The calm one...

The Most Amazing Place on Earth- My College

A place where ATTENDING A CLASS means getting to class somehow to sit on the back bench and wake up from your deep slumber to say "present sir" at the time of your roll call.
A place where PERFORMING AN EXPERIMENT IN THE LAB means completing the lab file(not necessarily the experiment!) as soon as you can, buttering up the lab assistants and memorizing that connecting this wire with that terminal will give you the required reading.
A place where YOU HAVE TO ATTEND THE CLASS even when you are on your death bed because by any chance if you get well, you will still have to drop the semester as you don't have the required 75% attendance.
A place where THE TEACHERS (only so called...) consider your time as inconsequential and unproductive as theirs. After you wait for 40 minutes for a 2 hour lab, they will tell you to complete 2 or more 'experiments' in the remaining 1hr or so.
A place where THE TEACHERS are so dumb that a Thermodynamics teacher does not know the meaning of the term- "Degree of Freedom" and a Mathematics teacher does not understand the Rolles Theorem in Calculus.
A pace where BEING CREATIVE means you only wear branded clothes, always pour half the bottle of deodorant whenever you are going out, you should be seen with at least half a dozen girls at all times and you should be always cooking up some fucked up idea in your fucked up mind about organizing some fucked up event in this fucked up college.
A place where TERMS like respect, love,and humility do not exist in the people's dictionary. Oh sorry! they do not know what is a dictionary!

Its definitely the most amazing on earth...
Where else would you see so much wilderness in the open?

B-L-A-C-K

There are some songs that take you by a storm !
but along with an element of surprise...
Why? because they really get you thinking : Can music truly be this powerful ?

Black by Pearl Jam is one such song. When i heard it for the first time, i found it intriguing. The second time i found it captivating and i can't really tell how many times after that i found myself 'hooked' to this song by an invisible leash which just couldn't be undone...

Its GRUNGE at its best.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K0CP9RVvm_4&feature=related or
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AFVlJAi3Cso or
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ywWvEqhT32c&feature=fvsr

an 'un'crafted life

A whiff of freshness zapped his brain,
He limbers up to work, but in vain.

He stares in the emptiness searching for his worth,
Is this really his rational foolishness to dwell in this dearth.

Fuck You! He shouts out loud,
The dead walls hear his plea but remain unsound.

His fucked up mind tries to reason his existence,
Wife dead,Children gone.Can life screw with him anymore from here on hence...

Death was never so beautiful...

The sound of your laughter makes me wonder,
Is there a place so mystical, I can wander.
In search of a true bliss, I glided through the sky,
A fire inside me screams to ask why?

The nights of passion, the days of joy,
O my love! Is it fair to count thy life on the beads of sigh...
The road we walked will come to an end, the letter of mortality will be signed,
But, tell me my love, is it the tongue that craves the food or the mind?

Love...

Somebody might ask me now, "which is you favorite dish"? Many dishes instantly comes to mind, but none can match the heart melting arhar ki daal i have in my home. The obvious question: "why"? i answer: "becoz i had it with some of the lightest chapatis made by my mom". these 2 days:7th and 8th of aug. were special to me, for many reasons.i had home cooked food by my mom, i could literally climb on my papa's tummy becoz it has become so flabby and i went shopping for MY CLOTHES with my didi (why? i still dont know completely but apparently i don't look good in my long hair and baggy jeans. chalo i'll try to figure it out later). Now comes the most important reason. I did all of the above things with my COMPLETE family.The thought we would be away from each other soon didn't really trouble me becoz i have realized that our love only grows with distance between us. I have seen so many people not really realizing the true potential of love. All i have got to say to them is that if this is not love, then My Man, you have got to move to a new planet. Our love for our spouse or our girlfriend/boyfriend is just an extension of this love. If being with your lover does not generate such feelings then you know deep down in your heart that you are just utilizing some boring moments of your life with not so boring company. Love is not physical. Really its not. Sounds like a cult cliche'. But come on, it has become a cliche' only because this phrase has been used at free will since ages.And why? becoz its ulimately TRUE.

Hey didi, this is for you-

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5YXVMCHG-Nk

imagine

Imagine there's no heaven

It's easy if you try

No hell below us

Above us only sky

Imagine all the people

Living for today...

Imagine there's no countries

It isn't hard to do

Nothing to kill or die for

And no religion too

Imagine all the people

Living life in peace...

You may say I'm a dreamer

But I'm not the only one

I hope someday you'll join us

And the world will be as one

Imagine no possessions

I wonder if you can

No need for greed or hunger

A brotherhood of man

Imagine all the people

Sharing all the world...

