I have always been inclined towards the creative side. In school I used to look forward to the arts and crafts lecture so that I would bring out my scissors, papers and what not out of my bag and watch in awe as the teacher would transform a roll of paper into a lovely coconut tree. Not many were as eager as me and since there was no concept of bunking in school, I would be surrounded by a disgruntled crowd who were waiting for the bell to ring. This goes without saying that I was the art teacher’s pet student because I pooled in my own ideas and improvise on the technique and the next week I was showing off a better version of my previous work.
Even in the drawing and painting lecture, I used to bug the teacher asking her for new techniques for painting and whether there is any new art-and-crafts related product in the market. This interest reached a new level and I advanced to making new and much beautiful work of art. I made flowers out of brightly coloured flower stockings and solawood paper. I even tried making it out of grated soap like I had seen it on television but it didn’t turn out that well. I love ceramic painting and glass painting but they were a costly affair so I had to somehow restrict myself. I then moved on to making gel candles which was the best thing that happened to me. It doesn’t cost a bomb and plus they make great gifting options. It is fun trying to mix and match the decorative stuff to fill inside the glass so that the colorful beads stand out in the clear gel.
I enjoy writing and blogging too. I believe if you have to be a good writer, you should have a strong opinion on everything. I sort of fit well into this criteria. I have to thank my English teachers at school for bringing out the dormant talent in me. I never realised I write well until the teacher made it a habit to read my essays in the class. My ideas were a bit feminist with the topics veering mostly to female liberation and equality and I had an ally in my teacher. She was more than happy to share the views of an eighth grader who surprisingly shared her opinion.
Alias always tells me that I should have been into writing or into a profession that exploits my writing abilities and not into a technical field like engineering. I somehow don’t feel that way because I don’t want to kill my interest by making it my profession. When I write a blog post, it is with the comfort factor that I don’t have a deadline to meet. If I was asked to write an article within x days I won’t be able to produce the expected result. That is why I took up blogging because I post when I feel I have a strong topic and not just for increasing the number of my blog post. Engineering on the other hand is a challenge. It’s so huge and endless that I have something to keep me busy for years on end. With new technological advents I will be having something new to discover every single day. The best part is that I can share my views on this via writing. I believe when you have a creative edge, you tend to have a better understanding of the people and situation around you. After all engineering is not just about having technical expertise; it’s also about how you work for the greater benefit with a group of likeminded individuals.
I can draw parallels between engineering and candle making. Isn’t engineering also about finding the right gems of people and combining them to make a candle which not only looks beautiful but also illuminates your surroundings with a warm glow?
Wednesday, December 30, 2009
Wild Goose Chase
There have been very rare occasions when exams have frustrated me to such an extent. Now many may find it abnormal, but exams have rarely intimidated me. Not because I was well versed with every subject but I because I had faith in my management skills. With my college running on nine-to -five schedules, it becomes really difficult to manage studies and at the same time handle your social life. So I made up for the lost time by studying really hard on holidays and the much awaited preparatory leave.
But this time I made an extra effort to study during the college schedule. Whenever I find some subject interesting, I go for the reference books. I did that with Electronics where I devoured Boylestead which was a book equal to my own weight. Then in Microcontrollers I studied Mazidi with such interest that my mom thought I was reading a Harry Potter book hidden within it. The good thing about these books is the use of simple, lucid language. The flow is absolutely wonderful and every single term was presented in an uncomplicated way so as not to scare off the reader. That’s the way I believe is right way to study and even in this semester I stuck to it.
But the problem with this method is that it doesn’t prepare you well for your written exams. Getting conceptual knowledge is one thing but presenting it on paper where the examiner is looking for specific words to assess your knowledge is completely different story. I did a lot of hard work for this semester. I don’t remember studying for almost eight hours every single day in any of my previous semesters. But the papers turned out to be a big disappointment and that’s when frustration sets in. I realized while I was busy getting my concepts cleared, I had left out quite a few vital topics which are repeatedly asked in exams. I realized this during the first exams so I went into damage control mode. For the following exams I tried to cover up every single chapter (with the obvious risk of losing out on the concepts) and was feeling a bit confident. But this time I got all muddled up in the end and plus the paper was completely conceptual so I realized I had screwed up my papers.
I managed to write two papers really well but the remaining two have got me all worked up. After three years into engineering, I had become quite a pro in cracking the exams but I am now shrouded in self doubt. As of now I am searching for some pattern in these papers so that I can ensure a smooth ride for myself in my last semester. Or am I on a wild goose chase?
But this time I made an extra effort to study during the college schedule. Whenever I find some subject interesting, I go for the reference books. I did that with Electronics where I devoured Boylestead which was a book equal to my own weight. Then in Microcontrollers I studied Mazidi with such interest that my mom thought I was reading a Harry Potter book hidden within it. The good thing about these books is the use of simple, lucid language. The flow is absolutely wonderful and every single term was presented in an uncomplicated way so as not to scare off the reader. That’s the way I believe is right way to study and even in this semester I stuck to it.
But the problem with this method is that it doesn’t prepare you well for your written exams. Getting conceptual knowledge is one thing but presenting it on paper where the examiner is looking for specific words to assess your knowledge is completely different story. I did a lot of hard work for this semester. I don’t remember studying for almost eight hours every single day in any of my previous semesters. But the papers turned out to be a big disappointment and that’s when frustration sets in. I realized while I was busy getting my concepts cleared, I had left out quite a few vital topics which are repeatedly asked in exams. I realized this during the first exams so I went into damage control mode. For the following exams I tried to cover up every single chapter (with the obvious risk of losing out on the concepts) and was feeling a bit confident. But this time I got all muddled up in the end and plus the paper was completely conceptual so I realized I had screwed up my papers.
I managed to write two papers really well but the remaining two have got me all worked up. After three years into engineering, I had become quite a pro in cracking the exams but I am now shrouded in self doubt. As of now I am searching for some pattern in these papers so that I can ensure a smooth ride for myself in my last semester. Or am I on a wild goose chase?
