Ghajini

Recently i watched the Aamir-Asin movie, GHAJINI at a popular cinema hall of my city. It has been a superhit movie and certainly the viewers' judgement was correct. It is a wonderful movie with hearttouching lovestory of a business tycoon and his too ambitious and helpful girlfriend. Aamir's extraordinary acting added gleam to the lustre of the wonderful creation of A R Murugadoss. Debutee Asin was also a great success. But the main thing that impressed me the theme of my movie which is CORRUPTION. Ghajini, the villain of the movie and his friends have successfully resulted in showing how much deep are the roota of corruption in India. No matter , how much hard the individual leaders try to unroot this evil, the can't. In this movie, Ghajini who is underworld don and has pulled a lot many innocent people to death has been shown to be invited to a college as a Cheif Guest. It is such a shame that a person who has so cruelly assasinated numeroud timid people has been invited to inspire the youth of a famous Medical College. Doesn't this point towards those who are elected every few years in name of "developers" but are the ones who suppress the common man and distract his confused minds and rather develope Terrorism. What can a common man do? The movie A WEDNESDAY also tries to explain this phenomenon. Though i am not criticizing every person sitting on a higher seat but certainly many of them are corrupt. A single man can do nothing. The whole country , every citizen especially the youth should try to curb this curse rather than partcipating in riots taking in the name of religion. Every person should understand that no religion preaches to kill. All religions teach non- violence. When every person on the Earth would understand it then only this corruption and terrorism could be curbed.

Those evil hearts

Terrorism has become the systematic weapon of a war that knows no borders or seldom has a face.The terrorists who take innocent people's life say that they are doing this in the name of their religion , Islam, for Jihad.But, the reality is totally different. As we see, in the recent Mumbai blasts (7/11), people of all religions, regions and nationalities were killed, may they be Hindus, Muslims, Indians, Israelis or Americans.

Every year, lifes of millions of people gets devasted due to these terror attacks. These terrorists actually have no religion , but terrorism. Who is to be blamed for these attacks? The government for its leniency or we, the common people for our negligence?Today, we are safe now, but till when? Is our safety guaranteed ? Every other day, there are blasts somewhere. The government instead of taking safety measures rushes in the corrupted politics here also.

What do these terrorists want? What do they get after killing lacs of people?Is their Jihad over. No, these people actually are young confused minds which were shown the wrong way. These heartless people can't be called humans. Many people lost their lives, families, friends and relatives in the deadly Mumbai Blasts.Those who came out alive would never be the same again.They would never forget that night and will live in shock all their lives.

Some people blame it all on Muslims. Though most of the terrorists are Muslims but that doesn't mean that all the islamis followers are Muslims. Islam doesn't teach inhumanity.It teaches brotherhood, love and other values like any other religion.

Terrorism is carried out purposefully, in a cold-blooded, calculated fashion. The declared goals of the terrorist may change from place to place. He supposedly fights to remedy wrongs -- social, religious, national, racial. But for all these problems his only solution is the demolition of the whole structure of society. No partial solution, not even the total redressing of the grievance he complains of, will satisfy him -- until our social system is destroyed or delivered into his hands.

A teenager's dastan

Happy to be thirteen years old
as you have now entered your teenage,
but don't think its easy to be bold,
as you have now entered problem's cage

We may seem cool,
but with the burden of studies on our heads
we are drowned in hard working's pool;
and never get a second to lie peacefully on our beds.

Our life is a unsolvable mystery
like-when exams are round the corner;
we go to bakeries to eat pasteries,
and bunk classes, taking it as an act of honour.

Our minds never remain stationary
we like to roam around like hooligans;
its our moms and dads who worry
as we never touch books that weigh tons.

Elders say we are stubborn,
youngers say we are bully,
but never do they want to learn-
how our lives became so topsy-turvy.

We live our lives truly
as we enjoy everything up to highest extend
we take risks with courage and bravely,
its only our academics to which we never tend(care).

We are all brats and fitness freaks,
and are always trying to underestimate each other,
but our one good quality is that-as trouble creeps
we never leave our pals alone to bother.

School ! School ! School !

