Happy Facebook Year

                                                  

So as I sit with my coffee mug and try to enjoy the bitter Delhi winters, my phone breaks out singing “too close” by Alex Clare and a known name flashed on the screen, it was Baani. She couldn’t get her head around some new facebook settings and she flipped out. So I logged on to see what was bothering her and I realized that facebook had a ribbon on my timeline which said “2013 year review: Top twenty events.” I decided to click on it and find out my year’s review. It stated out some pretty major changes in my life in the current year. My recent travel stories and my freshman year of college were amongst the top events, followed by some posts which gained maximum likes and comments. So that’s how facebook summed up an entire year of my life.

"Work"ing your way

I attempt to write about the change in lifestyle, opinion and priorities we experience as we step out of college in to the world of fending for yourself and what better time to write about it than on a Monday morning, right after the customary coffee cup.

I have been up since five, scurrying around to get ready for the two hour journey that takes me to office from my home. The breakfast will just have to be rolled up in Aluminum foil because getting late is not an option: they will charge you a half day's salary. Besides, you are perennially struggling to beat your supervisor in the race called 'I got here first' and somehow he is always there, sipping his morning tea while you frantically urge your system to boot up and record your attendance.

Rearview- My Roadies Journey - A book review

Starting today we begin a new segment on our blog - The Book Reviews. As always our bloggers have given their valuable feedback on each of these books very delectably chosen and dissected. We believe Indian authors have a lot of potential and talent to be nurtured further to make them international best sellers. Our attempt at bringing you the best of them.

 

Happy Reading!

 

Animal Farm- A tribute

                          

It is a story of my High School days. I was given an assignment to read a Novel and then write a synopsis of the same. The thought of reading English stuff has captivated me, since time immemorial. High School days were the days, when I was high on various aspects. The fad of Bikes kept haunting. I was high on hormones too (testosterones in particular). Friendship, first love (crush), dreams, board exams; there were many elements.

The change in Politics

It was 2004, when Congress came to power once again, sidelining the strong and courageous government of NDA, led by Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee.

The country subconsciously knew, Atal Ji ka time ho gya hai and at that moment they hardly saw Advani Ji as the next PM; hence Congress was voted to power. Congress emerged as a strong party in 2004 general elections under the shade of UPA-I. The big names like Pranab Mukherjee, P. Chidambaram and Manmohan Singh did added loads of power to the parliament. The first half of the first financial year was good and productive, India did felt Incredible! With Lalu Prasad Yadav making railway achieve the required impediment, the stations were found cleaner and safer.

Sec 377

Before I protest I will celebrate. I will celebrate that I still can express myself without fear. I will celebrate before they snatch away that freedom of mine too. I will roam the streets with my head held high in my “western” clothes and my “morals” lose before my likes and dislikes are declared as treason against the state.

Before I protest, I will mourn. Mourn that my love now has to abide by the directives laid by the Judiciary system of my democratic country. Mourn that my country which has always had a place for invaders and foreigners now has no place for 1.2 million of its population. Mourn that instead of moving forward we are slipping back into the dark ages. But mostly I will mourn that my country rewards hypocrisy and condemns love, bravery and honesty.

Fibromyalgia

You are constantly in pain. The kind you can't describe in words. The kind you say is unbearable, unstoppable and has bothered you for at least three months to several years, every single day, every single minute. The only change is the amount of pain in different areas of the body. Yeah it is chronic pain but there are a lot many other things that are bothering you. Like the unexplained fever that stays on for months. Then you keep forgetting things. You experience fatigue most of the time as if some unknown power has snatched away all your energy and most definitely affected your quality of life.

An Ode to Summer

There is a time for everything, 

a season for every activity under heaven:

a time to be born and a time to die,

a time to embrace and a time to refrain,

A time for love and (no) time for hate..

(*quoted*)

Seasons, they are all beautiful. They come with a tip-toe, very coyly at first, and then grow more comfortable as they settle around you! They express themselves in full force and then subside, quietly carrying you onto the threshold of the next.

The truths of a lie

How to tell a truth from a lie?

In all the years I have grown up, the truth from lie has been separate like water from oil. But, today there’s a grey. I know of people who don’t like that colour. I somehow love it! (Half my wardrobe is grey or white). Grey is a dubious ground of a black truth or a white lie. That which belongs to neither. (However, this philosophical thought is not the reason of my affinity towards the colour. I groundlessly entertain the idea of fragmenting this colour.) 

Joy and Hue of Christmas

“Jingle bells, jingle bells
 Jingle all the way
Oh, what fun it is to ride
In a one horse open sleigh!”