Friday, November 27, 2009
Enough Said But Not Enough Done
Time is really a strange term. It flies when you don’t notice it and when you do, its inching away at terribly slow speed. It’s been a month since television channels started airing undisclosed footages and paying tributes to those who went away to never return back. Some even reviewed the security post 26/11 at sensitive spots to expose the apathy of a Government who hasn’t yet learnt its lesson. A year down the line, nothing has changed really. Mr. R.R. Patil whose famous quotes still make my blood boil is back as a Minister. So are many other politicians who went on terror tours.
No matter how much is being said about the fortification of the city by the Mumbai Police and other assorted forces, we all know the truth. It is this truth or rather the realization of it is reflected in the eyes of the average Mumbaikar. People talk endlessly about the ‘spirit’ of Mumbai and how the city has a habit of bouncing back from every calamity that continues to mar its beauty. I have a question- Do we have any other option? The wealthy guys will stop going for work for a month and quit travelling by first class in locals and opt for private transportation instead, the middle class will take a leave of two days and then resume going back to the old grind but what about those whose salary is on a per day basis. Can this guy afford to stay back at home citing fear of a terror attack? Everyone tries to put up a brave front and act tough and at the end of the day, the fear of losing your livelihood overrules the fear of losing your life. This is the spirit we all talk about.
Shabana Azmi rightly said “We are a society looking for short-term solutions to long-term problems.” So many citizen groups were formed after the attacks stressing the need for a secure neighborhood. Facebook and Orkut had hundreds of communities and groups coming up to which people swarmed to express their solidarity. How many of them are active right now? These people aren’t even close to what they are trying to be- heroes. My hero is the victim who has the guts to visit the same place where he escaped death and speak about it. My hero is the widow who continues to run from pillar to post trying to get compensation instead of indifference from the Government. My hero is the policemen who patrol the streets assuring people of their safety when they know that their pistol won’t come close to killing the terrorist and the only weapon they have is their courage. My hero is Karambir Kang and many others like him who chose to respond to the call of duty even when their own safety was at peril. My hero is Ratan Tata who re-opened the Taj in a matter of few months to show that the there a few cracks in the building is not enough to break his courage. This is the spirit we should be talking about and not the spirit to travel again in local trains after the attacks.
After a year, all I wish to do is to pray for the victims and their family because it is not easy to draw strength knowing that your loved ones could have been saved. It requires immense resilience to accept the fact Kasab alive and that your money is spent on keeping him alive. I just hope this is the last time I express my anguish over our own apathy and helplessness. Let this be the last time please.
No matter how much is being said about the fortification of the city by the Mumbai Police and other assorted forces, we all know the truth. It is this truth or rather the realization of it is reflected in the eyes of the average Mumbaikar. People talk endlessly about the ‘spirit’ of Mumbai and how the city has a habit of bouncing back from every calamity that continues to mar its beauty. I have a question- Do we have any other option? The wealthy guys will stop going for work for a month and quit travelling by first class in locals and opt for private transportation instead, the middle class will take a leave of two days and then resume going back to the old grind but what about those whose salary is on a per day basis. Can this guy afford to stay back at home citing fear of a terror attack? Everyone tries to put up a brave front and act tough and at the end of the day, the fear of losing your livelihood overrules the fear of losing your life. This is the spirit we all talk about.
Shabana Azmi rightly said “We are a society looking for short-term solutions to long-term problems.” So many citizen groups were formed after the attacks stressing the need for a secure neighborhood. Facebook and Orkut had hundreds of communities and groups coming up to which people swarmed to express their solidarity. How many of them are active right now? These people aren’t even close to what they are trying to be- heroes. My hero is the victim who has the guts to visit the same place where he escaped death and speak about it. My hero is the widow who continues to run from pillar to post trying to get compensation instead of indifference from the Government. My hero is the policemen who patrol the streets assuring people of their safety when they know that their pistol won’t come close to killing the terrorist and the only weapon they have is their courage. My hero is Karambir Kang and many others like him who chose to respond to the call of duty even when their own safety was at peril. My hero is Ratan Tata who re-opened the Taj in a matter of few months to show that the there a few cracks in the building is not enough to break his courage. This is the spirit we should be talking about and not the spirit to travel again in local trains after the attacks.
After a year, all I wish to do is to pray for the victims and their family because it is not easy to draw strength knowing that your loved ones could have been saved. It requires immense resilience to accept the fact Kasab alive and that your money is spent on keeping him alive. I just hope this is the last time I express my anguish over our own apathy and helplessness. Let this be the last time please.
Sunday, November 22, 2009
Runaway Techies
Recently I had the fortune of visiting the I.I.T. Bombay campus and that has left me with a slight pain in the jaw. The reason being, I was gaping at the sheer enormity of the campus. I am yet to see the whole campus because whenever I assumed that the road was coming to an end, it took a new turn only to end at infinity. The greenery was such a beautiful sight to behold and it was hard to believe that there was a crazy traffic waiting for you outside the entrance if you just bothered to turn your back.
When I checked out the fees, I was pleasantly surprised to see the figures below 20K. While it is not really a meager amount, but if you look at the facilities they provide, it’s actually a bargain. But right now I am feeling contemptuous at the I.I.T. graduates who pack up their things and just zip off to some ‘foreign’ country to earn big bucks. How mean and selfish I say. The Government doesn’t spend an obscene amount on your training and education just to see you off at the airport. It does so with the hope and expectation that the best brains don’t turn their backs on their homeland and work their bums off at some other country. Sure every guy has the right to decide about his career. The temptation of a lucrative job at the outset of your career is too hard to resist and that is a fact I am completely aware of. But can you guys please think of coming back to India after a few years and do your nation a service?
