Life lessons (1) "Shopping is healing"

There was a time I thought college was all about fun and romance just like they show in the movies(I still wonder why is it that the cast is NEVER shown in classrooms , while the real life situation is really different?)

This blog is dedicated to all the tiny things I learn about life from the people around me.So this "Life lesson" happened during the course of a random friday's tax class, when our extremely dedicated teacher was busy explaining some random concepts and I was busy doodling on my register.

While I tried to concentrate on getting the right nose for my caricature( Yes thats one thing I can never draw right), My best friend whispered," I don't have a register, can I borrow any extras you might have?"

I nodded my head and passed on my UN-used maths register.

10 minutes later

The teacher was still busy talking hebrew to the front benchers.

15 minutes later

While the front benchers scribbles the solutions onto their notebooks I tried to act as if I was concentrating.I suck at that too.

20 min later

I find my best friend scribbling notes onto my register( That was a surprise). I peeped to take a look.

TITLE: BENEFITS OF SHOPPING!!

1)Shopping is an investment

Shop --> Increase in GDP --> GLOBALISATION-->international market-->increase in sales of our products --> rise in income

2)Shopping is helpful in reducing the number of accident

SHOP-->you drive home carefully coz you need to try on the merchandise you bought

3)Shopping helps in digestion

walking from store to store-->feeling awesomely happy on finding the right thing-->better metabolism and blood circulation-->better digestion

4)Shopping helps in leading an organised life

buying watches, calender, meeting managers,formals inspire you to keep it professional and organised at all times.

5)Shopping helps in reducing weight

Walking  long distance to reach your favorite stores on different floors of the mall helps to reduce weight plus you are inspired to reduce weight to fit into awesome dresses.

Sopping indeed is therapeutic. Today when I am upset over something buying things makes me happy.And of course chocolates.So there is nothing wrong with the desire to posses items.Its all about what makes you happy.And a little indulgence at times is no harm.

Life's all about enjoying the present and doing what makes you happy.So don't think twice before you pick up that pretty pink skirt.You deserve to please yourself.

:)

What do I feel about being a part of the INDIAN EDUCATION SYSTEM?

As a kid I was brainwashed to believe that marks determine the level of a person's intelligence.So I toiled hard for 16 years and crammed over 200 books to get those shiny stars and big double digit figures on my result sheet.

I gave up my love for chemistry , because I couldn't study business administration with it , and as per my parents, MBA  was the "in" thing.

I worked so hard to get a 96% so as to bag a seat in the best commerce college.And today I sit back in the AC rooms wondering ,if my teachers would come to teach or would they be busy in some teachers association meeting nibbling on the samosas and sipping tea while we are still in ambiguity with regard to our exams syllabus and schedule.

I still wonder how would it be if I could study all the subjects that I really loved together, If our education system could be flexible enough to let  me take a bachelor’s degree in business administration and also allowing me to fulfil my desire of enrolling into an art school too. 

Alas, my experience with our education system hasn't been very pleasant.

It is claimed that India has the best education system in the world and it has been so since time immemorial. We have some of the brightest minds working as scientists, engineers and managers but the question is, are we really building our human capital? Are we creating a smart bunch of innovators or simply a group of efficient trained workers?

Our education sector has indeed shown tremendous improvement. The literacy rate has risen to 65%. There is also a rise in the number of graduates and Phd’s. But it has failed to drive in ambition and inspiration among the potential entrepreneurs of our country. We cannot deny the presence of gems like A.P.J Abdul Kalam , Dhiru bhai ambani and the likes who have made India proud with their achievements but I wonder to what extent had our education system contributed to their success apart from providing a basic technological knowhow.

A lot of youngsters complain that there aren’t many financially feasible career options available in our country and thus they are forced to be MBA’s , doctors and engineers. But the problem is that most of us don’t have the vision to think beyond the mentioned professions. I mean seriously , How many of us would prefer undertaking a risk to start one’s own venture over a Rs.10 lac per annum salary package by a Multinational corporation after getting a glossy MBA degree form a well-known institute ? I don’t think I would.

There is no point listing flaws in the education system. They would be almost equivalent to the number of flaws in our own perspective with regard to education. What’s important is what can be done to make it better?

We need revolution in the education sector, to build a system where teaching is considered to be as good a profession as an IT engineer, where world class facilities are provided to students to expose them to the world of opportunities that awaits them, and education system that boosts creativity and inspires the entrepreneur in them. A system which can help India find its bill gates and Michael Jacksons. 


