Month: May 2014

Categories
Overdose

How about you Google your brain?

Most of us need to scan the contents of our brains. How about we use Google to help us out?
Jatin Sharmaby Jatin Sharma | @jatiin_sharma on Twitter

Looking for an ideal spot for a mini-vacation? Let’s go to Google.
Looking for some info on a celebrity? Let’s go to Google.
Looking for some dope on history? Oh yes, let’s go to Google.

Our obsession with this search engine is a strong one. No matter what, we are always ready to appeal to it for help with just a click of our mouse. Of course, there is no harm in easing your pain and looking for information that comes by so easily, and on a million topics (and counting). But have we considered that with all our click-happy search behaviour, we have actually switched off our brains?

Think about it. In the pre-Google days, we had to find our information from each other, from books and from information sources like dictionaries and encyclopaedias. When we were young, if we were set out-of-syllabus class projects, we normally turned to our school and college libraries, or to parents and teachers for help. There was simply no option, especially in fields like journalism and research, to track information to its source – and these sources were persons and libraries, most of the time.

And now, with Google, all of us know everything at once. Or, so we think.

It scares me to think that we actually believe that whatever we need is on the Internet, and so it shocks us on the rare occasions when whatever we’re looking for throws up no Using your brainsearches on Google. What’s more, we think that all the information on the Internet is reliable and can be used without cross-checks. Even worse, we are passing on these habits to our children, whose primary source of information on most things are TV and the Internet.

I can already see that our excessive reliance on gadgets and the Great Big Internet World is slowly killing our ability to think, process and analyse information. Research proves that human evolution is a result of our adaptability, and all the things that the human body stops using stops developing further. This means that we may be actively contributing to the shrinking of our own brains.

We’ve become so lazy with our brains, we don’t entrust it with remembering anything. We have online calenders to remind us of people’s birthdays or our own milestones. If we want to learn how to make a presentation, we don’t learn about it from an expert, we just copy a likely-looking project from the Internet and put in our own words and images (which are also sourced from the Internet). School children these days are not burning the midnight oil to complete their projects – they are heading to Google to copy and paste somebody else’s efforts.

And we don’t feel any remorse, either over our brainless behaviour or our blatant copying of information, and using it elsewhere.

Even as I write this, all the knowledge we need is being turned in to sevearl MBs and GBs on crores of servers in the world. None of it is inside your head, but inside your computer or smartphone. And while on the subject of phones, the next time you lose your phone, do try looking for it on Google. If you find it, you can put the information on the Internet for others to use. If you don’t, you can come and tell me all about it.

Jatin Sharma is a media professional who doesn’t want to grow up, because if he grows up, he will be like everybody else. ‘Overdose’ is his weekly take on Mumbai’s quirks and quibbles.

(Pictures courtesy science.howstuffworks.com, www.comediva.com)

Categories
Watch

Watch: ‘Outsider’, a play in Hindi

Today, ‘Outsider’ plays as part of NCPA’s Hindi play festival, at 7 pm. The festival concludes tomorrow. Don’t miss it.
by The Editors | editor@themetrognome.in

Vacation time is ideal for movies and plays. If you’re free today, you might want to check out the Hindi play Outsider, as part of the NCPA’s Ananda Hindi Natya Utsav.

Based on L’Etranger by Albert Camus, the play is about M, a free man who gets involved in a violent murder. As his story unfolds, we see the journey of a man as he struggles against an indifferent world. A stranger on the beach picks up a stranded shell and hears in it the secrets of the ocean. He is returning home after 20 years, remembering along the way all the secrets he uncovered that were hidden away in those grains of sand. Two stories and two lives that flow in and out of each other to represent that one life is good as another, is the basis of this play.

Written and directed by Gouri Dutt, the play stars Kumud Mishra, Ujjawal Chopra, Narottam Bain, Dilshaad Edibum Khurana, Jaihind Kumar and Ghanshyam Lalsa.

In 2011, the NCPA created and hosted its first-ever Hindi theatre festival NCPA Ananda Hindi Natya Utsav. The festival, held in May every year, showcases original Hindi plays that have strong literary roots. Ananda means happiness or pleasure.

Further, Ananda Hindi Natya Utsav presents a small selection of Mumbai’s Hindi theatre at its most joyous and original best. Mumbai groups such as IPTA, Ank, Ekjute and Yatri have performed, along with new and budding companies, in previous editions.

For more information and booking, look up the NCPA Mumbai page.

