Thoughts of a Perplexed Mind

Social Networking and Teenagers: The Real Connection!!

2011-06-29T15:23:00.001-07:00

For quite a long time now this was something I had been wondering. What good are SOCIAL NETWORKING websites, Facebook, Twitter, Orkut really doing to today's generation? I remember I did not have access to internet till I was 15, did not have an ID on a social networking site till I was 17 and never really felt the need of online social networking till I left high school. And today at 21 I guess I can confidently say that I was quite a bit smarter in my teens (which happens to have passed just a couple of years back) in many ways, than today's teenagers.

And when I put similar questions to these kids today as to what really is the need of things like cell phones, laptops (children today have a deep disgust for desktop PCs) or online social networking in middle or high school, the only answer I get is that, "Your times were different, things have changed now" and the only reply that I can think of is that, "Yeah, you are training yourself to be far more dumb than we were!!"

Here's an article in a similar context that appeared on the website of The Times of India which might interest readers!!

Just Be!!

2011-02-05T09:03:00.000-08:00

Suppose I play a rapid fire round of questions with you and ask you to tell me the first thing that comes to your mind when I say, “Just be”. Most people probably would say, “Be oneself” or “be yourself” or “do not fake your personality”, and yes, this is indeed one of the correct interpretations of the phrase. Now let me come to the point directly.

Lately I’ve been in touch with a Non Governmental Organization, which works for all social causes ranging from providing food to the poor to running orphanages and schools for children to helping people struck by some natural calamity to building and running hospitals to aiding the families of prisoners in various ways.

An important area of activity of this organization is the “Power Healing” in which the ailments of people are healed with the power of the mind and heart. A lot many people from all strata of society gather in these healing sessions to get themselves cured. Apart from these healing sessions the propagator of this organization also holds an interactive talk sessions in which all sorts of life skills like happiness and gratification, life and limitlessness, love and faith are discussed amongst a crowd that consists of a variety of people from all age groups ranging from teenagers to people in their mid 60’s.

Having attended a couple of these talks and healing sessions, there are a few things that have attracted my attention and left many confusing thoughts in my already perplexed mind:

1. The purpose of organizing the talks is to propagate certain thoughts in the participants that would help them to lead their lives in a better way and make them better individuals all together, but what left me amazed was that the topics discussed there though supposedly are listened to, understood, and enjoyed by the people sitting there but in the matter of just a week, even the last topic of discussion is not retained in the minds of these people, then in what hope do they flock there every alternate week to get the sermons? This is something that I’m citing from my personal experience where when the host asked the gathering to recall what they had discussed in their last meeting, and all that he got in response was blank faces.

2. Another thing that I found all the more satirical was that people there didn’t even know the purpose of their being there!! The bunch of lousy rich clowns present there had come to attend the talk all the way from various places in and around Delhi and obviously to any sane person, it would be very obvious they had come with a purpose, as in, a reason why they are present there every alternate Sunday and spend almost all afternoon in the basement of a beautiful house listening to some absolutely sensible discussion. But yet again when asked that what was the reason each one of these people had been gathered there, all that the answer that he received was dumbstruck blank faces trying to hide from the question or desperately trying to look intelligent so as to not to have to give an answer. Still in an effort to answer something of weight, people did try things like, “to get a fortnightly dose of humour”, “to meet you”, “to seek wisdom”, but what i think was going on in most people’s heads was that, “I am here since I have nothing better to do on a Sunday afternoon”!!

3. There is one thing that I find common in most of the extravagant rich fools is that whatever be the occasion and wherever they meet, all that they find worthwhile to discuss is the latest brand in market, the latest useless purchase that they’ve made or the latest gossip that they’ve heard about a “friend” of theirs. For God’s sake if this is all that one has to talk about then why not meet at a coffee shop or a bar or a club?? What is the reason for making use of a veil like an NGO to do it??

4. Though I absolutely support the causes for which the organization works and its achievements in all its ventures till date are truly commendable, but something that I fail to understand is that why is it only the upper class of society that is so involved in such “social work”, why not the middle or the upper middle class?? Going by the general belief, it’s only your time and dedication that is required to contribute to the society, money is not such a major factor if you wish to contribute. So does this mean that only the rich and the affluent have all the time and willingness to work for the cause of humanity and the society?? From what I saw, I definitely think so. More than 90% of the people associated with the organization were the upper class people, and hardly a couple of volunteers from the middle class or for that matter the upper middle class of the society.

5. Now for the title of the post: “Just be” is the phrase that the head of the organization uses to inculcate in people an attitude of humility and sense of modesty. It simply means that one should be and act the way he naturally is not pretend or fake oneself with others for any reason whatsoever. But with the kind of people being associated that I have come across at his sessions, and their attitude towards people and life I genuinely wonder whether these people even near to practicing what they are trying to be preached??

I absolutely have no offence towards the organization and its activities or volunteers, rather, all that they’ve done for the cause of society is commendable but it’s the major chunk of people associated with it and their attitude that leads me to think, “whether these people even near to JUST BEING”??

NOTIFICATION

2010-08-21T10:00:00.000-07:00

I should have written this much earlier, but as is rightly said, it’s better late than never!! I honestly must confess, I was reminded of writing this apology, after just having read Suvro Sir’s latest notice. With my forthcoming Chartered Accountancy Intermediate Examinations in November, it’s getting practically impossible for me to be able to pen down something substantial, that is interesting or humorous or simply something after reading which a reader can say that it actually was worth a read. Good writing requires time and patience, and as of now, I am hard pressed for both.

With a lot of regret I have to accept that this blog will remain DORMANT till mid-November, but like last time, even now I am signing off with a promise that I will be back, and yes, BACK WITH A BANG!!

