Current major issues in the world:
1. Dictatorship in North Korea
2. Poverty and Un-education in Africa
3. Radical Religious Regime in the middle east and south Asia.
I think if these three issues are sorted out (through negotiations) the world will be a better place.
Robotic Cleaning
- Observe the drain blockage from outside of the pipeline - Need to develop something like X-Ray machine. Which will monitor the drainages for any blockage from outside. There should not be any road digging required, to find the blockages in the underground pipelines.
- Robot to clean small (1 foot wide) as well as big (10 meters wide) drainages from the blockages or garbage thrown into it
- Water treatment plants wherever the water gets drained into sea or river
- Garbage collection, categorization, recycling and disposal system across the countries
- Robot to clean the existing garbage thrown in the river/sea
- Cover any open drainages
- Educate people over garbage collection, categorization, recycling and disposal system. May be in the schools.
Project Description
Project Goal
Robotic Games
* Robotic toys to talk to children to increase general knowledge and guide them for overall growth
* Robot to play music
Implemented right shifted aaroh and avaroh of raag Bhoop. Each line below is right shifted by one note. We consider a combination of 4 notes in any given group. Choose the lower notes groups for sthai, and choose higher notes groups for antara of the melody being composed
sa re ga pa dha | sa re ga pa dha | sa --- aaroh
sa re ga pa ga re sa this one for sthai
re ga pa dha pa ga re
ga pa dha sa dha pa ga
pa dha sa re sa dha pa this one for antara
dha sa re ga re sa dha
Listen, how it feels like to a human ear. There should be a way to select the most preferred melody.
Explore Hide And Seek Game Algorithm
Brain Controlled Car
Research Projects
- Obstacle avoidance with static object and two lane roadProduction Projects
- Develop simulator to have BCI inputMumbai - Cosmopolitan, hot and humid weather, IIT, IT Industry, British Influence, food, Work as well as business focused
Pune - Maharashtrian Culture, moderate weather, Education Focused, IT Industry, Work focused, Culturally sound - locally
Bangalore - Cosmopolitan, moderate weather, IT Industry, IISc, Work as well as business focused
Ahemdabad - Gujrati Culture, food, hot and dry weather, IIM, IT Industry, Business focused
Panji - Cosmopolitan, hot and humid weather, Portuguese Influence, IIT, Focused on tourism
Pondicherry - Cosmopolitan, hot and humid weather, French Influence, Focused on tourism
Indore - Hindi Culture, Friendly People, Food, IIM, hot and dry weather, IT Industry, Work focused
Culturally Sound States - When it comes to overall view of India - None
Gender difference case
The lyrics are "faminine". So the song is a lady's song. However, a man attempting to sing the song is commendable. If I just focus on the voice quality (I mean, keeping all "presentation efforts" apart, which are important of course), in my opinion the woman's voice wins. Her voice is "distinct", "deliberate", "loud and clear". Whereas the male voice is "soft", "indistinct". In the female case, each word is clearly pronounced. It conveys the exact emotions of inviting her loved ones in her space. In the male case, words are very "casually" or I should say little "in-sincerely" pronounced. His pronunciations do not convey the "exactness" of whether he wants the loved ones in his space or not! Conveys little "in-sincerity".
Religion difference case
Anukriti's voice - "distinct", "deliberate", " loud and clear", "practical", "down to earth", "more human"
AnshaZakir's voice - sounds like she is singing alone, in an open empty hall and the voice echoes. I don't know whether it is because of the "acoustics" or if it is her "voice quality". If it is her voice quality, it is simply great, sounds "angelic"!
AnshaZakir's voice sounds great, but gives a feeling of being "alone" and inviting her loved ones in her space. Whereas in Anukriti's case, she seems to be full of life "already" and then inviting her loved ones in her space.
Different race case
Luna's voice - Sounds insincere - just like the male voice in "gender difference case". Even though it is more "loud and clear" than the male.
She is definitely NOT taking her eyes off the screen. However I am not really sure if it is because of the visuals or because of music. In order to judge her music sense, you might have to just play the song on a music player. And in a few months, you might hear her singing that song or answering questions about the song ... like which song she likes better .. like she might like children's songs or she might even like grown-up songs ... she can enjoy classical instruments (only) or she can enjoy classical vocal (only) ... she might like one singer over another .. you might soon be able to know her choice.. but to know her choice, you might have to let her know her choices first ... regarding visuals, kids should be exposed to a descent set of visuals like "about the families", "about friends", "about dreams", "about fairy tales"... till they grow up to about 7 or 8 years ..
then they can watch decent grown-up movies .. like "romantic comedies" or "science fiction" or "religion" without violence ...till about 12 to 13 years .. after which they can watch anything they want to ...
