THIS DIS-BELIEF!!

                    Don't talk to strangers! Don't take anything from them! Be aware! The whole world is in a quest to cheat! Help others! But beware of rogue wearing the mask of humility! Friends can't be trusted. In today's time, even relations are not to be relied on! How can you trust your partner after watching 'emotional atyachaar'! World wants to take advantage. Always see to it that you are the one to snatch everything before others get the chance. No one can be trusted in this world full of crime, news flashes of forgery, betrayal, and conspiracy. In a nutshell, a world which we perceive is full of disbelief!                              
                But is our world such bad!
 Has gentleman become extinct in our so-called 21^st century??
 Every grey cloud has a silver lining.
I came across few silver linings in my life these days.

              

How many times it happens in our life that somebody does good to us and instead of thanking him, we keep wondering what personal gain he might get from it!! Recently I got a call from an unknown number inquiring about my father who was his neighbor when he was a kid. Talking after gap of years, as they both were refreshing their childhood memories, my mother commented, "Suddenly after so many years!...Jaroor kuch kaam hoga papa se! " She didn't have any personal grudges with that neighbor. But it was a natural thought for an inhabitant of this untrustworthy world. When the telephonic conversation ended, my dad revealed that his friend had gone through various directories, mutual friends and internet to get this number (My dad has a transferable job, adding to the complexities) and had just called to inquire about the well-being of his pal.

            








   I had to take an auto to get back home from college. With the general public view about meter tapering, charging extra money etc. , I and my friend went up to the auto stand clumsily thinking the ways not to get cheated by the shrewd auto drivers. We got to one auto and started enquiring about availability and tariff.  At the backdrop, we could hear people shouting, "Ma'am, auto. yahaan….ma'am!" I was getting irritated. Suddenly, one of the person from the background stood in front of us, and instructed, 'Come to that auto!' I was angry and was going to blast on him for so much persuasion just to gain profit when he smiled at my friend and asked 'Pehachaana nahi kya mujhe? '. She stared at him for a second or two, and then smiled back and exclaimed, 'Oh aap!'Actually that driver used to drop her to the school regularly from 5-7 class. I asked the driver how he could recognize after so many years when her face and personality had changed so much! To this he smiled and answered, 'Humaari bachi hai ye….aise kaise bhool jaayenge ise!' When we finally reached our stop, he was not even ready to take money from us saying,' how can I take money from you'. We had to force money into his hands. It filled me with remorse; the person I supposed was money-mined was so good at heart.

I agree that media is doing a very good job of making people aware of the deplorable happenings, but there should be mention of such silver linings also to instill hope, positivity and enthusiasm in people for a better tomorrow.

S.RITIKA
All pictures and thoughts are out of the Author's creative mind.. Copying without due credit to the author will add to the disbelief prevalent in this world. Serve humanity. :)

POSTING EMOTIONS...

As per my daily schedule, I went to my verandah to fetch newspaper. As I gave a cursory glance at the paper, I caught a glimpse of the cover page of the weekly magazine 'Twinkle' of 'The Hitvada'. It was titled, 'Where were postcards invented.'. I could not get my eyes off it. It was not at all something magnificent or out of the world. But, suddenly there was a feeling of Nostalgia.  Images from the past started playing in front of me.

Don't you all remember the days when we used to write on postcards. The 'trin trin' of the bell of the cycle was the most awaited thing because it was of postman chacha. As soon as the sound used to fall onto our ears, we all raced towards the gate as we had a message from our dear ones. The post man was a part of the family as he was always there with us; whether it was the news of family wedding or wishes of diwali, new year, whether it was a Rakhi from a brother to his beloved sister or the promotion of a near friend, it was postman chacha who maintained the strings of bonding. He consoled on the demise of a kin, gave us strength during friend's illness: He always bridged the gap and 'connected people' irrespective of the geographical boundaries.

And there were times when everyone stepped outside to buy beautiful greetings to send their regards to their near and dears. Every card was meticulously chosen after scrutinizing the wordings inside and finding the best cover picture. Messages were written to add more warmth; kindergarten students were encouraged to scribble massages, kids even used to make cards themselves to give it a personal touch. We were instructed in schools to write letters to our relatives every month. Enthusiastically we followed the advice with a strong support from our family. Cards were posted well in advance with address over them. It was so different from cc, bcc, forward to all messages we do these days. Even though it saves a lot of time in today's fast moving world,it doesn't have the love, warmth, intimacy the former has.

                And how can I forget those lovely rectangular pieces stuck over the cards: the stamps. Being a philatelist who found peace in collecting different stamps, I was amazed as it had so much and even when you thought you had enough of them, new and better stamps always caught your eyes. In today's age of dwindling letters collecting stamps has become a herculean task.  Now, the collection has become a legacy that shall be passed to future netizens who might never get a glimpse of them except in the google images.

In this world of bullet trains, emails and facebook where people may be a touch away, they surely miss the touch of human emotions, affection and intimacy. While connecting the distant people, it has distanced their hearts and today's relations are so conveniently made and broken just by clicking friend/unfriend…..

