POEM 16 - Phantasmagoria: Reflections on the Illusion of Life

Life is but a fleeting dream,
An illusion, it would seem,
A world of shadows and of light,
A dance between the day and night.

We wander through this land of mist,
In search of meaning and of bliss,
But all we find are fleeting joys,
And fleeting pains that life employs.

The chimeras that we pursue,
The phantoms that we think are true,
Are but illusions, false and vain,
That leave us wanting, filled with pain.

The mirage of fame and fortune,
The glittering prize that we importune,
Are but a fickle, fleeting flame,
That leaves us empty, lost in shame.

And so we journey through this life,
With hope and fear, with joy and strife,
Seeking to find what cannot be,
The truth behind this mystery.

But in the end, we come to see,
That life is but a tapestry,
Of shadows and of light entwined,
An illusion of the human mind.

So let us cherish every day,
And live our lives in our own way,
For though this world is but a dream,
It's the only one that we have, it seems.

And yet, though life may be an illusion,
A fleeting dance of light and confusion,
It holds within its transient grasp,
A beauty that will forever last.

The warmth of sunshine on our skin,
The gentle breeze that makes us grin,
The laughter of a child at play,
The simple joys that come our way.

These are the moments we must hold,
The memories that cannot be sold,
For in their essence, we can find,
The truth that lies beyond the mind.

For life may be an illusion, it's true,
A flicker of light that's passing through,
But in its midst, we have the chance,
To dance with joy and not just glance.

So let us revel in the mystery,
Of life's sweet, transient history,
And cherish every moment, every day,
For that is the only true way.

POEM 15 - Zephyrs of Serenity: A Respite from Life's Tumultuous Tide

Serenity, oh elusive state,

A place where worries dissipate,

Where tranquil waters ebb and flow,

And harmony is all we know.

Beneath the boughs of verdant trees,

We bask in gentle zephyrs' breeze,

Their susurrations soothe the soul,

As time's relentless wheels unroll.

The petrichor of freshened earth,

And birdsong of incalculable worth,

Euphonious melodies entwine,

As we relinquish thoughts malign.

Within this idyll, we embrace,

The stillness of this sacred space,

A respite from life's tumultuous tide,

And refuge where the soul may reside.

Oh, serenity, we yearn for thee,

In this chaotic world, a rarity,

May we find solace in thy embrace,

And forevermore, in thy serenity, grace.

As we imbibe the beauty of this scene,

Our minds become a tranquil screen,

A blank canvas, devoid of strain,

As we let go of worries and pain.

For in serenity, we find our peace,

And all our troubles seem to cease,

A sanctuary for the heart and mind,

A haven of calm, so rare to find.

So let us seek this precious state,

And revel in its blissful gait,

Embrace its gift, its gentle grace,

And let serenity take its place.

Let us cherish these fleeting moments,

And carry them with us as we go,

A reminder of the tranquility,

That we can cultivate and know.

For in the midst of life's chaos,

We can find solace in serenity,

And allow ourselves to be at peace,

In a world that's often frenzied.

May we always remember,

The value of this sacred space,

And make time to seek serenity,

In this hectic, fast-paced race.

For in serenity, we find balance,

And the clarity we need to thrive,

A respite from the noise and haste,

And the peace to keep us alive. 

--Siva

Article 18 - The Path to Wellness: How to Embrace a Wholesome Healthy and Financially Astute Lifestyle

                                     Living an enriched life encompasses more than just physical well-being or financial stability – it's about finding a harmonious equilibrium between the two. When you prioritize your holistic well-being in both health and finance, you pave the way for a more gratifying and prosperous life. In this article, we will delve into some pragmatic tips for embracing a wholesome healthy and financially astute lifestyle.

Prioritize Your Health

Your health is an invaluable asset, and nurturing your physical and mental well-being is paramount for a vibrant lifestyle. Here are some suggestions to prioritize your health:

a. Engage in regular exercise: Consistent physical activity is crucial for maintaining fitness, managing stress, and averting chronic ailments. Discover activities that bring you joy, such as hiking, cycling, dancing, or practicing tai chi, and aim for at least 30 minutes of moderate-intensity exercise on most days of the week.

b. Nourish your body with a balanced diet: Fuel your body with nutrient-dense foods, including an abundance of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, lean proteins, and healthy fats. Minimize excessive sugar, salt, and processed foods, and practice mindful portion control.

c. Prioritize quality sleep: Restorative sleep is vital for physical and mental well-being. Aim for 7-9 hours of uninterrupted sleep each night to allow your body to rejuvenate, repair, and function optimally.

d. Manage stress effectively: Prolonged stress can have deleterious effects on your health and well-being. Practice stress-management techniques such as mindfulness, meditation, deep breathing, or engaging in creative pursuits and activities that bring you joy.