School is a place where we chill
and grab the opportunities that have been spilled.
Where friends are by your side
to help you through the problematic tides.
Tteachers are always there for you
when you are caught in problems' queue .
Though we hate to learn and study
and rather play with our teddy ,
but what we learn during this time
would surely help us when through difficulties we climb.
Remember when you reach the top
don't never forget your school mob
as they were the ones who encouraged you to fly,
reach high and touch the sky.
So school is a place where we chill
and here all our complications are being killed.

The Big Ones Are Here !!!

So, 10th and 12thies, The big bad boards are within shouting distance now !! Well, actually these exams are neither as big nor as bad as they are made out to be. If tackled correctly, the can be lot less of a pain in the posterior, and might even turn out to be fun ! So here are some examination advices, Customised for the boards. These are not studying strategies, but test taking tips. i.e. , things to do at the time of the exam.
All these have been tried, tested and certified by several people who've been quite successful test takers themselves. So be assured, all of them are perfectly safe, user friendly, non-toxic...

(Using time-line references like 'the day before', 'on the day of the exam', '2 hours before the exam' is rather cumbersome. So I've assumed that we are talking some exam taking place on the 1st of march, 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.. All dates and time are listed accordingly. Modify as applicable...)

On the 28th of Feb...
Finish your syllabus today - even if it means being at the table all day. Tomorrow is gonna be tight. VERY tight. The air will be electric with tension and your concentration levels will be at an all time low. So consider this day as the last of your preparation. Stay up all night if you please, but don't go to bed thinking "I'll do this tomorrow...". Because you won't.

29th Feb
Do only light study today. Casually leaf through your textbook, or read the revision notes you may have prepared. Here is a possible shocker - Stop studying by 5'o clock, max.

Because, while cbse is supposed to evaluate your year full of study, it looks at only 3 hours worth of material. So while you've (hopefully) studied all year long, its extremly important to be able to put your stuff down on the sheet. And thus, its vital to stay relaxed. After 5, do anything u enjoy - watch tv, listen to some good music, talk to your friends or parents or just lie around...

Go to bed early. at 10 p.m., max. Pulling an all-nighter right befor the exam is a REALLY bad idea, because its essential that you stay awake during the exam (Duh...). Even those who take pride in their nocturnal nature must realise that brain capacity does suffer after insufficient sleep. And trust me when I say, proper sleep is more important than anything u can study the night before.

Prepare a pencil box with all the stuff you need - pens, pencils, et al... And yes, your admit card ! Stuff a few extra pens and a copy of your admit card into your blazer pockets, just in case !

1st March (D Day !)

7:30 a.m.

Don't bother getting up before 7.30... make it 8 if u like. Take it really really easy. Because relaxed is the way to be...

Start the day with some of your favourite music (I recommend 'chak de fatte' by Kailash Kher, From 'Khosla ka Ghosla'). It'll take ur mind off the thing.

Take a bath. No proper reason for this one, but maybe being fresh helps...

Have something light for breakfast. Eating nothing will make yout tummy grumble, eating too much will make you drowsy...


9:15 a.m.
You ought to be at the center by now. Being a lil early helps so that u can check out ur room no. and go through all the the rituals of the exam in time.

Wear your blazers/sweaters, even if it is a trifle warm. Because if you feel warm, you can always hang it on your chair, and the wearher DOES take unexpected turns..

Do not. Absolutely, Positively DO NOT, discuss anything at the examination hall, because, god forbid, if u get stuck on some question there - your confidence is gone for good. Have faith, and
do anything there except studying (My personal favourite was doing a bhangra jig with my friend Nipun).

10:00 a.m.
Now you are in the battle ground !! Spend the first few minutes making yourself comfortable. If there's something wrong your chair/table, Insist on it to be changed.

Somewhere during the exam, you'll be offered water. Take it, even if you are not thirsty - you'll be surprised at how much clearer you can think after a drink !

1:00 a.m.
Fooh !! its up ! irrespective of whether it was good or bad, Its Over !! So be happy about it ! Go home and fall flat on your bed. Take an hour or two worth of nap, and chuck every bit of the subject out of our head. In the evening, celebrate ! Take an hour of gaming on your p.c. or go out and meet a friend (this one doesn't appll if the next exam is less than 2 days away.)
Take the day off and from the night on, Gear up for the next !!

All the Best Every One !!!

Call it half empty, then fill it up !!