Till then,

Keep reading; Keep writing & Keep Posting.

Nishant Choudhary

[Blog Administrator]

A Sneak Peek to Poddar Chhatra Niwas

2010-07-08T10:11:00.000-07:00

This is something that I had written for "Jyoti", an annual magazine brought out by the boarders of Poddar Chhatra Niwas, the hostel in central Calcutta where I spent two years of my schooling in the eleventh and twelfth standard. I liked it personally so thought why not share it with my readers. It would also provide an insight into the lives of hard core commerce students.

Being
the first cousin of a
n ex-boarder of 7 years, I was well acquainted with the name of Poddar Chhatra Niwas ever since I was a child. But it was only in the June of 2007 that I actually had the opportunity of visiting this institution which is often referred to as a factory that has the capacity of producing Chartered Accountants, which today is one of the noblest and most rewarding professions not only in India but outside as well. Poddar Chhatra Niwas is not just an Institution, but with the completion of its glorious 75 years, I would not be exaggerating if we call it a Heritage of which we all are a part of.

The thousands of commuters who probably pass by 150 C.R Avenue everyday cannot even in their dreams imagine what actually lies inside the door that provides entry into the hostel. A place buzzing with activity be it any hour of the day. There is nothing called NIGHT here. With students of all levels beginning from the eleventh standard to C.A final residing here, one cannot also expect a boarding school kind of environment with a fixed time for everything and everyone. Whenever anyone would write about this place, it would be impossible for him to start by saying that, “here the day begins at......”, because in Poddar everyone’s day begins at a different hour of the day which may range from 5 A.M in the morning to 6 P.M in the evening. But whatever time one starts his day at; it cannot begin without Mahenderji/Biltuji’s chai or Shibeji’s irresistible sandwiches.

If we analyze closely we can easily divide the boarders at Poddar into 3 broad categories at any point of time. Firstly we have the plus two pupils, popularly referred to as “Bacchalog” by seniors. Though in number their proportion is the smallest as compared to others, but from a rational point of view, the schedule that they have is the best amongst all. All their activities are well timed according to their school timings, and there since there is no escape from attendance whichever school it be Shree Jain Vidyalaya, Birla High School, St. Lawrence or La Martinere, the amount of fun they have gets limited. Though some like myself and few others anyways manage to have unlimited fun even with regular school, be it birthday parties at Kittu’s, Nightout at Goutams or simply window shopping in City Centre.

In the next category we have the C.A articles that are rarely found doing their articleship in reality. They are mostly Xaverians and constitute a vast majority of the population in the hostel. With the kind of pressure in their “school like” college and classes to attend at Sudarshan Bhaiya, Soni Sir, Gopal Bhoot or Alok Sir’s place, they anyways hardly get time to do their articleship. Their routine is almost somewhat like the plus two people with their day beginning at 5.30 A.M and ending, I don’t know when.

And in the end we have the most serious of the lot. The PCC/IPCC and Final examinees. Though they also comprise of the C.S inter and final people, but they are very less in number in comparison to the CA examinees. These are the people whose one of the most important professional examination in their lives are just anything between 1-4 months away and they are found frantically studying for the same. Their style of study is also different from one another. Some lock themselves up in their rooms not coming out more than once or twice a day whereas some making uncountable rounds in the hostel gallery studying a theory paper and some moving out of their rooms to some friend’s room for group studies. Whatever it might be, they are the most serious people in the hostel studying for anything between 15-17 hours a day and the rest spent doing important human activities.

Having spent close to two years in Poddar in my plus-two as a boarder, I personally have found the place to be a home away from home in many respects. At Poddar you get decent food and lodging, great company to study with and absolutely lifetime friends. But more importantly what is almost guaranteed here is a decent career, as many of our seniors and ex-boarders say, “Poddar mei aaya hai toh kam se kam C.A toh ban ke nikle ga hi”. But then analyzing it from a critical point of view, there are a couple of drawbacks as well. With admission restricted only to boys of a certain community, people who spend a good 5-7 years of their lives here hardly get any scope to widen their horizon of thinking. Secondly, with the vast area occupied by this institution, if the structure if this place is renovated to some extent, it would turn to be a heaven for the future C.A aspirants.

My heartiest congratulations to Poddar Chhatra Niwas Managing Committee and Poddar Chhatra Niwas Boarders Association on this 75^th anniversary of our hostel. Wishing all the very best to the present and future generations of Poddar Chhatra Niwas. JAI PODDAR!!!

Nishant Choudhary

Room No. 20

2007-2009

A New Look

2010-06-26T00:51:00.000-07:00

Its been over an year that my blog possesses the same look that it had when I started it. So I have been trying to give it a new look with various templates and designs. Do let me know if the current look of the blog is good, the posts clearly visible and if i need to change it in any other way.

Your review on the new look of the blog would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks and Regards

Nishant

TIME FOR SOME INTROSPECTION

2010-04-18T12:48:00.000-07:00

This is a post, where i do not have much to write about on at the very outset, rather I would wish that my readers reflect and present their personal views and opinions on the topic, because, it is something that has a completely different meaning for every individual.

I HAVE THREE QUESTIONS, AND I WISH YOU GIVE ME ANSWERS AS PER WHAT YOU THINK ABOUT IT:

1. What according to you constitutes HAPPINESS?

2. For you, what does SUCCESS mean?

3. What is the "ULTIMATE" aim in your life?

I know its a very heavy topic for me to start a discussion upon or for readers in general to write upon, but still, I would be glad if my readers participate with the best they have with them.

