And...I'm back!

Hello all!

Here I am, back from my much-hyped summer getaway, and feeling as little refreshed as I never thought I would!

The trip was good. Good because all my friends were together with me and we had lots of fun. The weather was sometimes really good too (though sometimes it really sucked, despite the place being a hill station). We visited Kotdwar, Lansdowne, Haridwar and Rishikesh, all lying in the state of Uttarakhand. It was a bit of an adventure actually, given the kinda conditions we had to live in initially, and the creatures we had to encounter through the nights. I got some great closeup shots of these super awesome companions, which I'll be showcasing here soon. For now, here are some shots of the places we visited and the awesome mausam there. (Did I forget to mention that I'm a bit of a photography enthusiast too?)

I know, I know. The pictures are good. The places were good too. But somehow, and I don't know how, I still do not feel refreshed. Something was missing there, which I cannot zero in upon. And now that I am back, life is in for a fresh start. My industrial training starts tomorrow, and I don't know whether to be excited or dismayed. Guess I'll leave that until tomorrow to be decided!

Which brings me to the point where I peer at the clock and realize it's time to sign off and go to bed. Big day ahead! I'll write tomorrow to let you know how the day went. :)

Goodnight folks!

Wishes do get fulfilled, and how!

Life's great these days. All my wishes, spoken or unspoken, seem to be reaching right into the Almighty's ears. Everything has suddenly become brighter and shinier, making me happier and chirpier (you can pretty well see that).

With my bestie's birthday just gone by and the much-awaited outdoor trip (which I talked about here) due to take off in another 24 hours, I've been keeping kinda very busy these days. And to think I was planning to spend these holidays sitting idle, doing nothing at all. I'M LOVIN' THE CHANGE.

I've been fairly satisfied to see that my frequency of posting has been increasing over the last few days (actually, right since those horrible things called exams got over). But the real icing on the cake of literal bliss came when my post Of Mice and Men... got selected as one of BlogAdda's Spicy Saturday Picks this weekend. Talk about total literal nirvana.


And then my mom returned from her overseas trip this morning, and life suddenly turned a full circle. Now with my new ALDO sunglasses, handbag, wedge heels, clothes and yes - my new phone, finally - I feel like I can take on the world. :P
Here's what it looks like.

Did I hear someone calling me boastful there? Oops! I didn't mean to be so. I am just plain elated right now. My new phone is like, good. Real good. And with all this shopping and packing going on, I hardly have had the time to look inside for some humility. I really wanna be on top of the world right now. Until it lasts, at least. Because right after I return from my little foray up the mountains, my month long industrial training in an Electronics PSU (*yawn*) awaits me. And then I'll remember these days and sigh. So, I surmise, why not live up to every moment? I know you'd agree. :)

So here I am, bidding adieu to all the lovely friends I'm leaving behind. Hope these four days of full exposure to the mountain air give me the high I have needed for quite a while. I'll be back soon. Till then, take care, keep smiling and I hope some of you miss me. *wishful thinking*

The Ultimate Joy

Their eyes look up to you for love and care. Watching their playful giggles and unaffected demeanor brings a smile to your own face. How can you possibly ignore such innocent charm?

I have been associated for the past two years with a Gurukul run by the Arya Samaj, in the Subhash Nagar district of New Delhi. It is a charitable foundation, one of many such gurukuls situated all across India that are a part of Arya Samaj’s initiative to impart education to underprivileged children from across the country.


The gurukul houses 17 boys between the ages of 8 and 15. The kids hail from the north-eastern states of Assam, Nagaland, Manipur as well as from Rajasthan and Maharashtra. They come from underprivileged families, living in places where children are made to do physical labor and education is nothing more than a distant dream. While here, they are sent to an English-medium school and imparted moral education by specially appointed Shastris (teachers) in the form of the teachings of Arya Samaj as passed down by Swami Dayananda Saraswati and the four Vedas. They are even given special training in martial arts (Taekwondo). The kids’ personalities are groomed in such a way as to make them capable of succeeding in today’s highly competitive world.

