An Unusual Love Affair

I pucker my lips, ready to take in, and open my mouth, only to listen to my inner self screaming at its highest pitch!

 "No! Don't do it. I am not satisfied. If at all you care for me, get me what i want". 

But then i try to calm it saying, 'this is not as bad as you think and good for you too unlike your love to that insanely harmful & vicious .....' 

"Stop it! Not one more word! I hate you."

And in that moment,all of a sudden, my hand twitched and the hot Tea spill all over my lap.

Yes. I tried to force myself into drinking Tea instead of Coffee. And my inner passionate self whose love for coffee is climbing Mt.Everest day-by-day has defeated me in trying to avoid coffee.

I am a person with simple beliefs that 'nothing should be excessive, lest it turns poisonous'. Now its not that difficult to understand, is it? Yet, the other me doesn't get it quite right. I  ( both me and the other me) have loved coffee ever since i took the first sip of that instant-mix you get in the market.

 But as time went by, there came the side-effects of having too much of it. Its more like, i can't get my head straight without having a sip of it everyday and when i drink it, there's acidity in the alimentary canal. Its like something is lacking in your daily routine if you don't have it. I had this insane desire of wanting to smell it, feel it and drink it everyday and once i have the first sip, i feel that all my grey cells start working faster than usual, my body feels strangely warm and relaxed. 

Now my logical self, which is the actual ME, has realized that this is going to be a problem someday in the long run. So i tried to chide the other me. It feigned fear, and then got back its usual self and continued the love affair with coffee. I felt dejected. I need to control it. Yes, i am a control freak and i wanted myself to control my love for coffee. Yet, it didn't happen.

So one day i give an ultimatum to it and stopped having coffee. Thought to myself that if i substitute it by another supplement before completely stopping, i can overcome the desire. TEA was my first and only option. So i resorted to it.

Day after day i've been giving myself tea instead of coffee so that the other me doesn't recognize the sudden change. But it did! It tried to reason with me and i neglected it.

"Tea is fine...but doesn't have the ambience of coffee. Coffee is much better y'know"

'Yeah.Fine.Just drink it up.Does no harm'

"Alright, just this time. Next time its gonna be coffee,okay?"

'You bet! Definitely'

The other time, it was bit more serious.

"How can you drink something like this?! I mean, seriously?!! This is not cool. I need you to understand that i can no more tolerate this."

I didn't give my two pence for its so-called threats.

And day by day i started conquering it. But something changed. I was no more happy. The inner bliss is lost. But i was adamant to control myself. And simultaneously unhappy.

Finally it rebuked that i spilled it all over! And only then did i realize what's going on. 

Sometimes, somethings are not good for us if overdone. But we can't abandon them completely; they gotta exist in our lives. Just like people. Though they are not-so-good influence, without them, life is not so enjoyable. It creates a void. Which can't be filled by Tea or anything better. You just gotta cut yourself some slack and try to be easy on yourself for the sake of happiness.

Tears started rolling by after that incident(Tea was way too hot and burned me like hell, you see!).And i cleaned up, strode towards kitchen, to make myself coffee and promised to never 'over-do' it so that i can satisfy both the persons inside me.

END OF THE STORY! People who got bored after reading this post can go have coffee. And people who found this article worthwhile, never lose the coffee of your lives. And don't over-do it either.ADIOS.

Mediocre But Arrogant-book review

A casual stride through the Indian Authors section of Crossword Book Shop showed me this 'No.1 Book On Campus'. Having completed my exams and searching a good-read for my insanely boring train journey, i picked up this book and flipped through the pages, to get the feel of the book. And guess what, i found few cartoons and doodles in it which immediately thrilled me to read and try new stuff among books. And as i leisurely opened the book, comfortably seated in my train berth, i dived into this imaginary world of MIJ. And the rest as they say, is history.

As the cover suggests, its a story of a guy Abbey, who stumbles upon luck and lands in MIJ-the premier institute of Management in India during the '80s who had been a Economics student in SRCC of Delhi University previously. Our protagonist finds its hard in the beginning to adjust to the stress-filled, pressurized B-school life, just like every living entity trying and adapting to the change that is induced in its environment, and during these modes of survival does he encounter many friends like Rascal Rusty( the brainy one who guides him every time a problem strikes), Gopher (the bottom licker of profs and nosy guy on campus), Ayesha-the coquette, Alps,Gur, Neats, Arunesh or lovingly called Annie, Pappu-the giant sleeper, Sethu-the geek etc.  A very good deal of narration spent on the professors like Haathi (Ed Hathaway-the founder of MIJ), Chatto (Chattopadhyay who gives 9.80 as the highest score out of 100 in the test of Mean,Median and Mode), Pari ( Parihar-who is the 40-year-old handsome hunk and know-it-all prof), Fr.Beez, Prof. Kameeni (shez Prof. Kaamini infact, but students change the name....you get the drift) will take the reader back to their splendid college days.

The story portrays the on-campus life, the love life of Abbey with Keya, Ayesha and Priya, although every time something nice is about to happen, he manages to mess it up. This novel brings the feel of college life, those stupid pranks on each other or the symbiotic life we opt for good grades during the exams, the rat-race for Placements or Summer Jobs, and the way one can get screwed and unscrewed during a summer job.

And halfway through the novel did i realise the actual meaning of the title-Mediocre But Arrogant which is indirectly screaming out its on MBA. Abbey says to himself, 'accept it Abbey, you are mediocre!' 'but i am an MBA' he defends. 'so what, do you expect the world to kiss your feet?',says his counterself.

