A State of Mind

After having a huge hiatus in my blog-writing – which was of course of no real intention, and not because of any sort of real important phenomenon – today  I thought in a bizarre time to swipe my pen through my notebook.  Struggling and trying to come up with some kind of concrete idea or some magnificent topic of interest to write, I was left in frenzied and limbo for a while having lost my true sense of mental senility. Of course some times its hard to concentrate on things which is really important and our time and situation is demanding something result-oriented, but we are left in mental imbecility lacking a true sense of light when it is most crucial. This is just a state of our mind which takes time to revive to come back to normal process of electrifying our work. This is one state of mind which causes more debacle than it has to.

As you will move across this blog, you might find that this lacks a sense of coherency and inconsistency, so do not lost your temper if you find something like this. To mitigate this state of mind in the readers, I have firstly tried to put it into the section “RANDOM THOUGHTS”. So, if you notice that, I hope you will have no problem in carrying on with this blog.

Just like a heart never knows how much it has love store in for somebody, exactly in the same way, our mind doesn’t know how much it has knowledge and how much loads it has to bear. Once these two things is revealed, our both heart and mind will stop working – literally. And, if somebody claims that his/hers really knows, that means they are being vainglorious and they are pontificating blatantly. Our mind is so whimsical that we can’t predict precisely what it is about to do or make us do in next few seconds. There are persons like me, for example, who’s mind is so changeling that  they can’t really quantify the exact level of difference between two state of mind: a mind who says to go this way while other is struggling to push you to some other way.  Sometimes this turns out to be so devastating that it is hard to subdue it without having any sort of side-effects whatsoever in our life. The thing is, this happens to every one of us – its just how we are made as a human – all these are just the balancing act . As it is said, “Excess of anything is bad” – that dictum applies here freely and completely – our state of mind and our astuteness to think things in number of ways.

I don’t know how people categorize the different state of mind, but for me, I will categorize it as: anger, sad, irked or vexed, battered, happy, bemused, cogitating, full of gust, gong ho, resentment, zeal and merry.

Our state of mind changing with our existing situation and our environment we are surrounded with. Indecisiveness is another problem that might grapple us when our mind is changing swiftly with time and situation. However, indecisiveness is a kind of vague term which is very difficult to explain. I mean, it doesn’t necessarily mean that we have to change our decision, but it also incorporates the fact that, even if we are enjoined to think twice or think dual in some point of time – it can be defined as a state of indecisive mind.

Our state of mind and imbecility can be a part of disease, but it is not in itself a disease. For that reason also, I don’t’ find any particular revelation of this sort of activities confined in any research journals. Nonetheless, this has been defined and explained in some paper with some particular disease. 

So, basically, in conclusion it is very difficult to define the true nature of states of our mind even though we know a clear-cut features of different state of mind and the reasons behind it.

P.S Thanks for reading. Have a happy browsing.

|Rajesh Chaudhary

A State of Mind

After having a huge hiatus in my blog-writing – which was of course of no real intention, and not because of any sort of real important phenomenon – today  I thought in a bizarre time to swipe my pen through my notebook.  Struggling and trying to come up with some kind of concrete idea or some magnificent topic of interest to write, I was left in frenzied and limbo for a while having lost my true sense of mental senility. Of course some times its hard to concentrate on things which is really important and our time and situation is demanding something result-oriented, but we are left in mental imbecility lacing a true sense of light when it is most crucial. This is just a state of our mind which takes time to revive to come back to normal process of electrifying our work. This is one state of mind which causes more debacle than it has to.

As you will move across this blog, you might find that this lacks a sense of coherency and inconsistency, so do not lost your temper if you find something like this. To mitigate this state of mind in the readers, I have firstly tried to put it into the section “RANDOM THOUGHTS”. So, if you notice that, I hope you will have no problem in carrying on with this blog.