And I know it will happen.
SOMEDAY!!

Facebook diaries- The ADJECTIVE !!

For quite some time I have been noticing this really weird trend in the way people write there names on Facebook.  It all began with adjective middle names and I saw  Sam sweet Mehra's and Rahul genius Kumar's flooding my notifications. Then soon the trend shifted to using movie titles in names , and then came the Era of Sana "masakali" Gupta and Rudra "dabangg" Sharma. It was fairly tolerable so far, but then I came across this amazing profile, and my oh my, it wasn't just another "ADJECTIVE" middle name.

The guy has a profile picture in which he was TRYING to pose with a beer bottle. His name read "LIBIDINOUS xyz " .

a few days later I saw the profile again (I regret not pushing him off the list in the very first place)

a new name

a new adjective

"AUDACIOUSLY xyz"...

The complexity of his name grew after every passing day. After a week of learning 7 new complex words which did not describe him at all, I decided to put him of my list.

I am not anti middle names, but at times it just gets really weird.

I love my name, I would never want it to be, Jennifer "cute" sung

or Jennifer" intelligent" sung for that matter..

So its let people know your qualities by your acts and not by your Facebook names.

:)

ps: The names used are ficititous, though highly inspired from real life

:P

Bhaiya...meter se chalo!!

For a 19 year old who doesn't know how to drive, the Auto walah's are the only respite. Despite of being pushed to attend driving lessons by both my dad and my boyfriend, I have simply been lazy to do the same. I mean ,with the numerous auto's and rickshaws running by I never really felt the need to drive.And driving in Delhi is the ultimate test of patience, which unfortunately I do not possess.

And I face the consequences of my laziness now.

Sometime back I visited a friend of mine in south Delhi. We were chilling at GK I, M block. After a wonderful evening I was out to find that one Auto which would take me home without any fuss.

AUTO 1:No madam, can't go to central Delhi

AUTO 2:Chalenge ,but apko CNG bharwani padegi (I mean hello!!)

AUTO 3:150 lagenge,bohot door hai madam

AUTO 4:blah!!

AUTO 5: blah !! blah!!

AUTO 6:Oh this one didn't say a thing, he simply nodded his head in negative

AUTO 7:120 me chalo (yeah seven wasn't too lucky for me)

and then came AUTO 8.There was nothing special about it.It was just like green yellow auto with the same annoying noise.But it stopped by, it didn't nod his head in negative and said

"100 me chalunga"

I knew it doesn't take more than 80 bucks to reach home and I so wasn't gonna part with anything more than that.

"80 me chalo bhaiya" I insisted.

"90" he said

"nahi bhaiye aap jada bol rae ho, yaha se 80 lagte hai" I explained.

"madam 80 to lajpat nagar se lagte hai"

I stayed silent,giving him the  "I would get another AUTO look"

And then he said those magical words!!

"CHALO METER SE BAITH JAO"

I hadn't heard them for ages now.I remember paying huge sums to the auto walahs simply coz I was getting late and I cared more about my appointment rather than the extra ten bucks.But this was amazing.

I smiled and sat.The inner walls of the auto was decorated with  Hritik Roshan's poster.It had a first aid box(I know coz I saw the red cross on it) which was stuffed with his supplies of tobacco.The radio blared with some odd old hindi movie song.I was looking at the meter as the figures tuned up with every passing kilometer.

I noticed that the driver was checking out the meter at every damn red light.Then he would look at me and give me the "IT WOULD BE MORE THAN 90 MADAM" look. It was a annoying.For a while I started doubting the meter (you never know what these people do to tamper it). As i reached closer to my place the meter figure grew closer and closer to what i had offered to him.He looked at the meter again and grinned at me.And I knew it was a silent war.My eyes couldn't get off the meter.(Honestly I didn't have anything great to do). 

72.45

72.90

..

..

..

..

I was still away from my place.The driver looked at it for one last time and gave me a stare.

74

..

75

..

76

..

77

..

78

..

78.45

"Yahi rok do bhaiya" I smiled...

He looked at the meter and hung his head low.

I had won!!

I looked into the mirror and gleamed.

I gave him a 100 bucks and smiled widely as he returned the change.I walked back home with an odd sort of happiness.

"CHALO METER SE BAITH JAO"

The sweet words still resound in my head.

I wonder when will I get to hear them again

No....I don't wanna do "frandship" with you.....