Christmas every year reminds me the sleigh, reindeers, Santa Claus, snow, North Pole and the dreamy celebrations there with fog and mist and everything which will change the mood and bring the festive spirit in me! Advent  is a season observed by many western Christian churches as a time of expectant waiting and preparation for the celebration of nativity of Jesus at Christmas.

Dark is Beautiful

“She wins who calls herself beautiful and challenges the world to change to truly see her..”  ~ Naomi Wolf, The Beauty Myth: How images of Beauty are used against Women

The Beauty Myth. It’s a transformative book. Hard hitting. Unabashed. Powerful. Just the way I love my feminism to be. Back in America, she famously said, Beauty provokes harassment they say, but then they are looking through a man’s eyes! How I love this woman! And Nandita Das, back in India, the one who says that ‘Stay UNfair, stay beautiful!’.

The Face-book of life

Photograph was a rarity before facebook. As and when I remember facebook I remember hundreds and thousands of faces swarming in front of my eyes. I remember them just the way they look on facebook. It might be their 10 year old snapshot or a mug shot or the pic of a baby in cradle. The baby can be their new born or sometimes their sister’s / brother’s new born. There have been incidents when I got utterly confused on seeing an image as I was not sure whether to wish them congrats on the pic or message and be sure first! Whatever you click goes in to Facebook. Everybody thinks he is an ace photographer once he receives a couple of good compliments. I am not complaining here. I am guilty myself as I click a picture and assume it has come out gorgeously! Posting and liking photographs is everyone’s priority task on FB.  

Importance of Book cover

Let us take a random scene from our lives. You are inside a book store with no particular book in mind that you want to purchase. You see books arranged in sections – romance, mystery, thriller, non-fiction, self-help etc. You get to the romance section and see huge bookshelves with literally tons of romances all stacked up closely (let’s admit it; romance is the most written genre). Now, assuming you don’t have the time to pick every book and read the first couple of pages, what are the factors that will make you pick a particular book from the infinite options available? The answer would be – an attractive book cover.

The Average Indian Reader

Long forgotten are the days when people in India read books because they were classic or listed on the HT bestseller list for more than 4 or 5 weeks; now they read books because either a relative or the colleague next door has written it.

I remember, on our first official date, my Ex questioned about my area of interest and I replied with, “I prefer books over anything and everything” instantly she made a comeback with, “have you read this extremely witty novel ‘Oops! I fell in Love!’ by Harsh Snehanshu”; conspicuously she disclosed her deepest feeling coveted carefully under the name of the book but to my own surprise I ended up reading the name of books she has read.—An Average Indian Reader she was.

Who is an Average Indian Reader???

A person who flits between books by J K Rowling and Jack Trout, on a wheeler stall at a railway station and ends up buying a “Bollywood on Paper” novel by Chetan Bhagat or by Dimpled Durjoy.

Or

An engineering graduate who started his reading career with a novel, his friend referred to him saying, “Padh bhai! apni hi kahani hai!”. The engineer definitely got fascinated with the extreme simplicity of language and enamored by the pursuit of similar life book served with.

Few days down the time line the engineer who once had innocuous attitude towards everything related to books is now found visiting bookstores like Crossword and ends up buying all the books based on college romance, mostly by engineers.

This engineer, slowly and gradually starts growing with time into an avid reader with a taste. He spends all his days reading, partially blushing and partially getting sexually aroused.

Then one bad day when it’s raining outside; a slanderous comment from a random guy in class makes him stagger, “I don’t read Indian authors, because all they write is Crap”.

He feels hypothetical and makes an erratic decision of shifting from Chetan Bhagat to Dan Brown or Paulo Coelho. Choosing Dan Brown or Paulo Coelho has got no primal research behind them; they are just the names on HT bestseller list other than Bhagat and Durjoy.

With time this enthusiastic and lucid engineer has turned into a reader; who is now on a journey of literature where he will be dismayed thinking about the time and money he wasted on Indian writers; he will get to experience the real feel of reading-between-the-lines and he will be pleasured reading books from the West and the Middle East and with this an avid reader will rise and an Average Indian reader will die.

In the contemporary India, reading is a journey, where a person gets excited by the Metro reads; discovers more with the books from Middle East and finally ends up drinking numerous cups of coffee in a bookstore while reading an exquisite tale of romance or magic coveted in a beautiful jacket either by P.G Wood House or by Ray BradBury.