Nishant :)

DELHI- 7

2010-03-24T07:01:00.000-07:00

Many readers might not be able to relate with the title of the post at the very first instance. But wait, try and recollect what delhi-6 was. A movie depicting the lives of people living in delhi-6; Chandni Chowk to be specific. And similarly here I am sharing with my readers, the story of the lives of people living in Delhi-7, The Delhi University North Campus- one of the most happening places I’ve ever known, in the true spirit of the phrase. I am not completely incorrect if I say the lives of people “LIVING” here because excluding the boarders in the various hostels of the university, this campus is like a second home for thousands of boys and girls.

My first impression of the place was quite an ordinary one. It was scenic, calm, beautiful and as a first timer in the campus, I could not even imagine that a place as this could be the center of so much of activity, both productive as well as unproductive. The reason behind this was that I had reached there well a day ahead of the date when the admission forms were to be given out and that too in the midst of summer vacations. Anyways, from the next day onwards the admissions began, and as far as I could perceive it was quite an ordinary process, but with delhi being the capital city of india, and the media being hyperactive, the whole event, “MISSION ADMISSION” was covered as if this was the only worthwhile activity going on in the whole country at that point of time. The small-little incidents that happened in that period are something that will make me giggle all my life.

But something more beautiful and unforgettable are the friends that I earned here in a very short span of time, I mean only in my initial days in Kirori Mal College(KMC). Whether I’d be able to make new friends in a new place was something that I have always been apprehensive about, and it was no different thihs time, but what hapopened with me here was something that I had least expected. As a new comer both in college as well as the city, I was quite shy in opening up with completely new people and introvert approach made it further difficult for me. But on the very first day, a guy named Rahul Sachdeva changed it all for me. He befriended me casually almost after the very first lecture and I am so very glad that he did. It is actually just for this guy that I have friends whom I can proudly and confidently call friends for a lifetime. So, this first friend of mine then introduced me to two of his friends, Hiteshi and Amisha, who after an introduction became my friends as well. Later on Hiteshi introduced me to Urvashi and Hrishita, and now we actually became a good, big and healthy group. Binit from my department joined us last as the cherry on the cake.

Now after the first few days of knowing one another as we gradually became comfortable in each others company, Rahul came to be known as Rahoooool, Hiteshi as Hittu, Nishant and Binit as Nishu-ji and Binu-ji respectively, Amisha as Mishaaa, Hrishita as Hrish but Urvashi, remained what she was, simply Urvashi. But wait, one thing about us that I forgot to mention. Members of our gang were not only just from my college or my department- as true Indians, even we are a symbol of “unity in diversity”. Three of us Rahul, Binit and myself belonged to the commerce dept; Hiteshi and Urvashi from statistics, Amisha from geography and last but not the least Miss Hrishita Gupta, this lady is not only from chemistry, a different dept, but she is a student at Hindu, a different college altogether, but she is so frequently seen in Kirori mal college that even the gatekeepers now don’t ask her for an I-card at the KMC gate.

The memories that I’ve gathered in this short duration of just eight months in college are such that I can live my entire lifetime just cherishing them. Being from different courses altogether, there is no count of the number of lectures that we’ve bunked just to be with one another, wherever it might be, but mostly we were found in the KMC canteen, simply sitting, eating, chatting and bullying one another as well as people around. And when the canteen was too occupied to accommodate us all, Kamla Nagar, better known as Knags here, is our nearest escape. This place bears testimony to the best of our memories, from Hrish’s birthday @ chocolove to golgappa competition on Rahul’s birthday, from the chinese Happy Birthday note on Amisha’s birthday to the rose and dairy milk fight on Hiteshi’s birthday, from the delicious chinese @ momo’s point to the very desi chacha ke chole bhature, from the shouting and screaming @ the scary fort to just posing for snaps with complete strangers as well as dummies in Scavenger’s Hunt and from just planning to get Rahul a t-shirt on his birthday to actually buying shirts for people whom I have been barred from naming, every thing has happened here. Not just kamla nagar and KMC canteen, a large portion of delhi bears the evidence to the amount of fun the seven of us have had together. When we are out of delhi 7, there is no limit as to where we can head to. Be it the piping hot filter coffee and south Indian @ the Indian coffee house or kachori sabji @ hanuman mandir, be it my birthday celebration @ NSP or the drive to Sukhdev dhaba on the G.T karnal highway, from Hiteshi’s birthday party @ meerabagh to holi @ vikaspuri, from My Name is Khan @ PVR to Kartik Calling Kartik @ Fun Cinemas, from goldfishes @ daryaganj to the C.A institute @ Shahdara, I’ve lived some of the best moments of my life here in delhi with friends whom I consider nothing less than angels.

Ironically, I can also relate the title DELHI-7 not only just as the pin code of the DU North Campus, but also to the seven crazy people that can be seen doing almost anything and everything when they are together; namely Hiteshi, Hrishita, Amisha, Urvashi, Rahul, Binit and Nishant.

With the flow of situations, I don’t have an inkling of where I would land up eight or ten months down the line. But whatever it may be, all that I’d like to say is that I am very fortunate to be blessed with angels in the face of friends as these. Thank you so much all of you for coming in my life and spreading the fragrance of your love all around me.

Love is gonna be in me, FOREVER!!!

2009-11-16T09:32:00.000-08:00

This is the first guest-post written for my blog by Hrishita Gupta, one of my friends here in Delhi. I actually asked her to write an article for “THOUGHTS OF A PERPLEXED MIND” after getting to know her and how lively and varied her thoughts were and also on reading a couple of her writings. I hope this article and its author would be well received by all its readers. Your feedback on the writing would be gratefully acknowledged

This is a guest post for Nish's (as I call him) Blog...he asked me to write one...and as a matter of fact I could say no to him...I was thinking about the topic to write on while reading his other posts...when I realized that this person has not yet delved into the sea of an emotion called LOVE...though he has quite described his relation with Suvro Sir...but that is respect and gratitude...not Love...So I thought why not write on this...we come into this world because of somebody's Love...we grow up with the love of our parents and family...its Love that binds us with people with whom we bear no blood relation, I mean, our friends...and its Love only which makes us fall for someone so much that we decide to spend an entire lifetime with him/her...