You may say I'm a dreamer

But I'm not the only one

I hope someday you'll join us

And the world will live as one

- John Lennon

I feel high every time i hear this one !!!

I feel guilty at the deepest core of my heart when i think that any other song can even be compared to this one.

Its true: If Rock Music is a Temple, then Led Zeppelin is the God. (A little cheeky line, i guess !)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BcL---4xQYA

home....

Just felt a little sad today. Two of my best friends left for their homes, and almost everybody seems to ask me the same question : why aren't you going home? By the way, we have a 4 day break here. I put logic before feelings and reply with the same answer every time : what will I do at home for ONLY 4 days? Now, there has been some sound reasoning behind my reply:

1. There is a severe electricity crisis back at home.

2. I will be in train for almost 30 hours.

3. Some work which can be done only when i am here.

Having said that, my heart aches for home and the above 3 points will obviously be defied when i would see my parents :)

Somehow, I have come to terms with the fact that I am way from my home. From now on the time when I want to see my parents will be controlled by my location, work etc. rather than my wish to experience the sheer happiness I get at the place where I spent some of the best years of my life.

You've got to feel this one

One of the greatest songs i have ever heard .

Dream On by Aerosmith

Every time that I look in the mirror

All these lines on my face getting clearer

The past is gone

It went by, like dusk to dawn

Isn't that the way

Everybody's got their dues in life to pay

Yeah, I know nobody knows

Where it comes and where it goes

I know it's everybody's sin

You got to lose to know how to win

Half my life

Is in books' written pages

Lived and learned from fools and

From sages

You know it's true

All the things come back to you

Sing with me, sing for the year

Sing for the laugh, sing for the tears

Sing with me, if it's just for today

Maybe tomorrow, the good lord will take you away, yeah

Yeah, sing with me, sing for the year

Sing for the laugh, sing for the tear

Sing with me, if it's just for today

Maybe tomorrow, the good Lord will take you away

Dream On Dream On Dream On

Dream until the dream come true

Dream On Dream On Dream On

Dream until your dream comes true

Dream On Dream On Dream On

Dream On Dream On

Dream On Dream On

Sing with me, sing for the year

Sing for the laugh, sing for the tear

Sing with me, if it's just for today

Maybe tomorrow, the good Lord will take you away

Sing with me, sing for the year

Sing for the laugh, sing for the tear

Sing with me, if it's just for today

Maybe tomorrow, the good Lord will take you away...

Life

As i write this post, i can't help but remember the same time exactly 1 year back. I was in uncontrollable sobs, writhing in pain on the floor of my room. Those who know me would understand why? Does this bring back nostalgia? I really don't know or perhaps I don't want to know. Sometimes, i ardently wish that my thoughts are vaporized into thin air and my body captured in some sort of time capsule. I would close my eyes and doze off to sleep and when i open my eyes, i am in my home all ready to go to my didi's place in Bangalore after my 10th exams. Probably, the start of that trip was synonymous with the end of the most happening trip of all : Life. Well, enough of being cynical and let's return to reality. There are quite a few moments in all our lives that we wish would never have happened. We are so much angry with our lives that we fail to comprehend that the memories associated with those moments inflict on us anything other than pain. Do i think like that? Yes and No.

Yes, because i am not embarrassed to accept it. I abhor those moments. I hate them from my guts. They gave me pain. Pain so immense i never thought i could endure. Those moments took away my childlike happiness: the sheer joy of achieving something even if that thing is minuscule in its magnitude. Every time when i would stand first in my class, there used to be a festival like feeling in my home. Today, as hard as i may try, i can never be overjoyed if i do good in my quiz or get a 'A' in any of my course.

No, because let's face it. Those moments have added to my growing up experience. The maturity or whatever you may call it, has only come because i faced those moments. Now i can think like a grown up whenever i am riddled with some conflicting choices.

So, even if i did not want them in the first place, i have got memories. Memories, which may not bring pleasant thoughts with them, but still i have got them. Hopefully, i will use them to my strength and grow to be wiser and more thoughtful in my approach towards LIFE.

Same sex marriage

This was for a class speech. Read it if you want.

Edward Westermarck defined marriage in the 1922 edition of The History of Human Marriage as "a relation of one or more men to one or more women which is recognized as custom or law and involves certain rights and duties “to the individuals who enter into it, and any children born from it

A very good afternoon and a hearty welcome to all of you to this class presentation. Today I Shubham Rakheja , is going to express my views on a topic which can be described as a topic of sensitivity, not only because of its content but also because of its much obvious relevance to today’s ever vigilant society:

IS SAME SEX MARRIAGE GOOD OR BAD?

