100-day Countdown to 2019

Day 62 (31 st October) Three fine films at MAMI today. Champions, the Spanish film turned the convention of sporting movies on its head. The underdog team doesn’t win and finishes second. Yet they celebrate unabashedly and teach the coach a valuable lesson. The team is made of people with impaired intellectual abilities. They are champions despite being runners-up. The Indian film, Hamid, is a near flawless story on the Kashmir problem as seen through the eyes of a 7-year old boy. One Cut of the Dead, the Japanese film was a very clever film on film-making. It turned horror into a comedy.

Day 63 (30 th October) My assignment got over today, a day early. This means I can spend an extra day at MAMI. But there was an even happier news. Yesterday’s suspicion has been confirmed; my article will be published in Hindu Magazine section this Sunday. It is very apt for the Sunday leading to Deepavali. This will be my second byline in Hindu this year and I am over the moon. Watched my 13 th film at MAMI – Border. A deeply disturbing and unsettling Swedish movie, especially since the parable and metaphors are easy to figure out.

Day 64 (29 th October) Felt good to be among my erstwhile colleagues as I chaired the safety review of a chemical plant. It quickly made me forget the misery of missing out on movies today. I checked my phone only after completing the day’s work and discovered some happy tidings sitting inside the mailbox. It could be the proverbial light at the end of the tunnel, literally. But let me not count my chickens before they are hatched.

Day 65 (28 th October) Another 4 movies today. Last 3 days have been among my best this year, as I immersed myself into the magical, mesmerising world of cinema. All 4 films today were outstanding, but the one that stood out even more was Cold War, the Polish film that got the Best Direction award at Cannes this year. It now tops the 12 movies I have watched in the last 3 days. Today I carried food with me and ate in between screenings; it helped. And while waiting in the queue, I did something quite uncharacteristic – I struck up a conversation with a lady and we exchanged notes on the movies we had watched. Sadly, I have to take a break from the festival for next 3 days, because I have committed myself to an assignment. When I had a regular job, I would take leave to attend the film festival. Ironically such a luxury is not available to the freelancer.

Day 66 (27 th October) I am exhausted but I must write before I rest. Day 2 of MAMI had such a tight schedule that it was 6 in the evening before I could find time for a proper sit-down meal. Perhaps I should carry food from home tomorrow, as many wise people seem to be doing. It is very important to eat properly during the film festival. Too much and you will doze off; too little and you won’t be able to focus on the challenging passages. Out of the 4 films today, 3 were American and the last was French. Best film of the day was Wildlife, a beautifully paced coming – of – age movie with a knock-out final shot. Extremely annoying to see people checking their phones while a film is in progress. The culprits are youngsters who have a very poor attention span. MAMI should seriously consider increasing the delegate fees to keep this sort of people out of the festival.

Day 67 (26 th October) After watching 4 films at MAMI, I am dying to hit the sack. But this post begs to be written. The film I want to write about is Godard’s The Image Book. Extremely challenging to make sense, it is a film that does away with plot and actors. What we have instead are a series of images strung together often whimsically. Some of them are clips from Black and White films from the past. Other images include landscapes in lurid colours. Many images are fleeting, they are gone before they have registered in our consciousness. Despite having no narrative, the film is structured into five chapters. Godard provides a slight clue after the credits have rolled out at the end with a quote from Bertolt Brecht – only a fragment carries a mark of authenticity. Clearly the onus is on us to make our own construct out of the thousands of fragments the film is made out of.  The sounds that accompany the images are discordant. The voice-over , by Goddard himself, is not always

Day 68 (25 th October) Mumbai Film Festival (aka MAMI) starts tomorrow and I am excited. We can pre-book tickets for maximum 4 films per day. The pre-booking scheduled to open at 0800 kept getting delayed because of some technical glitch. Finally, I could log in at ~1030 and choose my 4 films – one each from Iran, China, France and Japan. The 3 Asian films have a Rotten Tomatoes score in high 90s. The Japanese film won the Palme d’or at Cannes this year. The French film is by the legendary Jean Luc Godard. I am specially excited by this as it won a special Palme d’or for what the jury described as “a film outside of time and space”. Cinema is not just entertainment for me; I regard it as a serious art form. I have prepared my mind for tomorrow’s films by reading semantic review like this one . I also collected my delegate kit. The catalogue weighs more than a kilo. All set for bingeing on world cinema.