My review about a YouTube video:
Yes, it's a great pleasure to organize the mess of the toys and the books, which the kids make. As the children grow up, they start realizing that mommy is organizing their toys and books. And they try to provide a helping hand. However, many times I denied that helping hand. Just because, I really enjoyed organizing those toys and books, along with the associated memories.
I also want to mention that when the children grow beyond 10 years or so, they themselves develop the habit of organizing their own things (May be, by observing their mommy). And sometimes they get annoyed if mommy organizes them in her way. At that time, mommy really want to get detached from her emotions and give way to her children to organize. That will help them grow.
This was a precious video, which I could relate to my past. Thanks a lot!
I am not a religious scholar, however with my limited knowledge about the history of India, I have the following thoughts about the custom of "sati".
The "custom of Sati" can be easily confused with the usual "ritual of cremation" in Hinduism. In the first case the woman either voluntarily or forcefully surrender herself to fire after her husband's death. The later is the ritual of cremation, where after death, the body is surrendered to fire. The western world finds both the rituals very cruel and insensitive. That might be because, it is very different from their culture. I am absolutely certain that the "ritual of cremation" is derived from Hindu religious scriptures. However, I sincerely doubt that the "custom of Sati" is according to Hindu religious guidelines. My analysis about "custom of Sati" is that, it must be as recent as the period of Islamic Invasion of India. The very first example of women voluntarily surrendering themselves to fire, can be found in the current state of Rajsthan. It is called "Johar" there. The Rajput women did "Johar" in order to avoid themselves falling in the enemy's hands after their men were defeated at war. The enemy which was "barbaric" that time and has a unique "negative" way of treating women. The unfortunate "voluntary incident of Johar", later went on becoming a "custom", where the society started "expecting an extreme sacrifice of her life" from a woman, after her husband's death (even though the death is NOT because of war). This custom was then called "Sati".
This is my view as an Indian and Indian Resident. Regarding "white supremacy in America", I think white people deserve the respect since they discovered America and they were the ones who stated the principles of the way America should be operated, as well as the innumerable discoveries/inventions done in America by white people. We "as Indians" are there in America in the recent history, just because of the advanced American policies and their open-ness to invite new and different people. So unless and until Indians prove themselves for a significant duration (may be a 100 years or so), they do not deserve the same respect "as a community", as white people. Regarding American people supporting "illegal Maxican" over "legal Indian", I think that is "unfair" on behalf of Americans. Discussing "religion" in America is out of question, because there are many other interesting things/thoughts in America to discuss, other than "religion". Lastly, insulting religion "on face", is better than insulting it "behind the back".
America - Playful, joyful, youthful, genius, impulsive, passionate, open, adaptable, listener, clear
Britan - Thoughtful, serious, sincere, patient, respectful, open, adaptable, listener, clear, hardworking
Germany - Brillant, serious, sincere, passionate, listener, clear, hardworking
How will I symbolize the following?
America - Young white man
Britan - Middle aged white man
Germany - Young white woman
It will be worth considering the attributes like determination, spontaneity and consistency in future!
China
hardworking, aware, persistent, conscious, private
Russia
persistent, open, brilliant, clear
Some Attributes Worth Considering for Bright Students:
It may sound very sarcastic for Indians, but it looks like Indians don't play instruments (either Indian or Western), just for enjoying "learning". They learn it because they have long term plans associated with it. Many of the Western universities have certain incentives for students with extracurricular activities, like dance, music or sports. So Indians treat music as one of the extracurricular activities, to keep their options open for seeing the Western world. I am not saying there is anything wrong with being ambitious and planning a child's life from a young age (mostly by parents). I want to say that the Indian children reflect their parents' ambitions over here. Indian children's ambitions are NOT children's "own" ambitions. The end result of this process may be, the child may fail in the activities which parents have planned for them OR the child may be successful. If a child fails, the child builds up a complex in him/her that they could not fulfill their parents expectations. If the child succeeds, his/her parents develop un-natural expectations from the child, something like "returning the parents' favour back". And that is how the Indian Culture remains alive, where in young age parents take care of the child. And in old age, a child takes care of parents.
A few questions to be asked about the education system
I think at every stage of a child's growth, the parents' responsibility is just to create a "window" through which the child can explore the world. The child is allowed to explore only as much of the world, as can be seen through the window. As the child grows, the parents should take care of growing the window size to expand the child's view. This process should continue until the child can create his/her own window.
What is the significance of "Window" here?
Example 1: In case of developing the habit of "book reading", the "window" can be "a bunch of good books" kept in open to be explored. No "instructions" should be given to the child, to "go and read the books". If the child wants to look out of the window, he/she will explore the books. Else no pressure ...
Example 2: In case of developing the habit of "socializing" ... the "window" can be "declaring planned events" ... either to declare a plan to go to the garden or a declare a plan to go to someone's birthday ... here the "window" is the "declaration" ... No one is going to "instruct the child to be ready" for the event ... If the child wants to go, he/she can go, else no pressure ...
