MEC DIaries

 

This was written 30 years ago. Back then the jokes sounded funny. Now I don't recall half the references, and the rest come across as juvenile. But still...

 

History, it is said, repeats itself. Pretty true. Take any event of any period, and you’ll find parallels in the contemporary era. So even if I say this story starts in 1992, it doesn’t really matter if we shift either way by a few years. The story basically remains the same, only the players change.

Now let’s go back to 1992 – the 14^th of September to be precise, when some 120 odd human beings all with their own dreams of making it big in life, join Model Engineering College, believing it to be a step in that direction.

Let’s meet some stalwarts of that batch – Danny, Martin, Latha & Tom of Bio-medical, Joby, Peter, Sindhu & Usman of Computer, and Anitha, George, Kamal & Rajan of Electronics Engineering.

What follows is not exactly their story. A few excerpts rather, from their dairies.

 

14.09.92

Danny – I seem to have made the right choice. The principal said, as far as Bio-Medical is concerned the sky is the limit.

Rajan – Only 450 students, and 486 computers. Great college!

 

28.10.92

Kamal – Oh God, when will this ragging end? Why do these people indulge in it? Such inferiority complex. I would never rag any of my juniors.

Anitha – All the seniors are jumping over each other to rag me. Today one of them even bought me ice-cream. I never though ragging could be so much fun.

Usman – I have often thought, why should we pray? Why should we go to the mosque every day? Now I have an answer to the 2^nd question – to avoid getting ragged during lunch hours.

Joby – They tell me ragging will improve my personality. What crap. Now I’m even scared of going to the toiler for fear of meeting a senior on the way.

Latha – Martin proposed to me today. I wonder what I should say. He is nice all right, but what if the seniors find out?

Martin – Wonder what she’ll say. If she rejects, I’ll just laugh it off and pretend I was forced by the seniors.

Sindhu – I’ll have to buy a mile length of thread for next Rakhi. I’ve already made two dozen brothers in the past one month. I don’t understand what’s wrong with having idlis for breakfast.

George – The senior girls made plenty of seductive comments. I hope they are as naughty as they pretend to be.

 

20.01.93

Tom – The university exams are only a week away, and I haven’t learnt a thing. The electrons seem to be drifting in all directions. If this is basic electronics, I shudder to think what the advanced versions will be like.

Peter – My life is in ruins. After all those treats in Bimbis and Caravan, she now starts calling me brother.

Usman – If only I hadn’t tried to understand, I would have finished learning by now.

 

01.04.93

Martin – Sports day tomorrow. Should I concentrate on the sprints, or try the high jump also?

Latha – Should I wear the green or the blue churidar? Will definitely have to put on my new earrings. Deciding what to wear on one day is tough enough and they spread the sports meet over two.

Anitha – I guess I’ll have to skip the sports tomorrow. Don’t have anything to wear. Nothing that goes with my new hand-bag.

Rajan – Today I saw a computer for the 1^st time. It looks like a TV connected to a typewriter.

 

18.07.93

Kamal – I hope the transistor amplifies as I think it does.

George – I thought the multivibrator was some sex toy. Glad I wasn’t asked to answer the question in class.

 

03.10.93

Kamal – Ragged 5 guys today. That brings the total so far to 23.

Joby – Ragging does improve your personality. For the 1^st time in life, I gathered the courage to flirt with a girl.

Martin – Shiny is real cute. She has a French look about her. I’ll try and make her an officer of the BMA.

Anitha – These guys are such lusty idiots. What do they see in those junior girls?

 

04.11.93

Peter – Spent the entire afternoon in the computer lab

George – These seniors are such cowards. All worried about their conduct certificates.

Kamal – The Digger record is now mine.

Danny – If it weren’t for guys like Laplace and Fourier, life would have been so much simpler.

 

23.12.93

Sindhu – Such a vulgar dance. Our boys are so much more decent.

Tom – Vulgarity exists in the mind of the beholder. Ours was a well-rehearsed dance meant for the family audience.

Latha – The boys have brought shame on the whole class. I’ll never speak to any of them again.

 

12.03.94

Martin - The house distribution isn’t fair. All the beautiful girls are in the same house.

George – If I could somehow become the treasurer of the house, it would be the most profitable endeavour in my life.

Peter – Spent the day in the computer lab

 

17.04.94

George – Got a front seat for the Thiruvathirakali today. It is The Event. Wish the girls came dressed like this every day.