Two years ago, when my family came in touch with this institution, it felt like a true blessing. We have virtually adopted these children since then. When they arrived, none of them understood a word of Hindi or English. I, along with some friends, used to spend my free time helping them build a base in both languages so as to be able to cope with school. Now they have a tutor to help them with the subjects they are having troubles with at school. My father, who has been my first and my best teacher so far, also teaches them English sometimes. My mother showers them with motherly love and they consider her as their own mother. I visit them as and when I can. We celebrate our birthdays and festivals like Holi and Diwali at the gurukul with the kids. They are also taken on an outstation trip every year, in order to get some recreation during the summer holidays. We accompanied them on such a trip to Dehradun, Mussourie and Rishikesh last year. This year's trip is soon to take off too.

And they are truly gifted kids themselves. They cook their own food. Some of them are national champs in Taekwondo and Kabaddi. Their school teachers tell us how good they are at their studies. Given all the facilities they are getting, no doubt they do not really need us to visit often. Yet, they love it when we do.

They used to call me “ma’am”. I instructed them to call me “didi” (elder sister). In the initial months they were very shy. Coming from totally different surroundings and living away from their families and home, they are bound to feel lonely and insecure. But over the years they have forged a strong bond with us. They look up to us for appreciation and love. They show me their homework, their medals and prizes, their test results. They always ask me when I’ll visit next. I always regretted that I don’t have a brother; now I have seventeen. And I am absolutely loving it. Their innocent smiles touch the heart like nothing else can. The happiness and contentment I see on their faces, gives me a taste of the ultimate joy in the world. It is quite rightly said, you see heaven in a child's smile.

(This post was my entry for the Bucket-a-hope story contest, which got published here)

Of Mice and Men...

Thank you BlogAdda, for featuring my post here.

While watching a little mouse scurrying along the walls of my room the other night, a thought occurred to me. And it kept me awake and thinking for a considerable amount of time. Is there really any difference between mice and men in the real sense? Well, keeping aside the obvious example of the “rat race” that our lives have become in this fiercely competitive world. I see some more similarities here.

One might surely have noticed fleetingly during some random or weird thought process, that we usually only find grey (or dark-haired) mice in our country. One can see them playing around every household, street, garbage bin. But in most of the western countries one will find little pearly white mice running around the corners of every building (that has mice, obviously). Doesn’t the difference strike a chord? Aren’t we Indians, the so called “brown people”, very much like the dark mice, while the westerners, the “white men”, much like those white mice? The color difference surely maintains constancy across the oceans, as well in mice as in men. There, lies my point. If, despite the stark difference in color, the two species of mice both pose the same problems to all the people around the world, why then are the people with differing skin colors treated so differently?

Why are some people treated with contempt, while others with sheer awe? Surely if such impeccable equality can be maintained by nature in its judgment, it could at least be maintained by us amongst ourselves, the human beings, who practically consider ourselves the rightful owners of the earth and the nature.

In the same vein, I asked a younger cousin of mine if she’d ever like to have a mouse as a pet. Her eyes lit up and she quickly replied, “I would love to, but only if it is a white one!” Therein lays my other point. We Indians ourselves are partially to blame for the prejudice done against us globally on the basis of skin color. Every mother in India wants a “fair-skinned” husband for her daughter. Dark girls are still considered curses on the family in many parts of rural and urban India. A friend of mine, Tamil by birth, recently expressed a wish to have a 1.5 lac melanin treatment done in order to become “fair”. I’d like to ask all these people, if we maintain such false prejudices amongst our own fellow countrymen, how can we expect any outsider to even consider granting us the respect we deserve? Talking about rural areas - given the low literacy, superstitions and beliefs - one can still try to understand the cause of the prevalence of such prejudices. But the saying “practice before you preach” seems to fall on deaf ears even among the members of our “educated” gentry, when it comes to such matters. And then they talk about inequality and racial discrimination on the global stage. Talk about hypocrisy, someone.

