Entries Tagged 'India' ↓
August 18th, 2010 — India, Random Thoughts
Now that we have been growing crazy about how the Sri Lanka players denied Sehwag his century, comes a pretty incisive analysis by the Yahoo! India editorial team on how the scorers and umpires actually screwed up.
Here is what happened, pure and simple: Randiv bowled. The umpire called ‘no-ball’. There is a reason the umpire calls it as soon as a bowler bowls one – it is to let the batsman know that there are no real penalties attached to having a go. A batsman, on hearing that call, knows he can have a swing without running the risk of being bowled, caught, declared LBW.
So Randiv bowled. The umpire called. Sehwag had a swing, and despatched the ball over the ropes.
That logically is seven runs added to the total – one to the team total as an extra, the other six to Sehwag, the batsman who was quick to seize on the opportunity. Simple.
This is where the idiocy of umpires and the ambiguity of the rule book come in: How could the game be over as soon as Randiv over-stepped? A ball, to be deemed bowled, has to be delivered; the batsman has to play/miss it; in the case of the former the ball has to be retrieved while the batsman runs, or not…there is no provision in cricket for declaring a result, and ending a match, at some intermediate stage of this process.
Thus, for umpires to declare that the game was over as soon as Randiv overstepped is plain folly. To understand this, consider a hypothetical situation: Randiv bowls. It is a no-ball. Sehwag decides the game is over, lets the ball go and walks off. Sangakkara collects and whips off the bails.
Is the batsman out? Of course he is. The extra run cannot be counted until the ball in question is officially dead; in our example Sehwag left his crease while the ball was in play, therefore he is out.
So, if his dismissal off a no ball counts, why were the runs he scored off that no ball not counted to his name?
via Fit to Post: Yahoo! India News » Blog Archive Sehwag Did Get His Century! «.
July 15th, 2010 — Education and Training, India, Random Thoughts
But been busy with some stuff.
The impetus to post this came from this posting “Indic transliteration on computers – brief history and now” on Shashikant Joshi’s blog – Practical Sanskrit. Its an interesting account of the old days of Indic transliteration – ITrans was my first introduction to Indic on computers. Thanks, Shashi
March 17th, 2010 — Development, Education and Training, GNU/Linux, India, Information Technology, Software
Found a bunch of articles on C programming, especially about the standard library, linkers and loaders. These tell us about stuff that goes on under the hood and is generally glossed over, especially in formal BE courses, where one is supposed to learn and understand these things. We have an unfortunate situation that few people know how to use gcc from the command line and fewer still know how to use a command line debugger.
These articles that I got from a Slashdot article are:
These articles look to good, interesting and well written. For those interested more on this topic, do not miss Peter van der Linden's amazing book on C – “Expert C Programming”, now also available in an economical Indian edition. BTW, for anyone looking for technical books in Bangalore, your search stops at Tata Book House in the sprawling campus of the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore. Another book for those interested in the esoteric topic of linkers and loaders is the 1999 book on the subject: “Linkers and Loaders” written by John R. Levine. The draft manuscript is available on the site, but the Indian edition (if you can find it) is surprising cheap.
P.S.: Sorry for a broken link earlier.
October 18th, 2009 — Business, Education and Training, India
While traveling to my hometown for diwali, I got the opportunity to start and finish Porus Munshi‘s book – “Making Breakthrough Innovation Happen: How 11 Indians Pulled Off The Impossible”. What started out as a time-pass read got converted into an engrossing, unputdownable read – an extremely worthy use of a train journey. It is rare to find a book, especially a business book, talking about real cases, on a topic like innovation to become ones companion on a long journey. I had planned to juggle between multiple reading material, but never got a chance to read anything else.
This is a must-read book, especially for the movers and shakers of the industries that supposedly think they are extremely innovative, while they ape the practices of the western world.
India is known as a country not of innovation but of improvisations or ‘Jugaad’, as they say in Hindi. But that has begun to change. We have enough examples in this country of people who have turned industry norms upside down to pull off the impossible in their fields. Eleven such case studies are featured in the book, including: Titan, which came out with the slimmest water-resistant watch in the world; Su-Kam, a power backup company that did not fit into an existing industry but ended up creating a new one; Shantha Biotech, which developed a low-cost Hepatitis-B vaccine and ushered in the biotechnology age in India; Trichy Police, which rewrote policing paradigms to nip extremism and crime in the bud, thus transforming the city. Through the breakthroughs achieved by these organizations, Porus Munshi shows that to do what is considered ‘impossible’ in your particular industry, you have to be subversive and think differently. In the process, if the existing business model needs to be turned on its head, then so be it!
via HarperCollins Publishers India Ltd..
September 14th, 2009 — India
Reminds us of Sarojini Naidu’s famous comment that it took the Congress Party “a lot of money to keep the mahatma in poverty” (http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=101580476)
The Congress’ austerity drive has received a giant push. Sonia Gandhi is booked to fly on an economy-class ticket from Delhi to Mumbai. Gandhi has been assigned seat F-3. A K Antony will be seated next to her. Three rows have been reserved for her security.
via Sonia Gandhi flies economy to set example.