Pranav

Winter is Coming

                                     

Time passes and seasons come and go. Each season bringing new hopes, inspirations and leaving us with memories! The year is divided into seasons. We have summers, winters, spring et al. Just like life keeps changing and is never constant, likewise seasons keep changing as well! It is really amazing that you inure yourself to a season and then you realize that it’s time for you to adapt to a different season now. In life you adapt to circumstances but you soon realize that now it’s time to face new challenges and set new goals. Yes, both life and seasons are all about dynamics and you have to be on your toes always. Every season brings new hopes and aspirations.

Before Facebook

What we used to do before Facebook??? This question made me think for a while…. It felt as if it’s so integral part of our life that we can’t get a proper answer or remember what we actually used to do! It triggered another teaser in my brain; when did I started using Facebook?? And the answer is in 8^th standard class, secondary section. Well I might get the exact date and month too if I check it on Facebook timeline, but I would go with this.

Life before Facebook

BEFORE FACEBOOK:

Phone rings

Payal: Hi Geeta

Geeta: Hi wassup

Payal: Hey what are you doing tomorrow? Would you like to stay over at my place? I will make your favourite pav bhaji and we can watch the season 10 of Friends together... Parents are out of town.

Geeta: Wow... sounds great. Even I have to tell you about this guy from work who asked me out today.

Payal: What are you saying! Is it Pramod, the new joinee? Tell me more about him, do you have his photograph? How does he look like? Where does he stay...

Geeta: Relax, relax... (whispers), tomorrow I will tell you all about him... oh and I don't have his pic yet, but I will try to source something from the HR friend Jigna, she has his resume and pics na.

And the next day they chatted and giggled all night through. Geeta described Pramod and Payal visualised his appearance. Not so tall, not so smart, has a moustache, but seems to be really cute... They met Pramod together the next weekend and had a great time! By the way Pramod tagged along a friend,  Akash, who later asked Payal out!

AFTER FACEBOOK:

EVERYTHING HAPPENS ON FACEBOOK:

Payal updates her status message: Parents out of town :)

Payal sends Geeta a PM: Hey wht r u doin tom? Would u like 2 stay over @ my place? I will make your fav pav bhaji n v can watch de season 10 of Friends together... Parents r out of town!

Geeta replies to Payal: Hey yeah, saw ur status message... liked it too. Let's do it. Even I hv 2 tell u abt this guy fm work who asked me out today.

Meanwhile Payal's status message gets 8 likes and  4 comments.

Comment 1 from Pradeep (uncle): lol... even you should have come with them to my place beta, it has been so long we saw you... chachi has been asking about you. And did you meet Sahil? Bhabhi said you have been avoiding.

Comment 1 gets 9 Likes.

Comment 2 from Agnes: Hey who's Sahil... tell us more

Comment 3 from Megha: Hmm parents are out and how abt Sahil ;)

Comment 4 from Payal: @Agnes, @Megha, nothing yaar, my chachu is just kidding... Sahil's a distant cousin

Payal quickly changes her Facebook privacy settings where Pradeep chachu can't see her posts anymore.

Payal PMs Geeta: Wht r u saying! Is it Pramod, de new joinee? Pls send me his facebook profile link... lemme see how he looks like

Geeta: Here it is - https://www.facebook.com/prramodarrora24613, he's not looking too good in de dp but he's really cute

And with a few minutes, Payal checks out Pramod's profile and pics. She scrolls down until September 2013 and checks out all his photos. She notices he has posed with one particular pretty girl in most of the pics tagged as Neha. She goes to Neha's profile. Neha's profile page has umpteen pics of Pramod, some quite 'couple' types. Payal gets inquisitive and scrolls down till August 2013.

Neha's status message then read: Best day of my life... found my soulmate... I know u'll want to know more... for now, let's just call him P (Pyaar)... (blushing).

On further research, Payal sees that Neha's relationship status is "committed", she has a lot of pics of her several weekend trips with Pramod and Pramod's relationship status is "single".

Payal sends Geeta a PM: Check out Pramod's photos with Neha, check out Neha's profile... looks like Pramod is seeing her... you should teach him a lesson. Don't worry, he's not too good for you. We'll talk about it tom when you come over. Boss is back. TTYL.

Geeta is shocked. A heartbreak via Facebook! She checks out both Pramod and Neha's profile and pics. Payal seems to be right. And as she wonders why he asked her out, she gets a PM from Pramod.

Pramod: Hey Payal, can't wait to meet you this weekend!

Geeta is infuriated and does not reply.

And the next day Geeta and Payal spent all time cursing Pramod and discussing how 'all men are the same' over pav bhaji and lot of tissue papers.

