How to remain physically active during the pandemic

I don't think anyone imagined that 2020 would turn out to be the way it has been so far. None of us expected that a pandemic would grip us so hard that the entire world, even after 1 year since its discovery, is still trying to figure out how to deal with it and there is no definite timeline about when we can go back to our pre-pandemic lives. One of the many challenges we face is how to remain physically active when many regions place restrictions on public movements, gyms are closed, the outdoor options are heavily limited, we are shopping mostly online, and many of us are working from home. Regular physical activity is supposed to be an integral part of our lives and it is also important to remain healthy, more so in the age where we can spend endless hours in front of a screen without exhausting our options. We don't need an excuse not to move, we have many, rather, we need an incentive to get away from screens, and the pandemic made things more difficult for us.

Like many, I also faced the same challenge, more so when winter arrived as I don't enjoy the cold weather and refrain from going out in the bitter cold. So, the challenge is how to remain active with all these obstacles. One solution I found worked for me very well is to set hourly or bi-hourly targets rather than daily targets. There are a couple of advantages to this approach. First, the hourly targets are not that huge, a target of 15,000 steps per day looks like a tough target and requires planning the entire day carefully, and if we are at 7k steps by 7 PM we may give up and not try to score the remaining 8k steps as it looks too much to achieve in a short time. However, 1000 steps per hour is a comparatively small number, even if we score 500 in that hour it's not that difficult to make up the remaining 500 in the next hour. Also, planning an hour looks easy compared to planning the entire day. Second, as these targets are relatively small we can choose to perform them while watching some show or talking with someone on the phone. This allows us to multitask, we do not have to set up a separate time to exercise, and we can talk to someone while we walk or watch our favorite show or movie while doing some cardio. Finally, achieving our target every hour keeps us well on track to achieve that bigger number at the end of the day or even exceeding it rather than losing our motivation and giving up as we lag behind the task because we planned an exercise slot which we miss every now and then due to some excuse. 

I understand that this approach may not work for all, and some of us need to find our own method to remain physically active. The point is we all need to be mindful of the changes unique to us and adapt accordingly. Also, our home design, immediate surroundings, type of work, familial situations, and even the weather might present their own challenges and we need to maneuver around them. For example, I live on the ground floor, and to achieve my target of climbing 10 floors per day I need to climb to the first floor of our apartment complex. I am sure that in the beginning, upstairs neighbors must have been wondering why they heard footsteps every now and then without anyone showing up. We need to invent new ways to adapt, innovate new ways to remain active indoors, and make use of technology to achieve our tastes more efficiently. No doubt this pandemic has presented unique challenges for us, but we are more than capable of dealing with these challenges. We know the challenges, some are personal and some are social. We all need to invent and adapt. Be creative and be supportive of the people around you. Remember, our individual challenges are unique and so will be our solutions.

Thanks for reading and please share your opinion about this topic. 

A tale of two bar exams

This year has been a crazy year for me not only because of Covid-19 but also because of the bar exams which I have to give. I gave two bar exams in a single month (October). First was the Connecticut State Bar exam, the first-ever online CT Bar exam, and the second one was the Patent Bar exam, the one which applicants have to pass to practice before the USPTO (the United States Patent and Trademark Office). Both exams are considered extremely complicated and tough. Normally they recommend 500-600 hours of study for the state bar exams and 150-200 hours of study for the Patent Bar, that too with very expensive bar prep courses. The point is they are not easy, and the applicant's professional career depends on passing those exams. 

The Patent Bar exam is a multiple-choice exam with 100 questions and the applicant needs to get 70 of them right to pass the exam. The exam is given at designated exam centers. The applicant has to book an appointment in advance within the USPTO's provided deadline (90 days from the day the application is accepted). Due to the pandemic, the USPTO was kind enough to make the deadline flexible as many exam centers were closed, and it was not known when they would open. When the centers finally opened, applicants were required to wear masks for the entire duration of the exam (6 hrs, two sessions of 3 hr each). The only issue some applicants face is the speed of a computer and the quality of MPEP (it's an open book exam, MPEP is the book on which the exam is based). When we are giving a high-pressure exam where time is critical, a delay of even a few seconds adds to the pressure. At some exam centers, the resolution of the pdf file of MPEP is not that great. Apart from this the exam is well designed and tests your ability to remember things from MPEP and search MPEP for required information quickly and accurately.

It was an altogether different story for the state bar exam. Normally, the state bar exams are conducted in person, and they are conducted over two days. However, this year due to the pandemic the state bar examination committees of various states including the Connecticut Bar Examining Committee decided to conduct a remote bar exam, the first remote bar exam in the history of the bar exam. By any standards, it was not an easy endeavor to take. In some states, thousands of applicants take the bar exam, and conducting a proctored exam using artificial intelligence proctoring was not an easy task. Plus there were other concerns like the security of question papers, internet connectivity, AI's bias in proctoring, computer availability with proper specifications to give the exam, and many more. There were multiple townhouse-type meetings conducted by the CT Bar Examining Committee members to listen to student grievances and to their credit they tried to answer each and every concern raised by the students. First, they eliminated the requirement of an internet connection during the exam, this was a big relief for applicants like me. My apartment does not have uninterrupted wireless connectivity and I am sure there are many who have the same problem as me. I was worried that if my internet connection gets interrupted I might be disqualified from the exam for no fault of mine. It was a big relief for me to know that an internet connection was not required during the exam. Applicants could download the exam up to 3 days before the exam and have time to submit their exam up to 3 days after the exam. They also waived the computer registration fee which is collected even during the in-person exam and also offered to pay for the hotel room accommodation for applicants who did not have a private space to take the exam. According to me, this was a great gesture by the Examining Committee as this was a genuine problem for many applicants as many live in apartments or houses where there is no secluded spot where they can take a lengthy exam without any interruption. The exam happened without many issues, it was a tremendous effort on many levels. Definitely, it was not easy for applicants as well as the examining committees to go through this process, but all of us did. I applaud the efforts of all candidates who passed and also those who didn't, they all put in their best efforts, some it worked, and for some, it will work next time, but we all were witnesses to a historical event.

This experience was unique. The preparation process even with the help of prep courses was very rigorous and demanding. It required a lot of commitment and discipline from my side. I could not have done this without the support of my family, friends, my law firm, and my mentors. They all played a crucial role in motivating me and encouraging me to take up this challenge. Of course, our age, stage of life, familial, and situations create their own challenges, these challenges are different for different people, and that's why our struggles, as well as our achievements, are unique. I am glad to be done with these exams and I hope anyone reading this will derive some inspiration that will help them to go through this rigorous and challenging process. 

Thanks for reading and please share your opinion about this topic. 

Commingling is India's strength

For the last few years, there has been an ongoing debate about India becoming an intolerant country, especially because of certain reported incidents against minorities and the growing popularity of the Hindutva ideology which propagates a homogeneous identity for all Indians. This perception may or may not be true, but they made me dig deeper into the question, was India a tolerant country in the first place? India has a history of casteism, and communal riots, and was the ideal place to implement the famous strategy used by British rulers called "divide and rule." How does tolerance fit into all these, what is the reason for the perception that India is a tolerant country? The reason is India's diversity, the presence of almost each and every religion or sect, and much more. Most of India's provinces have different languages, food habits, dress, festivals, literature, and cultural attributes, and some of them have their own movie industry that can even compete with Bollywood. Of course, there are many commonalities, Hinduism is a majority religion, and skin color and visual appearances are similar except for the northeast region which gets ignored in each and every aspect. All these aspects make India a very interesting case to analyze. Many places in the world are diverse, the US or Europe does have a diverse population where different people from different parts of the world coexist. However, there is one major difference between India and other places. India is neither like a melting pot where people from different places come together and begin to mix and form one homogeneous identity, nor it is a place where individuality or privacy is valued to give separate space to each and every identity so that they can thrive without being threatened by the majority.

