tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-208837512012-02-16T15:45:38.377+05:30Same as it ever wasCyberswamihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09391421609494073457noreply@blogger.comBlogger1501100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20883751.post-65921665605355152522011-10-12T14:52:00.000+05:302011-10-12T14:53:04.439+05:30

I was published today in the Hindu Business Line! An article I wrote on the 2011 Nobel Prize winners in economics - Thomas Sargent and Christopher Sims. Click here to read the article. I'd post the text but they might have issues with that. 

Cyberswamihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09391421609494073457noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20883751.post-45315151580164596262011-10-05T11:50:00.002+05:302011-10-05T18:52:26.733+05:30

"The stranger came early in February, one wintry day, through a biting wind and a driving snow, the last snowfall of the year... carrying a little black portmanteau in his thickly gloved hand." This is the opening line of The Invisible Man, H.G Wells's masterpiece. At one level, it is a commonplace occurrence - a stranger arrives in a town, nobody knows where from, and he sets up life

Cyberswamihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09391421609494073457noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20883751.post-23594678944142645992011-09-30T12:43:00.001+05:302011-10-05T13:06:26.263+05:30

Why does Europe point so inevitably towards decline? Is it because they are yet to appreciate the power of the lungi, the saag, and the bidi? Problems beset the euro area at every front. The economy is weak, and the monetary experiment of the Eurozone is under attack. With an ageing population, there are fewer young people supporting more old people. Things would not be so bad if growth was

Cyberswamihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09391421609494073457noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20883751.post-89922248806283072502011-09-26T05:59:00.000+05:302011-09-26T08:45:17.039+05:30

I read the news today, oh boy... I study voting models for a living. So this week's UN vote on events in the Middle East got me racing to my books. Finally, I thought, here's a chance to see whether any of these models really work! But then I realised what I was saying and turned the TV on instead. Models. Work? Pshaw! What is the vote about? Well, the Palestinians have requested that

Cyberswamihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09391421609494073457noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20883751.post-20288579728827667642010-05-08T22:19:00.000+05:302010-05-08T22:19:34.375+05:30

These days I'm writing a weekly column for The Sunday Guardian. It's a newly launched weekly newspaper in Delhi, and they have a very interesting features section. The paper doesn't have a website yet, so I've been posting my articles online. The column is on technology and society, and popular science. Check it out at Techno Babel. And let me know what you think!

Cyberswamihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09391421609494073457noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20883751.post-34282350540559829672010-01-23T19:18:00.009+05:302010-01-23T22:44:28.553+05:30

It's clear from the conversations I've had about what I wrote last that the picture of choice that I presented is too stark to be realistic. I agree. It was an illustration of how social choice theory goes about the subject. The plan is to try and broaden this view in one particular direction (my own), but alternative scenarios abound.See, in truth, choice is a capricious thing. Without getting

Cyberswamihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09391421609494073457noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20883751.post-14305896104264220512010-01-22T15:11:00.009+05:302010-01-22T19:31:51.439+05:30

In the previous post, I mentioned how sections of economic theory make behavioural assumptions and then build on that edifice. This time I'm going to look at one of those fields of economics, called the theory of social choice. Social choice theory concerns itself with the question of how a society should make decisions based on the view of the individuals that comprise it. In particular, when

Cyberswamihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09391421609494073457noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20883751.post-50900765621090241802010-01-21T14:50:00.005+05:302010-01-21T16:15:06.777+05:30

I'm back. But nobody else is, I'm sure.That's good, though. I fear over the next little while I'm going to be using this space as an idea dump, a stream of consciousness sort of thing, trying to get some of my thoughts in order, and it might not make for thrilling reading.Where have I been? Nowhere, really, except for being caught up in what passes for work in my current occupation. I'm in the

Cyberswamihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09391421609494073457noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20883751.post-39228891828412750652009-12-21T15:38:00.000+05:302010-01-21T15:43:13.633+05:30

Economics and psychology share a strong affinity. There is a natural common border to the two subjects, and it is unsurprising that once again there is a growing collaboration between the two schools of thought. The common border lies in human motivations and then their subsequent actions. Psychology has unearthed a lot about what goes on inside our heads, in general, and about how choices are

Cyberswamihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09391421609494073457noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20883751.post-62815817732896816332009-08-23T13:01:00.001+05:302010-01-21T16:04:22.170+05:30

I was published in the Mint. Link here.

Cyberswamihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09391421609494073457noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20883751.post-5505884241131099132009-04-03T16:56:00.003+05:302009-04-03T17:16:12.006+05:30

So activity here has been a little down lately. I can't promise that it will improve anytime soon, but if anyone is feeling a little economics-minded, I have a (somewhat imperfect) substitute.The folks at ISI have decided to give us students our own webpages. So here's mine. There's not much on there at the moment, except links to some research papers. I expect them to be mostly

Cyberswamihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09391421609494073457noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20883751.post-47250827986381855762009-03-22T20:51:00.002+05:302009-03-22T20:53:43.006+05:30

I am to be contributing to a column in the Business Standard called Okonomos. The point of it is to relate recent economics research to world events.My first article was published on 20 March. Have a look. 

Cyberswamihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09391421609494073457noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20883751.post-28968183113031233732009-02-02T23:22:00.000+05:302009-02-02T23:23:04.711+05:30

The second edition of the Indian Premier League is almost here. So it has been almost a year since the first. Has it had any impact on the game?Several, yes? The Twenty20 format is a success, clearly. I enjoyed the IPL, but I meant marketing success in this case. For another, the BCCI now runs the ICC. And on the game itself, even the longer versions of the game, the play has become sharper in

Cyberswaminoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20883751.post-39432242089642207112009-01-22T23:04:00.000+05:302009-01-22T23:05:13.023+05:30

Slumdog Millionaire's been nominated for a bunch of Oscars. I'll bet you it wins an unexpected biggie. Then we'll all go crazy. Hollywood will call. We will answer. Et voila! The film industry opens its doors to foreign firms seeking to set up here. India, the big growth market, fill your buckets boys. And what did it take? An award or two. Remember the 1990s? Remember how after years of trying,

Cyberswaminoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20883751.post-37780767911319372222008-12-13T18:28:00.000+05:302009-01-13T18:30:33.565+05:30

Part of the answer lies with god, but you might not agree with what I mean by that. Continuing on the theme of human interactions. From the point of view of a society, some of the possible mediums of interaction include language, money, and feelings of identity with systems of belief. The last manifests itself as religion, but also as culture, and many other things that are effectively systems of

Cyberswaminoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20883751.post-23270061620668357352008-11-12T18:25:00.000+05:302009-01-13T18:27:52.473+05:30

Why do people choose the way they do? How would you react to their choices?Think of your everyday interactions with people. Your relations with them are based on a continuous give-and-take or exchange. This is the case even with friends. There's almost always a tacit 'I'll do this for you if you do that for me', even if it is not articulated, or even thought of consciously. And the relationship

Cyberswaminoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20883751.post-44852470627647069992008-10-30T01:24:00.005+05:302008-10-30T01:33:54.483+05:30

Most of the major ingredients that go into Western economic theory do not apply in India. Then why should the theory itself or the results of it apply? Consider the following. We are not your everyday capitalist country. We may never be. We have more labour than any country except China. Our laws protect labour better than many other countries. We believe in our hearts that it is wrong to fire

Cyberswaminoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20883751.post-33066622615715185282008-09-20T13:40:00.005+05:302008-09-20T13:46:42.788+05:30

The Follies Student Comedy Revue at the Columbia Business School performs Every Breath You Take. But who are they watching? Ben Bernanke, Fed chairman.

Cyberswaminoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20883751.post-58932276075580700092008-09-12T00:15:00.009+05:302008-09-12T00:31:52.320+05:30

Fiddy Sen reappears. Somewhat differently handled from the last time he was around though. But read slowly, maybe in the key of Shankar Mahadevan's Breathless, and Penny will drop again.Tears for the Passing of FamilyIn the fading few pages of the book of his travels, hours before the tap of the gavel would take him away, I read of how Fiddy Sen found himself hitched to a camel at the edge of

Cyberswaminoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20883751.post-80687384113300232882008-08-28T22:41:00.014+05:302008-08-30T10:36:22.996+05:30

Oh man, why such boring stuff all the time?Well, deal with it because I'm the the middle of exams. Again. Slap-bang within one month of starting I'm being examined. But I guess they're giving me money to do this so they have a right to make sure I don't slack off and start writing rubbish online.Anyway, forget all that. I do have a point I want to make and I'll keep it short. More fun stuff will

Cyberswaminoreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20883751.post-5873251561187948232008-08-25T23:00:00.012+05:302008-08-30T10:36:22.997+05:30

Osman Samiuddin of Cricinfo writes a simply brilliant article on why the 'postponement' of the Champions Trophy that was to be held in Pakistan smacks of Western hypocrisy. He says the West is letting Pakistan down by not touring precisely at a time it should. "Pakistan needed to host the Champions Trophy, the second-most important ODI tournament in the game, to put some feelgood back in the air,

Cyberswaminoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20883751.post-69584405129054840672008-08-24T08:58:00.007+05:302008-08-30T10:36:22.998+05:30

A geographically contiguous set of governments bind themselves tightly together by creating a supergovernment that unites them all. Important departments like foreign policy or finance and the economy are handed over to the supergovernment. The constituents content themselves with administration of their territories, but still retain significant powers. The region is now defined by a common

Cyberswaminoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20883751.post-25342780293384891232008-08-22T23:45:00.016+05:302008-08-30T10:59:14.413+05:30

Were you one of those that classified the Obama-Hillary tussle for candidacy as a black-man-versus-white-woman choice? If so, are you now willing to conclude that Americans prefer a black president to a female one? You couldn’t say, could you? I mean, yes, Obama did get elected, but that could be about other things. Maybe Obama connected with voters more than Hillary did. Maybe his policies were

Cyberswaminoreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20883751.post-12623772693786045532008-08-12T22:21:00.019+05:302008-08-30T11:07:56.873+05:30

I left. Some months elapsed. Then I came back. Or was it the other way around?How I love spatial disorientation. I say everyone should change cities every now and then. What a feeling it is. I will put my foot down and say it is positively heady.So now that we've got that done and over with, what shall we talk about? I don't know, shall we begin at the new year's in Mumbai? Or shall we start in

Cyberswaminoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20883751.post-52001726339319050162007-12-01T23:14:00.000+05:302008-08-30T10:59:14.414+05:30

Bombay is more polluted than Delhi. I know from the extra black that comes out of my nostrils when I clean them. Moving on. How would you react if when you decided the two things you would most like to do with yourself, after years of internal debate, you then realised that your parents are already doing them one each? In the tradeoff between money, knowledge, and power, supposing an inability to

Cyberswaminoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20883751.post-8503103732912448332007-11-29T13:47:00.000+05:302007-11-29T17:42:39.382+05:30

I come bearing life-saving news. The universe can now perhaps be fully explained. To put it less understandably, there could now be a resolution to the incompleteness of the standard unified model on the one hand, and the inelegance of string theory on the other. Every particle (including quarks) and force (including gravity) has an home to live in this new model. And best of all, it's pretty.

Cyberswaminoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20883751.post-23196171783070887662007-09-25T14:12:00.000+05:302008-08-30T10:54:03.430+05:30

The ultimate song about the power (and futility) of revolution. One of the best.***We'll be fighting in the streetsWith our children at our feetAnd the morals that they worship will be goneAnd the men who spurred us onSit in judgement of all wrongThey decide and the shotgun sings the songI'll tip my hat to the new constitutionTake a bow for the new revolutionSmile and grin at the change all

Cyberswaminoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20883751.post-77563039001029460372007-09-11T23:12:00.000+05:302008-08-30T10:50:49.927+05:30

We all have voices in our heads. And I think I have four of them. In my head, every thought is a conversation or an argument between two distinct voices. What they say may depend on the context, but they argue two sides to the case as it may be. Sometimes they work together, and sometimes apart, but each voice tries to pick holes in the other one’s arguments. Their stance also depends on the

Cyberswaminoreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20883751.post-6486130205863407292007-09-06T16:46:00.000+05:302008-08-30T10:40:27.765+05:30

So we won yesterday. Even though I’m usually an optimist when it comes to Indian cricket, even I didn’t give us much of a chance when we had a hundred runs to get off seventy-something balls. We were helped a bit by England’s hopelessness in the field, and by quite a bit of luck in terms of fortunate boundaries to third-man, but played very well too. After all, some of England’s wins in the

Cyberswaminoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20883751.post-73846420039549444522007-08-27T19:35:00.000+05:302008-08-30T11:06:11.804+05:30

I spend too much time at work. My brain is fried. Please excuse this.***Liquidity conditions finally reached breaking point last week after threatening to do so for several months. I had been running a sizeable current account deficit for the past fortnight, with irregular meals in frequency and quantity terms. This had been exaggerated by lavish consumer spending and a very low effective savings

Cyberswaminoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20883751.post-22781876768746137072007-08-13T19:12:00.000+05:302008-08-30T10:59:14.414+05:30

…”come and join me.”Many years later, a kid turns to his papa and asks, “Why is this silly narrow land-locked elevated road called the Sea Link? Where is the link to the sea?”“Have you heard the story of South Extension in Delhi, son?” ***Mumbai is in many ways an epitome of India’s modernisation – the old versus the new and all the change it brings. (Warning: As you read this you may have to

Cyberswaminoreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20883751.post-44982564677683681662007-08-01T17:03:00.000+05:302007-08-01T17:06:24.789+05:30

It’s 7.45am, and I’m sitting on a train that has left Bombay Central a few minutes ago, roaring its way down past an assorted set of decrepit little stations. I boarded the train about 15 minutes ago at Churchgate, which by contrast is grand, and clearly a remnant of an earlier civilisation. For that matter, Bombay Central too has been built to impress, with columned arches to greet the

Cyberswaminoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20883751.post-85080094100763430552007-07-29T12:58:00.000+05:302008-08-30T12:29:16.416+05:30

"Mumbai is the main placeWhere you survive if you've got the pace.You got to be fast, you got to be tezYou got to be sure now to win the race."Or was it mean place? I can't remember.They should put this up on a big billboard outside the airport. Just before you begin racing. I mean, there's no point putting in in fairy stories and film songs. Then you think it only happens in fairy stories and

Cyberswaminoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20883751.post-67649412489404646032007-05-30T14:00:00.000+05:302007-05-31T11:38:11.340+05:30

I wrote an article and it got published. It's all very exciting. Well, not so much the article itself (which sounds sagely but isn't), but more that it got published. Someone out there is listening ha ha!*Combining an ineffective regulator with adventurous producers and anxious consumers invariably causes conflict. The alcohol industry in India has always been an example, and now the higher

Cyberswaminoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20883751.post-9881146076552790712007-05-15T18:55:00.000+05:302008-08-30T11:06:11.805+05:30

You are the leader of a powerful alliance of countries that have come together in response to being attacked by terrorists. As leader, you have certain goals.One of these goals is to do away with religious fundamentalists in Countries A and B, because they are the most notable sponsors of the organisations that have been bombing your countries. You also enlist the help of Country C, itself a

Cyberswaminoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20883751.post-61230421204791339802007-04-30T14:28:00.000+05:302008-08-30T10:59:14.415+05:30

Have you watched the movie Pi? Do you remember the personality of the main character? The odd scientist effect and all that? Even if you don't it doesn't matter. This post isn't about him, except maybe tangentially.Humans have come pretty far down the evolution chain. That is, if you believe in evolution. I don't know what there is to doubt about it, but there are doubters. How can we have

Cyberswaminoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20883751.post-10862812208485293522007-04-24T10:53:00.000+05:302008-08-30T11:07:00.171+05:30

Okay then. Two months away. Heart grown fonder yet?What's that? Where have I been? Oh, nowhere interesting. Home. Exams and things. Well, no 'things'. Only exams.Yes, econometrics. Panel data estimation techniques. There's something, apparently, that is called a differences-in-difference estimate. It didn't make any difference, though. I'll scrape through, just like in the rest. How's that for an

Cyberswaminoreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20883751.post-56788863227428276452007-02-22T00:33:00.000+05:302008-08-30T11:01:10.502+05:30

A question, but first, as usual, some background:Suppose you are a political candidate. You have just won a state election and you've now become a minister. Say, for example, you have become the human resource development minister, and it is now your responsibility to do what's right by the people in your state.Now, sometime during your tenure as minister, an issue comes up. Say, for the sake of

Cyberswaminoreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20883751.post-84866731752483995822007-02-15T12:48:00.000+05:302008-08-30T10:59:14.417+05:30

What do you do when the woman who comes to sweep your house offers herself to you? Think about it while I tell you a story.Ever since our live-in housekeeper reached an advanced age (and size) we have had a woman come in to sweep and mop. In fact, we have had several in turn, but this one has lasted the longest. She is extremely honest and hard-working, and my parents have routinely trusted her.

Cyberswaminoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20883751.post-90693635151350619372007-02-07T20:44:00.000+05:302008-08-30T11:06:11.807+05:30

I'm growing soft. Less argumentative, and more reasonable in my stance.What nonsense? Now look here, what makes you call it... well, yeah, I suppose it is. Never mind.My perspective on the world is changing though. I can feel it happening, and I know it is because I still remember the old me, the old way of looking at things, and I realise now that it was incomplete then. That's not to say it is

Cyberswaminoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20883751.post-14723951377228193022007-01-18T10:10:00.000+05:302007-05-02T18:33:56.756+05:30

As promised, here's a quick guide to some of the less dull moments in the last year. Touristy StuffA Plastic Desert Rose - A sight worth seeing in JaipurOf Fashion, Football, Fools, And A Friggin' Good View - Time well spent in ParisA Walk in Paris - More time well spentNotions Of The WorldGoing 'Round In Circles - good versus bad, how do we decide?The Shape Of Things To Come - How the Indian

Cyberswaminoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20883751.post-7759189250138735482007-01-12T09:10:00.000+05:302008-08-30T11:07:00.173+05:30

Yes, it's been that long. My first post ever, below, was on January 12, 2006. A long time ago...Blog kar diya jaye?"Final answer? Sure?"Here we go then. This is not a diary, at least I hope not. I can't even warn you about what you may find here because I don't even know myself.Small head, many thoughts...One year, one-hundred-and-something posts, 6000 or so visitors (poor souls), and yet I still

Cyberswaminoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20883751.post-8649942756813070902007-01-08T23:55:00.000+05:302007-01-12T09:23:08.899+05:30

A most eventful month. Since I wrote last, I've spent two weeks listening to company presentations on campus, one week in Bangalore, three days of which was spent touring nearby places in an over-filled Qualis, another week in Bombay spitting distance from the sea, and through it all agonising agonisingly over my future and where it lies.About the travel, many a tale waits to be told. "I hope I

Cyberswaminoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20883751.post-82479879031248739982006-12-06T14:55:00.000+05:302008-08-30T10:50:49.928+05:30

It’s a cold winter’s night. The novelty of snow has long since passed, and now it’s just cold and wet. Clad in a misshapen but extremely warm brown jacket, wearing an oversized blue hat, shivering as he tries to bury his hands further in his pockets, he stands outside a computer lab where he has spent the last few hours, deep at work.It’s late. It’s very late. Past midnight. The library has

Cyberswaminoreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20883751.post-58835096417322197232006-11-07T22:24:00.000+05:302008-08-30T10:52:23.667+05:30

The street bears no relief,When everybody's fighting.The street bears no relief,With lights so hot and binding.I run the stairs away,And walk into the night time.The sadness flows like water,And washes down the heartache.My heart is fullMy heart is wideThe saddest song to play,On the strings of my heart.The heat is on its own,The roof seems so inviting.A vantage point is gained,To watch the

Cyberswaminoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20883751.post-61807043890983543012006-10-29T21:13:00.000+05:302007-05-02T18:30:47.751+05:30

If you're still reading this blog, I'm afraid this is going to be it, for a bit. Maybe for more than a bit. I don't know. I'm prone to changing my mind.I'm stuck at home, with no prospect of leaving, for the next month. I have my third semester exams in November, and as usual they expand to fill up the whole month. The actual examination period is about 12 days long, but they give you two weeks

Cyberswaminoreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20883751.post-45409792598288783752006-10-25T09:46:00.000+05:302008-08-30T11:00:53.478+05:30

I was reading her blog the other day, a couple of posts on Iran and North Korea, when in her usual way she raised a thousand questions in my head.Why are terrorists sometimes called freedom fighters, and vice versa? Why are some political classifications of good and bad easier to make than others? Why are some regimes more likely to be called evil, and others more likely not to be? Who sets the

Cyberswaminoreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20883751.post-66205045573597574232006-10-18T21:54:00.000+05:302008-08-30T11:04:07.086+05:30

The cricket is back.The ICC, in its infinite wisdom, has decided to show us six months in advance what we might expect to see in the World Cup. I don't mind - the prospect of coming home from university each day only to settle down in front of the TV and watch match after meaningless match is something I have sorely missed in the past.Especially while I was at McGill, there was no cricket to be

Cyberswaminoreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20883751.post-54327183768400768342006-10-16T13:08:00.000+05:302006-10-16T14:17:45.122+05:30

It appears as though I need to practice some more. It seems the aura that I try and create around me that says 'don't tag me or else suffer disastrous consequences' doesn't extend to far-off places. Meaning, of course, that I have been tagged again. I have to list the ten songs most played by my music player. I'm going to allow myself a little license though, because in all likelihood the ten

Cyberswaminoreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20883751.post-62276727151690522612006-10-14T11:29:00.000+05:302008-08-30T11:06:11.808+05:30

A long 100 mile journey, in which Fiddy found himself alternatively walking, riding, and hitching a ride with passing trucks, brought him to the edge of town on a hot Saturday afternoon, with the sun at a blazing 98 degrees, reminding him of that fateful day in '85 when he found himself similarly situated opposite a tall hulking man wielding a gun and threatening violence, except that this time

Cyberswaminoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20883751.post-89714569211978935322006-10-04T20:02:00.000+05:302008-08-30T11:04:07.092+05:30