- Anuradha Khanna Pentapalli
(annucool15.blogspot.in)

Marry go round

How time flies! Just five years back I had written a blithe article about ‘How to stay (happily) Unmarried’. I was young(er!), at college, enjoying the process of academics and marriage was the last thing on my mind. The usual things that we discussed in those days were who got hitched with whom, who was having a fling on the side, and who will (are they that serious really?) tie the knot. 

Why would you read Time's Lost Atlas

                  

A book is a lot more than just a book. Everyone has his perceptions and his choice of books. Your choice of books reveals a lot about your personality and taste. The books which you find at the Kashmiri Gate ISBT are targeted for a specific audience and those kept in a lavish coffee shop in Connaught Place are targeted for a thoroughly different set of audience. So, it is pretty difficult to give a set of reasons for a choosing a particular book. Everyone has his own reasons! Still, we tried figuring out a few of them.

Moral policing on Social networks

Social network has become the outlet for rants which can be shared with at least 500 odd friends and get little solace and peace. However there has to be little control on what and when to post. There were many social network crimes or cyber-crimes since the advent of Facebook , twitter, Myspace and many more social networking sites in to people’s lives.

Public Libraries

“In a good bookroom you feel in some mysterious way that you are absorbing the wisdom contained in all the books through your skin, without even opening them.”  ~Mark Twain

I could not have agreed more to it. I cannot imagine a world without public libraries, a world without beautiful books all piled up systematically, waiting to be sniffed, felt and read. My earliest memories of childhood are of a 5 year old me with my nose into an Enid Blyton book I found in my father’s bookshelf. I can still remember how I used to stand outside my school library as a kid, waiting for the lunch hour to strike so that I could get free access to all the books inside. The day I got my membership card for the local public library was perhaps one of the happiest moments of my life.

Voices of a Commuter

"Kidhar utarna hai? Door kyun block karke rakha hai?"

"Zara sarko bhaiiya, fourth seat pe baithna hai."

"Khaalipeeli machmach nahi karneka."

"Thoda push karo, jagaah ban jayegi."

"Dus ka paanch, gaanvti santra lo!"

"#*%^... #%*+..."

Mumbai local train is not called the lifeline of the city for no reason. It is the heart and soul of the city echoing the most common phrases used almost every day by almost every commuter. The train journeys aren't just from Point A to Point B, but are journeys in one's lifetime from youth to the ripe years. And through these journeys, many commuters make friends for life.

Emancipation of Hijras

The term “hijra” is very widely used term in Hindi (and a few other languages). But when it comes to finding an equivalent term in English, it is a tad bit more complex. Terms like transgender, transexual and asexual all refer to a set of people with a non-specific sexual identity but are not exactly equivalents of “hijra”. A simpler way of defining them would be to say that they are a set of people who do not fit into either of the two genders that are officially accepted in most countries, male and female. 

Street food of India

Light on pocket, heavenly delicious and highly addictive, street food is like a magnet that attracts every foodie. And when it comes to street food, I bet India offers maximum possible variety. The umpteen Bollywood songs using chaat in the lyrics are testimony to the popularity of these irresistible food choices.

Remember the Coolie No. 1 song featuring Govinda and Karishma Kapoor?

Main toh raste se ja raha tha, main toh bhel puri kha raha tha...

(Un)heard voices of a woman

This poem was written by me on the women’s day when I felt absolutely nothing after seeing the gung-ho bunch on face book. If someone wrote something as a tribute to woman, some other clicked a picture. Everyone tries to project their respect towards women but do these people outnumber those who wait for an opportunity to pounce on women? It feels so helpless to think about the sad state of affairs. In midst of all the crimes against women I saw a sudden havoc among few groups who tried to suppress a woman’s voice against a woman’s crime. They bullied a blogger who was empathetic towards the victim and said that every man should be away from the baseless feminist and called her names which I cannot mention on this forum. If calling a criminal “a criminal” is an objectionable crime, I am sure it is a futile attempt if we try repairing their minds. Do read my poem below!

Kashmir

Kashmir, the land of eternal beauty nestles picturesquely in the lap of majestic Himalayas. This land of lofty snow clad peaks and verdant valleys , of sparkling rivers and serene lakes , of stunning gardens ,stately chinars and flowering meadows was rightly regarded as the ‘paradise on earth’ by the Mughals. Its pristine beauty has inspired artists, musicians and poets since time immemorial.

According to mythological legends, Kashmir was once a large lake. Rishi Kashyap drained off the water of the lake and the beautiful land of Kashmir emerged.

Time's Lost Atlas Give Away

The wait is finally over. We are out with our first book Time's Lost Atlas. 