Tom – If I don’t get a job after college, I guess I’ll start a juice stall. Did good business today.

Kamal – Arts is the time for necking. The architect of this college is a wizard. How he managed to get so many corners in one building never ceases to amaze me.

Peter – Spent the day in the computer lab.

 

29.05.94

Rajan – I must be the most outstanding student of the batch. This is the fifth time this semester I was thrown out of the lab. The principal was in college today.

Usman – The principal came to college today. Wonder what’s going on.

Anitha – Seems the principal came to college today. Must have been while I was in the lab. Anyway, it has started raining.

Peter – I cut class to sit in the computer lab. John told me he saw the principal today.

Joby – Looks like Thoppumpady is out to get me. If it goes on like this, I cannot able to get minimum sessionals. Saw the principal.

 

04.10.94

Sindhu – Crazy driver! Just when things were getting cozy, he goes and crashes the bus.

Joby – The fellow must have been concentrating on the rearview mirror when he crashed.

Rajan – I was having such a sweet time when that drunkard ruined it all. On top of that I had to put up with all those guys’ loud singing afterwards. A sweet night turned sour.

Kamal – Goan fish have really sharp teeth. Tore my shorts completely.

George – The tour was cool. The tour committee was the most decisive body after Narsimha Rao.

Danny – Ah! Give me Goa any day.

Joby – To err is human, but to really mess things up you need a whole committee.

Latha – Wonder what this mystery of the missing cap is all about.

Rajan – So embarrassing. As if no one has lost a cap before.

Tom – I think I will go into palmistry after graduation.

Peter – The last 10 days were bliss. An uninterrupted stint in the computer lab. Now its back to class.

 

16.10.94

Martin – I guess Beena really likes me. She spends almost all her free time with me.

Danny – Martin seems real hooked to Beena. Every change he gets he pulls her out of class. Poor kid can’t say a thing as it\s ragging period. I hope it’s not the same with Nisha and me. I think I’ve really impressed her with my knowledge of the stock market.

Peter – The computer lab closed early today.

Joby – Ragging must be a socialist idea. Gives everyone a chance to flirt.

 

18.10.94

Martin – I’ve quit drinking today. It was on Beena’s suggestion. Since we are of different religions, we’ll probably have to elope.

Tom – Learnt something new last night. Test tube babies are not actually born in large test tubes.

Kamal – None of the brats seem to be buying ‘Technobrats’

Peter – The computer lab is closing pretty early these days.

 

19.10.94

Martin – No more cigarettes. Beena’s wish is my command. Relationships demand responsibility.

Danny – I’m the only guy in college with a car of my own. Besides I’ve got a bike, am handsome, and own plenty of shares. What more could a girl want?

Pater – Got to do something about the lab closing early every day. Guess I’ll complain to the VP tomorrow.

 

03.11.94

Martin – The nerve of that girl. She took me on a royal ride. ‘Shot through the heart. She’s to blame. She gives love a bad name.’

Danny – This is life. All the while you wait for the perfect girl. And when you finally meet her, she isn’t interested. She’s waiting for the perfect guy.

George – Addiction, thy name is Digger.

Peter – Class left late today. I couldn’t get a seat in the lab until 9 PM.

 

17.03.95

Kamal – If arts is a great time for being naughty, Holi is even better.

Latha – Holi is great. You can let the boys play all their games publicly without having to appear shocked.

Usman – We should have at least one Holi a month.

Peter – Some terrorists with painted faces tried to recruit me into their gang. When I refused, they threw colour all over. As a result, I couldn’t go to the lab.

 

16.04.95

Kamal – Today the 4 of us started working on the mini-project. For convenience we’ve divided the work into 4 sections. First Sanjay will do the design. Then Sanjay will wire up the hardware. At the same time Sanjay will develop the software at home. After this Sanjay will write up the project report. The other three of us are to meet him every Monday morning and go see Mani sir together.

Danny – Had gone to the computer lab for some project work. Same some girls of C6 for the first time, after studying in the same college for the last 3 years.

Tom – Propose to Ameto on behalf of Joby. Was a bit drunk. Can’t recall if she slapped me with her bare hand or her slipper.

Joby – Long live AWAKAU.

George – The reason India is not a superpower is that we don’t have enough DSP engineers. We should stop Biomedical and start DSP.

 

14.09.95

Joby – Who wants Siemens anyway. There are so many better companies.

Kamal – Good I didn’t get the job. Otherwise I’d have had to treat everyone at Taj Residency. Besides Siemens only provides vegetarian food in their canteen.