Enjoyed reading this book and thoroughly laughed over Chatto and Gowariker of the book. And the author has a way with nicknames, they are funny and apt. 

Last but not least, the final letter from Haathi or Mr.Hathaway is the best advice for any outgoing student. Shows that he cares for his students and draws a summary for their college life at MIJ saying "You came here to understand yourself and your strengths. To believe how easy it is for you to make a difference. That is the purpose of higher education"

A real good novel for people not just aiming for MBA, but everybody who loves to go down the memory lane of their college life!

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The Salt Factor!

Not so many days ago, i promised my mother on a telephonic conversation that i would (finally) oblige her and learn cooking in winter holidays. And this promise was duly forgotten, but little did i know that a ladle and pan were waiting for me in the kitchen as soon as i step my foot inside home!

So here i am, being an apprentice to the most wonderful chef of my life, and i am actually enjoying it. I must admit that the beginning was a bit 'hot', but then, 'tis winter...(yeah! pun intended) and i started enjoying the way i can saute' the fried onions in the hot oil, just like a musician conducting an orchestra (naah! not literally). Oh...about onions, i must admit, it felt awesome watching them burn, since they've been making me cry ever since i've known them.

When i first tried preparing Sambar, i kinda felt that its similar to our college life. Only the main ingredient Dal being our academics, and the vegetables being the extra curricular activities or clubs, the bitter heeng and dhaniya being our bitter profs of the dept.,and the strong scent after we drop pieces of dried chilli being our semester results! Although these ingredients have their own significance, without the one star ingredient which magnifies the taste, we can't even eat it! 'Tis none other than SALT!

Basically, friends are like Salt! Without them, college life is just dull and tasteless, however healthy and nutritious other ingredients are! Friends are those who support us through thick and thin of our life, those are the people who help us coping with 'going-down-south-pointers', nagging profs, pointless assignments, accompanying for a movie or as simple or rather complicated as just listening to us. Life can cherished if we have them!

So, i shall now conclude my not-so-perfect-recipe-description saying 'Thank You friends! You are the salt of my life!'

P.S.: Sambar came out utterly delicious. Thanks to the adequate amount of salt i've taken!!

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Hatred:Better than Apathy!!

"Its an emotion"
Is what i could comprehend
After hours of pondering
And pointless meandering

'But why?' is my question
"How could it be" i exclaimed
Is it plausible or not?
Asked my wiser-self.

You were nothing
You didn't mean anything
Why should i bother
Why should i care

Then comes a little voice
Slowly increasing its pitch
Coming from the darker streets
Of my heart's kingdom

That hatred is better than apathy
For love and hate are just
Are mirror images of each other
One trying to support, other trying to defeat

Apathy is even worse
And i wasn't its prey
But hatred took toll on me
And showed me a different way

And then again i ask
What actually was it that i felt
It blatantly utters-'jealousy'
Why did i feel it? i appallingly  asked
Without digressing the voice answers
"'Coz hatred changed its face!"

Anand is as much a national treasure as Tendulkar - The Hindu

Anand is as much a national treasure as Tendulkar - The Hindu

Meera!

It was a pleasant morning. Birds chirping and the dew on the grass seemed so beautiful. Meera came out of her empty bedroom, with terror on her face. The decision’s been made. And she will abide by that. With short steps, she proceeded to the kitchen and grabbed the sharpest knife. For one long moment, she stared at the knife in her hand and then thought “Oh! Just be done with it”.

She cut her palm with one severe sharp blow of the knife and in a matter of seconds, blood started oozing out. The pain was excruciating and her eyes welled up with tears. She threw the knife and then started screaming for help, immediately regretting the decision. She called her minion Chotu, who is just 11 years old, the son of the car driver. Chotu’s family worked at Meera’s guest house and is trustworthy to her family too. And when Meera came to the guest house with her Anant to rekindle their relationship, Chotu became her ally in all those little plans that were made and executed to get the couple together. Their work hand-in-hand made them friends. But today, it was altogether a different case. She didn't bother sharing her plan with him and made the deadly move.

Chotu came running towards her to know what’s wrong with his Didi at that hour of morning. Seeing the blood dripping hand of his beloved Didi, he immediately understood that Anant should be summoned for the first-aid who is busy repairing his SUV and donning the hat of a mechanic for once.

On hearing the news, Anant took to his feet. Meanwhile the delusional Meera saw images that flashed from her past. She and Anant promised themselves of devoting time to each other, the good times during their stay at the guest house and the night before when they quarreled which is the sole reason she cut herself. After the fight, the quick phone calls made by Anant scared her, making her think that he’s leaving her the next day. Fearful that she might lose him again, Meera trusted the knife to save the relationship.

Anant was frantically running into the kitchen where everything was a clutter. At the corner, he saw her seated on the floor, with eyes closed in pain and hand held tightly with her dress which made little effort in stopping the never-ending blood flow. Berserk with anger and all those unnerving emotions, he shouted at her for not being careful and questioned her intentions. He quickly grabbed the first-aid kit from the drawing room and started dressing her hand. Meanwhile, Meera enjoyed the sight and was satisfied with the proof her drastic situation yielded. Proof that Anant loved her, more or less the same way she loved him. Though the wound was painful, she endured the pain with ease and watching his anguish, she regretted her quick decision once again, only this time, attributing to the pain of her beloved.

