I recently went to see Breaking Dawn 2. (Yes, I happen to be a twilight fan )
I sat through the entire first half of the movie cursing the directors and the horrible job they had done with this movie. It was too fast moving and far too inaccurate. I didn't like it. At all.
Then the second half started and I spent the first few minutes promising myself never to see a movie made by these guys again. But the last 15 minutes of the movie changed my perception entirely.
These guys had done things a little differently from the book, and I really liked that. It came off my black list in a second.
There really is no point watching a movie if you've already read the book. You know what's going to happen in the end. But when movie makers decide to add some twists and turns contrary to the book, it makes seeing these movies worth it.
I know that there are movie critics out there, busy writing negative reviews about how movies often take away the essence of literature, but I love seeing film makers do thing differently, and I wouldn't mind seeing a Harry Potter movie in which Harry's parents are still alive.
Sep 2, 2012
Do I know you?
Have you seen any of those films where the hero walks upto a very pretty girl and tries to hit on her by saying "Have I seen you before? You look familiar."
You've probably seen it in more films that you'd want to. Over time, it's become a cliche.
But I realized, that as you meet more and more people you start forgetting the people who you have met briefly or in a crowd. You cannot remember everyone you have said hello to!
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Today I was at an event where I saw someone who seemed strikingly familiar. I couldn't place in my head where I had met him. But I knew I had. And this wasn't the first time such a thing was happening.
Three fourths of my mind in such cases wants to go upto the person and ask if we have met before. The other one fourth fights back and tells me what a horrible idea that is at the risk of sounding like a hero in a movie. I normally end up listening to the other half.
That's what happens to most people. It's sort of like the fear of rejection. If the other person doesn't recognize you or can't remember who you are, the joke is pretty much on you.
Well, next time, I'll try not to bother. Who knows! I may not end up being the weird stranger and instead, it might just turn out that I know that familiar person after all.
Aug 30, 2012
Password Mania!
Can you put a number on the websites you have made an account on? Probably not. At least I can't. I sign up for just about everything that catches my eye. And a lot of things catch my eye. So you can imagine the number of websites I have accounts on.
Accounts require passwords, and passwords you have to remember. For most people, this isn't really a problem. Most of us have these standard passwords which we use just about everywhere. But the problem comes in when you have been using the same password for 2 or 3 years and you come across an article on the web which talks about how a lot of accounts are being hacked these days. These type of articles usually suggest ways and means to keep your account from getting hacked. And the one thing that they ALL mention is to keep changing your password on a regular basis.
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| Resetting passwords over and over can be very very stressful. |
This is when that feeling of apprehension creeps onto you. You realize that it is time. It is time to change your standard password. It's kind of like a feeling of enlightenment.
And then the lengthy task begins. You go from account to account changing all the passwords, trying to remember the important places where you have online accounts.
It's kind of like cleaning. No one likes to do it, but when you reach a certain saturation point, you don't have much of a choice!
Aug 29, 2012
TV time
When my brother and I were little, our parents had set a "TV time" for us. We could only watch TV for one hour every day. My brother and I would usually divide it into two halves. We used to watch half an hour of TV in the afternoon and half an hour before sleeping.
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| The love of our life- the television! |
But those were the times when the advertisements weren't longer than the show itself. When the two of us finally realized that the lengthy advertisements were costing us a lot of TV time, we came up with a strategy. We used to sit in front of the TV with a stopwatch. When the ads would come, we would stop the time running on the stopwatch, and turn our heads away from the TV, claiming that since we weren't actually looking at the TV, this shouldn't count as TV time. It worked very well for a few days. Then our parents realized our tactic and that was the end of our astute (but very effective) scheme.
Although our clever trick didn't last very long, our efforts to prolong TV time never failed. I no longer have a TV time, but my younger brother does. And he still finds ways and means to violate it.
Some things never change! Be it people, their strange or wonderful habits, or our desperate attempts to trespass our TV time.
Aug 28, 2012
Soak more and more!
This post is an entry for The Surf Excel Matic #SoakNoMore Contest on Indiblogger! Enjoy :)
It was just a month ago, July of 2012. My friends and I graduated from school this year. No one's college had started. We were in that wonderful stress free stage where no one had anything to do or anything to worry about.
All we had to worry about was how to fill up our long summer days. One of our adventurous ideas was to go ice skating in one of the biggest mall of the country-Ambience Mall in Gurgaon, a suburb of Delhi. The monsoons still hadn't arrived and we hoped with all our heart that an ice skating ring would give us some relief from the heat.
The minute we arrived at the skating ring, it started raining. Ofcourse we only found out much later when we got frantic calls from our parents. Our parents worried that the rain was so heavy that we wouldn't be able to make it home. We ignored it, thinking of it as just another exaggerated concern.