This is the 100th post on this blog. Unimaginable, ten months ago. Yesterday.We had spent an hour talking about the influence of society on economics and vice versa. For example, how the 'modern' foundations of economic theory, based on free markets and perfectly competitive frameworks, are themselves a result of an ideology stemming from the Cold War. How, in the clash of societal wills in the '

Cyberswaminoreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20883751.post-69609527364706188352006-10-02T12:02:00.000+05:302006-10-02T12:05:06.050+05:30

I'm sitting around at home doing virtually nothing, so when my dad tells me that he's going to Jaipur for a couple of days, would I like to come along, I jump at the chance. We're driving down, and in order to get there by about 11 a.m. we have to leave pretty early in the morning.There can be quite a lot of traffic even at 7 a.m. Most of the vehicles on the road are long-haul trucks, plodding

Cyberswaminoreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20883751.post-16445757397360372006-09-27T19:31:00.000+05:302008-08-30T11:04:07.088+05:30

(Caution: Long overdue and as much promised, this is a reconstruction, embellishment, amalgamation and mild distortion of various things that people have said at school debates in the years gone by. Take literally at your own, er, pareil.)*****A very good morning to all of you all here today. Welcome to the Open Debate on Inarticulation. I, Cyberswami, is here to chair the open house debate this

Cyberswaminoreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20883751.post-1158858112219867102006-09-21T23:12:00.000+05:302008-08-30T11:00:53.480+05:30

It's a tough time to be young, isn't it? It seems like school-going and college-going kids in India these days are forever in the news for one reason or another. Sometimes it is because student politics has become more competitive, violent and, well, political. Sometimes it is because some kids have dropped out of school to start a rock band that, well, rocks.Or it could be that a couple of kids

Cyberswaminoreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20883751.post-1158406043660980282006-09-16T16:51:00.000+05:302008-08-30T10:50:49.929+05:30

I think some of you might have been wondering why I’ve been away so long. Wait, don’t go away I’m not about to start going on about my midterms again, this is about something else this time. Warning: this is a very long post and it's not very much of a fun read. Well, exams were the reason I was away, coupled with the fact that I haven't had regular access to internet in the last month or so, but

Cyberswaminoreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20883751.post-1157821801013408462006-09-09T22:15:00.000+05:302008-08-30T11:07:00.174+05:30

Hello. After an exceptionally gruelling round of particularly nasty mid-semester exams, I am back. Results? Topped one skipped one nailed one (nearly) failed one.(I like how the nearly can be used with either side. Since I don't have my marks yet, it could be either way, you see. Or both.)For anybody who has been trying to get in touch with me and anxiously checks this blog everyday for a new

Cyberswaminoreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20883751.post-1155739437254012392006-08-16T21:40:00.000+05:302008-08-30T10:54:18.076+05:30

9 p.m. A battle is about to be fought. And won. A little give and a little take is what it takes for them to give and me to take.It's the sort of day where they turn into a quieter, overtly peaceful but covertly deadly, version of unruly mobs. The feeling of intent is the same. You can cut the radiated aggression with a knife. They pace around menacingly looking for a fight. They're waiting to

Cyberswaminoreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20883751.post-1155375912654603612006-08-12T14:37:00.000+05:302008-08-30T11:00:53.481+05:30

Why on earth is this idea of species changing and becoming something else so fascinating? I find myself talking about it in post after post, so I thought it's finally time to sit and write a long one devoted to it. Read at your own boredom.I'm not about to get into any Darwinian details, I think. Him and Mendel o'PeaPlant have been consigned to the backwaters of my memory thanks to class seven

Cyberswaminoreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20883751.post-1155107285273318002006-08-09T12:29:00.000+05:302008-08-30T10:47:37.551+05:30

All right.I want to know, first of all, whether there is some sort of Blog Shiv Sena or something out there. I'm not talking about the whole shutdown episode with the government last month. That was just stupid. I mean some kind of internal monitoring that goes around reading blogs and checking up on whether you're writing or not and throwing bricks and other heavy objects at you if you don't.

Cyberswaminoreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20883751.post-1154087168373425342006-07-28T15:59:00.000+05:302008-08-30T10:50:49.930+05:30

One of the more remarkable tools that we as humans have at our disposal is the concept of philosophy.I'm not talking about the libraries of books that are available on the subject, nor necessarily the points of view of any of the people in our history that we like to call philosophers. I mean, instead, the fundamental capacity that we have as individuals to be able to think about what is

Cyberswaminoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20883751.post-1153548407147465622006-07-22T11:25:00.000+05:302006-07-22T11:36:47.616+05:30

And, if you've persevered through all this terrible writing, here's the last part of the story. I hope you haven't died, and that you will be back when I resume normal (or what passes as normal) posting. I had fun writing it, all those years ago, although admittedly I had less fun reading it when I found it recently. Silly nonsense.If you're one of the characters in this story and are reading

Cyberswaminoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20883751.post-1153494425929688872006-07-21T20:29:00.000+05:302006-07-21T20:51:06.373+05:30

The third instalment of this asinine tale. Only one more to go after this, so hang in there. Chapter SixMeanwhile, on the other side of the world, another woman found herself beset with her own problems.Rumaal the Hankymaker, having just completed an extraordinary solo version of all the world’s most famous plays, had finally run out of inspiration. Acting was in her blood, but she had exhausted

Cyberswaminoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20883751.post-1153396572502760212006-07-20T17:20:00.000+05:302006-07-21T20:40:16.490+05:30

I'm afraid, folks, that this set is even worse than the last one. I'm reconsidering this whole 'post the story' idea.Heck, I'm almost halfway through. Put up with it. I like chapter four anyway.Oh, if you're new to this nonsense, you might want to read the earlier few chapters in the previous post first. Chapter ThreeEye-Lam the Eyesore is one of those personalities in history that make you

Cyberswaminoreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20883751.post-1153328453346608932006-07-19T22:20:00.000+05:302006-10-25T12:01:36.061+05:30

One summer, a few years ago, stuck in the heat of Delhi, I thought of a way to poke some fun at a few friends of mine at McGill. I thought I'd write a little story, spinning each of them in sideways as characters and enjoying myself thoroughly at their expense in the process.What started off as a little story soon went completely out of control, ending eventually with a word length of almost

Cyberswaminoreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20883751.post-1152560126985898922006-07-10T20:36:00.000+05:302008-08-30T10:50:49.930+05:30

There are several things that happen during childhood that seem utterly momentous and world-changing when they do.You could be eight years old and be given the toy that you have been begging your parents for days to get you, and find that within two days your little rowdy cousin has broken it to pieces, and feel utterly miserable for weeks about it, especially since your parents blame you for

Cyberswaminoreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20883751.post-1152221172866804782006-07-06T23:25:00.000+05:302006-07-07T05:32:58.066+05:30

The most eventful couple of days of the trip thus far.Yesterday, in the morning, we went to a Ritu Beri fashion show at a place called Lido. It is supposed to be a well-known fancy-place. I'm not very much into these things, and the little that I am is due solely to certain Middle Eastern influences on me while I used to be in Montreal. Those whom I am talking about can take a moment to grin

Cyberswaminoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20883751.post-1152052764622712212006-07-04T22:47:00.000+05:302006-07-05T05:03:50.113+05:30

Okay, so being the unfit slug that I am, all the exertion yesterday left me Washing Machined (I know at least one person who will get this reference, the rest may ask me politely), so I didn't do much today.Except for watching the Germany - Italy semifinal, that is. At the risk of angering all the shallow superficial girls who read this blog, I must say I was hoping Germany would win, but alas.

Cyberswaminoreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20883751.post-1151954878409151062006-07-03T23:48:00.000+05:302006-07-05T05:03:25.696+05:30

Sitting in the train from London's Waterloo station to Paris's Gare du Nord, staring out of the window trying to keep my eyes open after a long gruelling flight-walk-tube-hike-trek-climb through the heart of London, I cannot help but notice how smooth the train journey has been. I have even had the luxury of a two hour nap, during which time we presumably travelled under the Channel. We must have

Cyberswaminoreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20883751.post-1150742583368066532006-06-20T00:11:00.000+05:302008-08-30T10:50:49.931+05:30

When I was a much younger I came across a movie. I hadn't heard anything about it and didn't really know what to expect, really. Nor had I heard of anything else by the director. But none of that mattered as at that point I was in the mood to watch a movie and this one had an attractive cover and I was all young and excitable, you know?It started off really well, believe me. It had a gripping

Cyberswaminoreply@blogger.com17tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20883751.post-1150097487732140192006-06-12T12:58:00.000+05:302008-08-30T10:50:49.933+05:30

I guess I should mention that this is a rough continuation of the last post. So there I was, stuck in a different country, in a place where they spoke a different language, where I knew only two chaps - one of whom only vaguely, and registered in a number of (mostly) maths courses with not your ideal set of classmates. The troubles of finding a place to live, or even managing to live in the place

Cyberswaminoreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20883751.post-1149923876233945472006-06-10T11:45:00.000+05:302008-08-30T10:50:49.934+05:30

I'm going to Montreal. For two weeks. It is just over a year since I graduated from McGill, and I'm already going back to visit.Well, I guess it is better to visit soon after you graduate rather than a few years later. After all, in a few years there will be nobody left there that I know, and what would be the point of going there then?And that is the heart of it. Those three years were, to put

Cyberswaminoreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20883751.post-1149509206832869192006-06-05T23:53:00.000+05:302008-08-30T10:48:00.968+05:30

Dhappa! I have just been tagged.Okay, so I didn't know what tagging was, until now. I've seen this sort of post on various blogs, but I assumed it was just a way to fill up blogspace when there's nothing else to write about. You know, the usual Ten Things I'd Like To Do While On Holiday But Can't Because I'll Never Be, or the other popular one - 150 Things I Do To Myself At Work When Nobody's

Cyberswaminoreply@blogger.com23tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20883751.post-1149408284263861912006-06-04T13:30:00.000+05:302008-08-30T11:06:11.810+05:30

I apologise in advance for the silliness of this, but my brain has been addled early on a Sunday morning by a GameBoy and the Ghost of Nonsense Past (Blog Posts Division).For any Dire Straits fans, it is much like the ExtenDancePlay EP released after the Love Over Gold album. Same sort of breaking of shackles resulting in pure, carefree crap. Anyway. *There I am, tired but proud. It has been a

Cyberswaminoreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20883751.post-1149271932231415522006-06-03T00:02:00.000+05:302006-06-03T00:05:38.710+05:30

Numbers have fascinated us since we came down from the trees. Ever since we stumbled upon one, two, three, tripped ourselves on zero, fell flat on our backs over negative numbers, and got positively bruised by complex ones, we have been making our world more and more mathematically intricate.They do have their uses. The science that uses these concepts works tirelessly to make engines run,

Cyberswaminoreply@blogger.com24tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20883751.post-1149058376536715622006-05-31T11:26:00.000+05:302008-08-30T11:04:07.090+05:30

Remember Lallu? Well, he's back. Married. Wedded. Land-locked. Looking particularly miserable.He hasn't spoken yet. At least, he hasn't said anything that hasn't consisted of "Sir, lunch ke liye kya laaoon?" or "Sir, chai banaoon?" That is to say, should I bring lunch? Should I make tea?Now I'm trying to remember if he was always like this. As befitted his lowly office status, poor fellow, he

Cyberswaminoreply@blogger.com17tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20883751.post-1148888005452593022006-05-29T13:02:00.000+05:302008-08-30T10:54:26.211+05:30

While we seem to be on the subject on guitar playing, I have an old clip that might be of interest. It is the one I mention here. UPDATE (May 30, 08:00): I think it wasn't working earlier. There was some problem with the settings. It should work now.Again, it will take a century to load. Or maybe that's just my internet connection.

Cyberswaminoreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20883751.post-1148633141293275902006-05-26T14:08:00.002+05:302008-08-30T10:54:26.212+05:30

Remember what I said and said again?I tried it. Have a listen. It takes a while to load, but it works. If it doesn't, or if it takes too long, leave it. It is a terrible recording, but then recording audio on a camera is never a very good idea. It is a terrible rendition, but then it is I, Michele of the Resistance, not Stephen Graham or David.I like it though. Maybe I'll try some others.

Cyberswaminoreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20883751.post-1148375408132855962006-05-23T14:09:00.001+05:302008-08-30T11:04:07.092+05:30

I went for a jog yesterday. My colony has a perimeter road that is almost like a racetrack and it is almost exactly one kilometre long, so it is perfect.But that's the only nice thing about the whole episode. The road. That's how bad things were.On Sunday, a few hours before my mum is to leave for some conference, we are all sitting around in my parents' bedroom and talking about this and that,

Cyberswaminoreply@blogger.com20tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20883751.post-1148192221649175662006-05-21T11:03:00.000+05:302008-08-30T10:37:20.840+05:30

Camponotus was a happy ant. Rising with the early west wind, some time before the large bright object appeared in the sky, she would go about her business, pausing only to service her bodily needs (at both ends), and stopping many hours later only when the light west wind finally drew its last breath.These large intervals that some of her friends called 'days', were filled with a routine that

Cyberswaminoreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20883751.post-1147938833860801622006-05-18T13:18:00.000+05:302008-08-30T11:06:11.811+05:30

Hooray!Barcelona Two Arse Nil (One, but you know what I mean).Rubs English faces in good old Spanish dirt. First Seville in the Cup, and now Barca in the League.How utterly satisfactory.

Cyberswaminoreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20883751.post-1147864558294733592006-05-17T15:21:00.000+05:302008-08-30T11:04:07.084+05:30

I am in bed at night, watching the Family Guy episode where Peter convinces some people that he is God, when a thought strikes me: Being popular isn't so much about being cool as it is about making other people feel cool.Deep, eh?But I am warning you the rest of the post is utterly unrelated. Don't complain to me afterwards. I only mention it here because it is a really cool thought.Anyway.Cut

Cyberswaminoreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20883751.post-1147502820880558812006-05-13T11:47:00.000+05:302008-08-30T10:46:12.833+05:30

I got Pearl Jam's new album yesterday. It is simply called Pearl Jam. Rather unlike them not to think of something more substantial. I mean, they came up with something as strange as Binaural, didn't they?So what do I think of it? I've only heard the whole thing once, but my first impressions are that this album is similar to Riot Act, their last one. At least, it is more like Riot Act than it is

Cyberswaminoreply@blogger.com21tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20883751.post-1147327698258036972006-05-11T11:29:00.000+05:302008-08-30T11:04:07.087+05:30

There's nothing like the idea of impending sex to reduce a man to a quivering wreck.Well, that's not entirely true. There's also marriage. And when they come together, well, that's a matter for the gods and supermen.The office assistant (a person, not the stupid Microsoft animation) at the place where I'm doing an internship is about to get married. His wedding is next week and he left for his

Cyberswaminoreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20883751.post-1147081878958996522006-05-08T15:20:00.000+05:302008-08-30T11:00:53.482+05:30

Ever since the Congress's utterly unforeseen win in the 2004 general elections in India, there has been a form of debate, shelved for a while, that has reemerged. On the basis of a number of criteria: ideology, appeal, credibility, performance, and so on, is the Congress or the BJP better suited to rule India? Like I said this isn't a new question, and nor is there any shortage of answers. But in

Cyberswaminoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20883751.post-1146567693562632552006-05-02T15:43:00.000+05:302006-05-03T18:20:59.463+05:30

Every news service you care to examine is filled with reports on Iran's nuclear programme. You know, for example, that they have successfully enriched uranium (though not yet to a weapons-grade).But nobody says how it works. Understandable, because although it ain't no rocket science, it be quantum physics. So, after a very wee bit of hesitation, I will now attempt my own exposition on the theory

Cyberswaminoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20883751.post-1145199823501107072006-04-16T20:16:00.000+05:302008-08-30T11:04:17.556+05:30

Okay so I was doing my thing the other day, while reading one of Mad Magazine's bathroom supplements, (a super thick copy of Mad, basically) when I came across one of their 'stories' on Moses...Moses as a child, told to eat soup so he could see the bottom of his bowl, parts the soup away instead of eating it.Moses as a slightly older boy taking his bath with his mother shouting instructions on

Cyberswaminoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20883751.post-1144914872988926282006-04-13T12:47:00.000+05:302008-08-30T11:00:53.483+05:30

Funny how lately the mind has turned to the idea of work and careers and all that. I suppose it is partly because I've been submerged in exams and studying, and as an escape I've been thinking about the alternatives... It is also partly because there was a recent wedding in the family and the only things that people you haven't met in ages feel it fit to ask you is (a) what are you doing now and

Cyberswaminoreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20883751.post-1143727715505433092006-03-30T19:17:00.000+05:302006-05-03T18:29:22.960+05:30

