Dear Beaver

Low lying, in the bush n' hedges,

She picks straws and twigs,

To rest 'fore another adventure,

For the cracking of her eggs.

The Nightingale sings

Her ballad for a long stay.

Yet, there he comes

Unwilling to change his way

Walks o'er her dreams

He analysis his spark.

That night she accepts chaos,

She suppresses to sing, opposes to work.

Two moon rises hence forth

She flies to find new grain.

Dear beaver,

Don't do it again.

The Purpose

Sitting on a wooden chair,
Into the abyss I stare.
A token, a task and a tear,
Was all that she left here.

For when I fumbled, when I crumbled,
She was there, keeping me humbled.
I wish her sight in dark, peace in strife,
Hope she finds a purpose in life.

50% THERE

After successfully completing 4 semesters in MANIT, I am now standing at this place where I can ask- what now?

Though, a question arises. What makes my 4 semesters ‘successful’?
Optimistically viewing, the lowest grade I’ve received is a C and I now have a 1000 people in my Facebook friend list. And 14 in Google+ circles. (I guess the Google+ number is a better justification.)

Another question pops up. When did the ‘journey’ actually begin?
The day I was standing in line to submit my form? Or when in my 3rd std I had decided NOT to be an engineer? Or the day I realized MANIT is going to be the answer to question “Which college? MANIT.”

Ah, synonym of COMPROMISE.
I do believe in luck, I do believe in fate. But if only I had not been so indecisive, luck would have favoured me. Fate would have been different.

But was it a mistake? No.
One thing I had learned was to make the best of what I had.

The 1st sem had pretty much been a phase of adjustment. To learn what to talk, where to talk and when not to talk. Getting used to the new schedule (after 2 months of doing absolutely nothing). Learning as many names as possible, and the next day “dude I can’t ask her name again, I asked it yesterday only”.

Till the 2nd sem started I had grasped ‘college life’. Marathons of ROFL-ing. Facebook, Nescafe and friends. No work load, not too much stress for studies (and future), only ‘bakar’. If I had to give a catch-phrase to that semester, it would be “Ignorance is Bliss”. Towards the end of the semester I had given the interview for IBC. Did I know how busy it was going to keep me the next semester? What! I crammed the full-form for its interview.

The holidays had been difficult. 3rd semester – the busiest of them all – joining new societies, events every week, rushing to college on weekends too, coming back late, coming home and still working on posters and ideas, it seemed there was no life outside of all this. Till the time the semester ended, I was exhausted. Not such exhausted that I slept for 12 hours every day (well actually I did, rather, do), but my brain had become ‘coagulated’. I knew I couldn’t do it for long.

The next semester I had to balance it all-studies, Editorial Board, IBC, and the small responsibilities of other societies. It wasn’t an easy job. A lot had to be avoided. A lot had to be put at the back of the brain. And in the end it paid off. I learnt a lot, a lot of just the necessary stuff, most important of all, I learnt to arrange my priorities.

If asked what I would like my next semester to be like, I possibly can not answer this question. I had never anticipated the 4 parts to go like they went.
I do wish to come out with regrets. Because they are the greatest teachers.
I do wish that it is full of surprises. Because they are never boring.

Every second is a choice. Am I scared to make that choice? Yeah! Am I scared to live with that choice?
No.
What does the other half of this 4-year (did you also read Fourier?) journey has in store for me? Well, we’ll see that tomorrow.

Blue

Drop the tensed eyebrows. Drop the curiosity.
How much falls on our senses and how much do we absorb?
Do you hear the rotating fan of your PC?
Do you see your reflection in the screen?
Do you sense the taste on your tongue?

Think. Observe.
Or is it just for the week after you see Sherlock Holmes?

Dive into your mind's deepest secret. Dig out the phantom.

Breathe. Dream.
Or is it just for the week after you see The Pursuit of Happiness?

Do not restrict your imagination. Do not corrupt your soul.

