The virtual dance of democracy

It is said to be the Dance of democracy. There are various superlatives given to our elections. The whole process of election makes the people feel powerful. All the so called powerful leaders will come and ask for the common man’s vote. What they do with the vote is an entirely different question. This time the social media is said to play a major role

 The amount of work these parties put into their online campaigning it would look like the election is going to take place in Facebook with Mark Zuckerberg as the electoral officer or that the election commission will consider the number of retweets and favourites also along with the cast vote.

Yes! XYZ Party gets more likes and hence we have a winner!

My favourite social media of the lot is twitter. I am pretty sure that the creators of twitter would have had one of those friends who just won’t keep quiet. They must have come up with this brilliant idea while talking to her/him.  

Anyways you open twitter now and it is elections all over. Full of trivia which no one really cares about. Major news handles trying to outreach other major news handles by bringing exclusive items about candidates' past and present. When they run out of such highly interesting trivia I am half expecting these people will go to some astrologer to get exclusive breaking news about the candidates’ future also. In fact that is a good idea. Instead of having the experts and political commentators they should have a panel of astrologers, psychics, tarot card readers, Paul the octopus (in spirit of course, which I am sure can be arranged) and have a healthy discussion on the future of the Indian democracy.  

Now things like candidate A wore a t shirt last year in a function which proves him to be an agent of the West or candidate B wore a kurtha pyjama last month which made him regressive and against development are getting momentum in twitter! This will ensure a series of tweets making fun of the said candidates and hordes of people supporting candidates A, B and C, more or less making it a trend. They will have childish twitter fights on how childish it is to fight on twitter. They will profess great ideas about how the country should be run in 140 letters. I mean where did all those ignorant geeks go? What happened to all the good old days when Poonam Pandey could start a trend with a single tweet? (Now even she has to resort to the English premier league) Or how Koffee with karan used to trend with its sheer brilliance! 

 Every day at least two of the top trends now are political in nature. This is setting a bad example to the upcoming generation that wants to join twitter. For them it’ll be a choice between the politically aware pseudo intellectuals of Twitter and the self obsessed ignorant teens and aunties of Facebook. That’s worse than choosing between Modi and Rahul Gandhi. 

I find solace in instagram now. Barring the selfie fever it is a wonderful social network to drool over the food you'll never eat and places you'll never visit. 

The following are some of the statistics I found while researching on this. (By research I meant Google. Isn't that kind of obvious?)

India has

114.8 Million Facebook users  (http://qz.com/150274/india-facebook/ )

33 Million Twitter users (http://www.alltechienews.com/posts/twitter-s-most-active-country-is-china )

A total of 147.8 million users

We have 814 million eligible voters (http://blogs.reuters.com/india/2014/04/03/facts-and-figures-for-the-2014-general-election/)

We also have a population of around 400 million without access to electricity (http://web.worldbank.org/WBSITE/EXTERNAL/TOPICS/EXTENERGY2/0,,contentMDK:22855502~pagePK:210058~piPK:210062~theSitePK:4114200,00.html )

Around 18 % of the voters are in the social media but a staggering 49 % do not have access to electricity.

 This 18% is widely spread all over the country with probably a high density in the urban areas.

Do we have to politicize the social media also for this? Social networks are probably among the few places left where your religion, location, cast, political leanings don’t really matter. Why not keep it that way?

Do dance along for the democracy.

(Do share this with the pseudo intellectuals, ignorant teens and Google employees) 

Travelling light. .

I went to the Kochi Muziris Biennale yesterday and I did not take a camera with me.

