Words

Words, powerful things

Some may inspire,

Others trample.

Words, weird things

Do they mean what they say?

You never know.

Words, strange things

They fail us when happy

They fail us when sad.

Words, tricky things

Sometimes they clear

Sometimes confuse

Words, relentless things

They make life easy

They make life hard

Words, endless things

Life depends on them,

The ones you say & the ones you don’t.

Megha

May her soul rest in peace…

The words reverberated in the granite floored living room. A small crowd of people, young and old, some dressed in traditionals, others in modern outfits had gathered there for Megha’s funeral. Only one common factor connected this odd assortment of people – the empty look in their eyes..

There was nothing dramatic about the day. It was not raining.

There were no grey clouds hanging above. But the dense clouds of despair and loss clung to the house..

His wife’s memories haunted Suraj.

The smell of her coffee…her childish laugh...the lullabies she sung for little Rohan...the aching in his heart was growing stronger with every thought.

It was x’mas eve. Suraj went out for a stroll into the silent and cold night. He walked until he reached his favorite place to hang out at night – Vrindavan Park. He took his usual spot on one of the benches and gazed at the inky black sky dotted with stars. Around him, about a dozen homeless children were in the intense cold, without even a piece of cloth to cover them.

Then he saw her..

She was walking towards the kids, pushing a scooty. A humongous parcel was popped up on the seat. She parked her scooty a few feet away from the kids and started opening the parcel. Inside, Suraj saw some blankets. Slowly, one by one, she covered the kids with blankets, careful they didn’t wake up. Once she was done, she smiled, took her scooty and walked away..

She hadn’t seen Suraj. But Suraj had just found out a big truth – angels existed..

******

Even though he hated admitting it, Mr.Mehta felt like he lost more than just a dedicated employee.

“I need you to report back in office right now” Mr.Mehta growled over the phone. His face was red with rage.

“But sir, I already told you, its sports day in Rohan’s pre-school. I need to be with him”, Megha’s voice was calm.

“Right! It’s just some stupid lemon & spoon race in a dumb pre-school. Your son isn’t running in the Olympic finals, for god’s sake. So just come here and complete your assignment right now.” Mr.Mehta was almost shouting. This time, megha’s reply was firm “Sir, for me, every single event in my son’s life is as big as an Olympics final. As for the assignment you’re talking about, I was awake the whole of last night completing it. If you would open your drawer, you can find the papers there. Also, if you had looked at your table, you would’ve seen my note. And sir, with all due respect, please do not question my dedication to work and my love for my family. Goodbye sir!” and she hung up.

Mr.Mehta couldn’t believe that a mere employee just hung up on him. No, not a mere employee. He had to admit that Megha was the most competent official in his firm. He couldn’t forget the awards she had won his firm. Looking at the table, he saw Megha’s note.

On a second thought, it actually was his fault. Megha had never let him down. He shouldn’t have been so harsh with her. Oh well, he thought, never mind, next morning Megha would be back next morning with her ever-so-cheerful smile. Of her many qualities Megha possessed, the one he admired the most was her ability to forgive and forget so easily.

He couldn’t imagine his office without Megha.

The way she insisted that everyone should have a flower vase on their desk…the way she convinced clients into making profitable deals with the firm…her dedication…her spirit…Mr.Mehta felt like his office was about to be hurled down a dark hole.

******

Meera felt something hot and wet on her cheeks. She realized they were tears. For once, she dint care about ruining her make-up. Megha, her best friend was gone. How could someone so full of life be dead? She couldn’t believe it.

It was a humid summer night. Meera couldn’t sleep. Her parents were always fighting each other and she didn’t know what to do. She felt like her life had suddenly transformed into hell. The only ray of hope she had was Megha. Megha always had solutions, let it be silly math equations or bigger problems of life. Meera dialed her best friend’s number.

“hey Meera, wassup at this late hour?”, Megha’s voice was cheerful.

“um..I’m I disturbing Megha? I need to talk..”. Meera hesitated.

“hello ma’m, since when did we start getting formal? Cut it out and tell me what’s wrong.”

Meera couldn’t hold it anymore. She started crying. Between sobs, she spilled out her mind infront of Megha. As usual, Megha had a solution.