Here is the final-essay that i submitted to MIT, containing about half the words of the first draft -

“Look for the best in everything”.

One of the oldest quotations I know, and something almost universally agreed with.

I beg to differ.

No, I am not a pessimist. I love my life, and am very happy to be the person I am - born to absolutely fantastic parents, with a sound body and mind, having proper education, and loving friends i.e. a beautiful life.

Its just that the question is of my dreams, and these are largely based on what is wrong rather than what is right.

Allow me to explain –

Dreams can be as well based on the “bad” as on the “good”. Dreams of something good – e.g. that sleek new Lamborghini Gallardo or a night out at Mt. Everest – seek to achieve it, while dreams centered on the things that appall – e.g. the little kid picking rags from the trash or a pup run over on the highway – seek to correct the wrong being done.

For me, the latter holds more appeal for two reasons –

1. It doesn’t end with me and makes the world a better place
2. It means going for something that no one before me has either cared or dared to do. (Good things you see have already been achieved; the wrong you see hasn’t been corrected yet…)

After all, it’s the thorns that need work, roses are beautiful anyway.

Mine is certainly not a groundbreaking idea. It’s almost a tradition in my family.

My grandmother runs an underprivileged children’s home, while my mom loves tending to dogs in distress. The two of them have eyes only for the poor, disabled and hungry. As far as they are concerned, well-fed children and thoroughbred dogs may well be a part of decorations. Their reason is simple - happy children and healthy dogs don’t need them.

The rest of my family - including blood relations (my, mom, dad and sister); adopted relations (the 76 children living with my grandmother); and interspecific relations (The several dogs that call my mother ‘mom’) - couldn’t agree more…

My dreams pick up where they leave off.

I dream of a life for my grandma’s children that goes beyond food, shelter, clothing and elementary education. I dream of an education that allows them to compete with the rest of the world. I dream of the day they’ll be writing their own college essays…

I share my mom’s dream of giving every dog a place to call home, of owning a huge chunk of land, where all our pets can run around and be themselves, plus an animal hospital that actually takes care of them rather than just getting them to work again.

And then some more…

I dream of picking up every beggar I see on the streets and giving him a respectable life. I dream of being powerful enough to correct every wrong I see, there and then.

All these ask for more than good intentions, muscle power and ‘awareness’. Most of these require money by the truck loads and a bit of clout too. Celebrity status would be an added advantage.

That said, the ideal career for me seems to be politics or administration. But my observation finds it easier to kick a government into action from outside than to get it moving via proper protocol. Mr. Bill Gates, in a single visit, was able to push the Indian govt.’s AIDS program several ‘years’ ahead.

So there is my target in sight. No activism, no politics. I aim to be a billionaire businessman, and a popular one at that, So that when I appeal to people to shun female feticide, they sit up and listen. The road couldn’t be clearer. Get into a college that gives me a spring board into the arena (read MIT), and then fight it out with all I have…

Its not like luxuries of life don’t appeal to me at all. They most certainly do. But they are too small to seriously bother about. After all, when I’m able to do so much, I sure can spare some money, and buy myself that Gallardo!!

MIT application essay

This is the original draft of the essay that I wrote for my MIT application. It has 1236 words, which are a lot considering the word limit was 500 words. It also is rather fragmented and long-drawn. So obviously there was a lot of editing, The result of which, I'll be posting a bit later. So here you go -

The topic was : "Describe the world you come from, for example your family, clubs, school, community, city, or town. How has that world shaped your dreams and aspirations ", WIth which this essay might not seem related, but i focused more on the "dreams and aspirations part"

