Middle of Nowhere

 

 “You can find yourself in the middle of nowhere – or in the middle of nowhere you can find yourself.” This was said as a voiceover in the famous SUV Advertisement that showed the vehicle driving through remote mountains. If we analyze the first part of the phrase, “You can find yourself in the middle of nowhere” – we may feel like we’re lost in the barren, empty wilderness, far away from our familiar surroundings.  . When we look at the second part of the phrase, “or in the middle of nowhere, you can find yourself” – we may feel something totally different. When you find yourself in the wilderness, you have the opportunity to experience new insights about who you are and where you are going. This is a positive way of looking at it. 

 

Being in this new place in the middle of nowhere is like traveling to a different land. The contrast between you and your life – and this new place – gives you opportunities to make new insights, new perspectives, and new awareness. The shift in space and time that happens when you enter a new land, a new frontier, or uncharted territory – allows you to make the leap to a new vision of and for yourself. 

 

This is what I felt when I visited a winter wonderland in Northeastern US state. Though the end destination had the most popular amenities but the journey especially with the offbeat path taken and planned/impromptu breaks led me to this thought process. There was a time we were lost for many hours without modern GPS help as well as a range of mobile networks. We trusted instincts and local help to reach places we wanted to. The crispness of late December unpolluted air, mountains, babbling brooks, small bridges, and scenic roads with near to zero traffic raised the nostalgia of past excursions in the Himalayas and Sahyadris.  The silence of the starry nights was magical. But somehow things were not the same as they used to be in similar past experiences in the earlier stages of life when I did most of my excursions in the Himalayas and Sahyadris. This time though the absence of internet, television, and other modern amenities were disturbing. There was an unexplained uneasiness. It only could be put to rest with the connection of our devices with the mobile data at the end destination. But this provoked me to compare my own self around 30-40 years back. There was a sense of finding a new meaning and learning new things about life while being in the middle of nowhere. 

 

There was a similar experience in my earlier stage of life after my tenth Standard. Three of us left for a trek with some incomplete information about the trekking route embarked upon a three days walk in inner Sahyadris. Eventually, we were lost. There were no cell phones and landlines as well then. Still, we were so much at ease. We camped on an open-air field atop a mountain plateau. I still remember that starry night and those distant village lights in the valley.  We were awake the whole night guarding against wildlife with strict rations on food and water. The next day we climbed down that valley reached a village. It was a risky adventure but we were so cool and composed. There was no worry or any uneasiness like what we had last week. 

 

But then this excursion to small quaint villages and past experiences across various treks in the middle of nowhere taught a few lessons as mentioned 

 

 The Joshi’s don’t Matter: All our lives we live worry what our neighbors/relatives might think about us and our actions. (Symbolic name with due apology to all Joshis) Being appreciated and accepted socially has caused more distress to human beings than natural disasters and wars. But here in the middle of nowhere, close to nature and in synchrony with surroundings you are peace at with yourself. What’s happening in neighboring houses miles apart is hardly a concern. This is the way to go even in crowded towns and cities. 

 

Social Media Isn’t Everything: Every action we do or every thought we cherish has some motivation to be in correlation with what we have to express about it on social media. When there is no range or connectivity in the middle of nowhere that part of 24by7 occupation is removed from your life and you remain focused on your life 100%. You are shielded from all distractions of pointless discussions, debates, and the envy of others' accomplishments/activities.  This helps you focus inward towards your own happiness. You may continue doing so even when you are back in the middle of everything. 

 

Be grateful for what you have even if it isn’t much: The situations in the middle of nowhere, where you have to live with what you have really helped you appreciate what you have in life. Though it might be not enough but the fact that you had it helped you survive. Then you can plan to procure what you don’t have and work towards it better. This is a good trait to have in routine life as well. 

 

What you need vs. what you want: Living in the middle of nowhere, you learn quickly the difference between a need and a want. Plus, you’re not exposed to a lot of advertisements and storefronts, so it’s easy to naturally want less. We can shut ourselves up to these distractions and continue our own discretion even in daily life. 

 

A slower life is better life: You run after each activity, each work- item: household or professional. There is no respite. In the middle of nowhere, there is no such schedule to keep. The clock just slows down at its own pace. You can use every moment to take it as you want it. This really improves the quality of life. 

 

Don’t Just Live Life, Cherish It: We only live once.  

 

Thanks to the middle of nowhere I found myself. 