Love to me (and probably to everybody else) is as important as air or water...I first brushed against this feeling when I become sensible enough to realize that man and woman who taking care of me are my parents...and those other people around me are my own relatives...my blood relations..and I loved this feeling...a sense of belongingness to such a fantastic group of people made me proud...a feeling of security and a satisfaction that I’ll get whatever I desire (to some extent)...my entire family consists of about twenty members, and I whole heartedly enjoy our get-together...and myself being the eldest daughter have to babysit all my baby cousins...(that’s pretty much better than being in kitchen along with other ladies doing nothing... :)) It’s like all typical families, ladies segregated in one section..Men in another and kids and teenagers in another...I Love the way it all flows!!!

I brushed yet again with this feeling in the later years of my schooling, when I realized that Friendship is beyond sharing pencils, sharpeners, Tiffin and class notes...and since I crossed the stage of sharing such things...I have not been able to find where its limit lies...maybe there's isn’t any...maybe there's no need for any such limit...It’s a non-sexual love that u have for someone who is in no way related to u...comes from a completely different background, and one day you suddenly realize u cannot survive without hearing from him/her for more than a day...You are actually what YOU are when you are in their company...I consider myself very lucky as I have two such friends without whom it would have been practically impossible for me to live...I am 18 now...and I have a friend named Nikhita with whom I am friends for the past 10 years...childhood pals, you could say...we have shared everything from class notes to excitement of celebrating birthdays...from worries of exams to happiness of stealing a book from book fairs (sorry!) from coming to tears while laughing to actual tears of Love...from crushes on boys of different section to falling for a same guy at one point...from fights to sorries...from playing basket ball for school team to leaving the candidature for each other for an important post in school...from bunking classes to sometimes eloping just to meet each other...I have experienced every emotion possible with her...not only her but Hiteshi too...we have been friends for almost six years now but the bond is as strong as mine and Nikhita's...the both of them too are very close to each other...Hitu as I call her is much more than a friend to me...my day does not go well as long as I don’t get to hear from her once in a day...even a "hello" from her is enough for me...my first four months in Delhi University would have been dry had she been not there...I became friends with Nish because of her...she is angels...actually they both are...a blessing for me...the best thing that ever happened to me...

But I am yet to brush against this feeling, yet again when I get a “someone special” in my life...as someone told me God is busy writing Best Love story for me so it’s taking time I suppose...Although I am not in a romantic relation with anyone...and I don’t really know what it actually takes to be in one...but I know that all that I write (yes I do, apart from this write-up), it all revolves around this feeling...this emotion...and its depth...My soul is not completely mine...I believe one half of it resides with someone else and hopefully I'll be able to find it soon...The two of my friends I mentioned earlier say am I a diehard romantic...because whatever I have inside me it all comes out to them...through my gifts to them on their birthdays or otherwise...which at times leads me into trouble as my sexuality starts being questioned (I am straight for sure...) but I don’t mind it till am able to bring a smile to somebody's face...I badly wish to use my ideas on some else...a male human being...and see the stars and sunrise with him...bathe with him in the sea...dance with him in the rains...hug him tightly during the winters...go for long walks during autumn...take care of him...see the expressions on his face when he smiles...blushes...winks...when he’s bored...when he’s serious...when he’s exited...and when he loves...every emotion of his...86400 seconds of day...give him all my happiness...and take his all his sorrows...I wish to stand by him through all thick and thin...to be his greatest fan...and pamper him like a baby...I am sorry I think I got over the board...my hands aren't just stopping on keyboard...relax Hrishita...

That’s all what I feel about this feeling...have tried to give words to this vast emotion...but LOVE doesn't need words...it’s all about the feeling at the end...right Nish???

NO TIME TO PLAY

2009-10-24T10:22:00.000-07:00

Last week when i had been home to celebrate diwali with my family, a brief discussion between my mom and my sister-in-law caught my attention. And the topic of discussion was Ananya, my 6 year old niece, who had started developing tummy tyres at this tender age!!! What my mom suggested was that Ananya should go out to play in the evenings for some time which would help her in many ways, firstly that it would be a good physical exercise and then it was quite natural that children get a part of the day to enjoy themselves. And it was my sister-in-law’s remark to this solution that left me perplexed. What she said was that earlier Ananya used to go to the park to play but nowadays she DOES NOT HAVE ENOUGH TIME TO PLAY!!!! And can you imagine what is it that keeps a six year old so tied up that she doesn’t find time to play, tuitions (lifeline of lower school pupils), swimming classes (seasonal), music lessons and last but not the least dance classes. And what surprised me all the more was that this little girl was least interested in half of the co-curricular activities that she was involved in outside school. I now wonder, whom to pity more, the obsessed mother or the poor child that is burdened under her mother’s obsessions.

Happy Birthday Blog

2009-09-29T09:47:00.000-07:00

Today a complete year has elapsed since I started “Thoughts of a Perplexed Mind”. Frankly speaking, when I started this blog, I did not have a clear idea as to where this blog would lead to nor for what purpose exactly was I beginning to write on it. I did not know if I was going to share my thoughts with my readers, or was I going to share my areas of interest, was I trying for once to make them look at the world through my eyes or was I just going to share with them anything that went on in my mind. And I suppose, not much but I managed to do a bit of all the above in the past year of my blogging.