What is the big deal you may ask. Photography is one of my passions and I bought my first camera around a year back. Being photo obsessed I really wanted to take the camera, but due to some inconvenience my camera was not with me and there was no chance I could get another one.  With deep regrets I still went.  The following are the thoughts which arose on travelling light, without the burden of a camera, without the urge to click photos of anything and everything.
 This is not about the Biennale as such; I don’t think I can write about it as it is literally beyond words. This is just a thought I had when I walking through exhibits without the weight of a camera hanging on my neck or mind.
The first stall itself was really captivating and I couldn’t come out of it without taking a photo at least in my phone. People who know my obsession know that I really hate photos taken on a phone. I don’t know why, I just hate it. In spite of that I still took one photo.

Then I was literally lost on the works that was displayed, till I reached the food stall. Not having a camera was in fact a releasing feeling.  I did not have to bother waiting for the crowd to move to take the photo. Don’t have to worry about the quality of the photos. I can just walk through the exhibits. The food stall was located behind the venue, right next to the backwaters. The sight was really good and almost all of those people coming there immediately took out their cameras and started clicking photos.  The first thought that came to my head also was that. The location is picture perfect. The backwaters, a small country bout in the vicinity and some other boats a bit out into the waters.

 As I sat down there and observed people, I saw that more of them came there and rather than seeing the scene they immediately turn their backs to the scene and front to the camera, but is it worth it? Sacrificing the the time to stand there and enjoy the scene we immediately look around to find the perfect spot to take a photo.  We might probably upload it in Facebook and get ‘likes’ and ‘comments’ but beyond that what? We’ll keep it in it our computers? I am not sure about others but I have to keep the photos in my system in an organized manner but most of the time it ends there.
 So once I was done with the first location i.e the Aspinwall HouseI moved on to the next location in the map; the Pepper House. There a very good café was arranged. I must have sat there for around 45 minutes and wrote random thoughts about whatever I have seen till then.
Memories need not be always captured with a camera. Memories are those which are etched in our minds. Cameras literally capture everything, just because we have a camera we tend to take photos of our breakfast to the dog we saw on the road. The so called ‘moments’ are sometimes spoiled by our obsession to record and keep it forever. The actual moments or memories are often lost among such hundreds of photos. Real memories are those which are recreated in words with the person whom you share the memory with. It need not be showed off to the world.
 Sitting at the café I could capture the images of the people sitting near me as words, it would look weird if I start taking their photos.
Do try it once in a while, go to some place nice without the heaviness of a camera and keep those moments in your memory.
(Those who can do visit the Kochi Muziris Biennale, it is something I haven’t seen till now, totally worth it!)

2012

2011 the year that went by, was a good one for me.
Academically passing the final year (The Inner Peace) was the best of all!
In the blogosphere I was honored twice by Blogadda by choosing my Murders at the hospital and The Patient I'll never forget for their Tangy Tuesday and Spicy Saturday picks..
I got to travel a lot and meet up with new people and got to know the old ones better! Some of them I just met once and became friends forever! Never imagined such things would happen..
I started this post to put down all the good memories of 2011 and now I realized its just too much and I might miss out some! ( And definitely not because I am called for dinner!!)
The bad and sad memories I choose to forget because as life goes by we don't usually keep track of the bad events that happened. Its always the 'good old days'! So 2011 was great for all of you as well! Never keep any regrets coz the past ain't coming back!! (Unless I invent a time machine! Yes I am going to continue my PJs to 2012 also!)

Have a great 2012!!!

An Introvert, Am I?

I have always wondered if I am an introvert or not. I was never really bothered about being lonely or alone. I prefer going places on my own. (Well in that way nobody will come to know the blunders which I usually do.) I can sit in a busy train without talking to anyone for 11 hours straight and I have done that more than once. I don't mind going for movies alone and that many of friends can't digest that because they apparently can't just think of something like that happening.

I prefer talking photos rather than posing for one. Even though I can talk to a person for hours, I am never comfortable in a group of people whom I barely know. (There is an exception to this, just one) I am that kind of a person who doesn't just go with the group and likes to do things the way it fits me or my logic, which needless to say has made many problems with my friends. For me enjoyment is letting people do what they want to do rather being tied up in a group.