But there was a strange peacefulness in her eyes which were half-closed, and lips with a semi-curve to the north. Her peaceful countenance angered Anant even more. Controlling the strong urge to slap her tight, he asks her, "Why the hell Meera? Why would you do this?" 

He knew Meera for too long and also understood that it wasn't a mere accident, for she is not among those who fumble with cutlery. She wouldn't resort to self-punishment unless something has shaken her up; but what puzzled him was the reason. The words that came out of her mouth perplexed him.

“ Because I Love You!"
Anant was taken aback with her reason. His incredulous expression yielded more explanation from his lady.

"You were planning to go away again. I had to do something to stop you. I couldn't think of more plausible thing than this”.

 Six months back, Anant left Meera one morning without notice. She woke up to an empty bedroom and silenced house. They fought for petty things and he was more of a workaholic who needed private space and did things all by himself. And when it came to Meera, she always wanted a family and got used to be looked after. Anant, vexed up with the petty issues from Meera, leaves her one morning. When they were at the verge of breaking up, their friends convinced them into resuming their relationship and hence the idea of spending some ‘quality time together’ in the guest house.

Meera continued her explanation to the short tempered Anant. “You weren't talking to me, and the past few days have been awkward between us. It was like we were strangers and I could see the past repeat itself. On top of that, I heard you talking with someone about ‘road journey’ and ‘leaving as early as possible’.

“Whoa Whoa! Slow down!! Easy dear.”, assured Anant.

“ I wasn't going anywhere. I wasn't mad at you, and I sure as hell not planning to revive the past. That phone call was nothing. It was just to give directions to someone about something important and I didn't know my phone call would bring up such a travesty!”

Now Meera was giving all-business-and-no-crap look to him and started interrogating him about the mystery of ‘giving directions to someone’. Meanwhile the doorbell rang and Chotu went to receive the visitor. 

Anant stared hard into her face without answering, and the air between them became tensed.

 “Didi! Courier!!”, called Chotu.

 Not blinking her eyes and still staring, she asked who sent it.

Chotu's interrogative face broke into a smile and called out " Its from Anant Jiju".

Anant embraced her and said those were the tickets to Norway, the place she always wanted to visit, and he was confirming with the travel agent about the itinerary last night. He held her tightly and whispered into her ears “Happy Anniversary My Dear Rebellious Lovely Wife!"

Meera, the melodramatic queen, suddenly felt ecstatic about how the situation changed. She was relieved that Anant was planning a surprise for her and she mistook it for something else. Suddenly something occurred to her. The Pain.

“Oh no! So this was all a fiasco! I really shouldn't have cut my palm” she exclaimed.

Anant retorted to her “I planned to make this anniversary memorable. And here you are, destroying every chance of that happening. Lets get you to the hospital”.

She didn't budge.Anant playfully and with full authority lifted her up in his hands, cradling her while she rested her head on his warm chest and closed her eyes, forgetting herself in his arms as the couple slowly proceeded towards the SUV for the hospital.

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An Open Letter to all the starers in train!

Mr. Starer-in-the-train,

Your conspicuous stare would neither startle me nor can it make my immense, unfathomable eyes look at you. So why don't you keep your  despicable intent staring to your self which could do the whole world considerable benefit when you mind your own business. It irks me most when i had to find out you staring at me like i'm a meat ball that you are trying to crunch off like a hungry dog. And an immediate frenzy feeling creeps into my grey matter that i throw some object in my proximity at you just so it could distract your obnoxious thoughts and relive me of your behavior.

And don't you even dare think that if you clap your hands hard for no reason or play a stupid song on mobile i would turn my gaze towards you! You cheapster! First try to cover your bosoms with a piece of cloth instead of exposing it to the whole wide world. Or rather, you could strip yourself in the public if attention is all you need in the moving train!

I wish you be rewarded with thousand slaps from fat aunties followed by love from women's footwear of all sizes the next time you repeat this act!

Wishing you all failure....


Yours Sincerely,
A-pissed off-girl-in-the-train

.

Dead Poets Society-a review.

“Carpe Diem!”

That’s what Mr. Keating keeps saying in this movie. And that’s the word that kept me mesmerized the whole movie. Oh wait! I didn’t yet mention who Mr. Keating is right? Oops! What have I done! My fingers are doing the typing and they don’t seem to like the backspace key of my keyboard, so I guess I’m gonna let the first line stay there without editing. And I have decided to write whatever my mind speaks on the subject.  Anyways, lets get it started then.

The subject My Lord/Lady is Dead Poets Society. Yes. You read it right. I know it’s kind of creepy by its name. But dear me! What a great movie it is! And that’s the reason of today’s review. That I was completely bewitched by the idea of this society which Mr. Keating started. Okay now! My bad, again. I hereby introduce Mr. John Keating (played by Robin Williams), the teacher that will be teaching English at Welton High, which is one of the best preparatory schools in the United States, as the movie unfolds.

Mr. Keating, also an alumnus of this school returns to his alma mater to teach English. A romantic at heart, Mr. Keating teaches the class about the value and essence of poetry and dares his pupils to call him “O Captain! My Captain”. Also there is one Mr. Neil Perry (Robert Sean Leonard-best known for his character in House M.D. series as Dr.Wilson), another important character of the story who loves acting but only can’t pursue it because his father wants him to prepare for Harvard Medical School and become a doctor. 

