Till Death Do us Part

I am not a big fan of weddings. My cousins and uncles and aunts often tease me that they'll make sure my marriage will be Hard-core ritualistic event. I often rebuke vehemently giving them some Masala (Spicy talk) to talk about.

But lets leave all that in the closet. Just from a purely objective point of view, I like those British-Christian kind of weddings. All those guests in suits and pretty dresses and the bride in white dress, coming down the aisle. Ya, I know probably its all movie-inspired, but that's the way it is.I dont quite prefer the best man & women kind of things. (The kind of 'cross-connection' they show in movies...)

I am a classy person at heart. Even though currently I might not have resources for that life but one can always dream :)

Anyways, another thing I like is the lack of senseless pomp and show. Marriage is a solemn affair and I see no reason why all of the town should be invited to it. It is consistent with my philosophy of "Keep it simple Silly.." It doesnt mean you dont celebrate.. Why else should there be a grand lavish party at night? ;)

I know the comments shall be- "Are you planning to get married?", "Who's the lucky girl" blah blah.. My ans- Nothing guys!! just a random thought came to my mind. I have no intentions to get married for atleast the next 7-8 years. Am just 18 Yaaaarr!! :)

Just A random, silly teenag-ish post this one. :P

KISS ;)

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J

Another Strike! Yet Again

So, another terrorist attack on our nation. This time at High Court, New Delhi. They have struck the heart of India and whats even more disgusting that they had carried a similar blast at the same place on 25 May.. What does this suggest?

Indians have been used to such attacks now. Someday or the other a blast takes place, a few die..

An uproar for a day or two. Some idiot intellectuals blabber on News shows and we all forget.

News channels always carry taglines -"The spirit of Mumbaikars", "Dil walon ki dilli" and all nonsense..

What else are we supposed to do? We feel so helpless.

Over that, idiot politicians (I dare not use any more adjectives or I shall be served with a breach of privilege notice) come out making the most incredible solemn face and say- "These attacks cant be stopped". I feel like slapping them. Why the hell have we elected you if you cant stop them. Better step down and let someone better take charge.

Secondly, everyone shouts that "Terrorism has no religion". Another very big lie. and thanks to ultra-stupid & criminal members of something called-"Abhinav Bharat", the volume has increases even more nowadays. It's a obvious fact that 90% of the terrorist attacks aren't carried out by Hindus.

This bring me to another point, Minority appeasement. The Congress (& several others too) have explicitly supported minorities and trying to portray them as the innocent bystanders whenever a group of that community has been found involved in such acts. May it be Rahul Gandhi advocating for SIMI, or that Digvijay (Only I know how much restrain have I shown for not putting any adjectives) shouting on Batla House & the prolific factory of terrorists- "Azamgarh". And following the same policy, people have got the guts to ask for pardon to AFZAL GURU? You seriously believe he should be pardoned???

I am not suggesting that all people belonging to a minority are terrorists. But no other community votes on the basis of whether a terrorist should be pardoned or not. Whether they should be allowed to carry out attacks or not? The entire community shouts when a suspected terrorist is nabbed.. Doesn't this cast serious questions on the patriotism of that community..

I am not a RSS supporter, I have nothing to do with BJP or any "Right-wing" organization either.

But the questions mentioned above are not only just thought provoking but also need to be put forward to the media, to the politicos, to the entire nation.

May God bless the nation in these painful times.

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J

A Topsy Turvy World 2.0

Ya, I know the titles is sounding a bit used up & cliched. You might be thinking that have I run out of ideas?
No, I spent almost 2 days thinking about the title but I could fine none better than this.
Well right now my Life is in a delicate stage. Not that something crucial is coming up but the fact is I have lots & lots of time. Free time, Leisure time, Holidays and a lot more.
The reason I call it topsy-turvy because I am in an absolute state of fix on how to go about it. Every moment of the time I spend will have a hell lot of significant impact on the days to come. Someday I do things well, with considerable utilization, other days are just pure wastes.

Also, its not like that I dont have anything to do. Infact I have more than I could handle. There's CSI, IEEE, College studies, CAT preparation, working hard on my studies, working on my research... You know what's the stranger thing? I just dont seem to enjoy books.. Books were my best friend. I used to devour novel upon novel in a week, and now.. Now, the stage is such that I dont like reading even 4-5 pages..

I am in a real confusing stage right now. When I do something, my mind gets diverted  to other things that I am not doing! I feel like I am missing out on something.. My friend suggested me to prioritize things but its easier said then done.
I cannot hide behind the "teenage behavioural" excuse. Because earlier this year when I was more teenag-ish, I gave my best performance in past 4 years, battling through similar circumstances..

Thats the benefit of venting out, when you discuss the problem you get a solution to it. :) I guess I am expecting too much from myself. In the process I have forgotten that I am 'living'. It seems in all the furore surrounding my existence, I just forgot to live
I must take a step back and take one step at a time. Do what the immediate task is. As Paulo Coelho puts it so beautifully- "When in doubt, just take the next small step." :)

So, let me take a step back and let things sort themselves out :) Perhaps I have made them more complicated than they actually are(nt)
I hope my next post will bring some positive news :)

Ciao
Love
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J

India & You

As we stand on the brink of the 65^th anniversary of our nation, the overall atmosphere in country is a gloomy & apprehensive one. The only news people hear is either of a new scam surfacing, some acts of protests suppressed by a seemingly oppressive regime, rising prices and an uncertain future.

On the other hand there are partisaned experts who tell us that things are bad, but could’ve got worse. Almost every time loyal to the government, they go on to enumerate the things that are better in India as compared to ‘what could have been’. The cynics, as always, point out flaws even in them.