Example 3: In case of developing the habit of "inhouse gaming" ... the "window" can be "good board games like chess, snake and ladder, ludo, cards, scrabble" to be kept in easily accessible places for the child ... And a play event to be planned with parents/siblings/friend... In the initial days, the child can play with parents or siblings .. later the child can play with his/her friends ...
Example 4: In case of developing the habit of "outdoor sports" ... the "window" can be joining sports clubs, where kids can be trained on the sports ... Here, I am not talking about kids "dedicated to sports only", who must be given rigorous training ... however, I am talking about outdoor sports for overall growth of the child ... where sports can be played for a couple of hours ... regular monitoring should be done in case the child is developing fatigue due to sports ... especially because they are doing sports along with other school activities ... some sports like "football", "badminton", "swimming", "cricket", "gymnastics" etc. are worth sought after in the initial childhood days ... the child can watch the sports over television or internet ... that can give the child an idea about his/her interest ... once interest develops, the child can join the club activities ... no pressure of course ... at kid's own will ...
Example 5: In case of developing the habit of "academics" ... the "window" can be, spending a couple of hours each day for completing homework got from school, as well as revising the lessons taught in school at least once ... this activity requires kids to be a lot "serious" since their childhood ... which actually they are not, because they are still "children"! ... however, parents need to keep patience, until they develop the seriousness towards academics ...
Example 6: Children are very much "into" Internet and Social Media these days ... since their childhood ... so it is actually NOT required to "develop" a habit of browsing social media and internet ... but it is required to keep social media and internet in "control" ... one way to control it, is to keep the children busy in other activities like "sports/gaming/socializing" etc ... it is often observed that if the child is "into" Internet and Social Media, he/she may not be very interested in "book reading" and "academics" ... this might be because Internet and Social Media is a distraction ... while "book reading" and "academics" requires focus and concentration ... sports and gaming can be good methods of developing focus, discipline and goal-orientation among children ... which will enable them to develop the habit of "book reading" and "academics" ...
Example 7: To develop the habit of playing with "Toys" ... Toys are means of keeping the childhood and its memories alive ... Many a times kids are found to be very attached to their toys ... they can also use the toys as a means to identify themselves ... in ancient times, girls used to identify themselves with the "dolls" and "play kitchen" ... while boys used to identify themselves with some "creative building blocks", "three wheeled cycle", "toy animals" etc ... however, in the current era, which can be "an era of robotic toys", there is less of gender discrimination among toys ... probably because lot of efforts have already been put into establishing "gender equality" ... so let's discuss about robotic toys here ... robotic toys requires analytical, logical ability and goal oriented-ness among children ... if we take it a little forward, we may even develop team-working abilities with the toys ... that is because these toys can be played "individually" as well as in a "group" ... these toys help in developing mathematical and programming basics ... with all these benefits, the cost of these toys go high ... however, they can be played for many years together ... so their purchases needs to be planned well ... for example: a group of families can get together and purchase the robotic toys for their children ... the play-plan has to be done appropriately on an individual or group basis ... variations of robots need to be made to get a sense of creativity among the kids ... I see only one drawback here ... that if children start playing with robotic toys, they can play it forever ... like day and night ... and can develop obesity, because it is a mental-activity ... not physical activity ... so parents have to pay attention about the overall growth of their children, by planning the play-time appropriately ... may be not more than 2 to 3 hours on a day ... again, no pressure to play robotic games ... it is at kid's own wish ...
Example 8: To develop the habit of regular "exercise" ... basic exercises for children can be cycling, walking, running, yoga ... they should start to do some of these exercises by the age of 7 or 8 years ... when the kids are younger than 7 or 8, they themselves move a lot physically ... that exercise is enough for them ... however, after this age, they should be doing some explicit physical exercises at least for half an hour or one hour ... the exercises that are mentioned in the beginning of the paragraph ... no pressure ... it is kid's own wish ... they should just know the advantages and disadvantages of exercises ... the advantages can be, physical fitness and focus ... the disadvantages can be fatigue ... if performed excessively ...
Example 9: To develop creativity/art ... It requires imagination, dedication and space for art to blossom ... some art forms which the children can learn are "literature", "dance", "music", "drawing" etc ... it is a fact that people who are great at art, are quite dedicated to it for full time ... it's hard for them to practice some of the above good habits like "exercise", "academics", "socializing" etc. ... however until the child finds the passion for art in him/her, it would be good for him/her to follow the usual good habits of life ... it is also observed that people who practice art, get their due share of fame at quite later stage in life ... the reason is to create "distinguishable" form of art, takes time ... they need to keep a lot of patience in life to reach that height !
In essence, it is essential for the child to explore his/her surroundings and he/she should find fun things while exploring ...