When we came out of the skating ring and into the mall, we suddenly saw why our parents were worrying. The ice skating ring had been on the 6th floor of the mall. The roof was right above us. And it was leaking. The sweeper's of the mall were running all over the place with buckets and mops to somehow keep people from slipping on the wet floors. (Now if any of you reading this are from another country, I would like to clarify, that although some houses in India may leak, malls normally do not. I am merely trying to emphasize on the harshness of the rain).
Neither of us had the luxury of a car to drop everyone home. And since most of us lived in Delhi , we had to take the metro. There was no other way to get home. Calling a radio cab was not an option. It was 8 pm, which meant people were returning home from work.
Peak time+rains=Chaos on the Delhi roads.
Our two options were to either wait till the rain reduced or to take a chance and run out and look for an auto that would take us to the metro station. That is when we thought, "what the hell! We have nothing to lose. If we can't take small risks like this at the age of 18, will we ever be able to?" We had been taught all our lives to be cautious. Don't bunk school. You may get caught. Don't go out now. It's too dark and unsafe. Don't date boys. You're too young.
Although this really wasn't that big a deal, it meant a lot to us. Going out there in the rain wasn't simply a matter of getting wet. To us, it meant denying everything we'd been taught. I don't blame our parents for teaching us to be cautious. They only did it for our safety. It's more like living in a city such as Delhi that made us so cautious and scared of little things.
So that is exactly what we did! We ran out of the mall while the entire crowd who was waiting for the rain to die down a bit stared at us, wondering which devil from hell had gotten into us. The rain was amazing. It was the first monsoon shower that Delhi had been anticipating for the past month. To some people it meant better weather, to some others it meant that their crops wouldn't die and there family would have enough food for the winter. And to us? To us it meant a free spirit. This was the first time since graduating school, that we actually tasted our freedom. We realized that we were new adults in the world, in a free world, where we had the liberty to do whatever we wanted! So the city is a little unsafe! And maybe some people can harm us. But we didn't see why that should affect what we do.
It was the rain and the soaked clothes and the splashing in the puddles that made us realize that. One monsoon shower was all we needed. And I cannot be more thankful for that.
If that is what one monsoon shower did to us, I say "SOAK MORE AND MORE AND MORE"
It was just a month ago, July of 2012. My friends and I graduated from school this year. No one's college had started. We were in that wonderful stress free stage where no one had anything to do or anything to worry about.
All we had to worry about was how to fill up our long summer days. One of our adventurous ideas was to go ice skating in one of the biggest mall of the country-Ambience Mall in Gurgaon, a suburb of Delhi. The monsoons still hadn't arrived and we hoped with all our heart that an ice skating ring would give us some relief from the heat.
The minute we arrived at the skating ring, it started raining. Ofcourse we only found out much later when we got frantic calls from our parents. Our parents worried that the rain was so heavy that we wouldn't be able to make it home. We ignored it, thinking of it as just another exaggerated concern.
When we came out of the skating ring and into the mall, we suddenly saw why our parents were worrying. The ice skating ring had been on the 6th floor of the mall. The roof was right above us. And it was leaking. The sweeper's of the mall were running all over the place with buckets and mops to somehow keep people from slipping on the wet floors. (Now if any of you reading this are from another country, I would like to clarify, that although some houses in India may leak, malls normally do not. I am merely trying to emphasize on the harshness of the rain).
Neither of us had the luxury of a car to drop everyone home. And since most of us lived in Delhi , we had to take the metro. There was no other way to get home. Calling a radio cab was not an option. It was 8 pm, which meant people were returning home from work.
Peak time+rains=Chaos on the Delhi roads.
Our two options were to either wait till the rain reduced or to take a chance and run out and look for an auto that would take us to the metro station. That is when we thought, "what the hell! We have nothing to lose. If we can't take small risks like this at the age of 18, will we ever be able to?" We had been taught all our lives to be cautious. Don't bunk school. You may get caught. Don't go out now. It's too dark and unsafe. Don't date boys. You're too young.
Although this really wasn't that big a deal, it meant a lot to us. Going out there in the rain wasn't simply a matter of getting wet. To us, it meant denying everything we'd been taught. I don't blame our parents for teaching us to be cautious. They only did it for our safety. It's more like living in a city such as Delhi that made us so cautious and scared of little things.
So that is exactly what we did! We ran out of the mall while the entire crowd who was waiting for the rain to die down a bit stared at us, wondering which devil from hell had gotten into us. The rain was amazing. It was the first monsoon shower that Delhi had been anticipating for the past month. To some people it meant better weather, to some others it meant that their crops wouldn't die and there family would have enough food for the winter. And to us? To us it meant a free spirit. This was the first time since graduating school, that we actually tasted our freedom. We realized that we were new adults in the world, in a free world, where we had the liberty to do whatever we wanted! So the city is a little unsafe! And maybe some people can harm us. But we didn't see why that should affect what we do.