I opine that every good English teacher is eccentric and unique in their own way. They somehow have the power of changing our perspective of thinking. My English teacher made our whole class stand-up on the desks of those neatly laminated benches of conference room (which are rarely used by students) and touch the roof only to make us think that its not impossible to reach the sky if we want to. Yes, she’s my favorite and when I watched Mr. Keating make his pupils stand on benches to see the world in a different view, it took me back to the memory lane and lurk there till all the pupils of Mr. Keating took turn on the bench and stepped down.

So yes, this English teacher had his own way of teaching and naturally his students wanted to know more about him. And they find his image in the yearbook and some intro which states he was a part of some Dead Poets Society. On enquiring the Captain, they get to know that it’s a bunch of romantics who used to read poetry of biggies like Shelley, Thoreau, Whitman and even sometimes their own verse. After listening to this, the students decide to reconvene the Dead Poets Society. From then on, they went to that Indian Cave every night after the lights were out in their dorms and read poetry.

Meanwhile our Perry keeps pursuing his dream to be an actor by getting a role of Puck in a drama Midsummer Night’s Dream for which his dad’s consent is required and he carefully forges the document for greater ambitions only to be caught and punished mentally by the nagging dad! Ergo, Mr. Keating comes into the scene, as always taking the back of his students, trying to encourage them. But it has to end as a tragedy for Perrys as their son does something inexplicable and stupid (for the sake of suspense I’m not revealing the story) and the blame comes on to our beloved English teacher. And he had to leave.

But his farewell was fitting, for his class stands upon their benches and calls out to him O Captain My Captain as he leaves.

This story touched me, for, my passion towards writing also has been kindled by that English teacher Sumati who taught us in our 8^th standard. 

And now, about the most important word Mr. Keating always told his students, which also is the opening word of my article. Carpe Diem means “Seize The Day!”

Dead Poets Society takes us back to our schools and to those extra-ordinary teachers without whose guidance, most of us wouldn’t be where we are now proud to be. This movie emphasizes that one should think for oneself and that ideas can change the world. Live the day and make it extraordinary. And finally, to quote from Whitman as Mr. Keating passionately says to his students 

                    

Oh me! Oh life! of the questions of these recurring,


Of the endless trains of the faithless, of cities fill’d with the foolish,


Of myself forever reproaching myself, (for who more foolish than I, and who more faithless?)


Of eyes that vainly crave the light, of the objects mean, of the struggle ever renew’d,


Of the poor results of all, of the plodding and sordid crowds I see around me,


Of the empty and useless years of the rest, with the rest me intertwined,


The question, O me! so sad, recurring—What good amid these, O me, O life?


Answer.


That you are here—that life exists and identity,


That the powerful play goes on, and you may contribute a verse.

 

I know what my verse is gonna be. Do you ??

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October Sky

***spoiler alert***

"Dream is not that which you see while sleeping it is something that does not let you sleep”.-----Dr.APJ Abdul Kalam

I surely hope to get to that point someday in life but right now the subject of discussion is not me, but the movie which I watched based on a true story. Its called October Sky. If you are aware of the book called “Rocket Boys”, you would know where this is leading.

The protagonist of this movie/book is a boy named Homer Hickam, from a small town called Coalwood which produces coal in West Virginia of the US. Set in 1957, the story takes us to a world of Rock N Roll and cold war of Russia and the US that got triggered with the launch of first man-made satellite Sputnik.

Our boy Homer watches Sputnik orbit Earth one night and dreams of building a rocket one day.

**All dreams were once called a stupid man’s fantasies.**

Homer doesn’t want his life to end up in coal mines digging coal. The teacher at Big Creek High, Miss Riley, inspires Homer by telling about a certain National Science Fair which on winning gets themselves full scholarships for the college. So our lead character Homer and his friends O’Dell, Quentin, Roy Lee are all set up to build an actual functioning rocket. After a lot of efforts, these boys come up with a rocket and its firing is witnessed by many from town and school that the local police allege them for starting up a forest fire with their rocket. So, here they are, back to square one, only with shattered dreams, a school dropout and a coal mine to dig.

Completely dejected and losing all hopes for getting into a college or flying a rocket, Homer works in the mine. At this point, Miss Riley once again asks him not to give up on this endeavor and no matter what, she is proud of him. This triggers him and he starts working on the project again and proves everyone that it wasn’t their fault for the forest fire to break.

**Never Give Up **

The story ends with Homer and his friends successful and getting a college scholarship.

Now, apart from the plot of the movie, you surely will enjoy the music that plays in background and the West Virginia accent which has phrases like “See Y’all” et al. And the role of Homer’s father is what the next best thing in the movie after Jake Gyllenhaal’s performance. All in all, it makes us dream and those who already have, it surely takes us back to memory lane of our struggles and how we overcame them.
A great entertainer and thought provoking movie-October Sky!

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Blogs and Coffee!! :D

Just an opinion.....

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I tried to write a lot about this movie. Wanted to shower encomiums on the actors and the director. But i inferred that my writing cannot suffice or embellish to the beauty of the concept that's been enunciated.
 So i suggest you watch the movie and experience it.

P.S. : If not for the story, at least for the gorgeous heroine, one should watch it (yeah!pun intended!).
P.S. : The movie name reads "Pratighatana"(which means 'a reaction') and its been remade in Hindi under the title "Pratighaat".

Its Time! Wake Up!!

MONSOON FURY: UTTARAKHAND FLOOD KILLS OVER 1000.SURVIVORS WERE CHEATED,LOOTED!