Day 69 (24 th October) Another full day in the train. And all alone in the coupe. It would have been a singularly unremarkable journey, but for my co-passenger last night. A Canadian – Indian and an ardent follower of Raghavendra Mutt, he talked to me at length on Canada and the seer. It was a fascinating monologue. He alighted at Mantralayam Road early in the morning leaving me the sole occupant of the coupe. Film festival begins tomorrow. Hope to watch at least 15 movies during the course of the next 7 days.

Day 70 (23rd October 2018) Things didn't go as planned. And I am returning home, less than satisfied but full of hope. Looking forward to another 24-hour train journey in the most luxurious class. Hope to fill the time with some introspection and reflection. 

Day 71 (22nd October 2018) Spent the whole day in a train absorbing the sights and smells of railways, observing people and overhearing their conversations, watching the countryside pass by. Among some photos I shot, these two gave me the greatest joy. They have been on my bucket list for a long while.

Day 72 (21 st October) Completed the piece on Hydrogen Fuel Cells and mailed it to the editor. The 3-day hiatus helped in bringing some fresh perspective. It is important not to fall in love with the first draft. Tried to catch up on the Data Mining course; the backlog is huge. Understanding some features of WEKA. I should devote at least an hour everyday for practicing this. I will be on the train all day tomorrow. Looking forward to it.

Day 73 (20 th October) What I wanted to write yesterday: Revived my lapsed insurance policy today. I had to pay a fine, but more irritating was that I had to make 3 trips to the branch, some 30 kms away from my home. I am angry with the insurance company for not reminding me to pay the premium. But I am even more angry with myself for managing to forget this annual milestone. Easy to blame others, but I should take responsibility for the consequences of my failure. Third Friday of the month and I had to attend the committee meeting. One of the members distributed rum-filled chocolates at the start; his belated birthday celebration. The dynamics of voluntary work is fascinating. Some get passionate, others are impassive. We discussed many matters - some grave, some trivial. We will be 30 next year and I proposed that we should celebrate by raising 30 Crores. I have sowed the seeds. And now for today: Applied a trick that I learned only yesterday. Ticket for an interm

Day 74 (19 th October) I have a lot to write about today, but in no frame of mind to write now after watching visuals of the Amritsar train tragedy. Such mindless tragedies are waiting to happen across the country. We continue to treat human lives with utter callousness. A tragedy on a festive occasion is doubly disturbing.

Day 75 (18 th October) Today is Saraswathi Puja. We worship our books on this day. This is one ritual that I perform wholeheartedly. During childhood it was fun because we didn’t have to study on this day; our books will be covered in silk and under a mound of flowers. But age teaches you to be more respectful of the power of knowledge. As I grow older, I believe that knowledge is the only thing worth possessing.

Day 76 (17 th October) The deadline for my column is just 3 days away and I sat down earnestly to write. I have picked Hydrogen Fuel Cells for this month’s column. Rather apt when the Brent is firmly set on a northward journey. The exorbitant cost of Fuel Cells is because of Platinum, a catalyst used to speed up the reactions to meet the power demand. Teams at various universities are working on developing inexpensive alternatives. There has been some limited success, but still a long way to go. Toyota, world’s leading automaker, is betting big on Fuel Cells as opposed to batteries. I managed to complete 75% of my target, despite unexpected but important disruptions. More than pleased.

Day 77 (16 th October) Almost the entire day was consumed in setting the question paper for the mid-semester test. Work expanded to fill the time. Parkinson’s Law can never be wrong. I am setting tricky questions, strewing some red herrings along the way. Questions that test the grasp of fundamentals. Questions that demand full attention in the class. Questions that are neither straight nor wicked.

Day 78 (15th October) I had a lot on my plate today but returned home to a non-responsive computer. The frustration mounted as I kept attempting to revive it. Technical Support numbers were non-existent. And I had almost reconciled to replacing a crashed harddisk. But just few minutes before the computer has risen like a Phoenix. It is time to take the warnings seriously and do some proactive maintenance. 

Day 79 (14th October) Long solitary walk in the morning, taking pictures of flowers blooming wild on the curb. Played carrom with son and daughter-in-law and was ridiculously excited. 

Day 80 (13th October) Achieved an important milestone today, during the course of which I surprised myself with my negotiating skills. Now it is important not to look back and have a hindsight.  The monthly newsletter is e-mailed to the alumni with a covering message from me. This issue's message says - Let us find the strength to conquer the demons within us.   Appropriate for Dussehra, I think. But you are allowed to read more into it. 