It was the rain and the soaked clothes and the splashing in the puddles that made us realize that. One monsoon shower was all we needed. And I cannot be more thankful for that.
If that is what one monsoon shower did to us, I say "SOAK MORE AND MORE AND MORE"
Aug 27, 2012
Reasons to find a best friend who is just like you!
My best friend turns 18 today! I was thinking of the crazy things we have done in the past 2 years, and I realize, that there is nothing better than having a best friend who is similar to you in more ways you can imagine any other person to be. This post is dedicated to her, hoping she will decide to remain as crazy as she is now, just so that there is someone in the world to give me company. Happy Birthday Zivani!! (I did not spell her name wrong. that is just what i call her). I love you, you lunatic!
Here is why you need to go hunt for YOUR carbon copy:
1. You will both arrive late to class and therefore will end up sitting on the very first bench
2. A 5 line conversation will take days to conclude just because both of you are too lazy to reply right away
3. The entire day at school will be spent decorating the desk, just because the teacher won't let you talk in class and neither of you want to ruin the last page of our notebooks.
4. Your study sleepovers in effect, will be about 1 hour of studying and 10 odd hours of taking breaks.
5. You will spend the eve of an exam talking on the phone, discussing ways to get a job when you are eventually kicked out of school.
6. You will also come up with millions of (practically impossible) plans to become a billionaire (for example, selling your appendix)
7. You will put no less than 6 alarms before going to sleep (on a sleepover) so that you can get up early and go out the next day. Despite that, neither of you will wake up or respond to the alarms.
8. You will attempt to cross a road which has traffic zooming at such a high speed that it can very easily be the end of you, so that you can get an auto home, only to discover that your home is in the other direction and you need to cross the street again and catch an auto from the other side.
9. Your pathetic sense of direction will not allow you to reach anywhere without getting lost several times. One of you will have to activate the internet on your phone so that google maps can be of some help. You will still get lost all the time.
I realize that I may just have given you reasons NOT to find your carbon copy. But believe me, it's worth it!
HAPPY BIRTHDAY ZIVANI!
Here is why you need to go hunt for YOUR carbon copy:
1. You will both arrive late to class and therefore will end up sitting on the very first bench
2. A 5 line conversation will take days to conclude just because both of you are too lazy to reply right away
3. The entire day at school will be spent decorating the desk, just because the teacher won't let you talk in class and neither of you want to ruin the last page of our notebooks.
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| You don't have to LOOK similar too, in case you're thinking that. |
5. You will spend the eve of an exam talking on the phone, discussing ways to get a job when you are eventually kicked out of school.
6. You will also come up with millions of (practically impossible) plans to become a billionaire (for example, selling your appendix)
7. You will put no less than 6 alarms before going to sleep (on a sleepover) so that you can get up early and go out the next day. Despite that, neither of you will wake up or respond to the alarms.
8. You will attempt to cross a road which has traffic zooming at such a high speed that it can very easily be the end of you, so that you can get an auto home, only to discover that your home is in the other direction and you need to cross the street again and catch an auto from the other side.
9. Your pathetic sense of direction will not allow you to reach anywhere without getting lost several times. One of you will have to activate the internet on your phone so that google maps can be of some help. You will still get lost all the time.
I realize that I may just have given you reasons NOT to find your carbon copy. But believe me, it's worth it!
HAPPY BIRTHDAY ZIVANI!
Aug 26, 2012
Shopping Disappointments
One would think that being a girl, I like shopping. I don't. Not that I don't like new things. (I like them for one or two days after which I get bored and forget about them) But I don't like going out and buying new things myself. Shopping can be really disappointing.
Whenever I go with money in my wallet and a mood to try on clothes, there are absolutely no good and reasonably priced clothes to be found. But whenever I go without any money and an extremely lethargic mood, VOILA! The end of season sale is on!
I wish there was a mobile app which would just let me browse the stores before I actually got there. *sigh* where is technology when you need it?
Whenever I go with money in my wallet and a mood to try on clothes, there are absolutely no good and reasonably priced clothes to be found. But whenever I go without any money and an extremely lethargic mood, VOILA! The end of season sale is on!
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| Disappointed Shopper |
I wish there was a mobile app which would just let me browse the stores before I actually got there. *sigh* where is technology when you need it?
Aug 25, 2012
Peeping Toms
My bedroom window has been causing me a lot of trouble lately. It seems like everyone who passes by looks at it (and therefore I have people constantly peeping into my room). It's so uncanny. Someone who is just walking past, whistling, talking on the phone, WILL turn to look at my window. And it's not nice. It would be nice if people would see me inside and wave. But people just glance at it and walk by.
The problem is that all the people who live in the same building as I do have to pass by my window to get to their apartment. So I have about 10-15 people peeping into my room on an everyday basis. I certainly have come to respect the curtains much more than I used to.
| I suddenly feel sorry for ugly naked guy |
The problem is that all the people who live in the same building as I do have to pass by my window to get to their apartment. So I have about 10-15 people peeping into my room on an everyday basis. I certainly have come to respect the curtains much more than I used to.
