the life and times of sahoo

At Peking University, Beijing

2009-11-06T04:57:00.000-08:00

At the Famous CCTV Tower, Beijing

2009-11-06T04:55:00.000-08:00

At the Great Wall

2009-11-06T04:48:00.000-08:00

At the Teachnology Park, Beijing

2009-11-06T04:45:00.001-08:00

ELD Conference Dinner

2009-11-06T04:43:00.001-08:00

At the Tianamen Square

2009-11-06T04:41:00.001-08:00

To Michael Jackson

2009-06-27T00:02:00.000-07:00

I grew up in a small village in Orissa where there was no electricity until 1996. I had no exposure to the modern world of music and entertainment. The only instrument of my childhood entertainment was a small radio that my father got as a part of his wedding gift from his parents-in-laws. I tried my best not to miss the bollywood music programme - Keo Karpin - telecasted in Vividh Bharti every Sunday at 12 or 12.30 noon. I love listening to music but very bad in remembering them, even till now.

Watching bollywood movies was also very rare. The news about free movie shows in nearby villages usually did not take much time to reach us. It is spread to others during our football practice in the evening. After the game is over, we used to gather to make the plans on where to meet and what time. Lest we might fall asleep during the movie show, we used carry sleep preventive mechanisms like sensors and Amrutanjan with us. Since free movie shows were very iregular and gave us rare opportunity to acquaint ourselves with bollywood, we could not afford to fall asleep.

That was the time when Amitabh Bachan and Mithun Chakrabarty were dominating the film industry. Mithun was the favourite for his dance in "I am a Disco Dancer". I loved his dance and also picked up few of his steps. I remember dancing infront of friends, and sometimes secretly by putting on my father's trouser and shirt. My passion for dance has always remained a secret affair. It has never found overt expression because of my shy individuality.

Last year while in Denmark, I went to a weekend party in Roskilde University with friends. We drank, danced, and enjoyed the music. Our group was the one which stayed till the end. One of the students who was the host of the party walked up to me and called me Michael Jackson. I was bit embarassed, but felt happy. As I told, my exposure was very limited. I hardly/never listened to Michael Jackson's musics or watched him dance. But last week, I don't know why but I spent one full day watching his videos and listening to his songs. I liked his "Thriller", "Smooth Criminal", "Dangerous", and several others.

Now Michael Jackson is dead. He is no longer there. Its very sad. Many of the bollywood actors have been influenced by his dance and music. Mithun Chakrabarty admitted that Michael Jackson was like a God to him. The few steps I learnt in my childhood were somhow indirectly influenced by Michael Jackson. I will remember him through my Denmark Experiecne. This is thus dedicated to Michael Jackson.

On the Broadway, New York

2009-05-28T02:59:00.000-07:00

Infront of the US Capitol

2009-05-28T03:00:00.000-07:00

At the Niagra Falls in Canada

2009-05-28T03:02:00.000-07:00

At the Times Square in New York

2009-05-28T03:03:00.000-07:00

At the Liberty Bell in Philly

2009-05-28T03:16:00.000-07:00

In Toronto after the Conference

2009-05-28T03:51:00.000-07:00

Kapoor Sculpture in Chicago

2009-05-26T02:19:00.001-07:00

On the Top of Empire State Building

2009-05-28T03:05:00.000-07:00

Sunset at Washington Monument

2009-05-28T03:01:00.000-07:00

Chicago Navy Pier

2009-05-26T02:23:00.000-07:00

Chicago 2016 Olympics

2009-05-26T02:22:00.001-07:00

Sears Towrs in Chicago

2009-05-26T00:09:00.001-07:00

University of Chicago

2009-05-26T00:06:00.000-07:00

Lake Michigan

2009-05-26T00:03:00.001-07:00

A moment from the past...

2008-12-18T01:07:00.000-08:00

Individualism – Man’s Right to Exist for his Own Sake

2008-11-25T21:50:00.000-08:00

Has man any right to exist if he refuses to serve society?