(Picture courtesy ncpamumbai.com)

Categories
Enough said

Being a Muslim in today’s times

A book on Muslims in South Asia and an attack on a Muslim woman bring burning issues to the fore.
Humra Quraishiby Humra Quraishi

New Delhi is currently the stage for several heated political debates, even as the summer rages on. Unlike the elections of yesteryears, however, there are less intellectual discussions on parties and their politics, and more debate along two extremes – either you are Right Wing or you are not!

This week I attended the launch of Being A Muslim In South Asia, a new book launched by the Vice President of India, Hamid Ansari. The volume, edited by Robin Jeffrey and Ronojoy Sen, published by Oxford University Press, focusses on the Muslims of the subcontinent – the 500 million Muslims who live in Pakistan, India, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka, and who constitute roughly one-third of the world’s Muslims.

The book takes a look at the everyday lives and aspirations, also the challenges and struggles that Muslims face. There is a look at routine aspects of daily life, to a focus on stark ground realities. I quote this line from the book, “Too often in recent years, they have been unfairly associated with terrorism, as anyone with a Muslim name who has passed through a Western airport will attest.”

Speaking at the launch was the well-known historian, Professor Mushirul Hasan (in pic on right), who spoke of the present-day political realities that Indian Muslims face, and the possible dangers Mushiral Hasanthat could abound in case a Right Wing-backed Government takes centrestage. He spoke about some of those apprehensions and fears that the minority community of the country is experiencing and could face in the coming months, as the winds of change sweep the politics of the country…

Last Monday, on the afternoon of April 28, the well-known activist Shabnam Hashmi and her team were attacked in Rae Bareli when they were distributing leaflets brought out by JAVAB (Janvadi Vichar Andolan Bharat), barely 100 metres from the Gadaganj Police station. Shabnam and her associates were attacked by a gang of about 20 hoodlums who snatched all the leaflets and abused Shabnam in the most foul and sexist terms.

At the police station, Shabnam had to argue with the SHO, telling him that nobody can be stopped from exercising their right to free expression and that he had to file an FIR against the attack on her and the threats of rape and sexist abuses. The SHO did not register an FIR and did not give her a copy of her complaint.

And this is what happens every day in the country!

Humra Quraishi is a senior political journalist based in Gurgaon. She is the author of Kashmir: An Untold Story and co-author of Simply Khushwant.

(Pictures courtesy www.pakistankakhudahafiz.com and www.rina.in)

Categories
Event

Eight weeks of eating right

PD Hinduja Hospital will organise a free ‘Mindful Eating’ seminar from May 6, to introduce Mumbai to innovative eating approaches.
by The Editors | editor@themetrognome.in

We all want to eat the right things and follow a diet that suits us, but where does one get reliable information from? For starters, PD Hinduja Hospital is happy to help.

Dr Roshani SanghaniThe Hospital will organise a free mindful eating seminar in its premises on May 6, 2014. The workshop will give an insight into the 8-week ‘Mindful Eating’ workshop being launched by PD Hinduja Hospital headed by Dr Roshani Sanghani (in pic on left), Consultant Endocrinologist. “The workshop will introduce you to an innovative eating approach through interaction with a compassionate facilitator, and the motivation and support of a group that faces the same challenges as you. The difference between this approach and conventional ‘diet’ approaches is that this approach helps you get in touch with your own body’s wisdom and helps you manage your eating over the long term from the inside out, rather than following ‘diet rules’ coming from the outside, which is difficult to sustain long-term,” explains Dr Sanghani.

To register and know more details about the workshop, call +91-9757262570/022-2444 7167, or email faculty@hindujahospital.com.

(Pictures courtesy standingsittinglying.wordpress.com and PD Hinduja Hospital)

Categories
Beauty

Why you need to switch to organic skincare

Opting for eco-friendly and chemical-free skin products will do you a world of good. Start by using these products today.

Taking the eco-friendly path has become more or less the ‘in’ thing. Nonetheless, when it comes to a skincare routine, organic beauty products are the hot new trend. When it comes to skin, there are a whole stack of reasons as to why organic skincare products are something that you should opt for.

We list a few reasons that will tell you why you need to opt for organic skin care:

Scientifically proved healthy. Expert researchers in the field of skincare hold the theory that your skin absorbs 60 per cent of anything you apply. This means using synthetic cosmetic products will have your skin soak in all the chemicals that could lead to an allergic reaction.