Year of Reset

 

The year 2020 was the year of reset.  There was a time in 2020 when Mr. Today after taking over the charge from Mr. Yesterday had waited for Mr. Tomorrow. Mr. Today was locked down at home, away from the place of work. This provided him an opportunity to introspect and reset his own life having learned many things. 2021 started with all the hope. Vaccines arrived and we thought our Mr. Tomorrow had a lot of catching up to do. But then the virus from Wuhan had other ideas, it simply couldn’t be contained. It came out strong with mutations and unleashed delta which hit badly and now threatens again with omicron.  This kind of start and stop pattern emerged in all aspects including politics, business, education, environment, sports, and entertainment.

2021 has taught that the virus will be the reality of our lives and we need to find ways to live with the Virus. Science is the only tool we have to deal with the Virus. Vaccines, Medicines, healthcare facilities, Masks, Sanitization, Smart Distancing, and natural immunity with a healthy lifestyle are the things we should adapt to in order to face this Virus. Politics and society have tried to undermine science. In India, we were hit by delta and we were left unprepared. The legacy of poor healthcare infrastructure was the handicap we had to fight delta in April-May. We started the year with a situation where we felt we had conquered the virus. The head start we had in vaccines was proven inadequate.  International media and internal politics left no stone unturned to blame the Indian Government. But just like now we see how even the developed countries struggle with a huge number of cases even with the better health infrastructure, our sheer numbers put a new perspective of our challenges. The record vaccination also helped us recover but we have many more challenges to face.

We had similar starts and stops in the international political scene. US withdrawal from Afghanistan and reemergence of the Taliban was a setback for peace and normalcy return to the region but someday that had to happen.  The solution lies within the people of Afghanistan to find a system and order based on democratic and modern principles. The peace process in Palestine and Israel, Iran dynamics with the western world, Issues in Russia-Ukraine, Myanmar also had starts and stops. China-US trade and cold war also had new implications for years to come.  US change in regime was marked by violence and new regime also had starts and stops with policymaking. The US faced issues of polarization and gun violence. Africa continues to struggle with political strife while South America struggles with crime.

In India, we saw internationalized protests against much-needed reforms in the agro sector. The western intelligentsia and media surprisingly were opposing the same reforms which are firmly in place in their own backyards. The government had to wilt under pressure which indicates how lobbying and elections impact overall policies. Thus we saw starts and stops to much-needed reforms to help our economy. The nuisance value of terrorists in Kashmir, NE, and internal belts remained persistent.  China postured and threatened on the border dispute. Parliament also had starts and stops with disruptions.  We saw state elections in Bengal where TMC held her ground versus emergent BJP. BJP also held ground in Assam.  Left held ground in Kerala while DMK won in Tamilnadu. There were government and head changes in Karnataka, Uttarakhand.  Maharashtra politics saw new lows with corruption, power-brokering, police scandals, and drug accusations against ministers.

Despite the reduction in carbon emissions in 2020 due to lockdowns, global warming continued its threat endangering the environment to a critical level. An agreement made known as Glasgow Climate Pacts requests countries to revisit and strengthen their climate pledges by end of 2022. We need to act and slow down the increase in temperature to contain the disaster. We already have seen cyclones, heat waves, droughts, earthquakes, floods everywhere on the planet in 2021.

In business, we saw record stock market indices indicating consolidation and different expectations out of stock markets. Indian economy showed signs of recovery but then omicron fears may again introduce stutter in 2022.  We saw Indian CEOs taking over big tech and other global companies. The job market was crazy for the tech sector though other sectors also seem to have caught up. The Indian government has the challenge to reform the economy as well as define policy on cryptocurrencies. It has also its task cut out to position India amidst the world situations especially in the context of trade wars. Big tech also lost trust along with Big Pharma based on how Covid effects have cascaded.  Government restrictions on the movement of people during pandemic will no longer be an option in 2022. The oil price war had a great impact on economies and sustainable alternate energy options are now very much needed. We also saw space-the final frontier creating some new business models in 2021.

Bollywood also had a mixed year with theater opening of big-ticket movies like Suryavanshi and 83, while many chose OTT ways. OTT, TV, and the music industry had a mixed year with hits and misses.  Cricket had mixed years with two different stories emerging in tests and limited overs. We had an extraordinary test cricket year with wins at opposition fortresses like Gabba and Centurion. We also won at Lords and Oval in an incomplete series. Only if we could have held on for 1.5 hours in WTC finals it could have been perfect.  But on the limited-overs side, we just fumbled in T20WC. Hopefully, Dravid-Rohit will be able to sort that out in 22. We had the greatest Olympics with Gold and other medals in various sports. The revival of men’s and women’s hockey was very pleasing. We also had a good year in Badminton.