I am a bit sympathetic to those graduates from private institutes. I am well aware of the fleecing at such institutes and most of the authorities are at mortal danger of choking since they are sucking money at alarming speed. If they decide to work abroad and try to recover back their investment, it seems acceptable. The certificates from such obscure institutes aren’t going to make them shine in the job scenario in India. But I can’t help going Grrr…. when I see an IITian snub job offers from India saying that they can’t adjust in their birthplace now that they are so well settled in the country of their choice. Sure Mr. Geek, you are so well ‘adjusted’ to the random curry-bashing and snide racist remarks you face in your adopted country. You have now ‘adjusted’ and accepted your colleagues perception of India as ‘Land of snake charmers’ and have not bothered to correct him. We Indians are so amazing, we adapt so well in a new environment without a complaint. Except the environment where they grew up in.
I just hope our beloved and very valuable techies realize this one important fact- India needs you and very badly. Don’t make me believe this commonly held perception that IITians have brains but not a heart.
When I checked out the fees, I was pleasantly surprised to see the figures below 20K. While it is not really a meager amount, but if you look at the facilities they provide, it’s actually a bargain. But right now I am feeling contemptuous at the I.I.T. graduates who pack up their things and just zip off to some ‘foreign’ country to earn big bucks. How mean and selfish I say. The Government doesn’t spend an obscene amount on your training and education just to see you off at the airport. It does so with the hope and expectation that the best brains don’t turn their backs on their homeland and work their bums off at some other country. Sure every guy has the right to decide about his career. The temptation of a lucrative job at the outset of your career is too hard to resist and that is a fact I am completely aware of. But can you guys please think of coming back to India after a few years and do your nation a service?
I am a bit sympathetic to those graduates from private institutes. I am well aware of the fleecing at such institutes and most of the authorities are at mortal danger of choking since they are sucking money at alarming speed. If they decide to work abroad and try to recover back their investment, it seems acceptable. The certificates from such obscure institutes aren’t going to make them shine in the job scenario in India. But I can’t help going Grrr…. when I see an IITian snub job offers from India saying that they can’t adjust in their birthplace now that they are so well settled in the country of their choice. Sure Mr. Geek, you are so well ‘adjusted’ to the random curry-bashing and snide racist remarks you face in your adopted country. You have now ‘adjusted’ and accepted your colleagues perception of India as ‘Land of snake charmers’ and have not bothered to correct him. We Indians are so amazing, we adapt so well in a new environment without a complaint. Except the environment where they grew up in.
I just hope our beloved and very valuable techies realize this one important fact- India needs you and very badly. Don’t make me believe this commonly held perception that IITians have brains but not a heart.
Thursday, November 5, 2009
Being positive
As the blog title suggests I am going to mention all the things which make my life fruitful, people who enrich my life and the silly things which I love doing. I am listing out these things because whenever I will be down and out, I will glance at this list and be thankful for all the things I have been blessed with.
1. I love to wake up to the sound of chirping birds- I still enjoy that luxury of seeing sparrows near my window every day.
2. I love it when my parents fuss over my food and get me all sort of junk food so that I can gain some weight.
3. I love to stroll and not run to the railway station to catch the train.
4. I can catch up with my friends at the station and happily chatter till we reach college.
5. I love the lunch time when everyone gathers around and pounce on each other’s dabba. If it’s paranthas for lunch, it will disappear even before you say ‘mujhe bhi chahiye’.
6. I enjoy the feeling that I can doze off during a boring lecture because my bench mate will wake me up when the professor stares.
7. I love the idle talk on the way to the railway station and missing trains just because you want to catch up on all the college news.
8. I love to snuggle under a warm blanket on a cool night and sleep pleasantly.
9. I love to stick to my cell phone 24/7. Although the recent reports of cancer causing radiations from them do give me enough reasons to stay away from it , but then it’s back to normal within a week.
10. I love the mixing of colours when I make a rangoli. The way one colour blends in with the other is a visual treat.
11. I love it when I make a little candle to gift someone and se their faces brighten up.
12. I love to see the arrays of earrings and bangles on display in the train. I wonder if anyone notices the way these shiny things catch the sunlight and reflect back beautiful rays.
13. I love it when my house is filled with little kids making a ruckus and when they finally manage with some efforts to call me ‘Sweee taa’
14. I love it when I dance like no one is watching during ganpati viserjan.
15. I love to close my umbrella and walk in the rain while at the same time jumping on poodles of water, never mind the curses showered by friends on me.
16. I love it when I can just go on sleeping and sleeping and sleeping and not worry about a thing in the world.
17. I love being around Pagu, Alias and Unpronounceable, who can sense it when I am feeling low and then cheer me up.
18. I love it when someone comments on the blog because I know somewhere they have taken the effort to read it.
19. I still love to sit on the swing in gardens until a child politely points it out to me that it is his turn.
20. And last but not the least, I love being myself :)
1. I love to wake up to the sound of chirping birds- I still enjoy that luxury of seeing sparrows near my window every day.
2. I love it when my parents fuss over my food and get me all sort of junk food so that I can gain some weight.
3. I love to stroll and not run to the railway station to catch the train.
4. I can catch up with my friends at the station and happily chatter till we reach college.
5. I love the lunch time when everyone gathers around and pounce on each other’s dabba. If it’s paranthas for lunch, it will disappear even before you say ‘mujhe bhi chahiye’.
6. I enjoy the feeling that I can doze off during a boring lecture because my bench mate will wake me up when the professor stares.
7. I love the idle talk on the way to the railway station and missing trains just because you want to catch up on all the college news.
8. I love to snuggle under a warm blanket on a cool night and sleep pleasantly.
9. I love to stick to my cell phone 24/7. Although the recent reports of cancer causing radiations from them do give me enough reasons to stay away from it , but then it’s back to normal within a week.
10. I love the mixing of colours when I make a rangoli. The way one colour blends in with the other is a visual treat.
11. I love it when I make a little candle to gift someone and se their faces brighten up.
12. I love to see the arrays of earrings and bangles on display in the train. I wonder if anyone notices the way these shiny things catch the sunlight and reflect back beautiful rays.