Anitha – If I am smart enough to get into Siemens, I also know how to avoid a treat. Poor guys. They’re dreaming of Taj. They’re not even getting one at Zam-Zam.

Rajan – Such a waste of time. Ajith Sen sir tricked Rajesh & me into doing all the work. The two of us had to arrange the graphics hall and Room 101 with very little help. And finally neither of us was selected.

Peter – Spent the day in the computer lab. Some fellows got recruited today by some company in Bangalore. Seems to be a big deal.

Danny – Only Wipro can save us.

George – The Biomeds can at least blame their branch. What excuse can I have for unemployment?

 

03.10.95

Danny – India is a beautiful country. The Taj in Agra, the lakes of Simla, the forts of Delhi, the bushes of Rajasthan…

George – Genius is getting into the tour committee and not going for the tour.

Peter – Bushes and palaces though we may roam, be it ever so humble there’s no place like the computer lab.

 

14.02.96

Tom – I’ve given out Valentine cards to 24. Wish at least 1 responds favourably.

Danny – All this time I’d considered Raghav as my friend. And today he followed me to NSS hostel. So cheap of him. If it weren’t for him everyone would have believed my tale.

Rajan – Here I was, waiting in college with a card in hand. But she never turned up. Even losing a badminton match has never depressed me as much as her absence today.

 

24.05.96

George – Just two more week of college and no sight of a job. Have to start pretending to prepare for GATE or GRE.

Anitha – If I can avoid that treat for two more weeks, I’ll have made it.

Latha – No job offers yet. Better hook some fool fast.

Rajan – I hope at least IHRDE takes me. For the past two semesters, bell ringing hasn’t been very lucrative. The teachers are getting transferred too often.

Danny – How ironic life is. When I got into college, I just wanted to get out somehow. And now when it’s time for that, I wish I could stay on.

Kamal – Four years have just whizzed past. Though I admit my knowledge has considerably increased, some doubts linger. Like – How exactly does a transistor amplify? I want to find the answer to that some day.

Peter – I wonder if they will allow me into the lab after graduation.

 

 

And so it is friends – 110 engineers (some paused along the way) ready to face the life, the universe, and everything, their visions radically altered by 4 years of MEC. Those who once dreamt of becoming millionaires, now dream of just getting a job. As some smart alec said, “It’s easier to change your dreams than earn a million dollars.”

 

 

 

Mindsport - Mukul Sharma

In the pre-smartphone days, reading books or magazines was a popular way to occupy oneself during long train journeys. Especially if you were the type that did not enjoy talking to strangers. And so, it happened that I would religiously raid the newsagent’s stall at the railway stations, and arm myself with a bunch of periodicals, before boarding the trains for all those trips between home and hostel.

A constant in this mix was the Illustrated Weekly of India. The initial attraction was the jokes and the low price. I think it was just Rs 5, when others were around 10. But what got me addicted was this absolutely wonderful column curated by Mukul Sharma, titled Mindsport. It was a treasure trove of puzzles of all sorts. Numerical, Word games, Spatial, you name it. Mukul would present a few puzzles that he had found elsewhere, and readers would send in their own as well. A large portion of the page was taken up by the replies and explanations by the readers, which were fascinating as well. Mindsport alone would easily consume a couple of hours during each journey.

During our 1^st year of college, the last 3 hours of the week aka Friday afternoons were taken up by Engineering graphics, which many of us considered time-pass. On the weeks when we did not skip class to catch the 1^st show of the new release at Sridhar, many of us would be huddled around one of the large drawing desks, with the latest edition of Mindsport open before us. This became a tradition that lasted throughout the year, and made us actually look forward to Graphics class.

After Mindsport, the logical questions in various job tests were all kids’ play. During gatherings with friends or cousins, these same puzzles helped me appear as one of the smartest in the room. Was also aided by the fact that hardly anyone else read the Illustrated Weekly those days. Which, I soon found out, was not a blessing. The magazine shut down, for want of readers.

Cut forward to a couple of decades later. While waiting for our orders to be served, at a restaurant, I asked a couple of old Mindsport puzzles to my 2 pre-teens. This kept them engaged for about half-an-hour till the food arrived. And thus arose a new tradition. Every time we dined at a restaurant, my son would be quite eager to get the ordering done, so that I could ask them a new puzzle. Napkins would serve as paper to draw on, and condiment containers as props in efforts to explain the questions and the answers. Later also found out that my son was trying these puzzles on his friends, and their parents, impressing them as I had impressed my relatives years ago.