Voices of a Common Man

                                          

A common man actually represents the nation. He may not be a connoisseur of politics or economics but it is the common man that makes the nation. No king or government can afford to eschew the voices of a common. History speaks it aloud that whenever the voices of a common man have been left unheard it has brought detrimental consequences. As the famous Latin maxim says, “Vox populi, vox Dei” which means that the voice of the people is the voice of the God. It is the common man who brings glory to the nation; it is the common man who works in the fields. The contributions of a common man to the nation are numerous and immense.

Voices of a Painter

 

“If you hear a voice within you say ‘you cannot paint’, then by all means paint, and the voice will be silenced. “

-          Vincent Van Gogh.

My first introduction to this world was Monet’s  ‘Water Lilies’ sitting elegantly in a frame of the movie ‘Titanic’. Few moons later, it had struck me, with all its radiance, hence sparking a light to the quest to hear more than I could have ever seen in the gamut.

Street food for street smart Indians

With festivals around the corner one thing which we Indians cannot resist is binging on all the delicacies endlessly. We worry about weight but postpone the worry to the end of December or may be New-year so that we take the new-year resolution to reduce weight only to break it later on in the year when festive season starts  :- ) :- ). Jokes apart, the first and the foremost thing which people in India miss when they move to abroad is the food here. Street foods are lavishly spread everywhere in India. Street foods / fast foods are pretty famous in India as they are tasty, economical and comprise a wide variety including local , regional , national and international cuisines.

Street food of India

                                             

India has always been a land of ardent food lovers. People in India love eating like anything. Albeit, the concept of becoming health conscious is getting prevalent these days but the number of food lovers has not seen any abatement either. In this era of lavish restaurants and coffee chains, people are missing the experience of the great street food culture of India. When you love food, it is always on your priority. As the great George Bernard Shaw said- “There is no sincerer love than the love of food”. You can gauge a lot about a person by this eating habits and the choice of food he prefers to eat. Street food also plays a key role in helping us increase the immunity level of our body.

Film Reviews

There was a time when the thing in newspapers I was most eager to read was the movie review section. To me, the reviews then represented a true and infallible assessment of a movie’s quality. I even used to argue the merits and demerits of a movie with my friends based on the reviews I read. *Coughs* Sometimes without even actually watching the movie. *Coughs* But then I grew up. Two things slowly started to become clear. One- movie reviews and box office performance had little correlation with each other. Two- a movie review was hardly an indicator of whether I myself would like or dislike the movie. Although, I must add, I still check out movie reviews. Not so much to assess the quality of movies, but merely because I find it interesting to read how other people judge a movie.

Anybody and everybody can have an opinion on a movie and in today’s age of blogging, micro-blogging and other forms of social networking, anybody and everybody can broadcast that opinion to a wide audience. How much of that opinion is valid? After all, opinions are subjective things. Someone might find Chennai Express a lovely entertainer. Someone else might dismiss it as abominable crap. 

The same goes for movie critics who get paid to write in recognized media- like newspapers, magazines, online reviews etc. Most of the reviews I have read till date just state an opinion. They just state how a movie has titillated or disgusted their entertainment taste-buds. How many of these movie critics are actually versed in film theory – the actual art of making movies? Do any of these critics realize the amount of painstaking labor and care which goes into creating a simple shot? Some of them might. Some of them might not. I, personally, prefer reviews which delve into the technical nature of things. That way, I have the specifics. And not a string of meaningless adjectives. And delving into the technical side of things means the critic has to know movie-making.

I understand, of course, that the knowledge of technicalities is not an essential requirement for writing a review. If that were the case, most reviews and critics would immediately be rendered meaningless. And obviously, most of us realize a review might have little bearing on how we personally rate the movie.

The above realization raises another question though- the validity of reviews and critics in today’s context. There are academic movie critics, of course. And as long as movie-making is recognized a subject of study, these academicians will continue to be relevant.

 But what of the reviews and criticisms we are flooded with in popular media? Reviews on radios, TV, newspapers, blogs- are any of them really worth paying any attention to? There are no clear-cut answers to this obviously. I personally think they still are. A lot of movies would probably never have got noticed had it not been for good reviews. Take ‘The Hurt Locker’ for example. Or our very own ‘Hera Pheri’. These are movies whose success got buouyed through positive reviews. The depressing thing is- a lot of reviews are probably bought. So that again casts a cloud of suspicion on their validity. I guess I can’t blame the movie-makers for buying reviews.