Dear Mr "FRANDSHIP"

I noticed your friend request on my Facebook account a week ago. Your profile picture seemed very familiar. Of course it would be, It was some old "tere naam" Salman khan picture.It scared me (just like the movie) .I assume you are aggressive and persistent just like Salman was in the movie. I had to ignore your request pertaining to the fact that I "DO NOT"  add strangers to my Facebook profile. I thought the story ends there,but as i said you indeed are very persistent and patient. A day later I again receive a friend request from you. This time i noticed that you had changed your profile picture to tom cruise from MI2. I guess you are under an impression that girls love Hollywood actors more.Maybe, but if it was an attempt to impress me and get me to accept your request, heartfelt apologies sir, but that was so not happening.I deny the request yet again.
You seem to be a firm believer of the phrase "third time lucky"
Two days later, You send in a request again.This time its your own picture.Bangs(longer than mine), cool shades,, an orange shirt (too bright) and black jeans..and not to mention the huge buckle belt....which failed in its attempt to hide your protruding belly... I respect your decision to disclose your real ,"gorgeous " self to me, but sir...I didn't quite know you...So you know what I did....The same old story...
But trust me Sir...in the past one week,.,,,The sfact that I have known about you...(apart from your "gorgeous" appearance) is that you are one patient guy who would never give up.You send in a request yet again. No change in the profile picture(OMG!!) But a message

"YOU ARE SO CUTEI, WHY DON'T U AECPT MY FRANDSHIP REQUEST?"

and This sir is what has compelled me to write in to you.

I appreciate your efforts and admire your patience and persistence...

But the bottom line is still the same...

I do not know you

And I so .don't wanna do "FRANDHSIP" with you

but keep your search going...

you would soon find a   new  "CUTEI" to send friend requests to.

:D

Not scared...but disgusted....

I have lost count of how many times I have read and heard that , Delhi is unsafe for women. Delhi our very own capital city, which ranks second in the tally of crime against women with horrifying figures which double, triple and quadruple year after year. While we keep a tally of all the rape and harassment cases, one crime that goes unnoticed but takes place almost everyday, is the evil of eve teasing.
According to Wikipedia, Eve teasing is defined as the euphemisms used in India, Bangladesh and Pakistan for public sexual harassment, street harassment or molestation of women by men. A quick grab, a strange shoulder bump, a sneaky pinch, men cat call, men making kissing noises and singing lewd songs, and even the “hey sexy” and “I love you’s” you hear are all means of eve teasing. And it is not restricted to the underbelly of the state, but prevails far and wide among all social strata’s.
The root cause of this evil is the latent curiosity in this class of cowardly male to touch and torment. They perceive women to be second rate citizens, an easy prey, demure, helpless, and submissive. Someone who doesn’t have rights roam around at free will, who doesn’t have a right to her own opinion and who “deserves” to be eve teased and punished.
Every morning I get ready for college making sure that I don’t dress lewdly or adorn anything revealing so as to avoid any unwanted male attention. Despite of the discrete efforts on my part, my day stands incomplete till the time I hear somebody whistle of pass some remarks when I use public transport, or walk my way back home. There are times I wonder, could the hemline of a girl’s skirt be the measure of her safety and her confidence when she steps out of her house? If so, no wonder Delhi girls prefer wearing jeans even in summer.
After all this, at times I question myself
“Do I feel unsafe?”
No I don’t. I don’t feel scared or unsafe but I do feel disgusted.

The rise in crime against women is an evidence of the persisting sexist society in our country. Even today we struggle with sexism in the highest corridors of power. No matter how much we preach of equality and development we cannot deny the fact that gender inequality exists even today. a place where on one hand we worship Durga and Lakshmi and on the other we see men beating up their wives to death, berating them as they would an animal.
Elders say, the keyword is “ignore”, and that’s what girls have been doing for so long. The worst is that eve teasing is still a grey area. Though Sec 298(A) and (B),Sec 292 and Sec 509 law down rules in this regard but they are neither stringent nor of any use because there are hardly any F.I.R’s filed against eve teasers. But the question is, can we keep making excuses and keep our eyes closed to the malaise among this lot? , Must we not show them what’s right and what’s wrong?
Perhaps they would understand when they themselves are subjected to such an act. Thus I believe it is imperative not to run away from such hassles but to confront them with any means and tools at hand.So that we all can make Delhi a safer place to live in.

Its "weigh" too much

Its vacations!!