“meera, first of all get a grip on yourself. Now think. Even if your parents have their differences, they have a very big common ground – you! Make them realize it and they’ll definitely get over their problems.”

Meera followed this advice and gradually everything turned out well and happy. When she thanked her best friend, Megha laughed. “Well, you made it happen and you’re thanking me? You proved that you’re the best daughter on earth. Isn’t that a reason to celebrate?”

Megha had this uncanny ability of solving problems and finally making you feel like you did it all by yourself. Meera sighed. She had lost an irreplaceable part of her life. The late night gossiping..exchanging beauty tips and recipes..holdin hands and crying in front of movie screen..laughing at silly jokes till their stomach ached..

Meera felt like a hole was opening in her heart..

******

Memories cluttered the living room air.

While an old couple remembered how Megha used to help them carry their shopping bags, a little boy remembered how she had fixed his kite.

A kitten meowed, searching for the hand that affectionately tickled its stomach and poured milk into it's bowl..

But like diamond in charcoal, Rohan’s happy face stood out. Ofcourse, he had reason to be happy. He had cleverly pulled down mom’s sari from the cupboard and had been playing with it ever since. And to his surprise, no one had scolded him! Boy, wasn’t that happy news?

Just then, he seemed to notice his mother’s absence. Slowly, realization dawned on his face. He grinned even wider.

“Mom hiding! Rohan find mom..yaya.. Rohan like hide and seek!!”

Clapping his hands, he ran around, searching for a mom he would never find.

Dream Ever, Fear Never..

She wasn't much of a writer. She preferred reading. A reading room was her safe haven. But she had these strange impulses on days, when she would just sit with a book and pen, to write. Initially, writing was her way of spilling out emotions. She wrote about what she'd gone through...she wrote about herself. She saw herself being calmed down by the outflow of words. She stacked up poems and write ups. But it was her little secret. It took her a long time to let her works out of their cocoon.

And one fine day, she posted them on Facebook. Not for any particular reason, but like the title of a show goes - Just for fun..

She was overwhelmed by the response she got. People patted her on the back and spoke in encouragement. Comments and likes increased in number.

You can definitely do well. Just give it a try..let it out girl.. 

Her mother's words became her motive.

That's how she started blogging. Every time there was a comment or somebody started following her blog, there was a big smile on her face. It gave her energy to come up with more and more creative products of thought. She started taking writing seriously. She started thinking differently and kicked up her observation skills.  Slowly, without her realizing, writing became her way of expressing herself. Everytime something interesting happened in her life, she found herself trying to develop it into something for her blog. As time passed, she drew inspiration from things around her, rather than just herself. She never bothered about the page-views or her blog stats. She never took the number of follows as a measurement of her creativity.She saw criticism as a proof for the higher level her works had taken.

Give the world the best you have, and the best will come back to you..

She believed in herself and stuck to those words.

And the best did come back to her. She got heartwarming responses from readers, strangers and acquaintances alike. The first poem on her blog was re-posted on a website by a follower and feedback from around the world came to her mailbox. And these responses kept her going. Her words got wings..

Now, writing soothes her as much as music. It gives her immense satisfaction and a sense of being. Reading changed it's role from a safe haven into a door to improved and better writing. She saw her writing shed it's childish veil and grow into something better. Blogosphere became a world on it's own for her, a place where she could present her ideas as well as learn from the innovations of several others.

And she always said,

Dream Ever, Fear Never...


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It's 13th Feb 2012, a year since I started blogging. Looking back, I think it came out pretty well, 13 being unlucky n all!  :)

The Unknown Romance

Cameras clicked everywhere. One of the greatest weddings of all time was about to be announced. The multibillionaire giants Lesley’s Corp and McDor’s Ltd were uniting with the marriage of their heirs Phillip Lesley and Angela McDor.

Every inch of the party hall was covered in fancy expensive decorations. Golden ribbons, white daisies and tulips were everywhere. Guests including the richest members of the society were busy adjusting their bows and hats.

But Phil wasn’t interested in the bliss of glamour and luxury around him.