Because of the school, the child gets into a routine/discipline/order automatically... "School" is yet another "window" which parents create to cultivate "order", "socializing" etc.
I don't think routine/discipline/order is essential for good growth in every field. For some fields, it is essential, for some it is not. "routine" is required for keeping the "body" active. Not the "mind".
Inferiority Complex
inter-country relations with Islamic countries
number of collaborations in terms of exchanging students to exchanging defence, should have faced a decline
intra-country relations within Islamic and Non-Islamic countries
strenuous relations in community interactions which cannot be "measured" but just "felt". Or sometimes they can be measured in terms of number of hate crimes.
Inferiority Complex can work in two ways. Either the person can go into a shell OR the person can counter attack to regain his/her lost superiority. I think in the case of Kashmir, the latter is true.
Raise awareness/intelligence
Maintain robust inter-country and intra-country relations with Islamic as well as non Islamic countries.
As an Indian and Indian resident, I am writing my thoughts below. The US is a newly developed country with people having all new thoughts and new policies. It is a forward looking country. While the rest of the world including India, Pakistan and Bangladesh, talk about "centuries old" history and its consequent issues. Looking at old issues retards the progress of these countries. But they seem to be fine with this slow progress. The thinking process of the entire country, matches the thinking of an individual in the country. Some individuals move forward quickly, some hold grudges, some keep blaming others, some forgive, some are aggressive, some are defensive. All these traits are the consequences of past history. Also, each country defines "progress" in its own way. US demonstrates its progress with its "technological abilities". Whereas India demonstrates its progress with its "spiritual" and "artistic/creative" abilities. Pakistan demonstrates its progress with its "religious" strength. Other strengths come as "secondary" to them. It is a great gesture that the US wants to help India and Pakistan both. However, US really needs to think about what it means by "providing help" and what the US should expect in return (because as we know, anything given for free, loses its value) ! If the US wants to help Pakistan by "providing technology", Pakistan will use it to build up and demonstrate its "religious" strength. Will this outcome be fine with the US? If the US expects Pakistan to return the favor, by picking up some technology and start building skills, Pakistan will keep it as a second priority. Because "skills" are really NOT the things which Pakistan values. Is this philosophy OK with the US? Will the US simply treat it as "waste/drain of its money"? Similarly, if the US helps India and India starts diverting this money to its "singing and dancing" cultural heritage, will it be OK with the US? Does the US find any "value-add" in singing and dancing? Having a strong spiritual backbone makes India not go offensive against any country at first. Will the US treat India's "defensive" polytics/diplomacy, as an asset or a liability? The answers to all these questions, will determine how the US should help the developing countries!
Educating students on a one-on-one basis and solving their issues (especially on the latest technology or soft-skills)
Spend the morning alone over a beautiful beach. Cook a delicious dish for lunch. Listen to hindi film songs in the afternoon. Take a long walk in the evening. Talk to a close relative or friend on the phone at night. Sleep.
I especially observed two families close by. Coincidentally, in both the families both partners were working.
The first family was my best teacher's family. I used to visit my teacher's home to clear any questions I had. I was received very well at her home. One day I saw my teacher's husband pampering their daughter. Their daughter was one year older than me. And that day, she was upset for some reason. Her daddy (my teacher's husband) was pampering her and consoling her to not be upset. The whole incident was so impactful. Its very rare to see that kind of father-daughter relationship where a woman's emotions/mood is respected so much. I must be 13 to 14 years old then. Generally, in and after that age, a woman's emotions are taken for granted, thinking that they are only "mood swings" and they will get "adjusted' over a period of time. In such circumstances, the father-daughter relationship which I saw, really mattered in my life.
The second family was one of my batch-mate's family. His mother was also a teacher and quite a capable woman. Father was holding a business. I found his mother was having very clear thoughts about what she "likes" and "does not like" as behaviour patterns. I still remember when she said, "I really don't like to speak in the morning. I like to quietly do my work. Then I go to school. And I start speaking in a day, only when I start teaching in school". I found that as a very powerful thought as a 15 or 16 year old me. Her son, who was my batch-mate never used to serve food to himself. He always needed his mother to serve him food. His mother (the teacher) was quite upset with his behaviour. However, till the time I visited her, he had not improved! In this family the husband and wife's relationship was quite good. Very understanding couple. I was well received at their home. I used to visit them because I really liked the family and his mother's teachings/philosophy towards life.
I think, in both the above families, the common pattern was "the woman was quite strong and capable"! That created very "value oriented families"
No, I never understood what is "love" yet. The way I look at it, "love" is simply living and doing the work "sincerely" towards ourselves, our close ones, our country, our world and the mother nature. For "Hindi films", "love" is "sath janmo ka bandhan". "You have to marry the person you love". "Love, is a once in a lifetime concept". "love is being possessive", "if not you, no one else". I do not like these concepts very much. Just because it is "bandhan", and not "freedom". Wherever, there is no "freedom", there is no "love".
