Calling all Sinners !

People turn purple with rage, red with shame, and green with envy at least once a day, and more than a handful of times a week. It’s statistically proven. Ok, maybe it’s not, but that doesn’t make it untrue, and I’m sure you could vouch for that. Shades of these emotions certainly make life more interesting, but while no one wants to lead a boring life, maybe living sinfully isn’t the solution. It’s one thing to talk about the evil effects of these …! GASP! vices, and a whole another thing to live with them.

Envy.

Something we’ve all befriended, ever since we saw our neighbor propping his Mac Book against the dashboard of his BMW, or ever since we secretly wished we too,could put away a cheeseburger and fries along with a chocolate latte, and still look like that amazingly fit friend (everyone has one of these friends, everyone).

Envy.

It’s never pretty, and sometimes, it gets downright ugly. Although it might be a bit of an ego boost when you know someone secretly envies you, it’s not so much fun when above mentioned person decides to indulge in a little behind- the- back slander or _______(insert backstabbing activity of choice here). After all, ‘Greatness inspires envy, envy engenders spite, and spite spawns lies.’

Unless your skin is as thick as dragon hide and you are unaffected by the petty crimes the world and its denizens commit around you, you might want to square your shoulders and learn to deal with it.

Look for the good in everything, and also teach others how to do it. More often than not, green eyed monsters are usually big warm marshmallows inside, but with a baggage of low self esteem attached. Counting our blessings and remembering that each of us is unique is an amazingly simple gift we forget to give ourselves. We tend to get so involved in marking our win against the others on that giant imaginary scoreboard, that we forget that we aren’t even in a race.

This season, we stop the sins.

This season, we turn our wasted minutes into useful ones as we finally join that salsa class, or get that A on our report card because we’ve kept ourselves busy and wonderfully so.

This season, we lock up our envy, and give that friend of ours a high five while falling into step beside her during her morning jog. Maybe we even pass Mr. Hotshot neighbour and his car, enroute, and flash him a smile. And just maybe, that classmate who always picked on us for being a Harry Potter nerd will ask us if we’d like to go watch Deathly Hallows: Part 1 with them next week. After all, what goes around comes around.

This season, we shed the green.

Pages from Summer-1

A while ago,Say,Rach,and me decided to do some serious blogging regarding our favourite cities-ones we've been to and loved,and ones we'd love to be in someday.I'd planned to write an unofficial tourists' guide to Singapore,where I spent summer vacation this year,but I'm not Taurean by zodiac alone.A little on the lazy side,I think cataloging my experiences and making chronological posts about what I did there might require some nice thinking,a little free time and some spirited enthusiasm,luxuries I cannot afford right now.

What I'm going to do instead,is upload this diary entry I made at the airport,just minutes before leaving Singapore.

I'll leave you with the first post under Pages from Summer.This is my first attempt at writing a series,so wish me luck :) .And yes,also,read . :D

Warning : Goodbyes are very hard for me.There might be bits of unnecessary melodrama here and there,which you are advised to ignore.

27 June,2010

8.00 A.M

I am homeward bound,after a long vacation in Singapore.The past five weeks have been too good to be true-and now I simply cannot believe that this holiday has come to an end.

However I know that we are not to cry that it's over;instead,we must smile that it happened.

So,I shall revel in the last few minutes in this strange and wonderful land.

Changi is a starry oasis-glitzy,imposing,beckoning.

My flight has been delayed,giving me a few minutes to reflect on my trip,(something I admit I have done only fleetingly this past one month,as I was busy being thrilled to the very core)

and so...here we are.

Green.That is the first impression I had of this city.Not the verdant dark green that we see back home,but a very tropical shade of shiny,healthy,sparkly(that's not a word???What gives,Blogger?),pale green.The green stays with me,from my first view of this island town nine years ago and from ten thousand kilometres above,to my rushed cab ride to the airport this morning watching fields,lawns and road signs shoot past while devouring last midnight's blueberry muffins and today's peanut butter and toast.My last indulgence this summer.

The morning is perfect,as mornings ought to be.Grey skies.Just the way I like them.The infamous noiseless Singapore drizzles descending gently-I've become rather fond of them-besides,Bangalore's sudden storybook thunderstorms are only three hours and a few oceans away.

The airport terminals are decked with white (I think they must be) orchids..Splendid.

I'm wearing midnight blue. :)
And,I wasn't charged for the excess baggage!

The only thing that seems wrong is that I have to leave this place.Bummer.

We are well matched,this dear city and me,for what could be as perfect together as bread and cheese,

as a tropical island set in the sea and a shutterbug?

As a country of living miracles and the eternal romantic?

As a shoppers' paradise and a closet shopaholic waiting to be awakened?

Amma says,and so does Dumbledore,that it does not do good to dwell in dreams and forget to live,but here's a pickle.

What if one month of somebody else's life is your dream come true?

How do you return to living yours-cast the memories aside like a magical midsummer dream?

The guard's asking us to move to the gate.

More later.

Bye!

*************************************************************************************

It ends there.

I was thinking of maybe doing a post or two on all the blatant gluttony I engaged in ,or the nice nature trails I spotted there.Let's see how it goes.

