Save Mother Earth

I have always felt why do we need a day to celebrate or shower our love to our near and dear ones ,for they are always special and the love must not be bottled up for a single day.

But, having a World Environment Day is very essential and completely justified. 

Why is it significant?

For a simple reason that we cannot sustain without Mother Earth and her benediction. 

Now that the cause is defined, how do we do it?

Well, though this can be a collective effort, I personally feel it is the responsibility of each individual to save our environment in every possible way.In the long run, these can give pave way for the collective tackling of this issue to a larger extent. Where do we start it? I would say the realization must start from the schools. The effective of the outcome can be multiple times. And this comes from a personal experience too.

"Save Mother Earth" - was a drama performed by me during my school days to promote saving our environment from being plundered by us. And this did have a profound effect on me. From then on, I have always made it a point not to waste our resources, save energy and resource whenever possible.

When children are made to understand the importance of saving our environment, they would definitely adhere to many ways of preventing the degradation. And it doesn't stop there. They would even spread it to their families and talk sense to them.And the awareness will grow.exponentially. 

Every school must make it a practice to preach children the seriousness of the environmental concerns. And it shouldn't stop there. They must be made to practice what is being taught. You may ask how?A simple practice of switching off the fans and lights when they are done for the day  would inculcate the habit of saving electricity. Measures like Rewards/Appreciations for the most eco-friendly class can do wonders.I feel schools should definitely do this to ignite the awareness beacon among the students.

The realization is the initial step in this gargantuan task. The next step is ardently following the measures/practice (conscious effort needed though).This has to be followed rigorously , no matter what the situation is.The next step is to talk sense to people doing unacceptable practices. Though the reactions can be from a simple acceptance to exchange of heated words, we must make it a point to let them know what they are doing is not acceptable( with the use of good language and gestures).

Let us all pledge to save our environment in every possible way and strive to make it a better place to live in!!!

Back to where we started...the college!!

My friend had sent me the pictures of my college during her recent visit. And these snaps triggered me some of the best memories of my life which I would cherish for my lifetime. I guess you wouldn't agree for more :)

College is a paradoxical noun. We hate when we attend them and we miss once we are out of it.And I ain't an exception.

A college is a place where we evolve as a person.Its a place where threads of life long friendships are woven , a place where you discover yourself, a place to realize our dreams and a place where some of the life's important lessons are taught.Those are the formative years in a person's life that prepares her/him to face the world. I bet all of you would agree with me.

Apart from academic, assignments, marks they were important things taught in our colleges , many a times not by our professors. These lessons are always remembered.All of us have memories attached to our college and those stay etched for eternity. Every insignificant event/thing - birthday celebrations, numerous outings , silly  misunderstandings , late night chatting , "Good morning" messages, last minute exam preparations, internal marks( Biggest villan !!) , crushes , mock teasing, seminars,FYPs (final year projects) et all  becomes the most important part of our memories which we would always try to relive.

Life changes tremendously after college. We are caught up in the frenzy race of work, higher studies et all and we find it tough to re-live the college life. Lofty pay packets or higher positions or a series of post graduate degrees fail to bring back those satisfying and gratifying moments experienced by us in our colleges.

PS: I would like to thank all my friends for making my college stay the most memorable experience of all times.

State of Mind!!

Most of us (that includes me as well) have been caught in a variety of quagmire situations – melting pot of a mixture of problems and we find ourselves completely burned out.  All we hear is a loud thumping blast of the below lines of the song.

“Confusion hi confusion hai solution kuch patha nahi

 Solution jo mila to saala question kya tha pata nahi”

The meaning of the song goes like this –

 We see confusion everywhere and solution is nowhere to be seen. And by the time a solution is found, there is no clue about the question!!)

We find ourselves incapable of deciding on the course of action, let alone follow them. In scientific terms, it is a psychotic congregation of incompetent cognition (Well this is to emphasize the importance of how a complex state we find ourselves in).

