Wandering

I drift away like a leaf in the river. And I like it. I am a wisp of cotton, riding on the wings of the wind and going God knows where... But this wandering is what keeps me alive. I was never built for routine. Randomness is what keeps me going.

Source

Many people like me are not as lucky as I am, and there are many who are much more fortunate than I am. The choices you can make in your life without having to face any questions or restrictions are truly yours. But there is a cost which comes with them. If you succeed, well and good. But if you fail, you have no one to blame but yourself and the people around you will make sure you blame yourself to the point of self destruction.

So what's the point?

I have always valued failure more than success because to succeed is final. But when you fail, you know that there is something more to be done. And then life goes on. A purpose to exist is always at hand when you have a few failures in life.

Even drifting aimlessly has its perks. You are able to weave an unimaginable pattern, because you don't know how it ends. So you won't know until you are over and then the pattern will be complete. And because you won't be finished, the pattern will always go on, as does life.

The journey is what makes life all the more awesome. Reaching the destination just to set out again. A respite from the voyage. But ultimately we all need to pack and leave for the next place. We the Wanderers.

Source

Stay Awesome \m/

11

It seems like a pretty cool number; looks like two skinny people standing, a couple. 

In sports, there are eleven team members in soccer (football, if you’re British), cricket, and hockey.

In Hollywood, three films -- Ben-Hur (1959), Titanic (1997), and The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003) -- have each won 11 Academy Awards, including Best Picture of their respective years.

On the Flag of Canada, the maple leaf has eleven points.

It is so important that it has its own Wikipedia page!

Of course all of this information is irrelevant to why I am talking about it now. Or is it? Hmmm...

This New Year has been great, but not on this blog. Also, I have had a poor blog performance which I will try to better this year. The question was, how do I do that?

After randomly ranting yesterday, I figured, “Well, 11 seems a pretty good day to do stuff, why not write something on the 11^th of every month!”

So here’s the deal, every 11^th of every month, there will be a mandatory new post on this blog. Whoever reads it will get... I don’t know what. But I’ll try to make the posts interesting and read-worthy.

This obviously doesn’t mean that there won’t be posts on other days, but they will count as bonus!

One more 11 fact – I am 22, which is 11 x 2!  Teehee  

Kthnxbye

Stay awesome \m/

An Essay on Selflessness and the Poison called ‘Anger’

What is happiness?

Some find it in the way they look in a certain dress, some find it in the sky and the beauty of nature, but some people find joy in the happiness of others. Being selflessly there for someone just because your presence matters to them even a little bit brings happiness to these wonderful people. I am happy to say that I am one of these people. I may be selfish in some aspects and kind of on this front as well. I get happy when the people I care about are happy, that’s a bit selfish, I guess.

And this is why I am baffled when people act all high and mighty in comparison to others. I recently observed the people around me have this type of an attitude; where they would choose to skip a gathering just because they were either snubbed or are still angry about something which may or may not have actually happened with the invitees. Long story short, these people don’t show up for important functions and the hosts are left feeling morose.

I have a question for these people. What do you think you’ll achieve by doing such a thing? Who do you think looks bad after such an event takes place? The one who is taking ‘revenge’ or the one who is waiting for your arrival like a child waits for its parents in the evening. I hope most of you would think the first one would be the most stupidly selfish person.

Is anger really that important? Have you not learned that all of life is an act of letting go? Here, I must clarify – I am against forgetting exceptionally devilish acts which cause irreparable damage. But one must consider the consequences of holding on to one’s anger for a ridiculously long amount of time. I for one cannot stay angry at a person for long. It is a useless toxic emotion which should be kicked out from the soul as soon as possible.  Happiness is what I strive for; it will always be my ultimate goal. With you, or without you.

So here’s the bottom line – You will never benefit from snubbing someone else in return, because you will keep the stupid hate cycle going, which is good for nobody. So get up and go make up with that friend, relative, companion, colleague, or anybody else who is mad at you, or vice versa.   

  

And please, always try and be there for someone who cares for you and will have even a little bit of joy in their lives if you’re there.  You’ll feel awesome doing that, trust me.

Stay awesome \m/

The Great Indian Food Feat

There isn't a spelling mistake in the title. It is a feat to eat food in the traditional Indian manner. I don't know about others, but for me it is so.