Reminded of all this when I read of Mukul Sharma passing away today. Mindsport alone would have made me forever thankful to him. Any person who I met later, who said they were readers of Mindsport, became a friend for life.

But my debt goes beyond that. He was also a superb writer on varied topics. A lengthy article of his in the same weekly, on The Origins of the Universe, got me all fascinated with this branch of physics, and led me to read up many more books on this subject, which continues to this day. Follow up on this introduced me to the writings of Stephen Hawking, George Gamow, and most importantly, Douglas Adams. Cosmic Theories also became the subject of the 1^st seminar that my friends and I presented in our 1^st year of undergrad.

So, to Mukul, for Mindsport above all, but also for introducing me to the Big Bang, Thanks for all the Fish!

Yeh Jo Halka Halka Suroor Hai

Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan's Yeh Jo Halka Halka Suroor Hai has long been a favourite, something I frequently go back to listen to.

Going through YouTube found a few other renditions as well. This gave an opportunity to mix it up a bit.

and this

Looking further, also found a version by Rahat Fateh Ali Khan that seemed to have the audience in rapture.

Then found this version by Farhan Saeed. It's sung more as a love song than a devotional. So not as attractive as the earlier cases. But can still understand the appeal.

Finally stumbled on this rendition in a Jeetendra - Rekha movie titled Souten Ki Beti. And I cannot unsee it :-( Click at your own risk on this last one. May ruin your memories of this wonderful song.

And the Best Sherlock goes to…

Sherlock Holmes has been quite an inspirational figure in more ways than one. Many other fictional detectives have been created based on him, his exploits have been adapted to the screen, multiple times, he has inspired many spin-off works such as ‘The Beekeeper’s Apprentice, ‘A Study in Emerald’, and ‘The Seven Percent Solution’, and he is one the most, if not the most, portrayed characters on screen.

There has been a recent uptake in interest in this character with 3 screen interpretations. There have been many adaptations before, but most of them were true to the original works. 3 contemporary versions all use the stock Doyle characters, but are quite distinct works. Here I try to compare these 3 bodies of work and figure out which works best; for me, at least.

1.       The BBC series ‘Sherlock’ that has made a star of Benedict Cumberbatch (1^st 3 seasons).

2.       The US TV series on CBS  ‘Elementary’ ( 3 seasons)

3.       The 2 Guy Ritchie movies featuring Robert Downey Jr.

While series such as HOUSE are also clear inspirations, I’ve excluded them as they do not have the Holmes and Watson characters by name.

There may be some spoilers ahead for those who haven’t watched, but not too much.

The minor awards (2/1/0 point):

Moriarty

Professor Moriarty appears in only a couple of the Doyle stories, and is mentioned in passing in a few more. However in most of the screen spin-offs, this character plays a much bigger role, usually the recurring arch-enemy.  Andrew Scott’s performance in Shelock is IMO the best of the 3. He created a compelling rival to Holmes & Watson, playing the character with a bit of a psychopathic streak. The idea of ‘Consulting Criminal’ was a nice add-on. Elementary had a clever twist to the character, however as most of Moriarty’s exploits happened before the events in the series, the character’s impact is not as memorable. The Moriarty in the 2 movies hardly registered.

Sherlock 2           Elementary 1     Movies 0

Irene Adler

This is another character that appears in just one of the book stories, but comes up in almost every screen version of Holmes. The stock romantic interest for Holmes, though that has not been really implied in the books, Irene has been played by 3 beautiful actresses in the 3 versions. Natalie Dormer and Rachel McAdams are both impressive. However it is only Lara Pulver’s character in Sherlock that intellectually challenges the detective in solving a case.

Sherlock 4           Elementary 2     Movies 0

Mary Watson

She has not appeared in Elementary yet. The Mary in Sherlock is quite a departure from the books. Somehow seems to over complicate the story-line. Kelly Reilly’s portrayal in the movies was the closest to Doyle character.

Sherlock 5           Elementary 2     Movies 2

Mycroft Holmes

A 3^rd personality with a minor role in the books, but is found in all the screen adaptations. All played by accomplished actors as well. Both the TV series show some animosity between the brothers, which does not exist in the books. While he does not have a big role in the movies, Stephen Fry is always a welcome sight. Rhys Ifans’ character in Elementary started off as a distraction from the plots, but then became more central to the stories. Mark Gatiss, on the other hand, began impressively in Sherlock, but became more of an annoying presence in later episodes. Will tend to not award anyone full points for this.

