I Love You !!

This phrase can win the accolade for the Most Familiar Phrase In The Human Linguistics. Each and every person on this planet has heard, read, listened or even spoken this phrase once in its life. What does this phrase convey? passion; warmth; sense of reducing proximities; a desire to hold one's hand; a desire to do anything to meet your mate's demands; commitment !!

Sounds easy na !! Is it really that easy?? :)

In english language while understanding the meaning of a word we use many techniques: one of them is through synonyms, already done above; a second technique which I find more convincing is to break the word into its roots and from the meanings of the roots we conclude the meaning of the word. I plan to use a similar kind of approach here. Let us split the phrase into the three visible parts: 'I', 'Love' and 'You'.

Ask a kindergarten student what does 'I' and 'You' mean. I am here to discuss something more important, more substantial- the meaning of 'Love'.

Before you read ahead you must know that I am neither a philosopher nor a PhD in Love. I have not had any girlfriends to know the intimate meaning of this word. But what I have is a belief and relationships to manage responsibly so as to experience the feeling of this word. Yet I am no expert :)

As i would define, 'Love' is a sense of understanding that you give to someone when you are around them.

When you are around a stranger you are giving him/her the understanding that, we are no different from being a mere human, in this arena and that we can feel comfortable in each other's presence. That is love.

When you were a kid and your parents used to take youto market, they always hold your hand. That touch is telling you that no matter what happens, I am not going to leave your hand but if circumstances are so cruel to make me do so, I will find you soon and my blessings are always with you wherever you go. That is love.

When you go out on a journey, there is always someone on the other side of the window to bid you safe journey. That tender wave of hand tells the air surrounding you, I am leaving him in your safe hands. Don't let your flow uncomfort him. That is love.

When you first went to school, the teacher took your hand from your parents'. The smile that teacher wears tells them, don't worry your child is safe in my hands. He will become what you think of him to be. That smile reflected on your parents' face says to you, I trust the teacher, go with him and win horizons. That is love.

When you made your first friend, the first handshake was to tell you, We will lead on this path together whatever may come in way. We will always help each other. That sense of understanding, care and responsibility is love.

When you were upset for your first mistake and your friend sat around, that silent presence speaks to you, I am here now, we will correct everything. That silence is love.

There are uncountable instances in life when we are shown love but hardly we notice it and thus they become unaccountable.

If there were an instrument which could help listen to the sounds that run in silence of the moment, embraces and the gestures a man experiences over his lifetime, I bet he would hear LOVE most of the times, there would not be any hatred as we see today and I would not be writing this.

So go out today and tell people that you love them for it is too small world to hate but endless to spread love.

Dreams: Fold-Unfold !!

What do dreams mean?
Do dreams reflect our relationship with life?
Do dreams tell us what are we supposed to do next?
Do the dreams sketch on canvus the possible outcomes of our particular action?

I see dreams. In my dreams I see myself restless; running, climbing, falling, fighting etc.

Long back, I had read that 'Scorpions' are meant to fight all their lives. But fighting is in everyone's fate. Even a new born child fights with its inability to communicate as adults do. It cries, throws his hands and legs here and there in order to communicate what it wants or how it feels. Sometimes we, adults, are also left with no option but to retaliate physically.

So I cannot relate my restlessness of dreams to my war in life or my zodiac sign. Then what do I relate it with ?

Once I had a dream in which I found a solution to a mathematics problem which I was not able to solve before. So do dreams provide solution to your problems ?
A scientist would answer that as a no suggesting the problem was left in my subconscious due to which some part of my brain was busy solving it and when it had the solution it sketched it out on my canvus of dreams.

Then what is a dream !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I feel a dream is just a reminder, like the one you keep in your mobile, about things you think to do but forget in daily 'karma' !!

Dreams keep reminding us of the plans we want to execute because they make us happy.

They keep refering to our old plans and rearranging the sequence of activities or even modify them sometimes to correlate with our present circumstances so that we are able to do what we want if we wish to.

They present a reason to keep pursuing what we want. They are a motivational force for us.

They are a true friend.

But here is the catch. You cannot enjoy its company until you give it your perseverance.

And even if you decide not to follow what you see just because its something imaginary, dreams come over and over again.

The only difference will be, now they will be haunting you in place of when they were motivating you.

So what is better: Accompany your dreams or Let it be the way it is??

"I dream !! You dream !! We all dream of icecream !!...until..."

The Legend of Narcissus

As legend goes, Narcissus was a young man who knelt daily beside a lake to contemplate his own beauty. He was so fascinated by himself that one morning, he fell into the lake and drowned. At the spot where he fell, a flower was born, which was called the narcissus.

The following version of the aforementioned legend, I read in a book, which referred it to another book.

When Narcissus died, the goddesses of the forest appeared and found the lake, which had been fresh water, transformed into a lake of salty tears.

"Why do you weep?" the goddesses asked.

"I weep for Narcissus," the lake replied.

"Ah, it is no surprise that you weep for Narcissus," they said, "for though we always pursued him in the forest, you alone could contemplate his beauty close at hand."