In India, there may be weddings, birthdays or funeral wakes; food is always present. It is considered an essential part of the whole event. Especially in Maharashtrian households, a plate filled with food is very important.

In our culture, the ‘pangat’ system is where people sit in a line with their plates filled in a systematic manner. Rules are very rigid, though people improvise nowadays. Growing up in a foodie household, I was made aware that the system of everyone sitting down and eating is an integral part of any special event.

Be it a birthday, wedding or even after a funeral, people sat on the ground to eat food in strategically placed dishes in plates. We can find parallels in almost every other culture in the country as well.

Sadly, for me this practice of eating is almost always embarrassing; because it’s is a herculean task to finish the first serving on the plate and I almost never get second servings (unless they are forced on the plate). And since I am skinny, I am force fed.

So. Much. Food.

I learned the technique of firmly saying no from my experiences of eating in pangats.

It's not like this.

It. Is. This.

As the years went by, I started devising certain tactics to not be left red-faced. So here are my tips to survive an Indian style food fest! -

1)Finish the big things with the small things combined. For instance, eat the rice with the chutney. Salad with veggies and roti.

2)    If you can’t finish your sweets, eat them before anything else.

3)    Compartmentalize. Strategise what you will finish first, leave no dish behind!

4)    If you think you can eat more, only then ask for a second serving.

5)    You only get 20-30 minutes maximum to consume your food, use them wisely.

6)    Worst strategy told by elders is to swallow the food with water. Don’t gulp food with water; it will only fill up your stomach. You know what, just don’t drink any water until your plate is clean.

7)    You need to practice the biggest hand gesture you can make and the most sincere expression of having a full stomach if you want to avoid those pesky requests of “please have some more”.

8)    Sit next to a close relative who, if need be, will help by taking some stuff off your plate.

Hey dude, take some food off my plate. PLEASE.

Let my experience help someone!

In other words,

Stay Awesome \m/

(Gifs from www.giphy.com ; Images from Google)

The Art of Conversing

As human beings, the most important thing we socially do is talking. We talk whenever and wherever with whomever we feel like sharing words. So much so that people don't care what time it is, where they are.. they will TALK. I had this realization when I was stuck in a local for about 2 hours in the ladies compartment at 5 in the morning (A.M.!!). Enough said.

A person has to learn two things in the beginning of his life. One of them is talking. It is such an integral part of human life that there are actual professions related to talking.

 As far as the art of conversation goes; some are good at it, and some... well, need practice. A lot of it. In the skill of keeping a conversation going , an important part is learning how to shut up. Most people know how to start talking, but few know when to stop. It becomes like that cup which keeps on being filled in, even after it starts overflowing. And as you can assume, it's not a pretty sight. These conversations take such weird turns that you yourself will have no idea how you got there. One minute you are talking about chocolate, the next you'll find yourself debating over which politician is more corrupt. How friendly discussions change into verbal fights is beyond my comprehension. But having seen some of these incidents, has brought to light the sole reason of this travesty. The art of shutting up when you know it is pointless to argue evades most people. Hence the arguments augment and tempers flare, and then you find yourself witnessing a full-fledged "War of Words". 

Please. Stop.

If like me, you find yourself in such a sticky situation, ask yourself, "Is it worth the amount of breath that will be lost for this pointless discussion?" If not, then it is nothing less than intelligent to bow out of such a conversation. Winning is not always everything.

Stay Awesome \m/

All gifs from :-
http://giphy.com/

Heartbreak Express.

While the world is celebrating the month of love, some people are getting their hearts broken...

So, this one is dedicated to all you sad people.

Get a grip on yourself.

I know I sound pretty harsh, but just listen.

Letting go and moving on from someone is probably the hardest thing in life. It’s not just difficult because you lose someone, but because you also lose the sweetness in those memories of times spent together. Sure, things didn't go the way you wanted, but there were good times too right? This is probably why it is even harder to let go.

 So what do you do in such a situation?

Most people tend to try and patch things up. There can be two reasons for this. First, you are “actually” in love with that person, and can’t let go because it’s wrong to do so. Second, you are “habitual” of that person being in your life, so a sudden change like this leaves you harrowed and distraught.

If the first reason is true for you, by all means, go get em! But, if yours is reason number two, I urge you, move on. As habits can be formed, they can be broken too.

So how did you get into this mess?