 Bad reviews have sometimes spelled the doom of a movie. With so much of money riding on a movie, who can blame them? All said and done, I don’t think I’m going to give up on movie reviews soon though. They are amusing in their own way. More than the movie they sometimes provide an insight into the reviewer’s own mind.

Things we wish we knew in school

Experience is the name everyone gives to their mistakes.
- Oscar Wilde

Oscar Wilde was not wrong when he said that above quote cited above. We indeed make a lot of mistakes and sometimes the best way to cope with it, is to shrug our shoulders and say, “oh well, it was a good experience.” Or better yet, “we need to experience everything in life – even if it’s bitter and bad.” Honestly, that’s just a coping mechanism.

The FIRST

This publishing house was started with a dream - a dream of giving voice to those beautiful stories that keep taking birth in the minds of all young budding authors waiting to grab the ink and spell their imagination before the world.

It is said FIRSTs are always very special . The first kiss, first salary, first love..... and today we stand at a juncture where our first book is about to release. Time's Lost Atlas  is a very unique concept where 11 authors have come together to write about 11 events which changed the world in a span of moments.

And so it is also time for our first contest, our very first book giveaway ~

We are excited... are you? So LIKE that page and stay tuned for further updates on Time's Lost Atlas.

Movie remakes

Kitney aadmi thhey? [Sholay]

Vijay Dinanath Chauhan, poora naam. Baap ka naam Dinanath Chauhan.  Maa ka naam Suhasini Chauhan, gaon Mandwa, umar chhattis saal, nau mahina aath din... aae yeh solwaah ghanta chaalu hai. [ Agneepath]

Don ko pakadna mushkil hi nahin, naamumkin hai. [Don]

Movie remakes might be the trend but nothing beats the magic of the original movie. I am simply unable to remember a single Bollywood remake that was better than the original Bollywood movie. Many remakes actually turn out to be a disaster.

However, there are four kinds of remakes in India:

Babaji ki Booti

                                                  

Drink for the nerves and weed for the souls. The song “Babaji ki booti” gained tremendous attention showing a jeering “Babaji ka thullu” to everyone. The lyrics and the behooving music are perhaps the main reason for the grand success of the song. Mankind has been an addict to various sorts of intoxicants from time immemorial, but “Babaji ki booti” is one of a special kind. 

Most of the intoxicants bring the beast out of a man but “Babaji ki booti” turns you into a sage or a saint. It makes you detach yourself from this materialistic world and land in a different zone altogether. The song “Babaji ki booti” describes how a few puffs of it helps you make worries vanish and overcome all the frustration of the world. No matter what your problem is- lost love or a dictator boss, Babaji ki booti is the best solution.

The song and its video is a quintessential demonstration of frustrated youth. Youth that is peeved by the hogwash of this materialistic world. The song labels alcohol as bad habit but “Babaji ki booti” as a natural gift. One of the protagonists in the video of the song tells his friends that a few puffs and they will become heroes, their lives will turn into a film and problems will reduce to zero. He says that the Babaji is wonderful, calling him a source of pleasure and a force to overcome the sorrows of the world.

The art of remaking

Remaking a movie is a huge business. Since my childhood half of the movies I watched are remakes. They either get welcomed with a red carpet or get bounced at box office.  Copying from Hollywood is an art in India.  Oops! I should not call it copying. Remaking a movie is a stylish way of saying that you have copied!  Sometimes copying is done with permission and many a times they are simply copied. Their songs, posters, dialogues or the full length-movie, everything can be easily remade by our film makers. Recently I came to know that my favourite movie Zindagi na milegi Dobara’s poster is similar to a 2005 movie – Lords of the Dog town’s!  Now the yet to be released Dhoom 3’s poster looks like it is inspired by The Dark Knight Rises. Of course it is edited a bit

We are so cliched

It was the pen-ultimate day of my school life, when I was summoned on the stage to give a Talk on School life. It was my Ted-X talk, but I was not there to speak about the paradigm that changed my life or to impart some techniques about enjoying school life to the juniors who stood there with sheer enthusiasm and primal expectation.

What I actually spoke that day was about the journey I had at the school and when I finished everyone did clap for me. 

Today, after 3 long years when I look back to the D-day, I wish I would have been bit more specific about the choice of topic I made and I wish, I would have leveraged them with bit of more ‘gyan’ about life, but the irony is, I learned the things only when I came out of that school.

In school we were always coaxed to follow the clichéd pattern by teachers and by our dear parents, but when you grow up and join college you realize ‘I am so clichéd’, things like ‘out of box thinking’ will box you and your enthusiasm down leaving you alone to curse the way you lived your school life.

Remember there’s no gain in following the rules all your life and get rejected on the day of placements with a remark “We are looking for someone Unique”.