So despite of the summer heat I was all up to meet an old school friend. It had been ages we met last. We had so much to catch up on, so much to gossip about. I was dying to shop but the sun, ugh the merciless sun forced us to keep our tete-a-tete in a cafe. Now the most difficult part about meeting anybody is deciding about what clothes to wear.I ransacked my wardrobe trying to figure out every decent possible thing which could be worn on a warm summer evening. After trying a big bunch of clothes which din't really fit me, (Thanks to the winter foodie days) I settled in for a green kurta which hid all the flab and made sure I would be protected from all the tan. 

I reached a bit too early (being punctual in Delhi is one of the worst virtues ever) .I sat in the cafe waiting for her to arrive noticing all the sinful delicacies around me, telling myself that I need to control the urge to have them. I got busy checking and responding to texts on my phone and I noticed someone came right around and sat on the chair next to mine. I gave her one long look. It can't be her. Or maybe she is. But no. Before my mind could do any more rattling she hugged me close and  went "jeniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii"

OMG!!! yes it was her

Slim and slender with long straight hair, a polo tee shirt and a pair of khakee shorts. She looked different.Real different.I mean 6 months back i remember , the plump ,shot curly hair teddy bear of mine who was teased a lot by all the guys. I had only read of b2b (behenji to babe) transformations. Now I was witnessing one with my own eyes.It was just to much to digest.  All i could say was "You have changed"

And then she began telling me about her hard core wight loss diet routine and how it was so hard for her in the beginning but now she's so happy seeing the result (who wouldn't be). She ordered some low sugar ice tea.I changed my mind from the sinful chocolate truffle to take some green apple soda. I sipped onto it while she rattled about all the awesome things that have been happening to her ever since she got into shape.

Hours passed by and I came back home, totally determined to lose the ounces of fat i had gained last winter.But the question was.... HOW???

DIETING???...... NO

GYM????......TOO MUCH EFFORT

MORNING WALKS????

PERFECT :D

I had finally found the solution to my problem.The key was not to put in effort but to increase my metabolism so as to lead to burning of excessive calories per activity. An luckily I found company for the same

DAY 1: Woke up early morning, walked for two hours, felt fresh as a bud

DAY2: Woke up early morning, walked for an hour, too tied, slept

DAY 3: Woke up at 10 in the morning, noticed 6 missed calls from my friend on my phone

oops I missed it today

NOW: I dont care,I am happy the way I am. My mango muffins are ready.I should try em now.

:P

Too hot to handle!!

One month....

8 examinations...

0% preparation

and then VACATIONS!!!

Two months of pure bliss...

But then came figures...

44

45

43

42

40

and mind you, I am not running over my first year exam scores.

Delhi has always been known for its extremes. From millionaires to paupers, from skyscrapers to filthy slums, from the biting cold to the killing heat. The summer of 2010 is not different.

Everyday I wake up to the bright light of the sun thats falls right on my face at sharp 5am disturbing the sleep that came after rolling for hours in the bed till 3am. I wake up to find myself all sticky and sweaty. I stare at the AC. Its dead. The ceiling fan above my head stares at me,like an old friend who has been neglected but yet by my side. And I can feel it slowing down.Probably I was still half asleep. Or maybe it was just another power failure. I pull myself up, telling myself that a shower would do me good.I  have to let go of the pleasures of a bath tub  and settle in for a bucket bath.Thanks to the scarcity of water which is very common in Delhi. My attempts to lose weight go in vain,with all the fizz and sweet drinks I consume to keep myself hydrated in summers.

Then I think of ways to pass my time
1)street shopping .....a big no no....I wouldn't want to burn myself to death
2)driving around ......no ways...not with the crazy delhi traffic
3)movies..................no good ones up yet but the AC is a relief..
4)Facebook/skype...YES!!!!

And this way, 1/4th of my vacations have already ended.

Tired and frustrated , I once "dared" to "hangout" in the summer sun.One fine Sunday, I decide to explore old Delhi ( a very bad idea). A book freak that I am, was out in the heat , picking my favourite reads.

One hour!!
and I nearly died of a heat stroke...

And that was the end of my forays to venture out.

But apart from all the hush hush about the unbearable Delhi heat, the occasional showers which greet the city and provide the much needed respite, mango delicacies, the ice creams, pool parties ,late night india gate drives, and an excuse for hill station trips add to the brighter side.

I remember talking to a friend who left Delhi a year ago and was posted at some odd chilly location for some research.He tells me how much he misses having ice cream eating competition. and how he wishes he could relive Delhi summers once again.He thinks Delhi summers  are "hot".
indeed they are
"Too hot to handle"

:D