Practice Financial Prudence

Financial stability and responsible money management are pivotal for a secure and worry-free future. Here are some suggestions to practice financial prudence:

a. Create a comprehensive budget: Develop a budget that delineates your monthly income, expenses, savings, and investments. Adhere to your budget diligently and track your spending to ensure that you are living within your means and diligently saving for your financial aspirations.

b. Save and invest wisely: Set aside a portion of your income for emergency savings, retirement savings, and other financial goals. Consider diversifying your investments to augment your wealth over time.

c. Minimize debt judiciously: Minimize and manage your debt judiciously. Avoid unnecessary debt, prioritize paying off high-interest debts, and strive to maintain a favorable credit score.

d. Embrace frugal living: Be mindful of your spending habits and prioritize needs over wants. Seek ways to economize, such as cutting unnecessary expenses, scouting for deals, and practicing conscientious spending.

Find the Equilibrium

Striking the right balance between your physical health and financial well-being is pivotal for embracing a wholesome and financially astute lifestyle. Here are some pointers to find the equilibrium:

a. Set realistic and SMART goals: Establish specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound (SMART) goals for your health and finances. Prioritize your goals and formulate a robust plan to achieve them, accounting for both short-term and long-term objectives.

b. Make mindful choices: Be discerning of the choices you make on a daily basis that impact both your health and finances. Strive to make mindful decisions that align with your values and aspirations, and abstain from impulsive or detrimental choices that can adversely affect your well-being.

c. Seek professional guidance: If you feel uncertain about managing your finances or maintaining your health, seek professional guidance. Consider consulting with a financial advisor, a healthcare professional, or a registered nutritionist for expert advice and support.

d. Cultivate healthy habits: Incorporate healthy habits into your daily routine that promote both physical well-being and financial prudence. For example, meal planning and cooking at home can not only improve your health but also save you money. Similarly, finding affordable ways to exercise, such as walking or cycling, can benefit both your health and your wallet.

e. Foster a growth mindset: Embrace a growth mindset and view challenges as opportunities for growth and learning. Be open to acquiring new knowledge and skills related to both health and finance. Stay informed about the latest research, trends, and best practices in these areas to make informed decisions and adapt your approach as needed.

f. Practice gratitude and contentment: Lastly, practice gratitude and contentment in your life. Cultivate an attitude of gratitude for what you have, and learn to find contentment in the present moment. Avoid succumbing to materialistic desires or constantly chasing after external validations of success, as this can lead to financial strain and negatively impact your mental well-being.

                                    In conclusion, leading a wholesome and financially astute lifestyle involves prioritizing your physical health and financial well-being, finding the right balance between the two, making mindful choices, seeking professional guidance when needed, cultivating healthy habits, fostering a growth mindset, and practicing gratitude and contentment. By integrating these practices into your daily life, you can pave the way for a fulfilling, prosperous, and well-rounded life. Remember, your health and financial well-being are intertwined, and investing in both is a wise decision that can yield long-term benefits. So, embark on this journey towards holistic wellness and financial prudence today, and reap the rewards for a lifetime.

--Siva

Article 17 - Information Technology - Boon or Bane

                          One of the common and all time favorite Group Discussion (G.D) topic for freshers in on/off campus interviews is : Information Technology (I.T) - Boon or Bane. Let us deep dive into the topic and analyze with more details.

Introduction:

Today, India is well known for its deep rooted knowledge in the field of information technology or in short I.T. Evolution of technology is at its rapid pace and information is transferred within nano seconds now a days. Telephones, televisions, radios, computers, mobile phones and internet are some of the terms we hear in IT for a long time which evolved from a traditional techie era to an ultra modern digital era with smart phones, internet of things, artificial intelligence and so on. Iphones, Ipods, Android phones, tablets, pamphlets, laptops etc are emerging with a new shade continuoulsy in the market and transforming themselves to smart home, smart city, smart hospitals, smart transportation etc. 

Let us take some examples of IT as a boon below:

Boon:

1. Computers - Desktop/Laptop: Computers are considered as the backbone of the IT industry which are now shape shifting to Robots, AI machines, IOT products etc. They are already spread across telcom domains, banking and financial sectors, small and large scale industries, defense, post office, transportation - railways, buses, cars, space crafts, hyper loops, skywalks, bio technology, space and aeronautical centres, primary and secondary storage devices, hard disks, memory cards and the list goes on. 

2. Internet: This is used everywhere and it acts as the soul of IT. To take admission in a foreign institution, to collect geographical information, to book air/rail/bus/car tickets, to collect demographic information, for weather forecasts, to check the exam results from any corner of the world, usage of ewallets for money transactions, sending important emails, to find your life partner, and used in all the personal and official work places in the world. Search engines like Google acts like a common gateway for using internet. Cloud computing and cloud storage are 

3.IOT/AI: IOT or AI are the latest buzz words in IT. Machines are learning themselves to help humans for an automated future. Until machines are controlled by humans, they are still in the boon list.