Indian society either intentionally or unintentionally allowed the comingling of different religions and cultures, that is why I said that there are many differences as well as similarities. Different states of India despite being different borrowed food habits from each other, and their languages have common origins, even the most popular organized religions like Judaism, Christianity, or Islam the way they are practiced in India is different compared to the rest of the world. This comingling did not threaten the existence of any religion, they all exist and occupy their own space in Indian society so far. Britishers took advantage of this diversity by using the tactic of "divide and rule," either by creating the perception that the majority is threatened by the minorities or the minorities are under attack by the majority. The strategy worked and even after independence is used by different political parties at different times to reap political dividends. 

India survived all such attacks so far, especially because of the uniqueness of India where diversity was considered as its strength, not a weakness. However, in today's world that mostly thrives on a unique identity this obscure, not-so-uniform, multireligious, and multicultural identity is projected as something weak or nonindigenous, and not unique. This perception is solidified by the rise of Hindutva ideology where being Indian means something homogeneous, definite, and deeply rooted in traditions of Hinduism. This narrative fits with most of the neighboring countries of India which are mostly homogeneous societies with a single religion dominating, social, political, cultural, and legal space. India was unique among all these countries specifically because of the reason that there was no easy way to define its identity. It was not a Hindu, Muslim, Sikh, Christian, Buddhist, or any other religious or non-religious identity that defined India, it was at the same time all of these and none of these. I never understood this uniqueness until I left India and I don't think many Indians understand the value of this even today, that is why most of them agree with the propaganda that such a hybrid identity needs to be transformed into something definite and uniform. That's why I now feel that tolerance was not India's uniqueness but commingling was, this is because comingling is a step further than tolerance. Tolerance is when we tolerate our differences and decide to coexist despite those differences. Whereas commingling is where we not only tolerate the differences and coexist but despite our differences exchange and borrow each other's practices and incorporate them into each other's traditions and culture as our own, and still maintain our identity without being threatened by the presence of another. 

This is not to say that tolerance is any better than commingling, or vice versa. I am aware that my impressions could be completely wrong and someone can offer a better explanation than what I offered above, I tried to articulate what my current understanding is about this issue.

Thanks for reading and please share your opinion about this topic. 

Failure can be an option

We all want to succeed. Mainly because we are taught that success is the most desired outcome of any activity in which we voluntarily engage, this is true for both, our personal and professional lives. We are taught to stay away from failures, as they hurt our careers, and our image, and make us less desirable entities. However, even though failures are not desirable, they are inevitable, especially for people who take risks or proactively seek new challenges and want to get out of their comfort zone. Failure is not easy to handle, not just because it is not on the list of desired outcomes when we start but also because we are not trained to deal with failures. We are not even taught to expect failures, even if someone predicts or suspects failure we label that person as a pessimist, a naysayer. These are just a few reasons why many people think that failure is not an option. However, failure can be an option, should be an option, and is an option, especially when we want to tread an unknown terrain.

Success or failure, both teach unique lessons, many of these lessons are exclusive to each other, what we learn from success cannot be learned from failure and vice versa. No doubt, success has its own charm and teaches us a lot, at the same time, failure has its own ways to enrich our lives. The lesson here is we need them both to experience our life to its fullest. If we fear failure, the first drawback is we become risk-averse, we try to be overcautious about everything. Being cautious is necessary and is a good thing, but being overcautious makes us fearful of every unknown aspect of life. One has to strike a balance between caution and risk, it can be different for different people, but too much of one thing is not good. Also, it is important to remember failure can be an option and is an option if we are willing to learn the valuable lessons that it provides. Without having the ability to learn lessons from failure and moving on we might only repeat the same mistakes resulting in the same results again and again.

Our fear of failure stops us from changing the status quo, challenging traditions, traveling unconventional paths, and being a risk-taker. To be a risk-taker does not mean to play with fire, that's stupidity. There is a difference between being adventurous and being stupid, there is a very thin line, but there is a line, and it's important to understand that. People who take risks or let's say dare to do something different are prone to fail. There is a reason why many don't try to break the conventional mold or try to travel a less-traveled path, there is a risk of failure, and many are not willing to face that risk. Apart from teaching us humility and the fact that there can be other factors apart from one's hard work that contribute towards the final outcome, once we make failure one of the options we open many more avenues for ourselves. If we do not worry about failure we are more prone to try new things. If we start considering failure as one of the possible and acceptable outcomes we will be more fearless in our approach, we should be able to put our 100% effort and not overly concerned about the final outcome. These things are only possible if we accept that failure can be an option.

Thanks for reading and please share your opinion about this topic. 

The myth of zero emission vehicle

While studying "Environment Law" I came across the term "Zero Emission Vehicle"  (ZEV). The first question that came to my mind was, is it even possible? Can we consume energy without emitting anything? What happens to the energy that we consume? At least, the energy that we use needs to be converted into some other form of energy. The overhyped advertisement of ZEV's created a question in my mind, is "zero-emission" just a catchy phrase like "chemical-free" to attract customers, or does it really mean what it says? It seems that the main purpose of using this phrase is to create an impression in the consumer's mind that the vehicle they are driving is not emitting any harmful gases, that is, it is not doing "any" damage to the environment. These so-called zero-emission vehicles run on some type of batteries. Technically when we use energy stored in a battery they do not emit any harmful gases the way fossil fuels do (for example, carbon monoxide). However, if we analyze it carefully, batteries need to be manufactured and then recharged every time they get discharged. Each of these processes consumes electricity or some other type of energy, they use different chemicals to manufacture batteries, and these chemicals are manufactured in different process plants that use conventional energy sources. The electricity used by batteries might be produced by the process which results in some kind of emission of the very harmful gases which the battery purports not to emit. Therefore, indirectly these batteries do cause emissions which we do not see while driving these vehicles but they do impact the environment. Emissions caused by the use of batteries may be comparatively less than the emissions of fossil fuels, but this does not mean that there is a zero-emission. This means the phrase zero-emission vehicle is an advertising gimmick, just a catchy phrase with no real meaning behind it, designed and used to grab the customer's attention.

Thanks for reading and please share your opinion about this topic. 

It is not difficult to be happy

We are made to believe that the ultimate goal of our life is to be happy. No doubt, there is merit in this message. Happiness is a formidable aim to have, a happy world is also a healthy word. However, the definition of happiness is different for different people. The problem is once we are convinced about the message of the pursuit of happiness, we are taught how to be happy, we are almost brainwashed to instill a definition of happiness in our media from different sources. Some common definitions of happiness include having a dream job, a big home, a loving and beautiful life partner, obedient and successful kids, social status, vacations at exotic locations, and whatever other luxuries the market has to offer us. It is hard to resist these impulses, the projected picture is very tempting, ultimately most of us get drawn into this thinking about manufactured happiness and start chasing it. Let me be clear that there is nothing wrong with chasing these things if you really want them and enjoy them. However, I see many people who chased these things and achieved most of them and still were not happy. Based on this I concluded that it's not easy to be happy, especially if you don't know what you are chasing will make you happy or if you are borrowing someone's idea of happiness rather than searching for your own desires.

The next question is, whether it is easy to realize what we really want or where our own happiness lies? The simple answer is, no, it's not. This is why it's easier to accept whatever definitions and ideas of happiness are offered to us by media or movies rather than dwelling on a difficult quest to find our own calling. Media houses and movie makers have their own commercial interests, both are very expensive enterprises to run and need a lot of cash flow to sustain their operations. Therefore, many businesses and commercial enterprises use these mediums to serve their purpose, and who are their targets? Of course, common people like you and me. We are consumers of content delivered by these platforms, in a way we need these things to fill our need for entertainment or fulfill our intellectual or social needs. In this process, we get bombarded by various messages that subtly try to tell us what it means to be happy. Most of these ideas involve chasing something grand, something valuable, simplicity is not deemed as a virtue but a sign of boredom. The end result, we live in a consumerist society. There is nothing wrong with being a consumer, actually, whether we want or not we are going to consume something. The problem is we are not being consumers but are being designed in a particular way to consume certain things. It is not easy to resist these temptations. The main reason why it is not easy to resist is that the advertisements and other messages are prepared after a lot of research about human psychology and behavior. We feed a lot of data from our side into this system to make it better and stronger day by day. 

