Anna Hazare and me

Well I keep promising to write my blog regularly with the humorous happenings in my life but this time I write to honor a man who is an inspiration to the entire nation not unlike the original Father of the Nation but only difference is the youth doesn't mind him.

I first came across him along with all my other ninth standard class mates, in our environmental education books. that's right, this esteemed activist which the whole country is currently in awe of was given about fifteen lines of lime light in an environmental course book.

I knew of his humble origins and how he rose from being a truck driver in the army to a man who changed the fate of a wasted village (Ralegon Siddhi). And that is all my text book told me. Yes there was also something about watershed development. It told me nothing about the fact that he had taken people who could barely keep their flesh to their bones due to high level alcoholism, to become voluntary workers building small water check dams and canals e.t.c.

I was never told that he was the one who began the Right to Information movement in Maharashtra which later became the base of the famous Right to Information Act (RTI) which the union Government passed and is seen as one of the greatest examples of peoples right in our country and India's proof of being a democracy.

I was never told that this man, in his relentless fight to give the common man his rights, has done all that our freedom fighters did. It began with reforming the people around him, fighting for the people, being arrested by the 'ruling party' and now the fast unto death. Why should he go through all this when we have already achieved freedom? Well because we have lost our freedom. After almost 64 years of Independence we have been made slaves to the greed of some of those who we choose to call our leaders.

I don't think I need to mention anything about the Lok Pal Bill because all the information is a news channel or a click away but since I titled this piece Anna and I, I should mention where I come in. I remember whining endless times that I wish I was a part of the freedom movement and when I turned the television on two days ago I thought that this was yet another useless protest but I was wrong and I continue to hope I am wrong about that because now I am a part of what I believe is my chance to fight for my country under the leadership of a man I was never told about but has the strength to churn a nation of sufferers into that of survivors.

BAD Blogger award!!!

Yes... and the winner is ( drum roll ) MEEE!!!!!!! (takes a bow)
so after making that wonderful 'blog atleast once a week' resolution here i am blogging after far too long. The funny thing being that a lot has passed since the last time i blogged but putting any of it into words seems rather tough.
So I am going to fall back on my usual way of working ... POINTS!

• Making drastic changes-I decided to change my stream of education. Bold choice, considering the havoc it created at home, large financial loss, the uncertain field I did choose and most of all the lack of what they call "fire in my belly" (sounds really uncomfortable though).
• The welcome ceremony of the fire in my belly - reading the material for my new course, looking into new colleges, talking to a lot of concerned people also giving in my "I'm LEAVING " application.
• Teaching makes me happy - I got an opportunity to teach little children how to draw and I loved it! though it gives my father nightmares because he thinks I'm confusing myself. I'm not. I like it, its a part time thing but I am quiet sure of what exactly I want to do. literature followed by mass communications. But no matter how many times i repeat it my daddy still thinks I am confused. *sigh* he must have his reasons i suppose the "fire" needs a little more raging.
• The fire is here to stay, but wants me to take a trip to France though - I have been punching out articles, scraping them, re- writing them for a while now just to see on how many different aspects I can write on. While I was doing this I realised I can do even more with my time. Like learn french! why french you may ask, well they have excellent teaching faculty, even better exchange programmes, I have to take an additional subject In my graduation and If I manage to learn it well now... guess whose going to ACE graduation!! well atleast a part of it. Also a chance to see France! (that rhymed)
  
• The fire ain't burning calories - I wish it would at least I'd get rid of some amount of blubber but alas that isn't going too well I think I'll have to join a gym now since its beyond the stage of simply bothering me.. its scary now. Also to think my aspired job is probably going to involve a lot of sit-on-chair-go-pling-plong, i think it is time to move that boootieee!
  
• Stuff to do- so basically I have a lot going on and it will turn into a lot more in a bit but I think I'll like that.
  

When I grow up...

No..its not about that annoying and unbearable pussycat dolls song its more about how what we wanted to be changed with our age ...well I dunno if I should use a collective pronoun there because I do have some very focused friends like one who, when asked what she wanted to be when she grew up in lower kindergarten replied loudly " RICH!!" , she still as determined and yells with the same enthusiasm.