UGLY POLITICS OVER TRAGEDY

RETIRED ARMY DOCTOR BUTCHERS HIS WIFE INTO 300 PIECES

MUMBAI: 2nd BUILDING COLLAPSES

MBBS STUDENT GANG RAPED



THEN:

It has been sleeping for a long time. The hard rocks became its bed. The dark cave became its abode for a time longer than we can imagine. The walls of that forbidden dark cave echoed with the sounds of its snore. Its body breathed in and out in a systematic way; having a peaceful sleep.It was as if the whole happening world  could never reach it unless it tries to get out of the cave. Its a cul de sac. There could be no one who might rescue it from hibernation unless it would want to. But,alas, it never wants to get out of the cave, never did wake up.

NOW:

The noises from outside the cave occasionally disturbed it. But it never cared and tossed and turned, thinking its just a dream and enjoyed sleeping.

Lately it noticed from the depth of sleep that the noises were growing irksome. It wanted to make them stop. Maybe it wanted to growl at the infinite space from where the noises came, just so that the organism which was disturbing it might get dreaded or maybe it was finally intrigued to know what was happening outside its cave.Nonetheless, it suddenly woke up; as if it had a bad dream and desperately wanted to get back to reality from its dream world. 

Reality dawned upon it. It realized that it has been years under hibernation and wondered what triggered it into doing such a nonsensical act.

It hurried towards the mouth of the cave to understand where the noises came from. Those noises were painful to hear as it neared the opening to the outside world.And then the moment happened. Devastated at how the outer world turned out into, it hurried out.

The overwhelming feeling of melancholy and lugubriousness hit it right at the stomach. It choked, tried to get out of the hostile environment and wanted to survive. Its survival instincts pointed its thoughts towards its abode in the cave and inferred that was the safest place and yearned to return to its comfort zone. Now, there's just this thought of getting back to its cave lingered in its head. It ran as fast as it can, the noises didn't really matter now. But with each step taken ahead, the passage to its cave started to diminish. It ran even harder, with the duress on its survival. It finally reached the cave!


It panted and was horrified what was out there.And never imagined of going out again. But the feeling of defeat made it more vulnerable than the hostility. It didn't want to accept the defeat.And neither could it possibly put up another battle out there. It needed time. It needs to be healed. 

And thus, it went to sleep again; for it would wake up again and make an attempt to win the battle!

P.S.:
Here, 'it' is the conscience of the nation.

The Face of Change

I have no idea what's it going to be
But hey, that's how life tells us to be
That you shall never understand, before you experience it
So that the surprise strikes, right at the moment you get it

Ups and Downs i have seen many
Not the object of interest to me
Its the inevitable Change that bothers me
For i never shall know what i'm gonna be

Coping is one thing to endure
And then comes  with it-The Acceptance
Now whom should i look up to for consultancy
When the whole world seems to have accepted the Change

I want to fight it, I want to resist
I don't want to rest, till i get over with it
But my gut tells me; its not an easy manoeuvre
Though i fight  harder; Change is definitely going to be the winner

The face of Change is cruel to me
But i don't seem to blame the Change for it
Am i a weakling or simply a coward
For i seem to concede myself to defeat

Should i try harder, or should i let it be
This is damn confusing as it had always been
But i want to start fresh and clean
Let the Face of Change change me!

And it crossed 1000....

The page views.! ITS 1009 baby! Yayy! Celebration on its way!!
Thanks to all those who visited my blog and i hope you had a gratifying experience. I wish you come back for more posts of mine. You can also subscribe to my blog via email to get my posts whenever they are posted right into your mailbox. Or you can Join The Site for posting comments and message me.
1000+ really encourages me and makes me to write frequent posts. I shall try my best in doing so.

And once again....Thank You!

Another story which proved "shit happens! move on"

The end of another semester! Finally the day came, after 4 months 2 days and some x hours to return home from the extremities of life at NIT DGP. I was waiting for that day eagerly and when the day came, it was no big deal for me to pack my bags and head for home. I knew how everything would turn out to be. I knew that carrying my heavy luggage wouldn't be a piece of cake, and the Black Diamond express at Durgapur Railway Station won't wait for me long enough to put my trolley inside the coach, and i won't be having good dinner nor would be having a good night sleep.And after returning home, my mother would be appalled to see me become thinner than i was during winter vacation and will start feeding me, correction.,she would literally stuff food items into my mouth till my stomach aches and wouldn't take a NO!Mothers! What else can we say?!

BUT as we know, life always has something in store for us! It always amuses us in every single way. Life's a bitch!

 My luggage was inexplicably heavy, but not more that last year's. And surprisingly, the black diamond express came late (it never was late before). And what's more amazing was that there was no rush for getting inside the coach.And all my friends got in! (the other time, three of us missed the very train). And the train had very few passengers! I must say i was thanking almighty for He made that part of our journey a bit easier!

 We  safely reached Howrah Station from where we proceeded towards the Food Plaza, the restaurant at the railway station which serves food tasting like saw dust; which we can't avoid but eat 'coz there's no other alternative. Of course the food tasted like crap; but when you are with friends, you just eat it as if its a strawberry short cake(not that i like strawberry cakes!). Now what can we say about that? Friends they are! Always there to make things easier.