Is there a way out or we are trapped to the point of no return? There is definitely a way out. We must be conscious of our actions, and always ask a few questions like, why I am doing this, do I really want this, is there any better way I can spend my time, am I going to be happy after doing this, if yes, how long? Questions like these won't guarantee that you won't fall for any temptations but they will minimize the chances. It is true that it's not easy to be happy, but it's also true that by taking some simple steps it's easy not to get tricked into getting trapped in a vicious cycle of chasing that ever-elusive happiness that never comes. Once we remove all the noise around us we can focus on the real signals from our mind and embrace what we really want without being influenced by what markets or society wants us to do for being perceived as happy. The choice is ours, whether we want to be actually happy or want to be perceived by others as happy. It's not difficult to be happy if we search for that happiness within ourselves rather than somewhere else.

Thank you for reading and please share your opinion about this topic. 

You are the author your own life, make it interesting

Whether we want to be a writer or not, we all write at least one story, the story of our own life. Whether we want it or not, we are the author as well as the main protagonist of that story. It's like directing a movie as well as playing a lead in it. If we look at our lives this way, then why not try to write an interesting book or make an entertaining movie for ourselves. Also, we don't have to worry if the story we are writing is interesting to others or not, make sure it's interesting to us, if we like it, most probably, others will also love it. 

The next question is, how to make our story interesting. It depends, we need to first search for what we find interesting. We must try to find our interests, try to search for what we like or what are our ambitions, and chase them with full force and commitment. As I mentioned in one of my blogs finding our own passion is not easy for many of us, but if we keep on searching we are bound to find something which we like, something which we feel is worth our precious time. We all can do certain things like taking risks to pursue our passion once we find it, we can help others, stand behind ones who need help, be happy to see others succeed, try to make positive contributions to the society around us, spread love and compassion, help people in need as much as you can, talk to someone who is feeling lonely, frustrated, or depressed, be kind, and above all don't forget that we are here for only a short period, so, try to make most of it. There will be some pages or chapters of our book that only we will know and we don't want to share them and that's totally fine, don't worry about these chapters. But remember, every aspect or shade of our life is important, it might be a lesson for others and might save them from going through the same trouble that we went. Not only our success but also our failure, not only our joy but also our sorrows are part of our story and they all make our life interesting. The reality is that every life is interesting in its own way, the only difference is some stories are told and some aren't. That's why make sure you tell your story, most of us are not going to end up with a commercial movie or a biography released, we need to communicate our story. This is where technology comes to our help. The Internet is a great tool to communicate our stories. There are many bad side effects of the internet and social media but at the same time, there are many good effects. The availability of a platform to communicate with people all over the world is one of the advantages the Internet offers to most of us. Please don't hesitate to use this opportunity to tell your story. You never know, someone somewhere in the world might get inspired by your story, might feel connected to it, might see his or her own reflection, and feel happy that there is someone very similar to him or her. Be assured that someone is waiting to read your story, provided you are willing to tell it.  

Thanks for reading and please share your opinion about this topic. 

Four types of political participants: Which type are you?

Generally, it is assumed that there are three types of political participants: supporters, opponents, and independents. But I feel there are four, based on what I see on social media and in real life, I divide supporters into four groups. According to me, the four groups are as follows:

1. Hardcore supporters: These are the core base or the most loyal voters of any political party. These people support the party no matter what, they believe in the ideology of the party and are the most conservative core of the party who up their loyalty to the party and its leaders ahead of anything else, even their country. These supporters don't care whether the acts of their political leaders are moral or immoral, they are not bothered about corruption, internal democracy, nepotism, dynasty, or anything happening within their own party, that is, they don't see any difference between their religion and political affiliation. Many of them are willing to die or kill someone for the sake of political leaders and parties.

2. Hardcore opponents: These are the ones who oppose some political party no matter what. They do not see any merit in any of the actions of their opponents, their whole purpose is to attack the opponent, no matter what. This habit creates an amazing spectacle where someone is attacking another for doing the same thing that they did when they were in power.

It is no surprise that these two groups often include the same people, that is, hardcore supporters of one party are often hardcore opponents of their opposition. These are the people who flock for rallies, they participate in communal or other riots, defend their leaders no matter what, or attack their opponents no matter what. Nowadays some of them even become party spokespersons and appear in TV debates to create some drama and excitement for their support base.

3. Loyal supporters: This is an interesting category. They are the type of person who might question the party that they support, might oppose some of their actions, or occasionally even express dissent, but in the end, they stand with their party. They cannot see themselves supporting any other party. They are not the ones who participate in riots or physical alterations for their party, but they are the ones who justify these things as much as they can in their posts on social media or TV debates. Some of them are labeled as "intellectuals." These people design very interesting and intelligent rationales to justify the support and actions of their party. Many of these do not have mass appeal, but parties need such people to look mature and sophisticated, and these people also need some platform to broadcast their views. Some loyal supporters are the silent ones, they really do not bother to comment or say much, if they do speak or comment, they do it occasionally, but as far as their support is concerned it is solidly aligned with one political party.

4. Independents: These people do not have any fixed political ideology. They do have their principles and ideas but the problem is that they cannot find a single party that subscribes to their ideas. These people like some ideas from each political party but disagree with some core ideological issues of each party. They often offer their support based on what they feel is the most important issue for them during that election cycle. These are also the people who get trolled by the hardcore supporters of every party because they are bound to criticize each one of them at some point.

Now, the most interesting part, political parties do not care about the first three groups. You might ask, Why? Aren't they the most loyal supporters of the party? Yes. However, parties know where the loyalties of these three groups lie. They know that hardcore supporters and loyal supporters are not going to leave them no matter what, and hardcore opponents are not going to join them, no matter what.

Therefore, ideally, independent players can be game-changers, a difference between a win, and a loss. However, the independent players in this game matter only when their support matters in deciding the result of crucial elections. If hardcore and loyal supporters considerably outnumber hardcore opponents and independents combined, why the heck any party will care about the independents, as they are not required to win any elections. For obvious reasons, the party will entirely focus on catering to their support base (the current situation in India).

However, if the opinion of independent voters matters in deciding key elections (like the senate or presidential election), then the parties will try to design their campaign that does not drift too much towards either right or left (the current situation in the US).

The readers must understand that this is not a scientific analysis or hypothesis. It is quite possible that people can switch their political allegiance if they want and whenever they want. So, which type of political participant you are? Remember, it's not an easy analysis, many love to declare themselves as independent, but fail to behave like independents when it matters.

Thanks for reading and please share your opinion about this topic.

Discriminatory traditions and my battle against them

The topic of discriminatory traditions is not limited to any particular country, region, or religion, it is a widespread phenomenon. Almost all cultures and religions of the world have traditions or rituals that are openly discriminatory on its face. The discrimination can be about gender, marital status, or something else. Even today, many of these traditions are still followed with the utmost respect and dedication. There are many who find some value in these traditions, many also believe that there is nothing discriminatory in them, some even think that these traditions need to be protected just because of what they are, age-old traditions. While there can be some intelligent arguments to justify them or some need-based justifications for their existence, personally, I have not found any logical justification to rationalize most of them. I have been battling against these discriminatory traditions from the moment I became aware of their blatant discriminatory nature. One important disclaimer before you read any further, I was born and raised in a Hindu family and spent three decades of my life in India, hence, all my personal experiences are related to discriminatory traditions belonging to those two identifiers, this does not mean that such traditions only exist in India or Hinduism. People who are familiar with similar traditions in other religions or countries should feel free to comment about them, in this post, I am going to stick with my personal experiences.