August 7th, 2009 — India, Information Technology, Random Thoughts, Security
A friend forwarded a scary joke on the ramifications of the proposed “Unique Identification” for all Indian citizens. As as been widely reported, Mr. Nandan Nilekani quit Infosys to head India’s Unique Identification Authority of India, an agency that does not still have a web-presence 
This joke is right out of George Orwell's 1984 and makes for interesting reading as it points out some of the ramifications of an ill-conceived and improperly regulated identification system. I am not against a unique id, rather am for it, but would like that processes about controlling and regulating access to individual’s information be put forth before we even look into the technological issues. Technological problems are solvable, if not now, then with time, but a flawed access policy will haunt us forever …
Operator : “Thank you for calling Pizza Hut . May I have your…”
Customer: “Heloo, Heloo, can I order …”
Operator : “Can I have your multi purpose ID card number first, Sir?”
Customer: “It’s he…, hold on… 889861356102049998-45-54610″
Operator : “OK… You’re… Mr Singh and you’re calling from 17 Jal Vayu. Your home number is 22678893, your office 25076666 and your mobile is 09869798888. Today morning you landed in India at IG International Airport. Welcome back, Sir. Which number are you calling from now Sir?”
Customer: “Home! How did you get all my phone numbers?
Operator : “We are connected to the system, Sir”
Customer: “May I order your Seafood Pizza …”
Operator : “That’s not a good idea, Sir”
Customer: “How come?”
Operator : “According to your medical records, you have high blood pressure and even higher cholesterol level, Sir”
Customer: “What?… What do you recommend then?”
Operator : “Try our Low Fat Pizza. You’ll like it”
Customer: “How do you know for sure?”
Operator : “You borrowed a book entitled “Popular Dishes” from the National Library last week, Sir”
Customer: “OK I give up… Give me three family size ones then, how much will that cost?”
Operator : “That should be enough for your family of 05, Sir. The total is Rs 500.00″
Customer: “Can I pay by Credit card?”
Operator : “I’m afraid you have to pay us cash, Sir. Your credit card is over the limit and you owe your bank Rs 23,000.75 since October last year. That’s not including the late payment charges on your housing loan, Sir …”
Customer: “I guess I have to run to the neighborhood ATM and withdraw some cash before your guy arrives”
Operator : “You can’t, Sir. Based on the records, you’ve reached your daily limit on machine withdrawal today”
Customer: “Never mind just send the pizzas, I’ll have the cash ready. How long is it gonna take anyway?”
Operator : “About 45 minutes, Sir, but if you can’t wait you can always come and collect it on your Nano Car …”
Customer: “What!”
Operator : “According to the details in system ,you own a Nano car …, registration number GZ-05-AB-1107…”
Customer: “???”
Operator : “Is there anything else, Sir?”
Customer: “Nothing… By the way… Aren’t you giving me that 3 free bottles of cola as advertised?”
Operator : “We normally would, Sir, but based on your records you’re also diabetic … ”
Customer: “#$$^%&$@$% ^”
Operator : “Better watch your language, Sir … Remember on 15th July 2010 you were convicted of using abusive language on a policeman?”
Customer: [Faints]
July 1st, 2009 — India, Nostalgia, Random Thoughts
Here, I am reproducing (with minor editorial and typesetting corrections and some hyperlinking), the second (and last) article I wrote circa-1999 while I was working at C-DAC, Bangalore. This was a contribution for an in-house magazine called “Environs”. This was an attempt to resurrect the magazine, but unfortunately that attempt failed and my fledgling hopes as a columnist died soon after. I wrote only two columns, the first one can be found here.
Hi, Folks! So, here I am back again. In the last issue I managed to scrape through my stuff through the hawk eyes of our esteemed E-in-C, simply because the venerable lady was not around. I might not get so lucky this time. But, anyway, a promise is a promise and I have to keep it. So, perforce I have to jot down something. Here goes …
At the outset, we in the Ed. Board of Environs are taken aback at the cold response to the first issue of the re-launched environs. We had hoped for a few bangs but merely heard whimpers, many of which did not even make it to the Ed. Board. Just one entry for the quiz and two for the crossword! Not a single Letter to the Editor criticising our stuff. Are we that perfect? We, as authors thrive on criticism. It tells us more about what we thought we had meant when we had said something! Personally, I was expecting our readers to holler and flood our mailing system calling on our E-in-C to desist from publishing the musings of someone whose head definitely is not on his shoulders. But, I manage to get away by inflicting myself on you all. Whew, what an escape! But still, I personally want some criticism. It increases my self esteem – I am an arrogant brat (my favourite comic character happens to be Calvin) and makes me feel famous. After all, how many people knew Salman Rushdie before Satanic Verses was banned in India? Art thrives on controversy. No controversy, No Art! So, I beseech you ladies and gentleman to start up a healthy war on what material ought to be published in this journal.