Cheers everyone :)

Of beauty and such.

Forms are many and beauty is one.

Beauty that is eternal,perfect even when undone.

We all crave beauty,so much it is true,

For whoever wrote a sonnet for a bad tempered shrew?

Or a twenty page thesis on badly written prose?

Who turns away from beauty that is tangible,that is close?

Helpless in our addiction to perfection are we.

I admit I like,in my garden , a well pruned tree.

Yes,I revel in writing under unruly oaks,mostly,

But putting that in my backyard’s quite a task,don’t you see?

Pictures of orphaned kids doth make the heart bleed.

Whose pictures do you Like though,who’s tweeting up your feed?

We all enjoy bouts of temporary divinity,

Then resort we must to normal comforting insanity.

Quite the liar I am when I preach.

Damn.I even want my verse in sizes of four lines each.

Who isn’t guilty of liking beauty? Why talk of blame?

Beauty is the drug,quite the rule of the game.

I belong with the Flintstones.

I know that teenagers are supposed to remain un-fazed by technology,but hello!You just hopped onto the blog of the exception.

I'm not saying I don't like impressive new gadgets.It's just that I'll need more than a user manual and a crappy customer service agency to figure out how to get it working.

Which is why I like MS Powerpoint,and Post its on my dresser's mirror.

And good ol'd email,or maybe even posted letters,if more people cared to send em around.

I do like Facebook,it's true,and may have borderline OCD about checking my updates everyday,but since when has FB been the new kid on the block?!Old news right?

I like it when people call me to tell me something important,rather than sending a teeny lil text that screams IMPORTANT on its first line.

I simply can't wake up to an alarm clock.I never hear it,honestly,I don't see how anyone expects a tinny, shrill,possibly ultrasonic weird noise to rouse them from the deepest REM cycles.

I need a human to jolt me awake,and oh,if you have a cup of tea in your hands awaiting,brownie points for you :)

I love watching reruns and old movies,speaking of which,I also do not watch movies online if I can avoid it.

I like my 3 hour sappy surprises in the cinema halls or at least playing on my tv in the bedroom.

Salads with a generous drizzle of olive oil are yummy indeed,but I''d rather grab a bowl of curd rice and pickle instead of a low fat wrap.

There's something about the comfort of an old blanket that a new pashmina bedsheet can never achieve.

Old possessions do bring a lot of bliss,and that's the reason I hardly ever clean out my closet.'De cluttering' is a nasty little word.

Like Phoebe says,they(I mean the old stuff,can you try to keep up?!) remind me of a simpler time,and that's a good thing right? :)

PS-I'm blogging a lot nowadays.Wonder why that is ?I have a lot to say to world,apparently.

Hope you're listening.

Cheers!

Value based education :the whats,the whys,and more

Education.

One word, whose presence or absence in one’s life can dramatically alter his/her destiny.

Education.

Widely accepted as the art of elevating its receptors from ignorance to awareness.

Education.

A device meant to teach young students how not to merely exist or survive, but to live.

Alright.Alright.I’ll stop with the definitions.

Assuming then, that we indeed live in a world where everyone knows what education means, why is it that in this same world, education needs to be specifically described as “value based”? Surely the concept of value is so integral to education that one could not possibly dream of an education system without it!

However, discussions on the relative merits of value based education systems abound, leading one to realize the gravity of the situation the world of academia finds itself in.

A value based education system, simply put, is one that aims to inculcate moral and ethical skills in students, besides enriching their knowledge. Values lend purpose and direction to knowledge, much like oars do to a sailing boat, leading to a holistic development of the human mind.

Ah, human. Possibly one of the most abused words in the entire dictionary.Abused, because being human is easily overlooked definitely underrated. To be human, one must learn to recognise the true spirit of humanity. To do so, one must be acquainted with values that instruct one on how to develop oneself so that he could truly be part of a harmonious, progressive liberal, and just society.

This is where value based education systems come in. By combining formal education with virtues like impartiality, compassion, non violence and freedom of thought, and life skills like good leadership, emotional maturity, perceptiveness and independence, a value based education endeavours to create a better society.

In this one little world, many worlds of terrorism, corruption and injustice thrive. Why? Is it because the perpetrators of these problems are unintelligent? No, it is because they failed to understand how to put this precious intelligence to good use. Knowledge is but a double edged sword.

We must act,and act right!

The debates about curriculum can wait,the firm etching of values on these souls must come first.

The surgeries can wait,the medicine must come first.

A pen,a sword,a stethoscope,an axe, a paintbrush,or even a gaming console,take your pick.What you must possess though,is the ability to ensure that your actions uphold the unspoken law of morality,and achieve what we may call,an honest success.

I quote my hero,Dumbledore.In times of darkness, one must simply remember to bring in the light.

Roughly translated to Mugglespeak,this means :

Students must be introduced to both the theory and the practice of leading a value based life. This would translate to learning and imbibing values, and participating in social service, donation camps, character building workshops, self introspection and myriad such activities of the like,for how oft is it said,we are what we do!