I have already written about one such festival Karva Chauth. However, Karva Chauth is just one of many festivals where discrimination based on marital status exists, many others exclude the participation of widows. I personally witnessed this discrimination because I saw both my grandmothers not celebrating any of these festivals. Both, my paternal and maternal grandmother lost their husbands early in their lives, they spent most part of their life as a widow because the second marriage was out of the question for them. I know stories of quite a few widows who lost their husbands in their early twenties (some even before that) and spent the rest of their lives as a widow, but I don't know a single man who was forced to live as a widower because he lost his wife so early in his life. This impacted me really hard. There are many festivals in India that only married women whose husbands are alive are supposed to celebrate. Just a few years back there used to be a blanket ban on widows to participate in any so-called celebrations, thankfully, this has changed now, but still, there are festivals that widows are not supposed to celebrate just because their husbands are not alive. The irony is that most of these festivals claim to be about love between a husband and wife, but hardly there is any participation of husbands, and if at all husbands participate, they do as if they are some revered entities to which their wives need to be grateful or worship them just for being what they are, a husband. The sole purpose of most of these festivals is to make a wife pray for her husband's well-being and be thankful that her husband is still alive. Therefore, one of the justifications offered for not allowing widows is that as their husband is not alive widows don't have any use of such a festival. People don't even realize how insensitive this justification is. it must also be noted that there are many such festivals where a wife is supposed to celebrate the existence of her husband. But I have not seen similar festivals where a husband has to perform any ritual for his wife's well-being or be thankful for her being alive, nor men are barred from any social gatherings or forced to dress any differently based on whether their spouse is alive or not.

Also, these festivals are celebrated by many: educated and uneducated, rich and poor, in cities and in villages, within India or abroad. The appeal and popularity of such traditions are really widespread. Many men and women who celebrate these festivals know women within their own families who can't celebrate such festivals because their husband is no more. These people feel bad for such women, but that's it, they do not think that these traditions are in any way discriminatory or insensitive. Even the women who are at the receiving end of these traditions don't feel that they are being discriminated against, these women blame their own misfortune or bad karma (if not this life then from their previous life) for their fate. I never saw my grandmothers complaining about the discrimination that they faced on countless occasions in their lives. They just blamed their fate, nothing else. Most of the victims are not even aware that they are being victimized, and this is the saddest part. 

My battle against these traditions started when I became aware of their discriminatory nature. As a child, I was not aware of discrimination in any form, not because it was not happening around me, but because I was not sensitized to detect and fight against it, I was taught obedience and respect. However, the training of obedience and respect did not stop me from opposing them since I became aware of the discriminatory nature of these traditions. I am trying to change them within my own family. Honestly, most of my attempts have been unsuccessful so far. I have no shame in accepting my failure and I am very well aware that there is a strong possibility that I may not be successful in changing any of these in my lifetime, but this doesn't deter me from fighting my battle. I don't participate in any such rituals, some of them are celebrated within my own family, I am not part of it, I oppose them, but the reality is that they still continue. There is also a possibility that one day things may change, and people around me might agree that I have a point, whether this will happen or not I don't know, but I know that my battle against such discrimination will continue.    

Thanks for reading and please share your opinion about this topic. 

 

True nationalists recognize and work on drawbacks

It is not hard to notice the rise of nationalism among the social and political circles of different parts of the world. Nationalism has become the new political mantra to succeed in most of these parts. A stereotyped image of nationalists is propagated and even accepted in most places. True nationalist is supposed to do the chest-thumping about their country, shout from their rooftops how theirs and only their country is better and superior to all others. They are also supposed to protect their country's history as a glorious one and defend even some discriminatory or oppressive periods by galvanizing with some justification or even by twisting facts. Finally, the most important duty, they need to vilify anyone who does not agree with their views, if possible, brand such dissenters as anti-nationals. Is this what really nationalism means and what nationalists must do? The answer is an unequivocal NO.

True nationalists do not shy away from the drawbacks or weaknesses of their country. No doubt, they are proud of their country's achievements and try to highlight them wherever and whenever possible, but they also recognize and work on the drawbacks. Without diligently recognizing and working on the drawbacks no nation can become a real superpower or leader of the world. Singing praises about past glories while completely ignoring present realities is a perfect recipe for failure. Loud chest-thumping and shouting that their country is greatest might create a notice, a social media trend, or a media buzz, but it will do hardly anything on a ground level to change any realities. This is dangerous for a developing country like India, where a lot needs to be done, as well as for a developed nation like the USA, which needs to keep up its pace ahead of other countries that are trying hard to catch up with them. When people get into the habit of only reciting past glories and hiding or ignoring present problems, they enter into a dangerous illusionary zone that blindsight them to real challenges. It takes tremendous courage to accept as a society that we committed a mistake and be willing to rectify it, it's not easy. But courageous and just societies dare to accept their mistakes, correct them, and move forward.

History should be remembered and lessons should be derived from it so that we do not repeat the same mistakes, but the real challenges always reside in the present and future, our eyes and ears should be open to those challenges. Also, people need to remember that not every criticism is meant to demean or hurt, many times listening to criticism offers an opportunity to improve ourselves. So, nationalists or non-nationalists please honestly try to recognize the drawbacks and weaknesses of your country and work on it, this is the only way your country stands a chance to become a truly great nation. This is an extremely hard path, but this is the right path, all the very best.

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Randomness

Randomness plays a huge part in our day-to-day lives. Whether we like it or not, we want it or not, it does affect us in many ways, shapes our behavior and thinking, and many times, the path we choose is the result of how we react to many random events in our lives. People may call this randomness by different names, some may call it destiny, god's will, luck, opportunities, or whatever name they find fit to describe that event. The reason why we don't call it randomness is that we humans hate randomness, we love and crave predictability. Humans love to find answers to all their questions and this is one of the main reasons for our progress so far. The innate curiosity of the human mind has resulted in many inventions and discoveries which transformed our lives dramatically. Our need to have certainty in our lives is monumental, it is evident from the ways we have structured our surroundings. This need for certainty is the reason why we invented and preserved the concept of family, marriage, homeownership, money, national boundaries, laws, etc. This list is very long and can go forever. The point is, that we strive to have certainty in our lives as much as we can, we are not comfortable when things become uncertain. At the same time, humans are curious about what's next? At some point in our lives, most of us ask the question why me (when something bad happens to us)? Or why not me (when something unusually good happens with others)?

Randomness is so prevalent in our lives that it is hard to ignore it, that is why we give call it by so many different names. Many things that happen around us are a result of random happenings. We can always find reasons once the event occurs, as it is said, it is always easy to connect the dots backward. It is easy to explain once you know the full picture after the event has happened. Most of the time we can find out why an ambulance arrived within minutes and saved someone's life or why it was late and the person couldn't be saved, why some team lost from the winning situation, why we got the job, or why we didn't, why some businesses work and why some don't. However, it is hard to predict any fullproof formula for any of these things. As I said, we try our best to structure things around us so that we can avoid randomness as much as possible, but it still plays a huge role in our lives.

So, what shall we do? Just keep quiet and wait for random things to happen to us? Definitely not. We should try our best to do what we want to do and factor in the role of randomness. If things work, good, if they don't, move on. If we try our level best, the result is not in our hands, and if it's not as per our expectation, not our fault. Remember, there are many things apart from our own efforts which can be a deciding factor towards the final result. The purpose of this post is not to discourage or demotivate anyone but to make readers aware of the role of randomness and appreciate it. Once we recognize the role of randomness we tend to focus on our own efforts and not worry overtly about the end result. Anxiety, stress, tension, etc. are parts of our day-to-day lives, many times, they help us to stay focused and act as a reminder of what needs to be done. We must use all these feelings to our advantage. Appreciate the role of randomness, maybe it will help to understand or ignore some things happening around us, including some election results that even experienced pollsters get wrong. 😀

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Why banning Chinese good is not a good option for India

India and China are going through a serious confrontation over an old unresolved border conflict. The conflict is not new and the standoff is also not new. The intensity this time might be different compared to previous standoffs and the amount of media attention it is generating also is at a different level due to the social media and 24/7 news channels which want something sensational every hour to keep their audience engaged. This conflict has resulted in a renewed demand for banning Chinese products in India. Also, it was not the first time any such demand had been made. India has a glorious history of banning books and movies. I agree that the demand to ban foreign-made goods is different in context compared to demanding a ban on some controversial book or movie. However, the central idea remains the same, people want to stop something that is not illegal per se but they want to block its legal path. That is, by calling for a ban or a boycott, people want to block legal access to those things that are allowed under normal circumstances. Also, I feel the current scenario is more like a call for a boycott than a ban.