Thousands of years ago the first man discovered how to make fire. He was probably burned at the stake, he taught his brothers to light. But he left them a gift they had not conceived. And he lifted darkness off the earth. Throughout the centuries, there were men who took first steps down new roads armed with nothing but their own vision. The great creators, the thinkers, the artists, the scientists, the inventors stood alone against the men of their time. Every new thought was opposed; every new invention was denounced. But the men of unborrowed vision went ahead. They fought, they suffered and they paid, but they won. No creator was prompted by a desire to please his brothers. His brothers hated the gift he offered. His truth was his only motive. His work is his only goal. His work, not those who used it; his creation, not the benefits others derived from it; the creation which gave form to his truth. He held his truth above all things and against all men. He went ahead whether others agreed with him or not, with his integrity as his only banner. He served nothing and no one. He lived for himself, and only by living for himself was he able to achieve the things which are the glory of mankind. Such is the nature of achievement.

Man cannot survive, except through his mind. He comes on earth unarmed. His brain is his only weapon, but the mind is an attribute of the individual. There is no such thing as a collective brain. The man who thinks must think and act on his own. The reasoning mind cannot work under any form of compulsion. It cannot be subordinated to the needs, opinions or wishes of others. It is not an object of sacrifice. The creator stands on his own judgment. The parasite follows the opinions of others. The creator thinks; the parasite copies. The creator produces; the parasite loots. The creator’s concern is the conquest of nature. The parasites concern is the conquest of men. The creator requires independence. He neither serves nor rules. He deals with men by free exchange and voluntary choice. The parasite seeks power. He wants to bind all men together in common action and common slavery. He claims that man is only a tool for the use of others that he must think as they think, act as they act, and live in selfless, joyless servitude to any need but his own.

Look at history! Everything we have, every great achievement has come from the independent work of some independent mind. Every horror and destruction came from attempts to force men into a herd of brainless, soulless robots without personal rights, without personal ambition, without hope, or dignity. It is an ancient conflict. It has another name – the individual against the collective. Our country, the noblest country in the history of men was based on the principles of individualism – the principle of man’s inalienable rights. It was country where a man was free to seek his own happiness. To gain and produce, not to give up and renounce; to prosper, not to starve; to achieve, not to plunder; to hold his highest possession, a sense of his personal value and as his highest virtue his self-respect. Look at the results! That is what the collectivists are now asking you to destroy as much as the earth has been destroyed.

I am an architect. I know what is to come by the principle on which it is built. We are approaching a world in which I cannot permit myself to live. My ideas are my property. They were taken from me by force, by breach of contract. No appeal was left to me. It was believed that my work belonged to others to do with as they pleased. They had a claim upon me without my consent that it was my duty to serve them without choice or reward. Now you know why I dynamited Cortlandt. I designed Cortlandt, I made it possible, I destroyed it. I agreed to design it for the purpose of seeing it built as I wished. That was the price I set for my work. I was not paid. My building was disfigured at the whim of others who took all the benefits of my work and gave me nothing in return. I came here to say that I do not recognize anyone’s right to one minute of my life nor to any part of my energy, nor to any achievement of mine, no matter who makes the claim. It had to be said. The world is perishing from an orgy of self-sacrificing. I came here to be heard in the name of every man of independence still left in the world. I wanted to state my terms. I do not care to work or live on any others. My terms are a man’s right to exist for his own sake.
_______________
@This is translated from the video clip "Fountain Head".

Fear !!

2008-09-08T01:07:00.000-07:00

Aj
Ye shahr ik sahme hue bachche ki taraah
Apni parchhaai se bhi darta hai
Jantari dekho
Mujhe lagta hai
Aaj tyohaar koi hai shaayad

Today
This city, like a frightened child
Fears its own shadow
Check the calendar
I have a feeling
That today might be the day of a festival

– Javed Akhtar

_________________
Circulated through the South Asia Contact Group on 8 September 2008

Patriots of Singapore !!

2008-08-30T06:09:00.000-07:00

Celebrating the National Day!!! August 9 was the National Day. Torsten was the Guest of Honour and the Guest Speaker was Nicolas Sim Hee Juat. The audiences had to bear all his bullshit because he always likes to pull my leg. He came up with all his long treausred stories about me – which girls I like, how have I failed with all my efforts in finding a “LIFE”. We had a wonderful dinner at Annalaxmi and then headed for drinks in Iguana at Clark Quay. The Red Straberry Martinis on the table, you can see. My meeting with Torsten after more than a year was interesting. I was thinking that he will be addressing me the same way his cousin (Charanpal Singh Bal) usually does. My guess was right – he called me SAHUKAR at the very first moment he saw me at the restaurant. A drink at Iguana was really nice because of the river-side ambiance, although was bit crowded. However, I enjoyed and had a good time with the patriots of Singapore.