Blog

After the retirement of my dad, he started to apply for his pension benefits, I realised how analogue the Indian bureaucratic system is. Everything is still done on paper and files. Even if banks are very digital but a paper copy is being maintained considered more trustworthy.

Being an Indian who moved to Boston for my post graduation, it was a lot to learn. Even after 3 years of living here, I am not done learning about lifestyle in America. I understand and relate to so many of the things in this book. The book follows a person named Gogol whose parents move from West Bengal (a state in eastern India) to Boston (in Massachusetts, north-east USA) from before his birth to his middle-age.

She had just had a nightmare. But this time it was different. It wasn’t the usual running away from her co-workers, and work. But it was unusual, since she succeeded; not by running away but rather there were no co-workers or work. That didn’t happen in a very hypnotic way, it just was. So, it wasn’t a nightmare really, she thought, but in a way it was. What will she do? Work never really ends. Does it? There is always more to do. Even if you like your job a lot, you still don’t like it every day. And her, she disliked her job. She didn’t only not-like it, but disliked it. But since it wasn’t a nightmare, what woke her up?, she wondered.

In the afterlife, you don’t really exist. Your soul, so to say, exists. But it is still looking for the purpose. The life-long question of ‘Who am I?’ is still not answered. However, a different question ‘Does God exist?’ or ‘What is God like?’ is answered. Surprisingly for the soul it is not answered by God.

Since the first ever data visualisation, we as humans have been trying to map data to visual features of different kinds of shapes. The use of shapes have evolved over the centuries, and so have the methods to collect data. The data is/are becoming more complex with every passing hour. The raw data from innumerable sources — satellites, telescopes, marine sensors, GPS in our phones, security systems, economics, crime, refugee crises, trade, agriculture, energy, wearables, online advertisement, photos we click, blogs we write, texts we sent — is becoming more and more immense. And so are our visualisations. In fact, human visual perception has reached it’s limits to interpret all the data we collect at once; so have our brains gave up trying to understand the numbers.

But even while Rome is burning,
There’s somehow time for shopping,
at IKEA…
See, when I moved out of the house earlier this week
toting my many personal belongings in large bins and boxes, and 50 gallon garbage boxes,
my first inclination was, of course, to purchase the things I still “needed” for my new place…
You know, just the basics, a shower curtain, a bed,
and, oh, I need a couch and a matching leather chair,
and a love seat, and a lamp, and a desk and a desk chair,
and another lamp for over there.
And, oh yeah, don’t forget about the sideboard,
that matches the desk and
a dresser for the bedroom.
And oh, I need a coffee table and a couple end tables,
and a TV stand for the TV I still need to buy.
And now that I think about it,
I’m going to want my apartment to be
my style, you know, my own motif.
So I need certain decorative to spruce up the decor.
But wait, what exactly is my style?
Do these stainless steel picture frames
embody that particular style?
Does this replica Matisse sketch
accurately capture my edgy but professional vibe?
Exactly how edgy am I?
What espresso maker defines me as a man?
Does the fact that I am asking these questions
preclude me from being a,
quote, “man’s man”?
How many cups, and plates,
and bowls should a man own.
I guess, I need a dining room table, too…
Right?
And a rug for the entryway, and bath mats.
What about that thing that’s sort of like a rug
but longer?
Yeah, a runner.
I’m gonna need one of those.
And I am also gonna need — 
Hell, what else do I need?

With the end of World War II, the empires of colonial era started to break, giving rise to a lot of sovereign states liberating the residents of the planet. But those states were divided in different ways keeping the conflicts alive. These conflicts gave rise to modern day warfare, arguably even worse for the people living in conflict zones, making sure that liberty stays unequally/unfairly distributed.

There is always more to life,
The more we try,
The more it hides.