Rainbows of Joy

I somehow don't like Sundays. You know why? Simply because they are followed by Mondays. And I better not get started on how much we hate Mondays. I love Saturdays though and again for the same reason – they are followed by Sundays! (Of course, nowadays Friday is the new Saturday) Its kinda sad na? So much is dependent on what future holds for us. We just feel happy by thinking about a holiday, not knowing it may turn into a disaster and when we do get a holiday we feel blue about going to work the next day. I mean we have so many hopes and feelings based on what may or may not even happen. I think most would agree, that the trips that are unplanned and sudden, more often than not, turn out  to be most fun. Even the thrill of an unexpected holiday is better than the approaching weekend. I am sure everybody loves it when it starts pouring on a hot and sunny day, when you least expect it. And that's when we see the rainbow. Unexpected joys are like rainbows, vibrant and short-lived, and they always bring a smile on our faces. We spend so much of our time planning and contemplating about our future. We have hardly any time to enjoy when it’s actually the time to cherish the rainbows that life leaves for us every now and then. Planning is important and but too much planning can kill the fun sometimes. Plus, It creates hopes and expectations and end up hurting us when the plan doesn't work out. I guess somethings should be just done on impulse. Take a day off just to read that book you wanted to since you bought it two months ago. Call that person you had a crush on but never had courage to talk to.  Make prank calls to your friends. Try that recipe of the chocolate truffle cake, you saw on the TV. Visit the salon and get that complete makeover you read about only in magazines. Rejoice the unexpected joys of life and let future unfold at its own sweet pace.

Once Upon A Time at School

“A hound it was, an enormous coal-black hound, but not such a hound as mortal eyes have ever seen. Fire burst from its open mouth, its eyes glowed with a smoldering glare, its muzzle and hackles and dewlap were outlined in flickering flame. Never in the delirious dream of a disordered brain could anything more savage, more appalling, more hellish be conceived than that dark form and savage face which broke upon us out of the wall of fog. ..“ – went on Miss Sunita, my English teacher. She was narrating the story of The Hound of Baskerville.

My classroom had windows facing the balcony and I was sitting next to the window. In the middle of the narration, I heard a noise outside the window. I looked out but did not see anyone. I got engrossed in the teacher’s narration again. After a while, I heard it again and this time when I looked, I just froze. Right there in the balcony not more than 10 feet away from me was the very hound of Baskerville, standing and staring back at me. I was just too scared to move or speak or even blink. It took me a good two minutes to take in what was in front of me. I nudged my bench mate and gestured him to look outside. He let out a small shriek of terror which alerted everyone including my teacher. In no time the entire class was aware of the presence of this hellish creature in our close proximity. Acting quickly, the teacher closed and bolted the door to the entry softly.

Now the atmosphere in the room was very tensed. Not a single sound to be heard. Slowly people started moving towards the other end of the classroom, occupying the farthest corner of the room, all huddled up. All this while the hound was just standing there looking at everybody through the window, its fiery eyes moving from one corner to another, with a kind of coolness in its eyes, which made us even more petrified.

After what seemed like hours, I stood up and went near the window. On looking down beyond the balcony, I could see a lot of people had gathered there. I could see school staff, parents of my classmates and I could even see some people in khakis, may be the police or people from animal control. I don’t know exactly why they were just waiting there and not doing anything. May be even they were scared of the hound too and didn't know what to do. For sure, it wasn’t natural to find a hound in a school.

While I stood there trying to reason with my little brain and trying to make some sense of the situation, I heard my mother’s voice and instead of comforting me she was scolding me. Something about how I have overslept and I will miss the school bus. It then hit me I was just dreaming! I should have known it, it was so illogical and unreasonable, but that’s not how dreams go, right? ;)

My Acknowledgements with Truth

Disclaimer: This post may have an overdose of sentiments and emotions, people who are averse to matters which come straight from the heart please stay away.

Yay! Gossip Girl is back and so am I! The events of this week, if asked to describe in a word i'd call it Life-changing ( yeah I know, stolen from GG :| , nevertheless very true). Yes, I got into IIM Calcutta! *Applause* Even though my dream college was IIM Ahemdabad, I am ecstatic with this result, to say the least. In fact, getting an admit in only one of the top 3 colleges in the country has its own advantages. For one, I know for sure that I am going to a good college and two, I don't have to break my head over deciding which college I should go for. Should I go for the college with the better brand value or the one which boasts to be best finance college in the country; or which is more tolerable: sun-burnt skin or taking multiple baths in a day due to sweat?

The journey to this goal of getting into IIM's officially began in January 2010, when I joined coaching for CAT at BITS Goa but truly speaking, for me it began in the summer of 2010 when I sat down and went through the CAT syllabus for the first time. It has seen its share of ups and downs. The most comforting part was, I wasn't alone in this journey. I had the guidance and support of so many people around me. Foremost would be my parents. It was my dad's dream to see me getting an MBA degree from IIM since as long as I was in school. Both my mom and dad have constantly encouraged me ( in a very non-interfering manner) and helped me in any and every way possible. Any number of thank you's would mean nothing in comparison to the support they have given me.