We expend all our energies to figure out a solution (Lets not discuss how effective it is!!) and reach a point where we fail to notice the light at the end of the tunnel and our motivation levels hit an all time low. What do we do then?

From my observations, I have seen a majority of us keep thinking to find a solution. The harder we try, the more it eludes us. But many of us fail to understand this and thus, we are caught in the mirage of impediment for ages (Yeah a little exaggeration!!). So what do we do then?

A quote by Dalai Lama helps us to have some perspective on what can be done.

“We can never obtain peace in the outer world until we make peace with ourselves.”

How do we do it is the million dollar question?

So the first action point is to pause thinking about the anxieties and give them a good rest. In simple words, we must forget it for the time being. When I find myself at such junctures, instant detachment helps. The next thing is to concentrate on activities/things that make us  happy and brings back the mental equilibrium. It is essential to rightly identify those activities. It could be anything from staring blankly at nothing , eating meditating ( you name anything under the sun..). But the essential part is, never think about the problem or the solution during this time frame. This doesn't come in a day. All we need to do is practice and I m sure it will help us in the long run.

But how long do we do this? Ahhh...that's something I leave it to you for figuring out. It is a trial and error process and I don't have a definitive period for that as it usually varies for each of us.

Some of the activities in which I would like to indulge myself are watching movies, going for long walks, talking to my close friends, sleeping , playing badminton , writing an article etc. This calms down the mind and brings back the thinking capacity. 

And this followed by a steaming cup of tea brings me back to my right state and mind :)

இனிய தமிழ் புத்தாண்டு வாழ்த்துக்கள்

Today, 13th April is a the day of celebrating the birth of new year - a time to start afresh. And this year is called NANDHANA year in Tamil calendar.


This is celebrated across the Indian sub-continent through varied names.


Varshapirapu in Tamil Nadu
Vishu in Kerala
Baisakhi in Punjab
Bihu in Assam
Nabbobarsho in West Bengal


PS: Found it from twitter.


May all of us be bestowed with happiness and contentment....!!!!

Health Tip !!

Staying fit is an arduous task...(since the weight control curriculum that we always miss to follow!!)


Here's a simple fitness tip I came across to stay in shape sans the rigid exercise regime. The additional perk is it also helps to improve the skin tones.


All we need to do is drink half a liter water , one hour before break fast , lunch and dinner. 


Well give it a try and let me know if it works!!

My New Found Interest!

I have always prefered to stay behind the lens in most of the ocassions and in the recent times my curiosity with the camera has magnified by 10X times. Photography has stimulated my creativity grey cells.


So I just thought of sharing some of the pictures I clicked and know your comments - maybe a picture or two in a week.


Here comes the first one:

A bird's eye view from my room's window on a rainy day!

PS : Comments are most welcome!

Athisaya Ragam

I had heard the song " Athisaya Ragam"  from the movie Aboorva Rangangal after a  long time and these lines immediately caught my attention:

"Oru puram paarthaal mithilayin maithili

marupuram paarthaal kaviri maadhavi  

Mugam mattum paartthal nilavin edhiroli  

Muzhuvadhum parthal avaloru bairavi"

I was amazed at how Mr. Kannadasan had deftly described the female protagonist in these 4 lines. He has effectively portrayed Bhairavi's character in these 4 lines. I was bewildered by his use of words - eloquent and complementing. 

The shortest " About me" I have even come across :) 

He is indeed a man of powerful words. Rightly called as " Kaviarasu ( King of Poets)". He is one of the greatest poets of all times 

Here's the song:

. 

Secular India - are we??

The recent SIT's report providing a clean chit to Mr Modi has not been well received. The 2002 Godhra riots where innocent lives were lost, has been a clear black mark in the political career of the highly eulogized image of the man who shaped Gujarat. I have admired and appreciated his efforts to make Gujarat as one of the most promising states in India.Was he unable to check the raging riots of 2002?????