First, if something is of national importance and critical to national security, then the government should come into action and take cognizance of that fact. If Chinese products are harmful to India's economy or national security interests, the central govt should make them illegal. If the trade terms are unfavorable, then the Indian government should negotiate a better trade deal with China. The current central government not only has the power to do these things, but they also have the mandate to do it if they want. Calls for such boycotts or bans are often the result of nationalism fever which is at its peak whenever something happens at the border and gets nationwide coverage. In India, normally these border skirmishes are used as a political capital, they have a great political value especially when some major election is around the corner. One can easily see the pattern in the way these things happen, they are so predictable that many times one gets to doubt if they are choreographed for mutual benefit at the cost of the lives of poor soldiers who are used as political cash, this will be very unfortunate if true.

Second, there is a downside if you try to manipulate the market artificially. For this, let's discuss what is the downside if you eliminate the competition not by outperforming it but by boycotting or banning it. The first immediate benefit is that you eliminate a competitor. Second, you can now enjoy the monopoly, especially if you were the second-best, now, you are the best. Third, consumers are forced to come to you, not because you are the best option, but because you are the only option. These are short-term benefits. India was a closed economy for at least a couple of decades until it opened in 1991. One of the major drawbacks of this approach is that the lack of competition results in a lack of incentive to spend on R&D, and a lack of incentive to improve. Monopoly is taxing on customers' pockets, the worst, govt may seize this opportunity to control pricing and production by enacting new rules and regulations (remember the license raj era in India?).

Finally, another drawback is that things that are banned get smuggled and eventually sold in a black market for higher than their fair market price. Underground liquor sales in so-called liquor-free states of India are an ideal example of this. Bans are rarely effective in stopping something unless the govt is really serious about implementing them, and most of the time they are not serious they do it for appeasement or political reasons. This is the reason why bans rarely work. 

There are many other issues that one can discuss in this context, but the main thing that should worry Indians is the effect on the quality of available products in the marketplace and what if other countries take similar steps. Any country or its people have the right to decide what is best for them, they can choose to buy or not to buy whatever they want, and Indians can do the same as the rest of the world. Indians should just remember that as other countries like to sell their products in India, Indian businesses also need to sell their stuff outside to make a profit, and shutting the doors of a lucrative market like China is not a good option at this stage. The better option is to outperform the competition and make Indian products so attractive options that customers buy them on their own merit not under the fever of nationalism because fever comes and goes, but the quality stays.

Thank you for reading and please share your opinion about this topic. 

I am with you

I am with you. If you need any sort of emotional support, a shoulder to cry, a word of encouragement, someone to talk to, express your fears or frustrations, complain about any injustice, share your pain or happiness, or just a company, I am with you. We all need to be there for each other in a moment of need, this is an ideal I strive for, it may or may not happen, but there is no harm in trying. This post is not a reaction to the suicide of a young and successful Hindi cinema actor Sushant Singh Rajput. The post was planned and prepared much before that, I just felt the need to publish it after reading the news about this unfortunate incident. My views about mental illness and suicides were completely different while growing up in India and during my initial years in the USA, I used to think only weak people commit suicide. However, over the years I educated myself about the topic of mental health and learned a lot about it which I didn't know before. This learning changed my views completely and allowed me to look at my own life from a different perspective. Part of the reason for my ignorance can be attributed to the taboo associated with this subject in Indian society where I was born and grew up. Actually, it would be unfair to single out India for having a taboo associated with mental health-related issues, such a taboo still exists in many societies even today.

Mental health is a very complex subject. It is not easy for many to understand it, but everyone needs to make an effort to learn about it as we all may suffer from some mental health-related issues at some point in our lives. Whether we realize it or not, we all go through these things, the only difference is in some cases it is more severe compared to others. We all go through complex emotions, and our reactions can be vastly different towards the same incident, the intensity of emotions, and ways of expressing them differ from person to person. Many of us are vulnerable under certain situations, we feel insecure, scared, depressed, or anxious for some reason or for no reason at all. It is important to have some support during these unsettling times, it is especially important these days when families are nuclear and most people prefer to live a separate and independent life. It is not bad to be independent, rather it is a good thing, independence teaches us many valuable lessons. However, on many occasions, we need some psychological help and support, and if we are alone it is hard to find such support. We all need such support, we need someone with whom we can share our feelings, our fears, concerns, our highs and lows, where we can be ourselves without being judged. Even though we prefer to be independent and there is a physical distance that separates us, we can make use of technology to bridge that gap. Bridging this gap is now possible with the invention of social media, we all can support each other no matter where we live or how far we are from each other. Of course, it will be great to find someone like this among the people from our immediate surroundings, but if we can't, we should not hesitate to find genuine support in the virtual world.

I want to be one such support for people who need it. Please do not hesitate to reach out to me and I will try my best to be a person who could offer the required emotional support. It is easy to get in touch with me, apart from this blog, I am on social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter. I believe that offering someone support or hearing ear or encouragement is not a favor but can be a very rewarding experience for both people involved in it. I have done it on multiple occasions, someone did it for me when I needed such support and in both cases, it has enriched my life. Emotional exchanges are not easy, one has to cross a barrier before sharing their vulnerable side with others. Crossing this barrier can be easy for some and extremely difficult for some, it's a personal journey and personal challenge. It is true that emotional exchanges cannot be a one-way process, there needs to be a connection. Unless both people connect with each other there can not be a proper exchange of emotions, and there cannot be a bridge through which emotions can cross from one person to another, such connection is crucial. However, establishing an emotional connection does not always mean one can feel the pain or fear to the same extent as the next person is feeling, it is important to understand those feelings. It is extremely hard if not impossible to understand what exactly another person is going through. I have learned it through personal experience, it's easy to say "things will get normal," "be strong," or "don't worry," but sometimes things never get back to normal, people don't want to be strong, or they cannot stop worrying. A person who is offering support needs to recognize these feelings and then only can offer any useful support to someone going through an emotional crisis.

Depression or any other mental issue is real and let's talk about it. There is no shame in asking for help when we need it. People of all genders, sexual orientations, and social or economic backgrounds might go through mental health-related issues. Let's try to support each other and devote as much time as we can to help each other whenever one of us needs such help. I know that not everyone will be interested in devoting their time to this nor everyone can find some time to do this, let's try to contribute as much as we can within our limits. But if it is please consider it, mental health is as important as physical health, and if we can develop a community that can support each other's mental health, let's do it. Remember, I am with you if you need me.

Thanks for reading and please share your opinion about this topic. 

Getting comfortable with being uncomfortable

Being comfortable is a desirable stage that many of us try to achieve and one cannot be blamed for this. After all, who doesn't want to live a comfortable life, where everything is happening as per our desires, where we are not exposed to anything unpleasant which might make us uncomfortable. However, the truth is that it is not possible to live like that unless we make ourselves immune from everything, good or bad, happening around us. There are many problems that we face personally or know that only certain sections of society face, these things make us feel uncomfortable, challenge our sensitivities, and beg some action on our part. Some of these problems are so old and persistent that we wonder how human civilization which claims to be sensitive and compassionate allowed such an injustice to continue for so long. All of these things make me uncomfortable. At the same time, being uncomfortable challenges me to do something different, and makes me go out of my comfort zone and take risks, pushing my limits. In most situations, we have options.

We can either choose to maintain the status quo, remain silent, allow things to remain as they are, or try our best to induce a change in the right direction, the choice is always ours. Being uncomfortable is not an easy thing. It makes you feel uneasy, you get many questions about what and how. You might also feel responsible and guilty for not doing anything. It's a matter of choice, there is nothing right or wrong in this, one can choose to be uncomfortable about bad things happening around us or choose to ignore them thinking that there is nothing much we can do about it. I choose to get uncomfortable when I read or hear about some injustice, discrimination, harassment, or anything that challenges my sensibility, which doesn't sound right. I ask myself, what can I do to make a difference? I challenge myself to take some action, and take a step in what I feel is the right direction, no matter how small that step is. I do this not because I always think that what I do will change things or end the centuries-old traditions that I don't subscribe to, but because if it has to start from someone then why not from me? If I don't stand for what I believe, then who else will? If I look at my self-interest and safe passage and keep mum then how can I blame others for keeping silent? This is how I learned to get comfortable with being uncomfortable. As I mentioned, it is not a very desirable state as my mind continuously challenges me to do something about the things that I feel are not right, but I feel it is necessary to bring the change that I desire or preserve the values that I value.