Day 81 (12th October) The class was more attentive than usual today. I am happy that my homework yesterday paid dividends. I am visiting my son in Bangalore, but already thinking about Monday's lecture. 

Day 82 (11th October) I am stressed today. Because I keep uncovering more and more information on the topic of my lecture tomorrow. I have to draw a line somewhere. Maybe I should let the students read and discover some of the knowledge by themselves? 

Day 83 (10 th October) A day when even 48 hours wouldn’t have sufficed. I thought I had cured myself of perfectionism, but apparently there are remnants that rear up unexpectedly. My perfectionism not only eats into my time, it often paralyses me into inaction. Today was that day. Perfectionism is not a virtue; it is a curse.

Day 84 (9 th October) This year’s Nobel Prizes for science is a wonderful confluence of Physics, Chemistry and Biology under one umbrella with the renewed promise of bettering our lives. This is how I ended my 300-word editorial for our alumni association newsletter. I have been editing this newsletter since last 28 months and my editorials are most often spun around education. Though I always manage to find a topical subject to write on, in the nick of time, I am worried I will run out of ideas soon.

Day 85 (8 th October) An eventful day. During the course of the hectic day, a piece of good tidings sneaked in ever so gently that I almost failed to notice. Only late in the day, its import began to sink in.   My proposal to write on Artificial Intelligence in the Chemical Industry has been accepted. I will be writing a monthly feature on this for a leading industry magazine. A lot of interesting research lies ahead of me.

Day 86 (7 th October) Today was the kind of day when I did not achieve much; yet I didn’t waste my time. Preparation for tomorrow’s lecture brought fresh insights. This is the joy of teaching. PS – This blog is now 2 weeks old and it is helping me to channelise my positive energy.

Day 87 (6 th October) What a splendid day! The knotty problem of yesterday got unknotted rather easily and in the process yielded solutions to a couple of other situations that had been on my backburner. The euphoria generated spilled over and became infectious. But there was something else that made my day. It was an innocuous tweet - People who live far below their means enjoy a freedom that people busy upgrading their lifestyles can’t fathom . Without wanting to sound boastful, I want to say I have been practising it for decades. And I have tasted that freedom. 

Day 88 (5 th October) I had a task today. I believed it would be routine. But it has turned unexpectedly knotty. I have to blame myself to bring it to this situation. Resolving it would be stressful, but also an interesting experience. The task took me close to NGMA and I used the opportunity to visit a comprehensive exhibition of M V Dhurandhar’s works titled "The Romantic Realist". A prolific painter of the early 20 th Century, he is obviously inspired by the female form. Luckily NGMA allows photography.

Day 89 (4 th October) Struggling to assemble my lecture for tomorrow’s class. There is a lot of information and I don’t have to share them all and confuse the class. Deciding what stays in and what goes out is taking time. Underestimated the effort and overestimated the time. Burning midnight oil now.

Day 90 (3 rd October) A day of remembering, reminding, responding, reassuring, renewing, re-stocking, rejuvenating and also rejecting (politely). Yes, all of these happened today. Just not wordplay. Responded to an invitation and it might lead to a useful meeting in January. Reminded someone about something important and got a reassuring reply. Renewed contacts. Remembered to make plans. Re-stocked on supplies. Rejected a contribution, firmly and politely. And if all these aren’t rejuvenating enough, had an extended siesta. So, a day to rejoice. 

Day 91 (2 nd October) Not a good day because I wasted time. Had pulled out Gandhi’s letters and autobiography, hoping to read some chunks from them. But I barely managed few pages. At the beginning of every month I get CE magazine in my mail. A small item from this month’s issue caught my eye and set me researching. This is the topic that I wanted to write on. After sitting on the idea for about 6 hours, I mailed my editor contact with a proposal to do a series of articles. Now keeping my fingers crossed for a positive response. So, the day wasn’t a total waste after all.

Day 92 (1 st October) October has begun and it marks entry into the 3 rd year after a major milestone. That I didn’t dwell upon it during the day has to be remarkable. A boy in the class popped an interesting question, for which I didn’t have an entirely satisfying answer. Didn’t find any on the Internet. Asked my friend and he too was flummoxed. Signed up for a 5-week long course on Data Mining. It starts next Monday. Downloaded Weka and I am ready.