Many a times I have been referred to as anti-social but the truth is if Am comfortable with a particular group of people, then the situation is totally different, I'll go around pulling legs, irritating and taunting everyone probably making them wish I was an introvert. So coming back to the original question, Am I an introvert or not? I don't know the answer but I saw this article in Google plus and I could relate to many points in it.. Especially the last sentence!!

(Another interesting angle is such an awesome article first came in G+ and not in Fb!!)

Some Myths about Introverts. Super Interesting ! and Super True !

Myth #1 – Introverts don’t like to talk.
This is not true. Introverts just don’t talk unless they have something to say. They hate small talk. Get an introvert talking about something they are interested in, and they won’t shut up for days.

Myth #2 – Introverts are shy.
Shyness has nothing to do with being an Introvert. Introverts are not necessarily afraid of people. What they need is a reason to interact. They don’t interact for the sake of interacting. If you want to talk to an Introvert, just start talking. Don’t worry about being polite.

Myth #3 – Introverts are rude.
Introverts often don’t see a reason for beating around the bush with social pleasantries. They want everyone to just be real and honest. Unfortunately, this is not acceptable in most settings, so Introverts can feel a lot of pressure to fit in, which they find exhausting.

Myth #4 – Introverts don’t like people.
On the contrary, Introverts intensely value the few friends they have. They can count their close friends on one hand. If you are lucky enough for an introvert to consider you a friend, you probably have a loyal ally for life. Once you have earned their respect as being a person of substance, you’re in.

Myth #5 – Introverts don’t like to go out in public.
Nonsense. Introverts just don’t like to go out in public FOR AS LONG. They also like to avoid the complications that are involved in public activities. They take in data and experiences very quickly, and as a result, don’t need to be there for long to “get it.” They’re ready to go home, recharge, and process it all. In fact, recharging is absolutely crucial for Introverts.

Myth #6 – Introverts always want to be alone.
Introverts are perfectly comfortable with their own thoughts. They think a lot. They daydream. They like to have problems to work on, puzzles to solve. But they can also get incredibly lonely if they don’t have anyone to share their discoveries with. They crave an authentic and sincere connection with ONE PERSON at a time.

Myth #7 – Introverts are weird.
Introverts are often individualists. They don’t follow the crowd. They’d prefer to be valued for their novel ways of living. They think for themselves and because of that, they often challenge the norm. They don’t make most decisions based on what is popular or trendy.

Myth #8 – Introverts are aloof nerds.
Introverts are people who primarily look inward, paying close attention to their thoughts and emotions. It’s not that they are incapable of paying attention to what is going on around them, it’s just that their inner world is much more stimulating and rewarding to them.

Myth #9 – Introverts don’t know how to relax and have fun.
Introverts typically relax at home or in nature, not in busy public places. Introverts are not thrill seekers and adrenaline junkies. If there is too much talking and noise going on, they shut down. Their brains are too sensitive to the neurotransmitter called Dopamine. Introverts and Extroverts have different dominant neuro-pathways. Just look it up.

Myth #10 – Introverts can fix themselves and become Extroverts.
A world without Introverts would be a world with few scientists, musicians, artists, poets, filmmakers, doctors, mathematicians, writers, and philosophers. That being said, there are still plenty of techniques an Extrovert can learn in order to interact with Introverts. (Yes, I reversed these two terms on purpose to show you how biased our society is.) Introverts cannot “fix themselves” and deserve respect for their natural temperament and contributions to the human race. In fact, one study (Silverman, 1986) showed that the percentage of Introverts increases with IQ.

So what you think??