Yes. Always. If I could not "guide", I never "mis-guided" anyone. And I am proud of that.
As I already said, I did not understand what is "mohabbat". I can understand "flirting", "physical attraction", "romance", "lust", "possessiveness", "jealousy". However, I donot yet understand "mohabbat". Also, I do not understand "nozaron ka khel". Yes, "eyes" can be powerful means of conveying emotions, however, "conveying emotions through eyes" is such a "used" concept in the films, that it is no longer effective in real life. Or even if it is effective, it can be applicable from age 20 to 30, when a "look" can be a thrill. But after 30s, this concept rarely will work in real life.
yes, wherever possible, I did that in my life.
For me, the definition of a "meaningful life" is "to be of use to people in some way". My way is to "educate people", either through my work, or through my writing.
To be thought over ...
Set of Virtues
Set of Drawbacks
KureshiBhai
Myself, rather my whole family met KureshiBhai in our first and foremost journey to Ahemdabad... It was for my marriage ... he got into the train from an intermediate station near Ahemdabad ... either it was Bharuch or Baroda ... I don't remember now ... he used to work there ... first time in my life, I saw an Islamic man being so sophisticated ... and of course his Islamic background made him well mannered too ... later I came to know that he was from an engineering background ... really impressive ... our family interacted with him a little bit during the remaining journey ... usual talk about the weather, his work, and the earthquake ... yes, there was a major earthquake that happened in Gujrat just 3 days before our marriage ... many died ... our families were safe ... everyone was in shock ... however the train journey ended and we all went our ways ... our marriage ceremony ended ... a few days later all Hiren's friends gathered at Ahemdabad residence for fun ... KureshiBhai also came ... his fiancee was accompanying him... Shayeesta ... beautiful couple ... everyone was teasing KureshiBhai and Shayeesta over their love... KureshiBhai had his Gujrati sense of humor ... he belived in bouncing back to his friends with his humor ... Gujrati's can be very picky about food, clothing, money, living standards in a casual fun-loving environment ... their sense of humor can be mis-understood as being "nosy"... however, since KureshiBhai's upbringing was from Gujrat, he was well aware of Gujrati style of casual/fun talk ... Anyways ... the whole group dispersed ... Hiren and I came to Bangalore ... joined our jobs ... KureshiBhai and Shayeesta got married in a few months ... we could not attend their marriage because we both had just joined jobs ... we heard later, that KureshiBhai and Shayeesta moved to Japan for KureshiBhai's work for few months ... days passed ... they both moved to MiddleEast for long ... now looking back at KureshiBhai makes me think that he is a progressive Islamic man ... its a challenge for a common Islamic man to make many Hindu friends and gel with them so frequently in India ... especially after 9/11, common Islamic men seem to have developed a complex ... given this background of Islam, KureshiBhai's effortless movement across Japan, MiddleEast and India really stands out ... I wish him this progressive spirit for his life!
Masood
Through my guide in the German University, I came to know that I am going to work with him... I had mixed emotions in the beginning... Partly because of his Islamic background and partly because of the new-ness in the interaction... I initiated the chat... He was reluctant to talk to me, until I mentioned that my guide had asked me to talk to you ... We initiated the first video call ... I started by saying if he could let me know a little about his background ... he straight away cut me off ... and asked me to let him know about my background ... I immediately realized that it was his way to show, who is the boss over here ... Anyways ... that call was over ... and we decided to continue to work ... work went well ... I did not face any hurdles ... full cooperation from his side ... I was happy ... partly because I was learning new things and partly because my work was going smoothly without any inter-personal issues ... I have always found it very stressful to resolve inter-personal conflicts in the work environment ... when the project was towards its end, I went for a trip to Goa ... I sent a few photographs of me in Goa to him ... out of all the photos, he commented that "he liked the food" ... I realized that he was not interested in developing a close bond ... during that time, I was debating whether I should go to Germany to continue my PhD ... if it can speed up my PhD ... and whether I can earn some money there, to compensate my expenditure over studies, food and residence ... I felt the need to discuss this with the colleagues in Germany ... so I asked if he can spare some time over the call ... we got together on a call ... I asked him whether I can come over to Germany and whether I can find a job there ... his answer was "Is it not easy to find a job in India?" ... I was embarressed ... That was the first time for me to tell an outsider who is NOT a family, about personal issues ... the call ended ... and the work continued ... things were going well ... soon another project was going to start ... It was based on my idea ... the information gathering was going to start ... the first call was scheduled ... a new colleague was going to join ... I asked whether we could involve the guide in this discussion ... his response was, "the guide is not interested in such lower level