The Teacher and the Pharisee

The following is the tale of the Sunday School teacher who is telling her group the parable Christ told of the Pharisee and the tax collector (Luke 18: 9-14).

'Two men went up into the temple to pray; one was a Pharisee, and the other was a tax collector. The Pharisee stood and prayed to himself like this:
"God, I thank you, that I am not like the rest of men, extortioners,unrighteous, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week. I give tithes of all that I get." But the tax collector, standing far away, wouldn't even lift up his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, "God, be merciful to me, a sinner!" I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other; for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but he who humbles himself will be exalted.'

And then the teacher says to the children, "Now then, boys and girls, put your hands together and let's all thank God that we're not like that smug Pharisee!"

Let's Talk

Finally, Google comes out with one thing that I have been waiting most eagerly.
Man, these guys are good.!

K-Meleon

Stumled upon this browser. Not as feature-rich as Firefox but definitely quicker than anything I've come across.

Why is it so Easy to Break the Law?

Kyunki Kanoon ke haath bahut lambey hotey hain !

I am a Hypocrite

To Prove : I am a hypocrite

Proof: The proof is trivial.

I like it when I pull someone's leg. I like it very much. ---------- (1)
I hate it when someone returns the favour. ---------- (2)

From statements (1) and (2) above, it follows that
"I am a hypocrite".

Hence proved.
QED.

Ashes to Ashes...

No matter how good we are in our game (and Michael Vaughan is good), there comes a time when we need inspiration.
It can only be described as poetic justice when the demise of the high and mighty is inspired by the frail and weak.

What is a Film Buff?

Excellent post here. Check it out.

Share Your Secrets

I stumbled upon this site. I will not make any comment about it. Just go and have a look.

World War

No, I am not a history buff and I am not going to tell you that my leadershp qualities were found to be closest to those of Hitler's, but I am going to give a low down on what happend over this weekend.

Calling the event a "World War" is similar to calling the American Football event as World Championship. We tried our best to involve more parties (read the Profs) in it but somehow things didnt materialised.

Enough of that, now let me give you some details. Just like any other war, it started with a show of strength by the warring parties, who were the three different hostels out here. We had to capture as many 'strategic' locations as possible. No, not to postion our artillary and infantry team, but to put up posters screaming how the world is full of incest and its products thereof. How effective these were on the opposition is anybody's guess.

Next came the initial attacks on the enemy strongholds. These were similar to sending an advanced spying/infantry team near the enemy fort to know their preparations. But what we did was damaging only to the vocal chords of the attacking and the defending teams. Not to mention both the teams made their best efforts, once again to enlighten each other how they are the products of incest and similar activites.

Finally came the Tyre Raid. Do or die. The most decisive attack, right on the enemy fort. By the description given so far, this also might sound a bit trivial. But let me assure you that it is not. The tyre in question was the rear tyre of a tractor. Almost 5 feet in diameter and around 1.5 feet in breadth. And it was filled with bricks and sand. All in all it weighed around 500 kg. It was then buried five feet under sand, stone, cement, mud and what not. Now the task, as you might have rightly guessed, is to dig it out. To make matters infinitely worse, the defending team threw buckets and drums of water on the diggers. Not to mention the numerous eggs and a week old spoiled and rotten food, 'preserved' specially for this occassion was also showered on the attacking team.

It was an exhilarating experience. Something that would stay with me for the better part of my life.

But there were some learnings also. The whole reason behind the event was to get to know your batchmates better. Probably something more. Friendship is a passive emotion. I would like to think that by default people are respectful and friendly towards each other. Ofcourse, you can drill all kinds of holes in this argument, but the basis doesn't change.
So for a frindship to mean something more, it should be tested. How to test a friendship? Well, the easiest way is to give it time. If it stays, it developes and grows into something more. Another way might be to change the environment into a hostile one. If it survives, it'll be stronger. Thats for sure. This event gave us that opportunity to know our batch-mates better.

But why I am talking about it? Well, there were people who did not participate in the event. I cannot have hard feelings against them. It would be hypocritical of me. I did something similar when in engg. college. I now think I did miss out on some of the fun.

Of Lives and Choices

From whatever little I have seen and gathered in the 23 years of my existence, I am left with a sinking feeling that life has got no point to it. It is totally arbitrary. And we dont have the choice. We just simply dont.
Lets start form the very beginning. What choice did we have in our incipiency? None whatsoever. The single most important decision of our lives is not in our hands. It is made by some one else. And more likely than not, the decision that they make for us, without taking our views into account, is made under the influence of a set of factors which may not be totally under their control. You may say, what rubbish! How can some one consult us when we dont even exist? Very true. But dont you see, that is the whole point.
After we are born, we are weak and totally dependent upon others for our existance. These are the times when our lives are shaped. Our experiences in our formative years are once again not decided by us but by some one else. We cannot choose what we learn, how we learn. You see, we are too inexperienced to make choices, which is true. By the time we are experienced enough, we are left with none to make. So we try to rectify that by making choices for others.
We always live our lives through proxy. Usually we like that. You know, playing God to others. Having control. Making their decisions for them. Taking away their choices and in turn making their lives totally arbitrary and pointless.

Thought for the Day

For well you know that it's a fool who plays it cool
By making his world a little colder.

From the song "Hey Jude" by The Beatles.

State of my mind

There are 22 females in our batch and there were around 30 final offers made last year by investment banks. Therefore, statistically speaking, it is easier to get an i-bank internship than a bandi out here.

Thought for the Day

Though there are a plethora of jobs avialable for us engineers (err...), we get paid peanuts by the companies. But what the companies should realise is that if you pay peanuts, you'll get monkeys !!

I hope

Things are going to get very painful in the coming days. The outcome is going to be very uncertain. I hope I can survive. I am reminded of the last few lines of "Shawshank Redemption".

"I find I'm so excited, I can barely sit still or hold a thought in my head. I think it's the excitement only a free man can feel, a free man at the start of a long journey whose conclusion is uncertain. I hope I can make it across the border. I hope to see my friend, and shake his hand. I hope the Pacific is as blue as it has been in my dreams. I hope. "

Thought for the Day

"I love deadlines. I like the whooshing sound they make as they fly by"
-- Douglas Adam

Contradictions

Too cliched to say that life is full of them. So i wouldnt say it. But what would you say if i tell you that to be surrounded by females in good quantity and quality is not a very rewarding experience ? (Please dont take the word "surrounded" literally)
And that too after spending 4 years in an engineering college and one more in working in a manufacturing firm that produces trucks?
This is similar to stating that after searching for water for 4 odd years in Thar Desert and one more in Atacama Desert(yes, this place recieves the worlds least amount of rainfall), when all of a sudden I see fresh, gurgling mountain brook and i am antagonised by the sight of it.
Contradiction? Stockholme syndrome? Too much generalisation? I guess thats more accurate.