I distinctly remember the time when I was writing the introductory post for my blog. Situations were very different from what they actually are now. I had different things to think and bother about and all the more different people to interrupt me while I was writing. I had written the introductory post for this blog in room no. 20 of Poddar Chhatra Niwas in Calcutta and now am writing this first anniversary post at 194 Hakikat Nagar in Delhi. As the above sentence might indicate, this span of one year has been one of the most eventful year of my life till date, giving me uncountable joys..............................joy of scoring decent marks in board exams, of sitting in the first professional examination of my life, of being able to fulfil expectations of some important people in my life, of being able to get out of West Bengal and see the world beyond it, of earning new and completely lovable friends, of my first air journey, of owning a laptop, of having my first bank account, of having a feeling that now my parents think that I have grown up enough to take care of myself and be entrusted with important responsibilities. But there were sorrows too, leaving home for going to a place from where it won’t be possible to come back for months at a stretch, leaving behind old friends that I could really say to be friends and of not being able to fulfil the expectations of many others. This period actually taught me that you do not always need something really big or important to happen to make you happy, small things in life can be a source of eternal happiness.

Last year at a time as this, I was busy thinking whether I would fare well in my pre-selection and selection examinations? Whether my board exams would fetch me results that were decent enough to help me get into a decent college? Whether I would be able to qualify in my CA-CPT examinations. Then there came a phase that gave me practical replies to all my queries and indeed all the answers were in my favour. Then I had absolutely new queries ready with me for myself. Whether my parents would allow me to go over to Delhi for graduation, whether I would manage to get in a decent college, whether I would be able to make new friends in a completely new place where I knew no one and thankfully again all the answers were in my favour. And this circle of confusions and queries continues till infinity. But one thing that I have learnt is that it is you and only you who can answer to all your queries, no one else possesses the ability to do so

Today I am well settled in this new place as a student with almost no serious worries, though if I begin to introspect, I know I will find myself surrounded with innumerable problems. And I have found one and only one interpretation of this problem. We can never have enough of certain things in life, PROBLEMS, EXPECTATIONS, CHANGES & DESIRES are some of those. There is no saturation limit for them.

I don’t think I have done as much contribution to the blog as I could actually do. There are many things that have restrained me from blogging in the past few months. But now I think I will be able to regularly contribute to it. I wish to thank all my readers and especially Suvro Sir whose constant appreciation and support helps and encourages me to write and Supra Biyani who actually first inspired and encouraged me to start blogging at the time when I was quite apprehensive to start a blog of my own. I hope I would be able to make positive contribution regularly now.

And one last thing that I would like to say, “HAPPY BIRTHDAY BLOG” :)

(-: Pages from my Diary :-)

2009-04-09T22:48:00.000-07:00

Not even one full week has elapsed sine my class 12 board exams have finished and I am already feeling so bored, so confused, so helpless and so frustrated regarding almost anything and everything. It makes me feel so damn frustrated to helplessly see unending domestic problems on trivial insignificant issues, to accept my inability to stick to my decisions, to see my self confidence staggering midway and to accept the fact that I am so bad a judge of people and their personalities and characters. I have been experiencing all this for quite some time and now when I saw my frustration crossing its limits, I thought of venting out my feelings. And what better way can there be for the purpose other than this? Taking on the issues one by one:

1. Living in a joint family can be a very pleasant experience, but only as long as you are ready to adjust according to the needs of the situations and stay happy even after a couple of compromises here and there. As a child, I completely enjoyed this arrangement that I had been living in ever since I breathed first in this world. One uncle, one aunt and a couple of cousins. Everything was absolutely fantastic. But the best part was vacations when my paternal aunts used to come over to our place with their kids and all of us had a blast (literally). But as time passed and the kids grew up (myself included), everyone became busy in their own personal, academic and professional lives and these visits reduced from twice a year to barely once in two years. Those are still some of the most cherished days of my life (UNTILL NOW!!).

Earlier, since we (more specifically I), was a child, nobody would let any sort of domestic issues reach me and I myself too was least concerned about them. But gradually as I am growing up, these matters also reach my ears now and they actually make me feel wobbly in my knees. It is now that I have realized how trivial, day to day domestic problems that can be sorted out in a snap are made so serious and people go on discussing it uselessly without reaching any fruitful conclusions. (Unending discussions about the irregularity of the domestic help or the driver or anything of this sort make me feel as if I would just go deaf.L). At one read all this might quite vague to a reader but I obvious cannot delve into any greater detail regarding this. Plainly stating such insignificant household issues have been taking a toll on my mind for quite sometime. An arrangement that one was so very pleasurable once upon a time has taken a complete U-turn and all this makes me feel absolutely suffocated.

2. Its only last week that my exams got over and I realized that it was time I should really get serious with my career. It has been a sort of tradition in my family to study to become a C.A and later not to work as one. So following the footprints on the sand, I decided that even I would also become a C.A. but wait, that isn’t my one and only aim in life. My career interests have been changing ever since I was in the eighth standard. Initially I wanted to become an engineer, like most people in my class wanted to become (though a tutor of mine also played an influential role in that decision). But as time passed and I became more rational in my thoughts, I realized that I didn’t have the aptitude for science and so gradually shifted my interest from science to commerce. (anyways, at that point of time I didn’t know what it is like to work as an engineer or a doctor or an accountant or a manager, and now though I know what the difference is between the kind of work they do, I don’t know which one of them would suit or interest me ). So after the tenth standard I took up commerce, initially determined to become a chartered accountant, then to become a lawyer then neither to become a chartered accountant or a lawyer but to try my hands at mass-communication, then reverted to my decision of becoming a chartered accountant and a lawyer and currently am hanging somewhere in midst of all of them (the condition is really dangerous, I know that.)