Most people have heard about this phenomenon called “beer-goggles”, where you are so intoxicated, everything starts looking all rosy. Similarly, one can experience “love-goggles” when entering a new relationship. You keep ignoring all the warning signs, every little quirk looks cute to you. Mind you, you are in for a hell of a ride! Because as soon as the ‘honeymoon period’ of the relationship is over, you’ll start getting irritated by all the cutesy things your girlfriend/boyfriend did. For instance, you liked her laugh, it was eccentric... but now, you even can’t stand it for a few moments. You laughed when your boyfriend acted dumb when you first started dating? You probably hate him being always like that now...

Is love enough?

Every wrong relationship in this world has an end, but some choose to suffer, thinking that ‘love’ is the most important thing, but it isn't. The world feeds us so much crap about “happily ever after”; that people just latch on to one person and think yeah, this is IT. There is SO much more to a relationship than just love: - trust, understanding, caring, friendship, personal boundaries; and the most important – respect and happiness! Why would you come into a relationship in the first place if it didn't make you happy?

It is absolutely true that when a person first falls for someone, it’s for their appearance. But it is also equally true that “Beauty attracts the eye, but personality captures the heart”. So to say that one must not be dazzled by the vessel, but try and find out what’s inside would be an apt warning.

In the end, every wrong equation must be resolved, every wrinkle straightened. If it means to end the relationship, so be it. Do not be disheartened by this loss, look at it like a life experience. Your life never depends on another person anyways, you are free to do what you want, feel what you want, and be what you want. And you never know, love might just be waiting for you around the corner ;)

I’m kidding, the world is round. You need to find that love in yourself first, and then you may find someone who will love you for who you really are. Besides, you weren't born committed, right?

Stay Awesome \m/

(All gifs from google images)

Seinfeld

Seinfeld, a sitcom which ran from 1989-1998. I was born in 1993, so technically I haven't seen even one of the original runs on TV (because I was like 5 years old :P ).

So I started seeing this series when it came on TV, as re-runs. The earliest I remember seeing this sitcom is in around 3rd grade, and I didn't quite understand it then. But as the years progressed, I fell in love with this series. So here is why I love Seinfeld.

1. The general theme of the sitcom.

It isn't gloomy, action based, or dramatic. It's just balanced. And the fact that the direst of situations are laughed off so easily, is what makes me adore this series. The sheer ridiculousness of this series is hilarious!

2. The character eccentricities.

Probably the funniest bunch of people, with the quirkiest characters!
Kramer, George, Jerry, and Elaine. Such an awesome chemistry!
There isn't a more quirkier character alive, than of Cosmo Kramer.
There isn't a pathetically funny character than George Costanza.
The sheer energy of Elaine Benes is electrifying! She portrays the quintessentially humourous woman. I just love her!
And of course, there is no one more witty and humourous than Jerry Seinfeld.
Period.

The soda-bottle glasses. Funniest ever!

3. This show is almost always, politically correct.

The most awesome thing about this sitcom is that I have almost never felt that they have misrepresented any ethnicity. They might have squeezed in a few jokes or two, but its pure comedy at its best!
Overall, I have found it to be a very progressive series.


4. Comic timing.

Now I know, that this is probably the most obvious thing ever, but it is brilliant and cannot be missed!
This series provides all kinds of laughs possible, and at times its so ridiculously funny, you will laugh while jumping out of your seats!

5. The parents.

The bits in which any parents of the four primary cast members are included, that episode is bound to be funny. And the bonus is, they act pretty much like Indian parents! : ) )

'dimag to thik hai tera!'

6. The fashion

There are some of the most funny pieces of fashion I have witnessed in Seinfeld.
For example:


The Urban Sombrero.

Elaine's dress.

The pimp costume.

7. The dialogues.

This series has some of the funniest dialogues I have ever come across. 

Maybe the dingo ate your baby!

Aaaaaand I'm done. I gotta watch it more.

                                       

I just love Seinfeld!! 

Things I love about winters in India

Winter is coming.

There is no doubt that one of the most awesome seasons in all is the winter season. Especially for skinny people who are tired of being taunted on how malnutrition-ed they look (yeah that's me). So here's a list of things that I absolutely love about Winters!

1) The produce.

During winter, at least in India, some of the best produce can be enjoyed. The plumiest of tomatoes, greenest of spinach and the reddest carrots are available. They in turn lead to scrumptious dishes.

