Listening to your heart...

The heart has long been used as a symbol to refer to the spiritual, emotional and moral core of a human being. As the heart was once widely believed to be the seat of the human mind, the word heart continues to be used poetically to refer to the soul, and also, love.
Ever wondered why so? How can an organ as mechanical as the heart, already occupied with the strenous work of continuously spurting blood to every corner of your body, deal with your emotions? Why is it that the heart is strongly associated with the human mind? You may say it's just a poetic reference, but why heart in that case?
According to ancient India, the human body consists of several chakras or force centers - 7 significant ones(viz Muladhara, Swadishtana, Manipura, Anahata, Vishuddha, Ajna and Sahasrara chakras). One of them-the Anahata Chakra is located very close to the heart. The Anahata chakra symbolizes the consciousness of love, empathy, selflessness and devotion. On the psychic level, this center of force inspires the human being to love, be compassionate,  devoted and to accept things that happen in a divine way.
It is proven there are more neural pathways from the heart up to the brain than from the brain to the heart. The heart can perceive things before the brain can think them out. When your heart is in a smooth rhythm pattern, the higher centers of the brain function optimally, and create new neural pathways. So, the human mind and the heart ARE neurally related.
Ok, but why "<3"?
Although the much used heart symbol only vaguely resembles the shape of the actual human heart, it is universally accepted and used to depict love, and in particular, the heart.. But..Why?
I came across a few stories that claimed to be relevant. Here's one of them-
This story dates back to 17th century BC. The city-state of Cyrene had a lucrative trade in a rare, now-extinct plant called silphium.Although mostly used for seasoning, silphium was reputed to be a means of birth control. Silphium was so economically important to Cyrene that coins that were minted depicted the plant's seedpod. Theory has it that the shape of the seedpod first became associated with sex, and eventually, with love. This shape is what we know as the heart symbol today.
So this is about the <3. If you know more relevant stories, do share it here :)

Things to do

Usually, my things-to-do lists are really awesome. They just need to be followed. This time it's no exception. But I'm looking forward to follow them. Here's it-

• Revive the keyboard of dust allergy and give it a shot. Should learn to read the music. Literally!!!
• Time to go stylish. Snip Sip!
• Try reading books. At least try reducing the hatred for that habit. It's not all that bad, is it?
• Clean the huge bloody mess in every small pocket of my room. Yikes.
• Go roaming. And discover Bangalore.
• C-A-M-E-RA!! Hell, why's this not the first point in the list?!
• Eclipse. How the hell do I use it?
• Shop with mom. Till both of us get sick, bored and tired of it!
• Learn to cook. (Lol, this has been in my list for the past 3-4 vacations!)

So what are your plans for the summer?

Old is Gold?

A few days back, I was on a reviving spree. All of a sudden I started falling for deep forgotten songs, like:

• Na Tum Jaano Na Hum - KNPH
• Pehla Nasha - JJWS
• O Re Piya - Aaja Nachle
• Aaja Aaja Main Hu Pyar Tera - Teesri Manzil
• Tum Jo Mil Gaye Ho - Hanste Zakhm

(The above two are sung by Rafi. Moving on,)

• Jinke Marinaa?? (Yeah. Seriously, :-P)
• Annal Mele, Nenjukul Pedhidum - Varanam Ayiram
• Kilimanjaro - Enthiran
• Chhan Ke Mohalla - Action Replay
• Badal Pe Paon Hai - Chak de!

Note: I don't listen to English. Perhaps if I did, the list would've been longer.

All in all...

PU-1 has been, to an extent, great.(Minus the studying of course). New friends, different people, more fun, more freedom, an experience by itself. Having emerged out of a cocooned, restricted, much supervised school life and a rather lonely childhood, it has shown me how different things can by outside my spheres. Each event in my life has taught me worthwhile lessons and has helped me discover myself. And a few others.
In these days, quite a lot of things have changed. I've gotten much more closer to Mommy, I've gotten a BIT more active and I don't mind keeping my room clean. But if there's one thing that has remained as such, it's my closeness with A2 - my class - my girls :=)
And especially, a certain (a)mmoozz =P (May be this wasn't needed, but darling, you do deserve a special mention). This is our 4th year together and I'm really proud about that! May it last forever! And of course, you too M & D!

P.S: For those who don't know Mmoozz, I was talking about Anusha and No.One.Else. :P

Holidays!!...er... Really?

27th Feb 2012

Study holidays wasted in planning summer holidays. And summer holidays (will be) wasted doing simply nothing. And I'm presently lurking between the two - neither can I study nor can I not. Exams I mean :-/

Yeah I have exams going on and I'm thinking of a blog post.(It's called seriousness, isn't it? Duh.) Yet, I feel no pressure thanks to this voice saying "Eyy cill, it's just 1st year!" ringing in my mind.
The word "break" has lost its meaning and the sense of relief when I remind myself of the word is barely felt. Tell me, would you remind yourself of chocolates when you're actually eating one? ;-)

Exams will end in another 5+2 days(+2 thanks to some issue in the State). Then Yippeeeee!! Holidays!!!
By the time the screams fade away, you bet, holidays vanish. This one academic year I'm supposed to slog and look like this sleep deprived nerdo. This year as far as I have seen, is one year when you're the uninvited guet of every social gathering. People nearly socially boycott you from attending functions or parties. You know, you go to a get together and introduce yourself as a pu-2 or better still, a 12th grader, an see the reaction - "Oh? You're second PU?? And you're here?! Go home and study, loser!"
May be they don't say loser but they mean it for sure. Everyone except those in your grade asks you to go study.

I still recall the ladies and Gentlemen of our college who boasted of their ranks and scores on my orientation Day. They come in my dreams and repeat their ranks. The mere thought of competitive exams, JEE and colleges haunts and daunts me. Lakhs of students shade and mark together. I'm one among them. Just one.
"An universe of atoms, yet an atom in the universe" [Richard Feynman]
(That's my favourite quote in the 1st Year English Course Book aka Fairy Tales)

So much in store for me. So many expectations. So many dreams. And this pounding heart.

Let's hope for the best anyway.