His hands moved towards his most valuable possession – a piece of paper safely tucked away in the pocket of his silk coat. Phil’s eyes craved for one more look at it before Arthur Lesley announced his son’s fate in front of the whole world. He took it out…

Love doesn’t ask why…

The Celine Dion lyrics were written out in a beautiful curly writing. He felt himself slipping away from his reality to that night…

              

*******************************************************************************************

It was just another normal day for those at the Bluebird Karaoke Club. But for Phil, it was one of the best days of his life – an escape from the formality of the society gathering and toasts to the normalcy of a young man’s life that would never be his. Away from the showy satin and silk, he felt himself relax in a pair of borrowed casuals.

This is what he wanted – a night in a karaoke club far away from his reality. Here he wasn’t obliged to follow any norms or etiquette of social life. He could act like he was just another guy enjoying the night at a club.

“Yo! Who’s coming up for the next song?”  The DJ’s voice boomed into the mike. A dozen hands shot up among the audience.

“The blonde there…come up gal.” The DJ flashed a brilliant grin as the slender figure of a girl in a beige dress rose from a seat, several rows in front of Phil. Phil’s gaze followed as she walked gracefully towards the dais. His mind was swept away by her volume of waist long corn silk hair. Phil caught his breath as the girl turned to face the audience.

“Love doesn’t ask why…It speaks from the heart…and never explains…”

Her voice was the sweetest sound Phil had ever heard.

“Don’t you know that love doesn’t think twice…it can come all at once or whisper from a distance…”

The table fan on her right blew her perfume towards Phil, along with the lyrics sheet she was holding. It fell near his feet. Taking off his eyes from her for the first time since he set it there, he bent down to pick the paper. When he straightened, he found himself facing the girl’s angelic face.

Her sea green eyes locked his gaze. He felt like the world  around them had suddenly stopped and it was just the two of them. He stretched his hand forward, holding out the paper to her.

She looked at it and hesitated.

“Keep it”, she said and ran away, leaving Phil alone in the crowd.

********************************************************************************************

The blinding camera flashes brought Phil’s present crashing back on him.

Had he not been chained by wealth and status, he would’ve sought her out and kept his life on her feet. But no! The stars weren’t on his side.

He hadn’t bothered to argue with his father. Why should he? What difference would it make? It’s not as if his pleas would win against his father’s decision.

He crumpled the paper in his hands and put on his well practiced flashy smile for the paparazzi.

Behind Phil, the guests turned their heads to see Angela McDor walk gracefully into the party hall.

*************************************************************************************************************

Angela adjusted her hair and made sure her bow wasn’t crooked. But her thoughts did not stay. They darted back to that night – a precious memory she had treasured in her heart….

*************************************************************************************************************

Angela sneaked out of a kitty party to breathe some happy air in a karaoke club. Music was her passion. But all she got were operas by some high and mighty artist, staged personally for her in the McDors’ private theatre. What good was that?

She felt her heart soar when the DJ picked her for the next song. Finally, she would be able to get the taste of a normal life, away from the diamonds and glitter.

She closed her eyes and sang from her heart…

She was so lost in the song that she realized her lyrics sheet was not in her hands anymore only when she saw it land near a man’s feet.

While he bent down to take it, she walked towards him.

Angela was under the impression that she wasn’t one of those girls who went oogly-woogly in front of good looking guys. But when she saw the guy in front of her, all she could do was stare. She felt drawn towards the warm sparkle in his eyes…

He stretched out the paper for her to take. She glanced at it and noticed the time on his wrist watch.

God! She was late! The party would’ve finished by now and people would’ve started noticing her absence. She had to go…

“Keep it”, she said and ran away.

***************************************************************************************************************

What if she had stayed that night? Angela couldn’t shake off the uneasiness gripping her heart. In a matter of minutes, her father was about to announce her marriage with an unknown Ritchie Rich. But the memories of the young man at the club would always haunt her. It would remain the biggest “what if?” of her life….

***************************************************************************************************************

Cameras clicked everywhere. One of the greatest weddings of all time was about to be announced.

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The Friend

She curled once again on me that night. The girl was crying again. Looks like she had yet another fight with her parents. Or maybe it was one of those days when she missed her lost love. Well, that’s how all these teenage girls are…

But I would never complain. How could I, after all those years we’ve spent together? I fondled her when she was young – a naughty baby who would never lay still. I have seen her grow up from that little girl to a mature almost-woman.