Talking of war, some little time ago, the country was driven by a mass hysteria over Kargil. As India completes 52 years of her independence, we were again brought to the brink of a catastrophic war. But then, all modern wars are catastrophes. Gone are those days when war were fought for chivalry and valour – when two strong men stood face to
face pitting their wits and martial skills with each other. The days when duels were fought for honour are passe. Today’s war is a morass of agonising and screaming humanity.
Why then must we fight? Alas, the answer to that question seems to have eluded us for too long now. Probably, war is a way of letting our age-old hunting instincts rear their heads from beneath the veneer of civilization. For Man has always been a predator. I guess Agent Smith was not too far from the truth in “The Matrix” when he compared the human species with viruses. Ever since Man has inhabited this planet, he has tried to make it better. In the process of bettering it, many a time he has ravaged it and destroyed countless other species. He has trampled on complex and fragile eco-systems and destroyed many of them irreversibly.
Many of our follies are recorded as history, but not as many as should be. Because as most often happens – “History is written by the Victors” and there is a vast difference between who is right and who wins! Many a time we also tend to forget George Santayana – “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it”.
But, does war have any benefits? Yeah, it seems to benefit many people – the big defence contractors and the arms dealers. The field of electronics as we know it now might not have existed were it not for the tremendous advances made during the Second World War. ENIAC might not have been built had the US Army not wanted to calculate firing
tables! For the period of a war, people of a country unite to make it a nation, gang up to fight a common enemy! War is a grim reminder that there is a common adversary to counter. After all, it seems that it is adversity which brings out the best in us. Also, as Thomas Hardy remarked “My argument is that War makes rattling good history; but Peace is poor reading“.
War also lets us revel in the human self. Though an expression of our baser instincts, it lets the qualities of sacrifice, valour and camaraderie shine through – some of those very qualities which civilize us. It lets mere men become supermen, hardens them to face the trials and tribulations of daily life.
So, though war be a dark cloud, it is not without its silver lining. But, is it necessary to kill and maim thousands, heap agony upon so much of humanity just to detect that silver lining? Many a time will come when Man will have to fight. He will have to fight to keep world order intact and preserve the world for future generations. But, at the same time, one has to remember not to glorify war, but rather look upon it for what it is – a necessary evil to be avoided like
the plague!
To save your world, you asked this man to die;
Would this man, could he see you now, ask why?
– W. H. Auden, “Epitaph for an Unknown Soldier”
On this note, I end these musings. There is lots to say, but the E-in-C is looking over my shoulder and is saying – “Come now, the Full Stop”.
[ The author of this piece prides himself on being a researcher, believing in the saying "To steal from one is plagiarism, to steal from many is research". The views, or rather the "foot in the mouth" is the author's. He specifically disclaims that any of this is C-DAC's view by paraphrasing Brian V. Smith (author of Xfig at LBNL)---I don't speak for C-DAC; they don't pay me enough for that.]
April 23rd, 2009 — India, Random Thoughts
Today, 23rd April was considered to be crucial for the formation of India’s next government. A pretty large chunk of the electorate in key states was supposed to exercise its franchise.
In the last assembly elections in Karnataka, we were unable to vote, owing to our names being missing in the electoral rolls. This time around, we somehow managed to file the applications for inclusion just-in-time and I was looking forward to casting my vote. A few days ago, I logged onto various websites allowing searching of the elctoral roles, but alas I wasn’t able to find my name. Tried my wife’s name also (she spells her name uniquely), but there also drew a blank. I was saddened that even this time around, I would to opportunity.
But, not one to lose heart, and remembering that data entry errors do happen, I again checked the names online with the EC’s rolls. The site was pathetically slow and unfortunately, it seems that we are still not able to build a scalable website that can search properly. What else can you expect of a site that runs Windows and uses ASP? After drawing a blank with my full name and first name, I tried my surname. Thankfully, I was able to locate our names, again thanks to my wife having an unusual name, spelled uniquely. Looking at the list I finally located our names.
Now, I was faced with the issue of what happens if the spelling of the name on the list and ID card didn’t match. Thankfully, the polling agents told me that the canonical language of the roll is Kannada and owing to the phonetic aspect of Indian languages, the names were at least being pronounced similarly. An interesting anecdote recounted by the polling agent was that a person whose name is “Swatantram” had his name in the English version of the rolls mentioned as “Independent” (the literal translation of Swatantram). Well, I found the names and cast my vote. But, this episode made me think about the technical issues facing us as regards electoral roles for example.
- There is a need to build out scalable systems – hopefully those who have been monitoring the load on these systems will be able to analyse traffic patterns and cater to the traffic appropriately. I will be talking about this and some other e-governance measures subsequently.
- It is also important to be able to view government data in multiple languages and scripts. For this it is necessary to store the data by encoding in a scheme which readily allows conversion between different Indian languages easily and is also cheap to implement. Today, the one thing that comes to mind is ISCII (Indian Script Code for Information Interchange) as opposed to Unicode. I will discuss this in a later posting.
- Possibility of building a mechanism wherein users can upload their data and apply for inclusion into the electoral rolls online – something akin to applying for a PAN card.
More later …