Marriage means the institution in which a man and a woman become legally united on a permanent basis. This is the lexical meaning of one of the most important institutions of our time. There are a lot of debates among people whether same sex marriage helps or hurts the sacred institution of marriage. Now I completely believe that love is universal and any two people, irrespective of their sex can love each other and also I am not saying that homosexuals should be banished from the society or anything of that sort. On the contrary I believe that they should exercise their rights and perform their duties as efficiently as any heterosexual citizen, but to me the concept of same sex marriage is a little implausible. I don’t think that same sex marriage does any good to the society.

To begin with, the institution of marriage is the most important element in providing the continuity of the society. With the help of procreation the married couples provides the society with the next generation. That’s to say, marriage is not only composed of a social contract, it’s a physical merger that gives birth to the next generation. Based on this opinion, we can say that marriage is not for everyone, especially for homosexuals. You can say that the unmarried couples also have children. Yes, they do. But in these types of families, family members are not attached to each other with strong ties, especially the fathers. The child and the mother are attached with biological ties but marriage attaches the fathers to the children. The children who have grown up without either a mother or a father can have psychological problems, they can even commit suicide. According to a study, the Institute of Marriage and Public Policy in the US stated that family structure is very important for children and their future. According to them, family structure is the most important component of the marriage.

On the other hand, marriage is not just a set of mutual benefits or an artifact of law. It’s a normative institution. The mothers and the fathers involuntarily protect the institution of marriage while they safely raise their children with love. The children, who have grown up with loving fathers and mothers, respect the institution of marriage so they also want a family of their own. But we cannot expect a homosexual couple to provide the same level of understanding, warmth and ‘knowledge’ to a child as compared to a heterosexual couple. Moreover, the child can face unusual situations while confronting his or her peer group as they might treat him or her with indifference.

The third thing is that homosexual marriages may also hurt the institution of marriage in religious ways. Many religious lawyers of traditional marriage claim that to call homosexual relationships "marriages" is a mistake, because marriage should involve the uniting of two members of the opposite sex. Traditional marriage lawyers insist that homosexual relationships should not be recognized as marriages. The Roman Catholic Church argues from a theological point of view against recognizing same-sex unions. In their view, acts of sexual intimacy are only proper between a married man and woman.

In the end, I would like to say that while it’s not demeaning for any two people to love each other, it would be most wise for them to keep the traditional definition of marriage intact and always remember the main purpose of the establishment of the institution of marriage. It is only with happy marriages and happy couples that we can expect to have a better society and a better world.

'Things' I need

Hmmm... let us begin :

1. I Pod touch
2. External hard drive
3. The pair of Sennheiser headsets I had seen a couple of days back

well its a start.
The list.........to be continued.

Degree of happiness

The grass did not seem green today,

The breeze did not feel calm today,

The birds did not glee with songs today,

The fact I had not realized today,

You have not smiled today.

A Distant Smile

A face that seems lost in gloom,

A heart of gold, but why so aloof?

The purity of your soul reflects in that smile,

Like a snapshot i want to capture it in my eyes.


The sun light struck chords with the rain,

But here I find you suffering in pain.

I lean towards you, to touch you, to love you,

Just to have a tiny fragment of you.


A figment of thy heart, a piece of thy soul,

A divine gift I can call as my own.

But thy essence nears the end of the story,

As the Sun crawls away in its full glory.

As good as it gets

I just loved it !

"I might be the only person on the face of the earth that knows you’re the greatest woman on this earth. I might be the only one who appreciates how amazing you are in every single thing you do and how you’re with Spencer …Spence! and every single thought you have and how you say what you mean and how you almost always mean something that’s about being straight and good and I think most people miss this about you and I watch them wondering how they watch you bring their food and clear their tables and never get that they just met the greatest woman alive and the fact that I get it makes me feel good……about me!" - Jack Nicholson

AVATAR

Why do we just want to grab and give the ET a big hug when we see it on our TV screens? What makes us succumb to the immense power of the LOTR trilogy? Why do we want to watch the great dinosaurs of The Jurassic Park again and again?

We all are aware of the fact that what we are watching is ultimately untrue and imaginative, but then why do we buy the most expensive tickets of a posh multiplex, eat the best meal and basically lighten our wallets? Well, there's a simple answer. It allows us to forget our worries and have a lot of fun.

Every once in a while comes a motion picture that grabs you by the gut and throws you into a world so marvelously crafted that the experience leaves you spell bound. Such films have a major impact on our lives, they touch our mind and soul and stay with us for the rest of our lives.

Avatar, directed by James Cameron, is one such film that makes us surrender to its mammoth size. The film which took more than a decade to finally conceptualize on the celluloid screen is not just any other movie. Its a groundbreaking film in every respect : A definitive landmark in the world of film making.