Just like a heart never knows how much it has love store in for somebody, exactly in the same way, our mind doesn’t know how much it has knowledge and how much loads it has to bear. Once these two things is revealed, our both heart and mind will stop working – literally. And, if somebody claims that his/hers really knows, that means they are being vainglorious and they are pontificating blatantly. Our mind is so whimsical that we can’t predict precisely what it is about to do or make us do in next few seconds. There are persons like me, for example, who’s mind is so changeling that  they can’t really quantify the exact level of difference between two state of mind: a mind who says to go this way while other is struggling to push you to some other way.  Sometimes this turns out to be so devastating that it is hard to subdue it without having any sort of side-effects whatsoever in our life. The thing is, this happens to every one of us – its just how we are made as a human – all these are just the balancing act . As it is said, “Excess of anything is bad” – that dictum applies here freely and completely – our state of mind and our astuteness to think things in number of ways.

I don’t know how people categorize the different state of mind, but for me, I will categorize it as: anger, sad, irked or vexed, battered, happy, bemused, cogitating, full of gust, gong ho, resentment, zeal and merry.

Our state of mind changing with our existing situation and our environment we are surrounded with. Indecisiveness is another problem that might grapple us when our mind is changing swiftly with time and situation. However, indecisiveness is a kind of vague term which is very difficult to explain. I mean, it doesn’t necessarily mean that we have to change our decision, but it also incorporates the fact that, even if we are enjoined to think twice or think dual in some point of time – it can be defined as a state of indecisive mind.

Our state of mind and imbecility can be a part of disease, but it is not in itself a disease. For that reason also, I don’t’ find any particular revelation of this sort of activities confined in any research journals. Nonetheless, this has been defined and explained in some paper with some particular disease. 

So, basically, in conclusion it is very difficult to define the true nature of states of our mind even though we know a clear-cut features of different state of mind and the reasons behind it.

P.S Thanks for reading. Have a happy browsing.

|Rajesh Chaudhary

Young scientists and the challenges

Rajesh Chaudhary | 11/20/2011 11:48 AM

With the advancement of the science and the technology, the pace of research works have increased in an unprecedented way and so is the number of research papers — particularly in the molecular health science, which is not really surprising. The surprising thing is only the way we work and the challenges we face these days in these research work. Technological advancement was supposed to alleviate the work load and facilitate the working strategies, which is of course in a way its working its way out, but the level of tribulation in the working space have somehow able to manage itself with the increment in the technology which fairly doesn’t show any sign of abate. So, the gist of this issue is we still have the same physical and mental ail as we use to have some 10/20 years back.

In the verge of finding the real reason of this bewildering milieu, I was awaked to know that the real reason for this is not something that has self-arise but it is something contrived and artificial. The confusion is not in finding the topic neither for the research nor in anyway related to the technological bafflement, but it is something synthetic — social, political, emotional, geographical, and more importantly the fear of losing. And, this is a universal reason as I have been able to garner from a tyro to the novel laureates — the view is simple — “It is contrived and synthetic”. These are some of those countable problems which can very easily be sorted out and it doesn’t even sound something that is unreachable. Small bit of homework and understanding pertaining the problem can help to over the problem and can thus be mitigated.

In the Annual Lindau Noble Laureate Meeting of 2010, the young scientist representing the different parts of the world from the diverse research background shared the same experience. According to the young scientists (agreed upon by all present there) the major problem behind all this is the relationship with their advisor, co-advisor and their mentor and most importantly the leeway they have to present their ideas in the lab and moreover, its about believing them — a sense of understanding that, ‘Ok, s/he can do it’. The creativity lies in the understanding and when the students are allowed to express themselves and their understanding to their fullest. Everybody should be allowed to vent on the issues. If this would not have been the one reason, there would have been no reason on conducting the journal clubs, seminars and lab meetings. The motif is crystal clear — “We should share and must share our thoughts and understandings”.

In the modern research arena, the spot light is always on the advisor, co-advisor and the person guiding the graduate students for the research work. But, now, it’s the time to turn the spotlight; at least for a while for the closer examination on the understanding of the student’s astuteness . Because the root of the problem lies deep inside the student’s courtyard and the interesting thing is that even the solution to the problems lies just there, which is often unwittingly ignored. The thing is, students should be allowed to exercise their freedom of thoughts when it comes to working in the lab and should not be fettered with the chains of laws, rules and lab principles including their restrictions of following the orders of their mentors. To simplify more — let them feel the fresh air and let them come out of dungeon of restrictions.

