The Misery at the End

Nine months after the crime that shook the conscience of the Country, the verdict was announced; fast by the standards of the Country in question. The death sentence, to some extent, provided a bit of a closure to all the people who, in one way or another, became related to the incident; the family of the victim, the family of the late Constable Subhash Tomar who died in the protests following the crime, the thousands of protesters who came out to the streets, hundreds of police personnel who had their own struggle during the protests and (a safe assumption) a vast majority of the citizens. The gruesomeness of the inhuman act committed by those “humans” on that cold December night may cause many a humanitarian minds to agree that death is the only fitting punishment for them. For now therefore, the disturbing episode seems to have taken a justified turn.

If asked to mention the one word, around which the events of December 16, 2012 and the subsequent protests seem to revolve, a plethora of answers may result. The one that struck my mind was misery.

Misery; because the one of the basic traits that distinguish us as humans were compromised by members of our own species. Misery; because of the loss suffered by the friends and families of the Braveheart and Constable Tomar. Misery; because even after stringent amendments to the law, there is a questionable level of security available to the Nation’s women (disturbingly including the minor female children). Misery; because the most fierce and brutal of the six attackers would walk free after spending a little over 28 months in a juvenile detention home. Misery; because the five young adults who gave in to perversion and resorted to fulfilling a short term urge, and who now face the gallows, paid no importance to the long, perhaps even promising, lives that lied ahead of them. Misery; because of the helplessness of the convict’s families.

The entire episode may paint a sorrowful picture and it may appear that nothing even remotely fruitful may result as a consequence of the tragic event. An observation of the practices sometimes followed in a country a bit eastwards of our own may suggest otherwise.

The aforementioned state of misery is ever present. It existed before December 16, 2012 and will continue to be in existence for decades following this date. Shortage of blood at transfusion departments of hospitals, shortage of donors of vital organs and the like make their own contributions to the miseries of the present day. This point needs to be made right now because it will be referenced later on in this text.

These five convicts; keeping them alive (by reducing their punishment to life imprisonment, not a completely impossible event) will only result in the further squandering of the limited resources of a planet no less abused, notwithstanding at a different level, than the young girl last December. Death penalty, as harsh as it may appear for the convicts, is but a comeuppance. A different way of ending their lives however, may yield some value out of the hopelessness of this entire episode.

Consider the flowing hypothetical situation; a sudden death, say delivered in form of a bullet to the forehead (other ways are also possible), followed by quick extraction of the cadaver’s blood for possible use in transfusion, “salvaging” vital and non vital organs and using the extracts to benefit patients in need may result in improvement in the lives of the patients in question. The five convicts already died ten months ago, though their bodies have some catching up to do. Utilizing whatever bio-extracts, in form of tissues, organs and fluids, may only help reduce someone else’s misery elsewhere. Such a biological salvaging in favour of those who may otherwise face long waiting times for the right type of bio-extract, and consequently face further medical complications due to too much of a delay, probably promises to be the only positive at the end of a trail of negatives left behind as the consequences of the disgraceful and deplorable incident.

The Voice of Music

“After silence, that which comes nearest to expressing the inexpressible is music.” 

- Aldous Huxley 

We listen to different forms of music in different environments. Music is played at coffee shops, lounges, malls and even in an aircraft during the boarding process. All forms of music appear to have their own sweet effect.

• Music amplifies joy. A good mix by Armin Van Buuren or Enigma made late night drives in the empty streets of Pune much more fun.
• Music is a catalyst. It helps accelerate. Beats by David Guetta or Usher used to cause revelers in the night clubs dance harder.
• Music mitigates monotony. Nothing would compare to the Beach Lounge Mix by Tekiu (being played in low volume of course) when drafting that dissertation report.
• Music motivates. It provides the occasional boost. "Lord give me a sign" by DMX is an excellent number to listen to while sweating it out it the gym.

Can music be something more? Specifically, can music without any lyrics still convey?

I selected a pleasant track and tried to figure out what kind of thoughts it induced. Having a couple of pints before starting any task like this is always useful. This was the track I tried to perceive:

Since perceptions vary, this track may create an entirely different impression in the mind of some other listener. What follows is what I felt:

Dissection of the track:

There is nothing unique about the first 30 seconds. Numerous trance and chill out tracks seem to have this kind of a start.

The part between 00:30 and 01:00 uniquely characterizes this track. This tune continues in the background, more or less throughout the rest of the track, with very slight modulation. The high tempo of this tune made me picture the high pace, hectic, frustrating and sometimes monotonous city life that some young professionals may connect to. This tune seems to lower down by 01:34, very much like the way people tend to get bored with the same job over a period of time, at which point some of them may look at options like switching to some other firm or pursuing post graduation.

