kinshuk sunilit aint no, dessert if therez no caek

I am leaving for Chandigarh today. To attend OSScamp Chandigarh October 2009 – a culmination of a month’s work. A platform to promote open source in the state of Punjab. The first of its kind in the state. Exhiliration, Relief, Worries, Issues. I feel all of this. And a lot more.

In recent times, in the aftermath of the September camp at Delhi – a couple of individuals stood up, who did not agree with the way OSScamps was being done. They were worried about it all being a psuedo-marketing effort by my company. They were worried about lack of ownership and transparency in the organisation of events. Most of all, they were worried about the lack of open source software in the camp. And that having a camp was, apparently,  important than open source. Or the fact that ‘dont focus on open source, talk about free software‘. And a lot of smearing, as well.

I respect people who have an opinion, and who stand up for it. Most of the criticism was welcome. What was unnerving was the way it was put. The ‘my way or highway‘ way of speaking never went well with me. Constructive criticism takes us all forward, but negative criticism doesnt do much good. I see it around me. Always.

I do not understand this sub-culture amongst the FOSS pseudo-elites in India (as far as I have encountered) – the ego tussle of being worshipped and treated like god. Their words and wishes be held fast as if some writing on the stone. Never quite understood: why people expect that, why other appease them. In my simple existence, I only understand man’s effort and his proving his worth with that.

For the last 3 years, I have been working with FOSS – contributing, being a part of it, pushing it with all my personal might, making attempts and efforts of organising camps. It has involved a lot of pushing around. Running around. It was not easy, it was not simple. And I did all I could. In retrospect, now, I see a shift as more people take up the mantle as well. I see friends and acquaintances, who stand up and begin new efforts. OSScamps, in my opinion, has done well as a platform. The effort that was put by me, my colleagues and friends, so many people in the community – everyone’s efforts, gave OSScamp a direction and a focus; and it always stayed true to that.

There has been another shift – from developers to students. Students will drive FOSS forward. Developers have a vested interest in technology; Students, apart from wanting good placements, have a lot of spare time, passion and enthusiasm. I see their enthusiasm in all FOSS events I have participated at. They are the main drivers of FOSS today and an even bigger catalyst tomorrow. They form a major chunk of all efforts required by a community initiative. They lead. They work. They play.

When the said negative cirticism took place, I got the opportunity to gauge the community – the concerns and issues. I used the opportunity to evaluate, where we stand today and where we are headed. No one had agreed with the individuals who were disgruntled with OSScamps. Everyone came forward to protect the way of the community – we are different, we don’t deny it. The plain fact is that we dont do, nor do we want to do that, which everyone does. We have a faith and a belief and we work on it. Aspirations and Dreams. We try to achieve. I feel a lot of people in the community will agree with what I speak. I hope.

I am leaving for Chandigarh today. To attend OSScamp Chandigarh October 2009 – a culmination of a month’s work. A platform to promote open source in the state of Punjab. The first of its kind in the state. Exhiliration, Relief, Worries, Issues. I feel all of this. I know that the community in India encourages OSScamps as a platform to promote FOSS. I understand that the community wants to make the best of the event, take a step forward. The aftermath of OSScamp Delhi September 2009 was a good opportunity to disprove some myths and clear away a lot of confusion about the events and the community. Now we walk with a clearer focus. Knowing that, where I am going today, I will be accepted and encouraged as one of the brothers in arms. Amen.

This post was originally published on Digimantra.com

This post is a quick note about one of my favorite sites – ManyBooks.Net. ManyBooks is an archive of a number of Project Guttenberg, Public Domain and Creative Commons etexts. What it thus becomes is a library of classic literature and text (starting from Vigil and Herodotus, to the contemporary) on and around culture, literature and the humanities.You will find many a number of historical and cultural classics here. All cahced on the Amazon S3 and rendered into a number of formats as per your request. There are 24,144 eBooks available here in about 59 categories, all for free.

This post was originally published on Digimantra.com

I am addicted to Naruto since the last Fortnight. One of my favorite songs from the soundtrack is here. More soon.

Alive
Raiko
Naruto Best Hit Collection/4th Ending

dare datte shippai wa suru nda
hazukashii koto janai
kono kizu o muda ni shinai de
waratte arukereba ii

Everyone makes mistakes at times
It’s not something embarrassing
Don’t waste these scars
Keep on going laughing, and it’ll all be good

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OSScamps are organized on the lines of bar camps and serves as a dais for Tech professionals, geeks and geeks-to-be to discuss, debate, comment and share their knowledge through demos, presentations and interactions among the campers. It’s an endeavor to gather and collaborate on open source technologies and tools.

The OSScamp Pantnagar community, initiated at OSScamp Delhi September 2008, has announced their maiden unconferece at Pantnagar (Nainital) area. The unconference is scheduled for January 31st – February 1st 2009 in the scenic views of  GB Pant University of Agriculture & Technology, Pantnagar, at the Department of Computer Engineering, College of Technology.

For more details:
event:  osscamp.in/event/osscamp-pantnagar-february-2009
talks: osscamp.in/category/talk-camp/osscamp-pantnagar-february-2009
regsiter: osscamp.in/node/103/signup

Two Years. Seven Hundred and Thirty One days. Seventeen Thousand Five Hundred and Twenty Hours. Over. The End.

I, today, stand at that juncture in one’s life whence one phase ends and a new one begins. Ancient Indian System divides the life of any individual into four phases: Brahmacharya (Student phase; implies Discipline), Grihasthashrama (living in the material world), Vanprastha (Retired from responsibilities) and Sanyasa (renunciation), each lasting a period of twenty five years. A students life ought to be that of self-discipline and a guided effort towards learning – Brahmacharya. It is this phase that I cross now and enter into the material world. Soon, I’d start working. Life will be so different then.

But, before I start running the rat race I want to take a pause. Stop and pen down my thoughts here. So that when I grow older, I can always return here and remind myself how I used to be as a student. More particularly the two years that were GBO.
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