Do you see any value in being uncomfortable? Do you see people being unfairly treated, suppressed, or discriminated which must make any sensible person uncomfortable? If yes, do you get uncomfortable after witnessing these things? If yes, then what do you do about your discomfort? If you do not feel uncomfortable, have you asked yourself, why not? These are the few questions which each of us should ask ourselves and find our own answers. These answers might make us feel comfortable about our choices or even better, might train us to be comfortable with being uncomfortable, and push our limits to strive for a better world.

Thanks for reading and please share your opinion about this topic. 

Congratulations Class of 2020

Today, May 17, 2020, was supposed to be the graduation ceremony for the UConn Law School Class of 2020. This year, almost all schools canceled their in-person graduation ceremonies due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This was an unprecedented move under unprecedented circumstances. I don't think any other class in the recent past graduated under anything even close to what the entire world is going through today. Our class is special, not just for our achievement for completing our respective degrees successfully, but also for graduating under unprecedented situations. Also, our class is the first graduating class that was part of a worldwide experiment of online learning, we shifted to that platform after short notice, within a week or so, this is indeed a remarkable feat to achieve. Kudos to all the universities, teachers, and their support staff for doing this with minimum technical glitches.

None of us imagined graduating like this when we started our respective journeys but here we are, in the middle of a pandemic where uncertainties are staring at us from every quarter of our lives. Our class knows from first-hand experience that this world needs independent thinkers, leaders who are willing to tackle any challenge, and teams who are willing to navigate through situations for which there is no past precedence. We have seen it all in the last few weeks. None of this was a part of our curriculum, but we learned it anyway and this will be one of our strengths going forward. Please remember the lessons you learned while dealing with your struggles and frustrations during the last few weeks, they are unique to us, they not only distinguish us but also make us special.

It really sucks not to be able to celebrate this marvelous achievement with our friends, family, teachers, and loved ones. It sucks not to be with each other at this important juncture and recognize people who helped us and contributed immensely towards making this possible. It also sucks not to be able to party today as we usually do. However, the lack of formal celebrations does not diminish the importance of this occasion even a bit. This moment remains as special as it was supposed to be. This moment remains as festive as it was supposed to be. This movement remains as colorful and magical as it was supposed to be because it's not the style of celebration that makes it special, it's we and our loved ones who make it special. Therefore, do not forget to celebrate it with your loved ones. This is also unique to our class, not only the social environment in which we are graduating is special even our celebrations are also going to be unique and special.

Let's raise a toast for our class and fellow graduates. We all did it and crossed the finish line successfully. Each one of us embarked on this journey with a lot of hope and expectations, we all are going to continue our journey to chase our own dreams and celebrate many more milestones. So, enjoy this moment, take a break, cherish those lovely memories that made this journey an incredible experience, and yes, do not forget to thank each and every person who made this possible, doesn't matter how you do it, call them, facetime them, video chat with them, text them, just get in touch and say thank you. Congratulations Class of 2020.

Thanks for reading.

My amazing journey to finish the law school

Some journeys leave an everlasting impact on our minds. These journeys might be full of uncertainties, hardships, occasional anxiety and frustration, and a lot of hard work, but overall, they are rewarding experiences. My law school journey is one such journey. I started this journey back in August 2020 with many uncertainties and doubts. I did not know if I would be able to finish it, how hard it would be, and many other concerns. It was a risky move, some people even warned me against it, they cited some examples who tried this and failed or quit, but I was ready to take the risk. I am glad that I did. It turned out to be one of the best experiences of my life. Not only my friends and family but UConn Law School and its support staff, my professors, and my classmates also made this experience very special. I enjoyed every bit of it. I am not sad that I will be leaving the law school as it was supposed to be a four-year course. Every good thing is supposed to end, but the happiness and knowledge that I acquired will remain with me forever. Every experience teaches us something, it becomes a part of us, and shapes our personality and thinking. No doubt, this experience is one of those experiences which transformed me inside out.

Many times, we have a dream and also the desire to pursue that dream, but we postpone our efforts or put them on hold for many reasons. Some of the most common reasons are our familial responsibilities, monetary restrictions, personal doubts or lack of confidence, or a fear of what people will say if I fail. I also had some of these concerns. I fell in love with American educational institutions way back when I started working as a postdoc at Rutgers University. The kind of experience these institutions try to provide to their students is unmatched, there are very few places in the world that are so diverse and welcoming for students all over the world. I had a dream to attend an American college or university, but the problem was I already came to the USA after finishing my formal education. Also, I did not want to get enrolled in any online degree or a short certification course, not because I do not value them or consider them any inferior, but because these things would not have provided me with complete university experience, especially on-campus university life.

I came to the US as a postdoc after finishing my Ph.D. in organic chemistry, so it was tough to justify going back to college to pursue another degree. But my dream to attend an American university remained with me, and I was searching for an opportunity to fulfill it. It is always hard to deviate from a set route to do something different. It disturbs the regularity of our lives, we need to get out of our comfort zone and do something that we could avoid if we want. Also, to chase a dream, not only do you need to have a dream but you also need to have a plan to chase it, especially if you have a family to support. I decided to give it a try in 2015 while working as a research scientist in the pharma industry. I loved my job and was well settled in the drug discovery field, I thought that it was a perfect time for me to try something different. I got interested in intellectual property (IP), and my mentor and elder brother Dr. Dev Singh germinated an idea to study law with a specialization in IP in my mind. I loved that idea as it would help me to achieve my dream of attending an American university and started working towards it. I prepared for the LSAT exam and secured a score within my desired range on the first attempt. I went through the application process and got accepted in both the law schools where I applied for their part-time J.D. program, I decided to join UConn Law School in a class of 2020 J.D. program. This is how it all started, I embarked on this exciting journey in the fall of 2016.

This journey also made me realize the meaning of the proverb "It takes a village to raise a child." I could not have done this alone. Support from my friends and family was more than crucial. My wife Reena proved to be a great companion and supporter for me during this journey. She not only took on familial responsibilities but also helped me to make some important law school-related decisions. Her conviction and fearlessness were a great help to me whenever I was in doubt. My professors and classmates were other pillars of support for me. I was skeptical if I could survive the "Socratic method" of teaching in American law schools if I could manage my full-time job and rigorous law school curriculum which involves a crazy amount of reading. However, my classmates and professors offered me all the support that I needed. My professors encouraged me, they believed in my abilities, appreciated my struggle and hard work, helped me to work on my weaknesses, praised my strengths, and offered constructive criticism wherever and whenever required. My classmates were very supportive not only did they welcome me with an open heart but also offered to borrow their books and notes, welcomed me to study groups, and arranged those group sessions on time convenient to me. My friends and family, especially Dr. Dev Singh and his family encouraged me to keep on working towards my goal, they all acted as my cheerleaders. I am indebted to all these people for their contributions and efforts to help me succeed in my dream.

Monday, May 5, 2020, was the last day of my law school classes. Now, no more classes to attend, no more assignments, no pressure for exams, and no anxiety to tread through the heavy traffic after finishing my work to reach the class on time. The memories that I created during these four years are priceless. Thank you from the bottom of my heart to everyone who made my dream a reality. Yes, dreams do come true, just give it a try. 

Thanks for reading and please share your dream which came true.

Is it possible to be neutral and political at the same time?

The topic of this post also originated from one of my Facebook discussions. One of my Facebook friends wondered if one can be neutral and support any political party or ideology? According to me, definitely one can. It's really a tough balance to strike, no doubt about it, but it's possible. Being neutral doesn't necessarily mean being politically inactive, one can choose to remain politically inactive, and nothing wrong with it, however, being neutral about one's opinions does not make someone by default politically inactive. Voting is one of the fundamental rights of citizens of any democratic country. While voting, one has to choose from the given options, this is how it works. Nowadays, in many places, there is an option for a write-in candidate (you can write the name of the candidate which you think is more suitable but not on the ballot), or NOTA (none of the above), but realistically, these options rarely make any difference. A neutral person can support a political party or vote for a particular candidate irrespective of her or his party. The only difference is that just because she voted for them such a person does not stop questioning or opposing whenever she feels there is a deviation from the agenda based on which she offered her support. Rather, such people are the first ones to ask for accountability and transparency, raise concerns, offer constructive criticism, and keep up the pressure. This is healthy for democracy. When a voter of any political party or a leader asks for accountability or raises difficult questions that party or a leader has to listen to those voices. The risk of losing an election is one of the biggest motivators for a political entity to take action. 