This has been my situation for almost six months now and has greatly intensified in the past one month or so. I am not being to take any decision of my own and even if I succeed in taking one, am unable to stick to it for long. Every Tom, Dick and Harry seems to influence my decisions and this is one thing that has bothering me a lot for quite some time now. I am not being able to find answers to absolutely simple questions as to what career should I choose for myself, what tuitions should I take where should I study from an so on and so forth.

3. I am a very poor judge of people- their characters and their personalities. It takes a very long time for me to gauge people, what type they actually are, and even after that I am incapable of judging them. This is one problem I think I have had for quite a long time but a couple of acquaintances in the recent past have helped me greatly in realizing this drawback of my personality. On the face of it, I hate deceptive, double-faced people and when I find it hard to decide that whether someone whom I consider to be a friend is actually the way he/she is or he/she is masking/faking his/her personality, it really gets difficult for me to keep my cool. I also have no idea of how am I going to sort this problem out but it keeps bothering me since it affects me both emotionally and mentally. I do not know whether this is a drawback of mine or a blessing in disguise but whatever it is I sincerely so pray to God that he help me get out of this dilemma.

These were some issues that had been bugging me a lot for quite some time and the impact of which had started becoming so intense that it started showing up in my behavior (socially as well as personally). These small incidents that had been a part of my diary till sometime back have come out on a public platform as this just because I think many people of my age might be able to relate to some of these incidents and share the same with me.

NOTICE!!

2009-01-29T02:59:00.000-08:00

Hi everyone!!

This time I think I went against my own principle of not letting anyone or everyone matter to me or bother me and paid a price for it. I don’t know what I did or what I didn’t do but, BANG!! I fell bang on against my own head while trying to casually befriend someone and yeah, it really hurt badly.

Anyways a lesson well learnt. I actually wrote out this post to inform all my readers that I’ll be off the internet indefinitely till further notice.

So, wishing all a very happy new year, happy republic day, happy valentine’s day, happy holi and happy April fool’s day.

Thanking you,

Nishant Choudhary
(Blog Administrator)

Future Imperfect

2009-01-21T07:23:00.000-08:00

On the Cards

“Sir, Madame. I will tell you correctly what the future holds for you. Only Rs. 100. A middle aged man started announcing to us, a bunch of six people. One person in our group, KK, wanted to try it, since we were getting bored anyway. I wondered if he’d taken leave of his senses. What was the point wasting so much money over pointless predictions? Still, KK started the negotiations by trying to get the man climb down from Rs. 100. Pat came the reply, “Sir, you are a very clever man. It’s written on your forehead.” I thought, “of course, if KK is negotiating with him, he ought to be smart. One does not need to be a palmist to predict this.” However KK became interested after hearing those two magic words of appreciation. The man “predicted” that KK would lead a very happy life and that his folks would never have any complaints against him. Hearing this KK beamed with pride, as if he had just been nominated for an Oscar. Then came the googly, though. “You will meet with an accident in the ear future, so be careful. You should always follow your heart. You will have a love marriage.”
We all want to know what’s in our future and that desire sometimes takes over our present. I, being the know-it-all, knew it was coming we were clearly a bunch of college pass outs who’d be receptive to the idea of true love- the man knew the trick of the trade. A bubble of excitement persisted and everyone queued up to have their hands “read”. I, proudly excuse myself, but for most of my friends, the future was too tempting to resist. And when a friend persuaded me to give it a shot one gave in to the temptation. I too wanted to know when cupid would strike, after all! And the man said, “Madame, you will get the guy you like. You just have to choose him. But, your health will be a major problem.” Health? Who was interested in that? With everyone in a jolly good mood, we went to our hotel after paying him off. The post-mortems of our would be love lives went late into the night. But we weren’t worried about our failing health or financial troubles. We believed what we wanted to. So, on not-so-favourable matters, we simply decided that physicist Niels Bohr was right when he said, “Prediction is very difficult, especially about the future.”

Suparna Goswami.

The above story was published in The Times of India (31/12/2008). The central theme of the story has been clearly stated by the author in the last two sentences of the story. But other than that, there are many other messages that the author has conveyed very subtly throughout the story, incidents and thoughts that most of us would easily be able to relate to, that most of us have experienced sometime or the other in our lifetimes. So, any comments??

Are We Humane?

2008-12-06T07:42:00.000-08:00

In today’s context it wouldn’t any anything out of the ordinary to be writing on a topic such as this but sometimes when I sit back and reiterate on things that I see happening around me, this thought involuntarily comes in my mind, “is humanity alive?” The heading might not attract many readers because it is a topic that has long been debated upon and more often than not, without reaching any substantial conclusions. So today, here, on this platform, I chose to pen down my thoughts in this context.

On the face of it the heading seems to be really old and boring, like one of those middle school essay topics (even I felt soJ), but if we look at this problem from a different perspective, if we actually “NOTICE” what is happening around us all the time, then even it be momentarily but this thought is bound to come to your mind. Old, poor, handicapped and helpless men, women and children dying on roadsides, crying for help, hoping that at least one of the thousands passers-by would have a heart that he would stop by and help, but to no avail. People today I guess have become so “BUSY” (more often with their cell phones, girlfriends, snazzy gadgets and automobiles rather and with some substantial work) and heartless that even the painful moans of a child dying by the roadside fail to stir them, and unfortunately the poor moaning creature doesn’t know this.

I was not aware that the situation in the real world was so very devastating until I actually stepped into it. Before this I was at home full time just commuting to school and back and did not venture out to a third place by myself. I was living in a really small place (where one could actually identify each and every resident by the name), and life was pretty simple. People cared for one another and came to one another’s rescue whenever situations demanded. But the moment I stepped into what my parents identified to me as the “REAL WORLD”, what I saw and experienced pained me more than it did shock me. It was a world where everyone lives absolutely for oneself and has no concern for even a roommate whatsoever (it’s just an instance, situations can vary). In these two years of my life away from home in Calcutta, I have had a couple of such experiences that I guess would stay with me for a log long time.