In my case however things were different..
3year old me loved the idea of being a boy when she grew up (just like my big brother)

5year old me (after playing a few 'educational' games with her brother) wanted to be a spy!!! the one that sneak attacked and killed the MOST !! YEAA!!

7year old me sobered a little and wanted to be a builder(courtesy logo) or a cook .

9year old me thought 7 year old me was definitely stupid and wanted to do something that would bring honor to the family ...9 year old me wanted to be a doctor. (telling her parents her aim during this phase of her life was the biggest childhood blunder she made,( I like to call it BIG MISTAKE part 1) for her parents held on to this dream till I was 16 and sobbed that it wasn't a reality..my grandmother never did accept it wasn't a reality)

11 year old me became a little more defined and wanted to be a kids doctor ( in my opinion 11 year old me was the stupidest of the lot ... I HATE KIDS)

13 year old me began seeing the lurking dangers of encouraging 9 and 11 year old me and decided the the two of them were nit wits! I just can't study that much OR cut up things that lived ! 13 year old me seriously contemplated being a poet and a song writer (her father collapsed)
15 year old me knew very clearly what she DIDN'T want to do as opposed to what she DID want to do ( welcome to a whole new era) she didn't want to do anything with the sciences nothing AT all so there went the comfort zone of her parents .. no engineering, medical, architecture... nothing "safe" (her mother collapsed)

17 year old me gave everyone (including herself) new hope... I.A.S.officer (Indian Administrative service) BIG MISTAKE part 2 because now EVERYONE expects it. It has gone beyond family expectations its friend's families expectations and their grandparents expectations ...sigh..

Now I am 18 (which is by definition- grown up) ... I have absolutely NO idea what i wanna be... journalism sounds good, artistic fields sound good too, I don't have anything against trying out I.A.S. ,advertising seems nice... did I mention I am studying economics? ya.. I could do something related...maybe management....till then I'll just go back to saying something I heard a 4 year old say recently...when I grow up..i am gonna be BOSS!!!

Everyday Life

There are things in life that are considered "everyday" like being plagued by beggars on the street, climbing stairs to class, texting a friend when bored, eating a hurried breakfast, the list can go on forever...yet all these everyday things that we consider mundane and unimportant shape the life we live..thus are MOST important. I am not saying "we must wake up with a spring in our step and cherish the very breath we take and appreciate the beauty of each flower.. blah blah blah" cause honestly that doesn't happen and if people did it, it would be annoyingly cheerful. can't stand people like that. What I am trying to say is that it is within these very activities that meaningful things happen. Like the one lone man in tatters you might see playing the flute with touching notes, another homeless person like so many we see each day but that one man you can never forget, like meeting someone while rushing up the stairs to class who ends up becoming a friend, like that one random text from someone special that may make your day or simply dad making you breakfast for a change cause you are running late..who says dads can't show emotion? you just have to look for it.
I don't know if I have managed to make my point because my thoughts themselves are rather vague but I suppose i could sum it up by saying - pay a little bit of attention to your everyday life...it is what life is really all about. =)

p.s. would you look at THAT! I CAN be a tad emotional

Pieces of information and...well.. impulses.

Its 3:45 am and lets totally avoid the question as to why I am WIDE awake and blogging. I had this sorta awakening(literally and figuratively) one of those things that hit you in the middle of the night this one is about the two things that make my life one of the best lives to live ...its all about lil pieces of information..knowing facts that would otherwise skip your notice but MUST be noticed.
Like the fact that my dog sits at my door waiting for me when i lock it..the fact that a simple statement made by me can lead people into taking crazy risks (making you feel important in the process). ...the fact that my parents are really sound sleepers (so thankful to the lord above)..the fact that i have a brother who loves freaking people out and has got me hooked to it too..the fact that some people can just calm you down and stop time...And all these other pieces of information that make things so much more amazing.