Rain Rain Go Away!
They say rains bring joy. Of course they do. The smell of rain, the sudden change of weather and (for Indians) the bollywood feel it brings with it is known to be unbeatable.
But what I wonder is, do they bring more joy than sorrow? The traffic jams, the clogged streets and the flooded colonies manage to make up for all the joy the first few drops gave. And not to forget the wonderful after affects- the malaria and jaundice and dengue.
No joy without sorrow huh?
But what I wonder is, do they bring more joy than sorrow? The traffic jams, the clogged streets and the flooded colonies manage to make up for all the joy the first few drops gave. And not to forget the wonderful after affects- the malaria and jaundice and dengue.
| Rain rain go away! |
Aug 22, 2012
Why so "complicated"?
I recently happened to be talking to an old friend after a long time. Normally, when you talk to an old friend, catching up involves a little bit about school/college/work and a lot about the love life. Now the one thing about girls sharing their love life is that although they make it seem like something very confidential, it actually isn't. They will tell just about everyone who they come across. Show the slightest interest in a girl's love life and that will be enough to get her going for a good 2 hours. It's like saying that you wouldn't want to advertise something via an fb status, but you wouldn't mind sending an inbox message to everyone in your list.
Another classic trick that girls spend hours plotting is "ignoring the guy". It is a way of getting attention. I'm not saying that it isn't effective. It is. But then, "ignoring" someone can take more effort than you can imagine. Ignoring a guy involves constantly checking your phone to see if your little trick is working and if he is texting, wondering what you are upto and tracking his every move on facebook to see how he's taking your cold treatment.
The funny thing is that the length of any girl's love life does not vary with the number of relationships she's had. A girl with no boyfriend at all will also have plenty to say, which may involve how unfortunate she's been, or how she's afraid she's not a catch and she'll die alone, or how a lot of boys asked her out but she rejected them on the premises that they weren't really 'her type'. On the other hand a girl with 20 boyfriends will talk about what was wrong with each one of them and how she's sick of relationships and is never going to date anyone else ever again. It's such a cliche. We all know that isn't gonna happen!
But anyways, coming back, I started thinking about the logic behind all this. Why do romantic relationships have to be so complicated? They are actually just like any other relationship. The kind that you have with your family and friends. But yet, we spend so much more time analysing these kinds of relationships than any other. "I think he likes another girl", "I think he's losing interest in me". These are classic dialogues. Girls spend hours thinking over such things. Even the most subtle hints can throw her mind in the wrong direction. Things as simple as a guy having a long and light hearted conversation with another girl, or not having texted or called for two days.
If you really want to know, then why snoop around or take advice from hundreds of people or make a long heart felt story out of it. Just ask him! It's really simple, and extremely straightforward and will save you a very long phone bill and a lot of people's time.
Another classic trick that girls spend hours plotting is "ignoring the guy". It is a way of getting attention. I'm not saying that it isn't effective. It is. But then, "ignoring" someone can take more effort than you can imagine. Ignoring a guy involves constantly checking your phone to see if your little trick is working and if he is texting, wondering what you are upto and tracking his every move on facebook to see how he's taking your cold treatment.
Jealousy is another big fat problem. And this comes from both sides of the enemy line. Boys are as jealous and possesive as girls are, if not more. When a guy sees his girlfriend or potential girlfriend within a 5 metre radius of another guy, he will immediately look for a girl to talk to as intimately as possible, so that they're both even. The girl, seeing that the guy is being all close and personal with another girl, will continue to talk to the guy she was hitherto talking to, apparently enjoying herself more than ever and laughing at the lamest jokes he makes. The guy seeing the girl having a good time with another guy, will return the favour. This is something that does not end. And it works the other way around.
And then we have the popular 'it's complicated' relationship status on facebook. I have never actually understood what that meant. Either you're dating or you're not. Sometimes, I feel that a 'it's complicated' status is simply a committed girl's effort to grab her boyfriend's attention or a single girl's effort to show that she has a life. It's hard to say. Most comments on any change of relationship statuses go unanswered. Most people's queries are generally answered by comments such as "i'll tell you when we talk next".
If you want to tell all your friends about your recently upturned love life one by one and not via facebook, why bother changing your relationship status on facebook?
The people I think are actually sensible are the ones who also mention the name of the person they are dating. They're the ones who're accomplishing the purpose of putting up a facebook status. Although most people think it's a very abominable thing to do, I think it's better than people putting up a status followed by secretive comments which kind of nullify the purpose of using facebook.
Keeping it simple and not so complicated is much easier for everybody. Little tricks and insinuating comments are pretty much useless and a waste of time and energy. Imagine a world where everyone would just say what they thought and what they really mean to convey. It's kind of like putting an end to diplomacy!
