The Mocking Bird....

There are two kinds of people in this world,very often has it been quoted! But I differ; why just two categories for the elite human class? It would be unfair not to acknowledge their peculiar characteristics. So I say there are as many kinds of people in the world as is their number. Some extremely polite, some rude, some who live in total awe of others, some are critical and observant; there are few for whom others don't exist, contrary to these there are those many who give a lot of attention to others , not that they are charitable or extra-social, rather they make it a point to intrude into their lives and derive fun out of their actions or habits. Those people for whom mockery is food, who are blind to their own selves but very quick to observe even the slightest action of their targets and make of them what is called "fun". To this class belongs my mocking bird!
I have very often been bothered by people who seem to have nothing better to do but to make a comment on all that I do or say. I do not really understand the motive of these people, whether it is some grudge against me or as many people put it, they are forced by habit and serious lack of better things to do. I have also observed that it is at times insecurities of people that force them to find faults with others at all times;it is when they try to hide or justify their own fears or shortcomings that they laugh at others publicly, they are only hiding their expressions behind that loud mocking laughter. But mind you, the world around is not foolish, people might just grin at some of those weird and illogical statements(I refuse to call those things you find amusing as jokes!) but then they all know and undersand the truth, actually even you do..you are just helpless, you can't help but mock!
I know the sky is the place for birds to fly, but then do not forget your limits and soar so high that it becomes difficult to touch the ground when you retire.....
Live and let live!

Final year and the Baddy rituals! :D

We are the final years, the mighty mighty final years...
The sounds echo in my ears and I exclaim in ecstasy yippie, we are in final year now! Times we had been waiting for have finally arrived. Three years of hard work(not really :D) are over and here we are, breathing the air of freedom! Coming into final year, we witnessed several changes, change of rooms for instance.....we live on the ground floor now; the much coveted courtyard of the hostel is now ours.... it is accessible to one and all but our supremacy prevails!:):)
Now, associated with final year girls and the courtyard is the sport of badminton, our beloved baddy that happens to be the centre of this post. For the past three years I had never been active in any sports/games; but final year has brought in sudden transitions and that too surprising ones; the racquet I hadn't even touched is now a favourite with me, I like to play everyday, I like to serve shots(atleast I try to :P), I like being energetic and active on the court, I like the smash sounds when the shuttle cock hits the racquet, I am a little disappointed on giving a bad show, I wish to improve with every game....I realize I am engrossed in the game and I love this feeling!
The game means a lot of things to me, first and foremost I find it a good means of physical exercise, considering my repeated attempts to thin down, this could be a significant contributor. Then I pass some of time playing the game, a channel that helps me do away with boredom. Also a means through which I catch up with friends I otherwise didn't interact with much.
More importantly, I think the game would serve as a link between many of us batchees.....we play in the evenings, enjoy together, chit-chat.....we had never done all this before. We have now started connecting to each other, our joys are shared, we laugh together and cherish every moment of our final year! The feeling of being one batch has crept in and is being strengthened by baddy.
You know what badminton is not "bad" it is goodminton rather! :P
Thank you dear wonderful sport.....!!

And finally it rained..!:)

Quite a long time that I didn't blog, yeah I was busy for sometime, lazy on several occasions... and I can give numerous excuses! Right now, I am free and I am relaxed plus I am cool, thanks to the beautiful showers that blessed us lately!
I had stayed in my hostel for the two months of the summer break. The thoughts of the heat that would welcome me here in Allahabad had been haunting me since long, but I came to brave all conditions; to my very pleasant surprise, it rained and rained through June making life here really easy and comfortable. But then all good things last for a while and only a while!! July came and brought in some tormenting conditions back with it. There we were sweating all the time, trying to fan ourselves with all possible resources in a desperate attempt to beat the heat. It was getting difficult, almost impossible and especially because we lazy creatures hadn't shifted our coolers to our new rooms! Instead we chose to bear with the scorching heat and humidity...aahh! It had begun to seem that rains had been lost and the sun having defeated all the black clouds was dominating the sky. There was a solar eclipse a few days back, how I wished that the sun should keep hiding for a long time so that we on earth could have sighs of relief! But if wishes were horses, I would ride them!!
It was only two days back that we finally decided to get our coolers down. And after hours of wandering, we succeeded. The idea of filling the coolers with buckets(in the absence of our beloved pipe) was still bothering us...it could take us another couple of days to give up this part of our laziness.
But all our labour was saved....infact we were saved....it rained and it rained and it rained :)
The clouds poured down droplets like never before, the rain hit the ground and drenched us. We welcomed those showers of blessings with full heart. We had our celebrations, got wet and posed for pictures(our favourite climax to every event :D)
Thank you heavens for the downpour! We're relieved and we are blessed!