   So we walked out of the restaurant, to get some cool drink to help our stomachs digest that uncooked rice. At last , i thought---
                        "hmmm.....well,this wasn't as bad as i thought. its really going good. i might even enjoy my summer vacation not feeling lonely and bored"
       Now life has no intentions to let me remain in comfort zone. So it just flashed a thought into my head. My head asked as in reciprocation-
             "hey! mom and dad didn't call. Seems like they are getting in the drift of not irking me with their frequent phone calls.Thank God, they are not freaking out! Seems like Today's the day!............
and then.....................................
shit!
Where the heck is my phone!
Did i keep it somewhere else?Did i give it to Sravani or NVM? Or maybe i kept it in my bag.
 I searched for my mobile frantically and asked people if they have seen it. And the result was negative.



Now i know the obvious reactions from my family.Mom's gonna worry even more thinking about my safety, dad's gonna say,"don't worry dear! i will get you another mobile, but just reach home safely".And my brother, he's gonna laugh about it.So, thanks a ton,dear life. You really made my day!
          Friends came to my rescue when my face looked like a burnt potato after losing my favorite mobile. Sravani and NVM suggested lodging a complaint in the Railway Police Station would at least decrease the damage that's done. I considered that, not for regaining my lost mobile, but to have a look how police station will be like in reality.(i know...i was thinking of a little adventure or may i say, an experience after having lost something.Really,nothing can be done with me :P)

                          So, this police station i told you about wasn't  a big one actually! Didn't have goddamn cells for thieves! Damn, i expected more from a police station! I couldn't stop my excitement after seeing a constable with his rifle standing at the door. I was trying to stifle my laughter. But was in vain. Oh, why was i laughing? I was actually having a big gag in my mind about the way things turned out. Just few moments back i thought its all cool and now here i was , heading into a police station! Really, this is not a game, this is LIFE.

 I am sure that the head constable who was taking complaint of another victim who lost his cell phone was amused to look at us girls, with smiles on our faces. We went inside and sat on that old wooden bench and was waiting for our turn to speak up and surveying the whole place as if its a Buckingham Palace!The Police Inspector was busy talking on phone(now this phone's age could be more than mine)looking at which i had this severe urge to just touch it and make a call from it and feel the ecstasy of using it. But i did control it and thought i should make my face look sad for they aren't gonna believe me if i was smiling enthusiastically and say "Sir! I lost my phone. lol. hahaha!!"
  Not so convincing with happy face ain't it. So i waited for the man to put the antique phone down and told my story that i must've lost my phone in Food Plaza. Now this big man gave me a big lecture on how to take care of our belongings in a railway station and blah blah blah! At last , after it felt like eternity, he handed me a piece of complaint paper or as they say FIR to fill in the details. Neither he nor was i sure of its recovery, but still, i gave my mom's contact number. That done , we came out of Police Station like some heroes who accomplished something, and my burnt potato face became a cheery mango face.
                 
                                     I wouldn't have liked it when everything was okay! There has to be something to drive you. To make you feel things. To let you acknowledge the importance of certain things. I don't say that i really enjoyed losing my mobile to someone at a railway station. All i say is,
                                  Yes! I lost my phone! But i learnt a lesson. And i understand the significance of it.
And yeah, by the way.....LIFE'S NEVER PREDICTABLE

P.S.: The rest of the journey was comfortable except for few annoying things which are common. And i gave my friends' phone numbers to my mom so she could sleep peacefully and not freak out about my journey. And man! that was a big mistake.
                             

Image Courtesy: http://1.bp.blogspot.com/

PRAKRITI: The Family I Was And Am Proud To Be a Part of.

This academic year, we the Team Prakriti(the environmental club of NIT Durgapur ) have had many exhilarating moments, ups and downs, and finally we did accomplish what we’ve planned upon. Here’s a brief summary of what happened at Prakrti.

The Events: 

Green Art

The first event organized by Prakriti every year is Green Art which has Essay Writing Competition, Poster Making Competition and Photography. Fresh minds who just started their engineering career and the other year students of this college were seen attending the event trying and subsequently successful in voicing their thoughts and opinions about our nature and environment. Poster Making Competition has witnessed participants from Bihari More too and the ideas of those children were worth taking a look at. A photo was shown on the spot for the Essay Writing Competition, based on which, the participants wrote their essays. And yeah, we being the event coordinators didn’t take a back seat. We enjoyed participating in spite of the fact that they won’t be rewarded. We believe in the fact that the journey is what matters the most, not the mere destination! And the treat from the final years after the event is just priceless and adds to the aura of being a member of Prakriti.

Green Diwali:

I still remember the evening when we discussed if we should venture upon conducting a new event, which is out of the book and many people opposed the decision taking the proximity of exams and the turnout of public into consideration. Nevertheless, the zeal to DO things and make things work out of all odds made us embark into the event management and voila, it worked. Gymkhana too collaborated with us when we reached dead end with the resources. There were many participants in Rangoli Making Competition and utterly creative ideas came into light taking the shape of clay in Diya-making Competition. The event was a big success and it ended with us contently looking at all the Rangolis and Diyas people made and remembering the evening the discussion for Green Diwali started.

RUNIT:

RUNIT is a mini-marathon (6.4K run) for awareness among public for the need to save earth from the exploitation man is causing on her natural resources. This has been conducted on 16^th Feb and the first event by us in Even Semester and has been a delightful experience. The day after Saraswati Puja, waking up groggy at 8am in the morning, in winter, on Saturday, was a start for us. Faculty advisors of Prakriti club Prof Kalyan Adhikari and Prof A.Gangopadhyay’s presence during the commencement of the marathon added the vitality to the participants. The turnout of participants has increased from last year’s RUNIT and waiting at the check points for those runners to turn up and guiding them through the route, cheering them up to run faster was like serendipity yielding bliss in work.

