Of the end of two contrasting legacies

Dennis Ritchie's death did not make a big news as that of Steve Jobs's. This is a perfect example of how our thoughts and beliefs are strongly governed by what we see or what we are made to see. We cannot compare these two geniuses as they were like apple and orange. Unlike Jobs, who was a college dropout, Ritchie was Ph.D, a Harvard University grad with degrees in Physics and Applied Mathematics. And instead of the gleaming Silicon Valley, he worked at AT&T Bell Laboratories. And Dennis developed "C" programming language without which I doubt there would be any android, iPhone, iMac, smart phones and all these beautifully crafted devices. Ritchie never sought/had the public's eye but his contributions and legacy in the computer world played a key role - including that of Apple's success. Contrastingly, Jobs was never an engineer. He democratize technology, bringing it out from the realms of geeks and engineers and programmers to common people in the form of iPod, iPhone, iMac and iPad. While Ritchie would have liked a quiet exit like that of a "C" program that would execute quickly without much flair printing "Goodbye World!" on the console, on the other hand, Jobs would have preferred a crisp, clear goodbye message that would pop up with a soft touch. RIP.


PS:- So, whenever you see an iPhone or an iMac, please remember that Dennis Ritchie is the other man standing with Steve Jobs residing in these devices.

comments

Sabko maloom hai main sharabi nahin ...

Just few days back I saw this advertisement in the newspaper about a concert "Shamee Ghazal" by Pankaj Udhas. I asked my brother if he would like to accompany me but he said he would prefer staying at home watching the CWG. So, I booked a single ticket since I don' t want to invite anyone who would not really appreciate spending an evening listening to Ghazals. I was just thinking what it would be like attending a Ghazal concert alone.
Well, the whole experience was good. It all started with "Dil Dhadakne ka sabab yaad aaya ...". It was followed by "Deewaron se milkar accha lagta hai ". When he started "Sabko maloom hai mein sharabi nahin ..", the audience just couldn't stop applauding. Then he explained that a "Nazm" is usually an urdu poem which describes a full story. He followed that with a nazm - "Dukh sukh tha sabka ek" which describes the story of the changing times -the past, the present and the future. Then "Jeeye to Jeeye kaise .." stole the limelight. This was followed by numbers like "Yaadon ka ek Jhonka", "Thodi thodi peeya karo..", "Patti patti Gulab - la pila de sakhiyaan". With time running out, he started the marathon of his famous numbers starting with "Chandi jaisa ..", "Chitthi aayi hai .." which brought him to the limelight again, "Kisi se koi pyaar na karen", "Ahista ..", "Zamaana kharaab hai ..." , "Ae Ga-me zindagi". And finally it ended with my favorite "Ghungroo toot gaye...". And at the end of the program, I found my lost interest and Ghazals found some space in my Ipod :)

PS:-
It was glad to see Pankaj Udhas in flesh and blood. But the six musicians (flute, violin, mandolin, tabla, dholak and keyboard) accompanying him were equally good.

comments

Grew up with the “six strings” in his hands
Misty eyes looking for endless joy of being admired
Sometimes the “latest numbers” from the chart
And very often a number from Kishore assortment
Yet he followed ……

PS:-

Felt good to find an old friend of mine in a Rock Band<link> . I wish him all the very best. Not many people follow their heart to do things.

comments

that 1 bit

That "1" bit spoilt my day.Rascal!!
Sometimes a bit is more dangerous than the whole pool of memory. Hey ! this is not a technical blog. I just want to bring the point that sometimes we just neglect things of less priority. But then in order to make the whole system work, everyone is needed. Thats how things work.

PS: MJ is dead. Although I did not grow up with his music, I felt bad for the man he was. He was an inspiration to many. This is evident from the fact that when someone dances, its always a compliment to say that he danced like MJ.Goodbye "Moonwalker",your "Thriller" will always inpire the human race.

comments

To kill a Mockingbird -A tribute

I have read the book twice and seen the movie multiple times. I just liked it. Although I felt the book is better(maybe because I read it first then saw the movie) but the depiction of the same in the movie is not bad either. Throughout the book, I made some pictures or rather my imaginations about the characters mainly Scout(Mary Bardhem), Jem(Philip Alford) and Atticus Finch(Gregory Peck). The way it has been written and so touching at times about the daughter-father relationship. Harper Lee explore this through the eyes of Scout, the little girl of six. The kind of relationship that Scout has with his brother Jem is also nicely depicted.
Although the book was published in 1960 and it deals with very sensitive issues of rape and racial inequality, the context still hold true even in the present world.

"shoot all the blue jays I wanted - if I could hit 'em; but to remember it was a sin to kill a mockingbird. Well, I reckon because mockingbirds don't do anything but make music for us to enjoy. They don't eat people's gardens, don't nest in the corncrib, they don't do one thing but just sing their hearts out for us. "

comments

"Ema (mother)" - the word which means everthing

Ever imagined yourself when your moral is not so high, things around you are tumbling, then you turn up to someone for warmth and comfort.I always knew "Ema" is always there to provide that solace. "Ema" - is a common word meaning "mother" in my mother tongue "Manipuri". As a child, whenever I m not happy, I would cry out aloud calling "Ema".When someone tries to bully me, "Ema" is the word you would utter. Ema is always there to protect you. Whenever I m hurt, it may be just my toe kicking a stone accidentally, as a reflex action I would cry out "Ema"..... So, its a kind of bond most of us have with our mothers. So deep and tender , yet so beautiful.

comments

A tribute to those primary teachers...

Its very hard to teach someone learn Alphabets. Yes A,B,C,D,E......................X,Y,Z. Teaching something is not as easy as it seems to be. I was struggling to teach an illiterate guy learn the basic building blocks of English language. I found that its a very hard job to teach someone understand the english alphabets.
How my teachers would have taught me to read, to write?? They would have answered to my stupid endless questions..Their patience would have been tested. Hats off to their quality of being able to remain patient when a child fails to recognize the alphabet "A" after being taught numerous times. I still remember a Nursery rhyme..
"Hush-a-bye, baby,
in the tree top.
When the wind blows,
the cradle will rock.
When the bough breaks,
the cradle will fall,
And down will come baby,
cradle and all. "
I remember I struggled like anything to learn by-heart this particular Rhyme. So my teacher didn't allow me to go home until I learned the rhyme.Even today, I haven't forgotten the Rhyme. Thanks a lot for those efforts and guidance. Primary teachers do have a major role in making our careers...

comments