Wonder Years!

I am currently in my 3rd year of B.Tech, 6th semester to be more specific.This is one time of our lives that is supposed to be really hectic and stressful, I had been hearing this cliche since the day I had stepped here; realize now that this was nothing but hard core reality.
Times are a changing, they certainly are.Life had been so peaceful, only now it seems that commotion has creeped into it; not that I am labouring day and night but the fear and uncertainties occupy me 24*7.
I look back and try to recall my school days, when I was a free bird with no worries and responsibilities. Life was easy and convenient. While in nursery and kindergarten things like studies resided in the far far land; mummy was there to take the headache of completing the course a day before the exam, she would have sleepless nights if I didn't have my poems at my fingertips while I would play with fairies in my dreams.With passing years, I did take my studies on my shoulders but then nothing else could ever bother me; nothing about electricity or having to eat food that I don't like or washing clothes! I knew all my needs would be catered to; my job was only to finish my homework and be off to play in time :D
I thoroughly enjoyed my school life; talking as much as i do now(or perhaps even more), laughing at silly things, disturbing the whole library while I was in there with my bunch of friends and all sorts of fun and frolic. I only had immediate goals then , things like doing well in tests or scoring in board exams; there was nothing about future that bothered me, as if life was moving as per some pre-planning! Being at home, I was so secure and sure of everything.
Things have changed drastically now, I have to be responsible for everything that concerns me. There are worries about future now; how I wish I had a time machine to know before hand what is to unfold! I don't even how prepared I am to face things, I can only wait for time to tell.
All I can sum up after so many moments of speculation is that school days were the best days of my life, I wish I could get those times back....those wonderful wonder years!

Great Expectations!

I write this blog in a state of mind that is not very optimistic. May be I am too young to see life with such a viewpoint as I do now but right now this is how I am !
As each day is passing by, I am learning new lessons, facing realities that have been striking me on the face. Things have turned out beyond my expectations or contrary to them, I must say. At times I feel that I have lost my ability to reason and to judge, to look through people and circumstances; I get carried away too soon and jump to decisions without second thoughts. What worsens this state is the fact that I cannot even decide who or what to blame for this chaos.
Since my childhood I have been an honest person, truthful in all my dealings and transactions. This is what I had always been expecting in return but unfortunately rarely could I get such a reciprocation or if I did I was maybe immature not to sense it. My experiences have time and again proven to me that I shouldn't expect in return the same position from others that I have given to them. These expectations are the greatest cause of disappointments and in my case some blows to my self esteem. Again I cannot be sure as to what I write is correct or is it that I have been influenced by some useless thoughts but like I said this is how I am right now and I cannot change it, all I know is that I am alone in this huge scary world where I have to come upto several expectations myself, I hope that I survive and emerge a winner!

So noone told you life was gonna be this way....!!

This blog entry is dedicated to the greatest TV show of all times FRIENDS , a passion that most of us share.