Campus Cleaning

Now this is one of the events we Earth Warriors are tagged, by most of the inhabitants of this campus. We find this as a responsibility to clean up our own home before trying to reform the whole wide world. Teams were divided among which we along with volunteers from NSS have tried cleaning up the campus from non-degradable plastic. And the commonest reactions from the guys/gals who were assigned the Nescafe zone was- “Man! The number of coffee cups seems to be more than the population of our campus!”

It is absolutely rhetorical, but, think again. Should it be like this? I mean, whatever happened to the civic sense of us educated brains in an engineering college?

One thing for sure is, that the one who was in Campus Cleaning will surely make a note in one’s mind to not to litter the campus. And that exactly is what we need!

        “Be the change you wish to see in this world”

                                                       ----- Mahatma Gandhi

These events are followed by induction of new members into our club...the fellow 'greenengineers' we call them. So, the notices for auditions were put up and i'm not lying....i'm gonna be brutally honest; we expected at least 50 people for auditions and the result was a pitiful 20 students willing to be a part of the green club. This was a huge disappointment and the first round of interview happened with few of us trying to understand what the first year students think of us and our club followed by a decision taken to conduct a second round of auditions (which never happened before this year) for those who are selected in 1st round and this way we could expect more public (those who couldn't come for 1st round were also welcome to complete it). So finally the auditions of second round took place with an agenda to take people who are team workers and who are willing to work for the club. And it did turn out fruitful.

      In order to ensure that, we asked the students to form into teams and discuss a new event that we could conduct and try to find the p's and q's of their ideas. This group discussion brought very innovative ideas of those fresh minds and the round was successful!

Finally we could find those 15 nature loving minds which could work for the club.

The new team of Prakriti formed finally.

Team Prakriti

After this successful year at Prakriti, it became really hard to bid farewell to our final year members. And the jb treat from them was an awesome party and i shall never forget that day!

     "Prakriti is not merely a club; its a family!"---this was told by our club 's ex-president on the day of farewell and she meant it by every single word which echoed all our voices that day!

Finally, it was such an awesome year and looking forward to another one with a new responsibility as a treasurer of this green club. Hope i could fill up the responsibilities and learn more things.

P.S. there are lot many moments with prakriti like the village trip we went on,the most appraised candle march on the day of 'Earth hour', the college magazine 'NATURA' , the valedictory ceremony.....this goes on and on...but i couldn't mention it above. Just one thing i can say..."it was fantabulous"!

The Survey!

Day:1
The morning of that day (7am) started with me trying to get my carcass out of bed due to the last day's stress. I cursed the moment i wrote in Facebook page that i will go to camp for 2 days. It was unbelievingly tough to get out of bed. At last the will succeeded and finally we went to the camp.
               Our NSS chapter of NIT Durgapur hosted a medical camp in which doctors come and do free check-up to the residents of that locality. Let me mention that we did a great deal of work in convincing doctors to take out some time and attend our camp. Medicine samples were also collected the previous weekends and graded out according to their compositions.(yes,we are busy bees and work even during our mid semester exams and i take pride in saying that!).
                          
             THE Camp started with few teams' division for surveying the whole area and finding out the population and the general problems they face in that region that could be solved by the government. I were to assist the volunteers in workshop for making  a teddy bear(believe me..i was not at all into it and decided to switch into surveying committee); and since it would start after noon we were to go for surveying the region.I felt relived as soon as that was assigned to me and we set out for surveying.

      
  

The scenario was completely different at the moment i set foot in the assigned area of survey. The people there know just Bengali and can't understand Hindi. Since it was Ranchi Colony, i took a logic that the people residing over there might me knowing Hindi properly. But i was wrong and thankfully my friend started investigating that barefooted  woman dressed in a traditional sari which she tied a bit above her waist and a pot full of  water which she intended to carry inside for cooking. I understood that their financial status is not at all good and she did say that she is an illiterate( my friend tick marked the 'illiteracy' point in the questionnaire and hence i knew). Even her husband is illiterate. And that look on her face while my friend was asking questions! It was like her hopes rose since we started asking about electricity supply and monthly income as that some help would be coming to save them. Standing in the hot sun and not knowing what to do other than staring at those painful and hopeful eyes...i wandered there and found out there are few people who can understand Hindi.I enthusiastically ran back to collect the other questionnaires and do my NEW job. SURVEYING.

                                The moment i took the paper, the utter truth dawned upon me that i can't speak Hindi fluently!! As they say-'if you can't explain something as simple as it can be, then you don't completely about it'; i felt that i may not even explain them my questions even in my mother tongue. That was a big revelation to me!!And so, with my broken Hindi i managed to complete the questionnaire for one family. While fumbling with the words about how to describe something, they enjoyed our freakish behavior and  laughed out.  The housewife greeted us with a warm and shy smile as we explained why we came to her house. And there was this one moment when i asked about the income of the family(of course it was in the questionnaire)...
         