Between 01:45 and 02:20, a new tune comes in and overlaps the background tune. The tempo of this new tune is lower and it is more dominant than the background tune. This new tune has a higher pitch and is more pleasing to listen to. Reminded me of how one needs to let go of anxieties and tensions at times and just do something to lighten up. Go on a long drive, take a vacation, work on the garden, go to the park and watch the little kids play or better yet, behave like a kid. Take it easy. Take a break.

After 02:20, the background tune picks up again but the way it is modulated changes after 03:06, making it sound more pleasing. Another low tempo background tune comes up at 03:35 and continues till 04:23. This blending of tunes seems to suggest that even after taking a break, the stresses associated with life as a professional may not fade off completely, but their effects can definitely reduce.

Hereafter, the original background tune gradually comes back and continues almost till the end of the track. I guess this indicates that time has come for another break.

Verdict:

With great posts in great companies come great chances of dealing with a stressful life. Before the stress gets a chance to become too much, take a break, it does not matter whether long or short, just take a break and unwind.

The Multiple Personality Order

The human brain represents the epitome of all organic evolution on Earth. It forms our feelings, forges our thoughts and consequently governs our actions. It is a harmony of electro-biochemical reactions that render it capable of making the most advanced of computers look hopelessly rudimentary in comparison. 

The role of the brain for any person can be considered analogous to the role that a pilot plays for an aircraft. The aircraft by itself is incapable of flight. It requires the pilot as the controller who plots its course, maintains its speed or altitude, makes it take off or land. Just like the flight of the aircraft, our behavior is controlled by our brain.

Different pilots have different ways of flying. Similarly we can have different behaviors if we allow ourselves to be "piloted" by virtually different brains - something like multiple virtual cores inside the physical core of an advanced microprocessor. By mastering this art, one can induce multiple personalities within himself or herself.

The words "Multiple Personality" normally bring a third word to the mind - Disorder. Multiple Personality Disorder is considered to be a mental anomaly, a disease. I disagree. Moreover, a self induced Multiple Personality Disorder, which I prefer to call a "Multiple Personality Order" can be used to bolster your faculties to levels that you may otherwise be incapable of achieving with just one personality. This is exactly what I did to myself in 2010.

Back then, I was juggling with many issues at the same time. I had multiple priorities that I wanted to address concurrently:

• Maintaining Health: I wanted to to lose excess weight and this meant at least 150 minutes of high intensity cardiovascular exercise every week.
• Studying For GATE: This is an exam for admissions to the M. Tech. courses in the Indian Institutes of Technology. Preparing for it was not exactly a walk in the park.
• Visiting My Friends: I lived in the opposite end of the city so visiting them meant traveling 30 kilometers to their place and spending entire weekends there. And yes, I needed my share of partying too ;)
• Working At Office: I needed meet my boss's expectations at office. This is not something that I wanted to do but something that I had to do.
• Spending Time Alone: This helped me relax. I normally spent time alone by exploring a new highway or eating out in a nice hotel.

Balancing out all the aforementioned tasks was easier said than done. I was not good with time management either. 

It was then that I let my imagination get the best of me. I considered my self to be some kind of a sci-fi spaceship. Within my mind, I assigned different pilots to fly me through the different things that I had to do. Being under control of different pilots at different times clearly meant one thing; I behaved differently when doing different things; and I put my 100% when doing those tasks. The following pilots helped me achieve the balance in 2010:

• Kezunova Schneider: He piloted me when I worked out in the gym, went for a swim or played a game of squash. Any form of activity that was meant to improve my health was taken care of by Schneider.
• Kazan Strignatamuser: The pilot in control of me when I sat down to study for GATE. He would eventually land me at IIT.
• Kez Nikopfmin: The party animal, the one who socialized, the one who placed greatest importance in making me meet my friends. And he was really good at it.
• Kunov-Akun Sharovin: A man of few words. He took control of the cockpit when I was at office and was supposed to work.
• Kurast Vantrinol: He was the one in control when I would hit the highway to explore a new area, or enter a 5-star to try something new to eat.

At any time, only one pilot was allowed entry in my cockpit - my brain. In a way, I forcefully fooled myself to do whatever I did with my full effort, regardless of the state of the other important things. When I ran over a treadmill, I would not think of a pending task at office. Partying hard on a Saturday night did not make me regret it when I would sit down to tackle a problem on complex numbers the following day. Eating at Hyatt Regency would not make me think of how many extra pounds I was packing up.

Even to this day, I can not manage my time. But having many different pilots inside myself to be in command when I did different things produced pleasing results last year. Will the same technique work for me now - with a demanding academic schedule, an injured knee and no money to squander... Nah!