I got addicted to the show here in college; the thought that four years of my stay here wouldn't be sufficiently utilised if I didn't make use of our LAN, had been troubling me for long and finally one fine day I too joined the long list of dedicated viewers of this small screen wonder!
No words of praise in my opinion would do justice to the effect the show creates, watching it is absolute pleasure, 20 minutes full of fun, frolic and laughter. The actors are all so lively making this reel drama seem so real and so close to the viewer. Each character is peculiar in his/her own way. We have Monica Gallor, who has transformed into this vivacious chef from an ordinary fat girl in high school. Her brother Ross Gallor who is a paleontologist struggles between failed relations and marriages but never does he give up his sincerity and his not so good sense of humour. Then there is Rachel Green, Ross' high school crush who joins these people as she runs from the altar on her wedding day and it is here that she changes from a spoilt rich kid to a responsible girl who makes her own living. Also accompanying these people is Chandler Bing who is intelligent and amazingly funny, in an interesting turn of incidences he finds his life partner in his close frind Monica. Joey Tribbiani comes as a bonus at the mention of Chandler; a budding actor who happens to be stupid but very innocent and not to forget his undying love for pizzas and sandwiches! And completing this group of friends is Phoebie Buffet, someone who has had a disastrous childhood but she leads a respectful life now and yeah doesn't miss even one chance to make sarcastic remarks at all! These characters add so much of life to the show. Monica's strict attitude for everything in order, Ross' attempts to save his marriages, Chandler's fantastic sense of humour, Joey's foolishness and his ability not to understand things, Rachel's tantrums, Phoebie's music(special mention to my favourite smelly cats); all these ingredients are more than enough to get one glued to the show.
All these people are so different from one another but they are attached by a common string, it is surprising to see how these people bond with each other but their togetherness does it all. These people have more to do than just entertain us with their presence. Their dediaction to each other gives a new definition to relations. No matter how hard circumstances are, they don't give up. They take life as it comes,no lessons from the past, no preparations for the future; present is all that they live for and perhaps that is why they actually live to the fullest.
The show has had a huge amount of influence on me, I have learned not to stick to things I used to earlier, forget bad times quickly and cling on to good memories for longer.
All in all the show absolutely rocks, incomparable and spellbinding. No conclusion could serve better than the lines...
"I'll be there for you when the rain starts to pour,
I'll be there for you like I've been there before,
I'll be there for you coz you're there for me too.."

HAPPY F.R.I.E.N.D.S !!

Mumbai Salsa

"Mumbai Salsa", the blog has been named so because what follows is a result of my trip to Mumbai and salsa because the trip was one to savour, had varied ingredients and added a spicy flavour to the two months of my life, the same as the origin of the word.

It began on 20th of May,2007, perhaps the most eventful day of my life. I was flying for the first time and that too to a city I had dreamt of for long. The first twist to the trip came when I met Shaan on board! Yes, this spelt more of fun and glitter to my upcoming trip. And there it all began, the two most beautiful and exciting months of my life.

Mumbai, it turned out to be a lot more than I could ever imagine. This was also my first face to face meeting with the vast sea and this is one feature that I miss the most; the sea waves rolling out to you, sometimes roaring, sometimes sighing, all ready to mingle with you and take you along. The beaches (though typically dirty) show you all colours of life, people from all ages, all walks, forgetting all barriers and here only to be lost in the maddening crowd and the lights. The winds embrace you and speak a thousand languages that enchant.

Well I moved ahead, only to discover the city beyond my imaginations. The roads are always over crowded but cannot deter people from their path. Yes people struggle, they actually do, walking past all risks and hazards and busy with their way of living. People find the city busy, where none has time for the other, but I always saw it as a boon, atleast noone will stop and stare at you or try to hinder your work, life in that metro moves on, the race is never ending and the best part, every entity is ready to be a part of that race, survival of the fittest theory quite fits therein!

The city no doubt is glamorous, very rightly called the "maya nagri". It has all that it takes to mesmerise! From roads to high rise buildings, enough for a mortal like me to be overtaken on the very first drive. The serenity of marine drive, the elegance of the Gateway of India proudly confronting the grand Taj, the evening walks at hanging garden, the bhelpuri at chaupati, the sophisticated lokhandwala, insane bargaining at fashion street, the colourful accessories at colaba causeway to a wide variety of foreigners at mondegar and leopold, happy meals at Mac D, vada pav at jumbo,the aarti at Siddhivinayak, the amazingly pleasant and heavy rains are nothing less than pure magic!

But there was another aspect of the city that could move anybody. Travelling by local trains was fun to a visitor like me, but ask those thousands of masses who undertake this travel everyday, counting on each second, running, howling, resorting to all means just to make a small place in the train; the scene doesn't end here, as you move in you'll be surrounded by poor children who have been forced to beg to in order to manage a square meal a day, these kids sure must not be lured by the exquisite cuisines that the city offers. Wait for a bus in the dark hours and see the kids gambling on streets and you sure will forget the casinos and discs. The rains that seemed pleasant to me also happen to ruin lives every year. Women in the city have tough times as well making a living, the scenes are apalling. We can't forget that the city that houses the likes of Mukesh Ambani also owns Dharavi, Asia's biggest slum.
Life in Mumbai is colourful for many but only black and white for the lesser fortunate. You get to see all shades of life in the city.
A million dreams are granted here one at a time...only to step out into another, more familiar world of rough and tumble-where dreams have a way of playing hide and seek.
My journey came to an end on the 15th of July leaving me a bundle of varied memories and experiences.
Goodbye Mumbai, hope to see you again!