The second most important thing happens to be impulsiveness - random behavior and risk taking which would normally be considered utter and complete STUPIDITY. but this stupidity is so damn worth it! just to sight a random example completely unrelated to my life...it would be absolutely stupid for a person to sneak out of your own house (risk 1) in the middle of the night (risk 2) and ride on a bike half way across the city (risk3) in the rain (risk4) and THEN sneak into someone ELSE'S house (risk 5), a house with a brother (risk 6) and a dog(risk 7). stay there for just about an hour and repeat risks in backward order... all this just "cause you felt like it" .. this entire situation is of course hypothetical no one would ACTUALLY do that..but if someone were to be amazing enough to do something like that.. you gotta admit..it would pretty damn fun.

My Personalised Lingo -2(READ THE 1ST ONE 1ST )

MET - Mutual Exploitation Theory;
The originator of this theory is a certain Anurag Ramgopal(my elder brother), pure genius which they say runs in the Ramgopal family and is more enhanced in the younger child of the family anyway, This theory simply explains all these couples one meets that have nothing to offer each other except..well .. mutual exploitation. Its a win win situation really you get to be a couple thus are tuned into the social requirements of the day and couldn't careless when it doesn't work out.
Usage; "They MET each other" or "She MET that dude at a party" e.t.c.

Slek - Siggu leni kukka (means shameless dog)
Pronunciation; slek ..a combination of the pronunciation of sleek and shreak = slek
this term is can be used for anybody who is behaving like ..like..a shameless dog (sorry, lack of a better option). But this phrase is to be used in a loving manner ..not in a yelly angry manner
Usage; "stop acting like a slek" or "SLEK!!! WE ARE GETTING SERIOUSLY LATE"

S.O.P. - Standered Operating Procedure
This is actually a trem used in the army but no one outside it really uses it. It means what it says as in it is used to indicated the regular behavioral pattern of any person or thing .
Usage; "dude..she's crying.' 'oh, don't worry thats S.O.P." or..its what my family says when i hurt myself (AGAIN)and am whining in pain -" whats the big deal thats your S.O.P."

I think thats all the important ones for now...learn them , spread them. get them in the dictionary(or at least wikipedia ..i mean how hard is THAT)

My Personalised Lingo.

I think this is the first time I have ever posted 2 entries in such quick succession ..well.. YAY!!!!!
Now lets get on with it. There are certain terms that I tend to use that need to be recognized. They are good enough to be in dictionaries and encyclopedias (duh. since I came up with them).

Lets start of with something simple 1. ASS - innovative short form of Attention Seeking Syndrome. Usage- "He's a bad case of ASS" or "MAN!! thats some serious ASS" or simply " what an ASS"
Now a person suffering from this syndrome does just about anything to gain a couple of glances example ; the class clown who tries way too hard, the girl who is ALWAYS crying, person who makes weird noises when the conversation is not about them any more, the girls that get 'drunk' with a sip. You find people suffering from this syndrome in every walk of life thus ASS is an extremely useful acronym.

2. FULL POWER- expression for something that goes extremely well or is/was a lot of fun.
Usage- "that party was Full Power!!" or "this rollercoster is Full Power!!". This particular phase is better expressed when you throw in a \m/.

3.Shanti - Shanti ya- This one kinda explains itself, its to be used when one is at the sublime feeling of peace (also known as drunk). The best part about this term is its second person usage. example; "ya i met him yesterday he was all Shanti Shanti ya though" or "they like the world all Shanti shanti ya". This phrase simple and easily adaptable.

4. KILL THE DONKEY - a friend of mine actually said it but the credit of making it lingo goes entirely to me and my brother. This phrase is used to denounce anything that disturbs you.
origin- we were on a 12day trip and no matter where we stayed for the night be it remote corner of the country or a bustling city, the moment we lay down to fall a sleep a donkey would always start braying out of absolutely nowhere. the natural reaction to this was quite obviously.. KILL THE DONKEY!!.
scenarios of usage; while sitting in an important lecture and someone is making squeaky chair noises, when some annoying person's cell phone rings in the theater, when someone talks loudly when you are trying to sleep, e.t.c. in all these cases the phrase must be yelled out while pointing at the culprit.

To be continued... one of my friends had a major fit of ASS.