She complained to me whenever she was angry and I always heard all of it without a single interruption. I never asked her to shut up, when many other did.  I was the first one to know of her first crush – the cute nerd from her school. Every single time, I heard the very first exclusive versions of the short stories and poems she wrote. She sang her favorite tunes to me. I can very proudly say that nobody knows her as much as I do.

She kicks me, punches me, wets me with her tears. But I was always there the next time she wanted someone to talk to. Every night, she opened up to me about her worries and told me about her life.

When she returned from a journey, she always rambled on about how much she missed me. And I always loved hearing those long talks.

Sometimes she throws books or clothes at me, maybe even her 10 kg school bag. But you know, I love her so much that I cannot get angry at her. A new sheet and a pillow are more than enough to make my day. After all....I’m just a bed! J

The Silver Ribbon

    There it was again – the sparkling silver ribbon. It had come to me in my dreams first. Random as my dreams always were, I used to see myself chasing it. The scenes would be different every time. I had chased it through breathtaking valleys and under the sea. Even in total darkness, I’d followed its luminescence, reaching out to touch it.

    Then it started to appear in real life. I saw it first when I was 13. I’d just fought with my mom over another silly reason. I was cursing the whole world, when it appeared from a tiny spark. As if in a trance I had reached out, forgetting my anger and grief. But it just flew higher, leaving a trail of silvery sparks. I would laugh out, feeling like a toddler chasing a firefly. It always made me forget my worries. After that night, it appeared again and again. Sometimes at night when I would be having one of my long thinking sessions. Sometimes in the park, when I would be looking at the magnificent cloud patters in the sky. Even in libraries, where I would have a book kept open just for the sake of it. It came to me when I was alone and it came to me in the middle of crowds. But every time it appeared, it filled me with a feeling of deep satisfaction. It was my safe haven, my closest friend. I had even started talking to it. Others might think I’m nutters, but I believe it replied to me with tiny sparks or another curve of the ribbon. We communicated in our own indefinable language.

    Like many other factors, it did not leave me when circumstances changed. It was still there when I was 30. It sparkled with the same glow when I was 70. But it never let my fingers feel its smooth surface. Whenever I got near, it flew away, as if to say it wasn’t the right time yet.

    Today, at 86, lying on the hospital bed surrounded by beeping machines, I saw it again. It had the same warm glow. For the 1^st time in days, I felt strong. I reached out to my old friend. But this time it did not fly away. At that moment, a deep realization dawned on me. I felt like I had known it all along. Its moonlight strands ran around my fingers. It was warm, it was cool. I floated away with it, without looking back…

Oogly Googly Doodles

One fine evening, surfing through the net without a definite aim, I happened to come across some really fantastic Doodles!
For those who don't know, 'Doodles' are the official artworks appearing on the home page of Google search engine, with the word 'Google' written in different beautiful ways. And some of them are related to the importance of the day of featuring. Google usually organizes Doodle Designing Competitions in various countries. (It was held recently in India as well. Check it out)
So, here are some of the cool ones I saw, in random order..

Carnival time!!

This one was to honor Charles Darwin on his birthday.

The winning entry of Doodle 4-China

By DC Comics

Another winning entry in Doodle Competitions

This was featured when scientists unveiled the fossils of Darwinus Massillae 

Earth Day 2009

It's Fruity!

The first day of school..

Winter's here...

Giro d'Italia 2009

Happy B'day to Gregor Mendel

Lantern Festival

Michael Jackson Rulezz!!

Mother's Day 2009

Nazik Al-Malaika, an Iraqi poet

On Nikola Tesla's B'day

This one's for Robert Noyce, one of the founders of IC chip.

For  Hans Oersted

On the anniversary of the release of Pinocchio

The shepherds of Poland..

Honoring Alexander Popov

Tanabata 2009

On the B'day of Samuel Morse

For the Seven Sleeper's Day

Birthday of Rabindranath Tagore

On Mark Twain's B'day. The fence painting scene from Adventures of Tom Sawyer!

Click and explore more on your own!

The Nerd

The lights were off but Shyam’s face was lit by the rays from his computer screen. His green eyes reflected a million rays like sparkling jades. His dark hair, once a heart throb to many girls at school, was combed neatly to the left. From the screen, an angelic face of a girl smiled at him.