"But ... was Narcissus beautiful?" the lake asked.

"Who better than you to know that?" the goddesses said in wonder. "After all, it was by your banks that he knelt each day to contemplate himself!"

The lake was silent for sometime. Finally it said:
"I weep for Narcissus, but I never noticed that Narcissus was beautiful. I weep because, each time he knelt beside my banks, I could see, in the depths of his eyes, my own beauty reflected."

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Now two questions haunt me

Q1. Did Narcissus go to the lake to admire his own beauty or the beauty of the lake which was reflected back to the lake in the eyes of Narcissus?

OR

Q2. Were Narcissus and the lake too involved in contemplating oneself that they were unable to notice each other's beauty?

PS: Do give your opinions.

Who Am I ? (part1)

That was the question Jackie Chan kept asking himself in a movie. But this ain't any movie. It is life and we all ask this question to ourselves at least once.

I ask this question quite often. It has kept my thought process occupied since I had stepped out of my hometown in 2005. I left my home for graduation under a brand name.

I had always been able to make friends in my primary as well as secondary education. Now I needed to figure how to do that on a higher level.

Yeah, FIGURE OUT, because whomever I met made me always feel that WHO AM I TO DESERVE THIS PLACE!! I was searching for 'humansakes'. But at this moment I can say I found few to match but that exploration had costed me a lot.

In my first semester, where you hope to find people whom u r going to live ur next 3 years with, I was rusticated from my first friends group.
Reason: I backbited
Comment: If I was looking for good friends I was at wrong place.
And all this happened immediately after I was released from hospital.

I was highly depressed which was bound to have an adverse effect on my already ruined studies. As a result, I screwed up my tests and became a 5 pointer.

Now I knew I ruined my one semester and since I had no motivation on-campus to have the urge to soar heights I 'took lite'

Well I made aquaintances with new people as it becomes haunting to live in solitude.

The summer holidays were horrible with continuous scolding from my parents for such an extra-excellent performance of first year. I was put to study. I tried, tried, kept on trying.

The 3rd semester started and a new batch entered the campus. My cousin also made it through and came to follow my legacy of being a mechanical engineer :D

He is a true picture of strict control on circumstances; who hardly cares about the world but does consider about those whom he cares about. His words of wisdom made one feel self-sufficient, independent.

As the sem past by and first tests got over, I was amazed to see my performance in 2 subjects. I was motivated to score nothing but an A in both. The motivations were:
1. A look on teacher's face which meant- from where in the hell did this guy pop up !! Never saw him in class !!
2. An expectation-smile on another's face.

But this was it, the two subjects, not related to my discipline and I felt I could be good at cracking them.

The sem ended with A's in them and an expectation from one person who was my friend due to her perception of me being a 9 pointer (I later came to know about that).

I was broken the immediate semester when she got committed to a common friend. But thats how the crushes end :D

So, I again 'took lite'. You see how flexible I am.

Ohhh !! How can I forget !!!!!!!

My life in this sem was a lot better than 2 A's and a crush.
Credits to a friend, Vivek , who gave me a chance to kick start a club with him, The English Press Club.

Objective: To bring out monthly nesletters to make on-campus students aware of the inside picture and also help them to recall whatever they saw.

It was started towards the end of 3rd sem. When we started we were 4 people.

When we proceeded in next semester we expanded our team to 15 effective people.

In this semester, the fourth, I was occupied with the aftereffects of 'the expectation' and the club.

About the club, at first we were criticised for not working with an 'already existing team' (which died after their first issue). Later people appreciated our work and GOD we were a hit !!

I will not say that I found excuses not to study but what I scored at were those I was interested or had self-motivation.

I had never been technical guy but this semester, again credit to two friends, who invited me to participate in few on-the-spot events. I also earned a certificate. yeppeee !!

Till now, I earned trusts of quite a lot of people on campus. I was never told that I backbited. These people agreed to be a part of my life in different ways, no one more important that the other.

I am sorry friends, I cannot name you all here and even naming a few will be biasing but I need not tell you. You already know :)

These people carried me in my next year ahead, 3rd year. Their trusts in me gave a support to rise. They made me realise 'WHO AM I' really and what can I achieve. It was their efforts that made me realise of my true worth.

They say, one's strength is one's weakness.

I say, if your strength is your friends, you do not have a weakness.

Increase the level of Highbrow Functioning

Hey all

As most of us will be highly occupied with the preparation of CAT, I thought may be I can lay a helping hand in your preparation ;)

I found following article of high use in long term as well...so read on

Learning techniques

Grasping new vocabulary and retaining it are not such easy tasks. It is all about the right technique. There should be a system or modus operandi to learn such words as we cannot mug them up.

1. Being a voluntary reader

If you are a voluntary reader, mastering new vocabulary won't be a problem for you. As the same words are likely to figure again and again in your reading, you will get well acquainted with them.

2. Source citing

Another possible and interesting way out can be the method of source citing. Go to sites like dictionary.com. It is an online dictionary, frequently updated. Here you can easily find out the source from which the word has originated. This creates a background, and learning words becomes easy.

