I'm Nobody

I have a second hand copy of this book

A short while ago (during a break from finding out "how to trace source of an email"), I came upon this post "If I be the Antagonist" in Dr. Debajyoti Bera's blog. While the first part of the post was interesting to read, it was the latter part which I read with much more enthusiasm. It contained some verses by Emily Dickinson.

Emily Dickinson is one of my favourite poets. The first time I heard about her I don't remember where but it was definitely not more than a year ago. Most probably I read about her on a website. At that time, I didn't pay too much attention. It was while out seeking something interesting (in a second hand book market) that I saw a book of her poems. It was quite cheap - about Rs. 25 I guess. I opened the first page and read the verse "I'm nobody! Who are you?". In no time I had bought it.

I didn't get any more chance to read it. I brought it to my hostel room in my fourth semester - the last time I lived in a hostel - so that I would spend my free time reading. No such opportunities arrived and I carried it home again after the end of semester. It was during the summer vacations that I happened to read it properly. The summer of 2010 (like all summers before) I was doing a project at my institute (IIIT-Delhi). It required me to travel to IIIT-D which took almost 90 minutes by bus (one way). Although I have never found bus journeys to be boring (especially at that time, when AC and low-floor buses were a rare sight), I yearned for a better way to spend the time during the hot and uncomfortable journey. One day I randomly picked this book to read on the bus and thus began my 90 minutes journey to a different world.

I can't properly describe why I like Miss Dickinson's style of writing so much. Her poems have a haunting feeling. Perhaps what makes it so attractive are the references to those small truths of everyday life which we are generally too busy to notice but smile when shown to us. That is what appeals to me so much. And also I sometimes tend to identify with her poems. I often think about her reclusive and melancholy life at Amherst. Was it this which inspired her to write? Loneliness is definitely a key theme in her writings.

The verse I liked best is of course "I'm Nobody! Who are you?". The author knows that she is not really a well known and popular figure and thus delights in meeting another person who is similar. Furthermore, she hates to be public about herself. In a world, where everybody is racing one another in advertising their skills, I find it heartening to believe that there were (and definitely are) some people who tried to preserve their independence and not follow the crowd.

I have put up these verses in the "about me" section. I guess this is what truly defines me.

I'm nobody. Who are you?

Napping in Class

Yesterday night I was doing a literature survey for an upcoming course project. As literature surveys often take a lot of time and I don't feel like stopping in between, I decided to continue into the wee hours of the night. The effect was visible today. Thankfully though, I didn't have any heavy classes in the morning. And since project ideas were being discussed, the interest managed to keep me awake.

After lunch I went back to the empty class room, switched on my laptop and started downloading the list of papers I would have to study. It was around 3 PM I guess, when my mind started to flash the danger signal - urgent sleep wanted. At the same time, using my laptop on high performance had the effect of a mild heater in a chilly room. In short, perfect conditions for sleeping (except for a bed). I don't know when exactly I fell asleep, but the next time I looked at the time, it was 3:45. I had fallen asleep while browsing the internet. With my head on the arm rest of another chair! Disoriented for a while, I went and had a cup of coffee. Caffeine finally restored my thinking abilities to normal and I hurried to attend the Machine Learning class.

Looking back at this incident, I wonder what would have happened if a class had been going on? What excuse would I have given? I remembered this particular comic.

I won't go on to explore the detailed reasons why I fell asleep or find out the probability of falling asleep in class though. Truthfully speaking, I am extremely thankful that I had that nap. I had Machine Learning next (the last class of the day) and somehow, felt more active in class than ever before.

All I can say is, having a nap in (an empty) classroom helps a lot!!!

Background

I am still wondering what kind of background I should use for this blog. If someone would have suggested me one, I would have perhaps accepted the suggestion. If it didn't look good, it would have been so easy to accept that after all it was not my choice. But now that the choice is entirely mine, it feels so difficult.

I chose a white and brownish background first. Then switched to a green one. Then again to a sky blue one. The sheer amount of options is proving to be a bane. It reminded me of the situation some years ago...when blogger would have few templates and you had to use them. Less options actually seemed more friendly. Finally after trying out lots of options, I decided on a minimalist design.

While trying out backgrounds, I had initially decided to use an image as a background.

It was the image of an empty road from the movie "5 Centimeters per Second" (I really advise you to watch it). Fields stretching out on both sides of the road. Electric poles lining one side. And the road just going ahead towards the horizon, finally meeting the blue. Beautiful.

Sometimes, when I read about some research about Computational Photography, I wonder if it is really possible to make a computer draw these kind of images. If it ever happens in the future, will they be comparable to the work done by humans? More importantly, will such a computer appreciate the beauty in this scene? I can only wonder.