13. I love it when my house is filled with little kids making a ruckus and when they finally manage with some efforts to call me ‘Sweee taa’
14. I love it when I dance like no one is watching during ganpati viserjan.
15. I love to close my umbrella and walk in the rain while at the same time jumping on poodles of water, never mind the curses showered by friends on me.
16. I love it when I can just go on sleeping and sleeping and sleeping and not worry about a thing in the world.
17. I love being around Pagu, Alias and Unpronounceable, who can sense it when I am feeling low and then cheer me up.
18. I love it when someone comments on the blog because I know somewhere they have taken the effort to read it.
19. I still love to sit on the swing in gardens until a child politely points it out to me that it is his turn.
20. And last but not the least, I love being myself :)
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
Priorities and options
Diwali is a great time really. Apart from the obvious joy of lighting up your homes, splurging on new clothes and gorging on sweets, I think it’s a great time to clean up the mess from our lives. I haven’t been really active on the clean-up scene at home but this time it was different. I took up the mantle of organizing the cupboard and my book shelf. Herein the problem lies. I am a clothes freak; I consider it to be a major disaster if I repeat my clothes more than once a week. It was quite a task to clean up the clothes section and I finally managed to sort them into the following – clothes which won’t ever fit, clothes which will fit if I gain a few pounds and clothes which I am using presently but won’t fit if I gain a few pounds. The section of ‘old clothes’ is avoided for the simple reason that my wardrobe gets updated with alarming regularity.
But I think cleaning up your things is therapeutic. Seeing things sorted urged me to take hold of my own life and fix it up. You see, my life has been quite eventful especially after I took up engineering. During the course of time I got rid of a ‘friend’ with a perverted bend of mind, struggled with studies and dealt (or rather still dealing) with nasty politics All of these experiences required immense emotional strength on my part and sometimes I couldn’t even sum up enough courage to narrate them to my close friends.
The reason why I was apprehensive to confide is that somewhere I am partly to be blamed for the circumstances that befell upon me. Being a complete emotional fool, I ended up trusting the wrong kind of people who, at the very behest, had listed out the advantages of being my friend. When you trust someone, it is a natural tendency to turn a blind eye to their flaws while going out of the way to help your ‘friends’. You end up supporting them during every situation even when you know that this will create enemies for yourself.
All is rosy, you are having the time of your life and after so many years you start feeling you have got a friend for life. Now comes the reality part. It hits you hard when you get to know what’s going on in their lives from someone else just because your ‘friend’ didn’t trust you enough. If that was not enough, lies, deception and back-stabbing come to the fore and this is when it hurts you badly. Then your mind goes back to all those words of advice from your close ones who had asked you to stay away from this person and you chose to ignore it…. Thankfully they have forgiven me and continue to hold my hand every time I stumble.
So now I know I have no right to blame someone else for this condition of mine. It was my decision to trust and believe the wrong kind of people. Even after all the misgivings, it is still painful because shunning them is like bypass surgery. You don’t want to cut open your heart, but it is essential to do so if you don’t want it clogged with greasy traces of someone who doesn’t give a damn about you.
‘Never make someone your priority when they consider you as just an option’……. I realized the meaning of this quote for the first time. Meanwhile, I am bracing myself for another round of bypass, but not before a promise to self that this will be my last one. I need to guard my heart a bit strongly to make sure that any Tom, Dick, Harry or Sally doesn’t grease my arteries. Say NO to junk food. Woohoo!
But I think cleaning up your things is therapeutic. Seeing things sorted urged me to take hold of my own life and fix it up. You see, my life has been quite eventful especially after I took up engineering. During the course of time I got rid of a ‘friend’ with a perverted bend of mind, struggled with studies and dealt (or rather still dealing) with nasty politics All of these experiences required immense emotional strength on my part and sometimes I couldn’t even sum up enough courage to narrate them to my close friends.
The reason why I was apprehensive to confide is that somewhere I am partly to be blamed for the circumstances that befell upon me. Being a complete emotional fool, I ended up trusting the wrong kind of people who, at the very behest, had listed out the advantages of being my friend. When you trust someone, it is a natural tendency to turn a blind eye to their flaws while going out of the way to help your ‘friends’. You end up supporting them during every situation even when you know that this will create enemies for yourself.
All is rosy, you are having the time of your life and after so many years you start feeling you have got a friend for life. Now comes the reality part. It hits you hard when you get to know what’s going on in their lives from someone else just because your ‘friend’ didn’t trust you enough. If that was not enough, lies, deception and back-stabbing come to the fore and this is when it hurts you badly. Then your mind goes back to all those words of advice from your close ones who had asked you to stay away from this person and you chose to ignore it…. Thankfully they have forgiven me and continue to hold my hand every time I stumble.
So now I know I have no right to blame someone else for this condition of mine. It was my decision to trust and believe the wrong kind of people. Even after all the misgivings, it is still painful because shunning them is like bypass surgery. You don’t want to cut open your heart, but it is essential to do so if you don’t want it clogged with greasy traces of someone who doesn’t give a damn about you.
‘Never make someone your priority when they consider you as just an option’……. I realized the meaning of this quote for the first time. Meanwhile, I am bracing myself for another round of bypass, but not before a promise to self that this will be my last one. I need to guard my heart a bit strongly to make sure that any Tom, Dick, Harry or Sally doesn’t grease my arteries. Say NO to junk food. Woohoo!
Saturday, September 26, 2009
Twilight review
I have now begun to sympathize with all the office going women who are my fellow train commuters. I often see them peeling off or cutting veggies in train and I often used to wonder how someone can find twenty four hours as inadequate. This was until I arrived in my last year of engineering. From what I know, those in B.E. rarely meet the requisite attendance of 75% and it is not without a valid reason. Juggling between company interviews and preparing for numerous entrance tests while at the same time completing innumerable assignments is a mean feat to achieve. But then I realized it is not that easy to bunk lectures without risking a trip to H.O.D. Sir or Principal Sir’s office and listen to an hour-long battering. So better sense prevailed and I decided not to get onto the wrong side of college rules and the outcome is that I have little time for myself. It is a real struggle as I try hard not to resemble an undernourished kid with sunken cheeks and a constant expression of listlessness pasted on my face.