Assures a natural approach. People with sensitive skin find it difficult to adjust to any and every skincare product. That’s when organic products come into the picture, as they are known to be much gentler when compared to the host of conventional products available in the market.

organic skincare productsOffers skin solutions. Another benefit of making the switch to organic products is that they offer skin solutions that no artificially-manufactured product can compete with. They have been recognised to nourish your skin, fight the signs of aging, and give a natural glow at the same time.

Easily available online. The organic skincare sect is gaining momentum slowly yet steadily; however, you could get your hands on some of the best natural bathing soaps, organic body wash gels, and organic moisturising creams online.

Know more, do more. When making the switch to organic skincare line, be sure to learn enough about some of the ingredients that are good for your skin. To give you a head start, opt for products that are gluten-free, vegan and 100 per cent organic.

Each one of us wants to protect our body from harmful ingredients; therefore, it is important to get into the habit of reading product labels. The innumerable brands available in the market make it difficult to choose a particular variety. However, whatever brand you pick, make it a point to treat your skin with the best organic products available. Buy an organic moisturizing cream to ensure your skin stays in harmony with the nature.

Always remember, being proactive rather than reactive is a better choice, especially when it comes to caring for your skin. Go organic for a beautiful you!

(Pictures courtesy www.bizcrowd.com, www.wellbeing.com.au)

Categories
Bombay, bas

How summer has changed!

The vacations of our childhood were very different from those of our children today. All that remains is fond nostalgia.
Pooja Birwatkarby Dr Pooja Birwatkar

‘Summer holidays’. The term itself makes most of us nostalgic. There is a lazy tone that attaches itself to the term even as we speak of it. You tend to go back in time and see old memories flash in front of your eyes.

The summers of my childhood were pretty special. Summers were like a king in shining armour, saving us from the monster named ‘school’. ‘Do nothing’ was the mantra we followed in the holidays. Lazy afternoons were spent playing ghar ghar or board games. Summers also meant the advent of the divine frut – mango. Sure, there were water melons, jamun and sugarcane, but none could ever threaten the supremacy the king of fruits enjoyed.

There was a peculiar method to eating mangoes at our household, as I’m sure there was in yours. One, mangoes would be served Eating mangoes in summeronly after lunch. Two, we had to wear minimal clothing before we ate them. Three, we had to eat them sitting on the floor 🙂 

The once-a-year affair with Rooh Afza would begin. Who can forget the rose-flavoured cold milk shakes that replaced the routine hot glass of milk, or the ice candies we used to make of it?  The house would burst with relatives and friends or we would go to nani’s or dadi’s house, while a privileged few would go to hill stations for the holidays. There were no evening curfews to interrupt our playing sessions. We learnt most things like cycling, swimming, craft, needle work and other creative things in the most playful manner as the days wore on.

Those of us who have lived outside Mumbai would surely remember the times they’ve splashed water on the hot verandas to cool them down. The slight dip in temperature as the water evaporated from the hot ground was a feeling that words simply cannot describe. Filling water in air coolers and earthen pots were duties we were given, and we did them with the utmost sincerity.

From amongst the aromas of summer, my favourite one is that of the achaars that were made. Stealing the kachcha aam  meant for achaar and eating with salt was a joy that justified the guilt of stealing. Another memory of summers is that of the electricity going away for most part of the day, and people fanning themselves with handmade fans. And oh the joy, when the lights would come back on and the fan would dry the sweat from our bodies!

children play in water in the summerAnd of course, the last day of summer vacations would suddenly remind us of untouched homework, which we would try to complete (unsuccessfully) in one day.

But the summers I see now are way different from those of my childhood. Summers in Mumbai start with the sighting of alphonso mangoes at traffic signals. We still begin our summers with this fruit, but now the cost of the fruit has resulted in us rationing it. And children here don’t have the luxury of watering the lawn or playing with water pipes. Working parents make a beeline for summer activity camps to keep their children ‘occupied’, at a price. Children don’t drink Rooh Afza, but packaged juices and colas. Children are mostly indoors, in front of the television or playing games on their computers or cell phones. If relatives do come to stay, it is for a brief period, and most working parents can’t make the time to visit grandma’s.

I wish summers had retained their old charm and my children could experience what I have seen and enjoyed as a child. But with the passage of time, there has been a paradigm shift. We have to accept the changes that come and accommodate them. But still, some part of me still yearns for simpler times. 

I echo what Geroge RR Martin (of A Game of Thrones) says, “Summer will end soon enough, and childhood as well.” 

‘Bombay, bas’ is a weekly column on getting around Mumbai and exploring the city with a fresh perspective. 

(Pictures courtesy www.improvisedlife.com, www.annabellebreakey.com, plus.google.com)

Exit mobile version