Drive to BIAL

It was a Saturday evening. As I reached home after attending a media seminar in Symbiosis institute, I got to know that my family had planned to drive all the way to BIAL. Why? Just like that... :) A long drive on a late Saturday evening feels good. A drive to BIAL had been a long lost plan. After having read a lot of views, opinions about the new international airport in newspapers, I kind of looked forward for the drive.

The pathway to BIAL is truly remarkable. The array of street lights, if looked at poetically, gives you an impression that a series of pearls have been carefully picked and arranged against a black background. The whole path looks illuminated. The very neatly landscaped median adds on to the whole beauty of it.

In spite of all the above mentioned positive aspects of the pathway, there was one thing which kept constantly striking me. That is, the excessive number of street lights throughout the way. I am not sure about the exact number; there were hundreds and hundreds of them! So one might ask, what is my problem if there are so many street lights?

My issue- Is there a need for so many street lights? What I noticed was the proximity at which each of these poles were placed. That was when I felt that there was an unnecessary wastage of electricity by placing these street light poles so close to each other. In fact, at a particular stretch I even noticed that even though a few lights were put off (alternate light poles were lit), the road still looked well illuminated. So why not cut down on the number of street lights being used? Won’t that be beneficial in saving electricity?

Even though I was constantly being asked to enjoy the beauty of the pathway and not analyse the reason behind erecting that many street lights, I somehow couldn’t stop ignoring the unnecessary wastage of electricity being done.

I also agree that there might be scientific and security reasons behind fixing specific number of lights. But, what is that specific reason? If anybody has an answer, do let me know.

Six months!

I can't believe that I am updating my blog after almost six months. It would be a ridiculous excuse to say that I did not have time to write even a single post from past six months. But unfortunately, that's the only excuse I have. ;) I had a lot of things to write about, but was caught in between assignments, projects and a few other things.

I never expected that third year of college would drain me out so much. 'Hectic' is not the word for third year students in christ college. Am i exaggerating? Not sure! But I felt it was hectic. But it's strange that in spite of the busy schedule, third year has been the time when I have enjoyed college the MOST. Thanks to my friends!

The last six months has been like a roller coaster ride. Never expected so many twists in such a short time. In these six months, I have had my share of happiness and disappointments. Life seems a li'l strange sometimes. But then, life is supposed to be strange right? If its normal it gets boring.

The next six months are going to be crucial. Last semester in christ, entrance exams, change of place. Huff! My god! So many things to worry about. I guess, as my friend says, I really need to relax a bit. Thats not easy to do when you have so many things in mind. Anyway, all I can say right now is that, I am LOST!

Apprehensive, clueless, sad, demotivated, slightly excited etc etc- Thats how I feel right now!

Life moves on! :)

Memories!

As I was flipping through the pages of a newspaper, I read a few articles about summer camps. As I was reading through it, my mind slipped back to my summer vacations as a kid. I never went to any summer camps; in fact I had a more exciting plan for my summer vacations. My perfect getaway for my summer vacations was Moodabidri (a town near M’lore)- my grandpa and grandma’s house.

As kids, summer vacations were always filled with fun, fun and only fun! From the first till the last, everyday was different. The two months of fun and frolic would be sufficient to cherish for one whole year. As I look back, I recollect all those fun filled days at my native place ‘Moodabidri’ with a dozen cousins, aunts, grandpa and grandma!

The month of April and May used to be the most awaited months of the year. The childish games that we used to play, the trees that we climbed together, lots and lots of paper that we wasted to make boats during rains, the idli’s that we made in sand using coconut shells, being chased by dogs, the yummy raw mangoes, the horror stories by karthoo( which actually scared us :p), the craze for chocolates that Taatha and maama used to bring, Ammama’s cooking!!
Hmmm... Wow! The very thought of all these things brings a smile on my face.

Everything was just so perfect. As I pen down all these things, I realize that I can never enjoy all these things again in my life. NEVER!! Because we’ve grown up. We no longer have time for all these things. No orkut, facebook or any TV programme can replace the fun that we had.
Even if we want to, we cannot have the same fun again. We have become too mature to act immature. We no longer have time nor opportunity to come together at least for a few days in Moodabidri . Its sad! I feel nostalgic.

Summer vacations now are so much different from what it used to be. It is no longer only ‘fun’ even during holidays. There are so many commitments to be met, serious thinking to be done...
But, i am glad that atleast for a few years ( till i was in class 9), my summer vacations were made memorable. A big thank you to all my cousins, aunts, grandparents and Maama!
This post is for all you guys. Lets try and make it happen again. Love you all.

Please Vote!

Politics is a dirty game! All our politicians are corrupt. Nothing can be done with such corrupt people in power... We wouldn’t have all these statements if all of us would have taken our elections and voting more seriously. How fair is to blame our politicians for not fulfilling their duties when we as citizens do not go out and vote for a worthy candidate? Why should we blame our politicians when we ourselves are not responsible enough to do our duty?

Voting is a right given to each one of us. It is the duty of every citizen to exercise their franchise.

Who are our politicians? They are the ones whom we have elected. It is our right and duty to elect our representatives. Isn’t it stupidity to blame the leader whom you have elected? When we have been given a right to vote for the leader of our choice, why not utilize it by voting for a good representative?

Voting is a part of the democratic process. By voting you become a part of this process. If you do not vote, you don’t have any right to complain about the political scenario in the country. As the cliché goes, if you want to change the system, be a part of the system!