It is common to ignore criticism coming from opponents as the perception is they will criticize no matter what, that is why it is important to have a pressure group within the party that keeps an eye on what's going on. This means neutral voters or independent voters have a bigger role to play in politics than supporters of any political party or leader. There has to be a substantial number of independent voters to create this pressure otherwise populist politics is going to overtake. This is what's going on in many parts of the world where a certain political leader, party, or ideology has a massive fan following resulting in unilateral political discourse. In this situation, neither opposition nor independent voices matter much as they do not have any influence on the electoral outcome. That is why if you have an independent voice, and protect your independence, occasionally, you might feel isolated or out of place, but cherish that independence as it's neither a common thing nor easy to achieve. Be politically active without being bothered by the political undercurrents, and make sure to connect with right-minded people so that your voice is loud enough to register its presence. In any real democracy dissent or neutral voices are encouraged, if not, it's not a real democracy yet.

Thanks for reading and please share your opinion about this topic.

Difficulty of being neutral

Recently, during one of my Facebook discussions, one of my Facebook friends expressed concern about the problem of finding neutral voices in India. His question was pertinent and I am sure many people have the same question, how neutral are the voices who are popular on social media, in the print media, or who can shape or influence public opinions. The answer is not so easy. It's hard to be neutral or impartial. We all would love to be perceived as neutrals or impartial people. However, it's not easy to be neutral about our views. We all have some explicit or implicit biases and they shape our opinions. At the same time, we can be conscious of those biases, and recognize them while expressing our opinions or accepting them if someone points them out to us. Knowing about our own bias definitely helps us to be neutral or impartial. Actually, neutrality and impartiality are not the same, there is a subtle difference between them, but that difference does not matter for our discussion here.

Neutrality has to do more with the consistency of our reactions than their intensity or frequency. It does not mean that one reacts to each and every incident, as it's practically impossible in today's age and time. It also does not mean one reacts with equal intensity every time because our emotions vary from time to time depending on so many reasons, and many times it's not intentional. Neutrality means there is consistency in our reactions. It means we do not base our reaction based on who did it but based on what happened. If we condemn mob lynching in one incident and implicitly justify it in another it's not consistent, it's not a neutral reaction. People can choose to remain silent for a variety of reasons Sometimes they might feel that their voice is not needed as there are already enough people who are raising the same issue. Sometimes they think that they have nothing additional to add than what is already said. Sometimes they think that their voice won't be counted. Sometimes they feel that there is no use in speaking based on their past experience. Sometimes they are scared, frustrated, or depressed. Sometimes they are busy with other things or just forget to register their opinion. Just because most of us have social media accounts does not mean we need to speak and express ourselves on each and every issue. We can pick and choose when we want to speak, but the important question is, are we consistent whenever we speak? This is easy to verify, just check the history of that person. Do they speak only on certain issues? If they speak are they consistent about their stance? Do they justify something for some incidents and then criticize the same thing for another incident?

As I said, it's not easy to be neutral, especially if you identify yourself to be a supporter of any particular political party or ideology. If you are not neutral, just don't pretend to be one, as I said it's easy to figure it out, we have our footprints all over the internet. Being biased is common, but being neutral is not, however, pretending to be neutral is also very common. Decide what you want to be, after all, the choice is entirely yours.

Thanks for reading and please share your opinion about this topic.

How to deal with hateful comments on social media?

Some people must have personally experienced or witnessed some of my recent blunt comments on social media, either on Facebook or WhatsApp. I am very blunt to call on people who express implicit hatred towards a particular religion, especially Islam. I do not have many Muslim friends in my friend list and whoever is there does not post any communal posts, at least I never saw anything implicitly or explicitly hateful posts directed towards Hinduism or any other religion from them. If I see anything from their side I will be equally confrontational and blunt towards them as well, there is no doubt about that. But I see many such posts targetting Muslims in general from some of my Hindu friends, this is also a statistical phenomenon, many of these posts are factually wrong and are specially designed to target Indian Muslims. 

Posting comments or posts targeting any particular religion is not new on social media. This has been going on since social media-originated. However, the frequency and vitriol of this post have definitely increased in recent years. I do not normally react to such posts. But if they become regular in WhatsApp groups where I belong or I see such comments on my own posts from my Facebook friends, sometimes, it's hard to ignore. I directly confront such commentators and ask them to explain their comments. If they can't provide any logical explanation, I ask them openly if they hate that religion or have some bias against people following that religion, and can they explain it to me. I would definitely appreciate their honesty in accepting that they dislike some religions rather than posting implicitly hateful comments targeting people of a particular religion relentlessly. It's very simple, if you dislike something, have the guts to say it openly.  Many of these people show symptoms of xenophobia. Many become very defensive and try to explain that they don't hate or dislike any religion, however, they fail to provide any justification for their hateful comments. I ask very simple questions. Why do their posts consistently target only one religion for things that are common in most religions including their own? Why do they justify or defend when it is pointed out that people from their own religion are engaged in the same acts? Why do they target people of that religion rather than those practices or rituals? Many such people become mute when even one of these questions is posed. Some resort to personal attacks and try to call me names by using whatever superlative terms they can. I have unfollowed many such people if their behavior doesn't change and they keep on spreading communal hatred on my Facebook wall, I don't miss their posts as I don't need a daily dose of communal venom. They are still free to comment, but I don't see their posts on my wall, and I am very blunt in replying to biased comments as I know from where they are coming.

The feeling of communal hatred is so deep-rooted. For example, when I pointed out to one person that "all" his posts targeting Indian Muslims were factually incorrect. He didn't feel bad for posting lies, rather, he asked me why such posts are there only about a particular religion on social media. I was amazed by his ignorance. Actually, such posts are available about every religion on the internet, and people get regular feeds about the posts in which they are interested. There are silos on social media where people constantly share and consume content only related to topics of their likening. This is a disturbing trend, but it's growing day by day and it seems there is very little one can do to stop this. I know that my attitude may not be able to curb any such type of behavior in general, but it has definitely reduced such content significantly on my Facebook wall and in WhatsApp groups, people are more cautious when posting such things as they know that they will be exposed. People know that there is at least one person who might challenge or confront them. This is not a solution, but I don't see any other way as I have tried discussing with these people a lot and I have realized that it's not my job or even in my capacity to change their mind. There is a cost associated with this, some people are bound to get hurt and feel bad, and this is unavoidable. If I can reduce their opportunities to spread such hatred then I think I have done my bit to curb this nonsense. 

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The lockdown strategy is an inefficient and expensive way to fight against COVID-19

The recent COVID-19 pandemic has set a worldwide panic. Almost every government, whether national, state, or local is implementing some version of a lockdown strategy where people are either ordered or advised to stay indoors until further notice. This has resulted in the closure of public transport in some countries (like India), closure of non-essential businesses (almost in every country), loss of jobs, loss of public wealth (stock market, depreciation of assets due to recession in economy), and widespread uncertainty as there is no definite timeline about how long this may continue. One of the main arguments to justify this lockdown strategy is that this is the ONLY effective way to avoid or minimize public transmission of this extremely virulent pathogen which has the capacity to infect a large number of people if protocols of social distancing are not followed. No doubt, this is a very compelling and persuasive argument on its face. But the problem is, it is devoid of any credible evidence and without any cost-benefit analysis. Before people jump their guns for me mentioning "cost-benefit" analysis, I am not talking about determining the cost of human life and evaluating it against economic benefit or loss, I am talking about the analysis between various alternatives to this strategy, let's be clear about this.