Things I wish I had known during school life: -

·        Do not Rush, Consider the options: - If I am back in school again and someone questions me about my plans; I’d say that my priority is to known what the options are.
All you need to do is discover things you like and once done with the research pursue it with full passion, because the famous quote by Steve Jobs goes like-
‘The only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven’t found it yet, keep looking. Don’t settle. As with all matters of the heart, you’ll know when you find it’.

·        What you think and what you want are two different things: - When you pass out of your school and join college then you will feel ‘hot summer of your hometown is much soothing than the cold impassive whips of college’. Computer science engineering is not about installing windows and defragmenting unorganized files on the disk.

·        Girls are not only for Sex: - Indeed, your girlfriend can always help you earn those extra brownie points, for example- you need to get the movie tickets booked and there’s a long queue, push her in front and later enjoy the movie with her at the back seat.

In school your Principal will manage things for you and after school your own Principles will take you everywhere.

Pranav Shree

The era of Super-geniuses

We admired Superman for being the man of steel, loved Batman for his ability to maneuver the Batmobile to catch Gotham's goons in the dark of the night. Then there were Spiderman, Ironman, the incredible Hulk, Captain America- all figures of indomitable physical prowess and an intellect equally equipped to handle crime. These were the people we idolized growing up.

Online Education

Online Education has caught up in last two-three years like never before. Everything, whether it’s the preparation of MBA entrance, employability tests like AMCAT to complete degree programs like MBA, MCA and BBA etc. are being delivered online. Even the trend of e-books has increased in recent years. Coursera, Khan Academy, Udemy, Udacity etc have taken online education to a complete new level.

Years back, when I was in twelfth grade, the choice of course and college used to be the hot topic apart from the numerous formal and informal fare-wells in school, coaching institutes and friend groups. At that time, the very thought of not making it to a college and going for a ‘correspondence’ used to give me spine chills.

However, today I am seeing a different trend among students. Students these days are moving towards online education. No doubt, if somebody makes it to a good college does not leave it but those who cannot make it do not feel abandoned. They are gladly accepting online degrees. In fact many students feel online education is better as they get to earn a degree and work experience simultaneously. The trend is more visible with post graduate education where students feel work experience is necessary to understand the concepts and applications

Today, students will prepare for their boards online (www.meritnation.com), prepare for competitive tests online (www.pagalguy.com, www.testfunda.com), take graduate-post graduate degrees online (www.EduKart.com) and even take employability tests online (www.myamcat.com)

Students are getting attracted to online education because of factors like low cost, ease of access, self-paced learning and access to recorded classes in case they miss one. With channels like facebook, Skype and other online discussions forum, networking also doesn’t seem to be an issue.

Internet and social media channels will only continue to grow. Chances are the same for Online Education too.

Priyaa

Happy Moments...Well Mostly!!!

Voices of a Home-maker

She may not be eligible for a home loan considering she doesn't have a tangible income. But she is what makes a house home. Yes, if you think about it, there is a fine line of difference between a house and a home. A residential structure comprising floor, walls and ceiling might make a house. Let's throw in some furniture as well. But it is the presence of a homemaker that makes it a home running fine and full of life... that's the power of housewife!

Macguffin plot in HIMYM

What exactly is the Macguffin plot device?

It is a plot vehicle adopted by several writers to advance or propel a story forward, a fulcrum in certain cases but which is of secondary importance to the developments in the main story. The use of this plot device was mainly popularized by the famous filmmaker Alfred Hitchcock, who used it in multiple creations of his. This device is mostly used in thrillers, detective fiction and suspense stories where the Macguffin is revealed at a critical moment. The same device has been used in several TV seriates where usually the Macguffins are restricted to one episode or to one season. But there are shows like HIMYM who use the Macguffin for the entire set of seasons as a single thread.

Umwelt

Umwelt as per wiki means the environment or surroundings to which a particular organism is adapted to or which affect its behaviour. In simple words it comprises of everything which makes up the “model” of the world suitable for an organism to live. As I started thinking about this word nothing other than “facebook” came to my mind. Facebook is umwelt to all possible human beings from a toddler to a retired old man. A toddler creating a profile is slightly tough as he can punch only the air with his fists and not the keys of the laptop. Parents of today are more than happy to create an umwelt for their kiddos who just started breathing the not so fresh air of the earth and are rocking the world in their cradle.

Education in India

We have seen best and the worst of higher education in India. The long march of educated unemployed knocking at the doors that do not open. The frustrated youth who find everything uninspiring – the campus, the teaching fraternity, the country’s leadership and later that job that has nothing to do with what they have learnt. They are in that job just because they do not get anything else.

