Let's be butterflies, not moths :)

‘School is the best part of your life’ quoted my teachers. *yeah right, whatever*. And today I want to go back in time and smile and not frown at this statement my teachers made. I want to back to having recess. I want to go back and cover my books in brown paper. I want to go back and wear my school uniform, my id-card and stand in height order for the assembly. I want to sing the national anthem with my entire batch and fight for spoons during the break. I want to go back and be a school-girl all over again

Funny isn’t it. We march out of school and dress in the most traditional way for the farewell party. We cry at the first day of school and curse the timings all through out, and today when I am sitting at home lounging, and my juniors are sitting on wooden benches studying and following discipline, I suddenly want to go there and sit and study. What is this ‘thing’ about school that is so attractive? The uniform? No! its like a nurse dress. The teachers! Maybe! The people? Man they are egoistic! Then what is it? Why do I hate and love it so much at the very same time?

Looking at my old journal ‘symbiosis secondary school’ I realize what is happening. I never quite liked the uniform, the teachers or the people. I liked what the school had molded me into. I could write, I could respond, it gave me the ability to repel from wrong happenings, it gave me friends and mostly it gave me the most wonderful memories of childhood, adolescence and teenage.  It gave me instances of joy, sorrow, victory, friendship, support, love and a whole lot of b*****: P .

Now has come the time of fun I thought. All fun. Bike rides, parties, late nights, outings, no boring lectures, bunking. Everything looked like ‘kuch kuch hota hai’ but looks like its more like ‘taare zameen par’ half of physics has weird looking signs. Math is not just numbers anymore. Its theta, alpha, trig, blah crap! Chemistry has weird elements and bio has a trillion words like ‘ciliated columnar epithelium’. Well is this what I wanted. Well somewhere deep down. Yes. I wanted to work hard. College campus will be there but so will work. Fun will be there but so will frustration. If only the kuch kuch hota hai things would have been around, I wouldn’t have been able to face the real world. I have to learn to identify both sides of the same coin. I wanted to know what college life is about in reality. And since I am getting an unfocussed view about it, I am glad!

School was where we grew up; college is where we will evolve. School was pampering, loving, all homely atmosphere. We are now butterflies set open. Into the polluted atmosphere. The toxic elements of the atmosphere being, unhealthy competition, corruption, bribery, ragging, bias mark distribution. But since we are beautiful butterflies of a lovely cocoon, school, I am sure we are going to find way out of all this and evolve. We are going to a make this a better country by educating ourselves and having sensible minds.

School is a event of the past. College is our future. It is our step into the new world. Let's rejoice it. let’s have fun. Let’s work hard and let’s do what we want to do, not what we have to. Let’s be happy colorful butterflies, not dull dark moths. Let’s be enthusiastic, passionate, practical and live the most colorful days of our life. If we are going to be happy, so is everyone else going to be.  Let nostalgia encourage us, not bring us down. Lets work as a union and not a crowd. Lets laugh and make this world a better place to live. Lets be butterflies, instead of moths! 

Trend setters of thought.

There was a time when all ‘al ov us rote lyk dis’ it gradually changed ‘2 callin each Oder uh and meh’ and finally we ‘write and type like this’. The most important question that circulates in my mind is that, how a trend stereotypes everybody and how one persons has the ability to set a trend

Old is new- a tautology or antithesis is a question mark for me.  Well it might sound strange but I opt for tautology, and perception wise I might as well be right. See, according to me trends were set since man evolved. But they were modified. Nothing is new. Everything is modified. And modification is the key to excellence and understanding. In the same way today’s youth has suddenly started respecting the English language and modified them to use it the classy suave way.  But why does a trend stereotype the society? Has today’s youth suddenly sunk down to a point where ones excellence is deliberate in percentage or marks? Not his practical ability to think? Has today’s youth started following the trend of 100% marks which has suddenly become a joke? Has by-hearting overruled us that it compels us to think? Why do trends tend to modify our mind? Trends are just there. They are not to be followed every time. For me as of now, the one who doesn’t get stereotyped is a literal hero! Trends which make sense like using English properly is modifying. But following a trend which says you can change your boyfriend/girlfriend every week is misleading.

Now my point of writing this is, I suddenly last night had this vague ideology. Trendsetters seem to be politicians which coax people to like them. Their trend is good to know about but not to follow always. Their work is not always good, and meant to take certain revenge. Their basic reason to set a trend is to make a few people or person believe that what they did was right and for proof so many people are doing the same thing.

Its time we stop getting into the vicious circle of following trends. Start thinking. Become practical. Do what we want to, not what everybody else is. If ‘those’ jeans don’t look good on you but you wear them just because you want to look fashionable, don’t! Advertisements are like the parliament of setting trends and trust me they are the ones who spread the phenomena of stereotyping.