What more, the fair westerners are going in for tanning these days. They lay on the beaches, nude, all day, just to achieve that perfect “tan”. It has become a fashion statement of late. Dark complexion is as “in” for them as fairness has always been for us.

I wonder when we, the people of the world and not just Indians, are going to realize the importance of being who we are, the way we are, and letting ourselves known by our work and achievements rather than our place of birth or color. We need to learn, all of us do. Learn to respect ourselves for all that we are. And to respect the others for who they are, in order to be respected ourselves.

A summer full of wishes!

Hola amigos!

I return to writing after a long sabbatical, if I may even call it so. But with two harrying weeks of engineering examinations, along with loads of problems on the personal front as well, one can hardly be expected to find and put together the right words to write, and to get them to make some sense too. Too hard a job for me to accomplish. Not that I was actually studying for the exams all this time though. I've just been having a really tough time, personally. And trying not to let it affect my academic and social life took up all my time and might. But not anymore. I'm back with a new vengeance, and it won't take long enough for me to get back into my element!

So here finally is the summer, with the much-awaited summer holidays to accompany. We all have some aspirations when it comes to the holiday season. A long outdoor vacation, adventure sports(alas), vocational classes, books, indulgence in food and shopping - the list just cannot cover all. I just came up with my own wish-list too. Only to realize, it is actually very unfulfillable right now, what with my twisted ankle and the darned period of bed-rest, yet again. But, for the record, am not gonna stick to the bed-rest for more than two days, as usual (today's the second, and I already have plans to go shopping tomorrow.)


Here are some of the things that are on my wish list for this season -

1. A new phone
I know, it sounds weird, thrifty even, but I've been carrying the same phone for the last two years. It pretty much fulfilled all my needs and wants, and it might not be completely high-end or flashy, but it's been a good one. Not to forget it had some sentimental value attached to it too. But now I am up for a change. An immediate one, in fact. But the problem is, I cannot come to decide what to buy! A touch phone is what I've been wanting for quite some time, but then a Blackberry has it's own charms too! So basically, I am confused. Hope to be able to make the decision asap, 'cos I can't live with this one for long!

2. A whole new library
Okay, this one is far too far-fetched. And to add to it, I'd like it to be more gifted than bought. Is that too much to ask? :P
There is this whole lot of books that I want to read this season. The books I recommend every readaholic like me to read. You may check out the list here. Plus, I already have bought three to read up back to back. Amitav Ghosh's The Glass Palace and The Hungry Tide and well, Stephenie Meyer's Eclipse. Some of you may want to leave that one out. :P But hey, I believe in keeping my read list varied!

3. A Wardrobe Makeover

I need to makeover my summer wardrobe. Need to shop more. To mix and match stuff I already have. Until I end up looking good. Come on now, that's one helluva feel-good thing for anyone, and with that I don't just mean the girls! But as I mentioned earlier, until I can manage to walk straight again, not much of shopping or feel-good things are in the offing for me. :(
So I'd rather just manifest my desires in this cute summery look sported by Leighton Meester, aka Blair Waldorf in the TV series Gossip Girl. I love it! :D

4. An outdoor trip
Yes! Finally something that I am certain about!
So I am going off for four days to this little hamlet-like place in Uttarakhand, called Kotdwar, with a huge group of family, friends and little kids. I hope it turns out the way I am imagining it will, which shall make it the perfect getaway and the ultimate stress-buster for me after this whole stressful semester. And the very fact that I'm going with my bestie Rose, makes it all the more exciting!