It is not a secret that 100% compliance with any rule or policy is impossible. No matter how good implementation is there is bound to be a violation. Also, locking down the entire country is practically an impossible task. The most important factor that does not seem to be taken into consideration in this equation is that COVID-19 seems to be more dangerous for a particular age group and people with certain condition conditions. Numbers are displayed like reporting scores of an NBA, NFL, or cricket match without providing any further details about what these numbers really signify. Are these infections among high-risk people? What is the percentage of people from high-risk groups among reported deaths? What's the recovery rate among high-risk and low-risk people? These are only some of the questions that could be easily answered due to our increased speed and capacity to collect and process the data. All the efforts should have been directed towards protecting high-risk groups. Identify them, isolate them, and provide them with all essentials so that they don't have to mix with other low-risk populations without following strict social distancing protocols. It's easier to manage and control the behavior of a small group of people than putting an entire country in lockdown and expecting that everyone will obey it. Actually, the lockdown is an extremely inefficient, wasteful, resource-intensive, and expensive way of achieving the same goal, that is, to protect the high-risk people from infection of this virus. Only and only if this infection was extremely dangerous for everyone irrespective of their age or medical history the lockdown strategy in the way it is currently implemented would have made sense.

I wonder why these questions are not being asked in decision-making meetings? Why people are not proposing a more targeted approach than a one-size-fits-all approach? Why people are not able to see the self-inflicted damage on the economy and personal lives of the poor and marginalized? Why the number of infected people is important? What's the problem even if 90% of the country is infected if the death rate is within acceptable limits comparable to other similar infections? Imagine a scenario where 90% of a country is infected but only 0.1% of them are from the high-risk group. Is this better or worse than a complete lockdown where only 10% population is infected, but 10% of them are from the high-risk group? Why these models are not proposed or debated? Another thing to keep in mind is that any of these predictions based on modeling can be completely wrong. I worked in the area of structure-based drug design long enough to know that many times models fail to predict outcomes of complex problems. They are helpful, but they don't provide definitive answers and this should be a factor when considering predictions from any model.

As far as the lawmakers, national leaders, and other decision-makers are concerned, it is a win-win situation for all of them. If things get worse, more people die, they will claim, imagine the devastation without these precautionary measures. If things get better, and fewer people die, they will claim that this was the result of their aggressive measures. They win praise no matter what happens. Also, in hindsight, anything can be justified or criticized, this is called hindsight bias. The actual test is are these leaders willing to take steps that justify the cost they are inflicting on society or going to play safe and do what everyone is doing without analyzing if that's the best solution for their country or not? The answer is for everyone to see. 

This crisis will also pass for sure. I hope some of the questions which I posed above will be asked and we will be better equipped to deal with such pandemics in the future. I hope that worldwide panic will not be touted as a universal solution when we face another world crisis. I also wish to thank all who are at the forefront of fighting this war and are working tirelessly to deal with this situation.

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Eight years

On the 5th of this month was the eighth anniversary of this blog. Eight amazing years of learning and sharing through this amazing platform. The journey so far has been really rewarding for me and I value a lot what I learned in this process. The last four years were extremely busy, especially due to managing my law school studies and a full-time job. Like any journey, there are ups and downs in this journey, some mistakes made, and many lessons learned. There is no doubt that this is helping me to become a better human being and I thank all readers for their help in making this possible, especially the ones who share their views in the comments section, via emails, or on other social media platforms where I share the contents of the blog. The frequency of posts might go up depending on how much time I can devote to the blog once I finish law school.

Once again a big thank you to my all readers and please keep on sharing your views.

My mom and I

My mom, I call her mummy, and I share a unique bond. It's the same and at the same time different than any other mother-son relationship. I am her first child, so, I got an edge over my other two brothers because I got an early start.😉 My mom and I share a unique bond, it's hard to describe. As a person, we are poles apart, there are very few things common between us. Whatever characteristics and features I received from her genetically are there, but apart from that, we are completely different, still very close. I oppose most of her beliefs and many times, criticize them in the harshest possible words, but strongly support her right to practice them. She wonders why I am like this and I also wonder the same about her. This all sounds complicated, but it's not.

There is one thing for which I really give her credit and thank her, she never forced me to do anything against my wishes. This might sound an obvious thing to many, but it's a big deal and I don't know how did she manage to resist the pressure of making your kid follow all your religious and cultural values. I can't thank her enough for doing this, I am sure she must have regretted it whenever I revolted against most of the so-called traditions and rituals, but for me, this was the best thing that she did. This is still quite common in most societies, parents want their kids to inculcate all their values, religious, social, political, personal, and even professional. It was especially prevalent in the neighborhood where I grew up, most kids even ended up doing the same or similar job that their parents did. Like many, I also had a roller coaster teenage and college years. I wondered about things around me, had a lot of unanswered questions, and had no clue where I was heading in my life. My mom supported me, she didn't know what was going on, what did MSc or Ph.D. meant, or why my son was not doing a "normal" job like others, but she stood behind most of my choices. She also didn't force me to get married early which was again a common tradition in the community back then. I am sure all this was not easy for her, but she did it and it worked in my favor.

Mom lost her dad when she was a few months old, and this has created a deep impact on her mind. She has seen struggles of my grandmom as a single mom, and always gets emotional while talking about her. She had a comfortable childhood as her uncle and grandparents took care of her in the absence of her dad. She could only manage to complete her middle school at most as educating girls was not a priority back then. She got married at a very young age, she was around 13 or 14 years young. She migrated to Pune, a city in the Indian state of Maharashtra after marrying my dad. When she arrived in Pune she didn't know a single word of Marathi, it was very tough for her to adjust to this new place with a new culture and totally alien language. I still remember an incident about which told me when she got lost one evening while returning from an errand back to the rented room and couldn't ask anyone for directions as she didn't know the address as well as the local language. It seems one of my dad's friends found her stranded and brought her back to the room, she was petrified by this. She also went through all the struggles and troubles that a migrant family goes through while trying to establish themselves in a new place. Lack of proper education didn't make it easy for her, life was emotionally and physically challenging for her during her initial years in Pune. I still remember the days when she, I, and my younger brother Pankaj used to carry buckets of water every day from a water tanker that used to supply water as our neighborhood did not have access to tap water. 

Mom is overprotective of me. Maybe her own childhood and experiences made her so overprotective about her kids. Since my childhood, she never allowed me to travel alone, the first time I traveled alone in my life was when I took my flight to come to the US. She is very scared of rivers and oceans, the main reason is that my maternal grandpa died in a boat accident in the river Ganga. One can imagine her situation when Pankaj, my younger brother, decided to join a merchant navy. Like many mothers, she still worries about me and offers many suggestions that I don't follow, but she offers them anyway. We also had many arguments and disagreements, some serious ones, but none of those managed to create any personal rift between us that could not be bridged. My concept of respecting one's parents doesn't mean blindly obeying them, following their every order like an obedient son, I can't do this. I am not an obedient son, rather, I am the disobedient one. I am the one who refused to follow the orders and was absent from ritualistic functions because I didn't agree with those rituals. Defied all religious dietary restrictions. But this did not matter as far as my personal bond with my parents was concerned. Actually, over the years, I managed to evolve my relationship with both of my parents in such a way that I treat them more like friends than parents. This was the best way for a rebellious son to preserve the bond with his parents and maintain love and respect without being burdened with the expectation of obeying them. Like friends do, I make fun of them, discuss various things, criticize their views, advise them on their personal issues, and have a great time whenever I meet them personally. This is working great so far. I know that there are a few things that I may never be able to change about my mom, but I will keep on trying. I know that she will be doing the same thing from her side. This will keep both of us busy and can be one of the reasons to keep on persuading each other. Sometimes, 

With my kids, I find myself in a strange situation where I have to explain some of my mom's beliefs to them. They find themselves more distanced from these beliefs than me. It's a tough job, but it's also necessary, someone needs to explain why she has those beliefs. Mom's contribution towards my upbringing is undeniable, I am a witness to some of her struggles and I thank her for not quitting or succumbing to the pressure of society. But she knows this won't stop me from confronting her and this is the beauty of our relationship. I am grateful to her but not burdened by her sacrifices. I am her son, not a devotee, and I think she knows this very well. So, mummy, thank you for everything 🙏 and as always I love you and value what you did for me, and you know that I am not sorry about the many arguments we had so far and might have in the future.😀 Stay happy and stay well. 

Thanks for reading and please share your story about the relationship with your mom.