The Fourth Estate

Absolute power over everyhing is the driving force behind any human. Nothing comes closer to this, in modern times, than the fourth estate, i.e. the press. With our dependence on newspapers, television and internet for information, these oasis of information have become very important. Not only do they shape our opinions but in almost absolute sense they control them.
How else does one account for a nation celebrating when a child was rescued from a deep well? Or people vehemently discussing why a particular singer from their region, slated to appear on a television show, is the best? Or a common lady, with her life full of problems, worried about a fictitious character's fate who incidentally has more than one extra-marital affair and a lot of money. All this is the reality of India as it is today. It seems very absurd to me, especially as a technology student. I mean aren't there better things to be happy or sad or emotional about?
I am sure there are. With a country the size of India, I am sure there are things that are of some consequence happening somewhere in some part of the country. But the fourth estate of my country is too busy gathering news about the easily accessible and sellable things. I really doubt if that is the motivation behind the existence of press in a society.
The reason I wrote this blog is that I feel very awkward when I go home, from my college. Everybody's discussing such obscure things that it makes no sense to me. I often, then, wonder if the minds of these people are being controlled by some external force!

The Window at my Workspace

The last few months have been really hectic for me. I spent a lot of time doing layouts and simulations, so much so that now I have started to hate them. In these times of misery, my only solace was the view from the window at my workspace. I do not know what it offered but the variety of colors, through a tinted glass was a scene worth it. The view still captivates me. As a person new to photography, I do not think that I do enough justice to what I actually saw, but anyway here is a low resolution glimpse of what my driving force was in the last few months.

Soma Seller

What do you plan to do in the future? What will you do when you grow up? Questions like these are very often asked and whenever asked, perplexed me. I really did not know what I'll do when I "grow up". But now that I am on the verge of "growing up", these questions are not only serious but also daunting. As an undergraduate, there lies a world of immense possibilities for me. It seems like I can do anything I want. You know, join a job, go for further studies, open my own firm and what not. But experience prevents me from taking hasty decisions. I could do any of those things and I certainly have a bright future, but are those things worth the effort? I mean, toiling day and night to get the projects/thesis done. In the last few days I have found out that all these are very thankless jobs. Why? Simply because they don't depend on you, you depend on them!
Here is where I argue with myself that, if ever I do something I really want to, it will be something that only I can do. I mean I am not just doing something to earn money. I am doing something because I am required there and there is no solution for the problem except me. Its only in places/jobs like these that I think that I can find satisfaction and more importantly happiness. One then wonders if such jobs exist. Well, one is that of Soma Seller(one who sells happiness, even if artificial) and I would love to be one if I get a chance!