Here's hoping you can unravel your life and make it a little less complicated! (And I really mean that)
And then we have the popular 'it's complicated' relationship status on facebook. I have never actually understood what that meant. Either you're dating or you're not. Sometimes, I feel that a 'it's complicated' status is simply a committed girl's effort to grab her boyfriend's attention or a single girl's effort to show that she has a life. It's hard to say. Most comments on any change of relationship statuses go unanswered. Most people's queries are generally answered by comments such as "i'll tell you when we talk next".
If you want to tell all your friends about your recently upturned love life one by one and not via facebook, why bother changing your relationship status on facebook?
The people I think are actually sensible are the ones who also mention the name of the person they are dating. They're the ones who're accomplishing the purpose of putting up a facebook status. Although most people think it's a very abominable thing to do, I think it's better than people putting up a status followed by secretive comments which kind of nullify the purpose of using facebook.
Keeping it simple and not so complicated is much easier for everybody. Little tricks and insinuating comments are pretty much useless and a waste of time and energy. Imagine a world where everyone would just say what they thought and what they really mean to convey. It's kind of like putting an end to diplomacy!
Here's hoping you can unravel your life and make it a little less complicated! (And I really mean that)
Jul 9, 2012
Things to do in the summer after graduation
No dreaded last week of vacation.
No studying for the tests and exams in the next semester.
No homework.
Plain guilt free partying.
4 months of all of the above.
Sounds familiar? For those of you who have already graduated school, this probably takes you back! For those of you who haven't, this is probably a glimpse of your future.
Simply put, it's a piece of heaven that is handed to you as a reward for all the work you've put into slogging (or as is the case with most people, pretending to slog) to get into a decent college (which is defined by getting the approval of your loving relatives and friends).
It's a time when you have all your school friends and no real responsibility, and thus the benefits of being a child. And at the same time, we also have the benefits of being adults. That includes freedom to go places without being questioned as to the where, why, when , who and how.
For the most, this time goes into hanging out, lazing around at home or spending hours on the couch watching TV. If you're currently in a situation where your busy schedule does not allow you your 6 hours of sleep everyday and getting texts from old friends seem more like an inconvenience this may sound like an amazing place to be.
But 4 months of an empty mind can be quite the devil. You end up either missing the past or awaiting the future, without actually realising that you're wasting away the present.
So here are a few things you can do in the summer after high school without using too much of your brain, without having to forgo too much of your time with friends, and most of all, having an amazing summer!
1. Take up the hobby you always wanted to
2. Get down to your reading/movie list
Everyone has a reading list or a movie list! I don't mean to say that everyone has a piece of paper lying around somewhere with a list of books to read or movies to watch, but everyone has some book or some movie that hasn't been touched so far. There are probably a couple of movies (or TV shows) you missed in the previous year or some amazing books that you never got to read. It's an excellent idea to get down to those. It would make the "lazing around at home" much less boring.
3.Meet the people you haven't met for a long time
Your school friends, your cousins and your long lost childhood friends are people for who you are likely to have less time for once you get into college. These are people who you spoke to everyday once upon a time. With time you lose touch because everyone gets busy, but at the moment, you're completely free. Instead of hanging out with a select few on a regular basis, hang out with diverse people. Even though you probably won't be able to keep up this pattern once you go to college, it'll be harder for them to drift away later on. More importantly, they'll remember you, for having made the effort to keep up with each other.
4. Travel and Explore
This may sound a little unrealistic, but in case you haven't labelled this as an absurd and infeasible idea and are still reading, let me tell you what I mean. Travelling does not necessarily mean taking a month off and going to far away cities or countries. Do you have a neighbouring city or town which you could take a day trip to? If you don't, have you seen your own city yet? I have lived in my city for 18 years, yet I haven't seen all of it. Instead of going to the mall next door to hang out with friends or meet with people, go to places which you haven't been to before. It'll be less monotonous. And plus, not knowing the city you live in is not something to be proud of! Also, in case you can't find a job in the future, the option of being a tour guide will be always available ;)
Your summer doesn't have to be filled with nostalgic memories of school or eager waiting for college to start. It could be something of its own!
In case you're still to graduate from school, start drawing up a list, it'll come in handy once you graduate! In case you graduated some time ago and are in college or are already working, make a list anyway. When you do find a patch of free time in your hands, you know what to do!
Jun 7, 2012
Delhi vs India
A couple of days ago, a friend and I went looking for wholesalers. We wanted to get some t-shirts made. The trend of lose t shirts seemed to be in and we wanted some personalized shirts for ourselves ad our friends.
A friend's friend gave me the reference of a reliable wholesaler in shastri nagar. For those of you who don't know, shastri nagar is a very under developed part of Delhi. It's biggest achievement seems to be the presence of the metro station and a police chowki. Unfortunately for me and my best friend Shivani, we did not know this until we got there.