Bane:

1. Hacking: To steal data from internet by sitting anywhere in the world. Security of armed forces data is on high risk - terrorists can hack files before you snap your fingers or blink your eyes.

2. Illicit Content: Teenagers get addicted to this and affects their mental health

3. Cyber crime: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cybercrime

4. Viruses: Billions of computers are affected all over the world within seconds. Antivirus softwares are on high demand but still malwares, spywares and ransomwares are to name a few on the spree. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Computer_virus

5. Bitcoin Gambling:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bitcoin This is not considered as a legal currency tender in India, but it just triggers an excitement to youngsters to trade their money on it. 

6. Addiction to Online Games: Online games and apps are proving an addiction to all teenagers and kids of current generation in such a way that they forgot how to play games physically outside their own homes. 

7. Software / Data Piracy: Refers to illegal installation of software, distribution, sale and use of infringing software. This leads to leakage of original content like getting a copy of movies released in theater into your handset on the same day

8. Copyright issues: Copyright rules are broken when data is stolen or copied from the original content. Refer https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plagiarism for more details.

9. Online Thefts or Threats: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Web_threat This falls under the point number 3, but in specific it means somebody can easily steal all your hard earned money from your bank account in a fraction of seconds.

10. Digital Security at risk: At the end, with all the cyber crime problems, your digital security is at high risk if you are not aware of the seurity measures against cyber crimes.

All the above list are interlinked or connected in one form or the other for both boon and bane list, but I just wanted to highlight the specific areas.

Conclusion:

Whenever technological developments take place,their misuse is bound to happen simultaneoulsy. It is necessary to take right action at the right time. Government has introduced legal actions and laws for network and digital security. There are several cyber crime departments now. Digital security awareness is spread by IT companies for the safety of people across the world. In a future world, human may breathe internet instead of oxygen. We need to ensure the digital artificial air should not be affecting or controlling the safe, secure and natural humanity.

--Siva

Article 16 - Future World of Artificial Intelligence

                      Artificial Intelligence is the trending buzz word everywhere now. We already started thinking of an AI future on living home, walking streets, surrounding nature, work place etc. We can imagine a future where humans and robots will be roaming around a new AI world. Most of the firms based on information technology and digital communication started building their products on AI to the next level. Below are some of my thoughts on AI implementation in our day to day life.

AI Home:
When you walk inside your technologically advanced built AI home, it can understand your brain signals and provide the essential possible things which your brain thought. The output may be multiple choices in the beginning, but your home tries to understand you as you stay for a long period of time. It tries to maintain temperature, food, fragrance etc according to the outside environment and season changes. 

When you feel to sit and watch a movie in the hall, an ultra transparent cushion seat pops out from underground of your house and a big theater screen projects on the big wall facing you.TV plays programs automatically with multiple suggestions based on your mood and body conditions including how much tired you are after play/exercise/jogging, how much stressed you are after work/travel etc. Based on your body heat and face expressions, the natural sensors in the hall automatically fixes a program - may be a full time comedy movie or action thriller or adventure or history or any TV channel programs which can entertain you the maximum. 

Once you are feeling hungry, you are automatically pulled to the kitchen by your favorite food already cooked automatically by the Robots in your home which are trained cooking robots better than all master chefs :) 

Once you are feeling sleepy, you can just go and jump into the bedroom in any position you like - the AI bed handles you in such a way thay your bones are not broken or you don't get into sudden body aches. So it is all how you feel, the AI home treats you better if you feel more positive and feeling good.

Then AI home is fit with powerful ultra modern gyms and swimming pools which can automatically teach you how to swim, exercise and keep you fit. You will feel the luxurious touch of any five star hotels as well as the efficient touch of a lonely beach house or the natural touch of an old wooden hut on the tree top in the mysterious forest all on the same day based on your thoughts. The faster your thoughts, the faster will be your AI home. So be patient in the beginning, if AI home gives you multiple choices. 

AI Streets:
Once you are outside your home, you will feel more robots moving around than humans - already you would have watched movies like IRobots, Robot, Transformers etc. It will be almost same look and feel as in those movies. But here the streets itself will be filled with AI. 

For example, in case if some human drives with over speed (mostly humans will not be driving as it will be replaced by robots (Recall Total Recall movie)), the roads will start shifting its shapes in such a way that vehicle will slow down automatically even without the driver applying for breaks. This will avoid more accidents and collisions for any type of vehicles.