Crippled, helpless people are left to die on the streets on metropolitan cities and the passers-by, as their name suggests, simply pass by overlooking that someone needs help, someone is dying. If this someone had been a person wearing good clothes and was clean, perhaps a couple of people might have stopped to help, but since these helpless people are poor and untidy no one offers help. There have been dozens of instances when I have seen such people lying by the roadside, unconscious, in the same posture, no one knowing whether he is alive or dead, for days at a stretch and ultimately what happens, no one knows.

“WE CARE FOR YOU” KP. Doesn’t this caption seem familiar?? Yes, this is Calcutta Police’s slogan, we care for you, but where does this care go when even the police patrolling parties overlook helpless people by the roadside until they are dead!! I believe this is police’s hypocrisy, why use a tagline for yourself that is so misfitting, that you cannot stand by!! There are dozens of charitable hospitals, NGO’s and rehabilitation institutions in cities, but can we actually feel their existence with so many helpless people lying around. The answer I suppose is NO.

By writing out this article I do not intend to convey that I personally do a lot for the betterment of such people, and so should you. No, saying that would be untrue on my part, but through this post, I wish to say that WE can make a difference in the lives of such estranged, helpless people through small efforts on our part. This is an appeal to all my readers, “do help the needy”, in whatever small or big way that you can, but do help, because small efforts lead to big results!!

Thank You, Sir

2008-10-17T00:11:00.000-07:00

Suvro Chatterjee, this is a name that I guess will be familiar with the most of us reading this article. He has always been a friend, philosopher and guide to the most of us in the true sense of the phrase. So on this 45th birthday of our beloved Sir, I thought of dedicating this post to him. After all this is one thing that most of us have always wanted to say to sir, “thank you. Sir”, but many, rather, most of us, I guess have never been able to say so. So here I take this opportunity to share with my readers all that I have learnt about Mr. Suvro Chatterjee (though it might be negligible in comparison to what many of my elders would be knowing, but still)

It was a summers evening in May, 2005 that I first saw sir. I had gone over to his place to get myself enrolled for admission and had almost lost the opportunity of studying with him and hence knowing him since I was horribly late. He had finished with he admission procedure and had almost declined my admission when he suddenly said “Yes” and enrolled me in his “St Michael’s batch”. That instance I guess was the beginning of my acquaintance with one such person that I think I will never be able to forget ever. My first impression of him was a very casual one. I thought he would be like most other tuition teachers, give notes, lectures, take money at the end of the month and whoosh!!! But this impression of his mine changed in the very first few sessions with him. He was not like every other tutor who would dictate notes, deliver lecturers and at the end of the month go away counting the number of Gandhi faces in his hands. I found out that he is actually a “TEACHER” and not merely a tutor. He is someone who could get personally involved with each and every pupil even in a batch that consisted of more than twenty five students. Fun and studies, jokes and rebuke, novels and movies, everything is a part of his classes. He is the first and probably the last teacher of his kind that I have ever seen or will ever see. He is someone to whom even the most notorious boy/girl could love going. He makes learning fun and those two hours with him twice a week were “Bliss”. He can ignite love for English in even the most ignorant person, believe me. In his company time seems to zoom past like anything. This might seem to be a bit childish but Sir knows everything. Talk to him about anything ranging from taekwondo to haiku poetry, from art to philosophy, from puppy love affairs to the most serious of discussions, he will take you for a roller-coaster ride on any topic under the sun. I swear, I have not seen another so knowledgeable a person in the eighteen years of my existence.

Then those 19 months of association with him in those classes ended and we all were upset since most of us would not get the opportunity of learning with him any more. But this was the end of the first phase of my relation with Sir. This I would rather call a shallow overview of Sir’s character because till this time I knew very little about sir personally and hadn’t talked to him much outside studies, syllabus and Shakespeare. But the kind of relation that I have been sharing with sir after passing out from class ten is something absolutely different and worth cherishing. Now I have understood that it is not only academics, you can share anything you wish with Sir, end he will not only be a patient listener to you but will definitely help you out if you are stuck up.

It has been about two years now that I last attended his classes and by that virtue I should be called an “ex-student” of his, but even today I feel proud to call myself his student and will always continue to do so. After passing out from class ten I could not understand how to go about the mental trauma that I had been facing trying to adjust in my new life and it was then that Sir came to my rescue. He boosted my morale so much so that in a short time I not only started liking the new life but now I am actually enjoying it. Thank you so much Sir. With Sir I find myself discussing things that I don’t think I would have been able to share with anyone if Sir wasn’t around. Today he has turned 45 but still every time I see him I find a youthful vigour in his gestures, a twinkling vitality in his eyes the never ending smile on his face (things that nowadays people begin to lose even before they ate 35). I feel blessed at having known someone so perfect as Sir at such an early stage in my life.

But there also are a number of people who simply hate Suvro Chatterjee for practically no reason whatsoever. Some find him all too boring while some others believe that he gives too much of “gyan” and this is something that I have not been able to figure out. Why on earth do you abuse someone if he does not personally tell you anything? If you cannot admire a person for his good qualities then why unnecessarily abuse him?

Whatever said and done but personally I feel that Sir is not simply an individual, he is an Institution in himself. Believe it or not he has substantially changed the way of thinking and subsequently the lives of many of us for the better and it is because of this that I would like to extend my heartfelt gratitude towards Sir. Thank you, Sir; thank you for everything. You have been a friend, a mentor, a source of inspiration for me. And lastly I wish you a very very HAPPY BIRTHDAY. May God bless you!