Inquire. Agitate.
Or is it just for the week after you see The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy?

Do not settle for 42. Create your own questions.

Big words?
Merely.
Redundant?
Highly.

Ponder over BLUE.
Is it so simple?
Turquoise? Navy Blue? Sky Blue? Cyan? Royal Blue? Teal? Indigo? Persian Blue?
Have we complicated things?
Pick your blue. Leave the blues.
Increase the brightness. Decrease the contrast. It will be years before the unicorns find you!

Gone With the Wind (book): Review

Scarlett O’ Hara is an ill-tempered, obstinate young girl, brought up in a well-to-do family, in the pre-American Civil War Georgia. She is adored by the men of her county, but loathed by the women folk as a consequence of her candor.
The script is wrapped up with realistic characters, such as the rogue Rhett Butler (who has a sweet corner for Scarlett), the benevolent Melanie Hamilton (who sees nothing but good in everyone) and the honorable Ashley Wilkes (whom Scarlett cherishes). The book revolves around the gradual changes in her spirit, as reactions to the sudden outbreak of hunger and poverty in a country which is yearning for peace. Margaret Mitchell had put forward the books in the following words:
I wrote about people who had gumption and people who didn't.

It is a story of discovery of love, of birth of strength, of the need of greed, the wits of a survivor and the weight of downfall. We follow Miss O’ Hara from difficulties to luxuries; from sheer disappointments to exquisite exhilaration; from her innocence to becoming a fretful adult.The people she meets, the landscapes she observes, the incidents she experiences and her resultant thoughts and emotions have been finely detailed, in such energy that the reader himself feels compelled to be physically shaken. It seems as if you were actually present in the country in crisis, in the troubled times and in the happy memories. It is a roller coaster ride, creating a phase of turmoil about values and relations, converting hate to respect.

Like any good work of writing, it is carefully entwined; small elements have been be referenced where they were not expected.

"I had every detail clear in my mind before I sat down to the typewriter.” -The author

The writer crashes surprises at the beginning and end of chapters, which blends thrills into the text. Every sentence is creatively written, either you can fast-read it to grasp the story or absorb each sentence for its deeper meaning.
 It is a blend of beautifully woven characters in a typhoon of circling emotions, with a tinge of humour, a classic, a very readable piece for every big and small novel lover.

Now that I’m done with the book and its review, what will I do with my life? “No, I won’t think about this now. I’ll think of it tomorrow. I can stand it then. After all, tomorrow is another day.”

Star Trek : Into Darkness *SPOILER ALERT*

If you are a regular visitor to blogger websites, before you go for a movie, you might find this review quite ‘informal’. First of all, I’d start with how excited I was when I first heard Cumberbatch (the dreamy British Sherlock Holmes) is in the new Star Trek movie. My excitement led me to 1^st day, 1^st show, 1^st person to enter the theatre. A total of 10 people in the hall couldn’t retreat my enthusiasm.

The movie kicked off we find the crew ship on some planet ‘deep into space’, on a mission, where they extinguish an active volcano and proudly display their ship in front of the inhabitants of a planet which had not even invented a wheel, which puts Kirk’s position in jeopardy. This had only been added to the movie to give the fans the feel that they are watching an episode of Star Trek- is what I think- and the attempt was not a disappointing one.

As we move along as we are introduced to the ‘dude’ of the hour- John Harrison. The Director takes full advantage of his knowledge of Cumberbatch’s fame. he leaves us to “ooh”, “ah”, “That’s Benedict’s voice!” creating an aura of mystery around him and about his ‘superpowers’ (which weren’t hard to guess).

With a lot of laser-sound effects, excessive lighting and explosions we follow John Harrison into the Klingon territory (the villain race from franchise), where he massacres an entire squad of Klingons single-handedly, in a brilliantly executed fight scene I might add, but surrenders to Kirk. 