He could never decide whether her eyes were hazel or brown…and her glossy black hair hung on either side of her face, as curly as ever. Every time Shyam looked at her, he would get lost in the mazes of those very curls. Sandhya…Shyam had started loving her the moment he set eyes on her beautiful face. He could spend eons just drinking in the warmth of her smile…but now, he had to get back to his C++ program. He minimized the facebook page and opened his C directory. He had 3 programs to finish for the next day. Even without a deadline, programming was one of the very few things that eased him up. Maybe that’s why he was branded with the names ‘Nerd’ and ‘geek. But he didn’t mind, of course. Why spend even a thought on such things when there was C++?

He started debugging the current program. With every line he read, he felt his thoughts running back to Sandhya. How easy it would’ve been if he could ‘debug’ his life. If only there was a way to rewrite the program of his life, he would replace so many things…

All his bland talks to Sandhya would be replaced with witty lines like that of those cool guys he envied. Talking to Sandhya wasn’t his only problem. He could never figure out how to handle people. Every time somebody, his mom, dad, teachers or his classmates, did something to make him happy, he always let them down with unenthusiastic replies. There were always these awkward instances when a girl tried to talk nice and he acted like he didn’t understand. But he couldn’t help it! He was better-off without C++…

He went on with the debugging, but his thoughts never stayed.

           His insides longed to get rid of the bottled feelings. He envied the guys at school who owned bikes and impressed everyone with their talks and stunts. He wished he could talk so easily and make friends like that. He wondered if he would ever be invited to one of those peppy parties or prom. Not likely. They don’t have C++ there.
          Everywhere he went, people tried to be nice to him. But after a while, they always took a hint and never cared again. Hmm…people…when would he ever be one of them?

An error on the screen brought his train of thoughts to a halt. Crap! Another bug to remove.

She Was Waiting..

She was waiting. Well, there was nothing new about it. She has been pretty much doing the same thing her whole life.

She still remembered how she had waited in the dark hospital corridor when she was 6, surrounded by khaki clad men with sticks. Uncle Ram had come to talk to the doctor. She recalled the doctor’s grave expression while he declared that her parents were no more. They had died in the car crash, leaving her all alone and unguarded.

She had waited again, with tears in her eyes, while everybody she knew refused to take her under their wing. Would she never be protected? “Ram, you could at least take her to do the house work”, an old lady she didn’t recognize had remarked. But probably she was too numb and young to realize what they meant.

She remembered waiting in Uncle Ram’s car, clutching on to her fading good memories of her parents, while Ram tried to convince his wife.

She had waited again, outside the dining room, for everybody else to finish their food and give her what’s left.

Many-a-time had she waited for a peep into the colorful TV uncle’s kids watched. She remembered waiting for the cut to heal after she got whacked with a pan as usual. Would she never be loved?

She went on waiting, near the gate, for the school bus to arrive. She still remembered the content feeling that filled her heart when she carried uncle’s kids’ bags and felt the weight of books. Will she never be able to study again?

The cuts never healed and her tears never dried, but she kept waiting...For a miracle in life…

Isn't it high time that we actually DID something against the injustice faced by children, especially girls, other than sticking posters? It's your decision, to be a miracle or not! Another Children's Day just went by..think about it!

Watching Ra.One - The much awaited (and bland) movie!

Recently the B-town was “shaken” by the much awaited release of Ra.One, the great Indian superhero movie. Right from the planning of the script to the music and game release prior to the actual movie release, Ra.One has always managed to grab a decent seat in the headlines. So here’s what I think of it…

The happenings start when videogame developer Shankar wants to impress his son Prateek with a new game featuring a villain so powerful that he’s almost unbeatable. It all goes wrong when this imaginary villain, Ra.One, empowered by artificial intelligence, actually comes to reality and swears to destroy the 1^st player who tried the game, which happens to be Prateek (under the gaming name Lucifer). Ra.One ends up killing Shankar and a lot more innocent people in his hunt for Lucifer. The only solution the developers could think of was to bring G.One, the “Good One” (hero of the game) to life as well. One point to note is that, both these superheroes are provided with a ‘HART’ (Hertz Advanced Resonance Transmitter) to keep them going. And they cannot be destroyed unless they’re killed with this ‘HART’ connected to their body. So in the end, we see G.One and Prateek, hand in hand, defeating the very powerful Ra.One and saving themselves and the world from destruction.

