Mob Psychology

On my way back home through the treacherous stretch between whitefield and old madras road, our company bus driver (apparently drunk!!!) in a surge of road rage deliberately dashed a two wheeler who had refused to give way. What followed was something which I will not forget.

Neither the biker nor the bike incurred any damage(Thank God for that). The biker was not a very aggressive guy and so did not create much of a ruckus. However, the passers-by slowly started gathering around the place and the biker started telling them what had happened. That was reason enough to provoke them beyond reason and the first thing they did was to pull out the ignition wires so that the bus wouldn't start. Then they start telling the driver to come out of the bus, very clearly, with the intention to thrash him to pulp. The driver stayed put in his seat, telling them that the road was slippery and thats how the bus skidded and hit the guy ( like he expected anyone to believe it). This only added fuel to the fire and the mob which gathered opened the drivers door and started hitting him. At this point one brave guy in the bus went in to just appease them and tell them not to hit the driver( Considering that all of us were just mute spectators, that was really very gutsy.) The poor chap unfortunately got one punch from one of them and was warned not to interfere. Then one of the guys comes in and tells us all to get out because they were going to burn the bus. Fortunately for us and much more for the driver, the cops arrive ( I guess the huge traffic pile up was an indicator). It took two traffic policemen and one cheetah cop to disperse the mob and save the driver from being lynched.

Question time:
Had the cops not arrived, this would've got ugly. But would anyone be held responsible? Since nothing had happened to the biker or his bike, was the action about to be undertaken in proportion to the severity of the cause? Even (God forbid again) if something did happen to the motorist, should the mob have taken the law into its own hands?

One common argument the people in the mob give is that the criminal will not be brought to justice by the judicial system. Does that mean that in the process of donning the garb of the dispenser of justice, these mobs can break the law and get away ?The judicial system is unbiased in its laziness. And mob fury knows no reason and understands no language other than violence. That is why I opine that mobs ought to be dealt with the only language they understand : violence; directed right back at them by the law enforcement agencies. That is why I believe that demonstrations and agitations should be non violent and non cooperative and have character. Thats probably what Gandhi had in mind. In spite of the fact that I abhor violence, I do not see any other viable solution to tame the fury of a mob.

I'm in love

With bon iver's music. So much soul. I'm gonna write and compose my own songs. Indie folk is my new mantra.

Justin Vernon

Bon Iver singing "Flume" from his album "For Emma forever ago".




Lyrics: I am my mother's only one I
t's enough
I wear my garment so it shows
Now you know
Only love is all maroon
Gluey feathers on a flume
Sky is womb and she's the moon
I am my mother on the wall,
with us all I move in water, shore to shore;
Nothing's more
Only love is all maroon
Lapping lakes like leary loons
Leaving rope burns --
Reddish ruse
Only love is all maroon
Gluey feathers on a flume
Sky is womb and she's the moon

The lyrics are quite cryptic. But I presume he uses mother nature as an allegory to represent the security a foetus or a baby finds in the womb or the arms of a mother. All this while he feels that he is lost.

So simple. So sublime.

CAT-woman

History is replete with articles indicating how difficult it is to win the affections of a woman. I'm going to add one more. Why do I think that cracking CAT is easier than cracking through that wall put up by women? Here are a few reasons

For women: I need to understand when a no means no and a no means "maybe if you try harder"... and there is no way for you to deduce it...you should just know when to stop, when to try harder or when not to try at all.
For CAT: No ambiguities.

For women: Need to be charming, witty, intelligent, have a good sense of humor, need to be tall (DAMN!!!!), need to be rich (not always, but it helps in many ways)
For CAT: You just need some common sense, which can be acquired with a little practice. You could crack it even if your sense of humour is as dry and shrivelled up as a dehydrated plum, even if your wit and charm merits the kind of attention cacophonyx gets for his singing. Intelligence....just a little but more importantly one needs some presence of mind.

For women: Need to remember dates, events, occurences which sometimes go back to the jurassic era. Many of them have no written record and thus left solely to their discretion on whether they're right or wrong, or whether they exist or not.
CAT: Need to remember what you studied in high school. That too only up until the exam gets over.

For women: The 'yes' or 'no ' seems to be pre determined. But you still have to go through the entire rigmarole before you let her know what you feel. Anything done before that simply disqualifies you.
For cat: Yes, you have to work hard. But the yes or no is not pre determined.

For Women: If a woman ( of your dreams) falls for you, man you're one lucky sonofabitch. I'm not lucky...and I find being lucky about as hard as growing tall or fat.
CAT: You don't have to be lucky to crack it.

So there you go. About the only common things needed are some intelligence and lots of hard work. But believe me, in case of women, its not as simple as it sounds. Lots of guys can vouch for that. And I find cracking CAT hard enough.

Devdas Johnny

Thats what I feel happened to Johnny. I never asked him why, with all his brilliance and with all the success he initally had, did he decide to remain unmarried and drown himself in slow poison. No one to talk to? Or no one to understand? I wish you could tell me now.

I am Hannibal Lecter

Thats what I thought while I was eating my masala dosa today. While tearing apart the dosa the potato bhaji appeared just as it would if you tear up the belly of a person. An I savoured the innards. Makes me sound yuck I know...

Wierd Dream

Uncle johnny expired years ago. However, one bright day, at the place where he was staying, I saw uncle johnny near the well. He was singing happily. All of a sudden, he falls into the well and I hear the glug glug sounds of a person drowning. I didn't go to save him because he was already dead years ago. Or should I have saved him?

Lost in the ocean

Dear me,
Preparation is not enough. I get the feeling that I have joined classes a tad too late. But I mustn't give up. Chodans success story is inspiring. I have to improve my memory. It mustn't fail me. Target is to quit cogni after CAT. No other option. Cannot afford to spend more time here. Quant speed is slow. English has to improve. Next week is the SIMCAT. Not expecting too much but I hope I get somewhere. I musn't give up. I have to make a new beginning. I feel left out of the race. Work at office is drab and is killing me mentally. So far all pagal guy's questions have either not been answered at all or answered wrongly. Need to go a long way. Its a battle for 15oo seats with 3 lakh people vying for it. I have to beat that google guy.

All the best

A new beginning

Joined CAT classes today. Hoping to quit the company by the beginning of next year. Hope things come through. I've got a tempororary mission. I need a long term goal. Unfortunately I've also been put into this ESOA project which makes me do some kind of work. Happy that i have work. But deep down i feel i should've started cat preparation much earlier. Better late than never. Just hope I can quit the company after november.

Losing all sense and sanity

Reject number ?????........ cnumb says get a life. Starting today, my myspace account goes into limbo. its like taking away the little life that i have left.