in a keystroke. Search for a word or phrase on an open Web page. Highlight text before using the feature and finder opens pre-filled with your selection. See all instances of your search at once, or scroll backwards and forwards through the appearances of the word on the page.

3) Multi-location copy: Now you can copy text from multiple location in your new FF3 browser. What all you need to do is to hold the Ctrl key whenever you want to select text from a new location.

4) Smart Location Bar: A quick way to get to the sites you love—even the ones with addresses you only vaguely remember. The new Firefox 3 location bar learns as you use it. Over time, it adapts to your preferences and offers better fitting matches.

There are many more new features, which make your life easier. It's not possible to explain everything here. Please find it here.

Things I disliked:

1) One-Click Bookmarking: There is nothing to dislike about but I didn't like it. May be because, even if I bookmark a site by single-click on the star icon in the location bar, I never get it in bookmarks. Though the site is bookmarked and always show as bookmarked, I am not able to find it in my bookmarks.

2) Download Manager: Now you can pause and resume your downloads and this feature means there’s no need to wait for a download to finish before you disconnect. They claim that the resume function also works if your system crashes or is forced to restart. But unfortunately it doesn't work even in single session and always gives error like following even if I pause and play.

3) Flash support Issue: I love browsing youtube and watch video over there. Unfortunately, Since the time I upgraded to FF3 from FF2, I have to open IE for watching youtube videos as FF3 never shows them properly. Either it takes too much time to render and or it doesn't provide any voice in them. It always hangs with a video or I should say any good heavy flash object. The issue with flash is a major issue with FF3.

4) Favicon Issue: Though it may seem a very small issue, it is an issue with FF3. FF3 plays with the favicons especially with those favicons which you have bookmarked. For example I have bookmarked gmail.com and it shows google favicon. But whenever I open any new site with another favicon, bookmark gmail.com starts showing this new favicon until I open gmail again.

5) Add-ons: I upgraded to FF3 on the cost of all those cool add-ons, I used frequently with FF2. Though they all will come sooner with FF3 but till then I need to live without them, which is not a good idea for me.

We are hoping to establish a world record (NOT official Guinness) by assembling the world's largest jigsaw puzzle in record time. The puzzle is called "Life - The Greatest Challenge", has 24,000 pieces and measures 14'x5'.

The record, we want to go for, is the least time to assemble (including sorting) by a group. The target initially is a very aggressive 24 hrs. To this end, We have formed a team of hardcore jigsaw enthusiasts who are interested in this quest. These individuals are prepared to work through the entire 24 hrs, with minimal time for sleep/food/phone/other diversions. If we succeed, we will be the first documented group to complete the puzzle from India as well as the fastest group to complete worldwide. Prior documented efforts have all been a few weeks at best to many months.

We are deliberately not aiming for a Guinness record (due to their stringent requirements), but we'll definitely secure a place in the hall of fame. See more about the puzzle and check out the hall of fame at http://www.worldslargestpuzzle.com.

Here is a sample puzzle if you guys are interested...

I stumbled upon the video below while browsing and thought of sharing it with you guys. Have a look at it and learn new ways to use your mobile...

This the second copy-paste post for my blog. You can find the first one here. Generally bloggers are not supposed to copy-paste stuff on their blog but whenever I feel something too good to share with others, I put it here. Here, I present the inaugural speech by Chetan Bhagat for the new batch at the Symbiosis BBA program 2008. You might already read it somewhere else but for those who didn't read it earlier, it's a must read...

Chetan Bhagat's Speech:
Good Morning everyone and thank you for giving me this chance to speak to you. This day is about you. You, who have come to this college, leaving the comfort of your homes (or in some cases discomfort), to become something in your life. I am sure you are excited. There are few days in human life when one is truly elated. The first day in college is one of them. When you were getting ready today, you felt a tingling in your stomach. What would the auditorium be like, what would the teachers be like, who are my new classmates - there is so much to be curious about. I call this excitement, the spark within you that makes you feel truly alive today. Today I am going to talk about keeping the spark shining. Or to put it another way, how to be happy most, if not all the time.

Where do these sparks start? I think we are born with them. My 3-year old twin boys have a million sparks. A little Spiderman toy can make them jump on the bed. They get thrills from creaky swings in the park. A story from daddy gets them excited. They do a daily countdown for birthday party several months in advance just for the day they will cut their own birthday cake.

I see students like you, and I still see some sparks. But when I see older people, the spark is difficult to find. That means as we age, the spark fades. People whose spark has faded too much are dull, dejected, aimless and bitter. Remember Kareena in the first half of Jab We Met vs the second half? That is what happens when the spark is lost. So how to save the spark?

Imagine the spark to be a lamp's flame. The first aspect is nurturing – to give your spark the fuel, continuously. The second is to guard against storms.

To nurture, always have goals. It is human nature to strive, improve and achieve full potential. In fact, that is success. It is what is possible for you. It isn't any external measure - a certain cost to company pay package, a particular car or house.

Most of us are from middle class families. To us, having material landmarks is success and rightly so. When you have grown up where money constraints force everyday choices, financial freedom is a big achievement.

But it isn't the purpose of life. If that was the case, Mr Ambani would not show up for work. Shah Rukh Khan would stay at home and not dance anymore. Steve Jobs won't be working hard to make a better iPhone, as he sold Pixar for billions of dollars already. Why do they do it? What makes them come to work everyday? They do it because it makes them happy. They do it because it makes them feel alive. Just getting better from current levels feels good. If you study hard, you can improve your rank. If you make an effort to interact with people, you will do better in interviews. If you practice, your cricket will get better. You may also know that you cannot become Tendulkar, yet. But you can get to the next level. Striving for that next level is important.