“look for the best in everything”. This happens to be one of the oldest quotations known to me, and is almost universally agreed with.
I beg to differ.
Its not that I am a pessimist or anything – I am pleasantly aware of the multitude of beautiful things that my life has been so generously adorned with. I appreciate being born to absolutely fantastic parents, living in a beautiful house, in a cozy little town, in a country as great as India. I love my life, and am very happy to be the person I am.
Its just that the question is of my dreams, and these are largely based on what is wrong rather than what is right.
Allow me to explain –
Dreams based on the “good” and those based on the “bad” have fundamental differences. When you see something around you that feels good – e.g. that sleek new Lamborghini Gallardo or someone having a night out at Mt. Everest – You seek to achieve it for yourself. And that makes your dream of little value to the world in general. On the other hand, when you base your dreams on the things that appall you – e.g. the little kid picking rags from the trash pile or a pup being run over by a truck on the highway – you seek to correct the wrong being done, making the world a better place, while achieving happiness for yourself.
There is another factor too. The former means aspiring for something that someone else has achieved before you (that’s how you came to see it around in the first place…) while the latter means setting your sights on something that no one has either cared or dared to do before you. And that sure gives it a lot more oomph!! The reason behind why thorns catch my eyes sooner than roses is the fact that there is very little you can do about a rose. I mean, a rose is very beautiful and all, you can appreciate its beauty and revel in its fragrance, but there is nothing you can get down to work on. It’s beautiful on its own, Thank you very much.
But thorns are a different story altogether! You could just take the thorns off one rose and give it to a child to enjoy. Or you could even dabble in some genetic engineering and develop a thorn free variety. Now that would be some work done!!
Note that here we are not talking of the biological necessity of the thorns for protecting the rose against grazing animals. The thorn here is the one which pricked.
To me, not even the most soulful poetry written about the beauty of a rose can offset the pain of the child who, attracted by it, tried to hold it in his hand.

It’s not like I am the proponent of a new theory. In fact I am simply following the tradition that is being followed in my family since as long as I can figure. And in a BIG way at that.
My Family is huge. Comprising of my blood relations (my grandmother, my mom, my dad and my sister); my adopted relations (the 70 or so children that live with my grandmother); and some interspecific relations (The several dogs that call my mother ‘mom’)
My grandmother runs an underprivileged children’s home, and only has eyes for poor hungry and disabled children. As far as she is concerned, the well nourished and loved children might quite be the part of furniture. She has a simple reason – happy children don’t need her.
My mom is a dog lover and keeps a lookout for pooches in distress - who are then persuaded to adopt us as their family. To her, the thorough bred, show specimens residing in luxurious bungalows are outcastes and she wouldn’t even dream of bringing a well bred dog home. She has a simple reason too – healthy dogs don’t need her.
So you see, why I focus on what’s wrong rather than what’s right. What’s going well doesn’t need me, what’s not, does.
And sadly, around me I see plenty that’s not going well.

My dreams pick up where they leave off.
My grand ma is doing a great job in providing food shelter and clothing to children who’d otherwise be deprived of these. But then basic necessities are all that she can provide. She can give them a life, but one that is a far cry from what children like me enjoy. I dream of a life for these children, which allows them to compete with the rest of the world. I dream of an education for them that will be at par with the best in the world. I dream of the day when they’ll be writing their own college admission essays…
My mom would like to give every dog a place to call home. But sadly, our house can not accommodate more than one or two dogs (which it already does). So I share my mom’s dream of owning a huge chunk of land, where her pets can run around and feel at home… and an animal hospital which actually takes care of them, rather than just fix them up to make them work again.

And then some more…
I dream of being powerful enough to pick up every beggar I see on the streets and give him a respectable way of earning his living. I dream of being able to correct every wrong I see, there and then. I dream of straightening the roads to success – which for the Indian youth are nothing short of labyrinthine, riddled with potholes of reservation and vote bank politics – into smooth wide highways.
I know these aren’t dreams that can be realized on good intentions or muscle power alone. These can’t be brought alive by street campaigning or “spreading awareness” that many people indulge in nowadays. Most of these require money by the truck loads, and a bit of clout too. Celebrity status would be an added advantage.

People with this sort of ambitions are generally advised to go for politics or administration. But my own observation says that its easier to kick a government into action from outside, rather then get it moving via the proper protocol. Mr. Bill Gates, in a single visit, was able to push the Indian govt.’s AIDS program to a position where it’d have taken several years to get. Voices of millions of activists all over the country not withstanding.
So there is my target in sight. No activist, no politician, I aim to be a billionaire businessman, and a popular one at that, So that when I appeal to people, to give their girl child an equal chance, they sit up and listen. The road couldn’t be clearer. Get into a college that gives me a spring board into the arena (read MIT), and then fight it out with all I have…

Its not like luxuries of life don’t appeal to me at all. They most certainly do. But they are too small to seriously bother about. After all, when I’m able to provide employment to so many people, I sure will be able to spare some money, and buy myself that Gallardo!!