project" ... I kept quiet ... we discussed the project ... information was gathered ... discussion ended ... the second project was completed ... no hurdles this time too ... excellent interactions to gather information ... no delays ... the third project started ... this assignment involved only me ... however some setup was needed to be done in Germany ... he did the setup ... promptly ... I did my work in a few months time frame ... and went for a Bangalore trip ... he asked me to send photographs ... for the first time, I got the vibe of attempting to build close bond ... from his side ... I was happy ... I sent some photos to him after returning back from Bangalore ... this time he asked more information about the photos ... showed interest in them ... I was happy ... then a few personal interactions continued where he sent some greetings for their festival celebration ... I replied with joy ... Work continued ... the fourth project ... it was with another colleague ... Masoud just touch base ... in case of any hurdles ... no hurdles this time too ... but this time he did a strange gesture in one of our calls ... an affectionate gesture ... I was taken aback ... I did not expect that ... but it gave me a strange vibe ... can't express it ... for me it was no issue ... just felt more close ... however I soon realized that this closeness is hollow in professional environment ... I realized it in the subsequent call ... when I had to ask for my further growth path in the university ... and he made yet another gesture ... the gesture for "money" ... in a way he wanted to ask me or rather convey me , that "growth just means 'money' for you ..." ... I said yes ... in a way it was true for me ... I was indeed looking for money ... by this time I had completed 3.5 years in German University ... working remotely ... there was no material gain in my life ... only work ... in isolation ... during this timeframe, I also faced issues with my guide ... I decided to quit the work ... there were a few months left for the year-end meeting in the university ... Masoud scheduled a call a couple of weeks before the meeting ... he asked me about the work ... I replied "I don't know why I am doing PhD ... " ... he made the "affectionate gesture" again ... probably was a "goodbye" ... I did not realize it that time ... the year-end meeting was over ... almost a week later Masoud called again ... asked me to submit the work I did ... I submitted ... and asked him to inform me if he received it rightfully ... no reply ... I realized it was "the end" of university life ... I continued my work at home ... remained engaged ... my mind constantly asked me "why? what was the significance of the last 4 years episode that took place in my life ..."... time will tell and time will heal ...
Ather
A young student from Pakistan whom I guided for his project in the German university... My initial interaction with him was in the presence of one more of my colleagues... during that interaction, I found that I will be comfortable working with him ... I asked for his phone number at the end... he gave his number ... Before I wonder about his number, he told me that I am from Pakistan ... I sensed a little hesitation behind the statement ... of course the whole India-Pakistan relations were in the background of that hesitation ... interaction ended ... work began ... in the beginning it was very hard for both of us to interact with each other ... partly because the work was new for both of us and partly because he was undergoing many non-work issues ... it was becoming difficult for him to keep his personal life separate from professional life ... his personal life was clouding his performance ... which could otherwise be much better ... when I could not see an increase in performance in initial few interactions, I directly showed my anger to him... however, he was very polite and appreciated the fact that I could directly tell him what was bothering me ... I calmed down ... slowly, the unseen wall between us started clearing ... we could interact much better in about a couple of months... work continued ... after about six months or so, we found ourselves open about the issues which our countries were facing ... he started it first... it was an incredible experience for me to open up about the issues ... as we worked on the project more, I realized that he had a nagging feeling, that other colleagues are cornering him ... not cooperating him ... not helping him in any way... he found himself completely relying on me for his performance feedback ... and unfortunately I had no authority to give feedback about him ... I found myself unequipped to handle that issue ... mainly because I personally had no work-related issues with other colleagues and I had no authority to state someone else's issues ... today if I think back, it looks like it was just his lack of confidence and inexperience that was bothering him ... nothing else ... and the lack of confidance was due to personal issues ... his personal issues were not allowing him to put efforts in skill development in early phase of his life ... which I sincerely wish could have happened ... he would have secured his future then ... however, the project ended ... on a bitter-sweet note on both sides ... I mean, I had my issues with the guide and he had his issues with the guide ... we both moved on, accepting the reality of work life ... thinking back I can't imagine the fact that there can be so much sensitivity between Indian and Pakistani students ... I can only wish for a reduced set of political issues in a student's life, which will help them grow beyond limits!