           Me: "aapki aamdani kitna hoga?"
(meaning-what is your monthly salary)
         Woman:(she started laughing out loud)
 Meanwhile i wondered if there was any grammar mistake in my question which made her laugh so much. Everyone started smiling at me owing to the situation i was in.And i....I showed my teeth as in acknowledgment of her joke.
          Me: "toh aapki monthly income kitna hoga?"(this time desperately trying to get answer to my question)
          Woman:"aamdani matlab ab hum kya kahe madam,kuch hota nahi....aaj kaam        milta hai to kal kaam milne ka guarantee nahi hota"....."mera aadmi bahut kaam karta hai..majduri bahut kam milta hai...haath bhi uska toota tha
....hum gareeb log hai madam"
(meaning: we don't have any salary.there's no guarantee that we get work the next day. our daily wages are too low and even my husband's hand was fractured recently)
   
                   I didn't utter a word after that. Silently gulped in and proceeded to the next question.
Knowing is different from experiencing. I have heard,read about the critical situation of people under low poverty line.But experiencing it and trying to digest it is an altogether a different story.

We proceeded to different houses and there were hearty welcomes with warm smiles (they offered chairs and water too)and  irritated looks from a man who just consumed liquor. 

        The rest of the day was spent in boring ourselves(me and my Bengali friend from surveying) for long hours in medical camp by fetching the prescribed medicines by the presiding doctor.

                                      Day : 2
This was the second day and pretty much the same and that day, i could have had my jaw thrashed. Thanks to my survival instincts, it didn't happen.
     While we were asking questions about basic hygiene and trying to tick off the symptoms of the various diseases listed, we had to ask if they "wash their hands before eating" or not. And the bewildered public over there first passes looks to each other and said "Yes" with a nonchalant and obvious look.
   And then the most controversial question of rural India has come. My friend was bothered suddenly as how to pose this question and i took to her aid.

           Me: "Aapke parivaar mein kisi ko AIDS hain?"
( shocked looks from the public.)
Definitely they must have thought i am a devil who has come to slander their family's name in the public!!
        And the fattest woman among them came forward .
       Woman: "haan, pucho kya puch rahi thi.... phir se puch ke dekho!!!!"
She was a belligerent woman i have seen in the recent past and i couldn't even utter another word.I silently prayed to God,looked at my friend gesturing that the work is done...and we slipped off from there.

I was saved finally!phew!

     I did enjoy going for surveying. Played with the goat cubs, talked with people over there and understood vividly what's their lifestyle.I reckoned that there are greater worries and problems out there in the society and i should stop bothering for petty things like my professor barking at me for not doing graphs of some experiment properly and being "insincere" and "dishonest".

Finally, at the end of the camp, i felt content and there was bliss altogether in spite of the body cramps. Only can wish and pray that the survey report goes to the government and suitable measures are taken.

The story of my mobile phone(s).

I used to have a thing for mobile phones when my dad bought his first Nokia mobile-the kind which doesn't break or get damaged even if you want to damage! I still remember the yellow screen and the games i played in it. My favorite past time used to be playing the snake game in which the tail of the snake becomes bigger and bigger as it swallows the food. And then the generation of mobile phones changed.And even i changed.Never took another look at the oldie Nokia.

 Slide phones, Bar types, 3-G mobiles, Smart phones what not!
My first mobile phone was a Samsung GT-S5320(bar type). I was so delighted to use it . My family and peers saw nothing so dazzling as i saw. it was my first mobile phone and it had many features like 3G connection, PC-suite,3.2 MP camera all in 6000 bucks!
     
 First few months i loved it. The black color of its body shined and the back of the mobile was like a mirror.And soon all the lustre of my mobile faded.And moreover it started hanging all of a sudden!!! Few months later, it became a pain in my nose and at last......it DIED.

Next comes my Nokia N73 mobile. Well, it was under my brother's service for 2 years and then when he finally felt that it doesn't deserve to be with him..i took it under my wing :P
 It has 3.2 MP camera, PC suite, Bluetooth,Infrared,Life blog and a lot of apps. I loved it when i started using it. Used to be euphoric that it has a front camera and a nice camera which can give print out too!
With its advantages i was blind enough to not recognize the reasons behind its cast away. 1 month of its use made me take away the blind folds. I coudn't receive any messages, nor any notifications for missed calls. And so  i had to abandon it too.

So back to square one!

Now is the time i have decided to use a phone which is of lesser cost and last at least an year with all new features like android,touch screen and stuff. And i bought a Superfone Punk A44 (Micromax) . Many people objected my decision before placing the order because its a Micromax mobile. But then i thought, its an Android phone coming just in 4500 bucks..and surely it will last atleast 8-12 months.

 Then started the story of my third mobile phone. I have to admit that i was irked in the beginning with its delay in response..but then i was impressed with the music player, dual SIM and all. And slowly it became my friend. And the number of delays decreased too. I started downloading apps with play store...and i loved the 'offline dictionary' and 'smart phone app locker' apps very much. Customizing my phone to highest level such that only i can operate on it...and the live wallpapers are too good in the smart phone. Had  fun with it and started recommending it to others saying its a handy mobile and comes in just 4500 bucks. I was literally happy with it until recent episode....!

     I got a new screen guard --the original one for A44 model so that it looks good unlike the previous one. And hence i wanted to have a glance at it every now and then. I stopped using the mobile pouch for it. Fate cursed me and the mobile slipped from my hands one day. Its battery came out and i thought it happens every now and then and not a big deal at all!!   But no!! The display of my beloved mobile has colorful lines in it. For a moment it was funny and i freaked out once i understood what it meant.

Right now its undergoing an operation by the people from service center.

                                                 
                           And i am missing my dad's old fashioned, hard rock kinda cell phone which never betrayed me and which was true to me.

I 've always LOVED YOU my dear Nokia phone! Its just i took time to express my feelings and understand you....that's it.