3. Learning prefixes, suffixes, roots

This method is also very effective. If we know some roots, prefixes and suffixes, we can easily anticipate the meanings of words using those roots, prefixes or suffixes. Take for example, '-pathy' which means feeling. So, it becomes easy to comprehend meaning of a new word with this suffix. Like, 'sympathy' -- 'similar feeling', 'apathy' -- 'no feelings', antipathy' -- 'negative feelings' and so on. It's quite simple, isn't it? Think of certain roots and test yourself.

4. Associating

If you associate or relate a certain word with something or someone, like any of your companions, chums or relatives, the process becomes simple. For instance, the word 'irascible' is used for a person who is very 'irritable' and 'impatient'. Now, one of your acquaintances can be of this nature. Associate this word with this person. Whenever s/he comes before your eyes, this word will come to your mind and vice versa. So, the word won't go to the dark depths of forgetfulness.

5. Swapping

This is a technique to diversify your learning. You can learn in both ways, paradigmatic (by context) as well as syntagmatic (by meaning). Swap the word you have done, with the ones having the same meaning. Like, we can swap the word 'irascible' with words like cranky, grouchy, grumpy, petulant, peevish etc.

6. Flash cards

Learning certain difficult words amusingly is both a challenge as well as fun. You can make flash cards and use them for the twin purpose of building up your vocabulary and of playing cards. Writing the word on one side of the card and the meaning or hint on the other will do.

7. Creating stories

Another entertaining method of learning new words is by creating stories while learning. It's an easy method. Take a word, 'assiduous'. It means 'to work diligently'. Now create a story. 'Ass' is donkey. Take it as 'dhobi ka gadha' which works day in and day out. So, a person who works diligently is 'assiduous'.

8. Effective speech

Everyone wants to be a good orator. To become one, learning words is not enough. You have to use these words in your speech to make it rhetorical and impressive. So, keep learning, keep swapping, keep creating and keep using. The world will listen to you.

PS: Ref. www.rediff.com

Testimonial time @ BITS-Goa

Yes it is indeed. It is time when we are asked to pen down the 3 golden years which we spent with some very wonderful people in just few words.

Fair Enough??

Nah...I do not think so. I believe that these 3 years of one's life are very special to one in every way. We met different people whom we tried to be friends with but we landed up only with some roaming around with us.

We discussed, planned and executed.

What we had not liked people to know about us, we told THEM. We trusted !!

We studied together and it was not like nerds studying with complete silence, deep concentration and spine straight. Our concentration was not made by the silence but by the music being played, jokes being cracked, legs being pulled.

Our spines were never straight :D

We played corridor cricket :P we played outdoor games in enclosed hostels even after midnight. And this is the reality of all times, be it exam's too !

Some of us who did'nt even step out of our rooms for most part of a day, spent time on dc or playing lan games. we did what we liked.

We all have enjoyed these 3 years to the fullest and we never regret any of our actions because each and every one of those actions has taught us something which is very crucial for our lives to remember more than what our professors taught us.

We laughed together in our great times and cried together in each other's bad times.

It never ends. I can go on writing about those 3 years...

And you ask me to pen down about those people in a concised form??

Certainly neither possible nor fair.

A Thousand Words

All these months I was searching for a topic to pen about.
Finally, I think I got something.

Since my last blog I have been through a lot of mental trauma about excelling in a few areas, planning about the future etc. I could hardly get control to any of it until I reached home.

At home I was enjoying my time away from studies.
However, there was a little nostalgia. I was missing my friends many of whom I won't be seeing when I go campus next.

The one and a half month period went by smoothly. Now was the time for the training.

I was alloted an internship at Bharat Forge Ltd. Pune
I expected a lot for BFL is a mech core company and I happen to be a mechanical engineer. But guess what !! I was not permitted to work in my area of interest, CAD. I tried explaining them how much skilled I am in modelling inspite of having learnt it all on my own but I was shouting on deaf ears.

Anyways, I had to be satisfied with Production Planning & Control.

First thing I learnt here is that, World does not want to know your potential but wants to know how well you can translate your potential from the area of your previous work to the present one, the two being disjoint.

Besides the internship I joined coaching for CAT !! I dont know what moved me to take that step 0.o !! But i got a cute teacher ;)

So I became a multi-tasker :D

Now dont u dare think that I sidelined the entertainment of the hot and happening place Pune !! I, alongwith my friends, went for some sightseeing (:P), visited some malls and theatres. Sometimes, we just went some place to idle away the time. Ohh !! I forgot to mention, we cycle-ride the city.

Meanwhile, my crush came to know about it, thanks to a common friend. She calls me up to say that she aint interested. You see how lucky I am !! :D

Well I moved on. I again let the string loose. Life went on by its own at its own speed determining my fate all by itself and I had no contribution besides I let it go !!

And while I am writing this, I am on the boulevard being swept like the fallen leaves.

Now I think, I have been too harsh on myself by letting the string loose. It is time I must pull the string and have complete contribution in what happens in my life !!

PS: With the random architecture of this post, you think I am confused. Think once more !