Taskeen
Staying on the ground floor of our apartment, she used to stand in the balcony ... Or rather her mother used to make her stand in the balcony ... Just so, she will get some fresh air... She was a one year old child then... Just began babbling ... and standing on her own ... she used to call each passer by .. I mean, just make a babbling happy sound when she used to see someone ... I was one of the passer who she found worth making a babbling happy sound for ... I must be 15 or 16 years old then ... It was not that I had never seen a child before in my life .. But maybe it was the happiness in her sound which drew me closer towards her ...I never could ignore that babbling sound and just pass by her ... On hearing that sound, I used to go close to her balcony .. stand outside and talk to her for a few minutes .. then I used to be on my way ... these balcony-to-road interactions continued for few months .. she slowly started uttering few words ... her mother soon became aware of me talking to her frequently ... she taught Taskeen to call me "didi" .. after a few months of interactions Taskeen's mother asked me to come inside the house ... I was so well received with "a cup of tea" ... Taskeen's grand mother also was at home ... I can't forget Taskeen's mother's smile ... which Taskeen inherited ... I realized that the smile must have a lot of pain behind it ... pain of being away from her husband for a very long duration ... pain of being alone even in crowd ... pain of needs not getting met ... either physical or emotional ... Taskeen's father used to be in Dubai for work ... he used to visit once in a year for a month or so ... Taskeen's elder brother used to play comfortably with other kids in the apartment ... mostly cricket ... or used to ride bicycle ... Taskeen's mother never let her own worries pass on to Taskeen ... she brought up Taskeen very well ... a healthy and happy child ... I soon became very fond of her ... our interactions continued either at her home or in front of the balcony ... days flew ... Taskeen became 4 to 5 year old child ... I was on an "education break" then ... to continue my masters ... I asked Taskeen's mother's permission to take her outside our apartment ... she happily allowed ... Then Taskeen and I went to Vashi-Sea-Shore ... She walked all the way ... even though the distance was a lot for a child ... she never asked me to pick her up ... very understanding child ... Her mother and grandmother used to ask me questions about my schooling ... which school would be better for Taskeen ... how will the commute be ... any extra classes that we need for children's growth etc ... as I grew up more and went for my masters, my interactions with Taskeen reduced ... Taskeen grew up and used to come to our home on the second floor ... most of the time I opened the door for her at my home and played with her for some time... however a couple of times I did not open the door for her when she came ... one reason was, I became busy with my studies and other reason was my interactions with her were not quite appreciated at my home ... since she had an Islamic background ... These days I am realizing that I could have opened the door for her and asked her to go back to her home ... but at that time even I was not quite adult enough to understand whether a child be able to take a "No" ... Then I got married and moved out of Vashi ... Taskeen was not in my life anymore ... Though she never slipped out of my mind ...
Shayeesta
I first met Shayeesta when Hiren's friends gathered at Ahemdabad's home after our marriage... KureshiBhai was one of Hiren's friends. Shayeesta was his fiancee. KureshiBhai and Shayeesta just got engaged that time ... Shayeesta was a thin and beautiful girl... First time I realized what might be considered as a "beauty" in Islamic culture. Extremely respectful, as expected in Islamic culture... However Hiren's friends were teasing both of them (KureshiBhai and Shayeesta) over falling in love. She just smiled over all the teasing ... talked very less .. Girl's not talking in a mixed group .. also seemed like a part of Islamic culture .. because Gujrati Hindu girls believed in talking a lot in a mixed group ... I remember that Shayeesta was not originally from Gujrat .. Her family migrated from North India to Gujrat... That explains the "respectful" behaviour ... Even I was newly married at that time ... So I had almost nothing to talk to her, except the basic greetings .. So it turned out to be a gathering of mixed group where men were talking and having fun, and women just listened ... days passed .. KureshiBhai and Shayeesta both got married ... We could not attend their marriage ... we heard that they both moved to Japan for KureshiBhai's work .. while coming back, they gifted us a very beautiful "wall hanging" from Japan which I liked a lot ... After some days, we heard that they both moved to Middle East ... I was very happy that KureshiBhai took Shayeesta along with him to Middle East ... Because my previous experience with Indian Muslims and Hindus was that, only men move to Middle East .. Not women ... that is because of the safety issues as well as the extremely conservative Islamic Culture in the Middle East when it comes to women ... Soon they got two children .. both sons .. I did not have any direct contact with Shayeesta and KureshiBhai except the information I got through Hiren ... KureshiBhai talked over call or email to Hiren ... Once in a while all Hiren's friends used to gather in Ahemdabad with their wives and children .. By next 4 to 5 years, everyone got busy with their lives ... So is Shayeesta .. got busy with children .. Beautiful family ... However I think being in the MiddleEast, they frequently debated over moving to India ... for many years ... Why? ... That part was unknown to me ... probably its a similar struggle which Indians face while moving to the western countries .. probably it gets more complex ... because when Indians migrate from India to Western Countries, they move to more "open-ness" ... whereas when they migrate from India to Middle East, they move to more "close-ness" ... Anyways ...I think this "close-ness" is experienced only by women ... for men it does not matter ... what matters for any man these days is the "infrastructure" and the "working culture".. However children grew up ... KureshiBhai and Shayeesta moved to India ... At first glance, it seemed to be a permanent move ... However soon Kureshibhai realized that it's quite a struggle to live in India ... mainly when it comes to Infrastructure and the working environment ...the same struggle which all Indians face while moving back to India ... probably it gets more complex for his Islamic background in India ... by this time their children were admitted to school and Shayeesta was working in her father's garments shop ... So he decided to keep them here and move to the MiddleEast alone ... I did not like that move, because I did not want Shayeesta to end up like Taskeen's mother ... However it was their "family matter" ... so they had to make a decision ... Though I do not have any recent updates from Shayeesta and KureshiBhai, I wish good for their family with more "certainty" and "stability" ...