In all this, my reading habits have gone for a toss. I was lucky enough to read Twilight by Stephanie Mayer. After the Harry Potter series concluded, Twilight was expected to replicate the success of the book on The Boy Who Lived. Though it did not produce the expected frenzy, but still the book is good enough to be recommended. I got to admit it now that I am sucker for love stories. I was under criticism for praising Love Aaj Kal movie, but what the hell! I loved the love story in it. So I can be a bit biased towards Twilight because of the romantic angle but the story is much more than that.
I won’t give away spoilers but my friend described the story with a really interesting example ‘It’s like you have got a pani-puri in your hand and can’t eat it’. I mean nothing else could describe the situation this well yaar. The guy is a vampire who drinks human blood and the girl is a human being. Worst of all, the girl is crazy about him. Having a pani-puri in your hand and not eating it is bad enough, but the situation gets worse when the sumptuous meal is chasing you… So all you got to do is open your mouth and yum….. Poor guy. Must be possessing a lot of willpower to resist her.
All in all, Twilight is a must read. With the relative lull in the literary scene, this book makes for some good reading.
In all this, my reading habits have gone for a toss. I was lucky enough to read Twilight by Stephanie Mayer. After the Harry Potter series concluded, Twilight was expected to replicate the success of the book on The Boy Who Lived. Though it did not produce the expected frenzy, but still the book is good enough to be recommended. I got to admit it now that I am sucker for love stories. I was under criticism for praising Love Aaj Kal movie, but what the hell! I loved the love story in it. So I can be a bit biased towards Twilight because of the romantic angle but the story is much more than that.
I won’t give away spoilers but my friend described the story with a really interesting example ‘It’s like you have got a pani-puri in your hand and can’t eat it’. I mean nothing else could describe the situation this well yaar. The guy is a vampire who drinks human blood and the girl is a human being. Worst of all, the girl is crazy about him. Having a pani-puri in your hand and not eating it is bad enough, but the situation gets worse when the sumptuous meal is chasing you… So all you got to do is open your mouth and yum….. Poor guy. Must be possessing a lot of willpower to resist her.
All in all, Twilight is a must read. With the relative lull in the literary scene, this book makes for some good reading.
Monday, September 21, 2009
Quarter Life Crisis
Ok, so I haven't been really regular on the blogging scene, but I guess you all might have got used to this phase of mine where there is absolutely no sign of life on this blog.
I have heard people going through a mid-life crisis, but I am going what I call a quarter life crisis. So all thoughts have a trigger, so this is what triggered my chain of thoughts. You see my friends had bought their guitars to college. They are guys who are really passionate about it and I have seen the struggle they have gone to play that guitar in their hands. When they were strumming the masterpiece, I could feel the soul in the music... It was just so passionate. This is exactly what plunged me into a mini-depression. I realized that I didn’t have anything which I could be crazy about. I did love dancing but couldn’t continue because of parental pressure.
I strongly believe every individual must have some means to de-stress. For my friends, it was the guitar. The strings help you to entangle your complicated life. But what about me? I have been desperately searching for an outlet to vent out all my negativity and frustration, but unfortunately reach a dead end.
So now I will try to search up a good hobby to pull me out of my depression- like state. As of now, I can't just stop getting jealous of my string-happy friends!
I have heard people going through a mid-life crisis, but I am going what I call a quarter life crisis. So all thoughts have a trigger, so this is what triggered my chain of thoughts. You see my friends had bought their guitars to college. They are guys who are really passionate about it and I have seen the struggle they have gone to play that guitar in their hands. When they were strumming the masterpiece, I could feel the soul in the music... It was just so passionate. This is exactly what plunged me into a mini-depression. I realized that I didn’t have anything which I could be crazy about. I did love dancing but couldn’t continue because of parental pressure.
I strongly believe every individual must have some means to de-stress. For my friends, it was the guitar. The strings help you to entangle your complicated life. But what about me? I have been desperately searching for an outlet to vent out all my negativity and frustration, but unfortunately reach a dead end.
So now I will try to search up a good hobby to pull me out of my depression- like state. As of now, I can't just stop getting jealous of my string-happy friends!
Saturday, July 18, 2009
Festival time = License for hooliganism
I have always loved festivals. Apart from the obvious reason of a holiday, I love the preparations that go behind making any festive celebration a grand success. And this goes without mentioning that I Have always been rather active on this scene.
So it was Janmashtami on Thursday and due to unavoidable circumstances, I had to step out of my house and leave for Ghatkopar. In the train, I took necessary precautions to maintain a safe distance from the train windows, lest some moron hurl a water balloon filled with slime and dirt and what not. But nothing prepared me for the truckful of guys out on the streets. Then I realised that some people will never learn to mind their own buisness. I mean I am fine with the fact that they are all charged up because they are going to break the handi, but can't they just SHUT UP and reach the venue? Why the hell do they have to throw water and pass lewd comments on unsuspecting young woman on the streets? That was exactly the scene that occured with me. Not once, but thrice. I was just hoping one of them would fall out of the truck..... that ought to teach them a lesson.
If that was not enough, I had to listen to countless comments on the mask I was wearing to avoid swine flu. There was a row of bikes, with three baboons on each, and every single guy yelling at us from across the street. I just hoped they all would come under some truck ahead. Really now, I am not an evil person but such people bring out the worst in me.
If that was not enough, I saw these same people on television breaking the handi at Ghatkopar. And I felt nothing but disgust. Disgust at the thought that there were thousands of people to cheer such cheap guys.... disgust that all this was done in the name of Lord Krishna, who incidently saved Draupadi from similarly cheap people in that era. You know in biology I had learnt that sometimes nature skips the gentically bad traits so that it would not be passed to the future generation. What went wrong with us? Why do we have to put up with such people when we know they have no right to inhabit the earth? Any answers?