Politics and family and geographical limitations are another such big examples that has to be tackled very prudently. There are graduate students those who have to manage their married life and at the same time show their potential in handling their research job — its really tough to get into the balancing act.

Pushing boundaries

There are uncountable numbers of examples to learn from, but the question is who will push the boundaries out and make room for one. The examples of such boundaries are endless. But this doesn’t necessarily mean that we have to be cynical. There are still big solutions to big problems. The solution to the problems likes in the student itself and how they take their jobs and how do they communicate with others when it comes to maintaining their work and their relationship with others. So, as it is well said, ‘Prevention is better than cure’. We should strictly follow this dictum. Prevention in terms of finding the mentor who can provide more time to the students in the lab and who is not engaged in other extra-curricular activities beside their own main stream research work. Make sensible decision of not hurting your mentors and guide while at the same time should develop the temerity to challenge them rather than pleasing them. Our mentors do not like to read all our excellent result which has not been clearly and precisely explained — avoid messy method and follow the strict guidelines when it comes to writing proposals, papers and justifying your results. Check your work twice or thrice before you make sure that it is ready to be submitted to the mentor for the final reading. Do as much as you can by yourself and do not bother them with wonted questions for which you can find answer by yourself.

Monetary problems

The most significant problem young scientists are facing is the monetary problems. Thus, degrees like PhD has become a good way of hiring the cheap serf for the research work and because of that the credibility of PhD has been losing every day and marring the real reputation of PhD it use to have. Working sometimes more than 15 hours for a PhD person is not an exception and no more a surprise thing for any PhD students with the stipend which is not enough to meet the needs of a single family. How would you think one can handle research work with all those pressure in mind every time and every second? Finding a good grant needs one to be standing on their own and making their own identity. No companies or institutes would believe in funding without a good strong proposal having a direct significant impact on the society.

Breaking geographical barrier

There is a need to break the geographical barrier if you want to learn something new — something different that will help to hone your capabilities. If you want to broaden the horizon of your knowledge, it is better to explore the world with various kind of activities including meetings, seminars, presentation, short-term research and summer and winter schools. You must need to have hands-on on things if you really want to feel the real experience of research, and for that, it is better to travel and get into it rather than reading papers on one corner of your cubicle. Understanding the people and getting conversant with the environment is not a cakewalk. It consumes time and money at the same time by the time we are able to work with full concentration. Common misunderstanding on taking things different creates some problem. But, once again, it should not be taken as cynical thoughts, but as something that really makes you stronger to handle and tackle the problems.

But, finally, the good news is that scenario has started to change and it is changing. These days’ graduate students are given more responsibilities in handing their work and their lab on their own — which has dramatically and significantly changed the way we use to work few years back. And, the direction of the spot light has been veered to tackle more challenges in the future direction, which is absolutely something to cherish upon.

_____________________________________________________________

“There is something in you divine”

I hear you cry, I hear you whine, there is something that appears in you divine,
I don’t know what is right and what is wrong, but I am tangled in just like vine,

I don’t know how to whine and how to explain, but I can’t do anything than just to complain
I know this is nonsense to say, because no one cares today,

Tangling in the sun and tangling in the rain, I hear you cry, I hear you whine, there is something that appears in you divine

It is easy to say and easy to near, but there is something like silent fear,
Tangling in the hue, and tangling in the shear,
how can I say how to bear,

Your love, your fear — everything is dear,
this is what it makes you mine
I hear your cry, I hear your whine, there is something that appears in you devine,

Neither can bear it nor can tear it, and don’t know how to make it shine,
even though it pricks and even though it pains, but god knows what makes it appears just fine

I hear you cry, I hear you whine, there is something that appears in you divine.