There he testifies that he is Khan (WHAT!?) and his crew has locked up by the Federation, and, their motives aren’t sober. So Kirk (asking aid from Khan) declares war against the Starfleet Admiral and as events follow Khan overtakes his advanced star ship, being damaged by the itself-so-damaged Enterprise, crashes into the post modern age London. So after 2 hours of mass destruction and the nicely carried out 3D, we reach to
“Space: the final frontier. These are the voyages of the starship Enterprise. Its five-year mission: to explore strange new worlds, to seek out new life and new civilizations, to boldly go where no man has gone before” 
and Khan is cryogenically frozen (there’s a chance of him returning).

(Though I revealed the whole story, there are tiny bits to be filled if you watch it)

Comparing it to it’s prequel and the original series, Star Trek: Into Darkness didn’t have a great plot but didn’t leave it’s predecessors behind when measured by the adrenaline level it induces into the audiences. There is no point comparing the movie to Wrath of Khan, or the famous ‘death scene’, as the story-line has been completely altered following the 2009 movie. Also I noted any Star Trek movie cannot be completed without Leonard Nimoy (a fairly labored metaphor would be the presence of Kajol in all the Karan Johar movies). Zachary Quinto and Chris Pine did a good job, but could not match the remarkable performance by Benedict Cumberbatch. 

On a personal note, I’ll go as far as to say that this has been the best release, since The Dark Knight Rises, and also the most debatable. If you open any of the reviews of this movie, the comments section is swarming with people fighting over the credentials of the movie, whether it was up to the Star Trek mark or just a slur on J.J. Abrams. So I would just conclude it as Trekkie or not, it is ATLEAST a one-time-watch, you won’t get bored.

The Key to Happiness is Needed When it is Locked

If I ask a question. "Are you happy right now?"

What would be your reaction? Many of you won't even stop to think. You'd be in a hurry to know what I have to say. Many might have stopped. And THOUGHT, putting pressure on your brains, and ending up being confused.

AM I HAPPY RIGHT NOW?

You might think the question is ambiguous. Are you happy, generally; or, should you think about a particular event that made you happy; should you be happy because you accomplished something; or are you happy because of a gift you got? Or are you just plain happy because you are listening to your favourite band?

Happiness can’t be defined. If you define it, you restrict it. It is dynamic. It can be found in things big and small, it can be found in failures. Is being happy at the time of a failure being shameless? No, if you tried your best. Be grateful about what you learned. Be optimistic about your future. And never stop doing. Doing anything! Learning something new. Even if it is learning how to replace buttons on your shirt. Do not learn to add in your CVs. Learn, because you had nothing else to do. Do not rely on money for happiness, but do not say ‘I want to be happy, I don’t need money’. I have never seen a person who is sad because he is able to buy all the things he needs, or has the freedom to experiment or visit new places.  

Nothing is perfect. Nobody is flawless. But everything has a balance. And happiness lies in a place where you have the freedom to imagine. You know you are happy when you can stay still; when you don’t need to yell at someone; when you can sit quietly; when you can smile for no reason; when you can resist from being what you don’t need to be; where you can diffrentiate between right and wrong.

Sometimes, it's okay to be not okay.

I won’t say plan EVERYTHING, but always stop to think when something wrong is being done, and when something life changing is happening.

I won’t say never keep a secret, but share with the ones you trust.

I won’t say leave everything up to ‘luck’, but you can’t control everything.

I won't say don't compete, just don't compare the results.

I won't say never be jealous of other people's success, but always congratulate and appreciate them.

I won't say don't be happy because of getting likes on your Facebook posts, but don't make it your sole purpose in life.

I won’t say don’t aim for a good placement or promotion, but never forget to live because of it.

I won't say never get angry, or never expect anything from others, but when something goes wrong, try to see things from the other person's point of view.

I won't say don't dress the best you can, but don't waste an hour daily trying to look like someone else.

Now, I ask again. "Are you happy right now?"

I can't answer this question, only write a blog about it. Because I know it cannot be fitted into one word.