So it was Janmashtami on Thursday and due to unavoidable circumstances, I had to step out of my house and leave for Ghatkopar. In the train, I took necessary precautions to maintain a safe distance from the train windows, lest some moron hurl a water balloon filled with slime and dirt and what not. But nothing prepared me for the truckful of guys out on the streets. Then I realised that some people will never learn to mind their own buisness. I mean I am fine with the fact that they are all charged up because they are going to break the handi, but can't they just SHUT UP and reach the venue? Why the hell do they have to throw water and pass lewd comments on unsuspecting young woman on the streets? That was exactly the scene that occured with me. Not once, but thrice. I was just hoping one of them would fall out of the truck..... that ought to teach them a lesson.
If that was not enough, I had to listen to countless comments on the mask I was wearing to avoid swine flu. There was a row of bikes, with three baboons on each, and every single guy yelling at us from across the street. I just hoped they all would come under some truck ahead. Really now, I am not an evil person but such people bring out the worst in me.
If that was not enough, I saw these same people on television breaking the handi at Ghatkopar. And I felt nothing but disgust. Disgust at the thought that there were thousands of people to cheer such cheap guys.... disgust that all this was done in the name of Lord Krishna, who incidently saved Draupadi from similarly cheap people in that era. You know in biology I had learnt that sometimes nature skips the gentically bad traits so that it would not be passed to the future generation. What went wrong with us? Why do we have to put up with such people when we know they have no right to inhabit the earth? Any answers?
Kids no longer.......
I am a classic proof of having an idle mind but a devil’s workshop. I was fortunate (?) enough to have a month long break from college, but in my case it was more of a curse. The only good thing that happened to me during my previous vacations was that I gained a few kilos and hence when the college resumed, I did not resemble a malnourished kid. I really don’t know what went wrong in this vacation, for I have lost weight. I almost fainted when the needles tipped at 46 kilograms-that’s 7 kgs underweight. So in short, I ended up doing nothing constructive, instead scheming plots to survive my last one year in college.
I never realized when my thoughts veered towards my future. I am 21, so it is quite natural to think about the future which seems pretty bleak because till now I haven’t yet got a job offer. And I am still confused whether to opt for an MBA or go for M.Tech degree. As if this was not enough, my mind entered into really scary territory-marriage. It is only a matter of few years before I get booted out of my own house. Hehe. So my idle mind wandered a little more and I conjured up a list of things which my kids (What? Of course I am going to have kids. According to our society, you get married to have kids…) will miss out on growing up. In a broader sense it applies to our next generation. Here it goes kiddos-
1. Waking up one fine day and your mom allowing you to bunk school. No, no, no sweetheart, you can’t bunk it because your parents have spent an obscene amount on getting you educated at some neighbourhood school which incidentally is the mecca of rote learning.
2. Instead of asking for buttered paranthas, you ask for money to have transfat laden pizzas, samosas et al at your canteen.
3. Spending your vacations at your native place because you will be busy preparing for your next class. Duh.
4. Getting a scratch, bruise or gash and being proud of it. Because you will be clad in helmets, knee pads and what not while you are cycling thanks to your overprotective parents.
5. Waking up one fine noon to the sound of advertisements or announcements blaring on some over-amplified speakers passing through your street on an auto. That was some way of publicity I tell you.
6. Dancing like hell during Ganpati viserjan because you think it is too wild for your senses.
7. Climbing fences and stealing mangoes because the farm owner has installed electric fencing.
8. Enjoying roadside stuff with an iron-clad stomach while it’s pouring.
9. Being able to stumble upon your parent’s wedding album and being elated at the discovery. Because the photos nowadays are digitized and stored away at the mercy of your hard disk.
10. Solving a Rubik’s cube with insane concentration because unlike us, you have already seen how to solve it on YouTube. Damn.
11. Feeling the thrill of reading Champak and Gokulam (which you smuggled from your friend) under the covers when everyone else is sleeping. That’s because you have a monthly subscription of the same magazines.
12. Wading through ankle length waters. Instead the water will be neck deep because some moron at BMC failed to give orders to clean up the drains.
13. Hearing a cuckoo or spotting a sparrow.
14. Wolf-whistling roadside romeos. They are too busy in counseling sessions. Hmmm…. A good thing at last.
15. Having I-pods surgically attached to your ears because you can’t bear natural sounds.
Phew, that’s quite an exhaustive list I guess. But I guess the most important thing they will miss is being humane….I just hope our next generation has enough of compassion and honesty left in them because it not easy being all goody-goody in this world. Kalyug hai bhai, kalyug.
I never realized when my thoughts veered towards my future. I am 21, so it is quite natural to think about the future which seems pretty bleak because till now I haven’t yet got a job offer. And I am still confused whether to opt for an MBA or go for M.Tech degree. As if this was not enough, my mind entered into really scary territory-marriage. It is only a matter of few years before I get booted out of my own house. Hehe. So my idle mind wandered a little more and I conjured up a list of things which my kids (What? Of course I am going to have kids. According to our society, you get married to have kids…) will miss out on growing up. In a broader sense it applies to our next generation. Here it goes kiddos-
1. Waking up one fine day and your mom allowing you to bunk school. No, no, no sweetheart, you can’t bunk it because your parents have spent an obscene amount on getting you educated at some neighbourhood school which incidentally is the mecca of rote learning.
2. Instead of asking for buttered paranthas, you ask for money to have transfat laden pizzas, samosas et al at your canteen.
3. Spending your vacations at your native place because you will be busy preparing for your next class. Duh.
4. Getting a scratch, bruise or gash and being proud of it. Because you will be clad in helmets, knee pads and what not while you are cycling thanks to your overprotective parents.
5. Waking up one fine noon to the sound of advertisements or announcements blaring on some over-amplified speakers passing through your street on an auto. That was some way of publicity I tell you.
6. Dancing like hell during Ganpati viserjan because you think it is too wild for your senses.
7. Climbing fences and stealing mangoes because the farm owner has installed electric fencing.
8. Enjoying roadside stuff with an iron-clad stomach while it’s pouring.
9. Being able to stumble upon your parent’s wedding album and being elated at the discovery. Because the photos nowadays are digitized and stored away at the mercy of your hard disk.