The two years

When I started this blog I seriously had no idea where it was heading and what Am I gonna put up and after 2 years of blogging I still don't know the answers. . I can safely say this blog has truly happened as a matter of chance.
Writing has always been a passion for me. I enjoy writing and ironically I have the worst handwriting possible. (Which has been made fun of umpteen number of times from my 4th standard malayalam teacher to the college staff, without fail almost everyone who has seen it..Well that is not what this post is about.)
So back to blogging.. I started this thinking it would be the next best thing after facebook (I know, too much exaggeration!! )
Later on i realized it is not gonna happen. (I still don't know why.. Come on I was more qualified than Mark Z when he started fb.. )
Anyways Am happy where I am right now. I got a bunch of readers, who may not always leave a comment but would give the feedback directly.
I don't know how many of you remember the offer I gave for the 1st anniversary ( Free Ice creams!) this time its gonna be even better!
There are two offers.
Offer no 1: 'Like' or '+' as much posts in the blog and person who does the maximum likes can redeem them in KFC! You should see for the sign saying "As a Matter of Chance offer valid". If you find the sign then go ahead and place the order. Once you get it ask for the 'gifts for Likes'
100 likes : beautiful aroma of the fried chicken
200 likes : one tissue paper extra
250 likes : one sachet ketchup
500 likes : one sachet ketchup and a tissue paper extra
(And this time I am not asking you bring any proof or anything because of the simple reason that I trust you guys!)
More than 500 likes : You are lying, there is no way you can put more than 500 likes!!!!

Offer no 2: Its very simple. Just find me and ask me for a coffee! And I shall be giving it!

Best of luck!
Keep reading!! :) :)

Inner Peace

Exactly four years and 24 days after I joined for Bachelor of Dental Surgery my final year results came. And I passed. Am a doctor now. (Technically I have to finish I year internship also before they actually let me pull out someone’s tooth.)

I was totally convinced that it would not come that day but a close friend of mine had an opposing view. She had a gut feeling apparently that it would come on the 24^th of August. I had a rational reasons as to why it won’t come. The site was very fast in opening and was real smooth when I refreshed it again and again. Normally when they upload the results the site would be slow and stuck. The previous day it was so and I was almost sure the results would come. Again my friend had the opposing view. Even though I was convinced it would not come I still kept on refreshing the site and just like that without any slowing down it just appeared. Final year BDS results. The feeling I had that very moment is beyond words. It was something like a mix of tension, hope, fear and all.. Again words fail me. I entered my register number with shaky hands ( I don’t think my hands were shaking but just for the dramatic effect lets say they were shaking). I clicked ‘submit’. Thinking back now I should have probably waited a bit and cherished that moment. But in a matter of seconds my results came. I passed for all the seven papers. I felt happy and content. I’d like to think at that very moment I found my inner peace. ( yes I have watched kung fu panda at least 10 times!)

Though I always dreamed of that moment i didn’t know what to do. I did not feel like screaming even though I wanted to. I wanted to shout to my mother. But I just sat there looking at the result. I could tell my mother but she’ll be in the kitchen. (Ever since I came back she is always busy in the kitchen. Food seems to get over fast.) Finally I got up went to the stairs and I found mom looking at me from down the stairs expectantly and asking if anything has come. Mothers have a sixth sense for sensing these things. You talk to some random girl in your class for hours they don’t have a problem but the moment someone special calls they’ll all over you asking a thousand questions! Anyways I said yeah I passed. As every other she was not convinced and came all the way up to see the results for herself. Then she congratulated me. Another Kodak moment it was! Then I started messaging my friends. Called up the near and dear starting from my father who was my inspiration in fact. Then the people whom I would call as my friends. They had to put up with my entire psychotic and neurotic episodes during the study leave. And they should take me a bit more seriously. I called this friend who was convinced the results would come that day and told her she passed. She also was not convinced and thought I was joking; I then had to read out her marks just to convince her. She then screamed on the phone! The next day we were talking and she pointed out that such happy news shouldn’t be told in a grave voice, I should have screamed it onto the phone it seems.

Even to me its still a mystery as to why I did not jump and scream at that moment. I always wanted to. I always thought of doing so. May be I did find my inner peace.

Back again!!