Hope we have a great free-flowing 2022 based on all the wisdom given by 2021.

Google your Memory

 

Google describes memory as an “easy, quick way to save and find everything in one place.” It allows you to: Save any screen content to Memory: Including links to the original source when available. Save real-world stuff to Memory: Objects, posters, or handwritten notes. Mankind has relied on its memory to retain knowledge. Knowledge is essential to survival and evolution. Man has invented ways to store knowledge and information across various mediums. Man also invented the internet to connect and let information flow. Lots of things have happened during the end years of the last millennium and young years of the new millennium.  And we see today Google-like things controlling our mind space, covering every aspect of our connected lives.  Google is now Queen’s English word defined on Google as to search for information about someone or something. We say that I ‘Googled’ my memory to remember something. But then Google and in turn Internet has impacted human memory. 

 

There is new research in recent years examining the impact of the internet on human memory. We already have seen various documentaries explaining how social media impacts our opinion-making and decisions.  This touches every field including politics, economics, healthcare, education, and every aspect of our social life. There are years of research put into how people make decisions, showing that people who are overconfident in their knowledge become more entrenched in their views about politics and science and also can make questionable financial and medical decisions.  

 

A study found that people who make extensive use of map apps and GPS devices have the worst spatial memory used for navigating through the world. Several studies have examined how memory may be altered by the act of posting on social media. But the results are contradicting. Sometimes this improves recall and other times induces forgetfulness.  

 

 I had a chance to read an article about a particular study in the USA which used a series of experiments to test how people used and thought about their own knowledge as they completed short quizzes of general knowledge. As per that article: ‘some participants had access to Google while answering the questions — what is the most widely spoken language in the world? Was one — while others did not have access to Google. They also completed surveys. It was found that people who used Google were more confident in their own ability to think and remember, and erroneously predicted that they would know significantly more in future quizzes without the help of the internet.  Researchers attributed that to Google’s design: simple and easy, less like a library and more like a “neural prosthetic” that simulates a search in a human brain. The real culprit is the speed of knowledge transaction which makes up for the fact that you never understand what you don’t know. Another research paper mentions the “Google effect”: a phenomenon in which people are less likely to remember information if they know they can find it later on the internet.  

 

Research doesn’t imply that people should quit using Google and other apps. That is not going to happen. It’s another interesting thing to observe closely if Google or other companies are following this latest research or if they would make any changes to their products as a result.  Google has said that its mission was to organize the world’s information and make it accessible. They said that this helps people with a range of things in their everyday lives. 

  

For centuries, philosophers and scientists have debated ways to define human memory. For many modern scholars, it’s not as simple as what a person can recollect in a given moment. We started this discussion with how Google itself describes human memory. People and scientists both think of the mind as sitting inside brains. But in reality, we use much more than our own brains to think and to remember. Humans have relied on family, friends, and other people and external devices like writing material, computer devices. It is best to think about memory and knowledge in terms of community, not individuals. Internet is just a connection of our individual knowledge and activity as a community to build knowledgebase. The research scientists have also defined this process as offloading: giving the brain a break by storing information elsewhere. An example is storing numbers in a book like a diary or as contacts in mobile phones. In that way, we offload our knowledge storage in platforms like Google. 

But the internet isn’t just storing information. It’s providing information nearly instantaneously at any time, without asking any questions in return, and generally without fail. And it’s providing ways to shape memories.  

 

Recent research found that the externalization of memories into digital format changes what people attend to and remember about their own experiences. Digital media is different because of factors such as how easily images are edited or the huge number of memories at people’s fingertips.  

But that offers a risk of manipulation of each piece of information on social media and internet platforms.  There is a chance for distortion 

 

 The perpetual flow of information provided by the internet may potentially interfere with sustained concentration, by prompting people towards “media multi-tasking” between different types of incoming sources of information. Research has investigated the correlates of the highest levels of internet usage and dependence, specifically in those with “internet use disorders” (IUDs).  The question of course remains whether excessive use of the internet is a causal factor for ADHD, or whether adolescents with probable ADHD are more susceptible to excessive internet usage. 

 

Modifications to individual-level behavior (often through cognitive changes) can ultimately carry over to shape the emergent population-level processes that arise as a product of the actions of the individuals within the society. 

 

Thus our own invention has far-reaching consequences on our individual and social memory, our cognitive and behavioral patterns. Hope these researches help us consciously decide the course of corrective actions. So let’s hope that our memory serves us more effectively hand in hand with Google. 