The storyline can be described in just 3 words – Virtual Reality Torture. Common people would have a tough time following all that. But yeah, with the researches in the field of Artificial Intelligence going so fast and strong, something like this would not be impossible in future.

On the technical side, the movie has done extremely well with power-packed visual effects, stints and direction. The soundtrack, including Akon’s celebrated hits ‘Chammak Challo’ and ‘Criminal’, have done their best to make up for the total lack of adrenaline.

All in all, what the movie tried to convey was that “Good can always overcome evil, even if the chances are 0.01 percentage, like that of beating Ra.One”. But 2 hrs and 40 mnts was way too much for that!

Unknown Uncle

              It was a bright Saturday afternoon, and my dad returned home after work. As usual, I was the one to open the door and get his bag. Along with his work bag was a plastic cover, which had 2 books in it. He saw me staring at the cover and said, “Those are for you”. Now, my dad isn’t the kind to bring home books for me. So naturally I was quite surprised. I quickly checked what the books were. One was a medium sized science quiz book and the other was a 200-page vocabulary builder. Okay, this was getting even more confusing. My father, who has no idea what kind of books I need, was bringing me an excellent quiz book and a wonderful language reference book?

             Looks like my expression gave it away, but before I could ask, dad answered the question. “Hey, don’t be so surprised. I’m not the one who bought this. A colleague of mine gave it to me as a present for you.” Wow! Now that was amazing.

“Was it Sudha aunty? Or Rajesh uncle? He bought me a pendant when he went to Hyderabad last time,” I said.

“No, actually Sashi Sir, our division manager gave these.”

Sashi sir? The name did not ring a bell at all. I was confused again.

“Sashi ..Um.. Well dad, I don’t remember who he is.”

Dad laughed. “No wonder there. You haven’t seen him. He’s one of the oldest of our managers. A very respectable man. I used to talk to him about you, tell him how much you enjoyed quizzing and reading and all. So today he just gave me this cover and said it was a present for you.” 

I was totally caught by surprise. This guy hadn’t even seen me once and he had sent me brand new books because he knew I loved reading and quizzing? I felt some kind of emotion that I could not express. I opened the quiz book. On the first page, there was something written in a curly handwriting, in pink glitter ink.

‘To my daughter Malavika…With love, U.U’

I was completely touched. He had called me his daughter. But, u.u?

“Dad what is this U.U”?

“Oh yeah! U.U...Forgot about that. He did tell me he had written the initials U.U inside. It stands for ‘Unknown Uncle’ ”

Yes, indeed I did not know him. And he was aware of that. But still he wanted to show how much he cared for me, an unknown girl. In my stack of books, these would forever remain precious to me, not because of their content, but because of the amount of love and consideration an unknown man had showed to me. With a full heart, I thank you Unknown Uncle!

Tears

I was once a brave little girl

Who did something big!

I challenged tears,

At the age of ten!

Surrounded by gleeful laughs,

I said, “Mamma, I’ll never cry!”

Time passed on and the small girl grew.

People changed and so did I.

Feeling left out, all alone,

I wanted to cry.

But hey, I challenged tears,

So how could I?

Sticking a permanent smile on my face,

I let my heart bleed

Over everything I lost,

Over the love of my life.

But No! I wouldn’t cry, tears were bad.

Growing again, changes again.

Feelings bottled up, how could I cry?

I was the brave heart

Who promised to smile.

But one day it gushed forth,

Everything I’d faced –

Cold stares, anger, no love, no care,

Revenge and teasing, lots of mocking,

Failures big and small, bitter and sour,

Wounds so deep,

Those that would never heal.

And then they came to me,

The bitter tears of life –

Saying “If you weren’t lame

To challenge us like that,

At least we would’ve been with you

Oh dear one!”