10. Solving a Rubik’s cube with insane concentration because unlike us, you have already seen how to solve it on YouTube. Damn.
11. Feeling the thrill of reading Champak and Gokulam (which you smuggled from your friend) under the covers when everyone else is sleeping. That’s because you have a monthly subscription of the same magazines.
12. Wading through ankle length waters. Instead the water will be neck deep because some moron at BMC failed to give orders to clean up the drains.
13. Hearing a cuckoo or spotting a sparrow.
14. Wolf-whistling roadside romeos. They are too busy in counseling sessions. Hmmm…. A good thing at last.
15. Having I-pods surgically attached to your ears because you can’t bear natural sounds.
Phew, that’s quite an exhaustive list I guess. But I guess the most important thing they will miss is being humane….I just hope our next generation has enough of compassion and honesty left in them because it not easy being all goody-goody in this world. Kalyug hai bhai, kalyug.
Sunday, July 5, 2009
Morning Glory
I have started loving mornings. It’s true that I was always an early bird, but that was because I had to attend school at 7.30. It was more out of compulsion rather than choice. I can't even call myself an owl because I have never stayed awake except when it is something life threatening like my exams or when I am reading Harry Potter.
For a week, I decided to get up early in morning and just sit at the sliding window. No thinking, no contemplating whatsoever. Just picture this- sitting peacefully at the window with piping hot tea and all that you get to hear is……silence. I enjoyed how the wind howled and rustled away the leaves ever so gently. The leaves swirled in harmony, rising and falling in rhythm with nature’s heartbeat. It was their secret dance and I was more than thrilled to have discovered it.
I seriously thought cuckoos are an extinct species at least in cities, but here there was one cuckooing in all its glory perhaps to attract his mate. Seriously the kind of efforts the male species put into wooing……
Well you won’t believe it, but it was so quiet that I could hear the announcements at the railway station! That was the only artificial sound invading the surroundings that time. I am yet to miss the calls of aaji every Sunday morning. She sells Nashik kurmure which she carries in a large plastic gunny bag. For all these years, she has not missed a Sunday and over the period of time I have seen her wrinkles become promienent and her eyes becoming cloudy. I always used to wonder if she had kids or not because it pained me to see her carry the load on her head and hawking in the streets when she should be playing with her grandchildren. Looking at someone else's life, you realise how sorted your own life is.....
The most irritating sight and sound early morning is the Ghanta Gaadi or the garbage truck. All I can see is an overloaded truck ringing across the streets with flies and stench announcing its arrival way before you can see the truck. Not a pleasant sight at all.
But seriously all those late nighters must give this experience a shot once. If you omit the garbage van arrival part, most of the experience seemed to have a pretty calming effect on me. Never knew getting a piece of peace was this easy.
For a week, I decided to get up early in morning and just sit at the sliding window. No thinking, no contemplating whatsoever. Just picture this- sitting peacefully at the window with piping hot tea and all that you get to hear is……silence. I enjoyed how the wind howled and rustled away the leaves ever so gently. The leaves swirled in harmony, rising and falling in rhythm with nature’s heartbeat. It was their secret dance and I was more than thrilled to have discovered it.
I seriously thought cuckoos are an extinct species at least in cities, but here there was one cuckooing in all its glory perhaps to attract his mate. Seriously the kind of efforts the male species put into wooing……
Well you won’t believe it, but it was so quiet that I could hear the announcements at the railway station! That was the only artificial sound invading the surroundings that time. I am yet to miss the calls of aaji every Sunday morning. She sells Nashik kurmure which she carries in a large plastic gunny bag. For all these years, she has not missed a Sunday and over the period of time I have seen her wrinkles become promienent and her eyes becoming cloudy. I always used to wonder if she had kids or not because it pained me to see her carry the load on her head and hawking in the streets when she should be playing with her grandchildren. Looking at someone else's life, you realise how sorted your own life is.....
The most irritating sight and sound early morning is the Ghanta Gaadi or the garbage truck. All I can see is an overloaded truck ringing across the streets with flies and stench announcing its arrival way before you can see the truck. Not a pleasant sight at all.
But seriously all those late nighters must give this experience a shot once. If you omit the garbage van arrival part, most of the experience seemed to have a pretty calming effect on me. Never knew getting a piece of peace was this easy.
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
When we risk it all
I have always loved the ‘Chicken Soup for the Soul’ series. The books are a collection of short stories and poems but this poem struck me because of its simplicity. Never before have I read a poem so straight-forward and heart-warming. Kristy Glassen, wherever you are, just want to say- U rock! Thanks Nikki for lending me the book. Pagu and Alias, this one’s for you…………………
WHEN WE RISK IT ALL
We can’t blame others when love dwindles away,
For we knew from the start it never promised to stay.
It’s just one of those things where the stakes are high,
And sometimes it’s forever and sometimes it’s good-bye.
When you love the right way, you will never lose,
No matter what path life may force you to choose.
You may end up with tears or a broken heart,
But you knew what you had signed up from the start.
You can only give what you’ve got to give,
And if that’s not enough, then you must continue to live.
Life will go on and broken hearts will heal,
You must continue on your quest, for that’s the deal.
Throw your heart into life and never stall,
For the greatest risk is to risk nothing at all.
You see, love is the only thing that we know,
That can be divided and divided but continue to grow.
And life isn’t long enough to lock away our heart,
Just because life may have forced two people apart.
We will continue to love and continue to lose,
We will continue to pick and continue to choose.
And then one day we will risk ii all,
Take the chains off our heart and dismantle the wall.
The last time we love will be the forever,
And never again will our hearts be forced to sever.
Will never have doubts that it’ll go away,
Because this time, it’ll be here to stay.
But until then, we must endure all the pain,
For we only see sunshine if we can wait through the rain…….