My parents were geographically far from me, but there were so many people near me, most of them sailing in the same boat as me. I can't thank Kinshuk enough for his constant motivation and never-swaying trust in me and my capabilities. I must have cried a thousand times about my not-so-good score in the mock tests but still he listened to all of it with immense amount of patience and understanding. My friends Kinshuk, Rajoshi , Hitesh have beared with my mood swings and sacrificed a good number of outings so that I could attend my CAT classes! If it weren't for Komal, I think I wouldn't have survived the long and painful Quant classes and boring Verbal classes. I remember the frequent nervous and self-loathing (for not studying seriously) sessions with Dhanlakshmi. Every once in a while we used to knock at each other's door and discuss about how scared we were and how less time we had before the C-day. Even after the results we used to constantly discuss about how to prepare for GD/PI and update each other on any news about the results. Though Deepak was not on campus, his timely advice, time management strategies and above all, his dedication towards the exam, kept me motivated. All these people and so many more (Devina, Trishla, Prakhar, Ajusal, Rohit, Himanshu, Pankaj, Rashmi, Priyal, Paridhi..) have helped me in more ways than one and made my dream come true. A big thank you to all you guys. Will forever be indebted to you. :')

My idea of a Superhero

I am no superhero buff. The idea of a superhero just doesn't fascinate me. Ever noticed every superhero, though fictitious, has a weakness. Superman's weekness is Kryptonite, Spiderman's is his desire to be just another guy. Batman has no powers at all! Isn’t this strange? They are just a figment of someone's imagination and yet they are not perfect. That's because the whole concept of a superhero is based on a wrong theory - Physical power is the greatest power. I beg to differ. My superhero would be something like a Patronus!

Before moving on, for those who aren’t well-versed with Harry Potter lingo -

"A Patronus is a kind of positive force, and for the wizard who can conjure one, it works something like a shield, with the Dementor feeding on it, rather than him." (Remus Lupin in Harry Potter)

I would want my favorite superhero to have a Patronus -like ability. That is, the ability to infuse positivity in our surroundings, to uplift our moods. I believe we have the power to do anything we wish, right within us. We just need to believe that we can do it. To have that sense of confidence, we should be filled with positivity and willingness. A patronus would just do that. It will erase out the Dementors (read insecurities, fears, doubts..) of our life and fills us with positivity.

In fact, we can conjure our very own Patronus. How? In the same way in which J. K. Rowling makes her characters conjure theirs.

“In order for it to work, you need to think of a memory. Not just any memory, a very happy memory, a very powerful memory… Allow it to fill you up... lose yourself in it... then speak the incantation "Expecto Patronum". (Remus Lupin in Harry Potter)

This actually works(minus the wand and the spell of course!). When you are feeling very low, browse through some old photographs, talk to an old friend or just think about some good times you have had. Think of a time where you made others feel proud about yourself. When you achieved something, you barely thought possible. This will make you feel so nice about yourself.

Do try it out and do tell me what's your Patronus? :P

PS: Harry Potter reminds of a question I was asked in an interview recently: Describe one thing from Harry Potter which you can actually implement using technology (ofc which is not already implemented), and also how you will implement it.

Any ideas?

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Bizzare Swan!

The other day I watched Black Swan on my laptop. I did not know what to expect before the movie and I was equally clueless after watching it. I am not saying it was a bad movie. I am just saying it was queer, just as queer as Nina (Natalie Portman) was in the movie. Black Swan is the story of an ambitious, controlled, prim and proper Nina, whose life is just about dance and ballet. But there is a major transformation in her life when she is offered the lead role in Swan Lake - a play where she is to play both the white and the black swan. The director of the play knows very well that she is perfect for the white part- pretty, delicate, fragile but the real problem is the black part. But Nina, being as obsessive about Swan Lake as she is, wants to impress the director and be the black swan - lustful, free and evil above all. No wonder, its a humongous task for the petite Nina and it has a psychological affect on her. She starts hallucinating, thinking that others are behind her for the role. Life isn't the same anymore.

What I was waiting for the most - the transformation, the black Nina, was sadly what I was most disappointed with. I did not see the black Nina, at all, all I saw was a delicate, subdued Nina in the beginning, a crazy, freakish and confused Nina later. She becomes a shadow of herself.

Other than this, the movie was great - visually and technically perfect, great performances and really good ballet!

But, definitely it is not my type. I prefer movies, which gives me a happy feeling, at least in the end!

Happy By Default!

"We are sad, due to a reason, always, but we can be happy without a reason"- one of the many pearls of wisdom Bawa (Khursheed Batliwala) shared with us in the Art of Living session I attended last year. How true it is! You need absolutely no reason to be happy sometimes. You have a beaming smile on your face, a bounce in your step and someone asks you 'Whats the matter? Aaj bade khush lag rahe ho'. You just smile back in response and say 'ainvayi'. Happens so often na? Thats the beauty of life. Happiness is our default state. All other moods are due to some reason or the other. Once that reason is gone we are back to our happy state.

This realization is in itself a reason to be happy, since, the key to happiness is in our own hands. Agreed, you can't do anything about some problems; the solution may not be in our hands. But you can surely try to ignore or forget your problem for some time at least. Ya, I know we are not computers and we can't magically erase problems from our memory. But since we are human we can fool our memory by distracting ourselves. TV, books, painting, gossip..the list of distractions is endless! We just need to direct our energies into something else and when we get back to our problem, trust me, it will seem a lot less difficult.

So just cheer up - its in our nature to be merry!