2) The food!

Continuing my above point, the tastiest dishes in the year are all made during the winter season. Gajar ka halwa , Makke di roti with Sarso da saag, and especially for Maharashtrians (that's me too :D) Gud ki roti with ghee or "गुळाची पोळी आणि तूप " are the tastes of the season!

Oh so delicious!

     

No Indian can avert from freshly prepared Gajar ka halwa!

The most awaited winter treat at my house!
तीळ गुळ घ्या गोड गोड बोला :) 

Enough about food, let's move on...

3) The Razai or quilts.

Almost in every Indian household there is at least on Jaipuri Razai, which is famed to keep you warm even in the direst of winter conditions.

DND

As a consequence, many a times people have missed reaching their work on time; Because they are so damn comfortable in bed! And before you think I get up on time, let me tell you... I'm no different Okay?! I love to sleep in the razai and would if I could, spend the whole winter days in it.. But then who'd eat the food? o.O :D

4) The weather.

Its no secret that the Sun is most beloved to us in this season. I have myself spent many a days trying to keep warm with sunlight, but it sometimes doesn't affect as much. I have spent at least a semester on my college campus basking in the Sun with my friends. :D
In winters the afternoons seem like mornings and the mornings seem like evenings, only one thing remains constant, the cold weather.

Now that we have established how we love to eat hot food in the winters, should we not also talk about the beverages? Heck no! So here they are...

5) The beverages.

Let's get back to food now :D

A hot beverage of any kind, be it tea or coffee, is dear to me when I am shivering with cold. And the bonus is the ginger that gets added to them! So refreshingly soothing.
And of course, soups taste oh so much better in the winters!


6) Christmas!

The most awesome part of winter season, besides the food, is Christmas time! I don't actually celebrate the entire festival, but I like to get involved in the festivities in my own way :D

So you can count on me to post a Christmas related article soon enough! 

7) New Year!

The beginning of the new year and the end of the old one is much fun for me, to make 'breakable resolutions', stay up late in the night, celebrate with friends and family; this is what the new year is all about!

All in all, Winters are a time to be happy, get healthy and stay awesome :D

                                       

International Men's Day

Half of the day passes, and then I come to know that today is the International Men’s day. A commercial puts the topic in front that how we have become biased towards the fairer sex, and completely forgot the men (except those who are fathers, of course). #ShowMenSomeLove they say. And honestly I don’t see the harm in that. They are long overdue to be shown some appreciation for their efforts.
If we want an equal world, I think men also need to be remembered and cherished as we do the same for women now. We all are humans in the end, right?

So I dedicate this day to all the times a man has been good to me, done me a great deed, or just been friendly. He may be my father, who stayed out in the December cold to get my school admission form, or my brother who reluctantly took me to his friend’s birthday parties when we were kids because my mom made him do so; whereas he could have easily made a fuss and said no, but he didn't. They may be friends who gave me company when I was left alone, or teachers who have guided me through the toughest of times. When it comes to understanding the troubles of others, one can never be sure that a female perspective will always be helpful. Many a times I have found that men are much more helpful in solving ones problems.

A father, a brother, a friend, a companion and husband. Oh so many roles to play!For their chivalry, goodness of the heart and jolliness I am thankful.

Happy Men’s Day!

picture credit: google images

Changed!

Now you may have noticed I changed the name of the blog from "My words" to "Living to Learn"; the reason being, I found the former to be quite narcissistic, and this blog wasn't really about being my words, but just about some stuff that I learned. So, I think its fitting that I changed the name to the latter. 

Hope you like it, the people who are reading, though I don't know who you are, or even if you're there or not. This shall be another post out in the expansive void that is the internet.

But if you have read this post, please feel free to comment and subscribe to my posts :)

Thanking you in advance for your attention! :)

So So much  ^_^

And...

Saving..... Saved!

Savouring memories...

Now recently my computer crashed and all the data in it was erased, as a result my most coveted photographs, videos were all lost.

Why God ??!! Why??!!!

At first I wasn't so much as even sad as to why the hell would such a thing happen to me, though I knew why (sigh.).

Then the sheer depth of it all left me breathless. Years and years of compiling important stuff, capturing important occasions, had gone to waste. Total waste. And there was nothing I could do about it.