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| 2 worlds in 1 country |
After a very tedious journey, we reached a somewhat village like place. Trust me, Im not exagerating. This was a place with half built houses and dark and shady lanes and everything. To be here once was a horror, coming to this place again and again seemed to be an absolute nightmare. The t shirts didn't seem to be a good enough reason anymore.
That was our first reaction on reaching a place about 30 kms away from our south delhi homes. And here's why--we live in new delhi, a place with malls and hospitals and schools at each corner. Shastri nagar, although geographically a part of delhi, is practically speaking a part of india. And delhi and india are a complete universe apart.
If one visits delhi, and claims to have visited india, he couldn't be more wrong.
You see delhi is the place where people go to private schools and hold private sector jobs, go to doctors who charge about 500 RS for a sitting even if its the common cold which is bothering them and go to the malls to eat in multi cuisine restauraunts. India on the other hand is the place where children as well as adults are lucky to get a job at a construction site. People cant even visit a doctor if they're on the verge of death, either because there is no doctor in the vicinity or because seeking treatment from a doctor would mean going to bed empty stomach for the rest of the year. The best meal that people could dream of having here is one which makes the grumbling noise from their tummy inaudible.
While Delhiites argue about whether westernization is good or bad and politicians play their amusing blame games, a billion people spend days without food and water. While we groan about the hot weather as we switch on our air conditioners, these people hunt for paper fans which are the best they can hope for in their electricity deprived village.
They say that we have potential--but to exploit potential you need to have people potent enough to exploit it. And sadly, we seem to have very little of that. Historians wonder if the invasion of the british was a good or a bad thing. Trust me, had it not been for them, we would still be living in a day of kingdoms and wars.
The british managed to develop delhi, but i wonder who will have to invade the country for india to join the delhi world?
May 2, 2012
Women and Gossip
Women like to gossip. Thats a fact. It seems to be some sort of natural, congenital tendency. Infact, if you dont believe me, mention a thing or two in front of a 5 year old girl and see how she throws away her barbie dolls to come closer to hear what you have to say!
The other day, some of my grandmother's friends had dropped in. I happened to eavesdrop on a part of their conversation. Believe it or not, they were talking about the manners and etiquettes of someone they all knew. Apparently, this woman blatantly walked passed one of them without even simple eye contact and thus was given the pleasure of being their topic of conversation for a whole hour!
One of my mother's friend has an incessant habit of talking, irrespective of what she talks about. But for the record, it's mostly about her family or who badly her in laws behaved the other day or how the kid who lives in her neighbourhood just does the most absurd things. Sometimes mom gets the honour of hearing the family history of a stranger who happens to be her friend's friend.
Everytime this friend calls or decides to come over, we know that it's one of those days when we're going to here this woman speak in hushed tones about something very trivial. Funny thing is, that she tries to lower her voice while talking about something that will reach everyone anyway, thanks to her public service!
One of my friends from school had this acute problem of slandering so that she could attract attention
So much so, she'd even go so far as to create sensational stories about all her classmates and make it such a big deal that ultimately the person being talked about would have to think twice to ensure that what she said was indeed false.
Dont get me wrong. A lot of women purposely try to hold their tongue. Logically, gossip doesnt do any good and these women know that.
And as for the others, hmmm, lets just say that their time would be better spent in the world of advertising and public relations, where they could get paid for doing what they do!!
 |
| Gossip? Or a game of chinese whisper? |
The other day, some of my grandmother's friends had dropped in. I happened to eavesdrop on a part of their conversation. Believe it or not, they were talking about the manners and etiquettes of someone they all knew. Apparently, this woman blatantly walked passed one of them without even simple eye contact and thus was given the pleasure of being their topic of conversation for a whole hour!
One of my mother's friend has an incessant habit of talking, irrespective of what she talks about. But for the record, it's mostly about her family or who badly her in laws behaved the other day or how the kid who lives in her neighbourhood just does the most absurd things. Sometimes mom gets the honour of hearing the family history of a stranger who happens to be her friend's friend.
Everytime this friend calls or decides to come over, we know that it's one of those days when we're going to here this woman speak in hushed tones about something very trivial. Funny thing is, that she tries to lower her voice while talking about something that will reach everyone anyway, thanks to her public service!
One of my friends from school had this acute problem of slandering so that she could attract attention
So much so, she'd even go so far as to create sensational stories about all her classmates and make it such a big deal that ultimately the person being talked about would have to think twice to ensure that what she said was indeed false.
Dont get me wrong. A lot of women purposely try to hold their tongue. Logically, gossip doesnt do any good and these women know that.
And as for the others, hmmm, lets just say that their time would be better spent in the world of advertising and public relations, where they could get paid for doing what they do!!