Set in the year 2154, the film involves a mission by US Armed Forces to the planet Pandora, light years away from Earth. The fearsomely well-equipped army of former Marines has arrived on Pandora to mine a rare mineral named "unobtainium" in order to solve a devastating energy crisis back home.

The mineral cannot be obtained without the cooperation of Pandora's native population, the Na'vi, a tribe of tall, blue-skinned, nature-loving forest dwellers who pose no threat to Earthlings. Since humans cannot breathe on Pandora, they must use avatars, or genetically engineered Na'vi look-alikes that are mind-controlled by them while they're wired up in an unconscious state on the space-craft.

The earthlings are led by bull-headed Colonel Miles Quaritch (Stephen Lang). Helped by star biologist Grace Augustine (Sigourney Weaver), they create an avatar to go on information sorties and to act as a cultural diplomat. The person chosen for this role is Jake Sully (Sam Worthington). He’s a former Marine who lost his legs in action.

Sully is dispatched by his superiors to infiltrate the native tribe that refuses to relocate from the 1,000-foot Hometree that just happens to be perched atop the precious mineral.

In the process, Sully comes under the sway of beautiful Neytiri (Zoe Saldana).

Saldana tears into her elongated, computer-enhanced character with abandon. Neytiri hisses, snarls, swings from vines and shoots some wicked arrows, all the while demonstrating a bond with the beasts of her world that inspire pathos and envy in equal measure.

Sully is a changed man once he tastes Na'vi life and falls in love with Neytiri who teaches him to shoot arrows, to tame and fly stubborn psychedelic creatures, and to fight off scary jungle beasts.As a result of his love with Neytiri, Sully realizes the abominable motives of Col. Quaritch. He, along with Grace, teams up with the Na'vi's to help them protect their land and heritage.

Supporting cast includes Giovani Ribisi as Parker Selfridge and Michelle Rodriguez as Trudy Chacon.

By combining such profound 3D technology with his exquisite sense of film-making, James Cameron has truly revolutionized the cinema going experience. Avatar will set benchmarks for films in the future.

My all-time favorite movies

· The LOTR trilogy

· The Matrix trilogy

· Titanic

· As good as it gets

· Goodfellas

· OldBoy

· Rang De Basanti

· Zakhm

· Mughl-e-Azam

· Dil Chahta Hai

· Swades

· Anand

· Chupke Chupke

· Golmaal (Amol Palekar)

· The Dark Knight

· The Exorcist

To be continued……

Gadget Frenzy

There was a time when owning the latest DVD player or the latest television was considered as some divine gift bestowed only upon some fortunate ones.The corporations introduced new techonologies as quickly as the blink of an eye,and people would readily empty their pockets to be called as proud owners of these technological innovations.

A few years back,one would say,beaming with utmost ebullience, “look at my new stereo system!”.Today,the stereo system has been replaced with a much fancier looking gadget: The Apple Ipod.

An analysis would show that the affinity of people towards the new swanky gadgets has augmented to a large extent.When the scenario of our exuberant industrial world was writhing in pain due to the famous(or rather ‘infamous’) recession,the consumer electronic industry seemed completely apathetic.It seemed to ask the others “Where is the recession?”

The consumer electronic companies are banking heavily on their massive popularity with people.A whole plethora of manufacturers,making all sorts of electronic gadgets are out in their full strength.The recently held Consumer Electronic Shows(CES) in Las Vegas and Shanghai provided a clear cut evidence to this fact. The show in Las Vegas saw a massive pouring in of people to appreciate some of the most splendid electronic gadets the world had ever seen.It included the giants such as Sony,Samsung,Panasonic and many more.A whole variety of products was displayed.Some of the main attractions were:

· The new hybrid 56 inch 3D LCD panel was the highlight of the show.Just imagining the sheer magnificence of James Cameron’s ‘Avatar’ in full 3D,in the comfort of one’s home, can bring the whole concept of TV viewing crashing down to pieces.

· Companies like Kodak showcased consumer cameras and video recorders that can be dunked and even fully submerged in water.

· A few products like the MSI Dual screen color e-book and the LG Wi-Max USB dongle were not only real beauties but also quite useful in terms of their applications.

It had products with prices starting as low as one dollar and going as high as thousands of dollars.The show,thus,rightly earned the title of the ‘Gadget Mecca’.

But the important question still persists-Do we really need to shell out such huge bucks for gadets that,within a few months,will be as banal as the stack of the previous week’s newspapapers,? One wise option would be to spend only a moderate amount at one time and save the rest for the next change.But, living in a gadget frenzied world has its benefits too.Today,we can actually use ‘things’; the functions of which can transform our most miniscule figments of imagination into ideas of gigantic magnitude.