Disqus - Latest Comments for Priyank

Re: Reportage and Matrimony

Priyank — Tue, 23 Sep 2008 11:59:03 -0000

Haha, this is classic :)

Re: Haji Lane Last Night

Priyank — Sat, 04 Oct 2008 09:33:05 -0000

Hey, nice to discover your blog and the fantastic things you've done already! Happy 23rd and enjoy the travels :)

Re: Digitizing Memories with a Techno-Bhajan Mix

Priyank — Mon, 27 Apr 2009 16:52:02 -0000

Mahendra

Wow, that was more than just a mp3 file. Really cool memories and all.:) Did you say 1995 and WWW? Boy, I had seen a computer once by then!

I thoroughly enjoyed the first 3 minutes. After that it just got too much Technoish. ;-)

And its great that you are playing again. Really cool! Won't you ask for a rating? LOL

Priyank.

Re: Digitizing Memories with a Techno-Bhajan Mix

Priyank — Tue, 28 Apr 2009 00:22:10 -0000

Well if you simply picked it up and played it after a gap of 20 years and the people did not run away, I'd earnestly appeal you to resume learning again. You don't have to be a Zakir Hussain, and hobbies (esp classical music since I am biased) are never a drag. Oh don't give us silly excuses now.

Re: Digitizing Memories with a Techno-Bhajan Mix

Priyank — Wed, 29 Apr 2009 00:37:19 -0000

How do you write kshobha?

http://priyank.com/weblog/2008/01/30/pavan-deva...
I got several hate mails, you wont believe it. :)

Re: A to Z of Films Meme (K)

Priyank — Mon, 18 May 2009 12:37:01 -0000

Ah, I like your selection Mahendra!

I often quote the Kinsey scale while educating people who are unaware of homosexuality or sexuality in general. I think the movie is made very nicely and has a good blend of theory, humor, 'adventurous' social behavior etc. The other movie I liked and was part of many scary dreams was Khamosh. If I remember, the movie has no songs. For a long time I was skeptical about houseboats and I swore I'll never live on one. hehehe!

Re: Encouraging Superstition on TV

Priyank — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 12:51:19 -0000

Talking about nimbu-mirchi thing, people deliberately throw them on street so that "others" can step on them. How selfish and evil is that?? It always bothered me - not the superstition, but the disposal.

I love bursting things under my feet. I always did it, I think these things are replaced every Saturday (correct me), and streets are usually strewn with lemons - waiting to be crushed. The other thing I remember crushing under my feet was the 'rakshas' (demon) fruits during Diwali. :)

Re: Mentally Challenged, Raped, Pregnant. Abort?

Priyank — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 08:47:02 -0000

//should poor women, who are found lacking in bringing up their children, be allowed to become mothers

I should be the last person to comment on women and pregnancy, but I found one particular argument very appalling. I'll boldly say that I feel that half of the parents out there don't know how to raise a child, or don't want to - but are forced to do it under the norms and expectations of society. But using this argument to support the subject's appeal to keep the baby, is unjustified.

// Is it not possible for the Chandigarh administration to take care of the child?

I also think that the anti-abortion argument is overly egoist and self-congratulatory. What's the plan to raise the baby? Give it to the government? i.e. give the baby to the same administration that 'took care' of the subject at Nari Niketan. Again, I don't understand how a parent can be absolved of her responsibility so easily.

Unfortunately, women are the victims - as always.

Overall, I think there's a complete lack of rationalism in this judgment. It might be idealist, but who cares about idealism?

Re: Mentally Challenged, Raped, Pregnant. Abort?

Priyank — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 08:48:08 -0000

Hey, I've seen a number of Hindi movies where the rapist is made to marry the victim and raise the child, "and they live happily ever after".

Re: Mentally Challenged, Raped, Pregnant. Abort?

Priyank — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 08:54:03 -0000

Mahendra, I find some definitions of "rights" very situational (or narrow). Is the fetal right limited to being born, or does it have a right to be born and lead a good life?

People have used the scope of rights in interesting ways. "Its my right to have unprotected sex", then "its my right to abort", and finally, "its my right to leave the woman" or "its my right to abandon the child". In isolation, these sound lovely rights, but in a holistic view, they are quite destructive.

Re: Mentally Challenged, Raped, Pregnant. Abort?

Priyank — Fri, 31 Jul 2009 01:53:14 -0000

I fully agree with everything you say. However, I am worried of what would happen to the baby once it is born. While we would be celebrating and partying over this honoring of rights, the baby would be left with inadequate parenting - just like millions of other babies in the country. We have too many awful parents anyway, why add another parent who is known to be a baby herself?

Sounds like a case of winning the battle but losing the war.

Re: An Unquiet Mind of A Social Geek

Priyank — Sun, 16 Aug 2009 19:00:51 -0000

Hi Mahendra,
This was inevitable and congrats for giving birth to a new blog. It will be immensely useful from a professional perspective too, since you'll be able to showcase your work and connect to people when you start working as a social media consultant, which I see happening sooner than later. A similar thought had crossed my mind when I separated the travel blog, but I've discovered that my personal blog gets a step motherly treatment now. Nothing intentional, but it takes efforts to run two blogs for sure. So while I think that I'll follow your techie blog to a limited extent, I'll be looking for your personal rambles on this space as always.
cheers,
Priyank

Re: Welcome to the Skeptic Geek!

Priyank — Wed, 26 Aug 2009 06:46:07 -0000

Congrats Mahendra! Everything looks very good. I will remember to update my blogroll. :)

Re: Different Directions

Priyank — Sun, 08 Jun 2008 22:16:39 -0000

Great! It will be a good time to visit the inner regions as monsoon is fast approaching. Or maybe it already did :)

Re: We’re Going To South Africa!

Priyank — Tue, 07 Oct 2008 12:00:38 -0000

Have a good trip Dave, SA should be fun!

Re: Setup Two (or Multiple) Blogs in Wordpress

Priyank — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 19:21:39 -0000

Hi Mahendra,

I agree with all your arguments and indeed that's why I did exactly what you did (except that I no longer point my travel blog to the root.)

Oh, why do you say: "Is heavy traffic and site performance a consideration? In that case, using a single database might help site optimization." Wouldn't it be better to have separate databases to keep them from interfering? Simply because having too many tables and entries in one database but queried by two different blogs sounds kinda cumbersome, especially if you (and you will) use cache plugins.

Re: Cost of living comparison: Mumbai vs NYC

Priyank — Sat, 11 Jul 2009 01:06:59 -0000

Hi Amit!
Having lived in both cities I find some numbers compared from a different basis although I understand your perspective. For example, a meal at $12 in NYC is pretty normal for lunch (with tipping reaching 20% these days....pfffft..). However, an equivalent 'decent restaurant' in Mumbai - in my opinion - would be be a Rs 80 ish lunch. At Rs. 200 thats among the nice places. I know its relative, but if one considers the percentage of New Yorkers having a $12 lunch, for Mumbaikars it would be Rs 50 or so!
I think this complexity arises due to the exchange rate used. If one uses PPP basis, things might compare better. But the list is quite useful for sure! Thanks. :)
Priyank