Apr 17, 2012
Class 12, etc
When my psychology exam got over last week, I suddenly had this euphoric feeling of how I was now a free bird who wouldn't have to study hard for a while now! That is what most class 12 students think when their board exams come to an end.
None of us realize that with the extremely fucked up system of ours, the end never comes.
So the day the final exams get over, everyone jumps around hugging every student in the vicinity. Then we all spend hours with our friends. This happiness lasts for a couple of days. That is until we realize that the board marks may not be enough to get us into a decent college and to have a backup is a good idea.
That is precisely why everyone marches into coaching centres which give out brochures with pictures of their favourite students and their respective marks. That is about the time we all realize that there are still 2 more months of slogging left. Slogging to get a good rank in some entrance exam or the other. Most entrance exams are in may and june. That is about the same time everyone's board results come out and the hunt for college begins. The bottom line is that there's really no such time when we actually get to slack.
So if you guys are dreaming of a post class 12 phase of watching movies all day, having week long sleepovers with your friends or being spared of that guilty feeling that tells you to go study, forget it. Unless you have parents who can afford to pay their way in to a decent college, remember-- this class 12, etc is not easy to get rid of!
None of us realize that with the extremely fucked up system of ours, the end never comes.
So the day the final exams get over, everyone jumps around hugging every student in the vicinity. Then we all spend hours with our friends. This happiness lasts for a couple of days. That is until we realize that the board marks may not be enough to get us into a decent college and to have a backup is a good idea.
 |
| Want to watch hours and hours of television? Forget it. It ain't happening |
That is precisely why everyone marches into coaching centres which give out brochures with pictures of their favourite students and their respective marks. That is about the time we all realize that there are still 2 more months of slogging left. Slogging to get a good rank in some entrance exam or the other. Most entrance exams are in may and june. That is about the same time everyone's board results come out and the hunt for college begins. The bottom line is that there's really no such time when we actually get to slack.
So if you guys are dreaming of a post class 12 phase of watching movies all day, having week long sleepovers with your friends or being spared of that guilty feeling that tells you to go study, forget it. Unless you have parents who can afford to pay their way in to a decent college, remember-- this class 12, etc is not easy to get rid of!
Apr 11, 2012
Roadside Sleepers
Today, just as I was walking home, I saw by the road, something that I am so very afraid to do myself.
I saw a man sleeping. No I am not afraid of sleeping, but the idea of sleeping in public horrifies me. What if someone mugs you or steals your money?
I looked at that man, dozing off comfortably in his plastic chair.
If you live in India, you would also be familiar with the sight of drivers sleeping in parked cars while the owners are away shopping or eating or doing whatsoever. If you aren't, just walk through a parking lot of a local market and you'll see what I mean.
Now even though I have never been on a public bus, I see them everyday. I see the crowding, and the shoving and also, the dozing off. Sleeping on DTC buses seems like a nightmare. First of all, how can one fall asleep in a place which is so stuffed, that it is possible for people to fall out of the windows!
Secondly, how do you know that the man sitting next to you will not pull out your wallet while you are happily dreaming?
And thirdly, how does one wake up when their stop arrives? Is it an instinctual thing to just wake up when you get home or is the driver kind enough to wake you up and drive you back home when he notices that you are the only one who did not get off at the last stop?
All through my 14 years at school, I have never been able to fall asleep in class! Not that I used to be extremely interested in what the teachers were saying, but simply because I was afraid of what hell i would have to go through if I were caught. (And partly because I knew that my friends weren't kind enough to not take advantage of the situation.)
To all those who feel the same way, welcome to the club! And to all those who are trying to figure out why I'm fretting about sleeping in public, please tell me how you do it.
I saw a man sleeping. No I am not afraid of sleeping, but the idea of sleeping in public horrifies me. What if someone mugs you or steals your money?
I looked at that man, dozing off comfortably in his plastic chair.
If you live in India, you would also be familiar with the sight of drivers sleeping in parked cars while the owners are away shopping or eating or doing whatsoever. If you aren't, just walk through a parking lot of a local market and you'll see what I mean.
Now even though I have never been on a public bus, I see them everyday. I see the crowding, and the shoving and also, the dozing off. Sleeping on DTC buses seems like a nightmare. First of all, how can one fall asleep in a place which is so stuffed, that it is possible for people to fall out of the windows!
Secondly, how do you know that the man sitting next to you will not pull out your wallet while you are happily dreaming?
 |
| Taking advantage of the situation |
And thirdly, how does one wake up when their stop arrives? Is it an instinctual thing to just wake up when you get home or is the driver kind enough to wake you up and drive you back home when he notices that you are the only one who did not get off at the last stop?
All through my 14 years at school, I have never been able to fall asleep in class! Not that I used to be extremely interested in what the teachers were saying, but simply because I was afraid of what hell i would have to go through if I were caught. (And partly because I knew that my friends weren't kind enough to not take advantage of the situation.)