                                                          

                When I got a letter from my grandfather just few days back, the feeling I had can't be emulated by thousands of forwards, poke, and tags.
                                                                                                      
          

                                                                                      

NEW (MOMENTS OF AN) YEAR:

 It was really cold that morning. She took her daily route through the college. Chill breeze was flowing incessantly. While driving her two wheeler rashly, she suddenly realized that it was spring already..one whole year had gone with the wind…all the small, precious moments of her life, just like the tiny granules of sand of an hour glass, were gone, were lumped up in a glass chamber from where they could not return. As life progressed, more and more sand got heaped up and the memory of the past got obscured. Only few granules were fortunate enough to trickle down the heap to a place from where it could always be viewed through the transparent glass however old one may grow. They are the memories one always remembers as if they just took place yesterday. One whole semester was over and she thought she wasted it. Then she closed her eyes for a fraction of second and glimpses of her past appeared. Even though she had not utilized every moment to the fullest, hadn't outperformed in anything, but she realized that she actually enjoyed doing nothing. Night outs with friends, class bunks, 11^th hour group studies; painting, making nail arts, reading novels during lecture; dandiya, garbha, singing  in the weirdest tones ; remembering all these things, a smile automatically lit up her face. She felt light. It is said that when you are happy, the whole world appears beautiful. She started to notice minute things around her. Golden Leaves were swirling down to her. As she sped forward, leaves scattered on the road, dispersed, apparently looking as if they had paved way for her. All the trees seemed to rhythmically sway from one side to another. Even the cold breeze was nice. She realized that she had a whole year to look forward to, rather than thinking what she had lost.

S. RITIKA

(Written on 1.01.11 but didnt reach the blog...posting it today.......)

ENG-ioscope

Look around you and you will find numerous institutes guaranteeing admissions in IITs, innumerable tiny faces on banners with praise and laurels of that coaching class (which is a temple of knowledge where monetary donations surpass the recently found treasure of Satya Sai trust or Padmanabhaswamy temple). Each middle class teenaged citizen of India of the age group 15-19 enters one of these temples (sometimes even two or three of them to please all the deities) with only one wish which he/she (or their mummy, papa, chachi, dada, uncle… ) want fulfilled: To be an IITian. They immolate their 2-4 years to intensive learning (kind of Vishvamitra's vrat devoid of any worldly pleasure, emotions  full of hurdles in the form of test series to be solved). Immured in a room full of formulae and equations, they are cut off from the world outside.

                                                After persevering for an aim, with undeterred will to crack the most difficult paper of India, they enter the exam hall on the D-day. These 6 hours would decide their future. Anxious faces enter the hall and when they return the anxiousness gets tenfold. They have marked their fate. It has become 'read only' with no edit option. There's a sigh of relief. Then a tempest comes which takes away the short lived tranquility. An un-ending list of exams to appear for, forms of various colleges to be filled come into picture: Hullabaloo. The worst part of the chaos comes when the results are displayed. The shrewd college authorities display the result one by one adding to the confusion and tension just to pocket more money (students). Everyone gets busy in surfing best colleges, ringing 'padosi ki friend ki beti' who is doing engineering, long discussions as to what will be best for Bunty and Pinky. Poor Bunty or Pinky due to peer or dear ones or just by following the latest trend enroll in a college(as expect few, others don’t exactly know their aim in life. Engineering is synonymous to secure future to them).

                                                A new chapter opens as they enter their respective colleges. Once the senior most adolescents, they are now toddlers in the world of adults. Contented of being a would-be engineer they enjoy the new phase in their life. It's a whole new experience for them. New friends, Hostel dormitories and the new environment of the campus is relished by them. In college a whole new dimension of everything unveils. There is always so much 'happening' in the campus. They participate in each and everything just for the sake of fun and experience. They expose themselves to the vast possibilities. Campus is a mini-world. It is full of people having different tastes and while interacting with everyone they learn. And in these friendly informal interactions they shape up their future. They develop various facets and get to know where exactly their interest lies. At every step, let it be semester exams or event management or internships or just painting or writing^. 1 year passes at light's pace which is full of unforgettable memories. 2^nd year comes with regrets of wasting a year unfruitful, and worries as to what they will do in their future. But they still have the hangover of  1^st yr's masti.  3^rd and final years again set out on a journey to build their career. This time its different from the previous quest, as they know what they want to do, or will soon get to know as the cycles will repeat unfolding many latent talents,  giving direction to their life with greater exposure. As life herself is a teacher mightier than all. (Good judgment comes from bad experience which itself is an outcome of bad judgments.) At the end (when they become toddlers of professional world) they get what they want, or more appropriately what they need as they have well developed various traits of personality. In a nutshell, engineering teaches us many things other than the information in class room lectures. 

Utilization of India's treasure:

 India has recently rediscovered its age old wealth in the Padmanabswamy temple in Kerala. Amidst the bustle regarding the source of the treasure being tax, wealth of the king or common man's 'dana', another important question has come into picture regarding its usage.  Being worth 1 lakh crore, it can improve the condition of Kerala as well as our nation. It can be auctioned off providing many times more money than accounted. It can be preserved in a museum as a national heritage.

                Whatever decision is taken by SC and temple trust, it should be considered that it's a heritage that has been preserved by the trust and travancore kings for more than 150 years and should be kept so for generations to come. Moreover it has been found in temple, thus increasing its sacred value.

                Instead of auctioning the priceless treasure, money equivalent to the evaluated worth of the treasure should be printed by RBI and this money should be invested in improving infrastructure, providing aids to farmers and thus for the betterment of society.The growth and development thus caused can be offered to the God to show gratitude. The treasure should be kept in a museum so that India can preserve as well as patronize its heritage.

 Considering the religious ethics, all religions support dana for those in need.  The wealth can be considered as a gift from God almighty to the nation suffering from deficits, inflation and lack of funds. Thus it should be used for the betterment of the nation in a way that our heritage is preserved. Even God almighty and benevolent souls of travancore kings will fell happy to find the wealth accumulated for the betterment of praja is utilized for the people's development.