It has been quite some time since I had put something here. Partly because life is getting hectic and majorly because I got lazy!!  But that didn’t prevent me from reading blogs. Today I read a post on posts, comments and self promotions. Suddenly it hit me! It has been almost 3 months since I did any sort of self promotion!!!   Anyway the past 3 months had been really ‘eventful’!

• -          A visit to Jaipur for a presentation.  Made a bunch of awesome friends and memories over there!
• -          Another trip to Ooty with my friends from college!
• -          College culturals in which my batch took the overall!
• -          I did my first extraction (pulling out tooth!!! Something which I like to make money on!)
• -          My handwriting which has a reputation finally showed some signs of improvement!!! It has gone from illegible to slightly legible. For this I should probably thank the teacher who assured me he would make me write in a four line notebook to ‘help’ me. And then there is another teacher who asked my sun sign. I promptly told Scorpio thinking he would give astrological explanation/solution to this phenomenon. “Oh! So that’s why you write as if a Scorpio has walked on the paper!!” was the response. I couldn’t help but laugh at his answer. That was by far the most innovative insult I got for my handwriting.   

These are the major events, I think. Elaboration can be done on each as well but I am too lazy now to do that! And there are other things as well which I might post some other day! 

The next major item on the list is my university exam which as of now is going to start on June 21^st! The ultimate thriller! Like never before!

So hopefully I won’t be spending much time online!!! (Yeah right! As if it’s gonna  happen!!!!)

10 steps for a Free Icecream!!

It’s been a year since the blog was born. As with my most of other actions this also didn’t have any particular reason or aim. It just happened As a Matter of Chance! On this happy occasion I am offering free coffee flavored ice creams to all my readers!!!
This is being done in association with Baskin Robbins.
Please follow the steps given below to get it.

1) Put a comment on this post or any other post. (Previous comments are acceptable)
2) Take a print out of that page.
3) Go to your nearest Baskin Robbins outlet.
4) Check for the sign saying “As a Matter of Chance Offer Valid!!”
5) Go in and order coffee flavored ice cream
6) Enjoy the ice cream
7) Show cashier your print out
8) Show your id
9) Argue with the cashier
10) Walk/run out!!!


Repost this on your facebook, twitter or anywhere else to get more flavors. Offer valid only for a week!
Enjoy your ice cream!!
It’s been a great year!
Keep Reading!!!

A Dream Fulfilled!!!

If I ever had a list of what all should I do before going up, watching a live show of Motherjane would be in the top 5!!! If any of you don't know about motherjane yet, please visit the link!! It is a carnatic rock band started in 1996 in Kochi.. It has won so many awards in India and abroad.... Their rock is unlike any other rock has a classic touch.. The music has peculiar flow which you can recognise anywhere you hear it!!

Now coming to the fulfilment of my dream. When I was walking around Kottayam my home town, suddenly I saw a Motherjane poster!! It seems they are coming to Kottayam and when I checked its only for a private club... And there appeared no way in which I could go to it.. But after trying really hard I got into some private arrangements which are kept confidential on request!!! Still there was an uncertainty till the moment that phone call came, asking me to come to the entrance!!! It was happening at last!!
Then the essential wait... I sitting in front of a coffee counter alone ( Apparently the private club members are all too private!!) and Baiju who is the lead guitarist walked out of the stage and came right up there!! I shook hands with him and he was so down to earth!!!! It really amazed me!
Then there was Deepu walking around but somehow I couldn't talk to him!! After that I went to main stage and I was again amazed to see Abhijith the band's manager with Suraj standing in a corner talking casually to some other guys... I could just go upto them and talk.. They were totally cool!!