Last Men Standing

 

 

Let me narrate an interesting rendezvous I had with Army Men. After completion of a trek to Har-Ki -Dun as we reached the base camp village, we found that the road from there till Dehradun was closed due to landslides. We were cocooned there for 24 hours with rationed food, rain, and chill.  There we met an Army Unit led by a Colonel. I had a great opportunity to interact with heroes of the Army and later they helped us reach our destination through narrow gaps using their powerful vehicles. We got to know how they help and rescue people. Having associated with Defense forces through a few small activities built around defense entrance and the help of ex-servicemen, I was already in awe of our Army and with this interaction of someone who had the experience of Kargil combat, my awe turned into worship.  Thus the sad news last week about the Helicopter crash carrying CDS Chief General Bipin Rawat, his wife, and accompanying soldiers was devastating. The public outpour of grief and salute to the sacrifice of the martyrs was reflected on the respect armed forces have in the public mind space.  But the reactions from a few quarters of society are perplexing. 

There are three kinds of reactions I am talking about. Firstly, there is nothing short of disgust I feel towards enemies within India who expressed in their usual manner.  These tendencies need to be addressed appropriately.  The second reaction is something I would like to discuss in the context of the nature of this tragedy.  Some people had problems addressing the departed as martyrs as they were not in combat and were not making ultimate sacrifice by choosing to do actions that might result in their own death. They died performing their duties in an accident.  To that effect, I would like to share a personal tragedy. I had a very close school friend Parag Chandrakant Limaye. His only ambition was to be a fighter pilot.   There was one post that went viral on social media. It was titled: ‘I went to IIT and he went to NDA’. Most of us chose to be in the rat race and followed conventional paths. But he persevered and finally got into Air force training through NDA.  The experience he shared about life as a cadet at NDA and later at the Flying school in Allahabad was really amazing. They create the best leaders and soldiers for the Indian Armed Forces. They get further groomed into Army, IAF, and Navy officers at different schools. It’s a complete package. He passed out from NDA and completed many flights as a part of training to become a fighter pilot. While on the instructor-led flight, his MIG plane crashed in Ganga River near Allahabad and he died along with this instructor. This was a great tragedy for his family and friends. How can you not call him a martyr as he was on his path? Later we formed a trust in his memory focused on promoting /helping defense entrance, helping ex-servicemen, and supporting adventure sports which he was interested in. So the semantics around world martyr is really uncalled for. The third reaction is from ‘knowing it all’ journalists and opinion makers who commented on the outpour of grief and respect on social media and public discourse as jingoism. This is a subtle and veiled political opposition and they spare even a tragic moment like this to superscribe their opposition to the current dispensation. These people are slowly making themselves obsolete. 

  

Leaving asides the political equation, the Armed forces is the only institution that the public respects. They have lost faith in political class both executive and legislation. The fourth estate press has lost all credibility. Judiciary with a huge backlog, inherent flaws, and suspicion is also not on the top pedestal. These are the last men standing. 

Indian Armed Forces have delivered every time despite all odds in the history of India. Kargil is a prime example. As they say in Sanskrit that war stories are always engrossing, I continued my discussions with the Colonel of the Army unit at the camp in Sankri in the Himalayas. .  He led a unit that is unknown to outside out of Army highest levels. They were the deadliest commandos and were called Helicopter Mounted Unit.  They were trained with the hardest routines involving intense hand and weapon combat training, harsh survival techniques, mobility, and navigation across the hardest and cruel terrains. His men were the best selected out of various regiments.  He said “In the army, we are assigned battalions say Maratha, Rajput, Sikh etc. Each soldier has loyalty toward the motherland and then towards his battalion.  I am loyal to my regiment but at HMU we represent our battalion and want to do our best. My commandos are mainly from tribal regions. They can survive, fight and win anywhere on this planet” 

During Kargil, he was in combat. Our soldiers made the difference between winning and a probable loss of land and face for India. They scaled very difficult mountains in the dark surviving incoming bullets. The enemy had higher and stronger positions. But our Army units all over the region climbed and overcame the enemy they got into hand combat with the enemy. Once our units got there, the enemy had no option but to die. The enemy soldiers didn’t realize that they had fought for nothing. Their bodies were left unclaimed. They did not die as martyrs as the Pak Army men killed at Kargil were disguised as local insurgents. 

Armed forces also do face challenges like Corruption at all levels. There are bad apples everywhere. But that has not hampered our armed forces and their spirits to overcome against all odds. There are also a few bad tactical decision-making in history but there are more positives than negatives in the history of the Indian Armed Forces.  

 

These really are the last men standing as all the rest falter.