Satchitananda

A blip in time for our Universe but a giant step for mankind. Today is the first day of this seemingly long 3 weeks of hiatus that our government has imposed upon us to stop the spread of this present seeming reality; in this case the novel corona virus. This act of safe-distancing and self-isolation may appear disconcerting at first but apparently the only fool proof way to prevent a catastrophe;  if there's even an ounce of learning from countries like China, Italy and the US. What is intriguing to me in all of this is how the entire humanity has come together to collaborate knowledge, share resources and best practises to curtail the spread of this virus. This event has united us like no event in the history of this planet. Homo sapiens have been divided throughout the evolutionary timeline for various inconsequential matters such as territorial rights, supremacy, race, language among many such. Could this be the moment of resurgence for humanity? Covid-19 has united ...

We have all honked our way ahead on the streets of Kolkata. That's the way it is always meant to be. Precisely why our ugly behemoths -namely trucks and lorries have it written on the back - Horn Ok Please. So that's imbibed in our culture. Everyone subconsciously agrees to this sound of music. In the culture that we have collectively amassed; it is a widely acceptable norm. In fact, there are various categories of honking : 1. The Big car irritable long honks - Get out of my way you slow moving vehicle. Can't you see I'm wheeling an expensive drive. Well, only to be stuck 50 meters ahead in traffic. 2. The taxi horn that goes honk honk after every 30 seconds. They sometimes do it even at the traffic light just because they get bored and are often times without a music player. 3. The warning deep growl of a swerving giant - I'm going to maneuver and overtake. So you better move away you tiny marutis ( which is a de facto name for all 4 wheelers regardless ...

Jarring, Esoteric, Philosophical, Spiritual, Psychedelic, Compulsively slow, Timeless, Ageless. This cinematic audio visual brilliance is so many things at once and yet it never aspires to be anything. It cannot be (and should not be) typecast into a sci-fi film. This is just a medium that addresses larger questions like : Who am I ? What is the purpose of life ? What is my place in context of the Universe ? The real beauty is that this A/V does not directly raise any such question nor does it explicitly spell out answers. Because there are none. It transmits a telemetric wave that compels you to think. And hopefully, will do so for many years to come. Having said that, this movie can equally raise questions on evolution, technological progress, artificial intelligence, inter-stellar travel, worm-holes, space colonization and many such significant topics but I see them as mere stepping stones. The year in the title of this movie is a misnomer. It never needed it. But i...

Dear Baby, I am waiting for that feeling. Oh my baby, oh my !! Maybe that feeling will germinate with your appearance and consume me. Who knows!! I feel the hospital secretly injects that feeling inside every father because it is almost elusive now. Ok, stop chuckling now ! I sure am waiting for your arrival with abated breath. So much so that my vision is now blurred. God those water dams ! But hey ! don't trouble mom so much. You sure understand that, don't you. You need to be her strength, alright ! Your mom will make the greatest mother ever. Just be supportive and wink me whenever you need me. We'll have this secret message relay system or we'll invent our new telepathic code. If the nurse troubles you or brushes hard against your tender skin, i'll have her replaced. Hoorah ! I know you will learn to forgive petty mistakes. Boy or a girl, know that i will always care and love you with the same zest. Dear God- this is the greatest gift that you b...

A Quote coined by some social networking guru has got me hooked and thinking. My project http://www.beamto.us made me learn a lot of new tools and certainly made me more active on bunch of social networking channels. However, I almost never thought it this way. Every person who visits our site is a potential marketing tool. /* Strictly from a marketing standpoint */ Simplest definition of a viral loop is 'The steps a user goes through between entering the site to inviting the next set of new users'. There are many advantages of creating a strong viral loop : 1. Since like attracts like, the new users will almost certainly belong to the same demographics with similar preferences. Therefore, this is as targeted as one can get. 2. They increase visibility in organic searches. 3. So long the steps in the viral are rightly laid out, the results are compounded. However, if the process is not defined well, this may lead to HIGH attrition rate. The variation is absolutely huge. 4. They...

Everybody dreams of a perfect go-to-market strategy for their new product or service. We all salivate when we see success stories heralded in the media. But what do these successes have in common? The ancient argument of what comes first, the egg or the chicken? Do they sell because we talk about them or do we talk about them because they sell ? Until sometime back, i was of the belief that 'Good products always sell well'. Apparently not the case. One look at Friendster and Orkut would suggest otherwise. Google had the largest captive users of it's products and yet Buzz came in and went out with a trail of smoke behind. While trying to market http://www.beamto.us , I encountered the age old situation of Who comes first ? The users want a zillion tracks on beamto.us while the artists want just as many users before they even consider uploading. And why not ? Would i not do the same ? I see that what I really need more than an infusion of VC capital is you, “the follower.” I ...