Again after some more wait the show actually started!!! They started off with Disillusion then Mindstreet and after that Blood in the Apple.. By that time I was getting frequent calls from home asking me to come back.. Finally when I decided to go back home, Abijith told the next one is 'Chasing the sun' which is one of my favourites!! So I stayed back!! But then again the song after that was Tribes of Babel, it was the one I always wanted to hear!!They composed it for the Amnesty International!!! So I stood for that also!! And then my phone vibrated for the 3rd time, I knew it was either 'home-way' or the highway!!!
Even though the crowd was a bit dull in the first song, gradually the energy of the band struck a cord with the crowd and many guys started singing along!! But I came out and headed home when the collective energy of crowd was at its peak!!!
The best moments in life always remain the shortest!!!

(This post is dedicated to the two people who helped to meake this dream come true!!)
Kudos to them!! And Motherjane, Keep rocking!!!!

Exams again!!

The yearly event to make sure you live for a month entirely on coffee and chocolates!

The yearly event to make sure you don't use pillows to sleep!

The yearly event to make sure you regret every time you bunked and went for a movie!

The yearly event where your imagination reaches new heights!!

The ultimate suspense thriller!! Exams!!

I have not been putting up any posts recently as my imagination and creativity was drained by cracking stupid PJs to the serious studious students (read girls!!)
As my university exam is supposed to be in June 3rd week, they have started preparing for the battle! These are some random thoughts about exams..

Apparently there are three attitudes seen among the exam going students.

1)"OH MY GOD!!! Hardly a month!!! What to do with that??"

2)"One month is there!! Have to plan a timetable and start from 'tomorrow'!"

3)"When is Iron Man 2 releasing??" ( Actually when is it getting released??)

The advent of exam season is marked by a sudden increase in attendance and frequent visits to library.
Or it is when I see a couple sitting separately and studying during free time!(Couples doing combined 'study' is a common sight actually!!)
During exam I always felt there is spurt of creativity in everyone. After sitting with the book for sometime you get up bored, go to the other room, start talking about something and the ideas coming are totally mind blowing!! The 'night outs' are yet another phenomenon seen during the season! Last time I did a night out I kept my laptop on thinking I'll watch F.R.I.E.N.D.S or House MD while taking breaks.. And it ended up watching books while taking a break from the laptop!!
The most depressing part in the season is that there is no one to talk to properly!! Either most of them are busy studying or all they want to talk to about is studies! Its really depressing!!
I really hope to concentrate and get through somehow!!

"Damn true: Just when we sit down to study, Everything else on earth gets so interesting!!
Even just staring at the wall!!" - Another forwarded sms..

Problems and Solutions!!

Problem: a state of difficulty that needs to be resolved

It can be classified into Mild, Moderate or Severe. When a number of mild problems coalesce a severe problem emerge. This is life. If you don't have any problem you probably are dead. Then again the problem arises on what is to be done with it!! (Actually its not your problem!!)
Usually I'll be having mild problems here and there. But last one week got me into so much problems.
It was the continuation of last post's problems only.. Though last weekend was one of the most eventful 3 days in my college life I couldn't enjoy myself because I was sitting inside my small cocoon of problems.. Most of which I made for myself..
Even after the Grand finale (of problems)!!! I was still inside the cocoon!!
Thinking about it now, I realized there is a specific pattern for any problem..
First of all there is a 'problem maker'(in whose eyes you are the problem maker!!!)
Then there is a 'solver'!! ( Who in fact solves a problem you never had!)
Now comes the essential components the 'lighter' and the 'fuel'!!
Obviously to burn you need fuel but how much ever fuel you have it wont burn unless you light it and that is how they work.. One fuels the problems and the other just give it a spark!! Voila!! There is FIRE!!!
The 'maker' is the one getting heated, burned and finally getting reduced to ashes!!
While the solver solves the problem of water leakage from the fire engine!! That is also a problem right??
Finally the maker's ash remains... Waiting to be collected in a jar!!!

I realized something else also..
Every problem does not have a solution!! The problem is solved when people get bored of it or get a new problem.
For every problem that has a solution there will be at least 3 people convinced that its not a solution and would go to any extent to find a solution..
In every problem there will at least a person sharing your opinion but most of the times you wont know it..
Finally there is nothing like a friend noticing that you have a problem and asking whats the matter when you badly need someone to tell your side of the story!!!