Heena
A young student from a German university whom I guided for a project... I heard about her from a colleague... I was impressed by knowing about her ... she had an Islamic background .. I found myself privileged to work with an Islamic woman who was from outside India ... also, I already was aware of Islamic values like "respect", "space" ingrained in its culture, which I would have liked to experience again ... she had completed her masters degree in Cognitive Science ... being a woman in science in Islam is commendable ... I did not know whether she realized its importance ... but yes, I definitely realized it ... Work began ...We interacted over video calls ... her beauty mesmerized me .. beauty is of two types ... one which draws closer and other which needs space .. in my experience Islamic beauty is of later type ... it required a few minutes of interaction for me to get myself out of the silver cloud of beauty and see things clearly ... she was mostly a bilingual or multilingual personality ... very important in today's world .. it helps in increasing the knowledge span... she used to persist over an issue ... to find more information about it ...I liked that ... I realized that she had the ability to get information out of me ... which otherwise may have gotten lost in my mind ... very few people can get information out of me ... not because I hide information ... but simply because I do not realize that, even if the information is not important to me, it might be important for others ... hence I do not state it ... interactions continued ... I realized that she genuinely wanted to help me out in my analysis ... I had the habit of taking down notes during discussions ...which is an old habit of course ... but she shared screenshots of information which she captured ... it helped me understand, the way the younger generation captures information and makes use of technology ... project moved forward ... or rather, I did not realize that it was moving forward ... because of sudden lack of communication from Heena ... over about two months ... I was aware that the phase of information gathering was complete ... and it was a time of execution ... which need not require interactions ... however I was not aware of the happenings ... I did not want to raise a question about "sudden information lack" ... because it would seem bossy ... I kept myself busy ... days passed ... interactions began again and after some information exchange, the project was completed ... no hurdles ... smooth flow ... smooth life ... just not seemed challenging enough ... this happens when we get quality people to work with ... but getting quality people itself is rare these days .... there was "respect" ... there was "space" ... but still something was off ... what was it? ... maybe it was my expectations about the project ... I had plans for it further ... but no one seemed to be interested in those plans ... the interactions were at such a minimum level that the people never could bond ... no bonding ... led to no further sharing ... and no sharing means no caring ... isn't it?
Rubina
My maid ... I am thinking or rather anyone will think what is special about maid? ... It's day to day interactions ... the chores ... and payment at the end of the month ... I somewhere map maid's life to my work life ... its just that I get paid more than the maid ... so I thought let me reflect back on the life of my maid ... Rubina .. she came at my home in search of work ... after the initial negotiations about the payment, I decided to give her an oppotunity to work at my home ... I asked her to continue from the next day ... she left ... Hiren was sitting and observing our interaction ... he asked "what is her name?" ... I said "Rubina" ... he realized, probably from her name, that she might have an Islamic background ... I thought for a moment... Her being from an Islamic background, really did not seem like a problem to me ... also, it did not occur to me at that moment, that my parents or Hiren's parents may have problems ... so I allowed her to continue ... days passed ... she worked well ... one day I realized that she really is from Islamic background ... I might have realized from her festival celebration I guess ... however things continued smoothly ... for me, the most important point was she was riding a two wheeler to get to work ... which was defining her progress in life as a woman ... she was the only maid in our society that time who was riding a two wheeler to go to work ... I could sense a little envy among other maids for her ... the other homemakers who were from good backgrounds also were 'mocking' her behind her back rather than 'encouraging' her for her small achievement in life ... or being proud of her ... I did not understand whether to laugh or to cry at the society's behaviour towards Rubina ... I think she was aware of it ... days passed .. it must have been almost an year or so .. Rubina became irregular at work ... probably she found more places to work or she thought we are paying her less ... one day when she came at our home to work, I started doing her chores already ... because I realized it is already too late for Rubina to do the work ... it got late for me to open the door for her while doing her chores ... she was angry ... why I was late to open the door? ... I simply could not understand the behaviour ... the anger ... she used to be quite respectful on other days ... however I did not say anything ... just let her know the "reality" that I am doing her chores ... few days passed ... she did not let me know if she has certain demands ... or difficulties in life ... and I too did not inquire anything upfront because it seem very interrogative ... I was seeing the irregular behaviour of a regular person ... and the same behaviour repeated again ... she did not come for work without any prior notification ... and I decided to discontinue her services .. in our last meeting, I told her that she is a really good person ...I liked her work ... but I cannot keep up with the irregularity anymore ... Rubina left ..