I’ve heard many people say ‘nothing great is going to happen if I don’t vote’. The attitude that MY VOTE will not make any difference should be left behind. Every vote counts, every vote makes a difference. Don’t be under the impression that since many others vote, you don’t have to vote. It is the individual responsibility of every citizen to vote.

Are you tired of corrupt of politicians? Are you waiting for better governance? Do you desperately want to change a few things in this country?

If the answer is YES for all the above questions, then PLEASE VOTE!!

VOTE MAADI! This is a message to all those citizens who feel that elections are just a day off from work, for all those who complain about politicians in spite of not voting, for all those who feel ‘ONE VOTE’ does not matter, for all those who say ‘ I DON’T CARE’ about politics and politicians...Please VOTE!

Political Showdown.

It is election time and this is when we get to know what politics and politicians are all about. Mudslinging to controversial statements to provocative speeches – the upcoming Loksabha elections has it all. Every political party is trying to woo its voters for support. In the process, they are becoming childish and immature by reacting to every comment and statement made by their rivals. But will their childish comments actually woo the voters?

The very recent Modi – Priyanka tiff says it all. Modi’s tirade against the congress party by calling it a ‘BUDIYA PARTY’ triggered Priyanka’s back lashing. Reacting to Modi’s statements, Priyanka had questioned the villagers attending her rally whether she, Rahul or her mother Sonia Gandhi looked old. Priyanka’s reaction clearly shows what she thinks about the congress party. Their rivals have accused the Gandhi family for treating the Congress party as their personal domain. In her reaction, by delineating her family in place of the party, Priyanka has cemented what her family had been accused for.

It seems like every rally and campaign is now incomplete without any controversial statements by our politicians. Every party is resorting to blame game and tit for tat tactics. The very recent comment by Advani on Manmohan Singh, calling him a puppet and in turn Mr.Advani was called as the slave of the RSS. Isn’t it tit for tat?

It is ironical to note that, after all the mudslinging at each other; our political leaders still expect an apology from their rivals for their comments. When every other political leader is into the same blame game, is there any point in seeking an apology?

Consider and Learn

You have had an ambition from several years. That ambition becomes your DREAM. A dream which you have been passionate about. A dream which drives you to do better every day. A dream which has shaped your choices in life. A dream, for which you have changed many things in life. A dream which you know is difficult to achieve but not IMPOSSIBLE!

One day, somebody comments that whatever you have dreamt of is something for which you are not good enough! A criticism which was unexpectedly expected. How do you deal with the criticism? Ignore it? Definitely no!

For a moment, you might feel frustrated that somebody has criticised you. You might feel like arguing back and saying that he or she is completely wrong. But... sit down and think about the reason behind the criticism. At least some part of it might be true. There might be something to learn from it. There might be a chance for you to correct whatever you have been doing. There might be a chance for improvement.

Taking criticism in a positive way helps you overcome your weakness because deep down you know that there is some truth in that criticism. It might seem very tough to accept your own faults and to work towards correcting them, but once you start doing it, you will definitely learn something worthwhile.

But, don’t let criticism change what you have believed in, what you have dreamt of. Do not let it change your focus. Take it as a lesson that you’ve learnt to make yourself better.

Fully Short!!

A few days back, I was randomly browsing through a few scrapbooks on orkut. In one of the scrapbooks, I found this one odd scrap which said ‘ m 5n ova here’. When I read this scrap, I was like... Wahh! What a nice sentence?? (I am just trying to be sarcastic here)
There is nothing wrong in using short form of a word. But... Why use it unnecessarily? It is not actually that hard to type in an extra letter to make your sentence more readable and complete.
Sometimes the whole word is shortened (Abt -about), or one letter of a word is substituted with another letter to make it sound COOL and sometimes a ‘z’ is included at the end of the word to give the word a special effect!
Here are a few examples of unnecessary usage of short form of a word:

1. Ova – Full form is Over (Not a nice one to use..Yeew!)

2. H r u?- How are you? (Huhhh!! Too short to handle)

3. Iz – Is (just write an s instead of a Z!!)

4. Ma- My( trying to sound cool)

5. Kewl- Cool (Too hard to twist the tongue to pronounce KEWL ;)

6. Ta- To (!!)

7. Sumthinz- something is

The Beginning.

Why is it so difficult for me to put down my thoughts into words?

This is the question I ask myself whenever I pick up a pen and a paper and try to write something which is on my mind. I think for hours together and make up my mind to write about some topic. But then, when I hold the pen and start...I completely go blank. When it comes to putting down my thoughts, I am always at a loss of words. I then realized that, it is difficult for me to express myself through written words. I finally decided to overcome this weakness that I have.

How can some people write so well? Is it an inborn talent or is it something that one can improve on. If the latter is true, then my efforts of improving my writing skill can be successful. I just could not understand as to how people so easily express themselves in written words. Is it that easy to write whatever is on your mind? I DONT KNOW!!! But I certainly wanted to find out. I thought of giving myself a chance to write whatever I feel like.
So I thought... why not I have a blog of my own. I’ve always loved reading other’s blogs, but whenever I thought of creating my own blog, I felt it was something impossible.
Now here I am with my first post for ‘MY BLOG’.

Here are some reasons why I created my blog
1. Firstly, I wanted to know whether I really CAN put down my thoughts or is it just a mind block that I have.
2. Secondly, as a student of journalism, it would be very much helpful if I have a blog.
3. Lastly, five years down the line, when I read my blog I would be able to come to a conclusion whether I really have improved on my writing or not.