Thankfully with few such friends those problems subsided!!!
Waiting for more to come!!

The Divine Answer and Fight Club!!

When some things happen in your life, have you ever wondered if that's how you get answers to your questions... Questions you ask yourself...

For the last two weeks every single time i ask myself what more can go wrong something worst happens..
When i finally thought nothing worse can happen, again something went wrong... Then I started believing.. It is The Answer!!! You ask a question to the Universe and it answers
All these are in reference to the upcoming intra college student cultural event Renaissance 2010 and our ongoing exams!!! I wanted to concentrate on both but I am not!!
Out of the frustration yesterday night instead of studying I ended up watching 'Fight Club' the 1999 Eng movie!!! Awesome!! It gave me so much hopes!! Wish i actually had the multiple personality disorder at times... Every time I go to sleep, I wake up as different person who finishes off every work I had to do... So when the real me wakes up everything is done! How cool is that!
Sadly I am not suffering from multiple personality disorder neither do I have a cool alter ego when I sleep like Brad Pitt... All I have is just a sleeping personality who likes to sleep a lot!!!

Will update soon on Renaissance 2010!!

And another V-Day!!!

Happy Valentines Day wishes to all!!!

Those who are having girl friend(s)/boy friend(s) do have a great time getting married!! (If you are in Mangalore!!)

Those who are not having boy friend/ girl friend feel free to express anger, distress, grief etc etc against the frank westernization of Indian heritage!!! I am with you!!

Don’t forget to thank the self appointed moral polices of India who are taking so much pain to check the downfall of the Indian Culture.. Guys you are doing a great job to protect the values and traditions of the Indian society!!! Instead of all the bad publicity you ought to get some appreciation.. But I am confused about lot of things. May be its just my ignorance about the Indian culture. After all I have been here only for about 21 years. How can I absorb the Values accumulated for over a thousand years?

You guys beat up teenagers but worship Krishna. I am not sure but I have heard he used to run around with chicks. But he eventually got married to all of them. So that’s ok I guess. My suggestion is that there should be a Krishnasena to protect and promote Krishna culture in India. It should be ok with the other Senas as we are just following the traditions!! May not be Ramayana ones but definitely Mahabharatham… Partying, gambling, running around with chicks should all come in that..

I am really happy you are totally against the modern outfits!! It demeans our culture. You have a problem with girls showing cleavage but no problem with the heritage sites having naked statues!! You have issues with kissing, hugging and all but have never bothered about the Kamasutra.. You should seriously consider editing the ancient text to make it adapted to the ‘new age’ heritage of our country.. You can take tips from the Great Castration of 1857 in which many manly figures in Vatican were ‘unmanned’ by Pope Pius!!(Ref: Angels and Demons) Or the destruction of the Buddha statues in Afghanistan..

What is so Un-Indian about celebrating your love?? After all it’s the work of Kamadevan right?? Why not go and hunt him down? Can the humble humans be blamed because of somebody else’s doing??

I really can’t understand why people are doing this. And if they are so concerned about the situation why not do it on the other 364 days also? Is it that you think you are showing patriotism by doing anti social acts? If you are patriotic join the army and fight for the country and don’t fight in the country..

I feel the real patriotism is shown in Mumbai by going for MNIK in spite of all the troubles promised by the old man. Things went on smoothly also. What can a handful of lunatics possibly do when masses come out? They can sit back and accept the defeat. Or they can make press statements telling they didn’t actually mean to stop the screening or they were misinterpreted or anything to save their faces. I really hope the josh continues throughout the country. At least in Mangalore I hope they’ll release it.