21st Century and Superstitions

‘Superstition’ – something we come across frequently, especially if there are grandparents around.  So let’s start with the basics. What exactly are superstitions? Well, they are some kind of blind beliefs that do not have a logical or rational side. Different cultures have traditionally held differing superstitions beliefs, beliefs that are deemed "irrational."  Such beliefs go back to ancient cultures such as the Greeks and Romans, who believed that natural occurrences were a result of actions of the gods.  People, on not finding convincing answers to their doubts, started making new explanations on their own, which were often concentrated on super-natural forces.

But that was long ago. Long before even day and night were scientifically explained. And now it’s the 21^st century, with science and technology reaching peaks of development. But why do we still find people shouting “break a leg” (old English superstitious substitute for wishing luck) and keeping a low profile on Friday the 13^th? If a marriage is not successful, the blame is on the mismatched horoscopes, rather than the individuals’ incompatibility. And crossing your fingers seriously doesn't alter the exam results, do they? Even when man’s footsteps are on moon, why do people still flinch when a black cat crosses their path? Now, what has the poor animal got to do with our life’s happenings in any way?

The reason could either be the person’s ignorance or lack of faith in his/her doings.  If something goes wrong, it’s because of the ‘devil’ and not because of the person’s actions. But actually, these are all peoples’ ways of getting guilt off their conscience. People have something super-natural to put blame on whenever their instincts lead them the wrong way. And we have a great deal of astrologers and fortune tellers draining believers’ pockets, making use of this fact. At the same time, like every coin has 2 sides, some superstitions are kind of good for people. The prayers/meditation at dusk before lighted lamp (as in the Hindu customs) for example, can be soothing and gives a great deal of positive energy. In the modern busy life, such beliefs help people to develop clear thinking. But when superstitions tend to disturb peace of mind and happiness of life, they are seriously to be kept at bay.

So in a nutshell, what actually matters is how you balance your life, with or without superstitions. 

Batty Speaks..

2011 is the International Year of Bats. So Ms.Batty is now gonna speak to the world!

“Hey, am Batty, the bat. Black skinned, poor visioned and reserved, people call our kind “creepy”. Okay, we don’t “socialize” much. We keep to ourselves and are perfectly okay with it.

Let me tell you a bit about us bats..

We fall under the order “Chiroptera” in the phylum “Mammalia” (that’s for the nerds J). This might interest you - we’re the only mammals that can fly. Buddy squirrel’s cousins can “glide”, but not “fly” like we do.

We’re masters of the technique called “echolocation”. We catch our prey (which is mostly small animals, insects or fruits) with the help of echoes of ultra sonic sounds. It’s far above human brains (no offence there).

The smallest mammal on earth is among us – Bumble bee bat or Kitti’s hog nosed bat (we call him Bumby J)

And as if we aren’t unique enough (ehm ehm), the only blood-drinking mammals one of our kind – “The” Vampire bat. Isn’t that awesome? Okay, maybe not soo awesome, but still, if you can dream about hugging Edward or Rosalie Cullen, then why be afraid of our Vampy? (Star fact: Vampy thinks it’s an insult to fall under the same category as Edward. We think he’s jealous). But it’s not like he goes around drinking human blood like a Dracula. He prefers animal blood (looks like he met Carlisle somewhere). Also, we’re nocturnal. We are active at night and doze off in the morning.

But humans don’t leave us alone. Our only hope was the Hindu belief where bats are supposed to be forms of dead ancestors and hence, we are protected at least around here. And now, they’re killing us. Cousin horse shoe bat’s line is nearly extinct. Even though we’re spread over all continents except Antarctica, there are only very few of us. They say there are around 1250 species of our kind, but most of them are on the verge of extinction. Just because you’re afraid of Vampy, why do you have to massacre us like this? How much ever "spooky" or "creepy" we might be, don’t we also own a share in nature?

We beg you, even if you don’t go around hanging posters to conserve us, please don’t poach us or kills us!”

That's what Batty has got to say, the rest is up-to us!!! 

The Guardian

                Moving along the life of Julie Barenson, a 29 year old widow, The Guardian by Nicholas Sparks is an exhilarating, dark, romantic thriller. While Sparks is known for writing sappy love stories that pull on the reader's heartstrings, The Guardian comes as a surprise, and is undoubtedly one of his finest works.

