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.

It's We, The People

I of late came across a discussion on government, politics and corruption(reminds me of Love Sex and Dhokha :P). It covered various things-from waste management to population to greedy cannibals ruling the country. Nearly all these debates narrow down to one conclusion-"The Government should make stricter rules".

I say-what rubbish. The people, i.e, we want both freedom and strict rules! Come on, we're citizens, not children. It's like we want strict supervision, but lots of freedom. We want the government to enforce stricter rules when we don't realise that we are the ones to follow them. When something adverse happens to our society, we want someone else to intervene and impose regulations on us! But when it's actually done, it'd seem like our freedom is questioned. So what does this mean? Can't we take care of ourselves? Do we need rules to lead a moral life? This seems like we are demanding our parents to buy loads of clothes for us and not wearing them at all. What will you do with the rules? Keep them in your wardrobe?

I'm not taking the government's side for heaven's sake. It's just that I feel lower than a human, who's supposed to be the most evolved and intellectual creature on earth. Given our extra-ordinarily designed brains, we shouldn't wait for something good to be announced as a compulsory regulation. Everyone knows this. Everyone wants to be right - but not alone.
For instance - we see a lot of neglected garbage heaps in the (apparently) garden city. People crib that the government has not appointed enough cleaners and workers, or better still, (other) people don't have civic sense. Well they don't realise that they're a part of such people too! And as for cleaners,  they are meant to clear the public dustbins time and again and not clean up your crap all your way on the road.
I am amused by the way unappreciated traits of others set the trend at times. If 2 or 3 people, say, throw waste at one spot(be it a corner of a field or the middle of the road), the rest throw their bit of waste at the same place. Remember, it's not their fault - it's the people who started it. When asked, they go "Others have thrown it here, so it must be a designated place.". If at all objected, they go "Who cares, all others would throw here, and I won't make a difference!
Chill, you don't have to bring about a revolution. It's okay if you don't make a difference. At least you would know that you are not the kind to litter your city just because others have.
When the anti-corruption fever was on high rise in the country a few months back, lot of anti-corruption, anti-government slogans were sung patriotically in unison by the country. I'm sure half of them would have bribed someone or the other at some point of time in their life. Half of them took part in the rallies as an excuse to bunk college.(I've even had some batch-mates say things like "I seriously don't know what Lokpal Bill is for, but I felt patriotic when I went there!" "It was fun!". Now, how 'fun'ny is that?)
Here too, you want a Lokpal Law to check corruption, but you don't want to stop corrupt practices yourself. Again - I'm not at all for corruption or against Lokpal.But it's just that I want to check myself before I point at the Government.
Rules are best implemented when keenly self imposed. The change should start from oneself. Why wait for others, why don't you change yourself? For all you know, someone else out there might be waiting for you to change!
You don't have to be an NGO or a cop or a social server to do good things. You are your own government. Go for it.

I know I sound like I've lived Gandhi's life. I shamelessly agree that his post applies to me too.
Cheers :)

Didi ki Shaadi

Inconveniences(especially caused by drunkard Mallya) neglected, the journey to Lucknow was completely different. May be I wouldn't yearn to go there again, but I don't regret going there. The place is not beautiful, but it's fun.

First, we went shopping. As we didn't have much time left, we had planned something very limited and had only one item in our list - Chikan. It is a simple, yet beautiful art on thin cloth, usually on kurtis and saris. We were a group of around around 5 ladies and 2 men(you know why :P ). We went to one store and finished our shopping in less than an hour. I selected 2 kurtis in less than 5 minutes. And I was as bored as my brother for the rest of the time. I couldn't help noticing my aunts' broken Urdu flavoured Hindi as they did their usual bit of haggling with the taxi driver and the shopkeeper.
Once you step into Lucknow, you should accustom yourself to the change in time and time sense. If they say "aadhe ghange mein pahunchenge", it means they'll take aadhaa din to reach. So I still remember my dad say "Aadhaa ghanta = Lucknow ka aadhaa ghanta!".(That was probably the only joke the driver understood - the rest were either in Kannada, or broken Hindi. :-D )


         Wedding, wherever it is-north or south or any other direction, is an exhibition of sizzling heavy sarees and dashing suits and sherwanis, array of smiles and bustling crowd all around, mouth watering, scrumptious food, and a gamut of emotions. The change is seen in the way they're done. For a person hailing from a small unnoticed corner of the western coasts, grown up witnessing quick marriages that start in the morning and end by the afternoon, this wedding, starting at dusk and ending at dawn next day, seemed a bit weird. But it was a whole new experience! If you read between the lines, they pretty much do what we do in weddings, but in a different manner. Here, I have listed out what I can recall:

• Timing: As I already mentioned, we end just after lunch, and they start just after dinner. Here, I'm only talking about the actual marriage and the rituals directly associated with it. More precisely, excluding the reception part. The muhurat is fixed sometime after breakfast and before lunch. Exactly at the time the guy ties the knot, "...pee pee pee dum dum dum..." , goes the Vaadya-band. There, the muhurat is sometime in the midnight(may be not in all cases..I'm not sure). Silence remains. We people clapped :P. 
• Similar, but different- "The change is seen in the way they're done":  The purpose of these conventional activities, anywhere in the world, are the same - lighten the atmosphere and bring the yo!-it's-a-wedding mood all alive. These activities start right from the entry of the Baaraat. There, the groom's cousins try stopping the guy from entering the premises while the bride's cousins try carrying him, despite the obstacles. [The guy came by car(not a horse -.-), btw]. Here, we do something called "eduru gummodu", where we throw hands-full of puffed rice on the groom's family and warmly welcome them. Also there's this event where the girl's behen steals the to-be-jeeju's shoes hides it, and gives it back, only after fetching money(if you're a younger sister, trust me, it's a LOT of pocket money!). Back here, at the time of Gruha Pravesha of the bride after wedding, the groom's cousins(here too, it's the girls :P) don't let them in, until he gives them the money.
• Venue, and others:  Here we shell out money on renting choultries and temples. There, to conduct a marriage, all you need is a huge lawn,where they put vast pandals and roofs and magnificently illuminate the place with sparkling lighting and vibrant colours.

Here's a description of what I saw, remember-from baaraat to bidaai:

The Baaraat is a procession led by the groom's family, announcing their arrival to the place, by loud songs and dance. Then, as described earlier, the groom and his family is welcomed. It was a long way from the gates to the stage. My cousins, with great effort, carried him for a short distance. They walked the rest, slowly, clicking photos after each step. Around 5 dulha- oriented songs would have already been played by this time. 

Somewhere near the stage, the bride's parents do what we call "Paada Puje"-washing the groom's legs and all. Remember, all this while, the bride's waiting inside. It's now that she makes her grand entry. It was a grand entry indeed. My pretty sister, clad in an elegant, red-green sequin-adorned lehenga, stepped in. Here too, she was carried by her brothers till the dias, and was followed by her sisters(including me me me) and friends. On stage, the hero and heroine exchanged garlands and posed for many a snap.

Meanwhile, more and more guests started streaming in. If you're a guest, it's like this - as you enter, you have a long row of desks to your right, with a wide variety of hot delicious dishes being served(I didn't eat half the dishes available, so ask me not to name them.). There was another food counter at the center, which, as far as I remember, served salads, rotis, and rice. It was designed to look like a dhaba. 

And as you move further from the food counter, you can see the stage and the seats in front. Greet the couple if you want to, but food first. ;-)

Most of the guests slowly started moving out. At around 10-30, the place was fairly empty. The hero and heroine are still on stage, starving. Finally, almost all guests leave, and only close ones from family and friends remain. The time is nearly 12 AM. It is now that the families sit together in a huge round table and dine. After the dinner, the preparation for the actual marriage starts. The wedding happened at a smaller part of the lawn behind the reception venue. A mantap is constructed, and beds are spead all around the mantap, for the audience. *yawn*. The wedding rituals started at around 1-30. The weather was chilled out, and damp. I insulated myself with like three layers of clothing. The youngest as I am in my family, everyone asked me to go sleep. Ha.

Again, they pretty much did what we would do in daytime. Dad handled the camera for quite a while. However, it had to come to the right hands :-P

As usual, the pandit-ji's lectures got boring by the minute. So I explored the situation, to make timepass out of boredom-

"I was bored..."

• The sleepier the couple were, the cute they looked.
• The groom's attire was heavier than him. So was the bride's. I wondered if the weight of the jewellery had her lose balance while walking!
• The groom wore a traditional rumal. It was beatuiful. He looked like a prince!
• My sister was no less captivating. She looked like a North Indian. Pwetty pwetty doll!!
• I looked back. Men on the chairs watched the proceedings with great effort containing their sleep.
• Laterally opposite to me was another row of chairs where old women sat  - sorry - slept. 
• To my immediate left sat ladies and gentlemen of the groom's famil. They wrapped themselves with a blanket they shared.
• My aunts who sat behind me cracked PJs. In Kannada. (Got my point? :P)

"I wondered if it had her lose balance.."

The royal rumal

Tiara?

   




































However, these things could keep me alive only momentarily. So I resorted back to listening to pandit-ji.

He spoke of istree's importance to a family, and hence, the society. And many more things I didn't even bother to listen. The couple nodded dramatically.

Then came Kanyadaan, Saptapadi and Sindoor. And I finally got a job. I hate it when the official photographers barge into the middle of my frame. Get away you idiot, I want the couple, not that thing hanging from your 

camera.  

The guy also applied Sindoor to the girl. 

After a few more events, the handsome guy from the heart of Lucknow tied the knot to the beautiful girl of the corner of the Western coasts. A loud applause broke the monotony of the situation. The guy and the girl are, at last, married :)

Here, I forgot to mention, a convention is followed-the mother should not witness the most significant events of the marriage - Sindoor and tying-the-knot.

After this, the couple was congratulated and blessed by seniors of the family.

Guess the time? It was around 4-30. And we all went to sleep. However, I actually slept for not more than 45 minutes and packed up to leave the city. The Bidaai was already over. And we left the city.

The driver surprisingly arrived on time to drop us back to the airport. His face shone with pride when he was asked "how come so early?" Is it that unusual to be punctual?

           So that was Lucknow. May be I should have spent more time there. 

Don't miss the Mayawatis posters in every street!!