Virtually , all the slugfest is between the oppositions’ – “What should (& shouldn’t be done.” & the Govt.’s - “What is (& isn’t) being done?”. Both have their reasons, some are valid, others are not.

Hold on! Take a pause. Go into a brief flashback (I highlighted the word brief because I don’t like to linger in the past much). Think of those ideals which were the foundation of our freedom struggle. It was nothing but pure nationalism; putting the country & the society above self. (The cynics who say they are antiquated can close this window & go criticize something else elsewhere)

Now, look at yourself. Not the government, Not the politicians, not the bureaucracy, but you. Try to remind yourself when was the last time you skipped a red light, the last time you used your ‘contacts’ for a ‘favour’, the last time you threw that plastic cup out of the train, the last time you littered around and (in the same stride) complained about the filth around you. I don’t think your memory was strained much. What image of your ‘self’ comes to your mind? I know, a very common reply will be – “So what?”. Nothing, just mentioned

The point I am trying to make is YOU criticize the contractor for potholes and the corruption in roads. That contractor (as an individual) would complain about the Babu at some office for asking a bribe. That Babu would yell at someone for rash driving. That rash driver will complain about the lack of electricity (caused due to illegal usage of it) and the chain goes on. It never occurs to anyone that when we point fingers at others, they point their fingers at someone else and ultimately this circle ends in someone pointing a finger at us. The irony is all of us seem to be very patriotic during national festivals and feel proud of our nation, but do we act in a way to cherish those ideals, cherish freedom? Do we bring in ourselves the change we want to see? Do we make our country proud?

I am not exonerating the government on the weak governance or the massive amount of corruption it has indulged in. They are culpable and should be meted the maximum punishment under law. Neither am I questioning the common man’s right to speak out. The simple point I am suggesting is YES, things are bad, and almost all of us wants change. But our small daily deeds having their roots in the love of our nation and the concern for building a strong and healthy society which is civilized will atleast prevent things from worsening. It will spend a strong message to the corrupt and irresponsible people at the top, that the civil society is in ‘deed’ civil, the problem now lies entirely with them. And believe me these small acts will have a much larger impact than they are (under)estimated to have.

It might seem inappropriate to people but still, I would end by quoting JFK -

“Ask not what your country can do for you - ask what you can do for your country”

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J

Breathe In

Breathe in a bit of fresh air,

Of Sylvan scent and pines.

Take a whiff of nature's bounty,

Away from cents & dimes.

Breathe in a bit of morning dew.

Of lilac and scarlet rose.

Lose yourself in the glory of dawn,

Beyond all poetry and prose.

Breathe in a bit of placid sea,

Of seagulls on the dock.

Bask your soul in the distant horizon,

Sans any watch or clock.

Breathe in a bit of rainy earth,

Drops of perspiration & toil.

Bury your fears in earth's cradle,

Of quarry, grain and soil.

Feel your breath, In and Out,

The palpation of your heart.

Take a step back from all the world's strife.

And breathe in a bit of...

Life.

:)

--

J

Life Plugged 1.0

Well, the title is one of my latest ideas. As I have always said earlier, this blog is all about zany things in life. But under this title "Life Plugged" I am gonna give just little updates about my otherwise mundane life. Often, this post will feature reasons why I wasnt able to post for a long hiatus.

So, Its been almost 20 days since I last posted on my blog. The reason was that I had been preparing for my GRE (Graduate Record Examination) for higher education abroad. Appeared for it at ahmedabad on 13th of July. Just FYI, my score was 1430/1600 :) I must admit that I had been too critical of myself over this score..

Now when I look at other people and have talked to experts, I found out that I fared very well :)

Also, as per my current status, I am preparing for CAT 2012, a back-up plan incase things dont turn out well. I wanna tell everyone that I was so desperately missing my blog that as soon as I got time I decided to post it. Since I had taken a 10 day break from the college, had lot of pending work, which still needs some attention..

Those who expected some spice or new things, sorry to disappoint you. And also, a warning.. All posts under this title will be of similar kind.

But all's not lost my friends!! :) I have a lot to share with you which I will do in the forthcoming posts... An account of my ahmedabad trip, some rainy insights.

And lot more..

Thanks for hanging by this blog :)

KISS ;)

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J

Busting the Brand-IIT Myth 4

First of all, thank you so much for your support & precious feedback that helped me go on.

What I tried in the previous post was basically to clear the illusion, which lingers among thousands of very talented youngsters, who for some reason, couldn't get into these "Champion" institutes. These posts were an attempt to make everyone (Even the IITians) realize, that although IITs are indeed very good when it comes to Undergraduate engineering studies, they are not the greatest thing in the world. There are greener and better avenues that lie beyond the IITs. Ask any working professional and you'll get a unanimous reply that the stamp of IIT, though proving a deciding factor initially, wanes away after some time. You'll then realize that after spending half a decade in the industry. what matters is not the institute that you come from but instead the quality of skills you possess.

I am sure, to many, this all still seems preachy and unconvincing. To them, my advice is-

"Go ahead then. Spend the rest of your life crying while others with a lower calibre move ahead and earn an enviable lifestyle."

This topic is very vast and has many areas which I might not have covered. But you know its very hard to put the entire sea in a bottle. Moreover, this topic is very close to my heart and there was always a danger of adulteration of this piece by some emotionally charged writing. I have restrained myself and have tried to be as much objective as possible by backing everything with logic.
Once again, I request you all to provide me with your valuable feedback.

Just a last word (especially to those who still have a sense of disappointment of not getting into the IITs)-

"सीढीयाँ उनके लिए बनी हैं जिन्हें छत पे जाना है,

जिनकी नज़र आसमान पे हो, उन्हें तो अपना रास्ता खुद बनाना है "

KISS (Keep it simple Silly) ;)

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J