Julie loses her husband Jim to cancer, and is widowed at the young age of 25. She’s left with only his memories and an outdated letter that comes with a pre-planned Christmas gift by Jim – a Great Dane puppy. Jim’s promise to guard over her forever consoles the broken Julie and soon, Singer, the ever-loyal dog with a funny human-like nature, becomes an integral part of her life. Nearing her thirties, Julie decides to move on. But who’ll be her rock? Will her next man be Richard Franklin, the “sophisticated, handsome” engineer, for whom Julie seems to be the world, or Mike Harris, the “down-to-earth nice guy” who was her husband’s best friend?

While the reader expects a “happily-ever-after” line after Julie makes her choice, we soon find her fighting for her life and new-found love. The murderous battle, spawned by deception and a poisonous jealousy, captures the interest of the reader with its electrifying intensity and suspense.

A thrilling and emotional tale of betrayal and obsession, The Guardian, by Nicholas Sparks, is the finest blend of love and suspense. And for that very reason, it’s indeed on the top of my Must-read list!  J

Adieu to Harry Potter – THE MODERN SOCIAL PHENOMENON

Having seen the last Harry Potter movie, I cannot believe that the global phenomenon which enchanted lakhs and crores of children AND adults with its binding spells, is about to end!

Fabulously picturised, without losing the essence of thrill and anxiety in the book (even adding to it at times), I would call Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows Part 2 the best movie in the series. The movie made me cry and laugh, and it was with a content and happy feeling that I left the theatre. Words fail to describe the feeling!

The Harry Potter books had been something that captured me right from the start. I was bound by its magic the moment I read the first page, or maybe the first line. Everything in the book fascinated me, and it still does. For that very reason, I cannot stop myself from reading them again and again. I can say for sure, that however older I get, the series would still have this special place in my heart!

Hats off to: J.K.Rowling – the wizard of words, the movie guys, the casts! It’s with tears of joy that the world bids adieu to this wonderful series. We love you Harry, Ron and Hermione! And JKR, you’re the BEST!!

PS- One good news is that it actually doesn’t end here. Thanks to the amazing JKR, HP fans still have a reason to celebrate as the mini-kind-of-social-networking-site “Pottermore” is being introduced. Now that’s gonna be another fascinating experience for the ones who love Harry Potter!!!
For more details, go to:
http://www.pottermore.com/

Time to Celebrate!!!

Ask me which is the best city on earth and I’d say Bangalore.. Know why? Because that’s where I won third place in the south zone level of Chemistry Quiz conducted by National Council of Science Museums, along with my best friend and team mate Zainab. Sitting here in front of my PC 20 hrs after the program, I still can’t believe we did it!

It all started when I and Zainab, the chemistry fans, signed up for the school level Chem quiz. We won that and were sent for the State level competition at the Regional Science Center, Calicut. Of the 72 teams that participated, we were selected for the south zone level at Visvesvaraya Industrial and Technological Museum, Bangalore. Thus we were off to Bangalore on 5^th July 2011. Though we enjoyed the journey along with our escort teacher and my dad, the anxiety still lingered. It doubled when we saw our rivals at the guest house and adrenaline filled our blood by morning of 7^th July, the D-Day! We gave it our best shot and miraculously landed in the finals with 3 other teams. But given the high standard questions, buji rivals, and our not-so-good luck, we were almost convinced that the last place was the one for us. But well, by the time the rounds were over, we, the only all-girl team (the others were all boys, except for 2 other mixed teams) had won the THIRD PLACE. Okay, now that was something unexpected. Naturally I was happy (well, that would be an understatement. It was beyond “happy”). 1^st of all, for overtaking the other team from Kerala and secondly for the position we had won ;) :D

The quiz was followed by a lecture by Dr.Hanudatta Arteya of Indian Institute of Science on Chemistry and Biophysics. Then our wonderful prizes and certificates were awarded and we got to click a pic with Dr.Arteya and the director of VITM as well. Happy that the hours of study and the prayers of many from our school & family and the TENSION finally had a “happy ending”. 

Looks like fact that we actually became the 2^nd runner-ups, though very very pleasing, might take some time to sink in. But many thanks to the “quizzing chemistry” between me and Zainab, for the many prayers of many lovely people and Thank God! This is truly A DREAM COME TRUE!!!! J J J