To all those who feel the same way, welcome to the club! And to all those who are trying to figure out why I'm fretting about sleeping in public, please tell me how you do it.
Apr 10, 2012
GYMonomics
With my class 12 exams over, I decided to join the gym in the month of April. Class 12 makes you gain a lot of extra weight, but that's okay with me. I consider it a good sign. It means you've been studying.
Although this wasn't my first time at the gym, I noticed a lot of things about the place that I had not noticed before. It seems to have it's own certain ways.
To start with, being a newbie (or a person who out of laziness hasn't been to the gym for the past 18 months) is like being the amateur of the place. You're the only person who is seen panting and sweating on the treadmill while walking at a speed of 4 km/hr and you're definitely the person who comes in the last and leaves the soonest.
But as you become a little more regular and start blending in, certain patterns emerge.
There's always this one egoistic trainer, who will walk around the place doing absolutely nothing productive. He's like a parole officer. He will have this proud and dignified look on his face, which by the way means nothing to any of the people there. The other trainers do all the work. One would think he's coordinating, but there's nothing much to coordinate in a gym.
There's the popular girl, who has been coming to the gym for as long as anyone remembers. She's the one who knows all the trainers, and all the people. She is also the one who can run on the treadmill at 9 km/hr for 20 minutes.
There are also those people who I like to call the kings and queens. These are the people who do not need to lose weight from any angle. They either come to the gym to build their muscles or tone their body or mantain their already perfect weight. These are the ones who are the royalty of the gym. Not that they are treated any differently, but for them, being at the gym is more of a choice than a compulsion.
If any of you have ever been to a gym, you might have come across the inferiority complex. Whenever you're on a treadmill, walking at your own sweet pace, you tend to compare yourself to the person next to you. If the person is walking at double the speed (running occasionally) you tend to have an inferiority complex. But if it's you whose faster you tend to think "HAHA. What a loser"
And how could I forget, there are those amazing, gifted and idolized people who carry their own i pod to the gym. That's a big thing. Believe me. First of all, it is impossible to even hear yourself think with all the loud music in the gym. It's hard to even respond to a phone call. To be able to hear the music from your i pod is nothing short of a freakin miracle.
Second of all, I have never been able to keep those damned earphones inside my ears. They keep falling off. After some time, that's all you're doing. I have often found myself taking it easy while exercising just so that i can listen to my music.
But the best part is that there is a mutual understanding in the gym. Everyone is trying to lose weight or tone their body. So no matter how messed up you look, the gym is one place you can go to and not worry about your appearance. It is one place where your public image does not count. For all you know you could go in wearing the worst clothes out of your closet and no one would give a damn.
Although this wasn't my first time at the gym, I noticed a lot of things about the place that I had not noticed before. It seems to have it's own certain ways.
To start with, being a newbie (or a person who out of laziness hasn't been to the gym for the past 18 months) is like being the amateur of the place. You're the only person who is seen panting and sweating on the treadmill while walking at a speed of 4 km/hr and you're definitely the person who comes in the last and leaves the soonest.
But as you become a little more regular and start blending in, certain patterns emerge.
There's always this one egoistic trainer, who will walk around the place doing absolutely nothing productive. He's like a parole officer. He will have this proud and dignified look on his face, which by the way means nothing to any of the people there. The other trainers do all the work. One would think he's coordinating, but there's nothing much to coordinate in a gym.
There's the popular girl, who has been coming to the gym for as long as anyone remembers. She's the one who knows all the trainers, and all the people. She is also the one who can run on the treadmill at 9 km/hr for 20 minutes.
There are also those people who I like to call the kings and queens. These are the people who do not need to lose weight from any angle. They either come to the gym to build their muscles or tone their body or mantain their already perfect weight. These are the ones who are the royalty of the gym. Not that they are treated any differently, but for them, being at the gym is more of a choice than a compulsion.
If any of you have ever been to a gym, you might have come across the inferiority complex. Whenever you're on a treadmill, walking at your own sweet pace, you tend to compare yourself to the person next to you. If the person is walking at double the speed (running occasionally) you tend to have an inferiority complex. But if it's you whose faster you tend to think "HAHA. What a loser"
And how could I forget, there are those amazing, gifted and idolized people who carry their own i pod to the gym. That's a big thing. Believe me. First of all, it is impossible to even hear yourself think with all the loud music in the gym. It's hard to even respond to a phone call. To be able to hear the music from your i pod is nothing short of a freakin miracle.
Second of all, I have never been able to keep those damned earphones inside my ears. They keep falling off. After some time, that's all you're doing. I have often found myself taking it easy while exercising just so that i can listen to my music.
But the best part is that there is a mutual understanding in the gym. Everyone is trying to lose weight or tone their body. So no matter how messed up you look, the gym is one place you can go to and not worry about your appearance. It is one place where your public image does not count. For all you know you could go in wearing the worst clothes out of your closet and no one would give a damn.
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