A couple of days ago was the farewell ceremony, for the want of a better word, of the director of my old school...Yes, director. She used to be a mere principal, but the school expanded so much (two branches, and one of them further split into two) that the term 'principal' simply refused to apply.She ran the school for many successful years. She joined when there was only one school (one half of

Cyberswaminoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20883751.post-1142313796597528752006-03-14T10:04:00.000+05:302008-08-30T11:00:53.483+05:30

Until I was about fourteen years old, the only time Pakistan figured in my consciousness was when they were playing a cricket match... I used to support the Pakistan team vociferously, to the point where it would irritate people around me. Mock cricket matches that we used to play in the colony would find me being a Waqar Younis or a Wasim Akram if it was time to bowl, or Saeed Anwar if it was

Cyberswaminoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20883751.post-1141835956285017782006-03-08T21:54:00.000+05:302006-05-03T18:31:07.636+05:30

These are photos I took on Gerard St in Toronto a long time ago. That's where you can find all the Indian restaurants, such as the one advertised on the right (which has existed for about 30 years. I think they're not quite sure themselves. Sort of mysteriously came into being, I suppose.)There are also various shops that cater to the 'Indian taste' - you can buy all kinds of things that you

Cyberswaminoreply@blogger.com27tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20883751.post-1141742158038909742006-03-07T19:25:00.000+05:302008-08-30T11:00:53.485+05:30

Why do Indians go to the West and do well for themselves? Not all do, but why is it maintained as a generalisation? The most commonly used explanation is that you simply can't find good jobs in India. There aren't enough opportunities in the existing spheres, and there aren't enough spheres to begin with. The West, on the other hand, is teeming with potential job opportunities, especially those

Cyberswaminoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20883751.post-1140977111163205252006-02-26T23:32:00.000+05:302008-08-30T10:59:14.422+05:30

If you are, or recently have been, a student, you will have come across this debate at some point or the other. Is it preferable to have an assessment system that grades you on the basis of regular performance (many small tests, assignments etc. each of not too much weightage) or one that judges you on your performance in a limited number of examinations or submissions of a greater weightage?

Cyberswaminoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20883751.post-1140687335173180862006-02-23T14:53:00.000+05:302008-08-30T10:59:14.423+05:30

The weekly cartoon in the latest Economist (February 18) shows a large, angry, determined-looking mob in the background waving placards saying 'stop' or 'no!' and so on, waving their hands and looking awfully upset. Their ire is directed at a small group of what look like Islamic clerics in the foreground. With these clerics also stands Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the Iranian president. The clerics hold

Cyberswaminoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20883751.post-1140517207475492142006-02-21T15:45:00.000+05:302006-05-03T18:32:57.043+05:30

Thoughts grow old and tired, but memories are here againThe odds get even higher, and even the spares have been changedThe weight is all inside, though the wait is all in painThe puppets have all died and their shadows are all that remain Till the days that we tryThere’ll be no replyI sit here getting highBut it makes no difference tonightThe hours spent awake are but minutes spent apartThe days

Cyberswaminoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20883751.post-1140460631846979902006-02-20T23:51:00.000+05:302008-08-30T10:59:14.423+05:30

What on earth is going on?David Irving, a British historian, has been sentenced to jail in Vienna for expressing an opinion. Okay, it's a mighty controversial opinion to express, and if you're a famous fellow then you should watch what you say, and people might take you more seriously given that you're a historian, and famous, but in the end its an opinion. And he's been jailed for it. So what

Cyberswaminoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20883751.post-1140442307345047952006-02-20T19:00:00.000+05:302008-08-30T10:52:23.668+05:30

All Saints - Pure Shores The REAL Mel B, no doubt. She's gorgeous. Song's not bad either.They're reuniting, it seems. Hooray! Here's to more passable songs and beautiful, heavenly videos.

Cyberswaminoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20883751.post-1140366518107534302006-02-19T21:37:00.000+05:302008-08-30T11:06:11.812+05:30

Back with this recurring thingie after a while. I went through two weeks of listening to virtually no music. None in my ears, and none in my head.You know, it feels really weird not to have a song floating around in your head at any given point? I find myself with accompaniment at most times. It's almost as though when the brain goes into autopilot it flicks a switch, dims the lighting, pours a

Cyberswaminoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20883751.post-1140362659650746152006-02-19T20:23:00.000+05:302008-08-30T10:59:14.424+05:30

There are only four genuinely bearable months of the year in Delhi, and that too is pushing it. But forget that, think of them as two periods - October-November and February-March.The rest of the year is largely horrid, for one reason or another. Any fun time you recollect from any other time of year ends with 'we were crazy to be out in that heat' or 'our fingers were falling off from cold' or '

Cyberswaminoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20883751.post-1140242547452371602006-02-18T11:21:00.000+05:302006-05-03T18:35:51.750+05:30

Normally D-School has functions only of the academic variety. All you get to see usually are seminars and conferences and tutorials and extra classes.Not yesterday. Yesterday was D-School Nite. The event that everybody supposedly waits for all year long. And when you attend it, you see why, although not for the reason you expect beforehand... The event itself isn't dramatic. It is held for the

Cyberswaminoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20883751.post-1140240232046899952006-02-18T10:29:00.000+05:302008-08-30T11:00:53.486+05:30

I was in an auto yesterday, coming back home from the metro station. It was late evening so there weren't too many around - a clear sign that the price i'll have to end up paying will be correspondingly higher... After a couple of drivers refused to take me, and after I refused a couple myself, I finally caught one. The man asked for some high (but not unreasonable) fare, and I obligingly

Cyberswaminoreply@blogger.com0