The recent report has cleared him of conspiring or instigating the riots. But then an astute policy maker like Mr. Modi was haplessly incompetent in handling such a heated issue is an irony. The Godhra riots could have been curbed saving many lives, if not for his muteness...Holding the most important post; his inaction is as good as conspiring.

What could be the root cause of such an erratic insurgence that has surfaced very often?

The Hindu - Muslim strained relationships are dated back to the First war of Indian Independence (1857 Sepoy Mutiny), where divide and rule policy was instrumented by the Brits to rule us. Since then, the ruling class has exploited us. From then on, the damage has been irreparable. The final blow to the rift was the 1947 India - Pakistan partition, the largest human migration in world's history. The exploitation by our own politicians has been profound and I see BJP as no exception (and neither Congress...)

Godhra massacre is one such event. We have been plagued by numerous communal riots since our independence. It pains to see that this very issue hasn’t been addressed by our Government for the last 65 years. Hindu –Muslim rivalry isn’t the only form of communal aberrations, but it has remained the longest one and forms the crux of the other such communal tensions. Were there any real measures taken to abridge this gap after Gandhiji's martyrdom? As I see it, no sorts of elucidation have been promoted. This makes me to think if there really existed/exists a way to alleviate this bitterness? Well, if South Africa could reconcile from the dreadful apartheid, can we not? Mr. Mandela played a pivotal role and it was not an easy task. I really wish we had a leader who could have got into the root of this issue and pacified the prevailing communal hatred. I m sure it is a gargantuan task, but not an impossible one.

 On the contrary I find our Constitution further deepening this rift by the policy of reservation. Please don’t get me wrong here. I m not opposing the concept of reservation, the implementation of it is what I would like to question. Undue advantage and exploitation are being done by the political parties based on the caste reservations. They are being used as the cash bank by the parties to win elections or save their deposits. Further, granting reservations even for Post Graduate degree, promotions etc. are highly undesirable traits that add up to the existing woes. This also impedes the growth and development of the country. If India really intends to create a secular state, it has to abolish the reservations in an incremental fashion.

Only two members from a family of the castes/classes entitled for reservation must be eligible for the quota. If the allocation has been used up, no other member form the family is eligible for further reservations. The importance of the opportunity will only then be felt when it is made scare and people will understand its value. Indeed a quota scheme for the quota system (with a lot of tuning). In this set up, eventually the quota system will disappear(not in our times though).

I m sure this proposal would be vehemently opposed by the politicians and no politician would dare to take such a radical step (given that their vote banks would suffer horrendously). This would be a major step to bridge the widening gap between the estranged castes and would help in the creation of a truly secular state in the long run.

Story Writing...

This is my first attempt in writing a short story! Yes.. I had written this for a contest conducted by Reader's Digest.

Silence speaks!

Love is a paradox – easy to feel tough to express. This exact thought was running on Vinod’s mind at the moment. Winding back 3 years of his life, he vividly remembers the first time he had met Harini at his friend’s place. The conversation had kicked off instantly and they becoming friends was inevitable. Despite hailing from different backgrounds – he was a simple lad from a small town near Trichy while she was a metropolitan girl from Chennai, chords of comradeship was gradually entwining them. The sole purpose of Vinod’s stay in Chennai was to fulfill his ambition of becoming a Chartered Account, although his only financial support was his father.

As days rolled by, he liked her openness, genuineness and boldness while she adored his focus on life, never say never attitude. The love was profound and this was acknowledged in silence between them. The soaring relationship was rattled by souring news of his father’s sudden demise. He was surrounded by nimiety of emotions – confused, perplexed, depressed and clueless. He was prepared to call off his studies and go back. But it was Harini who made him realize his gaffe and offered to be with him through the thick and thin by contributing a part of her income to his studies. He took up a part time job and toiled hard to accomplish his dream. All these 3 years, they never expressed their love.

Today, Vinod a financial consultant with a MNC has finally confessed his love for her and a harbinger of happiness awaits them!!

PS: Results aren't out yet and doesn't matter either :)