When we lose such things in life, they may be your college photos, funny videos of friends; might give a new perspective to us. You can't save everything, you will miss out on some things. And those moments which couldn't be captured will always be in your mind. They might fade away. But they'll be like your own sweet little secret. Something which only you'll be privy to. You might never be able to get those moments back, but you'll always remember the exact emotions of which those memories are made of.

But I was lucky enough to find most of the photos which I had lost on various friends' Facebook accounts. Thank God for the internet! 

Why do people care?

You see a woman, can be any body type, walking with skimpy clothes on. You feel uncomfortable. You instantly judge her character, assuming she is promiscuous.

This happens every time a woman is seen in clothes she chose to wear. I ask now, why do people care what someone chose to wear?

I think, its because of the way others look at that woman. I personally don't give a damn what people wear, its their business not mine. But what makes me uncomfortable is other people looking at that person, who is just happy being who they are. Now I would also like to say that this change of perspective in me is not old ( I'm no saint! :p ). I have recently started seeing things this way, and I am happy to say I find myself more at peace than before. Its that person's business what they wear and what they don't.
Having said all this, I would also like to point that a little good sense while dressing didn't kill anybody.

And let's not only make this about women; there are also men out there, wearing gravity defying pants! Of course they are ridiculed too. Which is required to an extent.

So let's let others live shall we?

Monsoon post part II

Internet connectivity during monsoons? ha ha ha! 

I don't know why, but every time there is some precipitation, my broadband network seems to flicker and die (also the reason why this post is late). It has a scientific explanation, yet I find it very annoying that if I am promised a high-speed broadband connection, then, by Indian standards, I am entitled to at least a nominal speed. But NO! How shall this happen! I NEED  the net, so I WILL NOT get it! Do what you will, this problem is so recurrent, I am habitual to it now. -_-

cough! BSNL cough!

Your private animal, err, insect planet.

This is a problem for both people who stay out, and those who stay in. All kinds of bugs will find their way into your eyes, nose and mouth if you are not vigilant.

 Weirdly coloured insects are seen in the evenings and the mornings, some bite, some make irritating noises, all in all, its a pest fest!

So... yeah... I think I covered them all; things which I don't like about the monsoons.

If you liked this post, please do comment.







P.S :- All gifs from google images.

I love the rains but....

Monsoon is the best season of them all, but its also the worst sometimes..

Puddles puddles everywhere, no place to drive. 

The most enraging thing about the rainy season are the puddles everywhere, I mean, and this probably only happens in India, the puddles are formed in ginormous potholes, which are really like death holes. You might as well leave a manhole open -_- .

huh  -_-

 And the worst thing is if you're on your scooty or bike, and a car just goes by you totally ignoring the fact that you are just beside them and splashes into that pothole like its a dirt-bike racing track, and you are splashed with that disgusting brown coloured water.Yuck!

Mean Monsoon.

This has happened to me more times than I'd care to admit. I always go around on my scooty, so I have to do a bit of prep before going out in the rains,i.e, wear my raincoat and stuff. It takes a few minutes. And more often than not, when I finish 'gearing-up', the rain stops; and I'm standing there like a doofus, thinking 'should I take it off'? But I'm too lazy to do that, so I just leave it on and drive to my destination. On the way I am subjected to awkward stares, people are looking like 'why is this girl wearing the raincoat when it isn't even raining?' By the time I reach my destination, the sun is shining. I sheepishly take my raincoat off and hurriedly shove it in the scooty. Its humiliating.

Why Why Why????

Everything is wet.

Everything is wet, nothing dries off. This irks my mother the most, because the clothes don't dry quickly, so I am told to be extra careful while going out, and hence I have to be extra careful while doing anything (read the above puddles part). So I can't rain dance if I don't have a fresh pair of clothes at home.

Yay raincoats!

 And what comes next when everything is wet? Fever, cough and cold.

I suffer from fever at least once during the monsoons.Its such a normal phenomenon for me. Diseases spread like freebies in the monsoons.
I have actually seen people line up in front of the doctor's office just as the first rains hit the city. People seem to get ill just about the time when the first raindrops hit the ground.
Not to mention it is quite depressing to sit inside when its so lovely out there. But I like it too.

I am so lonely...

So this is the Part I of why I don't like the monsoons (sometimes). Part II is coming up soon.





P.S :- All gifs from google images.