Apparently the Valentines Day is pretty much commercialized these days. Actually it was the commercialization which bought the Valentines Day, Father’s day, Mother’s day, Brother’s Day, Sister’s day and all other ‘Days’ into the picture. 10 years ago as far as I know there was no Valentine’s Day. Neither was there any other so called days. It seems V-day celebrations are not affected by the recession either. Business is blooming!! Not only the cards, flowers or gifts but also the hotels giving special dinners, jewelers making special items, even flights offering romantic seats and so many others taking a piece from the pie.. The best one I heard is the lunar embassy. With $20 you can buy property in Moon in the name of your dear ones. But I don’t think people should wait for any day to show your affection.

And as on every other Valentines Day this year also I am gonna spent it with myself!!!

Anyone interested in giving me a company are most welcome!!!

Nostalgia: Part 2 The School

The Best days of life are the shortest…

We always miss those good old days…

May be they are meant to be missed…

However long they are, we always wish for more…

“We always have best friends in each phase of life… Only lucky ones have the same friends throughout…”

The fact that I call up my school buddies whenever I am feeling a bit low tells me that school life is not gone.. It’ll never go.. Stays as the golden memories in life…

I miss my school life… Those were the best days of life...

Yes; I agree with the fact that college life is considered to be the best but school life was different… There are so many things you wouldn’t have done in school but still there is something which makes school life different from everything else..

College life is all about freedom while in school you are under a constant scrutiny by teachers.. Not even in my remotest dreams I have thought about bunking… Now only I realize how easy it was to bunk then… Just one attendance in the morning!!!

Then there was a Principal who called your parents to school every time you get into some trouble like not bringing a record book or failing in a class test.. If that were the situation in college parents had to settle somewhere here only!!!

Rarely only we were sent out from the classroom, which would be accompanied by sadness, anger and a number of other emotions.. In college if sent out from class there are only two emotions: worry about the attendance and relief!!!

PTA (Parent Teachers Association) meetings!! Another dreaded event which occurs usually once a year.. In special cases can occur twice also.. (Happened in 10^th and 12^th)

Other than the routine complaints from teachers (He is good but because of his company he is not doing well in studies.. And they are telling it to everyone… If everybody is good then how can we be in bad company???) But parents being parents never think of it… They always take the teachers very seriously!! As it always happen those very guys will remain your best friends!! And the ‘good’ guys whom your teachers want you to be friends with will never be a good friend.. Most of the time he turns out to be someone like Chathur in 3 Idiots…!! I really pity people who don’t believe in making good friends!! They don’t know what they are missing out in life!!!

Apparently PTA meetings are the only time when the ‘bad guys’ in the class show their nice side… You probably wonder if the ‘obedient’, ‘respectful’, ‘good’ guy standing next to his mom/dad is the same person who threatened to kick your butt because you didn’t give back his ‘girl friends’ pen..!!!

Well that’s another thing.. How much ever hard you try there are very few chances school time affairs make it to the real world.. Unlike college these ‘couples’ has to be very careful because if you were found together outside or suspiciously close inside the campus you are bound to get noticed by the teachers and would be told to your parents in the next PTA meeting or sometimes earlier also… It has happened when I was in 11^th a ‘couple’ was caught from a nearby juice shop by a staff.. Parents were called.. So much drama followed and eventually the boy’s parents took him to another school.. The reason was that roaming around in the uniform gave a bad name to the school… Here in Mangalore I am seeing 9^th standard and 10^th standard kids roaming around in couples…

I really hope things have changed back home..

(But the lucky ones do make it to the real world and end up in marriage… But there is only a handful of such people…)

It’s been three years since I have stepped from school… On a rainy evening I never think of the times I didn’t bunk.. Not once about the PTA or the principal... It would always be a group of friends who made my school life beautiful… Every time while going through those old photos, it’s all about the fun we had.. The time we went for a tour.. How we spent the last days of school days enjoying the maximum..

Indeed school life was the best time in my life!!!

Dedicated to all my buddies in school…. Without whom life wouldn't have been colourful…