________________________________________________________

This is a humble attempt on my part to pay tribute to one of the finest man that I have ever known. A small gift to Sir, on his birthday. It is an appeal to all my visitors, do share any special memory/experience that you had with Sir and make this gift yet more special. Your entries will be gratefully acknowledged. Thank you.

"Let not my love be called idolatry"

2008-10-06T22:21:00.000-07:00

Let not my love be called idolatry,

Nor my beloved as an idol show,

Since all alike my songs and praises be

To one, of one, still such, and ever so.

Kind is my love to-day, to-morrow kind,

Still constant in a wondrous excellence;

Therefore my verse to constancy confined,

One thing expressing, leaves out difference.

Fair, kind, and true, is all my argument,

Fair, kind, and true, varying to other words;

And in this change is my invention spent,

Three themes in one, which wondrous scope affords.

Fair, kind, and true, have often lived alone,

Which three till now, never kept seat in one.

William Shakespeare

Introduction

2008-09-30T23:31:00.000-07:00

Thoughts are spontaneous. These are something over which you or I have absolutely no control. They are involuntary and when they strike, thoughts tend to take over your mind completely; and unless you give vent to your thoughts, you are completely ill at ease. Everyone has his or her own way of venting their thoughts, some write, some speak, some grumble and some blog, and I am one of those who prefer blogging to grumbling. (I feel it’s the best for the ignorant they do not think anything substantial, so no question of venting the thoughtsJ)

The main purpose of this blog of mine is to share news, views and reviews about a number of things in life. How things actually are in this world and how they can be improved upon. My blogposts are based purely on my personal experiences and thoughts and even if one relates to my posts of actually benefits from my writings, I’d feel highly rewarded. At times my posts might seem a bit confusing of might not make much sense, I’d beg your pardon for that. These articles are a part of my “first hand thoughts”, as I call them, so I do not generally make any substantial change in the theme of the articles once I pen them down.

Your comments and any constructive criticism regarding my posts would be highly appreciated. Thank you!!

People: should they really matter:

2008-09-30T10:23:00.000-07:00

For the past many days, this is one thought that has bothering me a lot. There are tens of millions of people in this world, and as is obvious, everyone has his/her point of view; and this is one thing that should not bother anyone whatsoever. It should be absolutely out of one’s business what a person thinks or how he behaves with the rest of the world. Rather I would say that what “that person” thinks of “you” or “me” should also be out of your and my business until and unless that person is intimately related to you. And mind you though in this example of mine I am using pronouns as “you” or “me”, I think it should also be universally valid, but unfortunately it is not so and I do not understand what on earth is it so??? People in the society instead of minding their own businesses are more interested in making a “good impression” on the general public, not waiting to think for a while that it is their deeds that will matter at the end of the day, it is what they do will affect their “IMAGE” in their “social circle”. (Mind you, there is a difference between “IMPRESSION” and “IMAGE”. Impression is limited to only a small group of people whereas Image is something wholesome. It is society’s general view if a person’s character). It is very commonly seen that people in general mindlessly chit-chat about how this person or that behaved with someone else in public. This kind of conversation at times becomes so intense and sometimes so debatable that to an onlooker it might seem as if they were discussing something of national importance.

For instance, if someone mindlessly hurts someone in public, (mind you, hurt here means PHYSICAL), it generally leads to the creation of a warlike situation with one party accusing the other of molestationJ. These two are absolute commoners, two persons whom apart from their family and a tiny circle of acquaintances, anyone hardly knows, the ones who are called a part of “AAM JANTA” in India. And what is the result of this fight?? One punches the other, the other kicks the former, and then they go their own ways still abusing one another. Within a couple of hours, this whole incident is brushed out of everyone’s minds. So the question here arises that what was the need of this whole fight just because one person unmindfully pushed another??? “PRESTIGE”. This is another word that characterizes the AAM JANTA. The both of them continued fighting till someone pulled them apart just in the fear that whoever backed out first, his prestige would be negatively affected, but where from did anything called prestige arise in a group of strangers?? This is something that I have not yet been able out, why on earth should the opinion of a group of strangers matter to anyone at all when that anyone is an absolute stranger and does not have even a distant possibility of becoming well known???

Taking it on a personal level, if someone makes a pass at you, abuses you or behaves arrogantly with you in public, it is but obvious for you to be momentarily hurt. But prolonged depression because of this does not make much sense!! Or does it??? I leave that question for you to answer but personally, I don’t think so. If someone whom you don’t know abuses you unreasonably, then there is no point getting depressed because, this “someone” was a complete stranger and will probably never ever meet you again, so how does it matter what he says??? But in reality this is not the case as you might know. It is see that we make a whole lot of an issue out of this irrelevant that this stranger in public, but what is the use of crying when you know that the one who said was a “STRANGER” and whatever he said was in “PUBLIC”, the memory and opinion of both of them is very fickle and ignorant????

All said and done, but when something of this sort happens to me, I find myself in a fix. My heart says that whatever anyone says is absolutely irrelevant until and unless I have genuine feelings for that person whereas my mind feels bad, terribly bad, even after knowing that the one who hurt me was someone whom I’ve never ever met before this day and whom I won’t ever probably meet ever again, and this is some kind of a web from which I find it impossible to get out. This conflict between my heart and my mind has now taken the shape of a mystery which for me is verry difficult to solve.

Epilogue:

After finishing this article, when I read it for the first time, I found it pretty rambling, but on reading it al over again with minor corrections here and there, I discovered that I had given the perfect words to my thoughts. It was something that had been reigning my mind for quite sometime, so I decided to share it with you. There are a number of confusions and unanswered questions in this article, and your valuable opinion and comments would be acknowledged.