Nature designed with a random set of genes and circumstances in which we were born. To be happy, we have to accept it and make the most of nature's design. Are you? Goals will help you do that.

I must add, don't just have career or academic goals. Set goals to give you a balanced, successful life. I use the word balanced before successful. Balanced means ensuring your health, relationships, mental peace are all in good order.

There is no point of getting a promotion on the day of your breakup. There is no fun in driving a car if your back hurts. Shopping is not enjoyable if your mind is full of tensions.

You must have read some quotes - Life is a tough race, it is a marathon or whatever. No, from what I have seen so far, life is one of those races in nursery school. Where you have to run with a marble in a spoon kept in your mouth. If the marble falls, there is no point coming first. Same with life, where health and relationships are the marble. Your striving is only worth it if there is harmony in your life. Else, you may achieve the success, but this spark, this feeling of being excited and alive, will start to die.

One last thing about nurturing the spark - don't take life seriously. One of my yoga teachers used to make students laugh during classes. One student asked him if these jokes would take away something from the yoga practice. The teacher said - don't be serious, be sincere. This quote has defined my work ever since. Whether its my writing, my job, my relationships or any of my goals. I get thousands of opinions on my writing everyday. There is heaps of praise, there is intense criticism. If I take it all seriously, how will I write? Or rather, how will I live? Life is not to be taken seriously, as we are really temporary here. We are like a pre-paid card with limited validity. If we are lucky, we may last another 50 years. And 50 years is just 2,500 weekends. Do we really need to get so worked up? It's ok, bunk a few classes, goof up a few interviews, fall in love. We are people, not programmed devices.

I've told you three things - reasonable goals, balance and not taking it too seriously that will nurture the spark. However, there are four storms in life that will threaten to completely put out the flame. These must be guarded against. These are disappointment, frustration, unfairness and loneliness of purpose.

Disappointment will come when your effort does not give you the expected return. If things don't go as planned or if you face failure. Failure is extremely difficult to handle, but those that do come out stronger. What did this failure teach me? is the question you will need to ask. You will feel miserable. You will want to quit, like I wanted to when nine publishers rejected my first book. Some IITians kill themselves over low grades how silly is that? But that is how much failure can hurt you.

But it's life. If challenges could always be overcome, they would cease to be a challenge. And remember - if you are failing at something, that means you are at your limit or potential. And that's where you want to be.

Disappointment's cousin is frustration, the second storm. Have you ever been frustrated? It happens when things are stuck. This is especially relevant in India. From traffic jams to getting that job you deserve, sometimes things take so long that you don't know if you chose the right goal. After books, I set the goal of writing for Bollywood, as I thought they needed writers. I am called extremely lucky, but it took me five years to get close to a release.

Frustration saps excitement, and turns your initial energy into something negative, making you a bitter person. How did I deal with it? A realistic assessment of the time involved movies take a long time to make even though they are watched quickly, seeking a certain enjoyment in the process rather than the end result at least I was learning how to write scripts, having a side plan I had my third book to write and even something as simple as pleasurable distractions in your life - friends, food, travel can help you overcome it. Remember, nothing is to be taken seriously. Frustration is a sign somewhere, you took it too seriously.

Unfairness - this is hardest to deal with, but unfortunately that is how our country works. People with connections, rich dads, beautiful faces, pedigree find it easier to make it not just in Bollywood, but everywhere. And sometimes it is just plain luck. There are so few opportunities in India, so many stars need to be aligned for you to make it happen. Merit and hard work is not always linked to achievement in the short term, but the long term correlation is high, and ultimately things do work out. But realize, there will be some people luckier than you.

In fact, to have an opportunity to go to college and understand this speech in English means you are pretty darn lucky by Indian standards. Let's be grateful for what we have and get the strength to accept what we don't. I have so much love from my readers that other writers cannot even imagine it. However, I don't get literary praise. It's ok. I don't look like Aishwarya Rai, but I have two boys who think I am more beautiful than her. It's ok. Don't let unfairness kill your spark.

Finally, the last point that can kill your spark is isolation. As you grow older you will realize you are unique. When you are little, all kids want Ice cream and Spiderman. As you grow older to college, you still are a lot like your friends. But ten years later and you realize you are unique. What you want, what you believe in, what makes you feel, may be different from even the people closest to you. This can create conflict as your goals may not match with others. . And you may drop some of them. Basketball captains in college invariably stop playing basketball by the time they have their second child. They give up something that meant so much to them. They do it for their family. But in doing that, the spark dies. Never, ever make that compromise. Love yourself first, and then others.

There you go. I've told you the four thunderstorms - disappointment, frustration, unfairness and isolation. You cannot avoid them, as like the monsoon they will come into your life at regular intervals. You just need to keep the raincoat handy to not let the spark die.

I welcome you again to the most wonderful years of your life. If someone gave me the choice to go back in time, I will surely choose college. But I also hope that ten years later as well, you eyes will shine the same way as they do today. That you will Keep the Spark alive, not only through college, but through the next 2,500 weekends. And I hope not just you, but my whole country will keep that spark alive, as we really need it now more than any moment in history. And there is something cool about saying – I come from the land of a billion sparks.

Thank You.