Tuesday 27 December 2011

Randomness

Well, this is not much of a post, really. Just a collection of photographs that I clicked randomly.

Feel free to comment! ;)





Le Blue Sky!




Sunlight hittin' the palm tree leaf. 




My beautiful li'l garden! 


Random snap of a dead tree trunk.

It was damn cloudy that day.


The neem tree in front of my house!


600 year old 'Banyan Tree'


Another garden photo! Yay!



Lol, the kitten was trynna catch a cricket or something


Isn't it CUTE???


Random village snap



Spooky neem tree

Saturday 10 December 2011

PSEUDO-CIVILIZATION: How The Media Affects Our Thoughts

According to the Concise Oxford Dictionary, “Civilization refers to the act of being civilized”

As much as civilization is important, we must try not to confuse it with other concepts, or ideas.

‘Civilization’ and ‘Westernization’ are two very different concepts with a thin line between them.

Turn on the television, and switch to any random channel, 8 out of 10 advertisements will make you feel inferior about your skin, hair, smell, body weight, looks,clothes, etc, etc, etc. 

Taking the current situation into concern let me give you an example:

“If I wear a kurta pyjama, I’ll still be as literate and as civilized as I am now. But as far as our idea of a ‘civilized’ person is concerned, I am not civilized unless I start walking around in western clothing, and yap about in English with a fake accent.” 
These are false ideas propagated by the media, injected deep into the minds of the vulnerable younger generation, and it's sad to see that our YOUTH is being influenced.

We usually tend to judge people based on their choice of clothing, skin color, or language. We are living in a world where Abs>Knowledge, Skin Color>Piety, Superficial beauty>Inner Beauty and so on. This is where the idea of ‘pseudo-civilization’ takes form.


Is this women's liberation? *facepalm*
And the most irritating part of it is that our women are being portrayed as nothing but sexual objects. Or as nymphomaniacs who, on sniffing the slightest hint of some random deodorant on a man, get aroused as if it was some aphrodisiac that was being sprayed, GROW UP!


You woman are not objects! You deserve to be treated with utmost respect.
DO NOT believe them when they say you need flawless white skin to get a man, DO NOT believe when they say you're not beautiful, DO NOT believe them when they say wearing indecent clothes will make you more acceptable in society. They are trying to manipulate your mind, and cripple your conscience.


This is sad. Very sad to see that we still haven't thrown aside our obsession of being a 'Gori Mem'.

Let us move towards progress, educate ourselves, and contribute to the betterment of our society. Let us leave behind the idea of ‘westernizing’ ourselves and accept a much broader concept of civilization.



As for those who are already under the influence of this ideology, PLEASE turn OFF your television sets. 



Till next time, BYE BYE! 


One more thing I felt like sharing.


P.S.:  MTV India this year, crossed all limits when it made a cheap joke (Click here) out of a serious disease like AIDS which kills 2,000,000 people annually. I chose to write 2 million in digits to stress on the number of people affected. Bloody retards. I still don't get it!Why did people find it funny in the least bit? 


Anyways, BYE!

Sunday 27 November 2011

The Verbal Aspartame



To criticise is human nature. We always like to point out other’s faults and errors, don’t we?

Criticism is like aspartame. We need just the right amount, for things to turn sweet. And like aspartame, it does leave a bitter after-taste.

Criticising is an art…

You need just the right amount of criticism, at the right time, to help the other person realise his mistake.

Too much criticism makes you less tolerable. So, moderate your criticism, and avoid being too harsh or repetitive, or people might label you as insensitive or someone who doesn’t know how to mind their own business.
Think before you criticise.

It’s not necessary for you to criticise anyone and everyone for the sake of it.

Be sensitive, that remark you just passed about someone might emotionally shatter them. Or they might reprove you, if they’re better than you at the game.
Moderate criticism is acceptable, and plays a pivotal role in shaping one’s personality. Where most people go wrong, is when they start criticising every living thing on the planet over some minor issue of minimal importance.

When you criticise, remember that you’re putting forth your own ideology about the matter, which may or may not be right.

Do not let casual criticism turn into a fiery debate. If you’re criticising someone and he doesn’t approve of your criticism, stop right then, before things turn awry.

Know well that while criticism can have a positive outcome, sometimes it might end up being the cause for your relations turning rancid.

So, to criticise or not to criticise, that is the question.

And the answer is ‘YES’ and ‘NO’

That’s up to you and your conscience to decide. Before you feel like it, ask yourself if it is really that important for you to go out there and say something?
Or maybe sometimes it happens so that keeping mum is the best way out.

So, now you might want to criticise my writing style for being too crude? Go on, I’ll thank you for it. 

Corrupt-shun



Amidst all the political gamble and agitations against corruption, I was a silent observer, who maintained his ‘maun vrat’ over the issue.

Seldom did it happen that I commented upon the recent happenings in my country, knowing fully, that my opinions had no practical value whatsoever.

I have a utopian vision set in my mind, when it comes to India. I love India from the bottom of my heart, and I mean it.

Corruption is a disease that is fast spreading, and at the current rate, there isn’t much time to save our nation from this disaster.

We've made a laughing stock of ourselves.

There came the ‘Lokpal’ vaccine. Promising me the vision I had, and a future I dreamt of.
A 16th century proverb says “A drowning man will clutch at a straw”.

Such was the case of our country when it came to anti-corruption, with our government neck deep in corruption; we latched onto whatever slight ray of 
hope we had from the likes of Anna Hazare, Baba Ramdev et al.

I once tweeted “Many people out on the streets supporting Hazare. Are we witnessing another revolution? Hell Yeah!! ” 

Little did I know, that half of the mob, consisting mainly of youngsters, were out there just to get away from the monotony of life.

Gandhi caps, tricolors, banners, protests, rallies, fasts. Everyone tried to get the ‘by, for, to’ formula of democracy work. I pity their conscience.

As I grew up, I realized that the authors of my civics textbook were liars. They gave me false ideas about democracy, false hopes, and false definitions.

We are no less than a monarchy, and no better. We are one land, divided by the many socio-linguistic barriers, and further fragmented on the basis of religion 
by self-important politicians who have no regard for life or property.

Corruption is a big question mark on our so called ‘sanskruti’ we boast of every time the development of our country is questioned.

To eliminate corruption on all levels, the citizen of India, the aam aadmi must stand up against it.

I might be asking for too much, but that’s all we can do. The other option is to be a mute spectator as our nation crumbles to dust.

The future of our nation rests in the hands of the younger generation, who don’t seem to give a damn.

As Amir Khan  said in Rang De Basanti, one of my favorites, “We Indians have one foot resting on our past, the other on our future, while we piss on our present.”
It’s a bit too harsh to say, yet very true.

Free India from corruption. Jaago Re!!

Sunday 20 November 2011

Lessons From A Bee

1. Work hard, and do not expect people to praise you.
2. Accept your fate, be the best at what you're destined to do.
3. Gather honey; don't care about money.
4. Never expect anything in return of a favor.
5. Gather only as much honey as your hive can hold.
6. No matter how small you are, YOU'RE SPECIAL!
7. Lay down your life to protect your loved ones.
8. No matter how difficult life may seem, keep humming the song of life.
9. Every flower in the garden has some nectar within.
10. Work it, DO IT!

For the Love of Books!

Considering that I have received a few requests for book recommendations, I am writing this list of books that I have grown to love. Fo...