I guess I am happy now. At least this last thought distracted me from the pain in my foot and its various side effects. Now I can go and fantasize about the trip and all the preparations I gotta do for it. So I'd like to sign off here on a good note. But be on the lookout, I'm not done writing yet. Rather just started! :D

Spare a Toy, Gift Them Joy

Twice a day, as I walk past the tiny cluster of potters' huts on my way to college and back, I wonder at the extreme disparity between this world and the one I come from. These crumbling hutments with their innumerable residents and the clay pots, pans and animal figures, and those modern homes with their Air conditioners, comfortable furniture and luxuries that are in fact considered as basic amenities. Everything is the same - people, their daily need of food, water and shelter, their right to education and a decent living. Yet, the two worlds are far apart. The Indian economy is, no doubt, partly to blame. But the more important issue to be focused upon here is the impact this inequality has on children. Deprived of proper education, books, toys and such simple joys of living, all they are left with in the name of childhood are distant memories of a state of perpetual need and insecurity. Working at tender ages and the lack of education deprive these children of their right to a happy and stimulating childhood.


The least we can do, as citizens of this lovely country called India that we call our home, is to do our bit in helping these children, present in multitudes throughout the nation, get their childhood back. You can make a humble start by shelling out any spare books, clothes or toys that you may have discarded long back, and donating them to authentic NGOs, orphanages or other such institutions dedicated to the welfare of children.

As a beginning, I review here an internationally known and acclaimed NGO, Toybank, that is dedicated to giving back to the children their right to a childhood, in the true sense of the word.

Toybank, a non-profit organization has been set up with the aim of providing toys to children who come from a weak socio-economic background.

Goals:
To ensure that children from under privileged backgrounds receive toys through collection and distributions.
To bridge the gap between children from different backgrounds by creative play/group events/community events.
To make play space available for children through toy libraries using available infrastructure; to reclaim open public spaces for children.
To design and provide toys that are context specific, and to have toys made in local languages as well.

Support: Children, Right to Play, Right to Leisure, Non-formal education, Toys.

Presence In: Mumbai, Delhi, Bangalore, Pune, UK, Bhutan

Website: http://www.toybank.org/

Note: They are presently looking for volunteer coordinators in Pune and Bangalore, and for NGOs working on children's education in Delhi/NCR.
I write this post as a part of BlogAdda's Bloggers Social Responsibility (BSR) initiative. I am exercising my BSR. You can too, with three very simple steps. Visit http://www.blogadda.com/bsr-list and support the NGO's cause. Go a step further, contribute as much as you can, and spread awareness about the cause as well.

Do not miss this chance to see real joy on a child's face. Trust me, it's worth every ounce of effort! :)

(Photos Courtesy: Harshit Vishwakarma)

Love in the Facebookian Era

A popular SMS joke doing the rounds these days says that during a wedding, the bridegroom stops the ceremonies at the very climax of his wedding in order to update his relationship status to “married” on Facebook. What more, he asks his bride, standing beside him right in the middle of the altar, to accept his request to be listed as his “wife”. Very well put, I must say, keeping in mind today’s trend, where a kid’s Facebook statuses tell his family about his whereabouts and moods, and the number of people in one’s friend list and the number of messages in the inbox define one’s popularity. Brace up, people, for the Facebookian era is here.

But hey, what’s with this “love” twist?
Well, here’s how my thinking goes – just like Facebook, love is the other newest trend on the block. Not to mention that it has been so for as long as I can remember. And with the recent passing of the Annual Festival of Love (for the uninitiated, I am talking about the Valentine’s week in February), I have developed a loathing for all kinds of superficiality related to the sacred word “love”. So, I surmised, what better than the loveliest of all feelings, love, to be analyzed from the Facebook perspective?

Till some time ago it was commonly believed that it takes just a single look, a meeting, a few talks or long walks to make you fall in love with a person. And the love that blossoms is eternal. A glow on the face, a perpetual smile, shy glances across the room and hand-in-hand walks along beautiful and less crowded places – these used to be the usual tell-tale signs of someone in love. But not any longer! Know why? Elementary, my dear Watsons! It’s the FACEBOOKIAN era, remember? Now it’s all about Facebook statuses, wall posts, pokes on each other’s walls, results of love-calculator-kind-of applications and hanging out at the malls. The main focus being, flaunt what you have, for as long as you have. Followed by, why, the three R’s of course - Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle! Hey, wait, did you really think these were formulated to help save the environment? Oh my poor little ignorant souls, time to wake up and smell the coffee!