In today’s youth ,we must reaffirm values that will help prevent the misuse of technology, that will break any existing barriers of race and faith, that will help encourage fairness of opportunity, that will protect the environment, that will help retain the inherent wisdom of the ancients and paint us a better tomorrow.

So make a change. Embrace your values. Pink Floyd did ask, why be another ‘brick in the wall’?

In pursuit of happyness...?

We all love it.We all need it.We all seek it.
Happiness is that one thing that sometimes eludes us as disciplinedly as garbage chuckers in India avoid dustbins.
Odd,isn't it,how happiness seems to get harder and harder to find as we grow up?
Coincidence?
I think not.

I remember,as a kid,when my dad was posted in Calcutta, (yes not Kolkata yet) and trips to the South could be made only once in a year;we would gather our mattresses and suitcases and board the train to Madras(bcoz somehow,all Tamilians have to go to Madras : ).
More often than not,we stayed at this little motel called Tourist Home,which was nestled in its own cozy corner,right opposite the Egmore Railway Station.I don't quite remember who made the decision to stay there everytime.I never questioned it,though.
It was one of the truths of my 7 year old life.
I always enjoyed the stay at Tourist Home.It was our family's thing! :)
We would trundle up the hotel to one of the rooms on top after the train deposited us in the early hours of the a.m. Then,after a quick shower with Hamam soap (yes,another one of those "must do,don't ask why" things) we would all rush down to an early bird breakfast.I always ate Dosa.Wow,I sound like a fussy little kid .don't I ?But no,I wasn't. really.I merely loved dosas way too much.
Dad would always eat a variety (and a lot) of things for breakfast while Mom would cast murderous looks at him,whilst he unconcernedly told the waiter exactly how he wanted his oothappam to be made.:D
My Nani,on the other hand,was an absolute delight.She was my playmate,whom I most definitely drove to boredom with my never ending stories,and yet she listened.Always.Uncomplainingly.
And this was only breakfast. :)

Relax.I'm not going to narrate the entire itenary here.I do want to mention those evenings though.If we weren't at the beach,then I would perch myself near the window and gaze longingly at the huge white-grey domes that topped the station,and watch both the noisy pigeons that flew atop it,and the noisy crowd that jostled beneath it.
I would count the number of train whistles I heard,and I'd feel strangely happy each time my tally increased.:D
My point being,it was so easy to be happy then.Easy,effortless even.
Now,it's a whole another story.I have lived for eighteen years now,and I suppose I must have gotten wiser,but I still don't know what exactly happiness is and where and how one must seek it.
So,for now,after a whole evening of some soul searching,I declare ...
Happiness is a day at Tourist Home.
Later .
:)

Shauk hai!

These are the lyrics to one of the most soulful songs I have ever heard.It's a song called Shauk hai (I desire) from the movie Guru.The music has been composed by Rahmanji and sung by Soumya Raoh.

The song is sung by a girl who is on the verge of death.As she leaves,she sings of the simple things of life which she loved and cherished.

The icy clouds,the earthy silence of the night,the brilliance of light,amlas,dewdrops,and the craze that is emotion.

A wave of regret and pain stealthily washes over the listener.Yet,there is not much lament,only simple beauty.
Wanted to share it with you all (if you aren't familiar with it already) ...:)

Here goes.



Raat ka shauk hai
Raat ki saundhi si khamoshi ka shauk hai
Subah ki roshni ,bezubaan subahon ki aur gungunati
Roshni ka shauk hai, ho.... shauk hai.

San sani naawlon ka
Ishq ke banwlon ka
San sani naawle
Ishq ke baanwle
Barf se khelte badolon ka ...shauk hai!

Kaash ye zindagi khel hi khel mein kho gayi hoti.
Raat ka shauk hai
neend ki goliyon ka,
khwab ke loriyon ka,
Neend ki goliyan ,khwab ke loriyan

Bezubaan aus ki boliyon ka...Shauk hai

Kaash ye zindagi binkahe binsune so gayi hoti

Subah ki roshni
Bezubaan subahon ki aur gungunati
Roshni ka ....
Shauk hai, shauk hai...

Rise up!

Rise up!
No,I'm not talking about the latest song that's got everyone in such a tizzy!
I wanna take a moment here to remind everyone to rise up.Simply rise up,beyond all the difficulties,beyond all the barriers,physical,emotional,or any other sort.Face the challenges,brush away the insults,and turn a blind eye and a deaf ear to all the negativity around.

Remember to rise up and I promise your day will end with a smile :)
There,that's better!


Cheers !

No,I'm not a Legilimens!

All of us,at one time or another,have faced double standards.And doled them out too. And while people may have reason to mask their real feelings from time to time,constant pretense is just …annoying.

Sometimes I wish people would tell me what exactly they think of me.But since they never do that,I have to play mind reader and lemme tell you ;it’s really hard to filter out true emotion from all the socializing crap.But a part of me wonders if I’ll be able to handle the truth. Dependent creature that I am,I dont really know if I’ll be able to digest the idea that a friend or a loved one prefers not having me around.


Sure,no one can hope for universal popularity,to borrow a phrase from Dumbledore.All one can hope for is a little honesty,some patience and a tinge of reality in the farce that are some relationships today.

Ah hope!