Graffiti

Art is creativity. Art is beautiful in all forms. It is a great way to express emotions and feelings. A great way to put your perspective and speak out loud in front of the world! Graffiti is another form of Art which is unique in its own way. Graffiti is writing or drawing on a wall or a surface in a public place. 

Ladakh calling

 

It is as if nature took it's time to create a pristine painting, so magical that one look and it is etched in your memory for a lifetime. Snow-capped mountain ranges look into the mirror of crystal clear rivers and the skies join in to add some more hues. Ladakh... it sure is a wonderland!

Ladakh-God made it with precision

Getting clicked at the Pangong Lake is in my wish list. Bollywood does impact wishes and desires. After Ladakh is shown in many movies like “3 idiots” and “Jab tak hai jaan” I started loving it more. The pristine blue water is a rare vision in India. The lake is heavenly and huge. It extends from India to Tibet.  Ladakh means “land of high passes.” It is in the state of Jammu and Kashmir inhabited by Indo-Aryans and Tibetans.

 Leh is the largest town of Ladakh.  Reaching Ladakh via road is challenging. People who go on a trek to Ladakh carry heavy luggage which comprises of huge canvas tents and collapsible string beds as well. Trekking to Ladakh is the most adventurous trip in India. People residing in Delhi and nearby areas travel to Ladakh even on bikes. The journey is naturally challenging due to dangerous and slippery narrow roads flanked by ice chunks on the sides, reckless driving by many due to steep lanes and foggy vision but if you go by bike you may get a chance to find unexplored hamlets and people. For instance my friend went on a bike along with a group and they could stop where ever they wanted to and explored many new places. 

People frequently suffer from illness due to acute mountain sickness. I have experienced it during my trip to Rohtang Pass. The same highway connects to Leh. It starts from Manali. Other than the Manali-Leh highway two other roads which connect Ladakh are Zoji-La Pass and Kargil route from Srinagar in the Kashmir Valley. The below pic is taken by my friend who went from Srinagar to Ladakh along with fellow bikers. It was clicked on the way.

They had faced many challenges during the journey due to bad roads, flat tyres and mountain sickness but they made it to Ladakh. The sense of accomplishment which one experiences on reaching Ladakh can’t be explained in words. It’s more special when you travel all by yourself on road. If you take the road from Srinagar you get a chance to visit dal-lake, Kargil and many more beautiful places which you would have seen in TV all the time.  In peek winters the roads get closed due to heavy snow fall.  Khardong-La Pass to Nubra valley has an alternate day schedule. It is closed on Mondays and it usually gets closed by snow for several days in winter and spring. Nubra valley is to the north east of Ladakh valley. We were told by our driver that even in Rohtang pass snow falls up to a height of five feet from the ground level in winter. Biking surely rushes the adrenaline and the trip becomes more exciting. Bikers can explore many areas leisurely. For instance my friend visited a village called Gondla and had to stay in a hospital as there were no hotels or rooms to stay! They interacted a lot with villagers and made friends.

The above image is of a gorgeous girl from Gondla village!

I am listing down few things which one has to do during their trip to Ladakh:

          Don’t miss visiting the monasteries of Shey, Hemis, Alchi, Thikse and Lamayuru and many more. A visit to monastery is always peaceful.

        White water rafting and trekking are the major adventurous activities.

       Watching the sunset at Nubra valley feels divine.

        Drass war memorial in Kargil is a must visit. After all saluting our jawans should be in our to-do list. It will surely be a heart-warming experience and a moment of great pride!

       There are many lakes other than Pangong Lake. Tso Moriri is one such heavenly lake!

       There are many valleys and highest passes to trek in Ladakh.

Each spot in Ladakh looks like God made it with high concentration and precision. Divinely places are tough to reach but once you reach them you forget your hardships!

The trip will surely make you experience another dimension of Mother Nature.  At the same time you will also realise that it is intertwined with many challenges.  Altitude sickness, frost bites and getting migraines is common. You will learn patience and co-operation during such strenuous trips. While climbing to Khardungla top my friend’s palms were frozen. A local Nepali boy helped him recover and offered him tea and biscuits free of cost. Hospitability is something you can experience only when you visit such places. Even at Drass when their bikes broke down an army unit offered juice, biscuits, jalebi and even invited them to stay there  . Great travels always give you great experiences!

Lastly a click of the majestic Pangong Lake.

Images courtesy: My friend Piyush’s album at – “ Piyush's Ladakh Trip “