Let us take a typical example. A boy adds a girl on Facebook, say on the basis of some prior acquaintance (Facebook’s new privacy issues - he can’t add her otherwise). She accepts, they begin talking off and on. The girl’s exams get over and she has nothing to do all day but sit online. As a result, they start talking often. More and more often. Day chat, night chat. Voice chat, video chat. The guy soon sends her a digitally created, animated proposal, “offering” her to be his official girlfriend. She gets uber excited, gushes about it to all her girl friends, and after some amount of haggling, accepts. This formative period of a relationship but has its own rules – no updating relationship statuses to “committed” and saving each other’s numbers under fake names. There might be others too, which thankfully enough, I don’t know of. Anyway, this goes on for some time, until finally everyone in their social network somehow manages to ascertain that this particular pair of opposite-sex people is “dating”. This paves way for the next phase of the relationship – the Social Phase. This phase, as the name suggests, is characterized by an ever increasing number of wall posts and pokes on each other’s deewaars(walls), a change in the relationship statuses on two profiles on Facebook, two pairs of thumbs perpetually texting away, and the whole online community being subjected to some gross online PDA.

Well, so long as it lasts. But unfortunately, it usually doesn’t. And when it finally is quits, the same old conspicuous phenomena ensues – change of relationship statuses, deletion from each other’s lists, and sometimes even blocking of each other on all messengers and social networks. Short and sweet, that’s the story of love in the time of Facebook. And as far as the three R’s are concerned, I leave it to the readers’ imagination to figure out in what way the three of them are carried out!

The thing that irks me most is the fact that people claim to have fallen in love with someone “just by looking at their display picture”. Now come on, seriously, do you even know for sure that the person you are talking to and the one you see, are the same person? There, you got me. To narrow down to the more specific domain, take my own example. I receive about a hundred Facebook messages and add requests a month, most of them asking me to add them because they find me pretty or beautiful or “smart”, as one or two put it. Some of them have even gone to the extent of “expressing their great love for me” through such media as poetry or hellishly-back-broken English. And on what basis, I ask? (No, I don’t literally ask them, I just ignore) and the answer is – the display picture! I wish they’d realize that the person they deem beautiful, going by the picture, might not be the same in real. They might be the most hideous creatures on the earth, crooked or saw-toothed with obese bodies, falling hair and crow’s feet. (I can vouch for myself though – I, for one, am the same person as seen in MY pictures; they are neither doctored nor nursed) I do admit, some of them might indeed be true to the picture. But what about the person’s inner self? It is true that a picture is worth a thousand words. But it can’t bare the soul. And then, after three months into a relationship, people complain that their beaus are not the same person they once fell in love with. Seriously, did you even check to confirm if you really knew who you believe you are in love with? Its time for a reality check.

Relationships are the latest fad, and in the true sense of the word. Whether it’s nineteen-year-olds like me or tiny fifteen-year-olds or the “world-wise” twenty-fivers, it just isn’t taboo anymore to have relationships at a tender age. It’s in. Love is in the air. And it always is. And with social networking on an unprecedented uphill climb, it is all the more convenient to communicate with people in your life, yet maintain (an optional) sense of privacy and choice – of who to talk to, when and by what means. And not the least of the impacts is the changing definition of love and relationships. Love – the word has lost its very meaning in this convenient world of technology.

Disclaimer - I do not write this post to bombard or criticize all the committed people in the world, including my friends and readers. All I want is to express my personal opinions on this game called “relationship-relationship” that almost everyone is playing these days. And obviously the role of social networking sites like Facebook in making things very simplified, yet more complicated than is usually comprehended. Some things might be fun to toy with, but the various strings they come attached with, beware.

Photos courtesy - Google images

P.S. I'd like to share a post by my friend Sourav here, which he wrote after attaining inspiration from this post of mine. How sweet of you sourav! :)

http://www.souravpandey.in/2011/05/you-have-new-notification-says-facebook.html