Restructuring Nepal’s infrastructure

When I am writing this short piece of note, I don’t feel like its a note and I guess, it might certainly be same for most of you. Because, I know this is going to be long enough, and would eventually turn out to be something like a research proposal. But, do not worry, I would try my best not to make you bored as you go through it.

The transformation of a Himalayan Kingdom to a Himalayan Republic state was really welcoming to most of us who have seen the Narayanhiti Palace carnage, and also because most of us didn’t want to be ruled and governed by some perpetrators who were languishing in the Royal Palace where they were never supposed to belong. But, what was not welcoming was the one that happened post the carnage — the beautiful Nepal and the lovers of peace were dragged in the hell overnight to even higher degree of anarchy we had never seen before in our life, and not even our ancestors. When we use to travel in public transport, we use to see in doors written “aafno saman ko surakshya aafai garau”, meaning, “please take care of your belongings yourself”. Now, this mindset has come out of those public transport doors and have hit the Nepal’s boarder. Ultimately, that means, you have to take care of everything yourself including your life. So, now you can guess, how you can concentrate when you are not safe inside your own home?

Following the unrest which lingered for almost a decade or so, Nepal got independence from its monarchy system in May 28, 2008 when it was declared as a republican state. But, unfortunately, people of Nepal have still not got independence from the existing unemployment, political instability, poverty, crime, and inflation and all those things which has marred the transition process of drafting a constitution virtually impossible — from what we have seen in this 3 years of process — time-and-again setting a deadline and failing to meet the deadline of the most awaited thing in Nepal — the constitution which is supposed to protect the rights of people from all walks of life. If you can visualize from what we have been promised by our dear long list of leaders which have packed the entire parliament — you will see a pristine and panoramical view of our lovely Himalaya with cool fresh breeze passing through your cross ventilated windows of your house. Feels like you are in the same heavenly Nepal it use to be 15 years ago, right?

It might not be acceptable to most of us when I will say that, “We won’t be able to see the Nepal we have been promised by our dear leaders, whose profile has been decorated with long list of some heinous crimes against humanity, but still sits in front of us with their head held high as if they are the current king of Nepal without any stint of signs of mortification on their face — complete expression less and without flinch”. It is logical when you say, “Yes !”. I accept that, because, we have never been taught to be cynical in our ideas, way of thinking and our views. But, the most important thing we should not forget is that, “WE HAVE TO BE MORE PRAGMATIC THAN WHAT WE ARE SUPPOSED TO BE AS WELL !”. And, when you think if logically and unbiased, you will realize that even you won’t dare to indict me with such denigrating sardonic title — “CYNICAL”. I have this strong believe and I might sound little bit cocksure to you in a way. But, hang on, let me point you some important things: those who of you are reading this, I am sure, you are not ignorant, secondly, you are not in Nepal. Because, these days as I have seen that, most of the Nepalese who are outside Nepal — from a worker in Qatar and some Arab and Gulf countries to those who are scientist in some reputable university and research centers pursuing their dreams, the first thing they do is to find the news on Nepal. Because, they are more worried those who are still in Nepal. There are couple of reasons justifying it, but will not be talking about that here.

In the recent article “We are in need of need of new health policy” by Dr. Pravin Mishra, Dr. Mishra has insisted in forging the new laws and rules governing the health care system in Nepal, firstly because the existing one is outmoded and it has lost its credibility which might cover and justify the current health care system in Nepal. Its mostly because when it was implemented in 1991 there use to be communicable disease, but now people are suffering from the non-communicable diseases. And, we will be sounding simpleton if we discount his suggestion or try to reprimand. Though Nepal has developed unprecedentedly within this last one decade in terms of maternal health system in Nepal and has been successful putting Nepal in the forefront in South Asia’s ranking, it still have miles to cover before it turns in the millennium development goal as per set by the UNDP.