Even the driver is a fast and furious crazy guy who tries to increase the speed to a maximum before road starts shifting its shapes, automatic transparent needles pops out of the street on the same way and puncutres the tyres even without making a sound.

AI Power Saver:
Internet without power or electricity, Charging smart phones, house appliances etc over different energy sources - sun, wind, fire water etc. Saving power automatically when not in use, Usage of power on your smart phone,watch etc which you have easy access by AI methods. 

AI Go Green:
Saving plants and trees by going green - providing more oxygen by consuming the natural resources automatically- Nature to Home technology.

Green House Transplantation, Solar power intermissions, Showing UV, IR, Radio Signal emission level triggered from your electronic devices - laptops,tablets,palmptops,smart phones in your surroundings which is harmful to your health.

AI Health Checker:
Health Awareness - checking BMI, auto suggestion of your calorie level, food intake, diet suggestions, exercise suggestions automatically by AI. Researches will be happening on medical field with AI connecting human brain and computers.

Beyond AI world:

There are some more thoughts beyond AI which I would say are:

1) Reaching your destination within milli or micro or nano seconds any where in world - new technology will be invented like hyperloop, skytrans, skywalk, skyslide concepts or time travel machines for transportation.

2) Reaching to outerspace including Mars and other exoplanets discovered by NASA within seconds - machines invented may be a clone from space crafts, rockets, transformers etc.

3) Advanced Quantum principles, transhumanism, cloning technology, nano technology, super intelligent principles which make humans immortal.

4) Genetic research - Ultra genetic DNA to rectify any disease in this world like shown in the hollywood movie Transcendence. This will be treated as a medical miracle in the history of humans.

Business magnate Elon Musk has already started his invention on these areas with hyperloop and neuralink concepts. For a future world of AI, humans should consider the privacy, security and safety factors as well. We don't need a situation where AI will be ruling humans instead of helping them. 

--Siva...

10 second story 8 - 2100 A.D

Young bride grooms stood in a long queue before a gigantic mansion. At the entry gate, a robot was scanning them one by one uttering robotic voice - REJECTED, REJECTED, REJECTED. 

50% alcoholic, 20% intelligent, 50% smoker, blood group not matching and so on were displayed on a laptop screen inside the building. A robot bride stood there watching the statistics.

--Siva

10 second story 7 - Lift

"To be healthy, start doing more natural exercises like walking, swimming and climbing stairs."  After giving a wonderful speech, the Health Minister walked towards the lift.





--Siva

10 second story 6 - Walk

"Yes, my brave son, walk now like a king !" After giving a training to walk for his crawling baby, David started his bike to go to a near by shop which is 5 minutes walk away.




--Siva

10 second story 5 - Interview

Scott was answering the questions asked by a candidate sitting next to him. Once he entered the interview room, he was shocked.  "You are hired, shall we discuss further?" The interviewer who stood there was the same candidate.


--Siva

Poem 14 - Mystery Man

Mystery shines behind those observant eyes,

Dark shadows fear when those eyes roll over behind the specs,

Spectacular surprises await when we least expect,

Invisibility is his key aspect.

Mischievous is his brain spun with spider webs,

Always excited to search for precious information,

Unique is his character which nobody can beat,

Curiosity is his natural trait.

Mind blowing imagination runs all over his thoughts,

Dreams are out of focus in his fantasy world,

Understanding him is like solving a Rubik’s cube,

Camouflage is his ultimate weapon.

Miraculous are his day to day activities,

Exploring places and snapping selfies are his passion,

Changing topic in between communication is his fashion,

Hypnotized is the person whom he talks to,

A Never Ending Maze Puzzle he is.

Magic he does to grab rumors and gossips,

Unknown is the last word in his dictionary,

Solving the toughest Sudoku may be possible but,

Impossible to fetch information from him,

A Wandering Bermuda Triangle he is.

Miles and miles he won’t walk,

But lying smiles he does with those lazy big eyes,

Random roaming never stops like a volcanic eruption,

Spying is a sweet piece of cake for him,

An Incredible Illusionist he is.

Mixing food in equal proportions is his chemical formula,

Inventing a new meal which only he can taste,

Playing rapid songs ringing loud in his ear phones,

Discovering a new music which only he can listen.

Mathematical calculations may go wrong,

When you are in deep conversation with him,

Psychology, Photography, Undercover agency and so on,

Wonder why he did not choose those career options.

Multiple questions he ask to quench his thirst of knowledge,

Silence is the possible answer if you ask any questions to him,

Secrets are locked and hidden deep down under a secure digital vault

Of his brain that no matrix program can reach,

Privacy is his favorite playground.

My goodness, who is this guy, who makes you confused all the time?

If you ask his famous name instead of his real name,

He replies with a mesmerizing voice - MAN... MYSTERY MAN ****

Dedicated to my mystery friend,

--Siva.