WHEN WE RISK IT ALL
We can’t blame others when love dwindles away,
For we knew from the start it never promised to stay.
It’s just one of those things where the stakes are high,
And sometimes it’s forever and sometimes it’s good-bye.
When you love the right way, you will never lose,
No matter what path life may force you to choose.
You may end up with tears or a broken heart,
But you knew what you had signed up from the start.
You can only give what you’ve got to give,
And if that’s not enough, then you must continue to live.
Life will go on and broken hearts will heal,
You must continue on your quest, for that’s the deal.
Throw your heart into life and never stall,
For the greatest risk is to risk nothing at all.
You see, love is the only thing that we know,
That can be divided and divided but continue to grow.
And life isn’t long enough to lock away our heart,
Just because life may have forced two people apart.
We will continue to love and continue to lose,
We will continue to pick and continue to choose.
And then one day we will risk ii all,
Take the chains off our heart and dismantle the wall.
The last time we love will be the forever,
And never again will our hearts be forced to sever.
Will never have doubts that it’ll go away,
Because this time, it’ll be here to stay.
But until then, we must endure all the pain,
For we only see sunshine if we can wait through the rain…….
Tuesday, June 16, 2009
A thousand deaths to live
It's a materialistic world he said,
For she chose the rich guy instead,
Throwing away the cold metal ring,
He felt something die within.
What a world to be in,
Where cheaters always win,
The winner smirked at him,
he felt something die within,
What a husband to live with,
Who curses me in a drunken fit,
As she braced for his blows thundering,
She felt something die within.
Familiar they may sound,
Times when you hit bottom ground,
When words ain't enough,
To mellow the situation tough.
But this is not the way to live,
It's the way to die,
Coz we have many deaths to live,
Before we get one life worth dying for.
Again pick up that ring,
You might find someone more adoring.
Hit back with a vengeance,
For winning there's yet another chance.
Bid adieu to him forever,
Ushering in a life free of terror.
Coz that was not the way to live,
It was the way to die,
And we have many deaths to live though,
Before we get one life worth dying for.......
Monday, June 15, 2009
Racism of a different kind
Its appalling, to say the least. The recent wave of racist attacks on Indians has shaken everyone badly. Many thought of Australia as a safer destination and with the institutes there wooing Indian students, it was but natural that there would be an influx of the student population. And now you get to here this.
But what intrigued me was the reaction to all this out here. People who discriminate between religion, caste and sub-caste have all come together to raise their voice against racism and have tried to put up a united front. I mean, isn’t that like having double standards? We have had our share of incidents where people are tortured and butchered for belonging to a community considered inferior. And now we raise a hue and cry because some people consider our nationality as inferior.
I am not trying to demean anyone or trying to belittle the situation in Australia, but we Indians seriously need to introspect. For a start, has anyone heard of the proverb ‘Those who live in glass houses should not throw stones at others’?
But what intrigued me was the reaction to all this out here. People who discriminate between religion, caste and sub-caste have all come together to raise their voice against racism and have tried to put up a united front. I mean, isn’t that like having double standards? We have had our share of incidents where people are tortured and butchered for belonging to a community considered inferior. And now we raise a hue and cry because some people consider our nationality as inferior.
I am not trying to demean anyone or trying to belittle the situation in Australia, but we Indians seriously need to introspect. For a start, has anyone heard of the proverb ‘Those who live in glass houses should not throw stones at others’?
Sunday, May 24, 2009
I am back......again
This is a classic case of writer’s block. I really am at my wit’s end on what to write for the blog. It has been lying dormant for such a long time that while I was posting this entry (copy and paste from Ms Word), I really wasn’t sure if the blog was valid or not. But now that you can see the post, its working
Oh well, a lot of things happened in the past few months. To begin with, my class went on an ‘Industrial Visit’ to Delhi and Nainital. Mark those punctuations because as most people are aware of, the industry part of the visit was conveniently avoided. Hehe. It was so much fun basically because I never thought I would go so far away from Mumbai (OK, stop laughing, Mumbai to Delhi are quite far apart ) and that too, with my friends. The best parts were the train journeys because we just wouldn’t sleep nor we would allow our co-passengers to do so. We visited a whole lot of places-the regular tourist stuff and we did leave our Mumbai stamp at quite a few places. We didn’t even spare the Metro, thanks to us; it resembled a rush-hour local train. To add a bit of excitement, we had a run-in with a pervert in our train.
All in all, it was good fun. Then we were back to the same old drill of college life…. Time actually flies when you are in third year….I never realized how quickly the term ended and we all were busy preparing for the vivas. The timing couldn’t have been more perfect-a day after my birthday! So you might have guessed how much I ‘enjoyed’ that day. Nevertheless, the vivas are over and done with and now I am midway through my written exams. As usual this turns out to be a month long drama but the good news is that we will be having a month long holiday!! Cheers to that!!!
Oh well, a lot of things happened in the past few months. To begin with, my class went on an ‘Industrial Visit’ to Delhi and Nainital. Mark those punctuations because as most people are aware of, the industry part of the visit was conveniently avoided. Hehe. It was so much fun basically because I never thought I would go so far away from Mumbai (OK, stop laughing, Mumbai to Delhi are quite far apart ) and that too, with my friends. The best parts were the train journeys because we just wouldn’t sleep nor we would allow our co-passengers to do so. We visited a whole lot of places-the regular tourist stuff and we did leave our Mumbai stamp at quite a few places. We didn’t even spare the Metro, thanks to us; it resembled a rush-hour local train. To add a bit of excitement, we had a run-in with a pervert in our train.
All in all, it was good fun. Then we were back to the same old drill of college life…. Time actually flies when you are in third year….I never realized how quickly the term ended and we all were busy preparing for the vivas. The timing couldn’t have been more perfect-a day after my birthday! So you might have guessed how much I ‘enjoyed’ that day. Nevertheless, the vivas are over and done with and now I am midway through my written exams. As usual this turns out to be a month long drama but the good news is that we will be having a month long holiday!! Cheers to that!!!
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