This is not just in case and this is not just for the health care system of Nepal, but the lack of transformation and implementation of new set of rules, guidelines and the base of new form of infrastructure is necessary in all fronts of development in Nepal. I think the most important thing lacking in forging the future of Nepal is the lack of future vision in our leaders who can barely even sign a paper or write their names in the paper holding pen — in more simpler way — they are illiterate. Just for an example of future vision: when a road or highway is being constructed in Nepal, what they often do is they concentrate in the middle part and start constructing in the middle forgetting the outer parts. In fact, which has to be something like, covering as much areas as possible with a future view of expanding and leaving space in middle while making lanes – out going and incoming on both sides of the space. So, in case in future even if they would have to expand they will not have to issue another notice from the government to demolish the already built houses on the edges and confronting with the uninvited issues in near future.

The malignancy engrossing our system of governance is political instability, and political interference even where it is strictly not has to be. Intervening by the political figures in almost all cases just for oiling their hand and making warm-pocket is the main matter of stagnancy that has crippled Nepal’s development for over a decade now.

Therefore, as it is well known to all of us is that shaping the Nepal’s infrastructure needs an extensive measure to outsource everything for bolstering the new form of government — which can be tackled through out rooting the massive corruption engulfing Nepal’s system of governance.

Dear prime minister,are you kidding me?

We all were happy to know that an intellectual man – our current dear prime minister (Dr. Babu Ram Bhattrai) is worried about the Nepal’s current brain drain rate, and urged every intellectuals who are pursuing their job, research work and their study in the foreign land to return to Nepal. He put more emphasis on bringing back the beautiful brains back to Nepal, if we all really want to develop and build of stronger pillar of development in Nepal.

In his address to the commencement of Kathmandu University recently held in October 31, 2011, he even assured that there will be more favorable environment for those intellects who think that working in Nepal is and will be vulnerable to work smoothly.  He was confident when he said, that there will be a clement environment for the intellects those who really want to work in Nepal and continue their individual projects of research work, businesses and all.  Since he took his office as a prime minister in Kathmandu, time and again he has been able to send a wave of good-governance messages to all Nepalese – home and abroad, and have been an image of true leader in the face of criticism and political instability. It was and is really commendable !!

After Nepal’s highly vulnerable government which barely stands still for couple of months, he was finally elected a a prime minister of Nepal, which I guess might have given a sigh of relief to most of the Nepalese.  We were awake when we knew that our dear prime minister choose to use a Nepali made un-luxurious vehicle – Mustang (by the way, the name of the Jeep comes from a place in north-central part of Nepal, which has a basic meaning of “Fertile plain land”). And this was most importantly because he was the first to take this trending-step, and no one ever had mark such a great move of promoting home made things whenever they took their responsibilities as a leader of Nepal. In fact, it has always been proved time-and-again that the love for the chair is because of the heavenly-luxury and also, after all, it’s about favoring nepotism in the big positions in governmental offices, institutes and corporations for having a good grip in the government, so that no one will ever dare to point finger at you irrespective of how corrupt and evil you are. I must say, it’s really a great forebode of engulfing the big share of delicious cake — Nepal — coming out of a beautiful mind in wrong way !!

In any country, the political instability invites corruption, murder, extortion, robbery, theft, rape and other countless heinous crimes, and it never takes too long to mare the pristine environment with dark cloud of uncertainty of human life. And this becomes even more worse when the criminals are in the government itself being protected by the government. And, now, I start believing that our dear prime minster has failed to understand and acknowledge the fact that politics is not about being a big-mouth and bringing everything at sixes and sevens, rather than being rational and fair.

The recent hot news that has flared a huge hue-and-cry in home and abroad about lawmaker Balkrishna Dhungel, who faces life term for his involvement in a murder, and it has become a matter of huge debate, for, Nepal government itself has taken this matter into hand and has started to move on with a unlawful decision to request president of Nepal for his amnesty.

Now, I have few questions for you:
“Why do you think that just your words and not your deeds will help the intellects return back to Nepal?”

“How do Nepalese feel safe in their own home when they have a big sword hanging above their head with a thin fragile thread supporting it?”

“Why and how do you believe, you can clean Nepal and its infrastructure of all crimes when you have your own criminal lingering to your bed side?”

Thank you so much.

Kind regards,

Rajesh Chaudhary