Sherlock 6           Elementary 3     Movies 3

Mrs Hudson

Una Stubbs in Sherlock easily wins this one. Especially with her repeated efforts to remind her tenants that she is their landlady, and not their housekeeper.

Sherlock 8           Elementary 4     Movies 3

Inspector Lestrade

Rupert Graves in Sherlock stands out as the most memorable of the 3. Would remember him for saying, "Sherlock Holmes is a great man, and some day, if we're very very lucky, he might even be a good one." 

Sherlock 10         Elementary 4     Movies 4

Inspector Gregson

Only Elementary has a significant role for him, played by Aidan Quinn.

Sherlock 10         Elementary 6     Movies 4

Sebastian Moran

While he does appear in all three, it is only Vinnie Jones that leaves a lasting impression. An Arsenal fan to boot.

Sherlock 10         Elementary 8     Movies 5

The Villains

The most impressive is Charles Augustus Magnussen, who’s based on Milverton from the books. For him alone Sherlock would get top points. However all the villains portrayed in Sherlock are intellectual challenges. Elementary falters a bit on this count. This is understandable given the large number of episodes, each with a fresh plot. Lord Blackwood was a worth rival in the 1^st movie.

Sherlock 12         Elementary 8     Movies 6

Non-Canonical characters

Elementary has Marcus Bell & Kitty boosting up the interest levels. Molly Hooper does the same in Sherlock, as does SImza (Noomi Rapace) in the movies. Elementary has the edge here as the characters are more prominent.

Sherlock 13         Elementary 10   Movies 6

The More Important Awards (4/2/0 points)

Story plots

The movies are more of thrill-a-minute escapades than whodunits. Sherlock had some good plots in the 1^st 2 seasons, before it became too melodramatic in the 3^rd. It is Elementary that is most faithful to the central puzzle-solving ideas of the originals.

Honestly do not know what screenplay exactly means. But I think this has also been covered here.

Sherlock 15         Elementary 14   Movies 6

Holmes

Benedict Cumberbatch became a star through Sherlock. He has managed to capture most of the quirks and eccentricities quite well. However he has tended to overplay certain idiosyncrasies and ham a bit, in each progressive season. I’d think Robert Downey Jr, comes across more convincing as Holmes, playing him with a bit of insouciance, but still resonates with the book descriptions on focus and determination.  Johnny Lee Miller isn’t quite as impressive as the other 2. Will go for Downey on this one, closely beating Cumberbatch.

Sherlock 17         Elementary 14   Movies 10

Watson

This is, IMO, the most important role in the stories. While the titular character may have more airtime, and dialogue, it is Watson through whom, we see the stories. Holmes is an eccentric and brilliant genius, even beyond the smart ones amongst us. It is Watson, who the audiences can identify with, and through whose eyes we witness the genius at work.

All 3 series have established actors playing Watson. However it is in this department that Sherlock steals a march over the other 2. Martin Freeman has probably given the best performance of any actor across the 3 sets. He displays the right balance of surprise at the events, and enthusiasm to involve himself, that we fans can identify with, as our own emotions at those junctures. A gender change for Watson in Elementary is a good novelty. But Lucy Liu displays more weariness, than disbelief, at Holmes’ antics. Jude Law seems all too eager to jump into the action, as if he is on the same wavelength as Downey’s character. So not an effective window for the audience.

Sherlock 21         Elementary 16   Movies 10

Overall

All are very good re-interpretations of the classic stories. The 2 TV series are a tad better than the movies. Guy Ritchie’s version is a bit like AC Doyle meets the Wild Wild West. Sherlock has tended to become a bit melodramatic in Season 3. Elementary has continued to focus on mysteries; however it tends to meander a bit too frequently, into existential angst of addicts. Sherlock comes out as the best, mainly due to 2 factors.

• A very finely written Watson, that has been portrayed exceptionally well by Martin Freeman. The standout actor across the 3 sets,
• Well-developed and distinct characters all around, be it Moriarty, or Mrs Hudson, all pushing the story forward without distraction.

That Messi goal!

Some time in the early 90s playing against the Aussies, Kapil Dev produced a magical spell of 3 consecutive out-swingers. I did not see this match, only read about it later in Sportstar. The 1st ball bowled out Alan Border (so technically an in-swinger), and the 3rd bowled out Dean Jones. Apparently it was the 2nd that was the best of the lot. It swung just a bit, and quite late. Dean Jones, who was in a purple patch at that time, played at it and missed. The ball missed the off-stump by a whisker on its way to the wicket-keeper. The writer opined that only Don Bradman could have got out to that.