We are the youth. We all can’t have the same line of thought. We have to have minds which have the ability to confront and criticize. We need to think differently. Less materialistically.  Not follow to look good. Build up or personal self. Follow what is right and criticize what is wrong. Lets be individuals and not  protestants of one persons thought. Lets be a union not a crowd. Lets talk not abuse. Lets argue not fight. lets lead not follow. Lets become trendsetters of thought.

Ganga made a Spiritualist

Well, to begin with, this is a just a testimonial about my recent visit to Uttarakhand where I went rafting at Hrishikesh.  For me, it was the second time that the holy river of Ganga had invited me, to appreciate her beauty and magnificence. We were staying on the Paudi part of the Shivalik range, also known as the lower Himalayas. The river ganga flows from gomakh, its mouth and all the way to the bay of Bengal providing bread to all living by her banks.

It was the goa-nizzamuddin train we were boarding to travel by rail to Delhi, the nations capital and then travelled my road, by bus to hrishikesh. Beach 17-questrailas was where we stayed and overlooked the Ganges.

We reached our destination rather early and got our tents allotted. Right then when I looked at the river flowing gracefully through its course, it looked like she demanded respect. She demanded love. She demanded trust. She demanded purity.  Possibly every Indian is thankful to this holy river, but I exceptionally am.  The purity that she demands is not of the external one man displays, but the inner, soulful one. Looking at her flow, makes you ease out, relaxes your mind, your heart and your soul. And that’s exactly what I needed. In the past few days I was feeling rather insecure back home, even with the familiar faces of my friends. I felt wasted. I felt lost. I dint want to be around anybody I rather knew. I wanted to be on my own. Give myself some ‘me’ time.  Family is an aspect I never get bored of, but friends, sometimes make me feel insecure. So attempting my first go as a volunteer I went rafting. Looking at the river, gave me my answers because I was peaceful from within. Yup, that’s the power she possesses. It was not my friends making me feel insecure; it was me, feeling insecure in this group of people having familiar face but changed habits and traits. People change and so do their thoughts. And I drove to a conclusion that if I want to not feel insecure, I only have two options. Change myself, or meet and find new people with whom I am compatible and feel comfortable. And there I was! With a group of 20 unknown people, amongst whom; I never thought I would find 4 other individuals with whom I am ‘compatible and comfortable’.

The first day of rafting arrived. Geared up in life jackets, helmets, ores, and one inflated raft. We jumped into it, chanting Ganga maaiya ki jay! I praying the holy river for a safe sail… gave the orders of moving the ore upfront and downward. Somewhere deep down I felt very comfortable and calm with the atmosphere around me. Very pleasant. Very enthusiastic. Very focused. It was amazing. And there came the first 1^st grade rapid, namely good morning. It was the perfect one for me. It was my wake up call. It was realization of appreciating and understanding the way things work. Our stretch for rafting was from NIM to shivpuri. It was a beautiful stretch. Sand on one side and the tehri range of the Himalayas on the other. The next stretch we approached the third day of our stay there was from NIM To Marine Drive. This one was eventful. I was with a group of my friends and we were rafting merrily. Suddenly my instructor gave us commands to sand on the edge. I gave it a shot. The shape of a raft is rather like a very broad banana. I was rafting in the front position and it being slightly slanting, I lost balance. A third grade rapid approached and there I fell a few meters away from the raft. I started panicking. I was scared. But then it dawned up me. Ganga  demands trust. I trusted the Holy River and body surfed singing the hanuman chalisa so aloud that maybe half of the shivalik could hear it. Usually when something drastic happens.. the f word comes to my mouth. But when its something related to life, faith comes ,in the way and god comes to your mind. I body surfed that little bit with water in half my lungs. But I was alright. I trusted the river. I trusted myself. I trusted nature. And I was fine. Shivering. Slightly traumatized. I wasn’t strong enough mentally to do cliff jumping. But then again. My friends supported me, warmed me up and when I saw down, I dint feel scared, I felt invited and jumped with a thud. It was amazing.

We went for a trek which also was awesome and gave us a chance to encounter the people who actually are blessed by ganga. It was great. We went to the Ganga aarti. Oh it was magnificent. People from over the world had tripods set up for photos. It was glittering. They were praying to mere water. But water with immense power. With immense force and total elegance. That’s when I realized I was in the midst of the most wonderful moment. When I got answers to some confusions. Practically I had got my answers myself. Nature showed me the direction to think. It gave me calmness and peace. It gave me a soul. I think I borrowed it from her.

Thank you