Meaning the ball was so good, that even the best batsman in the world would have got out to it. And it was so good, that only the best batsman could have got out to it. Dean Jones, great batsman that he was, was not good enough and reacted a bit late.

Sometimes you need to have the best batsman at the other end to witness the excellence of the bowler. And vice-versa. Similarly it takes one of the best defenders playing currently, backed by one of the best goalkeepers to showcase the magic of Messi's 2nd goal against Bayern in the CL semi-final 1st leg.

The 1st goal was typical Messi. He has, so many times, picked up the ball near the right wing, and then cut across parallel to the goal, looking for an angle to shoot with his left foot. Sometimes this would mean skipping past 1, 2, 3 defenders until he found a straight line from ball to goal. He didn't have to do any of that here. Dani Alves did most of the work in cutting the ball across from the left and passing it. Then he moved it to his left foot and let go. Neuer thought he was going for the far end upper corner, and got beaten on his near-side lower end. This partly helped set up the 2nd goal. 

The 2nd goal was genius. Messi picked up the ball and started moving down the line near the edge of the D. When he neared Boateng, he opened up his left shoulder and arm very slightly as if to start cutting across like he normally does. Boateng, either seeing this shoulder movement, or knowing Lionel's propensity to cut across, started to shift his weight to his right, and deny any space for the maestro to shoot with the left. In less than an instant, the striker decided to change directions and go past the defender's left. Boateng, almost immediately noticed this and tried to change direction as well. But his weight had already shifted to the right, causing him to lose balance and fall.

That fall showed how good this World Cup and Champions League winning defender is. Most defenders would have just stood there, and then reacted much later. A very good defender, would have played on the probability, and moved to his right, then ended up looking bewildered as Messi ran towards his other side. Only the best defenders, would have  1st moved right, then immediately tried to change direction, and lost their balance. No one playing fairly could have stopped him.

It took the skills of Boateng to emphasize the magic of Messi's movement. And he wasn't done yet. He topped this with a delectable chip using his weaker foot that outfoxed the giant frame of Neuer. Something that Danny Welbeck tried and failed, the previous season.

Making to World Cup winners look like amateurs. What better way to drive home the point of who's the greatest?

Delhi's water for free

The new Delhi government, keeping its poll promise has announced 20KL of free water a month to each household with a metered connection. Use a litre more than this, and you'll be charged for the entire amount of water consumed. i.e. 20001 litres. This scheme is likely to be a disaster. And one needn't wait long to see the effects.

The scheme heavily penalizes usage beyond the 20KL. So there is a huge incentive to 'officially' use just below 20KL every month.

What could happen is:

• Spurt in (requests for) metered connections.
• Large scale tampering of meters.
• Households monitoring their water consumption closely, and stopping each month and just below 20KL. They would then depend on alternative sources for their remaining consumption. This could be water tankers, or bore-wells (don't know if they exist in Delhi).
• Connections which currently use well below 20KL per month, could start selling their surplus free water in the black market.
• Large number of complaints about faulty meters.
• Increased number of outages and disruptions in water supply. Delays in fixing them.

It would be interesting to see the distribution of water consumption across connections before and after this scheme. While before could most likely be a normal curve, the distribution with this scheme would likely peak just below 20KL with it falling sharply to 0 on either side. It would pick up again at values > 30KL.

PS: Just had a look at my water bill. It must be a really large household to reach even close to 20KL per month.

Of Gods and Men

The requirements for the genesis of a religion

• Blind adoring fans. E

• Drastic fall in intelligence levels when talking about object of worship. E

• Animosity towards anyone who disagrees or criticizes. Ad Hominem attacks. E

• The feeling that everyone else shares the same devotion.

• Seeing meaningless patterns and co-incidences in words and numbers related to the 'diety'. E

• A place of worship, perhaps with a statue inside. E

• The need to prove that he / she is superior in all respects. Quoting numerous and twisted statistics / tales to do so. E

• Trying to outdo each other in proving allegiance. Often going over the top to do so. Bending rules in the process. E

• Ascribing miracles to idol <pending>

Perhaps in a few years, we'll hear of a little girl miraculously cured of blindness, after sleeping with a Sachin poster on her wall. And then we'll have all the ingredients.